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i
गीतोपानिष्
Bhagavad-Gītā
Original
With the Original Sanskrit Verse,
Word per word, Summary and Annotations
The Unique Edition

The complete study guide of Bhagavad-Gītā text book with
authorized annotations based on scriptures and acharyas’
guidance, essays, paragraph questions, multiple choices and
fill in blanks.
ii Bhagavad-Gītā Original
Bhagavad-Gītā Original
Life comes from God
Appearance and Retreat of Godhead
The Perfect Guru
Symptom of the Age of Kali-yuga
Consciousness and Super consciousness
Soul, Body and Material Nature
Karma and Re-Incarnation
Readers interested in the subject matter of Bhagavad-Gītā are

invited to correspond with
krishnaworldinternational@gmail.com
krishnaworldintl@gmail.com
Office Address:
(Krishna World International

1080/2C Jayalaxmi Vilas Road,
Chamarajapuram, Mysore, Karnataka
India – 570005)
First Edition 2000 copies – 2016
1000 copies vidhya dān (charity of knowledge) by
Ranjendra Kumar
Pushpa Kumar
Cerritos, California – USA
ISBN # : 978-93-5258-107-8
References from Srimad-Bhāgavatam and

Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta
(Bhaktivedānta Book Trust)
iii
Bhagavad-Gītā
Original
By
His Holiness B.P. Krishna Chaitanya Swami
iv Bhagavad-Gītā Original
Dedicated to
My beloved Spiritual Masters His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedānta Swami Srila Prabhūpadā, and His Divine
Grace Bhaktisvarupa Dāmodara Swami Srila Sripāda. With
the blessings of my Spiritual Masters, I have embarked on
the journey to spread Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu’s mission to preach the message of Srimad-
Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam in every town and
village.
CONTENTS v
Preface vi
The Original Founder of Hare Krishna Movement vi
Krishna World International (KWI) – Spiritual City Project vii
Introduction 1
Chapter One 53
Battle Field and Arjuna’s Lamentation
Arjuna was morose after seeing his relatives and friends’
foolish enthusiasm for battle. He was concerned the aftermath
of the war; how women and children would be unprotected,
and how the nation would be in utter silence after the loss of
millions of people. He argued with the Lord that there would
be a rise in irreligiosity, that people would become unchaste
and that there would be a rise of varna-sankara, unwanted
population, which would cause further degradation for
society jeopardizing the future of the planet. He dropped his
weapon bow, Gāndiva, and silently began to cry in front of
Lord Krishna.
Chapter Two 101

Synopsis of Bhagavad-Gītā
Arjuna was lamenting and confused. He surrendered to His
spiritual master, the original Personality of Godhead Lord Sri
Krishna. The Supreme Person began instructing him on the
nature of the spirit soul and the material body. He instructed
Arjuna about how the performance of even a little selfless
devotional service can guarantee one freedom from the most
dangerous fear: fear of death. The Lord explained how when
one serves under the correct authority, the server is
completely free from all reactions. He also explained how
self-realized souls behave.
Chapter Three 217

Karma Yoga
There are two types of actions. The first appeases demigods,
vi Bhagavad-Gītā Original
the second satisfies the Supreme. One must choose one of

such action. Engaging in appeasing the demigods will bring
one back to the material world, repeatedly. However, actions
performed to satisfy the Supreme will promote one to the
absolute world. The difference between these two actions is
that actions for demigods concerns the material world, not the
spiritual world, and hence material actions bind living entities
to the material world. All material actions are initiated by the
material body, mind, and intelligence. But soul and
consciousness is beyond all these subtle element of material
world.
Chapter Four 299

Knowledge Beyond the Mind and Senses
Spiritual knowledge is gained through a perfect spiritual
teacher. It concerns the difference between matter, spirit and
beyond - the Supreme Spirit. The Supreme Lord, who is the
original spiritual master, narrates the science of the self and
Super-self to Sun-god Vivaswān. The Lord also explains that
He descends in every interval of the millennium to this world,
when this science is lost among human beings. The Lord also
provides details of the procedure to obtain God-realization.
Chapter Five 381

Karma Yoga with Detachment
The ‘renunciation of work’ and ‘work in renunciation’ both
lead to freedom from the reactions of one’s work, however,
Lord Krishna explains why, out of these two works,
devotional service through ‘work in renunciation’ is better
than the ‘renunciation of work’: devotional service directly
connects one with the Supreme Lord Krishna, thereby leading
one to attain the highest spiritual consciousness. From this
point he can see everything as it is, that in all living beings
there exists the Supreme, which he can perceive, and that the
Supreme is the actual enjoyer of the all actions of living
beings.
Contents vii
Chapter Six 423

Dhyāna Yoga
Dhyāna yoga is the process by which one connects to the
Supersoul after a prolonged number of years. This chapter
explains the yama, niyama, āsana, pranāyāma, pratyahāra,
dhārana, dhyāna, samādhi. Samādhi is complete absorption
on the Supersoul. Yogis who seek samādhi are better than
fruitive workers, empiricists and ascetics, however, they are
not equal to a devotee, who is always engaged in Krishna’s
meditation and service.
Chapter Seven 491

Knowledge of the Supreme Lord
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is Krishna
Himself. He is the owner of both material and spiritual
universes. Those who cultivate this original message received
from the Lord, will engage in His devotional services without
doubt. There are four such types of people, those who do not
accept the authority of Godhead will either remain as atheists
or worship different material deities.
Chapter Eight 555

Attaining Supreme Godhead
In this chapter, Lord Krishna explains the duration of the
material universe. Except for His spiritual abode, birth and
death are frequent in all planets and universes. One can attain
His Supreme abode by simply remembering Him at the time
of their death. This chapter will also address what happens to
those who do not remember Krishna at the time of their
passing away.
Chapter Nine 601

Most Secret Knowledge
Most secret knowledge is service to the Supreme Lord with
full faith. He is unknown even to the great sages and the
demigods, but not to his sincere devotees. The devotional
process is the only path to attain Him and this process
viii Bhagavad-Gītā Original
includes chanting His glories, eating food that is offered to

Him first, worshipping Him, constantly contemplating on
Him and paying obeisance to Him.
Chapter Ten 665

Opulence of Absolute Lord
Everything that is in the manifested world and the
unmanifested world is Krishna’s possession. Therefore, all
the wondrous manifestations are sparks of His splendor,
which includes all of His six majestic magnificence, namely:
wealth, power, beauty, fame, knowledge and renunciation.
Chapter Eleven 719

Cosmic Form
To prove Krishna is in fact the Lord of everything, Arjuna
asked the Lord to manifest His cosmic form. Lord Krishna
endowed Arjuna with a transcendental vision, so that he
could see His unlimited form. Arjuna concluded that
Krishna’s original form is the two armed bluish form, and not
the universal form or the four handed Nārāyana form. To
understand the mysteries of the two armed form of the Lord,
one has to engage in undivided devotional service to Him.
Chapter Twelve 775

Bhakti - Devotional Yoga
Lord Krishna can be worshipped in two different aspects.
First, is the ‘Impersonal aspect’; and second, is the ‘personal
aspect’. Krishna considers those who are engaged in the
worship of the personal form to be the most perfect among
devotees. It is argued here, that ‘Bhakti-yoga’ process to
Krishna is the easiest path to perfect one’s human form of
life.
Chapter Thirteen 801

Material Nature, Soul and Supersoul
The field of activities are constituted by 24 elements, known
as prakriti. The knower of the field is the individual soul.
Contents
Contents ix
One who knows both the field, and the knower of the field,
prakriti, and the knower of both, the Supersoul and act
accordingly attains perfection and is liberated from material
existence.
Chapter Fourteen 849

Divisions of Material Nature
Material nature functions in the three modes of nature:
goodness, passion and ignorance. If one associates with any
of these modes, it binds them to this material world. The
Supreme Lord guides individuals to come out of these modes
of nature by teaching them to be situated above these three
modes.
Chapter Fifteen 889

Yoga of the Absolute Lord
The Absolute form of yoga is to distinguish the absolute
position of Krishna. The Lord informs us that His name is
celebrated as the Supreme Person both in the Vedās and in
the universe. And those who undoubtedly recognize Him as
the Supreme Person engage in His devotional service.
Chapter Sixteen 927

Godly and Demoniac Qualities
Those who are godly and cultivate divine qualities, and
choose to abide by the scriptural instructions, quickly
advances towards the path of spiritual perfection. These
individuals will eventually attain the Kingdom of God.
However, those who live whimsically, exhibiting atheistic
qualities and act against the injunctions of the Vedās will
degrade to lower forms of life.
Chapter Seventeen 971

Three Divisions of Faith
There are many faiths under the three modes of material
nature such as worship, austerity, charity and food. Those
who accept the objects situated in the mode of goodness will
x Bhagavad-Gītā Original
progress towards an eternal life, life of devotional service to

Krishna. Those who accept the objects in the mode of passion
and ignorance will only obtain temporary material benefits
and they eventually return to a cycle of repeated birth and
death.
Chapter Eighteen 1005

The excellence of Renunciation
In this final chapter, the Supreme Lord summarizes the
effects of the modes of material nature on the duties of the
four social orders. Lord Krishna explains how devotees who
preach His glory are the best of all His servants. He also
explains how one attains the quality of a Brahman realized
devotee by surrendering to Him. This way, one is free from
all sinful activities. In such renunciation, one obtains
complete perfection and will attain the highest goal, to go
back to the spiritual world, the Kingdom of God.
xi
Preface
In my early days of practicing devotional service to
Krishna, I thought strongly about demonstrating the Krishna
World International’s base method of pure devotional service to
Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead who is
celebrated by all demigods and sages. I also wanted to bring
people together to create a society where the God’s philosophical
message could be shared more widely and deeply. Many pseudo-
saintly and charismatic individuals attract innocent people with
their sorcery and bewitchment, through manifestation of tiny
gold objects, ashes, fruits, etc. However, in pure devotional
service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, there is
no place for any such magic and sorcery, word jugglery and
sophistry or other artificial methods to entice the general
populace. Our service to God is purely based on the scriptural
injunctions such as Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam. In instances where there is no scriptural guidance
there is a presumption to avoid such actions by any means so as
to not implicate oneself and be punished by the laws of bad
karma. There are many laws to be followed in human society;
whoever follows a particular law will be awarded with their
respective result. Similarly, whoever follows the laws of
devotional service to Krishna will be bestowed with the result of
full knowledge, eternity and blissful life. Therefore, it is advised
by the Supreme Lord and His representatives to follow the
devotional path, to achieve the constitutional results of the spirit
soul by engaging oneself in the service of Lord Krishna.
Srila Prabhūpāda is my instructing and Grand Spiritual
Master. He has opened my eyes with the spiritual knowledge,
which I sincerely follow and make all endeavors to transmit to
others, till the end of my life. I therefore pray to him to give me
shelter at his lotus feet and facilitate me to always serve the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
Although I am trivial soul in Krishna’s creation, I desire to serve
xii Bhagavad-Gītā Original
His society through Krishna World International [KWI]. Krishna

World International was formed to liberate people from all cross-
sections of humanity from repeated birth and death. In the
scripture it has been predicted that Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, a
form of Krishna’s name would be propagated all over the planet,
and to all classes of people. I merely make a humble effort to
help fulfill that prediction more deeply.
Sri-krishna-chaitanya-rādha-krishna-nahe-anya: Lord Sri
Chaitanya Mahāprabhu is the combination of Sri Sri Rādha and
Krishna. By Their unprecedented mercy we will definitely be
successful in creating a unique spiritual realm on this planet. Our
purpose is to reach all sorts of people and give them all the
necessary facilities for the material world and for the service of
Lord Chaitanya and Sri Krishna, regardless of their social
background. We want them to be happy materially as well as
spiritually.
Whenever we instruct middle class people to take up
devotional service to the Supreme Person, they always protest
that they are not settled in material life and that they have to
work hard to secure the conditions of their lives. Yet, it is clearly
explained in the scripture that our foremost requirement and
priority in human life is to follow supreme religion (paro-
dhārma).The supreme religion is to render pure devotional
service to God. There are four principles of benediction in the
human society and they are Dharma- religion, artha- economic
development, kāma- sense gratification, moksha- liberation.
Without following dharma first, it will be very difficult to
accumulate money. Furthermore, remaining in Krishna bhakti
does not actually hinder anyone’s economic progress. Rather,
devotional service to Krishna only supports and creates one’s
best economic situation.
It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 4-8-41
dharmārtha-kāma moksakhyam ya icchec chreya ātmanah
ekam hy eva hares tatra karanam pada-sevanam
“Any person who desires the fruits of the four principles
religiosity, economic development, sense-gratification and at the
Preface xiii
end, liberation, should engage himself in the devotional service

of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, for worship of
His lotus feet yields the fulfillment of all of these”.
Devotional service to Krishna and love for Krishna is
situated beyond human perfection (moksha).
Although it may be a great struggle in this world to earn and
maintain a living, the fact remains that the human form of life is
a chance to revive our original consciousness which has been
covered by material consciousness. The Supreme Lord Sri
Krishna has given us our life in our respective particular
situations due to our karma and desire. This can change at any
time. A poor person can become rich, and rich person can
become a pauper overnight. Nothing is secure in one’s hand. One
may work day and night to become very rich in one’s life, but
that day may never come because we are working on the
platform of ahankāra or pride, thinking that ‘I am the master of
my situation’. So long as we live with family and children we
may take life very seriously due to physical attachment. We may
responsibly execute our duties to satisfy our family and
community, but when one dies everything is finished. After one’s
death one will be rewarded or punished based on his atheistic and
non-religious activities, not on one’s perfect endeavor to take
care of one’s own profession and family. Life in the material
world is only temporary and illusory. Thus, the Bhagavad-Gītā
instructs everyone to be detached from the material attachment.
Nothing belongs to anyone, whether is a person, relative, wealth,
position; everything belongs to brahma sampath, Supreme
Brahman, Lord Krishna. So for those who are proud, rebellious
and attached, they can lose everything, both psychologically and
physically.
In stark contrast to this, the pure bhakti to Bhagavān,
Krishna, can lead one towards successful life which is guaranteed
by the Lord throughout the Bhagavad-Gītā. Everyone has a
natural relationship with Krishna eternally, but this relationship
has been forgotten due to absorption in the external material
desires and consciousness of ‘I’ and mine. It is therefore
xiv Bhagavad-Gītā Original
imperative to find “this” relationship as the source of our lives

and base our actions on this and thereby develop the relationship
with Krishna. Krishna World International’s purpose is to
regenerate this lost awareness and to show the real path of life to
everyone by also supplying all their necessities in life. In this
way, without anxiety, everyone can love the Supreme Godhead,
Lord Krishna and engage in His devotional service for the rest of
their remaining days in this life and become fully happy.
God consciousness distinguishes human society from all
other species of life. When a human misses his fundamental
point of realizing God, he becomes degraded like an inhuman.
The social welfare activities are incomplete without the devotion
to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. Therefore, by
making our greatest attempt to serve society through God, we
make a complete service to the society.
Regarding this, Srila Nārada deva instructed Srila Vyāsa
deva in Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 1-5-22:
idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā
sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ
avichyuto ’rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito
yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam
“Learned circles have positively concluded that the
infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely
austerities, study of the Vedās, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and
charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord,
who is defined in choice poetry”.
Everyone is endowed with one or more abilities and they
can use their ability in the service of God. We hope that everyone
will assist KWI in serving the society through God (Krishna)
centered activities. The devotional activities will bring complete
happiness to people in this world and also carry them further, to
the spiritual universe, the Kingdom of God which is our original
residence, far beyond the material sky. One may think the
Kingdom of God is a mere figment of the imagination due to a
lack of information about that Absolute World, but in the pages
Preface xv
of the Bhagavad-Gītā, Krishna proves that His world is the

Kingdom of God, where there is no action of the miserable
modes of material nature. If one has failed to attain that eternal
kingdom, one remains in the material world in one of the
8,400,000 forms. As confirmed in the Padma Purāna that:
asītim chaturas caiva laksāms tan jīva-jātisu
bhramadbhih purusaih prāpyam mānusyam janma-paryayāt
tad apy abhalatām jatah tesām ātmābhimāninām
varākānam anāsritya govinda-carana-dvayam
“One attains the human form of life after transmigrating
through 8,400,000 species of life by the process of gradual
evolution. That human form of life is spoiled for those conceited
fools who do not take shelter of the lotus feet of
Govinda.”(Krishna)
B.P Krishna Chaitanya Swāmi

xvi Bhagavad-Gītā Original
The Original Founder of Hare Krishna

Movement Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu
“sri krishna chaitanya rādha krishna nahe anya”
530 years ago, one day, Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu
was walking on the abode of beautiful Navadvipa (part of
Mayāpura, West Bengal) and saw a beautiful parrot on a tree,
seeing the parrot He immediately remembered Sridhām
Vrindhāvana; with great love he turned to the parrot and said “
My dear parrot please chant the holy name of Rādha and Krishna
and the parrot began chanting very loudly ‘gaura, gaura, gaura”.
Hearing this Lord Chaitanya held his ear and said ‘what is this
parrot, I am humbly requesting you to chant the holy names of
Rādha and Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, the eternal abode and eternal destination of all sincere
souls. Please satisfy my heart by chanting the glories of Rādha
and Krishna and the parrot responded with great jubilation ‘gaura
gaura gaura’. Gaura is the name of Lord Chaitanya because he
had a beautiful golden complexion; he was known as ‘Gauranga’
or Gaura. Lord Chaitanya said, ‘ I am eager to hear the glories of
Rādha and Krishna please, please sing the glories of Rādha-
Krishna. And the parrot with great devotion greatly cried out
‘gaura gaura gaura’ and Lord Chaitanya feeling very much
broken hearted, not hearing Rādha-Krishna’s glories, said why?
Why are you not chanting Radha-Krishna’s name? The parrot
began to speak, ‘Rādha and Krishna have both come in one form
of You, my Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. I know quite well that
Krishna wanting to taste the sweetness of Rādharani’s love has
appeared with the loving sentiments and the golden complexion
of Srimati Rādharani. That Rādha and Krishna have combined
into the one form of Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore you
are Rādha and Krishna. Therefore, I will eternally glorify your
holy name, ‘gaura gaura gaura’. So this Krishna World
International movement is the branch of Lord Shri Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu.
Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu ki jaya!
Bhagavad-Gītā Original xvii
Krishna World International (KWI)

Spiritual City Project
1. Radha-Krishna Temple:
Unique and magnificent Radha-Krishna temple will
have 7altar in a line to be worshipped. This amazing
and enormous 7 altar temple is the first of its kind in
the world and is conceived by a grand disciples of Srila
Prabhupada.
2. Krishna-Balaram Theme Park:

Krishna-Balaram spiritual amusement park for people
of all ages, which includes Trinavrt Roller Coaster,
Putana Horror Tower, Karma Reincarnation 6D
Theater, Spiritual Museum, Heavenly Garden, Hare
Krishna Holy Laser Chant Stadium.
3. Sridhama Goshala:
Cow’s milk is the main source for the development of
healthy human brain tissues. The ruthless action on
cow slaughtering is the cause for the world’s
impermanence, anxiety and wars.
4. Bala-Krishna Anatha Ashram:

To educate kids in moral, ethical and true spiritual
values are the goals of Krishna World International.
5. Vanaprastha Retired Ashram:

“According to Vedic civilization, everyone has the
responsibility for taking care of brāhmanas, aged men,
women, children and cows”.
xviii Bhagavad-Gītā Original
6. Devaki-Yashoda Ashram:
Objective of KWI is to guide women towards spiritual
enlightenment.
7. Bhaktivedanta Swami University (BSU):

The purpose of Bhaktivedanta Swami University is to
contribute contemporary curriculum and spiritual
education. BSU follows the principle of equality in
diversity regardless of background or circumstances.
8. BSDS Super Speciality Hospital:

The aim of Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Hospital
is to give quality treatment equipped with state-of-the-
art facilities to all the patients.
9. Radharani Annadhan:
We at KWI aim to feed all the pilgrims who come
abode seeking the blessings of the Lord.
10. Ghatodgaja Granary:

We at KWI aim to build a state-of-the-art multi-grain
storage system withholding the capacity to feed one
million people.
11. Advaita Laser Stadium:

We at KWI will have laser musical performance of the
mahā-mantra where 20,000 people can join the
congregational chanting of the Holy Name and be
blessed.
We welcome you to support and

part of the Krishna World International
Introduction 1
Introduction
om ajnānā-timirāndhasya jnānānjana-salākaya
chaksur unmilitam yena tasmaisri-gurave namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who
has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of
ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
nama om vishnu-pādaya krishna-preshtāyabhū-tale
srimate-bhaktisvarupa-dāmodara-swāmi-niti-nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Holiness
Bhaktivarupa Dāmodara Swāmi Sripāda, who is very dear to
Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
nama om vishnu-padaya-krishna-prshtayabhū-tale
srimate-bhaktivedānta-swāmi-niti-nāmine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhūpāda, who is very dear to Lord
Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
namaste sarasvate deve gaura-vani-prachārine
nirvisesa-sunnyavādi-paschātya-desa-tarine
Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master,
servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the
message of Lord Chaitanya deva and delivering the Western
countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
vancha-kalpatarubhyah ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānām pāvenebhyo vaishavebhyo namo namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the vaishnava devotees
of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the
desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen
conditioned souls.
jaya-sri- krishna -chaitanya-prabhu-nityānanda
sri-advaita-gadādhara-srivāsādi-gaura-bhaktavrnda
1
2 Bhagavad-Gītā Original
All glories to Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord

Nityānanda, Advaita acharya, Gadādhara-Pandita Prabhu,
Srivāsa Thakura and all those devotees who follow in their
footsteps.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
O Srīmati Rādharani (the divine energy of the Lord Krishna), O
all-attractive reservoir of pleasure, Lord Sri Krishna, please
engage me in Your loving devotional service.
Eternal religion (sanātana dharma or varna-āsrama)
Vedic religion is the oldest religion as well as the origin of all
other religions in the world. In Sanskrit language it is called
sanātana dharmā. The founder of the sanātana dharma is Lord
Krishna Himself. It teaches about the relationship of soul with
the God. Lord Krishna appeared five thousand years ago to speak
about the meaning of religion. The Lord did not appear to present
the meaning of religion to a particular class of people. The
eternal religion has nothing to do with bodily concepts of life.
Hinduism, Christianity, Islām, Judāism, Buddhism, Jainism and
all other religious groups partially follow the eternal religious
principles. Their methods of worship, rituals, morality and ethics
all originated from the sanātana dharma, yet, these methods
have almost always been altered from their original form due to
no other reason than mere social and political situation. All these
religions are different methods to understand God and to love
Him. But if all of the religious practitioners are attached to the
name of their religion, and its rituals and do not progress towards
loving God or even knowing Him or His name, then they are like
an aircraft without pulling the takeoff lever, and will be only
running on the ground forever. Name of God and activities of
God are clearly mentioned in the pages of the unadulterated and
spotless scriptures such as Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam. Sanātana dharma- eternal religion is explained
more explicitly in these transcendental literatures, the oldest of
Introduction 3
all religious scriptures. Eternal religion has no history because it

is originated from Lord Krishna, who has no beginning or origin,
ādyam – first person and purana purusham- oldest person.
Vedā means knowledge, anta means end. Thus Vedānta
means end of all knowledge. Within Vedānta one can find
spiritual science, spiritual technology, medicine, philosophy,
mathematics, history, geography and the list goes on. This means
there is no knowledge in any planetary system that is beyond
Vedānta. Vedānta knowledge includes both material and spiritual
worlds. Generally, people are reluctant to worship Krishna as
their Lord because they do not know, in tattva (truth) who
Krishna is! History has recorded many gains and losses of the so-
called heroes, who have tried to build their own empires, to build
one culture and one civilization. Kings have fought many wars.
They have pursued the path of violence to unite everything and
everyone on the basis of skin color and language, with all the
power of their weapons and valor. Yet, all of these kings have
been defeated and vanquished from the surface of earth. There
are also many religious movements and counter cultures, which
have been developed based on different credence to bring unity,
organizing people under various names, merely because they
have forgotten the eternal principles. Yet, although the aim of all
religions are to realize God and adhere to His teachings,
unfortunately they all want to interpret and expound the original
teachings in their own way according to their own views. All
other religions claim their authenticity and superiority over the
rest, yet their practitioners commonly break the regulative
principles that pertain to their respective religious conviction.
To illustrate this, consider that all religious books prescribe
the rejection of all the practices in the following list: the
consumption of meat, fish, eggs, alcohol, and the practice of
illicit-sex, intoxication and gambling. There is no question of
being a sincere religious person and continue participating in
these immoral activities, they must preclude all. One cannot, for
example, advertise that he is a lover of God and go on killing
innocent animals and consume their flesh, visit various clubs and
dance with an exposed body, or consume alcohol. Acceptance of

all these practices casts people in an uncivilized form of life. It is
explained in Srimad-Bhāgavatam that one can make any
planning, be it social, political, philosophical or religious, so long
as the aim of such measures are to approach the Supreme Person.
In the Vedās, it is stated that the spiritually learned and advanced
people, and the demigods of secondary creation, simply look to
the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna, with humility. The aim of
human civilization should be the same. Without looking to the
God’s lotus feet, all religious, social or political endeavors will
fail. It is not possible to make progress as long as these sinful
desires are anchored in the material world. Therefore, the prime
duty of a guru is to make his disciple sinless.
The following story demonstrates this point: once there was
a bridegroom party that had to venture to the bride’s house down
the river. It was settled that they would start at night by boat and
reach the destination early in the morning. At night, after supper,
the jubilant party came aboard a boat and made themselves
comfortable. They instructed the boatmen to start. Since all the
members of the party were seated comfortably, and since the
river breeze was very pleasant, they slept soundly the whole
night. In the morning they all got up early, but to their
astonishment, even though the boatmen had rowed vigorously all
night long, they saw that the boat had not moved an inch toward
the destination. After inquiring about what had happened they
found that, despite the boatmen’s rowing, the boat had not moved
because they had failed to raise the anchor. The marriage
ceremony was therefore spoiled because of just one foolish
mistake. In a similar way, no matter whoever a person may be
and whichever country he may be born in, it requires a
significant amount of purity, both internally and externally, to
comprehend the science of God and the nature of our relationship
with God. If one carries out his religious life through mere lip
service, through saying that ‘I belong to this religion…or to that
religion’, and then continues practicing sinful activities, one is
considered by the eternal religious principles as nothing but a
Introduction 5
pretender, a hypocrite. All religious activities that are practiced

in this way are exactly like this wedding party: by resting in
blissful ignorance in the comfort of their hypocritical practices
they inadvertently trust that they belong to their religion, just like
the wedding party which trusted the foolish captain to row the
boat for them, such practitioners do not see for themselves
whether they are making progress on their paths.
There is one God, just like there is one sun. Due to the
different positions of the planet earth, the sun appears in different
places and in different countries at different times. But it is
unreal and illogical for one to call the sun the ‘Indian sun’, or
‘European sun’. The same is true if one tries to call it an
‘American sun’ or ‘Muslim sun’, a ‘Christian sun’ or ‘Hindu
sun’. Similarly, it is a grave mistake for one to see God according
to different perceptions and languages, and to differentiate Him
according to different perceptions and languages. Linguistic
diversity and differences in people’s imagination of God’s form
makes no difference to the actual existence of the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Thus, by
assessing God according to any historical, mythological and
hypothetical explanation one is minimizing the Absolute
Authority’s value and consequently he becomes a victim of an
illusion of the Supreme Person. Thus, one shall try to learn about
God through the oldest Vedānta philosophy, or to directly hear
from Him just like Arjuna did.
The Definition of God
The ancient Vedic wisdom discloses everything about God,
living entities, material nature, time and karma. All these five
factors have nothing to do with any events and places of any
history or country. The definition of God is thus: one who has
everything fully and completely: wealth, beauty, power,
knowledge, fame and renunciation. Only with God can one
perceive all of these opulences because God is in possession of
these magnificence. He shares it with all human beings, demons
and demigods. Ordinarily, when the most powerful and wealthy
person comes to an assembly, everyone wants to shake hands

with him. That is, everyone except for the people who do not
know who he is! In our world, there are many unfortunate living
entities who are entangled in the material conditioned life, and
have no time for other things except for fixing their domestic,
national and international problems. These entities never be able
to recognize the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna. Many thinkers such as māyāvādis think there is only
Brahman or the supreme light, some say there is God, but He has
no hands, legs, eyes, ears and the entire body. Some say there is
only Supersoul. Some who know Krishna a little better from the
historical view point think He is powerful and a good
philosopher, some say He is a romantic God, and criticize and
laugh at His personal confidential activities. But for the time
being, let us put all our different historical notions, political
opinions, and convictions aside, and look into the Vedānta and
the words spoken by Lord Krishna directly, as described in the
pages of Bhagavad-Gītā. We have tried to present the Bhagavad-
Gītā without misinterpreting the teachings of the Lord, our only
intention is to present the original text with the complete help,
and guidance of Lord Krishna and spiritual preceptors. After this
is done, feel free to draw your conclusions regarding the true
identity of the Supreme Brahman, Krishna, and what you would
like to adopt from Krishna’s life and teachings for your own
wellbeing.
Just as many people mistake historical perspectives as
reality, they also see Lord Krishna as a historical figure, as the
crusader of the Great War Mahābhārata. One must avoid seeing
Lord Krishna with such limited view point and instead one must
hear and see Him through the voice and lenses of the disciplic
succession (guru parampara) and scriptures. When one sees Him
from the historical point of view, one cannot understand His
Supreme nature; rather He would be conceived as one of the
great generals or commanders in the war. Alternatively, when
one understands Him from the scripture’s point of view, one can
fully know Him: that He is the Supreme Majestic Personalities of
Introduction 7
Godhead, the source of creation, maintenance and annihilation of

the manifest universe.
Power and Cultures
Before democracy began, emperors and kings themselves as
commanders defeated the evil and established the good. Such a
situation occurred several centuries ago. When evil overpowers
good, good men become helpless, their power and position
become meaningless. At that time the Chief of the planet earth,
Goddess Bhūmi (earth) requested the Personality of Godhead
Lord Vishnu to incarnate on earth for neutralizing the demoniac
powers to reinstate culture and religion. The origin of Lord
Vishnu is Lord Krishna. There are three Vishnu forms for the
material creation expanded by Lord Krishna, namely, Mahā-
Vishnu, Garbhodhakasāyi-Vishnu, and Kshīrodhakasāyi -Vishnu.
Their relation to each other is thus: when many candles are lit,
the first candle is said to be the origin of all candles, even though
qualitatively and quantitatively there is no difference between
Krishna’s and Vishnu’s opulences, Krishna is, still, the origin of
all Vishnus. Krishna says, there is no one superior to Me, matah
parataram nanyat, Bhagavad-Gītā 7-7. In this way, Lord
Krishna is nevertheless the fountain head of all Vishnu tattvas.
Brahma samhita 5-1, Isvara-parama-krishna- that the supreme
controller is Krishna, Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 1-3-28 krishna stu-
bhagavān-svayam, Krishna is God by Himself. Krishna says in
Bhagavad-Gītā, 10-8 aham sarvasya prabhavoh, I am the source
of all material and spiritual worlds.
After descending, as per Goddess Bhūmi’s request, Krishna
spent His childhood and adolescent pastimes in Mathura-
Vrindhāvana. He destroyed many demoniac powers, starting
from the 3rd day of His appearance. In this way, God is always
God, whether He is a child or a boy or an adult, His Supreme
position always remains intact. After vanquishing most of the
demons, Krishna arranged the Great Mahābhārata war for His
pure devotees, Pāndavās. Before the war began Krishna
instructed Arjuna on the significance of the soul and
insignificance of the matter, and on all theoretical and practical

knowledge of soul and matter.
History of Bhagavad-Gītā
According to the achāryas, the meaning of ‘Bhagavad-Gītā’ is
‘the philosophy of God, spoken by God’. Astrological
calculations suggest that it was around 5236 years ago that
Krishna gave the sermon of the Bhagavad-Gītā in the middle of
the battle field. Srila Vyāsa deva recorded the entire Bhagavad-
Gītā, the dialogue between Lord Sri Krishna to Arjuna, and
presented it in written format for all of humanity. The purpose of
the Bhagavad-Gītā is to save humanity from the materially
motivated life-style which entangles all living entities in the
cycle of reactions of karma, and birth and death. In different
ways, every man is suffering in the material world and no
quantity of material solutions can solve his problems
permanently. The more one interacts socially, the more one
increases his problems - this is the law of nature. In material life
one can, therefore, remain in a state of trying to solve his
material problems until his body dies.
Arjuna and his brothers (Pāndavas) faced greater problems
which were created by the Kauravas led by Duryodhana, and
Pāndavas spent most of their life defending themselves and
Kauravas were also not at peace since none of their deceptions
were successful. Thus they became more and more envious and
inimical towards Pāndavas. In the end, Mahābhārata, an
organized religious war took place as the final solution to their
problems. While the war was going on all of them were anxious
about their victory. In the war the Pāndavas became victorious by
the mercy of the Supreme Lord, but they lost all their children,
nephews, kings and armies. The Kauravas lost everything
including their own lives. After the war, what did Pāndavas do?
They had to rebuild the entire nation from an emotional and
economical loss. On the way to rebuilding the nation they began
establishing friendship with all the existing heads of the State
from each country. On that course Arjuna was killed by His own
Introduction 9
son Babruvāhana of Manipūra State. Again tensions rose among

the Pāndava brothers and their women. Now they all were
depressed at the demise of Arjuna until Krishna arrived and
brought Arjuna back to life.
The Supreme Lord Krishna is all powerful and appeared on
the planet Earth to reduce the burden of the atheist kings and to
destroy the innumerable demons inhabiting the planet Earth.
After 125 years, and on the request of Lord Brahma, He
disappeared to the spiritual world by the means of a
‘transcendental disappearance strategy’. Through the presence of
Lord Krishna, the Yadu dynasty became most powerful. There
were no enemies who could defeat them. In such a situation the
destruction of the Yadu dynasty could only take place from
within, as arranged by Lord Krishna alone. Throughout 125 years
of Krishna’s presence on the planet, no outsiders could dare to
even look at them with enmity; whoever tried were destroyed.
Many people are dubious about the Lord’s disappearance
and think that He died due to mother Gāndhāri and brāhmanas’
curse. But mother Gāndhāri and brāhmanas’ curse was just a
medium for Krishna to make His dynasty and Himself disappear
from the earthly vision. Consider how Lord Krishna brought the
dead son of his spiritual master back to life, He brought Arjuna
back to life from the death, and He brought the grandson of
Pāndavas, Parikshit, back to life when he was killed by the
weapon of brahmāstra by Aswathāma. How, then, is it possible
that He could fail to protect His own life? Those who have
studied the scriptures or heard from a bona-fide as like Vyāsa
deva, Sukadeva goswāmi and vaishnava achāryas about the
pastimes of Lord Krishna will have no doubt about Krishna’s
transcendental appearance and disappearance. Krishna is like the
sun, it is always present in the sky, but due to the movements of
the planets and the covered by clouds, it appears to be manifested
differently. In the Bhagavad-Gītā 4-9 verse Krishna says:
janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows My supernatural birth and activities in truth,

after giving up his present material body does not take birth
again in this material world, but attains Me. O Arjuna”.
Solution
It is useless to try to sow seeds in a barren land or to find water in
a desert. When someone is immersed in materialistic desires,
wants and goods, their limited mind and senses cannot
comprehend God and His energies. To attain a matured
understanding of spiritual nature, one is required to make a
complete submission and surrender to the complete spiritual
person, Krishna. Therefore, with improper knowledge of the
divinity of the spiritual substance, there is no real peace or
satisfaction available in any corner of this material world.
Political leaders are only making an endeavor to solve social,
economic and international problems by their trivial material
experiences. Yet, if one systematically studies the instructions of
the divine philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gītā, given by the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna, and
implements the teachings in their nation, it is possible for
everyone to be completely happy while they are passing through
this condemned material existence.
Before the war ensued Arjuna took complete shelter with
Lord Krishna because he was caught up in familial love with his
enemies Kauravas, headed by Bhīshma deva and his other
cousins. Consequently, Arjuna refused to fight the war for
victory. This was an impetus for Krishna to give Arjuna the
Bhagavad-Gītā sermon, yet the purpose of this sermon was also
to fulfill the integral purpose of His appearance in the material
world: to establish Dharma- religion. Everyone in this world is in
a similar dilemma to the one that Arjuna was facing. Material life
is actually a struggle for existence; foolishly we think that this
struggle for making money and trying hard to put our life
together itself is happiness. Yet, our very lives are temporary in
nature, just like water drops on lotus leaves. Material life is real,
but it is temporary, our body is temporary, our family is
temporary, everything we use is temporary. However, the soul is
eternal and our existence therefore is eternal. A human being is
endowed with higher intelligence, yet one who is not aware of
Introduction 11
his own bodily demise and do not enquire to solve the problem is
none other than an two legged animal, dvipād pasu.
The sufferings of material life are voluntarily accepted
through acceptance of the material body in the material world.
Our souls are like oil, and our bodies are like water. Although
water and oil may stay together in a container, they never mix.
Similarly, the material body never mixes with soul. Just like
water mixes with water and oil mixes with oil; spirit soul needs
spiritual body. Actually the spirit soul has its own spiritual body,
but it is covered by the material elements. All that one has to do
is to develop the spiritual body by linking with the Supreme to
remain happy and prosperous.
There are billions of people all over the world. In spite of
their powerful influence, they hardly look at the real problems of
life, and they do not assess the reasons why all these adversities
are happening to them and to the world. The mistake is that 99%
of people are trying to solve their problems in their own way. In
the midst of solving their problems they have no time to think
about the source of life and how we met with this superficial
temporary material body. Unless one is awakened to the position
of questioning his sufferings and inconveniences, unless one
realizes that he doesn’t want suffering, but rather wants to find a
solution to end all his sufferings, one will not get guidance from
the Supreme Lord from within. Humanity begins when this sort
of inquiry comes in one’s mind. Brahma-sūtra therefore says
athāto brahma-jijnasa, it means: ‘now you have got human form
of life and therefore you must inquire into the truth of your
origin’.
However, no one tries to understand the truth of one’s
valuable human form of life. Many people believe in the
transmigration of the soul, but they also feel relieved by thinking
that even if they fall into the lives of dogs and hogs, it is ok for
them because they think, no one remembers the past life. They
are so foolish, they do not realize that they have already passed
through all of these eight million forms of life before they came
to the human form. What is the necessity for them to go back to
the inferior life forms again? Why don’t they think to spiritually
advance by using the human form of life? Even in the human
form of life there is not even a single embodied soul happy in
this world by forgetting the reality of the self. The material
universe presents relative happiness to all embodied living
entities and if anyone thinks that this relative happiness is
ultimate happiness, then they do not know the definition of real
happiness, which is spiritual bliss. Like the musk deer, the deer
has kastūri (musk) in his navel, but the deer looks for that
fragrance all over the place not knowing the fragrance is
emanating from its own navel. Similarly, the unlimited happiness
is concealed in the heart of all living entities, unfortunately, due
to ignorance of this fact, poor living entities search for happiness
in all material objects, except in one’s own self, which is the
relative happiness.
Undoubtedly there are some sense satisfactions in the
material life, the sense satisfaction is compared to eating a plastic
apple, by eating a plastic apple man can get sick and, therefore,
to imagine enjoying such artificial apple is not real happiness.
Those who begin to question why they are suffering or where
their life began from and where they will go after death, are the
proper students for understanding the Bhagavad-Gītā. They must
seek the solution to the problem of life from a great soul, devoted
completely to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
Lord Sri Krishna or take lessons from Krishna Himself, like
Arjuna sought help from the incorrigible tensions.
When one sits in a stadium with 100,000 other people to
watch a sport or a show, all 100,000 people are individual
personalities, but share a common interest for which they have
gathered together. Similarly, all individuals have their own
material problems, but once any individual realizes the problem
with his material desires and material things, all such individuals
take shelter unto the Supreme Lord, the Supreme spiritual master
and Godhead of sentient beings. By doing so the individual may
cross over the material ocean with and find a single unity and
peace. To be sure, it is a good idea to desire to be peaceful and
Introduction 13
happy, but the material world is not programmed that way by the
Lord. It is only after attaining God that we get the desired peace
and happiness. Everyone born in this world is a criminal, due to
disobedience of the laws of God, and thus no criminal can give
happiness to another criminal, but only torture. Therefore Lord
Krishna says, mam upataitu kaunteya dukhālayam asāsvatam:
after attaining Me, those who are My devotees, never return to
this temporary world, which is full of miseries.
Different forms of life
All species of life in the material world lead a universal life, and
what is common for everyone is that they must depend on the
natural resources of life. There are four necessities of life: eating,
sleeping, reproducing and defending. To maintain the body,
whether one is a man, or animal or any other species of life, one
needs to meet these four necessities, which is universal. And
although eating is universal; what one eats is not universal.
Sleeping is universal; but where one sleeps is not universal.
Similarly, sex and defense is also universal, but different people
adopt different external styles for these actions according to their
country of birth. There are also four universal miseries, death,
birth, old age and disease. Everyone born in this world, whether
they are human, animal or any other species of life, must undergo
these miseries. There are material elements - earth, water, fire,
air, ether, which are also universal for everyone. To remain in
this world all these elements are required.
So, ‘I am this' and 'I am that’ is ‘ahankāra', or pride due to
one’s higher status of family of birth, country, education, beauty,
money or power. Based on these false ideas people have created
diverse religions. These unnatural foundations of various
religions have created many divisions in human society leading
to wars against one another. These counter-religions created only
unfathomable and erroneous philosophies in the human society.
In the end, no matter if we are Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Jew,
we all turn into ashes, or mix with the natural elements.
Essentially, this means that we all meet the same end. There is a
religion, which is common for all material and spiritual classes,

which has been forgotten by the human society. That is the
religion of the soul, which links the soul with the Supreme. That
religion is beyond time and space; it is mentioned in the Vedās,
which is the oldest universal manual, for all humanity which
discloses the factual truth of religion.
Krishna is the source of all incarnations
The Vedās talk every details on God. The definition of God is,
one who has no origin and is the source of both matter and spirit.
God has, formerly, two expansions svāmsa and vibhinnāmsa.
svāmsas are personal expansions and vibhinnāmsas are separated
expansions. For instance: personal expansions are like many
lamps, which equally supply heat and light, vibhinnāmsas are
like particles of lamps. All Vishnu and Narayana are direct
expansions with full and all opulences. vibhinnāmsas are
separated individual beings with minute opulences. Supersoul is
manifestation of the Supreme Godhead. Therefore, Godhead is
the original source of both soul and Supersoul. As far as God’s
name goes, all His names were given by His devotees based on
His activities and qualities. Consequently, He has innumerable
names, and the prime name He attributed for Himself is Krishna,
means all attractive. krishnas tu bhagavan svayam, tayor aikyam
parabrahman krishna iti abhidiyate - Krishna is said to be
Parabrahman and Bhagavān. He is all attractive because He has
all wealth, all power, all beauty, all fame, all knowledge and all
detachment. Therefore, the name Krishna cannot be attributed to
any particular religious denominations.
Krishna is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
There are three aspects of Krishna - Brahman, Paramātma and
Bhagavān. Krishna or Bhagavān is the final aspect of Godhead.
Brahman and Paramātma are His plenary portions. Brahman is
His dazzling transcendental bodily effulgence, which saintly
people convey to the general mass as 'God is light. Paramātma is
His localized plenary portion situated in everyone’s heart to
fulfill their desires and to witness their actions. Bhagavān is
Introduction 15
Krishna Himself and He is the ultimate stage of God realization.

Krishna has a beautiful sat- eternity, cit- full of conscious,
ānanda – blissful form and He is the Supreme Person, the One
without a second. When modern people talk of God as formless,
that is the light originating from the body of Lord Krishna, and is
called Brahman effulgence. Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gītā,
brahmano hi pratishtāham, 'I am the source of the impersonal
Brahman'. Lord Sri Krishna explains further in Bhagavad-Gītā
that He is purushottma, Supreme Person. All living entities are
part and parcel of Krishna, like the sun and its molecules. The
origin of everything is the Supreme Lord Krishna. Human
society has divided itself based on the religious confusion, but
the spiritual truth is that there is only one God and all religious
faiths also believe that there is only one God. Now who is that
one God? Krishna is not just the God for vaishnavas and
brāhmanas or Hindus, He is not the domination of one section of
people, and He is God for everyone, whether they understand
Him or not. Bhagavad-Gītā was narrated by Sri Krishna five
thousands of years ago, at a time when the human society was
not divided.
One would not see in the Bhagavad-Gītā ‘Krishna uvācha’,
meaning ‘Krishna has said’. Although the Bhagavad-Gītā was
spoken by Sri Krishna, one only sees the expression: ‘Sri
Bhagavān uvācha’, meaning ‘Sri Bhagavān said’. There are
many prophets and representatives of God and none of them
claimed that they are God, but Krishna has claimed that He is
that Absolute Truth, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. Krishna gave the Bhagavad-Gītā around BC 3236
years ago, thereafter Lord Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and
Mohammed appeared. All were presented philosophical treatise
on the science of God, but none claimed to be the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, based on a
misunderstanding of the different features of the Godhead,
humanity has drifted further and further away from spirituality. A
unity of this diverse material world can only be attained, if one
accepts a view of the true goal of life that is based on the soul
platform, but not on the bodily platform. The bodily concept of

life is that I am American, I am Russian, I am European, I am
black, I am white, I am woman, I am man, I am Hindu, I am
Muslim, I am Christian, etc.
The bluish Krishna is unlike the different individual
embodied beings; living entities are many, and all living entities
are different individual souls. In the light of this concept, no one
shall create so many gods. The name of God is Krishna. He is
incomprehensible to our material intelligence, mind and senses.
Neither Moses, to whom God spoke the Ten Commandments nor
Jesus the powerful preacher of Godhead nor Mohammed the
representative of God claimed that they were God. How can then
be, mere human beings claim that they are God? And those who
worship any human being as a God are misguided. A perfect
human can become a guru or spiritual master, but not a God.
Consider that if they could, and everyone could become a God,
what would be the importance of God?
While there is evidence from spiritual authorities that the
Bhagavad-Gītā was spoken by Sri Krishna directly to Arjuna,
there is some speculation to the contrary that prevails in this
world among the materially well-educated scholars; they believe
that the impersonal Brahman assumed the form of Krishna and
that the supreme light expounded the Bhagavad-Gītā through
Krishna. Yet, at the time when Krishna expounded the
Bhagavad-Gītā to Arjuna, Arjuna saw that it was Krishna who
was speaking the science. Arjuna witnessed Krishna explaining
that everything is created, maintained and destroyed by Him, and
not the ‘impersonal Brahman’. The impersonal Brahman does
not have a mouth, an ear, an eye or a nose. The impersonal
Brahman also lacks hands and legs, and is formless like a vast
sun shine. One can enjoy life if he has a body, bodiless being is a
ghost moving around with subtle body, consists of mind,
intelligence and false ego. The transcendental features with eyes,
ears, hands and legs are possessed by God alone. Until and
unless modern civilization appreciates that God creates the
universe by His personal transcendental mystic opulences, the
Introduction 17
concept of God as a person will be a mystery for them. Under

this illusion they could waste millions of years on research to
find out who is the proprietor of the universe. Yet, in Brahma
samhita 5-34, Lord Brahma says:
panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo
vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām
so 'py asti yat-prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, only the tip of the toe of
whose lotus feet is approached by the yogis who aspire after the
transcendental and betake themselves to prānayāma by drilling
the respiration; or by the jnānis who try to find out the non-
differentiated Brahman by the process of elimination of the
mundane, extending over thousands of millions of years”.
Everyone can understand how great the speed of mind is.
Although sitting in one place one can travel mentally millions of
miles away. It is herein stated that even if one travels at this
speed for billions of years, Krishna will still remain
inconceivable. The word muni-pungavānam in the above
mentioned verse by Lord Brahma refers to a great thinker, not an
ordinary man. Even if such a great thinker travels for millions of
years at the speed of mind, he will still find the Supreme Lord
incomprehensible. But Krishna is obtainable easily for those who
have taken Krishna Bhakti through the medium of a bona fide
spiritual master.
While illuminating the Bhagavad-Gītā Krishna did NOT
give any such false idea to Arjuna by saying something like “O
Arjuna it is the impersonal Brahman within My body which is
illustrating this Bhagavad-Gītā, and ‘I’ Krishna, am the only
instrument”. This is the evidence that it was not a senseless
impersonal Brahman but Krishna, the Bhagavān, who expounded
the Bhagavad-Gītā. It is by pure speculation that people believe
God is light, or that there is a cosmic energy which controls the
entire cosmic order. However, within our experience there is no
such thing which automatically took place in such a way; behind
everything, there was always a person. Thus, it is foolish to think

that just because one has not located the personality of Godhead,
creation must be automatic or spontaneous.
Consider the laws of the government. Whatever we might
do in questioning whether such laws are correct, we must
nevertheless accept that these are the particular laws we have.
They are given to us by the government and we must accept that
this is how the law is. Material laws may change, and they may
even develop to be more effective. However, we must all accept
that we cannot change what they are at any given moment, we
must accept what the laws are in the present and that, in an
important sense, they are beyond our control – they are the laws
of the government, and are not our own. In this way, no one can
challenge the Vedic scriptures, the laws of God, which are eternal
and completely established. They must be accepted for what they
are, as they are given to us by God. Only then can one save one’s
time investigating into the truth of God’s creation.
Arjuna was very reluctant to fight the war because he was
thinking about the bad karma he would have to carry for killing
all those people. However, Krishna reassured him that He is the
Cosmos, He is the Parabrahman, and He is the Universal form.
Arjuna was assured that there is no law that can bind Krishna.
Bhagavad-Gītā - 4-14
na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā
iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate
“I am never affected by any kind of karma; nor do I seek any
result of fruitive results. One who knows this truth regarding Me
also becomes free from the entanglement of the reactions of
karma”. Arjuna should, then, carry out the orders of the Lord
without fear of anything outside the source that is Krishna.
Krishna manifested His cosmic body for Arjuna by giving him a
special vision. The Lord explained that everything, whatever was
in the cosmic body is ‘His’. Since this had never been shown to
anybody before, Arjuna concluded that Krishna is God. This is
affirmed by the mahā rishis, the great sages like Nārada muni,
Introduction 19
Srila Vyāsa deva, Asita muni, Devalarshi, who are all spiritual
authorities and have witnessed Krishna’s activities and
concluded that He is the God of the cosmos.
Difference between Jīva and God
Many philosophers compare jīva and God are one and the same.
Many people think the Vedic aphorism ‘tattvamasi'- you are the
same, or 'so ‘ham'- I am that." as the mahāvākya. But both of
these aphorisms only indicate that we are spirit souls and are not
identified with the material body. In the Bhagavad-Gītā, Krishna
and in the Chaitanya Charitamrta, Lord Sri Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu, overpowered this notion held by the nescient
people, and who have misinterpreted these aphorisms. At many
times, impersonalists have thought that when all jīvās (living
entities) reach their ultimate stage of perfection they merge into
the impersonal light. When this argument is meticulously
questioned and a real explanation has given by the vaishnava
saints from Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-Gītā and
Upanishads, the impersonalists respond by stating that the
vaishnavas are political. But actually, it is the impersonalists who
are politicizing this issue because they want to become God and
want to live like God. Politics means I want to bring down the
opponent from his position and I want to be in that position. Lord
Jesus Christ too quoted from Bible that ‘man is made in the
image of God’. Therefore there is no question of God being
formless or impersonal. Anybody trying to imitate God or to
occupy God’s position is an offender to the Lotus feet of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.
Lord Sri Chaitanya said that tattvamasi is secondary vākya,
and Omkāra is only the mahāvākya, or primary aphorism. In the
sāstra, the following is revealed:
a-karenocyatekrishna sarva-lokaika-nāyakah
u-karenocyateRādha ma-karojīva-vācakah
Pranāva or Omkāra is a mixture of the letters A, U and M.
The letter ‘a’ kara (letter) refers to Krishna, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, who is the nāyaka, or the

leader, of all living entities and the owner of the universes of the
material and spiritual. The letter ‘u’ kara is Krishna’s internal
potency. It indicates the pleasure potency of Krishna, Srīmati
Rādharani, and the letter ‘m’ kara indicates that living entities
that are the marginal potency of Krishna. Thus, AUM is the
complete combination of Krishna, His potency and His eternal
servitors. For this reason it is called Vāsudeva kutumbhakam –
the family of Lord Vāsudeva. Thus, Omkāra represents Krishna
with His complete name, form, pastimes, entourage, expansions,
devotees, potencies and everything else pertaining to Him.
‘praṇāva’ se mahāvākya — vedera nidāna
īśvara-svarūpa praṇava sarva-viśva-dhāma
“It is the goal of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead to present pranāva (Omkāra) as the ocean of all Vedic
knowledge. The jīvās are being limited, the words ‘tattvamasi’
are only a partial explanation of the Vedic knowledge”. Adi lila
CC 7-128
However, the leading māyavādi Sripāda Shankarācharya,
who was asked to preach a philosophy of nirākara (formless),
truly indicated that God has no form and qualities. This statement
misguided the people of Kali-yuga. Lord Krishna is sad-guna
sampanna; this means that He has no material forms like human
beings. However, He does have His own form, and this form is
spiritual in nature. The birth and qualities of Krishna is
mentioned by the Lord in the 4th chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā.
Therefore, indicating the innocence of Shankarāchārya, in the
form of Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord Krishna said:
āchāryera doṣa nāhi, īśvara-ājñā haila
ataeva kalpanā kari' nāstika-śāstra kaila
“It is not the fault of Sripāda Shankarāchārya who merely
carried out the order of the Supreme Majestic Godhead Krishna
to present his own philosophical thesis in such a way that has
distorted people’s perceptions by presenting it as similar to an
atheistic philosophy, like that of Buddhism”.
Introduction 21
Sripāda Shankarāchārya was born in Kerala State of

Southern India, in the province of Kāladi. Within his birth place
there is a beautiful Krishna temple. Sripada Shankarāchārya is an
incarnation of Lord Siva, who was asked to spread the
philosophy of māyāvāda (jīva and God is one) to establish an
illusory presentation of the Supreme Personality of the Godhead
Lord Krishna. It is described in the Padma Purāna 42.110, in
which the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead says to
Lord Siva:
svāgamaih kalpitaistvam ca janān mad-vimukhan kuru
mam ca gopaya yenasyat srstir esottarottara
“Please make the general populace averse to Me by imagining
your own interpretation of the Vedās. Also, cover Me in such a
way that people will take more interest in advancing material
civilization just to propagate a population bereft of spiritual
knowledge”. In the contemporary time of life, civilized people
are taking more and more interests in material civilization, and
improving material amenities and comforts. But the main
problems of death, birth, old age and disease are still persistent,
as it was from the beginning of the creation.’ Furthermore, Lord
Siva said to His wife Goddess Pārvati:
māyavādam asac-chāstram
pracchannam bauddham uchyate
mayaivavihitam devi
kalau-brahmanya-mūrtina
“Lord Siva informed goddess Pārvati: ‘In the Age of Kali, I take
the form of a brāhmana and describe the Vedās through false
scriptures in an atheistic format, similar to Buddhist philosophy.”
Padma Purāna 25.7.
Lord Siva was asked by Krishna to preach the concept of
formless Krishna to the people of Kali-yuga. When God has no
form, quality and pastimes, and a true meaning of life is not
transmitted to people, they could be inspired to work in
economic developments, material growths and sexual activities,
this defines the happiness for the materialistic person and is what
exactly happening now in the world by the mercy of Lord Siva.
Lord Siva explains to Goddess Pārvati in Padma Purāna:
srnu devi pravaksyāmi tamasāniyatha-kramam
yesam-sravana-mātrena pātityam-jnānināmapi
apartham-srutivākyanam darsayal-lokagarhitam
karma-svaroopa-tyajyatva mātra ca pratipādyate
sarva-karma-paribhramsan naiskarmyam-tattracochyate
parātma-jīvayor aikyam mayatra pratipadyate
“My dear wife, hear my explanations of how I have spread
ignorance through māyāvāda philosophy. Simply by hearing it,
even an advanced scholar will fall down. In this philosophy,
which is certainly very inauspicious for people in general, I have
misrepresented the real meaning of the Vedās and recommended
that one give up all activities in order to achieve freedom from
karma. In this māyāvāda philosophy, I have described the
jīvātma- soul and Paramātma- God to be one and the same”.
Srīpāda Shankarācharya’s teachings were based on his own
imagined composition of distorted scriptural verses, and are
therefore not based on the sāstric injunctions, and it is supported
by Lord Siva in Padma Purāna. He had not referred verses of the
sāstra while he was conversing, in his writings, nor did he quote
verses of the Brhama sūtra or Srimad-Bhāgavatam and
Bhagavad-Gītā. Without referring to sāstric quotation, one
cannot conclude and accept the authority of Godhead, Lord Sri
Krishna. It is said therefore
sruti smrti-purānadi pancharātra vidhim vinā
aikan tiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate
“If one wants to demonstrate his great devotion to the Supreme
Lord but his process of devotional service violates the standard
rules of revealed scriptures such as Sruti, Smrti, Purānas and
Nārada Pancharātra, then his alleged love of Godhead will
simply disturb society by misleading people from the auspicious
path of spiritual advancement” Bhakti rasamrta sindhu 1-2-101
Introduction 23
Consequently Srīpāda indirectly and deliberately

eliminated the authority of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead Lord Krishna. However, he composed Govindam
prayers in his final year, which directly demonstrated the
insignificance of the material, sensual attractions and
fundamental meaning of the truth of Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Later, however, he
proclaimed to his followers “sa bhagavān svayam krishna”, it
means that the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is
Krishna Himself; Nārāyana paro avyaktāt, Lord Nārāyana is
beyond the material creation; Govindam bhaje mūdamate, fools!
Chant the name of Lord Govinda (Krishna). There is only one
Krishna, He is Krishna Himself. According to sages and spiritual
preceptors, there is no impersonal Krishna as māyavāda section
of philosophers falsely believed.
Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-Gītā also nullify the
notions of panchopāsana worship, which are too imagined-
kalpana kori, introduced by the same achārya for peoples’
convenience. Srīpāda Shankara, promoted worships of five gods
such as Sūrya, Ganapati, Goddess Durga, Lord Siva and Vishnu.
Their conception of worshipping such deities are to merge into
the existence of the brahmajyoti, which is nothing but the bodily
effulgence of Lord Govinda (Krishna). As Krishna says in the
12th chapter of this book that brahmano hi pratishta aham that I
am the basis of brahmajyoti (impersonal Brahman).
Unfortunately, their imaginations to merge their soul with the
Supreme light is deprived 5000 years ago by Lord Krishna
Himself in the 700 hundred verses of Bhagavad-Gītā and Srila
Vyāsa deva, a literary incarnation of Krishna, in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 18000 verses. Despite the disapproval of the
nirakāra or formless God found in the actual scriptures, people
without reading these spotless scriptures, still follow and quote
the one thousand year old non-sāstric scriptures composed by
Srīpāda Shankara to confuse the people of Kali-yuga.
sāstra is the complete spiritual science about Lord
Krishna’s personal sat-cit-ānanda form and pastimes and it is
given by Lord Krishna Himself as He mentioned in the

Bhagavad-Gītā that vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo, vedānta
krd veda-vid eva cāham. By all the Vedās, I am to be known.
Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the
Vedās. From this statement of the Lord, Krishna does not
advocate that His impersonal light is the supreme, but He is the
supreme. This Brahman effulgence is the energy of Lord
Krishna, Krishna is not energy, but source of energy, like the
electrical energy is controlled by the electric engineer. In the
isopanishad -15, the devotees pray to Lord Krishna to remove
that effulgence, so that they can see the transcendental form of
Lord Krishna, which is ever enchanting to even billions of
cupids.
hiraṇmayena pātreṇa satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham
tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye
O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered
by Your dazzling effulgence. Kindly remove that covering and
exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotees.
Lord Brahma said in Brahma samhita 5-1
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ krishnaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He
has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He
has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
Lord Siva says to Goddess Durgā,
vedārthavān mahāsāstram māyavadam avaidikam
māya eva kathitam devi jagatam nāsakāranat
“The great theory of impersonalism (māyavadā) is non-Vedic,
though taking its meaning from the Vedās, O’ Goddess. It is I
who has told this because it is the root of the destruction of the
worlds”. Padma Purāna.
Naturally, Srīpāda Shankarāchārya was an incarnation of
Lord Siva. He preached the false philosophical doctrine to the
general public under the guidance of the Supreme Lord to make
Introduction 25
them all materialistic rather than approaching the devotional

service of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna. One may ask: why did Krishna do this? The answer is
that in Kali-yuga the easiest method is described for achieving
freedom from birth and death and to go back home to the
Spiritual Kingdom. This was difficult to obtain in other yugas
even after thousands of years of meditation. This “Hare Krishna
mahā-mantra” is most precious, simply by chanting this mahā-
mantra in any situation (social, political, clean and unclean) one
gets entrance to the eternal Kingdom of God in this life. When
the Lord simplified the path to achieve Him, there has to be some
confusion or struggle to obtain the Kingdom of God. Therefore, I
am making an attempt to relay this message given in the Padma
Purāna by Lord Siva to the people of the world. I am presenting
what appeared in the scriptures and given by our dedicated
ācharyas according to the scriptures. Our spiritual master taught
us that scriptures are the basis, purity is the force, preaching is
the essence and utility is the principle. This message can be
understood by any serious member of the society who wants to
save himself from birth and death and who has realized that life
in this world is just as bad as death. This knowledge is very old,
Purānatanah, and understanding it as it is will serve our self-
interest. Therefore, one should follow God, Krishna is the
original Supreme Person. All other religions have founders, but
sanātana dharma has no founder, it is from the beginning of the
creation. The actual science of God is given to humanity by God
Himself.
According to Lord Siva, Srīpāda Shankarācharya’s
philosophy is similar to Buddhist philosophy. Lord Buddha
taught a doctrine of non-violence, and sought to establish non-
violence, including non-violence against animals. The primeval
brāhmanas had been quoting the Vedās while committing
violence on animals, the philosophy of Lord Buddha, therefore,
turned against the Vedās. Srila Jayadeva goswāmi sings in His
dasāvatara sthotra:
nindasi-yajna-vidherahahasruti-jātam,
sadaya-hrdaya-darsita-pasu-ghātam,
kesavadhrta-buddha-sarira-jaya-jagad-isa hare
One of Lord Buddha’s missions was to give people a way to stop
the abominable activity of animal killing, which also spared the
poor animals from being unnecessarily killed. When atheists
were cheating by killing animals on the plea of sacrificing them
in Vedic yajnas, the Lord said, "If the Vedic injunctions allow
animal killing, I do not accept the Vedic principles. So, Lord
Buddha told the brāhmanas to reject the Vedās and to follow
Him. This method was tricky process because Buddha Himself
was an incarnation of Godhead Lord Krishna, and there is an
advantage in following directly God or God's instructions. Lord
Buddha’s philosophy was sūnnyavada or void philosophy,
according to Him there is nothing after death. He believed that
life is the combination of material elements, when one dies all
material elements amalgamate back to the elements and one
attains nirvāna – ending the process of materialistic life. But
Sripada Shankarāchārya, who believed in the existence of God,
at the same time was asked to not to believe in a personal form of
God. Thus, as an impersonalist, he preached advaita-vada, a non-
dualist philosophy: that God and living entities are the same. Yet,
actually there is a difference between God and living entities.
The actual meaning of advaita is that there is no difference
between Krishna’s inside and outside, meaning Krishna’s
spiritual body and Soul. A living being is embodied, Krishna is
not embodied. Having a complete, pūrnam, spiritual body He
never changes His own body. Therefore, He can remember
everything of the past, present and future of all living beings’
billions of past births. Qualitatively everyone is like God,
quantitatively they are different, Krishna is like goldmine and
living entities are like gold jewelry, jewelry are the part of the
goldmine, likewise the jīvās are the part and parcel of Krishna.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gītā 14-7:
mamayonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmyaham
sambhavaḥsarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhārata
Introduction 27
“O son of Bhārata, I am the source of birth of the entire material

existence, called Brahman, I impregnate that womb and make it
possible with birth of all living species”.
Kali-yuga
The most predominant characteristic of the age of Kali is that
people accept God as a human being and human being as God.
This symptom of Kali-yuga is full of misunderstanding,
confusion, hypocrisy, and quarrels. This starts from the
insignificant material life and continues through this the so-called
high quality religion. People are confused about whom they
should really worship and believe-in. In television serials,
wealthy men with their wealth advertise different gods as the
supreme, whomever they like, without understanding the
conclusion of Vedic literature. Because of their confusion, they
adopt so many methods of worship and, in this way, no one can
focus their consciousness in the proper manner of worship. As
the saying goes ‘a servant of many is servant of nobody.’ Before
leaving this world Sripada Shankarācharya gave his followers his
philosophical conclusion by stating the true Personality of
Godhead is Lord Krishna. Moreover, he stated in his govindam
prayers:
bhajagovindam bhajagovindam
govindam bhaje mūdha-mate,
samprāptesannihite kāle
na hi na hi raksatidukrn-karane
You fools and rascals, all your grammatical word jugglery of
suffixes, prefixes and philosophical speculation will not save you
at the time of death. Just chant Govinda's name! Chant Govinda's
name! Chant Govinda's name! Govinda is another name for Lord
Krishna.
When it is emphasized that chanting the name of Govinda
three times is more serious and more beneficial, the main
message here is that one should chant with utmost sincerity and
one should immerse oneself in chanting the name of the Lord
“Bhaja Govindam” rather than getting engrossed in materialistic
desires, wealth, and social status. The “grammar rules”

mentioned here is a metaphor for secular knowledge and material
objects. Consequently, the message implies that all these material
objects will not save one, in the end one leaves behind all these
things. The only thing that helps the person is the spiritual
knowledge and chanting the name of the Supreme Lord! Sripāda
Shankarāchārya said that the Bhagavad-Gītā is the sweetest
nectar of philosophical knowledge of Godhead, bhagavad-gītā
kinchana dhītā, yamena na charcha; let a man read but a little
from the Bhagavad-Gītā, he then will have no disagreement with
the Lord of death, Yamarāja.
All living entities are the combination of Jada shakti-
matter and jīva shakti- soul. Material body is always dead even
while living; it is the spirit soul that makes the body active.
Therefore, according to Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Srimad-
Bhagavad-Gītā, just maintaining the body is not the goal of
human life. If everyone is educated spiritually then all the
problems of the material world will automatically vanquish.
There are many issues going on in the world. The so-called
advancement of corrupt civilization are the root causes of all
irreligiosities. It is, therefore, impossible to check and protect
against all corruption, bribery and partiality. We should always
make a maximum effort to curb these enemies of human beings.
There is nothing wrong in the quality efforts of sincere
communities, and the State and Federal government to check all
these evils by various means such as through legislative acts,
intelligent bureaus, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
police vigilance. However, the diseases of the mind can only be
perfectly cured through the correct medicine. This is, namely, by
advocating the principles of religion, such as austerity,
cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness, which are the pillars of
religion.
God, Living entities, Material nature, Time, and Karma
Five main subjects are discussed in the Bhagavad-Gītā: God- the
supreme controller; the jīvas- the souls; prakṛti- the material
Introduction 29
nature; time- by making everything move and function, time is

represented in the creation, and the maintenance and destruction
of everything; karma- activity.
God: Out of these five basic elements as the subject matter of the
Bhagavad-Gītā, the greatest of all is the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna or Parabrahman or
Paramātma. Although the Supreme Godhead Krishna has no
source, He is the source of everything. People foolishly ask who
created God. Actually, God is the only one who has no
beginning, this is why He is called God, He who has no mother,
no father, and no grandfather, and rather He is the father of even
Lord Brahma. pitāham asya jagato, mātatāda pitāmah; I am the
father, mother, grandsire of the entire universe. He is the
supreme controller of everyone, and is therefore called isvara.
His body is unlike that of human beings, thus He has no material
body; His body is made of eternality, knowledge and bliss. There
is no difference between His body and soul. He expands into
many tiny individual souls to fill up creation and He sets
everything in motion. He creates material worlds and spiritual
worlds, He manifests time, and He introduces karma or actions
for all living entities. There is no one equal to Him nor anyone
superior to Him. Therefore, in this way, He is the source of
everything, and He has no source. The Vedic literature glorifies
Him as the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Consequently, it is irrational to ask ‘who created God?’ God
creates everything and everyone, God is the creator and no one
can create God. As illustrated in the Vedās:
tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ
taṁ devatānāṁ paramaṁ ca daivatam
patiṁ patīnāṁ paramaṁ parastād
vidāma devaṁ bhuvaneśam īḍyam
na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate
na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate
parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate
svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca
"The Supreme Lord is the controller of all other controllers, and

He is the greatest of all the diverse planetary leaders. Everyone is
under His control. All entities are delegated with particular
power only by the Supreme Lord; they are not supreme
themselves. He is suitable to be worshipped by all demigods, and
is the supreme director of all directors. Therefore, He is
transcendental to all kinds of material leaders and controllers and
is able to be worshipped by all. There is no one greater than Him,
and He is the supreme cause of all causes”.
Jivātmas – living entities or souls are similar in quality with the
Supreme Brahman Krishna, but in quantity they are different
from God. Krishna is like the ocean and living entities are like
drops of water in the ocean. Thus, all living entities are children
of Krishna, they are part and parcels of Krishna, in this sense it is
clear that the souls’ origin is Krishna. A drop of ocean water is
salty, a particle of gold is also gold, similarly, we the living
entities being part and parcel of Krishna also have all the
qualities of the Supreme Lord in small quantities. Therefore,
living entities are also isvaras or controllers, but they are small
controllers, they are controllers of their family, territory, village,
etc. They are only trying to control their family, office, subjects,
and the money that they have. Our controlling power is limited
because our capacity is limited, being infinitesimal in
comparison to Krishna. We cannot create a universe or planets,
change seasons, produce food in nature, or create water and air,
etc. So, living entities are not God, but they are the children of
God, they are dependent, not independent. If someone says that
‘everyone is God’, then everyone shall have to prove how he is
God. All living entities are struggling in the material existence
with their sixth senses known as the mind; therefore, living
entities cannot be God because God does not struggle in life or
for life.
There are billions of souls. They are uncountable. Trees and
plants in the forest, fishes in the oceans, microbes, worms,
reptiles, birds, animals, human beings and demigods, etc. They
Introduction 31
are all different, individual souls. Unfortunately, one is what he

is, he cannot know another person, and wherever he goes he can
only see the things that are around him and experience whatever
objects are there. For instance, if one lives in one city whatever
he sees there, is what he sees, if he leaves that city and goes to
another city he loses sight of the former city. So, living entities
are limited to their body like individual light bulbs which are
limited to supplying light to a particular location. Therefore, they
are called conditioned souls in the material world. God, however,
is like the Sun and can be seen everywhere and He is therefore
omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient.
Material nature: The Supreme Lord has control over everything
in the universal affairs of material nature. He is not limited to
time and space of any world, He is unlimited like the sun, which
profusely supplies light to the whole world. Material nature
works in the three modes: goodness, passion and ignorance.
These modes create diversities among human-beings and other
living entities. Most of them are in the mixed modes. In a similar
way, everything that is created in the material world are in the
three modes, whether it is people, fruits, vegetables, water, food,
mantra, time, books, place, entertainment, etc. All are under the
three modes of material nature.
This material nature does not work independently. As
Krishna says in the 9th chapter, 10th verse maya adhyaksena
prakriti, suyate ca charācharam, this material nature is working
under My direction. When we see wonderful things happening in
the cosmic nature, we should know that behind such cosmic
manifestation there is a controller. Nothing could be manifested
without being energized and controlled by a person. Without
control, everything will be lost and that is our experience. All
living entities and all kinds of bodies are controlled; everyone
can see the sun and the moon rising and setting on time since
time immemorial. Seasons are changing every year on time.
Foods and fruits are produced, air and water is supplied without
any hindrance. It is childish not to consider that there is a
controller. For instance, a child may see that a giant ferry wheel
is rotating, but does not perceive the operator who pushes the
button. Similarly, the Supreme Lord steers the material nature
and everything is working under His direction. It is stated in
Bhagavad-Gītā 9 – 8 verse:
prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhyavisṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnamavaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt
“The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is
automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is
annihilated at the end”.
Time: Above the material nature there is eternal time. Time is
the dynamic impersonal manifestation of the Supreme Lord. It is
because of time that everything comes to existence, everything
changes, and everything is destroyed: from flower bearing trees,
fruits, the bodies of all living entities, death, birth, old age and
disease and the curing of disease, the appearance of the universe
and the annihilation of the universe. Every object in this world,
be an electronic device, a gold necklace or a small hammer
comes into existence due to the influence of time, and everything
vanishes due to the influence of time. No one can stop the
influence of time, it is just like the ocean tide. Krishna says in the
Bhagavad-Gītā that kālosmi ‘time I am, destroyer of worlds’.
All activities are carried out under time. All activities have
to be approved by time. To prepare a masterpiece, the mind is
always coming up with proposals followed by discussions with
others. In fact all these discussions, preparations and
manifestation of all activities are under the influence of time.
These activities are being carried out from time immemorial,
under the influence of time, and we are suffering or enjoying the
fruits of our activities. We are happy when good time arrives and
unhappy when bad time arrives, so time is executing all
activities. Due to their pride and their bodily concept of life,
living entities cannot see that everything is carried out for them
under the influence of time.
Introduction 33
Karma: Action that helps development of the body is called

karma. There are different activities going on under karma and
there are different resultant reactions under karma. Many times
conscious living beings are engaged against scripture approved
activities by taking advantage of their developed consciousness
and material situation. It is due to the independent nature of the
living entities that they are able to engage in these forbidden
activities. As a result they all are forced to suffer the results of
various miseries.
There are three types of klesas or miseries. The first is the
adhyatmika klesa, the misery created by the body and mind. The
physical body is the root cause of all diseases. The body is the
combination of many organs and all those organs are subjected to
infection. One does not need to seek unhappiness outside of
oneself, the mind and body itself is enough to put one in misery
through thousands of various physiological diseases and
psychological traumas. Even during the sleep, mind brings awful
dreams and makes one suffer. Without purifying the mind with
spiritual remedy one’s mental activities cannot be controlled.
adhibhautika klesa: The second misery, or klesa, is due to
other living entities of the society. When we speak about society,
there are many living entities included: cats, dogs, bees, snakes,
mosquitoes, flies, our own family members, relatives, neighbors,
friends, teachers, merchants, etc. Because of so much social
selfish interactions, one only derives unhappiness. Relationships
and friendships bring only flickering happiness. One may be a
friend and close relative today, but tomorrow they may be
enemies and will even try to kill each other for few coins. And
apart from them, are there not millions of other living souls that
inflict many troubles upon human beings?
Finally, there is adhidvaivika klesa, the miseries caused
directly by the material nature such as earthquakes, tsunamis,
hurricanes, storms, volcanic eruptions, excessive rain and floods,
weather which is too cold or too hot. Due to these tortures by
material nature, human beings and other living entities become
disconcerted. One or the other of these three klesas always exists
in one’s life. In every field of life one enjoys good results of

one’s work, or suffers as a result of work or actions. This is
called karma. But this karma is temporary, as nothing is
permanent in this world including oneself (the body), and
happiness or misery. Unexpectedly, one faces losses or gains in
this world due to one’s previous action (karma), whether this is
by money or position. So, one must study the nature of the world
and should not act like inhuman that do not care for spiritual life.
Animals are already punished with animal bodies. A human
being is rewarded with a human body and one should not waste
one’s valuable human form in the frivolous activities of inhuman,
by doing so, one will lose the human form of life. Everything is
controlled by God, His Material nature and Time based on our
karma. Therefore, one must engage oneself in devotional service
to Krishna and, thereafter, derive fearlessness and unceasing
happiness. That is the real karma-yoga or real action
No one has perfect senses in the material world. When one
has cataracts, all objects appear to be blurry. There is no way
such a person can see the objects of the world with clarity, and a
surgery may be necessary to have a clear vision. Therefore, our
exploration of the truth through defective senses provides us only
with defective answers. Vedic knowledge is apaurusheya: it is
beyond the human mind and intellect. One can realize the
meaning of the Vedic truth only after rising above human
defectiveness. Therefore, without arguing with Vedic knowledge
one should take it as it is and see the world with the eyes of the
Vedic knowledge. We have to accept ideal knowledge as it is
without argumentation, that knowledge has come down from
God Himself. The Bhagavad-Gītā is expounded by God, Lord
Krishna to remove the defects of men’s vision of the
manifestation of the universe and the creation of the living
entities, just as the removal of cataracts.
All human beings, with their powerful material intellect and
minds, have four defects in virtue of which they make mistakes:
they are in illusion; they have the propensity to cheat; their
senses are not capable of seeing the real objects; and, they have
Introduction 35
imperfect senses, even when it comes to what they can perceive.

People commit many sinful activities as a result of being under
these illusions and imperfections. However, one can increase the
fortune of one’s life by becoming purely situated, that is, by
doing nishakāma karma and living without material
contamination. One must not eat meat, fish and eggs, indulge in
illicit sex, drink alcohol and gambling one’s wealth. Those who
indulge in these activities forbidden by the scriptures decrease
one’s piety or fortune day by day and in the end they will be
without luck and only misfortune prevail in their life. If more one
satisfies material body, the more one is entangled in material
miserable life and such a person is like an airplane flying without
radar or with no real aim in life, which is the general human
tendency. People in general, when they make extra money as a
result of extra business incentives or bonuses, they make plan to
buy meat and wine. This shall be stopped if one really wants to
increase one’s good fortune. There is no way that one can
progress in either material life or spiritual life without following
the path of dharma (religion). If one is rich in this lifetime, it is
due to one’s previous good karma, but present life’s actions will
lead to one’s next life and prosperity will depend on one’s
present pious activities, or lack thereof. Even selfless social and
communal services without Krishna is not recommended by the
scriptures. It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 1-5-14,
naikarmyam apy achyuta-bhāva-varjitam
na sobhate jnānam alam niranjanam
kutah punah sasvad abhadram isvare
na cārpitam karma yad apy ākaranam
“The selfless activities, being free from the reactions of fruitive
work does not consider to be well if that action is devoid of the
conception of the Supreme Lord Krishna. What is the use of the
material activities, which are naturally painful from the very
beginning and temporary by nature, if they are not utilized for the
devotional service of the Lord”.
But people in general tend to exploit this temporary body
unlimitedly and seem to accumulate as much sin as possible for
next life. How can they be saved? Saintly people can only offer
guidance for people to be good through spiritual counseling. The
world is not going to be destroyed after our death. A good and
civilized world will continue to flourish even after our death.
One can only comprehend the knowledge of Bhagavad-Gītā
by following regulations fit for humans. Animals have no
regulations. Therefore, when one reads Bhagavad-Gītā or hears
the instructions of the Personality of Godhead and follows one’s
life style based on those instructions one can perfectly increase
their fortune, and become happy in this world and in the next. No
matter who follows the instructions of the Lord, they will be the
winner either at the end of the day or at the end of life.
Kingdom of God:
There are two types of Spiritual Universes, one is called
Vaikuntha-loka and the other is called Goloka-Vrindhāvana.
‘Vai’ means without and ‘kuntha’ means anxiety. Vaikuntha,
thus means ‘where there is no anxiety’. Goloka-Vrindhāvana:
‘go’ means cows and ‘loka’ means universe. ‘Vrinda’ means
Tulasi ‘vana’ means forest. Vrindhāvana, thus means the forest
of Tulasi plants. Put together, Goloka-Vrindhāvana means ‘full
of Surabhi cows’, Tulasi plants and wide varieties of beautiful
and elegant spiritual objects’. There are many millions of
Vaikuntha planets, but there is only one Goloka-Vrindhāvana. Sri
Rādha and Krishna, the quintessence of full knowledge, full bliss
and full consciousness eternally reside in Goloka-Vrindhāvana.
Lord Krishna’s expansion, Lord Nārāyana, resides in Vaikuntha
planets. He has four hands, and holds a conch shell, a sudarshana
chakra, lotus flower, and a mace. Lord Krishna has two hands,
and holds a flute and has peacock feather on His turban. The
residents of Vaikuṇṭha know Nārāyana is God, but residents of
Goloka do not know Krishna is God because Lord Krishna’s
internal potency, yoga-māya covers all resident’s consciousness
from understanding that Krishna is the Absolute Truth. This is to
intensify the resident’s love for Him without any awe and
reverential bondage. In Vaikuntha, the devotees worship Lord
Introduction 37
Nārāyana with respect and adoration for Him. In Goloka-

Vrindhāvana all services, friendships, parental relationships, and
conjugal relationships, are based on the spontaneous devotional
services.
Now how do we know who goes where? There are two
types of devotional services, one is vaidhika-bhakti or devotional
service rendered with principles given in the scriptures, and
another is ragānuga-bhakti or spontaneous loving devotional
service. To have both kinds of devotional service, devotees must
have control over their material senses and mind, and keep
oneself away from all sinful activities of the material world as
mentioned above. They must follow all prescribed principles of
the scriptures and always remain pure in this life. Furthermore,
apart from being free from all these bad behaviors, one must also
chant Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, worship Tulasi every day,
refrain from eating grains and beans on Ekādasi day- 11th day of
waning and waxing moon, fast on Janmāstami day, Rāmanavami
day, etc. Then one is called a devotee of Krishna. These activities
are appropriate for both male and female. One can live a life by
these principles to go either to Vaikuntha universe or to Lord
Krishna’s universe. By following the principles of the Vedic
scriptures and with the association of a spiritual master, one will
start developing a spontaneous love for Krishna. After the
physical death of such a devotee, a spiritual or a divine aircraft
with four divine members comes to take the devotee into the
spiritual universe. (This is explained in the history of Ajamila of
Srimad-Bhāgavatam)
No one can have any permanent relationship with anybody
in this material world, this applies to all relationships, whether
this is one’s wife, husband, children, brother, sister, mother,
father, other relatives or friends. These relationships form after
we take birth in this world under the process of karmic direction
that is available in this world. And under karmic direction all
these relationships vanish at the time of death. Thus, these
relationships were not there before birth, and will not be there
after death as well. Everyone is a child of Krishna; everyone’s
eternal relationship is only with God. Soul and bodies are fully
controlled and maintained by Him. We will never become
powerful enough to control any aspect of God or any
manifestation of His energy, whether it is in the conditioned life
or in the liberated life. We are not all powerful and conscious
like Sri Krishna. We are what we are. If we go to the office, then
we are not in our house, when we are in our house, then we are
not in the office, in this way our consciousness remains limited,
and extends only to the tip of our hair. But Sri Krishna is
omniscient, His consciousness extends to any inner and external
part of the universe without limit.
If one engages in the service of the Lord, ananya bhakti- in
undivided devotional service in one’s life time, one can be
promoted to the eternal kingdom, the Kingdom of God. In that
kingdom there is no sun or moon, fire or electricity. As Lord
Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gītā 15-6:
na tad bhāsayatesuryo na sasanko na pāvakah
yadgatvāna nivartante tad dhāma paramam mama
“That supreme abode of Mine is neither illumined by the sun nor
the moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never
return to this material world.” This material existence is
miserable; in this world it is common for one to find insults,
embarrassment and chastisement. Furthermore, even if someone
does not face these formidable enemies in this material world and
lives comfortably, what is the value of such an existence, since
all comforts are forcibly taken away at the time of death? But in
the spiritual world, there is no misery of death, old age, disease
or birth. There is no air required to breath, nor fire for warming
up or to cook. There are no material senses or sense objects.
There are no diverse religions or diverse concepts of God. In the
Kingdom of God all souls have one goal, to serve the Supreme
Lord like children serve their parents. But some are servants of
Krishna, some are friends of Krishna, some are parents of
Krishna; even though there is only one mother of Krishna,
Krishna gives the status of mother to many women devotees who
Introduction 39
wanted to be His mother, some are lovers of Krishna. There, in

the spiritual world no conditions bind anyone; one can change
one’s form as one wants and assist Krishna in His pastimes.
Though this freedom is endowed to everyone, no one would be
interested in using such personal mystic opulence for their own
happiness, but they do it for Krishna’s happiness. The concept of
servant and master of this world does not exist in the spiritual
world. Consequently, everybody is freed from conditions of
material life and all have full freedom.
Similarly, trees and plants also have full conscious, and are
free from ignorance. There are many ‘kalpataru’ desire trees to
fulfill the requirement of all devotees. They can produce any
fruits or food one may ask from them. On this planet, if one asks
an apple tree that he wants an orange; the tree does not even act
as if it has heard his request because the tree does not have any
developed consciousness. Even if the tree had consciousness,
still, it cannot produce a different fruit. Those desire trees, in the
abode of Lord Krishna, can produce all kinds of fruits, foods,
savories, pastries, clothes, jewels, etc. In the spiritual world, the
water has consciousness and tastes like nectar. The sand has
consciousness and the land has consciousness. Everything is
aware of its own existence unlike the mundane world.
The houses are made of touch stone. All devotees have
expandable mansions made of touch stones. A touch stone is the
stone, which turns a pile of iron into gold by its touch. In
Vaikuntha planets, there are airplanes that take off and land
wherever one wants to go and land. The airplanes are conscious
and have beautiful gardens, roads and private residents with all
spiritual facilities, such as delicious spiritual food and beverages.
The sky is so vast; there is no limit of space. There is no worry of
airplane engine failure or getting hijacked or crashing because
these airplanes are not made of aluminum, synthetic materials or
run by locomotives. Nothing is controlled by time there, there is
no karma, there is no actions and reactions for any activities and
no one needs to work for their maintenance. In Vaikuṇṭha
planets, the time is not divided by past, present and future. The
existing time there, is only ‘present’, there is no day or night

because there is no sun set or moon rise. Therefore, there is no
birth, old age, disease and death. Everyone is happy in devotional
service to Krishna or Nārāyana and everything is facilitated by
the Lord with His inconceivable spiritual potency.
śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo
drumā bhūmiś cintāmaṇi-gaṇa-mayī toyam amṛtam
kathā gānaṁ nāṭyaṁ gamanam api vaṁśī priya-sakhī
cid-ānandaṁ jyotiḥ param api tad āsvādyam api ca
sa yatra kṣīrābdhiḥ sravati surabhībhyaś ca su-mahān
nimeṣārdhākhyo vā vrajati na hi yatrāpi samayaḥ
bhaje śvetadvīpaṁ tam aham iha golokam iti yaṁ
vidantas te santaḥ kṣiti-virala-cārāḥ katipaye
“The spiritual realm of Vrindhāvana is always spiritual. The
goddess of fortune and the gopīs are always present there. They
are Krishna’s beloveds, and all of them are as spiritual as
Krishna. In Vrindhāvana, Krishna is the Supreme Person and is
the husband of all the gopīs and the goddess of fortune. The trees
in Vrindhāvana are wish-fulfilling trees. The land is made of
touchstone, and the water is nectar. Words are musical
vibrations, and all movements are dancing. The flute is the
Lord’s constant companion. The planet Goloka Vrindhāvana is
self-luminous like the sun and is full of spiritual bliss. The
perfection of life lies in tasting that spiritual existence; therefore
everyone should cultivate its knowledge. In Vrindhāvana,
spiritual cows are always supplying spiritual milk. Not a single
moment is wasted there—in other words, there is no past, present
or future. Not a single particle of time is wasted. Within this
material universe, the devotees worship that transcendental abode
as Goloka Vrindhāvana. Lord Brahmā himself said, “Let me
worship that spiritual land where Krishna is present.” This
transcendental Vrindhāvana is not appreciated by those who are
not devotees or self-realized souls because this Vrindhāvana-
dhāma is all spiritual. The pastimes of the Lord there are also
spiritual. None are material”.
Introduction 41
One should try to go to the spiritual world and see all these
described objects present there. Whenever a beautiful place is
described, people like to visit that place immediately by spending
hundreds and thousands of dollars, and that is the human
tendency. Why shouldn’t one try to go to the spiritual world and
see what is going on there. Spiritual world and its varieties are
not a mad man’s dream, but it is real. To go to any country, one
must meet the eligibility of the country that is to have proper
passport and a visa after an interview. Similarly, the qualification
to go to the spiritual world is to become a devotee of Krishna and
engage in His devotional services, and follow four regulative
principles described several times in this transcendental scripture.
On the planet earth one has to work for food, clothing and
shelter. It is in one’s thinking that he is eternal, but his physical
body is temporary, until one awaken the dormant spiritual body
within oneself by Krishna-yoga, which will liberate him from the
cycle of birth and death. One will have to continue to take
Krishna’s name irrespective of His country of birth in this world.
As long as the living entity is in material existence, actions
performed by him are rewarded in the next life, sometimes even
in the present life. Similarly, in his spiritual life, actions are
rewarded by the Lord giving him eternal life in the spiritual
world. Even the impersonalists cannot achieve the desired
merging into the existence of Krishna without the favor of Him.
The Supreme Majestic Godhead, Krishna confirms this in
Bhagavad-Gītā (4.11): ‘As one surrenders unto me I reward them
accordingly’. Once one is promoted to the Vaikuṇṭha planet by
the divine grace of Sri Krishna, he embraces eternal life.
Five kinds of liberation
There are a total of 5 kinds of liberation; one kind of liberation is
rejected by the devotees of Krishna and Nārāyana. The rejected
liberation is called sāyūjya-mukti, which means becoming one
with God, ekattvam. This sāyūjya-mukti means that one merges
in the body of Krishna or merges in the bodily effulgence of
Krishna, called Brahman effulgence, Brahma-sāyūjya-mukti.
This mukti is not permanent because there is no service to God in

the Brahman effulgence. Just like in the light of the sun there are
many photons, similarly bodily effulgence of Krishna is the
combination of many billions of living entities without their
spiritual and material bodies. Actually, the nature of the soul is
service like the characteristic of water is liquid and quality of
sugar is sweet. Since the character of the soul is service, for some
time one may artificially suspend that service by manipulation,
but that is not natural. Thus, merging in the body of Krishna will
not make one happy because all souls are individual beings. A
homogeneous or uniform structure will not make any merged
souls happy there. Therefore, sāyūjya-mukti is not recommended
by the Lord because the soul falls down from that temporary
merged circumstance and again take birth in the material world
to continue the cycle of birth and death.
There is no description that one will be promoted from the
Brahman effulgence to Vaikuntha planet, thus people who
practice this rejected form of liberation must return back to the
earth planet after spending thousands of years in the effulgence
of the Lord. God is not impersonal, God is a person, but He is the
Supreme Person. Nirakara means that He does not have a
material form or material qualities like human beings because all
forms in this world are made of material elements and therefore
the same elemental body is not applicable to the Supreme Lord.
Nir means without, akara means form, nirakara means
materially formless. His form is completely spiritual, made of
eternity, knowledge and bliss. sat-cit-ānanda and vigraha.
vigraha means full of form, but it is spiritual form. The whole
Vedic literature condemns material way of life and emphasizes
the spiritual world with its varieties and form, beauty and
pastimes. So, then, we can see how the nirakara can be
controversial. It is a question of understanding the meaning in its
proper manner. Consider the following excerpts: In the
Bhagavad-Gītā, Sri Krishna says:
avajanānti mām mūdha mānusim tanumāsritam
param-bhavamājananto mamabhūta-mahesvaram
Introduction 43
“Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do

not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all
that be”.
So God’s name is Sri Krishna, and Sri Krishna is God and
we have our human form, which is an image of Him. We
originated from Him. We did not create Him, He begotten us in
the womb of material nature. By what credentials might we
attribute a form to him? By what qualification could we give
Him a form, as if we were there before Him? This is like a child
who says “I created my father”. Is that so? Therefore, the
impersonalist philosophers’ arguments are baseless and fruitless.
Does Sri Krishna come in human form or we were sent in here
like Sri Krishna’s image? Actually, our human form is like His
personality except His bodily hue. Lord Krishna says to Lord
Brahma in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 2-9-33:
aham evāsam evāgre nānyad yat sad-asat param
paścād ahaṁ yad etac ca yo ’vaśiṣyeta so ’smy aham
“Oh Brahma, before creation I only existed and nothing was
there, after creating everything, I maintain them, after the
annihilation of everything only I will remain”.
The second liberation (mukti) is called sārupya. This means
the liberated devotee looks like Lord Nārāyana with four hands,
bluish body, beautiful helmet, yellow garments and jewelry.
srivastava, or a curly hair mark on Nārāyana’s chest and the
kaustuba jewel makes the Lord different from devotees. sārupya-
mukti is a form that looks like Lord Nārāyana. In the Vaikuṇṭha
planet the girls’ features are like those of Lakshmis, and the
boys’ features are like those of Nārāyana. There are husbands
and wives with their own mansions. Every day they get to go
together to the palace of the Lord to worship Him, to sing for
Him, in the temple which is the house of God. Here in this world
(on planet earth) the Lord is in the deity form, but in the spiritual
world, He is in the personal form with His eternal consort
Goddess Lakshmi. Because the devotees are intensely engaged in
the service of the Lord, they have no attraction for each other
except in the service of Him. In the material world the husband

and wife always think of each other, especially newly married
couples who meet and have sensual satisfaction. But that is not
there in the spiritual world because there is no separation there;
there is no office to attend.
The Third liberation is sāmīpya. This means that, the
promoted devotee always assists and stays with the Lord like a
secretary, and provides the Supreme Lord with all kinds of
services that He needs from the devotee. The Fourth liberation is
sālokya mukti. This is living in the same palace or planet of the
Lord. Final mukti is sārsti, which gives equal opulence
(aiswarya) such as wealth, power, beauty, etc., like that of Lord
Nārāyana. But a pure devotee does not desire any of these
liberations as is explained in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam: 3-29-13
sālokya-sārṣṭi-sāmīpya sārūpyaikatvam apy uta
dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ
“A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation—
sālokya, sārsti, sāmipya, sārupya and sāyūjya - even though they
are offered by the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead”.
If a devotee gets an opportunity to serve the Lord, he may
accept one of these four liberations: sālokya, sārupya, sāmīpya
or sārsti. Yet, he will not accept the sāyūjya, the merging into
His bodily effulgence. sāyūjya mukti creates fear and hatred.
Therefore, devotees do not want to hear about it. The pure
devotee would rather go to hell than merge into the effulgence of
the Lord.
Supreme Liberation
The actual meaning of mukti or liberation is not to identify
oneself as a part of the material world, muktir hitva anyatā
rūpam svarupena vyavastiti. Everyone is a child of Krishna in
different mellows and that is the constitutional position of all
living beings. There are also five vimuktis- Supreme liberation,
which are found in Krishna-Loka. santa rasa- veneration, the
objects of the world such as trees, plants, birds, cows, ornaments,
Introduction 45
helmets, land, water, sand, furniture, beds, etc. all are completely
spiritual, and full of consciousness and therefore they serve Sri
Krishna with their utmost love for Him. Dāsya- servitorship,
there are many servants engaged in the devotional service of Sri
Krishna in loving relationship without higher and lower
positions, unlike in the material world. Similar to this is sākhya
rasa – friendship, which is the highest intimate loving
association with God. vātsalya rasa – parenthood. There are so
many intimate devotees in the role of mother and father of Sri
Krishna in Goloka. They are all elderly gopis, in their loving
mood they nourish and love Sri Krishna. Finally, there is
mādhurya rasa- conjugal love, seen in the loving relationships
between Sri Krishna and His girlfriends. These relationships
form a more intimate connection with God in spontaneous loving
services. When one executes such pure devotional service in this
world, He or she is naturally inclined to serve Sri Krishna in one
of these transcendental relationships. That is the actual success
and goal of life. All devotees of Sri Krishna desire to be with
Krishna in one of these roles when they put an end to this
horrifying material existence.
These relationships are also found in the material world, yet
here they are all perverted reflections of the spiritual world,
everything is based on the bodily platforms and is therefore
temporary. Such relationships in this world depend on material
wealth, and influence and is thus always corrupted. Thus, in
order to reclaim the fallen souls of the material world, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna comes
once in 8,640,000,000 years to the earth planet and performs 125
years of His pastimes. ‘Pastime’ here, refers to the activity Sri
Krishna performs out of His duty to reclaim and entertain His
devotees. Krishna is not duty bound, nor can any karma affect
Him. Yet, when He appears in the human world, He follows all
human rules and regulations. In this way, the transcendental Lord
appears and disappears at His will. All of this information is
elaborately described by the Lord to Arjuna in the pages of the
Bhagavad-Gītā. Now, the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna
begins, called the Bhagavad-Gītā, the song sung by God.
eka-sāstram-devaki-putra-gītam
eko devo devaki-putraeva
eko mantras tasyanāmaniyani
karmāpy ekam-tasya-devasya seva
(Gītā -mahatmya 7)
Our Gurudev wrote: “In this present day, everyone is very much
eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion, and one
occupation. Therefore, ekasāstram devaki-putra-gitam: let there
be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole
world: Bhagavad-Gītā. eko devo devaki-putraeva: let there be
one God for the whole world: Sri Krishna. eko mantras tasya
namāniyani: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer—the
chanting of His name: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna
Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma,
Hare Hare. karmapy ekam-tasya-devasya seva: and let there be
only one work—service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead”.
It is through the practice of devotion to the Supreme Person and
complete conviction of one’s constitutional position that one can
engage in perfect devotional services to Him. From such
devotional services everyone will be united and serve together to
achieve the same result, which is entering into the Kingdom of
God that is also desired by all other faiths.
Introduction 47
The cause for which Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā

was spoken
What is Mahābhārata?
Mahābhārata or Greater India was the whole earth planet
consists of seven oceans and seven continents. History of
Mahābhārata is not a legend or science fiction. There is a false
notion going on especially among younger generation that there
was no history before two thousand years. Mahābhārata
represents a very significant part of the history of planet earth.
Astrological calculations suggest that 5,236 years ago, the Moon
dynasty ruled the whole earth planet. The whole planet was also
called with another name Bhārata-varsha.
During those days, there was one Emperor who ruled the
planet earth from the capital city of Hastinapura (modern Delhi).
During that time, ancient Vedic culture prevailed everywhere:
people were one; civilization was one; God was one and the
scriptures posited one God with few demigods, unlike views
found in contemporary society; and, there was one flag. The
majority of the world was dominated by kshatriyas – the warrior
class people.
After rule of Emperor Parikshit, the grandson of King
Yudhishthira, respect for religion, theology and values in human
society declined rapidly; irreligiosity became rampant. This
decline was caused by the advent of demigod of Kali-yuga (Iron
Age), which will last for another 427,000 years. The former
Bhārata-varsha is presently divided into several Nations, States
and communities with different flags and insignias.
The creation of several Nations, States, and groups, and the
conflicting attitudes present among the human beings are all
evidence of Kali-yuga. In this age of Kali- an age of darkness,
lust (kāma), demonic aggression (krodha), greed (lobha), illusion
(moha), competition (mātsara) and infatuation (madha)
encompasses nations and their citizens. Due to this, people have
become hypocritical, irreligious, religious fanatics, and they
quarrel over insignificant matters and on their perceived

grievances and prejudices.
The cause of the Mahābhārata war:
Mahābhārata is a revered epic history. It has been passed from
one generation to the next for several millennia. Fifty two
centuries ago, Moon dynasty ruled over Bhārata-varsha, which
was enormous and absolute. The Grandsire Bhīshma deva was
the rightful heir to the throne of Hastinapura, capital of Bhārata-
varsha. Bhīshma deva was born from the first marriage of King
Santanu with Srīmati Ganga Devi (the Ganges River
personified). However, Srīmati Ganga Devi abandoned King
Santanu, and soon after he was captivated by the beauty and the
fragrance of Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman. King
Santanu subsequently married Srīmati Satyavati.
As a precondition for their marriage, Satyavati stole the
rights of Bhīshma deva and for the benefits of her progeny would
take birth from King Santanu - father of Bhīshma deva. Srīmati
Satyavati’s father, the fisherman, had thereby secured the throne
for his daughter's future sons through these indirect means.
However, these improprieties of Queen Satyavati which were
committed against her step son, Bhīshma deva, culminated in a
life of misery and despondency. The Queen desired the Kingdom
and powers to be inherited by her sons rather than by Bhīshma
deva, even though Bhīshma deva was eligible and capable of
being the best Emperor.
Queen Satyavati had two sons from King Santanu:
Chitrangada and Vicitravirya. Her oldest son, Chitrangada, was
killed by a yaksha, a demigod also named Chitrangada. And, her
second son, Vicitravirya, married the daughters of the king of
Kasi, Ambika and Ambalika, shortly after he passed away from
disease.
The Queen’s greed and craving for power was promptly
taken away by destiny, when she lost both her sons at young
ages. After Vicitravirya’s demise, the mighty Hastinapura
Kingdom did not have any surviving heirs to the throne.
Introduction 49
However, before Queen Satyavati had married King Santanu, she

had a saintly son from the great sage Parāsara, named Vyāsa
deva. Satyavati ordered Vyāsa deva to use his divine powers to
beget children with the widows of Vicitravirya, Ambika and
Ambalika. Vyāsa deva accepted his mother’s request.
Unfortunately, princess Ambika closed her eyes under the
austere form of Vyāsa deva’s divine powers leading
Dhrtarāshtra, their oldest child to be completely blind. Pāndu, the
second child born from Ambalika became unhealthy. A third
child, Vidura, was the child of Princess Ambika’s maid servant.
Although Vidura was wise and healthy, he could not claim the
throne because of his mother’s position as a maid. Vidura was
later appointed as the Prime Minister of Hastinapura.
Although Dhrtarāshtra was the eldest son of Kuru dynasty
with various good qualities, he could not be appointed king of
Hastinapura because he was blind. Queen Satyavati crowned
Pāndu as King. King Pāndu was married to princess Kunti and
later on also married princess Mādri. However, due to the curse
by a rshi he was unable to conceive an heir with either of his two
queens.
This situation was changed by something that happened
before Queen Kunti’s marriage to King Pāndu. Queen Kunti was
blessed by the sage Durvasa with the power to invoke demigods
to aid in obtaining children. When Pāndu had failed to
impregnate his queens, on his request Queen Kunti invoked the
mantra thereby giving mystical birth to three children: her eldest
son was prince Yudhishthira, the personification of all religious
and virtuous qualities; her second son was prince Bhīma, the
personification of might and strength; and, her youngest son was
prince Arjuna. Using the blessings of Queen Kunti, Pāndu's
second wife Mādri gave birth to two sons known as Nakula and
Sahadeva. These five children of Pāndu became known as the
Pāndavas, or sons of King Pāndu.
While his sons were still children, King Pāndu died due to
the effect of the curse of Rishi Kindama. Following his death, the
elders of the Kuru dynasty involuntarily crowned King Pāndu’s
blind elder brother, prince Dhrtarāshtra, as the king of

Hastinapura. The ambitious king Dhrtarāshtra gave birth to 100
sons and one daughter in Queen Gāndhāri. These children were
known as Kauravas. Dhrtarāshtra’s eldest son was Duryodhana.
Duryodhana was handsome and powerful, but he was also
envious, greedy and fierce in nature.
Under the spell of his father, Duryodhana always wallowed
in pity believing that his father, the eldest son of the dynasty,
always had the right to be crowned as the king of Hastinapura.
Moreover, since he too was the elder son of his father, he had the
right to be the successor. But elders of Kuru Dynasty did not
appoint Duryodhana as king because he was characterless and
irreligious, moreover younger to prince Yudhishthira. As the
elders’ main concern was the happiness of the citizens, they
understood that whoever would be the king must have virtuous
qualities as well as administrative experience. Thus, they elected
Prince Yudhishthira, the eldest son of Pāndu, as the crown prince
because he was the embodiment of all good qualities and also
older than prince Duryodhana.
This decision made the prince Duryodhana furious, and left
him feeling humiliated before others. The Mahābhārata is about
the intense passion, envy and greed of Duryodhana, who wanted
to dethrone Yudhishthira and become the king by any means
necessary. Duryodhana conspired many times to kill
Yudhishthira and the remaining Pāndavas including their mother.
However, by the grace of Sri Krishna, the Pāndavas were always
saved from these conspiracies.
On one such occasion in Yudhishthira’s absence,
Duryodhana used the support and cunning of his maternal uncle
Shakuni to have the Kauravas announce that Yudhishthira was
dead. Subsequently, Duryodhana managed to get officially
appointed as the crown prince by the Kuru elders. When
Yudhishthira returned to claim his throne, Duryodhana refused to
restore him to his rightful position as the successor, as he had
been elected by the royal assembly.
Introduction 51
With an insatiable thirst for power, Duryodhana forced

grandsire Bhīshma deva to divide Hastinapura into two separate
kingdoms, to be known as Hastinapura and Indraprastha. This
was the first divided kingdom in history of planet earth.
Duryodhana ruled Hastinapura as successor Prince, while
Yudhishthira ruled Indraprastha as king.
Built by the heavenly architect Viswakarma, and the
architect of the demons Mayādhānava, Indraprastha could be
compared to the kingdom of heaven. This magnificent kingdom
was ever enchanting the hearts of the citizens of planet earth,
demigods in the heavenly planetary system as well as the demons
in lower planetary system.
Wicked Duryodhana and crooked Shakuni were unsatisfied
and envious by the division of the kingdom, again, plotted
against Yudhishthira to dethrone him from his fabulous kingdom,
Indraprastha. They captured Indraprastha by a deceptive dice
game which sent Yudhishthira, his brothers and their wife
Draupadi into exile for 13 years. Once the 13 year exile was
over, Yudhishthira and his brothers returned to claim their
kingdom Indraprastha. Duryodhana was unwilling to return the
kingdom of Indraprastha as promised. Duryodhana’s decisions
resulted in the Great Mahābhārata war between the cousins at
the holy place of Kurukshetra, near Delhi. It was a righteous war
and according to Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 640 Million people (64
crores) died in 18 days.
Before the Great Mahābhārata war started, Lord Vyāsa
deva finally visited Dhrtarāshtra to offer guidance and to try and
persuade him to abandon the war. Lord Vyāsa deva gave a
prediction to Dhrtarāshtra that all his sons would be killed in this
Great War. However, under the influence of Duryodhana,
Dhrtarāshtra did not accept Lord Vyāsa deva’s advice. Hence,
Vyāsa deva provided the divine sight to Dhrtarāshtra’s
charioteer, Sanjay. So that the King could hear the consequences
of the war while situated in his royal palace. The entire
Bhagavad-Gītā, Lord Krishna’s transcendental wisdom spoken
to Arjuna, is presented as Sanjay’s description to Dhrtarāshtra
within the context of the epic Mahābhārata.
Battle Field and Arjuna’s Lamentation 53
CHAPTER 1
Battle Field and

Arjuna’s Lamentation
TEXT 1 ि ृ रा्र उवाच
िमाषर
े े कुुषेरे समवे ा यय
ु ्ु सवः।
मामकाःपा्डवा्चव ककमकुवा स््य॥१॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvācha
dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvācha -- Dhrtarāshtra asked; dharma-kshetre-kuru-
kshetre -- the holy land and pilgrimage of Kurukshetra;
samavetah-yuyutsavah -- brought together desiring battle;
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś -- my sons and sons of Pāndu; caiva -- and
certainly; kim akurvata -- what did they do? sanjaya -- Sanjaya.
Dhrtarāshtra asked Sanjaya: After my sons and the
Pāndavās came face to face in the spirit of battle in the holy
place of Kurukshetra, what did they do?
ANNOTATION: This is the opening dialogue between King
Dhrtarāshtra, and his personal secretary, Sanjaya, before the war
began. This first chapter is not directly part of the Bhagavad-Gītā
as spoken by Lord Krishna. Rather, it is a prelude, which acts to
describe its context, and aids to clarify the readers of Bhagavad-
Gītā who are not well acquainted with the Mahābhārata. Readers
may, therefore, understand that the Bhagavad-Gītā is embedded
within this epic as a nectar, and was transmitted to Arjuna by
Lord Krishna to destroy Arjuna’s bodily attachment.
53
Sanjaya was bestowed with clairvoyance by Vyāsa deva

enabling him to view and relay the entire battle of Kurukshetra to
Dhrtarāshtra, while sitting in the King’s chamber at Hastinapura
palace. Regarding this, the author of Bhagavad-Gītā, Srila Vyāsa
deva, was able to see past, present and future. He witnessed
Dhrtarāshtra and Sanjaya’s conversation about the war which
was taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Kurukshetra, the site chosen to fight the war, is the abode of
Brahma jnāna. It represents the knowledge of the Ultimate Truth
for all living entities. Kurukshetra is also known as a spiritual
sphere because it held the presence of Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead celebrated as the father of
religion.
According to the Purānas, the oldest scriptures,
Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, an ancestor of the
Pāndavās and Kauravas, the cousins who were poised to fight in
the Mahābhārata war. King Kuru performed devotional services
to Lord Vishnu at Kurukshetra. The Supreme Lord Vishnu
appeared to him and blessed him for his devotional services.
Thereafter, this location was known as Kurukshetra, meaning the
temple of King Kuru. The importance of this auspicious location
is attributed to the Mahābhārata war, as it was fought on this
land, and for the Bhagavad-Gītā, which was spoken on this land
before the war commenced, when Lord Krishna found Arjuna in
his awful predicament.
King Dhrtarāshtra asked his assistant Sanjay what happened
when his sons, the Kauravas and their cousins, the Pāndavās
came together on the battlefield. Clearly, when two powerful
enemies are engaged brandishing weapons, war is imminent; but
King Dhrtarāshtra questioned whether the Pāndavās changed
their mind on this sacred land and accepted renunciation; after
all, they were followers of perfect dharma- religion. He was also
worried, because of the potent influence of the righteous land of
Kurukshetra, his power seeking sons had changed their minds
and returned their half of the kingdom back to the Pāndavās.
TEXT 2 स््य उवाच

ृ््वा ु पा्डवानीकं ्यढ
ू ं दय
ु ोिनथ दा।
आचायामप
ु स्ग्य रा्ा वचनमरवी ्॥२॥
sañjaya uvācha
dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā
āchāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vachanam abravīt
sañjaya-uvācha -- Sanjaya answered; dṛṣṭvātu -- but after
observing; pāṇḍavānīkaṁ -- the armed forces of the Pāndavās;
vyūḍhaṁ -- organized in an armed phalanx; duryodhanah --
Duryodhana; tada -- that particular moment; āchāryam --
spiritual master; upasangamya -- going; raja -- the emperor;
vachanam abravit -- spoke the following words.
Sanjaya answered: O King, after looking over the Pāndavās’
military formation, Duryodhana went to his martial teacher
Dronāchārya and spoke the following words.
ANNOTATION: Although King Dhrtarāshtra was well trained in
the military arts, he was blind both materially, and spiritually and
harbored a profound weakness for his children’s wishes, such as
Duryodhana’s. Duryodhana pressured his parents to support his
desires and political ambitions for usurping the entire kingdom
from the Pāndava Princes, which culminated in great battle of
Mahābhārata.
Sanjaya, who was righteous by nature, could understand the
anxiety of Dhrtarāshtra. To pacify the King’s concerns about the
safety of his children, Sanjaya told him “drstva tu pāndavānikam
vyudham”, the soldiers of the Pāndavās are in military formation.
Why did King Duryodhana speak with his spiritual master,
Dronāchārya and not to Bhīshma deva, the Commander in
Chief? Because similar to Kauravas, the Pāndavās also were the
disciples of Dronāchārya. Duryodhana approached Dronāchārya
to let him know that his own disciples, the Pāndavās, formed a
powerful military formation against him through the arch rival
Dhristadyumna. Dronāchārya and Dhristadyumna were bitter
rivals, and in fact the very purpose of Dhristadyumna’s birth was
to kill Dronāchārya. After beginning with a mild statement, in

next verse Duryodhana cunningly introduces Dhristadyumna and
try to ignite animosity between these two opponents.
Dhristadyumna was the commander-in-chief of the Pāndavās.
The word “Raja” means king and is used here to indicate
that Duryodhana was an expert in political affairs. The word
“vacanam” implies that Duryodhana spoke in unexpected
sentences, often concerning the heavy importance of war.
TEXT 3 प्य ां पा्डुपर ु ाणामाचाया म ीं चमम
ू ्।
्यढ
ू ां रप
ु दपर
ु ण
े व भश्येण िीम ा॥३॥
paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrānām āchārya mahatīṁ chamūm
vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā
paśyaitāṁ -- take a look at this; pāṇḍu-putrānām -- Pāndu's sons;
āchārya -- O master; mahatīṁ chamūm -- large armed force;
vyūḍhāṁ-drupada-putreṇa -- organized by the son of Drupada;
tava-śiṣyeṇa-dhīmatā -- your very intelligent disciple.
O Master! Observe the large army of the sons of Pāndu,
which has been expertly organized by Dhristadyumna the son
of Drupada, your illustrious student.
ANNOTATION: In order to provoke anger in the heart of his
martial teacher, Duryodhana speaks about the excellence of the
Pāndavās' army: “Behold the mighty army of Pāndavās well
arranged in military phalanx”. This informs Dronāchārya that the
Pāndavās are prepared and are moving in formation to engage in
battle. The Pāndavās are fast approaching, without waiting for
Dronāchārya to start the battle. Dronāchārya reminds
Duryodhana that the Pāndavās are also his students. Since
Yudhishthira was older and emperor of the world, he had the
right to start the battle despite the Kauravas seniority.
Anticipating this response, Duryodhana reminded Dronāchārya
that Dhristadyumna, the Commander of the Pāndava army, was
the son of Drupada, his mortal enemy.
Drupada was the son of King Prishata, he and Dronachārya
studied together under the guidance of Drona's father Rishi
Bhardwaj. They became great friends. While still in school,

Drupada assured Drona that once he became a king he would
share half of his kingdom with him. After the death of his father,
Drupada became the King, but his friend Drona lived a life of
poverty. Unable to feed his son Aswathāma, Drona approached
Drupada for help. Although Drupada was aware of their
friendship, due to the difference in status, he refused to
acknowledge his friendship and instead shunned Drona, calling
him a beggar.
Time passed and Drona was employed by Bhīshma deva to
train the sons of Pāndu (the Pāndavās) and the sons of
Dhrtarāshtra (the Kauravas). Once the military education of the
Kauravas and the Pāndavās was complete, Drona asked the
princes to defeat and capture Drupada as his guru-dakshina,
guru’s honorarium for his service. Led by Arjuna, the Pāndavās
defeated Drupada, bound him in a snake rope and brought him to
Drona. Drona compassionately set Drupada free, but retained
half of the kingdom, Avchitra, as it was promised to him.
Humiliated, Drupada sought vengeance against Drona, but
realized he was no match for Drona's strength. He performed a
great Vedic-yajna, involving a ritual of fire sacrifice, in order to
have a warrior son who would assassinate Drona. From this fire
sacrifice, twins Dhristadyumna and Draupadi were born.
Drupada had only wanted a son from the fire sacrifice, but
obtained both a son as well as a daughter.
Sanjaya subtly conveys to Dhrtarāshtra that his son
Duryodhana, uninfluenced by the sanctity of Kurukshetra, had
little inclination for righteousness. Thus, even though a serpent
may be fed with milk, it does not give up its venom. On the
contrary, it increases its poison and anger. So is the same for
Duryodhana, he would never freely return the kingdom to the
Pāndavās.
TEXT 4 अर शरू ा म े ्वासा भीमा्न

ुा समा यधु ि।
यय
ु ि
ु ान८ ववराि्च रप
ु द्च म ारिः॥४॥
atra śūrā maheṣv-āsā bhīmārjuna-samā yudhi

yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca drupadaś ca mahā-rathaḥ
atra -- at this point; śūrā -- brave men; maheṣv-āsā – powerful
archers; bhīmārjuna -- to Bhīma and Arjuna; samāyudhi --
equivalent in the battle; yuyudhāno -- Yuyudhāna (Satyaki);
virāṭaś ca -- Virāta as well; drupadaś ca -- Drupada as well;
mahā-rathaḥ -- great warrior.
At this point there are many brave men and powerful archers
like Yuyudhāna (Satyaki), Virāta and Drupada, all of
equivalent ability in battle to Bhīma and Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: Satyaki was also known as Yuyudhāna. Satyaki
of the Yadava-Vrshini dynasty was a powerful warrior of Lord
Krishna in Mahābhārata. He was deeply devoted to Krishna and
his best friend Arjuna, with whom he trained under Dronāchārya
in military arts. He was born of the Shini lineage of the Vrshini
family. Yuyudhāna strongly and enthusiastically supported the
Pāndavās' cause over the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war. He
accompanied Lord Krishna to the Kuru Capital as the emissary of
peace representing Pāndavās. However, his mission was
ridiculed and turned down by the sons of Dhrtarāshtra.
The Virāta kingdom was ruled by the Matsya king, Virāta.
The Pāndavās spent their thirteenth year of exile in the Virāta
Kingdom. After spending twelve years of living in forests of
Kāmyaka and Dwaita as penance, Lord Krishna guided the
Pāndavās, helping them to hide with their identities concealed in
service of the Virāta Empire. King Virāta and his son took part in
the Great Kurukshetra war on the side of Pāndavās and died.
Virāta's daughter, Uttara, married Arjuna's son Abhimanyu, and
gave birth to Parikshit Mahārāja, who later became the emperor
of the world.
Duryodhana concludes that every one of his soldiers in the
Kaurava brigade is capable of defeating the Pāndavās' army
headed by Dhristadyumna. He explained that Dronāchārya
should have no doubts, as the Pāndavās are not invincible. In this
and the next 2 verses, He mentions the strength and valor of the
individual warriors among the Pāndava ranks.
In the Pāndava army, there are many valiant heroes, which
would make it impossible to be defeated single-handedly by any
one opponent. The valiant warriors Yuyudhāna, known as
Satyaki, King Virāta, Drupada and others, are all mighty
bowmen. Moreover, they are not less skilled in the science of
warfare, but are equal to Bhīma and Arjuna. The use of the
description ‘mahāratha’ applies to all three warriors as well as
Arjuna and Bhīma. This description confirms that these warriors
are each able to defeat 10,000 opponents in battle at a time.
TEXT 5 ि्ृ िके ्ु चेकक ानः काभशरा््च वीयावान ्।
पु
ु ्््कु्त भ८््च श्य्च नरप् ु गवः॥५॥
dhṛṣṭaketuś chekitānaḥ kāśirājaś ca vīryavān
purujit kuntibhojaś ca śaibyaś ca nara-puṅgavaḥ
dhṛṣṭaketuś -- Dhrstaketu; chekitānaḥ -- Chekitāna; kāśirājaś --
Kasirāja; ca -- as well; vīryavān -- very strong; purujit -- Purujit;
kuntibhojaś -- Kuntibhoja; ca -- and; śaibyaś -- saibya; ca -- and;
nara-puṅgavaḥ -- brave in human society.
There are great, brave, and very strong fighters like
Dhrshtaketu, Chekitāna, Kasirāja, Purujit, Kuntibhoja and
Saibya.
ANNOTATION: Dhrshtaketu, the son of Sisupāla, took the side
of Pāndavās and fought against Dronāchārya during the
Kurukshetra war. Chekitāna, a warrior of the Yadu dynasty,
violently fought against Duryodhana. So did Kasirāja, the King
of Kāsi, also known as Kasya. As did Purujit, a great, heroic and
powerful fighter, and a friend of Pāndavās. So too did Saibya,
related to the Sibis, and the King of the Sibis, a great, heroic,
powerful fighter and a friend of Pāndavās. Finally, Kuntibhoja,
the king of the Yadu dynasty, cousin of the king of the Vrishni
dynasty, Ugrasena and the foster father of Kunti, took the side of
the Pāndavās during the war.
Mahārāja Kuntibhoja used to invite many saintly persons to

come, so that he could honor them. Once the sage Durvasa came
as a guest of Mahārāja Kuntibhoja, and princess Kunti served
him. Sage Durvasa was very pleased. He gave the princess the
following benediction: ‘You can call any demigod by your sweet
will, and he will bestow a child without physical interaction’. By
using this benediction she and her co-wife Mādri gave birth to
Pāndavās.
Since this whole battle is connected to the Supreme
Absolute Lord Krishna, the sarvalokaika nāyaka- leader of all
universes, sarva loka maheswaram- master of all universes,
whenever one discusses this war he becomes Krishna conscious.
TEXT 6 यि
ु ामतय्ु च ववरात उतम९्ा्च वीयावान ्।
स९भर८ र९पदे या्च सवा एव म ारिाः॥६॥
yudhāmanyuś ca vikrānta uttamaujāś ca vīryavān
saubhadro draupadeyāś ca sarva eva mahā-rathāḥ
yudhāmanyuś -- Yudhamanyu; ca -- as well; vikrānta --
powerful; uttamaujāś -- Uttamauja; ca -- and; vīryavān -- very
strong; saubhadro -- the son of Subhadra; draupadeyāś -- the
sons of Draupadi; ca -- and; sarva -- all; eva -- certainly; mahā-
rathāḥ -- grand chariot fighters.
There are the great Yudhāmanyu, the very powerful
Uttamaujā, the son of Subhadra, and the sons of Draupadi as
well. All these strong fighters are certainly grand chariot
soldiers.
ANNOTATION: Yudhamānyu, the prince of Panchāla fought on
the side of the Pāndavās. So did Uttamauja, a warrior friend of
Pāndavās; Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra and Arjuna; a sister
of Lord Krishna; five sons of Draupati; Prativindhya, the son of
Yudhishthira; Srutasoma of Bhīmasena; Srutakirti of Arjuna;
Satānika of Nakula; and Srutasena of Sahadeva; and, “ca” refers
to Ghatotkaca, the son of Hidimba by Bhīma sena.
All these fighters, though teenagers, are mahārathās. They
can fight single handedly against 10,000 bow wielding archers
and are experts in the science and technology of fighting. An

athirathā can fight with many warriors, up to 10,000 in number.
A rathā can fight alone against one opponent and an ardharathā
cannot even defeat a single opponent.
TEXT 7 अथमाकं ु ववभश्िा ये ा्तनब८ि ्वव्८तम।
नायका मम सतयथय स््ािं ातरवीभम ॥ े ७॥
asmākaṁ tu viśiṣṭā ye tān nibodha dvijottama
nāyakā mama sainyasya saṁjñārthaṁ tān bravīmi te
asmākaṁ -- our; tu -- but; viśiṣṭā -- mainly physically powerful;
ye -- who; tān -- them; nibodha -- make a note of; dvijottama --
O most excellent of the brāhmanas; nāyakā -- Heroes or
generals; mama sainyasya -- my warriors; saṁjñārthaṁ -- for the
knowledge; tān -- them; bravīmite -- I am talking to you.
O most excellent of the brāhmanas, for your knowledge, I am
talking to you mainly about the powerful chieftains and
heroes of my warriors, who are competent of leading my
military force.
ANNOTATION: After Duryodhana analyzed and described the
warrior kings and princes of the Pāndavās’ army in previous
three verses, over the next three verses he would describe the
Kaurava army’s strength. Concerned with the might of the
Pāndava army, Duryodhana began estimating his own army (the
Kaurava army). He was very heartened and considered it a matter
of pride that he had managed to maintain his key warriors’
loyalty and devotion to Kaurava army through his cunningness
and deceitful methods. Duryodhana became confident of
Kauravas’ victory through the knowledge that the invincible
general Bhīshma deva and Dronāchārya were on his side. How
could there be any possibility of victory for the Pāndavās?
Apart from the mahārathis, he thought he had many
excellent warriors, exalted in knowledge and valorous, with
complete confidence since they were fighting for the Kauravas of
their own free will. In this verse, Duryodhana addresses his
teacher as “Dvijottma, Oh excellent among the twice born”. This

held a hidden message to Dronāchārya, implying that, if he won’t
fight then he is merely a brāhmana, only interested in eating the
fine food served at the palace of Duryodhana.
TEXT 8 भवातभी्म्च कणा्च कृप्च सभमत ््यः।
अ्व्िामा ववकणा्च स९मदवतथ िव च॥८॥
bhavān bhīṣhmaś ca karṇaś ca kṛipaś ca samitiṁ-jayaḥ
aśwatthāmā vikarṇaś ca saumadattis tathaiva ca
bhavān -- you; bhīṣhmaś ca -- also Bhīshma; karṇaś ca -- also
Karna; kṛipaś ca – also Kripa; samitiṁ-jayaḥ -- forever
victorious in battle; aśwatthāmā -- Aswatthāma; vikarṇaś --
Vikarna; ca -- and; saumadattis -- the son of Somadatta; tathaiva
-- in the same manner; ca -- also.
There are good people like you, Bhīshma, Karna, Krpa,
Aswathāma, Vikarna and the son of Somadatta called
Bhūrisrāva, who are all forever victorious in battle.
ANNOTATION: Duryodhana made every attempt to become the
king of Hastinapura. He always spoke to his people as if, instead
of Yudhishthira, he was their lawful heir to the kingdom. By his
evil character and his twisted association with his maternal uncle
Shakuni, he gained the position of second prince. However, the
Pāndavās’ threat to his position as prince caused him much
dissatisfaction. Because of this, he was always envious and cruel
to the Pāndavās.
The Mahābhārata war was forced on all these people by the
power seeking Duryodhana. Even though Duryodhana knew that
Arjuna, one of the Pāndavās, defeated all the great Kaurava
generals when they attacked the kingdom of Virāta at the end of
the Pāndavās’ exile, Duryodhana still considered the Pāndavās'
army insignificant when compared to his powerful warriors.
Duryodhana practiced cruelty and unrighteousness acts as he was
well protected under the vow and dedication of the invincible
Bhīshma deva, Dronāchārya, Karna, and Kripāchārya. He
derived his strength from these four guards, and blatantly abused
the entire system by becoming king and depriving the Pāndavās.
Duryodhana uses the word “bhavān”, qualifying
Dronāchārya and three others, as the most powerful in his army.
The adjective “samitinjaya” means ‘always victorious in battle’.
Duryodhana uses this term to describe the warriors Drona,
Bhīshma, Karna and Krpāchārya. He points out several others
who are almost as powerful as these four, including Aswathāma,
Vikarna and Bhūrisrava. Aswathāma is the son of Dronāchārya.
Vikarna is the younger brother of Duryodhana. Bhūrisrāva is
Saumadatti, the son of Somadatta, who was the son of Bahilika,
and the cousin of Bhīshma.
TEXT 9 अतये चब वः शरू ा मदिे ्य् ्ीवव ाः।
नानाशथरर रणाः सवे य्
ु िववशारदाः॥९॥
anye ca bahavaḥ śūrā mad-arthe tyakta-jīvitāḥ
nānā-śastra-praharaṇāḥ sarve yuddha-viśāradāḥ
anye ca -- others also; bahavaḥ -- in great numbers; śūrā -- brave
men; mad-arthe -- for my cause; tyakta-jīvitāḥ -- ready to give up
life; nānā -- several; śastra -- armaments; praharaṇāḥ -- well
prepared with; sarve -- all; yuddha-viśāradāḥ -- trained in
military skill.
There are many other brave men who are trained in military
skills and are well prepared with different kinds of
armaments, ready to give up their life for my cause.
ANNOTATION: Duryodhana said there are many men ready to
give up their lives for his sake, including his brother-in-law
Jayadratha, the husband of Dushala who was the only female
child born to Dhrtarāshtra and Queen Gāndhāri; Kritavarma;
Salya, the King of Mādra and brother of Mādri the second wife
of King Pāndu; and, countless others.
It is not the weapon that will protect its holder, but the
speed and good organization of the fighting technique of those
using it. This is what would bring victory with the Supersoul’s
blessings. Duryodhana was under such illusion that he always
thought that his mass of soldiers and fighting experience would

bring him victory and glory. Duryodhana had 13 akshauhini
(legion of army) divisions in his army while the Pāndavās had 7
akshauhini division in their army. A solid phalanx of 21,870
chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,650 infantry and 65,600 cavalry
is called an “akshauhini”. Duryodhana had great confidence that
his army would be victorious. Yet, the blessing of the father of
religion, the original source of the Supersoul Lord Krishna, will
bring victory not to powerful armies or weapons, but only to
those who are righteous and follow the dharma.
TEXT 10 अपयाात ं दथमाकं बलं भी्माभभरषष म ्।

पयाात ं ््वदमे ष
े ां बलं भीमाभभरषष म ् ॥१०॥
aparyāptaṁ tad asmākaṁ balaṁ bhīṣmābhirakṣitam
paryāptaṁ tv idam eteṣāṁ balaṁ bhīmābhirakṣitam
aparyāptaṁ -- unlimited; tad -- that; asmākaṁ -- ours; balaṁ --
power; bhīṣmābhirakṣitam -- guarded by Bhīshma deva;
paryāptaṁ -- imperfect; tv -- but; idam -- this; eteṣāṁ -- of the
Pāndavās; balam -- might; bhīmābhirakṣitam -- carefully secured
by Bhīma.
Our power is unlimited because we are carefully guarded by
the hand of Grandsire Bhīshma deva, while the might of the
sons of Pāndu are merely delicately secured by Bhīmasena.
ANNOTATION: Grandsire Bhīshma deva was invincible
because of his extraordinary skills of warfare, especially in
archery. He was also protected by a shield of blessing by his
father Santanu, which meant that he could choose his own death.
On the other hand, Bhīma was like any other mortal. He was
neither an archer nor protected by any shield of blessings. Hence,
Bhīma was susceptible to injury and death like any other warrior.
Bhīshma deva and Bhīma are class apart and are not comparable.
Yet, Duryodhana deliberately compares Bhīma with Bhīshma
deva because he knows that Bhīshma deva is indomitable, and
thus the entire Kaurava army would be unconquerable.
Duryodhana does not consider Bhīma’s 10,000 elephants’

strength. He also questions Bhīma’s ability to protect his
army. One may question that if both armies were equal in might,
how could victory be assured? In this verse, Duryodhana gives
his answer using the word “aparyantam”, meaning being
unlimited. In an attempt to conceal his fears, Duryodhana claims
that his army is unlimited and they are protected by Bhīshma
deva, the great commander-in-chief who is the most intelligent
and a mahārathi. He sees the Pāndava army as limited since it is
protected by Bhīma, who he perceives as less intelligent.
Because of this, Duryodhana feels that a Kaurava victory is
assured.
TEXT 11 अयनेषु च सवेषु यिाभागमव्थि ाः।
भी्ममेवाभभरषत ु भवत ःसवा एव ह ॥११॥
ayaneṣu ca sarveṣu yathā-bhāgam avasthitāḥ
bhīṣhmam evābhirakṣantu bhavantaḥ sarva eva hi
ayaneṣu -- in the planned points; ca -- also; sarveṣu --
everywhere; yathā-bhāgam -- each in your respective place;
avasthitāḥ -- positioned; bhīṣhmam -- unto Grandsire Bhīshma;
evābhirakṣantu -- surely should give protection; bhavantaḥ --
you; sarve -- everyone; eva hi -- without any doubt.
Every one of you must support Grandsire Bhīshma, without
any doubt, from your tactical points of the entrance into the
army phalanx.
ANNOTATION: Duryodhana tells Dronāchārya that although
Bhīshma deva is partial to the Pāndavās, Kauravas' victory
depends on the vigilant protection of Bhīshma deva. He must be
protected on all sides so that he will be safe. Duryodhana knows
that Bhīshma Pitamah, who is old, may choose his own death,
but if he is injured he may not able to fight any longer. The
Kauravas army depends on the strength of Bhīshma deva, and it
is understood that where the commander is protected the army is
protected. Duryodhana also knows that since Bhīshma deva is his
Grandfather and Dronāchārya is his teacher, both will wish him
well, which was proven during the royal assembly and the fateful
game of dice between the Pāndavās and Kauravas. Neither
Bhīshma deva nor Dronāchārya responded to the obvious
indiscretions against Draupadi, even though they witnessed the
injustice and transgression that she was subjected to by
Duryodhana.
TEXT 12 थय स््नयत षं कुुव् ृ िः वप ाम ः।
भसं नादं ववन्य८्चः श्खं द्म९ र ापवान ् ॥१२॥
tasya sañjanayan harṣaṁ kuru-vṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ
siṁha-nādaṁ vinadyoccaiḥ śaṅkhaṁ dadhmau pratāpavān
tasya -- his; sañjanayan -- rising; harṣaṁ -- joyfulness; kuru-
vṛddhaḥ -- the primeval of the Kuru Empire; pitāmahaḥ -- the
grandfather; siṁha-nādaṁ -- roaring sound of a lion;
vinadyoccaiḥ -- tremble very deafeningly; śaṅkhaṁ -- conch
shell; dadhmau -- blew; pratāpavān -- the lion hearted (brave).
Then the great lion hearted grandsire of the Kuru Empire
Bhīshma deva to cheer Duryodhana, piercingly blew his
conch shell, like the roaring sound of a lion.
ANNOTATION: With great fear and anxiety, Duryodhana had
presented before Dronāchārya an analysis of army strengths in an
attempt to conceal his panic that developed due to might of
Pāndava’s army. At this time, while perceiving Duryodhana’s
inner despondency the valiant Grandsire Bhīshma blew a
thunderous blast on his conch shell to ease Duryodhana's worry
(simha-nādam means roaring like a lion).
The blowing of the conch shell by the eldest Kuru was a
symbol that Kaurava army was now prepared to fight the
Mahābhārata war, and that he was determined to fight this war
against the Pāndavās. Bhīshma deva was Kaurava army’s
commander and, accordingly, he was first to blow his conch.
According to the achāryas, the significance of the roaring
conch shell by general Bhīshma deva reveals the message: my
dear Duryodhana there is no victory on your side because Sri
Bhagavān Krishna, the unconquerable one, is on the other side.
TEXT 13 ःश्खा्च भेय्ा च पणवानकग८मख

ु ाः।
स सवा्य तयत स श्दथ म
ु ल
ु ८ऽभव ्॥१३॥
tataḥ śaṅkhāś ca bheryaś ca paṇavānaka-gomukhāḥ
sahasaivābhyahanyanta sa śabdas tumulo ’bhavat
tataḥ -- after that; śaṅkhāś -- conch shells; bheryaś ca -- also
drums; paṇavānaka -- also kettledrums; gomukhāḥ -- horns of
cows; sahasaivābhyahanyanta -- abruptly positively were at the
same time sounded; sa śabdas -- that collective sound; tumulo --
loud sound; abhavat -- turn out to be.
After that, the conch shells, drums, kettle-drums and horns
were all abruptly sounded, and the collective sound was very
loud.
ANNOTATION: All others in the Kaurava army followed their
commander and through exorbitant sound demonstrated their
madness to fight the Mahābhārata war. The tumultuous sound of
conch shells, horns and kettle-drums blared out suddenly
throughout the Kaurava army, creating an extremely loud and
piercing sound. Yet, the hearts of the warriors in the Pāndava
army remained calm.
TEXT 14 ः्वे ायय्
ुा े म त थयतदने ्थि ९।
मािवः पा्डव्चव हद्य९ श्ख९ रद्म ःु ॥१४॥
tataḥ śvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau
mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva divyau śaṅkhau pradadi matuḥ
tatah -- subsequently; svetair -- white; hayair -- horses; yukte --
being yoked; mahati -- in a grand; syandane -- chariot; sthitau --
located; mādhavaḥ -- the husband of the goddess of fortune, Lord
Krishna; pāṇḍavaś -- the son of Pāndu, Arjuna; ca -- also; eva --
certainly; divyau -- divine; sankhau – conch shells;
pradadhmatuh -- sounded.
Subsequently, while standing on a grand chariot yoked by
white horses, Krishna, the husband of the goddess of fortune,
and Arjuna also blew their divine conch shells.
ANNOTATION: Once the tumultuous sound of Kaurava's army

was exhausted, the Absolute Lord Sri Krishna and Arjuna both
blew their conch shells powerfully signaling the Pāndavās to
begin the righteous Mahābhārata war. Krishna and Arjuna were
friends, over and above the Pāndavās had the dharma and Lord
Krishna, the father of dharma, to assist them. Lord Krishna’s
multifarious mystical energies are omnipresent and as He was
present on the Pāndavā’s side, it would be impossible for the
Kaurava’s to achieve victory, despite the many mighty warriors
who were committed to the Kauravas, including demigods and
demons. Wherever there is Krishna, there is the Goddess of
fortune and this signifies an inevitable victory for the Pāndavās.
TEXT 15 पा्च्तयं ृषीकेश८ दे वदतं िन््यः।
प९्रं द्म९म ाश्खं भीमकमाा वक
ृ ८दरः॥१५॥
pāñchajanyaṁ hṛṣīkeśo devadattaṁ dhanañ-jayaḥ
pauṇḍraṁ dadhmau mahā-śaṅkhaṁ bhīma-karmā vṛkodaraḥ
pāñchajanyaṁ -- the name of conch shell pāñchajanya; hṛṣīkeśo
-- Hrsikesa (Krishna, the Lord who actually the master of
everyone’s senses); devadattaṁ -- the name of the conch shell
Devadatta; dhanañ-jayaḥ -- Arjuna, the winner of wealth;
pauṇḍraṁ -- the name of conch shell Paundram; dadhmau --
blew; mahā-śhaṅkhaṁ -- the divine conch shell; bhīma-karmā --
one who performs phenomenal tasks; vṛkodaraḥ -- Bhīma, the
insatiable eater.
The conch shell Pānchajanya was blown by Lord Krishna,
the master of everyone’s senses; the conch shell Devadatta
was blown by Arjuna; and the conch shell Paundra was
blown by the insatiable eater and performer of phenomenal
tasks, Bhīma.
ANNOTATION: Pānchajanya is the name of Lord Krishna's
divine conch shell. The other names mentioned are the conch
shells of the Pāndavās. Pānchajanya was the powerful conch
demon killed by Lord Krishna on His way to search for the son
of His spiritual master Sandipini muni. Sandipini muni asked
Lord Krishna for his lost son as a guru dakshina (a reward

offered by the disciples in return for the teachings of the teacher).
Lord Krishna and Lord Balarāma marched toward the
prabhāksha-ksetra to find the lost son of their teacher. Following
the instructions of the ocean god Varuna deva, the two Supreme
Lords entered the ocean. Pānchajanya was an evil ocean demon
who lived in a large conch shell deep in the Prabhaksha Ocean,
the modern Arabian Sea. The sleeping conch shell demon was
awakened by the Lord. Lord Krishna and the demon fought, and
in the end the demon was killed. Still, Lord Krishna did not find
the son of His spiritual master in the womb of the demon.
Krishna obliged the conch shell demon and named the conch
shell, after the demon, Pānchajanya.
It is significant that Lord Hrishikesh was the first to blow
the conch shell on the side of Pāndavās’ while the commander of
the Pāndava army was Dhristadyumna. This reflects the
Pāndavās’ respect and devotion towards Lord Krishna. It also
clearly signals that the Pāndavās' army was guided by Lord
Krishna Himself and that he had accepted the responsibility of
the Pāndavās' army.
There were many divine conch shells present with the
Pāndavās, but the Kaurava warriors had not earned divine conch
shells. By referring to Lord Krishna as “Hrishikesa”, the owner
of everyone's senses, it suggests that through the Supreme Lord
directing the Pāndavās’ war victory will be ensured for the
Pāndavās. The name “Dhananjaya” for Arjuna means ‘conqueror
of wealth’. It indicates that Arjuna would defeat all powerful
opponents and collect all wealth from the battlefield for
Pāndavās.
The word ‘Bhīma-karma’ here signifies the phenomenal
tasks of Bhīma. This word added to the name of Bhīma, who is a
performer of herculean tasks. After escaping the burning house
of wax, Pāndavās lived in a forest. To protect his brothers and
mother, on one night in the forest Bhīma killed a demon called
Hidamba, who was looking for human flesh to satiate his
urges. On their visit to Ekachakra village, one of the villagers
shared housing with the Pāndavās and their mother Kunti.
However, on the outskirts of that village was a demon Bakāsura,

who lived to eat the villagers and all of their food every fortnight.
Powerful Bhīma was asked by his mother Kunti to kill Bakāsura
and relieve the villagers forever. Bhīma brought a cart full of
food to the demon and ate all the food by himself in front of the
demon and, thereafter, he killed the demon. Because of his
stupendous victories, Bhīma is called performer of herculean
tasks and voracious eater. These are but some of the many
wondrous actions performed by Bhīma sena. ‘Sena’ means army
and thus Bhīma sena is as equal as an army, who has the strength
of 10,000 elephants.
TEXTS अनत वव्यं रा्ा कुत ीपर

ु ८ यधु ि््ठरः।
16-18 नकुलः स दे व्च सघ
ु ८षमणणप्ु पक९।
का्य्च परमे्वासः भशख्डीच म ारिः।
ि्ृ ि्य्
ु न८ ववराि्च सा्यकक ्चापरा्् ः।
रप
ु द८ र९पदे या्च सवाशःपधृ िवीप ।े
स९भर्च म ाबा ु ःश्खातद्मःु पि
ृ ्पि
ृ क्
॥१६-१७-१८॥
anantavijayaṁ rājā kuntī-putro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ
nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau
kāśyaś ca parameṣv-āsaḥ śhikhaṇḍī ca mahā-rathaḥ
dhṛṣṭadyumno virāṭaś ca sātyakiś cāparājitaḥ
drupado draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ pṛthivī-pate
saubhadraś ca mahā-bāhuḥ śaṅkhān dadhmuḥ pṛthak pṛthak
anantavijayaṁ -- the conch shell anantavijaya; rājā -- the king;
kuntī-putro -- the sons of Kunti; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ -- name
‘Yudhisthira’; nakulaḥ -- name ‘Nakula’; sahadevaś’ -- name
‘Sahadeva’; ca --also; sughoṣa-maṇipushpakau -- the name of
conch shell Sughosa and Manipushpaka; kāśyaś -- the King of
Kasi; ca -- also; parameṣv-āsaḥ -- the grand archer; śhikhaṇḍī --
name ‘Shikhandi’; ca -- also; mahā-rathaḥ -- great archers who
can fight with 10,000 soldiers; dhṛṣṭadyumno -- name
‘Dhrstadyumna’; virāṭaś -- King ‘Virāṭa’; ca -- also; sātyakiś --
name ‘Sātyaki’; ca -- and; cāparājitaḥ -- and unconquerable;

drupado -- name ‘Drupada’; draupadeyāś -- the sons of
Draupadi; ca -- also; sarvaśaḥ -- all; pṛthivī-pate -- master of the
earth planet; saubhadraś -- Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadrā; ca
-- also; mahā-bāhuḥ -- mighty armed; śaṅkhān -- conch shells;
dadhmuḥ -- blew; pṛthakpṛthak -- each separately.
O King, the son of Kunti, King Yudhishthira, blew his conch
shell, the Ananta-vijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the
Sughosa and Manipushpaka. That great archer the King of
Kasi, the great fighter Shikhandi, Dhristadyumna, Virāta,
the unconquerable Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi,
and the others such as the powerful son of Subhadra, all blew
their respective conch shells.
ANNOTATION: The conch shell pānchajanya of Lord Krishna
and conch shells Devadatta, Paundram, Anantavijaya, Sughosa
and Manipushpaka of five Pāndavās are renowned and famous.
Those who accept Supreme Lord Krishna as their protector,
undoubtedly, without ambiguity, will always be victorious.
The warriors of the Pāndava army followed Lord Krishna
and Arjuna, and blew their respective conch shells: Shikhandi,
the son of Drupada, who was born out of penance to be the cause
of Bhīshma deva's death; Dhristadyumna was born from the fire
sacrifice to kill Dronāchārya; Satyaki was the invincible servant
of the Supreme Lord, also joined with the Pāndavās; Drupada
and Virāta, the sons of Draupadi and Abhimanyu; the son of
Subhadra, born of Arjuna. In Duryodhana’s army there were no
famous conch shells that were known by any names.
Sanjay indicates to King Dhrtarāshtra that he should not
entertain any ideas that Duryodhana would be victorious in the
battle, even after the assistance of general Bhīshma deva and
Dronāchārya.
TEXT 19 स घ८ष८ िा रा ा्राणां ृदयातन ्यदारय ्।
नभ्च पधृ िवीं चव म
ु ल
ु ८्यनन
ु ादयन ्॥१९॥
sa ghoṣo dhrtarāṣhtrāṇāṁ hṛdayāni vyadārayat
nabhaś ca pṛthivīṁ caiva tumulo ’bhyanunādayan
sa -- that; ghoṣo -- tremor; dhrtarāshtrāṇāṁ -- of the sons of

Dhrtarāshtra; hṛdayāni -- hearts; vyadārayat -- overwhelmed;
nabhaś -- the sky; ca -- also; pṛthivīṁ -- the surface of the earth;
caiva -- also certainly; tumulo -- uproarious; abhyanunādayan --
reverberating.
All these conch shells’ uproarious sounds were tumultuous.
Reverberating in the ether as well as on the earth, they were
horrifying, shattering the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarāshtra.
ANNOTATION: Generally, the sound of conch shells are divine
and are commonly used before and after deity worship. However,
due to the war situation, the sound of conch shells reverberated
the feelings of the Pāndavās, that they would destroy the
unrighteousness confronting them in the form of Kauravas. The
uproarious sound of the divine conch shells of Pāndavās would
destroy the avaricious and evil hearted Kauravas. Here,
‘shattering the hearts’ means that the conch shell sound created
such an unbearable pain and hopelessness within the hearts of
Kauravas because of their nature, and situation was unstable and
insecure. How was this accomplished? The violent force
contained within the blasts of the conch shells reverberated and
filled the earth and ether with its echoes. Righteousness has
divine strength and unrighteousness weakens one’s strength.
TEXT 20 अि ्यव्थि ातृ््वा िा रा ा्रातकवप्व्ः।

रवत
ृ े शथरस्पा े िनु
ु ्य्य पा्डवः
ृषीकेशं दा वा्यभमदमा म ीप ।े ॥२०॥
atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā dhrtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ
hṛṣīkeśaṁ tadā vākyam idam āha mahī-pate
atha -- thereupon; vyavasthitān -- sited; dṛṣṭvā -- looking upon;
dhrtarāṣṭrān -- the sons of Dhārtarāṣṭrā; kapi-dhvajaḥ -- the flag
was marked with insignia of Hanumān; pravṛtte -- while about to
engage; śastra-sampāte -- in releasing his weapons; dhanur --
bow; udyamya -- taking up; pāṇḍavaḥ -- Arjuna; hṛṣīkeśaṁ --
unto Lord Krishna; tadā -- that time; vākyam -- words; idamāha -

- said these; mahī-pate -- O King.'
O King, Arjuna seated in the chariot that bears the insignia
marked with the picture of Hanuman, lifted his bow and
arrows and geared up to fire his weapons. At that time, after
looking at the sons of Dhrtarāshtra drawn in military
formation, Arjuna then spoke to Lord Krishna these words.
ANNOTATION: The obvious fear displayed by the Kauravas
before the battle created a renewed enthusiasm in the Pāndavās'
army. This is expressed by word “atha”, meaning thereafter.
Since their determination was shaken by the Pāndavās' mighty
strength, the Kauravas again, attempted to rally their troops for
battle.
After the tumultuous blowing of conch shells, and while
standing on the Hanuman bannered chariot, Arjuna raised his
divine bow named Gāndīva. The “Kapi-dhvajah”, meaning
Hanuman banner, has a specific significance. Since Hanuman
was fearless in performing extraordinary tasks for Lord
Rāmachandra, Arjuna’s use of this banner implies that he would
be blessed with Hanuman’s fearlessness. Thus, having such a
great devotee hero on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot was a
favorable sign of his victory. The word “Hrishikesha” refers to
Lord Krishna as controller of everyone's senses, and when
Supreme Lord Krishna Himself is carrying out the orders for
Pāndavās, there is no doubt of victory for the Pāndavās, who are
His intimate devotees.
TEXT 21-22 अ्न
ुा उवाच
सेनय८ुभय८मा्ये रिं थिापय मेऽ्यु
यावदे ा्तनरीषेऽ ं य८्िक
ु ामानव्थि ान ्।
कमाया स य८्ि्यम्थमरणसम्
ु यमे॥२१-२२॥
arjuna uvācha
senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me ’chyuta
yāvad etān nirīkṣe ’haṁ yoddhu-kāmān avasthitān
kair mayā saha yoddhavyam asmin raṇa-samudyame
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; senayor -- armies; ubhayor -- both;

madhye -- middle; rathaṁ -- the chariot; sthāpaya -- please place
it; me -- my; achyuta -- O infallible one; yāvad -- as soon as; etān
-- all these; nirīkṣe -- may look upon; ahaṁ -- I; yoddhu-kāmān --
desiring to fight; avasthitān -- arrayed on the battlefield; kair --
with whom; mayā -- by me; saha -- together; yoddhavyam --
have to fight; asmin -- in this; raṇa -- conflict; samudyame -- in
the attempt.
Arjuna said: Oh Achyuta, the infallible one, please place my
chariot in between the two armies so that I can see those
present now, who is desiring to battle, and with whom I may
take arms with.
ANNOTATION: Addressing Lord Krishna as the infallible one,
Arjuna is humbly requesting Lord Krishna to draw his chariot
and place it in between the two armies, so that he can see all
members of the opposing army who came to fight and sacrifice
their lives for the Kauravas’ cause. Arjuna was the most
powerful warrior on earth, especially when supported by the
Supreme Lord. There is no doubt of his victory, but Arjuna still
wanted to see his opponents, knowing that his family members
Bhīshma deva, Dronāchārya, Duryodhana, Dusyāsana, Salya and
other kings were taking part in battle against him only to satisfy
foolish sons of king Dhrtarāshtra.
TEXT 23 य८्थयमानानवेषेऽ ं य ए ऽे र समाग ाः।

िा रा ा्रथय दब
ु ्
ुा िेय्
ुा िे वरयधचकीषावः॥२३॥
yotsyamānān avekṣe ’haṁ ya ete ’tra samāgatāḥ
dhrtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher yuddhe priya-chikīrṣavaḥ
yotsyamānān -- craving to fight; avekṣe -- observe; ahaṁ -- I; ya
-- who; ete -- those; tra -- here; samāgatāḥ -- arrived;
dhārtarāstrasya -- for the son of Dhrtarāshtra; durbuddher --
wicked minded; yuddhe -- in the fight; priya-chikīrsavaḥ -- well
wishing
I would like to observe those well-wishers who have arrived

here to battle, desiring to satisfy the wicked minded son of
Dhrtarāshtra.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna wanted to see all the chieftains of the
Kauravas’ army, who came either on their own will or under
compulsion to fight this war on the side of the crooked minded
Duryodhana. Arjuna realized that to win this war he would have
to kill Duryodhana’s entire army. Thus, before commencing
battle, he wanted to carefully observe from proximity of the
Kaurava army and its chieftains.

एवम्
ु ८ ृषीकेश८ गड
ु ाकेशेन भार ।
सेनय८ुभय८मा्ये थिापतय्वा रि८तमम ्॥२४॥
sañjaya uvācha
evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo guḍākeśena bhārata
senayor ubhayor madhye sthāpayitvā rathottamam
sañjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; evam -- thus; ukto -- addressed;
hṛṣīkeśo -- Lord Krishna; guḍākeśena -- by Arjuna; bhārata -- O
Successor of Bhārata dynasty; senayor ubhayor madhye -- in the
midst of both armies; sthāpayitvā -- placing; rathottamam -- the
finest of all chariots.
Sanjaya said: O Successor of the Bhārata dynasty, as Arjuna
had just spoken, Lord Krishna carried the finest of all
chariots between both the armies.
ANNOTATION: Without asking Arjuna, why he wants to be
stationed between both armies, as Supersoul, Krishna already
knew what was blistering in Arjuna’s heart. As an obedient
charioteer, the Absolute Personality of Godhead drove horses to
the midpoint of both armies in order to fulfill Arjuna’s request.
There is a responsive co-operation between the Supreme
Lord and His devotees. The more a devotee sincerely loves
Krishna, the more Krishna reciprocates to his love. This happens
to the point that a highly advanced devotee can talk with Krishna
face to face, like Arjuna.
TEXT 25 भी्मर८णरमख
ु ः सवेषां म ीषष ाम ्।
उवाच पािा प्य ातसमवे ातकु तनत ॥२५॥
bhīṣma-droṇa-pramukhataḥ sarveṣāṁ ca mahī-kṣitām
uvācha pārtha paśyaitān samavetān kurūn iti
bhīṣma -- Bhīṣma; droṇa -- Droṇa; pramukhataḥ -- in front of;
sarveṣāṁ -- all; ca -- also; mahī-kṣitām -- leader of the world;
uvācha -- said; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; paśya -- just see; itān--
all of them; samavetān -- come together; kurūn -- the members of
the Kuru dynasty; iti -- thus.
Lord Krishna said to Pārtha (Arjuna) in the presence of
Bhīshma and Drona: please see all the assembled members of
the chieftains of the Kuru dynasty.
ANNOTATION: Even though Arjuna told the Lord to pull the
chariot in between the armies, he was only interested in seeing
the Kuru army members who were prepared to fight against
dharma, the true religion, under foolish request of Duryodhana.
As Lord Krishna, the source of Supersoul, knows everyone’s
heart, the Lord thus said to Arjuna: Just behold the Kurus
assembled here, son of Pritha.
TEXT 26 राप्य््थि ातपािाः वप न ॄ ि वप ाम ान ्।
आचायाातमा ल
ु ातरा ॄतपर
ु ातप९रातसखींथ िा।
्वशरु ातसृ
ु द्चव सेनय८ुभय८रवप।॥२६॥
tatrāpaśyat sthitān pārthaḥ pitṝn atha pitāmahān
āchāryān mātulān bhrātṝn putrān pautrān sakhīṁs tathā
śvaśurān suhṛdaś caiva senayor ubhayor api
tatrā -- there; paśyat -- could behold; sthitān -- standing; pārthaḥ
-- the son of Pritha, Arjuna; pitṝn -- fathers; atha -- also;
pitāmahān-āchāryān-mātulān -- grandfathers, teachers, maternal
uncles; bhrātṝn -- brothers; putrānpautrān -- sons, grandsons;
sakhīṁs -- friends; tathā -- too; śvaśurān -- fathers-in-law;
suhṛdaś -- well-wishers; ca -- also; iva -- certainly; senayor -- of
the armies; ubhayor -- of both parties; api -- also or including.
Thereafter, Arjuna could behold within both of the armies of

his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles,
brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, and also his fathers-in-law
and well-wishers.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna saw many members of his family,
friends and associates opposing him on the battlefield under
Duryodhana. It is important to understand that those who are
mentioned as ‘fathers’ are men who were of same generation as
his father, such as Bhūrisrava. ‘Grandfathers’ are similarly from
the same generation as his grandfather, such as Bhīshma deva.
Those referred as ‘teachers’, are like Dronāchārya and
Kripāchārya. ‘Maternal uncles’ are like Salya. ‘Brothers’ are like
Bhīma and Duryodhana. ‘Sons’ are all those of age matching his
own son, Abhimanyu. ‘Grandsons’ are like Laksmana, and
friends are like Aswathama.
Arjuna had requested that Lord Krishna place the chariot at
the midpoint between the two armies so that he could closely
view all warrior chieftains on the Kaurava side. After being
situated between the two armies, Arjuna, as a devotee of Lord
Krishna, began contemplating the impending inevitable
destruction of both of the armies’ soldiers.
TEXT 27 ातसमी्य स क९त य

े ः सवाातबतिूनव्थि ान ्।
कृपया परयाऽवव्ि८ ववषीद्तनदमरवी ्। ॥२७॥
tān samīkṣya sa kaunteyaḥ sarvān bandhūn avasthitān
kṛpayā parayāviṣṭo viṣīdann idam abravīt
tān -- all of them; samīkṣya -- after observing; sa -- he;
kaunteyaḥ -- the son of Kunti; sarvān -- all kinds of; bandhūn --
relatives; avasthitān -- situated; kṛpayā -- by compassion; parayā
-- highly; viṣṭo -- overwhelmed; viṣīdann -- while lamenting;
idam -- thus; abravīt -- spoke.
Arjuna, the son of Kunti, seeing all his relatives and friends,
became overwhelmed with sympathy and lamentation, spoke
the following.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna’s family members and forefathers are

very magnanimous souls, all with the qualities of a devotee. It is
natural for descendants like Arjuna to have equally great
qualities. Arjuna’s father, Mahārāja Pāndu, was an exemplary
king of Hastinapura. Although he had departed from the world,
the people of Hastinapura still remember his compassion, the
nature of his administration, and how, as a good king, he
protected them. Comparatively, Mahārāja Pāndu ruled the
kingdom with reluctance due the presence of his older brother
Dhrtarāshtra.
According to the āchārya Baladev Vidyābhūshana, the most
munificent and compassionate Supreme Lord Krishna descended
to earth to spread His knowledge of the immutable soul. This
knowledge confused His friend and disciple Arjuna, who was
deep in illusion by misinterpreting a verse found in the
Chandogya Upanishad 8.15. This verse begins “ahimsyat
sarvabhūtani”, meaning: one should not cause injury to any
living entity. From this verse Arjuna came to the erroneous
decision that, even as a warrior, fighting in this battle was against
the principles of righteousness.
The word ‘kaunteyah’ used for addressing Arjuna because
he is a son of Kunti. He is affected by morality, ethics and
afflictions supported in the scriptures. The use of the word
“krupaya” suggests that Arjuna is naturally compassionate.
“paraya” means that he is compassionate for his own soldiers, as
well as the enemy’s soldiers. The word “visidan” expresses all
symptoms of grief, like shedding tears, shivering, being choked-
up, etc., which have simultaneously manifested in Arjuna as he
began to speak.
TEXT 28 अ्न ुा उवाच
ृ््वेमं थव्नं कृ्ण यय ु ्ु सुं समप
ु ्थि म ्।
सीद्त मम गाराणण मख
ु ं च परर श्ु यत ॥२८॥
arjuna uvācha
dṛṣṭvemaṁ sva-janaṁ krishna yuyutsuṁ samupasthitam
sīdanti mama gātrāṇi mukhaṁ ca pariśuṣyati
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; dṛṣṭv -- after seeing; emaṁ-sva-

janaṁ -- all these relatives; krishṇa -- O Krishna; yuyutsuṁ -- all
in a combating spirit; samupasthitam -- present; sīdanti -- are
shaking; mamagātrāṇi -- my limbs of the body; mukhaṁ ca --
mouth also; pariśuṣyati -- drying up.
Arjuna said: O Krishna, after seeing all these relatives and
friends present in such a combating spirit, I feel my limbs of
the body is shivering and my mouth is drying up.
ANNOTATION: All good qualities manifest in a person who has
accepted the path of genuine devotion unto the Supreme
Personality, Lord Krishna. Qualities of devotees are the same as
residents of Kingdom of God, technically called Vaikuṇṭha, a
place without anxiety.
The topmost of all the spiritual universe is Goloka
Vrindhāvana. The souls of all residents there, are eternally
liberated from repeated death, birth, old age and disease. Because
of Arjuna’s constant association with and devotion to Krishna, he
had inherited all the sweet qualities of eternally liberated
devotees. He was disturbed to see his kinsmen, willing to
sacrifice their lives during fighting for the right to rule over the
kingdom.
From this verse onwards, Arjuna describes the great grief
that has struck him and how it has dried out his courage and will
to fight. This is in stark contrast to Duryodhana who did not care,
who would die in this battle. As a devotee, Arjuna is
compassionate and cannot accept the bloodshed of his relatives
and friends, even if it meant being victorious.
TEXT 29 वेपि्ु च शरीरे मे र८म षा्च ्ाय े
गा्डीवं रंस े थ ा्व्चव पररद्य ।े ॥२९॥
vepathuś ca śarīre me roma-harṣaś ca jāyate
gāṇḍīvaṁ sraṁsate hastāt tvak caiva paridahyate
vepathuś -- shivering; ca -- also; śarīre -- on the body; me -- my;
roma-harṣaś -- standing of hair on end; ca -- also; jāyate -- is
taking place; gāṇḍīvaṁ -- the bow of Arjuna; sraṁsate -- is
falling; hastāt -- from the hand; tvak -- skin; ca -- also; iva --

certainly; paridahyate -- is burning up.
My whole body is shivering, my hair is standing on end, my
Gāndīva bow is falling from my hand, and my skin is burning
up.
ANNOTATION: When in spiritual ecstasy with the love of God,
symptoms like one’s body trembling and hair standing up
straight are both obvious and natural. It is also said that a person
will feel the same symptoms when experiencing excessive
compassion. When Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu manifested his
devotion for Lord Krishna, he manifested ecstatic qualities,
genuine symptoms of extreme love for Krishna. However,
Arjuna’s concern was that his bow, Gāndīva, was slipping from
his hands, his whole body was shivering and these symptoms
were caused by material attachment to his relatives and friends,
and the weakness from loss of his relatives’ lives.
Arjuna was so sensitive and gentle hearted that the thought
of being a murderer of his relatives and friends in a destructive
war was draining away all his energy. Arjuna had lost his will
and strength to fight. Thus, it is any sane person’s experience that
when they realize the consequences of sinful acts they
immediately try to turn away from their immoral path.
TEXT 30 न च श्न८्यवथिा ंु रम ीव च मे मनः।
तनभमतातन च प्याभम ववपरी ातन केशव॥३०॥
na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ bhramatīva ca me manaḥ
nimittāni ca paśyāmi viparītāni keśava
na -- not; ca -- also; śaknomy -- am I able; avasthātuṁ -- to
stand; bhramat -- not remember; īva -- as; ca -- and; me -- my;
manaḥ -- mind; nimittāni -- causes; ca -- also; paśyāmi -- see;
viparītāni -- reverse; keśava -- O killer of the demon Kesi
(Krishna).
I am not able to stand here any longer. I am losing my
memory, and my mind is rolling. I see only reasons of
misfortune, O killer of the Kesi demon, Krishna.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna’s reactions here are due to his excessive

compassion for his relatives. The line with the words “nimittāni”
and “viparitāni” is very important. Arjuna came prepared to
fight, yet once he realized consequences of this war, he decided
to abandon the battle. This is due to the material perception of
life. People often expect a particular result for their actions and
get attached to it. After commencing their work, when they
discover that it is going to be difficult and unfold harshly, to the
opposite of their previous expectations and attachments, they
often quit and change their path. This happens on a righteous
path as well. People worship and adore a particular person or
deity with a particular motivation and when they do not obtain
their desired results immediately, they begin to wonder why did
they ever begin their worship and they abandon it. The material
world represents the opposite of what one believes to be so. This
is because we are bound by our own previous karma.
Working for Krishna is the best work one can ever do in the
material world. By working for Krishna, one will be freed from
the network of reactions of one’s karma. Once a person is freed
from the reactions of karma, he can enter into the eternal
Kingdom of Godhead for a permanent life. However, this is not
possible until one takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Sri Krishna is the sole proprietor of spiritual and
material worlds. In the material world, Krishna does not interfere
with the tiny independence, which he has given to living beings,
especially human beings.
Arjuna was feeling frustrated because of the perplexing
material activities, so he addressed Sri Krishna as Kesava and
took shelter of the Supreme Lord to diminish his anxiety. When
Lord Krishna was a boy, He killed a horse demon called Kesi,
sent by demon Kamsa. Here, by addressing Krishna as killer of
Kesi demon, Arjuna is implying that if Krishna was able to kill
the powerful demon Kesi, He should be able to destroy Arjuna’s
material compassion and weakness for his relatives too.
TEXT 31 न च रेय८ऽनप
ु ्याभम ्वा थव्नमा वे।
न का्षे वव्यं कृ्ण न च रा्यं सख
ु ातन च॥३१॥
na ca śreyo ’nupaśyāmi hatvā sva-janam āhave

na kāṅkṣe vijayaṁ krishna na ca rājyaṁ sukhāni ca
na ca -- nor also; śreyo -- good; nupaśyāmi -- anticipate; hatvā --
by assassinating; sva-janam -- own relatives; āhave-na -- nor in
the fight; kāṅkṣe -- desire; vijayaṁ -- conquest; krishna -- O
Krishna; na -- nor; ca -- also; rājyaṁ -- kingdom; sukhāni --
happiness thereof; ca -- also.
I do not anticipate how any good can come from
assassinating my family members in this battle, my dear
Krishna, nor can I desire any subsequent conquest, kingdom,
or happiness.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna relates to Krishna insisting that he sees
no benefit for him in killing his own people, except for becoming
victorious and gaining a huge kingdom. Thus, he wonders, after
the death of these relatives, what is the merit for the killer? In
Vedic scriptures, it is explained that in this world two types of
living entities are automatically granted entrance to heavenly
planets: one who is disciplined in the practice of yoga, the other
is a warrior killed on righteous battle field.
As a kingdom, victory and happiness in this world appears
meaningless to him, Arjuna requests to be left alone, to go to the
forest, and meditate and leave this all behind. Arjuna wants to go
to forest because he knows that if he quits the battle he would
have nowhere else to live, no kingdom, no house, and no wealth.
So, living in forest would be the only option available to him.
However, even if Arjuna were to live in the forest because of
king Duryodhana’s jealousy of the Pāndavās’ happiness,
Duryodhana would still present himself as a formidable enemy of
Arjuna and all Pāndavās.
This verse reveals Arjuna’s detachment to wealth, power
and victorious status. He maintained this detachment even
though he was capable of achieving all of these things, since he
was best archer among kshatriyas. Chapter one of Bhagavad-
Gītā reflects these two opposing mindsets: of demon and
devotee, as seen in Duryodhana, who is contrasted to Arjuna.
These are the two different ways of perceiving human goals, to

remain objective while executing an act, and the perpetual
duality of the material world.
TEXT ककं न८ रा्येन ग८ववतद कक ्भ८ग्ीवव न े वा।
32-35 येषामिे का्षष ं न८ रा्यं भ८गाः सख
ु ातन च ॥३२॥
इमेऽव्थि ा य्
ु िे राणांथ्य््वा िनातनच।
आचायााः वप रः पर
ु ाथ िव च वप ाम ाः ॥३३॥
मा ल
ु ाः्वशरु ाःप९राः्यालाःस्ब्तिनथ िा।
ए ातन त भु म्छाभम ्न ८ऽवप मिुसद ू न ॥३४॥
अवप रल८्यरा्य थय े ८ः ककं नु म ीकृ ।े
तन ्य िा रा ा्रातनःका रीत ःथया््नादा न।॥३५॥
kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā
yeṣām arthe kāṅkṣitaṁ no rājyaṁ bhogāḥ sukhāni ca
ta ime ’vasthitā yuddhe prāṇāṁs tyaktvā dhanāni ca
ācāryāḥ pitaraḥ putrās tathaiva ca pitāmahāḥ
mātulāḥ śvaśurāḥ pautrāḥ śyālāḥ sambandhinas tathā
etān na hantum icchāmi ghnato ’pi madhusūdana
api trailokya-rājyasya hetoḥ kiṁ nu mahī-kṛte
nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān naḥ kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana
kiṁ -- what; no -- to us; rājyena -- Empire; govinda -- O
Govinda; kim bhogair -- what delight; jīvitena -- existing; vā --
either; yeṣām -- of whom; arthe -- for the sake; kāṅkṣitaṁ --
desired; no -- by us; rājyaṁ bhogāḥ -- enjoying the kingdom;
sukhāni -- all happiness; ca -- as well; te -- all of them; ime --
these; avasthitā -- placed; yuddhe -- on this battlefield; prāṇāṁs -
- lives; tyaktvā -- giving up; dhanāni -- riches; ca -- also;
āchāryāḥ -- teachers; pitaraḥ -- fathers; putrās -- sons; tatha -- as
well as; iva -- certainly; ca -- as well; pitāmahāḥ -- grandsires;
mātulāḥ -- uncles; śvaśurāḥ -- fathers-in-law; pautrāḥ --
grandsons; śyālāḥ -- brothers-in-law; sambandhinas -- relatives;
tatha -- as well as; etān -- all these; na -- never; hantum -- to
slay; icchāmi -- wish; ghnato -- being killed; api -- even;
madhusūdana -- O killer of the demon Madhu, api -- still if;

trailokya -- three worlds; rājyasya -- for the empire; hetoḥ -- in
exchange; kiṁnu -- what to speak of; mahī-kṛte -- sake of the
earth; nihatya -- by killing; dhārtarāṣṭrān -- the sons of
Dhrtarāstrā; naḥ -- our; kā -- what; prītiḥ -- pleasure; syāj -- there
be; janārdana -- O maintainer of all living entities (Krishna).
O Govinda, of what use is this empire, what is the value of
such happiness, for whom we may desire it are now arrayed
on this battlefield? O Madhusūdana, when teachers, fathers,
sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law,
grandsons, brothers-in-law and other relatives are ready to
abandoned their lives, and belongings and are standing
before me, why should I desire to slay them, even though
otherwise they would slay me? O Janārdana, I am not ready
to battle with them, even in exchange for the three worlds, to
say nothing of this earth planet. What happiness will we
derive from killing these sons of Dhrtarāshtra?
ANNOTATION: Those who are not self-realized want to enjoy
material opulence. Whereas Arjuna, as a devotee, was conscious
of the fact that the kingdom and wealth that would be gained
from the massacre of his relatives and friends cannot bring
happiness. On the other hand, if he does not kill his enemies they
would not hesitate to kill him. Arjuna explains this by addressing
Lord Krishna with the name Govinda. Because Krishna gives
pleasure to the senses, and since the Lord is the possessor of
eternal existence, full of consciousness and bliss, Arjuna
implores the Lord to satiate him with this bliss!
Thus, Arjuna despairs while contemplating the prospect of
the imminent slaughter as the consequence of war, and he
requests that Lord Krishna direct his senses for his ultimate
benefit. Arjuna addresses Krishna as Madhusūdana, one who
killed the demon Madhu.
Madhu and Kaitaba are the foolish demons, being smug
with their own immortality, they went to Brahma-loka and stole
the Vedās, the ultimate knowledge of the science of God, from
the hand of Lord Brahma, the secondary creator. Lord Brahma

reported these demon's atrocities to Lord Vishnu in His
transcendental form of Hayagriva or Horse incarnation. Lord
Vishnu, then, fought with the demons, retrieved the Vedās and
gave them back to Lord Brahma. However, the Lord did not kill
the demons to keep Goddess Durga’s promise to them that they
can die only when they desire to die. The Supreme Lord began
eulogizing the demons, being pleased with the eulogy offered by
Lord Vishnu, the demons asked Lord Vishnu for a benediction
from them. The Supreme Lord then asked them for their death.
Arjuna addressed Krishna as Madhusūdana because Krishna
killed the Madhu demon in the form of Hayagriva and retrieved
the Vedās for the advancement of human society: ‘Oh
Madhusūdana! Please educate me with the proper knowledge by
which I will eliminate this overwhelming situation’. Arjuna again
addresses Krishna, this time as Janārdhana, meaning Krishna
maintains all living entities with their daily maintenance, free
them from ignorance and passion. Arjuna exclaims that even for
control of all three worlds, he does not wish to kill the sons of
king Dhrtarāshtra.
TEXT 36 पापमेवारयेदथमात ्व ाना ातयनः

थमातना ाा वयं त ंु िा रा ा्रातथवबातिवान ्।
थव्नं ह किं ्वा सणु खनःथयाम मािव॥३६॥
pāpam evāśrayed asmān hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ
tasmān nārhā vayaṁ hantuṁ dhārtarāṣṭrān sa-bāndhavān
sva-janaṁ hi kathaṁ hatvā sukhinaḥ syāma mādhava
pāpam -- sin; evā -- certainly; śrayed -- come upon; asmān -- us;
hatva -- by slaying; itān -- all these; ātatāyinaḥ -- assailants;
tasmān -- as a result; nā -- never; rhā -- deserving; vayaṁ -- we;
hantuṁ -- to kill; dhrtarāshtrān -- the sons of Dhrtarāshtra; sa-
bāndhavān -- our friends; sva-janaṁ -- kinsmen; hi -- certainly;
kathaṁ -- how; hatvā -- by slaughtering; sukhinaḥ -- joyful;
syāma -- will we become; mādhava -- husband of the goddess of
fortune (Krishna).
Sins will come up on us, if we slay such assailants. As a result,

it is not good for us to slay the sons of Dhrtarāshtra, also our
friends. What should we gain, Oh husband of the goddess of
fortune, and how could we be content by slaughtering our
own relatives?
ANNOTATION: In the Manu samhita, it is said that the
following six types of aggressors can be slain:1) One who
administers poison 2) one who sets fire to another's home 3) one
who attacks with deadly weapons 4) one who steals another's
wealth 5) one who usurps another's property 6) and one who
kidnaps another's wife.
According to the laws of karma, if these aggressors are
slain, there would be no sinful reaction from the laws of nature
(prakriti). It is a fact that every one of these aggressions was
committed by Duryodhana and his brothers, hence it is a
certainty that all of them should be slain. Arjuna believes it
would be sinful to kill friends, relatives and his superiors.
Therefore, the Bhagavad-Gītā was preached by the Supreme
Lord when Arjuna wanted to excuse these hardcore criminals.
Arjuna reasons that while the killing of aggressors is found in the
moral codes of scriptures of logic, or niti sāstras, in the dharma
sāstra, or religious scriptures, one finds that, to the contrary, one
should not cause harm to any living creatures. Since religious
scriptures are superior to scriptures of logic (nitisāstra), Arjuna
believes that, it can only be sinful to kill honored elders, such as
āchārya Drona, Grandsire Bhīshma and their accomplices.
Moreover, without the elders and other relatives, Arjuna
observes that the enjoyment of sovereignty wouldn’t be
enjoyable. Rather, it would only result in sorrow. By addressing
Lord Krishna as Mādhava, the controller of all wealth and
opulence, Arjuna's intention is to ask why the Lord of the
Goddess of fortune would encourage him to fight a battle that
would be full of death, and devoid of all wealth and opulence.
TEXTS य्यतये े न प्य्त ल८भ८प चे सः।
37-38 कुलषयकृ ं द८षं भमरर८ े च पा कम ्॥३७॥
किं न ्ेयमथमाभभःपापादथमा्तनवत ा म ु ्।
कुलषयकृ ं द८षं रप्य्भभ्ानादा न॥३८॥
yady apy ete na paśyanti lobhopahata-cetasaḥ
kula-kṣaya-kṛtaṁ doṣaṁ mitra-drohe ca pātakam
kathaṁ na jñeyam asmābhiḥ pāpād asmān nivartitum
kula-kṣaya-kṛtaṁ doṣaṁ prapaśyadbhir janārdana
yady -- if; apy -- still; ete -- they; na -- do not; paśyanti -- see;
lobho -- greed; pahata -- overtaken; cetasaḥ -- their hearts; kula-
kṣaya -- in killing the dynasty; kṛtaṁ -- done; doṣaṁ -- fault;
mitra-drohe -- in harmed with friends; ca -- also; pātakam --
sinful effect; kathaṁna -- why should not; jñeyam -- be known;
asmābhiḥ -- by us; pāpād -- from sins; asmān -- these; nivartitum
-- to cease; kula-kṣaya -- in the destruction of a dynasty; kṛtaṁ --
done; doṣaṁ -- crime; prapaśyadbhir -- by those who can see;
janārdana -- the maintainer of the living beings (Krishna).
O Janārdana, even though these men, with their hearts
overpowered by voracity, find no mistakes in the destruction
of their own family members and friends, why should we not
free ourselves from these sinful acts knowing how heinous
this crime would be, to destroy the dynasty.
ANNOTATION: Those who are situated in passion and
ignorance will not be able to distinguish between right and
wrong. The people who would fight for Duryodhana’s evil cause
are infatuated with material greed, and lust and their objectives
are to exploit the resources of God’s creation. Moreover, the
assembled kings were just like Duryodhana, in pursuit of
vengeance against the Pāndavās, they were prepared for ruin and
to lose their own kingdom. While Arjuna was humble and soft
hearted, and could see result of this war, the Kauravas, inspired
by Duryodhana, could not see the destruction of the Kuru clan.
(Duryodhana was named Suyodhana by his parents, but later
became known as Duryodhana for his devilish and envious
proposals against the Pāndavās. The name Suyodhana is opposite
of Duryodhana)
TEXT 39 कुलषये रण्य्त कुलिमााः सना नाः।

िमे न्िे कुलं कृ्थनमिमोऽभभभव्यु ॥३९॥
kula-kṣaye praṇaśyanti kula-dharmāḥ sanātanāḥ
dharme naṣṭe kulaṁ kṛtsnam adharmo ’bhibhavaty uta
kula-kṣaye -- in destruction of the family; praṇaśyanti --
destroyed; kula-dharmāḥ -- the family customs; sanātanāḥ --
eternal; dharme -- religion; naṣṭe -- destroyed; kulaṁ -- family;
kṛtsnam -- entire; adharmo -- irreligion; abhibhavaty --
predominated; uta -- it is said.
It is said that by the destruction of the family, the eternal
family custom is destroyed, and thus the rest of the family
becomes predominated by irreligion.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the sin that Arjuna refers to is
revealed. In a dynasty, the father is the foundation of the family.
He ensures that family tradition is conserved, protected, as well
as embraced by all family members. In times of war, the father
and the older sons, who represent the fathers of next generation,
go to war as well. If the father is slain in battle, it is understood
that the family is effectively destroyed and so is its
righteousness, along with the age old family customs. Vedic
traditions too will eventually cease. The women and children will
not be properly protected, they will lose the shelter of the father
and will overcome by realities of basic survival, and become
victims of unrighteousness and exploitation.
If war ensued, it would end in a widespread massacre;
millions would be killed. The kingdom would be without a king,
which would result in a loss of good government. Families of
these slain warriors would be orphaned, their survival will
depend upon the whims of the conquering warriors. It is a
malicious custom of war that the conquering nation relishes and
plunders the wealth and women of losing nation. Moreover, a
conquering nation enforces its own religious sentiments and
righteousness, and thereby the eternal religious principle of the
losing nation are completely destroyed forever. For example,
after the Mahābhārata war, many small scale wars were fought,
along with the loss of civilization, trade and cities, many children
and old men were killed, women were kidnapped and abused by
the conquering army. Such are the consequences of both civil
and world wars.
Arjuna could foresee the end of the war and its tragic effects
on the human race, with the loss of custom, culture, spirituality
and the predominance of irreligiosity.
TEXT 40 अिमााभभभवा्कृ्ण रद्ु य्त कुल्थरयः।

थरीषु द्ु िासव
ु ा्णेय ्ाय े वणास्करः॥४०॥
adharmābhibhavāt krishna praduṣyanti kula-striyaḥ
strīṣu duṣṭāsu vārṣṇeya jāyate varṇa-saṅkaraḥ
adharmābhibhavāt -- irreligion is predominant; krishna -- O
Krishna; praduṣyanti -- become contaminated; kula-striyaḥ -- the
women of the family; strīṣu duṣṭāsu -- by the womanhood being
so impure; vārṣṇeya -- O descendant of Vrshini; jāyate -- comes
into existence; varṇa-saṅkaraḥ -- unwanted children.
O Krishna, O descendant of Vrshini, when irreligion is
predominant in the family, the women of the family become
unchaste, and from the ruination of womanhood comes
unwanted descendants.
ANNOTATION: According to the Vedic system, women are
very important members of the family because they give love,
affection, patience and bring forth progeny. Although women are
important, they are by nature weak in their physical and
psychological aspects. Therefore, they need to be counseled and
protected by the stronger male members of the family. Arjuna
exclaimed that for warriors who are killed in the war, their
women and their children would be without a male
guardian. Who would maintain and protect them? Once
protection from the male members of family is lost, women may
be forced to commit adultery, resulting in unwanted pregnancy
which can bring forth a polluted generation. This is the result of
irreligion in the family. Arjuna does not want to be the cause of

such a destruction of family and dynasties by participating in the
war.
In contemporary society due to lack of religion and
devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a lack of
protection for women has led to there being many homes of
prostitutes. The weaker gender and, particularly, the
economically weaker are exploited by powerful and wealthy
males leading to prostitution. Those who are trapped in the field
continue their sinful activities to become richer. Modern movie
and pornography industries are the examples of such
exploitation. Girls have the independence to move around with
similar untruthful and undisciplined males known to them.
Similarly, in industrial and corporate enterprises there are many
white-collared men who exploit their female co-workers by
luring them with promotion and empowerment. All these
unchaste activities are happening because a strong head of family
and government is absent just as Arjuna had feared.
TEXT 41 स्कर८ नरकायव कुल्नानां कुलथय च।

प ्त वप र८ ्येषां लतु वप्ड८दककरयाः॥४१॥
saṅkaro narakāyaiva kula-ghnānāṁ kulasya ca
patanti pitaro hy eṣāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ
saṅkaro -- such unwanted offspring; narakāya -- hellish
existence; iva -- certainly; kula-ghnānāṁ-kulasya ca -- for both
the family; also for those who are destroyers of the family
tradition; patanti pitaro hy -- certainly forefathers fall down;
eṣāṁ -- of them; lupta -- stopped; piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ --
performance of offerings of food and water.
Arise of the unwanted progeny certainly brings a hellish
existence both for the family and for those who are the
destroyers of family customs. The forefathers of such
dishonest dynasties eventually fall down, due to the cessation
of all offerings of food and water to these forefathers.
ANNOTATION: When this kind of unwanted population arises,

there won’t be any family member who is interested in
performing rituals for the benefit of forefathers by satisfying the
Supreme Lord Vishnu. Unwanted progeny and irreligion lead to
an atheistic civilization. A generation who does not worship the
maintainer of all beings, that is, Lord Vishnu (also called yajna
purusha) falls into a degraded human society. Since, they are
deprived of these devotional services and donations, due to the
destruction of the family structure, and the absence of a qualified
progeny, ancestors fall down from heaven and transfer to hellish
planets.
There is life after death and that life is sustained and
prospered by performance of offerings to Lord Vishnu for the
benefit of demised forefathers. Children of unchaste sensual
relations do not respect demised forefathers and hence they do
not perform above-mentioned offerings to Lord Vishnu.
Most of our contemporary population live, more or less, like
a nonhuman. A nonhuman does not have any feeling of
connection or respect towards its demised forefathers. Nonhuman
live to eat, sleep, mate and die. dharmena hina pashubhi
samāna: without consciousness of the Supreme Lord, human life
is like a pashu, an animal. This subtle regulation of a family’s
connection with its departed forefathers is unknown at present
society due to irregularity in following the eternal religious
principles. Instead, academic scholars are very proud of
advancing their science, technology and philosophical
knowledge in other pursuits.
Arjuna was neither a highly sacred intellectual brāhmana,
nor a renounced monk, nor a Vedāntist. He was a grhastha, or
householder with four wives. He laments on the potential loss of
lives on the battlefield. This perfect knowledge is called Vedic
knowledge. Culture of learning and progressing in Krishna
consciousness through day to day life chores, is the most
civilized form of life. In Srimad-Bhagavātam (11.5.41) it is said:
devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
“Those who have taken complete shelter of Lord Mukunda,
who is the giver of all liberation from the material bondage, have
no obligation or duties towards demigods, humans, forefathers or
any living entities such as mother, father, relatives, teachers,
domestic animals and other close members in the home. Such
duties and responsibilities are automatically fulfilled by
executing devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead Lord Mukunda, Krishna”.
TEXT 42 द८षरे ः कुल्नानां वणास्करकारकः।

उ्सा्यत े ्ात िमााः कुलिमाा्च शा्व ाः॥४२॥
doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāṁ varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ
utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ kula-dharmāś ca śāśvatāḥ
doṣair -- faults; etaiḥ -- all these; kula-ghnānāṁ -- destroyers of
family; varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ -- causes for unwanted
offspring; utsādyante -- completely shattered; jāti-dharmāḥ --
society projects; kula-dharmāś -- family customs; ca -- also;
śāśvatāḥ -- eternal.
By such faulty deeds of those who are the destroyers of the
family customs and by thus bringing forth the unwanted
offspring, all kinds of society, family, spiritual activities and
other welfare projects are completely shattered.
ANNOTATION: The previously discussed consequences of a
downfall in traditional family values is further elaborated in this
verse. The destruction of family tradition occurs when there is an
absence of a strong elderly male member in the family. Strong
commanding members of family or strong government, is very
essential for protecting female members of family and
community. There are many loose uncivilized male members in
every part of the planet who take advantage of these unprotected
girls and women, and exploit them. Strong elderly members of

different families in a group are collectively called ‘community’.
jati-dharmah refers to the duties of the warrior class, They
are the protectors of all people in their community. kula-dharmas
refers to traditional practices observed by a particular family. The
use of the word ca also indicates the varna-āsrama dharma: the
rules of a righteous governing relationship between the
brāhmana, the intelligent class; the kshatriya, the warrior order;
the vaishya, the mercantile order; and, the sūdra, the working
class. Everything could be completely destroyed simply by
adultery. There are many households, where decent women are
left alone by their husbands. In the name of making lavish
amounts of money, husbands work from early morning until late
at night without understanding the needs of their women. As a
consequence of never-ending work, marital relationships are
destroyed in their family. Those who are not secure in joint
family traditions, while alone and separated from their partners
may develop relationships with members of the opposite sex,
spoiling their human and traditional values. In the present day
society, those who are on the material platform require marriage.
Everyone is enthusiastic to continue the stereo typed lane of
family life. Therefore, they should get married with full
understanding of each other and live a life of a beautiful spiritual
consciousness, or Krishna consciousness.
TEXT 43 उ्सतनकुलिमााणां मन्ु याणां ्नादा न।

नरके तनय ं वास८ भव ी्यनश
ु र
ु ुम ्॥४३॥
utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ janārdana

narake niyataṁ vāso bhavatīty anuśuśruma
utsanna-kula-dharmāṇāṁ -- ruined spiritual family customs;
manuṣyāṇāṁ -- men; janārdana -- O maintainer of all living
entities; narake -- hell; niyataṁ -- forever; vāso -- dwell; bhavat -
- becomes; īty -- thus; anuśuśruma – I have heard by disciplic
succession.
O Maintainer of all living entities, I have heard from learned

men that those whose spiritual family customs are ruined
forever dwell in hell.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna calls Krishna Janārdana, the maintainer
of all living entities. This is not a whimsical description of the
disastrous situation of people of varna-āsrama, society and
community. It is heard from dharma-sāstra that one must
perform atonement for one's actions before one dies in this life,
otherwise he will be transferred to a hellish world. Arjuna
supports his argument by affirming that he has heard from
respectable sources in disciplic succession that for those who are
responsible for destroying righteousness in family, they will
reside permanently in a hellish existence. Therefore, he believes
that this decision to fight is the wisest choice. The best
prayaschitta, or atonement, is, however, to satisfy Lord Krishna.
yasmin tuste jagat tustam, one who satisfies Krishna satisfies the
whole world.
TEXT 44 अ ८ ब म ्पापं क ुं ्यवभस ा वयम ्।

यरा्यसख
ु ल८भेन त ुं थव्नम्
ु य ाः॥४४॥
aho bata mahat pāpaṁ kartuṁ vyavasitā vayam
yad rājya-sukha-lobhena hantuṁ sva-janam udyatāḥ
aho -- alas; bata -- how odd it is; mahat -- great; pāpaṁ --
offenses; kartuṁ -- to commit; vyavasitā -- have decided; vayam
-- we; yad -- because; rājya-sukha-lobhena -- driven by greed for
royal happiness; hantuṁ -- to slay; sva-janam -- own family
members; udyatāḥ -- trying.
Alas, how odd it is that we planned to commit such great
offenses, due to our greed for royal pleasures, we are trying
to slay our own family members.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna is considering here the material
benedictions that result from killing the enemy. As Arjuna has
conveyed in the previous verse, according to what he
understands, it is not in his best interest to fight. Now, it is clear
that Arjuna resents the notion that it would be considered fruitful

to fight a war that would bring about such evil consequences.
Lamenting on his decision of entering into the war for winning
over his kingdom and concluding that he shall not destroy his
relatives and friends, Arjuna sorrowfully speaks the words aho
bata: alas how strange it is! Arjuna believes it is strange that he
could ever commit such a sin, with the intention of slaying
friends and kinsmen in pursuit of royal pleasures and enjoyment.
TEXT 45 यहद मामर ीकारमशथरं शथरपाणयः।

िा रा ा्रा रणे तयथ
ु तमे षेम रं भवे ्॥४५॥
yadi mām apratīkāram aśastraṁ śastra-pāṇayaḥ
dhrtarāshtrā raṇe hanyus tan me kṣemataraṁ bhavet
yadi -- even if; mām -- me; apratīkāram -- without resistant;
aśastraṁ -- without weapons; śastra-pāṇayaḥ -- armed with
weapons in hand; dhrtarāshtra -- the sons of Dhrtarāshtra; raṇe -
- battlefield; hanyus -- may kill; tan -- that; me -- for me; kṣema-
taraṁ -- considered better; bhavet -- would be.
Even if the sons of Dhrtarāshtra, weapons in hand, slay me
unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield I would consider
it better for me.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna may breach kshatriya rules of never
running away from battlefield and he might refrain from battle
out of deluded compassion for friends and kinsmen. However,
Duryodhana is unconcerned for family and friends. He is
prepared to fight solely for the domination of the kingdom. Being
fully intent on victory, the son of Dhrtarāshtra would
immediately slay Arjuna at first opportunity, even if Arjuna
chooses not to fight and does not defend himself. What then,
could be the use of abstaining from fighting?
To answer this question, Arjuna contemplates the situation
where the son of Dhrtarāshtra, who is devoid of wisdom and
obsessed with partiality and greed would slay him unarmed and
unresisting. Arjuna concludes that this would be preferable to
him than to perpetuate sin by slaying all his friends and kinsmen,
and permanently going to hell as a result. Arjuna declares that, if

he refrains from fighting, then at the death of his physical body
he would not feel guilty or repent such an act of surrender.
एवम्ु ्वा्ुन
ा ःस््ये रि८पथि उपाववश ्।
ववस्
ृ य सशरं चापं श८कसंवव्नमानसः॥४६॥
sañjaya uvācha
evam uktvārjunaḥ saṅkhye rathopastha upāviśat
visṛjya sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ śoka-saṁvigna-mānasaḥ
sañjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; evam uktv -- thus having spoken;
ārjunaḥ -- Arjuna; saṅkhye -- on the battlefield; rath -- of the
chariot; upastha upāviśat -- on the seat, sat down again; visṛjya --
cast aside; sa-śaraṁ cāpaṁ -- bow and arrows; śoka-- by
lamentation; saṁvigna-mānasaḥ -- overwhelmed in his mind.
Sanjaya said: Thus, having spoken on the battlefield, Arjuna
cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the seat of the
chariot, his mind overwhelmed with deep distress.
ANNOTATION: Sanjaya finally communicated to Dhrtarāshtra
that because of the decisions Dhrtarāshtra and Duryodhana have
made, Arjuna, who is most noble minded, most compassionate,
an eternal well-wisher and most honorable, is burdened with
difficulties, along with his four brothers. These decisions
included the unpleasant acts of treachery against the Pāndavās,
with the intent to kill, attempting to burn them all alive in a house
of wax, administering poison, disrobing their wife in the
assembly of elders of the Kuru dynasty, sending them to exile, as
well as several other reprehensible deeds. Dhrtarāshtra must
surely know that the destruction of his descendants is imminent.
Arjuna and other Pāndavās have the support of Sri Krishna, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Yet, Arjuna looks upon the Kurus with feelings of
forgiveness, and with a mind for the greater interests of the Kuru
dynasty. He is overcome by compassion and fear of performing
actions which oppose his sense of righteousness. The tiger

among men, Arjuna, told Krishna that under no circumstances,
would he fight. After saying so, a despondent and grief stricken
Arjuna dropped his celestial bow Gāndīva, and sat down on his
chariot.
Thus ends the humble annotations of the 1st chapter of

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Battle Field and Arjuna’s Lamentation’
by H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami
Write an essay of at least 500 words:

1) Summarize Arjuna’s lamentation for his relatives.
2) Describe in detail if the elderly male members die in the
battle-field, what consequences will the rest of the family
face?
Paragraph Questions:
1. What was King Dhrtarāshtra’s mental state when he
inquired from Sanjaya, “What did they do”?
2. According to Duryodhana, what was Dronāchārya’s defect?
3. What master plan did Duryodhana devise to win the battle?
4. What message was Bhīshma dev sending when he blew the
conch shell?
5. Name all conch shells blown by the Pāndavās.
6. Why does Arjuna call Krishna, “Achyuta, Hrsikesa and
Mādhava”?
7. What words did Arjuna speak to Lord Govinda to show his
compassion to the people?
8. List down the six kinds of aggressors, who are to be killed at
once?
9. When are the spiritual principles and values destroyed in
one’s society?
10. Describe what happens to the society when irreligion

(adharma) is prominent in the family?
11. Choose the best way to fulfill ones responsibility to their
forefathers?
12. What causes ancestors to fall down from their respective
positions?
13. How can one be freed from obligations to their family
members?
14. What is the result of breaking sanātana dharma?
15. Recall what did Arjuna hear from the disciplic succession?
Fill in the blanks questions:
1. “Although the military force of Kauravas is greater than
Pāndava’s army, the Kauravas have no chance of winning
the battle, because____________is on the side of the
Pāndavās.”
2. “Duryodhana thinks that the strength of his armed forces is
immeasurable, as they are specifically being protected by
the most experienced general____________.”
3. “Bhīma, the voracious eater and performer of Herculean
tasks blew his terrific conch shell called____________.”
4. “Lord Krishna’s name is Yasoda-nandana because He
awarded His childhood pastimes to____________at
Vrindhāvana.”
5. “Arjuna’s name is____________, because he helped his
elder brother in fetching wealth required by the king to
make expenditures for different sacrifices.”
6. The meaning of the name of Krishna____________is one
who maintains all living entities.
7. “When a person has excessive attachment to material things
and forgets that his real self-interest lies in____________,
he loses his mental equilibrium, becomes fearful and suffers
material pain.”
8. “____________means ‘the object of pleasure for cows and

senses.”
9. “Lord Krishna’s name became _____________ as He killed
a demon called Madhu."
10. “Arjuna’s famous bow is called _____________.”
Choose the right word from the brackets:
1. “Wherever there is Krishna, there resides ____________
too.”
(Goddess of learning, Goddess of fortune, Material energy,
Marginal energy)
2. “Lord Krishna blew His conch-shell named
_____________.”
(devadattam, paundra, panchajanya, ānanda vijaya)
3. “The unconquerable _____________ was on the side of the
Pāndavās.”
(Lord Siva, Kārtikeya, Hanuman, Arjuna)
4. “Arjuna was riding an unconquerable golden chariot given
to him by____________”
(the wind god, Varunadeva, Indradeva, Agnideva)
5. “Arjuna was called ____________ because he had
conquered sleep.”
(Dhananjaya, Gudakesa, Partha, Kaunteya)
6. “Draupadi’s second name was _____________.”
(Pānchalli, Gāndhāri, Govindanandini, Subhadra)
7. “_____________ is a place of pilgrimage.”
(Dwāraka, Jaganath Puri, Kuruksetra, Badrikāsram)
8. “Pāndu’s sons were called _____________.
(Kauravas, Yadus, Pāndavās, Vrsnis)
9. “The emblem of the ____________ is another sign of

victory”
(Moon, Sun, Hanuman, elephant)
10. “Dhuryodhana’s second military commander in chief is
_____________”
(Baladeva, Dronachārya, Bhismadeva, Aswatama)
Synopsis of Bhagavad-Gītā 101
CHAPTER 2
Synopsis of Bhagavad-Gītā
ं िा करपयावव्िमरुपणू ााकुलेषणम ्।
ववषीदत भमदं वा्यमव
ु ाच मिुसद ू नः॥१॥
sañjaya uvācha
taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam
viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam uvācha madhusūdanaḥ
sañjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; taṁ -- unto Arjuna; tathā -- thus;
kṛpayā -- by sympathy; viṣṭam -- overwhelmed; aśru-
pūrṇākulekṣaṇam -- eyes filled with tears; viṣīdantam --
mournful; idaṁ -- these; vākyam -- words; uvācha -- said;
madhusūdanaḥ -- the killer of the demon Madhu.
Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of sympathy, his mind,
grief-stricken and his eyes filled with tears, Krishna, the
killer of demon Madhu, said the following words.
ANNOTATION: King Dhrtarashtra was relieved when he heard
that Arjuna refused to fight and dropped his bow Gāndīva while
silently crying. This was the response he had hoped for and,
furthermore, it was what he had expected from
Arjuna. Dhrtarashtra respected the godly qualities of the
Pāndavās, and had tried to avoid the war until now. However,
because of Duryodhana and his other children’s political
aspirations, and their adamant and irreligious qualities, the war
was now imminent; his children refused to return to the Pāndavās
their rightful share of the kingdom.
101
Dhrtarāshtra asked Sanjaya what was happening. Sanjaya

responded that Arjuna’s eyes were filled with tears, and that
when someone’s eyes are filled with tears the clarity of their
vision is hindered. In the same way, Arjuna was unable to see the
situation in the correct perspective, so he waited to hear from
Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
The bodily concept of life is the biggest impediment for any
living being to advance in spiritual life. According to Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, those who are in the bodily concept of life are like
the ‘go’ and ‘karas’, or the cows and asses. It is imperative for
all human beings to wake up from the darkness of the bodily
concept of life and act on the platform of the soul. When
someone attains self-realization, he can realize God, and when he
has realized God, he can see himself as the soul and not as the
body. Arjuna’s misguided sense of morality and compassion is
foolish. The Supreme Lord demonstrates his disapproval in the
following verses.
When Arjuna addresses Lord Krishna as Madhusūdana; he
conveys a specific message. He is imploring the Supreme Lord
Krishna, as the one who destroyed the demon Madhu in Satya-
yuga and descended on the royal empire of Yadu dynasty as the
powerful kshatriya prince to reestablish religious principles.
Arjuna asks that Lord Krishna might also liberate him from his
predicament and remove his false attachment to his relatives.
TEXT 2 रीभगवानव
ु ाच
कु थ्वा क्मलभमदं ववषमे समप ु ्थि म ्।
अनाया््ु िमथव्यामकीत क
ा रम्नुा ॥२॥
śrī-bhagavān uvācha
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna
śrī -- auspicious internal potency of Krishna, Srīmati Rādharani;
bhaga -- opulences; vān -- one who possesses that opulences;
uvācha -- said; kutas -- wherefrom; tvā -- unto you; kaśmalam
idaṁ -- dirty lamentation; viṣame -- in this moment of crisis;

samupasthitam -- appeared; anārya -- one who is not civilized;
juṣṭam -- practiced by; asvargyam -- does not lead to higher
planets; akīrti -- bad reputation; karam -- the cause of; arjuna --
O Arjuna.
The auspicious possessor of all opulence, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna said: Oh
Arjuna, how have these impure lamentations come upon
you? They do not apply to a man who is civilized. It will not
carry one to the higher planets but will lead one to a bad
reputation.
ANNOTATION: God is one. There are millions of names for
God, diverse religions all over the world refer to Him by
hundreds of different names. The best name for God, however, is
‘Krishna’. ‘Krishna’ means ‘all attractive’. Krishna did not
become God either by meditation or by austerities or by election.
He does not come under envious public opinion. He began
manifesting His Godhood at the first day of His appearance by
creating storm, rain, making all prison guards to sleep, opening
triple locked prison gates spontaneously. God is attractive in all
fields and is the origin of all forms of opulence. Krishna is the
universal name for God, for all of humanity and demigods
Srila Krishna Dvaipayana Vyāsa deva, the literary
incarnation of godhead is the empowered authority of all Vedās,
18 Purānas, 108 Upanishads, and Mahābhārata. He has done all
these extraordinary works by the mercy of Lord Krishna. He
witnessed and recorded the entire conversation between Lord
Krishna and Arjuna of the Bhagavad-Gītā. Srila Vyāsa deva
refers to Lord Krishna as ‘sri bhagavān uvācha’. The definition
of Bhagavān is given in the Vishnu Purāna: the word ‘Bhagavān’
is divided into ‘Bhaga’ and ‘vān’. ‘Bhaga’ means opulence
or aiswarya. There are six forms of opulence: power, money,
beauty, fame, knowledge and renunciation. ‘Vān’ means one who
wholly possesses these forms of opulence. Therefore, Krishna is
called Bhagavān by sages. Krishna possesses all these forms of
opulence in full, and in fact all such opulence emanates from
Him. Consider this verse from Vishnu Purāna 6.5.47
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ

jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā
“Full wealth, full strength, full fame, full beauty, full knowledge
and full renunciation, these are the six forms of opulence of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. The origin and the
original possessor of these forms of opulence is Lord Krishna, as
Srimad-Bhāgavatam explains janmady yasya yathah, “from
whom everything emanates is Lord Krishna”. yatova imani
bhūtani jāyante, everything emanates from the Supreme Lord.
People possess these six opulences in certain quantity.
Predominant opulence of power is exercised by politicians and
administrators, rich men possess wealth, celebrities enjoy fame
and beauty, scientists and philosophers enjoy knowledge and
finally saintly people and devotees enjoy detachment.
Why did Lord Krishna not speak to Arjuna till now?
Because He, first, simply wanted to listen to Arjuna’s concerns
regarding morality, logic and ethics.
Henceforth, when Lord Krishna speaks to His friend
Arjuna, it is known as the Bhagavad-Gītā, which literally means
the song sung by God. The instructions given to Arjuna by the
Lord are not meant for only a few people, the Bhagavad-Gītā
was spoken for all of humanity. When Krishna was relaying this
transcendental instruction to prince Arjuna, there was no
divisions in religion. There is no contradiction here. Krishna’s
words are for all, regardless of the limited understanding one
may have about the instructions the Supreme Lord provides in
the Bhagavad-Gītā.
The Supreme Lord expected Arjuna to be spiritually
advanced, but after witnessing his behavior on the battlefield,
Lord Krishna realized that Arjuna was not who the Lord believed
him to be. A person who does not understand the value of life by
realizing the soul, even a highly educated person in the
phenomenal material world, is still ignorant. A real life is
spiritual life, the bodily concept of life is animal life. Animals
have a daily routine of satisfying their material senses without
working. Animals are not wasting their time, they are on the
evolutionary process, eventually going to be in the human form

of life. As far as men are concerned, they are on the process of
devolution to the animal kingdom due to imitating animal
qualities. Animal qualities are inherent in the heart of all impure
souls, as they obtain the human form after going through
8,400,000 living species of life. According to Lord Krishna,
when human beings consider the bodily conceptions of life as the
goal of their existence, they struggle hard to meet their daily
necessities; these thoughts are not befitting Aryans or highly
intelligent and civilized people. An intelligent person is one who
understands the human values that cultivate knowledge of the
soul and Supersoul.
Nowadays, people have more problems than Arjuna, every
day they observe battle in their mind, with families, businesses,
communities and countries. It may be small, but the amount of
dissatisfaction is the same. If they take shelter in Lord Krishna,
as Arjuna did, they will be relieved from a lot of pain and many
struggles. In present day, one may not be able to take shelter of
the Lord directly like Arjuna did 5000 years ago, but one can
take shelter in a true representative of Lord Krishna in one of the
four disciplic successions. By doing so, they will be protected
spiritually and be on the path to complete happiness irrespective
to their material situation. According to the Vedic directions,
spiritual life is the actual and purified existence and it can free
one from the reactions and consequences of forbidden work.
TEXT 3 ्ल्यं मा थम गमःपािा न ्व्यप ु प्य ।े
षुरं ृदयद९बा्यं ्य््व८वत्ठ परत प॥३॥
klaibyaṁ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha naitat tvayy upapadyate

kṣudraṁ hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ tyaktvottiṣṭha parantapa
klaibyaṁ-mā-sma-gamaḥ -- do not yield to weakness; pārtha --
O son of Pritha; naitat -- never this; tvayy -- of you; upapadyate -
- is not suitable; kṣudraṁ -- little; hṛdaya-daurbalyaṁ --
impotence of the heart; tyaktv -- abandon; uttiṣṭha -- rise up;
parantapa -- O chastiser of the enemies.
O Pārtha (son of Pritha or Kunti), do not surrender to this

degrading weakness of unmanliness. This is not worthy of
you. O chastiser of the enemy, abandon this minor impotence
of the heart and arise.
ANNOTATION: Usually the word klaibyam refers to
‘powerlessness or impotence or weakness of heart'. Lord Krishna
asks ‘Oh son of Pritha do not get carried away by such
weaknesses’. Arjuna was born to Mother Pritha or Kunti Devi
after worshiping Lord Indra, the king of heaven. He was born
kshatriya and received proper training in warfare by
Dronāchārya. Dronāchārya declared to the world that there was
no archer in the world as powerful as Arjuna. Now, it is his duty
to protect the nation from the hands of evil like Duryodhana, who
is the personification of irreligion.
Breaking down the word kshatriya: ksat means injury
and trayate means to give protection; kshatriya means one who
protects people from danger. A doctor is a doctor as long he treats
patients, regardless of a patient’s where about and his social
order, otherwise he remains as a doctor only for the sake of the
title. Lord Krishna makes an attempt to lift Arjuna from his
weakness of the heart by reminding him that he is paramtapah,
the chastiser of enemies. At the time of his birth a heavenly voice
proclaimed that he would conquer all enemies. When one has no
spiritual knowledge, he thinks troubles that occur in his life are
the end of the world, one must be sober in dealing with
difficulties in life, which usually appear without warning.
TEXT 4 अ्न
ुा उवाच
किं भी्मम ं स््ये र८णं च मिस ु द
ू न।
इषभु भःरत य८्थयाभम प्
ू ा ाावररसद
ू न॥४॥
arjuna uvācha
kathaṁ bhīṣmam ahaṁ saṅkhye droṇaṁ ca madhusūdana
iṣubhiḥ pratiyotsyāmi pūjārhāv ari-sūdana
arjuna-uvācha -- Arjuna said; kathaṁ -- how; bhīṣmam --
Bhīṣma; ahaṁ -- I; saṅkhye -- in the fight; droṇaṁ -- Droṇa; ca -
- also; madhusūdana -- O killer of Madhu; iṣubhiḥ -- with

arrows; pratiyotsyāmi -- can counterattack; pūjārhāv -- worthy of
worship; ari-sūdana -- O destroyer of enemies.
Arjuna said: O destroyer of enemies, how can I strike back
with arrows and battle with men like Bhīṣhma and Droṇa,
who are worthy of my worship. O killer of the Madhu
demon.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna states here that he is not withdrawing
from battle out of cowardice, but because it is wrong to attack his
superiors, especially grandsire Bhīshma deva and Dronāchārya.
Arjuna remembers the affection he received from them as a
child. The words expressed here by Arjuna mean: how could I
fight against Bhīshma and Drona? When it is wrong to even
speak of fighting against such magnanimous and affectionate
souls, how can I, then, even consider fighting them?
TEXT 5
गु न ्वा ह म ानभ
ु ावा्िे य८भ८् भ
ंु ्यमपी ल८के।
्वािाकामांथ ु गु तन व भ्
ु ्ीयभ८गारधु िर रहद्िान ्॥५॥
gurun ahatvā hi mahānubhāvān
śreyo bhoktuṁ bhaikṣyam apīha loke
hatvārtha-kāmāṁs tu gurūn ihaiva
bhuñjīya bhogān rudhira-pradigdhān
gurūn -- the masters; ahatvā hi -- certainly without slaying;
mahānubhāvān -- great elevated superiors; śreyo -- better;
bhoktuṁ-bhaiksyam -- to enjoy life by begging; apīha loke –
even in this life or in this world; hatvā -- slaying; rtha-kāmāṁs --
desiring wealth; tu -- but; gurūn -- spiritual masters; ihaiva --
certainly in this world; bhuñjīya-bhogān -- to enjoy enjoyable
things; rudhira-pradigdhān -- tainted with blood.
It is better to live in this world by begging than to live at the
price of the lives of our great and elevated superior teachers;
otherwise, by slaying our superiors, the wealth and
pleasurable things we would enjoy will be tainted with blood.
ANNOTATION: It may be said that without killing his enemy,

Arjuna may not even be able to maintain his own body. As a
devotee, if Arjuna lost or renounced everything, he would have
had the option to live like a madhukari, to go door to door
begging for roti and vegetables, and to live a simple life of
chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna. This would be his
alternative to getting involved in a war, rather killing people for
food and housing. However, because Arjuna was the most
reputed, and powerful warrior and a kshatriya, he had no choice
but to fight. An ordinary devotee might be able to resist a war
like this, but Arjuna, a close friend of Krishna and one of the
main chiefs of the Mahābhārata war cannot escape his
responsibility, regardless of his moral reasons, and his virtuous
mind and beliefs in non-violence.
Arjuna was afraid that the results of the war would cause
the Pāndavās misery in this life and the next, creating a hellish
existence. He reaffirms this by saying that by killing his elders
and superiors, anything he might enjoy from there forward would
be tainted by their blood. The word artha-kāman may be also
taken as qualifying the elders and superiors. The corrupt elders,
however, consumed with greed for wealth, would not consider
refraining from the war and so would be slain anyway. As an
example, Bhīshma deva spoke to King Yudhishthira saying:
‘Man is a slave to wealth, but wealth is the slave of no man, this
is the truth. O Emperor! I am bound to the Kauravas by the
acceptance of wealth’.
TEXT 6
न च ्वव्मः क रतन८ गरीय८ य्वा ्येम यहद वान८ ्येयःु ।
यानेव ्वा न ्््ीववषाम थ ऽे व्थि ाः रमख
ु े िा रा ा्राः॥६॥
na caitad vidmaḥ kataran no garīyo
yad vā jayema yadi vā no jayeyuḥ
yān eva hatvā na jijīviṣāmas
te ’vasthitāḥ pramukhe dhrtarāṣhṭrāḥ
na -- nor; caitad -- also this; vidmaḥ -- do we know; kataran --
which; no -- for us; garīyo -- is better; yadvā -- whether; jayema -
- we conquer them; yadi -- or if; vā -- or; no jayeyuḥ -- they

conquer us; yāneva -- those who certainly; hatvā -- by slaying;
na-jijīviṣāmas-eva -- we would not wish to live; te -- all of them;
vasthitāḥ -- are assembled; pramukhe -- before us; dhrtarāṣhṭrāḥ
-- the sons of Dhrtarāshtra.
Nor do we know what is better—whether we conquer them
or are being conquered by them. We will not care to live, if
we killed the sons of Dhrtarashtra, still they are before us
assembled on the battlefield.
ANNOTATION: A person is faced with a relatively simple
dilemma when their mind urge them to eat food, even though
they may not be hungry. In general, when a person is confused
about food, eat or don’t eat, it is best to avoid eating, since the
chances are that it will be better for their health. Arjuna is in a
complex situation, his moral and religious principles are telling
him not to fight. However, his situation and his position in life,
as well as his kshatriya dharma, all place demands on him to
fight and gain victory.
As a gentle hearted person, Arjuna wants to avoid harming
others. His mindset is correct according to the religious and
worldly point of view. However, according to spirituality and the
bonds of natural duty, this view is incorrect. Even by taking the
path of unrighteousness in this matter, one would not know
which is better, victory or defeat. The options Arjuna facing is a
choice between leading the Pāndavās to conquer the Kauravas
and allowing the Pāndavās to be conquered by the Kauravas.
Arjuna feels that even by conquering the Kauravas, a victory
would virtually be a defeat because by slaying his relatives life
wouldn’t be worth living. In Arjuna's eyes, victory and defeat are
one and the same.
TEXT 7 कापा्यद८ष८प थवभावः

प्
ृ छाभम ्वां िमास्मढ
ू चे ाः।
य्िे यःथया्तन््च ं रहू तमे
भश्यथ ऽे ं शाधि मां ्वां रपतनम ्॥७॥
kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ
pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ
yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi tan me
śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁtvāṁ prapannam
kārpaṇya -- miserliness; doṣa -- fault; upahata -- troubled;
svabhāvaḥ -- characteristics; pṛcchāmi -- I am asking; tvāṁ --
unto You; dharma -- duty; sammūḍha -- bewildered; cetāḥ --
heart; yac -- what; chreyaḥ -- good; syān -- may be; niścitaṁ --
determinedly; brūhitan -- inform that; me -- me; śiṣyas --
disciple; te -- Your; ham -- I am; śādhi -- kindly instruct; māṁ --
me; tvāṁ-prapannam -- surrendered unto You.
Now my innate qualities are troubled by weakness and
apprehension. Now I am bewildered by my duty and have
lost all equanimity. In this situation I am asking You to
inform me and give me assurance about what is good for me.
I am Your disciple, surrendered unto You, kindly instruct
me.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna has lost his power of discrimination to
know what is and isn’t beneficial for him. Realizing this, he tells
Lord Krishna that he has surrendered to Him, whose power is not
even known by Lord Brahma or Lord Siva. Lord Krishna’s
attributes and potencies are transcendental to the material world,
He is an ocean of compassion, love and mercy. Lord Krishna
descended to the Vrshni dynasty in the family of Vasudeva for
the benefit of His devotees. All of those who follow
righteousness in accordance to the Vedic scriptures are eligible to
receive the mercy and compassion of the Supreme Lord.
The word ‘miser’ is used to describe, one who is stingy with
their material wealth, specifically: money. However, in this
verse, ‘miser’ means Arjuna’s excessive attachment to his family
members, their wives and children. In the Vedās, ‘miser’
describes the one who dies in this world without becoming self-
realized. A person may also be considered a miser, if they lack
the knowledge of the nature and qualities of their eternal soul. In
this verse, the word ‘miserliness’ refers to the affliction of
weakness regarding spiritual identity and integrity.

Discriminatory power is weakened by vices. This forms
delusions, which bewilder intelligence. Because of the Lord’s
compassion for His devotees, Arjuna’s ignorance has dissipated
and he has surrendered to Lord Krishna unconditionally with the
words tvam prapannam, ‘surrendered unto you’. Arjuna asks the
Lord for spiritual guidance, confirmed by the words sadhi
mam, ‘instruct me’. Arjuna states he is ready and able to receive
instruction from Lord Krishna, sisyah te aham, meaning ‘I am
your disciple’. All these words were chosen, so that Lord Krishna
would understand that Arjuna was serious and his intentions
were sincere, that he was willing to receive the Lord’s mercy and
instruction.
Without the attentive service of a child’s parents, a child
cannot realize manhood; similarly, without the care of the
bonafide spiritual master who has been instructed according to
the disciplic succession, one cannot rise to the plane of
transcendental service of the Supreme Lord Krishna. One should
always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a
spiritual master and be initiated is sure to be baffled in his
endeavor to go back to the spiritual world.
TEXT 8
न ह रप्याभम ममापन् ु या ्य्छ८कम् ु छ८षणभम्तरयाणाम ्।
अवातय भम
ू ावसप्नम्
ृ िं रा्यं सरु ाणामवप चाधिप्यम ्॥८॥
na hi prapaśyāmi mamāpanudyād
yac chokam ucchoṣaṇam indriyāṇām
avāpya bhūmāv asapatnam ṛddhaṁ
rājyaṁ surāṇām api cādhipatyam
na-hi-prapaśyāmi -- I certainly do not see; mama -- my;
panudyād -- can dispel; yac -- that which; chokam -- lamentation;
ucchoṣaṇam -- draining; indriyāṇām -- all senses; avāpya -- even
after obtaining; bhūmāv -- earth; asapatnam -- unrivaled; ṛddhaṁ
-- prosperous; rājyaṁ -- empire; surāṇām -- of the demigods; api
-- even; cā -- also; dhipatyam -- supremacy.
I certainly do not see how to dispel this grief, which is

draining all my senses. Even after obtaining the unrivaled
prosperous earthly kingdom or the supremacy equal to that
of the demigod.
ANNOTATION: Under certain circumstances, nervousness,
anxiety, confusion and hallucinations bother even powerful and
great souls like Arjuna. What about ordinary beings? Imagine
Arjuna’s state of mind when asked to kill hundreds of family and
friends. He had never killed anyone before irreligiously and had
always followed the path of righteousness. Yet, as the best friend
and admirable devotee of Lord Krishna, Arjuna was asked to kill
thousands of people in battle.
Arjuna is certain that his happiness won’t be found, if he
kills all of his relatives and teachers to become the proprietor of
earth, or by conquering Amaravati, the capital city of Indra’s
planet. In such a confused state of mind, only a true spiritual
master will help resolve the problem. Here the Absolute Truth,
Lord Krishna, who is one without a second, appeared as the
universal spiritual master in Arjuna’s chariot. As Lord Krishna
has all the answers, He alone, can pull Arjuna from his deepest,
darkest worries and his bewildered state of mind.
In the material world, in material consciousness, most
people would be ready to commit any kind of sinful activities for
few dollars. When offered money, professional killers are willing
to kill their fellow human beings without considering the
consequences. They ignore State and Central laws for money,
influence and power. All the people killed by professional killers
will take birth in a different place with different situations.
However, their killers will be punished to live in hellish planets
for many years, only to be sent back to earth and to be killed.
Hellish planets are universal penitentiary cells created by
material nature to punish the criminals for their disobedience to
the law of God, Krishna. The superintendent of the jail is
Yamarāja, the god of death. No one can reverse the laws of
nature. In truth, the laws of nature work as the members of the
family of Lord Krishna. There is no first degree or second

murder. The guilty will be punished the same way, they had
initiated their sinful activities. Ignorant people who don’t
appreciate the value of life, and will do anything for money,
alcohol, women, drugs and meat, will surely live on hellish
planets for many years. However, since Arjuna values life, it is
understandable that he has his concerns, and that he is
apprehensive of what is written in the scriptures, and why he
requests the Lord to save him from the war and from killing his
relatives.
एवम्ु ्वा ृषीकेशं गडु ाकेशःपरत पः।
न य८्थय इत ग८ववतदम् ु ्वा ्ू णीं बभव
ू ॥९॥
sanjaya uvācha
evam uktvā hṛṣīkeśaṁ guḍākeśaḥ parantapaḥ
na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṁ babhūva ha
sanjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; evam uktvā -- having
told; hṛṣīkeśaṁ -- the master of all senses, Krishna; guḍākeśaḥ --
conqueror of sleep, Arjuna; parantapaḥ -- Arjuna, the chastiser
of the enemies; nayotsye -- I do not fight; iti -- this; govindam --
Krishna; uktvā -- saying; tūṣṇīm -- quiet; babhūva --
became; ha -- surely.
Sanjaya said: Having said this, Arjuna, the chastiser of
enemies, told Lord Krishna, “Govinda, surely I do not fight,”
and then fell quiet.
ANNOTATION: When Arjuna was a child, he had loving
relationships with Bhīshma deva and Dronāchārya. Thus, now,
he felt that he would rather live in the forest than cause any harm
to them. Arjuna was choosing to forget all that had taken place in
the Kuru assembly hall, how he and, his brothers and their wife
Draupati became slaves to Duryodhana. He deliberately
minimized the disgraceful treatment meted out when Draupati
was dragged by her hair to the royal court by Dusyāsana, and
how they attempted to disrobe her in the public.

The use of name ‘Govinda’ is very important here, ‘go’
stands for senses as well as cows. Krishna is the giver of pleasure
of both senses and cows. By saying ‘oh Govinda’, Arjuna
inquires to Krishna as pleasure giver of the senses. He is asking:
please help me to be happy without having to kill anyone for this
kingdom. Anything and everything in this material world is real,
but it is all temporary. One should not be tempted by temporary
objects for gratification of the body. One must take up activities
that lift the soul into the higher values of life. According to Vedic
literature, this is identified as devotion to the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. As Arjuna intimated and
surrendered to Krishna, everyone has the right to surrender to the
Supreme Person in this way, who is the Supreme Father of all
living beings.
TEXT 10 मव
ु ाच ृषीकेशः र स्तनव भार ।
सेनय८ुभय८मा्ये ववषीदत भमदं वचः॥१०॥
tam uvācha hṛṣīkeśaḥ prahasann iva bhārata
senayor ubhayor madhye viṣīdantam idaṁ vacaḥ
tam-uvācha -- told unto Arjuna; hṛṣīkeśaḥ -- Lord
Krishna; prahasann -- smiling; iva -- like that; bhārata --
descendant of Bhārata, Dhrtarashtra; senayor-ubhayor-madhye--
middle of the both militaries; viṣīdantam -- grieving; idaṁ -- the
following; vacaḥ -- statements.
O descendent Bhārata, at that time, in the middle of both the
militaries, Lord Krishna was smiling, and told the following
statements to mournful Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: The word prahasan means smiling. Krishna
was so beautiful, the beauty of all creation including all humans,
demigods and animals spring forth from the Supreme Lord.
Seeing Arjuna’s predicament and his refusal to fight in the war,
the Supreme Lord thought of Arjuna’s foolish misunderstanding
of the whole situation, and it made him smile. In the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 9-24-64 it is said:

snigdha-smitekṣitodārair vākyair vikrama-līlayā
nṛlokaṁ ramayām āsa mūrtyā sarvāṅga-ramyayā
“By His pleasing smiles, His affectionate behavior, His
instructions and His uncommon pastimes like raising
Govardhana Hill, the Lord, appearing in His transcendental body,
pleased all of human society”.
The third and fourth line are very significant. Krishna is
God’s original form. Bhagavān, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, is described here by the word mūrtya.
The word mūrti means “form”. Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is never impersonal; the impersonal
feature is but a manifestation of His transcendental body (yasya
prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti, Brahma samhita. 5.40. The
Lord is narakrti, exactly resembling the form of a human being,
but His form is different from human beings. The word sarvanga
ramyaya informs us that every part of His body is pleasing for
everyone who sees Him. Apart from His smiling face, His eyes,
His ears, His hands, His legs and His chest are all pleasing to the
devotees, who always see the beautiful form of the Lord. It is
said in the Mahābhārata, that in the midst of the war, when the
Lord was riding Arjuna’s chariot in the battlefield of
Kurukshetra, many opposing soldiers stopped fighting at the
sight of Krishna’s beautiful bluish spiritual face. Although
Krishna appeared in human society, He maintained His Godhood
by His transcendental features. The momentary cessation of
fighting by the opponents who were absorbed by the magnificent
form of the Lord, resulted in their demise at the hands of their
enemies. Srimad-Bhāgavatam explains that those warriors who
were killed this way were transported to the Vaikuntha planet,
the Kingdom of God situated in the spiritual sky.
ु ाच
अश८्यानतवश८चथ्वं र्ावादां्च भाषसे।
ग ासन
ू ग ास्ूं च नानश
ु ८च्त प््ड ाः॥११॥
aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase
gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ
śrī -- auspicious internal potency of Krishna, Srīmati Rādharani;
bhaga -- opulences; vān -- one who possesses ; uvācha --
said; aśocyān -- those not worthy of mourning; anvaśocas -- you
are mourning; tvaṁ -- you; prajñā-vādāṁś -- yet speaking like a
scholar; ca -- also; bhāṣase -- talking; gatāsūn --
dead; agatāsūṁś -- living; ca -- also; nānuśocanti --
never lament; paṇḍitāḥ -- the scholar.
The possessor of all forms of opulence, Sri Krishna the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: although
talking scholarly words, you are mourning for what is not
worthy of sorrow. The wise man does not lament for the
living or the dead.
ANNOTATION: The spiritual master has the right to chastise a
disciple in a similar way a father might chastise his children. The
word disciple originates from the word discipline or self-control,
to bring to a good understanding. Lord Krishna, the Supreme
Majestic Spiritual Master of all living entities is indirectly
chastising Arjuna: ‘you are speaking philosophy like a religious
scholar by quoting scriptures like dharma sāstra and Manu
samhita, but at the same time you are acting like an ignorant
person because you are crying for this external body’.
Actually, the real knowledge is based on the realization of
the soul, not the body. A person who is spiritually conscious,
intelligent and knowledgeable always talks about subjects
supported by this Vedic injunction. Whoever opposes Vedic
injunctions on any level of consciousness is not worthy of
meditation. Arjuna's grief was his lack of discrimination between
the soul and the body. A pandita, or scholar, is one who
understands that he is working under the 'Time' energy of Lord
Krishna, and that ‘Time’ is the impersonal manifestation of the
Supersoul, who is an expansion of Lord Krishna. According to
Chānakya Pandit: putram ca sisyam ca tadayet na tu lālayet, “so
fathers and teachers are advised that they should always

discipline their sons and disciples by finding faults and rectify
them to be very civilized.” If one simply approves of them, they
will make many mistakes in this journey of human life, in the
end the children themselves will become a headache for their
parents.
There are many educated people on the planet, who have
obtained noted degrees. While education may help maintain a
body by providing a job in a company or office, educational
centers are not able to provide spiritual authority, until they
introduce a curriculum that teaches the difference between the
material body and the spirit soul. Living entities in the material
conditional life are the combination of material body and spirit
soul. Thus, the mere study of the body’s anatomy will be
insignificant and insufficient. Therefore, without the proper
instruction, a person cannot be regarded as a true scholar
regardless of how many doctorates he may obtain.
TEXT 12 न्वेवा ं ्ा ु नासं न्वं नेमे ्नाधिपाः।

न चव नभवव्यामः सवे वयम ःपरम ्॥१२॥
na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ ne me janādhipāḥ
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param
na-tv-evāhaṁ -- certainly I am never; jātu-nāsaṁ -- at any time
destroyed; na-tvaṁ -- nor you; ne me – not all these; janādhipāḥ
-- kings; na-caiva-na -- also certainly not; bhaviṣyāmaḥ -- shall
not live; sarve vayam -- everyone; ataḥparam -- in future.
There was no time when I, you and all these kings did not
exist, in the future, also, every one of us shall cease to live.
ANNOTATION: As Bhagavad-Gītā was spoken by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, it is one of the most
authoritative scriptures. The Lord Himself said that He exists in
all dimensions of creation, maintenance and destruction. In the
same way, all souls also exist regardless of their material forms.
The Absolute Supreme Lord Krishna has an eternally pure
conscious spiritual body. Due to His Absolute spiritual

existence, He knows the past, present and future activities of all
living entities.
The spirit soul’s pure conscious spiritual body was
temporarily suspended due to material desire. It has come to this
material world to take one of the 8,400,000 material bodies.
Having obtained a human form, and because of the material
body, the spirit soul identifies itself in terms of its birth and
position, and does good or bad things until death. Spirit souls
change their external bodies one after another and forget that
they are eternal, and often times become exclusively one with the
material cosmic creation. Many embodied souls mourn the
departure of the immortal soul to another material body. All
souls are eternal, so we should never lament the death of the
material form. Thus, Lord Chaitanya said: eita brahmanda bhari’
ananta jīva-gana, chaurasé-laksa yonite karaye bhramana, “in
this universe there are limitless living entities in the 8,400,000
species, and all are wandering within this universe.”
The Supreme Lord explains about the individuality of the
soul. The Lord and atomic souls are eternally individual. Souls
are not homogeneous at any time, as the māyāvādi philosophers’
advocate. They suggest that all souls are just one entity, but have
different material bodies. In the material creation, even material
atoms are not homogeneous. For example: if one takes a painting
and puts it under microscope or if one zooms in on a painting on
a computer, one can see the separate colors of the painting,
which create the whole. When one zooms in on a green color;
there are many individual of colors that create that specific color
of green. Externally, the colors appear to be homogeneous, but
with further inspection, they are not. If material elements are not
homogeneous, then how can spirit souls or living beings be
homogeneous? Even though there is a conception
of homogeneity and an appearance of homogeneity for all souls,
their individuality stays intact on all dimensions. Sometimes,
material elements may appear to be homogeneous, but in
actuality are not.
Similarly, the gross elements earth, water, fire, air, ether in

the body seem to be homogeneous, but are not. Therefore,
māyāvādi’s theory is false. This supposes that a green bird flies
into a forest and merges into the green of the forest. However, if
a green bird flies into a green forest that bird still retains its
individuality. The concept of merging into the Supreme is there,
but still one maintains one’s individuality after merging in the
Impersonal Brahman, one never becomes God. Merging in the
Impersonal Brahman is like sleeping at night without action, such
merging is called sāyūjya mukti. But a spirit soul knowingly
never desires such homogeneity with Impersonal light. The
purpose of the creation of impersonal light is explained in the
14th chapter.
In the material world, living entities develop a material
body; in the spiritual world, living entities develop a spiritual
body. However, a homogenous merging into the Impersonal
Brahman will result in losing both bodies. The correct way of
merging with the Supreme is like a particle of dust merging into
one's body, although it becomes a part of the body, it still
maintains the individuality of the particle. Devotees of the Lord
reject the concept of losing individuality, they serve the Lord
with their hearts content in developing a spiritual body by
rendering devotional service to Krishna. The Supreme Lord is
full of transcendental qualities, therefore, he is called nirakara,
He who does not have material form and qualities, but has
spiritual form and qualities. This will be described in later verses.
TEXT 13 दे ह न८ऽ्थमतयिा दे े क९मारं य९वनं ्रा॥
िा दे ात ररा्त िीरथ र न म्
ु यत ॥१३॥
dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati
dehino -- embodied; smin -- in this; yathā -- as; dehe -- in this
body; kaumāraṁ -- boyhood; yauvanaṁ -- adolescence ; jarā --
old age; tathā -- similarly; dehāntara -- from one body to
another; prāptir -- attainment; dhīras -- the sensible or
sober; tatra -- subsequently; na -- not; muhyati -- deluded.
As the personified soul continually passes in this body, from

boyhood to adolescence to old age, the soul likewise
transmigrates to another body at the time of death.
Subsequently, a sensible person is not deluded by having such
a change.
ANNOTATION: The transmigration of the soul from one body
to another body is not merely a Vedic concept, it is a science. The
change of the body is mentioned by the all opulent Personality of
Godhead, Krishna. All living beings born in this world with a
material body are subject to transformation, be it an insect, plant,
fish, bird, animal, human, king or demigod. All of them take
birth as an infant, grow through adolescence, to adulthood and
through old age to finally leave the old body and take a new
body. Therefore, death and birth are inevitable in this material
creation, this is the nature of the law and management of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. It is
not a choice to take birth in a particular home or place, there is
no selection one can choose from to be raised in a particular
atmosphere or by a particular parent, or dying in a particular
place. All these are determined by one's previous actions and
desires, and all of them are fulfilled by the Supersoul, an
expansion of Lord Krishna dwelling in the region of the heart
with the individual soul. Everyone in this world, is suffering
from previous karma in different bodies, creating more sinful
activities only to suffer again in future lives. An older gentleman
is aware that he has passed through infancy, boyhood and
adolescence in his life and that his body will not exist anymore,
he then dies and obtains another body to start the cycle again.
Souls have no unity with each other or ‘oneness’, as the
māyāvādi philosophers advocate. All souls are all different
individual beings. If we are one, then, the happiness and miseries
we experience will be the same for everyone. A singular uniform
experience is not available for all souls because all are individual
souls. All are born in different times with different karma. The
nature of their employment, marriage, reproduction and death are
all different. If we were all one soul, then whether one

sleeps, wakes or faints, all people would experience the same
sensation of pleasure and pain at the same time. Furthermore,
there would be no difference in anyone’s perception due to the
absence of individuality. Therefore, it is recognized that those
who propose oneness of the soul in all living entities are
incorrect; as bodies are different, souls are also different. The
māyāvādi theory gives the analogy of a river merging into the
ocean, or of a space in a pot. As soon as the pot breaks, the space
within the pot merges with totality of the space. However, these
analogies do not have a point of similarity because the soul is
spirit and it is incorrect to compare spirit with matter. The matter
here is the space and water.
Impersonalists (māyāvādis) also say if we take a piece of
paper and rip it into small pieces, the original paper no longer
exists. Similarly, when God divides His personality, God loses
His individuality’. But Lord Krishna did not divide Himself into
many living entities as the māyāvādis suggested here. All living
entities are a sample of God, as much as a person see little
sample of rice can understand the quality of the whole bag of
rice. The māyāvādis’ notion that there may be a union of the
Lord with individual souls, or that we can call all souls and God
as one, is erroneous. Since Krishna is not part of the material
cosmos, He never faces material bodily transformation or death,
unlike other mortal embodied souls. Even though He appears to
be an infant, boy and adolescent, He remains God throughout His
life, His changes are spiritual and miraculously He never grows
old. The Absolute Truth has adopted many systems for
conditioned souls, who are living an imprisoned life in the
material body, but such changes and conditions are not
applicable to Him.
For example, an owner of a firm may dynamically manifest
policies for his employees, yet the owner is not affected by such
rules. Thus, in Isopanishad it is said that
oṁ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevā vaśiṣyate
“The Supreme Person is supremely perfect, full, and extensive.

Since He is supremely complete, everything that originates from
Him is perfectly organized. Whatever is designed and created by
the complete Supreme Person also remains complete in itself. He
is the comprehensive whole, even though so many broad
elements and conscious beings originate from Him, He remains
perfectly complete.”
TEXT 14 माराथपशााथ ु क९त य
े शी ८्णसख
ु दःु खदाः।
आगमापातयन८ऽतन्याथ ां्थ त षथव भार ॥१४॥
mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata
mātrā-sparśās -- interaction of the senses; tu -- only; kaunteya --
O son of Kuntī; śītoṣṇa -- cold and hot season; sukha-duḥkha --
joyfulness and sorrowful; dāḥ -- giving; āgamāpāyino --
appearing and disappearing; anityās -- temporary; tāṁs -- all of
them; titikṣasva -- endure; bhārata -- O successor of the Bhārata
dynasty.
O son of Kunti, the temporary arrival of joyfulness and
sorrowfulness, and their departure thereafter, are like the
arrival and departure of cold and hot seasons. These are
interaction of senses and sense objects, and one should
practice enduring them without being distressed. O successor
of Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: The misconception of death is a fact for
conditioned souls. A person may understand theoretically they
are not just this body, but a spirit soul. Yet when his well-
wishers, friends, parents and relatives pass away from their
physical bodies, they are deluded by sorrow and become
extremely morose. To ease this superficial pain that is
experienced by all people, Lord Krishna provides this analogy of
contact between the senses and their objects as giving rise to
feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain, etc. The
word matra means sensuous experience, and sparsas means
contact with sense objects, thus matra-sparsas is the interaction
of the senses with sense objects. For example, during the winter,
taking a hot shower feels pleasing, and in summer, taking a cold
shower alleviates exhaustion. But it becomes a major
disturbance, if the shower is hot in the summer and cold in the
winter! Yet these things are just temporary, momentary and
impermanent, this type of distress comes and goes. One should
learn to tolerate them with discrimination and strength, knowing
that they will disappear in time. Lord Krishna reveals the truth,
that the death and birth of the body are like seasonal changes,
and one must learn to accept them.
There is one consciousness which prevails in everyone, the
consciousness of Krishna. Unfortunately, this consciousness has
been clouded by false identification with birth, gender and
country. All people experience joy and misery, regardless of their
country of birth, beauty of their body or the quantity of wealth
they possess, though the format may be different, and may have
different causes, but feelings of misery is the same. All people
feel heat and cold, pain is the same, and hunger is the same.
There is no difference between American hunger, Indian hunger
and European hunger. All miseries are the same. We experience
misery because of a strong consciousness of the body that is
based on materiality, and because of this association this misery
isn’t real. Most beings are engrossed in false consciousness and
are unable to realize the truth of actual consciousness.
Addressing Arjuna as successor of Bhārata conveys the
message that Bharata Mahārāja’s great lineage is unforgettable
throughout the universe. This reminds Arjuna of his paternal
heritage. Addressing Arjuna as Kaunteya, reminds him of the
great heritage of his mother Kunti. With these reminders Arjuna
will not be deluded like a member of an ordinary family. By
addressing Arjuna this way, the Supreme Lord is encouraging
him to adhere to his kshatriya duty, and is imploring him not to
be overcome by the mere weaknesses of ordinary beings.
TEXT 15 यं ह न ्यियत्ये े पु
ु षं पु
ु षषाभ।
समदःु खसख
ु ं िीरं स८ऽम ृ ्वाय क्प ॥
े १५॥
yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha

sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate
yaṁ -- one who; hi -- definitely; na -- not; vyathayanty --
perturbed; ete -- all these; puruṣaṁ -- a person; puruṣarṣabha –
O best among men; sama -- equal; duḥkha --
sorrowfulness; sukhaṁ -- enjoyment; dhīraṁ -- patience; so --
he; amṛtatvāya -- freedom from material existence; kalpate --
entitled.
One who is not perturbed by sorrow and joy and is fixed in
both is definitely entitled to freedom from material existence,
O best among men.
ANNOTATION: There are many sense perceptions and sense
experiences: heat and cold, happiness and sorrow, soft and hard,
chastisement and reward. Once one learns the art of tolerance
and the ability to deal with these sense objects, one will be
eligible for immortality. When one has given up all
misconceptions of being the physical body, one becomes
naturally filled with the spiritual attributes that are immortal for
the soul. When one is fixed in this awareness one is known as
a purusha.
As this is written in scripture, the word ‘pura’ in ‘purusha’
signifies ‘full’. The complete word ‘purusha’ signifies one who
is illuminated from being full in noble attributes and full in
wisdom. To realize the soul is to remove the dualities of the
material nature of happiness and distress, and to achieve freedom
from repeated birth and death. To realize the soul one has to
realize the Supersoul, or any Vishnu forms philosophically and
devotionally, who are the plenary portion of the original
Godhead, Lord Krishna. Without the benedictions of Lord
Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, one
cannot leave the continuous cycle of birth and death within this
material world.”
TEXT 16 नास ८ वव्य े भाव८ नाभाव८ वव्य े स ः।
उभय८रवप ृ्ि८ऽत थ्वनय८थ ्वदभशाभभः॥१६॥
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ

ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ
nāsato -- not of the temporary; vidyate -- there is; bhāvo --
endurance; nā -- not; bhāvo -- changing excellence; vidyate --
there is; sataḥ -- of the eternal; ubhayor api -- verily of the
two; dṛṣṭo -- seen; ntas -- concluded; tu -- certainly; anayos --
them; tattva -- truth; darśibhiḥ -- seers.
In the unreal (material body) there is no continued existence
and in the real (soul) there is no cessation of existence, this is
concluded by the seers of the truth by studying the nature of
both non-existence and existence (body and soul).
ANNOTATION: Sense objects like excessive heat and cold can
seem difficult to tolerate. Sometimes contact with elements of
extreme heat and cold can even cause death. As an answer to the
problems that seem to be created by the impermanent appearance
of these elements in the body, the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead states that, it is possible to tolerate anything through
the correct understanding of the truth.
asat is the physical manifestation and sat is the subtle form
of the Ultimate Truth of reality; asat is known as the
manifestation of sat, the true reality. The material world and its
objects are asat. Body of father, mother, relatives, country,
security all are products of asat, which means temporary. But the
soul is eternal, sat. Therefore, taking shelter of anything that is
physical or material will not make anyone happy in this
temporary world, because everything is either destroyed or dead;
that is the nature of the physical manifestation. Consider this
analogy: though family members are together to help each other,
obtaining safety from the State and their community, and they
are engaged in the religious activities such as worshipping
demigods and performing various rituals. In spite of all these,
families frequently come under problems, pain and agitated
mind. It is due to the transformation of body, mind, family and
communities. On the other side, by taking shelter of the sat
(spirit), everyone regardless of their situation remain peaceful

and happy. In the actions of sat, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is the protector. The statement nāsato
vidyate bhāvo is specifically used to emphasize spiritual reality.
In the spiritual world there is no transformation of body, such as
birth, growth and decay. Sometimes people relate to material
manifestation as if it never existed in the past and will not exist
in the future. For example, “a flower offered to the Lord which
blossomed today, did not exist last week and will not exist next
week, but is utilized while it is here”. So, there is no reason to
consider that this is a hallucination. However, it is due to
forgetfulness of the embodied souls, which causes hallucination.
Knowing that everything is transient is the manifestation of asat,
a man shall offer the items of the physical world to the Supreme
Person, sat- eternal. Soul is eternal and Supreme Person Krishna
is eternal, therefore for the soul taking shelter and offering
everything to the eternal have the match, which makes a person
completely situate in his constitutional position. There is no
meaning in enjoying physical manifestation with heart and soul,
ultimately every living being is going to submerge into the
oblivious state of material existence with the physical objects. If
the end is unmanifestation of the existence, any sane men shall
take shelter of the spiritual nature of the Supreme Lord, which is
permanent.
The body is the combination of the material elements, and it
is the subordinate principle of the self and, therefore, the body
has manifested its form through the power of the soul. The
material nature and its elements are eternal, but are manifested
and unmanifested in the material world. The eternal soul cannot
be destroyed or changed, it has always existed. Consequently, in
the end, the real and unreal have been determined by the
Absolute Lord, the knowers of the ultimate truth and pure saintly
people, with a powerful sense of comprehension.
TEXT 17 अववनाभश ु ्वव्धि येनसवाभमदं म ्।
ववनाशम्ययथयाथय न क््च्क म ुा ात ॥१७॥
avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

vināśam avyayasyāsya na kaścit kartum arhati
avināśi -- indestructible; tu tad viddhi -- but know that; yena --
by whom; sarvam -- whole body; idaṁ tatam -- this
pervaded; vināśam -- annihilation; avyayasyāsya -- immortal
soul; na kaścit -- no one; kartum -- to do; arhati -- is capable.
You should know that one who pervades the whole body is
imperishable; nobody is capable of annihilating the immortal
soul.
ANNOTATION: The atomic soul, along with the Supersoul
resides in the heart, isvara sarva bhūtanam hrdeshe arjuna
tishtati, everyone can see this by their heartbeat. When the soul
leaves the body, the heartbeat stops. Because one cannot perceive
the soul and Supersoul in the heart through a microscope or
stethoscope, some may reject their existence and find other
reasons for why the body dies. The atomic soul’s dimension is
mentioned in the Svetasvatara Upanishad (5.9)
bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeya iti chāha parā śrutiḥ
“When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts
and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred
parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the
spirit soul. This is the verdict of the chief Vedic mantras”
No one can measure the magnitude of the soul, the best way
to comprehend the soul and Supersoul is to accept the authority
of the Vedās. The compiler of the Vedās is Krishna. This soul is
all pervading in the body by its consciousness, like the sun is all
pervading by its light. As the sun shine cannot be destroyed,
similarly, the consciousness of a living entity cannot be
destroyed. The destruction of consciousness would mean the
absence of the soul. When the soul leaves the body,
consciousness and desires are vanquished along with the soul.
When consciousness and desires vanquish from the physical
body (the vehicle for enjoying the fruits of one’s actions), that
body is subject to destruction.
The combination of matter with matter cannot create

consciousness. Modern science misapprehends this and considers
that the combination of matter in certain stages produces
consciousness. Consciousness means action, whereas matter is
stagnant and is moved by consciousness. In theory, the mere
knowledge of oneself as the soul or consciousness will not
improve one’s condition either materially or spiritually. One
must realize this knowledge through devotional service to
Krishna.
It is conscious, as it is manifested in every living body,
which makes miracles with the help of the Supersoul,
Krishna. Countless mothers, fathers, sons and daughters
established with experience in this world have come and gone,
and will come and go in future. Hence the soul is not belonged to
anybody. There are countless places of joy and grief in this
world, but only irrational living beings are affected. Spiritually
intelligent beings are free from the influence of these places.
No one can see the soul or destroy it. What can be destroyed
is the biological machine called the physical body. Therefore,
Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
who is the origin of all souls, sweetly tells Arjuna about the
position of the imperishable soul. Only what is eternal can be
determined as being truly real, and what is not eternal can be
considered unreal.
TEXT 18 अत वत इमे दे ा तन्यथय८् ाःशरीररणः।

अनाभशन८ऽरमेयथय थमा्य्
ु यथव भार ॥१८॥
antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
anāśino ’prameyasya tasmād yudhyasva bhārata
antavanta -- destroyable; ime dehā -- all these material
bodies; nityasyoktāḥ -- said to be everlasting in
existence; śarīriṇaḥ -- of the embodied soul; anāśino -- never to
be destroyed; aprameyasya -- immeasurable; tasmād -- therefore;
yudhyasva -- fight; bhārata -- O descendant of Bhārata.
It is said that the embodied soul is immeasurable, infinite and

never to be destroyed, but the material body is destroyable,
therefore O successor of Bhārata dynasty, fight.
ANNOTATION: Knowing well, the science of the soul and the
physical manifestation of the body, the Majestic Personality of
Godhead is explaining the same to Arjuna, the descendant of
Bhārata. This verse confirms that there is no eternal existence for
the physical body. māyāvādi philosophers say that when a mirror
is destroyed the reflection in the mirror is also destroyed.
However, according to the Supreme Authority Krishna, this is
not true, when it is taken in connection with the spirit soul. When
the body is destroyed, the soul is never destroyed because the
soul is spiritual and eternal, while the mirror is merely a matter.
Thus, the analogy of the māyāvādi is mistaken: the soul, which is
the reflection is reflected in the body and remains, even though
the body, the mirror, is destroyed.
One may see a dead body in front of him, but what is
missing is only the soul. For example, a dead old man and a
newborn infant may be the bodies of the same soul. While the
family of the old man may be in complete grief at his departure,
at the same time this old man has accepted a new body in a new
house. There, the family members of the newborn celebrate his
arrival! Without the knowledge of where he comes from, neither
family knows the truth of the soul. But the soul who
transmigrated from an old body to new body knows this change
of residence very well.
The fundamental point to be remembered here, though, is
that, when the soul takes his new birth he forgets his past life. It
is not the living entity’s choice, where it will take birth, either in
a rich or poor family, as animal or human, but it is his karma that
decides whether it will be born as hog, dog, worm, human being,
or demigod. The rules of karma don’t apply to animals in the
same way nor can they break the laws of nature: they have
already fallen down being in the lower species of body, hence,
there is no need for them to be punished. Humans have good and
bad karma, since they possess elevated consciousness and
discrimination. With this higher consciousness, human beings

break laws of nature and become entangled.
The Supreme Lord, who is the Supersoul, dwells within the
body. Within the same body, the Supersoul accompanies each
individual soul. The Supersoul is only a witness to all good and
bad actions of each living entity. In the Srimad-Bhāgavatam 3-
31-30:
karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye
striyāḥ praviṣṭa udaraṁ puṁso retaḥ-kaṇāśrayaḥ
“The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: “Under the
Supreme Lord’s direction, and according to his past karma, the
living soul is made to come into the womb of a female through
the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body”.
The Lord explains here that all living entities take birth in
this world from the womb of a female by being impregnated by a
male. There are three million varieties of animals and four
hundred thousand varieties of humans, all which take birth from
the embryo of the female’s body. Others are born from eggs,
seeds, sweat, etc. The journey to the lower forms of life, also can
begin from humans due to their bad karma. If living beings do
not prevent this fall while in their human form, they will have to
wait billions of years to get another chance to have a human form
of life again. To stop the process of becoming inferior form one
has to take up devotional service to Krishna. The bhakti-yoga
process is not new and has been honored since time immemorial.
Many great devotees and demons in the past have been liberated
from the cycle of birth and death by the process of devotional
service to Krishna.
TEXT 19 य एनं वेवत त ारं य्चनं मतय े म ्।
उभ९ ९ न वव्ानी ८ नायं ्त न तय ॥ े १९॥
ya enaṁ vetti hantāraṁ yaś cainaṁ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto nāyaṁ hanti na hanyate
ya enaṁ vetti -- anyone who knows this; hantāraṁ -- is the
slayer; yas cainaṁ manyate -- anyone who also thinks the
soul; hatam -- is slain; ubhautau -- both of them; navijānīto --

never are in knowledge; nā -- never; yaṁ -- this (soul); hanti --
slays; na hanyate -- nor is slain.
Anyone who thinks the soul is a slayer or anyone who thinks
the soul can be slain is not in possession of knowledge, the
soul never slays nor is ever slain.
ANNOTATION: When the material body is injured by a dagger
or bullet, it is to be known that the living entity within the body
is not killed. The dimensions of the soul are so small, that it can
survive all types of weather and inconveniences. Therefore, it is
not at all possible to hurt the soul with any kind of gun, missile,
bomb or any other kind of elemental weapon, as will be proved
in subsequent verses. The living entity neither can be killed by
anyone nor can it kill anyone, the body is what dies. When a
human being kills another living being, even though they are
unable to kill the soul, the killer becomes entangled in a network
of sinful activities because he obstructed the living entity’s
material and spiritual progress. The Lord does not encourage
killing of any living beings based on sense gratification.
TEXT 20
न ्ाय े भिय े वा कदाधच तनायं भ्ू वा भवव ा वा न भय
ू ः।
अ्८ तन्यःशा्व ८ऽयं परु ाण८ न तय े तयमाने शरीरे ॥२०॥
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
na-jāyate -- never takes birth; mriyate vā -- either dies; kadācit --
at any time; na -- not ever; ayam -- this; bhūtvā -- having come
into being; bhavitā -- will come to be; vā -- or; na -- not; bhūyaḥ
-- or is again coming to be; ajaḥ -- unborn; nityaḥ --
everlasting; śāśvataḥ -- eternal; ayam -- this; purāṇaḥ -- old;
na hanyate -- never is killed; hanyamāne -- being killed; śarīre -
- this body.
The soul never takes birth and never dies at any time, it has
not come into life, it does not come into life and it will not
come into life. The soul is birthless, perpetual, never ending,
ancient and it is not killed when the body is killed.
ANNOTATION: There are four types of bodies that come into
being with the presence of the soul, they are udbhija, svedaja,
andaja, and jarāyuja: udbhija, living entities born from seeds,
plants and trees; svedaja, living beings born from the perspiration
of the animals or human beings; andaja, living beings born from
eggs; and, jarāyuja, living beings born from embryos, such as
human beings and animals who give birth to their babies, as
developed from embryos.
All of these bodies appear with the presence of the soul. The
body is made out of a brain, heart, liver, kidney, skeleton and
other various parts. The body is like a machine operated by an
electric current; without electricity, the machine cannot function.
Most machines can’t operate twenty four hours a day, similarly,
bodies cannot function well for twenty four hours a day. The
body needs at least 6 hours of rest a day to sustain it and to
perform maintenance.
The soul, however, is beyond the bodily structure. The soul
has no birth. It is the presence of the soul, which causes the body
to take birth. When the body is tired, the soul is forced to rest in
the body. The soul is the spectator of the bodily functions. The
body undergoes six types of transformation namely birth,
existence, growth, modification, decay and death. The soul has
no such transformation.
The soul is never born and never dies at any time. How can
this be? The soul exists eternally, but through choosing the
experiences of material existence, it accepts a physical body.
What did not exist in the past, but is manifested in the present, is
‘conceived’. That which exists now, but will cease to exist
eventually, is ‘dead’. The soul is not conceived, it is eternal.
With the two words ajah meaning unborn and nityah
meaning eternal, it is clear that the two modifications of birth and
death are not applicable with regard to the soul. Lord Krishna
explains that the soul is everlasting, which means it is free from

life and death. The modification of change of the soul is
neutralized by the word Purānah, meaning ancient, it always
existed as it is. On coming to possess a body, the living entity’s
body changes every moment, but the soul, being physically
bodiless, remains eternal.
There are two more kinds of modifications, transformation
and diminution. These are rendered inapplicable to the soul
through the inference that the soul is eternal, without any need to
increase, it remains as it is and is unchangeable. Thus, the six
modifications of the physical body do not apply to the soul, it can
never be destroyed even when the physical body is destroyed.
The soul, though it is too tiny under material conditions, has
its own spiritual body. That body cannot be developed unless one
begins to associate with the Supreme Soul in yoga. The spiritual
existence is directly framed by the Supreme Person Krishna,
while the material body is indirectly framed by Him through the
agent of His material external energy. There are 8,400,000
varieties of material bodies, Lord Krishna says to Uddhava in
11th canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
eka-dvi-tri-chatuṣ-pādo bahu-pādas tathāpadaḥ
bahvyaḥ santi puraḥ sṛṣṭās tāsāṁ me pauruṣī priyā
“In this world there are many kinds of created bodies, some with
one leg, others with two, three, four or more legs, and still other
with no legs, but of all these, the human form is actually dearest
to Me.”
TEXT 21 वेदाववनाभशनं तन्यं य एनम्म्ययम ्।
किं स पु ु षःपािा कं घा यत ्त कम ्॥२१॥
vedāvināśinaṁ nityaṁ ya enam ajam avyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam
veda — knows vināśinam -- imperishable; nityam -- always
existing; yaḥ -- one who; enam -- this; ajam – unborn soul;
avyayam -- irreversible; katham -- how; saḥ -- that; puruṣaḥ --
individual; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; kam -- whom; ghātayati --

causes to hurt; hanti -- kills; kam -- whom.
O son of Pritha, how does a person who knows that the soul is
indestructible, interminable, unborn and irreversible slay
someone, or cause anyone to be slain?
ANNOTATION: There is a soul within everyone and everyone
serves that soul. No one serves the body because once the soul
leaves the body there is no more service, it is either burned or
buried. Although people do not see the existence of the soul, they
still serve the soul with faith. This raises all sorts of questions. If
the soul does not die, then why not kill one’s enemies and
unwanted beings? Who are we to make such decisions? How do
we know intensity of everyone’s actions? How do we know, if
the punishment we want to give to the enemy or animals is
appropriate? We do not know, what is right and wrong, and
because of this we should not perform any act of violence
without authority. Arjuna’s authority is Krishna, who knows the
past, present and future of all living entities, therefore, the Lord
cannot make mistakes. The law of nature maintains that one can
only kill under the scriptural authority to establish dharma-true
religion, or for the peace of the country, or by following the head
of state’s declaration of war.
According to Manu-samhita, a murder must be punished in
an appropriately similar way to the crime, so that the murderer
can avoid taking another birth only to be murdered by the same
person. The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is
advising Arjuna in a similar way. Although the soul never dies,
Arjuna’s opponents have breached all good codes of religion and
moral laws; they committed crimes with their material bodies, as
a result their bodies must die.
TEXT 22
वासांभस ्ीणाातन यिा वव ाय नवातन ग्
ृ णात नर८ऽपराणण।
िा शरीराणण वव ाय ्ीणाा तयतयातन संयात नवातन दे ी॥२२॥
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
vāsāṁsi -- clothes; jīrṇāni -- old and worn out; yathā-vihāya --

just as giving up; navāni-gṛhṇāti -- accept new cloths; naraḥ --
man; aparāṇi -- others; tathā -- similarly; śarīrāṇi – bodies
vihāya -- giving up; jirṇāni -- old and useless; anyāni --
different; saṁyāti -- verily accepts; navāni-dehī -- new body.
Just as a person gives up old clothes and wears new clothes,
in the same manner, the soul accepts fresh material bodies,
abandoning the aged and useless ones.
ANNOTATION: After the old and useless body dies, the soul
accepts another body so that it may live a new life. This change
is made possible by the Supersoul. Since the soul was the only
witness of all actions of the living being, it is rewarded with a
suitable material body. The soul can obtain any one of the
millions of bodies in this world. In this verse, the Lord gives the
analogy of changing garments. This bodily change is exactly like
changing torn clothing for new clothing. A youthful body and
appearance is attractive for everyone, people always desire to be
youthful, but the body is under Lord’s time. The youthful body is
always changing, we must, therefore, accept the older version of
the body and then eventually change the old body for a new
one. Thus, it is said in the Padma Purāna:
jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa vimsatih
krmayo rudra- sānkhyakah paksinam dasa-laksanam
triàsal-laksani pasavah chatur-laksani manusyah:
“There are eight million four hundred thousand forms of life.
There are nine hundred thousand forms of fishes in the water,
and two million forms of trees and plants. There are one million
one hundred thousand species of insects and reptiles, and one
million species of birds. There are three million varieties of
animals and four hundred thousand human species.”
We must pass through eight million different forms of life
before we come to the human form of life. All bodies are like
garments. The spirit soul has its spiritual gender and its genuine
position, the material gender is temporary. Even though it is
invisible because of its size this minute atomic spirit soul has its
own individuality and minute form. For example, our shirt, coat
and pants are stitched according to the size of the body. Once the
shirt or pants are removed from the body, the form of the shirt
and pants will collapse. Similarly, our body is designed
according to the soul, once the soul leaves the body, the body
decomposes. Therefore, form belongs to the soul and not to the
body.
TEXT 23 ननं तछतद्त शथराणण ननंद त पावकः।
न चनं ्लेदयत्याप८ न श८षयत माु ः॥२३॥
nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainaṁ kledayanty āpo na śoṣayati mārutaḥ
nainaṁ -- never this soul; chindanti -- can cut to pieces; śastrāṇi
-- weapons; nainaṁ -- never this soul; dahati -- burns; pāvakaḥ --
fire; na -- never; cainaṁ -- also this soul; kledayanty -- moistens;
āpo -- water; na -- never; śoṣayati -- dries; mārutaḥ -- wind.
The soul cannot be cut into fragments by any kind of
armaments, it cannot be burned by fire, moistened by water
or dried by wind.
ANNOTATION: The soul cannot be killed under any
circumstances, neither by rifles, missiles, bombs, knives or
daggers. It cannot be destroyed by fire, shooting squad or war,
etc. Many people are killed by natural catastrophes, such as by a
tsunami, hurricane, volcano, plague, drought, etc. All these
calamities only destroy the external body, which is made up of
the material elements such as earth, water, fire, air and ether. The
soul is placed into material nature by the Supreme Lord, by
nature the spirit soul is eternal and full of consciousness, and so
it never can be destroyed by any material action. The size of the
spirit soul is one ten thousandth of the width of the tip of a strand
of hair.
In geometry class, a teacher may say to a student that a
‘point’ has no length or breadth. This is wrong. Actually, there is
no machine or scale to measure the size of the ‘point’. However,
when one looks at a ‘point’ under a magnifying glass its length

and breadth can be seen. Similarly, the size of the soul is so small
that there is no machine to measure it. Modern cardiologists and
scientists tirelessly endeavor to locate this spiritual spark and
they continue to be baffled by their search. The truth is that, one
cannot understand or observe the size of the soul in the body. It is
possible to comprehend the existence of the soul only by
studying the difference between a dead body and a living
body. The authority of the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Supreme Master
of all sentient beings, Lord Krishna, gives his transcendental
judgment of the size of the soul, by accepting such a perfect
answer the questions of all the confused scholars would be
answered at once. If they did so, from that point forward their
work on the development of technology and science will only be
directed to the service of the Supreme Lord. By accepting the
authority of God, they can become pure devotees of Him and be
freed from their cycles of birth and death.
Material objects can be destroyed by other material objects.
Spiritual objects cannot be destroyed by material objects. Death
means cutting one’s knot of attachment to one’s own body. The
spirit soul is eternal like the Supreme Lord, it is made of eternity,
knowledge and bliss. No one can see eternity, knowledge or bliss
with their eyes, this can only be felt and experienced. The
Supreme Lord Krishna is eternally a Supreme Person, He
expands into miniscule souls for His service. Similarly, a mother
and a father beget children for their service, yet the children are
completely individual from their parents. Souls are thus part and
parcels of the Majestic Personality of Godhead, like the sun and
its particles, fire and its sparks. Generally, children are eager to
render service to their parents. Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu says:
jivere svarupa hoy krishnere nityadas, krishnera tatastha-shakti,
bhedabheda-prakasa, ‘the constitutional position of the soul is
that, it is the servant of Lord Krishna because he is the marginal
energy of Krishna and a manifestation simultaneously one and
different from the Supreme Lord’. This position cannot be
changed by materialists, or spiritualists.’ Under strong illusion,
one creates relationships with many living beings born from their
own body, like a son, daughter, husband, wife, mother, father,
etc. However, once the body dies that relationship is vanquished.
It is this moment of death that proves all living beings are only
truly connected with God, Krishna.
TEXT 24 अ्छे ्य८ऽयमदा्य८ऽयम्ले्य८ऽश८्य एव च।
तन्यः सवाग ः थिाणुरचल८ऽयं सना नः॥२४॥
acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur achalo ’yaṁ sanātanaḥ
acchedyaḥ-ayam -- the soul is unbreakable; adāhyaḥ-ayam --
soul cannot be burned; akledyaḥ -- insoluble; aśoṣyaḥ -- cannot
be dried out; eva-ca -- and certainly; nityaḥ -- eternal; sarva-
gataḥ -- everywhere; sthāṇuḥ -- unchangeable; achalaḥ -- fixed;
ayam -- this soul; sanātanaḥ -- eternally the same.
The soul is unbreakable, incapable of being burned and
dried, it is insoluble, endless, everywhere, fixed, not movable
and eternally the same.
ANNOTATION: The material body is made up of the elements
of earth, water, air, fire and ether. All these elements are visible
either directly or through the help of sense objects. However, the
spirit soul is more subtle than even the mind and intelligence, and
it cannot be seen by a machine. It is so tiny, it can escape
inundation by water and from the fire of the annihilation of
universe. How, then, can one break open or explain the soul?
Seeds, vegetables or anything that is related to the material world
can be burned or dried, but not spirit souls. The physical body of
the living entities in the material existence have a beginning and
an end, this is proven by the constant changes of the physical
body - the process of birth and death. The living entity’s physical
body exists independent of the eternal soul. The soul is not
capable of slaying another eternal soul, or of having itself slain
by another. Although the physical bodies of all living entities are
destroyed by time, the essential nature, the eternal soul is never
destroyed. The living entity is insured by the support of the
eternal soul. When there is understanding that the eternal soul is

indestructible, and that the Supreme Lord is the independent
creator of all, how can one think of slaying or being slain by
anyone?
The Supreme Lord Krishna possesses a completely spiritual
body, there is no difference between His inside and outside, and
because he is transcendental to material existence, death cannot
touch His spiritual form. In fact, death is personified as one of
His mere servants yearning to worship at Lord Krishna's lotus
feet. The Supreme Lord Krishna is never born, He manifests
Himself from the spiritual world into the material world by His
own potency according to His free will. The Supreme Lord
Krishna is, independently, the creator and terminator. He creates
and allows for the existence of all living entities, which are like
clothes that become worn out and old due to the passing of time.
Being dependent in all aspects and in all circumstances, living
entities should realize that they are not independent, as in the
case of the Omnipotent Supreme Lord Krishna.
TEXT 25 अ्य् ८ऽयमधचत्य८ऽयमववकायोऽयम् ु य ।े

थमादे वं ववहद्वनं नानश
ु ८धच म
ु ाभस॥२५॥
avyakto ’yam achintyo ’yam avikāryo’yam uchyate
tasmād evaṁ viditvainaṁ nānuśocitum arhasi
avyakto’yam -- soul is invisible; achintyo’yam -- soul is
inconceivable; avikāryo’yam -- soul is unchangeable; uchyate --
is told; tasmād -- therefore; evaṁ -- like this; viditvainaṁ --
knowing the soul well; na -- do not; nuśocitum -- to
lament; arhasi -- you deserve.
It is said that the soul cannot be visible, the soul is
inconceivable, the soul is unchangeable, therefore, knowing
the quality of the soul, you shall not lament.
ANNOTATION: Scientists have invented the telescope and
microscope. The telescope is used to find objects situated far
away, to see the galaxy, for forest dwellers to see the forest
animals and for jail keepers to make sure that criminals don’t
escape. The microscope is used to see tiny objects of this world.
The soul is too infinitesimal to see, even the most powerful
machines can’t detect the size of the soul. Even though it is tiny,
the soul is incredibly powerful. The 33 million demigods in the
heaven possess immense power even though they are tiny souls,
like other living entities. The soul is microscopic, but its
activities are gigantic, therefore, the soul is an astonishing thing.
Through superior Vedic knowledge one is able to have faith and
belief in the soul. Many things in the world can be proven by
authorities, we do not have to see or experience something to
know it exists.
Immutable means the soul’s position never changes. It will
never become bigger and equal to the Supreme Spirit, the
Majestic Lord, nor will it sink down and become a helpless
spark. The soul remains the same, without change through
creation as well as annihilation. Modern material scholars have
no knowledge about the soul and Supersoul. Their childish play
is called philosophy and science; like a boy who builds a grand
castle from sand on the beach, he thinks it is real at the time, but
when his father calls him to go home, he quits everything. It is
just play. Similarly, all are engaged in many types of work with
actions, but once death arrives we have to quit all of our
unfinished business and just leave.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is known as
both possessing a body and devoid of a body. This is because He
possesses a transcendental body, not a material body. Because
His body is not constituted of the elements of material nature, it
is said to be ‘a-dehah’. In the spiritual world, there is no such
distinction between the body and soul. The head, feet, arms and
other parts of the spiritual body are all made up of the spiritual
substance. Nothing distinctive exists from this transcendental
nature as His body, therefore, He is called ‘a-dehah’ without
body. There is no creation or maintenance or destruction of
Krishna’s transcendental body. Thus, the Vedās say deha-dehi-
vibhāgo ’yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit, “there is no distinction
between the body and the soul of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead at any time, these are the same transcendental
quintessence.” He Himself is His form and this transcendental
form exists eternally beyond the possibility of material existence.
His beauty and His pleasing phenomenal characteristics are
recorded only to understand that He is the source, the original
storehouse of all attributes.
To be conscious of being in this physical body is a normal
experience for all living entities. However, even though such a
distinct consciousness is normal, it is perceived as special.
Although it is special, one does not perceive it as being separate
from one's own individual consciousness. So, if one cannot even,
first, perceive his own individual consciousness within himself,
how can one perceive the magnificent Supreme Lord? Thus,
other than the Supreme Lord Krishna, there is no one who can
comprehend His form or the form of the individual soul. That is
why we either study the Bhagavad-Gītā under Him directly like
Arjuna did, or study under a bonafide spiritual master. There is
no difference between Krishna’s teachings and the teaching of
His representatives.
TEXT 26 अि चनं तन्य्ा ं तन्यं वा मतयसे म ृ म ्।
िावप ्वं म ाबा ८ ननंश८धच म
ु ाभस॥२६॥
atha chainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛtam
tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho nainaṁ śocitum arhasi
atha -- but, nevertheless; chainaṁ -- also the soul; nitya-jātaṁ --
takes birth; nityaṁ -- eternal; vā -- either; manyasemṛtam -- you
believe dead; tathāpi -- still; tvaṁ -- you; mahā-bāho -- O
powerful carrier of weapons; nainam -- never about the soul;
śochitum -- to grieve; arhasi -- reason or meet the criteria.
If, nevertheless, you believe that the soul takes birth and dies
forever, you still do not have any reason to mourn, O
powerful carrier of weapons.
ANNOTATION: There is a class of philosophers who claim that
there is no existence of the soul. Because of a combination of
chemicals at a certain stage, the symptoms of living entities

become apparent. Since, living symptoms are only the
combination of different chemicals, the living soul would die as
soon as the body would die. Atheistic parents who believe this
philosophy teach their children to have an extreme enjoyment of
their senses because after death there is no life. They believe that
life symptoms appeared by the combination of chemicals, or by
the physical interaction of male and female, and that life
disintegrates after death. So they assume that there is nothing to
worry about.
For argument sake, Lord Krishna proposed this same
philosophy to Arjuna five thousand years ago, who was refusing
to fight and was reluctant to kill the irreligious members of the
Kurus. In contemporary society, spirituality has been replaced
with science. Spirituality in itself is a great subtle science, but
because materialistic scientists cannot comprehend this simple
fact they deal with gross objects in their form of science, hence
they have become atheists. Atheists will not find happiness with
whatever material comfort they have. Their goals consist of
acquiring women and wine, luxury homes and a mundane, but
majestic lifestyle. Under this illusion, their original
consciousness, the consciousness of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, is covered and obscured
from their awareness. In covering their original consciousness,
men engage in multifaceted materialistic activities to obtain
material dignity and possessions in their life. Yet, at the moment
of death they are forced to leave everything behind.
TEXT 27 ्ा थय ह रुव८ म्ृ यर

ु व
ुा ं ्तम म ृ थय च।
थमादपरर ायाऽिे न ्वं श८धच मु ाभस॥२७॥
jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi
jātasya -- those who are born; hi -- surely; dhruvo -- the truth;
mṛtyur -- decease; dhruvaṁ -- it is also the truth; janma -- birth;
mṛtasya -- of the deceased; ca -- also; tasmād -- consequently or
as a result; aparihārye -- obligatory; ’rthe -- in the subject

matter; natvam -- you do not; śocitum -- to mourn; arhasi --
reason or meet the criteria.
Those who have taken their birth surely die, after death they
certainly take birth again, consequently, in the obligatory
sense of your duty, you do not mourn.
ANNOTATION: That which is born is sure to die, that which is
created is sure to be destroyed. The living beings are trapped in
the combination of material elements. The body is made of
diverse elements together with the soul, which supports the body
in life. One day the material elements will be separated from the
soul and merge back into the totality of material ingredients,
which is the law of conservation of energy. For example, an
earthen pot is created from the earth element, yet, after it is
ruined and destroyed, the pot will merge back into the earth.
Similarly, the material elements of embodied beings will merge
back into earth, while the soul, with its pending desires, is
allowed by the Supersoul to enter into another body at the time of
death.
Human beings always shall fear falling down. The human
form of life is not always guaranteed. For the human form,
higher understanding principles are utilized. This is not found in
any other life forms. It is also evident that in this material world,
nobody has a permanent situation, situations are always changing
and shaky. Politicians, celebrities, industrialists, scientists and
even empires are forced to change their situations. Similarly,
according to one’s deed, one is forced to take another body. This
can be as angels, demigods, kings, ministers, elephants, dogs,
hogs, snakes, worms or microbes. There are innumerable
varieties of bodies created by the Supreme Lord suited to the
varying stages of souls’ development of consciousness. If
humans keep their consciousness covered and concentrate only
on animalistic propensities, they will lose the valuable human
form of life and enter into animal kingdom after death. Spirit soul
is beyond both gross and subtle body. It is asango yam purushah,
which means: that it never mixes with anything in this material

world, therefore the spirit soul is called unchangeable. Thus
death and birth is only applicable to this body, not to the spirit
soul. One must, therefore, execute his duty properly in spiritual
consciousness, or Krishna consciousness.
TEXT 28 अ्य् ादीतन भू ातन ्य् म्यातन भार ।
अ्य् तनिनातयेव र का पररदे वना॥२८॥
avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva tatra kā paridevanā
avyaktādīni -- not visible in the beginning; bhūtāni -- all living
entities and elements; vyakta -- visible; madhyāni -- in the
middle; bhārata -- O successor of Bhārata dynasty; avyakta --
not visible; nidhanāny -- when annihilated or destroyed; eva -- it
is all like that; tatra -- so; kā -- what; paridevanā -- mourn.
Before creation, all living entities were invisible, visible in
between for a short time, and invisible again when they are
annihilated. So what is there for mourning?
ANNOTATION: In the last several verses, Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, explains that there is
no need for lamenting on the physical body if it is destroyed.
Here, the Supreme Lord affirms Arjuna that he should not worry
about the death and birth of living entities, that he must execute
his duties as a kshatriya.
Living entities are never created. Rather, they are expanded
by the Lord for His services. Bhūtani means all that is created.
What is created? The body is created. Yet, because of false
identification with the material body, one thinks that he is the
body! Consider a mathematical calculation where one must
calculate a given outcome, if there is a mistake somewhere in the
equation, all of the calculations would be affected making the
final answer wrong. In a similar way, the notion that ‘I am this
body’ is totally mistaken, and any action that is based on it will
be wrong.
We are tenants of our own body, consequently the body

manifests and unmanifests according to the desires of living
beings. The body is nothing but different elements of material
nature. There are 5 gross elements, which are brilliantly
explained by the Lord in the 7th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā,
these are earth, water, fire, air and ether. All objects in the world
are created by these elements. In the human body or any
biological body that may have a skeleton, the skeleton represents
the presence of earth element. There is water in the body in the
form of blood. There are five types of air in the body, beginning
from prāna vāyu, the air we inhale and exhale. There is fire in
the body for digesting food and keeping the body warm, and
finally in the presence of the ether element there are nine holes in
the body, also called the nine gates. They are the two eyes, two
ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one genital and one rectum, these
gates help living beings enjoys their senses.
All these elements are unmanifested in the beginning, and
then manifest short term, then again unmanifest. Why do lament
for either the stage of manifestation or unmanifestation?
Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things are not
lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all elements remain
unmanifested, and they are manifested only in the middle. There
is no real material difference between these. Living entities are
trapped in these material elements apparently manifesting and
unmanifesting, but they are eternal. Therefore, one should
understand that when one separates oneself from these elements
of the body, one can see oneself as a true soul. The purpose of
human life is bound up in the aim of realizing this self, which has
been trapped in the body by one’s own previous actions. Thus, it
is said in Brahma-vaivrta Purāna:
asītim chaturas caiva laksāms tan jīva-jātisu
bhramadbhih purusaih prāpyam mānusyam janma-paryayāt
tad apy abhalatām jatah tesām ātmābhimāninām
varākānam anāsritya govinda-carana-dvayam
“One attains the human form of life after transmigrating through
8,400,000 species of life by the process of gradual evolution.

That human form of life is spoiled for those conceited fools who
do not take shelter of the lotus feet of Govinda [Krishna]”.
TEXT 29
आ्चयाव्प्यत क््चदे न मा्चयाव्वदत िव चातयः।
आ्चयाव्चनमतयः शण
ृ ८त रु्वाऽतयेनं वेदन चवक््च ् ॥२९॥
āścharya-vat paśyati kaścid enam
āścharya-vad vadati tathaiva chānyaḥ
āścharya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti
śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit
āścharya-vat -- as astonishing; paśyati -- perceives; kaścid --
somebody; enam -- spirit soul; āścarya-vad -- as wonderful;
vadati -- talks about; tatha -- therefore; iva -- sure; cā -- also;
nyaḥ -- another; āścharya-vac – likewise amazing; cainam – also
spirit soul; anyaḥ -- others; śṛṇoti -- listen to of; śrutvā -- being
heard; py -- even; enaṁ -- spirit soul; veda -- understand or
know; na ca – and never; iva -- surely; kaścit -- someone
One person perceives the spirit soul as astonishing, somebody
else portrays the spirit soul as wonderful, and somebody else
still listens to the spirit soul thinking it is amazing, whereas
there are other people who, even after hearing about the
spirit soul, do not understand him at all.
ANNOTATION: If one does not perform strict fasting and
atonements for one's previous sinful actions, it will be impossible
to understand the qualities and features of the soul. Tiny souls are
within all bodies, whether they are elephants, sharks, human
beings or bacteria; sometimes tiny ants come out of a hole in
millions, there are limitless flying bugs in the evening hours, they
are all souls; sometime one sees many worms in a rotten fruit.
Even though souls are tiny, the bodies they inhabit may be small
or gigantic, like bacteria and elephants respectively. When a self-
realized devotee sees a group of people in a big gathering, he is
struck with wonder seeing the individual souls having different
physical bodies. This is quite an amazing thing to see the

presence of the individual souls in all bodies.
Here, the Supreme Lord is informing us that some people
look on the soul as amazing. The most amazing thing is that,
behind all embodied souls, regardless of their gigantic or tiny
sizes, is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, and these
souls are transcendental to everything they experience in the
material existence. Therefore, the spiritually intelligent sees the
eternal soul as a marvelous expansion of the Supreme Lord.
Upon realizing this they are amazed. There is nothing in material
existence that the soul can be compared to, because of its nature
as consciousness. Yet, there are other people, although hearing
about the soul, are still unable to comprehend it. The import from
this is that foolish people who are submerged in the ocean of
sense enjoyment and mental speculation cannot comprehend the
soul, since they are in a state of absolute ignorance. Only with
the mercy and help of Krishna, or a bonafide guru and scriptures,
one will be able to see the soul as it is.
Science of the soul is amazing and it is only known to God.
Even achāryas of all vaishnava disciplic succession, whenever
they described about souls, they cited the statement of God given
in Bhagavad-Gītā. Sometimes, certain community members
argue that it is not mentioned about the details of the souls, body
and reincarnation in different holy texts, and therefore, they do
not want to believe about the reincarnations. First thing is that,
the origin of soul is Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. No one can explain the science of soul
more than the creator Himself. Second point is that the holy
guidelines are given to different group of people according to
time, place and circumstances to promote those humans with
better consciousness.
However, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord of all beings
was talking the truth of life for all humanity. Consider the
analogy that, when a pilot flying an aircraft is watched by a child,
though seeing it, with improper understanding, he can oppose the
action of the machine by stating, he does not believe in the act.
But every adult can see that the pilot is flying the aircraft.
Similarly, the soul is transmigrating from one body to another
from birth to death (infant, youth, adult and old age), thereafter,
it moves to another body according to its karma. ‘I do not
remember the past life’ is not a good argument either, because
there are thousands of events we do not remember that occurred
in the present life. Moving to another body may not be visible
due to the soul’s miniscule size, which is beyond visibility to the
material sense organs, in the creation there are millions of
activities, which are not visible to mundane eyes, yet, occurring
in the subtle stage. Thus, the soul is finer than the finest, only the
Supreme Person, who is the source of all souls can talk about its
qualities and functions, since, all embodied beings are endowed
with limited sense perceptions, they cannot see or present the
science of the soul. The Supreme Lord states in the 15-10 of
Bhagavad-Gītā that
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam
vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
“The less intelligent are captivated by the three modes of material
nature and cannot see how a living being can give up one body,
nor can they know how they reside or enjoy in their bodies. But
those whose eyes are enlightened with spiritual knowledge can
see all these things”. One can be a moralist, fundamentalist,
reader of many books, but that is not enough to comprehend the
constitutional position of the soul. The real enlightened person in
all department of knowledge is he, who tries to satisfy Lord Sri
Krishna in all his actions and realize the original position of soul.
TEXT 30 दे ी तन्यमव्य८ऽयं दे े सवाथय भार ।

थमा्सवााणण भू ातन न ्वं श८धच म
ु ाभस॥३०॥
dehī nityam avadhyo ’yaṁ dehe sarvasya bhārata
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni na tvaṁ śochitum arhasi
dehī -- the embodied beings; nityam -- is eternal; avadhyo --
cannot be slayed; ayaṁ -- spirit soul; dehe -- the body; sarvasya -
- all; bhārata -- O descendant of Bhārata; tasmāt -- for that

reason; sarvāṇibhūtāni -- all living entities; na tvaṁ -- you
should not; śochitum -- mourn; arhasi -- reason or qualify.
The soul who dwells in the body is eternal and cannot be

slayed. O descendant of Bhārata, you should, therefore, not
mourn for any living entities.
ANNOTATION: In this chapter, the Absolute Truth, Lord
Krishna is concluding that the nature of the soul is powerful over
all material objects. Living souls are there in all bodies, including
ants and microbes. The Supreme Lord emphasizes this by stating
dehe sarvasya, ‘in all bodies’. The notion that there are no souls
in the bodies of animals and insects is, thus refuted by the Lord
in this verse.
Spirit souls have creative and destructive powers under
material conditions of life. The normal condition of a living
entity is healthy life. Just as disease takes place from infection by
germs, similarly material desires are the infection for healthy
souls, which causes one to develop a material body. The
identification with the material body is also a disease for the soul.
Consider an analogy that one may call a lady who sells flower as
the flower vendor, a vegetable seller as the vegetable vendor or a
fruit seller as the fruit vendor, but in actuality, persons who sell
these items are beyond their profession. Likewise, a soul also
cannot be identified by their profession or country of birth, which
was created in temporary circumstances. One will be pushed out
of the present body unexpectedly, and that situation can appear at
any time. Therefore, the false identification of I am a man; a
woman; an Indian; an American; a Hindu; a Christian; and a
Muslim; all of these are diseased conditions of one’s existence. A
genuinely healthy life is realized through God consciousness.
There is no American consciousness or Indian consciousness,
African consciousness or Australian consciousness, which could
be generated in terms of one’s country of origin. Nor is
anybody’s soul a Hindu, Christian or Muslim, which are, merely
identifications, made after a soul has born in a respective

(religious) community.
The perceived differences in consciousness is due to the
diseased condition. Consciousness is universal, and all living
entities have a common consciousness by souls’ birth. That
consciousness is God consciousness, or Krishna consciousness.
Any other consciousness is an artificial imposition on a living
entity created by state, country, religion or gender.
God created countries. And human beings made cities,
gigantic sports stadiums, extended roads and freeways, railways,
huge aircrafts, bullet trains, rockets and various nuclear missiles,
all these were made possible by the spirit soul in the human
body, in association with material energy, and by the direction of
the Supreme Lord. Thus, the term jada shakti describes the fact
that dead matter cannot develop by itself. jīva shakti, means
‘souls’, alternatively, describes how it is by the presence of the
soul that matter develops into the various objects of the universe.
The spirit soul is beyond death and birth, and any other material
condition.
Arjuna need not grieve for the death of his relatives like
Bhīshma and Drona. The basic essence underlying physical
bodies are spiritual souls. These can never be slain, no matter, if
one is a demigod, or the human being or an animal, fish, tree or
plants. To be sure, when war takes place millions will be killed,
and killing means the destruction of the external physical body.
However, it is clear that this unwanted slaughter and war is not
encouraged based on the sense satisfaction of the Pāndavās. If
this war were not for the purpose of establishing true religion, it
should not permit any killing.
In the history of the world, there were two great wars. One
was ‘Rāmayana’ in Tretā-yuga (silver age) around 900,000 years
ago. The other was the Mahābhārata war, 52 centuries ago, in
Dwāpara-yuga (copper age). Both wars were fought to re-
establish religious principles and the nāyakas, or heroes, were the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godheads, Lord Sri
Rāmachandra and Lord Sri Krishna. In the Padma Purāna it is
stated:
Establishing Himself within the heart of every living entity,

the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead protects each and
every living entity eternally. Permanent objects like the immortal
soul are protected eternally, and impermanent objects such as the
physical body are protected temporarily. Whether in His manifest
form or unmanifest form, appearing or disappearing, throughout
the material existence, the Supreme Lord Krishna maintains and
sustains all living entities for their highest good.
TEXT 31 थविमामवप चावे्य नववक््प म ु ाभस।
ि्याा्धि य्
ु िा्िे य८ऽतय्षररयथय न वव्य ॥
े ३१॥
sva-dharmam api cāvekṣya na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyād dhi yuddhāc chreyo ’nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate
sva-dharmam -- one's own natural duty; api -- also; cā -- indeed;
vekṣya -- bearing in mind; na -- never; vikampitum -- to reluctant;
arhasi -- you qualify; dharmyād -- for the religious cause; dhi --
indeed; yuddhāc -- of battling; chreyo -- auspicious; anyat --
anything else; kṣatriyasya -- for kshatriya; na -- does not; vidyate
-- exist.
Bearing in the mind your natural duty as a warrior, you must
not be reluctant to fight for this religious cause, there is no
better auspicious duty for a warrior to perform other than
engaging in combat.
ANNOTATION: ‘Sva dharma’ means one’s occupational duty.
There is the body and in each body there is a soul. The body exist
because of the presence of the soul. There are specific duties for
each, the body and the soul. ‘sva dharma’ is the occupational
duty of the soul. Because of the material conditions of life, most
people are unaware of their true identity as the soul dwelling
within the body. All living entities are under the three modes of
material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. According to
these three modes, there are many bodily duties described, which
are different from the activities of the soul. It is the duty of the
government administrators, who are kshatriyas (kings), to make
sure people follow their real occupational duties. There are 4
divisions in the body: head, hands, waist and legs. The head is
compared to brāhmana, hands are compared to the kshatriyas,
the waist is compared to the vaishyas, and the legs are compared
to sūdras. If any of these body parts are damaged, there will be
chaos in the body. Similarly, if one of these social classes fail,
the whole social system will be in chaos.
Today, there is a lot of religious propaganda prevalent in the
world. Although secular governments give freedom to people to
adopt any religion, the government must also make sure that
these religious followers adopt the instructions of their religious
texts. For instance, ancient Vedic followers must be advised to
study the Bhagavad-Gītā and follow the instruction given within
the Bhagavad-Gītā. The government should supervise these
Vedic followers and ensure that they follow the instructions
given in the Bhagavad-Gītā, without modifying the
transcendental book.
The Bhagavad-Gītā was spoken directly by God more than
five thousand years ago, and was spoken for humanity at large.
The Bhagavad-Gītā is not a mere instruction, but offers the
perfect path for transcendental life. By following the instructions
of God, one will be happy in this life and the next.
The government is chosen by the people, therefore, the
people expect that it carries out fair administration, and is
impartial in all departments and fields. They should expect that
the government is invested in making all citizens happy.
However, the government is ignoring their responsibility, if it
focuses solely on material development and avoids involvement
in religious systems, simply because of the diversity and
sensitivity of the varying religious fields; government authorities
seem incapable of governing religious systems. Lawmakers must
administer each department with extreme consciousness.
Government positions given by the people are not meant to
improve personal economic development from government
treasuries, but to maintain their respective portfolios sincerely, so
that the Supreme government, the laws of God, will bless both
administrators and citizens. A good God conscious State can be
blessed with regular rain showers at night and sun shines in the
day time. Thus, the whole land becomes fertile, the farmers
become pleased to produce abundant crops and other supplies for
the citizens. It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam that by the
planetary movements and the auspicious astrological hours
together, the rain supplies ample jewels in the form of diamonds
and rubies for the people, instead of hail stone showers. In other
words, the supply of valuable natural resources depends on,
peoples’ Krishna consciousness. Instead of becoming Krishna
conscious, people agree to struggle for life, but such struggle is
nothing more than to have enough food and pay their bills.
So, if the government authorizes people to do whatever they
want, then the whole country will be in chaos. Despite all efforts
to bring peace and prosperity to the country, all will break down.
The failure of the society's ability to thrive in peace will directly
hit government administrators. There will only be war,
revolution, quarrel and other scarcity in human society and
within the administration. Two plus two equals four in every
country and in every university. Similarly, God is one for
everyone throughout the universe. Yet, it is a mistake for all of
humanity, if we measure Him according to place, time and one's
limited comprehension. Conceptual ideas make categories for
defining the existence of God, and everyone suffers despite their
material opulence and a comfortable material life for not
recognizing the Personality of Godhead.
The body is only the external exposure, which is obtained
according to pious or impious activities in past lives. It does not
live forever. No matter how beautiful a princess or handsome a
prince is, they dwindle, just like a bloomed lotus flower fades
and loses its beauty in time. The real beauty of power,
knowledge, fame, wealth and renunciation are owned by the soul,
and is merely borrowed from Krishna.
Now, after describing the meaning of the spirit, soul and
body, the wise Lord emphasizes the importance of the duties of a
kshatriya to Arjuna. As mentioned earlier, kshat means injury,
and trayate, means protect. Thus kshatriya means ‘one who
saves people from danger.’ By duty, Arjuna is the protector of

religion, and he never acted irreligiously. The Supreme Lord
knows Arjuna as His friend and devotee. A devotee is equipped
with all good qualities, therefore, it is obvious for Arjuna to
refrain from war and from killing people.
Sincere devotees of the Lord never desire to even kill an ant
intentionally. But religious duty sometimes requires one to go
beyond the so-called love for the material world and its living
entities. Arjuna is excessively attached to his grandsire Bhīshma
deva and his martial teacher Dronāchārya. They were always
well-wishers of the Pāndavās and spoke always kind words to
them. When they raised their weapons against the Pāndavās
because of the evil Duryodhana’s ambition to occupy the entire
kingdom, only to enjoy sense gratification, it did not make any
logical sense to them, but still they raised their weapons against
the Pāndavās, because they were eating the food offered by the
Kauravas. But Lord Krishna, who is the super knower of all
sentient beings knows the heart of the great personality like
Bhīshma deva. Bhīshma deva knows all religious codes and has
an intense devotion to the Supreme Lord, yet, he chose the wrong
side to battle against genuine religious principles. He was
captivated by his so-called loyalty and promise to his own
dynasty, while giving no importance to real religious
performances. Bhīshma deva would be killed in the battle
regardless of his devotion to the Supreme Lord. Krishna told
Arjuna not to hesitate to kill all irreligious warriors and
commanders that is his dharma yuddha, a religious war, which is
the most auspicious duty for the kshatriyas: to battle for re-
establishing the religion.
From these points, one shall understand that the entire
creation belongs to Krishna. If any administrators break the laws
of God, they will lose their prestigious positions and Krishna will
assign these spots to others, as the saying goes ‘better among the
worse’. However, this choice is applicable only in the age of
Kali-yuga. When He finds no one is capable to rule, He Himself
will take over the world and give to a devotee of Him to rule. He
can manage this insignificant material planets without being

present, through medium of a devotee, just like Yudhishtira
Mahārāja was crowned by the Lord.
sva-dharma of swamis, yogis and swaminis is to propagate
eternal loving service unto to the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead Lord Krishna. They should not collect money from
the public in the name of donations and invest in the Goldmines,
diamond fields, and five star hotels and other industrial markets.
In the absolute sense, anybody who lacks the knowledge of the
original Personality of Godhead is poor. They must be conveyed
with the pure knowledge of Godhead instead of indulging in
social and industrial networks in the name of spiritualism.
TEXT 32 यृ्छया च८पपतनं थवगा्वारमपाव ृ म ्।
सणु खनः षररयाः पािा लभत े य्
ु िमीृशम ्॥३२॥
yadṛcchayā copapannaṁ svarga-dvāram apāvṛtam
sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ pārtha labhante yuddham īdṛśam
yadṛcchayā -- on its own accord; co papannaṁ -- also comes at;
svarga-dvāram -- door to the celestial or heavenly planets;
apāvṛtam -- extensively opened; sukhinaḥ -- very happy;
kṣhatriyāḥ -- for warriors; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; labhante --
obtain; yuddham -- battle; īdṛśam -- like this.
O son of Pritha, the warriors shall be happy for whom
similar battling prospects are obtained without seeking for it,
for them, the door of the celestial planets are opened always.
ANNOTATION: It is the duty of the kshatriyas, or
administrators, to reform the social structure of the country
according to the scriptural injunctions. Social orders of
intellectual class, administrative class, farmers and people on
monthly wages or daily wages are employed in terms of their
qualities and work. It is the kshatriyas’ duty to make sure every
citizen is spiritually situated and are adhering to their spiritual
responsibilities, in addition to running their national security
system and International trades. In spite of the strong security
system and world trades, the country can go down from within,
wanting for the real God consciousness. It is easy to make the

people of the nation to be God conscious, when the leaders
themselves first become situated in Krishna consciousness.
The materialistic system of government is irresponsible for
the lives of its citizens. Those running these materialistic
governments do not really care for the real well-being of the
souls of their citizens. They do not hire them according to their
abilities, and they only want citizens to pay them income and
sales taxes. As far as citizens’ work is concerned, they are
entitled to do anything they want. Consequently, administrators
lead their citizens to a hellish existence due to lack of
engagement in the citizens natural and spiritual duties.
The entire social and spiritual system is topsy-turvy because
of the spiritually uneducated leaders’ improper understanding of
the systems. Also, mainstream industrialization has created
thousands of unemployed citizens. Their machines, which do the
work of hundreds, have caused unemployment for thousands of
people. This industrialization has improved the pockets to the
capitalists, but others suffer poverty and unemployment. There
are unlimited resources for all citizens to lead a comfortable
material life and execute devotional service to the Supreme Lord,
but because of the careless activities of the managers, they see
only the well-being of their own families and their physical
comfort. After they accumulate plenty of wealth, they engage in
mundane, sensual and sinful activities.
The administrative class are responsible for this
mismanagement of the government. Krishna wants to empower
Arjuna to become sober and destroy the evil intentions of
Duryodhana in order to establish proper administrative policy.
Poor management by the so-called kshatriyas occurred in the
past. For example, Lord Parasurāma repeatedly killed millions of
kshatriya kings. Many of these administrators fled to Turkey,
Greece and Europe. Thus, many European nations came to exist
and they were originally the kshatriyas of India, but have
forgotten the eternal religious principles, or sanātana dharma,
and created their own religious systems. The world is one, so do
the people and its religions.
Generally, to get access to heavenly planets, one has to

perform prolonged pious occupational religious duties. However,
for kshatriyas, without performing austere penances and simply
by fighting the religious war for the sake of a pious king like
Yudhishthira Mahārāja, they can enter into the heavenly planets.
If Arjuna wins the war, he would enjoy glory and opulence. If he
loses the war, the heavenly gates are, nonetheless, open for his
higher enjoyment. This is stated in this verse by yadrcchaya
upapannam. According to the Supreme Lord Krishna, this
opportunity of a complimentary entrance to heavenly planet does
not come again and again. Therefore, Arjuna is asked to give up
all his so-called attachment and fight for this good cause.
TEXT 33 अि चे्वभममं ि्यं स्रामं नकरर्यभस।

ःथविमं कीत ं चह ्वा पापमवातथयभस॥३३॥
atha cet tvam imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṅgrāmaṁ na kariṣyasi

tataḥ sva-dharmaṁ kīrtiṁ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi
atha cet -- so, however; tvam -- you; imaṁ dharmyaṁ -- this
religious duty; saṅgrāmaṁ -- combating; nakariṣyasi -- do not
perform; tataḥ -- then; sva-dharmaṁ -- own religious duty;
kīrtiṁ -- fame; ca -- also; hitvā -- losing; pāpamavāpsyasi -- will
gain sinful reaction.
However, if you do not carry out your own obligatory
religious duty of combat, then you will invite sinful reactions
for abandoning such duties and you will lose your fame.
ANNOTATION: At a time when there existed a strong
administration of the powerful saintly kings in Bhārata-Varsha,
certain behaviors were forbidden such as meat eating, drinking
alcohol, illicit sex, and gambling. The King’s administration was
based on scriptural injunctions. In Kali-yuga (Iron Age),
administrators do not follow the scriptural law book for their
governing system, and the whole administrative system is,
therefore, based on the whimsical counseling with one another in
the administrative assembly and thus all systems are a failure for
human society. The resultant patchwork administration is not
welcomed by saintly people. The best path to stop wars is to stop
cow killing, so long cow killing goes on there will be natural
disastrous like earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, war, etc.
Scientific analysis for these tragedies are external. Sinful actions
always lead to hellish existence. No one has entered into heaven
or gained good fame by sinful means. By not performing
religious duties under the direction of Lord Krishna, one will
simply incur sinful results. This verse reveals two kinds of sinful
activities, one is disobedience to the Supreme Majestic Lord,
who is the Supreme Personified religion. The second is not
performing one’s religious occupational duty. Therefore, the
Lord pleasantly advises Arjuna to take full part in the religious
war. Fighting is the prime duty of a kshatriya. Arjuna is a
universal icon, and his reluctance in killing his kinsmen only
would lead him to infamy and would make him seem cowardly.
TEXT 34 अकीत ं चावप भू ातन कितय्य्त ऽे ्ययाम ्।

स्भावव थय चाकीत म
ा रा णादत रर्य ॥
े ३४॥
akīrtiṁ cāpi bhūtāni kathayiṣyanti te ’vyayām
sambhāvitasya cākīrtir maraṇād atirichyate
akīrtiṁ -- bad name; cāpi -- over and above; bhūtāni -- everyone;
kathayiṣyanti te -- spread news about you; avyayām -- always;
sambhāvitasya -- highly regarded man; ca akīrtir -- also bad
reputation; maraṇād -- equal to death; atirichyate -- becomes
more.
Over and above, everyone will always spread bad name for
you, for a highly regarded man, a bad reputation is worse
than death.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna is a respectable personality and a great
threat to enemies like Duryodhana. By abandoning the war of
virtue, not only would Arjuna lose his outstanding status, but also
his enormous fortune. The general meaning of the word akirtim
means infamy. Instead of being a brave warrior, Arjuna would

run away with the powerful Gāndīva, his celestial bow. Such
undying infamy would spread by word-of-mouth throughout the
world in seven continents by those who witnessed it. Not only
would kshatriya warriors speak poorly of Arjuna, but also
demigods and sages.
To this, it might be said, isn't infamy better than death? In
the Mahābhārata, it is stated that one should try to defeat the
enemy by negotiation, bribery, open attack, etc. Moreover, one
should not fight, if success is not guaranteed, in which case war
should be avoided. Yet, success is guaranteed for Arjuna for
several reasons: the Majestic Lord is at Arjuna’s side; dharma is
at Arjuna’s side and all demigods and sages' blessings are with
Arjuna. Lord Krishna responds to Arjuna's unwillingness to fight
by stating: is this infamy not more painful than death? Arjuna
had never been defeated in a battle; even in the Virāta war at the
end of his exile, where he single handedly defeated all the Kurus,
including mahārathis like Bhīshma, Drona and Karna. The king
of the demi-gods, Indra was Arjuna's father, and Arjuna was the
dear friend of Lord Krishna. He possessed unrivaled bravery, and
had praiseworthy virtues. Understanding this, Arjuna's disgrace
would be much more painful than the death.
TEXT 35 भयारणादप
ु र ं मंथयत े ्वां म ारिाः।
येषां च ्वं ब ु म ८ भ्ू वा याथयभस लाघवम ्॥३५॥
bhayād raṇād uparataṁ maṁsyante tvāṁ mahā-rathāḥ
yeṣāṁ ca tvaṁ bahu-mato bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam
bhayād -- fear; raṇād -- battlefield; uparataṁ -- stopped;
maṁsyante -- they will consider; tvāṁ -- you; mahā-rathāḥ -- the
great generals or fighters; yeṣāṁ -- for them; ca -- also; tvaṁ --
you; bahu-mato -- in great judgment; bhūtvā -- having been;
yāsyasi -- your; lāghavam -- reduce value.
The great generals and fighters assessed your ability and
fame, as the greater archer will think that you left the
battlefield out of fear alone, they will reduce your worth.
ANNOTATION: The great generals like Bhīshma, Drona, Karna,

Salya, etc., will think of Arjuna's withdrawal from the war as a
weakness of heart, that he was terrified with cowardice. They,
and all others, will condemn Arjuna as the poor universal archer,
even though there was no other archer like Arjuna on earth.
TEXT 36 अवा्यवादां्च ब ू तवहद्य्त वाह ाः।

तनतदत थ व साम्यं ८ दःु ख रं नु ककम ्॥३६॥
avāchya-vādāṁś ca bahūn vadiṣyanti tavāhitāḥ
nindantas tava sāmarthyaṁ tato duḥkha-taraṁ nu kim
avāchya-vādāṁś -- cruel made-up words; ca bahūn – also many;
vadiṣyanti -- describe; tavāhitāḥ -- your enemies; nindantas --
condemning; tava -- your; sāmarthyaṁ -- capability; tato -- than
that; duḥkha-taraṁ -- more painful; nu -- certainly; kim -- what.
Also, so many of your enemies will address you with cruel
words and condemn your capabilities. Certainly, what could
be more painful than that?
ANNOTATION: According to Vedic injunctions, only kshatriyas
are allowed to kill uncompromising criminals for bringing
justice. Neither brāhmana, vaishyas nor sūdras are allowed to
kill. Violence is permitted for the kshatriyas, so that law and
order may be maintained. Thus, there are armies and police in
countries and states to keep criminals under control. It is
apparent that Supreme Majestic Lord doubted Arjuna even after
His detailed explanation of the existence of the soul in the body.
Arjuna could not comprehend the science of the soul. In this
verse, the Lord says, if you quit the battle without fighting to
bring justice, many of your enemies will scorn your abilities.
They will not see your compassion for the elders. Their callous
statements about your decision to not take part in the war may
wound you psychologically. Although transcendently elevated
souls do not care about criticism, Arjuna was acting from the
bodily concept of life, therefore, Lord Krishna was trying to tease
him about this.
TEXT 37 ८ वा रातथयभस थवगं ्््वा वा भ८्यसे म ीम ्।

थमादवु त्ठ क९त य
े य्
ु िाय कृ तन्चयः॥३७॥
hato vā prāpsyasi svargaṁ jitvā vā bhokṣyase mahīm
tasmād uttiṣṭha kaunteya yuddhāya kṛta-niścayaḥ
hatovā -- either slayed; prāpsyasi -- attain; svargaṁ -- the
heavenly planets; jitvā -- by victorious; vā -- or; bhokṣyase
mahīm -- enjoy the world; tasmāduttiṣṭha -- thus get up; kaunteya
-- O son of Kunti; yuddhāya -- to battle; kṛta-niścayaḥ --
determined in certainty.
If you are slayed in the battle, you will attain celestial planets,
if you are victorious you will enjoy the earthly kingdom,
therefore, get up with determination and be certain of
winning the battle, O son of Kunti.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna may argue with the Lord that going to
Amaravati, the capital city of heaven, is not difficult for him.
This is where Lord Indra, Arjuna’s father, dwells with his wife
Indrani. He is the master of the presidents of millions of heavenly
planets. Arjuna knew that the Supreme Lord Mādhava once again
excused and reinstated Lord Indra after he destroyed the
Vrindhāvana village by torrents of rain and a hurricane. One year
before the preparation of the Mahābhārata war, Arjuna went to
heavenly planets to gather celestial weapons. To gather these
weapons, he had to stay for several months with his father Indra.
While in heaven, Urvasi attracted Arjuna with her feminine
beauty, yet he refused her advances. So, Lord Govinda’s enticing
statement to Arjuna, regarding pleasurable heavenly life after
death, is not at all pleasing to Arjuna. However, Lord Krishna is,
nonetheless, trying to attract Arjuna with sense gratification on
earth as well as in heaven because the science of the soul and
body discussed earlier, did not change in Arjuna’s mind.
TEXT 38 सख
ु दःु खे समे कृ्वा लाभालाभ९ ्या्य९।
८ यय
ु य्
ु यथव नवं पापमवातथयभस॥३८॥
sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau

tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
sukha -- pleasure; duḥkhe -- pain; same -- equal; kṛtvā -- doing;
lābhālābhau -- gain and loss; jayājayau -- success and failure;
tato -- after that; yuddhāya -- matter of fighting; yujyasva --
engage in battle; naivaṁ -- never in this way; pāpam -- sinful
effect; avāpsyasi -- you will gain.
Without concern for success or failure, pleasure or pain, you
should battle as a matter of duty, by such actions you will
never incur sinful reactions.
ANNOTATION: If Arjuna doesn't want to go to heaven or rule
earth as the king, that's fine! He must fight for the sake of
fighting. It is his duty as a kshatriya to fight without desiring
happiness, distress, loss, gain, victory, defeat, etc. Everyone
enjoys happiness, so most people make every effort to do their
work successfully. However, working for only gain, or
happiness, usually ends with loss and unhappiness. Yet, everyone
takes a chance to work for profit, especially in business
industries, where they work regardless of the end result being
positive or negative. However, if one works for the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, one does not need to think of
success or failure because the goal is service for the satisfaction
of the Lord. If the Lord is happy then the whole world is happy,
that is the injunctions of the scriptures and understanding of His
sincere devotees.
The Majestic Lord wants the war to continue and He wants
Arjuna to fight, whether it produces gain or loss. By following
his duties, Arjuna will be free from sin. Moreover, by acting on
the authority of the superior personality of the Absolute Lord,
one will be free from all gain and loss. Arjuna is exclusively
going to fight for the satisfaction of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Govinda. Because of this, there
would not be a negative impact on Arjuna, even if he killed all
the warriors assembled on the battlefield of Kurukshetra single
handedly.
TEXT 39 एषा ऽे भभह ा सा््ये ब्

ु धियोगे ््वमां शण
ृ ु।
ब्
ु ्या य्
ु ८ यया पािा कमाबतिं र ाथयभस॥३९॥
eṣā te ’bhihitā sāṅkhye buddhir yoge tv imāṁ śṛṇu
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha karma-bandhaṁ prahāsyasi
eṣāte -- all this unto you; abhihitā -- defined ; sāṅkhye --
analytical study of matter and spirit; buddhir yoge -- intelligence
working without desire for fruitive mentality; tv-imāṁ-śṛṇu -- but
you hear this; buddhyā -- by intelligence; yukto -- united; yayā --
by which; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; karma-bandhaṁ -- bondage
of reaction; prahāsyasi -- liberated from.
O son of Pritha, so far I have defined the analytical study of
body and soul, now I will describe to you how one can work
without fruitive results. When you execute actions in such
understanding, you can be liberated from the implications of
your work, you can be liberated from the reactions of karma.
ANNOTATION: When a person tries to convince an equal or
subordinate to perform a certain action and they are not
convinced, then it may be helpful to approach the topic from a
different point of view. Similarly, the Supreme Lord has adopted
a different approach with Arjuna. The knowledge of the
analytical study of the soul and body was not enough for Arjuna
to fight with his powerful bow, Gāndīva, given by the fire god
Agni. The Supreme Lord Krishna had to further enlighten Arjuna
with scientific knowledge to help him act on his occupational
duty as one of the kshatriyas. This science is called buddhi-yoga,
karma-yoga, and practical devotional service to Lord Krishna, or
bhakti-yoga, which is done for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Since, almost
everyone in this world faces dilemmas in life, one must take up
devotional service to the Supreme Lord, as will be explained in
the next several verses.
TEXT 40 ने ाभभरमनाश८ऽ्थ र्यवाय८ न वव्य ।े
थव्पम तयथयिमाथय राय े म ८ भया ्॥४०॥
nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
ne -- there is not; hā -- in this yoga; bhikrama -- endeavoring;
nāśo’sti -- there is no loss; pratyavāyo -- decreases; na vidyate --
never there is; sv-alpam -- a little; apy -- while; asya -- of this;
dharmasya -- occupation; trāyate -- freed; mahato -- greatest;
bhayāt -- hazard.
In this practice of yoga, there is no loss or decrease, even with
a small endeavor on this occupational path, one can be
released from greatest type of fear.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that buddhi-yoga is
the process of selfless devotional service to the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead. In this endeavor, even if there
is only a small effort on the path one will have permanent results.
Conversely, in material endeavors, one would have to meet total
success, otherwise the entire attempt ends in total breakdown.
Just like investing in agriculture, weather conditions are always
changing, either there is too much rain or drought, so it is risky to
invest money and energy on agriculture. Many people invest
their life savings on the stock market or in financial corporations,
there are times when people lose all of their money on
investments, this devastation has even led to suicide. Similarly,
the corporate sector invests billions of dollars on the
International market, sometimes they lose everything and end up
in bankruptcy. Sometimes priests invoke improper Vedic mantras
intending to please a particular deity, which ends in negative
results. In material existence there is danger in every endeavor
and in every step. However, in buddhi-yoga (bhakti-yoga), there
is no such failure, just starting an effort will bring great spiritual
advancement, very bright future life.
There is no loss for one who has abandoned his material
duties and taken shelter of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. Sometimes, due to immature devotion,
one falls down from bhakti yoga and goes back to materialistic
activities. However, such a person will have another chance,
since they have begun a spiritual practice in this life. They might
take birth in a sophisticated aristocratic family, and even if the

family has incredible wealth, their central point of attraction
would be to the Supreme Lord Krishna. Also, such failed buddhi-
yogis would be given the chance to take birth into devotee
families, who are advanced in the science of God and preaching
Krishna's message vigorously. Such devotees become spiritual
masters with thousands of disciples to follow them. Thus there is
no fear at all in bhakti yoga process. It is said in the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 10-14-58
samasrita ye pada-pallava plāvam
mahat padam punya-yaso murareh
bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam
padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the
Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is
famous as Mukunda, or the giver of mukti, the ocean of the
material world is like the water contained in a calf’s footprint.
Param padam, or the place where there are no material miseries,
or Kingdom of God is his goal, not the place where there is
danger in every step of life”.
If one has performed devotional service for a certain period
in this life, in the next life he will start devotional service from
the point where he left off. But if a person performs only material
duties without Krishna's devotion, what does he gain in the next
life? Nothing!
TEXT 41 ्यवसाया््मका ब्ु धिरे के कुुनतदन।

ब ु शाखा ्यनत ा्च ब् ु िय८ऽ्यवसातयनाम ्॥४१॥
vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām
vyavasāyātmikā -- firmly determined; buddhir -- intelligence; eke
-- in one; ha -- in this yoga; kuru-nandana -- O dearly loved son
of the Kurus; bahu-śākhā -- many branches; hy -- in fact; anantāś
-- many; ca -- also; buddhayo -- intellect; avyavasāyinām -- not
firm in one.
One whose intelligence is firmly determined in this yoga has

only one purpose, but one whose intelligence is not
determined in this way has many branches, O favorite son of
the Kurus.
ANNOTATION: The mind is a reservoir of various conditions of
life which has been influenced by uncountable impressions from
thousands of opinions. Thus, to bring unity in the mind on a
single goal is very difficult. Very few people are committed to
understanding the teachings of the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Yet, people who are committed in
this way have a determined purpose and are extraordinary among
others. Many people are overwhelmed by too many impressions
on their minds and they engage in many types of worship, rituals
and fruitive activities. The result of such a multiplicity of
branched activities brings them back again and again to the path
of repeated birth, disease, old age and death. Because of this, one
should perform devotional service to the Supreme Person Lord
Krishna, who is the Supreme Master of all the cosmic order and
goal of all yogas.
Confused devotees of other deities may question why
should they not worship different demigods, forefathers, ghosts
and cows, and they may wonder how they could stop
worshipping varied deities for Lord Krishna alone. Would those
deities become angry? When one takes shelter in the complete
Supreme Godhead, who is Krishna, He is the source of everyone
including those deities and everything else, there is no obligation
towards any demigod, semi-demigod, family deity, mother,
father, serpents, ghosts or spirits, as it is mentioned in the
previous annotation. As these deities are part and parcel of Lord
Krishna, they will be satisfied with one’s devotional service to
the Omnipotent Supreme Lord, Krishna. It is said in the fourth
canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam 4-31-14
yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam achyutejyā
“As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk,

branches twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the
stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply
worshipping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through
devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are
parts of that Supreme Personality”.
The Supreme Majestic Lord says that, if one has taken
bhakti-yoga as the supreme goal in his life, then their only
intention will be to serve Lord Krishna in pure devotional
service. In the calendar there are many religious ceremonies
marked every year. A devotee of Lord Krishna chants and
glorifies only the Omnipresent Lord Krishna in all religious
functions. This is like a chaste woman, whose only goal is to
serve her husband, a devotee with faith and devotion serves only
Lord Krishna at all times, that is their only resolute
determination. As Srimad-Bhāgavatam1-2-6 states:
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati
“The supreme occupation (dharma) for all humanity is to attain
to loving devotional service unto Adhoksaja, Lord Krishna. Such
devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to
completely satisfy the self”. Krishna is the origin of all souls,
Supersoul, Vishnus and Nārāyanās, janmādy asya yato, Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 1-1-1. Krishna bhakti includes all bhaktis. On the
contrary, all bhaktis do not include Krishna bhakti. krishna
bhakti hoile sarva karma krta hoya, by rendering devotional
service to Krishna one automatically executes all other duties.
Every living being is part and parcel of Lord Krishna and
therefore, it is the duty of the part to serve the whole or become
partner of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna. However, in the beginning, one needs devotional
guidance from one’s qualified spiritual master who must be a
devotee and friend of Lord Krishna. Without such guidance from
the spiritual master in the science of devotional service to
Krishna, one cannot render perfect service or progress in Krishna
consciousness, thereby cannot attain the mercy and benediction

of the Supreme Lord Krishna. It is said in Chaitanya
Charitamrta, Madhya 19-151
brahmānda bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru krishna prasāde pāya bhakti-latā bīja
“According to their karma, all living beings are wandering
throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated
to the upper planetary system, and some are going down into the
lover planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering
living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to
associate with a qualified bonafide spiritual master by the grace
of Krishna. By the mercy of both Krishna and the spiritual
master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of
devotional service”.
TEXT याभममां प्ु ्प ां वाचं रवदत्यववप््च ः।

42-43 वेदवादर ाःपािा नातयदथ ीत वाहदनः॥४२॥
कामा्मानःथवगापरा ्तमकमाफलरदाम ्।
करयाववशेषब ु लां भ८ग्वयागत ं रत ॥४३॥
yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ

veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ
kāmātmānaḥ svarga-parā janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulāṁ bhogaiśvarya-gatiṁ prati
yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ -- all these flowery; vācaṁ -- vocabulary;
pravadanty -- tell; avipaścitaḥ -- human being with too little
knowledge; veda-vāda-ratāḥ -- followers of the fruitive part of
the Vedās; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; nānyad -- nothing else;
astīti -- thus there is; vādinaḥ -- the promotes; kāmātmānaḥ --
desiring sense enjoyment; svarga-parā -- obtaining heavenly
planets; janma-karma-phala-pradām -- resultant in good birth
and other resultant actions; kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulāṁ -- perfoming
various ritualistic ceremonies; bhogaiśvarya-gatiṁ -- way
towards sense gratification and opulence; prati – towards.
Human beings with too little knowledge become the followers

of the sweet sentiments of the Vedās, which advocate various
fruitive ritualistic activities for ascension to the heavenly
realms. They perform many activities to obtain good birth,
wealth and power. Craving bodily enjoyment and an opulent
life, they conclude that there cannot be anything more than
this.
ANNOTATION: Men who have not studied scriptures or have
missed the true meaning of the annotations of the Vedās lose
their resolute determination towards the goal, which is to attain
the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna emphasizes
the word avipascitah, meaning the ignorant who are not
knowledgeable and are attracted to flowery descriptions of the
Vedās. There are many beautiful yet poisonous flowers with
elegant colors and exquisite fragrance that are attractive to those
who do not know that their poisons will kill them eventually. The
people attracted to the flowery words of the Vedās are ignorant,
and are not actual scholars of Vedic literature. They are only
devoted to the portions of the Vedās that help them gain material
opulence in this life and the next. By performing certain religious
rituals, one can obtain long merit, or by drinking soma rasa, a
heavenly intoxicating beverage, one can become immortal. Their
concept of devotion is for pursuing heavenly delights, and they
even foolishly argue that there is nothing more beyond the
rewards of heavenly pleasures to attain.
Why is this so? It is because their minds are obsessed with
desires from their addictions to material pleasures, which they
have experienced with the senses of taste, touch, sight, sound and
scent. They believe heaven is the supreme goal. Heaven is one of
the material spheres, which offers no aging or disease, there are
mesmerizing gardens and panoramic valleys with waterfalls,
rivers with mango and sugarcane juices, clear crystal oceans and
scented beaches and beautiful and handsome opposite sexes with
enticing beauty whose fragrance travels hundreds of miles.
Sensual happiness and wines in the mode of goodness are
abundant there, everything is beautiful, and a wonder to behold

and there are facilities to enjoy more fully, a thousand times
more than on planet earth! Most people on earth, delve into
ritualistic activities, which they perform solely for the purpose to
go to heaven, a place they can enjoy seemingly for thousands of
years. However, after enjoying the delights of heaven in various
wonderful ways to their hearts content, their pious merits will
one day expire. At this time they will fall down to earth and take
birth according to their past karma of the earth planet. If they
remember, they might remain religious, otherwise they glide
down to the sinful activities. Consequently, such deeds lead them
again and again, from body to body, they are continuously
revolving like a waterwheel. This brings no freedom from the
horrible birth and death. Such are the results of performing
fruitive ritualistic activities.
TEXT 44 भ८ग्वयारस् ानां यापृ चे साम ्।
्यवसाया््मका ब्ु धिः समाि९ न वविीय ॥
े ४४॥
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ -- opulent enjoyment for the
attached; tayā -- by such things; apahṛta-cetasām -- deluded
mind; vyavasāyātmikā -- fixed in resolute purpose of; buddhiḥ --
spiritual intelligence or devotion to the Lord; samādhau --
concentration of the mind; na -- do not; vidhīyate -- accomplish.
Those who are attached and deluded by material opulence
and sense enjoyment cannot have a resolute concentration of
mind for devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
ANNOTATION: Woman, wine and wealth are the goals of
materialistic men. They follow their religion, earn money, and
exploit all of their senses while trying to ascend to heaven and
taking elevated pleasures. They do not know that their actions
will lead them to the life of a dog, hog or snake. Mostly, the
foolish materialistic person questions the authority of God. From
their lack of knowledge of the cosmic order and, due to their

excessive desires for variegated materiality, they steal from the
government or from innocent people, so that they can buy land
for big houses to be furnished with imported modern amenities.
In the present age of Kali Yuga, the population is turning into a
royal edition of animals. They have nothing to do with spiritual
knowledge or godly religious life. Many are so blind that they
cannot see anything beyond the local jurisdictions of their minds,
and despite their limited intelligence and false ego, they are
proud of their advancements in science and material prosperity.
In contemporary society there are many pseudo spiritualists,
who cheat the innocent public. These ‘spiritualists’ tell those who
listen that they are the incarnation of God, and ask people for
their wealth in the name of the Lord. To such materially
motivated religious men, who have no control over their senses,
devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna never takes place. What is the result of
not having the true attachment for the Supreme Person, Lord
Krishna? They fall from the opulent human form of life. Such
spiritualists do not understand that their human form has been
given to them to realize the soul, they may distinguish the soul
from the body, at least theoretically and thereafter they should
act on achieving soul realization.
TEXT 45 रग्
ु यववषया वेदा तनथरग्
ु य८ भवा्ुन
ा ।
तन्ावत्व८ तन्यस्वथि८ तनयोगषेम आ्मवान ्॥४५॥
trai-guṇya-viṣayā vedā nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kṣema ātmavān
trai-guṇya -- in the three modes of material nature; viṣayā -- deal
with subjects; vedā -- Vedic literatures; nistrai-guṇyo -- above to
these three modes; bhavā -- be situated; arjuna -- O Arjuna;
nirdvandvo -- free from duality; nitya-sattva-stho -- in a state of
pure spiritual consciousness; niryoga-kṣema -- free from the
conception of accumulation and preservation; ātmavān -- situated
in the self .
Vedic literature mainly deals with the three modes of

material nature. O Arjuna, rise above the three modes and be
situated in the pure spiritual consciousness of the self to be
free from all duality of accumulation and preservation.
ANNOTATION: The Vedās are mainly concerned with the
fruitive activities of the three modes of material nature. Material
nature works in the three modes: goodness, passion and
ignorance. Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-13-4 explains:
āgamo ’paḥ prajā deśaḥ kālaḥ karma ca janma ca
dhyānaṁ mantro ’tha saṁskāro daśaite guṇa-hetavaḥ
“According to the quality of religious scriptures, water, one's
association with one's children or with people in general, the
particular place, the time, activities, birth, meditation, chanting of
mantras, and rituals of purification, the modes of nature become
differently prominent.”
Everything within the material world: food, water, mantra,
association, time, place, knowledge, enjoyment, etc., is under the
three modes of material nature. When people are under the
control of these items within the three modes of material nature,
they often face the dualities of fear and anxiety. Many people do
not understand that the goal of human life is God realization or
soul realization. Because of this, people enjoy or suffer from the
consequences of bad karma created collectively by this mundane
material world, which includes the heavenly pleasures.
Generally, people also make the mistake of believing that heaven
is their spiritual abode.
Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to rise above these three modes
and to be situated in transcendental consciousness. As long as
someone is under the three modes of material nature, he is
controlled by these modes. So, will be forced to enjoy the objects
situated in particular modes of nature according to one’s
association with that mode. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-10-17, it
says:
tatrāpi karmaṇāṁ kartur asvātantryaṁ ca lakṣyate
bhoktuś ca duḥkha-sukhayoḥ ko nv artho vivaśaṁ bhajet
“Although the performer of fruitive activities desires perpetual

happiness, it is clearly observed that materialistic workers are
often unhappy and are only occasionally satisfied, thus proving
that they are not independent or in control of their destiny. When
a person is always under the superior control of another, how can
he expect any valuable results from his own fruitive actions?”
TEXT 46 यावानिा उदपाने सवा ःस्तलु ८दके।

ावातसवेषु वेदेषु रा्मणथय वव्ान ः॥४६॥
yāvān artha uda-pāne sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ
yāvānartha -- all that is served; uda -- well; pāne -- of water;
sarvataḥ -- all the purposes; sampluta-udake -- in a vast body of
water; tāvān -- similarly; sarveṣuvedeṣu -- in all Vedic literatures;
brāhmaṇasya -- of the man who knows the Absolute Truth;
vijānataḥ -- in full knowledge.
All that can be served by a small well can be served by a vast
reservoir of water. Similarly, all goals of the Vedās can be
served to one who knows the Supreme Absolute Truth.
ANNOTATION: There are many small wells with full of water
in the villages of India, one for drinking, one for washing clothes,
one for bathing, etc. However, there are also large flowing rivers,
which can provide all these necessities in the place of different
and separate wells for either drinking, bathing or washing, etc.
These large rivers are compared to a person who knows that the
purpose of the Vedās is to know Lord Krishna in truth, yasmin
vijnāte sarva evam vijānam bhavanti. Such a person knows
everything, and hence their knowledge is similar to a large
reservoir of water as both are capable of serving all purposes.
Knowing the Vedās means understanding Krishna and His
complete energies, the purpose of meditation (yoga), the goal of
human life, the purpose of executing fruitive activities (karma),
the goal of knowledge (jnāna),and the goal of the attainment of
love of Godhead (bhakti). By attaining this understanding, one
becomes the best servant of God and maintains non-violence.
Even today, there are many religious practices. Yet, the

goals of all religious practices can be found in Krishna bhakti or
Krishna consciousness. And, what about mundane contemporary
philosophical and scientific knowledge? Nothing is excluded in
knowing Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Lord.
The Vedās mainly deal with karma kānda, jnāna kānda, and
upāsana kāndas. The karma kānda chapters of the Vedās are the
lowest, and are for less intelligent people. They describe fruitive
activities, the results of work and the enjoyment of the body.
jnāna kānda followers are elevated because their purpose is to
seek transcendental knowledge of the soul, Supersoul, the
structure of the universe, its creation, maintenance and
destruction. Finally, upāsana kānda, which explains the worship
of demigods. The followers of the Vedās are bound to material
nature and material laws. Yet, one who rises above material
nature is called a devotee of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna or Vishnu. A sincere follower of Krishna
does not have to render service to any other deities. This is
expressed in the last line of this verse, brāhmanasya vijanatah:
brāhmana is the person who knows the meaning of the Vedās,
Purānas, Upanishads, Mahābhārata, Rāmayana and its
corollaries, that the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna is the goal of all of these scriptures. The simple
word brāhmana means one who knows the Supreme Brahman,
Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu. But to understand the complete
knowledge of Krishna and Vishnu, one needs the assistance of
the devotees of Krishna, who are exclusively engaged in the
service of the Lord.
In the Padma Purāna, Lord Siva explains to his wife,
Pārvati, the goddess Durga:
ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam
“My dear Devi, although the Vedās recommend worship of
demigods, the worship of Lord Vishnu is superior. However,
above the worship of Lord Vishnu is the rendering of service to
vaishnavas, who are related to Lord Vishnu.”
TEXT 47 कमा्येवाधिकारथ े मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कमाफल े भ
ु म
ूा ाा े स्ग८ऽथ्वकमाणण॥४७॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
karmaṇy -- prescribed activities; evādhikāraste -- certainly you
have right; mā -- not; phaleṣu -- in the results; kadācana -- at
anytime; mā -- neither; karma-phala-hetur -- motivated by the
result of work; bhūr -- become; mā -- nor; te -- of you; saṅgo --
attachment; astv -- there should be; akarmaṇi -- in not doing
prescribed duties.
Certainly you have the right to perform your prescribed
activities, but you are not permitted to have the results of
your actions. You are neither to consider yourself to be the
cause of the results of your activities nor there should be any
attachment to avoiding your prescribed duty.
ANNOTATION: If one is searching for liberation from the
miserable material existence, and ought to cultivate spiritual
knowledge for this end, then, it may be queried: what would be
the point of performing any actions? The Supreme Lord’s answer
to this question is that everyone has the right to perform actions
in order to purify their existence and advance in spiritual
knowledge, but he should not develop a desire to enjoy rewards
for his actions. Desiring to enjoy the result of their work can be
detrimental to the devotional service of Krishna because one
becomes attached to working only to receive material benefits.
So, the Supreme Lord emphasizes the importance of never being
attached to the fruitive results of one’s actions and that he should
not even consider his rewards. This is because the desire to
obtain fruitive results of his actions can lead him to continue
material existence, birth after another.
A person performing actions without enjoying the reward of
that action is transcendentally situated. Such a person is never
implicated in the reactions of his work. The person who performs
his actions without attachment for the results will certainly
receive results. However, the difference is that such a person

does not enjoy the result, and though results are not the goals of
his activities. He must perform all of his actions without being
attached to his fruitive results.
If a businessman makes millions of dollars in profit, he is
not advised by the Lord to enjoy it because it can bind him to
karmic reactions. And still, he believes he has to continually
work more and more to continue making his profits. Yet, if he
thinks he cannot enjoy the fruit of action, then what is the use of
making such money? What, then, should be done with the profit?
According to the Supreme Lord, it should be offered to the
Supreme Lord, as one pays income and sales tax to the State or
Federal treasury for distribution to the whole country. Similarly,
all profit should be given to the Supreme government after he
keeps wealth for his maintenance. By doing so, the Supreme
Lord satisfies the universal administrators who supply air, fire,
rain, lights and so on to all inhabitants without reservation etc.
One may ask: why we should pay tax to the supreme
government? The answer is that we are not paying any bills for
the original source of water, sunshine, moonlight, for breathing
air, or for the space we use. Again, we do not pay the original
price of fruits, vegetables, and grains and natural resources. What
one pays in the market for all this is only to cover the costs of
labor. The original price of all these resources is invaluable; all
of these are manifested for us by Krishna. The profit of business
has to be given to the Lord in the form of supreme tax. This is to
ensure the building of temples, flower gardens, the distribution of
the transcendental literatures, and for food offered to Krishna to
be distributed, as well as for ensuring the performance of the
various yajnas according to scriptural injunctions. Thus, the
Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent Supreme Lord
Krishna is the ultimate receiver of all wealth, worship and
sacrifices. On exception that is accommodated under scriptural
guidance is that married Krishna conscious couples and families
are allowed to save a sum of money for household emergencies.
Since, one is not allowed to enjoy the fruits of his actions

one may still wonder, as mentioned above: what is the point of
performing our actions? The Supreme Lord answers this question
as it is raised in people’s minds, thus: a person should neither
desire to enjoy results, nor should they be free from performing
their duties for the reason that they cannot use the results for their
personal benefit. The reason here is that, by not rendering one’s
occupational duties set in the Vedic literature, we can incur sinful
reactions. One should, therefore, not allow one’s egos to dictate
him. Rather, the best way to be free from all the actions and
reactions of this material world is to engage one’s wealth in
propagating devotional service to Krishna. If someone or any
business do so, they cannot perform sinful actions by staying
away from their duties or earning the profits. Engaging
everything in Krishna’s service is the solution for all the
problems in the world and thus one will not have any
indebtedness to anyone. Otherwise wealth can cause one’s own
or country’s non-beneficial activities.
TEXT 48
य८गथिःकुु स्गं ्य््वा िन््य।
भस््यभस््य८ः सम८ भ्ू वा सम्वं य८ग उ्य ॥
े ४८॥
yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanan-jaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate
yoga-sthaḥ -- established in the science of yoga; kuru -- perform;
karmāṇi -- your activities; saṅgaṁ -- attachment; tyaktvā --
abandoning; dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror of wealth; siddhy-
asiddhyoḥ -- in victory and defeat; samobhūtvā -- and become
equipoised; samatvaṁ -- this equanimity; yoga uchyate -- is
known as yoga.
Established in the science of yoga, perform your duty
equipoised, O conqueror of wealth, abandoning all
attachment to victory or defeat, such equanimity is known as
yoga.
ANNOTATION: The meaning of yoga is to be one with the

Supreme Lord in quality. The Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna explains from verses 11 to 30 in this
chapter as to how all are spirit souls. But we may wonder, if we
are spirit souls, why should we work on the material plane? We
have material bodies and if we engage in material activities for
their results, then we are implicated in the network of karmic
reaction. However, if we do only pious activities, or only do
nothing, then we will not receive any results immediately, and
we would be incapable of maintaining a family. Along with the
need to survive, we also do not want any material reactions
either. So, what should we do now? Bodily activity means action
and reaction. We need to make adjustments to our actions. The
Supreme Lord says yoga stha kuru karmāni, do your duties in
consciousness of ‘Me’, Krishna, with your material body and
without attachment for success or failure. Such actions can
prevent you from all bad reactions as well as bestow you with the
best desired results.
TEXT 49 दरू े ण ्यवरं कमा ब्

ु धिय८गा्िन््य।
ब्ु ि९ शरणम्तव्छ कृपणाःफल े वः॥४९॥
dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma buddhi-yogād dhanañ-jaya
buddhau śaranam anviccha kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ
dūreṇa -- discard it at far distance; hy -- surely; avaraṁ karma --
abominable activity; buddhi-yogād -- on the strength of Krishna
bhakti; dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror of wealth; buddhau -- in
spiritual intelligence; śaranam -- full refuge or surrender;
anviccha -- aspire for; kṛpaṇāḥ -- a wretched or misers; phala-
hetavaḥ -- those impelled by fruitive results.
O conqueror of wealth, Arjuna, discard all abominable
activities and keep them far and distant by practicing
devotional service to the Lord, and with that spiritual
intelligence take full refuge unto the Lord. Those who are
impelled to enjoy the results of their actions are misers.
ANNOTATION: We already explained that buddhi-yoga means

transcendental loving service to the Lord. In the name of
accumulating prosperity to protect one’s family or to create a
family, one should not indulge in avaram karma, abominable
activities. Abominable activities are sinful practices. Some of
them are robbing, killing, debauchery, plundering other’s
property, adultery, false witness, etc. In other words any activity
that does not satisfy the Majestic Personality of Godhead is
avaram karma or abominable activity. If Krishna is not satisfied,
no one will be satisfied. The Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead says to keep these actions far away from you by
engaging in yoga or devotional service to Him.
A human being possesses a developed consciousness that
the inhuman and animals do not have. Humans should not focus
on sense gratification for the result of activities, or engage in
forbidden actions. A person who does this is called a miser. Here,
a miser is one who does not know that he is a spirit soul. Rather,
he thinks of himself as a chunk of matter, his material body. One
must, instead, try to become liberal. Prosperity, such as beauty,
education, wealth and good birth are due to one’s good karma.
However, these forms of opulence will not make someone free
from death, birth, old age or disease. There are many rich people
who request their doctors to prolong their lives, but physicians
cannot offer that. The doctors are called ‘physicians’ who may
fix the bodily sickness; not the sickness of the soul. Krishna is
the Supreme Lord, and grandest of all liberal personalities and
the only omniscient. Krishna supplies food to all living entities,
including animals, fish, insects, reptiles, birds, trees and plants.
One must have faith that God supplies food to all entities,
including human beings. Knowing that daily maintenance is
provided by one’s natural duties, one must surrender to the
Supreme Lord and serve Him with the results of one’s work by
being absorbed in devotional service to Krishna. Such purified
devotional service to Krishna is called buddhi-yoga.
TEXT 50 ब्
ु धिय्
ु ८ ् ा ी उभे सक
ु ृ द्ु कृ ।े
थमा्य८गाय य्
ु यथव य८गः कमासु क९शलम ्॥५०॥
buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte

tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam
buddhi-yukto -- one who endowed with spiritual intelligence or
Krishna bhakti; jahāt -- can get rid of; īha -- in this very life;
ubhe -- both; sukṛta-duṣkṛte -- good and bad reactions; tasmād --
therefore; yogāya -- in the science of yoga; yujyasva -- be
diligently engage; yogaḥ -- in Krishna consciousness; karmasu --
in all activities; kauśalam -- fine arts.
One who is endowed with spiritual intelligence can get rid of
both good and bad reactions in this life. Therefore, endeavor
in the science of yoga, which is the fine art of all work.
ANNOTATION: Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in
the hearts of all living entities. This is not something to be gained
from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and
chanting, love naturally awakens, this is expressed in the phrase:
nitya-siddha krishna-prema ‘sadhya’ kābhu naya sravanadi-
suddha-citte karaye udaya. Attraction for the Supreme Lord
awakens in the heart, beginning from chanting and hearing to the
Hare Krishna mahā-mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,
Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
By constant chanting one naturally rises above the good
(punya) and bad actions (papa) of this material world. The
chanting of the holy name can elevate all humans to the highest
platform, which includes one's petty maintenance and all other
necessities of life. However, if one is only attached to external
family traditions and duties of the family, then he is completely
bound to the system of illusory work of material existence, and
he is bound up in the network of his own reaction to material life.
The Supreme Lord wants everyone to act on the pure spiritual
platform. They should offer all their involvement of social
media, altruism, internationalism and anthropology in the service
of the Lord, which is called buddhi-yoga.
However, people who think that the goal of life is sense

gratification, perform all kinds of sinful activities in order to gain
material opulence. It is mentioned in Srimad-Bhāgavatam by
Rshabha deva, an incarnation of Lord Krishna that:
nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma
yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti
na sādhu manye yata ātmano ’yam
asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ
“When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he
certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in
all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past
misdeeds he has already received a body which, although
temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually, the living entity
should not have taken on a material body, but he has been
awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore, I
think it is not befitting for an intelligent man to involve himself
again in the activities of sense gratification, by which he
perpetually receives material bodies, one after another.”
TEXT 51 कमा्ं ब्
ु धिय्
ु ा ह फलं ्य््वा मनीवषणः।
्तमबतिववतनम् ुा ाः पदं ग्छत्यनामयम ्॥५१॥
karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi
phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ
janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ
padaṁ gacchanty anāmayam
karma-jaṁ -- arising from fruitive activities; buddhi-yuktā --
occupied in devotional service; hi -- surely; phalaṁ -- results;
tyaktvā -- giving up; manīṣhiṇaḥ -- wise men; janma-bandha-
vinirmuktāḥ -- freed from the bondage of birth and death; padaṁ
-- that state; gacchanti -- they reach; anāmayam -- complete
tranquility.
By being thus occupied in devotional service to the Lord, wise
men give up the results arising from their actions. In this way
they become free from the bondage of the cycle of birth and
death, and attain the state of complete tranquility beyond all

forms of misery.
ANNOTATION: Every action, whether it is an ordinary or
religious, or ritualistic, has a reaction, that reaction is bondage
for the soul. Nowadays, all religions perform materialistic rituals,
and such actions can never give their performers transcendence.
Isaac Newton’s law also predicted that every action has an equal
and opposite reaction. For example, in a cinematography reel,
there are hundreds of thousands of pictures with different
movements, but despite these different movements, when the
whole reel is put in the movie projector, it creates a motion
picture. Thus, the results of our actions from a different lifetime
are carried forward by material nature, and offer punishments
and rewards to living entities. A living entity cannot be free
unless or until it has burned out the fire of reactionary work. Real
freedom depends on the mercy of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead.
Devotees and sages engage in devotional service to the
Supreme Lord Krishna, buddhi yuktah manīshinas. They
continue to do this even though they are self-satisfied. They are
engaged in devotional service to Lord Krishna to be rid of all
results of the good and bad actions of their many life times in the
material world. All past deeds and misdeeds will become ‘water
under the bridge’. No more actions will be seen as good or bad.
All activities become transcendental to the material nature. The
buddhi yuktah manīsinas means: men engaged in devotional
services, makes them free from repeated death and birth in the
cosmic order. In the Srimad-Bhāgavatam says:
ātmārāmāś ca munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ
“All different varieties of ātmarāmas (those who take pleasure in
ātma, or spirit self), especially those established on the path of
self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage,
desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Urukrama (Krishna).”
This means that the Lord possesses all transcendental

qualities and, therefore, can attract everyone, including liberated
souls.
TEXT 52 यदा े म८ कभललं ब्

ु धि्यात रर्यत ।
दा गत ाभस तनवेदं र८ ्यथय रु थय च॥५२॥
yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣyati
tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca
yadā -- when; te -- your; moha-kalilaṁ -- this countless number
of illusion; buddhir -- spiritual services to the Lord with
intelligence; vyatitariṣyati -- overcome; tadā -- at that time;
gantāsi -- you will become; nirvedaṁ -- indifferent to;
śrotavyasya -- toward all that is to be heard; śrutasyaca -- also all
that has been heard.
When your spiritual intelligence is beyond the countless
numbers of illusion, you shall become indifferent towards all
that has been heard and all that is to be heard.
ANNOTATION: The religious processes of the world is based
on experimental and ritualistic processes, but no such process
leads to one dovetailing their soul in the service of God. If a sect
become attracted by ritualistic activities and quarrel over
illusionary theories, they will not be the beneficiaries of any
spiritual results. For 5000 years, religion has been based on
different theories of morality and rituals. It is constantly altered
by different experiments yato pat tato pat. People have forgotten
the real point, that human activity has to be dedicated to the
Supreme Lord. The whole Vedic process is concerned with how
to dovetail individual consciousness with the Supreme
consciousness. Going to a Church, Temple or Mosque is not a
formality, but should be concerned the method of philosophically
dedicating oneself to the Supreme consciousness, God.
When one is raised to the higher stage of consciousness and
dovetailing of oneself with the Supreme consciousness of
Godhead by following the injunctions of the Vedās, then, there is
no requirement for one to understand the rituals and the other

subsidiary religious processes, one becomes transcendental to the
position of this misleading stage. yada te moha-kalilam buddhir
vyatitarisyati. “At that time, one becomes insensitive to all these
rituals and materialistic activities because one’s position and
one’s activities are fixed up in transcendental consciousness.”
srotavyasya srutasya ca: Whatever one has heard and whatever
one has to hear in the future, all will be finished. It is said in
Srimad-Bhāgavatam 1-2-8
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ śrama eva hi kevalam
“The occupational activities a man performs according to his
own position are only so much useless labor if they do not
provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead.”
TEXT 53 रतु ववरत पतना े यदा थिाथयत तन्चला।
समािावचला ब्ु धिथ दा य८गमवातथयभस॥५३॥
śruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niścalā
samādhāv achalā buddhis tadā yogam avāpsyasi
śruti-vipratipannā -- uninfluenced by the fruitive interpretation
of the Vedic literature; te -- your; yadā -- when; sthāsyati --
remains; niścalā -- indifferent; samādhāv -- in pure spiritual
consciousness; achalā -- unaffected; buddhis -- spiritual
intelligence; tadā -- at that time; yogam -- divine consciousness
or self-realization; avāpsyasi -- you will have achieved.
When intelligence is no longer influenced by the fruitive
interpretation of the Vedic literature, and when it remains
indifferent to the pure spiritual consciousness, at that time
you will have achieved absolute self-realization, which is
divine consciousness.
ANNOTATION: The Absolute Lord explains to Arjuna that he
should not be confused by the diverse description of various
flowery conclusions, which come from the scriptures, because
they all lead to heavenly planets or to attaining earthly prestige

for the enjoyment of material opulence. By avoiding this, Arjuna
would be situated in total absorption of Lord Krishna in a trance
of self-realization; this is called attaining divine consciousness,
or real yoga.
All living entities, almost all the time, experience mental
and physical traumas in the material existence. Material life is
really a struggle for living. Despite many difficulties and
sufferings, still people want to be intelligent and fight against
their own destiny and material nature, instead, surrender to the
Supreme Father, Lord Krishna, Who is the only master of the
material energy and destiny maker, Lord Brahma. Not taking
shelter in the Supreme is the most unfortunate situation one sees
in this world.
TEXT 54 अ्न
ुा उवाच
्थि र्थय का भाषा समाधिथिथय केशव।
्थि िीः ककं रभाषे ककमासी र्े ककम ्॥५४॥
arjuna uvācha
sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhi-sthasya keśava
sthita-dhīḥ kiṁ prabhāṣeta kim āsīta vrajeta kim
arjuna-uvācha -- Arjuna said; sthita-prajñasya -- of one who is
properly in perfect spiritual knowledge; kābhāṣā -- what are the
symptoms; samādhi-sthasya -- of one situated in pure trance;
keśava -- O killer of the demon Kesi, Krishna; sthita-dhīḥ -- one
who is fixed in spiritual consciousness; kiṁprabhāṣeta -- how
does he talk; kimāsīta -- how does he sit; vrajetakim -- how does
he walks.
Arjuna said: O Killer of the Kesi demon, Krishna, what are
the signs of one who is fixed in pure spiritual consciousness of
knowledge and who is situated in pure trance? What is his
language? How does he speak? How does he sit, and how
does he walk?
ANNOTATION: Generally, people blame God for their
suffering, and take the credit for themselves for whatever good
things that happen. At his speech in Chicago, the late Swāmi

Vivekānanda told the audience: when you work hard, why would
you want to give credit to God? However, Vivekānanda swami
distracted to mention the audience that they should also accept
responsibility for their material sufferings, and shall not approach
God for relief. Blinded by the fog of ignorance, one may not
know that both the body and soul are the energy of Krishna, God.
Therefore, whatever happens in this world is from Krishna’s
approval and the desires of living entities. Krishna is omniscient,
nothing can be hidden from the Supreme Lord.
Arjuna asks Lord Krishna, what the characteristics of
Krishna’s devotees are, what are the characteristics of those who
are situated in transcendental equanimity. One whose
consciousness is firmly established in transcendence is called
sthita-prajna. Such consciousness can be perceived by the
characteristics of speech, known as bhāsha. Arjuna asks his
questions to find out, if there are other characteristics, other than
those mentioned previously.
Arjuna refers to Lord Krishna as Kesava. The meaning of
this name is discerned by Madhavāchārya as follows. ‘Ka’ refers
to Brahma, and 'sa' refers to Rudra and 'va' refers to Krishna.
Krishna is the source of both Brahma and Rudra, therefore He is
called Kesava. kim āsit means how and for what purpose does
one remain still? It is not that Arjuna is unaware of these
characteristics. Earlier kings and emperors of the world: yogis,
sages and even demigods would ask questions like this, even
knowing the eternal principles of righteousness and esoteric
subjects that are mystical and confidential. These esoteric
subjects are not comprehensible by those lacking spiritual
intelligence. Thus, the importance of being firmly established in
spiritual intelligence is emphasized here.
TEXT 55 रीभगवानवु ाच
र् ात यदा कामातसवाातपािा मन८ग ान ्।
आ्मतयेवा्मना ्ु िः्थि र्थ द८्य ॥
े ५५॥
prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha mano-gatān
ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthita-prajñas tadochyate
śrī-bhagavān-uvācha -- the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead said; prajahāti -- one gives up; yadā -- when; kāmān --
desires for sense enjoyment; sarvān -- of all kinds of; pārtha -- O
son of Pritha; mano-gatān -- speculations springs from mind;
ātmany -- by the realization of the self; evā -- certainly; ātmanā -
- purified state of mind; tuṣṭaḥ -- satisfied; sthita-prajñas --
perfectly situated in knowledge; tad -- then; uchyate -- is said.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna
said: O son of Pritha, when a person gives up all kinds of
material desires for sense enjoyment, which spring up from
the mind, and when his mind is purified and finds
satisfaction in the soul alone, that is the pure state of the soul,
such a person is situated in pure transcendental
consciousness.
ANNOTATION: Conditioned souls with materially motivated
minds are always contemplating material advancement because
the nature of the mind is sankalpa and vikalpa, accepting and
rejecting, by which material plans are defeated. When one
decides to act according to the Supreme Person’s will, one can
become immediately free from the sankalpa and vikalpa dualities
of the material world.
Material desires are hidden within the mind due to one’s
identification of the soul with the material body. This is indicated
by the word mano-gatan, concoctions of the mind. However,
when one begins to think with the same mind for devotional
service to Krishna, the mind will neutralize and eradicate
material desires. When spiritual intelligence overrules the
speculative mind, there is only one thought: ‘let me work for the
satisfaction of the Supreme consciousness.’ Usually, a man
requires a house for living, a piece of land, some food and
clothing, etc. God provides these to each and every living being,
from the beginning of their birth, according to their qualifications
and work. He also provides other facilities, for spiritual

advancement, such as scriptures, devotees and a bonafide
spiritual master. Yet, a materially greedy person wants to earn
more, eat more, sleep more, and have more sex. Because such a
man is dictated by his imaginary beliefs, they will always be
defeated. If someone works under Krishna consciousness, the
power of his devotional service to Krishna will immediately free
him from all types of mental speculation because there is little
difference between Krishna and His services, and His power will
effect liberation from such illusions, when a person engages in
His service.
There is a story of a boatman in India on a towpath dragging
his boat with a rope. The boat is in the middle of the river and
there is a big log in the middle of the boat. The log is tied with a
rope and that rope is held by the boatman. While walking on the
riverbank, so many things disturb the boatman. He thinks, ‘when
I am a very rich, I shall cover the river bank with soft pillows, so
that when I walk on the pillows, dragging this boat, I will not
have any pain.’ A materially motivated person is like this foolish
boatman. He does not seem to understand that, if he becomes
rich, he will not have to pull this boat. People want to be happy
in the same way like the boatman and cover the whole world
with cushions, and soft pillows and have no pain at all. Similarly,
all are so foolish that they do not want to get out of their
miserable situation. Instead, they would not modify their material
miseries even after they receive the knowledge of the Supreme
consciousness. With intelligence, one should engage the mind in
devotional service and leave this horrible material existence.
Those who do not understand the science of spiritual universe
must approach a bonafide spiritual master and learn from him the
science of eternal life.
TEXT 56 दःु खे्वन्
ु वव्नमनाःसख
ु ेषु ववग थप ृ ः।
वी रागभयर८िः ्थि िीमतुा नु्य ॥
े ५६॥
duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir uchyate
duḥkheṣv -- by all miseries; anudvigna-manāḥ -- one whose mind

is undisturbed; sukheṣu -- in happiness; vigata-spṛhaḥ -- without
paying attention; vīta -- free from; rāga -- attachment; bhaya --
fear; krodhaḥ -- and anger; sthita-dhīr -- unwavering in
consciousness; munir -- that sage; uchyate -- is called.
A person whose mind is unperturbed in all miseries and who
does not pay attention to happiness when it comes free from
attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage with unwavering
consciousness.
ANNOTATION: Living in the material world is like being
thrown into the salty ocean. Wherever one may swim in the salty
ocean, one will only taste salt water. Similarly, the material
world is full of misery and anxiety no matter where one is,
whether one arrives in heavenly planets by pious activities or in
hellish planets by sinful activities. Happiness is merely the space
between two miseries, and by ignorance this space is referred to
as happiness.
Misery from one’s own mind and body is called ādhyātmika
klesa; misery from other living entities are called ādhibautika
klesa; misery by supernatural disturbance is called ādhidvaika
klesa. There are various kinds of diseases pertaining to the body
and mind. The phrase 'sariram vyādi mandiram' describes the
body as the temple of diseases. There are mental tortures and
other psychological imbalances imposed by other living beings,
human and non-human. Finally, there is misery which arises
from material nature, like excessive heat and cold, earthquakes,
volcanoes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, etc. One of these three
miseries is always present in everyone's life, and there are no
exceptions to these miseries. Even so-called happiness is actually
a misery, but due to lack of knowledge people are unable to
realize this. For instance, a pig feels that he is always happy
because he is living in manure and has enough to eat. Likewise, a
person may think he is happy because he has secured enough
house hold articles and bank balances for the rest of his life, but
the truth is that they are not at all allowed to be happy in that
way. He might be relived from the material necessities for some
time, but he will be asked to vacate soon from the material body
in which he is living in. A Krishna conscious person, sthita-dhir
munir, firmly fixed in devotion of Lord Krishna, is not a least bit
concerned with material happiness or distress, because he knows
that by being engaged in the service of the Lord one becomes
fully happy. One does not realize the actual experience of
happiness that is derived from devotional service to Krishna.
TEXT 57 यः सवारानभभथने थ त्रातय शभ
ु ाशभ
ु म ्।
नाभभनतदत न ्वे््ि थय र्ा रत ््ठ ा॥५७॥
yaḥ sarvatrānabhisnehas tat tat prāpya śubhāśubham
nābhinandati na dveṣṭi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
yaḥ -- one who; sarvatrā -- everywhere; ānabhisnehas -- without
material affection; tat tat -- that; prāpya -- achieving;
śubhāśubham -- good and evil; nābhinandati -- neither rejoices;
na – nor; dveṣṭi -- envies; tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā -- he is situated
in perfect consciousness.
Anywhere in this world, if one who is unaffected by the
attainment of good or evil, who neither rejoices nor envies,
such a person is situated in perfect consciousness.
ANNOTATION: One shall not believe in the most perfect
objects of this world because in the material world there is
nothing called perfect. Everything is born out of ignorance. As
such, things are apt to turn one upside down, like a beautiful
apple with full of worms. The desire to eat a beautiful apple is
obvious, but if it is filled with worms, the appetite for eating the
apple would instantly vanish. The material cosmic order is
created by the Lord to experience turmoil. It is evident in the
struggle for existence that only mad men think they are happy in
this material world. “dvaitebhadrabhadra-jnāna, saba—
‘manodharma’ ’ei bhala, ei manda’,—ei saba ‘bhrama”: “In the
material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental
speculations. Therefore, saying ‘this is good’ and ‘this is bad’ is
all a mistake.” Only a sincere devotee can be firmly fixed in
perfect knowledge by cultivation of the science of God,
systematically under the guidance of a guru, a bonafide

representative of Lord Krishna. A spiritual master is one who
knows the science of Krishna perfectly. Those spiritual masters
who know the science of Brahman are incomplete in their
knowledge of God, one cannot take guidance from such masters
regarding the science of God. To become a spiritual master, one
must know the features of Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavān.
TEXT 58 यदा सं र े चायं कूमोऽ्गानीव सवाशः।
इ्तरयाणी्तरयािे्यथ थय र्ा रत ््ठ ा॥५८॥
yadā saṁharate cāyaṁ kūrmo ’ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
yadā -- when; saṁharate -- withdraws; cāyaṁ -- one who is also;
kūrmo -- tortoise; aṅgān -- its limbs; īva -- like; sarvaśaḥ --
completely; indriyāṇ -- senses; īndriyārthebhyas -- from the
objects of the senses; tasya -- he is; prajñā -- consciousness;
pratiṣṭhitā -- established.
When one withdraws all his senses from sense objects, like
the tortoise withdraws its limbs within its shell, he is
established in perfect consciousness.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna answers Arjuna’s
question, how does such a transcendentally situated person sit?
The Lord answers with regard to the word yada, meaning when.
When one is in meditation, they do not let their senses go out
exploring materialistic activities. There are five objects of the
senses: form for the eyes, aroma for the nose, taste for the
tongue, sound for the ear, and touch for the skin. For example,
with regard to the sounds of the ear, one should compel one’s
organs to perform only the basic functions out of extreme
necessity.
This verse uses an analogy of the tortoise. Out of fear, the
tortoise protects itself by drawing its limbs and head inside its
shell. After the danger passes, the tortoise again lets out its limbs
and, in a cautious manner, continues on its way. There are five
sense objects and the attraction for form is the greatest of them
all. A moth is destroyed by its attraction to the form of fire; the

bee is destroyed by its attraction to the smell; the elephant is
destroyed by its attraction to the touch; the deer is destroyed by
its attraction to the sound; the fish is destroyed by its attraction to
the taste. Thus, it is said in Garuda Purāna 1-115-21:
kuranga-matanga-patanga-brnga-
mina hatah panchabhir eva pancha
ekah pramadi sa katham na hanyate
yah sevate panchabhir eva pancha
“The deer, elephant, moth, bee and fish are destroyed by the five
sense objects. How can an insane person who engages all senses
in the five sense objects not be destroyed?”
Therefore, one who is sthita-prajna, who is situated in the
perfect knowledge of transcendental meditation, acts exactly like
a tortoise, cautious and controlled in the senses? One must fear
the objects of the world, they can ruin a person even if he is very
attentive. The most detrimental objects for a fixed
transcendentalist in this world are in the form of the opposite sex.
Many powerful leaders and sages have been consumed by such
forms. However, with the constant devotional service to the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, all
senses can be automatically controlled by His mercy, without
extraneous effort. rshikena rshikesa sevanam bhaktir uttamam:
the top most devotion is to engage all of our senses in the service
of the master of the senses, rishika-isa, Lord Krishna. rishi
means senses and kesa means master of the senses. Krishna is,
thus, the master of everyone's senses.
TEXT 59 ववषया ववतनव ता े तनरा ारथय दे ह नः।
रसव्ं रस८ऽतयथय परं ृ््वा तनव ा ॥
े ५९॥
viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
viṣayā -- objects for sense enjoyment; vinivartante -- may refrain
from; nirāhārasya -- restrictions of the senses; dehinaḥ -- the
embodied being; rasa-varjaṁ -- giving up the taste; raso’py --
although the taste remains; asya -- for one; paraṁ -- far superior
things; drstvā -- realizing; nivartate -- ceases.
An embodied being may refrain from sense enjoyment,
though the taste for sense enjoyment remains. However, by
ceasing such enjoyment and by experiencing superior taste
one is established in consciousness.
ANNOTATION: In several verses of this chapter Lord Krishna
explains how everyone is a spiritual being because of an
association with the matter of consciousness, which has been
contaminated by the material energy of the Lord. By realizing
our nature as spirit souls and thus being spirit souls, we may be
free from the material miseries of birth, death, old age and
disease. We are free to move anywhere and everywhere, but that
freedom has been checked due to material desires. Material laws
have been imposed on all living beings through the independent
material desires of individual souls. After billions of births in
different species of life, a living being obtains the human form of
life. In this human form, one can understand higher spiritual
values of living. Such an understanding is not given to the other
8,000,000 different lower bodily forms.
It is obvious when an ignorant or illiterate person falls sick,
they are able to refrain their senses from engaging in mundane
sense objects due to the weakness of their body and mind. So,
what is there to say about a devotee who is one hundred percent
engaged in the service of the Lord in transcendental meditation,
and yet cannot prevent the senses from perceiving sense objects?
A person enjoying inferior objects cannot be free from those until
he receives superior objects of enjoyment.
The word param means superior quality of objects; one can
give up all connections with material attachment, when one is
situated in superior quality of objects (param). From the
Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, we understand that the
quality of the Lord's internal energy is far superior to His
material energy. From these scriptures, we understand that by the
grace of a bonafide spiritual master, it becomes possible to know
everything of the superior energy. Unless one thoroughly

understands this superior or eternal energy of the Lord, it is
impossible to leave the objects of the material world.
Krishna replies with the word visayah, meaning objects of
the senses, such as sound, sight, taste, etc. these objects cease
completely for one who has taken shelter in the superior form of
objects in connection with Him. All material attraction will be
terminated and will disappear for the sthita-prajna, one who is
always situated in transcendental meditation of the Supreme
Lord. At once he realizes the unprecedented bliss of Supreme
Soul within the heart. One who realizes the Supreme Soul within
is no longer attracted to the insignificant material objects of the
world. Mundane objects of the material world, no matter how
sweet they may appear, have no classes. Once one has
experienced first class, second class and third class, when one
hears that something has 'no class’, one will understand that it
has no significance. In this way, worldly pleasures no longer
appeal to the spiritualists. Since, worldly pleasures have no class
for them.
The second meaning of the word param in this verse
denotes that the Supreme Soul is in every one’s heart. The source
of eternal bliss, devoid of all material attributes, He is the
exclusive goal of everyone's meditation.
TEXT 60 य ८ ्यवप क९त य े पु
ु षथय ववप््च ः।
इ्तरयाणण रमािीतन र्त रसभंमनः॥६०॥
yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ
indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabhaṁ manaḥ
yatato -- while trying; hy -- are so; api -- in spite of; kaunteya --
O son of Kunti; puruṣasya -- of a man; vipaścitaḥ -- full of
discriminating knowledge; indriyāṇi -- the senses; pramāthīni --
turbulent; haranti -- steal; prasabhaṁ -- can forcibly; manaḥ --
the mind.
O Son of Kunti, the senses are so turbulent and powerful, by
force they can carry away the mind of the man of
discrimination who is trying to control them.
ANNOTATION: In the past, many saintly people, diplomats,

politicians and erudite scholars have wanted to control sense
objects entering their minds. Yet, due to their spiritual and
material weaknesses they have fallen prey to the attraction of
women. Currently, many young men and women engage in yogic
meditation to prevent intimate sensual desires from capriciously
and helplessly dragging them to indulge in sexual activity. Their
minds are so out of control and stubborn, that even if they
artificially try to control their senses they fail. In this verse,
vipascitah means a very learned man trying to control his senses.
Lord Krishna states that the senses are so strong, we cannot
control them on our own. Thus, in Srimad-Bhāgavatam it says:
mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā nāviviktāsano bhavet
balavān indriya-grāmo vidvāṁsam api karṣati
“One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even
with one’s own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so
strong that even though one may be very advanced in knowledge,
one may be attracted by sensual perceptions”. haranti prasabham
manah, the mind will take away one's good intentions and
intelligence by force and involve one in the objects of the senses.
The spirit soul belongs to the superior nature and is part of
the Supreme independent Lord. Consequently, it has minute
independence. It is up to the individual how they would choose
to use that independence, whether for glorifying Him or
glorifying the illusion. Using this freedom, when the spirit soul
tries to imitate Krishna in the spiritual world, they are
nonetheless placed in the material world because Krishna
dominates in the spiritual world. This is similar to the stringent
laws of the government. Everyone is required to follow the laws
of the government and if anyone disobeys them, they are arrested
and placed in prison. Independence in any country is, therefore,
based on obedience of the laws, which are determined by the
government. Thus, it is said in Sri-Chaitanya Charitamrta:
krishna bhūliya jīva bhoga vancha kare, by forgetting Krishna
the living entity wants to enjoy the impure objects of the material
world, the spirit soul, then, falls prey to material existence. In the
material world, the desire for sex is the strong iron chain
imprisoning all living entities, based on this desire the material
universe perpetually functions. There are billions of individual
spirit souls trying to be the master of the Supreme Lord Krishna
and, consequently they are all placed in the material world, just
like people who disobey the laws of the government are placed in
the prison cells. The solution to get out of this formidable
material universe is found by accepting the authority of God,
Krishna, and attaining independence once more.
TEXT 61 ातन सवााणण संय्य य्
ु आसी म्परः।
वशे ह यथये्तरयाणण थय र्ा रत ््ठ ा॥६१॥
tāni sarvāṇi saṁyamya yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
vaśe hi yasyendriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
tāni sarvāṇi -- all the senses; saṁyamya -- keeping under
control; yukta āsīta -- should meditate; mat-paraḥ -- on Me; vaśe
-- bringing them under one’s control; hi yasya -- since, for one
whose; indriyāṇi -- senses; tasya -- he is; prajñā -- perfect
consciousness; pratiṣṭhitā -- established in.
One who restrains all his senses, bringing them under one’s
full control and meditates upon Me is one who is established
in perfect consciousness.
Annotation: Agitated senses force the mind to create unwanted
desires for the spirit soul to enjoy. Generally, people desire to eat
meat, drink alcohol and copulate. Innocent people are ignorant of
this simple occurrence in the day-to-day life. Srimad-
Bhāgavatam says:
loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā, nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā
vyavasthitis teṣu vivāha-yajña surā-grahair āsu nivṛttir iṣṭā
“In this material world the conditioned soul is always inclined to
sex, meat-eating and intoxication. Therefore religious scriptures
never actually encourage such activities. Although the scriptural
injunctions provide for sex through sacred marriage, for meat-
eating through sacrificial offerings and for intoxication through
the acceptance of ritual cups of wine, such ceremonies are meant

for the ultimate purpose of renunciation.”
With uncontrolled senses, people allow their senses to enjoy
all kinds of abominable objects. Within the body, there are nine
holes and the living soul enjoys material pleasures through these
nine holes. However, when one engages his knowledge acquiring
and working senses in the personal service of the Lord in
devotion alone, one becomes a person of concentrated and
purified intelligence. As a result, the living soul will be perfected
from the material and lower spiritual processes of life, otherwise
it will be very difficult to restrain one’s senses from sense
objects, without controlling the senses one cannot bring Krishna,
the Supreme Majestic Lord under their control as Lord Krishna
Himself said to Uddhava, who was a friend and devotee like
Arjuna:
na sādhayati māṁ yogo na sāṅkhyaṁ dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā.
“My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to
Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be
thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, sānkhya
philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.”
TEXT 62 ्याय ८ ववषयातपस
ुं ः स्गथ ष
े प
ू ्ाय ।े
स्गा्स््ाय े कामः कामा्र८ि८ऽभभ्ाय ॥
े ६२॥
dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate
dhyāyato -- mind contemplating on; viṣayān -- objects of the
senses; puṁsaḥ -- of a person; saṅgas -- attachment; teṣu -- to the
sense objects; upajāyate -- develops; saṅgāt -- from that
attachment; sañjāyate -- are born; kāmaḥ -- desire; kāmāt -- from
that desire; krodho -- anger; abhijāyate -- arises.
While the mind is contemplating the objects of the senses, a
person develops attachment for them, and from such
attachment lust takes birth, and from lust anger arises.
ANNOTATION: As it is said, ‘the idle mind is the devil's

workshop.’ When one’s physical body sits idle, the mind starts
contemplating objects of the senses. One, then, develops desires
to acquire those objects. In the presence of the soul, senses are
very active unless the body is diseased. The most enticing
pleasure one can seek in the material world is sex. This is not
only true in human society, even for the demigods and in the
animal kingdom, sex is prominent;
yan maitunādi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham.
The whole universe has surrendered to this insignificant
desire for sex and no one can easily get out of it. Material life
means sex, the chain of sexual activities are transferred from the
elderly family members to the younger generation. The older
generation is eager to get the younger generation married, but
never tells them about the adversities they underwent forming
their sexual ties. They are determined to have grandchildren by
notwithstanding the sexual implications of marriage. Older
family members consider this as their dharma or duty. Every
family thinks they have a dynasty to run, just as the previous
kings who ruled their kingdom, therefore, they need heirs. The
older members of the society trick the younger generation, on the
plea of providing sex and other material amenities as the pretext
of bringing forth a new generation of people to rule their family.
What is sex? What is this body? Material energy entices
living entities by physical beauty to attract the opposite sex under
material conditions; everything in the material world is illusory
beauty. No one is attracted to an old woman or an old man, this
enchantment is only experienced in youth.
The body is made of fat, skin, marrow, stool and urine.
Unpleasant elements ooze out of the eyes, ears, nose, rectum and
genitals. Then, there are hairs on the body which further attract
the opposite sex to be enticed by one another. For the purpose of
attraction, the material nature has these things stuffed inside the
body and beautifies the body with the thin layer of skin. This is
exactly like a mannequin in a garment showroom. This illusion is
called māya, meaning ‘that which is not’. The whole world

contemplates this subject matter every moment, therefore, to
meet bodily pleasures, one works hard like an ass to make
money. Not even great demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord
Siva were free from illusion, what to speak of other demigods
and human beings. If one fails to get their contemplated lust,
anger arises, one may not know the subtle reason for anger, but it
is from not having desires fulfilled. After becoming angry
because of a failure to satisfy sexual, and other gross and subtle
desires, angry people quarrel with each other. These frustrated
and angry people end their friendships or relationships by
separation or divorce.
To be free from illusions like this one must seek the proper
engagement for the mind and senses in Krishna consciousness. If
not, the mind will reflect on the pleasures of the body and cheat
the entity with this illusory existence and its dubious rewards of
material tribulations. Krishna consciousness is the only ultimate
solution for all the problems of life and can be achieved by
chanting the holy name loudly. Attachment can be used for
Krishna’s beauty, while anger can be used in the service of the
Lord, similar to how Bhakta Hanuman used his anger in Lord
Rāma’s service: Lord Hanuman burned Golden Lanka down. The
entire monkey soldiers employed their anger to help Lord
Rāmachandra win the war over the king of Lanka, Rāvana.
Generally, destruction or anger is in the mode of ignorance, but
when used in the service of the Lord it becomes pure goodness.
Arjuna might have momentarily forgotten about this feat of Lord
Hanuman.
TEXT 63 र८िा्भवत स्म८ ः स्म८ ा्थमतृ ववरमः।

थमतृ रंशा्ब्
ु धिनाश८ ब्
ु धिनाशा्रण्यत ॥६३॥
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati
krodhād -- from anger; bhavati -- occurs; sammohaḥ -- delusion;
sammohāt -- from delusion; smṛti-vibhramaḥ -- memory
bewildered; smṛti-bhraṁśād -- after bewilderment of memory;

buddhi-nāśo -- loss of spiritual intelligence; buddhi-nāśāt -- from
loss of spiritual intelligence; praṇaśyati -- one is completely
fallen down.
From anger complete delusion arises, from delusion comes
bewilderment of the memory. When the memory is
bewildered, spiritual intelligence is lost, and when spiritual
intelligence is lost one completely falls down.
ANNOTATION: Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna is giving instructions to those with average
intelligence. One cannot sow a seed in barren land and reap a
good harvest. Similarly, those who are not pious and are totally
lost in sinful activities are incapable of receiving such
instructions. The Lord continues to explain the science of the
defective qualities of conditioned souls. From anger, delusion or
hallucination arises. Delusion causes a loss of discrimination
between righteous and unrighteous actions, all which are against
the final instructions of the scriptures and the instructions of
bonafide spiritual masters. Such actions lead to confusion and a
lapse of memory. The final consequence of bewilderment is
complete incomprehension of one’s intelligence, like a tree.
When intelligence is lost, pranasyati, or falling down, occurs for
the worst material activities. The consequences of such material
activities are, then, entering the degraded hellish planets.
The destruction of the intellect is ultimately a lack of
awareness of one’s eternal relationship with the omnipresent
Supreme Master Lord Krishna. One can avoid all material
infatuations of material association by solely engaging oneself in
devotional service to Krishna. The senses are structured to be
pacified and controlled, only when one starts rendering service to
God beginning from chanting the holy name:
namno hi yāvati saktih pāpa-nirharane harih
tavat kartum na saknoti pātakam pātaki narah
“Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari, a sinful man can
counteract the reactions to more sins than he is able to commit”.

(Brhad-Vishnu Purāna)
TEXT 64 राग्वेषववम्
ु थ ु ववषयातन्तरय्चरन ्।
आ्मव्यववािेया्मा रसादमधिग्छत ॥६४॥
rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu viṣayān indriyaiś charan
ātma-vaśhyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati
rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais -- being freed from attachment and
aversion; tu -- but; viṣayān -- objects of the senses;
indriyaiścharan -- with senses acting upon; ātma-vaśhyair --
under soul’s control; vidheyātmā -- one who follows the
scriptural injunctions; prasādam -- Lord’s mercy; adhigacchati --
attains.
Being freed from attachment and aversion, a person who
controls his senses and their engagement with sense objects
by following the scriptural injunctions of freedom can obtain
the causeless mercy of the Lord.
ANNOTATION: One can be free from attachment and aversion
only by engaging in Krishna consciousness. Lord Krishna is
called rshikesa, master of the senses. He is also called Govinda,
one who gives happiness to the senses. One can engage all their
senses in the service of the Lord by following the regulative
principles, such as no meat eating, no gambling, no having illicit
sex and not becoming intoxicated. Then, one must lead a life
according to the authority of the scriptures, which prevents one
from committing the sinful activities mentioned above. By
controlling the mind and senses from the material sense objects,
and serving Krishna according to one’s qualification and work,
one will be completely free from lust, anger, greed, infatuation
and illusion. Thus, one will be purified to receive the mercy of
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
avaśenāpi yan-nāmni kīrtite sarva-pātakaiḥ
pumān vimuchyate sadyaḥ siṁha-trastair mṛgair iva
“If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in a helpless
condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his

sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small animals
flee in fear.” (Garuda Purāna)
TEXT 65 रसादे सवादःु खानां ातनरथय८प्ाय ।े

रसतनचे स८ ्याशु ब् ु धिः पयावत ्ठ ॥
े ६५॥
prasāde sarva-duḥkhānāṁ hānir asyopajāyate
prasanna-chetaso hy āśu buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate
prasāde -- causeless mercy of the Lord; sarva -- of all;
duḥkhānāṁ -- miseries; hānir -- destruction; asyo -- has his;
upajāyate -- occurs; prasanna-chetaso -- this cheerful minded
person; hy -- certainly; āśu -- very soon; buddhiḥ -- spiritual
intelligence; paryavatiṣṭhate -- fully established.
When one attains the causeless mercy of the Supreme Lord,
he is free from all miseries, and in such cheerful
consciousness one’s spiritual intelligence is fully established.
ANNOTATION: The threefold miseries of the material
existence, namely miseries caused by the body and mind,
miseries caused by other living beings, miseries caused by the
demigods will not affect the devotees of Lord Krishna because
their minds are fully equipoised by engaging their senses in the
service of the Lord. Such devotees are fully satisfied while they
are in the material world. One does not have to go to the
Himalayas, or to any other holy places to control the mind and
senses. One can stay at home, do their respective service based
on their education, and practice bhakti by engaging one’s ear in
hearing Bhagavad-Gītā, Srimad-Bhāgavatam and chanting Hare
Krishna mahā-mantra regularly or always. One’s eyes should be
engaged in seeing the form of the Lord. One’s tongue should be
engaged in chanting and tasting Krishna's prasādam. One should
engage one’s hands in cleaning His temple or altar room. One’s
nose should be engaged in smelling flowers or Tulasi petals
offered to Krishna. And one can work to make their maintenance
in this way, one’s intelligence will be established in the
unalloyed service of the Lord. Hence, he becomes fully purified

and will be established in Krishna consciousness.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye
cheta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati
“By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by
rendering service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to
the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto
the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental
songs, is established as an irrevocable fact. As soon as
irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects
of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire
and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is
established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy”.
TEXT 66 ना्थ ब्ु धिरय्
ु थय न चाय्
ु थय भावना।
न चाभावय ः शा्त रशात थय कु ःसख
ु म ्॥६६॥
nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā
na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham
nāsti -- cannot have; buddhir -- intelligence; ayuktasya -- of one
who is not connected with the supreme; na -- not; cāyuktasya --
also one devoid of spiritual intelligence; bhāvanā -- meditates;
na -- not; cā -- and; abhāvayataḥ -- of one who is not fixed;
śāntir -- peace; aśāntasya -- not peaceful; kutaḥ -- where is;
sukham -- happiness.
One who is not connected with the Supreme by intelligence
cannot have spiritual consciousness, without being fixed in
spiritual consciousness there is no possibility of peace, and
how can there be any happiness when there is no peace?
ANNOTATION: As mentioned by the Lord in the previous
verse, one can control the senses only by regulating life
according to the Vedic injunctions, without which a peaceful
mind is not possible. One who has not subdued their senses by
controlling their mind is bereft of steady intelligence. The

intellect with spiritual intelligence is able to determine the truth,
as it is established in the Vedic scriptures. It is not possible for an
undisciplined living entity to have the caliber of belief necessary
to contemplate matters relating to the ultimate truth. As Srila
Krishna das Kaviraj goswāmi says:
ekale īśvara krishna āra saba bhṛtya
yāre yaiche nācāya se taiche kare nṛtya
“Lord Krishna alone is the supreme controller, and all others are
His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.” Without
properly understanding the Lord who is our friend and well-
wisher, there won't be any peace or end to attachment for sensual
objects, and how can there possibly be permanent happiness
without peace?
TEXT 67 इ्तरयाणां ह चर ां यतमन८ऽनवु विीय ।े
दथय रत र्ां वायन
ु ाावभमवा्भभस॥६७॥
indriyāṇāṁ hi charatāṁ yan mano ’nuvidhīyate
tad asya harati prajñāṁ vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi
indriyāṇāṁ -- various senses; hi -- certainly; charatāṁ -- while
wandering; yan -- whichever; mano -- mind; anuvidhīyate --
becomes absorbed; tad -- that; asya -- his; harati – snatches
away; prajñāṁ -- intelligence; vāyur -- the wind; nāvam -- a
boat; iva -- like; āmbhasi-- on the water.
Senses that wander where the mind is absorbed can carry
away the man’s spiritual intelligence like the wind snatches
away the boat on the water.
ANNOTATION: It is the nature of the senses to have an
uncontrolled desire for seeking material pleasure. When senses
focus on a particular object, the mind follows that object as well.
The senses bind the mind and carry away all discrimination,
causing restlessness for the object of desire. However, one with
spiritual intelligence can control the mind. The mind in turn can
control the senses and engage them in spiritual activities.
Consider how when violent winds effortlessly snatch away

a boat on the ocean and toss it about brutally, the sailor of the
boat loses control. Similarly, the senses of one who is
uncontrolled has their intelligence violently snatched away.
Therefore, it is necessary to control the mind with good
intelligence. Like King Ambarish Mahārāja, who engaged his
intelligence in the service of Lord Krishna, as a result he kept the
ever disturbing mind and senses in complete control. Lord
Krishna, being pleased with the king’s devotional service,
rewarded him His sudharshan chakra for protection.
TEXT 68 थमा्य थयम ाबा ८ तनग ृ ी ातन सवाशः।
इ्तरयाणी्तरयािे्यथ थय र्ा रत ््ठ ा॥६८॥
tasmād yasya mahā-bāho nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā
tasmād -- therefore; yasya -- one whom; mahā-bāho -- O mighty
armed one -- Arjuna; nigṛhītāni -- subdued; sarvaśaḥ -- all;
indriyāṇ -- the senses; īndriyārthebhyas -- from the sense
objects; tasya -- his; prajñā -- wisdom; pratiṣṭhitā -- established.
Thus, one whose senses are withdrawn from the objects of
the senses is certainly established in wisdom, O mighty armed
one.
ANNOTATION: The fundamental importance of controlling of
the senses is the conclusion established thus far, this has been
prescribed as a means of acquiring perfect knowledge and
spiritual intelligence. By addressing Arjuna as ‘O mighty armed
one’ Bhagavān is indicating that just as Arjuna exercises control
of the enemy in battle, he must likewise exercise control of the
senses and mind as well.
TEXT 69 यातनशा सवाभू ानां थयां ्ागत ा संयमी।
यथयां ्ारत भू ातन सा तनशा प्य ८ मन ु ेः॥६९॥
yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī
yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
yāniśā -- what is night; sarva -- for all; bhūtānāṁ -- living

beings; tasyāṁ -- then; jāgarti -- is awake; saṁyamī -- self-
controlled; yasyāṁ -- in which; jāgrati -- are awake; bhūtāni --
all living beings; sā -- that is; niśā -- night; paśyato -- for the
thoughtful; muneḥ -- sagacious.
What is night for all living beings is an awakening of the self-
controlled, and the time of awakening for all living beings is
night for the thoughtful sage.
ANNOTATION: When a person controls his senses so perfectly
from the material sense objects, it is like the person who is
sleeping. This is because no one does physical activities while
sleeping, and one who is controlled in the senses is able to
abstain from indulging in physical activities. Expecting
misgivings from Arjuna, Lord Krishna states that the night exists
in the darkness of the self for all creatures, who are uncontrolled
in the senses and whose minds are covered by ignorance.
Alternatively, those who are self-controlled abide in the light of
the self, they are wide awake. While living beings who are
engrossed in sensual pursuits, may appear awake, their condition
is just like the night to the introspective devotee, who is absorbed
only in the bliss of the self. Just as an owl, which is blind during
the day time, but sees clearly at night, those who have realized
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead through the eye of
knowledge, see everything; they have blinded themselves to the
sense desires and yet, see the light of the self as it really is.
TEXT 70
आपयू म
ा ाणमचलरत ्ठं समर
ु मापः रववश्त य्व ्।
्व्कामा यं रववश्त सवे स शा्त मातन८त कामकामी॥७०॥
āpūryamāṇam achala-pratiṣṭhaṁ
samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve
sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī
āpūryamāṇam -- although always being filled; achala-pratiṣṭhaṁ

-- remain unaffected; samudram -- the ocean; āpaḥ -- rivers;
praviśanti -- enters; yadvat -- as; tadvat -- just as; kāmā --
material desires; yaṁ -- that ascetic; praviśanti -- enter; sarve --
all; sa -- that person; śāntim -- peace; āpnoti-- achieves; na --
not; kāma-kāmī -- desirous of sense-enjoyment.
A person who has self-control remains unaffected by any
number of material desires, just as the river enters the ocean,
which is always being filled, but remains still. Such a person
can attain peace, unlike those who endeavor to enjoy
materiality.
ANNOTATION: The ocean is full and always remains the same
even though innumerable rivers flow into it. Whether or not a
river enters the ocean, the ocean is unchanged. Similarly, a
devotee of Lord Krishna is complete like the ocean. They are not
disturbed by allowing desires to enter their hearts.
Desires in the form of sense objects enter into the mind and
the mind also fix itself onto objects. To prevent this interaction
between the mind and sense objects, devotees engage in
devotional service to Lord Krishna. This engagement distracts
devotees from material desires, and by the mercy of the Supreme
Lord all His devotees’ desires are also fulfilled.
There are many temptations in the world: sweet or
provocative music, nude forms, palatable foods, the soft touch of
the opposite sex, and pleasant aromas. These are the basic
attractions, which disturb materialistically conscious living
beings. One cannot give up desires since becoming desire-less is
also a desire. It is impossible to be desire-less. Only dead wood
or stone can be without desire. Knowing this, the devotee of Lord
Krishna is satisfied in the service of the Lord. A devotee engages
in listening to the glory of the Supreme Lord, seeing His
beautiful form, and eating Krishna prasādam, all while
remaining still, just like the ocean. A person who is satisfied like
this cannot be agitated by material desires. Thus, although there
are thousands of desires entering the heart, a true devotee of
Krishna emerges fully satisfied by His grace as the sublime

satisfaction that is derived from Krishna bhakti, which is
transcendental to any materially-inclined sense pleasure.
TEXT 71 वव ाय कामातयः सवाातपम
ु ां्चरत तनःथप ृ ः।
तनमाम८ तनर ्कारः सशा्त मधिग्छत ॥७१॥
vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāṁś charati niḥspṛhaḥ
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati
vihāya -- abandoning; kāmān -- sense gratification; yaḥ -- who;
sarvān -- all; pumāṁś -- that person; charati -- lives; niḥspṛhaḥ -
- free from attachment; nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ -- free from false
ego and ownership; sa -- he; śāntim -- flawless peace;
adhigacchati -- attains.
The person who has abandoned all desires for sense
enjoyment, and who has given up their sense of ownership
and false ego, is free from all material desires and can only
attain peace.
ANNOTATION: Inanimate objects like stones may not have
desires, but conscious beings must have desires. Since, desire is
the constant companion of all living beings and the sign of the
consciousness, a person’s desires will, therefore, never abate.
However, because human beings are intelligent, conscious living
souls, they can redirect their desires. Material desires are
detrimental, transient, miserable, unworthy of enjoying, and bind
one to the reactions of karma. In stark contrast with these,
spiritual desires are eternal, blissful, worthy of enjoying, and they
cause no reactions for their enjoyment. If we engage our senses
in serving Krishna and propagating His mission by enlisting
other people to Krishna bhakti without envy, one can surpass
material desires by Krishna’s mercy.
TEXT 72 एषा रा्मी ्थित ः पािा ननां रातय ववम्ु यत ।
्थि्वाथयामत कालेऽवप र्मतनवााणम् ृ छत ॥७२॥
eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati
sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati
eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ -- that is path of spiritual realization; pārtha --

O son of Pritha; naināṁ -- not this; prāpya -- having achieved;
vimuhyati -- one is illusioned; sthitvā -- being situated; āsyām --
in this; anta-kāle -- even at the moment of death; api -- also;
brahma-nirvāṇam -- liberation from material existence; ṛcchati --
one attains.
O son of Pritha, having achieved the spiritual realization and
godly life, and by not being deluded even at the moment of
death, one will be free from material existence and attain the
Absolute spiritual world.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead, Lord Krishna concludes His instructions. The
spiritual state of brahmi is experienced by attaining devotional
service to Krishna. By achieving this state, one is liberated and
enters the eternal Kingdom of God, otherwise one will be
compelled to continue wandering through the repeated cycle of
birth and death – as is explained in the chapter 8, verse 6.
Before leaving this present body to enter into the Kingdom
of God one must be sufficiently purified to the standard of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. Without this level of
purification, even the most advanced transcendentalist with their
spiritual intelligence are forced to take birth again.
It is revealed in the Brahma sūtras that karma is only
exhausted after countless lifetimes, by the mercy of the Lord and
His representative, guru. According to Mādhavāchārya, even the
spiritually intelligent take seven births to become a brāhmana,
and Brahman realization only comes after many lifetimes. Thus,
it is said in the Garuda Purāna, that when one becomes
established in elevated consciousness, similar to Lord Sambhu
and Lord Sesha, one is delivered by the grace of the Supreme
Lord Krishna. Deliverance from material bondage is actuated by
one’s successive devotional activities to the Supreme Person in
the present life.
The Nārada Purāna states that spiritual intelligence assures
definite results and that these results are the illumination of self-
realization. Those who accept the speculative philosophers, like

Aksapada, Kanāda and Pashupatas, who are opposed to the Vedic
scriptures, are lacking in spiritual intelligence. These speculators
should, therefore, be rejected completely.
The invocation to Siva by his devotees should be
understood to be as good as an invocation to the Supreme Lord.
The truth of this is apparent, since we know that Siva is also an
empowered incarnation of the Supreme Lord, however, only the
Vedic scriptures are authorized to be accepted as evidence of any
such relation. Thus, it is stated in the Varāha Purāna and Padma
Purāna that Siva was ordered by Lord Vishnu to explain illusory
doctrines that would create hallucinations through the
propagation of false and misleading principles. Lord Siva
appeared as Sankarāchārya to propagate the false doctrine of jīva
and God as one and the same. Siva was so ordered to execute this
task extensively and comprehensively with great imagination, so
that he could cleverly conceal the reality of Lord Krishna as the
Supreme, Absolute Truth. A vivid dialogue of Lord Siva to
Goddess Pārvati has mentioned in the introduction of this Gīta.
The Chaitanya Charitamrta says svayam bhagavān krishna
ekale isvara advitiya, nandātmaja, rasika-sekhara: Krishna, the
reservoir of all pleasure, is the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead Himself, the supreme controller. No one is greater than
or equal to Sri Krishna, yet He appears as the son of Mahārāja
Nanda.
Deceptive, confusing and illusory doctrines were
propagated by Lord Siva throughout the material worlds enjoined
by Lord Vishnu. Influenced by these teachings, Dadhici created
the sciences of Gautama's Nyaya - logic, Kanāda's Vaisesika -
atomic theory, Kapila Muni's sānkhya - 24 elements, as well as
others such as Lord Sankarāchārya's impersonal māyāvādi
hypothesis. The latter created atheistic philosophies over the
course of time to emulate these doctrines and the religions of
Buddhism, Christianity, Islām, Hinduism, Jainism and the Jews.
All of these religions are propagating God without form or
qualities or any substantive conception of God. Yet, they actually

stem from Sripāda Sankarāchārya.
The following doctrines should be understood to be free
from Siva's influence: the Rig Veda; Sama Veda; Yajur Veda;
Atharva Veda; Brahma sūtra; Panchatantra; Srimad-
Bhāgavatam; Rāmayana and Mahābhārata, which includes the
illustrious Bhagavad-Gītā. All of these are known to be
vaishnava scriptures which eulogize the Supreme Lord.
Therefore, all the Siva Purāna should be interpreted and verified
according to the understanding of these scriptures, without the
slightest contradiction, this is confirmed in the Nārada Purāna.
Nirvāna denotes existence beyond the purview of the
physical body. Nirvāna is also used to indicate a lack of the
possession of material sense organs. How could the Purānas
possibly describe the transcendental form of the glorious
Supreme Lord Krishna in any other way? The magnificent
Supreme Lord Krishna is known as the effulgent Brahman, as
Paramātma, the Supersoul in all living entities and as Bhagavān,
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. This is well
confirmed in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam.
The Supreme Lord Krishna, the splendid maintainer of all,
is 100% complete within Himself in all aspects and thus is
known as Bhagavān, the possessor of the six forms of opulence,
100% complete in knowledge, 100% in strength, 100% in beauty,
100% in wealth, 100% in fame and 100% in renunciation. All the
various and diverse energies reside in the halo of the Supreme
Lord Krishna. This is natural and totally in accordance with
reality as He is the source of all these energies. He is also the
source of the ever blissful Brahman. All creation exists and is
sustained by only a minute fragment of His potency. He is
eternal, immortal, without beginning and without an end of
everlasting energy. He is transcending the brilliance of billions of
suns, more effulgent than billions of moons, He is having
unlimited attributes and unlimited facets. In each one of those
unlimited attributes, He is possessing unlimited forms, unlimited
knowledge of immeasurable energy. He is omnipotent,

omnipresent and omniscient. Those situated in spiritual
knowledge know the Supreme Lord Krishna as Brahman,
Paramātma and Bhagavān. Who else? But the Supreme Lord
Krishna, and His incarnations and expansions may ever be
known as Bhagavān! He is glorious and eternally able to be
worshipped by all living entities in all situations for all times.
Thus ends the humble annotations of the 2nd chapter of

Bhagavad-Gītā original ‘Synopsis of Bhagavad-Gītā’ by H.H.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami

1. Express different qualities and activities of the body, spirit
soul and the Supersoul.
2. How can one overcome from lust, anger, and illusion?
Explain the meaning of pure devotional service?
Paragraph questions:
1. Interpret Arjuna’s compassion and identify what did
Krishna think about it?
2. Arjuna’s thoughts were disorganized in this verse. Define
his confusion.
3. What does miser mean, according to the Bhagavad-Gītā?
4. What are the consequences professional killers will have to
face after their death?
5. What is real knowledge? Why did Krishna chastise Arjuna
indirectly calling him a fool?
6. Lord Krishna does not support the process merging souls in
the impersonal Brahman. Hypothesize why?
7. Explain the peculiar change of bodies? How does this

change not affect the Soul?
8. Illustrate on the fantasy of oneness of the soul?
9. What kind of knowledge is Krishna trying to provide us
with that dissipates ignorance?
10. Relate what is happiness and misery compared with? If you
need to perform your religious duties, you need to learn
forbearance. Explain?
11. What is consciousness and the size of the soul?
12. Discuss in detail the theory about the soul in Mundhoka
Upanishad. Develop on the analogy of the sun rays? 17
13. Reflect on the existence of the four types of living beings’.
14. What is the body compared to? Examine the gender of the
soul.
15. Describe the spirit soul in verse 23.
16. Enumerate on the features of Lord Krishna in verses
24 and 25.
17. What laws of nature are described in verse number 27?
18. Why is the soul described as amazing?
19. What is false identification in verse 30?
20. What is the actual responsibility of the government to the
people?
21. Why is it said that the entire social system is corrupted?
22. When kings were ruling, enlist all the wrong behaviors
forbidden to humanity?
23. What type of action frees one from sinful reactions?
24. Explain the consciousness of many branched.
25. What do most people following the Vedās think they’re

meant for? What are the variegated pleasures in the
heavenly planet?
26. Summarize on modern materialistic and spiritualistic
activities.
27. The Vedās deal with 3 modes of material nature. Opinionate
on what does Krishna want us to do about it?
28. Summarize the verse 47?
29. Discuss the question and answers between Arjuna and
Krishna in regard to a person’s spiritual situation?
30. Why is the material world compared to Salt Ocean?
31. What animal is a person compared to in Krishna’s
consciousness? Why?
32. How can one refrain from a sense of enjoyment when the
taste for enjoyment stays?
33. Describe the tragic story of a person whose mind was
absorbed in contemplation of his own senses? 62-63
34. Owl, who is completely blind during the day time can see
clearly at night. Explain how?
35. Why is a devotee peaceful? Can one not be peaceful unless
he is a devotee? 70-71
1. The difference between a dead and a living body is
_________________
2. The ___________takes birth, grows, exists, produces by
products/ off-springs, dwindles, and dies.
3. A symptom of consciousness is_______________.
4. The ________________ is unborn, eternal, indestructible,
and immutable.
5. In a body there are ___________souls. They

are___________ and ___________
6. ________________ āsrama is for complete renunciation.
7. ____________verse tells that while speaking learned words,
you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those
who are wise neither lament for the living nor for the dead.
8. The _____________theory advocates oneness with spirit
soul with Supersoul.
9. Lord Chaitanya accepted renounced order when He was
___________years old.
10. The size of the soul is _______________
1. Since the soul is eternal, it cannot be killed and cannot cause
killing, there is no need for____________ to grieve for
Bhīshma and Drona. (Yudhistira, Krishna, Arjuna, Bhīshma)
2. A panditah, a learned person does not lament for the
____________ (soul, body, Supersoul, material nature)
3. If ____________is accepted as an ordinary man, then the
Bhagavad-Gītā loses all importance. (Drona, Bhīshma,
Karna, Krishna)
4. _______________is unchangeable and cannot be cut into
different pieces. (mind, consciousness, intelligence, soul)
5. The soul is anu and the Supersoul is _________ (Krishna,
mahat, vibhu, Achyuta)
6. What pervades the entire body? (Blood, Mind, Intelligent,
Consciousness)
7. __________ duty refers to one’s specific duty within varna-
āsrama dharma. (Social, Religious, State, International)
8. All purposes served by small wells can at once be served by
a great reservoir of water. _____________ is the emblem
of a great reservoir of water? (Lord Vāsudev, Lord Krishna,
Lord Narayan, Lord Vishnu)
9. ______________refers to the analytical study of the soul

and body. (dhyāna, bhakti, sānkhya, jnāna)
10. One should engage his ___________in the Lotus feet of the
Lord, and then all other senses will be automatically
controlled. (mind, soul, consciousness, intelligent)
Karma Yoga 217
CHAPTER 3
Karma Yoga
TEXT 1 अ्न
ुा उवाच
्यायसी चे्कमाणथ े म ा ब् ु धि्ानादा न।
््कं कमाणण घ८रे मां तनय८्यभस केशव॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana
tat kiṁ karmaṇi ghore māṁ niyojayasi keśava
arjuna-uvācha -- Arjuna said; jyāyasī -- better; cet -- if;

karmaṇas -- fruitive activities; te -- by You; matā -- is
considered; buddhir -- spiritual wisdom; janārdana -- O
maintainer of living beings, (Krishna); tat -- then; kiṁ -- why;
karmaṇi -- in this fighting; ghore -- horrible; māṁ -- me;
niyojayasi -- are You engaging; keśava -- O killer of Kesi demon.
Arjuna said: O Maintainer of all living entities, if spiritual
wisdom is better than fruitive activities then why do You
want me to engage in this horrible fighting? O killer of Kesi
demon.
ANNOTATION: In the first chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, it is
explained how Arjuna struggled with not wanting to fight on the
battlefield of Kurukshetra, how he knew that in this inevitable
religious battle his relatives would die in his effort to acquire the
kingdom from the Kurus. In the second chapter, Arjuna accepted
Lord Krishna as his spiritual master, and asked the Lord to
217
explain genuine knowledge to him, so that he might be

enlightened regarding the real nature of his duty as a kshatriya.
The Supreme Lord provided an analytical explanation of the
difference between the soul and body, which is technically
known as sānkhya or jnāna yoga. The Lord also elaborated on
how actions may be performed without attachment, and how one
may keep one’s senses under control through devotional services
to Krishna, which is buddhi yoga.
karma-yoga can elevate one to achieve liberation from
material existence. Although Krishna describes karma-yoga to
Arjuna, he does not explain it as the ultimate instructions for
achieving perfection. Rather, His method is similar to that of a
father who offers candy to his children in return for taking bitter
medicine. The goal of taking His medicine, however, is not to get
sweets, but to cure the material diseases, namely: death, birth, old
age and disease. Similarly, the Vedās prescribe karma-yoga by
tempting people with material results, in order to liberate them
from karma and send them to the Kingdom of God.
The essence of Bhagavad-Gītā has been presented in
chapter two, in a condensed form. The remaining sixteen
chapters are an extension of the topics discussed in chapter two.
Although jnāna yoga and karma-yoga have been explained in
detail, the relationship between the two, especially as to which is
superior, and which is subordinate, has not yet been established.
Thus, Arjuna came to the conclusion that Lord Krishna valued
the path of the superior karma-yoga over the path of actions,
since the former leads to liberation. Yet, although Arjuna
believed this was true, he was still utterly bewildered because he
did not understand why Lord Krishna could urge him to engage
in a ghastly, horrific war, and why the Lord was repeatedly
telling him to arise and fight.
TEXT 2 ्याभमरेणेव वा्येन ब्ु धिं म८ यसीवमे।
दे कं वद तन््च्य येन रेय८ऽ मातनयु ाम ्॥२॥
vyāmiśreṇeva vākyena buddhiṁ mohayasīva me
tad ekaṁ vada niścitya yena śreyo ’ham āpnuyām
Karma Yoga 219
vyāmiśreṇ -- by ambiguous; eva -- surely; vākyena --

instructions; buddhiṁ -- wisdom; mohayasīva -- certainly You
are confusing; me -- my; tat -- therefore; ekaṁ -- one; vada --
tell; niścitya -- definite one; yena -- by which; śreyo -- valuable;
aham -- I; āpnuyām -- may obtain.
You are confusing my wisdom with your ambiguous
instructions. Therefore, kindly tell me how, and by what
method I may obtain the most valuable benefit.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna understood that the Supreme Lord gave
him ambiguous explanations, and had been glorifying both jnāna
yoga and karma-yoga on an equal level. Yet, Arjuna was
confused by the instructions regarding these, as to which was
superior. He questioned whether he should go on the path of
jnāna yoga or karma-yoga. Conflicted by his choice, he wanted
to clarify them with the Supreme Lord.
Arjuna’s mind had become perplexed, even though that was
not the intention of the Supreme Lord. In this verse, Arjuna
pleads with Lord Krishna to distinguish further between these
paths and explain which is superior, and which provides
sanctuary by leading to the final destination. Arjuna does not ask
these questions for just himself. He asks them for people in
general, who, for instance, are totally confused because of
modern atheistic and fraudulent religious duties.
Once, in Mahābhārata, Arjuna told a story to Yudhishthira
Mahārāja about some young brāhmanas who had gone to the
forest, having abandoned their duties they resolved to live a
renounced life. Indra came to them in the form of a bird and
asked what they were doing. When the brāhmanas told him,
Indra replied:
“This course of action is not approved by scripture. The
Vedās define the brāhmana’s duty. A man who gives up his duty
is condemned and defeated. However, one who performs his duty
only because it has to be done, and who lives on the remnants of
sacrifice after he has made offerings to the Supreme and to
kinsmen, ancestors, gods and guests––that man attains goals

which are normally difficult to achieve. Indeed, there is nothing
more difficult than the life of a dutiful householder, which in the
end leads to genuine detachment from all worldliness. This is the
surest path of righteousness.”
ु ाच
ल८केऽ्थमत्वववविा तन्ठा परु ा र८् ा मयानघ।
्ानय८गेन सा््यानां कमाय८गेन य८धगनाम ् ॥३॥
loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayānagha
jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām
Godhead said; loke’smin -- in this world; dvi-vidhā -- two types;
niṣṭhā -- of faith; purā -- in the past; proktā -- has said; mayā --
by Me; anagha -- O sinless one; jñāna-yogena-sāṅkhyānāṁ --
the process of empirical knowledge by which one is linked with
the Supreme; karma-yogena -- by the linking process of
devotion; yoginām -- yogis or devotees.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: O sinless
Arjuna, previously I have said that there are two types of
faith, these pertain to either the process of experimental
philosophical knowledge by which one is linked with the
Supreme, or to the devotional activities.
ANNOTATION: jnāna-yoga is the process by which spiritual
knowledge is disseminated according to the analytical study of
the elements of material nature. For this reason, jnāna-yoga may
appear to be superior to karma-yoga. However, Lord Krishna
maintains that Arjuna is not qualified to practice either jnāna-
yoga or sānkhya-yoga at this point of time, consequently the
Lord recommends that Arjuna practices karma-yoga.
The Supreme Lord Krishna says that in this world (loke),
there are two types of faithful people. First, with reference to the
word sānkyanam, the Lord explains that there are those who
Karma Yoga 221
renounce the responsibility of family life and society to fully

cultivate transcendental knowledge (jnāna), and to contemplate
and meditate on the Supreme Brahman, like Sanat Kumaras.
Second, there are those who adhere to the guidelines of family
life according to the Vedic injunctions, and cultivate devotional
service to the Lord, like King Janaka (who is referred to in this
verse with the word yoginam). Both types of faithful people are
firmly situated in righteousness.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead informs
Arjuna that he is not qualified for renunciation, like Sanat
Kumaras, but he can perform auspicious activities for the benefit
of the world, like King Janaka. People who are eligible for
karma-yoga are thus able to direct their actions to the protection
and benefit of the world, as is desired by the Lord. In addition to
the renounced, such people are also considered yogis, men of
equanimity and devotion. Demigods, for example, are jnāna-
yogis, but because of their administrative responsibilities for the
universe, they too engage in karma-yoga.
Many rulers have become situated as yogis and have
become men of knowledge by following the injunctions of the
Vedic scriptures and by following the practical wisdom and the
desires of the Supreme Lord. Such wisdom is accessible through
a spiritual master that is authorized by disciplic succession. An
example of such a yogi is seen in king Priyavrata, the son of
Svayambhava Manu, who was once the emperor of the universe
and was engaged in unlimited material activities with total
spiritual knowledge, as described in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 5.1.23.
“Following the order of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Mahārāja Priyavrata, fully engaged in worldly affairs,
yet he always thought of the lotus feet of the Lord, which are the
cause of liberation from all material attachment. Although
Priyavrata Mahārāja was completely freed from all material
contamination, he ruled the material world just to honor the
orders of his superiors”.
One cannot obtain freedom from material miseries without
being engaged in selfless service or without cultivating spiritual
knowledge. However, some people become fundamentalists,

since they do not have real philosophy in their faith and their
religious practice simply involves following rituals. Their
mistake is in not understanding that one cannot become fully
spiritual or religious merely by executing rituals. All spiritual
practitioners shall know God by spiritual science and philosophy.
Moreover, all philosophers must have God in their philosophy,
otherwise their understanding and their overall philosophy will
remain very dry and without goals. For instance, some holy texts
say that God created the universe, which is correct, but they do
not provide a vivid philosophical or scientific explanation of how
God did so. Such an explanation is important, especially
nowadays, since, materially educated men often want a full
scientific explanation of God's creation, or else they are no
longer interested in religion. Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam both provide a vivid scientific and philosophical
explanation of God’s (Krishna's) creation.
When we talk about Krishna creating the universe, we
should not think of the name ‘Krishna’ as sectarian. The whole
world discusses Krishna's philosophy, according to different
times, places and circumstances. We know this because God is
one, there cannot be many Gods. He is, therefore, addressed in
different names in different countries, and it is always Him, they
are addressing, whether they call Him Allah, Jehovah, or Christ,
etc. The name Krishna is all attractive, however, it has nothing to
do with any sectarian religious conviction.
TEXT 4 न कमाणामनार्भातन्क्यं पुु ष८ऽ्नु ।े
न च सततयसनादे व भस्धिं समधिग्छत ॥४॥
na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣkarmyaṁ puruṣo ’śnute
na ca sannyasanād eva siddhiṁ samādhigacchati
na -- not; karmaṇām -- prescribed Vedic duties; anārambhān --
without first performing; naiṣkarmyaṁ -- freedom from reaction
of actions; puruṣo -- a man; aśnute -- can achieve; na -- not; ca --
also; sannyāsanād-eva -- simply renunciation; siddhiṁ --
achieve; samādhigacchati -- attains.
Karma Yoga 223
One cannot achieve freedom from reaction simply by

refraining from work; a man cannot achieve excellence by
pure renunciation.
ANNOTATION: All work produces reactions, but because of
these reactions, one cannot give up work altogether, why?
Because there are reactionary forces, which compel everyone to
engage in their different respective activities. According to the
guidance of Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, in order to
stop reactions altogether, one must perform activities for the
satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. It is like working for a
company, work shall be for the happiness of the owner. If the
owner is not pleased, one will not be rewarded properly.
Similarly, the activities of the soul must be for the pleasure of the
Supersoul. This injunction is even more accurate for the
grhastas, who are engaged in materialistic activities, such as
maintaining and protecting their family members, eating,
indulging in sex life and recreation. ‘karma’ means to engage in
materialistic activities, work hard and make money for oneself.
As soon as a person acquires money, he tries to enjoy the fruits
of these kinds of activities, for example, buying a new apartment,
car or home-theater. This is karma and it produces ample amount
of both unpleasant and subtle varieties of suffering in one’s life.
karma-yoga means offering the results of one’s work to the
Supreme Person, and thereby linking with the supreme. This is
the meaning of yoga. It is said that activities, which are approved
in the Vedic scriptures, and are performed without expectation
for reward, are conducive to spiritual development. Without first
appreciating this fact, one cannot be qualified for jnāna-yoga or
for the cultivation of transcendental knowledge. Many people
may desire freedom from misery of the material world and may
consequently endeavor to renounce the world, but they will not
attain perfection merely through any kind of superficial
renunciation of the world and whatever work they do. Before
being properly trained in renunciation, any such endeavor is
immature. This is verified in this verse by the words na ca
sannyāsanad eva, meaning: not merely by renunciation. So, it

should be understood that without purification of material
existence and without cultivating sufficient spiritual knowledge,
a person who is supposedly renounced is not properly qualified
for jnāna-yoga, despite their external appearances and whether
they are dressed as a sannyāsi. Rather, the term ‘renunciation’ is
primarily for the one who exclusively engages in service to the
magnificent Supreme Lord Krishna, and not for the one who
accepts the sannyās order of life and still continues his
materialistic sinful activities. Everyone, including householders,
may be considered as renounced members as long as they engage
in devotional service to Krishna, the all opulent Supreme
TEXT 5 न ह क््च्षणमवप ्ा ु त ्ठ्यकमाकृ ्।

काया े ्यवशः कमासवाः रकृत ्गण
ुा ः॥५॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ
na -- not; hi -- certainly; kaścit -- any; kṣaṇam api -- even for a
moment; jātu -- at any time; tiṣṭhaty -- remains; akarma-kṛt --
without doing anything; kāryate -- compelled to do work; hy --
certainly; avaśaḥ -- helplessly; sarvaḥ karma -- all work; prakṛti-
jair -- born out of modes of nature; guṇaiḥ -- by the qualities.
No one can abstain from work not even for a second,
certainly, everyone is helplessly compelled to work according
to one’s acquired quality of the three modes of material
nature.
ANNOTATION: jīva shakti (living energy), the spirit soul is
always active; jada shakti (inert matter), is never active. The
nature of the soul, jīva shakti, is to be always active in all
dimensions, according to the influence of material modes of
nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance. Silence for the
soul is not recommended by the Lord. There are two types of
activities: one is to serve the Supreme Lord directly; the other is
Karma Yoga 225
to serve His material energy, called Illusion or māya, which is an

indirect form of service. The Lord recommends service to Him,
so that we may be free from the reactions of our actions. Service
to material energy or māya, alternatively, is the bondage which
keeps us in the cycle of repeated birth and death. The Lord says
that no one can become inactive, even for a second because
everyone is influenced by the material modes of nature, or
prakriti, because of this, they are bound to act. Hence, even if
one tries to stay silent, these modes of nature make them to act.
It is always better to engage in the prescribed activities of
the transcendental subject matters in Krishna consciousness, and
to do this while abstaining from the desire for reward. Moreover,
for those who desire the fruits for their services, they must offer
the results of their actions to all powerful Personality of
Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, so that they may be free from
reactions.
sannyāsis conduct and propagate devotional service of the
Supreme Lord Krishna everywhere. However, they should not
insult their saffron dress through social services such as the
building of hospitals or schools. These works are done by the
government and by philanthropists, and is not the duty of
sannyāsis. In this regard, the division of labor must be respected.
Thus, as there is a need in the world for engineers, doctors,
scientists, politicians and businessmen, etc., there is also a need
for sannyāsis to spread the message of the Bhagavad-Gītā and
Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Promoting social services independent of
God is exhibition of a kind of rebellious nature against God.
Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is the original proprietor and master
of all material elements and souls. Therefore, everyone shall
engage in glorifying the Supreme Lord for He grants all the
facilities to the human society.
A sannyāsi do not sit idle in one place and take care of his
own liberation. People must be informed about their
constitutional position, that they are the eternal servants of
Krishna. Because they are unaware of this truth, humans have
engaged in all kinds of sinful and pious activities. Their frivolous
behavior causes them to descend to hellish or ascend to heavenly

situations at the end of their life, awarding lower or higher forms
in the next life. The world is entangled in sheer materialism, in
the thought that the acquisition of maximum wealth for the sense
gratification is the only goal of life. Once, such people have
sufficient accumulation of wealth, they try to use it to neutralize
their suffering. Yet, they are so blind that they cannot even see
the millions of rich and poor people who are destroyed everyday
just like bubbles destroyed by successive ocean waves. They do
not seem to understand that despite their desires to avoid death,
no one is excluded from nature’s actions. Moreover, they do not
understand that it is through the devotional service to Krishna,
one is protected from imminent death and birth. It is, therefore,
essential for the sannyāsis and brahmachāries to widely
disseminate the science of God, and understand the significance
of the devotional service, which is their prescribed duty.
A sannyāsi who forms a social institution without the
intention of spiritualizing those institutions is not in the
renounced order of life. A sannyāsi is a spiritualist, and he must
know the essence of God. He who does not understand the
Supreme Person, Lord Krishna, philosophically, cannot be a
sannyāsi.
TEXT 6 कमे्तरयाणण संय्य य आथ े मनसा थमरन ्।
इ्तरयािाा्तवमढ
ू ा्मा भम्याचारः स उ्य ॥
े ६॥
karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyāchāraḥ sa uchyate
karmendriyāṇi -- the five working senses; saṁyamya -- having
controlling; ya āste -- anyone who remains; manasā smaran --
thinking by the mind; indriyārthān -- of sense objects;
vimūḍhātmā -- foolish living entity; mithyāchāraḥ -- hypocrite;
sa – he; uchyate -- is called.
He who abstains from work and from experiencing the
sensations associated with work, but whose mind is engaged
in thinking about sense objects, is certainly a foolish person,
and is called a hypocrite.
Karma Yoga 227
ANNOTATION: One must abstain from sense gratification by

realizing that one is the soul not this physical body. If this
fundamental realization has not been established, then a person
may inevitably think that they are the product of the material
cosmic manifestation, and they will try to enjoy the various
forms of materiality of sound, touch, form, taste and smell. These
five varieties of objects have been manifested in hundreds and
thousands of different ways to give pleasure to the body of
materially conscious beings. For them, even the purpose of
meditation and yoga is to serve the senses.
There are many meditators, who have been accredited with
a ‘rubber stamp qualification’ which attracts trend-seeking
followers. They use their so-called meditation, to assist
practitioners to reduce fat and increase muscles, so that they can
enjoy relationships. Some other bluffers do magic. Through
many tricks they produce apples, gold and vibhūti, etc.
Moreover, without referring to the standard scriptures, many
allegedly renounced monks misguide their followers by
presenting themselves as God. These so-called so called
spiritualists do not know who God is and give no importance to
the injunctions given in the scriptures. While meditating on the
void, these pretenders run all over making money, investing in
the black market to double their money. Such ‘swāmis’ have no
idea of the true meaning of meditation, yoga and the art of dying.
The purpose of yoga and meditation is to achieve self-realization
or God realization and to help deliver followers from the cycle of
repeated birth and death. Without such a goal in front of them, all
their endeavors to teach and preach spiritual subjects are
convoluted, and they are known as pretenders by the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. In Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 11-2-42, it explains thus:
bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir
anyatra caiṣa trika eka-kālaḥ
prapadyamānasya yathāśnataḥ syus
tuṣṭiḥ puṣṭiḥ kṣud-apāyo ’nu-ghāsam
“Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and

detachment from other material things; these three occur
simultaneously for one who has taken shelter in the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure,
nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and
increasingly, with each bite, for a person who is eating.”
Everything is judged by its results. A true yogic practitioner
should be totally free from material desires, which is the first
sign of a meditator. If a person is completely submerged in the
desire to enjoy the various forms of material opulence, their
meditations cannot provide blessings to their followers, or grant
their wishes, but will only deceive and misguide them. In Kali-
yuga, apart from professional yoga teachers, there are hundreds
of professional Bhāgavata saptaha reciters, who maintain their
family with the reward given by the temples, which organize
their work. Such speakers cannot change the heart of the
audience. After finishing their seven day saptaha, once again the
audience indulges in meat eating, smoking and in the intoxication
of alcohol. This practice is known as a kunjara sochava, an
elephant's bath: an elephant takes a bath for a long time in a lake,
yet, when it comes out of the water, it immediately throws mud
all over its body. Thus, while some people demonstrate yogic
meditation by profession, their hearts are full of desires to enjoy
sense gratification, and their demonstrations of deep meditation
are only a falsification. In spite of their prolonged yoga practices
and their so-called spiritual recitation of the Bhāgavatam, their
hearts remain callous to spiritual perfection. Lord Krishna,
therefore, calls such yogis and saintly people as the hypocrites.
TEXT 7 य्थ्व्तरयाणण मनसा तनय्यारभ ऽे ्ुन
ा ।
कमे्तरयः कमाय८गमस् ः सववभश्य े ॥७॥
yas tv indriyāṇi manasā niyamyārabhate ’rjuna
karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam asaktaḥ sa viśiṣyate
yastv -- but anyone; indriyāṇi -- the senses; manasā -- by
the mind; niyamyā -- to be restrained; ārabhate -- begins; arjuna
-- O Arjuna; karmendriyaiḥ -- by the active senses; karma-yogam
Karma Yoga 229
-- linking the action with the Supreme; asaktaḥ -- free from

worldly attachment; sa viśiṣyate -- he is best among others.
But anyone who begins to restrain his active senses from the
worldly attachment by the mind and engages in karma-yoga
is best among others.
ANNOTATION: Married householders can be far superior to the
so-called swāmis and yogis, who often accept sannyās, but,
nonetheless, are subtly engaged in thinking about women and
money for their own gratification and self-esteem. Married
couples can, alternatively, do so many different activities with
and for their family. They can maintain their household, raising
children and take care of their elders. They can also make money
and offer food to Lord Krishna, and try to worship Him with
water and Tulasi. They can also be in Krishna consciousness by
chanting Hare Krishna mahā-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma
Hare Hare. The senses are always active and will always make a
person inclined to enjoy the body in the presence of the soul.
However, as the mind is superior to the senses and body, it can
make a person think, feel and will towards spiritual realization.
In this way, the mind is able to control the senses, and enable one
to begin karma-yoga, without attachment.
By diverting the attention of the senses away from sense
objects, and by controlling the mind, one becomes eligible for the
contemplation of the spiritual self. Thus, when the mind is
unattached to material desires, a person can gradually become
qualified for meditation on the soul. For those who are entangled
in material duties, the discipline of karma-yoga and the practice
of selfless actions are, therefore, essential for spiritual
development
TEXT 8 तनय ं कुु कमा ्वं कमा ्याय८ ्यकमाणः।
शरीरयारावप च े न रभस््येदकमाणः॥८॥
niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ
śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasidhyed akarmaṇaḥ
niyataṁ -- prescribed; kuru -- execute; karma -- duties; tvaṁ --

your; karma -- actions; jyāyo -- are better; hy -- certainly;
akarmaṇaḥ -- not performing; śarīra-yātrāpi -- even external
bodily maintenance; ca -- also; te -- your; na -- never;
prasiddhyed -- will not be possible; akarmaṇaḥ -- cease working.
Execute your prescribed duties, one cannot maintain one’s
external body without working, the work of authorized duties
is better than the cessation of work altogether.
ANNOTATION: One should perform one’s duty according to
one’s qualities and the nature of one’s work. In Vedic culture,
there are four social orders which are meant to maintain harmony
in social life. These are: brāhmana, the teacher class; kshatriya,
the administrative or warrior class; vaishya, the farmer, banking
and business class; and, sūdra, the labor class, who are servants
of the previous three classes. In Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and
hypocrisy, the social classes are completely mixed-up.
Intellectual classes have begun taking jobs in banking, the
business sector and other fields. Labor classes are recruited as
administrators and commanders. Warrior classes have become
laborers and farmers. Farmers and labors are also found in
military and politics.
Because of the differences in all these varnās, people do not
adhere exclusively to their prescribed duties, as they are given in
the scriptures. Consider how a lawyer in the court is supposed to
abide by the precedents set in a country’s law books, since it is
unadvisable to have a whimsical or arbitrary presentation that
does not refer to such law books. In a similar way, when people
live outside scriptural injunctions, their lives are artificial, and
they are forced to suffer the consequences of their actions.
Forgetting this simple truth, people have made their goal in
life to satisfy their hunger by any means. And when people think
that their goal is to make money and live opulently, they do not
mind to be without the discipline and instruction of the
scriptures. Yet, although their goal is high living, but they are not
thinking at all about the perfection of human life.
Karma Yoga 231
These mix-ups began happening fifty centuries ago, at the

end of Dwāpara-yuga, when people started taking jobs in
different departments without appropriate qualifications. In the
Mahābhārata, the emperor Yudhishthira could see that because
of the mixture of different classes it was becoming exceedingly
difficult to determine people’s varna. Therefore, to reliably
determine what class a person belongs today, one cannot appeal
to what varna they were born into it, rather, one can only defer to
a person’s qualities and to the kind of work that person is most
suited for. Arjuna’s prescribed duty as a kshatriya was to protect
the citizens from Duryodhana’s evil administration.
Consequently, it would be appropriate for him to fear incurring
sin, he also should be successful in carrying his duty and stop
Duryodhana.
Nowadays, the instructions of the scriptures are taken
superficially. Some people even misunderstand the words of
Lord Krishna. They think that Lord Krishna made this caste
distinction and now society is suffering due to His prejudicial
explanation of social classes in the Bhagavad-Gītā. The fact is,
however, that Lord Krishna never divided the social classes
based on one’s position of birth or the country in which he lives,
as He emphasized to Arjuna fifty centuries ago. The Lord had
already created the social orders and spiritual orders at the
beginning of the creation. Both varna and āsrama are still
prevalent all over the universe in spite of the leaders rejecting
these matters.
If some group do not want to follow this system, then their
only alternative option is to submission in complete cooperation
with the Supreme Godhead. Such people, then, will be called
devotees of the Lord, who are neither brāhmana, kshatriya,
vaishya, nor sūdra. Socially, although a person may be of low
birth, by becoming a devotee of Krishna, they can surpass all
social and spiritual orders. Thus, in the dark age of Kali-yuga,
one has hope to be fully independent of these varna and āsrama,
when he becomes completely God conscious. When one
becomes completely immersed in Krishna bhakti, the varnās will
have no social effect on such devotees. With this devotional

attitude, one can easily perfect one’s life while crossing between
social systems and religious dogmas. Lord Sri Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu said:
nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kāmalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ
“I am not a brāhmana, kshatriya, vaishya or sūdra, I am not a
brahmachāri, grhastha, vanaprastha or sannayāsi. What am I? I
am the eternal servant of the servant of the servant of Lord
Krishna.”
The prescribed duties are specifically for the maintenance of
one’s physical body. Yet, because it is becoming increasingly
difficult to receive suitable work in this Kali-yuga, one must take
up the bhakti yoga or krishna yoga process. This is described by
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, in
the next few verses. One can follow His directions to become
perfect in this world and in the next.
TEXT 9 य्ािाा्कमाण८ऽतयर ल८क८ऽयं कमाबतिनः।

दिं कमा क९त य
े म्
ु स्गः समाचर॥९॥
yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya mukta-saṅgaḥ samāchara
yajñārthāt -- sacrifice performed for satisfaction of the Supreme

Lord; karmaṇo anyatra -- except for actions; loko -- world; yaṁ -
- this; karma-bandhanaḥ -- is bond by actions; tad-arthaṁ -- for
the purpose of sacrifice; karma -- work; kaunteya -- O son of
Kunti; mukta-saṅgaḥ -- liberated from entanglement; samāchara
-- perfectly.
Actions must be performed as a sacrifice for the Supreme
Lord Vishnu, if not, then they cause bondage to all people in
material existence. O son of Kunti, execute your prescribed
Karma Yoga 233
activities for the pleasure of the Lord and be always free

from bondage.
ANNOTATION: Here, the Lord explains that one should
sacrifice everything for the satisfaction of Lord Vishnu. Instead
of working hard to acquire funds for enjoying material life,
which causes bondage in material existence, the Supreme Lord
says yajnā-arthāt, meaning: actions that are performed as an
offering for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord Vishnu without
fruitive desires, are the only actions that free one from material
bondage. This, however, does not indicate that one should give
up their job. Rather, one should use the results of one’s work in
the service of the Lord.
When a place for Vishnu is made at home, the house
becomes a temple. Cooking and offering Him food is also yajnā.
Human beings are bound to material nature by their actions.
They perform unauthorized activities, which are not
recommended in the scriptures. However, yajnā is the
performance of activities that are prescribed in the Vedic
scriptures for human beings to satisfy the Supreme Lord. In this
verse, the word sanga means attachment. When actions are
performed for one’s personal interest, the attachment will be
obvious. But when that service is done as an offering to the
Supreme Lord, one becomes free from attachment. All activities
should be, then, performed as offerings to Lord Vishnu, without
expectation of any reward. One’s activities are thereby sanctified
through acts of worship, done for the pleasure of the yajnā-
purusha, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. In
recognizing such devotion from a devotee, the Supreme Lord
will purify the devotee from all material contaminations from
inside. By following this path one can achieve self-realization.
It is now revealed that all people, from all divisions of
society, without exception, must nourish themselves with food
that has been offered as yajnā to the yajnā purusha in exclusive
worship of Lord Vishnu; as the Vedās instruct, yajno vai vishnu.
In other words, the same purpose is served whether one performs
prescribed yajnās or one directly serves Lord Vishnu. As it is

prescribed in this verse, Krishna yoga is, therefore, a
performance of yajnā.
The varna-āsrama institution also aims at satisfying Lord
Vishnu. Varna-āsrama āchāravata purusena parah pumān,
vishnur arādhyate: nothing should be performed for one’s own
sense gratification, but everything should be done for the
satisfaction of Vishnu. This practice will not only save one from
the reactions of work, but also gradually elevate one to
transcendental loving service of the Lord, which alone can raise
one to the Kingdom of God.
The Vishnu form of Krishna is the yajnā purusha. There is
no difference between Krishna and Vishnu. Rather, as is
described by the previous bonafide spiritual masters (achāryas),
a man may have two different moods. When he is at home he has
a natural loving and affectionate mood towards his wife and
children, but when he goes to his office, then he has a serious
‘official mood’, even with his wife, when she visits the office.
Similarly, the original form of God is Krishna who is always in
the ‘home mood’, yet when Krishna leaves His house for
managing affairs He is Vishnu. All kinds of yajnās are done out
of duty, and are god-fearing, therefore, all those yajnā are
accepted by Lord Vishnu; Krishna only accepts devotees’
spontaneous services that are rendered by complete love.
Apart from one’s prescribed actions, one should also chant
the holy name of the Lord, this is the sacrifice for the age of
Kali-yuga:
'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare'
Five hundred years ago, Haridasa Thakura was born to a
Muslim family and received the name Ibrahim. During the Mugal
administration, the first period of Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s
associates, Srila Haridasa took up chanting the holy name and
chanted 300,000 times every day. The Muslim king captured him
for changing his religion. The king asked why Ibrahim did
Karma Yoga 235
change his religion. Ibrahim replied that so many Hindus were

forced to be Muslim, if one Muslim chants Krishna’s name, what
is the loss for the king? The angry king ordered his soldiers to
beat him in 22 market places and kill him. The soldiers started
executing the orders of the king and beat him in 22 market
places. Miraculously nothing happened to Ibrahim, not even a
blood stain appeared on his body, nor did he feel any pain. The
soldiers were shocked, and worried and requested Ibrahim to die.
They said, if Haridasa didn't die the king would have them killed.
So Ibrahim or Haridasa Thakura agreed, by chanting the holy
name of Krishna loudly, he went into a samādhi- trance (which is
similar in appearance to death). The soldiers were happy and
brought the body to the king, the king Chand Kazi then ordered
them to throw the dead body into the powerful river Ganges. The
soldiers threw him in the Ganges and, after floating awhile,
Haridasa Thakura came back from the samādhi- trance and came
out of the water! This is the power of the holy name. All should,
therefore, chant the holy name of the Lord with full faith and
God will protect them. He will do so regardless of what religion
they practice. According to Vedic scriptures this is the perfect
yajnā for this age of Kali-yuga for all humanity at large.
TEXT 10 स य्ाः र्ाःस्ृ ्वा परु ८वाच र्ापत ः।

अनेन रसवव्य्वमेष व८ऽ्थ्व्िकामिुक् ॥१०॥
saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ

anena prasaviṣyadhvam eṣa vo ’stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk
saha -- together with; yajñāḥ -- sacrifices; prajāḥ -- generations;
sṛṣṭvā -- after creating; puro -- in the beginning of the formation
of the universe; uvācha -- said; prajāpatiḥ -- the father of
mankind, Lord Brahma; anena -- by this; prasaviṣyadhvam --
may you prosperous; eṣa -- seeking; vo -- your; stv -- so be it;
iṣṭa -- of all desirable things; kāma-dhuk -- bestower.
During the formation of the universe, the father of mankind
Lord Brahma, sent forth generations of men and demigods as
a sacrifice to the Supreme Lord, saying may you prosper and

let these sacrifices bestow all that is desirable for you.
ANNOTATION: In the Vedic scriptures the term Prajāpati is
used to describe Supreme Lord Krishna because He was the only
person present before the creation of the universe. However, in
this verse, Lord Krishna is referred to as the Lord of creatures
and Lord Brahma is referred to as progenitor (Prajāpati) as He
sent demigods and human beings to the material world as a
sacrifice for Lord Vishnu. This sacrifice would bring full
blessings of happiness for those engaged in the sacrifice of yajnā
purusha, Lord Vishnu. Demigods and human beings would
benefit by cooperating with each other in the performance of
sacrifices, this is able to fulfill all of human and demigods’
desires.
It is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam that all living
souls are put in the material world for the reformation of their
material consciousness. All living souls are eternal children of
Lord Krishna, but they were placed in the material world to
suffer due to their rebellious character. All living entities,
beginning with Brahma, Indra, Chandra, Agni and Varuna, are
empowered universal administrators by Lord Krishna. Yet, many
have forgotten their relationship with Krishna, the original yajnā
purusha, and are suffering the consequences of their
disobedience to the Absolute Majestic Personality of Godhead.
However, in the form of Varāha avatara or Boar incarnation, the
Majestic Lord accepts their yajnā and purifies their contaminated
consciousness, reinstating them to pure spiritual consciousness.
In the present age, the only successful yajnā is sankirtana
yajnā, the chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna and Lord
Rāma in congregation. This has a powerful effect on any kind of
material situation. Thus, it is said in Sri-Chaitanya Charitamrta:
nama vinu kali-kale nahi ara dharma sarva-mantra-sara nama,
ei sāstra-marma, “in this age of Kali, there is no religious
principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the
essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.”
Karma Yoga 237
Chanting Hare Krishna mahā-mantra on beads is highly

recommended by all scritpures. As Lord Krishna says, yajnānam
japa-yajno 'smi: of all sacrifices I am japa – chanting the holy
name. Anyone who feels that they have fallen from grace by
committing sinful activities knowingly or unknowingly, can still
be freed from all kinds of such activities by constant chanting of
the holy name of Krishna and Rāma. They should continue to
chant until a bliss of love for Krishna awakens in their heart.
When such feeling consistently takes place in the heart of the
chanter, it means he is freed from all kinds of sinful activities.
This is the only method to completely revive one’s lost spiritual
consciousness; jivere svarupa hoy krishnere nitya das, souls are
eternally the servant of Lord Krishna and, consequently only the
master can deliver His servants. In this consciousness, one is
permitted to enter into the Kingdom of God, at the time of
material death, where Lord Krishna eternally resides.
TEXT 11 दे वातभावय ानेन े दे वा भावयत व

ु ः।
परथपरं भावयत ः रेयः परमवातथयि॥११॥
devān bhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ
parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ param avāpsyatha
devān -- demigods; bhāvayatā -- are being propitiated; nena -- by
this sacrifice to the Supreme Lord; te -- they; devā -- demigods;
bhāvayantu vaḥ -- will please you; parasparaṁ -- cooperation;
bhāvayantaḥ -- pleasing; śreyaḥparam -- the Supreme
benediction; avāpsyatha -- you will all obtain.
The demigods who are satisfied by the sacrifices will also
satisfy you, and by the mutual cooperation between men and
demigods, you will all obtain the Supreme benediction.
ANNOTATION: Demigod worship is recommended in the
upāsana kānda of the Vedās. Demigods are the empowered
administrators of the material affairs of the material universe.
Yet, because they have material bodies made of material
elements, worshipping demigods is not spiritual, but a material
practice. There are a minimum of thirty three million, or 3.3

crores, of demigods and a minimum of thirty three million
planets in the outer space. They are all visible at night as the
glittering stars, clustered together in the sky. Each and every one
of them is a higher planet because they were situated thousands
and millions of miles away, they are apparently tiny. President of
these planets are demigods. But due to human beings’ limited
understanding, they are unable to see them as they are. However,
according to Srimad-Bhāgavatam, as quoted by Srila
Prabhūpāda, they are different planets and predominating deities
with their countless subjects dwell in each of them. The chief
executive of the planets supply water, air, light, food, money,
clothing, etc. to all the people of fourteen divisions of planetary
systems.
The seven higher planets are Bhūr-loka, Bhuvar-loka,
Svarga-loka, Jana-loka, Mahar-loka, Tapo-loka, and the topmost
planet is Satya-loka, where Lord Brahma resides. The earth
planet is situated in the Bhūr-loka planetary system. Rākshasas
(cannibals with fierce character) and ghosts reside in the Bhuvar-
loka planetary system, but all demigods reside in the heavenly
(svarga-loka) planetary system. Beneath the earth, there are
seven lower planetary systems, which are habited by the demons
and powerful materialistic living beings, most of whom have no
clue regarding the existence of God or His energies. They are
Tala, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rasatala, and Pātala loka.
These are the planetary systems of one universe, and there are
billions of universes in the brahmajyoti. yasya prabhā
prabhāvato jagad-anda koti (Brahma samhita. 5.40), and an
anda koti means limitless number of universes and planets. For
each universe there are millions of planets with powerful chiefs
and elegant subordinates. Each universe is different from the
other in height, length and width. The demigods are the heads of
the planets, and are the assistants of the one Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. In this way, there is one
Personality of Godhead, yet there are many demigods. When
Karma Yoga 239
someone is not in knowledge of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, they satisfy the demigods by yajnā process. In return,
Indra and other demigods from diverse planets are happy with
the human beings perform yajnā and they supply them with all
the necessities of life. Human beings and demigods thereby serve
each other and material prosperity reigns for both. It is thus
understood, in the Vedās, that living beings perform their
sacrifices in a similar way to paying taxes to the government, but
since the worship of demigods is not spiritual, the worshiper is
forced to take birth and die in the material world again.
However, the real enjoyer of all sacrifices is the Absolute
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, the head of the
supreme government. Therefore, one should not think that the
demigods are independent proprietors, benefactors, friends or
enjoyers of the manifested world. One must think of Lord
Krishna as the real enjoyer and benefactor. This is the
fundamental principle of yajnā. As it is said in the Isopanishad 1-
6:
anejad ekam manaso javiyo
nainad devan apnuvan purvam arshat
tad dhāvato 'nyan atyeti tishthāt
tasminn apo matarisva dadhāti
“Although fixed in His abode, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can surpass
all others’ running. The powerful demigods cannot approach
Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the
air, rain and He surpasses all in excellence”.
TEXT 12 इ्िातभ८गा्त व८ दे वा दाथयत े य्भावव ाः।

दा तानरदाय्य८ य८ भ्
ु ् े थ न
े एव सः॥१२॥
iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ
iṣṭān bhogān -- desired necessities of life; hi -- surely; vo -- he
who; deva -- the demigods; dāsyante -- will grant; yajña-
bhāvitāḥ -- being satisfied by the act of sacrifices unto the

Supreme Lord; tair dattān -- these given necessities;
apradāyaibhyo -- without offering to the demigods; yo bhuṅkte --
he who enjoys; stena eva saḥ -- certainly he is a bandit.
The demigods, who are in charge of the different supplies for
life, are pleased by acts of sacrifice to the Supreme Lord and
will bestow requirements on you. One who enjoys these
necessities without making offerings to the demigods first, is
surely a bandit.
ANNOTATION: There are five kinds of daily yajnās, or
sacrifices, which are performed by all civilized human beings:
1) brahma yajnā – study of the Vedic scriptures
2) pitr yajnā – offering vegetarian foods to the ancestors
3) deva yajnā – offering of oblations to the demi-gods
4) bhūta yajnā – offering blessings to all created beings
5) nara-yajnā – showing hospitality to any guest that comes
across their house
When men perform these sacrifices, the demigods will be
pleased, and the happy demigods will shower prosperity upon
their devotees. There are many things one needs to live
comfortably in this life: grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar,
rain, wind, Sun, Moon, herbs, medicines, wood, cotton, clothes,
jewels, precious stones, gold, silver, steel, iron, chemicals, etc.
None of these are made by man, rather, they are supplied by the
demigods who are the immediate agents of the Supreme Person.
These things can make men rich, beautiful, knowledgeable,
famous, powerful and opulent.
Consider how ministers are able to offer opulent facilities to
citizens. They are able to do so because of their cooperation with
citizens and citizens pay taxes to the government treasury, and in
return the ministers offer citizens with facilities that are paid for,
by the State treasury, which makes it possible for citizens to earn
more.
Karma Yoga 241
Yet, people who enjoy these opulent facilities are not

independent from the State or the Federal Government and their
independence depends on how much they abide by State and
Federal laws. In this sense, acting to control one’s whimsical
urges by being obedient to the State and one’s seniors is also a
kind of sacrifice.
Men pay taxes in the form of sacrifice to the demigods, and
demigods supply all necessary requirements for their lives.
However, if men enjoy the blessed rewards given by them, but
do not perform pancha yajnā to satisfy the demigods, they will
soon run out of their piety of sacrifice. In their next lives, they
will be born poor, unhealthy or uneducated.
The Supreme Lord Krishna compares those who do not
perform sacrifices to thieves. A thief is never at peace while
stealing from his master, nor will he be given any comfort. How
can such a person ever be happy? The original father of sacrifice,
however, is Krishna, who declares aham hi sarva-yajnānam
bhokta ca prabhūr eva ca: ‘I am the only enjoyer and master of
all sacrifices.’ It is, therefore, imperative to offer everything to
the Supreme Lord for His happiness. Since, He has initiated
everything for the comfort of all living beings, He reserves the
result of all worships and yajnās.
TEXT 13 य्भश्िाभशनः सत ८ म्
ु यत े सवाकक््बषः।
भ्
ु ् े े ्वघं पापा ये पचत्या्मकारणा ॥१३॥
्
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo muchyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ -- food partaken after act of sacrifice; santo --
ascetics; muchyante -- get released from; sarva -- all kinds of;
kilbiṣaiḥ -- sins; bhuñjate te -- those who eat only; tv -- but;
aghaṁ -- sins; pāpā -- those who commit sins; ye -- who;
pachanty -- prepare food; ātma-kāraṇāt -- own sense
gratification.
Devotees who partake in consuming food after offering it for
sacrifice are relieved from all kinds of sins, but those who
prepare food for their own sense gratification only eat sin.
ANNOTATION: In last three verse Lord Krishna emphasized

offering yajnā to the demigods, without doing so, one will be
called a thief. In this verse, the Lord says that if one is fully
devoted to His service in yajnā, there is no need for offering
yajnā separately to the demigods. This is because He Himself, is
the Supreme Authority. Therefore, there is no need to worship
anyone else, even though there are many, who are superior to
human beings. Consider how if one pays annual taxes to the
government, the government will give the collected taxes to all
other departments of the government. There is no need to pay
separately for a police department, intelligence department,
defense department or an education department, or to raise funds
separately for officials; the government automatically transfers
money to these departments. Similarly, when one is solely
engaged in the service of Lord Krishna who is the original
Vishnu, the Head of the Supreme Government of both material
and spiritual worlds, there is no need to perform separate yajnā
or sacrifice to the demigods or one’s superiors. God is the prime
superior being in the cosmos, if He is satisfied, all other beings in
the cosmos will be automatically satisfied.
There are five kinds of yajnās called pancha suna yajnā
found in Manu samhita 3-68-71. Everyone intentionally or
unintentionally commits five kinds of sinful activities. For
example, when one drinks water from a water jug, many
microscopic germs are killed. When someone uses a grinding
machine to prepare food, many similar living entities die. When
someone sweeps or mops the house many living entities are
killed. When someone lights a fire for cooking, many unseen
living entities are killed. While walking on the street or at home
many ants and other insects are killed. Thus, while doing
different activities, one is always killing, even though it is
unintentional. To be free from the reactions of these type of
sinful activities, it is, therefore, essential for every householder to
perform the pancha-suna sacrifice.
Devotees of Lord Krishna, being in love with Krishna,
make Krishna their center of attraction. To start their yoga and
Karma Yoga 243
daily activities, they do not eat food unless it is offered to the

Lord in sacrifice first. Offering daily prepared food to Lord
Krishna with Tulasi leaves in each item and a glass of water is
also a transcendental sacrifice. Devotees know that all food
grains, vegetables and fruits as well as water are originally
manifested by Krishna for mankind, but out of ignorance or
laziness many people do not offer sacrifice to the Supreme Lord
and instead prepare and eat their food for their own sense
enjoyment. When they do this, they are only eating sin.
The word agham, meaning sin, signifies that there will be
serious consequences for such sins. While ignorant of the path of
self-realization of the soul, people who constantly eat polluted
food guarantee themselves a hellish destination in their next
lives. One understands that eating food is to gather energy to
execute spiritual activities for uplifting the soul. Unfortunately
people are inclined to eat food for sense enjoyment, and thus they
abuse the body. The body is a machine, more the machine is
mishandled; more the life span of the machine deteriorates.
Moreover, one must clearly understand that the observance of
sacrifice is essential for the benefit and welfare of all mankind.
Nowadays, it is fashionable to cook food and distribute to the
general public without offering to Lord Vishnu or Krishna. Even
in a marriage ceremony, after funeral, and other kinds of
festivals, people have the tendency to cook foul food and feed the
invited guests. Such an omission, whether intentional or
accidental, is counterproductive for the entire human race, it is
filled with sinfulness and produces dreadful consequences.
TEXT 14 अतना्भव्त भू ातन प्ातयादतनसंभवः।

य्ा्भवत प्ातय८ य्ः कमासम्
ु भवः॥१४॥
annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ
annād -- from grain; bhavanti -- cultivate; bhūtāni -- the
embodied beings; parjanyād -- from rain; anna -- of food grains;
sambhavaḥ -- production of food; yajñād -- from the
performance of sacrifice; bhavati -- occurs; pārjanyo -- rain;

yajñaḥ -- performance of yajñaḥ; karma -- prescribed Vedic
duties; samudbhavaḥ -- originate from.
All embodied beings survive on food grains, food grains are
cultivated from rain, by performing sacrifices that originate
from prescribed Vedic duties, rainfall occurs.
ANNOTATION: According to the Vedic injunctions, the
Supreme Lord enumerates the qualities of performing sacrifice
and worshiping the Personality of Godhead. He also enumerates
the demerits which are incurred by failing to perform such
sacrifice. It is because of actions that the Earth keeps revolving;
one cannot be idle without performing actions. Therefore, in this
verse, the Supreme Lord emphasizes what kinds of actions are of
good quality for the support of human welfare, and in the next
two verses with the words bhavanti bhūtani, He emphasizes by
what kind of actions living beings are born.
Living beings are born from food which turns into semen,
and their bodies are again nourished by food. Food is produced
by rain, and the rain appears by the performance of sacrifice.
Regarding this, in the Manu samhita 3.76, it stated that clarified
butter (ghee) is suitably offered into a sacrificial fire and
therefore ascends to the sun. Following this, the sun would
manifest clouds for rain. Rain creates food, and from food the
human body is formed by male semen injected into the female
body.
For the soul to live in this body, the body needs to be
maintained every day. The body is just like a car. In order to run
its engine it requires different types of oils as well as water.
Without oil and water the car cannot be driven. Similarly, the
body cannot be sustained without food and water.
Hunger is a form of misery which is only experienced at
times when food is scarce. Unintelligent people think that the
food is for their enjoyment, and therefore make all kinds of food
to enjoy with their family and communities, through parties, etc.
They drive hundreds of miles to seek out food for their sense
Karma Yoga 245
satisfaction. However, this tendency to enjoy food and drink, and

other sense gratification, is an obstacle for their understanding of
the goal of human life. Human beings with material bodies were
sent to this material world with a different purpose, they were
given temporary bodies to fix the mistakes they committed in the
past. Passing their time by partying in different functions,
restaurants, clubs and bars with like-minded individuals, can only
lead such people to an uncomfortable situation after leaving their
present bodies. This type of lifestyle, being without Krishna
consciousness, prepares people to have their next bodies as sub-
human, which forces them to suffer the reactions of all the sense
gratification they enjoyed in the present life.
TEXT 15 कमा र्म८्भवं वव्धि र्माषरसम् ु भवम ्।
थमा्सवाग ं र्म तन्यं य्े रत ््ठ म ्॥१५॥
karma brahmodbhavaṁ viddhi brahmākṣara-samudbhavam
tasmāt sarva-gataṁ brahma nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam
karma -- actions; brahma -- the Vedās; udbhavaṁ -- originated
from; viddhi -- one should understand; brahma -- the Vedās;
ākṣara -- from the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead or
Supreme Brahman; samudbhavam -- come into life again; tasmāt
-- hence; sarva-gataṁ -- Omnipresent; brahma -- Supreme Spirit;
nityaṁ-- everlastingly; yajñe -- in sacrifice; pratiṣṭhitam -- is
established.
All regulated works are originated from the Vedās, and you
should understand that the Vedās are directly manifested
from the Supreme Brahman, the Majestic Personality of
Godhead. Hence, the omnipresent Supreme Spirit is eternally
established in the sacrifice.
ANNOTATION: Action has to be performed for the satisfaction
of the Supreme Lord. Regulated actions are given in the Vedās,
the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna. Veda
means knowledge, and Vedānta means end of knowledge. There
is no knowledge outside of the Vedānta, as given by the Supreme
Being. The Vedānta is, thus, like the universe’s operating
manual.
Electronic devices, for example, come with operating

manuals which describe how to operate them correctly. In a
similar way, the Vedānta is designed to remind people how to
operate their life in this universe. After the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead manifested this universe for conditioned
souls, these souls became forgetful of their origin, as it is
described in the Vedās, krishna bhūliye jīva bhogavancha kare;
forgetting Krishna, living beings develop material desires to
enjoy material varieties.
As the Brahad-Aranyaka Upanishad 4-5-11 explains, the
Vedās originated from His breathing, asya mahato bhūtasya
nisvasitam etad yad rg-vedo yajur-vedah sama-vedo
atharvangirasah: “The four Vedās, namely, the rg veda, yajur
veda, sama veda, and the atharva veda, have all originated from
the breathing of the great Personality of Godhead.” Through the
knowledge of the Vedās, the people of the material universe
know who they are, what the sacrifices and yajnās are, what lives
are, who God is, what ‘ahankāra’ is, what prakriti, material
nature is, and what good and bad karmas are, etc.
By following the instructions of the Vedās, actions can be
purified and one can go back home, back to the Kingdom of God.
The Vedās are unlike the ‘pocket dictionary scriptures’ of man-
made religions. They manifested millions of years ago by the
breathing of the Supreme Lord, while the other religious texts
have merely manifested a few centuries ago due to a decline in
spirituality and devotion for the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. These simple texts provide moral instructions to the
society to correct their irregular and unethical behavior. By
ignoring the knowledge of the Vedās, the People of Kali-yuga,
have based their way of thinking on sense satisfaction, and argue
to establish their philosophical thesis based on superficial sense
perception.
It is described in Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 1.1.10 “O learned
one, in this age of Kali, men have but little lives. They are
quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unfortunate, and, above all, always
disturbed.” These qualities are present in contemporary material
existence and also in the religious movements. All religions are
Karma Yoga 247
trying to establish their religion as the supreme with vague

concept of God, but one must refer to the Vedic texts to
understand the true origin of religion and its purport.
TEXT 16 एवं रवत ा ं चरं नानवु या ी यः।
अघायरु र्तरयाराम८ म८घं पािा स ्ीवत ॥१६॥
evaṁ pravartitaṁ chakraṁ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ
aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati
evaṁ pravartitaṁ -- prescribed and established by the Vedās;
chakraṁ -- sequence; nānuvartayat -- do not follow; iha -- in this
world; yaḥ -- one who; aghāyur -- whose life is full of sins;
indriyārāmo -- pleasure by material sense gratification; moghaṁ
-- wastes; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; sa -- he; jīvati -- human life.
In this world, in the human form of life, one who does not
accept the sequence of Vedic sacrifices established by the
Vedās leads a life full of sin. Living only for the pleasure of
the material senses, such a person wastes his life uselessly. O
son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: There is a direct propaganda in the saying that
‘seeing is believing’. Yet, everyone can see that it is from food,
that all living bodies are born and grow older. All living entities
are working for food, which is produced from rain, and rain is
produced from yajnā or sacrifice, and sacrifice manifests from
the Vedās, and that the Vedās are emanations from the Supreme
Person, Krishna. This cycle of sacrifice is set in motion by the
Lord for the benefit of conditioned souls, fallen in this cycle of
birth and death. However, a materialistic irrational sage
Chārvaka Rsi has spoken in advocacy for human society:
rnam krtva ghrtam pibet yavān jivet sukham jīvet
bhasmi-bhūtasya dehasya kutah punar āgamano bhavet
“As long as you live in this world, live happily by eating ghee,
the clarified butter you acquire by any means, by stealing,
robbing, etc., because after annihilation of the body, there is no
rebirth again.”
This kind of materialistic propaganda, as it is espoused by

this alleged sage, can lead one to a hellish region after this life.
Unfortunately, many people have followed this materialistic
philosophy, but one who likes to enjoy life without being
contaminated or being sinful should follow the regulation of the
scriptures and perform sacrifice regularly as is suggested by the
Lord in the previous verses. It is understood that the enjoyment
of the senses entails a contamination of our original Krishna
consciousness. Therefore, it is essential to purify the polluted
senses and mind, which is possible only by following the
sacrifices described in the scriptures. Otherwise, as the Supreme
Lord Krishna says in this verse, men will live in vain, wasting
their lives uselessly.
An exclusive devotee of Lord Krishna is free from the
merits and demerits of prescribed sacrifices because a devotee’s
life and actions are already centered on the natural course of
satisfying Lord Krishna. Thus, as mentioned earlier, when one
pleases the Supreme Lord directly, there is no duty to demigods,
sages or any other living beings. Since all such classes of living
entities are part and parcels of the Supreme Lord and the Lord
who is the whole of everything, he who has surrendered to the
Lord’s service has no need to serve such persons separately”.
TEXT 17 यथ्वा्मरत रे व थयादा्म तृ ्च मानवः।
आ्मतयेव च सत ्ु िथ थय कायं न वव्य ॥ े १७॥
yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ
ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate
yas -- He who; tv -- but; ātma-ratir -- take pleasure in the soul;
eva -- surely; syād -- stays; ātma-tṛptaś -- self-satisfied; ca --
and; mānavaḥ -- a person; ātmany -- within the self; eva -- only;
ca -- and; santuṣṭas -- fully satisfied; tasya -- for him; kāryaṁ --
performance of duty; na -- does not; vidyate -- there exist.
He whose life is dedicated for realizing the soul, who is fully
satisfied and satiated in the soul alone, and who takes
pleasure in the soul, surely for him there is no duty to
perform.
Karma Yoga 249
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Majestic Lord

explains about the person who is completely free from the bodily
concept of life and acts only on the spiritual platform. Such a
person, sees himself and other living entities as spirit souls, their
goal is to realize that through the soul and the Supersoul alone,
he can attain happiness and be satisfied within himself. Such
devotees do not have any external obligations or material duties
to perform. All living entities are children of Krishna, therefore,
the perfection of their love is culminated in loving Krishna. It is
only by forgetting this original love of God that people have
dispersed their love, so that it is spread out in their families,
societies, cats and dogs, and everything else. However, this kind
of love is cut off in divorce, separation and death. Without loving
God, all love in this world is imperfect and perishable. The so-
called love of this world is based on sense gratification and it is
impermanent.
Everyone enjoys happiness through one of the nine holes or
gates of the body. The business of love continues as long these
nine gates are satisfied by the husband and wife, otherwise
dissatisfaction ensues. The love of this world, therefore, is
artificial. The perfect form of love, instead, requires that one
loves everyone through God. To come to this stage of loving
God, one needs to cease sinful behaviors and cultivate
knowledge about Him from the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam.
By nature, all living entities are pure like rain water, when
the rain water falls on the land and mixes with the dirt, it
becomes muddy. Similarly, all living entities are pure by nature
and due to bad associations they cultivate bad character. When
people associate with good saintly people, they are able to
cultivate and rediscover their original good character, which is
defined by consciousness of Krishna. The Supreme Lord can
help those, who help themselves to come to this transcendental
stage. Without His help and engagement in devotional service to
Him it is impossible to have a blissful life. Although people may
try to achieve happiness in life by doing whatever they want,
their efforts will be in vain because it is impossible for them to

succeed in this way. Those who refuse to follow the simple
instructions given to human beings and are puffed up with
material opulence, will fall down in the material pool and
become degenerated in the next life.
The human form of life is given to realize the soul and God,
not for exploiting the external body. Original consciousness can
be revived by engaging oneself in chanting the holy name, which
is prescribed for the age of Kali-yuga.
‘Kali-yuga’ means the ‘age of misunderstanding’. When
someone misunderstands another person, there is fighting, as
seen in the newspapers and other media. Fighting and killing
occurs every day. The age of Kali-yuga will last 432,000 years.
Out of this astrological figure, only around 5236 years have
passed. Kali-yuga began right after Lord Krishna’s disappearance
from this planet. In order to perfect one’s life in this age, one
must take shelter in the holy name of Krishna, which is
prescribed as a sacrifice for everyone. Neither meditation of
Satya-yuga nor fire sacrifice of Tretā-yuga, nor opulent temple
worship of Dwāpara-yuga will have the same effects of chanting
the Hare Krishna mantra. Lord Brahma instructs his son Nārada
muni in this regard in the Kali-santarana Upanishad 5-6:
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
iti sodasakam namnam kali-kalmasa-nāsanam
natah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate
“The sixteen words of the Hare Krishna mantra are especially
meant to neutralize the sins of Kali-yuga. To protect oneself from
the impurity of this age there is no other substitute but to chant
the Hare Krishna mantra. After searching through all the Vedic
literatures one cannot find a method of religion for this age as
sublime as the chanting of Hare Krishna”.
Moreover, as it is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7):
aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān
yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tūbhyam
Karma Yoga 251
tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā

brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te
“O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name,
although born of a low family like that of a chandala (dog-eater),
is situated on the highest platform of self-realization. Such a
person must have performed all kinds of penances and sacrifices
according to Vedic rituals and studied the Vedic literatures many
times after taking his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage.
Such a person is considered to be the best of the Aryan family”.
TEXT 18 नव थय कृ न
े ािो नाकृ ने े क्चन।
न चाथय सवाभू षे ु क््चदिा्यपारयः॥१८॥
naiva tasya kṛtenārtho nākṛteneha kaścana
na cāsya sarva-bhūteṣu kaścid artha-vyapāśrayaḥ
naiva -- certainly not; tasya -- for him; kṛtenā -- by discharging
of actions; artho -- reason; nā -- nor; akṛtene -- by not
discharging actions; he -- in this world; kaścana -- whatever; na -
- not; cā -- also; asya -- of him; sarva-bhūteṣu -- all living
beings; kaścid -- anyone; artha -- purpose; vyapāśrayaḥ --
depending upon.
In this world, for the self-satisfied person there is no purpose
to be gained by discharging prescribed duties, nor has he any
reason not to perform any such prescribed duties, also, such
a person does not need to depend on any living entities for
anything.
ANNOTATION: No one can be happy in a godless civilization.
In the previous verses the Supreme Lord stated that those who
follow the path of sacrifice, through the daily worship of the
Supreme, will flourish materially and spiritually, while others
will deteriorate. There are many Krishna and Vishnu temples all
over India and outside India, where the Lord accepts services
from His devotees. The Lord can receive worship in different
countries in different forms; churches, synagogues, and mosques
are also the temples or house of God. In all of these temples the
Supreme Lord is glorified.
Worship of the Lord is more effective, and leads to more

immediate effects, when one strictly follows the instructions
within one’s holy books, without adulterating or making changes
to the Holy Scriptures for their convenience. Now, the Supreme
Lord says that those who have gained soul realization by
following the regulative principles of the scriptures have no need
for the performance of sacrifice, and thus, they are transcendental
to following any prescribed duties of the scriptures and for
worshiping demigods, etc. Such people have already diverted
from materialistic activities and have taken up the performance
of devotional service to the Godhead. For them, good and bad,
merit and demerit, happiness and misery are the same. Soul
realization is only possible by linking with the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead in devotional service. This is called
yoga. By this service in devotion, one will gradually be elevated
in realizing the Supersoul and soul. When one sees light one can
see himself. Chaitanya-Charitamrta, Madhya 22.31:
krishna sūrya-sama māya haya andhakāra
yahan krishna tahān nahi māyara adhikāra
“Lord Krishna is just like the effulgent sun, illusion is like a dark
night, and wherever there is Krishna there is no influence of
māya. Whenever the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
is present, there is no darkness of ignorance”.
TEXT 19 थमादस् ः स ं कायं कमा समाचर।

अस् ८ ्याचरतकमा परमातन८त पु
ू षः॥१९॥
tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ kāryaṁ karma samāchara
asakto hy ācharan karma param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ
tasmād -- as a result; asaktaḥ -- without attachment; satataṁ --
always; kāryaṁkarma -- work as matter of duty; samāchara --
carry out; asakto -- not attached; hy -- surely; ācharan -- by
performing; karma -- prescribed duties; param -- the Supreme;
āpnoti -- obtains; pūruṣaḥ -- a man.
Karma Yoga 253
Hence, without attachment to work, one should carry out

prescribed actions as a matter of duty, by performing such
prescribed duties unattached, a person obtains the Supreme.
ANNOTATION: Only those who are not established in the state
of self-realization are required to perform activities prescribed in
the Vedic scriptures. Lord Krishna indicates to Arjuna that since
Arjuna is not established in self-realization, known as ātma
tattva, or the truth of the soul, he should perform actions as a
matter of duty without attachment.
Life of the materialistic person is hopeless, and living to eat
and enjoy a comfortable bodily life is dangerous for eternal
spiritual existence. Instead of engaging in material activities, one
could cultivate self-control and engage in Krishna consciousness.
This is the best solution for the material miseries of life. Most
people have no appetite for spiritual life because they have
forgotten that there is an eternal and imperishable life. Because
they have forgotten the actual truth of life, everyone is busy in
the fancy materialistic life with its social media such as digital
movies, I Phones, YouTube and Facebook.
The contemporary film and the entertainment industry have
taken stories from scriptures and turned them into fictitious
action movies with special effects. No form of entertainment can
offer solutions to anybody, such entertainment is only acts to
curtail one’s misery for a few hours, but death comes towards
everyone. The days pass into months. The sun rises and sets. At
every moment, everyone comes closer to death. Yet, everyone is
foolishly acting like live chickens in slaughterhouses. ayur harati
vai pumsām, udyan astam ca yann asau, which means: both by
rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of
everyone. It is best for everyone to discuss the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, Mahābhārata and Bhagavad-Gītā instead of
reading mundane novels and watching movies. tasyarte yat-
ksano nitā, uttma-sloka-vārtayā: means: those who utilizes the
time by discussing topics of the all Personality of Godhead is
saved. Vedic scriptural texts are filled with actions and thrills! It
is best to accept the stories and actions of the scriptures as they

are, real and bonafide. Seeing and understanding the twisted
realities binds people to the material world, but accepting the
direct reality will liberate them from materiality.
TEXT 20 माणव ह संभस्धिमा्थि ा ्नकादयः।

ल८कस्र मेवावप स्प्यतक म
ुा ाभस॥२०॥
karmaṇaiva hi saṁsiddhim āsthitā janakādayaḥ
loka-saṅgraham evāpi sampaśyan kartum arhasi
karmaṇa -- by performing prescribed activities; iva -- even; hi --
certainly; aṁsiddhim -- full perfect state; āsthitā -- situated;
janakādayaḥ -- Janaka and others; loka-saṅgraham -- the people
in general; evāpi -- also for the sake; sampaśyan -- considering;
kartum -- to do; arhasi -- you should.
Kings, such as Janaka, have achieved full perfection by
performing the prescribed activities. For enlightening the
people in general you should execute your prescribed duty.
ANNOTATION: It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam sixth canto:
svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ, kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ,
prahlādo janako bhīṣmo, balir vaiyāsakir vayam
“Lord Brahma, Devarsi Nārada, Lord Siva, the four Kumaras,
Lord Kapila (the son of Devahuti), Svayambhuva Manu,
Prahlada Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhisma, Bali
Mahārāja, Sukadeva goswāmi and I myself (Yamarāja) know the
real religious principle”.
There are twelve great authorities in the universe called
Mahājanās. Yet, the Supreme Lord quotes the life style of King
of Mithila, Janaka Mahārāja, the father of Goddess Sita, the wife
of the Supreme Lord Rāmachandra, iti rāma padenāsau para
brahmābhidiyate, Lord Rāmachandra is also said to be Supreme
Brahman. King Janaka was renowned for his exceptional
wisdom. He was so judicious that when the great sage Vashista,
the spiritual master of Lord Rāmachandra, could not solve the
Karma Yoga 255
dilemma of the loving brothers, Lord Bharata and Lord Rāma, he

appealed to King Janaka to find solution to the Brothers
predicament. And by quoting scriptural conclusions and offering
practical solutions to the Brothers, Janaka relieved them.
King Janaka perfected his life by performing hundreds of
prescribed Vedic duties according to his position in the society.
He gained complete self-realization and attained perfection in his
life. Even though he was a perfected king, he continued to
perform Vedic prescribed duties to educate his citizens and
inspire them to execute Vedic prescribed duties.
Performing Vedic prescribed activities as a matter of duty is
not done for personal gratification, but for the welfare of the
whole planet. In the Bhagavad-Gītā, Lord Krishna is similarly
inspiring Arjuna to fight and kill people as a matter of duty. Of
course, killing people as a matter of duty is a difficult feat for
Arjuna and perhaps for anyone, as this duty comes directly from
the Supreme Authority, the Majestic Personality of Godhead,
there should be no fear of karmic reactions. Reasonably, the war
was set by Lord Krishna, the father of religion, so that dharma
could be established. When a soldier kills enemies under the
guidance of the commander, he is rewarded.
One must proportionately reduce material activities and
increase prescribed spiritual activities. All living entities are
active twenty four hours a day, in the day time they are active
with physical body, at night they are active with the subtle body
in a dream state. The soul is only a spectator of actions of the
physical and subtle bodies.
TEXT 21 य्यदाचरत रे्ठथ तदे वे र८ ्नः।

स य्रमाणं कुु े ल८कथ दनव
ु ा ॥
े २१॥
yad yad ācharati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate
yadyad -- whatever; ācharati -- undertake; śreṣṭhas -- a excellent
leader; tad -- that; tad -- and that alone; eve -- surely; taro --
ordinary; janaḥ -- people; sa -- he; yat -- whichever; pramāṇaṁ -
- example; kurute -- does perform; lokas -- all the world; tad --

that; anuvartate -- follows.
Ordinary people will pursue whatever action an excellent
leader renders, and all the world will follow the ideals he sets
by example.
ANNOTATION: Everywhere, people follow modern life styles.
The young generation is so keen on following materially reputed
people considered as celebrities. This generation’s real spiritual
doctrines are thereby stolen by so many ignorant performers.
Young men have begun questioning the authority of the
scriptures, believing that the scriptures are just legends and
mythology. While many significant achievements in the ancient
world, such as long-distance communication and the erection of
royal mansions, were made using mystical or mantra technology,
in the present age all these things are made with machinery or
yantra technology. Thus, the young men have begun thinking
that ancient achievements were just myths because they cannot
see as to how such things were done supernaturally.
People follow atheistic teachers and leaders, who live a
lunatic's life that is founded on the bodily concept. Yet, there is
nothing really modern about such life styles, since they cannot
stop death, birth, disease or old age. As far as eating, sleeping,
mating and defending is concerned, it was there in the golden era
as well. As the saying goes ‘from frying pan to fire’, the present
existence is somewhat like that. Infatuated by the transient
prosperity without God, which is earned through mechanical
civilization, they are unable to see their own inevitable
destruction in the form of death.
Intelligent people follow the eternal scriptures and adhere to
the instructions of the Mahājanas to create a better world. Rich
and famous leaders, especially, should follow scriptural
injunctions strictly, instructions of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Manu
samhita, which will make common people follow in their
footsteps and become pious in their behavior. Average people try
to imitate rich people and their life styles. This creates an
artificial community that is bereft of spiritual wisdom.
Karma Yoga 257
One may take one’s present time and family very seriously,
giving no significance to the future life. Yet, if there is no future
life, why do people secure abundant wealth for their future use?
So many people thus lead a self-contradictory life style. To
escape this frame of mind, one should follow the great spiritual
authorities like the twelve great leaders of the universe
mentioned in the previous verse.
TEXT 22 न मे पािाा्थ क ्ा यं ररषु ल८केषु कक्चन।
नानवात मवात ्यं व ा एव च कमाणण॥२२॥
na me pārthāsti kartavyaṁ triṣu lokeṣu kiñcana
nānavāptam avāptavyaṁ varta eva ca karmaṇi
na -- no; me -- for Me; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; āsti -- there is;
kartavyaṁ -- obligatory duties; triṣu -- within the three; lokeṣu --
planetary systems; kiñchana -- any; nā -- nothing; anavāptam --
not obtained; avāptavyaṁ -- to be obtained; varta eva ca -- still I
am also engaged; karmaṇi -- in obligatory duties.
O son of Pritha, there are no obligatory duties for Me within
these three planetary systems. I am not in want of anything,
nor do I have to obtain anything, but still I am occupied in all
prescribed duties.
ANNOTATION: The Absolute Supreme Majestic Lord, Krishna
is the supremely self-sufficient Person. He is completely
independent, svarāt, in the performance of all His actions. For
Him, there is no prescribed duties to perform in this world, nor
does He want or need anything in this world. He is the creator,
maintainer, and annihilator of countless universes. He performs
His transcendental pastimes completely in line with the Vedic
scriptures to the benefit and welfare of all beings of the world.
When Lord Krishna was present in this world several years
ago, in His Dwāraka pastime Lord married 16,108 princesses,
and provided them each with a gorgeous and fabulous palace, ten
sons and one daughter to each wife as well as many other
prosperities. As Krishna is the source of all souls, it is not at all
difficult for the Lord to bring forth any number of souls to the
manifested world.
When Nārada Muni wanted to see what Lord Krishna was

doing in each of His palaces, he set out to visit each palace of the
Lord. Amazingly, the sage saw Krishna in each and every palace,
performing different prescribed duties of mankind. He is religion
personified and He is the father of prescribed duties. This
position was not recognized by most members of the time,
including the Kauravas, demons like Jarāsandha, Banāsura,
Sālva, etc. This is because of unfortunate situations, sinful
activities, rebellious and retaliating spirits. Thus, it is said in the
Bhakti rasamrta sindhu:
atah sri-krishna-nāmadi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah
“Material senses cannot appreciate Krishna’s holy name, form,
qualities and lilas (pastimes). When a conditioned soul is
awakened to Krishna bhakti and renders service by using his
tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of
the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes
to understand who Krishna really is”.
Today, it is fashionable for a swāmi or yogi to suggest that
he is God, when they have followers or open up some
educational institutions. But actually, God has nothing to do with
such institutions. He only controls the government when bad
seeds become government officials. His purpose is to establish
dharma, not to build hospitals or schools to teach technology,
science and arts. All these tasks are done by His material energy.
He takes up beautiful pastimes to attract all living entities,
lilayatena, and take them to their spiritual home in the Kingdom
of God. He does not wear saffron cloth and does not have a long
beard. He is always completely neat, and clean and is the
personification of a Supreme Gentleman. He is God, always
complete with six forms of opulence, sadvidaiswarya pūrnam.
As a baby, a boy, or as an adult, He always remained God.
Krishna is yogeswara, the master of all mystic potencies. When
Krishna was just a boy playing games in Vrindhāvana, there
were hundreds of demons, who were sent to kill Him by demon
Karma Yoga 259
Kamsa. They assumed different forms by using eight mystic

potencies, but they were all killed by the Lord instantly. Can any
allegedly human god kill powerful villains to bring peace to the
country? These self-proclaimed ‘gods’ cannot even get out of
their own legal messes with the government or be free from
diseases, which they have created with their own improper
behavior.
TEXT 23 यहद ्य ं न व य
े ं ्ा ु कमा्य ्तर ः।
मम व्माानव
ु ता े मन्ु याः पािा सवाशः॥२३॥
yadi hy ahaṁ na varteyaṁ jātu karmaṇy atandritaḥ
mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
yadi -- in case; hy -- surely; ahaṁ -- I; navarteyaṁ -- thus not
engaged; jātu -- at all; karmaṇy -- in carrying out of prescribed
duties; atandritaḥ -- with great care; mama -- My; vartma --
path; anuvartante -- follow up; manuṣyāḥ -- all human beings;
pārtha -- O son of Pritha; sarvaśaḥ -- in all respects.
Thus, in case I am not engaged in carefully executing the
prescribed duties, all human beings follow My path in all
respects, O son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: Today, because of a lack of genuine
knowledge, when the topic of Krishna, or God, is raised among
friends and communities, many uneducated people in spiritual
science criticize the activities of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Absorbed in envious
nature, people say that Krishna danced with many cowherd gopi
girlfriends, and they say that He is not a person with high moral
values.
Where did Krishna perform his prescribed duties then?
According to Srila Suka deva goswāmi, the first speaker of
Srimad-Bhāgavatam: Lord Krishna, being the Supreme Absolute
Truth, is the only actual enjoyer and object of pleasure. Although
He is one without a second, He expands Himself into many
forms to increase His personal pastimes that include Nārāyanas,
Vishnus and separated forms of living entities. Nārāyana and

Vishnu are equal to Him in quantity and quality with His forms
of opulence.
Living entities or jivātmas are conditioned souls and
liberated souls. Conditioned souls are under mundane sexual ties
of the material existence, liberated souls are liberated from
mundane sexual desires. Gopis are liberated souls and situated in
transcendence. Lord Sri Krishna is ātmarāma, self-satisfied, and
fully gifted with unimaginable spiritual opulences. When He
exhibits pastimes as the rasa-lila, all living beings, from Brahma,
Rudra, Indra down to the blades of grass, become merged in the
ocean of bewilderment and the same time spiritually blissful.
Great saintly scholars have thus likened Krishna’s rasa-lila to a
child playing with His own reflection.
Srila Prabhūpāda says in Srimad-Bhāgavatam that when
Mahārāja Parikshit heard the narration of Krishna's conjugal
pastimes with the young maidens, which superficially resemble
the activities of lusty, reckless people, he had doubts about his
spiritual master, Srila Sukadeva gosvami. Sukadeva dispelled
these doubts by saying that “since Sri Krishna is the absolute
enjoyer, these pastimes can never be contaminated by any
material inebriety.” Thus, it is said in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam 9-
33-29,
dharma-vyatikramo dṛṣṭa īśvarāṇāṁ ca sāhasam
tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya vahneḥ sarva-bhujo yathā
“The status of powerful controllers is not harmed by any
apparently audacious transgression of morality we may see in
them, for they are just like fire, which devours everything fed
into it and remains unpolluted. However, if anyone other than the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead tries to enjoy these
pastimes, he will suffer the same destiny that someone other than
Lord Rudra would suffer if he attempted to drink an ocean of
poison. Moreover, even one who merely thinks of imitating Lord
Krishna’s rasa lila will certainly suffer misfortune”.
Karma Yoga 261
The Supreme Absolute Truth, Sri Krishna, is present within

the hearts of all living entities as their indwelling witness. When,
out of His mercy, He carries out intimate pastimes with His
devotees, these activities are never tainted with mundane
imperfection. Any living being who hears about the loving
attraction the maidens felt for Lord Krishna will have the root of
his material lust destroyed, and will develop their natural
propensity for serving Krishna, the supreme spiritual master and
the Lord of devotees.
Before the Mahābhārata war commenced, Lord Krishna
declared to Arjuna that He descended in this world to regenerate
the principles of religion. It is obvious that, since this was His
goal, He adhered to the performance of strictly prescribed duties,
as without doing so, it would have been impossible to establish
true religious principles.
In support of this observation, at the assembly of Emperor
Yudhishtira, a powerful devotee and a great soul named Bhīshma
deva declared that Krishna is the only powerful brahmachāri. A
brahmachāri is one who does not get sexually agitated even in
the midst of beautiful young girls. Thus, although the Supreme
Lord danced with thousands of excellent beautiful girls in the
rasa-lila garden, and manifested into so many forms of Krishna
to dance with each girl. He never became agitated by sexual
desires or had sexual relationships with any of them. Hence,
there is no description of any kind of intimate relationship
between Krishna and the young gopi girls, or of the gopi girls
being impregnated by Krishna. People who have no
understanding the scriptures, often refer to such transcendental
pastimes to deride the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Such people, who follow the path of the envious, miscreants and
the demonic, will have no protection from material nature after
death.
Religion is created by great personalities beginning from
Lord Brahma, Nārada and Lord Siva with the guidance of the
Supreme Person. It must be adhered to, by following in their
footsteps. Even the powerful demigods such as Lord Siva and
Lord Brahma did not dare to imitate Krishna's pastimes of rasa

dance.
The incarnations of Godhead are mentioned in the first
canto, third chapter of Srimad- Bhāgavatam. Outside of that list,
anyone who claims he is God and imitates rasa-lila performance
of the original Supreme Majestic Godhead must be contemned
and rejected.
TEXT 24 उ्सीदे यरु रमे ल८का न कुयां कमा चेद म ्।

स्करथय च क ाा थयामप
ु तयाभममाः र्ाः॥२४॥
utsīdeyur ime lokā na kuryāṁ karma ced aham
saṅkarasya ca kartā syām upahanyām imāḥ prajāḥ
utsīdeyur -- fall into ruin; ime -- all these; lokā -- worlds; na
kuryāṁ -- cease to perform; karma -- prescribed duties; ced -- if;
aham -- I; saṅkarasya -- unvirtuous population; ca -- and; kartā -
- creator; syām -- would be; upahanyām -- destroy; imāḥ -- all
these; prajāḥ -- all living entities.
If I cease to execute my prescribed duties of the world, I will
be the reason for creating the unwanted progeny, in this
manner I will be destroying the harmony of all living entities.
ANNOTATION: A king or prime leader of the society has to be
always conscious of their actions because there is a tendency for
the average person to imitate their leader’s actions. A leader’s
actions, if exemplary and of good constitution, can bring wisdom
and prosperity to the country and populace. Importantly, leaders
must not lead an opulent private life while asking the public to
lead an austere life. Such hypocrisy is held with contempt in the
scriptures. If this occurs, citizens become equally responsible for
the State and can rightfully dethrone their leaders. King Vena,
the father of Emperor Prithu Mahārāja, demonstrated a bad
management by neglecting the injunctions of the Vedās and
consequently he was killed by the powerful brāhmana ministers
by hymns. Therefore, every head of State should follow the
scriptural code to bring peace and prosperity in their countries
and citizens.
Karma Yoga 263
Lord Rāmachandra lived an austere life for His citizens;

Rāmarājya is still famous all over the universe for doing so. Lord
Chaitanya, the Supreme Lord in the guise of a devotee, taught the
public after He followed everything given in the scriptures.
āpani karimu bhakta-bhāva aṅgīkāre
āpani ācari’ bhakti śikhāimu sabāre
“I shall accept bhakta-bhava, the mood of a devotee, and I shall
teach bhakti, devotion to God. Unless I practice it Myself I
cannot teach it”.
Lord Krishna, the complete Majestic Personality of
Godhead, had manifested full opulence and facilitated similar
opulence to His citizens. If they followed the path of irreligion
the whole world would have followed the same path and,
indirectly, this would have caused the destruction of societies.
The empowered achāryas also follow scriptural injunctions to
bring peace and happiness in this world. Disobedience to
scriptural commands, alternatively, leads to unwanted
population, high corruption, prostitution, thievery, smuggling,
and ruthless animal slaughter, etc. There is, however, a vast
difference between following (anusmaran) and imitating
(anukaran). One must follow the instructions of the great
personalities, and not imitate their activities such as drinking
poison or smoking ganja like Lord Siva, or trying to perform the
rasa dance or move mountains like Lord Krishna, who lifted
Govardhana hill. None of these activities should be imitated, for
they can ruin the performer’s life.
TEXT 25 स् ाः कमा्यवव्वांस८ यिा कुवा्त भार ।
कुयाा्वव्वांथ िास् ््चकीषल
ुा ोकस्र म ्॥२५॥
saktāḥ karmaṇy avidvāṁso yathā kurvanti bhārata
kuryād vidvāṁs tathāsaktaś chikīrṣur loka-saṅgraham
saktāḥ -- attached to; karmaṇy -- duties; avidvāṁso -- the
ignorant; yathā -- as much as; kurvanti -- act; bhārata -- O
descendant of Bhārata; kuryād -- must do; vidvāṁs -- the wise;
tathā -- thus; āsaktaś -- being unattached; chikīrṣur -- desiring to
do; loka-saṅgraham -- leading the people of the world in general.
As much as an ignorant person executes his duties with

attachment for their results, the wise are unattached to
fruitive results, desiring to lead the people of the world in
general.
ANNOTATION: There are two classes of people, one works on
the bodily platform to receive the rewards for their material
work, and the other works on the platform of soul to receive the
ultimate benefit. In this verse, the Supreme Lord is confirming
that while the ignorant may follow the injunctions of the Vedās
(sanātana dharma), like the Vedic codes and Vedic sacrifices,
with attachment for the enjoyment of their results, intelligent
souls are situated in self-realization and perform, sanātana
dharma, prescribed scriptural injunction out of compassion for
the ultimate benefit of all the people of the world. However,
Krishna bhakti is transcendental to all materialistic pious and
impious activities, scriptural formalities and religious
instructions. When Krishna bhakti is performed with full faith
that one can attain Krishna consciousness. It is the best solution
for all individuals and as well as for the whole planet. Such a
devotee does not need to follow scriptural and religious
instructions. As it is said in Chaitanya Charitamrta:
'śraddhā'-śabde--viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛiṣhṇa bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya
“Sraddha is a confident and firm faith that by rendering
transcendental loving service to Krishna, one automatically
performs all subsidiary activities". Such faith is favorable to the
discharge of devotional service. There are many stalwart
personalities, who have renounced the opulence of the world for
the sake of country and people. Such people are in politics and in
religious fields, and may derive pious results for their actions, but
the ultimate benefit of renunciation is derived by those men, who
have renounced the world for the sake of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, because both the material
and spiritual worlds are owned and controlled by Krishna,
isovasyam idam sarvam – isopanishad, 1.
Karma Yoga 265
TEXT 26 न ब्
ु धिभेदं ्नयेद्ानां कमास्धगनाम ्।
्८षये्सवाकमााणण वव्वातय्
ु ः समाचरन ्॥२६॥
na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām
joṣayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān yuktaḥ samācaran
na -- not; buddhi-bhedaṁ -- disturbance of intelligence; janayed
-- should produce; ajñānāṁ -- of the foolish; karma-saṅginām --
who are attached to fruitive actions; joṣayet -- keeping them fully
engaged; sarva-karmāṇi -- all work; vidvān -- a wise person;
yuktaḥ -- being unattached; samācaran -- must perfectly
practicing.
Thus, not to disturb the intelligence of the ignorant person
who is attached to the fruitive actions of obligatory activities,
the intelligent person who is practicing devotional service
should not stop them from their work, instead, he should
enlist them for the prescribed duties of devotional service.
ANNOTATION: All prescribed duties and ritualistic activities of
the Vedās gradually elevate one to the platform of realizing the
soul and, from there, to realizing the Supreme Absolute Lord,
Krishna. An experienced Krishna conscious devotee knows that
just by engaging in the Lord’s service, one can realize that he is
not the body, but a pure spirit soul. This process is faster than
realizing soul by the long process of executing prescribed duties
and yajnās. In such prescribed duties, one may engage in many
different types of worship of demigods, but demigods are not
God, they are servants of Krishna. An unenlightened person,
ajnānām karma sanginām, unable to understand these facts,
should not be disturbed from engaging in their daily religious
fruitive work.
The Lord explains here that an ignorant person may be
engaged in business enterprises or in agriculture, say, as the
Vedās prescribe his duties according to his social status.
However, a wise person who is an expert in engaging such
unenlightened people in devotional service of the Supreme Lord,
should not interrupt them from doing their daily religious work
and other prescribed duties according to his social division.

Somewhat, he should engage them in the Lord’s service
indirectly, for example, either by using the product of their work,
their land or garden, in the service of the Lord, or by sponsoring
them to perform activities of the Lord’s temple worship. A man
who has not been enlightened in the philosophy of the science of
God will benefit from such contribution and can save himself
from repeated birth and death by doing charitable action for
Krishna, the Supreme Godhead. As Lord Krishna said to
Uddhāva 11-27-51:
pūjādīnā́ pravāhārthá mahā-parvasv athānv-aham
kṣetrāpaṇa-pura-grāman dattvā mad-sārstitam iyāt
“One who offers Me gifts of land, markets, cities and villages,
so that the regular daily worship and special festivals of My deity
may go on continually, will achieve opulence equal to My own”.
The word sārsti in this verse refers to opulence such as
wealth, power, beauty, fame, knowledge and detachment.
TEXT 27 रकृ ःे करयमाणातन गणु ः कमााणण सवाशः।

अ ्कारववमढ ू ा्मा क ाा भमत मतय ॥े २७॥
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate
prakṛteḥ -- of the material nature; kriyamāṇāni -- being done;
guṇaiḥ -- by the three modes; karmāṇi -- activities; sarvaśaḥ --
all types of; ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha -- perplexed by the false ego;
ātmā -- the spirit soul; kartāham iti -- thus I am the doer;
manyate -- imagine.
All types of activities are carried out by the three modes of
material nature, but the living entity is perplexed due to the
false ego and imagines himself as the doer of all activities.
ANNOTATION: The false ego is called ‘ahankāra’ and it is ‘I’,
‘me’ and ‘mine’. It says things like: ‘I’ have done this; I have
manifested that; this is belong to ‘me’; that is ‘mine’; I belong to
Karma Yoga 267
the great nation; I am a beautiful woman; I am a powerful man; I

am a famous celebrity; or, I am a vastly knowledgeable scientist.
All these identifications are false, artificial, and impermanent.
The material nature works in the three different modes,
goodness, passion and ignorance. In fact, the whole universe is
prearranged under these modes. Everything is carried out by
divisions of these modes according to one’s desire, and everyone
is servant to his own nature, a nature that is acquired from these
modes.
To illustrate: a scientist and philosopher may be controlled
by goodness and passion; an entrepreneur and a farmer may be
controlled by the mode of passion and ignorance; a commander
and king may be controlled by passion. All such people desire to
be in their respective situations and have gained those situations
with the help of the modes of material nature. When one desires
to manifest a school or hospital, the modes facilitate the
individual with building the respective infrastructure for schools
and hospitals. Similarly, when a thief wants to steal, or a
murderer wants to kill, material nature facilitates their actions
too. Moreover, when the results of one’s actions returns, as a
reaction, the same material nature begins to inflict sufferings
upon them. Thus, the murderer and thief may be imprisoned or
hanged, go to solitary confinement and experience other kinds of
criminal implications. One may be in a powerful or wealthy
situation, but such situations are never permanent, and by the
arrangement of material nature, things always change. So, since a
living entity must have desires in one way or another, their
desires will come to fruition by material nature with the
permission of the Supersoul: karmana daiva netrena.
In Kali-yuga, ignorance is the predominant mode of all
living entities. This is a situation which is out of control, for even
the leaders of all countries. The over-aggrandized living entity,
or ahankāra-vimudātma, bewildered by false ego, thinks that he
is the doer. Yet, one ought to remain detached from all worldly
opulence and remain Krishna consciousness, so as to be prepared
for a permanent existence in the spiritual world. If we are carried
away by the so-called good and rich birth, we will be lost in the
whirlpool of material existence and lose the opportunity to
become an advanced member in creation. The real ahankāra
(ego) is the eternal servant of Krishna, jivere svarupa hoy
krishnere nityadās: when one comes to that position, and
performs actions in that consciousness, he will be free from all
kartāham, claiming that ‘I am the doer.’
TEXT 28 ्वववतु म ाबा ८ गण ु कमाववभागय८ः।
गण
ु ा गणु ेषु व ता इत म्वा न स्् ॥
े २८॥
tattva-vit tu mahā-bāho guṇa-karma-vibhāgayoḥ
guṇā guṇeṣu vartanta iti matvā na sajjate
tattva-vit -- the knower of Supreme Truth; tu -- but; mahā-bāho -
- O mighty armed one; guṇa-karma -- of works under material
influence; vibhāgayoḥ -- distinctions; guṇā -- senses; guṇeṣu -- in
sense enjoyment; vartanta -- being engaged; iti matvā -- thus
thinking; na sajjate -- not becomes entangled.
Understanding the distinction between action in devotion and
action for fruitive results, one who is the knower of the
Supreme Truth does not become entangled in the senses and
sense objects, O mighty armed one.
ANNOTATION: The Absolute Truth has three different phases.
Brahman– the bodily effulgence of the Lord, Paramātma – the
Supersoul, and finally Bhagavān–Lord Krishna, complete with
all opulences. Bhagavān is the last stage and the complete
manifestation of the Majestic Godhead.
A devotee of Lord Krishna knows that he is eternally the
servant of Krishna. To be in Krishna’s servitude is a high
position in the universe, comparatively the servant of the
President or Prime Minister is not an ordinary position. A person
who knows the three aspects of Godhead and knows that his
position as a servitor to the Godhead is called a tattvavit, or a
knower of the Absolute Truth. Such a person does not think
about the body and bodily pleasures. A tattvavit is he who gives
Karma Yoga 269
importance to only God, from whom everything in the universe

emanates.
Devotional service to Krishna is the Absolute method to
control one’s body and senses. Simply by engaging in Krishna’s
service, the devotee’s senses are automatically controlled without
any extraneous effort. Contrast to this an average person: no
matter how hard such a person tries on his own, his senses will
remain impossible to control. However, a devotee can control his
senses with the slightest engagement in the service of the
omnipotent Personality of Godhead. By engaging all their senses
in the service of the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna, a devotee
will be very peaceful and happy. Devotees are thus able to work
in Krishna consciousness with devotion to the Lord, without
desiring fruitive rewards.
There can be financial crises, family breakdowns, terminal
diseases, loss of children and family members, but still one must
maintain their devotional services to Lord Krishna. This is
considered an ‘equilibrium’, and enables one to disregard the
senses and sense objects. Krishna yoga teaches everyone how to
deal with the objects of the world and to live in a pure lifestyle
by which one will be automatically elevated to the Kingdom of
God.
Consider how, when a man approaches a physician, he
expects medicine according to his disease. However, if he
demands his own medicine from the physician according to his
taste, there is no need for a physician. Rather, such a person is
able to create his own medicine at home. Similarly, all living
beings in the material world suffer from the need to perform
Krishna yajnā or Krishna bhakti, and to have a true spiritual
master to guide them on how to be pure, in order to fill up this
vacuum in life. They cannot merely select their own way of
devotional service, but to follow the authorities who are the
direct representatives of the Supreme Lord and His scriptures.
Thus, by adhering to the guidelines of a perfect spiritual master,
one can cure this material sickness.
TEXT 29 रकृ ग
े ण
ुा स्मढ
ू ाः स््त े गण
ु कमास।ु
ानकृ्थनववद८ मतदातकृ्थनववतन ववचालये ्॥२९॥
prakṛter guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇa-karmasu
tān akṛtsna-vido mandān kṛtsna-vin na vicālayet
prakṛter guṇa -- by the material modes; sammūḍhāḥ -- be fooled
by bodily identification; sajjante -- they become entangled;
guṇa-karmasu -- in fruitive material activities; tān -- those;
akṛtsna-vido -- persons with a lack of knowledge; mandān --
unintelligent in realizing the self; kṛtsna-vin -- one who is in
actual knowledge; na vicālayet -- should not try to agitate.
The person fooled by bodily identification with the material
modes unites himself in fruitive material activities and
becomes fully entangled, but the learned see that these
activities are subservient, the performers ignorance, should
not disturb them.
ANNOTATION: Cause and effect is ‘material nature’, the
reservoir of all material activities. If there were no material
activities stored in material nature, the performer would never
have the opportunity to carry out their service. Living entities are
only the medium to accept and reject the material complexities
based on their sense satisfaction from that reservoir. For instance,
a man may not want to be a scientist or to work with technology,
but the facilities necessary to become a scientist are available,
regardless the man’s wishes. One who wants to study science
can, then, use the facility if they so choose. We can comprehend
how material nature functions from this simple understanding.
Material nature is the cosmic accommodation for all living
entities, and it contains a wide varieties of facilities: 8,400,000
material bodies, suitable senses, minds, intelligence, egos,
accommodation, food, drink, clothing, transportation, material
works, social services, etc. Human beings in general do not
understand that the cause behind material nature is Lord Krishna,
the Supreme Engineer who steers the entire cosmic order, they
are called ignorant people. The intelligent person, without
Karma Yoga 271
upsetting the ignorant people who are engaged in material work,

should make an effort to engage ignorant people in devotional
service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
It is very difficult for a common man to realize the
paramount importance of devotional service and the position of
the Supreme Lord. Moreover, through ignorance of the self and
Super-self, so-called saints may become philanthropists or
internationalists, and sometimes even pretend to be god and
become attached to artificially created positions. Even though
perfection is hopeless for such false leaders, by systematic
cultivation of spiritual knowledge under the valued guidance of a
knower of the Absolute Truth, they can know the Godhead and
serve Him with content hearts.
TEXT 30 मतय सवााणण कमााणण सततयथया्या्मचे सा।
तनराशीतनामम
ा ८ भ्ू वा य्
ु यथव ववग ्वरः॥३०॥
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasyādhyātma-chetasā
nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ
mayi -- unto Me; sarvāṇikarmāṇi -- various types of activities;
sannyasyā -- abandoning completely; ādhyātma -- with full
knowledge of the soul; chetasā -- consciousness; nirāśīr --
without desire for fruitive results; nirmamo -- without ownership;
bhūtvā -- so being; yudhyasva -- battle; vigata-jvaraḥ -- removal
of affliction.
Surrendering all your activities unto Me, with full
consciousness of the soul, giving up completely the desire for
profit, no claims to ownership and free from affliction, fight.
ANNOTATION: sarvani karmani refers to the material results of
prescribed ritualistic activities, irrespective of good or bad
results. All such ritualistic activities should be surrendered with
full conviction and consciousness of Krishna. nirasir means
without desire for profit. While the human tendency is to desire
profit for actions, which are rendered to others. One should
abstain from desiring results and performing activities for their
sake.
To illustrate why, consider the case of employment in the

government. In some countries, there are offensive practices of
taking bribes from ordinary people in order to approve their
requests along from one person to another. This practice can only
produce miserable reactions since the government already pays
its employees a good salary, retirement money and pension. It
only occurs because greedy officers want more wealth. In a very
similar way to employment in the government, for every selfless
service one performs, God will reward it. That is His law.
However, far from taking bribes to perform further actions, a
devotee does not even desire these rewards. nirmamah means
without ownership. Everything belongs to Krishna. It should be
remembered that no one brought anything with them when they
are born into this world, not even a piece of cloth. Similarly,
when one dies he takes nothing with him except his own
resultant reactions of karma. As is said in Isopanishad 1:
īśāvāsyam idam sarvá yat kiñca jagatyamjagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
kurvann evaha karmāni jiijvisec chatam samah
evam tvayi nānyatheto sti na karma lipyate nare
“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is
controlled and owned by the Lord. One should accept only those
things necessary for his life, those which are set aside as his
quota, and one should not accept anything else.” “One may want
to live continuously for hundreds of years working that way,
certainly this sort of work will not bind one to the reactions of
karma and there is no alternative for men other than working this
way to be free from karmic reactions.”
TEXT 31 ये मे म भमदं तन्यमनतु ्ठ्त मानवाः।
र्िावत ८ऽनसय ू त ८ म्
ु यत े ऽे वप कमाभभः॥३१॥
ye me matam idaṁ nityam anutiṣṭhanti mānavāḥ
śraddhāvanto ’nasūyanto mucyante te ’pi karmabhiḥ
ye -- those who; me -- My; matam -- advise; idaṁ -- these;
nityam -- eternal function; anutiṣṭhanti -- regularly perform;
mānavāḥ -- human beings; śraddhāvanto -- with full faith;
Karma Yoga 273
nasūyanto -- without jealousy; muchyante -- all of them become

free; pi -- even; karmabhiḥ -- from the bondage of the law of
fruitive actions.
Human beings who perform activities based on My
instructions and who pursue this teaching faithfully, devoid
of jealousy, become free from the bondage of the law of
fruitive activities.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
is beyond material nature. He is unlike the conditioned souls of
the material world. Conditioned souls have four defects: they
commit mistakes; they are swayed by illusions; they cheat; and,
they have imperfect senses. These defects are conspicuous in
humans being, but are entirely absence in the Absolute Lord.
Thus, it is said in the scriptures:
bhrama pramada vipralipsa karanapatava
arsha-vijna-vakye nahi dosha ei saba
“The material defects of mistakes, illusions, cheating and
sensory inefficiency do not exist in the words of the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead”.
Because He is situated in the supreme perfect stage and His
scriptures are eternal truth, the Lord prescribes his instructions
for human society all over the universe to follow. When the
eternal truth is followed in pure faith and devotion by the four
social orders and the four spiritual orders, all are automatically
liberated. To realize the truth, one has to systematically follow
the injunctions of the Supreme Lord, as given in the Bhagavad-
Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Without adhering to these
injunctions, one cannot be free from the bondage of their actions
of one's karma.
As long as one is suffering one’s reactions of karma, one
may have little taste for chanting or to execute devotional service
to Krishna with a focused mind. Nevertheless, the remedy to
resolve suffering is to take shelter at the Lotus feet of the Lord in
full Krishna consciousness with confidence, loyalty and without
envy.
TEXT 32 ये ्वे द्यसय

ू त ८ नानतु ्ठ्त मे म म ्।
सवा्ानववमढ
ू ांथ ा्तव्धि न्िानचे सः॥३२॥
ye tv etad abhyasūyanto nānutiṣṭhanti me matam
sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāṁs tān viddhi naṣṭān achetasaḥ
ye tv -- those however; etad -- this; abhyasūyanto -- out of envy;
nānutiṣṭhanti -- do not regularly perform; me matam -- My
injunction; sarva-jñāna-vimūḍhāṁs -- deluded by all sorts of
knowledge; tān -- they are; viddhi -- know it well; naṣṭān --
deviated from the purpose of human existence; achetasaḥ --
devoid of original spiritual consciousness or Krishna
consciousness.
However, those who do not regularly execute My injunctions
out of envy are to be considered deluded according to all
forms of knowledge, know it well that they have deviated
from the purpose of human existence and are devoid of
original spiritual consciousness.
ANNOTATION: This is the simple method that Lord Krishna
uses to explain how to be free from the punishment of the
material world. In the material world, living entities are tortured
every moment. Yet, because of their ignorance, they do not
realize the simple fact that all their miseries and annoyances have
come about as a direct result of the times, they have broken the
laws of the Supreme Government. When they try to fix these
problems their own way, without referring to the counseling of
the Lord, they inevitably escalate into more problems. Consider
an analogy, like a prisoner tries to escape, is caught and punished
more. However, a person with intelligence is able to comprehend
the teachings of the Supreme Lord without falling into illusion.
When they do this, by following Krishna conscious duties daily
without jealousy, they will be protected from the dark forest of
this material world.
These duties may involve: rising early in the morning
before sun rise; chanting Hare Krishna mantra on beads; cooking
Karma Yoga 275
nice food without onions, garlic or mushrooms; and, offering the

fresh food to Krishna with Tulasi leaves on it; associating with
devotees and discussing the Bhagavad-Gītā teachings with them;
working seven or eight hours on their natural duties for their
sustenance; then, following the same devotional method in the
evening when they return from their work. The daily execution
of devotional service to Lord Krishna will free one from all
reactions of karma and perfect one’s human form in this very
life. At the end of this life, the performer will be transferred to
the Vaikuntha planet, the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 33 सृशं चे्ि थ
े वथयाः रकृ ्
े ाानवानवप।
रकृत ं या्त भू ातन तनर ः ककं करर्यत ॥३३॥
sadṛśaṁ cheṣṭate svasyāḥ prakṛter jñānavān api
prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati
sadṛśaṁ -- according to; cheṣṭate -- attempt; svasyāḥ-- his own;
prakṛter -- modes of nature; jñānavān api -- even a
knowledgeable person; prakṛtiṁ -- nature; yānti -- go through;
bhūtāni-- all living beings; nigrahaḥ -- repression; kiṁ -- what;
kariṣyati -- can do.
All living entities act according to their own nature, as it is
obtained from the three modes. Thus, even a person of
knowledge acts according to his own nature. What can one
do to control this?
ANNOTATION: According to the previous verse, uninformed
people have been put in hopeless conditions, yet still, they do not
accept the sublime teachings of the Bhagavad-Gītā! Why are so
many people aggressive and opposed to the Bhagavad-Gītā’s
flawless instructions? It is because of Lord Krishna’s māya,
which are, material beauty, wealth, and knowledge. māya is very
powerful. She works through the three modes of material nature,
and can perform all kinds of impossible actions to influence the
minds of disobedient souls, keeping them in the darkness of
ignorance.
People acquire a particular nature from the illusory energy

of God according to their past activities, which creates the
positive and negative qualities in their actions. Even people who
are wise in their knowledge act according to their nature,
contrary to their wisdom. So, what about people who are
unfamiliar with Vedic knowledge? Many people are disorganized
and confused in determining the existence of God. Although it
may be possible for learned persons to abandon material desires
and material attachment, the necessary purity of their minds will
not manifest unless and until they assist the Supreme Absolute
Lord in His activities and His spotless thesis, as inherent in the
Bhagavad-Gītā. As much as an employee assists his director in
his organization, the employee is safe and maintained, despite the
employee's personal problems.
One’s past activities in the modes of nature can only be
understood after one rises above the modes of nature to be
situated in transcendence. However, to do this, one has to
perform pure devotional service after accepting Lord Krishna as
Lord and Master. Contaminated devotion means unchaste,
exclusive devotion to Krishna is chaste. When one worships so
many gods and worships the Supreme Lord Krishna with them,
their devotion is known as impure. One can obtain transcendence
only through such unalloyed devotion to Mādhava, Krishna, the
husband of the Goddess of fortune.
TEXT 34 इ्तरयथये्तरयथयािे राग्वेष९ ्यव्थि ९।
य८ना वशमाग्छे त९ ्यथय पररप्तिन९॥३४॥
indriyasyendriyasyārthe rāga-dveṣau vyavasthitau
tayor na vaśam āgacchet tau hy asya paripanthinau
indriyasya -- of the senses; indriyasyārthe -- to their
corresponding sense objects; rāga-dveṣau-- attachment and
aversion; vyavasthitau -- unavoidable; tayor -- of them; na -- not;
vaśama agacchet -- one should come under subjugation; tau --
those; hy -- certainly; asya -- in one’s path; paripanthinau -- they
are obstacles.
Karma Yoga 277
It is unavoidable that one must regulate attachment and

hatred that is related to the senses and sense objects. One
should not come under the subjugation of such attachment
and hatred because they are obstacles on the path for
realizing the self.
ANNOTATION: A person who is under attachment and hatred is
just like a thief who guides a traveler to the dense darkness of the
road in order to rob him. When a policeman sees a traveler in the
clutches of such a thief, he rescues him and guides him on the
correct path. Similarly, the spiritual teaching of the Vedic
scriptures rescues aspirants from the influence of the dualities of
attraction and hatred toward the senses and the sense objects. In
doing so, the Vedic scriptures guide aspirants to the appropriate
path of devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna, in the
form of sacrifice, which is the surest path to attain self-
realization.
In devotional service, devotees depend on the mercy of the
Lord like a child who depends on his parents and remains always
protected. This transcendental dependence leaves no space for
material attachment or material hatred for the material qualities.
Fairly, the impression and memory of the Lord creates a huge
wall between senses and sense objects. A person in material
consciousness may follow rules and regulations of the prescribed
duties, but if he does not know the goal of life, to achieve love
for God, whatever rules he follows are simply a waste of time.
This is just like a man who follows the traffic signals perfectly,
but does not know his destination; he is simply wasting his time
and energy (or, fuel). Devotees’ minds and intelligence are
engulfed by the form of Lord Govinda, helping them to achieve
all measures of material and spiritual success.
TEXT 35 रेयातथविमो ववगण

ु ः परिमाा्थवन्ु ्ठ ा ्।
थविमे तनिनं रेयःपरिमो भयाव ः॥३५॥
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ
śreyān -- far better; sva-dharmo -- performing one's prescribed

duties; viguṇaḥ -- mixed with fault; para-dharmāt -- than
executing others prescribed duties; sv-anuṣṭhitāt -- perfectly
executed; sva-dharme -- performing one's natural duties;
nidhanaṁ -- damage; śreyaḥ -- is better; para-dharmo -- acts
prescribed for others; bhayāvahaḥ -- inviting danger.
It is far better to execute one’s own prescribed duties mixed
with faults than executing another’s prescribed duties
flawlessly. Damage on the path of performing one’s natural
duties is better than executing another’s duties. It is risky to
follow the paths prescribed for others.
ANNOTATION: Following one’s sva-dharma, one's own duty,
is far superior than imitating another’s prescribed duty.
Therefore, it is imperative to follow one’s own natural duties
perfectly. One should not follow another’s prescribed duties
intentionally, without being fully spiritually situated.
For example: a karma-yogi should follow the principles of
karma-yoga; a jnāna-yogi should follow the principles specified
for jnāna-yoga. It may be easier to follow jnāna yoga than
karma-yoga, but if one is not qualified to perform jnāna-yoga,
then one should not artificially imitate jnāna-yoga. Non-violence
is recommended in jnāna-yoga, but in karma-yoga, under the
appropriate superior directions, violence is allowed. Arjuna, a
kshatriya and karma-yogi should follow the directions that have
been given to the karma-yogi by his Spiritual Master, Lord
Krishna. Moreover, it would be illegal for Arjuna to imitate a
jnāna-yogi by retiring to the forest or an āsrama (hermitage) to
cultivate knowledge, meditate or accept non-violence. This
would involve forgetting his kshatriya-dharma and accepting
brāhmana-dharma. Especially for a leader like Arjuna, this
would create artificially chaotic conditions in the society.
If one’s performance of their duty is imperfect, it will still
be accepted by the Lord. This is to be greatly preferred to the
imitation of another’s duties, without being fully transcendentally
situated. An exception to this in the history of the world is seen
Karma Yoga 279
in sage Viswāmitra, who was born as a warrior king by

qualification, kshatriya, but became a maha-rishi by
transcendental meditation. Another exception is seen in
Parasurāma, who was born a brāhmana, but became a kshatriya
(warrior) by qualification. When situated above the modes of
material nature and situated in transcendence, one’s social status
can change; not otherwise.
Material situation of all living entities is temporary and
fluctuating. One may be born into a family of doctors, and his
parents may give him everything necessary to make him a
doctor, but not necessarily he become a doctor, he may choose
the profession in a bank. Another may be born to a movie star
and be prepared to become an industrialist, not necessarily a
movie star. But when these children are born again after this life,
in different houses and countries, their occupation or sva-dharma
changes according to their previous desires and actions. Not in
every life, one can have the same profession. And, if one's
actions are very whimsical and irrational, then they can be born
as a dog or a cat or a lizard, in those life, they will have no
occupational duties at all.
Material varieties are transient, dangerous and ever
changing. The living entity is eternal and lives in all
circumstances without change as the spirit soul, who is a part and
parcel of God. Yet, despite their differences, everyone has sva-
dharma of the soul that is realized as a service to Krishna.
Moreover, when one serves Krishna, he immediately establishes
his svadharma. sva-dharma of the soul, as distinct from the sva-
dharma that changes from life to life according to one’s karma,
which cannot be separated from the soul, it is dormant within
oneself, although it can also be overpowered by materiality.
When someone awakens this and establishes themselves in a
loving relationship with Krishna, he will be allowed to live with
Him by His mercy. There, he will be one of the associates of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, and
will be unlike the changing bodies of the material world, which
shift from the position of a small microbe to the position of Lord
Brahma. All wise living beings must seek this permanent

transcendental occupation that is the sva-dharma of the soul, to
realize eternal life.
TEXT 36 अ्न
ुा उवाच।
अि केन रय्ु ८ऽयं पापं चरत पु
ू षः।
अतन्छतनवप वा्णेय बलाहदव तनय८्् ः॥३६॥
arjuna uvācha
atha kena prayukto ’yaṁ pāpaṁ charati pūruṣaḥ
anicchann api vārṣṇeya balād iva niyojitaḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; atha -- then; kena -- by what;
prayukto -- incited; ayam -- one; pāpaṁ -- sins; charati --
commit; pūruṣaḥ -- a man; anicchann -- even against one’s will;
api -- although; vārṣṇeya -- O descendant of Vrshni, Krishna;
balād -- by force; iva -- as if; niyojitaḥ -- engaged.
Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, what incites one to
commit sinful activities, as if to be pushed by force to do so,
even though they are against one’s will?
ANNOTATION: The imitation of another’s dharma, or
occupational duties, is offensive. Uncontrolled sense enjoyment
that is not permitted by the scriptures is sinful – especially
looking at another’s wife with lustful eyes in the spirit of
enjoyment. Falling prey to attachment and hatred is indecent and
is based on illusion. Even though people know that such anger,
desire for intimate sensual pleasure and other passions are sinful,
these infringements of the scriptures are still committed; and,
when they are committed by one who has a sense of morality, it
is as if they are committed against a person’s will.
What is the energy that impels a person to partake in these
activities while knowing that he does not really want to? Lust,
greed, illusion, anger and infatuation; these elements keep us
hostage. Arjuna asks: what is the main cause for this deliberate
inconsistency in people’s motivations. In the following verses the
Lord begins to answer this subtle question.
Karma Yoga 281
ु ाच
काम एष र८ि एष र्८गण
ु सम्
ु भवः।
म ाशन८ म ापातमा वव््येनभम वररणम ्॥३७॥
kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ
mahāśano mahā-pāpmā viddhy enam iha vairiṇam
Godhead said; kāmaeṣa -- this lust; krodhaeṣa -- become wrath;
rajo-guṇa -- the mode of passion; samudbhavaḥ -- originated
from; mahāśano -- all-devouring; mahā-pāpmā -- extremely
sinful; viddhyenam -- know this lust to be; iha vairiṇam --
greatest enemy in the material world.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: It is lust
alone, which originates from the material mode of passion
and becomes anger, you should know this lust to be the all
devouring great and sinful enemy of this world.
ANNOTATION: Among the modes of material nature, passion is
the most critical, especially for human beings. Because of its
vigorous nature, it fixes an excessively pervasive bodily concept
in the minds of all created beings. Due to the influence of mode
of passion, one strongly identifies with the material body.
Irregularities, then, occur in one’s life, such as especially strong
sensual erotic urges, as a result of this false identification.
Human beings thus fall into forming strong sexual ties. Many
people condemn their personal erotic actions and their root
desires, and often they condemn their partners for forcing them
for this purpose. They also engage in mind blowing carnal
activities, which are even forbidden in the kāmasūtras (part of
the Vedās).
Materialistic people, and materialistic followers who take
the scriptural injunctions lightly are subject to their desires, and
are excessively lustful. Sometimes their ghastly desires lead them
to kidnap girls, young women, raping, robbing and murdering,
etc. In the case of incest, people behave exactly like animals who
do not know who their mother is, who their sister is, who their
son is, but they have strong sexual relationship with everybody.
Being completely blind, the whole world is degraded by the
darkness of this lust. They have no clue how to overcome the
enjoyment of their fleeting senses, which drag them down to
infamy, and eventually lead them to hellish regions.
Men and women are on the same level in terms of enjoying
the body of another. The role of sex is like having an itch: if one
keeps scratching the itch, there’s a temporary sense of relief,
however, the moment you stop scratching; it will bleed and start
to give pain. Sex is nothing more than satisfying an itching
sensation in the body, and often the aftermath is painful. Men
and women think they can stop engaging in sexual activities, but
they do it again, again and again, almost all of the time against
their own will. When people cannot control their own senses in
this way, primarily it is because they are influenced by the mode
of passion. Thus, it is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.45:
yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ
kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham
tṛpyanti neha kṛpaṇā bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ
kaṇḍūtivan manasijaṁ viṣaheta dhīraḥ
“Sex life is compared to the rubbing of two hands to relieve an
itch. grhamedhis, so-called householders, who have no spiritual
knowledge, think that this itching is the greatest platform of
happiness, although actually it is a source of distress. The
krpanās, the misers, are never satisfied by repeated sensuous
enjoyment. Those who are sober and who tolerate this itch, are
not subject to the suffering of these so-called householders.”
When lustful desires are unfulfilled they lead to krodha,
anger. Anger toward a partner leads to arguments, dissension,
and abuse. Frustrated desires sometimes lead to crimes of
passion, or one partner killing the other. Their anger is like that
of a cobra, dissatisfied in their desires they forcibly separate.
Men who are deceitful, overly proud, and sinful in their behavior
cannot find any solution to their lust and anger problems. There
Karma Yoga 283
are classes offered on anger management, but there are no classes

on how to avoid sexual desire. Rather, it is as if people are
having classes on how to accelerate this type of passion.
Devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna under the
kind guidance of a vaishnava spiritual master is the only solution
for people to come out of this lust, anger, greed and illusion. Lust
is the all devouring sinful enemy of this world, it may be only a
part of the material world, but it is not a part of the Kingdom of
God.
TEXT 38 िम
ू ेनावरय े व््नयािादशो मलेन च।
यि८्बेनाव ृ ८ गभाथ िा न
े ेदमाव ृ म ्॥३८॥
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśo malena ca
yatholbenāvṛto garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛtam
dhūmen -- by smoke; āvriyate -- is covered; vahnir -- fire; yathā -
- just as; ādarśo -- mirror; malena -- by dirt; ca -- also; yatha --
as; ulben -- by the womb; āvṛto -- is covered; garbhas -- embryo;
tathā -- so; tene -- by that lust; edam -- this; āvṛtam -- is covered.
Just as fire is covered by smoke, a mirror is covered by dirt,
an embryo is sheltered by the womb: living beings are
covered by different grades of lust.
ANNOTATION: The spirit soul is a part of Krishna, just as
sunshine is a part of the Sun. The living entity’s original
consciousness is pure. This is called Krishna consciousness. In
the material world that pure consciousness is covered by
different degrees of lust. As a consequence, one cannot
remember one’s original state as a son of God.
Lust covers living entities in different degrees because it has
different manifestations as it is placed in different kinds of
bodies. The first degree of lust is represented by small fire which
is covered by smoke, but which can be fanned to further ignite
and spread the fire. This depicts the condition of human beings
whether they are civilized or not. Many human beings have the
sense of God, even many uncivilized people offer worship and
respect to material nature in the form of lightning, thunder,

mountain, trees and oceans. While lust, in the form of smoke,
covers human’s Krishna consciousness, there is hope they will
develop devotion to the Supreme Person, Krishna. In doing so,
the fire, as Krishna consciousness, may be fanned and kindled, to
be revealed underneath the smoke of lust. The second degree of
lust represented by dust covers the mirror. Such beings cannot
see their face in the mirror until it is thoroughly cleaned. Humans
who suffer from this level of lust are compared to birds and
beasts, who have a developed consciousness, but use it for
eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. The third degree of lust is
represented by an embryo, the baby in the womb. These beings
are like trees and plants, and their consciousness is meager.
Lust covers all living entities fully. Humans have the
opportunity to control lustful affairs and anger by directing these
desires according to superior reasons in order to satisfy the
Supreme Lord Krishna. Thus, lust can be employed harmlessly
by conceiving many Krishna conscious children. Or, one can
manifest one’s anger for the purpose of establishing true
religious principles. Lord Krishna thus urges Arjuna’s anger
because without anger one cannot fight.
TEXT 39 आव ृ ं ्ानमे न
े ्ातनन८ तन्यवररणा।
काम पेण क९त य
े द्ु परू े णानलेन च॥३९॥
āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena jñānino nitya-vairiṇā

kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya duṣpūreṇānalena ca
āvṛtaṁ -- obscured; jñānam -- pure knowledge; etena -- by this;
jñānino -- endowed with intelligence; nitya-vairiṇā -- by the
perpetual foe; kāma-rūpeṇa -- in the form of lust; kaunteya -- O
son of Kunti; duṣpūreṇānalena ca -- which also burns like
insatiable fire.
O son of Kunti, thus, the intelligent living entity’s pure
knowledge becomes obscured by his perpetual foe, in the
form of lust, which burns like an insatiable flame.
Karma Yoga 285
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord explains that a

pure living entity, whose real consciousness is covered by lustful
desires, is unable to see their original identity. The pure soul is
like pure rain water, when it falls to the ground it becomes
contaminated. Similarly, when pure and wise beings fall to the
material world, they become covered by the lust, sending the
pure soul into darkness. When lust covers the pure soul with
lustful desires, the path of liberation becomes impossible. One
cannot be free from the cycle of birth and death until this
covering of lust is removed. Only then, may one witness attain
self-realization along the path of knowledge.
The word kāma-rūpena means ‘in the form of lust’. It
indicates that lust is only fulfilled with great pain and struggle.
The word duspūrena means ‘never satisfied’. Even though we
achieve some material relief or comfort, still, it demands more.
analena means ‘just pouring oil on the fire’. This describes, how
the satisfaction of a lust-based desire only increases one’s lust,
helping the fire burn more; the fulfillment of lust demands more
lustful desire.
This indicates that kāma or lust is an eternal enemy. In the
prison house, hard core criminals are shackled by iron chains,
similarly, disobedient living beings are compared to hardcore
criminals: where all criminals are put in the house of the material
world, which is called maituna grha, or house of sex, where they
are tied by the shackles of lustful desires.
Economic development and big commercial developments
are nothing, but a transformation of material lust. Everyone from
elders to infants are different manifestations of lust. Lustful
activities will bring living entities back to this material world and
punish them with more sexual temptations. As described in the
last verse, kāma covers the soul as smoke covers fire, and as dust
prevents one from seeing a reflection in the mirror. In this verse,
Lord Krishna describes not only how this kāma prevents one
from perceiving their soul, but as the womb imprisons the
embryo, it is kāma which keeps a person imprisoned in material
existence.
TEXT 40 इ्तरयाणण मन८ ब्

ु धिरथयाधि्ठानम्
ु य ।े
ए ववाम८ य्येष ्ानमाव्ृ यदे ह नम ्॥४०॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam uchyate
etair vimohayaty eṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam
indriyāṇi -- the senses; mano -- the mind; buddhir -- the
intelligence; asya -- of this lust; adhiṣṭhānam -- sitting place;
uchyate -- is told; etair -- by all these; vimohayaty -- confused;
eṣa -- this lust; jñānam -- knowledge; āvṛtya -- covering;
dehinam -- of the embodied.
The senses, the mind and intelligence are the strongholds of
this lust, by this lust embodied beings’ real knowledge is
covered and they are bewildered.
ANNOTATION: By revealing the places where lust silently
resides, the Supreme Lord Krishna indicates that there is a
method to control it. The senses, the mind and intelligence,
control the discriminatory ability where lust secretly lives, it is
by these senses that it exercises its domination over the soul.
Through lust, the senses, the mind and the intellect become
addicted to passion for sense objects. Lust grabs a hold of
embodied beings and mesmerizes them by shadowing their
intelligence, and covering and enveloping the soul in so many
ways. People who become a slave to lust do anything to gratify
its senses. They are plunged into the prison orchard of sense
objects. This infatuation with lust reverses the enlightenment that
is cultivated through the Vedic scriptures and causes a person to
seek pleasures in sense objects and to satisfy every one of their
desires.
Those who are not conscious of the influence of lust in the
mind will fall. Lust hides in the senses, mind and intelligence,
but is identified by Lord Krishna. When it is located, it can be
captured and arrested immediately. As the real owner of all
bodies, Lord Krishna, is also the ‘Super Spy’ of all living beings.
He knows everything that is happening in everyone’s body. It is,
after all, created under His supervision. Hence, residing in the
Karma Yoga 287
heart of all living beings, Krishna, therefore, knows the complete

anatomy of the material and subtle body.
By these subtle senses, the pure living soul is covered by
lust and it bewilders him. For a person that is in possession of a
lot of true Vedic knowledge, a guru’s instruction, and who has
attained the realization of Godhead and practices bhakti to the
Supreme Lord, lust can still be a problem. When the all
devouring lust enters in the mind and intelligence of an
individual, all these excellences are, nevertheless, futile. As it is
described in the 8th canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam, even Lord
Mahādeva, when seeing the beauty of Mohini form of Lord
Vishnu, could not control himself and ran after her. Lord
Brahma, moreover, ran after his beautiful daughter with lustful
desires.
Lust must be controlled by any means because once lust is
satisfied, it only demands more and more. It is better to distract
the mind from the lust altogether, whether by chanting, and
hearing Krishna’s pastimes, reading scriptures or associating
with devotees. In short, there must be spiritual engagement
around the clock. This will save one from all kinds of material
troubles.
The practice of these spiritual solutions must form the
maxim one remembers when faced with lust. There is no other
way to conquer lust except by engaging the senses, mind and
intelligence in Krishna's different services. With the distraction
of devotional service of Krishna, many swāmis, yogis, sannyāsis,
brahmachāries and strong vanaprasthās have been trapped in the
network of this lust and have lost their spiritual position.
Thus, it is said in the Katho Upanishad 1-3-14: ksurasya
dhāra nisita duratyaya durgam pathas tad kavayo vadanti: The
path of spiritual realization is very difficult, it is sharp like a
razor's edge. That is the opinion of learned transcendental
scholars.
TEXT 41 थमा्वभम्तरया्याद९ तनय्य भर षाभ।
पातमानं र्ह ्येनं ्ानवव्ाननाशनम ्॥४१॥
tasmāt tvam indriyāṇy ādau niyamya bhāratarṣabha

pāpmānaṁ prajahi hy enaṁ jñāna-vijñāna-nāśanam
tasmāt -- therefore; tvam -- you; indriyāṇy -- senses; ādau -- at
the beginning; niyamya -- bring under control; bhāratarṣabha --
O most noble, chief descendants of Bhārata; pāpmānaṁ -- which
is the embodiment of sin; prajahi -- restrain (uproot); hy --
surely; enaṁ -- this; jñāna -- of knowledge; vijñāna -- and
knowledge of pure soul; nāśanam -- the destroyer.
Thus, O Arjuna, the noblest of Bhāratas, at the beginning,
restrain the great incarnation of sin, by controlling the senses
and uproot this lust which is the destroyer of pure knowledge
and self- realization.
ANNOTATION: Human beings are rational animals. In the
forest there are many different animals who are lured by one or
other of the sense objects. A deer is very fond of hearing nice
music, so hunters purposefully play very sweet music to trap the
deer. An elephant is caught by using a trained female elephant
who leads him into a ditch. Fish have a strong sense of taste so
fishermen trap them by using hooks covered by food. Bees
seeking sweet smells end up in different lotus flowers, in the
evening at the sunset when the lotus flowers close, all such bees
are trapped inside and die for want of breathing air. Each animal
is, thus, strongly influenced by a particular sense, which leads to
their destruction.
Human beings should learn by observing these tricks of
nature. There are five objects of the senses: form, taste, touch,
smell and sound. These animals enjoy one of these sense objects
unrestrictedly. Animals have four legs, the difference for the
human beings is that their second set of legs have transformed
into two hands. Human beings are, thus, rational two legged
animals, and they enjoy all of the senses unrestrained.
When a person indulges in sexual activities, it seems like
the greatest pleasure in the material world. However, these
activities only offer momentary happiness. And, what’s more is
that they are a trap that ties humans to the prison house of the
Karma Yoga 289
material world. This can result in an entity passing through the

cycle of life as is given by the 8,400,000 species found in nature.
Forgetting all these life forms, unconscious members of human
society pursue their lustful desires.
Once sexual matters are premeditated, desires are definitely
fulfilled in the end. If lustful beings' sexual pursuits cannot be
fulfilled through a legal path, they adopt an illegal path, which
brings only shame, humiliation, defamation and embarrassment.
While many public personalities claim to be saintly, they are
often unable to restrain sexual desires and, in secret, indulge in
erotic affairs. By indulging in illicit sex, a man begins to think
about it exclusively, day and night. If a person does not protect
himself from this onslaught, upon growing old, they will be
unable to forget about their sexual thoughts.
The world is surrendered to this lust, lust for money, lust for
gold and lust for land. However, the ultimate goal of
accumulating these forms of wealth is inevitably to fulfill a
desire for sex. Money and Gold is sought after in this way is
likened in Srimad-Bhāgavatam to the yellow stool that passes
when a person gets pneumonia. Even though it is golden, it is
disgusting. Consequently, without achieving self-realization, this
‘gold’ and associated sexual desires will lead one to be
transmigrated to the body of a snake, which is given to protect
their wealth or a bird, who performs sexual indulgence about 300
times in a day. Therefore, Krishna says, lust is the destroyer of
the real knowledge, which covers the true knowledge of all living
beings and drag them down to the hellish existence.
TEXT 42 इ्तरयाणण परा्या ु रर्तरये्यः परं मनः।
मनसथ ु परा ब्ु धियो ब् ु िेःपर थ ु सः॥४२॥
indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ
indriyāṇi -- senses; parāṇy -- are superior; āhur -- it is told;
indriyebhyaḥ -- more than the senses; paraṁ -- superior; manaḥ -
- the mind; manasas -- above the mind; tu -- also; parā --
superior to; buddhir -- intelligence; yo -- who; buddheḥ -- above

the intelligence; paratas -- highest; tu -- but; saḥ -- he.
It is told that the working senses are higher than inert
matter. The mind is even better than the working senses. Yet,
intelligence is superior to the mind, and the soul is higher
than intelligence.
ANNOTATION: The body consists of five knowledge acquiring
senses and five working senses. These are the ‘dull matter’. The
mind is higher than these senses because it has the power of
thinking, feeling and willing on any objects of the world. These
powers are sent to the bodily senses by the mind. Next,
intelligence, which helps the senses with the discriminatory
power of identifying the objects of the world is, therefore,
superior to the mind. However, the soul, which is the activating
principle of all the gross and subtle senses, is superior to the
whole body: five knowledge acquiring senses, five working
senses, five objects of the senses, mind, Intelligence and ego.
When one becomes a devotee of Krishna, one can easily
engage all these gross and subtle senses in the service of the
Lord. Devotional service to the Supreme Lord is not an idle
man’s fantasy, it is full of activities for all the gross and subtle
senses. Without such devotional service and its engagement in
the senses, it would be impossible to control one’s lusty desires.
Lust is like a parasite in a tree that threatens to destroy the
tree. Without properly administering lust, it can, similarly,
destroy oneself. Materialistic way of life is to please one’s own
senses and mind. The endeavor one makes is to indulge in sex
life is asat. Sex life is the central attraction in the Godless
civilization. It is said in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 2-1-3
nidraya hriyate nāktam vyavayena ca vā vayah
divaca rthehaya rājan kutumha-bharanena va
“The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at
night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime
either in making money or maintaining family members”. But
life is combination of soul and body, and the prime substance is
Karma Yoga 291
soul. It is necessary to maintain one’s body, but if one thinks,

maintaining one’s body is the only goal of life, and do not have
to enquire into the actual goal of life, which is the truth of soul-
realization, then one’s life is defeated.
Actually service to God is full of engagement; engagement
for mind, intelligence and all senses. One can engage oneself in
Krishna’s service by erecting nice Krishna temple. It involves
thinking, feeling willing and intelligence. To build a temple, one
has to buy granite, cement, wood, tiles, engineering, and find
water sources, get approvals from Government, etc. The same
activity, one does for building one’s own building is also
required to fulfill Krishna’s temple. The difference is that the
endeavor one makes to build the temple, though apparently
material activity involved, is not a material activity, it is pure
spiritual devotional actions, which can lead the performer to the
Kingdom of God after his present body is perished, all other
personal activities rendered for one’s false prestige, can lead one
to the repeated birth and death in different universes, and
different planets and in different species of life.
TEXT 43 एवं ब्
ु िेः परं ब्
ु ्वा संथ ्या्मानमा्मना।
्ह शरंु म ाबा ८ काम पं दरु ासदम ्॥४३॥
evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā

jahi śatruṁ mahā-bāho kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam
evaṁ -- thus; buddheḥ paraṁ -- superior to intelligence; buddhvā
-- knowing; saṁstabhya -- steady; atmānam -- the mind; ātmanā
-- by self-realization; jahi -- conquer; śatruṁ -- the foe; mahā -
bāho -- O mighty-armed one; kāma-rūpaṁ -- in the form of lust;
durāsadam -- difficult to be accomplished.
Consequently, knowing the soul to be superior to material
senses, mind and intelligence, one must fix one’s mind with
spiritual intelligence and conquer the insatiable foe called
lust, O mighty-armed one (Arjuna).
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord concludes the
topic regarding the influence of lust on a person’s senses, mind
and intelligence. He mentions material desires, which initiates

the senses and excites the body with lust. The senses are thereby
inflamed by sense objects, which overpower the mind, so that, it
is only in service of lustful intelligence. It is said in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 5.5.8
puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ

tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ
ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair
janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti
“The attraction between male and female is the basic

principle of material existence. On the basis of this
misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and
female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property,
children, relatives and wealth. In this way one increases life’s
illusions and thinks in terms of “I and mine.”
The soul is not subjected to any such changes, but it
witnesses the material, sensual, mental and intellectual changes
that are prompted by lust. Originally, the spirit soul is
transcendental because it is part and parcel of Krishna.
Therefore, the soul has its own transcendental senses like
Krishna. These include knowledge acquiring senses, and working
senses. Everything in the material world and spiritual world is
belonged to Krishna, including one’s own mind and intelligence.
Lord Krishna is vibhu, the great, he is constituted by beings
which are part and parcel of Him, tiny like atoms, or anu.
Qualitatively, the individual soul is the same as Krishna, but
quantitatively the Majestic Lord is exponentially greater. This is
like the president of nation and its citizens. Both are conscious
beings and with regard to their quality they are identical. Yet,
regarding their quantity they are different; there is one president,
and many citizens; the president also has great power, while the
citizens only hold a little as individuals. Being tiny, the spirit
souls under material conditions are overpowered by the material
senses. Realizing that one is pure consciousness, which is
Karma Yoga 293
transcendental to the gross and subtle bodily functions, one

should use the mind to control the senses.
The establishment of control over the mind is possible with
the help of intelligence. Moreover, the establishment of
intelligence is possible with the help of the pure consciousness of
the soul. Although lust is extremely difficult to conquer, one
should work on powerful devotional activities with firm
conviction and determination, one must completely terminate and
eradicate this destructive enemy, and free oneself from the
negative effects of its illusions. Cleansing of a wine pot cannot
be completed by using wine, similarly material solutions to
purify the mind is not at all possible, but it is devotional service
to Krishna.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is the best
provider of all benedictions. As Krishna is the Supersoul and
present in the heart of all living beings, when those who are part
and parcel of Him desire to be free from such lustful desires, He
helps them to be free in this way. Another name for the Supreme
Lord is Adhokshaja, which means ‘beyond the material mind and
senses’. One can understand Him only with the help of Vedic
literature, which is called apaurusheya, and not through literature
written by human beings.
Foremost of all such scriptures is Srimad-Bhāgavatam,
which is the complete narration of the Supreme Person’s form,
quality, attributes, etc. By meditating on the forms, pastimes and
qualities of the Supreme Lord, as enumerated in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, material lust, the most sinful enemy of the living
entity, will disappear like fog disappears when the sun rises,
niharam iva bāshkara. To initiate devotion in the heart, Chant
Krishna’s Holy Name as prescribed in the Brahmavaivrta
Purāna: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau
nasteva nasteva nasteva gatir anyata, “chant hare Krishna
mantra, chant hare Krishna mantra, chant hare Krishna mantra,
there is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other
way.” This verse from the Purāna emphasizes that everyone
must chant the Holy Name of Krishna always to be free from the
entanglements of conditioned life, which includes the powerful

lusty desires.
The young Haridas Thakura was a top class devotee of Lord
Krishna, who defeated the progress of beautiful ladies, who were
offering him their lustful tender bodies in the dead of night.
Because he was taken shelter of the Supreme Lord by chanting
His holy name, he baffled the ladies tricks. And one of the ladies
gave up her profession of enticing men and became a sincere
devotee of Lord Krishna. The additional one was personified
material energy, Vishnu māya, goddess Durga, who came in the
guise of a fine-looking lady to test Haridas’s quality of devotion
to Krishna and also failed. Similarly, everyone is enticed by the
personified material energy in the form of lust and without
shelter of chanting the holy name of Krishna and Rāma, all are
doomed in the lusty affairs of the illusory material energy of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
Thus ends the humble annotations of the 3rd chapter of

Bhagavad-Gītā original ‘Karma Yoga’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami

1. Infer on the power, and position of demigods. Why are they
worshiped?
2. Explain the nature of lust, where is it hidden in the body and
how one can conquer it?
1. Why does Lord Krishna speak karma-yoga though He
knows it is not crucial for People?
2. Should a person take sannyāsa when he becomes frustrated
with material existence? Support your answer with proper
explanation.
3. Explain the duties of a sannyāsi from the verse #5.
Karma Yoga 295
4. What is a yogi and what is a karma yogi? Provide the

advantages of being a karma-yogi over just being a yogi?
5. What caused the upheaval of the social divisions in this age
of Kali-yuga?
6. Explain why even the heavenly demigods have to work for
the satisfaction of Lord Krishna?
7. Who is yajnā purusha and why is it so important to satisfy
Him?
8. What is the blessing offered to all living beings by Lord
Brahma?
9. Are demigods powerless that they need cooperation of the
human beings? Cite your answer.
10. What are the five types of sacrifices? Explain them?
11. Why do devotees offer their food to Lord Krishna before
they eat? 13
12. Explain the science of bhavanti bhūtani.
13. What does Lord Krishna tell Arjuna about the prescribed
duties of a fully Krishna conscious person? 17,18
14. Who is Janaka Mahārāja? What are his unique qualities?
15. What does Lord Krishna say about prescribed duties in
reference to His own activities?
16. Describe how Lord Krishna demonstrated the ideal human
life by giving His own example.
17. Why does a Krishna conscious person act exactly like an
ignorant person?
18. Categorize what can an enlightened person do for those
whose minds are attached to the mode of ignorance? 26
19. Who is the real doer of all activities in the material world?
Explain?
20. Give a comparison between work in devotion and work for
fruitive results.
21. When people choose to disobey the Lord’s eternal

injunctions meant for human society, what result awaits
them? 31.32
22. Attachment and aversion are stumbling blocks on the
pathway to the Spiritual world. What is the main attachment
humans fall prey to?
23. Provide Arjuna’s question in text 36?
24. If the mind is the controller of all the other senses, then how
can we control the mind? Site the example of an advanced
devotee who baffled the young ladies.
1. “____________ are the empowered heavenly bureaucrats of
material affairs in the universe”.
2. “The devotees of the Lord are unconstrained from all kinds of
wrongdoing because they eat _____________, which is
accessible first for sacrifice”.
3. “In charge of the various necessities of life, __________,
being satisfied by the performance of ____________, will
supply all necessities to everyone. But he who enjoys such
gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is
certainly a _____________”
4. “Regulated behaviors are prescribed in the Vedās, and the
Vedās are directly manifested from the ______________”
5. “Kings such as _____________ achieved excellence
exclusively by performance of prescribed duties”
6. “O son of Pritha, there is no work prearranged for Me within
all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of
anything, nor have I a need to acquire anything—and yet I
am busy in _____________”
7. __________says’, “If _____________ did not carry out
prescribed duties, all the worlds would face adverse
calamity.”
Karma Yoga 297
8. “The spirit soul puzzled by the influence of _____________

thinks he is the doer of activities that are in actuality carried
out by the three modes of material nature”.
9. “It is _____________ only, which is the all-devouring sinful
adversary of this world born of contact with the material
mode of passion and later transformed into fury”.
10. “The working senses are superior to the_______; the
_________ is higher than the working senses; intelligence is
still higher than the mind; and the______ is even higher than
the intelligence”.
1. “buddhi-yoga and sānkhya Yoga have _____________ as the
ultimate goal”. (Sri Krishna, Absolute Truth, Brahman,
Paramātma)
2. “_____________ is the shortest procedure of linking the
whole thing in Krishna realization”. (buddhi-yoga, karma-
yoga, jnāna-yoga, dhyāna-yoga)
3. “A vaccine shields a person from viruses. Similarly,
_____________ protects one from the pollution of sinning
reactions”. (Pure green vegetables, Prasādam, Yoga,
Demigods)
4. “_____________ has/have no prearranged duties to execute in
the three worlds”. (Demigods, Pure devotees, Liberated
souls, Lord Krishna)
5. “In all sacrifices, _____________ is worshiped as the chief
recipient” (Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu, Lord Nārāyana,
Lord Kūrma)
6. “_____________ refers to one who knows the Absolute Truth
in three different features: Brahman, Paramātma and
Bhagavān”. (jhana-vit, tattva-vit, yoga-vit, bhakta-vit)
7. “Lust is originally our pure love of God transformed by
contact with the mode of _____________” (goodness,
passion, ignorance, pure goodness)
8. “The similarity of fire covered by smoke symbolizes the

partial covering of consciousness of _____________”
(animals, human beings, trees, insects)
9. “The model of _____________ covered by dust symbolizes
the greater covering of consciousness in the animal species”.
(smoke, a mirror, an embryo, light)
10. “The analogy of an embryo covered by the womb
symbolizes the completely covered, lusty consciousness of
_____________” (aquatics, trees, beasts, birds)
Knowledge Beyond the Mind and Senses 299
CHAPTER 4
Knowledge beyond
the Mind and Senses
ु ाच
इमं वववथव े य८गं र८् वान म्ययम ्।
वववथवातमनवे रा मनरु र्वाकवेऽरवी ्॥१॥
imaṁ vivaswate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam
vivaswān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt
Godhead said; imaṁ -- this; vivasvate -- to the sun god
Vivaswān; yogaṁ -- the science of one linking with the Supreme;
proktavān -- told; aham -- I; avyayam -- immortal; vivaswān --
Vivaswān; manave -- Vaivasata manu (the son of Vivaswān);
prāha -- taught; manur -- the father of mankind; ikṣvākave --
unto king Ikṣvāku; abravīt -- related to.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri
Krishna said: I taught this eternal science of relation of
oneself with the Supreme to the sun god, Vivaswān.
Vivaswān taught his son Vaivasata Manu, who then went on
to teach his son Iksvāku.
ANNOTATION: The Bhagavad-Gītā is not a new scripture. Five
thousand years ago, the Bhagavad-Gītā was spoken by God to
the Pāndava’s defense minister Arjuna. It is the oldest spiritual
science, which was spoken by the Supreme Lord Krishna that
links living entities with Him. In light of historical tradition, Lord
Krishna explains karma-yoga, the knowledge of science linking
299
with the Supreme through devotional service, that which has

been lost. This yoga system was instructive and enlightening to
people all over the world regardless of their skin color, social
order and faith. This message was commonly received through
the chain of disciplic succession. However, in the course of time,
in one way or another, this chain was broken. According to
vaishnava achāryas, more specifically, it was Duryodhana who
broke the practical application of the science of God and its
disciplic succession in the human society craving power and
wealth. Therefore, for the benefit of all human beings, Lord Sri
Krishna appeared once again and taught Arjuna the truth of the
Bhagavad-Gītā. One hundred and twenty five million
(12,50,00000 crores) years ago, Lord Krishna spoke this same
mystical philosophy of science to his first disciple, the sun god
Vivaswān, the saintly king and predominating president of the
sun planet. The sun is the king of all planets, which sustains all
other planets. Vivaswān passed on the knowledge he had
received from Lord Krishna to his son Vaivasata Manu, who was
the Manu of that period of time. In the same way, when the time
was right, Vaivasata Manu passed it on to his oldest son Ikṣvāku.
Thereafter, this knowledge was continually conveyed to the
saintly kings from the mouths of their spiritual masters. There
were two dynasties: sun dynasty and moon dynasty. The Lord
initially spoke this Bhagavad-Gītā to the sun dynasty, then to
Arjuna, a member of the Moon dynasty.
In the Mahābhārata (santi-parva 348.51-52), we can trace
the history of the Bhagavad-Gītā as follows:
tretā-yugadau ca tato vivaswān manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhaty-artham sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito vyapya lokan avasthitah
“In the beginning of the millennium known as Tretā-yuga this
science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by
Vivaswān to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, passed it
on to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku, the king of this earth planet and
forefather of the Raghu dynasty, in which Lord Rāmachandra
appeared.”
Therefore, Bhagavad-Gītā has existed in human society

from the time of Mahārāja Ikṣvāku. This science is ever fresh and
cannot be altered at any time by any scholars according to their
whimsical notions. The word of God is eternal as He is eternal.
TEXT 2 एवं पर्परारात भममं रा्षाय८ ववदःु ।
स कालेने म ा य८ग८ न्िः परत प॥२॥
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ paran-tapa
evaṁ -- in this way; paramparā -- by disciplic succession;
prāptam -- acquired; imaṁ-- this science; rājarṣayo -- the saintly
kings; viduḥ -- came to know; sa -- that knowledge; kālene -- in
the course of time; iha -- in this world; mahatā -- great; yogo --
the science of one linking with the Supreme; naṣṭaḥ -- vanished;
paran-tapa -- O Arjuna, conqueror of the enemies.
The saintly kings understood this science of yoga through the
chain of disciplic succession. However, over the course of
time, this disciplic succession was broken and the original
science appeared to have vanished.
ANNOTATION: Vivaswān is a demi-god, controlling the sun
planet. Presidents, Prime Ministers, State executives and other
ministers are in the position of the Rajarshi kings of old. Kings
who followed the instructions of the Bhagavad-Gītā became
responsible, selfless leaders. Also, they taught their citizens the
knowledge contained within the Bhagavad-Gītā, so that citizens
can learn to apply this knowledge to their day-to-day lives.
When the irresponsible kings manifested their selfishness
and ruled the nation whimsically, it gave way to democracy.
Thus, governments elected by people began leading their
countries, the same lands, cities, towns and villages that were
once governed by saintly kings, but now have modern names and
other changes, which allow modern leaders to govern them.
Unfortunately, given the diversity in religious doctrines in
various states and countries, these leaders are unable to lead the
populace of the world with peace and prosperity, and they are
unlike the ancient true leaders, like emperor Yudhishthira or
Parikshit. Yudhishthira and Parikshit were powerful rulers, but
they neither deviated from the Vedic injunctions, nor knowingly
harmed any living entities. Such kings are also called absolute
rulers, but their only goal was to engage themselves and the
populace in the righteous devotional service to Lord Krishna or
Lord Vishnu. Modern political leaders have their own way of
governing based on human experience and are focused on
improving the material situation of their countries with high
economic developments and policies through industrialization.
They are concerned with other important matters such as electric
power, gas and petroleum, which can run out at any time due to
natural disasters, nor do they have any backups for these
developing hazards. Therefore, economic expansion from
industries alone cannot bring solutions to those scattered citizens
with different whimsical interests.
They do not consider life to be temporary, yet the bodies of
all beings will ultimately perish. These leaders pay no attention
to the eternal spiritual interests of their citizens. Forgetting and
neglecting the prime spiritual necessities of the public, these
leaders themselves have turned into atheists. On the other hand,
those who are proclaiming to be religious leaders have no idea
about who God really is. In order to lead the populace spiritually,
one must know what the essence of spirituality is. If there is an
insufficiency of knowledge, no one can receive true welfare,
despite the immeasurable energy used to improve the country’s
social situations through hard work. Mundane scholars have
often led people astray by commenting on the Bhagavad-Gītā on
a whim and offering their own personal opinions. The Bhagavad-
Gītā is a revealed scripture, meaning, it is already revealed by the
Lord. There is no need for misinterpretation of unscrupulous
scholars. If they are true scholars they should write their own
books and not give a whimsical misinterpretation of a master
piece like the Bhagavad-Gītā.
The Bhagavad-Gītā has already been expounded by the

Supreme Lord with full clarity. Without having properly situated
in transcendental consciousness, they think that they can
comment on the science of God better than God and vaishnava
achāryas. After many years of austerity and penance in the
devotional line to Krishna, the achāryas are those who give true
significance to the Bhagavad-Gītā. As the saying goes 'fools rush
in where angels fear to walk’, their commentaries are confused
and impersonal. This is also known as yoga nasta paramtapah,
meaning deviating from the science of God. Among all
8,400,000 living species, the human form is the highest form, as
it gives us the opportunity to understand the primary goal of
human life and who the Godhead truly is. Therefore, this human
form is meant to cultivate spiritual knowledge in an eternal
relationship with God. The previous achāryas of all four
vaishnava sampradayas (Rāmanuja, Nibharka swāmi, Vishnu
swāmi and Srila Prabhūpāda) taught this precious supernatural
knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gītā to all people. The science of
the Bhagavad-Gītā enlightens those who read it. When one
applies this knowledge to their own lives, they become utterly
serene and happy. This guarantees the human form of existence
in the next life; this is true even for those who may have failed to
perfect their human form in this lifespan. This knowledge of God
is unparalleled and has no comparison, even mainstream science
and speculative philosophical knowledge of the material world is
nothing compared to the knowledge given by
God. Understanding the Supreme Vedic wisdom; State and
Federal leaders should assist the uninformed and innocent public
in understanding this invaluable Vedic knowledge, which can
ultimately lead all human beings to be free of the miseries of this
material existence – not only to end the repeated cycle of birth,
disease, old age and death, but also at the end of life provides
them with the eternal Kingdom of God. Citizens too should elect
spiritually oriented leaders to guide them. If this spiritual science
can be introduced in all schools and colleges, it would greatly
benefit the new generation of students and teachers, moving them
in a positive direction. This indeed would be the highest and

most transcendental charitable work one can ever give to the
world.
Yet, through the passage of time and lack of understanding
by people, this knowledge was somehow lost and forgotten.
However, the same pristine science is revealed in complete detail
by Lord Krishna, because Arjuna has taken full shelter of the
Supreme Lord with loving devotion. The Brahma Vaivarta
Purāna states that there is no Vedic scripture superior to that of
the Bhagavad-Gītā. The Pancharatra, which is supplementary to
the four Vedās should be learned and assimilated in its entirety
and the Bhagavad-Gītā is its essence. Thus, there is nothing that
can compare to the illustrious Bhagavad-Gītā. No one other than
the Supreme Lord Krishna is able to explain the original
Bhagavad-Gītā, which is the essence of the sublime wisdom of
all the Vedās and the mysteries of Vedānta.
TEXT 3 स एवायं मया ऽे ्य य८गःर८् ःपरु ा नः।

भ् ८ऽभस मे सखा चेत र थयं ्ये दत
ु मम ्॥३॥
sa evāyaṁ mayā te ’dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ
bhakto ’si me sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam
sa evā -- certainly the same; āyaṁ -- this; mayāte -- by Me, unto
you; adya -- today; yogaḥ -- the science of yoga; proktaḥ -- is
being taught; purātanaḥ -- ancient; bhakto -- devotee; si -- you
are; me -- My; sakhā -- friend; ce -- also; iti -- therefore;
rahasyaṁ -- supreme secret; hy -- certainly; etad -- this; uttamam
-- greatest.
Today, I have told you the science of yoga, the relationship
with the Supreme, which is the oldest, because you are my
devotee and also friend, and thus you can comprehend the
Supreme esoteric teachings of this science of yoga.
ANNOTATION: Several millions of years ago, Krishna taught
the science of yoga or sanātana dharma to the Sun god
Vivaswān. All the Vedās, Upanishads, Purānas and
Mahābhārata only teach the relationship of living entities with

God, which is called the science of yoga. However, this
knowledge has to be accepted from the disciplic succession; it
must be remembered that the same knowledge received from a
non-disciplic succession have no effect. In the Padma Purāna,
sampradaye vihinaye mantras te nishphala matah, it is said that
the knowledge received from the non-parampara (disciplic
succession) will not carry a person to the destination of human
life that is going back home, back to Godhead. There are two
types of knowledge: inductive knowledge and deductive
knowledge. While inductive knowledge is speculative, the
deductive knowledge is received from the parampara system or
authoritative knowledge. Authoritative knowledge is always
perfect and is received directly from Lord Krishna Himself who
is the infinite, powerful and all cognizant Majestic Personality of
Godhead. The knowledge given by living entities is tainted with
inaccuracies, illusions, deceptions and flawed senses. Living
entities are infinitesimal beings and are numerous, whereas God
is one. Infinitesimal beings are eternally related to the Supreme
Lord Krishna in the spiritual world as well as in the material
world. In the material world everyone has forgotten this
relationship with a veil of illusory energy and therefore everyone
accepts a perverted relationship of the Lord with family and
friends. There are five relationships every living being has with
God: neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental and conjugal.
When a living entity surrenders to the Lord and begins rendering
loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord by giving up the
material false identification, such as I am an Indian, I am an
American, I am a woman, a man, a king, a minister, a scientist,
poor, rich, brāhmana, kshatriya, etc., he is considered to be
liberated. The scripture says that muktir hitva anyata rupam
svarupena vyavastiti, when one gives up false identification with
the material body one is liberated from the material existence. In
the beginning, Krishna gave birth to all living entities and all
living entities have one of the above mentioned relationships
with Krishna. The Vedās explain how to establish these

relationships with Krishna more explicitly through sambandha,
abhideya, and proyojana. Sambandha refers to the process which
establishes the relationship with God; abhideya happens after
establishing a relationship with God and refers to how one should
start serving Him in devotional service; lastly, prayojana means
the result of the devotional service is going back to the Kingdom
of God. For example, consider a girl who gets married, she first
establishes a relationship with her husband, then starts to serve
him, before finally having a child. Similarly, we have an eternal
relationship with Krishna and Krishna explains that relationship
to the world through Arjuna. This relationship with God has been
broken over the course of time by unscrupulous members of
society, like Dhrtarāshtra and his son. The Lord appeared once
more to teach the relationship between God and living entities in
disciplic succession to His friend Arjuna as he was Krishna's
disciple and a strong devotee. Lord Krishna did not teach this to
others outside disciplic succession because it is highly
confidential and a supreme secret.
TEXT 4 अ्न
ुा उवाच
अपरं भव ८ ्तम परं ्तम वववथव ः।
किमे ्वव्ानीयां ्वमाद९ र८् वातनत ॥४॥
arjuna uvācha
aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ
katham etad vijānīyāṁ tvam ādau proktavān iti
arjuna-uvācha -- Arjuna said; aparaṁ -- recent; bhavato -- Your;
janma -- birth; param -- senior; janma -- birth; vivasvataḥ -- of
the sun-god Vivaswān; katham -- how; etad -- this; vijānīyāṁ --
am I to understand; tvam -- You; ādau -- in ancient times;
proktavān -- instruct; iti -- thus.
Arjuna said: Your birth is very recent to sun god Vivaswān
who is senior to you. How am I to know that in ancient times
you instructed this science of yoga to him?
ANNOTATION: It seems that Arjuna is questioning the

statement of his Master, the Supreme Lord Krishna. He was
unsure of Krishna’s statement about teaching the science of the
Bhagavad-Gītā to sun god Vivaswān millions of years ago. He
wonders how it would be possible since, Krishna is a
contemporary personality to Arjuna. They were friends, Arjuna
ate with Krishna, slept in the same bed, and would go on
expeditions with Him. Arjuna helped Krishna get His wives
Rukmini and Kalindi. In addition, Arjuna married Krishna’s
sister Subhadra. Because of this, he felt Krishna was very
ordinary. Yet, Arjuna knew Krishna is the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead and was asking more of the knowledge
of Krishna for others. He heard that the Lord manifested his
Universal form in the Kaurava assembly when Krishna appeared
there as the peace messenger to prevent the war. Krishna killed
powerful demons like Kamsa, Narakāsura and performed other
divine pastimes in Mathura, Dwāraka and Vrindhāvana. Also,
before Yudhishthira Mahārāja's Rajasuya ceremony, Arjuna
heard from grandsire Bhīshma deva that Lord Krishna was not
only responsible for the origin of all created beings, but also the
beginning, middle and the end of all movable and immovable
beings. Lord Krishna could confirm the truth regarding His
transcendental appearance because there are thousands of rogues,
unfaithful and disloyal people who want to exploit Krishna’s
creation and at the same time do not want to accept His supreme
position as the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. Hence,
Arjuna’s question in this chapter will help everyone understand
Krishna and His different manifestations.
ु ाच
ब ू तन मे ्य ी ातन ्तमातन व चा्ुना ।
ातय ं वेद सवााणण न ्वं वे्ि परत प॥५॥
bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṁ vettha paran-tapa
śrī-bhagavān-uvācha -- the Majestic Personality of Godhead
said; bahūni -- many; me -- Me; vyatītāni -- have passed;

janmāni -- birth; tava -- of yours; cā -- and also; ārjuna -- O
Arjuna; tāny -- those; aham -- I; vedāsarvāṇi -- know all; natvaṁ
-- you do not; vettha -- know; paran-tapa -- O conqueror of the
enemy.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: You and
I have taken many births, I can remember all of them and
you cannot, O conqueror of the enemy.
ANNOTATION: Below are the characteristics of God. Those
who claim to be God must fulfill the qualities of God as
mentioned in this verse. The Lord appeared in this world as He
was requested by the universal leaders - Brahma, Siva and Indra,
etc. Arjuna, along with the other four brothers, are eternal
associates of Lord Krishna. Whenever and wherever the Lord
arrives in this world, or any other universe, as Lord Krishna, the
five brothers (Pāndavās) also appear, by the mercy of the Lord.
Even though the Pāndavās are living entities, they were given
special privileges to assist in the pastimes of the Lord in the
material world. Every time they join the Lord in His pastimes,
they do not remember their previous births in different universes.
Nonetheless, Krishna is the Absolute Truth. One of His names is
Achyuta, meaning the one who does not fall down to the material
consciousness, and He can remember all of His previous births
and activities. This is the difference between living entities and
God. Living entities cannot remember past lives whereas God
can. For instance, a father may remember all of his child’s
activities from the time of birth, but the child may not necessarily
remember many of the incidents from his early childhood.
Supreme Godhead, being the Supreme father of all sentient
beings, not only has the ability to recognize the different births of
Himself, but also has the ability to remember all living beings
births. Therefore, Isopanishad refers to Him as kavir, meaning
omniscient. Krishna is conscious of Arjuna's, his brothers, and all
other living entities births, activities and deaths. There are
millions of living entities who are undergoing material miseries
and Krishna is conscious of all of them. Lord Krishna is

asamurdva, which means that no one is either equal or superior
to Him. Krishna is established as the Supreme Godhead
throughout the universe by universal leaders, the demigods, such
as Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, and Lord Indra. For instance:
Ministers of a royal palace are often knowledgeable about the
king, but ordinary citizens may not know the particular qualities
and abilities of the king because the king does not interact with
ordinary citizens directly. Lord Krishna, who is one without a
second, expands into Lord Nārāyana and Lord Vishnu,
omnipotent and omnipresent Personality of Godheads. In
Brahma Samhita Lord Brahma states (5.1 and 33) that:
isvarah paramah krishnah sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam
“Krishna is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has
an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has
no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes”.
Krishna is the dignified Absolute individual having His
eternal form, eternal name, eternal designation and eternal
activities. His eternal lovely divine blue-tinged body radiant with
the intensity of ever existing knowledge has a flute in both His
hands. As His unimaginable spiritual energy is all pervading, still
He maintains His all fascinating medium size by His qualifying
supernatural appliances. His all cooperative supreme subjectivity
is nicely manifested in His eternal form.
advaitam achyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādhyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca
vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau
“I worship the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Govinda (Krishna), who is the original person—absolute,
infallible, without beginning. Although expanded into unlimited
forms, He is still the same original, the oldest, and the person
always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-
knowing forms of the Lord are usually not understood by even
the best Vedic scholars, but they always manifest to pure,

unalloyed devotees.”
advaitam means nondual reality, the Brahman or the
infinite, originates from Him as His effulgence and the Supersoul
as His component; but however He remains one with undivided.
The name Achyuta means that through multitudes of incarnations
emanate from Him as individual portions such as Lord Rāma,
Narasimha, Vāmana and millions of living entities as separated
spiritual particles from Lord Brahma, Indra, Chandra, still He
remains unbroken as the undivided whole of most complete
perfection. Though He manifests His pastimes of Childbirths,
etc., still He is without a foundation. Nevertheless, He disappears
after the pastimes of His appearance, still He is eternal. Though
without origin, yet He is with an origin in His pastime of
appearance and although eternal in essence, He is still a person in
the full bloom of youth.
Therefore, one should not try to understand God on his own,
that will result in failure. One must try to understand God from
God Himself and that is the only way to attain success. The path
of understanding Krishna from Krishna is mentioned in the
original interpretation of Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā.
TEXT 6 अ्८ऽवप सतन्यया्मा भू ानामी्वर८ऽवप सन ्।
रकृत ं थवामधि्ठाय संभवा्या्ममायया॥६॥
ajo ’pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro ’pi san
prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
ajo api sann -- although being birthless; avyayātmā -- body
imperishable; bhūtānām -- all living entities; īśvaro -- the
Supreme Lord; pi -- also; san -- being; prakṛtiṁ -- in the original
transcendental form; svām -- in My; adhiṣṭhāya -- so situated;
sambhavāmy -- I appear in every millennium; ātma-māyayā -- by
My internal potency.
Even though I am without birth and My spiritual body is
imperishable, I am the Lord of all living entities. By My
internal potency, I still incarnate in every millennium in My
original spiritual form.
ANNOTATION: One may question, whether the Supreme Lord

Krishna is eternal, and if His transcendental body is eternal as
well? To this, Lord Krishna replies that His other name is Aja,
which means unborn. Lord Krishna does not possess a body like
human beings. According to Sri Isopanishad, His transcendental
body has no veins and when there are no veins- asnavīram, there
is no blood, mucus, marrow, material brain or skin. Everything
He manifested was naralila, human pastime. His body is made of
eternity, knowledge, bliss and is full of form, sat-cit-ānanda-
vigraha. One cannot perceive any of these substances with
material eyes as His body is made of a substance that never
depreciates. His body is ever powerful, ever cognizant and ever
blissful. It is described in the scriptures as “deha-dehi-vibhāgo
’yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit”, which means “there is no
distinction between the body and the soul of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead at any time”. This is also relevant to His
incarnation as Lord Narasimha, Lord Rāma and Lord Chaitanya.
When Lord Krishna manifests Himself in this world, He advents
in pure goodness (suddha sattva) through His internal potency
known as ātma māya or yoga māya through material nature,
which is completely under His control. Lord Krishna accepts His
mother and father, Devaki and Vasudeva, establishing them in
pure goodness within His ātma māya, before apparently
appearing as a human child just like the sun rises from the womb
of the eastern horizon. When mother Devaki was pregnant with
Lord Krishna, she told her husband Vasudeva that she did not
feel the weight of the baby in her womb, unlike her six other
children who were very heavy. Lord Krishna is not shakti
(energy), but rather, He is shaktiman, (meaning energetic or
source of all energy). If one is energy, then he requires the help
of the energetic. This means that yoga-māya, the Lord arranges
situations; being empowered by the Lord and all the details with
phenomenal enthusiasm and complexity. In this way, Lord
Krishna appears to be born like a normal human being and grows
from infant to boy to adolescent, but amazingly He never seems
to grow beyond twenty or twenty five years of age. When the
Kurukshetra war was orchestrated by the Lord in an attempt to

reduce intruders and miscreants, He was ninety years old, but he
looked like a young man instead of an aged old man of ninety.
He is neither born nor dies, and one should not presume that He
uses material elements to create a form of Himself. He manifests
His appearances and disappearances and the conditions necessary
to descend and ascend by as he sees fit.
An embodied being has a material body made up of several
elements - earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The material body is
strong enough to execute certain material activities under
conditional existence of one life time, then changes to another
according to his vicious material desires. Material desires fall
into three different modes, and the living entity is forced to
change his body according to his karma. This is not at all
applicable to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. God’s eternal form is with two hands, two legs,
holding a flute in His hands, having a peacock feather, srivatsa
mark (curly hair) on His chest and kaustuba jewel (a necklace).
Certainly, He is the controller of all living entities. Isa means
great, but Isvara means greater than isha. Since, Lord Krishna is
superior to those who are īsha, such as Brahma, Siva and Sesha,
it is stated that only Krishna is to be recognized as svara or the
greatest of the great, the supreme controller. The Vedic scriptures
state that if one were to believe that the Supreme Lord Krishna's
eternal form is made of up of material elements, then they should
be ostracized and considered as outside of Vedic knowledge and
Purānic injunctions. Consequently, it should be clearly
understood that those who have faith and believe in the Supreme
Lord and the eternal Vedic scriptures, should accept only the
commentaries passed down through parampara or authorized
Vedic disciplic succession and which are never contradictory to
the Vedās, Purānas, Upanishads and other Vedic scriptures. The
followers of the Vedās or sanātana dharma are referred to as
Hindus by other religious sects. They too are confused about
God's true form, name, and attributes, largely as a consequence
of the undesirable association with non-Vedic and impersonalist,
māyāvādi philosophers.
TEXT 7 यदा यदा ह िमाथय ्लातनभावत भार ।

अ्य्ु िानमिमाथय दा्मानं स्
ृ ा्य म ्॥७॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
yadā yadā -- whenever and wherever; hi -- surely; dharmasya --
of religious principles; glānir -- decline; bhavati -- prevails;
bhārata -- O descendant of Bhārata; abhyutthānam -- a
predominance; adharmasya -- irreligion; tadā -- at that time;
ātmānaṁ sṛjāmy -- Myself manifest; aham -- I
Whenever and wherever there are discrepancies in religious
principles and a predominant increase of irreligion, I will, at
that time certainly manifest Myself, O successor of Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: The English definition of the word ‘religion’ is:
people's faith. Nonetheless, faith can be changed as people
interact with different social, religious and impersonalist leaders,
who are eager to convert people from one religion to another.
Since, there is always the penitential for people’s faith to change,
the meaning of religion cannot be taken as being absolute. The
key characteristic of fire is to provide heat and light, just as the
key characteristic of sugar is its sweetness. Similarly, the key
characteristic of the soul, is to serve, serving God is the highest
service. When this is obstructed and one no longer accepts the
authority of God, it becomes dharmasya glanir, in other words,
the true religion is affected. sanātana -dharma is eternal religion,
the laws of God, more specifically bhakti-yoga for human
beings. The purpose of following sanātana dharma, natural
duties and laws, is to ultimately satisfy the Supreme Lord,
dharmam tu sākshad bhagavat-pranitam (SB 6.3.19).When this
is hampered and unrighteous activities predominate, the society’s
peace and happiness becomes disrupted. Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, who loves all living
entities and takes the side of the people who follow true religious
principles, sanātana-dharma, descends into the world to re-
establish it. Based on one’s occupational position, one should
exercise his duties and responsibilities. There is unlimited

material opulence manifested by Krishna’s material nature, by
gaining these opulences, demons begin to think that they are the
regulators of everything and everybody. Thus, anyone who
violates and exhibits power beyond their natural phenomenal
position, creates disturbances to the true virtuous people of
society, State and Country; when it turns intolerable and can no
longer even be fixed by Lord Krishna’s direct representatives
like Lord Brahma, Siva and Indra, they appeal to the Majestic
Lord for help to reinstate religious principles. Such a crisis
occurred around five thousand years ago. Back then, the planet
Earth was over burdened by demonic species like Jarāsandha,
Narakāsura, Sambrāsura, etc. The amount of physical, mental,
intellectual tortures imposed by these demons upon ordinary
people and saintly devotees had no comparison in the history of
the world. It was impossible to control these demons, even by the
demigods, who bestowed power and opulence upon these
demons. Only the Supreme Lord Krishna who is the possessor of
both material and spiritual opulences, who is beyond the
demigods, time, space, power and opulence of the material world
could control these evil beings. Destruction of demoniac species
can only be brought about by the Lord Himself and His
incarnations. The purpose of all incarnations of the Lord and the
representatives of diverse religions are to revive men's
forgetfulness of God.
The King of Gāndhar, Sakuni, who was not only a
politician, but also shrewd, cunning, theatrical and diplomatic,
thought that he could defeat the Supreme Authority of the Lord
by his superficial wisdom. He played many tricks against the
Supreme Lord Krishna on the way to reinstate his nephew,
Duryodhana, as the emperor of the world. He wanted to defeat
the real religious principles and establish irreligion. His tricks did
not work against the Supreme Lord, who resides in every atom of
the universe as well as all-knowing of all living beings’ thinking,
feeling and willing. Thus, it is established that no one can excel
the power and wisdom of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, who is master of all worlds, sarvaloka maheswaram.
TEXT 8 पररराणाय सािूनां ववनाशाय च द्ु कृ ाम ्।

िमासथ
ं िापनािााय संभवाभम यग
ु े यग
ु े॥८॥
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge
paritrāṇāya -- for the protection; sādhūnāṁ -- of the devotees;
vināśāya -- the destruction; ca -- also; duṣkṛtām -- of the
devilish; dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya -- to restore principles of
religion; sambhavāmi -- I advent; yuge-yuge -- millennium after
millennium.
To protect the devotees and destroy the sinful, also to restore
the principles of religion, I advent Myself every millennium
after millennium.
ANNOTATION: Why would the pious suffer and miscreants
enjoy? This doesn’t exist in the law book of God. If one sees
some event paradoxical to this verse, it would then definitely
come to an end. This is because the Lord’s nature supports only
those people who follow the religion according to the description
of the Vedic literature and are commonly referred to as devotees.
Some people try and follow religious principles on their own
way, without referring to the bonafide explanations given in
Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-Gītā and Mahābhārata and so
forth. The Supreme Majestic Lord has nothing to do with such
doctrines, and subsequently, for them, the outcome will only be
more conflicts and miseries. Therefore, those who are actually
situated in the mode of goodness, render service to Godhead,
which is the most congenial form of submit and devotion. If they
are further elevated, then they will be situated in the pure
goodness - visuddha sattva, a quality equal to God. When the
authority of God is challenged, His devotional principles are
broken, and all spiritual sacrifices along with chanting mantras
intended for propitiating the Supreme Lord are shattered by the
demons. Also, cows and devotees, rishis, sages are harassed,
blasphemed and tortured incessantly as it is found in Brahma
vaivarta purāna. The Goddess of earth sees this discrepancy, and

could no longer bear the burden of demonic human beasts. This
is exactly like a civil disobedience movement overpowers the
state, the governor approach the president of the country for the
help, as this was the problem faced by the Goddess of earth.
Consequently, she requested the Supreme Personality of
Godhead for an incarnation. Demonic beings are those who want
to enjoy the opulence of Godhead without God. They commit an
irrational show of devotion to demigods, but not to Krishna or
Vishnu. Additionally, they also lack spirituality. It is said:
krishna nahi mane, tate daitya kari’ mani (CC Adi lila 8-9),
which means that the one who does not accept Krishna as the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is certainly an atheist.
The nature of devotees is disturbed due to the demonic power
over them.
In this connection in Harivasmsa Purāna, Jarāsandha talks
to his fellow demons:
jarāsandha uvācha
jato yam jagatam badhi krishnah parama durjayah
viditva tasya durvrttam aham hantum samudyatah
Jarāsandha said: Unconquerable Lord Krishna, who has now
appeared within this world, is harassing the rulers of the earth
who do not accept His supremacy. Having experienced His
arrogance, I have decided that He must be eliminated at all costs.
In the past, there were kings like Jarāsandha and Rāvana
who rigorously followed the prescribed Vedic duties and rituals.
Such kings were obedient to the brahminical culture, acting
charitable, competent kshatriyas, and even possessing all
kshatriya qualities. Yet, they did not accept Krishna and Rāma as
God. Thinking that Lord Krishna was an ordinary person,
Jarāsandha attacked Krishna and his devotees many times, and
each time he was defeated. Like king Jarāsandha, any man who
regularly performs Vedic rituals, but does not accept Krishna as
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead must be
considered as an atheist, according to the above verse. For the

purpose of annihilating such people and re-establishing the true
religion, the Lord appears as it is required by the devotees. Srila
Krishna das Kaviraja goswāmi gives a breakdown of the
incarnation of Godhead in Sri-Chaitanya Charitamrta: mayātita
paravyome sabara avasthana visve avatari' dhare 'avatara'
nāma. It means: "The incarnation of Godhead, descends from the
Kingdom of God to the material manifestation. And the
particular form of the Majestic Godhead, who so advents is
called an incarnation. Such incarnations are situated in the
spiritual world, or Vaikuṇṭha planets. When they descend to the
material creation, they assume the name avatara- incarnation".
There are various kinds of avataras - such as purusha
avataras, guna avataras, lila avataras, satyavesa avataras,
manvantara avataras and yuga avataras all appearing on
schedule all over the universe to re-establish real religious
principles. There are three Purusha avataras – Mahā-Vishnu,
Garbhodakasāyi-Vishnu, and Kshīrodhakasāyi-Vishnu. Guna
avataras are Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Siva. Lila
avataras are Matsya (Fish), Kūrma (turtle), Varaha (Boar),
Narasimha (half lion, half man), Vāmana (Dwarf), Parasurāma,
Sri Rāma, Balarāma, Buddha and Kalki. Satyavesa avataras like
Sesha, Prithu Maharaj, Nārada muni, Vyāsa deva. Manvantara-
avataras are like Svayambhuva manu, Chakshusa manu and
Vaivasata manu. There are 14 manus in the 12 hours of Lord
Brahma. Yuga avataras are Kapila (white color), Yajna (red
color), Krishna (blue color) and Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu
(golden color). In this way, there are thousands of incarnations of
the Lord. Lord Krishna is the fountainhead of all incarnations.
Therefore, He is called avatari, meaning the source of all
incarnations. However, all these incarnations have only one
purpose and that is to re-establish real religious principles. For
the age of Kali-yuga, Lord Krishna appeared in the form of Lord
Chaitanya in 1486 A.D. A few decades before Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu, Lord Balarāma appeared in the form of Lord
Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Brahma samhita 5-46, Lord Brahma
states:
dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya

dīpāyatevivṛta-hetu-samāna-dharmā
yas tādṛg eva hi ca viṣṇutayā vibhāti
“Lord Krishna expands Himself as Vishnu the way a brilliant
candle kindles another candle. Although there is no difference
between the power of one candle and another, Krishna or
Govinda is compared to the primeval candle”.
TEXT 9 ्तम कमा च मे हद्यमेवं य८ वेवत ्व ः।

्य््वा दे ं पन
ु ्ातम नत मामेत स८ऽ्ुन
ा ॥९॥
janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
janma karma -- birth and actions; ca -- also; me -- of Mine;
divyam -- supernatural; evaṁ -- like this; yo -- one who; vetti --
knows; tattvataḥ -- in truth; tyaktvā deham -- having left aside
his body; punar janma -- birth again; naiti -- does not have to
accept; mām -- Me; eti -- attain; so -- he; arjuna -- O Arjuna.
One who knows My true supernatural birth and activities,
after giving up his present material body does not take birth
again in this material world, but attains Me. O Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna’s birth was very unique. He
appeared to Mother Devaki in four handed form and on the
request of Devaki He turned to become a child, so that the
parents could care for and love Him. After the transition of the
Lord to Vrindhāvana, situated in Uttar Pradesh, India, the Lord
put both of His earthly mother and father in forgetfulness.
Similarly, using the same mystic opulence, after His 125 years of
pastimes, He disappeared to commence another pastime in a
different universe. One who is unable to comprehend the unique
phenomenal nature and the body of pure goodness of Lord
Krishna may offend Him as an ordinary human being. When
Lord descended in this world, He walked the earth and displayed
His transcendental opulence of complete wealth, power, beauty,
knowledge, fame and renunciation. In Mathura, manifesting His

mystic opulences, the Lord defeated Jarāsandha seventeen times,
who came each time with an invincible army and attacked the
Lord. The Lord killed all of them and spared Jarāsandha. Lord
Krishna also killed many powerful demons, like King Sālva, who
attacked Dwāraka with his mystical aircraft Saubha granted by
Lord Siva. No other incarnation of Godhead has ever exhibited
the full opulence as Krishna manifested. Unfortunately,
whenever the Lord manifested His mystic opulence, conditioned
souls like Duryodhana, and hundreds of demons considered Him
a mere entertainer and illusionist. It is due to the ignorance of
spiritual power of the Supreme Lord. Today, people refers to it
as mythology. Leaving Krishna and His teachings, most people
appear to run after human and phony gods. These foolish kings
and members of modern society do not recognize that Krishna is
the Master of māya (illusion). Therefore, one must choose to see
the birth and activities of the Lord through the eyes of
unblemished scriptures like Srimad-Bhāgavatam and words of
the Lord Himself, which is given in Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā. The
human form is to find a solution for the repeated cycle of birth,
death, old age and disease. Not arguing on the position and
qualities of true God, the confused human beings glorify those
who pretend to be fake Nārāyanas in this world. Kamsa and
Hiranyakasipu, who wanted to be the supreme controllers, were
assassinated by the hand of the Supreme Controller, when they
began terrorizing saintly devotees like Devaki, Vasudeva and a
boy called Prahlad Mahārāja. Those who pretend to be God, and
on the path of strength indulge in atrocities, will soon be swept
away by kala (time).
As far as living entities go, they have forced birth in this
material world because of their reactionary work from timeless
interaction with modes of material nature: goodness, passion and
ignorance. Nevertheless, in this verse the word divyam means
transcendental, confirming that Lord Krishna’s appearance is not
the same as ordinary living entities. Those who understands the
Supreme Absolute Lord’s births and activities, are different from
any materialistic activities, and is at once liberated from the

material conditions of life. They go back to Godhead, as
reassured by Lord in this particular verse.
In conclusion, those who understands that all avatārs or
incarnations emanate from Lord Krishna and that He is eternally
possessed with superb qualities and magnificent distinction, is
not subject to rebirth, once they leave their present body. They
attain eternal spiritual abode and live with the Supreme Lord.
Succinctly, such a person possessing accurate discriminative
knowledge from disciplic succession regarding Lord Krishna's
incarnations and marvelous pastimes, becomes free from all sins
that stands in the way of reaching Lord Krishna.
TEXT 10 वी रागभयर८िा मतमया मामप

ु ाधर ाः।
ब व८ ्ान पसा पू ा म्भावमाग ाः॥१०॥
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
vīta -- freed from; rāga -- passion; bhaya -- fear; krodhā -- anger;
man-mayāmām -- fully immersed in Me; upāśritāḥ -- fully taken
shelter in me; bahāvao -- many; jñāna -- of knowledge; tapasā --
the penance; pūtā -- being cleaned; mad-bhāvam -- loving
devotion unto me; āgatāḥ -- attained.
Freed from passion, fear and anger, thus taking full shelter
and immersed in Me, thus many persons in the past purified
by knowledge and penances attained loving devotion unto
Me.
ANNOTATION: In the material world, everyone has a material
body. If one were to compare this material body to a car, then it’s
easy to understand how when an important part of the car fails,
one cannot drive any longer. We exist in this material world as
long as the Supersoul allows us to live. Unfortunately, there is no
advanced technology to bring the soul back to the body when it
leaves the body. In order to grasp the perfect understanding of
the difference between the body and soul, one must seek shelter
in the Supreme Lord, who has given everyone a chance to revive
our lost consciousness. Krishna consciousness enables us to

become free from the actions and demands of the body – such as
passion, fear and anger - which are foreign to the soul. In the
previous verse, the Lord states that only those who are aware of
His activities are not subject to the material world. He always
keeps His full transcendence by using His ātma māya - internal
potency. This could only be understood by those who are free
from material attachments, fear and anger. Passion for the
opposite gender is only for begetting Krishna conscious children.
Unauthorized or forbidden desire for the satisfaction of the
senses is not a good desire. Extended longing is a strong
attachment to the family, children and material wealth. Fear is
the absorption in something other than Krishna - bhayam
dvitiyabhini veshatasya, means not having proper faith in the
existence of the Supreme Lord. When one’s desires are frustrated
by different obstacles owing to one’s own karma, anger arises.
When a jackal jumps for the grapes repeatedly and fails to obtain
the grapes, in anger, he would pacify himself by thinking that the
grape is sour. To be free from fear, anger and material inebriety
of attachment, one must control the polluted mind and senses by
immersing oneself in the transcendental knowledge of the Lord
under an able guidance of a spiritual master. Elements such as
Lust, greed, illusion, anger and infatuation keep us prisoners in
this world. In the Vishnu sahasra 136, it is stated that: the
physical body, senses, mind, intellect, vitality, splendor, potency,
patience, and the soul are the possessions of the Supreme Lord.
Therefore, everything one owns in every life ultimately belongs
to the Supreme Lord. The knowledge of Krishna’s transcendental
names, forms, qualities, attributes, pastimes and abode are
obtained by loving devotion to the Supreme Lord. One must
dissolve one’s own karmic reactions of previous lives by
devotional service to the Supreme Lord, otherwise it isn’t be
possible to attain love for Krishna. Thus, solely immersing
oneself in the wonderful and phenomenal pastimes of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, one
naturally obtains transcendental love for Him. Transcendental
love for the Lord consists of liberation and perfection and it

guarantees passage to the Kingdom of God. māyāvādis are those
who are impersonalists, they think merging in the body of
Krishna or in effulgent rays of the Lord are the ultimate
liberation. This thinking is rejected by the Lord in this verse with
the word, mat-bhāvam āgatah, meaning that only through
transcendental love for Me, one can attain Me. As it will be more
clearly explained by the Lord in the later verses of Bhagavad-
Gītā, it must be remembered that attaining Krishna is different
from becoming one with Krishna.
The solution to be free from fear, anger and attachment is to
take shelter in Krishna yoga or bhakti yoga, or the activities done
in Krishna bhakti with scriptural regulation. There are many bad
qualities in one’s consciousness due to material association, and
it is impossible to reduce or completely eliminate those bad
qualities through human endeavors. The best way to describe this
is to consider early morning fog, there is no machine that can
dissipate the fog, but as soon as sun rises the fog disperses
instantly. The only solution for destroying all bad qualities is
through Krishna bhakti and that is the injunctions of the Vedās
and achāryas, who are coming down in the disciplic succession.
TEXT 11 ये यिा मां रप्यत े ांथ िव भ्ा्य म ्।

मम व्माानव
ु ता े मन्ु याः पािासवाशः॥११॥
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
ye -- all who; yathā -- in whatever way; māṁ -- unto Me;
prapadyante -- surrender; tāṁs -- to them; tatha -- accordingly;
iva -- surely; bhajāmy -- reward; aham -- I; mama -- My; vartmā
-- path; ānuvartante -- follows; manuṣyāḥ -- all mankind; pārtha
-- O son of Pritha; sarvaśaḥ -- in all respects.
O son of Pritha, as they all surrender unto me, I reciprocate
them accordingly. All human beings follow My way in all
respects.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna has made a firm promise for all

time. If one renders service unto Him, Krishna correspondingly
gives him an equal amount of success in devotional service to the
Lord.
There are many religious faiths and philosophical doctrines
in this world founded by different saintly people. They are, all
trying to serve Krishna directly or indirectly according to one’s
capacity through different angles of vision. Their philosophies
are components of Vedic literature and Vedic literature is the
manifestation of the Supreme Lord Krishna. These founders of
the above mentioned religious faiths have borrowed certain
portions from Vedic philosophy, whether it be the morality, logic,
non-violence, servitorship, Kingdom of God, nirvana-
disintegrating material elements from bodies, merging with the
supreme, science or philosophy. They presented their religion
according to the time, place and circumstances, they found
themselves in and educated people according to their level of
understanding. Nothing can exist outside of the Supreme Lord, as
the wind blows it always rests in the sky. Similarly, all that is
created by the Lord is continually present with Him. All
philosophical searches and religious goals are only seeking one
God and that is Krishna. The problem arises when they take the
name of ‘Krishna’ (means all attractive) in a sectarian manner. In
fact, in an indirect approach, all people simply glorify the
Supreme Lord in His different manifestations. When there is a
possibility of direct access, there is no need for anyone to
approach Him indirectly. manushyah pārtha sarvasah, means
this knowledge and devotion is only for human beings, not for
any higher or lower species of life. While higher beings like
demigods are already well educated, lower species like animals
and reptiles don’t have the capacity to understand the theology.
Undoubtedly, God has three different features. While some
worship the impersonal feature of Krishna as Brahman, others
glorify Him as the Supersoul. Then there are those that glorify
Him as Bhagavān, Krishna Himself, and this is the direct
approach. In the Srimad-Bhāgavatam it is said:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas yaj jnānam advayam tattvaṁ

brahmeti paramātmeti iti sabdyate bhagavān
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call
this non-dual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.”
Consequently, different kinds of philosophers try to realize
the Supreme Lord Krishna in different aspects of the Lord.
Among them are, māyāvādis, yogis, jnanis and bhaktas. Two of
them realize Krishna partially in an impersonal radiation of the
bodily effulgence of the Lord, and they are: māyāvādis and
jnanis. Paramātma feature of the Lord is realized by the yogis,
and Bhagavān feature is realized by the devotees of the Lord.
This is comparable to a person making an investment with a
lawful finance company. If he invests 10%, he receives a return
on that investment, if he invests 100%, then he receives a return
of that investment. The transcendentalists’ partial realization of
the Lord exhibit their partial appreciation and reciprocation from
the Lord. Bhagavān or the complete Majestic Personality of
Godhead with His full transcendental quality and pastimes, are
only realized by pure devotees of Krishna. Therefore, their
surrender to the Supreme Lord is complete. As the famous saying
goes, 'as you sow, so shall you reap'. As transcendentalists take
shelter in the Lord in different manners, the Lord reciprocates
them in equal proportion for their love and surrender.
Unconsciously, fruitive workers obtain results for their material
work from the Lord. māyāvādis who desires to be merged in the
radiation of the Lord’s body has their individuality destroyed,
and Krishna absorbs them into His bodily effulgence. Yogis has
the desire to travel to different planets or obtain mystic powers,
in such cases, the Lord endows them with the mystic powers they
requested. Pure devotees want to keep their individuality and
serve the Lord in Person with five different relationships with the
Lord and obtain one of them through the exhibition of one’s
mellow by devotional service to the Lord.
TEXT 12 का्षत ः कमाणां भस्धिं य्त इ दे व ाः।

षषरं ह मानष
ु े ल८के भस्धिभावत कमा्ा॥१२॥
kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ

kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke siddhir bhavati karma-jā
kāṅkṣantaḥ -- those who desire; karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ -- success in
fruitive activities; yajanta -- they worship by sacrifices; iha -- in
the world; devatāḥ -- various demigods; kṣipraṁ -- very fast; hi -
- surely; mānuṣe loke -- within this human world; siddhir bhavati
-- success comes; karma-jā -- from fruitive actions.
Those who desire success in fruitive activities, worship
various demigods by sacrifices. Very quickly, they gain
success within this world from fruitive actions.
ANNOTATION: One may ask, if Lord Krishna is the
benedictory of all benedictions, then why doesn't the whole
world worship Him? To answer this question, the Supreme Lord
says that most men are engaged in demanding results of their
material work and therefore they are engaged in worshipping
different demigods. Demigods beginning from Lord Brahma,
Indra, Chandra, Varuna, Agni, Sani, Yama, etc, are all living
entities and Lord Siva, Goddess Pārvati, Ganesh, and Karthikeya
are also in the list of demigods. All these demigods are more
fortunate than human beings and, consequently have universal
administrative positions, which enables them to benedict their
devotees. Currently, there are many prescribed ritualistic
activities directed at these demigods and performing countless
actions, they seek material results from material endeavors.
These material benefits are beseeched in the form of wealth,
power, a beautiful wife, a powerful son, good health, good work
and so forth. To obtain such goals and for fast results people
worship demigods rather than the Supreme Lord Krishna or
Vishnu. There is sreyas and preyas, the quick result of material
benedictions given by demigods. sreyas is the ultimate result of
going back to spiritual world and is provided by Lord Krishna or
Vishnu. The goal of human life is to re-establish a relationship
with Krishna, sreyas, which is different from achieving preyas,
(immediate material benedictions). This is because Krishna is the
original father of all living entities and He is only concerned
about the soul’s ultimate benefit. Ignorant of spiritual
benediction and eternal life, men are only involved in so-called

religious activities to acquire material rewards. As a result, in this
material world, they undergo repeated cycles of birth and death.
Lord Krishna says that people without sufficient intelligence seek
material opulence by worshipping demigods and when a person
engages in His service, but at the same time desires material
opulence, it is not very intelligent. Krishna das kaviraj goswāmi
in Chaitanya Charitamrta says about Krishna’s statement:
krishna kahe,----- āmā bhaje, māge viṣaya-sukha
amṛta chāḍi’ viṣa māge, - ei baḍa mūrkha
āmi - vijna, ei mūrkhe ‘viṣaya’ kene diba?
sva-caraṇāmṛta diyā ‘viṣaya’ bhūlāiba
“If one engages in My transcendental loving service but at the
same time seek the opulence of material enjoyment, he is very
foolish. As a matter of fact, it’s comparable to someone who
gives up ambrosia to drink poison. Why should I give this fool
material prosperity? Instead, I will persuade him to take the
nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget
illusory material enjoyment”. (Madhya CC 22.38.39).
TEXT 13 चा व
ु ्ा यं मया स्ृ िं गण
ु कमाववभागशः।
थय क ाारमवप मां वव््यक ाारम्ययम ्॥१३॥
chātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ viddhi akartāram avyayam
chātur-varṇyaṁ -- the four divisions of human society; mayā --
by Me; sṛṣṭaṁ -- were created; guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ --
according to quality and work; tasya -- of this; kartāram api
māṁ -- although I am the creator; viddhi -- you should know;
akartāram -- as the non-doer; avyayam -- being unchangeable.
According to the quality and work, I have created four types
of social order in the human society, and although I am the
creator of these orders, you should know I am not part of it.
ANNOTATION: The system of four classifications in human
society according to quality and work is very scientific. The
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna does not

say that these classifications are created according to one’s birth
in that family, rather it is done by cultivation of the quality and
work ascribed for that varna or class. Therefore, any member of
the world can be trained to this universal system created by Lord
Krishna. This means in one family, different members can be a
brāhmana, a kshatriya, a vaishya and a sūdra, according to their
quality and work. There are families, where one son is in the
army having kshatriya quality, another son is a professor having
brāhmanical quality, another one is engaged in business, which
is the quality of vaishya, yet another one does not want to do
anything but serve the brothers in different ways, which is the
quality of a laborer. The system created by the Lord is not a caste
system, it is the social system intended to run the society
smoothly. In all parts of the world, it is possible to observe this
varna-āsrama system, either in the name of divine varna-āsrama
or demonic varna-āsrama system. For proper functioning of the
country, these classes are important. If everyone is only
brāhmana or kshatriya, the society would not function perfectly.
Similarly, if the world was full of only managers and laborers or
farmers, the society would be still in chaos. The four classes are
manifested in the mode of goodness, passion and ignorance by
Lord Krishna. The brāhmanas are situated to in the mode of
goodness, only to regulate and pacify others who are situated in
the mode of passion and ignorance. People who are situated in
the lower modes cannot find solution to their day today
problems. Therefore, even the administrators take shelter in the
saintly people to attain solution and peace. The brāhmanas, the
highly spiritual intellectuals, with scriptural guidance can help
solving their problems. A spiritually intellectual person who is a
brāhmana has self-control, patience, righteousness and control
over their mind and senses. He must know who God and souls
are, brahma jānāteti brāhmana. His responsibility is to not only
educate the general public, but also the administration with
perfect Vedic scientific spiritual direction. As such, it is essential
that brāhmana or priestly class are situated in the mode of
goodness. The kshatriya or majestic commanders and aristocratic

administrative heads - presidents, ministers and commanders -
possess some quantity of the mode of goodness, but have a hold
on the mode of passion in predominance and their duties are to
protect righteousness from the influence of wickedness and to
protect humanity from demoniac forces. Spiritual education is
transmitted to the administrative class by the educated
brāhmanas situated in the spiritual science. The administrators
rule the world according to the injunctions of the Vedās given by
the brāhmanas. The vaishya's possess the mode of passion in
some degree, but the predominant guna (attribute) is mixed-
passion and ignorance, and their duties are farming, agriculture,
trade, banking and cow protection and supply these foods to their
respective counties. The final social class is the sūdras or labor
class, they possess the mode of ignorance and their duty is to
serve the three previous classes to earn their livelihood. These
classifications naturally exist all over the universe. Today, as a
result of the mixture of these classifications based on the birth
rights, everything is misunderstood and there are calamities
everywhere. This is true especially in India, where people are
being killed over miniscule disagreements as a result of the caste
system. sāstra says that everyone is born as sūdras, janmana
jāyate sūdra, sūdra means ignorant of the self or soul and the
Supersoul or God, but it is through acculturation and training that
one is classified into one of the above four social orders.
Modern recent developed countries that try to abolish this
system due to forgetfulness of their original vedic culture will
only worsen their social system. Classless social order cannot
bring peace in the society. Modern concept of managers and
laborers or Capitalism and Communism have created groundless
misunderstandings among countries and that is leading towards
world war. Once the world war breaks out no one benefits,
except destruction of the wealth and men.
Lord Krishna is the origin of these social classifications and
it should be understood that He is not affected by any of them.
This is because He is absolute, imperishable, eternal and
transcendental to material nature. Although the magnificent Sri

Krishna reveals that He is kartāram or the origin of all creations,
He also reveals that He is akartāram or not originated from any
one source. He is svarāt, independent in Himself and not created
from anything. The adjective api is used here to demonstrate this
special tribute: that there is no creator for Him. Therefore when
one takes shelter of Krishna, he too will be situated beyond these
four social orders and spiritual orders.
TEXT 14 न मां कमााणण भल्प्त न मे कमाफले थप ृ ा।
इत मां य८ऽभभ्ानात कमाभभना स ब्य ॥
े १४॥
na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā
iti māṁ yo ’bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate
na māṁ -- I am never; karmāṇi -- all work; limpanti -- affected;
name -- nor Me; karma-phalespṛhā -- aspire fruitive action; iti
māṁ -- Me thus; yo -- one who; abhijānāti -- does know;
karmabhir -- reactions of fruitive activities; na -- never; sa -- he;
badhyate -- never becomes entangled.
I am never affected by any kind of karma; nor do I seek any
result of karmic actions. One who knows this truth regarding
Me also become free from the entanglements of the reactions
of karma.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord Krishna is completely
transcendental and all His actions are pure, and spiritual. As
mentioned in the previous verse, He is not classified into any of
the social orders. Yet, he is the maintainer of all sentient beings.
As the saying goes, the king can do no wrong. It is only God who
will not succumb to the laws of the material or spiritual
universes. Similarly, when a person takes complete shelter in the
Supreme Majestic Lord, he also becomes free from all reactions
of karma, social classifications and laws and order of the
material world. Devotees of the Lord have full conviction that
their Lord is fully deserving of worship and is beyond the laws of
karma, beyond material time and space, being the original
Master of the spiritual and material worlds, social and spiritual
positions. brāhmana is the one who understands Brahman,

knowing what soul is. Krishna is Parabrahman - the Supreme
Soul and devotees are the ones who understands Krishna.
Therefore, vaishnava devotees’ position is far higher than any
social or spiritual concept of this world, even though he is
engaged in all four variegated social works, he is transcendental
to all such designations because he has taken complete shelter in
the Supreme Lord.
One may wonder how it is possible that Lord Krishna is
never implicated by any actions and reactions. To understand
this, one should look in the following way. Although the growth
of fruits and trees are dependent on rain, the rain has no
attachment to the crops, furthermore, rain has no desire to taste
or enjoy the fruits either. Similarly, in this creation containing
various human beings characterized by divine and demoniac
natures, possessing good and evil propensities, performing
righteous or unrighteous actions and receiving the bestowal of
their reactions, it is the Supreme Lord Krishna who sanctions
these rewards. Yet, there is no partiality or injustice coming from
Him. Every human being creates their own karma, or reactions to
actions defined by actions they have been performing life after
life. In Brahma sūtras 2.3.34, written by Lord Vyāsa deva, it
states that: favoritism and discrimination can never be credited to
the Supreme Lord as there are other considerations that must be
taken into account. Here, Lord Krishna confirms that even those
who know Krishna as the origin of creation and proprietor of the
world, that Krishna is not implicated by any activity, being
transcendental to material nature and freed from reactions of
work. The whole material cosmos was created with varieties of
food and shelter in an attempt to give a chance to those
disobedient souls to revive their lost spiritual consciousness of
Krishna. Those who think that this place is created for their
enjoyment and commit unethical, immoral, whimsical activities
and engage in entertainment, eating and recreation, might lose
their human form. The best thing is to protect the soul’s higher
values of life, which is to follow scriptural spiritual injunctions.
These injunctions are vividly explained in the Bhagavad-Gītā
and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, and by the achāryas.
TEXT 15 एवं ्ा्वा कृ ं कमा पवू रै वप मम ु ष

ु ुभभः।
कुु कमैव थमा्वं पव ू ःै पव ू ा रं कृ म ्॥१५॥
evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ
kuru karmaiva tasmāt tvaṁ pūrvaiḥ pūrva-taraṁ kṛtam
evaṁ -- thus; jñātvā -- knowing; kṛtaṁ -- was performed; karma
-- work; pūrvair -- by past spiritual leaders; api -- indeed;
mumukṣubhiḥ -- who obtained liberation; kuru -- perform; karma
-- duty; iva -- certainly; tasmāt -- therefore; tvaṁ -- you; pūrvaiḥ
-- by the previous authorities; pūrva-taraṁ kṛtam -- as performed
in ancient times.
In the past, the liberated souls performed their prescribed
duties with knowledge of My spiritual nature. Thus, by
following their footsteps you must perform your duties.
ANNOTATION: The words purvair, purvaih, purvataram are
used repeatedly in this verse, which signifies to follow the
ancient leaders, ancient authorities and ancient times. In
actuality, there is nothing modern either materially or spiritually.
For instance, people have always eaten, slept, reproduced,
defended, the sun and moon continues to rise and set and so
forth. All these things have been going on and will continue to go
on. So what is new? The only thing that is new is the decline in
spirituality and the rise in atheism, which creates a path towards
a degraded life. All devotees of Krishna were followers of the
saintly sages who taught the science of God to everyone
beginning from Sanat Kumaras, Nārada muni, Vyāsa and Asita.
Then in modern times, achāryas like Rāmanuja, Mādhava,
Sridhar swāmi, Kesava Kashmiri, Saraswati Thakura, and the
more recent āchārya A.C. Bhaktivedānta swāmi.
Such achāryas are nitya siddhas, or eternally liberated
personalities, due to their constant devotional service to the
Supreme Godhead, Lord Krishna. They understood Krishna as
the source of everything. When He descends in the material
world, His activities and pastimes are fully spiritual.
Consequently, following the teachings of the achāryas is equally
beneficial for all human beings, as they are directly receiving the
knowledge from God Himself, regardless of their particular
social and spiritual position. These achāryas and many saintly
kings like Janaka Mahārāja, Parikshit Mahārāja and other pious
devotees have followed the duties given by the Lord. Krishna’s
statement to Arjuna is more specifically to follow the teachings
of the Lord given to the president of the sun planet, Vivaswān
and who received the transcendental instructions of Bhagavad-
Gītā millions of years ago. Now Arjuna, the descendant of kuru
clan, received the same knowledge from Krishna, the same
knowledge given to the sun god, in the past. Srila Vyāsa deva
was present when Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gītā to Arjuna
and it was put together for all humanity to follow. The present
and future generations should follow these great personalities to
perfect their life.
TEXT 16 ककं कमा ककमकमेत कवय८ऽतयर म८ह ाः।
ते कमा रव्याभम य््ा्वा म८्यसेऽशभ
ु ा ्॥१६॥
kiṁ karma kim akarmeti kavayo ’py atra mohitāḥ
tat te karma pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ’śubhāt
kiṁ -- what; karma -- action; kim -- what; akarmeti -- inaction; iti
-- therefore; kavayo -- even the wise; ’py -- also; atra -- in this
matter; mohitāḥ -- are confused; tat -- that; te -- unto you; karma
-- work; pravakṣyāmi -- I will explain to you; yaj -- that; jñātvā --
understanding; mokṣyase -- you will be delivered; aśubhāt --
from all inauspiciousness.
Even the wise are confused, when determining what action is
and what inaction is? I will explain to you what is meant by
action and inaction, by understanding that you will be
delivered from all inauspiciousness.
ANNOTATION: When one goes to a cafeteria, he may eat a
variety of foods to his heart's desire, but he has to pay the bill at
the end of his meal. Similarly, one may select any work, whether
it is good or bad, as he pleases, but he will have to answer to all
his work at the end of his life. Lord has given the analytical
explanation for the different types of actions and the action that
frees humans from misfortune, asubhāt. One must follow the
standard guidelines given in the scriptures because scriptures are
the correct path towards deliverance from the actions and
reactions of material nature. Just as no one is free from following
State and Federal laws, one cannot become free from actions and
reactions without following the laws of God. Law makers will
not come to each and every citizen and ask them to follow the
country’s laws. The laws are stated in the law book and it is
given to human beings. Similarly, no one should expect God to
visit them and ask to follow the laws of God - instructions of
Bhagavad-Gītā, spoken directly to Arjuna by the Lord Himself.
Following God’s instructions, given in the Bhagavad-Gītā, is the
best way for someone to prosper in this life. Without obedience
to the laws of Krishna, one shall open up one's misfortune.
There are three different kinds of actions: karma, akarma
and vikarma. Every wise man should learn the difference
between these three different types of actions. karma is to not
only follow the respective duties stated in the Bhagavad-Gītā for
the intelligent class, administrative class, farmer’s class and labor
class, but also to serve the Lord according to one’s capacity, thus,
satisfying the Supreme Lord. akarma, is when one performs
actions beyond the varna-āsrama dharma and engages in
unalloyed devotional service to Krishna for the benefit of the
entire world by spreading the message of the Lord. This includes
many activities such as managing, engineering, medical
practices, scientific work, teachings and so forth. Moreover, this
work rendered for Krishna will not bind doers with the reactions
of the laws of karma. vikarma is when one performs forbidden
activities which are not described in Vedic literature and people
live according to whims, enjoying the fruits of such works
without being Krishna conscious.
Every living being is bound up by his own actions and
forbidden actions. Therefore, one should meticulously follow the
instructions of the Personality of Godhead to break up reactions
with the material world. One should never be proud of the so
called karma they are following. Krishna has clearly stated in

this verse that even the most intelligent will be confused in
determining what the real actions are. All religions must teach
the younger generations their respective holy texts. However, it
must be remembered that the detailed explanation of the science
of Godhead is given in Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam.
TEXT 17 कमाण८ ्यवप ब८्ि्यं ब८्ि्यं च ववकमाणः।
अकमाण्च ब८्ि्यं ग ना कमाण८ गत ः॥१७॥
karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ
akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ
karmaṇo -- of work; hy -- surely; api -- also; boddhavyaṁ --
should comprehend; boddhavyaṁ -- should be comprehended; ca
-- also; vikarmaṇaḥ -- of forbidden activities; akarmaṇaś -- of
inaction; ca -- also; boddhavyaṁ -- should be comprehended;
gahanā -- cannot be described; karmaṇo -- of work; gatiḥ -- are
difficult.
The details of actions are very difficult to comprehend.
Therefore, one should know the subject of prescribed actions,
forbidden actions and renunciation of actions.
ANNOTATION: When one commits an action, whether it is
pious or impious, and the result will follow him wherever he
goes. Materially, there is not much of a difference between an
ordinary man's actions and the most educated man's actions.
When it comes to spirituality, a man with a doctorate is not less
ignorant than an uneducated person. They are both confused
about the complicated actions of real life (soul and God), and as
such they are prone to suffer the consequences in different ways.
The Supreme Lord is the monitor of everyone’s actions; people
cannot blindfold the Supreme Lord, when they are committing
either forbidden or pious actions. One may trick the government
when dealing in illegal activities, but one cannot hide from the
laws of the Supreme Lord as they are more meticulous and
omniscient. The different levels of material education provide
higher and lower remunerations to maintain one's body. It does

not have any spiritual essence or create an understanding for the
purpose of human life. Chānakya Pandita says: manina bhūshitah
sarpah kim asau na bhayankarah. It means, that if there is a
jewel on the hood of a snake, it does not reduce its venom.
Similarly, having a higher material education does not
necessarily reduce their bad qualities. A person who is without
knowledge of the self and materially educated, is still like a
snake with jewel on its hood. Material education is not the
criteria for becoming a knowledgeable, pious living being. It
absolutely depends on how someone follows scriptural
injunctions, realizing that he is not the body, but rather, the spirit
soul and begins to act on a spiritual platform. Without following
proper scriptural rules and regulations, one cannot know what
‘action’ and ‘inaction’ are and what forbidden action to satisfy
the soul. All material and cultural education has a different root
and produces different results. In the Isopanishad 9-10, it is said:
andham tamah pravisanti ye 'vidyam upasate
tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyayam ratah
anyad evahur vidyaya- nyad ahur avidyaya
iti susruma dhiranam ye nas tad vicacakshire
“Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall
enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those
who are engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge. The wise
have explained that while one result is derived from the culture
of knowledge, the other is acquired through the culture of
nescience”.
If one were to look at present society, 99% of the populace
engage in the vikarma, or forbidden activities, despite having
received a higher academic education. Forbidden activities are
thousands in numbers, but are categorized as illicit sex, meat
eating, intoxication (which includes drinking tea-coffee, chewing
pan and smoking), and lastly, gambling. According to Vedic
scriptures, none of these objects are needed for one’s happy life.
All these habits are cultivated by keeping bad company. Hence,
if one were to give up these sinful activities, they must associate

with only good company.
It is mentioned in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 5th canto that: People
generally think that everything they do is alright, this is material
nature. Material nature acts under God, taking an account of
everything one does and determining, based on their present
actions, a suitable body for the next life. The Law of nature
states: that if one is infected by a disease, then he must suffer
from that disease. Similarly, if one is infected by illicit sexual
relationships, one must suffer by taking a lower form of life, like
a pigeon or other animal, where such unrestricted actions leads to
much suffering. If one eats everything without discrimination,
one can become a hog in the next life. Hogs eat all kinds of
rubbish and yet are happy in ignorance of what they eat. If one
sleeps more than required or thinks sleeping is an enjoyment,
then he can be awarded a body of a bear. Similarly, when one
kills animals and consumes them, without following the
injunction of the scriptures, one can be born as an animal and be
killed in the same way or be born as a flesh eating animal.
If one is serious about human perfection and to end the
material bondage of forbidden actions, one must see these
differences and act accordingly. The easiest method is to
surrender to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead or His
qualified representatives and find out all intricacies of karma,
akarma and vikarma. Also of importance, is to stop wasting any
more time with frivolous actions and opting to live a regulated
life of devotional service to Krishna for higher purpose.
TEXT 18 कमा्यकमा यः प्येदकमाणण च कमा यः।

स ब्ु धिमातमन्ु येषु स य्
ु ः कृ्थनकमाकृ ्॥१८॥
karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ
sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu sa yuktaḥ kṛtsna-karma-kṛt
karmaṇy -- in activities; akarma -- the renunciation of activities;
yaḥ paśyed -- one who perceives; akarmaṇi -- in renunciation of
activities; ca -- also; karma -- fruitive actions; yaḥ -- He who is;
sa -- he; buddhimān -- intelligent person; manuṣyeṣu -- in human

society; sa -- he; yuktaḥ -- is in the perfect spiritual position;
kṛtsna-karma-kṛt -- although executing all activities.
One who perceives in action, renunciation of action, and in
renunciation of action sees action, is considered to be wise
among men and is said to be in perfect spiritual position
though executing all kinds of actions.
ANNOTATION: Inaction refers to the devotional service, which
is full actions to the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to the
material cosmos. What is mentioned in this verse, is seeing
action in inaction and inaction in action. In the Nārada Purāna, it
is stated that since the Supreme Lord Krishna is never bound by
cause and effect, all His actions are to be understood as inaction.
For instance, many times devotees face numerous problems
when trying to build temples, acquiring land, obtaining proper
permission, management issues and so forth. These actions may
seem to be ordinary work, as they are similar to any outside
person working to fulfill their own personal needs. The
difference, however, is that these actions are done for Krishna,
and is therefore, actually refers to inaction, karmany akarma yah
pasyed, seeing action in inaction. Action is work according to the
Vedic direction. Both may be said to be good, but inaction is
definitely better than action because inaction is not rendered for
one’s personal gain, but rather for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Lord. Therefore, inaction does not produce any negative
repercussions. Even if it does produce negative results due to
inattention, devotees do not lose anything as the work is not done
for themselves, but rather it is done in Krishna consciousness for
the pleasure of the Supreme Lord. Action based on the Vedic
direction may be good as well, but it can be harmful if executed
wrongly, such as mispronouncing mantras, if priests are not
honored properly or gathering ritual paraphernalia incorrectly.
All actions or karma are visible to men, but it is the reactions
which are not clearly visible. One may be living in this world so
happily, but he may be unaware of how things would fall apart
without his knowledge. These breakdowns happen in his life due

to his previous karma. Sometimes good people are killed, get
legally implicated, divorced, go bankrupt, etc. All these depend
on their own karma, which is committed in their previous life. So
far, their bad deeds have gone unnoticed and unpunished. But the
laws of nature, under the supervision of Krishna, never forgets
any injustices committed by any living entity against another
living entity. Laws of nature always finds a way to give victims a
chance to retaliate, consequently different living beings undergo
different miseries and struggles. All living entities are children of
Krishna, therefore, He is impartial to all His children.
Arjuna thought “if I choose to fight I would be committing
sinful activities by killing my kinsmen, my brothers, my
nephews, my masters, my grandfathers and other relatives". He
could only see sinful activities in that battle, akarmani ca karma
yah, in inaction he saw actions. When there is deliberation of
sinful and pious activities, it is called karma. karma has two
results, either suffering or enjoyment. Of course, in this material
world there is no enjoyment, only the sense gratification.
Nonetheless, with the hope of enjoyment we agree to suffer,
which is mistakenly called enjoyment.
If the goal is freedom from karma, the Vedās in the
beginning should have warned people to give up karma. If a
person does not perform natural karma such as early morning
spiritual duties and evening spiritual rites, he will engage in
sinful acts such as irregular eating and drinking, choosing to
watch improper movies during the night hours, and indulging in
erotic actions in the morning hours, all of which are unnatural
habits for human beings. These unnatural actions are modified
animalistic activities. As the Supreme Lord Krishna states, one
cannot refrain from actions, not even for a second, “nahi kascit
ksnam api jatu tisthaty akarma-krt”. Therefore, one has to
engage in natural activities or forced by sinful activities, but
activities have to be done. If one were to ignore one’s natural
duties, they must realize that the reactions for all of his sinful
actions are on the way to him in the form of great miseries.
Therefore, without giving up on one’s professional work,

obtained from their inherent qualities or from the inspiration of
others, all human beings should engage in the Supreme Lord’s
devotional service in the morning and at the dawn. This must be
done in order to protect oneself from one’s own sinful activities,
either committed knowingly or unknowingly, sa buddhiman
manusyesu, such person is intelligent among all.
TEXT 19 यथय सवे समार्भाः कामस्क्पव््ा ाः।
्ाना््नद्िकमााणं मा ु ः प््ड ं बि
ु ाः॥१९॥
yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ
jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṁ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ budhāḥ
yasya -- whose; sarve -- all; samārambhāḥ -- undertaking; kāma
-- based on desire for sense gratification; saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ -- are
devoid of motivation; jñānāgni -- by fire of perfect knowledge;
dagdha -- burned; karmāṇaṁ -- reactions of work; tam -- him;
āhuḥ -- said; paṇḍitaṁ -- learned man; budhāḥ -- those who
know.
One whose every action is bereft of longing for sense
gratification, and motivation for fruitive desires is said to be
by the learned man as the worker for who incinerated all
reactions of work by the fire of perfect knowledge.
ANNOTATION: Material works are done based on one's
personal benefit, as it is mentioned by the Lord kāma-sankalpa;
whether the government, the company, the family, or the
individuals, all are trying to expand material satisfaction either
for oneself or for one’s family or for one’s country. Even
marriage is sustained by sexual ties, when there is a lack of
sexual attraction, the marriage may result in failure. Even in
religious fields, certain religious leaders proclaim their personal
opinions and interpretations on scriptures, such as Bhagavad-
Gītā, without receiving the knowledge through proper disciplic
succession. It can also be described as being kāma-sankalpa, lust,
because they want to be famous by misleading people. Engaging
in the temporary objects and activities for one's own selfish

enjoyment is called kāma. Very few people do things without
personal motivation. Millions of people are ignorant of the
position of Krishna, God and His devotee's activities. A devotee
is completely free from personal enjoyment, they do not think
that ‘I earn and enjoy the results’. Such a devotee, who’s not
enjoying fruitive results, but has rather solely engaged his body,
mind, action and soul in the service of the Lord, manages to burn
up his reactions of karma by true perfect knowledge, jnānagni-
dagdha-karmanam. All living beings are part and parcel of
Krishna. The finger in the body enjoys as long it is attached to
the hand, when it is cut off, it loses its life and consequently it
suffers. Similarly, when a living being, who is the part and parcel
of Krishna, refuses to serve Krishna wholeheartedly, he just
suffers. In this regard, Srila Rupa goswami in Bhakti rasamrta
sindu, says: iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa gira
nikhilasv apy avasthasu jīvan-muktah sa uchyat. It means: a
person acting in the service of Krishna with his body, mind,
intelligence and words is a liberated person even within this
material world. Even if someone were to be engaged in any
material professional activity, for instance either being a doctor,
engineer, scientists or minister, that person is free from all
material bondage because he is constantly in devotion to the
Lord. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam Lord Krishna says in 11-9-13
bhaktyāham ekaya grahyah sraddhayātma priyāh satam
bhaktih punati mān-nistha sva-pākan api sambhavā
“Only by practicing unalloyed devotional service with full faith
in Me can one obtain Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I
am naturally dear to My devotees, who take Me as the only goal
of their loving service. By engaging in such pure devotional
service, even the dog-eaters can purify themselves from the
contamination of their low birth”.
Krishna conscious activities can be used in any area of life
and they will progress and be happy - exactly like the
sandalwood, which gives profuse fragrance to anyone who uses
it.
TEXT 20 ्य््वा कमाफलास्गं तन्य तृ ८ तनरारयः।

कमा्यभभरवत
ृ ८ऽवप नव कक््च्कर८त सः॥२०॥
tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgaṁ nitya-tṛpto nirāśrayaḥ
karmaṇy abhipravṛtto ’pi naiva kiñcit karoti saḥ
tyaktvā -- after giving up; karma-phalāsaṅgaṁ -- attachment for
fruitive results; nitya-tṛpto -- always satisfied; nirāśrayaḥ --
being self-centered; karmaṇy -- in activity; abhipravṛtto api --
despite being fully engaged; na -- not; iva -- surely; kiñcit -- any;
karoti -- do; saḥ -- he.
Having detached from the results of his activities, always
satisfied and self-centered, he renders no fruitive actions,
despite being engaged in all sorts of activities.
ANNOTATION: The devotees are fully satisfied without taking
fruits of their actions or expecting profit from devotional service.
Though, engaged in all kinds of material activities they are pure
devotees. Those who cannot follow this path at least follow the
other path, which a man can accept easily like doing his day-to-
day job and business for Krishna. He renders actions according
to the scriptural laws but also is situated in the devotional
platform. One may live at home with his wife and children, and
yet turn his home into a temple by either installing Rādha and
Krishna deities or by dedicating religious activities, and making a
routine of first offering food to the Supreme Person. Consuming
food is essential for the embodied being; if one can offer freshly
prepared food to the Supreme Person before he tastes the food
himself, then he is commonly referred to as the surrendered soul.
It is important to fast from grains and beans on Ekadashi day
(which appears on every eleventh day of full and new moon) and
on the birthdays of Lord Krishna, Supreme Goddess Rādharani,
Lord Rāmachandra, Lord Narasimha dev and Lord Vāmana.
House holder Devotees should also donate their money to those
who have dedicated their life for the service of the Lord such as
brahmachāries, vanaprasthas and sannyāsis. Furthermore, they
should also donate money to celebrate the Lord, especially
during auspicious events such as Jagganath chariot festival,

swing festival of Sri Sri Rādha and Krishna and so forth. Hearing
and chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare and regularly hearing Bhagavad-Gītā and
Srimad-Bhāgavatam, one will remain satisfied and independent.
This is called inaction, and though they may be engaged in their
professional services to earn their livelihood, it does not produce
any reaction or any material attachment. Therefore, when they
quit this body, they will be transferred back to the planet of
Krishna.
TEXT 21 तनराशीया धचता्मा ्य् सवापररर ः।
रीरं केवलं कमा कुवातनातन८त कक््बषम ्॥२१॥
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
nirāśīr -- bereft of desire; yata-chittātmā -- controlled in mind
and body; tyakta-sarva -- abandoning all; parigrahaḥ -- sense of
ownership over all possessions; śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma -- work
for the maintenance of the body; kurvan -- doing; nāpnoti --
never does acquire; kilbiṣam -- sinful reactions.
Devoid of all material desires, controlled mind and body,
abandoning all sense of ownership over all possessions,
working only for maintaining the body and soul together, he
never acquires any sinful reactions.
ANNOTATION: To advance in spiritual life, there must be
control over unnecessary demands on the mind and body. Also, it
is necessary to purify one's material existence. From the above
verse, it is clear that it is the material mind and material body that
demand proprietorship over all material objects in this world.
The mind is the architect that plans eating, sleeping, eroticism
and fear. Everyone is engaged in improving these four basic
necessities of the body; under material circumstances, men do
not think beyond these bestial requirements. Therefore, they
work hard to acquire these necessities of life. They desire a high
standard of material living, rather than spiritual thinking. Simple,

pure living and high spiritual thinking is only done by devotees
of Lord Krishna due to their devotion for Him. They carefully
control their mind by constantly engaging their minds and senses
in the service of Krishna consciousness through chanting of the
Holy Name of the Lord. They also tend to minimize material
acquisitions to just the bare necessitates. For such devotees, there
is no need for committing sinful activities in the name of earning
money, especially for the future generations. One might wonder,
who are these future generations? How do they help the
grandfather and great grandfather in their life's missions? It is all
an illusion. There is no need for the head of the family to earn
more than necessary for just enjoying the fleeting material
senses, there is no need for saving money for the great
grandchildren or many more dynasties yet to come. Generally,
when one makes more money illegally, they may use it for
committing additional sinful activities in the guise of pious
activities. Human form of life is for austerity and devotion to the
Supreme Lord. Srila Rupa goswāmi has cited in the nectar of
instruction:
atyaharah prayasas ca prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas ca laulyam ca shadbhir bhaktir vinasyati.
(1) Eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than
required
(2) Over striving for mundane things that are very difficult to
obtain
(3) Talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters
(4) Practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the
sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual
advancement. Or rejecting the rules and regulations of the
scriptures and working independently or whimsically
(5) Associating with worldly-minded folks who are not
interested in Krishna consciousness
(6) Being greedy for mundane achievements
By following these devotional acts, one is not materially
entangled. Thus, one will not be bound by the sinful activities of
the material world. But one's devotional service is spoiled when

he becomes entwined in the above six activities.
pisace paile yena mati-cchanna haya maya-grasta jivera
haya se bhava udaya; this means: when one is haunted by a ghost
he speaks out all kinds of things except his true identification, for
instance, he would say that he is someone's father or someone is
his mother or born in this or that rich nation or he identifies with
his material position as he is director, minister, scientist, etc.
Similarly, under the material circumstances of life and influence
of māya, people do all kinds of sinful things. They may have
several Doctorate degree and be intellectually exceptional – yet
have no knowledge of his original identification that he is a
servant of the Supreme Lord, which is his original consciousness.
This is called ghost haunted consciousness.
TEXT 22 यृ्छालाभसत ्ु ि८ ्वत्वा ी ८ ववम्सरः।
समःभस्िावभस्ि९ च कृ्वावप न तनब्य ॥ े २२॥
yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ
samaḥ siddhāv asiddhau ca kṛtvāpi na nibadhyate
yadṛcchā-lābha -- with whatever comes by its own accord;
santuṣṭo -- satisfied; dvandvātīto -- surpass duality; vimatsaraḥ --
free from envy for other; samaḥ -- steady; siddhāv -- success;
asiddhau -- failure; ca -- also; kṛtvāpi -- although doing; na
nibadhyate -- not becomes affected.
One who is happy with whatever comes by its own accord,
surpassed all dualities and free from envy of others, fixed in
both success and failure, despite doing all activities and yet
not becomes affected.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is the maintainer of all living
entities. This material world is not the place for excessive
accumulation of wealth because, here, nothing is permanent, and
death comes and takes everything away unpredictably. Under
such illusions, people in the modern world, earn more wealth
than necessary to live and try to hide paying taxes and live
always under a fearful existence. Many falsely wealthy people
are raided and arrested every day. They are not conscious of the
fact that they cannot take with them their eyes, ears, nose and
mouth to the next life, let alone their wealth and dignity. In order
to satisfy these decayed senses, they accumulate abundant wealth
by struggling hard or through illegal means and gets condemned
and blamed by the people and government. Because of their
greedy desires they would always have the duality of praise,
embarrassment and envy with their enemies and they do not
succumb to failure. They are entangled while performing all
kinds of actions. Even nations labeled as capitalists and
communists compete to establish their supremacy based on the
bodily concept of life. Both think that the regime should be
according to their own style. In the name of serving the people,
they have opened up welfare institutions, but problems continue
to rise. It may seem economically sound to open up many
different institutions, but death will not leave either the patients
or the founders aside.
Krishna says in a later chapter that ‘mrthyu sarva haras
caham’, ‘I snatch everything away in the form of death, and
practically every second people are dying, then what is the point
in such frivolous competitions and envy. One shall understand
that the present life is to make eternal situations for the next life,
not for the present life. The present life is caused by past deeds.
To be fully satisfied, one must go beyond these dualities, which
is Krishna consciousness. On the other hand, a sincere devotee of
Lord Krishna is satisfied with whatever supply Krishna makes
for him yadrccha-labha-santusto. He knows that, without
working for it, thousands of elephants and thousands of ants are
provided with tons of food every day. Similarly, all living entities
are maintained by the Supreme Lord according to their previous
karma. Even if there is a scarcity of food supply, the devotee’s
attitude is to think that “God has put me in this condition, so why
should I encroach upon other's property?”
This is the quality of the Vedic culture, isavasyam idam
sarvam, everything is owned and controlled by the Lord. Such a
devotee does not fall prey to any duality of this world. For him,
happiness, suffering, convenience, inconvenience, rich and poor,

heat and cold are all same, nor is he jealous of anybody’s
material or spiritual advancement because he has self-control. A
self-controlled devotee has no fear of winning and losing. The
Krishna devotee knows that His Lord makes the decision of his
success and failure. The word asiddhau, means when one is
Krishna conscious it is not necessary for someone to be always a
‘gainer’ and it really doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. Even in
adverse conditions, a devotee is never depressed. Thus, he is not
entangled while performing any actions.
TEXT 23 ग स्गथय म्
ु थय ्ानाव्थि चे सः।
य्ायाचर ः कमा समरं रववलीय ॥
े २३॥
gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ
yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagraṁ pravilīyate
gata-saṅgasya -- of one unattached to the material nature;
muktasya -- who is liberated; jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ -- whose
wisdom situated in transcendence; yajñāyācharataḥ -- acting for
the sake of sacrifice; karma -- work; samagraṁ pravilīyate --
amalgamated entirely.
One who is unattached to material nature and who is thus
liberated, whose wisdom is situated in transcendence, whose
works are dedicated for the sake of the Supreme [sacrifice],
amalgamate completely unto the Supreme.
ANNOTATION: Goodness, passion and ignorance are the modes
of material nature. The actions and varieties of material objects
are born from these modes and can bind souls, when they
associate with them, gata-sangasya. These modes can offer
living entities either higher or lower lives in different planetary
systems, sometimes in heavenly planets, sometimes back to
planet earth, or to lower planetary systems such as hellish
regions. Lord Krishna is not advising us to associate with higher
modes of nature like mode of goodness. He states not to associate
at all with any of these modes, associating with them can tempt
people into committing sinful activities. This association can

destroy one's hope for human form of life in the next life.
This is why āchārya Adi Shankara, though was an
impersonalist, encourages people to associate with devotees,
satsaṇgatve nissṇgatvaṁ, nissaṇgatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve
niścalatattvaṁ, niścalatattve jīvanmuktiḥ, it means: ‘from good
association one develops material detachment, from detachment
comes freedom from delusion, freedom from delusion leads to an
equipoised mind. From the equipoised mind comes liberation
from material existence’. By associating with sadhus, devotees of
Krishna, one cultivates spiritual knowledge, which is God’s law,
His instructions, His guidance, His forms and pastimes. In doing
so, one can be very knowledgeable. Being liberated from such
modes of nature means to be absorbed entirely in transcendence.
This is similar to how school and college students must work on
their subjects at least 75% of their time afterhours (away from
their teachers and professors). Without studying the curriculum,
they cannot pass their material education. Similarly, one must
hear from bonafide spiritual authorities on the science of God
regularly, jnāna-vasthita-cetasah. The spiritual knowledge
gained from hearing spiritual topics will help us to perform
sacrifice, yajna yacaratah. Spiritual knowledge is the pillar for
everyone to act perfectly and to be happy in this world.
TEXT 24 र्मापाणं र्म ववःर्मा्न९ र्मणा ु म ्।
र्मव न
े गत ्यं र्मकमासमाधिना॥२४॥
brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma-samādhinā
brahma -- spiritual in nature; ārpaṇaṁ -- contribution; brahma --
the Supreme; havir -- butter; brahma -- spiritual; āgnau -- in the
fire; brāhmaṇa -- a soul by brahmanical qualities; hutam --
offered; brahma -- Kingdom of God; iva -- certainly; tena -- for
him; gantavyaṁ -- is attainable; brahma-karma -- spiritual
activities; samādhinā -- by complete meditation.
A person who meditates on the Supreme Lord and engages in
spiritual activities will certainly attain the spiritual world, as
all the ingredients he offers in the fire of his spiritual services

will be returned to him equal in quality in the spiritual world.
ANNOTATION: Sarvam kalamitam brahman, every object in
creation is Brahman - such as sacrifice, butter, fire, grains, living
entities, karma, samādhi, material nature, etc. Though all these
are Brahman, none of them are the Supreme Brahman, God. All
these are the energies of the original Brahman Krishna, who is
celebrated as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Brahman
has manifested in different categories; just as fire has both heat
and light, they cannot be separated, and yet, neither the heat nor
the light is fire. Fire is the combination of heat and light. In the
same way, everything emanated from the Supreme Brahman is
Brahman, not just jivātmas. Even though the Lord expands His
energy all over the universe, He still remains complete with His
personality and His energies. In the Vishnu Purāna it is cited:
eka-dasa-sthitasyagner jyotsna vistariṇi yatha
parasya brahmaṇaḥ saktis tathedam akhilá jagat
“Even though a fire may be situated in one place, its brilliance
spreads all over. Similarly, the energies of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this
universe”.
All actions of sacrifice, including offerings and
paraphernalia, are to please the ultimate Truth, the Supreme
Brahman. This is called inaction. These inactions can bestow
spiritual intelligence on the devotee, as he realizes he is not the
doer of any actions under the mode of material nature, but rather
he is under the protection of the Supreme Brahman. Brahman is
the real doer of everything and, thus, when one engages in the
activities of Brahman there are no reactions. When reactions are
neutralized - one realizes the Brahman, the self. When one
achieves self-realization and is completely absorbed in the
Supreme Majestic Godhead, Lord Krishna the Supreme
Brahman, he goes back to Krishna Loka.
There are three Brahman origins. Material nature is
Brahman as the field of activities within which everything is
manifested. The individual soul is also Brahman, and finally, the

controller of both is also called Brahman, who is Krishna
Himself, but Krishna is the factual controller.
Brahman is not devoid of form, quality, abode and pastimes.
It is said in the Vedās, vāsudevat paro brahman na chanyo 'rtho
'sti tattvatah. It means: in fact there is no greater truth than Lord
Vāsudeva Krishna, the Supreme Brahman.
TEXT 25 दवमेवापरे य्ं य८धगनः पयप
ुा ास ।े
र्मा्नावपरे य्ं य्ेनव८प्् ु वत ॥२५॥
daivam evāpare yajñaṁ yoginaḥ paryupāsate
brahmāgnāv apare yajñaṁ yajñenaivopajuhvati
daivam -- in worshiping the demigods; evāpare -- many others;
yajñaṁ -- sacrifices; yoginaḥ -- mystics; paryupāsate -- engaged
in worship; brahmāgnāv -- in to the sacrificial fire of the
Supreme Lord; apare -- others; yajñaṁ -- offering of sacrifices;
yajñena -- as sacrifice itself; ivopajuhvati -- invoking.
There are many yogis engaged in the worshiping of demigods
through the offering of various sacrifices. There are also
many engaged in the worship of the Supreme Brahman
through the offering of everything in the fire of sacrifices.
ANNOTATION: In the next eight verses, the Supreme Lord
explains the various types of yajnas by different classes of yogis.
karma-yogis, also called bahu-isvara-vadis, believe in many
demigods (examples include: Indra for rain, Sūrya for good
health and Chandra for fruits, herbs and for a strong mind).
These are temporary benedictions and such yogis have little
knowledge of the Brahman. Therefore, this yajna is called daiva
yajnas. The word eva shows that demi-gods such as Indra are not
looked as Brahman. Yet, there are many jnāna yogis or devotees
who cultivate analytical knowledge on material elements. They
are the sages and brāhmana who offer oblations, such as clarified
butter, food grains and fruits into the fire intending to satisfy the
Supreme Brahman. The Lord is full of dazzling effulgence, the
impersonalists or jnāna yogis with limited spiritual
understanding have a desire to merge into this Brahman

effulgence of the Lord. Keeping with such desire, they sacrifice
everything in the fire of Brahman and merge with the Brahman
effulgence. However, this is not the ultimate goal in the spiritual
science and bhakti yoga. Worshippers of the demigods will gain
the material benedictions and in the end they will be forced to
come back to the earth planet. Worshippers of the Brahman
effulgence will also be forced to come back to the material world
after merging into the effulgence as there was no service to God.
It is like traveling in the sky, one may not always want to travel
and remain in the sky. At some point, they have to come down to
be with friends and families to serve or being served. Service is
the characteristic of every soul, like liquidity is the characteristic
of water.
TEXT 26 र८रादीनी्तरया्यतये संयमा््नषु ््

ु वत ।
श्दादी्तवषयानतय इ्तरया््नषु ्ु्वत ॥२६॥
śrotrādīnīndriyāṇy anye saṁyamāgniṣu juhvati
śabdādīn viṣayān anya indriyāgniṣu juhvati
srotrādīn -- such as the hearing; īndriyāṇy -- the senses; anye --
others; saṁyamāgniṣu -- into the fire of renunciation; juhvati --
offers; śabdādīn -- such as sound vibration, etc.; viṣayān --
objects of sense gratification; anya -- others; indriyāgniṣu -- the
sense organs in the fires; juhvati -- they offer.
Others, the brahmachāries, sacrifice their hearing senses such
as sound into the fire of renunciation, and others, house
holders, sacrifice the object of the senses in the fire of senses.
ANNOTATION: In the spiritual āsramas, there are
brahmachāri, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyāsis. They bring
regulation to their senses and mind by austerities and penances.
However, if they do not engage in their respective duties to
please Vishnu, followers of the four spiritual orders will be
susceptible to material desires. As a consequence of such
material desires, everyone is forced into the repeated cycles of
birth and death. Furthermore, between births and deaths, they

partake in activities that are unbeneficial. Pure brahmachāries
are experts in studying devotional scriptures under the guidance
of the spiritual master. The mind has its own functions,
especially, in the material conditional life, where it thinks about
acquiring material sense satisfaction. A brahmachāri, on the
other hand, instead of contemplating on material achievements,
engages his mind and senses in the fire of the Supreme Brahman,
Krishna, and tries to gain attachment to Him. Instead of hearing
material sounds, they hear the chanting of Hare Krishna mahā-
mantra, which is the yoga for the modern age and also the
sacrifice. Householders, perform charity to brahmachāries,
vanaprastha, and sannyāsis, dividing their earnings into three
portions. 25% of the earning is designated for their day to day
expenses, another 25% is saved for emergency situations, and
spend the last 50% for spreading the knowledge of Krishna. They
also control their urges for unrestricted eating and sexual desires
because they experience that the Absolute Lord Krishna exists.
Therefore, ‘we should control our unrestricted passionate desires
and eating habits’. For example, householders often think to
themselves that “today is a fasting day, Ekadashi day,
Janmāstami day, even though my senses urge me to hear sweet
music, watch movies, hear mundane gossip or have intimate
relationship with my wife or satisfying other objects of senses”.
Householders respects the functions of the Sri Krishna
Paramātma and refrain from indulging in sense pleasures.
Though many elevated spiritualists condemn the married life, the
householders have some control over their urges, which are all
sacrifices. And only animals have no constraints over their minds
and senses.
TEXT 27 सवााणी्तरयकमााणण राणकमााणण चापरे ।

आ्मसंयमय८गा्न९ ्ु्वत ्ानदीवप ॥
े २७॥
sarvāṇīndriya-karmāṇi prāṇa-karmāṇi cāpare
ātma-saṁyama-yogāgnau juhvati jñāna-dīpite
sarvāṇ -- of all; īndriya -- the senses; karmāṇi -- functions;

prāṇa-karmāṇi -- functions of the life breath; cā -- also; pare--
others; ātma-saṁyama -- of controlling the mind; yoga -- the
linking process; āgnau -- in the fire of; juhvati -- offer; jñāna-
dīpite -- because of the urge for self-realization.
Many are ignited by the urge of the self-knowledge by
controlled mind and senses, sacrifice the senses and its
functions, and the life breath and its functions as an offering
into the fire of the controlled mind.
ANNOTATION: The body equals the senses and it has different
functions. All of them are offered in the fire of the controlled
mind for obtaining self-realization. There are ten kinds of air
within the body. They are: prāna vāyu, which, one breathes
through the nose and mouth; apāna vāyu, which passes through
the anus; samāna vāyu, which comes out as belching after
adjusting food and drinks in the stomach; udāna vāyu, which is
the creator of suffocation in the throat; and vyāna air, which
travel throughout the entire body carrying blood to different
nerve systems. According to āyur vedic knowledge, thousands of
veins from different parts of the body are connected to the brain
and heart. Apart from this, there are 5 subtle airs, krikara air is
known for increasing hunger; nāga air helps to open the mouth
and the eyes; kūrma air helps to open the eyelids; the devadatta
air helps with relaxation by allowing us to yawn and open our
mouths wide; and dhananjaya air helps in sustenance of the
entire physical body for several hours after death. One can see
this immediately after death as the body does not begin to
decompose straight away due to the presence of the dhananjaya
air. However, dhananjaya air would leave the body about six to
eight hours after death. A real yogi dismisses the actions of all
ten functions of air to achieve spiritual perfection through self-
realization. The subtle mind and gross senses have a bigger
underground connection. By engaging the activities of the senses
in the service of the Supreme Lord Krishna, one can detach the
senses from the sense objects and situate oneself in the
transcendence.
TEXT 28 र्यय्ाथ प८य्ा य८गय्ाथ िापरे ।

थवा्याय्ानय्ा्च य यः संभश र ाः॥२८॥
dravya-yajñās tapo-yajñā yoga-yajñās tathāpare
svādhyāya-jñāna-yajñāś ca yatayaḥ saṁśita-vratāḥ
dravya-yajnās -- donating their possessions in charity as
sacrifice; tapo-yajñā -- performing austerities and penances as
sacrifice; yoga-yajñās -- sacrificing their eightfold mystic
opulences; tathāpare -- there are others; svādhyāya-jñāna-yajñāś
-- studying Vedās and acquiring knowledge as sacrifice; ca --
also; yatayaḥ -- enlightened persons; saṁśita-vratāḥ --
performing strict vows.
There are those enlightened persons who perform strict vows
like those who donate their possessions in charity as sacrifice,
performing austerities and penances as sacrifice, sacrificing
their eightfold mystic opulences, and study Vedās and
acquire transcendental knowledge as sacrifice.
ANNOTATION: For the purification of one’s own existence,
people follow five different kinds of sacrifices:
1] dravya-yajnah - is sacrificing one’s possessions – e.g. surplus
money, land and buildings. They donate to build temple and
different spiritual institutions. Such yajna comes under pious and
spiritual activities.
2] tapah-yajnah - chaturmāsya vrta - chaturmasya observance
starts in July-August and ends in the month of Karthic (i.e., in
October and November). In June-July devotees refrain from
eating leafy vegetables such as spinach. In July-August, devotees
refrain from consuming yogurt. In August–September, they
refrain from drinking milk. In September–October, they refrain
from white lentil. Some saintly people also choose not to travel,
but rather opting to stay in one place. Some do not shave their
hair or beard. Some eat only once at a designated time. Some
choose to only eat fruits. Some fast on Ekadashi without water,
while others choose to eat only non-grains and non-beans.
chandrāyana vrta – means that a man may increase the morsel of

food according to the waxing of the moon and decrease
according to the waning of the moon.
3] yoga-yajna - sacrifice in eightfold mysticism – means to
achieve different yoga siddhis or perfections. They perform
yajna by practicing the eight-fold yoga system adhering to strict
rules such as - yama and niyama or rules and regulations, āsanas
or postures, prānayāma or breathing exercises, pratyahāra or
withdrawal of the senses from the sense objects, dhyāna or
meditation, dhārana or focused attention and samādhi or
complete absorption of the mind in the form of four handed Lord
Vishnu.
4] svadhyayah jnāna - immersed in studying the Vedās like rg
veda, yajur veda, sama veda, and atharva veda.
5] jnāna-yajnah - or the cultivation of transcendental literatures
such as Brahma sūtra or Vedānta sūtra. Srimad-Bhāgavatam is
the natural commendation on the Brahma sūtra, contemplate and
reflect on the annotation for better understanding and
enlightening people. Sometimes Srimad-Bhāgavatam is called
Brahma Sūtra because it is the cream of all Vedic knowledge. All
these yogis sincerely engage in different types of sacrifices to
seek higher status of life. The Lord did not explain any material
activities to improve the material situation to take care of the
bodily needs. Instead, he urged using the bodily senses and mind
to cultivate the above mentioned yajnas to achieve a better life.
Using the body and mind for satisfying the bodily necessities, is
like the life of animals. Human beings are different from animals
and other species of life. An animal taken to the slaughter house
will not defend itself, if a human being was taken to the same
place, he would scream and shout for help. This analogy guides
everyone. Humans are different from lower species of life. One
can demonstrate that they are different from animals by engaging
in devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. In Bhaktirasamrta sindhu Srila Rupa
goswāmi writes:
adau sraddha tatah sadhu- sango 'tha bhajana-kriya

tato 'nartha-nivrittih syat tato nishtha rucis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah
If, by good fortune due to previous pious activities, a living
entity develops faith in Krishna, he will begin to associate with
devotees. When one is encouraged in devotional service, one
follows the regulative principles as well as hearing and chanting.
This leads them to become free from all contaminations. When
one is freed from all unwanted contaminations, he advances with
firm faith. When firm faith in devotional service awakens, a taste
for hearing and chanting also awakens. After such a taste is
awakened, a deep attachment arises, and from that attachment,
the seed of love for Krishna grows in one’s heart. When that
ecstatic emotional stage intensifies, it is called the love of
Godhead. This love is life’s ultimate goal and the reservoir of all
pleasure.
TEXT 29 अपाने ््
ु वत राणंराणेऽपानं िापरे ।
राणापानग ी ु््वा राणायामपरायणाः।
अपरे तनय ा ाराः राणातराणेषु ्ु्वत ।॥२९॥
apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe ’pānaṁ tathāpare
prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ
apare niyatāhārāḥ prāṇān prāṇeṣu juhvati
apāne -- the air goes downward; juhvati -- offers; prāṇaṁ -- the
air of life; prāṇe -- in the air going outward; apānaṁ -- the air
going downward; tathā -- also; āpare -- others; prāṇāpāna -- of
the air going outward and the air going downward; gatī -- the
movement; ruddhvā -- checking; prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ --
practicing breath control; apare -- others; niyatāhārāḥ -- eating
having controlled; prāṇān -- the outgoing air; prāṇeṣu -- in the
outgoing air; juhvati -- sacrifice.
Many others offer outgoing breath to the incoming breath,
incoming breath to the outgoing breath and by stopping full
breath control, remain in trance. Others, controlling their
eating habits sacrifice their outgoing air in the outgoing air

itself.
ANNOTATION: Sri Bhagavān continues to explain the
sacrifices made by expert yogis who are devoted to prānayāma
or regulation of the breath. These yogis offer the prāna (outgoing
breath) to the apāna (incoming breath) and the incoming breath
to the outgoing breath. In this way, they arrive at the stage of
rechaka (exhalation for 16 beats), then puraka (inhaling for 32
beats) and finally they reach kumbhaka (64 beats). Kumbhaka
refers to the complete cessation of breath and once you reach this
stage you are in a trance or samādhi. The kumbhaka yoga enables
one to attain spiritual realization and it has the potential to
increase one’s lifespan by about four to five hundred years, or
even more in some cases. In India, in the Himalayan ranges,
there are many such older yogis still living in the caves. In this
stage, the yogis’ mind and senses are fully controlled from the
material objects and focus completely upon the form of the Lord.
Sex life has the opposite effect, for instance, the heavy breathing
at the time of sexual intercourse can reduce one’s life span. The
length of one’s life is counted by the number of times one
breathe. Others choose to control eating habits. By reducing the
amount of food, the prānas become weak; the senses depend on
the prānas, by becoming emaciated; the emaciated senses cannot
acquire sense objects; and sense objects become merged in the
prānas. All these yajnas should not be practiced for the sake of
practicing it. In order to be free from falling down, Supreme
Lord Krishna should be the goal of all these yajnas and yogās.
Even powerful yogis have fallen down as they have not been
connected to the Supreme Lord. For example, Viswāmitra Muni
and Saubiri Muni, both fell in the trap of women. Though Muni
Durvāsa too was a yogi, he misused his anger upon a devotee,
Ambhairish Mahārāja, and as a result, he fell from the position of
a yogi and became a criminal in the transcendental eyes of the
Supreme Lord. Although all these yogis are powerful on their
own, in their respective yoga system, all of them fell from the
yoga process without fully taking shelter in the Supreme
Absolute Lord, Krishna.
TEXT 30 सवेऽतये े य्ववद८ य्षवप क्मषाः।

य्भश्िाम ृ भ्
ु ८ या्त र्म सना नम ्। ॥३०॥
sarve ’py ete yajña-vido yajña-kṣapita-kalmaṣāḥ
yajña-śiṣṭāmṛta-bhujo yānti brahma sanātanam
sarve’pyete -- certainly all these; yajña-vido -- are knowledgable
of the purpose of performing sacrifices; yajña-kṣapita-kalmaṣāḥ
-- purified of sinful reactions by performance of sacrifice; yajña-
śiṣṭa -- as the result of performing of such sacrifice; amṛta-bhujo
-- tasted nectar; yānti -- do approach; brahmasanātanam -- the
supreme eternal.
Certainly, all these performers who know the knowledge and
purpose of executing sacrifices, purified of all sinful reactions
and having tasted the ambrosia of the result of sacrifices,
approach the supreme spiritual realm.
ANNOTATION: To become free from sinful activities one must
engage in the service of yajna (sacrifice) and yoga, which brings
the worshipers and meditators closer to God. There are different
varieties of yoga such as karma-yoga, jnāna-yoga, ashtānga-
yoga and bhakti-yoga. The goal of all yoga is to, ultimately,
please the Supreme Majestic Lord, Krishna. By this service one
gains control over polluted senses, mind and intelligence.
ataḥ śrī-krishna-nāmādi na bhāved grāhyam indraihi
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty tadah
“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name,
form, quality and pastimes of Sri Krishna through materially
contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually
saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the
transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord
revealed to him” (Bhakti rasamrta sindhu 1.2.234).
Everyone's senses are dead, and the senses cannot be
understood by any subtle material things or any spiritual things.
They can only be understood through the physical objects in the
world with the help of the light. Therefore, one has to engage
these senses in the direct service of Bhagavān Krishna. Once
these gross and subtle bodily elements are controlled naturally by
devotional service to the Supreme Lord, all senses are

automatically controlled. Only then can one make a positive
advancement in spiritual life and in the end, he will be able to
enter into the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 31 नायं ल८क८ऽथ्यय्थय कु ८ऽतयः कुुसतम॥३१॥
nāyaṁ loko ’sty ayajñasya kuto ’nyaḥ kuru-sattama
nāyaṁloko -- not in this planet; sty -- there is; ayajñasya -- one
who performs no sacrifice; kuto’nyaḥ -- where is the other planet;
kuru-sattama -- O best amongst the Kurus.
O best of the Kurus, without performing sacrifices no one
can ever be happy in this world, what to speak of the next
worlds?
ANNOTATION: None of the above mentioned sacrifices will
carry anyone to the Kingdom of God, unless it is rendered in full
Krishna consciousness. All yajnas rendered will be counted as
pious activities and, therefore, the result will be decided
depending on one’s execution of a particular yajna with a
particular desired purpose. yogis want to be transferred to the
moon or sun planet, jnanis want to merge into the effulgence of
the Supreme Brahman. A fruitive worker wants to go to heavenly
planets for prolonged material enjoyment or want to become
happy by either earning immense wealth or obtaining a beautiful
wife or seeking reputation. Devotees want to go back to
Godhead, by entering into the Kingdom of God, he has fully
secured a permanent life. Except devotees selfless devotional
service, all other benefits of the yajna will bring the performers
back to the material universe after certain years of enjoyment.
One can follow a simple guideline, given by Lord Nārāyana in
Skanda Purāna, to attain a place in the eternal Vaikuṇṭha planet.
It is stated, that those who are devoted to the Supreme Majestic
Godhead, Lord Krishna should only honor the food that has
already been offered to Him in sacrifices and worships. This food
has the power to purify all sins and leads to liberation from the
material existence of death and birth. One who honors every
meal offered to the Supreme Lord, according to the instruction of

Vedic scriptures, receives infinite blessings of the Lord. Each bite
of sanctified food is worth 100 vows of the chandrāyana
sacrifice. The Skanda Purāna further reveals that there are two
types of food suitable for eating. One, is food that is properly
offered to the Supreme Lord, the second, is the remnants of food
honored after the devotees of the Supreme Lord have eaten from
those offerings. According to Garuda Purāna, food and
beverages that are not first offered to the Supreme Lord are equal
to stool and urine. There cannot be spiritual realization of
Supreme Lord or perfection in spiritual life without their food
first being offered in sacrifice to Supreme Lord Krishna.
Consequently, one cannot become happy in this life - then how
can one be happy in the next life. One carries the same unhappy
mind and intelligent to next body.
TEXT 32 एवं ब ु वविा य्ा वव ा र्मण८ मख ु े।
कमा्ा्तव्धि ातसवाानेवं ्ा्वा ववम८्यसे॥३२॥
evaṁ bahu-vidhāyajñā vitatā brahmaṇo mukhe
karma-jān viddhi tān sarvān evaṁ jñātvā vimokṣyase
evaṁ -- thus; bahu-vidhāyajñā -- various kinds of sacrifices;
vitatā -- are mentioned; brahmaṇo mukhe -- through the mouth of
the Vedās; karma-jān -- manifested from works; viddhi -- you
should know; tān sarvān -- all of them; evaṁ jñātvā -- thus
knowing; vimokṣyase -- you will be.
Thus, all these various kinds of sacrifices mentioned by the
Vedās are manifested from different kinds of work. Knowing
all of them you will be liberated from the material world.
ANNOTATION: The Purānas, Upanishads and Mahābhārata
have mentioned many sacrifices for the purification of people in
different modes of material nature. The purification of the mind
and senses is a vital component for advancing in spiritual life.
But the strong bodily concept of life is the biggest obstacle on the
path of natural spiritual progress to the conditioned soul. A small
story can be narrated to illustrate this point: a group of people
were going to attend a wedding ceremony in the evening by boat.

However, the captain of the boat forgot to remove the anchor, so
even though the captain steered through the night hoping to reach
the final destination, in the morning everyone realized that they
were still in the exact location where they began their journey, as
they did not pull up the anchor! The bodily concept of life cannot
bring concrete spiritual enthusiasm and one will remain in the
same place despite engaging in various religious and so called
spiritual activities. According to Srimad-Bhāgavatam, those who
consider this body as a bag of mucus, bile and air to be the self,
are considered to be no better than an ass or cow, yasyātma-
buddhih kunape-tri-dhātuke, sa eva go-kharah. By strictly
following the above mentioned scriptures, one will eventually
stop considering the bodily concept of life, which will eventually
lead to liberation.
TEXT 33 रेयातर्यमया्य्ा््ानय्ः परत प।
सवं कमााणखलं पािा ्ाने पररसमातय ॥
े ३३॥
śreyān dravya-mayād yajñāj jñāna-yajñaḥ paran-tapa
sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha jñāne parisamāpyate
śreyān -- greater; dravya-mayād -- material possessions; yajñāj --
than the sacrifice; jñāna-yajñaḥ -- offering sacrifice in
knowledge; paran-tapa -- O conqueror of the enemy; sarvaṁ
karmā -- all activities; ākhilaṁ -- entirely; pārtha -- O son of
Pritha; jñāne -- by knowledge; parisamāpyate -- come to an end.
O conqueror of the enemies, the sacrifice performed in
knowledge is superior to the sacrifice of material possessions.
In the end, all sacrifices of work come to an end in
transcendental knowledge, O son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: As mentioned above, there are many sacrifices
in the karma-kānda divisions, jnāna kānda divisions, upāsana
kānda divisions of the Vedās. Many people in different parts of
the world perform diverse sacrifices according to their
knowledge. The essence of following yajna is to cultivate
spiritual knowledge and through such knowledge, one will reach
the ultimate beneficiary Lord Krishna - the yajnesvara, Lord of

the sacrifice, which is the perfection of all yajnas. In this verse,
following different yajnas for material acquisition alone is
condemned by the Lord. The point made here by Lord Krishna is
that all material actions should end up with transcendental
knowledge as He is available to the worshiper only through
spiritual or transcendental knowledge. Philosophical approach of
the Absolute Lord is greater than ritualistic approach. Without
attaining His shelter, the living entity simply falls into this ocean
of birth and death. The Lord knows this very well, and so He
wants everyone to go back to Him through the path of
transcendental knowledge. Sacrifice means to accept the
supremacy of the Lord, by performing acts through which the
Lord may be satisfied in all respects. In the Mundhoka
Upanishad, it states: the act of sacrifice is undoubtedly
praiseworthy in itself. Yet, superior to them is spiritual
knowledge where all doubts are dispelled and the need for all
material actions are terminated. How that knowledge can be
cultivated is mentioned in the next verse.
TEXT 34 ्वव्धि रणणपा ने पररर्नेन सेवया।

उपदे ्य्त े ्ानं ्ातननथ ्वदभशानः॥३४॥
tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
tad -- this knowledge of different sacrifices; viddhi -- should be
learned; praṇipātena -- by approaching a bonafide spiritual
master; paripraśnena -- by submissive inquiries; sevayā -- by
rendering sincere service; upadekṣyanti te -- will instruct you;
jñānaṁ -- the transcendental knowledge; jñāninas -- the self-
realized; tattva-darśinaḥ -- those who have seen the truth.
Try to learn the truth from a true spiritual teacher, request

from him submissively and offer service to him. The self-
realized can instruct you who has seen the truth and endowed
with transcendental knowledge.
ANNOTATION: Now the Supreme Lord is inviting everyone to

attain transcendental knowledge. Spiritual knowledge or
transcendental knowledge is completely different from material
knowledge and ritualistic knowledge that bestow material
benediction, provided one follows that path. To learn the truth of
life one requires a spiritual master - similar to one needing a
professor to learn physics, chemistry or mathematics. Sometimes,
parents are the teachers for their children and they raise them
with the knowledge they learned from their parents. But to learn
a spiritual scientific subject matter, one needs an authorized
spiritual master who comes down in the disciplic succession of
Lord Krishna. First qualification of a guru is that he must be a
pure devotee of Lord Krishna. He may be born in any cast
family, but if he knows the science of Krishna he can be a
spiritual master.
kiba vipra, kiba nyāsi, sūdra kene nāya
yei krishna-tattva-vetta, sei guru hāya
“Whether one is a brāhmana, a sannyāsi, or a sūdra, regardless
of what he is, he can become a spiritual master if he knows the
science of Krishna”. CC Madhya 8.128. There is no caste
division, color divisions, age or gender to become a devotee of
Krishna or guru. From any part of the universe anybody can
become a devotee of Krishna and guru. Sri Sukhadeva goswāmi
was sixteen years old when he became a guru. Mother Devahuti
accepted her son, Kapila, as her spiritual master.
A demigod worshiper cannot become a guru in the society,
and if there is one, it is only duplicating a bonafide vaishnava
guru. The demigods' bodies are made up of material elements,
thus, the question of spiritual life or spiritual knowledge does not
arise by reading their literature or worshiping them. A
representative of demigods has no spiritual knowledge or
spiritual philosophy to impart except for some magic, black arts
and word jugglery. Such gurus cannot even deliver themselves,
how shall they deliver their disciples? There is no spiritual
knowledge without Bhagavān, Bhagavad, and Bhāgavatam. All
spiritual masters act based on scriptural knowledge and scriptures

that are full of supernatural knowledge. There are many gurus
with thousands of disciples, however, the number of followers
one has is not part of the criteria for becoming a guru. The
spiritual master must be linked with the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna in devotion. Such a
bonafide guru is naturally connected with God, whoever takes
shelter in such a guru is also fully blessed by the all-powerful
Godhead, Lord Krishna. Such a guru must be approached with
all service attitudes; he must be inquired very submissively about
the problems of life. Disciples should not have a challenging
attitude towards such a guru. A disciple is in ignorance if he does
not know where he is originated from. What is the constitutional
position of his soul? Why does he come to life and death
frequently? All these questions are unanswered until one meets
an actual spiritual master with surrender. The spiritual master is
the spiritual father for a disciple. Therefore, a spiritually situated
guru, spiritual master can guide his disciple with the torchlight of
transcendental knowledge to be free from samsara, the path of
death and birth, gurur na sasyat - One cannot become a guru
unless he is able to liberate his disciples from the path of
repeated birth and death. Such a bonafide representative of the
Supreme Lord is a real guru. Lord Krishna says in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam:
āchārya mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit
na martya-buddhyasuyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruh
“One should know the āchārya or spiritual master as Myself and
never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, or
think of him as an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all
the demigods.”
A true spiritual master is not another oriental scholar, yoga
teacher, guru, or meditation instructor. He is the embodiment of
a whole culture, and he implants the real transcendental culture
in the heart of inspiring candidates. A spiritual master is one who
truly cares for peoples’ lives without compromise, and
completely sacrifices his own comfort to work for the good of
others. He has no private life, but lives only for others. He

teaches spiritual science, philosophy, common sense, the arts,
languages and the Vedic way of life - hygiene, nutrition,
medicine, etiquette, family living, farming, social organization,
schooling, economics and much more. He represents the
Supreme Lord Krishna and acts like a master, a father, and a dear
friend. He never claims to be God, but informs the world that he
is a servant of God and everything is happening in this world is
from the mercy of Lord Krishna. Therefore, He is the true
servant of God. It is said in the Mundhoka Upanishad 1-2-12:
tad-vijianartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
“To realize these spiritual subject matters properly, one must
approach humbly a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedās
and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth”.
TEXT 35 य््ा्वा न पन ु मो मेवं याथयभस पा्डव।
येन भू ातयशेषणे र्यथया्मतयि८ मतय॥३५॥
yaj jñātvā na punar moham evaṁ yāsyasi pāṇḍava
yena bhūtāny aśeṣāṇi drakṣyasy ātmany atho mayi
yaj jñātvā -- knowing which; na punar -- never again; moham --
illusion; evaṁ -- like this; yāsyasi -- you shall go; pāṇḍava -- O
son of Pāndu; yena -- by which; bhūtāny -- living beings; aśeṣāṇi
-- all; drakñyasy -- you see; ātmany -- the Supreme Soul; atho --
or in other words; mayi -- in Me.
After obtaining the true spiritual knowledge from seers of the
truth, O son of Pāndu, you will not fall again into such
delusion. Through this knowledge, you will see all living
beings as the Absolute Soul or they are in Me.
ANNOTATION: The representatives of the Lord cannot bluff
any inquisitive disciple and misguide them for their own sense
gratification. Bhagavad-Gītā was spoken by Lord Krishna to the
conditioned souls of the world. Lord Krishna’s goal was to free
people from the wrong conception of identifying the body with
the soul and to re-establish the soul's eternal relationship with

Krishna. Brahma jnāna or ātma-vidya, or spiritual knowledge of
soul and God- Krishna, was primarily spoken by the Lord for the
benefit of everyone in the universe. The Supreme Absolute Truth
appears in this material world to disseminate spiritual knowledge
and that Lord Krishna is the origin of all souls. Souls are part of
Him, like the sparks of the fire is part of the fire, and the material
space is the cosmic accommodation created for souls that are
separated from Krishna, like the separated sparks cannot live
with the fire and has to live separately. In the material world,
souls transmigrate from one body to another, under the influence
of time. When the present body dwindles and comes to an end,
the next body one receives depends entirely on the actions one
has performed in the present life exactly like a man is valued or
devalued based on his work.
Our bodily features are comparable to that of God. Lord
Krishna, is like the sun, krishna sūrya samān, sun is always
present in the sky, when sun sets in the western hemisphere, and
it will rise in the eastern hemisphere. Lord Krishna’s appearance
and disappearance is like that of the sun. Because the sun appears
in the east, the east cannot be called ‘the mother of the Sun’.
Similarly, nobody can be Krishna’s mother or father.
Nevertheless, Lord Krishna selects parents to give credit for their
austerities performed in the past as to get Him as their child. In
the human world, all humans are forced to accept a mother and a
father unlike Lord Krishna’s appearance. To maintain the human
law, the Lord accepts Devaki as His mother and Vasudeva as His
father. When Lord Krishna was born, He was not naked, but
rather fully decorated; he had silky yellow garments on His waist
and a peacock feather on his curly hair. The Supreme Lord is
supremely independent to all material and spiritual laws. Anyone
who can understand this truth, in terms of the statements revealed
in the scriptures, certainly becomes brahma jnani. According to
Krishna’s statement in Bhagavad-Gītā, comprehending Krishna
as Parabrahman, devotees, after death, will enter into the eternal
existence of the spiritual world.
But those who are in the darkness of nescience conclude

that the Lord's sweet birth and activities in the material world are
similar to those of the ordinary living beings. Therefore, that
person has no spiritual knowledge or Brahma jnāna and always
live in darkness. Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu said to
Sarvabauma bhattāchārya:
bhagavān —‘sambandha’, bhakti—‘abhidheya’ haya
prema—‘prayojana’, vede tina-vastu kaya
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the central point of all
relationships, sambandha, acting in devotional service to Him is
one’s real occupation, abhidheya, and the attainment of love of
Godhead is the ultimate goal in life, prayojana. These three
subject matters are described in the Vedic literature.”
Forgetting these transcendental principles, ordinary mortals
run here and there for love, but everywhere they go they receive
only abuse, humiliation and frustration. Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Father, possess all rights to real love which He gives to
all living beings as He exhibited with residents of Vrindhāvana,
Mathura and Dwāraka.
TEXT 36 अवप चेदभस पापे्यः सवे्यः पापकृतमः।

सवं ्ानतलवेनव व्ृ ्नं सत रर्यभस॥३६॥
api ced asi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ
sarvaṁ jñāna-plavenaiva vṛjinaṁ santariṣyasi
api ced asi -- even if you are; pāpebhyaḥ -- sinners; sarvebhyaḥ -
- of all; pāpa-kṛt-tamaḥ -- the most sinful; sarvaṁ -- all; jñāna-
plavena -- by the boat of transcendental knowledge; iva -- surely;
vṛjinaṁ -- miseries; santariṣyasi -- you will cross.
Even if you are the most sinful of all sinners, as soon as you
are situated in the boat of spiritual knowledge, you will
surely cross over all miseries.
ANNOTATION: This is the power of understanding the true
relationship between living entities and God. By simply
cultivating transcendental knowledge, fools, assassins, rogues,
debauchees and cow killers can be freed from their incorrigible

past sins. This is the result of cultivating spiritual knowledge
from Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā and
vaishnava scriptures. One must learn from scriptures what
karma, akarma and vikarmas are, and knowing the intricacies of
these forms of karma from Vedic evidence and surrendering to
the Supreme Lord, one can act perfectly. Vedic scriptures are
meant to be used by human beings as guidelines for perfecting
their life and it is ought to be cultivated through perfected
spiritual masters. However, this does not license anyone to
continue sinful behaviors once transcendental knowledge is
achieved. Transcendental knowledge is compared to pure vision.
For instance, when one travels in an aircraft, all objects on the
ground appears to be miniscule and insignificant, regardless of its
greatness according to the material calculation. Similarly, the
cultivator of the transcendental knowledge sees the whole
material manifestation as being puny and illusory because of his
vast realized knowledge. The significance of the transcendental
knowledge is described by Adi-Shankara in his govindam
prayers:
kurute gaṅgā-sāgaragamanaṁ
vrata-paripālanam athavā dānam
jnāna vihinaḥ sarvamatena
muktiṁ na bhajati janma śatena
“One may go to the Ganga, observe fasts, and give away riches
in charity! Yet, devoid of transcendental knowledge, nothing can
give liberation even at the end of hundreds of births”.
TEXT 37 यििांभस सभम्ि८ऽ््नभाथमसा्कुु ऽे ्ुन
ा ।
्ाना््नः सवाकमााणण भथमसा्कुु े िा॥३७॥
yathaidhāṁsi samiddho ’gnir bhasma-sāt kurute ’rjuna
jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasma-sāt kurute tathā
yathaidhāṁsi -- just as wood; samiddho agnir -- a blazing fire;
bhasma-sāt -- ashes; kurute -- turns; arjuna -- O Arjuna;
jñānāgniḥ -- the fire of transcendental knowledge; sarva-karmāṇi
-- all reactions of fruitive activities; bhasma-sāt kurute-- turns to

ashes; tathā -- similarly.
O Arjuna, a blazing fire can turn wood to ashes. In a similar
fashion, the fire of transcendental knowledge turns to ashes
all the reactions to fruitive activities.
ANNOTATION: One must cultivate spiritual knowledge of
realizing, the position of God and living entities. Only then will
one be free from the reactions of sinful activities. One might
wonder - just as crossing the ocean by boat does not destroy the
ocean, how can the boat of transcendental knowledge destroy all
of one's sins? Lord Krishna states here that the boat of spiritual
knowledge will destroy all material reactions and actions whether
there are pious or impious results, and that they will all be burnt
to ashes. Just as darkness disappears with the rise of the Sun
planet - the rising of knowledge of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna can destroy all sinful
activities. It is said in the Vishnu Purāna:
aprarābdha-phalam pāpam kūtam bījam phalonmukham
kramenaiva praliyeta vishnu-bhakti-ratātmanam
“There are different stages of dormant reactions to sinful
activities to be observed in a sinful life. Sinful reactions may be
just waiting to take effect (phalonmukha), reactions may be still
further dormant (kūtam) or the reactions may be in a seed like
state (bījam). In any case, all types of sinful reactions are
vanquished, one after another, if a person engages in the
devotional service of Lord Vishnu”.
TEXT 38 न ह ्ानेन सृशं पववरभम वव्य ।े

्थवयं य८गसंभस्िः कालेना्मतन ववतदत ॥३८॥
na hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ pavitram iha vidyate
tat svayaṁ yoga-saṁsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati
nahi -- surely nothing; jñānena sadṛśaṁ -- in comparison with
transcendental knowledge; pavitram -- as purifying; iha -- in this
world; vidyate -- subsist; tat -- that; svayaṁ-- himself; yoga-

saṁsiddhaḥ -- one who is matured in devotion; kālenā -- in
course of time; ātmani -- in the self; vindati -- attains.
Surely there is nothing in this world as purifying as the
transcendental knowledge. One who has obtained this mature
knowledge through practice of devotional activities enjoys
this knowledge within oneself in course of time.
ANNOTATION: Today, there are many educational sections in
schools and colleges. Many men and women are educated within
various departments of knowledge. Yet, the goal of education is
to facilitate sense gratification, there is no other goal behind such
education. For instance, the vulture has been given a sharp
vision, he flies around seven miles from the ground, what he
seeks is a dead body to eat. Similarly, the purpose of higher
education in the material world is often nothing more than
looking for sense gratification. Therefore, this type of education
does not fulfill the self-interest of anyone. On the other hand, in
the material world, there is nothing that compares to
transcendental knowledge, which always purifies people who
cultivate it sincerely. People are suffering because they do not
know the true identity of the self and Super-self, Lord Krishna.
Some try to perform with austerity, penance and yajnās to gain
material benefit. Such performances of religious rituals cannot be
equaled to transcendental knowledge. Srimad-Bhāgavatam is the
spotless Purāna filled with transcendental knowledge, the mature
fruit of all mysticism, nigama kalpatarur galitam balam. In order
to gain transcendental knowledge, one must become qualified
through persistent practice of the prescribed Vedic duties,
performing yajnās, penances without desire for fruitive results, or
one could acquire blessings from a pure devotee of Lord Krishna.
Then, in due course, they will attain transcendental knowledge
and self-realization that consists of utmost happiness and peace
of mind.
TEXT 39 र्िावाँ्लभ े ्ानं ्परः संय ्े तरयः।
्ानं ल््वा परां शा्त मधचरे णाधिग्छत ॥३९॥
śraddhāvāḻ labhate jñānaṁ tat-paraḥ saṁyatendriyaḥ

jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śāntim achireṇādhigacchati
śraddhāvāl -- one with full faith; labhate -- achieves; jñānaṁ --
transcendental knowledge; tat-paraḥ -- focused attentively;
saṁyat -- one who has conquered; endriyaḥ -- the senses; jñānaṁ
-- transcendental knowledge; labdhvā -- having obtained; parāṁ
śāntim -- supreme peace; achireṇādhi -- very soon; gacchati --
attains.
One with full faith and dedication to transcendental
knowledge, who has conquered all his senses is qualified to
attain the transcendental knowledge. Having obtained such
knowledge, one attains very soon the supreme peace.
ANNOTATION: Faith means unwavering conviction in
something sublime. Because of the flickering nature of the mind,
one keeps changing his faith. Sometimes, the mind does not
allow faith in devotion to Lord Krishna despite common sense,
sometimes intelligence does not allow strong faith in Lord
Krishna, sometimes false prestige or identification with the
material body of its birth, color, and country does not allow to
have faith in Krishna. Unwavering conviction of faith is when
the mind, intelligence and ego believes in the process of
devotional service of the Majestic Personality of Godhead. That
is the perfection of faith, which can bring about an unlimited
blissful life. However, there are unwanted desires in the heart of
many devotees. In such cases, by regularly chanting the holy
name of Krishna and Rāma and hearing transcendental subject
matters like the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, all
unwanted misgivings from the heart can be cleansed and
devotees will be able to establish a pure devotional service to the
Supreme Lord Krishna. The path of perfection is explained in the
Vedās, which is the transcendental knowledge. Without sincerely
cultivating such knowledge, under the able guidance of a
spiritual authority, one cannot have human perfection.
TEXT 40 अ््चार्दिान्च संशया्मा ववन्यत ।

नायं ल८क८ऽ्थ न पर८ न सख
ु ंसश
ं या्मनः॥४०॥
ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati
nāyaṁ loko ’sti na paro na sukhaṁ saṁśayātmanaḥ
ajñaś -- an ignorant; ca -- and; aśraddadhānaś -- having no faith
in the revealed scriptures; ca -- also; saṁśayātmā -- a person
with doubt; vinaśyati -- completely destroyed; nāyaṁ loko -- not
in this world; asti -- there is; na paro -- not in the next life;
nasukhaṁ -- no happiness; saṁśayātmanaḥ -- doubtful person.
An ignorant and doubtful person who has no faith in
transcendental knowledge will be completely destroyed. For
such a doubting soul, there is no happiness in this world and
in the next life.
ANNOTATION: There are four basic necessities in common for
animals and human beings: eating, sleeping, copulating, and
security. Yet, only human beings have been given higher
intelligence, so that they can accept spirituality. As long as
human beings cultivate only those four common requirements,
they are called dvipāda pasu, two legged animals - those who are
devoid of transcendental knowledge are compared to
sophisticated animals. Hence, it is important to raise above the
modified beastly consciousness and cultivate transcendental
knowledge. By cultivating transcendental knowledge, one will be
able to establish a strong faith, without this knowledge human
beings will remain in nescience. There are three things that
should be accepted in order to cultivate transcendental
knowledge: first, one has to be a bonafide devotee of Krishna;
second, having a spiritual master who is the representative of
Lord Krishna; who has complete scriptural revelations, and
finally, having knowledge of the revealed scriptures themselves,
which are full of transcendental knowledge. The bottom-line for
everyone is to cultivate scriptural revealed knowledge through
these three mediums. Scriptures are the medium to attain true
knowledge, and the interpreters of the scriptures are dedicated
devotees and spiritual masters. Scriptures contain the

descriptions of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
such as His form, His quality, His abode and so forth. Those
doubting these scriptures are more severe in nature than doubting
the instructions of a spiritual master, doubting the superiority of
vaishnavism and doubting the reality of the Lord’s deity’s
presence. Such doubt can create hellish conditions in one’s mind
and body. With an unstable mind, one cannot fully follow a
spiritual path, but runs around like hogs - deviating from the
natural path of a human being. The spiritual path is only found in
Vedic scriptures, without which one cannot become happy, either
in this world or the next. If one could not find happiness in this
life, one will not have happiness in the next life as well.
Therefore, human form is the solution to enquire about the truth,
and follow that path of life. The faithless are brought back for
repeated births and deaths by the law of God as stated in this
verse. And eventually, they sink down to the lower species of
life, like worms or other insects.
One may think, in the lower forms of life, no soul will
experience the pain and pleasure. So what bad is there by
becoming a germ or maggot or dog? As the answer to this, the
scriptures mention that all human beings, demons and demigods
attained their status by going through all these forms. For
example: if one falls down to a maggot, which is in the group of
reptile species, then it has to evolve by going through every
single reptile species, which are in two million varieties.
Thereafter, the soul will be transmigrated to the one million
category of birds. After finishing every single bird forms of life,
the soul evolves to animal species, which are in three million and
going through all these animal species, the soul is allowed to
transmigrate to human forms of life, which are only 400,000
varieties in the universe. All human, demigods and demons are in
the category of human with a higher and lower consciousness.
They all have developed consciousness and their forms are like
the form of God, with two hands and legs, head and waist, etc.
Once again by bad activities, despite in the higher conscious life,
they fall down from that position; the soul will, then, take
billions of years by evolutionary process to attain the human
form or similar elevated conscious life again. Therefore, the
human form of life is given to everyone, only, to realize the
nature of the soul and God by cultivating transcendental
knowledge.
TEXT 41 य८गसततयथ कमााणं ्ानस््छतनसंशयम ्।
आ्मवत ं न कमााणण तनब्न्त िन््य॥४१॥
yoga-sannyasta-karmāṇaṁ jñāna-sañchinna-saṁśayam
ātmavantaṁ na karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañ-jaya
yoga -- linking with the supreme; sannyasta -- one who has
renounced; karmāṇaṁ -- the fruits of actions; jñāna -- by
knowledge; sañchinna-saṁśayam -- slash the doubts;
ātmavantaṁ -- established in the soul; na -- do not; karmāṇi --
works; nibadhnanti -- bound in the reaction; dhanañ-jaya -- O
conqueror of riches.
O Conqueror of riches, one who works in devotional yoga
and who has renounced the fruits of his activities, whose
doubt has been slashed by transcendental knowledge is
factually established in Self and he is not bound in the
reactions of any works.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord addresses
Arjuna as Dhananjaya, O conqueror of riches. The riches or
wealth in the material world is perishable. But real wealth is the
transcendental knowledge, which never perishes, it always
enlightens one concerning the Supreme Lord. Thus, the Lord is
saying to His devotee and friend Arjuna - that if he is looking for
real wealth, he needs to get out of the material concept of life.
Money can help someone get out of poverty, but real wealth,
which is transcendental knowledge, will help one to escape this
material world, and help situate one in the self and therefore, he
can establish a relationship with God. This, in the end will
elevate one beyond the material universe. The best way to
produce one’s own self-awareness is to apply the instructions of
the Bhagavad-Gītā, given by the Supreme Godhead Himself. It

will protect one from falling down to the millions of lower
species of life. Adi-Sankara also emphasized this point:
bhagavad gītā kincidadhītā
gaṇgā jalalava kaṇikāpītā |
sakṛdapi yena murāri samarcā
kriyate tasya yamena na charcā
Let a man read but a little from the Bhagavad-Gītā, drink just a
drop of water from the Ganga, worship the killer of the demon
Mura, Lord Krishna (Murāri) just once. He then will have no
disagreement with the Lord of death, Yamarāja.
Without transcendental knowledge, one will sink down to
the mode of darkness. The kings in the olden days cultivated this
knowledge before they begun ruling their citizens, without
cultivating transcendental knowledge kings could not bring any
perfection to human society. In this regard Śrīla Viśvanātha
Chakravartī hākura comments: “aśmamayaḥ plavo yeṣāṁ te
yathā majjantaṁ plavam anumajjanti tatheti rāja-nīty-
upadeṣṭṛṣu sva-sabhyeṣu kopo vyañjitaḥ. If society is guided by
political diplomacy, with one nation maneuvering against
another, it will certainly sink like a stone boat. Political
maneuvering and diplomacy will not save human society. People
must take to Krishna consciousness to understand the goal of life,
to understand God, and to fulfill the human mission”. All
conditioned souls including the leaders of the world have fallen
in the ocean of nescience, but human body fortunately provides
us a good opportunity to cross the material ocean. A leader
though he is conditioned by the laws of nature shall take
advantage of this human body and save the followers. Without
transcendental knowledge, if a leader tries to lead people, it will
be exactly like sailing a stone boat full of passengers. A boat that
is made of stone cannot take the passengers across the ocean. It is
confirmed in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 6-7-14.
teṣāṁ kupatha-deṣṭṝṇāṁ patatāṁ tamasi hy adhaḥ
ye śraddadhyur vacas te vai majjanty aśma-plavā iva
“Leaders who have fallen into ignorance and who mislead people
by directing them to the path of destruction are in effect,
boarding a stone boat, and so too are those who blindly follow
them. A stone boat would be unable to float and would sink in
the water with its passenger. Similarly, those who mislead people
go to hell, and their followers go with them”.
TEXT 42 थमाद्ानसंभू ं ृ्थिं ्ानाभसना्मनः।
तछ्वनं संशयं य८गमात ्ठ८वत्ठ भार ॥४२॥
tasmād ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ hṛt-sthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥ
chittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ yogam ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata
tasmād -- consequently; ajñāna-sambhūtaṁ -- born of ignorance;
hṛt-sthaṁ -- established in the heart; jñānāsina -- by the weapon
of transcendental knowledge; atmanaḥ -- self; chittva -- destroy;
ainaṁ -- this; saṁśayaṁ -- doubt; yogam -- in yoga; ātiṣṭho --
taking shelter; uttiṣṭha -- rise up to fight; bhārata -- O descendant
of Bhārata.
Consequently, the doubts situated in your heart, born from
ignorance, should be destroyed with the weapon of
transcendental knowledge. Equipped with yoga rise up and
battle, O successor of Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: karma begins from ignorance of the self;
consequently the resultant reactions of karma are the ignorance
of the self. The body realizes the good and bad results of karma.
Ignorance of the human beings are not excused in the Supreme
Government, though the Lord reserves both rights such as
punishing and rewarding. There is State law, there is Federal law
and there is also the Supreme law, which are the laws of nature.
The ultimate superintendent of the laws of nature, is God
Himself, Lord Krishna. If human beings follow the laws of
nature, then they will be happy and free from reactions of karma,
despite the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease.
The primary object is to connect with the head of the
Supreme Government through the different varieties of yoga.
More specifically, in this last verse of this chapter, the Supreme

Lord Krishna has said to purely cultivate transcendental
knowledge which is the weapon that slashes ignorance.
Devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna, through
transcendental knowledge, is the ultimate activity of the soul.
Devotees of Krishna, the Supreme Godhead, never take
devotional service for granted, they always stand upon
transcendental knowledge by strictly studying the Bhagavad-
Gītā, Bhāgavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrta. This is sanātana
dharma – meaning, eternal religion. Ignorance of the self and
Supersoul is the manifestation of lower modes of nature, passion
and ignorance. By engaging in hearing and chanting Krishna’s
holy name and pastimes, one will be free from such lower modes
of nature. Srimad-Bhāgavatam says:
vasudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogah prayojitah
janayaty asu vairāgyam jnānam ca yad ahaitukam
bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi dṛṣṭa evātmanīśvare
“By rendering devotional service unto the Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Sri Krishna, one immediately acquires causeless
knowledge and detachment from the world. Thus, the knot in the
heart is pierced, and all misgivings are cut to pieces. The chain of
fruitive actions is terminated when one sees the self as the
master.
Thus ends the humble annotations of the 4th chapter of

Bhagavad-Gītā original ‘Knowledge Beyond the Mind and
Senses’ by H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami

1. Why does Krishna descend in this human world? Explain
the yuga cycles.
2. What is transcendental knowledge? Why should one
cultivate transcendental knowledge?
1. What is the history of the Bhagavad-Gītā? What are the four
yugas and their duration of time?
2. Why is Bhagavad-Gītā not considered to be new scripture?
Who is Vivaswān?
3. What is sambandha, abhideya, prayojana and cite an
example to understand these relationships?
4. Lord Krishna remembers all the times when He and Arjuna
were re-birthed, whereas Arjuna does not. Justify why?
5. In what way is the appearance and disappearance of Lord
Krishna like the rising and setting of the sun?
6. What are the reasons Lord Krishna appears on the earth and
which of these is the main reason?
7. What does Jarāsandha tell his friends about Krishna? Who is
the avatara of Kali-yuga? Why is He called a
covered avatar?
8. Enlist the three obstacles mentioned in text 10 that one has
to overcome in order to become Krishna conscious?
9. Lord Krishna says, “He rewards the fruit of devotion to all
equally”. Who are those fortunate souls and what are their
activities?
10. Provide a brief on what did Lord Krishna create for the
human society?
11. Explain why the knowledge that Lord Krishna is not under
laws of material nature frees one from bondage.
12. Who are the liberated souls and why should they work for
Krishna?
13. What is karma, akarma and vikarma?

14. Explain what Krishna means by “action in inaction” and
“inaction in action”.
15. Compare between the brahmajyoti and the material world?
16. Explain the Brahmachāri-yajna described in the purport to
text 26.
17. Name five kinds of sacrifice [other than brahmāchārya] that
are mentioned in texts 25-29.
18. Give a brief explanation on the philosophy of sacrifice
described in verse 31.
19. What is the purpose of following all kinds of sacrifices?
20. Describe the three important aspects of approaching a bona
fide spiritual master.
21. Why is it necessary to hear from a self-realized soul?
22. In verse number 37, what is compared to the blazing fire?
What does it burn?
23. What does Lord Krishna say about an ignorant person?
Explain briefly.
24. What is the sanātana [eternal] yoga of the living entity?
1. “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna
said: “I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the
sun god ____________”.
2. Lord Krishna said: “That very ancient science of the
relationship of the soul with the Supreme is today told by
Me because you are My ____________ as well as My
____________ and can therefore understand the
transcendental mystery of this science.
3. The duration of Kali-yuga is _________ years.
4. Lord Krishna said: “Although I am __________ and My
transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am
the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every

millennium in My original transcendental form.”
5. “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in
____________ practice, and a predominant rise of
____________, at that time Krishna descends Himself.
6. There are ____________ kinds of avataras.”
7. Eliminating the three major pitfalls namely ____________,
____________ ____________ and being fully absorbed in
Krishna and taking refuge in Krishna, many people in the
past became purified by knowledge of Krishna.
8. Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities and
therefore they worship the _____
9. According to the three modes of material nature and the
work associated with them, the _______ divisions of
human society are created by Lord Krishna.
10. There are ____________ numbers of Mahajanas.
1. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some
___________________ years (305,300,000, 350,300,000,
315,400,3000, 234,400,000)
2. Dwāpara-yuga lasted for _____________________ years
(500,000,700,000, 800,000, 100,0000)
3. The meaning of Achyuta is ____________. (husband of
goddess of fortune, son of Yasoda, killer of Madhu,
infallible)
4. There is no difference between Lord Krishna and His
________________ (Self, Spiritual world, Material world,
Body)
5. Lord Krishna allows the impersonalists to merge into His
transcendental___________ (internal potency, effulgence,
body, vraja river)
6. Lord Krishna awards ____________ to yogis (liberation,

life in the heavenly planets, mystic powers, ascension to the
His Kingdom)
7. Brāhmanas are in the mode of ____________ (passion,
ignorance, goodness, mixed modes)
8. Sacrifice of one’s possessions in charity is called
____________yajna (dravyamaya,tapomaya,agnimaya,
svadhyaya)
9. The Absolute truth means that one plus one equals
____________and one minus one equals____________
(one, two, hundred, million)
10. An ignorant and doubtful person who has no faith in
_____________will be completely destroyed. (nominal
knowledge, devotion to Krishna, transcendental knowledge,
phenomenal knowledge)
Karma Yoga with Detachment 381
CHAPTER 5
Karma Yoga
With Detachment
TEXT 1 अ्न
ुा उवाच
सततयासं कमाणां कृ्ण पन ु योगं च शंसभस।
य्िे य ए य८रे कं तमे रहू सतु न््च म ्॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
sannyāsaṁ karmaṇāṁ krishna punaryogaṁ ca śaṁsasi
yac chreya etayor ekaṁ tan me brūhisu-niścitam
arjuna-uvācha -- Arjuna said; sannyāsaṁ -- renounce;
karmaṇāṁ -- of actions; krishna -- O Krishna; punar -- again;
yogaṁ -- devotional activities rendered for the Supreme Lord;
ca-śaṁsasi -- You are also praising; yac -- which; chreya -- is
more beneficial; etayor -- of these two; ekaṁ -- one; tan -- that;
me -- me; brūhi -- tell; su-niścitam -- definitely.
Arjuna said: O Krishna, first You tell me to give up work,
then again You praise the activities of devotion to the
Supreme Lord. Now, can You tell me surely which of the two
is more useful?
ANNOTATION: In the previous chapter, Lord Krishna
explained to Arjuna that by cultivating transcendental knowledge
he could renounce work and enjoy his spiritual knowledge. Yet,
at the end of that chapter He told Arjuna to ‘get up and fight.’
Lord Krishna has, thus, related two distinct notions to Arjuna.
381
The first is renunciation, together with a cultivation of Vedic

knowledge, and is known as jnāna-yoga. The second is the
performance of prescribed Vedic activities, which in Arjuna’s
case involves ‘getting up and fighting’, this is known as karma-
yoga. These notions are distinguished from each other by the
terms ‘renunciation of work’ and ‘work in renunciation’.
Renunciation of work is when a person depends on society
to live while cultivating spiritual knowledge. This means that a
person who is renounced in such a way depends on the offerings
of others (society) to maintain their body, that is, for food,
clothing and shelter, etc. While practicing the path of
‘renunciation of work’, or jnāna yoga, the devotee is able to
attain spiritual knowledge through cultivation, and thereby
understand that he is not the body, but is the spirit soul within,
and that the real owner of the body and soul is Lord Krishna.
Importantly, the cultivation knowledge of Krishna, in this way,
means always thinking of Krishna.
Alternatively, ‘work in renunciation’ entails the engagement
of the body and soul in Krishna. This kind of work requires that
one perform their actions without attachment to the fruits, or
results and rewards, of their actions. This is the more practical
form of renunciation as it does not require devotees to depend on
the mercy of others to maintain their bodies and support their
lives.
Both forms of renunciation represent forms of devotional
service to the Lord. However, since it is difficult to follow both
paths simultaneously, a choice must be made regarding which is
better for a person’s self-interest and spiritual perfection.
TEXT 2 भगवानव
ु ाच
सततयासः कमाय८ग्च तनः रेयसकरावभ
ु ९।
य८थ ु कमासततयासा्कमाय८ग८ ववभश्य ॥
े २॥
sannyāsaḥ karma-yogaś ca niḥśreyasa-karāv ubhau
tayos tu karma-sannyāsāt karma-yogo viśiṣyate
śrī-bhagavān uvācha -- the Supreme Majestic Personality of

Godhead said; sannyāsaḥ -- renunciation of actions; karma-
yogaś ca -- also actions in devotion; niḥśreyasa-karāv -- lead to
the path of liberation; ubhau -- both; tayos -- of the two; tu -- but;
karma-sannyāsāt -- renunciation of fruitive activities; karma-
yogo -- work in devotion service with the Supreme; viśiṣyate -- is
better.
The Majestic Personality of Godhead said: The renunciation
of actions, as well as actions in devotional service, both lead
to the path of liberation. But of the two, work in devotional
service to the Supreme is better than renunciation of fruitive
work.
ANNOTATION: On may attain liberation through both paths:
renunciation of work (jnāna yoga), and work in renunciation and
devotion (karma-yoga). The Lord glorified jnāna-yoga in the 4th
chapter but this led Arjuna to be perplexed as to which was
better. Krishna explains here that ‘work in renunciation’ in
Krishna consciousness, is better than the ‘renunciation of work’.
Without engaging the senses, mind and intelligence in the
service of Krishna, it is impossible to control the gross body and
subtle senses. jnāna-yoga, or cultivating spiritual knowledge, is
therefore incomplete. It is just a mental action, without full
engagement of the other senses in Krishna’s service one cannot
be successful in spiritual perfection. Since it is this kind of
engagement of the senses which protects one from succumbing
to temptation, one who practices jnāna-yoga may easily lose
control to desires for sex and money.
One can become free from material contamination in the
age of Kali-yuga by becoming proficient in chanting properly
through regular chanting; listening to Srimad-Bhāgavatam every
day; regularly visiting a Krishna or Vishnu temple; worshipping
the deity form of the Lord, by associating with vaishnava
devotees of the Lord and by engaging in devotional activities of
the Lord.
Liberation is giving up the false identification, upādi, with

the material body and work for Krishna. We do not belong to a
particular nation, nor should we identify with our job title, our
skin color, or identify with our gender.
When a living soul is not situated in devotional service to
Krishna, it can fall prey to false identification, material desires
and fruitive activities. What is meant here by material desires is
the exploitation of the body or bodily organs under the pretext of
enjoyment. Yet, there is no enjoyment in this material world;
desiring material happiness is like desiring water in the desert.
Animals run after the illusory bodies of water in the desert. When
they see a mirage, they think it will quench their thirst, thus they
run towards it. However, the mirage moves further away and in
the end the animal falls and die for want of water. Embodied
souls seek happiness in this world in a similar way. They engage
in fruitive activities and businesses until they are completely
exhausted. They attain their big house, expensive car and easy
chairs, believing these items to constitute happiness. However,
when they hear death coming closer, they choose to ignore it and
do not cultivate knowledge about it. Finally, without achieving
even any true material happiness, they just die; the results of their
fruitive work culminate in nothing.
TEXT 3 ्ेयःस तन्यसततयासी य८ न ्वे््ि न का्षत ।
तन्ावत्व८ ह म ाबा ८ सख
ु ं बतिा्रम्
ु य ॥
े ३॥
jñeyaḥ sa nitya-sannyāsī yo na dveṣṭi na kāṅkṣati
nirdvandvo hi mahā-bāho sukhaṁ bandhāt pramuchyate
jñeyaḥ sa -- one should be known; nitya -- always; sannyāsī --
one who renounced; yo -- who; na dveṣṭi -- never hates the fruits
of action; na kāṅkṣati -- never desires for fruits of action;
nirdvandvo -- free from all dualities; hi -- surely; mahā-bāho -- O
powerful one; sukhaṁ -- happily; bandhāt -- from bondage;
pramucyate -- is liberated.
O Powerful Arjuna, one who doesn’t work for fruitive action
and who never desires it, is known to be always renounced.
Such a person is free from all dualities, is free from material

bondage and is fully liberated.
ANNOTATION: By executing devotional service to the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, all senses become
properly engaged. Only then can one realize that Lord Krishna is
the controller of all and that He is situated within all ‘bodies’, as
the Supersoul. In this way, all senses become engaged in the
service of the Master and become free from materiality.
However, people who cannot realize the Supreme Lord, the
enjoyer of transcendental pastimes, become separated from Him.
They falsely believe in and become attached to the temporary
objects of the material world.
They are just like fish out of water, regardless of the
comfort provided for a fish on land, it dies without water.
Similarly, all living entities that come to this material world just
die in the end despite what is gained while in the material body –
whether this is a mansion, an expensive vehicle, clothing,
important friends, or power in the government.
They believe death and birth are the natural results of the
material world, so they have no inclination to acknowledge the
natural actions of God. As long as they are in the material world
they just enjoy. However, these thoughtless people have no
understanding of the permanent life that exists beyond this vast
material sky, and that this permanent life can be attained by
anyone.
Devotees of the Lord are not attached to material existence
because they know that nothing belongs to them and that
everything belongs to Krishna. They are, thus, completely
detached from personal possessions, and are free from the
dualities of this world: happiness and misery; hatred and desire;
and, mine and yours. In this way, devotees are completely
liberated even while they are in this world.
TEXT 4 सा््यय८ग९ पि
ृ ्बालाः रवद्त न प््ड ाः।
एकमतया्थि ः स्यगभ ु य८ववातद े फलम ्॥४॥
sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ

ekām apy āsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam
sāṅkhya-yogau -- studying material world in relationship with
God; pṛthag -- are different; bālāḥ -- the unintelligent;
pravadanti -- says that; na -- not; paṇḍitāḥ -- wise; ekāmapy --
even in one; āsthitaḥ -- being perfectly situated; samyag --
complete; ubhayor -- both; vindate phalam -- enjoys the result.
Only one who is less intelligent talks about action in
devotional service as different from the actions of the
material world in relationship with God. Those who are wise
say that even if one is perfectly situated in one of these paths,
one enjoys the result of both.
ANNOTATION: sānkhya philosophy is about the soul hidden
within the material elements. There are 24 material elements
consisting of the five gross elements (earth, water, air, fire and
sky), the five knowledge acquiring senses (the eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and skin), the five working senses (hands, legs, stomach,
anus and genitals), five objects of the senses (sight, taste, smell,
sound and touch) and four subtle elements (the mind,
intelligence, false ego and the unmanifested stage of the three
modes of nature). Including the soul in this list, all 25 items are
expansions of Krishna’s energy. Krishna is, therefore, the source
of everyone’s existence.
karma-yogis realize the Supreme Lord in every activity and
are constantly engaged in devotional service to the Lord of the
universe. sānkhya yogis, alternatively, realize the Supreme Lord
after careful and deep investigation of the above mentioned
material elements. As long as devotees of either form of yoga
firmly adopt their respective path with determination, they are
assured spiritual success by the Supreme Lord, as Lord Krishna
elaborates in the next verse.
TEXT 5 य्सा््यः रातय े थिानं ्य८गरवप ग्य ।े

एकं सा््यं च य८गं च यः प्यत स प्यत ॥५॥
yat sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate sthānaṁ tad yogair api gamyate

ekaṁ sāṅkhyaṁ ca yogaṁ ca yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
yat -- what; sāṅkhyaiḥ prāpyate -- is achieved through sāṅkhya
philosophy; sthānaṁ -- that place; tadyogair -- by devotional
service; api -- also; gamyate -- attain; ekaṁ -- one; sāṅkhyaṁ --
analytical study; ca -- also; yogaṁ -- work in devotion; ca -- and;
yaḥ paśyati -- he who sees; sa paśyati -- he actually sees.
A person who understands that the position achieved through
sānkhya philosophy can also be achieved through devotional
service, and sees that both sānkhya philosophy and
devotional service are equally useful, sees things as they are.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord explains how one has the
chance to cultivate devotional service according to one’s own
nature. If a person’s mind is analytical, he may prefer to take up
the study of sānkhya philosophy. However, others may prefer to
take up the practice of karma-yoga. Now, if a karma yogi, a
house-holder, for instance, is interested in studying sānkhya
philosophy while also serving the Lord with physical and subtle
senses (through karma-yoga), that is also welcomed by the Lord
since such devotees know that Krishna is the goal of both jnāna
and karma-yoga. The cultivation of both jnāna and karma in
connection with Krishna thus culminate in liberation. Hence,
since they are both forms of devotional service to Krishna, both
karma-yogis and jnāna-yogis can mix these activities in their
endeavors to achieve Krishna consciousness. However, one
cannot practice any of these activities without having spiritual
intelligence.
All embodied beings in the material world have material
intelligence. By using this intelligence they should strive to attain
superior wisdom to realize the origin of their soul; this is spiritual
intelligence. Once they become aware that the source of the soul
is Lord Krishna, naturally then, they realize who they really are.
Thus, in the light, it is possible to see themselves clearly,
however, in darkness one cannot see even the lines of one’s
palm. In this way, self-realization depends on realizing the
Supreme Self, and the light this provides.
TEXT 6 सततयासथ ु म ाबा ८ दःु खमात म ु य८ग ः।

य८गय्
ु ८ मतु नरा्म नधचरे णाधिग्छत ॥६॥
sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ
yoga-yukto-munir brahma na chireṇādhigacchati
sannyāsastu -- but the renounced order of action; mahā-bāho --
O powerful one; duḥkham -- distress; āptum -- afflicts one with;
ayogataḥ -- without devotional service to the Supreme; yoga-
yukto -- one performing in devotional service; munir -- a
thoughtful person; brahma -- the Supreme; na chireṇa -- without
delay; adhigacchati -- attains.
By simply renouncing all fruits of action without rendering
devotional service to the Lord, you will not be free from
misery. However, a thoughtful person engaged in devotional
service can attain the Supreme without delay.
ANNOTATION: One may question whether karma-yoga (action
dedicated to God) and jnāna-yoga (analytical study of the
material elements) really do bring about the same result. This
raises a related question: why don’t we practice jnāna-yoga alone
for perfection? The answer is that in jnāna yoga one is only
required to cultivate spiritual knowledge. A problem devotees
may experience with this, is that there is little time to cultivate
knowledge and while taking care of their family members. Thus,
karma-yoga, where one has to engage the working senses,
knowledge acquiring senses in the service of the Lord, may seem
preferable.
To clarify these matters, Lord Krishna explains that without
engaging the senses in devotional service of the Lord it is not
possible to purify the mind. This is a significant problem since
without a purified mind it is very difficult to control the senses,
which leads to greater chances of disturbance and agitation from
sense objects. Because of this relationship between the purity of
the mind and the practices one engages in, renunciation is not
possible unless one is engaged in higher spiritual devotional
service to the Supreme Lord.
For example, person may renounce the world and its objects
because of family problems and divorce, or failure in business
and poverty, etc. However, if they are initially unsuccessful in
achieving perfect yoga and are not also engaged in alternative
actions and service to God, then their attempt at renunciation will
be soon bungled.
No one can live without performing one or another action or
goal. Such a life would be tedious, which is a problem since
being bored leads to forbidden and ruthless activities. Thus, there
are many men who don’t work, but are instead engaged in
stealing, killing and robbing. This is how they make money, even
treating these crimes as professional jobs. To ensure one’s
success in achieving spiritual intelligence one must, therefore,
have regular engagement in the service of Krishna with all of the
senses and body. As Lord Krishna said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam
11-20-9:
tāvat-karmāni-kurvita na-nirvidyeta-yāvatā
mat-kathā-sravanādauvā sraddhāyāvannajāyate:
“Until one develops detachment from material work, knowing
them to be the source of all miseries, and as long as a taste for
hearing and chanting My glories has not awakened, one must act
according to the regulative principles prescribed by the Vedic
literature.”
Devotees of the Lord who engage in devotional service to
Krishna have their minds fully occupied and purified; they
receive equanimity and perceive the Supreme Lord and achieve
the highest gain.
To illustrate the importance of devotional service consider
the following two kinds of sannyāsis in the renounced order,
those who are Brahman realized and those who are Bhagavān
realized. The Brahman realized sannyāsis are known as
māyāvādis, followers of Sripad Shankarāchārya. They do not
study the Srimad-Bhāgavatam because they consider it is a new
scripture, even though the Srimad-Bhāgavatam represents the
summum bonum of all the Vedic literature, as compiled by Srila
Vyāsa in his spiritual maturity.
Sripad Shankarāchārya, who appeared in the 8th century

AD, purposely avoided studying Vedānta sūtra and Srimad
Bhāgavatam compiled by Srila Vyāsa deva. Consequently,
Shankarāchārya did not believe in the form, quality and pastimes
of Godhead, Lord Krishna. He and his followers study sānkya
philosophy, without accepting the authority of the Supreme
Person. They think God’s attributes are material, like human
beings, and they do not make any distinctions between living
entities and God. These sannyāsis torture themselves and study
Vedānta and sānkhya philosophy day and night to merge into
impersonal Brahman effulgence, also known as sāyūjya-mukti.
The knowledge of merging into Brahman comes from Sripadā
Shankara’s own annotations is referred to as the sārirakabhasya.
This is a commentary that is devoid of the personal touch of the
Supreme Lord Krishna.
Yet, the Srimad-Bhāgavatam 10-2-32 explains why the
māyāvādi’s method is futile, and that even demigods pray to
Krishna:
ye 'nye 'ravindāksavimukta-māninas
tvayyasta-bhāvād-avisuddha-buddhayah
āruhya krcchrena param padam-tatah
patanty adho 'nādrta-yusmad-anghrayah
“O lotus-eyed Lord, although non-devotees who accept severe
austerities and penances achieve the highest position, Brahman
effulgence, may think themselves liberated, yet their intelligence
is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined
superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.”
This passage demonstrates that without serving the Supreme
Lord, one cannot even adhere to Brahman effulgence. Such
practitioners descend from their lofty attainments since they do
not also have the spiritual bliss that is derived from devotional
service to Krishna. Srimad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad-Gītā
are the heart and soul of spiritual practices. The Bhagavad-Gītā
is directly spoken by Krishna and the Srimad-Bhāgavatam is
spoken about Lord Krishna. Through these scriptures, the
vaishnava sannyasis gain unlimited opportunities to conduct
spiritual service and become completely blissful.
TEXT 7 य८गय्
ु ८ ववश्
ु िा्मा वव्् ा्मा ्् ्े तरयः।
सवाभू ा्मभू ा्मा कुवातनवप न भलतय ॥
े ७॥
yoga-yukto-viśuddhātmā vijitātmā-jitendriyaḥ
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā kurvannapi-na lipyate
yoga-yukto -- performing devotional service to the Lord;
viśuddhātmā -- a purified soul; vijitātmā -- those who are self-
controlled; jitendriyaḥ -- having conquered the senses; sarva-bhū
-- of every living entities; ātma-bhūtātmā -- realization of the
soul in all embodied beings; kurvannapi -- although engaged in
actions; nalipyate -- is not affected by actions.
By performing devotional service to the Lord, one who is a
purified soul, who is self-controlled, who has control over all
senses and who sees only souls in all embodied living beings.
Although engaged in all sorts of works, is not affected by
actions.
ANNOTATION: Impersonalist philosophers, yogis and jnānis
try to give up the material world simply by saying brahma-
satyam-jagan-mithya: that the Supreme Brahman is real and the
material world is unreal. When māyāvādi sannyāsis fail to realize
the Brahman or attain happiness of Brahman (brahmasukha),
they go back to the material field and begin opening hospitals
and schools. Irrespective of their propagation of God is truth and
creation is false, they begin social service, which is according to
them is false, still they carry out. Essentially the material world is
not unreal, it is temporary. For instance, a man may travel to a
distant place for few days, but cannot call his new place and his
place of residence as false or unreal even if he is only there to
perform a particular task and then go back home. Rather, the
distant place and his house is temporary. In this new place he
eats, sleeps and talks with people, and all of them are real,
though his time there is limited.
All living entities come to this material world with a
temporary purpose, which is to revive their lost Krishna
consciousness. One should not be attached to material objects
and create future material bodies. Rather, one should only
perform the required spiritual actions, which will take them back
to the spiritual world. Knowing the temporary nature of this
world, devotees known as yoga-yukthas control the demands of
the material mind and senses. Such devotees are truthful, saintly
and undisturbed by the duality of this mortal world.
A devotee engages in the study of authorized scriptures
under the guidance of his spiritual master and is, therefore, unlike
the māyāvādi or brahmavādi spiritualists. A bonafide spiritual
master in the chain of disciplic succession is not different from
the Lord Himself in teaching the science of God. The spiritual
master tells his disciples to chant the holy name of the Lord, the
disciples offer everything in their possession, including their
body, mind and power of speech, manasā-vacah and karmana, to
the service of the Lord. In that way, the devotee surrenders to
both the spiritual master and the Supreme Lord, and the Lord will
take charge of him at once. He engages his mind in hearing and
chanting the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead’s
transcendental pastimes and names, and he eats and sleeps only
as required. Such a devotee is free from greed, and is called a
jitendriya, a winner over his mind and senses. A surrendered
devotee is one who, by the mercy of his spiritual master, has
given up all other religiosity and material obligations in order to
engage in Krishna’s unalloyed service. He is a pure soul, a
visuddhātma.
Lord Krishna and His devotees’ activities are transcendental
and reserve no place for dealing with illusory energy. These
devotees are very dear to everyone and everyone is dear to them
because they are dear to Krishna. Even though they are engaged
in all sorts of work for the Lord’s satisfaction, by the mercy of
the Lord, kurvannapi-na-lipyate, they are not entangled in the
reactions of their work.
TEXTS नव ककधच्कर८मीत य्
ु ८ मतये ्ववव ्।
8-9 प्य्छृ्वतथपशृ ्््रतन्न्ग्छतथवपत्वसन ्॥८॥
रलप्तवस्ृ तग्ृ णतन्ु तमष्तनभमषतनवप।
इ्तरयाणी्तरयािेषु व ता इत िारयन ्॥९॥
naiva kiñcit karomīti

yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ-śṛṇvan-spṛśañ-jighrann
aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann
unmiṣannimiṣann-api
indriyāṇ-īndriyārtheṣu
vartanta-iti-dhārayan
naiva -- never; kiñcit -- certainly anything; karom -- he is doing;
īti -- thus; yukto -- one who is engaged in devotional services;
manyeta -- thinks; tattva-vit -- knower of the truth; paśyañ --
seeing; śṛṇvan -- hearing; spṛśañ -- touching; jighrann --
smelling; aśnan -- eating; gacchan -- going; svapañ -- sleeping;
śvasan -- breathing; pralapan -- speaking; visṛjan -- evacauating;
gṛhṇann -- grasping; unmiṣannimiṣann -- opening, closing; api --
in spite of; indriyāṇ -- the senses; īndriyārtheṣu -- various sense
objects; vartanta -- they are so engaged; iti -- thus; dhārayan --
having ascertained.
One who is engaged in devotional service and who is the
knower of Truth, knows that the material senses are engaged
in the sense objects from within. Such a person does not think
that he is doing anything, despite seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking,
evacuating, grasping, opening or closing his eyelids.
ANNOTATION: In these two verses the Lord describes how one
behaves after attaining the divine consciousness that is
accompanied by being engaged in the unalloyed action of
devotional service to Krishna. A person in divine consciousness
is not involved in materialistic activities and does not become
part of the material world by being involved in social functions,
which can create more bad karma. Alternatively, ordinary
members of society are fallible, and falsely believe that they are
the doers of their actions. They cannot protect anyone from
serious issues, and they can only share with each other the
objects of sense gratification.
In stark contrast, the devotee with divine vision realizes that

not only does he desire the outside support of the Lord, but that
all his bodily functions along with his senses act independently to
his consciousness, and that, ultimately, he is not the doer of his
actions. Sense actions are performed through vision, sound,
smell, taste and touch, and the use of the corresponding parts of
the body, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Just as no one
pays attention when his eyelids open and close, one who is
absorbed in the divine Krishna consciousness knows that
everything that happens in his life through the mind and the
material senses happens because of the mercy of the Supreme
Lord. Therefore, he pays no attention to gain or loss, it is as if he
trusts the Supreme Lord in the same sense that he trusts that his
eyelids will open and close as is needed, and he, therefore, does
not need to pay attention to his gains or losses.
As, Mahātma Gāndhi once said: ‘not even a blade of grass
moves without the sanction of Lord Krishna.’ One should give
up the concept of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, and understand that all the
actions of the body are independent to one’s individual
consciousness. An intelligent devotee of the Lord realizes that
the duration of his life decreases with each passing day, and so
acts for his own welfare, by going back to the spiritual world and
by giving up attachment to sense objects.
TEXT 10 र्म्यािाय कमााणण स्गं ्य््वा कर८त यः।
भलतय े न स पापेन प्मपरभमवा्भसा॥१०॥
brahmaṇy ādhāya-karmāṇi saṅgaṁ-tyaktva-karoti yaḥ
lipyate na-sa-pāpena padma-patram-ivāmbhasā
brahmaṇy -- unto the Supreme Lord; ādhāya -- performs;
karmāṇi -- all activities; saṅgaṁ -- attachment; tyaktvā -- giving
up; karoti -- performs; yaḥ -- who; lipyatena -- is not affected; sa
-- he; pāpena -- by sin; padma-patram -- a lotus leaf; iva -- like;
āmbhasā -- by the water.
One who performs his activities for the Supreme Lord, and
gives up all material attachments is not affected by sinful
works, he is like a lotus leaf untouched by water.
ANNOTATION: When a devotee gives up his actions for

Brahmani, unto the Supreme Absolute Lord Krishna, he does not
believe he is the doer. Such a devotee is untouched by the sinful
actions of this material world. Even though he is engaged in the
activities of the world, he is like a lotus leaf, padma-patram-
ivambhasa: although water falls on the leaf, by nature’s
arrangement the water doesn’t mix with the leaf. This is similar
to the nature of devotional service; when one engages in
devotional service, it is like an antiseptic for the contamination of
the sins of the material world. Devotional service ensures that the
devotee does not become involved or entwined in the material
world. The material world washes him off, just like the water off
a lotus leaf.
The Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna is parabrahma
abhidiyate, said to be the root cause of the creation of the
universe. Everything in this world is a result of His law and
order. All scriptures, guide people to seek refuge in the shelter of
His lotus feet. The Vedās are compiled by Him, and He is to be
known by the Vedās, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta
krt veda videva caham. Out of many millions of expansions and
plenary portions, Krishna is God Himself, ete chāmsa kala
pumsa krishnāstu bhagavān svayam. Taking shelter in the
Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna, the devotee who performs his
duty for Krishna’s pleasure remains always pure.
TEXT 11 कायेन मनसा ब्ु ्या केवलरर्तरयरवप।
य८धगनः कमा कुवा्त स्गं ्य््वा्मश् ु िये॥११॥
kāyena-manasā-buddhyā kevalair indriyair-api
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ-tyaktvātma-śuddhaye
kāyena -- by the body; manasā -- by the mind; buddhyā -- by the
intelligence; kevalairindriyair -- even by the senses; api -- and;
yoginaḥ -- devotees of the Lord; karma -- acts; kurvanti -- they
perform; saṅgaṁ -- attachment; tyaktvā -- giving up; ātma -- of
the self; śuddhaye -- for the purpose of purification.
The followers of the yoga system give up material
attachment. They perform activities of the body, mind and
intelligence as well as the senses, for the purpose of purifying

the soul.
ANNOTATION: After giving up attachment, sangam tyaktva,
for their own personal benefit, and after surrendering to the
Supreme Majestic personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, yogis,
or devotees, engage their minds in the Lord and think about how
to expand His services to benefit the world. This may involve:
participating in serving spiritual master, senior devotees, cooking
for the Lord and cleaning the temple; seeing Him and hearing
about Him; smelling flowers offered to Him; and, tasting Krishna
prasādam. All of such activities purify the devotee’s existence,
ātma suddhaye, ultimately leading to the spiritual destination at
the end of this life.
For people in general moksha means ‘becoming one with
the Supreme’. According to the Bhagavad-Gītā, it means
entering into the spiritual universe, Vaikuntha or Goloka
Vrindhāvana. The Kingdom of God is full of various beautiful
roads, exceptional gardens, ‘desire trees’, excellent mansions for
devotees, air planes operated by mantra technology; there, all
devotees are self-effulgent and as a consequence of their
radiance, there is no need for electricity, sun or moon. In
comparison with the Kingdom of God, what is distinctive about
material nature and the material world is the inebriety, or
intoxication, of beings that comes about due to the influence of
the three modes of material nature: namely, goodness, passion
and ignorance. The contaminating and degrading influence of
these modes is clearly absent in the spiritual world.
TEXT 12 य्
ु ः कमाफलं ्य््वा शा्त मातन८त न््ठकीम ्।
अय्
ु ः कामकारे ण फले स् ८ तनब्य ॥
े १२॥
yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁtyaktvā śāntim-āpnoti-naiṣṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa phale-sakto-nibadhyate
yuktaḥ -- performer of devotional activities; karma-phalaṁ -- the
results of all activities; tyaktvā -- giving up; śāntim -- peace;
āpnoti -- obtains; naiṣṭhikīm -- unwavering; ayuktaḥ -- one who
performs fruitive activities; kāma-kāreṇa -- desire to enjoy; phale

-- the fruitive result; sakto -- obsession; nibadhyate -- becomes
intertwined.
The performer of devotional activities to the Supreme Lord
obtains unwavering peace when he gives up the results of his
activities; but one who performs fruitive activities desiring to
enjoy the fruits becomes entangled.
ANNOTATION: Those who are overly greedy for the rewards of
action are naturally well-suited to follow the path of fruitive
activities, thus they remain entangled. It remains to be an
unanswered question as to how long such people will and must
continue on this path, and thus how long it will take them to
accept the path of jnāna and bhakti. One should continue to
execute Vedic injunctions with regard to performing one’s
occupational duties as long as there is no frustration with
materialistic life. Slowly but surely, by the performance of
Krishna consciousness, one’s heart will be cleansed of the desire
to enjoy the fruit of one’s labor. When detachment arises within
the heart, one becomes eligible for accepting the path of
transcendental knowledge.
Devotional service to Krishna with transcendental
knowledge is even sweeter than service without such knowledge.
Transcendental knowledge is like the supporting pillars of a
building with many levels; without a strong foundation, the
building will collapse. Pure devotional service to Krishna is
independent of knowledge, jnāna and action, karma. With
devotional service and transcendental knowledge, a devotee
attains fearlessness and unadulterated peace. Such peace is
necessary in attaining undisturbed happiness.
TEXT 13 सवाकमााणण मनसा सततयथयाथ े सख ु ं वशी।
नव्वारे परु े दे ी नव कुवातन कारयन ्॥१३॥
sarva-karmāṇi-manasā sannyasyāste-sukhaṁ-vaśī
nava-dvāre pure dehī naiva-kurvan-na kārayan
sarva-karmāṇi -- all activities; manasā -- the mind; sannyasyā --
renounces; āste -- remains; sukhaṁ -- happily; vaśī -- the self-
controlled; nava-dvārepure -- within the city of nine gates; dehī -

- the embodied being; naiva -- certainly never; kurvan -- doing
anything; nakārayan -- never causing to be done.
When an embodied living being mentally renounces his
nature and actions, and resides happily within the city of the
nine gates, the soul will never do any work or be the cause of
any work.
ANNOTATION: As every house has many outlets, the body has
nine gates. An embodied living entity enjoys and suffers material
objects through these nine gates. These nine gates are nine holes,
nava dvāram, within the different parts of the body: two eyes,
two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one rectum and the genitals.
Although these nine gates threaten to be a perpetual cause of
disturbance for the embodied soul, but it is possible for such a
soul to live comfortably in the body made of these nine gates. He
must first, however, control the nature that is imposed on him
from the modes of material nature (goodness, passion,
ignorance), and this is only possible through devotional service
to Krishna so that the embodied soul can renounce all material
actions and the results which are born from these modes. Birth,
disease, old age and death thereby become superficial for
transcendental beings.
The soul is eternal and invincible, and material discomforts
are caused by identification with the material body.
Consequently, when purified by devotional service, the pure soul
comprehends that he is not working nor is he the cause of any
work.
TEXT 14 न क ्ाृ वं न कमााणण ल८कथय स्
ृ त रभःु ।
न कमाफलसंय८गं थवभावथ ु रव ा ॥ े १४॥
na kartṛtvaṁ-nakarmāṇi lokasya-sṛjati-prabhuḥ
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate
na kartṛtvaṁ -- misconception of bodily identification; na
karmāṇi -- no activities; lokasya -- people; sṛjati -- creates;
prabhuḥ -- the living entity; na karma-phala -- nor with the

results of activities; saṁyogaṁ -- connection; svabhāvastu -- but
the modes of material nature; pravartate -- engaging in acts.
The living entity within the city of his body does not create
the misconception of bodily identification, it does not create
any activities, it does not force people to act, and it does not
create the fruits of actions. All this is done by the modes of
material nature.
ANNOTATION: The ultimate consciousness, the Supreme Lord.
And individual consciousness, jivātmas, does not create human
misconceptions of bodily identification, nor fruitive activities
based on the bodily concept, nor the union of fruitive actions and
their resultant fruits. These are done by the modes of material
nature based on the living entity’s desires.
The word prabhu may be used in addressing elevated
personalities who are superior to all others, but here, Lord
Krishna uses it to signify that He is not responsible for the
actions of living entities. The word loka means world and
lokasya refers to the people of the world. The material nature,
working in three different modes, are the cause of all actions
performed by living entities.
The modes of nature are ultimately comprised of Lord
Krishna’s material energy. Consider how desires, which are a
symptom of consciousness, are associated with one of the modes
of goodness, passion and ignorance, respectively. When a living
soul desires something Krishna fulfills that desire and karma is
produced accordingly, thus the maxim: ‘man proposes, God
disposes.’ Through this mechanism, God is not responsible for
anyone’s positive or negative actions, as they result from the
individual soul’s desires, even though they are effected by
Krishna’s energy. The living entity himself is, therefore,
responsible for all good and bad actions. This is similar to the
case where, although a judge in the court may pronounce the
punishment for the criminal, the judge should not be blamed for
the punishment as it is the criminal who has already created the
punishment by his actions. These comparisons make it clear that

if one acts according to the guidelines of God, then God is
responsible for their actions. However, if one acts against the will
of God, then that person is responsible for the resulting actions
and reactions.
There are ten items categorized under the modes of material
nature, they are: water, food, mantra, time, place, work, birth,
meditation, association and scriptures. Each of these items can
exist in each of the modes, for example, there may be water in
the mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, and food in the
mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, etc. When a soul
accepts an item as it is placed in a particular mode he too
becomes associated, or classified, with that particular mode. Yet,
when a living entity is transcendental to the modes of material
nature it is classified and associated with the superior energy of
the Lord.
The real owner of the body and master of the senses is
Krishna. Thus, when the living entity comes to the city of the
body, that living entity lives in this body just like a tenant. And
since Krishna is the real master of the sense, the modes of
material nature are able to act under the direction of the Lord,
and take charge of the spirit soul. When one acts within the
guidelines of the Lord, the Lord is directly responsible for the
actions of that living entity.
TEXT 15 नादते कथयधच्पापं न चव सक
ु ृ ं ववभःु ।
अ्ानेनाव ृ ं ्ानं न
े म्
ु य्त ्त वः॥१५॥
nādatte-kasyacit-pāpaṁ na caiva-sukṛtaṁ-vibhuḥ
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ-jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ
nādatte -- never accepts; kasyacit -- of anyone's; pāpaṁ -- sin; na
caiva -- certainly never also; sukṛtaṁ -- pious activities; vibhuḥ --
the Great Soul, Supreme Personality of Godhead; ajñāna -- by
ignorance; āvṛtaṁ -- is covered; jñānaṁ -- actual knowledge;
tena -- because of that; muhyanti -- are confused; jantavaḥ -- the
living entities.
The Supreme Godhead does not assume anyone’s activities to

be either sinful or pious. The embodied spirit souls are
confused because they are unaware of this, and original
knowledge is covered.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord Krishna begins stating
nadatte-kasyacit-pāpam, that He never assumes that any living
entity’s activities are sinful or pious. What is meant here is that
He is not implicated in the good or bad actions of living entities,
rather, all beings are impelled by the Supreme Lord according to
their own nature. One may ask, if the Supreme Lord is not
involved in the activities of living beings, if He is not giving
good or bad reactions to living beings then why are people bound
in the network of their own actions? This question is answered
by considering how the living entity by nature has little freedom,
he is an anu, a minute soul, but Krishna being vibhu, a gigantic
soul, has all power and energy within Him. Therefore, He is not
one of the conditioned souls to envy someone and favor
somebody else, as all are His children. A father always treats his
children equally, but when the son is naughty and mean to his
other siblings the father takes measures to protect his other
children. Similarly, the suffering of a particular living being is
due to the offenses committed to another living beings, the
Supreme Lord who is the super seer only rewards a particular
living being according to his karma. The Absolute Father,
Krishna, should not be blamed for defending the blameless soul.
Thus, people must be bound in the network of their own actions
so that the universe can be accordingly regulated.
The word ajñāne-nāvṛtaṁ-jñānaṁ signifies that the real
knowledge of the living entity has been covered by ajnāna or
ignorance. Because of this ignorance, one’s natural knowledge
and spiritual discrimination is encircled since time immemorial,
the embodied being is infatuated with illusions. They perform
sinful behaviors believing they are good, and when they receive
severe consequences for their actions, they blame the Supreme
Lord for injustice or for being partial. By speaking against God
they are submerged further into nescience.
TEXT 16 ्ानेन ु द्ानं येषां नाभश मा्मनः।

ष
े ामाहद्यव््ानं रकाशयत ्परम ्॥१६॥
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ prakāśayati tat param
jñānena -- by knowledge; tu -- but; tad -- that; ajñānaṁ -- this
ignorance; yeṣāṁ -- whose; nāśitam -- has been destroyed;
ātmanaḥ -- of the soul; teṣām -- of those; āditya-vaj -- like the
rising sun; jñānaṁ -- that knowledge; prakāśayati -- illuminate;
tatparam -- the Supreme.
When one’s ignorance is destroyed by the knowledge of the
soul, that knowledge discloses everything, just as the rising
sun reveals everything with its light.
ANNOTATION: Although knowledge of the relationship
between Krishna and living entities may be masked by
ignorance, devotees may awaken their Krishna consciousness
upon receiving perfect Vedic knowledge under the superior
guidance of a bonafide spiritual master. The covering of
nescience is due to the endless mass of accumulated reactions
from the previous activities of nearly limitless lifetimes. The self-
realization of the soul and the associated knowledge of the self
that is derived from Vedic knowledge and the teachings of
spiritual masters, increases virtue and the quality of one’s daily
life. This is necessary to achieve spiritual intelligence, which
becomes as splendid as the sun; unlimited and expansive,
illuminating all things by the reality of its precise nature.
A spiritually intelligent person always distinguishes
between God and living entities. As Lord Krishna Himself stated
in the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, they are never the
same at any time. If everyone were God then there would be no
importance placed on a particular God. However, since living
entities are under the illusions of material nature they are unable
to recognize their actual positions as the eternal servants of
Krishna, and that they cannot and will not become God, even if
they attain a liberated state.
The word jnānam means knowledge, and ātmanah describes
a plurality of souls. These terms confirm that by the correct
insights gained from spiritual knowledge, conditioned souls can

realize the position of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. The analogy of the sun as an illuminator illustrates the
relationship between the knower and the known, that is, the sun
as the source of all its emanating light. From such spiritual
knowledge it can be seen that in the infinite cycle of birth and
death, in the conditioned state, there exists extreme limitations
that arise from one’s past karma. Yet, it can also be seen that at
the liberated stage there is an absence of these limitations, and
other reactions of karma.
Whether one is a conditioned soul or liberated soul, one’s
life is depends on the mercy of the Supreme Absolute Truth. This
is analogous to a child who depends on his father, but then as
mature adult the same child uses his freedom in the service of his
father; in either case the child is dependent on the mercy of the
father.
TEXT 17 ्ब्
ु ियथ दा्मानथ ्तन्ठाथ ्परायणाः।
ग्छत्यपन
ु राववृ तं ्ानतनिूा क्मषाः॥१७॥
tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ
gacchanty-apunar-āvṛttiṁ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ
tad-buddhayas -- those who are with spiritual intelligence; tad-
ātmānas -- those whose minds; tan-niṣṭhās -- those whose faith;
tat-parāyaṇāḥ -- who have taken complete shelter of the
Supreme Lord; gacchanty -- go; apunar-āvṛttiṁ -- liberation
from material existence; jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ -- by
knowledge misgivings are cleansed.
Those whose misgivings are dispelled by knowledge, who are
endowed with spiritual intelligence, who meditate with their
spiritual mind, whose faith is fixed on the Supreme and have
taken complete shelter in the Supreme Lord, attain freedom
from material existence.
ANNOTATION: It is clear in this verse that in order to attain
one’s original home in the spiritual world one must fix the mind
on Krishna, or, as He refers to Himself here, the Supreme Lord.
Lord Krishna is the master and source of all material and

spiritual worlds, aham-sarvasya-prabhavoh-mattah-sarvam-
pravartate. And, as He proclaims in Chapter 10, verse 8 of the
Bhagavad-Gītā: “everything emanates from Me.” Moreover,
yatova-imāni-bhūtāni-jāyante-yenajātāni-jīvanti-yat-prayanty-
abhisam-visanti tad brahma tad vijijnāsasva (Taittiriya
Upanishad 3.1): “everything is created by Brahman, after
creation everything is maintained by the Brahman, and after
annihilation everything is conserved in Brahman, that Brahman
is Lord Krishna.” As this is also said in Chapter 14, verse 27 of
the Bhagavad-Gītā: brahmano-hi-aham-prastishta, “I am the
basis of Brahman.”
The only method in the age of Kali to build a relationship
with Lord Krishna is to chant His holy name thus; Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare
Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. However, materialists often
maintain that chanting the holy names of the Lord, in this way, is
simply a mundane activity. They argue that any kind of
concocted mantra is just as good as chanting the holy name of the
Lord. Nevertheless, to establish the truth of the matter, the Lord
has described this as the genuine method for attaining His
transcendental abode in the spiritual sky.
One should avoid association with māyāvādi philosophers,
who widely advertise their knowledge of Brahman, or brahma
jnāna. They preach that the name and form of Krishna are
products of illusion-māya. Yet the term ‘māyāvādi’ actually
means ‘one who argues to establish the illusion as the truth’.
Undoubtedly, they are scholars, but their knowledge is clouded
by non-scriptural information. These māyāvādis are envious of
Krishna and Krishna's devotees, so they take every opportunity to
deride them using their own thesis, which are not found in the
scriptures. Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu once said, “māyāvādi-
bhāsya-sunile-haya-sarva-nāsa” If anyone hears the philosophy
of impersonlism they are ruined!
It is only by hearing from pure devotees of the Lord, that
one can understand the truth about the Supreme Lord and His
eternal abode, this truth which has descended from the Lord
Himself.
TEXT 18 वव्याववनयस्पतने रा्मणे गवव ्थ तन।
शतु न चव ्वपाके च प््ड ाः समदभशानः॥१८॥
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne -- endowed with knowledge, humility;
brāhmaṇe -- in a brāhmaṇa; gavi -- cow; hastini -- elephant; śuni
-- dog; ca -- and; eva -- certainly; śva-pāke -- in the dog eater; ca
-- respectively; paṇḍitāḥ -- a wise man; sama-darśinaḥ -- have
equal vision.
A wise man endowed with spiritual knowledge and humility
sees a gentle brāhmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and dog
eater with equal vision.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna described universal
brotherhood. A person in actual knowledge sees all living beings
with equal vision. There are 8,400,000 types of living bodies,
aquatics, trees, plants, reptiles, insects, birds, beasts and humans.
These forms are obtained according to one’s karma. All are
individual souls, trapped in these different types of material
bodies. And the Supreme father of all these living beings are
Krishna. Although there are external differences in these
different bodies, the Supreme Lord Krishna is present in each
and every one to witness their actions and fulfill their desires as
the Supreme Father. There are, therefore, two souls in the body:
one is the individual soul, and the other is the Supersoul, Lord
Krishna. This is similar to a house where there may be many
rooms lighted by individual light bulbs while sunshine also
spreads to all rooms from the single source of the sun. So, while
a soul occupies its individual body, Krishna occupies all bodies
alongside these souls.
In this verse Lord Krishna uses the word panditah, meaning
actually wise or learned. He explains that those whose vision is
expanded by transcendental intelligence, through Krishna
consciousness, do not only see external bodies, they see the soul
and the Supersoul within all bodies. A brāhmana endowed with
jnāna chakshu, or ‘eyes of spiritual knowledge’, sees a cow, the
best of all animals, in the mode of goodness, as well as trees,
reptiles, dogs, and even the dog eaters, with equal vision. The
word brāhmana pandit is not part of the social group. Anyone
can develop this vision in association with bonafide devotees,
Bhāgavatam and Bhagavān. This means that the apparent
inequality between the highest and the lowest forms are the
characteristics of their bodily designations. These inequalities
are, then, the products of material nature and never reflect the
pure eternal soul. Such a wise being always perceives the
fundamental nature of the soul as it is, unaffected by the
degradation of bodily conception from an individual's bad karma.
TEXT 19 इ व ््ा ः सगो येषां सा्ये ्थि ं मनः।
तनदोषं ह समं र्म थमा्र्मणण े ्थि ाः॥१९॥
ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo yeṣāṁ-sām ye sthitaṁ-manaḥ
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma tasmād-brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ
ihaiva -- certainly in this life; tair jitaḥ -- they conquered; sargo -
- birth and death; yeṣāṁ -- whose; sāmyesthitaṁ -- situated in
calmness; manaḥ -- mind; nirdoṣaṁ hi -- certainly are without
mistakes; samaṁ -- with equal vision; brahma -- like the
Supreme; tasmād -- thus; brahmaṇi-te-sthitāḥ -- they are situated
in the Supreme Lord.
Those whose minds are situated in calmness have conquered
repeated birth and death in this very life, they are certainly
perfect with equal vision like Brahman. Therefore, they are
already situated in Supreme Brahman.
ANNOTATION: It is impossible for one to fall in the water and
not be drenched by it. Similarly, those who are in the material
world are forced to die and take birth again (as Krishna tells in
the Bhagavad-Gītā chapter 2, verse 27). How can one avoid
these stringent laws of material nature? One can involve oneself
in the physical exercises. One may have morning or evening

walks on the beach side while having comfortable breeze, or one
may walk hours in the parks, or as to keep his health intact, play
different games such as baseball, tennis or ping pong. Also many
people perform physical exercises to keep the body fit. However,
none of these actions guarantees that he will not die or that he
can postpone his death. The cruel death takes away every living
being without any warning.
The Supreme Lord gives us a technique, we can use to
breach this law of transmigration through repeated birth and
death. This involves becoming situated in the anti-material
world. Krishna uses the word ihaiva, or ‘in this life’, to explain
that a person can achieve liberation from this mortal world if
they have equanimity with regard to all living entities. This
attitude and state of equanimity is achieved by perceiving all
being’s eternal soul along with the Supersoul in the region of
their hearts. This vision is a part of comprehending the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead. Thus, those who follow the
path of the Supreme Lord are certain to achieve this vision in the
maturity of their devotion to Him. In other words, when one
becomes fully Krishna conscious, one will be able to see that all
living entities are flawless like the Brahman.
TEXT 20 न रृ्ये््रयं रातय न८्वव्े्रातय चावरयम ्।
्थिरब्
ु धिरस्मढ
ू ८ र्मवव्र्मणण ्थि ः॥२०॥
na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ
naprahṛṣyet -- do not rejoice; priyaṁ prāpya -- obtaining
something pleasant; nodvijet -- not become agitated; prāpya --
obtaining; ca -- also; āpriyam -- something unpleasant; sthira-
buddhir -- unshaken intelligence; asammūḍho -- devoid of
confusion; brahma-vid -- one who realized the Supreme
perfectly; brahmaṇi sthitaḥ -- situated in the transcendence.
One who is realized in the Supreme Lord, perfectly situated
in transcendence, does not rejoice upon achieving something
pleasurable and does not grieve about things that are not
pleasurable, he has unshaken intelligence and is not confused.
ANNOTATION: A part of material nature’s law is that people
suffer mental agony and unpleasantness when they lose their
material prosperity, and alternatively when they gain wealth they
experience pleasantries and rejoice in the event. However, a
spiritually intelligent person situated fully in Krishna
consciousness knows that such gains and losses are merely due to
the identification with the gross body and subtle mind. All
happiness and misery experienced in one’s life is of the material
body and mind, not the spirit soul, who is transcendental to the
material universal laws.
The science of God teaches that Krishna is the master of all
living entities, material nature, time and activities. When one is
situated in the science of Krishna by practicing devotional
service and spreading Krishna consciousness, one remains in a
state of clear comprehension and is situated in transcendence.
Such a thoughtful and intelligent devotee is called a muni, and is
not distracted from his path of spiritual advancement. The best
example of such devotee is Raghunāth dasa goswāmi. He was a
servant of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityānanda Prabhūs.
Although he was extremely wealthy in those days; his income
was about two million dollars in a year, had a beautiful wife,
good parents and relatives. Yet, he left his comfortable life and
relationships with everyone, whom he was connected to and
surrendered everything to the Lotus feet of Lord Sri Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu, the golden incarnation of Lord Krishna.
TEXT 21 बा्यथपशे्वस् ा्मा ववतद्या्मतन य्सख
ु म ्।
स र्मय८गय्
ु ा्मा सख
ु मषयम्नु ॥
े २१॥
bāhya-sparśeṣv-asaktātmā vindaty ātmani-yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā sukham-akṣayam-aśnute
bāhya-sparśeṣv -- in external sense objects; asaktātmā -- one
whose mind is not attached; vindaty -- enjoys; ātmani -- in the
soul; yat sukham -- that happiness; sa -- he; brahma-yoga -- in
the Supreme Brahman; yuktātmā -- self-realized soul; sukham-

akṣayam -- unlimited happiness; aśnute -- enjoys.
One whose mind is, thus, not attached to external sense
objects, enjoys happiness from within by meditation. Such a
self-realized soul enjoys unlimited happiness by focusing on
the Supreme Brahman, the Majestic Personality of Godhead.
ANNOTATION: It is stated in the Mahābhārata that in the
material world the pleasures of the senses and the pleasures of
the heavenly planets cannot be compared to even 1/16th of the
pleasure one gains from renouncing material sense gratification.
This may seem difficult to comprehend since people who do not
follow the principles of religious codes may seem to derive
considerable pleasure from unrestricted sex. However, to the
contrary, Srila Sridhar swāmi has commented on people who are
filled with lust. He explains in the phrase, kaminam-rati-stanam,
that even though such people see the private organs of the
opposite sex as everything to them, the temporary happiness of
the body, they gain in that way is actually a source of
unhappiness. As this is said by Srila Rupa goswāmi in Bhakti-
rasāmrta-sindhu 3.2.25:
kāmādinām katina-katidhā pālitādurni desās
tesām jātāmayi na karunā natra pānopasāntih
utsrjyaitān atha yadu-pate sāmpratam labdha-buddhis
tvā māyātah saranam abhayammām niyunksvātma-dāsye
“O my Lord, there is no limit to the unwanted orders of lusty
desires. Although I have rendered these desires so much service,
they have not shown any mercy to me. I have not been ashamed
to serve them, nor have I even desired to give them up. O my
Lord, O head of the Yadu dynasty, recently, however, my
intelligence has been awakened, and now I am giving them up.
Due to transcendental intelligence, I now refuse to obey the
unwanted orders of these desires, and I now come to You to
surrender myself at Your fearless lotus feet. Kindly engage me in
Your personal service and save me.” And as Yamunāchaya from
Sri Sampradaya has said:
yad-avadhi mama chittah krishna-pādāravinde;

nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany-udyatamrantu-māsét;
tad-avadhi bata nāri-sangame-smaryamāne;
bhavatimukha-vikārah susthunisthi vanam ca
“When I engaged in the service of the Lotus feet of Krishna I
realized new mellows of devotion. Since then, when I think of
intimate association with a woman, my mouth spits at the
thought and my lips curls with disgust.”
Being impelled by material desires, one should not utilize
what is dear to him for his personal sense gratification rather he
should offer his favorite things for the service of the Supreme
Lord and devotees who are preaching the message of Godhead.
By doing so, one will attain eternal benefit. One should not
become bewildered by thoughts of material enjoyment and thus
forget the service of the Supreme Majestic Lord and His sincere
devotees. All of one’s wealth and energy of the family members
should be used for the Lord’s satisfaction, and this will save one
from increasing his material bondage and enjoy the unlimited
happiness in this world and in the next world.
TEXT 22 ये ह
संथपशा्ा भ८गा दःु खय८नय एव ।े
आ्यत वत ःक९त ये न ष े ु रम े बि
ु ः॥२२॥
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ-kaunteya na teṣu-ramate- budhaḥ
yehi -- that certainly; saṁsparśa-jā -- arising from the material
senses by contacting with the sense objects; bhogā -- those
pleasures; duḥkha-yonaya -- sources of misery; eva -- indeed; te -
- they are; ādy-antavantaḥ -- subject to beginning and an end;
kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; na teṣu -- never in those; ramate --
takes delight; budhaḥ -- the intelligent person.
O son of Kunti, those pleasures which arise from the material
senses are the source of misery. Therefore, an intelligent
person does not take part in them, such pleasures have a
beginning and an end.
ANNOTATION: Material pleasure does not offer real happiness.

Seeing forms, eating different foods, touching bodies, hearing
various types of music, speeches and different aromas are the
pleasures of this world. Sensual temptation and sensual
happiness are temporary and end after a few seconds or minutes.
Falling prey to such momentary happiness cannot be real and
because they continue to disturb living beings with temptation,
they are, therefore, a source of misery for all living beings. Under
the illusion and urges of the senses, living beings are lost in the
discrimination of spiritual intelligence and are unable to
recognize this truth.
Srila Bhakti Siddandha Saraswati Thakura mentions that
due to absence of foresight, dogs, asses and goats all put
themselves in great danger: a dog steals food at the risk of being
beaten or killed, and will also approach a female dog for
pleasure, even though she bares her teeth and snarls, threatening
him with severe injury; an ass approaches a female ass for
copulation simply to be kicked by her hind legs; the ass also
carries a heavy burden all day long, simply for a little grass that
is available everywhere; even while being taken to a
slaughterhouse a goat happily approaches a female for little
pleasure. Similarly, most human beings, without understanding
that the act of sense gratification is the cause of their suffering,
indulge themselves without restriction.
Lord Krishna thus says: “although they think of themselves
as very intelligent, those whose thirst for sense gratification is
not curbed cannot be called learned men.” When people do not
understand how blissful spiritual life is, they crumble with a
flickering happiness that reflects Krishna’s observation, that
material happiness has a start and an end. Hence, the soul is by
nature full of bliss, but in the material world this is perverted to
sinful enjoyment.
Human life is intended for cultivating spiritual knowledge
to locate transcendental bliss. This is achieved by rendering
practical devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead.
TEXT 23 श्न८ ी व यः स८ढुं रा्शरीरववम८षणा ्।

कामर८ि८्भवं वेगं सय्ु ः स सखु ी नरः॥२३॥
śaknotīhaiva-yaḥ soḍhuṁ prākśarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ sayuktaḥ-sasukhī naraḥ
saknoti -- is able; ihaiva -- in the present body; yaḥ -- he who;
soḍhuṁ -- to neutralize; prāk -- before; śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt -- the
death of the body; kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ -- generated from
desire and anger; vegaṁ -- urges; sayuktaḥ -- he fully
established; sasukhī -- he is happy; naraḥ -- human being.
He who is able to neutralize the urges of the material body
and prevent the force of desire and anger before death occurs
to the present body, is fully established and is happy.
ANNOTATION: There are many urges from the bodily senses,
mainly the tongue and genitals, and as Krishna explained in the
last verse, all such pleasures in the material world have a start
and an end. When pleasures are enjoyed through the senses they
provide a vivid illusion of happiness, however, when these
pleasures come to an end, they cause misery. For this reason, the
spiritually intelligent, who is endowed with the power of
discriminative knowledge does not indulge in sense pleasures,
knowing they are temporary and binding.
It will save against the loss of this human form if, before
death, one can come out of the incorrigible agitation of the senses
for sex, wine, meat and money. Instead, one should start
cultivating loving devotion for Krishna, the Supreme Master of
all senses, before one loses this valuable human body. By doing
so, one can then realize, that he is the soul, and can remain very
happy in this life and in the next.
The dharma sāstra, niti sāstra, purānas, and other parts of
the Vedās, explain that one should atone for one’s sinful
activities before the end of the present life, whether one has
committed them knowingly or unknowingly; without atonement
there is no possibility of freedom from hellish existence after
death. Today, because of contemporary life-styles, many people
believe hellish planets are a fantasy. They are like amateur

thieves and robbers who think that jail is a fantasy, yet when they
are caught and convicted, the fantasy becomes reality. However,
the reality here is that the soul is eternal and that all the sinful
activities and the consequent sufferings experienced by the
atomic soul through the body are temporary. The merciful
Supreme Lord is guiding all souls who are confused about good
and bad actions, especially human souls who can read and write.
Wise men thus lead a God or Krishna conscious life to prevent
more sinful deeds and to save themselves from descending to the
most wretched forms of life.
TEXT 24 य८ऽत ः सख
ु ८ऽत रारामथ िात ्योत रे व यः।
स य८गी र्मतनवााणं र्मभू ८ऽधिग्छत ॥२४॥
yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati
yo -- one who; antah-sukho -- experience happiness from within;
antar-ārāmas -- enjoying from within; tathā -- as well as; āntar-
jyotir -- sees self within; eva -- as well; yaḥ -- anyone; sayogī --
such a mystic person; brahma-nirvāṇaṁ -- kingdom of Supreme
Brahman; brahma-bhūto -- being one with the Absolute Truth;
’dhigacchati -- attains.
One who experiences happiness from within, who enjoys
within, who sees the soul within as well, is truly a perfect
mystic yogi. Such a mystic yogi, being one with the Absolute
Truth, attains the kingdom of Supreme Brahman.
ANNOTATION: While searching for happiness people are
constantly engaged in material work, and they try to enjoy each
of their material desires. The enjoyment of desires is like a river
entering the ocean, although desires may be satisfied one by one,
just as the water of the river moves into the ocean, they are
constantly replaced by new desires, just as the water of the river
is constantly replaced by its flowing current. When one seeks to
enjoy their desires, it can also be compared to pouring oil to
extinguish a fire, which is counterproductive since the fire’s
flame will only increase with each drop of oil.
With their unsatisfied desires men only find frustration and

embarrassment. Yet, this is inevitable since the material world is
not designed to make them happy. A prison house, no matter
how comfortable it may be, is a house for punishing law-
breakers. There are first, second, and third class prisoners. All are
condemned and will remain imprisoned until they cooperate with
the government and its laws. Similarly, souls have fallen into the
prison house of the material world for disobedience of the
Supreme Government. A liberated soul is one who understands
his mistakes and begins to cooperate with the Supreme Laws of
the Supreme Lord. He begins to see himself as the minute soul,
part of Krishna. By identifying his true nature, as a servant of the
Supreme Lord, he engages actively in service of the Supreme
Lord. This is possible under a bonafide spiritual authority, and by
comprehending the injunctions of the scriptures. Such a purified
and perfect mystic yogi withdraws his mind completely from the
sense objects and surrenders onto the lotus feet of the Supreme
Brahman and ultimately attains the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 25 लभत े र्मतनवााणमष
ृ यः षीणक्मषाः।
तछतन्विा य ा्मानः सवाभू ह े र ाः॥२५॥
labhante brahma-nirvāṇam ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
labhante -- achieves; brahma-nirvāṇam -- Kingdom of God;
ṛṣayaḥ -- those who are active within; kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ -- devoid
of all sins; chinna-dvaidhā -- one whose doubts have been
shattered due to duality; yatātmānaḥ -- engaged in soul-
realization; sarva-bhūta-hite -- in the welfare work of all living
entities; ratāḥ -- engaged.
Those who are devoid of all sins, whose doubts have been
shattered by duality, who are engaged in soul realization, and
who are engaged in the welfare of all living entities, achieve
liberation in Supreme Brahman.
ANNOTATION: Devotees, of purified minds, and who have true
vision, are known to be devoted to the welfare of all living
entities. So too are sages and saintly devotees of the Lord, always
engaged in the welfare of the world. They are the benefactors,
sarvopokarakas, of all people and the world, because they have
become free from material desires and are liberated. They have
torn off all dualities of this material world, chinna-dvaidhā, are
untouched by political conspiracies and other evil intentions. Out
of compassion for the welfare of all living entities, and to give
protection, devotees perform sacrifices everywhere they possibly
can.
The best sacrifice for this age of Kali-yuga has been
explained by the Supreme Lord when He was in the form of Sri
Krishna Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. This is the sankirtana yajna, the
chanting of the holy names of Krishna and Rāma. There are
many Vishnu and Nārāyana mantras prescribed in the Vedās and
all those mantras are powerful, however, for this particular age
(of Kali-yuga) the mantra which is most recommended by the
Supreme Lord for the maximum benefit of the people is the Hare
Krishna Mantra.
This mantra is explained in all Vedic literature. Without
challenging the Supreme Authority, an obedient member of
society will follow the directions prescribed in the Vedās for
success in this human form of life. In Kali-yuga there is no other
method described to bring well-being and happiness to society
other than chanting this Hare Krishna mahā-mantra.
In this verse, Krishna does not recommend that people
render social service without spiritualism. The problem that the
Lord alludes here is that social service is for the material body,
and the body is perishable. Alternatively, spiritual service is for
the immortal soul, which is eternal. Therefore, giving service to
the soul by linking with the Supreme Soul is naturally a best
service to God and to the individuals.
bhakti vina mukti nahi bhāgavate kaya
kali kale nāmabhashe sukha muktihāya
“In this Age of Kali, one cannot attain liberation without taking
up in devotional service of the Lord. In this age, even if one
chants the holy name of Krishna imperfectly, he still attains

liberation very easily”.
TEXT 26 कामर८िववय्
ु ानां य ीनां य चे साम ्।
अभभ ८ र्मतनवााणं व ा े ववहद ा्मनाम ्॥२६॥
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ yatīnāṁ yata-chetasām
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ vartate viditātmanām
kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ -- those who are free from lust and
anger; yatīnāṁ -- of the renounced persons; yata-chetasām --
who have control over the mind; abhito -- in this life; brahma-
nirvāṇaṁ -- liberation in the Supreme Brahman; vartate --
occurs; viditātmanām -- self-realized.
Those renounced people who are free from anger and lusty
desires, who are soul realized and self-controlled, are
guaranteed liberation by the Supreme Brahman in this life.
ANNOTATION: Generally, anger manifests from unfulfilled
material desires. Because of uncontrollable anger, even strong
relationships can go bad. No relationship is completely safe in
this way, as vulnerable relationships include: relatives; husband
and wife; mother and father; brothers and sisters, etc.
Conditioned souls invariably consider others, either as friends or
enemies. They also, invariably, justify cruel behavior that is
meted out to their opponents. However, a self-realized devotee,
self-disciplined and samadarshi, equal in vision due to pure
sentiment for the supreme person (see verse 18), never considers
others as enemies and so never indulges in the tendency to take
pleasure in the suffering of others, nor he enjoys temporary
pleasures. Therefore, it is important to stay self-disciplined to
remain self-realized, so as to attain liberation from material
existence.
TEXTS थपशाातकृ्वा बह बाा्यां्चषु्चवात रे रव
ु ८ः।
27-28 राणापान९ सम९ कृ्वा नासा्यत रचाररण९॥२७॥
य ्े तरयमन८ब्
ु धिमतुा नमोषपरायणः।
ववग ्
े छाभयर८ि८ यः सदा म्
ु एव सः॥२८॥
sparśān-kṛtvā bahir-bāhyāṁś
chakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā
nāsābhyantara-chāriṇau
yatendriya-mano-buddhir
munir-mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho
yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ
sparśān -- sense objects; kṛtvā -- fixing; bahir -- external;
bāhyāṁś -- unnecessary; chakṣuś -- eyes; ca -- also; iva --
certainly; āntare -- between; bhruvoḥ -- the eyebrows;
prāṇāpānau -- up and down-moving air; samaukṛtvā -- keeping
in suspension (breath control); nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau --
blowing within the nostrils; yatendriya-mano-buddhir -- control
of the senses, mind, intelligence; munir -- the thoughtful sage;
mokṣa -- liberation; parāyaṇaḥ -- being so destined; vigatecchā-
bhaya -- abandoning the fear; krodho -- anger; yaḥsadā -- one
who is always; muktaeva -- certainly liberated; saḥ -- he.
By expelling the external sense objects and directing his eyes
between his eyebrows, practicing the suspension of breath
and control of inhaling and exhaling breaths, and by
controlling his senses, mind and intelligence, the thoughtful
sage targets at freedom from birth and death. Being so, the
spiritualist abandons fear, anger and desire and is certainly
always liberated.
ANNOTATION: In verse 24 (this chapter) Lord Krishna stated
that a yogi attains the Brahman. Now, He delineates in short, the
method of that yoga, which is called ashtānga-yoga. External
sense objects of sound, touch, form, taste and smell enter the
mind when one contemplates them, so one must not think about
them. By fixing one’s eyes between the eyebrows and focusing, a
person can prevent himself from falling asleep. However, if a
person’s eyes are wide open, he may be distracted due to the
sense objects. In order to avoid both sleep and distraction, one
focuses one’s mind with eyelids half closed and looks upon the
tip of the nose or between the eyebrows. The breathing

movement is restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the
exhaling (prāna) and inhaling air (apāna) within the body until
they are suspended, by such breathing, of exhaling and inhaling,
the senses become controlled. In this way, one slowly attains
liberation from desire, fear and anger. Such a yogi’s aim is only
to be free from material existence, even while living in the
material world. This yoga system is more explicitly described by
the Lord in the next chapter, but it is only just one course in a
vast meal. As Nārada Muni explains the Pracedās in the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam [4-31-12]:
kimvā-yogena sānkhyena nyāsa-svadhyāyayor-api
kimvā sreyo bhiranyais ca nayatrātma-pradoharih
“Transcendental practices that do not ultimately help one realize
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead are useless, be
they mystic yoga practices, the analytical study of matter, severe
austerity, the acceptance of sannyās, or the study of Vedic
literature. All these may be very important aspects of spiritual
advancement, but unless one understands the Supreme Lord Hari,
all these processes are useless”. Thus, direct devotional service to
Krishna is called bhakti yoga, which includes all karma, jnāna,
yoga practices in one.
TEXT 29 भ८् ारं य् पसां सवाल८कम े ्वरम ्।

सृ
ु दं सवाभू ानां ्ा्वा मां शा्त म्
ृ छत ॥२९॥
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ-sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
bhoktāraṁ -- the enjoyer of all; yajña -- offering sacrifices;

tapasāṁ -- and penances and austerities; sarva-loka -- all planets
and universes; maheśvaram -- great Supreme controller; suhṛdaṁ
-- the friends; sarva-bhūtānāṁ -- all the living entities; jñātvā --
thus knowing; māṁ -- Me; śāntim -- peace from the material
sufferings; ṛcchati -- obtains.
One who knows Me as the enjoyer of all sacrifices and

penances, the great Supreme controller of all planets and
universes and the best friend and benedictory of all living
entities, attains peace from the pangs of material sufferings.
ANNOTATION: Now, the question may arise as to how one
may achieve freedom from material existence by merely
controlling the mind and senses? In this verse, Lord Krishna
ushers away such confusion by explaining that liberation is
attained by spiritual knowledge, and not merely by controlling
the mind and senses. The words jnātva mām means ‘knowing
Krishna’, knowing Him as sarva-loka mahesvaram, or the
sovereign Absolute Lord of all the universes and planets, and
knowing Lord Krishna as suhrdam sarva bhūtanam, the best
friend and well-wisher of all living beings at all times.
There are billions of living entities in the species of life, and
Krishna is a friend of all of them, not just human beings or
demigods. Therefore, one should not harm any living being,
knowing that all the living beings have Krishna, the most
powerful, wealthy, beautiful, knowledgeable, famous and
renounced friend. This transcendental knowledge is essential for
one to be qualified for obtaining liberation from the strict and
unkind material nature.
Krishna, the Majestic Personality of Godhead is behind the
universe and its activities. For an instance: like the director of a
movie, who is not present on the screen, is invisible to the
viewers, but plays a very important role in the success of the
play. A child may not see the direction of a Director, similarly an
immature person may not see that behind everything in the
cosmos is God, Krishna. Not even a leaf falls without consent of
the Lord. Performing worship of the Lord, austerities, selfless
actions, cultivating philosophical knowledge, attaining
equanimity, self-realization and detachment from matter, these
results cannot be achieved independently, but must come from
the true accurate knowledge of the Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
Lord Krishna is the guardian of karma-yogis, yajna-yogis,

ashtānga-yogis and bhakti-yogis. Therefore, whatever these yogis
offer in this world is directly received by the Supreme Lord
Krishna. karma-yoga in Krishna consciousness is the easiest and
most practical path for everyone to achieve the love for Krishna,
regardless of their social divisions.
Indeed, one may wonder, why would one not want to offer
beautiful service to such a friend, especially when this friend is a
magnificent universal benefactor existing within and without all
living beings throughout the creation? As Lord Siva Prays to the
Supreme Lord in the 8th canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam 8.12.4
deva-deva jagad-vyāpin jagad-isajagan-maya
sarvesāmapibhāvanam tvamātmaheturisvarah
“Lord Mahadeva said: O chief demigod among the demigods, O
all-pervading Lord, master of the universe, by Your energy You
are transformed into the creation. You are the root and efficient
cause of everything. You are not material. Indeed, You are the
Supersoul or Supreme living force of everything. Therefore, You
are Paramesvara, the supreme controller of all controllers.”

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Karma Yoga with Detachment’ by
H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami

1. Differentiate between karma-yoga, sānkhya-yoga and
sannayāsa in detail.
1. Why is work in devotion better than renunciation of work?
2. What reasons Krishna found that action without fruitive
desire is better than renunciation of action?
3. Illustrate on the two types of sannyāsa.
4. Define visuddhātma and explain their activities?

5. Explain the position of a pure personality?
6. What does a lotus leaf untouched by water symbolize?
7. Contrast between the fruitive worker and a devotee?
8. What are the nine gates? How can one become freed from
the city of nine gates?
9. Differentiate between the position of the living entity and
that of God.
10. What does the example of the sun rising represent?
11. When does misgivings completely wash away?
12. How does a humble sage perceive other living beings?
13. Examine the symptoms of a self-realized person?
14. What did Yamunāchārya say after he relished the nectar of
devotion for Krishna?
15. Describe the actions of an intelligent person as described in
verse number 5-22.
16. Define goswāmi?
17. Explain how some animals maintain their offspring.
18. What is ashtānga-yoga? Explain its different aspects.
19. Infer on what is the peace formula? What makes the Lord
Supreme over others?
1. The goal of sānkhya-yoga is to become detached from
____________
(spirit, matter, the 8 elements, the 3 subtle elements)
2. Mayavadi sannyāsis engaged in the study of
_____________ (Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Chaitanya-
Charitamrta, Vedānta, the Purānas)
3. _____________ sannyāsis study Srimad-Bhāgavatam

[vaishnava, sakta, māyāvādi, sankara]
4. Lord Krishna says: “One who neither hates nor desires the
fruits of his activities is a true ___________ (yogi, sannyāsi,
jnāni, karmi).”
5. The _________leaf does not get wet (jasmine, lotus, rose,
banyan)
6. The Lord has _______ opulences in full [4, 6, 8, 10]
7. The individual soul is present in one body and the
___________ is present in all bodies (demigod’s’,
gandharva’s, Lord Siva’s, Supersoul).
8. One absorbed in full devotion will lose the taste for
__________ (perfection, liberation, material laws,
sensual happiness).
9. The meaning of prānayāma is_____ (sitting postures,
trance, meditation, controlling the breathing).
10. One who is engaged in _______devotional services will
attain peace (karma, jnāna, yoga, niskāma karma).
Dhyāna Yoga 423
CHAPTER 6
Dhyāna Yoga
ु ाच
अनाधर ः कमाफलं कायं कमा कर८त यः।
स सततयासी च य८गी च न तनर््नना चाकरयः॥१॥
sri-bhagavān uvācha
anāsritah-karma-phalam karyam-karma-karoti yah
sa sannyāsi-ca yogi ca na-nirāgnir-na-cākriyah
sri-bhagavān uvācha -- the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead said; anāsritah -- without expectation; karma-phalam --
of the result of actions; kāryam -- as a matter of duty; karma --
prescribed actions; karoti -- execute; yah -- one who; sah -- he;
sannyāsi ca -- also renunciate; yogi ca -- spiritualist also; na-
niragnih -- not lit fire; na -- nor; ca akriyah -- one who merely
renounces sensual activities.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: One
who performs his prescribed activities as a matter of duty
and is not attached to the fruits of actions is in the renounced
order of life, he is yogi, he is not one who ignites fire in
sacrifice nor is he one who performs duties of spiritual well-
being for society as a whole.
ANNOTATION: The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā is
called dhyāna-yoga or ashtānga-yoga, it is meant to control the
fickle mind of yogis. The eight progressive steps of the ashtānga-
yoga system are: yama, niyama, āsana, pranāyama, pratyahāra,
423
dhārana, dhyāna, and samādhi. Even though the Lord explains

this yoga in detail, at the end of the chapter one will find that the
Lord does not approve of anyone performing dhyāna-yoga
because this yoga has a distinct lack of facilities. Thus, in Kali-
yuga it is not possible to control the mind and senses through this
yoga system, and without controlling the mind and senses no one
can become a successful yogi or a sannyāsi.
First, one should not be engaged in fruitive activities.
Through the performance of fruitive activities, one may believe
he can work and make a lot of money, so that he can have an
immediate enjoyment of the senses. For instance, a man may be a
millionaire but his eating and his sexual characteristics are the
same as a person who is poor. The significance of his money is
that it only encourages his greed to make more money and to
engage in more mental satisfaction. So, the Supreme Lord tells in
this verse, anāsritah karma phalam: a sannyāsi or yogi is a
person who does not depend on the results of his work, but rather
executes his work as a matter of duty in order to control the mind
and senses.
An impersonal conceptual sannyāsi wants to merge with
God because of his miserable experiences in the material world,
whereas the yogi wants to attain ashta-siddhi or eight mystic
opulences. Both of these desires are irrelevant to the soul.
Merging with the impersonal Brahman, one will cease material
existence for a while, but since this does not involve service to
God, one will again return to this earth planet. A yogi may live
for five or six hundred years with his mystic power and diet
control, but there is no use for such a prolonged life and he will
still die. However modern yogis have no mystic powers except
some insignificant ability to exhibit gymnastics. Therefore,
without engaging in sufficient devotional service of Krishna, one
will not be elevated or liberated. Those in Krishna conscious
actions bring positive detachment from matter and attachment to
the Supreme Lord. As one advances in the service of the Lord,
one will eventually have complete control of the mind and senses
from the material activities, then the real spiritual life begins.
Dhyāna Yoga 425
A devotee sannyāsi or yogi in the renounced order of life

has no material dutiful action to perform in this world as his own,
yet he is always engaged in the welfare of the people and the
world. A true sannyāsi or yogi is he who engages his mind,
speech and work in the service of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. By serving the Supreme
Lord and giving God to everyone the yogi or sannyāsi serves
everyone. Service to God is service to man. Without
understanding the superior spiritual nature of the soul, people
think that serving the bodies of living entities is service to God.
However, as a creation of the illusory energy of Krishna, the
body is perishable at any time, only the soul is eternal.
Performing service for the bodies of living entities is just as
trying to save the drowning man’s shirt, but losing the man in the
depths of the water and therefore it is not an intelligent act.
Similarly, serving humanity without proper knowledge is a sign
of nescience. Actual service is not trying to repair or prolong the
body by artificial means, but it is to save the soul from imminent
death, birth, old age and disease.
Generally, in the name of service to society, philanthropists
and altruists try to supply needy people with food, clothing, and
medicine for temporary relief, try to sponsor orphans, or give a
student a year of education. However, the person who receives
these services will neither be rich, nor will his poverty and
sickness go away permanently. And, neither do these services fix
the problem of old age, death, disease and birth permanently.
Everyone is poor in the spiritual sense because of a lack of
understanding of one’s own soul, which is immortal. When one
distinguishes that the origin of everything is Lord Krishna, and
tries to connect the nescient soul with God, that becomes a
genuinely helpful service to humanity. Once the forgotten soul
becomes reconnected with Krishna, all material miseries and
poverty disappear because Krishna, the supreme father, is
supremely opulent and He can make all fallen children equally
opulent.
Materially wealthy men may perform selfless social work,
which is not directly recommended by the scriptures. Such men
will receive only some material benediction that will force them
to take birth again in the material world, and enjoy the results of
such pious action, and they will also suffer repeated birth and
death. Most of the suffering in this world is caused by birth and
death, it is only because one forgets this suffering that he thinks
that repeated death and birth is a natural phenomenon. The
proper understanding of this kind of service is as a service of
māya to humanity, māya here means ‘that which is not’,
meaning, what one comprehends as the real service to humanity
is indeed not the real service to mankind.
In contrast with the service of māya, a sannyāsi engages
everyone in service of the Supreme Lord, reminding people that
they are part of Krishna and that they have forgotten the truth –
which is due to their original disobedience of the laws of God
they have become imprisoned in the material world. All material
bodies are like different prison cells, no way one can get out of
these cells with one’s own effort. Because all are constitutionally
part and parcel of the Supreme, it is every living entities’ duty to
act in Krishna consciousness. This is paro dharma, the supreme
religion. Therefore, as Krishna says in this verse, the true
sannyāsi (renounced) or yogi (mystic) is one who connects all
living beings to the Supreme (Krishna), not one who neither
ignites the fire of sacrifice nor performs the duties of spiritual
well-being for society as a whole.
TEXT 2 यं सततयासभमत रा ु योगं ं वव्धि पा्डव।
न ्यसततयथ स्क्प८ य८गी भवत क्चन॥२॥
yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava
na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana
yaṁ -- that which; sannyāsam -- renunciation; iti -- thus; prāhur -
- say; yogaṁ -- linking with the Supreme; taṁ -- that; viddhi --
you must know; pāṇḍava -- O son of Pāndu; na -- never; hy --
certainly; asannyasta -- without renouncing; saṅkalpo -- desire
for fruitive results; yogī -- one perfected in linking oneself with
the Supreme; bhavati -- can become; kaścana -- one.
Dhyāna Yoga 427
That which is called renunciation is also called linking oneself

with the Supreme [yoga] O son of Pāndu; without renouncing
the desire for sense gratification, one cannot become a yogi.
ANNOTATION: A person in the conditioned state of material
existence is separated from God, like a small finger sliced off
from the body, and as a finger is valuable only as long as it is
attached to the body, the value of the soul is similarly diminished
when it is separated from the Supreme Lord. Real yoga addresses
this problem and reconnects the living entity with God.
Enjoying unnecessary material sense gratification is a
stumbling block on the path to linking with the Supreme. When
one can renounce sense gratification by engaging in the service
of the Supreme Lord, one is also practicing yoga. The rules and
methods of executing the yoga process are: yama, niyama, āsana,
prānayāma, pratyāhara, dhārna and dhyāna. Exercises or āsanas
are not real yoga, rather, samādhi or complete absorption on
Krishna or Vishnu’ form, constitutes the perfection of yoga. If a
person is a devotee of Krishna, he has achieved both the title of
sannyāsi and yogi because he has only one service to do in his
life, to satisfy the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Sri
Krishna, which include all rules of ashtānga yoga. As Sri
Krishna das Kaviraj goswāmi says, atmendriya-priti-vancha—
tare bali ‘kāma ’krishnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama:
“the desire to gratify one’s own senses is kāma (lust), but the
desire to please the senses of Lord Krishna is prema (love).” The
Nārāyana Purāna and other Vedic scriptures have praised the
virtues of sannyāsa with statements like: ‘sannyāsa or
renunciation alone excels everything and sannyāsa is as good as
yoga. A person cannot become a sannyāsi or yogi unless he
abandons the material object of sense pleasure.’
Lord Krishna has three energies: spiritual energy, material
energy and marginal energy. Living beings are a part of marginal
energy. This form of energy is in line with spiritual energy, just
as the soul is also in line with spiritual energy. Marginal energy,
or souls, can either live in the spiritual world or in the material
world. When the soul chooses to reside in the material world, it is

awarded a material body with material senses and material
variety. There are 8,400,000 different types of material bodies in
the material world, from a small microbe to the body of Lord
Brahma, the secondary creator. However, in the spiritual world
living beings do not have to change bodies as the soul has its
own spiritual body.
While in the material world, by evolutionary process, one is
civilized, or, by living as a pure devotee of Krishna, one gets to
understand his true constitutional position, which is an eternal
servant of Krishna and belongs to the spiritual world. However,
no one has a spiritual relationship with anyone else in this world.
If someone can develop a spiritual relationship with someone,
they first have to re-establish a relationship with Krishna.
Thereafter, one may be able to love their nearest and dearest in
Krishna consciousness, selflessly. All other so-called love
remains a business transaction. In this way, after understanding
the truth of the self and Super-Self, one becomes reluctant to take
pleasure in the material body through the material senses and
material sense objects.
TEXT 3 आुुष८मनुा ेयोगं कमा कारणम्
ु य ।े
य८गा ढथय थयव शमः कारणम् ु य ॥े ३॥
ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ karma kāraṇam uchyate
yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva śamaḥ kāraṇam uchyate
ārurukṣor -- who has just begun yoga; muner -- thoughtful sage;
yogaṁ -- the eightfold yoga system; karma -- work; kāraṇam --
the means; uchyate -- is said to be; yoga -- eightfold yoga;
arūḍhasya -- he who has attained; tasya -- his; iva -- certainly;
śamaḥ -- termination of all material activities; kāraṇam -- the
means; uchyate -- said.
For the devotee who is a beginner in the eightfold yoga
system, the action is said to the means; for one who is
advanced in the yoga system, the termination of all material
activities is said to the means.
Dhyāna Yoga 429
ANNOTATION: If a person takes up yoga, he must engage all

his knowledge acquiring senses, working senses, mind and
intelligence in the service of the Supreme Lord. Any yoga
practice that aims at satisfying the Supreme Lord is called real
yoga, regardless of whether it is, karma-yoga, jnāna-yoga,
dhyāna-yoga or bhakti-yoga. bhakti-yoga is direct, although all
other yogās aim at the Supreme Lord, they do so indirectly, and
they are executed by different students according to their
differing capacities. However, bhakti yoga can burn all gross and
subtle material bodies of the living beings, and carry them to the
object of yoga, Lord Krishna.
God is one. To attain Him there are several different
spiritual processes like steps on a ladder; at the top is bhakti
yoga. These different processes are not included in the worship
of different demigods, such as Sūrya or Ganesha. However, in
the beginning, action with body and senses in the service of the
Supreme Lord is strongly recommended in order for a
practitioner to attain mental equilibrium. Without pacifying the
mind by practical spiritual actions, the mind will not cooperate
while attempting to execute yoga.
The external appearance of a man with a yogi attire will not
make him a yogi. One must, first, be free from material sense
enjoyment and meet other necessary qualifications of a yogi.
Contemporary commercial yoga societies are unaware of who
God is and they teach people to meditate on their favorite form of
god for few minutes. Without prior qualification of controlling
the mind from sense objects such as sex, meat eating, and
recreation, one cannot concentrate on dhyāna. Moreover, dhyāna
is not the first principle of ashtānga-yoga, it is the seventh. No
one can meditate on the Supreme or be a yogi in an instant. They
must follow the first six principles to find success in yoga.
Once the mind is strongly established in mental and
physical control by stopping all material actions, then the mind
can focus on meditation, dhyāna, on the two-handed form of
Krishna. According to the Bhagavad-Gītā and the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, there are no other options given for people to
meditate, except the form of Supreme Lord. True meditation on

the Supreme Lord is not that easy until one is able to reach the
state of mental equilibrium and control all senses. As Krishna
Himself says in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-14-20, the goal of all
yoga is Krishna.
na sādhayati mām yogo na sānkhyam dharma uddhava
na svādhyāyas tapas tyāgo yathā bhaktir mamorjitā
“My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to
Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be
thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, sānkhya
philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation.”
TEXT 4 यदा ह ने्तरयािेषु न कमाथवनष

ु ्् ।े
सवास्क्पसततयासी य८गा ढथ द८्य ॥
े ४॥
yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu na karmasv anuṣajjate
sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī yogārūḍhas tadochyate
yadā -- when one; hi ne -- certainly not; indriyārtheṣu -- in sense
gratification; na karmasv -- not in fruitive activities; anuṣajjate --
attached to; sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī -- of renounced all material
desires; yogārūḍhas -- advanced in yoga; tado -- at that time;
uchyate -- is said to be.
When one is unattached to the fruits of activities, sense
gratification, and has renounced all material desires, one is
elevated in yoga.
ANNOTATION: There are two obstacles in the path of yoga
mentioned by the Lord. They are material desires and desiring
fruitive results for enjoying the material senses. We are not this
body, therefore, we are not the material senses. When we die, we
leave the material senses, and it will decompose along with the
body. Thus, there is no reasonable logic by which we ought to
satisfy the bodily senses.
Yet, the mind and body seems to create an impetus for
seeking material sense happiness, and the problem this creates is
Dhyāna Yoga 431
that with these unwanted material desires one cannot be elevated

into the highest step in yoga. One may perform an external yoga
practice, but unless or until one can be free from these negative
themes on the path of yoga one cannot become a yogi. Since the
goal of yoga is to attain love for Krishna, when one directly
engages in bhakti-yoga or devotional service to Krishna the
desire to satisfy material senses will be eliminated.
TEXT 5 उ्िरे दा्मना्मानं ना्मानमवसादये ्।
आ्मव ्या्मन८ बतिरु ा्मव ररपरु ा्मनः॥५॥
uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
uddhared -- one must deliver from the material world; ātman --
by the mind; ātmānaṁ -- the conditioned soul; na -- never;
ātmānam -- the conditioned soul; avasādayet -- must become
degraded; ātma -- mind; eva -- certainly; hy -- since; ātmano -- of
the conditioned soul; bandhur -- is the friend; ātmaiva -- this
very mind; ripur -- the enemy; ātmanaḥ -- of the conditioned
beings.
The conditioned soul must deliver oneself with the help of the
mind and must not degrade himself. Certainly the mind is the
friend of the conditioned soul as well as an enemy of him.
ANNOTATION: In Sanskrit language the word ātma refers
either soul, body or mind, with the precise meaning of the word
depending on the context in which it is used. Everyone is
separated from Krishna since time immemorial, therefore, one is
not so impressed when one hears about God, or sees Him in a
temple. Thus, people often take God for granted or consider Him
superficial and an order supplier. Consequently, they prefer to
make money to spend on the pursuits of sense gratification. As a
result, they obtain immediate sense satisfaction and subsequently
mistake this as the goal of human life.
Here, ātma means the mind, the whole yoga process centers
around controlling the mind from giving into the demands of
material senses over and over again. The whole world has sold
out to the thoughts and actions of the mind. They trust the mind
and have given the power of attorney to the mind to do anything
it wants for the welfare of the soul. In this way, all living beings
are cheated by the material mind, like a servant cheats his master.
When one is under material consciousness by falsely
identifying with the material body, the mind thinks in terms of
giving happiness to the material body. This is so, even though the
material body is a dead corpse, and it is only the living spark
which makes the body active. Because of a false identification
with the material body, the mind thinks in terms of the welfare of
the body. On this basis, a person may do the wrong things over
and over again, and then suffer the consequences of his own bad
actions. Therefore, one must understand that he is not his body or
mind. Once one knows in theory that he is not the body, he
should seek the help of a bonafide spiritual master and the
scriptures written by Srila Vyāsa deva to make his faith more
practical.
In order to establish the truth one requires the help of an
equipoised mind. In this regard, the mind is a good companion
that helps us to know who we really are, and what are we doing
here in the material world. Since an ‘idle mind is the devil’s
workshop’, one has to keep engaging the mind in spiritual
activities such as chanting Krishna’s name, hearing the pastimes
of Krishna, and associating with Krishna’s devotees. In these
cases, the mind will be fully cooperative. The nature of the mind
is to either engage the soul in service of māya or in service of
Krishna. But the living entity, with support of higher intelligence
derived from the spiritual master and Krishna, should engage the
mind in the service of Krishna. Then the mind can be liberated,
otherwise it demands only sex and money and will ruin one’s
life, and therefore becomes conditioned. Good qualities can be
cultivated only in the association of devotees and God Himself.
As the Amrta-bindu Upanishad 2 says mana eva manusyanam
karanam bandha-moksayoh bandhaya visayasango muktyai
nirvisayam manan: “For human beings, the mind is the root of
bondage and the mind is the root of freedom. A mind immersed
Dhyāna Yoga 433
in sense objects is the cause of obstacles, and a mind detached

from the sense objects is the cause of independence.”
TEXT 6 बतिरु ा्मा्मनथ थय येना्मवा्मना ्् ः।

अना्मनथ ु शर्ु वे व े ा्मव शरव
ु ्॥६॥
bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatru-vat
bandhur -- best friend; ātmā -- the mind; ātmanas -- of the living
entity; tasya -- of him; yena -- by whom; ātma -- the mind; eva --
certainly; ātmanā -- by the living entity; jitaḥ -- has conquered;
anātmanas -- he who has failed to control the mind; tu -- but;
śatrutve -- as the worst; vartet -- remains; ātmaiva -- that very
mind; śatru-vat -- as an enemy.
For he who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of
all friends; for he who has failed to conquer the mind, the
mind remains the worst enemy.
ANNOTATION: In this world no one is an enemy or friend by
birth, these things are created by one’s activities and behavior
with others. Similarly, by disassociating from bad people and
situations, and associating with devotees of Krishna, one can
develop good qualities. There are two types of association,
association with asat or matter and association with sat, or spirit.
Since, under conditional existence, the mind is the product of
matter and it only likes to meditate on sense objects. The mind is
thus the central pivot in making plans for eating, sleeping,
mating, and defending, but as these basic requirements are also
sources of sense gratification, the mind also leads one to falling
prey to lust, greed, illusion and envy, etc. As long as a living
entity makes plans for the basic requirements of the body, he is
under the subjugation of the material mind. The mind is,
therefore, his enemy, but this is not necessarily so. For instance,
the mind can be compared to a driver. If a person asks a driver to
take him to a place where he can receive spiritual discourse, the
driver will do so, but it is equally true that if the same person
were to ask the same driver to take him to a bar, night club or
restaurant, the driver would take him to these places too. So, the
mind being a driver, will drive wherever the soul, its passenger,
wants to go. Problems arise only when a person gives complete
power of all his actions to the mind; by letting the mind decide
where to go, disasters occur because it is naturally preoccupied
with sense desires. Therefore, one should withdraw the power of
attorney from the mind, and control the mind with the soul.
When a living entity regains control of the mind from the
clutches of the bodily platform, and makes an effort to be free
from its evil dictations by working to advance in yoga in the right
direction, the mind becomes his best friend.
TEXT 7 ्् ा्मनः रशात थय परमा्मा समाह ः।

शी ८्णसख
ु दःु खेषु िा मानापमानय८ः॥७॥
jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
jitātmanaḥ -- he who has conquered his mind; praśāntasya -- he
has attained equanimity over the mind; paramātmā -- the
Supersoul; samāhitaḥ -- firmly established; śītoṣṇa -- cold and
heat; sukha-duḥkheṣu -- happiness and distress; tathā -- also;
mānāpamānayoḥ -- honor and dishonor.
He who has conquered the mind attains equanimity, for he
has already reached the Supersoul. To such a person, heat
and cold, happiness and distress, honor and dishonor, are all
the same.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna, is the fountainhead of all expansions. He is the
Supreme General of all living entities. As a fort is defended from
enemies by a great general, when one places the Supreme
General Lord Krishna in the fort of the mind, He can control the
yogi’s mind and defends it from evil thoughts. When a yogi
brings the mind under control by governing it with the yoga
process, he can easily perceive a significant portion of Lord
Dhyāna Yoga 435
Krishna, the Supersoul, and experience transcendental

tranquility. When one identifies the Supersoul in such a way, one
is free from the dualities of material existence, such as heat and
cold, joy and agony, praise and insult. This leads to the
establishment of equanimity of mind.
According to Rāmānujāchārya, contrary to what is normally
assumed, Lord Krishna uses the word Paramātma to describe the
individual soul and not the Supersoul (parama meaning dignified
and ātma meaning soul). By using this name to describe the
individual soul, Krishna shows special respect to one who is able
to meditate deep enough to perceive and realize the soul, as it is
transcendentally situated. A living entity cannot control the mind
and senses with material qualifications, by possessing huge
amounts of money, or by being born into a great family.
However, through association with the Supreme Lord, the living
entity can develop good qualities and gain freedom from duality.
As Srimad-Bhāgavatam says:
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akincanā
sarvair gunais tatra samāsate surāh
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-gunā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahih
“All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion,
knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one
who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva (Krishna). On the other hand,
a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material
activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice
of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family
and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations
and must engage in the service of the Lord’s external energy.
How can there be any good qualities in such a man?"
TEXT 8 ्ानवव्ान तृ ा्मा कूिथि८ वव्् ्े तरयः।
य्
ु इ्य्
ु य े य८गी समल८्िा्मका्चनः॥८॥
jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity uchyate yogi sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ
jñāna -- knowledge; vijñāna -- realized knowledge; tṛpt--

satisfied; ātmā -- a living being; kūṭa-stho -- spiritually
established; vijitendriyaḥ -- one who controlled the senses; yukta
-- self-realization; ity -- thus; uchyate -- is said; yogī -- a mystic;
sama -- equipoised; loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ -- pebbles, stone, gold.
One who is perfected in the science of self-realization is called
a yogi. He is fully satisfied by Vedic knowledge and
realization, he is self-controlled, equipoised and established
in transcendence. Such a person sees pebbles, stones and gold
as the same.
ANNOTATION: As mentioned in the previous verse, one must
tolerate the dualities of life. This is only possible after a person
cultivates both of theoretical and practical knowledge regarding
the soul. One must realize the self by devotion to the Supreme
Lord. A person may know and realize that he is the spirit soul,
but unless or until he also acts on that understanding, he is not in
complete knowledge. With complete knowledge a person can
conquer the senses and mind and, therefore, become a real yogi.
Material life is a struggle for existence, and the material
advancement in life is a distraction for all living entities from the
spiritual life. Living entities trying to be happy outside of
Krishna bhakti are like fish trying to be happy while out of water.
The Lord explains that one must realize the self whatever
path they follow, whether their path is any of, or a serious of
practices in, karma-yoga, jnāna-yoga, ashtānga-yoga or the
eightfold yoga system. Self-realization is the object of all yogās,
yajnās, jnanās and tapasyas. In all these practices Krishna is
primary object. Without Him one will only fall into
contradiction. When one is situated in self-realization by
performing the prescribed duties, one becomes a karma-yogi.
When one cultivates knowledge, by systematic scriptural study
and realizing the self, one becomes a jnāna yogi. When one
realizes the self with the ashtānga-yoga process, one becomes an
ashtānga or dhyāna-yogi. ashtānga-yoga finds the virtue of
transcendental knowledge, which provides one with a genuine
Dhyāna Yoga 437
perception of the objects of the world. This, consequently, leads

one to acquiring self-control and self-realization. For such
realized yogis, money, gold, diamonds and stones are the same.
However, to have consciousness of Krishna everywhere is
the Supreme yoga. Therefore, those who are engaged in the
devotional service of the Lord (realizing the pastimes, forms and
qualities of the Lord in bhakti-yoga) will also manifest all the
qualities specified in this verse and in the preceding discussion.
Those who have not manifested these qualities in bhakti yoga
cannot be a devotee, though such people may advertise that they
are great devotees. Academic education brings neither self-
realization, equanimity of the mind nor detachment in this world,
it only helps to satisfy one’s material mind and senses.
TEXT 9 सृ
ु ्तमरायद
ुा ासीनम्यथि्वे्यबतिष
ु ।ु
सािु्ववप च पापेषु समब्
ु धिववाभश्य ॥
े ९॥
suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna- madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu
sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu sama-buddhir viśiṣyate
suhṛn-mitrā -- to well-wishers, benefactors; āry-udāsīna --
enemies, neutrals; madhyastha -- mediators between belligerents;
dveṣya -- the envious; bandhuṣu -- the relatives or well-wishers;
sādhuṣv -- saintly people; api -- as well as; ca pāpeṣu -- and unto
the sinful people; sama-buddhir -- having equal intelligence;
viśiṣyate -- far superior.
He who is said to be more advanced sees honest well-wishers,
affectionate benefactors, mediators, those who are neutral,
those who are envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the
sinners, all with equal intelligence.
ANNOTATION: There are no genuinely long relationships with
anybody in this world. On the screen of the material world,
people are placed in the position of relatives and children. When
they die, those relationships shatter. Relationships that are
developed in the midst of life such as friends, husbands and
wives, and in-laws, are even shorter. Everyone enters this world
as a guest through the womb of a female species, and everyone

departs when their period of sense enjoyment is over. Just as an
unchaste woman may dress differently every day to attract
different clients, similarly, living entities change their material
bodies between the 8,400,000 species to enjoy different types of
sense gratification.
The person who is spiritually advanced can see the actions
and changes occurring in this world. For them there is no place
for unnecessary material affection and sentiments, except for the
cause of Krishna. In this verse, the Lord explains the qualities of
an advanced devotee. One who performs activities without
expecting anything in return is known as magnanimous. Even
while engaged in commotion, one who offers protection and help
is a friend. One who refuses protection is the enemy. One who
neither helps nor harms is known as neutral. One who does not
act when things are required to be done is known as
irresponsible. One who does hateful things and causes pain is
known as evil. One who performs beneficial activities is known
as righteous. Whatever activity one is required to perform
according to time, circumstances and scriptural injunction that
activity is considered to be in equanimity.
The Nārada Purāna specifies that one who is affectionate
without any expectation is magnanimous. One who does not
reciprocate friendship even when given friendship is ungrateful.
One who does good to others only if good was done for them is
known as mediocre. The Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna, is referred here as magnanimous.
TEXT 10 य८गी य्
ु ्ी स मा्मानं र भस ्थि ः।
एकाकी य धचता्मा तनराशीरपररर ः॥१०॥
yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ
ekākī yata-cittātmā nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ
yogi -- a spiritualist; yuñjīta -- must focus on the supreme;
satatam ātmānaṁ -- always by body, mind and self; rahasi -- in a
solitary place; sthitaḥ -- residing; ekākī -- alone; yata-cittātmā --
Dhyāna Yoga 439
engaged in controlling the mind; nirāśīr -- without desire;

aparigrahaḥ -- free from ownership.
A spiritualist must always focus on the Supreme with his
body, mind and self; he must live in a solitary region and
must always consciously control his mind, he must be devoid
of material desires and be free from ownership.
ANNOTATION: By living in a secluded place, one may have
serenity in terms of their external environment. This is important
for a yogi who wants to be successful in establishing a
connection with the Supreme Lord. The goal of yoga is to obtain
an intimate relationship with the Supersoul. By having such
external tranquility and engaging the mind with the perfect
structure of the body, the self will be absorbed in the form of the
Lord. yunjita ātmanam means ‘attentively concentrating on the
soul’. yata-citta-ātma means ‘checking the whimsical flow of
thoughts generated by the mind’. aparigrahah means ‘to be
detached from every possession and conception, even ownership
of his own soul, and engage in meditation on the beautiful form
of Lord Vishnu’. This kind of meditation definitely worked in the
age of Satya, as it is mentioned in the Vishnu Purāna: krte yad
dhyāyato vishnuh.
Whatever results were obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating
on Vishnu, in Tretā-yuga these results were achieved by
performing sacrifices, tretāyam yajato makhaih. Moreover, in
Dwāpara-yuga, these same results were obtained by serving the
Lord’s lotus feet of the Lord: dwāpare paricharyayam. Now, in
Kali-yuga, these results can be obtained simply by chanting the
Hare Krishna mahā-mantra: kalau tad hari-kirtanāt. Thus, in the
age of Kali, the practices of austerity, yoga, meditation, deity
worship and sacrifice, with their various subsidiary functions, are
not properly carried out, even by the most expert embodied souls.
Moreover, a devotee of the Supreme Lord who chants the Holy
Name of Krishna is perfect transcendentalist because such a
devotee abides by the following scriptural injunction:
ihā yasya harer dāsye, karmanā manasā girā,
nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktah sa ucyate
“Anyone who, by his actions, mind and words, lives only for the
transcendental loving service of the Lord, is certainly a liberated
soul, even though he may appear to be in a condition of material
existence”. He is knowledgeable of Krishna that Krishna is the
fountainhead of all His incarnations and expansions. Therefore,
an unalloyed devotee of Krishna is the topmost of all yogis.
TEXTS शच
ु ९ दे शे रत ्ठातय ्थिरमासनमा्मनः।
11-12 ना्य्ु ्ि ं नात नीचं चला््नकुश८तरम ्॥११॥
रकारं मनः कृ्वा य धचते्तरयकरयाः।
उपवव्यासने य्
ु ्या्य८गमा्मववश्ु िये॥१२॥
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ
nāty-ucchritaṁ nāti-nīcaṁ cailājina-kuśottaram
tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ
upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye
śucau deśe -- in a purified place; pratiṣṭhāpya -- after situated;
sthiram -- firmly; āsanam -- seat; ātmanaḥ -- his own; na -- not;
āty -- too; ucchritaṁ nāti-nīcaṁ -- neither too high, nor too low;
cailājina-kuśottaram -- covering with soft cloth and deerskin or
kusa grass; tatra -- thereupon; ekāgraṁ -- with one pointed
attention; manaḥ -- the mind; kṛtvā -- making; yata-citta --
controlling the mind; indriya-kriyaḥ -- activities of the senses;
upaviśyāsane -- sitting on the seat; yuñjyād – should firmly,
yogam -- to practice yoga; ātma-viśuddhaye -- for purification of
the mind.
To practice yoga, one should select a solitary and purified
place, neither too high nor too low, spread kusā grass on the
ground and cover it with soft cloth or deerskin. Sitting firmly
on that seat, controlling the mind, activities of the senses, and
fixing the mind on one point, one should meditate for the
purification of the soul.
ANNOTATION: The Lord begins with the words sucau dese,
which mean ‘sanctified place’. Sanctity is found in nature
because it is isolation and unoccupied by unclean and
Dhyāna Yoga 441
contaminated human beings. Human beings in Kali-yuga (Iron

Age) are unclean in their minds and bodies. One may observe in
this connection that, wherever human existence is found, places
are contaminated by polluted desires to enjoy the body. For yoga,
cities and towns are forbidden. Teachers of professional yoga
classes are just wasting their time, if their intentions are merely
to make money and provide physical exercise, because this kind
of yoga is only performed on the physical plane. In India, one
sees yogis living in the Himalayas, Hrsikesa, and Haridwar, and
its nearby forests.
The word sthiram means ‘firm’. Its usage here is, to specify
that the āsana or seat should neither be too soft nor should it be
so high or low, so that one could fall down or be sitting in a
ditch. One should spread kusa grass and wear a deer skin or tiger
skin, which keeps snakes and other poisonous reptiles away.
Sitting upon a soft seat covered by a soft cloth, one should
withdraw the senses and free the mind from all external
distractions. One should focus the mind exclusively upon one
point, the Supersoul, until fully realizing Him. Realization of
Him entails the realization of the self.
TEXTS समं कायभशर८रीवं िारयतनचलं ्थिरः।
13-14 स्रे्य नाभसकारं थवं हदश्चानवल८कयन ्॥१३॥
रशात ा्मा ववग भीरा्मचाररर े ्थि ः।
मनः संय्य म््चत८ य्
ु आसी म्परः॥१४॥
samaṁ kāya-śiro-grīvaṁ dhārayann achalaṁ sthiraḥ
samprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśaś cānavalokayan
praśāntātmā vigata-bhīr brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ
manaḥ saṁyamya mac-chitto yukta āsīta mat-paraḥ
samaṁ -- straight; kāya-śiro-grīvaṁ -- body, head, and neck;
dhārayann -- holding; achalaṁ -- unmoving; sthiraḥ -- still;
samprekṣya -- gazing upon; nāsikāgraṁ -- at the tip of the nose;
svaṁ -- own; diśaś -- on all sides; cānavalokayan -- and not
looking; praśāntātmā -- unagitated mind; vigata-bhīr -- fearless;
brahmacāri-vrate sthitaḥ -- fixed in the vow of celibacy or free
from sex desire; manaḥ -- mind; saṁyamya -- completely

subduing; mac -- upon Me; chitto -- concentrating the mind;
yukta -- the true yogi; āsīta -- should sit; mat -- Me; paraḥ -- the
ultimate goal.
Holding the body, head and neck straight, unmoving and
stable, looking upon the tip of the nose and not looking here
and there, fixed in the vow of celibacy, with undisturbed
mind, fearless, subduing the mind completely, the yogi should
sit concentrating the mind upon Me as the ultimate Goal.
ANNOTATION: After describing the sitting position, the Lord
uses the word samam, meaning erect, to describe the correct the
posture of the body, that is, the back, neck and head. Thus, they
should never be bent or hunched. The eyes should not flutter in
different directions on objects near or far, but should fix their
focus on the tip of the nose, with eye-lids half closed. This is the
discipline for the body and eyes. The action of the mind
describes as bramachāri-vrate: one must observe strict celibacy,
which controls the ‘eightfold emotions’ related to the sex organ.
As stated in the Agni Purāna, the eightfold emotions regarding
sexuality are: thinking about sex, talking about sex, joking about
sex, envisioning sex, desiring to indulge in sex, wooing to get
one interested in sex, enticing one to be interested in having sex;
and, finally engaging with another in sex.
Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu says: “Even though a woman
be made of wood or stone, she becomes attractive when
decorated”. One becomes sexually agitated even by just glancing
at their paintings or statues.” One should not trust the mind,
which is so fickle that it can give way to enemies at any moment.
The mind is always accompanied by six such enemies: kāma,
krodha, mada, moha, mātsarya and bhaya. Meaning: lust, anger,
intoxication, illusion, envy and fear. Although the mind may be
merged in spiritual consciousness, one should always be very
careful in dealing with it, just as one is careful in dealing with a
snake. One should never think that his mind is trained and that he
Dhyāna Yoga 443
can do whatever he likes. One interested in spiritual life should

always engage his mind in the service of the Lord, so that the
enemies of the mind, who always accompany the mind, will be
subdued. If the mind is not engaged in Krishna consciousness at
every moment, there is a chance that it will give way to its
enemies. This is how we become victims of the mind.
Sometimes people claim that the purpose of life is to enjoy
the material senses, especially sex. Actually, every human
requires some sense gratification, therefore, sex is permitted.
However, it is only permitted in marriage. Outside marriage, one
should not even consider any of the eight sexual emotions. All of
these eight emotions must be stopped and completely cleansed if
one is to be considered celibate. This is the way human is
distinguished from other beings. In this way, one should yukta
asita mat-parah, sit with legs crossed in a lotus position, or half-
lotus position, and engage themselves in meditation, and become
immersed in Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. The Supersoul, an expansion of the Supreme Lord
Krishna, who is the ultimate shelter and goal of yoga, is achieved
through sincere and pure meditation. However, for those who are
already serving Krishna in devotion have already reached the
stage of perfection, for such a devotee there is no need for
performing any such yoga because devotional service to Krishna
is the greatest of all yogas.
TEXT 15 य्ु ्तनेवं सदा्मानं य८गी तनय मानसः।
शा्त ं तनवााणपरमां म्संथिामधिग्छत ॥१५॥
yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī niyata-mānasaḥ
śāntiṁ nirvāṇa-paramāṁ mat-saṁsthām adhigacchati
yunjan -- practicing; evam -- in this way; sada -- always;
ātmānaṁ -- body, mind and soul; yogi -- the mystic spiritualist;
niyata-mānasaḥ -- with a regulated mind; śāntiṁ -- peace;
nirvāṇa-paramāṁ -- cessation of material existence; mat-
saṁsthām -- the spiritual sky (the Kingdom of God);
adhigacchati -- attains.
In this way, constantly practicing control of the body, mind

and self, the mystic yogi with his mind regulated, by cessation
of material existence attains union with Me, in the spiritual
sky.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna says that without
controlling the body and mind through the yoga process, there is
no way one can achieve self-realization. Without being self-
controlled and self-realized, there is no way to enter into the
Kingdom of God or to achieve brahma nirvāna.
The Kingdom of God is situated above the covering of the
material universes, where everything is eternal, and full of bliss.
A living entity, in the material world is actually looking for the
happiness of the spiritual world, and for a way to become a spirit
soul. However, because he has forgotten his identity as the soul,
part of Krishna, he seeks the same eternity, knowledge and bliss
in material existence. This is like travelling to a desert and
expecting nectar. When one’s material senses are active, one will
achieve material gratification but not spiritual happiness.
Ignorant of the distinction between body and soul, the poor living
entity remains in a ‘material ditch’ suffering by living a material
life. Material comfort will only bind the living entity to this
material world further, perhaps perpetually. Material gratification
is, therefore, like a moth flying to the fire only to be burned.
Some hold view to the contrary, that one should enjoy the
result of one’s own karma. They are known as karma-
mimamsakas: They say that “One should not waste time
worrying about a Kingdom of God that no one has ever seen and
from which no one has ever returned. Rather, one should expertly
utilize the laws of karma by performing fruitive activities in such
a way that one will always be well situated”.
A sane living being will not be tempted by the ranting of
foolish karma-mimamsakas. Sane people must know that there
are many events taking place every second in the material world,
and that no one knows how those events are happening. Thus, it
is out of the question that the spiritual Kingdom of God should
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be understood with the material senses and mind. Consequently,

one should take shelter in the Krishna consciousness process and
serve the Supreme Lord and have full control over the mind and
senses. A devotee of Lord Krishna always engaged in His service
is automatically situated in the spiritual world.
TEXT 16 ना्य्न थ ु य८ग८ऽ्थ न चकात मन्न ः।
नचात थवतनशीलथय ्ार ८ नव चा्ुन
ा ॥१६॥
nāty-aśnatas tu yogo ’sti na caikāntam anaśnataḥ
na cāti-svapna-śīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna
nāty -- never ; aśnatas -- of one who eats too much; tu -- but;
yogo -- linking with the Supreme; ’sti -- there is; na -- nor; ca --
also; ikāntam -- overly; anaśnataḥ -- abstaining from eating; na -
- nor; ca -- also; āti-svapna-śīlasya -- too much sleeps; jāgrato --
or one who keeps insomnia; na -- not; iva -- ever; cā -- and;
arjuna -- O Arjuna.
O Arjuna there is no possibility of becoming a yogi if one
eats too much or eats too little, or sleeps too much or sleeps
too little.
ANNOTATION: A yogi has to moderate all his bodily
requirements, especially eating and sleeping. One must eat as
required to keep his body and soul together. If one does not eat at
all, one will be emaciated and not be able to meditate on the
Supreme Lord with a fixed mind. However, neither should one
eat too much. This will increase one’s body fat. Today, there are
many advertisements to reduce fat with yoga, from this verse,
one should understand that an increase of fat is from eating too
much. If one wants to reduce fat, why would they increase it by
eating too much?
In the name of material advancement there has been
improvements in the standard of eating, sleeping, sex and
recreation; all science and technology is developed and used for
these purposes. However, people should only eat food that has
been prescribed for human beings. Furthermore, before eating,
people must offer their pure and cooked food to the Supreme
Lord. They should do this every day because He supplies

everything through material nature. As Krishna says,
māyadyaksena prakriti: I am the superintendent of material
nature.
Once a singer said that “If slaughter houses had glass walls,
everyone would be a vegetarian.” According to Vedic scriptures,
it is not recommended that people eat non-vegetarian food, for
they are the flesh or the secretion of animals. Neither should
people eat eggs, for they are the sperm of male and female birds.
An animal may eat another animal, which is laws of nature. For a
human being, eating meat is imitation of wild animals except
they cook. Sophisticated materialists celebrate many festivals to
kill all these innocent beings, consume their corpses and turn
their flesh into human stool, amedhya. These foods are in the
mode of ignorance. No one who associates with the mode of
ignorance can be a karma yogi, jnāna yogi, ashtānga-yogi or
bhakti-yogi, nor by eating dead bodies can one obtain material
happiness or perfection by going back to the spiritual world. On
the onward march of the time, the miseries under went by the
animals will splash over the human beings, who committed these
violence. Due to ignorance, human beings may not see the cause
of their sufferings, but when they see things through eyes of
scriptures, they can clearly see it.
A devotee of Krishna also refuses to eat onions and garlic
because they are born of the mode of passion and ignorance.
Acidic food and unoffered food will not bring happiness in the
life of seekers of happiness. Therefore, it is advised by the Lord
to eat only freshly cooked vegetarian food that has been first
offered to the Supreme Lord. These instructions are given to
people who are looking for a great standard of happiness and joy.
If someone eats too much food, he would feel sleepy from a
heavy and stuffed belly with food. As a result, blood flows
downwards from the brain. Thus, too much eating can cause a
lack of intelligence as well as causing one to sleep too much. As
far as sleeping goes, it is recommended to sleep six hours.
Without sleep, intelligence does not work properly. Therefore,
Dhyāna Yoga 447
sufficient sleep is required to keep intelligence intact, so that a

person can do their occupational duties uninterrupted. However,
more than six hours at a time may end up keeping one in
darkness. Too much sleeping can make one dream too much, and
too much dreaming can keep one in continued sleep.
TEXT 17 य्
ु ा ारवव ारथय य्
ु चे्िथय कमास।ु
य्ु थवतनावब८िथय य८ग८ भवत दःु ख ा॥१७॥
yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā
yukta -- regulated; āhāra-vihārasya -- eating and recreation;
yukta-ceṣṭasya -- regulated self-maintenance; karmasu -- in
discharging duties; yukta -- regulated; svapnāvabodhasya -- sleep
and sleeplessness; yogo -- practice of yoga; bhavati -- becomes;
duḥkha-hā-- mitigate -- all misery.
By being regulated in the routine of eating, sleeping,
recreation, self-maintenance, and by practicing yoga, one can
mitigate all material miseries.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna says that material
misery can be caused by a person doing too much or too little
eating, too much or not enough working, having too much or too
little sleep, or having too much recreation. Many may want to
live an undisturbed life. However, for want of temporary peace
and happiness, they are unable to discipline themselves
according to scriptural regulations. This means that they are
unable to resist and regulate the demands of old routines and
habits. However, engaging in excess of anything is an
individual’s detriment. For example, mainly, it is food which
makes men active, yet, an oversupply of food in the stomach
unnecessarily makes a person lazy and sleepy. Furthermore, is
not advisable for anybody to over indulgence in work for the
purpose of accumulating wealth, in order to enjoy the body.
Krishna is emphasizing the importance of balancing one’s life in
these areas, which is a very realistic goal for people to have.
Discipline in eating, sleeping, recreation, work and meditation
becomes the universal remedy for life’s pains. Consequently, by

having such regulated activities a person will be able to practice
the royal path and prevent the endless cycle of birth and death.
However, in Kali-yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy,
people are over pleasure-seeking. They go to many fancy
restaurants, driving hundreds of miles, spending hours in eating,
sleeping and leisure. And they are always absorbed in watching
television and movies. Because of these distractions and pursuits
for enjoyment, there is no time for the true life to ever take place:
the true life of devotional service to Krishna that can provide
eternal happiness. As they are in the material world, everyone
has requirements for eating, sleeping, recreation and work.
However, for success in spiritual life, the Lord advises against
having too much of any of these.
Recreation concerns indoor and outdoor activities as well as
entertainment. People like to amuse and entertain their children,
family, friends and relatives. Actually, there are many recreation
facilities available in the subtle level, which have been created by
God. When Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya were on the planet,
They played more than five thousand sports and games in their
childhoods. But even at that small age they would not allow a
demon harm Them or Their devotees, and hence they did not
pursue their games at the cost of their duties to protect
Themselves and Their devotees. Forgetting the origin of human
existence, men have created interactive video games to forget
God and to enjoy temporary happiness, but they do not
understand that such games were already invented by Krishna.
One will be all happy when one realizes that Krishna is the origin
of everything. Therefore, eating, recreation and procreation
should all be done in Krishna consciousness.
As it is said in Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12: ānanda mayo abyasat,
the soul is hankering for pleasure that is its nature. When a living
being falls into material nature it becomes a social animal.
However, social gatherings, social or individual drinking, and
partying, is actually a perverted form of enjoyment of the
spiritual world. Yet, it is for these purposes that people work
Dhyāna Yoga 449
hard and make money. If people can bring these desires under
control by Krishna consciousness then they will become Krishna
conscious devotees. Otherwise, in the midst of material
happiness, one may not realize that death will slither inside and
take everything away. mrthyu sarva haras caham: “I (Krishna)
will snatch everything away in the form of death”.
TEXT यदा ववतनय ं धचतमा्मतयेवावत ्ठ ।े
18 तनःथप ृ ः सवाकामे्य८ य्
ु इ्य्
ु य े दा॥१८॥
yadā viniyataṁ chittam ātmany evāvatiṣṭhate
nispṛhaḥ sarva-kāmebhyo yukta ity uchyate tadā
yadā -- when; viniyataṁ -- specially disciplined; chittam -- mind;
ātmany -- solely in the soul; evā -- surely; avatiṣṭhate -- resides;
nispṛhaḥ -- devoid of any attachment; sarva-kāmebhyo -- for all
types of material desire for sense gratification; yukta -- properly
situated in yoga; ity -- thus; uchyate -- is said; tadā -- at that time.
He is said to be well situated in yoga whom by practice of
yoga, disciplines the mind and solely resides in the self,
devoid of material attachment for all types of sense
gratification.
ANNOTATION: Since, everything is a manifestation of Krishna
alone and everything is the expansion of His energy, Krishna
knows how to detach the mind from its relationship with the
objects of the senses. The sons of Lord Brahma, Sanat kumaras,
thus, requested that Lord Krishna explain the method of
controlling the mind and the objects of the senses. How, then,
can one detach the mind from sense objects? The explanation
follows:
Although living entities are eternally part and parcel of
Krishna, in conditioned life they artificially identify the soul with
the mind and body. This leads to desires for sense gratification,
which continue to harass them, but the mind and sense objects
should be rejected because they have no connection with the
soul. By doing so, one can become free from the dualities of
material existence. However, one cannot reject the action of
mind and sense objects without being engaged in yoga. By the

practice of discipline, according to specified rules and
regulations, ashtānga-yoga helps to detach the mind from its
interaction with sense objects. It eventually leads from
controlling the breath to enter into a complete meditation on the
form of the Lord. Followers of Krishna yoga or Krishna
consciousness have alternative options to this, in the form of
more directly serving the Supreme Truth, Lord Krishna. Either
way, however, one will be able to achieve the result of all yogas
and not come back to this material whirlpool. Sri Prahalad
Mahārāja has said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
sri-prahlada uvācha
sravanam kīrtanam visnuh smaranam pāda-sevanam
archanam vandanam dāsyam sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
“Hearing about and chanting the transcendental holy name, form,
qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vishnu,
remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering
the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia,
offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering
the Lord one’s best friend and surrendering everything unto Him,
serving Him with body, mind and words, a devotee is firmly
established in the beautiful form of the Lord. In the heart of the
devotee there won’t be any disturbance caused by sense objects
entering the mind”.
TEXT 19 यिा दीप८ तनवा थि८ ने्ग े स८पमा थम ृ ा।

य८धगन८ य धचतथय य्
ु ् ८ य८गमा्मनः॥१९॥
yathā dīpo nivāta-stho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā
yogino yata-cittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ
yathā dīpo -- as a lamp; nivāta-stho -- in a place without
wind; neṅgate -- does not waver; sopamā smṛtā -- this analogy is
considered; yogino -- of the yogī; yata-cittasya-- whose mind;
yuñjato -- constantly engaged; yogam -- in meditation;
ātmanaḥ -- self-realized soul.
Dhyāna Yoga 451
A lamp in a windless place does not waver. This compares

with one whose mind is constantly engaged in yoga. Such a
person remains always steady in his meditation on the
transcendental self.
ANNOTATION: One who has controlled the mind and is not
disturbed by objects of sense-gratification and is always absorbed
in devotional service of the Lord, is like a flame in a windless
place and does not waver. One is imprisoned in the material
world in the body made of fat and blood. The body is like a
vehicle, and although it is not the self, one still needs to use the
body. One must take good care of this vehicle, however one is
foolish if one only takes care of the vehicle and not the driver. It
is imperative to keep the body neat and clean because we need to
use it to reach the destination. Similarly, one must use the soul to
reach the final destination, to use the yoga system to cross the
ocean of material miseries and reconnect with God, Krishna. One
kills oneself by not succeeding in this mission of the soul. As
Isopanishad mantra three says “killer of the soul, whoever he
may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the
faithless, full of darkness and ignorance”.
TEXTS यर८परम े धचतं तनु्िं य८गसेवया।

20-23 यर चवा्मना्मानं प्यतना्मतन ्ु यत ॥२०॥
सख
ु मा्य्त कं यत्ब्
ु धिरा्यम ी्तरयम ्।
वेवत यर न चवायं ्थि ्चलत ्व ः॥२१॥
यं ल््वा चापरं लाभं मतय े नाधिकं ः।
य्थम्तथि ८ न दःु खेन गु
ु णावप ववचा्य ॥
े २२॥
ं वव्या्दःु ख संय८गववय८गं य८गसंष् म ्।॥२३॥
yatroparamate chittaṁ niruddhaṁ yoga-sevayā

yatra caivātmanātmānaṁ paśyann ātmani tuṣyati
sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam
vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś chalati tattvataḥ
yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ
yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate
taṁ vidyād duḥkha-saṁyoga- viyogaṁ yoga-saṁjñitam
yatra -- thus; paramate -- become spiritually happy; chittaṁ --

the mind; niruddhaṁ -- disciplined; yoga-sevayā -- by service of
yoga; yatra -- by this; ca -- also; aiv -- certainly; ātmanā -- by the
pure mind; ātmānaṁ -- the inner self; paśyann -- perceiving;
ātmani -- in the self alone; tuṣyati -- becomes satisfied; sukham --
happiness; ātyantikaṁ -- supreme; yat -- which; tad -- that;
buddhi-grāhyam -- perceptible by intelligence; aténdriyam --
transcendental; vetti -- one knows; yatra -- wherein; na -- never;
ca -- also; ivā -- certainly; āyaṁ -- he; sthitaś -- situated; calati --
moves; tattvataḥ -- from the truth; yaṁ labdhvā -- by attainment
of this state; ca -- also; paraṁ lābhaṁ -- any other attainment;
manyate -- considers; na adhikaṁ -- no greater; tataḥ -- than that;
yasmin sthito -- in which, being situated; na -- never; duḥkhena --
by miseries; guruṇāpi vicālyate -- severe difficulty begin slaken;
taṁ -- that; vidyād -- you must know; duḥkha-saṁyoga --
material miseries due to material contact; viyogam -- dispelled;
yoga-saṁjñitam -- called perfection in yoga.
By practice of yoga, one attains the stage of perfection in
which the mind is completely under control and free from
material activities. This stage, called samādhi or trance, is
obtained by one’s capacity to perceive the soul through a
purified mind, and to rejoice and delight in the soul. In this
happy state of life, one is established in the unlimited
spiritual bliss that is experienced by one’s spiritual senses.
After obtaining this stage he thinks there is no further gain
than this. Being situated in such a condition, despite the
utmost difficulty, the devotee does not waver. This is actual
freedom from all miseries that arise from material
association.
ANNOTATION: Earlier, the Lord presented the process of yoga
as involving the nature of one’s sitting place, how one must eat,
sleep, recreate and work, and what is required while practicing
meditation. Now, the Lord reveals the results of the process of
yoga. The mystic yogi tries to concentrate upon the Supersoul, a
partial expansion of Lord Krishna. By controlling the senses and
Dhyāna Yoga 453
stopping them from being involved in all material engagements,

such as sleeping, eating, working and recreation, he ultimately
attains samādhi. Trānce or samādhi is the complete absorption in
the form of the Lord that appears in the heart of the yogi. The
Lord is always residing in the heart, but one requires untainted
spiritual absorption to view Him.
As previously mentioned, ashtānga-yoga is very difficult
for this age of Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga is spiritually disorganized,
now the science of God is not presented properly because of
people’s preoccupation with a technological life-style.
Everything is unclear in this ‘modern’ society because people are
constantly changing their philosophies and religious faiths –
more often, due to their fluctuating mental and sensual
perceptions. Many people may thus find the ashtānga mystic
yoga practice to be difficult and challenging, but a devotee
attains trance more easily than a yogi, by constantly absorbing
the Lord’s personal features along with His holy name, fame and
pastimes.
The concentration of the mystic yogi and devotee are not on
the same in this regard. The concentration of the mystic yogi is
mechanical; whereas the pure devotee’s concentration arises
naturally, out of pure love and affection for Krishna. A mystic
yogi must put much effort and concentration into seeing Krishna
in his heart while refraining from eating and sleeping, yet a
devotee of Krishna always sees the presence of Krishna within
himself. Devotees cannot forget the Lord for a moment because
all their actions are transcendentally related to Him through
loving service, whether they are eating, sleeping, recreating or
working. This too is a trance, and is called a ‘complete trance’.
The yogi and devotee both enjoy bliss, the high quality of
spiritual pleasure beyond the material sphere – there is no
comparison to it in the material world. But the yogi enjoys
transcendental bliss through trance, while devotees enjoy
transcendental bliss in devotional service. The major difference
between the yogi and devotee is that the yogi achieves the partial
transcendental bliss after prolonged time of yogic activities, but
devotees achieve the full bliss in Krishna consciousness after a

short period of time.
TEXT 24 स तन्चयेन य८् ्य८ य८ग८ऽतनववा्णचे सा।
स्क्परभवातकामांथ्य््वा सवाानशेष ः।
मनसवे्तरयरामं ववतनय्य समत ः॥२४॥
sa niśchayena yoktavyo yogo ’nirviṇṇa-cetasā
saṅkalpa-prabhavān kāmāṁs tyaktvā sarvān aśeṣataḥ
manasaivendriya-grāmaṁ viniyamya samantataḥ
sa -- that; niśchayena -- firm determination; yoktavyo -- one’s
eternal service; yogo -- yoga system; ’nirviṇṇa-cetasā --
commitment and conviction; saṅkalpa-prabhavān -- born of
mental concoction; kāmāṁs -- material desires; tyaktvā --
renouncing; sarvān -- all; aśeṣataḥ -- completely; manasa --
solely by the mind; iva -- certainly; indriya-grāmam -- the all the
senses completely; viniyamya -- withdraw; samantataḥ -- on all
sides.
With firm determination, faith, commitment and conviction
without deviation, one must engage in the service of yoga,
suspending material desires that arise from mental
concoctions, without exception, by the mind one must control
all the senses from all sides.
ANNOTATION: Material desires for enjoyment are the primary
obstacles on the path to linking with the Supreme. Lord Krishna
has already explained that complete concentration on the soul
frees one from the desires of sense enjoyment. Yet, many
material desires pop up in the mind from past impressions, which
are stored in the subconscious state of mind. These past desires
constantly disturb conditioned souls by forming the idea that ‘I
have enjoyed these things in the past and now I would like to
enjoy new things’. The yoga process also helps one to suppress
these desires from springing up in the mind.
Lord Krishna gives advice on how to abandon the material
senses by using the words sankalpa-prabhavan, meaning, desires
of the world. The word sankalpa refers to the images of one’s
Dhyāna Yoga 455
desires, as are stored in the mind. Foolish and not satisfied

members of society desire many forms of worldly objects, and
these objects persistently play havoc in their minds. Today, it is
difficult to perform yoga, especially when living in a city
because there are so many distractions. Children are engaged in
all non-cultural and non-philosophical activities. Games and
movies are their goal after school. Young generation engaged in
the movies that glorify sexual desire, mundane sports, casinos
and bars, and put one in an intoxicated state. Mundane television
programs present envy and anger between family members, and
fights started by greed for money and illicit sexual behavior.
These themes are detrimental to one’s mentality and obstruct the
progressive path of human survival. They are a root cause of
misery and suffering. One should know that they arise from the
interactions and permutations of the modes of material nature in
the form of sense objects. One with spiritual knowledge who
contemplates the insignificance of these themes of the world
develop a distaste for engaging the body and mind in such
gratification.
It is possible to engage in the process of yoga with strong
determination, with this determination all past material desires
are removed. By the pranāyama process, by holding the breath,
the mind stops thinking of mental activities and the four armed
form of the Supersoul is conceived within the mind. Five year
old Prince Druva achieved the perfection of yoga within six
months, by seeing the Supreme Lord face to face. He achieved
this perfection by strong determination and controlled eating,
sleeping, recreation and work. Krishna explains ashtānga-yoga,
which was practiced in the golden age, Satya-yuga, some
millions of years ago. In the present age of Kali-yuga, this
meditation is almost impossible. Taking up sankirtana yajna is
the best and intelligent method which is prescribed for this age.
As it is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
krishna-varnam tvisākrishnam sāngopāngāstra-pārsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasah
“In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform

congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead
who constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although His
complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is
accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and
confidential companions.”
After all, human life is meant for pleasing Lord Krishna,
and this can easily be done by performing sankirtana-yajna.
Whenever there is congregational chanting of the holy names of
the Lord, Gaura Nārāyana, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead in His incarnation as Lord Chaitanya immediately
appears and is worshiped through sankirtana-yajna.
TEXT 25 शनःशनुपरमे्ब्
ु ्या ितृ ग ृ ी या।
आ्मसंथिं मनः कृ्वा न कक््चदवप धचत ये ्॥२५॥
śanaiḥ śanair uparamed buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā
ātma-saṁsthaṁ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api chintayet
śanaiḥ śanair -- slowly step by step; uparamed -- become
focused from within; buddhyā -- by transcendental intelligence;
dhṛti-gṛhītayā -- focused meditation; ātma-saṁsthaṁ -- situated
on the soul; manaḥ -- mind; kṛtvā -- making; na -- not; kiñcid --
anything else; api -- even; chintayet -- should think of.
By transcendental intelligence and focused absorption of the
mind within the soul with full conviction, gradually, step by
step, one should establish oneself in trance and should think
nothing else.
ANNOTATION: Here, ‘intelligent conviction’ refers to the
situation where the mind, intelligence and ego comes to the one
sublime goal without contradiction. By withdrawing all sense
objects and actions of the mind and concentrating one’s mind on
the self, with intelligent conviction, one can enter samādhi (a
trance). Krishna consciousness is the path of devotional service
to the Majestic Personality of Godhead, as is the subject of
sublime intelligent conviction. Thus, while one is awake and
active in the bhakti-yoga process, one is completely absorbed in
full meditation of Krishna.
Dhyāna Yoga 457
TEXT 26 य ८ य ८ तन्चलत मन्च्चलम्थिरम ्।

थ ८ तनय्य दा्मतयेव वशं नये ्॥२६॥
yato yato niśchlati manaś chañchalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet
yato yato -- from wherever and whatever; niśchalati -- wanders;
manaś -- the mind; chañchalam -- the agitated; asthiram --
unsteady; tatas tato -- from there; niyamya -- should be regulate;
itad -- this; ātmany -- in the soul; eva -- certainly; vaśaṁ nayet --
bring under control.
From wherever and whatever the mind wanders, due to its
agitated and unsteady nature, from there one must withdraw
and bring it back to the control of the soul.
ANNOTATION: The nature of the mind is to wander here and
there. There are objects of the outside world. There are past
impressions in the subconscious states of mind. Family activities
and problems, movie scenes and sexual thoughts; all these may
disturb a beginner yogi or a devotee beginning his yoga process.
When the mind focuses on such subjects, whether they regard
subtle or external impressions, the mind’s attention will be stuck
in that object. A yogi with intelligence should be undisturbed by
such actions of the mind, and slowly bring the mind back from
that object in order to continue the meditation on the self. The
same principle is applicable to the Krishna conscious devotees
whose minds are stolen by such illusions. They should bring
back the mind by engaging it in appropriate activities, such as:
hearing the Srimad-Bhāgavatam; chanting congregationally or
individually the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra; immersing
themselves in the form of the Lord; watching authorized Krishna
devotional serials; hearing sweet authorized Krishna devotional
music, composed by sincere devotees of the Lord and achāryas
or by doing some devotional activity that helps distracts their
minds from gross and subtle sense objects. Those who are
engaged in full-time devotional services of the Lord in the
temple, therefore, automatically attain a full engagement with the
Lord.
TEXT 27 रशात मनसं ्येनं य८धगनं सख

ु मत
ु मम ्।
उपत शात र्सं र्मभू मक्मषम ्॥२७॥
praśānta-manasaṁ hy enaṁ yoginaṁ sukham uttamam
upaiti śānta-rajasaṁ brahma-bhūtam akalmaṣam
praśānta -- tranquility; manasaṁ -- whose mind; hi -- certainly;
enaṁ -- this; yoginaṁ -- yogi; sukham -- happiness; uttamam
upaiti -- attains the highest; śānta-rajasaṁ -- free from passion;
brahma-bhūtam -- liberated by realization of the Supreme
Absolute Truth; akalmaṣam -- freed from any sinful reactions.
One who is fully fixed in his mind on linking with the
Supreme attains the highest perfection of spiritual happiness.
Being free from passion and liberated by the realization of
the Supreme Absolute Truth, he is free from all reactions of
his past sinful activities.
ANNOTATION: A peaceful being is a person who brings their
mind repeatedly under control from external disturbances and is
firmly situated in the constant absorption of their soul. In this
verse, the Lord announces that the perfection of yoga brings
freedom from the influences of passion and ignorance, and leads
to a mind that is completely equipoised and satisfied. The words
sānta-rajasam means freedom from the particles of passion
stored in the mind. The word akalmasam means free from sinful
activities. Such a person is a brahma-bhūta prasannātma,
endowed with blissful realization of the soul as being
qualitatively one with the Supreme soul, what is known as
Brahman. A first-class yogi is one who has achieved self-
realization and understands that the soul, Brahman, is eternally a
servant of Krishna, Who is known as Parabrahman. Without a
doubt, such a soul enjoys supreme bliss from this strong
relationship that is established with the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead in yoga.
TEXT 28 य्
ु ्तनेवं सदा्मानं य८गी ववग क्मषः।
सख
ु ेन र्मसंथपशाम्यत ं सख
ु म्नु ॥
े २८॥
Dhyāna Yoga 459
yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī vigata-kalmaṣaḥ

sukhena brahma-saṁsparśam atyantaṁ sukham aśnute
yuñjann -- engaging in yoga practice; evaṁ -- in this way; sadā --
constantly; ātmānaṁ -- the knowledge of the self; yogī -- one
who performs yoga; vigata -- is freed from; kalmaṣaḥ -- material
contamination; sukhena -- spiritual happiness; brahma-
saṁsparśam -- being in constant touch with the Absolute Truth;
atyantaṁ -- the highest; sukham -- happiness; aśnute -- achieves.
In this way, by constantly engaging in the yoga practice and
by being perfected in the science of the self, one is freed from
material contamination and, being constantly in touch with
the Supreme Absolute Truth, attains the highest spiritual
happiness.
ANNOTATION: The yogi who is not disturbed by sense objects
is considered self-controlled. A yogi’s absolute meditation in
realizing the soul is free from all past sinful activities and
receives infinite bliss directly from experiencing contact with the
brahma-samsparsam, and thus attaining spiritual unification with
the Supreme Majestic Lordships. A yogi is thereby liberated from
the material contamination that is characteristic of material
existence, as usually involving the violation of the laws of nature
for whimsical bodily pleasure.
As the Supreme Lord of the universe, Krishna is the purest
of all, He is the unadulterated among all other living entities.
Yogis who are in a constant trance on Him develop equality with
Him at a qualitative (not quantitative) level. The devotee who
carries out transcendental devotional service of the Supreme with
complete attention obtains perfect spiritual bliss.
TEXT 29 सवाभू थिमा्मानं सवाभू ातन चा्मतन।
ईष े य८गय्
ु ा्मा सवार समदशानः॥२९॥
sarva-bhūta-stham ātmānaṁ sarva-bhūtāni cātmani
īkṣate yoga-yuktātmā sarvatra sama-darśanaḥ
sarva-bhūta-stham -- situated in all living entities; ātmānaṁ --
the Supreme Lord; sarva-bhūtāni -- all living entities; ca -- also;

ātmani -- in the self; īkṣate -- does see; yoga-yuktātmā -- one
who is perfectly realized by devotion to the Supreme; sarvatra
sama-darśanaḥ -- seeing equally everywhere.
One who is perfectly engaged in yoga sees the Supreme Lord
situated in all living beings, certainly through their devotion,
the self-realized soul sees the same Supreme Lord
everywhere.
ANNOTATION: This verse describes: He who is brahma
samsparsanam, and is constantly in touch with the Supreme;
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Brahman Himself. A self-realized
yogi observes the presence of Lord Krishna in all beings, not in
the sense that all beings are Krishna or Nārāyana, but that they
are in possession of Krishna. Although situated in this material
world, a fully Krishna conscious person does not see anything
but Krishna, anywhere and everywhere. There are thousands of
different meditations in life that are, respectively, carried out by
the millions of different people who are absorbed in their own
consciousness. Such people may take care of animals, work in
botanical gardens, be gold smiths, diplomatic ministers, scientists
or engineers, etc., but none of these people will see the Supreme
Lord in any living entity because they are focused on their own
occupations. Yet, they are not disqualified from being a part and
parcel of Krishna either; if, while they are executing their jobs,
they think about the Supreme master, then they may become a
devotee of the Lord. This is similar to the chaste wife who, in the
midst of her busy household work, is constantly thinking of her
loving husband.
In this verse, the Lord provides an indirect refutation of the
philosophy of daridra-nārāyana (poor Nārāyana). No one except
God Himself can be God or Parabrahman, and so, contrary to this
philosophy, everyone is not God. Brahman is the individual soul
that has been expanded by the Lord for His service; therefore,
Brahman is not Krishna. isvara-paramah krishna: the Supreme
Brahman and the supreme controller alone is Lord Krishna. This
Dhyāna Yoga 461
counters the notion that service to humanity is direct service to

Krishna, the Supreme Lord. According to Lord Krishna, He is
the fountainhead of all expansions and incarnations of Vishnu
tattva. The Supersoul is the expansion of Kshīrodhakasāyi
Vishnu, and the Supersoul is situated in all living entities. It is
said in Katho Upanishad 1-2-20:
anor aniyān mahato mahiyan
ātmasya jantor nihito guhayam
tam akratuh pasyativita-sokodhatuh
prasādan mahimanamātmanah
“Both the Supersoul (Paramātma) and the atomic soul (jivātma)
are situated on the same tree of the body, within the same heart
of the living being. Only one who has become free from all
material desires as well as lamentations can, by the grace of the
Supreme, understand the glories of the soul.”
TEXT 30 य८ मां प्यत सवार सवं च मतय प्यत ।
थया ं न रण्याभम स च मे न रण्यत ॥३०॥
yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati
tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati
yo māṁ paśyati -- whoever perceives Me; sarvatra --
everywhere; sarvaṁ -- everything; ca mayi paśyati -- sees in
Me; tasya -- for him; āhaṁ -- I; na praṇaśyāmi -- am not lost; sa
ca -- he also; me -- to Me; na praṇaśyati -- is not lost.
For one who observes Me everywhere and observes
everything in Me, I am never lost, and he is never lost to Me.
ANNOTATION: It is said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam that aham vai
sarva-bhūtani butātma bhūta bhāvana: I am all beings, I am the
soul of all beings, I am the cause of all beings. The Lord is the
originator of all individual souls. He is eternal, and all living
beings are also eternal because they originate from Him.
The Supreme Lord sees everyone as a soul. Similarly, a
devotee established in devotional service, or a strict yogi
established in the yoga process (as described in this chapter), can
perceive the Lord in everyone as Paramātma. Such a person can

do this with everyone, from the highest demigod like Lord
Brahma down to an inanimate tree belong to Krishna. The yogi
sees all created beings as existing within Him, and he sees in
them the presence of the source of all souls, Krishna. A Krishna
conscious devotee is no longer lost because his vision has
become the same as God’s, and He accepts it as His own Self.
Thus, in the Garuda Purāna, it is said that “one who always
perceives the Supreme Lord equally within all beings will always
possess unshakeable devotion, for such a person, the Supreme
Lord Himself personally provides maintenance.” Furthermore, as
it is said in Chaitanya Charitamrta: sthāvara-jangama dekhe, nā
dekhe tāra mūrti, sarvatra haya nija ista-deva-sphurti, “a saintly
person or an advanced devotee sees Krishna twenty-four hours a
day and nothing else. As far as movable and inert things are
concerned, a devotee sees their dearest Supreme Lord Krishna in
them”. At this stage, Lord Krishna never disappears from the
heart of the devotee or yogi, nor does the advanced devotee ever
lose sight of the Supreme Lord, he cannot bear to live a moment
without seeing the Lord within himself.”
Losing the Lord is caused by the material conditions of life,
particularly through pride and an over-attachment to riches,
higher-education, country of birth and bad associations.
Universal love can manifest in the heart when one begins loving
the creator of universal manifestation, God. In Sanskrit language,
the word ‘praja’, or citizen, includes all living entities in
different types of bodies. Universal love must be spread to all
living entities, not just to the few human beings, whom one
knows very well. When love for Krishna is developed, one will
start seeing Him in all living entities. In Krishna yoga, one can
adjust to living in any conditions of life, whether poor or rich. In
general, when one is used to a high standard of life and then loses
everything, he will be unable to live happily in society. However,
in Krishna consciousness, one can live in any condition of life
very happily because of the perception of Krishna in all objects,
one can even see Krishna in the conditions of their poverty and
Dhyāna Yoga 463
their humility, as is contrasted with the conditions of fellow

beings.
TEXT 31 सवाभू ्थि ं य८ मां भ््येक्वमा्थि ः।
सवािा व म
ा ान८ऽवप स य८गी मतय व ा ॥
े ३१॥
sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁ yo māṁ bhajaty ekatvam āsthitaḥ
sarvathā vartamāno ’pi sa yogī mayi vartate
sarva-bhūta-sthitaṁ -- residing in the heart of all living entities;
yo -- he; māṁ -- Me; bhajaty -- rendering devotional service to
me; ekatvam -- in oneness of quality; āsthitaḥ -- taking shelter;
sarvathā -- in all respects; vartamāno -- although being situated;
api -- in spite of; sa yogī-- he, the transcendentalist; mayi vartate
-- remains in Me.
The yogi who engages in rendering devotional service to the
Supersoul understands that the Supersoul and I are one in
quality and remains always in Me in all situations.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna confirms that one
should respect all living entities by honoring the Supreme Lord
residing within each and every being. Only those devotees whose
eyes are anointed with love, through yoga or devotional service
to the Supreme Lord, can surpass all the bondage of conditioned
material vision, and establish a strong loving relationship with
Him. In that state of mind, one is not different from Krishna, in
the sense that one thinks of Krishna is ‘mine’ and recognizes that
‘I am Krishna’s’. The devotee begins to think that he and His
Lord are not different. The words ekatvam āsthtitah thus express
the meaning of ‘singularly existing’; the Supreme Lord exists in
all places as the one Lord. So it should always be acknowledged
that in all respects and situations, in the present and in the future,
the individual should perform all activities for the happiness of
the Supreme Lord. Such spiritual intelligence always leads to
spiritual enlightenment. The other meaning of these words
(ekatvam āsthtitah) is that the consciousness of the pure devotee
or pure yogi and the Supreme Lord are the same, both see the
world and created beings in the same vision of ‘oneness’. This
does not make the devotee merge into the Lord’s existence as is
thought by impersonalists and monists; it is incorrect to suppose
that while God and living entities are different in material
conditions, after liberation, they become one with God.
The word sarvathā describes how, in all circumstances, one
can achieve this perfection by karma-yoga, jnāna-yoga, dhyāna-
yoga and krishna-yoga or bhakti-yoga. If these forms of yoga
have been executed properly, one will see that Krishna and
devotees are one in quality and nature. Like the associate of
Krishna in Vrindhāvana, they do not know Krishna as God,
Krishna wants devotees to think this way - they play with Him as
He is one of them. This is the status of the most perfected
devotees and yogis. A God fearing state is inferior to the state of
an intimate relationship with God. Therefore the state, which is
fully God conscious is always protected by the Supreme Lord.
TEXT 32 आ्म९प्येन सवार समं प्यत य८ऽ्ुन

ा ।
सख
ु ं वा यहद वा दःु खं स य८गी परम८ म ः॥३२॥
ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo ’rjuna
sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ
ātma -- with the self; upamyena -- in comparison; sarvatra -- all
beings; samaṁ -- equally; paśyati -- perceives; yo -- he who;
arjuna -- O Arjuna; sukhaṁ vā-vā duḥkhaṁ -- in happiness or
distress; yadi -- if; sa -- such; yogī -- a transcendentalist; paramo
-- the highest; mataḥ -- is considered.
Taken by himself, the perfect transcendentalist considers his
welfare to be of the utmost importance, however, when
perceiving others, he considers the well-being of all living
entities as equal to his own, as regards both their happiness
and their distress.
ANNOTATION: In Srimad-Bhāgavatam 11-29-14 Lord Krishna
says:
iti sarvāni bhūtani mad bhāvena mahā-dyute
sabhājayan manymāno jnānam kevalam āsritah
Dhyāna Yoga 465
“O Uddhava, you should regard all living entities as part and

parcel of Me and offer them due respect. Indeed, such an
understanding is an attribute of a truly learned person.”
A person does not like to create difficulties and always
wishes the best for himself. In the same way, a saintly devotee or
a perfect yogi does not want to cause difficulties for anyone and
always wishes the best for all living beings. Such yogis and
devotees are completely free from desires born from passion and
ignorance and are the most exalted of all yogis.
Many saintly people may perform sacrifices for the welfare
of all living beings. However, because of previous pious or
impious activities, all people have fallen into the clutches of the
web of karmic reactions, causing both material misery as well as
sensual pleasure. These miseries and pleasures are the obstacles
on the path to establishing a relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Without establishing a relationship with the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, it is impossible to view all living entities
in the selfsame manner. Thus, it is said in Isopanishad-7: yasmin
sarvani bhūtany ātmaivabhūd vijanatah, “one who sees all living
entities as spiritual sparks and one with the Lord, becomes a true
knower of things.”
Those whose knowledge of life and death is obscured have
no idea that the highest goal of human life is to achieve self-
realization and to be conscious of the souls of all living entities.
This realization ultimately brings unity of all created beings, and
a unity and absolute harmony with the Supreme Lord. As it is
said in the Vishnu Purāna: “O Lord, it is your Personality only
which indicates Your Absolute Supreme power surrounding all
living beings in creation and because You are Omnipresent, You
are infinite and upon reaching you, liberated beings also assume
these qualities.”
TEXT 33 अ्ुन
ा उवाच
य८ऽयं य८गथ्वया र८् ः सा्येन मिुसद
ू न।
ए थया ं न प्याभम च्चल्वा््थित ं ्थिराम ्॥३३॥
arjuna uvācha
yo ’yaṁ yogas tvayā proktaḥ sāmyena madhusūdana
etasyāhaṁ na paśyāmi chañchalatvāt sthitiṁ sthirām
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; yo ayaṁ -- this system; yogas --
linking with the Supreme; tvayā -- by You; proktaḥ -- described;
sāmyena -- equality of vision; madhusūdana -- O killer of the
demon Madhu; etasya -- in this; āhaṁ -- I; na paśyāmi -- do not
see; chañchalatvāt -- due to being restless; sthitiṁ sthirām --
permanent situation.
Arjuna said: This system of yoga, the linking with the
Supreme, and the equality of vision you have described, O
Killer of the demon Madhu, is difficult to use to tame the
mind’s restless nature.
ANNOTATION: When one perfects sitting postures, eating,
sleeping, recreation and work, after hundreds of years of practice,
they may be able to bring equanimity of the mind and gain the
vision that within all bodies are spirit souls, qualitatively equal
with the Supersoul. However, the dhyāna-yoga system was
impractical for Arjuna five thousand years ago, at the impending
start of the Mahābhārata war, due to his insufficient patience,
tolerance, the lack of a pure place to use at that particular
moment, the lack of an ensured long life and sufficient time, and
the inability to achieve pure thinking in the face of his troubles.
Arjuna expressed his anxiety and concern about the
impracticality of this yoga and how he could not control his mind
because of its restless nature. This is not to speak of modern life,
our situation today, where a misguided civilization of
materialistically driven people constantly run after bodily
pleasures, day and night.
TEXT 34 च्चलं ह मनः कृ्ण रमाधि बलव्ृढम ्।

थया ं तनर ं मतये वाय८ररव सद
ु ्ु करम ्॥३४॥
chañchalaṁ hi manaḥ krishna pramāthi balavad dṛḍham
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣkaram
Dhyāna Yoga 467
chañchalaṁ hi -- certainly restless; manaḥ -- mind; krishna -- O

Krishna; pramāthi -- turbulent; balavad -- strong; dṛḍham --
inflexible; tasya -- its; āhaṁ -- I; nigrahaṁ -- subduing; manye --
think; vāyor iva -- than the wind; su-duṣkaram -- more difficult.
O Krishna, the mind is flickering, turbulent, inflexible and
very strong, and I think to control it is more difficult to
control than the wind.
ANNOTATION: According to Katho Upanishad, the mind is the
rein of the chariot of the body, intelligence is the driver or
charioteer, the senses are its horses, and the soul is the passenger.
If one asks his charioteer to take him to a Srimad-Bhāgavatam
discourse as given by a vaishnava devotee, the charioteer will
take him there because he has the reins in his hand, which are
yoked with the five horses of the senses. If one asks the
charioteer to take him to a restaurant or bar, he will take there
too. The charioteer’s business is to drive the owner wherever one
asks him to go. However, it is possible to lose the ability to
govern the drives of the senses with one’s intelligence and mind;
the charioteer may be incapable of taming the horses (the senses)
using his reins (the mind). This can happen voluntarily too, in the
case that one with intelligence lets loose the reins of the mind. In
this case, the senses, the horses, will no longer be controlled.
Either way, whether intentional or not, uncontrolled senses will
lead to one’s complete ruin.
The mind can be our enemy, but if it is in our control it can
be our best friend. All yoga processes work to control
intelligence, the mind and the senses, and to fix them on the form
of the Supreme Lord. The mind being, born of the mode of
goodness, needs to be controlled carefully by intelligence. Even
in normal and ordinary activities, the restless mind escapes all
attempts to focus on a specific idea for too long. All of a sudden,
the mind disappears from meetings and conferences without the
person’s knowledge. So, if this is the case in ordinary activities,
what can we assume will happen when takes on the difficult task
of focusing the mind exclusively on the soul? The people of the
world engage in millions of different body-centered activities.

They always have enemies and unfavorable situations; in these
circumstances, controlling the speed of the wind may be easier
than controlling the speed of the mind.
There are many yoga classes that claim that the concept of
meditation is ‘a piece of cake’. Such unsophisticated bluffers are
ordinary thieves who like to plunder wealth from people for a
living. Meditating on the void or some desired deities, is not the
main object of dhyāna-yoga. The goal of meditation is to attain
equanimity of the mind, which enables one to perceive the soul
in all beings and to envision the Supersoul. There are set
regulations, which Krishna has explained to Arjuna to obtain
these results, but these regulations are Arjuna’s main concern.
The Lord did not choose any sages or rshis to explain the
scientific knowledge of Bhagavad-Gītā, He chose Arjuna, His
great friend and devotee. Had the Lord chosen a sage, such a
person may well have been capable of carrying out the method of
dhyāna-yoga without difficultly, but this may have been of
limited use to us. For us today, so-called meditators only know
what they are meditating on and how much limited control they
have on their body and mind. The mind is like a movie screen,
where past activities keep playing; such as, office work, past
sexual activities and their corollaries, movies, music, fights,
relationships, eating in restaurants, and romance, etc. As Arjuna
said, several centuries ago, he could not control the mind, and
that controlling the mind is more difficult than trying to put a
whirlwind in a pot.
TEXT 35 रीभगवानव ु ाच
असंशयं म ाबा ८ मन८ दतु नार ं चलम ्।
अ्यासेन ु क९त य
े वरा्येण च ग्
ृ य ॥
े ३५॥
srī-bhagavān uvācha
asaṁśayaṁ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṁ chalam
abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate
śrī-bhagavān uvācha -- the Majestic Personality of Godhead
Dhyāna Yoga 469
said; asaṁśayaṁ -- without doubt; mahā-bāho -- O Powerful

one; mano -- the mind; durnigrahaṁ -- difficult to come out;
chalam -- flickering; abhyāsena -- by practice; tu -- but; kaunteya
-- O son of Kunti; vairāgyeṇa -- by renunciation of sense
gratification; ca gṛhyate -- also can be so controlled.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead replied: O
powerful Arjuna, undoubtedly, the flickering mind is very
difficult to control, but it can be controlled by suitable
practice and detachment from sense gratification.
ANNOTATION: The mind of the conditioned soul is always
restless and eager to direct the senses in the direction of sense
objects. It can be very difficult when one first tries to control the
mind. Because of bad habits of the past, the mind may become
twice as restless when one attempts to restrict it from material
enjoyment. The urge for material enjoyment is so strong that the
mind can easily become carried away by thoughts. In this
situation, one should control the mind by allowing it to have a
little gratification in a way that is not contrary to religious
principles. Although the tendency of the mind is to wander
everywhere seeking material enjoyment, one must always bring
it back to the practice of self-realization by means of steady
intelligence. When one develops detachment from material
enjoyment, he will naturally want to control his senses, and his
mind will gradually become more and more peaceful.
By cultivating Krishna consciousness, one realizes his
constitutional position and surpasses the platform of temporary
material enjoyment. This completely purifies the heart. If the
mind is always engaged in activities of Krishna consciousness, it
will be restrained from thoughts of sense gratification. The mind
is naturally attached to the objects of the senses, so unless one is
careful to control the mind, advancement on the path of self-
realization will be hampered. The sages explain this in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 1-2-6:
vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogah prayojitah
janayaty āsu vairāgyam jnam ca yad ahaitukam
“By rendering devotional service unto the Majestic Personality of

Godhead, Sri Krishna, one immediately acquires causeless
knowledge and detachment from the world.”
TEXT 36 असंय ा्मना य८ग८ द्ु राप इत मे मत ः।
व्या्मना ु य ा श्य८ऽवात म
ु प
ु ाय ः॥३६॥
asaṁyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ
vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo ’vāptum upāyataḥ
asaṁyatātmanā -- unbridled by the mind; yogo -- self-realization;
duṣprāpa -- difficult to obtain; iti -- thus it is; me -- My; matiḥ --
opinion; vaśyātmanā -- controlled mind; tu -- but; yatatā -- in
this endeavor; śakyo -- is practical; vāptum -- to achieve;
upāyataḥ -- by appropriate means.
It is My opinion that for one whose mind is unbridled, self-
realization is difficult to obtain. But for one whose mind is
restrained and who endeavors by suitable means, success is
assured.
ANNOTATION: Trying to practice any yoga while engaging the
mind and senses for mental and sense gratification is like trying
to ignite a fire while pouring water on it. The mind is a difficult
and imperceptible sense to see, control and direct, and its nature
is fickle and passionate, it is hard to deny. The mind is a subtle
element that is centered on the senses, and is like a lion which is
difficult to tame. Yet, there is a science to lion-taming: when a
lion is caught, it is put in a prison wall without food and water
for a number of days. Sometimes the lion keeper appears with a
whip in hand, and the hungry and thirsty lion is repeatedly
whipped. After sometime of suffering from hunger, thirst and
pain, the man throws meat to the lion. Then, the lion comes to
believe ‘this man is my savior and master’ and he becomes
obedient and loyal to his master. A similar method can be used to
control the mind. One should not supply desired food or drink to
the senses for a certain number of days, this is called fasting or
austerity, which is one of the principal pillars of religion. By not
Dhyāna Yoga 471
eating for a prescribed number of days, one will be emaciated,

then the mind will be unable to create false notions and desires.
While practicing austerity, one should positively cultivate
devotional service prescribed by Lord Krishna in Krishna
consciousness, attached to the Lotus feet of the Lord. By taming
and controlling the mind and senses, one will attain self-
realization, and success is sure for him.
TEXT 37 अ्न
ुा उवाच
अयत ःर्िय८पे ८ य८गा्चभल मानसः।
अरातय य८गसंभस्धिं कां गत ं कृ्ण ग्छत ॥३७॥
arjuna uvācha
ayatiḥ śraddhayopeto yogāc calita-mānasaḥ
aprāpya yoga-saṁsiddhiṁ kāṁ gatiṁ krishna gacchati
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; ayatiḥ -- the unsuccessful
transcendentalist; śraddha -- with faith; yupeto -- engaged; yogāc
calita -- deviated from the yoga process; mānasaḥ -- who has
such a mind; aprāpya -- failing to attain; yoga-saṁsiddhiṁ -- the
highest perfection in yoga; kāṁ gatiṁ -- what is the destination;
krishna -- O Krishna; gacchati -- achieves.
Arjuna asked: O Krishna, what is the fate of an unsuccessful
spiritualist, who has practiced mysticism with faith, and later
deviates from the yoga process and fails to achieve the highest
perfection? What is his destination?
ANNOTATION: Devotees of the Lord and dhyāna-yogi do not
perform their yoga processes in order to realize the body, but to
realize the soul. To do this, such mystics must have
transcendental knowledge of the soul, body and Supersoul. While
still in the process of achieving self-realization, some may be
negligent in their practice because of bad habits from the past,
they may fail to complete their devotional life and instead, may
decide to return to their previous materialistic life. Because the
material world is controlled by Vishnu māya, the illusory energy
of Lord Krishna, and because devotional service is foreign to the
conditioned soul, it is natural for practitioners to quit devotional

service and take up materialistic life again. To prevent this, the
conditioned soul must be educated in the transcendental science
of devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead.
Lord Krishna is māyapathi, master of illusory energy.
During the time of Mahābhārata, many foolish generals thought
Krishna was a magician using magic, and that they could
counteract all of His illusions with their weapons. Due to
insufficient knowledge and sinful activities they could not
recognize the Supreme Person for who He was, the Supreme
Lord of everything. In a study of India, the Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) recognized Krishna as the greatest of all
politicians. Of course, Lord Krishna, being God, should have the
Supreme position in all departments of knowledge, but why do
they only recognize His position in politics? They do not know
that when Krishna was around 11 years old, in His human
pastimes, He mastered 64 departments of knowledge in 64 days.
Who can compete with the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead? However, His devotees know Krishna in truth, tattva.
A mystic and devotee of the Lord may still, however,
become distracted from Krishna consciousness because of past
misdeeds or may fail to control the mind and senses. For one
who is not serious in the yoga practice and takes devotional
service lightly without complete faith, past material pleasures
may taunt him from their place in the subconscious state of mind.
This may loosen the desire for the devotional process and allow
one to slide away from devotional practice to serve māyadevi, the
illusory energy, instead of māyapathi, master of the illusory
energy, Lord Krishna. Therefore, in this verse, Arjuna is asking
Krishna, what will become of imperfect spiritualist and how their
devotional service has affected their destiny?
TEXT 38 क््चतन८भयववर्ि््छतनारभमव न्यत ।

अरत ्ठ८ म ाबा ८ ववमढ
ू ८ र्मणः पधि॥३८॥
Dhyāna Yoga 473
kacchin nobhaya-vibhraṣṭaś chinnābhram iva naśyati

apratiṣṭho mahā-bāho vimūḍho brahmaṇaḥ pathi
kacchin -- whether; na -- not; nobhaya-vibhraṣṭaś -- both
deviated from; chinnābhram -- broken cloud; iva -- like; naśyati -
- perishes; apratiṣṭho -- without any position; mahā-bāho -- O
mighty armed Krishna; vimūḍho -- bewildered; brahmaṇaḥ pathi
-- on the path to transcendence.
O mighty armed Lord, such a spiritualist, who is confused in
the path of mysticism, does he lose success in both material
and spiritual gains and be lost like a fragmented cloud,
without a position in the sky?
ANNOTATION: Consider the following two types of people
endeavoring to be successful. The first is trying to act on the
material level by following ritualistic activities. These people
hope to be promoted to the heavenly planets for enjoyment or try
to become successful on the material life through economic
development to enjoy their mind and senses in this world. The
second type of people give up all material duty and take up the
process of yoga for achieving self-realization. Consequently,
they achieve liberation from this transient world and enter into
the universe, where God eternally resides.
As mentioned above, sometimes a person of the second
category may fail to achieve perfection in the yoga system. Such
a person loses both materially and spiritually. He is, then, like a
cloud detached from a bigger cloud, floating in the sky without
shelter. The word apratishthah here means without any position;
these clouds, these people, will be driven away by the wind and
will eventually be lost. An aspirant without material success or
perfection in the yoga process, loses both material and spiritual
success. What will be his destination? Can he surpass death,
achieve the Kingdom of God? Does he have any hope in the
future? These are the questions asked of the Lord by Arjuna,
calling Him ‘O mighty armed Krishna’.
TEXT 39 ए तमे संशयं कृ्ण छे तम
ु ाथयशेष ः।
्वदतयः संशयथयाथय छे ता न ्यप ु प्य ॥
े ३९॥
etan me saṁśayaṁ krishna chettum arhasy aśeṣataḥ

tvad-anyaḥ saṁśayasyāsya chettā na hy upapadyate
etan me -- this is my; saṁśayaṁ -- doubt; krishna -- O Krishna;
chettum -- to dispel; arhasy -- You are requested; aśeṣataḥ --
completely; tvad -- than You; anyaḥ -- other; saṁśayasy -- of the
doubt; āsya -- this; chettā -- remover; na -- never; hy -- certainly;
upapadyate -- is to be found.
O Krishna, this is my doubt, and I am requesting You to
completely dispel it. Other than you, I have found no one who
can remove my doubt.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is Omniscient, Omnipresent and
Omnipotent, He knows the actions of all living entities who have
undergone billions of lives in various life forms. With such
complicated questions, only Krishna can provide a clear answer.
In the past, great sages and powerful demigods have taken the
shelter of Krishna for all kinds of solutions. There is no one
equal to or greater than Lord Krishna.
Krishna was born with symbols on His Lotus feet: a club, a
lotus, discs, a conch shell, as well as bows and arrows, etc. The
people of Vrindhāvana were amazed to see this unique bluish
boy, and to see that He was not even connected to His mother by
an umbilical cord. Within a few days of His birth a gigantic
demoness arrived in the guise of a beautiful angel. She came to
kill Him, and pushed her poisonous nipples in the mouth of
Krishna. Krishna immediately bit with anger and began sucking
her nipples along with the life out of her body, so that she
couldn't kill any more babies. Many more powerful demons
arrived to kill Krishna, when He was an infant, and all were sent
to the house of the Lord of death. Another demon, Kamsa, saw
Krishna in every object, including in his drinking water, and even
saw Krishna as his death personified. Finally, Kamsa was killed
by Krishna, when He turned 11 years old. Arjuna, with
possession of these facts about Krishna’s life, believed that if He
could perform these miraculous victories and vanquish His
assassins, then He should also be able to remove Arjuna’s
insignificant doubts.
Dhyāna Yoga 475
ु ाच
पािा नवे नामर
ु ववनाशथ थय वव्य ।े
न ह क्याण कृ्क््च्दग
ु ता ं ा ग्छत ॥४०॥
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṁ tāta gacchati
Godhead said; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; naiveha -- never is it so;
iha -- in this world; nāmutra -- nor in the next life; vināśas --
destruction; tasya -- his; vidyate -- exists; na -- never; hi --
certainly; kalyāṇa-kṛt -- one who is engaged in auspicious
activities; kaścid -- anyone; durgatiṁ -- to degradation; tāta --
My friend; gacchati -- goes.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: O son of
Pritha, a spiritualist engaged in virtuous activities does not
face ruin either in this life or in the next life; one who
performs good, My dear friend, is not overcome by evil.
ANNOTATION: There is some significance to the way that Lord
Krishna addresses Arjuna here. He reassures Arjuna with the
affectionate title ‘dear friend’, as well as referring to Arjuna’s
mother, whom was also Krishna’s father’s sister. Thus, Krishna
is also reminding Arjuna that they are cousins, and that they are
connected in many ways. With this loving attitude, the Lord
confirms that because the transcendentalist executes devotional
activities for the welfare of the world, he will experience
degradation in this life or in the next. A transcendentalist does
not harm any living entity, or commit sinful activities. He seeks
perfection by trying to control his mind and senses to achieve
self-realization by fixating on the Lotus feet of the Supreme
Majestic Lord. Such a person has to quit karma, the activity
described in the Vedic texts to ascent to heaven, and engage in
yogic meditation in order to transfer to the spiritual world. A
devotee who does this, does not lose anything in this world.
In chapter 2 verse 40, Krishna says nehabhikrama-naso 'sti

pratyavayo na vidyate sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trayate
mahato bhayāt: ‘in this endeavor there is no loss or dwindling,
and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the
most dangerous type of fear, which is death’. This explains that
one who starts down the path of devotional service does not lose
their place in their path, even when they die. For example, in this
life, when a devotee or yogi renders ten percent of devotional
service or meditation with strict vows, in the next life the devotee
or yogi will resume their place by starting at the same point, in
earning the next point on the path, the eleventh percentage.
This is a unique feature about the path of a devotee or yogi,
for even when worshiping demigods, one has to complete rituals
for them to be fruitful and for performers to receive benediction.
Similarly, in the material life, one has to be fully successful
otherwise in their investments and endeavors for them to pay off;
for example, a farmer must sow his crops, nurture them, harvest
them and finally sell them before he makes a profit. In complete
ritualistic activity for Krishna, alternatively, will produce
reactions for the worshipper, even when they do not execute
them properly.
This relation to the worship of Krishna also works in the
opposite way, for if one seeks enjoyment that is independent of
the Supreme Lord this too will create reactions, though in a
negative sense. And this is so even if one is unsuccessful in
seeking this enjoyment. This is like a thief who goes to the
market to steal, but is caught before he completes his crime; the
thief is still bound to be punished for his attempts despite his lack
of criminal success.
As prescribed by the Vyāsa deva in Srimad-Bhāgavatam- 1-
5-18, the safest path for a person is devotional service to Lord
Krishna:
tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
Dhyāna Yoga 477
“People who are actually intelligent and philosophically inclined

should endeavor only for that purposeful end which is not
obtainable wandering even from the topmost planet (Brahma
loka) down to the lowest planet (Patāla loka). As far as happiness
derived from sense enjoyment is concerned, it can be obtained
automatically in the course of time as we obtain miseries
progressively even though we do not desire them.”
TEXT 41 रातय प् ु यकृ ां ल८कानवु ष्वा शा्व ीःसमाः।
शचु ीनां रीम ां गे े य८गर्ि८ऽभभ्ाय ॥ े ४१॥
prāpya puṇya-kṛtāṁ lokān uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
śuchīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo ’bhijāyate
prāpya -- after achieving; puṇya-kṛtāṁ -- of those who
performed virtuous activities; lokān -- the planets; uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ
-- after residing many; samāḥ -- years; śuchīnāṁ -- of the
righteous brāhmanas; śrīmatāṁ -- aristocratic or prosperous;
gehe -- in the house; yoga-bhraṣṭo -- one who has fallen from the
path of yoga; abhijāyate -- takes his birth.
The yogi who has failed in the yoga system, after many years
of enjoyment on the heavenly planets of the righteous living
entities, is born to a family of pious brāhmana, or rich
aristocracy.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord explains what happens to
a person who does not perform meditation as per the correct rules
and regulations of yoga, or who, after a short period of practice
as a yogi, goes back to material life because of material desires or
because he could not develop a taste for meditation, thinking that
it is a waste of time. It must be understood that despite
abandoning the path of meditation such a person never meets a
wicked destiny. But what, then, would happen to them? The
merciful Supreme Absolute Lord explains that after death, by the
power of the unsuccessful yogi or devotee’s temporary
meditation, he will reside in a heavenly region where everything
is effortlessly abundant. After enjoying such heavenly pleasures
for long time, he will once again take birth on earth, but this time
in a pious and wealthy aristocratic family or in the wise and
civilized family. From there, the previously unsuccessful yogi or
devotee will resume their devotional or yoga practices from
where they left off in their earlier life (before ascending to
heaven).
TEXT 42 अिवा य८धगनामेव कुले भवत िीम ाम ्।

ए ्धि दलु भ
ा रं ल८के ्तम यदीृशम ्॥४२॥
atha vā yoginām eva kule bhavati dhīmatām
etad dhi durlabha-taraṁ loke janma yad īdṛśam
atha vā -- or; yoginām -- of learned spiritualist; eva -- certainly;
kule -- in the family; bhavati -- takes birth; dhīmatām -- endowed
with great wisdom; etad -- this; dhi -- certainly; durlabha-taraṁ -
- is very rare; loke -- in this world; janma -- a birth; yad -- that
which; īdṛśam -- like this.
Or, he takes his birth in a family of spiritualists who are
endowed with great wisdom. Certainly, such a birth as this is
very rare in this world.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord explains further about
the destiny of devotee, this time regarding one who had practiced
yoga for long time, but had failed to achieve perfection. The
Lord says that the failed devotee will take birth in a family of
very advanced vaishnavas or transcendentalists with great
wisdom. There are still many devotee families, by Krishna’s
mercy. Long practiced devotees take birth in these families and
receive proper training in Vedic knowledge and in devotion to the
Supreme Person. This is was the case for His Divine Grace
Bhaktisiddhanda Saraswati Thakura, His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedānta Swāmi Prabhūpāda, and his humble disciple and
my spiritual master His Divine Grace Bhaktisvarupa Dāmodara
Swāmi, who were all born in vaishnava families. After they were
trained and initiated by similar bonafide spiritual masters, they
become spiritual masters and were given the opportunity to
Dhyāna Yoga 479
spread the message of the Supreme Lord all over the world. A
birth such as this is rare in the material world, and foolish people
does not appreciate or comprehend such marvelous arrangements
made by the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna, for His saintly representatives.
TEXT 43 र ं ब्
ु धिसंय८गं लभ े प९वादेह कम ्।
य े च ८ भय
ू ः संभस्ि९ कुुनतदन॥४३॥
tatra taṁ buddhi-saṁyogaṁ labhate paurva-dehikam
yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana
tatra -- thereupon; taṁ -- that; buddhi-saṁyogaṁ-- of spritiual
consciousness; labhate -- regains; paurva-dehikam -- from the
previous body; yatate -- he endeavors; ca -- also; tato --
thereafter; bhūyaḥ -- once again; saṁsiddhau -- for perfection;
kuru-nandana -- O beloved son of Kuru.
O son of the Kuru dynasty, thereupon he regains spiritual
consciousness from his previous life, and thereafter, he will
again become determined to gain spiritual perfection.
ANNOTATION: Krishna’s appearance in the Yadu dynasty was
not by force, but by His own choice as the Absolute Personality
of Godhead. At that time, the Lord also made His servants to be
born to different families, so that they could assist Him in His
mission. Similarly, by Krishna’s will, many of His devotees and
yogis are born in different parts of the world on an ongoing basis,
just as the many vaishnava achāryas born into families of greater
wisdom in transcendental subject matters. Consider the achārya
Srila Prabhūpāda, a spiritual master who is free to deliver fallen
souls from the clutches of illusion, with the purity of devotion for
the Supreme Lord Krishna. After reviving his divine Krishna
consciousness by the mercy of his spiritual preceptor, Srila
Prabhūpāda travelled and revived others dormant divine Krishna
consciousness. By doing this, He initiated the sankirtana
movement of Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu in Western countries,
fostered many spiritual masters there and engaged them in the
preaching activities of reviving the divine consciousness of even
more souls.
The mission of Krishna is the ongoing distribution of

devotional practice for everybody to perfect them in this life and
send them to the ultimate spiritual abode where Rādha and
Krishna reside eternally, the universe of Golokha Vrindhāvana.
TEXT 44 पव
ू ाा्यासेन न
े व हरय े ्यवश८ऽवप सः।
्््ासरु वप य८गथय श्दर्मात व ा ॥
े ४४॥
pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ
jijñāsur api yogasya śabda-brahmātivartate
pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva – certainly by previous practice; hriyate -
- is attracted; hy -- surely; avaśo -- is irresistibly; api saḥ -- also
he; jijñāsur api -- even inquisitive; yogasya -- about yoga; śabda-
brahmā -- ritualistic principles of fruitive actions in the Vedās;
ātivartate -- transcends.
By the quality of the godly consciousness held in the previous
life, the yogi irresistibly becomes attracted to the yogic
doctrines without seeking them, such a curious spiritualist
transcends the ritualistic principles of fruitive actions of the
Vedās.
ANNOTATION: The spirit soul has two bodies: the sukshma
sarira, the subtle body; and, the sthula sarira, the gross body.
After leaving the gross body at its death, the subtle body which is
headed by the mind goes to another gross body. This happens
under the direction of the Supersoul, the plenary expansion of
Lord Krishna, and witness and sanctioner of all actions of the
living entity, who is cognizant of the whole cosmic
manifestation, including the hearts of all living entities.
According to karma and thus based on the performance of
spiritual activities (pūrvaabhyāsena) an unsuccessful yogi’s
divine consciousness is revived and he is spontaneously attracted
to the practice of various yogic or devotional principles. This
happens because just as all incidents of material activities are
stored in the mind, and previous spiritual activities are also
stored in the minds of all devotees and yogis at a subconscious
Dhyāna Yoga 481
level. By the mercy of the Lord, the devotee will, then, get the
same chance to perform devotional service from where he left off
his unfinished devotional service in his previous life. Such a yogi
or devotee will always be transcendentally situated and have no
attraction towards any sabda brahma, the ritualistic ceremonies
performed by various divisions of human society.
TEXT 45 रय्ना्य मानथ ु य८गी संश्
ु िकक््बषः।
अनेक्तमसंभस्िथ ८ यात परां गत म ्॥४५॥
prayatnād yatamānas tu yogī saṁśuddha-kilbiṣaḥ
aneka-janma-saṁsiddhas tato yāti parāṁ gatim
prayatnād -- by practice; yatamānas tu -- and honest endeavor;
yogī -- such a transcendentalist; saṁśuddha-kilbiṣaḥ -- all of
whose sins washed off; aneka-janma -- after so many births;
saṁsiddhas -- having achieved perfection; tato -- thereafter; yāti
-- attains; parāṁ gatim -- the Supreme goal, Kingdom of God.
To perfect the yoga process, a yogi engages himself in an
honest attempt to make further advancement, purified from
worldly attractions, after so many births as practice, he will
ultimately achieve perfection. Thereafter, he attains the
Kingdom of God.
ANNOTATION: It may be natural for a child to fall while
walking, but repeating several times, he ultimately a steady
walker. Similarly, the Lord explains, yogis may take more than
one life, and may take possibly many many lives to complete
their yogic practices or devotional service, before they finally
achieve the supreme destination, the Vaikuṇṭha planets. These
planets are so named as ‘vai’ means ‘without’ and ‘kuntha’
means ‘anxiety’; they are planets, spiritual worlds, without
anxiety. They constitute the Kingdom of God. The main reason
people fail in the yoga process is material contamination.
Everyone is attracted to foul non-vegetarian foods, to digest they
consume intoxication and have unrestricted sex whether direct or
exhibited on screens. These things pollute one’s consciousness,
they distract attention away from the self and place attention on
bodily demands and other externalities. Hence, Sri Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu asks us to clean our consciousness as ceto darpana
marjanam, the dust on the mirror must be cleaned to see our face.
Similarly, unless men purify their heart by chanting the Holy
name of the Lord sincerely and constantly, it will not be possible
to purify their minds. Without chanting the holy name, it is not
possible to attain the lotus feet of Krishna, the supreme goal.
TEXT 46 प्थव्य८ऽधिक८ य८गी ्ातन्य८ऽवप म ८ऽधिकः।

कभमा्य्चाधिक८ य८गी थमा्य८गी भवा्ुना ॥४६॥
tapasvibhyo ’dhiko yogī jñānibhyo ’pi mato ’dhikaḥ
karmibhyaś cādhiko yogī tasmād yogī bhavārjuna
tapasvibhyo -- than the performer of penance and austerities;
adhiko -- greater; yogī -- the transcendentalist; jñānibhyo -- than
the empirical philosophers; api -- also; mato adhikaḥ --
considered greater; karmibhyaś -- than the fruitive workers;
cādhiko -- more than; yogī -- the transcendentalist; tasmād --
therefore; yogī -- a transcendentalist; bhava -- just become;
ārjuna -- O Arjuna.
O Arjuna, a yogi [transcendentalist] is greater than the
performer of penances and austerities, he is greater than
empirical philosophers, and greater than the fruitive
workers. Therefore, become a yogi.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord explains the rank of a
yogi who has taken dhyāna-yoga as the goal of life. Generally,
ascetics perform ritualistic penances, tapasvibhyah, like
chandrāyana vrta, fasting with the cycles of the moon and
agnihotra sacrifices. There is also jnānebyo, the jnānis, and
empiricists who study Vedic philosophy to realize Brahman
effulgence and merge into it. Additionally, there are materialists
or karmibhyah who perform Vedic injunctions with the intention
of desiring fruitive results such as being reborn in pitr-loka and
svargaloka, the planet of forefathers and the heavenly planets.
Dhyāna Yoga 483
These fruitive workers do many great things: they built and

maintain houses for homeless children and adults; they dig wells
in different villages to supply water for the villagers and
travelers; they build schools and hospitals for giving free
education and treatment; and they open guest houses for travelers
and free food for pilgrims. However, a yogi is topmost of all
these fruitive workers, ascetics and empiricists because of his
desire to obtain self-realization in connection with Krishna. Once
this connection is established and perfected, then the yogi’s
vision changes and becomes equivalent to the Supreme Absolute
Lord’s vision of the universes and its created beings. Therefore,
the Supreme Lord asks Arjuna to be a yogi in all circumstances.
Apart from the above mentioned practitioners, there are also
karma-yogis, jnāna-yogis, dhyāna-yogis and bhakti-yogis. In the
next verse Krishna explains who is the topmost of all yogis.
TEXT 47 य८धगनामवप सवेषां म्ग न
े ात रा्मना।
र्िावातभ् े य८ मां स मे य्
ु म८ म ः॥४७॥
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
yoginām-sarveṣāṁ -- among all the yogis; api -- also; mad-
gatena -- residing in me with the heart; antar-ātmanā -- always
thinking of Me; śraddhāvān -- in full faith; bhajate -- renders
transcendental loving service; yo -- one; māṁ -- to Me (to
Krishna); sa -- he; me -- by Me; yukta-tamo -- the greatest of all;
mataḥ -- is considered.
Among all the yogis, the one who is with full faith and is
always residing in Me, thinking of Me within himself and
engages in My loving devotional service, I consider him to be
the greatest of all.
ANNOTATION: A yogi is he who always thinks of Krishna in
his heart and adores Him, dhyānavastita tad gatena manasah
pasyanti yam yoginah. Such yogis are always pure in nature and
can deliver many millions of conditioned souls. There are,
however, yogis who demonstrate to others their mystic opulence

and miracles by different means like reading into one’s past and
future lives and predicting everything that is going to happen in
one’s house. They want to assume God’s position and do such
things to attract innocent people, so that they can show off the
stolen opulences of God to the public for their cheap adoration.
These yogis are compared to a thief who steals money from one
town and poses as a very charitable or rich man in another town.
However, here, in this verse, yoginam means more than just
being a yogi: it means being a special yogi, being one who is
above all other yogis, such as the karma, jnāna, mystic and
ashtānga-yogis.
The yogi indicated in this verse does not fall into one of
these four classifications just mentioned. The words api
sarvesam means amongst all types. It refers to those additional
yogis, which follow the yoga paths of karma, jnāna, tapasya, and
ashtānga. Rather, the special yogi is a loving devotee of the
Supreme Lord. Compared to a special yogi, all other yogis are
inferior and can be grouped into a single class. The comparison
between that special yogi and the single class of all the other
yogis is like comparing the Himalaya Mountains to a handful of
mustard seeds: upon close inspection of mustard seeds, there are
certainly differences between one seed and another, but such
differences between seeds cannot be compared to the difference
between the collection of seeds and the Himalaya Mountains.
In the word ātmana, the word ‘mana’ means giving one’s
heart, mind, body and soul in devotion, while over-flowing with
love for the Supreme Lord. This dedication is extraordinary, it
glorifies and distinguishes one from all other yogis. The Lord is
the well-wishing friend of all living entities, and for their benefit,
He imparts instructions on devotional service to His empowered
representatives such as Nārada Muni. The Lord is the bestower
of the fruits of everyone’s activities because He is the supreme
controller, but in particular, He fulfills all the desires of His
devotees. The Lord showered great compassion upon devotees
such as Bali Mahārāja and Prahlada Mahārāja. Knowing this,
who would want to abandon Him? Only the most fallen, dry, and
Dhyāna Yoga 485
ungrateful yogis reject the service of the Supreme Majestic

This distinction between special and normal yogis is
reflected in the following passages. As Sri Dattatreya, an
incarnation of the Supreme Lord Krishna, states: “The Supreme
Lord is installed directly in the center of a vaishnava community
as the leading member and is thus lovingly and devotedly
worshipped as such.” As the Garuda Purāna states: “In
comparison to all yogis, meditation on Supreme Absolute Truth
is 100,000 times superior to meditation on others.” Moreover, as
the Nārada Purāna states: “Meditation with knowledge of
Krishna is infinitely superior to meditation without knowledge of
Krishna; better than even meditation with knowledge of Krishna
is direct perception of Krishna; better than even direct perception
of Krishna is spiritual association in devotion to Krishna.”
In Krishna yoga, there are two classes: Regulated and
attached. Those who follow the regulated devotional service
follow the instructions and exemplary behavior of exalted
personalities, such as Nārada Muni, Prahalad Mahārāja and
Ambarish Mahārāja. These devotees generally live in Dwāraka
dhāma or other holy places. However, devotees of attached live
in Vrindhāvana, Govardhana or Gokula. These devotees
constantly sing, dance and spend lavishly to celebrate Krishna’s
appearance days, as well as other ceremonies and festivals that
are especially meant for Krishna’s worship. Whosoever engages
in the devotional service of the Lord in this manner, Krishna
keeps very near and dear to Him and are the most admirably
eminent above all other devotees and yogis.
Krishna knows that, past, present and future, whatever He
speaks is always the Absolute Truth. Therefore, these devotees
are the most intimately united with the Supreme Lord in yoga
and are the highest of all in Krishna’s opinion. Krishna and His
name are no different, being in the Absolute nature as it is said in
the Vedās:
nāma chintamani krishna caitanya rasavigraha
pūrnasuddho nityomukto apinnattvam nāmanāminah
“The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. It

bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself, the
reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna’s name is complete, and it is the
form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name
under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krishna
Himself. Since, Krishna’s name is not contaminated by material
qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māya.
Krishna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never
conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the
name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical.”
In the first six chapters of the Bhagavad-Gītā the Lord has
thus taught Arjuna and all beings regarding karma-yoga, jnāna-
yoga and ashtānga-yoga. These teachings were comprised of the
nature of the soul, details regarding meditation on the soul,
methods of controlling the senses and the mind, and developing
renunciation. The Lord also provided instructions regarding the
soul’s relation to all other souls as well as to the Supersoul. He
explained that to become the best of all yogis, realization of the
soul and devotion to Him is essential, and that this is the most
intimate and exclusive means to attain the Supreme Absolute
Truth, Lord Krishna. Finally, the Lord revealed the
unquestionable superiority of His unalloyed devotees.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Dhyāna Yoga’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami
Dhyāna Yoga 487

1. List down the 8 steps of dhyāna-yoga? What is perfect
meditation and how can it be achieved?
2. Enumerate on the qualities and future of the
transcendentalists engaged in devotional services to
Krishna? Who is the actual yogi and why?
1. What does real sannyāsa means? What is the true meaning
of a yogi?
2. List the hierarchy on the yoga ladder? Why is it said that a
neophyte in yoga has to engage his senses in work to
achieve the ultimate goal of yoga?
3. Provide different meanings of the word ātma?
4. How does the mind participate in the yoga system? How is
the mind entangled in the material network?
5. To what does the uncontrolled mind submit in its
conditional state?
6. When one attains realization of the Supersoul in his heart,
describe his state of consciousness?
7. Does academic education generally help us to attain self-
realization? If not, explain why? 8
8. Describe how an aspiring yogi eats and sleeps?
9. What are some of the demands of the material body? How
can these demands be detrimental to our progress in Krishna
consciousness?
10. Explain sankalpa-prabhavan.
11. Outline the difference between go swāmi and go-dasa?
12. What is the distinction between the individual soul and the
Supersoul?
13. How can we always keep Krishna in our thoughts?

14. Why practicing ashtānga yoga is considered a waste of
time?
15. Why is the mind compared to lion? How does a lion keeper
tame a lion?
16. Interpret the analogy given in text 38 about the riven cloud?
17. Why do spiritualists not meet with destruction even if they
fail to complete their bhakti yoga?
18. Give a detailed answer on what happens to unsuccessful
yogis?
19. Show the connection of spiritual performance of a person in
a previous life who took up the chanting of the holy name of
the Lord in this life.
20. Elaborate on the functions of each and every yoga system
described in this chapter and why Bhakti-yoga is considered
greater than all the other yogās?
1. One who is detached from the fruits of action and works as
he is obligated in the ___________ order of life is the true
_________.
2. One should know that calling renunciation to be the same as
________ for one cannot become a yogi unless one
renounces the desire for __________.
3. One must elevate himself with the help of his _________.
The mind is the friend as well as the ___________ of
the conditioned soul.
4. For one who has conquered his mind, the ___________ is
already reached.
5. A __________ person sees everything (dirt, stones and gold)
as the same.
6. A transcendentalist should live alone in a secluded place and
should always carefully control his __________.
Dhyāna Yoga 489
7. There is no possibility of one becoming a yogi if they do

_______ and _______ too much.
8. For one who sees Krishna everywhere and sees everything
in __________ is never lost to Him, nor is he ever
lost to Krishna.
9. A yogi who engages in the worshipful service of the
Supersoul, knowing that ________ and the _______ are
one, always remains with Krishna in all circumstances.
10. For the mind is __________, turbulent, ___________ and is
more difficult to control than the __________.
1. Lord Krishna is the highest realization of the________
(Relative truth, Absolute truth, Brahmavadis,
Impersonalists)
2. The vow of brahmāchārya is meant to help one abstain from
________. (drinking, recreation, sex indulgence, marriage)
3. The practice of yoga is meant to free one from _________
existence (spiritual, marginal, material, sinful)
4. Regulation in eating and sleeping is conducive to
_________ advancement (spiritual, material,
economic, sensual)
5. Just as _________ in windless place does not waver,
Similarly, one’s mind is not disturbed when it is fixed in
Krishna consciousness (fire, smoke, a lamp, light)
6. The topmost yoga is ________(dhyāna, karma, bhakti,
sānkhya)
7. A small cloud, upon becoming separated from ________, is
blown away by the wind and becomes a non-entity in the
vast sky. (the sky, the air, ether, a big cloud)
8. An unsuccessful _________ need not fear degradation. His
advancement becomes eternal credit. (devotee, fruitive
worker, speculator, altruist)
9. An unsuccessful spiritualist is transported to ________

planet. (hellish, heavenly, forefather's, vaikuntha)
10. In order to control the mind, one should cultivate
detachment from ________ (spirit, matter, desires, sex)
Knowledge of the Supreme Godhead 491
CHAPTER 7
Knowledge of
The Supreme Godhead
म्यास् मनाः पािाय८गं य्ु ्तमदारयः।
असंशयं समरं मां यिा ्ाथयभस ्छृणु॥१॥
mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ
asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu
srī-bhagavān uvācha -- The all auspicious Majestic Personality
of Godhead said; mayya -- to Me; asakta-manāḥ -- mind
attached; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; yogaṁ -- yoga process;
yuñjan -- by executing; mad-āśrayaḥ -- taking complete shelter
unto Me; asaṁśayaṁ -- free from doubt; samagraṁ --
completely; māṁ -- Me; yathā -- how; jnāsyasi -- you will be
able to know; tacchṛṇu -- that try to hear.
The Majestic Personality of Godhead said: Now try to hear
Oh son of Pṛithā, by practicing yoga by mind, by being
attached to Me and taking complete shelter unto Me, without
doubt, you will be able to know Me.
ANNOTATION: In the second chapter, Arjuna requested
Krishna to accept him as His disciple. Krishna, then, informed
him about the fundamental difference between the impermanent
material body and the eternal spirit soul. The Lord also described
491
the process of rebirth, the nature of dignified service to the

Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead without fruitive
desires, and the character of a self-realized person. The third
chapter was about actions, and how everyone must engage in
some sort of activity in this material world. It explained how
actions can either bind one to this world or free one from it. By
acting for the pleasure of the Supreme Absolute and without
fruitive desires, one can thus be free from the laws of karma
(action, inaction and forbidden action) and attain transcendental
knowledge of the soul and the Supreme Soul. In the fourth
chapter the Lord explains the spiritual knowledge of the soul,
God, and the relationship of the soul and God as both purifying
and liberating. It was described in detail as to how such
knowledge is the fruit of selfless devotional action, called karma-
yoga. The Lord also explained the history of Gītā and the
necessity of approaching a bonafide spiritual master. The fifth
chapter was about how to outwardly perform actions while
inwardly renouncing their fruits. The wise man thus purified by
the fire of transcendental knowledge attains peace, detachment,
forbearance, spiritual vision and bliss. In the sixth chapter Lord
Krishna describes ashtānga-yoga, a meditative practice that helps
control the mind and the senses and enables one to concentrate
on the Supersoul, the expansion of Lord Krishna situated in the
heart. In conclusion of that chapter, the Lord explained that the
highest level of all yogis’ are those who lovingly remember Him
with full faith.
The next six chapters (7-12) comprise the second division
of Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā, they concern bhakti-yoga, loving
devotional service to the Supreme Lord. They explain how
humans attain perfection by rendering devotional service to the
all-pervasive Supreme Lord from whom all created beings have
come into existence and all created beings receive their life
symptoms. These chapters also begin to explain further about the
nature of the spiritual world and the material world which further
distinguishes them. They describe how in the spiritual world, or
Absolute World, there is no difference between the master and
the servant, and how in the Absolute world all relationships are
perfect and unbreakable, unlike the contingent relationships of
the material world.
In this first verse of seventh chapter, Krishna asks Arjuna to
be attached to Him and to know everything about the material
and spiritual cosmic manifestations. To understand what Krishna
is doing here, consider how if one becomes friends with and very
close to the President of a Nation, one will become privy to how
he is running both the internal and external affairs of the
government. Such information would be otherwise impossible to
attain, except by the inferior speculation on external activities.
Similarly, one cannot understand Krishna fully unless one
develops attachment for Him, in such a stage of attachment one
can know everything about Krishna through His mercy. Krishna
is thus stating in this verse that there is no need for speculation
about Him, because He will make it possible to know Him.
The words mayy-āsakta-manah mean ‘one whose mind is
fully attached to the Lord in love’; and the words premānjana
churita bhakti vilocanena mean ‘one whose eyes are anointed
with love can also understand Krishna’. One may ask whether
loving Krishna is possible for us, because He is not present in
this world, in the same way He was with Arjuna. To explain this,
the achāryas provide an analogy with a company: when a
company director authorizes his manager to execute all activities
of the company, all the staff follow the manager, since this is as
good as following the director. Devotees can, similarly, merely
follow their guru’s direction, as this is as good as following
Krishna. By following the path set by his guru, a devotee, also,
cannot tolerate separation from the Lord, not even for a second,
nor does such a devotee gives priority or importance to anything
without being situated closely with Krishna. If, accidently, for
some reason the devotee does not remember Krishna, he
considers that situation and time as meaningless. They too think
that one who does not love God, does not love himself.
The words mad-āsrayah mean taking complete shelter in
the Lord. Without such shelter the devotee thinks his life is
useless. Krishna is both the āsrita-vatsala, the one who protects

surrendered devotees and bhakta vatsala, the Lord who nourishes
His devotees. Linking with the supreme in devotional service is
called Krishna yoga. This can be most fruitful when one hears
from a bonafide authority of God Himself or from His true
representatives. As a child hears from his father and repeats what
his father says while conveying the authenticity of the father’s
message, so too a guru is as an obedient son of Krishna.
Everyone learns by hearing. Students hear from teachers
and professors, and people hear things from the news media.
Among the senses the ear is the most powerful, and it is through
this that one hears the sound of the world. So, Bhagavān Krishna
says in this verse tat srenu, meaning, hearing is the perfect
science of bhakti-yoga. One can learn everything from hearing
sincerely from the Lord or His representatives.
TEXT 2 ्ानं ऽे ं सवव्ानभमदं व्या्यशेष ः।

य््ा्वा ने भय
ू ८ऽतय््ा ्यमवभश्य ॥
े २॥
jñānaṁ te ’haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ
yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo ’nyaj jñātavyam avaśiṣyate
jnānaṁ -- phenomenal knowledge; te -- unto you; ahaṁ -- I; sa --
with; vijnānam -- spiritual knowledge; idaṁ vakṣyāmy -- shall
explain; aśeṣataḥ -- in full; yaj -- which; jnātvā -- by knowing;
neha -- nothing in this world; bhūyo -- further; anyaj -- anything
more; jñātavyam-avaśiṣyate -- knowable remains.
I shall explain to you fully this knowledge of the material and
spiritual world, by knowing this there shall be nothing
further left for you to know.
ANNOTATION: A boy who is attached to his father in love is
eligible to inherit everything of the father. Similarly, by
becoming completely attached to the Supreme Lord in devotion,
a devotee that is attached to the Supreme Father becomes eligible
for exceptional theoretical and practical knowledge of material
and spiritual worlds.
As science student learns theory and thereafter acquires

practical knowledge in the science, by knowing the existence of
God in theory one may become connected to Godly activities, or
vijnānam, and acquire practical knowledge. As it is said: yasmin
vijanate sarva evam vijnānam bhavanti, one who knows the
Supreme Lord, knows everything.
jnānam is theoretical knowledge of all manifested objects of
the material and spiritual world. sa vijnānam, thus, means
realized knowledge of both worlds. After learning both of these
fields of knowledges there would be nothing left for Arjuna and
other similar qualified devotees to learn.
TEXT 3 मन्ु याणां स रेषु क््च्य त भस्िये।

य ामवप भस्िानां क््चतमां वेवत ्व ः॥३॥
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
manuṣyāṇāṁ-sahasreṣu -- out of many thousands of men; kaścid
yatati -- someone hardly endeavor; siddhaye -- for perfection,
spiritual realization; yatatām -- of those who are endeavoring;
api -- indeed; siddhānāṁ -- of those who have achieved self-
realization; kaścin -- hardly one; māṁ -- Me; vetti -- knows;
tattvatah -- in truth.
Out of many thousands, hardly one endeavors for perfection
in spiritual realization, and of those who have achieved
perfection, hardly one knows Me in Truth.
ANNOTATION: Actually, the entire population is the family of
Lord Vāsudeva Krishna, vāsudeva kutumbhakam. Yet,
everyone’s knowledge of this and other truths are covered due to
nescience. There are 8,400,000 (84 lakhs) different types of
embodied living entities in the material world. The number of
beings in the human form are just a handful in terms of the
number of other living entities like fish, reptiles, trees, plants,
birds and beasts. Among human beings there are billions of so-
called civilized people. They are classified by the scriptures as
yāvanas and mlecchas, those who do and do not follow the
science of God as is written in the eternal scriptures. Among

human beings, we may consider those who are followers of the
eternal principles as civilized according to our standards.
However, among such civilized members, almost half simply
proclaim their beliefs while committing all kinds of forbidden
activities which are against the rules and regulations of eternal
religious principles.
As long as an ordinary man abides by the laws of his
country, his freedom is preserved. Similarly, when a person
breaks the rules and regulations of eternal religious principles his
freedom is revoked, and he becomes conditioned. More a person
enjoys material sense objects, more he is entangled in the
tabernacle of the material existence. Thus, people who break the
guidelines pertaining to the eternal religion will not attain liberty:
liberation from material existence. Thus they roam in the
material existence sometimes as hog, dog, human, demons, etc.
Among the followers of Vedic knowledge, most are
following the process of fruitive activity (karmis) and distinguish
between good and bad work. The term ‘fruitive worker’ refers to
one who aspires to enjoy the results of his good work and pious
activity. Out of the millions of fruitive workers there may be one
knowledgeable person called a jnāni. jnānis are those who try to
avoid fruitive activity and who become silent materially in order
to become one with God in spiritual existence of the Absolute
Truth. These wise men are not interested in fruitive activity and
are, instead, interested in merging into the Supreme.
In either case, both the fruitive worker and the jnanis are
interested in personal benefit. jnānis want to extinguish the
diversity of knowledge, the knower and the aim of knowledge.
This philosophy is called monism or oneness, and is
characterized by spiritual silence. yogis desire yogic perfections
and end up achieving material opulence and magic. There are
many human beings endeavoring for perfection in different fields
such as karma, jnāna, ashtānga, and bhakti yoga. Many achieve
perfection due to their hard work in their respective field, but it is
very rare that those perfected beings also understand the
philosophy of Godhead, in tattvatah. As the Srimad-Bhāgavatam

6-14-5 explains:
muktānam api siddhānam nārāyana-pārayanah
sudurlabham prasāntātma kotisv api mahā-mune
“O great sage, out of many millions of materially liberated
people who are free from ignorance, and out of many millions of
siddhas who have nearly attained perfection, there is hardly one
pure devotee of Nārāyana”.
Only such a devotee is actually completely satisfied and
peaceful. Without the scientific knowledge of the Absolute
Truth, Lord Krishna and practical service rendered unto Him,
there is no possibility of peace or harmony either in one’s family
or in human society. It is said in Chaitanya Charitamrta, Madhya
19-149,
krishna bhakta--niskāma, ata eva santa
bhukti-mukti siddhi-kāmi, sakali asānta’
“Beacause a devotee of Lord Krishna is desireless, he is
peaceful, fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnānis
desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore
they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful”. The Lord explains this
scientific knowledge in the next verses.
TEXT 4 भभू मराप८ऽनल८ वायःु खं मन८ ब्
ु धिरे वच।
अ ्कार इ ीयं मे भभतना रकृत र्ििा॥४॥
bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
bhūmir āpo’nalo-vāyuḥ-khaṁ -- earth, water, fire, air, ether,
mano-buddhir – mind, intelligence; eva -- certainly; ca -- and;
ahaṅkāra -- false ego; iti -- thus; yaṁ -- these are; me -- My;
bhinnā prakṛtir -- separated energies; aṣṭadhā -- eightfold.
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego,
certainly, are My separated eightfold material energies.
ANNOTATION: These eight energies are created by Krishna,
but are separated as the material energy of the Supreme Lord.
The cosmic universal body and the living body, both are made of
these elements, and without these elements there could be no
material creation or material body for living beings. Material
nature or prakriti, is the cosmic accommodation for all living
beings, and is made of these eight elements.
Lord Brahma too says that the Supreme Lord Krishna is the
original cause of these elements and souls, in Brahma samhita
5.51 states:
agnir mahi gaganam ambu marud disaas ca
kālas tathātma-manasiti jagat-trayāni
yasmād bhavanti vibhavanti visanti yam ca
govindam ādi purusam tam aham bhajāmi
“The three worlds are composed of the nine elements, viz.,
fire, earth, ether, water, air, direction, time soul and mind. I
respect the Primeval Lord Govinda from whom they originate, in
whom they exist and in to whom they enter at the time of
universal cataclysm”.
By the influence of time on the mode of ignorance and
through interactions and permutations, appear the five objects of
the senses, five working senses and five knowledge acquiring
senses. The atheistic sānkya system of philosophy also studies
these material elements. However, the founder of this system, the
atheistic Kapila, (a different person from the incarnation of Lord
Kapila, the son of Devahuti) does not believe that the source of
these elements is the Supreme Lord. This is a mistake. Consider
how a scorpion may lays eggs in the heap of a paddy and later a
baby scorpion emerges from it. An ignorant may think that the
paddy gave birth to the baby scorpion. However, a thoughtful
person may understand that it was the mother of the scorpion
who laid the eggs in the paddy earlier, before the baby emerged.
This is the logic of tandūla vrischika nyāya, the logic of
scorpion. Similarly, the followers of the Godless sānkhya
philosophy think that material nature manifests without a creator.
Another instance we can imagine which demonstrates this
error of the sānkhya is what a scientist must do in order to invent
a particular machine. A scientist has to think, feel and assemble

the components in order to build the machine he desires. Can’t
we say that this applies to God? God is all powerful and can,
therefore, through His multifarious energies, achieve all kinds of
things we would usually consider to be impossible. Krishna has
created every single thing in the universe and thus knows every
single object of creation. Yet, Krishna’s creation is so subtle that
it is impossible for gross materialists to understand it. They, who
have engaged only in the beastly necessities of food, sleep,
sexual affairs and self-protection, cannot comprehend how God
has assembled this universe: there is a super subtle technology
which manifests the creation simply by His willing. That
technology is only known to Krishna, not to the human beings or
to the demigods. Only some secondary subtle creative tips are
disclosed to demigods by the causeless mercy of the Lord.
It is said in the Brahma samhita that a plenary expansion of
Lord Krishna, Mahā-Vishnu, who lies on the causal ocean, first
created the universes. He did this by exhaling, with His breath,
becoming the Supersoul of all those collective universes. Then,
He further expands as Garbhodhakasayi-Vishnu and enters each
universe as the Supersoul. The universes, which resemble the
shape of eggs, float on the water of the Causal Ocean. From the
navel of Lord Grabhodhakasayi-Vishnu sprouts a lotus flower
called visva, on which Brahma was born. From
Grabhodhakasayi-Vishnu appears Kshirodhakasayi-Vishnu, who
is the Supersoul of all living entities of the material world. This
is explained in the satvata tandra.
Mahā-Vishnu glances over the material nature and through
His glance He brings forth innumerable souls to the material
nature. Atheists think that the souls are coming from mahat-
tattva – the sum total of manifested material elements. However,
they do not know that before mahat-tattva life was dormant
within the body of the Supreme Lord, that it was by the Supreme
Lord’s glance that all of the beings came to exist. Through the
glances of ordinary conditioned souls they can interact with each
other and perceive objects in virtue of photons emitted from
them. This is how Mahā-Vishnu, who is all powerful, can glance

upon material nature and bring forth the spiritual photons which
are the living entities of material nature.
The different speculative theories of the modern scholars as
the source of life and the universe, is negated by the ancient
scriptures like Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Unless
material scientists begin believing in the mystic potency of God,
they won’t be able to understand who the initiator of the creation
is. Modern fellow scholars’ group have invented a policy of
disbelieving the existence of God. According to the western
scientist assemblies, any scientist believes in the existence of
God, he is not considered as a scientist. Krishna does not create
the universe with species in the way that scientists build frozen
zoos from extinction of animal life. The Supreme Brahman Lord
Krishna is one Absolute Truth, from Him manifested His
external material energy, known as māya and the infinitesimal
spirit souls. These two manifestations are no different from the
one Supreme Lord. The science of the spirit souls and the
material energy are beyond the comprehension of the limited
mind and intellect of the conditioned souls. Moreover, if they
cannot understand material energy how could they ever
appreciate Krishna’s spiritual energy?
TEXT 5 अपरे यभम थ्वतयां रकृत ं वव्धि मे पराम ्।

्ीवभू ां म ाबा ८ ययेदं िाया े ्ग ्॥५॥
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām

jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat
apareyam -- this inferior; itas -- besides this; tv -- but; anyāṁ --
there is another; prakṛtiṁ -- energy; viddhi -- you should know;
me parām -- My superior; -- comprising the living entities;
mahā-bāho -- O powerful one; yay -- by whom; edaṁ -- this;
dhāryate -- is utilized; jagat -- the material world.
Besides these, there is another, superior energy of Mine,
consisting of the living entities who are utilizing the resources
of this inferior nature, O powerful Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: Modern theories maintain that when one is

dead everything is destroyed, yet this verse clearly explains, to
the contrary, that souls are not a part of the material elements.
Rather, souls are part of the diverse superior energies of
Godhead. Lord Krishna has unlimited energies which are
primarily categorized into the three kinds, namely, material
energy, spiritual energy and marginal energy. Material energy
consists of the material worlds along with all material elements
and manifestations of the wide varieties of material objects.
Spiritual energy consists of the spiritual worlds and all the
manifestation of the wide varieties of spiritual objects. Marginal
energy is the spirit soul, which is able to live in either of the
material atmosphere with a material body or in the spiritual
world with a spiritual body.
There are zillions of living entities throughout the creations
of the Lord; more than the sands on the beach, or seeds in a
mustard field. Material nature, with its material elements, is part
of Krishna’s inferior energy, while Krishna’s superior energy has
been used to create living beings. When these souls take up
temporary material bodies, made of 24 material inferior
elements, they are conditioned in that body, and it is like a cage
for them. All material elements are the creations of the nescient
modes of material nature, thus the bodily components together
with the senses have evolved from and are a part of that
ignorance. The mind is different, as a product of the mode of
goodness, while intelligence is the product of mode of
passion. When the living entity is trapped in the material body
under the modes of material nature, it starts identifying with the
material body and thereby develops a desire to satisfy the body
according to time, place, and circumstances. All living entities
are mesmerized by this false notions and begin to exploit the
resources of material nature, which have been given to them for
survival and to find the real source of their existence. In this way,
the pure living entity falsely thinks that giving happiness to this
body is the goal of life.
There are two types of bodies: spiritual body and material

body. Being a spirit soul, a living entity is most comfortable in
the spiritual body. Yet, as the material body is made of material
elements, the material body is foreign for the spirit soul. It is like
mixing oil with water: oil cannot have uniformity with the water
or water cannot have uniformity with the oil. Oil can only take
harmony, or uniformity, with other oils, just as water can only be
in uniformity with water. Thus, as everyone is pure spirit soul,
none will never be happy in the material body made of the
material elements.
TEXT 6 ए ्य८नीतन भू ातन सवााणी्यप

ु िारय।
अ ं कृ्थनथय ्ग ः रभवः रलयथ िा॥६॥
etad-yonīni bhūtāni sarvāṇīty upadhāraya
ahaṁ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ pralayas tathā
etad -- these two natures; yonini -- whose source of birth;
bhūtani -- living entities; sarvāṇīty -- all; iti -- thus; upadharaya -
- know; ahaṁ -- I; krtsnasya-- all-inclusive; jagatah -- of the
world; prabhavah -- the source of manifestation; pralayas --
dissolution; tathā -- as well as.
All living entities have their source of birth in two natures,
material and spiritual, thus you know for sure that I am the
source of both origin and annihilation.
ANNOTATION: Everything in the whole of creation is either cit
– animate, or acit – inanimate. And everything has manifested
and developed from Krishna’s superior energy and inferior
energy, collectively. Krishna is the reservoir of both inanimate
temporary physical body and the conscious fragmental spirit
soul; and both are under His control. This dual nature is the basis
and groundwork for all existence, conscious as well as
unconscious. It is the power, which designs and models
according to qualifications of all forms and potencies, from the
highest material entity Lord Brahma to a blade of grass. This
dual nature is the surrounding substance for all intelligent and
non-intelligent configurations and manifestations. Thus, the

physical body cannot survive and develop without the presence
of the anti-material entity. Everything in the manifested world is
developed, maintained and destroyed by the anti-material spark.
The energy and energetic cannot remain separate because the
source of both is found in the Supreme Energetic. All things
moving and stationary have material prakriti for their origin and
Krishna is the originating cause from which each and everything,
effectively comes into existence. He is the supreme cause of all
creation in its entirety as well as the supreme cause of the
periodic dissolution of all creation.
TEXT 7 मतः पर रं नातय््क््चद्थ िन््य।
मतय सवाभमदं र८ ं सर
ू े मणणगणा इव॥७॥
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kincid asti dhanan-jaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
mattah -- to Me; parataraṁ -- superior; nānyat - nothing; kincid -
- there is; asti -- there is; dhanan-jaya -- O conqueror of wealth;
mayi sarvam -- everything in Me; idaṁ -- which we see; protaṁ -
- is strung; sūtre maṇi-gaṇā -- pearls on the thread; iva -- like.
O conqueror of wealth, there is nothing superior to Me,
everything rests in Me as pearls are strung on a thread.
ANNOTATION: Here, the Supreme Lord addresses the fact that
there is no one or no energy that works independent of Him.
Everything goes through Him, everything rests in Him, and
everything acts according to His approval. He is asamūrdva,
asam, meaning that none are equal to Him, and urdva means
above Him; there is no competition for Krishna. When two men
argue for supremacy, it means that no one is supreme. When the
Lord was present on the earth 5000 years ago many demons
competed and fought with Krishna and all were perished by Him.
The whole of creation is like a pearl necklace; in such a
necklace there are many pearls, they are all round shaped and all
are strung on a strong thread to rest on a person’s body. In the
same way, in the creation of the Lord, there are limitless
universes. All these universes are sustained in the body of Lord

Krishna. Within each universe there are limitless planets which
are sustained on the invisible hoods of Sesha Naga ( nanda
sesha). The nanda Sesha, the powerful serpent, is so enormous
that it has thousands of hoods sustaining these limitless planets,
as well as the faculty to expand more hoods to sustain more
planets if necessary. The Vedic knowledge explains that these
planets rest on His vast hoods just like mustard seeds. nanda
Sesha is a plenary expansion of Lord Balarāma, the first
expansion of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic controller of
everything. The stableness and movement of the pearls on a
necklace is dependent upon its thread in the same way, the
stability and movement of the entire creation, comprised of the
animate and inanimate, is dependent upon Lord Krishna, who
resides as Paramātma, the Supreme Soul within all sentient and
non-sentient beings. This means that the sentient being's life and
activities are dependent solely on Him, even though they possess
free will.
As it is said in the Vedic scriptures: The Supreme Lord
encompasses internally and externally everything that is seen or
heard. And as it said in the Isopanishad:
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyasya bhāyatah
“The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but
He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is
outside of everything.”
Thus, to consider that there is someone, something,
somewhere in creation independent of Krishna is foolishness.
Because of contact with material nature, attachment and sorrow
arise, which leads living entities to form distinct and false
identities for themselves. It is only under this distinct identity
that one may think that there are so many such powerful gods,
and worship them due to the frustration of material life.
This verse also explains that all expansions and plenary
expansions of Lord Krishna, such as, Brahman, Paramātma,
Narāyanas and Vishnus, all originated from Lord Krishna.

Therefore the statement of the Lord mattah parataram nanyāt,
there is no one above Me, is emphasized in this verse.
TEXT 8 रस८ऽ मतसु क९त य

े रभा्थम शभशसय
ू य
ा ८ः।
रणवःसवावेदेषु श्दःखे प९ुषं नष
ृ ॥
ु ८॥
raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu
raso -- flavor; aham -- I; apsu -- in water; kaunteya -- O son of
Kunti; prabhāsmi -- I am the light; śaśi-sūryayoḥ -- of the moon
and the sun; praṇavaḥ -- the three letters A-U-M; sarvasu -- in
all the Vedās; śabdaḥ khe -- sound in the sky; pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu --
ability in men.
O son of Kuntī, I am the flavor in water, the radiation of the
sun and the moon, the syllable AUM in the Vedic mantras, I
am the sound in the sky and the capability in men.
ANNOTATION: Water is one of the products of material nature.
Krishna says here that he is the taste of water. There are so many
forms of water, apsu, like juices, colas, liquors; all of these are
different transformations of water. Water is thin but heavy, and is
the fundamental basis of one’s life. Even a drunkard can identify
the existence of Krishna by drinking and appreciating his favorite
drink. This is to just inform even the taste of the alcohol is the
Supreme Lord’s energy. There is no taste that can apparent
outside the attention of the Supreme Majestic Lord. According to
the scriptures one must abstain from both alcohol and other sinful
activities to realize self and Superself. This verse also describes
how one can realize God in the light of the sun and the moon, for
these are also the Supreme Lord. Thus, the Lord is claiming that
He is the light of the sun and the moon because they emanate
from His body.
Moreover, the Lord expresses that He is the pranāva or
Omkāra, which (pranāva) is the sound representation of Krishna.
Before one chants any Vedic mantra including worship of the
demigods, one addresses the Supreme Lord by chanting AUM.
By chanting AUM one is associating with Lord Krishna in the

transcendental sound.
Omkāra is principal Vedic mantra, but the impersonal
philosophers consider the following Vedic mantras to be the
principal ones or mahāvakya: ‘tattvam asi’, as found in the
Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7; ‘idam sarvam yad ayam ātma’ and
‘brahmedam sarvam’, as found in the Brhad-aranyaka
Upanishad 2.5.1 ‘ātmaivedam sarvam’, as found in the
Chandogya Upanishad 7.25.2; and, ‘neha nanasti kincana’, as
found in the Katho Upanishad 2.1.11. However, Parabrahman
and Paramātma is Krishna. Imagining the living entity to be God
is the greatest mistake.
Ether is the origin of sound, and Krishna is the subtle casual
form of any sound in ether. The entire material creation began
from sound, and everyone learns, both material and spiritual
knowledge through sound vibration. Learning or hearing music,
hearing dialogues of professors, and lectures and all standard
communications are transmitted through sound. Similarly, to
realize God and living entities, one has to hear, and chant the
sound vibration of the Supreme Lord.
Most of the time people are proud about their abilities, no
matter how insignificant they may be. They are proud of creating
computers, iPhones, and airbuses. Or they are proud of being
successful in business and marketing. However, Krishna tells us
in this verse, that He is the paurusham nrshu: the abilities
possessed by men. It is thus Krishna, as the Supersoul, Who
facilitates those with intelligence, and when a living being is
trying to manifest something by hard work. Through His mercy,
it is the Supersoul which gives these people their abilities. All
these things, as mentioned in this verse, are the impersonal
features of Godhead. It is explained by the Lord for those who do
not realize Him, they may have a chance to know His existence
in every element of creation.
TEXT 9 प्
ु य८ गतिः पधृ ि्यां च ्
े ्चा्थम ववभावस९।
्ीवनं सवाभू ष
े ु प्चा्थम प्थवष॥ ु ९॥
puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṁ ca tejaś cāsmi vibhāvasau

jīvānaṁ sarva-bhūteṣu tapaś cāsmi tapasviṣu
puṇyo -- the original; gandhaḥ -- fragrance; pṛthivyāṁ -- in the
earth; ca -- also; tejaś -- the heat; cāsmi -- also I am; vibhāvasau
-- in the fire; jīvānaṁ -- the vitality; sarva-bhūteṣu -- in all living
entities; tapaś ca-- also penance; asmi -- I am; tapasviṣu -- in
those who execute austerities.
I am the original fragrance of the earth, I am the heat in the
fire. I am the vitality of all living entities and the penances of
all ascetics.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is the essence of smell, and the pure
unadulterated odor of the Earth. All flowers, fruits, roots have
fragrance due to the earth element, which is Krishna. All the
colors of the flowers are also due to this same earth element.
While an artist may paint flowers with so much effort, the
Supreme artist can produce fragrance and colors without any
effort. Fire is used for light and heat, and without it no one can
cook food, and there is no sustenance of the body without food.
That fire too is Krishna. He is, moreover, the vital life force of all
sentient beings. When He withdraws this vitality all life will be
dead. He is also the potency of austerities in ascetics. Krishna
gives forest dwellers the power to endure their penances and to
overcome the dualities, such as cold and heat. While He
empowers ascetics to endure in this way, Krishna is the penances
themselves, as well as the results of all penances.
Without Krishna’s mercy, nothing can be done. From these
statements, one should know and understand that Krishna is the
origin of everything. While all are looking for God, Krishna
reveals here that He is God. Therefore, there is no point in
wasting one’s time researching to find God outside of Krishna;
besides, Krishna is beyond the research work.
Although the Lord has explained that His energies are a
direct manifestation of Him, it is important to remember that one
is not recommended to worship any of Krishna’s energies, but
that one must worship Krishna directly, as Krishna says
elsewhere mam ekam: only Me.
TEXT 10 बी्ं मां सवाभू ानां वव्धि पािा सना नम ्।

ब्
ु धिब्
ुा धिम ाम्थम ्
े थ ्
े ्थवनाम म ्॥१०॥
bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ viddhi pārtha sanātanam
buddhir buddhimatām asmi tejas tejasvinām aham
bījaṁ māṁ -- I am the seed; sarva-bhūtānāṁ -- of all living
beings; viddhi -- try to understand; pārtha -- O son of Pṛithā;
sanātanam -- eternal; buddhir -- the wisdom; buddhimatām -- of
the intelligent; asmi -- I am; tejas -- ability; tejasvinām -- of the
powerful; aham -- I am.
You try to understand that I am the eternal seed of all living
entities, I am the wisdom of intelligence, and I am the
prowess of all powerful men, O son of Pṛithā.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is the soul, bījam, of all living entities.
Sometimes foolish people wonder what came first, the seed or
the plant. The answer is that God created all the seeds first, since
the seed is the dormant stage of plant, this was formed before the
plant. There are 8,400,000 thousands types of living bodies, and
the cause of all bodies and living symptoms are Lord Krishna:
janmādi yasya yata. There are many different varieties of
intelligence, ordinary and extraordinary. If anybody manifests
extraordinary intelligence by which spiritual history or some
other breakthrough has been made, that intelligence is also
attributed to Krishna. That intelligence which separates humans
from beastly consciousness, what is generally called spiritual
intelligence, is also Krishna. Similarly, the Lord is the valor of
the valiant, which allows them to be victorious over all others
and directions.
TEXT 11 बलं बलव ां चा ं कामरागववव््ा म ्।
िमााववु्ि८ भू ष
े ु काम८ऽ्थम भर षाभ॥११॥
balaṁ balavatāṁ cāhaṁ kāma-rāga-vivarjitam
dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo ’smi bhāratarṣabha
balaṁ -- strength; balavatāṁ -- of the strong; chāhaṁ -- and I
am; kāma-rāga-vivarjitam -- devoid of passion and attachment;

dharma -- to religious principles; viruddho -- not contrary;
bhūteṣu -- in all beings; kāmo’smi -- I am sex life; bhāratarṣabha
-- O lord of the Bhāratas.
O Lord of the Bhāratas, I am the strength of the strong,
without passion and attachment; I am the sex life of all living
beings that is not opposed to religious ideology.
ANNOTATION: Here, Krishna says that He is the strength of
the strong. There are many people who think that they are the
strongest in their own way. Yet, according to this verse, a strong
person is one who follows strictly, the religious principles, or
dharma. The Pāndavas, including Arjuna, are examples of such
strong people. King Yudhishthira was the strongest of all
religious followers. Yet, if Krishna withdraws His energy from
any strong person then their so-called strength becomes their
weakness. By following sanātana dharma one will become free
from passion and desire. If one cannot remain celibate, one may
get married. Then, one should produce Krishna consciousness
children. When one’s wife is pregnant one should not have
sexual affairs until after the baby is born. Such sexual practices
are Krishna. This means that becoming a mother and father is not
restricted, and that a couple can have as many children as they
want to. However, religion does not allow one to have illicit
relation or to have fatherless children. Also, it does not allow one
to kill the children in the womb as a result of a sinful desire to
have baseless sex without the consequences of children.
By evolution, a soul gets a human body after billions of
years. Yet, by their incurable sexual desires, foolish parents
indulge in sex and invite souls to the womb, then kill them in the
womb straight away or after the babies are formed and developed
around one or two months in the womb. In the name of female
freedom unenlightened governments approve of this practice and
so let these foolish people get away with murder. However, while
this may be permitted and excused by human laws, these
intentional sinful activities are not excused by the laws of God.
As a consequence, such disqualified parents will themselves be

put into many human wombs and then aborted by the officials of
the Supreme Government: the laws of karma.
In this material world everything works under this sexual
impulse. One may say it is natural and that having children is
therefore also natural, but murder through abortion is positively
unnatural. Unrestricted sensual indulgence causes the diminution
of piety and morality. To avoid unwanted pregnancy one should
regulate one’s desires for sex and engage in sex only as it is
required for procreation. When one’s sex life is regulated
according to such prescriptions one will see the expression of
Krishna in it, as He has said in this verse.
The desire for sex never goes away at any time in life, even
as an old person. There is a story which demonstrates this. The
king Akbar asked his minister “how long in one’s life does the
desire for sex continue?” The minister replied, “up to the point of
death”. The king said, “No, how is that possible!” The minister
said that he will prove it. The next day the minister requested the
king to go with the king’s younger daughter to visit an old man
who was on his death bed. The minister told the king to watch
the face of the old man at the moment when the king would go to
see him, while taking his daughter with him. When they entered
the room, King Akbar saw that the old man was looking at the
face of his young daughter, and although he was the king, the old
man did not look at him. King Akbar promptly admitted to the
minister that he had been correct all along.
It is very difficult to give up the lust even if this is one’s
choice. It is only by completely immersing oneself in Krishna
consciousness, that one can transcend lust and greed; there is no
other method mentioned for achieving this, as mentioned in the
scriptures.
Chanting the holy name of God is as good as associating
with Him. It is said in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam 12-13-23-
nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa praṇāśanam
praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param
“I offer my respectful obeisance unto the Supreme Lord, Hari

(Krishna), the congregational chanting of whose holy names
destroys all sinful reactions, and the offering of obeisance unto
whom relieves all material suffering.”
TEXT 12 ये चव सा््वका भावा रा्साथ ामसा्च ये।
मत एवेत ा्तव्धि न ्व ं ष
े ु े मतय॥१२॥
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās tāmasāś ca ye
matta eveti tān viddhi na tv ahaṁ teṣu te mayi
ye -- all which; ca -- and; iva -- certainly; sāttvikā -- in goodness;
bhāvā -- conditions of being; rājasās -- in the mode of passion;
tāmasāś -- in the mode of ignorance; ca -- also; ye -- all which;
matta eve -- from Me alone; ti -- thus; tan -- those; viddhi -- try
to know; na -- not; tv -- but; ahaṁ -- I; tesu -- in them; te -- they;
mayi -- in Me.
Know that all conditions of living beings, whether they are in
the mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, are originated by
My energy. In one sense, I am everything, I am not under
them, but they are within Me.
ANNOTATION: Material nature works in the three modes of
goodness, passion and ignorance. Everything and everyone’s
body in this material world is manifested from these three modes
of nature. For example, demigods are manifested predominantly
from the mode of goodness; human beings are born from the
mode of passion; and, demons and beasts are born from the mode
of ignorance. Since all such beings are part of the three modes
and Lord Krishna, as their creator is independent of these modes,
the Lord has nothing to do with the three types of nature (triguna
mayi prakriti - Durgā). Lord Krishna and His activities are purely
spiritual and are part of the spiritual world. Thus, the Supreme
Lord does not need any support from the material nature and
embodied souls to carry out His pastimes and other
performances.
TEXT 13 ररभभगण
ुा मयभाावरे भभः सवाभमदं ्ग ्।
म८ह ं नाभभ्ानात मामे्यःपरम्ययम ्॥१३॥
tribhir guṇa-mayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat

mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam
tribhirguṇa-mayair -- three modes of nature; bhāvair --
conditions of living beings; ebhiḥ -- all these; sarvam -- whole;
idaṁ jagat-- this universe; mohitaṁ nābhijānāti -- due to illusion
certainly does not know; mām -- Me; ebhyaḥ -- who is beyond
the three modes; param -- the Supreme; avyayam -- unlimited.
All conditions of living beings in this whole universe live in
the illusions of the three modes of nature. They do not know
Me, the Supreme and Infinite, who is beyond the three
modes.
ANNOTATION: As the holder of a wide umbrella may lose his
vision of the vast sky, living entities have fallen into these
different modes of material nature and have lost their perception
of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
By working under these modes of nature, one may build various
business enterprises, create different human communities, and
even create fundamentally different religious groups. The mode
of goodness develops some religious sentiment, but it does not
bring its followers to the shelter of the Supreme Lord. Rather, it
brings them under the impersonal features of Godhead. The
mode of passion is hyper-active. While preparing for material
development a person in the mode of passion jumps here and
there like a monkey. The mode of ignorance is extremely violent
and harmful to societies and nations.
Under the supervision of the Lord, these three modes are
always vying for supremacy, trying to dominate one another.
Due to the influence of the mode of goodness there is occasional
peace, and apparently all seems fine in the material world, but
then, all of a sudden, passion breaks in with anger, violence and
killing. Sometimes due to excessive influence of the mode of
ignorance there are natural disasters such as earthquakes and
tsunamis. The mode of ignorance also causes outbreaks of war.
Those who fall under these modes of passion and ignorance, and
act accordingly, will suffer instantly. The pure living entity is
like clear crystal rain water that gets contaminated by the touch
of the dirty ground.
yaya sammohito jīva ātmanam tri-gunātmakam
paro ’pi manute ’nartham tat-krtaa cabhipadyate:
“Due to this external energy, the living entity, although
transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of
himself as a material product and thus suffers from the many
reactions of material misery”.
Under these modes, pure souls have created many religions
and countercultures. However, the believers of these different
religions and countercultures do not cooperate with one another
and always live in tension with each other in their communities.
The proliferation of such a wide variety of religious doctrines is
also due to the influence of the three modes of nature. Some
religions even follow the mode of ignorance, and endorse killing
animals, illicit sex, etc. However, by following the scriptural
injunctions one may concentrate on the activities of God and the
soul; this is beyond the differences of religious faiths. One
should follow a guru’s spiritual instructions, which will help to
liberate oneself from the false notions that are created by the
three modes, for whatever mode one is influenced by, one is
shackled to this material world of misery: those who are under
the influence of the mode of goodness, are shackled by a golden
chain; those who are under the mode of passion are shackled by a
silver chain; and, those who are under the mode of ignorance are
shackled by an iron chain. However, those who are under these
shackles are conditioned. As the Lord explains in the next verse,
one can be freed from these shackles only by taking shelter in the
Supreme Lord, and that by devotion to Him one can find the
easiest method to destroy their influence.
TEXT 14 दवी ्येषा गण

ु मयी मम माया दरु ्यया।
मामेव ये रप्यत े मायामे ां र्त ॥
े १४॥
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayi mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te
daivī -- divine; hy -- certainly; eṣā -- this; guna-mayi --

comprising the three mode of nature; mama māyā -- My potency;
duratyayā -- difficult to overcome; mam -- unto Me; eva --
certainly; ye prapadyante -- those who surrender; māyāmetāṁ --
this illusory energy; taranti -- are able to cross over; te -- they.
This divine potency of Mine, comprising of the three modes
of material nature certainly difficult to overcome, but those
who surrender unto Me are able to easily cross beyond it.
ANNOTATION: In the last two verses the Lord summarized His
modes of nature. In this verse, the Lord says that these modes of
nature are aspects of His divinity, and so are divine, but how this
māya be considered as divine? The definitions of daivi involve
notions of lustrousness, sport or play, the desire to conquer,
splendor, adoration, pleasure, imagination, brilliance and
movement.
A conditioned soul with material contamination cannot be
called divine. One may ask how is it that desire for money and
women arises in the hearts of the embodied souls repeatedly.
Even though such men may have already experienced many
women and money, they still hanker for more; these desires
persist, never leaving them, and never diminishing. In this verse,
Lord Krishna explains this with the phrase mama māyā
duratyaya, meaning ‘My illusory energy is very difficult to
overcome.’
When one reads the phrase ‘100 lances fought in battle’, it
means that there were 100 men who carried lances and fought in
the battle. The word māya should be understood in a similar way,
as requiring an understanding of our context in this illusory
world. Consider another example. When one sees a rope on the
ground in a dark night one may perceive it as a snake. That does
not mean that there is no snake. Both snake and rope exist but
there is no relation between them. Rather, the relation between
the snake and rope is created by the similarity that they share,
which creates the illusion. However, now the rope is mistaken as
a snake, and that is māya. Thus, we can understand how māya is

at work when men think that a lack of money is the cause of their
suffering and therefore strive to earn more money. Yet, this is an
illusion, as money will not remove their suffering.
One must swim upstream, against the force of illusion, and
devote oneself to Krishna. This may be difficult, but if one does
not swim upstream then one will be dragged downstream to the
ocean of whirlpool called maya and be completely lost. As is
explained in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
rte 'rtham yat pratiyeta na pratiyeta cātmani
tad vidyad ātmano mayam yathabhaso yatha tamah
“O Brahma, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without
relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy
(māya), that reflection which appears to be in darkness.”
This māya of the Supreme Lord, which is capable of
producing and inspiring marvelous effects and turning all
possibilities into impossibilities and vice-versa, which pervades
the entire material creation, is the only māya to be considered. As
the Vyāsa Yoga states: Sri, the Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi,
Bhū, the Goddess of the Earth, and māya or Durga, the external
material energy, are the distinct forms of this grand illusion. The
desires to possess more money, more land and have more sex are
the greatest illusions in this world. Goddess Durga puts all living
beings into darkness of ignorance, or make them sleep on her lap.
ya devi sarva bhūteshu nidra rūpena samstita.
Moreover, as it is said in the Svetasvatara Upanishads:
māyan-tu prakritim vidyāt mahinan-tu mahesvaram. This means
that prakriti is to be apprehended by the word māya and
mahesvaram, while the Supreme Lord should be apprehended by
the word mayi. It is the responsibility of māya to obscure the true
nature of the Supreme Lord from the miscreants, and unqualified
and to tempt such beings to constantly chase after the desires of
sense gratification. Hence, all the worlds are enticed and
bewildered by the fearful effect of māya from the time of their
birth. This is why they fail to recognize the magnificent splendor
and wondrous glories of the Supreme Lord Krishna.
Krishna controls māya, and māya controls living entities in

their conditional life. Put another way, materialistic people are
under māya, and māya is under Krishna. Therefore, to free
oneself from the clutches of māya one has to surrender unto the
Supreme Lord alone. This is proclaimed by the Lord with the
words mām evaye: only unto Me. No one else. Not to Lord Siva,
Lord Brahma, Lord Indra or Lord Chandra. Once one has taken
shelter of the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name, one will
be free from the custody of māya. This is just the same as the
criminal, who, by surrendering to the government, no longer
needs to run from or avoid the government, and face further
penalties for doing so; by his surrender he is freed from further
offence against himself.
TEXT 15 न मां द्ु कृत न८ मढ
ू ाः रप्यत े नरािमाः।
माययापृ ्ाना आसरु ं भावमाधर ाः॥१५॥
na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
na -- not; māṁ -- unto Me; duṣkṛtino -- depraved; mūḍhāḥ -- the
foolish; prapadyante -- surrender; narādhamāḥ -- lowest level of
mankind; māyayāpahṛta -- stolen by the illusory energy; jñānā --
whose knowledge; āsuraṁ bhāvam -- nature of demoniac;
āśritāḥ -- accepting.
Those who are deprived, foolish, who are in the lowest level
of mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by the illusory energy,
and who take part in the demonic, do not surrender to Me.
ANNOTATION: It is easier for a man to thread a camel through
the hole of a needle than for a wealthy man to become a sincere
devotee of Krishna. Just as good citizens abide by the laws of
government, good souls abide by the laws of God. After
explaining the divine power of His illusory energy, the Lord now
explains about those who have succumbed to His illusions and
engage in various kinds of sinful and evil activities.
Today, it is common to find foolish authors who attempt to
eliminate Krishna’s ultimate authority. Many people, and indeed
most of modern civilization, follow the atheistic philosophy that

is espoused by Chārvaka rsi, believing that, because there is no
rebirth, the goal of life is to eat, drink and be merry by any
means. He was a hedonist sage. Impersonalist writers too try and
destroy Krishna’s authority when they comment on the
Bhagavad-Gītā. They claim that Krishna did not possess
unlimited power and strength and they describe Him as only
possessing philosophical knowledge and an ordinary material
body with little extra power. These writers, atheists and
impersonalists alike are conducting sinful activities by
denigrating the authority of the sacred texts. In this verse the
Lord uses the term dushkritinah in reference to those who
conduct such activities; ‘dush’ meaning ‘bad’, and ‘krti’ meaning
‘activities’. The influence of people like Chārvaka rsi is more
prevalent in modern time.
While many people are dying every day, highly educated
members of society have discovered nuclear bombs which kill
them faster than anyone could have imagined. Yet, they are
awarded Nobel Prizes. Such people may have a high profile in
society, but their aim is destruction. There are many women and
doctors who kill children in the womb. These murders are also
dushkriti. Drug dealing, murder and black markets are the sign of
dushkriti. According to Krishna they are all grossly foolish. They
have wrong and perverted beliefs about the Supreme laws, and
they think of Krishna as their own property. Such people, the
dushkritinah, are pursuing material gains like beasts of burden.
Such fools are grossly nescient and are ignorant of the Supreme
Absolute Truth and God’s Personality. They commit sinful
activities, such as the killing of cows and all kinds of animals.
These are the root causes of all other immoral activities. They
also perform all kinds of disgusting activities, or ugra karma,
which destroy the peace of the society.
mūdhas, or fools, work day and night to fill up their bellies,
and dream of partying in night clubs, bars and restaurants until
dawn. They work like asses. As an ass knows that grass is
available everywhere, but he still wants to work for a master who
will give it to them. This is due to the mūdhas being under the
illusion that only his boss can maintain him and give him
remuneration for the work he does day and night. The boss gives
these ignorant a pledge, and offers incentives, so that they will
get the smallest of percentages of what the master makes and free
travel over a small distance for few days. Enticed by such
rewards these workers are careless of their spiritual activities,
health and their relationships with their families, and invest all
their energy for their greedy master. Consequently, because
spiritual activities do not reward them money immediately, they
have insufficient time for it. They do not care of their wives and
children, and other family members, and they do not understand
the real goal of human life. By not finding time to read
transcendental literatures or meeting with true spiritually oriented
devotees of Krishna, all their problems remain unsolved. In this
way, all the mysteries of life remain as secrets. This is how the
foolish remain ever ignorant of the value of human life and spend
their time frivolously, while the wise make efforts to establish a
relationship with God and to love Him
narādhamas are the lowest level of society, and are bereft
of any moral principles. There are millions of such people and
most of them are uncivilized. Even though they live in major
cities and towns, they are totally misinformed about the actual
goals of life. They think that the purpose of all creation is to give
them an opportunity to satisfy their greedy minds and lusty
ambitions, and they think that there is no God in control and
everything in this world is for their personal enjoyment.
Although they are in the suits and coats, they act as if they are
sub-humans. They illegally acquire land, wealth and enjoy
whisky, meat and so many women in different places. Sometimes
they kidnap girls, and sometimes they force stars to succumb to
their lust. If women are disobedient to such demoniac people,
they are torn apart and killed. When these narādhamās appear in
public after taking a bath, they think there is no one as pious or
as wise as them. With their sinfully accumulated wealth they
manipulate the government and effectively purchase the laws
they want, and if there are honest government staff who stand in
their way, the narādhamās have them transferred or threaten to
kill their family members.
When demons such as these lived in the past, Krishna killed
them all and freed the people who followed dharma, religion.
The narādhamās do not believe in the Supreme Government and
the Supreme Judge, the Absolute Personality of Godhead. Yet,
Lord Krishna is watching all their sinful actions. They believe,
they are independent in this world and they can do anything they
want with their money and servants. But they are independent as
long as their souls inhabit their current bodies, but once they die
they will be under the complete control of Yamarāja (Yama
meaning ‘rules and regulations’, raja meaning ‘king’). Neither
their employees, nor their superiors, nor their family members
will be able to help them then. For their heinous activities, they
will be torn apart by the Yamarāja and his servants according to
the universal law. Thus, while they may escape State and Federal
laws through bribery, influence and intimidation, no one will
ever escape the Supreme laws of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Who is equal to all living beings.
mayāyapahrta-jnāna are empirical philosophers that are
also deluded by the same illusory energy that is misguiding the
rest of human society. These demons assume various human and
non-human (or partially human) forms and have been
antagonistic to the Supreme Lord since time immemorial. They
are averse to hearing about the nature, form, qualities, pastimes
and powers of the Supreme Lord and they blaspheme the Lord in
every way possible (as did the demon Sisupāla in the assembly of
the Pāndavas until, later that day, his head was cut off by the
Supreme Lord’s sharp disc, sudharshana chakra). Because of
their ignorance, their accumulation of sins multiplies and they
permanently remain unfit to accept the truth of the Supreme
Lord’s supreme position as the Supreme controller of all
creation. Although many such philosophers are intelligent
enough to be able to comprehend the eternal knowledge of the
Vedic wisdom, they insist on promoting their own deluded
antiquated dogmas to the contrary in the name of religion.

Always, they are enthusiastic about conceiving of a God without
form, qualities or personality. This ensures that God is
perpetually unfathomable, and unreachable, hence permanently
unattainable for humanity. They do not know that the blessed
form of human life is designed using the eternal and
transcendental features of the Supreme Lord, and that because of
this relation between us and the Lord, we are able to know Him.
There are many interpretations of Bhagavad-Gītā, which
involve whimsical annotations that deride the significance of
Krishna. These haunted writers believe that Krishna was merely
possessed by an impersonal Brahman, who subsequently
expounded the Bhagavad-Gītā. Such foolish interpreters are
misguiding the human society with their whimsical realizations.
āsuram bhāvam āsritam are beings like Kamsa, once said
that children born to Devaki must be presented to him at once to
kill them. Many demons who were friends of Kamsa tried to Kill
Krishna in so many ways with their so called infallible weapons,
but all attempts were foiled. Today, modern men with various
concepts of the Supreme Being want to kill Krishna in their
speeches, without actually knowing that the Supreme Being they
are searching for is Krishna Himself.
There are many transcendentally poor beings in modern
society who think that Krishna died due to curse of the mother of
Kauravas, Gāndhāri. Due to their lack of information and
understanding, they do not know that it was Krishna Himself
who instigated His own disappearance. He had been planning to
wind up His 125 years of earthly pastimes, and so inspired
Gāndhāri and several sages to curse the Yadu dynasty. Thus, He
Himself seemingly fell to this curse, and it is evident that this
was His choice, and not a lack of power on His behalf, since
millions of wicked demons had previously failed to destroy
Krishna and the Yadu dynasty. All of Krishna’s transcendental
pastimes, including how He disappeared from this world, are
supernatural. The normal course of death is only for those who
are born through the mother’s womb – the Supreme Majestic
Lord was never born in this world in the same way that humans
normally take birth (see chapter 4, verse 6). Thus, without
understanding the nature of the Supreme Lord’s spiritual body,
the demonic are under the false impression that Krishna is an
ordinary human being. Krishna is the Supreme Father of all
sentient beings and He can only be understood through His
divine guidance.
For example, Rāvana was very much devoted to Lord Siva,
and was born in brāhmana pulastya rsi's family. He had attained
all forms of material opulence and had mastered all four Vedās,
and had conquered all directions and leaders of the universe
except Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. However,
despite these achievements, he was rebellious to Lord Vishnu.
His deeds had fallen from the position of a civilized being. It is
the quality of one’s actions (guna and karma) that gives one a
higher or lower status, not one’s birth in an aristocratic or
brāhmana family.
These four types of fools mentioned here, each think that
they are the controllers and master of their position, and they do
not surrender to the Supreme Lord. Such fools will never be able
to attain freedom from repeated births and deaths or receive
mercy of Krishna, unless they sincerely take the shelter of a
bonafide devotee of Krishna, the scriptures or Krishna Himself.
As Krishna das Kaviraj goswāmi says:
māya-mugdha jivera nahi svatah krishna-jnāna
jivere krpaya kaila krishna veda-Purāna
“The conditioned soul cannot revive his Krishna consciousness
by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Krishna
compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purānas”.
TEXT16 च वु वािा भ्त े मां ्नाःसक
ु ृ त न८ऽ्ुन
ा ।
आ ो ्््ासरु िाािी ्ानी च भर षाभ॥१६॥
chatur-vidhā bhajante māṁ janāḥ su-kṛtino ’rjuna
ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bhāratarṣabha
chatur-vidhā bhajante -- four kinds; render services; māṁ -- unto
Me; janāḥ -- persons; su-kṛtino -- those who are pious; arjuna --
O Arjuna; ārto -- the distressed; jijñāsur -- the curious;

arthārthī -- the desires of wealth; jñānī -- one who is looking for
spiritual knowledge; ca -- also; bhāratarṣabha -- O descendants
of Bhārata.
O descendant of Bhārata, There are four types of pious
person rendering devotional service unto Me: the distressed,
the curious, the desirer of wealth, and one who is looking for
Absolute spiritual knowledge.
ANNOTATION: After describing the four kinds of sinful
persons who never surrender to the Supreme Lord, Krishna is
now describing the four types of pious persons who surrender to
Him. sukritinah, the opposite of duskritinah, means pious
persons. It is only pious persons who are capable of being
spiritual. The first type is the artah. These beings are those who
are distressed by various problems especially sickness,
joblessness, poor education and enemies. Even though they have
all these problems unless and until they accumulate sufficient
credit for their piety of their present position and their former
lives, they cannot take shelter in the Supreme Person. In the
Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Harivamsa it is said that Gajendra, the
king of all elephants, was in deep distress by fighting with an
alligator for one thousand celestial years. Losing the fight, he
became even more distressed and subsequently took shelter in
the Supreme Lord. When he offered a lotus flower to Lord
Vishnu in distress, the Lord protected him.
Another example of artah is seen in the instance when the
demon Jarāsandha imprisoned many pious kings and wanted to
sacrifice them to Kāla-Bhairava. These kings petitioned Lord
Krishna with distress, and subsequently the Lord saved them by
killing Jarāsandha through the medium of Bhīma sena. Similarly,
when Draupati was disrobed by the Kauravas, her distress led to
her honor being protected by the Lord through her prayers at the
Kauravas assembly by supplying thousands of sarees.
If one is without sufficiently piety, it is not possible to fix
one’s mind favorably on Krishna’s service. Such people end up
worshipping demigods such as Lord Siva and his other forms

such as Kala-Bhairava, Ganesh and Badra Kāli.
The second type of pious person is the jijnasur, the
inquisitive. They want to achieve self-realization like Videha,
Mucukunda and King Yadu. They have enough acquired merit
from previous lives to qualify for worship of the Supreme Lord,
and at the end of their life, they achieved the Kingdom of God.
Then, the third type of pious person is the artharthi, the seekers
of wealth. They desire wealth or to regain the positions of power
and material enjoyments, which they had previously possessed,
but were deprived of these things by relatives, senior officers or
enemies. Examples of these from Vedic scriptures are seen in
Dhruva, Sugriva and Vibhishana. Their innocent and pious deeds
attracted the heart of the Supreme Person. Even though their
devotional service is not pure, through contact with the Supreme
Person they are able to reinstate their position. In the end, they
achieve the spiritual world. Finally, the fourth type of pious
person are the jnānis, those of spiritual wisdom. They have no
selfish motivations and are endowed with excellent intelligence
and self-realization. Examples of such great souls are Sanat
kumaras, Nārada muni, Bhīshma deva, Sukha deva goswāmi and
Uddhava.
TEXT 17 ष
े ां ्ानी तन्यय्
ु एकभ्् ववाभश्य ।े
वरय८ ह ्ातनन८ऽ्यिाम ं स च मम वरयः॥१७॥
teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate
priyo hi jñānino ’tyartham ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ
teṣāṁ -- among them; jñānī -- the man of wisdom; nitya-yukta --
always engaged; ekabhaktir -- only devotional service; viśiṣyate -
- is very special; priyo -- very dear; hi -- certainly; jñānino
atyartham -- to the person in high wisdom; ahaṁ -- I am; sa ca --
he also; mama priyaḥ -- dear to Me.
Among them, the person who is high in wisdom and who is
always engaged in exclusive devotional service is very special
to Me. I am very dear to him, and he is also very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: The Lord says in this verse that among the four
types of persons who surrendered to Him, those who have
spiritual wisdom, the jnāni, are the best. Spiritual knowledge is
the pillar of devotion, knowledge about the Supreme can increase
one’s devotion for the Lord. Therefore, one has to be nitya-yukta,
eternally connected and to eka bhaktir, to render service to the
Lord with focused attention. Just like gambler is attached to
gambling, and a drunkard attached to alcohol, similarly, a jnāni
is attached to the Lotus feet of the Lord with transcendental
knowledge. He does not serve any other deities or persons other
than Lord Krishna, because he knows the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is the source of everything in creation.
According to Garuda Purāna, devotional service to the Supreme
Lord is the only bhakti. To attach ourselves to the Lotus feet of
the Lord is to attain the perfection of knowledge. The Supreme
Lord Krishna equally reciprocates to His devotees because they
only desire to be purely devoted to Him, life after life.
Prahlada Mahārāja, a scholar and pure devotee of Krishna,
was once bitten by poisonous serpents. However, because he was
immersed in remembering the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva, he did
not feel a thing. Subsequently, the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva
swiftly appeared for his rescue as the incarnation of Sri
Narasimha-deva. In hearing of this event, the great sage Parāsara
Muni, the father of Srila Vyāsa deva, praised Prahlada.
TEXT 18 उदाराः सवा एव े ्ानी ्वा्मव मे म म ्।

आ्थि ः स ह य् ु ा्मा मामेवानत
ु मां गत म ्॥१८॥
udārāḥ sarva evaite jñānī tv ātmaiva me matam
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā mām evānuttamāṁ gatim
udārāḥ -- very generous; sarva evaite -- certainly all these
persons; jñānī -- a person in the true wisdom; tv -- but; ātmaiva --
just like Myself; me-matam -- My opinion; āsthitaḥ -- is
situated; sahi -- he certainly; yuktātmā -- solely engaged in
devotional service; mām -- in Me; eva -- certainly;
ānuttamāṁgatim -- the highest destination.
Certainly, all these persons are very generous, but the person
who is situated in true spiritual wisdom and thus
understands Me is just like Myself. Being solely engaged in
my devotional service, such a person certainly attains Me, the
most perfect and highest destination.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna says to Arjuna that all people
who approach Him for help are genuinely magnanimous souls.
However, one who also knows of Krishna’s truth is dear to Him.
Such devotees are jnānis. Their minds are fully absorbed solely
upon the Supreme Lord and they have taken complete shelter in
Him, alone, as the only objective, with nothing superior to this.
Knowledge here means, one who knows that Krishna is creation
while still maintaining His Supreme Personality without change.
Knowledge means knowing that He is the source of impersonal
Brahman, He is the source of Supersoul, He is the master of
demigods, the master of saintly people, the maintainer, the
creator, the destroyer, and the master of all living beings
(including His dear loving devotees).
As it is cited in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam by Nārāyana: “just
as parents are happy with their children, just as Rudra is happy
with his associates and just as I am happy with Goddess
Lakshmi; in the same way Lord Krishna is always extremely
happy with His devotees and devotees are also extremely happy
with their Lord.”
The Supreme Lord has nothing else dearer to Him than His
loving devotees. So, one must understand that the Supreme Lord
reciprocates in the same manner towards His devotees, just as
His devotee acts towards Him. Thus, in the same way that His
devotees cannot live without Him, the Supreme Lord cannot live
without His devotees.
TEXT 19 ब ू नां ्तमनामत े ्ानवातमां रप्य ।े

वासद ु े वः सवाभमत स म ा्मा सद
ु ल
ु भ
ा ः॥१९॥
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
bahūnāṁ -- countless; janmanām -- births and deaths; ante -- in

the end; jñānavān māṁ -- one who is in full knowledge of Me;
prapadyate -- surrenders; vāsudevaḥ -- Vāsudeva Krishna, the
Majestic Personality of Godhead; sarvam -- everything; iti --
thus; sa -- that; mahātmā -- great soul; su-durlabhaḥ -- is very
rare.
In the end of countless births and deaths, he who is in full
knowledge of Me, that Vāsudeva Krishna is the cause of
everything and all that is, surrenders. Such a great soul is
very rare.
ANNOTATION: This knowledge of vāsudevam sarvam iti does
not appear in a person in one birth. The Lord explains that the
cultivation of transcendental ritualistic activities (described in the
Vedic literatures for Lord Krishna) comes after many births.
There is no limit to the number of births one must take in the
material world before beginning such worship as a human being.
Moreover, one may be a devotee of Krishna in different degrees
and in different life times. Living entities wander throughout the
universe taking different kinds of births and would have lived
900,000 times in the form of fish, 2,000,000 times in the form of
trees, 1,100,000 times in the form of reptiles, 1,000,000 times in
the form of birds, 3,000,000 times in the form of animals. In the
last stage of such wandering, one will come to the human form of
life, which consists of 400,000 varieties ranging from different
stages of civilization. Thus, after many uncivilized births and
deaths, one will reach civilized births. In such a birth, if one is
fortunate, he becomes completely knowledgeable about Krishna
by His mercy and the guidance of a spiritual master.
In this regard, as all beings are moving toward this: Krishna
is the cause and goal of all Vedās, sacrifice, yoga, fruitive
activities, transcendental knowledge, austerities, religion and
Supreme Goal of all living beings. A being, then, finally
becomes a devotee who fully surrenders with his mind, speech
and work to the Supreme Godhead, Lord Vāsudeva. According
to the Supreme Lord, such devotees are very rare and are called
great souls or mahātma. Thus, in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam it is
said:
vāsudeva-parā vedā vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ

vāsudeva-parā yogā vāsudeva-parāḥ kriyāḥ
vāsudeva-paraṁ jñānaṁ vāsudeva-paraṁ tapaḥ
vāsudeva-paro dharmo vāsudeva-parā gatiḥ
“In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is
Śrī Krishna, the Majestic Personality of Godhead. The purpose of
performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him.
All fruitive activities are ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is
supreme knowledge, and all severe austerities are performed to
know Him. Religion (dharma) is rendering loving service unto
Him. He is the supreme goal of life.”
TEXT 20 कामथ थ ृा ्ानाः रप्यत ऽे तयदे व ाः।

ं ं तनयममाथिाय रकृ्या तनय ाः थवया॥२०॥
kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ
taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā
kāmais -- by desires; tais tair -- various; hṛta-jñānāḥ -- deprived
of wisdom; prapadyante -- take shelter of; anya -- to other;
devatāḥ -- demigods; taṁ taṁ -- applicable; niyamam --
regulations; āsthāya -- following; prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā --
controlled by their own nature.
Those whose wisdom of discrimination has been deprived by
the material desires surrender to the demigods and follow
rules and regulations of worship according to their own
natures.
ANNOTATION: Now the Lord explains that those who do not
have knowledge become hrta. This means ‘deprived of their
goal’. hrta do not follow one way by many because they have not
been educated in the real science of God, the science of Lord
Krishna. Due to a lack of self-knowledge, people develop many
material desires to maintain their bodies and take care of their
material necessities, and they look for easier ways to fulfill their
desires. The easiest method to do so is to approach the immediate
deity who concerns their particular desire. Thus, they worship the
demigod Sun god to be free from diseases; they worship Goddess

Pārvati and Lord Siva to find a nice husband or wife; they
worship Sani to be free from their misfortune; they worship
Ganesh to get free from obstacles; and they worship Lord Indra
for the fulfillment of their erotic desires.
In modern times many spiritual leaders, swāmis and
swāminis, worship with the panchopāsana method to confuse
innocent people. They think that worshiping the unlimited
impersonal Brahman is very difficult and therefore they imagine
more particular forms as a vehicle to attain the impersonal
Brahman. The panchopāsana system of worship advocates five
kinds of deities: Sun god, Ganesh, Durga, Siva and Vishnu. It
maintains that these gods have to be imagined and worshiped as
part of their form of bhakti to merge into the impersonal
effulgence called Brahmajyoti after death. Once they merge into
the Brahman effulgence, the panchopāsana system allows that
there is no need for these idols, and so these idols are only ever
used to focus the mind. Because they are after the happiness
(sukham) of impersonal Brahman, they do not have any true
spiritual activities. These practitioners, then, engage in
philanthropic works.
The work of the philanthropy is done by the government
and private citizens. It should not be the activity of saintly
people. People are starving to practice pure devotion to God. Yet,
they have been repeatedly misguided to fund the philanthropic
activities of modern so called saintly beings. One must, instead,
follow the spiritual philosophy of science given in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-Gītā to have access to the Kingdom
of God after death, the pure residence of Krishna far beyond the
impersonal Brahman, which is the permanent residence for living
beings fallen in the material world.
Repeated birth and death is the major tragedy of this world
and it is faced by every single living entity whether they are
human or animal. For beings to obtain their eternal spiritual
body, they must stop acting on the material plane, whether this
involves worshiping demigods or desiring to become one with
God’s light. Acting in devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna is

the most powerful philanthropic work. Philanthropy and altruism
without Krishna are a part of material activities, and
consequently these activities will bring the activists back to the
birth and death. One should not allow one's intelligence to be
stolen by māya or manodharma. If so, then its followers will not
achieve human perfection in spite of the most magnanimous
social activities. Rather, one should adopt the devotional service
to Lord Krishna as the goal of one’s life to prevent one from
obtaining the higher or lower forms of the material spheres.
When Lord Krishna was a boy, He condemned the demigod
worship of His father Nanda Mahārāja as it only takes worshipers
back to the material world for the repeated birth and death.
Instead, the sage of Naimisharanya advises one to exclusively
worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. In
Srimad-Bhāgavatam 2-3-10, it is said:
akāmah sarva-kamo va moksha-kāma udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena yajeta purusham param
“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full
of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring
liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the
TEXT 21 य८ य८ यां यां नंु भ् ः र्ियाधचा भु म्छत ।
थय थयाचलां र्िां ामेव ववदिा्य म ्॥२१॥
yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ śraddhayārcitum icchati
tasya tasyāchalāṁ śraddhāṁ tām eva vidadhāmy aham
yo yo -- particular; yāṁ yāṁ -- whichever; tanuṁ -- demigod;
bhaktaḥ -- devotee; śraddhayā -- with faith; ārcitum -- to
worship; icchati -- desires; tasya tasya -- in him; āchalāṁ --
concrete; śraddhāṁ -- faith; tām -- that; eva -- surely; vidadhāmy
-- bestow; aham -- I.
Whoever and whichever demigods they desire to worship, I
certainly make his faith stronger, so that they can be devoted
to that demigod.
ANNOTATION: There is a class of philosophers, who say that

worshipping anyone brings one to the same goal. That
philosophy is refuted by the Lord in this verse with the words yo
yo yām yām tanum bhakta. This means that whoever and
whichever demigod they like to worship, it is only by Krishna’s
power that their faith is steady. This is because He is the
Supersoul in everyone’s heart, both in the hearts of demigods and
their worshippers. The demigods are not aware of those devotees
who worship them. Rather, it is through their hearts that the Lord
inform demigods about their devotees’ sincere devotion, and it is
the Lord who gives the demigods the approval to benedict their
devotees. So, it is only through Krishna that the devotees of a
demigod gain strength to worship a demigod from within their
heart and achieve their desires (the initial cause of their worship).
As the supremely benevolent Absolute Truth, Lord Krishna
is without any partiality or selfish motivations. Consider the
following story. A beautiful young maiden is being wooed by
few young boys, who want to win her by either their prowess,
knowledge, or wealth. A nice young educated, powerful,
beautiful and gentle boy, who is a friend of the maiden, asks her
to choose among those three. However, understanding the heart
of this friend’s selfless suggestion, in helping her to choose a
husband, the intelligent maiden chooses him as her husband. In a
very similar way, the Supreme Majestic Lord, the most powerful,
the most beautiful, the most learned helps everyone worship their
desired demigods, because He monitors their thoughts and deeds.
Yet, one who is intelligent, like this maiden, would choose to
worship the Supreme Lord instead. The import of this story is
that although Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord of all, and
possesses absolute sovereign power over everyone and
everything in the creation, He never exerts even the slightest
influence over any embodied being to put their faith and devotion
in Him. God has given independence to everyone, so that if a
person desires to have material facilities, He will definitely fulfill
these desires through one of the demigods, even though such
selfish desires ultimately harm the worshipper in the long run.
The many branched consciousness of the jīva leads them to

worship many gods to have their desires fulfilled. Yet, actually
all their desires are fulfilled by the Supreme Lord. For this
reason, only foolish people assume that because their desires are
fulfilled by the different demigods, all gods are powerful enough
to provide them with benediction. Consequently, they put all
demigods in the same category of the Supreme Lord and think
they are independent of Lord Krishna or Nārāyana. This view is
opposed in the Padma Purāna:
yas tu nārāyanam devam brahma-rudrādi-daivataih
samatvenaiva vikseta sa pāsandi bhaved dhruvam
“A person who considers demigods like Brahma and Siva to be

on an equal level with Nārāyana is to be considered an atheist, or
pāshandi”.
As Krishna is adi Nārāyana, Lord Brahma thus says
govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajāmi, he offers obeisance
to the original enjoyer Govinda (Krishna).
TEXT 22 स या र्िया य्
ु थ थयारािनमी ।े
लभ े च ःकामातमयवःववह ा्त ान ्॥२२॥
sa tayā śraddhayā yuktas tasyārādhanam īhate
labhate ca tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitān hi tān
sa -- he; tayā -- with that; śraddhayā -- strong faith; yuktas --
endowed; tasya -- of that demigod; ārādhanam -- the worship;
īhate -- he aspires; labhate -- obtains; ca -- and; tataḥkāmān --
that desires; maya -- by Me; iva -- alone; vihitān -- sanctioned; hi
-- certainly; tān -- those.
Endowed with that strong faith he worships that particular
demigod and his particular desires fulfilled, certainly those
benefits are granted by My power alone.
ANNOTATION: When the Lord makes it possible for the
devotees of demigods to develop a strong faith in those
demigods, these devotees begin to and then continue to worship
of their respective demigods. There are many different rules and
regulations prescribed for a particular demigod, and the devotees

of these demigods try to follow those rules, and the various Vedic
hymns and prayers to satisfy their respective demigods. Yet, all
these demigods are parts of the universal body of Lord Krishna;
the Lord is the whole and the demigods are the parts. Thus, the
Lord is great (vibhu) while demigods are small (anu). Moreover,
as demigods are merely part of the material world. Their bodies
are made of material elements, making them, again, inferior to
the Lord.
Demigod worshippers try to satisfy the demigods, who are
the parts of the universal body of the Lord. Because they worship
only a part of the Lord, the benedictions they obtain are just
small and temporary. These benedictions will vanish along with
one’s death, and thus will not be carried forward to the next life.
Benedictions from demigods, nevertheless originate from
and are bestowed by the whole, the Supreme Lord. By
worshipping the Supreme Person directly, one obtains a complete
benediction that will be carried forward to one’s next life and
beyond.
There is only one God, therefore to achieve Him there is
only one path, it is bhakti-yoga. Worshipping Krishna is in this
sense similar to the payment of taxes to the government treasury.
After taxes are paid by the citizens and collected by the
government, it distributes that money to all the necessary
departments which then, allocate it to the appropriate roles. In
this way, taxes support unemployment schemes, pensions, the
army, police, schools, hospitals as well as various welfare
schemes. To divide ones taxes and pay each department
separately would be a very difficult task. If one should try, they
risk not reaching all such departments, or not allocating the
appropriate amount of money for each. This danger is present in
the case of demigod worship and is avoided by serving the
Supreme Godhead Krishna. In this way, one serves each and
every demigods, the sages, forefathers, domestic animals and all
other living beings. Yet, the opposite is also true since without
sincerely surrendering to Lord Kesava (Krishna), human beings
increase their obligations to the many millions of living entities
including demigods, which go unmet if they do not also pay

attention to these beings.
TEXT 23 अत वतु फलं ष
े ां ्भव्य्पमेिसाम ्।
दे वातदे वय्८ या्त म्भ् ा या्त मामवप॥२३॥
antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām
devān deva-yajo yānti mad-bhaktā yānti mām api
antavat -- temporary; tu -- but; phalaṁ -- result; teṣāṁ -- their;
tad -- that; bhavaty -- is; alpa-medhasām -- of those of
insufficient wisdom; devān -- to demigods; deva-yajo -- the
worshipers of the demigods; yānti -- attains; mad-bhaktā -- My
devotees; yānti -- attains; mām -- Me; api -- also.
Men with meager wisdom worship demigods, their results
are incomplete and transitory. Those who are engaged in the
devotional service of the demigods attain the demigods and
My devotees attains Me.
ANNOTATION: The demigods are the different governing body
commissioners of the management of Lord Madhava (Krishna)
and they assist the Lord in the universal management. There are
innumerable planets in the universe: a minimum of 33 million
planets. While Bhārata-varsha, India, has 29 Chief Ministers and
governors, the United States have 50 governors, likewise there
are 33 million governors in the ministry of this universe. There
are many millions and billions of universes with millions and
billions of chief demigods. But Krishna is the only Lord for all
these universes. The Supreme Lord expands His spiritual body
into as many expansions as are required to bless all the living
entities and demigods. All those expanded forms are called
Nārāyana and Vishnus. It should be understood that since all the
demigods, in their various positions of universal management,
are manifestations of the Supreme Lord, to worship them is to
worship Him also. This especially true, since is the Supreme
Lord who sanctions and grants all results to their supplications.
However, as mentioned earlier, it is, nevertheless, also true that
there is a vast difference in the results worshipping the demigods
and worshipping (and adoring) the Supreme Lord.

People with inadequate wisdom cannot understand the
length and breadth of the cosmic creation of the Lord; while a
frog can be well aware of the well it resides in, it cannot calculate
the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean. Similarly,
materialists never try to understand the position of their life
relative to the world and cosmos, and merely try to adjust their
day to day living conditions, so that they suit the current
economic climate, just like the frog adjusts its swimming to suit
the size of the well. To obtain their various necessities they
worship the demigods and obtain small fruitive results. Yet, if
they continue worshipping them until the end of their lives, then
they will only be transferred temporarily to a higher planet.
When their piety has been expended, they will return to the
material world to start another material life, and continue with
their material life-style.
In stark contrast with this recurrent cycle, at the end of their
lives, the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna attain
association with Him in His abode in the spiritual world. This is
eternal and everlasting: such devotees do not return to the
material world. Impersonalists may say that vaishnava devotees
are actually merely speculating and projecting in their
imagination of the design of the Supreme Person, and only in this
creative endeavor are they able to allocate any qualifications to
Him. However, the fact is that the Godhead is not any such
speculative idea. It does not involve the investment of some
artificial power onto a Supreme Being. Thus, in the Taittriya
Upanishad 2.8.1, it is said, bhisasmad vatah pavate, bhisodeti
sūryah, bhisasmad agnis candras ca, mrtyur dhavati pancamah:
“It is out of fear of the Supreme Person that the wind is blowing,
out of fear of Him that the sun regularly rises and sets, and out of
fear of Him that fire acts. It is only due to fear of Him that death
and Indra, the King of heaven, perform their respective duties.”
TEXT 24 अ्य् ं ्य्् मापतनं मतयत े मामब्
ु ियः।
परं भावम्ानत ८ ममा्ययमनत
ु मम ्॥२४॥
avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannam manyante mām abuddhayaḥ

paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mamāvyayam anuttamam
avyaktaṁ -- the non-manifested; vyaktim -- personality;
āpannaṁ -- assumed; manyante -- think; mām -- Me;
abuddhayaḥ -- without intelligent; paraṁ -- supreme; bhāvam --
state of being; ajānanto -- without knowledge; mama -- My;
āvyayam -- inexaustible; anuttamam -- the exalted.
Men without spiritual intelligence think that I, Krishna, was
once upon a time impersonal and has only now assumed this
personality. They do not have knowledge of My Supreme
state of being, which is everlasting and exalted.
ANNOTATION: According to Srimad-Bhāgavatam, the
impersonal Brahman is one of the features of Lord Krishna, and
Paramātma is another of His features. In modern times, educated
class of people believe in pantheism, equating God with the
forces and laws of the universe. Ninety nine percent of the
population believe that God is not a personal being, that He has
no qualities as an individual, pastimes or attributes. Due to their
lack of knowledge about the spotless character of the Supreme
Being, these monists and pantheists, propagate the view that God
is imaginary energy or light. Others believe that God is a person
like them, with minute power. They even think that He is unable
to create any planets, universes, mountains, or change the
seasons and the movements of sun and moon, etc.
The Bible describes ‘first there was word of God’, which
means God is a Person. Because He is a Person, therefore, He
could speak’. This means God must have two eyes, two hands,
two legs, two ears, one head; all the features that human bodies
possess. This also means that our ability to think and will and
work also come from Him. Because of the subtle energy of
Krishna, the vast universe and its planets have come into
existence. Humans are made according to God’s features, and no
human can manufacture anything without thinking, willing, and
working power. Due to their clouded brains, confused people
cannot conceive of God as the Supreme Person and His
transcendental body is made of spiritual substances.
In this material world, every department’s executive is a

person; every country’s executive is a person; every planet’s
ruler is a person, therefore it is natural, that the master of the
extraordinary creation should be also a Person, but a Supreme
Person. Consider this example: a power minister who is a person
controls electric power supply, when anyone touches him, no one
get electrified because he is a person. Therefore, electrical energy
is an energy, one who controls it, is a lively person. Similarly,
these wide phenomenal and colossal creation is the energy of
Krishna and it is created by Him. The impersonalists' and
monists' explanations and interpretations are neither scientific
nor logical. The secondary creator Lord Brahma was bestowed
with fortune due to his austerity and had seen the form of the
Supreme Person. Lord Brahma explains the form of Godhead in
his treaties Brahma samhita 5-30- 32:
venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam
barhavatam samasitambuda-sundarangam
kandarpa-koti-kāmaniya vishesha-shobham
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
“I worship Govinda, the Primeval Lord, Who is expert in playing
on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals, with His head
decorated with a peacock’s feather, with the figure of beauty
tinted with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness
charming millions of cupids”.
angani yasya sakalendriya-vritti-manti
pasyanti pānti kalayanti ciram jaganti
ānanda-chinmays-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-purusam tam aham bhajāmi
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental
form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the
most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental
figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the
organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite
universes, both spiritual and mundane”.
Out of His causeless mercy the same Supreme Being

appeared in this world in the form of a deity to bless all living
beings. For Krishna both matter and spirit are equal, a distinction
is created by those who failed to understand the omnipotence of
the Supreme Majestic Godhead. He can manifest in any form as
He likes. Understanding this truth of the Vedās all must engage
in His pure devotional service. Do the impersonalists and monists
believe His deity is merely made of stone in the temples, that,
therefore, no one should go to a temple to worship Him? Due to
their misfortune they do not understand the sat-cit-ānanda, the
form of the Supreme Lord Krishna, as the Lord has elucidated in
this verse. They could not read the proper scriptures and do not
have an extensive understanding of the God’s form and qualities
as Lord Brahma or Lord Mahādeva explains in their prayers.
They read the distorted philosophy of the father of monism, Lord
Buddha, or read the impersonal philosophy given by the father of
impersonalists, Lord Shankara.
Lord Buddha intentionally rejected the authority of the
Vedās because the higher class of people had quoted Vedās while
killing animals. As an incarnation of Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha
had asked them to follow Him to guide them to the right path and
cease the killing of animals: kesava drtha buddha sarira jaya
jagadhisa hare. Moreover, Sripāda Shankarāchārya was asked by
the Supreme Being to preach māyavada philosophy to obscure
the actual philosophy of Krishna consciousness several centuries
ago in order to supersede Buddhism. Thus, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead said in the Padma Purāna while
addressing Lord Siva:
svagamaih kalpitais tvam ca janān mad-vimukhan kuru
mam ca gopaya yena syat srstir esottarottara
“Please make the general populace averse to Me by imagining
your own interpretation of the Vedās. Also, cover Me in such a
way that people will take more interest in advancing material
civilization to propagate a population bereft of spiritual
knowledge.”
Then, again Lord Siva tells His wife Pārvati :

māyāvāda m asac-chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate
mayaiva vihitam devi
kalau brāhmana -mūrtina
“In the Age of Kali I take the form of a brāhmana and explain
the Vedās through false scriptures in an atheistic way, similar to
Buddhist philosophy.”
So sārirakabhasya of āchārya Sankara is an impersonal and
atheistic scripture. This is known as an asat sāstra, or an
inauspicious sāstra, even by its author Lord Siva.
To address these people, Lord Krishna explains in this verse
that His personal form is His actual form and that He is not an
impersonal being. Regarding this, the Supreme Lord is called an
Adhokshaja; His spiritual form is not understood by one’s
limited material senses and subtle mind, which are made of
matter. The unintelligent are unaware of His Majestic Personality
and are not qualified to perceive the Supreme Lord because they
do not have the blessings of the Lord Himself. Thus, in a humble
request, Lord Brahma said to Lord Krishna in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam10th Canto:
athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya
prasāda-lesānugrhita eva hi
jānati tattvam bhagavān-mahimno
na canya eko 'pi ciram vicinvān
“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of
Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your
Personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme
Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though
they continue to study the Vedās for many years.”
When Lord Krishna was on the planet earth, there were
many demons and humans with demonic qualities who derided
Krishna’s authority. These members of the society did not
recognize the authority of Godhead. They always challenged the
authority of God and all of them perished. When Krishna was
just 13 years old, He killed the Powerful Kamsa, the Lord

mashed Kamsa like an elephant crushes mushrooms. The demons
thought Krishna was a magician and merely manifested sorcery.
Yet, when Lord Krishna kept increasing the length of Draupadi’s
saree to protect her chastity in the assembly of Kurus, still, the
demonic fools did not understand the Majesty of the Lord.
Moreover, when He appeared in Hastinapura as the peace
messenger, foolish Duryodhana ordered his army to arrest Lord
Krishna. The Supreme One manifested His partial universal form
with powerful effulgence, that impersonal effulgence blinded all
the assembled Kurus, who did not have devotion for Him. This
impersonal light is manifested by Krishna, just as the universal
form is manifested by Krishna. Therefore, all these features are
subordinate to Krishna as will be explained by the Lord in the
14th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, that He is the origin of the
impersonal light.
The Supreme Lord manifests Himself in this world out of
extreme affection and compassion for His devotees, but the
ignorant are unaware of the supreme position of the Lord and
they never worship Him. They never realize that He possesses a
purely spiritual body, which is transcendental, antiseptic, without
veins and is eternal to the material existence. The unintelligent
simply look at Him as a human being with exceptional powers,
as a kshatriya prince, son of Vasudeva and Devaki of the lunar
dynasty. The Bhagavad-Gītā was not a mundane opinion of
Krishna, or the irrelevant thought of Krishna, but a scientific
truth presented by Krishna, the Supreme Absolute Truth.
TEXT 25 ना ं रकाशः सवाथय य८गमायासमाव ृ ः।

मढ
ू ८ऽयं नाभभ्ानात ल८क८ माम्म्ययम ्॥२५॥
nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam
nāhaṁ -- I am not; prakāśaḥ -- revealed; sarvasya -- to all; yoga-
māyā -- by internal potency; samāvṛtaḥ -- roofed; mūḍho --
irrational; ayaṁ -- these; nābhijānāti -- cannot comprehend; loko
-- persons; mām -- Me; ajam -- unborn; avyayam --

inexhaustible.
I am not revealed to the irrational and less intelligent
persons, I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore
they cannot comprehend that I am unborn and inexhaustible.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna manifested in His childhood and
adolescence His exceptional and transcendental activities to all
Vrindhāvana and Mathura residents. His beautiful bluish bodily
hue was decorated with Srivatsa (the golden line on His chest)
and the Kaustabha jewel (His resplendent transcendental
gemstone) peacock feather, forest flower garlands down to His
knees, and His glorious flute in His forest pastimes. In His royal
pastimes He possesses transcendental items such as the
Pānchajanya (the conch shell), Sāranga bow, Kaumodaki club,
and the Sudharsana Disc.
Lord Krishna is the master of Brahma, the secondary
creator, the master of Lord Siva, the destroyer, and of Lord Indra,
the chief of all the demigods. Krishna descended to protect the
eternal religion, and from His birth He began destroying demons
like Pūtana, Trnavarta, Kesi and Aghāsura. In His imperial
Dwāraka pastimes He killed even more demons, such as
Narakāsura, Vajranabha and many more. In the end the Lord
created mausala lila, withdrawing from His own pastimes on the
request of Lord Brahma. Why were the people blind to all these
wondrous feats of the Supreme Lord? Here, in this verse, Krishna
says na aham prakasah sarvasya, “I am not manifest to anyone”,
samāvrtah meaning ‘I am covered’.
There are two types of māyās; yoga-māya and mahā-māya.
yoga-māya covers Lord Krishna while mahā-māya covers the
conditioned soul. Such souls do not know the truth of the
supreme position of Krishna. To see Krishna as He is, the
Supreme Person, conditioned souls, first, have to break the
covering of mahā-māya, and then they must also break the
covering of the yoga-māya. This is impossible for any living
beings so long as they continue with their lusty material desires
and are antagonistic to the Supreme Lord. By His causeless

mercy, Krishna reveals His power and majesty only to those who
are exclusively devoted to Him in Krishna consciousness.
Regarding this, the Pāndavas, Kunti Devi, Bhīshma, Vidura were
all such pure devotees who could relish the pastimes and
qualities of the Lord in aiswarya, opulence. Thus, it is said in the
Vedic literature: nāyam ātma pravachanena labhyo, na medhasa
na bahūna srutena, yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas, tasyaisa
ātma vivrnute tanum svam, “the Supreme Lord is not obtained by
expert explanations, by vast intelligence or even by much
hearing. He is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses.
To such a person, He manifests His own form”.
Lord Krishna has an eternal spiritual body, which cannot be
perceived by material eyes or through mental speculation. Only
by transcendental devotional service can one understand the
transcendental form of Lord Krishna. The contrast is given here
to the qualifications for viewing the personal features of the sun-
god: every planet has its own atmosphere according to the
influence of the arrangement of material nature. It is, therefore,
necessary to have a particular type of bodily construction to
reach a particular planet. What is impossible for man on earth is
easy for the demigods in heaven because of their different bodily
constitution. Hence, the sun-god is a person who, although not
visible to our eyes, is seen from the higher planets by the
demigods, whose eyes are suitable for seeing through the glaring
sunshine that surrounds him. Similarly, to see the Supreme Lord
one must have the spiritual eyes of devotional service. The
Majestic Personality of Godhead is, therefore, unapproachable
for those who are habituated to speculation about the Absolute
Truth in terms of experimental scientific thoughts, without
reference to transcendental vibration. Such people do not have
spiritual insight because they are still caught up in the physics of
the material world.
TEXT 26 वेदा ं सम ी ातन व म
ा ानातन चा्न
ुा ।
भवव्याणण च भू ातन मां ु वेद न क्चन॥२६॥
vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni cārjuna

bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni māṁ tu veda na kaścana
vedāhaṁ -- I know; samatītāni -- the past; vartamānāni -- the
present; cā -- and; arjuna -- O Arjuna; bhaviṣyāṇi -- the future;
ca bhūtāni -- also all living entities; māṁ tu -- But Me; veda na --
do not know; kaścana -- anyone.
O Arjuna, I know completely what has transpired in the past,
all that is happening in the present and all the things that will
happen in the future. I know all living beings, but no one
knows Me.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is Omniscient, Omnipotent and
Omnipresent. Just as the Lord knows about Himself, He also
knows about all living entities – moving and non-moving, and
their past, present and future. No one knows anyone’s past life or
future life, only Krishna is aware of the unlimited number of
microbes, and bacteria’s past and future life. When He was on
the planet around five thousand years ago, He knew where His
Spiritual master’s son was. The son had died around twenty five
years beforehand and as guru dhakshina – a present for his guru
–Krishna brought his son back to life (to the same age that he had
died). In another incident before Krishna’s birth, Devaki Devi
had given birth to six children and Kamsa killed all of them. 80
or 90 years later Devaki made a request to Krishna to see all of
her children again. Krishna promptly went to the sutala planet to
meet Bali-Mahāraja and subsequently brought all those children
back to their mother Devaki. The children were infants like they
were when they had died. Moreover, in Dwāraka, there was a
brāhmana who complained to Krishna that he lost all nine of his
children after their birth. Even though there was a mystery
surrounding the disappearance of the children, the Lord went
with Arjuna to Mahā-Vishnu loka to bring the children back to
the brāhmana. Mahā-Vishnu had taken all those children because
Mahā-Vishnu wanted to see Krishna and Arjuna at His residence
in the Causal Ocean. Krishna knew every movement of Kamsa’s
evil plans against Him; Sakuni’s planning against Pāndavas and

other demons planning on attacks of Dwāraka city. He knew
what Indra would do to His foster father Nanda Mahārāja after
He stopped sacrificing to him (Indra then created partial
inundation in Vrindhāvana but to protect the residents of
Vrindhāvana, Krishna uprooted a seventeen mile wide mountain
using his tiny left hand finger). He knew who Abhimanyu was
and what would happen to him and also He knew what would
happen to Dwāraka after He disappeared from this world. It is
Krishna who pre-planned all His pastimes and no one can
understand His inner heart.
A cloud cannot cover the sun; it may cover the people of the
planet from seeing the sun; but sun is always shining. So,
Krishna controls māya, and there is no influence of māya cloud
upon Krishna. It is due to the energy of illusion that people are
bewildered and do not see past, present and future. Since the
clouds of past, present and future are thus only for those who are
embodied, and Lord Krishna’s transcendental spiritual body
neither takes birth nor passes way, these physical
transformations, ignorance and bewilderments are not applicable
to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
TEXT 27 इ्छा्वेषसम्ु िेन ्वत्वम८ े न भार ।
सवाभू ातन संम८ ं सगे या्त परत प॥२७॥
icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata
sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa
icchā-dveṣa -- desire and hate; samutthena -- born of; dvandva-
mohena -- the illusion of duality; bhārata -- O descendent of
Bhārata; sarva -- all; bhūtāni-- living entities; sammohaṁ -- in
bewildered; sarge -- from the beginning of the creation; yānti --
go; paran-tapa -- O conqueror of enemies.
O descendent of Bhārata, from the beginning of the creation,
all living beings are born into the illusion and are confused
by the duality born of desire and hate, O conqueror of the
foe.
ANNOTATION: The Lord explained in the previous verse about

His omniscience and about all living entities in past, present and
future. Now, in this verse, He says that living entities are born
with dualities, and that because of these it is not possible for
them to know the past, present and future. When the curtain of
illusory energy is removed, the living entities are also permitted
to know the past, present and future to a certain extent. Krishna’s
daivi māya – divine illusory energy – creates all kinds of
illusions and dualities for the conditioned living entities, such as
happiness and misery, hate and desire, heat and cold, honor and
dishonor. This is like a magician who manifests various magic
tricks on stage; those who are absorbed in his magic tricks
experience temporary emotions, happiness and terror. Thus,
absorbed completely in the actions of the divine energy, the pure
consciousness of living entities is captivated by illusory actions
causing them to suffer for want of right intelligence. This
suffering in the material world is similar to a prison house where
criminals are tortured for their crimes, they suffer day and night
for their crimes in various degrees, and they have little time to
think about their free life in the city as they are pre-occupied with
their suffering.
People suffer the dualities in the families due to the
influence of māya, among husband and wife, among friends,
relatives, in business and in politics. They become the enemies of
each other culminating in breakdowns and sometimes suicides
and/or murders and, thereafter, a whole set of new problems
begin in a new birth. Everything is me and mine is another
allurement of māya. Excessive competitions in all fields and in
all countries are also the work of māya. War and peace
negotiation is also the work of the powerful influence of Krishna
māya. And also, there are different types of less intelligent men
in the world. Small intelligent men want to occupy big posts in
the government, so that they can exploit their commanding
position, and make as much money as possible and do not use
such wealth for anything. The other category is foolish less
intelligent men, who want to become God by faking innocent
people and make money by different methods. All these are the
actions of mahā-māya. They do not understand that just by

simply becoming Krishna conscious, how much they will be free
from the calamities and actions of mahā-māya. If one wants to be
liberated from the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord, they
must take shelter in the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead who is the only Swāmi, Master, of the mahā-māya - as
mentioned in the 14th verse of this chapter.
TEXT 28 येषां ्वत ग ं पापं ्नानां प्
ु यकमाणाम ्।
े ्वत्वम८ तनम्
ुा ा भ्त े मां ृढर ाः॥२८॥
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
yeṣāṁ -- whose; tv -- but; anta-gataṁ -- completely eliminated;
pāpaṁ -- sin; janānāṁ -- those persons; puṇya-karmaṇām --
pious activities; te -- they; dvandva -- of duality; moha --
delusion; nirmuktā -- free from; bhajante -- engage in devotional
service; māṁ -- to Me; dṛḍha-vratāḥ -- with determination.
Those persons who have acted virtuously in their previous
life and in this life and who have fully eliminated their sins,
are free from the duality of delusion, engage in My
devotional service with full determination.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Krishna explains who can be
freed from the grip of illusory energy, which creates dualities and
keep all the souls out of reach from Krishna. There are many
people engaged in the service of the Lord with firm
determination and are free from the dualities. How did these
people achieve such special devotion for Krishna? This is being
answered by the Lord with the words anta-gatam-pāpam,
meaning ‘those whose sins have been completely eradicated’.
This is because they have taken shelter of a pure devotee of Lord
Krishna and have become habituated to perform pure devotional
activities in the mode of pure goodness without desire for any
material rewards. Once the reactions to past sinful activities are
terminated by pure spiritual activities, the obstacles on the path
of self-realization is counteracted and one is freed from the

delusion arising from fascination and hatred, pleasure and pain,
joy and grief, success and failure, etc. At this time one becomes
qualified and is able to become devoted to the Supreme Lord
Krishna with determination, worshipping Him exclusively.
There are many varieties of devotional activities to satisfy
the Supreme Lord beginning from the powerful chanting of His
Holy Name. As it is said in the scriptures:
go-koti-dānam grahane khagasya
prayāga-gangodaka-kalpa-vāsah
yajnāyutam meru-suvarna-dānam
govinda-kirtir na samam satāmsaih
“Even if one distributes ten millions of cows in charity during an
eclipse, lives at the bank of the confluence of Ganges and
Yamuna in Prayāga for millions of years, and gives mountain-
like quantities of gold in charity to brāhmanas at the place of
sacrifice, he does not earn even one hundredth part of the merit
derived from chanting Lord Govinda's name or Hare Krishna
mahā-mantra”.
Chanting is meditation as well as praying. One should also
eat only Krishna prasādam (food), perform archana (worship),
and pay obeisances to the deity of the Lord in the form of
surrender. There is no energy that can bewilder one when the
unlimited Lord is present in the heart of a devotee. Such quality
devotional service to Krishna is the source of all happiness.
TEXT 29 ्रामरणम८षाय मामाधर्य य ्त ये।
े र्म ्ववदःु कृ्थनम्या्मं कमा चाणखलम ्॥२९॥
jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya mām āśritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduḥ kṛtsnam adhyātmaṁ karma cākhilam
jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya -- liberation from old age and death; mām
-- Me; āśritya -- taking complete shelter of; yatanti -- endeavor;
ye -- those who; te -- such persons; brahma -- Brahman; tadviduḥ
-- actually they know; kṛtsnam -- the whole thing; adhyātmaṁ --
spiritual; karma -- activities; ca -- also; ākhilam-- entirely.
Persons who are endeavoring for liberation from old age and
death should take complete shelter in Me in devotional
activities. Such persons are actually Brahman because they
have fully realized everything about spiritual actions.
ANNOTATION: Material world and its all variegatedness is
beautiful, but it is not permanent. Sometimes, one may take the
beauty as truth, but in actuality the truth is beautiful. A young
man, a beautiful woman, a beautiful flower, etc., are all beautiful,
but their beauty is limited by time because after a few years the
same beauty of the man and woman would have withered. The
foolish do not realize that they are turning old. After one attains
old age, the limbs, which were enjoyed in the prime of youth
start giving one acute trouble, the body thus takes a 180 degree
turn and is for the detriment of the soul instead of for its potential
benefit. Everyone can die at any time regardless of their age, but
old people have higher chances because of failing limbs and
organs. Still, the present generation does not care for spiritual
life. They are simply happy with their little earnings and
enjoying material comforts. Moreover, old members of society
get a pension and remain at home watching political news on
their TVs, reading newspapers, caring for grand-children, cutting
grass or getting involved in solving their children’s and
grandchildren’s’ problems, or doing other such frivolous
activities.
The body is a biological machine; it is not the soul. For
instance, as a car it must be in proper working condition in order
to drive it, similarly, the parts of the body must also be
functioning correctly. Bodily components do not cooperate with
a person in old age. The organs of sight, sound, chewing,
digestion, the gate of evacuation and urinary organs all become
weak day-by-day, and give one constant trouble due to diseases
such as cancer, diabetes, cardiac related diseases, kidney failures,
hepatitis A, B and C, etc. Most of old members are unable to
chew their food and must put what they want to eat in a blending
machine to prepare soft food that is able to be swallowed.
Sometimes, they are unable to get out of the bed for the call of
nature. Sometimes, their own children abandon them in public

places with no security. Wealth and followers cannot do much
for one in old age. Keeping in mind that old age will arrive,
every young man should surrender to the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. They should spend their time in
devotional service and engage their minds in chanting His sweet
holy name, discuss the pastimes of the Lord and seek His
exclusive blessings by associating with non-hypocritical devotees
of Krishna who can help them cross over the most
insurmountable miseries of life. Thus, those who have purified
their consciousness after performing pure spiritual activities in
the association of a pure spiritual master, and who are pure
devotee of the Supreme Lord, become completely satisfied. Such
pure devotee is Brahman because they know the worth of
transcendental activities and have taken shelter of the Absolute
Personality of Godhead to serve Him. Lord Krishna will not
allow such surrendered devotees suffer the troublesome
symptoms of old age because the devotees have taken shelter of
Him, mam āśritya, the all merciful Lord frees His devotee from
the mouth of old age and death, as Lord Himself stated in this
verse: jara-marana-mokshaya, meaning ‘desiring freedom from
old age and death, they take shelter of My lotus feet’. harim vina
na mrtim taranty. Without Lord Hari no one can free oneself
from death nor can they free from diseases. sariram vyādi
mandiram, body is temple of diseases.
TEXT 30 साधिभू ाधिदवं मां साधिय्ं च ये ववदःु ।

रयाणकालेऽवप च मां े ववदय
ु ्
ुा चे सः॥३०॥
sādhibhūtādhidaivaṁ māṁ sādhiyajñaṁ ca ye viduḥ
prayāṇa-kāle ’pi ca māṁ te vidur yukta-chetasaḥ
sādhibhūta -- and the governing principle of the phenomenal
manifestation; adhidaivaṁ -- underlying principle of all the
demigods; māṁ -- Me; sādhiyajñaṁ -- and governing all
sacrifices; ca -- also; ye -- those who; viduḥ -- know; prayāṇa-
kāle -- even at the moment of death; api -- even; ca māṁ -- and
Me; te -- they; vidur -- know; yukta-chetasaḥ -- their minds

attached in Me.
Those whose minds are fully attached to Me know My
ultimate governing principles of the phenomenal
manifestation, and My governing principles of all the
demigods and know that I am the absolute sustainer of all
sacrifices. They can know that I am the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead even at the moment of death.
ANNOTATION: A person who always thinks of Krishna in his
mind both within and without and who always remembers only
Krishna, wherever he goes or whatever he sees, is called a
krishna-mayi. In this verse, the words sa adhibhūta means ‘the
Lord alone is the controller of the material cosmic manifestations
with its living beings, He is the direct authority of the material
universes.’ Moreover, adi-dvaivam means ‘He is the magnificent
controller of all the 33 million demigods.’ The Rulers of the
planets are invested with all powers and assistants by the
Supreme Lord alone. This means that the demigods are not
independent controllers and suppliers of the material elements or
material opulence. Rather, they are always holding the position
and supply opulence to their devotees only by the ultimate mercy
of the Supreme Godhead, Lord Krishna.
adi-yajna means ‘worshipping Krishna, chanting Krishna’s
name, offering prayers to Krishna, serving Krishna, and
meditating on Krishna's form with focused attention.’ prāyana-
kale api means ‘even at the time of death, those who know Him
as the ultimate personality, the Supreme Absolute controller of
all material world, demigods and all other living entities and the
purpose of all kinds of sacrifices will enter into the Kingdom of
God called Goloka-Vrindhāvana and never return to this material
miserable world.’
In this chapter, the Lord has explained His supremacy over
everything in the material and spiritual world. He showed the
superiority of His devotees above all others and explained the
original cause of bondage to the cycle of old age and death, as
well as the original cause of obtaining perfection from old age

and death. He generously exposed these things to the world out
of compassion for His devotees. The wise, who adhere to this
transcendental instruction of the Supreme Person, without doubt,
obtain the mercy of the Lord. But those who are not experienced
may think that they know more than the Supreme Lord. In doing
so, they agree to suffer the repetition of birth, old age and death
in different forms of life. Therefore, one’s self interest must lays
on protecting oneself from the dangerous material existence,
which can sink a person down to a one celled amoeba. This can
occur when one is more attached to the brick and cement and
other material elements of this world than the self or soul. In the
next chapter the Lord provides the fundamental meanings of the
terms brahman, adhibhūta, adhyātma and adhidaiva.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Knowledge of the Supreme Lord’ by
H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami.

1. Why is Demigod worship condemned by the Lord of the
Universe? What are the benefit of being a devotee of
demigods?
2. Describe in detail acts of Krishna’s divine energy.
1. What is the top most Yoga position and how one can
practice it to achieve perfection?
2. Define knowledge and real knowledge?
3. Analyze the third text of this chapter: manushyanām
sahasreshu?
4. Who are the purusas (expansions of Lord Krishna) and

name Them? What is their relationship with the material
energy?
5. Enlist the different energies of God? Describe them.
6. Why is the analogy of oil and water so significant? Explain.
7. Why did the Supreme Lord consider an example of pearl
neckless?
8. What are the modes that entangle everyone in gender
temptation even in old age? Explicate on the demonstration
given by a Mughal minister?
9. Why is Omkāra only called mahā-vakhya?
10. Krishna proclaims that He is the cause of many
manifestations. What are they?
11. Why can't we get out of the intertwined modes of nature?
12. Describe the living beings born out of different modes of
nature.
13. Justify the activities of sri, bhū and māya. Who are the
deities that represent them?
14. Define the meaning of a verse from Svetasvatara
Upanishad, which states that‘mayan-tu prakritim vidyat
mahinan-tu mahesvaram’.
15. Describe the four kinds of men who do surrender to Krishna.
Out of these four, who is the greatest and why?
16. Quote the Sanskrit and English for text 19 and explain its
meaning.
17. Why do people worship demigods?
18. Why do the Vedās recommend demigod worship?
19. What does Krishna say about demigod worshipers?
20. Give a detailed explanation about the impersonal and personal
form of the Lord. Who can comprehend the form of the Lord?
21. Explain when and why Krishna is personally present on this

Earth, everyone who saw Him could not understand His
position and personality.
22. How does verse 26 give proof that Krishna is God?
23. Why do we experience duality? What is the result of such
duality?
24. Elucidate on the miseries one undergo in the old age? How
and who can relieve us from old age and death?
1. ________carries the planets on his hoods, He is the
expansion of________
2. The follower of Godless _______philosophy think the
material nature manifests without a creator.
3. Everything in the whole creation is either _______ energy or
________energy
4. Deluded by _______, the whole world does not know
Krishna.
5. The personified ‘triguna mayi prakriti’is called ________
6. The subtle body____is the product of the mode of goodness.
7. There are two kinds of foolish people, small foolish people
who want to become ______and big foolish people who
want to be _____
8. Persons who have acted ________ in previous lives and in
this life and whose _______ actions are completely
eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, hence
they engage themselves in ________ with determination.
9. Intelligent persons who are endeavoring for liberation from
________ and _______ take refuge in Krishna in devotional
service.
10. ________ means worshiping Krishna

1. In the material creation, Lord Krishna expands
into ___________ plenary portions. (three, four, five, six)
2. jnana refers to material knowledge and vijnāna refers
to ___________knowledge (heavenly, hellish, spiritual,
marginal)
3. Mayādevi represents_____________ (Rādharani, Kali,
Subhadra, Durga)
4. Mūdhas are ___________ (meat eaters, don't follow Vedās,
grossly foolish, don't follow authorities)
5. Narādhamās are ___________ (gluttonous, utterly ignorant,
dog eaters, drunkards)
6. Krishna has ___________ separated material energies.
(three, eight, twenty-four, twenty-six)
7. Krishna’s superior energy is ___________ (material mind,
false ego, soul, consciousness)
8. Worship of ___________ is selfish and material. (Gods,
Demigods, Lord Krishna, Lord Siva)
9. Due to covering of the ___________ potency, foolish
people cannot understand the Supremacy of the Supreme
Lord (yoga māya, mahā māya, Demigods, Brahmajyoti’s)
10. The sun appears to be covered by clouds, but actually it is
only hidden from one’s vision. Similarly, _______ appears
to be covered by Maya. (Krishna, Impersonal Brahman,
Absolute Truth, Paramātma)
Attaining Supreme Godhead 555
CHAPTER 8
Attaining Supreme
Godhead
TEXT 1-2 अ्न

ुा उवाच
ककं ्र्म ककम्या्मं ककं कमा पु
ु ष८तम।
अधिभू ं च ककं र८् मधिदवं ककम्
ु य ॥ े १॥
अधिय्ः किं क८ऽर दे े ऽ्थमतमिस ु द
ू न।
रयाणकाले च किं ्ेय८ऽभस तनय ा्मभभः॥२॥
arjuna uvācha
kiṁ tad brahma kim adhyātmaṁ kiṁ karma puruṣottama
adhibhūtaṁ ca kiṁ proktam adhidaivaṁ kim ucyate
adhiyajñaḥ kathaṁ ko ’tra dehe ’smin madhusūdana
prayāṇa-kāle ca kathaṁ jñeyo ’si niyatātmabhiḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; kim -- what; tad -- that; brahma --
Brahman; kim -- what; adhyātmaṁ -- the self; kiṁ -- what; karma
-- actions or fruitive activities; puruṣottama -- Lord Krishna, the
Supreme Person; adhibhūtaṁ -- governing principles of material
manifestation; ca -- and; kiṁ -- what; proktam -- is said;
adhidaivaṁ -- the demigods; kim -- what; uchyate -- is called;
adhiyajñaḥ -- the Lord of sacrifice; kathaṁ -- how; ko -- who;
atra -- here; dehe -- in the body; smin -- this; madhusudhana --
Killer of the demon Madhu; prayāṇa-kāle -- at the moment of
death; ca -- and; kathaṁ -- how; jñeyo’si -- can this be known;
niyatātmabhiḥ -- by the self-controlled.
555
Arjuna asked: O Supreme Person, please explain to me, what

is Brahman? What is the embodied self? What is meant by
karma, fruitive action? What is the governing principles of
the material manifestation? What is the underlying
foundation of demigods? Who is the Lord of sacrifice, and
how is He situated in the body, O killer of the demon
Madhu? And, how can this be known at the moment of death
by those who are self-controlled and always engaged in
devotional service?
ANNOTATION: In the end of the seventh chapter, Lord Krishna
introduced the subjects of Brahman, living entity, and what is
meant by karma. He touched upon the subjects of: adhibhūta -
explaining material creation; adhiyātma - identifying with
embodied beings; adhidaivas - what are the demigods; and lastly,
adhiyajnam, the method of sacrifice. In order to become a chaste
devotee of Lord Krishna, it is essential to recognize these
subjects as they are and apply them to one’s life. In the seventh
chapter, Lord Krishna gave a brief synopsis on these subjects, but
here, in this chapter, He is going to elaborate them in further
detail. Arjuna, being an inquisitive student of the Lord, wants to
learn about these subjects in detail, which brings strong
commitment and devotion to the Lotus feet of the Lord. Since
Lord Krishna had covered these subjects only briefly in the last
chapter, Arjuna was curious to learn more about these
expressions and how they relate to the Supreme Lord as well as
to himself. So he raises seven questions in the first two verses.
He wanted to know the following: whether the subject
adhidaivam referred specifically to either Indra, the celestial
chief or to any other demigods or to the Supreme Lord Krishna
Himself? If the Supreme Lord is the receiver and whether the
yajnā is offered to the Supersoul internally or externally? If the
yajnā is in fact offered internally, then in what way does the
Supreme Lord accept the offering? Also, what exactly is included
in material manifestation? Finally, he asked how and in what
way is the Supreme Lord Krishna to be realized at the time of
death of the physical body. Arjuna calls Lord Krishna as

Madhusūdana, the killer of the Madhu demon. Doubts are
compared to demons, and since Krishna killed the Madhu
demon, it is easy for Him to terminate doubts concerning these
subjects in Arjuna's mind.
ु ाच
अषरं र्म परमं थवभाव८ऽ्या्मम्
ु य ।े
भू भाव८्भवकर८ ववसगाः कमासषं ् ः॥३॥
akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ svabhāvo ’dhyātmam uchyate
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ
Godhead said; akṣaraṁ -- indestructible reality; brahma --
Brahman; paramaṁ -- the spiritual; svabhāvo -- its eternal
nature; adhyātmam -- the self; uchyate -- is said; bhūta-
bhāvodbhava-karo -- the development in the physical conditions
of the living entities; visargaḥ -- creation; karma -- fruitive
actions; saṁjñitaḥ -- is explained as.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: the
imperishable, spiritual living being is said to be the Brahman,
and his constitutional nature is called adhyātma, the soul.
Action related to the growth of the material body is called
karma, or fruitive actions.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord answers Arjuna's questions
in the next three verses. He answers three of the questions with
the words aksharam paramam, meaning the Brahman’s reality
which is imperishable, is constitutional and never destroys the
individual soul. Identifying oneself as a pure soul is called
Brahman. Beyond the Brahman, there is Parabrahman.
Parabrahman is the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
Lord Krishna. Therefore, all Brahmans are subordinate to the
Parabrahman. The actual activities and nature of Brahman or soul
is different from their conditional life. The soul's eternal nature,
svabhava, is the individual self. Every individual soul is the

marginal energy of Lord Krishna, and therefore, capable of living
in two natures according to its liking, whether it be material or
spiritual. When it is in the spiritual world he has only one body.
When he appears in the material world, the material nature
bestows him with one of the 8, 400,000 thousand different types
of bodies, based on how much he is absorbed in fulfilling the
material desires and joys of the senses. Hence, aksharam
brahma, refers to the indestructible individual soul. When it
appears in matter, it becomes embodied and is referred to as the
adhyātma. It is a combination of the mind, intelligence and
senses, all enveloping the soul, but it has another nature which is
spiritual and is surrounded by spiritual intelligence, a spiritual
mind and a genuine ego. His spiritual body is made of eternity,
knowledge and bliss. karma is action pertaining to the growth of
the material body and there is no karma in the spiritual world.
Based on the material consciousness in association with the
material modes of nature, the soul takes on various forms of the
body in this material atmosphere. They develop a relationship
with the bodily platform and, therefore, death separates
everything. In the Sri-Chaitanya Charitamrta, Lord Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu says:
“O Providence, you have no mercy! You bring embodied
souls together through friendship and affection, but before their
desires are fulfilled, you separate them. Your activities are like
the foolish pranks of children.” “Oh, cruel Providence! You are
very unkind, for you bring together people in love, who are
rarely in touch with each other. Then, after they have met but
before they are fulfilled, you again tear them far apart”.
One’s destiny results from previous karma. Therefore, these
material forms are temporarily programmed based on one’s
previous work, and until the soul takes shelter on the Absolute
Truth, Krishna. And consider His service as the supreme religion,
one will be forced to continue in this cycle of birth and death. A
person who claims that he is Brahman and continues with his
false identification as Hindu, Christian, Muslim, brāhmana,

kshatriya, vaishya, sūdra, black, white, brown, Indian, American,
African, etc., is not a Brahman realized person. A Brahman
realized person identifies himself as servant of the Supreme
Brahman, Lord Krishna. And when he realizes that he is the
servant of Krishna, he engages his energy and endeavor in the
service of Krishna. The Parabhraman is worshiped by everyone,
whether one is a devotee or a non-devotee, sarva-loka-
namaskrtam. Devotees worship Him in their life time, non-
devotees are forced to worship Him at the time of death, when
Krishna appears to them in the form of death. Therefore, no one
in the material world can prevent the action of death by any
means because it is God.
TEXT 4 अधिभू ं षर८ भावः पु

ु ष्चाधिदव म ्।
अधिय्८ऽ मेवार दे े दे भ ृ ां वर॥४॥
adhibhūtaṁ kṣaro bhāvaḥ puruṣaś cādhidaivatam
adhiyajño ’ham evātra dehe deha-bhṛtāṁ vara
adhibhūtaṁ -- the material manifestation; kṣaro -- changing
repeatedly; bhāvaḥ -- nature; puruṣaś -- the cosmic being; ca --
and; ādhidaivatam -- all the demigods are called; adhiyajño -- the
Lord of all sacrifice; aham -- I; eva -- certainly; ātra -- in this;
dehe -- body; deha-bhṛtāṁ -- of the embodied beings; vara -- O
best.
O Arjuna, the best of the embodied beings, the repeatedly
changeable material manifestation, is called adhibhūta (the
material world). The cosmic being, which includes all the
demigods, is referred to as adhidaiva. And I am represented
as the Supreme Soul in the heart of every embodied being
and this is referred as adhiyajna (the Lord of sacrifice).
ANNOTATION: The part of the material manifestations are
material elements, and its objects begin from earth, water, fire,
air, ether, mind, intelligent, false ego, working senses, knowledge
acquiring senses, subtle senses. Embodied living entities are
constantly changing their bodies from aquatics to vegetation,

reptiles to birdies, wildlife and to humanoid. Apart from human,
there are cannibals, evil demons and more subtle beings such as
terrifying and deluded ghosts. Therefore, living entities can
potentially become any number of things such as these terrible
beings, demigods, kings, celestial singers, or even celestial
dancing girls. All these forms are external, embodied and the
bodies themselves keep changing - going either upwards to the
heavenly planets or down towards the hellish regions. In this
way, all living entities transmigrate from one body to another
through this material creation and this process is called
adhibhūta or material manifestation. adhidvaiva is the president
of the thirty three million planets. The cosmic being is Vishnu,
the ruler of the 33 million demigods and all the other deities who
are merely parts of His personality. This is known as adhidaiva,
the source of the demigods. This includes the demigods in charge
of universal management such as: Vivaswan in charge of the
Sun, Vāyu in charge of the wind and Varuna who is in charge of
water. In the universal form of the Lord, all these demigods with
their planets, oceans and mountains are included. Finally, the
adhiyajna, denotes the Supreme Majestic Personality of Lord
Krishna Himself. He is the Supersoul in all the demigods, semi-
demigods and sentient beings, and as such, receives the first
worship and propitiation from all yajnās. Thus, as the adhiyajna,
He is the indwelling Supersoul established in the heart of all
beings. He is the one to whom the three classes of devotees
(karma-yogis, jnāna-yogis, dhyāna-yogis) must realize and
meditate upon as a mahā-yajna (or great offering) in all their
nitya and naimittikah (or eternal and occasional acts of worship).
TEXT 5 अत काले च मामेव थमरतम्

ु ्वा कलेवरम ्।
यः रयात स म्भावं यात नाथ्यर संशयः॥५॥
anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ
anta-kāle -- at the moment of death; ca -- also; mām -- Me

(Krishna); eva -- surely; smaran -- remembering; muktvā --
giving up; kalevaram -- the body; yaḥ -- one who; prayāti --
goes; sa -- he; mad-bhāvaṁ -- My nature; yāti -- attains; nāsty --
there is no; atra -- here; saṁśayaḥ -- doubt.
One who remembers Me at the moment of death, giving up
his body, attains My nature. Of this, there is no doubt.
ANNOTATION: Here, the word mad-bhāvam means Lord’s
nature. If the nature of the Supreme Lord is brilliantly meditated
upon in one's mind at the moment of death, he attains the Lord’s
nature without fail. For example, devotees worship Lord
Nārāyana and Goddess Lakshmi or Lord Rāmachandra and
Srīmati Sita Devi throughout their life span, and their form has
taken seat in the heart of devotees. Consequently, this form of the
Lord continues to remain in their heart till they die because they
have been engaged in the service of the Lordships throughout
their life span. If this is achieved, one will be transferred to the
Vaikuntha planet, one of the spiritual universes in the Spiritual
sky. If a devotee meditated, chanted, worshiped Lord Krishna
and Srīmati-Rādharani and at the time of death remembered the
Lord’s form, then those devotees will be transferred to Goloka
Vrindhāvana for Lordships personal service (Goloka is the
uppermost spiritual world). Here, Lord Krishna asserts that those
devotees who had the right attitude and thought will no doubt
attain this Supreme goal in life, His nature.
The best method to control one’s mind from the
materialistic activities and focus always on Krishna’s name is to
constantly chant the mahā-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Hare Hare. The chanting of the Holy name of Krishna and Rāma
is prescribed in another incarnation of Krishna Lord Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam 2-1-6 states:
etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ
“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by

complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic
powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to
remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Nārāyana
at the end of one’s life. Lord Nārāyana is an expansion of Lord
Krishna, He has four hands holding conch shell, Disc (chakra),
Mace and Lotus flower”.
TEXT 6 यं यं वावप थमरतभावं ्य््यत े कलेवरम ्।
ं मेवत क९त य
े सदा ्भावभावव ः॥६॥
yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram
taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ
yaṁ yaṁ -- whatever; vāpi -- at all; smaran -- remembering;
bhāvaṁ -- nature; tyajaty -- giving up; ante -- at the moment of
death; kalevaram -- this body; taṁ tam -- similar; evaiti --
certainly gets; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; sadā -- constantly;
tad-bhāva -- that state of being; bhāvitaḥ -- being absorbed in it.
O son of Kunti, whatever state of being one is in, he who
remembers Me while quitting his body, will attain a similar
state without fail.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Krishna says that whatever one
thinks at the time of death they will attain that nature without
fail. Many times when one leaves the body, negative thoughts
appear in the screen of the mind. Generally, when a materialistic
person dies, he dies under material conditions. A yogi or a
devotee of Krishna or His expansions, on the other hand, dies
under spiritual conditions. Man with material intelligence must
carefully note this statement made by the Lord on how to leave
this world. Art of dying is more important than the art of living.
One may beautifully plan the art of living, however, it is going to
be trashed by material nature. But if one thinks that, as long he
lives in the material world he must live happily by some hooks
and crooks, which is considered to be materialistic path of life.
Therefore, if a person ignores the devotional practice of God and
at their time of death remembers a pet animal they were once

attached to like a dog, cat or bird, instead of Lord Krishna, then
they are most likely be born as a cat, dog or bird in their next life
(depending on the thought that came to their mind while quitting
their body). This happens because that person had developed a
mental attachment to the pet they nurtured, so there is a high
possibility that they will remember these animals at the time of
their death. Emperor Bharata, from whom this planet earth
received the name Bhārata-varsha, was attached to a deer at the
time of his death. Even though he had successfully renounced his
kingdom, wife, children, subjects, powerful army, treasury and
other excellent resources of the kingdom, he failed in his spiritual
practices and got attached to a deer. While searching for the deer
in the twilight hours on that particular day, he fell down from the
mountain cliff and died. While he was falling from the mountain
cliff, he was absorbed by the image of the deer he was searching
for and was consequently born as a deer in the next life.
Similarly, king Puranjana was overly attached to his wife and
thought of her welfare at the time of his death. This led him to be
born as a woman in his next life. If one is overly attached to
family members, especially their wife, and gives no importance
to the transcendental devotional service to the Supreme Lord he
will become a woman in his next life. Similarly, a woman who is
overly attached to her husband and remembers him at the time of
her death will become a man after she quits her present body.
The mind, therefore, keeps a record of all the attachments and
aversions, and one should not trust the actions of the mind in the
material existence. One must use one’s intelligence to control the
mind and nourish it with spiritual activities, solely focusing on
the devotional service to Lord Krishna or His expansions
Nārāyana, Rāma and Vishnu. Thus, preventing oneself from
falling down to the material pool.
Everyone dies in different consciousness. Some may die in
the consciousness of a scientist, other may die in the
consciousness of a corporate director, or in the consciousness of
a president or in the consciousness of a farmer. Some may even

die in the consciousness of generals, commanders, or in the
consciousness of a prostitute or a cat or a dog. Or one may die in
Krishna’s consciousness. Death is inevitable for everyone, but as
mentioned in this verse, the one who dies in the consciousness of
Krishna is the most elevated and fortunate. It is impossible to
stop repeated birth and death without the mercy of Lord Krishna.
TEXT 7 थमा्सवेषु कालेषु मामनथु मर य्
ु य च।
म्यवपा मन८ब्ु धिमाामेव्यथयसंशयम ्॥७॥
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu mām anusmara yudhya ca
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mām evaiṣyasy asaṁśayaḥ
tasmāt -- therefore; sarveṣu-kāleṣu -- at all times; mām -- Me;
anusmara -- constantly remembering; yudhya -- fight; ca -- also;
mayy -- unto Me; arpita-mano-buddhir -- offering your mind and
intelligence; mām -- unto Me; eva -- certainly; iṣyasy -- you will
attain; asaṁśayaḥ -- without fail.
Consequently, I must be remembered at all times! Fight,
offering your mind and intelligence unto Me, surely you will
attain Me without fail.
ANNOTATION: Bhagavad-Gītā is spoken by Lord Krishna. The
Lord says to Arjuna to always remember Krishna’s form in his
mind while he is fighting. This particular instruction, teaches one
that there is no need for changing one’s occupational or
professional duties unless one is a butcher. However, this can be
done by chanting His Holy name, especially in the morning and
evening. One can focus more on spiritual activities in the
morning and evening. Actually, one can chant at any time, but
this may be difficult during the day time given their household
work, job, business and other prescribed duties. At least they
should focus on devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna
in the morning and evening if they desire freedom from anxiety,
tensions and reactions of all good and bad actions. Without
Krishna’s consciousness every action will produce its resultant
reactions. Here, Arjuna’s prescribed duty was to fight against the

Kauravas. Krishna advised Arjuna to fight, but at the same time
remember the Lord’s form in his mind. Subsequently, he will be
free from all those lamentations expressed by Arjuna in the first
and second chapters.
These instructions of the Lord are for everybody in the
human society. Human society is divided into many communities
according to their skin color and articles of faith, which is an
artificial imposition on the present societies globally by the
frustrated predecessors. Thus, the human society is suffering for
want of love and affection. The best possibility for unity is to
accept the instructions given by the ancient Vedic literature.
Instructions given by the Supreme Lord is most congenial form
of guidance for the current societies all over the world.
Forgetting the Supreme Lord’s instructions, humanity has
completely immersed in the ocean of sexual desire and economic
development. There is a spiritual hope for every hopeful and
hopeless person in this material society, by becoming Krishna
conscious, conscious of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. Becoming Krishna conscious will help to take charge
of one’s life and be fully protected by the hands of the Lord just
like He protected His own family, the Vrjavasis and Yadu
dynasty. Thus, every living entity will eternally remain happy in
this world and in the next world.
TEXT 8 अ्यासय८गय्
ु न
े चे सा नातयगाभमना।
परमं पु
ु षं हद्यं यात पािाानधु चत यन ्॥८॥
abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā
paramaṁ puruṣaṁ divyaṁ yāti pārthānuchintayan
abhyāsa-yoga -- by practice of yoga; yuktena -- being engaged in
meditation; cetasā -- by the mind attached; nānya-gāminā --
being undeviated; paramaṁ-puruṣaṁ -- the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead; divyaṁ -- divine; yāti -- one attains;
pārtha -- O son of Pritha; ānuchintayan -- remembering at every
moment.
O son of Pritha, one who by practice of yoga, meditates

firmly on Him, whose mind is engaged every second in
remembering the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
without deviation from the path, he certainly attains Him.
ANNOTATION: The activity of devotional service has to be
rendered as a matter of duty or if the person is thinking about
achieving personal benefits, he should discontinue the service of
the Lord. However, Krishna yoga does not appear in one’s
personality without properly understanding the supremacy of the
Supreme Lord. When one is convinced by the study of science of
God in humility, he will be supplied with all kinds of necessities
to advance in devotional service to the omniscient Supreme Lord
by Lord Himself.
There are all kinds of members that support Krishna
conscious activities either by joining full time or by practicing
devotional service from their home. In either case, the devotee
must meditate on the form, service and pastimes of the Lord
without deviation. Only such devotees attain the Supreme Lord’s
personal association and live with Him eternally. Bible says that
“you do not make treasure in this world, but make it in the
Kingdom of God”. The mind by nature is indecisive, therefore, it
becomes the responsibility of every person to control the mind by
forcibly engaging in loud chanting and hearing the Lord’s name.
Without sufficient chanting and hearing the Lord’s holy name:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare
Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare, the mind will not be
cooperative to the natural desire of the soul. Without such control
of the mind, the objects of the sense gratification will always
manifest in the screen of the mind, such as all kinds of past good
and bad activities and future plans, to give pleasure to the senses.
Therefore, the mind remains uncontrolled. Consequently, the
future results will be the manifestation of the pre-meditated
objects. Thus, one fails to attain the transcendental supreme
destination, which is the abode of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.
TEXT 9
कववं परु ाणमनश
ु ाभस ारम ण८रणीयांसमनथ
ु मरे ्यः।
सवाथय िा ारमधचत्य प माहद्यवणं मसः परथ ा ्॥९॥
kaviṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram
aṇor aṇīyāṁsam anusmared yaḥ
sarvasya dhātāram achintya-rūpam
āditya-varṇaṁ tamasaḥ parastāt
kaviṁ -- the omniscient; purāṇam -- the primordial;
anuśāsitāram -- the controller; aṇor aṇīyāṁsam -- smaller than
the atom; anusmared -- always thinks of; yaḥ -- one who;
sarvasyadhātāram -- the maintainer of everything; achintya-
rūpam -- whose form is inconceivable; āditya-varṇaṁ --
luminous like the sun; tamasaḥ parastāt -- transcendental to
darkness.
One must meditate on the Supreme person who is omniscient,
the oldest, the supreme controller, the smaller than the
smallest, maintainer of everything, whose form is
inconceivable, who shines like the sun and is transcendental
to the material nature.
ANNOTATION: The word kavim means omniscient, the
Supreme Lord knows everything. Meditation on the Supreme
Person is highly recommended. Lord Krishna is not impersonal;
He has supremely excellent form made of eternity, knowledge
and bliss, sat-cit-ānanda-vigrah. brahmajyoti represent Krishna’s
sat potency, Paramātma or the Supersoul represents Krishna’s cit
potency, Bhagavān represents Himself. Bhagavān is combination
of all eternity, cognizant and bliss potency. He is the
superconscious Godhead of all living entities inside and outside.
He is the first and the oldest person, ādhyam, purāna purusham
beginning-less, existing eternally. He expanded Himself to Lord
Sri Balarāma for material and spiritual creation. He expanded as
Srīmati Rādharani as the hladini, pleasure potency. He gave
Vedic knowledge to Lord Brahma at the beginning of creation.
He controls all cosmic manifestations such as wind, rain, fire,
demigods, demons, human beings and all other living entities. He

is andatarastam paramānu, meaning smaller than atoms. He
enters in all created beings. Without His presence, no one can
receive food, water and maintenance, including for tiny atoms.
Everyone and everything requires maintenance and it is directly
carried out by the Supreme Lord. He is achintya, meaning
inconceivable by the mind and senses. The material and spiritual
world all are achintya for the embodied beings. He is tamasah
parastāt, meaning transcendental to the restrictions of the
physical body as well as the un-manifested, far beyond the scope
of prakriti, material nature, which is obscurity and darkness.
According to Pippala samhita, death is indeed darkness but the
illumination emanating from the immortal form of Krishna is
transcendental to the darkness of death. Those whose mind and
senses are saturated with love and devotion for the Supreme Lord
in Krishna consciousness can see all these features in the
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.
TEXT 10
रयाणकाले मनसाचलेन भ््या य्
ु ८ य८गबलेन चव।
रव
ु ८मा्ये राणमावे्य स्य्स ं परं पु
ु षमप
ु त हद्यम ्॥१०॥
prayāṇa-kāle manasācalena
bhaktyā yukto yoga-balena caiva
bhruvor madhye prāṇam āveśya samyak
sa taṁ paraṁ puruṣam upaiti divyam
prayāṇa-kāle -- at the time of death; manasācalena -- mind
without being deviated; bhaktyā-yukto -- engaged in full
devotion; yoga-balena -- by the power of yoga; ca -- also; iva --
surely; bhruvor-madhye -- between the two eyebrows; prāṇam --
the life air; āveśya-samyak -- completely establishing; sa -- he;
taṁ -- that; paraṁ-puruṣam -- transcendental Majestic Godhead;
upaiti -- attains; divyam -- divine.
One who, at the moment of death, fixes his life air between
his eyebrows with an un-deviated mind by the power of yoga,
and engaged himself in remembering the Supreme Person in
full devotion, will surely attain the Supreme Majestic

ANNOTATION: Lord explains in this verse that a person at the
time of their death is able to direct the life force through the
sushanna channel and fix it at the ajna-chakra – meaning
between the eyebrows through the power of yoga. Thus, focusing
solely upon the Supreme Lord Krishna, without deviation or
diversion by the power of their meditation, to achieve shelter in
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. This yogic
process aids in controlling the air passing within the body in
different places and is called sat-chakra, the seven circles of air
circulation. The air is raised from the abdomen to the navel, from
the navel to the heart, from the heart to the throat, from the throat
it reaches between the eyebrows and from the eyebrows it
reaches the top of the cerebrum. That is the sum and substance of
practicing yoga. Before practicing the real yoga system, one has
to practice the sitting postures. This helps with the breathing
exercises, which controls the air going upwards and downwards.
This is a great and prolonged technique, which one has to
practice in order to attain the highest perfectionist stage of yoga,
complete absorption. Nevertheless, this practice is not at all
possible in this age of Kali-yuga, where we have a reduced
lifespan and our minds and senses are constantly in a state of
agitation. Practical devotional service to Krishna, is therefore,
recommended for this age of Kali-yuga, bhakti-yoga, Lord
Krishna says in Srimad-Bhāgavatam – 11-29-9:
kuryad sarvani karmani mad-artha sanakaih smaran
mayy arpita-manas-citto mad-dharmātma-mano-ratih
“Always remembering Me, one should perform all his duties for
Me without becoming impetuous. With mind and intelligence
offered to Me, one should fix his mind in attraction to My
devotional service”.
If one’s mind and senses are fully absorbed in the form and
service of Krishna, he is considered to be fully situated in
Krishna consciousness. Consider this example: A woman who is
always busy in her household work, never forgets to comb and

keep her bunch of hair in a very organized manner. Similarly, a
devotee who is very busy in Krishna’s service never forgets to
remember His dearest Lordship within His mind and heart.
TEXT 11
यदषरं वेदववद८ वद्त ववश्त य्य य८ वी रागाः।
यहद्छत ८ र्मचयं चर्त ते पदं संर े ण रव्ये॥११॥
yad akṣaraṁ veda-vido vadanti
viśanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ
yad icchanto brahmacharyaṁ charanti
tat te padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣye
yad -- of which; akṣaraṁ -- syllable A-U-M; veda-vido -- who
knows knowledge of Vedās; vadanti -- proclaims; viśanti --
enter; yad -- of which; yatayo -- renounced sages; vīta-rāgāḥ --
free from attachment; yad -- that which; icchanto -- desiring to
reach; brahmacharyaṁ -- the vows of celibacy; charanti -- is
maintained; tat -- that; te -- unto you; padaṁ -- path; saṅgraheṇa
-- in synopsis; pravakṣye -- I will explain.
I will explain to you in brief, the paths of the learned scholars
of the Vedic scriptures have proclaimed the syllable AUM.
Those who are renounced sages are free from the worldly
attachments enter into and desire to reach the same
perfection. Such a person practices the vow of celibacy.
ANNOTATION: The word Omkāra is the sound representation
of the Supreme Lord. Generally, the sages who are in renounced
order of life enter into Brahman by uttering Omkāra. If one’s
goal is to achieve Brahman, one has to strongly practice celibacy
and be free from sexual desire. As the Supreme Lord denotes in
this verse, this is the basic qualification. However, this can be
practiced by brahmachāries, which entails, going to gurukul
schools and studying scriptures and meditations under the first
class guidance of a bonafide spiritual master. Modern-day co-
education cannot offer this type of advanced spiritual knowledge.
Currently, there are no designated departments (at university
level) to learn such a true philosophy of God. Also, there are no

restrictions either for girls or for boys, they intermingle too
closely and do all kinds of things such as drinking, smoking,
taking drugs or having sex. Moreover, the modern education only
helps students to pick up a job for leading a comfortable bodily
life. A happy life is not written in the scriptures for human beings
in this material world, just as there is no happiness in a prison
house. However, there is an elaborate explanation on the struggle
for existence. For this age of Kali, Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu
introduced the chanting of the Lord’s holy name. By chanting the
holy name of Krishna, one will be highly protected and elevated
in consciousness. It is also said that through sincere chanting,
one’s all material and spiritual desires will be fulfilled.
TEXT 12 सवा्वाराणण संय्य मन८ ृहद तनु्य च।
म्
ू तयाािाया्मनः राणमा्थि ८ य८गिारणाम ्॥१२॥
sarva-dvārāṇi saṁyamya mano hṛdi nirudhya ca
mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām
sarva-dvārāṇi -- all the openings of the body; saṁyamya --
withdraw from objects of senses; mano -- the mind; hrdi --
within the heart; nirudhya -- confining; ca -- also; mūrdhny -- on
the head; ādhāyātmanaḥ -- fixing the soul; prāṇam -- the life air;
āsthito -- established in; yoga-dhāraṇām -- the yoga
performance.
One who is established himself in yoga, is detached from the
objects of senses He has closed all openings of the body and
senses, and focuses on the heart and life air at the top of his
head.
ANNOTATION: In the previous verse, the Lord explained the
concept of celibacy. In this verse, His explaining the significance
of controlling all other senses. There are still the eyes, nose, ears,
touch and mouth to control. It is said that by controlling or
drawing back from the sense objects and focusing on the four
handed form of the Lord, one can bring the ajna-chakra between
the eyebrows to the top of the head. In the sixth chapter of

Bhagavad-Gītā, a systematic explanation on this dhyāna-yoga
was given by the Lord. In Kali-yuga or the quarrel and hypocrisy
age, the dhyāna-yoga system does not fully work for the
disturbed human. However, this does not mean dhyāna-yoga
system professed by God is at fault, but somewhat the fault is
with the performer, owing to his entanglement or immersion in
material activities. Therefore, for this age of Kali-yuga, chanting
the name of Lord Krishna has been strongly recommended
instead of meditating upon His four handed form. The goal of all
yogas is Krishna and there is no difference between Krishna’s
name and Krishna’s meditation and both are of the Absolute
nature.
According to the Brhat-Naradiya Purāna: “harer nama
harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha”. It means that in this age of quarrel and
hypocrisy, there is no alternative path to achieve blessings other
than chanting Krishna’s name. The chanting of the holy name is
emphasized in this verse three times. When anything is
repeatedly emphasized, it highlights the seriousness of the issue
being addressed. Krishna has invested all His multifarious
energies in His name. Therefore, one should frame one’s mind to
listen to the scriptures in order to be free from the attraction of
the sense objects, and not be a servant to one’s own futile mind.
TEXT 13 ओभम्येकाषरं र्म ्या रतमामनथ
ु मरन ्।
यः रयात ्य्तदे ं स यात परमां गत म ्॥१३॥
oṁ ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ sa yāti paramāṁ gatim
oṁ-ity -- thus the combination of letters A-U-M; ekākṣaraṁ --
the only one syllable; brahma -- Absolute Truth; vyāharan --
uttering; mām -- Me (Krishna); anusmaran -- constantly
remembering; yah -- anyone who; prayāti -- leaves; tyajan
dehaṁ -- giving up this body; sa -- he; yāti -- attains; paramāṁ --
the supreme; gatim -- goal.
When one utters the supreme combination of letters Om and

the Absolute Truth, constantly remembering Krishna, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead and gives up his
body, he attains the supreme destination, the spiritual world.
ANNOTATION: Since Omkāra is the basic principle of all Vedic
knowledge, it is chanted before one begins to chant any Vedic
hymns. The word OM (AUM) directly addresses the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead. Within AUM all knowledge
and potencies of the Supreme Brahman, Krishna, is conserved. In
Satya-yuga, there was no manifestation of print media to print
books, consequently no one could read and realize knowledge,
simply by hearing the chanting Omkara the entire vedic
knowledge is imported to the heart of the chanter. In the Vedās it
is said:
a-karenochyate krishnah sarva-lokaika-nāyakah
u-karenocyate aādha ma-karo jīva-vacakah
Omkāra is a combination of the letters a.u.m. A-karenocyate
krishnah: the letter ‘a’ of ‘a-kara’ (letter) refers to Krishna, who
is sarva-lokaika, of all material and spiritual worlds, nāyaka
means “leader or Hero.” He is the supreme leader. The letter ‘u’
of ‘u-kara’ indicates Srīmati Rādharani, the female portion of
Krishna, and the letter ‘ma’ from ma-kara indicates the living
entities (jīvās). Thus, aum is the complete combination of
Krishna, His potency and His eternal servants. In other words,
Omkāra represents Krishna, His name, fame, pastimes,
entourage, expansions, living entities, potencies and everything
else. It is chanted in the age of Satya (beginning of the creation).
The yogi meditates on Krishna by chanting Omkāra and leave
this world. While loudly chanting Omkāra vibration, they most
certainly achieve the highest goal Goloka-Vrindhāvana, where
his Master along with other energies eternally resides.
TEXT 14 अनतयचे ाः स ं य८ मां थमरत तन्यशः।

थया ं सल
ु भः पािा तन्यय्
ु थय य८धगनः॥१४॥
ananya-cetāḥ satataṁ yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ

tasyāhaṁ su-labhaḥ pārtha nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ
ananya-cetāḥ -- constantly mind absorbed; satataṁ -- always; yo
-- anyone; māṁ -- Me (Krishna); smarati -- remembering;
nityaśaḥ -- regularly; tasya -- to him; āhaṁ -- I am; su-labhaḥ --
very easily attainable; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; nitya-yuktasya --
constantly engaged; yoginaḥ -- one who is engaged in yoga.
O son of Pritha, one whose mind is constantly absorbed in
Me, always remembering Me, constantly engaged in My
devotional service, to him I am easily obtainable.
ANNOTATION: Loving devotional service to Lord Krishna is
bhakti-yoga, which is beyond religion (dharma), economic
development (artha), sense gratification (kāma) and liberation
(moksha) of this material world. All living entities, since time
immemorial, are connected with the Supreme Lord as much as a
finger is connected to the body. When a finger is cut off it
becomes inconsequential until an expert physician re-attaches the
finger to the hand. The struggle for existence is a consequence of
forgetfulness of our relationship with God. The bhakti-yoga is
the path in which a devotee awakens his svarupa-siddhi by
engaging in the devotional service to the Supreme Lord,
constitutional perfection. No other yoga is as easy as bhakti-yoga
to re-connect with the Supreme Being. Devotional service is the
constant meditation on Krishna and Rādha by practical loving
service with one’s own work and knowledge through controlling
one’s mind and the senses. The primeval Lord Krishna has
inconceivable, innumerable attributes, which pure devotees see
in their hearts, with the eye of devotion tinged with the pulp of
love. When one renders devotional service with faith and love to
the divine couple Rādha and Krishna, They reveals Himself to
their devotees. The Supreme Lord is sulabhah or easily available.
This means Lord Krishna is happily available and accessible to
all those who are devoted to Him in love. Furthermore, He
Himself is unable to bear any separation from His devotees at
any time. The Lord is the absolute form of eternity, bliss and
knowledge. As such, transcendental loving service to the Lord is

in one of the five principal relations, namely, sānta, dāsya,
sākhya, vātsalya and mādhurya, i.e. neutrality, servitorship,
friendship, parental affection and conjugal love. This is
graciously accepted by the Lord when genuinely offered with
love and affection, otherwise the Supreme Absolute Personality
of Godhead is not available.
It is mentioned in the Mundhoka Upanishad 3.2.3 that: “by
giving vast explanations on Vedic scriptures, with one’s own
material intelligence or hearing religious conversations and so
many other things from so many different saints and sages, one
cannot receive the mercy of the Lord except the one whom He
chooses on His own.” This is comparable to a father and son who
have not seen each other in a long time, when the son finally
comes home, the feeling between the two is quite indescribable.
Similarly, a truthful servant who leaves his master and returns
after years, their affection or happiness at the moment of
reunification have no bounds. Same could be said about a friend
who goes out of the country and comes back after prolonged
period of time or a lover who leaves their beloved and comes
back after many years. All of them have unique feelings for one
another when they reunite. Similarly, living beings have travelled
to the material universe to lead an independent material existence
and forgotten the relationship with Krishna. The spiritual master
and scriptures remind them their original position and it will be
wise to accept and prepare for the reunion with God.
TEXT 15 मामप
ु े्य पन
ु ्ातम दःु खालयमशा्व म ्।
नातनव
ु ्त म ा्मानः संभस्धिं परमां ग ाः॥१५॥
mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
mām -- Me; upetya -- take refuge; punar-janma -- birth again;
duḥkhālayam -- place of miseries; aśāśvatam -- temporary; na --
never; āpnuvanti -- attain; mahātmānaḥ -- the great souls;
saṁsiddhiṁ -- perfection; paramāṁ -- ultimate; gatāḥ -- having

achieved.
Taking refuge in Me, they attain the supreme ultimate
perfection. Such great transcendentalists, who are yogis in
devotional service, never take birth again in this temporary
miserable material world.
ANNOTATION: No one can create or produce bodies, bodily
senses, mind and fluids like blood. Nor can anyone bring soul
back to a dead body. The Supreme Lord is the all-powerful
Personality of Godhead in all dimensions of creation. He is the
only One who can do all these activities. A devotee is called
yogi, bhakti-yogi, who are well aware of Supreme Lord
Krishna’s activities. Therefore, He engages in His service twenty
four hours a day. In order to enter into the personal association
with the Lord, one has to be sufficiently purified from material
contaminations. This is achieved through pure devotional service
to the all-knowing Krishna. By rendering devotional service
under a bonafide spiritual master, one keeps their eligibility
intact to enter into the spiritual world. A devotee who has
continually practiced bhakti throughout their lifetime, definitely
succeeds in remembering the Supreme Lord at the time of death.
Thus, his ascents to the spiritual world samsiddhim paramam
gatah by the mercy of His Supreme Master, the Lord of all
sentient beings, and such devotees are called mahātmas- great
souls. After attaining the spiritual universe, these mahātmās
would never want to be reborn in the temporary miserable world
ever again where there are only miseries- enduring birth, passing
away, old age and disease over and over again. An analogy may
be drawn between the detention of a living entity in the womb of
the mother for ten months and holding a criminal in a small jail
cell. Horrible deaths bring various painful experiences,
imbalances, mental traumas and other hallucinations in every one
and in every species of life. An aged body becomes such a
burden, it is like carrying several hundred pounds of weight on
one’s shoulder, and without comfort the old man always suffers
from various diseases. In old age, all kinds of diseases appear in

the body, in the proportion to how he has exploited his body in
the name of enjoyment at a much younger age. In old age, all
organs of action and organs of knowledge fade and dwindle. The
material world is structured only for suffering countless
psychological and physiological disorders. For instance, when a
crushing machine is manufactured by an engineer, it will crush
whatever goes into the machine, whether it is grains or living
bodies. Similarly, the Supreme Lord has created the entire
material world for all living entities only to realize distress.
Therefore, whatever form they are in, any living being that
comes into this world would only suffer death, birth, old age, and
disease. Everyone’s suffering is dependent on their own karma,
which they have gathered through the many births they have
experienced, but suffering is there for all of the 8,400,000 living
beings. This suffering cannot be eliminated through material
advancements. The happiness one experiences in this world is
only restricted for few days or few hours, few seconds and it is
important to recognize that there is no happiness in this material
world no matter where one may choose to live. Going back home
to the universe of the Supreme Father Krishna is the ultimate
solution to dismissing the miseries. Only Lord Krishna can
provide liberation from material existence, no other gods or
goddesses can bestow liberation for anyone, whether one takes
one lifetime or thousands of lifetimes, this benediction has to be
endowed by the merciful Krishna or His expansion Vishnu and
there is no exception to that.
Modern science and technology have undoubtedly advanced
in all fields and many have provided temporary solutions to
many material problems. These discoveries and inventions,
however, cannot compete with Krishna’s creation. In the
twentieth century, they invented flying machines to make travel
easier and faster, now aircrafts are becoming an acute misery for
many people. We, humans, have manufactured many war planes
and fighter jets with powerful missiles and other nuclear bombs
to destroy and kill people in enemy territories. Today, many
nations are much apprehensive about the growth of nuclear

weapons. This is because without the legion of soldiers, the
nuclear missiles can be programmed to be sent directly to the
location of their enemies, moreover, it has the potential to
destroy an entire nation. Nuclear terrorism is prevailing threat;
everyone is very anxious, especially the leaders. Every time
tensions of war increases, it is somehow or other postponed or
temporarily suppressed. UNO is working very hard to bring
peace, unity and harmony, and yet most of the time the leaders of
many countries are faced with failure. Based on material
solution, it is not possible to bring solace to these enraged
leaders.
Scientists have invented medicine to kill children in the
womb (for abortion) and think they are very intelligent by killing
these innocent babies. Politicians in the name of giving woman
freedom condone such killings every day. This only facilitates
the unceasing sex drives people have. Therefore, such leaders
who authorize abortions are not so intelligent, but ‘master
butchers’. Yet, most ordinary citizens are not aware of their
leaders’ deceits and are trapped in the hand of polished animal
like men. The manufacturers of these medicines only care about
the money they make from such schemes. Consequently, such
unwarranted deaths only brings the living entities back to life
again and again, to continue their miserable material existence
and start a new life from where they had left in their previous
life. On the other hand, natural deaths programmed by God still
prevail, which itself is misery. The purpose of such a natural
death sentence is to make everyone aware of the fact that they are
not permanently part of this world. Every time He gives us a
human life, it is a chance to become Krishna conscious and go
back to the Kingdom of God. Until that wish of Krishna is not
fulfilled, the living entity is forced to take birth and die,
repeatedly. But everyone rejects and ignores the demand of the
Lord in the statements of the scriptures and indulges in sense
gratification. From this very point, one can understand how
merciful Krishna is to all His children. God controls death, birth,
old age and disease for a transcendental purpose and there is no

alternative to get out of these problems, except succumb to His
wishes for good. Yet, the leaders of the world, through vicious
means, have programmed premature deaths for all their citizens.
People in many parts of the world have begun to live
underground to save themselves. One who is advanced in
consciousness, can see that the so-called advancements of
modern civilizations are only inviting inevitable miseries, as
Krishna has stated in this verse.
TEXT 16 आर्मभव
ु ना्ल८काः पन
ु रावत न
ा ८ऽ्न
ुा ।
मामप
ु े्य ु क९त य
े पन
ु ्ातम न वव्य ॥
े १६॥
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino ’rjuna

mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate
ā-brahma-bhuvanāl -- the topmost Brahma’s planet to down;
lokāḥ -- the planetary systems; punarāvartino -- subject to
repeated birth and death; arjuna -- O Arjuna; mām -- unto Me;
upetya -- arriving; tu -- but; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; punar
janma -- repeated birth; na vidyate -- will not take place.
O Arjuna, from the topmost Brahma’s planetary system in
the material world, down to the lowest planetary system
everywhere, there is repeated birth and death. O son of
Kunti, one who attains My planet, will not take birth again.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord is explaining the
fundamental material miseries such as death, birth, old age and
disease, which is prevalent everywhere in this material space.
There are millions of planets in the fourteen planetary systems
and every intelligent person can see them at night in this vast
material sky. All those planets are occupied by different
demigods. It is like the unlimited prison houses; it does not
matter which prison house one was sent to or which prison cell
one was put into, all such prison houses and prison cells have the
same purpose in life and that is to take away one’s real freedom
of life. Similarly, as denoted in this verse, any planet one visits in
this vast material creation, whether it is Brahma’s planet, Indra’s

planet, Chandra’s planet, Gandharva’s planet or Kinnara’s planet,
all these Bhūr-loka, Bhuvar-loka and Svarga-loka planets are all
like prison cells. All living entities residing on these planets will
die repeatedly. There might be slight differences from one planet
to another, e.g. some may have better bodily facilities, better
gardens, better material for law abiding members, but ultimately
it is the place of death. Lord Krishna specifically mentions that in
the highest material realm of Brahma-loka, the denizens and
residents of this region enjoy the pleasures and delights which
are found there. However, from there downwards, through the
fourteen levels of material creation, all are subjected to perpetual
cycle of birth and death. To reach the Supreme planet, one has to
take birth again in the earth planet and complete the devotional
service to God, Lord Krishna and by the mercy of the Lord, the
devotee would be sent back to the spiritual world. Men without
knowing the value of the spiritual existence, reject the proposal
of the Lord to go back to the Kingdom of God. This is
comparable to someone who has been offered a million dollars,
but he rejects it because doesn’t realize the value of that money,
as Krishna says: mūdho yam nābhi jānati, meaning ‘fools do not
know Me’.
Although Lord Brahma lives for 311,40,000,000,000 earthly
years, which is his life time. Lord Brahma is not the longest
living being of this material creation. It is muni Lomasa. When
one Brahma dies, a hair falls from Lomasa muni’s head. When
all hairs fall from his head, Lomasa muni too will die. One can
imagine the length of the age of Lomasa muni. One day while
Lomasa muni was standing at the beach side and chanting the
holy name of Krishna. Srila Nārāda deva happened to pass
through the sky. Seeing Lomasa muni standing and chanting,
Nārāda muni went near him and requested him that “Why
doesn’t he build a cottage to situate comfortable and chant the
holy name”. Lomasa muni replied that “how long am I going to
live in this world?!” Muni Lomasa, like a sage who lives in the
material universe for zillions of years, states his duration of life is
so insignificant and that he is going to die soon! All mortals live

for few years, most of the time the duration of life is not at all
guaranteed. Thus, involved with greed for wealth, and sex and
constantly trying to exploit the body day and night by bad
intentions. Hence, these material illusions are insignificant and
one must find the permanent solution in devotion to the Supreme
Person, Lord Krishna.
TEXT 17 स रयग ु पयात म या्र्मण८ ववदःु ।
राररं यगु स रात ां ऽे ८रारववद८ ्नाः॥१७॥
sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te ’ho-rātra-vido janāḥ
sahasra-yuga -- one thousand millenniums; paryantam --
including; ahar -- day; yad -- which; brahmaṇo -- of Brahma;
viduḥ -- they know; rātriṁyuga-sahasrāntāṁ -- end of 1000
chatur yuga of Brahma’s night; te -- they; aho-rātra -- day and
night; vidojanāḥ -- people who understand.
According to human estimation, Lord Brahma’s day time is
thought to be one thousand chatur-yuga. Duration of his
night time is also thought to be the same. This is the way
people understand the day and night of Lord Brahma.
ANNOTATION: One thousand mahā-yugas are called one
kalpa, which is equivalent to twelve hours of Lord Brahma. In
one mahā-yuga, there are four ages called the Satya, Tretā,
Dwapāra and Kali. Satya-yuga lasts 1,728,000 years; Tretā-yuga,
1,296,000 years; Dwāpara-yuga, 864,000 years and Kali-yuga
lasting 432,000 years. These four yugas multiplied by a thousand
is the length of the daytime of Lord Brahma. The duration of his
night time is also calculated to be the same. Therefore, together,
both day and night of Lord Brahma is equivalent to
8,640,000,000 years, which is twenty four hours for Lord
Brahma. Fourteen Manus take birth, rule and die for each of the
seventy two chatur-yuga that pass in one day of Lord Brahma.
All thirty three million demigods, such as Indra, Chandra,
Varuna, Sun god and Agni, who are the presidents of their
respective departments also pass away after seventy two chatur-
yugas. This means that during one day of Lord Brahma all the
demigods also live as much as a Manu and rule for seventy two
chatur yugas. So fourteen Manus, fourteen Indras, fourteen
Chandras come and go in 12 hours of Lord Brahma. When
Brahma goes to sleep at night there will be a partial annihilation
of the Bhūr-loka, Bhuvar-loka and Svarga-loka. All the living
entities, including the demigods, will be annihilated regardless of
what they were doing at that moment and will remain in an un-
manifested state for the entire night of Lord Brahma, which
comprises 4,320,000,000 years. When the morning of Brahma
arrives, it is the beginning of a new creation for upper, middle
and lower planetary systems and all living entities come into life
with their pending past desires and karma, starting a new life in
new bodies. For instance, when one goes to sleep at night all his
external actions are temporarily suspended till the end of night,
when he rise up in the morning, he resume his work from where
he left last day. As far as the thirty three million demigods are
concerned, all of their positions will be filled by different
qualified souls. All lives in the material world, beginning from
Lord Brahma to little microbes, are like bubbles in the Atlantic
Ocean. In the ocean, there are billions of bubbles created by each
wave and all of them are destroyed by subsequent waves. But
foolish living entities, in the human form of life, forget these
changes in the universe. Without being aware of their inevitable
destruction, they continue craving opposite sex and greed, and
lust for money and land. To come out of such powerful illusion is
to take up pure devotional service or to assist those who are
already in service of the all-powerful Lordships Lord Krishna,
who is the only father and protector of all living entities.
TEXT 18 अ्य् ा््य् यःसवााःरभवत्य रागमे।

रा्यागमे रली यत े रवा्य् सं्के॥१८॥
avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ prabhavanty ahar-āgame

rātry-āgame pralīyante tatraivāvyakta-saṁjñake
avyaktād -- from the unmanifest; vyaktayaḥ -- all living entities;
sarvāḥ -- all; prabhāvanty -- become manifest; ahar-āgame --
with the arrival of the day; rātry-āgame -- at the arrival of his
night; pralīyante -- are devastated; tatra -- into that; ivā --
certainly; āvyakta -- the unmanifest; saṁjñake -- which is called.
With the arrival of his day, all living beings appear from the
un-manifest state, and subsequently, when the night arrives,
they annihilate once again into the un-manifest.
ANNOTATION: Once the day time of the Brahma arrives, as
mentioned in the previous verse, all living entities emerge from
the un-manifest stage, like a person who goes to sleep at night
and remaining in a dreamy state until he is awakened in the
morning to resume his normal duties. When the night time
arrives, they stop all work and once more go back to sleep. In the
same way, the creation and annihilation of the universe takes
place at every intervals. Unfortunately, poor human beings can't
comprehend this universal creation and annihilation due to the
influence of māya, which means ‘that which is not’.
TEXT 19 भू रामः स एवायं भ्ू वा भ्ू वा रलीय ।े
रा्यागमेऽवशः पािा रभव्य रागमे॥१९॥
bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate
rātry-āgame ’vaśaḥ pārtha prabhavaty ahar-āgame
bhūta-grāmaḥ -- the combined of all living entities; sa -- these;
eva -- certainly; ayaṁ -- this; bhūtvā bhūtvā -- repeatedly taking
birth; pralīyate -- is annihilated; rātry-āgame -- on the arrival of
night; avaśaḥ -- without help; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
prabhāvaty -- manifesting; ahar-āgame -- on the arrival of his
day.
Repeatedly, when his (Brahma’s) day arrives, all living
beings come into existence, and with the arrival of his night,
they are all annihilated.
ANNOTATION: From the commencement to the end of

Brahma's day, 4,320,000,000 years, all created beings perform
their so called duties, indulging in material enjoyment and
sufferings. When Lord Brahma’s night falls, they all merge back
into the un-manifest state for another 4,320,000,000 years. The
devastation indicated in this verse, is the partial devastation of
the lower planets, within the universe, when Lord Brahma goes
to sleep. The higher planetary systems, beginning with Mahar-
loka, Jana-loka and Tapo-loka are not inundated at the time of
this devastation. This verse clearly states that the knowers of a
day and night of Lord Brahma know the cycle of the un-manifest,
and the manifest and what happens to all created beings. Less
intelligent men choose to spend their days and nights engaging in
frivolous activities such as sports, movies, clubs, restaurant and
bars without giving any importance to the valuable form of
human life, which only lasts for few years. Using the human
body like a boat, one can sail across the powerful influence of
this repeated cycle of birth and death by taking shelter in the all-
powerful God, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
Lord Krishna.
TEXT 20 परथ थमातु भाव८ऽतय८ऽ्य् ८ऽ्य् ा्सना नः।
यःस सवेषु भू ष
े ु न्य्सु न ववन्यत ॥२०॥
paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo ’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati
paras -- superior; tasmāt -- to that; tu -- but; bhāvo -- nature;
anyo -- another; vyakto -- unmanifest; vyaktāt -- to the
unmanifest; sanātanaḥ -- eternal; yaḥ sa -- that which;
sarveṣubhūteṣu -- all manifestation; naśyatsu -- being destroyed;
na -- never; vinaśyati -- is annihilated.
There is another un-manifest nature which is superior and
eternal to this manifested and un-manifested material
elements. That is the supreme and when everything in this
material world is destroyed that part remains untouched.
ANNOTATION: The material universe manifests and un-

manifests according to Lord Brahma’s daily schedule, the
secondary creator of the universe. According to Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, when Lord Brahma feels sleepy in his afternoon
hours and goes to sleep, partial annihilation occurs once more in
the three planetary systems. In this way, there is always lingering
anxiety concerning death and annihilation of the material planets
and the universe. However, there is another un-manifest nature,
which is spiritual nature, beyond the causal ocean. This material
nature is the perverted reflection of the spiritual nature. The
superior un-manifest is beyond the perception of the material
mind and senses and has no beginning, creation or annihilation.
Therefore, when all the material worlds and living entities
inevitably get destroyed, that part remain in its original position.
TEXT 21 अ्य् ८ऽषर इ्य् ु थ मा ु ः परमां गत म ्।

यं रातय न तनव ता े ्िाम परमं मम॥२१॥
avyakto ’kṣhara ity uktas tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim
yaṁ prāpya na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
avyakto -- unmanifest; akṣara -- perfect; ity -- thus; uktas -- is
said; tam -- that; āhuḥ -- proclaimed; paramāṁgatim -- the
supreme destination; yaṁ -- which; prāpya -- gaining; na
nivartante -- never return to this material world; tad -- that;
dhāma -- domicile; paramaṁ-mama -- My supreme.
Thus, it is said that the un-manifested and infallible is known
as the Supreme destination. Those who reach that planet will
never return to this material world, that planet is My
Supreme abode.
ANNOTATION: The supreme abode is manifested by Lord
Krishna to Lord Brahma in his heart when Lord Brahma matured
in meditation. Lord Brahma explained the topmost spiritual
abode Goloka Vrindhāvana in his book Brahma samhita. Krishna
has His own spiritual universe, which is the highest of all
universes in the spiritual sky. Material universes are manifested
by his external potency, but all spiritual universes are manifested

by this internal potency. Krishna’s supreme abode is called
Goloka Vrindhāvana, where there are billions of surabhi cows
and their calves and His eternal occupation is as a sweet cowherd
boy. Go means cows, loka means universe, Goloka is shaped like
a Lotus flower with unlimited number of cows. In this universe,
eternally residing are Lord Krishna, Lord Balarāma, Srīmati
Radhika, Srīmati Yasoda, Nanda Mahārāja and Krishna’s gopa
friends and gopi friends with thousands of cows, colorful birds,
conscious trees and plants. Their every step is a dance, every
word is a song, water is like nectar and there are many kalpa-
vrksa trees and wish fulfilling trees, which manifest whatever
one asks of them. These wish fulfilling trees are not conditioned
like the trees of the material world. It can supply anything one
wants such as any fruits, cooked food, ornaments, cloths and so
forth. The land and houses of Goloka Vrindhāvana are made of
touchstones, unlike the material houses. All the residents have
their own mansions. For everyone there is only one master:
Krishna, the Supreme Absolute Majestic Personality of Godhead
and one mistress Srīmati Rādharani, unlike in the material world.
This infallible universe is reserved by the Supreme Lord for His
loving devotees who are madly in love with Him, who have
rejected material sense gratification of the material world.
TEXT 22 पु
ु षःस परः पािा भ््या ल्यथ्वनतयया।
यथयात ःथिातन भू ातन येन सवाभमदं म ्॥२२॥
puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā

yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
puruṣaḥ -- the Supreme Personality; sa -- He; paraḥ -- Supreme
greater; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; bhaktyā -- devotion; labhyas --
can be achieved; tv -- but; ananyayā -- undeviating; yasya --
whom; āntaḥ-sthāni -- situated within; bhūtāni -- all living
entities and all other material manifestations; yena -- by whom;
sarvam -- everything; idaṁ -- that is; tatam -- is pervaded.
O son of Pritha, that Supreme Personality, who is the

Supreme, greater than everyone, is achieved only by un-
deviated devotion. He pervades in everything, all
manifestations with its living entities are situated in Him.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna’s mercy is available for everyone
regardless of their social status, spiritual order, faith, place of
residence, skin color just as the sun distributes its light to
everyone and everywhere. Similarly, the mercy of the Supreme
Godhead is for everybody. While some people choose to accept
the sunshine, others want to remain in darkness. Consequently,
some people accept Krishna’s loving devotional service, some do
not. Receiving the mercy of the Lord is, however, dependent on
their former pious spiritual credits. Knowing Krishna as just God
is different from serving Him with unalloyed devotion. Just like
knowing the president of the nation is different from serving him
intimately. Devotees of the Lord have only one goal in life and
that is to serve Krishna by devotional service with attachment
because Krishna is greater than even His own expansions like
Lord Balarāma, Vishnu and Nārāyana. Lord Krishna is like a
vaidurya jewel, which reflects its many facets with different
colors. Rāma acts as an ideal king, Narasimha, reflects the
feature of anger, Vāmana exhibits His beauty, but Krishna is the
Majestic Godhead. Therefore, He is the complete whole and
everything is situated in Him.
Lord Balarāma says in the tenth canto of Srimad-
Bhāgavatam: yasyanghri-pankaja-rajo 'khila-loka-palair mauly-
uttamair dhatam upasita-tirtha-tirtham, brahma bhavo 'ham api
yasya kalah kalayah. It means, “The dust of Krishna’s Lotus
Feet, which is the source of Holiness for all places of pilgrimage,
is worshiped by all great demigods. The principal deities of all
planets are engaged in His service, and they consider themselves
to be most fortunate to take the dust of the lotus feet of Krishna
on their crowns. Great demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord
Siva and even the goddess of fortune and I, are simply parts of
His spiritual identity and we also carefully carry that dust on our
heads”. Thus, the Lord’s personal expansions praise the position

of Lord Krishna.
TEXT 23 यर काले ्वनाववृ तमाववृ तं चव य८धगनः।

रया ा या्त ं कालं व्याभम भर षाभ॥२३॥
yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ
prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ vakṣyāmi bhāratarṣabha
yatrakāle -- at which time; tv -- and; anāvṛttim -- no return;
āvṛttiṁ -- return; ca -- also; iva -- certainly; yoginaḥ -- different
mystics; prayātā -- passing from this world; yānti -- achieves;
taṁkālaṁ -- the timings; vakṣyāmi -- now I will describe;
bhāratarṣabha -- O best of the Bhāratas.
I will now describe to you, O best of the Bhāratas, the various
timings at which the different mystics return or do not return
to this world after passing away.
ANNOTATION: The description of leaving the body at different
times is not for the pure loving devotees of the Lord. It is for all
other yogis such as karma-yogis, jnāna-yogis, and dhyāna-yogis.
The yogis who have achieved perfection, leave the body
according to the description given by the Lord in this verse.
TEXT 24 अ््न्योत र ः श्
ु लः ष्मासा उतरायणम ्।
र रया ा ग्छ्त र्म र्मववद८ ्नाः॥२४॥
agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam
tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahma-vido janāḥ
agnir -- the demigod of fire; jyotir -- in the light; ahaḥ -- the
daytime; śuklaḥ -- the white fortnight; ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam --
the six months, when the sun travels towards northern side; tatra
-- there; prayātā -- those who pass from this world; gacchanti --
they attain; brahma -- to the Absolute; brahma-vidojanāḥ --
Persons knowledgeable of Absolute.
Persons who are knowledgeable about the Absolute Truth
and Brahman, achieve Him by passing away from this world
during the influence of the fiery god, in the daytime, in the
white fortnight, auspicious days, when sun travels towards

the northern hemisphere.
ANNOTATION: Those who have achieved self-realization, in
union with Krishna, are not subject to the repeated cycle of birth
and death. Those who are not yet devoted to the Supreme Person
will take birth again and die. Those who enjoy the reward of their
own activities are also subjected to the repeated cycle of birth
and death. Passing away from this world is inevitable according
to the mighty Lord, and it has been going on since the beginning
of creation and will continue to do so in the future. Everyday
millions of people die and millions are born again. The most
amazing thing in this world is that the remaining beings think
that they are not going to die. Here, several auspicious days and
time are mentioned by the Lord. When the yogis leave their
body, they are guided by the demigods and do not return. This,
however, does not confirm that they enter into the spiritual world
immediately. They are at the influence of the fiery God, agnir
jyotir (fire and light); sruti, the presiding deity of the sun
according to the statement they go to the sun planet; aha is the
presiding deity of the day time; sukla means the deity of the
waxing moon; and uttarāyana refers to the deity presiding over
uttarāyana. According to Bhavishya purāna, uttarāyana: if the
sun travels towards north it means that it is the day time (twelve
hours) of the demigods, dakshinayana means it is the twelve
hours of the night time for them. When one is at sleep, he may
not see what is going on around him, but when they are awake
they are fully aware of all the surrounding activities. Therefore,
yogis desire to leave during day time hours of the demigods,
which is uttarāyana.
All terms stating time periods, denote the respective
demigods of those time periods, as declared in the Chandogya
Upanishad 5.10 verse 1-2: those who have realized
the Brahman as well as those who are meditating in the
wilderness with faith and austerity at death are guided by a
demigod for each time period, first through the fire, from the fire
to illumination, from illumination to the day, from the day to the

moons bright fortnight, from the bright fortnight into the six
months of the sun’s northern waxing, from the six months they
are guided into the year, from the year into the sun, from the sun
they are guided to the moon, from the moon they are guided into
the lightning. From the lightning they are no longer guided by a
material demigod. Instead, they are guided by a being who is
more than a material being and this being escorts them unto
Brahma. This is the way which leads to the celestials.
The Supreme Lord Krishna has three features: Brahman is
His bodily effulgence, Paramātma or Supersoul is His plenary
expansion and Bhagavān is Himself, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. Anyone who leaves the body thinking
about any of these features will obtain the Lord’s respective
realm. Though devotees are transcendental and have no specific
time recommended for them, they still desire to leave these
worlds in the following auspicious days and in the place where
the Supreme Lord performed His pastimes. These auspicious
moments include: Ekadasi days, Janmāstami, Rādhashtami,
Rāma navami, Narasimha Chaturdasi, Vāmana Dvadasi, Gaura
Pūrnima and Nityānanda Trayodasi. Devotees can choose to
depart from this world in any one of these auspicious days.
Devotees can also desire to leave their body in Holy places like
Vrindhāvana, Mathura, Jagganāth pūri, Dwāraka, Māyāpūra,
Ayodhya, Rāmeswaram, and Badrināth. Lord Krishna is the
ultimate Supersoul and super seer of all living entities, the
Supreme Lord is equal to all living entities. Finally, He does not
allow any injustice to happen to either His devotees, yogis or
fruitive workers.
TEXT 25 िम
ू ८ राररथ िा कृ्णः ष्मासा दषषणायनम ्।
र चातरमसं ्य८त योगी रातय तनव ा ॥े २५॥
dhūmo rātris tathā krishnaḥ ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam
tatra chāndramasaṁ jyotir yogī prāpya nivartate
dhūmorātris -- smoke - night; tathā - krishnaḥ -- also the

fortnight of the dark moon; ṣaṇ-māsādakṣiṇāyanam -- the six
months, the sun passes on the southern side; tatra -- there;
chāndramasaṁ -- the moon planet; jyotir -- the light; yogī -- the
mystic; prāpya -- after reaching; nivartate -- returns back.
Those yogis who leave this world at the time of smoke, night,
during waning moon, or during when sun travels toward the
southern hemisphere attains moon, but all will return back to
this planet.
ANNOTATION: Here, Lord Krishna explains the path that leads
one to return back to a material existence. The word dhūmah
refers to smoke and indicates the presiding demigod of the path
in which lies the Pitr-loka, the realm of the ancestors. In this
verse, all yogis are called mystics by the Lord. Moon Planet is a
heavenly planet where there are many facilities for sense
enjoyment. The duration of twelve hours of life in heaven is
calculated as being earthly six months and this is the same for the
night. All yogis who leave their bodies at these times go directly
to the moon where they enjoy the heavenly opulence for tens of
thousands of years. After their prolonged enjoyment in the
heavenly planet they return to this earth planet once more. The
modern astronomers’ conclusion that there is no life on the moon
is proved wrong by the Supreme authority, the personality of
Godhead Lord Krishna.
The Chandogya Upanishad 5-10 verse 3-6 states: those who
perform Vedic sacrifices desiring piety as well as those engaged
in philanthropic activities such as food distribution, donating
land, are both guided by the presiding demigods of the smoke,
then the night, then the dark moon fortnight and then to the
presiding demigod of the sun in its six months waning southern
course. These do not reach the presiding demigod of the year as
they are routed to Pitr-loka and from there to space, then to the
heavenly realms where they enjoy the result of their pious
activities until it is exhausted. Afterwards, these souls return to
be reborn in the earthly realm by the same route way as they had
come - from the heavenly realms to the space and all the way
down to the smoke where they first began. To be reborn they
must move from the smoke to the mist and from the mist to the
clouds, from the clouds they move to rain which falls upon the
ground and in this way they are born on Earth in the forms of
rice, barley and other grains as well as herbs and sesame plants
and various types of beans. Thus, it is very difficult to evolve
from this position because only if these different types of
vegetation are eaten by a human or an animal, it will be released
as semen into the womb of a fertile female, which then becomes
an embryo entering into the material existence and are able to
develop further. The Chandogya Upanishad 7.10.7 states:
accordingly those of righteous conduct in their previous life will
take birth as a human in the family of righteous parents. Whereas
those of abominable conduct in their previous life will take birth
in the abominable wombs of dogs, pigs and unclean beings.
Therefore, those that desire liberation from the cycle of birth and
death must endeavor to realize the Supreme Brahman, the
Personality of Godhead and not return to the material existence
as elaborated by Lord Krishna in the previous verse.
TEXT 26 श्
ु लकृ्णे ग ी ्ये े ्ग ःशा्व े म ।े
एकया या्यनाववृ तमतययाव ा े पन
ु ः॥२६॥
śukla-kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete jagataḥ śāśvate mate
ekayā yāty anāvṛttim anyayāvartate punaḥ
śukla-kṛṣṇegatī -- path of light and darkness; hy -- surely; ete --
these two; jagataḥ -- of the material universes; śāśvate -- as
eternal; mate -- in the opinion; ekayā -- by one; yāty -- attained;
anāvṛttim -- liberation; anyaya -- by the other; āvartate – returns;
punaḥ -- again.
There are two paths for passing away from this material
universe: light and darkness. When one passes in the light he
attains liberation, and those that passes in the darkness once
again return to this world.
ANNOTATION: Those who have not surrendered to the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead will experience

constant birth and death. The Chandogya Upanishad 5.10.1-3
states: those yogis who have attained self-realization, by pure
devotional service to Krishna and those who are in solitude
meditate with faith and devotion on the Omnipotent, Omniscient
and Omnipresent Supreme Lord, enter the path of light or sukla
and do not return. On the other hand, people who perform
independent social work such as Vedic rituals, public works,
charity and philanthropic activities as well as other materially
related pious acts, will enjoy the results of their pious activities,
but they enter the krishne-gati, the path of darkness, and
therefore, will return to the path of repeated birth and death.
TEXT 27 न े स ृ ी पािा ्ानतय८गी म्
ु यत क्चन।
थमा्सवेषु कालेषु य८गय्
ु ८ भवा्न
ुा ॥२७॥
naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogī muhyati kaścana
tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu yoga-yukto bhavārjuna
na -- never; ite -- these two; sṛtī -- two paths; pārtha -- O son of
Pritha; jānan -- come to know about; yogī -- the devotee of the
Lord; muhyati -- is deluded; kaścana -- any; tasmāt -- therefore;
sarveṣu kāleṣu -- always; yoga-yukto -- engaged in devotional
service to Krishna; bhavā -- be; arjuna -- O’Arjuna.
O Arjuna, these two paths are known to the devotees, but
they are never deluded. Therefore, always be engaged in
devotional service to Me.
ANNOTATION: The devotees of the Lord know both of these
paths. While one path produces heavenly sense gratification, the
other one leads them to the spiritual world by ananya bhakti,
pure devotional service of the Lord. Therefore, they are not
bewildered in the light and dark path, mentioned by the Lord.
Even if they have any material motivation they will directly
address their desire to the Supreme Master and they know
through their worship, that the Lord is capable of fulfilling all
their desires and still show the path of akāma bhakti, pure
devotional service. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam (5-19-27) the

residents of Jambhūdvipa prayers,
satyaṁ diśaty arthitam arthito nṛṇāṁ
naivārthado yat punar arthitā yataḥ
svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām anicchatām
icchā-pidhānaṁ nija-pāda-pallavam
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead fulfills the material
desires of a devotee who approaches Him with such motives, but
He does not bestow benedictions upon the devotee that will cause
him to demand more benedictions later on. However, the Lord
willingly gives the devotee shelter at His own lotus feet, even
though such a person does not aspire for it, and that shelter
satisfies all his desires. That is the Supreme Personality's special
mercy”.
TEXT 28 वेदेषु य्ेषु पःसु चव

दानेषु य्प्
ु यफलं रहद्िम ्।
अ्येत ्सवाभमदं ववहद्वा
य८गी परं थिानमप
ु त चा्यम ्॥२८॥
vedeṣu yajneṣu tapaḥsu caiva
dāneṣu yat puṇya-phalaṁ pradiṣṭam
atyeti tat sarvam idaṁ viditvā
yogī paraṁ sthānam upaiti cādyam
vedeṣu -- study of the Vedās; yajñeṣu -- performances of
sacrifice; tapaḥsu -- austerities; ca -- also; iva -- certainly;
dāneṣu -- giving charities; yat -- that which; puṇya-phalaṁ --
outcome of pious work; pradiṣṭam -- indicated; atyeti --
transcends; tat sarvam -- all of them; idaṁ -- this; viditvā --
knowing; yogi -- the devotee; paraṁ -- supreme; sthānam --
abode; upaiti -- achieves; ca -- also; ādyam – primeval.
He who has taken the path of devotional service have
automatically obtained the results from study of Vedās,
performance of sacrifice, performance of austerities, giving
charities, rendering fruitive activities. Simply by linking with

the supreme in devotional service he transcends all these
results and in the end he achieves the Supreme primeval
abode.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is called Shyamasundara, whose
transcendental body is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, most
excellent form of Godhead, whose unique beauty charm like
millions of cupids. His transcendental activities have no
comparison with so-called unique material activities. It was
unfortunate that the people of Dwāpara-yuga could not recognize
His paramount position as the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead while the Supreme Lord was performing His excellent
beautiful pastimes on the lands of Matura, Vrindhāvana and
Dwārka. His features are so different from any human being.
Any average intelligent person could easily discern that His
shining spiritual body and transcendental activities are unlike any
material bodies and material activities of ordinary human beings.
When one serves the Supreme Lord in pure devotion, it surpasses
all religious and social activities. Such a person is considered to
be the best of the aryan family. Such a devotee, through the
engagement in the service of the Lord, obtains the results of
yoga, sacrifice, austerities, charities and fruitive activities.
Devotional service includes everything, but foolish people want
only material opulence from God without the God component.
Yet, God gives the living entity what he desires. Unfortunately,
one cannot hold on to those possessions forever, and in the end
they lose both - the material opulence and God. However, when
one desires God, Krishna, they get all opulences including the
Kingdom of God. Lord Krishna sums this up with the words: tat
sarvam punya-phalam, meaning all those pious rewards,
whatever results one receives from study of the Vedās; by the
performance of austere sacrifices; by asceticism and penance; by
charity and social activities. One who knows the glorious and
pre-eminence of devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna surpasses
and transcends them all. Such a being confidently attains the
supreme destination, Goloka Vrindhāvana, which is the origin of

all universes and has eternal association with the Supreme Lord.
Thus, for the one who is situated in spiritual intelligence,
liberation is surely guaranteed without fail. For those spiritual
intellects, such as Bhīshma and Drona, at the time of death were
appropriately in a state of complete equipoise. One should, at the
moment of their death, be in a state of equanimity and depart
from the body, focused in meditation on the exquisite form,
sublime qualities and phenomenal pastimes of the Supreme Lord.
Thus, it has been revealed in the Garuda Purāna that at the time
of death, those with spiritual intelligence, showing equanimity in
all actions, meditate on Lord Krishna and being under His
protection are guided to the spiritual world for an eternal life.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Attaining Supreme Godhead’ by

1. Infer how people have different goals while leaving body in
different times, what is the goal a devotee attain?
2. Define the process of creation and annihilation taking place
in different intervals.
1. Write the seven important questions Arjuna asked in the
beginning of the chapter?
2. Give the answers Lord provided to Arjuna’s inquiries?
3. Cite an example of kings who lost their human form of life.
4. What is mad-bhāvam?
5. What does Krishna stress on in the 8th verse of this
chapter?
6. What does ‘achintya shakti’ mean? Describe some of

Krishna’s potencies.
7. Enlist the three important practices of sat-chakra yogis
mentioned in text 11?
8. Explain the defect of Modern education.
9. What is Om? Compare between Om and the Hare Krishna
Mantra?
10. How is desirelessness described in verse 14?
11. Examine how modern scientists are trying to harm the
female population in the name of advancement?
12. How long are Brahma’s day and night?
13. What occurs when Lord Brahma feels sleepy at his
afternoon hours?
14. What indications does Krishna give about the spiritual
world?
15. Give a brief overall explanation of the Supreme Lord’s
expansions and their activities.
16. Select the most auspicious time for a yogi to leave his body?
17. Choose the most inauspicious time for a yogi to leave his
body?
18. Provide us with the benefits of becoming Krishna conscious
and the demerits of becoming wealthy?
1. “The physical nature, which is constantly changing, is called
_________”.
2. “One who quits his body at the time of his death
remembering __________ attains ________without fail.”
3. “One, who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between
the________ and, by the strength of yoga, with an
undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the
Supreme Lord in full devotion, will certainly attain to

the__________”.
4. “There are _______________number of years in one day of
Lord Brahma”
5. “The impersonal sound of Krishna is _________,
6. “From the highest planet in the material world down to the
lowest, all are places of _________, where in repeated birth
and death take place.”
7. “In one kalpa of Lord Brahma, there are _______number of
Manus arrives and dies”.
8. One day of Brahma consists of __________ cycles of the
four yugas combined.
9. “In the__________Ocean, there are innumerable Brahmas
rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic Ocean”.
10. “The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead,
Krishna, is described in the Brahma samhita as _________”.
1. “The Supersoul, as the enjoyer of the sacrifice, is called

__________” (Adhiyajna, Adhidaiva, Adhibhūta,
Adhyātma)
2. "My dear Lord, just now I am quite healthy, and it is better
that I die immediately so that the swan of my mind can seek
entrance at the stem of Your lotus feet." This prayer is
offered by ______(Rāmānujācharya, KulashekarAlvar,
Yamunāchārya, Sankarāchārya)
3. One should always think of the Lord in the form of
______(Govinda, Vishnu, Nārāyana,Krishna)
4. The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called
__________ (Paramātma, Supreme Brahman, Brahman,
ādhyātma)
5. Action pertaining to the development of the material bodies

of the living entity is called ____. (inaction, akarma, karma,
vikarma)
6. Lord Sri Krishna has recommended to Arjuna the practice of
_________ yoga, in which one places the air of life
between their eyebrows. (bhakti, dhyāna, jnāna, sat-chakra)
7. Satya Yuga is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion
and lasts __________ years. (1,768,000: 1,726,000:
1,728,000: 1,826,000)
8. A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not
bereft of the results derived from studying the __________.
(Vedās, Mahābhārata, Rāmayana. Upanishads)
9. The yogis who pass away from this world during the smoke,
the night, the fortnight of the waning moon, or the six
months when the sun passes to the south reach the
__________ planet but again come back. (Amaravati, Sun,
Moon, Kinnaras Loka)
10. Lord Brahma’s 100 years is ___________number of years
of the earth planet. (511 B 40 M, 6 B 640 M, 168 T 80 B,
311 T. 40 B)
Most Secret Knowledge 601
CHAPTER 9
Most Secret Knowledge
ु ाच
इदं ु े ग्
ु य मं रव्या्यनसय
ू वे।
्ानं वव्ानसह ं य््ा्वा म८्यसेऽशभ
ु ा ्॥१॥
srī-bhagavāEn uvācha
idaṁ tu te guhya-tamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave
jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ’śubhāt
śrī-bhagavān -- the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead;
uvācha -- said; idaṁ -- this; tu -- but; te -- unto you; guhya-tamaṁ
-- the most confidential wisdom; pravakṣyāmy -- I am telling;
anasūyave -- who are non-envious; jñānaṁ -- the knowledge of
devotion; vijñāna -- realized knowledge; sahitaṁ -- with; yaj --
which; jñātvā -- after knowing; mokṣyase-aśubhāt -- you will be
free from this miserable material life.
The all opulent Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna said: Because you are never envious of Me, I am
sharing with you the most confidential wisdom of devotion and
realized knowledge, by understanding this you will be
completely free from the miseries of material existence.
ANNOTATION: In the previous chapter, Lord Krishna
established that He can only be attained by bhakti or pure loving
devotion. Now, in this chapter, Krishna explains His most
marvelous and phenomenal glories. Throughout their lives, Arjuna
and other Pāndavās realized Krishna as the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, and of them, it was especially Arjuna who
had maintained his devotion and friendship with Krishna.
601
The word guhya signifies a degree of confidentiality. Here it

means that the factual knowledge about spiritual matters is
confidential. guhyatara is a higher degree of confidentiality. This
refers to what is more confidential than standard spiritual matters,
such as the knowledge of the eternal soul as residing within the
subtle and physical body of all sentient beings. guhyatamam is the
highest degree of confidentiality, and here refers to the most
confidential knowledge of parabrahma jnāna.
Brahma jnāna is distinguished from parabrahma jnāna. The
complete knowledge of the paramesvar, the supreme controller, is
called parabrahma jnāna. To complete one’s human mission, one
must obtain that confidential knowledge by realization. However,
the knowledge of the Parabrahman, which is of the highest degree
of confidentiality, is only available for pure devotees like Arjuna.
Arjuna was a contemporary to Krishna, and was non-envious
and non-duplicitous, anusūyave, of Him. There are many
commentators on the Bhagavad-Gītā, yet so many of them are
apathetic towards Lord Krishna, as the Supreme Absolute Truth.
In their annotations, they have misquoted that the impersonal
Brahman is the Supreme. Yet, it was Lord Krishna who expounded
the Bhagavad-Gītā, and not the impersonal Brahman. There is no
need for such envious interpretations that cloud the authority of
Krishna. Moreover, it is one of the greatest offenses to find fault
in the Supreme Lord, to think that Krishna is not describing reality
as it is, or that He was merely, repeatedly proclaiming His own
greatness (in the Bhagavad-Gītā) and glorifying Himself.
These envious creatures are compared to demons like Sālva,
Paundaraka, who could not recognize the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead’s supreme position, even while He was
performing the most amazing pastimes on the planet earth. All
these demons wanted to be the one lord of the universe, and
thought that Krishna was simply an obstacle in their paths towards
this goal. Hence, all wars over Dwāraka and Krishna were
commenced by these demons, and without the knowledge of His
sovereign authority of the universe, all of them perished. They
were like one who touches a fire without understanding its heat,
even without knowing the furiousness of the flame, they are still
burned. Envy of the Supreme Person will only lead to a miserable
material existence, life after life. One who obtains this knowledge
will be a very important person in this material universe, but one
cannot receive this knowledge until one exhibit his sincere
humility towards the Supreme Person, such cooperation and
sincerity is known as sharanāgati.
TEXT 2 रा्वव्या रा्ग्
ु यं पववरभमदमत
ु मम ्।
र्यषा वगमं ि्यं सस
ु ख
ु ंक म
ुा ्ययम ्॥२॥
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam
rāja-vidyā -- the king of all education; rāja-guhyaṁ -- the king of
all confidential knowledge; pavitram -- purifying; idam -- this
knowledge; uttamam -- the topmost; pratyakṣāvagamaṁ -- able to
be perceived by direct realization; dharmyaṁ -- in religion; su-
sukhaṁ -- very joyous; kartum -- to perform; avyayam --
everlasting.
This knowledge is the king of education, the king of secrets,

the purest of all, it is able to be perceived by direct realization
and it is the foremost among all righteous activities. It is
everlasting, and very joyfully learned.
ANNOTATION: This divine spiritual knowledge is raja-vidya,
the king of all knowledge since it destroys all leftover ignorance
that is stored in the heart. It is also raja-guhyam, the king of all
secrets because it is unattainable to those who never practiced
bhakti or pure loving devotional service to Lord Krishna, or any
of His personal expansions and incarnations explained in the
Srimad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literature. One can never
receive Krishna’s mercy without devotion, thus there is no
freedom from the repeated birth and death without devotional
service.
Devotional service and the chanting of Krishna’s name are
both identical with Krishna, since they are both on the absolute
platform. Bhakti itself can protect the one who has taken shelter in
devotional service. By chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra
one can obtain the causeless mercy of the Supreme authority,
Krishna. So, this divine spiritual knowledge is supremely sacred.
It is like the serving of atonement vows that destroy manifold sins.
There are certain sins that give sense pleasure. One’s tastes
for these sins remain buried within oneself at a subtle level, and
re-emerge and demand satisfaction when one is in solitude or
when one’s mind is disturbed. The poor living entity is forced to
act according to the dictation of the mind and repeatedly falls prey
to these deprived and sinful activities. However, the king of
knowledge is able to diagnose one’s weaknesses and help to cure
them through the cultivation of this knowledge, of the science of
devotional service, which leads one to become engaged in
practical devotional service. Thus, the king of all spiritual
knowledge completely exterminates all sins, in their gross and
subtle forms, which have accumulated in the mind for thousands
and thousands of lifetimes. This divine spiritual knowledge is
pavitram idam, the foremost in purity, and uttamam, far beyond
the darkness of this material world. Furthermore, it can be directly
realized, the moment we cultivate it; pratyaksa vagamam.
This knowledge has been provided to us by Krishna Himself.
Under the correct conditions, it is self-evident, directly realized
exactly like a hungry man who, when given sumptuous and
nutritious food, needs no one to tell him that he is fully satisfied.
There are other things which are self-evident, witnessed and
known by everyone. Death, birth, old age and disease, all such
miseries are pratyaksha, directly perceived. Everyone can
understand the considerable suffering one is going through, by
these natural transformations that are inflicted upon the body by
material nature. However, the benefits of devotion to Krishna are
also self-evident and directly perceived; devotion is fully
satisfying, and no one experiencing it needs to be told so. This
divine knowledge can be obtained systematically from a humble
vaishnava spiritual master, authorized by the disciplic succession,
as is revealed by Vedic literature.
Without the king of knowledge, raja-vidya, a member of

society is excluded of religion and righteousness. Everyone can
achieve material benediction in the form of religion, economic
development, sense gratification and liberation, even just by
visiting the temple of Lord Krishna. However, sincere loving
devotion to Krishna is rewarded by the Supreme Personality for a
devotee who is no more over-inflated with pride in their material
wealth, education, high birth or beauty. When a devotee
approaches the supreme sentient being Lord Krishna, with
humility and devotion, without this false pride, the seed of
devotional service is bestowed in their heart. Such a seed is not
given to everybody but only to the chosen devotees who are
spotless and are not tainted any more with material contamination.
It is the nature of pure devotion that it brings complete happiness
in the heart. This is called su-sukham, a term that is derived from
the words kartum, meaning, something (devotional service to the
Lord) which one can easily perform, and avyayam, meaning
everlasting.
TEXT 3 अर्दिानाः पु
ु षा िमाथयाथय परत प।
अरातय मां तनव ता े म्ृ यस
ु स
ं ारव्मातन॥३॥
aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya paran-tapa

aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani
aśraddadhānāḥ-puruṣā -- those persons who are devoid of faith;
dharmasyā -- towards the religion; sya -- this; paran-tapa -- O
conqueror of the enemies; aprāpyamāṁ -- without obtaining Me;
nivartante -- returns; mṛtyu -- to death; saṁsāra -- to miserable
material existence; vartmani -- on to the path.
O conqueror of the enemies, those who are devoid of faith in
devotional service cannot obtain Me. Thus, they come back to
the path of repeated birth and death in this material world.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna explains about the
sublime faith, which is different from the contingent faith of the
relative world. In this world everyone has faith on something or
someone, yet such faith is liable to change every moment due to

negative results. For instance, one may have faith in one’s friends,
the banking system, one’s leaders, the stock market, in dealers,
consumers, and packed foods, etc. However, if, in dealing with
these things, service is bad or money is lost then one’s faith also
has lost. One may loan money to a friend on faith, but if the friend
does not return it, then that faith is lost. The friend is blacklisted
and, therefore, all the faith one had was only a contingent or
relative feature, and could not remain stable.
The faith Krishna refers to is Absolute faith. Members of this
world may have had bad experiences with the different faith of this
world, leading them to lose their sublime spiritual processes in
addition to losing their religious faiths. However, it must be
understood that, the kind of sublime faith the Supreme Lord refers
to, is an ultimate faith on the ultimate process of His devotional
service. Consequently, Absolute faith cannot be compared to the
relative faiths that are held in other religions, or with regard to the
contingent aspects of the world.
The devotional service to Krishna is the most congenial form
of activity to achieve, without obstacles, eternal happiness in this
world as well as eternal life in the next. However, if one does not
develop enough faith in this process, they will be unable to take
shelter in the Lord. Due to their mentalities being tainted by
ceaseless and innumerable sinful activities, people lacking in faith
are diverted away from this divine spiritual knowledge that has
been magnanimously bestowed by Lord Krishna. Unable to
receive such divine wisdom, and unable to comprehend bhakti or
pure loving devotion, such persons feel inferior subconsciously.
Although they strive for liberation by diverse concocted and
speculative methods, they have no success because of lack of faith
and aversion to Lord Krishna.
The best way to develop faith in Krishna is to associate with
His faithful devotees, as it is only through such association that
one can easily develop faith in Krishna. The effects of association
are profound and fundamental: when one associates with gambler,
one will become a gambler; when one associates with a
womanizer, one becomes a debauchee; however, when one is

associated with the company of devotees, one will develop
devotion in Krishna. Without the merciful security of the Supreme
Person, protection from repeated birth and death is not guaranteed.
There are two destinations: by rendering service to the
almighty, Krishna, one can go back to the spiritual world; the other
destination is found by doing partial or not any spiritual activities.
By remaining in one’s patterns of eating, sleeping, sexual activity
and defending one’s material possessions, one keeps taking re-
birth and dies in this material universe. So, the human form of life
is a fork on the road where one can decide what they want to be;
whether he wants to be on the path of repeated birth and death,
mrtyu samsara vartmani, or wants to be in the Absolute life. This
is a decision that needs to be made now. As it is said in the sāstra:
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-krishna-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
“According to their karma, all living entities are wandering
throughout the entire universe. Some of them are elevated to the
upper planetary systems, and some are descending to the lower
planetary systems. Out of the many millions of wandering living
entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate
with a bonafide spiritual master by the grace of Krishna. By the
mercy of both Krishna and the spiritual master, such a person
receives the seed of devotional service”. This devotional service is
the total solution for all material problems and to attain eternal
happiness. dharmasasya, the act of eternal righteousness, leads
one to obtain devotional service to Krishna.
TEXT 4 मया भमदं सवं ्गद्य् मतू न

ा ा।a
म्थिातन सवाभू ातन न चा ं ्े वव्थि ः॥४॥
mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā

mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ
mayā -- Me; tatam -- are pervaded; idaṁ -- this; sarvaṁ jagad --
all universes; avyakta-mūrtinā -- subtle unmanifested form; mat-
sthāni -- situated in me; sarva-bhūtāni -- all living beings; na cā -

- also not; ahaṁ -- I; teṣv -- in them; avasthitaḥ -- situated.
In My un-manifested form I pervade this entire universe, all
living entities are situated in Me and, I am not in them.
ANNOTATION: The words sarvam jagat mean that all cosmic
material manifestations are one. The Lord has revealed this truth
by saying that all is pervaded by Him, in His un-manifested form,
in a way that is beyond the ability of the material senses to
perceive, or avyakta-murtina. Consider how the sun is localized in
the sky, yet, its rays reach everywhere in the universe. While there
is the presence of the sun in sunshine, sunshine is not the sun. This
is known as the philosophy of inconceivably, simultaneously, one
and different. The sun has been giving light and heat to the whole
universe since time immemorial, and yet the sun is not
everywhere.
Because Krishna’s consciousness is Supreme, He can know
everything about His creations and everything which is in Him.
However, the whole cosmic order and its energy (including
material energy, spiritual energy and marginal energy) cannot act
independent of the Godhead. Contemplating this relation, the
Pāndava, Sri Sahadeva thus asked in the Sabhā parva of the
Mahābhārata: the mind, intellect, cosmic intelligence, wind, fire,
water, earth, ether and the four fold beings reside within the
Supreme Absolute Lord Krishna, but where does He reside? The
Lord reveals that He is in each and every living entity as the
Supersoul and that He is the foundation of all beings; but none are
His foundation, for He is His own foundation and does not depend
upon anything for residing and functioning. As is said in the
Chandogya Upanishad 7.25.1: “That omnipresence is above and
below, to the east and the west and to the north and the south,
indeed it is the total material creation”.
A man who has studied the auto-mechanics can find out what
is wrong with a car’s engine and mechanical system within few
minutes. Similarly, a devotee who studies and realizes the
Supreme Lord can locate Krishna instantly. However, one requires
qualifications to see God, just as a mechanic requires training to

find a problem with a car. The prime qualification one needs in
order to see God is training in spiritual science, this is attained by
becoming a devotee of God.
A blind man may say that he does not believe in the sun disc
even though he experiences its heat. Yet, such a person’s rantings
does not eradicate the existence of the sun disc. The blind cannot
be authority of vision, and if they are made as authorities all they
might be able to conclude is that there are no objects in the world.
There is a group of people known as pantheists who equate God
with the different energies and laws or forces of the universe.
According to them, because God has expanded His energy He does
not own His own personality. This is like believing that when the
sun rises its light is spread all over the universe leaving behind
nothing at all, as if the sun must explode and be whittled away to
nothing in order to produce its light and heat. This view is
obviously false because sun continues to exist, even though it also
continues to shine. Just as the sun, Krishna’s energy is also spread
throughout the universe. He can be present anywhere, and
everywhere simultaneously and yet His Personality remains as it
is in the spiritual world.
The mundane idea that one can ask, in trying to refute God’s
existence, ‘show me God if He is there’ is, thus, the bombast of a
mad man. Atheists too are living on the mercy of the Lord, whether
they can comprehend it or not, just as criminals live by the mercy
of the government when they are thrown into prison for disobeying
the State laws. Unfortunately, the people of Kali-yuga do not
believe in the original God. When Krishna says that He is God,
they think that He is an ordinary person, and is, perhaps, only a
little more powerful than ordinary humans. Instead, they accept all
those imitation gods with saffron cloths and long beards, and the
founders of other religious institutions. This is all bad luck for the
people of Kali-yuga. As this is mentioned in the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 1-1-10:
prayenalpayusah sabhya kalav asmin yuge janah
mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutäh
“O intelligent members, in this Kali-yuga men have but a few

years of life. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unfortunate
and, above all, always disturbed”.
TEXT 5 न च म्थिातन भू ातन प्य मे य८गम्वरम ्।

भू भतृ न च भू थि८ ममा्मा भू भावनः॥५॥
na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogam aiśvaram

bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
na -- never; ca -- also; mat-sthāni -- situated in Me; bhūtāni -- all
living entities and elements; paśya -- behold; me -- My; yogam
aiśvaram -- inconceivable mystic power; bhūta-bhṛn -- the
maintainer of all living beings; na -- never; ca -- also; bhūta-stho
-- in the universal manifestation; mamātmā -- My Self; bhūta-
bhāvanaḥ -- the origin of all creation.
Behold My inconceivable mystic power, I Myself am the origin
of all creation but everything that is created does not rest in
Me, although I am the protector and maintainer of all living
beings, although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this
universal manifestation.
ANNOTATION: sarvam khalv idam brahman, everything is
Brahman, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, yet
everything is not the Supreme Godhead. He is aloof, even though
he is everywhere. The universe, planets, mountains, water and fire
is not Krishna, nor is He a tree, animal, fish or reptile. Brahman
means the combination of all these created matter and jīvās.
Therefore, Krishna, Parabrahman, is the source of Brahman.
Although all beings in the universe depend on Krishna’s energy,
still they are not in Him. Krishna is maintaining all living entities
and His energy is all-pervading, yet He is elsewhere. This is
Krishna’s inconceivable mystic power. We can perceive His
energy, but we cannot see Him because He cannot be seen with
material eyes.
As for the Lord, there is nothing beyond His scope, because
His divine supernatural power involves everything and He is fully
capable at all times to accomplish the impossible and perfectly

reconcile any contradictions. Krishna uses His three divine
potencies for material and spiritual manifestations iccha shakti,
jnāna shakti and kriya shakti. For anything to manifest in the
world, one needs these three potencies. One must desire to create
something (iccha- willing), then one must have knowledge about
what he is creating on (jnana- knowledge). Finally, working on
creating (kriya- action). All these potencies are emanating from
Krishna. Action of creation, maintenance and annihilation of the
universe is done through His mystic power. Without formally
accepting Krishna’s inconceivable mystic opulences, one cannot
understand who Krishna is. This can be explained only through the
philosophy of achintya-bhedabheda tattva, of being
inconceivably, simultaneously one and different. Such truths
cannot be understood without the mercy of the Lord, and it is only
devotees of the Lord who deserve His complete mercy because of
their round-the-clock devotional service to Him.
The word mamātma means by His own Self. As He is the
Supreme Soul, residing in all beings, this magnificent abundance
constitutes the power of His will, which alone is the cause of all
existence. Even though the Lord cannot be understood by ordinary
people, this principle should be understood from the statement of
the sāstras.
TEXT 6 यिाकाश्थि ८ तन्यं वायःु सवारग८ म ान ्।

िा सवााणण भू ातन म्थिानी्यप
ु िारय॥६॥
yathākāśa-sthito nityaṁ vāyuḥ sarvatra-go mahān

tathā sarvāṇi bhūtāni mat-sthānīty upadhāraya
yathā -- just as; ākāśa-sthito -- situated within the sky; nityaṁ -- is
always; vāyuḥ -- the wind; sarvatra-go -- blast everywhere; mahān
-- the powerful; tathā -- similarly; sarvāṇibhūtāni -- all beings;
mat-sthāni -- are situated in Me; ity -- thus; upadhāraya -- know.
Just as the powerful wind always gusts and rests within the
sky, similarly, all created beings are situated in Me.
ANNOTATION: When the wind blows it travels miles and miles

in the sky but cannot leave the sky, and while it must remain in the
sky, the wind is never in union with any one space, it lies separate
and ready to move, from here to there. As the wind remains in the
sky, the creation of the universe, its souls and planets with their
mountains, oceans, forests, lands and fields, all elements and all
objects always remain within the body of the Supreme Lord, who
is the only ultimate creator. Yet, while all beings and objects abide
within Him and nothing has independent existence from Him. By
the sole command of the imperishable Supreme Lord, the sun and
moon are supported in their assigned spheres. The sun and moon
is Sri Krishna two eyes, as it is stated in Brahma Samhita by Lord
Brahma: yac chakur esa savita sakala grahānām rāja samasta-
sura murtir asesa-tejāh, yasyājnaya brahmati sambrta-kāla-
chakro, govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. I pay my
obeisances to Lord Krishna, Govinda, who is the original person
and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is
assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of
the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order.
It is by the sheer official authorization of the Supreme Lord
Krishna’s will alone that the complete cosmic manifestation and
total material creation full of unlimited moving and non-moving
beings are in existence, sustained in Him. This is what has been
revealed as absolute.
TEXT 7 सवाभू ातन क९त ये रकृत ं या्त माभमकाम ्।

क्पषये पन ु थ ातन क्पाद९ ववस्ृ ा्य म ्॥७॥
sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām
kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham
sarva-bhūtāni -- everything that is manifested; kaunteya -- O son
of Kunti; prakṛtiṁ -- nature; yānti -- enter into; māmikām -- My;
kalpa-kṣaye -- at the end of the millennium; punas -- again; tāni -
- them all; kalpādau -- in the beginning of the millennium;
visṛjāmy -- create; aham -- I am.
O son of Kunti, at the end of the millennium everything

manifested enters into My nature, and at the beginning of
another millennium I manifest them again.
ANNOTATION: The Lord explains in this verse that occasional
annihilation takes place after every twelve hours of Lord Brahma,
which is 1000 chatur yugas. This is by human calculation
4,320,000,000, 432 crores of years. After each annihilation, and
when night of Brahma is passed by another 4,320,000,000 years,
creation will commence again. However, the final annihilation of
the universe is called prākrtika, total material annihilation, along
with all imperfect souls, take place when Lord Brahma becomes
100 years old. By human standards, 100 years of Lord Brahma is
equivalent to 311, 40,000.000,000 years (315 lakh crores of years).
The present Brahma is 50 years old (157.5 lakh crores). When
Brahma passes away after 50 more years, there will be prākrtika,
final annihilation. In the final annihilation, all souls and material
manifestations along with the universe will merge into the body of
Lord Mahā-Vishnu. pradhāna is the sum total of all unmanifested
material ingredients. In pradhāna there is no cause and effect or
reactions of elements. When it is manifested by the interactions
of the modes of material nature namely goodness, passion and
ignorance, it is called prakriti or mahat-tattva or material nature.
In the un-manifested stage of material nature, called pradhāna,
there are neither planets visible nor the expression of words, mind,
and the manifestation of the gross and subtle elements nor are there
the three modes of material nature. There is no life air or
intelligence or any senses or demigods visible. There is no definite
arrangement of planetary systems, and there are no different stages
of consciousness— wakefulness, sleep, or deep sleep.
Modern scientists term the sum total of all material
ingredients in its subtle nature as dark energy. The situation is just
like that of a complete sleep or of void. Indeed, annihilation is
indescribable. Authorities in spiritual science explain, however,
that since pradhāna is the original substance, it is the actual basis
of material creation. By the power of Lord Maha-Vishnu, the
plenary portion of Lord Krishna, when another millennium arrives
all the material contents of creation change from the substance of

pradhāna to become prakrti- manifested material nature
In prakrti one can see cause and effect and interactions of the
modes of material nature. Primarily this prakrti is divided into 24
parts: the five gross material elements of earth, water, fire, air,
ether; the five working senses of the hands, legs, mouth, genital
and rectum; the five knowledge acquiring senses of the eyes, nose,
ears, tongue, skin; the five objects of the senses of sound, form,
smell, taste and tongue; and, the three subtle elements of mind,
intelligence and false ego and polluted consciousness. The re-
emergence of manifested creation is just like after winter when all
the trees and plants come back to life.
Only foolish people pay no attention to their own inevitable
destruction would merge back into this pradhāna stage of the
material unmanifestation to remain dormant for another 311,
40,000,000,000 years - which is one breath of Lord Mahā-Vishnu.
TEXT 8 रकृत ं थवामव्ि्य ववस्
ृ ाभम पन ु ःपन
ु ः।
भू रामभममं कृ्थनमवशं रकृ वे श
ा ा ्॥८॥
prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhya visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt
prakṛtiṁ -- material nature; svām -- My; avaṣṭabhya -- under me;
visṛjāmi -- I manifest; punaḥ punaḥ -- repeatedly; bhūta-grāmam
-- all the cosmic manifestations; imaṁ -- these; kṛtsnam -- in all;
avaśaṁ -- automatically; prakṛter -- of the force of nature; vaśāt -
- under obligation.
All universal order is in Me. Under My will it is mechanically
manifested repeatedly, and under My will power it is
destroyed at the end.
ANNOTATION: Consider an analogy: a corporate owner may set
up a big firm and begin his business with many employees. For
this reason, he is honored by thousands of employees. This
entrepreneur is not detached from the business because he desires
to profit from it. Although he is honored for his business, he does
not receive best wishes from his employees because they know
that he is merely motivated by his attachment to profit. In stark

contrast, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead has set up
this huge universe just by His will. However, He has nothing to do
with this gigantic universe, even though He has created every
single object in it. He is completely detached because He has no
need for profits from this creation. Yet, He is completely
conscious of every single movement of the living entities and for
that reason He is omniscient.
When a robotic engineer designs and manufactures a robot it
is mesmerizing to see it functioning. However, if given a choice
between owning a robot and having the services of its creator, one
must choose the creator since he is able to create many more robots
as one requires, while the robot itself cannot manufacture another
robot. Similarly, the whole cosmic order is set up by the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead by His own will, and the same
Supreme Lord can manufacture many billions and trillions of
universes. All demigods have occupied their esteemed heavenly
position by the mercy of the Supreme designer, and the creations
of all demigods, humans and demons are also the works of the
Supreme designer. It is, therefore, the wishes of a less-intelligent
person to ignore the powerful creator and, instead, be attached to
the created objects of the world. For if one can cling in devotion
to the Lotus feet of the Lord, the Supreme universal engineer, one
will be able to obtain access to any universe one desires including
the spiritual kingdom.
In Brahma samhita, Lord Brahma offer prayers to Lord
Krishna:
yasyaika-nisvasita-kālam athāvalambya
jīvanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah
visnur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viseso
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
“Brahma and other lords of the mundane worlds, appearing from
the pores of hair of Mahā-Vishnu, remain alive as long as the
duration of one exhalation of Mahā-Vishnu. I adore the primeval
Lord Govinda (Krishna) of whose subjective personality Mahā-
Vishnu is the portion of portion”.

To create the material universe, the Supreme engineer Lord
Krishna expands into three Vishnus: Mahā-Vishnu,
Garbhodhakasāyi-Vishnu, and Kshīrodhakasāyi-Vishnu. Mahā-
Vishnu lays in the Causal Ocean and by breathing manifests
innumerable universes and, additionally, becomes the Supersoul
of all those collective universes. Mahā-Vishnu expands into
Garbhodhakasāyi-Vishnu and lays in Garbhodhaka Ocean, which
is two billion miles deep. He enters into each universe and
becomes the Supersoul of each individual universe. He also gives
birth to Lord Brahma through His navel and thereafter He is also
called Padmanābha – Padma meaning lotus and nābha meaning
navel, thus, it is through His navel that He gave birth to Lord
Brahma, the chief engineer of the material universe.
Garbhodhakasāyi-Vishnu expands into Kshīrodhakasāyi-Vishnu
and lays in the Milk Ocean and became the Supersoul of all living
entities.
Collectively, these Vishnus are the cause of the creation,
maintenance and annihilation of all the material universes. There
are innumerable expansions of these three Vishnus. There are
limitless universes like mustard seeds in mustard storage rooms.
We are in the smallest universe where Lord Brahma has only four
heads. There are millions of headed Brahmas and millions of
headed Sivas in other material universes. All these universes are
manifested and annihilated again and again by the will of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. When
one believes that God is all powerful, one cannot estimate how
powerful He is. Human beings, due to their absorption in gross
materialistic life, have no idea of these creations of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. They are under the grip of the stringent
laws of material nature and are repeatedly dying and taking birth
in this awful material universe. They are so experienced and
involved in dealing with the sufferings of the material world that
they never ask themselves why they are dying and taking birth in
this material universe.
TEXT 9 न च मां ातन कमााणण तनब्न्त िनं्य।

उदासीनवदासीनमस् ं ष
े ु कमास॥
ु ९॥
na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya
udāsīna-vad āsīnam asaktaṁ teṣu karmasu
na -- never; ca -- also; māṁ -- Me; tāni karmāṇi -- all those
activities; nibadhnanti -- bind; dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror of
riches; udāsīna-vad -- as neutral; āsīnam -- situated; asaktaṁ --
unattached; teṣu karmasu -- for those activities.
O conqueror of riches, none of all those cosmic actions can
bind Me. I am forever unattached from all those material
actions, situated neutrally from these activities.
ANNOTATION: One may ask that how is it that the Supreme
Lord, being responsible for so many diverse activities in creation,
is still not bound by the activities of embodied souls. We must
remember that He performs a mass killing at the time of the
annihilation of the universe and all living entities are helplessly
merged into oblivion. The Supreme Lord is unaffected by such
actions. The word Supreme means Krishna is Master in all actions
including killing, sūdhan (killer). Foreseeing the possibility that
Arjuna would ask Him whether He is affected by such things, Lord
Krishna states that He is udasinavad asinam, He is situated in
neutrality, and no actions can bind Him.
The constitutional law for kings in general is that a king can
do no wrong. The king, being beyond the State and Central laws,
he is not entangled in or bound to obey laws. Similarly, the
Supreme Lord, as proprietor of the material universe, cannot be
bound by the petty laws of the material world.
Attachment to the result of actions is what causes bondage.
The Supreme Lord has no such attachments because He possesses
everything in full, there are no desires for Him to gratify. One of
His forms of opulence is renunciation: He has hundred percent
detachment. The State government and Central government are
neutral to all activities of the country and, at the same time, they
are not responsible for citizens’ personal activities. Citizen’s
themselves are responsible for themselves and their actions. This

neutrality between the activities of the people does not mean that
the government will not intervene in order to maintain law and
order; if citizens perform illegal actions they are still punished by
the government, and when they perform good actions for the
country, they are rewarded. The real cause of the creation and
annihilation of the material universes are the embodied souls
themselves due to their illegal desires. The head of the Supreme
Government, Krishna, has no interest in punishing living entities
if they are sound and healthy in their good actions.
TEXT 10 मया्यषेण रकृत ः सयू े सचराचरम ्।

े न
ु ानेन क९त य
े ्ग्ववपररव ा ॥
े १०॥
mayādhyakṣheṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-charācharam
hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate
mayādhyakṣheṇa -- superintended by Me; prakṛtiḥ -- the external
material nature; sūyate -- manifests; sa-charācharam -- both the
moving and the non-moving; hetunā -- for this reason; nena -- this;
kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; jagad -- the universal manifestation;
viparivartate -- is manifested and annihilated repeatedly.
O son of Kunti, I am the superintended of the material nature,
producing both moving and nonmoving beings. For this
reason this universal manifestation is created and annihilated,
repeatedly.
ANNOTATION: One is always astonished in seeing material
inventions like aircrafts, computers, the IPhones, etc. These
powerful aircrafts are programmed to fly in the air at certain
velocities to maintain altitude but are very delicate. With the
slightest of mistakes, the whole machine can crash and kill
hundreds of people, as everyone has seen and heard about in the
news. These gigantic aircrafts are able to fly in sky for several
hours and can take three to four hundred passengers to far away
destinations in a very short period of time. These inventions are
very good and save so many people’s time and their necessities.
Yet, while we can appreciate these feats of the material world we

must also appreciate that the Supreme Godhead Krishna created
the huge machine of the universe. This has been floating in the
water for billions of years. Many planets float in the air. We should
appreciate that He, then, created the sun, the moon, Mars and
Jupiter, etc. All these are amazing creations of the Supreme Lord.
Without this Supreme Engineer, nothing could work. In this verse
Lord Krishna is confirming this very same thing by saying that
material nature works under His ‘supervision’ - ‘maya’ means by
Me, ‘adhya’ means prime or super’, and ‘aksha’ means vision.
Material nature is the home for the conditioned living entities
and it is completely dark. In this home there is a galaxy of stars,
the rising and setting of the sun and moon, seasonal changes, the
movements of the planets, heavy mountains, vast oceans with
sodium chloride preservatives, forests with ferocious animals, the
supply of light, air, water, fire, space, heavenly realms and hellish
planets, food grains, fruits, vegetables, chemicals, gold, silver,
iron, aluminum, coal, oil, gas, wood, precious stones, etc.
Moreover, in the material manifestation there are further actions
of nature, like the way fire cooks food, and water quenches thirst.
It is, thus, by the laws of nature that the fire gives heat and light,
flames goes upwards, and water goes downwards, and material
world functions for the benefit of men and other living entities. All
of these different ingredients of nature are created and manifested
by the Lord from His own energy, for the benefit of all living
entities.
The Lord’s relation to the material world is just like the
relation of a prison house and the government: while the prison
house is under the supervision of the government, but the
government is not directly involved in its management, but rather
allocates an official to carry out this task. Thus, there is no direct
work to be done by the Lord for the creation and destruction of the
material world. Regarding this point, when the Vedās describe His
direct interference this is simply to neutralize the idea that material
nature works automatically. Therefore, while the Lord does not
have direct work to do for the maintenance of the material world,

the world still depends on His power in so many ways.
By the Supreme Lord’s energy the material world is created
by the head of the external energy called Goddess Durgā, through
the authority of Lord Mahā-Vishnu. It is said in Chaitanya
Charitamrta, Adi Lila, 5.61:
ataeva krishna mula-jagat-kārana prakriti —
kārana yaiche aja-gala-stana
“Therefore Lord Krishna is the original cause of the cosmic
manifestation. Prakṛti (material nature) is like the nipples on the
neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk”.
It is said that because Mahā-Vishnu is a plenary expansion of
Krishna, it is He who electrifies the matter to put it in motion. The
example of electrification is quite appropriate. A piece of iron is
certainly not fire, but when the iron is made red-hot, certainly it
has the quality of fire through its burning capacity. Matter is
compared to the piece of iron, and it is electrified or made red-hot
by the glance or manipulation of the supreme consciousness of
Lord Vishnu. Only by such electrification is the energy of matter
displayed in various actions and reactions. Therefore, inert matter
is insufficient to cause the cosmic manifestation. Goddess Durgā
or the personified prakriti causes immediate creation of the
material world, but this position is given to her by Supreme Lord
Vishnu, who is the plenary portion of Lord Krishna. The material
nature, then, has no separate existence without the Lord.
To ignore the Supreme Lord as the cause of all causes is the
logic of aja-gala-stana-nyāya: it is like trying to milk the nipples
on the neck of a goat. The nipples on the neck of a goat may seem
like origin of milk, but it is foolish to try to extract milk from them.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna is
independent from everything happening in the material world and
spiritual world. He is the cosmic being and Supersoul of all
moving and non-moving living entities and the original source of
three Vishnus. The material nature is full of beauty, there are many
islands, which are endowed with loveliness and magnificence. The
whole universe is filled with oceans, mountains, rivers, forests,

gardens, and minerals and all these varieties are creations of God.
The origin of all these reservoirs and beauties is Krishna, who is
the most beautiful and powerful. As beauty comes from the
beautiful, and power comes from the powerful, it is thus Krishna
who is all beautiful and powerful. It is, therefore, only less
intelligent people who think that material nature works
independently from the Lord. Such persons are discussed by the
Lord in the next verse.
TEXT 11 अव्ान्त मां मढ
ू ा मानष
ु ीं नम
ु ाधर म ्।
परं भावम्ानत ८ मम भू म े ्वरम ्॥११॥
avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram
avajānanti -- scorn; māṁ -- Me; mūḍhā -- fools; mānuṣīṁ tanum -
- in the body of a human; āśritam-- assuming; paraṁ -- supreme;
bhāvam -- nature; ajānanto -- not knowing; mama -- My; bhūta-
maheśvaram -- as the ultimate controller of all living entities.
Fools deride Me when I appear in the human body, not
knowing My spiritual nature as the Supreme Lord of all living
entities.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Krishna explains that foolish
people ridicule Him when He descends in human form of life. The
most foolish thing a man can do is to think of man as God, and
God as a man. God can descend in the human form, but human
beings cannot ascend to the form of God. It is absolute foolishness
to worship a human god. People who do this have lost their
intelligence - buddhi nashta. Human beings are a sample of God,
but they are not God. There is only one God, and there are many
humans and demigods.
Some beings are attached to worship just to gain material
facilities. They worship old men or yogis as God. These so-called
devotees of such ‘human gods’ never attain perfection in this life
or their many millions of future lives. Lord Krishna possess a sat-
cit-ānanda, a spiritual body unlike human beings. Lord Krishna

advents from the spiritual world called Goloka Vrindhāvana to the
earth planet on the request of earth goddess, Lord Brahma, Lord
Siva and other demigods. In one day of Lord Brahma, Lord
Krishna descends to earth to perform His supernatural pastimes.
All other incarnations of Krishna descend in every 4,320,000
years. A crude analogy can be given to understand this subject,
just like a president of the nation will only go to the very important
meetings when his fellow ministers first fail in their attempts.
Similarly, Lord Krishna is only the source of all expansions and
incarnations, therefore He is called avatari or the source of
incarnations, He is not an avatara - incarnation. This is explained
in Srimad-Bhāgavatam: ete chamsa-kalah pumsahkrishnas tu
bhagavān svayam, “all of the above-mentioned incarnations are
either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the
Lord, but Krishna is the original Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead.” People in general think of Krishna as the incarnation
of Lord Vishnu. However, according to the Satvata-tantra
scriptures quoted by the achāryas, Vishnu is the expansion of Lord
Krishna:
vishnus tu trini rupani purusakhyany atho viduh
ekah tum mahatah srastir dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam
trtiyam sarva-bhūta-stham tani jnatva vimucyate
For material creation, Lord Krishna’s plenary expansion
assumes three Vishnus (as is mentioned in the previous verse).
However, this verse specifies that the original Supreme Majestic
Lord is different from His incarnations. The difference is in His
state of mind, Lord Vishnu and incarnations have a commanding
and managerial mood while Lord Krishna manifests and concerns
His childhood, adolescence, and His pastimes as a young man to
attract all living entities, lilayatena bhuvanani jayanti jasram;
Krishna has an ever fresh youthful body, and mysteriously He
never grows more than 25 years old. All His pastimes or lilas are
for a specific duty to perform, to attract all living entities.
All the expansions of the Lord possess a certain percentages
of His transcendental features, but Sri Krishna is the possessor and
the originator of all such transcendental features. All Nārāyana

expansions, Vishnu expansions and all other incarnations possess
up to ninety four percent of the transcendental features of Lord
Krishna. Lord Siva possesses eighty-four percent of the attributes
of Lord Krishna. While the jīvās, from the individual living beings
to Lord Brahma, including all thirty three million demigods,
possess up to seventy eight percent of the Lord’s features. In the
conditioned state of material existence, the living being possesses
these attributes in only a very minute quantity, which in turn
depends on how pious the life is of a living being. The standard of
perfection for a human being is to develop these attributes to the
full capability of seventy eight percent, which leads such a person
to become godly. However, a living being can never become like
Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna.
In Kali-yuga, it has become a fashion of life for publics
imagine a man as a deity and deride the original Deity by saying
that He was merely a human being. Man gods think that they are
incarnation of different avatara of Rāma and Krishna. Lord
Krishna or Rāma does not possess a body with intestine, liver or
human hearts nor can anyone imagine the inconceivable
transcendental qualities of Them. Human god more often victim
to different diseases, old age and death and they cannot manifest
cosmic form, they more often die in hospitals. All these foolish
incarnations are, however, just puppets in the hand of the Supreme
Lord’s time and power and will all vanish in time’s due course. It
is easy to understand who the intelligent man is and who the
foolish man is from these observations.
TEXT 12 म८घाशा म८घकमााण८ म८घ्ाना ववचे सः।
राषसीमासरु ीं चव रकृत ं म८ह नीं धर ाः॥१२॥
moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ
rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ
moghāśā -- baffled in their desires; mogha-karmāṇo -- futility in
endeavors; mogha-jñānā -- uselessness in cultured knowledge;
vicetasaḥ -- futile understanding; rākṣasīm – the demoniac; -
āsurīṁ -- of the atheistic; ca -- and; iva -- surely; prakṛtiṁ -- the
nature; mohinim -- bewildering; śritāḥ -- taking shelter of.

Those who are bewildered have taken the shelter of demoniac
and atheistic concepts and their desire for perfection, their
endeavors in futile activities and their hopes for cultured
knowledge are all defeated.
ANNOTATION: No one can compare with the power and
opulence of the Supreme Lord in either of the material or spiritual
worlds. The nature of wicked and the hellish demonic beings’
power, raksasim asurim caiva, and whatever opulence they may
gain, are enticing only to ordinary people, not to the Supreme
Lord. The Absolute Truth has infinite power. He doesn’t need to
exercise this power on human beings, cannibals and demons, as
their power is limited and relatively feeble. Moreover, to defeat
the demons, the Godhead, Lord Krishna, exercises only a little
more power than they themselves possess. Like a rich man who
wants to conquer a poor rebellious person, he needs to employ
only some wealth, not all he owns. Therefore, many foolish people
think Krishna exhibited only some super human activities, by
which the demons were defeated. Yet, Lord Krishna is not just a
super human being, He is Parabrahman, the Supreme Brahman,
tayor aikiyam parabrahman krishna iti abhidiyate. Without this
knowledge of the Supreme, fools are attracted by the demonic and
atheistic views and are baffled, moghasah. They are completely
deluded due to Krishna’s divine illusory energy. The hopes they
hold for their objectives are baffled, so are their plans to be
liberated from repeated birth and death through the completion of
fruitive activities. Their hopes to be elevated to the heavenly planet
and forefather’s planet, and their so-called scientific, speculative
philosophical and irrational culture of knowledge, all are baffled.
As it is said with the term mogha-jnāna, knowledge will be
baffled. To escape this confusion and to complete a successful
project for mankind, one should research on Krishna. Moreover,
as is expressed by the term moghah karmanah: there are so many
famous, powerful and richest people who are but bewildered even
after they have achieved enormous material wealth, fame and
power. They are in this way for want of Krishna consciousness,

since they remain perplexed by the true goal of human life. It is
said that it may be easy to train a tiger to make him eat grass than
to make a rich man a devotee of Krishna. In the political world,
there are many leaders who try to bring great developments to the
nation and they all get frustrated and vanish like bubbles in the
ocean disappear after proceeding waves. Whatever one tries to do
in the material world, in the end, he will only face frustration.
Wherever one goes in the material universe, whatever one does for
people and nations, without being fully conscious of God, who is
the Supreme Father of all living beings, he will become frustrated.
According to the achāryas, this is what the Lord means in this
verse.
TEXT 13 म ा्मानथ ु मां पािा दवीं रकृत माधर ाः।
भ्त्यनतयमनस८ ्ा्वा भू ाहदम्ययम ्॥१३॥
mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
mahātmānas -- the great souls; tu -- but; māṁ -- unto Me; pārtha -
- O son of Pritha; daivīṁprakṛtim -- of the divine nature; āśritāḥ -
- having taken refuge; bhajanty – executing devotional
service; ananya-manaso -- with undeviated mind; jñātvā --
knowing; bhūtādim -- the origin of all creation; avyayam --
imperishable.
The great souls who have taken refuge in the divine nature are
not under illusions. They are engaged in devotional service,
knowing Me to be the Supreme Absolute Lord, origin of all
creation and imperishable.
ANNOTATION: There is no possibility for one to have pure
consciousness unless one comes and connects with the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, which is known as bhakti yoga.
Pure consciousness is situated far beyond the material concept of
life. Pure consciousness or original consciousness is not connected
with any material activities or duties. In this verse, Lord Krishna
explains who is worthy of the title of mahātma. It is He, who by
constantly remembering the Supreme Godhead, obtains the pure

consciousness, Krishna consciousness. Such a person engages one
hundred percent in devotional service to Krishna, without
deviation. People worthy of this title are those who have taken
complete shelter in the divine spiritual world. They have taken
shelter in the predominant president of that universe, Lord
Krishna, the origin of everything including Paramātma and all
living entities.
He, again, descended 528 years ago in the form of Lord
Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to teach all His forgotten children krishna-
sankritana yoga. This is authenticated in Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
krishna varnam tvisākrishnam sangopangastra pārsadam
yajnaih sankirtana prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasah
“In the age of Kali-yuga, very intelligent persons perform
congregational chanting to worship the incarnation Godhead who
constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion
is not blackish, he is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His
associate, servant, weapons and confidential companions.”
The author Krishna das Kaviraja goswāmi, empowered by
Lord Nityānanda, an expansion of Lord Balarāma, explains in
Chaitanya Charitamrta Adi lila 8.9 that:
krishna nahi mane, tate daitya kari’ mani
chaitanya na manile taiche daitya tare jani
“One who does not accept Krishna as the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is certainly a daitya, an asura. Similarly,
anyone who does not accept Sri Chaitanya Mahāprabhu as
Krishna, the same Supreme Lord, is also to be considered as a
daitya”. So They are inexhaustible because, even though, this
multi-colored universe and its varieties arise from Them, They still
remain complete and full without being exhausted.”
The mahātmas are they who have complete conviction of
Krishna and render service unto the powerful Personality of
Godhead. They are, then, part of divine internal nature of the
Supreme Lord. Those whose minds are tainted with various forms
of worship, thinking their worship of other gods make them
mahātma, are misguided. The next verse elaborates on the actions

of a mahātma.
TEXT 14 स ं की य
ा त ८ मां य त ्च ृढर ाः।
नमथयत ्च मां भ््या तन्यय्
ु ा उपास ॥
े १४॥
satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ

namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate
satataṁ -- always; kīrtayanto -- glorifying; mā -- Me; yatantaś --
endeavoring; ca -- also; dṛḍha-vratāḥ -- with resolute
determination; namasyantaś ca -- and offering obeisances; māṁ -
- Me; bhaktyā -- in loving devotion; nitya-yuktā -- continuously
engaged for eternal relationship; upāsate -- worship.
Always glorifying Me, endeavoring with resolute
determination and offering obeisance to Me, these great souls
are continually engaged in worshipping Me with loving
devotion.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord enumerates the attributes
of a mahātma, a great soul. The word satatam means always, with
this word Lord Krishna emphasizes that the mahātmas are
incessantly chanting His Holy name: ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma
Hare Hare’. This chanting of the holy name can purify our
consciousness and thereby remove our misunderstandings about
everything in this world, which is due to a lack of purity in
thinking. Thus, it is said in the scriptures:
dwāpariyair janair vishnu pancharatrais tu kevalaih
kalau tu nāma-mātrena pujyate bhagavān harih
“In Dwāpara-yuga, devotees of Lord Vishnu and Krishna rendered
devotional service according to the principles of Pancharātra-
smrti literature. In this Age of Kali, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is worshiped simply by the chanting of His holy names”.
There must be some quantity of chanting every day on beads,
at least minimum of 16 rounds, which will take around two hours.
One, then, has an additional twenty two hours to render other

services each day. In this regard, one must not be lazy with the
chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. The purpose of
chanting is to keep oneself always in association with God, and is
first and foremost process for the purification of the heart, in the
present age of Kali. Accepting the spiritual life is to purify one’s
material existence. If one does not take up the chanting process,
one cannot purify this material existence and will always fall into
illusion, quarrel and hypocrisy.
This is the method advocated by the scriptures for the
elevation to Krishna consciousness and to remain unpolluted by
the material nature. One may not feel inclined to chant the holy
name of the Lord in the beginning due to the reactions of one’s
various past material activities. In such a case, the heart has
become a steel frame due to gross materialistic activities.
However, it must be understand that thick dirt on a window must
be removed by all endeavors with pure liquids. Similarly, from the
reactions of past activities our hearts are filled with what is like a
thick material dirt, and is removed by chanting, among other
devotional activities.
The false notion of considering these few days of human life
as permanent are among the biggest illusions created by Krishna’s
daivi māya. According to the achāryas this process of continuous
chanting will reveal a person’s original identity that they are direct
children of Krishna. Once the original identity is established in the
heart by constant chanting the Holy name, the devotees of Lord
Krishna will start manifesting choked up voices and tears in their
eyes from ecstatic feelings of joy and love for Krishna. To such
devotees Krishna reveals different manifestation of Himself. The
devotees also can glorify Krishna in His different holy names such
as Kesava, Mādhava, Vāsudeva, Mukunda, and Hari which are
synonymous with His original name, and specifically express His
attributes and glories.
These attributes and glories are described in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrta and other goswāmi
literatures. There are six goswāmis who were direct and grand
disciples of Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. They are Srila Rupa

goswāmi, Sanātana goswāmi, Raghunath Dasa goswāmi,
Raghunath Bhatta goswāmi, Gopala Bhatta goswāmi, and Jīva
goswāmi. They are all spiritually powerful achāryas of this world.
To attain this high ecstatic love for Krishna, it is wise to take
shelter in their teachings as well.
Lord Krishna has personally promised Nārada Muni that
whoever chants His glories will attain the Lord's mercy, despite
social or occupational status:
nāham tishtāmi vaikunte yoginam hrdayesu va
tatra tishtami nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktah
“My dear Nārada, I do not dwell in Vaikuntha or in the hearts of
the yogi, but wherever My devotees sing My glories, I reside
there.” (Padma Purāna)
Generally, people use eyes and ears to learn subjects and
objects. Here the devotees use tongue to learn subject and object,
who is the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name. Devotees
offer obeisance to Krishna and perform sankirtana yajna;
devotees enlighten one another and enacting Krishna’s pastimes,
which were manifested in the world to all His aspiring devotees.
Elated devotees constantly remember His pastimes with tears in
their eyes with their bodies trembling in ecstasy, thrilled by the
exciting recollection of such transcendental exposure. There are
other devotees who engage themselves in the construction of
temples of worship for the Supreme Lord along with laying out of
flower gardens and fruit orchards for His service. Still others are
overcome by sacred devotion, prostrate themselves upon the
ground with all eight parts of their body like a fragile reed
regardless of dust, dirt, thorns and pebbles, in humble obeisance
to the Supreme Lord. (The eight parts of the body are: the heart,
the intellect, the ego, the head, two hands and two feet - prostrating
in unison with concerted devotion.) It is also not possible for them
to tolerate any kind of diversion or deviation in their devotional
service to the Supreme Lord, rejecting even relatives and family
members, if they cause hindrances and disturbances on the path of
their devotional service.
TEXT 15 ्ानय्ेन चातयतये य्त ८ मामप

ु ास ।े न
एक्वेन पि
ृ ््वेन ब ु िा वव्व ८मख
ु म ्॥१५॥
jñāna-yajnena cāpy anye yajanto mām upāsate
ekatvena pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvato-mukham
jñāna-yajñena -- sacrifice of cultivation of knowledge; ca --
also; āpy -- certainly; anye -- other; yajanto -- offering of
sacrifices; mam -- Me; upasate -- worship; ekatvena --
oneness; pṛthaktvena -- duality; bahudha -- diversity; viśvato-
mukham -- and in the cosmic face.
Those who have engaged in sacrifice by cultivation of
knowledge, offering of other sacrifices, worshiping Me in
oneness, in duality, as diverse in many and in the cosmic
universal form.
ANNOTATION: There are many different devotees engaged in
the cultivation of spiritual knowledge and different sacrifices.
Some devotees worship only Krishna as the Absolute Truth,
ekatvena (one without a second). Some worship themselves as
God, which is referred to as ahankaropāsanam. Others worships
elements of nature as God, which is pantheism or duality. Many
also worship diverse demigods, bahudha, while other devotees
worship the universal gigantic form of the Lord as God, visvatoh
mukham. visvatoh mukham is the universal body, within the
universal body there are mountains, oceans and forests. In other
words, everyone remembers God one way or another. Hence, these
are different methods of appreciating God. They are all better than
people who are living like animals, especially the atheists. In this
verse, the Lord explains that there is nothing other than God in this
world. Yet, everyone is trying to either imitate Him or to worship
Him. The mahātmas are the ones who worships only Krishna, the
Absolute Truth. All others worship the Supreme as well, but only
indirectly. This is comparable to the sun, if there is sun, there is
also sunshine. Sunshine is the energy of the sun. Studying the
sunshine is not the complete study of the Sun. Studying the sun
globe is also not the complete study of the sun. Studying the Sun
god inside the Sun globe is the complete study of the Sun. The
general opinion of people is that there are different forms of God
and if we worship anyone of these forms they will receive the same
benefits. If everything and everyone is God, then the significance
of God becomes lost. Therefore, worshiping Krishna, the Absolute
Whole, includes all worships, worshiping any other forms and
energies do not include worshiping God.
TEXT 16 अ ं र रु ं य्ः थविा म म९षिम ्।

मतर८ऽ म मेवा्यम म््नर ं ु म ्॥१६॥
ahaṁ kratur ahaṁ yajñaḥ svadhāham aham auṣadham
mantro ’ham aham evājyam aham agnir ahaṁ hutam
ahaṁ kratur -- I am Vedic ritual; ahaṁ yajñaḥ -- I am the smṛti
sacrifice; svadhāham -- I am the oblation to forefathers; aham
auṣadham -- I am the healing herb; mantro aham -- I am the
transcendental chant; aham -- I; eva -- certainly; ājyam -- melted
butter; aham agnir -- I am the fire; ahaṁ hutam -- I am the
offering.
I am the Vedic ritual, I am the smrti sacrifice, I am the offering
of oblation, I am the remedial herb, I am spiritual chanting, I
am butter, I am fire and I am the offering.
of Godhead describes some of His qualities concerning Vedic
rituals. He says: I am kratu, the Vedic rituals like jyotishtoma
which awards the heavenly planets; I am sacrifice, the act of daily
worship enjoined in the Vedic scriptures; I am svada, or sraddha,
the food oblations offered to the departed ancestors and presiding
deities; I am ausadham, the potency within healing medicinal
herbs.
What is meant here is that when one is sick and goes to a
physician and subsequently eats the medicine and is cured – it is
by Krishna’s power that one is cured through the medicine.
Notwithstanding the physician’s prescription, if the medicine does
not cure the disease of the patient, then the mercy of God is
withdrawn from the patient.
The Lord explains further: I am the mantra, the sacred verses

chanted at the performance of all Vedic rituals; I am ajyam, the
ghee (clarified butter) extracted exclusively from cow’s milk; I am
fire, known as ahavaniyas, the sacrificial fire ignited from sacred
fire; I am hutam, denoting homam, or the oblations offered into the
fire, as well as the ritual itself. To one become a sincere devotee
of the Supreme Person, Krishna, one must complete all the
sacrifices that have been explained by the Lord in this verse.
TEXT 17 वप ा मथय ्ग ८ मा ा िा ा वप ाम ः।
वे्यं पववरमंकार ऋ्सामय्ुरेव च॥१७॥
pitāham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
vedyaṁ pavitram oṁkāra ṛk sāma yajur eva ca
pitā – the father; aham -- I am; asya -- of this; jagato --
universe; mātādhātā -- mother, supporter; pitamahah --
grandfather; vedyaṁ -- the essence to be known; pavitram oṁkāra
-- the purifying syllable AUM; ṛk sāma yajur -- the g Veda, the
Sāma Veda, the Yajur Veda; eva -- surely; ca – also.
I am certainly the father of this universe, the mother, the
supporter and the grandfather. I am the essence of all
knowledge, the purifying syllable AUM. I am also the Rig, the
Sama and the Yajur Vedās.
confirms that He is the foundation, sustainer, and source of all
creation and the actual inducer of all living entities to create. It is
the Supreme Lord Krishna who is comprised of moving and non-
moving things. In this way, He is the father, the mother and
grandsire of all. Thus, when a child is born, the child must have
father, mother, grandsire for the identification of their lineage;
Krishna says that He Himself is the root of all living beings and
all substances. The Lord states that He is the dhāta, meaning, the
supporter of the fruits of everyone’s actions. eko bahūnam yo
vidadāti kāman: He is the one who fulfills everyone’s desires, as
is required, so that peaceful life may be possible. He is vedyam,
the essence of what is to be known, and the only object to be
realized. He is pavitram, the one who purifies and sanctifies. He is

transcendental sound vibration manifested in the Omkāra. He is
the sublime and perfect rig veda, sama veda and the yajur veda
from where the atharva veda was extracted by Srila Vyāsa deva.
These four vedās contained all department of knowledge and it is
compared with wish fulfilling desire trees.
TEXT 18 गत भा ाा रभःु साषी तनवासः शरणं सृ

ु ्।
रभवः रलयः थिानं तनिानं बी्म्ययम ्॥१८॥
gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt

prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam
gatir -- the goal; bhartā -- the sustainer; prabhuḥ -- the Lord;

sākṣī -- the witness; nivāsaḥ -- the abode; śaraṇaṁ -- the
refuge; suhṛt -- the most intimate friend; prabhavaḥ --
creation; pralayaḥ -- dissolution; sthānaṁ -- the ground;
nidhanam -- the resting; bijam – seeds; avyayam -- eternal.
I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode,
the refuge, and the dearest friend. I am the cause of creation
and dissolution, the resting place and the eternal seed of
everything.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord explains that He
is ‘gatih’, the ultimate goal of everyone. Most people believe that
material accumulation and achievement is the primary goal in life.
Krishna is bhartā meaning that He is the supporter or maintainer
of all living entities by providing food and shelter. Lord Krishna
is comparable to a husband being the sustainer. He is prabhuh, the
master of all living beings. People under material conditions
accept many people as their masters, forgetting that their original
master is the Supreme Lord. Such people are often baffled by these
temporary masters. Lord Krishna is the sakhsi, meaning the
witness - the monitor of all thoughts and actions of all living
entities. For instance, a surveillance camera may have numerous
blind spots, but the Supreme Majestic Lord is vigilant day and
night, and are therefore, aware of all actions. He is the universe -
nivasah or accommodation, the building where all animate and

inanimate objects could dwell. saranam means He is the refuge,
where all spiritual beings may come for guidance or shelter, He
offers protection and neutralizes all evil influences. suhrt means
that He is the most dear friend, the well-wisher of all living entities
moving and nonmoving. prabhava pralaya sthanam means He is
the basis of creation and dissolution, no matter where it occurs.
nidhanam means that from where all things originate and the place
where all things return. avyayam bījam means the imperishable
seed of all, the inextinguishable cause of everything. All these
facilities are offered by Krishna, as the Super Deity to all living
beings, especially to those who have taken complete shelter in
Him. It seems that a majority of inhabitants in God’s creation,
belongs to a lower species of life. Unfortunately, a few materially
educated men are also fallen in the lower consciousness because
they do not accept the authority of God.
TEXT 19 पा्य म ं वषं तनग्

ृ णा्य्ु स्
ृ ाभम च।
अम ृ ं चव म्ृ य्ु च सदस्चा म्न
ुा ॥१९॥
tapāmy aham ahaṁ varṣaṁ nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi ca

amṛtaṁ caiva mṛtyuś ca sad asac cāham arjuna
tapāmy -- supply heat; aham -- I am; aham -- I am; varṣaṁ-
nigṛhṇāmy -- refuse to give rain; utsṛjāmi ca -- and send
forth; amṛtaṁ ca -- and immortality; iva -- certainly; mṛtyuś ca --
also death; sad asac -- spirit and matter; ca -- also; āham --
I; arjuna -- O Arjuna.
I supply heat, I supply rain showers or refuse to give the rain.
O Arjuna, I am eternity and also death, spirit and matter are
in Me.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Majestic Lord supply heat through
sunshine, fire and electricity. Krishna holds back the rain when
there is no need for the rain, especially in the summer season, but
when it is required He cools everything down, producing food and
filling up all the water reservoirs for the sustenance of all living
entities. Krishna is amrtam or immortality, the being through

which the world exists. Krishna is also mrtyu or death, which
means that He can bring about the end of this entire universe,
destroying it along with all the living entities that’s currently
inhabiting it. Krishna is the cause of material elements and He is
the origin and sole cause of the manifestation of the spirit. If
Krishna is the cause of all manifestations and the seed of
everything, it is wise to take shelter in such a Supreme Lord. One
has to follow a particular path of spirituality in the human form of
life. The Supreme Truth, Lord Krishna, is explaining where He
stands in the creation, so that those living beings who likes to cross
over from the miserable material existence of repeated birth and
death can take shelter in Him.
TEXT 20
रवव्या मां स८मपाःपू पापा य्रर््वा थवगात ं रािायत ।े
े प्
ु यमासा्य सरु े तरल८क-म्न्त हद्या्तदवव दे वभ८गान ्॥२०॥
trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā
yajñair iṣṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante
te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān
trai-vidyā -- those who knows the three Vedās; māṁ -- Me; soma-
paḥ -- who drink soma juice; pūta-pāpā -- purified of sins; yajñair
-- with sacrifices; iṣṭvā -- worship; svar-gatiṁ -- passage to
heaven; prārthayante -- pray for; te -- they; puṇyam attaining-
pious; āsādya – rare; surendra-lokam -- the planet of Lord Indra;
aśnanti -- enjoy; divyan -- celestial; divi -- in heaven; deva-
bhogān -- the pleasures of the demigods.
Those who study the three Vedās, want to drink soma juice,
hankering passage to heavenly planet and pray to Me
indirectly. Purified from sinful reactions, they take birth
among the pious beings residing on the planet of Surendra
(Lord Indra) where they enjoy the pleasure of the demigods.
ANNOTATION: In this verse and the next, the Lord presents the
blessings for those who are not devotees of Him, but at the same
time not opposed to divinity and who follow karma-kānda section

of the Vedās for the sake of receiving the heavenly benedictions.
Such devotees, desiring to enter the heavenly planets to enjoy
beautiful heavenly pleasures worship the demigods as approved in
the three Vedās. This is what is known as trai-vidyā and applies to
anyone who has self-orientated motivations for performing the
injunctions of the four Vedās. Such a person is devoted to
performing Vedic rituals for personal gain such as daily fire
sacrifices, digging a well to supply water to the pilgrims and
pedestrians, food establishments, opening hospitals and opening
schools and not as a spiritual practice as enjoined in the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, Upanishads and other Vedic scriptures, which
qualifies one to enter into the spiritual world. Solely, for the
purpose of obtaining celestial results to enjoy the godly pleasures,
they perform faithful worships to Indra, the leader of the thirty
three million demigods. However, they do not know that all
merciful benedictions are given by the Supreme Lord Krishna
alone.
There are many devotees of Krishna who desire material
enjoyment while they perform serious devotional service to
Krishna. They undergo austere penances and control their material
desires, but they worship only the Supreme Lord. They are, after
leaving their material body, promoted to the heavenly planet by
the Lord to enjoy unlimited material opulence. For a prolonged
duration of years, as much as Lord Indra’s life span, they reside in
the heavenly planets enjoy such opulences. When intermediate
devastation of the three worlds takes place (such as upper
planetary systems, middle planetary systems and lower planetary
systems) and when Indra’s life comes to an end, the devotees
residing in heaven will be transferred directly to the spiritual
world, Vaikuṇṭha planet by the causeless mercy of the Supreme
Lord. This particular mercy of the Lord is to demonstrate to His
devotees that they are not losers of any kind of happiness, whether
it is material or spiritual. Therefore, it is said in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 2-3-10:
akāmah sarva-kamo va moksa-kāma udara-dhih

tivrena bhakti-yogena yajeta purusam param
“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all
material desires, without any material desire, or desiring
liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the
TEXT 21
े ं भ्ु ्वा थवगाल८कंववशालं षीणेप्
ु ये म्याल८कं ववश्त ।
एवं रयीिमामनर
ु पतना ग ाग ं कामकामा लभत ॥
े २१॥
te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ

kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokam viśanti
evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante
te -- they; taṁ -- that; bhuktvā -- having enjoyed; svarga-lokaṁ
viśālaṁ -- in vast heaven; kṣhīṇepuṇye -- being exhausted of the
results of their pious activities; martya-lokamviśanti -- fall down
to the mortal earth; evaṁ -- thus; trayi-dharmam -- doctrines of the
three Vedās; anuprapannā gatāgataṁ -- repeated death and
birth; kāma-kāmālabhante -- attain desiring sense enjoyments.
Having enjoyed heavenly pleasures extensively, the results of
their pious activities are exhausted, they again return to the
earth planet. Thus, following the doctrines of the righteousness
in the three Vedās for sense pleasure only attains repeated
death and birth.
ANNOTATION: The heavenly enjoyment is very gratifying.
Unfortunately, one is allowed to live in the heavenly planet for
only so long. After their pious activities are exhausted, one will
disappear from the heavenly planet. They become the food for the
evil spirits or rakshasas of the rakshasa loka, which is situated
beneath the heavenly planet. Those cannibal-like demons split the
body of fallen ritualistic performers, ripping the soul out of the
heavenly body which then merges with the clouds. Then through
rain water the soul falls on the surface of the earth planet and take
shelter in vegetation or in grain. According to the karma of

individual living entities, that grain or vegetable will be eaten by
either an animal or human being. Accordingly, the male will
discharge the sperm into the female’s womb and the soul is once
again reborn in the house of the pious. Here, it begins
accumulating sufficient merit all over again by performing the
same rituals prescribed in the Vedās for entering the celestial
spheres to enjoy heavenly delights, and so continuing the repeated
cycle of birth and death. Again and again they must be imprisoned
inside a mother’s womb for nine months, in an air tight
compartment, lifetime after lifetime revolving in this cycle
unceasingly because they hanker so much for heavenly pleasures.
Yet again, when their merit is exhausted, they are in transition
down to the cycle of birth and death and then back to heaven;
repeating the same process all over again. King Kulashekara Alvar
prays to Lord Krishna:
nāham vande tava caranayor dvandvam advan dva-hetoh
kumbhipākam gurum api hare nārakam nāpanetum
ramyā-rāmā-mrtu-tanu-latā nandane nāpi rantum
bhāve bhāve hrdaya-bhavane bhāvayeyam bhavantam
“O Krishna, I do not want to be saved from the dualities of material
existence or the grim tribulations of the Kumbhipāka hell, nor my
purpose is to enjoy the beautiful girls strolling in the forest of the
nandana garden of heaven. I pray to your Lotus feet that I may
remember You alone in the core of my heart, birth after birth”.
Foolish and less intelligent people who do not take shelter in
a bonafide spiritual master to learn the science of the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna cannot stop
these repeated cycles of birth and death. Thus, they spin around in
the universe from heaven to the earthly world, repeatedly.
Arjuna was allowed to enter the heaven by the mercy of the
Lord in the self - same body. It is not possible to enter into the
heavenly planet without Vedic austerity and penances. Modern
space scientist try to bluff the sophisticated followers by fooling
them that one day they will make arrangements for their followers
to reside in the heavenly planets like Mars; but that 'one day' will
never come because of the outstanding creation of the heavenly
spheres by the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna. Colonizing, opening markets, facilitating air, water and
fire will be the biggest challenge for the scientists.
TEXT अनतया््चत यत ८ मां ये ्नाः पयप ुा ास ।े

22 ष
े ां तन्याभभय्
ु ानां य८गषेमं व ा्य म ्॥२२॥
ananyāś chintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham
ananyāś chintayanto -- no external thoughts but complete
concentration; māṁ -- on Me; ye — those; janah — persons;
paryupāsate -- perfectly worship; teṣāṁ -- for them; nitya-
abhiyuktanam -- always fixed in devotion; yoga –
requirements; kṣemam -- protection; vahāmy aham -- I personally
carry.
Those who are always fixed in devotion on My spiritual form
with complete concentration, for them I personally supply
what they are deficient in, and secure in what they have.
ANNOTATION: The Lord mentioned that those who perform tri-
vidya rituals are self-motivated. Therefore, they are apt to return
to the repeated cycle of birth and death. In this verse, the Lord is
explaining that those who have fully engaged in My devotional
service such as satam prasangam mama virya samvito, always
chanting My glories in the association of devotees and
remembering Me, worshiping the Lotus feet and becoming a
servant of Me and being completely surrendered they do not have
to worry about their daily maintenance. Such devotees of the
Supreme Lord are completely free from self-interest and ulterior
motives. Hence, they are able to accomplish the four goals of
human existence such as righteousness, wealth, pleasure, and
liberation within devotional service, through the grace of the
Supreme Lord. The word ananyas meaning ‘exclusive’, specifies
that such devotees have no other goal than Krishna. Therefore,
they only think about serving Him day and night and take it as their
life’s mission. Six goswāmi’s of Vrindhāvana were engaged in
such unalloyed service to the Lord and the Lord supplied them
with all the necessities. Mādhavendra Puri was supplied with a pot
of milk by Krishna, Rupa goswāmi was supplied with groceries by
Srīmati Rādharani in the form of a little beautiful girl, Krishna and
Balarāma supplied all the provisions to Arjuna achārya because
they are fully devoted to Him. They sometimes fail to take care of
the specific requirements of the body, senses and the mind. So, in
this particular case, the Supreme Lord arranged for their
maintenance by supplying all the necessities so they could live. He
also protects them in all aspects from any situation, whether it is
normal or abnormal, which may obstruct their attainment of Him
before the end of their life.
TEXT 23 येऽतयतयदे व ाभ् ा य्त े र्िया्तव ाः।
ऽे वप मामेव क९त य
े य्त्यववधिपव
ू क
ा म ्॥२३॥
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
ye apy -- also those who; anya-devatā-bhaktā -- devotees of other
gods; yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ -- worship with faith; te api -- they
also; mām eva -- only Me; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; yajanty
avidhi-pūrvakam -- they worship in a wrong way.
O son of Kunti, those who worship other gods with faith also
actually worship Me, only they do so in an unauthorized
method.
ANNOTATION: The reality is that there is only one Supreme
Godhead. He is Krishna. The worship of any of the demigods, who
manages the universal creation, are all His devotees as well.
Consequently, there is no need for explaining any other powerful
species in the creation. There is only one family in this world that
it is the family of Lord Vāsudeva. From the creation, the family
began expanding and now reached lower than the lowest in their
consciousness. If all are family members of Lord Krishna then
why are they fallen into the cycle of birth and death? The answer
is although they are devotees of Lord Krishna, they had
independent desires to fulfill being individuals. Thus, they have
forgotten their Supreme father and have taken shelter in the
demigods rather than taking shelter in Him, for the sole purpose of
obtaining material facilities. The Supreme Lord supplies to the
demigods and in turn the demigods supply to their devotees. The
Taittiriya Upanishad 3-2-2. chatur hotaro yatra sampadam
gacchanti devaih states that by the mercy of the Supersoul, four
Vedic rituals are performed by the demigods. The Supreme Lord
in His localized aspect is the Supersoul, who makes the ritual
successful. Thus, it is clear that the benefits gained by traditional
worship to any of the demigods is only by the grace of the Supreme
Lord. The only missing part is that the demigods cannot offer the
ultimate benefit to their devotees, which is saving their devotees
from the repeated cycle of death and birth. Even the demigods
themselves cannot be protected from the repeated cycle of death
and birth. At the time of the universal annihilation, their position
and material body will be helplessly destroyed and the soul merge
back into Lord Vishnu’s spiritual body. Hence, they also are born
again endlessly, without cessation like their devotees.
TEXT 24 अ ं ह सवाय्ानां भ८् ा च रभरु े व च।

न ु मामभभ्ान्त ्वेना ््यव्त ॥
े २४॥
ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca

na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś chyavanti te
ahaṁ hi -- certainly I am; sarva-yajñānāṁ -- of all
sacrifices; bhoktā ca -- and the enjoyer; prabhur -- the Lord; eva -
- also; ca -- and; na -- do not; tu -- but; mām -- Me; abhijananti --
they know; tattvena -- in reality; ataś -- therefore; chyavantite --
they fall down to repeated birth and death.
Indeed, I am the only enjoyer and the ultimate master of all
sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize My spiritual
position fall down into the cycle of birth and death.
ANNOTATION: All these demigods are born from different parts

of the Supreme Lord Nārāyana, who is an expansion of Lord
Krishna. Moon is born from the mind of the Lord; Sun is born from
the eyes of the Lord; deities of hearing are born from the ear of the
Lord; the deity of fire is born from the mouth of the Lord,
mountains are born from the bone of the Lord, forests are born
from the hair of the Lord. In the Vedās, it is said that nārāyanah
prajapatih jāyate, nārāyanāh indra jāyate, nārāyanād astau
vasavo jāyante, nārāyanād ekadasa rudra jāyanti. Lord Brahma
is called prajāpati, which came from Nārāyana, Indra came from
Nārāyana, and the origin of the eight Vasus is Nārāyana.
Moreover, the source of the eleven Rudra expansions of Lord Siva
also originated from Lord Nārāyana along with the twelve
Adityas. Therefore, Krishna is the master of all the demigods and
the original source of Lord Nārāyana, Vishnu, Rāma, Narasimha
and so forth. Isvarah paramah krishnah, sac-cid-ānanda-
vigrahah, anādir ādir govindah, sarva-karana-karanam, means
that Lord Krishna is the Supreme controller and has a spiritual
body made of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He is the origin of all,
He has no origin and is the cause of all causes, Brahma samhita 5-
1. Those who do not identify His personality as the ultimate father
and cause of all the demigods, enjoyer and master of all sacrifices,
fall down into this material life again.
TEXT 25 या्त दे वर ा दे वा्तप त

ॄ या्त वप र
ृ ाः।
भू ातन या्त भू ् े या या्त म्या््न८ऽवप माम ्॥२५॥
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ

bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā yānti mad-yājino ’pi mām
yānti deva -- go to the demigods; vratā devān -- worshipers of the
demigods; pitṝn yānti -- go to the ancestors; pitṛ-vratāḥ --
worshipers of ancestors; bhūtāni -- to the ghosts and
spirits; yanti -- go; bhūtejyā -- worshipers of ghosts and
spirits; yānti -- go; mad-yājino -- worshipers of Me; api -- but;
mam -- unto Me.
Worshipers of the demigods will go to the planets of the

demigods, worshipers of the ancestors will go to the ancestors,
worshipers of ghosts and spirits will go to the ghosts and
spirits, but worshipers of Me will come to Me.
ANNOTATION: A particular demigod worshiper, according to
the ritualistic worship of the Vedās, goes to that demigod planet.
There are Siva-loka, Brahma-loka, Ganesh-loka, Indra-loka,
Chandra-loka, Varuna-loka, Kubera-loka and Sūrya-loka and
many more. All the heavenly planets of the upper planetary system
are thousands upon thousands of times more opulent than the
lower planetary system in which we live. The steps of King Indra’s
residence are made of coral, the floor was bedecked with
invaluable emeralds, the walls are made up of crystals, and the
columns are made of vaidūrya stone. The wonderful canopies are
beautifully decorated, the seats are bedecked with rubies, and the
silk bedding as white as foam is decorated with pearls. The ladies
of the palace, who were blessed with beautiful teeth and the most
wonderful beautiful faces, walk here and there in the palace, their
ankle bells tinkling melodiously and they can see their own
beautiful reflections in the gems. There is pitr-loka (planet of
ancestors) occupied by the forefathers. The worshipers of the
ancestors offer their yearly oblations or pinda, sraddha ceremony
to go to this planet, pitr-loka is the planet where Yamarāja lives.
Below the rakshasa-loka, which is situated below the heavenly
planet, there are the planet of Ghosts and spirits, yaksas, pisacas,
brahma-rakshasa and whoever worships them regularly, which is
considered to be in the mode of ignorance, will go to the planet of
ghosts and spirits. There are planets of birds like Garuda and
snakes. Worshipers of nāgas or powerful serpents and birds like
Garuda will go to their planets. The son of Diti and Kashyapa muni
is Hiranyakasipu, a powerful demon ruled all these planets when
he came to power, in the seventh canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam, 7-
4-5-7, it says:
sa vijitya disag sarva lokams ca trin mahāsurah
devasura-manusyendra- gandharva-garudoragan
siddha-carana-vidyadhran rsin pitr-patin manun

yaksa-raksah-pisacesan preta-bhūta-patin api
sarva-sattva-patin jitva vasam aniya visva-jit
jahara loka-palanam sthanani saha tejasa
“Hiranyakasipu became the conqueror of the entire universe.
Indeed, that great demon conquered all the planets in the three
upper-worlds, middle and lower, including the planets of the
human beings, the Gandharvas, the Garudas, the great serpents,
the Siddhas, Chāranas and Vidyadharas, the great saints,
Yamarāja, the Manus, the Yaksas, the Rakhasas, the Pisacas and
their masters, and the masters of the ghosts and bhūtas. He
defeated the rulers of all the other planets, and whenever he
encountered living entities, he brought them under his control.
Conquering the abodes of all, he seized their power and influence.
Apart from that, there are planets of great birds like Garuda.
Similarly, the word uraga indicates that there are planets of
enormous serpents”.
And finally those who worship Krishna, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead will go to His planet called
Goloka Vrindhāvana. The spiritual variegatedness and beauty
cannot be compared with anything in the material world. In the
spiritual world, every gait is a dance, every word is a song, houses
are made of touch stones, water is nectar, trees are so desire
fulfilling, everyone’s spiritual body is made up of knowledge,
eternity and bliss. There is no old age, disease, death or
birth. Those who worship Nārāyana and Vishnu forms of Lord
Krishna will go to Vaikuṇṭha, the Kingdom of God, when one
reaches this transcendental universe there is no return from there.
Whereas with all other material planets at the end of pious
activities, one will fall back down to the earthly planet to continue
their material actions.
TEXT 26 परं प्ु पं फलं ८यं य८मे भ््या रय्छत ।
द ं द ं ्यप
ु ृ म्नाभम रय ा्मनः ॥२६॥
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ -- a leaf; a flower; a fruit;

water; yo -- whoever; me -- unto Me; bhaktya-- with loving
devotion; prayacchati -- offers; tad -- that; aham -- I; bhakty-
upahṛtam -- that devotional offering; aśnāmi -- eat or
accept; prayatātmanaḥ -- from that pure hearted soul.
Whoever offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a
fruit and water, I affectionately accept it from that pure soul.
ANNOTATION: Whatever government wants from everyone, it
has been stated in the law book, so citizens just follow those rules
to be free from the implications. Similarly, whatever Krishna
wants from everyone, He has stated them in the Bhagavad-Gītā.
Generally, to attain the highest position in the world, one has to
spend immense amount of wealth, energy and have influence. For
example, to become a director or minister of a nation, there are
many things one has to carry out before one obtains that position.
Sometimes, in the end, the results smashes all our expectations. In
such circumstances, one thinks that he wasted all his energies,
money, time and influence uselessly. As far as the highest
perfection of human life is concerned, it is easy for simple hearted
people and difficult for the wicked. The living entities are eternally
part and parcel of Lord Krishna, one should not think that just
because Krishna is Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, that
it would be very difficult to please Him. In reality, Krishna is the
friend of the poor and sinless people. He cannot be controlled by
any of our material opulence such as exposure to higher education,
wealth and big parental lineage. On the other side, the material
opulence are the only sustenance provided to the conditioned souls
in the material existence as a result of their pious action by the
Supreme Lord. So how then can one attract the sovereign Supreme
Leader by our hired opulence from Him? Krishna Himself gives
us the directions to achieve His love and attention in this verse.
Expression of love and devotion is called bhakti-yoga or
devotional service, is the path to achieve His attention. Here the
Lord says that if one offers Him objects like Tulasi leaf, seasonal
flowers, fruits and water with devotion and love, He will, asnami,
accept it. There is no need for gorgeous presentations of material

gifts to satisfy the Lord. What is going to satisfy Him is one’s
loving feelings. He is called bhāvagrahi-janārdhana, He acts
according to the feelings of the devotees. When Prime Minister of
Kurus, Vidura and His wife were visited by the Lord, Vidura’s
wife Sulabha out of devotion for Krishna, the Yadu Nandana,
began peeling bananas. After peeling, she threw the actual banana
and gave the banana peel to Krishna to eat. Because of love she
had for Him, she forgot the entire situation, so the Lord also began
eating the banana peel. Similarly, when hunchback Kubja in
Matura anointed Krishna with sandalwood pulp out of loving
devotion to Him, Krishna in return, made her very beautiful and
straightened her hunchbacked body into a straight celestial
maid. Offering a bit of Ganges water from the Ganges makes no
difference to the Ganges. Similarly, offering material wealth to the
Supreme Person, which He owns originally, makes no difference
to Him. Therefore, it is one’s loving devotion that makes a
difference in His transcendental heart. The unconquerable Lord
can be conquered only by love.
As far as meat, fish and eggs are concerned, they are a
polluted form of food and untouchables, born from the mode of
ignorance. All these living beings are in their evolutionary cycles,
there are 8,000,000 living species before the human form is
attained. All these living beings, through the arrangement of
material nature, are progressing towards the human form. They are
not food for the human beings. Therefore, killing any of these
beings would be breaking the laws of nature. Consequences of
such actions is that, they too will be treated in a similar way by the
laws of God. For instance, if a pedestrian walks past someone,
there is no need for the home owner to harm him just because he
was walking in front of his gates. If the owner harms him then
there are reactions. Thus, none of these living beings are living at
our expenses, they are born according to their karma and they will
vanish or evolve to another form according to the management of
the Supreme Godhead. Therefore, killing them for human beings
to eat will only create enormous amounts of sinful reactions.
Human being’s physiological structure is to eat vegetables, fruits,

grains, beans and milk products. Thus, except for these foods,
consuming non-vegetarian foods is against the laws of God. If one
choose to eat non-vegetarian foods, the merciful Lord will permit
him to become wild animal, so he can consume such animal
products. Wild animals killing other animal for food is the nature’s
law. Humans doing the same action is against the law, therefore,
there is every chance for human beings to lose their human form
of life and enter into animal kingdom.
Devotees of Lord Krishna eat only vegetables, fruits, grains,
milk, cheeses, lentils, sugar and so on after lovingly offering to
Krishna first. All vegetables also have life. Therefore, killing
vegetables is also equally sinful, as much as killing animals.
However, with the permission of the Personality of Godhead
everyone can eat all vegetables, grains, beans and milk. For
instance, if a commander orders his soldiers to kill a few enemies,
he is rewarded according to the governmental laws for the
execution of that task. However, if the soldiers kill anyone without
the proper permission of the commander, then they would be
punished for carrying out an unauthorized task. Similarly, the
entire cosmic order is sustained at the tip of Krishna’s will.
Therefore, He is the original and supreme commander of all
creations. Consequently, at least for one’s own-benefit, one must
follow Krishna’s instructions to develop one’s fortune without
making excuses. The Absolute Truth is the most perfect being, and
He makes the law for the benefit of all living entities whether it is
for vegetables, fruits, animals, birds, fish or humans. All of these
laws are recorded in the Vedic scriptures. Therefore, devotees of
Krishna are neither vegetarians nor non-vegetarians, they are
krishnaterians and they honor food that is only offered to Krishna.
A pure vegetarian person without offering their food to God is not
different from monkeys and cows, because they are also
vegetarian beings, who, before eating, cannot offer their food to
Krishna.
TEXT 27 य्कर८वष यद्नाभस य््ु ८वष ददाभस य ्।
यतपथयभस क९त य
े ्कुु्व मदपाणम ्॥२७॥
yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam
yatkarosi -- whatever action you do; yadaśnāsi -- whatever you
eat; yat-juhosi -- whatever you offer sacrifice; dadasiyat -- or you
give in charity; yat-tapasyasi -- whatever austerities you
perform; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; tat kurusva -- do-that; mad -
- for Me; arpanam -- as an offering.
O son of Kunti, whatever action you execute, whatever you eat,
whatever sacrifices you offer and give in charity, and whatever
austerities you perform - all that you do - as an offering unto
Me.
ANNOTATION: varnāsrama system of policies are for all human
beings. All the people are expected to abide by those policies. In
this verse, Lord Krishna says, whatever one does, whether he is an
intellectual philosopher or scientist, a ruler or an administrator, a
farmer or labor, student, householder, old or renounced man, and
karma yogi, jnāna yogi, ashtānga yogi or bhakti yogi all their
actions shall be executed for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord.
Krishna has divided the human society in these categories to run
the society smoothly and perfectly. It really doesn't matter what
social or spiritual activity a man engages in, if he can simply
satisfy the Supreme Lord, his life is successful. However, sinful
activities are not recommended nor should one try to offer such
activities to Lord Hari, Krishna. One should consume spiritually
sanctified food as it is mentioned in the previous verse (i.e. without
onion, garlic) and non-alcoholic beverages. Whatever food that
has to be eaten, whatever daily sacrifices and fasting one may
choose to observe according to the Vedic direction, and whatever
performances of penances and charities, all these activities should
be executed as an offering to Lord Krishna. Everything that is
intended, dedicated and delivered unto the Supreme Lord is known
as arpanam, meaning an offering to Him. One should perform all
activities in such a sublime way. This is because the performer of
the action and the enjoyer of the action is actually the Supreme
Lord. prānoparac cha yathendriyānam, thathaiva sarvarhanam
achyutejya means when one supply food to the stomach, the senses
and all limbs of the body is nourished simultaneously. Similarly,
dedicating everything to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Lord Krishna, the entire universe with its higher and lower beings,
are simultaneously made happy. No divine beings in the universe
are independent of the Supreme Person.
TEXT 28 शभ
ु ाशभ
ु फलरे वं म८्यसे कमाबतिनः।
संतयासय८गय्
ु ा्मा ववम्
ु ८ मामप
ु ्यभस॥२८॥
śubhāśubha-phalair evaṁ mokṣyase karma-bandhanaiḥ

sannyāsa-yoga-yuktātmā vimukto mām upaiṣyasi
śubhāśubha -- auspicious and inauspicious; phalair -- results
from; evaṁ -- thus; mokṣyase -- you will become free; karma-
bandhanaiḥ -- from the bondage of work; sannyāsa-yoga -- the
yoga of renunciation; yuktātmā -- having fixed mind; vimukto --
having fully liberated; mām -- to Me; upaiṣyasi -- will attain.
Thus you will be free from all results of auspicious and
inauspicious actions and you will be completely free from the
bondage of work. With your mind fixed in the yoga of
renunciation, you will be completely liberated and attain Me.
ANNOTATION: To be liberated from this mortal world, one must
not have any reactions of karma pending, ready to affect one in the
future. This is possible only by completely dedicating one’s life in
the service of the Lord in the morning and the evening. One can
make one’s home a temple, installing deities of Rādha and
Krishna, and decorating Them, and offering Them food and
flowers every day. One can develop a small flower garden, fruit
orchard and vegetable plantations for the Lord, chanting Their
Holy names every day, offering prayers to Them. Fasting either
full or half day on all Ekadashi days (every 11th day of the waning
and waxing moon). One can fast and celebrate the birthdays of
Rādha and Krishna, Lord Rāma, Lord Varāha, Lord Narahari,
Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda Balarāma, etc. Also celebrate
the Govardhana anna kuta ceremony in the month of October. One
can also observe fasts on the birthdays and disappearance days of

all āchāryas, who preached vigorously and delivered thousands of
fallen souls from the ocean of birth and death. By performing such
beautiful celebrations of the Lordships, and āchāryas and by being
engaged in one’s occupational work for one’s livelihood, all of
one’s activities in this life will be auspicious and will abide by the
principles of renunciation. In this way, one may become
completely free from bondage of karma, evam mokshase karma
bandhana, and one will achieve perfection and enter into Krishna
loka without returning to this miserable material existence.
TEXT 29 सम८ऽ ं सवाभू ष

े ु न मे ्वे्य८ऽ्थ न वरयः।
ये भ््त ु मां भ््या मतय े ष
े ु चातय म ्॥२९॥
samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā mayi te teṣu cāpy aham
samo ahaṁ -- I am equally disposed; sarva-bhūteṣu -- to all living
entities; na -- no one; me -- to Me; dveṣyo asti -- is hateful; na
priyaḥ -- nor dear; ye -- those who; bhajanti -- render devotional
service; tu māṁ -- but-unto Me; bhaktyā -- in loving devotion;
mayi -- are in Me; te -- such persons; teṣu -- in them; cāpy --
certainly also; aham -- I.
I am equally disposed to all living entities, I do not envy
anyone, nor am I partial to anyone, still whosoever is engaged
in loving devotional service unto Me, certainly he is My friend
and he is in Me and I am also a friend to him.
ANNOTATION: All living entities are children of God, Krishna.
Therefore, Krishna neither has any partiality towards any living
beings nor does He allow any mishaps to happen to any particular
living entity; samo 'ham sarva-bhūtesu, He has an equal regard for
all living entities. This is just like a king or a Government, which
does not favor any particular citizen or group of citizens in general,
but rather issues rewards and punishments according to citizens’
activities, to maintain law and order, and to recognize the great
deeds and efforts of its citizens.
One might, however, come to the mistaken conclusion that

because the Lord is already fair to embodied beings, there is no
need for bhakti or loving devotion! Thus, a rich father always
loves each of his children even though they may cause a great deal
of trouble, and He is equal to all children. However, when one of
the children takes sincere shelter in such a father, the father loves
him more as it is natural for father to develop more affection for
the surrendered child. Similarly, while the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is equal to all living entities, when a living
entity surrenders to Him, He develops a special affection for that
soul.
The Supreme Lord explains in this verse that He sees
everyone with equal vision. It is, therefore, but a symptom of this
disease of materiality that Christians think that they are better than
Hindus and Muslims, Muslims think they are better than
Christians and Hindus, and Hindus, likewise, think they are better
than the others as well. It is due to the constricted vision of all
these religions, that they see each other as lower and look upon
each other with hatred. Krishna corrects this view by saying na me
dvesyo: “I do not hate any living beings”.
Yet, Krishna also uses the words mayi te tesu cāpy aham,
meaning: as His devotees are to Him, that is how He is to them.
Krishna knows His devotees are attached to Him, and reciprocates
their affection. When Duryodhana and Arjuna went to meet
Krishna in Dwāraka, both wanted Krishna on their side for battling
against the other. Lord Krishna responded to this situation, which
would be difficult for mere humans by, first, asking Arjuna to state
his purpose of visit; this was a solution to the conundrum because
the Lord knew that Arjuna, as His devotee, friend and brother in
law, would not ask for anything more than Lord Krishna Himself,
and would not presume to decide for Him what He should do.
Duryodhana too was a relative of Krishna (Duryodhana’s daughter
Lakshmana was married to Sāmba, one of the sons of Krishna born
of Jāmbavati) yet, still, the Lord gave special protection to Arjuna
and the other Pāndavas because they were His surrendered
devotees. The Supreme Lord loves His devotees and is ready to
give them anything they want, provided they can take His
benediction without misusing it. As the fire gives heat and light to
whoever comes near to it, as wish fulfilling trees fulfill the desires
of whoever sits beneath them, neither are liable to partiality or
inequity to those who do not approach them; in the same way, by
extending His grace to His devotees who have approached Him,
the Supreme Lord does not exemplify partiality. The discrepancies
one observes in this world, that someone is suffering and someone
enjoying, someone is killed and someone is protected, are all due
to the karma that is created by the living entity, either in this life
or in previous lives.
TEXT 30 अवप चे्सद

ु रु ाचार८ भ् े मामनतयभाक् ।
सािुरेव स मत ्यः स्य््यवभस ८ ह सः॥३०॥
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
api cet -- even if; su-durācāro -- the most abominable activities;
bhajate mām -- engaged in devotional service to Me; ananya-bhāk
-- without deviation; sādhur eva -- is a devotee; sa-mantavyaḥ --
he is to be considered; samyag -- completely; vyavasito -- situated
in correctly; hi saḥ -- he is certainly.
Even if one commits the most abominable activities, and is still
engaged in the exclusive devotional service unto Me, he is
certainly a devotee because he has correctly situated in his
determination.
ANNOTATION: One should reject the sin, but not the sinner.
Everyone born in this material world has different situations in the
various social and spiritual orders. As such, all these situations
have their own regulations to follow; some injunctions as
obligatory and other injunctions are prohibitory. No one can live
in this world outside of social and spiritual orders entirely, but
must either live within the divine social and spiritual orders (daivi
varnāsrama) or the demonic social and spiritual orders (demonic
varnāsrama). If a member of such orders misbehaves and commits
sinful activities while trying to execute their activities, generally,

they are known as fallen from grace. However, if such actions
were accidental and the transgressors realizes this as a misfortune
they may surrender to the system to beg for forgiveness and
confirm that they would not commit such actions. Such
transgressors should, then, be forgiven by authorities. This is
similarly for a devotee of the Lord who is engaged in the service
of the Lord but commits an abominable blunder. If such a devotee
continues his surrender to the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead by engaging in exclusive devotional service of the Lord,
and does not intend to commit such heinous activity again, he
remains a devotee, and remains to be known as one.
Habit is the second nature of the soul, while its first nature is
consciousness. Because habit is its second nature, beings commit
many sinful activities even while rendering devotional service to
Krishna. They break regulative principles, by having sexual role
with someone other than one’s own wife, eating meat, or drinking
alcohol or smoking cigarettes, for example. Most of the time
devotees who have committed su-durāchārah, such abominable
activities, do not know what they are doing, and have ignorantly
committed the sinful activity due to a sudden passion or blindness
that has been impressed upon their minds due to invisible or subtle
offenses. This can result badly in the material world and the ruling
classes may over react to issues because they want to keep the
balance of social and spiritual orders. However, the intruding
devotee realizes his mistake and continues to take shelter in the
Lord. While the world may be ignorant of the existence of the soul
and cannot give such a person shelter, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead protects every repenting soul. He easily gives the
offending devotee shelter and continues to engage him in His
devotional service through a spiritual authority. This spiritual
authority may be an initiating spiritual master or instructing
spiritual master, or the offender may merely receive knowledge
from scriptures about the Supreme Lord and seeks surrender to
Him.
Many times a devotee falls into such situations due to

unawareness about the consequences of a particular dealing. Yet,
their past righteous activities can lead them to the spontaneous
surrender to the Supreme Lord. In the society of devotees many
such mistakes are made, even though offenses are not so intense
or serious. The leaders accordingly discipline these temporarily
deviated devotees. However, if a punishment is unwanted and is
disproportionate to the nature of the offense in the circumstance of
the devotee’s repentance, then the authorities will suffer the results
of their immature judgments. As a chronic disease dissolves as
soon as one receives proper medical treatment from a physician;
in the same way the enormous mountain of reactions to sinful
activities and mishandling of cases are all dissolved as soon as one
surrenders to the spiritual master in one of the four authorized
channels of discipline succession, by taking complete shelter of
Lord Krishna. Thus, it has been clearly revealed that Lord
Krishna's devotees are never subjected to inauspicious situations
and circumstances. They will be protected, or remains, one
hundred percent, a devotee.
This, however, is not to say that devotees who take shelter of
the Lord are immune from the mistake of not trying to eradicate
abominable activities as earnestly as possible. For to do so is not
to be genuinely taking shelter in the Lord, and such a person will
never ever be forgiven by Him and will continue to rot in the
material world.
TEXT 31 षषरं भवत िमाा्मा श्व्छा्त ं तनग्छत ।

क९त ये रत ्ानीह न मे भ् ः रण्यत ॥३१॥
kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati

kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
kṣipraṁ -- quickly; bhavati -- becomes; dharmātmā -- a person
endowed with righteousness; śaśvac-chāntiṁ -- eternal peace;
nigacchati -- obtains; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; pratijānīhi --
announce it boldly; na -- never; me bhaktaḥ -- My devotee;
praṇaśyati -- destroyed.
A person who is endowed with righteousness quickly obtains

eternal peace. O son of Kunti, announce it boldly that My
devotee is never destroyed.
ANNOTATION: Generally, sinful and irreligious activities
disqualify one from a peaceful material existence and bring ruin to
one’s life in this world and the next. However, by rendering pure
devotional service exclusively to the Supreme Lord Krishna, for
His satisfaction alone, one becomes ecstatically transformed by
the intense love this creates. In this way, one is kshipram (quickly)
disassociated from sinful reactions and becomes a dharmātma, a
pure and righteous devotee, deserved to be glorified by all. Here,
the Lord is encouraging Arjuna to speak out with the words
kaunteya pratijānahi name bhakta pranasyati, meaning: declare it
boldly that Krishna’s devotees never perish. However, those who
are not the Lord’s devotees and who never attain Him fall into the
clutches of the servants of the Yamarāja, the Lord of death, to
rotate endlessly in the perpetual cycle of birth and death.
Due to negligent actions in devotional service Ajamila fell
down from his spiritual position. Yet, by Krishna’s grace he was
reinstated into devotional service. There was no limit of Ajamila’s
volume of sinful activities; he committed murder, robberies, and
had consumed meat and alcohol; with a limitless list of sins
continuing even further. Still his life was spared from the influence
of the assistants of Yamarāja as he had been a past devotee.
On other occasions: the elephant Gajendra when he
remembered the Supreme Lord while he was being devoured alive
by a ferocious crocodile and was subsequently saved from death;
the courtesan Chintamani, who renounced her profession of
prostitution and started chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna,
was saved as well; and again, the Mrgari, who was always half
killing animals and enjoyed their suffering, become the best
devotee of Lord Krishna by the mercy of Nārada Muni and by the
chanting of Hare Krishna (Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare
Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) without
stoppage. This chanting will protect a devotee from all accidental
falls from grace and the inevitable death. That is the assurance of
the Supreme Godhead Krishna to the world.
TEXT 32 मां ह पािा ्यपाधर्य येऽवपथयःु पापय८नयः।

्थरय८ व्याथ िा शर ू ाथ ऽे वप या्त परां गत म ्॥३२॥
māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśhyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim
māṁ -- Me; hi -- surely; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; vyapāśritya --
particularly taking shelter; ye -- those who; ’pi -- also; syuh --
are; pāpa-yonayaḥ -- born of the womb of lower family; striyo --
women; vaiśhyās -- merchants; tatha -- also; śūdrās -- menial
class of people; te api -- even those; yanti -- go; paramgatim -- to
the supreme destination.
Those who are born in the lower families, though they are
women, merchants or menial workers, those who have taken
shelter in Me, O son of Pritha, can obtain the supreme
destination.
ANNOTATION: A question may arise since society is divided
between higher and lower classes: will it be possible for everyone
to engage in the devotional service of Krishna, who is the only
Supreme Lord of all sentient beings? Thus, as in the material world
– which is divided by the class system – ordinary citizens do not
have access to the powerful and wealthy personalities, does the
Supreme Lord act in the same way? In order to remove such
doubts, in this verse the Supreme Lord explains that even though
there are women, agriculturalists and laborers who are neglected
by the mundane society due to the society’s lack of spiritual
knowledge, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
neglects no one. As He mentioned in the verse 29, He has equal
regard for everyone.
Lord Krishna will enlighten the good qualities of women in
the 10th chapter, 34th verse. Thus they are not inferior to anyone,
but they must be protected being innocent members in the society.
Moreover, when the farmers grow vegetables and grains for the
sustenance of human society, one should not think they are
insignificant. Without production of food everyone starve to death.

Nor should one think that the laborer class is inferior merely
because they are laboring to support all other divisions of society.
It is very practical, without their energy no work can be completed
either in the agriculture or in business establishments. Even the
chandālas are not lower, if they are engaged in the service of the
Lord and following the prescribed rules of the Supreme Lord.
As the sun evaporates all water from the planet whether it is
from a filthy place, from urine or stool, the sun is never infected
by such polluted water. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is so
powerful that He can absorb all sins from all beings and still
remain pure and uncontaminated. Therefore, it is very clear from
this verse that all these members, irrespective of their place in
society, can attain the highest human perfection by engaging
themselves in the pure devotional service of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
TEXT 33 ककं पन
ु राा्मणाः प्
ु या भ् ा रा्षायथ िा।
अतन्यमसख
ु ं ल८कभममं रातय भ्थव माम ्॥३३॥
kiṁ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayas tathā
anityam asukhaṁ lokam imaṁ prāpya bhajasva mām
kiṁ -- what; punar -- again; brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā -- pious brāhmaṇa;
bhaktā -- devotees; rājarṣayas -- saintly kings; tathā -- also;
anityam -- transient; asukham -- full of miseries; lokam -- planet;
imaṁ -- this; prāpya -- gaining; bhajasva -- engaged in loving
devotional service; mām -- unto Me.
What more again of the pious brāhmanas, the devotees and the
saintly kings. Thus, having come to this transient, miserable
world, engage in loving devotional service unto Me.
ANNOTATION: In the scripture, it is said chandalo api tvija
sreshta hari bhakti pārayana, the socially untouchables, such as
chandālas, the dog eaters, can be purified by devotional service to
Krishna, and become twice born vaishnava devotees. Thus they
are qualified to go back to the Kingdom of God. What then can we
say of highly spiritually qualified devotees, righteous brāhmanās

and raja rishis (saintly kings)? Faithful and righteous devotees are
engaged in the devotional service to the Lord, and as devotees of
the Lord they cannot live a second without engaging in His
service. Saintly kings rule the world in terms of Krishna’s
instructions or under the guidance of Krishna’s devotees who are
well studied the Vedic injunctions, whose lives are fully
surrendered to the Supreme Lord. Either way these kings remain
Krishna conscious and qualified to enter into the Spiritual
universe.
The word asukham, meaning miserable, is used to remind
one that all human life is suffering by the irrevocable fourfold
afflictions of birth, old age, disease and death – birth is a severe
affliction, merely forgetting the pain of one’s birth does not negate
the fact that it is so. Again, irrespective of their positions in
society, everyone suffers from the afflictions of the body and mind
with the various diseases and emotional problems that threaten.
There are afflictions ensue from interacting in the world through
social intercourse, there is the unhappiness that comes from
involvement in society by way of relationships such as marriage,
friendship and communal work. Then, there are afflictions from
natural calamities, such as heat waves and cold snaps, and
anxieties over earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, accidents and
crashes, etc. Yet, as the Lord has elucidated, one who has
dedicated their life to the service of the Lord 24 hours becomes
free from all the problems of life and becomes completely happy.
TEXT 34 मतमना भव म्भ् ८ म्या्ी मां नमथकुु।

मामेव्यभस य्
ु ्ववमा्मानं म्परायणः॥३४॥
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ
man-manā -- thinking of Me; bhava -- become; mad-bhakto -- My
devotee; mad-yājī -- worships Me; māṁ-namaskuru -- pay
obeisances unto Me; mām-evaiṣyasi -- certainly you will come to
Me; yuktvaivam -- thus being absorbed; ātmānaṁ -- you; mat-
parāyaṇaḥ -- devoted to Me.

Always thinking of Me you become My devotee, worship Me,
pay obeisance unto Me. Thus, being fully absorbed and
devoted to Me, certainly you will come to Me.
ANNOTATION: There are many materially intelligent persons,
big and small, who are materially motivated to transgress the
instructions of the Supreme Lord. They would ask: why doesn’t
one glorify people who have done something for the nation, such
as scientists and politicians who have made many discoveries and
altered administration for the benefit of humankind? The answer
is, due to their fascination of the external world, and a lack of
insight into the reality of the soul and spiritual world, they cannot
even understand who created the universe and the nations in it with
all resources. A pattern can be given that a website’s hosting is
depend on the domain registration. Without domain there is no
website. Thus without Lord Krishna there cannot be anything in
the manifested universe. In this verse, the Lord clearly explains
that Krishna consciousness is the only means of being delivered
from the clutches of this miserable mortal world. He has given
three paths for everyone to use to go back to Him and live with
Him. They are: thinking about Him, offering obeisance to Him,
and worshipping Him.
One must think about Krishna favorably, unlike Sisupāla and
demon Sālva who had thought of Krishna enviously and hatefully
throughout their lives, and eventually had their heads cut off. Of
course, Krishna, being the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, has no such duality of hatred or envy. When indirect
devotees of the Lord, are envious or hateful, even if they are only
indirect devotees, they are purified by death in the hands of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. Thus, by
putting Sisupāla and Sālva to death, Krishna actually liberated
them. This is described in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam by Sukadeva
goswāmi as moksha, perfection. As the witch Pūtana was killed, it
was considered as perfection. One must chant Krishna’s glories
pastimes, and never think of Him unfavorably and one should
always remember Him in a positive way in loving devotion. If one

does not adopt this principles for his wellbeing, they still have to
glorify, remember and pay respect to some conditioned souls.
In general, people have a tendency to offer obeisance to
powerful human beings. However, if they would offer sincere
obeisance to the Supreme Person in the temples and home deities
or pictures, Krishna will appreciate being omniscient and deliver
them from the clutches of the material miseries. One should
worship Lord Krishna alone with focused attention to obtain full
benediction. This is a devotional activity. One should spend time
adoring His installed deity according to the scriptural instructions
once, twice, thrice or many times every day with Tulasi leaves,
fresh fragrant flower garlands, or various incense sticks, and ghee
lamps. One should also use beautiful apparel and ornaments, and
offer to Him nice sweetmeats and other pure vegetarian foods and
drinks, fruits, grains and vegetables, while chanting His names,
and singing His praises, and revealing His glories. In this way, one
can completely unite one’s consciousness with the Supreme Father
of all conscious and unconscious beings. By depending totally on
Him, by renouncing all other efforts and endeavors, one shall,
thus, surely attain one’s own spiritual body together with His
eternal association in the eternal spiritual world.
Thus ends the humble annotations of the 9th chapter of Bhagavad-

Gita original ‘Most Secret Knowledge’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami

1. Krishna is the cosmos (prakriti) and at the same time, He is
not the cosmos. Define the inconceivable potency of the
Supreme Lord?
2. Summarize the verses from 14 to 34.
1. What is the qualification to receive confidential knowledge?
What is the topmost secret?
2. What does susukham (very happy) refer to in this verse?
3. How does everything within the material and spiritual worlds
rest within Krishna?
4. Give an example of air and sky as cited in verse 9-6.
5. Describe Krishna’s indirect connection with the material
world by using the example of the flower.
6. Why do some people deride Krishna?
7. What is a mahātma?
8. Name some austerities performed by the devotees in
devotional service.
9. Enlist the three ways in which the impersonalists worship the
supreme?
10. Clarify how Krishna carries what devotees’ lack, and
preserve what they have?
11. Give a detailed explanation of the goal of Yajna?
12. What is darsa paurnamasi? What is the result received by
demigod worshippers?
13. Describe a bhakta’s offerings to the Lord in pure devotion.
14. In what ways is Krishna the goal of everyone?
15. Why does it say that “it is essential to be fully in Krishna
consciousness”?
16. What does Krishna mean by subhāsubha-phalair? How can

one become free from bondage?
17. “Samo aham sarva-bhūtesu’ means Krishna is really partial
to His devotees. Explain.
18. It is really a strange statement “su-durachāra”, most
abominable, “Even if one commits the most abominable
action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be
considered saintly. Summarize based on this text.
19. “ksipram bhavati dharmātma” very soon he will be a
righteous person. Describe the purport of this verse.
20. Name the types of persons considered to be of lower birth
according to this verse?
21. What did Lord Krishna ask Arjuna and everyone else to do?
22. List the four things Krishna requests us to do and why?
1. “Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā is the __________ of all knowledge
because it is the essence of all philosophies”.
2. “The Supreme Personality of Godhead can only be
understood by __________.”
3. Sri Sahadeva's statement is the _____________of the
Mahabhārata that the mind, intellect, cosmic intelligence,
wind, fire, water, earth, ether and the four fold beings reside
within the _____________.
4. The dimension of the Garbhodaka ocean is ____________
miles
5. “Fools deride Krishna when Krishna descends in
the_______”.
6. The elephant _________ was being devoured alive by a
ferocious crocodile; but he remembered the Supreme Lord
and was saved from the death.
7. Krishna is ____________, the potency within the healing
medicinal herb.
8. Planets of the ancestors are called______________

9. Devotees of Krishna are neither vegetarians nor non-
vegetarians, but they are _________.
10. The word _____________meaning miserable is used to
remind one that human life is suffering with the irrevocable
fourfold afflictions of birth, old age, disease and death, which
is applicable to everyone.
1. “A material body cannot perform any wonderful activities
because it is made of __________.” (consciousness, mind,
matter, knowledge)
2. “The word ‘mūdha’ means __________.” (rascal, having no
knowledge, over intelligent, intelligent)
3. “Mahātmas are situated in the __________. (material nature,
divine nature, spiritual nature, combination of all natures)
4. “It is the __________ in the offering that Krishna accepts
from His the devotees.” (food, love, water, affection)
5. “Krishna is the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices.
Therefore, those who do not recognize Krishna’s
transcendental nature __________.” (obtain perfection,
obtain love, fall down, will have miseries).
6. “When one offers food to Krishna without love, Krishna will
__________.” (glances it, refuse it, accept it unwillingly, just
bless it)
7. “Everything has to be done as an offering to __________”
(Siva, Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna)
8. “Krishna envies no one and He is not __________ to anyone”
(impartial, inimical, a friend, partial)
9. “Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is
engaged in pure devotional service he is to be
considered________________.” (pious, a sadhu, liberated,
perfected)
10. “Taking full shelter of the Supreme Lord, everyone can attain
__________.” (Satya loka, Brahmajyoti, Marginal world,
Vaikuntha loka)
Opulence of The Absolute Lord 665
CHAPTER 10
Opulence of
The Absolute Lord
TEXT 1 रीभगवानवु ाच
भयू एव म ाबा ८ शणृ ु मे परमं वचः।
यतेऽ ं रीयमाणाय व्याभम ह का्यया॥१॥
bhūya eva mahā-bāho śṛṇu me paramaṁ vachaḥ
yat te ’haṁ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hita-kāmyayā
Godhead said; bhūyaḥ -- again; eva -- once again; mahā-bāho --
O mighty-armed; śṛṇu me -- just hear from Me; paramaṁ vachaḥ
-- supreme statements; yat -- which; te -- to you; ahaṁ --
I; prīyamāṇāya -- thinking you dear to Me; vakṣyāmi --
telling; hitakāmyayā -- for your welfare.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: O
mighty-armed Arjuna, once again hear the supreme
instructions from Me for your benefit, thinking you are My
dear friend, I shall tell you more, it is better than what I have
already described.
ANNOTATION: This chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā is not for
any ordinary person but rather for more advanced devotees like
Arjuna. Krishna is saying aham prīyamānāya, which means
because you are my dear friend, I am able to share some more
665
important mysterious opulence. Such things could only be told to

a dear friend like Arjuna. He calls Arjuna mahā-baho (or mighty
armed one), referring to someone who is exceedingly able to
skillfully battle for righteousness but also able to dexterously
perform service to the Supreme Lord. He states bhūyah eva once
again, hear my words. What kind of words? He states paramam
or supreme - meaning words pertaining to the Supreme Absolute
Truth, not only for the benefit of Arjuna, but also for the benefit
of His other devotees who take the words of the Supreme Lord to
be just like immortal nectar.
TEXT 2 न मे ववदःु सरु गणाः रभवं न म षायः।
अ माहदह ा दे वानां म षीणां च सवाशः॥२॥
na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ
aham ādir hi devānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ
na me viduḥ -- do not know Me; sura-gaṇāḥ -- group of
demigods; prabhavaṁ -- transcendental origin; na --
never; mahārṣayaḥ -- great sages; aham ādir -- I am the
origin; hi -- surely; devānāṁ -- of the demigods; maharṣīṇāṁ
ca -- and of the great sages; sarvaśaḥ -- in all respect.
Neither the demigods nor the great sages understand My
origin. In all respects, I am the source of all demigods and
great sages.
ANNOTATION: Lord’s position and opulence are not clearly
comprehended by either the demigods or the great sages. If the
demigods and all other gods existed prior or contemporary to the
Supreme Lord, then they would have been aware of His
manifestations or would have perceived Him through their
comprehensive awareness. Consequently, it is self-evident that
they did not exist previously. Lord Krishna cites the words aham
adih, meaning He is the root of all origins. How could other gods
know of Him before, when the entire material manifestation is
subservient to Him? So, He only states that He is the origin of all
for the sake of reminding everyone of this fact. Many sages are
Brahmavadis, who believe that God is the impersonal light and

whoever they believe to be the Supreme Person, these sages are
unable to determine whether that Supreme Person is Brahma,
Mahādeva Siva or Lord Vishnu. Thus, no one can be God. Many
saintly people think that they are God, it is very specific in this
verse that Krishna says no one can understand Him. If one is
intimately connected with Krishna, the Supreme Leader, through
disciplic succession, then it may be possible to realize His
existence by His mercy. All others are just a leader, there are so
many leaders in cities and parks, and they are none but
representatives of the park or city. Similarly, a representative of
God is also a leader, who leads everyone towards actual God,
Krishna. Therefore, he himself is not God. A representative must
be treated as God with all honor and service as given to God
because such representatives are the perfect servants of God, the
Devotees of the Lord are fully aware of Krishna by the mercy of
Him and His representatives. Therefore, demigods and sages are
not as dear as loving devotees of Krishna, who know the
Supreme Absolute position of Krishna.
In the ancient times, once on the bank of the river Sarasvati,
a discussion arose among the sages as to which of the three chief
deities is the greatest. They appointed Bhrighu Muni to
investigate the truth. Bhrighu Muni visited the court of Brahma-
loka and paid no respect to Lord Brahma. This infuriated Lord
Brahma, who controlled his anger because Bhrighu Muni was his
son. He next visited Kailash, where Lord Siva, his older brother
resides, who got up from his seat and ran to embrace his younger
brother. However, Bhrighu discarded the embrace calling Siva an
abnormal heretic. Lord Siva raised his trident to kill Bhrighu
Muni, but goddess Pārvati intervened and appeased her husband.
Thereafter, Bhrighu Muni went to Vaikuntha Loka to test Lord
Vishnu. Lord Vishnu was lying on the lap of his wife goddess
Lakshmi, Bhrighu Muni kicked Vishnu on His chest without
even saying anything. Then the Lord instead of becoming angry,
offered respects and said ‘welcome oh sage, please sit here and
rest for a while’. ‘Kindly forgive me master for not noticing your
arrival here in Vaikuṇṭha planet’. Then the sage went back to the
assembly of sages and told them what transpired. The sages then
glorified Lord Vishnu’s transcendental qualities. If the sages
themselves were confused when determining who the principal
deity of the material world is, then how could human beings and
sages know who is the Supreme Absolute Lord, the master of the
sum total of the material and spiritual creation?
Demigods are devotees but they are not pure devotees
because they are in enjoyment spirit. Therefore, Krishna’s
position is not really revealed to these kinds of medium devotees.
Thus, as far as demigods go, Brahma and Indra made many
mistakes in understanding Krishna’s supreme position in
thinking that Krishna was an ordinary boy, to see what He would
do, Lord Brahma stole the cowherds of Krishna’s cows and kept
them in a cave for one whole year. Subsequently, Lord Krishna
expanded into all these cowherds, cows, and calves and went to
their respective parents for the whole year. This pastime of the
Lord is called brahma vimohana lila. Lord Brahma was
bewildered seeing this pastime. On another occasion, when Lord
Krishna stopped sacrifices to Lord Indra, Indra sent rain to
destroy Vrindhāvana, the village of Lord Krishna. Krishna, then,
uprooted a 16 mile wide mountain (Govardhana) and held it for 7
days to protect the residents, and cows and calves of
Vrindhāvana from the ensuing hurricanes, torrents of rain, eye
blinding lightening and deafening thunder.
TEXT 3 य८ माम्मनाहदं च वेवत ल८कम े ्वरम ्।

असंमढ
ू ः स म्येषु सवापापः रम्
ु य े ॥३॥
yo mām ajam anādiṁ ca vetti loka-maheśvaram
asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu sarva-pāpaiḥ pramuchyate
yo -- one who; mām -- Me; ajam -- as birthless; anādiṁ -- no
beginning; ca -- and; vetti -- knows; loka-maheśvaram -- the
supreme controller of all universes; asammūḍhaḥ -- undeluded;
sa -- he; martyeṣu -- among mortals; sarva-pāpaiḥ -- from all

sinful; pramuchyate -- is delivered.
One who knows Me as birthless, without a beginning and as
the Supreme controller of all universes, undeluded among
mortals, is freed from all sins.
ANNOTATION: One who is never born is ajanma, which means
unborn. This attribute shows that the Supreme Lord Krishna is
different from the temporary unconscious matter and the
conscious beings, who are bound to the cycle of birth and death.
The word anādi means without beginning, there are many
liberated souls, and though they are birthless they do have a
beginning. Their beginning is Krishna, but Krishna has no
beginning. To be liberated means, through spiritual awareness,
break free from material bondage and duality. Thus, the
spiritually intelligent mortals are those who realize that Lord
Krishna is the Supreme Lord over all other gods and that Lord
Krishna is completely different from other Gods in both essence
and in substance. The spiritually intelligent person also realizes
that Lord Krishna is the exact opposite and eternally contrary to
anything associated with evil and unrighteousness. The word
asammūdhah means those who are not deluded, the spiritually
wise, those who are free from the illusion of perceiving anything
as equal to the Supreme Lord. It also means being free from the
illusion of believing that anything is separate from the Supreme
Lord and not identifying oneself as being an eternal, infinitesimal
portion of the Supreme Lord. Thus, one who is asammūdhah is
free from the defects and impediments of karma or reactions to
sinful actions, which is a great obstacle in the development of
bhakti or loving devotion to the Supreme Lord.
Alternatively one could consider an emperor, although
being the most powerful monarch amongst humans, he too
subjected to old age, disease and death, just like everyone else.
Yet, he has been awarded the title of emperor by the Supreme
Lord due to acts of merit. This is also true for Indra, the king of
all the demigods and even higher with Brahma, the architect of
the material existence. The Supreme Lord awarded them both

their posts as a result of the great acts of virtues they possessed.
Although they live for millions of years by the time calculations
of the planet earth, for them it is only about 100 years and at the
end of that time they also die and transmigrate into another form
in another existence. So, in the material world everyone is
condemned to death as much as a person condemned to death in
the prison house. The Supreme Lord, on the other hand, is
sarvaloka-maheshvaram, which means the Supreme Lord of all
beings in all worlds without a beginning and without an end.
Therefore a wise man takes shelter of the Supreme Lord by
controlling his urges to enjoy the insignificant varieties of the
material world.
TEXT 4-5 ब्
ु धि्ाानमसंम८ ः षमा स्यं दमः शमः।
सख
ु ं दःु खं भव८ऽभाव८ भयं चाभयमेव च ॥४॥
अह स
ं ा सम ा ्ु ्िथ प८ दानं यश८ऽयशः।
भव्त भावा भू ानां मत एव पि ृ ््विाः ॥५॥
buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ kṣamā satyaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo ’bhāvo bhayaṁ cābhayam eva ca
ahiṁsā samatā tuṣṭis tapo dānaṁ yaśo ’yaśaḥ
bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṁ matta eva pṛthag-vidhā
buddhir -- intelligence; jñānam -- knowledge; asammohaḥ --
freedom from false perception; kṣamā -- forgiveness; satyaṁ --
truthfulness; damaḥ -- control of the senses; śamaḥ -- control of
the mind; sukhaṁ -- happiness; duḥkhaṁ -- grief; bhavo --
birth; abhāvo -- death; bhayaṁ -- fear; cā -- also; ābhayam --
fearlessness; eva -- also; ca -- and; ahiṁsā – nonviolence;
samatā -- equilibrium; tuṣṭis -- satisfaction; tapo -- austerity;
dānaṁ -- charity; yaśo -- fame; ’yaśaḥ -- infamy; bhavanti --
come about; bhāvā -- natures; bhūtānām -- of all living entities;
mattaeva -- from Me alone; pṛthag-vidhā -- diversely arranged.
Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from false perceptions and
delusions, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses,
control of the mind, happiness and grief, birth and death,
fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, contentment,

austerity, charity, fame and infamy; all these diverse qualities
of living entities are created by Me alone.
ANNOTATION: Intelligence is the discriminative power and
identifies the objects as they are. Proper knowledge is to
understand that the soul and body are two separate entities. Just
studying the body, and analyzing the requirements of the body is
not complete education or intelligence. The university provides
knowledge to seek employment, which will in turn maintain
one’s body. Therefore, modern school and college education is
incomplete.
Freedom from doubt and delusion - one cannot have
freedom from delusion and doubt until one properly cultivates
spiritual knowledge and thus thinking that the material body in
itself is the greatest delusion. The transcendental literatures,
Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-Gītā, not only provide
immense life support and happiness in the material world, but
also endow one with an eternal life after this life - facing no more
birth, old age, disease and death.
Forgiveness or kshama is very important in life. One must
forgive all small mistakes committed by others. It is said that the
beauty of a saintly person is forgiving others for the offenses
they have committed. Emperor Parikshit forgave a little boy who
cursed him to die within seven days. This curse of the boy is
severe and Emperor could have counteracted by his devotional
power. But he took it as the mercy of the Lord and did not
counter at all. Mahārāja Yudhishthira forgave on many occasions
to maintain the religious code, especially to prince Duryodhana
and King Shakuni.
Truthfulness - one should speak the truth even if it is not
pleasing to others. There are four pillars of dharma, one of them
is truthfulness, if it is not maintained it will be adulterated. The
other three are mercy, cleanliness and austerity. Thus, the truth
should be presented as it is, for the benefit of others. Facts should
not be misused. In the present age of Kali, the dharma means to
stand in truthfulness, they use this truthfulness for mundane

purposes.
Senses and control of the mind - do not let the senses and
the mind contemplate on anything of the mundane world. Basic
need of the body and mind is acceptable, all other objects are the
temporary manifestation of the illusory energy of the Lord (one
should try to satisfy only the basic needs and not give into
greed). The nature of the mind is to contemplate on the
unnecessary bodily comforts of eating, sleeping, mating and
defending, which distracts us from the devotional feelings
towards the Supreme Lord. All bodily and mental functions are
transitory, one must be well conscious of the movements of the
mind and the senses.
Happiness and distress - if one always cultivates spiritual
knowledge, one will be always happy. Distress is absent when
one adopts spiritual knowledge and applies it to one’s life. There
are some deer in the mountains of southern Asia that have kastūri
musk in their navel, this musk is incredibly fragrant. However,
the deer wanders around the forest in search of that fragrance, not
knowing that the fragrance is emanating from their own navel.
Similarly, the unlimited spiritual bliss is concealed in the heart of
all beings, but due to ignorance, ajnāna, of the self, living beings
unfortunately search for happiness everywhere else except in
one’s own-self.
Birth and death is the manifestation of the material body.
The soul is eternal like the sun. The sun is sometimes covered by
the clouds, hidden to an ordinary person. Similarly, ignorant
people do not understand the eternity of the soul and mourn over
the dead. One must learn to tolerate the changes of the body. For
eternal life, one must commit to the service of the Supreme Lord,
Krishna. Without devotional service, one will be casted to the
repeated manifestation of the body.
Fear/Fearlessness - fear is thinking that there is something
other than Krishna. Fearlessness is possible when one sees
everything in relation to the Supreme Lord.
Nonviolence or ahimsa - is not harming any living beings

created by the Lord. What is implied here, is that one should
refrain from causing injury to others either through words,
thoughts or actions.
Equanimity - one must maintain mental equanimity in the
most critical situations. This means equanimity on attachment
and aversion as well. There are many issues that take place in
one’s material conditional life. Unless one maintains composure,
one will be lost in material illusions.
Satisfaction – this refers to sense gratifications and spiritual
satisfaction. Sense satisfaction is achieved by eating, sleeping,
drinking and having sex, all of which is quite momentary in
nature. Actual satisfaction is derived from one’s actions
dedicated to the Supreme Lord. Therefore, the only thing that
permanent is spiritual satisfaction.
Austerity – is giving up bodily conveniences for the higher
purpose such as fasting for spiritual benefit according to the
principle of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam.
Charity - means dānam which is the donation of wealth to a
worthy person or for the propagation of Lord Krishna’s glories
through the distribution of Krishna’s knowledge or for building
Krishna’s temples.
Fame and infamy - yaso is the recognition arising from
appreciation of possessing devotional service to Krishna and
righteous virtues like compassion and generosity due to service
to Godhead. ayasyah is notoriety for possessing bad qualities. All
these numerous qualities of living beings are created by Lord
Krishna.
TEXT 6 म षायः सत पवू े च्वार८ मनवथ िा।
म्भावा मानसा ्ा ा येषां ल८क इमाः र्ाः॥६॥
maharṣayaḥ sapta pūrve chatvāro manavas tathā
mad-bhāvā mānasā jātā yeṣāṁ loka imāḥ prajāḥ
maharṣayaḥ-sapta -- the great seven sages; pūrve -- in earlier
ages; chatvāro -- four; manavas -- Manus; tathā -- also; mad-
bhāvā -- originated from Me; mānasājātā -- born from the
mind; yeṣāṁ -- of them; loka imāḥ prajāḥ -- all this population in
the world.
The seven great sages and four other sages form an even
earlier time, the Manus (who bring forth human beings)
originated from Me (or was born from My mind), from
which came all other living entities residing in various
planets.
ANNOTATION: There are seven sages called sapta rishis:
Marici, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha. The
four great sages are known as: Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana and
Sanat-kumara. These sages are the sons born from Lord
Brahma’s Mind. There are fourteen Manus. The 14 Manus in the
12 hours of Lord Brahma who rule for 72 chatur yuga each, are
prominent within this universe. They are as follows:
Svayambhuva Manu, Svarocisa, Uttama, Tamasa, Raivata,
Chaksusa, Vaivasvata (the present age is under the Vaivasvata
Manu), Sāvarni, Daksasāvarni, Brahma Sāvarni, Dharma-sāvarni,
Rudra-sāvarni, Deva-sāvarni and Indra-sāvarni Manus. These are
the names of one set of fourteen Manus spanning 4,320,000,000
solar years. Except for the four sages, who remained permanently
brahmachāries like five year old children because of their mystic
potency, all other twenty-one great sages and saintly kings are
known as the progenitors of the living entities of the entire
universe. There are billions of universes in Causal Ocean and
innumerable planets within each brahmānda (universe), and each
planet is filled with people of different varieties born from these
twenty one secondary fathers. The seed giving father of Lord
Brahma and all these twenty five sages originated from the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
TEXT 7 ए ां ववभतू ं य८गं च मम य८ वेवत ्व ः।

स८ऽववक्पेन य८गेन य्
ु य े नार संशयः॥७॥
etāṁ vibhūtiṁ yogaṁ ca mama yo vetti tattvataḥ
so’vikalpena yogena yujyate nātra saṁśayaḥ
etāṁ -- all this; vibhūtiṁ -- majestic opulences; yogaṁ --
transcendental mystic power; ca -- also; mama -- of Mine; yo

vetti -- one who knows; tattvataḥ -- in truth; so ’vikalpena -- he
without division; yogena -- in devotional service; yujyate -- is
engaged; nātra saṁśayaḥ -- there is no doubt in this matter.
One who knows all these majestic opulence and
transcendental mystic power of Mine in truth, he without
doubt engages in My unalloyed devotional service.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord explains the kind of
people who can really comprehend him. They strongly believe in
the mystic power and opulence of Krishna. The Supreme Lord
creates, maintains and annihilates universes through His
inconceivable power. Without appreciating the emanations of
opulence and inconceivable power, one cannot reasonably
understand the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Modern academically cultured men do not believe in the
supernatural powers and opulence of the Absolute Lord.
Therefore, they keep theorizing on God, cosmology and wasting
their valuable human life. The result of actual knowledge about
the glory of splendor and power of Krishna is that it has been
already illustrated. Also, by rendering loving devotion to Him,
one attains absolute realization of His supreme absolute position
and all that is related to it.
TEXT 8 अ ं सवाथय रभव८ मतः सवंरव ा ।े
इत म्वा भ्त े मां बि
ु ा भावसम्तव ाः॥८॥
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
ahaṁ -- I; sarvasya prabhavo -- source of all generation;
mattaḥ -- from Me; sarvaṁ -- everything; pravartate --
emanates; iti -- thus; matvā – comprehending; bhajante --
become devoted; māṁ -- unto Me; budhā -- intelligent; bhāva-
samanvitāḥ -- endowed with devotional attention.
I am the cause of all spiritual and material worlds. From Me
everything originates. One who perfectly comprehends this,
is the intelligent one who worships Me and engage in My

devotional service.
ANNOTATION: Only the Majestic Personality of Godhead, the
source of all other divinities, is eligible to be designated as
svayam bhagavān (or the primeval Lord). In this verse, Lord
Krishna says that he is the source of both spiritual and material
universes. God is not a magician as many unscrupulous scholars
advocate. A magician may create many illusions for an audience,
which is momentary and a few seconds later one’s attention is
dragged somewhere else. Krishna, the Majestic Godhead,
expands His internal potency and creates all spiritual universes,
which are eternal. He further expands His material energy and
creates all material universes, which are also eternal, but as it is
said by the Lord in the 8th chapter, these spiritual universes and
material worlds manifest and un-manifests at intervals. He
creates everything by His mystic power, He manifested the entire
spiritual world called the Kingdom of God, also known as
Goloka Vrindhāvana, the uppermost residence of Rādha, Krishna
and the Vaikuntha planets. These are where His own expansion
Lord Nārāyanas and Lakshmis resides. Also, an unlimited
number of material universes are manifested by His Vishnu’s
expansion just through exhaling. In ordinary dealings, when one
breaths one generates many germs. By the same token, Lord
Vishnu, one of the expansions of Lord Krishna breaths out many
headed Brahmas and through His hair holes He generates zillions
of material universes. The space dimensions of the universe are
estimated to be one billion miles for one head of Lord Brahma.
Lord Brahma of this particular universe has four heads, and
consequently, 4 billion miles is the length and breadth of this
universe. The outer covering is made up of many layers
consisting of water, air, fire, sky, ego, mind, intelligence and
false ego. Each layer is ten times greater than the previous one.
The space within the hollow of the universe cannot be measured
by any human scientist or anyone else, and beyond the hollow
there are seven coverings, each one is ten times greater than the
one preceding it. For instance, the layer of the earth is ten times
greater than the diameter of the universe, and the layer of water
is ten times greater than that of earth, and the layer of fire is ten
times greater than that of the water, the layer of air is ten times
greater than that of the fire. Similarly, there are ten, twenty,
thirty, one hundred, and billions of miles of universes, and many
headed Brahmas. These descriptions are narrated to Srila
Sanātana goswāmi by Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu in Chaitanya
Charitamrta. These dimensions are all inconceivable to the tiny
human brain, even if one is a scientist. Since, one follow
scientists for the scientific knowledge and if the scientists are not
aware of these spiritual descriptions of the creation, how will
they convey these facts to the public? They are struggling even
now to find what is on the Moon and on planet Mars by various
speculations. If they keep on speculating they will never, ever
come to know that the original source of everything is God. Lord
Krishna’s all energy is conserved in the aura behind His body.
One may notice the light behind Lord Krishna’s body. Actually,
Krishna’s bodily effulgent expands into brahmajyoti. Therefore,
Lord Krishna is the source of Brahman effulgence and the cause
of all causes, there is no beginning for Him, the
transcendentalists desire to merge into that light and enjoy the
brahmasukha - happiness of Brahman. It is said in Brahma
samhita by Lord Brahma:
yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-
kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhūti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhūtam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
“I serve the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Govinda,
the primeval Lord, whose transcendental bodily effulgence,
known as the brahmajyoti, which is unlimited, unfathomable and
all-pervasive, is the cause of creation of the unlimited number of
universes with varieties of climates and specific conditions of
life”. So, those who understand these spectacular creations of
universes will fix their mind in the true form of Lord Krishna. In
the Chaitanya Charitamrta, it is said: ihhota dvi-bhuja, tinho

dhare cari, hatha inho venu dhare, tinho chakradika satha, “This
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna has two
hands and holds a flute, whereas the other forms like Lord
Nārāyana has four hands, with conch, wheel (chakra or disc),
mace and lotus. Lord Nārāyana is an expansion of Sri Krishna”.
They are, in fact, the same person manifested differently, like a
king who is differently situated when he is at home and when he
is at the royal assembly hall.
TEXT 9 म््चता म्ग राणा ब८ियत ः परथपरम ्।
कियत ्च मां तन्यं ्ु य्त च रम्त च॥९॥
mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca
mac-cittā -- the mind absorbed in Me; mad-gata-prāṇā -- the
lives devoted to Me; bodhayantaḥ-parasparam -- enlightening
each other; kathayantaś ca -- also talking glories; māṁ -- about
Me; nityaṁ -- always; tuṣyanti -- become satisfied; ca --
also; ramanti -- enjoy transcendental bliss; ca -- also.
Their mind absorbed in Me, their lives are fully devoted to
My service, and enlightening each other by conversing about
Me, they derive great happiness.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the symptoms of pure devotees
are mentioned by the Lord. The devotees’ entire life is dedicated
to the service of the Lord. Their senses are engaged, such as eyes
in seeing His form, ears in hearing His Holy name and pastimes,
and tongue in chanting His glory. They think day and night about
Krishna and various pastimes of Him. They also enlighten one
another with the philosophy and pastimes of the Lord and derive
great satisfaction through such engagements. In the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam 3-25-25, Lord Kapila deva said:
satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido
bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ
taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani
śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati
"In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the

pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and to the heart. By
cultivating such knowledge, one gradually reaches spiritual
maturity and advances on the path of liberation. Thereafter, he is
freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and
devotional service begins." To such persons, fully dedicated to
the Supreme Lord Krishna, out of great exclusive loving
devotion, He Himself bestows tatah mi buddhi-yogam (or the
divine spark of spiritual intelligence to reach Him). This means
that as paramātmathe (Supreme Soul within all living entities),
He inspires his devotees and internally bestows the most secret
divine understanding of Himself by which they will go to Him
and eventually to the Kingdom of God and live eternally.
TEXT 10 ष
े ां स य्
ु ानां भ् ां रीत पव
ू क
ा म ्।
ददाभम ब्
ु धिय८गं ं येन मामप
ु या्त ॥
े १०॥
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te
teṣām -- unto them; satata-yuktānāṁ -- always firmly
engaged; bhajatāṁ -- in rendering devotional service; prīti-
pūrvakam -- in loving ecstasy; dadāmi -- I bestow; buddhi-
yogaṁtaṁ -- intelligence for devotional service, link directly
with Krishna; yena -- by which; mām -- unto Me; upayāntite --
they come.
Those who are always firmly engaged in rendering devotional
service to Me in loving ecstasy, I bestow them intelligence to
link directly with Me, by which they can come to Me.
ANNOTATION: Krishna expands as the Supersoul and dwells in
everyone’s heart, including small microbes. The Lord does this
to know the heart of every living being. There are some who
have engaged in sincere devotional service and do not know the
science of God and the discipline of devotional service to
Krishna. However, Krishna as the chaitya guru, the spiritual
master from within, guides them as an instructing spiritual master
and later facilitates them to be initiated to harinam diksha by an

initiating spiritual master. Bhakti-yoga is also called buddhi-
yoga. There are two types of devotional services rendered to
Lord Krishna: one is called bhāgavata marga or the way of
Srimad-Bhāgavatam and the other is called pancharātrika
marga, which is the path of temple worship. The process of
bhāgavad-marga is the path of nine types of devotional services,
which begin with hearing and chanting the holy name of Krishna.
Our practice accepts both paths at the same time and
consequently help everyone to advance in the devotion to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
pancharātrika path is performed under the regulative principles
of the revealed scriptures, under the pure guidance of the
instructing spiritual master. By following on the path of both
devotional services, one gets attached to Lord Krishna, from that
point of time the devotee performs spontaneous or rāgānuga
(service with attachment) devotional service to the Lord.
The spiritual master guides the devotee to render devotional
service through both bhāgavad and pancharātrika marga. He
helps his disciple to chant and hear; rising up early in the
morning, bathing the deities and worshiping Tulasi plants (holy
basil plant). In this devotional path, there is no able direction of
the chaitya guru from within. A new devotee cannot rise to the
platform of rāgānuga bhakti or spontaneous devotional service to
Krishna without following the terms and conditions of
pancharātrika path. So, the constant regulative principles can
help the new devotee to rise up to the stage of rāgānuga bhakti,
in which the Lord responds from within as the chaitya-guru, or
the spiritual master as super consciousness. Through such
guidance of the Lord, the devotee will be completely perfect at
the time of death and will enter into the spiritual world. One
example often given is that of the caterpillar that thinks of
becoming a butterfly and so is transformed into a butterfly in the
same life. Similarly, if we constantly think of Krishna, it is
certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily
constitutions as Krishna.
TEXT 11 ष
े ामेवानक
ु ्पािाम म्ान्ं मः।
नाशया्या्मभावथि८ ्ानदीपेन भाथव ा ॥११॥
teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
teṣām eva -- for them; -- certainly; ānukampārtham -- out of
compassion; aham-- I; ajñāna-jaṁ -- born of ignorance; tamaḥ --
the darkness; nāśayāmy -- destroy; ātma-bhāva -- within their
hearts; stho -- situated; jñāna-dīpena -- with lamp of
knowledge; bhāsvatā – glowing.
Out of compassion for them, situated in their heart, I destroy
the darkness born of ignorance with the light of knowledge.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna, being the loving father, protects
and maintains his surrendered devotees. This is because of the
loving compassion felt by the Lord for those devotees who have
dedicated and devoted their lives to His lotus feet. He always
manifests in the devotees' hearts and minds as the supreme object
of their thoughts, plans and activities, accompanied by the
realization of His transcendental qualities and attributes. The
words jnāna-dipena, meaning the radiant light of knowledge.
Verily, this light is Lord Krishna Himself, in all their thoughts.
The darkness of ignorance, ajnānajam tamah, to which people
are continuously subjected owing to past and present karma (or
the reactions to one's actions). This darkness and karma are
extremely antagonistic to spiritual intelligence and produce the
desire for material belongings which are temporary, instead of
spiritual belongings that are eternal and which eventually lead to
loving God. However, for His devotees, He dispels their tamah
and dissolves their karma. Having comprehended the qualities,
attributes and the character of the Supreme Lord Krishna, the
devotees incessantly engage in the loving service of the Lord.
This knowledge will mature into appreciation which will evolve
into bhakti (or exclusive loving devotion) for Him and
subsequently, unlimited bliss will naturally arise within the
hearts and minds of His devotees.
TEXT 12-13 अ्न

ुा उवाच
परं र्म परं िाम पववरं परमं भवान ्।
पु
ु षं शा्व ं हद्यमाहददे वम्ं ववभम ु ् ॥१२॥
आ ु थ्वामष ृ यः सवे दे ववषानाारदथ िा।
अभस ८ दे वल८ ्यासः थवयं चव रवीवष मे ॥१३॥
arjuna uvācha
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣhaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; paraṁbrahma -- supreme truth;
paraṁdhāma -- suprem abode; pavitraṁ -- pure;
paramaṁbhavān -- supreme You; puruṣhaṁ śāśvataṁ -- eternal
personality; divyam -- transcendental; ādi-devam -- the first Lord;
ajaṁ -- unborn; vibhum -- greatest; āhus -- proclaim; tvām --
You; ṛṣayaḥsarve -- all sages; devarṣir -- the sage among the
demigods; nāradas -- Nārada; tathā -- and; asito -- Asita; devalo
-- Devala; vyāsaḥ -- sage Vyāsa; svayaṁ -- personally; ca -- and;
iva -- certainly; bravīṣime -- explaining to me.
Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the ultimate abode, the most
sacred. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala and
Vyāsa confirm this truth about You that You are indeed the
eternal personality, self-manifest, the original, the unborn,
and the greatest. Now You Yourself is explaining this to me.
ANNOTATION: Listening attentively to the Supreme Lord
Krishna's unlimited transcendental opulence, and unlimited
supremacy in brief, Arjuna’s enthusiasm for hearing about
Krishna increased. He became more enthusiastic to learn about
the infinite delightful glories of Lord Krishna and assure to the
Lord that he was fully convinced of everything that was told to
him. Arjuna first confirms Lord Krishna is the Supreme Absolute
Truth with the words Parabrahman, Supreme Brahman. Souls are
Brahman, but Krishna is different from any souls. Then he

confirms that Lord Krishna is the shelter for all creations with the
words param dhāma, meaning that He is the supreme shelter for
all liberated and conditioned souls. Liberated souls have realized
Him, conditioned souls are yet to realize. However, the fact is He
is the beginning, middle and the ultimate end of all living
entities. Krishna is pure like the fire, which burns everything that
is thrown into it and still remains always pure. Any contaminated
person or demon that goes to Krishna favorably or unfavorably,
would be purified either by killing or liberated by devotion. In
Krishna, there is no partiality towards any living beings. Krishna
is the absolute Truth because all the six opulence, the creation
and jīva souls originate from Him. In the past, Arjuna heard the
glories of Krishna from the great liberated sages like Nārada,
Vyāsa, who are able to perceive all truths and who can see the
subtlest realities, speak of Lord Krishna as the purest of the
purest, the most auspicious, self-manifest, self-effulgent, eternal,
immutable, unchangeable, Supreme Person, the ultimate goal,
residing in the paramount spiritual abode as a personality with
transcendental qualities, features and attributes. At the time of
creation, the sage Angīra, declared Lord Krishna as Daksa-
Prajapati, the creator of all lords, gods and demigods. Sage
Devala declared that Lord Krishna is un-manifested in the body,
but manifested in the heart and mind of all beings. Sage Asita
expressed Lord Krishna as pervading the sky with His head and
the Earth with His chest while His stomach represented the three
worlds. He is the prime cause of all causes, the source and the
origin of all that exists. He is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and
Omnipresent and is the shelter for royal kings and Emperors like
Mahārāja Yudhishthira and Mahārāja Parikshit, who are
irrevocably committed to war and battle for the sake of
establishing righteousness. The Vedic scriptures and the great
souls declare Lord Krishna as the Absolute Truth.
In Bhīshma Parva of Mahābhārata, there is a hymn by
Brahma that states: O king, brāhmanas, sages and demigods said
in ancient times that the Supreme Lord Krishna is the God above
all other gods such as myself and Siva. The celestial sage Nārada
declared Lord Krishna to be knowing the minds and hearts of all
beings. The honorable sage Mārkandeya Rishi expressed Lord
Krishna as embodying the past, present and the future. Respected
Bhrigu Muni has said that Lord Krishna is the goal of all
austerities and sacrifices. Vyāsa proclaimed that Lord Krishna’s
form is sat-cit-ānanda- unlimited knowledge, eternal existence
and unending bliss. Lord Krishna is the one who bestows
liberation from material existence and He appointed Indra as the
ruler of the demigods, on his throne in the heavenly planets.
Therefore, in various ways the Supreme Lord Krishna is
worshipped and glorified by realized beings.
Also, in the Bhīshma Parva there is a dialogue between
Brahma, Nārada and Gandharvās, who are celestial singers,
musicians and dancers. Nārada and Gandharvās were extremely
astonished to see Brahma exhibits great reverence and were
eager to know who it was that he praised so wonderfully with
such eloquent prayers. Being pleased, Brahma stated: O best of
beings I spoke with the Supreme Lord with joy, who is neti neti
or transcendental to this and that, and beyond becoming and
coming into being. The Supreme Lord Krishna is the eternal soul
of all beings and the Supreme goal of all beings. I humbly prayed
to Him to bless this world and suggested He should come to earth
planet with the following prayer: “O Supreme Lord Krishna, I
beseech you to bestow your causeless mercy and come to this
world of mortals and appear on this Earth for the destruction of
the demonic”. Demons such as the sons of Diti and Danu and a
host of other demonic beings that were terminated by You in
previous millennium, have now taken birth on Earth with terrible
forms and great might. In order to eradicate the demonic
presence on Earth, the Supreme Lord Krishna advents in a
human form and move about the Earth establishing religion. The
two elegant great sages and infallible lusters known as Nara-
Nārāyana, who were invincible in the battle against all the
demonic hosts, have appeared upon Earth again as Lord Krishna
in His original form along with His friend and devotee Arjuna to
destroy all the demonic forces once more. The infatuated and
deluded are unable to understand and perceive Him, who is my
eternal Lord. In the Harivamsa, there is a passage where Lord
Siva instructs some brāhmana sages stating: “O devotees of Lord
Krishna you have realized the truth. Krishna is the ultimate
reality and worshipping Him is the ultimate austerity. As there is
nothing higher or superior to Him, one should always meditate
upon Him with a controlled mind because He is the best well-
wisher and the supreme religion of all human beings”. In the end,
Arjuna says that he is hearing about Krishna’s glory from
Krishna Himself.
TEXT 14 सवामे ृ ं मतये यतमां वदभस केशव।

न ह े भगवत्य्् ं ववददु े वा न दानवाः॥१४॥
sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava
na hi te bhagavān vyaktiṁ vidur devā na dānavāḥ
sarvam-etad -- all this; ṛtaṁ -- I accept as truth; manye -- I
accept; yan -- which; māṁ vadasi -- You have told me; keśava --
O the killer of demon Kesi; na -- never; hi -- certainly; te --
Your; bhagavān – O Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead; vyaktiṁ -- transcendental personality; vidur -- can
know; devāna-dānavāḥ -- neither the demigods nor the demons.
O killer of the Kesi demon, all that you have told me I accept
as the truth. O Majestic Godhead, neither the demigods nor
the demons, can understand your transcendental Personality.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Arjuna is signifying to Krishna
that He accepts everything Krishna has said as the absolute truth.
Arjuna states here that even the great demigods like Lord
Brahma, Lord Siva, and Indra and demons who possess mystic
opulence cannot understand Krishna’s glory. What then to speak
of the ordinary entangled men in this world? Actually, demonic
species and those who do not have enough brain capacity cannot
accept Krishna’s instructions, as they do not want to change their
fallen way of life for good. Unless one realizes that they are
suffering in this material world, they will be unable to change

their material life to a spiritual life. Spiritual life, or devotional
life, is being Krishna centered in all of our actions. Material life
is self-centered. In material life, people at night engage in deep
sleep or indulge in sex, in the day time they are busy making
money or maintaining families. Such life is nothing but the life of
animals. Animals also discharge semen and sleep, maintain
themselves and look for food. Therefore, following these
valuable instructions of the Supreme Godhead Lord Krishna, one
can turn their lifestyle to a complete blissful life. Spiritual
activities, directly received from the Supreme Lord or His
bonafide representative, will bring a tangible transcendental
civilization in communities and in families. One must accept
instructions as it is, without challenging the authority of Godhead
or His representatives. However, a humble enquiry is allowed to
further understand and for the purposes of clarifying the
meanings of the instructions given. One must not take spiritual
instructions from outside of the disciplic succession, knowing
that such instructions can only lead one to become entangled in
another material catastrophe.
TEXT 15 थवयमेवा्मना्मानं वे्ि ्वं पु

ु ष८तम।
भू भावन भू श
े दे वदे व ्ग्प े ॥१५॥
svayam evātmanātmānaṁ vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama

bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa deva-deva jagat-pate
svayam -- personally; eva -- certainly; ātmanā – by yourself;

ātmānaṁ -- Yourself; vettha -- know; tvaṁ -- You; puruṣottama -
- O greatest of all persons; bhūta-bhāvana -- O origin of all
things; bhūteśa -- controller of all living beings; deva-deva -- O
master of all demigods; jagat-pate -- Lord of the universe.
You certainly know Your own self, O best among all

personalities, beginning of all, controller of all living entities,
O Master of all demigods, Lord of the universe!
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna has yoga-māya and mahā-māyā

to execute the business of spiritual and material world. The right
conclusion of dovetailing everything in relationship with the
Lord is called yoga-māya or the energy of unification, and the
wrong conception of detaching a thing from its relationship with
the Lord is called the Lord's daivi māya or mahā-māyā. Both the
māyas also have connections with the Lord because nothing can
exist without being related to Krishna. As such, the wrong
conception of detaching relationships with the Lord is not
permanent but rather illusory. There are billions of living entities
unable to comprehend His true identity, acting under the illusory
energy of the Lord. Similar numbers were there in Dwāpara-
yuga, when the Lord descended for performing pastimes in the
material world.
In this verse, Arjuna understood that the Lord never
revealed to anybody His true position of Godhead, not at least for
ninety years. Foolish and dumb people like Duryodhana and
Sakuni thought Krishna is just a powerful man, and never
thought of Him as God. When Krishna appeared in the Kaurava
assembly as a peace messenger, Duryodhana foolishly prepared
to arrest Lord Krishna. In Mahābhārata, the Prime Minister of
Kauravas, Sri Vidura, clearly remembering how the Kurus had
violated Draupadi, could not stand the thought of Krishna
receiving similar treatment in the same hall. Vidura spoke again,
trying one last time to influence the evil Duryodhana.
“O Duryodhana, listen as I remind you once more that many
demons who have tried to overpower Krishna has failed
miserably. The highly powerful Narakāsura, who was the son of
the Goddess Earth herself, lived for thousands of years
surrounded by his vast forces and Krishna killed him easily. He
also destroyed the five-headed Mura demon, who struck fear into
the hearts of the demigods. Krishna killed Vāsudeva Paundraka
who imitated Him. When He was a child, He killed Pūtana and
the evil wizards like Arishtasura, Dhenukasura, and Agasura.
When He was seven years old, He held Govardhana Hill aloft
with one tiny finger on His left hand and drove away the Kāliya
serpent with hundreds of hoods”.
Vidura said Krishna killed hundreds and thousands of

demons without exerting Himself. Finally, he said, “Krishna is
the doer of everything. He is the cause of all causes. From Him
comes all power and opulence. He can do anything with the least
amount of effort. O Duryodhana, you do not understand
Govinda. His prowess is incomparable and it will reduce you and
your followers to ashes, attempting to take Him prisoner is
ridiculous.”
Satyaki, the commander of Yadu dynasty, leaning across to
Krishna, whispered, “I think Duryodhana will now try to seize
You. He has taken a contingent of warriors out of the hall with
him. I am sure he will try to take Your life. O Kesava, this
wicked man has lost all sense of good manners.”
Krishna smiled and reassured to Satyaki by saying: “do not
fear, My friend. All the kings on earth together could not capture
Me. Speak to Dhrtarashtra and see what he decides should be
done.” Satyaki then addressed the old king directly by saying: “it
seems your foolish son intends to make good on his threat to
capture Mādhava (Krishna). O leader of men, he and his evil
counselors, overpowered by desire and anger, seek to do
something exceedingly mean. Yet, they cannot possibly succeed
any more than children can take hold of a blazing fire.”
Krishna is known by Krishna Himself by His own internal
potency, no one can understand Krishna’s true nature unless
Krishna wishes to reveal His true form to them as He did with
Arjuna. Thus, one must know Krishna as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead from the original Bhagavad-Gītā texts.
Others, who are like the evil Duryodhana, who are not vaishnava
spiritual master, should not try to comment on the Bhagavad-
Gītā with a demonic reservation, such beings can never truly
understand the Supreme Lord’s Supreme position. Innocent
people should never read the commentaries on the Bhagavad-
Gītā that are given by the impersonalists and māyāvādis.
māyāvādi krishnere aparathi - those who preach that Lord
Krishna is formless or He is an ordinary human being like them,
are the offenders unto the Lotus feet of Lord Krishna. They do
not believe in the personal existence of the Supreme Majestic

TEXT 16 व् मु ाथयशेषणे हद्या ्या्मववभू यः।

याभभववाभतू भभलोकातनमांथ्वं ्यातय त ्ठभस॥१६॥
vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ

yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān imāṁs tvaṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi
vaktum arhasy -- You alone are able to describe; aśeṣeṇa -- in
detail; divyā -- divine; hy -- surely; ātma-vibhūtayaḥ -- Your own
opulences; yābhir -- by which; vibhūtibhir -- opulences; lokān --
all the cosmos; imāṁs -- these; tvaṁ -- You; vyāpya -- pervading;
tiṣṭhasi -- remain.
Surely, You alone are able to describe in detail Your own
divine opulence by which You pervade the entire cosmos.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, it seems that Arjuna has finally
realized Lord Krishna is the only God. Hence, he is requesting
Krishna to show all of Krishna’s transcendental opulence by
which Lord pervades the entire universe. Krishna is the Supreme
Brahman, He is the Supersoul and He is Bhagavān, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead with all opulence. Krishna
being the Supreme Brahman is pervading in different forms and
opulence. Knowing, seeing and touching the objects of the world,
one can understand the opulence of Krishna. All religions, more
or less, follow the different features of the Supreme Lord
Krishna, but they do so without true understanding. There is only
one God who pervades all the universes in His un-manifested
form and there cannot be different Gods according to peoples’
whimsical notions. Many religious texts are just history and
morality, not necessarily the instructions of God directly, even if
it is, it is given to a class of people who were degraded at that
point of time. Authorized scriptures are compiled by Srila Vyāsa
deva, all other scriptures, which do not glorify the Supreme
Absolute Truth directly is not praiseworthy of reading.
TEXT 17 किं वव्याम ं य८धगंथ्वां सदा पररधचत यन ्।

केषु केषु च भावेषु धचत्य८ऽभस भगवतमया ॥१७॥
kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁs tvāṁ sadā parichintayan
keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu chintyo ’si bhagavān mayā
kathaṁ -- how; vidyām ahaṁ -- shall I know; yogiṁs -- O
supreme mystic one; tvāṁ -- You; sadā parichintayan -- always
meditating on You in every way; keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu -- in
which various manifestation; ca -- also; chintyo asi -- You are to
be contemplated; bhagavān -- O Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead; mayā -- by me.
O Supreme Mystic One, how shall I know You, in what form
should I meditate on you every day? In what manifestations
should I remember You? O Majestic Personality of Godhead.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna manifests Himself in this world
in different forms because He is the Supreme Controller of the
mystic potency. Therefore, He is called Yogesvara. Arjuna is
directly asking the Lord these questions, to understand His power
and position. From this verse, everyone must know that to
understand God one must have mercy of the Supreme Lord,
without His mercy one cannot understand His Supreme Majesty:
athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya
prasāda-lesanugrhita eva hi
jānati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko 'pi chiram vicinvan
“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of
Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your
personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even
though they continue to study the Vedās for many years.”
Modern scientists shall take a lesson from Arjuna. Their
theory of the Big Bang is just a fantasy. Soon enough another
scientist will emerge with a different theory that opposes the Big
Bang theory or other mainstream scientific and philosophical
notions on the creation of God. In this way, the theory of science

keeps on changing every now and then. In the end, without
having proper shelter for science, it will vanish. People will no
longer see the value of science in another 30 or 40 years from
now. There will be a true spiritual scientist appear shortly, who
will propose God as the Supreme Person and that He has created
the universe and living entities with His limitless inconceivable
potency. As long as people appreciate science, the scientist will
not have major hitches. However, once the general public loses
faith in the geniuses, their theories and assumptions will have no
value. Krishna being the yogeswara- master of mystics, can
change the heart of people within no time by original scientific
and philosophical knowledge just like He changed Arjuna’s heart
and mind through philosophical explanations. In the next chapter,
He will prove His Supreme Majesty by scientific means.
TEXT 18
ववथ रे णा्मन८ य८गं ववभतू ं च ्नादा न।
भय
ू ः किय ्ृ त ह ा श्ृ व ८ ना्थ मेऽम ृ म ् ॥१८॥
vistareṇātmano yogaṁ vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana
bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi śṛṇvato nāsti me ’mṛtam
vistareṇa -- elaborately; ātmano yogaṁ -- the processes of
devotion to you; vibhūtiṁ -- the mystic opulences; ca --
also; janārdana -- O maintainer of all living entities; bhūyaḥ --
again; kathaya -- describe; tṛptir -- satisfaction; hi — certainly;
śṛṇvato -- hearing; nāsti -- there is no; me -- my; amṛtam --
nectar.
O maintainer of all living entities, please elaborately explain
the process of devotion to You and Your majestic opulence. I
am not satisfied of hearing the nectar about You, which You
have so far described.
ANNOTATION: The desire to hear and understand about

Krishna is possible only for those who are hankering for it. Those
who are materially involved and think that ‘work is worship’, are
engaged in all frivolous activities and waste their valuable human

time. Work that attempts to satisfy the Supreme Lord is real
worship; all other endeavors to satisfy the body is not accepted
by the Personality of Arjuna. Mahārāja Parikshit, the grand child
of Arjuna and Krishna, gave complete absorption in hearing
about Krishna in the last stages of his life. He was cursed to be
killed by the serpent with wings within 7 days. Even though the
Emperor Parikshit was around 62 years old, he humbly
questioned his sixteen year old spiritual master Srila Sukadeva
goswāmi about the goal of human life. The powerful
brahmachāri Sukadeva goswāmi gave the king guidance to hear
the pastimes of Lord Krishna for the rest of his remaining days.
Of course, the serpent burned the king’s body to ashes at the end
of 7th day, but the king, as a result of his absorption in hearing the
nectarine pastimes of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna for last seven days, reached the Kingdom
of God. The Srimad-Bhāgavatam is the history of bygone ages
and essence of all Vedic literatures that narrate the pastimes of
the various incarnations of the Absolute Truth Lord Krishna. In
this way, the reading remains forever fresh despite repeated
readings.
ु ाच
त े कितय्याभम हद्या ्या्मववभू यः।
रािातय ः कुुरे्ठ नाथ्यत ८ ववथ रथय मे॥१९॥
hanta te kathayiṣyāmi divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ
prādhānyataḥ kuru-śreṣṭha nāsty anto vistarasya me
Godhead said; hanta -- yes; te -- unto you; kathayiṣyāmi -- I will
explain; divyā -- Majestic; hy -- certainly; ātma-vibhūtayaḥ --
personal opulences; prādhānyataḥ -- which are prominent; kuru-
śreṣṭha -- O best among the Kurus; nāsty -- there is no; anto --
end; vistarasya me -- to My extensive glories.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: O best

among the Kurus, yes, I shall explain to you My majestic
spiritual opulence, but only those that are prominent as My
extensive glories have no limit.
ANNOTATION: In the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā,
Arjuna accepted Krishna as his Spiritual Master. According to
the earthly rule, Arjuna is Krishna’s devotee friend, devotee
disciple and devotee brother-in-law. Arjuna also married
Krishna’s sister Subhadra. There are multiple connections
between Arjuna and Krishna. Arjuna is now feeling much better
than before because he heard Krishna’s sweet explanations of
His true glory. Therefore, the Lord agreed to narrate more of His
splendorous creations. Krishna’s manifestations have no limit
whatsoever. So, the Lord chose to explain only few of them as it
will be enough to answer Arjuna’s loving inquiry.
TEXT 20 अ मा्मा गड
ु ाकेश सवाभू ाशय्थि ः।
अ माहद्च म्यं च भू ानामत एव च॥२०॥
aham ātmā guḍākeśa sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ
aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca bhūtānām anta eva ca
aham ātmā -- I am the Soul; guḍākeśa -- O conqueror of the
sleep, Arjuna; sarva-bhūta -- of all living beings; āśaya-sthitaḥ --
situated within the heart; aham ādiś -- I am the beginning; ca --
also; madhyaṁ-- the middle; ca – also; bhūtānām -- of all living
entities; anta eva ca -- surely also end.
O conqueror of sleep, Arjuna, I am the Soul, seated in the
hearts of all living beings. I am also the beginning, the middle
and the end of all entities.
ANNOTATION: While a man is sleeping, it is easy to wake him
up, but if a man is pretending to be sleeping, then it is impossible
to wake him up even after repeated wake up calls. Similarly, if a
person is innocent and wants to take up devotional service, then
it is easy to make him understand the glories of Godhead, but if a
person is a crook (e.g. bad behavior, political, meat eater,
adamant and arrogant) due to darkness of delusion or his so-

called improved material situation, it is not possible to enlighten
that person spiritually. They may take millions of birth to
comprehend the true position of the Supreme Lord. Krishna is
antarātma, meaning the inner soul in all living entities. There are
two souls in all bodies, one is the individual soul and the other is
the Supersoul. The Supersoul is present in all living beings
moving and non-moving, to provide their day to day
maintenance. He is the only one who existed prior to the
creation. Therefore, at the time of the creation and after
annihilation He would continue to live. He never merges into the
oblivious stage of consciousness, if so, the validity of being the
creator may not have any significance.
According to Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta: Lord Brahma has
confirmed that Lord Krishna is the Supreme, the source of the
three manifestations known as Mahā-Vishnu or Karanodhakasayi
Vishnu, Garbhodakasāyi-Vishnu and Kshīrodhakasāyi-Vishnu.
For His pastimes, Lord Krishna has four original manifestations -
namely Vāsudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.
Vāsudeva expansion is Krishna Himself. The first purusa-
avatara, Mahā-Vishnu is the expansion of Sankarsana. The
second purusa, Garbhodhakasāyi-Vishnu is an expansion of
Pradyumna. Finally, the third purusha is an expansion of
Aniruddha. All these expansions are within the category of
manifestations of Nārāyana, who is a manifestation of Sri
Krishna.
These three purusha incarnations have superficial
relationships with māya, the material energy, because through
māya They create the material universes. Since all of Them are
somehow attracted to the affairs of the material energy, They can
be said to have some affection for māya. But the transcendental
position of Sri Krishna Himself is not even slightly touched by
māya. His transcendental state is called turiya, or the fourth-
dimensional stage. Some scholars argue that because Nārāyana
has four hands whereas Sri Krishna has only two, Nārāyana is
the original Majestic Personality of Godhead and Krishna is His
incarnation. Such misguided scholars do not understand the

different features of the Absolute Truth of Lord Krishna.
TEXT 21 आहद्यानाम ं वव्णु्योत षां रववरं शम
ु ान ्।
मरीधचमाु ाम्थम नषराणाम ं शशी॥२१॥
ādityānām ahaṁ viṣṇur jyotiṣāṁ ravir aṁśumān
marīchir marutām asmi nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī
ādityānām -- of the (12) dityas; ahaṁ viṣṇur -- I am Lord
Vishnu; jyotiṣāṁ-ravir-aṁśumān -- of all luminaries I am the
radiant sun; marīcir-marutām-asmi -- among (7) Maruts I am
Marīci; nakṣatrāṇām -- among stars; ahaṁ -- I am; śaśī -- the
moon.
Among adityas I am Lord Vishnu, of lights I am the radiant
sun, among Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am
the moon.
ANNOTATION: From now until the end of this chapter, the
Supreme Lord Krishna enumerates His divine opulence. He
reveals that He is Vishnu of the twelve Adityas. The twelve
Adityas are revealed in the Vishnu Purāna as being: Dhatri,
Aryama, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Vivaswān, Pushan, Pārjanya,
Amsu, Bhaga, Tvastri and manifesting in the form of the dwarf
brāhmana Vāmana Deva who is Vishnu. Of luminaries, He is the
solar orbs, the radiant suns whose shining rays illuminate the
darkness of innumerable universes is the eye of Krishna. The
seven Maruts (Avaha, Prahava, Nivaha, Purvaha, Udvaha,
Samvaha and Parivaha) are different varieties of winds blowing
throughout space, and Lord Krishna's vibhūti is the chief wind
known as Parivaha who bears the name Marici, the primal wind,
which precedes all the others. He is the Lord in charge of the 27
constellations beginning with Ashwani and ending with Revati.
Due to the moon having a stronger influence, Lord Krishna's
mystic opulence is the moon. The genitive case of the word Sasi
means that the moon is not referring to ‘one out of many’ but
rather specifying ‘one over all’. The theory that there are so
many universes within this universal sky is an erroneous notion

put forth by ‘educated’ modern people. Every universe has
millions of shining stars, one sun and one moon. Due to the thick
layers of the material elements of this universe, it is not possible
to see other universes from this universe floating in the Causal
Ocean.
TEXT 22 वेदानां सामवेद८ऽ्थम दे वानाम्थम वासवः।
इ्तरयाणां मन्चा्थम भू ानाम्थम चे ना॥२२॥
vedānāṁ sāma-vedo ’smi devānām asmi vāsavaḥ
indriyāṇāṁ manaś cāsmi bhūtānām asmi chetanā
vedānāṁ -- of the Vedās; sāma-vedo’smi -- I am the Sāma Veda;
devānām -- of the demigods; asmi -- I am; vāsavaḥ -- the
heavenly king Lord Indra; indriyāṇāṁ -- among the senses;
manaś -- the mind; cā -- also; asmi -- I am; bhūtānām -- of all
living being; asmi -- I am; chetanā – consciousness.
Of the Vedās I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am the
king of heaven, Indra; among the senses I am the mind; and
of all living beings I am consciousness.
ANNOTATION: The seven musical notes - sa, re, ga, ma, pa,
dha and ni - are used in musical instruments, but originally they
come from the Sāma Veda. Those liberated souls are engaged
incessantly in singing songs mentioned in the Sāma-Veda (vedaih
sanga-pada-kramopanisadair gayanti yam samagah). Among
thirty three million demigods, lord Indra is the supreme, lives in
the city of Amarāvathi, the capital of heaven, he is Krishna’s
opulence. Of the eleven senses called indriyannam, five senses
for acquiring knowledge they are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and
skin and five working senses namely voice, legs, hands, anus and
genitals. Then, above the senses, there is the mind, which can be
called the sense within. So, the eleventh sense being the mind,
which is the chief of the senses, is Lord Krishna. Of all living
beings whatever living force consciousness arises from within is
also Krishna’s opulence.
TEXT 23 ुराणां शंकर्चा्थम ववतेश८ यषरषसाम ्।

वसन
ू ां पावक्चा्थममेुः भशखररणाम म ्॥२३॥
rudrāṇāṁ śaṅkaraś cāsmi vitteśo yakṣa-rakṣasām
vasūnāṁ pāvakaś cāsmi meruḥ śikhariṇām aham
rudrāṇāṁ -- of (eleven) the Rudras; śaṅkaraś -- Lord Siva; cāsmi
-- I am also; vitteśo -- Lord Kuvera, the treasurer of the
demigods; yakṣa-rakṣasām -- of the Yaksa and Rakṣasās;
vasūnāṁ -- of the (eight) Vasus; pāvakaś -- Agnidev, the fire
god; cāsmi -- also I am; meruḥ -- Meru; śikhariṇām -- of
mountains; aham -- I am.
Among Rudras I am Lord Siva, among Yaksas and Raksasas
I am Kuvera, the Lord of wealth, among Vasus I am Agni,
the fire god, and of mountains I am Meru.
ANNOTATION: Among eleven Rudras, the transcendental
opulence of the Supreme Lord Krishna is Shankara which is
synonymous with Mahādev Siva, as given in Mahābhārata.
These Rudras are as follows: Ajaikapat, Ahibradhna, Virupaksa,
Raivata, Hara, Bahurupa, Devasrestha, Tryambaka, Savitra,
Jayanta, Pinaki and Aparajita. The lord of wealth, Kuvera, being
the treasurer of the demigods, is a Yaksha and not a demonic
Rakshasa. They are included together because in regard to
cruelty they are both alike. Demigods - class of gods whose
number is usually eight - are responsible for the management of
the universal affairs and whose chief is Indra. However, the eight
Vasus, the Lord’s opulence is Pavaka, the fire-god known as
Agni, who burns everything into ashes and also purifies
everything by way of his flame. Of lofty mountains possessing
peaks, Krishna is Mount Meru, which has all the rich natural
resources.
TEXT 24 परु ८िसां च म्
ु यं मां वव्धि पािा ब ृ थपत म ्।
सेनानीनाम ं थकतदःसरसाम्थम सागरः॥२४॥
purodhasāṁ ca mukhyaṁ māṁ viddhi pārtha bṛhaspatim
senānīnām ahaṁ skandaḥ sarasām asmi sāgara
purodhasāṁ -- among all priests; ca -- also; mukhyaṁ -- the

chief; māṁ -- Me; viddhi -- know; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
bṛhaspatim -- Bṛhaspati; senānīnām -- of all commanders; ahaṁ
-- I am; skandaḥ -- Kartikeya; sarasām -- of all reservoirs of
water; asmi -- I am; sāgaraḥ -- the ocean.
You should know, O son of Pritha, among priests, I am the
chief priest Brihaspati. Among commanders I am
Karthikeya, and among reservoir of water I am the ocean.
ANNOTATION: Among priests, Lord Krishna's transcendental
opulence is Brihaspati due to his enormous Vedic knowledge, the
priest of all the demigods. Skanda, the commander of the
demigods, is also known as Karthikeya. The son of Lord Shiva is
the opulence of Krishna, because generally, of all demigods and
of fixed bodies of water His opulence is the powerful ocean. The
ocean is called ratnakara because of the mineral and precious
deposits present in ocean.
TEXT 25 म षीणां भग
ृ रु ं धगरामथ्येकमषरम ्।
य्ानां ्पय्८ऽ्थम थिावराणां ह मालयः॥२५॥
maharṣīṇāṁ bhṛgur ahaṁ girām asmy ekam akṣaram
yajñānāṁ japa-yajño ’smi sthāvarāṇāṁ himālayaḥ
maharṣīṇāṁ -- among the great sages; bhṛgur ahaṁ -- I am
Bhṛighu; girām -- of vibrations; asmy -- I am; ekām akṣaram --
pranāva, Omkāra; yajñānāṁ -- among sacrifices; japa-yajño --
chanting the holyname; asmi -- I am; sthāvarāṇāṁ -- among
immovable things; himālayaḥ -- the Himalayan mountains.
Among the great sages I am Bhrighu; among speech I am the
mono spiritual syllable OM. Of sacrifices I am the chanting
of the holy names, japa, and among immovable things I am
the Himalayas.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna reveals that of the holy sages His
opulence is Bhrigu rsi, son of Lord Brahma and the father all
astronomical science. Of sound vibrations, Lord Krishna
manifests as the sacred OM which is uttered before every Vedic

ritual begins. Of all acts of worship, Lord Krishna’s opulence
manifests as japa-yajno, the respectful devotional chanting of the
holy names of the Supreme Lord Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Hare Hare with exclusive loving devotion to the Lord. Of
immovable things His opulence is the towering Himalaya’s, the
highest mountain on Earth, which is stationed in one place where
as there are mountains like Meru which is conscious, and made
of Gold and moves from one location to another.
TEXT 26 अ्व्िः सवावष
ृ ाणां दे वषीणां च नारदः।
गतिवााणां धचररिःभस्िानां कवपल८ मतु नः॥२६॥
aśvatthaḥ sarva-vṛkṣāṇāṁ devarṣīṇāṁ ca nāradaḥ
gandharvāṇāṁ chitrarathaḥ siddhānāṁ kapilo muniḥ
aśvatthaḥ -- the banyan tree; sarva-vṛkṣāṇāṁ -- among all trees;
devarṣīṇāṁ -- of the sages of the demigods; ca -- and; nāradaḥ --
Nārada; gandharvāṇāṁ -- among all Gandharvas; chitrarathaḥ --
Chitraratha; siddhānāṁ -- among the perfected; kapilomuniḥ --
Kapila Muni.
Among all trees I am the banyan tree, and among all the
sages of the demigods I am Nārada. Of the Gandharvas I am
Chitraratha, and among the perfected beings I am the sage
Kapila.
ANNOTATION: Among trees, Lord Krishna’s transcendental
opulence is the Asvatthah tree, the sacred and beautiful Banyan
tree. Of celestial sages, among demigods who became proficient
in singing Vedic hymns and broadcasting devotional service to
Krishna, His opulence is Nārada Muni. Among perfected beings,
who from their very births were knowledgeable of the pure
theistic sānkya philosophy, His opulence is the sage Kapiladeva.
There is another Kapila who preached atheism and has nothing to
do with the real Kapil deva, the son of Kardama Rsi and Mother
Devahuti, the daughter of Svayambhuva Manu.
TEXT 27 उ्चःरवसम्वानां वव्धि मामम ृ ८्भवम ्।

ऐराव ं ग्ेतराणां नराणां च नराधिपम ्॥२७॥
uccaiḥśravasam aśvānāṁ viddhi mām amṛtodbhavam
airāvataṁ gajendrāṇāṁ narāṇāṁ ca narādhipam
uccaiḥśravasam -- Uccaiḥśrava; aśvānāṁ -- among horses;
viddhi -- know; mām -- Me; amṛtodbhavam -- produced from the
churning of the ocean; airāvataṁ -- Airāvata; gajendrāṇāṁ -- of
lordly elephants; narāṇāṁ -- among human beings; ca -- and;
narādhipam -- the king.
You should know, among horses I am the Uccaihsrava,
appeared during the churning of the ocean for nectar.
Among elephants I am the king of all elephants, Airavata,
and among humans I am the King.
ANNOTATION: Among powerful horses and mighty elephants,
Lord Krishna’s transcendental opulence is the horse Uccaihsrava
and the elephant Airavata. Both were manifested by churning the
milk ocean into celestial nectar by the demigods and demons as
revealed in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam and other Purānas. And
know that Lord Krishna’s transcendental opulence manifests
amongst human beings as the ruler of men known as
naradhipam, meaning king or head of the government.
TEXT 28 आयि
ु ानाम ं वरं िेनन
ू ाम्थम कामिक
ु ्।
र्न्चा्थम कतदपाः सपााणाम्थम वासकु कः॥२८॥
āyudhānām ahaṁ vajraṁ dhenūnām asmi kāma-dhuk
prajanaś cāsmi kandārpaḥ sarpāṇām asmi vāsukiḥ
āyudhānām -- among all weapons; ahaṁvajraṁ -- I am the
thunder bolt; dhenūnām -- among cows; asmikāma-dhuk -- I am
the surabhi cow; prajanaś -- the cause for begetting children; ca -
- and; āsmi -- I am kandārpaḥ -- Cupid; sarpāṇām -- among
serpents; asmivāsukiḥ -- I am Vāsuki.
Among all weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am
the Surabhi. Of causes for reproduction I am Kandārpa, the
god of love, and among serpents I am Vāsuki.
ANNOTATION: The mighty weapon, the thunder bolt,

represents Krishna. Among the blessed cows, the wish fulfilling
Surabhi cows represents Krishna. Lord Krishna is Kandārpa (or
the reproducing potency) for begetting offspring. No matter what
sort of passion it is, whether great or small, it is not used for
bringing forth the offspring, but instead used only for enjoying
the senses and bodily delights. This doesn’t represent Krishna
and cannot be construed in such a way. Sarpānam refers to
poisonous single headed serpents of which Vāsuki is the head of
them all. Vāsuki was also used as a rope to pull the boat
containing all species of life during Lord Krishna’s incarnation
known as Matsya. Moreover, Vāsuki, it was used once again as a
rope to wrap around the Mandara Mountain to churn the nectar
for the demigods during Lord Krishna’s incarnation as Kūrma.
TEXT 29 अनत ्चा्थम नागानां वुण८ यादसाम म ्।

वप ण
ॄ ामयामा चा्थम यमः संयम ाम म ्॥२९॥
anantaś cāsmi nāgānāṁ varuṇo yādasām aham
pitṝṇām aryamā cāsmi yamaḥ saṁyamatām aham
anantaś -- Ananta; cā -- also; asmi -- I am; nāgānāṁ -- among
many headed serpents; varuṇo -- the demigod ruling the
inhabitants of water; yādasām -- among all aquatics; aham -- I
am; pitṝṇām -- among forefathers; aryamā -- Aryāmā; ca -- also;
āsmi -- I am; yamaḥ -- the Lord of death; saṁyamatām -- among
administrators of justice; aham -- I am.
Among many-headed Nāgas I am Ananta, also among the
aquatics I am the demigod Varuna. Among ancestors I am
Aryāmā, and among administrators of justice I am Yama,
the controller of death.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna represents Ananta Dev. The king
of all serpents, Ananta, is an expansion of Lord Balarāma and
has sahasra sirsha, meaning thousands of hoods, on whose head
unlimited universes revolve resembling the size of a mustard
seed. It is said that among aquatics, Krishna is Varuna, the ruler
of water. Among forefathers, Lord Krishna is Aryāmā, and as the

chastiser, Krishna is the demigod Yamarāja, the lord of death.
Yama means to do with rules and regulations. Therefore, Yama’s
job is to rule out punishment to all sinful human beings.
TEXT 30 र्लाद्चा्थम द्यानां कालःकलय ाम म ्।
मग
ृ ाणां च मग
ृ ेतर८ऽ ं वन य
े ्च पषषणाम ्॥३०॥
prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ kālaḥ kalayatām aham
mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ’haṁ vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām
prahlādaś -- Prahlāda; cā -- also; asmi -- I am; daityānāṁ --
among the demons; kālaḥ -- time; kalayatām -- of measurements;
aham -- I am; mṛgāṇāṁ -- among all the animals; ca -- and;
mṛgendro -- king of animals, the lion; aham -- I am; vainateyaś -
- the son of Vinitha, Garuda; ca -- also; pakṣiṇām -- among birds.
Among the demons I am the Prahlada, among measurements
I am time, among animals I am the king of all animals - the
lion, and among birds I am the son of Vinitha, Garuda.
ANNOTATION: Among those born in demonic lines, Lord
Krishna’s transcendental opulence is the great devotee Prahlada,
the son of Hiranyakasipu, who in spite of being born under
demonic parents was totally devoted to the Supreme Lord in
loving devotion, starting when he was in his mother Kayātu’s
womb. The time is the impersonal manifestation of the Supersoul
and is the great controller of everyone’s fortune, misfortune and
the universe itself. Therefore, it is the representation of Krishna.
The lion king among animals, mrgendro, represents Krishna. The
son of Vinita known as Garuda, the king of all birds, represents
Krishna as well.
TEXT 31 पवनः पव ाम्थम रामः शथरभ ृ ाम म ्।
झषाणां मकर्चा्थम र८ साम्थम ्ा्नवी॥३१॥
pavanaḥ pavatām asmi rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham
jhaṣāṇāṁ makaraś cāsmi srotasām asmi jāhnavī
pavanaḥ -- the wind; pavatām -- among swift moving; asmi -- I
am; rāmaḥ -- Rāma; śastra-bhṛtām -- of the wielders of

weapons; aham -- I am; jhaṣāṇāṁ -- of all fish; makaraś -- the
shark; cā -- and; asmi -- I am; srotasām -- of flowing
rivers; asmi -- I am; jāhnavī -- the river Ganges.
Among the swift moving I am the wind, among the carriers of
weapons I am Rāma, among all fishes I am the shark, and
among flowing rivers I am the river Jahnavi, Ganges.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna reveals that of things that purify
and things that have swift transcendental opulence is the wind.
The words sāstra-bhrtam means weapon wielding heroes of
which His opulence is Lord Rāmachandra. Rāma is a direct
incarnation of the Supreme Lord Krishna, who manifests Himself
as Rāma, the model of weapon wielding heroes. Lord
Rāmachandra is the direct expansion of Lord Krishna’s first
quadrangle expansion known as Vāsudeva. One should never
think that Krishna is different from Lord Rāmachandra, born of
King Dasaratha in the solar line. Lord Rāmachandra is called
maryada purushottam, an ideal King, but Krishna is called lila
purushottam, reservoir of all pastimes. The word Rāma may also
be interpreted as being Parasurāma, the son of Jamadagni and
Renuka, who was a satyavesa avatara or empowered incarnation
of Lord Krishna who slew all the kshatriyas 21 times with His
mighty axe.
Among rivers His opulence is Jahnavi, the daughter of the
sage Jahnu known as the holy river Ganges, which begins
flowing from the Kāranodhaka or Causal Ocean. In relationship
to the Supreme Lord they are exactly like potencies serving Him
as the weapons wielded by Rāma are likewise serving Him.
TEXT 32 सगााणामाहदरत ्च म्यं चवा म्नुा ।
अ्या्मवव्या वव्यानांवादः रवद ाम म ्॥३२॥
sargāṇām ādir antaś ca madhyaṁ caivāham arjuna
adhyātma-vidyā vidyānāṁ vādaḥ pravadatām aham
sargāṇām -- of all creations; ādir -- the beginning; antaś -- the
end; ca -- and; madhyaṁ -- the middle; ca -- also; ivā --
certainly; aham -- I am; arjuna -- O Arjuna; adhyātma-vidyā --

spiritual knowledge of the soul; vidyānāṁ -- among all
education; vādaḥ -- the logical conclusion; pravadatām -- of all
arguments; aham -- I am.
O Arjuna, of all creations certainly I am the beginning, the
end and the middle, and among all sciences I am the spiritual
knowledge of the soul, and among all arguments I am the
logical conclusion.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna uses the word sarganam to mean
all created things. Things that are created are creations. Lord
Brahma, Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu are the gunavataras for the
creation, maintenance and destruction and the ether in the sky
followed by air, fire, water and earth. Of all these things, in
different combinations, comprises all material existence
completely, and Lord Krishna is their beginning, middle and the
end. In verse 20 of this chapter, Lord Krishna revealed that He is
the originator, the preserver and destroyer of all living entities.
However, here in this verse, He reveals that He is also the
beginning, the middle and the end of all creations and that
creation, preservation and destruction should be meditated upon
by people as His transcendental opulence. The words adhyātma-
vidya-vidyanah means of all types of knowledge that exists out
there, Lord Krishna’s opulence is the paramount knowledge of
the eternal soul and that it exists within all living entities. The
three kinds of argumentation practiced by the logicians and
debaters are yāda, jalpa and vitandi. Lord Krishna declares that
His opulence is yāda, which means the irrefutable, conclusive
truth. When debating parties establish their individual hypothesis
through direct and indirect proofs in an attempt to refute each
other’s positions, through circumvention and false
generalizations, it is known as jalpa. When one party has already
established their hypothesis and the opposing party is ignoring
the truth and logic refutes the other party’s position through
superior arguments and faultfinding without establishing their
own hypothesis, it is known as vitanda. Both jalpa and vitanda
are nothing more than displays of mental gymnastics and neither

determines what the true reality is. Nonetheless, the result of
yāda is the ascertaining of truth and an unbiased non-partisan
agreement of reality.
TEXT 33 अषराणामकार८ऽ्थम ्वत्वः सामाभसकथयच।
अ मेवाषयः काल८ िा ा ं वव्व ८मख
ु ः ॥३३॥
akṣarāṇām a-kāro ’smi dvandvaḥ sāmāsikasya ca
aham evākṣayaḥ kālo dhātāhaṁ viśvato-mukhaḥ
akṣarāṇām -- among letters; a-kāro-- the first letter ‘A’; asmi -- I
am; dvandvaḥ -- the dual; sāmāsikasya -- of compounds; ca --
and; aham -- I am; eva -- certainly; ākṣayaḥ kālo -- eternal time;
dhātāhaṁ -- I am the creator, Brahma; viśvato-mukhaḥ -- four
headed.
Among letters I am the letter A, and among compound words
I am the dual compound. I am also eternal time, and among
creators I am the four headed Brahma.
ANNOTATION: Among the letters of the alphabet, Lord
Krishna’s transcendental opulence is the letter A for it represents
all speech and is the primary letter. The Vedic scriptures declare
that the letter A is all speech and takes many various forms when
manifested from different parts of the body such as throat, nose,
palate and abdomen. Among compound words, His opulence is
the dual compound such as Rāma-Krishna which exemplifies the
prominence of both. Previously, in verse 30, He stated that His
opulence was time in terms of being the controller with regard to
the longevity of all created being’s lifespan in the finite sense.
However, here, He reveals another aspect of ‘time’, being His
opulence in the infinite sense, as an eternal with ever flowing
reliability. Time determined the duration of life in embodied
souls and universes, which are terminated, eventually. In the
Mahābhārata it states: Lord Krishna ceaselessly revolves the
wheel of time, the wheel of the worlds and the wheel of all
dimensions through His opulence. The Supreme Lord Krishna
rules over all time, all death and all that is moving and non-
moving. This is referred to as the eternal truth. Lord Brahma is

the first being to be ever created by the Lord, as it is said in this
verse dhata aham visvato-mukhah meaning the four faced
Brahma whose faces can be seen from all sides.
TEXT 34 म्ृ यःु सवा र्चा म्
ु भव्च भवव्य ाम ्।
कीत ःा रीवाा्च नारीणां थमतृ मेिा ितृ ःषमा॥३४॥
mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham udbhavaś ca bhaviṣyatām
kīrtiḥ śrīr vāk ca nārīṇāṁ smṛtir medhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā
mṛtyuḥ -- death; sarva-haraś-- snatch everything; cā -- also;
aham -- I am; udbhavaś -- creative; ca -- also; bhaviṣyatām -- of
future manifestations; kīrtiḥ -- fame; śrīr -- opulence or beauty;
vāk -- perfect speech; ca -- also; nārīṇāṁ -- of women; smṛtir --
memory; medhā -- intellect; dhṛtiḥ -- firmness; kṣamā --
patience.
I snatch everything in the form of death, and I am the
creative principle of all the future manifestations. Among
women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence,
steadfastness and patience.
ANNOTATION: When animals are taken to the slaughter house,
they do not ask for help by bleating loudly. On the other hand,
when men are taken to the slaughter house they shout and
scream, asking for help. Similarly, when a man does not ask for
help from Krishna after seeing the inevitable death approaching
him, he is as good as the animal taken to the slaughter house. In
this verse, Krishna says that He is the annihilator called mrtyu (or
all devouring death) which snatches the soul from the heart and
takes all possessions away, annihilating and erasing all memories
of the present life. Among six transformations of the body, it
takes birth from the womb of the mother’s body, remains as a
child for some time, grows, produces some by-products,
gradually dwindles and at last vanishes. In these six
transformations Krishna’s opulence is the birth, which is the first
one and means udbhavah, generating principles. Among women,
Lord Krishna’s opulence is kirti which means excellent
reputation, srir means lustrous beauty, vāk means expressive

speech, smrtir means good memory, medha means
discriminating intelligence, dhritih means determination and
kshama means causeless forgiveness. These are the seven
qualities of a virtuous being and by just possessing even a
fraction of these qualities, a woman becomes praiseworthy and
famous, such woman are directly blessed by the Lord.
TEXT 35 ब ृ ्साम िा सा्नां गायरी छतदसाम म ्।
मासानां मागाशीषोऽ म ृ न
ू ां कुसम
ु ाकरः॥३५॥
bṛhat-sāma tathā sāmnāṁ gāyatrī chandasām aham
māsānāṁ mārga-śīrṣo ’ham ṛtūnāṁ kusumākaraḥ
bṛhat-sāma-- the Brihat-sāma; tathā -- also; sāmnāṁ -- of the
Sāma Veda prayers; gāyatrī -- the Gāyatrī hymns; chandasām --
the mantras composed in poetry; aham -- I am; māsānāṁ -- of
months; mārga-śīrṣo-- harvest month in autumn season,
November-December; aham -- I am; ṛtūnāṁ -- among all
seasons; kusumākaraḥ -- the spring.
Among the sāmaveda hymns in the Sāma Veda I am the
Brhadsāma, and among the mantras composed in poetry I
am the Gāyatri. Among the months I am Margasirsa
(November-December), and of the seasons I am flower-
bearing spring.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna has already revealed in verse 22
that of the four Vedās, His transcendental opulence is the Sāma
Veda. In this particular verse, He reveals that of all the hymns of
all the Vedās, His opulence is the Brhadsāma. This hymn is
chanted at the conclusion of auspicious Vedic ceremonies and
praises Lord Krishna when He assumed the post of Indra, the
ruler of the demigods, during His manvantara incarnation as
Dharmasetu. Among mantras composed in poetical meter, Lord
Krishna’s opulence is the Gāyatri mantra, which is the best as its
efficiency confers Brahmin status on the qualified initiate and
gives everyone power to understand the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead as the Supreme Person, and not the
concept of Him as the divine light. The Gāyatri mantra is very

important in Vedic civilization and is considered to be the sound
incarnation of Brahman. Lord Brahma is its initiator, and it is
passed down from him in disciplic succession. It is chanted three
times a day: morning, noon and in the evening. It is also sung at
the time of picking the Soma plant by the demigods. Among the
months, His opulence is Mārgasirsa (November-December),
when the grains are harvested. Harvesting the grains brings a lot
of happiness and joy to the farmers. Of the seasons, Lord’s
opulence is the flower bearing spring season, which produces
neither too much heat nor too much cold. In such climates,
different varieties of fragrant and colorful flowers blooms.
TEXT 36 ्यू ं छलय ाम्थम े ्थ ्
े ्थवनाम म ्।
्य८ऽ्थम ्यवसाय८ऽ्थम स्वं स्वव ाम म ् ॥३६॥
dyūtaṁ chalayatām asmi tejas tejasvinām aham
jayo ’smi vyavasāyo ’smi sattvaṁ sattvavatām aham
dyūtaṁ -- gambling; chalayatām -- of all deceivers; asmi -- I am;
tejas -- the glory; tejasvinām -- of the splendid glorious; aham --
I am; jayo -- victory; asmi -- I am; vyavasāyo -- business or
adventure; asmi -- I am; sattvaṁ -- the nobility; sattvavatām -- of
the noble; aham -- I am.
Among cheaters I am the gambling, and among the glorious I
am the glory. I am victory, I am enterprise, and I am the
nobility of the noble.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna reveals that among cheaters the
opulence is gambling, the art of plundering. No one should think
when they cheat others in gambling situations that they are
fooling God. In this verse, He says that the cheat is He, without
His mercy no one can cheat anybody. Any extraordinary
elegance of any object in this world whether it is a person’s
majesty, glory, nature’s magnificence or brilliance, it is the
Absolute Truth Krishna. Enterprise or industry is vyavasāyah,
means that the success of the enterprise is solely due to His
mercy and it represents the Lord’s opulence. He is the victory of
all victories and strength of the strong, that strength is Krishna’s

opulence. Another meaning of sattvam is goodness, which refers
to pious conduct of the righteous, characterized by knowledge
and dispassion which represents Krishna.
TEXT 37 व्ृ णीनां वासद
ु े व८ऽ्थम पा्डवानां िनं्यः।
मन
ु ीनामतय ं ्यासः कवीनामश
ु ना कववः॥३७॥
vṛṣṇīnāṁ vāsudevo ’smi pāṇḍavānāṁ dhanañ-jayaḥ
munīnām apy ahaṁ vyāsaḥ kavīnām uśanā kaviḥ
vṛṣṇīnāṁ -- among the children of Vṛṣṇī; vāsudevo– the son of
Vasudeva, Balarāma; asmi -- I am; pāṇḍavānāṁ -- of the
Pāṇḍavās; dhanañ-jayaḥ -- conqueror of wealth, Arjuna;
munīnām -- among the sages; apy -- also; ahaṁ -- I am; vyāsaḥ --
Vyāsa, the compiler of all Vedic literature; kavīnām -- of all great
thinkers; uśanā -- Sukracarya, spiritual master of the demons;
kaviḥ -- the thinker.
Among the children of Vrishni I am Vāsudeva, and I am the
Pāndava Arjuna, the conqueror of wealth. Among the sages I
am Vyāsa muni, and all great thinkers I am Sukrāchārya,
Usana.
ANNOTATION: The Vrishni lineage descends from King
Yayāti and Queen Devayāni from which Vasudeva is the sixth
generation of descendants. Here, Krishna says that Vāsudeva is
His opulence, vrishinam vāsudevo smi. Krishna is the possessor
of all opulence, when He is describing all opulence of His own,
this Vāsudeva cannot be Himself. There should a second son of
Vasudeva who is also the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Balarāma. Lord Balarāma is Lord Krishna’s first
expansion and Balarāma manifests every incarnation including
Lord Vishnu and Lord Rāma. Therefore, Balarāma is the
opulence represented here. Amongst the Pāndavas, Arjuna is
famous as Dhananjaya, wielder of the bow. He is the best among
men and, therefore, represents Krishna. Among holy sages, who
are knowledgeable of all the Vedic scriptures, Vyāsa deva is the
opulence of the Lord, who was empowered by the Lord. Vyāsa
deva divided the one Veda into four, wrote the Purānas and
Brahmasūtra and compiled the historical treatise Mahābhārata.
The agniveshya section states: Krishna is Vyāsa. Vy means the
best. He is above, He is below, He is in the east, He is in the
west, He is in the north and He is in the south. Whatever we see
or hear in any direction externally or internally in all dimensions
is already established by the Supreme Lord. Among exalted seers
or those who are omniscient His opulence is Usanah, the son of
Bhrighu, who is known as Sukrācharya, the guru of the asuras
(or those born in demonic lines) and he is a fine thinker, kavih
among rishis.
TEXT 38 द्ड८ दमय ा म्थम नीत र्थम ््गीष ाम ्।

म९नं चवा्थम ग्
ु यानां ्ानं ्ानव ाम म ्॥३८॥
daṇḍo damayatām asmi nītir asmi jigīṣatām
maunaṁ caivāsmi guhyānāṁ jñānaṁ jñānavatām aham
daṇḍo -- the rod of punishment; damayatām -- among all
chastisers; asmi -- I am; nītir -- strategy; asmi -- I am; jigīṣatām -
- of those desiring success; maunaṁ -- silence; ca -- and; iva --
also; āsmi -- I am; guhyānāṁ -- of secrets; jñānaṁ -- wisdom;
jñānavatām -- of the wise; aham -- I am.
Among all chastisers I am punishment, and of those desiring
victory I am the strategy. Among the secret things I am the
silence, and among the wise I am the wisdom.
ANNOTATION: Among punishers, Lord Krishna’s
transcendental opulence is the agency of chastisement, the force
by which the rowdies are controlled, and Yamarāja is the head of
the punishing agency. Among those desirous for success against
opponents, the diplomacy using the expedients of reconciliation,
dissension, bribery and punishment represents Krishna. Among
secrets, with regard to esoteric and confidential matters, Krishna
is the silence, not disclosing any of the secrets to anyone. The
wisdom of the wise is Krishna, the wise are God and self-
realized, they know the difference between matter and spirit.
TEXT 39 य्चावप सवाभू ानां बी्ं द म्ुन

ा ।
न द्थ ववना य्थयातमया भू ं चराचरम ्॥३९॥
yac cāpi sarva-bhūtānāṁ bījaṁ tad aham arjuna
na tad asti vinā yat syān mayā bhūtaṁ charācharam
yac -- whatever; cā -- also; api -- may be; sarva-bhūtānāṁ-- of
all living entities; bījaṁ -- seed; tad -- that; aham -- I am; arjuna
-- O Arjuna; natadasti -- that there is nothing; vinā -- without; yat
-- which; syān -- exists; mayā -- Me; bhūtaṁ -- in all of creation;
charācharam -- moving and nonmoving.
In addition, O Arjuna, I am the seed of all living beings, there
is nothing in all of creations, whether moving or nonmoving,
and that can exist without Me.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna reveals that He is the bījam or
seed, the germinating origin of all living entities as there is no
living entity, moving or stationary, which can exist without Him.
He is the omnipotent and pervades the entire material existence.
The material creation is just His pastime ground. The Moksha
Dharma text reveals that the Supreme Lord exhibited His
universal form which comprises of enormous forms, infinite
expansions, eternal manifestations, endless personifications and
is undoubtedly the endless One. As Lord Krishna is present
within all causes, He is also naturally present in all results. The
Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.9. States that: He is the cause of all
causes.
TEXT 40 नात ८ऽ्थ मम हद्यानां ववभू ीनां परत प।
एष ् ू दे श ः र८् ८ ववभू े ववाथ र८ मया॥४०॥
nānto ’sti mama divyānāṁ vibhūtīnāṁ paran-tapa
eṣa tūddeśataḥ prokto vibhūter vistaro mayā
na -- nor; ānto -- a limit; asti -- there is; mama -- My; divyānāṁ -
- transcendental; vibhūtīnāṁ -- majestic opulences; paran-tapa --
O conqueror of the enemies, Arjuna; eṣa -- all these; tu -- but;
ūddeśataḥ -- as examples; prokto -- told; vibhūter -- of
opulences; vistaro -- the limitless; mayā -- by Me.

O conqueror of enemies, there is no limit to My
transcendental majestic opulence, but what I have told you
are only examples of My limitless opulence.
ANNOTATION: The subject matter of Lord Krishna’s
transcendental opulence is now being concluded in whatever
forms the manifestations of majesty, greatness, beauty and power
are seen. However, they should be known as tiny fractions of
Lord Krishna’s transcendental opulence. Lord Krishna informs
us that as His opulence is infinite, it is impossible to state them
all as new ones are continually manifesting. The ones that have
been stated in this chapter are those that have already been
manifested and they are discussed only to pacify Arjuna’s
inquisitiveness. It is clear and apparent that the Supreme Lord
Krishna’s avatars or incarnations and expansions are different
from His opulence, and are also distinctly different from the
demigods and embodied beings.
TEXT 41 य्य्ववभतू म्स्वं रीमद्ू ्ा मेव वा।

तदे वावग्छ ्वं मम ्े ंऽशसंभवम ्॥४१॥
yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ śrīmad ūrjitam eva vā
tat tad evāvagaccha tvaṁ mama tejo-’ṁśa-sambhavam
yad yad -- whatever; vibhūtimat -- having majestic opulences;
sattvaṁ -- existence; śrīmad -- beautiful; ūrjitam -- glorious; eva
-- surely; vā -- or; tat tad -- all those; eva -- certainly; āvagaccha
-- must know; tvaṁ -- you; mama tejo -- My splendor; aṁśa-
sambhavam -- arise from a fraction.
You must know whatever exists in majestic opulence, and is
beautiful and glorious in creation, certainly are only a
fraction of My splendor.
ANNOTATION: All opulent, beautiful, magnificent glorious
achievements are put in place by the Lord by engaging people
creating them. Moreover, as far as high positions and
accomplishments are concerned among human and demigod

societies, a qualified living soul by his karma and quality is
promoted to that post by the mercy of the Lord. A president of
nation may float his office in the air, scientists may be awarded
Nobel prizes due to their amazing discovery, and all these are
just special favor of the Lord on that particular living being; not
even a dry leaf falls without Krishna’s sanction. Therefore, there
is nothing to be created, but rather simply needs to be manifested
and promoted by the Lord.
However, in this verse, the Lord explains that whatever
is in existence is only an infinitesimal portion of the power of
Lord Krishna’s transcendental opulence. There are six fields
where humans perform wondrous activities, they are the fields of
wealth, of administration, of knowledge, of reputation, of beauty
and the field of detachment. Out of Krishna’s inconceivable
potency all these forms of opulence manifest from only a fraction
of His treasury house of opulences.
TEXT 42 अिवा ब ु न न
े ककं ्ा ने वा्ुन
ा ।
वव्ि्या भमदं कृ्थनमेकांशन
े ्थि ८ ्ग ् ॥४२॥
atha vā bahunaitena kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat
atha vā -- or; bahunaitena -- so many; itena-- by this kind; kiṁ --
what; jñātena -- by such comprehensive knowledge; tavā -- your;
arjuna -- O Arjuna; viṣṭabhyā -- I maintain; aham -- I; idaṁ
kṛtsnam -- this entire; ekāṁśena -- single fraction; sthito --
situate; jagat -- universe.
O Arjuna, but what necessity is there for all these
comprehensive knowledge? With a single portion of Myself
situate and maintain this entire universe.
ANNOTATION: In this chapter, so far Lord Krishna has
explained to Arjuna the limited version of the Supreme Lord’s
magnificent potencies. According to the Lord there is no use of
knowing all these facts separately when He alone pervades and
sustains the total material creation with just a fraction of His

energy. The total creation, whether existing temporarily or
permanently, comprised of consciousness and unconscious
beings, objects and substances are structured in such a way as not
to conflict with each other and never to go contrary to, or against
the Supreme Lord’s will. If a multi-million dollar entrepreneur is
engaged in some industrial project with a few hundred workers,
but he only puts about 1/10th of his energy into that business,
then his business is guaranteed to be a failure. According to the
statement of Parāsara Muni, the father of Srila Vyāsa deva, in
Vishnu purāna, it is stated that the entire material universal
creation is supported and maintained by the Lord with His
1/100th billion portion of His total energy.
When Jagadānanda Pandit, an incarnation of Prahlad
Mahārāja, requested Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to liberate all
living entities of this material universe, Lord Chaitanya
Mahāprabhu said: I understand your compassion for all these
living entities, but this universe is only a speck of energy, a
fraction of My energy, and the universe is like a mustard seed in
a huge bag of mustards, what about the living beings of the other
universes? There are billions of material universes floating in the
Causal Ocean. All these material universes are together is a
fraction of Krishna’s energy, ekapāda vibhūti (mystic opulence),
and 1/4th of the creation. Then Krishna’s 3/4th of the creation,
tripad vibhūti, which are spiritual universes that has no limit and
is the pure spiritual manifestation of the Supreme Lord. One
cannot truly understand all mystic opulences of the Supreme
Lord unless one develops love for Krishna, until then all these
creative energies of the Lord will remain a mystery to them.
Arjuna intelligently had taken shelter of the Supreme Lord,
not to His energies, the energy of the Lord is always subordinate
to Him, though spiritual energy is identical with the Personality
of Godhead. Duryodhana wanted Krishna’s energy, Nārāyana
sena, and in the battle he was defeated in spite of this vast army
and the Supreme Lord manifested all mystic opulences for
Arjuna’s sake and made him victorious. The pure devotees of the
Lord choose only the Lord, as Arjuna chosen Krishna when a
choice was given between Krishna and Krishna's energy.
Devotees are wholly dependent on the mercy of the Lord. They
never think that they are independent of Godhead. Since the
material mind continuously runs after all external objects, in its
pursuit of pleasure through the senses, it is better to see Krishna
in all those objects instead, as it was explained by the Supreme
Lord in this chapter. One should take absolute shelter in the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead who revealed His
mysterious opulence out of compassion for all living beings.
Thus, satisfied with this brief explanation of the Lord’s opulence,
I beg to my dearest Lord to bestow me the unalloyed devotional
service to His beautiful Lotus Feet, so that I can engage in His
transcendental services and engage others in devotional services,
life after life.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Opulence of the Absolute Lord’ by H.H.

1. What are the chatur sloki of Bhagavad-Gītā? Describe the
essence of these four slokas.
2. Krishna has mentioned about seventy-two of His opulences
in this chapter. Name 25 of them and describe them briefly
and provide your conclusions.
1. Why is it that only a devotee can understand Krishna is
God?
2. In texts 4 and 5, Krishna mentions twenty things that He
creates. List five of them, and give a short brief about each
one.
3. How many Manus and sages are born from Krishna’s mind?
Name 5 of the Manus and 5 sages and explain what they do.
4. Derive the significance of the verse number 8?
5. Give the meaning of dadhāmi buddhi yogam?
6. Explain what is bhakti with attachment and how is it
different from the bhakti with attachment?
7. According to the 14th verse, how can we best understand
Bhagavad-Gītā?
8. Summarize the verses 12 and 13.
9. What did Satyaki tell Krishna in the assembly of Kurus?
10. Why did Arjuna ask Krishna to describe His opulences?
11. Describe Krishna’s Chatur vyūha expansions—namely
Vāsudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.
12. Justify the technical aspect of the creation mentioned in
verse 20?
13. Describe the seven feminine opulences.
14. Enlighten on the significance of the Gāyatri Mantra.
15. What is the meaning of ‘spec of My energy I support and
maintain this entire universe’?
1. One who is full with all the six opulences is called
_________.
2. The word __________means those who are not deluded.
3. All the __________and _________ are manifested within
this material world by Krishna, whereas Krishna is the
source of all.
4. Real auspiciousness is to work in devotion under the
guidance of _________.
5. In the beginning, Krishna instructed the Vedic knowledge to
__________.
6. Among all the Vedās, Krishna is __________.

7. Among Yaksas and Rakshasas, Krishna is ___________.
8. Krishna is called_______, reservoir of all pastimes
9. He is the annihilator called _______ or all devouring death
10. Among months, His opulence is ____________
1. “Both the Lord and the living entities are described as
_______” (unconquerable, infallible, unborn, limitless)
2. “The word amrtam means _________” (eternal, deathless,
nectar, poison)
3. “There are ___________ adityas in this universe” (7, 9, 12,
20)
4. “Of immoveable things I am the ________” (Himalayas,
Mt. Everest, Sahya, Meru)
5. “Among Adityas, I am ________” (Bhīshma, Indra,
Brahma, Vishnu)
6. “__________means that no one is equal to or superior to
Krishna”. (Tattvamasi, Sa aiksada, Asamurdhva, Brahma
satyam)
7. “Among stars, Krishna is the ________.” (Polestar, Sun,
Moon, Mercury)
8. “Of the great sages, Krishna is ________.” (Vyasa, Nārada,
Devala, Bhrgu)
9. “Among seasons, Krishna is _________.” (summer, autumn,
spring, winter)
10. “Among Kavis, Krishna is _________.” (Brhaspati, Vyāsa
deva, Sukracarya, Yudhishthira)
The Cosmic Form 719
CHAPTER 11
The Cosmic Form
TEXT 1 अ्न
ुा उवाच
मदनर
ु ाय परमं ग्
ु यम्या्मसंष् म ्।
य्वय८् ं वचथ न
े म८ ८ऽयं ववग ८ मम ॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
mad-anugrahāya paramaṁ guhyam adhyātma-saṁjñitam
yat tvayoktaṁ vacas tena moho ’yaṁ vigato mama
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; mad-anugrahāya -- blessed me;
paramaṁ guhyam -- supreme confidential instructions;
adhyātma-saṁjñitam -- in the matter of spiritual wisdom; yat --
what; tvay -- by You; uktaṁ -- spoken; vacas -- words; tena -- by
that; moho -- illusion; ayaṁ -- this; vigato -- has been dispelled;
mama -- My.
Arjuna has said: My delusion has been removed by hearing
the confidential instructions You have kindly given me
regarding spiritual wisdom.
ANNOTATION: When one’s māya or illusion is removed
through the guidance of the Supreme Lord, he can see the real
objects as it is. Arjuna gained true conviction after hearing the
primary opulences explained by the Lord in the last chapter. In
this chapter, Krishna’s mercy is further extended as He reveals
His universal or cosmic form. At the end of the last chapter, Lord
Krishna reveals how He pervades and supports the whole
creation of everything with just a fraction of His potency, thus
719
hinting at His universal form. One must understand that the

universal form and the four handed Nārāyana form is manifested
by Lord Krishna. Therefore, the universal form and the Nārāyana
forms are the expansions of the Supreme Majestic Absolute
Godhead, Lord Krishna, even though there is no difference
between Krishna, Nārāyana and the universal form. Lord
Krishna, who is the source of all beauty, power, money,
knowledge, fame, and detachment, is the original Lord of the
cosmic energy. All other Vishnu and Nārāyana forms are
Krishna’s expansions and incarnations. The Bhagavad-Gītā is
spoken by Krishna and there are no other scriptures in which
either the powerful demigod Lord Siva or any other demigods
have given comparable guidelines as Lord Krishna has to the
human society. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam, even Mahā-Vishnu
admits that He is the plenary portion of Lord Krishna for the
material creation and how he was hankered to see the original
form of Godhead Sri Krishna along with Arjuna, when Krishna
was exhibiting the pastime in Dwāraka.
TEXT 2 भवातयय९ ह भू ानां रु ९ ववथ र श८ मया।

्वतःकमलपराष मा ा््यमवप चा्ययम ् ॥२॥
bhavāpyayau hi bhūtānāṁ śrutau vistaraśo mayā
tvattaḥ kamala-patrākṣa māhātmyam api cāvyayam
bhava -- existence; āpyayau -- vanishing; hi -- certainly;
bhūtānāṁ -- of all living entities; śrutau -- have been heard;
vistaraśo -- in detail; mayā -- by me; tvattaḥ -- from You;
kamala-patrākṣa -- whose eyes are like lotus; māhātmyam --
glories; api -- also; ca -- and; āvyayam -- inexhaustible.
O lotus-eyed one, I have heard from You in detail about the
existence and vanishing of every living being and also have
realized Your infinite glories.
ANNOTATION: Queen Kunti prays to Krishna whose navel is
like Lotus flower, has eyes like lotus petals and wears lotus
garlands, offering obeisance to the Lotus feet of Lord Krishna.
The Cosmic Form 721
Here, Arjuna addressed Lord Krishna with the words kamala-

patrāksa which refers to Krishna’s eyes, that are beautiful like
the petals of a lotus flower and denotes qualities of sweetness
and softness of His form, as well as His form being the
storehouse of fascination and beauty. Here, the reality of His
transcendental opulence has been understood as well as Him
being the source of creation and dissolution for all beings in all
existence. Although Lord Krishna is the performer of all actions,
He is nevertheless the non-doer, for these things manifest
automatically from Him. Although He is the Supersoul in all
living entities, He is untainted by their contamination and
imperfections. Although He bestows the results of everyone's
righteous or unrighteous actions, He is not cruel or unjust.
Krishna has no partiality towards any living being including
atheists, and rewards wealth and position according to one’s
qualification. He bestows various results such as liberation and
bondage based on one’s action. He is the absolute controller of
primordial matter, and time in the form of past, present and
future. He is worthy of worship by all living entities and is
unquestionable for everyone, unconquerable by anyone, unable
to be transgressed and has the compassionate nature of
destroying the impediments and obstacles of His devotees. Such
infinite greatness has been understood and assimilated by Arjuna.
TEXT 3 एवमे ्यिा्ि ्वमा्मानं परमे्वर।
र्िुभम्छाभम े पम्वरं पु
ु ष८तम ॥३॥
evam etad yathāttha tvam ātmānaṁ parameśvara
draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam aiśvaraṁ puruṣottama
evam -- this is; etad -- this; yathā -- as; āttha -- have described;
tvam -- You; ātmānaṁ -- Your ultimate Self; parameśvara -- O
Supreme controller; draṣṭum -- to see; icchāmi -- I wish; te --
Your; rūpam -- form; aiśvaraṁ -- majestic; puruṣottama -- the
greatest of all personalities.
O Supreme controller, You have described Your Supreme
Self as it is, O greatest of all personalities now I wish to see
that majestic opulent form of Yours.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna is addressed as

paramesvara, the Supreme Controller, by Arjuna. When one
eulogizes himself that he is God, he must prove by manifesting
the cosmic form like Arjuna is requesting here of Lord Krishna.
Arjuna has no doubt about Krishna being the Supreme Godhead;
still out of curiosity he desires to see Lord’s resplendent,
unparalleled visvarupa - universal form endowed with all
knowledge, all power, all majesty, all ruling, all protecting, all
creating, all maintaining, all sustaining, all destroying, all
dominion and all splendor.
TEXT 4 मतयसे यहद ्छ्यं मया र्िुभमत रभ८।
य८गे्वर ८ मे ्वं दशाया्मानम्ययम ् ॥४॥
manyase yadi tac chakyaṁ mayā draṣṭum iti prabho
yogeśvara tato me tvaṁ darśayātmānam avyayam
manyase -- consider; yadi -- if; tac -- that; chakyaṁ -- is able;

mayā -- by me; draṣṭum -- to be seen; iti -- thus; prabho -- O
Master; yogeśvara -- O Lord of all mystic power; tato -- then; me
-- unto me; tvaṁ -- You; darśaya -- show; ātmānam avyayam --
Your eternal Self.
O Master, the Lord of all mystic powers, if You consider me
to be worthy of seeing that cosmic form, then please show me
that unlimited eternal Self.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna thought that he can see Krishna’s
universal form if Krishna confirms his qualification. One may
worship and see Krishna for a prolonged period of time, but if
Krishna does not want to reveal Himself to the person, it will
then be, difficult to even understand Krishna’s existence. Lord
Krishna is yogeswara, as He is the Lord of yoga, He possesses all
divine attributes such a wisdom, power, sovereignty, splendor
and glory to the highest degree. There is no other who could
reach such a level or even duplicate a portion of it. Therefore,
Lord Chaitanya, the most munificent Godhead, who is Krishna
Himself, in the guise of a devotee, has given us the easiest
The Cosmic Form 723
method to perceive and comprehend the Supreme Lord Krishna,

who pervades everywhere and in everything, by chanting His
holy name either congregational or on beads “Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare”. Chanting this mahā-mantra would
induce Krishna to reveal Himself to the devotee. Only a devotee
of the Lord is qualified to see and understand His form, name
and pastimes. Similarly, Arjuna being a devotee of the Lord, is
very curious to see that transcendental magnificent universal
form, which is unlimited in itself.
ु ाच
प्य मे पािा पाणण श श८ऽि स रशः।
नानावविातन हद्यातन नानावणााकृ ीतन च ॥५॥
paśya me pārtha rūpāṇi śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ
nānā-vidhāni divyāni nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca
Godhead said; paśya me -- behold My; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
rūpāṇi -- forms; śataśo -- hundreds; atha -- also; sahasraśaḥ --
thousands; nānā-vidhāni -- variegated types; divyāni -- divine;
nānā-varṇākṛtīni ca -- variegated colors and forms.
Pritha, behold My divine transcendental forms with
hundreds of thousands of variegated types and variegated
multicolored forms.
ANNOTATION: The Absolute Supreme Person described His
opulences in chapters seven and ten. Now Lord Krishna is
manifesting all those opulences to Arjuna for practical vision.
There is a saying ‘seeing is believing’, if we take that statement
as real, then Krishna is showing His unlimited Universal form to
Arjuna. An ordinary being sees the beautiful panoramic view of
the Himalayan Mountains with his own eyes, as far as Krishna’s
universal form is concerned, one cannot perceive the end of His
form or His opulence. This is because His supernatural form and

opulences are unlimited and it is most dazzling. Therefore, one
requires a special spiritual lens. In the Kauravas assembly, the
Lord manifested His partial universal form and many atheists
could not observe that transcendental form except for a very few
members who were devotees of Krishna. Atheists and
antagonistic people cannot understand this special divine colorful
form of the Supreme Lord, which are in sataso'tha sahasrasah,
infinite in numbers.
TEXT 6 प्याहद्यातवसर
ू र
ु ान््वन९ मु थ िा।
ब ू तयृ्िपव
ू ााणण प्या्चयााणण भार ॥६॥
paśyādityān vasūn rudrān aśvinau marutas tathā
bahūny adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi paśyāścaryāṇi bhārata
paśya -- behold; ādityān -- the twelve sons of Aditi; vasūn -- the
eight Vasus; rudrān -- the eleven forms of Rudra; aśvinau -- the
two Asvini kumaras; marutas -- the forty-nine Maruts (demigods
of the wind); tathā -- also; bahūny -- many; adṛṣṭa-pūrvāṇi --
that you have not seen before; paśya -- behold; aścharyāṇi --
wonders; bhārata -- O best of the Bhāratas.
O best of the Bhāratas, behold here the twelve manifestations
of Adityas, eight Vasus, twelve Rudras, two Asvini-kumaras
and all the other demigods. Behold the many wonders, which
no one has ever seen before.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord Explains that within His
universal form exists 12 Adityas, 8 Vasus, 11 Rudras, 2 Asvini
kumaras, 49 Maruts and many other wonderful forms. The
details of these members were described in the 10th chapter. All
these can be perceived in His magnificent, extraordinarily
transcendental universal form with unlimited wonders and
marvels. They are spectacular and they can manifest in this world
and in other worlds. They have been spectacularly mentioned and
described in the Vedic scriptures which may include some or all
of the previous two categories. All of these wonders have never
been seen before.
The Cosmic Form 725
TEXT 7 इ कथिं ्ग्कृ्थनं प्या्य सचराचरम ्।

मम दे े गड
ु ाकेश य्चातय्र्िुभम्छभस ॥७॥
ihaika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ paśyādya sa-charācharam
mama dehe guḍākeśa yac chānyad draṣṭum icchasi
iha -- in this; ika-sthaṁ -- situated in one place; jagat -- universe;
kṛtsnaṁ -- the whole; paśya -- behold; adya -- at once; sa-
charācharam -- with moving and stationary beings; mamadehe --
in My body; guḍākeśa -- O conqueror of sleep; yac -- that which;
ca -- also; anyad -- other; draṣṭum -- to see; icchasi -- you wish.
O conqueror of sleep that which you desired to behold, see
immediately in My body. This cosmic form can illustrate to
you the whole universe with moving and stationary beings,
and others in My body situated in one place.
ANNOTATION: Indeed, this vision is unique and remarkable,
because such manifestations of all moving, non-moving and
cosmogenic visions, has not been shown by the Lord in one
thousand chatur-yuga. Ordinary philosophers and scientists have
been trying to see the cosmos through their telescopes and other
scientific apparatus for numerous years. However, it would be an
impossible task to see the entire universe in one shell. Only pure
devotees like Arjuna are qualified to see such a magnificent form
through the special vision given to them by the Lord. Lord
Krishna states pasya behold now His divine universal form, this
very moment the entire creation with all its movable and
immovable components all integrated together and united as
different parts of a singular form in His transcendental universal
form. This phenomenal form is impossible of being seen by
demigods, humans and demons even in tens of millions of years
wandering unobstructed throughout all creation. Everything that
exists can be seen in this universal form as well as anything else
that may be seen such as the past and the future along with
different conditions in creation, including victory and defeat.
TEXT 8 न ु मां श्यसे र्िुमनेनव थवचषुषा।
हद्यं ददाभम े चषुः प्य मे य८गम्वरम ् ॥८॥
na tu māṁ śakyase draṣṭum anenaiva sva-chakṣuṣā

divyaṁ dadāmi te chakṣuḥ paśya me yogam aiśvaram
na tu -- but not; māṁ -- Me; śakyase -- are able; draṣṭum -- to
see; anena -- with these; iva -- certainly; sva-chakṣuṣā -- present
eyes of yours; divyaṁ -- divine; dadāmi -- I grant; te -- you;
chakṣuḥ -- eyes; paśya -- behold; me -- My; yogamaiśvaram --
inconceivable mystic opulence.
But with these present eyes of yours you won’t be able to see
Me. Thus, I grant you divine eyes, behold My inconceivable
transcendental opulence!
ANNOTATION: Krishna is explaining to Arjuna to behold His
universal glory as all existence is contained within a small space
of His visvarupa (or universal form). The Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead is saying that Arjuna cannot see His
Universal form, which is exceptional and beyond measure and
comparison. This is because the lens of the material eye is not
suitable to view this extremely limitless dazzling form of the
Lord. Therefore, to view the mystic opulence of the Lord, which
is the universal form, Arjuna must have spiritual eyes. Spiritual
eyes are different from the mundane eyes. Mundane eyes only
gives vision to the material variegatedness whereas spiritual eyes
give power to see the spiritual objects.
TEXT 9 सं्य उवाच
एवम्ु ्वा ८ रा्तम ाय८गे्वर८ ररः।
दशायामास पािााय परमं पम्वरम ् ॥९॥
sañjaya uvācha
evam uktvā tato rājan mahā-yogeśvaro hariḥ
darśayām āsa pārthāya paramaṁ rūpam aiśvaram
sañjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; evam -- thus; uktvā -- having
spoken; tato -- thereafter; rājan -- O King; mahā-yogeśvaro --
the most powerful controller of all mystic powers; hariḥ --
Krishna, one who takes away all material things; darśayāmāsa --
revealed; pārthāya -- unto son of Pritha; paramaṁ -- the
Supreme; rūpam -- universal form; aiśvaram -- opulent.
The Cosmic Form 727
Sanjaya said: O King, thus having spoken, the most powerful

controller of all mystic powers, Lord Hari, the Personality of
Godhead, revealed unto the son of Pritha the opulent
universal form.
ANNOTATION: This is what is understood by the word evam,
meaning ‘in this way’. The omnipotent Lord Krishna is being
referred here by the name ‘Hari’, which means He who takes
away all inauspiciousness from His devotees, displaying His
supreme divine universal form to His devotee Arjuna, the son of
His father's sister, who is known as Pritha or Kunti.
TEXTS अनेक व्र नयनम नेका्भु दशानम ्।
10-11 अनेकहद्याभरणं हद्यानेक८्य ायि
ु म ्॥
हद्यमा्या्बरिरं हद्यगतिानल
ु ेपनम ्।
सवाा्चयामयं दे वमनत ं वव्व ८मख
ु म ् ॥१०-११॥
aneka-vaktra-nayanam anekādbhuta-darśanam
aneka-divyābharaṇaṁ divyānekodyatāyudham
divya-mālyāmbara-dharaṁ divya-gandhānulepanam
sarvāścarya-māyaṁ devam anantaṁ viśvato-mukham
aneka vaktra -- unlimited mouths; nayanam -- eyes; aneka --
various; ādbhuta-darśanam -- wonderful sights; aneka-divyā
bharaṇaṁ -- many divine ornaments; divyā nekodyatāyudham --
innumerable gleaming weapons; divya-māly -- magnificent
garlands; āmbara-dharaṁ -- dresses wearing; divya-gandha --
celestial fragrances; ānulepanamsarva -- anointed with exquisite;
sarva-āścarya māyaṁ -- completely phenomenal and remarkable;
devam -- dazzling; anantaṁ -- unlimited; viśvato-mukham -- all
pervading universal faces.
Manifesting in the universal form with unlimited mouths,
unlimited eyes, various wonderful sights, limitless dazzling
ornaments, armed with innumerable gleaming celestial
weapons, wearing magnificent garlands and dresses, anointed
with celestial fragrances, unlimited phenomenal and
remarkable all-pervading universal faces.
ANNOTATION: Sanjaya explains the Supreme Lord Krishna's
transcendental universal form with the word anantam meaning
infinite: limitless mouths, infinite eyes, infinite faces, unlimited

wonderful visions, unlimited extraterrestrial ornaments, infinite
weapons and limitless marvels. All are devoid of the threefold
limits of time, space and forms and are transcendental, self-
effulgent and infinite.
TEXT 12 हदवव सय
ू स
ा रथय भवे्यग
ु पद्ु ्ि ा।
यहद भाः सृशी सा थया्भासथ थय म ा्मनः ॥१२॥
divi sūrya-sahasrasya bhaved yugapad utthitā

yadi bhāḥ sadṛśī sā syād bhāsas tasya mahātmanaḥ
divi -- in the firmament; sūrya-sahasrasya -- many thousands of
suns; bhaved -- were; yugapad -- simultaneously; utthitā --
present; yadi -- if; bhāḥ -- light; sadṛśī -- comparable with; sā --
that; syād -- perhaps; bhāsas -- the effulgence; tasya -- of Him;
mahātmanaḥ -- the Supreme Lord.
If in the firmament, there were many thousands of suns
rising together, then their radiation might be compared to
the dazzling effulgence of the Supreme Person in His
universal form.
ANNOTATION: The word sūrya sahasraya means thousands,
but can literally be taken to be innumerable, as thousands of suns
simultaneously rising in the sky would be uncountable. The
effulgence of this universal form is being compared to the
simultaneous rising of thousands of suns, the unmatched and
unparalleled nature of the Supreme Lord Krishna's transcendental
universal form is now being manifested by the mercy of the
Supreme Lord to Arjuna. This is to give a general idea of the
magnificent splendor of Lord Krishna's phenomenal universal
form. This affirms that there is nothing else that compares with
the visvarupa in the material existence. Thus, giving evidence to
what was exhibited in verse nine.
TEXT 13 रकथिं ्ग्कृ्थनं रववभ् मनेकिा।

अप्य्दे वदे वथय शरीरे पा्डवथ दा ॥१३॥
The Cosmic Form 729
tatraika-sthaṁ jagat kṛtsnaṁ pravibhaktam anekadhā

apaśyad deva-devasya śarīre pāṇḍavas tadā
tatra -- there; ika-sthaṁ -- situated in one place; jagat -- the
universe; kṛtsnaṁ -- complete; pravibhaktam -- divided;
anekadhā -- variously; apaśyad -- could behold; deva-devasya --
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śarīre -- in the universal
form; pāṇḍavas -- the son of Pāndu, Arjuna; tadā -- at that time.
Then, the son of Pāndu could observe in the universal form
the complete universe divided many thousands of times, even
though he was situated in one place.
ANNOTATION: On the battlefield, Arjuna saw Lord Krishna's
unlimited universal form, the entire creation, with its multiple
and manifold divisions, all organized and coordinated in different
parts of that selfsame universal form. Arjuna could clearly see
the manifested form in a single location. Within the universal
form of all creations, with its unlimited, variegated and
multicolored details, from the greatly powerful Brahma to all 33
million demigods and all the way down to a small blade of grass.
He could see complete animals, vegetables, minerals and
kingdoms. He could also see the diverse planetary systems
composed of prakriti or the material layers pervading material
existence from the highest to the lowest such as Svarga loka,
Bhuvar loka and Bhūr loka respectively, and all the way down to
the lowest planetary system of Pātāla with all their varying
inhabitants, habitats and habits. He could also perceive the
Brahman with its sublimely subtle transcendental presence,
which is invisible to normal eyes. All this was seen by Arjuna
due to the divine vision bestowed upon him by Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. In the previous verse, He states that by a
speck fraction of His potency, He maintains and sustains all
moving and stationary beings. Mother Yasoda saw Krishna’s
universal form in the mouth of baby Krishna. Bhīshma, Vidura
and Dronachārya saw Krishna’s universal forms within the
assembly of Hastinapura. Unlike the form manifested to Arjuna,
which were partial exhibitions of Krishna’s transcendental

universal form.
TEXT 14 ः सववथमयावव्ि८ ृ्िर८मा िनं्यः।

रण्य भशरसा दे वं कृ ा््भलरभाष ॥१४॥
tataḥ sa vismayāviṣṭo hṛṣṭa-romā dhanañjayaḥ
praṇamya śirasā devaṁ kṛtāñjalir abhāṣata
tataḥ -- thereafter; sa -- he; vismayāviṣṭo -- overwhelmed with
astonishment; hṛṣṭa-romā -- with his bodily hairs standing on end
due to his great ecstasy; dhanañ-jayaḥ -- the conqueror of
wealth, Arjuna; praṇamya -- offerred obeisances; śirasā -- with
head; devaṁ -- to Lord Krishna; kṛtāñjalir -- with folded hands;
abhāṣata -- began to speak.
Thereafter, the conqueror of wealth, Arjuna with great
astonishment, horripilation with great ecstasy offered
obeisance with his head bowed and with folded hands, and
began to speak to Lord Krishna.
ANNOTATION: In ecstasy, one’s hair can stand on its end. Out
of excitement, one can have goosebumps and horripilation on
one’s body. Arjuna was mesmerized by seeing the universal form
and when one sees such wonders in this world, one’s
astonishment increases by many folds. With all devotion to the
Supreme Lord, with folded hands he began offering prayers to
the unlimited Lord Krishna. Since both singular and plural words
were used, the Supreme Lord Krishna is established to be
distinctly singular as well as being distinctly unlimited with
innumerable forms. Lord Krishna’s universal form, His eternal
form and so many other forms were seen by Arjuna. Therefore,
like a rod flat on the earth, prostrating himself with head bowed
and hands folded in reverence, he exclaimed…
TEXT 15 अ्ुन
ा उवाच
प्याभम दे वांथ व दे व दे े सवांथ िा भू ववशेषसंघान ्।
र्माणमीशं कमलासनथि-मष
ृ ीं्च सवाानरु गां्च हद्यान ् ॥१५॥
The Cosmic Form 731
arjuna uvācha
paśyāmi devāṁs tava deva dehe
sarvāṁs tathā bhūta-viśeṣa-saṅghān
brahmāṇam īśaṁ kamalāsana-stham
ṛṣīṁś ca sarvān uragāṁś ca divyān
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; paśyāmi -- I am beholding; devāṁs
-- all the demigods; tava -- Your; deva -- O Lord; dehe -- in the
body; sarvāṁs -- all; tathā -- also; bhūta-viśeṣa-saṅghān --
diverse species assembled; brahmāṇam -- Lord Brahma; īśaṁ --
Lord Siva; kamalāsana-stham -- sitting on the lotus flower; ṛṣīṁś
-- great sages; ca -- also; sarvān -- all; uragāṁś -- serpents; ca --
also; divyān -- the divine.
Arjuna said: Oh Lord, I behold within your body all the
demigods and diverse living entities assembled, Lord Brahma
sitting on the lotus flower, Lord Siva and all the sages and
divine serpents.
ANNOTATION: In the universal form, Lord Brahma is sitting
on the Lotus flower born from Garbhodhakasāyi Vishnu, as he
was born at the beginning of creation. Arjuna saw Lord Siva,
Ananda Sesha and Vāsuki serpent, as well as great sages like
Nārada Muni, Parvata muni, Vasista and Pulaha rsis. Arjuna also
saw all the higher and lower living species such as civilized and
uncivilized humans, demons, demigods and animals, birds,
reptiles and aquatics. Supreme Lord Krishna's universal form is
being described in this verse and in the next 16 verses.
TEXT16 अनेकबा ू दरव्रनेरपं ्याभम ्वां सवा ८ऽनत पम ्।
नात ं न म्यं न पन
ु थ वाहदंप्याभम वव्वे्वर वव्व प॥१६॥
aneka-bāhūdara-vaktra-netraṁ
paśyāmi tvāṁ sarvato ’nanta-rūpam
nāntaṁ na madhyaṁ na punas tavādiṁ
paśyāmi viśveśvara viśva-rūpa
aneka-bāhū -- many arms; ūdara -- bellies; vaktra -- mouths;
netraṁ -- eyes; paśyāmi -- I behold; tvāṁ -- in You; sarvato -- on
all sides; ananta-rūpam -- unlimited form; nāntaṁ -- no end;
namadhyaṁ -- no middle; na -- not; punas -- again; tava -- Your;

ādiṁ -- beginning; paśyāmi -- I see; viśveśvara -- O sovereign
Lord of the universe; viśva-rūpa -- cosmic form.
O sovereign Lord of the universe, O universal form, I behold
in Your unlimited form on all sides, many arms, bellies,
mouths and eyes. Again I see no end, no middle and no
beginning to You.
ANNOTATION: The universal body of the Supreme Lord
Krishna has unlimited number of hands, legs, faces, eyes and
bellies. The word Visvesara means Lord of the universe and
Visvarupa means universal form (meaning that the entire
universe is part of His transcendental body). Therefore, there is
no limit to its size or dimensions. There is no beginning, middle
or an end. The special eyes given to Arjuna only helped him to
see this unique form of the Lord.
TEXT 17
ककरीहिनं गहदनं चकरणं च ्
े ८राभशं सवा ८ दी्त मत म ्।
प्याभम ्वां दतु नारी्यं समत ा-्दीत ानलाका्यतु मरमेयम ्
॥१७॥
kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ chakriṇaṁ ca
tejo-rāśiṁ sarvato dīptimantam
paśyāmi tvāṁ durnirīkṣyaṁ samantād
dīptānalārka-dyutim aprameyam
kirīṭinaṁ -- adorned with crowns; gadinaṁ -- maces; chakriṇaṁ
-- discs; ca -- and; tejo-rāśiṁ -- effulgently glorious;
sarvatodīptimantam -- illuminating on all sides; paśyāmitvāṁ -- I
see You; durnirīkṣyaṁ -- difficult to see; samantād --
everywhere; dīptānalā -- like the blazing fire; ārka-dyutim -- the
sunshine of the sun; aprameyam -- immeasurable.
I see You in all directions decorated with crowns, maces and
chakra; illuminating on all sides effulgently glorious, similar
to the blazing fire of radiant suns. Thus, not only is it difficult
to behold but it is also immeasurable.
The Cosmic Form 733
ANNOTATION: It’s impossible to see the cosmic body of the

Supreme Lord, because it is blinding and blurry due to the
powerful effulgence spreading in all directions. Unless one is
bestowed with special divine vision, as Arjuna was endowed by
the Lord, it is impossible to view this glowing form of the Lord.
TEXT 18
्वमषरं परमं वेहद ्यं्वमथय वव्वथय परं तनिानम ्।
्वम्ययः शा्व िमाग८त ासना नथ्वं पु
ु ष८ म ८ मे ॥१८॥
tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
tvam avyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā
sanātanas tvaṁ puruṣo mato me
tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ -- You are the supreme infallible;
veditavyaṁ tvam -- You are knowable by the Vedic scriptures;
asya -- of this; viśvasya -- universe; paraṁ -- supreme; nidhānam
-- basis; tvam avyayaḥ -- You are the inexhaustible; śāśvata-
dharma-goptā -- preserver of the eternal religion; sanātanas tvaṁ
-- You are eternal; puruṣo -- the Supreme Person; mato me -- this
is my opinion.
In my opinion, You are the supreme infallible. You are
knowable through the Vedic scriptures. You are the basis of
entire universes. You are never-ending and You are the
preserver of the eternal religion. You are eternal and You are
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna is the witness of the magnificent form
of the universal body. Lord chose Arjuna to view His excellent
form because he was not only an intimate friend but also an
intimate relative and a first class devotee of the Lord. If Lord
shows His universal form to an atheist, he thinks nothing more of
it, probably thinking that it was a bad dream or some illusion like
the way Sakuni and Duryodhana thought. Apparently, Krishna
has acted irreligiously. He used many tricks and illusions in the
battle field of Kurukshetra, which the Supreme Lord Absolutely
reserves because those actions are for establishing true religious

principles. Krishna asked Arjuna to kill Karna when his chariot
was stuck in the mud, Karna instead of mounting into another
chariot, he dropped his weapons and tried to lift the chariot wheel
out of the mud hole and Arjuna was inspired to kill Karna using a
celestial weapon. Some other time, Krishna created an illusion of
sunset to help Arjuna, when Arjuna vowed to die in the fire if he
fails to kill Jayadratha before the sunset. There are hundreds and
thousands of great illusions and tricks Krishna used against
enemies of religion in His 125 years of pastimes in order to
maintain the eternal religion, sanātana dharma.
TEXT 19
अनाहदम्यात मनत वीया- मनत बा ुं शभशसय ू न
ा ेरम ्।
प्याभम ्वां दीत ु ाशव्रंथव ्
े सा वव्वभमदं पत म ् ॥१९॥
anādi-madhyāntam ananta-vīryam
ananta-bāhuṁ śaśi-sūrya-netram
paśyāmi tvāṁ dīpta-hutāśa-vaktraṁ
sva-tejasā viśvam idaṁ tapantam
anādi -- without beginning; madhya -- middle; āntam -- end;
ananta-vīryam -- unlimited energy; ananta-bāhuṁ -- with
unlimited arms; śaśi-sūrya-netram -- sun and moon are the eyes;
paśyāmi -- I see; tvāṁ --You; dīpta-hutāśa-vaktraṁ -- blazing
fire coming out of Your mouth; sva-tejasā -- by Your glorious
radiance; viśvamidaṁ -- this universe; tapantam -- heating.
I see You are without beginning, middle and end. You have
unlimited energy. You have countless arms. The sun and
moon are Your eyes. Blazing fire comes out from Your
mouths, heating this universe by Your own glorious radiance.
ANNOTATION: It is not at all redundant when a devotee
eulogizes the Supreme Lord with the same prayers over and over
again. Krishna is unimaginably unlimited; devotees use these
loving prayers out of love and ecstasy, which on the outside
appears to be repeated. It is not a weakness or ignorance on the
part of devotees.
The Cosmic Form 735
TEXT 20
्यावापधृ ि्य८ररदमत रं ह ्यात ं ्वयकेन हदश्च सवााः।
ृ््वा्भु ं पमर ु ं वेदं ल८करयं र्यधि ं म ा्मन ् ॥२०॥
dyāv ā-pṛthivyor idam antaraṁ hi
vyāptaṁ tvayaikena diśaś ca sarvāḥ
dṛṣṭvādbhutaṁ rūpam ugraṁ tavedaṁ
loka-trayaṁ pravyathitaṁ mahātman
dyāv ā-pṛthivyor -- from heaven to the earth; idam -- this;
antaraṁ -- space between; hi -- certainly; vyāptaṁ -- pervaded;
tvaya -- by You; ikena -- alone; diśaś -- directions; ca -- and;
sarvāḥ -- all; dṛṣṭvā -- by seeing; ādbhutaṁ -- wonderful; rūpam
ugraṁ -- terrible form; tave -- of Yours; daṁ -- this; loka-trayaṁ
-- the three planetary systems; pravyathitaṁ -- perturbed;
mahātman -- O great Lord.
O Great Lord! You pervade in all directions, from heaven to
the earth and the space between. By beholding the amazing
and terrible form of yours, all the three planetary systems
are disturbed.
ANNOTATION: There are many demigods in the three planetary
systems who are present in the sky and they have witnessed the
Lord’s universal form. Lord Krishna's intention behind the Battle
of Kurukshetra was to lessen the burden of the demoniac
influences upon the Earth. The universal form was perceived in
an exceptionally frightening manner and thus fearfulness ensued.
Nonetheless, in other situations, the various forms of Lord
Krishna does not cause any anxiety or fear among the vaishnavas
and brahmanas. Many other beings like demons, who are not
true devotees of the Lord, have also witnessed the universal
form, and they were frightened by what they witnessed. The
word pravyathitam means greatly fearful and panic stricken.
TEXT 21 अमी ह ्वां सरु संघा ववश्त
केधच्भी ाः रा््लय८ गण ृ ्त ।
थवथ ी्य् ु ्वा म वषाभस्िसंघाः
थ वु ्त ्वां थ तु भभः प्ु कलाभभः ॥२१॥
amī hi tvāṁ sura-saṅghā viśanti

kecid bhītāḥ prāñjalayo gṛṇanti
svastīty uktvā mahārṣi-siddha-saṅghāḥ
stuvanti tvāṁ stutibhiḥ puṣkalābhiḥ
amī -- all these; hi -- surely; tvāṁ -- You; sura-saṅghā -- groups
of demigods; viśanti -- are entering; kecid -- some of them;
bhītāḥ -- out of fear; prāñjalayo -- with folded hands; gṛṇanti --
are offering prayers; svastī -- Hail all glory!; īty -- thus; uktvā --
saying; mahārṣi-siddha-saṅghāḥ -- great sages and perfect
beings; stuvanti -- are singing hymns; tvāṁ -- unto You; stutibhiḥ
-- by singing prayers; puṣkalābhiḥ -- from the Vedic literatures.
All those groups of demigods are entering into You. Some of
them out of fear for You, offering prayers with folded hands.
The great sages and perfected beings, crying out “All glory!”
are singing hymns and prayers from Vedic literatures.
ANNOTATION: The descriptions of the afflictions which were
experienced are iterated in this verse and the next two. All
creation was greatly alarmed by the fiery, all-pervading aspect of
the Lord’s universal form which appeared terrifying. The
demigods being direct servitors of the Supreme Lord, functioning
in the capacity of universal management, approached Him for
shelter while others being frightened stayed far away and with
folded palms offered prayers of surrender. Hosts of exalted sages
and perfected beings could be heard shouting “Jaya! Jaya! All
glory! All glory!” observing the unlimited faces of the universal
form with their mouths open, emitting blazing fire like the
devastating hell, at the time of the universal destruction.
Benevolently, these enlightened and liberated sages chanted
svastity meaning may all be auspicious and they decorated the
Supreme Lord with excellent hymns, describing His greatness
and praising His glories, entreating Him to protect all creations.
TEXT 22
ुराहद्या वसव८ ये च सा्या वव्वेऽ््वन९ मु ्च८्मपा्च।
गतिवा यषासरु भस्ि संघा वीषत े ्वां वव्थम ा्चव सवे ॥२२॥
The Cosmic Form 737
rudrādityā vasavo ye ca sādhyā

viśve ’śvinau marutaś coṣmapāś ca
gandharva-yakṣāsura-siddha-saṅghā
vīkṣante tvāṁ vismitāś caiva sarve
rudrādityā -- manifestations of Sivas and Adityas; vasavo -- the
Vasus; ye -- all those; ca -- and; sādhyā -- the Sādhyas; viśve --
the Visvadevas; aśvinau -- the Asvini kumaras; marutaś -- the
Maruts; ca -- and; coṣmapāś -- the ancestors; ca -- and;
gandharva-yakṣāsura-siddha-saṅghā -- the host of Gandharvas,
Yaksas, Asuras, and perfected beings; vīkṣante -- are beholding;
tvāṁ -- You; vismitāś -- in wonder; ca -- also; iva -- certainly;
sarve -- all.
The different manifestations of Lord Siva, the Adityas, the
Vasus, the Sādhyās, the Visvedevas, the Asvani Kumaras, the
Maruts, the Anscestors, the Gandharvas, the Yaksas, the
Asuras and the perfected beings are all looking upon You
with wonder.
TEXT पं म ते ब ु व्रनेरम ं ाबा ८ ब ु बा ू ुपादम ्।

23 ब ू दरं ब ु दं ्राकरालंृ््वा ल८काः र्यधि ाथ िा म ् ॥२३॥
rūpaṁ mahāt te bahu-vaktra-netraṁ
mahā-bāho bahu-bāhūru-pādam
bahūdaraṁ bahu-daṁṣṭrā-karālaṁ
dṛṣṭvā lokāḥ pravyathitās tathāham
rūpaṁ -- form; mahāt -- the gigantic; te -- of You; bahu-vaktra-
netraṁ -- many faces and eyes; mahā-bāho -- O mighty-armed
one; bahu-bāhūru-pādam -- many arms, thighs and legs;
bahūdaraṁ -- manyfold stomachs; bahu-daṁṣṭrā-karālaṁ --
many horrible teeth; dṛṣṭvālokāḥ -- seeing all the planets;
pravyathitās -- worried; tathāham -- so do I.
O mighty-armed one, seeing Your gigantic form of manifold
faces and eyes; manifold arms, legs and feet; manifold bellies
and terrifying teeth; seeing these all the planets tremble in
fear, and so do I.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna's divine universal form was so

gigantic that it extended beyond the sky into all the spaces
between the galaxies and even unto the tip of the universes.
Having unlimited feet, legs, arms, heads, faces, mouths and teeth
it was terrible to behold and caused the beings of all the world’s
great anxiety and fear, Arjuna was feeling this as well.
TEXT 24 नभःथपश
ृ ं दीत मनेकवणं
्याताननं दीत ववशालनेरम ्।
ृ््वा ह ्वां र्यधि ात रा्मा
ितृ ं न ववतदाभम शमं चवव्ण८ ॥२४॥
nabhaḥ-spṛśaṁ dīptam aneka-varṇaṁ

vyāttānanaṁ dīpta-viśāla-netram
dṛṣṭvā hi tvāṁ pravyathitāntar-ātmā
dhṛtiṁ na vindāmi śamaṁ ca viṣṇo
nabhaḥ-spṛśaṁ -- touching the firmament; dīptam -- glowing;
aneka-varṇaṁ -- many colors; vyāttānanaṁ -- open mouths;
dīpta -- glowing; viśāla-netram -- very great eyes; dṛṣṭvā --
seeing; hi -- certainly; tvāṁ -- You; pravyathitāntar-ātmā --
disturbed within my soul; na -- not; vindāmi -- I have; śamaṁ ca
-- also mental tranquility; viṣṇo -- O Lord Vishnu.
O Lord Vishnu, seeing you touching the firmament, glowing

in different colors, with wide open mouths and huge fiery
eyes, seeing all these I am trembling within myself unable to
maintain my mental tranquility.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna addresses Lord Krishna as Vishnu in
this verse because Lord Vishnu’s specific name denotes ‘He who
is all pervading’. nabha sparsam refers to He who touches the
spiritual universes beyond material nature and covering of the
universe. It also means that the Lord is beyond the three modes
of material nature, namely, goodness, passion and ignorance.
Arjuna was trembling and frightened after seeing the wide spread
form of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
The Cosmic Form 739
TEXT 25
दं ्राकरालातन च े मख
ु ातनृ््वव कालानलस्तनभातन।
हदश८ न ्ाने न लभेच शमारसीद दे वेश ्ग्तनवास॥२५॥
daṁṣṭrā-karālāni ca te mukhāni
dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni
diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma
prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa
daṁṣṭrā-karālāni -- terrible with teeth; ca -- also; te -- Your;
mukhāni -- faces; dṛṣṭva -- just by seeing; iva -- thus; kālānala-
sannibhāni -- blazing like the fire of universal annihilation; diśo -
- the directions; na -- not; jāne -- I know; na -- not; labhe -- I
obtain; ca -- and; śarma -- grace; prasīda -- be merciful unto me;
deveśa -- O Lord of all lords; jagan-nivāsa -- O refuge of all the
worlds.
O Lord of lords, O refuge of all the worlds, by seeing your
features with its terrible teeth and faces blazing like the fire
of universal annihilation in all directions I am frightened, O
refuge of all the worlds, please be merciful unto me.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna became fearful after seeing the
universal form which has horrified him. He has lost his
composure and is requesting the Lord to give him the strength.
The blazing death-like faces of the universal form, with extra
lengthy teeth and spreading in all directions, has petrified Arjuna.
TEXTS 26-27
अमी च ्वां ि ृ रा्रथय पर
ु ाः सवे स वावतनपालसंघः।
भी्म८ र८णः सू पर ु थ िास९स ाथमदीयरवप य८िम् ु यः
व्राणण े ्वरमाणा ववश्त दं ्राकरालातन भयानकातन।
केधच्ववल्ना दशनात रे षस
ु ृ
ं ्यत े चणू णा ुतमा्गः ॥२६-२७॥
amī ca tvāṁ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ
sarve sahaivāvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ
bhīṣmo droṇaḥ sūta-putras tathāsau
sahāsmadīyair api yodha-mukhyaiḥ
vaktrāṇi te tvaramāṇā viśanti

daṁṣṭrā-karālāni bhayānakāni
kecid vilagnā daśanāntareṣu
sandṛśyante cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ
amīca -- also these; tvāṁ -- You; dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putrāḥ -- the
sons of Dhrtarāshtra; sarve -- all; saha -- with; ivā -- indeed;
āvani-pāla-saṅghaiḥ -- the group of warrior kings; bhīṣmo --
Bhīṣmadeva; droṇaḥ -- Droṇachārya; sūta-putras -- the
charioteer's son Karna; tathā -- also; asau -- that; saha -- with;
āsmadīyair -- our; api -- also; yodha-mukhyaiḥ -- the principal
warriors; vaktrāṇi -- mouths; te -- Your; tvaramāṇā -- rushing;
viśanti -- entering into; daṁṣṭrā -- teeth; karālāni -- terrible;
bhayānakāni -- very terrifying; sandṛśyante -- can be seen;
cūrṇitair uttamāṅgaiḥ -- with heads smashed.
All the sons of Dhrtarāshtra, along with their allied armies of
warrior kings, also Bhīshmadeva, Dronachārya, Karna, the
son of charioteer, also the principal warriors from our side
are rushing forward unto You, entering into Your terrifying
mouths, some I behold with smashed heads sticking between
the teeth.
ANNOTATION: In verse 25, the Supreme Lord Krishna was
requested by Arjuna with the word prasida meaning to be
merciful and bless him to be free from fear; yet Lord Krishna
exhibited His universal form to show that there was nothing for
His devotees to fear and that the battle of the two armies and the
whole material manifestation was completely under His control.
The universal form was revealed to assure Arjuna of his definite
victory and the resultant fame by the Pāndavās over the
Kauravas. This victory, arranged and coordinated by Lord
Krishna to rid the Kauravas burden on earth along with other
demons in the guise of kings, who were previously slain during
the Great War with the demigods but had now been reborn again
as millions of warriors and dispersed throughout both armies. In
verse seven, Lord Krishna told Arjuna that “O Arjuna, whatever
The Cosmic Form 741
you wish to see, behold at once in this body of mine! This

universal form can show whatever you desire to see and
whatever you may want to see in the future. Everything - moving
and nonmoving - is here completely, in one place”. Here, in this
verse, Arjuna is seeing the Kauravas defeat and his own victory.
Bhīshma who was educated in the heavenly planets, Drona who
had received divine weapons from Parasurāma, Duryodhana,
Karna - the son of Sūrya, the sun god, along with the principle
warriors on the Pāndava side such as Dhristadyumna and
Shikhandi are all seen rushing headlong directly into the
innumerable mouths of the universal form where they are
grinded by the fearsome teeth of the Lord and perish.
TEXT 28
यिा नदीनां ब व८ऽ्बव
ु ेगाःसमर
ु मेवाभभमख
ु ा रव्त ।
िा वामी नरल८कवीराववश्त व्रा्यभभवव्वल्त ॥२८॥
yathā nadīnāṁ bahavo ’mbu-vegāḥ
samudram evābhimukhā dravanti
tathā tavāmī nara-loka-vīrā
viśanti vaktrāṇy abhivijvalanti
yathā -- just as; nadīnāṁ -- from the rivers; bahavo -- many;
ambu-vegāḥ -- currents of water; samudram -- the ocean; eva --
certainly; ābhimukhā -- flowing rapidly; dravanti -- enter; tathā -
- similarly; tava -- Your; āmī -- all these; nara-loka-vīrā -- kings
of the world; viśanti -- are entering; vaktrāṇy -- mouths;
abhivijvalanti -- blazing from all directions.
The current of water from rivers flows swiftly towards the
ocean. Similarly, so do all these kings of the world entering
into the blazing mouth of Yours from all directions.
ANNOTATION: As unlimited currents of water, dynamically
flow in innumerable rivers and are pushed from multiple
channels into the ocean, the powerful soldiers of the Kaurava and
Pāndava armies are seen to be helplessly entering into the
flaming, gnashing mouths of the universal form of Krishna.
TEXT 29
यिा रदीत ं ्वलनं प ्गा ववश्त नाशाय सम्
ृ िवेगाः।
िव नाशाय ववश्त ल८का- थ वावप व्राणण सम्
ृ िवेगाः
॥२९॥
yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā
viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ
tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās
tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ
yathā -- as; pradīptaṁ -- a blazing; jvalanaṁ -- a fire; pataṅgā --
moths; viśanti -- are entering; nāśāya -- for destruction;
samṛddha-vegāḥ -- with great speed; tathaiva -- similarly;
nāśāya -- only to destroy; viśanti -- are entering; lokās -- all
people; tava -- Your; api -- also; vaktrāṇi -- mouths; samṛddha-
vegāḥ -- with great speed.
As moths with great speed enters into a blazing fire to be
destroyed, all these armies with great speed are entering into
Your mouth, only to be destroyed.
ANNOTATION: When moths see the fire of light at night they
rush into the light of fire. Unfortunately, it leads them to their
inevitable death. Similarly, all the warriors assembled in the
battle field with great hope that they are going to be victories
over their enemies, are going to be consumed by the blazing fire
of the energy of the Supreme Majestic Lord Sri Krishna.
TEXT 30
लेभल्यसे रसमानः समत ा- ्ल८कातसमरातवदन्वाल्भभः।
्
े ८भभरापय
ू ा ्ग्समरंभासथ व८राः र प्त वव्ण८ ॥३०
lelihyase grasamānaḥ samantāl
lokān samagrān vadanair jvaladbhiḥ
tejobhir āpūrya jagat samagraṁ
bhāsas tavogrāḥ pratapanti vishno
lelihyase -- You are licking; grasamānaḥ -- devouring; samantāl
-- from all directions; lokān -- people; samagrān -- all these;
vadanairjvaladbhiḥ -- blazing mouths; tejobhir -- by effulgences;
The Cosmic Form 743
āpūrya -- covered; jagat samagraṁ -- all the universe; bhāsas --

rays; tavo -- Your; grāḥ -- terrible; pratapanti -- are scorching;
viṣṇo -- O all-pervading Lord.
O all-pervading Vishnu, I behold You devouring all these
people from all directions with your fiery mouths covered by
Your radiant effulgence, You manifest with fearsome
scorching rays in all the universe.
ANNOTATION: As with other transcendental activities of the
Supreme Lord Krishna such as the pralaya or the waters of
dissolution during universal devastation, unlimited people were
entering His mouth due to the process of the creative cycle.
Established in the middle of the battlefield between the Kaurava
and Pāndava armies, the universal form with innumerable faces
and mouths turned towards both armies and it could be seen
devouring multitudes of warriors, continuously entering those
mouths in an endless stream. Those who were to die at the
commencement of the battle could already be seen pulverized by
the fierce, gnashing teeth, others could be seen perishing later on
entering these mouths. The sight of this was subtle and could
only be seen by those who are self-realized and the sight of the
universal form was not visible through normal eyes.
TEXT 31
आ्याह मे क८ भवानर ु प८नम८ऽथ ु े दे ववर रसीद।
वव्ा भु म्छाभम भवत मा्यं न ह र्ानाभम व रववृ तम ्
॥३१॥
ākhyāhi me ko bhavān ugra-rūpo
namo ’stu te deva-vara prasīda
vijñātum icchāmi bhavantam ādyaṁ
na hi prajānāmi tava pravṛttim
ākhyāhi -- please reveal; me -- unto me; kobhavān -- who You
are; ugra-rūpo -- ferocious form; namo’stu -- I offer obeisances;
te -- unto You; deva-vara -- O Lord of all demigods; prasīda --
be merciful; vijñātum -- to clearly know; icchāmi -- I wish;
bhavantam -- You; ādyaṁ -- the original being; na hi prajānāmi-
- certainly I do not know; tava -- Your; pravṛttim -- intention or

mission.
O Lord of the demigods, please reveal who You are of such
ferocious form, I offer obeisance unto You, please be merciful
to me. I wish to clearly know You. You are the original
Being, certainly I do not know your mission here.
ANNOTATION: At this time, a curious stupefaction overcame
Arjuna. Humbly becoming very respectful and beseeching before
the Supreme Lord Krishna, he confessed that he could not
comprehend the inclination of the Supreme Lord's actions, and
requested Him to reveal His intentions regarding the universal
form as it was impossible for him to grasp.
ु ाच
काल८ऽ्थम ल८कषय कृ्रव्
ृ ि८ल८कातसमा भुा म रवत
ृ ः।
ऋ ऽे वप ्वां न भवव्य्त सवेयेऽव्थि ाः र्यनीकेषु य८िाः ॥३२॥
kālo ’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho
lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ
ṛte ’pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣyanti sarve
ye ’vasthitāḥ praty-anīkeṣu yodhāḥ
Godhead said; kālo’smi-- I am time; loka-kṣaya-kṛt -- destroyer
of the worlds; pravṛddho -- mighty; lokān -- all beings;
samāhartum -- to destroy; iha -- in this world; pravṛttaḥ --
engaged; ṛte -- except for; api -- even; tvāṁ -- you; na -- never;
bhaviṣyanti -- will be; sarve -- all; ye -- who; vasthitāḥ --
presently situated; praty-anīkeṣu -- on the opposite army; yodhāḥ
-- the heroic soldiers.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: I am the
mighty Time, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I intent
to destroy all beings in this world, except for you (the
Pāndavās). All the heroic soldiers situated here on both sides
will be killed.
The Cosmic Form 745
ANNOTATION: Replying to Arjuna’s request earlier, the

Supreme Lord Krishna partially revealed His Absolute and
ultimate position in this and the next two verses. In comparison
to material existence, beginning with the words kālo 'smi loka,
He declares His awful and fearless time as the conqueror of all
and on the battlefield, which destroyed all mighty warriors. Lord
Krishna discloses that even without Arjuna destroying them, they
will be destroyed eventually because Lord Krishna has decided
to terminate their lifespan via His time energy. Given that all the
demoniac forces on the Earth were collected together in the guise
of kings, princes and warriors in the Kaurava and Pāndava
armies, Lord Krishna destroys them all to get rid of the burden
placed on Earth. According to Varāha purāna, since the Supreme
Lord Krishna is naturally endowed with complete qualities, fully
able to destroy all the worlds and because He is the creator,
maintainer, knower and controller of all, He is known as kālah.
By the use of the word api Arjuna is guaranteed that with the
exception of the five Pāndavās, all the rathis and mahārathis will
be consumed by the annihilating potency of Krishna.
TEXT 33
थमा्वमवु त्ठ यश८ लभथव्््वा शरत ू भ्
ु ्व रा्यं सम्
ृ िम ्।
मयव े तन ाःपवू म
ा ेव तनभमतमारं भव स्यसाधचन ् ॥३३॥
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham
māyaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin
tasmāt -- therefore; tvam uttiṣṭha -- you get up; yaśo labhasva --
will gain fame; jitvā -- conquering; śatrūn -- enemy; bhuṅkṣva --
enjoy; rājyaṁ samṛddham -- flourishing kingdom; māya -- by
Me; iva -- certainly; ite -- all these; nihatāḥ -- have been killed
already; pūrvameva -- due to previous design; nimitta-mātraṁ --
are merely the instrument; bhava -- become; savya-sācin -- O
Savyasāci.
Therefore, O Savysācin, Arjuna, get up for battle and
become famous. By conquering the enemies you will enjoy
the flourishing kingdom. I have already killed them by My

previous arrangement, you are only an instrument in this
fight.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord Krishna is the absolute and
independent controller of all creations. Every living being
depends solely upon Him for their existence and maintenance.
He is also the absolute and independent destroyer. He confirms
that, all the warriors of the battle are nihatam-pūrvam, meaning
already slain by Krishna's sheer desire. Therefore, as Lord
Krishna is the actual destroyer, Arjuna should rise up to the
challenge and defeat his enemies, winning glory in the form of
slaying Bhīshma, Drona and Karna, who were invincible even to
the demigods. Vanquishing his mighty foes, Arjuna and his
brothers can abundantly enjoy the flourishing kingdom of Earth.
All the Kaurava warriors, whom Arjuna will be fighting, are
already slain by Lord Krishna. Therefore, Arjuna is only a mere
medium in the Supreme Lord's arrangement. Arjuna is nimitta-
mātram (or merely an instrument), for accomplishing this. Lord
Krishna addresses Arjuna as Savyāsācin (meaning, skillful with
the left hand) because being ambidextrous he is able to shoot
arrows equally with his left hand as well as with his right hand.
TEXT 34
र८णं च भी्मं च ्यरिं च कणं िातयानवप य८िवीरान ्।
मया ांथ्वं ्ह मा्यधि्ठाय्
ु यथव ्े ाभस रणे सप्नान ्
॥३४॥
droṇaṁ ca bhīṣhmaṁ ca jayadrathaṁ ca
karṇaṁ tathānyān api yodha-vīrān
mayā hatāṁs tvaṁ jahi mā vyathiṣṭhā
yudhyasva jetāsi raṇe sapatnān
droṇaṁ ca -- Droṇa and; bhīṣhmaṁ ca -- Bhīṣhma and;
jayadrathaṁ ca -- Jayadratha and; karṇaṁ -- Karna; tathā -- also;
ānyānapi -- all the others; yodha-vīrān -- great warriors; mayā --
by Me; hatān -- are already killed; tvaṁ -- you; jahi -- destroy;
mā -- do not; vyathiṣṭhā -- do not be distressed; yudhyasva -- just
The Cosmic Form 747
fight; jetāsi -- you will surely conquer; raṇe -- in the battle;

sapatnān -- enemies.
Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna and the other great
warriors have already been killed by Me. Therefore, you do
not need to be distressed - just concentrate on fighting and
you will surely conquer the enemies in battlefield.
ANNOTATION: Material life is a struggle for existence. If one
just becomes the instrument in the hand of the Lord, one will be
very happy in this world and also in the next world. There’s no
point in endeavoring for selfish gains as everything will be
dismantled by the hands of the Lord in the form of death.
Material activities have no eternity, it only brings frustration.
Krishna is instructing Arjuna to give up all the weakness and
become Krishna’s instrument in destroying the great warriors
who are already been killed by Krishna's hand. Simply fight, just
agree to shoot arrows, even if it is against your will, it will hit the
target. This means that it will destroy the enemy even if Arjuna
misfires his arrows. Therefore, every arrow Arjuna shoots will
pierce Bhīshma deva’s body.
ए ्ु्वा वचनं केशवथयकृ ा््भलवेपमानः ककरीिी।
नमथकृ्वा भय
ू एवा कृ्णंसग्गदं भी भी ः रण्य ॥३५॥
sañjaya uvācha
etac chrutvā vacanaṁ keśavasya
kṛtāñjalir vepamānaḥ kirīṭī
namaskṛtvā bhūya evāha krishn
sa-gadgadaṁ bhīta-bhītaḥ praṇamya
sañjaya uvācha -- Sanjaya said; etac -- thus; chrutvā -- hearing;
vacanaṁ -- instruction; keśavasya -- of Killer of the Kesi demon,
Krishna; kṛtāñjalir -- with gratefulness, or with folded hands;
vepamānaḥ -- trembling; kirīṭī -- Arjuna who is royally helmeted;
namaskṛtvā -- offering humble respects; bhūya -- and again; eva -
- also; āha -- said; krishnaṁ -- unto Krishna; sa-gadgadaṁ --
with a faltering voice; bhīta-bhītaḥ -- fearful; praṇamya --
offering obeisances.
Sañjaya said: O King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), hearing these

instructions from Krishna, Arjuna, the royally helmeted one,
trembling with folded hands offered humble obeisance
repeatedly with a very fearful heart and spoke to Krishna in
a faltering voice.
ANNOTATION: After hearing these unequivocal instructions
from Krishna, Arjuna with a bowed down head and palms joined
together, spoke to Lord Krishna. Frightened, with bent knees,
trembling limbs and a faltering voice, his throat choked up with
contradicting emotions of fear, joy and wonder.
TEXT 36 अ्न
ुा उवाच
थिाने ृषीकेश वरकी्याा्ग्रृ्य्यनरु ्य े च।
रषांभस भी ातन हदश८ रव्त सवे नमथय्त च भस्िसंघाः ॥३६॥
arjuna uvācha
sthāne hṛṣīkeśa tava prakīrtyā
jagat prahṛṣyaty anurajyate ca
rakṣāṁsi bhītāni diśo dravanti
sarve namasyanti ca siddha-saṅghāḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; sthāne -- suitably done; hṛṣīkeśa --
O master of all senses, Lord Krishna; tava -- Your; prakīrtyā --
by singing Youg glories; jagat -- the entire universe; prahṛṣyaty -
- is triumphant; anurajyate -- is becoming attracted; ca -- and;
rakṣāṁsi -- the demons; bhītāni -- out of fear; diśo -- in all
directions; dravanti -- are fleeing; sarve -- all; namasyanti -- are
humbly offering praises; ca -- also; siddha-saṅghāḥ -- the
perfected human beings.
Arjuna said: O Hrishikesa (Krishna), the master of the
senses, the entire world becomes triumphant upon hearing
Your glories, and everyone becomes attracted to You. The
demons out of fear flee in all directions, but the perfected
beings offer their humble praises to You.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is addressed as Hrsikesha, which
means the inner controller of the mind and the senses. The word
The Cosmic Form 749
sthāne means ‘most appropriate’. It is appropriate that all the

heavenly beings, including the Devas or demigods, the
Gandharvās, Siddhās, Yakshas, Vidyādharas, Kinnaras, and
Kimpurushas should have come to witness the amazing spectacle
of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord of all displaying Himself by
the request of His devotee as charioteer in the battle of
Kurukshetra and to appropriately admire His greatness and
praise. The moon, the sun and the fire are all Lord Krishna's
opulence and their rays attract the senses of all embodied beings
and fascinate them. In this way, He is being addressed as
Hrisikesha (or the controller of the senses). When Arjuna saw the
universal form of the Lord, the demigods took pleasure in it, but
others, such as demons and atheists could not stand when the
Lord was praised. Out of their fear of the devastating form of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, they fled. Krishna’s
treatment towards the devotees and the atheists is praised by
Arjuna.
TEXT 37
कथमा्च े न नमेरतम ा्मतगरीयसे र्मण८ऽतयाहदकरे।
अनत दे वेश ्ग्तनवास ्वमषरं सदसत्परं य ् ॥३७॥
kasmāc ca te na nameran mahātman
garīyase brahmaṇo ’py ādi-kartre
ananta deveśa jagan-nivāsa
tvam akṣaraṁ sad-asat tat paraṁ yat
kasmāc -- why; ca -- also; te -- unto You; na -- not; nameran --
they should offer proper obeisances; mahātman -- O greatest of
all; garīyase -- the most worshipable; brahmaṇo -- than Brahma;
apy -- although; ādi-kartre -- the original creator; ananta -- O
infinite; deveśa -- O controller of all gods; jagan-nivāsa -- O
refuge of the universe; tvam akṣaraṁ -- You are everlasting; sad-
asat -- the auspicious and inauspicious; tatparaṁ --
transcendental to them; yat – since.
You are the original creator, and being greater than Brahma,
why are they not offering obeisance unto you? O greatest of
all, O limitless one, controller of all gods, refuge of the

universe and worthy of everyone’s worship, you are
everlasting. You are transcendental to all auspicious and
inauspicious material creations.
ANNOTATION: Lord Brahma’s birth was brought by
Padmanābha, the Garbhodhakasāyi Vishnu. All material births
are carried by mother, but Brahma was born from Vishnu
without the help of Lakshmi. Vishnu is an expansion of Lord
Krishna, therefore, Krishna is the original creator. Here, Krishna
is addressed as the greatest personality. The word soul has been
explained in Mahābhārata in the following manner: the Supreme
Lord is pervading everywhere and in everything. He is the
controller of all, the distributor of the results of all actions,
abiding in each and everybody and the first recipient of all
sacrifices. Since He is eternal, He is known as the soul of all.
Referring to the material nature pervading physical
existence, Lord Krishna is sat (the effect) and asat (or the cause).
sat is used in reference to the physical existence, in its
manifested, variegated state which is the effect. asat is used in
reference to the dormant non-variegated state which is barely
visible and is the cause. He is the God of all gods. The soul is
never born neither does it ever die. As all sentient beings are
blessed with an eternal soul bestowed by Supreme Lord Krishna
alone, why should the demigods not all bow down to the
Supreme Lord Krishna?
TEXT 38
्वमाहददे वःपु
ु षःपरु ाण- थ्वमथय वव्वथय परं तनिानम ्।
वेताभस वे्यं च परं च िाम्वया ं वव्वमनत प ॥३८॥
tvam ādi-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇas
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
vettāsi vedyaṁ ca paraṁ ca dhāma
tvayā tataṁ viśvam ananta-rūpa
tvam -- You are; ādi-devaḥ -- the original Lord; puruṣaḥ purāṇas
-- oldest personality; tvam -- You; asya -- of this; viśvasya -- of
the universe; paraṁ -- the Supreme; nidhānam -- refuge; vettā --
The Cosmic Form 751
the knower; āsi -- You are; vedyaṁ ca -- the knowable also;

paraṁ -- transcendental; ca -- and; dhāma tvayā -- You are
refuge; tataṁ -- is pervaded; viśvam -- all the universe; ananta-
rūpa -- unlimited form.
You are the original Lord, You are the oldest personality,
You are the supreme refuge of the universe, and You are the
knower and the knowable. O unlimited form, You are all
pervaded in this universal manifestation.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is the prime cause of all causes as
confirmed by Lord Brahma in the Brahma samhita. Lord Krishna
is Bhagavān. The Lord has two other aspects, namely, the
impersonal Brahman which is His bodily effulgence and
Paramātma feature which is His plenary expansion. The Supreme
Lord is the most ancient of all and the origin of all the demigods,
including Lord Brahma and Siva. The ultimate refuge of
creation, maintenance and destruction of the universes are all
dependent on His will. He is the divine universal form. He is the
omniscient and He is the object of worship. He is the ultimate
shelter for all living beings. The whole manifest and un-manifest
creation is pervaded by Him. For that reason, Lord Krishna
deserves the glorification and salutations from everyone in all
creation.
TEXT 39
वाययु म
ा ८ऽ््नवाुणःशशा्कःर्ापत थ्वं रवप ाम ्च।नम८
नमथ ऽे थ ु स रकृ्वःपन
ु ्च भय
ू ८ऽवप नम८ नमथ े ॥३९॥
vāyur yamo ’gnir varuṇaḥ śaśāṅkaḥ
prajāpatis tvaṁ prapitāmahāś ca
namo namaste ’stu sahasra-kṛtvaḥ
punaś ca bhūyo ’pi namo namas te
vāyur -- You are the air; yamo -- the controller; agnir -- fire;
varuṇaḥ -- water; śaśāṅkaḥ -- the moon; prajāpatis -- Brahma;
tvaṁ -- You; prapitāmahāś -- Vishnu; ca -- also; namo namaste -
- my obeisances again and again unto You; astu -- let there be;
sahasra-kṛtvaḥ -- thousand and thousand times; punaś ca bhūyo -
- again and again; api -- also; namo -- offering my respects;

namaste -- offering my respects unto You.
You are the wind, the controller, the fire, the water, the
moon. Lord Brahma and You are Lord Vishnu. I pay my
obeisance unto You thousands of times, over and over again!
ANNOTATION: Originally, only Krishna existed before the
creation. Therefore, everything He created later, is the secondary
creation. Arjuna, once again emphasizes Krishna’s
transcendental opulence by saying that He is the air, He is the
fire, He is the water, He is the Moon and Lord Brahma the
created being. Furthermore, without Him being originally
present, none of these would come into existence. In this
particular moment, feelings of excessive devotion, reverence and
anxiety leads Arjuna to offer his own obeisance sahasra-krtvah
(meaning thousands of times), and not being fully satisfied, he
offers humble prostrations many times upon the ground before
Lord Krishna.
TEXT 40
नमःपरु थ ादि प्ृ ठ थ न
े म८ऽथ ु े सवा एव सवा।
अनत वीयााभम ववरमथ्वंसवं समातन८वष ८ऽभस सवाः ॥४०॥
namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te
namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ
sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ
namaḥ -- offering obeisances; purastād -- from the front; atha --
also; pṛṣṭhatas -- from the back; te -- unto You; nama astu -- I
offer my obeisances; te -- unto You; sarvata -- from all ten sides;
eva -- indeed; sarva -- personification of all; ananta-vīry --
unlimited potency; āmita-vikramas -- and infinite power; tvaṁ --
You; sarvaṁ -- everything; samāpnoṣi -- completely pervade;
tato -- therefore; asi --You are; sarvaḥ -- everything.
O personification of all, I offer my obeisance to You from the
front and back and from all (ten) sides! O unlimited potency
The Cosmic Form 753
and infinite might, You completely pervade everywhere, and

therefore, you are everything.
ANNOTATION: One cannot offer such loving prayers unless
one is not bestowed with the feelings of loving devotion to the
Supreme Lord. By establishing Lord Krishna as the embodiment
of all and all pervasive with ananta-vīrya (or unlimited potency),
Arjuna gives Him obeisance from all directions.
TEXTS 41-42
सखेत म्वा रसभं यद्
ु ं े कृ्ण े यादव े सखेत ।
अ्ान ा मह मानं वेदंमया रमादा्रणयेन
वावपय्चाव ासािामस्कृ ८ऽभसवव ारश्यासनभ८्नेष।ु
एक८ऽिवातय्यु ्समषं ्षामये ्वाम मरमेयम ् ॥४१-४२॥
sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktaṁ
he krishna he yādava he sakheti
ajānatā mahimānaṁ tavedaṁ
mayā pramādāt praṇayena vāpiyac
cāvahāsārtham asat-kṛto ’si
vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu
eko ’tha vāpy achyuta tat-samakṣaṁ
tat kṣāmaye tvām aham aprameyam
sakheti matvā -- thus thinking you as a friend; prasabhaṁ --
presumptuously; yad -- whatever; uktaṁ -- said; he krishna -- O
Krishna; he yādava -- O Yādava; he sakhe - O my dear friend; iti
- thus; ajānatā -- without knowing; mahimānaṁ -- glories; tave --
Your; idaṁ -- this; mayā -- by me; pramādāt -- due to madness;
praṇayena -- due to affection; vāpi -- either; yac -- whatever; cā -
- also; avahāsārtham-- in jest; asat-kṛto’si -- whatever disrespect
may have occurred; vihāra-śayyāsana-bhojaneṣu -- at times of
sporting, resting, sitting and eating; eko -- alone; athavāpy -- or
also; achyuta -- O infallible one; tat samakṣaṁ -- among
companions; tat -- all these things; kṣāmayetvām -- ask
forgiveness from You; aham -- I; aprameyam -- inconceivable.
Imagining of You as a friend either due to craziness or
affection, without knowing Your real glories, I have
addressed You as ‘O Krishna’, ‘O Yadhava’, ‘O dear friend’.

O infallible one whatever disrespect may have occurred in
joking with You all those times of sporting, resting, sitting
and eating either when alone or in the presence of other
friends, for all those actions I humbly ask forgiveness from
You.
ANNOTATION: Although Arjuna did not behave in a contempt
way with Krishna, there is always the possibility of such
behavior, owing to their close friendship and without one’s self-
knowledge, as the saying goes 'familiarity breeds contempt'.
Whatever Arjuna might have done rashly or accidentally, he is
imploring Lord Krishna for forgiveness. He is trying to
understand whether he has definitely addressed Krishna as ‘Oh
Krishna, Oh Yadava, Oh my friend’ and that this was only
because he did know Krishna’s original position. Relationships
in the spiritual world with Krishna’s devotees are the most
pleasing where the devotees do not know Krishna is God. They
play with Krishna; they give Krishna food that has already been
consumed by them. Arjuna, based on the same mode of
friendship, has in this way dishonored Krishna many times. One
of Krishna’s wives Kālindi was arranged in marriage for Krishna
in a most humorous way by Arjuna on Krishna’s request. Due to
their close friendship, Arjuna at that time did not realize that his
Friend is Omnipotent Supreme Lord of all cosmic manifestations
and also could manifest this excellent universal form. Arjuna is
humbly beseeching the Supreme Lord to forgive him for any
indecency he might have unintentionally made before he was
aware of Lord Krishna's Supreme ultimate position as the creator
of all.
TEXT 43
वप ाभस ल८कथय चराचरथय्वमथय प्
ू य्च गु
ु गारीयान ्।
न ्व्सम८ऽथ्य्यधिकः कु ८ऽतय८ ल८करयेऽतयरत मरभाव
॥४३॥
The Cosmic Form 755
pitāsi lokasya charācharasya

tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyān
na tvat-samo ’sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto ’nyo
loka-traye ’py apratima-prabhāva
pitāsi -- You are the father; lokasya -- of all the world;
charācharasya -- moving and nonmoving; tvam -- You are; asya
-- of this; pūjyaś -- the object of worship; ca -- also; gurur -- the
perceptor; garīyān -- even more glorious; na -- never; tvat-samo -
- equal to You; sty -- there is; abhyadhikaḥ -- superior; kuto --
how can there be; anyo -- other; loka-traye -- in the three
planetary systems; apy -- also; apratima-prabhāva -- O
unparalleled glorious one.
O Lord, the infinite one, You are the Supreme father of the
complete universal manifestation of all moving and
nonmoving beings. You are the object of worship, you are the
best spiritual master and You are honorable. Certainly there
is no one either greater than you or equal with you in
comparison. If this is true, how can there be others greater
than You in the three planetary systems then?
ANNOTATION: Krishna’s inconceivable potency is described
here by stating apratima-prabhava or possessor of immeasurable
power that has no comparison with anyone in the spiritual world
or in the material world. He is the original seed, father of all
moving and nonmoving living beings. Therefore, He is the
loving supreme grandsire of all conscious as well unconscious
beings. The manifested world includes the Sun, Moon, stars,
oceans, mountains, forests, all material elements, demigods and
jīvas. Krishna has manifested everything through His mystic
opulence and all these are just a spark of His majesty. Krishna is
certainly worthy of worship, for that reason He is the Supreme
Spiritual Master as all the spiritual knowledge appeared from His
breathing. To name One of His great opulence is all the spiritual
and material knowledge. With such reasoning, there is no rival,
equal or any other superior being to the Supreme Person.
Everyone in this world is looking for the original God and here
God is manifesting His universal form to His surrendered

devotee Arjuna.
TEXT 44
थमा्रण्य रणणिाय कायं रसादये ्वाम मीशमी्यम ्।
वप व
े पर
ु थय सखेव स्यःु वरयःवरयाया ाभस दे व स८ढुम ् ॥४४॥
tasmāt praṇamya praṇidhāya kāyaṁ
prasādaye tvām aham īśam īḍyam
piteva putrasya sakheva sakhyuḥ
priyaḥ priyāyārhasi deva soḍhum
tasmāt -- therefore; praṇamya -- offering obeisances; praṇidhāya
-- prostrating to You; kāyaṁ -- the body; prasādaye -- to beg
mercy; tvām -- unto You; aham -- I; īśam -- the Supreme Lord;
īḍyam -- worshipable; piteva -- as a father; putrasya -- with a
son; sakheva -- a friend; sakhyuḥ -- with a friend; priyaḥ -- a
lover; priyāy -- with a beloved; ārhasi -- be merciful; deva -- my
Lord; soḍhum -- tolerate.
Therefore, I am offering my prostrated obeisance and
begging for Your mercy. You are worthy of worship
Supreme Lord, as a father tolerates his son, a friend with a
friend, a lover with his beloved. O Supreme Lord please be
merciful and tolerate my mistakes.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is addressed as isam idyam, the
most worthy of receiving worship and is humbly entreated by
Arjuna to be merciful, forgiving and compassionate towards him.
Although the son may be careless with his nice father and his
action deserves him to be punished, still the father will forgive
his naughtier immature son. While a friend has many defects due
to the material modes, the knowledgeable sakha or friend who is
situated in higher modes like goodness, will magnanimously
overlook their friends’ ignorant actions. Though the beloved is
sometimes contrary and out of ignorance argue with the higher
understanding, he will not hold it against her when she was
asking to be forgiven. Similarly, O Lord please tolerate my
foolish behavior I have committed against Your lotus feet.
The Cosmic Form 757
TEXT 45
अृ्िपव ू ं ृवष ८ऽ्थम ृ््वा भयेन च र्यधि ं मन८ मे।
दे व मे दशाय दे व पं रसीद दे वेश ्ग्तनवास ॥४५॥
adṛṣṭa-pūrvaṁ hṛṣito ’smi dṛṣṭvā
bhayena ca pravyathitaṁ mano me
tad eva me darśaya deva rūpaṁ
prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa
adṛṣṭa-pūrvaṁ -- this never seen before; hṛṣitoasmi -- I am
gladdened; dṛṣṭvā -- by seeing; bhayena -- out of fear; ca -- also;
pravyathitaṁ -- troubled; mano -- mind; me -- my; tad -- that;
eva -- certainly; me -- unto me; darśaya -- to show; deva --
supreme person; rūpaṁ -- former form; prasīda -- please be
merciful; deveśa -- O Lord of lords; jagan-nivāsa -- O refuge of
the universe.
O Lord, I have not seen this universal form before, I am
gladdened, but I am troubled with fear in my mind. O Lord
of the lords, please merciful to me, O refuge of the universe
please reveal Your former form as the supreme person.
ANNOTATION: After satisfying his curiosity Arjuna humbly
beseeched Sri Krishna for forgiveness, Arjuna now reveals his
heart in this verse and the next explaining that by seeing the
transcendental universal form that had never been seen before
and which possesses unlimited magnificence and supremacy, he
was overjoyed and thrilled but at the same time his mind was
worried and disturbed by the fearful aspect of universal form.
The word prasida means to please be magnanimous and
transform back to your old ways to the human looking form of
his friend Krishna that he is accustomed to always seeing. The
universe is shelter for all living entities, but the word jagat
nivasa means Krishna is the shelter for the universe. Therefore
Arjuna addressed Krishna as the Lord of all lords. So the
universal form is not Krishna’s original form, but it is manifested
to show His supremacy of everything. Therefore it is manifested
and unmanifested whenever Krishna desired.
TEXT 46
ककरीहिनं गहदनं चर थ -भम्छाभम ्वां र्िुम ं िव।
न
े व पेण च भ
ु ्
ुा ेन स रबा ८ भव वव्वमू े ॥४६॥
kirīṭinaṁ gadinaṁ chakra-hastam
icchāmi tvāṁ draṣṭum ahaṁ tathaiva
tenaiva rūpeṇa chatur-bhujena
sahasra-bāho bhava viśva-mūrte
kirīṭinaṁ -- crowned; gadinaṁ -- with mace; chakra-hastam --
disc in hand; icchāmi -- wish; tvāṁ -- You; draṣṭum -- to see;
ahaṁ -- I; tathaiva -- as before; tenaiva -- in that; rūpeṇa -- form;
chatur-bhujena -- four handed; sahasra-bāho -- O thousand-
handed one; bhava -- just become; viśva-mūrte -- universal form.
O thousand armed universal form, I wish to see Your four
handed form crowned with the helmet, holding a mace and a
disc.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Arjuna is requesting to withdraw
the wondrous and terrifying universal form of thousands of arms
and unlimited faces. Instead he wants to see Krishna’s Nārāyana
form, which is four handed form holding a conch shell, disc, club
and lotus flower. Lord Krishna is the complete Godhead and,
thus, can manifest in any form on his loving devotees’ requests.
मया रसतनेन वा्नुा ेदं पं परं दभशा मा्मय८गा ्।
्
े ८मयं वव्वमनत मा्यं यतमे ्वदतयेन न ृ्िपव ू म
ा ् ॥४७॥
mayā prasannena tavārjunedaṁ
rūpaṁ paraṁ darśitam ātma-yogāt
tejo-māyaṁ viśvam anantam ādyaṁ
yan me tvad anyena na dṛṣṭa-pūrvam
Godhead said; mayā -- by My; prasannena -- being pleased; tavā
-- you; arjuna -- O Arjuna; idam -- this; rūpaṁ -- form; paraṁ --
supreme; darśitam -- shown; ātma-yogāt -- by My internal
The Cosmic Form 759
potency; tejo-māyaṁ -- fully effulgent; viśvam -- the entire

universe; anantam -- infinite; ādyaṁ -- the primeval; yan -- that
which; me -- My; tvadanyena -- except you; nadṛṣṭa-pūrvam --
no one has seen before.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: being
pleased with you, O Arjuna, I have shown the action of My
internal potency, No one has seen this primeval form, infinite,
full of dazzling effulgence before, except you.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna has said in this verse that no one

has seen this form before. In Krishna lila, Krishna manifested His
majestic opulence in different ways to different devotees and
non-devotees. Devotees understand the length and breadth of
Krishna’s opulence in words and strongly believe that their
Lordship can manifest anything at His will. They are seeing the
universal form every day with the rising and setting of the sun
and moon, changes in seasons, millions of living beings
appearing and disappearing and they see Krishna in everything.
But non-devotees, no matter how much they are materially
qualified, cannot even understand a spec of Krishna’s splendor
due to their rejection of Krishna’s authority though they live on
the mercy of the Lord. The manifestation of internal potency is
difficult to comprehend even to Krishna’s loving devotees as
well, unless or until Krishna facilitate them to comprehend such
actions. In Arjuna’s case, the Lord happily endowed him with a
special eye so he could see the supreme virāt form, means
gigantic and phenomenal universal form manifested by Krishna’s
yoga-māya or internal potency. This gigantic form is full of
glaring radiance and was not manifested to anyone before in the
material world. Ordinary eyes cannot behold this universal form
as it will only blind them.
TEXT 48
न वेदय्ा्ययनना दान- ना च करयाभभना प८भभुरः।
एवं पः श्य अ ं नल
ृ ८के र्िुं ्वदतयेन कुुरवीर ॥४८॥
na veda-yajñādhyayanair na dānair
na ca kriyābhir na tapobhir ugraiḥ
evaṁ-rūpaḥ śakya ahaṁ nṛ-loke
draṣṭuṁ tvad anyena kuru-pravīra
na -- never; veda-yajñādhyayanair -- neither study of Vedic
scriptures or performance of sacrifice; na dānair -- nor by
charity; na ca kriyābhir -- not also by pious activities; na
tapobhir ugraiḥ -- not by severe penances; evaṁ-rūpaḥ -- in this
form; śakya -- can; ahaṁ -- I; nṛ-loke -- in this material worlds;
draṣṭuṁ -- be seen; tvad anyena -- except by you; kuru-pravīra --
O best of the Kuru warriors.
O best of the Kuru warriors, except you, no one has seen this
form before, neither through the study of Vedic scriptures
nor by performance of sacrifice, neither by charity, nor by
pious activities, nor by severe penances one can see this
universal form in this material world.
ANNOTATION: In the body of the demigods, the divinity is
already invested. A qualified living entity is allowed to enter into
the body of a demigod through devotional service. The spirit soul
is always powerful by the mercy of Krishna, but when he
embodies, according to the limitation of the body, he becomes
conditioned and less powerful. When the living entity is qualified
by divine activities, he is qualified to enter into the divine bodies
and receive the position that particular demigod held. Therefore,
the demigods could see the transcendental universal form
displayed by the Lord to Arjuna. Demons also saw this, but in the
body of demons, the mode of ignorance is predominant and they
conceived themselves as the enemy of the Lord. Thus, they could
not understand the sweet part of the universal form but rather
they could only see the horrifying aspects of the universal form.
Krishna also explains the number of severe efforts one may make
to see the universal form of the Lord and, in this verse, He
refuses to manifest His universal form to all those indirect
devotees. One may elaborately study Vedic literature, which
comprises all kinds of scriptures. One may perform sacrifices
The Cosmic Form 761
like asvameta yajna and rājasuya yajna or regularly perform fire

sacrifices, or something altogether different like donating
property to unworthy social institutions. Quitting one’s personal
responsibility and dedicating oneself for some great missionary
work is also called sacrifice. Other activities include: performing
unlimited charity of wealth, gold, grains, or performing pious
activities such as distributing food, opening facilities for people
in general such as schools, hospitals, orphan houses, old age
homes, or by severe austerities such as strong vrtas, fasting, or
sustaining only on the water or milk for years, or standing on the
water for months in the winter season or standing on the middle
of fire on the summer season. All these activities are rendered
without Krishna bhakti can disqualifies the indirect devotee to
see the universal form or understanding the science of God. One
must accept the Supremacy of the Supreme Person Krishna as the
goal of all these activities, which will bestow the status of a
devotee or demigods. Demons are devotees of Lord Siva and
Lord Brahma, but the demons are not able to see or understand
any of Krishna’s pastimes or forms.
sac-cid-ānanda-rupaya krishnayaklista-karine
namo vedānta-vedyaya gurave buddhi-saksine
“I offer my respectful obeisance unto Krishna, who has a
transcendental form of bliss, eternity and knowledge. I offer my
respect to Him, because understanding Him means understanding
the Vedās and He is, therefore, the supreme spiritual master.”
Eko 'pi san bahudha yo 'vabhati: “Krishna is one, but He is
manifested in unlimited forms and incarnations” (Gopala-tapani
Upanishad 1.21).
TEXT 49
मा े ्यिा मा च ववमढ
ू भाव८ ृ््वा पं घ८रमीृ्ममेदम ्।
्यपे भीः री मनाः पन
ु थ्वं दे व मे पभमदं रप्य ॥४९॥
mā te vyathā mā ca vimūḍha-bhāvo
dṛṣṭvā rūpaṁ ghoram īdṛṅ mamedam
vyapeta-bhīḥ prīta-manāḥ punas tvaṁ
tad eva me rūpam idaṁ prapaśya
māte vyathāmā ca -- be no longer troubled with fear; ca -- also;

vimūḍha-bhāvo -- bewilderment; dṛṣṭvā -- by seeing; rūpaṁ --
My universal form; ghoram īdṛṅ -- of such horrible features;
mama -- My; edam -- this; vyapeta-bhīḥ -- free from all fear;
prīta-manāḥ -- cheerful in mind; punas -- again; tvaṁ -- you; tad
-- that; eva -- thus; merūpam -- My form; idaṁ -- this; prapaśya -
- will perceive.
Be no longer troubled with fear and bewilderment by seeing
features of My horrible universal form. Be free from fear and
disturbances; be cheerful in your mind and you will behold
again My form as you desired.
ANNOTATION: kālo smi, I am time, the destroyer of the
worlds. This feature of the Lord is frightening even to His
devotees. The Supreme Majestic Lord Krishna manifested the
horror features of Him to His devotee Arjuna to just emphasis
that the Person who is supporting Pāndavās to wage war is the
Supreme Lord of all creations. The Lord’s intension was not to
scare Arjuna but to inform the opulence Arjuna’s chariot driver
possess and how extraordinary it is. By seeing these forms and
opulence, Arjuna will not hesitate to fight the war because the
universal form manifested to him revealed that there is no other
power that supersedes the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. Now, Lord agreed to un-manifest His universal form
and come back to Arjuna’s desired form.
इ्य्न
ुा ं वासद
ु े वथ ि८््वा थवकं पं दशायामास भय
ू ः।
आ्वासयामास च भी मेनं भ्ू वा पन
ु ः स९्यवपम
ु ा ा्मा ॥५०॥
sañjaya uvācha
ity arjunaṁ vāsudevas tathoktvā
svakaṁ rūpaṁ darśayām āsa bhūyaḥ
āśvāsayām āsa ca bhītam enaṁ
bhūtvā punaḥ saumya-vapur mahātmā
sañjaya uvācha -- Sañjaya said; ity -- thus; arjunaṁ -- to Arjuna;
vāsudevas -- the son of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna; tatha -- in this
The Cosmic Form 763
way; oktvā -- speaking; svakaṁ rūpaṁ -- the four armed form;

darśayām -- exihibited; bhūyaḥ -- again; āśvāsayām āsa --
pacified; ca -- also; bhītam -- fears; enaṁ -- him; bhūtvā--
becoming; punaḥ -- again; saumya-vapur -- the two armed
beautiful form; mahātmā -- the ultimate Supreme Lord.
Sanjaya said to Dhrtarāshtra: the ultimate Supreme Lord,
speaking in this way to Arjuna, exhibited His four armed
form and then again appeared in the beautiful two armed
form to pacify the frightened Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: Lord Nārāyana is an expansion of Lord
Krishna; Krishna’s four handed form is Lord Nārāyana. Original
form of God in complete, is the two handed form. From this
image of the two handed sat-cit-ānanda vigraha of Lord Krishna,
the image of human form is made and only in this human form
one can understand the original science of Godhead, Lord
Krishna. But fools deride Him when He comes in the (sat-cit-
ānanda vigraha) form of knowledge, eternity, blissful human
form; they think Krishna is a human being, not God. Everyone
must know Krishna does not have a material body. Even though
our material body looks like His spiritual body, the composition
of our material elements in Krishna’s spiritual body is zero.
Foolish people understand the truth the other way around.
Lord Krishna can manifest in the four handed form, but the four
handed form of His expansion cannot manifest into the two
handed form of Krishna. When Krishna disappeared from the
rasa dance because of the gopis ego, they thought they only
achieved Krishna in full. To eradicate their false conception,
Lord Krishna disappeared. When gopis began searching and
Krishna appeared to them in the four handed Nārāyana form, but
not minding Nārāyana’s form, the gopis continued to search for
Krishna. But when Rādharani appeared before this Nārāyana
form of Lord Krishna, Krishna could not maintain His Nārāyana
form. He failed to keep the two extra hands and was forced to
appear in two handed form in front of Srīmati Rādharani. This is
because of the amount of Love she has for Krishna, which is
incomparable. Therefore, she is the Brahmanda Nāyaki, heroine

of the universe, and Krishna is Brahmanda Nāyaka. However,
the form of Nārāyana was manifested for Arjuna for a limited
time, thereafter, Lord Krishna appeared in the two handed sweet
form, saumya-vapur, in front of His loving devotee Arjuna. The
word mahātma means the great soul or great one, and denotes
Lord Krishna’s potency as Paramātma, the Supersoul within all
living entities or it may also mean the great soul due to His being
so compassionate and kind-hearted.
TEXT 51 अ्न
ुा उवाच
ृ््वेदं मानष
ु ं पं व स९्यं ्नादा न।
इदानीम्थम संवत
ृ ः सचे ाः रकृत ं ग ः ॥५१॥
arjuna uvācha
dṛṣṭvedaṁ mānuṣaṁ rūpaṁ tava saumyaṁ janārdana
idānīm asmi saṁvṛttaḥ sa-cetāḥ prakṛtiṁ gataḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; dṛṣṭvedaṁ -- seeing this;
mānuṣaṁ-rūpaṁtava -- Your human form; saumyaṁ -- beautiful;
janārdana -- O maintainer of living beings; idānīm asmi -- now I
am; saṁvṛttaḥ -- settled; sa-cetāḥ -- in my mind; prakṛtiṁ gataḥ
-- returned to my own composure.
Arjuna said: O maintainer of all living entities, seeing this
beautiful two armed human like form of Yours which is so
beautiful, my mind is placated and I returned to my
composure.
ANNOTATION: After seeing Krishna’s beautiful original two
handed form, Arjuna came back to his normal state of mind
because he always dealt with Krishna in that form. Arjuna was
thus relieved and pacified from the amazing horror that struck
him when he witnessed the Lord’s universal form. There are
many irrational commentators who speculate on Krishna’s form,
and they say that the impersonal glowing effulgence appeared in
the form of Krishna or within Krishna there is an impersonal
Brahman, who assumes the form of Krishna. Such commentators
The Cosmic Form 765
also interpreted that Krishna’s form dwindled and vanquished.

Due to the influence of time they concoct Krishna’s human like
form coming under the sway of time factor. They may be trying
to situate Krishna on their own way by speculating, but
unfortunately they have become one of the greatest offenders of
the Lord by misinterpreting His beautiful two handed form. Such
foolish commentaries and commentators are nothing but like the
material scientists speculating on the existence of God.
Therefore, they must take lessons from Arjuna, if not take shelter
in an authorized version of original Bhagavad-Gītā.
ु ाच
सद
ु द
ु ा शभा मदं पं ृ्िवानभस यतमम।
दे वा अतयथय पथय तन्यं दशानका्षषणः ॥५२॥
su-durdarśam idaṁ rūpaṁ dṛṣṭavān asi yan mam
devā apy asya rūpasya nityaṁ darśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ
śrī-bhagavān uvācha -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
said; su-durdarśam -- very rarely ever seen; idaṁ rūpaṁ -- this
excellent form; dṛṣṭavān asi -- you are seeing; yan -- which;
mama – of Mine; deva apy -- even by the demigod; asya rūpasya
-- of this form; nityaṁ -- eternally; darśana-kāṅkṣiṇaḥ -- hoping
to see.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: this
excellent two armed form, which you are seeing now is very
exceptional to behold, even the demigods always hope to see
this form of Mine, which is difficult.
ANNOTATION: The two handed form of Krishna is su-
durdarsam, very rare to behold as the universal form of the Lord.
Lord Krishna descends in this world only once in a day of Lord
Brahma that is every 8,640,000,000 years (864 crores). He
performs excellent, humorous, wondrous and amorous pastimes
for 125 years on this earth planet to enchant the heart of all living
entities, including the forest animals and human beings. After
doing all these wonderful pastimes, He also manifested His

majestic universal form to Arjuna to reveal that He is the only
Absolute Lord and that there is no room for speculation as to
whether Krishna is God or not. The universal form is most rare
and temporary, also the universal form manifested to Arjuna was
only on Arjuna’s request, which lasted for few minutes.
Krishna’s two handed form is called the Shyamasundara form,
which is the original form in which Krishna eternally resides in
Goloka Vrindhāvana. In all other yugas, Lord Vishnu incarnates
and appears to demigods and different devotees as per their
surrender and prayers. Therefore, Lord Krishna was telling idam-
rūpam how rare this two handed form is, which is sat-cit-ānanda
or full of eternity, full of knowledge and unlimited blissful.
TEXT 53 ना ं वेदना पसा न दानेन न चे्यया।
श्य एवंववि८ र्िुं ृ्िवानभस मां यिा ॥५३॥
nāhaṁ vedair na tapasā na dānena na cejyayā
śakya evaṁ-vidho dhrastuṁ dhrstavān asi māṁ yathā
nāhaṁ -- I am not; vedair -- by study of the Vedās; na tapasā --
not by serious penances; na dānena -- not by charity; na cejyayā
-- not also by worship; śakya -- it is possible; evaṁ-vidho -- like
this; draṣṭuṁ -- to see; dṛṣṭavān -- can see; asi -- you ; māṁ
yathā -- as I am.
One cannot understand My transcendental form by studying
the Vedās, by undergoing serious penances, by charity, or
worship. It is not possible to see Me as I am by these
methods.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna explains the
impossibility of understanding His features without devotee
qualifications. There are many human who claim themselves as
God. One must ask such fake incarnations to manifest the Virāt
rupa- Universal form to demonstrate their authenticity as Arjuna
requested from the Lord.
The same instruction Krishna had given to Arjuna in verse
48. Here, the Lord is explaining, that the same instructions are
The Cosmic Form 767
applicable in seeing the two armed Shyamasundara form

eternally, which He manifests in the Land of Goloka
Vrindhāvana, the eternal and original abode of Godhead, which
is technically called the Kingdom of God or Krishna Loka.
Hence, official visits to temples, the official twenty four hours
study of Vedic scriptures, the official performances of charity,
and official performances of penances will not help anyone to
comprehend the form of the Lord as He is. Even though the
universal form is temporary, it is not manifested anywhere in the
spiritual world because the universal form is comprised of all
material varieties such as sun, moon, demigods, yakshas,
rakshasas, mountains, oceans, planets, storms earthquake, rain,
spring season, autumn, all species of life, all Kauravas going in
and out. Therefore, it is material and temporary, it is divine in the
material sense and not in the spiritual sense.
ya esam purusham sākshad ātma-prabhāvam īsvaram
na bhajanty avajānanti sthānad bhrastah patanty adhah
“Anyone who does not render service and neglects his duty unto
the primeval Lord, who is the source of all living entities, will
certainly fall down from his constitutional position.”
TEXT 54 भ््या ्वनतयया श्य अ मेववं वि८ऽ्न ुा ।

्ा ुं र्िुं च ्वेन रवे्िुं च परं प ॥५४॥
bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya aham evaṁ-vidho ’rjuna
jñātuṁ draṣṭuṁ ca tattvena praveṣṭuṁ ca paran-tapa
bhaktyā tv -- but by devotional service; ananyayā -- unmixed
with fruitive activities or speculative knowledge; śakya -- it is
possible; aham -- I; evaṁ-vidho -- like this; arjuna -- O Arjuna;
jñātuṁ -- to know; draṣṭuṁ ca -- and to see; tattvena -- in fact;
praveṣṭuṁ ca -- also to enter into My secrets; paran-tapa -- O
subduer of the enemy.
O subdue of enemies, only by pure devotional service,
without fruitive desires and speculative knowledge, can be
possible to understand as I am standing before you, this
means you can actually see and know the secrets of My

pastimes, O Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: In the last verse, the Lord refused to appear to
all official performers of sacrifices and worships. In this verse,
the Lord specifically says that one could enter into His
mysterious world of existence only through undivided devotional
service to Him. Since Krishna’s nature and feature is different
from material existence, it will be difficult to know the spiritual
nature of the Supreme Lord by the execution of actions with
material consciousness. Therefore, the Lord says that
comprehension of His activities is possible by undivided and
uninterrupted practical devotional service, bhaktya tu ananyaya
sakhya. Fruitive mentality and concocting on spiritual knowledge
will not help anyone to even partially understand the position of
the Supreme Lord. People often ask where is God and show me
God, but without these spiritual qualifications it is not possible to
know where He is and understand what He is. One can render
devotional service to Krishna through knowing the glories about
Him by reading spotless scriptures commented by vaishnava
achāryas like Srila Prabhūpāda, Srila Viswanath Chakravarti
Thakura and many other achāryas. The Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā
and Srimad-Bhāgavatam is the king of all scriptures. There is no
need to add to these volumes of transcendental literatures to be
familiar with God. Just the essence of the Vedic literature, the
original Bhagavad-Gītā and abbreviation of the Vedic literature
which is Srimad-Bhāgavatam is enough to receive flawless
information regarding the whereabouts of the Supreme Godhead
situated by His name, form and attributes. There is no other
means, method, techniques or ritual to achieve Him. In the
Mundaka Upanishad (3.2.4) it is said:
nāyam ātma pravacanena labhyo
na medhasa na bahūna srutena
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas
tasyaisa ātma vivrnute tanum svam
“The Supreme Lord is not obtained by expert explanations, by
The Cosmic Form 769
vast intelligence, or even by much hearing. He is obtained only

by one who He Himself chooses. To such a person, He manifests
His own form”. The Vishnu Purāna 7-5 states: consciousness is
the higher principle of the Supreme Lord, whereas
unconsciousness is the lower principle. Those who are
unconscious lack devotion to the Supreme Lord Krishna and are
from His lower principle. Thus, they are not able to perceive Him
even through Vedic studies and rituals.
TEXT 55 म्कमा कृतम्परम८ म्भ् ः स्गव््ा ः।
तनवैरः सवाभू ष
े ु यः स मामेत पा्डव ॥५५॥
mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ
nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava
mat-karma-kṛn -- engaged in actions only for Me; mat-paramo --
considering Me the Supreme goal; mad-bhaktaḥ -- My devotees;
saṅga-varjitaḥ -- freed from the contamination of fruitive
activities and mental speculation; nirvairaḥ -- without an enemy;
sarva-bhūteṣu -- towards all living entities; yaḥ -- one who; sa --
such a person; māmeti -- attains Me; pāṇḍava -- O son of Pāṇḍu.
O Son of Pāndu, Arjuna, One who works for Me, considering
Me to be the supreme goal, My devotees do not have bad
associations, devoid of inimical towards any living entities,
such person surely attains Me.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord Krishna reveals
the ultimate secret which is the essence of the Vedic scripture and
all spiritual scriptures. The words mad-bhaktah means only His
devotees engaged in His services. mat-karma-krt means there are
many devotional activities which will take the observer beyond
the bodily concept of life. One must also observe fasting on
selected days of the year to offer special glorifications to the
Supreme Lord especially on His appearance days as mentioned
before. Also one must help devotees and spiritual masters in
serving Krishna and offer charity to them. One must also engage
their mind and intelligence in studying authorized spiritual
science and philosophy compiled by the vaishnava achāryas.

Without these devotional activities how can one expect to
understand the Supreme Godhead and thereby obtains His special
mercy? The words mat-paramah means those who make Lord
Krishna as their ultimate shelter and goal of attainment towards
which every effort they make is directed. The words sanga-
varjitah means give up worldly attachments such as greed for
money, women and legacy and develop attachment only for
Krishna. The words nirvairah sarva-bhūtesu means Krishna's
devotees believe all their difficulties and afflictions are a by-
product of their own past actions. Hence, they have no reason to
or love any being. Everything is belonged and created by
Krishna, yet everything is not Krishna. Therefore, devotees
worship only Krishna, not His created aspects. Krishna's
devotees have implicit faith that all living entities are subject to
Krishna’s sovereign rule and are under His complete control.
Thus, having no hostility towards any living beings and having
the vision of spirit souls as the children of Krishna, He says mam
eti, which means going to Him and living with Him eternally.
Therefore, one who is truly devoted to Lord Krishna spends
their time chanting His holy names, reading about Him and
listening to His pastimes with rapt attention, reflecting,
contemplating upon His glories and offering food to Him first
before eating. Less intelligent, on the other hand, are happy in
this miserable material world, they do not know they are dying
and taking birth in this world again and again, practically since
time immemorial. They are not at all interested in finding a
solution to their intense material problems. They are totally in
illusion, māya, - that which is not.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Cosmic Form’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami
The Cosmic Form 771

1. What is the most wondrous form of the Lord? What are the
features Arjuna saw in the cosmic form of the Lord?
2. Describe Krishna’s personal features, and difference
between Nārāyana and virāta form and why two armed form
is so special?
1. Summarize how Krishna is the source of both cosmic form
and Lord Nārāyana.
2. What does the word ‘revelation’ mean in this verse?
3. Differentiate between Krishna and His universal form.
4. Define the primary relationship Arjuna had with Krishna? In
terms of rasas, what was happening to Arjuna at that time?
5. Write in your own words, some of the ways that Arjuna
described Krishna while seeing the universal form?11-15 to
31
6. Arjuna asked Krishna about his universal form. Who was
the universal form? What did the universal form answer?
7. Arjuna was glad to know that Krishna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, but he was also afraid. Why?
8. Describe the different features in the universal form seen by
the demons and demigods?
9. Did Krishna prefer Arjuna treat Him as a friend or as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead? Discuss why?
10. Why did Arjuna ask to see Krishna’s four handed form?
11. Even demigods have difficulty seeing the universal and
other forms of the Lord. Why?
12. Describe the meaning of the verse? 11-53
13. How can one understand Krishna as He is? Please quote a
verse that provides evidences leading to the Supremacy of
the Lord. 11-54

1. Arjuna said: “By my hearing these instructions, You have
kindly given me the most confidential spiritual subjects, my
_________ has now been dispelled.”
2. “Arjuna cannot see Krishna’s Universal form with his
present eyes. Therefore Krishna gives him __________.”
3. Pure devotees of the Lord are attracted to the ________
feature of the Lord.
4. The universal form is like the simultaneous rising of
hundreds of thousands of ________.
5. The sun and moon are Krishna’s ________.
6. Although ________ is one, ________ is spread throughout
the sky and the planets and all space in between.
7. “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: _______, I am
the great destroyer of the worlds.”
8. _______ became enlightened by ________ and he said
everything done by Krishna is quite fit.
9. There is no need for adding the volumes of transcendental
literatures to know God, just the essence of the Vedic
literature, ___________ and abbreviations of the Vedic
literature which are ______________ enough to receive the
perfect information on whereabouts of the Supreme
Godhead situated by His name, form and attributes.
10. The words _______________ means give up worldly
attachments such as money, women, wine, and legacy and
develop only attachment for Krishna.
1. The Universal form is transcendental, but it is a temporary
form manifested for _________. (people in
general, revealing the cosmos, the assembled kurus, Arjuna
and Dhuryodhana)
The Cosmic Form 773
2. ________ means Lord of all mystical power. (Janardhana,

Kesava, Rsikesa, Yogesvara]
3. Arjuna uttered that the ________ form is frightening and
bewildering to all. (impersonal, personal , Cosmic form,
Universal)
4. _________ means one who can shoot arrows very expertly.
(Pārtha, Dhananjaya, Gudakesa, Savya-sacin)
5. The most confidential form of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is the ________ (four handed form, two handed
form, universal form, impersonal aspect)
6. Most important transcendental literatures describe the two-
armed form of Krishna to be _______. (unconquerable,
powerful, unlimited, sat-cit-ānanda)
7. Lord Krishna appeared to Devaki in a ________ handed
form. (two, ten, four, six)
8. One can understand the transcendental form of the Lord
only by _______. (strong yoga meditation, severe
austerities, unlimited charity, unlimited devotion)
9. There are five kinds of affiliations with God and Arjuna’s
affiliation with Krishna is ________(servitorship, conjugal,
friendship, parental)
10. One who is free from ________ and _______ will certainly
go to Krishna. (devotion and detachment, austerity and
penances, desire and hate, speculation and fruitive activities)
Bhakti Yoga 775
CHAPTER 12
Bhakti Yoga
TEXT 1 अ्न
ुा उवाच
एवं स य्
ु ा ये भ् ाथ्वां पयप
ये चातयषरम्य् ं ष
े ां के य८गववतमाः ॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
evaṁ satata-yuktā ye bhaktās tvāṁ paryupāsate
ye cāpy akṣaram avyaktaṁ teṣāṁ ke yoga-vittamāḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; evaṁ -- thus; satata-yuktāye --
those who always engaged; bhaktās -- devotees; tvāṁ -- of You
personally; paryupāsate -- properly worship; ye -- those who; ca
-- also; āpy -- again; akṣaram -- the impersonal absolute;
avyaktaṁ -- the unmanifested; teṣāṁ -- between them; ke -- who;
yoga-vittamāḥ -- the most perfect in knowledge of linking with
the supreme.
Arjuna asked: who is blessed with the most perfect
knowledge of yoga - those who are always engaged in Your
personal form of worship, or those who are engaged in the
worship of Your formless impersonal Brahman, the un-
manifested?
ANNOTATION: As pointed out by Arjuna, there are two paths.
First, the worship of the impersonal Brahman, which is the
spiritual bodily effulgence of the Supreme Lord pervading all
creation. Second, the personal devotional service to the Supreme
Lord Krishna in His two armed original form with a beautiful
775
personality, countless qualities and limitless attributes. This

chapter, categorically determines which of these two paths are
superior. At the end of chapter eleven, Lord Krishna stated that
the only people who can attain His supreme association are those
who accepted His Supreme Personality and Supreme Authority
as one’s ultimate goal in life and, thus, perform all actions
dedicated solely to Him rather than to His impersonal Brahman.
In the 9th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, there are many verses
requesting devotees to worship Krishna’s personal form ‘mam’
and ‘aham’, ‘me’ and ‘I’. In the end, the Lord has said to His
devotees that those who take shelter in the Majestic Lord in
complete surrender would never vanquish or perish. This shows
the absolute intrinsic superiority of the devotees of Lord Krishna.
In the Sama veda, saukarāyana section, we find that Rudra,
the son of Brahma, asked him: who was the ultimate goal of all
existence, the eternally established, creator of all beings, who
bestows liberation on the devotees, who is the righteous and the
noble? How can one meditate upon such a Supreme Being who is
completely spiritual without any material qualities or attributes?
Brahma’s reply to this line inquiry was to say: it is the Absolute
Truth, Lord Sri Krishna; He is the granter of liberation, the
ultimate goal and, therefore, should be the object of everyone’s
meditation. Of unlimited incarnations, expansions and
manifestations, appearing in many colors surrounded by a golden
hue, brilliantly shining like millions of suns, He should be
meditated upon as a personality resembling a human, the color of
a radiant dark blue sapphire with a gentle smile and hands giving
blessings surrounded by a golden hue. He is hidden away by the
Brahman, the spiritual dazzling effulgence infusing all existence
and all creation, which effectively covers His all-pervading form.
In Isopanishad, the students pray to the Supreme Lord:
hiranmayena patrena satyasyapihitam mukham
tat tvam pusann apavrnu satya-dharmāya drstaye
O’ my Lord, sustainer of all those lives, Your real face is covered
exhibit Yourself to Your pure devotee.
Bhakti Yoga 777
ु ाच
म्यावे्य मन८ ये मां तन्यय्
ु ा उपास ।े
र्िया परय८पे ाथ े मे य्
ु मा म ाः ॥२॥
mayy āveśya mano ye māṁ nitya-yuktā upāsate
śraddhayā parayopetās te me yukta-tamā matāḥ
Godhead said; mayy -- on Me; āveśya mano -- fixing the mind;
ye -- those who; māṁ -- Me; nitya-yuktā -- always engaged;
upāsate -- in worship; śraddhayā parayopetās -- endowed with
transcendental faith; te -- they; me -- by Me; yukta-tamā -- most
superior of all; matāḥ -- are accepted.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead has said:
“Those whose minds are fixed on Me and always engaged in
My worship endowed with spiritual faith, are accepted by Me
as the most superior of all.”
ANNOTATION: The most opulent Bhagavān, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead, is answering Arjuna’s question
on who should be worshipped, whether it is the Lord Himself or
the Lord’s Bodily effulgence. Worshiping the Sun by praying to
sunshine is not complete, it is partial. Complete understanding of
the sun god is the proper way to worship the sun and its shine.
Similarly, worshiping the impersonal Brahman’s effulgence
without proper knowledge of the origin of that dazzling
effulgence is said to be incomplete. In the Isopanishad 12, it is
stated:
andham tamah pravisanti ye 'sambhūtim upāsate
tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u sambhūtyam ratah
“Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into
the darkest regions of ignorance, and still more so do the
worshippers of the impersonal Absolute”.
Therefore, in this verse, Krishna says: those who fix their
minds in My two armed Shyamasundara form are complete.
Devotional service means cessation of all material activities
rendered through the material mind and material senses, as

material activities are rendered to please the materialistic
personalities. Spiritual activities are rendered to the spiritual
personalities, and the leader of all spiritual activities is the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. The
transcendental faith does not waver and there is no contradiction
in one's mind, intelligence and false ego vying for their
supremacy over the concocted phenomena on the material
platform. Transcendental faith is one that endeavors through
spiritual enthusiasm and eagerness. There is complete conviction
in the authority of the Absolute Truth, and devotees talk to Lord
Krishna personally and receives guidance from Him to execute
His most excellent transcendental services, whether in the
material world or in the spiritual world. Worshipping the
personal form of Krishna is for the purpose of boarding the
transcendental aircraft to spiritual universe, and to remain
eternally with the Majestic Lord, enjoying the real immortality of
the soul.
TEXT 3-4 ये ्वषरमतनदे ्यम्य् ं पयप
सवारगमधचत्यं च कूिथिमचलं रव ु म ्:
संतनय्ये्तरयरामं सवार समब्
ु ियः।
े रातनव
ु ्त मामेव सवाभू ह े र ाः ॥३-४॥
ye tv akṣaram anirdeśyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate
sarvatra-gam achintyaṁ ca kūṭa-stham achalaṁ dhruvam
sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ
te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ
ye tv -- but those who; akṣaram -- impersonal absolute;
anirdeśyam -- beyond description; avyaktaṁ -- unmanifested;
paryupāsate -- completely engage in worshiping; sarvatra-gam -
- all pervading; achintyaṁ -- inconceivable; ca -- also; kūṭa-
stham -- immutable; achalaṁ -- steady; dhruvam -- eternal;
sanniyamya -- complete controlling; indriya-grāmaṁ -- all the
senses; sarvatra -- everywhere; sama-buddhayaḥ -- intelligence
equally disposed; te -- they; prāpnuvanti -- achieve; mām -- Me;
Bhakti Yoga 779
eva -- certainly; sarva-bhūta-hite -- to the welfare of all living

entities; ratāḥ -- dedicated.
But those who worship My formless absolute features, which
are beyond description, the un-manifest, the all-pervading,
the inconceivable, the immutable, which are fixed by
completely controlling all the senses with intelligence and
equally disposed to all living beings and dedicated to the
welfare of everyone, they too certainly attain Me.
ANNOTATION: The question might arise as to why the
impersonal path is not superior. This is answered in this verse
and in the next by Lord Krishna. Although those who
contemplate, reflect upon, meditate on and worship the
impersonal, imperishable Supreme Brahman can eventually
attain Lord Krishna, it would take them many births and deaths.
One has to undergo severe penances and austerities continually
to realize the impersonal Brahman. This is because the
characteristics of the Brahman are beyond the ability of the mind
and the senses to comprehend. As it is all pervading, it is very
difficult to locate in the hearts and minds of living beings. It is
fixed, it does not give any variety to the worshippers, or
flexibility and never moves. To achieve this inconceivable
Supreme Brahman, one requires a tremendous amount of sense
control and must have equal vision on all living entities. They
should also be engaged in all sorts of welfare activities of all
living entities. Furthermore, it has no form to fix one’s mind and
heart on to. This is why it is referred to as the impersonal
Brahman or God has no form.
TEXT 5 ्लेश८ऽधिक रथ ष
े ाम्य् ास् चे साम ्।
अ्य् ा ह गत दा ःु खं दे व्भभरवातय े ॥५ ॥
kleśo ’dhika-taras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate
kleśo -- tribulation; adhika-taras -- have much greater; teṣām --
for those; avyakta -- to the formless absolute; āsakta-chetasām --
those whose mind attached; avyaktā -- impersonal unmanifest,
without form and qualities; hi -- certainly; gatir -- advance;

duḥkhaṁ -- with trouble; dehavadbhir -- the living beings who
accepted the material body; avāpyate -- is achieved.
Those whose minds are attached to the formless, un-manifest
feature of Mine, have much greater tribulations.
Consequently, for those who have accepted this material
body, it is very difficult to make any advancement on the
spiritual path.
ANNOTATION: The original question at the commencement of
this chapter posed by Arjuna was whether it was better to directly
worship the Supreme Lord by bhakti-yoga or to worship the
impersonal, un-manifest Brahman. Here, Lord Krishna explains
the difficulties of worshipping the impersonal, the un-manifest.
The path to reach the un-manifest Brahman is filled with
difficulties. There are many yogis such as karma-yogi, jnāna-
yogi, dhyāna-yogi and bhakti-yogi. A person who directly serves
Krishna is referred to as a bhakti-yogi. The jnāna-yogi renders
service by dedicating and cultivation of knowledge in the service
of Krishna. However, the jnāna-yogi is incomplete because the
personal features of Krishna are uncertain in his mind. Therefore,
in order to achieve his goals, he needs to work a lot harder.
Simple hearted people, because of their tendency to obey the
authorities of the scriptures, achieve loving devotion for Krishna
in a second. Others, who speculate about the existence of Krishna
and want to concentrate on the bodily light of the Lord, take
millions of years to realize Him. The word gati means the path.
The path adopted by the worshippers of the un-manifest
Brahman is very complicated. They must perform intense
meditation, inflexible restraint of the senses, compassion for all
living entities, consistent purity in thought and actions,
equanimity to the dualities such as criticism and praise, joy and
grief, pain and pleasure. However, to be successful, it is essential
that the grace of the Supreme Lord is bestowed on them. If this is
the case of the transcendentalist to realize the impersonal
features, what to speak of the materialists who are engaged in
Bhakti Yoga 781
their livelihood and thereafter enjoy their senses with the result
of their work? How long will they take to realize the Supreme
Godhead? They may say it is not necessary to realize God and
that they are happy where they are currently situated, but this
happiness is temporary. For instance, one may refuse a letter
from court for one or two times, but how long can one refuse
such letters, at one point he has to answer the judge, otherwise an
arrest warrant will be issued. Similarly, one must know that one
is a spirit soul and eternal, and by developing an independent
desire one received this present material body, which is unnatural
to the soul. One day, one has to accept the reality of his spiritual
body, which is his eternal body. In order to obtain that body, one
has to realize their spiritual father (supreme judge) who covered
everyone’s spiritual vision on their own tenacious demand.
However, to open up true reality is bhakti-yoga. In bhakti-yoga,
the devotee can easily surpass all these difficulties because his
mind is fixed on the beautiful form of Krishna.
Modern people use the terms for the impersonal manifest,
the Brahman, into cosmic energy, or God is a Supreme light
energy. This concept is not unreal, but it is only for those who do
not know the personal features of Krishna. Krishna is the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead and the source of both
the impersonal manifest Brahman and the Supersoul, Paramātma.
One must understand that in the whole universe there is no
energy that appears without the energetic person. There is shakti
and shaktiman, energy and energetic, potency and potent. These
two exist like fire and heat. They cannot be separated from one
another; still power comes from the powerful. Similarly,
whenever one sees energy, one must understand that there is an
energetic person behind it. Just because one does not know who
he is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that energetic person does not
have personal features. One may visit a store and see things that
are nicely set up there, or one may walk into a restaurant and
receive good food. Although one does not see the cook who
made the food, there is a cook, who cooked the enjoyable food.
By the same token, behind the cosmic energy is a cosmic
energetic person, who is God and He is the Supreme Person and

Vedās called Him Krishna, means all attractive. Unfortunately,
people do not know Him due to their foolish and impious
activities. Krishna says in the seventh chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā
7-25:
nāham prakasah sarvasya yoga-māya-samavrtah
mūdho 'yam nābhijanati loko mām ajam avyayam
“I never manifest to the foolish and the unintelligent. For them, I
am covered by My internal potency, and, therefore, they do not
know that I am unborn and infallible”.
TEXT 6-7 ये ु सवााणण कमााणण मतय संतयथय म्पराः।
अनतयेनव य८गेन मां ्यायत उपास े
ष
े ाम ं सम्
ु ि ाा म्ृ यस
ु स
ं ारसागरा ्।
भवाभम न धचरा्पािा म्यावेभश चे साम ् ॥६-७॥
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyāsya mat-parāḥ
ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛtyu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na chirāt pārtha mayy āveśita-cetasām
ye tu -- but those who; sarvāṇi karmāṇi -- all activities; mayi --
unto Me; sannyāsya -- abandoning; mat-parāḥ -- being attached
to Me; ananyena -- in exclusive; iva -- certainly; yogena -- by
engaging in devotional service; māṁ dhyāyanta -- meditating on
Me; upāsate -- worship; teṣām -- of them; ahaṁ -- I am
samuddhartā -- the deliverer; mṛtyu-saṁsāra -- death of material
existence; sāgarāt -- the ocean; bhavāmi -- I become; na -- not;
chirāt -- after a long time; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
mayyāveśita-chetasām -- those whose minds are always absorbed
in My thoughts.
But those who abandon all activities unto Me, are attached to
Me, meditating on Me without deviation and is engaged in
devotional service to Me and whose minds are always
completely absorbed in My thought, O Son of Pritha, I
become their quick deliverer from the ocean of death in this
material existence.
Bhakti Yoga 783
ANNOTATION: After explaining the path of the impersonal

Brahman, which is a hard and difficult path, the Lord explains
the easy path to achieve His transcendental beautiful personality
through the practice of pure bhakti-yoga. Devotees of the Lord
do not need to undergo horrible tribulations of the jnāna-yogis.
The jnāna-yogi may be an excellent scholar, but their senses will
remain restless and uncontrolled. Therefore, they are not peaceful
at heart for want of the Supreme Lord’s personal form and direct
service. Devotees of the Lord, on the other hand, being fully
engaged in the practical devotional service to Krishna, singing
and chanting His glories, remembering His instructions, dressing
His deity form, surrendering fully will easily be delivered by
Krishna from the mrtyu samsāra sāgara, which means the never
ending cycle of birth and death in this ocean of material
existence. Ocean waves and even the depth of the ocean horrify
most expert swimmers. The Lord compares this material
miserable existence to the deep ocean, samsāra sāgara. Without
the rescuer, no one can swim and save themselves if they are
stranded in the middle of the ocean. Therefore, one should give
oneself to the Supreme Absolute Lord, who is an expert in
handling His surrendered devotees. This entails giving your
whole life to the Supreme Soul Krishna. One gives their soul to
Krishna by engaging in different activities of Krishna. Various
kinds of activities can bring the transcendental ever increasing
bliss. The lines mayi sannyāsya mat-parah and the consequent
lines means that those who have dedicated all their activities to
Lord Krishna and mayy avesita-chetasam or whose hearts are
absorbed in thinking of Him without ananyenaiva, which means
motives of exploitation of the resources and remuneration, and
who are surrendered in yogena or bhakti-yoga only in loving
devotion are Lord Krishna's true devotees who have no other
goal or object of attention other than Him. Such devotees are
personally and swiftly delivered from the infinite cycle of
transmigration, promoting them to the eternal spiritual world.
TEXT 8 म्येव मन आि्थव मतय ब्
ु धिं तनवेशय।
तनवभस्यभस म्येव अ ऊ्वं न संशयः ॥८॥
mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya

nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ
mayy eva -- upon Me alone; mana -- the mind; ādhatsva --
concentrate or focus; mayi -- upon Me; buddhiṁ -- intelligence;
niveśaya -- apply; nivasiṣyasi -- you will reside; mayy -- with
Me; eva -- certainly; ata ūrdhvaṁ -- subsequently ; na saṁśayaḥ
-- without doubt.
Concentrate your mind upon Me alone and apply your
intelligence in Me. If you do this, surely, without a doubt, you
will reside in Me.
ANNOTATION: If one cannot give his life to Krishna, then he
may engage his mind and intelligence in Krishna’s service. After
the soul, the action of the subtle body consists of the mind and
intelligence is emphasized by the Lord. False ego works in three
different modes: goodness, passion and ignorance. False
identification of the self with the body is called the false ego and
it appears in different dimensions. The Mind has the ability to
think, feel and will power. Intelligence has the power to
discriminate right actions and identify the right objects in proper
perspectives. However, perfection of false ego, mental and
intellectual actions culminate in Krishna’s Lotus feet. Mahāraja
Ambārish engaged all his subtle and gross body in Krishna’s
service though he was a great emperor of this planet Earth.
Material situation and position is temporary and it is forever
changing. Therefore, one should not misidentify either the body
or this temporary situation to be eternal in nature. Consequently,
it is in the interest of everyone to be completely engaged in
Krishna’s devotional service by fixing their minds and
intelligence. Acting in this way, one will receive spiritual
knowledge, which empowers one to join in spiritual union with
Krishna in the abode of the Lord.
TEXT 9 अि धचतं समािा ंु न श्न८वष मतय ्थिरम ्।
अ्यासय८गेन ८ माभम्छात ंु िनं्य ॥९॥
atha chittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya
Bhakti Yoga 785
atha -- if, therefore; chittaṁ -- the mind; samādhātuṁ -- fully

establish; na śaknoṣi -- you are unable; mayi -- upon Me; sthiram
-- steadfastly; abhyāsa-yogena -- by regulation in devotional
service; tato -- then; mām -- Me; icchā -- desire; āptuṁ -- to
obtain; dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror of wealth, Arjuna.
If you are unable to persistently fix your mind upon Me, then
you should practice the regulative standard of devotional
service, O Dhananjaya, O winner of wealth. In this way, you
can desire to obtain Me.
ANNOTATION: However, if one is unable to focus his
consciousness on the Supreme Lord Krishna in a motivated
devotion, then there is an easier method to reach Him. This is
through the practice of regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. The
element atha suggests that there is another option. The regulative
principles of bhakti-yoga are to purify one’s existence slowly and
steadily, attaching one to the lotus feet of the Lord. Before sun
rise, one must wake up, take a bath and chant Hare Krishna
mahā-mantra, chant Narasimha mantra and worship Tulasi.
They must also make flower garlands; prepare delicious
sweetmeats and other foods which they can offer to the deity as
well as distributing them to devotees and the general populace.
Moreover, they should also read and glorify the Supreme
Godhead from Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, work on
printing and publishing scriptures and disseminating the
transcendental knowledge to the general public. By such pure
activities, free from illusions and mistakes, one will start loving
Krishna. Without loving Krishna it will be very difficult to turn
Krishna’s attention towards the worshipper.
TEXT 10 अ्यासेऽतयसमिोऽभस म्कमापरम८ भव।
मदिामवप कमााणण कुवा्तस्धिमवातथयभस ॥१०॥
abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
abhyāse -- in practice; py -- even if; asamartho -- not capable; si
-- you are; mat-karma -- My work; paramo -- dedicated to;
bhava -- become; mad-artham -- for Me; api -- even; karmāṇi --

work; kurvan -- performing; siddhim -- perfection; avāpsyasi --
you will achieve.
If you are incapable of following the regulative standards of
devotional service, then you must simply dedicate your work
to Me, by doing so you will be able to achieve perfection.
ANNOTATION: The word asamarthah means that if one is
incapable of performing regulative principles of devotional
service, then he should work for Krishna. These works lie in the
material platform and can include working for one’s country,
states, companies or even self-employment. All these activities
are considered to be one’s so-called duties. At the beginning,
working for Krishna without attachment, gradually bring
affection back to the Lotus feet of the Lord. Working for Krishna
is the Supreme cause, such as cow protection, construction of
Vedic temples, install Rādha-Krishna deities in one’s own house,
maintaining flowers and fruits for His worship and offerings,
cultivation of meadows, etc. All these activities should be done
for Krishna’s pleasure. Otherwise, the work entangles one with
karmic reactions. Therefore, Lord Krishna states that one should
work for Him. By working for Him, one will come to a perfect
stage in life. In Krishna, all transcendental qualities and
efficiencies are hidden. Working for the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna means constantly
associating with Krishna. Through such associations one will
develop love for Krishna. Love can bring all transcendental
qualities of Krishna unto a devotee depending on the degree of
devotion one manifests for Him. According to the vedās and
achāryas, without working for Krishna there is no possibility for
either spiritual or material advancements.
TEXT 11 अि दतयश् ८ऽभस क ुं म्य८गमाधर ः।
सवाकमाफल्यागं ः कुु य ा्मवान ् ॥११॥
athaitad apy aśakto ’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśritaḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
Bhakti Yoga 787
atha -- and if; itad -- this; apy -- also; aśakto -- not capable; si --
you are; kartuṁ -- to work; mad -- for Me; yogam -- in
devotional service; āśritaḥ -- taking shelter of; sarva-karma-
phala-tyāgaṁ -- renouncing result of all activities; tataḥ -- then;
kuru -- do; yatātmavān -- established in the self.
If you are also incapable of working for Me in yoga, then
renounce the result of all activities and be established in the
self.
ANNOTATION: If one cannot give one’s life, mind and
intelligence to Krishna, or if one cannot work for Krishna, then
the Supreme Lord provides another option for him (them).
Due to parental, social, national and international
impediments, if someone cannot take Krishna bhakti solely and
wholly to liberate oneself, then he must choose a different
service option, which will enable him to serve the Lord.
Therefore, in this verse, Krishna offers one more option for such
persons. Here, He says: that one should give up the results of
one’s work and try to be self-situated. There are many patriots
who work for the nation without personal motivation, there are
many social workers who help communities grow materially by
philanthropic actions and there are many people who open free
homes for pilgrims, free schools, free orphanages and free old
age homes. If these actions are performed without personal
motivation or if through these actions, one is not trying to solve
their economic problems, then these actions are considered to be
pious activities, not spiritual activities. When one serves people
through Krishna bhakti, it is called pure spiritual activities.
Without God there is no spiritual activities. Also, one should
contribute one’s earned money to all Krishna’s establishments
without desiring anything in return. Srila Rupa Goswami, one of
the authoritative achāryas stated that one should give up 50% of
their earnings for good causes, more specifically for propagating
Krishna bhakti. Hence, the pious activities without motivation
will benefit one to be self-situated. Many government officers
and other members of the society acts piously and selflessly for
the nation, and society and has attained the bhakti unto the Lotus
feet of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna. And taking shelter in the Lord is explained by the Lord
Himself in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā:
yesam tv anta-gatam pāpam jananām punya-karmānam
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktam bhajante mām drdha-vratah
“Persons who have acted piously in previous lives as well as in
this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated, are
freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves
in My service with determination. However, such firm
determination to serve the Lord only arises in the mind if there is
a continuous chain of pious activities both in the past and present
lives”.
When it comes to being fully dedicated to Krishna and
serving Him with their life, mind and intelligence, there are many
impediments for men, especially from adverse societies and
adverse parents. Parents who are bitter from their own past
experiences want their children to undergo the same miseries of
life unconsciously. If children drink, smoke cigarettes or chew
tobacco, and eat meat, the concerned parents may only choose to
scold their children mildly or they may not worry at all.
However, if children choose to become spiritual and Krishna
conscious, many parents may react harshly and they will try to
distract the children from making the right decision by choosing
to become fully God conscious, which is their original
consciousness. No one owns anybody and nobody has a
permanent relationship with anybody in this temporary world.
When one dies, whatever relationship one may have shared with
someone else is permanently cut off. Therefore, no one should be
an impediment to another’s spiritual progress. It is an offense to
the lotus feet of the Lord, for someone to be anyone’s stumbling
block in the advancement of their Krishna consciousness.
Everyone is on their own. For example, even though there may
be more than one aircraft in the sky at any given moment, if one
Bhakti Yoga 789
aircraft is in danger another aircraft cannot offer assistance. In

the same way, if one is on the verge of death, no one can help
him except Krishna. Therefore, it is substantial to take shelter in
the Lotus feet of the Lord. harim vina na mrtim taranti, no one
can surpass death without Krishna’s mercy.
TEXT 12 रेय८ ह ्ानम्यासा््ाना््यानं ववभश्य ।े
्याना्कमाफल्यागथ्यागा्छा्त रनत रम ् ॥१२॥
śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram
śreyo -- the auspicious; hi -- certainly; jñānam -- knowledge;
abhyāsāj -- to practice; jñānād -- than knowledge; dhyānaṁ --
meditation; viśiṣyate -- is considered better; dhyānāt -- than
meditation; karma-phala-tyāgas -- giving up the result of actions;
tyāgāc -- by such renunciation; chāntir -- tranquility (peace);
anantaram -- thereafter.
By failing to take this practice, engage in the cultivation of
knowledge. Better than knowledge is meditation, and better
than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of actions. By
such renunciations of actions, one attains an equipoise mind.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord emphasizes material
renunciation and spiritual reward. When scriptural knowledge is
cultivated it can lead one to know the self and the Supreme self,
which is superior to the performance of an action without proper
knowledge. Superior to such mere knowledge is meditation with
divine knowledge, because from such constant meditation comes
realization of the soul and peace of mind. Without peace of mind,
there is no question of happiness. One may understand Krishna,
theoretically in a miserable state of mind, but one can understand
Krishna better if one is in a state of happiness. Along with this,
meditation, karma-phala-tyaga and renunciation of the rewards
of actions is also praised and is essential for spiritual success,
otherwise one would not be qualified. Hence, divine knowledge
which is associated with renunciation is also recommended.
However, superior to even renunciation of the rewards of actions
is complete equanimity of all actions. So, wisdom is the

determining factor for the method implemented and is naturally
based on qualification and level of development.
The one who exclusively pleases the Supreme Lord Krishna
by considering all other gods as merely aspects of His potencies
and are thus subservient to Him. They are known as ‘un-
deviated’ and ‘not distracted’. Lord Krishna has already
confirmed that the rewards solicited from all other gods are only
temporary and not eternal, as those deities themselves are not on
an eternal platform. Here, a question might arise regarding the
worship of Srīmati Rādharani because she is so inseparable from
Lord Krishna. To clarify this doubt, it is said that when one
offers Absolute loving devotion to Sri Krishna by chanting His
holy names either by prayers or by worship or by singing and
praising His glories, it should be understood that these activities
are initiated from within through the help of Srīmati Rādharani
for the satisfaction of Lord Krishna. The word 'Hare' signifies
“Oh Srīmati Rādharani” please engage me in the service of the
Lord. On the other hand, when one worships other gods and then
worships the Supreme Lord, it should be understood that there is
an acute lack of bhakti. Pleasing other gods on the temporary
platform is not acceptable by Srīmati Rādharani, for it was not
performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, even if one
completely offers the Supreme Lord, the rewards received for
worshipping the demigods. The activities may be big or small but
the Supreme Lord only accepts it if the intention is 100% for His
exclusive satisfaction. In conclusion, all of one's activities should
be intended as an offering to Lord Krishna because from such
activities realization dawns and renunciation of the rewards of
action arises which ultimately results in liberation from the
material existence, which leads to Supreme peace.
TEXTS अ्वे्िा सवाभू ानां मरः कुण एव च।
13-14 तनमाम८ तनर ं कारः समदःु खसख
ु ः षमी
सं ्ु िः स ं य८गी य ा्मा ृढतन्चयः।
म्यवपा मन८ब् ु धियो म्भ् ः स मे वरयः॥१३-१४॥
Bhakti Yoga 791
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca

nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
adveṣṭā – non-envious; sarva-bhūtānāṁ -- towards all living
entities; maitraḥ -- friendly; karuṇa -- compassionate; eva --
certainly; ca -- also; nirmamo -- with no sense of proprietorship;
nirahaṅkāraḥ -- free from false ego; sama -- equal; duḥkha -- in
distress; sukhaḥ -- and happiness; kṣamī -- tolerant; santuṣṭaḥ
satataṁ -- always satisfied; yogī -- one engaged in devotional
service; yatātmā – self-controlled; dṛḍha-niścayaḥ -- with firm
determination; mayy -- upon Me; arpita-mano-buddhir --
surrendering mind and intelligence; yo -- one who; mad-bhaktaḥ
-- My devotee; samepriyaḥ -- he is very dear to Me.
He who is not envious, but friendly and compassionate
towards all living beings, with no sense of proprietorship,
free from false ego, equal in distress and happiness, forgiving,
always content, self-controlled and engaged in devotional
service with firm determination, surrendered his mind and
intelligence upon Me is very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: In these two verses, Krishna explains the
transcendental qualities usually seen in all liberated devotees.
These qualities can be manifested by the devotees, who regularly
cultivate sādhana bhakti or regulative principles of devotional
service. Therefore, the Supreme Lord confirms that the qualities
He is describing are applicable to yo mad-bhaktah, which means
His special devotee. The word advesta means free from envy for
any being at any given time. maitrah means friendly. One must
not criticize anyone’s external bodily appearances or bad
behaviors. There are 8,400,000 living species and, therefore,
8,400,000 different behaviors and so each one behaves
differently. All these species are either a part or child of Krishna.
Due to their rebellious behavior towards the Supreme Lord, they
are temporarily placed in that miserable situation. Thus, there is
no need to envy any living being. Instead, one should develop a
friendly attitude towards all living entities with karunah or
compassion and show goodwill to all, both well-wishers and

enemies by understanding that they are forced to follow a
tendency of impulse imparted to them by the Supreme Lord in
relation to one's own good and bad actions. nirmamah means
giving up of all ownership, such as ‘this is mine and that is mine’
in terms of the physical body, family and other associated
relationships with people and objects. nirahankarah means to be
free from the false conception of thinking that one's self as the
physical body and consequently be unaffected by the dualities of
material existence such as pain and pleasure, praise and ridicule,
joy and grief all of which is based upon the mentality of the
mind. kshami means being tolerant, to be unaffected by external
incidents such as physical accidents or catastrophes. santustah
means to be always content with whatever comes by on its own
accord for bodily sustenance. satatam yogi means to be engaged
in the service of the Lord. yatātma means the ability to rule over
the workings of the mind, one should not be angry over every
small thing that happens in one’s life. drdha-niscaya means to be
firmly resolved and resolutely determined to fully follow the
teachings of the spiritual master and the Vedic scriptures,
performing loving devotional service to the Lord. arpita-mano-
buddhir refers to those who have dedicated their minds and
intelligence to the Supreme Lord by performing activities solely
devoted to Him without desiring a reward. When the Supreme
Lord Krishna is worshipped in this way, He Himself would guide
the worshiper from within to achieve Bhagavān or Krishna
realization. One who possesses all these qualities is very dear to
the Supreme Lord Krishna and is ‘me priyah’, or the recipient of
‘My’ love.
TEXT 15 यथमातन८्वव् े ल८क८ ल८कातन८्वव् े च यः।
षाामषाभय८्वेगम्
ुा ८ यः स च मे वरयः ॥१५॥
yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ
harṣāmarṣa-bhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ
yasmān -- he who; nodvijate -- are not disturbed; loko -- people;
lokān -- from people; na -- never; nodvijate -- is disturbed; ca
Bhakti Yoga 793
yaḥ -- also anyone who; harṣāmarṣa -- happiness and distress;

bhayodvegair mukto -- freed from fear and anxiety; yaḥ sa ca --
and he is; me -- to Me; priyaḥ -- very dear.
He from whom no one is disturbed and he who is not
disturbed by anyone, he who is free from mundane happiness
and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is explaining the qualities of His
devotees. Someone who is not devoted to Krishna cannot
manifest such spiritual qualities. A person whose actions do not
become a cause of fear for others has no fear and they can expect
no trouble in return. If one faces difficulty in his life, that is only
because of his past misdeeds to some other living entity. Not
even a blade of grass moves without the permission of the
Supreme Lord. The difficulties faced by the devotees are
inflicted by the Lord for the purpose of devotee's purification.
When a person is overwhelmed by a tragedy, he may feel a sense
of relief after hours of weeping. Thus, for every sinful action one
must suffer either through the body and mind, or through the
suffering created by nature or through another living entity.
Therefore, one should never cause any harm or trouble to another
living being. In this way, he will not be causing difficulty to any
living being. Since no elements of opposition exist in such a
devotee, no action received from the world can be taken as
aggression at any given time. One who is free from giving or
receiving joy and grief to any other living entity is free from all
conceptions of being the bestower of anything or the recipient of
anything. Such a person is very dear to the Supreme Lord
Krishna.
TEXT 16 अनपेषःशधु चदाष उदासीन८ ग ्यिः।
सवाार्भपरर्यागी य८ म्भ् ः स मे वरयः ॥१६॥
anapekṣaḥ śucir dakṣa udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
anapekṣaḥ -- desire less; śucir -- pure; dakṣa -- expert; udāsīno --
free from worry; gata-vyathaḥ -- freed from all agitation;
sarvārambha-parityāgī -- unconcerned with any mundane

endeavors; yo -- anyone who; mad-bhaktaḥ -- My devotee; sa me
priyaḥ -- he is very dear to Me.
A devotee who is without desire, pure, an expert, free from
worry, free from agitation, unconcerned with any mundane
endeavors, is very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: The word anapeksah (or neutral) means either
to be indifferent to things that have come on their own accord or
be free from expectations. Money is an essential factor. For
devotees this is personally supplied by Krishna as stated in the 9th
chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā. However, a devotee is not anxious
to spend the money which came to him by the mercy of the Lord
for his personal enjoyment, rather he is keen to spend this money
for Krishna’s or His cows and to the service of devotees. sucih
(or clean) denotes both external cleanliness of the physical body
(e.g. taking a minimum of at least two baths in a day) and
internal cleanliness of the mind through constantly chanting the
Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. daksah means to be an expert in all
fields of activities such as singing, writing, preaching, deity
worship, managing and so forth. udāsinah (or impartial) means
not taking sides concerning any parties or groups. gata-vyathah
(or untroubled) means being free from material anguish. The
phrase ‘sarva-arambha-parityagi’ means detachment from all
kinds of activities that have nothing to do with the devotional
service to Krishna. Devotees who possess these qualities are very
dear to Lord Krishna.
TEXT 17 य८ न ृ्यत न ्वे््ि न श८चत न का्षत ।
शभ
ु ाशभ
ु परर्यागी भ्् मातयः स मे वरयः ॥१७॥
yo na hṛṣyati na dveṣṭi na śocati na kāṅkṣati
śubhāśubha-parityāgī bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ
yo -- one who; na hṛṣyati -- do not rejoices; na dveṣṭi -- do not
hate; na śocati -- do not laments; kāṅkṣati -- do not have desires;
śubhāśubha -- the auspicious and the inauspicious; parityāgī --
renouncer; bhaktimān -- devotee; yaḥ sa me priyaḥ -- he is very
dear to Me.
Bhakti Yoga 795
A devotee who does not rejoice, hate, lament, desire or

renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things is very
dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: Suffering comes in many forms, such as losing
intimate relatives, associates, children, fellow devotees or
through an unexpected failure of a business, loss of money, break
down of the body by tumors and other contagious diseases.
Similarly, someone may gain wealth, fame and power quite
unexpectedly. Pure devotees of Lord Krishna are neither
depressed because of any material losses nor do they rejoice on
gaining it. They do not desire any material objects that could not
be used in Krishna’s service. They renounce both pious and
impious acts knowing very well that they result in captivity to
karmic reactions, binding one to the cycle of birth and death.
Such devotees are very dear to Krishna.
TEXT समः शर९ च भमरे च िामानापमानय८ः।
18-19 शी ८्णसख
ु दःु खेषु समः स्गववव््ा ः ॥१८॥
्
ु यतनतदाथ तु मঃनी सत ्ु ि८ येन केनधच ्।
अतनके ः ्थिरमत भा्् मातमे वरय८ नरः ॥१९॥
samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣṭo yena kenacit
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ
samaḥ -- is equal; śatrau ca -- also to an enemy;mitre ca -- and to
a friend; tathā -- so; mānāpamānayoḥ -- in honor and dishonor;
śītoṣṇa -- in cold-heat; sukha-duḥkheṣu -- happiness and distress;
samaḥ -- impartial; saṅga-vivarjitaḥ -- free from all bad
association; tulya -- equal; nindā-stutir -- in criticism and praise;
maunī -- contemplative before talking; santuṣṭo -- satisfied; yena
kenacit -- with anything; aniketaḥ -- having no residence; sthira-
matir -- fixed in determination; bhaktimān -- engaged in
devotional service; naraḥ -- person; me priyo -- very dear to Me.
A devotee who is equal to both an enemy and a friend, in
honor and dishonor, equal with cold, heat, happiness and
distress, free from attachment, equipoised in praise and

criticism, contemplative before speaking, content with
whatever comes on its own accord, not attached to having no
residence, firm in determination and engaged in devotional
service, is very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: Getting along with friends may be easy, but
getting along with enemies may be very difficult. The Supreme
Lord is training all human beings to see each other as part of the
Supreme Lord. Parents may have many children who may fight
with each other, but parents, knowing that they are all their
offspring, maintain no enmity towards any of the children.
Similarly, Krishna is equal to all living entities regardless of their
external form. Therefore, everyone must strive to have the same
vision as the Supreme Lord, which is of non-partiality. There are
many who desire high honor due to their high profile in the
society, but there are many differences in all the divisions of
society. Criticism is unavoidable in the human society; even the
uncivilized will criticize the person who is highly civilized.
Therefore, one should be equipoised in honor and dishonor. In
the same way, one must learn to tolerate happiness and distress,
insult and praise of this world and all weather conditions such as
heat and cold, as they have nothing to do with the soul or the
Supersoul. As death occurs in one’s life, all hankerings for high
esteem and the positions dignitaries held will vanish and they
will no longer have any significance. Likewise, one must
associate with bonafide saintly people in order to develop one’s
good consciousness, for it is their association that brings natural
and permanent satisfaction and happiness in one’s life. If one
associates with gamblers, drunkards, womanizers and meat
eaters, then one will develop those qualities. One should not
speak of unnecessary worldly things, like frogs at night in the
rainy season, as frogs simply invite snakes for their death. A self-
realized devotee of Krishna is satisfied with having non-facilities
in the world, for they do not personally care for bodily comforts.
This is because they are aware of the fact that they are not their
bodies, but an anti-material being witnessing material existence.
Bhakti Yoga 797
However, a rich house holder must give all facilities to such a

renounced devotee of the Lord without his request; the pure
devotees’ satisfaction brings prosperity in the householder’s life,
such as devotion to Krishna and detachment from worldly
attractions and knowledge about soul and Supersoul. Pure
devotees of the Lord are fixed in transcendental knowledge of
Bhagavān, which is beyond the realization of Brahman and
Paramātma. Moreover, they are always engaged in the loving
service of Krishna by continually chanting and hearing His
glories. Such devotees are very dear to Krishna!
TEXT 20 ये ु ि्यााम ृ भमदं यि८् ं पयप

र्दिाना म्परमा भ् ाथ ऽे ीव मे वरयाः॥२०॥
ye tu dharmāmṛtam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate

śraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ
ye -- those who; tu -- but; dharmāmṛtam -- nectarian path of
righteousness; idaṁ -- this; yathoktaṁ-- as described;
paryupāsate -- completely engaged in worship; śraddadhānā--
endowed with strong faith; mat-paramā -- devotion for Me, the
Supreme Lord, as everything; bhaktās -- devotees; te’tīva me
priyāḥ -- they are very dear to Me.
Those devotees that are endowed with firm faith in My
devotional service, those who worship Me in the nectarian
path of righteousness as described, are very dear to me.
ANNOTATION: Devotional service to the Supreme Lord
Krishna is like ambrosia and it is the highest state one can reach.
Engaging in such devotional services are the eternally righteous
activities. Krishna’s service is called ambrosia as it has the
potency to supply unlimited blissfulness profusely to all devotees
who have embraced this process as the life and soul. Such
devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna, who follow and practice
the supreme religious principles of eternal righteousness with
faith and determination while taking full refuge in Him as the
ultimate goal of attainment, are very dear to Lord Kesava,
Krishna. In the above seven verses, Krishna has given

recommendations. By following such methods, Lord Krishna’s
devotees can become dear to Him. Bhakti is completely
independent and should be considered in isolation as the goal of
all humanity. The worship of the un-manifest, the impersonal
Brahman aspect of the Supreme Lord, is extremely difficult to
succeed in and is only achieved after great efforts. Nevertheless,
by following regulative principles of devotional service and
associating with pure devotees, one can easily obtain this highest
goal, which is called the love of God, and enter into the Kingdom
of God. A person blessed with spiritual intelligence should
embark upon the easier and noblest path of bhakti or exclusive
loving devotion unto the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna and enjoy the immortality of the soul.
The Bhagavad-Gītā is the perfect knowledge given by the
perfect person Lord Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as the
Supreme Person both in the universe and in the Vedās. The
Vedās emanated from the breathing of the Supreme Person and
the Bhagavad-Gītā is the Supreme Wisdom given by the
Supreme Person, which is part of the fifth Vedās called
Mahābhārata. Vedā means knowledge and the Bhagavad-Gītā is
full of knowledge relating to both material and spiritual
universes, God and living entities, etc. By reading and
distributing the original Bhagavad-Gītā, one can eradicate all
inauspiciousness from one’s life. As such, they can increase both
spiritual and material fortune and receive the audience of Lord
Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. Godhead
is the light and māya (or illusion) is the darkness. The original
Bhagavad-Gītā helps one to always be situated in the light.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Bhakti-Yoga’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami
Bhakti Yoga 799

1. Clarify the difference between impersonal form and
personal form. Krishna says, ‘His personal form is more
significant than His formless feature’. Explain.
2. Describe different selection of devotional service Krishna
offers to people.
Paragraph questions
1. What was Arjuna’s question at the beginning of this
chapter?
2. Inspect the significance related to simile of sunshine and sun
god?
3. Why is impersonal Brahman very difficult to worship?
4. Why is the path of bhakti better than the impersonal
discipline?
5. Define cosmic energy.
6. While planning for death, what is the difference between a
yogi and a devotee?
7. The Lord is the swift deliverer of devotees from the ocean of
material existence. Explain how?
8. If one cannot always rely his consciousness on Krishna,
what should one do?
9. Talk about the practical works that can immerse the
devotees in Krishna’s consciousness?
10. Position the following recommendations in the order of how
one leads to another: meditation, Knowledge, being
philanthropic , and understanding the Supersoul
11. What does Hare signifies in the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra?
12. What does a devotee do when someone treats him as an
enemy or when he finds himself in difficulty?
13. Explain the attitude of a devotee absorbed in Krishna
consciousness.
14. Term nine qualities of a devotee.
15. List nine additional qualities.

1. “In reply to Arjuna’s question in verse 1, the Lord replied
that worshiping His ____________ form with faith is the
greatest.”
2. “For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested,
impersonal feature of ______, advancement are very
troublesome.”
3. Transcendental faith is one that endeavors through spiritual
enthusiasm, eagerness and complete conviction of the
authority of the _____.
4. The characteristics of the_______ are beyond the ability of
the senses and mind to comprehend. Because it is all
pervading.
5. However, the _____ is incomplete because the personal
feature of Krishna is uncertain in his mind.
6. ____________ engaged all his subtle and gross body in
Krishna’s service though he was a great emperor of Earth.
7. ________means expert in all fields of activities such as
singing, writing, preaching, deity worship, managing, etc.
8. One must rise up early in the morning before sun rise, take a
bath and chant _____
9. Along with meditation, _____________, renunciation of the
rewards of actions, is also praised and is essential for
spiritual success, otherwise one would not be qualified.
10. __________means giving up of all ownership, such as ‘this
is mine and that is mine’ in terms of the physical body,
family and associated relationships and objects.
Material Nature, Soul and Supersoul 801
CHAPTER 13
Material Nature,
Soul and Supersoul
TEXTS 1-2 अ्न
ुा वव
ु ाच
ररुत ं पुु षं चव षेरं षेर्नमेव च।
ए ्वेहद भु म्छाभम ्नानं ्नेयं च केशव॥१॥
रीभगवानव
ु ाच
इदं शरीरं क९त य
े षेरभम्यभभिीय ।े
ए ्य८वेवत ं रा ु ः षेर् इत ्ववदः॥२॥
arjuna uvācha
prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣhetraṁ kṣhetra-jñam eva ca
etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava
idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣhetram ity abhidhīyate
etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣhetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; prakṛtiṁ -- material nature;
puruṣaṁ -- the enjoyer; ca -- also; iva -- certainly; kṣhetraṁ --
the field of activity; kṣhetra-jñam -- the knower of the field of
activity; eva -- certainly; ca -- also; etad -- all this; veditum -- to
understand; icchāmi -- I wish; jñānaṁ -- knowledge; jñeyaṁ --
the object of knowledge; ca -- also; keśava -- the killer of Kesi
demon, Krishna;
Godhead said; idaṁ -- this; śarīraṁ -- material body; kaunteya --
801
O son of Kunti; kṣhetram -- the field; ity -- thus; abhidhīyate -- is

known as; etad yo vetti -- one who knows this; taṁ prāhuḥ -- he
is called; kṣhetra-jña -- the knower of the field of activity; iti --
thus; tad-vidaḥ -- by those who know this.
Arjuna said: O my dear Kesava [Krishna], I wish to
understand more about material nature, the individual soul,
about the field of activity and the knower of the field of
activity, and of knowledge and the aim of knowledge.
Kunti, this material body is known as the field of activity,
and one who knows this body is known as the knower of the
field.
ANNOTATION: In the first six chapters of Srimad-Bhagavad-
Gītā, karma-yoga and jnāna-yoga are summarized by the Lord.
He described two paths: the path of spiritual actions and the path
of spiritual knowledge by which an aspiring devotee may achieve
realization that he is the soul. The Lord also explained the
insignificance of the body and how the achievement of self-
realization is essential for attaining freedom from material
existence. The following six chapters of Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā,
known as the buddhi-yoga (or bhakti-yoga), reveal that bhakti is
the supreme attainment. This is the devotional service by which
actual spiritual knowledge of Krishna is attained (as elaborated in
the Vedic scriptures). This spiritual knowledge of Lord Krishna is
a pre-requisite and is essential for a loving devotion to Krishna
and the subsequent attainment of eternal association with the
Supreme Lord, the ultimate goal and most exalted objective we
can adopt in our lives. It is also elucidated that the devotional
service includes the means by which devotees seeking to acquire
either opulence or self-realization can have their respective
desires fulfilled. The last six chapters explain how the living
entity comes into contact with material nature and how the
Supreme Lord carries him through the different processes of
karma (action), jnāna (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion).
In this verse, Arjuna asked Krishna about six subjects: the

material nature; the enjoyer (God); the body (the field); the
knower of the field (the soul); knowledge and objectives of
knowledge. In order to clarify and further elaborate the nature of
this knowledge, this chapter describes the relationship between
material nature and the purusha, the Supreme consciousness.
Delusion is caused by a lack of judgment and discrimination
as pertains to the distinction between the material nature and
God. Delusion binds the eternal soul, an infinitesimal spark of
the Supreme Lord Krishna, to the continuing cycle of birth and
death. It is by the power of the living entity and prakriti that the
Supreme Lord Krishna manifests all creation. These are distinct
and are different from each other. Both material nature and jīva
souls are the manifestation of the Supreme Purusha or Krishna.
However, prakriti is related to the kshetra (the field) and the
living entity is related to kshetrajnam (the knower of the field).
The kshetra is the material body, which is the foundation for all
physical enjoyment, and it is due to the physical enjoyment that
souls become a victim of the budding ground of continuous
transmigration. The kshetrajnam are the conscious beings (or jīva
souls), they think in terms of bodily identification: for example, I
am woman, I am man, I am Indian and I am American, cat, dog,
etc. kshetrajnam consider things in terms of this is mine and that
is belonged to me.
Because souls identify with the body, they have fictional
beliefs of the body. This causes the soul to be the beneficiary of
the results of body’s actions and reactions. The soul is, thus, just
like the farmer who reaps the harvest of his field. Consider that
in one day of Brahma (12 hours), every being passes away and
takes birth 43,200,000 times in 8,400,000 species of life. This
figure is astronomically multiplied by the acharya of rudra
sampradaya Srila Sridhar Swami, one can also calculate how
many lifetimes transpire in one week, one month, one year and
one hundred year of the secondary creator Lord svayambhūva
Brahma and thereafter he too dies. This chapter reveals the truth
about the possibility of liberation and transmigration to the
spiritual universe from the cycle of birth and death.
TEXT 3 षेर्ं चावप मां वव्धि सवाषेरष

े ु भार ।
षेरषेर्य८्ाानं यत््ानं म ं मम॥३॥
kṣhetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣhetra-kṣhetrajñayor jñānaṁ yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama
kṣhetra-jñaṁ -- the knower of the field of activity; cāpi māṁ --
certainly I am also; viddhi -- knower; sarva-kṣhetreṣu -- in all
bodily fields; bhārata -- O son of Bhārata; kṣhetra-kṣhetrajñayor
-- the field of activities and the knower of the field; jñānaṁ --
knowledge of; yat -- that which; taj jñānaṁ -- real is knowledge;
mataṁ mama -- My opinion.
O descendant of Bhārata, you shall surely know that I too am
a knower of body, but I know all bodies. Real knowledge is to
realize this body and its knower.
ANNOTATION: There are two potencies of Lord Krishna:
material elements and spirit soul, respectively. Material elements,
cannot move on its own and requires the presence of the spirit
soul to move. A body made of material elements moves because
of soul is present in the material body. While the material body is
born and dies, the soul is transferred between bodies in a process
referred to as the ‘transmigration of the soul’.
All embodied souls have a certain degree of consciousness
of their respective, individual bodies. None of them know others’
pain or pleasure. Yet, Krishna says in this verse that He too is
aware of the body. However, He is aware of all bodies since he is
situated in the heart of every individual soul. This is similar to
when electric bulbs are lit up all over a city or town, the moon
still shines in all areas at the same time from the sky. Thus, these
bodies of fish, trees, reptiles, birds, beasts, human beings,
demigods, man eating demons, ghosts and demons are trillions in
numbers and are all individual conscious souls that are embodied
with material elements. Yet, the omniscient Krishna is like the
moon-light spreads out His consciousness simultaneously,
knowing all these living entities at once, past, present and future.
He is present in the heart of all living entities. His consciousness
is present in the material nature. He is even present within the

senses, even though He is imperceptible to the senses, since He is
without physical sense organs – Krishna is, therefore, called
Hrshikesa, the master of all senses.
Consider the following situation. There are two inhabitants
in a rented apartment. One is the tenant and the other is an
owner, or land-lord. The land-lord knows all the nooks and
corner of the house from the ground up. The tenant, however, is
blissfully unaware of most things in the house, and wouldn’t
know the first thing about the plumbing, electric wiring or gas-
fittings. According to Lord Krishna in this verse, He is the big
kshetrajna, landlord. He is established within all small kshetra-
jnanas, including tiny viruses and atoms. His kshetra are the
souls of every living entity in all of creation; whereas the kshetra
of the jīva are merely in one individual physical body at one
time. As the Supreme Soul, the kshetra-jna of Krishna is
completely independent. This allows Him to monitor all the
actions of the prakriti, jīva, time and actions of karma that are
situated in the inner chambers of conscious beings’ hearts.
Krishna is nirguna and does not possess any material qualities.
Thus, He can elevate and bring down any living entity to any part
of the universe to any number of positions, as He wishes.
TEXT 4 ्षेरं य्च याृ्च य्ववकारर य ्च य ्।

स च य८य्रभाव्च ्समासेन मे शण ृ ॥
ु ४॥
tat kṣhetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca yad-vikāri yataś ca yat
sa ca yo yat-prabhāvaś ca tat samāsena me śṛṇu
tat kṣhetraṁ -- about that field of activities; yac -- what; ca --
and; yādṛk ca -- the kind of nature it possess; yad -- what; vikāri-
- transformation; yataś -- from where; ca -- also; yat -- what; sa -
- he; ca -- also; yo -- who; yat -- having what; prabhāvaś -- its
influence; ca -- also; tat samāsena -- in summation; me -- from
Me; śṛṇu -- please hear.
Please listen to My short description of this field of activities,
what kind of nature it possesses, the nature of its
transformations, from where these are generated, and what

its influence is.
ANNOTATION: Many questions will arise to any inquisitive or
spiritually rational person with regard to material existence and
the science and philosophy behind it: what the body is like when
possessed with qualities of desire and aversion? What are its
modifications like, for instance, which senses is it endowed with?
How does the body arise, how does it form a conjunction with
prakriti and the soul? What is its form and how is it directed to
be either sentient or insentient in just one of innumerably
unlimited varieties of species? Also, what is the kshetrajna, or
knower of the body in reality? What power does the soul have by
virtue of its transcendental and inconceivable majesty by the
potency it is endowed with? And what are the individual soul's
influences and the difference between Supreme Soul, material
nature and individual souls? These questions are answered
succinctly by the Lord, hereafter.
TEXT 5 ऋवषभभबा ु िा गी ं छतद८भभववावविः पि
ृ क् ।
र्मसरू पद्चव े म ु ्भभववातन््च ः॥५॥
ṛṣibhir bahudhā gītaṁ
chandobhir vividhaiḥ pṛthak
brahma-sūtra-padaiś caiva
hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ
ṛṣibhir -- by the intelligent sages; bahudhā -- in so many ways;
gītaṁ -- it has been chanted; chandobhir -- by the Vedic hymns;
vividhaiḥ -- by different; pṛthak -- diverse; brahma-sūtra-padaiś
-- aphorisms of the Vedānta; ca -- also; iva -- certainly;
hetumadbhir -- with reasoning of cause and effect; viniścitaiḥ --
and by conclusive evidence.
The intelligent sages have described in so many ways the field
of activities and the knower of the field of activities. Such
descriptions exhibit conclusive evidence, with logic and
reasoning, through cause and effect. They are found in the
diverse Vedic writings, especially in Vedānta sūtra.
ANNOTATION: The Lord here briefly explains the reality

concerning the kshetra (or body) but points out that in the future
there may be a need for further evidence. Although He is the
ultimate authority of the entire Vedānta philosophy, He
anticipates a request for more evidence on the science of body
and soul. Lord Krishna confirms that this is also presented by
rsibhih- the sages, such as Vasistha and Parāsara. Precise and
concise descriptions are given about various aspects of the
Brahman are revealed in the Vedic scriptures.
The term ‘Brahman’ is used for the material nature, soul
and God. The Taittriya Upanishad 2.1 states: Supreme Lord is
the actual essence of food. The embodied being eating the food
develops the physical body of him, and then the next is the breath
followed by the mind. The power to think is also an outcome of
food and breath. In verse 2.4 of the same Taittriya Upanishad it
states: above the subtle body consisting of mind, intelligence and
ego, there exists the eternal soul which is apprehended and
understood by consciousness. This is the nature of the
kshetrajna. These facts have been stated explicitly by Srila Vyāsa
deva in the Vedās and conclusively proven in Vedānta sūtra. All
the conclusions from the Vedic scriptures are pleasant and clear,
not only to the vaishnava devotees but also to the scholars of
Vedic culture as well.
In an abbreviated form, the Vedānta sūtra reveals the
Brahman and the ultimate truth, and explains the nature of the
Brahman. The first aphorism of the Vedānta sūtra is as follows.
athāto brahma jijnāsa: now that you have this human form of
life, your only business and duty is to inquire regarding the
science of the Absolute Truth. Moreover, the verse of Brahma
sūtra of Srila Vyāsa deva states that pradhāna, the sum total of
the material elements in the dormant stage – not to be identified
with the primary cause of creation – is also called Brahman.
Furthermore, Brahma Sūtra 1.1.12 states that the eternal soul
consists of bliss. This is also referred to Brahman. Although both
the soul and pradhāna Brahman emanate from the Supreme
Lord, the pradhāna Brahman is always put forth as being a
separate potency from the soul on account that they each have
independent, or exclusive, functions.
The Vedānta sūtra discuss than just Brahman. In order to
impart knowledge of the Brahman, the jīva and the Supreme
Lord, it also discuss the invariable attributes of omnipresence,
sustenance, purity and maintenance, etc. These things cannot be
understood correctly without understanding their relationship to
the Supreme Lord. Neither could they be propounded properly
without defining their relationship with the soul, which is fully
controlled, dependent and mercifully blessed by the Supreme
Lord. Hence, the descriptions of the embodied soul and its
origins, along with its nature and function, are very beneficial in
gaining knowledge of the Brahman, and there is no contradiction
anywhere in the Vedic scriptures in anyway. The soul being
eternal is not created at a certain period of time. The individual
ātma is sagacious, the knower, in the liberated stage as confirmed
in Vedānta sūtra. In both examples the effect is established by
understanding the cause. So this topic has been addressed in
detail, both generally and specifically in terms of kshetra, the
body, and the kshetrajna, the knower of the body. However, Lord
Krishna explains it further in Texts 6-7.
TEXTS 6-7 म ाभू ातय ं कार८ ब्

ु धिर्य् मेव च।
इ्तरयाणण दशकं च प्च चे्तरयग८चराः
इ्छा्वेषः सख
ु ं दःु खं संघा ्चे ना ितृ ः।
ए ्षेरं समासेन सववकारमद
ु ाृ म ्॥६-७॥
mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca
indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañcha cendriya-gocarāḥ
icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṅghātaś chetanā dhṛtiḥ
etat kṣhetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam
mahā-bhūtāny -- the major elements: earth, water, fire, air, ether;
ahaṅkāro -- the false ego; buddhir -- intelligence; avyaktam --
the unmanifested; eva -- certainly; ca -- also; indriyāṇi -- the
senses; daśaikaṁ -- eleven; ca -- also; pañcha -- five; ca -- also;
endriya-gocarāḥ -- the objects of the senses; icchā -- desire;

dveṣaḥ -- hate ; sukhaṁ -- happiness; duḥkhaṁ -- distress;
saṅghātaś -- the aggregate; chetanā -- living symptoms; dhṛtiḥ --
determination; etat -- all this; kṣhetraṁ -- the field of activities;
samāsena -- in summation; sa-vikāram -- with transformation;
udāhṛtam -- declared.
The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the three
modes of material nature, the eleven senses, five objects of
the senses, desire, hate, happiness, grief, the perceptual faulty
of the mind, conviction, all this is declared to be, in brief, the
field of activities and its transformations.
ANNOTATION: Krishna explains the characteristics and
components of the kshetra, beginning with the five fundamental
elements which make up the physical body: earth, water, fire, air
and ether. The subtle body is made up of false ego, intelligence
and the mind. The ‘un-manifested’ is the three modes of material
nature, such as goodness (or sattva guna), passion (or rajo guna)
and ignorance (or tamo guna). The five knowledge acquiring
senses are the eyes, ear, nose, tongue and skin. The five objects
of the senses are sight, sound, smell, taste and form. The five
working senses are the voice, hands, legs, genitals and the anus.
The interaction of all these senses together with association
between social and spiritual people is set to develop certain
desires, aversions, happiness, unhappiness, as well as the body,
intuition, patience, and all the signs of consciousness (or
chetana). Consciousness is an indication of the soul, yet all of the
above are influenced by the three modes of nature.
The word chetana, meaning awareness, is apparent in all
forms and species of life relative to individual consciousness.
This commences with being conscious of food and progresses to
being conscious of life (with its six transformations of birth,
infancy, youth, maturity, old age and death), to being conscious
of the soul, to being conscious of a Supreme Lord, and at last, to
being conscious of the loving devotion to the Supreme Lord
Krishna. The body is the representation of all of these factors,
and there are changes in the body according to the subtle actions
of the above elements, which are six in number: the body is born,
it grows, it stays, it produces by-products, then it begins to decay,
and at the last stage it vanishes, for the soul to obtain another
body. Therefore, the field is a non-permanent material thing, and
the Supreme Lord Krishna has enumerated the 24 categories
which comprises the field of activity known as the kshetra.
The ultimate purpose is to utilize the physical body to
interact harmoniously with the mind and intellect in order to
realize the eternal principle inside the heart in the form of the
soul: the path to the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, one will misuse
their precious human form of existence to procure material
happiness on Earth while experiencing joy and grief. In doing so,
they take another birth usually in a lower species of life; or
perform activities in an attempt to procure entrance into the
heavenly planets to enjoy celestial delights as a demigod for an
allotted time period. This does not guarantee success and one has
to be born again in one of the some 8,400,000 species in material
existence. This is what is available in the kshetra. All of its
characteristics and attributes are manifested out of prakriti
(meaning the material nature) and is the foundation of the mind
and senses. It is this combination which gives rise to the changes
in temperament such as desire and aversion, happiness and
misery and the medium by which the soul experiences pleasure,
pain, joy and grief, and so forth. This concludes Lord Krishna’s
concise exposition on the kshetra with its variations and
modifications.
TEXT अमातन्वमद््भ्वमह स ं ा षा्त रा्ावम ्।
8-12 आचायोपासनं श९चं थियामा्मववतनर ः॥
इ्तरयािेषु वरा्यमन ं कार एव च।

्तमम्ृ य्
ु रा्याधिदःु खद८षानद
ु शानम ्॥
अस्् रनभभ्व्गः पर ु दारग ृ ाहदष।ु
तन्यं च समधचत्वभम्िातन्ि८पपवतष॥ ु
मतय चानतयय८गेन भ्् र्यभभचाररणी।

वववव् दे शसेवव्वमरत ्ानसंसहद॥
अ्या्म्ानतन्य्वं ्व्ानािादशानम ्।
ए ््ानभमत र८् म्ानं यद ८ऽतयिा॥८ -१२॥
amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣhāntir ārjavam
āchāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam nahaṅkāra eva ca
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam
asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu
nityaṁ ca sama-cittatvam iṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu
mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī
vivikta-deśa-sevitvam aratir jana-saṁsadiadhyātma
jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam
etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato ’nyathā
amānitvam -- humility; adambhitvam -- pridelessness; ahiṁsā--
nonviolence; kṣhāntir -- tolerance; ārjavam -- simplicity;
āchāryopāsanaṁ -- rendering service to bona-fide spiritual
master; śaucaṁ -- cleanliness; sthairyam -- steadfastness; ātma-
vinigrahaḥ -- self-control; indriyārtheṣu vairāgyam -- giving up
the desire of the senses; nahaṅkāra -- free from false ego; eva --
certainly; ca -- also; janma -- of birth; mṛtyu -- death; jarā -- old
age; vyādhi -- and disease; duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam -- aware of
distress and faults; asaktir -- without attachment; anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ
-- absence of connection or attachment; putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu --
son-wife-home etc.; nityam -- always; ca -- also; samachittatvam
-- equipoised in all situation; iṣṭāniṣṭ -- the desirable and
undesirable; opapattiṣu -- having attained; mayi -- unto Me; ca --
also; ānanya-yogena -- by unalloyed devotional service; bhaktir -
- devotion; avyabhicāriṇī -- without any break; vivikta-deśa-
sevitvam -- aspire to resort in solitary places; aratir -- being
disconnected; jana-saṁs -- mundane society of people;
adhyātmajñāna -- pertaining to the knowledge of soul; nityatvaṁ
-- constantly; tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam -- see the object of true
Absolute knowledge; etaj -- all these; jñānam -- knowledge; iti --
thus; proktam -- declared; ajñānaṁ -- nescience; yad -- that; ato -
- hence; anyathā -- otherwise.
Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity;

rendering service to a bonafide spiritual master; cleanliness;
steadiness; self-control; renunciation the desires of the
senses; freed from false ego; aware of the inauspiciousness of
birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; detached from
children, wife, home and the rest; equipoised among pleasant
and unpleasant events; unalloyed devotion to Me; aspire to
resort in solitary places; being disconnected from the
ordinary people; looking for the knowledge of the soul;
seeing the object of true Absolute knowledge – all of these I
declare to be knowledge, and all other knowledge are
nescience.
ANNOTATION: All these qualities are divine. Although they
are difficult to learn and display, one must try to develop these
qualities by faith in the transcendental knowledge and associating
with true saintly devotees. These qualities have an immense
potency for attracting Krishna. Consider when one hires or leases
a place for business. If one is lucky, due to excellent service and
good quality product, more and more customers will be attracted
to the business, regardless of any doubts about whether the
business would be successful. Similarly, if these divine qualities
are not born in your personality, you should adopt them and
express them towards all living entities by having faith in the
words of the Lord. By sincerely adopting these divine qualities
and endeavouring with full faith, they will soon be one’s own,
exactly like the leased property can be fully purchased upon the
success of the business. If such things happen the all
unconquerable Lord can be conquered, ajita jito ‘py asi tais tri-
lokyam, otherwise it will be impossible to do so.
Humility means not seeking recognition. People want
recognition in this society and that is a sign of not being humble.
Pridelessness means on any achievement or accomplishment one
will think that it is the mercy of the Lord that enabled him to gain
a position, rank or wealth. Therefore, he never misuses that
position and this is what makes it pride less. Non-violence is not
causing pain or hurt to any living beings, including the lower
species of life. Tolerance is when one is humiliated severely to

the point where one thinks it is the mercy of the Lord that his
punishment did not extend beyond that. Simplicity is sincerity
and straightforwardness even to those duplicitous.
For a bona-fide spiritual master (or achāryaupāsanam), the
paramount importance is in rendering unmotivated devotion to
the spiritual master who illuminates the path and guides the
disciple to transcendental knowledge. The Mundhoka Upanishad
1.2.12 beginning parikshya lokan karmachitan declares: accept
an achārya (or spiritual preceptor) who is learned and established
in the science of Krishna or Bhagavān or Paramātma or Supreme
Brahman. A spiritual preceptor is only a spiritual master when
his knowledge is established in the Vedic scriptures, when his
heart is pure and has received the vaisnava initiation in a bona-
fide disciplic succession from an achārya devotee of Lord
Krishna. When he has learned the sacred rituals and holy mantras
from such a preceptor, when he is devoted to chanting the
Supreme Lord Krishna's holy names and when he has full
unwavering faith in the eternal truths of the Vedic scriptures (as
taught by his spiritual master) only then is the knowledge of
these truths exemplified in his everyday life. Only then is such an
exemplary person qualified to be an achārya or spiritual master.
Cleanliness is purity in thought, word and action which
enable one to qualify for spiritual knowledge. Steadiness means
steadfastness on the path of righteousness by the one who has
accepted it. No self-control over the body and the senses delays
the realisation of the soul. Renunciation is detachment of the
objects of sense gratification.
Pride means relinquishing false ego and identification of the
physical body as the self. dukha-dosa-anudarsanam means the
perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease.
Detachment is renunciation from over attachment to wife,
children and other family members. Even-mindedness amid
pleasant and unpleasant events; sama-citta means to avoid both
happiness and distress as it appears from the temporary external
circumstances. avyabhichārini bhakti means to have firm and
unalloyed loving devotion to Krishna and to worship His

transcendental form both externally in the temple and internally
within the heart.
vivekta-desa-sevitam is aspiring to live in a solitary place.
This is important since an exclusive association with saintly
persons is not only essential for spiritual development but also
for one seeking to advance their spiritual life. There is an ancient
dialogue between the Chyavana muni instructing King Nahūsa
where he tells him: One should associates with saintly persons.
One should hear instructions from saintly persons. One should
indulge in discussions with saintly persons and make friendships
only with them and should never engage with the wicked who
should be avoided completely. Association with saintly persons
is like the medicine that removes the disease of materialism but
association with the wicked is just like poison.
aratir jana-samsad is the detachment from the general mass
of people and an indifference to mundane topics and mundane
association. The words ‘adhyātma-jnāna nityatvam’ means
always interested in spiritual knowledge and self-realization and
ātma-tattva (or knowledge) of the soul from within. The
philosophical search for the Absolute Truth is to hear the diverse
explanation of Brahman, Paramātma, and Bhagavān and
conclude that the Absolute truth has three phases: brahmeti,
paramatmeti bhagavān eti sabdyate. The goal is to fix one’s soul
in the form of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, who is the ultimate
authority of all aspects of Godhead.
These 20 virtues that have been described by Lord Krishna
constitute the essence of all knowledge. Their attributes are the
means that open the way to the highest quality existence.
Whatever which may be contrary and opposed to these 20
attributes is to be considered as ignorance and detrimental to any
real knowledge of the soul. This has been confirmed in previous
ages by great sages and seers such as Vyāsa, Vasistha, Parāsara
and other vaishnava achāryas. Now, Krishna explains in detail
the two kshetrajnas: the soul and the Supersoul.
TEXT 13 ्ेयं यत्रव्याभम य््ा्वाम ृ म्नु ।े

अनाहद म्परं र्म न सततनासद्ु य ॥
े १३॥
jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi yaj jñātvāmṛtam aśnute
anādi mat-paraṁ brahma na sat tan nāsad uchyate
jñeyaṁ -- is to be known; yat tat -- that which; pravakṣyāmi --
now I shall explain; yaj -- which; jñātva -- realizing; amṛtam
aśnute -- nectar one tastes; anādi -- no beginning; mat-paraṁ --
having Me to be the Supreme; brahma -- spirit; na -- not; sat --
beyond cause; tan -- that; na -- not; āsad -- beyond effect;
uchyate -- is said.
Now I shall explain to you the knowable, realizing that you
will enjoy the nectar of immortality. It is said that Brahman
having Me, to the Supreme, has no beginning, beyond cause
and effect of this material universe.
ANNOTATION: The practical applications of the preceding 20
virtues are declared by Krishna in this verse. The Lord
announces the consequences of accepting these virtues and
demonstrates to the listener that these 20 virtues truly constitute
knowledge and are essential for realizing the soul and the
Supersoul. It is apparent that due to karma (reactions from past
actions) the soul has limitations in a physical body. Nonetheless,
once an embodied being achieves liberation, the real infinite and
limitless nature of the soul can be perceived. aham brahmāsmi:
know that I am the spirit soul and act based on the same spirit
that makes one eligible for freedom from the repeated cycle of
birth and death. The Brahman (or soul) is neither sat (existence)
nor asat (non-existence) because it never undergoes any
modifications or transformations due to its being beyond the
influence of cause and effect. Cause and effect can only be
applied to created objects, and Brahman, or spirit soul, is not
created at any time. The soul has no beginning; there is no time
when it came into existence. Its source is Krishna. As Krishna is
ānadhi-mat-param - Supreme beginning less, all souls have no
origin.
If only nadhi- origin was used to describe this then a doubt

might arise as to whether there is an origin for Krishna and, if so,
how could He manifest something beginning less. This is why
the word ānadhi-mat is used as a matter of clarification. As a
result of being complete in fullness with all transcendental
attributes, the Supreme Lord is called Parabrahman, meaning the
Supreme Brahman. He has both sat (or eternal) existence and
asat (or non-existence), possessing a transcendental spiritual
form and is formless, without a physical form. He can be
distinguished by outward elements such as earth, fire, water, etc.
And He is emphatically eulogized in the Vedic scriptures. The
splendid Supreme Lord Krishna, the immutable one, is therefore
known as sat as well as asat.
TEXT 14 सवा ः पाणणपादं ्सवा ८ऽषषभशर८मख
ु म ्।
सवा ः रुत म्ल८के सवामाव्ृ य त ्ठत ॥१४॥
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat sarvato ’kṣi-śiro-mukham
sarvataḥ śrutimal loke sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati
sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ -- everywhere His hands and legs; tat --
that; sarvato akṣi-śiro -- everywhere; -- eyes, heads; mukham --
faces; sarvataḥ śrutimal -- having ears everywhere; loke -- in the
world; sarvam -- everything; āvṛtya -- covering; tiṣṭhati -- exists.
With His hands and feet everywhere, with His eyes, heads
everywhere, with His faces and ears everywhere; The
Supreme Lord exists everywhere in this world.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna defines the qualities of
Parabrahman, the Supreme Lord, as the source of the Brahman
beginning with sarvatah pāni pādam, meaning with hands and
feet everywhere. The Svetasvatara Upanishad 3-11 states that:
without feet or hands He is swift and seizes. He sees without
eyes and hears without the ears. Without material organs the
Supreme Lord sees on all sides and hears all things within and
without, and grasps from all directions. The Supreme Lord does
not have blind spots because His Supreme consciousness
pervades everywhere, all His other working senses are also
reachable everywhere. Thus, He can bless, receive offerings and

protect His devotees by being present everywhere both inside
and outside of the temples simultaneously. The Supreme Lord,
being of transcendental nature, endowed with supreme spiritual
sensory organs, can use His potency to perform all actions of
coming, going, grasping, seizing, hearing and seeing even though
He is without material hands, eyes, ears, feet, etc.
The embodied being who obtains love for Krishna also will
experience the spiritual senses like Krishna, though this will be
limited according to the soul's size. Without developing such
spiritual senses by constantly associating with the Lord by
chanting and hearing His holy name, one cannot attain the
features or the power of the Supreme Lord and experience his
original spiritual sense organs. The Mundhoka Upanishad 3-1-3
states that: when an aspirant perceives the source of the soul (or
Brahman) as the brilliantly effulgent Supreme Lord, he realizes
the ultimate truth. Such an aspirant becomes pure, cracking off
all dualities such as good and evil and attains direct association
with the Supreme Lord in the Kingdom of God. Consequently,
all those liberated souls who have attained such a spiritual union
with the Supreme Lord in bhakti-yoga are also known to be
performing actions like Him irrespective of whether or not they
have the actual spiritual organs.
One who has perfected the association with the Supreme
Lord has his ignorance completely removed and the unlimited
aspect of the soul becomes apparent. The quality of knowledge
becomes unlimited and the soul becomes endowed with the all-
pervasive quality of omniscience, which by the mercy of the
Lord includes knowledge of the past and future. Only then is the
soul considered as being qualitatively equal to the Supreme
Brahman, otherwise this is not possible. This means that the soul
pervades all things in creation without exception, for the soul has
no limitations of time and space. The soul is qualitatively equal
with Parabrahman but quantitatively it is tiny, similar to a ray of
light from the sun.
TEXT 15 सवे्तरयगण
ु ाभासं सवे्तरयववव््ा म ्।
अस् ं सवाभ्
ृ चव तनगण
ुा ं गण
ु भ८् ृ च॥१५॥
sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam
asaktaṁ sarva-bhṛc caiva nirguṇaṁ guṇa-bhoktṛ ca
sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ -- that original source is cognizant of
all the senses of material nature; sarvendriya-vivarjitam -- being
without any senses; asaktaṁ -- unattachment; sarva-bhṛc -- the
sustainer of all living entities; caiva -- surely also; nirguṇaṁ --
having no material qualities; guṇabhoktṛ -- also master of all
three modes of material nature.
The Supreme Lord is cognizant of all the senses of the
material nature; He is without material senses, He is
unattached to the material nature, nevertheless He also
sustains all living entities. He has no material qualities and
but He is the master of all the modes of material nature.
ANNOTATION: The Supersoul is the second feature of
Godhead and is called the source of all material senses of all
conditioned souls. Yet, He has no such material senses or
faculties such as sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, etc. Spiritual
senses are sustainable in the material atmosphere like the
prisoner who wishes to wear the civil dress but is not allowed to
wear it while imprisoned. Similarly, all individual souls have
their spiritual senses, originally they were spiritual entities, but
when they choose to reside in the material atmosphere they
became endowed with material senses that covered their spiritual
senses. The purpose of covering their spiritual senses is to make
souls forget the spiritual existence through their desire to enjoy
the material variegated-ness.
However, the spiritual philosophy and science is available
to redevelop one’s natural spiritual consciousness, which is
Krishna consciousness. With the help of spiritual entities like the
true devotees of Krishna, bona-fide spiritual masters and
authorized scriptures like Srimad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-
Gītā, one can reorient one’s dormant Krishna consciousness in
the material atmosphere. For the sake of lording over material
nature, the conditioned souls are attached to the material world
and only experience the material miseries and anxieties.

Moreover, relieving such misery and anxiety is mistakenly
thought of as ‘happiness’. However, the Supreme Lord Krishna
(or Supersoul) is only a maintainer of the living entities trapped
in the material universe. Although He performs this role, He is
unattached to the material atmosphere and its variegated-ness. He
is like a selfless member of society, maintaining it selflessly. He
is a self-sufficient neutral person that does not take the side in
any conflict between jīvas and supplies resources to everyone
equally, based on one’s material performance called karma. He is
beyond all material qualities of the material nature, and therefore,
is called nirguna. Although He seems to be present in the prison
house, He is not trapped by the laws of the prison house, which is
created for the prisoners. Thus, the Supersoul is not bound by the
material laws and qualities. He is guna bhoktr- master of the
three modes of material nature, which cannot influence Him
because He is transcendental to all creations.
TEXT 16 सवे्तरयगण
ु ाभासंसवे्तरयववव््ा म ्।
अस् स
ं वाभ्
ृ चवतनगण
ुा ंगण
ु भ८् च
ृ ॥१६॥
bahir antaś ca bhūtānām acharaṁ charam eva ca
sūkṣmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ dūra-sthaṁ cāntike ca tat
bahir antaś -- without and within; ca -- also; bhūtānām -- of all
living beings; acharaṁ -- immobile; charam eva ca -- and also
mobile; sūkṣmatvāt -- on account of being subatomic; tad -- that;
avijñeyaṁ -- is comprehensible; dūra-sthaṁ -- far away; ca --
also; antike ca -- and very near; tat -- Supreme Lord.
The Supreme Lord exists within and without all moving and
non-moving living entities. Since He is too small He is beyond
the power of comprehension. Although He is far away from
all, He is yet also very near to all.
ANNOTATION: In the Sri Isopanishad there is a similar verse
chanted by the students.
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike
tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyatah
“The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far

away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and
yet He is outside of everything”. Mantra 5
The living entities are Krishna’s infinitesimal particles and
are qualitatively one with Him. They are sent into this material
world for material enjoyment, to fulfill their desires to be
independent individuals, but still they are subject to the supreme
will of the Lord. Consider an analogy given by Srila Prabhūpāda
to understand the Supersoul more closely: The Lord delegates
Himself in the state of Supersoul to supervise the arrangements
for such material enjoyment. The example of a temporary fair is
quite appropriate in this connection. If the citizens of a state
assemble in a fair to enjoy for a short period, the government
delegates a special officer to supervise it. Such an officer is
invested with all governmental power, and therefore he is
identical with the government. When the fair is over, there is no
need for such an officer, and he returns home. The Paramātma is
compared to such an officer”. When the living entities are
liberated from the material conditions of life then there is no
need for Paramātma to accompany them to the spiritual world.
The basic understanding of the Supreme Lord Krishna is
that He is beyond time, space, and karma and independent to
know everyone’s heart. He is like a self-governing business
owner, who moves in his firm as he desires and whose company
associates meet with him regarding all aspects of his office.
Similarly, the real owner of the material and spiritual creation is
Lord Krishna. He has no conditions or requirements set on how
He may act with any part of His creation. In every aspect of
creation He exists in a subatomic manifestation in all jīvas or
embodied beings of every living entity as the soul. It is said in
the Bhagavad-Gītā suksmanam apy aham jīva, ‘among the subtle
particles I am spirit soul’. Lord Krishna describes His
manifestation as Parabrahman, the source of the all Brahman,
living entity and material nature. He is within and without all
living entities, whether animate or inanimate. Charācharam
means moving or stationary. Gold can exist in a bracelet, a
necklace and a ring, equally, thus one may assume without gold
there are no golden ornaments. Krishna alone is the sole cause of

everything like the gold mine and all other things are just His
belongings. He is the supreme cause of all causes and there is no
other cause than Him in the multi zillions of His material and
spiritual universes. One of his names is adhokshaja, meaning
beyond the power of material mind and senses. This subtle
reality is perceived by devotees who have the tiny gift of mercy
of the Supreme Lord. This glory of the Godhead is not revealed
to any antagonistic or atheistic fool, but only revealed to His
devotees who have been endowed with 20 qualities mentioned in
the previous verses of this chapter. In Srimad-Bhāgavatam 10-
14-29 Lord Brahma states:
athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasāda-lesanugahita eva hi
jānati tattvam bhagavān -mahimno
na chanya eko 'pi chiram vichinvan
"My Lord, if one is favoured by even a slight trace of the mercy
of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your
personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even
though they continue to study the Vedās for many years".
TEXT 17 अववभ् ं च भू ष
े ु ववभ् भमव च ्थि म ्।
भू भ ाृ च ््ेयं रभस्णु रभवव्णु च॥१७॥
avibhaktaṁ ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam
bhūta-bhartṛ ca taj jñeyaṁ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca
avibhaktaṁ -- without division; ca -- also; bhūteṣu -- among all
the living beings; vibhaktam -- to be divided; iva -- as if; ca --
also; sthitam -- situated; bhūta-bhartṛ -- the maintainer of all
living entities; ca -- also; taj -- that; jñeyaṁ -- is to be known;
grasiṣṇu -- destroyer; prabhaviṣṇu ca -- as well as the creator.
The Supreme Lord, the Supersoul, appears to be divided into
many among all the living beings, yet He is not divided. He is
the maintainer of all living beings, He creates and destroys
all.
ANNOTATION: After explaining Krishna’s features as the

Supreme Brahman and the Supersoul in different verses of
Bhagavad-Gītā, Lord Krishna now explains in detail the
Supersoul feature, the knower of the field, kshetrajna, as
mentioned in the third verse of this chapter. The Supersoul
feature of the Lord expanded without limit, like the sun expands
its effulgence and is reflected in many reservoirs of water. Yet,
the Sun god Sūrya-Nārāyana, in charge of the Sun planet, is the
one who resides in this globe. Similarly, the Supersoul appears to
be divided among all living entities, but He is not divided, He is
one and He is situated as the Ksirodhakasāyi Vishnu.
Ksirodhakasāyi Vishnu is the Supersoul of limitless jīva souls
and He resides in the region of the heart of all moving and non-
moving species. This feature of the Supreme kshetrajna (the
Supersoul feature of Lord Krishna) is expanded throughout all
material creation, and although the Supersoul appears to be
divided it is as one. However, the unlimited jīva souls who are
small kshetrajnas are not one like the Supersoul. These unlimited
souls are all individual and different, but they are still the
separated manifestation of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead Lord Krishna. There are many philosophers who have
mistakenly thought of all souls as being one, and have explained
souls’ differences and individuality by suggesting that such souls
are under illusion or affected by karma and therefore only seem
to be divided. This is a false philosophy and is not supported by
the Vedic literature or true vaishnava spiritual leaders.
TEXT 18 ्य८त षामवप ््य८त थ मसः परम् ु य ।े

्ानं ्ेयं ्ानग्यं ृहदसवाथय वव््ठ म ्॥१८॥
jyotiṣām api taj jyotis tamasaḥ param uchyate

jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ jñāna-gamyaṁ hṛdi sarvasya viṣṭhitam
jyotiṣām -- of all that illuminates; api -- also; taj -- that; jyotis --
as the illuminator; tamasaḥ -- the darkness; param -- beyond;
uchyate -- is declared; jñānaṁ -- knowledge; jñeyaṁ -- object of
knowledge; jñāna-gamyaṁ -- object of knowledge; hṛdi -- within
the heart; sarvasya -- of everyone; viṣṭhitam -- being present.
The Supreme Lord is declared as the illuminator of all that

illuminates. He is beyond darkness of material elements. He
is knowledge and He is the object and aim of all knowledge.
He is present in the heart of all living entities.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord Krishna, known as the
Supersoul, is the source of all souls and He is the light of all
lights, the illuminator of even the sun and stars. Artificial lights,
like lamps or torches, only dispel the darkness that obscures an
object from the eyes. Their illuminating power is limited to the
sense perception of sight. But there is no such limitation
regarding the light and sight of the Supersoul. The words
tamasāh param mean beyond darkness. They refer to the
darkness of ignorance which characterize the subtle but limited
conditions of prakriti. Yet, the Supersoul is unlimited and
transcendental to any conditions. Although He may not be
manifested to all atheists and adversaries, the Supersoul is
beyond the darkness of illusion and matter. The words jnānam
jneyam means knowledge worthy of being known,
comprehensible by the mental power and characterized by
consciousness. As the Supreme Lord is the origin of the soul, the
soul is only knowable through Him, He is also the most worthy
object of knowledge. The Supreme Lord knows Himself by His
Self alone. His state of knowing is not dependent on any external
source outside of Himself. In special cases, He is able to be
known by others as it is possible to know Him by His desire and
also by realization of the soul. Yet, only by His grace can this be
manifested and without His grace, knowledge of Him can never
be manifested.
In the Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.8. It states that: tam ha
devam ātma-buddhi-prakasam mumuksur vai saranam aham
prapadye. This means: the Supreme Lord shines more brilliantly
than the sun and only by surrendering to Him can one attain
liberation. There is no other way to save ourselves from the
repeated cycles of birth and death: the Supreme Lord Krishna
known as Parabrahman is, hrdisarvasy dhisthitam, situated in the
heart of all sentient beings.
TEXT 19 इत षेरं िा ्ानं ्ेयं च८् ं समास ः।

म्भ् ए ्वव्ाय म्भावाय८पप्य ॥
े १९॥
iti kṣhetraṁ tathā jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ coktaṁ samāsataḥ
mad-bhakta etad vijñāya mad-bhāvāyopapadyate
iti -- thus; kṣhetraṁ -- the field of activities; tathā -- and; jñānaṁ
-- knowledge; jñeyaṁ -- the object of knowledge; ca -- also;
uktaṁ -- described; samāsataḥ -- in summary; mad-bhakta -- My
devotee; etad -- every one of this; vijñāya -- understanding; mad-
bhāvāyopapadyate -- attains to My divine nature.
Consequently, the body, the knowledge and the object of
knowledge are described in brief by Me. All My devotees who
completely recognize these will attain My divine nature.
ANNOTATION: The body is the field of activities, the
knowledge of the body is mentioned in the previous verses,
especially in the 6th and 7th verses. Krishna is pointing out that
His devotees are particularly qualified, and he reveals what they
will achieve by being devoted to Him. Beginning with the words
iti kshetram tatha jnānam, signifying knowledge of the field of
activity, He is referring to kshetra the five fundamental elements
(earth, water, air, fire and ether), as well as the subtle senses that
denotes ego, intelligent and mind, etc. For the purpose of
comprehending subjects of this material world there is a need for
kshetra, the body. The words tatha jnānam refer to these 20
excellent spiritual qualities given in verses 8 to 12. Beginning
with amanitvam, or reverence, Krishna concludes this theme by
confirming that the knowledge of self-realization and the
kshetra-jna (or knower of the field of activity) is actual
knowledge; that all knowledge which does not facilitate this soul
realization is nescience. Then Krishna explains the eternal
existence of the two kshetra-jna, the soul and the Supersoul. This
is denoted by the word vijnaya (realizing). Realizing the true
nature of the field of activity by virtue of the above mentioned
spiritual qualities are the means to realizing the kshetrajna and
transcendence of the perpetual cycle of birth and death. In
conclusion, only Krishna's devotees can understand the

Bhagavad-Gītā, others who speculate on their own and act
whimsically will never be able to understand the essence of its
teachings. No matter how much they try to comprehend the Gītā,
they will still be unable to realize the essential point of the
teaching, in its entirety.
TEXT 20 रकृत ं पु
ु षं चव वव््यनादी उभाववप।
ववकारां्च गण ु ां्चव वव्धि रकृत संभवान ्॥२०॥
prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhy anādī ubhāv api
vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛti-sambhavān
prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ -- the material energy and the living entities;
iva -- certainly; viddhy -- you know that; anādī-- beginningless;
ubhāvapi -- also both; vikārāṁś -- transformations of the body;
ca -- also; guṇāṁś -- the three modes; ca -- also; iva -- certainly;
viddhi -- know; prakṛti -- by the material nature; sambhavān --
made possible.
You may know with certainty that both the material energy
and living entities are beginningless and that transformations
of the body and the three modes are made possible by the
material nature.
ANNOTATION: Sri Krishna is giving an amendment to the
kshetra (or body), from where the body arise and what its forms
are. What is the nature of the entity known as the kshetrajna (or
knower of the field of activity), and what are its powers and
potencies? All these things are scientifically explained by the
Supreme Lord in this and the next four verses. If material nature
were to have a beginning then we would have to accept that there
must be another prakriti - material nature, to explain its cause,
and then we would have to accept and another for that cause, and
so forth. Therefore, Krishna elucidates this point by declaring
that both material nature and soul are without beginning, and the
manifestation of His energy. It should be understood that the
evolution of the body, the senses, the modes of material nature of
goodness, passion and ignorance and their modifications such as
happiness, misery, delusion all arise from material nature.
Material nature is the universal housing for all living

entities, created by the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
Lord Krishna. Originally, material nature and souls were
absorbed in the body of Mahā-Vishnu, the plenary portion of
Lord Krishna for the material creation. All living entities are
independent by nature, but depend on the supremely independent
Lord for all their sustenance and nourishment, whether they live
in the material or spiritual world. Yet, when the living entity
desires to live independent of their original seed given father,
Lord Krishna, the father in His mercy to His children arranges a
place to live in the material nature. No one can trace the history
of this disobedience and only Krishna knows how this occurred.
Material nature is the manifested world with the variegated food,
water, air, fire, land and space with all other facilities for living
comfortably for all living entities.
Before material nature manifested its varieties, there was an
unrealized potential for material nature was called pradhāna.
This is where all these material variegated characteristics were
lay before the creation. By the Lord’s attention to pradhāna, the
pradhāna was electrified which led to the manifestation of the
material varieties, which are called mahāt-tattva. This is the great
truth or manifested material nature. Through the glance of the
Mahā-Vishnu, the jīva souls enter into prakriti and begin their
life based on their previous actions. Spiritually unqualified jīvas
are put into the material nature from the beginning of the
creation. At the time of annihilation, if they hadn’t yet realized
their mistake of being independent of God and have not rectified
this by engaging in Krishna consciousness, then they merge back
into the body of Lord Mahā-Vishnu. There, they remain dormant
for billions of years until Mahā-Vishnu sets another creation with
His paramount energy. Thus, souls which are unable to enter into
the Kingdom of God return to the path of repeated cycle of birth
and death.
These tiny purushas are the enjoyers of the varieties of the
material nature and have, therefore, always been implicated by
their own actions, since time immemorial. In this verse, it is said
by the Lord that both material nature and living entities are
beginningless. The general use of the term ‘living entities’ refers

not to a particular individual, but for zillions of souls always
present in the material nature, just as the prison house is always
filled with criminals rather than housing just one particular
criminal. Even if a particular criminal is released, his cell will be
occupied by somebody else.
The material variegated characteristics are not required
unless the living entities, the enjoyers of these variegated
characteristic, were not, first, placed in the material nature. For
instance farmers may not need to produce a harvest, with its
surplus of food, unless they have a sufficient number of
customers to buy the harvest. Thus, the material variegated
characteristics of creation would not be required unless the tiny
souls were there to utilize them. Consequently, the material
nature and living entities eternally co-existed and there is no
trace of when they both came to exist because time is eternal.
When the living entities come to the material nature they come
under the laws of material nature and their transformations and
combinations are completely based on the material nature. When
living entities rise above material nature, they become superior
because they have a developed consciousness.
TEXT 21 कायाकरणक ्ाृ वे े ःु रकृत ु्य ।े
पु
ु षः सख
ु दःु खानां भ८् ्ृ वे े ु
ु ्य ॥
े २१॥
kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir uchyate
puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛtve hetur uchyate
kārya-kāraṇa -- the cause and effect; kartṛtve -- in the matter of
creation; hetuḥ -- the tool; prakṛtir -- material nature; uchyate --
is declared; puruṣaḥ -- the individual beings; sukha-duḥkhānāṁ -
- of happiness and distress; bhoktṛtve -- in the matter of
experiencing or enjoyment; hetur -- responsible or instrument;
uchyate -- is said to be.
In the subject matter of creation, the material nature is
responsible for all causes and effects; in the matter of
experiencing happiness and distress, the individual living
entity is declared to be responsible.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna elaborates how the purusha or

jīva soul, the eternal manifestation of the Supreme Lord, is the
cause of enjoyment and suffering, whereas the material nature is
the facilitator of causes and effects. Varieties appears in the
nature from the ultimate cause, who is Krishna Himself. In the
Taittiriya Upanishad 3.1.1 it is stated that yato va imāni bhūtani
jāyante; yena jātani jīvanti; yat prayanty abhisamvisanti,
meaning everything is generated from Lord Krishna, everything
is maintained by Him, and everything is annihilated by His
energy. Therefore, by their actions and reactions, the energies
which come from Him create the cosmic manifestations and also
dissolve the whole of creation. However, the material causes and
effects are originated in the material nature. It is programmed
perfectly based on the intelligence received from Mahā-Vishnu.
Everything works automatically, just like an automated machine
works according to the way it is programmed by the
programmer. If one wants a reduction or change in such a
program, one may have to make a request to the programmer.
Similarly, the superintendent of the material nature is the
Goddess Durgā, she can make several changes upon request and
make one relatively happy.
In the material nature there are millions of different bodies.
When a living entity obtains a particular type of body, the living
entity is forced to act according to the structure of that body, and
every individual body develops its own set of distinct features.
Although living entities are superior to the material nature in
terms of quality, they do not have the power to control the
material nature. This is true despite attempts to control it. The
material nature has no efficiency in controlling the jīva soul, but
it controls the body. Thus, once they are trapped in a particular
body that body is controlled by the material nature. For example,
if a living being obtained a body of snake, dog, birds or a human,
all that they have is to live according to the discipline given to
that body. If a soul obtained a body of a tiger then he acts as a
tiger. A worm in the stool has to live in that atmosphere until it
dies and moves onto another species. Without a material body no
soul can live in this material sphere, even the ghost has a ghostly
body. Every material body has its own nature of action and it is
programmed and endowed by the material nature. Thus, the
cause and effect is created by prakriti. Yet, the pleasure and pain
of the body is directly experienced by the jīva soul who is
trapped in that body. However, in the human form, the action
pertaining to the body, which is called karma, can be changed by
superior actions. This is called buddhi-yoga or devotional service
to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.
When one starts acting based on the spiritual nature of the living
entities in relation with Krishna, the living entity is delivered
from these 8,400,000 types of bodies and goes to his original
spiritual home. One must know that there are solutions for all
problems, as there is medicine for all known diseases - all one
has to do is to come across the correct medicine or the solution.
However, Krishna’s consciousness is the only solution for
getting out of these lower forms of bodies. One must acquire this
transcendental formula or medicine from the Lord Himself or
from one of His bona-fide representatives, a vaishnava guru.
TEXT 22 पु
ु षः रकृत थि८ ह भ्
ु ् े रकृत ्ातगण
ु ान ्।
कारणं गण
ु स्ग८ऽथय सदस्य८तन्तमस॥
ु २२॥
puruṣhaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān
kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ’sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu
puruṣhaḥ -- the individual living beings; prakṛti-stho -- being
situated in the material energy; hi -- certainly; bhuṅkte --
experiences or enjoys; prakṛti-jān -- produced by the material
energy; guṇān -- the three modes of material nature; kāraṇaṁ --
is the cause; guṇa-saṅgo -- the charming connection with the
modes of material nature; asya -- of the living entity; sad-asad --
in good and bad or superior and inferior; yoni-janmasu -- birth in
the species of life.
The individual living entities in the material nature certainly
experience the three modes of material nature. This is due to
a correlation with modes of material nature. Consequently,
the living entities meet with superior and inferior life forms
in the various species of life.
ANNOTATION: Several times Krishna explained that the
material nature works in different modes, goodness, passion and
ignorance. The living entity situated in the material body enjoys
the material opulence that is created by these material modes of
nature, and the capacity for enjoyment is defined by these modes.
Thus, a person in the mode of goodness has a tendency to enjoy
the items that are situated in the mode of goodness; a person in
the mode of ignorance has a tendency to enjoy the items situated
in this mode. And persons in the mode of passion are disposed to
enjoy items that are situated in that mode. Unlimited varieties are
created by the mixture of these modes of natures. Consequently,
all the material varieties are defined by these three modes of
nature.
The possibility of the soul is said to be the cause of
happiness and misery. This is incorrect and indefensible because
the soul is completely spiritual and is the quintessence of
knowledge, consciousness and is blissful by nature. Although the
essential nature of the soul is unchallengeable, Sri Krishna
clarifies here that when an embodied being is engrossed in
experiencing objects of material nature from the three modes of
nature, various modifications arise due to the actions and
reactions. It is through the performance of these actions that
souls are caused to be born in exalted or degraded wombs, in any
of the eighty four lakhs of different species that exist throughout
the material creation. The demigods such as Indra, Chandra and
Varuna are births in the mode of goodness. The birth of demons
is considered to be the outcome of the mode of ignorance. The
mixed wombs of exalted and degraded, such as those born of
humans, are attributed to the mode of passion. The higher beings
are vaishnavas and brāhmanas and the lower classes are the
śūdras and below them are the degraded mleechas - the meat
eaters and the chandālas - the dog eaters. Animals are adjusted to
the instincts of their species through nescience, in the mode of
ignorance. The consequence of experiencing any of these wombs
is a result of the soul exclusively and continuously attempting to

exploit and enjoy material nature’s variegated characteristics, and
the subsequent karma derived from such activities. The most
powerful cause is the mental attachment formed from foreseeing
the pleasure of enjoying the sense objects of touch, taste, form,
etc. This leads to ceaseless endeavours to achieve the objects of
such desires, and thus to the continual formation of karma. Thus,
the soul residing within the body, who is bewildered and enticed
by material nature, is subjected to eternal transmigration to the
wombs of higher and lower species. Such souls continue to
perform their activities and reap the ensuing karma, leading them
to ceaselessly be born and reborn. In conclusion, we can see that
there is no higher or lower species in terms of the soul or its
consciousness. The soul will experience the cycles of birth and
death until it attains a state of renunciation and detachment from
material enjoyment. Thus, if the heart is not made pure by
Krishna consciousness, there can be no self-realization, or
freedom from the repeated cycle of birth and death in this
indecent world.
TEXT 23 उपर्िानम
ु त ा च भ ाा भ८् ा म े ्वरः।
परमा्मेत चातय्
ु ८ दे े ऽ्थमतपु
ु षः परः॥२३॥
upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ
paramātmeti cāpy ukto dehe ’smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ
upadraṣṭa -- in dwelling observer; ānumantā ca -- also santioner;
bhartā -- master; bhoktā -- an enjoyer; maheśvaraḥ -- the
Supreme Lord; paramātma -- the Supreme Soul; iti -- also; ca --
and; āpy -- indeed; ukto -- is told; dehe -- within the body; asmin
-- this; puruṣaḥ -- enjoyer; paraḥ -- transcendental.
Indeed, within the bodies of individual living entities there is
another being, the Supreme Lord, the original proprietor and
enjoyer. He lives as the indwelling observer and sanctions the
actions of the body, He is called the Supersoul.
ANNOTATION: This verse is very revealing. There are two
souls in each and every body; one is the individual soul and the
other is the Supersoul. The Supersoul is the master of all living

entities and resides in all bodies as a witness and sanctions all of
a living entity’s actions. Without His guidance neither the living
entity can have little water nor can a blade of grass move. He is,
therefore, called bhokta, the maintainer. It is stated here that the
Supersoul, who is always with the individual soul, is the
representation of the Supreme Lord and Supreme proprietor of
everything one can see. He is not many; He is just one Soul who
can expand into trillions of Supersoul and into the heart of
trillions of individual souls. He is not an ordinary living entity,
but the Supreme Brahman. The Supersoul residing in the
physical body of all living entities is seemingly part of material
nature. However, the Supersoul is beyond the physical existence
and is transcendental to the material manifestation, He is
distinctly different and not associated with the power and
qualities of the material nature. Lord Krishna gives the reasons
for this by revealing that the Purusha is upadrsta - the witness,
anumanta - the one who sanctions, bharta - the one who sustains,
and bhokta - the nourisher or maintainer, all which confirm the
Purusha as a distinctly independent entity.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.11 begins with eko devah
sarvabhūtesu: the Supreme Lord free from all mundane and
material qualities is the indwelling monitor of all living entities,
it is He who sanctions all actions for all living entities and it is
He who is the ultimate ruler of all. The Supreme Lord Krishna is
the ruler of even Brahma and Siva, and is related in the Vedic
scriptures as Supreme Brahman or the Supreme Being. The
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.22 begins with sa va mahānaja
ātma: the Supreme Lord is the supreme ruler, the Lord and the
protector of all beings. He is the sole catalyst that keeps all
creations, dimensions, universes and worlds standardized and
synchronized with each other. Lord Krishna confirms this with
the description of mahesvarah, which means the supreme
controller; Lord Krishna also monitors, sanctions, supports and
controls all the demigods who are responsible for universal
maintenance, throughout creation. This raises the point that
demigods have very limited independence and has little scope to

act according to their own wishes; it is the Supreme Lord who
empowers their consciousness and energizes their minds to
accomplish their goals. Thus, He is referred to here as the one
who sanctions.
TEXT 24 यएवं वेवत पु
ु षं रकृत ं चगण
ु ःस ।
सवािा व म
ा ान८ऽवप न स भय
ू ८ऽभभ्ाय ॥
े २४॥
ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca guṇaiḥ saha
sarvathā vartamāno ’pi na sa bhūyo ’bhijāyate
ya evaṁ -- anyone in this way; vetti -- understands; puruṣaṁ --
the living entity; prakṛtiṁ -- material energy; ca -- and; guṇaiḥ
saha -- along with the modes of material nature; sarvathā -- in
any condition or ways; vartamāno ’pi -- although existing; na --
he never; bhūyo abhijāyate -- takes his birth again.
Anyone who comprehends the material nature, the living
entity and along with the three modes of material nature, in
this way, although existing in any of the conditions of life, he
never takes birth again.
ANNOTATION: A complete comprehension of the position of
the soul entails that he is the servant of the Supersoul; the
Supersoul is an expansion of Lord Krishna, the origin of all souls
are Krishna Himself. This is the greatest difference between the
soul and Supersoul. Real knowledge is acquired by study of the
material nature, as involving all facilities, such as living spaces,
air, water, sustenance, together with the study of the divisions of
nature. This knowledge is available in the scriptures, compiled
by the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord Srila Vyāsa deva
and other similar vaishnava achāryas. Either by studying
scriptures or hearing from qualified spiritual teachers, one can
realize all these subjects as they are. One must understand these
subjects as it is with one’s clear mind, intellect and ego. Only
when it is understood in this way is one eligible for liberation
from the path of repeated cycles of birth and death, regardless of
the nature of his current physical appearance in this world.

TEXT 25 ्यानेना्मतन प्य्त केधचदा्मानमा्मना।
अतये सां्येन य८गेन कमाय८गेन चापरे ॥२५॥
dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecid ātmānam ātmanā
anye sāṅkhyena yogena karma-yogena cāpare
dhyānena -- by meditation; atmani -- within the self; paśyanti --
see; kecid -- some; ātmānam -- the Supreme consciousness, the
Supersoul; ātmanā -- by the mind; anye -- others; sāṅkhyena --
by analytical study of material elements; yogena -- by the yoga
system; karma-yogena -- linking the Supreme with actions; cā --
also; apare -- others.
Some see the Supreme Lord within their heart by meditation,
some see Him by the mind, some see Him by analytical study
of the material elements; yet others see Him by actions
without fruitive desires.
ANNOTATION: Some realize the divine Supersoul by
devotional meditation on the four handed Lord Vishnu,
dhyanenātmani pasyanti. jnānis realize the Supersoul by the
cultivation of spiritual knowledge by separating the spirit and
matter. Then there are many who engage in the worldly activities
to realize the existence of the Supersoul by hearing and chanting.
The mix word karma-yogena represents activities of hearing
about the Lord and chanting the names of the Lord and then
remembering the form of the four handed Supersoul Vishnu's
form or Nārāyana, Narasimha, Balarāma and Krishna, or any of
His other bona-fide incarnations given in the Srimad-
Bhāgavatam. This is also considered as a form of meditation as
confirmed in the scriptures which state that the performers of
actions listen to the amazing, sublime pastimes of the Supreme
Lord and, delighting in them, meditate upon them constantly and
realize Him. One who listens to the subject matter of the
pastimes of the Lord can grasp the same matters nicely, by
complete realization one can meditate on Him. Only living
entities with spiritual wisdom can realize the Supreme Lord by
exclusive meditation on Him. Meditation is the most perfect and

time proven mode of achievement. Hence, the other methods
referred to here should only be considered as alternatives for
realization of the soul.
TEXT 26 अतये ्वेवम्ानत ः रु्वातये्य उपास ।े

ऽे वप चात रत्येव म्ृ युं रुत परायणाः॥२६॥
anye tv evam ajānantaḥ śrutvānyebhya upāsate
te ’pi cātitaranty eva mṛtyuṁ śruti-parāyaṇāḥ
anye tv -- yet others; evam -- thus; ajānantaḥ -- not discussed on
spiritual knowledge; śrutva -- by hearing; anyebhya -- from
others; upāsate -- engage in worship; te -- they; api -- also; ca --
and; ātitaranty -- transcend; eva -- certainly; mṛtyuṁ -- the path
of death; śruti-parāyaṇāḥ -- tendency in the process ofhearing.
Yet, others who have not discussed the spiritual subject
matter engage in worship to the Supreme Lord by hearing of
Him from others, they also transcend the path of repeated
death and birth because of their tendency to listen to spiritual
authorities.
ANNOTATION: The Lord says in this verse, referring to others
who are less qualified with the words anye tu that, apart from all
kinds of perfected beings such as yogis, tapasvis, jnānis, karma
yogis, there are many people who have not discussed or
meditated on the Supersoul, heard about the soul, material nature,
time or any kind of theological discussion. Yet, they are by
nature obedient to the saintly devotees because of their habit of
listening to the authorities and have no tendency to argue with
bona-fide spiritual authorities. When they follow such guidance
they also transcend the path of repeated cycles of birth and death.
The word api signifies the levels of proficiency that different
gradations of human beings possess.
TEXT 27 याव्सं्ाय े ककं धच्स्वं थिावर््गमम ्।

षेरषेर्संय८गा त्वव्धि भर षाभ॥२७॥
yāvat sañjāyate kiñcit sattvaṁ sthāvara-jaṅgamam

kṣetra-kṣetrajña-saṁyogāt tad viddhi bhāratarṣabha
yāvat -- whatever; sañjāyate -- comes into being; kiñcit --
anything; sattvaṁ -- existence ; sthāvara-jaṅgamam -- moving or
not moving; kṣhetra-kṣhetrajña -- body and the knower of the
body; saṁyogāt -- by the interaction of; tad viddhi -- you must
know it; bhāratarṣabha -- O best of the Bhāratas.
O best of the Bhāratas, you know that whatever comes into
being in life, whether it is moving or non-moving, they are
produced by the interaction between the field of activities
and knower of the field.
ANNOTATION: So from this verse until the end of the chapter
He reiterates the nature of spirit and matter in reference to His
previous statements. All living beings in the material world are
due to the combination of matter and spirit. Without the touch of
the spirit soul no physical body can move. The body is always
dead whether it was in the presence of the living entity or in the
absence of living entity. It is the living entity that activates the
body, with the words yavat kincit meaning ‘whatsoever’ and
stāvara-jangamam meaning ‘immobile or mobile’ and sanjāyate
meaning ‘to be born’. All absolutely arise from the combination
of matter and spirit and not from just matter alone.
TEXT 28 समं सवेषु भू ष
े ु त ्ठत ं परमे्वरम ्।
ववन्य्थवववन्यत ं यः प्यत स प्यत ॥२८॥
samaṁ sarveṣu bhūteṣu tiṣṭhantaṁ parameśvaram
vinaśyatsv avinaśyantaṁ yaḥ paśyati sa paśyati
samaṁ -- equally; sarveṣu bhūteṣu -- in all living entities;
tiṣṭhantaṁ -- residing; parameśvaram -- the Supreme controller,
the Supersoul; vinaśyatsv -- within the perishable; avinaśyantaṁ
-- as the imperishable; yaḥ -- anyone who; paśyati -- perceives;
sa paśyati -- he actually sees.
Anyone who perceives the Supreme Controller, the
Supersoul, residing equally in all living entities, and He who
knows that the Supersoul and the individual soul in the

perishable body are imperishable, actually sees.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord mentions who is the
‘actual seer’, yah pasyati sa pasyati. Consider the following
situation. In a room there is a light bulb that is turned on and
shining brightly. There is sunshine in the same room. When the
room collapses the light bulb breaks because of its temporal
nature, but neither the electric current nor the sunshine are
destroyed or removed from that room. Similarly, in all material
bodies there is the grouping of Supersoul, soul and material
nature (the matter). If something happens to the body by accident
the body would perish, but the Supersoul and individual soul
never perishes. The Supreme Lord, the Supersoul, always
accompanies the individual soul like an infant that is always
carefully noticed by the parents. Without the Supersoul, living
entities cannot be maintained nor have their desires fulfilled.
When one understands that the Supersoul and individual soul are
eternal, only then does he actually see. All others even though
they ‘see’, they do not see reality as it actually is. Therefore, one
who thinks that the soul and Supersoul is subject to cycles of
birth and death, or that it is modifiable and variable like the
external forms of living entities which are always changing, will
always remain confined to the unending cycle of birth and death
in material existence.
TEXT 29 समं प्य्त सवार समव्थि मी्वरम ्।

न ह नथ्या्मना्मानं ८ यात परां गत म ्॥२९॥
samaṁ paśyan hi sarvatra samavasthitam īśvaram
na hinasty ātmanātmānaṁ tato yāti parāṁ gatim
samaṁ-pasyan -- equally seeing; hi -- certainly; sarvatra-
samavasthitam -- everywhere equally situated; īśvaram -- the
Supreme controller, the Supersoul; na hinasty -- does not
degrade; ātman -- by the mind; ātmānaṁ -- the soul; tato -- thus;
yāti -- reach; parāṁ gatim -- the Supreme destination.
He who sees the Supreme controller equally situated

everywhere; he does not fall down by the mind. Rather, he
attains the Supreme destination.
ANNOTATION: By an elaborate cultivation of the 20 qualities
mentioned in the beginning of this chapter one can develop an
unwavering attention to the Supreme Lord. The real God
consciousness is to see all living entities as part and parcel of
God – Krishna, and see Krishna's presence equally in all living
entities. By seeing the resplendent presence of the Supreme Lord
everywhere - within oneself, within all beings and within all
things that is real vision. One should not perform any activity
that will degrade one's soul nor degrade the soul of others. This
enlightenment is not possible until one systematically hears and
chants the name and pastimes of the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna's name and forms. After
some time spent in such attentive performance of devotional
activities one will begin to see the Supreme Lord in the heart of
all living entities, or he will start seeing the presence of the
Supersoul in all beings. Such a devotee never falls down from his
original spiritual position; he is always protected by the
Supersoul.
Thus, in the Isopanishad mantra 6, it is said:
yas tu sarvani bhūtany ātmany evanupasyati
sarva-bhūtesu cātmanam tato na vijugupsate
“He who sees everything systematically in relation to the
Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as in and from Him,
part and parcel, and who sees the Supreme Lord within
everything never hates anything or any being”.
TEXT 30 रकृ्यव च कमााणण करयमाणातन सवाशः।
यः प्यत िा्मानमक ाारं स प्यत ॥३०॥
prakṛtyaiva ca karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ
yaḥ paśyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśyati
prakṛtya -- by material nature; iva -- certainly; ca -- also;
karmāṇi-kriyamāṇāni -- activities are being performed; sarvaśaḥ
-- in all respects; yaḥ paśyati -- anyone who perceives; tathā --

also; ātmānam -- himself; akartāraṁ -- as the non-doer; sa -- he;
paśyati -- sees perfectly.
He who can perceive that all actions are in all respects
carried out by the material nature, that the self does nothing,
such a person sees perfectly
of Godhead states yah pasyati: one who sees or understands that
all activities in all aspects are actually performed by the material
nature and that the soul is only the witness and performs no
actions. This is actualized by the transformations of three modes
of material nature, which direct and influence the mind,
intelligence, and all sense organs to the production of action.
Such a person comprehends that the pure spirit soul is only the
monitor and witness of these actions. Any misconception arising
contrary to this reality is due to the mistaken identification of the
soul as being the physical body, instead of understanding that the
imperishable soul is completely independent from the perishable
physical body, that the spirit soul occupies a particular body is
based on one's previous actions.
All living entities are endowed with a particular material
body according to the desire of the living entity to enjoy certain
varieties and facilities of the material nature. It is under the
Supersoul's supervision that one obtains a material body, but for
the Supreme Lord there exist no previous actions. Srila Vyāsa
deva has confirmed that the Supreme Lord is transcendental to
material nature, actions and time unlike the spirit souls. The
Skanda Purāna states: “From a single desire of the cosmic entity,
Lord Krishna, the entire creation is manifested. He is the creator
of everything but nothing can create Him. He Himself has stated
earlier that: I am the Lord of all creation. I am the progenitor of
Brahma, Rudra and Indra. Everything rests in Me and it is from
Me that everything has arisen. Know that all creation has
manifested from Me alone”.
TEXT 31 यदा भू पि
ृ ्भावमेकथिमनप ु ्यत ।
एव च ववथ ारं र्म संप्य े दा॥३१॥
yadā bhūta-pṛthag-bhāvam eka-stham anupaśyati

tata eva ca vistāraṁ brahma sampadyate tadā
yadā -- when; bhūta-pṛthag-bhāvam -- diverse identities of all
living entities; eka-stham -- as situated in one; anupaśyati --
actually perceives; tata eva -- thereafter; ca -- also; vistāraṁ --
the expansion; brahma -- the Brahman; sampadyate -- is attains;
tadā -- at that time.
When a sagacious being sees that the diversity present in the
forms of all living entities is merely due to the covering of the
soul by material bodies, thereafter he actually perceives how
living entities are expanded all over universe, at that time he
achieves the Brahman.
ANNOTATION: A person who has internal visions rather than
only having gross or external visions cannot comprehend the
nature of the living entity. Although there are many millions of
different bodies like fish, trees, plants, insects, reptiles, birds,
beasts, humans, semi demigods, demigods, gandarvās, kinnarās,
etc. A person with spiritual vision sees only the spirit soul
dwelling inside all bodies, and that it is due to their different
desires that they have obtained these different varieties of bodies.
It is the spirit souls which make bodies functions, without spirit
soul the gross bodies cannot function. It can be understood by an
example of different motor vehicles running around all roads.
There are bicycles, bikes, three wheelers, four wheelers, six
wheelers, eight wheelers, ten wheelers and sixteen wheelers.
Though all these vehicles have different bodies, inside the
vehicle is a driver with two legs, hands and eyes. Similarly,
although there are many different types of living species with
different varieties of gross body, inside all these bodies is the
spirit soul. All spirit souls are individual with different
personalities. One who sees these various living entities are
spread around everywhere in the water, air, land, fire and in the
space is the actual seer, he has attained the spiritual vision of
Brahman.
TEXT 32 अनाहद्वा्तनगण
ुा ्वा्परमा्मायम ्ययः।
शरीरथि८ऽवप क९त य
े न कर८त न भलतय ॥
े ३२॥
anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ
śarīra-stho ’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate
anāditvān -- is without beginning; nirguṇatvāt -- due to not
having no material qualities or being transcendental; parama --
beyond material nature; ātmāyam -- this spirit; avyayaḥ --
inexhaustible; śarīra-stho api -- although dwelling in the body;
kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; na karoti -- does not do anything; na
lipyate -- nor is he intertwined.
O son of Kunti the spirit soul is without beginning,
immutable, having no material qualities, transcendental to
the modes of material nature. Although dwelling in this body,
he does not do anything, he is not intertwined.
ANNOTATION: It may be comprehended that the all-pervading
Supreme Soul as well as the localized individual soul are both
distinctly different from the material nature. It may also be
understood that it is only by the medium of material nature that
bodies and senses manifest and cause the embodied being to
engage in activities which gives results to all actions. But the
question may be raised that if Supersoul and the soul have such
intimate contact with the physical body, which is experiencing
joy and grief as it performs unlimited activities, then how are
they both not affected, implicated and contaminated by such
enactments and remain only as the witness and monitor?
Anticipating such an inquiry, Lord Krishna answers that
they are both ānaditvan nirgunatvat, meaning that they are both
eternal, without beginning and possessing no material qualities or
attributes whatsoever. As the knower of the sphere of activity is
imperishable, which is transcendental to material nature, and
everything is material including the physical body, mind and
intellect. Furthermore, the Supreme Lord is eternal, without any
beginning and is devoid of any material attributes, qualities. The
Supreme Lord is always distinctly exalted and superior to all
souls who are always subject to birth and the three fold miseries
of old age, disease and death. Everything is created completely
from the Supreme Lord alone, who is one, and has no second.
Yet, He is totally neutral and impartial to His creation. Even
though He resides within the physical body as Supersoul of every
soul, the Supreme Lord is witnessing all the activities performed,
yet no merits or demerits are attached to Him and He favours no
one.
TEXT 33 यिा सवाग ं स९््यादाकाशं न८पभलतय ।े
सवाराव्थि ८ दे े िा्मा न८पभलतय ॥
े ३३॥
yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣmyād ākāśaṁ nopalipyate
sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate
yathā -- as; sarva-gataṁ -- all-pervading; saukṣmyād -- due to
being subtle; ākāśaṁ -- the ether or sky; na -- never; opalipyate -
- mixes; sarvatra -- all pervading; āvasthito -- situated; dehe -- in
the body; tathā -- so; ātmā -- the self; nopalipyate -- is not
mixed.
The all-pervading ether never mixes with anything due to its
subtle nature, similarly, the self or soul situated in this body
is not mixed with that body.
ANNOTATION: There are many living beings, and each living
being has material body and within each material body there are
thousands of micro-organisms. The original position of all these
microbes is that they are by constitution Brahman. They never
mix with one's body even though they are situated in that body.
Within the body of all beings there is the all-pervading Supersoul
and the respective individual soul. They are not infected and
polluted by the material qualities associated with the physical
body, such as the disgusting elements of the body, pleasure and
pain, joy and distress. The Supreme Lord states the analogy of
akāsam, the sky, which subtly and automatically exists
everywhere through material nature, but is not contaminated, and
the properties of any object are not able to influence taint or
modify it. In the same way the soul and Supersoul, although
abiding within the physical bodies of all embodied beings, is not
contaminated or modified by the merits or demerits associated
with the actions of the physical body, be they demigods, human
or animal.
TEXT 34 यिा रकाशय्येकः कृ्थनं ल८कभममं रववः।
षेरं षेरी िा कृ्थनं रकाशयत भार ॥३४॥
yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ
kṣhetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata
yathā -- just as; prakāśayaty -- illuminates; ekaḥ -- one; kṛtsnaṁ
lokam -- the whole universe; imaṁ raviḥ -- this sun; kṣhetraṁ --
this physical body; kṣhetrī -- the spirit soul; tathā -- similarly;
kṛtsnaṁ -- all; prakāśayati -- illuminates; bhārata -- O son of
Bhārata.
Just as the sun lights up the entire universe with its
illumination, similarly, the spirit soul within this physical
body lights up the entire body by its consciousness, O son of
Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: In all material spheres, consciousness is the
symptom of the living entity. All living entities are endowed with
a particular type of body to enjoy the material varieties according
to their material desires. This is facilitated by the Super
consciousness or the Supersoul. The material universe is the
gigantic or virāt body of the Supersoul. The word prakāsayatih
means the Supersoul lights up the whole universal body by His
transcendental all-pervading consciousness, like the sun god
ravih lights up the whole universe, including the individual souls,
with his effulgence. Similarly, the individual soul lights up the
whole body by its consciousness and the consciousness of the
individual soul spreads throughout the body to the tip of the hair.
Therefore, it is understood that just as the sun, in its capacity of
illumination, differs from the universe it illuminates, in the same
way it is understood that the Supersoul is supremely different
from all individual souls; even though it illuminates them all with
consciousness. In the same manner one should understand that
the soul is exceptionally different from its physical body.
The Vedic scriptures state that the soul is neither
omnipresent nor modifiable in size. The Mundhoka Upanishad 3-
1-9 beginning eso anurātma chetasa veditavyo states: the soul is
infinitesimal in size and is realised directly by the mind that has
neutralised completely all effects and influences of the five
senses, by which the enlightenment of the soul is revealed. In the
Svetasvatara Upanishad 5-8 beginning balagra sata bhagasya
states: the soul is known to be as subtle as 1/100th the width of
the tip of a hair that again was divided into a 100 parts. This
equals 1/10,000 the width of the tip of a hair. The Prashna
Upanishad 3-11 beginning hrdi hyesha ātma states: the soul
resides in the heart where there are 101 nerves and for each nerve
there are 100 sub-nerves and each of these sub-nerve has 72,000
subordinate nerves. The Vedānta sūtra 2.3.24 beginning
gunadvalokavat states: the soul, although residing in the heart, by
its quality of consciousness illuminates the physical body as a
light illuminates one room. The Supersoul lights all the rooms,
therefore He is all pervading, while the individual soul is
localized in one body only. All discrepancies are dispelled from
these examples given in the Vedic scriptures.
TEXT 35 षेरषेर्य८रे वमत रं ्ानचषुषा।

भू रकृत म८षं च ये ववदय
ु ाा्त े परम ्॥३५॥
kṣhetra-kṣhetrajñayor evam antaraṁ jñāna-chakṣuṣā

bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣaṁ ca ye vidur yānti te param
kṣhetra -- the physical body; kṣhetrajñayor -- the owner of the
body; evam -- thus; antaraṁ -- the distinction; jñāna-chakṣuṣā --
the eyes of spiritual knowledge; bhūta -- the living entity;
prakṛti-mokṣaṁ -- freedom from the material existence; ca --
also; ye vidur -- those who know; yānti te -- they achieves;
param -- the Supreme.
Those who realize the distinction between physical body and

the owner of the body with the eye of spiritual knowledge,
and also know the freedom of all living entities from the
material existence, achieve the Supreme.
ANNOTATION: The actual annotations of this chapter are now
being concluded by the Lord. Those with the spiritual eye of
discriminative knowledge can see the difference and the
distinction between the material body- kshetra, the soul-
kshetrajna and knower of all bodies: the Super knower, the
Supersoul. By studying these entire three substances one can be
free from the physiological and psychological activities of the
body and situate one’s consciousness on the Supersoul. The
Supersoul is the father of the universe and is an expansion of
Lord Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. By
cultivating transcendental qualities mentioned in this chapter,
from 8 to 12, one can obtain the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
Such persons attain the supreme goal, the supreme destination,
they can return home to Godhead, the Krishna Loka.
I pay my respectful and humble obeisance to the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna, who appeared
simultaneously to mother Devaki and Prince Vasudev, Nanda
Mahāraja and mother Yasoda at the end of Dwāpara-yuga, and
later for the purpose of pastimes became ‘one’. Thereafter He
was known as Yasodanandan, Devakinandan, and
Shyamasundara Krishna and Vāsudeva Krishna, the embodiment
of bliss, knowledge and eternity. He is all powerful, Supreme
Soul of all souls, who eloquently described and sweetly clarified
what, was generally misunderstood by common people as well as
people in described as saintly persons - the difference between
the temporary material nature, the soul and the Supersoul.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Material nature, Soul and Supersoul’
by H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami

1. Appraise in detail the actions of the Supersoul.
2. Describe and give a contrast between two purushas and
functions of prakriti.
1. What are the items that Arjuna questioned Lord Krishna
about in the beginning of Chapter Thirteen and what did
Krishna answer? Explain.
2. Define what is real knowledge? What is body and how
many souls are in it?
3. Give an in depth explanation of the analogy of land lord and
tenant.
4. Name all the elements of material nature and explain them.
5. Explain the verse 3-11 of Svetasvatara Upanishad.
6. The Supersoul is the source of all senses, the maintainer of
all living entities, and the master of the modes material
nature, yet what are the three other characteristics of
Supersoul which contradict these?
7. The Supersoul divides Himself by Himself? How is that
explained in this verse?
8. Give a detailed explanation of the mystery of the material
creation?
9. Describe the meaning of the verse 3.1.1Taittiriya
Upanishad.
10. What is the destination of people who have not heard about
the Supreme Lord, but they have the tendency to listen to
the spiritual authorities?
11. Who actually sees things as they are? Explain the analogy of
motor vehicles?
12. Define ānaditvan nirgunatvat?
13. What is the original position of all micro-organisms in the
body? Explain.
14. Discuss the universal illumination and the individual living

entity illumination.
15. Write the prayer of the commentator.
1. “The unmanifested modes of material nature are called
______________.”
2. “The Sānskrit term for the enjoyer is ____________.”
3. “The living entity knows the pains and pleasures of his own
body, whereas the Lord is conscious of
________________.”
4. “The primal stage of the false ego is called __________.”
[Sānskrit term]
5. “One who knows all bodies is called in
sānskrit _____________.”
6. “The absence of false ego means to know one’s own identity
as _____________.”
7. “To understand one’s body and the knower of the body is
called _____________.”
8. “His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and His ears
are everywhere. In this way the ____________ exists,
pervading everything.”
9. The ________ is always dead whether it was in the presence
of the living entity or in the absence of the living entity?
10. “The ______________ is the original source of all senses,
yet He is without senses”
11. “In the material world, Brahmajyoti, the Lord’s spiritual
effulgence, is covered by____________.”
12. The soul resides in the heart where there are _____nerves
and for each nerve there are ______ sub-nerves and each of
these sub-nerve has _____ subordinate nerves.

1 “When one is not anxious to be honored by others, he is said
to be____________” (distressed, humble, non-violent,
tolerant)
2. “Material nature and the living entities should be understood
to be____________” (limitless, beginning less,
unfathomable, unconditional)
3. “The cause of various sufferings and enjoyment is -
____________”. (the Supersoul, the individual soul, the
Māya, the Demigods)
4. “____________ means without material qualities.” (Guna,
Sad-guna, Gunadita, Nirguna)
5. “The ____________, although situated in one place,
illumines the entire universe.” (soul, Supersoul, sun, moon)
6. “There are____________ types living entities”. [94,000,000,
8,400,000, 9,040,000, I00,000,000]
7. “There are people, who although not conversant in -
____________, begin to worship the Supreme Person. This
is due to their tendency to hear from authorities.”
(transcendental knowledge, knowledge of the supreme,
spiritual knowledge, material knowledge)
8. “Although ____________ appears to be divided among all
beings, He is never divided.” (Krishna, Vishnu, Nārāyana,
Supersoul)
9. “One who practices hearing both honor and dishonor from
others is called ____________.” (patient, tolerant, merciful,
truthful)
10. “A_____________ tree centers its activities around the
chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra” (Baniyan, Bael,
Nim, Chaitanya)
Divisions of Material Nature 849
CHAPTER 14
Divisions of Material Nature
ु ाच
परं भय
ू ः रव्याभम ्ानानां ्ानमत ु मम ्।
य््ा्वा मन ु यः सवे परां भस्धिभम ८ ग ाः॥१॥
paraṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣyāmi jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamam
yaj jñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ
Godhead said; paraṁ -- the supreme; bhūyaḥ -- again;
pravakṣyāmi -- I will tell; jñānānāṁ -- of all knowledge; jñānam
uttamam -- the supreme knowledge; yaj jñātvā -- by knowing
which; munayaḥ-sarve -- all the sages; parāṁ siddhim --
supreme perfection; ito -- from this world; gatāḥ -- attained.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: I will
tell you again the supreme spiritual wisdom, the best of all
knowledge, by knowing which all sages have achieved the
supreme perfection from this world.
ANNOTATION: In the previous chapter, the Lord elaborately
explained the reality of the material nature, as comprised of:
prakriti, material nature; kshetra, the body; kshetrajna, the
knower of the body and the Supreme Lord who is also kshetrajna
or knower of the all bodies. In this chapter, the Lord discusses
the binding effects of the three modes of material nature
goodness, passion and ignorance. He explains the effect of these
849
modes upon material bodies, and that they are the cause of birth
of all living entities. This is called jnānanam jnānam uttamam. It
is the highest knowledge and most supreme wisdom, and
presents the solution of deliverance from these modes of material
nature. Thus, it is by realizing this unique knowledge that the
great sages of the past have attained perfection and transferred to
the spiritual world.
The Supreme Lord now explains the same knowledge in a
better way to Arjuna and rest of the world, and that by learning
and applying this knowledge one will achieve liberation from the
cycle of death and birth, and attain supreme perfection.
TEXT 2 इदं ्ानमप
ु ाधर्य मम साि्यामाग ाः।
सगेऽवप न८प्ायत े रलये न ्यि्त च॥२॥
idaṁ jñānam upāśritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥ
sarge ’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti ca
idaṁ -- this; jñānam -- knowledge or wisdom; upāśritya --
taking refuge in; mama -- My; sādharmyam -- divine nature;
āgatāḥ -- attaining; sarge api -- during universal creation;
nopajāyante -- neither born; pralaye na -- nor in the annihilation;
vyathanti ca -- also are disturbed.
Taking shelter in this wisdom, one can attain My divine
nature, like My own. Thus situated in this way, one is neither
born during the universal creation nor destroyed at the time
of annihilation.
ANNOTATION: The preliminary step of human perfection is to
cultivate transcendental knowledge. Transcendental knowledge is
unlike any material knowledge taught by the schools of the
world. Such ‘material education’ merely helps one to work on
the maintenance of the material body and it has nothing to do
with elevating one’s soul. Therefore, all inquisitive members of
any society ought to carefully cultivate spiritual or transcendental
knowledge. When one attains transcendental knowledge and acts
according to the injunctions of the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam, one will develop Krishna’s qualities.
The soul is eternal and permanently individual. There can

be no change at any time on the subject of this. Many
inexperienced jnānis- impersonalists mistakenly desire to be one
with God while leaving behind their individuality. Yet, their
results are temporary since it is usually only possible to remain
one with God in this way for a few days or for a few years. The
delinquency here is that, this kind of merging is not service to
God, and there is no way any soul can be happy without
rendering service to Krishna. This causes frustration, and once
again, the impersonalists will desire to return to their
individuality and back to the material world to carry out further
spiritual actions. This effort to merge with God by abandoning
one’s individuality results from bad experiences with the material
nature. It is, therefore, an attempt by the eternal individual soul to
artificially destroy one’s individuality.
There are many sages, after they have perfected their human
form, are still continuously engaged in devotional service. Even
though they are free from the cycle of birth and death, they
continue to serve the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead
Lord Krishna. This is called the transcendental understanding of
the subject and the object, science of Krishna. The inappropriate
concept of merging, whereby individuality is discarded, is due to
a lack of transcendental knowledge concerning the origin of the
soul, this is explained by Krishna in the next verse. The spiritual
world or Kingdom of God is abundant with a variety of pure
spiritual qualities, and none of these qualities are tinged with
material modes of nature. Therefore, all varieties in the spiritual
world remain ever fresh, never faded or unpleasant by the
influence of time. The transcendental knowledge endows the
devotee with the similar quality of Godhead. Such devotees,
therefore, remain qualified to enter the spiritual kingdom and
enjoy the same varieties Krishna enjoys.
TEXT 3 मम य८तनमा ्र्म ्थमतगभं दिा्य म ्।

संभवः सवाभू ानां ८ भवत भार ॥३॥
mama yonir mahād brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy aham

sambhavaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhārata
mama -- My; yonir -- source of birth; mahād brahma -- the total
material existence called brahman; tasmin garbhaṁ -- in that
womb; dadhāmy -- give; aham -- I; sambhavaḥ -- the possibility;
sarva-bhūtānāṁ -- of all living entities; tato -- subsequently;
bhavati -- is manifested; bhārata-- O son of Bhārata.
O son of Bhārata, I am the source of birth for the entire
material existence, called Brahman. I impregnate that womb
and make the birth of all living species possible.
ANNOTATION: Krishna, having explained the esoteric nature
of the transcendental knowledge, which makes persons fearless
at the time of annihilation and at the time of creation, now
explains the origin of the souls. Lord Krishna reveals that all
embodied beings originate through the combination of prakriti-
material nature and purusha- the Supreme Lord. Yet this
combination is determined by the will of the Supreme Lord and
is not an accidental occurrence, as suggested by the
impersonalists of the sānkhya doctrine. The Supreme Lord is the
cause of the origin of all jīvas or embodied beings, and fully
controls material nature and its three modes. The whole material
creation with its variegatedness is called Brahman. While all
other souls are known as Brahman, and Krishna as Parabrahman.
Lord Krishna impregnates by glancing His seeds in the form of
limitless souls, which accept unlimited forms as
countless jīvātmas or embodied beings. While there is one
Supreme Brahman, soul Brahmans are limitless in number. All
these souls are brought forth by the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna to the mahāt-brahma or
material nature. The Supreme Brahman and His material nature
are not limited by time and space. He is the abode and cause of
the expanding evolution of material nature, which is the womb.
According to the Vedic literature, the word yonir has three
separate meanings. One is the wife, the second is the female
generative organ, the third is known as ‘the cause’. Here, the
yonir means the wife because Lord Krishna states that it is the
womb, which He impregnates. He does this by infusing the
reflection of His supreme intelligence, causing the expansion and
evolution of all creation. At the commencement of universal
creation and at the time of conception, the Supreme Lord unites
again with the corresponding body of each and every soul. While
during universal dissolution all souls were previously absorbed
into Him, now once again He abides within each and
every soul’s heart as Supersoul. Consequently, the all-pervading
Supersoul is also called the kshetrajna, or the knower of the
body¸ and is distinguished from the kshetra or body. Hence,
all souls, from Lord Brahma, down to a tiny insect, are
manifested by the combination of the above mentioned
principles, and are generated by the will of the Supreme Lord.
Since Brahman or souls are affected by the impressions of the
modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, in a single day of
Lord Brahma; their lives come and go according to the actions of
their previous millions of consecutive lifetimes. According to
Srila Sridhar swami, one of the vaishnava acharyas, in a 1000
chatur yuga namely Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali, which is his
twelve hours. All souls, therefore, experience birth and death at
least 43,200,000 times (4, 2 crores). These standardized results
are kept intact and correspondingly transferred into their new
existence to obtain the exact reactions to their actions thereof.
From this thesis, one can comprehend the nature and the origins
of all souls: from the secondary creator Lord Brahma, the most
evolved soul; down to the least evolved soul, such as a one-celled
amoeba.
TEXT 4 सवाय८तनषु क९त य

े मू य
ा ः संभव्त याः।
ासां र्म म ्य८तनर ं बी्रदः वप ा॥४॥
sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāṁ brahma mahādyonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
sarva-yoniṣu -- in all classes of life; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti;
mūrtayaḥ -- forms; sambhavanti -- is made possible; yāḥ --
which; tāsāṁ -- of all of them; brahma -- the supreme; mahād

yonir -- source of birth in the material substance; ahaṁ -- I; bīja-
pradaḥ -- the seed giving; pitā -- father.
O son of Kunti, all forms and species of life in the entire
material nature are each produced by a birth, which has
been made possible through My presence as the seed giving
father.
ANNOTATION: The original conceiving mother is material
nature. Souls are generated in combination with this material
nature and the Supreme Lord Krishna as the father, which is like
a seed in every respect. The meaning of this is that
lifeless material nature can never act independently but only
subordinately, in conjunction with the Supreme Lord. Souls are,
then, manifested in the material nature according to their desires
to enjoy independent of Krishna. These souls are vibhinnāmsa,
separated part of Krishna and eternally individual beings.
Consider the following analogy between an ordinary mother
who delivers her baby after being impregnated by the father, and
the father’s detachment and forgetfulness, which is a natural
phenomenon for living entities. When a mother impregnated by
the father, she develop the baby’s physical body using her food
supply. Even after birth, most of the time the child is nurtured by
the mother. Because of this relationship, all children are more
profoundly attached to their mothers than their fathers; the child
can, therefore, live with their mother for a long time without the
presence of the father, but it will be difficult for the child to live
with the father without the presence of the mother.
This analogy clarifies the relationship between Krishna and
all living entities: Krishna is the original father and the source of
all soul, while the material nature is the mother of all living
entities. This explains the tendency for all living entities to
become more attached to the material world and become
materialistic. It also explains why Krishna, in a manner that is
similar to a detached or forgetful Father, does not interfere in the
living entities’ independence. Yet despite this relationship, only
Krishna has the power to lead souls in the womb (material

nature) or manipulate them as He wants. Although He leaves
entities to be independent, Krishna reserves all His powers.
People sometimes argue about what came first seed or plant,
in this passage the answer given by the Lord that He is the
original seed giving father of all species of life, whether they are
Lord Brahma, other demigods, human, animals, demons, birds,
fish, ghosts, spirits, etc. It is the soul or seed came first, and the
appearance of that seed is only made possible by the seed giver,
Krishna.
Many foolish people think that there is no God in control
and that all of existence originates from nothing, or near-nothing,
as is described in the so-called big bang theory. They believe that
everything appears in this world by accident. Although this view
is completely repudiated by the Supreme Lord, such foolish ideas
can turn hundreds and thousands of people into insane atheists,
sending them to the place where all disobedient souls are thrown
into solitary confinement. Therefore, one should listen to or read
the Bhagavad-Gītā carefully, to the dialogue between Lord
Krishna and Arjuna that took place more than five thousand
years ago in the battlefield of Mahābhārata.
TEXT 5 स्वं र्थ म इत गण
ु ाः रकृत संभवाः।
तनब्न्त म ाबा ८ दे े दे ह नम्ययम ्॥५॥
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam
sattvaṁ -- the mode of goodness; rajas -- passion; tama --
ignorance; iti -- thus; guṇāḥ prakṛti -- the qualities of material
nature; sambhavāḥ -- produced of; nibadhnanti -- binds; mahā-
bāho -- O mighty -- armed one; dehe -- within the body; dehinam
-- the living entity; avyayam -- everlasting.
O mighty armed Arjuna, when the everlasting living entity
connects with the modes of material nature, of goodness,
passion and ignorance, the living entity becomes bound by
material nature.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is the original and Supreme Father of

all living entities. Material nature is mother of all living entities.
Lord Krishna expands into Lord Vishnu to manage the material
creation. However, since neither Krishna nor Vishnu are
involved in the material nature’s affairs, Lord Vishnu assumes a
form called Sadā-Siva for impregnating the material energy or
the form of Vishnu and that interacts with material nature, is
called Lord Sadā-Siva, which means always auspicious. To
understand the relationship of these different forms, reflect
Krishna or Vishnu like milk and Siva as yogurt: Yogurt is
nothing but milk, but yogurt cannot be used in place of milk.
Similarly, Lord Siva is like yogurt formed out of Vishnu, the
milk. However, Lord Siva cannot be called Vishnu because the
original form of Vishnu always exists like milk always exists.
Hence, when milk is there, no yogurt can claim that it is milk.
This is expressed in Brahma samhita, when Lord Brahma says:
ksiram yathādahi-vikāra-visesa-yogat
sanjāyate na hi tatah prithagasti hetoh
ya sambhutam api tathā samupaiti kāryad
govindam ādi-purusham tam aham bhajāmi
“Lord Siva is considered to be like yogurt (dahi). Yogurt is
nothing but transformed milk; nonetheless, yogurt cannot be
accepted as milk. Similarly, Lord Siva holds almost all the
powers of Lord Krishna, and he is also above the qualities of
living entities, but he is not exactly like Krishna, just as yogurt,
although transformed milk, is not exactly like milk”.
Mother, as material nature, assumes the form of Durgā, and
it is within the womb of Durgā that Sadā-Siva impregnates all
living entities. By the process of being bound to the modes of
material nature, three types of living entities are produced,
corresponding with the modes of goodness, passion and
ignorance. Because of these three different modes of nature,
there are billions of living entities all over the universe with
billions of differently combined material characteristics. It is due
to these characteristics that living entities become conditioned
and act differently; they are unable to cooperate because one

living entity is bound in passion, another in goodness, and yet
another in ignorance. Only when all entities come to Krishna
consciousness, the original consciousness of all living entities,
will there be peace, harmony and happiness among human
beings.
TEXT 6 र स्वं तनमाल्वा्रकाशकमनामयम ्।
सख
ु स्गेन ब्नात ्ानस्गेन चानघ॥६॥
tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśakam anāmāyam
sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha
tatra -- there; sattvaṁ -- the mode of goodness; nirmalatvāt --
being pure; prakāśakam -- illuminating; anāmāyam -- serene;
sukha-saṅgena -- attach with happiness; badhnāti -- conditions
one; jñāna-saṅgena -- attach with knowledge; ca -- also; ānagha
-- O sinless one.
O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being freed from all
sinful reactions is pure, illuminating and serene. One who is
situated in that mode becomes enslaved by attachment for
happiness and knowledge.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is explaining in the next three
verses the characteristics of the each modes of nature beginning
from the mode of goodness. However, the mode of goodness
elevates one’s quality of behavior and action, it conditions one to
this mortal world.
There are three types of shackles namely golden, silver and
iron, these modes are compared to those shackles: the golden
shackle is compared to mode of goodness; the silver shackle is
compared to mode of passion; and, the iron shackle is compared
to mode of ignorance. Regardless of whether they are golden,
silver or iron, by these shackles one is bound in the network of
illusion and one is chained by these modes to the material world
whenever one associate with any of these modes. The goodness,
passion and ignorance are relevant to material intelligence and
not to the spirit, or soul.
By development of material goodness one can conquer the

modes of passion and ignorance. When the mode of goodness,
which is luminous, pure and auspicious, it dominates over
passion and ignorance and a man becomes endowed with virtue
and other good qualities like material knowledge and material
happiness. By the cultivation of spiritual goodness, one may even
free oneself from material goodness.
The word prakasakam means the illumination, revelation
and enlightenment, of an exact knowledge of religious principles.
When one is strongly situated in the mode of goodness, the
religious principles illustrated by devotional service to Krishna
will be more prominent. The word anāmāyam means ‘of peaceful
quality’; that which has no inherent cause for producing
discomfort, pain or sickness, denoting that sattva is the cause of
good health.
brāhmanas are the head of the society; they are the head
because they maintain the qualities of the mode of goodness.
Hence, the soul is forced to take birth in wombs that are
favorably suited for the enjoyment of one's karma which arise
out of the positive characteristics of the mode of goodness. They
do not indulge in quarrel nor in any kind of action that would
force one to act as a hypocrite. They maintain all pillars of
religion, such as austerity, truthfulness, cleanliness and mercy. In
the mode of goodness, one has the opportunity to advance in
spiritual life and will eventually become a devotee of Krishna.
TEXT 7 र्८ रागा्मकं वव्धि ्ृ णास्गसम् ु भवम ्।

्तनब्नात क९त य े कमास्गेन दे ह नम ्॥७॥
rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam
rajo -- the mode of passion; rāgātmakaṁ -- the source of lust and
attachment; viddhi -- know; tṛṣṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam -- the
producer of hankerings and association; tan -- that; nibadhnāti --
enslaves; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; karma-saṅgena -- by
attachment of fruitive activity; dehinam -- the embodied living
entity.
O son of Kunti, you should know that the mode of passion is

the source of lust and attachment and it enslaves the
embodied beings with material fruitive activities.
ANNOTATION: The Lord explains that the mode of passion is
the cause of sexual desires and the lust and longing between men
and woman. When one is united through sensual happiness with
opposite sex due to the influence of passionate modes of nature,
desires for all forms of sensual enjoyments arise through the
numerous mediums of the sense faculties, such as through
seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. These desires
arise without discrimination of whether they are for objects that
are good or bad.
Also arising from passion is the association with one’s
family, friends, loved ones and other social intercourses. This is
especially true of social engagements which bring further
material entanglement and that complicate one’s true life by
usurping one’s peace and happiness. Thus, the mode of passion
encourages desires and promotes activities to enjoy such desires.
This binds one to the reactions of merit or demerit and keeps
the embodied being incessantly revolving in the repeated cycle of
birth and death. This propensity for constantly performing
actions is inbuilt and causes the soul to take birth at specific
places and with a particular body. For example, the soul will be
born with whatever body is most suitable to enjoy the rewards of
previous actions, be this demon, human or animal, etc. Hence,
instigating and nurturing the desire for performing works keeps
one in bondage. In this way, passion is known to be the root
cause of lust, sensual desires and attachment.
TEXT 8 मथ्व्ान्ं वव्धि म८ नं सवादेह नाम ्।
रमादालथयतनराभभथ ्तनब्नात भार ॥८॥
tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁviddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām
pramādālasya-nidrābhis tan nibadhnāti bhārata
tamas -- the mode of ignorance; tv -- but; ajñāna-jaṁ -- born of
nescience; viddhi -- you should know; mohanaṁ -- the cause of
delusion; sarva-dehinām -- of all embodied beings; pramādā --

with madness; ālasya -- laziness ; nidrābhis -- and sleep; tan --
that; nibadhnāti -- entangles or enslaves; bhārata -- O best of
Bhārata.
O best of Bhārata, know that the mode of ignorance is the
cause of delusion, binding all embodied beings with
nescience, laziness, madness and sleep.
ANNOTATION: Now Bhagavān explains the nature of the mode
of ignorance. The three modes of material nature influence the
living entity but not Lord Krishna. Manifesting within his mind,
the material modes induce the living entity to become attached to
material bodies and other created objects. Attached to their bad
habits, a person in the mode of ignorance tries to enjoy the
degraded material objects with their hard earned money. They
are unaware of any positive results of the mode of goodness or
the negative results of mode of ignorance. They are dumb and
deaf in spite of hearing the good instructions of authorities and
the scriptures. In imitating the animal life style, being classy,
they eat cooked bodies of animals with the strong seasonings. By
drinking fermented alcohol mixed with juice, they lose their
intelligence. Being intoxicated, they became involved with other
similar members in increasing the volume of their non-tax paid
wealth. Greedy for more wealth and try to make it by buying
different stocks, or gambling at casinos, no matter how much
money they make they are dissatisfied. They put on a show by
doing social activities or opening up a charitable trust to fake the
administration. Through these seemingly charitable deeds, they
disguise their sins. Externally they appear to have a great
personality, yet they are internally committing all kinds of bad
qualities while there are innocents all around them who may not
even have enough money to buy a loaf of bread. At night they
involve themselves in intoxication, having illicit sex, and,
thereafter they have dreamless sleep for several hours.
Sometimes, despite their so-called social activities, they give no
respect to the true saintly people, the servants and friend of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna, nor do they

inclined to donate to the spiritual mission. They even think that
they are greater than the saintly devotees and equal with God.
In this way, such living entities are bound up in the material
tabernacle, the lump of flesh called ‘body’. The ignorance mode
is the lowest. It is subjected to the greatest hallucination which
imagines a permanent and pleasant experience in a temporary
and unpleasant existence. When Ignorance covers one's
consciousness it makes one foolish, dull and it causes one to
indulge in false hopes and to display violence toward others.
When one's higher awareness fails and finally disappears and one
is unable to concentrate his attention, his mind will be ruined by
the manifestation of ignorance and depression. With the rise of
ignorance, a person strengthens his tendency to practice his most
wicked activities.
TEXT 9 स्वं सख
ु े सं्यत र्ः कमाणण भार ।
्ानमाव्ृ य ु मः रमादे सं्य्यु ॥९॥
sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata
jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta
sattvaṁ -- the mode of goodness; sukhe -- in happiness; sañjayati
-- ensnares; rajaḥ -- the mode of passion; karmaṇi -- engage in
fruitive activity; bhārata -- O son of Bhārata; jñānam -- wisdom;
āvṛtya -- obscuring; tu -- but; tamaḥ -- the mode of ignorance;
pramāde -- in madness; sañjayaty -- entangles; uta -- it is told.
It is told, the mode of goodness ensnares the living entity in
happiness; passion entangles him in fruitive activities; and,
ignorance clouds his wisdom and binds him to madness, O
son of Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord now explains the
fundamental features of the three modes of nature. There is
mental and intellectual satisfaction due to the association with
the cultivation of material knowledge. Although it provides
satisfaction, the mode of goodness conditions the embodied
being with the laws of karma. The mode of passion makes the
person work for fruits, yet, its influence causes them to
misperceive and mistake the root meaning of the scriptures. They
quote the scriptures with bias to their interests and helplessly
engage in material endeavors to establish their reputation in
society. The ignorant nature is that which obscures intelligence
and thus perverts one’s view of reality. This results in the
tendency to perform unnatural activities. The three gunās are the
natural effects of the material nature. They constitute the
qualities of all matter and manifest in physical bodies in gross
and subtle ways. The next verse describes how they each give
rise to consequences so drastically different and conflicting with
each other.
TEXT 10 र्थ म्चाभभभय
ू स्वं भवत भार ।
र्ः स्वं म्चव मः स्वं र्थ िा॥१०॥
rajas tamaś cābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata
rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś caiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā
rajas tamaś cā -- the mode of passion and ignorance; ābhibhūya
-- over powering; sattvaṁ -- the mode of goodness; bhavati --
becomes predominant; bhārata -- O son of Bhārata; rajaḥ -- the
mode of passion; sattvaṁ tamaś -- the mode of goodness and
ignorance; caiva -- also like that; tamaḥ -- the mode of
ignorance; sattvaṁ -- the mode of goodness; rajas -- the mode of
passion; tathā -- thus.
Sometimes the mode of goodness overpowers the mode of
passion and ignorance, at other time the mode of passion
becomes prominent and overthrows goodness and ignorance,
and at other hour’s ignorance defeats goodness and passion,
O son of Bhārata.
ANNOTATION: One with clear intelligence can see every day
how these modes are working on all embodied beings. For
example, in the morning two modes of nature are predominant,
either goodness or ignorance. Some rise early in the morning and
they do religious activities. That is mode of goodness. Some do
not rise early morning and continue to sleep. That is the mode of
ignorance.
As the sun rises, the mode of goodness and ignorance will
be defeated by the mode of passion. When the mode of passion is
prominent in the mind, the people are inspired by actions and
work. People are busy in work, making money, and maintaining
their family and the passion influences the living entity until
sunset. Thereafter, the passion will be defeated by the mode of
goodness or the mode of ignorance, because either of these
modes become prominent in the evening hours. In the evening,
they go to sleep because working too much tires them, or they
take a shower and engage in religious activities.
However, late at night the mode of ignorance and passion
defeat the mode of goodness completely. At that time, the living
entity is either engaged in a deep sleep or in sexual activities;
sleep is due to the mode of ignorance and sex is mode of passion.
Yet in the early morning goodness and ignorance again defeat the
mode of passion. In this way, the cycle of the modes of nature
always influence the material intelligence of the living entity and
lead him to engage in different actions.
If someone works at night, that is an artificial imposition on
oneself. In this way, when the mode of passion is prominent, the
modes of goodness and ignorance are defeated. When the mode
of goodness is prominent, passion and ignorance are defeated.
And when the mode of ignorance is prominent, passion and
goodness are defeated. This competition is going on every day.
By the manifestation of a particular activity, it can be understood
in which modes of nature a person is situated in.
TEXT 11 सवा्वारे षु दे े ऽ्थमतरकाश उप्ाय ।े
्ानं यदा दा वव्या्ववव्
ृ िं स्वभम्यु ॥११॥
sarva-dvāreṣu dehe ’smin prakāśa upajāyate
jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛddhaṁ sattvam ity uta
sarva-dvāreṣu -- when all the gates; dehe asmin -- of the body;
prakāśa -- illuminated; upajāyate -- manifests; jñānaṁ --
knowledge; yadā -- when; tadā -- at that time; vidyād -- know;
vivṛddhaṁ sattvam -- increased in the mode of goodness; ityuta -

- thus it is said.
Thus it is said that when all the gates of the body are
illuminated by the manifestation of spiritual wisdom, at that
time one is increased in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: There are nine gates in everyone’s body: there
are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one anus, one genital and
one mouth. The manifestation of the mode of goodness can be
experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by
knowledge. Now Lord Krishna delineates the developed
characteristics of the mode of goodness. The living entity enjoys
sense gratification through these nine holes, which are termed
‘gates’.
A living entity is enlightened through these gates: through
one’s ears by right hearing, by listening to scriptural injunction;
seeing things through the eyes of the scriptures; smelling things
which are authorized by scriptures; tasting right food according
to the injunction of scriptures; and, by keeping clean of the lower
portion of the gates, namely, the genitals and anus. Being
situated in the mode of goodness can do all these things. The best
part is that one must use food, drinks, association, time and place
in a way that are situated already in the mode of goodness. In this
way, one’s association makes one a perfect or imperfect person.
This is because association with the mode of goodness enlightens
ones nine gates allowing the light of knowledge to radiate
through them. By this manifestation it can be ascertained that the
mode of goodness is predominant within an embodied being, by
the signs of happiness and effulgence.
TEXT 12 ल८भः रववृ तरार्भः कमाणामशमः थप ृ ा।

र्थये ातन ्ायत े ववव्
ृ िे भर षाभ॥१२॥
lobhaḥ pravṛttir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśamaḥ spṛhā
rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe bhāratarṣhabha
lobhaḥ -- greed; pravṛttir -- hard exertion ārambhaḥ -- with great
endeavor; karmaṇām -- for fruitive activities; aśamaḥ -- agitation
of the senses; spṛhā -- incessant desire for sense gratification;

rajasy -- mode of passion; etāni jāyante -- all these arise;
vivṛddhe -- when there is an excess; bhāratarṣhabha -- O
descendants of Bhārata.
When greed, hard labor with great endeavor for fruitive
activities, agitation of the senses due to incessant desire for
sense gratification; when all these arise excessively, O
descendants of Bhārata, one is in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: Continuing further, the Supreme Lord states
that the ever increasing desire for wealth known as greed and
materialism keeps one always involved in activities to acquire
more, though more is not needed and though their enjoyment is
not necessary. Many earn money by false means but, still, they
are not satisfied. They continue to endeavor to earn more and
more by all sinful manners. Then they bury their earnings in the
family chest, deposit in overseas bank, or they will use their
money locally, making a golden bed, golden chairs, and golden
statues and have thousand pairs of clothes. They will buy shoes
and many brands of cars, many plots of land, houses in different
places, even though they do not use any of these things. These
types of illusory activities are done within the mode of passion. It
causes the restlessness, the agitation, the incessant impulse to
satisfy desires and to become overly agitated to be as famous as a
star or politician. It causes a longing to exploit and enjoy objects
as soon as they are acquired by any means. When these
characteristics are prevalent then it is apparent that the mode of
passion is predominant within the embodied being. The
consequences of the mode of passion will turn everyone upside
down and create great volumes of lamentation.
TEXT 13 अरकाश८ऽरववृ त्च रमाद८ म८ एव च।
मथये ातन ्ायत े ववव्
ृ िे कुुनतदन॥१३॥
aprakāśo ’pravṛttiś ca pramādo moha eva ca
tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛddhe kuru-nandana
aprakāśo -- nescience; apravṛttiś ca -- and inertness or inactivity;
pramādo -- madness; moha eva ca -- surely illusion; ca -- also;
tamasy -- the mode of ignorance; etāni -- these; jāyante -- when

arises; vivṛddhe -- predominates; kuru-nandana -- O son of Kuru.
When there is nescience, inactivity, madness and illusion,
when all these predominate, O son of Kuru, one is in the
mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: Sri Bhagavān confirms that the mode of
ignorance darkens one’s knowledge, it is the absence of
discrimination, laziness, forgetfulness, delusion, erroneous
conclusions. It causes one to act whimsically, to not follow the
rules given by the scriptures, to drink and eat all foul old things.
Although living, he acts like he is dead. Where such
characteristics are apparent it is clear that he is dominated by the
mode of ignorance. The result of the mode of passion and
ignorance is lust and hate, happiness and miseries, greed,
lamentation and angry. There is no way one can come out of the
clutches of the influence of these modes unless one sincerely take
shelter of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, who is
beyond all these three modes of material nature.
TEXT 14 यदा स्वे रव्
ृ िे ु रलयं यात दे भ ृ ्।
द८तमववदां ल८कानमलातरत प्य ॥ े १४॥
yadā sattva pravṛddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛt
tadottama-vidāṁ-lokān amalān pratipadyate
yadā -- when; sattve -- by the mode of goodness; pravṛddhe --
prominent or developed; tu -- but; pralayaṁ -- dissolution or
death; yāti -- reaches; deha-bhṛt -- the embodied being; tad -- at
that time; uttama-vidāṁ -- of the great sages; lokān -- the planets;
amalān -- the pure; pratipadyate -- are attained.
When an embodied soul predominant by the mode of
goodness dies, at that time he attains the pure planet of the
great sages.
Sri Krishna explains in this verse that when the living entity is
firmly situated in the mode of goodness at the time of his death
he reaches numerous higher regions where the sages and

demigods are living. The word amalan means pure, free from
blemish, devoid of ignorance and passion. The meaning here is
that the mode of goodness is so beneficial that it would
predetermine the destiny of a soul, who dies under its influence.
In their next birth, they will find themselves in an environment of
pious and holy people, people that have realized an inner urge to
pursue the mode of goodness. They will have the opportunity to
cultivate a great quantity of the mode of goodness by purifying
one's existence through the performance of religious activities
until one achieves ultimate perfection, which is returning to
Krishna Loka.
TEXT 15 र्भस रलयं ग्वा कमास्धगषु ्ाय ।े
िा रलीनथ मभस मढ
ू य८तनषु ्ाय ॥
े १५॥
rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣu jāyate
tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍha-yoniṣu jāyate
rajasi -- in passion; pralayaṁ gatvā -- attain death; karma-
saṅgiṣu -- among those beings attached to fruitive activities;
jāyate -- takes birth; tathā – similarly; pralīnas -- dying; tamasi -
- in ignorance; mūḍha-yoniṣu -- from the womb of animal
species; jāyate -- takes birth.
When one attains death in the mode of passion, he takes birth
among those beings attached to fruitive activities; similarly,
when one dies in the mode of ignorance he takes birth from
the womb of animal species.
ANNOTATION: Now the Supreme Lord describes the result
of the mode of passion being predominant at the time of death.
The soul is born again into families that are engaged in the
ugrakarma, material activities. They are mostly middle class
family or in the family of spiritually uneducated, though may be
wealthy. Similarly, if one dies while under the influence of the
mode of ignorance then one’s soul will be born from the wombs
of animals such as pigs and dogs. In such births, one would be
completely prevented from performing any activities that bring
spiritual benefit. This demonstrates that there is no guarantee of

obtaining a human form again, everything is determined by one’s
actions. Thus, one must think about the next life before losing
this valuable human existence. The safest part is to become an
associate of Krishna’s devotees and engage in the service of Lord
Krishna. By doing so, one definitely will obtain a human form of
life to make further spiritual progress or if more purified, in this
life itself he can associate with Krishna directly.
TEXT 16 कमाणः सक
ु ृ थया ु ः सा््वकं तनमालं फलम ्।
र्सथ ु फलंदःु खम्ानं मसः फलम ्॥१६॥
karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam
rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam
karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyā -- virtuous works, pious; āhuḥ -- it is told;
sāttvikaṁ -- in the mode of goodness; nirmalaṁ -- purity;
phalam -- and the result; rajasas -- of the mode of passion; tu --
but; phalaṁ -- the result; duḥkham -- is misery; ajñānaṁ -- is
nescience or darkness; tamasaḥ -- of the mode of ignorance;
phalam – the result.
It is told the result of virtuous works in the mode of goodness
is purity, the result of actions in the mode of passion is
misery, and the result of action of the mode of ignorance is
darkness.
ANNOTATION: The mode of goodness is serene,
knowledgeable and pure. The people who are in the mode of
goodness are free from delusion and they are satisfied in their
life. Purity means the absence of any pain; sages who are in this
position know such matters clearly. The result of the mode of
passion is not that one is categorically in pain and only pain.
Rather, the mode of passion leads to pleasure mixed with pain.
Thus, in the scriptures it states that the word duhkha is formed by
dhu, denoting pain, and kha, which denotes pleasure. People who
are in the mode of passion are unhappy due to the pain they have
from effort and are happy due to the pleasure they have from
enjoying the result. Ultimately, the mode of passion generates
material desires, material activity and an attachment for material

wealth.
The mode of ignorance is complete darkness, it creates
laziness for religious life. People in the mode of ignorance kill
animals every day and eat them for every meal. They commit
sins on their false notion of richness and the false power though
they have resulting from a beautifully organized life at home.
They completely forget the universal law that everyone who
commits such sins will be equally punished. As the president of
the nation is equal to all citizens of the country, similarly, the
Supreme Lord, the supreme president of all universes is equal to
all living entities. Consequently, the laws of God will equally
punish everyone who harms a living entity.
TEXT 17 स्वा्सं्ाय े ्ानं र्स८ ल८भ एव च।
रमादम८ ९ मस८ भव ८ऽ्ानमेव च॥१७॥
sattva sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva ca
pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva ca
sattvāt -- from the mode of goodness; sañjāyate -- develops;
jñānaṁ -- wisdom; rajaso – from the mode of passion; lobha --
greed; eva -- certainly; ca -- and ; pramāda -- madness; mohau –
and illusion; tamaso -- from the mode of ignorance; bhavato --
develop; jñānam -- darkness or nonsense; eva -- certainly; ca --
also.
From the mode of goodness develops wisdom; from the mode
of passion develops greed; and, from the mode of ignorance
develops madness, illusion, and darkness.
ANNOTATION: In this passage, Lord Krishna being the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead is differentiating the
symptoms of the different modes of nature. As Krishna is God,
He does not want to interfere in anyone's independence. Rather,
He wants to show them the path by which the living entities can
use their own freewill for the positive actions and to break free
from the nescient activity, so that they may be situated in the
mode of goodness and find happiness.
One may have much opulence while living in this world,

but if one has not cultivated culture and learned any traditional
values as a civilized human being, then he has fallen down from
the human form of life. Even if one has been born with many
divine qualities, if his actions are sinful, all his divine qualities
burn him to ashes under such sinful actions. Therefore, to be free
from the influence of the modes of nature is to accept devotion to
the Supreme Lord as a means for deliverance from this material
existence, not merely taking shelter of the material opulence,
such as power, influence and money.
One should not think that there are other alternatives to the
sufferings inflicted by the modes of material nature. The only
solution and answer for humanity is Krishna consciousness.
Consider this analogy, when one has committed a crime and has
been ordered to be hanged by the district judge, it may be
thought there is no other way out, other than dying. However,
with wisdom and humility one can approach the king to reverse
the punishment, the king has power to reverse all laws and orders
of the country. Similarly, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead has all the power to punish criminals as well as to
protect the criminals provided they realizes their grievous
mistake and surrender to the Supreme Lord.
Everyone wants to be happy, but they do not know the right
path that will lead them to happiness. Happiness is found in the
mode of goodness; mixed happiness and misery is found in the
mode of passion; and, only misery is found in the mode of
ignorance. The majority of the people of the world are suffering
despite their high quality of modern education and the filthy
riches they have accumulated. During the day many enemies
torture them, while at night they never experience a peaceful
dream. The so-called material knowledge and riches they seek
does not bring them the happiness they expect. To attain
happiness one has to study how the laws of material nature
function under the supervision of the Supreme Lord; one cannot
be happy by merely cultivating the so-called academic education.
There are millionaires and billionaires who are very

unhappy due to the fact that they are situated in the mode of
passion and ignorance. They are active like monkeys and
ignorant like hogs. They eat anything and everything to be happy
like monkeys and hogs. These animals maintain their own status
quo without hard work, but human beings under the mode of
ignorance work hard to obtain the same thing. Therefore, in
realizing that they are in fact highly intellectual beings, whom
are capable of much more than animals, they should and must
use the mode of goodness to elevate their consciousness to
devotion to the Supreme Lord through His bona-fide
representatives.
TEXT 18 ऊ्वं ग्छ्त स्वथिा म्ये त ्ठ्त रा्साः।

्घतयगण
ु ववृ तथिा अि८ ग्छ्त ामसाः॥१८॥
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
ūrdhvaṁ -- upwards (to the heavenly planets); gacchanti -- go;
sattva-sthā -- those situated in the mode of goodness; madhye --
in the middle (planets of human species); tiṣṭhanti -- reside;
rājasāḥ -- those situated in the mode of passion; jaghanya-guṇa -
- of abominable quality; vṛtti-sthā -- whose occupation; adho --
down (towards hellish planets); gacchanti -- go; tāmasāḥ --
persons in the mode of ignorance.
Those who are situated in the mode of goodness go upward to
the heavenly planets; those situated in the mode of passion
reside in the middle planet of human beings; and, those who
are situated in the abominable mode of ignorance go
downwards to the hellish planets.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Krishna explains the destinations
for those who have influenced by the 3 modes of material nature.
Those who have followed the path of the mode of goodness will
be elevated to the upper planetary system. Above the earth
planet, all planets are explained in the scriptures as the heavenly
planets beginning from Planet of Sun. A person who performs

religious and spiritual activities according to the scriptural
injunction is in the mode of goodness, they are transferred to any
of the Indra-loka, Chandra-loka, Mahar-loka, Tapo-loka, and
Jana-loka or up to Satya-loka, which is Lord Brahma's planet.
Although these are called heavenly planets there are still
forms of misery such as death and birth. Many spiritually
advanced souls are transferred there. They would live for
millions of years and when the final dissolution takes place they
all would be transferred to the spiritual world along with Lord
Brahma. The present Brahma is a devotee of the Supreme Person
Krishna, thus in the Brahma's planet there is only devotional
service going on. Whether one can ascend to such a planet will
depend on one's performance of spiritual activities in the mode of
goodness. Those who are in the mode of passion may perform
many ritualistic activities because of their desire to obtain
something in return. These are still fruitive activities since such
souls may be elevated to a higher planet like Indra loka and
Chandra loka. Yet after this pious result is expended, they must
come back to the earth planet because their lusty desires and
attachment to the material possessions will force them to return
to the human world and continue their fruitive activities all over
again. They may take birth in different location or country, but
birth is forced in the material world.
Finally, for those who have followed the path of the mode
of ignorance, their death results in animal birth. They have no
heavenly life, nor any comfortable life, just after the judgment of
Yamaraja: they are punished in the hellish region for thousands
of years for their activities in the mode of ignorance. They
descend into lower existences according to the sinful deeds they
committed in one of the 28 horrifying hellish planets, such as
Tamisra, reserved for those who steal other's wealth, wives and
property. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by
the servants of the Lord of death, who beat and rebuke him. He is
starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus, the wrathful
assistants of Yamaraja cause him severe suffering and sometimes
he faints from their chastisement. The planet Raurava, is

reserved for those who killed, sold, transported, served, cooked
and ate the flesh of animals. There, the assistants of Yamarāja
will cook them, just as they did to eat animals in the earth planet.
After the judgements they become cannibals, worms, maggots, in
the lowest planets, they become stationary creepers and fungi.
Therefore, one must train oneself to eat food offered to Krishna,
prasādam, by any means, as Krishna instructed in 3rd and 9th
chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā, to rise above the mode of passion and
ignorance and become situated in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 19 नातयं गण
ु े्यः क ाारं यदा र्िानप
ु ्यत ।
गण
ु े्य्च परं वेवत म्भावं स८ऽधिग्छत ॥१९॥
nānyam guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati
guṇebhyaś ca paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so ’dhigacchati
na -- no; anyaṁ -- other; guṇebhyaḥ -- than the qualities;
kartāraṁ -- performer; yadā -- when; draṣṭā -- an embodied
being; ānupaśyati -- look up as; guṇebhyaś -- than the three
modes of material nature; ca -- and; paraṁ -- Supreme Being;
vetti -- knows; mad-bhāvaṁ -- to My divine nature; so
adhigacchati -- he obtains.
When the embodied being actually sees that there is no other
enactor other than the three modes of material nature, and
knows the Supreme being which is beyond these modes, such
a being obtains My transcendental nature.
ANNOTATION: There are many different activities going on
under these three modes of material nature. The Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Hari, or Krishna is the
Supersoul of the entire cosmic manifestation. He has no
beginning and end, and He is the source of everything and
everyone. Lord Kapila said to His mother, Devahuti, in the third
canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam that "Lord Krishna is
transcendental to these three material modes of nature and
beyond the existence of material world. He can be seen
everywhere because He is self-effulgent, and by His self-
effulgent luster the entire creation is maintained".

Originally, all living entities are Krishna conscious, when
their original consciousness is clouded due to their insane desire
for enjoyment, which is independent of the Lord; they all find
themselves under these material modes of nature, according to
their different desires. There are actions in all these three modes
and all actions are distinct to one another. Because of his
forgetfulness, the transcendental living entity accepts the
influence of material energy as defining his field of activities.
Material consciousness is the cause of one's conditional life, in
which conditions are forced upon the living entity by the material
energy. Although the spirit soul does not do anything and is
transcendental to such activities, he is thus affected by
conditional life. In its subtle stage, these three modes are called
pradhāna but when they manifest they are called prakriti. One
must study the actions of these three modes of material nature
either directly from Krishna or hearing from Krishna’s
representative, a vaishnava spiritual master. By hearing from
Krishna or a guru and acting according to their instruction, one
gradually becomes transcendental to these three modes of
material nature. According to Vishnu Purāna: until embodied
beings realize that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord of all, they
remain like animals in human form. Thus, the Supreme Lord
Krishna should always be remembered and never forgotten for
the sake of one’s own self-interest. One should carefully analyze
food and water in the mode of goodness and make offerings to
Krishna such as milk, cream, butter, fruits, rice, grains and
vegetables. One should perform activities exclusively for the
satisfaction of Krishna, or any of His expansions, and do such
devotional activity without expecting remuneration from Lord
Krishna. In this way, all traces and remnants of the mode of
passion and the mode of ignorance will be completely dissolved
and eradicated.
TEXT 20 गण
ु ाने ान ी्य रीतदे ी दे सम् ु भवान ्।
्तमम्ृ य्ु रादःु खववाम्
ु ८ऽम ृ म्नु ॥ े २०॥
guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī deha-samudbhavān

janma-mṛtyu-jarā-duḥkhair vimukto ’mṛtam aśnute
guṇān -- qualities; etān -- these; atītya -- transcending; trīn --
three; dehī – the embodied; deha-samudbhavān -- which are the
cause of the material body; janma-mṛtyu-jarā -- birth, death and
old age; duḥkhair -- the miseries; vimukto -- being freed from;
amṛtam aśnute -- he enjoys ambrosial nectar.
Transcending the three modes of material nature, which are
the cause of the material body, the embodied being becomes
freed from birth, death, old age and misery and enjoys the
ambrosial nectar in this very life.
ANNOTATION: So the three modes of material nature are the
great obstacles for the ‘dehi’ embodied being's attainment of
blissful life. These obstacles are very powerful. They keep the
soul trapped in the material body, making him think that he is
material consciousness. They are always misleading even very
materially advanced and knowledgeable people, and even the
most highly advanced saintly person with so much scriptural
knowledge. These obstacles may even mislead devotees who are
not careful about their constitutional position, that they are
eternally part of Krishna. However, those who have the mercy of
the spiritual master and Krishna can free from the bonds made by
these stringent modes. They may enjoy the pure transcendental
bliss, pure spiritual knowledge and their devotion to Sri
Bhagavān Krishna and His pleasure potency while they are in the
material body and in this very life.
TEXT 21 अ्न
ुा उवाच
कभला्गथरीतगण
ु ाने ान ी ८ भवत रभ८।
ककमाचारः किं च ांथरीतगण
ु ानत व ा ॥
े २१॥
arjuna uvaca
kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho
kim-āchāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; kair liṅgais – by which symptoms;
trīn -- three; guṇān -- qualities; etān – all these; atīto – having
transcended; bhavati – is known; prabho – O Lord; kim-āchāraḥ

-- what is the behavior; kathaṁ ca -- and how; trīnguṇān -- these
three qualities; ativartate -- to transcend.
Arjuna inquired: O Lord, by which symptoms can one know
that he is transcendental to the three modes of nature? What
is the behavior and how to transcend these three qualities of
the modes?
ANNOTATION: Arjuna asked an apparent question in chapter

2.54. Some questions arose in his mind after he heard the Lord
revealed that by transcending the three modes of material nature
one attains eternal spiritual bliss. Although he was satisfied to
hear Krishna’s statement on liberation, Arjuna affectionately
asked the Lord ‘prabho’, ‘my dear Krishna’, lingais means
symptoms of transcendentally situated beings. What does he look
like? What makes him different from others? How does he
behave? Arjuna humbly requests Lord Krishna to reveal the
answers to these questions with a view to a more expansive
understanding of the characteristics and conduct of such a
transcendental being, and the intention of learning the means
they used to achieve immortality. Then, to conclude his questions
Arjuna asks: by what means is such phenomenal feat is possible?
TEXTS 22-25 रीभगवानव

ु ाच
रकाशं च रववृ तं च म८ मेव च पा्डव।
न ्वे््ि संरवत
ृ ातन न तनवत
ृ ातन का्षत
उदासीनवदासीन८ गण
ु यो नववचा्य ।े
गण
ु ा व ता इ्येव य८ऽवत ्ठत ने्ग े
समदःु खसख
ु ः थवथिः समल८्िा्मका्चनः।
्
ु यवरयावरय८ िीरथ ्
ु यतनतदा्मसंथ तु ः
मानापमानय८थ ् ु यथ ्ु य८ भमराररपषय८ः।
सवाार्भपरर्यागी गणु ा ी ः सउ्य ॥ े २२-२५॥
prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca moham eva ca pāṇḍava
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati
udāsīna-vadāsīno guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇāvartantaityevaṁ yo ’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
sama duḥkha sukhaḥsva sthaḥ sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ
mānāpa-mānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa uchyate
śrī-bhagavān uvācha – the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead said; prakāśaṁ -- illumination; ca -- and; pravṛttiṁ --
activity; ca -- and; moham eva ca – as well as illusion; pāṇḍava -
- O son of Pāndu; na dveṣṭi -- does not hate; sampravṛttāni --
although developed; na nivṛttāni -- nor stopping development;
kāṅkṣati -- desires; udāsīna-vad -- as if neutral; āsīno -- situated;
guṇair -- by the qualities; yo -- one who; na vicālyate -- not
agitated; guṇā -- the three modes of material nature; vartanta –
are acting; ity evaṁ -- knowing thus; yo -- one who; vatiṣṭhati --
remains firmly poised; neṅgate -- without wavering; sama --
equal; duḥkha -- in distress; sukhaḥ -- and happiness; sva-sthaḥ --
being situated in himself; samaloṣṭā -- equally a lump of earth;
āśma-kāñcanaḥ -- stone, gold; tulya-priyāpriyo – equally
disposed towards the desirable and undesirable; dhīras -- steady
or sober; tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ -- equal in defamation and
praise; mānāpa-mānayos -- honor and dishonor; tulyas -- equal;
mitrāri – of friends and enemies; pakṣayoḥ -- to the parties;
sarvārambha-parityāgī-- abandoning all endeavors for activity
renunciation; guṇātītaḥ -- transcendental to the material modes of
nature; sa uchyate -- he is said to be.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: One
who feels no hatred at the illumination, activity, and illusion,
O son of Pāndu, or desires them in their disappearance. One
who is neutrally and spiritually established and is not
disturbed by the three modes of material nature, knowing
that the modes alone are active, who is equipoised to both
happiness and misery, firmly situated internally, who sees the
lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with equal eyes,

who equally disposed towards desirable and undesirable, who
is equal in honor and dishonor, sober, equal in defamation
and praise, friends and enemies, who has abandoned all
endeavors for material activity, is said to be transcendentally
situated to the three modes of material nature.
ANNOTATION: Now the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead Lord Krishna describes the characteristics in detail to
Arjuna from a different perspective in first two of these verses.
The word prakāsam is illumination: the brightness of disposition
born from the mode of goodness; pravrttim means attachment
and to endeavor actively, it is born from the mode of passion;
moham means illusion, bewilderment or having a distorted
perception born from the mode of ignorance. All these qualities
of the different modes appear and disappear in the material mind,
through the intelligence of all sentient beings. One who is not
disturbed on these features of the modes’ and such a person who
maintained his equanimity, remains neutral and transcendental
and he is called a transcendental person.
This transcendental state reduces in saintly persons when
they are absorbed in material bodily consciousness and the
material activities caused by the three modes of material nature.
It is natural for an embodied being to be constantly disturbed by
the actions and reactions of the material modes. However, it is
unnatural for the living soul residing in the nine gates called
body. This is because all the material comforts and discomforts
appear and disappear through the nine holes of the body.
Spiritualists and Krishna conscious devotees, well settled in their
conviction on Krishna's supremacy, merely ignore the actions
and reactions caused in the body by the three modes.
Krishna conscious devotees know they are pure spirit souls
and parts of Krishna, if there is anything they wish to do it is
only for the sake and comfortable existence for Krishna, even
though the Lord is beyond all comfort and discomfort of this
mortal world. For the Krishna conscious devotees, no material
activity made by the body matters, despite the fact that they face
trouble by the three modes, they rise above their material
environment by being spiritually situated. Sometimes devotees
are blamed, sometimes they are praised, some people honor them
and critics dishonor them. However, regardless of the
materialistic person’s behavior, the devotees take all actions as
actions of the modes and do not become disturbed.
Sometimes, when under the influence of the modes of
nature, if one does something, the question arises: why did he do
that? If one doesn’t do something, the question arises: why he did
not do it? Since people in the three modes of nature perceive
one’s activities, everyone has a different perception on each
activity. Yet a saintly devotee has no such discrimination, he
therefore has no friend or enemy and everyone is equal to him:
man, woman, cats, dogs, politician, businessman, rich, poor,
distressed, happy, pebbles and diamonds, etc. They observe
everything and everyone as equal, and therefore they are
transcendentally situated, beyond the modes of nature.
TEXT 26 मां च य८ऽ्यभभचारे ण भ्् य८गेन सेव ।े
स गण ु ातसम ी्य ातर्मभय ू ाय क्प ॥ े २६॥
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
māṁ -- unto Me; ca -- also; yo -- a person who; avyabhicāreṇa --
unadulterated; bhakti-yogena -- by devotional service; sevate --
renders service; sa -- he; guṇān -- three modes of material nature;
samatītya -- completely transcending; tān -- all these; brahma-
bhūyāya -- for the elevation to the realized platform of the
Brahman platform; kalpate -- becomes.
A person who renders unadulterated devotional service unto
Me at once transcends the three modes of material nature
and becomes elevated to the Brahman platform.
ANNOTATION: After presenting the characteristics of one who
transcends the three modes of material nature, the Supreme Lord
Krishna reveals the unfailing method to assure complete success.
Sheer discrimination and consideration of the three modes is

insufficient to overcome them. This is because the effects of the
modes have sprouted for unlimited lifetimes and have been
prevalent since time immemorial. An equally powerful process is
required to remove the complicated effects of the modes on the
senses and the sub-consciousness.
The omnipotent and omniscient Supreme Lord Krishna, in
virtue of his nature as munificent, merciful and compassionate,
offers His surrendered devotees who have no other shelter than
bhakti-yoga, bhakti-yogena sevate: a process by which one can
personally and quickly live closest to Him. He is not advocating
karma-yoga or dhyāna-yoga or jnāna-yoga though all those
yogas are linked to Him. He explains that although the
three modes are practically insurmountable, one can transcend
them by devotional service to Him alone and reaching the
absolute state of the Brahman. In Brahman there is no material
contamination of these three modes of nature. Thus, by
qualification all one’s sins will be dissolved, one will become
omniscient, one will be bestowed an imperishable spiritual body
and relish in association with the Supreme Lord, which is
consistent with one's eternal nature.
A transcendentalist does not, however, sit idle, but is always
engaged in devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Such
spiritualist devotees cannot be part of this material world and are,
instead, part of spiritual world. The word avyabhichāri means
unfailing, chaste or unadulterated, vyabhichāri means unchaste,
failing or adulteration. Just like for a chaste woman, her husband
is life and soul, similarly, for a devotee of Krishna, only Krishna
is life and soul. The devotee will not like to compromise this
position even if he is offered millions of wealth and a high
position in the universe. A devotee is one hundred percent
engaged in Krishna’s services. Scriptures and bona fide spiritual
masters that accept Krishna convince devotees. No other deities
are worshipped, although they are respected because they are the
authorized universal administrators appointed by the Supreme
Lord Krishna. All material deities are the manifestation of the
material cosmos. Thus, transcendentalists do not worship

demigods, they do not eat the remnant of food left by them, nor
do they accept any kind of holy water of the demigods. They do
not offer Tulasi or holy basil leaves to any deities except the
Supreme Lord. Offering such reserved leaves and flowers to
demigods is an offense to the Lotus feet of Krishna. The
personified Tulasi plant is a personal assistant of Sri Krishna’s
internal potency. Thus she must be offered only to Lord Krishna
or His expansion Lord Vishnu.
According to the Vedic scriptures, worshipping demigods is
not involved in the spiritual life. This is a false notion going
around like virus: that one can worship anybody and everybody
and will obtain the same result. Those men who do the
unauthorized worship thinking it is a devotion to Krishna are
vyabhichāri, adulterated men in spiritual science. For the worship
of the demigods is equivalent to a lack of faith in the Supreme
Lord Krishna and His teachings of the Bhagavad-Gītā. These are
overriding and superior to all teachings of all the other gods
combined. Such faithlessness in the Supreme Lord’s teaching,
which is for the benefit of all embodied beings, is the most
heinous of sins and such a person acting under the modes of
nature becomes their own worst enemy by blocking all
opportunity for his own spiritual advancement. It is stated in the
Brahmānda Purāna: one who worships anybody and anything
other than the Supreme Lord Krishna, or His expansions or
Incarnations revealed in Vedic scriptures, will do not
attain freedom from repeated birth and death. One who, out of
ignorance or infatuation, due to their own wealth, beauty, power
and education, considers the Supreme Lord Krishna as equal to
any other god or themselves, is indeed a soul of the lowest order,
even if not born in the lowest order.
TEXT 27 र्मण८ ह रत ्ठा म म ृ थया्ययथय च।
शा्व थय च िमाथय सख
ु थयका्त कथय च॥२७॥
brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca
śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca
brahmaṇo -- of the impersonal brahmajyoti; hi -- certainly;

pratiṣṭh -- foundation; āham -- I am; amṛtasyā -- immortality;
āvyayasya -- of the imperishable; ca -- also; śāśvatasya -- of the
eternal; ca -- and; dharmasya -- of the constitutional position;
sukhasyaikāntikasya -- ultimate happiness; ca -- also.
I am the original foundation of the impersonal brahmajyoti.
The original position of this is absolute transcendental
happiness, immortal, imperishable and eternal.
ANNOTATION: If a brāhmana is situated in the mode of
goodness by his devotional process and desire to attain
impersonal brahmajyoti, he may attain the impersonal Brahman
or brahmajyoti. In the same way, if a devotee of Krishna desire
brahmajyoti by chanting Hare Krishna mahā-mantra, he will
attain brahmajyoti, brahmajyoti is only a partial manifestation of
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. In the Harivamsa
it is stated:
tat param paramam brahma sarvam vibhājate jagat
mamaiva tad ghanam tejo jnatu marahasi bhārata
“O Bhārata, you should understand this Supreme Brahman,
brahmajyoti, which pervades the whole universe, is My
condensed light”.
It is also said in Srimad-Bhāgavatam 10.28.12 brahma-
jyotih sanātanam: this light of Brahman is eternal. If Brahman is
the effulgence of Bhagavān’s body, then why can’t it be the
object of the mind or senses? Because, the Brahman does not
arise from material elements. It arises from the form of eternity,
knowledge and bliss, which is beyond matter. Yet if words and
mind are material, how can that light be the object of material
words and mind? Om param jyotineh namah: one whose
effulgence is the source of Brahman I pay obeisance to Him. In
the Srimad-Bhāgavatam there are three aspects of the Absolute
Truth, which the sages has described as Brahman, Paramātma
and Bhagavān. Brahman feature of the Lord is in the positive
degree, Paramātma feature of the Lord is in the comparative
degree and Bhagavān is in the superlative degree. Both Brahman
and Paramātma realizations are included in the Bhagavān

realization. A transcendentalist realizes these three aspects of
Godhead as one and the same. Now, in this verse, Krishna says
that brahmano hi pratishtaham, that He is the cause of the
impersonal Brahman or brahmajyoti. As we have explained
several times, brahmajyoti is the bodily effulgence of Lord
Krishna. This bodily effulgence is the combination of spirit
souls, just as sunshine is the combination of the photons – light
energy. A photon is a single quantum of light, many such single
quantum of lights is the sunshine and all other lights are
emanation of sunshine. So each spirit soul, the spiritual energy is
so powerful, the combination of such souls manifested by the
Lord in brahmajyoti, source of the Brahman in concentrated
form; in the same way the sun is concentrated light, just like all
the planets in the material world rests in sunshine, all the spiritual
universes rest in brahmajyoti. The brahmajyoti is amrtasya
means immortal nectar. avyayasya means imperishable, and
sasvatasya means eternal, and its constitutional position
(together) is, therefore, permanent happiness.
Because the Brahman feature is so unique and its happiness
is not available in any material spheres, some saintly people want
to merge their soul in this concentrated Brahman or brahmajyoti.
There are many billions of universes, and there is an earth planet
in each universe. There are many saintly persons in all these
universes who all want to enjoy the brahmasukha, happiness of
being a Brahman and being in the Brahman. The Supreme Lord
Krishna is the ultimate quintessence of pure love, absolute,
transcendental bliss and He is ultimate Bhagavān. He is the third
and final dimension in the science of Godhead. As His devotees
are non-envious to Him and highly qualified by devotional
service, they only desire personal association with Him. To
become one with Him is the indecent behavior at the part of the
spirit soul. The devotees, however, inevitably attain His nature
and association with Him in the Kingdom of God, but they do
not ever desire to merge in the brahmajyoti and lose their
individual identity, although the option of merging is provided by
the Lord to all spiritualists who want to temporarily cease their

individuality. kaivalyam narakāyate, the happiness of becoming
one with God is hell for devotees of Krishna.
In the Isopanishad 15-16, the devotees petitioned to the
Supreme Lord Krishna to remove the Brahman rays or
effulgence of the Lord from His face for them so that they can
see His transcendental beautiful auspicious form of Lord
Krishna.
hiranmayena patrena satyasyāpihitam mukham
tattvam pūsann apavrnu satya-dharmāya drstaye
pusann ekarse yama sūrya prajāpatya
vyūha rasmin samūhatejo
yatterūpam kalyāna-tamam tat te pasyāmi
yo 'savasaupurushah so 'ham asmi
“O my Lord, sustainer of all that lives, Your real face is covered
exhibit Your-self to Your pure devotee.” “O my Lord, O
primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating
principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the
progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your
transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are
the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as
am I”.
To conclude, the Supreme Lord Krishna has declared that
the ocean of material miseries result from the three modes of
material nature, which are all subservient to Him. The Brahman
and Paramātma are His partial manifestation. The material ocean
referred here is in the form of the 43,200,000 lifetimes in one
kalpa (12 hours) of Lord Brahma; that all embodied beings who
have not achieved the spiritual world are subjected to experience
birth and death until the partial dissolution of creation takes
place, which goes back into body of Lord Vishnu, or the cosmic
Absolute Truth. This merging automatically occurs at the end of
every creation when annihilation takes place. There is no need
for a separate endeavor to merge into God, which is
spontaneously scheduled for all imperfect souls at end of every

millennium of the universe. In this chapter the Supreme Lord
Himself has confirmed that His devotees can easily cross over
this ocean due to their selected loving devotion unto Him. The
ultimate purpose of Vedic knowledge is to detach oneself from
the entanglement of the material world and to understand Lord
Krishna as the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. One
who understands Krishna’s supreme identity surrenders unto
Him and engages in His devotional service.
Great sages, such as four brahmachāri devotees Sanaka,
Sanātana, Sananda and Sanat kumara, were impersonalists, but
when they were attracted by the fragrance of flowers and Tulasi
leaves with the pulp of sandalwood offered at the lotus feet of
Krishna, they became personalist devotees. Therefore devotional
service or bhakti-yoga is supreme among all yogas and can be
executed with love with which things are offered to the Supreme
Lord Krishna.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Divisions of Material Nature’ by H.H.

1. Analyze the qualities and actions of the modes of material
nature.
2. Write a note on the origin of soul and characteristics of the
three features of Lord Krishna.
1. What are the results of learning material knowledge and
transcendental knowledge?
2. Explain what is Brahman and Supreme Brahman?
3. Distinguish the form of Sada-Siva and Lord Vishnu.
4. Who is the personified material nature and who impregnates

her with living entities and How?
5. When does the living entity become conditioned?
6. What are the features of the mode of goodness and how does
goodness influence the living entity?
7. Classify the characteristics of the mode of passion and its
effects on living entities?
8. How is the mode of ignorance characterized?
9. Describe the ways in which the modes interact with one
another.
10. List the 9 gates in the body?
11. What happens when the mode of passion increases?
12. Refer to a person’s acts in the mode of ignorance.
13. What are the destinations of people who die in goodness,
passion, and ignorance?
14. Explain the benefit of understanding the three modes of
nature?
15. What is stated in Brahmānda Purāna?
16. How does one transcend the modes of nature and what is the
result of that transcendence?
17. In what way can one achieve equality with Krishna?
18. What is vyabhichāri and avyabhichāri devotion?
19. What is brahmajyoti?
1. 12 hours of Lord Brahma lasts for ______ billion, ______
million years.
2. There are ___ million __ thousands of numbers of birth
living entities take in a day of Lord Brahma.
3. ______ is the father of the material world, ______is mother
of the material world.
4. In verse 5, Lord Vishnu is compared to ________ and Lord

Siva is compared to _______.
5. The qualitative equality with the Lord is to become free
from the repetition of _________.
6. All living entities are impregnated in the womb of material
nature according to their previous ____.
7. Wisdom and happiness are the symptoms of the
____________ modes of nature.
8. The mode of passion is characterized by unlimited
_____________.
9. The planet_______ is reserved for those who kill animals
and eat them.
10. One who is mad and degraded, is in the _______ mode of
material nature.
11. ____________Purāna says that until embodied beings
realize that Lord Krishna is the Supreme
12. Lord of all, they remain like animals in human form.
13. Those who are in the mode of ignorance, after death, will
take birth again among __________.
14. In Sānskrit the ‘embodied beings’ are called________
15. Krishna is the basis of ____________ which is immortal,
imperishable and eternal.
16. The personified __________ is a personal assistant of Sri
Krishna’s internal potency
Yoga of The Absolute Godhead 889
CHAPTER 15
Yoga of
The Absolute Godhead
ु ाच
ऊ्वामल ू मिः शाखम्व्िं रा ु र्ययम ्।
छतदांभस यथय पणाातन यथ ं वेद स वेदवव ्॥१॥
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam
chandāṁsi yasya parṇāni yas taṁ veda sa veda-vit
Godhead said; ūrdhva-mūlam -- with roots above; adhaḥ-śākham
-- with branches downwards; aśvatthaṁ -- the banyan tree;
prāhur -- it is stated; avyayam -- is eternal; chandāṁsi -- the
Vedic aphorisms; yasya -- of that tree; parṇāni -- the leaves; yas -
- one who; taṁ -- that; veda -- understands; sa -- he; veda-vit -- is
the knower of the Vedic scriptures.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: It is said
that there is banyan tree, which is eternal and that has its
roots upward and its branches downwards. This tree's leaves
are Vedic aphorisms; those who understand this tree are
knowers of the Vedās.
ANNOTATION: Consider how a reflection of a tree in the water
standing upside down is unreal, and how a reflection in a mirror
889
has no independent reality and only mimics the movements of

the original object. Similarly, the material world can be
compared to, or is, a reflection of the spiritual world. Consider
again, how in a shadow there is no substance or reality, but
through the appearance of a shadow we can deduce and
understand that there must be an original substance, something in
reality which casts the shadow. Although what exists in reality
exists as real objects, in the material world we have temporarily
accepted the unreal as reality. This is like the appearance of
water in the middle of a snow covered freeway. There is no
water, but it seems as if there is water there due to sunshine
which is reflected on the snow. And we drive closer to it, the
water appears to move further away. This is just like animals
which see a mirage in the middle of the dessert; they run after the
appearance of the water, yet there is no water. Similarly, in the
material world there is no happiness, there is but the reflection of
the happiness of the spiritual world. This reflection is caused by
the form of sense gratification. This is not genuine happiness,
and is only a momentary relief from the agitation of the senses.
Real happiness is found in the spiritual world.
The Lord compares the material world to something that is
imperishable; like the prison of a country relatively is permanent
and imperishable. New criminals are always being charged and
admitted into the prison while old criminals, having served their
time, are always being released. Thus, living entities are always
taking a new birth and dying in this material world, since time
immemorial moment after moment, this is everlasting. Eternal
life exists in the spiritual world. This is the original world, and
everything there is eternal, full of conscious and complete in
knowledge. Only the few fortunate people who realize the futility
of the material world and engage in the service of the Lord will
reach the spiritual world.
In this verse, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna, compares the material world to a gigantic banyan
tree with many thousands of branches, many millions of leaves,
its roots are found upwards, while its branches and leaves are
downwards. The roots are compared to heavenly planets

extending to the planet of Lord Brahma and the other higher
planets, from Bhūr-loka, Bhuvar-loka, Svarga-loka, etc. The
branches downwards symbolize all the denizens of creation in
the form of fish, plants, insects, birds, animals and humans and
demigods.
avyayam means everlasting, the material life is everlasting
for conditioned souls since their souls are covered by a polluted
consciousness; material consciousness blocks their self-
realization. This is like trying to withdraw your money from a
cash machine when you have the wrong pin number. Even
though the money belongs to you, the cash machine refuses your
request and will not give you your money. The word chādāmsi
refers to the leaves of the tree. These are the aphorisms of the
Vedic scriptures that explain what actions and activities in life are
to be performed and what one should not perform. They explain
the consequences of all actions including forbidden actions as
well as the path of liberation from the cycle of actions and
reactions. When one knows this banyan tree’s root, branches and
leaves one is the real knower of the Vedās.
TEXT 2
अि्च८्वं रस ृ ाथ थय शाखागण
ु रव्
ृ िा ववषयरवालाः।
अि्च मल
ू ातयनस
ु ं ातन कमाानब
ु तिीतन मन्ु यल८के॥२॥
adhaś cordhvaṁ prasṛtās tasya śākhā
guṇa-pravṛddhā viṣaya-pravālāḥ
adhaś ca mūlāny anusantatāni
karmānubandhīni manuṣya-loke
adhaś cordhvaṁ -- downward and upward; prasṛtās -- extending;
tasya -- its; śākhā -- branches of the tree; guṇa-pravṛddhā --
developed by the modes of material nature; viṣaya-pravālāḥ --
twigs are like sense objects; adhaś -- downward; ca -- and;
mūlāny -- its roots; anusantatāni -- spreading; karmānubandhīni
-- bounds to work; manuṣya-loke -- human world.
The branches of the tree extend downward and upwards. The
twigs are compared to the sense objects. The branches of the
tree are developed by the three modes of material nature.

The roots spreading downward produce the actions and
reactions in the world of human society.
ANNOTATION: The Lord explains a comparison of this unique
material world. The branches of this material world are compared
to all kinds of living entities, numbering 8,400,000. Just as the
branches spread upwards and downwards, living entities are
everywhere: in the water, fire and air, in the earth and space, and
in the forest. All heavenly demigods, semi-demigods, celestial
singers and kinnaras are located in the upper portion of the tree
called the heavenly spheres. All demons, animals and humans are
in the lower and middle branches of the tree, which is called the
lower and middle planetary system. In the same way the trees are
nourished by the water, all of these entities, as branches, are
enjoying the effect of the modes of material nature, namely,
goodness, passion, and ignorance in the different forms of
worldly objects.
Demigods are predominantly influenced by the mode of
goodness. They are compared to small branches of the banyan
tree. Humans are predominantly influenced by the modes of
passion, while demons and animals are influenced by the mode
of ignorance. The Lord compares the twigs of this banyan tree to
the sense objects, namely, smell, taste, sound, touch and form.
All these working senses, knowledge acquiring senses and sense
objects are caused by the mode of ignorance. The mind is caused
by the mode of goodness and intelligence is caused by the mode
of passion. The mind is the axis around which the senses are
caused to enjoy or suffer in material activities. To put this in
another way, only the mind enjoys and suffers the activities of
the material tree called body, and the soul is only a witness.
The material bodily tree’s root goes upward and downward.
This is compared to fruitive activities. The only outcome of these
activities is to cause living entities to become entangled in
fruitive results. A powerful tree’s root goes in all directions, thus
the living entities from the topmost planet of Brahma down to the
nether world all are engaged in fruitive actions for enjoyment.
This causes them to go to heavenly planets, but after exhausting

their so-called pious activities they come back down to the
earthly sphere to engage in further fruitive actions once again to
accumulate the results of their pious and impious acts, leading
them to enjoy and suffer from bad as well as good. karmānu
bandhāni manusya-loke means ‘actions are bound to the fruitive
activities of human society’. The import of this is that, depending
on whether he follows or ignores the injunctions and prohibitions
of the Vedic scriptures, the soul will ecstatically enjoy in the
heavenly worlds or will suffer misery in the hellish worlds, to the
exhaustion of all karma and its remnants. One is rewarded after
death for the performance of meritorious deeds or is punished for
performing degraded deeds during each human lifetime spent in
the pursuit of material pleasures. After hundreds of thousands of
such lifetimes these desires for pleasure become deep rooted
tendencies that cause subtle impressions to be imprinted upon the
subtle body of the soul that takes birth in the world of humans.
Every soul has two bodies, subtle and gross. The subtle body is
consisting of mind, intelligence and false ego, and gross body is
made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. These impressions are so
resolute that, subconsciously, the soul craves and seeks the same
kinds of pleasures enjoyed in previous lives and performs the
same or similar activities in which had previously led to
fulfillment.
TEXTS 3-4
न पमथये ि८पल्य े नात ८ न चाहदना च संरत ्ठा।
अ्व्िमेनं सवु व ढमल
ू मस्गशथरेण ृढे न तछ्वा
ः पदं ्पररमाधगा ्यं य्थमतग ा न तनव ्ा त भय ू ः।
मेव चा्यं पु
ु षं रप्ये य ः रववृ तः रस ृ ा परु ाणी॥३-४॥
na rūpam asyeha tathopalabhyate

nānto na cādir na ca sampratiṣṭhā
aśvattham enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam
asaṅga-śastreṇa dṛḍhena chittvā
tataḥ padaṁ tat parimārgitavyaṁ

yasmin gatā na nivartanti bhūyaḥ
tam eva cādyaṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye
yataḥ pravṛttiḥ prasṛtā purāṇī
na rūpam -- not the form; asya -- of this tree; iha -- in this world;
tatha -- also; upalabhyate -- can be perceived; nānto -- no end;
na ca adir -- also no beginning; na ca sampratiṣṭhā -- also no
foundation; aśvattham -- baniyan tree; enaṁ su-virūḍha-mūlam -
- this tree strongly rooted; asaṅga-śastreṇa -- by the weapon of
detachment; dṛḍhena chittvā -- with the sharp severing; tataḥ --
thereafter; padaṁ tat -- that situation; parimārgitavyaṁ -- has to
be searched out; yasmin gatā -- go to the place where; na
nivartanti -- there is not return; bhūyaḥ -- again; tam -- to Him;
eva -- certainly; ca -- also; ādyaṁ puruṣaṁ -- original, the
Personality of Godhead; prapadye -- surrendering; yataḥ --
whom; pravṛttiḥ -- the process; prasṛtā -- emanates; purāṇī --
old.
The inverted form of the tree cannot be perceived within this
world, nor can anyone understand its end, beginning or its
foundation. This strongly rooted bāniyan tree can be cut
down by the weapon of detachment, by strong determination.
Thereafter, one must search for that situation from where
there is no return: surrendering at the Lotus feet of the
original Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead from
whom all processes have emanated and extended, since the
beginning of creation.
ANNOTATION: The whole material creation of Lord Krishna is
25 percent of spiritual creation, ekapada vibhūti. When the
spiritual worlds are unlimited, 25 percent of the material worlds
are also unlimited. Consequently, the Lord says in this verse that
no one can perceive the end or the beginning of material creation.
The foundation of material creation was initiated for rebellious
souls, and is like a prison house that has no beginning or end, of
initiation or termination, but has always existed, along with the
cities. Thus, instead of thinking about how originally arrived in
this material world, one must use one's strong sense of
detachment, asanga sastrena, from this material chain of sense

gratification and release oneself from this material tree.
The only situation of no return is Krishna loka, and
Vaikuntha loka. From everywhere else one will be forced to
return back to the earthly planet again to continue a material
existence. Pious activities that lead to an ascent to any material
heavenly planet only have a temporary effect. Spiritual activities,
however, provide eternal life in the spiritual world. There,
everyone has supremely excellent and quality houses, and has
well-operated airplanes that carrying them and their beautiful
consorts to and from parks and beaches. And even though they
have beautiful consorts they have no mundane sex desire, since
they are involved in pure spiritual activities. There is no material
work to be performed in the spiritual world, except for the
unlimited spiritual activities in the association of the Supreme
Lord in person. This is an association which ever-increases one’s
bliss and which never tires. This association only increases one’s
enthusiasm and eagerness to render more and more devotional
activities for the satisfaction of the Lord and of oneself. None of
this is, however, possible unless one has, first, gathered enough
information about the spiritual world and the owner of the
spiritual world Lord Krishna, and is ready to cooperate with Him
and practice the discipline which matches the atmosphere of this
final destination. One must surrender to the complete Personality
of Godhead Lord Krishna through such cultivation of spiritual
knowledge and cooperation. It is from Lord Krishna everything
emanated. Krishna’s expansion Garbhodhakasāyi Vishnu for the
material creation speaks to Lord Brahma:
aham evāsam evagre nanyad yat sad-asat param
pascad aham yad etac ca yo 'vasisyeta so 'smy aham
“Oh Brahma, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who existed
before the creation, when there was nothing but Me. Nor was
there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which
you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after
annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of
Godhead”.
Thus, it is imperative to discover this original tree, which

causes the reflection of reality we see in the material world. The
original tree is in the spiritual sky. The human existence in the
material world is the most congenial form to discover this
spiritual tree because the human form is endowed with a finely
developed consciousness and intellect. Therefore, one must
search for the origin of life by the aid of the scriptures instead of
identifying oneself with where one is born or the country of
one’s birth. One must raise one’s consciousness beyond the
limits of these conditions, and realize that all these notions are
illusory and false. Thus, one can adhere to the principles of the
Supreme Lord. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gītā -10-8 that
He is the source of spiritual and material worlds. One must seek
refuge in the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna to comprehend the purpose of the spiritual tree, which
represents true reality, and to comprehend the futility of the
material tree, which is merely as a reflection in the water.
TEXT 5
तनमाानम८ ा ्् स्गद८षा अ्या्मतन्या ववतनवत
ृ कामाः।
्वत्वववाम्
ु ाः सख
ु दःु खसं् गा्छत्यमढ
ू ाः पदम्ययं ्॥५॥
nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣā
adhyātma-nityā vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ
dvandvair vimuktāḥ sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair
gacchanty amūḍhāḥ padam avyayaṁ tat
nirmāna-mohā -- devoid of false ego and illusion; jita-saṅga-
doṣā -- free from bad association; adhyātma -- in spiritual
knowledge; nityā -- in eternity; vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ -- disassociated
from lust; dvandvair -- from the dualities; vimuktāḥ -- completely
liberated; sukha-duḥkha-saṁjñair -- namely happiness and
distress; gacchanti -- attain; amūḍhāḥ -- wise; padam -- shelter of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead; avyayaṁ -- the
imperishable; tat -- that.
Those who are devoid of false ego, illusion, bad association,
who know the eternal, who are free from material lust, who
are completely liberated from the dualities of happiness and

misery and who is not infatuated, will attain the shelter of
that imperishable Supreme Personality of Godhead.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord gives a full
explanation of how to cooperating with Him as to be part and
parcel with Him. First, He explains the elimination of false
prestige. manas, all living beings, are mistaken in identifying
with the material body, thinking that they are this material body.
Similarly, this attitude is conveyed to all one’s family members,
such as wife, children and parents; one is led to think that these
people are also a part of one’s material body. Thus, beings work
hard with greed and lust to maintain and enjoy their bodies by
any means. This infatuation buries them in the material existence
of life over and over again. Suffering in the pretext of what so-
called sense ‘enjoyment’, they are unable to liberate themselves
from this platform and perceive what we know is the soul. Above
all, they want to control the material nature with their money and
power, which originates and therefore is stolen from the Supreme
Lord.
This is the strongest illusion of all less intelligent people
while they live in the material world, for what is like only a few
days compared with the eternity they may attain in the company
of Lord Krishna. Based on this false identification with the body,
this strong illusion, living entities have social gatherings, so-
called ‘parties’ and functions where they share their mundane
secrets and lusty relationships, all in the name of developing their
enterprises and kingdoms. Nowadays, in the corporate world,
these sinful activities are very common, more frequently found in
star hotels. Men are social animals and due to following their
social path they become worse as human beings, despite their
modernized outfits and hair styles. They cannot realize that they
are caught up in a bad and degraded reality because of their
delusion and the false pride they take from their so-called
modern advanced science and technological discoveries. They
even think they are more advanced and powerful than Lord
Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. What is
absurd about this is that people have been eating, sleeping,

having sex and defending within their empires in the material
world since time immemorial. Moreover, they have been taking
birth, growing old, having diseases and dying too. Since all of
this is old-fashioned, what is so modern about in anyway?
Therefore, the Supreme Godhead is strongly asking Arjuna
to abandon these lustful actions and the illusory duality of
sensual happiness and misery. Gratification based on the material
senses can only bring suffering to one’s material and spiritual life
in this world. Thus, one should accept the authority of Godhead
through a bona fide guru, and understand the beauty of an eternal
life of devotion. One should learn how to surrender to the
Supreme Godhead to attain the eternal kingdom, the spiritual
universe; where Lord Krishna, the Supreme Father of all sentient
beings, eternally resides in the enjoyment of the company of His
pure surrendered devotees.
TEXT 6 न ्भासय े सयू ो न शशा्क८ न पावकः।

य्ग्वा न तनव ता े ्िाम परमंमम॥६॥
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
na -- is not; tad -- that place; bhāsayate -- illuminates; sūryo --
by the sun; na -- not; śaśāṅko -- the moon; na -- not; pāvakaḥ --
fire or electricity; yad gatvā -- where having going; na nivartante
-- they never return; tad dhāma -- that transcendental abode;
paramaṁ mama -- My supreme.
The place that is not illuminated by the sun, moon, fire or
electricity; from where having gone, they never return, that
is My supreme transcendental abode or universe.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna’s transcendental spiritual body
and abode both consist of spirit souls. The spirit souls in the
material condition are covered by the material elements and are
therefore ‘embodied’. But in the spiritual world there is no
embodiment, they are situated in their original spiritual body. As
much as everything made of matter in this world, in the spiritual

world everything made of spirit. Thus, the entire spiritual planet
is self-luminous, and consequently there is no need for the sun,
moon, fire or electricity to light them, or other spiritual
universes. The Katho Upanishad (2.2.15) also confirms that in
the spiritual world there is no need for sunshine, moonlight or
stars (na tatra suryo bhati na candratārakam). Each spiritual
planet is up to ten times, a hundred times, a thousand or a million
times bigger than the material universes. The varieties of the
spiritual universes, similarly, have no limit and the enjoyments
that are experienced there with Krishna are billions of times more
enjoyable than we have found here in the material world. All
kalpa vrksha trees and surabhi cows are desire fulfilling to all
devotees. They can provide anything, everything and anytime the
devotees demand.
Even the dimensions of the material universes cannot be
calculated for the most advanced scientists and mathematicians.
There are many Brahmas who have thousands and millions of
heads to manage the vast material universes. Each head of Lord
Brahma rules for one billion miles of space. In our universe Lord
Brahma has only four heads, therefore, the dimensions of our
universe is only 4 billion miles, the smallest of all material
universes. There are multi-billions of material universes floating
in the Causal Ocean like mustard seeds in the huge bag, or like
the bubbles from a wave that crashes against a rock at the beach.
All these universes are only 1/4th of the creation of Lord
Krishna. One cannot imagine the spiritual creation of the
Absolute truth Lord Krishna, 3/4th of the total creation, ever
expanding beyond time and space. Both material and spiritual
creation are incomprehensible for the material mind and
intelligence. As is suggested by the Lord in the previous verse,
the only way to understand is to go there, to the spiritual world.
These spiritual universes are called Vaikuntha Lokas. There
is no anxiety for the spiritually liberated souls. The topmost of all
Vaikuntha is Krishna Loka or Goloka Vrindhāvana, where Rādha
and Krishna eternally reside. They eternally perform pastimes
and enjoy the beauty of pure spiritual life with their intimate
devotees. All Nārāyana forms of Lord Krishna reside in
Vaikuntha planets. All expansions of Lord Krishna are Lord
Nārāyanas. Expansions of Srīmati Rādharani are the Lakshmis,
beginning from Srīmati Rukhmini devi, also residing in the
Vaikuntha planets. All these Vaikuntha planets and the Krishna
Loka have billions and zillions of liberated devotees to serve in
the four opulent moods of the predominating personalities of the
spiritual universe, Lord Nārāyana and Goddess Lakshmi.
Nārāyana forms of Lord Krishna have different names such as
Kesava, Mādhava, Trivikrama, Padmanābha, etc.
Those who worship Lord Vishnu or Lord Nārāyana without
deviation will enter into the spiritual kingdom called Vaikuntha
Loka at the end of their life. Those who worship Krishna enter
into Goloka Vrindhāvana. The difference between the Goloka
Vrindhāvana and the Vaikuntha planets is that no one knows in
Goloka Loka that Krishna is God. This is because such
understanding can hinder the devotees advancement towards
Krishna closer, instead of knowing Krishna as God, all devotees
in Goloka thus treat little Krishna as their own master, friend,
son, or lover. In Vaikuntha devotees worship Lord Nārāyana
with awe and reverence because all devotees know that Lord
Nārāyana is God. These spiritual universes will be manifested
only to those who appreciate and treat the beauty, pastimes, and
transcendental form of Krishna or Nārāyana with love, devotion
and worship Him in a state of full surrender without adulteration.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.8 begins with veda hametam
purusham. This means: The Supreme Lord, more magnificent
than millions of suns, illuminates the whole creation and creates
beings from within and without. Only by realizing Him will
a soul be able to transcend the cycle of birth and death, there is
no other alternative than this.
In the isopanishad 14, it is said:
sambhūtim ca vināsam ca yas tad vedobhayam saha
vinasena mrtyum tirtva sambhūtyamrtam asnute
“One should know perfectly the personality of Godhead Sri

Krishna and His transcendental name, form, qualities and
pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its
temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows these,
he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic manifestation with
it, and in the eternal Kingdom of God he enjoys his eternal life of
bliss and knowledge”.
TEXT 7 ममवांश८ ्ीवल८के ्ीवभू ः सना नः।

मनः ष्ठानी्तरयाणण रकृत थिातन कषात ॥७॥
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
mama -- My; aiv -- certainly; āṁśo -- infinitesimal particle; jīva-
loke -- the world of living entities; jīva-bhūtaḥ -- the conditioned
living entity; sanātanaḥ -- eternal; manaḥ -- with the mind;
ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi -- the sixth senses; prakṛti-sthāni -- influence of
the material energy; karṣati -- is struggling hard.
The conditioned living beings in the world of living entities
are My infinitesimal particles, they are eternal but due to the
influence of the material energy they are suffering hard with
their sixth senses called mind.
ANNOTATION: All liberated and conditioned souls are part of
Krishna, and yet they are all individual souls. There are eight
million and four hundred varieties of bodies in the material
world; each variety has millions and billions in number. All these
living entities are conditioned by their respective material bodies.
The material body consists of eyes, nose, ears, skin, tongue and
the sixth sense, which is mind. These constituent parts make
everyone suffer and struggle for existence in the material life.
Conditioned souls are trapped in different bodies: for example, a
dog body, a cat body, a serpent body, a bug’s body, a fish body, a
bird’s body, or a human body. Although all are spirit souls, all
these bodies forced beings to act according to their respective
bodily structures; a dog can communicate with other dogs by
barking and different signs, and a bird can communicate with his
fellow birds by chirping and different signs of singing. This is the

meaning of the ‘conditioned’, and this is the nature of the
struggle in the material world. There is no happiness in the
material world since all living species must struggle for food and
shelter. They are led to acquire more and more wealth due to
greed, while falsely calling this happiness.
The mind is the main sense which prevents all living entities
from realizing the soul’s absolute nature, this keeps them
eternally fragmented from God, Krishna. Thus, the mind is the
cause of degradation of the jīva, and it is the mind that forces the
soul to take another material body through birth according to its
mental activities and attachments. Yet the mind is also the means
by which one may be promoted to heavenly planets and to the
spiritual world or downgraded to hellish planets, provided one
uses one’s mind according to the scripture.
Souls are always the spectator of actions. People do not
realize this truth, even though they are constantly witnessing it. It
is through the mind that one has to employ the proper method of
purification. Yet an involvement in the material activities will
prevent it from accepting a spiritual formula. This has been the
case since time immemorial. However, a sumetasah, an
intelligent living entity must engage the mind in the chanting of
Hare Krishna mahā-mantra. This is the yoga for the age of Kali
(the present time or age). All other mantrās are complicated and
are very difficult to pronounce, which is dangerous and
problematic since a mispronounced mantra takes on different
meanings which results in one’s self interest not being fulfilled.
‘Man’ means mind, tra means deliverance. Deliverance of the
mind is thus called ‘Mantra’. In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāna the
greatness of the mahā-mantra has been explained.
iti sodasakam nāmnam kali-kalmasa-nāsanam
nātah parataropayah sarva-vedesu drsyate
“The sixteen words—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna
Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare
Hare—are especially meant for counteracting the contaminations
of Kali. To save oneself from the contamination of Kali, there is

no alternative but the chanting of these sixteen words”.
Generally a human being is interested in religion, economic
development, sense gratification and liberation. But Krishna
bhakti or love of God is above all these social customs and
requirements. A true guru and a true disciple who desires to get
out of this miserable material existence only chants Hare Krishna
mahā-mantra in this age of Kali. These transcendental sound
vibrations enter the ears of the disciple. If a disciple follows in
the footsteps of his spiritual master and chants the holy name
with similar respect, he actually comes to worship the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead in His transcendental name.
When the transcendental name is worshiped by the devotee, the
name Himself spreads Krishna’s glories throughout the heart of a
devotee. When a devotee is perfectly qualified in chanting the
transcendental vibrations of the holy name, he is fit to become a
spiritual master and to deliver all the people of the world. The
chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it gradually
establishes its supremacy above everything in the world.
Sometimes the unintelligent put hindrances in the path of
chanting this mahā-mantra, but one who is situated on the
platform of love of Godhead chants the holy name loudly for all
concerned. As a result, everyone becomes initiated in the
chanting of the holy names— Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma
Rāma, Hare Hare.
By chanting and hearing the holy names of Krishna, a
person can achieve Krishna. Within Krishna’s name resides all
potencies of the world and there is no other method mentioned to
deliver the mind in the scriptures for the present age of Kali-
yuga. Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Nārāyana are also
individuals and are part of Krishna, yet their spiritual bodies are
eternal, different from jīvātmas, ordinary spirit souls. Lord
Vishnu and Lord Nārāyana qualitatively and quantitatively are
equal with Krishna. Lord Siva has 84 percent of all of Krishna’s
opulences. Thus, Krishna is the fountainhead of all individual
souls and all incarnations and expansion of Himself.
TEXT 8 शरीरं यदवातन८त य्चातय्ु राम ी्वरः।

गहृ ्व ातन संयात वायग
ु ता िातनवाशया ्॥८॥
śarīraṁ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ
gṛhītvaitāni saṁyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt
śarīraṁ -- the body; yad -- as; avāpnoti -- gets; yac -- as; ca apy -
- also; utkrāmatī -- he quits; īśvaraḥ -- the infinitesimal potency
in the body; gṛhītva -- carrying; itāni -- the subtle body; saṁyāti -
- goes to new body; vāyur -- the air; gandhān -- aroma; iva --
like; āśayāt -- from their source.
The infinitesimal particle in the body carrying different ideas
from his past life subtly leaves this body and goes to a new
one like the air carries fragrance. In this way he gets one
body and then quits that one only to take another.
ANNOTATION: The Lord describes how the living entity has
come down to the material world through its own desire, as was
facilitated by the Lord, and carries with it different conceptions
from its past lives, from one life to the next life. Here the
meaning of īsvara is the ‘owner of the body’. An entity begins its
next life with actions that are based on the information stored in
the subconscious state of its mind. The entity’s mind and
intelligence will be the same, but its ego identifies itself in
accordance with the physical body it has obtained. The type of
body one receives in one's next life will be largely determined by
the main form of food one consumed throughout one's present
life. If one eat pigs always, one will infect with the qualities of
pigs; those who are fond of eating cows, will infect the qualities
of cows. In a similar way, if one is addicted to sex and exploits
the opposite sex, they will receive similar body to be exploited in
the next life. The mechanism by which this occurs can be
comprehended by an analogy which Lord Krishna gives of a
breeze transporting the aroma of a flower to another location. So,
the subtle body of the jīva, containing the mind and the senses, is
transported from body to body.
In Mahābhārata Srila Vyasa deva has stated: even though
the jīva witnesses the temporary emotions, merits and demerits,
still it is powerless to oppose them. Although moving hither and

thither to the four corners of the planet, enjoying here and
suffering there, all actions are actually energized by the Supreme
Lord. Even when conquering and winning, if one considers
themselves a great personality, factually they are only
performing these actions as has been ordained by the Supreme
Lord. Even as a vehicle controlled by someone who moves a
passenger from one location to another, in the same manner
the jīva transmigrates from one body to another, as is controlled
by the potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, in such a way,
we can also see that when a devotee is engaged always in
Krishna consciousness, he can be transferred to Krishna Loka.
TEXT 9 र८रं चषुः थपशानं च रसनं राणमेव च।

अधि्ठाय मन्चायं ववषयानप
ु सेव ॥
े ९॥
śrotraṁ chakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ viṣayān upasevate
śrotraṁ -- ears; chakṣuḥ -- eyes; sparśanaṁ -- touch; ca -- also;
rasanaṁ -- taste; ghrāṇam-eva-ca -- and also smelling power;
adhiṣṭhāya -- situated in; manaś -- mind; cā -- also; ayam -- he;
viṣayān -- the objects of the senses; upasevate -- enjoys.
As spirit soul takes another material body, which has new
eyes, ears, touch, tongue, nose governed by the mind, the
living entity enjoys another set of sense objects.
ANNOTATION: According to one's karma, one receives a
beautiful or ugly body, one’s eyes may be big, small, squinting or
blind; one’s nose may be long, big, small or flat; one’s ears may
be bigger, smaller or deaf; one’s tongue may be small, big, mute
or uncontrolled; all these senses are grouped around the nature of
the mind. The mind works based on the influence of the modes
of material nature, namely, goodness, passion and ignorance.
These three modes manifest in one's mind based on food, water
and association. Thus, material nature designs one’s particular
sense organs based on one's action. If one has committed offense
to others or has ridiculed others, one will become ugly or have
uneven sense organs. Knowing well how material nature supplies

such organs as per one's actions. One should not, therefore,
offend, ridicule, hurt or kill any living beings.
The pure soul is contaminated by the foul food and drink of
the modes of material nature, by consuming this one thus invites
suffering through the lower modes of passion and ignorance. But
one's original consciousness is awakened when one attains
Krishna consciousness. As it is mentioned in the third chapter of
Bhagavad-Gītā, one must enjoy the food offered first to Lord
Krishna as prasādam.
Just as, in the light there is no darkness, similarly, in
Krishna there is no evil. When sun rises the darkness is
completely dissolved. The sun, therefore, never experiences
darkness. Here, Krishna is like the sun, māya is darkness, where
there is light there is no darkness; where there is Krishna evil
actions are absent. This teaches us to take refuge in the Supreme
Lord and to engage in His devotional service, so that we may
avoid a degraded body and sense organs.
TEXT 10 उ्रामत ं ्थि ं वावप भ्
ु ्ानं वा गण
ु ा्तव म ्।
ववमढ
ू ा नानप
ु ्य्त प्य्त ्ानचषुषः॥१०॥
utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam
vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ
utkrāmantaṁ -- giving up the body; sthitaṁ -- residing in the
body; vāpi -- either; bhuñjānaṁ -- enjoying; vā -- or; guṇānvitam
-- fascinated by the three modes of material nature; vimūḍhā --
less intelligent; nānupaśyanti -- cannot perceive; paśyanti -- but
can perceive; jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ -- those enlightened by the eye of
knowledge.
The less intelligent are fascinated by the three modes of
material nature and cannot perceive how a living being can
give up one body, nor can they know how they reside or
enjoy in their bodies. But those whose eyes are enlightened
with knowledge can perceive all these things.
ANNOTATION: A mūdha is an ignorant or foolish person who
does not understand how living entities move from one material
body to another. Such conditioned souls do not discriminate
between the soul and the physical body. The mistake made here
is that such an untrained soul wants the body to work as per their
will, yet the body functions most of the time with disregard to the
inner functions of the brain, heart, liver, kidney, intestine, etc.
They misidentify with their bodies, thinking that they are the
body, not realizing that the soul is the illuminating particle in the
body, which lights the entire body like the sun lights up the entire
universe. Although knowledge of the science of the soul is
inbuilt in everyone’s consciousness, this knowledge cannot be
awakened and uncovered so long as one is conditioned by the
material world. Such conditioned souls need the support of a
spiritual master who has seen the truth by sāstra or jnāna chaksu,
the eye of scripture. The science of the soul, body and Supersoul
can be learned only through the guidance of a spiritual master
who has been fully enlightened with eye of transcendental
knowledge. At the time of death, however, one experiences this
truth, that he is different from the body, but soon forgets it again
when he takes another body.
TEXT 11 य त ८ य८धगन्चनं प्यत्या्मतयव्थि म ्
य त ८ऽतयकृ ा्मान८ ननं प्यत्यचे सः॥११॥
yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty ātmany avasthitam
yatanto ’py akṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ
yatanto -- with great endeavor; yoginaś -- those spiritualists; ca --
also; enaṁ -- this; paśyanty -- can perceive; ātmany -- within the
self; avasthitam -- situated; yatanto -- endeavoring; py --
although; akṛtātmāno -- those impure minds without self-
realization; nainaṁ paśyanty -- can never see this; acetasaḥ --
undeveloped minds.
Those spiritualists with great endeavor situated in devotional
service can see all this unmistakably, that the soul is situated
within the body, but those who are impure and are not
developed in their minds and have not practiced devotional
service can never perceive the soul, even with great endeavor.
ANNOTATION: It is extremely difficult to perceive the soul

within one's heart, even with much discrimination and focused
attention. Only spiritualists who have engaged in the devotional
service to the Supreme Lord Krishna and have served three
aspects of Him, Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavān, for
prolonged time, and have also purified their minds and bodies
will realize the self and the Super self, Krishna. The functions of
the mind are thinking, feeling and willing. These functions must
be dedicated to the Supreme Lord. Intelligence has to be used to
identify the spiritual objects; like, who is a Bhagavān, who is a
genuinely saintly person, what is a real Bhāgavatam and what is
real devotional service to Krishna, etc.
All that glitters in is not gold. Therefore, one who wears a
saintly dress is not necessarily be a saintly person. Pseudo
transcendentalists, for example, just make money and enjoy
sense gratification. They are always worried about their health
and arrival of death and they are unaware that there is no way to
prevent death. They just take advantage of the popular sentiment
towards spirituality. People thus often follow whoever wears a
saffron cloth, but these so-called saintly people are actually just
confusing the innocent people, taking their money and using it on
frivolous activities. Sri Prahalad mahāraja calls such people
antāyate antaih upagiyamana: the blind leading the blind. There
are many allegedly saintly people who really are pseudo yogis
that take pleasure in politics and movies. Such people cannot
even deliver themselves, so how could they deliver others, as
they claim to? In this verse, the Lord motions towards such
people while He says akrta-ātmanah: those are without self-
realization due to their undeveloped minds.
TEXT 12 यदाहद्यग ं ्
े ८ ्ग्भासय ऽे णखलम ्।
य्चतरमभस य्चा्न९ ते्८ वव्धि मामकम ्॥१२॥
yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilam
yac chandramāsi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam
yad -- which; āditya-gataṁ -- sunshine; tejo -- brilliance; jagad
bhāsayate -- the whole world illuminating; akhilam -- entirely;
yac -- that which; chandramāsi -- in the moon; yac -- that which;

cāgnau -- also in fire; tat tejo -- that brilliance; viddhi --
understand; māmakam -- from Me.
Understand that the brilliance of the sun that removes the
darkness from the whole world, as well as the brilliance of
the moon and of fire all comes from Me.
ANNOTATION: The sun regularly lights up the universe. The
moon lights up the sky at night and fire removes the darkness of
night. Fire also helps in preparing food and supplying warmth,
just like the body is illuminated by the presence of the soul. All
these lights illuminate all the worlds. As integral parts of
creation, they reflect the light of consciousness.
The Supreme Lord Krishna’s effulgence was bestowed
upon these lights through His being pleased by their service of
universal management and by being pleased from their
personified forms, such as the sun god Sūrya Nārāyana, the
demigod in charge of the sun; Agni the demigod in charge of
fire; and, Soma the demigod in charge of the moon, etc.
From this statement of the Lord, one can understand that the
whole existence of souls depend on the Supreme Lord’s Mercy.
Therefore, one should try to see Krishna in all aspects of life.
This is pure human existence. Many so-called devotees often run
towards temples, churches and mosques when they face domestic
issues. However, when their domestic issues are over due to their
prayers, these people start thinking that they were the performers
and problem solvers and not Krishna. It is in one’s self-interest to
be Krishna conscious. Yet modern civilization is so degraded that
people only abuse and steal the facilities provided by the
Supreme Godhead Krishna to enjoy them with their temporary
lusty desires.
TEXT 13 गामावव्य च भू ातन िारया्य म८्सा।
प्ु णाभम च९षिीः सवााः स८म८ भ्ू वा रसा्मकः॥१३॥
gām āviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmy aham ojasā
puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ
gām āviśya ca -- entering also the planets; bhūtāni -- the living

entities; dhārayāmy -- maintain; aham -- I; ojasā -- by My
potency; puṣṇāmi -- nourish; ca -- and; ca auṣadhīḥ -- herbs and
plants life; sarvāḥ -- all; somo -- the moon; bhūtvā -- having
become; rasātmakaḥ -- supplying the juice.
I maintain all the planets in their orbit by entering into each
of them and I supply juices and medicinal essence to all
plants and herbs by becoming the moon.
ANNOTATION: gam avisya means ‘Krishna enters into all
planets and into the heart of all living entities’ (bhūtani). It is by
Krishna’s entering into all planets that they revolve in and stay in
their orbits. Without His presence none of the planets could
maintain their current state in space. There are millions of planets
in the galaxy, all of them are supported and protected by Lord
Krishna. It is because of His presence that all the planets have
become weightless and active. Consider that without the tiny
living soul the body is dead, it is the living soul which makes the
whole body function. Similarly, all these planets function due to
the bigger soul that is Supreme Soul. Due to Lord Krishna’s
inconceivable potency only all planets are floating like cotton
swabs above the Garbhodhaka ocean. Without His attention, all
these planets fall off from their orbits and sink into Garbhodhaka
ocean, which is two billion miles in depth.
The present life of the planets is like a child holding small
round candies in his hand: if he throws up all the candies, they
will fall on the ground depending on where and how he throws.
Similarly, planets are supported by the hood of Lord Ananda
Sesha, a plenary expansion of Lord Krishna. Yet it is impossible
for one to see this mystical suspension. This is just like in movies
where a hero is flying in the sky. Actually a rope was hooked
behind him the whole time. When the movie is released that rope
is edited out and the hero appears to be flying in the sky. If this
can be done by an ordinary director through the help of
technology, why not Krishna who is the master of the sum total
of all creation?
Krishna resides in the heart of living entities. Without His

presence within them living entities would be forced to leave
their bodies. Through His Supersoul manifestation Krishna
supplies all living entities their necessities. In this way, Krishna
has also become the moon, and is represented by Krishna’s
expansion Pradhyumna; this increases one’s mental stamina and
infuses juices and pulp in all fruits and Vegetables. The moon
also establishes the medicinal effects of herbs and plants.
Without the support of moon light human society would find
themselves in dangerous conditions. Thus the true explanation of
this verse is that without the Lord’s special mercy all living
entities would be lost and starve to death.
TEXT 14 अ ं व्वानर८ भ्ू वा राणणनां दे माधर ः।
राणापानसमाय्
ु ः पचा्यतनं च वु वािम ्॥१४॥
ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ
prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ chatur-vidham
ahaṁ -- I am; vaiśvānaro -- as the fire of digestion; bhūtvā --
enacting; prāṇināṁ deham -- the bodies of all living entities;
āśritaḥ -- entering into; prāṇāpāna -- the outgoing air and the
down going air; samāyuktaḥ -- keeping in balance; pachāmy --
digest; annaṁ chatur-vidham -- the four types of food stuffs.
I am the fire of digestion in all the bodies of living beings. I
join the vital airs of prāna air which goes outside and apāna,
the air which goes inside to digest the four kinds of foodstuff.
ANNOTATION: Krishna, the Supreme Lord abides within the
physical bodies of all embodied beings as vaisvanara, or the
digestive fire. Joining with the vital airs of prāna (air which goes
outside) and apāna (the air goes inside) this fire digests the four
kinds of foods. Some are drunk, some are chewed, some are
licked up, and some are sucked. Krishna is the digestive power
for all of these. This is also confirmed in the Brhadāranyaka
Upanishad 5.9.1: from the purusha or Supreme Lord comes the
fire of digestion known as vaisvanara. It is by this fire that all
food that is eaten by the living entities is digested.
All living entities only have the privilege of eating their

food, usually choosing to do this once they feel hungry.
However, once the food has reached inside the stomach of the
living entity, the entity loses all control over the eaten food. All
other actions, such as separating the food into parts to be
assimilated and refuses, are done by the Lord in the form of fire
called vaishvanāro. The assimilated food is send to the heart in
the form of liquid; thereafter, the heart transforms the liquid
assimilated food into blood and sends the blood through the
blood vessels to all over the body. The waste of the food and
water is ejected through the anus and the reproductive organ. All
these things are going by the supervision of the Supreme īsvara.
But the foolish tiny īsvara thinks that he is the Lord of all that he
surveys. This verse demonstrates that the living entity does not
have sovereignty, after finishes eating even the simplest things
like digestion must be done by the Supreme Godhead. Recall, it
stated in the previous verse that it is He who creates juicy fruits
and vegetables through moon. In this verse, we see that He helps
everyone to digest their food. He, therefore both produces and
digests foodstuff. By His grace all living entities enjoy life and
therefore, are inevitable to take shelter in His Divine Grace.
TEXT 15
सवाथय चा ं ृहद संतनवव्ि८ मतः थमतृ ्ाानमप८ नं च।
वेद्च सवैर मेव वे्य८ वेदात कृ्वेदववदे व चा म ्॥१५॥
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
sarvasya -- of all beings; ca ahaṁ -- I am also; hṛdi sanniviṣṭo --
situated in the heart; mattaḥ -- from Me comes; smṛtir --
memory; jñānam -- wisdom; apohanaṁ ca -- and forgetfulness;
vedaiś ca sarvair -- also by the all Vedās; aham eva vedyo -- I am
to be known; vedānta-kṛd -- I am alone the compiler of the
Vedānta; veda-vid eva ca -- and certainly the knower of the
Vedās; āham -- I.
I am seated in the heart of all living beings; memory, wisdom

and forgetfulness comes from Me. I am to be known by all
the Vedās; I am the compiler of the Vedās and I alone am the
knower of the meaning of all Vedās.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna says that He is seated in
everyone's heart along with the individual soul. This statement is
very important. He has taken seat in the heart of all 8,400,000
varieties of living bodies. Not a single class of life is excluded
from His mercy, support and maintenance. Thus, from this verse
we understand that all bodies of all living souls are temples of
Krishna. One must respect every kind of body, from Lord
Brahma down to a seemingly insignificant ant, because of the
presence of Krishna in their hearts. The heart is the absolute
center where, due to the presence of the soul, all consciousness
radiates from. It is also the center from where all desires and
frequencies originate, both active and passive. The Brihadaranya
Upanishad states that one who meditates will perceive the
magnificent Supreme Lord, the ruler and Lord of all, within the
heart, as if He were the size of a thumb. Again, the Chandogya
Upanishad 8.1 states harih sum atha yadidamasmin: the
Supersoul Krishna resides within the hearts of all embodied
souls, along with the infinitesimal portion of the soul. Because of
the presence of the Supersoul, living entities remember their
experiences of this life, and at night they also see and experience
various previous life incidents in the form of dreams. Moreover,
for living entities that take shelter in the Lord, their
consciousness is also expanded by spontaneous knowledge
related exclusively to the authority of the Vedic scriptures, yoga,
meditation, jnāna and bhakti.
Krishna also causes some contrary effects: memory loss,
speculative reasoning, erroneous hypothesizing, speculative
assumptions and the deprivation of consciousness. In
Mahābhārata, the king of Gandhar happened to be very shrewd
and genius. By using his intellect he tried to defeat Krishna, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, in many ways. But
because his knowledge was borrowed from the Supreme Lord, no
matter how deep his knowledge was, it could not equal to the
wisdom of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Krishna is very specific in this verse that all knowledge, memory,
forgetfulness and Vedās come from Him.
The Vedās are compiled by Krishna's knowledge
incarnation Srila Vyāsa deva for the purpose of educating
forgotten souls in the science of God. When one becomes a
knower of the Vedic scriptures, through the grace of Lord
Krishna, one realizes that the Vedic scriptures originated from
Krishna to protect those in material creation and to guide them in
returning to Him. Thus, the Supreme Lord Krishna is the
absolute authority on the Vedās and is the final court of appeal
for statements of the Vedās that appear contradictory to each
other (due to different perspectives for diverse topics). He is the
eternal, universal guru and the compiler of the philosophy of the
Vedic scriptures. As the originator of the Vedic scriptures, He has
imbued them with the ultimate importance. No one can fathom
this and know the meaning of the Vedic scriptures without His
grace. Even if they are renowned scholars and erudite professors
who give detailed discourses on them, without His grace their
efforts will go unfulfilled if they are not devotees of the Supreme
Lord Krishna.
Lord Krishna is the absolute, original establisher and
ultimate authority on the Vedās. There are none qualified to
explain any aspect of the Vedic scriptures in any way that is
contrary to what has been directly revealed, declared and
instructed by Him. His authorized incarnations and expansions
are confirmed in Vedic scriptures and by successions of His
devotees who have received His grace. An example of this is the
devotee Prahlada receiving the grace of Lord Krishna through
His incarnation known as Lord Narasimha deva, and who
rescued His devotee thousands of times from the hands of his
father Hiranyakasipu.
TEXT 16 ्वाववम९ पु
ु ष९ ल८के षर्चाषर एव च।
षरः सवााणण भू ातन कूिथि८ऽषर उ्य ॥
े १६॥
dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca

kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭa-stho ’kṣara uchyate
dvāv imau -- there are two kinds of; puruṣau -- living entities;
loke -- in the universe; kṣaraś -- the perishable; ca akṣara -- and
imperishable; eva -- certainly; ca -- and; kṣaraḥ -- perishable;
sarvāṇi -- all; bhūtāni -- living entities; kūṭa-stho -- those
perfected internally; akṣara -- as imperishable; uchyate -- is
declared.
There are two kinds of living entities in this universe,
perishable (imperfect) and imperishable (perfect). In the
material universe all beings are declared to be perishable and
in the spiritual world or internal world all are said to be
imperishable.
ANNOTATION: All living entities are eternally conditioned,
either by Krishna directly or by His illusory energy. When living
entities are conditioned by Krishna they are in the ‘constitutional
position’, when they are conditioned by illusory energy they are
in unnatural life and they therefore suffer. For instance, when a
child is controlled by his parents he is constitutionally situated,
but when he is controlled by an outsider he is unconstitutionally
situated, and he therefore suffers. The quality and quantity of all
living entities are all same, whether they are perfect beings or
imperfect beings, but when they voluntarily agree to be
independent from Krishna they lose all kinds of natural opulence
and become completely dependent on their own hard labor to
live. The original property of the parents enjoyed by the obedient
children is pleasing to the parents. Thus, Krishna permits His
obedient devotees to enjoy His opulence while all others have to
seek their necessities of life from His material nature through
hard labor. The Lord invested 25% of His opulence in the
material nature for the disobedient living beings, this is like
prisoners who are given provisions from the government, and
who fail to experience the real meaning of life, as it is in the
spiritual worlds.
Krishna is the compiler of the Vedic literature. He
empowered Srila Vyāsa deva to divide the Vedās, and wrote 18
Purānas, 108 Upanishads, Mahābhārata, Pancharatras, etc. The

Vedās draw a distinction between fallible and infallible
knowledge. While conscious beings are the receivers of all
knowledge, there are two types of conscious beings. The first are
the liberated conscious beings, the second type are the
conditioned conscious beings. Liberated conscious beings are
found in the spiritual world; conditioned and undeveloped
materially conscious beings are found in the material world. One
of Krishna's names is achyuta means infallible; chyuta, on the
other hand, means fallible, and thus describes two types of living
entities. Liberated beings that are in the spiritual world are also
called achyuta. These achyuta and chyuta are similar to kshara
and akshara. Fallible beings are found in the material world; they
undergo transformation of their bodies, through the cycle of birth
and death, and are trapped in the material elements. Infallible
beings are found in the spiritual world. They are in sat, cit and
ānanda form, like Lord Krishna or Nārāyana. Among fallible
beings there are many materially good and bad living beings.
They are arrested in the material existence, as the nitya baddha,
eternally conditioned. Infallible living entities are kuta-sthah,
which means having oneness with Krishna, in Krishna’s desires.
They are liberated from the material conditional life and
cooperate completely with the Supreme Majestic Godhead. They
never descend to the material consciousness and are therefore
called infallible or liberated beings. By ‘oneness’ here, means not
merging into the body of Krishna through a loss of individuality.
Even though the Supreme Lord is independent and all-powerful
and may fulfill any desires of any soul, including the desire to
merge in His transcendental body for one who insists on it, pure
devotees always want to keep their individuality and serve the
Supreme Lord in different relationship, such as through passive,
servitude, friendship, parental and conjugal.
TEXT 17 उतमः पु
ु षथ्वतयः परमा्मे्यद
ु ाृ ः।
य८ ल८करयमावव्य रबभ्या्यय ई्वरः॥१७॥
uttamaḥ puruṣhas tv anyaḥ paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ

yo loka-trayam āviśya bibharty avyaya īśvaraḥ
uttamaḥ -- the best or beyond darkness; puruṣhas tv anyaḥ -- but
there is another personality; paramātmety -- the supreme self;
udāhṛtaḥ -- is said; yo -- who; loka-trayam -- the three divisions
of the universe; āviśya -- entering; bibharty -- sustaining all
beings; avyaya -- inexhaustible; īśvaraḥ -- the Lord.
But there is another greatest personality besides these two,
the Supreme self, who is imperishable, is said to be entered
into the three planetary divisions of the universe to maintain
them.
of Godhead Lord Krishna, who is the greatest of all living
personalities, explains about His Supersoul feature. We learn that
there is neither any story of cosmic energy nor any kind of big
bang theory concept in any part of the Bhagavad-Gītā spoken by
God. The point here is that the Supersoul feature of Krishna is
not in either of the categories of the conditioned or liberated
souls. The Vedānta describes the Supreme Lord as Supersoul,
and as different to the infinitesimal souls. Ksirodhakasāyi
Vishnu, who reclines in the milk ocean with His eternal consort
Lakshmi Devi, is one of the expansions of Lord Krishna to
maintain and support this universe. He also enters into the heart
of every embodied being in all of existence as
Paramātma; maintaining and sustaining each and every soul
throughout all of creation as one undivided reality. He is the
sovereign protector and maintainer of all creation; He is distinct
and different from everything else. Expansions of the Supersoul
are found in as many living entities as are there in the material
creation. So, no one can challenge the number of expansions of
the Supersoul in the material creation because He alone is
immeasurable and limitless, different from the finite numbers of
the inanimate and animate souls in bondage.
TEXT 18 यथमा्षरम ी ८ऽ मषरादवप च८तमः।
अ ८ऽ्थम ल८के वेदे च रधि ःपु
ु ष८तमः॥१८॥
yasmāt kṣaram atīto ’ham akṣarād api cottamaḥ

ato ’smi loke vede ca prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ
yasmāt -- because; kṣaram -- to the imperfect; atīto aham -- I am
transcendental; akṣarād api -- also beyond the perfect; ca -- and;
uttamaḥ -- the greatest; ato -- therefore; smi -- I am; loke -- in the
world; vede ca -- and in the Vedic literature; prathitaḥ --
celebrated; puruṣottamaḥ -- as the Ultimate Personality.
Because I am the greatest and transcendental to both the
imperfect and the perfect, I am celebrated both in the world
and in the Vedic scriptures as the Supreme Majestic
ANNOTATION: Krishna says that He is transcendental beyond
both the fallible and infallible beings. He also explains how He is
that Supreme Person, He is superior to the jivās, to the Brahman,
and the source of the Supersoul, and even to the other forms of
Bhagavān. Therefore, He is celebrated in the Vedās and smritis,
as the Supreme Person. One may not realize that the Supreme
Being and Lord Krishna are the same because of the fact that
Lord Krishna uses the word ‘Supreme Being’, who is separate
from Him. To clarify any such misunderstanding, Krishna recites
this verse using the expression of the previous verse with
Himself in the first extraordinary person stating: since I am
transcendental to fallible and infallible, I am celebrated in this
world and in the Vedic literature as purusottama, the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead. Krishna is the source of all His
expansions and incarnations like there are many candles lighted
equally; though they may have equally profuse light and heat,
there is still the first originally lit candle. That first candle is
Krishna. In the Brahma samhita Lord Brahma explains:
dipascir eva hi dasāntaram abhyupetya;
dipāyate vivrta-hetu-samāna-dharma;
yas tadrg eva hi ca vishnutaya vibhāti;
govindam ādi-purusham tam aham bhajāmi
Krishna expands Himself as Vishnu, Narasimha, Vamana,
Sri Rāma the way a bright candle kindles another. Although there
is no difference between the power of one candle and another,

Krishna is compared to the original candle. Therefore, He is
celebrated both in the world and in the Vedās as that Supreme
Person. The Brihadāranya Upanishad states that the glorious
Supreme Being is the Ruler and Lord, governing all that exists.
Finally, loke vede means that the Supreme Absolute Truth
celebrated as Purusottama is glorified in both sections of the
Vedic scriptures known as sruti and smriti. The demigods prays
to Krishna in Dwāraka 11-6-16:
tvattaḥ pumān samadhigamya yayāsya vīryaṁ
dhatte mahāntam iva garbham amogha-vīryaḥ
so ’yaṁ tayānugata ātmana āṇḍa-kośaṁ
haimaṁ sasarja bahir āvaraṇair upetam
"My dear Lord, the original purushāvatara, Mahā-Vishnu,
acquires His creative potency from You. Thus with infallible
energy He impregnates material nature, producing the mahāt-
tattva. Then the mahāt-tattva, the amalgamated material energy,
endowed with the potency of the Lord, produces from itself the
primeval golden egg of the universe, which is covered by various
layers of material elements." In this verse of Srimad-Bhāgavatam
it is very clear that Lord Krishna is the source of the greatest
Vishnu incarnation, Mahā-Vishnu, and that Mahā-Vishnu
acquires His creative potency from Lord Krishna. This is not to
speak of His superiority over jīvas. It would therefore be foolish
to surmise that Lord Krishna is an expansion of Vishnu. In this
regard, the opinion of the demigods, headed by Brahma, can be
taken as final.
TEXT 19 य८ मामेवमसंमढ
ू ८ ्ानात पु
ु ष८तमम ्।
स सवावव्भ्त मां सवाभावेन भार ॥१९॥
yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam
sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ sarva-bhāvena bhārata
yo -- anyone who; mām -- Me; evam -- thus; asammūḍho --
without being illusioned; jānāti -- knows; puruṣottamam -- the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead; sa -- such a one;
sarva-vid -- knows everything; bhajati -- renders devotional

service; māṁ -- unto Me; sarva-bhāvena -- in all respects;
bhārata -- O son of Bhārata.
Anyone who knows Me as the Supreme Majestic Personality
of Godhead without illusion knows everything. O son
Bhārata - such a one renders devotional service unto Me in
all respects.
ANNOTATION: It may be said that whenever one may try to
praise oneself, one feels embarrassment because most of the time
one’s achievement depends on another’s mercy. However, that is
not the case here with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord
Sri Krishna. Although He keeps human laws intact while He
performs His duties, actually He is the Absolute Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Krishna performs only lila, or pastimes,
in this world. Lila means that there is no duty bound to Him. Yet
He is engaged in the activities in this world as ideal civilized
person, according to the scriptural injunction given by Him: His
killing of demons; His loving of His devotees; His performing
rituals or worshipping and respecting the demigods; His service
to sages and rshis; His honoring guests and performing dances
with His gopi- cowherd damsels. Although these are all His
pastimes, He is not duty bound to engage in these activities.
Moreover, by engaging in these activities no law can punish Him
and any law can reward Him because He is both the punisher and
benefactor for all that one can conceive off. This is the meaning
of Puroshotama: Purusha means man, uttama means beyond
darkness. There is only one Personality who is beyond
everything is Krishna, the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. One who knows Him without a dubious mind and
polluted intelligence is the knower of everything, yasmin vijanate
sarva evam vijanam bhavanti. One who realizes this Supreme
Lord is the knower of everything (Mundhoka Upanishad 1.3),
and he fully engages in Krishna’s pure devotional service. There
can be no uncertainty regarding this.
It is stated in Mahābhārata that the demigods take refuge in

Siva; Lord Siva takes shelter of Brahma; Lord Brahma takes
refuge in the Supreme Lord; but the Supreme Lord Krishna takes
refuge in nothing and no one. The knowers of the ultimate truth
do not worship Brahma, Siva, or any other demigods because
these deities do not equate to the overriding position of the
Supreme Lord Krishna in any way. Neither is it possible for any
of these deities to bestow the unequivocal, absolute knowledge
that Lord Krishna bestowed to everyone in Bhagavad-Gītā. Thus,
it is very clear that soul and Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead are not one and the same. They are eternally different,
even after achieving the most desired success in spiritual life; one
will not become God or merged in Him. One will continue one’s
personality even in one’s most liberated stage.
TEXT 20 इत ग्
ु य मं शाथरभमदम्
ु ं मयानघ।
ए ् ब्
ु ्वा ब्
ु धिमातथया्कृ कृ्य्च भार ॥२०॥
iti guhya-tamaṁ śāstram idam uktaṁ mayānagha
etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt kṛta-kṛtyaś ca bhārata
iti -- thus; guhya-tamaṁ -- the most confidential; śāstram --
Vedic literature; idam -- this; uktaṁ -- disclosed; mayā -- by Me;
ānagha -- O sinless one; etad buddhvā -- realizing this;
buddhimān -- spiritually intelligent; syāt -- one becomes; kṛta-
kṛtyaś -- the most accomplished in all acts; ca -- and; bhārata --
O descendant of Bhārata.
O sinless one, thus I have explained the most esoteric truths
of the Vedic literature, O descendant of Bhārata, one who
knows this will become intelligent and will be accomplished
in all acts.
ANNOTATION: Without doubting the Supreme Person Lord
Krishna, one must take this conclusion and the secret of all Vedic
knowledge as it is. By saying anagha, ‘O sinless one’, Krishna
means that one has to be beyond sinful activities to comprehend
the subject matter of the scientific knowledge of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. To become sinless and pure, one must
refrain from eating food that is situated in the lowest quality of

the mode of ignorance and continue worship the Supreme Lord.
One should stop lording over the material opulence, such as
money, gold, land, women, etc. knowing well that none of these
have any reality to the soul. While following all these
regulations, one must engage one’s tongue in continues chanting
the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Hare Hare. Since Krishna Bhakti or Krishna consciousness is the
highest spiritual activity, the devotee who wants to have eternal
association with Krishna in person shall abide by these
restrictions in order to obtain the full blessings of the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead.
The best procedure to be educated in the science of Krishna
bhakti is to take shelter in the guidance of a perfect guru who is a
member of the line of succession of disciples. He can impart
proper scientific knowledge of Krishna without claiming that he
is Krishna. The bona-fide spiritual master must be honored,
respected, and obedient to his instructions and offer high quality
service as good as one offers to Krishna. Keep in mind that one
should not mistake their guru as Krishna. An ambassador of the
powerful nation is as good as the nation, but he is not the nation.
One should not identify any guru as an incarnation of the
Godhead unless there is scriptural evidence that the spiritual
master is the incarnation of Krishna. To find an incarnation one
must confer with Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Outside of Their listed
incarnation of Srimad-Bhāgavatam there are all kinds of false
prophets and hypocrites.
This is the real relationship between guru and Krishna, as
simultaneously sharing attributes while remaining distinct. By
maintaining the principles of the spiritual life, at the end of one’s
life, one will go back to Krishna Loka to serve Krishna in person.
Thereafter, there is no more birth, death, old age and disease for
a person who has achieved Krishna Loka or Vaikuntha Loka.
This yoga is called puroshottama yoga, or, most perfect of all
yogas.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Yoga of the Absolute Godhead’ by H.H.

1. Explain the mercy of Krishna to the living entities
2. Explicate on two types of living beings, fallible and
infallible, where Lord Krishna stands among them?
3. Summarize your understanding of verses 8 through 14.
1. Describe the banyan tree mentioned in this chapter by
naming its different parts and what they represent.
2. How does one cut down the banyan tree?
3. What are the necessary qualification required to enter the
spiritual world?
4. Propose the strongest illusion of all the less intelligent
people living in the material world Explain the Lord’s
recommendation to be considered sane.
5. Differentiate between material universe, Vaikuntha planets
and Goloka?
6. What is the identity of the living entity and what is
conditioned by the mind?
7. Explain the example of the air carrying aromas.
8. Explain the bodily structure one obtains according to one’s
karma.
9. What can the jnāna-chaksusah (eyes of Knowledge) do that
others cannot?
10. Express your views on spiritual intelligence?

11. What is so brilliant about the sun, moon and fire?
12. Define the role of moon in the creation.
13. Explain the activity of the Vaivanara fire.What does it do
with the assimilated food?
14. Describe how does Krishna help living entities to remember,
forget and have knowledge?
15. Explain two classes of living beings and their positions.
16. Cite the analogy of being controlled by Krishna and Illusory
energy.
17. Describe the identity and activities of Achyuta and chyuta.
18. Explain the real meaning of Supreme Being and who is the
Supreme Being?
19. Why devotional service is considered the same as the Lord
Himself?
1. “There is a tree; its roots upwards and its branches
downwards and its leaves are called __________.”
2. “The twigs of the banyan tree are considered to be
________.”
3. The roots spreading downwards produce the actions and
reactions in the world of_________
4. “The real form of this __________cannot be perceived in
this world, no one can understand where it ends and begins,
but by surrendering to _______, one will go back home to
Godhead.”
5. The Supreme abode of the Lord is not illuminated by
_____,_____, and ______.
6. “The living entity in the material world carries his different
conceptions of life from one body to another just as the air
carries ____________.”
7. What is Sānskrit word ____________ for an intelligent

living entity?
8. “Krishna says that the splendor of the ____________ and
the splendor of _____________ are coming from Him.”
9. “By Krishna’s potency, the planets stay in
its____________.”
10. “There are two types of living entities: ____________, and
____________.”
1. “Lord Krishna manifesting as the fire of digestion eats
_______ kinds of foods in the bodies of all living entities.”
(5, 6, 8, 4)
2. “The branches of the banyan tree are compared
to__________” (three modes, senses, five gross elements,
three subtle elements)
3. “The Lord becomes the ____________ and supplies the
juice of life to all vegetables.” (Sun, Brahma, Moon,
Chandra)
4. “In the material world all living entities are __________.”
(inconceivable, indefatigable, infallible, fallible)
5. “Besides the fallible and liberated living entities, there are
other living beings called ___________.” (demigods, gods,
semi-demigods, perfected souls)
6. “Krishna being beyond all living entities and being the
greatest of all, is celebrated in the Vedās and throughout the
universes as _____________.” (Krishna, Nārāyana, the
Supreme Person, Bhagavān)
7. “Whoever knows Krishna as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead without doubting, engages in Krishna’s
___________.” (karma, jnāna, yoga, bhakti)
8. 8.“Upon receiving another material body, a living entity
enjoys his/her ____________.” (mind, senses, ego, sense
objects)
9. “As the air carries aromas, the ____________ of the living

entity carries the living entity’s different conceptions of
life.” (gross body, mind, intelligence, subtle body)
10. “The cycle of birth and death can be seen by only those who
are in ____________chaksusah” (jnāna, karma, bhakti,
yoga)
Godly and Demoniac Qualities 927
CHAPTER 16
Godly and Demoniac Qualities
TEXT 1-3 रीभगवानव

ु ाच
अभयं स्वसंश्
ु धि्ाानय८ग्यव्थित ः ।
दानं दमश ्च य््च थवा्यायथ प आ्ावम ्
अह सं ास्यमर८िथ्यागःशा्त रपशन ु म ्।
दया भू ्े वल८लतु ्वं मादा वं रीरचापलम ्
्
े ःषमा ितृ ःश९चमर८ ८ नात मातन ा।
भव्त संपदं दवीमभभ्ा थय भार ॥१-३॥
abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ
dānaṁ-damaś-ca-yajñaś-ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam
ahiṁsā-satyam-akrodhas tyāgaḥ-śāntir-apaiśunam
dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr achāpalam
tejaḥ-kṣhamā-dhṛtiḥ-śaucham adrohonāti-mānitā
bhavanti-sampadaṁ-daivīm abhijātasya-bhārata
śrī-bhagavān uvācha -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead
said; abhayaṁ -- fearlessness; sattva-saṁśuddhir -- purification
of one's existence; jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ -- established in the
wisdom of discrimination of spirit and matter by linking with the
supreme; dānaṁ -- charity; damaś – self regulation; ca -- and;
yajñaś -- performance of sacrifice; ca -- and; svādhyāyas -- study
of Vedic scripture; tapa -- austerity; ārjavam -- simplicity;
927
ahiṁsā -- nonviolence; satyam -- truthfulness; akrodhas --devoid

of anger; tyāgaḥ -- renunciation; śāntir -- tranquility; apaiśunam
-- aversion to fault finding; dayā -- compassion; bhūteṣv -- to all
living beings; aloluptvaṁ -- absence of greed; mārdavaṁ --
gentleness; hrīr -- modesty; achāpalam -- determination; tejaḥ --
radiance; kṣamā -- forgiveness; dhṛtiḥ -- fortitude; śaucham --
cleanliness; adroho -- freedom from malice; na -- not; āti-
mānitā -- absence of pride; bhavanti -- arise; sampadaṁ-daivīm -
- the divine nature; abhijātasya -- of one who is born of; bhārata
-- O son of Bhārata.
Bhārata, fearlessness; pure heartedness; established in the
wisdom of discrimination of spirit and matter by linking with
the supreme; charity; self-restraint; performance of sacrifice;
study of the Vedic literatures; austerity; simplicity;
nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger;
renunciation; tranquility; aversion to faultfinding;
compassion for all living being; absence of avarice;
gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor;
forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and, freedom from malice
and honor, all these divine qualities belong to godly men born
with divine nature.
ANNOTATION: Modern civilization keeps every individual in
darkness through its recommendation of its so-called modern
educational departments, which only help people to earn
valueless paper currency. Without cultivating knowledge of the
self, no matter what people try to do in these universities will
amount to nothing. In this chapter, the Supreme Lord Krishna
first describes the divine qualities and then the demoniac in order
to bring to focus the distinguishing characteristics of embodied
beings that are awarded freedom from material existence by fully
renouncing demoniac activities and exclusively engaging in
divine activities.
‘abhayam’ – Fearlessness: fear, and fearfulness, is due to a
misperception that’s misconstruing the material body is the self.
Self-realization can, therefore, make one free from fearfulness.
The best process of realizing the self is to understand Krishna as

the source of everything. This realization comes when one starts
chanting the Hare Krishna mantra constantly. This is the method
to separate the body and soul, which leads to the devotee
attaining a state of fearlessness.
‘sattva-samsuddhih’ – Purification of one's existence: since
the mode of goodness is of a profoundly higher quality than the
other modes, to purify the mind one must try to do all of one’s
daily activities while situated in the mode of goodness. To
understand God one has to cultivate purification of the heart.
There are four social divisions, brāhmana, kshatriya,
vaishya and śūdra. brāhmana’s are the head of the other three
social classes. However, the head of the brāhmana’s are the
vaishnavas because they, the vaishnavas, are the souls, who have
surrendered to the Absolute Truth, Krishna. These vaishnavas
are, therefore the spiritual masters of all living entities. When a
member of any four social orders takes shelter in the Supreme
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna without hypocrisy and
adulteration, and spreads the message of Krishna’s glory, as it is
given in the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-Bhāgavatam, such a
member, then, becomes qualified to be a spiritual master for all
living entities, including brāhmanas.
One must purify one’s existence by staying away from
bad association. The most enticing of these which make
spiritualists fall from their spiritual positions are women and
money, kāmini and kānchana. Especially, those who are spiritual
masters must not mingle or sit alone with any kind of woman
including their own relatives, balavan indriyagrāmam, as they
can pollute the mind of the person in the renounced order of life.
Young women possess all the power necessary to make the
knowledgeable renounced sannyāsi fall from his spiritual
position and create all kinds of infamy and corruption.
‘jnāna yoga’ – Cultivating comprehensive knowledge of the
twenty four material elements, and actions based on that
knowledge. The real yoga is achieved when one links his entire
existence with Krishna. There are many yogas in the scriptures,
but strongly recommended yoga by the Supreme Person is

bhakti-yoga. One’s mind must be engaged in the service of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. One cannot
perform yoga when one engages their mind in mundane sex or
other frivolous worldly activities. Hence, no one can be a yogi
unless he refrains from sex desires. This is, however, not possible
unless he constantly associates with devotees of Krishna and
abides by the instructions set in the scriptures.
‘dānam’ – Charity. Charity is performed for the purification
of one’s impious elements of life, whether these have been
committed knowingly or unknowingly. This is especially for
married couples, who commit all kinds of negative activities
while maintaining their families. There are many people who
think that they have not done any impious activities, they think
they are making honest earnings from their businesses or jobs.
Yet, unfortunately, the subtle laws of nature will yield
unexpected results to the contrary of this, without one’s
knowledge. To be free from impious activities one must learn the
laws of God by deferring to the Bhagavad-Gītā and Srimad-
Bhāgavatam and by acting according to its direction. One must
contribute 50% of one’s income to the dissemination of the
message of Godhead, Krishna. The best use of one’s hard-earned
money is in assisting the building of an authorized Rādha-
Krishna temple, and in printing the original Bhagavad-Gītā
(without misinterpreting), and distributing to the people in
masses. All other charity that is in relation with Krishna will also
elevate one’s soul. Charity that is not associated with Krishna’s
presence is just a philanthropic activity. This will not neutralize
one’s impious activities, although it may add to one’s pious
activities. Spiritual devotional service to Krishna will, however,
burn all sinful actions to ashes, without leaving a trace for any
sinful inclinations to return back to.
‘damah’ – self-regulation. This involves controlling the
influences of the objects of the senses, such as: unwanted
beautiful forms, the grimy taste of food, illicit erotic thirst; the
sound of a sexy song; and, the bad smells of the body, which
may be the subject of enjoyment when one is under the illusory

desires of lust. By hankering to please the senses, the
uncontrolled mind acts just like a prostitute. By strictly following
rules and regulations of the scriptures one’s mind will be easily
controlled. However, without following yama and niyama, rules
and regulations, one cannot control the mind.
‘yajna’ – sacrifice. In the scriptures there are many different
sacrifices mentioned, according to different classes of people,
time, place, and circumstances. Many such services are aimed for
Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Dwāpara-yuga. But in Kali-yuga,
there are many so-called sacrifices, but they only help performers
(of the sacrifice) to collect money from the innocent public for
their personal use. However, the yuga dharma is distinct from
these so-called sacrifices that are carried by illiterate performers.
The method of sacrifice mentioned in the scriptures involves
performing congregational chanting of the holy name of the
Lord; thereafter, food that is offered to Krishna is distributed to
the public. Merely by doing this simple method, as is explained
in the scriptures, one will gain the complete shelter of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. One must know the
purpose of a yajna before one makes it.
‘svadhyayah’ – study of Vedic literature. Vedic literature is
summarized in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam in 18,000 verses. One
must study the philosophical treatise given by Lord Krishna in
Srimad-Bhagavat-Gītā, and the various pastimes of the Lord as
described in Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Everything is provided for
man for the realization of the self or soul in these two books. It is
not necessary to study any other scriptures to cultivate
knowledge, which will only increase one’s false ego.
‘tapah’ – austerity. This is one of the pillars of religion. One
must chant sixteen rounds daily the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra
on beads and follow four regulative principles. In some part of
the world, there are many people who do not know the real
principles of devotional service to Krishna, thought that eating
grains such as wheat and farina is allowed on the ekadasi day,
and they consider that the only grain they cannot eat is rice.
According to the scriptures this is wrong. One must fast on

ekadasi day by refraining from eating rice, wheat, beans and
pulses. Then, one must follow chaturmāsya, means "four
months", during these four months of rainy season Lord Vishnu
goes for yoga-nidra, or transcendental sleep. Men and women
must fast by desisting from eating all leafy vegetables from July
to August; eating yogurt from August to September; drinking
milk from September to October; and eating white lentil or urad
dal from October to November. One must also fast on Lord
Krishna and His expansions’ appearance days. All these
austerities, tapas, purify and help detached from material
existence and help one to join in the company of Lord Krishna.
‘ārjavam’ – simplicity. Regardless of the country and
religious faith, four social divisions exists in all parts of the
world. There are mainly four parts in the body: the head, hands,
waist and legs. The head is the intellectual class, the hands are
administrative class, the waists are the farmers, and the legs are
the laborers. All these classes must maintain their simple life by
abstaining from hypocrisy and cheating other classes. The
intellectual class, with its researchers and philosophers may be
anxious that they will not get government grants to carry out
their experiments and therefore try to convince the government
officials with concocted theories and proposals. The
administrative class also canvass people to get their votes, by
flattering them and stating that they will do this and that in the
future for their benefit. In all cases, in order to maintain their
status-quo in the government, they cheery the so-called
sophisticated citizens. An entrepreneur thinks that without
cheating customers he cannot run his business. This is not true, to
maintain his family and enjoy sense gratification of name and
fame he should not have to adulterate his goods or lie to his
patrons. Similarly, the labor class too have this double-dealing
tendency with regard to all other above classes; by artificially
increasing their workloads they demand more and more money
from people like builders and others, etc. Simplicity means living
simply without lust, and greed and be satisfied with whatever
Krishna sends according to one’s previous karma, for the

purpose of advancing in Krishna bhakti or Krishna
consciousness. Without devotional service to Krishna all their so
called occupational activities are useless waste of time and in this
way the human form of life is baffled.
‘ahimsa’ – nonviolence. Killing innocent animals is a crime.
The laws of nature will not spare people who do killing for their
palate. By working under the direction of Krishna, nature will
degrade such people’s human life to an animal life, and they too
will be killed in this way. In the form of Buddha, Lord Krishna
came to preach non-violence, against animal slaughter. Animal
slaughter is the greatest obstacle on the path of spiritual progress.
There is no need for eating animals when there are millions of
items available in the super market for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. Killing animals exhibit one’s ruthless character. Although
they wear suits and coats, without mercy in their hearts, such
people will be considered as a murderer or polished animals in
the eyes of nature.
‘satyam’ – truthfulness. The upkeep of truthfulness is the
essential part of all human beings. In Kali-yuga it is very
common to speak lie even for a simple matter. Person following
any religion, or a saint, should not mislead the innocent public
for the purpose of making money, so that they can gratify their
senses. There are many religious leaders who pretend to be like
an incarnation of God. This is not truthfulness. Any man who
pretends to be the incarnation of Godhead should be rejected. An
intelligent person knows that no human can be an incarnation of
Godhead, only God can incarnate as He wishes – as it is
mentioned in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam. Kalki, the tenth pastime
incarnation of Lord Vishnu, will appear in Sambaladesh, as the
son of a brāhmana Vishnuyasa. 4,27,000 years is still there to
complete age of Kali and He inaugurates new Golden age- Satya-
yuga.
‘akrodhah’ – freedom from anger. Anger arises due to
unfulfilled lust and desires. There are many catastrophes in the
society, which occur due to uncontrollable anger, especially

when people kill each other. In the material world, many loving
mothers kill their children, fathers kill mothers, lovers kill lovers,
brothers kill brothers or sisters, and politicians kill their
opponents because of the slightest agitation. The absence of
anger is calmness within the mind, without agitation. It prevails
even when one is criticized, attacked or is in the process of
defending oneself. One can curb anger, this enemy of the living
entity, only by Krishna consciousness, which develops one’s
inherent divine qualities. All living entities are pure by nature
like rainwater. Yet when rain falls from the sky and touches the
soil it is muddied. Similarly, with the touch of the material
energy, a living entity is contaminated.
‘tyagah’ – renunciation. One of the opulences of the
Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna, is renunciation. As living
entities are part and parcel of Krishna they also have the quality
of detachment. asat sanga tyaga ei vaishnava achara: one must
be consciously detached from bad association as this is the path
leads everyone towards hell. Everyone must engage all their
opulence in the devotional service to the Supreme Lord, for He is
the actual proprietor of all material opulence and that is the
actual renunciation.
‘sāntih’ – tranquility. One must be equipoised, at peace and
balanced, even in the most agitated state of life. Krishna is the
reservoir of all the highest qualities. When one is attached to Him
all such superlative qualities will manifest consistently.
‘apaisunam’ – fault finding. One should not find fault with
others unnecessarily. A constructive criticism may be required to
show the right path, but it should not be offensive.
‘dayā’ – compassion. One must have compassion to the
sufferings of all living entities. Everyone has a material body,
therefore material miseries programmed in their body according
to one’s karma, instead mocking and joking of their sufferings
one must take care of them. Nowadays, if a person meet an
accident no one cares for him, don’t even bother to call an
ambulance. The best process is to surrender to Lord Krishna in
Krishna consciousness, such life reduces peoples’ anxiety and

suffering practically to nil.
‘aloluptvam’ – freedom from greed. One should not desire
to accumulate wealth and gold through sinful means. Invariably
it is later distributed to the unworthy people of society, and they
use it to indulge in sinful activities. One will suffer for the sinful
means of such accumulation, and later one will suffer again for
giving it to people who use it for sinful activities. Particularly,
one will suffer for giving to missionaries who encourage the
killing and eating of animals, especially cows. Such people, who
are not the followers of the vedic path, are mentioned by the
scriptures as mlechhas and yāvanas.
‘mardavam’ – gentleness. Money does not make anyone
gentle or civilized and cultured. A gentleman is a man who is
endowed with spiritual qualities and sincerely tries to execute
Krishna’s activities, to liberate spiritually poor people from the
cycle of birth and death.
‘hrih’ – modesty. One should not commit any abominable
actions to satisfy one’s belly or genitals. Modesty also means
shyness in good manners and hesitancy, even in the thought of
wrongdoing. It is a sense of indecency with regard to the
performance of frivolous activities.
‘achapalam’ – determination. One must be determined to
follow regulative principles of devotional service. By breaking
these principles one will be constantly bound within the network
of sinful activities and thus suffer the consequences. One must
determine to fix his consciousness on Krishna and the lotus feet
of one’s spiritual master.
‘tejah’– vigor. Administrators, such as ministers, presidents,
prime ministers and other heads of departments, are always eager
to serve the weak with strength. One must occupy such a position
only to serve the unfortunate and needy people, not misusing that
position for gathering filthy riches. This will lead one to become
a victim to the hand of Yamarāja, the Lord of death.
‘ksama and dhatih’ – forgiveness and fortitude. Forgiveness
is a virtue of powerful people. One must show the qualities of
forgiveness towards the ignorant masses by educating them the

truth of matter and spirit. One must not annihilate them without
any proper reasons. Gentle government authorities may use their
power to bring happiness and satisfaction to their citizens by
protecting and leading them according to the scriptural
injunctions.
‘saucham’ – cleanliness. Chanting the Hare Krishna mahā-
mantra is the best method to clean the mind and heart. The heart
is covered with material desires, like the mirror is covered with
dust, the mirror needs to be cleaned to see one’s face, which
causes one suffers in the material world. Consequently, one will
be able to exhibit a good demeanor towards all living entities.
Physically, one must take two baths or more a day for the
physical purity. One must wash their feet and mouth after
urinating, and one must take shower after every evacuation.
‘adrohah’ – freedom from envy. One should not harm any
living entities, either for eating or for punishing them, to satisfy
one’s envious nature.
‘atimanita’ – expectation of honor. One should not be
greedy for too much honor. This does not make a person humble.
Moreover, with too much ambition for honor one can manifest as
a violent temper, this can have disastrous social consequences.
These are the 26 qualities. Born from one’s divine nature-
daivim sampadam, they are the ornaments of civilized human
beings. These qualities can be developed sincerely by those who
want to develop them. These qualities are not weaknesses, as the
demons think. Divine qualities uplift all living beings towards the
transcendental world. One who is situated in the divine nature is
qualified to attain association with the Supreme Lord and His
devotees
TEXT 4 द्भ८ दपोऽभभमान्च र८िः पाु्यमेव च।

अ्ानं चाभभ्ा थय पािा संपदमासरु ीम ्॥४॥
dambho-darpo ’bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca
ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm
dambho -- arrogance; darpo -- egotism; abhimānaś ca -- and

conceit; krodhaḥ -- anger; pāruṣyam -- harshness; eva --
certainly; ca -- and; ajñānaṁ cā -- and ignorance; ābhijātasya --
of one who is born of; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; sampadam
āsurīm -- the qualities of demoniac nature.
Arrogance, egotism, vanity, rage, rudeness and ignorance,
these qualities belong to those born of demoniac nature, O
son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: Now the Lord is explaining the demoniac
qualities possessed by the so-called civilized men. Generally, the
royal road leads towards palace destination, provided if one does
not make any accidents by breaking the traffic laws, similarly
when one follows the rule set of the scriptures that leads to the
spiritual world. The qualities mentioned here are possessed by
the demoniac, who are careless of the scriptural injunctions.
From their false possessions, of material education, power and
money, the demoniac develop a sense of abhimanah, or self-
importance due to falsely accumulated wealth. Demoniac people
pretend to be very religious through their dambah, arrogance.
Yet at the same time they hiss in their hearts like envious
serpents at their formidable enemies they have created by trying
(and failing) to take their wealth, power and women. krodah is
anger resulting from the frustration of greed and lust. It causes
one to have a feeling of burning pain for others. pārusyam is
harshness. It is also a lack of kindness and a merciless opposition
to that which is righteous.
The demoniac visit the temple using expensive motor
vehicles, with many security agents, and perform false charities
to the poor only to preserve their false reputations. They think
that by controlling of all these possessions they can become god,
or godly; they are indifferent to the qualities mentioned in the
scriptures. Unless or until one gives up the malicious qualities,
mentioned here by the Lord, one is apt to enter to the darkness of
ignorance-ajnānam and suffer the hellish life in a hellish region
after death. Human form is a chance to develop the divine
qualities, and should not be used to stay with the demoniac

qualities. The best way to develop divine qualities is to associate
with vaishnavas and take spiritual lessons from them.
TEXT 5 दवी संप्ववम८षाय तनबतिायासरु ी म ा।

मा शचु ः संपदं दवीमभभ्ा ८ऽभस पा्डव॥५॥
daivī sampad vimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā
mā śucaḥ sampadaṁ daivīm abhijāto ’si pāṇḍava
daivīsampad -- divine wealth or qualities; vimokṣāya -- liberation
of the soul; nibandhā -- the cause of bondage; āyāsurī --
demoniac qualities; matā -- are considered; māśucaḥ -- do not
worry; sampadaṁ -- wealth or qualities; daivīm -- transcendental;
abhijāto asi -- you are born of; pāṇḍava -- O son of Pāṇḍu.
The divine wealth (qualities) are the cause of the liberation of
the soul, demoniac qualities are considered to be the bondage
of the soul. O son of Pāndu, you do not worry because you
are born of the divine assets (qualities).
ANNOTATION: Developing spiritual or transcendental qualities
described in the scriptures helps one to surpass the material
ocean of repeated birth and death. Alternatively, the demoniac
qualities mentioned in the scriptures degrade one to the lower
species of life. This happens repeatedly, each time to more
degraded life forms, such as insects and worms. Krishna
possesses 64 divine qualities, and six forms of opulence and is
therefore all-attractive. A sincere devotee of Krishna, like
Arjuna, also develops such qualities, partially through their
devotion to the Supreme Lord. It is like an iron rod thrown to the
fire began to act like fire. Lord Krishna analyzed the divine
qualities Arjuna developed over the years and told him that
because he was born with divine qualities, he did not have to
worry (mā sucah).
TEXT 6 ्व९ भू सगঃ ल८केऽ्थमतदव आसरु एव च।

दव८ ववथ रशः र८् आसरु ं पािा मे शण
ृ ु॥६॥
dvau bhūta-sargauloke ’smin daiva āsura eva ca

daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu
dvaubhūta-sargau -- two types of created living beings; loke
asmin -- in the material worlds; daiva -- divinity; āsura --
demoniac; eva -- really; ca -- and; daivo -- the divine; vistaraśaḥ
-- at great length; prokta -- is said; āsuraṁ -- of the demoniac;
pārtha -- O son of Pritha; me śṛṇu -- just hear from Me.
In this material world, there are two types of created beings,
one is said to be with divinity another is with the demoniac. I
have already described the divine qualities extensively; now
listen to Me as I tell you about the demoniac qualities. O son
of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: According to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1
trayah prajapatyah prajapataupitari, Lord Brahma, the chief
engineer of the material creation, has created the demigods,
demons and human beings. Since human beings are described
separately in this passage, to which category do they belong? In
order to clarify this matter, Krishna, the Supreme Lord, explains
that in the material world there are two types of living entities:
the divine and the demoniac. The divine qualities have been
described at length by Krishna in the first 3 verses of this chapter
and also in the 13th chapter, where the sections discussing
amānitvam (humility) all concern the divine nature.
Candidates who endeavor to pursue the path of the Supreme
Lord attain these qualities by engaging and linking with the Lord
through karma (selfless actions), jnāna (knowledge of self-
realization) and bhakti, that is, loving devotion unto the Supreme
Lord Krishna and His expansions as are revealed in the Vedic
scriptures. Only devotees of Krishna or Vishnu develop divine
qualities because only their Lord possesses all these divine
qualities. Thus, it is said in the Vishnu purāna:
dvaubhūta-sargauloke ’smin daiva āsura eva ca
vishnu-bhaktah smrto daiva āsuras tad-viparyayah
“There are two classes of men in the created world. One consists
of the demoniac and the other of the godly. The devotees of Lord
Vishnu are the godly, whereas those who are just the opposite are
called demons”. Now the Lord will describe the characteristics
and the behavior of the demoniac. Thus, it is understood that it is
these qualities turn men either into demons, human or demigods,
and not the particular family, country or society in which he is
born.
TEXT 7 रववृ तं च तनववृ तं च ्ना न ववदरु ासरु ाः।
न श९चं नावप चाचार८ नस्यं ष
े ु वव्य ॥
े ७॥
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ
na śaucaṁ nāpi cā cāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate
pravṛttiṁ -- action in their interest; ca -- and; nivṛttiṁ -- actions
in their worst interest; ca -- and; janā -- persons; na -- do not;
vidur -- know; āsurāḥ -- of demoniac quality; na -- do not;
śaucaṁ -- cleanliness; na -- do not; āpi -- also; ca -- and;
chāchāro -- behavior; na satyaṁ -- not truth; teṣu -- in them;
vidyate -- there exists.
Persons who have demoniac qualities do not understand good
and bad actions, nor does there exist in them cleanliness, an
ability to behave or truth
ANNOTATION: Due to their so called wealth and power, the
demoniac act like winners in the material world. Because of their
accumulation of power and money, they start developing the
impression that they have the power of God, sometimes they
even think that they are God. They are out of touch with Krishna
and are, therefore, completely confused. They have no
information regarding the spiritual life and they think that there is
no alternative to their present materialistic life. They believe that
they are on the path to attaining everything they can imagine.
Their only goal is to make money and gain power to control
nature and its beings for their own satisfaction and for the
satisfaction of their communities.
If an ordinary man is efficient at feeding his family with
bread and butter two times a day, society considers him as the
most perfect being. Moreover, when they hear the scriptural

injunctions they think of it as imaginary. Therefore, the
demoniac do not know what is right and what is wrong, and they
think whatever they do in accordance with the present laws is the
final order. They only think ahead four days or an year in
advance and consider that as the whole sum of their life. This
means that they are involved in temporary happiness, for that
purpose, they remain lazy and commit many degraded activities
for becoming happy.
The demoniac always remain polluted by their constant
involvement in unlawful things. Even though they realize that
they are committing sins, due to their ill-gotten power and
positions, they continue to commit such filthy activities.
Sometimes the demoniac pretend to be very religious in the
morning, yet, as sun rises they begin their atrocities and sinful
activities on others. They think their sinful activities will wash
off by imparting a little religious activity once in a week to some
demigod.
Although women have a prime role in the family, in the
pretext of empowering them, the laws of speculated
administration exploits them for its own gain. In the name of
woman’s liberation and higher education, women compete with
men and have forgotten their natural life, which is supposed to be
involved in bringing happiness to the whole family. Even though
women are sharing high responsibilities with men, the situation
of the world has not changed. Most of these careless women act
as though they are independent but become prey for shameless
men. These men get careless women pregnant and then walk
away. Women must, therefore, abandon the pinch of the
satisfaction they might have through shallow romance and the
artificial friendships with these men, they must refrain from
mingling with shameless members of the society, so as to be sure
to avoid this kind of shameful copulation.
On the other hand, ambitious women are also cheating
many men. In Kali-yuga, most marriage ties are based on wealth
and sexual attraction. These kinds of ties are insufficient to hold
husbands and wives together in the face of even on small

dissentions and disagreements. In the name of advanced
technology and science many women are educated with such
knowledge, but this has only increased the tension in the society.
Women often end up working in big firms and hospitals and on
night duty, which often leads them into indulging in sex. Such
involvement of illicit sex, as based on physical attraction and
friendship, is sinful and unclean. This results in infamy, arrest,
divorce and one suffering from mental and physical torture.
According to the Manu-samhita woman must be protected
in all their ages: Up to their youth they are protected by their
fathers; after they are married, they are made secure by their
husbands; when they are old they are secured by their eldest son.
It is nature’s law that in this way they are protected at all stages
of their life. Therefore, it is essential to cultivate supra
knowledge, so that one may deal with the objects of the world,
this is to become involved in Krishna consciousness for good
sense, and control of one’s mind and defective hankerings..
TEXT 8 अस्यमरत ्ठं े ्गदा ु रनी्वरम ्।
अपरथपरसंभू ं ककमतय्काम क ु म ्॥८॥
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram
aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ kim anyat kāma-haitukam
asatyam -- unreal; apratiṣṭhaṁ -- having no solid foundation; te -
- they; jagad -- the entire cosmic manifestation; āhur -- say;
anīśvaram -- without God; aparaspara -- without cause;
sambhūtaṁ -- produced; kimanyat -- no more than this; kāma-
haitukam -- it is due to lust only.
The persons with demoniac nature say that the entire cosmic
manifestation is unreal, that it has no solid foundation,
without God, they say it is produced out of sex desire and has
no other cause more than lust.
ANNOTATION: The demoniac think that there is no person God
who has created this universe. Therefore, they believe that
creation is unreal, and is without any foundation. Disbelief in
creation and in God gives such atheists many opportunities to

cheat and plunder human society. Modern democracy and
industrialization is a good example of how people are subtly
misdirected towards atheistic civilization.
These people do not have any information regarding the
ancient Vedic scriptures, which provide many varieties of
evidence of universal creation. It is said in the Vedānta sūtra 2-1-
14 sattva cavarasya: that even prior to the manifestation of
creation, this effect was inherent in its cause. The relationship of
cause and effect may not be understood by the foolish demoniac
due to their lack of reasons and logic, but God is not obligated to
satisfy the whims of these agnostic and atheistic people.
There must be a single Supreme authority, but because
creation is so vast, the Supreme authority cannot be an ordinary
human being like, for example, an electrical engineer or an
godless scientist who gives flattery to his sophisticated followers.
With one look at the capacity of ordinary human beings, we can
see that they are limited and have no ‘universal capacity’. In light
of this, the demoniac think that a person, God, could not have
created the gigantic universe. In thinking they are like uncle
Kamsa, are trying to bring Krishna down onto their level.
The Chandogya Upanishad 6.2.1 beginning sadeva-samye-
damagra states: before the creation of any objects only the
Personality of Godhead existed and all other objects were
nonexistent. By His willing, knowledge and activity potency, He
manifested all dormant articles of the universe. Everything
required for the material creation was, at this time, absorbed in
the universal body of the Supreme Person. When He desired to
create He just manifested the universe with its required elements:
the sum total of all material energies, the most subtle and
infinitesimal sub-atomic essences, where name and form have no
scope to manifest. Demoniac people do not know that Krishna
does not want or need their permission to create, maintain and
annihilate the universe. These demoniac people just lecture
everywhere on their diminished understanding of the power of
God, highlighting themselves as the super-knower of everything,
even though they eat and drink all day to maintain the body that
God has produced.
The following is said in the Vedānta sūtra 2.1.18 beginning
yukteli-savdanaraca: it can be ascertained through studying the
verses of the Vedic scriptures with balanced scholarship that asat
(non-existence) refers to the subtlest state of existence known as
mahāt-tattva. From this, and similar examples, it can be
determined that creation is absolutely real, and that the demoniac
people’s erroneous conceptions to the contrary are based on the
theory that the effect must be non-existent because the cause is
invisible to them. This has now been proven to be false.
asatyam means: that which is unreal but is substantiated
through the understanding that everything material is the effect
of a cause, which is not perceived. The complete cosmic
manifestation and total material creation, comprised of
demigods, humans, demons, animals, birds, fish, plants, etc., is
created, maintained and sustained under the absolute control of
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna.
Creation is His product and all living entities are the character of
that creation. These products and characteristics of creation
cannot have comprehension or control over the creator, or know
how the creator created everything, or how the creator pervades,
supports and activates everything, only the creator knows. Yet
obstinately the demoniac bleat and scream their belief that there
is no Supreme Lord, no supreme God or Supreme Creator
involved in the process and formation of creation. If they
speculate in this way, then how do the demoniac explain how
creation came into existence? The demoniac analyze existence
solely from only a limited materialistic viewpoint and arrive at
the conclusion that creation has evolved and produced in all
species of life solely through the mutual sexual intercourse of
male and female. Seeing no other external source, they lecture
that lust alone must be the sole cause of creation; with this idea,
they are determined to continue degrading themselves through
their demoniac activities.
TEXT 9 ए ां ृ््िमव्ि्य न्िा्मान८ऽ्पब्

ु ियः।
रभवत्यर
ु कमााणः षयाय ्ग ८ऽह ाः॥९॥
etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno ’lpa-buddhayaḥ
prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato ’hitāḥ
etāṁ -- this; dṛṣṭim -- perception; avaṣṭabhya -- accepting;
naṣṭātmāno -- having lost contact with their souls; alpa-
buddhayaḥ -- the poor intelligent; prabhavanty -- influenced by;
ugra-karmāṇaḥ -- engaged in abominable activities; kṣayāya --
the destruction; jagato -- of the universe; ahitāḥ -- unfit.
Accepting this perception and having lost contact with their
souls, these less intelligent demoniac people are influenced by
their abominable activities and, by engaging in unbeneficial
works, set about destroying the universe.
ANNOTATION: As mentioned above, the demoniac think that
all living entities have come into being through the process of
sexual reproduction alone. If this is true, according to their
beliefs, the universe was not vacant at any time. Sometimes, they
also say that the universe was generated over a period of time by
an explosion at a certain temperature, and that the galaxy came
into being some billions of years ago. Demoniac beings are
utterly materialistic, and their only aim is to enjoy life by foul
means. Because of their atheistic mentality, they believe there is
no superior authority in governing the whole of creation. Based
on these false notions, somehow or other, they usurp the power
of the government, and using this power they influence everyone
else to become atheists too.
Millions of people were killed in the two world wars. Now,
and since then, there is still bombing going on in different parts
of the world, killing thousands of people. All this is a
consequence of the killing cows, and other innocent animals, for
taste of the tongues of people with no faith in the existence of
God. Men may think they are working for the benefit of human
society, but Krishna knows how to benefit all living entities. As a
Supreme Person, the Supreme Majestic Godhead, is the master
mind; no one who can best His ideology, philosophy and science.
If someone thinks of Krishna as an ordinary person like
Duryodhana did in Mahābhārata war, it will be a great mistake;
the result will be Great War and no one can win over the
Now, the authorities of the various nations are making
horrifying plans for the third world war, which obviously will be
a nuclear war. One day it will break out as a result of someone’s
personal vanity. Since they have manufactured all these weapons,
they will be forced to use all of them on humanity to empty their
nuclear warehouses - gigantic industrial buildings, where people
have developed all these nuclear-powered weapons and missiles
for the destruction of the human society. They think they will
protect their own citizens, but they do not know that in spite of
protecting their countryman, other countries will chase them
down. In this way, one country will kill the people of another
country; although no single country will annihilate itself, enmity
will cause one country to annihilate the other, assuring their
mutual destruction.
So, there are no beneficial activities one can do to give to
their own countries without God, all activities are unbeneficial.
In the end, millions may be destroyed, like bubbles in the ocean
are destroyed by successive waves. The only solution is to take
shelter exclusively in Krishna bhakti. Krishna guarantees the
complete protection of His devotee. Krishna World International
is preparing gigantic granaries to store food for the innocent who
are victimized by the sophisticated leaders of the world.
By performing unbeneficial activities, the demoniac are
headaches for the lawmakers. Who likes the demoniac? Only by
devotion to Krishna will one have the energy to eradicate one's
demoniac, devilish and spiteful characteristics, not otherwise.
TEXT 10 काममाधर्य द्ु परू ं द्भमानमदा्तव ाः।
म८ ा् ग ृ ी्वास्रा ातरव ता ऽे शधु चर ाः॥१०॥
kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṁ dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ
mohād gṛhītvāsad-grāhān pravartante ’śuci-vratāḥ
kāmam -- lusts; āśritya -- addicted to; duṣpūraṁ -- insatiable;

dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ -- absorbed in irrational pride, false
prestige and conceit; mohād -- out by illusion; gṛhītvā -- taking;
āsad-grāhān -- nonpermanent things; pravartante -- engaging;
aśuci-vratāḥ -- unclean acts by pre-meditated vows.
Addicted to insatiable lust, they are absorbed in irrational
pride, false prestige and conceit. Out of illusion, they are
attracted by non-permanent things and have vowed to engage
in all unclean works.
ANNOTATION: kamam, or lust, is manifested in many different
ways in demoniac people. The first of these is sexual desire: in
modern times the pornography industry is prevalent all over the
world. People are addicted to such things and are unable to free
themselves from their addiction. They are constantly dragged
into the gratification of their gross and subtle sexual desires, over
and over again. Most of the time they justify this to themselves
with the thought that their actions are correct and reasonable. The
truth is that the actions of sex are only found in the material
world, especially when one identifies with matter as the self.
Through this kind of identification, the mode of passion takes
over the mind and forces individuals to repeatedly commit
themselves to this insignificant activity. When one sets this
activity as a goal for himself, his next step is to find the means to
carry them out, that is, by working to make money whether this
is by right or wrong livelihood. Some even try to enjoy these
pursuits by becoming rich through exploitation of those who are
in less influential positions. Threatening to take their money,
their women, and/or their children, these individuals use their
own considerable influence to conduct their demoniac activities.
One place in either the superior, middle or low class, is
considered to be determined by one’s bank balance; society
places no importance on one’s actual knowledge, civilization or
good demeanor. The demoniac have created many great
manufacturing, engineering and commercial cities with deluxe
districts reserved for wealthy people, where they engage in
forbidden activities. It is not unusual to find many distorted,

dishonest and sinful activities taking place on beautiful tree-lined
roads, within apparently aristocratic homes. While a cultured
man is described by the Supreme Lord as one with sweet
behavior and simplicity, the demoniac demand honor by ruthless
behavior, using their false power gained from their money and
followers. Their followers are like dogs barking at pedestrians,
always hissing at honest people, on the orders of their arrogant
bosses.
False pride, cheating, untruthfulness and merciless actions
are characteristics of the demoniac; they cannot live without
these evil qualities, as these habits are their second nature. Every
living being is originally pure and happy, that is their
constitutional position. Money and power made the demoniac
insane and ruthless to innocent people. Such deluded souls think
that all material things and their degraded qualities are
permanent, that these things are māya (that which is not). There
is an eternal soul in all bodies, which is part of God, Krishna.
When this original awareness is covered by material desires,
spirit souls behave exactly like thieves and robbers. However, by
the mercy of a spiritual master, if such soul comes into contact
with the divine nature, they can revive their original
consciousness. Slowly one can be educated by the grace of the
Lord and His representatives. An educated man should endeavor
to revive his own spiritual position, and he should educate others
to take the same spiritual path.
TEXTS धचत ामपररमेयां च रलयात ामप

ु ाधर ाः।
11-12 काम८पभ८गपरमा ए ावहदत तन््च ाः
आशापाशश बा्िाः कामर८िपरायणाः।
ई त े कामभ८गािामतयायेनािास्चयान ्॥११-१२॥
chintām aparimeyāṁ ca pralayāntām upāśritāḥ
kāmopabhoga-paramā etāvad iti niścitāḥ
āśā-pāśa-śatair-baddhāḥ kāma-krodha-parāyaṇāḥ
īhante-kāma-bhogārtham anyāyenārtha-sañchayān
chintām -- fears and anxieties; aparimeyāṁ -- unlimited; ca --

and; pralayāntām -- unto the point of death; upāśritāḥ -- taken
shelter of; kāmopabhoga-paramā -- sense gratification as the
highest goal of life; etāvaditi-- thus in this way; niścitāḥ--
confirmed; āśā-pāśa -- entanglements in the hundreds of
schemes; śatair -- by hundreds; baddhāḥ -- being bound; kāma-
krodha-parāyaṇāḥ -- overcome by lust and anger; īhante --
striving; kāma-bhogārtham -- for the purpose of gratifying their
lusty desires; anyāyen -- illegitimate; ārtha-sañchayān -- to
accumulation of wealth.
The demoniac believe that the gratification of the senses is
the highest goal of life. Thus, until the point of death their
fear and anxieties have no limit. They become are entangled
in hundreds of schemes and become bound in the network of
lust and anger, and, striving to satisfy their lust, they
illegitimately accumulate wealth.
ANNOTATION: Once a materialistic and atheistic swami
Charvaka muni told:
rnam krtva ghrtam pibet yavan jivet sukham jivet
bhasmi-bhūtasya dehasya kutah punaragamano bhavet
“One must earn money by hook or crook to secure clarified
butter [ghee] by begging, borrowing or stealing, if one sees that
these actions are illegal, such as stealing and robbing, then one
does not need to worry because there is no life after death.”
This instruction is followed by most of human society, all
over the world. This is not scriptural instruction, it was Rishi
Charvaka’s personal opinion. Personal opinion has less relevance
in one’s life than scriptural instruction. Habit becomes a living
entity’s second nature. One must understand that by cultivating
bad habits, one will never be able to change it even by enormous
material endeavor to do so. The living entity is part and parcel of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna, Lord is
unlimitedly independent, and therefore the part and parcel of
Him also has independence. This tiny independence provides one
with a high degree of security and a guarantee if one applies in

the spiritual life to the service Krishna and Krishna’s other divine
incarnations – as Krishna has already explained. However, by
using this independence for demoniac activities, one will be
captured in a matrix of complete misery.
One can go on committing various sinful desires
perpetually. However, if one cultivates sinful desires for a
prolonged life times, this nature will be very difficult to change
or overcome, thus the jīva soul will suffer the consequences of
these unlimited vicious activities, without hope. They will be
always absorbed in lust and will try to procure more money by
many illegal means; such as through the black market, or, being
envious, they may even by ready to kill pious rich men who have
gained their wealth from pious activities. Yet after earning
money they are always, nevertheless, filled with anxiety. They
worry in terms of their financial security and put themselves
under pressure to maintain what they have earned. Furthermore,
they carry this immense anxiety and constant worry with them to
their graves, at the time of their death. Despite this, as mentioned
above, the demoniac only desire to make money illegally, and
enjoy in various ways, and even powerful government agents
become puppet in their hands.
As it is said ‘old wine in new bottle’: the demoniac enjoy
the dirty objects of the world such as wine, meat and women.
They have enjoyed these things already. Yet they repeat the same
thing over and over again, in different places and in different
atmosphere. Therefore, it is called old wine, and this simple thing
they cannot take to their brain. The demoniac continue their
ugrakarma (horrible work) in the whole life, unable to make a
change even though the most powerful saintly people advise
devotional service to them. In this way, they will sink down to
the lower species of life. na jāyāte mryate va kathācin, the soul
never dies after the body dies, thus the demoniac are apt to
become worm and dirty reptiles after leaving their present
bodies.
TEXTS इदम्य मया ल्िभममं रातथये मन८रिम ्।

13-15 इदमथ ीदमवप मे भवव्यत पन
ु िानम ्॥
अस९ मया ः शरु ातन्ये चापरानवप।
ई्वर८ऽ म ं भ८गी भस्ि८ऽ ं बलवातसख
ु ी॥
आ्य८ऽभभ्नवान्थम क८ऽतय८ऽ्थ सृश८ मया।
य्ये दाथयाभम म८हद्य इ्य्ानववम८ह ाः॥१३-१५॥
idam adya mayā labdham imaṁ-prāpsye-manoratham
idam-astīdam-api me bhaviṣyati-punar dhanam
asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparān api
īśvaro ’ham ahaṁ bhogī siddho ’haṁbalavān sukhī
āḍhyo ’bhijanavān-asmi ko ’nyo ’sti sadṛśo mayā
yakṣye dāsyāmi-modiṣya ity ajñāna-vimohitāḥ
idam -- this; adya mayā -- today by me; labdham -- was gained;
imaṁ -- this; prāpsye -- I shall obtain; manoratham -- according
to my desires; idam -- this; astī -- there is; idam -- this; api --
also; me -- mine; bhaviṣyati -- in the future; punar -- and again;
dhanam -- wealth; asau -- that; mayā -- by me; hataḥ -- has been
killed; śatrur -- enemy; haniṣye -- I shall kill; cā -- also; āparān -
- other enemies; api -- certainly; īśvaro aham -- I am the
controller; ahaṁ bhogī -- I am the enjoyer; siddho -- I am
perfect; ahaṁ balavān – (I am) powerful; sukhī -- (I am) happy;
āḍhyo -- wealthy; abhijanavān -- surrounded by aristocratic
relatives; asmi -- I am; ko -- who; anyo -- other; asti -- there is;
sadṛśo -- like; mayā -- me; yakṣye – (I will) perform sacrifice;
dāsyāmi – (I will) give in charity; modiṣya -- (I will) celebrate;
ity -- thus; ajñāna-vimohitāḥ -- are deluded by ignorance.
The ignorant and deluded demoniacs think: today I have this
much money, I will earn more according to my plans; this
wealth is mine and in the future I will gain more; this enemy
has been killed by me and I will kill other enemies; I am the
controller of everything; I am the enjoyer; I am powerful; I
am happy; I am wealthy and surrounded by my aristocratic
relatives; there is no one like me; I will perform sacrifice; I
will give in charity; I will celebrate.
ANNOTATION: The demoniac earn money in many different

ways, and do not pay taxes; they spend it on their bathrooms,
walls, swimming pools, and they invest more in the black
market. Some even purchase and operate printing machines to
create counterfeit money, which imitates and challenges the
government treasury. They use their money to make huge bribes
or store it away without telling their family members. The Lord
explicitly describes how the demoniac are consumed by their
incessantly hankering for the fulfillment of their insatiable
material desires. The demoniac are always thinking about what
they have gained and will enjoyed today, what they will gain and
will enjoy tomorrow and what they will gain and will enjoy in
the future. The demoniac do not believe in destiny and fate but
only in their power, money, effort and intelligence. The
demoniac think that their ideology is superior and they resort to
deception, hypocrisy, intimidation and force to pressure others
into believing and accepting their erroneous beliefs. They destroy
anything that obstructs their desires and gets in the way of their
ambitions. The demoniac think: today I have destroyed a
formidable enemy by my power and strength; tomorrow I shall
destroy more enemies because I am all-powerful. I am master of
my own destiny, invincible and independent. There is no God in
control, I am God and all is for my enjoyment. Everyone is
inferior to me. I am wealthy, highborn and thus superior. I am the
enjoyer and none is my equal.
Sometimes the demoniac observe that those endowed with
the divine nature can achieve phenomenal fame and
extraordinary approval by performing ritualistic activities of
righteous nature for the benefit of all creation. Thereafter, the
demoniac concoct their own ritualistic and malicious activities
based upon their evil beliefs. They secretly engage in monstrous
activities, such as offering blood sacrifices and vampirism to
disincarnate spirits, ghosts and demons, channeling in ghastly
and dreadful non-human energies to whomever they sacrifice, be
they infants or humans, in exchange for material power. This is
how they covertly operate in secret. So that they may continue
their horrifying activities sometime they hire a saintly person into

their group so that they may obtain protection and material
security. The demoniac also devilishly and deceptively imitate
those of the divine nature. They pretend to be compassionate
philanthropists and establish institutions bearing their name that
give pretentious and illegally earned money as donations to
hospitals and charitable organizations. By feeding the poor or
contributing to religious societies where they can showcase
themselves as appearing pious, the demoniac openly appear in
public to gain favoritism from society. However, these foolish
demoniac people do not understand that no amount of charity and
missionary work performed by them can make up for their sinful
devilish activities.
TEXT 16 अनेकधचतववरात ा म८ ्ालसमाव ृ ाः।
रस् ाः कामभ८गेषु प ्त नरकेऽशच
ु ९॥१६॥
aneka-citta-vibhrāntā moha-jāla-samāvṛtāḥ
prasaktāḥ kāma-bhogeṣu patanti narake ’śucau
aneka-citta-vibhrāntā -- perplexed with innumerable fears and
anxieties; moha-jāla-samāvṛtāḥ -- enveloped by a network of
illusions; prasaktāḥ -- engrossed in; kāma-bhogeṣu --
gratification of the senses; patanti -- they glide down; narake
aśucau -- into the abominable hells.
Thus bewildered by innumerable fears and anxieties and
enveloped by the network of delusion, the demoniac are
engrossed in sense gratification and descend into abominable
hells.
ANNOTATION: The demoniac are obsessed by their illusions
and are bewildered and perplexed due to their nescience. They
foolishly build their hopes and dreams on material existence,
which is momentary and impermanent. As a result, they are
misled by their never-ending desires in their pursuit of more
money, sinful ambitions and high-flying plans of what they
should do, what they should achieve, what they should obtain
and what they should get pleasure from. They ask for blessings
from genuine saintly people only to progress in their devilish

activities. Often they will trade a fixed deposit to double an
existing amount. They trade unpaid tax money for tax paid
money and vice-versa. Sometimes they store their huge money in
secret investments or make deposits overseas, and most of the
time they die without even using them. The money they stored
overseas have neither use for their mother country nor for their
family, nor for their fellow citizens nor for himself nor for
propagating the mission of the Supreme Lord. Most of the time
they beg big money from all successful merchants. Sometimes
they say that their poll costs have tremendously increased.
Therefore they have to put such proposals for huge reward from
all industries, national and world banks. In this way, they make
their heart sophisticated begging from all rich people, by begging
in this way they end up becoming beggars in the next life on the
streets, cities and villages. Being intoxicated with their so-called
wealth and position in government, they do not see civilized and
cultured people as their equals. Because of the civilized person’s
honest life, and deficiency of material wealth, they refer to them
in saying that these ‘birds of a same feather flock together’; that
civilized people are inferior since they are content with less than
these arrogant and artificially wealthy and demoniac people.
They take more pleasure in maintaining selfish life and killing of
their enemies.
Compelled by their desire for stealing power and wealth,
which they think will give them prolonged existence, the
demoniac terrorize the states and countries, and even the planet,
and all its inhabitants. Some demoniac preachers flatter powerful
demoniac people as if they were Gods in order to acquire
donations from them. The demoniac become ensnared and
entangled, caught in the net of illusion, just as fish are ensnared
by a fisherman's hook after being tempted by an earthworm.
Inescapably trapped in the net of illusion, the demoniac pursue
their wicked activities in their never ending effort to satisfy their
addictions to flesh and sense gratification. When their life spans
have come to an end they are forced to enter the lowest regions
of hell to suffer immeasurably. Lord Krishna confirms that
beyond material nature, unseen and unperceived, death is waiting

patiently for the allocated time. Death will snatch the demoniac
away from all they covet and force them to suffer the results of
their ruthless and unrighteous sinful actions-vikarma, in the
darkest of hells. It is inevitable for them to suffer in hellish lives
for billions of years before they get another body, which may be
a poisonous snake, earthworm, snail or a wicked wolf.
TEXT 17 आ्मसंभावव ाः थ ्िा िनमानमदा्तव ाः।
य्त े नामय्थ े द्भेनाववधिपव
ू क
ा म ्॥१७॥
ātma-sambhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ
yajante nāma-yajñais te dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam
ātma-sambhāvitāḥ -- self-complacent; stabdhā -- impudent;
dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ -- deluded by pride and arrogance;
yajante -- they perform sacrifice; nāma -- in name only; yajñais -
- sacrifices are performed; te -- they; dambhena -- out of pride;
āvidhi-pūrvakam -- without any regard for rules and regulations
of the scriptures.
Self-complacent, impudent, deluded by pride and arrogance,
the demoniac perform sacrifices only for name, such
sacrifices are performed without any regard for the rules and
regulations of the scriptures.
ANNOTATION: The wealth earned by illegal means either
through cheating others or through so-called industrial
development only can give self-satisfaction, impudence and false
prestige. Sometimes they keep better weapons than government,
sometimes because of infatuation of the money, servants and
power they earned, they take the government laws on their hands
and try to give justice to their people ignoring government
appointed representatives. Consequently, because of their
additional income and hired villains, demoniac people start
conceiving of themselves as better than others. Fearing that
scriptural rules and regulations may put a stop to their sinful
activities, they do not like to hear them, nor do they like to
follow them. Sometime they misinterpret the scriptures and favor
it to their interests. Sometimes, the heads of wealthy

organizations conduct so-called religious righteous meetings with
a dinner program. This is as an integral part of their business, yet
when they gather similarly interested people these people are
mostly interested in eating the filthy food that is served to them.
The audience is not really there to hear the instructions of the
scriptures or to make a change to their fallen feverish life style.
The owner and other members of the audience often suggest to
preachers, why not convey this knowledge to children? It is true
that one cannot teach old dog new tricks. However, these ‘old
dogs’ do not know that their destination is hell because of the
horrible activities they have done to secure wealth and reputation
by illegal means in order to enjoy the momentary physical body.
The demoniac do not care for such scriptural restrictions.
They think that whatever path one can create is one's own path;
there is no such thing as a standard path one has to follow.
Sometimes, due to their over-confident and conceited nature they
worship or perform pūjas and sacrifices to show their devotion,
but they discard scriptural notifications that benefit soul and
body in their present lives. They imitate activities prescribed in
the other yugas, and worship ghosts, spirits, snakes,
brahmarakshas, the so-called advertising human incarnations,
etc. however, the demoniac do not realize the actual sacrifices
that are beneficial for the age of Kali. avidhi-pūrvakam means
‘the demoniac do pseudo-rituals condemned by the Vedās’. They
do not know that their present position is based on the previous
pious activities and that their present godless activities will push
them to the most abominable life cycle.
Everything belongs to God; therefore, every sacrifice must
be offered to please Him. Breathing air, drinking water, cooking
fire, living accommodation, earth in the form of land, are not
created by any demigods, ghosts, and human gods. These are all
Krishna’s creation, thus He is the actual proprietor of everything.
The demoniac are never motivated by pure intentions in sattva
guna, the mode of goodness. Those of duplicitous mentalities
that are similar to them only praise these demoniac people but
devotees of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna never acknowledge them, no matter how opulent or

pompous their sacrifices may be. If they want higher and quality
blessings they must take shelter in activities situated in the mode
of pure goodness.
TEXT 18 अ ं कारं बलं दपं कामं र८िं च संधर ाः।
मामा्मपरदे े षु र्ववषत ८ऽ्यसय
ू काः॥१८॥
ahaṅkāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ ca saṁśritāḥ
mām ātma-para-deheṣu pradviṣanto ’bhyasūyakāḥ
ahaṅkāraṁ -- false ego; balaṁ -- power; darpaṁ -- pride; kāmaṁ
-- lust; krodhaṁ -- anger; ca -- also; saṁśritāḥ -- embraced; mām
-- Me; ātma-para-deheṣu -- who is the soul residing in all bodies;
pradviṣanto -- blaspheme; abhyasūyakāḥ -- always envious.
Obsessed by self-conceit, power, impudence, lust and anger,
the demoniac become envious and blaspheme Me, who I am
the soul residing in all bodies.
ANNOTATION: The scriptures are guidance for mankind and
were available at the time of creation for humanity at large. They
were processed and compiled by the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. Discarding both the authority of
scriptures as well as God, demons take pleasure in their power
and money. Of course, every living entity has the freedom to
follow the rules and regulations. However, they do not have
freedom to not to follow these rules and regulations. In ordinary
life, the laws of the state and federal government determine one’s
independence. Yet the laws of the Supreme Government are
applicable right after the termination of this physical body. Being
blind of the Super natural law, demons question the authority of
God and His other energies. This is due to the false identification
with the body, false notions created by the society, country and
the so-called religious sects.
Moreover, having physical strength, powerful followers,
and the false pride they gain from their wealth, and the lust they
try to use to satisfy enough women, demons think they gained
and accomplished everything, that there is no need for God. Who
is God? They think. ‘I am God’, they rant like a mad man and
severely criticize the genuine religion, which glorifies the
Supreme Lord. The Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna is situated in all bodies, without having the realization of
this fact the demoniac exploit their own and other’s bodies. For
them, the main object of life is the derivation of sense pleasure
and manipulation of the flesh. In this way, demons lead a ruthless
and sinful life, only to transmigrate to the bodies of worms and
germs.
TEXT 19 ान ं ्ववष ः रुरातसंसारे षु नरािमान ्।
षषपा्य्रमशभ
ु ानासरु ी्वेव य८तनष॥
ु १९॥
tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
tān -- those; ahaṁ -- I; dviṣataḥ -- envious; krūrān -- cruel;
saṁsāreṣu -- into the ocean of cycle of birth and death;
narādhamān -- the lowest of mankind; kṣipāmy ajasram -- throw
forever; aśubhān -- evil; āsurīṣveva -- certainly demoniac; yoniṣu
-- into the wombs.
Those who are envious, cruel, evil and the lowest of mankind,
I throw them forever into the cycle of birth and death, into
the womb of various demoniac species.
ANNOTATION: After describing the activities and
characteristics of those possessing a demoniac nature, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna passes judgment in this
and the next few verses about the destination of such sinful
demoniac souls. It is the mind which instigates the sinful devilish
actions and pious actions of the living entity; the body only is an
instrument for such activities. Therefore, it is imperative to find
right actions through scriptural injunction, or through authorities
of the true spiritual science. One must be free from enviousness
and mischievous actions against real religious principles. By
ignoring the scriptures that are representative of God and are
manifestations of God Himself, and acting whimsically, the
demoniac will be cast into the ocean of various demoniac species

of life and other species of life, which are entirely devoid of the
kind of advanced life we experience. Since our past material life
forms present life and present life forms future life, our future
quality of life is completely dependent on our present activities.
Thus, seeing death in one’s future, mrtyur sarva haras cāham: in
the form of death I take everything away, one who is acting as a
demon must refrain from such work and surrender fully unto the
Supreme Lord Krishna and His representative, guru, otherwise
future life will be bleak and this human form of life will be lost
by perpetually falling into lower forms of life. This is the true
meaning of this verse spoken by the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna tells
Uddhava in 11.7.5 canto of Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
na vastavyaṁ tvayaiveha mayā tyakte mahī-tale
jano ’bhadra-rucir bhadra bhaviṣyati kalau yuge
O saintly Uddhava! You should not remain here on the earth
once I have abandoned this world. O sinless devotee! In Kali-
yuga the people will be addicted to all types of sinful activities.
TEXT 20 आसरु ीं य८तनमापतना मढ
ू ा ्तमतन ्तमतन।
मामरातयव क९त य
े ८ यात्यिमां गत म ्॥२०॥
āsurīṁ-yonim-āpannā mūḍhā janmani-janmani
mām-aprāpyaiva kaunteya tato yāntya dhamāṁ gatim
āsurīṁ -- demoniac; yonim -- wombs; āpannā -- entering; mūḍhā
-- the foolish; janmani-janmani -- birth after birth; māmaprāpy --
unable to achieve Me; iva -- certainly; kaunteya -- O son of
Kunti; tato -- thereafter; yānty -- go; adhamāṁ -- even more
abominable; gatim -- destination.
O son of Kunti, the foolish entering into demoniac species of
life birth after birth, unable to achieve Me, they descend into
the most abominable type of existence.
ANNOTATION: Because of the desire to enjoy abominable
varieties of life and to gain such desires, the demoniac engage in
constant exploitation of the other living entities bodies, making

them repeatedly cry and lament for sympathy. Such cries are
heard from slaughtering cows, hogs, chickens, goats and other
living beings. The leaders of the government ignore the
instruction of the Supreme Lord; they ignore all educated
members of the society in this regard and act as if they were
pressured by some group of uncivilized people. Such demoniac
people lose the energy to realize the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, they become more and more spiteful and
sinful and they drown furthermore succumbing to the worst and
dirtiest forms of life. The Supreme Lord has created billions of
beautiful forms in the heavenly planets, and in the spiritual world
for those who follow His orders given in the Vedic scriptures.
However, the Supreme Lord also has created billions of ugly,
lower forms of life for these sin-mongers. Thus, the demoniac
lose their paramount position as human beings, imbued with free
will and self-determination, and instead descend into the
instinctive consciousness of animals, such as reptiles, and
thereafter descend further to become insects and worms.
TEXT 21 ररवविं नरकथयेदं ्वारं नाशनमा्मनः।
कामः र८िथ िा ल८भथ थमादे ्रयं ्य्े ्॥२१॥
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
tri-vidham -- of three kinds; narakasya -- to hell; edaṁ -- this;
dvāraṁ -- doorways; nāśanam ātmanaḥ -- destructive of the self;
kāmaḥ-krodhas -- lust, anger; tathā -- as well; lobhas -- greed;
tasmād -- therefore; etat-trayaṁ -- these three; tyajet -- one must
quit.
The three kinds of doorways leading to hell are lust, anger
and greed. Therefore, one must give these up for they are
destructive to the self.
has now finished his explanations of the basic details of the
temperament and characteristics of demoniac people. Now, the
Lord is strongly advising everyone to somehow or the other

avoid the three dangers of lust, greed and anger, the fundamental
root causes of all demoniac vices and tribulations. As soon as one
has overcome these, he will be free from all demoniac
characteristics. These gates lead to the hellish planets. As soon as
anyone goes into any one of these doors they lose sattva guna,
the discriminative impulse, and their mind becomes
overwhelmed by passionate and destructive senses born of
passion and ignorance. This causes complete disorder and
devastation of a sane being, hindering their natural advancement
towards spiritualism. This totally blocks the pure consciousness
of the soul, which is hankering for freedom from material
existence and to manifest its Krishna consciousness, rather than
getting trapped more and more in the network of demoniac
activities. These three doorways will cause one to perform such
sinful and abominable activities that lead a human being directly
to hell to suffer immensely for their sinful injustices, as Krishna
says here. For this reason one must be extremely cautious to
avoid these three doors for one’s personal spiritual benefit, which
is the real self-interest. Therefore, the demoniac activities
generated by lust, anger and greed must be shut down all possible
means.
TEXT 22 ए ववाम्
ु ः क९त य
े म८्वार्थरभभनारः।
आचर्या्मनः रेयथ ८ यात परां गत म ्॥२२॥
etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamo-dvārais tribhir naraḥ
ācharaty ātmanaḥ śreyas tato yāti parāṁgatim
etair -- from these; vimuktaḥ -- being freed; kaunteya -- O son of
Kunti; tamo-dvārais-tribhir -- the three kinds of doorways of
ignorance; naraḥ -- a person; ācharaty -- performs; ātmanaḥ --
for the self; śreyas -- auspiciousness; tato -- thereafter; yātiparāṁ
-- he attains to the supreme; gatim -- destination.
O son of Kunti, those who are freed from these three kinds of
doorways of ignorance perform auspicious acts congenial for
self-knowledge, at last they attain the supreme destination
ANNOTATION: One can experience the contamination they feel

when they fall into the three devouring enemies of lust, anger and
greed. Now, the Lord explains the method and result of those
who have avoided entering these three gates, which are the
mortal enemies of the human beings. It is highly recommended
by the Vedic scriptures and the authorities of spiritual science
that one must be attracted towards the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna who is the embodiment of all
transcendental qualities. One manifests the transcendental
qualities of the Lord in one’s behavior simply by adhering to the
scriptural regulations, such as: becoming pure vegetarian; even
avoiding onion and garlic; one must not even drink tea and
coffee; offering everything to Krishna for sanctifying the food
one intends to eat; engaging in the yoga process which is
described for this age of Kali as chanting mahā-mantra
constantly and audibly, to control the mind. This is: ‘Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma
Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare’. One cannot, otherwise,
meditate on the beautiful form of Krishna unless one controls his
mind from roaming around with lust, anger and greed. This
mantra is also a transcendental meditation; meditation takes
place whenever one’s mind is controlled. Also, to control the
mind one can constantly hear the pastimes and activities of
Krishna, mentioned in Srimad-Bhāgavatam, which is the
summary of the entire Vedic literature. One should honor all
auspicious days of Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu, such fasting is
normally observed only by Krishna's devotees. By fasting in this
way, one will gain strength to be free from unprincipled lust.
Later, when one wants to get marry, one can bring forth nice
Krishna conscious children, and in the end of life one will be sent
to the supreme destination, the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 23 यः शाथरववधिम्ु स्
ृ य व ा े कामकार ः।न
सभस्धिमवातन८त न सख ु ं न परां गत म ्॥२३॥
yaḥ-śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate-kāma-kārataḥ
na sa-siddhim-avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ-gatim
yaḥ -- one who; śāstra-vidhim -- the injunctions of the Vedic

scriptures; utsṛjya -- transgresses; vartate -- remains; kāma-
kārataḥ -- acting whimsically under lusty desires; nasa -- he do
not; siddhim -- perfection; avāpnoti -- attains; na -- neither;
sukhaṁ -- happiness; na -- nor; parāṁgatim -- the supreme
destination.
Those who transgress the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures
and act whimsically due to their lusty desires do not attain
perfection, happiness or the supreme destination.
ANNOTATION: A person’s following sāstra (scriptures) means
acceptance without argumentation, even if there is an appearance
of contradiction. Vedic injunctions are apaurusheya, which
means that they are beyond one’s senses and mind. Therefore,
one must accept its instructions as they are. People who follow
scriptural injunction perfectly do not have imperfect senses, they
do not make mistakes, or have a tendency to cheat and to fall into
illusion. The instructions of the Vedānta sūtra are presented out
in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam, the Purānas, the Upanishads, and
the itihāsas along with their auxiliaries, Mahābhārata,
Ramāyana, Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, and others like smrti
scriptural commands. If one thinks that these are just a
mythology, or that none of the activities mentioned in these
scriptures are taking place now, or that they are merely
allegorical, such a person cannot even possibly understand
millions of material activities that are going on above one’s
control, behind their backs, at every moment. Without accepting
the scriptures, how can one comprehend the phenomenal and
numinous activities taking place beyond one’s material mind and
intelligence? The material mind, intelligence and senses have
only been designed by the Lord for understanding of the material
objects, these faculties can only apprehend that there are spiritual
activities to a certain limited degree.
A vulture flies so high, but its goal is just look for dead
bodies. Similarly, the most advanced humans, though highly
educated, only look for the two: what to do with their time, and
how to fill up their bellies. Why, then, don't people accept their
limitations and accept the authority of God? Why does one
demand to see Him with one's limited power and skill? It is in
one’s best self-interests to accept the authority of Vedās and to
follow the Vedic injunction to promote one’s soul to a higher
dimensional life. Rāvana, Hiranyakasipu, Duryodhana all knew
Vedic injunctions, but they all whimsically acted based on their
material wealth, power, and enmity and were completely
destroyed: Hiranyakasipu was always angry at the all auspicious
Lord Vishnu; Rāvana was forceful after the most auspicious
Goddess of fortune, Sīta, the wife of Lord Rāmachandra; he even
wanted to build a staircase to heavenly planet from Sri Lanka
and, Duryodhana was greedy after the wealth and kingdom of the
auspicious Pāndavās, who always followed the religion or
dharma. All of these demoniacs were destroyed by the hand of
the Lord. Such people must meet destruction. Irreligion may stay
in society for the time being, but religious activities have the
power to destroy irreligion: that are the laws of God.
Money and power is always flickering, it never stays with
one person or with one dynasty for long time. Money and power
is apt to be quickly lost due to the way people misuse it. So for
the sake of one’s own self-preservation and interests one must
increase one’s spiritual credit by following the Supreme Lord,
devotees and sāstra. sāstra means pure science, however, by
discarding such scriptural knowledge one will never get
perfection, happiness or the Lotus Feet of Krishna in this life, or
in the coming material existences. In summary, one can never
achieve any good for themselves or any good for any others by
whimsically ignoring the ordinances of the Vedic scriptures, or
foolishly disregarding and transgressing its injunctions of the
Vedic scriptures, which are for the welfare and benefit of all
creation. The souls are eternally subordinate to the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna jivera svarupa
hoy krishnera nityadas, if not, then they are servants to the
material nature. They are never independent at any time.
TEXT 24 थमा्छाथरं रमाणं े कायााकाया्यव्थि ९।

्ा्वा शाथरवविान८् ं कमा क भुा म ा ाभस॥२४॥
tasmāc chāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te kāryākārya-vyavasthitau
jñātvā śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ karma kartum-ihārhasi
tasmāc -- therefore; chāstraṁ -- the injunctions of the Vedic
scriptures; pramāṇaṁ -- are your evidence; te -- your;
kāryākārya -- activity and forbidden activities; vyavasthitau -- in
determining; jñātvā -- knowing; śāstra-vidhānoktaṁ -- a the
ordinances of the Vedic scriptures as prescribed; karma -- do
actions; kartum -- as a matter of duty; iha -- in this world; ārhasi
-- you should.
Therefore, one should determine from the injunctions of the
Vedic scriptures what activities are appropriate and what are
forbidden. Knowing the ordinances of the Vedic scriptures as
prescribed, you should perform actions as a matter of duty in
this world.
ANNOTATION: Through the regulations of the scriptures one
can hear from the God Himself and from His bona fide servants,
vaishnavas. Krishna appeared around 5236 years ago. Thereafter,
again He appeared 528 years ago in Navadvipa West Bengal as
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Krishna performed His
pastimes for 125 years, and Lord Chaitanya performed His
pastimes for 48 years. Lord Krishna, in the form of Lord
Chaitanya, appeared as Krishna’s devotee and simplified the
entire yoga process for the people of the age of Kali.
In Kali-yuga everyone is busy fulfilling and modifying the
material propensity: eating, sleeping, having sex and physical
security. Everyone thinks that if they can take care of these four
basic necessities of the body nicely, they will be very civilized
and materially advanced. However, one must know that just
maintaining this material body and supporting other people’s
bodies cannot be the goal of human life because after death we
are separated by force from all our relatives and friends. This
means that at the point of death we are forced to leave everything
behind, things like money, power, position, kinsmen, country and

language.
If this is the truth, why shouldn’t one take only that much
from creation as is set by our quota, that is, by our honest
earnings. Due to one’s good karma one may make millions of
dollars or even billions. But what is one going to do after earning
more than what is necessary? The scripture says to use it in
Krishna’s service because He is the original proprietor of all
wealth and power. By doing so, one will be situated in goodness.
In the Isopanishad 1 says:
iso vasyam-idam-sarvam yat-kinca jagatyamà jagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma grdhah kasya sviddhanam
“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is
controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept
only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his
quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to
whom they belong.”
Because people are not trained in renunciation, one has a
tendency to misuse his money and power when he makes more
money and exercise more power than necessary. This, therefore,
leads to a chance for the individual to be arrogant and engage in
all kind of wicked activities. However, if one follows scriptural
codes one will start acting piously. The consequences of such
action are that one develops more and more piety, which is the
natural life for human beings. One may aspire to live for
hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working and living
in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of
karma. There is no alternative to this way for man. Without
which they will not be satisfied even if they earn millions and
billions of dollars. And again they are not satisfied in human
sexual roles, they do want to imitate animals. Sex and money are
only the meditation especially for the new generation. Most of
the time they are always angry because of their unfulfilled
desires. So, to be free from such lust, greed and anger, one
should embrace Krishna bhakti to purify one’s material
existence. One should start devotional process right away

because there is no guarantee for the long life anywhere in this
world, and any time one will hit out of the body and one may
never get an opportunity to do bhakti in the future. The primary
system of dharma and yoga is for the glorification of the
Supreme Lord Krishna. One should not follow dharma for
making money. One should not also think since he has earned
enough money, there is no need for following dharma. People
cannot be satisfied without rendering devotional service to the
Supreme Lord Krishna, which is paro dharma, supreme religion,
and it is not mentioned anywhere in the scriptures.
There are three types of faith, corresponding to and
evolving from the three modes of material nature. Acts
performed by those whose faith is in passion and ignorance yield
only impermanent, material results, whereas acts performed in
goodness, in accordance with scriptural injunctions, purify the
heart and lead to pure faith in Lord Krishna and devotion to Him.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Godly and Demoniac Qualities’ by

1. Describe 26 divine quality of a person who has cultivated
devotional services to Krishna?
2. Explain demoniac qualities of a person who has no
devotional feelings for the Supreme Person.
1. Explain fearlessness as described in this chapter.16-1-3
2. Briefly define what purification of existence means.
3. Differentiate between divine and demoniac persons?
4. Explain the meaning of the statement: “Demons never

follow the rules and regulations of the standard scriptures.”
5. Describe how demons perceive the development of the
universe.
6. What did Krishna predict in this chapter that is actually
happening in today’s world?
7. Write down the unhygienic habits of demons?
8. What is the ultimate goal of life for the demoniac? How do
they go about achieving it?
9. Label the demons greed for money and their pride of their
personal ability.
10. Describe some of the subtle mentalities of demoniac
persons.
11. Illuminate on how demons relate to religion?
12. According to this text, is God ever merciful to the demons?
13. Also explain Krishna’s mercy on the asuras
14. How many gates lead to hell? Name them.
15. How can one escape the gates of hell?
16. Why is study of the Vedās important?
17. Give a conclusive solution to all problems the demons
create.
1. The Sānskrit word________is called cleanliness.
2. “A person who is spiritual will abide by the Laws of
__________.”
3. “According to Manu-samhita, a __________ should not be
given any independence.”
4. “The ________ person’s view is that there is no_________
in control”
5. “The demon named _________ planned to prepare a

staircase leading to the heavenly planet.”
6. “__________ said that one should enjoy clarified butter by
any means whether stealing, robbing or borrowing.
7. Lord Sri Chaitanya performed pastimes in West Bengal for
____ years
8. “The demoniacs say that the world has no foundation and it
is produced from ___________ desire.”
9. Lord Krishna tells __________ ‘O sinless devotee! In Kali-
yuga the people will be addicted to all types of sinful
activities.’
10. Vedic injunctions are ________which means that they are
beyond one’s senses and mind.
1. “Full dependency on the mercy of the Lord makes one free
from ________” (mercifulness, greed, wealthy, fear)
2. “By following the rules and regulations of one’s particular
status of life, one will be able to purify one’s __________”
(spiritual existence, material existence, mental life, polluted
life)
3. “_______ % of one’s income given for the propagation of the
Krishna consciousness movement is called real charity
according to scriptures.” (Twenty Five, Fifty, Seventy Five,
Hundred)
4. “_________ is not disturbing another living entity either
mentally or physically simply for one’s own
pleasure.” (Violence, Non-violence, Non-killing, Checking
anger)
5. “Those who have no intelligence and engage in unbeneficial
horrible activities are in the mode of ___________.”
(passion, passion & ignorance, goodness, ignorance)
6. “__________ people think gratifying the senses is the prime

necessity of human civilization.” (Divine, Foolish,
Materialistic, Demoniac)
7. “Moha-Jala means________” (network of illusions, deluded
by ignorance, lunatic, intoxicated by temporary happiness)
8. “He who discards ___________ injunctions and acts according
to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness,
nor the supreme destination.” (moral, material, spiritual,
Vedic)
9. “By obtaining repeated birth and death in __________ species
of life one cannot approach the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.” (lower, animal, human, demoniac)
10. The Sānskrit word ______________means expectation of
honor. (ati-utsaha, ati-manina, ati-ahankara, ati-sucih)
Three Divisions of Faith 971
CHAPTER 17
Three Divisions of Faith
TEXT 1 अ्जन
ु उवाच
यॳ शा्रववधिम्ज स्
ृ य य््तॳ र्िया््वताः।
तॳषां नन्ठा तज का कृ्ण स्वमाह८ र््तमः॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
yeśāstra-vidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā krishna sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; ye -- those who; śāstra-vidhim --
injunctions of the Vedic scripture; utsṛjya -- transgress; yajante --
perform worship; śraddhayānvitāḥ -- possessing faith; teṣāṁ --
of those; niṣṭhā -- the faith; tu -- but; kā -- what; krishna -- O
Krishna; sattvam -- in goodness; āho -- to be; rajas -- passion;
tamaḥ -- in ignorance.
Arjuna asked, O Krishna what about those people who
transgress the injunctions of the Vedic literature and worship
according to their own views? Are they said to be in the mode
of goodness, passion or in ignorance?
ANNOTATION: In the last chapter, the Supreme Lord explained
that anyone who fails to follow the rules and restrictions of the
Vedic scriptures are foolishly following the impulses of the
material body, the whims of the mind and are dictated by their
lustful desires. He said that they never achieve perfection,
happiness, or freedom from the cycle of birth and death, either in
971
this life or the next life. Consequently, they are not qualified for
Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge teaches about the soul, and
although it mentions the insignificance of the body, it does not
promote bodily concept of life. Following the Vedic tradition
means studying the science of the soul, Supersoul and the origin
of life. There are many people who are engaged in worshiping
gods in their own way, against the instructions of the Vedic
tradition. Due to their lack of knowledge, they do not understand
that at the annihilation of the universe all the gods they worship
will also vanish, along with themselves.
No other gods place any importance on maintaining this
body, which is made of stool, urine, marrow, and fats. One can
achieve many things for maintaining the body one has acquired
by to one’s previous karma. Yet due to the soul’s previous sinful
activities many cannot accept the teachings of the authorized
Vedic scriptures; their actions just end up being whimsical. In the
first place, they cannot find time to engage in religious and
spiritual activities, but even if they do and engage in some kind
of worship, this is inevitably based on the concoctions of their
imagination. They pray to many gods, or they even idolize some
old man, or mystic or other kind of leader, and begin
worshipping them. Arjuna’s question here is regarding these
kinds of mistaken worshipers, whether they are in the mode of
goodness, passion, or in ignorance? He asks: how do we classify
these people? Are these people doing the right things?
TEXT 2 रीभगवानव ज ाच
ररवविा भवनत र्िा दॳ हहनां सा ्वभाव्ा।
सा््वकी रा्सी चॴव तामसी चॳनत तां शण
ृ ज॥२॥
tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ-sā svabhāva-jā
sāttvikī-rājasī-caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu
Godhead said; tri-vidhā -- of three kinds; bhavati -- becomes;
śraddhā -- the faith; dehināṁ -- of the embodied being; sā -- that
faith; svabhāva-jā -- according to three modes of material nature;

sāttvikī -- the mode of goodness; rājasī -- the mode of passion;
ca -- also; iva -- certainly; tāmasī ca -- and the mode of
ignorance; eti -- thus; tāṁ śṛṇu -- now hear of this.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: there
are three kinds of faith, each of these are respectively
according to the three modes of material nature that can be
acquired by the embodied spirit soul, that is, the mode of
goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance.
Now hear about these.
ANNOTATION: The faith one has in Krishna, or the faith in one
who acts in accordance with the regulations and orders of the
Vedic scriptures are always situated in the mode of goodness.
One develops faith in objects that are situated in the modes of
passion and ignorance due to one’s previous life’s passionate and
ignorant activities. Only the absolute and transcendental
knowledge of the Vedic scriptures, when appropriately received
under the instruction of a bonafide vaishnava spiritual master,
has the potency to change the heart of the soul. Therefore, those
who have no faith or interest in the Vedic scriptures will not be
able to change their heart from the modes of
passion and ignorance to the mode of goodness since there is no
other process available to them than the process, which teaches
pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Consequently, their
faith arises from whatever characteristics they possessed in their
previous lives, and this manifests in their actions. Those who
want to change their life from sinful activities to pious activities
must carefully guard against sinful activities; to begin with, one
must observe regulations in their food and drink: one must eat
pure vegetarian food, excluding meat, fish, but also eggs, onion,
and garlic, which are situated in the passion and ignorance and
instigate living entities to commit more and more impious
activities.
TEXT 3 स्वानज पा सवु्य र्िा भवनत भारत।
र्िामय८ऽयं पज ष८ य८य्र्िः स एव सः॥३॥
sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata

śraddhā-mayo ’yaṁ puruṣo yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ
sattvānurūpā -- according to the perceptions of the existence;
sarvasya -- of everyone; śraddhā -- the faith; bhavati -- becomes;
bhārata -- O descendant of Bhārata; śraddhā-mayo -- full of
faith; yaṁ - puruṣo -- this living entity; yo yac-chraddhaḥ -- with
whatever faith one has; sa eva -- certainly identified; saḥ -- he.
According to the perception of everyone's existence under the
three modes of material nature, one has a particular faith.
The living entity is identified by whatever faith he has based
on the acquired modes.
ANNOTATION: As everything in the world is situated in the
three modes of material nature, faith also has its place in the
three modes of material nature; there is a kind of faith in the
mode of goodness, faiths in the mode of passion, and faiths in the
modes of ignorance. One can see that there are people with
different faiths, some are atheists, and some believe that there is
cosmic light or energy, yet others think that God has no form and
qualities. Some have no faith in person God. Some believe in the
Supersoul. Some take demigods as God, and some have faith in
ghosts and spirits, and so on. But the fact remains that the living
entity is transcendental to all these three modes of nature, which
are only a fragment of the Supreme Whole, Krishna.
Disobedience to the Supreme Lord Krishna allows beings to
be influenced by material nature and, similarly, to take up the
wide varieties of activities that are generated by the modes when
the mind of the spirit soul is engaged in these modes. In the
material universe all objects are influenced by one of these three
modes. According to one’s previous karma and desires, the
living entity is attracted to different objects of this world at
different times. There are millions of varieties of worship,
millions of varieties of foods, thousands of scriptures, different
manifestations of Time, different locations, different
associations, different sources of entertainment; all situated in the
three modes of nature, namely, goodness, passion, and ignorance.
One gets attracted to a particular faith, as situated in one of these

three modes, according to one’s past mental impressions.
The way to be free from these modes is to become situated
in Krishna bhakti, which is beyond these three modes. In Krishna
bhakti or Krishna consciousness there is only one kind of object:
devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. This is a fourth dimension and, to reiterate, is not
situated within these three modes. Consequently, we can observe
that all other material activities are conspicuously lacking in this
kind of devotional service. Such constant devotional engagement
with Lord Krishna will not drag the living entity to the various
faiths and thereafter cast it to live as one of 8,400,000 of living
species that are correlate to the threefold faiths, generated from
the three modes of nature.
TEXT 4 य््तॳ सा््वका दॳ वा्यषरषांसस रा्साः
रॳता्भत
ू गणां्चा्यॳ य््तॳ तामसा ्नाः॥४॥
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ
yajante -- worship; sāttvikā -- he who is in goodness; devān -- the
demigods; yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi -- demons; rājasāḥ -- he who is in
passion; pretānbhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye -- spirits of the dead, ghosts
and others; yajante -- worship; tāmasā -- he who is in ignorance;
janāḥ -- people.
People who are in the mode of goodness worship demigods,
those who are in the mode of passion worship demons, and
those in the mode of ignorance worship the spirits of the
dead, ghosts and, other similar beings.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Lord Krishna says that the
different types of worship are based on different types of faiths.
The problem is that, in this age of Kali-yuga, people completely
lose their discriminative power, thus they worship all kinds of
demigods, ghosts, spirits, serpents, and humans at the same time.
Therefore, it is very difficult to ascertain who is situated which
mode of nature. However, Krishna says that people who are
purely engaged in a particular demigod, or who have occupied

different heavenly planets, are situated in the modes of goodness,
and that they strictly worship one demigod without mixing
others. Demigods are themselves situated in the mode of
goodness, due to being obedient to the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. These devotees of the demigods follow
the rituals and principles related to demigod worship. However,
if one worships a particular demigod, such as Lord Siva, Lord
Brahma, Lord Indra, Lord Chandra, or Lord Sūrya, and commits
all kinds of sinful activities, they cannot be situated in the mode
of goodness. Demigods themselves are sane beings and devotees
of the Supreme Person.
Those who are in the mode of passion worship powerful
human beings or powerful demons. They do so for power and
money, and to dominate the world. When human beings start
receiving this kind of worship from the innocent public, out of
arrogance and false pride, such a powerful human automatically
becomes a demon. People in the mode of passion worship such
demons, like Hiranyakasipu and Rāvana and other powerful
beings. In the next verse, Lord Krishna explains the
characteristics of such human demons.
Those who are predominantly in the mode of ignorance
pray to ghosts and spirits, smasāna and kāla bhairava and their
faiths are saturated with ignorance. It is believed that there are
many ghosts and spirits which live in certain trees and houses in
different parts of the world. People in ignorance try to appease
these creatures by offering meat and alcohol specifically to
develop a black art. One must not think that worshiping any of
these low creatures, demons, or demigods are equal to
worshiping the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Worshipping the Supreme Lord is in pure goodness or Vāsudeva
consciousness has no comparison.
TEXTS 5-6
अशा्रववहहतं घ८रं त्य्तॳ यॳ तप८ ्नाः।
द्भाहं कारसंयक
ज ताः कामरागबला््वताः
कषुय्तः शरीर्थं भत
ू राममचॳतसः।
मां चॴवा्तः शरीर्थं ता््व््यासरज नन्चयान ्॥५-६॥
aśāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ
dambhāhaṅkāra-saṁyuktāḥ kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ
karṣayantaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ bhūta-grāmam acetasaḥ
māṁ caivāntaḥ śarīra-sthaṁ tān viddhy āsura-niścayān
aśāstra -- not in the scriptures; vihitaṁ -- ordinance of the
scriptures; ghoraṁ -- frightening to others; tapyante -- undergo;
ye -- those who; tapo -- austerities; janāḥ -- persons;
dambhāhaṅkāra-saṁyuktāḥ -- engaged in pride and egoism;
kāma -- of lust; rāga -- attachment; balā -- by the force; ānvitāḥ -
- impelled; karṣayantaḥ -- tormenting; śarīra-sthaṁ -- residing
within the body; bhūta-grāmam – the combination of five
material elements; acetasaḥ -- indiscriminate persons; māṁ --
Me; caivāntaḥ -- also surely within; śarīra-sthaṁ -- residing in
the body; tān -- them; viddhy -- understand; āsura-niścayān --
demons.
Indiscriminate persons undergo frightening austerities that
are against the ordinance of the scriptures. They perform
their actions out of pride, false ego and lust, and torture the
five material elements of the body, as well as the Supreme
Lord who is residing in this same body. Those who are
impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish, are to be
known as demons.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord describes the
nature and characteristics of demons. One does not have to be
born in a family of demons, asuras, to become a demon, nor is it
required that one have disarrayed hair, hold powerful weapons in
one’s hands, have canine teeth, or horns on their head. It is the
ghastly qualities and activities that one adopts makes one a
demon.
Demons directed to gaining political power undergo severe
austerities, like Hiranyakashipu and Rāvana. There are many
different types of worship and austerity. They yield different
outcomes to achieve their goals, but none of them are

recommended in the chapters of the Vedic literatures because the
nature of such rituals are spiteful and horrifying, requiring the
sacrifice of animals, children and other beings. The
word acetasah means ‘misleading and deceptive mentality’ or
‘indiscrimination’. Through wicked and ghastly rituals, such
misled embodied beings torture and afflict their own bodies and
souls, as well as the bodies of others, through the endeavor to
fulfill their outrageous desires for dominion over material
existence.
The words mam eva ca refers specifically to His inner
presence as the Supersoul. Such horrifying activities torment the
feelings of the Supreme Lord within the hearts of the performer
and whoever witnesses these performances. These rituals are,
therefore, contrary to the rules and injunctions of the Vedic
scriptures and are prohibited by them. They cause great pain and
suffering upon others and whoever practices them. They molest
and abuse the very elements contained within the body that
function for its welfare, and they disrespect the soul. Whosoever
practices such penances are verily to be known as possessing a
demonic nature.
With their aggressive and quarrelsome temperaments that
conflict with the prescriptions of the Supreme Majestic Godhead,
the demonic are purposely disobedient, thus they can find no
lasting happiness for any of their demonic efforts. All they
receive from their miscalculations and their evil actions is a place
in a hellish planet immediately following their death. By their
own demonic actions and sinful activities they have willingly
thrown themselves into this terrible predicament that is without
liberation.
TEXT 7 आहार््ववप सवु्य ररववि८ भवनत वरयः।

यञ्तप्तथा दानं तॳषां भॳदसममं शण
ृ ज॥७॥
ahāras tvapi sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyaḥ
yajñas tapas tathā dānaṁ teṣāṁ bhedam imaṁ śṛṇu
āhāras -- food; tvapi -- also certainly; sarvasya -- to everyone;

tri-vidho -- of three kinds; bhavati -- there is; priyaḥ -- dear;
yajñas tapas -- sacrifice, austerity; tathā -- similarly; dānaṁ --
charity; teṣāṁ -- between them; bhedam -- the differences;
imaṁśṛṇu -- hear this.
There are three kinds of food dear to everyone, according to
their relation to the three modes of material nature
(goodness, passion, and ignorance). Similarly, there are three
kinds of sacrifice and austerity that people adopt according
to their relation to these three modes. Now hear the
difference between them.
ANNOTATION: The person who is conscious about his soul and
acts according to that consciousness is situated in the mode of
goodness. The person who is not conscious about his soul and act
unconsciously, for the satisfaction of the body, is in the mode of
passion. The mode of ignorance prevails on those who live like
animals and have no understanding, either about the functions of
their soul or body. In the next 13 verses, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead discusses about the objects that are
situated in the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance,
beginning with different foods. By revealing these facts, Lord
Krishna details why people should give up foods, charities,
austerities, and rituals that are situated in the mode of passion
and ignorance and, instead, situate oneself in the mode of
goodness. He starts with a discussion of gradations of food, since
food is the support of all life and the purity of the mentality is
dependent upon the purity of the food. This characteristic is
confirmed in Chandogya Upanishad 6.6.3 beginning apam-
somya-piyam-annanam, which states: “The essence of whatever
food is eaten rises up and becomes the mind. From pure
nourishment manifests a pure nature; for the mental disposition
determines the quality of worship and rituals which are
influenced by the quality one is situated in”.
TEXT 8 आयःज स्वबलार८्यसख
ज रीनतववविुनाः।
र्याः ््न्िाः ््थरा ृ्या आहाराः सा््वकवरयाः॥८॥
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya- sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ
rasyāḥ-snigdhāḥ-sthirāhṛdyā āhārāḥ-sāttvika-priyāḥ
āyuḥ-sattva -- duration one's existence; balārogya -- vigor and
health; sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ -- increasing the happiness and
satisfaction; rasyāḥ -- juicy; snigdhāḥ -- fatty; sthirāhṛdyā --
pleasing to the heart; āhārāḥ -- food; sāttvika -- to one in
goodness; priyāḥ -- palatable.
Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the
duration of life, purify one's existence and give strength,
health, happiness, and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy,
fatty, nutritious, and pleasing to the heart.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna is explaining the result of
honoring quality foods, which are juicy, fatty, and nutritious. The
body absorbs honey and ghee quickly and directly, whereas fruits
take an hour to digest, and vegetables and grains take up to six
hours. Bitter melon, yogurt, milk, and fresh juices are all situated
in the mode of goodness and are congenial to health and wisdom.
Fruits, rice, and vegetables are also situated in the mode of
goodness. What is meant by fatty food here, however, is not
meat. Rather, the Lord refers to milk products such as fresh
cheese, butter, curd, ghee etc. stira hrdaya is that which is
pleasing to the heart and makes one desire to eat more. To
distinguish from is what pleasing for just a moment, sukha-priti
is that which gives happiness and satisfaction but continues to
keep one joyous long after one has finished one’s meal. Thus,
foods that are delicious and nutritious have the quality to keep
one healthy and strong.
TEXT 9 कटव्ललवणा्य्ज णती्ण षववदाहहनः।
आहारा रा्स्यॳ्टा दःज खश८कामयरदाः॥९॥
kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkha-śokāmāya-pradāḥ
kaṭv -- bitter; amla -- sour; lavaṇā -- salty; āty-uṣṇa -- very hot;
tīkṣṇa -- pungent; rūkṣa -- dry; vidāhinaḥ -- burning; āhārā --
food; rājasasy -- to one in the mode of passion; eṣṭā -- palatable;

duḥkha -- distress; śokā -- misery; āmāya -- disease; pradāḥ --
causing.
Foods that are too bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, and
or are too burning are dear to those in the mode of passion.
Such foods cause distress, misery, and disease.
ANNOTATION: Foods like mushroom, garlic, onions, hot
peppers, too sour or too bitter, preservatives, are all situated in
the mode of passion. These foods burn one’s throat, tongue and
stomach. They bring pain, distress, anxiety, sickness, misery and
reduces one’s life span. They also increase one’s lust and greed.
TEXT 10 यातयामं गतरसं पनू त पयवजु षतं च यत ्।
उ््ि्टमवप चामॳ्यं भ८्नं तामसवरयम ्॥१०॥
yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam
yāta-yāmaṁ -- food cooked three hours before being eaten; gata-
rasaṁ -- tasteless; pūti -- bad smelling; paryuṣitaṁ --
decomposed; ca -- also; yat -- that which; ucchiṣṭam -- remnants
of food eaten by others; api -- also; cā -- and; amedhyaṁ --
untouchable; bhojanaṁ -- eating; tāmasa -- to one in the mode of
darkness; priyam -- dear.
Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten,
food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food
consisting of remnants, and untouchable things are dear to
those in the mode of darkness.
ANNOTATION: Men who are in the mode of ignorance like to
eat food that is cooked stale, cooked for more than three hours
before eating, or even cooked the previous day. These are called
yamam. gatarasam and puti means the food that has no flavor, is
tasteless, and generates foul smells. prayusitam means
decomposed, and uccishtam means left over by others.
cāmedhyam means impure foods, due to not having been offered
to the Supreme Lord first. The leftover food of the Supreme Lord
is called prasādam and mahā-prasādam. In the mercy of His true

representatives, food, which is offered to them, can be honored
and consumed, but all other leftover foods are polluted. Then
there are foods such as non-vegetarian and food that is old and
rotten. These are in the mode of ignorance. Drinks like alcohol
are fermented; they are also in the mode of ignorance. When
people consume the degraded qualities inherent in this food, for
whatever reason, they become situated in the mode of ignorance.
The first quality of an ignorant person is the forgetfulness of
Godhead.
TEXT 11 अफलाका्षषसभयुञ८ ववधिृ्ट८ य इ्यतॳ।
य्ट्यमॳवॳनत मनः समािाय स सा््वकः॥११॥
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhi-diṣṭo ya ijyate
yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya-sa-sāttvikaḥ
aphalākāṅkṣibhir -- by those devoid of desire for result; yajño --
sacrifice; vidhi-diṣṭo -- according to the direction of scripture; ya
-- which; ijyate -- is performed; yaṣṭavyam -- must be performed;
eva -- certainly; eti -- thus; manaḥ -- mind; samādhāya -- fixing;
sa -- it; sāttvikaḥ -- in the mode of goodness.
Some sacrifices are performed according to the regulations of
the Vedic scriptures by men who are fixed in mind and do not
desire fruitive rewards, but perform these sacrifices as a
matter of duty; these sacrifices are in the nature of the mode
of goodness.
ANNOTATION: It is important to maintain one’s body with
food and drink of a sufficient quality, as Krishna described in this
chapter, verse 8. In a similar way, the soul, which is beyond this
body and is eternal and inconceivable to the material body,
depends on one’s sacrifice for its sustenance. Sacrifices means
giving away material mentality for spirituality for one’s benefit
and for the benefit of human society. One has to perform
sacrifice, vidhi-dishtah, according to the injunctions and
regulations of the scriptures as a matter of duty. There should not
be any aphala-akanksibhih, or ulterior motivation, to gain
material power and material reward when one performs sacrifices

(yajna). If one can do this, then his sacrifices are in the mode of
goodness. There are many types of sacrifices for the different
mentalities that people possess. These are explained by the Lord
in the next two verses.
There are 1000 ages in 12 hours of Lord Brahma; they are
Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dwāpara-yuga and Kali-yuga. In each
Yuga there is a particular type of sacrifice: krte-yaddhyato
vishnu, in the Satya-yuga the sacrifice was meditation; tretāyam
yajato makhai hi, in Tretā-yuga the sacrifice was opulent fire
yajna; dwāpare paricharya yam, in Dwāpara-yuga the sacrifice
was opulent temple worship; and, in the present age of Kali,
sankirtana yajna, or the chanting Krishna’s and Lord Balarāma’s
or Rāma name, is the only sacrifice. When one performs this
congregational chanting of the holy name of God in pure
goodness one will connect with Krishna immediately.
TEXT 12 असभसंिाय तज फलं द्भाथुमवप चॴव यत ्।
इ्यतॳ भरतरॳ्ठ तं यञं वव्धि रा्सम ्॥१२॥
abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ dambhārtham api caiva yat
ijyate bhārata-śreṣṭha taṁ yajñaṁ-viddhi-rājasam
abhisandhāya -- motivated by; tu -- but; phalaṁ -- the result;
dambha -- pride; ārtham -- for the sake of; api -- also; ca -- and;
iva -- certainly; yat -- that which; ijyate -- is performed; bhārata-
śreṣṭha -- O chief of the Bhāratas; taṁ yajñaṁ -- that sacrifice;
viddhi -- understand; rājasam -- in the nature of passion.
You should understand that sacrifice which is executed for
some material benefit and out of pride is in the nature of
passion.
ANNOTATION: People usually visit temples to perform various
sacrifices for the benefit of their family. Sometimes they invite
priests to their homes for the chanting hymns and prayers for
their personal benefit. Once they gain the results of such sacrifice
they develop the view that they have gained these results due to
their own strength. Slowly, they begin forgetting the benedictory
deity until they get into trouble once again. Thereafter, under the
new instructions of priests, these beneficiaries begin to perform a
different sacrifice for a different purpose. They give each other
blessings, such as “may you have wealth, long life and beautiful
girls.” – In their houses, sex-life is the ultimate engagement.
They perform sacrifices in which there is no distribution of food
and donations. The performance of such sacrifices performed, as
are based on one’s own pride and the accumulation of wealth for
one’s own gain, is in the mode of passion.
TEXT 13 ववधिहीनमस्ृ टा्नं म्रहीनमदषषणम ्।
र्िाववरहहतं यञं तामसं पररचषतॳ॥१३॥
vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnaṁ mantra-hīnam-adakṣiṇam
śraddhā-virahitaṁ yajñaṁ tāmasaṁ paricakṣate
vidhi-hīnam -- devoid scriptural injunction; asṛṣṭānnaṁ --
without distribution of spiritual food offered to the Supreme
Lord; mantra-hīnam -- without chanting Vedic hymns;
adakṣiṇam -- without giving priest’s remunerations; śraddhā-
virahitaṁ -- without any faith; yajñaṁ -- sacrifice; tāmasaṁ -- in
the nature of ignorance; paricakṣate -- is considered to be.
The performance of sacrifice that is against the injunction of
the Vedic scriptures and is without the distribution of
spiritual food (prasādam), that is without the recitation of the
appropriate Vedic hymns, or is without the payment of
remuneration to priests, or is without faith is said to be in the
nature of the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: The Lord explains that sacrifices that are
performed whimsically and have no reference to the Vedic
literatures, or are perform for the sake of making a show of the
distribution of food to the public are not purified according to the
spiritual injunctions regarding offerings to Krishna or Vishnu.
People kill hundreds of goats and chickens in the name of
pleasing Goddesses such as, Chandika, Chāmunda, Durgā, Kāli,
and Kālabhairava and ghosts like Ghandākarna, without
understanding that what they are doing is sinful. They distribute
cooked meat to the public in the name of mercy. prasādam

means mercy, but what they serve is sin to all gathered there.
Therefore, prasādam can be applied only to the remnants of food
offered in yajnā to Lord Krishna and Vishnu. Yet killing animals
is cruel. Hence, all these actions are in the mode of ignorance.
Without having the proper faith in a particular sacrifice, and
without properly chanting Vedic hymns and prayers to invoke the
deities, and without donating sufficient wealth to the qualified
brāhmanas and vaishnavas, one remains in the mode of
ignorance.
One cannot control one’s mind and senses unless one
follows the restrictions and injunctions of the Vedās. Without
such a regulated life there is no tangible spiritual benefit.
Consequently, such actions are considered in the mode of
ignorance. In the present age of Kali, the killing of cows is
prominent all over the world. Cows are holy because of their
ability to supply milk to human society. From milk, the whole
world produces yogurt, butter, ghee as well as many varieties of
cheeses. The cows’ lives are thus so sacred because they
practically assume the role of one’s mother; a mother provides
milk to her children, and the cow gives milk to human society
and enables people to develop their brains. It is a foolish and
demonic civilization, which sells all cows to the slaughterhouses,
and prevents the further supply of milk. This is in the mode of
ignorance. The laws of nature punish such an ignorant human
society for their sinful activities by creating natural disasters such
as hurricanes, volcanos, tsunamis, war, and droughts. Whenever
there is war, for example, thousands and millions of human are
killed, such are the actions of the material nature.
TEXT 14 दॳ व्वव्गज राञप्
ू नं श९चमा्ुवम ्।
र्मचयुमहहंसा च शारीरं तप उ्यतॳ॥१४॥
deva-dvija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śaucham ārjavam
brahmachāryam-ahiṁsā ca śārīraṁ tapa uchyate
deva -- the Supreme Person; dvija-guru -- twice born brāhmanas,
the spiritual master; prājña -- worship able like father and
mother; pūjanaṁ -- worship; śaucham -- cleanliness; ārjavam --

simplicity; brahmachāryam -- celibacy, free one from material
contamination; ahiṁsā ca -- and nonviolence; śārīraṁ --
pertaining to the body; tapa -- austerity; uchyate -- is declared to
be.
It is said that the worship of the Supreme Person, the
brāhmanas, the spiritual masters, men of wisdom, superiors
like the father and mother, as well as the maintenance of
cleanliness, celibacy, and of nonviolence to any living entities,
are the austerities of the body.
ANNOTATION: There are austerities of the body one must
respect every day by worshipping and paying obeisance to the
Supreme Majestic Godhead Lord Krishna and his representatives
such as one’s instructing spiritual master and initiating spiritual
master. One must offer respect to mother and father, who have
invited him to this world and raised him by taking on so much
difficulty. Furthermore, one must remain always clean by taking
a bath in the morning and evening. One must be free from greed
by maintaining simplicity and refraining from unauthorized sex
(sex in marriage is encouraged by the scriptures for progeny).
Non-violence is understood as not killing any kind of animals, or
hurting any living beings mentally or physically, even in the
name of sport. These are penances and austerities as far as the
body is concerned.
TEXT 15 अन्ज वॳगकरं वाकयं स्यं वरयहहतं चयत ्।
्वा्याया्यसनं चॴव वा्मयं तप उ्यतॳ॥१५॥
anudvega-karaṁ vākhyaṁ satyaṁ-priya-hitaṁ ca yat
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva vāṅ-māyaṁ tapa uchyate
anudvega-karaṁ -- not offensive others; vākhyaṁ -- speech;
satyaṁ -- truthful; priya-hitaṁ -- pleasing and beneficial; yat --
which; svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ -- practice of Vedic study; ca --
also; iva -- certainly; vāṅ-māyaṁ -- of speech; tapa -- austerity;
uchyate -- it is declared.
It is said that the austerity of speech consists of speaking in a

way that is not offensive to others, speaking the truth, talking
in a pleasing and beneficial way, and of regular recitation of
the Vedic study.
ANNOTATION: Controlled speech means abstaining from
irrelevant talk. One should be truthful in mind, words and actions
when talking to others. The talk must be educating, informative,
and beneficial to all kinds of living beings. If one is too talkative,
instead of talking unpleasing and unwanted things, one must
utilize his time in reciting Vedic mantras every day, morning and
evening. In relating to the Vedic mantras here, the Lord thus
gives us a solution for our unwanted talkative nature. There is no
limit for the amount of Vedic mantras one may recite, which all
glorify the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead. This is
called austerity of speech.
TEXT 16 मनः रसादः स९्य्वं म९नमा्मववननरहः।
भावसंश्
ज धिरर्यॳत तप८ मानसम्
ज यतॳ॥१६॥
manaḥ-prasādaḥ saumyatvaṁ maunam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
bhāva-saṁśuddhir ity etat tapo-mānasam-uchyate
manaḥ-prasādaḥ -- happiness of the mind; saumyatvaṁ --
benevolence; maunam -- seriousness ; ātma -- the self;
vinigrahaḥ -- self-control; bhāva-saṁśuddhir -- one's
purification; ity etat -- all this; tapomānasam -- austerity of the
mind; uchyate -- is said to be.
Satisfaction of the mind, benevolence, seriousness, self-
control and the purification of one's life; all these are said to
be the austerity of the mind.
ANNOTATION: The mind is like an uncontrolled child. It
necessarily requires quality engagements; otherwise it will create
havoc in one’s life. Any amounts of material activities are
displeasing to the heart and mind. Therefore, one must be
engaged in Krishna consciousness. The good mind is created
from eating good quality, juicy food after offering to Krishna in
the form of mercy or prasādam. This satisfies one completely.

By such action, the mind’s demand to satisfy one’s senses will
cease, and one will start thinking about Krishna. Krishna’s form,
name, pastimes are mesmerizing. As His devotees are immersed
in the pastime activities of the Lord, this provides self-control.
Self-control means the detachment from one’s material sense
gratification and an engagement in the service of the Supreme
Lord Krishna.
One must chant one’s prescribed number on his beads every
day. Lord Krishna’s unlimited pastimes are depicted in the Vedic
literatures and are is divided into many Purānas, Upanishads,
Mahābhārata, and Srimad-Bhāgavatam. One must study and
relish the pastimes of the Lord through these scriptures. Silence
is avoidance of useless mundane conversations and
contemplations. One shall think of cosmology, and other
wonderful phenomena of the creation, and the activities and
services of the Lord. Purity of the heart is freedom from the
craving and desires for sense gratification.
TEXT 17 र्िया परया त्तं तप्त््रवविं नरॴ ः।
अफलाका्षषसभयकजु तॴः सा््वकं पररचषतॳ॥१७॥
sraddhayā parayā taptaṁ tapas tat tri-vidhaṁ-naraiḥ
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yuktaiḥ sāttvikaṁ paricakṣate
śraddhaya aparayā -- adequate faith; taptaṁ -- when executed;
tapas -- austerity; tat -- these; tri-vidhaṁ -- of three kinds; naraiḥ
-- persons; aphalākāṅkṣibhir -- without hankering for fruitive
rewards; yuktaiḥ -- devoted; sāttvikaṁ -- in the nature of
goodness; paricakṣate -- is designated.
When men practice these three varieties of austerity with
ardent faith, without expecting any fruitive rewards, while
being devoted to the Supreme, this is called being situated in
the nature of goodness.
ANNOTATION: In the above three verses (14, 15 and 16), the
Lord defined the three-fold austerities, or penances. These are the
austerities of the physical body, speech, and mind, as based on
the nature of the mode of goodness. Those who expect no

rewards or material benefit in return, who perform these three
types of austerities with supernatural faith and resolute
determination in Lord Krishna, and who abide by the absolute
authority of the Vedic scriptures, are situated in the mode of
goodness.
TEXT 18 स्कारमानप्
ू ाथं तप८ द्भॳन चॴव यत ्।
रियतॳ तहदह र८कतं रा्सं चलमरजवम ्॥१८॥
satkāra-māna-pūjārthaṁ tapo dambhena-caiva yat
kriyate tad iha proktaṁ rājasaṁ chalam adhruvam
satkāra-māna-pūjā -- respect, honor, and worship; ārthaṁ -- for
the sake of gaining; tapo -- austerity; dambhena -- with pride; ca
-- also; iva -- certainly; yat -- which; kriyate -- is performed; tad -
- that; iha -- in this world; proktaṁ -- is stated as; rājasaṁ -- in
the mode of passion; chalam -- unstable; adhruvam -- transitory.
When one performs penance for the sake of gaining respect,
honor, and worship, this is not stable or permanent; such a
person is said to be in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: Now the Lord describes austerities, which are
performed for the purpose of one’s personal prestige, pride, for
gaining recognition, and worship. This is temporary and
unstable, and is in the mode of passion. A human leader may
desire to be garlanded with huge seasonal flowers and hundreds
of followers to wash his feet. Even if such leaders follow their
activities perfectly in accordance with the rules and injunctions
of the Vedic scriptures these kinds of austerities will still be
merely situated in the mode of passion.
TEXT 19 मढ
ू राहॳ णा्मन८ य्पीडया रियतॳ तपः।
पर्य८्सादनाथं वा ततामसमद
ज ाृतम ्॥१९॥
mūḍha-grāheṇātmano yat pīḍayā kriyate tapaḥ
parasyotsādanārthaṁ vā tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
mūḍha-grāheṇā -- by the whims of the foolish; ātmano -- of
one's own self; yat -- which; pīḍayā -- by causing pain; kriyate --

is performed; tapaḥ -- penance; parasya -- of others; utsādana-
arthaṁ -- for harming; vā -- or; tat -- that; tāmasam -- in the
mode of darkness; udāhṛtam -- is described as.
Penance made in the mode of ignorance is said to be
performed on foolish whims, to cause pain to oneself, and to
harm or destroy others.
ANNOTATION: Many demons, such as Rāvana and Vrkāsura
had performed penances, but their purpose was to torture
themselves and torture others. For example, Rāvana cut-off his
own head ten times to appease Lord Brahma, but every time Lord
Brahma restored his head back in his collar. Vrkāsura was also
on the verge of cutting his head off and offering it to Lord Siva.
After obtaining benediction, such demons in ignorance, caused
acute suffering and injuries to saintly people. When men practice
austerities and penances for the purpose of attaining political
supremacy or for destroying a nation, instead of benefiting the
world, these practices can consume them. Thus, such austerities
and penances are situated in the mode of ignorance.
TEXT 20 दात्यसमनत य्दानं दीयतॳऽनप
ज काररणॳ।
दॳ शॳ कालॳ च पारॳ च त्दानं सा््वकं ्मत
ृ म ्॥२०॥
dātavyam iti yad dānaṁ dīyate ’nupakāriṇe
deśe kale ca pātre ca tad dānaṁ sāttvikaṁ smṛtam
dātavyam -- worth giving; iti -- thus; yad -- which; dānaṁ --
charity; dīyate -- is given; anupakāriṇe -- without consideration
of anything in return; deśe -- in a sacred place; kale ca -- at an
auspicious time; ca -- also; pātre -- to a qualified person; ca --
and; tad dānaṁ -- that charity; sāttvikaṁ -- in the mode of
goodness; smṛtam -- is considered.
Charity performed out of obligation without consideration of
anything in return, in a sacred place, auspicious time, and to
a qualified person, is considered to be a charity in the mode
of goodness.
ANNOTATION: Now the Supreme Majestic Personality of

Godhead defines the threefold forms of charity that are situated
in the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. It is a duty for
everyone to give charity to a qualified vaishnava devotee or to a
brāhmana endowed with wisdom of conclusion on Vedic
knowledge. Such charity must be performed with all respect to
the saintly person to receive the full blessings; they know how to
use the charity properly in the service of Lord. This charity must
be performed without fruitive desires or even a tiny inclination
for give-and-take. Such charity is situated in the mode of
goodness.
Charity must be offered in a proper place, such as
Vrindhāvana, Jagganāth Puri, Kurukshetra, Dwāraka, Badrināth,
the bank of the Ganges, and Yamuna river. One should offer
charity at an auspicious time, such as during a solar eclipse or
on ekadasi days, which come twice a month on the 11th day of
the waning and waxing of the moon. One must also donate one’s
wealth and articles to Krishna or Vishnu temples. All these
charities, or dānam, are situated in the mode of goodness.
The word pātre means a qualified person. It can also mean
protector if analyzed from its root word pa. Who can guard a
person better than the vaisnava brāhmanās? They reveal the
conclusive truths of the Vedic scriptures and help one to engage
in the service of the Omnipotent Supreme Personality of
Godhead and to save one from the cycle of repeated birth and
death. Nowadays many wealthy businessmen doubt the devotees
of Lord Krishna and perform charity to some social
organizations. These men think that while they are not devotees,
they are still spiritual because of their association with these
external social activities. Such a misunderstanding can cause
great problems. Due to the lower modes of nature, many
charitable high-grade personalities are diverted from the original
cause of creation, the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead.
Krishna said (chapter 9, verse 27) if one is very charitably
disposed, he should give charity to Krishna. Bali mahāraja gave
everything to Krishna and is celebrated as the mahājana. Sri Bali
mahāraja is now waiting in the Suthala planet, one of the

subterranean heavenly planets, to become Indra in the next age of
manu (manvantra). There is no loss for the performer of the
charity if he directs his charity to the Supreme Person. The best
charity one can perform is a charity to the Lotus feet of Krishna.
This can only lead the performer to increase his volumes of
spiritual credit and his level of protection that is given to him by
the Supreme Lord. Using one’s little freewill to give charity to
Krishna will also increase material benediction, which will
reduce the constant suffering in this life and also in the next life.
Krishna says in Srimad-Bhāgavatam to Uddhava:
pratisthaya sarvabhaumam sadmana bhuvana-trayam
pujadina brhma-lokam tribhir mat-samyatam iyat
“By installing the deity of the Lord [Krishna] one becomes king
of the entire earth, by building a temple for the Lord one
becomes ruler of the three worlds, by worshipping and serving
the Deity of Lord one goes to the planet of Lord Brahma, and by
performing all three of these activities one achieves a
transcendental form like My own”.
TEXT 21 यतज र्यप

ज काराथं फलम्
ज हद्यवा पन
ज ः।
दीयतॳ च परर्कल्टं त्दानं रा्सं ्मत
ृ म ्॥२१॥
yat tu pratyupakārārthaṁ phalam uddiśya vā punaḥ
dīyate ca parikliṣṭaṁ tad dānaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam
yat -- which; tu-- but; pratyu pakārārthaṁ -- with the expectation
of return; phalam -- desiring a result; uddiśya -- desiring some
result; vā -- or; punaḥ -- over again; dīyate -- is given; ca -- also;
parikliṣṭaṁ -- with reluctance; tad -- that; dānaṁ -- charity;
rājasaṁ -- in the mode of passion; smṛtam -- is known to be.
The charity that is given with the expectation of some return
or desiring some fruitive results or that is given with
reluctance, such charity is known to be in the mode of
passion.
ANNOTATION: Charity is performed in the mode of passion if

it is performed reluctantly, or for getting something in return, or
with the hope of gaining a reward in the next life, such as
promotion to the heavenly planets, or to attain a better life with
abundant wealth and beauty, or to be in the company of superior
personalities. Here, the element tu is an indication that this
mentality is inferior to that of those situated in the mode of
goodness.
TEXT 22 अदॳ शकालॳ य्दानमपारॳ्य्च दीयतॳ।
अस्कृतमवञातं ततामसमद
ज ाृतम ्॥२२॥
adeśa-kāle yad dānam apātrebhyaś ca dīyate
asat-kṛtam avajñātaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
adeśa-kāle -- at an inappropriate place and time; yad -- which;
dhānam -- charity; apātrebhyaś -- to the unworthy persons; ca --
also; dīyate -- is given; asat-kṛtam -- disrespectfully; avajñātaṁ -
- without ceremony; tat -- that; tāmasam -- in the mode of
darkness; udāhṛtam -- is described to be.
Charity that is performed at an inappropriate place and
time, or to an unworthy person, disrespectfully or
unceremoniously, is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: The Lord does not encourage charitable actions
that are performed in the city where there are slaughter houses,
wine shops, casinos, brothels, or charity that is given to the
beggars (whose profession is begging and cheating). Charity
given at the ‘wrong time’ refers to times like sunset or a dark
night, which is when, ghosts and demons become active, or when
the astrological calculations are unfavorable.
There are many rich people who want to give their immense
wealth to a good cause but they are trapped in the hands of
pretenders and so-called philanthropists. Such pseudo persons are
those pretending to be spiritual teachers but are not even
conscious enough to become vegetarian. Consider the following:
There is a famous swami, in India many people follow his
teachings, who was eating meat and fish regularly. His friends
asked him whether he cooks cow meat. He replied that if his

authorities ask him to, he would not hesitate to do so. This is just
one example of the dangers of trusting people who pretend to be
spiritual teachers; without analytical study of yogis and swamis,
out of sentiment if one gives away one’s riches, such acts of
charity will become the causes of severe misery for oneself.
There are other pretenders, who manifest sorcery, black
magic, reading ones past, and horoscope and who pretend to be
spiritual, but in reality they have no knowledge of the soul or the
Supersoul. Such imposters have no knowledge of how to even
get themselves out of the cycle of birth and death, nor are they
conversed with the Vedic scriptures or engaged in devotional
service to the Supreme Lord Krishna. There are some rich men
who by giving charity to a true saintly person without etiquette
and proper honor act as if they are doing a great favor to the
saintly devotee; all such charities are in the mode of ignorance.
Genuine charity is discussed by Srila Prabhupada quoted
from the smṛti-śāstras that:
“Money given in charity to a suitable person is a guaranteed
bank-balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be
given to a brāhmaṇa. If money is given in charity to a non-
brāhmaṇa (without brahminical qualification) that money is
returned in the next life in the same proportion. If it is given in
charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa, even then the money is
returned double. If the money is given in charity to a learned and
fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a
thousand times, and if the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one
who has factually realized the path of the Vedās), it is returned
by unlimited multiplication. The ultimate end of Vedic
knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna, as stated in the Bhagavad-Gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair
ahameva vedyaḥ). There is a guarantee of one’s money being
returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion.
Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee
by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord
is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to
Godhead. mad-dhāma gatvā punar janmana vidyate. In other

words, a devotee of the Lord is guaranteed eternal life. A
devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus
to such guaranteed eternal life”.
TEXT 23 ॐ त्सहदनत ननदे श८ र्मण््रवविः ्मत
ृ ः।
रा्मणा्तॳन वॳदा्च यञा्च ववहहताः परज ा॥२३॥
oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā
oṁ -- the transcendental sound vibration; tat -- that is; sad --
eternal; iti -- thus; nirdeśo -- to indicate; brahmaṇas -- of the
Supreme lord; tri-vidhaḥ -- threefold representation; smṛtaḥ -- is
known; brāhmaṇās -- the head of the educated society; tena --
with that; vedāś -- the Vedic literatures; ca -- also; yajñāś --
performance of sacrifice; ca -- also; vihitāḥ -- prescribed; purā --
by gone days.
Om Tat Sat the transcendental sound vibration of the

Supreme Lord is eternal, these three-fold representations
were used by the brāhmanas in the bygone days while
chanting the Vedic mantras at the time of sacrifices for the
pleasure of the Supreme Lord.
ANNOTATION: Over the last several verses, the Lord has
explained about penance, sacrifice, charity, and foods that are
situated in the three modes of material nature of goodness,
passion, and ignorance. Based on these three modes of material
nature, one may see that in every field, and in every country,
there are varieties of objects that we can categorize as first class,
second class, and third class. Citizens are in these different
modes of nature and perform all kinds of activities in their own
way, without reference to the Supreme Godhead. However, when
they approach these modes of material nature under the guidance
of the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, through
vaishnavas and brāhmanas, even the lowborn can achieve
spiritual elevation.
At the beginning of all Vedic mantras one finds the word

‘OM’. This indicates the Supreme Godhead. It is understood that
the vaishnava devotees, brāhmanas and sages always perform
Vedic sacrifices and penances for the welfare of the world by
reciting ‘Om Tat Sat.’ brāhmana devotees and sages are always
merciful to all living entities. ‘OM’ indicates mahāvakya
‘Omkara’, which is the transcendental sound vibration of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. This sound represents the
Supreme Lord, and includes the whole of creation with God and
His energies, as well as all Vedic knowledge and living entities.
‘Tat’ signifies activities that are devoid of motivation for
mundane results. Sat represents the performance of
Vedic yajnas for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord.
Only appropriately initiated vaisnavas and brāhmanas are
ordained to perform Vedic rites because they know that the
beginning, middle, and end of everything is the Supreme
Majestic Personality of Godhead. No one else has authority and
there can be no exception in this matter. The brāhmanas and the
vaishnavas were originally created by the Supreme Lord along
with the Vedās and yajnās to pleasantly progress and perfect all
creation. But in present day society, the centralized spiritual
performance for the welfare of the whole world has been
shattered; due to the influence of Kali-yuga, people have started
whimsically carrying out religious activities in their houses and
in temples, without any hymns or the proper chanting of mantras.
Without pronouncing the Om Tat Sat, the chanting of mantras
will not please the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead,
Lord Krishna, and desired results will not consistently manifest
to such misguided spiritual practitioners.
TEXT 24 त्माद८सम्यद
ज ाृ्य यञदानतपः रियाः।
रवतु्तॳ वविान८कताः सततं र्मवाहदनाम ्॥२४॥
tasmād oṁ ity udāhṛtya yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṁ brahma-vādinām
tasmād -- therefore; oṁ -- the spiritual sound vibration; ity --
thus; udāhṛtya -- by pronouncing; yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ --
duties based on sacrifice, charity, penance; pravartante -- begin;

vidhānoktāḥ -- in accordance of the injunctions of the Vedic
scriptures; satataṁ -- always; brahma-vādinām -- the followers
of the Supreme Brahman, the transcendentalists.
Therefore, followers of the Supreme Brahman perform
sacrifices, charity, and penances according to the Vedic
injunctions and always commence their chanting with the
transcendental sound vibration ‘AUM’.
ANNOTATION: Om, or A-U-M, is the sound representation of
the complete Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead with His
name, fame, pastimes, entourage, expansions, devotees, and
potencies; nothing can exist outside of Him. Krishna is the
source of all svāmsa (own) expansions, such as Lord Vishnu and
Lord Nārāyana. Spiritualists should be well aware of this,
whenever they perform their spiritual activities starting with A-
U-M. As it is mentioned in the sāstra, a-karenochyate vishuh
srir-ukarenakathyate, ma-karastutayordasah, panca-
vimsahprakrirtitah: the ‘A’ of the ‘AUM’ refers to He who is the
real master and real leader of all living entities; the ‘U’ of the
‘AUM’ indicates the pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord, Sri-
Lakshmi; the ‘M’ of the ‘AUM’ indicates all souls including all
demigods such as Lord Brahma and other jivās. Therefore, A-U-
M is the complete combination of Vishnu, His internal potency
and all living entities. Krishna is the adi Vishnu.
TEXT 25 तहद्यनसभस्िाय फलं यञतपः रियाः।
दानरिया्च वववविाः रिय्तॳ म८षका्षषसभः॥२५॥
tad ity anabhisandhāya phalaṁ yajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ

dāna-kriyāś ca vividhāḥ kriyante mokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ
tadity -- the word tat signifies; anabhisandhāya -- without
desiring; phalaṁ -- result of fruitive actions; yajña-tapaḥ --
sacrifice, penance; kriyāḥ -- activities; dāna-kriyāś ca -- charity
and activities; vividhāḥ -- various; kriyante -- are done; mokṣa-
kāṅkṣibhiḥ -- those who are looking forward of liberation.
Those who are seeking liberation by uttering the word ‘tat’

should perform varieties of sacrifice, penance, and charity
without desiring any of the fruits of actions.
ANNOTATION: The activities such as sacrifices, penances, and
charities must be performed devoid of personal motivation for
mundane results. This is auspicious since, through the
purification of the mind and the succeeding detachment of
material desires for reward, one becomes enthusiastic for
spiritual goals. This qualifies one for moksa-kanksibhih, to enter
into the Kingdom of God, Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindhāvana.
TEXTS स्भावॳ सािभ
ज ावॳ च सहद्यॳत्रय्
ज यतॳ।
26-27 रश्तॳ कमुणण तथा स्ि्दःपाथु य् ज यतॳ
यञॳ तपसस दानॳ च ््थनतः सहदनत च८्यतॳ।
कमु चॴव तदथीयं सहद्यॳवासभिीयतॳ॥२६-२७॥
sad-bhāve sādhu-bhāve ca sad ity etat prayu jyate
praśaste karmaṇi tathā sac-chabdaḥ pārtha yujyate
yajñe tapasi dāne ca sthitiḥ sad iti cochyate
karma caiva tad-arthīyaṁ sad ity evābhidhīyate
sad-bhāve -- signify the all-pervading Supreme Lord; sādhu-
bhāve -- signify the goodness of the nature of devotees; ca --
also; sad -- the word sat; ity -- thus; etat -- this; prayujyate -- is
used; praśaste -- for all auspicious; karmaṇi -- activities; tathā --
in this way; sac-chabdaḥ -- the sound sat; pārtha -- O son of
Pritha; yujyate -- is utilized; yajñe -- in sacrifice; tapasi -- in
penance; dāne ca -- and in charity; ca -- also; sthitiḥ -- the
situation; sad iti ca -- and the Supreme; uchyate -- is pronounced;
karma -- work; ca-- also; iva -- certainly; tad-arthīyaṁ sad --
meant for the satisfaction of the supreme; ity -- thus; eva --
certainly; ābhidhīyate -- is indicated.
O son of Pritha, the word ‘sat’ signifies the all-pervading
Supreme Lord. ‘Sat’ also signifies the goodness of the nature
of Vaishnava devotees and the performers of all auspicious
activities. These activities, like sacrifices, penances, and
charity, are also called ‘sat’ because they are performed to

please the Supreme Lord.
ANNOTATION: sat is auspicious in the spiritual world as well
as in the material world. Sat represents the Absolute Truth and
His devotees, and as it is mentioned by the Lord in this verse,
that the performer of the sacrifice is also called sat. Sacrifices,
penances and charities mentioned in the Vedās are to please the
Supreme Person, and all those are performed by His devotees.
There are prescribed duties for all social orders such as
brāhmana, kshatriya, vaishya and śūdra. When they perform
their constitutional activities for the pleasure of the Lord, is also
called sat. Steadiness and concentration in sacrifice, penance,
charity, and austerity is also known as sat. So too are all
activities directly performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Lord, such as: the collection of articles for offering like clarified
butter from the cow’s milk, sweeping, and the cleaning of the
temple of the Supreme Lord, singing devotional songs in
glorification of the Supreme Lord, and making flower garlands
for Lord Krishna. Additionally, managing the temple, printing
scriptures, distributing books, and preparing seminars to spread
the glory of the Lord is also called sat. Even indirect activities
that assisting direct activities are also considered sat. This
includes things like gardening and cultivating produce, help in
harvesting grains, vegetables and fruits, and collecting donations
for the temple. However, the desire for the reward of sat can
contaminate the entire endeavor and push us back into the
material world. By performing sacrifice, penance, charity to the
Supreme Lord with devotion as matter of duty, as emphasized by
the Lord this is avoided. One can also chant the holy names of
the Supreme Lord Krishna: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna
Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare
Hare. Chanting these names with devotion and respect, as well as
the names of any of His authorized incarnations and expansions
as revealed in Vedic scriptures, are all considered sat. In this way
by the power and potency invested in Om Tat Sat, all Vedic
activities are assured triumph and bestow the highest
benedictions for the complete creation and all living entities.
TEXT 28 अर्िया हजतं दतं तप्त्तं कृतं चयत ्।

असहद्य्
ज यतॳ पाथु न च त्रॳ्य न८ इह॥२८॥
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat
asad ity uchyate pārtha na ca tat pretya no iha
aśraddhayā -- without faith; hutaṁ -- offering oblations; dattaṁ -
- charity; tapas -- penance or austerities; taptaṁ -- enacting;
kṛtaṁ -- performed; ca -- also; yat -- that which; asadity ---
inauspicious; uchyate -- is told to be; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
na -- never; ca -- also; tat -- that; pretya --in the next; no iha --
not in this life.
O son of Pritha, the offering of oblations such as charity,
austerity, and sacrifice without faith in the Supreme Lord is
said to be temporary. Such actions are inauspicious for both
this life and in the next life.
ANNOTATION: The performance of sacrifice, charity, and
penance without exclusive faith in Krishna is impermanent and is
thus called asat. This is done under the modes of material nature
namely goodness, passion, and ignorance. Acting in Krishna
consciousness with full faith is the best way one can be
transferred to the complete spiritual plane. Devotion to Krishna,
the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, is everyone’s
actual goal, and is dormant in everyone’s heart. Because of their
association with the different modes of material nature, people
have diverted their attention to many other religious faiths and
worships, and they engage in low quality sacrifices, charity,
penances, and in consuming low quality food.
Thus, one must learn through genuine spiritual knowledge
that is gained from a bona fide spiritual master that has received
their knowledge from a succession of teachers that have access to
the correct discipline, like brahma gaudiya mādhava vaishnava
sampradaya. Only then can one, as one must, engage in
devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna. As explained in
the previous verses, there are many ways one can serve the Lord.
Spiritual life begins from worshiping Sri Vishnu or Sri Krishna.
Sri Krishna’s and Sri Vishnu’s bodies are completely spiritual

and they never become embodied like the living entities such as
Lord Brahma, Indra, Sūrya, etc. All 33 millions of demigods are
embodied and, therefore, they will be forced to quit their bodies.
Thus, there won’t be any spiritual result for rendering sacrifice,
charity, penance, and offering food to the demigods. In this
chapter, the Supreme Lord classified that worship of the
demigods, therefore, under the three modes of material nature.
To escape this material tabernacle and reach the eternal
world one must worship Sri Vishnu or Sri Krishna exclusively.
By doing this, at the end of one’s life, one will be transferred to
the Vaikuntha planet (Kingdom of God). There, one will attain a
suitable liberation called sārupya, a form like Lord Nārāyana;
sārshti, opulence similar to Lord Nārāyana; sālokhya, life in the
palace of Lord Nārāyana; and, sāmipiya, always staying with
Lord Nārāyana. By worshiping Sri Krishna one will be
transferred to Goloka Vrindhāvana, which is the topmost
spiritual planet as it is mentioned in Brahma samhita. There, one
will attain either sānta-bhakta, devotional service in neutrality;
dāsya-bhakta, devotional service in servitorship; sākhya-bhakta,
devotional service in friendship; vātsalya-bhakta, devotional
service in parental; or, mādhurya-bhakta, devotional service in
conjugal mellows. Life in the spiritual world is eternal; there is
no influence of time and therefore there is no old age, death, birth
and disease. After attaining one of the liberations of Vaikuntha or
Goloka Vrindhāvana, one will not come back to this material
world where there are only material miseries.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘Divisions of Faith’ by H.H. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Swami

1. Write on the activities of sacrifice, austerity, and food which
are situated in the three modes of material nature goodness
passion and ignorance.
1. Define the purpose of following Vedic literatures?
2. Why are there different kinds of religions?
3. Explain different types of worship methods and faiths.
4. Describe the so-called religion of the demons.
5. How can one be liberated from the demoniac species of life?
6. In your own words, explain why Krishna talks so much
about the modes of nature?
7. Why do impersonalists understand the Vishnu form as just
another aspect of supreme Brahman?
8. What austerity of speech is described in this verse?
9. How does one detach the mind from the object of the
senses?
10. Why is maunam listed as an austerity of the mind?
11. Explain the use of the words ‘om tat sat’ in the performance
of sacrifice, penance, and charity.
12. How do the Vedic hymns combine to become om tat sat?
13. What is the purpose of performing transcendental activities?
14. What is the result of performing sacrifices, penances, and
charity without the absolute truth in the center?
15. Draw on the purpose of performing transcendental
activities?

1. “The demons are those who do not follow the injunctions of
the ________.”
2. “Food that is too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and
burning are favored by those in the ______________.”
3. “Satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control and
purification of one’s existence are ______________.”
4. “Penance performed out of pride is called ____________.”
5. “Charity given out of duty, without expectation of return is
in the mode of_________.”
6. “From the beginning of creation, the three words ‘Om Tat
Sat’ were used to indicate ____________.”
7. “The ____________ is the objective of devotional
sacrifice.”
8. “Anything done as a sacrifice, charity or penance without
faith in the supreme is called __________.”
9. “Men in the mode of goodness worship _________.”
10. “Charity given under obligation, at the request of a superior
is called charity in the ______________.”
The Excellence of Renunciation 1005
CHAPTER -18
The Excellence of Renunciation
TEXT 1 अ्जन
ु उवाच
सं्यास्य महाबाह८ त्वमम्छामम वॳदितम
ज ्।
्याग्य च ृषीकॳश पथृ ्कॳमशननषि
ू न॥१॥
arjuna uvācha
sannyāsasya mahā-bāho tattvam icchāmi veditum
tyāgasya ca hṛṣīke a pṛthak ke i-niṣūdana
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; sannyāsasya -- of renunciation;
mahā-bāho -- O mighty-armed one; tattvam -- in truth;
icchāmi -- I wish; veditum -- to understand; tyāgasya --
renouncing the fruits of action; ca -- also; hṛṣīke a -- O master of
the senses; pṛthak -- distinction; ke i-niṣūdana -- O killer of the
Kesi demon.
Arjuna said: O slayer of Kesi demon, O mighty armed one, I
would like to know in truth the difference between the
renunciation of life and the renunciation of the fruits of
action. O master of the senses.
ANNOTATION: In the second chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā, the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead summarized the body
and soul, also karma-yoga, jnāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga. So far,
Krishna has given everyone the summary of all teachings. In this
18th chapter Lord Krishna addresses the true nature of the
abandonment of actions and the abandonment of the desire for
1005
rewards, and the distinction between the two. In this context it

must be considered whether or not sannyasa and tyāga are
actually different. The Mundhoka Upanishad 3.2.6 begins with
veda tat vijnāno sunisch. This means, ‘those who have purified
themselves through renunciation and have comprehended the
Vedic scriptures will achieve the goal of liberation from the
pangs of material existence; otherwise it is not possible to attain
the goal through actions, wealth and progeny’.
Krishna was the killer of the Kesi demon, who was sent by
King Kamsa to kill Krishna when He was in Vrindhāvana. Kesi
was a fearsome horse demon. The Lord opened the demon’s
mouth and put His diamond like arm inside his mouth and
choked the demon to death. Arjuna expected Krishna to relieve
his curiosity of the difference between renunciation and the
renounced order of life. Hrsikesa is the master of the senses;
Krishna is the original proprietor of the senses of all living
entities whether they are insects, grass, beasts, human or angels.
Thus, only Krishna can fully satisfy Arjuna’s mind and senses
with proper answers.
ज ाच
का्यानां कमुणां ्यासं सं्यासं कवय८ वविःज ।
सवुकमुफल्यागं राहज््यागं ववचषणाः॥२॥
rī-bhagavān uvācha
kāmyānāṁ karmaṇāṁ nyāsaṁ sannyāsaṁ kavayo viduḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ prāhus tyāgaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ
rī-bhagavān uvācha -- the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead said; kāmyānāṁ -- moved by the desire; karmaṇāṁ --
of activities; nyāsaṁ -- abandoning; sannyāsaṁ -- the renounced
order of life; kavayo -- the learned; viduḥ -- understand; sarva-
karma-phala -- the results of all actions; tyāgaṁ -- renouncing;
prāhus -- call; tyāgaṁ -- renunciation; vicakṣaṇāḥ -- the
experienced.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead said: the
great learned persons say that the abandonment of activities
that are motivated by the material desires is called renounced

order of life, while the abandonment of the outcome of all
actions is called renunciation.
ANNOTATION: One may think that renounce order of life
(sannyās) means to give up the whole world to situate oneself in
some spiritual organization or retire to the forest while
maintaining material desires in the heart for sense gratification.
However, through the genuine authority of all Vedic scriptures,
as regards to social divisions and the spiritual division, the
Supreme Lord Krishna reveals the meaning of renounced order
of life. This is to give up material desires of enjoying the
temporary bodily comfort and to work on to cultivating spiritual
knowledge of the self, this is called sannyāsa. Renunciation of
work, alternatively, means to give up on all fruitive mentality,
whether this is working on the material plane or on the spiritual
plane. People often perform sacrifices, charity, penance, food
distributions and other activities for personal benefit to gain
something better in future lives. This is condemned by the Lord.
However, one must perform these activities to purify one’s
polluted material existence. The Lord elaborates on the proper
way to do these activities in the next few verses, in reference to
sannyās and tyāga.
TEXT 3 ्या्यं ि८षवदि्यॳकॳ कमु राहजमुनीवषणः।
यञिानतपः कमु न ्या्यममनत चापरॳ ॥३॥
tyājyaṁ doṣa-vad ity eke karma prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ
yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyam iti cāpare
tyājyaṁ -- must give up; doṣa-vad -- due to deficiency; ity --
thus; eke -- one group; karma -- work; prāhur -- they say;
manīṣiṇaḥ -- thoughtful in wisdom; yajña-dāna-tapaḥ --
sacrifice, charity and penance; karma -- actions; na tyājyam --
never to give up; iti -- thus; ca -- and; āpare -- others.
Some thoughtful wise men say that due to the faults inherent
in all kinds of fruitive activities one must give them up, but
others say that the actions based on sacrifice, charity and
penance are never to be given up.
ANNOTATION: There are many scholars and sages such as

Gautama, Kanāda, Kapila, Pātanjali, Jaimini and Astavakra, who
have different opinions on the different departments of Vedic
knowledge. Their opinions are based on how they perceive
things. However, the actual answer and the conclusion of the
Vedic knowledge has been given by the Absolute Truth, the
Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, who is the origin
of the great sages and demigods.
TEXT 4 नन्चयं शण
ृ ज मॳ तर ्यागॳ भरतसतम।
्याग८ दह पज ष्यार ररववधःसंरकीनतुतः॥४॥
ni cayaṁ ṛṇu me tatra tyāge bhārata-sattama
tyāgo hi puruṣa-vyāghra tri-vidhaḥ samprakīrtitaḥ
ni cayaṁ -- confidence; ṛṇu -- hear from; me -- Me; tatra --
therein; tyāge -- in the matter of renunciation; bhārata-sattama--
O best Bhāratas; tyāgo -- renunciation; hi -- certainly; puruṣa-
vyāghra -- O tiger among human beings; tri-vidhaḥ -- of three
kinds; samprakīrtitaḥ -- is declared.
O tiger among the human beings, now you hear My
confidence in this matter of renunciation, O best of the
Bhāratas, renunciation is described in three varieties.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna explains that there are three types
of renunciation under the modes of material nature: goodness,
passion and ignorance; or topmost, intermediate and lowest. Just
as the Supreme Court’s judgment is final, since Krishna is the
one Supreme authority His decision is accepted as the final in all
statements of the Vedās. Krishna thus says in the 15th chapter of
Bhagavad-Gītā that vedās ca sarvair aham eva vedyo: I am the
compiler of the Vedās and the purpose of Veda is to know Me.
TEXT 5 यञिानतपः कमु न ्या्यं कायुमॳव तत ्।
यञ८ िानं तप्चॴव पावनाननमनीवषणाम ्॥५॥
yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat
yajño dānaṁ tapa caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām
yajña-dāna-tapaḥ -- sacrifice, charity and penance; karma --

activity; na tyājyaṁ -- never to be given up; kāryam -- must be
executed; eva -- certainly; tat -- that; yajño -- performance of
sacrifice; dānaṁ -- charity; tapa -- penance; caiva-pāvanāni --
certainly purifying also; manīṣiṇām -- for those in wisdom or the
great souls.
The performance of sacrifice, charity and austerity never
should be given up, and they should certainly be carried out.
In fact, the practice of sacrifice, charity and austerity are
purifying, even for men of wisdom.
ANNOTATION: Great souls are they who have no obligation to
a society or country. Although they have no duty in this world,
they are still engaged in working towards welfare of the world by
various spiritual activities. He is the person who is completely
liberated from the material concept of life. But people in this
world are 99.9% conditioned with their so-called materialistic
activities, knowingly or unknowingly they are engaged in the
forbidden activities. While they enjoy the fruit of their previous
good karma, they are gliding towards their inevitable destruction
and are entering to the various forms of life by committing many
immoral activities in the name of enjoyment. Therefore,
mahātmas or great souls are concerned about these beings. Thus,
they perform quality sacrifices, charity and penances to liberate
the conditioned souls who are submerged in the ocean of nescient
material existence. They go door to door, they organize festivals
and sacrifices glorifying Lord Hari. In the present age the best
process is to propagate chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-
mantra as found in the scriptures and distribute transcendental
literatures regardless of the time, country, and one’s
circumstances. This means that these activities can even purify
great souls or devotees when they render these services for the
benefit of the general masses. It is said in the Vedās:
chandalo pi dvija-srestho hari-bhakti-parayanah
hari-bhakti-vihinas ca dvijo api svapacadhamah
“Even if one is born in the family of a chandala- dog eaters, if
one engages in the devotional service of Lord Hari, he becomes

the best of brāhmanas- learned persons. But even a brāhmana
who is devoid of devotional service is on the level of the lowest
of dog-eaters”.
The rulers, no matter how they try to make people happy
through personal meetings, conferences, philanthropy, altruism,
internationalism, etc. there will be always groups of people who
would be dissatisfied and talk against them. One may wander all
over the world or in the universe, it will be impossible for them
to find complete satisfaction. Even if anyone claims that they are
happy, it will be only for few days, weeks or years. They will be
shortly lifeless by the hand of the material nature. Satisfaction
and full happiness will be offered by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord Krishna, to those people who follow His ways.
TEXT 6 एता्यवप तज कमाुणण स्गं ्य््वा फलानन च।

कतु्यानीनत मॳ पाथु नन््चतं मतमत
ज मम ्॥६॥
etāny api tu karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā phalāni ca
kartavyānīti me pārtha ni citaṁ matam uttamam
etāny -- all these; api tu -- moreover; karmāṇi -- activities;
saṅgaṁ -- attachment; tyaktvā -- giving up; phalāni -- fruitive
results; ca -- also; kartavyānī -- should be executed as duty; īti --
this is; me -- My; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; ni citaṁ -- definite;
matam -- judgment or opinion; uttamam -- the best.
O son of Pritha, all these activities should be executed as a
matter of duty, giving up any expectation for the fruitive
results; this is My exact and best judgment.
ANNOTATION: Charity, penance and sacrifices have to be
performed as a matter of duty. Elevating others in Krishna
consciousness, must be without personal motivations or
attachment for its result. Duties in Krishna consciousness are
always situated beyond love and affection for this material world.
One can accept any activity in Krishna consciousness that
benefits the receiver. Those who come up with such brilliant
ideas to promote Krishna bhakti must be encouraged to carry

them out. On the other hand, the creation of stumbling block and
obstacles for spreading the divine Krishna bhakti is an offense,
leading to bad consequences.
TEXT 7 ननयत्य तज सं्यासः कमुण८ न८पप्यतॳ।

म८हात्य परर्याग्तामसःपररकीनतुतः॥७॥
niyatasya tu sannyāsah karmaṇo nopapadyate
mohāt tasya parityāgas tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
niyatasya -- of prescribed; tu -- but; sannyāsaḥ -- given up;
karmaṇo -- activities; nopapadyate -- is not recommended;
mohāt -- due to illusion; tasya -- of them; parityāgas -- giving
up; tāmasaḥ -- in the nature of ignorance; parikīrtitaḥ -- is
declared.
Renunciation of one’s prescribed duty is not recommended,
giving up one’s natural duties due to illusion is said to be in
the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: There are prescribed duties enacted for all
social orders and spiritual orders. One must perform one’s
respective duties every day. Intellectuals, administrators, farmers,
laborers, celibate, married, retired and renounced people, all of
these are expected to perform their prescribed activities without
being lazy or in illusion. A person in a renounced order of life
must be ready to perform any activities in the service of Krishna.
For such sannyāsi there is no duty other than performing actions
for the satisfaction of the Supreme Majestic Personality of
Godhead. In this way there is nothing left to renounce in this
world because nothing belongs to anyone. Everything one does is
engaged in the service of Lord Krishna; that is the path of real
renunciation. For example: one may see a bank and say that this
‘bank belongs to me’. However, he is wrong, as the bank does
not belong to anybody. Similarly, we do not possess anything of
this world, therefore, nothing belongs to us. Hence, there is no
question of renunciation. One must engage one’s actions in the
service of the real and original proprietor, He is Krishna, the
Absolute Truth. It is said in the Sri Isopanishad that isavāsyam

idam sarvam – Everything animate or inanimate that is within the
universe is controlled and owned by the Lord.
TEXT 8 िःज खमम्यॳव य्कमु काय्लॳशभया्य्ॳत ्।

स कृ्वा रा्सं ्यागं नॴव ्यागफलं लभॳत ्॥८॥
duḥkham ity eva yat karma kāya-kle a-bhayāt tyajet
sa kṛtvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet
duḥkham -- unhappy; ity -- thus; eva -- certainly; yat -- which;
karma--work; kāya-kle a-bhayāt -- out of fear of bodily
discomfort; tyajet -- giving up; sa -- he; kṛtvā -- enacts; rājasaṁ -
- in the mode of passion; tyāgaṁ -- renunciation; na -- not; iva --
certainly; tyāga-phalaṁ -- results of the renunciation; labhet --
obtains.
One who gives up natural duties out of fear of bodily
discomfort or because they are troublesome, is said to be in
the mode of passion. One certainly does not obtain any
results from such renunciation.
ANNOTATION: One should not feel like one’s prescribed duties
are burdens, discomforts or an inconvenience. Souls in the
human body are with varieties of prescribed duties according to
their karma and birth in the social division. It is true that when
one is highly advanced in Krishna consciousness one feels all
material gains, material achievements as insignificant including
amassed of wealth over the years. But, as a matter of duty, all
surplus wealth can be donated to the propagating of Krishna’s
philosophy or building Krishna temples for the same purpose.
There is no need for thinking that there are already so many
Krishna temples, why do we need to build more, instead build
social institutions. The scriptures do not support this idea of
social reformation or education keeping away God from their
life. It strongly recommend to bestow people as much chance as
possible to hear and chant about the Supreme Lord who is the
embodiment of all great qualities. The birth, old age and disease
is due to forgetfulness of Krishna. So there must be Krishna

temples in every nook and corner of the planet, so that all people
can take advantage of their human form of life. However, due to
miserly thinking, laziness and an attachment to oneself or
kinsmen, people renounce such duties that would otherwise help
them advance in Krishna consciousness. Such people are said to
be renounced in the mode of passion.
TEXT 9 कायुमम्यॳव य्कमु ननयतं रियतॳऽ्न
जु ।
स्गं ्य््वा फलं चॴव स ्यागः सा््वक८ मतः॥९॥
kāryam ity eva yat karma niyataṁ kriyate ’rjuna
saṅgaṁ tyaktvā phalaṁ caiva sa tyāgaḥ sāttviko mataḥ
kāryam ity eva -- indeed matter of duty; yat -- which; karma --
work; niyatam -- prescribed; kriyate -- are performed; arjuna --
O Arjuna; saṅgaṁ -- attachment; tyaktvā phalaṁ -- giving up the
results; ca -- also; iva -- certainly; sa -- that; tyāgaḥ sāttviko --
renunciation in the mode of goodness; mataḥ -- is considered.
One who performs prescribed duties as a matter of
obligation, renouncing the attachment for the fruits is
considered renounced in the mode of goodness, O Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: There are prescribed duties for different social
and spiritual divisions; one must perform such actions without
the desire for personal gain. For Arjuna the prescribed duty is
fighting. For the people in general, it is their natural work. All
fasts are for the spiritual advancement, and human life is only for
realizing God. The Skanda Purāna says matraha pitraha caiva
bhatraha guruha tatha ekadasyantu. This confirms that all who
eat grains on ekādasi can never achieve liberation from material
existence, nor attain relationship with the Supreme Lord. One
should perform all these actions as a matter of duty, without
egoism and attachment for their results, tvaktya sangam; such
renunciation is said be in the mode of goodness. The import of
this is that activities performed with the intent of offering them to
the Supreme Lord purifies the consciousness and bestows
spiritual knowledge. To realize this fact, an additional note is

added:
Lower animals have four legs to run and walk; they have
mind, intelligence, ego, blood, mucus, stool, urine in their body.
Human beings have four wheels in their motor car. They too
have mind, intelligence, ego, blood, stool, mucus and urine in
their body. The lower animals look for food and sex with the
help of their four legs. If the human beings too are looking for
food and sex by travelling in their four wheels, they have made
no advancement in the human form of life and therefore, are
equal to lower species of life in consciousness. Inventing nuclear
weapons for the destruction of countries is not a great
advancement, because the planet will be automatically destroyed
at the end of the millennium, without nuclear weapons or through
any other human interference, which is scheduled to happen
according to the scriptures, after 4,27,000 years.
TEXT 10 न ्वॳट्यकजशलं कमु कजशलॳ नानष
ज ््तॳ।
्यागी स्वसमाववटट८ मॳधावी नछ्नसंशयः॥१०॥
na dveṣṭy aku alaṁ karma ku ale nānuṣajjate
tyāgī sattva-samāviṣṭo medhāvī chinna-saṁ ayaḥ
na dveṣṭy -- do not hates; aku alaṁ -- inauspicious; karma --
work; ku ale -- in the auspicious; nānuṣajjate -- not becomes
attached; tyāgī -- the renouncer; sattva-samāviṣṭo -- endowed
with the mode of goodness; medhāvī -- the intelligent; chinna-
saṁ ayaḥ -- freed from all doubts.
The wise renouncer endowed with the mode of goodness is
freed from all doubts, thus he does not hate any inauspicious
work and does not become attached to any auspicious work.
ANNOTATION: The nature of being established in renunciation
in mode of goodness is that one does not have any prescribed
duties as such nor are they attached to their prescribed duties.
They just perform all their activities as a matter of duty. For
example, taking a bath very early in the morning is very difficult
in the winter season, and cooking is difficult in the summer
season, however, the devotees of the Lord are not bothered with
such difficulties and do not allow them to stymie their actions.
The word medhāvi means superior intelligence, which bestows
upon one of the faculty of retentive focus. This gives the ability
to comprehend the ultimate truth through any experience. This
takes one beyond criticism or humiliation and makes one
obedient to the spiritual authorities. Those devotees situated
in sattva guna have even renounced the happiness of heavenly
planets and excitement of liberation from the material existence.
So what is there to speak of regarding pain and happiness of this
temporary material existence? The renounced know what their
duties are and what they are doing, and have no doubts about
their duties.
TEXT 11 न दह िॳ हभत
ृ ा श्यं ्य्तजं कमाु्यशॳषतः।
य्तज कमुफल्यागी स ्यागी्यमभधीयतॳ॥११॥
na hi deha-bhṛtā akyaṁ tyaktuṁ karmāṇy a eṣataḥ

yas tu karma-phala-tyāgī sa tyāgīty abhidhīyate
na -- never; hi -- certainly; deha-bhṛtā -- the embodied being;
akyaṁ -- can; tyaktuṁ -- give up; karmāṇy -- activities; a eṣataḥ
-- completely; yas -- he who; tu -- but; karma-phala-tyāgī --
renouce the result of the fruitive activities; sa -- he; tyāg -- is
renounced; īty -- thus; abhidhīyate -- it is told.
The embodied living being can never give up all activities,
but it is said that anyone who renounces the fruitive results of
their actions is really renounced.
ANNOTATION: Lord Krishna explains in this verse that it is
impossible for any living being in a gross or subtle body to
renounce one’s actions. This is because there is always some
activity operating for the maintenance of the physical body. One
may be an engineer, doctor, movie-maker, scientist, or artist, or
one may do business in different fields. It is not possible for
these people to renounce their natural work. However, if they can
renounce the results of the work, for Krishna, then they will
attain perfect renunciation. Such members are in the renounced
order of life (sannyāsis), even though they are doing thousands
of different activities. They know that they are working for

Krishna, therefore, they are not tied with bondage to the material
existence.
TEXT 12 अननटटममटटं ममरं च ररववधं कमुणःफलम ्।

भव्य्यागगनां रॳ्य न तज सं्यामसनां ्वगचत ्॥१२॥
aniṣṭam iṣṭaṁ mi raṁ ca tri-vidhaṁ karmaṇaḥ phalam
bhavaty atyāgināṁ pretya na tu sannyāsināṁ kvachit
aniṣṭam -- leading to hell; iṣṭaṁ -- leading to higher planetary
spheres; mi raṁ -- in between (human world); ca -- and; tri-
vidhaṁ karmaṇaḥ -- of three kinds of activities; phalam -- the
result of; bhavaty -- becomes; atyāgināṁ -- for those who are not
renounced; pretya -- after death; na tu sannyāsināṁ -- but not for
the renounced order; kvachit -- at any time.
The result of three kinds of fruitive activities buildup. After
death, they lead to hell, or to the higher planetary systems, or
to the human world. However, for those who are renounced,
the result of such actions never come to fruition.
ANNOTATION: There are threefold activities; virtuous, impious
and mixed. For one’s own personal satisfaction when one hurts
or injures or kills any innocent beings, he is implicated and
punishable in hellish planets. When one performs virtuous
activities such as yajnās, charities and help others, he is rewarded
heavenly spheres to the proportion of his virtuous deeds. When
one performs mixed activities such as virtuous and sinful
activities, he takes birth in the earthly realm to enjoy and suffer.
However, when one renounces activities of virtuous and sinful
activities, he is free from all reactions of activities. The word
sannyāsinam means fully renounced including any material
desires and desiring any benefits for any actions. He only
engages his inherent qualities for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Lord. One shall not misunderstand actions of such sannyāsis.
They are not inactive like inert fools, but work hard for the
spiritual welfare of the world by dedicating all results to the
Absolute Truth Lord Krishna.
TEXT 13 प्चॴतानन महाबाह८ कारणानन ननब८ध मॳ।

सां्यॳ कृता्तॳ र८्तानन मस्धयॳ सवुकमुणाम ्॥१३॥
pañchaitāni mahā-bāho kāraṇāni nibodha me
sāṅkhye kṛtānte proktāni siddhaye sarva-karmaṇām
pañcha -- five; itāni -- these; mahā-bāho -- O mighty armed one;
kāraṇāni -- causes; nibodha -- learn from; me -- Me; sāṅkhye --
in the Vedānta; kṛtānte -- in conclusion; proktāni -- said;
siddhaye -- for the perfection; sarva-karmaṇām -- of all
activities.
In conclusion, there are five causes explained in the Vedic
literature for perfecting all activities. Now you learn those
from Me, O might armed Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: The question may be asked: how is it possible
that one performing actions develops no attachment for the
results of their activities. Expecting such questions, Lord Krishna
demonstrates how, for one who has given up attachment to the
reward of actions and who is free from false ego of ‘I and mine’,
there is no connection to the reactions of any action. He
elaborates this in the present and next four verses. He says that to
understand the meaning of His words one must learn the five
factors to stop the impression that we are the doer of all of our
actions. Here the word sānkhya refers to Vedāntic philosophy,
particularly to an analytical study of the material elements as
given by Lord Kapila, an incarnation of Krishna. By sānkhya one
can understand the difference between the soul and the material
elements, which is the final summit of all knowledge mentioned
in the Vedic scriptures.
TEXT 14 अगधटठानं तथा कताु करणं च पथ

ृ ्ववधम ्।
ववववधा्च पथ
ृ ्चॳटटािॴ वं चॴवार प्चमम ्॥१४॥
adhiṣṭhānaṁ tathā kartā karaṇaṁ ca pṛthag-vidham
vividhā ca pṛthak cheṣṭā daivaṁ caivātra pañchamam
adhiṣṭhānaṁ -- the body; tathā -- also; kartā -- the performer;
karaṇaṁ -- senses; ca -- and; pṛthag-vidham -- of different types;
vividhā -- various; ca -- and; pṛthak -- separate; cheṣṭā -- the

endeavors; daivaṁ ca -- and the Supreme Lord; ivā -- certainly;
ātra -- here; pañchamam -- the fifth.
There are five factors of action, the body, the performer, the
different senses, the various endeavors, and the fifth, the
Supersoul.
ANNOTATION: 1) adhisthānam - the physical body comprising
the five elements of material creation. 2) karta - the soul,
endowed with the properties of intelligence and action which
convey the ability to think and act accordingly. 3) kāranam - the
various organs or senses such as eyes, ears, nose, skin, hands,
legs, anus, mouth, genitals, etc. These are endowed with
functions which combine to produce actions. 4) Different kinds
of cestah, or endeavors. 5) daivam- the Supreme Soul, as existing
simultaneously within all the bodies of all living entities as the
witness and monitor. Thus, in spite of the previous four factors,
unless there is the sanction of the Supersoul, no work is
approved. It is exactly like the approval of Government to
commence a business. The Paramātma or Supersoul is the
chaityaguru, meaning that He is the spiritual master from within.
All living entities are, without exception, empowered and are
dependent upon Paramātma. He grants the soul a physical body
and the function of its organs by the powers inherent in them.
Internally, within the heart of the soul, the Supersoul is
monitoring all thoughts and actions and sanctioning them silently
by not interfering in its freewill. In this sense, the soul is the
secondary doer because freewill is subject to the mandatory
results of karma, or the reactions of previous actions. This is
similar to a situation where a heavy rock requires the combined
efforts of many people to move it, yet it is moved for the benefit
of only one such individual. In the same manner, the effort to
accomplish an action is comprised of different elements,
including the Supersoul, yet actions bestow the positive or
negative results to the soul who initiated the effort. However, the
situation is different when one acts in full Krishna consciousness
according to the Supersoul's direction. In this instance, one is not

responsible for one’s actions and does not need to make further
effort to carry them out since he is supported by the will of the
Supersoul.
TEXT 15 शरीरवा्मन८मभयु्कमु रारभतॳ नरः।

्या्यं वा ववपरीतं वा प्चॴतॳ त्य हॳ तवः॥१५॥
arīra-vāṅ-manobhir yat karma prārabhate naraḥ
nyāyyaṁ vā viparītaṁ vā pañchaite tasya hetavaḥ
arīra-vāṅ-manobhir -- by the body, speech and the mind; yat --
which; karma -- work; prārabhate naraḥ -- a person begins;
nyāyyaṁ-- proper; vā -- or; viparītaṁ -- improper; vā -- or;
pañchaite -- all these five; tasya -- its; hetavaḥ -- causes.
Whatever action a person performs, whether it is proper or
improper, with his body, speech and mind is caused by these
five factors.
ANNOTATION: So Lord Krishna confirms that whatever action
one performs with one’s body, speech and mind, whether
virtuous or sinful, these five causes are in charge.
TEXT 16 तरॴवं सनत कताुरमा्मानं कॳवलं तज यः।

प्य्यकृतब्
ज गध्वा्न स प्यनत िम
ज नु तः॥१६॥
tatraivaṁ sati kartāram ātmānaṁ kevalaṁ tu yaḥ
pa yaty akṛta-buddhitvān na sa pa yati durmatiḥ
tatra -- then; ivaṁ -- thus; sati -- being; kartāram -- as the doer;
ātmānaṁ -- the embodied self; kevalaṁ -- solely; tu -- but; yaḥ --
anyone who; pa yaty -- sees; akṛta-buddhitvān -- devoid of
intelligence; na sa pa yati -- he never sees; durmatiḥ -- ignorant
being.
One who sees the embodied being solely as the doer, not these
five factors, is devoid of intelligence, thus such ignorant
persons never see things as they are.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord states that these five causes
are responsible for all actions and that one who is lacking the
knowledge and guidance of the scriptures or of a spiritual master

thinks that he is the doer; such person is not very intelligent
because they are unable to apprehend the truth as it really is.
TEXT 17 य्य नाहं कृत८ भाव८ ब्

ज गधयु्य न मल्यतॳ।
ह्वावप स इमाँ्ल८का्न ह््त न ननब्यतॳ॥१७॥
yasya nāhaṅkṛto bhāvo buddhir yasya na lipyate
hatvāpi sa imāḻ lokān na hanti na nibadhyate
yasya -- one whose; nā -- never; āhaṅkṛto -- being the doer due
to false ego; bhāvo -- mentality; buddhir -- intelligence; yasya --
one whose; na lipyate -- is not attached to the fruits; hatvā --
slaying; āpi -- even; sa -- he; imāḻ -- this; lokān -- whole world;
na hanti -- not actually slay anymore; na nibadhyate -- not
becomes entangled.
Of one who does not succumb to false ego and consider
himself as the doer, whose intelligence is not attached to
fruits of action, although such a person slays in this world, he
does not slay, nor does he become entangled by his actions.
ANNOTATION: Can a person who is a learned be tainted by his
actions? Lord Krishna addresses this question by stating that one
who is free from the notion of ‘I’ is free from the notion that he
is or ‘I am’ the doer. Therefore, one whose understanding is
refined in this regard is not polluted by attachment to any action;
without considering any action as agreeable or disagreeable, he is
never tainted or influenced by any action. Krishna is telling
Arjuna that he is not performing actions for himself but for the
spiritual or religious cause. Therefore, Arjuna is not entangled in
the karmic results of his actions, even though he kills all these
people; he is ordered to kill by the authorities, thus the
responsibility of killing will fall upon the authorities. Personal
activity and responsibility arise from false ego and godlessness,
or a lack of Krishna bhakti.
TEXT 18 ञानं ञॳयं पररञाता ररववधा कमुच८िना।
करणं कमु कतेनत ररववधःकमुसर
ं हः॥१८॥
jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ parijñātā tri-vidhā karma-chodanā

karaṇaṁ karma karteti tri-vidhaḥ karma-saṅgrahaḥ
jñānaṁ -- knowledge; jñeyaṁ -- the objective of knowledge;
parijñātā -- one who knows the knowledge; tri-vidhā-- three
types; karma-- of actions; chodanā -- the impetus; karaṇaṁ -- the
endeavor; karma -- actions; kart --the doer; eti -- thus; tri-vidhaḥ
karma -- these three kinds of work; saṅgrahaḥ -- are the root of
action.
Knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower of
knowledge; these three are the impetus for work. The
endeavor, the actions, and the doer; these three are the
foundation of action.
ANNOTATION: In this verse the threefold factor that motivates
all actions are itemized. 1) jnānam means knowledge of the
activity. 2) jneyam means knowing how the activity can be
established. 3) parijnata means the knower who performs the
activity. These three activities are requirements for action, and
they are the impetus, which motivates one to perform both
prescribed Vedic activities for the satisfaction of the Lord as well
as mundane activities for sense gratification. Among these three
activities, jneyam is comprised of three subdivisions, which are
called the ingredients of action: 1) the senses – how the activity
becomes reality, such as through the donation of wealth or
materials; 2) the work – the engagement in the act itself, such
as yajna or ritualistic propitiation; 3) the doer – the agent who
performs the action or initiates the action that is performed.
TEXT 19 ञानं कमुच कताु च ररधॴव गण
ज भॳितः।
र८्यतॳ गण
ज सं्यानॳ यथाव्छृणज ता्यवप॥१९॥
jñānaṁ karma ca kartā ca tridhaiva guṇa-bhedataḥ
prochyate guṇa-saṅkhyāne yathāvac chṛṇu tāny api
jñānaṁ -- knowledge; karma -- action; ca -- also; kartā --
worker; ca -- also; tridha -- of three kinds; iva -- certainly; guṇa-
bhedataḥ -- according to the different modes of material nature;
prochyate -- are said; guṇa-saṅkhyāne -- different Vedic

scriptures; yathāvac -- in order; chṛṇu -- now hear; tāny -- all of
them; api -- as well.
Knowledge, action and the performer of actions are the three
kinds of knowledge according to the three modes of material
nature, now please listen to Me as I describe these in order.
ANNOTATION: The three modes of material nature are defined
in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā. Now the Lord describes
the characteristics of the threefold factors of knowledge, the
knowable and the knower, with regard to the three modes of
goodness, passion and ignorance. Knowledge, as the object of all
actions, can be explained as that which gives knowledge. The
knowable is one who knows the means by which the action is
accomplished. The knower is the one performing the action.
These three are the essential elements, their characteristics and
functions have been validated in the philosophy of sānkhya, or
analytical knowledge, by Lord Kapila-deva and will be
elaborated upon in the next three verses.
TEXT 20 सवुभत
ू ष
ॳ ज यॳनक
ॴ ं भावम्ययमीषतॳ।
अववभ्तं ववभ्तॳषज त्ञानं वव्गध सा््वकम ्॥२०॥
sarva-bhūteṣu yenaikaṁ bhāvam avyayam īkṣate
avibhaktaṁ vibhakteṣu taj jñānaṁ viddhi sāttvikam
sarva-bhūteṣu -- in all living entities; yena -- by which; ikaṁ --
one; bhāvam -- situation; avyayam -- imperishable; īkṣate -- is
seen; avibhaktaṁ -- undivided; vibhakteṣu -- with in all diverse;
taj jñānaṁ -- that knowledge; viddhi -- understand; sāttvikam --
in the mode of goodness.
Understand that although all living beings are divided into
limitless forms, it is by knowledge that one sees the
imperishable spiritual quality in all living beings. You should
know this to be in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: There are several millions of specific bodily
forms, and each and every specific form, there are millions of
numbers. Elephants, dogs, humans, demigods, microbes, birds,

sharks, tiny fish, reptiles, trees and plants; within all these forms
there are different individual souls. The soul is immutable,
inconceivable, and imperishable and insoluble, as it is described
by the Lord in the second chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā from the
11th through to the 30th verse. This understanding of the soul is
applicable from the highest living entity, Lord Brahma, down to
the lowest living entities, which are all individual souls. Those
who have cultivated a spiritual vision of all these bodies, and
who understand that only single undivided individual spirit soul
resides in each being, are persons with knowledge and are in the
mode of goodness.
TEXT 21 पथ
ृ ््वॳन तज य्ञानं नानाभावा्पथ
ृ ्ववधान ्।
वॳवत सवेषज भत
ू ष
ॳ ज त्ञानं वव्गध रा्सम ्॥२१॥
pṛthaktvena tu yaj jñānaṁ nānā-bhāvān pṛthag-vidhān
vetti sarveṣu bhūteṣu taj jñānaṁ viddhi rājasam
pṛthaktvena -- because of division; tu -- but; yaj jñānaṁ -- that
knowledge by which; nānā-bhāvān -- different persons; pṛthag-
vidhān -- different in essence; vetti -- knows; sarveṣu bhūteṣu --
in all living entities; taj jñānaṁ -- that knowledge; viddhi --
understand; rājasam -- in the mode of passion.
However, that knowledge by which one believes that in each
body there is a different sort of living entity, or a different
essence in all living entities, you should understand that
knowledge to be in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: As it is mentioned in the previous verse, in a
body there is an eternal individual soul, this understanding of the
existence of the soul is knowledge in the mode of goodness. But
in this verse the Lord explains the knowledge in the mode of
passion. People in the mode of passion think that the body itself
is the soul, and that there is no separate individual soul beyond
the body. This is the notion that the material body is the living
entity, and that with the destruction of the body the soul is also
destroyed. If one falsely believes this idea, by thinking that all
souls have different bodies and that souls must be different in

nature according it inhabits, one thereby establishes different
criteria for his actions based on their bodily conception, and
experience happiness, suffering and pain while being oblivious to
the true reality of the individual soul. This is called knowledge in
the mode of passion.
TEXT 22 यतज कृ््नविॳ क््म्काये स्तमहॴ तक
ज म ्।
अत्वाथुवि्पं च ततामसमि
ज ाृतम ्॥२२॥
yat tu kṛtsna-vad ekasmin kārye saktam ahaitukam
atattvārtha-vad alpaṁ ca tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
yat tu -- but that which; kṛtsna-vad -- as entire; ekasmin -- in one;
kārye -- work; saktam -- attached to; ahaitukam -- groundless;
atattvārtha-vad -- without knowledge of reality; alpaṁ -- very
little; ca -- and; tat -- that; tāmasam -- in the mode of darkness;
udāhṛtam -- is said to be.
That knowledge by which one is absolutely immersed or
attached to one sort of work, with little grounding to have
knowledge of reality, is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: Genuine knowledge must be about the soul and
Supersoul. If validity of this knowledge is not taken through
scriptures, one may be led to base their beliefs on the material
knowledge. This can only establish goals to have a comfortable
physical life. Thus, there are those who are attached to only one
type of living, and pay attention to only one kind of activity or
material goal, like eating, sleeping, mating, defending and think
that there is nothing more than their single dimensional lifestyles.
One who adheres to a single religious activity in a stagnant and
obstinate manner, such as to the worship of an impersonal
conception of God, and considers that their insignificant activity
has the highest perfection in existence, is in the mode of
ignorance.
TEXT 23 ननयतं स्गरदहतमराग्वॳषतः कृतम ्।
अफलरॳ्सन
ज ा कमु यत्सा््वकम्
ज यतॳ॥२३॥
niyataṁ saṅga-rahitam arāga-dveṣataḥ kṛtam

aphala-prepsunā karma yat tat sāttvikam uchyate
niyataṁ -- as duty; saṅga-rahitam-- without attachment; arāga-
dveṣataḥ -- free from love and hatred; kṛtam -- is done; aphala-
prepsunā -- is devoid of fruitive desires; karma -- action; yat tat -
- that which; sāttvikam -- in the mode of goodness; uchyate -- is
called.
That work which is devoid of fruitive desires and is done as a
matter of duty without attachment, and is therefore free from
love and hatred, is said to be in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: In this and the next two verses, the Lord
discusses actions, as they are under the three modes of material
nature. There are prescribed duties under Vedic directions for 4
different social orders. Respectively, those actions must be
performed as a matter of duty without attachment and without
conceptions of attraction, such as love for one's family and of
hatred for one’s enemy. Due to the attachment for family, one
becomes biased against others who are not favorable to their
whimsical desires. When one has no such partiality or bias
attitude towards anyone, one’s actions are known to be situated
in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 24 यतज कामॳ्सन
ज ा कमु साहं कारॳ ण वापन
ज ः।
रियतॳ बहजलायासं तरा ्समि
ज ाृतम ्॥२४॥
yat tu kāmepsunā karma sāhaṅkāreṇa vā punaḥ
kriyate bahulāyāsaṁ tad rājasam udāhṛtam
yat tu -- but that which; kāmepsunā -- one with desires for
fruitive results; karma -- work; sāhaṅkāreṇa -- with egotism; vā -
- or; punaḥ -- then again; kriyate -- performs; bahulāyāsaṁ --
with great endeavor; tad -- that; rājasam -- in the mode of
passion; udāhṛtam -- is called to be.
But the action which is carried out with great endeavor with
the desire for fruitive results, and performed with the sense
of false ego, is said to in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Lord refers to actions that

involve unnecessary effort and cause pressure and nervous
tension to carry them through to completion. These actions are
motivated by material desire or the desire for reward and active
material enjoyment. They are actions which are motivated by
arrogance, pride and selfishness, and for the aspiration of fame.
Such activities are in the mode of passion. But different kinds of
action in Krishna bhakti or Krishna consciousness is not within
the three modes of material nature. Anything done under the
representative of Supreme Person for the pleasure of Krishna is
transcendental to all modes of nature.
TEXT 25 अनब
ज ्धं षयं दहंसामनवॳ्य च प९ षम ्।
म८हािार्यतॳ कमु यततामसम्
ज यतॳ॥२५॥
anubandhaṁ kṣayaṁ hiṁsā manapekṣya ca pauruṣam
mohād ārabhyate karma yat tat tāmasam uchyate
anubandhaṁ -- consequence; kṣayaṁ -- destruction; hiṁsām --
injuring; anapekṣya -- disregarding; ca -- also; pauruṣam -- one's
ability to fulfill it; mohād -- out of illusion; ārabhyate -- is
begun; karma -- action yat tat -- that which; tāmasam -- in the
mode of ignorance; uchyate -- is called to be.
Actions which are begun out of illusion, destruction, or
injuring others without considering the consequences in the
future, are said to be in the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: The Lord refers to actions that are done
indiscriminately, without caring upon the pros and cons, without
caring about their consequences. Actions that are done without
following any scriptures or the authority of the Vedās, without
regard for future bondage. Actions that engage one in violent
activities, and cause suffering to innocent beings. These actions
are said to be in the mode of ignorance.
TEXT 26 म्
ज तस्ग८ऽनहं वािी ध्ृ य्ज साहसम््वतः।
मस््यमस््य८ननुववुकारः कताु सा््वक उ्यतॳ॥२६॥
mukta-saṅgo ’nahaṁ-vādī dhṛty-utsāha-samanvitaḥ

siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikāraḥ kartā sāttvika uchyate
mukta-saṅgo -- liberated from all material association; anahaṁ-
vādī -- free from false ego; dhṛty -- with fortitude; utsāha -- great
eagerness; samanvitaḥ -- qualified; siddhy-asiddhyor -- success
and failure; nirvikāraḥ -- unaffected; kartā -- worker; sāttvika --
in the mode of goodness; uchyate -- is called to be.
Those who work while liberated from all material
association, free from false ego, with fortitude and great
eagerness, and unaffected by the success and failure, it is said
that they are in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: Here, Krishna discusses three types of workers.
The qualities mentioned in this verse are manifested by those
who have studied scriptures under the guidance of the spiritual
master, and those who have engaged sincerely in the devotional
service of Krishna by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. These
devotees have all the good qualities of the demigods in their
hearts. The words siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikarah means equipoise
in success or failure of all activities. This attitude is attained
through the realization that, all results are based on one’s
karma and the ultimate will of the Supreme Lord. All living
entities have the potential to be situated in the goodness and can
transcend the material world in this way. It is the Vedic
knowledge, which lifts up a person’s consciousness to this higher
level.
TEXT 27 रागी कमुफलरॳ्सल
ज ्जु ध८ दहंसा्मक८ऽशगज चः।
हषुश८का््वतः कताुरा्सः पररकीनतुतः॥२७॥
rāgī karma-phala-prepsur lubdho hiṁsātmako ’ uciḥ
harṣa- okānvitaḥ kartā rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
rāgī -- obsessed; karma-phala-prepsur -- desiring results of
actions; lubdho -- greedy; hiṁsātmako -- malicious; uciḥ --
unclean; harṣa- okānvitaḥ -- subject to joy and sorrow; kartā --
such a duer; rājasaḥ -- in the mode of passion; parikīrtitaḥ -- is
declared.
One who is obsessed with desires regarding the results of his

actions, being greedy, malicious, unclean, subject to sorrow
and joy, is said to be in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: The lord refers to those who are very much
attached to their positions in the work place, who are fond of
fame, power, wealth, and who are always hankering for
compensation and rewards from every piece of work. Such
people are impure, greedy, envious and unrighteous. They cause
injury to others with mental and physical cruelty. These people
cannot be equipoised and cannot rejoice in other’s success, but
are depressed on their own failure. They are indisputably known
to be situated in the mode of passion.
TEXT अय्
ज तः राकृतः ्त्धः शठ८ नॴटकृनतक८ऽलसः।
28 ववषािी िी्ुसर
ू ी च कताु तामस उ्यतॳ॥२८॥
ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ aṭho naiṣkṛtiko ’lasaḥ
viṣādī dīrgha-sūtrī ca kartā tāmasa uchyate
ayuktaḥ -- not connected; prākṛtaḥ -- materialistic; stabdhaḥ --
stubborn ; aṭho -- deceitful; naiṣkṛtiko -- humiliating others;
alasaḥ -- sluggish or lazy; viṣādī -- distressed; dīrgha-sūtrī --
procrastinating; ca -- also; kartā -- worker; tāmasa -- in the mode
of ignorance; uchyate -- is said to be.
Those workers who are not connected with the Vedic
scriptures, who are materialistic, who are stubborn, who
cheat and humiliate others, who are sluggish, always
distressed and procrastinating; they are said to be in the
mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: The compound word dīrgha-sūtrī means
delaying all auspicious activities. But it also infers defamation of
pointing out the past defects of others due to envy and
vengeance. One lacks self-discipline and devoid of religiousness,
who is unproductive, revolting and bad-mannered. He who
identifies body as the self, without discriminative knowledge. He
who is deceitful, lazy and morose. So even one with the potential
for great achievements, due to bewilderment, despondency and

laziness fails to reap the benefits for not performing the proper
activity at the proper time is situated in the mode of ignorance.
TEXT 29 ब्
ज धॳभि
े ं धत
ृ ्ॳ चॴव गण
ज त््रववधं शण
ृ ज।
र८्यमानमशॳषण
ॳ पथ
ृ ््वॳन धनं्य॥२९॥
buddher bhedaṁ dhṛte caiva guṇatas tri-vidhaṁ ṛṇu
prochyamānam a eṣeṇa pṛthaktvena dhanañjaya
buddher -- of intelligence; bhedaṁ -- the differences; dhṛte -- of
steadiness; ca -- and; iva -- certainly; guṇatas -- by the modes of
material nature; tri-vidhaṁ -- threefold varieties; ṛṇu -- hear
this; prochyamānam -- I shall describe now; a eṣeṇa -- entirely;
pṛthaktvena -- one by one or singly; dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror
of wealth.
Now hear as I shall describe to you comprehensively the
different kinds of understandings and steadiness one by one,
in accordance with the three fold varieties of the modes of
material nature. O conqueror of wealth.
ANNOTATION: Now after explaining knowledge, the object of
knowledge, and the knower in three modes of material nature, the
Supreme Lord is explaining the budhi and dhriti, intelligence and
determination. These are the essential factors for ascertaining
what the truth is and what reality is. Intelligence is the wisdom
that apprehends existence; determination is the strength of
conviction in one’s process towards whatever goal one has.
When either of these factors come under the three modes of
material nature their meaning and how they are manifested is
different according to the influence of a particular mode.
TEXT 30 रववृ तं च ननववृ तं च कायाुकाये भयाभयॳ।
ब्धं म८षं च या वॳवत ब्
ज गधःसा पाथु सा््वकी॥३०॥
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca kāryākārye bhayābhaye
bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
pravṛttiṁ -- doing; ca -- and; nivṛttiṁ -- not doing; ca -- and;
kāryākārye -- what is duty and what is not duty; bhayābhaye --

fear and fearlessness; bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ -- bondage and
liberation; ca -- and; yā -- that which; vetti -- knows; buddhiḥ --
intelligence; sā -- that; pārtha -- O son of Pritha; sāttvikī -- in the
mode of goodness.
Intelligence in the mode of goodness is how one knows what
worldly activity is and what is not a worldly activity, what is
to be done and what is not to be done, what is fear and what
is the fearlessness, and what is bondage and what is
liberation. O son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: Intelligence in the mode of goodness gives one
right discriminative power to know what righteousness is and
what self-denial from unrighteousness is. Such people know that
following scriptural injunctions will lead one to be liberated from
the cycle of birth and death. Essentially, their consciousness is
aware of what is to be done and what is not to be done, according
to time, place and circumstance. Such consciousness should be
understood not as the agency and the doer is but as an
instrument. This can be understood by considering the following
question: Is there enough wood to cook the food? Although it is
not the wood that does the cooking but the fire, so, the agent is
like the wood that is used as the instrument while the
consciousness is like the fire and represented as the source of
agency. Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest to just follow
the instructions of the scriptures, and spiritual masters who have
encyclopedic knowledge of the scriptures. To do so is to act in
the mode of goodness.
TEXT 31 यया धमुमधमं च कायं चा कायुमॳव च।
अयथाव्र्ानानत ब्ज गधः सा पाथु रा्सी॥३१॥
yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca
ayathāvat prajānāti buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
yayā -- by which; dharmam -- the righteousness; adharmaṁ --
unrighteousness; ca -- and; kāryaṁ -- what duty to be done; ca--
also; ākāryam -- what duty not to be done; eva -- certainly; ca --
also; ayathāvat -- imperfectly; prajānāti -- are perceived;

buddhiḥ -- intelligence; sā -- that; pārtha -- O son of Pritha;
rājasī -- in the mode of passion.
That intelligence by which one imperfectly perceives what is
righteousness and unrighteousness, what duty to be done and
what duty not to be done, is in the mode of passion.
ANNOTATION: The intelligence of those situated in the mode
of passion is unable to distinguish between what is religion and
what is irreligion, and which subjects one should adopt or not
adopt according to time, place and circumstance. The
development of variation in the performance of Vedic actions and
other kinds of fabricated additions are against the command of
the Vedic scriptures, all confused entities that attempt to do this
are situated in the mode of passion.
TEXT 32 अधमं धमुममनत या म्यतॳ तमसावत
ृ ा।
सवाुथाु््वपरीतां्च ब्
ज गधः सा पाथु तामसी॥३२॥
adharmaṁ dharmam iti yā manyate tamasāvṛtā
sarvārthān viparītāṁ ca buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
adharmaṁ -- unrighteousness; dharmam -- righteousness; iti --
thus; yā -- which; manyate -- thinks; tamasā -- by ignorance;
āvṛtā -- enclosed; sarvārthān -- everything; viparītāṁ --
opposite; ca -- also; buddhiḥ -- intelligence; sā -- that; pārtha --
O son of Pritha; tāmasī -- in the mode of ignorance.
That intelligence which is enclosed in ignorance, which
regards unrighteousness as righteousness, and righteousness
as unrighteousness, and everything as it’s opposite, that
intelligence is in the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: In religion there is no violence, but those
religious practitioners are in the mode of ignorance kill living
entities, either animals or humans in the name of religion. They
follow asat or inauspicious instructions that are concocted by
their vicious leaders in the name of freedom and religion. Men in
ignorance believe that great souls are common men and they
accept common men as great souls. Embracing inferior

conceptions that are devoid of genuine knowledge, whatever one
sees in the mode of goodness, the person in ignorance sees and
acts on just the opposite of it.
TEXT 33 ध्ृ या यया धारयतॳ मनः राणॳ््रयरियाः।

य८गॳना्यमभचारर्या धनृ तः सा पाथु सा््वकी॥३३॥
dhṛtyā yayā dhārayate manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ

yogenāvyabhichāriṇyā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
dhṛtyā -- determination; yayā -- by which; dhārayate --motivates;
manaḥ-prāṇendriya-kriyāḥ -- the activities of the mind, life and
senses; yogenā -- by yoga practice; āvyabhichāriṇyā --
uninterrupted; dhṛtiḥ -- determination; sā -- that; pārtha -- O son
of Pritha; sāttvikī -- in the mode of goodness.
The uninterrupted determination that stimulates the

activities of the mind, one’s life and senses, by the practice of
yoga or by linking oneself with the supreme, that
determination is in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: The yoga process is mainly for controlling the
activities of the mind, life air, and senses. Without establishing
control over these elements, and an unwavering concentration, it
is very difficult to attain the Supersoul. When one does these
activities through determination and steadfastness he is said be in
the mode of goodness. Krishna consciousness is absolute loving
devotion to the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, Lord
Krishna, which is beyond human perfection or moksha. This is
absolutely the only way one may be freed from the entanglement
of the material existence. Devotional service or bhakti is the only
alternative for the entire creation to bestow benediction and is the
only means for attaining the ultimate goal of existence.
TEXT 34 यया तज धमुकामाथाु्ध्ृ या धारयतॳऽ्जन

ु ।
रस्गॳन फलाका्षी धनृ तः सा पाथु रा् सी॥३४॥
yayā tu dharma-kāmārthān dhṛtyā dhārayate ’rjuna

prasaṅgena phalākāṅkṣī dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
yayā tu -- but by which; dharma-kāmārthān -- religiosity, sense
gratification, and economic development; dhṛtyā -- by
steadfastness or determination; dhārayate -- are motivated;
arjuna -- O Arjuna; prasaṅgena-- by attachment; phalākāṅkṣī --
desiring fruitive results; dhṛtiḥ sā -- that determination; pārtha --
O son of Pritha; rājasī -- in the mode of passion.
But the determination which leads one to be attached to
desires for fruitive results in religiosity, economic
development and sense gratification, that determination is in
the mode of passion. O son of Pritha.
ANNOTATION: Men generally perform religiosity, make
money and enjoy the body. So, in this verse, Lord Krishna
confirms that activities which engage the mind, senses and body
for the purpose of remuneration and rewards, and for the
enjoyment of the senses, are completely situated in the mode of
passion. Thus, one should not use his determination and
intelligence for merely acquiring these material necessities. Such
a person is not considered to be a wise man.
TEXT 35 यया ्व्नं भयं श८कं ववषािं मिमॳव च।

न ववम्
ज चनत िम
ज ेधा धनृ तः सा पाथु तामसी॥३५॥
yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ okaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca
na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
yayā -- by that; svapnaṁ -- dreaming; bhayaṁ -- fearfulness;
okaṁ -- grief; viṣādaṁ -- moroseness; madam eva ca -- and
surely delusion; na vimuñcati -- unable to give up; durmedhā --
unintelligent; dhṛtiḥ sā -- that determination; pārtha -- O son of
Pritha; tāmasī -- is in the mode of ignorance.
O son of Pritha, that determination by which the
unintelligent are unable to give up dreaming, fearfulness,
grief, depression and delusion, that determination is in the
mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: Because of sinful activities committed in the

mode of ignorance, the living entity suffers delusion, fearfulness
and lamentation, and becomes morose. Such beings always sleep
to avoid their suffering which comes about because of their
mischievous and various kinds of wicked activities, here the
meaning of svapnam is constant sleep. The dharmedah, or
unintelligent fools, do not oppose their minds and prevent them
from allowing their senses to devour hither and thither in the
pursuit of low quality sense gratification.
TEXT 36 सख
ज ं ््विानीं ररववधं शण
ृ ज मॳ भरतषुभ।
अ्यासारमतॳ यर िःज खा्तं च ननग्छनत॥३६॥
sukhaṁ tv idānīṁ tri-vidhaṁ ṛṇu me bhāratarṣabha
abhyāsād ramate yatra duḥkhāntaṁ ca nigacchati
sukhaṁ -- happiness ; tv idānīṁ -- but now; tri-vidhaṁ -- of three
kinds; ṛṇu -- hear; me -- from Me; bhāratarṣabha -- O best of
the Bhāratas; abhyāsād – by cultivation; ramate -- one enjoys;
yatra -- where; duḥkhā -- of pain; āntaṁ -- the end; ca -- and;
nigacchati -- one attains.
O best among the Bhāratas, now listen to Me as I explain the
three kinds of happiness one enjoys by cultivation, and how
one can attain the end of all grief.
ANNOTATION: After explaining how the three modes of
material nature influence knowledge, action, intelligence and
determination, the Majestic Lord elaborates upon the three types
of happiness which correspond with the three modes of material
nature. Every human being desires one or other of these kinds of
happiness, and all of the above mentioned actions are performed
for the sake of achieving happiness.
TEXT 37 यतिरॳ ववषममव पररणामॳऽमत
ृ ८पमम ्।
त्सख
ज ं सा््वकंर८्तमा्मब्
ज गधरसाि्म ्॥३७॥
yat tad agre viṣam iva pariṇāme ’mṛtopamam
tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam
yat tad -- that which; agre -- in the commencement; viṣam iva--

is like poison; pariṇāme -- and at the end; mṛtopamam -- is like
nectar; tat sukhaṁ -- that happiness; sāttvikaṁ -- in the mode of
goodness; proktam -- is called; ātma -- embodied self; buddhi --
intelligence; prasāda-jam -- happiness arises.
That which in its commencement is like poison and at its end
is like nectar, that happiness which arises from the self-
realization is said to be in the mode of goodness.
ANNOTATION: In the material consciousness the mind and
senses are undisciplined and unregulated. It seeks gratification on
the spot and immediately from things like eating delicious food
or having sexual intercourse, which are the sources of instant
happiness. However, the happiness of self-realization is not
immediate and instantaneous but is attained through self-
regulation and discipline. In the beginning, such actions appear
to be painful and miserable, but in the end they deliver happiness
like nectar. Such happiness is the nature of the soul, obtained by
self-realization, which is serene, sublime, everlasting, perfect and
pure. Such happiness is, therefore, in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 38 ववषयॳ््रयसंय८गा्यतिरॳऽमत
ृ ८पमम ्।
पररणामॳ ववषममव त्सख
ज ं रा्सं ्मत
ृ म ्॥३८॥
viṣayendriya-saṁyogād yat tad agre ’mṛtopamam
pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtam
viṣayendriya -- objects of the senses and the senses; saṁyogād --
from the combination; yat tad -- that which; agre -- in the
commencement; amṛtopamam -- just like nectar; pariṇāme -- at
the end; viṣam iva-- like poison; tat sukhaṁ -- that happiness;
rājasaṁ -- in the mode of passion; smṛtam -- is known.
Happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with
their sense objects, which initially taste like nectar and in the
end is like poison, this happiness is known to be in the mode
of passion.
ANNOTATION: There is a form of happiness that is derived

from the interaction of the five senses, the eyes, ears, nose,
tongue and body, with the objects of the senses. This appears to
be just like nectar in the beginning but after repeating it several
times this sense enjoyment is eventually like poison in the end
causing psychological pain and various physiological disorders.
It causes internal diseases in different parts of the body and
creates a great amount of discomfort in the present life as well as
in the future life. Such happiness is covered with misery.
Therefore, the Supreme Lord announces that this form of
happiness is situated in the mode of passion.
TEXT 39 यिरॳ चानब
ज ्धॳ च सख
ज ं म८हनमा्मनः।
ननराल्यरमाि८्थं ततामसमि
ज ाृतम ्॥३९॥
yad agre cānubandhe ca sukhaṁ mohanam ātmanaḥ
nidrālasya-pramādotthaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
yad -- that; agre -- in the beginning; ca -- and; ānubandhe ca --
and at the end; sukhaṁ -- happiness; mohanam -- delusion;
ātmanaḥ -- the self; nidrālasya-pramād -- sleep, laziness,
illusion; utthaṁ -- produced of; tat -- that; tāmasam -- in the
mode of ignorance; udāhṛtam -- is called.
The happiness which disregards the realization of the soul,
the happiness of sleep, lethargy and illusion and that which
deludes the embodied soul from the beginning to the last part
of his life is called happiness in the mode of ignorance.
ANNOTATION: There is a form of happiness that is derived
from activities that are merely illusory, such as drugs and
alcohol, or from sleeping for prolonged periods of time due to
utter laziness. When entities that partake in this form of
happiness, awake and take pleasure in troubling other living
beings, they do not have any idea of right and wrong actions but
are still convinced that they are enjoying true happiness. This
form of happiness is in the pure mode of ignorance.
TEXT 40 न ति््त पगृ थ्यां वा दिवव िॳ वॳषज वा पन
ज ः।
स्वं रकृनत्ॴम्
जु तं यिॳ मभः ्या््रमभगण
जु ॴः॥४०॥
na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ

sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair muktaṁyad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ
na tad asti -- that there is no; pṛthivyāṁ vā -- or on the earth; divi
deveṣu vā -- or the demigods in the universal planetary system;
punaḥ -- again; sattvaṁ -- existence; prakṛti-jair -- born of
material nature; muktaṁ -- liberated; yad ebhiḥ -- from the
influence of these; syāt -- is; tribhir guṇaiḥ -- three modes of
material nature.
There is no being existing on the earth planet or among the
demigods in the universal planetary system who are free
from the influence of these three modes of material nature.
ANNOTATION: All of the wide varieties of eight million four
hundred thousand types of living species all over the universe are
under the influence of His modes of material nature. There is no
exception in this regard for any living entity, from Lord Brahma
down to insignificant microbes.
TEXT 41 रा्मणषररयववशां शर
ू ाणां च पर्तप।
कमाुणण रववभ्तानन ्वभावरभवॴगण
जु ॴः॥४१॥
brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-vi āṁ ūdrāṇāṁ ca paran-tapa
karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāva-prabhavair guṇaiḥ
brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-vi āṁ -- of the brāhmanas, the ksatriyas and
the vaishya; ūdrāṇāṁ ca -- also the ūdrās; paran-tapa -- O
conqueror of the enemies; karmāṇi -- the activities;
pravibhaktāni -- are clearly divided; svabhāva-prabhavair --
born of their own nature; guṇaiḥ -- according to the qualities of
three modes of nature namely goodness, passion and ignorance.
O conqueror of enemies, the activities of the brāhmanas,
kshatriyas, vaishyas and śūdras are clearly divided according
to the qualities of the three modes of material nature.
ANNOTATION: All over the world human societies are divided
into four social orders of life. This maintains the entire social
structure of the humanity under the three modes of material
nature goodness, passion and ignorance. Now the Lord is

explaining to human beings the different qualities of these
modes.
In this verse guna, or ‘quality’, is understood according to
one’s behavior. There is a particular behavior for brāhmana or
intellectual people, and for kshatriyas or aristocratic people, as
well as for a vaishyas- farmer’s life and a ūdra- laborer’s life. If
the brāhmana and kshatriya fall from their particular behavior
then they are not considered to be brāhmana or kshatriya. In this
age of Kali-yuga everything is overpowered by money. If
anybody has money they are considered to be great in the
society. People fail to recognize any classes according to quality
and work. This is the misfortune which is causing degradation to
society and the planet.
TEXT 42 शम८ िम्तपः श९चं षा््तरा्ुवमॳव च।
ञानं ववञानमा््त्यं र्मकमु ्वभाव्म ्॥४२॥
amo damas tapaḥ aucaṁ kṣhāntir ārjavam eva ca
jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam
amo -- serenity; damas -- self-control; tapaḥ -- austerity;
aucaṁ -- cleanliness; kṣhāntir -- tolerance; ārjavam -- honesty;
eva -- surely; ca-- and; jñānaṁ -- knowledge of the Vedic
literature; vijñānam -- realized knowledge; āstikyaṁ -- firm faith;
brahma-karma-- work of a brahma; svabhāva-jam -- arising from
his own nature.
The duties of a brāhmana born from his own nature are
serenity, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, tolerance,
honesty, knowledge of the Vedic literature and the realization
of knowledge.
ANNOTATION: Here, the Lord is referring to the social system
of the universe, which has described earlier. Now the Lord is
explaining the specific duties of each class. The present divided
religious systems are not anywhere in the Vedic scriptures.
Everyone used to follow Vedic system 5236 years ago. And all
Indian languages derived from Sanskrit language, but the word
Hindu was not derived from Sanskrit language. The Vedic system
created for the society is varnāsrama or sanātana dharma – the
four social orders of life. The word Hindu was given by the
followers of Islam religion from the opposite side of the Indus
River. They mispronounced the ‘S’ of the Sindhu saying ‘Hindu’
instead. This is how Vedic followers became known as Hindus.
These four social orders are described by the Lord in the 4th
chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā. The brahmanās act as the brain of the
society due to their good intelligence that they gain by study of
the scriptures. As prescribed by the Lord, the natural duties of the
brahmanās involve being peaceful by controlling their minds.
This is possible by strictly following the rules and regulations of
the scriptures. Once peace is established, self-control and the
impulses of the knowledge acquiring senses will be properly
directed. These duties also involve: austerity, through fasting on
the auspicious days of the Lord. Purity, which is internal and
external cleanliness by chanting the holy name and bathing every
day; tolerance towards insults and accusations of the people;
honesty, by acting without duplicity; cultivating scriptural
knowledge, i.e., genuine knowledge; and cultivating genuine
wisdom through realizing that one is not the body, and having
firm faith that the Supreme Lord Krishna is the supreme
controller of all. All these qualities are in the mode of goodness,
the mode in which all brahmanās work. Unfortunately, due to the
influence of the age of Kali, day by day, the good qualities are
waning in the human society.
TEXT 43 श९यं तॳ्८ धनृ तिाु्यं य्

ज धॳ चा्यपलायनम ्।
िानमी्वरभाव्च षारं कमु ्वभाव्म ्॥४३॥
hauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam

dānam ī vara-bhāva ca kṣhātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam
hauryaṁ -- heroism; tejo — supremacy or power; dhṛtir --
determination; dākṣyaṁ -- resourcefulness; yuddhe -- in battle; ca
-- and; āpy -- also; apalāyanam -- not fleeing; dānam --
generosity; ī vara-bhāva ca -- and the nature of controlling or
leadership; kṣhātraṁ karma -- duty of a kshatriya; svabhāva-jam

-- born of his own nature.
The duty of a kshatriya born of his own nature are heroism,
supremacy, firm determination, resourcefulness, not fleeing
from battle, generosity and to controlling everything with
strong leadership.
ANNOTATION: The Lord describes the normal duties of
kshatriya – the royal governing warrior class. The kshatriyas are
compared to the hands in the body; when one attacks or is
attacked, one first defends with the hands, therefore, kshatriyas
are protectors of the country and its citizens. Heroism or courage
in conflict is shauryam; power is fearlessness against all
opponents; determination is endurance to persevere in an
endeavor despite difficulties; resourcefulness is the ability to be
flexible in the execution of duties and in supplying necessities to
citizens; ‘not fleeing’ means an absence of cowardice, even in
matters of life and death; generosity is the tendency to help
others; īsvara-bhavah, they have the expression of God, as God
maintains everyone, similarly, the leaders and kings maintain all
their subjects. The administrators, as representatives of God,
have the capacity to lead and govern the dependents.
TEXT 44 कृवषग९र्यवाणण्यं वॴ्यकमु ्वभाव्म ्।

पररचयाु्मकं कमु शर
ू ्यावप ्वभाव्म ्॥४४॥
kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vai hya-karma svabhāva-jam
paricaryātmakaṁ karma ūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam
kṛṣi -- agriculture; go-rakṣya -- cow protection; vāṇijyaṁ --
business; vai hya-karma-- the duty of a vaishya; svabhāva-jam--
born of his own nature; paricaryātmakaṁ -- consisting of serving
others such as brāhmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas; karma --
duty; ūdrasyāpi -- and of the ūdra; svabhāva-jam -- born of his
own nature.
The duty of vaishyas born of their own nature are
agriculture, cow protection and business. The duty of sūdras
born of their own nature are labor work and service to others
(brāhmana, kshatriyas and vaishyas).
ANNOTATION: The vaishyas are the stomach of the body,
without supplying food and drinks one cannot maintain one’s
life. Agricultural activities, like producing and cultivating food
products, protecting cows and supplying milk products to human
society are main activities of the vaishyas. Milk products
generate fine brain tissue for human beings, and doing trade such
as stocks and other forms of business transactions is also a duty
and quality of vaishyas or farmers. The ūdras are the legs of the
body, who engage in all sorts of labor work. They assist the three
higher orders through their service to intellectuals or brāhmanas,
kshatriyas or administrators and vaishyas or farmers. However,
in the present age, due to the mixture of all social classes, it is
very difficult to determine who is in what social status, therefore
the scripture explains everyone to satisfy the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, Krishna with their present quality of
work. By which everyone transcends caste system.
atah pumbhir dvija sresthā varna-āsrama-vibhāgasah
svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam
“O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the
highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties
prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions
and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead”
Srimad Bhāgavatam 1-2-13.
TEXT 45 ्वॳ ्वॳ कमु्यमभरतः संमस्गधं लभतॳ नरः।
्वकमुननरतः मस्गधं यथा वव्िनत त ्छृणज॥४५॥
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ
sva-karma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu
sve sve -- each his own; karmaṇy -- work; abhirataḥ -- following;
saṁsiddhiṁ -- final perfection; labhate naraḥ -- a man achieves;
sva-karma-nirataḥ -- engaged in his own duty according to
qualification; siddhiṁ -- perfection; yathā vindati -- as attains;
tac-- that; chṛṇu -- listen.
By each following his own work a man achieves final

perfection according to the engagement in his own duty, now
hear from Me how this perfection can be attained.
ANNOTATION: All these four divisions are equal in all
respects. There are no higher or lower grades in terms of their
personalities and responsibilities. Intellectuals are compared to
be the brain of the body, administrators are compared to the
hands, farmers are waist in the body, and workers are the legs in
the body. If one damages any of these parts of his own body he
cannot live comfortably in this world. The brāhmanās require the
help of other three classes of people. Similarly, the kshatriyas,
vaishyas and ūdras all need each other to live happily in society.
But if anyone wants to attain perfection in their respective social
class then a fifth substance should be accepted. This is explained
by the Lord in the next verse.
TEXT 46 यतः रववृ तभत
ूु ानां यॳनस वुममिं ततम ्।
्वकमुणा तम्य्यु मस्गधं वव्िनत मानवः॥४६॥
yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
yataḥ -- from whom; pravṛttir -- the existences; bhūtānāṁ -- of
all living entities; yena -- by whom; sarvam idaṁ -- everything;
tatam -- is pervaded; sva-karmaṇā -- by his respective duties;
tam -- Him; abhyarchya -- by worshiping; siddhiṁ vindati --
achieve perfection; mānavaḥ -- a man.
A man achieves perfection by performing his own respective
occupational duties through the worship of the Lord, who is
all pervading and the source of all living entities.
ANNOTATION: In various parts of the scriptures it is explained
that Krishna is the source of everything. In the Bhagavad-Gītā,
Krishna also explains in several places that He is the cause of all
living beings aham sarvasya prabhavoh and all varieties of
bodies. Thus, He is the Supreme father of all living entities,
beginning from Brahma, Siva, Goddesses, Indra, Chandra, etc.,
while Nārāyana and Vishnus are His personal expansions. His

energy is all pervading. The whole of creation is Krishna’s body.
Krishna is called virāta purusha, within which mountains are
compared to His bone, forests are compared with His hair. His
head is compared to Brahma loka. His feet is compared to Pātala
loka. The sun and moon are His eyes, etc. Thus, in this universe
there is nothing but Krishna and His energy. Living entities are
part and parcel of Him, and they belong to His marginal potency.
In the 4th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, Krishna explains,
although He created all the social divisions, He is not within the
divisions. Therefore, it is imperative for all living beings to
engage their own respective occupational duties to perfect their
services, such activities are called devotional services to Maha
Purusha, Lord Vishnu. In Vishnu Purana 3.8.9 it is said that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, is worshipped by
the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varna
and āsrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Godhead. One
must be situated in the institution of the four varna and asrama.
TEXT 47 रॳया््वधमो ववगण
ज ः परधमाु््वन्ज टठतात ्।
्वभावननयतं कमु कजवु्ना्न८नत रक््बषम ्॥४७॥
reyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
reyān sva-dharmo -- one's own virtuous occupation; viguṇaḥ --
imperfectly done; para-dharmāt -- than other's duty; sv-
anuṣṭhitāt -- perfectly done; svabhāva-niyataṁ -- prearranged
according to one's nature; karma -- work; kurvan -- performing;
nāpnoti kilbiṣam -- do not incur sinful reactions.
It is always good to perform one's own occupational duty.
Although it may be performed imperfectly, this is preferable
to imitating another's duty and executing it perfectly. Duties
prearranged according to one's nature are not affected by
sinful reactions, or karma.
ANNOTATION: In the previous verse, it is explained how all
classes services are directing towards pleasing the Supreme Lord.
Why, then, one might want to imitate another’s service? In this

verse, the Lord addresses the possibility that some people will
consider themselves able to perform the duties of another. He
describes why the execution of one’s own occupational duty and
work is called one’s dharma, religion; that there is no need for
following the path of others. For example, neither should a
brāhmana imitate kshatriya’s work, nor should a kshatriya
imitate a brāhmana’s work, and similarly, vaishya and ūdra
must also stick to their own occupational engagements. The
Supreme Lord stresses this because it is better to perform one's
own duty imperfectly than another's duty perfectly. This is
because the imperfect action of one's own natural service is
superior to imitating another's duty.
In the context of the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Lord addresses this
topic because Arjuna has expressed a wish to imitate the duties
of the brāhmana class and avoid fighting his war, brāhmana’s do
not work. Rather, they educate their societies by propagating
Vedic knowledge. Whatever they honestly receive from their
service, brāhamanas use it to live happily with their families.
Sometimes they beg for their food and that is allowed for them.
However, such activities are not for the kshatriyas like Arjuna. In
the 1st chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā Arjuna stated to the Lord
that he prefers begging and living than killing people. Yet a
kshatriya’s duty is to protect the whole nation from unrighteous
evil elements. So, Arjuna shall kill his own people since they
have appeared to be enemies, but by following his own natural
path, as a kshatriya, this will produce no sin or reactions for
Arjuna.
TEXT 48 सह्ं कमु क९्तॳय सि८षमवप न ्य्ॳत ्।
सवाुर्भा दह ि८षॳण धूमॳना्वनररवावत
ृ ाः॥४८॥
saha-jaṁ karma kaunteya sa-doṣam api na tyajet
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ
saha-jaṁ -- prescribed according to one’s nature; karma --
action; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; sa-doṣam -- even if defective;
api -- although; na tyajet -- one should not give up; sarvārambhā
-- all endeavors; hi -- certainly; doṣeṇa -- with fault; dhūmena--
by smoke; āgnir -- as fire; ivāvṛtāḥ -- as covered.

Work prescribed according to one’s nature, even if it is
defective, should not be given up, O son of Kunti, since all
endeavors are certainly with some fault, just like as the fire is
covered by smoke.
ANNOTATION: In the material world, there are some faults
with every action one performs, so mistakes are common in the
duties of the materially embodied beings. Therefore, all actions
and activities produce visible and invisible results and are always
accompanied by some defects, just as fire is enveloped by smoke.
Thus aware of the natural imperfection and inauspiciousness of
all works, one shall not discard one’s own natural duties, which
are designated according to one's inherent nature from past lives.
The example given by the Lord to illustrate this is fire
covered by smoke. The smoke is the defective part of the fire
because it irritates one’s eyes by burning them. Smoke floods the
nose, suffocates, and makes one cough, but the person who
properly understands fire accepts it and disregards the presence
of smoke in the fire. Such a person still, therefore, uses the fire
even though it is inseparable from smoke because fire helps them
to cook, it takes away the cold, and removes darkness by giving
them light, etc. In this way, one must be aware of the benefit
following one’s natural duties, even though they will inevitably
have faults, like the fire’s smoke. Such natural duties eventually
purify the mind and senses if they are rendered to please the
TEXT 49 अस्तब्
ज गधः सवुर ््ता्मा ववगत्पह
ृ ः।
नॴटक्युमस्गधं परमां सं्यासॳनागधग्छनत॥४९॥
asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥ
naiṣkarmya-siddhiṁ paramāṁ sannyāsenādhigacchati
asakta-buddhiḥ -- having detached from worldly intelligence;
sarvatra -- everything; jitātmā -- having conquered the mind;
vigata-spṛhaḥ -- without material desires; naiṣkarmya-siddhiṁ --
perfect stage of freedom from reactions of karma; paramāṁ --
supreme or the highest; sannyāsenā -- by renunciation;

ādhigacchati -- attains.
One who is detached from everything by practice of
renunciation, who has conquered the mind, who has no
material desires, can attain the supreme stage of
independence from the reactions of karma.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, Krishna says that the highest
perfection of human life is to give up the desire of material
enjoyment and work unattached. However, this cannot take place
unless one has self-control. The meaning of self-control is to
have a mind that is not agitated by any differences that occur in
actions, speech and mind. Such self-control naturally manifests
as detachment for the fruits of activities. Once one gives up all
fruitive mentality, one is then, in the renounced order of life. This
can be earned by in any of the four social orders while they
execute their respective responsibilities. Hence, individuals from
any of the social orders are capable of obtaining the highest stage
of perfection: freedom from all kinds of karmic reactions.
A person who is working in Krishna consciousness is
automatically a renounced sannyāsi even though he uses the
opulence of the Absolute Lord. Such sannyāsi may seem to be
attached to possessions, but he is not, because his aim is to serve
the Supreme Brahman, Lord Krishna. Thus, he is completely free
from reactions and eligible to be associated with the Supreme
Lord.
TEXT 50 मस्गधं रा्त८ यथा र्म तथा्न८नत ननब८धमॳ।
समासॳनव
ॴ क९्तॳय ननटठा ञान्य या परा॥५०॥
siddhiṁ prāpto yathā brahma tathāpnoti nibodha me
samāsenaiva kaunteya niṣṭhā jñānasya yā parā
siddhiṁ prāpto -- achieving perfection; yathā -- as; brahma -- the
Supreme; tathā -- so; āpnoti -- one achieves; nibodha -- hear; me
-- from Me; samāsenaiva -- in summary; eva -- certainly;
kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; niṣṭhā jñānasya -- the stage of
knowledge; yā -- which; parā -- supreme.
Now hear from Me in summary, O son of Kunti, how can one

attain to the supreme state of perfect knowledge, the
knowledge of Supreme Brahman, and be free from the
reactions of karma.
ANNOTATION: The method by which such renunciation is
attained by perfect spiritual knowledge is explained by the Lord
in next three verses. This perfection is the quintessence of
spiritual wisdom. Thus, the Supreme Lord is asking Arjuna to
learn from Him how such wisdom can be accomplished. Such
wisdom lead one to render loving service to the Supreme
Brahman. Without such perfect spiritual knowledge, loving
service to Krishna is difficult. Consequently one’s human
mission is baffled, regardless of one’s high social, financial and
educational situation in the society. In Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 3-
12, it is mentioned:
bhagavad-bhakti-hinasya jātih sāstram japas tapah
aprānasyeva dehasya mandanam loka-ranjanam
“A person devoid of devotional service to Krishna, birth in a
great family or nation, knowledge of revealed scripture,
performance of austerities and penance, and chanting of Vedic
mantras are all like ornaments on a dead body. Such ornaments
simply serve the concocted pleasures of the general populace”.
TEXTS ब्
ज ्या ववश्
ज ्या य्
ज त८ ध्ृ या्मानं ननय्यच।
51- 53 श्िािी््वषयां््य््वा राग्वॳष९ ्यि
ज ्य च॥
वववव्तसॳवी ल्वाशी यतवा्कायमानसः।
्यानय८गपर८ नन्यं वॴरावयं समप
ज ागरतः॥
अहं कारं बलं िपं कामं ि८धं परररहम ्।
ववम्
ज य ननमुमः शा्त८ र्मभय
ू ाय क्पतॳ॥५१-५३॥
buddhyā vi uddhayā yukto dhṛtyātmānaṁ niyamya ca
abdādīn viṣayāṁs tyaktvā rāga-dveṣau vyudasya ca
vivikta-sevī laghv-ā ī yata-vāk-kāya-mānasaḥ
dhyāna-yoga-paro nityaṁ vairāgyaṁ samupā ritaḥ
ahaṅkāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ parigraham

vimucya nirmamaḥ ānto brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
buddhyā -- with intelligence; vi uddhayā -- fully purified; yukto -
- endowed; dhṛty -- by determination; ātmānaṁ -- the self;
niyamya ca -- and regulating; abdādīn -- such as hearing;
viṣayāṁs -- mundane sense objects; tyaktvā -- giving up; raga --
attachment; dvesau -- and hatred; vyudasya -- laying aside; ca --
also; vivikta-sevi -- avoiding materialistic persons; laghv-ā ī --
moderate in eating; yata-vāk-kāya-manasaḥ -- having controlled
speech, body and mind; dhyāna-yoga-paro -- absorbed in the
science of meditation; nityaṁ -- twenty-four hours a day;
vairāgyaṁ samupā ritaḥ -- having taken shelter of detachment;
ahaṅkāraṁ -- egoism; balaṁ -- power; darpaṁ -- pride; kāmaṁ -
- lust; krodhaṁ -- anger; parigraham -- and acceptance of charity
and donations; vimuchya -- being delivered from; nirmamaḥ --
without any sense of proprietorship; ānto -- the peaceful one;
brahma-bhūyāya -- for realizing the soul; kalpate -- is qualified.
Endowed with purified intelligence and regulating the self by
determination; giving up the mundane sense objects such as
hearing, touching; throwing away fascination and disgust;
avoiding materialistic persons; controlling in eating, and
controlling body, speech and mind; always engaged in the
science of meditation; detached from all mundane activities;
giving up all egotism, power, pride, lust, anger and accepting
charity and donations; devoid of false proprietorship and
peaceful: such a person is surely eminent to the position of
realizing the soul.
ANNOTATION: The Supreme Godhead explains that one gifted
with purified intelligence is naturally in the mode of goodness.
Such a spiritually eminent devotee gives up objects of sense
enjoyment. He does not eat too much or sleep too much. He does
these things to keep the body and soul together so that he can
engage constantly in the service of the Lord, which is the goal of
human life. He does not see any living beings based on the form
of their bodies or their bodily coverage. This is a symptom of
spiritual consciousness, beyond material mind and intelligence.

A devotee lives in a pure and remote place, eating vegetarian
diets after offering to Krishna, and uses his organs of the body,
speech and mind in glorifying the Supreme Lord. He is always
respectful to both his instructing and initiating spiritual masters.
He does not blame other devotees for their sense satisfaction, and
thus he becomes free from false ego. He does not try to
accumulate material wealth if that was not for the purpose of
serving the Lord. He always meditates on the Supreme Lord
while either serving or chanting His glories. He does not have
longings for bodily sense pleasures and soliciting other pleasures
of the senses. He is tranquil and peaceful in his mind. With an
absence of amassing excessive possessions and freedom from
mental disturbances, such a person is free from lust for power,
anger and pride born in the mode of passion. He is free from the
domination of proprietorship and is situated on the spiritual
platform as pure and faultless without any defect or blemish.
He is tranquil, peaceful, the serenity of bliss acquired by constant
reflection and meditation upon the Supreme Lord qualifies him
to achieve realization of the Brahman.
TEXT 54 र्मभतू ःरस्ना्मा नश८चनत न का्षनत।
समः सवेषज भत
ू ष
ॳ ज म्भ््तं लभतॳ पराम ्॥५४॥
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na ocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
brahma-bhūtaḥ -- one with the Absolute Truth; prasannātmā --
joyful within the self; na ocati -- do not laments; na kāṅkṣati --
do not desires; samaḥ -- equally disposed; sarveṣu bhūteṣu -- to
all living entities; mad-bhaktiṁ -- devotional service to Me;
labhate parām -- attains the supreme.
He who is thus spiritually positioned realizes the Supreme
Absolute Truth and becomes fully joyous within the self.
Such a person neither laments for any loss, nor hankers to
have anything, he is always equal to all living entities. Thus
situated in such state he attains pure devotional service unto
Me.
ANNOTATION: Now the Supreme Lord, who is the only owner

of billions of material and spiritual universes, explains the
characteristics of one who has become qualified for realizing the
state of Brahman. One who has experienced the wisdom derived
from the manifestation of pure knowledge and having joyful
mind without any material desires for sense objects, who neither
grieves on his losses nor is happy for what he has gained. For
him, all the oasis’s minerals and precious stones are just a lump
of insignificant pebbles. samah denotes equanimity, due to the
inner vision of the soul, he cannot see anyone as a separate body
but as part of the Supersoul. He neither sees a beautiful flower-
bearing plant, the mango tree that supplies delicious pulpy
mangoes nor a celestial beautiful maiden as different individual
spirit souls. Such a person is neither a friend to those who praise
and honor him, nor an enemy to those who criticize and ridicule
him; he is equal to everyone, and all moving or non-moving
beings are same for him.
Devotional service to the Absolute Truth is the supreme
perfection of all knowledge. Srimad-Bhāgavatam 1.7.10
says ātmarāmas ca munayo nirgrnte api urukrame: all types of
liberated beings who enjoy the self from within, due to their
maturity in yoga processes, are free from material bondage, yet
still they eagerly desire to render devotional service unto the
Supreme Lord Krishna or Vishnu forms. This is because the
Supreme Majestic Lord has all kinds of transcendental qualities
and delightful features that even those who have
achieved perfection and are completely self-satisfied become
enthusiastic and ever attracted to His beautiful features and
qualities. The son of Vyāsa deva, Sukhadeva Goswami and Sanat
Kumaras, the four mental sons of Lord Brahma, are examples of
persons who have realized Brahman. In this, the highest
platform, which is the devotional service unto the Supreme Lord
with total purity of heart and one who is established in complete
self-realization, there is no comparison for this blissful existence
in this material world. Without these qualifications, it is not
possible to realize the state of the Brahman in which one
perceives all living entities in a state of perfect equanimity. In the

absence of realizing the state of Brahman it is impossible to
become established in equanimity, and devoid of such Brahman
realization and equanimity it is impossible to achieve the
supreme destination and attain love for the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead. Thus, in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam it is
said:
navyavad dhrdaye yaj jna brahmaitad brahma-vadibhih
na muhyanti na socanti na hrsyanti yato gatah
“Always engaging in the activities of devotional service,
devotees feel ever-increasingly fresh and new in all their
activities. The all-knower, the Supersoul within the heart of the
devotee, makes everything increasingly fresh. This is known as
the Brahman position by the advocates of the Absolute Truth. In
such a liberated stage [brahma-bhūta], one is never bewildered.
Nor does one lament or become unnecessarily jubilant. This is
due to the brahma-bhūta situation.”
In the next verse Krishna speaks of the secret for
understanding Him fully.
TEXT 55 भ््या माममभ्ानानत यावा्य्चा््म त्वतः।
तत८ मां त्वत८ ञा्वा ववशतॳ तिन्तरम ्॥५५॥
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān ya cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā vi ate tad-anantaram
bhaktyā mām -- only by devotional service unto Me; abhijānāti --
one is able to know; yāvān ya chāsmi -- as I am; tattvataḥ -- in
truth; tato -- thereafter; māṁ -- Me; tattvato -- in truth; jñātvā --
knowing; vi ate -- go into; tad-anantaram -- thereupon.
Only by devotional service unto Me, one is able to know Me,
subsequently when one knows Me fully in truth through
knowledge, he can go into My spiritual Kingdom.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Supreme Lord who is
celebrated in all universes as bhakta-vatsala - the lover of His
devotee, says that He can be understood only through devotional

service. Only practical devotional service has the capacity to
purify one’s polluted consciousness. There are several methods
to understand the Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna in the pages of Vedās. They are karma-yoga, jnāna-
yoga, and dhyāna-yoga. All these are undoubtedly magnanimous
processes, but according to the Supreme Lord, it is bhakti-yoga,
which helps one to most effectively and quickly realize Him and
bestow excellent blissful life.
To understand Krishna fully, with all His entourage, one has
to have His mercy. Therefore, it is not possible for jnānis to
realize the Absolute, because they do not follow the instructions
of the Supreme Authority, Lord Krishna. He is not visible to any
powerful scientists or philosophers, no matter how many
scientific miracles they might have manifested to humanity. Until
they realize that their position is insignificant in front of the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead and that they should,
therefore, take a humble position in front of Him, He will not
manifest to them, even as a tiny presence in the cosmic creation.
There is no other way to understand that Krishna or the Supreme
Brahman is behind the material nature except through direct
devotional service to Him. As Lord Brahma says in Srimad-
Bhāgavatam:
“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the
mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of
Your Personality. But those who speculate to understand the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead are unable to know
You, even though they continue to study the Vedās for thousands
of years.”
Brahma says that even continuous study of the Vedās will
not help one to understand Krishna’s position. What, then, can
we say about speculative scholars who do not even know what
Vedā is? In other words, it is impossible to understand Krishna’s
position outside the Vedic study. They may try to spend their
whole life or even thousands of decades researching and trying to
find the Majestic Personality who is behind the creation, but they
will not able to realize that Krishna is the Person behind

everything because they do not have the mercy of the Lord, as it
is told by Lord Brahma. Therefore, one should not allow oneself
to have an over-inflated confidence due to one’s hired, tiny
material knowledge. na tat-samas cābhyadikas ca drsyate,
parāsya shaktir vividhaiva sruyate, there is no one equal to
Supreme Godhead Krishna or anyone above Him, He has
unlimited potencies working in different phases.
The summum bonum is to accept the authority of the
Bhagavad-Gītā, which is God Himself, and to start the process of
devotional service by chanting Krishna’s Holy name: Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma
Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare, and offer prayers and
worship the Supreme Lord.
There are millions of different types of devotional activities.
However, to receive all that is necessary to learn, one can merely
approach a spiritual teacher and he will teach one about the
bhakti-yoga process. By doing such services constantly and
without doubting this sublime process, one will enter into the
Kingdom of God. Thus, the Varāha Purāna states: with the
annihilation of all sins and demerits, thereafter, the renunciation
of the desire for sense objects, one progresses towards the
Supreme Lord Krishna by the transcendental medium of
devotion. For one who has realized the Supreme, even while in
the physical body, there is a progressive increase of spiritual
wisdom even after attaining liberation from material existence.
TEXT 56 सवुकमाु्यवप सिा कजवाुण८ म््यपारयः।
म्रसािािवा्न८नत शा्वतं पिम्ययम ्॥५६॥
sarva-karmāṇy api sadā kurvāṇo mad-vyapā rayaḥ

mat-prasādād avāpnoti ā vataṁ padam avyayam
sarva-karmāṇy -- all kinds of activities; api -- although; sadā --
always; kurvāṇo -- performing; mad-vyapā rayaḥ -- those who
have taken shelter of Me; mat-prasādād -- by My blessings;
avāpnoti -- achieves; ā vataṁ padam -- the eternal Kingdom of
God; avyayam -- never ending.
Although they are engaged in all kinds of activities; My

devotees have taken shelter in Me, by My blessings they
obtain the never ending eternal Kingdom of God.
ANNOTATION: A devotee may be engaged in so many
different types of services for his maintenance, sarva-karmany,
but his consciousness is surrendered to the Lord and fully
absorbed in thinking of Krishna. He may be poor, he may be
handicapped, illiterate or low born, but because of his connection
with Krishna in bhakti-yoga, such a devotee is directly protected
by the Supreme Lord and in the end of his life he will reach the
unlimited, eternal and imperishable nature, which is the abode of
the Supreme Majestic Godhead Lord Krishna.
TEXT 57 चॳतसा सवु कमाुणण मनय सं्य्य म्परः।

ब्
ज गधय८गमप
ज ागर्य म््चतः सततं भव॥५७॥
chetasā sarva-karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-paraḥ
buddhi-yogam upā ritya mac-cittaḥ satataṁ bhava
chetasā -- by full intelligence; sarva-karmāṇi -- all activities;
mayi -- unto Me; sannyāsya -- renouncing; mat-paraḥ -- devoted
to Me; buddhi-yogam -- devotional services; upā ritya -- taking
refuge; mac-cittaḥ -- conscious of Me; satataṁ -- always; bhava
-- become.
With full intelligence, engage all activities under My shelter,
renouncing everything, taking refuge in My devotional
service, always be conscious of Me.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the all-powerful Majestic Lord
asked Arjuna and through him, His other devotees, to depend on
Him for the fulfillment of all the activities they perform in
Krishna consciousness. Being free from false ego and pride, the
devotees of the Lord do not think that they are the doers of their
actions. These devotees and yogis always remember the forms of
the Lord: in His original two armed black bluish form bedecked
with peacock feather and attended by the flute; or meditating on
the Supersoul, they remember the four-handed Nārāyana or
Vishnu forms in their hearts. Some of them also imagine the

impersonal aspect of Lord Krishna. karma-yogis, jnāna-yogis,
dhyāna-yogis, bhakti-yogis and aspiring devotees of the same
classes should surrender to the Supreme Lord. Surrender means
service to Him, all should engage in their respective varieties of
devotional service in full consciousness of Krishna so as to
always remain under His protection.
TEXT 58 म््चतः सवुिग
ज ाुणण म्रसािातररटयमस।
अथ चॳ्वमहं कारा्न र८टयमस ववन््यमस॥५८॥
mac-chittaḥ sarva-durgāṇi mat-prasādāt tariṣyasi
atha cet tvam ahaṅkārān na roṣyasi vinaṅkṣyasi
mac-chittaḥ -- being in conscious of Me; sarva-durgāṇi -- all
obstacles; mat-prasādāt -- by My blessings; tariṣyasi -- you will
crossover; atha cet -- but if; tvam -- you; ahaṅkārān -- due to
false ego; na roṣyasi -- you do not hear; vinaṅkṣyasi -- will be
destroyed.
Being conscious of Me you will cross over all obstacles and
difficulties by My blessings, alternatively, if you do not listen
to Me due to false ego, you will be destroyed.
ANNOTATION: It should be clearly understood what will
happen if someone chooses to disregard or ignore the eternal
teachings of the Vedic scriptures given by the Bhagavān. In this
case, out of egoism and conceit one falls prey to the delusional
thinking that by acting contrary to the Vedic scriptures, they will
attain better sense gratification, which is the goal of the
conditioned soul. The disastrous result of this is that, such a
person commits sinful activities and fails to fulfill the purpose of
the human form of life. Consequently, at the time of their death
they will be hurled into the hellish worlds to suffer and rot in the
perpetual cycle of birth and death, in various species of life.
It is more obvious from this verse that by always being
conscious of the Supreme Lord one can easily overcome the
conditional life. Conditional life is tied up in the dense forest of
family life. For those who are not married, the conditional life is
tied up in one’s job and friendship, which encourages one to live

like a modern person. Most of the modern men’s routine in the
evening hours involve: drinking alcohol; eating in restaurant all
kinds of untouchable food for the sake of civilized company with
friends; wooing girls or woman; and watching sports, playing
games, movies, etc. Young men think that if they can do such
deeds without any obstacles they achieve success in their life.
However, the Supreme Lord Krishna explains that only after
hearing Him can one come out of the abominable conditional life
and without fixing one’s consciousness in Him, one will be fallen
into the whirlpool of material miserable ocean and will be lost.
TEXT 59 यिहं कारमागर्य न य८््य इनत म्यसॳ।
मम्यॴष ्यवसाय्तॳ रकृनत््वां ननय८्यनत॥५९॥
yad ahaṅkāram ā ritya na yotsya iti manyase
mithyaiṣa vyavasāyas te prakṛtis tvāṁ niyokṣyati
yad ahaṅkāram -- if, of false ego; ā ritya -- taking refuge; na
yotsya -- not to battle; iti manyase -- thus you think; mithyaiṣa --
is only in vain; vyavasāyas te -- resolution; prakṛtis -- material
nature; tvāṁ -- you; niyokṣyati -- will have to engage.
If by taking refuge in false ego you determine that you do not
want to battle, you will be wrongly guided. Having kshatriya
qualities you will have to engage in fighting.
ANNOTATION: The duty of a kshatriya or warrior, is to serve
the nation by protecting it from calamities. A problem appears,
however, because killing people is not in the mode of goodness,
it is in the mode of passion and ignorance. Nevertheless, while
the Supreme Majestic Lord is situated always in the pure
goodness, the Absolute Lord killed many trouble makers like
Kamsa, Chanura, and Mushtika to keep the society’s peace
intact. The Supreme Lord descended in the Vrshni and Yadu
dynasty, the powerful dynasty of that time. By His influence He
minimized the burden of the earth from the evil influence of the
demonic forces.
Although Arjuna was a kshatriya, a passionate warrior, he

was always situated in the mode of goodness due to his devotion
for Krishna. His profession as a kshatriya warrior did not allow
him to keep his mode of goodness because of the ongoing
conflict between Pāndavās and their cousins. The influence of the
mode of passion is so strong that by its potency, a kshatriya will
be compelled to fight, to establish the real religious principles.
Here, the Lord reminds him about his kshatriya duty; that if he
did not do his natural occupational duties of fighting because of
the influence of family attachment, he would be effectively
falsely directed by another form of the mode of passion.
Therefore, as the spiritual master Lord Krishna instigates Arjuna
to use his warrior qualities and fight.
TEXT 60 ्वभाव्ॳन क९्तॳय ननब्धः ्वॳन कमुणा।

कतजं नॳ्छमस य्म८हा्कररटय्यवश८ऽवप तत ्॥६०॥
svabhāva-jena kaunteya nibaddhaḥ svena karmaṇā
kartuṁ necchasi yan mohāt kariṣyasy ava o ’pi tat
svabhāva-jena -- born of your own nature; kaunteya -- O son of
Kunti; nibaddhaḥ -- being bound; svena -- by your; karmaṇā --
nature; kartuṁ -- to perform; ne -- not; icchasi -- you like; yan --
that which; mohāt -- by illusion; kariṣyasy -- you will act; ava o -
- unavoidably; pi -- also; tat – that.
O son of Kunti, due to delusion you seek to avoid fighting,
but being bound by your own nature it is inevitable you will
perform this act of fighting.
ANNOTATION: Actually, Arjuna’s compassion is due to God
fearing and devotion to Krishna. All beings who do not act under
the instruction of the Lord, are forced to act under the deceptive
energy of the Lord. This deceptive energy of the Lord work in
different modes of nature, which are explained several times as
passion, ignorance and goodness. If they carry out the orders
given by the Lord they are liberated from the conditional
existence. For Arjuna, he is a kshatriya and is therefore forced to
act according to the mode of passion. Nevertheless, whoever

agrees voluntarily to act under the direction of the Supreme Lord
becomes celebrated.
TEXT 61 ई्वरः सवुभत

ू ानां ृ्िॳ शऽॳ ्न
जु नतटठनत।
रामय्सवु भत
ू ानन य्रा ढानन मायया॥६१॥
ī varaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-de e ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmāyan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
ī varaḥ -- God or the Supreme controller; sarva-bhūtānāṁ -- of
all living entities; hṛd-de e -- n region of heart; arjuna -- O
Arjuna; tiṣṭhati -- resides; bhrāmāyan -- roaming about; sarva-
bhūtāni -- all living entities; yantrārūḍhāni -- being place on a
machine; māyayā -- by the potency of the illusory energy.
O Arjuna, the Supreme Controller resides in the region of
the heart of all living entities, after He is placed in the
mechanism of body as is produced by illusory energy He
directs all roaming living entities.
ANNOTATION: In this verse, the Lord admonishes Arjuna by
emphasizing how much all living entities depend on Him,
including Arjuna. As we have seen, although an individual is
master of his own body, he is not aware of all activities of the
body. Thus, how his nail grows each time he cuts, how his hair
grows every time he trims it, how the food and water get digested
within the body, and how other functions of the brain, heart and
kidneys are not known to the individual soul. There is, however,
another owner in the body. He is differently situated in the body,
and knows all such subtle and external functions of the body. He
is the Supreme Controller and Super Knower of all bodies. After
He is seated in the hrt-dese, in the region of the heart, He
activates, energizes and animates the physical bodies of all
embodied beings.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.8.9, beginning
with etasya va aksharasya, states that the Supreme Lord
commands the sun and moon to maintain their fixed positions,
the heavens and earth keep their respective position, the seconds,
minutes, hours, days, nights, weeks, months and years all
maintain their relative positions. In all varieties of bodies there
are individual souls, wandering all over the universes, taking
different bodies and dying according to their karma and desire. It
is the supreme controller, the Supersoul who is helping all these
living entities by giving them each a suitable body and
atmosphere to enjoy and suffer based on their own deeds.
Although the living entities are eternal like the Supreme
Godhead, they are dependent on God for everything including
breathing the air and drinking water; just as a puppet master
controls his puppets, so does the Supreme Lord control all living
entities. However, Sri Arjuna is not the super knower, and his
choice to fight and not fight is restricted by his partial judgment.
As the Lord explains next, this means that Arjuna must defer to
His judgment.
TEXT 62 तमॳव शरणं ग्छ सवुभावॳन भारत।
त्रसािा्परां शा््तं ्थानं रा््यमस शा्वतम ्॥६२॥
tam eva araṇaṁ gaccha sarva-bhāvena bhārata
tat-prasādāt parāṁ āntiṁ sthānaṁ prāpsyasi ā vatam
tam eva -- solely unto Him; araṇaṁ gaccha -- just surrender;
sarva-bhāvena -- in every way; bhārata -- O descendant of
Bhārata; tat-prasādāt -- by His mercy; parāṁ āntiṁ -- highest
peace; sthānaṁ -- abode; prāpsyasi -- you will obtain; ā vatam -
- the eternal.
O descendant of Bhārata, just take shelter of Him solely in
every way, by His mercy you will obtain the highest peace
and the eternal supreme residence, the Kingdom of God.
ANNOTATION: Krishna is making a recommendation to Arjuna
that he should surrender wholly to the īsvara, the supreme
controller who is dwelling in his heart. The practical
statement tat prasādāt means: by ‘His Grace’ Arjuna will obtain
peace. The param sāntim is very important, it is the supreme
peace one experiences before one obtains transcendental bliss.
Moreover, an important point here is that by ‘His Grace’ the

Lord is referring the countless incarnations of Ksirodhakasāyi
Vishnu. They are all qualitatively and quantitatively as powerful
as Lord Krishna, the original Supersoul, as any part of the whole
is filled with the whole. In this regard, Lord Krishna's direct
aspect is Bhagavān, this is His original eternal two armed
spiritual form that includes all of His avatārs in many different
forms. Therefore, Krishna is telling Arjuna to surrender unto
Him utterly. It makes no difference whether Arjuna surrenders to
Krishna or to the Supersoul, who are the same, both will allow
him to achieve the supreme eternal abode, the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 63 इनत तॳ ञानमा्यातं ग्
ज या् ग्
ज यतरं मया।
ववम्ृ यॴतिशॳषण
ॳ यथॳ्छमस तथा कज ॥६३॥
iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ guhyād guhya-taraṁ mayā
vimṛ yaitad a eṣeṇa yathecchasi tathā kuru
iti -- thus; te -- unto you; jñānam -- wisdom; ākhyātaṁ -- has
been described; guhyād -- of all that is confidential; guhya-taraṁ
-- the most confidential; mayā -- by Me; vimṛ yaitad --
deliberating; etat -- on this; a eṣeṇa -- fully; yath -- on this;
icchasi -- as you wish; tathā -- that; kuru -- act.
Thus, I have described to you knowledge of the greatest and
most secret of all secrets, the most confidential of all
confidential knowledge, deliberate fully on this and then do
as you wish.
ANNOTATION: Living entities are a part of God, but on one
dimension they also have independence from God. Krishna does
not interfere with anyone’s ‘free will’. If Krishna were to
interfere with the ‘free will’ that has given to living entities then
this would destroy the value of the ‘free will’. Thus, after
describing the whole Bhagavad-Gītā the Lord asked Arjuna to
reflect on the knowledge He gave to him and asked him to act as
he feels is right. The Lord instructed Arjuna to observe, analyze
and reflect on the teachings of the paths that have been given to
him. These are known as: karma-yoga, linking with the Supreme
Lord by one’s work; jnāna-yoga, linking through analytical study

of the material elements; dhyāna-yoga, linking through
meditation; and finally, bhakti-yoga, linking through loving
devotion. If Lord wants to force someone to do something, He
can easily do by His will power. But He told Arjuna to
thoroughly reflect on all these matters and understand how each
may be implemented into the reality of daily life and to
determine what he believes should be his ultimate conclusion
regarding what he will do. This is emphasized by the Lord by
saying yathecchasi tatha kuru: ‘you may act as you like’. The
Supersoul, or chaitya guru, is the supreme spiritual master from
within, however, He won’t be realized until one comes out of
one’s bodily designation; if one surrenders to that Supreme
Person, as Krishna advised Arjuna to take shelter in Him, then
one’s life will be full of transcendence.
TEXT 64 सवुग्
ज यतमं भयू ः शण
ृ ज मॳ परमं वचः।
इटट८ऽमस मॳ ृढममनत तत८ व्यामम तॳदहतम ्॥६४॥
sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ ṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ
iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam
sarva-guhyatamaṁ -- the most confidential of all; bhūyaḥ --
again; ṛṇu -- hear; me -- My; paramaṁ -- the supreme; vacaḥ --
instructions; iṣṭo asi me dṛḍham -- you are very dear to Me; iti --
thus; tato vakṣyāmi -- therefore I am speaking; te hitam -- for
your benefit.
Again hear from Me because you are My very dear friend, I
am speaking for your benefit and am confidentially providing
you with the greatest instruction of all instructions.
ANNOTATION: Out of generous compassion for all living
entities, the Majestic Personality of Godhead has revealed the
essence of the Bhagavad-Gītā by stating sarva guhyataman srnu:
‘hear again the most confidential teachings of all’. This refers to
bhakti-yoga – special loving devotion unto the Supreme Lord
Krishna and is considered the most exalted and superlative
practice. The Lord discloses the details regarding this ultimate
cream of knowledge of the Absolute Lord in the next two verses.

One may wonder why the Supreme Lord emphasizes that this
ultimate essence of the Bhagavad-Gītā is so much more
confidential than all other confidential teachings. This is to
illustrate just how utterly dear Krishna’s beloved devotees are to
Him. As this is elucidated in the next two verses by the Lord, this
is the very heart and soul of the ultimate benefit and permanent
welfare for Krishna’s devotees.
TEXT 65 म्मना भव म्भ्त८ म्या्ी मां नम्कज ।
मामॳवटॴ यमस स्यंतॳ रनत्ानॳ वरय८ऽमसमॳ॥६५॥
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo ’si me
man-manā -- thinking of Me; bhava -- become; mad-bhakto --
My devotee; mad-yājī -- worship Me; namaskuru -- pay
obeisances unto me; mām evaiṣyasi -- certainly you will come to
Me; satyaṁ te -- to you truly; pratijāne -- I promise this; priyo
asi me -- you are dear to Me.
Become My devotee by Always thinking of Me, worship Me,
pay obeisance unto Me, thus, you truly will come to Me; I
promise this to you because you are very dear to Me.
ANNOTATION: Although in the previous verse the Supreme
Lord suggested Arjuna to surrender to the Supersoul, in this
verse the Lord says that the most pre-eminent factor that must be
implemented is that Arjuna should take shelter in the source of
all expansions, in ‘Krishna’, by stating manmana - that beautiful
form of Krishna standing in curved legs, holding His divine flute
in His hand and peacock feather tucked in His turban. In this
verse, there are three things emphasized by the Lord. They are to
always ‘think of Krishna’, ‘worship Krishna’ and ‘offer
obeisance to Krishna’. Consider this statement in the
Taittiriyaranyaka Upanishad: “The magnificent Supreme Lord is
more glowing than thousands of sun, He is realized by absorbing
the mind in Him by meditation, and in realizing Him one attains
freedom from material existence”. This strategy is applicable to
all yogis: karma-yogis, jnāna-yogis, dhyāna-yogis and bhakti-

yogis. One who has sufficiently cultivated knowledge of Krishna
should be proud in the knowledge of the science of God. Without
such theological knowledge there cannot be attachment to the
deity form of Krishna, and without such attachment no one can
free from lusty desires, due to old age one’s organs may not
cooperate, but the fact is that the desire remains in the core of the
heart. There is no exception for any yogis or materialistic
persons in this regard.
When a devotee fixes his mind on Krishna without
distraction, he may not like to concentrate on the Lord’s other
forms, like Nārāyana and Vishnu, even though there is no
qualitative and quantitative difference between Krishna and
Nārāyana. The friends of Krishna like to play only with Krishna.
Gopis in Vrindhāvana, for example, did not like to worship even
Nārāyana forms. Once, after disappearing from the presence of
gopis, when Krishna manifested before them in the form of
Nārāyana, the gopis just ignored Him and continued their search
for Krishna.
Krishna is the creator and destroyer in the form of kala;
there is no need for lovers of Krishna to fear Krishna at any time.
But the Nārāyana and Vishnu forms are worshiped with awe and
reverence. mad-bhakta is to offer all one’s love, sentiments,
fascinations, enthusiasm and excitements to Krishna. mad-yaji is
to worship Lord Krishna with love, to install a deity of Rādha
and Krishna in one's home and in one’s heart to worship as one’s
personal deity. Devotees worship the Lord from morning until
evening without ceasing.
yāji comes from yājana, which means worship. It signifies
ārdhana, the most exquisite loving worship. Service to the
Lordships is not merely a dry formal observation of ceremonial
rituals enacted out of duty. Wherever there is love for Krishna,
there is equal reciprocation of love from Krishna as well. Lord
Krishna's love is such that He finds it impossible to bear any
separation from His surrendered and dedicated devotees.
Therefore, without delay, He personally brings them to Him
directly in their eternal spiritual body, even while their physical

body is still concluding its last life in material existence. So it
should be clearly and emphatically understood that the Supreme
Lord Krishna's solemn promise to bring His surrendered devotees
to the Kingdom of God is the absolute truth.
TEXT 66 सवुधमाु्परर्य्य मामॳकं शरणं र्।
अहं ्वां सवुपापॳ्य८ म८षनयटयामम मा शच
ज ः॥६६॥
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ araṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā ucaḥ
sarva-dharmān -- all of kinds of religion; parityajya -- giving up;
mām -- unto Me; ekaṁ -- alone; araṇaṁ -- surrender; vraja --
go; ahaṁ -- I; tvāṁ -- you; sarva-pāpebhyo -- from all sinful
reactions; mokṣayiṣyāmi -- will deliver; mā ucaḥ -- do not be
afraid.
Give up all classes of religion, surrender unto Me alone. I will
free you from all kinds of sinful activities, do not be afraid.
ANNOTATION: A person who has no money is called a poor
person, similarly, a person who does not surrender to the
Supreme Person, who is his source, is called mūdha or foolish.
The Supreme Lord had explained to Arjuna a wide variety of
knowledge in seventeen chapters. He taught him the science of
soul, the action of time, the nature of the manifestation of
material nature, and about karma and the position of Supersoul.
The Lord also explained to Arjuna all kinds of yoga systems,
demigod worship, Vedic ritualistic activities and the prescribed
duties of brāhmana, kshatriya, vaishya and ūdras. After
bestowing all this knowledge, of which much was previously
confidential, the Supreme Lord concludes by saying that through
one’s complete surrender unto Him one achieves the ultimate
goal. We can compare this to when parents have a child, they are
vigilant from all directions in protecting their child. Therefore,
with such surrender, a devotee does not have to worry about even
the Vedic knowledge with prescribed duties.
The goal of religion is to understand God and love Him. In

the modern world there are different faiths and different names
given to God by different people in the different countries. God
is only one. Yet there are different doctrines of the science of
God, which give many different types of guidance for different
types of people, according to their country of birth and religion.
People choose among these doctrines according to their inherent
tastes which are circumstantial and which is almost all the time
are different from each other, due to their differing self-interests.
Many persons change their religion due to their ill-faith and their
own ideas about their deities and the correct philosophy.
However, the genuine goal of religion is to please the Absolute
Lord, Sri Krishna. This is explained in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam,
where Yamarāja instructs his servants by saying dharmām tu
sākshad bhagavat praneetam. One may follow karma, jnāna,
yoga or different doctrines, but it takes millions of births to bring
perfection one is seeking for, bahūnam janmanām ante.
Krishna is Bhagavān. Thus, the goals of all knowledge and
activity culminates in Krishna. Without understanding this
simple fact the living entities waste their time in different forms
of life and wander throughout the universe. Krishna can easily
see the past, present and future of all living entities because of
His absolute and paramount position as the creator, maintainer,
protector and sustainer of all creation. Thus, when Arjuna had
concerns about the battle; that if he took part in it and killed all
those warriors he will be implicated in killing, turning wives into
widows and children into orphans, etc. Arjuna worried about
bearing all these sins if he fought on his own. Therefore, he was
rejecting the idea of war and sought renunciation. Hence, the
Lord instructed Arjuna with the Supreme confidential knowledge
sarva-dharma parityajya, meaning that one should renounce all
conceptions of what one thinks or imagines to be right or wrong,
as is held by any religion, and to simply follow Krishna. Lord
Krishna, being all powerful, can take any amount of sinful
reactions, or bad karma. In this sense He is like the sun, which
can absorb water from any filthy place and yet remain
uncontaminated. However, a representative of God, or a son of

God can only nullify one sixth of the karma of his strong
followers after the disciple is properly initiated. Consequently,
Arjuna should forget all material logic and conceptions, which
may spring to his mind and just surrender unto Krishna. Such an
act of surrender is called sharanāgati. By doing this and by
working with Krishna, he will be completely free from all kinds
of sinful activities. Thus, one may protect oneself by
surrendering to the laws of a country, yet this is not as effective
as surrendering to the head of a country, to the source of the
laws.
TEXT 67 इिं तॳ नातप्काय नाभ्ताय किाचन।
न चाशर
ज ष
ू वॳ वा्यं न चमां य८ऽ्यसय
ू नत॥६७॥
idaṁ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana
na cā u rūṣave vāchyaṁ na ca māṁ yo ’bhyasūyati
idaṁ -- this science; te na -- you do not; atapaskāya -- to one
who is devoid of austerity; na -- never; abhaktāya -- to one who
is not a devoted to the Supreme Person; kadācana -- at any time;
na -- not; cā u rūṣave -- not to one who is not adverse to
devotional principles; vāchyaṁ -- to be spoken; na ca -- also not;
māṁ -- of Me; yo -- anyone who; abhyasūyati -- envious.
You should never disclose this confidential knowledge to one
who is devoid of austerities, to one who is not devoted to the
Supreme, to one who is adverse to devotional principles and
anyone who is envious of Me.
ANNOTATION: Surrendering to the Supreme Person is a
confidential and exceedingly esoteric practice. The Bhagavad-
Gītā is the self-knowledge of Godhead spoken by Him. There is
no one in creation who understands Krishna except Krishna
Himself. Out of His causeless mercy the Supreme Lord imparted
this ancient confidential wisdom to His dear and pure devotee
Arjuna. However, this wisdom cannot be understood by or
imparted to those who do not fast on auspicious days, or who are
not Krishna’s devotees. It cannot be imparted to those who do
not appreciate God’s wisdom and power, or who never engage in
the devotional service of Krishna, or who are envious of

Krishna’s Personality and opulence.
Many atheistic persons declare that Krishna has no form.
There are around 650 people who have commented on the
Bhagavad-Gītā based on their impersonal conception of God.
They misguide people without giving any importance to the
speaker of Bhagavad-Gītā. But actually, it is so transparent that
Krishna is teaching the science of Him to Arjuna; there are
millions of demigods who witnessed this, including Lord Siva
and Lord Brahma. They were present in the sky to listen to this
confidential science of Godhead. One should not try to comment
on the Bhagavad-Gītā without being purified by devotional
service to Krishna, such loyal devotees can soothingly present
the song of God (the Bhagavad-Gītā) without giving whimsical
interpretations of Krishna’s verses by the divine grace of
Krishna. Therefore, one should not accept atheistic annotations
on the Bhagavad-Gītā by persons who do not know the glory of
the Supreme Absolute Truth, Lord Krishna.
Generally, the envy manifested by an ordinary person is due
to the opulence and fortune possessed by other person. Thus,
there are many members in society who are envious of Krishna’s
opulence and omniscience, such as uncle Shakuni and the many
unethical and uncivilized contemporary commentators of the
Bhagavad-Gītā. Such envious beings will be cast by the Supreme
Lord to the many species of life, as is explained in the beginning
of the 9th chapter of Bhagavad-Gītā.
TEXT 68 य इमं परमं ग्
ज यं म्भ्तॳटवमभधा्यनत।
भ््तं मनय परां कृ्वा मामॳवटॴ य्यसंशयः॥६८॥
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati
bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā mām evaiṣyaty asaṁ ayaḥ
ya -- one who; idaṁ -- this; paramaṁ guhyaṁ -- the most
confidential secrets; mad-bhakteṣv -- to My devotees;
abhidhāsyati -- describe; bhaktiṁ -- devotional service; mayi --
unto Me; parāṁ -- supreme; kṛtvā -- doing; mām evaiṣyaty --
certainly returns back to Me; asaṁ ayaḥ -- without a doubt.
One who describes these most confidential secrets (the

Bhagavad-Gītā) to My devotees, obtains pure devotional
service unto Me, at the end of his life he will surely return
back to Me, without a doubt.
ANNOTATION: One who organizes assembly for discussing
Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā and elucidates among devotees this most
precious knowledge of the science of Krishna is recommended
by the Lord. Those who are not matured in knowledge will not
comprehend the Bhagavad-Gītā. This science of Krishna is
bhakti-yoga and it shall be presented in an original manner to
benefit the devotees, without personal admiration or prestige, but
only to please the Supreme Lord. The word bhaktesu means only
those devotees with sincere endeavor who want to disseminate
this transcendental knowledge to other devotees are allowed to
reside in the Supreme abode of Krishna Loka. Thus, only the
performance of acts of devotion can attract the attention of the
Supreme Lord. This means that although an understanding of
Vedic knowledge and the practice of its rituals are noteworthy
and exemplary, this alone will only allow one to attain a
temporary residence in the heavenly planets and never in the
Kingdom of God; such materialistic and ritualistic activities do
not have the potency to attract the Supreme Lord that is found in
acts of devotion.
TEXT 69 न च त्मा्मनटज यॳषज क््च्मॳ वरयकृतमः।
भववता न च मॳ त्माि्यः वरयतर८ भवज व॥६९॥
na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu ka cin me priya-kṛttamaḥ
bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priya-taro bhuvi
na ca -- and not; tasmān -- than he; manuṣyeṣu -- among
humanity; ka cin -- anyone; me priya-kṛttamaḥ -- more dear to
Me; bhavitā na -- there will not be; ca -- and; me -- to Me;
tasmād -- than he; anyaḥ -- another; priya-taro -- more dear;
bhuvi -- in this world.
In this world, there is not one among humanity more dearly
to Me than he, and there will never be one more dear to Me
than he.
ANNOTATION: The knowledge of the science of God is for all

human beings regardless of their country of origin or skin color.
As He explained in the 15th chapter, all living entities are
eternally fragmented from Krishna. This knowledge is, therefore,
not to be taken in a sectarian manner; Krishna never said that this
science is to be given for only one particular group of people or
for one particular country. All living entities have five kinds of
eternal relationships with God: neutrality; service; friendship;
parental and conjugal. Krishna says in this verse that those who
preach His name, and promote His fame, philosophy and this
spiritual science in whole to others are very dear to Him; priya-
krttamah, such preachers are the topmost devotees in His service,
thus there won’t be anyone in the future as dear as such a servant.
TEXT 70 अ्यॳटयतॳ च य इमं ध्यं संवािमावय८ः।

ञानयञॳन तॳनाहममटटः ्याममनत मॳ मनतः॥७०॥
adhyeṣyate ca ya imaṁ dharmyaṁ saṁvādam āvayoḥ
jñāna-yajñena tenāham iṣṭaḥ syām iti me matiḥ
adhyeṣyate -- will study; ca ya -- and for one who; imaṁ -- this;
dharmyaṁ -- most righteous; saṁvādam -- dialogue; āvayoḥ -- of
ours; jñāna-yajñena -- by the sacrifice of knowledge; tenā -- by
him; āham -- I; iṣṭaḥ -- worshiped; syām -- shall be; iti -- this is;
me matiḥ -- My opinion.
One who studies this most righteous dialogue of ours,
worships Me by knowledge and sacrifice, that is My opinion.
ANNOTATION: People in general think they are comfortable in
this world because they have all the material facilities they need,
therefore they feel as if they do not have to take up serious
devotional service to the Supreme Majestic Godhead. This can be
explained with an analogy: when one is in need of water and
there is no water for hours or for days, one understands the
importance of water and no longer takes it for granted. When one
is blind, one understands the importance of eyes. Those who
have enough water and eyes may not fully appreciate the
importance of those things. Similarly, some people think they are

comfortable in this world because they have material opulences
and others around them; such people never seek any blessings
from the Supreme Lord. However, when calamities fall upon
their families and their problems cannot be solved, they rush into
the temple for assistance. They are ignorant about the so called
wealth and security, which will be soon perished on the march of
time. Rather than living pure materialistic way only to adopt
spirituality in times of need, it is better that everyone dedicate
their life with consistent devotion to the Supreme Majestic
Godhead Lord Krishna, with a devotion that is not instigated by
outside pressures such as material calamities and losses of
wealth. To do this one must intelligently follow the teachings of
the Absolute Lord, the Bhagavad-Gītā, which was accepted by
Arjuna in devotion. That is Krishna’s recommendation for
everyone, which will be the only process supremely helpful for
everyone at all times such as while living, at the time of death
and after death.
TEXT 71 र्धावाननसय ू ्च शण ृ य
ज ािवप य८नरः।
स८ऽवप म्
ज तः शभज ाँ्ल८का्रा्नय ज ा्प्
ज यकमुणाम ्॥७१॥
raddhāvān anasūya ca ṛṇuyād api yo naraḥ
so ’pi muktaḥ ubhāḻ lokān prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām
raddhāvān -- with faith; anasūya -- not envious; ca -- and;
ṛṇuyād -- only listens to this; api -- certainly; yo naraḥ -- the
man; so ’pi -- and he; muktaḥ -- is liberated; ubhāḻ lokān -- the
auspicious planets; prāpnuyāt -- will reach; puṇya-karmaṇām --
of those pious activities.
The man who listens to this with faith and without envy is
certainly liberated, he will reach the auspicious planets of
those pious living beings.
ANNOTATION: There are two types of knowledge, namely,
material knowledge and spiritual knowledge. Material
knowledge is relative knowledge and spiritual knowledge is
Absolute knowledge. Generally, material knowledge is subject to
change and to be given different interpretations according to

time, place and other circumstances. However, spiritual
knowledge never changes at any time. The Bhagavad-Gītā is
Absolute knowledge and is full of spiritual energy. If people are
without envy of this absolute knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gītā
and Lord Krishna, and faithfully listen to the message of Krishna
in classes conducted by Krishna’s devotees, they will be free
from sinful reactions and achieve promotion to the higher
planetary system. Lord Krishna confirms that for one with faith
in Him, without malice and envy, who merely hears verses from
Bhagavad-Gītā and from His devotee, this is sufficient to free
them from the sins obstructing them from beginning to practice
their loving devotion of the Supreme Lord. This is enough for
one to become a liberated being; just to hear this divine discourse
from the Supreme Lord’s devotee is enough to be released from
the ocean of birth and death. Such a blessed one will join the
ranks of the Supreme Lord’s devoted servitors abiding eternally
in the imperishable spiritual realms, the Kingdom of God.
TEXT 72 क््चिॳ त्ुतं पाथु ्वयॴकारॳण चॳतसा।
क््चिञानसंम८हः रनटट्तॳ धनं्य॥७२॥
kaccid etac chrutaṁ pārtha tvayaikāgreṇa chetasā
kaccid ajñāna-sammohaḥ praṇaṣṭas te dhanañ-jaya
kaccid -- have; etac -- this; chrutaṁ -- heard; pārtha -- O son of
Pritha; tvayaikāgreṇa -- you with one pointed attention; chetasā -
- by the mind; kaccid -- whether; ajñāna -- of nescience;
sammohaḥ -- the delusion; praṇaṣṭas -- drive out ; te -- of you;
dhanañ-jaya -- O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna).
O son of Pritha, have you heard this with focused attention?
O conqueror of wealth, has your delusion and nescience been
dispelled?
ANNOTATION: There are so many types of story tellers and
fiction writers whose aim is merely to amuse their audience. The
Bhagavad-Gītā was not spoken by such personalities, like
comedians or writers of fairy-tales. Krishna is the Absolute
Supreme Godhead. He has instructed His disciple Arjuna, who

has humbly surrendered to Him in the beginning of the
Bhagavad-Gītā dialogue. Lord Krishna explained His science in
detail, and now the Absolute Lord enquiring with Arjuna that he
had any more doubts in his mind regarding the whole subject
matters discussed by the Lord. As this happens after lectures
today, lecturers obviously want to know if there are any
questions or comments from the audience or if the whole subject
is clear. If listeners have their doubts, the speaker should be
ready to explain further on that subject. Krishna asks this
question because, as He is the origin of everything, the Lord is
ready to explain the Bhagavad-Gītā again to Arjuna if he had
held any doubts.
TEXT 73 अ्न
जु उवाच
नटट८ म८हः ्मनृ तलु्धा ्व्रसािा्मया्यत
ज ।
््थत८ऽ््म गतस्िॳ हः कररटयॳ वचनं तव॥७३॥
arjuna uvācha
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayāchyuta
sthito ’smi gata-sandehaḥ kariṣye vachanaṁ tava
arjuna uvācha -- Arjuna said; naṣṭo -- has been dispelled; mohaḥ
-- delusion ; smṛtir -- memory; labdhā -- restored; tvat-prasādān
-- by Your grace; mayā -- by me; achyuta -- O infallible one or
Krishna; sthito ’smi -- I am stable; gata-sandehaḥ -- all doubts
are removed; kariṣye -- I will do; vachanaṁ tava -- Your words.
Arjuna replied saying: My delusion has been dispelled, O
infallible one, Krishna, by Your grace, I have regained my
memory. I am now stable, all my doubts are removed and I
will abide by Your teachings.
ANNOTATION: Arjuna agreed that he was previously in strong
illusion, and he agreed that under this illusion anyone can think
he is the body, or even think they are God. A spirit soul’s
original position is as the tiny spark and servant of the Supreme
Lord Krishna. He has two places of accommodation where he
resides, namely, the spiritual world or the material world. When

he is in the spiritual world He serves Krishna, when he is in the
material world he serves māya, or illusion. By Krishna’s mercy
Arjuna’s bondage in the material energy and in illusion is now
gone. Arjuna, therefore, replied by saying tvat prasādan: by your
grace, I have overcome this illusion. The illusion is the great
cause of bondage for all embodied souls in the material world.
Consider, for instance, when a lawyer acts in the court he acts
according to the laws of the State or the Country. He must do so
because, as a lawyer he is compelled to abide by the laws. A
truthful lawyer, then, brings success to his clients by studying the
laws of the Government. Similarly, an embodied being’s illusion
and misunderstanding that he is the body can only be overcome
by studying the laws and science of God. These are found in the
scriptures such as the Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā. Until one sees
beyond this conception of body, he will not be freed from
illusion. Under this illusion, the living entity loses their original
consciousness, their awareness that they are a servant or child of
Krishna. Without this awareness, they act whimsically to satisfy
their senses. Now, after properly hearing the science of the self,
Arjuna has retrieved his lost memory. Memory, or smriti,
describes one’s knowledge that they are the imperishable soul
and are distinct from matter. Since Arjuna has become firmly
convinced of the truth, now, without any doubt, he is ready to act
based on the instructions given by the Supreme Majestic
इ्यहं वासि
ज ॳ व्य पाथु्य चमहा्मनः।
संवािममममर९षम्भत ज ं र८महषुणम ्॥७४॥
sañjaya uvācha
ity ahaṁ vāsudevasya pārthasya ca mahātmanaḥ
saṁvādam imam a rauṣam adbhutaṁ roma-harṣaṇam
sañjaya uvācha -- Sañjaya said; ity -- thus; ahaṁ -- I;
vāsudevasya -- the all-pervading Lord, Krishna; pārthasya ca --
and Arjuna; mahātmanaḥ -- of the great souls; saṁvādam --

conversation; imam a rauṣam -- this have heard; adbhutaṁ --
wonderful; roma-harṣaṇam -- creating goose bump in the body.
Thus I have heard the wonderful dialogue between the great
personalities, the all-pervading Supreme Lord Vāsudeva and
Arjuna, this dialogue has given me goose-bumps over my
body.
ANNOTATION: By the mercy of Srila Vyāsa deva and through
the mahātmana, the Supreme Soul, Sanjaya, the secretary of king
Dhrtarāshtra, had inner vision of Srimad-Bhagavad-Gītā, the
divine discourse between Krishna and Arjuna. Sanjaya found the
transcendental dialogue to be most astonishing. It caused
adbhutam and roma-harsanam, the creation of goose-bumps, and
evoked spiritual excitement in his body that led to his hair
standing on end with wonder.
TEXT 75 ्यासरसािा ्ुतवानॳत्ग्
ज य महं परम ्।
य८गं य८गॳ्वरा्कृटणा्साषा्कथयतः ्वयम ्॥७५॥
vyāsa-prasādāc chrutavān etad guhyam ahaṁ param
yogaṁ yoge varāt kṛiṣhṇāt sākṣāt kathayataḥ svayam
vyāsa-prasādāc -- by the grace of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyāsa
deva; chrutavān -- have heard; etad guhyam -- this confidential;
ahaṁ -- I; param-- the supreme; yogaṁ -- linking oneself with
God; yoge varāt -- master of all yogas; kṛiṣhṇāt -- from Krishna;
sākṣāt kathayataḥ -- directly presenting; svayam -- personally,
Krishna.
By the blessings of Srila Krishna Dvaipaya Vyāsa deva, I
have heard this supreme secret of linking with the supreme,
this yoga that is issued directly from the Supreme Controller
of all yogas, Lord Sri Krishna, presenting personally to
Arjuna.
ANNOTATION: To understand the spiritual subject matter one
must have the mercy of his spiritual master. The bonafide
spiritual master is he who has come down by the succession of
teachers that are skilled in this discipline. In this verse, the

phrase Vyāsa-prasādāt means by the grace of Krishna
Dvaipayana Veda Vyāsa, the author of Vedānta sūtra: the
Purānās, Upanishads, Mahābhārata, Srimad-Bhāgavatam etc.
Sanjaya was favored by him who imparted Sanjaya a divine
vision to view the battle field of Kurukshetra, which was 90
miles away from the palace of Hastinapura. He was able to see
and hear the dialogue of every word by Lord Krishna to Arjuna.
While hearing the supreme dialogue of Bhagavad-Gītā from the
mouth of the Supreme Lord, Sanjaya was also simultaneously
viewing scenes of all their respective enemies hunted down on
the battle field. Such a confidential subject matter can only be
heard and seen by the mercy of a pure devotee spiritual master.
The spiritual master is the representative of Srila Vyāsa deva.
There is guru pūrnima every year; the day for honoring Srila
Vyāsa deva and his representatives. Srila Vyāsa deva is the
spiritual father of all vaishnava gurus. He received the divine
teachings from his spiritual master Srila Nārada muni. Thus,
according to the scriptures, on the birthday of the spiritual
master, the disciples organize the observance called Vyāsa-puja.
TEXT 76 रा््सं्म्ृ य सं्म्ृ य संवािमममम्भत ज म ्।
कॳशवा्नजु य८ः प्
ज यं ृटयामम च मह
ज ज मह
जु ज ः॥७६॥
rājan saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya saṁvādam imam adbhutam
ke avārjunayoḥ puṇyaṁ hṛṣyāmi ca muhur muhuḥ
rājan -- O King; saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya -- repeatedly
remembering; saṁvādam -- discourse; imam adbhutam -- this
wonderful; ke avā -- killer of Kesi demon, Krishna; ārjunayoḥ --
and Arjuna; puṇyaṁ -- pious; hṛṣyāmi -- I rejoice with thrill;
muhur muhuḥ ca -- and again and again.
O King, I again and again remember this wonderful and
pious discourse between the killer of the Kesi demon and
Arjuna, I repeatedly rejoice with tremendous excitement.
ANNOTATION: When a person who is devoted to Krishna hears
the most wondrous manifestation of Krishna’s majesty and
creation with faith and love, his body trills, shivers, and
manifests goose-bumps. The Bhagavad-Gītā is the
transcendental science given by the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Because of the love and
care Krishna gives to His surrendered devotees, after hearing the
Bhagavad-Gītā from Krishna Himself, or after reading authentic
annotations of this sacred text, one will also experience the same
love, security, and freedom from fear personified every moment
by the mercy of the Lord.
TEXT 77 त्च सं्म्ृ य सं्म्ृ य पम्य्भत
ज ं हरॳ ः।
वव्मय८ मॳ महारा््ृटयामम च पन
ज ः पन
ज ः॥७७॥
tac ca saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya rūpam aty-adbhutaṁ hareḥ
vismayo me mahān rājan hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ
tac -- that; ca -- also; saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya -- repeatedly
remembering; rūpam -- form; aty-adbhutaṁ -- greatly wonderful;
hareḥ -- one who takes away all material contamination is
Krishna; vismayo -- wonder; me -- my; mahān -- great; rājan --
O King; hṛṣyāmi -- I am rejoicing; ca -- also; punaḥ punaḥ --
again and again.
O King, I am repeatedly recalling the most wonderful form
of Krishna, who takes away all material contamination of all
living entities, I am greatly amazed, rejoicing again and
again.
ANNOTATION: The expression rūpam atyādbhutam refers to
the exceptional universal form manifested by Bhagavān on the
battlefield that was described in the 11th chapter. Sanjaya had
observed this form in utter surprise by the power of his
transcendental vision endowed by Srila Vyāsa deva. Srila Vyāsa
deva is a humble devotee and blessed directly by Krishna to
manifest all kinds of Vedic scriptures. The more he remembered
this astounding and shocking phenomenal form of Krishna, the
more rapturous and ecstatic he became by its tremendous
magnificence. Such an awesome sight brought waves of
indescribable ecstasy to Sri Sanjaya.
TEXT 78 यर य८गॳ्वरःकृटण८ यर पाथो धनध

ज रु ः।
तर रीववु्य८ भनू त्व
जु ा नीनतमुनतमुम॥७८॥
yatra yoge varaḥ kṛiṣhṇo yatra pārtho dhanur-dharaḥ
tatra rīr vijayo bhūtir dhruvā nītir matir mama
yatra -- where there is; yoge varaḥ -- the master of all mystic
opulences; kṛishno -- is Lord Krishna; yatra -- where there is;
pārtho -- the son of Pritha; dhanur-dharaḥ -- the wielder of the
bow and arrow; tatra -- there is; rīr -- fortune; vijayo -- victory;
bhūtir -- unique power; dhruvā -- surely; nītir -- morality; matir
mama -- that is my opinion.
Wherever there is Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead, and wherever there is Arjuna, the
wielder of the bow and arrow, there must also surely be
fortune, victory, unique power and virtue that is my opinion.
ANNOTATION: In the 6th chapter, Krishna is called yogesvarah,
the master of all yogis. Arjuna is called dhanur-dharah, master of
all archers. There was no one to fight with Arjuna and Bhima at
any time. This is because of the blessing of the Lord upon them
always. Here, in this verse, Sanjaya is subtly stating to King
Dhrtarāshtra that the dynasty of the Kauravas should give up all
expectation of winning the battle and should give up all desire to
become the sovereign authority of the entire Earth. The reality is
that wherever Lord Krishna is present together with Arjuna, their
opulence, victory, extraordinary strength and righteousness is
also present. The word dhruva means ‘certainly’ and specifies
that the previously mentioned qualities are guaranteed. Sanjaya is
gently trying to persuade King Dhrtarāshtra that it is not too late
for the Kauravas, even on the edge of war, to lay down their
weapons and surrender to Krishna by sharing the kingdom with
Yudhishthira, the actual emperor of the earth.
On behalf of Pāndavās, Krishna requested King
Dhrtarāshtra that he bestow 5 provinces for each of the brothers.
The wicked Prince Duryodhana refused the Lord, so the Lord
suggested a different solution to stop the war and save kings and
subjects of Dhrtarāshtra’s reign. However, in his anger and envy

Duryodhana declared that he would not even grant them land
enough to hold the tip of a needle. Finally, they had committed
themselves for fighting to death to rule the entire Earth.
The Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead Lord
Krishna was not the cause of the Mahābhāratā battle as some
irrational members of the world publicize. If the Lord wanted to
stop the war, He could have stopped the war by changing
Duryodhana’s heart as He is the Supersoul of all living entities.
But because He does not intervene in the little ‘free will’ of any
living entities, which the Supreme Lord has mercifully bestowed
upon them from the beginning of their manifestation. As a result
He did not force Duryodhana from battling with Pāndavās. In
God there is no darkness, if the world has to be managed
according to Lord Sri Krishna’s desire, then there won’t be
material manifestation because Krishna only desires His children
to be with Him in the spiritual universe, which is called Goloka-
Vrindhāvana. Therefore, any bad event occurs in the material
creation, is due to the rebellious and adamant demands of living
entities, not the Supreme Brahman Lord Krishna.
The Bhagavad-Gītā teaches pure devotion to the Supreme
Person. Pure devotion to God alone can bestow unlimited
happiness to Krishna’s followers. Krishna’s inconceivable
potency has no limitation and is able to take the devotees beyond
the covering of the universe in a fraction of a second.
Unfortunately, many people take Krishna’s supreme wisdom as
if He is a philosopher, a powerful person, logician or a politician,
etc. Such indecent interpret the Bhagavad-Gītā in their own way:
they say that, within Krishna, the impersonal Brahman is playing
this role in the Bhagavad-Gītā. Yet actually, Krishna could be
heard talking on the battle field as was depicted in the Bhagavad-
Gītā, Krishna manifested Brahman effulgence, universal form,
and His four-handed Nārāyana form. Due to their envious nature
and hatred towards personal form, these mūdhas will never be
freed from material existence.
In chapter 10 verse 10 Krishna states: “To those who are

constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the
understanding by which they can come to Me”. In chapter 18
verse 55, He states: “One can understand Me as I am, as the
Supreme Majestic Personality of Godhead, only by devotional
service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such
devotion, he can enter into the Kingdom of God”. The
Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.15, beginning eko hanso bhuvanas
yasya, states: ‘Only by knowing the Supreme Lord as He is one
may transcend the cycle of birth and death.’ This theme is found
confirmed in the Vedās, the Upanishads and the Purānas alike.
The only conclusion we can deduce from this is that only by
bhakti to the Supreme Lord Krishna and by devotion to the
spiritual master can one attain perfection in human life.
It is clearly visible to everyone that if Bhagavad-Gītā was
not present in human society, millions of human beings would
have been living like dogs and hogs. It is the animal’s propensity
to eat, sleep, mate and defend. But by the Supreme Majestic
Personality of Godhead’s causeless mercy towards human
society, this Supreme scientific knowledge of yoga has been
mercifully delivered. In light of the profound wisdom of the
Bhagavad-Gītā all of our so-called knowledge, which is
cultivated on the material platform is radically depreciated in
value, in comparison it is as if it were good-for-nothing. If this
science of yoga is perfectly followed, one would obtain limitless
devotion, mercy and protection by the unlimited Godhead from
the dangers of material existence.
The problem which arose in the heart of Arjuna on the
Battlefield of Kurukshetra was solved by the teachings of the
Bhagavad-Gītā. Again, after the departure of the Lord from the
vision of earthly people, when Arjuna was face to face with
being vanquished and removed from his acquired power and
prominence, he wanted to remember again the great teachings of
the Bhagavad-Gītā. He did so to teach all concerned that the
Bhagavad-Gītā can be consulted in all critical times, not only for
solace from all kinds of mental agonies, but also for the way out
of great entanglements, which may cause embarrassment and

failure.
Our Gurudev wrote: The compassionate Lord left behind
the great teachings of the Bhagavad-Gītā so that one can take the
instructions of the Lord even when He is not visible to material
eyesight. Material senses cannot have any estimation of the
Supreme Lord, but by His inconceivable power the Lord can
incarnate Himself to the sense perception of the conditioned
souls in a suitable manner through the agency of matter, which is
also another form of the Lord’s manifested energy. Thus, the
Bhagavad-Gītā, or any authentic scriptural sound representation
of the Lord, is also the incarnation of the Lord. There is no
difference between the sound representation of the Lord and the
Lord Himself. One can derive the same benefit from the
Bhagavad-Gītā as Arjuna did in the personal presence of the
Lord.
The faithful human being who desires to be liberated from
the clutches of material existence can very easily take advantage
of the Bhagavad-Gītā. With this in mind, the Lord instructed
Arjuna as if Arjuna were in need of it. It does not matter who the
person wanted to be liberated from this conditioned world. It said
in the purānās:
sucih sad bhakti-diptāgni-dagdha-durjāti-kalmasah
svapako api budhaih slāgyo na vedajno api nāstikah
“A person who has the pure characteristics, due to devotional
service, which is like a blazing fire burning to ashes all the sinful
reactions of past lives, is certainly saved from the consequences
of sinful acts, such as taking birth in a lower family. Even though
he may be born in a family of dog-eaters, he is recognized by
learned scholars. However, although a person may be a learned
scholar in Vedic knowledge, he is not recognized if he is an
atheist”.
In the Bhagavad-Gītā, five important factors of knowledge
have been delineated. They pertain to: (1) the Supreme Lord; (2)
the living being; (3) nature; (4) time and space; and, (5) the
process of activity (karma). Out of these factors, the Supreme

Lord and the living being are qualitatively one. The difference
between the two has been analyzed as the difference between the
whole and the part, what is part and parcel of the whole. Nature
is inert matter displaying the interaction of the three different
modes; eternal time and unlimited space are considered as
beyond the existence of material nature. The activities of the
living being are characterized as different varieties of aptitudes
which can entrap or liberate the living being within and without
material nature. All these subject matters are concisely discussed
in the Bhagavad-Gītā, and later the subject matters are elaborated
in the rīmad-Bhāgavatam for further enlightenment. Out of the
five subjects, the Supreme Lord, the living entity, nature, and
time and space are eternal. However, the living entity, nature and
time are under the direction of the Supreme Lord, who is
absolute and completely independent of any other control. The
Supreme Lord is the supreme controller.
The physical action of infinitesimal anti-material atomic
particle is without beginning, but this can be corrected by
modification into the nonphysical quality. Consequently, the soul
is able to stop its physical qualitative responses. Both Krishna
and the living beings are conscious, and both have the sense of
personal credentials, of being cognizant as a living energy. But
the infinitesimal soul, under the condition of prakriti, material
nature, misidentifies himself as being different from God. The
whole structure of ancient Vedic information is aimed to
eradicating such a misapprehension and thus delivering the living
being from the illusion of physical identification. When such an
impression is destroyed by transcendental knowledge and
renunciation, living entities are accountable players, as well as
answerable enjoyers. The transcendental sense pleasure in the
Lord is real, but such a sense in the living being is a sort of
ambitious craving only. This difference in consciousness is the
difference between the two individuals; namely, the Supreme
Being and the ordinary being. Otherwise, there is no difference
between God and living being. The ordinary living being is,
therefore, eternally one and different simultaneously. The whole

teachings of the science of God or Bhagavad-Gītā stands on this
principle.
The purified stage of acquiring knowledge becomes the
basis of devotional service to the Lord. As long as one is engaged
in researching the solution of the problems of life, his knowledge
is called jnāna, or purified knowledge, but on realizing the actual
solution of life, one becomes situated in the devotional service of
the Lord. The Bhagavad-Gītā begins with the problems of life by
discriminating between the soul and the elements of matter,
proving reason that the soul is indestructible in all circumstances
that the outer covering of matter, the body and the mind, change
for another term of material existence, which is full of misery.
The Bhagavad-Gītā is, therefore, meant for terminating all
different types of misery. Arjuna took shelter of this great
knowledge, which was imparted to him during the Kurukshetra
battle.

Bhagavad-Gita original ‘The Excellence of Renunciation’ by the
grand disciple and disciple of His Divine Grace
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada and Bhaktisvarupa
Damodar Swami Srila Sripada, H.H. Sri Krishna Chaitanya
Swami.
On the 15th day of September 2014 evening 8:47 pm 18th chapter

of Bhagavad-Gītā commented by the mercy of all achāryas, who
enlightened me with torch-light of Spiritual knowledge.

1. Who are the devotees very dear to Krishna? Describe their
activities and surrenders?
2. Name and describe activities of 4 classes of social orders.
1. Describe renunciation in each of the three modes.
(goodness, passion and ignorance).
2. When should one give up his prescribed duty? Why?
3. What would Arjuna have done if he hadn’t agreed to follow
Krishna’s instructions?
4. According to the Supreme Lord, define a sannyāsi?
5. Why can’t a spirit soul renounce work all together? What is
real renunciation and its result?
6. What are the five factors of action?
7. Outline the three factors that motivate action and the three
constituents of action?
8. What are the three kinds of happiness the conditioned soul
enjoys in the material world?
9. According to this chapter, how can one perfect his quality of
work?
10. What does Krishna say about the highest perfection of
human life?
11. Define the qualities of a devotee, who can be elevated to
self-realization?
12. What is brahma bhūta stage?
13. Explain the simple way to understand the Supreme Lord.
14. What kind of a devotee is elevated to Krishna Loka?
15. Describe the Sānskrit word mat-parah and its importance.
16. Write a note on the conditional life explained in the purport

of the verse 58?
17. Why did Krishna say to Arjuna “Therefore surrender unto
Him” instead saying “Surrender unto Me”?
18. Define sarva-guhyatamam?
19. What are the four things Krishna advises Arjuna to do?
What are the benefits of doing them?
20. Define surrender.
21. What kind of people can confidential knowledge of the Lord
not be explained to?
22. If the Bhagavad-Gītā is only for devotees, why do devotees
organize preaching programs to those who are not devotees
of the Lord?
23. At the end of Bhagavad-Gītā, what was Arjuna’s decision to
Krishna’s question?
1. Once in every 11th day after new moon or full moon is the
day of _______________
2. The Sānskrit word medhavi is translated in English as
____________
3. But the determination which leads one to be attached to
desires for fruitive results in religiosity, economic
development and sense of gratification, that determination is
in the ___________
4. The Sānskrit word dharmedah is directly translated as
_____________,
5. The duty of a ___________ born of his own nature are
heroism, supremacy, firm determination, resourcefulness,
not fleeing from battle, generosity and to controlling
everything with strong leadership
6. In this age of __________, everything is overpowered by
money.
7. ______called the sons of Lord Brahma.

8. The ____________ purāna states: with the annihilation of
all sins and demerits and, thereafter, the renunciation of the
desire for sense objects, one progresses towards the
Supreme Lord Krishna by the transcendental medium of
devotion.
9. Sanjay is Dhrdarastra’s charioteer’s _____________.
10. The statement: “As you like, you may act" indicates that
God does not interfere with the little __________________
of the living entity.
1. That work which is devoid of fruitive desires and is done as
a matter of duty without attachment, and is therefore free
from love and hatred, is said to be in the_____________.
(mode of passion, Mode of Pure goodness, Mode of
ignorance, Mode of goodness)
2. Personal activity and responsibility arises from the
_________ and godlessness. (mind, polluted intelligence,
false ego, soul)
3. The mode of goodness is _____________. (materialistic,
indolent, transcendental, illuminating)
4. The beginning of the verse “janmady asya yatah” is found
in _____________. (Mahābhārata, Sri Isopanishad,
Srimad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-Gītā)
5. Krishna says in Chapter 18 that “No one is dearer to Me
than _________.(the gopis, one who sings, one who
preaches, Rādharani)
6. “Those who are righteous in performing devotional service
but who are not pure can attain the planetary system of
____________. (Indra loka, Chandra loka, the Polestar,
Satya loka)
7. The living entity is the ________________ potency of the
Lord. (internal, external, marginal, Shakti)
8. ________is the author of Bhagavad-Gītā as it is.

(Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, Mādhavācharya, Srila
Prabhūpada, Rāmanujachārya)
9. On behalf of ___________, Krishna requested of King
Dhrtarāshtra that he bestow 5 provinces for each of the
brothers.( Yadus, Pānchal, Pāndavās, Duryodhana)
10. By the mercy of _________ and through the mahātmana,
the Supreme soul, Sanjaya had inner vision of Bhagavad-
Gītā. ( Sukadeva, Bhīshma,Vyāsa, Dhrtarāshtra)

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References from Srimad-Bhāgavatam and

Chapter Two 101

Chapter Three 217

the second satisfies the Supreme. One must choose one of

Chapter Four 299

Chapter Five 381

Chapter Six 423

Chapter Seven 491

Chapter Eight 555

Chapter Nine 601

includes chanting His glories, eating food that is offered to

Chapter Ten 665

Chapter Eleven 719

Chapter Twelve 775

Chapter Thirteen 801

Chapter Fourteen 849

Chapter Fifteen 889

Chapter Sixteen 927

Chapter Seventeen 971

progress towards an eternal life, life of devotional service to

Chapter Eighteen 1005

His society through Krishna World International [KWI]. Krishna

end, liberation, should engage himself in the devotional service

imperative to find “this” relationship as the source of our lives

of the Bhagavad-Gītā, Krishna proves that His world is the

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All glories to Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord

all religious scriptures. Eternal religion has no history because it

dance with an exposed body, or consume alcohol. Acceptance of

pretender, a hypocrite. All religious activities that are practiced

person comes to an assembly, everyone wants to shake hands

Godhead, the source of creation, maintenance and annihilation of

insignificance of the matter, and on all theoretical and practical

son Babruvāhana of Manipūra State. Again tensions rose among

“One who knows My supernatural birth and activities in truth,

religion, which is common for all material and spiritual classes,

Krishna Himself and He is the ultimate stage of God realization.

platform, but not on the bodily platform. The bodily concept of

concept of God as a person will be a mystery for them. Under

everything, there was always a person. Thus, it is foolish to think

Majestic Personality of Godhead, who is the nāyaka, or the

Sripāda Shankarāchārya was born in Kerala State of

Consequently Srīpāda indirectly and deliberately

given by Lord Krishna Himself as He mentioned in the

them all materialistic rather than approaching the devotional

“O son of Bhārata, I am the source of birth of the entire material

desires, wealth, and social status. The “grammar rules”