CHAPTER 4 : Short Answer Questions

1. Describe the divine nature of lord Krishna's appearance

based on 4.5-10.
1.Krishna remembers all his previous appearances (but we can't remember
what we did yesterday!)
2. He appears in every Yuga by His own mercy
3. He comes when adharma is dominant over dharma
4. Purpose of Krishna's appearance.
● Deliver the pious
● Annihilate the miscreants
● Re establish Dharma
5. One who understands in truth the spiritual and uncommon nature of
Krishna's birth and activities does not take birth again and reaches his
spiritual abode.

2. Explain the analogy Srila Prabhupada gives in 4.6 to explain how

the Lord appears in every millennium in His
original transcendental form? (4.6)

● Just like the sun rises and sets, similarly the Lord appears and
disappears in this world.
● When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun has set, and when
the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon.
Actually, the sun is always in its fixed position, but owing to our
defective, insufficient senses, we calculate the appearance and
disappearance of the sun in the sky.
● Similarly, the Lord is unborn yet He appears to take His birth in multi
manifestations. He appears to grow from boyhood to youth.
● The Lord appears by His internal potency, in His own eternal body
which does not change, uncontaminated by this material world.

3. List the six kinds of avataras. (4.8)

There are various kinds of avatāras, such as 1) puruṣāvatāras, 2)

guṇāvatāras, 3) līlāvatāras, 4) śakty-āveśa avatāras, 5)
manvantara-avatāras and 6) yugāvatāras – all appearing on schedule all
over the universe. But Lord Kṛṣṇa is the primaeval Lord, the fountainhead
of all avatāras. He is Avatari.
4. List the eight steps from shraddha to prema, in English or Sanskrit.
(4.10)

The 9 stages of bhakti that we will all undergo in the process of progression
of our bhakti or Krishna Consciousness
1. Shraddha: Initial attraction to some aspect of Bhakti, be it temple or
Prasad or devotees or deities.
2.Sadhu sanga : Association of devotees of the Lord who practises
genuine spiritual culture.
3. Bhajana kriya: Chanting Hare Krishna, Studying BG, Offering food to
Lord and eating prasadam.
4.Anartha Nivrutti : Raga, Bhaya, Krodha start going away, one becomes
cleansed. Samskaras or deep rooted dirty impressions in our
consciousness are wiped out especially by the chanting process.
5. Nishtha: Anartha Nivrutti leads to Nishtha, firm and deep-rooted faith in
Krishna Consciousness.
6. Ruchi : From Nishtitha bhajana kriya comes Ruchi or genuine taste in
practising spiritual culture. One delights in this.
7. Aaskati: Firm attachment to the nama, rupa, guna, lila of Krishna.
8.Bhava: Stage preliminary to Prema, experience of God in various other
ways – fragrance, speech, flute etc

🙏🏼
9. Prema: Meeting Krishna in person!!! We get to know our actual
svarupa.

5. List the 12 mahajanas. (4.16)

There are 12 Great Devotees of Lord Vishnu, the Ultimate Knower of the
Dharma,
Brahma Manu Prahlada Yamaraja

Shiva 4 Kumaras Bhisma Janaka Maharaj

Narada Muni Kapila Sukadeva Bali Maharaja

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ

kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
balir vaiyāsakir vayam
(Reference: Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.20)
6. Explain, giving examples for each, the distinction
between ‘karma’, ‘akarma’ and ‘vikarma’ in relation to
the practice of Krishna bhakti, as discussed by Sri Krishna
in 4.17-18.

KARMA VIKARMA AKARMA

What is? Prescribed Forbidden action Inaction
action
For whom Done with Done with All activities are
material material done for Krsna
attachment attachment
Attitude According to Against shastras No desire for
shastras sense
gratification.
Acting as eternal
servitors of
Krsna.
Results Good reaction Bad reaction Transcendental
Happiness. No
reaction
eg. Observing Not observing Observing
Ekadashi ekadashi ekadashi for the
pleasure of the
Lord.

7. What is the purpose of sacrifices? What is the effective way to

attain spiritual knowledge? (4.30-42)
Purpose of sacrifices :
1.The common aim of all sacrifices is to control the senses. Sense
gratification is the root cause of material existence; therefore, unless and
until one rises above it, there is no chance of being elevated to the eternal
spiritual platform of full knowledge and bliss.
2.All sinful reactions are destroyed (yajña-kṣapita-kalmaṣāḥ) by
performing such sacrifices. Having tasted the nectar of results, the knowers
and performers of sacrifices attain the eternal spiritual realm (brahma
sanātanam).
3. Without sacrifice, one can never live happily in this life (or planet)
or the next.
Thus many types of sacrifice are described in the Vedas (brahmaṇaḥ).
They are born of different types of work (karma-jān) of the body, mind and
words (to suit different workers). Knowing and practising them, you will be
liberated (vimokṣyase).
4. Yajñas culminate in jñāna
The effective way to cultivate spiritual knowledge is to submissively
(pranipatena) approach a bonafide spiritual master, then make relevant
enquiries (pariprashnena) and serve him (sevaya).

This knowledge can be obtained by one who has faith in scriptures,

dedication in the process of nishkama karma yoga and sense control.

Long Answer Questions :

1. Present a summary of Bhagavad-Gita Chapter 4, identifying the

main philosophical concepts, sections of verses, and how they
connect. (PAST)
In chapter 3, Krishna explained that lust covers knowledge and that
ignorance binds us. He recommended karma-yoga for attaining
transcendental knowledge. Thus, after urging Arjuna to be transcendental
with the help of knowledge, He now explains what that knowledge is and
how it is received.

Position of Krsna ( text 1-10)

As the supreme authority, Krishna spoke this knowledge earlier to Vivasvan
and now speaks it again to Arjuna because he is Krishna’s devotee and
friend.

Although Krishna is unborn, He comes into this world to reestablish

religion, to protect His devotees, and to kill the demoniac. Anyone who
understands this knowledge will attain love for Krishna and go back to
Godhead at the end of this life.

Application of transcendental knowledge (text 11-24)

KRISHNA AS THE GOAL OF ALL PATHS AND THE CREATOR OF

VARNA-ASHRAM DHARMA (11–15)

After giving knowledge about Himself, which leads to liberation, Krishna

now explains how He is the ultimate goal of all paths and how everyone is
dependent upon His mercy for attaining success.
He has created the Varnashrama system whereby men can fulfil their
material desires and make progress toward liberation, but He is above this
system.

Krsna is neutral and only facilitates, through the agency of material nature,
fulfilment of the jivas' desires to act, but is not responsible for their right or
wrong activities and their subsequent results.

He does not aspire for the fruits of action and is aloof from material actions
and reactions. Arjuna should follow the example of past liberated souls who
acted with this understanding of Krsna's transcendental nature.

KARMA-YOGA on the platform of JNANA (16–24)

Krishna analyzes action and describes how to perform activities on the

transcendental plane.

Sacrifices ie. How to get transcendental knowledge (text 25 -34)

Krishna describes a variety of sacrifices because their ultimate goal is
transcendental knowledge.

Sacrifice has already been discussed in 3.9–16, where Krishna explained

that without sacrifice to Vishnu one cannot live happily in this world.

Transcendental knowledge - its Glories (text 35 -42)

Krishna now describes the glories of transcendental knowledge.

To attain it, one must control the senses and submissively approach a
spiritual master to render faithful service to him. Thus one will become free
from sinful reactions and understand his relationship with the Supreme
Lord. Krishna urges Arjuna to arm himself with transcendental knowledge
and fight.

2. Discuss three statements from Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, that

reflect Srila Prabhupada’s mood and mission.
Personal response question hence answer not shared