Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

Bhagavad-gītā 7.1 [with Translator]

Prabhupāda:

...samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṅu [Bg 7.1]

[Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.]

[begins lecture in Hindi] [translator translates] [aside to translator:] Just translate.

[01:19]

So if you have to translate, why not translate from English? That will be easier for me, and they will also understand. Huh? Thik hai? If he has to translate, then why not let me speak in English so that they will also understand? Huh?

Yaśomatīnandana: I will translate. [translates throughout]

Prabhupāda: So Bhagavān means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11].

[Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.]

Absolute Truth can be realized in the beginning as impersonal Brahman, which is the objective of the jñānīs, and next, Paramātmā, which is the objective of the yogīs, and at last, the last word in the absolute understanding is person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The ultimate issue is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just like we understand that in the sun globe there is the Supreme Person or the sūrya-nārāyaṅa, or the chief person within the sun planet. His name is also given in the Bhagavad-gītā—Vivasvān. The Lord says in the Fourth Chapter, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam [Bg 4.1]:

[The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.]

"I first of all explained this science, this yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā, to Vivasvān, the sun-god." Vivasvān manave prāhur manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt. And Vivasvān, the sun-god, he explained to Manu, and Manu explained to his son. In this way, by the disciplic succession the knowledge has come down. So when we speak of jñāna, knowledge, it must be learned from a person. So Bhagavān, the last word in the understanding of Absolute Truth, He says in this Bhagavad-gītā.

So Vyāsadeva specifically means here, bhagavān uvāca. He does not say kṛṣṅa uvāca, because sometimes Kṛṣṅa is misunderstood by the fools. So bhagavān uvāca, this word, means whatever He says, there is no defect or deficiencies. For ordinary person like us there are four defects: bhrama pramāda vipralipsā kara-ṅāpāṭava. [correcting translator] Vipralipsā, cheating. Vipralipsā, cheating. So in the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṅa or self-realized person, servants of Kṛṣṅa, those who have understood Kṛṣṅa, for them there are no deficiencies. They are perfect. For this reason Kṛṣṅa gives the instruction,

tad viddhi praṅipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti tad jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ [Bg 4.34]

[Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.]

One who has actually seen or actually realized the truth, you have to take knowledge from there. So we have to approach such person. Otherwise, if we approach some speculator, we cannot get real knowledge. So those who are speculators, they cannot understand what is God. Therefore they commit mistake that "God is like this," "God like that," "There is no God," "There is no form." All these nonsense things are proposed, because they are imperfect. Bhagavān therefore said, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritāḥ [Bg 9.11].

[Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.]

Because He comes for our benefit in the human form, the fools and rascals consider Him as ordinary person. If Bhagavān says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā [Bg 14.4],

[It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.]

"I am the seed-giving father," so we, every one of us, we know that my father is person, his father is person, his father is person, and why the Supreme Person or the supreme father should become imperson? Why? And therefore we have to learn from Bhagavān, the Supreme Person, full knowledge. This Bhagavad-gītā is therefore full knowledge from the full Personality of Godhead. We cannot change even one word in this Bhagavad-gītā. That is folly.

So our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is following this principle. We don't manufacture any concocted things. We simply distribute the message given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And this is becoming effective practically. You can see practically these Europeans and Americans, Australians, all over the world, they did not know four or five years ago, or say ten years ago, since I have begun this movement, they did not know what is Kṛṣṅa. Although Bhagavad-gītā was being presented by so many svāmīs and yogīs, not a single man became a devotee of Kṛṣṅa. So our this presentation, because it is pure, without any adulteration, it is acting very nicely. Even the Christian priests, they become surprised when they see that these boys, their boys—they were Christian or Jews—they become surprised that "These boys, who were never coming to the church, they were never interested in understanding what is God, now, since this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is there, how these boys have become so mad after God?" The only reason is that we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. We preach that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṅa says also in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg 7.7].

[O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.]

So this is being effective, that if we really want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, we must understand as it is presented by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is the movement which was given to us by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction is this. He says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa [Cc Madhya 7.128].

[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]

So He is asking everyone, especially bharatīya,

bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari kara para-upakāra [Cc Ādi 9.41]

[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is being conducted or was started by single-handed, myself. If all the Indian sages and saintly person, they take Bhagavad-gītā as it is and preach all over the world, there is great, great demand for it. Unfortunately, so many persons go there. One big svāmī, he said that "Kṛṣṅa means 'black,' and 'black' means unknown." Of course, nobody cares for his speech. Kṛṣṅa is going on, forward. Everyone is accepting Kṛṣṅa. But this is the most unfortunate thing, that our men go there to deprecate Kṛṣṅa. Therefore we should very carefully try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is presented by Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg 7.7].

[O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.]

This should be preached, that Kṛṣṅa is the supreme, ultimate. Ahaṁ saravsya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. Even Brahman, Paramātmā, has also come from Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is ultimate. He says, aham ādir hi devānām [Bg 10.2]. He is the supreme of all the demigods. There is no need of worshiping any other demigod. Kṛṣṅa says, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajanty anya-devatāḥ [Bg 7.20]. Hṛta-jñāna. Hṛta-jñāna means who has lost his intelligence. How he has lost his intelligence? Because they get from these demigods some temporary benefit. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām [Bg 7.23].

[Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.]

So our real problem is that we... Every one of us, we are the spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. We are struggling for existence within this material world. So manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṅi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg 15.7], struggle for existence. Therefore Kṛṣṅa says that "Your real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg 13.9]."

[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]

We are eternal. We understand from Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20]. So if I am eternal, nityaḥ śāśvata, then why I am accepting death? This is real question. But foolishly we are thinking, "I am this body": therefore we remain as an animal. So we should be interested to understand actually "What I am," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is real solution of all problems. This is called knowledge. But sometimes we are misled by misleaders; therefore we still remain in darkness in spite of cultivating knowledge. But actually, when we cultivate knowledge under the guidance of real guru, then we can understand, vasudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ [Bg 7.19].

[After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.]

This is confirmed in the Vedas, Brahma-saṁhitā:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṅa-kāraṅam [Bs 5.1]

[Kṛṣṅa 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.]

So spiritual knowledge means to become Kṛṣṅa conscious. This is the sum and substance, to understand Kṛṣṅa, what He is, not that concocting, manufacturing that "Kṛṣṅa is this. Kṛṣṅa is that." No. As Kṛṣṅa says, as śāstra says what is Kṛṣṅa, you have to understand it like that. So sādhu śāstra guru vākya. It is said that we have to accept knowledge through saintly person. Through śāstra and guru we have to understand. So Kṛṣṅa is accepted by all the sādhus and ācāryas. Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka, Viṣṅu Svāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu—all of them accepted Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So ācārya means one who has learned, taken knowledge from the śāstra, authoritative śāstra, Vedas. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended, ācāryopāsanam. If you want real knowledge, then you must take knowledge from the ācāryas or the ācārya-paramparā. Then there is knowledge. Otherwise it is ignorance.

So under the circumstances, whatever Kṛṣṅa says, Bhagavān says... Śrī-bhagavān uvāca, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha. The real business is to increase your attachment for Kṛṣṅa. This is your real business. How we can increase our attachment for Kṛṣṅa, that is explained by Kṛṣṅa. So mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ [Bg 7.1]. The āsakti, attachment, it has to be done according to the system, ādau śraddhā. First thing is śraddhā, little faith, that "Let us go to this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, and let us hear what they say." This is called śraddhā. Then if you become interested, then sādhu-saṅga [Cc Madhya 22.83].

[The root cause of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṅa is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Kṛṣṅa awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.]

Those who are actually devotees of Lord Kṛṣṅa, you have to associate with them. And who is sādhu? Sādhu is described by Kṛṣṅa in the Bhagavad-gītā: api cet sudurācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ... [Bg 9.30].

[Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.]

He is sādhu, who is... So the fact is, sādhu means unalloyed devotee of Kṛṣṅa. He is sādhu. Śuddha-bhakta.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmady anāvṛtam ānukūlyena kṛṣṅānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]

[One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.]

One who has no other desire than to serve Kṛṣṅa favorably, he is sādhu.

So we are sending all these sādhus all over the world, these European and American sādhus, because they have taken to Kṛṣṅa consciousness without any doubt. And it is becoming effective. Because we have got so many expansive centers all over the world, it is not possible for me to go everywhere. But these boys, because they have taken to Kṛṣṅa consciousness very seriously, they are doing very nice. And it is not difficult for them, because we have given this English translation of this book. We have got at least eighty books of four hundred pages, and they are preaching very nicely. And by the grace of Kṛṣṅa... You'll be surprised to understand that we are selling books not less than one lakh of rupees per day. So the preaching is going on very nicely. We request all Indians to take part in this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement and be yourself happy, be yourself guru, and deliver all other persons who are in ignorance.

And to become guru is not very difficult. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṅa'-upadeśa [Cc Madhya 7.128]

You become guru. It is not very difficult. How? Now, because you have to simply repeat what Kṛṣṅa has said. That's all. So Kṛṣṅa says everything in the Bhagavad-gītā. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [Bg 18.65].

[Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.]

These four things if you accept—to think of Kṛṣṅa always, to become devotee of Kṛṣṅa, to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṅa and to worship Kṛṣṅa—these four things if you do, you become Kṛṣṅa conscious, a devotee of Kṛṣṅa, and you can preach all over the world. It is not at all difficult. So if you become sincere, seriously Kṛṣṅa conscious, then there will be no difficulty because Kṛṣṅa says,

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam [Bg 10.10]

[To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.]

If you constantly, twenty-four hours, remain Kṛṣṅa conscious, man-manā, then—Kṛṣṅa is there within your heart—He will give you instruction, "Do like this." So Bhagavān is not far away from you. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna [Bg 18.61].

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

He is staying within the core of your heart. But if you qualify yourself as devotee, He'll speak with you. But if you commit offenses, thinking Kṛṣṅa as ordinary man, then Kṛṣṅa will never give you instruction.

So our request is, this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, that you study Bhagavad-gītā. You don't require... Because Bhagavad-gītā is the essence of all Vedic knowledge. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15].

[I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.]

Vedas means if you actually a student of Veda or Vedānta, Veda-Vedānta, then the ultimate goal is to understand Kṛṣṅa. And if you cannot understand Kṛṣṅa, however big Vedāntist you may be, you remain a fool. This is the conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā.

Thank you very much. [end]