"Introduction to Bhagavad-gita"

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"Introduction to Bhagavad-gita"66/02/19 New York,First Tape Recording, Done by

Srila Prabhupada Himself

Prabhupada:

om ajnana-timirandhasyajnananjana-salakayacaksur unmilitam yenatasmai sri-gurave namah

[i offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the

torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness

of ignorance.]

sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistamsthapitam yena bhu-talesvayam rupah kada mahyamdadati sva-padantikam

[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this

material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me

shelter under his lotus feet?]

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams casri-rupam

sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivamsadvaitam savadhutam

parijana-sahitam krsna-caitanya-devamsri-radha-krsna-padan

saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

[i offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and

of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my

respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnavas and unto the six Gosvamis,

including Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami,

Jiva Gosvami and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri

Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all

His devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura. I then offer my respectful obeisances

unto the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, Srimati Radharani and all the gopis, headed

by Lalita and Visakha.] he krsna karuna-sindhodina-bandho jagat-pategopesa

gopika-kantaradha-kanta namo 'stu te

[O my dear Krsna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the

source of creation. You are the master of the cowherdmen and the lover of the

gopis, especially Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.]

tapta-kancana-gaurangiradhe vrndavanesvarivrsabhanu-sute devipranamami hari-priye

[i offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold

and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and

You are very dear to Lord Krsna.]

vancha-kalpatarubhyas cakrpa-sindhubhya eva capatitanam pavanebhyovaisnavebhyo namo namah

[i offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord.

They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are

full of compassion for the fallen souls.]

sri-krsna-caitanyaprabhu-nityanandasri-advaita gadadharasrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

[i offer my obeisances to Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita,

Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion.]

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare harehare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

[My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your

service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in

Your service.]

Introduction to Gitopanisad by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, the author of

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Easy Journey to Other Planets, editor of Back to Godhead,

etc.

Bhagavad-gita is known also Gitopanisad, the essence of Vedic knowledge, and one

of the most important of the various Upanisads in Vedic literature. This

Bhagavad-gita, there are many commentations in English and what is the

necessity of another English commentation of the Bhagavad-gita can be explained

in the following way. One American lady, Mrs. Charlotte Le Blanc asked me to

recommend an English edition of Bhagavad-gita which she can read. Of course, in

America there are so many editions of English Bhagavad-gita, but so far I have

seen them, not only in America but also India, none of them can be said

strictly as authoritative because almost every one of them have expressed their

own opinion through the commentation of the Bhagavad-gita without touching the

spirit of Bhagavad-gita as it is.

The spirit of Bhagavad-gita is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita itself. It is

just like this. If we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to

follow the particular direction mentioned on the label of the medicine. We

cannot take the particular medicine according to our own direction or by the

direction of a friend, but we have to take the medicine under the direction

given on the label of the bottle and as directed by the physician. Similarly,

the Bhagavad-gita also should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the

speaker Himself. The speaker of the Bhagavad-gita is Lord Sri Krsna. He is

mentioned in every page of the Bhagavad-gita as the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, Bhagavan. Of course, "bhagavan" is sometimes designated to any

powerful person or any powerful demigod, but here bhagavan is certainly

designated to Sri Krsna, a great personality, but at the same time we must know

that Lord Sri Krsna, as He is confirmed by all the acaryas... I mean to say,

even Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka Svami and Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu and many others. In India there were many authoritative scholars and

acaryas, I mean, authorities of the Vedic knowledge. All of them, including

Sankaracarya, has accepted Sri Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The

Lord Himself has also established Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead

in the Bhagavad-gita. He is accepted so in the Brahma-samhita and all Puranas,

especially in the Bhagavata Purana, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [sB 1.3.28]. So

therefore we should take Bhagavad-gita as it is directed by the Personality of

Godhead Himself.

So in the Fourth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita the Lord says,

imam vivasvate yogamproktavan aham avyayamvivasvan manave prahamanur iksvakave 'bravit[bg. 4.1]

evam parampara-praptamimam rajarsayo viduhsa kaleneha mahatayogo nastah parantapa[bg. 4.2]

sa evayam maya te 'dyayogah proktah puratanahbhakto 'si me sakha cetirahasyam hy

etad uttamam[bg. 4.3]

The idea is the Lord said to Arjuna that "This yoga, this system of yoga,

Bhagavad-gita, was first spoken by Me to the sun-god and the sun-god explained

to Manu. Manu explained to Iksvaku, and in that way, by disciplic succession,

one after another, this yoga system is coming, and in course of time this

system is now lost. And therefore, I am speaking to you the very same yoga

system again, the very same old yoga system of Bhagavad-gita, or Gitopanisad.

Because you are My devotee and you are My friend, therefore it is possible for

you only to understand."

Now the purport is that Bhagavad-gita is a treatise which is specially meant for

the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes of transcendentalists, namely

the jnani, the yogi and the bhakta. Or the impersonalist or the meditator or

the devotees. So here it is clearly mentioned, the Lord says to Arjuna that "I

am speaking or I am making you the first man of the parampara. Because the old

parampara or disciplic succession is now broken, therefore I wish to establish

again another parampara in the same line of thought as it was coming down from

the sun-god to others. So you, you take it and you distribute it. Or the

system, the yoga system of Bhagavad-gita may now be distributed through you.

You become the authority of understanding Bhagavad-gita." Now here is a

direction that Bhagavad-gita is especially instructed to Arjuna, the devotee of

the Lord, the direct student of Krsna. And not only that, he is intimately in

touch with Krsna as friend. Therefore Bhagavad-gita is understood by a person

who has similar qualities like Krsna. That means he must be a devotee, he must

be in relation, direct relationship with the Lord. As soon as one becomes a

devotee of the Lord, he has a direct relationship also with the Lord. That is a

subject matter very long, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in

relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in five ways. One may be a

devotee in a passive state, one may be a devotee in active state, one may be a

devotee as a friend, one may be a devotee as parent, and one may be a devotee

as conjugal lover.

So Arjuna was a devotee in relationship with the Lord as a friend. The Lord can

become a friend. Of course, this friendship and the conception of friendship

which we have got in the mundane world, there is a gulf of difference. This is

transcendental friendship which... Not that everyone will have the relationship

with the Lord. Everyone has got a particular relationship with the Lord and that

particular relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. At

the present status of our life we have not only forgotten the Supreme Lord, but

also we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living

being, out of many, many millions and billions of living beings, each and every

living being has got a particular relationship with the Lord eternally. That is

called svarupa. Svarupa. And by the process of devotional service one can

revive that svarupa of oneself. And that stage is called svarupa-siddhi,

perfection of one's constitutional position. So Arjuna was a devotee and he was

in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.

Now, this Bhagavad-gita was explained to Arjuna and how Arjuna accepted it? That

should also be noted. How Arjuna accepted the Bhagavad-gita is mentioned in the

Tenth Chapter. Just like

arjuna uvacaparam brahma param dhamapavitram paramam bhavanpurusam sasvatam

divyamadi-devam ajam vibhum

ahus tvam rsayah sarvedevarsir naradas tathaasito devalo vyasahsvayam caiva bravisi me[bg. 10.12-13]

sarvam etad rtam manyeyan mam vadasi kesavana hi te bhagavan vyaktimvidur deva

na danavah.[bg. 10.14]

Now, Arjuna says, after hearing Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, he accepts Krsna as param brahma, the Supreme Brahman. Brahman. Every

living being is Brahman, but the supreme living being or the Supreme

Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Brahman or supreme living being. And

param dhama. Param dhama means He is the supreme rest of everything. And

pavitram. Pavitram means He is pure from material contamination. And He's

addressed as purusam. Purusam means the supreme enjoyer; sasvatam, sasvata

means from very beginning, He's the first person; divyam, transcendental;

devam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ajam, never born; vibhum, the

greatest.

Now one may doubt that because Krsna was the friend of Arjuna, therefore he

might say all these things to his own friend. But Arjuna, just to drive out

this kind of doubts in the mind of the readers of Bhagavad-gita, he establishes

his proposition by the authorities. He says that Lord Sri Krsna is accepted as

the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only by himself, Arjuna, but He is so

accepted by authorities like Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasa. These personalities

are great personalities in distributing the Vedic knowledge. They (are)

accepted by all acaryas. Therefore Arjuna says that "Whatever You have spoken

so far to me, I accept them as completely perfect." Sarvam etad rtam manye [bg.

10.14]. "I take it, I believe it that whatever You have spoken, they are all

right. And Your Personality, Your Personality of Godhead, is very difficult to

understand. And therefore You cannot be known by even the demigods. You cannot

be known even by the demigods." That means the Supreme Personality Godhead

cannot be known even by greater personalities than the human being, and how a

human being can understand Sri Krsna without becoming His devotee?

Therefore Bhagavad-gita should be taken up in a spirit of devotee of Lord Sri

Krsna. One should not think that he is equal, on the same level of Sri Krsna,

or one should not think that He is an ordinary personality, maybe a very great

personality. No. Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So at

least theoretically, on the statement of Bhagavad-gita or on the statement,

assertion of Arjuna, the person who is trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita,

we should accept Sri Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and then,

with that submissive spirit... Unless one receives this Bhagavad-gita in a

submissive spirit and aural reception, it is very difficult to understand

Bhagavad-gita because it is a great mystery.

So in this Bhagavad-gita... We may survey what is this Bhagavad-gita. This

Bhagavad-gita is meant for delivering persons, persons from the nescience of

this material existence. Every man is in difficulty in so many ways, as Arjuna

also was in difficulty in the matter of fighting the battle of Kuruksetra. And

as such he surrendered unto Sri Krsna, and therefore this Bhagavad-gita was

spoken. Similarly, not only Arjuna but every one of us is always full of

anxieties due to our, this material existence. Asad-grahat. It is... Our

existence is in the environment or atmosphere of nonexistence. But actually, we

are not nonexistent. Our existence is eternal, but some way or other we are put

into this asat. Asat means which does not exist.

Now out of so many human being who are actually inquiring about his position as

to what he is, why he is put into this awkward position of suffering... Unless

one is awakened to this position, that "Why I am suffering? I do not want all

these sufferings. I have tried to make a solution of all these sufferings, but

I have failed," unless one is in that position, he is not to be considered a

perfect human being. Humanity begins when this sort of inquiries are awakened

in one's mind. In the Brahma-sutra this inquiry is called brahma-jijnasa.

Athato brahma jijnasa. And every activity of the human being is to be

considered a failure without having this inquiry in his mind. So persons who

have awakened this inquiry into his mind as to "What I am, why I am suffering,

wherefrom I have come or where I shall go after death," when these inquiries

come, are awakened in the mind of a sane human being, then he is practically

the right student for understanding Bhagavad-gita. And he must be sraddhavan.

Sraddhavan. He must have respect, a fond respect in the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. Such a person, as the ideal person was Arjuna.

So Lord Krsna, He descends, yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [bg. 4.7],

just to establish the real purpose of life. When man forgets the real purpose

of life, the mission of human form of life, then it is called dharmasya glanih,

the disturbance of the occupation of human being. So in that circumstances, out

of many, many human being, who awakens, one who awakens the spirit of

understanding his position, for him this Bhagavad-gita is spoken. We are just

like swallowed by the tigress of nescience, and Lord, being causelessly

merciful upon the living entities, especially for the human being, He spoke

Bhagavad-gita, making His friend Arjuna as the student.

Arjuna was certainly, being an associate of Lord Krsna, he was above all

ignorance. But still, Arjuna was put into ignorance in the Battlefield of

Kuruksetra just to question about the problems of life to the Supreme Lord so

that the Lord can explain them for the benefit of future generation of human

being to chalk out the plan of his life and act in that way so that his life,

his mission of human life, can be perfect.

So in this Bhagavad-gita the subject matter is comprehending five different

truths. The first truth is what is God. It is the preliminary study of the

science of God. So that science of God is explained here. Next, the

constitutional position of the living entities, jiva. Isvara and jiva. The

Lord, the Supreme Lord, He is called isvara. Isvara means controller, and jiva,

the living entities are... Jivas, the living entities, they are not isvara, or

the controller. They are controlled. Artificially, if I say that "I am not

controlled, I am free," this is not the sign of a sane man. A living being is

controlled in every respect. At least, in his conditioned life he is

controlled. So in this Bhagavad- gita the subject matter comprehends about the

isvara, the supreme controller, and about the controlled living entities and

prakrti, the nature, the material nature. And next, the time, or duration of

existence of the whole universe, or this manifestation of the material nature,

and the duration of time, or the eternal time, and karma. Karma means activity.

Everything, the whole universe, whole cosmic manifestation is full of different

activities. The living beings especially, they are all engaged in different

activities. So we have to study from the Bhagavad-gita, isvara, what is God,

jiva, what are these living entities, and prakrti, what is this cosmic

manifestation, and how it is controlled by time, and what are these activities?

Now out of these five subject matter, in the Bhagavad-gita it establish that the

Supreme Godhead or Krsna or Brahman or Paramatma... You may call whatever you

like. But the supreme controller. There is a supreme controller. So the supreme

controller is the greatest of all. And the living beings, they are in quality

like the supreme controller. Just like the supreme controller, the Lord, He has

control over the universal affairs, over the material nature, how the... It will

be explained in the later chapters of Bhagavad-gita that this material nature is

not independent. She is acting under the direction of the Supreme Lord.

Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [bg. 9.10]. "This material nature is

working under My direction," mayadhyaksena, "under My superintendence." So we,

we are mistaken. When we see wonderful things happening in the cosmic nature,

we should know that behind these wonderful manifestations, there is a

controller. Nothing can be manifested without being controlled. It is childish

to, not to consider about the controller. Just like a very nice motor car with

very good speed and very good engineering arrangement is running on the street.

A child may think that "How this motor car is running without the help of any

horse or any pulling agent?" But a sane man or an elderly person, he knows that

in spite of all engineering arrangements in the motor car, without the driver it

cannot move. That engineering arrangement of a motor car, or in electric

powerhouse... Now at the present moment it is the day of machinery, but we

should always know that behind the machinery, behind the wonderful working of

the machinery, there is a driver. So the Supreme Lord is the driver, adhyaksa.

He is the Supreme Personality under whose direction everything is working. Now

these jiva, or the living entities, they have been accepted by the Lord in this

Bhagavad-gita, as we'll know it in later chapters, that they are parts and

parcels of the Supreme Lord. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [bg. 15.7]. Amsa means

parts and parcels. Now as a particle of gold is also particle, a drop of water

of the ocean is also salty, similarly, we, the living entities, being part and

parcels of the supreme controller, isvara, Bhagavan, or Lord Sri Krsna, we have

got, I mean to say, qualitatively all the qualities of the Supreme Lord in

minute. Because we are minute isvara, subordinate isvara. We are also trying to

control. We are just trying to control over the nature. In the present days you

are trying to control over the space. You are trying to float imitation

planets. So this tendency of controlling or creating is there because partially

we have got that controlling tendency. But we should know that this tendency is

not sufficient. We have the tendency of controlling over the material nature,

lording it over the material nature, but we are not the supreme controller. So

that thing is explained in the Bhagavad-gita.

Then what is this material nature? The nature is also explained. The nature,

material nature, is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as inferior, inferior

prakrti. Inferior prakrti, and the living entities are explained as the

superior prakrti. Prakrti means which is controlled, which is under... Prakrti,

real meaning of prakrti is a woman or a female. Just like a husband controls the

activities of his wife, similarly, the prakrti is also subordinate,

predominated. The Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the

predominator, and this prakrti, both the living entities and the material

nature, they are different prakrtis, or predominated, controlled by the

Supreme. So according to Bhagavad-gita, the living entities, although they are

parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, they are taken as prakrti. It is clearly

mentioned in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita yes, apareyam itas tu

viddhi apara [bg. 7.5]. This material nature is apara iyam. Itas tu, and beyond

this there is another prakrti. And what is that prakrti? Jiva-bhuta, these...

So this prakrti, the constitution of this prakrti is constituted by three

qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion, and mode of ignorance.

And above these modes, three different kinds of modes, goodness, passion, and,

I mean to say, ignorance, there is eternal time. There is eternal time. And by

combination of these modes of nature and under the control, under the purview

of this eternal time, there are activities. There are activities, which is

called karma. These activities are being done from time immemorial and we are

suffering or enjoying the fruits of our activities. Just like in the present

life also, we enjoy the activities, the fruits of our activities. Suppose I am

a businessman and I have worked very hard with intelligence and I have amassed

a vast amount of bank balance. Now I am the enjoyer. Similarly, suppose I

started my business with a vast amount of money, but I failed to make a

successful..., I lost all the money. So I am sufferer. So similarly, in every

field of our life we enjoy, we enjoy the result of our work. This is called

karma.

So these things, isvara, jiva, prakrti, or the Supreme Lord, or the living

entity, the material nature, the eternal time, and our different activities,

these things are explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Now out of these five, the

Lord, the living entities, and the material nature and time, these four items

are eternal. Now manifestation, manifestation of prakrti may be temporary, but

it is not false. Some philosophers say that this manifestation of material

nature is false, but according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita or according

to the philosophy of the Vaisnavas, they do not accept the manifestation of the

world as false. They accept that the manifestation is real, but it is temporary.

It is just like a cloud takes place in the sky and the rainy season begins, and

after the rainy season there are so many new green vegetation all over the

field, we can see. And as soon as the rainy season is finished, then the cloud

is vanquished. Generally, gradually, all this vegetation dry up and again the

land becomes barren. Similarly, this material manifestation takes place at a

certain interval. We'll understand it, we'll know it, from the pages of the

Bhagavad-gita. Bhutva bhutva praliyate [bg. 8.19]. This manifestation becomes

magnificent at a certain interval, and again it disappears. That is the work of

the prakrti. But it is working eternally; therefore prakrti is eternal. It is

not false. Because the Lord has accepted, mama prakrti, "My prakrti." Apareyam

itas tu viddhi me prakrtim param [bg. 7.5]. Bhinna prakrti, bhinna prakrti,

apara prakrti, this material nature is a separated energy of the Supreme Lord,

and the living entities, they are also energy of the Supreme Lord, but they are

not separated. They are eternally related. So the Lord, the living entity, the

nature, material nature, and time, they are all eternal. But the other item,

karma, is not eternal. The effects of karma or activity may be very old. We are

suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from a time immemorial, but

still, we can change the result of our karma, or activity. That will depend on

our perfect knowledge. We are engaged in various activities undoubtedly, but we

do not know what sort of activities we shall adopt that will give us relief from

the actions and reactions of all activities. That is also explained in the

Bhagavad-gita.

Now, the position of isvara is supreme consciousness. Position of isvara, or

the Supreme Lord, is supreme consciousness. And the jivas, or the living

entities, being parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, he is also conscious. A

living entity is also conscious. The living entity is explained as prakrti,

energy, and the material nature is also explained as prakrti, but amongst the

two, one prakrti, the jivas, they are conscious. The other prakrti is not

conscious. That is the difference. Therefore the jiva prakrti is called

superior because the jivas has consciousness similar to the Lord. The Lord is

supreme consciousness. One should not claim that a jiva, a living entity is

also supremely conscious. No. A living being cannot be supremely conscious at

any stage of his perfection. This is a misleading theory. This is misleading

theory. But he is conscious. That's all. But he is not supreme conscious.

The supreme conscious, it will be explained in the Bhagavad-gita in the chapter

where the distinction between the jiva and isvara is explained.

Ksetra-ksetra-jna. This ksetra-jna has been explained that the Lord is also

ksetra-jna, or conscious, and the jivas, or the living beings, they are also

conscious. But the difference is that a living being is conscious within his

limited body, but the Lord is conscious of all bodies. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam

hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [bg. 18.61]. The Lord lives within the core of heart

in every living being, therefore He is conscious of the psychic movements,

activities, of the particular jiva. We should not forget. It is also explained

that the Paramatma, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living in

everyone's heart as isvara, as the controller and He is giving direction. He is

giving direction. Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisthah [bg. 15.15], everyone's heart

He is situated, and He gives direction to act as he desires. The living entity

forgets what to do. First of all he makes his determination to act in a certain

way, and then he is entangled in the actions and reactions of his own karma. But

after giving up one type of body, when he enters another type of body... Just

like we give up one kind of dress, one type of dress, for another type of

dress, similarly, it is explained in this Bhagavad-gita that vasamsi jirnani

yatha vihaya [bg. 2.22]. One, as one changes his different dresses, similarly

the living entities, they are also changing different bodies, transmigration of

the soul, and pulling on the actions and reactions of his past activities. So

these activities can be changed when a living being is in the mode of goodness,

in sanity, and he understands what sort of activities he should adopt, and if he

does so, then the whole action and reactions of his past activities can be

changed. Therefore karma is not eternal. Other things, out of the four, five

items -- isvara, jiva, prakrti, kala, and karma -- these four items are

eternal, whereas the karma, the item known as karma, that is not eternal.

Now the conscious isvara, the supreme conscious isvara, and difference between

the supreme conscious isvara, or the Lord, and the living being is, in the

present circumstances, is like this. Consciousness, consciousness of, both of

the Lord and the living entities, they are, this consciousness is

transcendental. It is not that this consciousness is generated by the

association of this matter. That is a mistaken idea. The theory that

consciousness develops under certain circumstances of material combination is

not accepted in the Bhagavad-gita. They cannot. Consciousness may be

pervertedly reflected by the cover of material circumstances, just like light

reflected through a colored glass may seem according to the color. Similarly,

the consciousness of Lord, it is not materially affected. The Supreme Lord,

just like Krsna, He says that mayadhyaksena prakrtih [bg. 9.10]. When He

descends in this material world, His consciousness is not materially affected.

Had His consciousness been materially affected, He was unfit to speak about the

transcendental subject matter in the Bhagavad-gita. One cannot say anything

about the transcendental world without being free from the materially

contaminated consciousness. So the Lord was not materially contaminated. But

our consciousness, at the present moment, is materially contaminated. So whole

thing, as the Bhagavad-gita teaches, we have to purify the materially

contaminated consciousness and in that pure consciousness, the actions will be

done. That will make us happy. We cannot stop. We cannot stop our activity. The

activities are to be purified. And these purified activities are called bhakti.

Bhakti means they are, they appear also just like ordinary activity, but they

are not contaminated activities They are purified activities. So an ignorant

person may see that a devotee is working like an ordinary man, but a person

with poor fund of knowledge, he does not know that the activities of a devotee

or the activities of the Lord, they are not contaminated by the impure

consciousness of matter, impurity of the three gunas, modes of nature, but

transcendental consciousness. So our consciousness is materially contaminated,

we should know.

Now when we are such materially contaminated, that is called our conditioned

stage. Conditioned stage. And the false ego, the false consciousness... The

false consciousness is exhibited under the impression that "I am one of the

product of this material nature." That is called false ego. The whole material

activities, yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [sB 10.84.13]. Yasyatma-buddhih

kunape tri-dhatuke, one who is absorbed in the thought of bodily conception.

Now, the whole Bhagavad-gita was explained by the Lord because Arjuna

represented himself with bodily conception. So one has to get free from the

bodily conception of life. That is the preliminary activity for a

transcendentalist who wants to get free, who wants to be liberated. And he has

to learn first of all that he is not this material body. So this consciousness,

or material consciousness, when we are freed from this material consciousness,

that is called mukti. Mukti or liberation means to become free from material

consciousness. In the Srimad-Bhagavata also the definition of liberation is

said, muktir hitvanyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih [sB 2.10.6]. Svarupena

vyavasthitih. Mukti means liberation from the contaminated consciousness of

this material world and to become situated in pure consciousness. And the whole

instruction, instruction of Bhagavad-gita, is targeted to awaken that pure

consciousness. We'll find in the last stage of the instruction of Bhagavad-gita

that Krsna is asking Arjuna whether he is now in purified consciousness. Whether

he was in purified consciousness. The purified consciousness is to act according

to the direction of the Lord. That is purified consciousness. That is the whole

sum and substance of purified consciousness. Consciousness is already there,

but because we are part and parcels, therefore we are affected. There is

affinity of being affected by the material modes. But the Lord being Supreme,

He is never affected. He is never affected. That is the difference between the

Lord and the Supreme..., Supreme Lord and the...

Now this consciousness is... What is this consciousness? This consciousness is

that "I am." What I am? When in contaminated consciousness this "I am" means

that "I am the lord of all I survey." This is impure consciousness. And "I am

the enjoyer." The whole material world is moving that every living being is

thinking that "I am the lord and I am the creator of this material world." The

consciousness has got two psychic movement or two psychic division. One is that

"I am the creator," and the other is "I am the enjoyer." So the Supreme Lord is

actually the creator and He is actually the enjoyer. And the living entities,

being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, he's not actually the creator or the

enjoyer, but he's a cooperator. Just like the whole machine. The part of the

machine is the cooperator, is the cooperator. Or if we can study just the

constitution of our body. Now, in the body there are hands, there are legs,

there are eyes, and all these instruments, working, but all these parts and

parcels of the body, they are not enjoyer. The stomach is the enjoyer. The leg

is moving from one place to another. The hand is collecting, the hand is

preparing foodstuff, and the teeth is chewing, and everything, all parts of

body, are engaged in satisfying the stomach because the stomach is the

principle fact within the organization of this body. And everything should be

given to the stomach. Pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam [sB 4.31.14]. Just like

you can see a tree green by pouring water in the root. Or you can become

healthy... The parts of the body -- the hands, the legs, the eyes, the ears,

the fingers -- everything keeps in healthy stage when the parts of the body

cooperate with the stomach. Similarly, the supreme living being, the Lord, He

is the enjoyer. He is the enjoyer and He is the creator. And we, I mean to say,

subordinate living beings, the products of the energy of the Supreme Lord, we

are just to cooperate with Him. That cooperation will help. Just for example, a

good foodstuff taken by the fingers. If the fingers think that "Why should we

give it to the stomach? Let us enjoy." That is a mistake. The fingers are

unable to enjoy. If fingers want the fruit of enjoyment of that particular

foodstuff, the fingers must put it into the stomach. So the whole arrangement

is that the central figure, central figure of creation, central figure of

enjoyment, is the Supreme Lord, and the living entities, they are simply

cooperator. By cooperation, by cooperation they enjoy. The relation is just

like the master and the servant. If the master is satisfied, if the master is

fully satisfied, the servants are automatically satisfied. That is the law.

Similarly, the Supreme Lord should be satisfied, although the tendency for

becoming creator and the tendency to enjoy this material world is, they are

also in the living entities because it is there in the Supreme Lord. He has

created, He has created the manifested cosmic world.

Therefore we shall find in this Bhagavad-gita that the complete whole,

comprising the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, the cosmic

manifestation, the eternal time, and the activities, all of them are completely

explained. So the whole thing taking together completely is called the Absolute

Truth. The complete whole, or the Supreme Absolute Truth, is therefore the

complete Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. As I have explained, that the

manifestation are due to His different energies, and He is the complete whole.

The impersonal Brahman is explained in the Bhagavad-gita that impersonal Brahman

is also subordinate to the complete person. Brahmano 'ham pratistha [bg. 14.27].

Impersonal Brahman is also. It is... The impersonal Brahman is more explicitly

explained in the Brahma-sutra as the rays. As there is the rays of the

sunshine, sun planet, similarly, the impersonal Brahman is the shining rays of

the Supreme Brahman or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore impersonal

Brahman is incomplete realization of the absolute complete whole, and so also

the conception of Paramatma. These things are also explained. Purusottama-yoga.

When we shall read the chapter of Purusottama-yoga it will be seen that the

Supreme Personality, Purusottama, is above the impersonal Brahman and partial

realization of Paramatma.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [bs. 5.1].

In the Brahma-samhita, the beginning is started like this: isvarah paramah

krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah/ anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam [bs.

5.1]." Govinda, Krsna, is the cause of all causes. He is the primal Lord." So

the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Impersonal

Brahman realization is the realization of His sat part, eternity. And Paramatma

realization is the realization of sat-cit, eternal knowledge part realization.

But realization of the Personality of Godhead as Krsna is realization of all

the transcendental features like sat, cit, and ananda, in complete vigraha.

Vigraha means form. Vigraha means form. Avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam

abuddhayah [bg. 7.24]. People with less intelligence, they consider the Supreme

Truth as impersonal, but He is a person, a transcendental person. This is

confirmed in all Vedic literature. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha

Upanisad 2.2.13). So, as we are also persons, individual living beings, we are

persons, we have got our individuality, we are all individual, similarly the

Supreme Truth, the Supreme Absolute, He is also, at the ultimate issue He is a

person. But realization of the Personality of Godhead is realization of all the

transcendental features like sat, cit, and ananda, in complete vigraha. Vigraha

means form. Therefore the complete whole is not formless. If He is formless or

if He is less in any other thing, He cannot be complete whole. The complete

whole must have everything within our experience and beyond our experience.

Otherwise He cannot be complete. The complete whole Personality of Godhead has

immense potencies. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65,

purport]. That is also explained in Bhagavad-gita, how He is acting in

different potencies. This phenomenal world, or the material world, where we are

now put, is also complete by itself because purnam idam [isopanisad,

Invocation]. The 24 elements of which, according to Sankhya philosophy, the 24

elements of which this material universe is a temporary manifestation, are

completely adjusted to produce complete things which are necessary for the

maintenance and subsistence of this universe. No extraneous effort by any other

unit is required for the maintenance of the universe. It's at its own time,

fixed up by the energy of the complete whole, and when the time is complete,

these temporary manifestations will be annihilated by the complete arrangement

of the complete. There is complete facility for the small complete units,

namely, the living entities, to realize the complete. And all sorts of

incompleteness is experienced on account of incomplete knowledge of the

complete. So the Bhagavad-gita is the complete knowledge of the Vedic wisdom.

The whole Vedic knowledge is infallible. There are different examples how we

take Vedic knowledge as infallible. Take for example, so far the Hindus are

concerned, and how they accept the Vedic knowledge as complete, here is an

insignificant example. Just like the cow dung. The cow dung is the stool of an

animal. According to smrti or Vedic wisdom, if one touches the stool of an

animal he has to take his bath to purify himself. But in the Vedic scriptures

the cow dung is as stated as pure. Rather, impure place or impure things are

purified by touch of the cow dung. Now if one argues how it is that in one

place it is said that the stool of the animal is impure and another place it is

said that the cow dung which is also the stool of an animal, it is pure, so it

is contradictory. But actually, it may appear to be contradictory, but because

it is Vedic injunction, therefore for our practical purposes we accept it. And

by that acceptance we are not committing mistake. It has been found by modern

chemists, modern science, one Dr. Lal Mohan Gosal, he has very minutely

analyzed the cow dung and he has found that cow dung is a composition of all

antiseptic properties. So similarly, he has also analyzed the water of the

Ganges out of curiosity. So my idea is that Vedic knowledge is complete because

it is above all doubts and all mistakes. So, and Bhagavad-gita is the essence of

all Vedic knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is therefore infallible. It comes down

through the perfect disciplic succession.

Therefore Vedic knowledge is not a thing of research. Our research work is

imperfect because we are searching everything with imperfect senses. Therefore

the result of our research work is also imperfect. It cannot be perfect. We

have to accept the perfect knowledge. The perfect knowledge is coming down, as

it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, just we have begun, evam parampara-praptam

imam rajarsayo viduh [bg. 4.2]. We have to receive the knowledge from the right

source in disciplic succession of spiritual master beginning from the Lord

Himself. So Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Lord Himself. And Arjuna, the, I

mean to say, the student who took lessons of the Bhagavad-gita, he accepted the

whole story as it is, without any cutting. That is also not allowed, that we

accept a certain portion of Bhagavad-gita and reject another portion. That is

also not accepted. We must accept the Bhagavad-gita without interpretation,

without any cutting, and without our own whimsical participation in the matter

because it should be taken as the most perfect Vedic knowledge. The Vedic

knowledge is received from the transcendental sources because the first word

was spoken by the Lord Himself. The words spoken by the Lord is called

apauruseya, or not delivered by any person of the mundane world, who is

infected with four principles of imperfectness. A living being of the mundane

world has four defective principles of his life, and they are 1) that he must

commit mistake, 2) he must be sometimes illusioned, and 3) he must try to cheat

others, and 4) he's endowed with imperfect senses. With all these four

principles of imperfectness, one cannot deliver the perfect form of information

in the matter of all-pervading knowledge. The Vedas are not like that. The Vedic

knowledge was imparted in the heart of Brahma, the first created living being.

And Brahma in his turn disseminated the knowledge to his sons and disciples as

they were originally received from the Lord. The Lord, being purnam or

all-perfect, there is no chance of His becoming subjected to the laws of

material nature. One should therefore be intelligent enough to know that except

the Lord, nobody is the proprietor of anything within the universe. That is

explained in the Bhagavad-gita:

aham sarvasya prabhavomattah sarvam pravartateiti matva bhajante mambudha

bhava-samanvitah [bg. 10.8]

The Lord is the original creator. He is the creator of Brahma, He is the

creator... That is also explained. He is the creator of Brahma. In the 11th

Chapter the Lord is addressed as prapitamaha [bg. 11.39] because Brahma is

addressed as pitamaha, the grandfather, but He is the creator of the

grandfather also. So nobody should claim to be the proprietor of anything, but

he must accept things which are set aside by the Lord as his quota of

maintenance. Now, there are many examples how we have to utilize the allotment

of the Lord. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Arjuna, he decided in

the beginning that he should not fight. That was his own contemplation. Arjuna

said to the Lord that it was not possible for him to enjoy the kingdom after

killing his own kinsmen. And that point of view was due to his conception of

the body. Because he was thinking that the body was himself and the bodily

relatives, his brothers, his nephews, his father-in-law or his grandfather,

they were expansion of his body, and he was thinking in that way to satisfy his

bodily demands. And the whole thing was spoken by the Lord just to change the

view. And he agreed to work under the direction of the Lord. And he said,

karisye vacanam tava [bg. 18.73].

Therefore in this world the human being is not meant for quarreling like the

cats and dogs. They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance of the

human life and refuse to act like ordinary animal. He should... A human being

should realize the aim of human life. This direction is given in all the Vedic

literature, and the essence is given in the Bhagavad-gita. Vedic literature are

meant for the human being and not for the cats and dogs. The cats and dogs can

kill their eatable animals, and for that there is no question of sin on their

part. But if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled

taste, he must be responsible for breaking the laws of nature. And in the

Bhagavad-gita it is clearly explained that there are three kinds of activities

according to the different modes of nature: the activities of goodness, the

activities of passion, the activities of ignorance. Similarly, there are three

kinds of eatables also: eatables in goodness, eatables on passion, eatables on

ignorance. They're all clearly described, and if we properly utilize the

instructions of the Bhagavad-gita, then our whole life will become purified and

ultimately we shall (be) able to reach the destination. Yad gatva na nivartante

tad dhama paramam mama [bg. 15.6].

That information is given in the Bhagavad-gita, that beyond this material sky,

there is another spiritual sky; that is called sanatana sky. In this sky, this

covered sky, we find everything temporary. It is manifested, it stays for some

time, gives us some by-product, and then it becomes dwindling, and then

vanishes. That is the law of this material world. You take this body, you take

a fruit or anything what is created here, it has got its annihilation at the

end. So beyond this temporary world there is another world for which the

information is there, that paras tasmat tu bhavah anyah [bg. 8.20]. There is

another nature which is eternal, sanatana, which is eternal. And the jiva, jiva

is also described as sanatana. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah jiva-loke sanatanah [bg.

15.7]. Sanatana, sanatana means eternal. And the Lord is also described as

sanatana in the 11th Chapter. So because we have got intimate relation with the

Lord and we are all qualitatively one... The sanatana-dhama and the sanatana

Supreme Personality and the sanatana living entities, they are on the same

qualitatively plane. Therefore the whole target of Bhagavad-gita is to revive

our sanatana occupation or sanatana..., that is called sanatana-dharma, or

eternal occupation of the living entity. We are now temporarily engaged in

different activities and all these activities being purified. When we give up

all these temporary activities, sarva-dharman parityajya [bg. 18.66], and when

we take up the activities as desired by the Supreme Lord, that is called our

pure life. [break] Therefore, sanatana-dharma, as mentioned above, that the

Supreme Lord is sanatana, and the transcendental abode, which is beyond the

spiritual sky, that is also sanatana. And the living entities, they are also

sanatana. So association of the sanatana Supreme Lord, sanatana living

entities, in the sanatana eternal abode is the ultimate aim of human form of

life. The Lord is so kind upon the living entities because the living entities

are claimed to be all sons of the Supreme Lord. The Lord declares sarva-yonisu

kaunteya sambhavanti murtayo yah [bg. 14.4]. Every living, every type of living

entity... There are different types of living entities according to their

different karma, but the Lord claims that He is the father of all living

entities, and therefore the Lord descends to reclaim all these forgotten

conditioned souls back to the sanatana-dhama, the sanatana sky, so that the

sanatana living entity may again reinstall in his sanatana position in eternal

association of the Lord. He comes Himself by different incarnations, He sends

His confidential servitor as sons or associates or acaryas to reclaim the

conditioned souls.

And therefore sanatana-dharma does not mean any sectarian process of religion.

It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with

the eternal Supreme Lord. So far sanatana-dharma is concerned, it means the

eternal occupation. Sripada Ramanujacarya has explained the word sanatana as

"the thing which has neither any beginning nor any end." And when we speak of

sanatana-dharma we must take it for granted on the authority of Sripada

Ramanujacarya that it has no beginning, nor any end. The word religion is a

little different from sanatana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith.

Faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change

the faith afterwards and adopt another faith. But sanatana-dharma means which

cannot be changed, which cannot be changed. Just like water and liquidity.

Liquidity cannot be changed from water. Heat and fire. Heat cannot be changed

from fire. Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity, which

is known as sanatana-dharma, cannot be changed. It is not possible to change.

We have to find out what is that eternal function of the eternal living entity.

When we speak of sanatana-dharma therefore, we must take it for granted on the

authority of Sripada Ramanujacarya that it has no beginning nor any end. The

thing which has no end, no beginning, must not be any sectarian thing or

limited by any boundary. When we hold on the conference on the sanatana-dharma,

people belonging to some of the noneternal religious faiths may wrongly consider

it that we are dealing in some sectarian thing. But if we go deep into the

matter and take everything in the light of modern science, it will be possible

for us to see sanatana-dharma as the business of all the people of the world,

nay, all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanatana religious faith may

have some beginning in the annals of the human society, but there cannot be any

history of the sanatana-dharma because it continues to remain with the history

of the living entities. So far living entities are concerned, we find it from

the authority of the sastras that living entities have also no birth or death.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated that the living entity is never born,

nor does it ever die. He's eternal, indestructible, and continues to live after

the destruction of his temporary material body. With reference to the above

concept of sanatana-dharma we may try to understand the concept of religion

from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word dharma. It means that which is

constantly with the particular object. As we have already mentioned, when we

speak of fire it is concluded at the same time that there is heat and light

along with the fire. Without heat and without light, there is no meaning of the

word fire. Similarly, we must find out the essential part of a living being

which is always companion with him. That part of constant companion of the

living being is his eternal quality, and the eternal part of the living being's

quality is his eternal religion. When Sanatana Gosvami asked Lord Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu about the svarupa -- we have already discussed about the svarupa of

every living being -- svarupa or real constitution of the living being, the

Lord replied that the constitutional position of the living being is to render

service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if we analyze this part of

the statement of Lord Caitanya, we can very well see that every living being is

constantly engaged in the business of rendering service to another living being.

A living being serves another living being in different capacities, and by doing

so, the living entity enjoys life. A lower animal serves a human being, a

servant serves his master, A serves B master, B serves C master, and C serves D

master, and so on. Under the circumstances, we can see that a friend serves

another friend, and the mother serves the son, or the wife serves the husband,

or husband serves the wife. If we go on searching in that spirit, it will be

seen that there is no exception in the society of the living being where we do

not find the activity of service. The politician present his manifesto before

the public and convinces voters about his service capacity. The voter also

gives the politician his valuable vote on expectation that the politician will

give service to the society. The shopkeeper serves the customer and the artisan

serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves his family and the family serves

the head man in terms of the eternal capacity of eternal being. In this way we

can see no living being is exempted from the practice of rendering service to

other living being, and therefore we can conclude that service is a thing which

is the constant companion of the living being, and therefore it may be safely

concluded that rendering of service by a living being is the eternal religion

of the living being. When a man professes to belong to a particular type of

faith with reference to the particular time and circumstances of birth, and

thus one claims to be a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, Buddhist, or any other

sect, and sub-sect, such designations are non-sanatana-dharma. A Hindu may

change his faith to become a Muslim, or a Muslim may change his faith to become

a Hindu or a Christian, etc., but in all circumstances such change of religious

faith does not allow a person to change his eternal engagement of rendering

service to other. A Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, in all circumstances, he

is servant of somebody, and thus to profess a particular type of faith is not

to be considered as sanatana-dharma, but the constant companion of the living

being, that is, rendering of service, is the sanatana-dharma. So factually, we

are related in the service relationship with the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord

is the supreme enjoyer, and we living entities are eternally His supreme

servitors. We are created for His enjoyment, and if we partake, participate in

that eternal enjoyment with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that makes us

happy, not otherwise. Independently, as we have already explained that

independently, any part of the body, the hand, the feet, the fingers, or any

part of the body, independently, cannot be happy without cooperation with the

stomach, similarly, the living entity can never be happy without rendering his

transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord. Now, in the Bhagavad-gita

the worship of different demigods is not approved, is not approved because...

It is said in the Bhagavad-gita [bg. 7.20], the Lord says, kamais tais tair

hrta-jnanah prapadyante 'nya-devatah. Kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah. Those who

are directed by lust, only they worship the demigods other than the Supreme

Lord, Krsna. We also may remember that when we speak of "Krsna" it is not a

sectarian name. The "Krsna" name means the highest pleasure. It is confirmed

that the Supreme Lord is the reservoir, is the storehouse of all pleasure. We

are all hankering after pleasure. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12).

The living entities or the Lord, because we are full of consciousness,

therefore our consciousness is after happiness. Happiness. The Lord is also

perpetually happy, and if we associate with the Lord, cooperate with Him, take

part in His association, then also we become happy. The Lord descends on this

mortal world to show His pastimes in Vrndavana full of happiness. When Lord Sri

Krsna was in Vrndavana, His activities with His cowherd boys friends, with His

damsels, with His friends, damsel friends, and with the inhabitants of

Vrndavana and His occupation of cowherding in His childhood, and all these

pastimes of Lord Krsna were full of happiness. The whole of Vrndavana, the

whole population of Vrndavana, was after Him. They did not know except Krsna.

Even Lord Krsna restricted His father, Nanda Maharaja in worshiping the demigod

Indra because He wanted to establish that people need not worship any other

demigod except the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because the ultimate aim of

life is to return to the abode of the Supreme Lord. The abode of Lord Krsna is

described in the Bhagavad-gita, 15th Chapter, 6th verse,

na tad bhasayate suryona sasanko na pavakahyad gatva na nivartantetad dhama paramam mama

Now the description of that eternal sky... When we speak of sky, because we have

material conception of the sky, therefore we think of sky with sun, moon, stars,

like that. But the Lord says that the eternal sky, there is no need of sun. Na

tad bhasayate suryo na sasanko na pavakah [bg. 15.6]. Neither in that eternal

sky there is need of moon. Na pavakah means neither there is necessity of

electricity or fire for illuminating because the spiritual sky is already

illuminated by the brahmajyoti. Brahmajyoti, yasya prabha [bs. 5.40], the rays

of the supreme abode. Now in these days when people are trying to reach other

planets, it is not very difficult to understand the abode of the Supreme Lord.

The abode of the Supreme Lord is in the spiritual sky, and it is named as

Goloka. In the Brahma-samhita it is very nicely described, goloka eva nivasaty

akhilatma-bhutah [bs. 5.37]. The Lord, although resides eternally in His abode,

Goloka, still He is akhilatma-bhutah, He can be approached from here also. And

the Lord therefore comes to manifest His real form, sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [bs.

5.1], so that we may not have to imagine. There is no question of imagination.

The Lord's presence, by His causeless mercy He presents Himself in His

Syamasundara-rupa. Unfortunately, people with less intelligence deride at Him.

Avajananti mam mudha [bg. 9.11]. Because the Lord comes as one of us and just

like plays with us as a human being, therefore we need not consider that Lord

is one of us. It is His omnipotency that He presents Himself with His real form

before us and displays His pastimes, just the prototype of His abode. So that

abode of Lord, there are innumerable planets also in that brahmajyoti. Just

like we have got innumerable planets floating on the sun rays, similarly, in

the brahmajyoti, which is emanating from the abode of the Supreme Lord,

Krsnaloka, Goloka, ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis [bs. 5.37], all those

planets are spiritual planets. They are ananda-cinmaya; they are not material

planets. So the Lord says,

na tad bhasayate suryona sasanko na pavakahyad gatva na nivartantetad dhama

paramam mama [bg. 15.6]

Now anyone who can approach that spiritual sky will not be required to come back

again in this material sky. So long we are in the material sky, what to speak of

approaching the moon planet.... The moon planet, of course, is the nearest

planet, but even we approach the highest planet, which is called Brahmaloka,

there also we have the same miseries of material life, I mean to say, the

miseries of birth, death, old age, and diseases. No planets in the material

universe is free from the four principles of material existence. The Lord

therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita, abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino

'rjuna [bg. 8.16]. The living entities are traveling from one planet to

another. It is not that we can simply go to other planets by the mechanical

arrangement of the sputnik. Anyone who desires to go to other planet, there is

process. Yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah [bg. 9.25]. If anyone

wants to go to any other planet, say, moon planet, we need not try to go by the

sputnik. The Bhagavad-gita instructs us, yanti deva-vrata devan. These moon

planets or sun planets or the planets above this Bhuloka, they are called

Svargaloka. Svargaloka. Bhuloka, Bhuvarloka, Svargaloka. There are different

status of planets. So Devaloka, they are known just like that. The

Bhagavad-gita gives a very simple formula that you can go to the higher

planets, Devaloka. Yanti deva-vrata devan. Yanti deva-vrata devan. Deva-vrata,

if we practice the process of worshiping the particular demigod, then we can go

to that particular planet also. We can go to the sun planet even, we can go to

the moon planet, we can go to the heavenly planet, but Bhagavad-gita does not

advise us to go to any one of these planets in the material world because even

we go to the Brahmaloka, the highest planet, which is calculated by the modern

scientist that we can reach the highest planet by traveling with sputniks for

40,000 years. Now it is not possible to live 40,000 years and reach the highest

planet of this material universe. But if one devotes his life in the worshipment

of the particular demigod he can approach the particular planet, as it is stated

in the Bhagavad-gita: yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah [bg. 9.25].

Similarly, there is Pitrloka. Similarly, one who likes to approach the supreme

planet, supreme planet... The supreme planet means the Krsnaloka. In the

spiritual sky there are innumerable planets, sanatana planets, eternal planets,

which are never destroyed, annihilated. But of all those spiritual planets there

is one planet, the original planet, which is called Goloka Vrndavana. So these

informations are there in the Bhagavad-gita and we are given the opportunity

for leaving this material world and get our eternal life in the eternal

kingdom. Now in the 15th Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, the real picture of this

material world is given. It is said there that

urdhva-mulam adhah-sakhamasvattham prahur avyayamchandamsi yasya parnaniyas tam

veda sa veda-vit [bg. 15.1]

Now, this material world is described in the Fifteenth chapter of the

Bhagavad-gita as a tree which has got its root upwards, urdhva-mulam. Have you

experience of any tree which has its root upwards? We have got this experience

of a tree, root upwards by reflection. If we stand on the bank of a river or

any reservoir of water, we can see that the tree on the bank of the reservoir

of water is reflected in the water as trunk downwards and the root upwards. So

this material world is practically a reflection of the spiritual world. Just

like the reflection of the tree on the bank of a reservoir of water is seen

downwards, similarly, this material world, it is called shadow. Shadow. As in

the shadow there cannot be any reality, but at the same time, from the shadow

we can understand that there is reality. The example of shadow in the, shadow

of water in the desert, suggests that in the desert there is no water, but

there is water. Similarly, in the reflection of the spiritual world, or in this

material world, there is undoubtedly, there is no happiness, there is no water.

But the real water, or the actual happiness, is in the spiritual world. The

Lord suggests that one has to reach that spiritual world in the following

manner, nirmana-moha.

nirmana-moha jita-sanga-dosaadhyatma-nitya vinivrtta-kamahdvandvair vimuktah

sukha-duhkha-samjnairgacchanty amudhah padam avyayam tat(Bg. 15.5)

That padam avyayam, that eternal kingdom, can be reached by one who is

nirmana-moha. Nirmana-moha. Nirmana means we are after designations.

Artificially we want some designations. Somebody wants to become sir, somebody

wants to become lord, somebody wants to become the president, or somebody wants

to become a rich man, somebody wants to become something else, king. All these

designations, so long we'll have attachment for all these designations...

Because after all these designations belong to the body, and we are not this

body. This is the first conception of spiritual realization. So one has no

attraction for designation. And jita-sanga-dosa, sanga-dosa. Now we are

associated with the three modes of material qualities, and if we become

detached by devotional service of the Lord... So long we are not attracted by

devotional service of the Lord, we cannot be detached from the three modes of

material nature. Therefore the Lord says, vinivrtta-kamah, these designations

or these attachments are due to our lust, desire. We want to lord it over the

material nature. So, so long we do not give up this propensity of lording it

over the material nature, up to that time there is no possibility of going back

to the kingdom of the Supreme, the sanatana-dhama. Dvandvair vimuktah

sukha-duhkha-samjnair gacchanty amudhah, amudhah padam avyayam tat [bg. 15.5].

That eternal kingdom, which is never destructible like this material world, can

be approached by amudhah. Amudhah means nonbewildered, one who is not bewildered

by the attraction of this false enjoyment. And one is situated in the supreme

service of the Lord, he is the right person to approach that eternal kingdom.

And that eternal kingdom does not require any sun, any moon, or any

electricity. That is a glimpse idea of approaching of the eternal kingdom. In

another place in the Bhagavad-gita it is also said that

avyakto 'ksara ity uktastam ahuh paramam gatimyam prapya na nivartantetad dhama

paramam mama [bg. 8.21]

Avyakta means nonmanifested. Even the part of material world is not manifested

before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot see how many stars, how

many planets there are in this material universe. Of course, through the Vedic

literature we get information of all the planets. We may believe or not

believe, but all the important planets in which we have connection, they are

described in the Vedic literature, especially in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. But the

spiritual world, which is beyond this material sky, paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo

[bg. 8.20], but that avyakta, that nonmanifested spiritual sky, is the paramam

gatim, that is, one should desire, one should hanker after reaching that

supreme kingdom. And once approaching that supreme kingdom, yam prapya, one

approaching or one achieving that supreme kingdom, na nivartante, one hasn't

got to return back to this material world. And that place which is the eternal

abode of Lord, that from where we haven't got to return, that is our, that

should be our... [break] Now a question may be raised, what is the way how to

approach the supreme abode of the Lord. That is also described in the

Bhagavad-gita. It is said on the 8th Chapter, verses 5, 6, 7, 8, the process of

approaching the Supreme Lord or Supreme Lord's abode is also given there. It is

said like this:

anta-kale ca mam evasmaran muktva kalevaramyah prayati sa mad-bhavamyati nasty atra samsayah

Anta-kale, at the end of life, at the time of death. Anta-kale ca mam eva, one

who thinks of Krsna, smaran, if he can remember. A dying person, at the time of

death, if he remembers the form of Krsna and while remembering in that way, if

he quits the present body, then surely he approaches the spiritual kingdom,

mad-bhavam. Bhavam means the spiritual nature. Yah prayati sa mad-bhavam yati.

Mad-bhavam means just like the nature or the transcendental nature of the

Supreme Being. As we have described above, that the Supreme Lord is

sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [bs. 5.1]. He has His form, but His form is eternal,

sat; and full of knowledge, cit; and full of bliss, ananda. Now just we can

compare our present body, whether this body is sac-cid-ananda. No. This body is

asat. Instead of being sat it is asat. Antavanta ime deha [bg. 2.18],

Bhagavad-gita says that this body is antavat, perishable. And...

Sac-cid-ananda. Instead of becoming sat, it is asat, just the opposite. And

instead of becoming cit, full of knowledge, it is full of ignorance. We have no

knowledge of the spiritual kingdom, neither we have got any perfect knowledge of

this material world. So many things unknown to us, therefore this body is

ignorant. Instead of becoming full of knowledge it is ignorant. The body is

perishable, full of ignorance, and nirananda. Instead of becoming full of

bliss, it is full of miseries. All the miseries that we experience in this

material world, it is all due to this body. The Lord says that anta-kale ca mam

eva smaran muktva kalevaram [bg. 8.5]. One who quits this material body, simply

by remembering Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he at once gets

the spiritual body of sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [bs. 5.1]. The process of quitting

this body and getting another body in the material world is also organized. A

man dies after it has been decided what form of body he will have in the next

life. But that is decided by higher authorities. Just like according to our

service we are promoted or degraded. Similarly, according to our acts we are...

Acts of this life, the activities of this life are preparation ground for the

next life. We are preparing for our next life by our activities of this life.

So if we can prepare our this life for getting promotion to the kingdom of God,

then surely, after leaving, after quitting this material body... The Lord says

yah prayati, one who goes, sa mad-bhavam yati [bg. 8.5], mad-bhavam, he gets

the same spiritual body as the Lord has or the same spiritual nature. Now,

there are different kinds of transcendentalists as we have already explained

above. The brahmavadi, paramatmavadi and the devotees. In spiritual sky or in

the brahmajyoti there are spiritual planets, innumerable spiritual planets, we

have already discussed. And the number of those planets are far, far greater

than all the universes of this material world. This material world is ekamsena

sthito jagat [bg. 10.42]. This is one-fourth part manifestation of the whole

creation. Three-fourths part of the creation is the spiritual world and in the

one-fourth part of this creation there are millions of universes like this

which we are experiencing at the present moment. And in one universe there are

millions and billions of planets. So there are millions and billions of suns

and stars and moons in all this material world, but all this material world

constitute only one-fourth manifestation of the whole creation. The

three-fourths manifestation is in the spiritual sky. Now, this mad-bhavam, one

who desires to merge into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, they merge in

the brahmajyoti of the Supreme Lord. Mad-bhavam means that brahmajyoti as well

as the spiritual planets in the brahmajyoti. And the devotees, who want to

enjoy in the association of the Lord, they enter into the planets, Vaikuntha

planets. There are innumerable Vaikuntha planets, and the Lord, Supreme Lord

Sri Krsna, by His plenary expansion as Narayana with four hands with different

names, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, and Madhava, Govinda... There are many innumerable

names of this four-handed Narayana. So one of the planets, that is also

mad-bhavam, that is also within the spiritual nature. So any transcendentalist

who at the end of life, either he thinks of the brahmajyoti or meditates upon

the Paramatma or thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna, in

either case, they enter into the spiritual sky. But only the devotees, those

who have practiced personal touch with the Supreme Lord, they enter into the

Vaikuntha planets or in the Goloka Vrndavana planet. The Lord says, yah prayati

sa mad-bhavam yati nasty atra samsayah [bg. 8.5]. There is no doubt. One should

not disbelieve. That is the question. So you are reading Bhagavad-gita

throughout the whole life, but when the Lord speaks something which does not

tally with our imagination, we reject it. That is not the process of

Bhagavad-gita reading. Just like Arjuna said that sarvam etam rtam manye, "I

believe in everything, whatever You have said." Similarly, hear, hearing. The

Lord says that at the time of death, whoever thinks of Him, either as Brahman

or Paramatma or the Personality of Godhead, certainly he enters into the

spiritual sky and there is no doubt about it. One should not disbelieve it. And

the process is, general rule is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita, how one can,

how it is possible to get into the spiritual kingdom simply by thinking of the

Supreme at the time of death. Because the general process is also mentioned:

yam yam vapi smaran bhavamtyajaty ante kalevaramtam tam evaiti kaunteyasada

tad-bhava-bhavitah [bg. 8.6]

There are different bhavas. Now, this material nature is also one of the bhavas,

as we have already explained, that this material nature is also the display of

one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In the Visnu Purana the total energies

of the Supreme Lord have been summarized.

visnu-saktih para proktaksetra-jnakhya tatha paravidya-karma-samjnanyatrtiya

saktir isyate [Cc. Madhya 6.154]

All the energies, potencies of the..., parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc.

Madhya 13.65, purport]. The Supreme Lord has diverse energies, innumerable

energies, which we cannot conceive. But great learned sages, liberated souls,

they have studied and they have summarized the whole energies into three parts,

into three headings. The first is... All the energies are visnu-sakti. All the

energies, they are different potencies of the Lord Visnu. Now, that energy is

para, transcendental. And ksetra-jnakhya tatha para, and the living entities,

ksetra-jna, they are also belonging to the group of that superior energy, as it

is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita also. We have already explained. And the other

energies, the material energy is trtiya karma-samjnanya [Cc. Madhya 6.154]. The

other energy is in the mode of ignorance. So that is material energy. So

material energy is also bhagavad-(indistinct). So at the time of death, either

we can remain in the material energy, or this material world, or we can

transfer into the spiritual world. That is the criterion. So the Bhagavad-gita

says,

yam yam vapi smaran bhavamtyajaty ante kalevaramtam tam evaiti kaunteyasada

tad-bhava-bhavitah [bg. 8.6]

Now, as we are accustomed to think either of this material energy or of the

spiritual energy, now, how to transfer the thinking? The thinking of the

material energy, how it can be transferred into thinking of the spiritual

energy? So for thinking in the spiritual energy the Vedic literatures are

there. Just like thinking in the material energies, there are so many

literatures -- newspapers, magazines, novels, fictions, and so many things.

Full of literatures. So our thinkings are absorbed in these literatures.

Similarly, if we want to transfer our thinking in the spiritual atmosphere,

then we have to transfer our reading capacity to the Vedic literature. The

learned sages therefore made so many Vedic literatures, the Puranas. The

Puranas are not stories. They are historical records. In the

Caitanya-caritamrta there is a verse which reads as follows. anadi-bahirmukha

jiva krsna bhuli' gela ataeva krsna veda-purana kaila [Cc. Madhya 20.117]. That

these forgetful living entities, conditioned souls, they have forgotten the

relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of the

material activities. And just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual

capacity, the Krsna-dvaipayana Vyasa, he has made so many Vedic literatures.

Vedic literatures means first he divided the Vedas into four. Then he explained

them by the Puranas. Then for the incapable persons, just like stri, sudra,

vaisya, he made the Mahabharata. And in the Mahabharata he introduced this

Bhagavad-gita. Then again he summarized the whole Vedic literature in the

Vedanta-sutra. And the Vedanta-sutra for future guidance, he made a natural

commentation by himself which is called Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is

called bhasyo 'yam brahma-sutranam. It is the natural commentation of

Vedanta-sutra. So all these literatures, if we transfer our thought,

tad-bhava-bhavitah, sada. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah [bg. 8.6]. One who is engaged

always... Just like the materialist is always engaged in reading some material

literature like newspaper, magazines, and fiction, novel, etc., and so many

scientific or philosophies, all these things of different degrees of thought.

Similarly, if we transfer our, that reading capacity for these Vedic

literatures, as presented by, as very kindly presented by Vyasadeva, then it is

quite possible for us to remember at the time of death the Supreme Lord. That is

the only way suggested by the Lord Himself. Not suggested, it is the fact. Nasty

atra samsayah [bg. 8.5]. Undoubtedly. There is no doubt about it. Tasmat, the

Lord suggested therefore, tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca [bg.

8.7]. He advises Arjuna that mam anusmara yudhya ca. He does not say that "You

simply go on remembering Me and give up your present occupational duty." No.

That is not suggested. The Lord never suggests something impractical. This

material world, to maintain this body, one has to work. The work is divided

into four divisions of social order: brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. The

intelligent class of the society, they are working in a different way, and the

administrator class of society, they are also working in a different way. The

mercantile society, the productive society, they are also working in a

different way, and the laborer class, they are also working in different way.

In the human society, either as laborer or as mercantile men, or as

politicians, administrators, or as the highest class of intelligent class of

men in literary career, scientific researches, everybody is engaged in some

work, and one has to work, struggle for existence. So Lord advises that "You

need not give up your occupation, but at the same time you can remember." Mam

anusmara [bg. 8.7]. That will make you, that will help you in remembering Me at

the time of death. If you don't practice remembering Me always, along with your

struggle for existence, then it is not possible." It is not possible. The same

thing is advised by Lord Caitanya, kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31].

Kirtaniyah sada. One should practice to chant the name of the Lord always. The

name of Lord and the Lord is not different. So here the instruction of Lord

Krsna to Arjuna that mam anusmara [bg. 8.7], "You just remember Me," and Lord

Caitanya's instruction that "You chant always the name of Krsna." Here Krsna

says that "You always remember Me," or you remember Krsna, and Lord Caitanya

says, "You always chant the name of Krsna." So there is no difference because

Krsna and Krsna's name are nondifferent in the Absolute. In the absolute status

there is no difference between one thing to another. That is the absolute

status. So the Lord being absolute, there is no difference between His name and

Himself. So we have to practice like that. tasmat sarvesu kalesu [bg. 8.7].

Always, twenty-four hours, we have to mold our activities of life in such way

that we can remember it twenty-four hours. How it is possible? Yes, it is

possible. It is possible. A very crude example is set by the acaryas in this

connection. And what is that example? It is said that a woman who is attached

to another man, although she has got a husband, still, she's attached to

another man. And this sort of attachment becomes very strong. This is called

parakiya-rasa. Either in case of man or woman. If man has got attachment for

another woman besides his wife, or a woman has got attachment for another man

besides her husband, that attachment is very strong. That attachment is very

strong. So the acaryas give this example as a bad character woman who has got

attachment for other's husband, she always thinks, at the same time, shows her

husband that she is very much busy in the family affairs so that her husband

may not doubt her character. So as she is always remembering the time of

meeting with her lover at night, in spite of doing all this household work very

nicely, similarly one has to remember the supreme husband, Sri Krsna, always in

spite of doing his material duties very nicely. That is possible. It requires a

strong sense of love. When you have got a strong sense of love for the Supreme

Lord, then it is possible that we can go on discharging our duty, at the same

time remember the Lord. So we have to develop that sense. Just like Arjuna was

always thinking of Lord. He, out of twenty-four hours, not for a second he

could forget Krsna. Constant companion of Krsna. At the same time, a warrior.

Lord Krsna did not advise Arjuna to give up his fighting, go to the forest, go

to the Himalaya and meditate. When yoga system was advised to Arjuna, Arjuna

declined, that "This system is not possible for me." Then the Lord said,

yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana [bg. 6.47]. Mad-gatenantaratmana

sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah. So one who thinks of the

Supreme Lord always, he's the greatest yogi, he is the supermost jnani, and he

is also the greatest devotee at the same time. The Lord advises that tasmat

sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca [bg. 8.7]. "As a ksatriya you cannot give

up your fighting business. You have to fight. So at the same time if you

practice remembering Me always, then it will be possible," anta-kale ca mam eva

smaran [bg. 8.5], "then it will be possible to remember Me also at the time of

death." Mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah. Again He says that

there is no doubt. If one is completely surrendered into the service of the

Lord, into the transcendental loving service of the Lord, mayy

arpita-mano-buddhir [bg. 8.7]. Because we work not with our body actually. We

work with our mind and intelligence. So if our intelligence and mind are always

engaged in the thought of the Supreme Lord, then naturally our senses are also

engaged in the service of the Lord. That is the secret of Bhagavad-gita. One

has to learn this art, how one can be absorbed both by the mind and

intelligence twenty-four hours thinking of the Lord. And that will help one to

transfer himself into the kingdom of God or in the spiritual atmosphere after

leaving this material body. The modern scientists, they are trying for years

and years together for reaching the moon planet, and they have no approach as

yet. But here in the Bhagavad-gita, here is a suggestion. Suppose a man lives

for another fifty years and he... So nobody tries to elevate himself in the

spiritual ideas for fifty years. That's a very good idea. But even for ten

years or five years one sincerely tries for this practice, mayy

arpita-mano-buddhir... [bg. 8.7] It is simply a question of practice. And that

practice can be very easily possible by the devotional process, sravanam.

Sravanam. The easiest process is to hear.

sravanam kirtanam visnohsmaranam pada-sevanamarcanam vandanam dasyamsakhyam

atma-nivedanam [sB 7.5.23]

These nine processes. So the easiest process is simply hearing. Hearing of this

Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam from the realized person, that will train up

oneself, one, into the thoughts of the Supreme Being twenty-four hours, which

will lead one ultimately, anta-kale, to remember the Supreme Lord, and thus

leaving this body, he will have a spiritual body, a spiritual body, just fit

for association with the Lord. The Lord therefore says,

abhyasa-yoga-yuktenacetasa nanya-gaminaparamam purusam divyamyati parthanucintayan [bg. 8.8]

Anucintayan, constantly thinking of Himself only. It is not very difficult

process. One has to learn this process from the experienced person in this

line. Tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. One should approach

a person who is already in the practice. So abhyasa-yoga-yuktena. This is

called abhyasa-yoga, practicing. Abhyasa... How to remember the Supreme Lord

always. Cetasa nanya-gamina. The mind, the mind is always flying to this, to

that. So one has to practice to concentrate the mind into the form of the

Supreme Lord Sri Krsna always, or in the sound, in His name which is made

easier. Instead of concentrating my mind -- my mind may be very restless, going

hither and thither, but I can concentrate my ear into the sound vibration of

Krsna and that will also help me. That is also abhyasa-yoga. Cetasa

nanya-gamina paramam purusam divyam. Paramam purusa, that Supreme Personality

of Godhead in the spiritual kingdom, in the spiritual sky, one can approach,

anucintayan, constantly thinking. So these processes, the ways and means, all

are stated in the Bhagavad-gita and there is no bar for anyone. It is not that

a particular class of men can approach. Thinking of Lord Krsna is possible,

hearing of Lord Krsna is possible by everyone. And the Lord says in the

Bhagavad-gita,

mam hi partha vyapasrityaye 'pi syuh papa-yonayahstriyo vaisyas tatha sudraste

'pi yanti param gatim [bg. 9.32]

kim punar brahmanah punyabhakta rajarsayas tathaanityam asukham lokamimam prapya

bhajasva mam [bg. 9.33]

The Lord says that even a human being in the lowest status of life, lowest

status of life, or even a fallen woman, or a mercantile man, or a laborer class

of man... The mercantile class of men, the laborer class of men, and the woman

class, they are counted in the same category because their intelligence is not

so developed. But the Lord says, they also, or even lower than them, mam hi

partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh [bg. 9.32], not only they or lower than them, or

anyone, it does not matter who is he, or who is she, anyone who accepts this

principle of bhakti-yoga and accepts the Supreme Lord as the summum bonum of

life, the highest target, highest goal of life, mam hi partha vyapasritya ye

'pi syuh, te 'pi yanti param gatim, that param gatim in the spiritual kingdom

and the spiritual sky, everyone can approach. Simply one has to practice the

system. That system is hinted in the Bhagavad-gita very nicely and one can

adopt it and make his life perfect and make a permanent solution of life. That

is the sum and substance of the whole Bhagavad-gita. Therefore, the conclusion

is that Bhagavad-gita is a transcendental literature which one should read very

carefully. Gita-sastram idam punyam yah pathet prayatah puman. And the result

will be, if he properly follows the instruction, then he can be freed from all

miseries of life, all anxieties of life. Bhaya-sokadi-varjitah. All fears of

life, in this life, as well as he'll get a spiritual life in the next life.

gitadhyayana-silasyapranayama-parasya canaiva santi hi papanipurva-janma-krtani ca

So another advantage is that if one reads Bhagavad-gita very sincerely and with

all seriousness, then by the grace of the Lord, the reactions of his past

misdeeds will not act upon him. The Lord says very loudly in the Bhagavad-gita

in the last portion, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah [bg.

18.66]. The Lord takes the responsibility. One who surrenders unto the Lord, He

takes the responsibility to indemnify, to indemnify from all reactions of sins.

maline mocanam pumsamjala-snanam dine dinesakrd gitamrta-snanamsamsara-mala-nasanam

One cleanses oneself daily by taking bath in the water, but one who takes once

bath in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gita, his, the dirty material life

is altogether vanquished.

gita su-gita kartavyakim anyaih sastra-vistaraihya svayam padmanabhasyamukha-padmad vinihsrta

Because Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, therefore

people should..., people may not read all other Vedic literatures. Simply if he

attentively and regularly reads and hears Bhagavad-gita, gita su-gita

kartavya... And one should adopt this means by all means. Gita su-gita kartavya

kim anyaih sastra-vistaraih. Because at the present age people are embarrassed

with so many things that it is hardly possible to divert his attention in all

the Vedic literatures. This one literature will do because it is essence of all

Vedic literature, and especially spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

bharatamrta-sarvasvamvisnu-vaktrad vinihsrtamgita-gangodakam pitvapunar janma na vidyate

As it is said that one who drinks the water of the Ganges, he also gets

salvation, then what to speak of Bhagavad-gita? Bhagavad-gita is the nectar in

the whole Mahabharata, and is spoken by Visnu. Lord Krsna is the original

Visnu. Visnu-vaktrad vinihsrtam. It is coming out of the mouth of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. And gangodakam, the Ganges is said to be emanated from

the lotus feet of the Lord, and Bhagavad-gita is emanated from the mouth of the

Lord. Of course, there is no difference between the mouth and the feet of the

Supreme Lord. Still, from neutral position we can study that Bhagavad-gita is

even more important than the Ganges water.

sarvopanisado gavodogdha gopala-nandanapartho vatsah su-dhir bhoktadugdham gitamrtam mahat

Just... This Gitopanisad is just like a cow, and the Lord is famous as cow boy,

and He was milking this cow. Sarvopanisado. And it is the essence of all

Upanisads and represented as the cow. And the Lord being expert cow boy, He is

milking the cow. And partho vatsah. And Arjuna is just like the calf. And

su-dhir bhokta. And learned scholars and pure devotees, they are to take this

milk. Su-dhir bhokta dugdham gitamrtam mahat. The nectar, the milk of

Bhagavad-gita, is meant for learned devotees.

ekam sastram devaki-putra-gitameko devo devaki-putra eveko mantras tasya namani

yanikarmapy ekam tasya devasya seva

Now the world should learn from the Bhagavad-gita, the lesson. Evam sastram

devaki-putra-gitam. There is one scripture only, one common scripture for the

whole world, for the people of the whole world, and that is this Bhagavad-gita.

Devo devaki-putra eva. And there is one God for the whole world, is Sri Krsna.

And eko mantras tasya namani. And one hymn, mantra, one hymn only, one prayer,

or one hymn, is to chant His name, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Eko mantras tasya namani yani karmapy

ekam tasya devasya seva. And there is one work only, that is to serve the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one learns from Bhagavad-gita, then the

people are very much anxious to have one religion, one God, one scripture, and

one business or one activity of life. This is summarized in the Bhagavad-gita.

That one, one God, is Krsna. Krsna is not sectarian God. Krsna, from the name

of Krsna... Krsna means, as we have explained above, Krsna means the greatest

pleasure. So therefore... (break -- end)

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