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Bhagavad-gita As It Is [Ch. 4 Text 1 - 5]

 

Transcendental Enowledge

Text 1

The Supreme Personality of Gedhead said: I instructed this im­

perishable science of yoga to the sun-god Vivasvan, and Vivasvan in­

structed it to Manu , the father of mankind, and Manu in turn

instructed it to Iksvaku.

 

 

PURPORT

Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote

time when it was delivered to the kings of all planets. The royal

order is especially dedicated to the protection of the inhabitants,

and as such its members should also understand the science of

Bhagavad-gita in order to rule the citizens and protect them from the

onslaught of material bon­dage to lust. Human life is meant for

cultivation of spiritual knowledge. in eternal relationship with the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states

and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by

education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads

of all states are intended to spread the science of Krsna

consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great

science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of

the human form of life.

 

Text 2

This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic

succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in

course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science

as it is appears to be lost.

 

Text 3

 

That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is

today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My

friend; therefore, you can understand the transcendental mystery of

this science.

 

PURPORT

There are two classes of men, namely the devotee and the demon. The

Lord selected Arjuna as the recipient of this great science owing to

his being the devotee of the Lord, but for the demon it is not

possible to understand this great, mysterious science. There are a

number of edi­tions of this great book of knowledge, and some of them

are commented upon by the devotees, and some of them are commented

upon by the demons. Commentary by the devotees is real, whereas that

of the demons is useless. Arjuna is recognized by the Lord as a

devotee; therefore, one who follows the line of Arjuna in

understanding the Gita will derive benefit from it. Otherwise, one

will simply waste his valuable time in reading commentaries. Arjuna

accepts Sri Krsna as the Supreme Per­sonality of Godhead, and any

commentary on the Gita following in the footsteps of Arjuna is real

devotional service to the cause of this great science. But the demons

do not accept Lord Krsna as He is. The demons concoct something out

of their imaginations about Krsna's instructions. Here is a warning

regarding such misleading paths. One should try to follow the

disciplic succession from Arjuna, and thus be benefited by this great

science of Srimad Bhagavad-gita.

 

Text 4

 

Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I

to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to

him?

Text 5

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you

and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, 0

subduer of the enemy.

 

PURPORT

 

In the Brahma-samhita we have information of many, many incarna­tions

of the Lord. It is stated there: "I worship the Supreme Personality

of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person—absolute, in­

fallible, without beginning, although expanded into unlimited forms,

still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing

as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the

Lord are usually understood by the best Vedic scholars, but they are

always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees."

It is also stated in the same scripture: "I worship the Supreme Per­

sonality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is always situated in

various incarnations such as Rama, Nrsirhha, and many subincarnations

as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as

Krsna, and who incarnates personally also."

In the Vedas also it is said that the Lord, although He is one

without a second, nevertheless manifests Himself in innumerable

forms. He is like the vaidurya stone, which changes color variously

yet still is one. All those multiforms are understood by the pure,

unalloyed devotees, but not by a simple study of the Vedas. Devotees

like Arjuna are constant companions of the Lord, and whenever the

Lord incarnates, the associate devotees also incarnate in order to

serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is one of these

devotees, and in this verse it is understood that when Lord Krsna

spoke Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god Vivasvan, Arjuna in a different

capacity was also present there—some millions of years before. But

the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord

remembered the incident, whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is

the difference between the part and parcel living entity and the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna is addressed herein as the

mighty hero who could subdue the enemies. At the same time, he is

unable to recall what had happened in his various past births.

Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in a material

estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a

constant companion of the Lord is cer­tainly a liberated person, but

he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described above in the

Brahma-samhita as infallible (acyuta), which means He never forgets

Himself, even though He is in material contact. So the Lord and the

living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living

entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the

Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine

grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of

the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this tran­

scendental nature. Consequently, these descriptions in Bhagavad-gita

cannot be understood by demoniac brains. Krsna remembered acts which

were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not,

despite the fact that both Krsna and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We

may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to

his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change

His sac-cid-ananda body. He is advaita, which means there is no

distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to

Him is spirit —whereas the conditioned soul is different from his

material body. And because the Lord is identical in His body and

Self, His position is always different from the ordinary living

entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons

cannot adjust themselves to this tran­scendental nature of the Lord,

as the Lord explains in the following verse.

 

Will continue next time your Servant Krsnajoe Jaya Kesava Dasa

 

 

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