BHAGAVAD-GITA 15:20

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 15:20

 

iti guhyatamam sastram

idam uktam mayanagha

etad buddhva buddhimnan syat

krta-krtyas ca bharata

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

iti--thus; guhya-tamam--the most confidential; sastram--revealed

scripture; idam--this; uktam--disclosed; maya--by Me; anagha--O

sinless one; etat--this; buddhva--understanding;

buddhi-man--intelligent; syat--one becomes; krta-krtyah--the most

perfect in his endeavors; ca--and; bharata--O son of Bharata.

 

TRANSLATION

 

This is the most confidential part of the Vedic scriptures, O sinless

one, and it is disclosed now by Me. Whoever understands this will

become wise, and his endeavors will know perfection.

 

PURPORT

 

The Lord clearly explains here that this is the substance of all

revealed scriptures. And one should understand this as it is given by

the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus one will become intelligent

and perfect in transcendental knowledge. In other words, by

understanding this philosophy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

and engaging in His transcendental service, everyone can become freed

from all contaminations of the modes of material nature. Devotional

service is a process of spiritual understanding. Wherever devotional

service exists, the material contamination cannot coexist. Devotional

service to the Lord and the Lord Himself are one and the same because

they are spiritual; devotional service takes place within the internal

energy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is said to be the sun, and

ignorance is called darkness. Where the sun is present, there is no

question of darkness. Therefore, whenever devotional service is

present under the proper guidance of a bona fide spiritual master,

there is no question of ignorance.

 

Everyone must take to this consciousness of Krsna and engage in

devotional service to become intelligent and purified. Unless one

comes to this position of understanding Krsna and engages in

devotional service, however intelligent he may be in the estimation of

some common man, he is not perfectly intelligent.

 

The word anagha, by which Arjuna is addressed, is significant. Anagha,

"O sinless one," means that unless one is free from all sinful

reactions it is very difficult to understand Krsna. One has to become

free from all contamination, all sinful activities; then he can

understand. But devotional service is so pure and potent that once one

is engaged in devotional service he automatically comes to the stage

of sinlessness.

 

While one is performing devotional service in the association of pure

devotees in full Krsna consciousness, there are certain things which

require to be vanquished altogether. The most important thing one has

to surmount is weakness of the heart. The first falldown is caused by

the desire to lord it over material nature. Thus one gives up the

transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord. The second weakness

of the heart is that as one increases the propensity to lord it over

material nature, he becomes attached to matter and the possession of

matter. The problems of material existence are due to these weaknesses

of the heart. In this chapter the first five verses describe the

process of freeing oneself from these weaknesses of heart, and the

rest of the chapter, from the sixth verse through the end, discusses

purusottama-yoga.

 

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifteenth Chapter of the

Srimad Bhagavad-gita in the matter of Purusottama-yoga, the Yoga of

the Supreme Person.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.