BHAGAVAD-GITA 8:11

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 8:11

 

yad aksaram veda-vido vadanti

visanti yad yatayo vita-ragah

yad icchanto brahmacaryam caranti

tat te padam sangrahena pravaksye

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

yat--that which; aksaram--syllable om; veda-vidah--persons conversant

with the Vedas; vadanti--say; visanti--enter; yat--in which;

yatayah--great sages; vita-ragah--in the renounced order of life;

yat--that which; icchantah--desiring; brahmacaryam--celibacy;

caranti--practice; tat--that; te--unto you; padam--situation;

sangrahena--in summary; pravaksye--I shall explain.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Persons who are learned in the Vedas, who utter omkara and who are

great sages in the renounced order enter into Brahman. Desiring such

perfection, one practices celibacy. I shall now briefly explain to you

this process by which one may attain salvation.

 

PURPORT

 

Lord Sri Krsna has recommended to Arjuna the practice of

sat-cakra-yoga, in which one places the air of life between the

eyebrows. Taking it for granted that Arjuna might not know how to

practice sat-cakra-yoga, the Lord explains the process in the

following verses. The Lord says that Brahman, although one without a

second, has various manifestations and features. Especially for the

impersonalists, the aksara, or omkara--the syllable om--is identical

with Brahman. Krsna here explains the impersonal Brahman, in which the

renounced order of sages enter.

 

In the Vedic system of knowledge, students, from the very beginning,

are taught to vibrate om and learn of the ultimate impersonal Brahman

by living with the spiritual master in complete celibacy. In this way

they realize two of Brahman's features. This practice is very

essential for the student's advancement in spiritual life, but at the

moment such brahmacari (unmarried celibate) life is not at all

possible. The social construction of the world has changed so much

that there is no possibility of one's practicing celibacy from the

beginning of student life. Throughout the world there are many

institutions for different departments of knowledge, but there is no

recognized institution where students can be educated in the

brahmacari principles. Unless one practices celibacy, advancement in

spiritual life is very difficult. Therefore Lord Caitanya has

announced, according to the scriptural injunctions for this Age of

Kali, that in this age no process of realizing the Supreme is possible

except the chanting of the holy names of Lord Krsna: Hare Krsna, Hare

Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare

Hare.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.