BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:11

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:11

 

tesam evanukampartham

aham ajnana-jam tamah

nasayamy atma-bhava-stho

jnana-dipena bhasvata

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

tesam--for them; eva--certainly; anukampa-artham--to show special

mercy; aham--I; ajnana jam--due to ignorance; tamah--darkness;

nasayami--dispel; atma-bhava--within their hearts; sthah--situated;

jnana--of knowledge; dipena--with the lamp; bhasvata--glowing.

 

TRANSLATION

 

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with

the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

 

PURPORT

 

When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare

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

Rama, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. Prakasananda

Sarasvati, a very influential and learned scholar in Benares at that

time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist. Sometimes

philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of

the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically

naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very,

very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion.

But even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or

of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he

is helped by Krsna Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee

engaged in Krsna consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only

qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Krsna

consciousness.

 

The modern philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot

have pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme

Lord: those who are engaged in pure devotional service, even though

they be without sufficient education and even without sufficient

knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still helped by the Supreme

God, as stated in this verse.

 

The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of

understanding the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth

is so great that it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve

Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for

several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a

lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Krsna, or the

Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Krsna,

pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the

heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Krsna within

his heart; and with the presence of Krsna, who is just like the sun,

the darkness of ignorance is at once dissipated. This is the special

mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Krsna.

 

Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many

millions of births, one's heart is always covered with the dust of

materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly

chants Hare Krsna, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the

platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal, Visnu, can be attained

only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental

speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about

the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious, because when

he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided

automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving

devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the

teachings of Bhagavad-gita. By studying Bhagavad-gita, one can become

a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself

in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes

completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.