BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:4-5

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 10:4-5

 

buddhir jnanam asammohah

ksama satyam damah samah

sukham duhkham bhavo 'bhavo

bhayam cabhayam eva ca

 

ahimsa samata tustis

tapo danam yaso 'yasah

bhavanti bhava bhutanam

matta eva prthag-vidhah

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

buddhih--intelligence; jnanam--knowledge; asammohah--freedom from

doubt; ksama--forgiveness; satyam--truthfulness; damah--control of the

senses; samah--control of the mind; sukham--happiness;

duhkham--distress; bhavah--birth; abhavah--death; bhayam--fear;

ca--also; abhayam--fearlessness; eva--also; ca--and;

ahimsa--nonviolence; samata--equilibrium; tustih--satisfaction;

tapah--penance; danam--charity; yasah--fame; ayasah--infamy;

bhavanti--come about; bhavah--natures; bhutanam--of living entities;

mattah--from Me; eva--certainly; prthak-vidhah--variously arranged.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness,

truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness

and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence,

equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy--all

these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.

 

PURPORT

 

The different qualities of living entities, be they good or bad, are

all created by Krsna, and they are described here.

 

Intelligence refers to the power to analyze things in their proper

perspective, and knowledge refers to understanding what is spirit and

what is matter. Ordinary knowledge obtained by a university education

pertains only to matter, and it is not accepted here as knowledge.

Knowledge means knowing the distinction between spirit and matter. In

modern education there is no knowledge about spirit; they are simply

taking care of the material elements and bodily needs. Therefore

academic knowledge is not complete.

 

Asammoha, freedom from doubt and delusion, can be achieved when one is

not hesitant and when he understands the transcendental philosophy.

Slowly but surely he becomes free from bewilderment. Nothing should be

accepted blindly; everything should be accepted with care and with

caution. Ksama, tolerance and forgiveness, should be practiced; one

should be tolerant and excuse the minor offenses of others. Satyam,

truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are, for

the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented. According

to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only

when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The

truth should be spoken in a straightforward way, so that others will

understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if

people are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although

sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from

speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they

are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth.

 

Control of the senses means that the senses should not be used for

unnecessary personal enjoyment. There is no prohibition against

meeting the proper needs of the senses, but unnecessary sense

enjoyment is detrimental for spiritual advancement. Therefore the

senses should be restrained from unnecessary use. Similarly, one

should restrain the mind from unnecessary thoughts; that is called

sama. One should not spend one's time pondering over earning money.

That is a misuse of the thinking power. The mind should be used to

understand the prime necessity of human beings, and that should be

presented authoritatively. The power of thought should be developed in

association with persons who are authorities in the scriptures,

saintly persons and spiritual masters and those whose thinking is

highly developed. Sukham, pleasure or happiness, should always be in

that which is favorable for the cultivation of the spiritual knowledge

of Krsna consciousness. And similarly, that which is painful or which

causes distress is that which is unfavorable for the cultivation of

Krsna consciousness. Anything favorable for the development of Krsna

consciousness should be accepted, and anything unfavorable should be

rejected.

 

Bhava, birth, should be understood to refer to the body. As far as the

soul is concerned, there is neither birth nor death; that we have

discussed in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Birth and death apply to

one's embodiment in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about

the future. A person in Krsna consciousness has no fear because by his

activities he is sure to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back

to Godhead. Therefore his future is very bright. Others, however, do

not know what their future holds; they have no knowledge of what the

next life holds. So they are therefore in constant anxiety. If we want

to get free from anxiety, then the best course is to understand Krsna

and be situated always in Krsna consciousness. In that way we will be

free from all fear. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.37) it is stated,

bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat: fear is caused by our absorption in

the illusory energy. But those who are free from the illusory energy,

those who are confident that they are not the material body, that they

are spiritual parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and who are

therefore engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme

Godhead, have nothing to fear. Their future is very bright. This fear

is a condition of persons who are not in Krsna consciousness. Abhayam,

fearlessness, is possible only for one in Krsna consciousness.

 

Ahimsa, nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will

put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are

promised by so many politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc.,

do not produce very good results because the politicians and

philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what

is actually beneficial for human society. Ahimsa means that people

should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human

body can be achieved. The human body is meant for spiritual

realization, so any movement or any commissions which do not further

that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the

future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called

nonviolence.

 

Samata, equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To

be very much attached or to be very much detached is not the best.

This material world should be accepted without attachment or aversion.

That which is favorable for prosecuting Krsna consciousness should be

accepted; that which is unfavorable should be rejected. That is called

samata, equanimity. A person in Krsna consciousness has nothing to

reject and nothing to accept save in terms of its usefulness in the

prosecution of Krsna consciousness.

 

Tusti, satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more

and more material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be

satisfied with whatever is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord;

that is called satisfaction. Tapas means austerity or penance. There

are many rules and regulations in the Vedas which apply here, like

rising early in the morning and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very

troublesome to rise early in the morning, but whatever voluntary

trouble one may suffer in this way is called penance. Similarly, there

are prescriptions for fasting on certain days of the month. One may

not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because of his

determination to make advancement in the science of Krsna

consciousness, he should accept such bodily troubles when they are

recommended. However, one should not fast unnecessarily or against

Vedic injunctions. One should not fast for some political purpose;

that is described in Bhagavad-gita as fasting in ignorance, and

anything done in ignorance or passion does not lead to spiritual

advancement. Everything done in the mode of goodness does advance one,

however, and fasting done in terms of the Vedic injunctions enriches

one in spiritual knowledge.

 

As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his

earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that

which is conducted in terms of Krsna consciousness. That is not only a

good cause, but the best cause. Because Krsna is good, His cause is

also good. Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in

Krsna consciousness. According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined

that charity should be given to the brahmanas. This practice is still

followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction.

But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the

brahmanas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of

spiritual knowledge. A brahmana is supposed to devote his whole life

to understanding Brahman. Brahma janatiti brahmanah: one who knows

Brahman is called a brahmana. Thus charity is offered to the brahmanas

because they are always engaged in higher spiritual service and have

no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is

also to be awarded to one in the renounced order of life, the

sannyasi. The sannyasis beg from door to door, not for money but for

missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to

awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the

householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their

actual purpose in life--awakening their Krsna consciousness--it is the

business of the sannyasis to go as beggars to the householders and

encourage them to be Krsna conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one

should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life.

This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyasis; hence

charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brahmanas, and

similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause.

 

Yasas, fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man

is famous when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If

one has become a great man in Krsna consciousness and it is known,

then he is truly famous. One who does not have such fame is infamous.

 

All these qualities are manifest throughout the universe in human

society and in the society of the demigods. There are many forms of

humanity on other planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one

who wants to advance in Krsna consciousness, Krsna creates all these

qualities, but the person develops them himself from within. One who

engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord develops all the

good qualities, as arranged by the Supreme Lord.

 

Of whatever we find, good or bad, the origin is Krsna. Nothing can

manifest itself in this material world which is not in Krsna. That is

knowledge; although we know that things are differently situated, we

should realize that everything flows from Krsna.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.