BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:5

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 12:5

 

kleso 'dhikataras tesam

avyaktasakta-cetasam

avyakta hi gatir duhkham

dehavadbhir avapyate

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

klesah--trouble; adhika-tarah--very much; tesam--of them; avyakta--to

the unmanifested; asakta--attached; cetasam--of those whose minds;

avyakta--toward the unmanifested; hi--certainly; gatih--progress;

duhkham--with trouble; deha-vadbhih--by the embodied; avapyate--is

achieved.

 

TRANSLATION

 

For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal

feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make

progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are

embodied.

 

PURPORT

 

The group of transcendentalists who follow the path of the

inconceivable, unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord

are called jnana-yogis, and persons who are in full Krsna

consciousness, engaged in devotional service to the Lord, are called

bhakti-yogis. Now, here the difference between jnana-yoga and

bhakti-yoga is definitely expressed. The process of jnana-yoga,

although ultimately bringing one to the same goal, is very

troublesome, whereas the path of bhakti-yoga, the process of being in

direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is

natural for the embodied soul. The individual soul is embodied since

time immemorial. It is very difficult for him to simply theoretically

understand that he is not the body. Therefore, the bhakti-yogi accepts

the Deity of Krsna as worshipable because there is some bodily

conception fixed in the mind, which can thus be applied. Of course,

worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the

temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature

that worship may be saguna and nirguna--of the Supreme possessing or

not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is

saguna worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But

the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as

stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the

absolute nature of the Supreme Lord.

 

A crude example may be given here. We may find some mailboxes on the

street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally

go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an

imitation which we may find somewhere but which is not authorized by

the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an

authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called

arca-vigraha. This arca-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord.

God will accept service through that form. The Lord is omnipotent,

all-powerful; therefore, by His incarnation as arca-vigraha He can

accept the services of the devotee, just to make it convenient for the

man in conditioned life.

 

So for a devotee there is no difficulty in approaching the Supreme

immediately and directly, but for those who are following the

impersonal way to spiritual realization the path is difficult. They

have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme

through such Vedic literatures as the Upanisads, and they have to

learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and realize

all these processes. This is not very easy for a common man. A person

in Krsna consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the

guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, simply by offering

regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of

the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to

the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily.

There is no doubt that the impersonalists are unnecessarily taking a

troublesome path with the risk of not realizing the Absolute Truth at

the ultimate end. But the personalist, without any risk, trouble or

difficulty, approaches the Supreme Personality directly. A similar

passage appears in Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is stated there that if one

ultimately has to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead

(this surrendering process is called bhakti), but instead takes the

trouble to understand what is Brahman and what is not Brahman and

spends his whole life in that way, the result is simply troublesome.

Therefore it is advised here that one should not take up this

troublesome path of self-realization, because there is uncertainty in

the ultimate result.

 

A living entity is eternally an individual soul, and if he wants to

merge into the spiritual whole, he may accomplish the realization of

the eternal and knowledgeable aspects of his original nature, but the

blissful portion is not realized. By the grace of some devotee, such a

transcendentalist, highly learned in the process of jnana-yoga, may

come to the point of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. At that time,

long practice in impersonalism also becomes a source of trouble,

because he cannot give up the idea. Therefore an embodied soul is

always in difficulty with the unmanifest, both at the time of practice

and at the time of realization. Every living soul is partially

independent, and one should know for certain that this unmanifested

realization is against the nature of his spiritual blissful self. One

should not take up this process. For every individual living entity

the process of Krsna consciousness, which entails full engagement in

devotional service, is the best way. If one wants to ignore this

devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism. Thus

the process of centering attention on the unmanifested, the

inconceivable, which is beyond the approach of the senses, as already

expressed in this verse, should never be encouraged at any time,

especially in this age. It is not advised by Lord Krsna.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.