BHAGAVAD-GITA 13:25

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 13:25

 

dhyanenatmani pasyanti

kecid atmanam atmana

anye sankhyena yogena

karma-yogena capare

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

dhyanena--by meditation; atmani--within the self; pasyanti--see;

kecit--some; atmanam--the Supersoul; atmana--by the mind;

anye--others; sankhyena--of philosophical discussion; yogena--by the

yoga system; karma-yogena--by activities without fruitive desire;

ca--also; apare--others.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Some perceive the Supersoul within themselves through meditation,

others through the cultivation of knowledge, and still others through

working without fruitive desires.

 

PURPORT

 

The Lord informs Arjuna that the conditioned souls can be divided into

two classes as far as man's search for self-realization is concerned.

Those who are atheists, agnostics and skeptics are beyond the sense of

spiritual understanding. But there are others, who are faithful in

their understanding of spiritual life, and they are called

introspective devotees, philosophers, and workers who have renounced

fruitive results. Those who always try to establish the doctrine of

monism are also counted among the atheists and agnostics. In other

words, only the devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are

best situated in spiritual understanding, because they understand that

beyond this material nature are the spiritual world and the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, who is expanded as the Paramatma, the

Supersoul in everyone, the all-pervading Godhead. Of course there are

those who try to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth by cultivation

of knowledge, and they can be counted in the class of the faithful.

The Sankhya philosophers analyze this material world into twenty-four

elements, and they place the individual soul as the twenty-fifth item.

When they are able to understand the nature of the individual soul to

be transcendental to the material elements, they are able to

understand also that above the individual soul there is the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. He is the twenty-sixth element. Thus gradually

they also come to the standard of devotional service in Krsna

consciousness. Those who work without fruitive results are also

perfect in their attitude. They are given a chance to advance to the

platform of devotional service in Krsna consciousness. Here it is

stated that there are some people who are pure in consciousness and

who try to find out the Supersoul by meditation, and when they

discover the Supersoul within themselves, they become transcendentally

situated. Similarly, there are others who also try to understand the

Supreme Soul by cultivation of knowledge, and there are others who

cultivate the hatha-yoga system and who try to satisfy the Supreme

Personality of Godhead by childish activities.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.