BHAGAVAD-GITA 14:27

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 14:27

 

brahmano hi pratisthaham

amrtasyavyayasya ca

sasvatasya ca dharmasya

sukhasyaikantikasya ca

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

brahmanah--of the impersonal brahmajyoti; hi--certainly;

pratistha--the rest; aham--I am; amrtasya--of the immortal;

avyayasya--of the imperishable; ca--also; sasvatasya--of the eternal;

ca--and; dharmasya--of the constitutional position; sukhasya--of

happiness; aikantikasya--ultimate; ca--also.

 

TRANSLATION

 

And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal,

imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of

ultimate happiness.

 

PURPORT

 

The constitution of Brahman is immortality, imperishability, eternity,

and happiness. Brahman is the beginning of transcendental realization.

Paramatma, the Supersoul, is the middle, the second stage in

transcendental realization, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is

the ultimate realization of the Absolute Truth. Therefore, both

Paramatma and the impersonal Brahman are within the Supreme Person. It

is explained in the Seventh Chapter that material nature is the

manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord

impregnates the inferior, material nature with fragments of the

superior nature, and that is the spiritual touch in the material

nature. When a living entity conditioned by this material nature

begins the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, he elevates himself

from the position of material existence and gradually rises up to the

Brahman conception of the Supreme. This attainment of the Brahman

conception of life is the first stage in self-realization. At this

stage the Brahman-realized person is transcendental to the material

position, but he is not actually perfect in Brahman realization. If he

wants, he can continue to stay in the Brahman position and then

gradually rise up to Paramatma realization and then to the realization

of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many examples of this

in Vedic literature. The four Kumaras were situated first in the

impersonal Brahman conception of truth, but then they gradually rose

to the platform of devotional service. One who cannot elevate himself

beyond the impersonal conception of Brahman runs the risk of falling

down. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that although a person may

rise to the stage of impersonal Brahman, without going further, with

no information of the Supreme Person, his intelligence is not

perfectly clear. Therefore, in spite of being raised to the Brahman

platform, there is the chance of falling down if one is not engaged in

the devotional service of the Lord. In the Vedic language it is also

said, raso vai sah, rasam hy evayam labdhvanandi bhavati: "When one

understands the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure,

Krsna, he actually becomes transcendentally blissful." (Taittiriya

Upanisad 2.7.1) The Supreme Lord is full in six opulences, and when a

devotee approaches Him there is an exchange of these six opulences.

The servant of the king enjoys on an almost equal level with the king.

And so eternal happiness, imperishable happiness, and eternal life

accompany devotional service. Therefore, realization of Brahman, or

eternity, or imperishability, is included in devotional service. This

is already possessed by a person who is engaged in devotional service.

 

The living entity, although Brahman by nature, has the desire to lord

it over the material world, and due to this he falls down. In his

constitutional position, a living entity is above the three modes of

material nature, but association with material nature entangles him in

the different modes of material nature--goodness, passion and

ignorance. Due to the association of these three modes, his desire to

dominate the material world is there. By engagement in devotional

service in full Krsna consciousness, he is immediately situated in the

transcendental position, and his unlawful desire to control material

nature is removed. Therefore the process of devotional service,

beginning with hearing, chanting, remembering--the prescribed nine

methods for realizing devotional service--should be practiced in the

association of devotees. Gradually, by such association, by the

influence of the spiritual master, one's material desire to dominate

is removed, and one becomes firmly situated in the Lord's

transcendental loving service. This method is prescribed from the

twenty-second to the last verse of this chapter. Devotional service to

the Lord is very simple: one should always engage in the service of

the Lord, should eat the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Deity,

smell the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, see the

places where the Lord had His transcendental pastimes, read of the

different activities of the Lord, His reciprocation of love with His

devotees, chant always the transcendental vibration Hare Krsna, Hare

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

Hare, and observe the fasting days commemorating the appearances and

disappearances of the Lord and His devotees. By following such a

process one becomes completely detached from all material activities.

One who can thus situate himself in the brahma-jyoti or the different

varieties of the Brahman conception is equal to the Supreme

Personality of Godhead in quality.

 

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fourteenth Chapter of the

Srimad Bhagavad-gita in the matter of the Three Modes of Material

Nature.

 

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.