BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:40

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 2:40

 

nehabhikrama-naso 'sti

pratyavayo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya

trayate mahato bhayat

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

na--there is not; iha--in this yoga; abhikrama--in endeavoring;

nasah--loss; asti--there is; pratyavayah--diminution; na--never;

vidyate--there is; su-alpam--a little; api--although; asya--of this;

dharmasya--occupation; trayate--releases; mahatah--from very great;

bhayat--danger.

 

TRANSLATION

 

In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little

advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type

of fear.

 

PURPORT

 

Activity in Krsna consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Krsna

without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest

transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such

activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at

any stage. Any work begun on the material plane has to be completed,

otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in

Krsna consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished.

The performer of such work is therefore not at a loss even if his work

in Krsna consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Krsna

consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is

from the point of two percent, whereas in material activity without a

hundred percent success there is no profit. Ajamila performed his duty

in some percentage of Krsna consciousness, but the result he enjoyed

at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord. There is a

nice verse in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17):

 

tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer

bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi

yatra kva vabhadram abhud amusya kim

ko vartha apto 'bhajatam sva-dharmatah

 

"If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Krsna

consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his

work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one

performs his material activities perfectly?" Or, as the Christians

say, "What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffers the

loss of his eternal soul?"

 

Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in

Krsna consciousness carries a person again to Krsna consciousness,

even after the loss of the body. At least one is sure to have a chance

in the next life of being born again as a human being, either in the

family of a great cultured brahmana or in a rich aristocratic family

that will give one a further chance for elevation. That is the unique

quality of work done in Krsna consciousness.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.