Cultivating Knowledge

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> > In Bg 12.12 purport, Prabhupada says, "...there are two kinds of

> > devotional service: the way of regulative principles [verse 9] and the

> > way of full attachment in love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead

> > [verse 8]. For those who are actually not able to follow the principles

> > of Krsna consciousness it is better to cultivate knowledge, because by

> > knowledge one can be able to understand his real position."

> >

> > He seems here to have skipped the levels mentioned in verses 10 and 11.

> > Why did he do that?

>

> Your question was very tricky because you suppose that the way of

> regulative principles only applies to verse 9 and not to 10 or 11. But

> actually, working for Krsna and giving up the fruits of work are also

> parts of service in regulation. Therefore, Prabhupada is absolutely

> correct when he says that there is regulative devotional service and

> spontaneous devotional service. Under regulative devotional service, work

> for the sake of Krsna while giving up all fruitive attachment to that work

> are the main branches.

 

This section (Bg. 12.8-12) is very interesting and we have elaborately

discussed it in the Bhakti-sastri course last year, referring to Bhurijana

Prabhu's BG-overview. Please allow me therefore to add something.

 

Verse 8 refers to bhakti in full attachment, verse 9 to vaidhi-sadhana-

bhakti and verse 10 to sakama-/niskama-karma-yoga. They all describe

devotional service. However, verse 11 refers to karma-phala-tyaga, which is

not a spiritual process, but punya activity, as described in the purport.

This is indicated by Krsna: He describes spiritual results in the first 3

verses (nivasisyasi mam, mam iccha aptum, siddhim avapsyasi), but no such

results in verse 11.

 

Therefore Srila Prabhupada's description of the two bhakti sections is

summarizing verses 8 to 10, which describe the direct process of attaining

Krsna. This also means that the phrase "If you cannot take to this practice"

in Bg. 12.12 refers to karma-yoga (verse 10) and not to karma-phala-

tyaga (verse 11). Thus verse 12 describes the gradual process from verse 11

to verse 10 — rising from piety to bhakti via jnana and dhyana. This gives

the following order in the progression of devotion (from highest to lowest):

 

(1) pure bhakti (verse 8)

(2) vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti (verse 9)

(3) karma-yoga (verse 10)

(4) dhyana (meditation) (verse 12)

(5) jnana (verse 12)

(6) karma-phala-tyaga (verse 11)

(karma-kanda)

 

The first 3 levels are devotional service and the last 3 lead to devotional

service. They are described in the second paragraph of Bg.12.12.p

 

I hope this information serves the question.

Your servant, Gaura-Siromani Dasa