catur sloki of Bhagavad Gita

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ahaà sarvasya prabhavo

mattaù sarvaà pravartate

iti matvä bhajante mäà

budhä bhäva-samanvitäù

Audio

SYNONYMS

aham—I; sarvasya—of all; prabhavaù—the source of generation; mattaù—from

Me; sarvam—everything; pravartate—emanates; iti—thus; matvä—knowing; bhajante—

become devoted; mäm—unto Me; budhäù—the learned; bhäva-samanvitäù—with great

attention.

TRANSLATION

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates

from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and

worship Me with all their hearts.

PURPORT

A learned scholar who has studied the Vedas perfectly and has information

from authorities like Lord Caitanya and who knows how to apply these teachings

can understand that Kåñëa is the origin of everything in both the material and

spiritual worlds, and because he knows this perfectly he becomes firmly fixed

in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. He can never be deviated by any

amount of nonsensical commentaries or by fools. All Vedic literature agrees

that Kåñëa is the source of Brahmä, Çiva and all other demigods. In the Atharva

 

Veda (Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad 1.24) it is said, yo brahmäëaà vidadhäti pürvaà

yo vai vedäàç ca gäpayati sma kåñëaù: "It was Kåñëa who in the beginning

instructed Brahmä in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in

the

past." Then again the Näräyaëa Upaniñad (1) says, atha puruño ha vai näräyaëo

'kämayata prajäù såjeyeti: "Then the Supreme Personality Näräyaëa desired to

create living entities." The Upaniñad continues, näräyaëäd brahmä jäyate,

näräyaëäd prajäpatiù prajäyate, näräyaëäd indro jäyate, näräyaëäd añöau vasavo

jäyante, näräyaëäd ekädaça rudrä jäyante, näräyaëäd dvädaçädityäù: "From

Näräyaëa,

Brahmä is born, and from Näräyaëa the patriarchs are also born. From Näräyaëa,

Indra is born, from Näräyaëa the eight Vasus are born, from Näräyaëa the eleven

 

Rudras are born, from Näräyaëa the twelve Ädityas are born." This Näräyaëa is

an expansion of Kåñëa.

It is said in the same Vedas, brahmaëyo devaké-putraù: "The son of Devaké,

Kåñëa, is the Supreme Personality." (Näräyaëa Upaniñad 4) Then it is said, eko

vai näräyaëa äsén na brahmä na éçäno näpo nägni-samau neme dyäv-äpåthivé na

nakñaträëi na süryaù: "In the beginning of the creation there was only the

Supreme Personality Näräyaëa. There was no Brahmä, no Çiva, no water, no fire,

no

moon, no stars in the sky, no sun." (Mahä Upaniñad 1) In the Mahä Upaniñad it

is

also said that Lord Çiva was born from the forehead of the Supreme Lord. Thus

the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahmä and Çiva,

who is to be worshiped.

In the Mokña-dharma Kåñëa also says,

prajäpatià ca rudraà cäpy

aham eva såjämi vai

tau hi mäà na vijänéto

mama mäyä-vimohitau

"The patriarchs, Çiva and others are created by Me, though they do not know

that they are created by Me because they are deluded by My illusory energy." In

 

the Varäha Puräëa it is also said,

näräyaëaù paro devas

tasmäj jätaç caturmukhaù

tasmäd rudro 'bhavad devaù

sa ca sarva-jïatäà gataù

"Näräyaëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him Brahmä was

born, from whom Çiva was born."

Lord Kåñëa is the source of all generations, and He is called the most

efficient cause of everything. He says, "Because everything is born of Me, I am

the

original source of all. Everything is under Me; no one is above Me." There is

no supreme controller other than Kåñëa. One who understands Kåñëa in such a

way from a bona fide spiritual master, with references from Vedic literature,

engages all his energy in Kåñëa consciousness and becomes a truly learned man.

In comparison to him, all others, who do not know Kåñëa properly, are but

fools. Only a fool would consider Kåñëa to be an ordinary man. A Kåñëa

conscious

person should not be bewildered by fools; he should avoid all unauthorized

commentaries and interpretations on Bhagavad-gétä and proceed in Kåñëa

consciousness with determination and firmness. [As-They-Surrender-Unto-Me ]

[VTE]

Bg 10.9

TEXT 9

TEXT

MaiÀtaa MaÓTaPa[a<aa baeDaYaNTa" ParSParMa( )

k-QaYaNTaê Maa& iNaTYa& TauZYaiNTa c rMaiNTa c )) 9 ))

mac-cittä mad-gata-präëä

bodhayantaù parasparam

kathayantaç ca mäà nityaà

tuñyanti ca ramanti ca

Audio

SYNONYMS

mat-cittäù their minds fully engaged in Me; mat-gata-präëäù—their lives

devoted to Me; bodhayantaù—preaching; parasparam—among themselves; kathayantaù—

talking; ca—also; mäm—about Me; nityam—perpetually; tuñyanti—become pleased; ca

—also; ramanti—enjoy transcendental bliss; ca—also.

TRANSLATION

The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted

to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always

enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

PURPORT

Pure devotees, whose characteristics are mentioned here, engage themselves

fully in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Their minds cannot be

diverted from the lotus feet of Kåñëa. Their talks are solely on the

transcendental subjects. The symptoms of the pure devotees are described in

this verse

specifically. Devotees of the Supreme Lord are twenty-four hours daily engaged

in glorifying the qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Their hearts and

souls are constantly submerged in Kåñëa, and they take pleasure in discussing

Him with other devotees.

In the preliminary stage of devotional service they relish the transcendental

pleasure from the service itself, and in the mature stage they are actually

situated in love of God. Once situated in that transcendental position, they

can relish the highest perfection which is exhibited by the Lord in His abode.

Lord Caitanya likens transcendental devotional service to the sowing of a seed

in the heart of the living entity. There are innumerable living entities

traveling throughout the different planets of the universe, and out of them

there

are a few who are fortunate enough to meet a pure devotee and get the chance to

 

understand devotional service. This devotional service is just like a seed,

and if it is sown in the heart of a living entity, and if he goes on hearing

and chanting Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare

Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare, that seed fructifies, just as the seed of a tree

fructifies with regular watering. The spiritual plant of devotional service

gradually grows and grows until it penetrates the covering of the material

universe

and enters into the brahmajyoti effulgence in the spiritual sky. In the

spiritual sky also that plant grows more and more until it reaches the highest

planet, which is called Goloka Våndävana, the supreme planet of Kåñëa.

Ultimately,

the plant takes shelter under the lotus feet of Kåñëa and rests there.

Gradually, as a plant grows fruits and flowers, that plant of devotional

service also

produces fruits, and the watering process in the form of chanting and hearing

goes on. This plant of devotional service is fully described in the

Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya-lélä, Chapter Nineteen). It is explained there that

when

the complete plant takes shelter under the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, one

b

ecomes fully absorbed in love of God; then he cannot live even for a moment

without being in contact with the Supreme Lord, just as a fish cannot live

without water. In such a state, the devotee actually attains the transcendental

 

qualities in contact with the Supreme Lord.

The Çrémad-Bhägavatam is also full of such narrations about the relationship

between the Supreme Lord and His devotees; therefore the Çrémad-Bhägavatam is

very dear to the devotees, as stated in the Bhägavatam itself (12.13.18).

Çrémad-bhägavataà puräëam amalaà yad vaiñëavänäà priyam. In this narration

there

is nothing about material activities, economic development, sense gratification

 

or liberation. Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the only narration in which the

transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord and His devotees is fully described.

Thus the

realized souls in Kåñëa consciousness take continual pleasure in hearing such

transcendental literatures, just as a young boy and girl take pleasure in

association. [As-They-Surrender-Unto-Me ]

 

TEXT 10

TEXT

Taeza& SaTaTaYau¢-aNaa& >aJaTaa& Pa[qiTaPaUvRk-Ma( )

ddaiMa buiÖYaaeGa& Ta& YaeNa MaaMauPaYaaiNTa Tae )) 10 ))

teñäà satata-yuktänäà

bhajatäà préti-pürvakam

dadämi buddhi-yogaà taà

yena mäm upayänti te

Audio

SYNONYMS

teñäm—unto them; satata-yuktänäm—always engaged; bhajatäm—in rendering

devotional service; préti-pürvakam—in loving ecstasy; dadämi—I give;

buddhi-yogam—

real intelligence; tam—that; yena—by which; mäm—unto Me; upayänti—come; te—

they.

TRANSLATION

To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the

understanding by which they can come to Me.

PURPORT

In this verse the word buddhi-yogam is very significant. We may remember that

in the Second Chapter the Lord, instructing Arjuna, said that He had spoken

to him of many things and that He would instruct him in the way of buddhi-yoga.

 

Now buddhi-yoga is explained. Buddhi-yoga itself is action in Kåñëa

consciousness; that is the highest intelligence. Buddhi means intelligence, and

yoga

means mystic activities or mystic elevation. When one tries to go back home,

back to Godhead, and takes fully to Kåñëa consciousness in devotional service,

his action is called buddhi yoga. In other words, buddhi-yoga is the process by

 

which one gets out of the entanglement of this material world. The ultimate

goal of progress is Kåñëa. People do not know this; therefore the association

of

devotees and a bona fide spiritual master are important. One should know that

the goal is Kåñëa, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but

progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved.

When a person knows the goal of life but is addicted to the fruits of

activities, he is acting in karma-yoga. When he knows that the goal is Kåñëa

but he

takes pleasure in mental speculations to understand Kåñëa, he is acting in

jïäna-yoga. And when he knows the goal and seeks Kåñëa completely in Kåñëa

consciousness and devotional service, he is acting in bhakti-yoga, or

buddhi-yoga,

which is the complete yoga. This complete yoga is the highest perfectional

stage

of life.

A person may have a bona fide spiritual master and may be attached to a

spiritual organization, but if he is still not intelligent enough to make

progress,

then Kåñëa from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come

to Him without difficulty. The qualification is that a person always engage

himself in Kåñëa consciousness and with love and devotion render all kinds of

services. He should perform some sort of work for Kåñëa, and that work should

be

with love. If a devotee is not intelligent enough to make progress on the

path of self-realization but is sincere and devoted to the activities of

devotional service, the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately

attain

to Him. [As-They-Surrender-Unto-Me ] [VTE]

Bg 10.11

TEXT 11

TaezaMaevaNauk-MPaaQaRMahMajaNaJa& TaMa" )

NaaXaYaaMYaaTMa>aavSQaae jaNadqPaeNa >aaSvTaa )) 11 ))

teñäm evänukampärtham

aham ajïäna-jaà tamaù

näçayämy ätma-bhäva-stho

jïäna-dépena bhäsvatä

Audio

SYNONYMS

teñäm—for them; eva—certainly; anukampä-artham—to show special mercy; aham—

I; ajïäna-jam—due to ignorance; tamaù—darkness; näçayämi—dispel; ätma-bhäva—

within their hearts; sthaù—situated; jïäna—of knowledge; dépena—with the

lamp; bhäsvatä—glowing.

TRANSLATION

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the

shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

PURPORT

When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Kåñëa,

Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare,

 

thousands of people were following Him. Prakäçänanda Sarasvaté, a very

influential and learned scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya

for

being a sentimentalist. Sometimes Mäyävädé philosophers criticize the devotees

because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance

and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact.

There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of

devotion. But even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or

 

of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is

helped by Kåñëa Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in

Kåñëa

consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one

carry out devotional service in full Kåñëa consciousness.

The Mäyävädé philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have

pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who

are engaged in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient

education and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are

still helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse.

The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding

the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not

possible

to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can

go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if

he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Kåñëa, or

the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Kåñëa,

pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of

the

pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Kåñëa within his heart; and with the

presence of Kåñëa, who is just like the sun, the darkness of ignorance is at

once dissipated. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by

Kåñëa.

Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions

of births, one's heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but

when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Kåñëa, the

dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The

 

ultimate goal, Viñëu, can be attained only by this chant and by devotional

service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not

have

to worry about the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious,

because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided

automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving devotional

service

of the devotee. This is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gétä. By

studying Bhagavad-gétä, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the

Supreme

Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge,

one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.