Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (59 page)

Those who are always busy with fruitive activities come to the Lord in material distress and at that time associate with pure devotees and become, in their distress, devotees of the Lord. Those who are simply frustrated also come sometimes to associate with the pure devotees and become inquisitive to know about God. Similarly, when the dry philosophers are frustrated in every field of knowledge, they sometimes want to learn of God, and they come to the Supreme Lord to render devotional service and thus transcend knowledge of the impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramātmā and come to the personal conception of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee. On the whole, when the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge, and those who are in need of money are free from all material desires, and when they fully understand that material remuneration has nothing to do with spiritual improvement, they become pure devotees. As long as such a purified stage is not attained, devotees in transcendental service to the Lord are tainted with fruitive activities, and they search after mundane knowledge, etc. So one has to transcend all this before one can come to the stage of pure devotional service.

Bg 7.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta

eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate

priyo hi jñānino 'tyartham

ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ

SYNONYMS

teṣām-
out of them;
jñānī-
one in full knowledge;
nitya-yuktaḥ-
always engaged;
eka-
only one;
bhaktiḥ-
devotional service;
viśiṣyate-
especially;
priyaḥ-
very dear;
hi-
certainly;
jñāninaḥ-
person in knowledge;
atyartham
highly;
aham-
I am;
saḥ-
he;
ca-
also;
mama-
Mine;
priyaḥ
-dear.

TRANSLATION

Of these, the wise one who is in full knowledge in union with Me through pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me.

PURPORT

Free from all contaminations of material desires, the distressed, the inquisitive, the penniless, and the seeker after supreme knowledge can all become pure devotees. But out of them, he who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth and free from all material desires becomes a really pure devotee of the Lord. And of the four orders, the devotee who is in full knowledge and is at the same time engaged in devotional service is, the Lord says, the best. By searching after knowledge one realizes that his self is different from his material body, and when further advanced he comes to the knowledge of impersonal Brahman and Paramātmā. When one is fully purified, he realizes that his constitutional position is to be the eternal servant of God. So by association with pure devotees, the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure. But in the preparatory stage, the man who is in full knowledge of the Supreme Lord and is at the same time executing devotional service is very dear to the Lord. He who is situated in pure knowledge of the transcendence of the Supreme Personality of God is so protected in devotional service that material contaminations cannot touch him.

Bg 7.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

udārāḥ sarva evaite

jñānī tv ātmaiva me matam

āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā

mām evānuttamāṁ gatim

SYNONYMS

udārāḥ-
magnanimous;
sarve-
all;
eva-
certainly;
ete-
these;
jñānī-
one who is in knowledge;
tu-
but;
ātmā eva-
just like Myself;
me-
Mine;
matam
-opinion;
āsthitaḥ-
situated;
saḥ-
he;
hi-
certainly;
yukta-ātmā-
engaged in devotional service;
mām-
unto Me;
eva-
certainly;
anuttamām-
the highest goal;
gatim-
destination.

TRANSLATION

All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.

PURPORT

It is not that other devotees who are less complete in knowledge are not dear to the Lord. The Lord says that all are magnanimous because anyone who comes to the Lord for any purpose is called a
mahātmā
or great soul. The devotees who want some benefit out of devotional service are accepted by the Lord because there is an exchange of affection. Out of affection they ask the Lord for some material benefit, and when they get it they become so satisfied that they also advance in devotional service. But the devotee in full knowledge is considered to be very dear to the Lord because his only purpose is to serve the Supreme Lord with love and devotion. Such a devotee cannot live a second without contacting or serving the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is very fond of His devotee and cannot be separated from him.

In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(9.4.57), the Lord says:

ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ

"The devotees are always in My heart, and I am always in the heart of the devotees. The devotee does not know anything beyond Me, and I also cannot forget the devotee. There is a very intimate relationship between Me and the pure devotees. Pure devotees in full knowledge are never out of spiritual touch, and therefore they are very much dear to Me."

Bg 7.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante

jñānavān māṁ prapadyate

vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti

sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

SYNONYMS

bahūnām-
many;
janmanām-
births;
ante-
after;
jñānavān-
he possessing knowledge;
mām-
unto Me;
prapadyate-
surrenders;
vāsudevaḥ-
cause of all causes;
sarvam-
all;
iti-
thus;
saḥ-
such;
mahātmā-
great soul;
sudurlabhaḥ-
very rare.

TRANSLATION

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

PURPORT

The living entity, while executing devotional service or transcendental rituals after many, many births, may actually become situated in transcendental pure knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal of spiritual realization. In the beginning of spiritual realization, while one is trying to give up one's attachment to materialism, there is some leaning towards impersonalism, but when one is further advanced he can understand that there are activities in the spiritual life and that these activities constitute devotional service. Realizing this, he becomes attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrenders to Him. At such a time one can understand that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's mercy is everything, that He is the cause of all causes and that this material manifestation is not independant from Him. He realizes the material world to be a perverted reflection of spiritual variegatedness and realizes that in everything there is a relationship with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus he thinks of everything in relation to Vāsudeva, or Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Such a universal vision of Vāsudeva precipitates one's full surrender to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the highest goal. Such surrendered great souls are very rare.

This verse is very nicely explained in the Third Chapter of
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad:
"In this body there are powers of speaking, of seeing, of hearing, of mental activities, etc. But these are not important if not related to the Supreme Lord. And because Vāsudeva is all-pervading and everything is Vāsudeva, the devotee surrenders in full knowledge." (Cf.
Bhagavad-gītā
7.17 and 11.40)

Bg 7.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ

prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ

taṁ taṁ niyamam āsthāya

prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā

SYNONYMS

kamaiḥ-
by desires;
taiḥ-
by those;
taiḥ-
by those;
hṛta-
distorted;
jñānāḥ-
knowledge;
prapadyante-
surrender;
anya-
other;
devatāḥ-
demigods;
tam-
that;
tam-
that;
niyamam-
rules;
āsthāya-
following;
prakṛtyā
-by nature;
niyatāḥ-
controlled;
svayā-
by their own.

TRANSLATION

Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.

PURPORT

Those who are freed from all material contaminations surrender unto the Supreme Lord and engage in His devotional service. As long as the material contamination is not completely washed off, they are by nature nondevotees. But even those who have material desires and who resort to the Supreme Lord are not so much attracted by external nature; because of approaching the right goal, they soon become free from all material lust. In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
it is recommended that whether one is free from all material desires, or is full of material desires, or desires liberation from material contamination, or is a pure devotee and has no desire for material sense gratification, he should in all cases surrender to Vāsudeva and worship Him.

It is said in the
Bhāgavatam
that less intelligent people who have lost their spiritual sense take shelter of demigods for immediate fulfillment of material desires. Generally, such people do not go to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because they are in particular modes of nature (ignorance and passion) and therefore worship various demigods. Following the rules and regulations of worship, they are satisfied. The worshipers of demigods are motivated by small desires and do not know how to reach the supreme goal, but a devotee of the Supreme Lord is not misguided. Because in Vedic literature there are recommendations for worshiping different gods for different purposes (e.g., a diseased man is recommended to worship the sun), those who are not devotees of the Lord think that for certain purposes demigods are better than the Supreme Lord. But a pure devotee knows that the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is the master of all. In the
Caitanya-caritāmṛta
it is said that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is master and all others are servants. Therefore a pure devotee never goes to demigods for satisfaction of his material needs. He depends on the Supreme Lord. And the pure devotee is satisfied with whatever He gives.

Bg 7.21

TEXT 21

TEXT

yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ

śraddhayārcitum icchati

tasya tasyācalāṁ śraddhāṁ

tām eva vidadhāmy aham

SYNONYMS

yaḥ-
that;
yaḥ-
that;
yām
-which;
yām
-which;
tanum
-form of the demigods;
bhaktaḥ-
devotee;
śraddhayā-
with faith;
arcitum
-to worship;
icchati-
desires;
tasya
-of that;
tasya
-of that;
acalām-
steady;
śraddhām-
faith;
tam
-him;
eva
-surely;
vidadhāmi-
give;
aham-
I.

TRANSLATION

I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some particular deity.

PURPORT

God has given independence to everyone; therefore, if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants very sincerely to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul in everyone's heart, understands and gives facilities to such persons. As the supreme father of all living entities, He does not interfere with their independence, but gives all facilities so that they can fulfill their material desires. Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence. Therefore He gives everyone full independence-whatever one likes-but His ultimate instruction we find in the
Bhagavad-gītā:
man should give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto Him. That will make man happy.

Both the living entity and the demigods are subordinate to the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the living entity cannot worship the demigod by his own desire, nor can the demigod bestow any benediction without the supreme will. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally, persons who are distressed in the material world go to the demigods, as they are advised in the Vedic literature. A person wanting some particular thing may worship such and such a demigod. For example, a diseased person is recommended to worship the sun-god; a person wanting education may worship the goddess of learning, Sarasvatī; and a person wanting a beautiful wife may worship the goddess Umā, the wife of Lord Śiva. In this way there are recommendations in the
śāstras
(Vedic scriptures) for different modes of worship of different demigods. And because a particular living entity wants to enjoy a particular material facility, the Lord inspires him with a strong desire to achieve that benediction from that particular demigod, and so he successfully receives the benediction. The particular mode of the devotional attitude of the living entity toward a particular type of demigod is also arranged by the Supreme Lord. The demigods cannot infuse the living entities with such an affinity, but because He is the Supreme Lord or the Supersoul who is present in the heart of all living entities, Kṛṣṇa gives impetus to man to worship certain demigods. The demigods are actually different parts of the universal body of the Supreme Lord; therefore they have no independence. In the Vedic literature
(Taittirīya Upaniṣad,
First
Anuvāka)
it is stated: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Supersoul is also present within the heart of the demigod; therefore He arranges through the demigod to fulfill the desire of the living entity. But both the demigod and the living entity are dependant on the supreme wil1. They are not independant."