COMPLETE EDITION
with original Sanskrit text,
Roman transliteration, English equivalents,
translation and elaborate purports
His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda
Collier Books
A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
NEW YORK
Collier Macmillan Publishers
LONDON
To
ÇRÉLA BALADEVA VIDYÄBHÜÑAËA
who presented so nicely
the “Govinda-bhäñya” commentary
on
Vedänta philosophy
Bg. Foreword
Foreword
The Bhagavad-gétä is the best known
and the most frequently translated of Vedic religious texts. Why it should be
so appealing to the Western mind is an interesting question. It has drama, for
its setting is a scene of two great armies, banners flying, drawn up opposite
one another on the field, poised for battle. It has ambiguity, and the fact
that Arjuna and his charioteer Kåñëa are carrying on their dialogue between the
two armies suggests the indecision of Arjuna about the basic question: should
he enter battle against and kill those who are friends and kinsmen? It has
mystery, as Kåñëa demonstrates to Arjuna His cosmic form. It has a properly
complicated view of the ways of the religious life and treats of the paths of
knowledge, works, discipline and faith and their inter-relationships, problems
that have bothered adherents of other religions in other times and places. The
devotion spoken of is a deliberate means of religious satisfaction, not a mere
outpouring of poetic emotion. Next to the Bhägavata-puräëa,
a long work from South India, the Gétä is
the text most frequently quoted in the philosophical writings of the Gauòéya
Vaiñëava school, the school represented by Swami Bhaktivedanta as the latest in
a long succession of teachers. It can be said that this school of Vaiñëavism
was founded, or revived, by Çré Kåñëa-Caitanya Mahäprabhu (1486-1533) in
Bengal, and that it is currently the strongest single religious force in the
eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Gauòiya Vaiñëava school, for whom
Kåñëa is Himself the Supreme God, and not merely an incarnation of another
deity, sees bhakti as an immediate and powerful
religious force, consisting of love between man and God. Its discipline
consists of devoting all one’s actions to the Deity, and one listens to the
stories of Kåñëa from the sacred texts, one chants Kåñëa’s name, washes,
bathes, and dresses the mürti of Kåñëa, feeds Him
and takes the remains of the food offered to Him, thus absorbing His grace; one
does these things and many more, until one has been changed: the devotee has
become transformed into one close to Kåñëa, and sees the Lord face to face.
Swami Bhaktivedanta comments upon the Gétä from this point of view, and that is legitimate. More than that, in this translation the Western reader has the unique opportunity of seeing how a Kåñëa devotee interprets his own texts. It is the Vedic exegetical tradition, justly famous, in action. This book is then a welcome addition from many points of view. It can serve as a valuable textbook for the college student. It allows us to listen to a skilled interpreter explicating a text which has profound religious meaning. It gives us insights into the original and highly convincing ideas of the Gauòiya Vaiñëava school. In providing the Sanskrit in both Devanagari and transliteration, it offers the Sanskrit specialist the opportunity to re-interpret, or debate particular Sanskrit meanings—although I think there will be little disagreement about the quality of the Swami’s Sanskrit scholarship. And finally, for the nonspecialist, there is readable English and a devotional attitude which cannot help but move the sensitive reader. And there are the paintings, which, incredibly as it may seem to those familiar with contemporary Indian religious art, were done by American devotees.
The scholar, the student of Gauòéya Vaiñëavism, and the increasing number of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding manyfold; and arguments for understanding, in these days of estrangement, need not be made.
Professor Edward C. Dimock, Jr.
Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization
University of Chicago
Bg. Preface
Preface
Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gétä As It Is
>in the form in which it is presented now. When this book was first
published, the original manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than
400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the
original verses of the Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä. In all of my other books—Çrémad Bhägavatam, Çré Éçopaniñad, etc.—the system is
that I give the original verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word
Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. This makes the book
very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not very
happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original manuscript. But later on,
when the demand for Bhagavad-gétä As It Is considerably
increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to present the book in
its original form, and Messrs. Macmillan and Co. agreed to publish the complete
edition. Thus the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this
great book of knowledge with full paramparä
explanation in order to establish the Kåñëa consciousness movement more soundly
and progressively.
Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is genuine, historically authorized, natural and transcendental due to its being based on Bhagavad-gétä As It Is. It is gradually becoming the most popular movement in the entire world, especially amongst the younger generation. It is becoming more and more interesting to the older generation also. Older gentlemen are becoming interested, so much so that the fathers and grandfathers of my disciples are encouraging us by becoming life members of our great society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In Los Angeles many fathers and mothers used to come to see me to express their feelings of gratitude for my leading the Kåñëa consciousness movement throughout the entire world. Some of them said that it is greatly fortunate for the Americans that I have started the Kåñëa consciousness movement in America. But actually the original father of this movement is Lord Kåñëa Himself, since it was started a very long time ago but is coming down to human society by disciplic succession. If I have any credit in this connection, it does not belong to me personally, but it is due to my eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Om Viñëupäda Paramahaàsa Parivräjakäcärya 108 Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja Prabhupäda.
If personally I have any credit in this matter, it is only that I have tried to present Bhagavad-gétä as it is, without adulteration. Before my presentation of Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, almost all the English editions of Bhagavad-gétä were introduced to fulfill someone’s personal ambition. But our attempt, in presenting Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, is to present the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa. Our business is to present the will of Kåñëa, not that of any mundane speculator like the politician, philosopher or scientist, for they have very little knowledge of Kåñëa, despite all their other knowledge. When Kåñëa says, man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru, etc., we, unlike the so-called scholars, do not say that Kåñëa and His inner spirit are different. Kåñëa is absolute, and there is no difference between Kåñëa’s name, Kåñëa’s form, Kåñëa’s quality, Kåñëa’s pastimes, etc. This absolute position of Kåñëa is difflcult to understand for any person who is not a devotee of Kåñëa in the paramparä (disciplic succession) system. Generally the so-called scholars, politicians, philosophers, and svämés, without perfect knowledge of Kåñëa, try to banish or kill Kåñëa when writing commentary on Bhagavad-gétä. Such unauthorized commentary upon Bhagavad-gétä is known as Mäyävädé-Bhäñya, and Lord Caitanya has warned us about these unauthorized men. Lord Caitanya clearly says that anyone who tries to understand Bhagavad-gétä from the Mäyävädé point of view will commit a great blunder. The result of such a blunder will be that the misguided student of Bhagavad-gétä will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual guidance and will not be able to go back home, back to Godhead.
Our only purpose is to present this Bhagavad-gétä As It Is in order to guide the conditioned student to the same purpose for which Kåñëa descends to this planet once in a day of Brahmä, or every 8,600,000,000 years. This purpose is stated in Bhagavad-gétä, and we have to accept it as it is; otherwise there is no point in trying to understand the Bhagavad-gétä and its speaker, Lord Kåñëa. Lord Kåñëa first spoke Bhagavad-gétä to the sun-god some hundreds of millions of years ago. We have to accept this fact and thus understand the historical significance of Bhagavad-gétä, without misinterpretation, on the authority of Kåñëa. To interpret Bhagavad-gétä without any reference to the will of Kåñëa is the greatest offense. In order to save oneself from this offense, one has to understand the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He was directly understood by Arjuna, Lord Kåñëa’s first disciple. Such understanding of Bhagavad-gétä is really profitable and authorized for the welfare of human society in fulfilling the mission of life.
The Kåñëa consciousness movement is essential in human society, for it offers the highest perfection of life. How this is so is explained fully in the Bhagavad-gétä. Unfortunately, mundane wranglers have taken advantage of Bhagavad-gétä to push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people regarding right understanding of the simple principles of life. Everyone should know how God or Kåñëa is great, and everyone should know the factual position of the living entities. Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Kåñëa one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature, and thus perpetually one has to wander within the cycle of birth and death; even the so-called liberated Mäyävädé speculator has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a great science, and each and every living being has to hear it for his own interest.
People in general, especially in this age of Kali, are enamored by the external energy of Kåñëa, and they wrongly think that by advancement of material comforts every man will be happy. They have no knowledge that the material or external nature is very strong, for everyone is strongly bound by the stringent laws of material nature. A living entity is happily the part and parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to render immediate service to the Lord. By the spell of illusion one tries to be happy by serving his personal sense gratification in different forms which will never make him happy. Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants this, and He demands it. One has to understand this central point of Bhagavad-gétä. Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is teaching the whole world this central point, and because we are not polluting the theme of Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, anyone seriously interested in deriving benefit by studying the Bhagavad-gétä must take help from the Kåñëa consciousness movement for practical understanding of Bhagavad-gétä under the direct guidance of the Lord. We hope, therefore, that people will derive the greatest benefit by studying Bhagavad-gétä As It Is as we have presented it here, and if even one man becomes a pure devotee of the Lord we shall consider our attempt a success.
[signed]
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
12 May 1971
Sydney, Australia
Bg. introduction
INTRODUCTION
om ajïäna-timirändhasya
jïänäïjana-çaläkayä
cakñur unmélitaà yena
tasmai çré-gurave namaù
çré-caitanya-mano-’bhéñöaà
sthäpitaà yena bhü-tale
svayaà rüpaù kadä mahyaà
dadäti sva-padäntikam
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master
opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances
unto him.
When will Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda, who has established
within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya,
give me shelter under his lotus feet?
vande ’haà çré-guroù çré-yuta-pada-kamalaà çré-gurun vaiñëaväàç ca
çré-rüpaà sägrajätaà saha-gaëa-raghunäthänvitaà taà sa-jévam
sädvaitaà sävadhütaà parijana-sahitaà kåñëa-caitanya-devaà
çré-rädhä-kåñëa-pädän saha-gaëa-lalitä-çré-viçäkhänvitäàç ca
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my
spiritual master and unto the feet of all Vaiñëavas. I offer my respectful
obeisances unto the lotus feet of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé along with his elder
brother Sanätana Gosvämé, as well as Raghunätha Däsa and Raghunätha Bhaööa,
Gopäla Bhaööa, and Çréla Jéva Gosvämé. I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord
Kåñëa Caitanya and Lord Nityänanda along with Advaita Äcärya, Gadädhara,
Çréväsa, and other associates. I offer my respectful obeisances to Çrématé
Rädhäräëé and Çré Kåñëa along with Their associates, Çré Lalitä and Viçäkhä.
he kåñëa karuëä-sindho déna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeça gopikä-känta rädhä-känta namo ’stu te
O my dear Kåñëa, You are the friend of the distressed and the
source of creation. You are the master of the gopés and
the lover of Rädhäräëé. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
tapta-käïcana-gauräìgi rädhe våndävaneçvari
våñabhänu-sute devi praëamämi hari-priye
I offer my respects to Rädhäräëé whose bodily complexion is like
molten gold and who is the Queen of Våndävana. You are the daughter of King
Våñabhänu, and You are very dear to Lord Kåñëa.
väïchä-kalpatarubhyaç ca kåpä-sindhubhya eva ca
patitänäà pävanebhyo vaiñëavebhyo namo namaù
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiñëava devotees of
the Lord who can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and
who are full of compassion for the fallen souls.
çré kåñëa caitanya prabhu nityänanda
çré advaita gadädhara çréväsädi-gaura-bhakta-vånda
I offer my obeisances to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityänanda,
Çré Advaita, Gadädhara, Çréväsa and all others in the line of devotion.
hare kåñëa, hare kåñëa, kåñëa kåñëa, hare hare
hare räma, hare räma, räma räma, hare hare.
Bhagavad-gétä is also
known as Gétopaniñad. It is the essence of Vedic
knowledge and one of the most important Upaniñads in
Vedic literature. Of course there are many commentaries in English on the Bhagavad-gétä, and one may question the necessity for
another one. This present edition can be explained in the following way.
Recently an American lady asked me to recommend an English translation of Bhagavad-gétä. Of course in America there are so many
editions of Bhagavad-gétä available in English,
but as far as I have seen, not only in America but also in India, none of them
can be strictly said to be authoritative because in almost every one of them
the commentator has expressed his own opinions without touching the spirit of Bhagavad-gétä as it is.
The spirit of Bhagavad-gétä is mentioned in Bhagavad-gétä itself. It is just like this: if we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the label. We cannot take the medicine according to our own whim or the direction of a friend. It must be taken according to the directions on the label or the directions given by a physician. Similarly, Bhagavad-gétä should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the speaker himself. The speaker of Bhagavad-gétä is Lord Çré Kåñëa. He is mentioned on every page of Bhagavad-gétä as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavän. Of course the word “bhagavän” sometimes refers to any powerful person or any powerful demigod, and certainly here Bhagavän designates Lord Çré Kåñëa as a great personality, but at the same time we should know that Lord Çré Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as is confirmed by all great äcäryas (spiritual masters) like Çaìkaräcärya, Rämänujäcärya, Madhväcärya, Nimbärka Svämé, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge in India. The Lord Himself also establishes Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gétä, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-saàhitä and all the Puräëas, especially the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, known as the Bhägavata Puräëa (Kåñëas tu bhagavän svayam). Therefore we should take Bhagavad-gétä as it is directed by the Personality of Godhead Himself.
In the Fourth Chapter of the Gétä the Lord says:
(1) imaà vivasvate yogaà proktavän aham
avyayam
vivasvän manave präha manur ikñväkave ’bravét
(2) evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayo
viduù
sa käleneha mahatä yogo nañöaù parantapa
(3) sa eväyaà mayä te ’dya yogaù proktaù
purätanaù
bhakto ’si me sakhä ceti rahasyaà hy etad uttamam
Here the Lord informs Arjuna that this system of yoga, the Bhagavad-gétä,
was first spoken to the sun-god, and the sun-god explained it to Manu, and Manu
explained it to Ikñväku, and in that way, by disciplic succession, one speaker
after another, this yoga system has been coming
down. But in the course of time it has become lost. Consequently the Lord has
to speak it again, this time to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra.
He tells Arjuna that He is relating this supreme secret to him because he is His devotee and His friend. The purport of this is that Bhagavad-gétä is a treatise which is especially meant for the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes of transcendentalists, namely the jïäné, the yogé and the bhakta, or the impersonalist, the meditator and the devotee. Here the Lord clearly tells Arjuna that He is making him the first receiver of a new paramparä (disciplic succession) because the old succession was broken. It was the Lord’s wish, therefore, to establish another paramparä in the same line of thought that was coming down from the sun-god to others, and it was His wish that His teaching be distributed anew by Arjuna. He wanted Arjuna to become the authority in understanding the Bhagavad-gétä. So we see that Bhagavad-gétä is instructed to Arjuna especially because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord, a direct student of Kåñëa, and His intimate friend. Therefore Bhagavad-gétä is best understood by a person who has qualities similar to Arjuna’s. That is to say he must be a devotee in a direct relationship with the Lord. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord, he also has a direct relationship with the Lord. That is a very elaborate subject matter, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five different ways:
1. One may be a devotee in a passive state;
2. One may be a devotee in an active state;
3. One may be a devotee as a friend;
4. One may be a devotee as a parent;
5. One may be a devotee as a conjugal lover.
Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as friend. Of course
there is a gulf of difference between this friendship and the friendship found
in the material world. This is transcendental friendship which cannot be had by
everyone. Of course everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and
that relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the
present status of our life, we have not only forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we
have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out
of many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular
relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarüpa.
By the process of devotional service, one can revive that svarüpa, and that stage is called svarüpa-siddhi—perfection of one’s constitutional
position. So Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in
friendship.
How Arjuna accepted this Bhagavad-gétä should be noted. His manner of acceptance is given in the Tenth Chapter.
(12) arjuna uväca
paraà brahma paraà dhäma pavitraà paramaà bhavän
puruñaà çäçvataà divyam ädi-devam ajaà vibhum
(13) ähus tväm åñayaù sarve devarñir
näradas tathä
asito devalo vyäsaù svayaà caiva bravéñi me
(14) sarvam etad åtaà manye yan mäà vadasi
keçava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktià vidur devä na dänaväù
“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the
supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal Divine Person.
You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and
all-pervading beauty. All the great sages like Närada, Asita, Devala, and Vyäsa
proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me. O Kåñëa, I
totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons,
O Lord, know Thy personality.” (Bg. 10. 12–14).
After hearing Bhagavad-gétä from the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna accepted Kåñëa as Paraà Brahma, the Supreme Brahman. Every living being
is Brahman, but the supreme living being, or the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, is the Supreme Brahman. Paraà dhäma means
that He is the supreme rest or abode of everything, pavitram
means that He is pure, untainted by material contamination, puruñam means that He is the supreme enjoyer, divyam, transcendental, ädi-devam,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ajam, the
unborn, and vibhum, the greatest, the
all-pervading.
Now one may think that because Kåñëa was the friend of Arjuna, Arjuna was telling Him all this by way of flattery, but Arjuna, just to drive out this kind of doubt from the minds of the readers of Bhagavad-gétä, substantiates these praises in the next verse when he says that Kåñëa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only by himself but by authorities like the sage Närada, Asita, Devala, Vyäsadeva and so on. These are great personalities who distribute the Vedic knowledge as it is accepted by all äcäryas. Therefore Arjuna tells Kåñëa that he accepts whatever He says to be completely perfect. Sarvam etad åtaà manye: “I accept everything You say to be true.” Arjuna also says that the personality of the Lord is very difficult to understand and that He cannot be known even by the great demigods. This means that the Lord cannot even be known by personalities greater than human beings. So how can a human being understand Çré Kåñëa without becoming His devotee?
Therefore Bhagavad-gétä should be taken up in a spirit of devotion. One should not think that he is equal to Kåñëa, nor should he think that Kåñëa is an ordinary personality or even a very great personality. Lord Çré Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at least theoretically, according to the statements of Bhagavad-gétä or the statements of Arjuna, the person who is trying to understand the Bhagavad-gétä. We should therefore at least theoretically accept Çré Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with that submissive spirit we can understand the Bhagavad-gétä. Unless one reads the Bhagavad-gétä in a submissive spirit, it is very difficult to understand Bhagavad-gétä because it is a great mystery.
Just what is the Bhagavad-gétä? The purpose of Bhagavad-gétä is to deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence. Every man is in difficulty in so many ways, as Arjuna also was in difficulty in having to fight the Battle of Kurukñetra. Arjuna surrendered unto Çré Kåñëa, and consequently this Bhagavad-gétä was spoken. Not only Arjuna, but every one of us is full of anxieties because of this material existence. Our very existence is in the atmosphere of nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence. Our existence is eternal. But somehow or other we are put into asat. Asat refers to that which does not exist.
Out of so many human beings who are suffering, there are a few who are actually inquiring about their position, as to what they are, why they are put into this awkward position and so on. Unless one is awakened to this position of questioning his suffering, unless he realizes that he doesn’t want suffering but rather wants to make a solution to all sufferings, then one is not to be considered a perfect human being. Humanity begins when this sort of inquiry is awakened in one’s mind. In the Brahma-sütra this inquiry is called “brahma-jijïäsä.” Every activity of the human being is to be considered a failure unless he inquires about the nature of the Absolute. Therefore those who begin to question why they are suffering or where they came from and where they shall go after death are proper students for understanding Bhagavad-gétä. The sincere student should also have a firm respect for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a student was Arjuna.
Lord Kåñëa descends specifically to reestablish the real purpose of life when man forgets that purpose. Even then, out of many, many human beings who awaken, there may be one who actually enters the spirit of understanding his position, and for him this Bhagavad-gétä is spoken. Actually we are all followed by the tiger of nescience, but the Lord is very merciful upon living entities, especially human beings. To this end He spoke the Bhagavad-gétä, making His friend Arjuna His student.
Being an associate of Lord Kåñëa, Arjuna was above all ignorance, but Arjuna was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra just to question Lord Kåñëa about the problems of life so that the Lord could explain them for the benefit of future generations of human beings and chalk out the plan of life. Then man could act accordingly and perfect the mission of human life.
The subject of the Bhagavad-gétä entails the comprehension of five basic truths. First of all, the science of God is explained and then the constitutional position of the living entities, jévas. There is éçvara, which means controller, and there are jévas, the living entities which are controlled. If a living entity says that he is not controlled but that he is free, then he is insane. The living being is controlled in every respect, at least in his conditioned life. So in the Bhagavad-gétä the subject matter deals with the éçvara, the supreme controller, and the jévas, the controlled living entities. Prakåti (material nature) and time (the duration of existence of the whole universe or the manifestation of material nature) and karma (activity) are also discussed. The cosmic manifestation is full of different activities. All living entities are engaged in different activities. From Bhagavad-gétä we must learn what God is, what the living entities are, what prakrti is, what the cosmic manifestation is and how it is controlled by time, and what the activities of the living entities are.
Out of these five basic
subject matters in Bhagavad-gétä it is
established that the Supreme Godhead, or Kåñëa, or Brahman, or supreme
controller, or Paramätmä—you may use whatever name you like—is the greatest of
all. The living beings are in quality like the supreme controller. For
instance, the Lord has control over the universal affairs, over material
nature, etc., as will be explained in the later chapters of Bhagavad-gétä. Material nature is not independant. She
is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord. As Lord Kåñëa says, “Prakåti is working under My direction.” When we see
wonderful things happening in the cosmic nature, we should know that behind
this cosmic manifestation there is a controller. Nothing could be manifested
without being controlled. It is childish not to consider the controller. For
instance, a child may think that an automobile is quite wonderful to be able to
run without a horse or other animal pulling it, but a sane man knows the nature
of the automobile’s engineering arrangement. He always knows that behind the
machinery there is a man, a driver. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is a driver under
whose direction everything is working. Now the jévas, or
the living entities, have been accepted by the Lord, as we will note in the
later chapters, as His parts and parcels. A particle of gold is also gold, a
drop of water from the ocean is also salty, and similarly, we the living
entities, being part and parcel of the supreme controller, ésvara, or Bhagavän, Lord Çré Kåñëa, have all the
qualities of the Supreme Lord in minute quantity because we are minute éçvaras, subordinate éçvaras.
We are trying to control nature, as presently we are trying to control space or
planets, and this tendency to control is there because it is in Kåñëa. But
although we have a tendency to lord it over material nature, we should know
that we are not the supreme controller. This is explained in Bhagavad-gétä.
What is material nature? This is also explained in Gétä as inferior prakåti, inferior nature. The living entity is explained as the superior prakåti. Prakåti is always under control, whether inferior or superior. Prakåti is female, and she is controlled by the Lord just as the activities of a wife are controlled by the husband. Prakåti is always subordinate, predominated by the Lord, who is the predominator. The living entities and material nature are both predominated, controlled by the Supreme Lord. According to the Gétä, the living entities, although parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are to be considered prakåti. This is clearly mentioned in the Seventh Chapter, fifth verse of Bhagavad-gétä: “Apareyam itas tv anyäm.” “This prakåti is My lower nature.” “Prakåtià viddhi me paräm jéva-bhütäà mahä-bäho yayedaà dhäryate jagat.” And beyond this there is another prakåti: jéva-bhütäm, the living entity.
Prakåti itself is constituted by three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Above these modes there is eternal time, and by a combination of these modes of nature and under the control and purview of eternal time there are activities which are called karma. These activities are being carried out from time immemorial, and we are suffering or enjoying the fruits of our activities. For instance, suppose I am a businessman and have worked very hard with intelligence and have amassed a great bank balance. Then I am an enjoyer. But then say I have lost all my money in business; then I am a sufferer. Similarly, in every field of life we enjoy the results of our work, or we suffer the results. This is called karma.
Éçvara
(the Supreme Lord), jéva (the living entity), prakåti (nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gétä. Out of these five, the Lord, the living
entities, material nature and time are eternal. The manifestation of prakåti may be temporary, but it is not false. Some
philosophers say that the manifestation of material nature is false, but
according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gétä or
according to the philosophy of the Vaiñëavas, this is not so. The manifestation
of the world is not accepted as false; it is accepted as real, but temporary.
It is likened unto a cloud which moves across the sky, or the coming of the
rainy season which nourishes grains. As soon as the rainy season is over and as
soon as the cloud goes away, all the crops which were nourished by the rain dry
up. Similarly, this material manifestation takes place at a certain interval,
stays for a while and then disappears. Such are the workings of prakåti But this cycle is working eternally. Therefore prakrti is eternal; it is not false. The Lord refers to
this as “My prakåti.” This material nature is the
separated energy of the Supreme Lord, and similarly the living entities are
also the energy of the Supreme Lord, but they are not separated. They are
eternally related. So the Lord, the living entity, material nature and time are
all interrelated and are all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal. The effects of karma may be very old indeed. We are suffering or
enjoying the results of our activities from time immemorial, but we can change
the results of our karma, or our activity, and
this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We are engaged in
various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of activities we
should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all these
activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gétä.
The position of ésvara is that of supreme consciousness. The jévas, or the living entities, being parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are also conscious. Both the living entity and material nature are explained as prakåti, the energy of the Supreme Lord, but one of the two, the jéva, is conscious. The other prakåti is not conscious. That is the difference. Therefore the jéva-prakåti is called superior because the jéva has consciousness which is similar to the Lord’s. The Lord’s is supreme consciousness, however, and one should not claim that the jéva, the living entity, is also supremely conscious. The living being cannot be supremely conscious at any stage of his perfection, and the theory that he can be so is a misleading theory. Conscious he may be, but he is not perfectly or supremely conscious.
The distinction between the jéva and the éçvara will be explained in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä. The Lord is kñetra-jïaù, conscious, as is the living being, but the living being is conscious of his particular body, whereas the Lord is conscious of all bodies. Because He lives in the heart of every living being, He is conscious of the psychic movements of the particular jévas. We should not forget this. It is also explained that the Paramätmä, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living in everyone’s heart as éçvara, as the controller, and that He is giving directions for the living entity to act as he desires. The living entity forgets what to do. First of all he makes a determination to act in a certain way, and then he is entangled in the acts and reactions of his own karma. After giving up one type of body, he enters another type of body, as we put on and take off old clothes. As the soul thus migrates, he suffers the actions and reactions of his past activities. These activities can be changed when the living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and understands what sort of activities he should adopt. If he does so, then all the actions and reactions of his past activities can be changed. Consequently, karma is not eternal. Therefore we stated that of the five items (éçvara, jéva, prakåti time and karma) four are eternal, whereas karma is not eternal.
The supreme conscious éçvara is similar to the living entity in this way: both the consciousness of the Lord and that of the living entity are transcendental. It is not that consciousness is generated by the association of matter.