1 Bg 2-1972: Contents of the Gita Summarized
2
3 2. Contents of the Gita Summarized
4
5 Bg 2.1
6
7 TEXT 1
8
9 TRANSLATION
10
11 Sanjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion and very
> sorrowful, his eyes brimming with tears, Madhusudana, Krsna,
> spoke the following words.
12
13 PURPORT
14
15 Material compassion, lamentation and tears are all signs of
> ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul
> is self-realization. The word "Madhusudana" is significant
> in this verse. Lord Krsna killed the demon Madhu, and now
> Arjuna wanted Krsna to kill the demon of misunderstanding
> that had overtaken him in the discharge of his duty. No one
> knows where compassion should be applied. Compassion for
> the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in
> the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing
> his outward dress-the gross material body. One who does not
> know this and laments for the outward dress is called a
> sudra, or one who laments unnecessarily. Arjuna was a
> ksatriya, and this conduct was not expected from him. Lord
> Krsna, however, can dissipate the lamentation of the
> ignorant man, and for this purpose the Bhagavad-gita was
> sung by Him. This chapter instructs us in self-realization
> by an analytical study of the material body and the spirit
> soul, as explained by the supreme authority, Lord Sri Krsna.
> This realization is made possible by working
> with the fruitive being situated in the
> fixed conception of the real self.
16
17 Bg 2.2
18
19 TEXT 2
20
21 TRANSLATION
22
23 The Supreme Person [Bhagavan] said: My dear
> Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are
> not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values
> of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to
> infamy.
24
25 PURPORT
26
27 Krsna and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical.
> Therefore Lord Krsna is referred to as "Bhagavan"
> throughout the Gita. Bhagavan is the ultimate in the
> Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases
> of understanding, namely Brahman or the impersonal all-
> pervasive spirit; Paramatma, or the localized aspect of the
> Supreme within the heart of all living entities; and
> Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna.
> In the Srimad-Bhagavatam this conception of the
> Absolute Truth is explained thus:
28
29 vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
30
31 brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate.
>
32 "The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of
33 understanding by the knower of the Absolute Truth, and all
> of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth
> are expressed as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan." (Bhag.
> 1.2.11)
>
34 These three divine aspects can be explained by the example
35 of the sun, which also has three different aspects, namely
> the sunshine, the sun's surface and the sun planet itself.
> One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary
> student. One who understands the sun's surface is further
> advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is the
> highest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply
> understanding the sunshine-its universal pervasiveness and
> the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature-may be
> compared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature
> of the Absolute Truth. The student who has advanced still
> further can know the sun disc, which is compared to
> knowledge of the Paramatma feature of the Absolute Truth.
> And the student who can enter into the heart of the sun
> planet is compared to those who realize the personal
> features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Therefore, the
> bhaktas, or the transcendentalists who have realized the
> Bhagavan feature of the Absolute Truth, are the topmost
> transcendentalists, although all students who are engaged
> in the study of the Absolute Truth are engaged in the same
> subject matter. The sunshine, the sun disc and the inner
> affairs of the sun planet cannot be separated from one
> another, and yet the students of the three different phases
> are not in the same category.
>
36 The Sanskrit word Bhagavan is explained by the great
37 authority, Parasara Muni, the father of Vyasadeva. The
> Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength,
> all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is
> called Bhagavan. There are many persons who are very rich,
> very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned,
> and very much detached, but no one can claim that he
> possesses all riches, all strength, etc., entirely. Only
> Krsna can claim this because He is the Supreme Personality
> of Godhead. No living entity, including Brahma, Lord Siva,
> or Narayana, can possess opulences as fully as Krsna.
> Therefore it is concluded in the Brahma-samhita by Lord
> Brahma himself that Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality
> of Godhead. No one is equal to or above Him. He is the
> primeval Lord, or Bhagavan, known as Govinda, and He is the
> supreme cause of all causes.
>
38 isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
39
40 anadir adir govindah sarua-karana-karanam
41
42 "There are many personalities possessing the qualities of
43 Bhagavan, but Krsna is the supreme because none can excel
> Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal,
> full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord
> Govinda and the cause of all causes." (Brahma-samhita 5.1)
>
44 In the Bhagavatam also there is a list of many incarnations
45 of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Krsna is
> described as the original Personality of Godhead, from whom
> many, many incarnations and Personalities of Godhead expand:
>
46 ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam
47
48 indrari-vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge
49
50 "All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted
51 herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the
> plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Krsna is the
> Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself." (Bhag. 1.3.28)
>
52 Therefore, Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of
53 Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the source of both the
> Supersoul and the impersonal Brahman.
>
54 In the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
55 Arjuna's lamentation for his kinsmen is certainly
> unbecoming, and therefore Krsna expressed His surprise
> with the word kutas, "wherefrom." Such unmanly
> sentiments were never expected from a person belonging to
> the civilized class of men known as Aryans. The word aryan
> is applicable to persons who know the value of life and
> have a civilization based on spiritual realization. Persons
> who are led by the material conception of life do not know
> that the aim of life is realization of the Absolute Truth,
> Visnu, or Bhagavan, and they are captivated by the external
> features of the material world, and therefore they do not
> know what liberation is. Persons who have no knowledge of
> liberation from material bondage are called non-Aryans.
> Although Arjuna was a ksatriya, he was deviating from his
> prescribed duties by declining to fight. This act of
> cowardice is described as befitting the non-Aryans. Such
> deviation from duty does not help one in the progress of
> spiritual life, nor does it even give one the opportunity
> to become famous in this world. Lord Krsna did not approve
> of the so-called compassion of Arjuna for his kinsmen.
>
56 Bg 2.3
57
58 TEXT 3
59
60 TRANSLATION
61
62 O son of Prtha, do not yield to this degrading impotence.
63 It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of
> heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.
>
64 PURPORT
65
66 Arjuna was addressed as the "son of Prtha," who happened to
67 be the sister of Krsna's father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna
> had a blood relationship with Krsna. If the son of a
> ksatriya declines to fight, he is a ksatriya in name only,
> and if the son of a brahmana acts impiously, he is a
> brahmana in name only. Such ksatriyas and brahmanas are
> unworthy sons of their fathers; therefore, Krsna did not
> want Arjuna to become an unworthy son of a ksatriya. Arjuna
> was the most intimate friend of Krsna, and Krsna was
> directly guiding him on the chariot; but in spite of all
> these credits, if Arjuna abandoned the battle, he would be
> committing an infamous act; therefore Krsna said that such
> an attitude in Arjuna did not fit his personality. Arjuna
> might argue that he would give up the battle on the grounds
> of his magnanimous attitude for the most respectable Bhisma
> and his relatives, but Krsna considered that sort of
> not approved by authority. Therefore, such
> magnanimity or so-called nonviolence should be given up by
> persons like Arjuna under the direct guidance of Krsna.
>
68 Bg 2.4
69
70 TEXT 4
71
72 TRANSLATION
73
74 Arjuna said: O killer of Madhu [Krsna],
75 how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like
> Bhisma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?
>
76 PURPORT
77
78 Respectable superiors like Bhisma the grandfather and
79 Dronacarya the teacher are always worshipable. Even if they
> attack, they should not be counterattacked. It is general
> etiquette that superiors are not to be offered even a
> verbal fight. Even if they are sometimes harsh in behavior,
> they should not be harshly treated. Then, how is it
> possible for Arjuna to counterattack them? Would Krsna ever
> attack His own grandfather, Ugrasena, or His teacher,
> Sandipani Muni? These were some of the arguments by
> Arjuna to Krsna.
>
80 Bg 2.5
81
82 TEXT 5
83
84 TRANSLATION
85
86 It is better to live in this world by begging than to
87 live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my
> teachers. Even though they are avaricious, they are
> nonetheless superiors. If they are killed, our
> spoils will be tainted with blood.
>
88 PURPORT
89
90 According to scriptural codes, a teacher who engages in an
91 abominable action and has lost his sense of discrimination
> is fit to be abandoned. Bhisma and Drona were obliged to
> take the side of Duryodhana because of his financial
> assistance, although they should not have accepted such a
> position simply on financial considerations. Under the
> circumstances, they have lost the respectability of
> teachers. But Arjuna thinks that nevertheless they remain
> his superiors, and therefore to enjoy material profits
> after killing them would mean to enjoy spoils tainted with
> blood.
>
92 Bg 2.6
93
94 TEXT 6
95
96 TRANSLATION
97
98 Nor do we know which is better-conquering them or being
99 conquered by them. The sons of Dhrtarastra,
> whom if we killed we should not care to live, are
> now standing before us on this battlefield.
>
100 PURPORT
101
102 Arjuna did not know whether he should fight and risk
103 unnecessary violence, although fighting is the duty of the
> ksatriyas, or whether he should refrain and live by begging.
> If he did not conquer the enemy, begging would be his only
> means of subsistence. Nor was there certainty of victory,
> because either side might emerge victorious. Even if
> victory awaited them (and their cause was justified), still,
> if the sons of Dhrtarastra died in battle, it would be
> very difficult to live in their absence. Under the
> circumstances, that would be another kind of defeat for
> them. All these considerations by Arjuna definitely prove
> that he was not only a great devotee of the Lord but
> that he was also highly enlightened and had complete
> control over his mind and senses. His desire to live by
> begging, although he was born in the royal household, is
> another sign of detachment. He was truly virtuous, as these
> qualities, combined with his faith in the words of
> instruction of Sri Krsna (his spiritual master), indicate.
> It is concluded that Arjuna was quite fit for liberation.
> Unless the senses are controlled, there is no chance of
> elevation to the platform of knowledge, and without
> knowledge and devotion there is no chance of liberation.
> Arjuna was competent in all these attributes, over and
> above his enormous attributes in his material relationships.
>
104 Bg 2.7
105
106 TEXT 7
107
108 TRANSLATION
109
110 Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure
111 because of weakness. In this condition I am asking
> You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I
> am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please
> instruct me.
>
112 PURPORT
113
114 By nature's own way the complete system of material
115 activities is a source of perplexity for everyone. In every
> step there is perplexity, and therefore it behooves one to
> approach a bona fide spiritual master who can give one
> proper guidance for executing the purpose of life. All
> Vedic literatures advise us to approach a bona fide
> spiritual master to get free from the perplexities of life
> which happen without our desire. They are like a forest
> fire that somehow blazes without being set by anyone.
> Similarly, the world situation is such that perplexities
> of life automatically appear, without our wanting such
> confusion. No one wants fire, and yet it takes place, and
> we become perplexed. The Vedic wisdom therefore advises
> that in order to solve the perplexities of life and to
> understand the science of the solution, one must approach a
> spiritual master who is in the disciplic succession. A
> person with a bona fide spiritual master is supposed to
> know everything. One should not, therefore, remain in
> material perplexities but should approach a spiritual
> master. This is the purport of this verse.
>
116 Who is the man in material perplexities? It is he who does
117 not understand the problems of life. In the Garga
> Upanisad the perplexed man is described as follows:
>
118 yo va etad aksaram gargy aviditvasmal lokat praiti sa
119 krpanah
>
120 "He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of
121 life as a human and who thus quits this world like the cats
> and dogs, without understanding the science of self-
> realization." This human form of life is a most valuable
> asset for the living entity who can ultilize it for solving
> the problems of life; therefore, one who does not utilize
> this opportunity properly is a miser. On the other hand,
> there is the brahmana, or he who is intelligent enough to
> utilize this body to solve all the problems of life
> .
>
122 The krpanas, or miserly persons, waste their time in being
123 overly affectionate for family, society, country, etc., in
> the material conception of life. One is often attached to
> family life, namely to wife, children and other members, on
> the basis of "skin disease." The krpana thinks that he is
> able to protect his family members from death; or the
> krpana thinks that his family or society can save him from
> the verge of death. Such family attachment can be found
> even in the lower animals who take care of children also.
> Being intelligent, Arjuna could understand that his
> affection for family members and his wish to protect them
> from death were the causes ot his perplexities. Although he
> could understand that his duty to fight was awaiting him,
> still, on account of miserly weakness, he could not
> discharge the duties. He is therefore asking Lord Krsna,
> the supreme spiritual master, to make a definite solution.
> He offers himself to Krsna as a disciple. He wants to stop
> friendly talks. Talks between the master and the disciple
> are serious, and now Arjuna wants to talk very seriously
> before the recognized spiritual master. Krsna is therefore
> the original spiritual master of the science of Bhagavad-
> gita, and Arjuna is the first disciple for understanding
> the Gita. How Arjuna understands the Bhagavad-gita is
> stated in the Gita itself. And yet foolish mundane scholars
> explain that one need not submit to Krsna as a person, but
> to "the unborn within Krsna." There is no difference
> between Krsna's within and without. And one who has no
> sense of this understanding is the greatest fool in trying
> to understand Bhagavad-gita.
>
124 Bg 2.8
125
126 TEXT 8
127
128 TRANSLATION
129
130 I can find no means to drive away this grief which is
131 drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even
> if I win an unrivalled kingdom on the earth with
> sovereignty like that of the demigods in heaven.
>
132 PURPORT
133
134 Although Arjuna was putting forward so many arguments based
135 on knowledge of the principles of religion and moral codes,
> it appears that he was unable to solve his real problem
> without the help of the spiritual master, Lord Sri Krsna.
> He could understand that his so-called knowledge was
> useless in driving away his problems, which were drying up
> his whole existence; and it was impossible for him to solve
> such perplexities without the help of a spiritual master
> like Lord Krsna. Academic knowledge, scholarship, high
> position, etc., are all useless in solving the problems of
> life; help can only be given by a spiritual master
> like Krsna. Therefore, the conclusion is that a spiritual
> master who is one hundred percent Krsna conscious is the
> bona fide spiritual master, for he can solve the problems
> of life. Lord Caitanya said that one who is master in the
> science of Krsna consciousness, regardless of his social
> position, is the real spiritual master.
>
136 kibavipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya yei krsna-
137 tattva-vetta, sei 'guru' haya. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya
> 8.127)
>
138 "It does not matter whether a person is a vipra [learned
139 scholar in Vedic wisdom] or is born in a lower family, or
> is in the renounced order of life-if he is master in the
> science of Krsna, he is the perfect and bona fide spiritual
> being a master in the science of Krsna consciousness, no
> one is a bona fide spiritual master. It is also said in
>
140 sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah avaisnavo
141 gurur na syad vaisnavah svapaco guruh
>
142 "A scholarly brahmana, expert in all subjects of Vedic
143 knowledge, is unfit to become a spiritual master without
> being a Vaisnava, or expert in the science of Krsna
> consciousness. But a person born in a family of a lower
> caste can become a spiritual master if he is a Vaisnava, or
>
144 The problems of material existence-birth, old age, disease
145 and death-cannot be counteracted by accumulation of wealth
> and economic development. In many parts of the world there
> are states which are replete with all facilities of life,
> which are full of wealth, and economically developed, yet
> the problems of material existence are still present. They
> are seeking peace in different ways, but they ean achieve
> real happiness only if they consult Krsna, or the Bhagavad-
> gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam-which constitute the science of
> Krsna-or the bona fide representative of Krsna, the
> man in Krsna consciousness.
>
146 If economic development and material comforts could drive
147 away one's lamentations for family, social, national or
> international inebrieties, then Arjuna would not have said
> that even an unrivalled kingdom on earth or supremacy like
> that of the demigods in the heavenly planets would not be
> able to drive away his lamentations. He sought, therefore,
> refuge in Krsna consciousness, and that is the right path
> for peace and harmony. Economic development or supremacy
> over the world can be finished at any moment by the
> cataclysms of material nature. Even elevation into a higher
> planetary situation, as men are now seeking a place on the
> moon planet, can also be finished at one stroke. The
> Bhagavad-gita confirms this: ksine punye martyalokam
> visanti "When the results of pious activities are finished,
> one falls down again from the peak of happiness to the
> lowest status of life." Many politicians of the world have
> fallen down in that way. Such downfalls only constitute
> more causes for lamentation.
>
148 Therefore, if we want to curb lamentation for good, then we
149 have to take shelter of Krsna, as Arjuna is seeking to do.
> So Arjuna asked Krsna to solve his problem definitely, and
> that is the way of Krsna consciousness.
>
150 Bg 2.9
151
152 TEXT 9
153
154 TRANSLATION
155
156 Sanjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of
157 enemies, told Krsna, "Govinda, I shall not fight," and fell
> silent.
>
158 PURPORT
159
160 Dhrtarastra must have been very glad to understand that
161 Arjuna was not going to fight and was instead leaving the
> battlefield for the begging profession. But Sanjaya
> disappointed him again in relating that Arjuna was
> competent to kill his enemies (parantapah). Although Arjuna
> was for the time being overwhelmed with false grief due
> to family affection, he surrendered unto Krsna, the supreme
> spiritual master, as a disciple. This indicated that he
> would soon be free from the false lamentation resulting
> from family affection and would be enlightened with perfect
> knowledge of self-realization, or Krsna consciousness, and
> would then surely fight. Thus Dhrtarastra's joy would be
> frustrated, since Arjuna would be enlightened. by Krsna and
> would fight to the end.
>
162 Bg 2.10
163
164 TEXT 10
165
166 TRANSLATION
167
168 O descendant of Bharata, at that time Krsna, smiling, in
169 the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to
> the grief-stricken Arjuna.
>
170 PURPORT
171
172 The talk was going on between intimate friends, namely the
173 Hrsikesa and the Gudakesa. As friends, both of them were on
> the same level, but one of them voluntarily became a
> student of the other. Krsna was smiling because a friend
> had chosen to become a disciple. As Lord of all, He is
> always in the superior position as the master of everyone,
> and yet the Lord accepts one who wishes to be a friend, a
> son, a lover or a devotee, or who wants Him in such a
> role. But when He was accepted as the master, He at once
> assumed the role and talked with the disciple like the
> master-with gravity, as it is required. It appears that the
> talk between the master and the disciple was openly
> exchanged in the presence of both armies so that all were
> benefitted. So the talks of Bhagavad-gita are not for any
> particular person, society, or community, but they are for
> all, and friends or enemies are equally entitled to hear
> them.
>
174 Bg 2.11
175
176 TEXT 11
177
178 TRANSLATION
179
180 The Blessed Lord said: While speaking
181 learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of
> grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor
> the dead.
>
182 PURPORT
183
184 The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and
185 chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The
> Lord said, you are talking like a learned man, but you
> do not know that one who is learned-one who knows what is
> body and what is soul-does not lament for any stage of the
> body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition. As
> it will be explained in later chapters, it will be clear
> that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the
> controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles
> should be given more importance than politics or sociology,
> but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the
> Supreme is even more important than religious formularies.
> And, because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should
> not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not
> happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently
> lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation.
> The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or
> tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the
> soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him
> there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the
> condition of the material body.
>
186 Bg 2.12
187
188 TEXT 12
189
190 TRANSLATION
191
192 Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor
193 all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to
> be.
>
194 PURPORT
195
196 In the Vedas, in the Katha Upanisad as well as in the
197 Svetasvatara Upanisad, it is said that the Supreme
> Personality of Godhead is the maintainer of innumerable
> living entities, in terms of their different situations
> according to individual work and reaction of work. That
> Supreme Personality of Godhead is also, by His plenary
> portions, alive in the heart of every living entity. Only
> saintly persons who can see, within and without, the same
> Supreme Lord, can actually attain to perfect and eternal
> peace.
>
198 nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
199
200 eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman
201
202 tam atmastham ye 'nupasyanti dhiras
203
204 tesam santih sasvati netaresam.
205
206 (Katha 2.2.13)
207
208 The same Vedic truth given to Arjuna is given to all
209 persons in the world who pose themselves as very learned
> but factually have but a poor fund of knowledge. The Lord
> says clearly that He Himself, Arjuna, and all the kings who
> are assembled on the battlefield, are eternally individual
> beings and that the Lord is eternally the maintainer of the
> individual living entities both in their conditioned as
> well as in their liberated situations. The Supreme
> Personality of Godhead is the supreme individual person,
> and Arjuna, the Lord's eternal associate, and all the kings
> assembled there are individual, eternal persons. It is not
> that they did not exist as individuals in the past, and it
> is not that they will not remain eternal persons. Their
> individuality existed in the past, and their individuality
> will continue in the future without interruption. Therefore,
> there is no cause for lamentation for anyone.
>
210 The Mayavadi theory that after liberation the individual
211 soul, separated by the covering of maya or illusion, will
> merge into the impersonal Brahman and lose its individual
> existence is not supported herein by Lord Krsna, the
> supreme authority. Nor is the theory that we only think of
> individuality in the conditioned state supported herein.
> Krsna clearly says herein that in the future also the
> individuality of the Lord and others, as it is confirmed in
> the Upanisads, will continue eternally. This statement of
> Krsna is authoritative because Krsna cannot be subject to
> illusion. If individuality is not a fact, then Krsna
> would not have stressed it so much-even for the future. The
> Mayavadi may argue that the individuality spoken of by
> Krsna is not spiritual, but material. Even accepting the
> argument that the individuality is material, then how can
> one distinguish Krsna's individuality? Krsna affirms His
> individuality in the past and confirms His individuality in
> the future also. He has confirmed His individuality in many
> ways, and impersonal Brahman has been declared to be
> subordinate to Him. Krsna has maintained spiritual
> individuality all along; if He is accepted as an ordinary
> conditioned soul in individual consciousness, then His
> Bhagavad-gita has no value as authoritative scripture. A
> common man with all the four defects of human frailty is
> unable to teach that which is worth hearing. The Gita is
> above such literature. No mundane book compares with the
> Bhagavad-gita. When one accepts Krsna as an ordinary man,
> the Gita loses all importance. The Mayavadi argues that the
> plurality mentioned in this verse is conventional and that
> it refers to the body. But previous to this verse such a
> bodily conception is already condemned. After condemning
> the bodily conception of the living entities, how was it
> possible for Krsna to place a conventional proposition on
> the body again? Therefore, individuality is maintained on
> spiritual grounds and is thus confirmed by great acaryas
> like Sri Ramanuja and others. It is clearly mentioned in
> many places in the Gita that this spiritual individuality
> is understood by those who are devotees of the Lord. Those
> who are envious of Krsna as the Supreme Personality of
> Godhead have no bona fide access to the great literature.
> The nondevotee's approach to the teachings of the Gita is
> something like bees licking on a bottle of honey.
> One cannot have a taste of honey unless one opens the
> bottle. Similarly, the mysticism of the Bhagavad-gita can
> be understood only by devotees, and no one else can taste
> it, as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter of the book. Nor
> can the Gita be touched by persons who envy the very
> existence of the Lord. Therefore, the Mayavadi explanation
> of the Gita is a most misleading presentation of the whole
> truth. Lord Caitanya has forbidden us to read commentations
> made by the Mayavadis and warns that one who takes to such
> an understanding of the Mayavadi philosophy loses all power
> to understand the real mystery of the Gita. If
> individuality refers to the empirical universe, then there
> is no need of teaching by the Lord. The plurality of the
> individual soul and of the Lord is an eternal fact, and it
> is confirmed by the Vedas as above mentioned.
>
212 Bg 2.13
213
214 TEXT 13
215
216 TRANSLATION
217
218 As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body,
219 from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes
> into another body at death. The self-realized soul is
> not bewildered by such a change.
>
220 PURPORT
221
222 Since every living entity is an individual soul, each is
223 changing his body every moment, manifesting sometimes as a
> child, sometimes as a youth, and sometimes as an old man.
> Yet the same spirit soul is there and does not undergo any
> change. This individual soul finally changes the body at
> death and transmigrates to another body; and since it is
> sure to have another body in the next birth-either material
> or spiritual-there was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna
> on account of death, neither for Bhisma nor for Drona, for
> whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice
> for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby
> rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for
> varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one's
> work in life. So Bhisma and Drona, being noble souls, were
> surely going to have either spiritual bodies in the next
> life, or at least life in heavenly bodies for superior
> enjoyment of material existence. So, in either case, there
> was no cause of lamentation.
>
224 Any man who has perfect knowledge of the constitution of
225 the individual soul, the Supersoul, and nature-both
> material and spiritual-is called a dhira or a most sober
> man. Such a man is never deluded by the change of bodies.
> The Mayavadi theory of oneness of the spirit soul cannot be
> entertained on the ground that spirit soul cannot be cut
> into pieces as a fragmental portion. Such cutting into
> different individual souls would make the Supreme cleavable
> or changeable, against the principle of the Supreme Soul
> being unchangeable.
>
226 As confirmed in the Gita, the
227 fragmental portions of the Supreme exist eternally (
> sanatana) and are called ksara; that is, they have a
> tendency to fall down into material nature. These
> fragmental portions are eternally so, and even after
> liberation, the individual soul remains the same-fragmental.
> But once liberated, he lives an eternal life in bliss and
> knowledge with the Personality of Godhead. The theory of
> reflection can be applied to the Supersoul who is present
> in each and every individual body and is known as the
> Paramatma, who is different from the individual living
> entity. When the sky is reflected in water, the reflections
> represent both the sun and the moon and the stars also. The
> stars can be compared to the living entities and the sun or
> the moon to the Supreme Lord. The individual fragmental
> spirit soul is represented by Arjuna, and the Supreme Soul
> is the Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. They are not on
> the same level, as it will be apparent in the beginning of
> the Fourth Chapter. If Arjuna is on the same level with
> Krsna, and Krsna is not superior to Arjuna, then their
> relationship of instructor and instructed becomes
> meaningless. If both of them are deluded by the illusory
> energy (maya), then there is no need of one being the
> instructor and the other the instructed. Such instruction
> would be useless because, in the clutches of maya, no one
> can be an authoritative instructor. Under the circumstances,
> it is admitted that Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord,
> superior in position to the living entity, Arjuna, who is a
> forgotten soul deluded by maya.
>
> Bg 2.14
228
229 TEXT 14
230
231 TRANSLATION
232
233 O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness
234 and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are
235 like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer
> seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of
> Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being
> disturbed.
>
> PURPORT
236
237 In the proper discharge of duty, one has to learn to
238 tolerate nonpermanent appearances and disappearances of
239 happiness and distress. According to Vedic injunction, one
> has to take his bath early in the morning even during the
> month of Magha (January-February). It is very cold at that
> time, but in spite of that a man who abides by the
> religious principles does not hesitate to take his bath.
> Similarly, a woman does not hesitate to cook in the kitchen
> in the months of May and June, the hottest part of the
> summer season. One has to execute his duty in spite of
> climatic inconveniences. Similarly, to fight is the
> religious principle of the ksatriyas, and although one has
> to fight with some friend or relative, one should not
> deviate from his prescribed duty. One has to follow the
> prescribed rules and regulations of religious principles in
> order to rise up to the platform of knowledge because by
> knowledge and devotion only can one liberate himself from
> the clutches of maya (illusion).
>
> The two different names of address given to Arjuna are also
240 significant. To address him as Kaunteya signifies his great
241 blood relations from his mother's side; and to address him
> as Bharata signifies his greatness from his father's side.
> From both sides he is supposed to have a great heritage. A
> great heritage brings responsibility in the matter of
> proper discharge of duties; therefore, he cannot avoid
> fighting.
>
> Bg 2.15
242
243 TEXT 15
244
245 TRANSLATION
246
247 O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed
248 by happiness and distress and is steady in both is
249 certainly eligible for liberation.
>
> PURPORT
250
251 Anyone who is steady in his determination for the advanced
252 stage of spiritual realization and can equally tolerate the
253 onslaughts of distress and happiness is certainly a person
> eligible for liberation. In the varnasrama institution, the
> fourth stage of life, namely the renounced order (sannyasa)
> is a painstaking situation. But one who is serious about
> making his life perfect surely adopts the sannyasa order of
> life in spite of all difficulties. The difficulties usually
> arise from having to sever family relationships, to give up
> the connection of wife and children. But if anyone is able
> to tolerate such difficulties, surely his path to spiritual
> realization is complete. Similarly, in Arjuna's discharge
> of duties as a ksatriya, he is advised to persevere, even
> if it is difficult to fight with his family members or
> similarly beloved persons. Lord Caitanya took sannyasa at
> the age of twenty-four, and His dependants, young wife as
> well as old mother, had no one else to look after them. Yet
> for a higher cause He took sannyasa and was steady in the
> discharge of higher duties. That is the way of achieving
> liberation from material bondage.
>
> Bg 2.16
254
255 TEXT 16
256
257 TRANSLATION
258
259 Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the
260 nonexistent there is no endurance, and
261 of the existent there is no cessation. This
> seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.
>
> PURPORT
262
263 There is no endurance of the changing body. That the body
264 is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of
265 the different cells is admitted by modern medical science;
> and thus growth and old age are taking place in the body.
> But the spirit soul exists permanently, remaining the same
> despite all changes of the body and the mind. That is the
> difference between matter and spirit. By nature, the body
> is ever changing, and the soul is eternal. This conclusion
> is established by all classes of seers of the truth, both
> impersonalist and personalist. In the Visnu Purana
> it is stated that Visnu and His abodes all have
> self-illuminated spiritual existence. "Jyotimsi visnur
> bhavanani visnuh." The words existent and nonexistent
> refer only to spirit and matter. That is the version of all
> seers of truth.
>
> This is the beginning of the instruction by the Lord to the
266 living entities who are bewildered by the influence of
267 ignorance. Removal of ignorance involves the
> reestablishment of the eternal relationship between the
> worshiper and the worshipable and the consequent
> understanding of the difference between the part and parcel
> living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One
> can understand the nature of the Supreme by thorough study
> of oneself, the difference between oneself and the Supreme
> being understood as the relationship between the part and
> the whole. In the Vedanta-sutras, as well as in the Srimad-
> Bhagavatam, the Supreme has been accepted as the origin of
> all emanations. Such emanations are experienced by superior
> and inferior natural sequences. The living entities belong
> to the superior nature, as it will be revealed in the
> Seventh Chapter. Although there is no difference between
> the energy and the energetic, the energetic is accepted as
> the Supreme, and energy or nature is accepted as the
> subordinate. The living entities, therefore, are always
> subordinate to the Supreme Lord, as in the case of the
> master and the servant, or the teacher and the taught. Such
> clear knowledge is impossible to understand under the spell
> of ignorance, and to drive away such ignorance the Lord
> teaches the Bhagavad-gita for the enlightenment of all
> living entities for all time.
>
> Bg 2.17
268
269 TEXT 17
270
271 TRANSLATION
272
273 Know that which pervades the entire body is
274 indestructible. No one is able to destroy the
275 imperishable soul.
>
> PURPORT
276
277 This verse more clearly explains the real nature of the
278 soul, which is spread all over the body. Anyone can
279 understand what is spread all over the body: it is
> consciousness. Everyone is conscious of the pains and
> pleasures of the body in part or as a whole. This spreading
> of consciousness is limited within one's own body. The
> pains and pleasures of one body are unknown to another.
> Therefore, each and every body is the embodiment of an
> individual soul, and the symptom of the soul's presence is
> perceived as individual consciousness. This soul is
> described as one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion
> of the hair point in size. The Svetasvatara Upanisad
> confirms this:
>
> balagra-sata-bhagasya satadha kalpitasya ca bhago jivah sa
280 vijneyah sa canantyaya kalpate.
281
> "When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred
282 parts and again each of such parts is further divided into
283 one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the
> dimension of the spirit soul." (Svet. 5.9) Similarly, in
> the Bhagavatam the same version is stated:
>
> kesagra-sata-bhagasya satamsah sadrsatmakah jivah suksma-
284 svarupo 'yam sankhyatito hi cit-kanah
285
> "There are innumerable particles of spiritual atoms, which
286 are measured as one ten-thousandth of the upper portion of
287 the hair."
>
> Therefore, the individual particle of spirit soul is a
288 spiritual atom smaller than the material atoms, and such
289 atoms are innumerable. This very small spiritual spark is
> the basic principle of the material body, and the influence
> of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as
> the influence of the active principle of some medicine
> spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit
> soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that
> is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can
> understand that the material body minus consciousness is a
> dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the
> body by any means of material administration. Therefore,
> consciousness is not due to any amount of material
> combination, but to the spirit soul. In the Mundaka
> Upanisad the measurement of the atomic spirit soul
> is further explained:
>
> eso 'nuratma cetasa veditavyo yasmin pranah pancadha
290 samvivesa pranais cittam sarvam otam prajanam yasmin
291 visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma.
>
> "The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect
292 intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five
293 kinds of air [prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana], is
> situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all
> over the body of the embodied living entities. When the
> soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds
> of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited." (
> Mund. 3.1.9)
>
> The hatha-yoga system is meant for controlling the five
294 kinds of air encircling the pure soul by different kinds of
295 sitting postures-not for any material profit, but for
> liberation of the minute soul from the entanglement of the
> material atmosphere.
>
> So the constitution of the atomic soul is admitted in all
296 Vedic literatures, and it is also actually felt in the
297 practical experience of any sane man. Only the insane man
> can think of this atomic soul as all-pervading Visnu-tattva.
>
> The influence of the atomic soul can be spread all over a
298 particular body. According to the Mundaka Upanisad, this
299 atomic soul is situated in the heart of every living entity,
> and because the measurement of the atomic soul is beyond
> the power of appreciation of the material scientists, some
> of them assert foolishly that there is no soul. The
> individual atomic soul is definitely there in the heart
> along with the Supersoul, and thus all the energies of
> bodily movement are emanating from this part of the body.
> The corpuscles which carry the oxygen from the lungs gather
> energy from the soul. When the soul passes away from this
> position, activity of the blood, generating fusion,
> ceases. Medical science accepts the importance of the red
> corpuscles, but it cannot ascertain that the source of the
> energy is the soul. Medical science, however, does admit
> that the heart is the seat of all energies of the body.
>
> Such atomic particles of the spirit whole are compared to
300 the sunshine molecules. In the sunshine there are
301 innumerable radiant molecules. Similarly, the fragmental
> parts of the Supreme Lord are atomic sparks of the rays of
> the Supreme Lord, called by the name prabha or superior
> energy. Neither Vedic knowledge nor
> modern science denies the existence of the
> spirit soul in the body, and the science of the soul is
> explicitly described in the Bhagavad-gita by the
> Personality of Godhead Himself.
>
> Bg 2.18
302
303 TEXT 18
304
305 TRANSLATION
306
307 Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable
308 and eternal living entity is subject to destruction
309 ; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.
>
> PURPORT
310
311 The material body is perishable by nature. It may perish
312 immediately, or it may do so after a hundred years. It is a
313 question of time only. There is no chance of maintaining it
> indefinitely. But the spirit soul is so minute that it
> cannot even be seen by an enemy, to say nothing of being
> killed. As mentioned in the previous verse, it is so small
> that no one can have any idea how to measure its dimension.
> So from both viewpoints there is no cause of lamentation
> because the living entity can neither be killed as he is,
> nor can the material body, which cannot be
> saved for any length of time, be permanently protected. The
> minute particle of the whole spirit acquires this material
> body according to his work, and therefore observance of
> religious principles should be utilized. In the Vedanta-
> sutras the living entity is qualified as light because he
> is part and parcel of the supreme light. As sunlight
> maintains the entire universe, so the light of the soul
> maintains this material body. As soon as the spirit soul is
> out of this material body, the body begins to decompose;
> therefore it is the spirit soul which maintains this body.
> The body itself is unimportant. Arjuna was advised to fight
> and sacrifice the material body for the cause
> of religion.
>
> Bg 2.19
314
315 TEXT 19
316
317 TRANSLATION
318
319 He who thinks that the living entity is the slayer
320 or that he is slain, does not understand. One who is in
321 knowledge knows that the self slays not nor is slain.
>
> PURPORT
322
323 When an embodied living entity is hurt by fatal weapons, it
324 is to be known that the living entity within the body is
325 not killed. The spirit soul is so small that it is
> impossible to kill him by any material weapon, as is
> evident from the previous verses. Nor is the living
> entity killable because of his spiritual constitution.
> What is killed, or is supposed to be killed, is the body
> only. This, however, does not at all encourage killing of
> the body. The Vedic injunction is, "mahimsyat sarva-
> bhutani" never commit violence to anyone. Nor does
> understanding that the living entity is not killed
> encourage animal slaughter. Killing the body of anyone
> without authority is abominable and is punishable by the
> law of the state as well as by the law of the Lord. Arjuna,
> however, is being engaged in killing for the principle of
> religion, and not whimsically.
>
> Bg 2.20
326
327 TEXT 20
328
329 TRANSLATION
330
331 For the soul there is never birth nor death.
332 Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to
333 be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-
> existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the
> body is slain.
>
> PURPORT
334
335 Qualitatively, the small atomic fragmental part of the
336 Supreme Spirit is one with the Supreme. He undergoes no
337 changes like the body. Sometimes the soul is called the
> steady, or kutastha. The body is subject to six kinds
> of transformations. It takes its birth in the womb of the
> mother's body, remains for some time, grows, produces some
> effects, gradually dwindles, and at last vanishes into
> oblivion. The soul, however, does not go through such
> changes. The soul is not born, but, because he takes on a
> material body, the body takes its birth. The soul does not
> take birth there, and the soul does not die. Anything which
> has birth also has death. And because the soul has no birth,
> he therefore has no past, present or future. He is eternal,
> ever-existing, and primeval-that is, there is no trace in
> history of his coming into being. Under the impression of
> the body, we seek the history of birth, etc., of the soul.
> The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does.
> The so-called old man, therefore, feels himself to be in
> the same spirit as in his childhood or youth. The changes
> of the body do not affect the soul. The soul does not
> deteriorate like a tree, nor anything material. The soul
> has no by-product either. The by-products of the body,
> namely children, are also different individual souls; and,
> owing to the body, they appear as children of a particular
> man. The body develops because of the soul's presence, but
> the soul has neither offshoots nor change. Therefore, the
> soul is free from the six changes of the body.
>
> In the Katha Upanisad also we find a similar
338 passage which reads:
339
> na jayate mriyate va vipascin nayam kutascin na vibhuva
340 kascit ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane
341 sarire. (Katha 1.2.18)
>
> The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the
342 Bhagavad-gita, but here in this verse there is one special
343 word, vipascit, which means learned or with knowledge.
>
> The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with
344 consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of
345 the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the
> heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the
> presence of the soul simply by the presence of
> consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky
> owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of
> the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is
> therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in
> the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the
> sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some
> consciousness in all bodies-whether man or animal-we can
> understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of
> the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of
> the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-
> knowledge-past, present and future. The consciousness of
> the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is
> forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and
> enlightenment from the superior lessons of Krsna. But Krsna
> is not like the forgetful soul. If so, Krsna's teachings of
> Bhagavad-gita would be useless.
>
> There are two kinds of souls-namely the minute particle
346 soul (anu-atma) and the Supersoul (the vibhu-atma). This is
347 also confirmed in the Katha Upanisad in this way:
>
> anor aniyan mahato mahiyan atmasya jantor nihito guhayam
348 tam akratuh pasyati vita-soko dhatuh prasadan mahimanam
349 atmanah (Katha 1.2.20)
>
> "Both the Supersoul [Paramatma] and the atomic soul [
350 jivatma] are situated on the same tree of the body within
351 the same heart of the living being, and only one who has
> become free from all material desires as well as
> lamentations can, by the grace of the Supreme, understand
> the glories of the soul." Krsna is the fountainhead of the
> Supersoul also, as it will be disclosed in the following
> chapters, and Arjuna is the atomic soul, forgetful of his
> real nature; therefore he requires to be enlightened by
> Krsna, or by His bona fide representative (the spiritual
> master).
>
> Bg 2.21
352
353 TEXT 21
354
355 TRANSLATION
356
357 O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is
358 indestructible, unborn, eternal and immutable, kill anyone
359 or cause anyone to kill?
>
> PURPORT
360
361 Everything has its proper utility, and a man who is
362 situated in complete knowledge knows how and where to apply
363 a thing for its proper utility. Similarly, violence also
> has its utility, and how to apply violence rests with the
> person in knowledge. Although the justice of the peace
> awards capital punishment to a person condemned for murder,
> the justice of the peace cannot be blamed because he
> orders violence to another person according to the codes of
> justice. In Manu-samhita, the lawbook for mankind, it is
> supported that a murderer should be condemned to death so
> that in his next life he will not have to suffer for the
> great sin he has committed. Therefore, the king's
> punishment of hanging a murderer is actually beneficial.
> Similarly, when Krsna orders fighting, it must be concluded
> that violence is for supreme justice, and, as such,
> Arjuna should follow the instruction, knowing well that
> such violence, committed in the act of fighting for Krsna,
> is not violence at all because, at any rate, the man, or
> rather the soul, cannot be killed; so for the
> administration of justice, so-called violence is permitted.
> A surgical operation is not meant to kill the patient, but
> to cure him. Therefore the fighting to be executed by
> Arjuna at the instruction of Krsna is with full knowledge,
> so there is no possibility of sinful reaction.
>
> Bg 2.22
364
365 TEXT 22
366
367 TRANSLATION
368
369 As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones,
370 similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies,
371 giving up the old and useless ones.
>
> PURPORT
372
373 Change of body by the atomic individual soul is an accepted
374 fact. Even some of the modern scientists who do not believe
375 in the existence of the soul, but at the same time cannot
> explain the source of energy from the heart, have to accept
> continuous changes of body which appear from childhood to
> boyhood and from boyhood to youth and again from youth to
> old age. From old age, the change is transferred to another
> body. This has already been explained in the previous verse
> .
>
> Transference of the atomic individual soul to another body
376 is made possible by the grace of the Supersoul.The
377 Supersoul fulfills the desire of the atomic soul as one
> friend fulfills the desire of another. The Vedas, like the
> Mundaka Upanisad, as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad,
> compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds
> sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual
> atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other
> bird (Krsna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two
> birds-although they are the same in quality-one is
> captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the
> other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend.
> Krsna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird.
> Although they are friends, one is still the master and the
> other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by
> the atomic soul is the cause of one's changing his position
> from one tree to another or from one body to another. The
> jiva soul is struggling very hard on the tree of the
> material body, but as soon as he agrees to accept the other
> bird as the supreme spiritual master-as Arjuna agreed to do
> by voluntary surrender unto Krsna for instruction-the
> subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all
> lamentations. Both the Katha Upanisad and
> Svetasvatara Upanisad confirm this:
>
> samane vrkse puruso nimagno 'nisaya socati muhyamanah
378 justam yada pasyaty anyam isam asya mahimanam iti vita-sokah
379
> "Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating
380 bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the
381 enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or
> other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and
> knows His glories-at once the suffering bird becomes free
> from all anxieties." Arjuna has now turned his face towards
> his eternal friend, Krsna, and is understanding the
> Bhagavad-gita from Him. And thus, hearing from Krsna, he
> can understand the supreme glories of the Lord and be free
> from lamentation.
>
> Arjuna is advised herewith by the Lord not to lament for
382 the bodily change of his old grandfather and his teacher.
383 He should rather be happy to kill their bodies in the
> righteous fight so that they may be cleansed at once of all
> reactions from various bodily activities. One who lays down
> his life on the sacrificial altar, or in the proper
> battlefield, is at once cleansed of bodily reactions and
> promoted to a higher status of life. So there was no cause
> for Arjuna's lamentation.
>
> Bg 2.23
384
385 TEXT 23
386
387 TRANSLATION
388
389 The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor
390 can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor
391 withered by the wind.
>
> PURPORT
392
393 All kinds of weapons, swords, flames, rains,
394 tornadoes, etc., are unable to kill the spirit
395 soul. It appears that there were many kinds of weapons made
> of earth, water, air, ether, etc., in addition to the
> modern weapons of fire. Even the nuclear weapons of the
> modern age are classified as fire weapons, but formerly
> there were other weapons made of all different types of
> material elements. Firearms were counteracted by water
> weapons, which are now unknown to modern science. Nor do
> modern scientists have knowledge of tornado weapons.
> Nonetheless, the soul can never be cut into pieces, nor
> annihilated by any number of weapons, regardless of
> scientific devices.
>
> Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from
396 the original Soul. The Mayavadi, however, cannot describe
397 how the individual soul evolved from
> ignorance and consequently became covered by illusory
> energy. Because they are atomic individual souls (sanatana)
> eternally, they are prone to be covered by the illusory
> energy, and thus they become separated from the association
> of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of the fire,
> although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be
> extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varaha Purana,
> the living entities are described as separated parts and
> parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to
> the Bhagavad-gita also. So, even after being liberated from
> illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as
> is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna
> became liberated by the knowledge received from Krsna, but
> he never became one with Krsna.
>
> Bg 2.24
398
399 TEXT 24
400
401 TRANSLATION
402
403 This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can
404 be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-
405 pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
>
> PURPORT
406
407 All these qualifications of the atomic soul definitely
408 prove that the individual soul is eternally the atomic
409 particle of the spirit whole, and he remains the same atom
> eternally, without change. The theory of monism is very
> difficult to apply in this case, because the individual
> soul is never expected to become one homogeneously. After
> liberation from material contamination, the atomic soul may
> prefer to remain as a spiritual spark in the effulgent rays
> of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the intelligent
> souls enter into the spiritual planets to associate with
> the Personality of Godhead.
>
> The word sarva-gatah (all-pervading) is significant
410 because there is no doubt that living entities are all over
411 God's creation. They live on the land, in the water, in the
> air, within the earth and even within fire. The belief that
> they are sterilized in fire is not acceptable, because it
> is clearly stated here that the soul cannot be burned by
> fire. Therefore, there is no doubt that there are living
> entities also in the sun planet with suitable bodies to
> live there. If the sun globe is uninhabited, then the word
> sarva-gatah-living everywhere-becomes meaningless.
>
> Bg 2.25
412
413 TEXT 25
414
415 TRANSLATION
416
417 It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable,
418 immutable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not
419 grieve for the body.
>
> PURPORT
420
421 As described previously, the magnitude of the soul is so
422 small for our material calculation that he cannot be seen
423 even by the most powerful microscope; therefore, he is
> invisible. As far as the soul's existence is concerned, no
> one can establish his existence experimentally beyond the
> proof of sruti or Vedic wisdom. We have to accept this
> truth, because there is no other source of understanding
> the existence of the soul, although it is a fact by
> perception. There are many things we have to accept solely
> on grounds of superior authority. No one can deny the
> existence of his father, based upon the authority of his
> mother. There is no other source of understanding the
> identity of the father except by the authority of the
> mother. Similarly, there is no other source of
> understanding the soul except by studying the Vedas. In
> other words, the soul is inconceivable by human
> experimental knowledge. The soul is consciousness and
> conscious-that also is the statement of the Vedas, and we
> have to accept that. Unlike the bodily changes, there is no
> change in the soul. As eternally unchangeable, the soul
> remains atomic in comparison to the infinite Supreme Soul.
> The Supreme Soul is infinite, and the atomic soul is
> infinitesimal. Therefore, the infinitesimal soul, being
> unchangeable, can never become equal to the infinite soul,
> or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This concept is
> repeated in the Vedas in different ways just to confirm the
> stability of the conception of the soul. Repetition of
> something is necessary in order that we understand the
> matter thoroughly without error.
>
> Bg 2.26
424
425 TEXT 26
426
427 TRANSLATION
428
429 If, however, you think that the soul
430 is perpetually born and always dies, still you
431 have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.
>
> PURPORT
432
433 There is always a class of philosophers, almost akin to the
434 Buddhists, who do not believe in the separate existence of
435 the soul beyond the body. When Lord Krsna spoke the
> Bhagavad-gita, it appears that such philosophers existed,
> and they were known as the Lokayatikas and Vaibhasikas.
> These philosophers maintained that life symptoms, or soul,
> takes place at a certain mature condition of material
> combination. The modern material scientist and materialist
> philosophers also think similarly. According to them, the
> body is a combination of physical elements, and at a
> certain stage the life symptoms develop by interaction of
> the physical and chemical elements. The science of
> anthropology is based on this philosophy. Currently, many
> pseudo-religions-now becoming fashionable in America-are
> also adhering to this philosophy, as well as to the
> nihilistic nondevotional Buddhist sects.
>
> Even if Arjuna did not believe in the existence of the soul-
436 as in the Vaibhasika philosophy-there would still have been
437 no cause for lamentation. No one laments the loss of a
> certain bulk of chemicals and stops discharging his
> prescribed duty. On the other hand, in modern science and
> scientific warfare, so many tons of chemicals are wasted
> for achieving victory over the enemy. According to the
> Vaibhasika philosophy, the so-called soul or atma vanishes
> along with the deterioration of the body. So, in any case,
> whether Arjuna accepted the Vedic conclusion that there is
> an atomic soul, or whether he did not believe in the
> existence of the soul, he had no reason to lament.
> According to this theory, since there are so many living
> entities generating out of matter every moment, and so many
> of them are being vanquished every moment, there is no need
> to grieve for such an incidence. However, since he
> was not risking rebirth of the soul, Arjuna had no
> reason to be afraid of being affected with sinful reactions
> due to his killing his grandfather and teacher. But at the
> same time, Krsna sarcastically addressed Arjuna as maha-
> bahu, mighty-armed, because He, at least, did not accept
> the theory of the Vaibhasikas, which leaves aside the Vedic
> wisdom. As a ksatriya, Arjuna belonged to the Vedic culture,
> and it behooved him to continue to follow its principles.
>
> Bg 2.27
438
439 TEXT 27
440
441 TRANSLATION
442
443 For one who has taken his birth, death is certain;
444 and for one who is dead, birth is certain.
445 Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you
> should not lament.
>
> PURPORT
446
447 One has to take birth according to one's activities of life.
448 And, after finishing one term of activities, one has to
449 die to take birth for the next. In this way the
> cycle of birth and death is revolving, one
> after the other without liberation. This cycle of birth
> and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder,
> slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war
> are inevitable factors in human society for keeping law and
> order.
>
> The Battle of Kuruksetra, being the will of the Supreme,
450 was an inevitable event, and to fight for the right cause
451 is the duty of a ksatriya. Why should he be afraid of or
> aggrieved at the death of his relatives since he was
> discharging his proper duty? He did not deserve to break
> the law, thereby becoming subjected to the reactions of
> sinful acts, of which he was so afraid. By avoiding the
> discharge of his proper duty, he would not be able to stop
> the death of his relatives, and he would be degraded due to
> his selection of the wrong path of action.
>
> Bg 2.28
452
453 TEXT 28
454
455 TRANSLATION
456
457 All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning,
458 manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when
459 they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?
>
> PURPORT
460
461 Accepting that there are two classes of philosophers, one
462 believing in the existence of soul and the other not
463 believing in the existence of the soul, there is no cause
> for lamentation in either case. Nonbelievers in the
> existence of the soul are called atheists by followers of
> Vedic wisdom. Yet even if, for argument's sake, we accept
> the atheistic theory, there is still no cause for
> lamentation. Apart from the separate existence of the soul,
> the material elements remain unmanifested before creation.
> From this subtle state of unmanifestation comes
> manifestation, just as from ether, air is generated; from
> air, fire is generated; from fire, water is generated; and
> from water, earth becomes manifested. From the earth, many
> varieties of manifestations take place. Take, for example,
> a big skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it is
> dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested
> and remains as atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of
> conservation of energy remains, but in course of time
> things are manifested and unmanifested-that is the
> difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either
> in the stage of manifestation or unmanifestation?
> Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things
> are not lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all
> elements remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are
> they manifested, and this does not make any real material
> difference.
>
> And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the
464 Bhagavad-gita (antavanta ime dehah) that these material
465 bodies are perishable in due course of time (nityasyoktah
> saririnah) but that soul is eternal
> , then we must remember always that the body is
> like a dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress?
> The material body has no factual existence in relation to
> the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream
> we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot
> as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are
> neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic
> wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the
> nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either
> case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul, or
> one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is
> no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.
>
> Bg 2.29
466
467 TEXT 29
468
469 TRANSLATION
470
471 Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as
472 amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others,
473 even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.
>
> PURPORT
474
475 Since Gitopanisad is largely based on the principles of the
476 Upanisads, it is not surprising to also find this passage
477 in the Katha Upanisad.
>
> sravanayapi bahubhir yo na labhyah srnvanto 'pi bahavo
478 yah na vidyuh ascaryo vakta kusalo 'sya labdha
479 ascaryo jnata kusalanusistah
> .
>
> The fact that the atomic soul is within the body of
480 a gigantic animal, in the body of a
481 gigantic banyan tree, and also in the
> microbic germs, millions and billions of
> which occupy only an inch of space, is
> certainly very amazing. Men with a poor fund of knowledge
> and men who are not austere cannot understand
> the wonders of the individual atomic spark of spirit, even
> though it is explained by the greatest authority of
> knowledge, who imparted lessons even to
> Brahma, the first living being in the universe.
> Owing to a gross material conception of things, most men in
> this age cannot imagine how such a small particle can
> become both so great and so small. So
> men look at the soul proper as wonderful either by
> constitution or by description. Illusioned by the material
> energy, people are so engrossed in subject matter for sense
> gratification that they have very little time to understand
> the question of self-understanding, even though it is a
> fact that without this self-understanding all activities
> result in ultimate defeat in the struggle for
> existence. Perhaps one has no idea that one
> must think of the soul, and also make a solution of
> the material miseries.
>
> Some people who are inclined to hear about the soul may be
482 attending lectures, in good association, but sometimes,
483 owing to ignorance, they are misguided by acceptance of the
> Supersoul and the atomic soul as one without distinction of
> magnitude. It is very difficult to find a man who perfectly
> understands the position of the soul, the Supersoul, the
> atomic soul, their respective functions, relationships and
> all other major and minor details. And it is still more
> difficult to find a man who has actually derived full
> benefit from knowledge of the soul, and who is able to
> describe the position of the soul in different aspects. But
> if, somehow or other, one is able to understand the subject
> matter of the soul, then one's life is successful. The
> easiest process for understanding the subject matter of
> self, however, is to accept the statements of the Bhagavad-
> gita spoken by the greatest authority, Lord Krsna, without
> being deviated by other theories. But it also requires a
> great deal of penance and sacrifice, either in this life or
> in the previous ones, before one is able to accept Krsna as
> the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna can, however, be
> known as such by the causeless mercy of the pure devotee
> and by no other way.
>
> Bg 2.30
484
485 TEXT 30
486
487 TRANSLATION
488
489 O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is
490 eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not
491 grieve for any creature.
>
> PURPORT
492
493 The Lord now concludes the chapter of instruction on the
494 immutable spirit soul. In describing the immortal soul in
495 various ways, Lord Krsna establishes that the soul is
> immortal and the body is temporary. Therefore Arjuna as a
> ksatriya should not abandon his duty out of fear that his
> grandfather and teacher-Bhisma and Drona-will die in the
> battle. On the authority of Sri Krsna, one has to believe
> that there is a soul different from the material body, not
> that there is no such thing as soul, or that living
> symptoms develop at a certain stage of material maturity
> resulting from the interaction of chemicals. Though the
> soul is immortal, violence is not encouraged, but at the
> time of war it is not discouraged when there is actual need
> for it. That need must be justified in terms of the
> sanction of the Lord, and not capriciously.
>
> Bg 2.31
496
497 TEXT 31
498
499 TRANSLATION
500
501 Considering your specific duty as a ksatriya, you should
502 know that there is no better engagement for you than
503 fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need
> for hesitation.
>
> PURPORT
504
505 Out of the four orders of social administration, the second
506 order, for the matter of good administration, is called
507 ksatriya. Ksat means hurt. One who gives protection from
> harm is called ksatriya (trayate-to give protection). The
> ksatriyas are trained for killing in the forest. A ksatriya
> would go into the forest and challenge a tiger face to face
> and fight with the tiger with his sword. When the tiger was
> killed, it would be offered the royal order of cremation.
> This system is being followed even up to the present day