1 Bg 5: Karma-yoga-Action in Krsna Consciousness
2
3 Chapter 5
4
5 Karma-yoga-Action in Krsna Consciousness
6
7 Bg 5.1
8
9 TEXT 1
10
11 TRANSLATION
12
13 Arjuna said: O Krsna, first of all You ask me to renounce
> work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now
> will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more
> beneficial?
14
15 PURPORT
16
17 In this Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says
> that work in devotional service is better than dry mental
> speculation. Devotional service is easier than the latter
> because, being transcendental in nature, it frees one from
> reaction. In the Second Chapter, preliminary knowledge of
> the soul and its entanglement in the material body were
> explained. How to get out of this material encagement by
> buddhi-yoga, or devotional service, was also explained
> therein. In the Third Chapter, it was explained that a
> person who is situated on the platform of knowledge no
> longer has any duties to perform. And in the Fourth
> Chapter the Lord told Arjuna that all kinds of sacrificial
> work culminate in knowledge. However, at the end of the
> Fourth Chapter, the Lord advised Arjuna to wake up and
> fight, being situated in perfect knowledge. Therefore, by
> simultaneously stressing the importance of both work in
> devotion and inaction in knowledge, Krsna has perplexed
> Arjuna and confused his determination. Arjuna understands
> that renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of all
> kinds of work performed as sense activities. But if one
> performs work in devotional service, then how is work
> stopped? In other words, he thinks that sannyasa, or
> renunciation in knowledge, should be altogether free from
> all kinds of activity, because work and renunciation appear
> to him to be incompatible. He appears not to have
> understood that work in full knowledge is nonreactive and
> is therefore the same as inaction. He inquires, therefore,
> whether he should cease work altogether or work with full
> knowledge.
18
19 Bg 5.2
20
21 TEXT 2
22
23 TRANSLATION
24
25 The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of
> work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But,
> of the two, work in devotional service is better than
> renunciation of work.
26
27 PURPORT
28
29 Fruitive activities (seeking sense gratification) are cause
> for material bondage. As long as one is engaged in
> activities aimed at improving the standard of bodily
> comfort, one is sure to transmigrate to different types of
> bodies, thereby continuing material bondage perpetually.
> Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.4–6) confirms this as follows:
30
31 nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti
> na sadhu manye yata atmano 'yam asann api klesa-da asa
> dehah
32
33 parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-
> tattvam yavat kriyas tavad idam mano vai karmatmakam yena
> sarira-bandhah
34
35 evam manah karma-vasam prayunkte avidyayatmany upadhiyamane
> pritir na yavan mayi vasudeve na mucyate deha-yogena tavat
36
37 "People are mad after sense gratification, and they do not
> know that this present body, which is full of miseries, is
> a result of one's fruitive activities in the past. Although
> this body is temporary, it is always giving one trouble in
> many ways. Therefore, to act for sense gratification is not
> good. One is considered to be a failure in life as long as
> he makes no inquiry about his real identity. As long as
> he does not know his real identity, he has to work for
> fruitive results for sense gratification, and as long as
> one is engrossed in the consciousness of sense
> gratification one has to transmigrate from one body to
> another. Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive
> activities and influenced by ignorance, one must develop a
> love for devotional service to Vasudeva. Only then can one
> have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material
> existence."
38
39 Therefore, jnana (or knowledge that one is not this
> material body but spirit soul) is not sufficient for
> liberation. One has to act in the status of spirit soul,
> otherwise there is no escape from material bondage. Action
> in Krsna consciousness is not, however, action on the
> fruitive platform. Activities performed in full knowledge
> strengthen one's advancement in real knowledge. Without
> Krsna consciousness, mere renunciation of fruitive
> activities does not actually purify the heart of a
> conditioned soul. As long as the heart is not purified, one
> has to work on the fruitive platform. But action in Krsna
> consciousness automatically helps one escape the result of
> fruitive action so that one need not descend to the
> material platform. Therefore action in Krsna consciousness
> is always superior to renunciation, which always entails a
> risk of falling. Renunciation without Krsna consciousness
> is incomplete, as is confirmed by Srila Rupa Gosvami in his
> Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.258):
40
41 prapancikataya buddhya hari-sambandhi-vastunah mumuksubhih
> parityago vairagyam phalgu kathyate
42
43 "When persons eager to achieve liberation
> renounce things related to the Supreme
> Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material,
> their renunciation is called incomplete."
> Renunciation is complete when it is in the knowledge that
> everything in existence belongs to the Lord and that no one
> should claim proprietorship over anything. One should
> understand that, factually, nothing belongs to anyone. Then
> where is the question of renunciation? One who knows that
> everything is Krsna's property is always situated in
> renunciation. Since everything belongs to Krsna, everything
> should be employed in the service of Krsna. This perfect
> form of action in Krsna consciousness is far better than
> any amount of artificial renunciation by a sannyasi of the
> Mayavadi school.
44
45 Bg 5.3
46
47 TEXT 3
48
49 TRANSLATION
50
51 One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his
> activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person,
> free from all dualities, easily overcomes material
> bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.
52
53 PURPORT
54
55 One who is fully in Krsna consciousness is always a
> renouncer because he feels neither hatred nor desire for
> the results of his actions. Such a renouncer, dedicated to
> the transcendental loving service of the Lord, is fully
> qualified in knowledge because he knows his constitutional
> position in his relationship with Krsna. He knows fully
> well that Krsna is the whole and that he is part and parcel
> of Krsna. Such knowledge is perfect because it is
> qualitatively and quantitatively correct. The concept of
> oneness with Krsna is incorrect because the part cannot be
> equal to the whole. Knowledge that one is one in quality
> yet different in quantity is correct transcendental
> knowledge leading one to become full in himself, having
> nothing to aspire to or lament over. There is no duality
> in his mind because whatever he does, he does for Krsna.
> Being thus freed from the platform of dualities, he is
> liberated-even in this material world.
56
57 Bg 5.4
58
59 TEXT 4
60
61 TRANSLATION
62
63 Only the ignorant speak of devotional
> service [karma-yoga] as being different from the analytical
> study of the material world [Sankhya]. Those who are
> actually learned say that he who applies himself well to
> one of these paths achieves the results of both.
64
65 PURPORT
66
67 The aim of the analytical study of the material world is to
> find the soul of existence. The soul of the material world
> is Visnu, or the Supersoul. Devotional service to the Lord
> entails service to the Supersoul. One process is to find
> the root of the tree, and the other is to water the root.
> The real student of Sankhya philosophy finds the root of
> the material world, Visnu, and then, in perfect knowledge,
> engages himself in the service of the Lord. Therefore, in
> essence, there is no difference between the two because the
> aim of both is Visnu. Those who do not know the ultimate
> end say that the purposes of Sankhya and karma-yoga are not
> the same, but one who is learned knows the unifying aim in
> these different processes.
68
69 Bg 5.5
70
71 TEXT 5
72
73 TRANSLATION
74
75 One who knows that the position reached by means of
> analytical study can also be attained by
> devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study
> and devotional service to be on the same
> level, sees things as they are.
76
77 PURPORT
78
79 The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the
> ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal of life is
> self-realization, there is no difference between the
> conclusions reached by the two processes. By Sankhya
> philosophical research one comes to the conclusion that a
> living entity is not a part and parcel of the material
> world but of the supreme spirit whole. Consequently, the
> spirit soul has nothing to do with the material world; his
> actions must be in some relation with the Supreme. When he
> acts in Krsna consciousness, he is actually in his
> constitutional position. In the first process, Sankhya
> , one has to become detached from matter, and in the
> devotional yoga process one has to attach himself to the
> work of Krsna consciousness. Factually, both processes are
> the same, although superficially one process appears to
> involve detachment and the other process appears to involve
> attachment. Detachment from matter and
> attachment to Krsna are one and the same. One who can see
> this sees things as they are.
80
81 Bg 5.6
82
83 TEXT 6
84
85 TRANSLATION
86
87 Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the
> devotional service of the Lord
> cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful
> person engaged in devotional service can achieve the
> Supreme without delay.
88
89 PURPORT
90
91 There are two classes of sannyasis, or persons in the
> renounced order of life. The Mayavadi sannyasis are engaged
> in the study of Sankhya philosophy, whereas the Vaisnava
> sannyasis are engaged in the study of Bhagavatam philosophy,
> which affords the proper commentary on the Vedanta-sutras.
> The Mayavadi sannyasis also study the Vedanta-sutras, but
> use their own commentary, called Sariraka-bhasya, written
> by Sankaracarya. The students of the Bhagavata school are
> engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, according to
> pancaratriki regulations, and therefore the Vaisnava
> sannyasis have multiple engagements in the transcendental
> service of the Lord. The Vaisnava sannyasis have nothing to
> do with material activities, and yet they perform various
> activities in their devotional service to the Lord. But the
> Mayavadi sannyasis, engaged in the studies of Sankhya and
> Vedanta and speculation, cannot relish the transcendental
> service of the Lord. Because their studies become very
> tedious, they sometimes become tired of Brahman speculation,
> and thus they take shelter of the Bhagavatam without
> proper understanding. Consequently their study of the
> Srimad-Bhagavatam becomes troublesome. Dry speculations and
> impersonal interpretations by artificial means are all
> useless for the Mayavadi sannyasis. The Vaisnava sannyasis,
> who are engaged in devotional service, are happy in the
> discharge of their transcendental duties, and they have the
> guarantee of ultimate entrance into the kingdom of God. The
> Mayavadi sannyasis sometimes fall down from the path of
> self-realization and again enter into material activities
> of a philanthropic and altruistic nature, which are nothing
> but material engagements. Therefore, the conclusion is that
> those who are engaged in Krsna conscious activities are
> better situated than the sannyasis engaged in simple
> speculation about what is Brahman and what is not
> Brahman, although they too come to Krsna consciousness,
> after many births.
92
93 Bg 5.7
94
95 TEXT 7
96
97 TRANSLATION
98
99 One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who
> controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and
> everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man
> is never entangled.
100
101 PURPORT
102
103 One who is on the path of liberation by Krsna consciousness
> is very dear to every living being, and every living being
> is dear to him. This is due to his Krsna consciousness.
> Such a person cannot think of any living being as separate
> from Krsna, just as the leaves and branches of a tree are
> not separate from the tree. He knows very well that by
> pouring water on the root of the tree, the water will be
> distributed to all the leaves and branches, or by supplying
> food to the stomach, the energy is automatically
> distributed throughout the body. Because one who works in
> Krsna consciousness is servant to all, he is very dear to
> everyone. And because everyone is satisfied by his work,
> he is pure in consciousness. Because he is pure in
> consciousness, his mind is completely controlled. And
> because his mind is controlled, his senses are also
> controlled. Because his mind is always fixed on Krsna,
> there is no chance of his being deviated from Krsna. Nor is
> there a chance that he will engage his senses in matters
> other than the service of the Lord. He does not like to
> hear anything except topics relating to Krsna; he does not
> like to eat anything which is not offered to Krsna; and he
> does not wish to go anywhere if Krsna is not involved.
> Therefore, his senses are controlled. A man of controlled
> senses cannot be offensive to anyone. One may ask, "Why
> then was Arjuna offensive (in battle) to others? Wasn't he
> in Krsna consciousness?" Arjuna was only superficially
> offensive because (as has already been explained in the
> Second Chapter) all the assembled persons on the
> battlefield would continue to live individually, as the
> soul cannot be slain. So, spiritually, no one was killed on
> the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Only their dresses were
> changed by the order of Krsna, who was personally present.
> Therefore Arjuna, while fighting on the Battlefield of
> Kuruksetra, was not really fighting at all; he was simply
> carrying out the orders of Krsna in full Krsna
> consciousness. Such a person is never entangled in the
> reactions of work.
104
105 Bg 5.8-9
106
107 TEXTS 8–9
108
109 TRANSLATION
110
111 A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in
> seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about,
> sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that
> he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking,
> evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he
> always knows that only the material senses are engaged with
> their objects and that he is aloof from them.
112
113 PURPORT
114
115 A person in Krsna consciousness is pure in his existence,
> and consequently he has nothing to do with any work which
> depends upon five immediate and remote causes: the doer,
> the work, the situation, the endeavor and fortune. This is
> because he is engaged in the loving transcendental service
> of Krsna. Although he appears to be acting with his body
> and senses, he is always conscious of his actual position,
> which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness,
> the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Krsna
> consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of
> Krsna's senses. Therefore, the Krsna conscious person is
> always free, even though he appears to be engaged in
> affairs of the senses. Activities such as seeing and
> hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving
> knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are
> actions of the senses meant for work. A Krsna conscious
> person is never affected by the actions of the senses. He
> cannot perform any act except in the service of the Lord
> because he knows that he is the eternal servitor of the
> Lord.
116
117 Bg 5.10
118
119 TEXT 10
120
121 TRANSLATION
122
123 One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering
> the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected
> by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
124
125 PURPORT
126
127 Here brahmani means in Krsna consciousness. The material
> world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of
> material nature, technically called the pradhana. The Vedic
> hymns sarvam hy etad brahma (Mandukya Upanisad 2), tasmad
> etad brahma nama-rupam annam ca jayate (Mundaka Upanisad 1.
> 2.10), and, in the Bhagavad-gita (14.3), mama yonir mahad
> brahma indicate that everything in the material world is
> a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are
> differently manifested, they are nondifferent from the
> cause. In the Isopanisad it is said that everything is
> related to the Supreme Brahman, or Krsna, and thus
> everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly
> well that everything belongs to Krsna, that He is the
> proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is
> engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing
> to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous
> or sinful. Even one's material body, being a gift of the
> Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be
> engaged in Krsna consciousness. It is then beyond
> contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus
> leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord
> also says in the Gita (3.30), mayi sarvani karmani
> sannyasya: "Resign all works unto Me [Krsna]." The
> conclusion is that a person without Krsna consciousness
> acts according to the concept of the material body and
> senses, but a person in Krsna consciousness acts according
> to the knowledge that the body is the property of Krsna and
> should therefore be engaged in the service of Krsna.
128
129 Bg 5.11
130
131 TEXT 11
132
133 TRANSLATION
134
135 The yogis, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind,
> intelligence and even with the senses, only for the
> purpose of purification.
136
137 PURPORT
138
139 When one acts in Krsna consciousness for the
> satisfaction of the senses of Krsna, any action, whether of
> the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is
> purified of material contamination. There are no material
> reactions resulting from the activities of a Krsna
> conscious person. Therefore purified activities, which are
> generally called sad-acara, can be easily performed by
> acting in Krsna consciousness. Sri Rupa Gosvami in his
> Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.187) describes this as follows:
140
141 iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa gira nikhilasv apy
> avasthasu jivan-muktah sa ucyate
142
143 "A person acting in Krsna consciousness (or, in other words,
> in the service of Krsna) with his body, mind, intelligence
> and words is a liberated person even within the material
> world, although he may be engaged in many so-called
> material activities." He has no false ego, for he does not
> believe that he is this material body, or that he
> possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and
> that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs
> to Krsna, and the body too belongs to Krsna. When he
> applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence,
> words, life, wealth, etc.-whatever he may have within his
> possession-to Krsna's service, he is at once dovetailed
> with Krsna. He is one with Krsna and is devoid of the false
> ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc.
> This is the perfect stage of Krsna consciousness.
144
145 Bg 5.12
146
147 TEXT 12
148
149 TRANSLATION
150
151 The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace
> because he offers the result of all activities to Me;
> whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who
> is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.
152
153 PURPORT
154
155 The difference between a person in Krsna consciousness and
> a person in bodily consciousness is that the former is
> attached to Krsna whereas the latter is attached to the
> results of his activities. The person who is attached to
> Krsna and works for Him only is certainly a liberated
> person, and he has no anxiety over the results of his
> work. In the Bhagavatam, the cause of anxiety over the
> result of an activity is explained as being one's
> functioning in the conception of duality, that is, without
> knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Krsna is the Supreme
> Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. In Krsna
> consciousness, there is no duality. All that exists is a
> product of Krsna's energy, and Krsna is all good. Therefore,
> activities in Krsna consciousness are on the absolute
> plane; they are transcendental and have no material effect.
> One is therefore filled with peace in Krsna consciousness.
> But one who is entangled in profit calculation
> for sense gratification cannot have that peace. This is the
> secret of Krsna consciousness-realization that there is no
> existence besides Krsna is the platform of peace and
> fearlessness.
156
157 Bg 5.13
158
159 TEXT 13
160
161 TRANSLATION
162
163 When the embodied living being controls his nature and
> mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the
> city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor
> causing work to be done.
164
165 PURPORT
166
167 The embodied soul lives in the city of nine gates. The
> activities of the body, or the figurative city of body, are
> conducted automatically by its particular modes of nature.
> The soul, although subjecting himself to the conditions of
> the body, can be beyond those conditions, if he so desires.
> Owing only to forgetfulness of his superior nature, he
> identifies with the material body, and therefore suffers.
> By Krsna consciousness, he can revive his real position and
> thus come out of his embodiment. Therefore, when one takes
> to Krsna consciousness, one at once becomes completely
> aloof from bodily activities. In such a controlled life, in
> which his deliberations are changed, he lives happily
> within the city of nine gates. The nine gates are mentioned
> as follows:
168
169 nava-dvare pure dehi hamso lelayate bahih vasi sarvasya
> lokasya sthavarasya carasya ca
170
171 "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is living within
> the body of a living entity, is the controller of all
> living entities all over the universe. The body consists of
> nine gates [two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth,
> the anus and the genitals]. The living entity in his
> conditioned stage identifies himself with the body, but
> when he identifies himself with the Lord within himself, he
> becomes just as free as the Lord, even while in the body." (
> Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.18)
172
173 Therefore, a Krsna conscious person is free from both the
> outer and inner activities of the material body.
174
175 Bg 5.14
176
177 TEXT 14
178
179 TRANSLATION
180
181 The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does
> not create activities, nor does he induce people to act,
> nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is
> enacted by the modes of material nature.
182
183 PURPORT
184
185 The living entity, as will be explained in the Seventh
> Chapter, is one of the energies or natures of the
> Supreme Lord but is distinct from matter, which
> is another nature-called inferior-of the Lord. Somehow the
> superior nature, the living entity, has been in contact
> with material nature since time immemorial. The temporary
> body or material dwelling place which he obtains is the
> cause of varieties of activities and their resultant
> reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere, one
> suffers the results of the activities of the body by
> identifying himself (in ignorance) with the body. It is
> ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cause
> of bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living
> entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he
> becomes free from the reactions as well. As long as he is
> in the city of body, he appears to be the master of it, but
> actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its
> actions and reactions. He is simply in the midst of the
> material ocean, struggling for existence. The waves of the
> ocean are tossing him, and he has no control over them. His
> best solution is to get out of the water by transcendental
> Krsna consciousness. That alone will save him from all
> turmoil.
186
187 Bg 5.15
188
189 TEXT 15
190
191 TRANSLATION
192
193 Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone's sinful or pious
> activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered
> because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.
194
195 PURPORT
196
197 The Sanskrit word vibhu means the Supreme Lord who is full
> of unlimited knowledge, riches, strength, fame, beauty and
> renunciation. He is always satisfied in Himself,
> undisturbed by sinful or pious activities. He does not
> create a particular situation for any living entity, but
> the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be
> put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain
> of action and reaction begins. A living entity is, by
> superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is
> prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited
> power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not.
> The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is
> anu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the
> capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is
> fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the
> living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows
> him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never
> responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular
> situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered
> condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself
> with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected
> to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is
> the constant companion of the living entity as Paramatma,
> or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the
> desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor
> of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of
> conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his
> desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The
> individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his
> desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and
> the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere
> with the desires of the minute independent living entities.
> However, when one desires Krsna, the Lord takes special
> care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one
> can attain to Him and be eternally happy. The Vedic hymns
> therefore declare, esa u hy eva sadhu karma karayati tam
> yam ebhyo lokebhya unninisate. esa u evasadhu karma
> karayati yam adho ninisate: "The Lord engages the
> living entity in pious activities so that he may be
> elevated. The Lord engages him in impious activities so
> that he may go to hell." (Kausitaki Upanisad 3.8)
198
199 ajno jantur aniso 'yam atmanah sukha-duhkhayoh isvara-
> prerito gacchet svargam vasv abhram eva ca
200
201 "The
> living entity is
> completely dependent in his distress and happiness. By the
> will of the Supreme he can go to heaven or hell, as a cloud
> is driven by the air."
202
203 Therefore the embodied soul, by his immemorial desire to
> avoid Krsna consciousness, causes his own bewilderment.
> Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal,
> blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his
> existence he forgets his constitutional position of service
> to the Lord and is thus entrapped by nescience. And, under
> the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims that the
> Lord is responsible for his conditional existence. The
> Vedanta-sutras (2.1.34) also confirm this. Vaisamya-
> nairghrnye na sapeksatvat tatha hi darsayati: "The Lord
> neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to."
204
205 Bg 5.16
206
207 TEXT 16
208
209 TRANSLATION
210
211 When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by
> which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals
> everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
212
213 PURPORT
214
215 Those who have forgotten Krsna must certainly be bewildered,
> but those who are in Krsna consciousness are not
> bewildered at all. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita,
> sarvam jnana-plavena, jnanagnih sarva-karmani and na
> hi jnanena sadrsam. Knowledge is always highly esteemed.
> And what is that knowledge? Perfect knowledge is achieved
> when one surrenders unto Krsna, as is said in the Seventh
> Chapter, 19th verse: bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam
> prapadyate. After passing through many, many births, when
> one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Krsna, or when one
> attains Krsna consciousness, then everything is revealed to
> him, as everything is revealed by the sun in the
> daytime. The living entity is bewildered in so many ways.
> For instance, when he unceremoniously thinks himself God,
> he actually falls into the last snare of
> nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can he
> become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered
> by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater
> than God. Real knowledge can be obtained from a person who
> is in perfect Krsna consciousness. Therefore, one has to
> seek out such a bona fide spiritual master and, under him,
> learn what Krsna consciousness is, for Krsna
> consciousness will certainly drive away all nescience, as
> the sun drives away darkness. Even though a person may be
> in full knowledge that he is not this body but is
> transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to
> discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However,
> he can know everything well if he cares to take shelter of
> the perfect, bona fide Krsna conscious spiritual master.
> One can know God and one's relationship with God only when
> one actually meets a representative of God. A
> representative of God never claims that he is God, although
> he is paid all the respect ordinarily paid to God because
> he has knowledge of God. One has to learn the distinction
> between God and the living entity. Lord Sri Krsna therefore
> stated in the Second Chapter (2.12) that every living being
> is individual and that the Lord also is individual. They
> were all individuals in the past, they are individuals at
> present, and they will continue to be individuals in the
> future, even after liberation. At night we see everything
> as one in the darkness, but in day, when the sun is up, we
> see everything in its real identity. Identity with
> individuality in spiritual life is real knowledge.
216
217 Bg 5.17
218
219 TEXT 17
220
221 TRANSLATION
222
223 When one's intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all
> fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of
> misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds
> straight on the path of liberation.
224
225 PURPORT
226
227 The Supreme Transcendental Truth is Lord Krsna. The whole
> Bhagavad-gita centers around the declaration that Krsna is
> the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the version of
> all Vedic literature. Para-tattva means the Supreme
> Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as
> Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Bhagavan, or the Supreme
> Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute.
> There is nothing more than that. The Lord says,
> mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya. Impersonal
> Brahman is also supported by Krsna: brahmano hi
> pratisthaham. Therefore in all ways Krsna is the Supreme
> Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are
> always in Krsna, or, in other words, one who is fully in
> Krsna consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all
> misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything
> concerning transcendence. A Krsna conscious person can
> thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous
> identity and individuality) in Krsna, and, equipped with
> such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress
> on the path of liberation.
228
229 Bg 5.18
230
231 TEXT 18
232
233 TRANSLATION
234
235 The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with
> equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an
> elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
236
237 PURPORT
238
239 A Krsna conscious person does not make any distinction
> between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste
> may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a
> cow, and an elephant may be different from the point of
> view of species, but these differences of body are
> meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned
> transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the
> Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as
> Paramatma, is present in everyone's heart. Such an
> understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as
> the bodies are concerned in different castes or different
> species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone
> because He treats every living being as a friend yet
> maintains Himself as Paramatma regardless of the
> circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramatma
> is present both in the outcaste and in the brahmana,
> although the body of a brahmana and that of an outcaste are
> not the same. The bodies are material productions of
> different modes of material nature, but the soul and the
> Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality.
> The similarity in the quality of the soul and the
> Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity,
> for the individual soul is present only in that particular
> body whereas the Paramatma is present in each and every
> body. A Krsna conscious person has full knowledge of this,
> and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The
> similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that
> they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the
> difference is that the individual soul is conscious within
> the limited jurisdiction of the body whereas the Supersoul
> is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all
> bodies without distinction.
240
241 Bg 5.19
242
243 TEXT 19
244
245 TRANSLATION
246
247 Those whose minds are established in sameness and
> equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth
> and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they
> are already situated in Brahman.
248
249 PURPORT
250
251 Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self-
> realization. Those who have actually attained to such a
> stage should be considered to have conquered material
> conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one
> identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned
> soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of
> equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated
> from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer
> subject to take birth in the material world but can enter
> into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is
> flawless because He is without attraction or hatred.
> Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or
> hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into
> the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered
> already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.
252
253 Bg 5.20
254
255 TEXT 20
256
257 TRANSLATION
258
259 A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something
> pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant,
> who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows
> the science of God, is already situated
> in transcendence.
260
261 PURPORT
262
263 The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein.
> The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false
> identification of the body with his true self. He knows
> perfectly well that he is not this body, but is the
> fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
> He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor
> does he lament in losing anything which is related to his
> body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or
> self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by
> mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept
> the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the
> soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing
> the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman,
> Paramatma and Bhagavan. He thus knows his constitutional
> position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become
> one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called
> Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady
> consciousness is called Krsna consciousness.
264
265 Bg 5.21
266
267 TEXT 21
268
269 TRANSLATION
270
271 Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense
> pleasure but is always in trance,
> enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized
> person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on
> the Supreme.
272
273 PURPORT
274
275 Sri Yamunacarya, a great devotee in Krsna consciousness,
> said:
276
277 yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde nava-nava-
> rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit tad-avadhi bata
> nari-sangame smaryamane bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu
> nisthivanam ca
278
279 "Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving
> service of Krsna, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him,
> whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought,
> and my lips curl with distaste." A person in brahma-yoga,
> or Krsna consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving
> service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material
> sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of
> matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its
> spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this
> motivation. But a person engaged in Krsna consciousness can
> work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he
> avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization.
> Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A
> Krsna conscious person is not attracted to any kind of
> sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul.
280
281 Bg 5.22
282
283 TEXT 22
284
285 TRANSLATION
286
287 An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of
> misery, which are due to contact with the material senses.
> O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end,
> and so the wise man does not delight in them.
288
289 PURPORT
290
291 Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the
> material senses, which are all temporary because the body
> itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in
> anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of
> transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to
> enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Purana it is said:
292
293 ramante yogino 'nante satyanande cid-atmani iti rama-
> padenasau param brahmabhidhiyate
294
295 "The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from
> the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute
> Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rama."
296
297 In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also (5.5.1) it is said:
298
299 nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke kastan kaman arhate vid-
> bhujam ye tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed yasmad
> brahma-saukhyam tv anantam
300
301 "My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for
> sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such
> pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather,
> you should undergo penances in this life by which your
> existence will be purified, and as a result you will be
> able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss."
302
303 Therefore, those who are true yogis or learned
> transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures,
> which are the causes of continuous material existence. The
> more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is
> entrapped by material miseries.
304
305 Bg 5.23
306
307 TEXT 23
308
309 TRANSLATION
310
311 Before giving up this present body, if one is able to
> tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the
> force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy
> in this world.
312
313 PURPORT
314
315 If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-
> realization, he must try to control the forces of the
> material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of
> anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the
> genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to
> control the forces of all these different senses, and the
> mind, is called gosvami, or svami. Such gosvamis live
> strictly controlled lives, and forgo altogether the forces
> of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate
> anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated.
> Therefore, one must practice to control them before one
> gives up this material body. One who can do this is
> understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the
> state of self-realization. It is the duty of the
> transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and
> anger.
316
317 Bg 5.24
318
319 TEXT 24
320
321 TRANSLATION
322
323 One whose happiness is within, who is active and
> rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is
> actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme,
> and ultimately he attains the Supreme.
324
325 PURPORT
326
327 Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can
> one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving
> superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness
> by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at
> any place and enjoy the activities of life from within.
> Such a liberated person no longer desires external material
> happiness. This state is called brahma-bhuta, attaining
> which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.
328
329 Bg 5.25
330
331 TEXT 25
332
333 TRANSLATION
334
335 Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from
> doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy
> working for the welfare of all living beings, and who are
> free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.
336
337 PURPORT
338
339 Only a person who is fully in Krsna consciousness can be
> said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities.
> When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krsna is
> the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that
> spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are
> due to forgetfulness of Krsna as the supreme enjoyer, the
> supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to
> act to revive this consciousness within the entire human
> society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged
> in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in
> the Supreme. A Krsna conscious person has no doubt about
> the supremacy of Krsna. He has no doubt because he is
> completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine
> love.
340
341 A person engaged only in ministering to the physical
> welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone.
> Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not
> satisfactory. The real cause of one's difficulties in the
> hard struggle for life may be found in one's forgetfulness
> of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is
> fully conscious of his relationship with Krsna, he is
> actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the
> material tabernacle.
342
343 Bg 5.26
344
345 TEXT 26
346
347 TRANSLATION
348
349 Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who
> are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly
> endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in
> the Supreme in the very near future.
350
351 PURPORT
352
353 Of the saintly persons who are constantly engaged in
> striving toward salvation, one who is in Krsna
> consciousness is the best of all. The Bhagavatam (4.22.39)
> confirms this fact as follows:
354
355 yat-pada-pankaja-palasa-vilasa-bhaktya karmasayam grathitam
> udgrathayanti santah tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo 'pi
> ruddha- sroto-ganas tam aranam bhaja vasudevam
356
357 "Just try to worship, in devotional service, Vasudeva, the
> Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even great sages are not
> able to control the forces of the senses as effectively as
> those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving
> the lotus feet of the Lord, uprooting the deep-grown desire
> for fruitive activities."
358
359 In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive
> results of work is so deep rooted that it is very difficult
> even for the great sages to control such desires, despite
> great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged
> in devotional service in Krsna consciousness, perfect in
> self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the
> Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-
> realization, he always remains in trance. To cite an
> analogous example of this:
360
361 darsana-dhyana-samsparsair matsya-kurma-vihangamah svany
> apatyani pusnanti tathaham api padma-ja
362
363 "By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish,
> the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring.
> Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!"
364
365 The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them.
> The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation.
> The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise
> meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, the
> devotee in Krsna consciousness, although far away from the
> Lord's abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by
> thinking of Him constantly-by engagement in Krsna
> consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material
> miseries; this state of life is called brahma-nirvana, or
> the absence of material miseries due to being constantly
> immersed in the Supreme.
366
367 Bg 5.27-28
368
369 TEXTS 27–28
370
371 TRANSLATION
372
373 Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes
> and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows,
> suspending the inward and outward breaths within the
> nostrils, and thus controlling the mind, senses and
> intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming at liberation
> becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always
> in this state is certainly liberated.
374
375 PURPORT
376
377 Being engaged in Krsna consciousness, one can immediately
> understand one's spiritual identity, and then one can
> understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service.
> When one is well situated in devotional service, one comes
> to the transcendental position, qualified to feel the
> presence of the Lord in the sphere of one's activity. This
> particular position is called liberation in the Supreme.
378
379 After explaining the above principles of liberation in the
> Supreme, the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to how one
> can come to that position by the practice of the mysticism
> or yoga known as astanga-yoga, which is divisible into an
> eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, asana, pranayama,
> pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. In the Sixth
> Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly detailed, and at
> the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily explained.
> One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound, touch,
> form, taste and smell by the pratyahara
> process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes
> between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the
> nose with half-closed lids. There is no benefit in closing
> the eyes altogether, because then there is every chance of
> falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes
> completely, because then there is the hazard of being
> attracted by sense objects. The breathing movement is
> restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the up-
> moving and down-moving air within the body. By practice of
> such yoga one is able to gain control over the senses,
> refrain from outward sense objects, and thus prepare
> oneself for liberation in the Supreme.
380
381 This yoga process helps one become free from all kinds of
> fear and anger and thus feel the presence of the Supersoul
> in the transcendental situation. In other words, Krsna
> consciousness is the easiest process of executing yoga
> principles. This will be thoroughly explained in the next
> chapter. A Krsna conscious person, however, being always
> engaged in devotional service, does not risk losing his
> senses to some other engagement. This is a better way of
> controlling the senses than by the astanga-yoga.
382
383 Bg 5.29
384
385 TEXT 29
386
387 TRANSLATION
388
389 A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be
> the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities,
> the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the
> benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains
> peace from the pangs of material miseries.
390
391 PURPORT
392
393 The conditioned souls within the clutches of illusory
> energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material
> world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is
> explained in this part of the Bhagavad-gita. The greatest
> peace formula is simply this: Lord Krsna is the beneficiary
> in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the
> transcendental service of the Lord because He is the
> proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon. No one
> is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of the
> demigods, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. In the Vedas (
> Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.7) the Supreme Lord is described as
> tam isvaranam paramam mahesvaram. Under the spell of
> illusion, living entities are trying to be lords of all
> they survey, but actually they are dominated by the
> material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of
> material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the
> stringent rules of material nature. Unless one understands
> these bare facts, it is not possible to achieve peace in
> the world either individually or collectively. This is the
> sense of Krsna consciousness: Lord Krsna is the supreme
> predominator, and all living entities, including the great
> demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect
> peace only in complete Krsna consciousness.
394
395 This Fifth Chapter is a practical explanation of Krsna
> consciousness, generally known as karma-yoga. The question
> of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can give
> liberation is answered herewith. To work in Krsna
> consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the
> Lord as the predominator. Such work is not different from
> transcendental knowledge. Direct Krsna consciousness is
> bhakti-yoga, and jnana-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-
> yoga. Krsna consciousness means to work in full knowledge
> of one's relationship with the Supreme Absolute, and the
> perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Krsna,
> or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the
> eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel.
> He comes into contact with maya (illusion) due to the
> desire to lord it over maya, and that is the cause of his
> many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter,
> he has to execute work in terms of material necessities.
> Krsna consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual
> life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter,
> for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in
> the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he
> is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not
> partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one's
> practical performance of duties in Krsna consciousness,
> which helps one control the senses in every respect and
> conquer the influence of desire and anger. And one
> who stands fast in Krsna consciousness, controlling the
> abovementioned passions, remains factually in
> the transcendental stage, or brahma-nirvana. The eightfold
> yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Krsna
> consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served. There
> is a gradual process of elevation in the practice of yama,
> niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana
> and samadhi. But these only preface perfection by
> devotional service, which alone can award peace to the
> human being. It is the highest perfection of life.
396
397 Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifth Chapter of
> the Srimad Bhagavad-gita in the matter of Karma-yoga, or
> Action in Krsna Consciousness.
398