The Inner Essence to be learnt from
Bhagavad-gita for meaningful life
From
Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura’s Rasikaraïjana
&
Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gétä As It Is
(Based on spontaneous devotional service)
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Arjuna, the mighty warrior becomes thus confused and surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead as His disciple. Thereafter, the Lord begins His teachings about the fundamental difference between the temporary material body and the eternal living being. Then, the Lord explains the process of transmigration of the eternal living being from one material body to another, the selfless-activities performed for the pleasure of the Supreme (in the form of prescribed duties) and the characteristics of a self-realized person.
Bg. 2.1 – Saïjaya said to Dhåtaräñöra:: Thus, seeing Arjuna become overwhelmed with compassion (his eyes full of tears and his mind overcome with grief), Madhusüdanah (Kåñëa) spoke the following words.
Bg. 2.2, 3 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Arjuna, in the hour of crisis from where these lamentations have come upon you? It does not befit a man who knows the actual goal of life; nor it leads you to higher destination but to infamy.
Bg. 2.4, 5 – O Madhusüdana! How can I counterattack my worshipable elders like Bhéñma and Droëa with my arrows? It would be better to earn my livelihood by begging than to live at the cost of their lives. Eventhough they are yearning for worldly gains, they are our superiors. If they are killed, then everything that we may enjoy will be tainted with blood.
- According to the consciousness which one acquired because of the reactions of his past life’s activities, he gets a particular type of material body and gets inclined to a particular type of prescribed duty such as brähmaëa (the intelligent class), kñatriya (the administrative class), vaiçya (the productive class) or çüdra (the laborer class). When one performs his prescribed duties genuinely without any tinge of ulterior motivation by keeping the Supreme Lord at center, he never incurs sin; rather, he progresses towards perfection.
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Bg. 2.6, 7 – I am unable to understand which one is better, O Kåñëa – conquering them or being conquered by them. Now, I am totally confused about my prescribed duties because of my miserly weakness and I have lost all of my composure. In this condition, I am asking You for certain which one is better and taking the complete shelter of You as a surrendered disciple. Please instruct me.
Bg. 2.8 – I am not finding any means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses and it cannot be dispelled even if I win a prosperous and unrivaled kingdom like demigods.
Bg. 2.9, 10 – Speaking thus Guòäkeçaù (Arjuna) said, “O Govinda! I shall not fight”, and became silent. At that time the Supreme Personality of Godhead, smiling in the midst of both the armies, spoke to grief stricken Arjuna as follows.
Bg. 2.11 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Arjuna, though you are speaking learned words you are lamenting for something not worthy of grief. One who is learned, laments neither for the living nor for the dead.
Bg. 2.12 – Certainly never was there a time when I did not exist nor you or all these kings, and never in the future will any of us cease to be.
- Actually the living being is imperishable and eternal; it never dies. Only the material body takes birth repeatedly and dies again & again helplessly.
Bg. 2.13 – As the (embodied) conditioned living being transmigrates in the current material body from the boyhood to youth and to the old age, similarly at the time of death it transmigrates into another material body. One who is learned, does not get bewildered by such a change. [The term ’embodied’ means ‘that which is enwrapped by the body’.]
Bg. 2.14 – The nonpermanent appearance and disappearance of happiness and distress (due to the reactions of one’s past activities), O Kaunteya, are like the appearance and disappearance of summer and winter seasons. They are only experienced because of one’s sense perception, O Bhärata. You should learn to tolerate them, without being disturbed.
- One good thing regarding the reactions of one’s past activities is that they appear (now in this life) in the form of prescribed duties. Therefore, the prescribed duties should be performed with utmost care to purify one’s existence; otherwise, it is impossible to get rid of the crocodile jaw of the reactions of one’s past activities.
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Bg. 2.16 to 18 – [Due to the (awakened or dormant) consciousness of the eternal living being (which pervades the entire material body) the material body seems to be alive; otherwise, the material body by itself is just dead matter.] The temporary material body of the eternal living being is sure to come to an end, therefore, stand up and fight, O Bhärata.
Bg. 2.19 to 21 – For the (imperishable) eternal living being, there is neither birth nor death; only the material body takes birth and dies repeatedly.
Bg. 2.22 – As one accepts his new clothes (by giving up his old one), similarly the conditioned living being accepts a new material body (by giving up his current one).
- Until the conditioned living being achieves his perfection, he is forced to accept a temporary material body repeatedly. After achieving his perfection he goes back to his original eternal home, the spiritual world. [This material world in which we are living at present is like a school. It educates us through the process of repeated birth and death based on our own actions and its reactions. That is why this material world is called mrityu-loka.] [Note: Achieving perfection means achieving all good qualities and all love for all the living beings. By establishing intimate relationship with the Supreme Lord one can achieve them. In this age, the kali-yuga, the only way to have intimate relationship with the Supreme Lord is through congregationally singing His holy names.]
Bg. 2.23 to 30 – The eternal living being can never be cut by weapon nor burned by fire nor moistened by water nor withered by wind. O Mahä-bäho, however, even if you think that the living being takes birth and dies, still you have no reason to lament because one who has taken his birth is sure to die and he is sure to take birth again.
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Bg. 2.31 to 36 – By considering your specific duty, as a kñatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting (against the irreligious principles, adharma). If you fail to perform your prescribed duty, then certainly you will incur sin. People will always speak of your infamy and for a respectable person dishonor is worse than death. The great warriors who have highly honored your name & fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear. What can be more painful than this?
Bg. 2.37, 38 – O Kaunteya, either you achieve a victory in battle and achieve the kingdom or you achieve a glorious death and achieve a higher destination. Therefore, with determination stand-up and fight without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – thus, by doing so you never incur sin.
Bg. 2.39 – O Pärtha, I have described to you, till now, in terms of säìkhya-yoga, the analytical study of activities. Now, I am going to describe in terms of performing the activities without having any desires for fruitive results. If one performs his prescribed duties with the help of this knowledge, then certainly he will be freed from the bondage of work.
Bg. 2.40, 41 – O Arjuna, on this path there is no loss or diminution even a little advancement can save oneself from the most dangerous fear of material existence. One who is fixed on this path, is resolute in his purpose but one who is not, his intelligence is many-branched and contaminated with unlimited desires, O Kuru-nandana.
Bg. 2.42, 43 – Those who are less-intelligent, are very much attached to the flowery words of Vedas, O Pärtha, which generally recommend various fruitive activities for material accomplishments like elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power and so forth. Being overly attached to sense enjoyment, one argues that there is nothing more than this.
- Vedas recommend materially motivated ritualistic worship (to the demigods) to encourage the people of lower stages, so that they can gradually progress and achieve the ultimate goal, the pure devotional service (unto the Supreme). [Note: Performing one’s prescribed duties devotedly (without any tinge of ulterior motivation by keeping the Supreme Lord at centre) which eventually leads him to love of God is actually the pure devotional service.]
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Bg. 2.44 – Those whose mind is too attached to sense enjoyment and heavanly opulence, for them the firm determination for pure devotional service does not take place.
Bg. 2.45, 46 – Vedas in general deal with the subject matter of three modes of material nature (i.e. the subject matter of one’s actions and its reactions). O Arjuna, you be transcendental to them and be always situated on the platform of pure devotional service and be always free from dualities and anxieties for gain and safety and thus be established in the self.
- The three modes of material nature is nothing but a governing force which governs us at every step of our life based on our past activities. Every action that we perform determines our level of consciousness, and at the time of death whatever state of consciousness we may have accordingly we receive our next body (either it may be a higher or lower human form of life or any other form out of 84 lakhs species). [In the Padma Purana it is stated that there are 84 lakhs of varieties of material bodies, out of which 9 lakhs varieties are the aquatic bodies, 20 lakhs varieties are the bodies of trees, 11 lakhs varieties are the insect bodies, 10 lakhs varieties are the bodies of birds, 30 lakhs varieties are the bodies of animals and 4 lakhs varieties are the human bodies.]
Bg. 2.47 – O Arjuna, you have the privileges to perform your prescribed duties but you do not have the privileges to enjoy the results of your labor (i.e., you may utilize them to fulfill your bodily needs but certainly not for your sense enjoyment). Never become attached to the results of your labor, for they are stringently controlled by the three modes of material nature (based on the reactions of your past activities). And also, you never become attached to not performing your prescribed duties.
- The conditioned living being bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself as the doer of the activities but actually those are performed by the three modes of material nature (as per the reactions of his past activities). – Bg. 3.27
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Bg. 2.48 to 50 – O Dhanaïjaya, keep all the materialistic fruitive activities at far distance (by performing your prescribed duty devotedly without any tinge of ulterior motivations by keeping the Supreme Lord at centre). Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their labor are misers.
- Amongst 84 lakhs of species, the human form of life is specifically meant to cross over this insurmountable material existence. But, those who are not utilizing it for this purpose and wasting it for enjoying the insignificant results of their labor are considered to be misers.
Bg. 2.51 to 53 – One whose intelligence does not get disturbed by the flowery words of Vedas and does not get inclined to any kinds of Vedic ritual, is said to be steadily fixed in the unflinching devotional service.
- One who is fixed steadily on the path of pure devotional service, for them the path of Vedic rituals is not required.
- If the prescribed duties are performed devotedly (as explained here in Bhagavad-gita), which eventually leads him to love of God (as explained in Çré Chaitanya Charitamrita) is the natural path to achieve love of God whereas the path of Vedic rituals is neither conducive for one’s prescribed duties nor for one’s love of God; but it is very much encouraging for the people of lower stages.
Bg. 2.54 – Arjuna inquired: O Keshava! What are the behaviours of those whose mind and intelligence are thus fixed?
Bg. 2.55 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who have given up their desires, O Pärtha, altogether (for sense gratification) and those whose mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, they are said to be in pure consciousness.
Bg. 2.56, 57 – As long as the conditioned living being possesses a material body he is sure to experience the dualities of material existence like happiness and distress, good and bad, success and failure, etc (because of his past activities). One who is not affected by such dualities, neither praising them nor hating them, is said to be fixed firmly in perfect knowledge.
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Bg. 2.58 to 61 – As a tortoise withdraws its limbs within its shell, similarly those who withdraw their senses from its objects, are said to be fixed firmly in perfect consciousness.
- In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is mentioned that the most detestable and horrible sinful activities performed for one’s sense enjoyments are meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex (i.e. relationship outside marriage) and gambling (i.e. dishonest earnings). [Note: Dishonest earnings is considered to be the worst amongst all, which will bring sooner or later other three sinful activities also.]
Bg. 2.62 to 68 – By contemplating the objects of his senses, one develops attachment towards them. By such attachments lust develops and anger arises by which one’s memory gets bewildered and thus he looses his intelligence and falls down into the material pool again.
Bg. 2.69 – What is considered to be the night for all the conditioned living beings is considered to be the time of awakening for a self-controlled, and what is considered to be the night for a self-controlled is considered to be the time of awakening for all the conditioned living beings.
- The conditioned living being gets awakened by the flickering happiness of sense enjoyment but it remains asleep towards the eternal happiness of spiritual life but for a self-controlled it is vice versa.
Bg. 2.70 – As the ever-full steady-ocean does not get disturbed by the incessant flow of rivers, similarly one who does not get disturbed by the incessant flow of his desires (which is due to the reactions of his past activities), can alone attain peace; not who strives to satisfy them.
Bg. 2.71, 72 – [After giving up his desires (for sense enjoyment)] One who lives without any sense of proprietorship and false ego – he alone can attain real peace. If one is thus situated (even at the time of death), he attains the kingdom of God.
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Conclusion:
Eventhough one’s prescribed duties can be many but still they can be categorised into three.
- The prescribed duties that are related to one’s occupation (Varna)
- Brähmaëa, Kñatriya, Vaiçya and Çüdra. [Doctor, Engineer, Farmer, Teacher, Administrator, Warrior, Lawyer, Laborer, etc., as per the context of modern civilization]
- The prescribed duties that are related to one’s family (Ashram)
- The prescribed duties that are related to one’s parents, children, parents-in-law and others (like saintly persons, dependent living beings i.e. all the living beings, etc.). [Note: Devotional service is not a set of ritualistic activities; it is an act of responsibility (performed through both body and self i.e., body should get engrossed in prescribed duty and self should get drowned in love of God).]
- The prescribed duties that are related to one’s spiritual-austerity (Sädhana)
- As per the state of one’s consciousness, the platform of his sädhana varies : viräö-rüpa, säyujya, sälokya, särñöi, särüpya, sämépya, çänta, däsya, sakhya, vätsalya, çåìgära and çåìgära-audärya. [The recommended sädhana for this age, the kali-yuga, (for all) is singing congregationally the holy names of the Supreme Lord (with great attachment unto Him like the inhabitants of Vrindavan).]
When one performs these three catagories of prescribed duties without any negligence and without any tinge of ulterior motivation, he is considered to be in devotional service. Eventually when his devotional service gets matured and merges into love of God, he is said to be in pure devotional service (which is the act of self (the living being); not the body) (which is discussed elaborately in Çré Chaitanya Charitamrita).
Çré Chaitanya Charitamrita (Madhya lila 128, 129) states,
sädhu-saìga, näma-kértana, bhägavata-çravaëa
mathurä-väsa, çré-mürtira çraddhäya sevana
sakala-sädhana-çreñöha ei païca aìga
kåñëa-prema janmäya ei päìcera alpa saìga
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When one performs these five primary limbs of devotional service (with great attachment unto Him like the inhabitants of Vrindavan) in any one of the following four relationships with Him namely çåìgära, vätsalya, sakhya or däsya, one will certainly transcend the bodily conception of life and achieve the pure love of God in this very life time. This is the essence of Çré Chaitanya Charitamrita. – CC Adi lila 3.11
[Beware: These five primary limbs of devotional service should not be performed as a ritualistic performance, for they play a major role in having loving reciprocation with person form of Kåñëa (This is the act of self (the living being); not the body). In other words if these five limbs of devotional service do not lead one to person form of Kåñëa, then they are only mere rituals.]
Important Verses:
O Pärtha, as I am the Supreme there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Neither I have a need to obtain anything nor I am in want of anything – yet, I am engaged carefully in all of My prescribed duties. (Bg. 3.22)
Arjuna said: What actually is inducing one to indulge in sinful activities; even unwillingly as if he is engaged by force? O Värñëeya! (Bg. 3.36)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is certainly lust, O Arjuna, which is born out of mode of passion (which is acquired from the reactions of one’s past activities). Lust is the (all-devouring) greatest sinful enemy which gets transformed into wrath later. Therefore, you should curb this great symbol of sin by controlling your senses from the very beginning of life, O Bharata-åñabha, and thus kill this enemy, which is the destroyer of knowledge and self-realization. (Bg. 3. 37 & 41)
Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners still when you get situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge, you will be able to transcend the ocean of material existence very easily. As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, similarly the fire of transcendental knowledge burns all the reactions of one’s past activities to ashes. (Bg. 4.36, 37)
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead says in Bg. 18.66 “O Arjuna, give up all (mentally speculated) dharma (and adharma), and surrender unto Me by following My instructions (the transcendental knowledge). I shall deliver you from all sins. Do not fear”.
The selfless activities (in the form of prescribed duties) that are executed for the pleasure of the Supreme are nothing but ‘Yajïa’. All the activities other than this will bind one to this material world, for they produce reactions. (Bg. 3.9)
Act of tyäg (through one’s occupation), charity (through one’s ashram) and spiritual-austerity (through one’s sädhana) are not to be given up. Infact, the act of tyäg, charity and spiritual-austerity purify even the great souls. But, they must be performed without any expectation of result, as a matter of responsibility (definitely not to be performed as a ritual) , O Pärtha. This is My final opinion. (Bg.18.5, 6)
- As the Supreme Personality of Godhead himself mentions above (this is his final opinion), this is the essence of entire Bhagavad-gita.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Whether you have heard My words, O Pärtha, with an attentive mind? Whether your ignorance is now dispelled, O Dhanaïjaya? (Bg. 18.72)
Arjuna said: O Achyuta, now my illusion has gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. Now, I am firmly fixed and free from all doubts, and prepared to act according to Your instructions. (Bg. 18.73)
Wherever there is Yogeçvaraù (Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead) and wherever there is Dhanur-dharaù (Arjuna, the pure devotee), certainly there will be opulence, victory, extraordinary-power, determination and morality. (Bg. 18.78)
Däsya, Sakhya, Vätsalya and Çåìgära are the four transcendental relationships by which one can relish the sweet and intimate association with person form of Kåñëa, by which Kåñëa is subdued (by pure love). (CC Adi lila 3.11) (This is the act of self (the living being); not the body)
“In essence, the responsibilities are in this world (performed through one’s body)and relationships are in that world (performed through self)”