Bhakti Shastri (062) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 03 Text 14 to 19

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Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna. Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita course of the Bhakti Shastri part. So, now we are going to discuss the third chapter.
In the last class, we discussed about how the Vedic understanding of the universe being controlled by conscious beings, the devatas, is not contradictory to scientific understanding of the universe operating according to mechanisms. Mechanisms and persons are not contradictory, but complementary. So, I would like to conclude that section by giving you one more additional example to illustrate how both of them can be complementary.
Let us look at the verse today and then we will move forward to that section. Yes. So, all living beings subsist on grains.
And where do grains come from? The word can be used generically for all food or it can be used specifically for grains. Both are valid uses. So, grains come from rains.
Parjanya was also the name of the father of Nanda Maharaj. So, they were dependent on cows and cows needed grass. So, in that sense, the names related with nature are natural in such settings.
So, where do grains come from? Yajna. Yajna comes from karma. This and the next verse are related.
So, we will discuss both together. Let us look at the next verse also. So, where does karma come from? Karma is prescribed in the Vedas.
So, here the word Brahma refers to Vedas. The word Brahma can have many meanings. So, in 3.15 here it refers to the Vedas.
So, Akshara refers to the Supreme Lord. The Lord is infallible. That Lord never falls.
That Lord never deteriorates. So, Akshara. So, the Vedas come from the Absolute Truth, Akshara.
Therefore, that all-pervading Brahma is always situated in Yajna. So, now this last part is something interesting which I will come to. But let us look at the cyclic sequence which precedes that.
So, we are currently looking at the second section of the Bhagavad Gita. First section is Karma Yoga is better for you as you are not qualified for Gyan Yoga. Second section was if you are not qualified even for Karma Yoga, then practise Karma Kanda.
So, we are discussing this section. So, let us look here now. The cycle of sacrifice.
So, looking back at the two words which we just discussed. So, Bhutani is here. Where do living entities get their subsistence from? From Anna.
And then, rains produce grains. Yajna produces rains. And then, Karma Brahma.
Then, Yajna comes from Karma. We will discuss this causal connection a little later. But let us look at the cycle.
Karma Brahma Udbhavam Vidhi. So, Karma Brahma Udbhavam Vidhi means that Karma is told to us in Vedas. So, now, the Krishna does not complete the cycle over here.
But in the next verse, he uses the word Evam Pravartitam Chakram. So, the Chakra is completed when the living entities come to know about the Vedas and live according to the Vedas. The cycle which Krishna describes is still over here.
But how it gets concluded? When the living entities learn to live according to the Vedas, do their Karma and perform Yajna. So, yesterday we discussed about this point here. How Yajna produces rains.
Now, to understand this further, how the mechanistic explanation, mechanistic explanation and the personalist explanation are not contradictory, but complementary. The mechanist means, the mechanist term means mechanical, based on mechanics. So, there is mechanistic explanation and there is personalist explanation.
Personalist means there are persons who are in charge. So, let’s consider a billiards board. In billiards, there is a long rectangular table with holes at various corners.
And there is a long stick which the players use. And they are meant to hit the balls with the sticks. And the goal of the game is that the ball should go into the holes.
Now, if somebody had a top view of the billiards board using a camera, then within the billiards board, one will practically never see the players. All that one will see is the sticks. The stick is moving forward.
The stick is hitting this bunch of balls. Balls are moving in this direction. That ball goes into the hole.
The stick hits this ball. That ball hits that ball. That ball sends that ball into the hole, like that.
So, if we just look at the billiards board itself, all that we would see is the interaction of sticks and balls. Now, if we apply the scientific mode of analysis to this, the movement of all the balls along the surface of the billiards board will be according to the laws of mechanics. So, if a particular ball goes into a hole when a stick hits it, then we can find, oh, the stick hit it at this force, at this angle, and that’s why this ball went into the hole.
So, as far as the laws of mechanics are concerned, they’re valid. At the same time, the laws of mechanics offer a correct but not complete explanation. Why correct but not complete? Because the balls are going into the holes not just because they are being hit at a particular force, hit with a particular force by the players.
That is there. The particular quantity of the force is there. But why are the players hitting at that force with that angle? That is because they have particular training, they have particular expertise, and they have particular desires.
Okay, I want that ball to go into the hole. So, if I hit this ball like this, it will graze that ball and that will go into the hole, like that. So, the point is that the mechanics explanation is correct.
That is, according to certain laws of mechanics, the balls will go into the holes when they hit in a particular way. But along with the mechanics explanation, there’s a personalist explanation also. The personalist explanation is that there are persons with skills and desires who are playing the billiards game and they are hitting the balls with the sticks in particular angles and that’s why they are, the balls are going into the holes.
So, both these explanations are complementary, they’re not contradictory. Now, similarly, rains falling because of particular mechanisms, say, the water getting evaporated and the water condensing through the medium of the clouds at the appropriate change of PVT, that mechanism is correct, but it is not complete. So, the mechanist and personalist explanations don’t have to be contradictory, they can also be complementary.
Now, so, yajna, yajnaadbhavati parjanyo, going back to this chart, yajnaadbhavati parjanyo. Now, before that, where it is what? Yajna karma samudbhava. What does yajna karma samudbhava means? That the karma is not just our worldly obligations and actually, part of our karma is to do yajna.
And in today’s society, many people think that it is their duty to take care of their family members, to take care of themselves, to do duties to their relatives, and they think this is what is our duty, this is what God has told us to do and this is what we will do. Yes, that is definitely true, that we have to do, but that is not the complete scope of our duties. Actually, taking care of one’s children, say, is something which even animals do.
You know, taking care of family members is something which even animals do in many ways. So, the birds take care of their babies. So, that and that alone doesn’t complete the scope of human duties.
Now, human duties involve rising to a higher level, where we take care not just of other’s bodies, but take care of other’s souls also. And also, when we take care not just of our bodies, but our own souls also. If you’re just taking care of the bodies, our own bodies and the bodies of our loved ones, then we are doing our duties, but you’re not doing your complete duties.
So, Vishal Prabhupada explains that a mother’s or a parent’s love for her children is natural and necessary, but it is not spiritual. It is natural and necessary. What does it mean by natural and necessary? Natural means when a couple, they unite and give birth to a child, by the arrangement of material nature, they develop affection for their child.
So, by the arrangement of nature, that affection is created. It is natural and it is necessary. Necessary means that such affection actually enables us to live in this world.
In many species, when the young ones are born, at that time, they need the care of their parents. Without that, they would not be able to grow. So, that is necessary.
So, by the arrangement of nature, what is necessary is also arranged for through the feelings for affection that are there. Now, this is in no way meant to minimise the sacrifice that the parents do for the children. That is definitely true.
They do sacrifice and that is laudable. At the same time, that doesn’t make it spiritual. Spiritual is that which is connected with the soul.
As researchers have studied nature, and the study of the natural behaviour of animals, of living beings in their natural habitats is called as ethology. So, ethologists have found that animals behave in fascinating ways. For example, this beaver bird and this bird, when it unites with the she-bird and then the bird becomes pregnant, then they both search around and find some good hollow in a tree and then the female lays the eggs and puts them.
And then they cover the hollow in the hole itself with some proper covering mud and some branches and brambles so that no snakes or predators can go inside and eat the eggs. And then after that, the she-bird keeps coming and looking at them. And when the eggs are to be hatched, she comes and stays inside with the birdlets, with the eggs.
And the she-bird keeps giving food to the she-bird. And then as the eggs hatch and the birdlets come out, then the he-bird has to get more and more food. Because now food is needed not just for the she-bird, but it’s also needed for the birdlets.
And when the he-bird gives food, the she-bird first gives food to the birdlets and then takes herself. And then after that, when the birdlets start becoming bigger and they need more food, then the bird comes and tells us, she-birdlet, it’s too much now, I can’t do it, you also have to take a job, come out now. So then they become double income couples.
You know, the she-bird also comes out and then they cover up the hole in the tree by keeping only a small opening so that they can drop food. And then both the she-bird and the he-bird, they go out and search for food. And now inside some eggs have hatched earlier, some eggs have hatched later.
So the eggs that have hatched earlier, those birdlets are bigger, the other birdlets are smaller. So naturally when the parent birds come and drop food into the hollow, the bigger birdlets are able to catch it. And the bigger birdlets catch it, they don’t devour the food themselves, they first give it to the smaller birdlets.
And then later on, the smaller birdlets then they take the food themselves. So we see this affection among family members there in nature also. At one level, we can say it’s so touching and moving that there is a spirit of sacrifice even in animals, lower species.
So, and if it is not there in human species, that is so unfortunate. But another level is that if we live only at that level, then we are actually not practising spiritual life. We are not actually living at a human level, because the privilege of human life is to explore and relish our spiritual avenue.
So therefore, karma is not just taking care of our family members. So our duties are not just taking care of family members, that’s important, we have to do that. But we also have to connect with God.
So that we discussed about our horizontal relationship and vertical relationships. And only in human form can we pursue the vertical relationship with Krishna. So it’s a special privilege.
And the performance of yajna essentially is the opportunity to, is a means by which we can pursue the vertical relationship. So when we perform yajna, then yajna enables us to acknowledge the higher authorities, entering ultimately on the Supreme Being, Krishna. So therefore, karma, yajna, karma samudbhava.
So samudbhava means born along with that, concomitant with that. So along with karma is yajna, included. So we shouldn’t think that when we go to a temple, or we chant some holy names, we are doing some favour to God.
Actually, I don’t have to do it, but just to be a good person, I’m doing it. It’s a part of our, our duty as human beings to take care of our material as well as our spiritual side. So karma brahmot bhavam viddhi.
That’s why from where do we know, come to know about our karma? We come to know about our karma from shastra. Therefore it is said brahma aksharasam, karma brahmot bhavam viddhi. So we move back, karma brahmot bhavam viddhi.
So karma comes from the Vedas. When we want to know about our karma, we cannot know it by our own speculative efforts. We have to seek the scriptural wisdom to know what are the, what are the duties that we are expected to perform.
Now, in this whole cycle, actually, the Lord is the source of everything, specifically, and ultimately, the Lord is the all living beings, the Lord is the source of nature, the Lord is source of the yajnic rituals, the Lord is source of the scriptures, but specifically, the Lord is not visible to us. The Lord is not directly visible to us because the Krishna, the Supreme Lord is spiritual, whereas we are currently at the material level of consciousness. So therefore, the spiritual realm and the material realm, what is the connecting link? That is the scripture.
The spiritual realm becomes accessible to us in the material realm through scriptural wisdom. And the scriptural wisdom is not just theoretical, it is transformational. It gives us practical processes of yoga by which we can raise ourselves, transform ourselves to rise from the material level to the spiritual level.
So that’s why, although Krishna is the source of everything, in this context, it is said that Brahma Akshara Samudbhavam, that the Brahma, the scriptures, come from the Supreme Lord. Brahma Akshara Samudbhavam. So, by scriptural wisdom, the Lord becomes manifested.
Now, let’s look at the last line of this verse. I said we’ll come back to it. Tasmāt sarva-gataṁ brahma nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitaṁ.
So, sarva-gataṁ brahma means that Brahma is present everywhere. The absolute truth is there everywhere. Sarva-gataṁ brahma.
But how do we come to know about that Brahma? Nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitaṁ. He is always accessible to us through yajña. Nityaṁ yajñe.
So, that means the human beings, they can access the absolute truth through the performance of yajña. Let’s look back at the cycle once again. So, here you see that Krishna, the Akshara, the source and goal of everything.
But how will he be accessible to us? He is not visible to us. So, he has given the Vedas, and in the Vedas, our prescribities are given, and the prescribities that connect us with him is yajña. So, therefore, by the means of yajña, we become connected with the absolute truth.
That’s why dasmat sarva-gataṁ brahma nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitaṁ. So, yajña makes the universal accessible to us. That the absolute truth is sarva-gataṁ, is universal, but the universal becomes accessible to us through yajña.
Now, when we understand this point, we recognise the importance of yajña. Oh, the Lord is there everywhere, but how do we perceive him? So, yajña offers us the means to perceive him. So, what does essentially yajña involve? We discussed yajña essentially involves sacrifice.
When we perform sacrifice for the pleasure of the absolute, we give up what we could have used for our pleasure for his pleasure, and in this way, we connect with the absolute truth. So, yajña makes the universal accessible to us, and therefore dasmat sarva-gataṁ brahma nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitaṁ. And always that all-pervading absolute is accessible to us as yajña.
So, after we understand this cycle, so we participate in the cycle through yajña, and when we participate in this cycle by doing yajña, then the cycle continues, then we get grains, and that’s how we are able to survive. So, just like, what do we mean by cycle? The government gives water supply, and the government has certain rules to follow. So, we follow the rules, and we pay the taxes.
So, from the government, water is coming to us, and from us, taxes are going to the government. And this goes on cycle. If we stop paying the taxes, then what happens? The government stops giving water.
So, for the cycle to go on, we have to keep doing yajña. We have to keep paying taxes. Similarly, the devatas are providing us the societies.
And when we do the yajñas, then the cycle keeps going on. So, that means, now this is a, we’ll look back at this cycle. First, let’s understand this simple cycle.
There is the higher universal government, which involves devatas who are headed by the Supreme Lord. This is like the government, and we are the citizens, especially human beings are expected to abide by the laws of God. And the animals, they don’t abide by the laws of the state.
If there is a red signal, and then a donkey is going along the signal, the donkey will just walk through the signal. And there is a young person on a motorcycle, and that person says, I also go with the right signal, right signal goes through it. And immediately the policeman will blow the whistle and stop, stop, stop.
And then give the ticket to him as a fine. But the donkey was walking through, you didn’t fine him, why are you fining me? Because you’re a bigger donkey. The donkey is not expected to follow the rules.
We are expected to follow rules. So actually, the point here is that the donkey doesn’t have the higher intelligence, we human beings have the higher intelligence. So we are expected to perform yajna and thereby we will get the necessities that we are ordained to get, that we are not ordained, that we need for our living and the cosmic arrangement gives us if we maintain the cycle.
So now, how is this simple cycle which Krishna has talked about, devatas satisfying us and we satisfying the devatas? How is this related with this particular cycle, more complex cycle which we see over here? Actually, it’s the same continuation essentially. But we come to know the way we practically implement the cycle is, the role of the devatas is in ensuring that parajanya is provided. And for us, for us living beings, we need food.
So in a sense, we could say that this part, parajanya, this refers to how the parajanya comes, that is the devatas and the whole remaining part from bhutani to yajna. From bhutani, vedas, karma and yajna. This is our part.
So when we do these three things, we study the vedas, understand our karma and do the yajna within that, then we are cooperating. And the devatas, how do they do? They are in charge of the rains and they give the rains by which we get grains. So in this way, the cycle is maintained.
Now Krishna tells in the next verse, what happens if one doesn’t maintain that cycle. Before we go into that, let’s look at Prabhupada’s purport quickly. So Prabhupada quotes, Prabhupada’s essential point here is that the devatas are not the supreme, the supreme lord is supreme and devatas are his parts.
So he quotes from Baladevidya Bhushan about how the supreme lord is yajna purusha and everybody is benefited by him. Everybody is, he’s a supreme beneficiary, he’s a lord of the devatas. So then Prabhupada says how when we take prasad, then we protect ourselves from the infection by material natures.
Prasad is like a vaccine. So he says, one who does not do so, that means, one who does not take prasad, continues to increase the volume of self-reflection and thus prepares the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins. And then, karma brahma udbhava vikti, Prabhupada quotes in this purport from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, it’s a famous verse, it says how the scriptures come from the lord.
So here Prabhupada is quoting for this point, brahma akshara samudbhavam. So the brahma, the scriptures come from the absolute truth. How do we understand this? He is quoting from that.
So from the breathing of the great personality of Godhead, Mahato bhutasya, nishvasita. Nishvasita means breathing. So from his breathing, the Vedas come out.
So that means, now Prabhupada quotes about Brahma Samhita, how the lord can do anything. With any of his senses, he can do any of the activities. So even by his breathing, sound can come out.
Now Krishna will tell about what will happen if we do not follow this cosmic cycle. So evam pravartitam, pravartitam means that which is established. So the cycle, the chakra that is established by the Vedas, na anuvartayati means that which is followed, adopted.
Na anuvartayati means not followed. That person. That person is aghayor.
That person’s life is filled with agha. Agha means sin. Indriya ramo.
And what is that person doing? Is trying to delight in the senses. Indriya ramo. And what happens to life of such a person? Mogham partha sajivati.
So mogha is waste. The word mogha will come again in the Bhagavad Gita on several occasions. Most famously it comes in 9.12. Waste.
So mogham partha sajivati. Such a person’s whole life goes in vain. So one who does not follow cycle, such a person, the person’s life is filled with sin.
Lives in vain. Now, people generally have a definition of sin that is relative. So for example, there is sin and there is crime.
So crime is that which is considered to be legally wrong. And sin is that which is considered to be religiously wrong, morally wrong. So when the scriptures are the governing laws, are the governing guidebooks for the state, then crime and sin will be the same.
Because the government will act according to the scriptures. But when the government is not acting according to the scriptures, then crime and sin need not be the same. And when crime and sin are not the same, then often that which is sin may not be considered to be a crime at all.
For example, today in most countries abortion has been legalised. So abortion is actually nothing but cold-blooded murder. And the tragedy is that there is a systematic programme of disinformation.
Disinformation means not giving proper information by which people don’t come to know that the whole process of abortion involves killing of a child. So many times when the prospective abortion, those who want to abort, they are shown pictures using sonography or the technology of how the child is in the womb and how the child may be killed. Then it is, they often change their mind, no I cannot kill, this is my child.
So actually speaking, it is a sin. It is a grievous sin. But unfortunately, according to today’s laws, it is not considered a sin at all.
So Prabhupada especially considered cow slaughter and abortion to be grievous sins that current society is performing and because of which there are tremendous karmic reactions coming up as consequences to this. So there are documentaries made like The Silent Scream and others which show how the child is killed. So there are various methods which abortion is performed.
But in many cases say there is a clamp-like object which is inserted into the womb and when the infant is so small, the infant sees that something is coming into that womb, comes terrestrial and moves to the other extremity of the womb. And then that clamp-like object comes and tries to catch the embryo, escapes and then the clamp-like object comes and tries to catch it again. Of course, now there is the abortionist, the doctor who is holding on and trying to find and again the clamp-like object comes and again the child escapes and again the clamp-like object comes and again the child escapes.
But it is a small space and the child is small, the child ultimately doesn’t have any energy. So then finally the clamp-like object catches the child. Usually they catch the neck of the child and then the child’s body is tender, the neck is crushed, the whole neck just crumbles.
And then the clamp-like object often has some sharp parts so by which the tiny hands will be there, the hands will be cut off, the legs will be cut off and then they are all made into small parts because then they have to be brought out from the womb and finally the head is crushed into small, small pieces and it’s brought out. So actually it’s very ghastly. So when we see it, we understand it is so, so brutal.
But what happens is, by today’s laws it is considered to be legal entirely. So of course, there are situations, for example, when the mother’s life is in threat, it’s a genuine threat, then abortion can be accepted because if one person’s life is a threat to another person’s life, then the person can protect oneself and there it’s not so much killing as it is self-defence. So it’s a different situation, it’s an exceptional situation.
In most situations actually the mother’s life can also be preserved and the child can also be brought out, even if there is some danger, if the doctor has managed carefully. But that is a situation when, at that time, for protection the needful can be done. But in other situations it’s actually very distressing what happens, very horrifying also.
But unfortunately, crime and sin are divorced in many ways today. And because of this, most people go on doing immoral, sinful activities and they think that everything is a subject. Okay, you believe that is wrong, so you don’t do it.
We believe it is right, so we will do it. So with this kind of social value set which people have, life becomes filled with sin for people. So, aghāyur indriyā rāmo, the scriptures do not necessarily ban or reject all sense gratification.
There is dharma artha kāma, so kāma is also one of the puruṣārthas. And kāma, when it is done within the precincts of dharma, it is perfectly acceptable. So, in fact, we will see that in 7th chapter how Krishna says, I am kāma, which is not contrary to dharmic principles.
So, when we talk about this, the point here, important point is that Krishna is saying aghāyur indriyā rāmo, so that when people engage in sense gratification without considering the scriptures, without considering the higher laws of God, then that is aghāyur, that means their life filled with sin. Aghāyur indriyā rāmo. So, today people, they neglect the scriptures, they neglect the yajna, they neglect the performance of their duties to God and then they seek enjoyment.
That enjoyment, what happens? They want indriyā rāmo. Now, if you see, the previous verses Krishna has said that whatever, kāma-dhukha, he has used the word kāma-dhukha earlier. So, whatever are desirable things that will be provided by nature.
If we see the demigods, it’s not that they have to all live like ascetics. Indra, there are apsaras in his code. Indra can also have sense gratification.
And the asuras, they also want sense gratification. But the difference is, viṣṇu-bhakta-smṛto deva asuras tad viparyaya. Devatas seek sense gratification while following the laws of the absolute truth, the guidelines of the Supreme Lord.
The asuras defy those guidelines and seek enjoyment thereof. Therefore, there is a radical difference between the two. And that difference has to be bridged.
So, how do we bridge it? By not changing God’s laws to bring them to conformity with man’s laws, but by elevating human understanding so that it is able to harmonise itself with the divine revelation. Now, here Krishna says, if one doesn’t live like, if one just lives, seeks enjoyment, indriya-yarāma, one seeks sense gratification without understanding and harmonising with the will of the Lord, without doing yajna, then aghāyur, the person does so many sinful activities. And the person does sinful activities, then what is the result? Mogaṁ pārtha-sajÄ«vatÄ«.
The whole life is mogha. Mogha means it goes waste. Why does the life go waste? So, from the spiritual perspective, when a person doesn’t seek the absolute truth, and simply continues on the cycle of birth and death.
So, we saw in the Īśopaniṣad how such people are called as ye ke cātmahano janah. In the third mantra of Īśopaniṣad, we discussed about how these are the killers of the soul. Same point, moghaṁ pārtha-sajīvatī.
These people live in vain. They live in vain. Why do they live in vain? Because they don’t know what is the ultimate goal of life, and they don’t care to know.
And they live in defiance and violation of the will of the Supreme Lord. So, Prabhupāda quotes in the parapura, the Mammonist philosophy. The Mammonist philosophy is work very hard and your sense gratification is condemned hearing.
So, it’s not that we can’t enjoy, but there has to be harmonising with the will of God. So, Prabhupāda writes, the yajña system is planned in such a way that the sensory conscious person may satisfy their desires without becoming entangled in the reaction of sense gratificatory work. So, that means when there is dharma artha and then there is kāma, then one doesn’t get entangled so much.
Gradually one will get purified and elevated and ultimately liberated. And then now, within these yajñas, there are multiple yajñas which are done for different devatas. But ultimately, the Yajneshwar is Lord Ashwin.
So, for example, when we talk about sacrifices, if we look at, say, the Daksha sacrifice which is mentioned in the fourth canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, when Sati comes, she sees that, oh, there are shares for all the devatas, but there is no share for my Lord, for Shiva. So, she feels enraged by that.
Now, the point is that all the devatas get their sacrifice, shares, but ultimately, in the ninth chapter, Lord Krishna will tell how He is the bhokta for all the yajnic rituals. ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānā bhoktā cha prabhūre vaca. So, He is the bhokta, He is the ultimate good for all the yajñas.
So, there we will talk about yajña a little bit more, 9.23, 9.24. He says about how He is the bhokta and even when other gods are worshipped, ultimately, it is He who is being worshipped. yepi anya devata phir yantai śraddhāyānvitaḥ te pi mām eva kaunte yantai vidhi pūrvakam. That, when the other devatas are worshipped, they are also, I am only being worshipped, but I am being worshipped improperly over there.
So, the point is, all the yajñas are ultimately meant to help one to become God conscious and if one doesn’t become God conscious, that means Krishna conscious, then one doesn’t fulfil the purpose of yajñas. So, here Krishna concludes, He gives instruction by contrasting. So, first He has said that do yajña, then you will stay free from karmic bondage.
Then He has said, the devata said, you satisfy the devata, they will satisfy you, you will be satisfied. You will live happily in this way and you will attain śrī. That was 3.10, 11, 12.
And now He is saying in 3.16, He is giving the alternative trajectory. If you don’t do this, then what will happen? That one will live in vain. So, after describing this, now let’s go to the next section of the Gita.
So, the next section is 17 to 24. Krishna is telling Arjuna, if you are qualified for still practise karma yoga to set example. So, now Krishna, remember the spiral that we discussed.
So, Krishna is saying practise karma yoga and He says, if you are not qualified for karma yoga, then do karma kāṇḍa. By that you will come to the, you will be free from bondage and you will also get your material necessities fulfilled. But if you think that you are qualified not just for karma yoga but for jñāna yoga, still practise karma yoga to set an example for others.
So, let us look at the point of setting an example for others now. So, one who has rati. Rati means attachment, attraction.
So, one whose rati is inwards. One who is satisfied internally. So, and one who delights within.
One who is illuminated within, one who delights within. Such a person has no duty. It’s interesting now.
What does it mean such a person has no duty? Here Krishna is now talking about a person who is, who has transcended the scope of duty. In this world, as long as we take something from someone, we are expected to give something back. And that is how we get, we live in a reciprocal world, where in society we take something from others and we are expected to give something to others.
So, for example, the parents take care of the children and the children grow up. The children are also expected to help their parents, take care of their parents. So, there is the principle of reciprocity.
When we take something from someone, we are expected to give them back to that person. So, we take things from the devatas and we are supposed to do yajna for them. Now, Krishna is saying if somebody is self-satisfied, somebody is not seeking anything externally, and for such a person, for such a person there is no duty.
So, one who is internal, that’s why the word atma comes three times, self, self. So, when a person is turned inward, when a person is satisfied in the words, person is illuminated in the words, so at that time the person doesn’t seek anything external. So, when we don’t seek anything externally, then we are freed from our external obligations.
Asya karyam na vidyate. For such a person, there is no duty. This is the elevated stage.
Who has come, who can come to this stage? Actually, the jnana yogis are expected to be at this stage. The jnana yogis renounce the world and go to the forest for practising meditation. And when they practise meditation, through that meditation, introspective meditation, they expect to transcend their material existence and return back to the spiritual realm of existence.
So, now Prabhupada brings this down to a practical level. He says that such a Krishna conscious person is no longer interested in material activities and no longer takes pleasure in material arrangements like wine, women and similar infatuations. So, the point is, one doesn’t need anything material.
Now, Krishna says, yes, such a person doesn’t need to do any duty, but now he will twist this argument and say, yeah, but there’s no reason for him to not do the duty also. naiva tasya krutena artho na kruteneha kashchana na chasya sarvabhuteshu kashchidartha vyapashrayaha vipashrayaha naiva tasya krutena artho krutena means to do, by the discharge of duty. Artha is purpose.
Now, that person has no purpose to fulfil by doing the duty. naiva tasya krutena artho na kruteneha kashchana na kruteneha But at the same time, that person has no reason to not do duty also. That person is transcendental.
So, doing duty or not doing duty, both are equivalent. Why is that? na chasya sarvabhuteshu Such a person, for all living beings, kashchidartha vyapashrayaha artha vyapashrayaha that person is not dependent on any other living being. Person doesn’t take shelter of any other living being.
So, here, Krishna is talking about sarvabhuteshu vyapashrayaha. This is not referring to the Absolute Truth. Here, Krishna is not talking about bhakti.
He has not introduced bhakti so much in this chapter. Although there is indirect reference to the Supreme Lord in 3.9 by yajna, work for the purpose of yajna, but there is no direct reference to maam till now in the third chapter. So, here, sarvabhuteshu doesn’t include the Supreme Lord.
Yes, all of us are ultimately dependent on the Supreme Lord, but here, He is talking about not the vertical interactions, the horizontal interactions. So, because this person is self-satisfied, person is not taking anything from anyone, so, therefore, na chasya sarvabhuteshu na chasya sarvabhuteshu kashchidartha vyapashrayaha So, that person doesn’t need anything from anyone, so, that person, therefore, is not dependent on anyone. This is not a brahmana.
Now, brahmana is still a part of society. A brahmana gives knowledge and takes charity. So, yajna, dana, tapa.
So, there are various duties that a person does. yajan, yajan, patan, patan, dana, parigraha. So, the brahmana does these activities, and they are important.
yajan, yajan is a person performs yajna, and then goes to the places where the yajman, where the person who wants to do yajna, wants him to do yajna, and he does the yajna also, patan, patan. So, brahmana studies scripture, and they teach scripture also to others. And then dana, they do charity, and then parigraha.
They accept charity also. So, brahmanas, normally they receive charity, but if they get a lot of charity, then they give the charity back also. So, generally, in sacrifices, when big sacrifices are performed, when the king comes, for example, Dashyat Mahaj performs a sacrifice.
So, at the end of the sacrifice, the brahmana that is present, Dashyat Mahaj expresses gratitude to him, and he says, Dad, you know, you have come to my place, and honoured me by gracing this place, and by performing this sacrifice. So, as a charity, I give my whole kingdom to you. So, now, Dashyat Mahaj is fully confident.
The brahmana is not interested in the kingdom. Otherwise, who will be ready to give a kingdom like that? But actually, he is ready. The king sees that it is by the arrangement of the lord that I have been given the kingdom, and I should use it in the lord’s service.
So, the brahmana was seen as a representative of the lord. So, he gives the full kingdom. And what do the brahmanas do? They say, Vishwamitra and other rishis, whoever are there, they say, yes, we accept this gift, but we have no need for this kingdom.
So, we will give it back to you. And you rule it according to the principles of dharma as given in the scriptures. So, this is the way daan and parigraha happens.
These are brahmanas. So, the point which I am making is, Krishna is not talking here about brahmanas. Brahmanas are also within the fold of an ashram, and they also have to do exchanges.
So, they do something for others, and they get something for others. Here, Krishna is talking about a renunciate, a person who is either a sannyasi or is entirely outside, the sannyasis are almost outside the varnashra fold. They are the topmost, but from the topmost, they are moving further outwards.
So, the sannyasis are there, and they are practising. So, those who renounce the world, they practise jnana yoga. They can attain liberation.
So, they are not taking anything from anyone. They don’t need to give anything to anyone. So, now Prabhupada explains.
Prabhupada is explaining all this from the devotional perspective, and he says, a devotee does not have to discharge any other obligations. A Krishna conscious person does not take shelter of any person, man or any god. Whatever he does in Krishna conscious is sufficient in the discharge of obligation.
So, this means that, the Krishna conscious person is, there are horizontal obligations, there are vertical obligations. So, if one is having no horizontal reciprocations, then one can just focus on the vertical, and one can start interacting with the Absolute Truth. For a devotee, the devotee knows the Absolute Truth is Krishna.
A transcendentalist may not know the Absolute Truth is Krishna, and they will focus just on their conception of Brahman at that time. And gradually, by the mercy of devotees of the Supreme Lord, they may develop a clearer understanding of what that Absolute Truth is. Next verse.
tasmād asaktaḥ sattatam kāryaṁ karma-samācaraṁ asatto hi ācaraṁ karma paramāpnoti puruṣaḥ tasmād, tasmād means therefore. Why therefore? In the previous verse, it says that this detached person, it makes no difference to the detached person whether to do duty or to not do duty. Therefore, asaktaḥ sattatam, therefore Arjuna, while staying always detached, kāryaṁ karma-samācaraṁ So, do your kārya, do your prescribed duty.
What will happen by that? asatto hi ācaraṁ karma By performing work with detachment, with asakta, without detachment, paramāpnoti puruá¹£aḥ you will attain the Supreme Absolute Truth. paramāpnoti So in this way, what Arjuna is being told is do your duty. So Krishna is telling over here to Arjuna that yes, if you think that you are so self-satisfied that you don’t need a kingdom, you don’t need to be with your family, you can just go in the jungle and be satisfied there, fine.
But then also, it is better, so then, actually if you are so self-satisfied, if you are so transcendental, then it should make no difference to you whether you are in the forest or whether you are in a city. So, somebody, Krishna is exactly turning around the same argument. The same point is I am so transcendental that I don’t need to do any duty.
Yes, so if you are so transcendental, then doing duty will also not make any difference to you. So, somebody will say, I am so transcendental that I don’t want to, I don’t want to, go to, sometimes what happens is some young students come and they feel, oh, our college studies are so troublesome, we have to do so much studies and give exams and pass exams. We just join full-time.
We feel so attracted by Krishna consciousness. So now, in general, in India, education is important. Education makes for a strong career, for a stable career.
So generally devotees are encouraged to complete their education and then join if they want to. If they join prematurely, if they have some difficulties later, then, then, they may have problems in settling back in a career. And more importantly is that, actually one cannot just change the trajectory of one’s life based on just some feelings that come along.
One may find material life difficult, so one may think, I’ll become a renunciate. But then, what if one finds problems in one’s life also, then where will one go at that time? So, actually it is, frustration with material life is not a sufficient qualification for spiritual life. Frustration with material life alone will not lead us to spiritual life.
Frustration with worldly life will not lead to renounced order. Actually, there has to be positive attraction for spiritual life. And a positive attraction is, is tested and demonstrated by sustained commitment.
So, a positive attraction, if somebody says, I want to be fixed in service to Krishna, then that, how real is that desire, it is tested and demonstrated. So, tested means, it’s for myself, it’s a test. Yes, today I may feel frustrated with material life, so I start practising spiritual life.
But then, day in, day out, month after month, year after year, steadily when we practise, it’s a test for us and it’s a demonstration for others. It’s tested and demonstrated. So, when that is there, then one can, if one so desires, renounce the world and focus on spiritual life.
But then, the point is, so, if somebody says, I’m so transcendental, I don’t care for my studies. It’s fine, if you don’t care, if you’re so transcendental, then whether you study or not will make no difference to you. Just study them.
Set a good example for others. So, actually, here Krishna is turning the argument around and saying to Arjuna that, yes, for that person who is so transcendental, the externals don’t matter. So, because the externals don’t matter so much, so, whether the person is in the forest or in the city, it will make not much difference.
So, better be in the society and act over there. So, now, in the next three, Arjuna Krishna will give, after this, examples. He will give the example of Janaka, that he’s given, his own example.
And then he will again reiterate to Arjuna, you should act. But here he is giving the general principle, which he will demonstrate in the next verse. Therefore, always being detached, stay detached, but do your work.
So, if you act with attachment, then what will happen? Here, for the first time, Krishna is talking about, you will attain the supreme destination. First time means, he’s using the word param, and in the sense, he’s referring to himself. It’s not a direct reference.
Who is the supreme? The supreme is Krishna. Krishna is not using mam over here, but still. So, one will attain the supreme.
So, Krishna is saying that, just by doing one’s duty, one can attain the supreme. And, how should one do one’s duty? Detachment. You say, but Arjuna, but I have seen, that most people, if they want liberation, if they want, then they renounce the world.
Krishna says, no, no, there are examples of people who are in the world, and they also attain liberation. So, let’s look at that. By performing karma itself, samsiddhi, perfection was attained.
By whom? Astita was attained by Janaka, Adaiyaha, by Maharaja Janaka, and other persons like him. Therefore, for the sake of lokasangraha, Sampashyam. Sampashyam means, see systematically, consider.
So, lokasangraha is setting an example of others. Sangraha actually means accumulation or maintenance. So, maintain the lokas.
How are the lokas maintained? By proper example. So, lokasangraha mevapi sampashyam kartum. Therefore, considering that, you should act properly.
So, he is saying, that in the past also, there were many people who were liberated by doing their prescribed duties. So, don’t think that the prescribed duties cannot bring liberation. By doing one’s prescribed duties, also one can move forward.
And as one keeps moving forward steadily, by performance of prescribed duties, eventually, one becomes liberated. Eventually, one attains liberation. So, in this way, by telling Arjuna, that it is not the activity that causes bondage, it is actually one’s internal mentality.
If one is detached, then one will not be bound. But, while being detached, one does one’s duties. Then, one will be able to set a good example for others also.
So, he is saying, therefore, for Lok Sangraha, please do your duties. And, from the next verse, Krishna will give his own example. This is the first point, first place in the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna will talk about his supreme position, explicitly.
It is hinted at in 2.61, but here, he will talk about a little more directly in 3.22 and 33. Let’s discuss that in the next class. Thank you very much.