Bhakti Shastri (086) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 06 Text 37 to 45

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Hare Krishna. Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course. We are now coming to the last part of the that how does one deal with the mind? The mind is so troublesome.
And Krishna has told him to deal with it with patience, with persistence and detachment. So, Abhyasa and Vairagya. Now, Arjuna gets a question, okay, it may be possible, but that may take a very long time.
And what if one starts a process and is not able to complete it? What happens to a person who takes the path of yoga, but then later gives it up? That will be talked about in the next verse. So, let’s move forward. We’ll discuss it.
So, 37 to 45. This is the question answer of Krishna and Arjuna. 37.
One had Shraddha, and one engages in the process, but then ayatihi. One is unsuccessful. Yati can mean renunciate, rati can mean transcendentalist.
So, the transcendentalist, ayatihi. That means it doesn’t persevere, doesn’t continue in the path of transcendence. Why? Yoga chalitamanasah.
So, the mind becomes deviated. This is the connecting link. The whole chapter has been about the mind in many ways.
It is about, of course, ashtang yoga, but within ashtang yoga, the essential thread of thought is how to control the mind. So, yoga chalitamanasah. Then what happens to this person? Aprapya.
Because the mind gets deviated. So, chalita is also related with the word chanchala. So, chalita, the mind goes off.
So, chanchala refers to restlessness. The mind goes here, the mind goes there, it’s restless. But chalitamanasah means it just goes off completely and drags the person also off from the path of yoga.
On the path of yoga, sometimes our mind may go to some sensual activities, but if it doesn’t take us off the spiritual path entirely, then that is just a mental deviation. But here Krishna is talking about a person who leaves the path of yoga entirely. Yoga chalitamanasah.
A person does not attain samsiddhi, perfection on the path of yoga. So, then kamgatin krishnagachati. What will be the destination of such a person? So, here Arjuna is using this intimate form of address, Krishna.
Krishna, what will be the destination? Kamgatin, what will be the destination of such a person who is unable to attain success on the path of yoga? So, one who is not successful, but one gets deviated. So, Prabhupada explains that in the Parpot it occurs from 2.41, where, 2.40 rather, where Arjuna has been assured earlier by Krishna that on the transcendental path, there is no loss or diminution. Neha abhikrama, diminution or loss? One does not lose it, nor does one automatically get decreased.
So, that is what is going to, how that happens, that is going to be the question that will be discussed over here. The preliminary characteristic of that, that there is no loss has been mentioned, but now there will be a more systematic elaboration. And Prabhupada talks about how this is applied, so he says self-realisation is sought by the path of knowledge, by the practise of eightfold system or by bhakti yoga.
So, these are the various processes of transcendence, jnana yoga, ashtanga yoga, bhakti yoga. Now, either way, one has to realise oneself spiritually. So, how does one do that? That is by spiritual practise.
So, in that one may not be able to continue it. So, what happens if one is not able to continue it? So, at that time, he is describing the next verse, Arjuna continues the question, clarifying it. So, he describes how such a person who is trying to progress in the transcendental path, what happens to such a person? So, the first most important point is that the person gets deviated by the mind and is unsuccessful in the path of yoga.
But thereafter, what is the net result of that sort of deviation? Arjuna gives an example to illustrate this. Ubhaya vibhrastha means from both paths, one is deviated. Chinna, brahma, even ashyati, chinna abhram.
So, abhrama is like cloud. Chinna is separated, torn apart. Such a person becomes, this is a torn apart cloud, gets ashyati, gets destroyed.
Similarly, apratishtho. Apratishtho means without any foundation, without any base, without any position. Mahabaho.
Vimudho brahmana pathi. Isn’t such a person become vimudha, one who is on the path of brahman, pathi. Pathi is path.
Brahmana is the path of transcendence. So, in the Bhagavad Gita, there are many places where metaphors are drawn from nature. So, here there is a metaphor that is drawn.
There are two clouds, say. One cloud is moving in one direction, another cloud is moving in another direction. Both clouds are moving in the sky.
Now, within this array of clouds, say one small cloud breaks apart from that array and it wants to move from, so these two clouds are moving apart like this and one array of cloud wants to, breaks apart from this and wants to come to this side. So, while it is trying to move in this direction, at that time, a sudden gust of wind comes along and blows the cloud away. So, this tiny cloud, tiny part of a cloud, it has broken away from one piece of one cloud formation to go to another cloud formation, but it has been blown away before it can reach from the first to the second.
So, like that, there is one group of people who are on the path of karma and there are another group of people who are on the path of moksha, who are, there are people who are living in the worldly life and there are people who are pursuing the other worldly goal. So, those who leave the worldly life and seek the other worldly goal, they want to join from this group to that group. So, they are like this ribbon cloud, a part of a cloud that has come out from the remaining.
Then, what happens to them? So, if because of some reason, yoga chali dhaman saha, they are unable to continue on the path to transcendence, then what happens to them? Will they not become a pratishtha? No, either at home nor at some other shelter. So, one is lost completely. So, will that be their destination? Arjuna is asking.
So, brahmanapati, they are all on the path of transcendence, but they become vimudha, they become deluded on that path and Krishna assures Arjuna intensely, it’s not just a theoretical abstract question, it’s a serious question because we are going to strake our life, our future on our spiritual practises. So, what is going to happen? So, he asks in the next verse. So, etan me samshayam krishna, this is my samshaya, this is my doubt and then chittum arhasya ashesh taha.
So, chittum means to break apart, to destroy, to dispel, as per Upadhyayana. Arhasi, I request you, it behoves you to do that. Ashesh taha, completely remove this doubt.
And then, he is saying, somebody else can also remove this. He says, no, you are the supreme absolute truth and you have the highest knowledge. Therefore, anyah samshayasyasya, apart from you, this samshay chitta nahi upapadyate, there is no one who can remove this samshay.
You are the only person who can remove it, therefore I beg you to remove it. Now, this is a three-word sequence, which is in a question format. In fact, this is the, in many ways, the longest question that Arjuna will ask Krishna.
In the 10th chapter also, he requests Krishna to show his glory. That time also, yeah, there are several verses which come as a question, but among them, these are, a three-word sequence, sequence is the longest in the Bhagavad Gita. So, this three-word sequence, similar three-word sequence will come elsewhere also, but it’s significant that Arjuna has a question and he, that his question itself goes on for three verses.
So, now after describing this, etan me samshayam, this is my doubt, and Krishna, you alone can remove it, just as it is described by Acharyas in 2.7, 2.8, that 2.7, when Arjuna surrenders, that he says that, I ask you for what is true, and then he emphasises that, up to the ante of that request, the intensity of that request, he raises it by saying, actually apart from you, he says, nothing else from enlightenment, apart from enlightenment will solve my problem. That’s what described in 2.8. Similarly, he says that apart from you, no one can remove this doubt. So, Prabhupada quotes how Krishna is omniscient and therefore he’s capable of answering all questions.
So, now Krishna’s answer starts from 40 and goes on till 45, and 46 and 47 is like the conclusion of the chapter. So, Krishna addresses Arjuna in a very intimate way, O Partha, neither here nor in the next world. Iha amutra.
Iha means in this world, amutra means other world, next world. Such a person will never meet with destruction. One who tries to do good, Arjuna, one who tries to work auspiciously for others, person will never meet with an auspicious destination.
Tatha, tatha refers to, it’s again a very intimate form of address, very intimate form of address. So, O dear Arjuna, that one who tries to do good will never meet with evil from anyone else, that person will never be overcome. The same theme of compassion, of Krishna’s compassionate assurance, compassionate and categorical assurance will be repeated in the 9th chapter when Krishna will describe, especially for the bhaktas, my devotee will never perish.
So, of course, Krishna is not here talking about devotion very explicitly in this chapter, but he is talking about in general transcendentalist, and he is saying that one who is doing good, O my dear Arjuna, will never meet with evil. It’s a very heart-touching statement, this one, assurance, and to make the assurance more reassuring, Krishna uses the very endearing form of address for Arjuna. Tatha, tatha, tatha means O friend, or tatha is a intimate form of address in Sanskrit, durgati, tatha gacchati, there is no durgati such a person.
So, before, see when people are in anxiety, we can give them philosophy to help them deal with the anxiety, but along with that philosophically helping them, we also have to emotionally solace them. So, before Krishna gives Arjuna a clear philosophical answer, first thing that he does is gives him an emotional assurance, things will be all right, they will improve, things will become, don’t worry about it. So, when he gives an assurance, and that’s what enables Arjuna to calm down, and then once that assurance is given, then Krishna goes forward and talks about further philosophically explaining what will happen to a person.
So, Prabhupada, this is the third time Prabhupada is quoting in this Bhagavad Gita Purport, 1.5.17. This was in Narada’s instructions to be asked there, about how one who gives up prescribed duties for the sake of devotional service doesn’t perish. On the other hand, just doing prescribed duties without taking devotional service is of no use from the transcendental perspective. So, Prabhupada here goes into elaborate categorisation of human beings.
And he says, humans can be classified into two sections, regulated and non-regulated. So, what is regulated? Those who follow scriptural regulation. Non-regulated are those who live simply for fulfilling the animal propensities.
And then he talks about among the regulated, there are the karmakandis, and then there are the jnanakandis. The karmakandis want to enjoy mutual prosperity through religion. And there are the jnanakandis who aspire for liberation.
And then there are the bhaktas. So, karmakandi, so then sakam and nishkam. And then Prabhupada talks about how sakam is not auspicious.
The only auspicious activities are those which lead one to liberation. So, why is Prabhupada giving this categorisation over here in this purport? Because he is explaining what kalyanakrut is. Kalyan means auspicious.
So, what is auspicious activity actually? Actual auspicious activity is that which is aimed for liberation. Any auspicious activity not aimed for liberation is not at all auspicious, Prabhupada writes. And Krishna has talked about this earlier also in 2.49, where he has said, So, in 2.49 he has stated that, give up inauspicious work.
And what is this inauspicious work? He has explained it to be in the practise of karmakanda. So, we would think inauspicious work are sinful activities. Yes, that is definitely inauspicious.
But even the practise of dharma for the sake of arthakama, that means karmakanda, that is also considered inauspicious because that is not aimed for liberation. Mental existence itself is ultimately inauspicious. And one needs to come out of mental existence.
And that happens when one practises serious devotional service. So, serious spiritual life in general and devotional service is the best method of practising spiritual life. So, give up inauspicious work.
And now Krishna will go into specifics. So, first he described the generic principle. Yes, they will not be auspicious.
Now, he will describe the specifics. Let us look at 4.1. Those who have done punya, so those lokas, the lokas for those people. Which are those lokas? Those are the heavenly planets.
So, the abodes of the pious people are the heavenly planets. So, the bhaktas will attain that abode. And then, they will stay there for a long time.
From the point of view of earthly beings, the lifespan of the heavenly residents is enormous. It appears it is so great as compared to that of earthly beings that it can be considered to be almost indestructible forever. And that is why in that relative sense, the heavenly residents are considered amara.
They are not actually amara. They are not immortal. In the scriptures, they are described as four categories of being.
There is martyaha, there is amara, there is chiranjiva, and there is nitya. So, only nitya are eternal. So, martyaha are the earthly living beings who have a short lifespan, 100 years at the most, maybe more in the earlier ages, but it is not long.
Then, there is amara. Those are the heavenly residents who have a long lifetime as compared to earthly beings. To many earthly people, it appears forever, but it is not forever.
Then, there is chiranjiva. Chiranjiva is those who live for one lifetime of Brahma, one day of Brahma. In some cases, the words are not fixed.
Generally, it is one day of Brahma. In some cases, it may be one lifetime of Brahma also. But, that means, the point is that it is categorically longer than the heavenly lifetime also.
And beyond that is nitya. Nitya is eternal. That is, those who live in the spiritual world, they live forever.
So, Krishna is telling that shashvati sama, those who go to heavens, they live there for a long time. And then after that, shuchi naam shreemataam gehe. Shuchi naam shreemataam gehe.
Gehe means in the houses. So, what kind of houses? Shuchi naam shreemataam. So, what is shuchi naam shreemataam? Shuchi is pure-hearted and shreemata is wealthy.
So, these are the two advantageous families. How are these advantages? If one is born in a pure family, in the pious family, shuchi naam, then one has samskaras which are favourable for transcendence. And if one is born in the shreemataam family, shree is the goddess of fortune, shreemataam refers to it, that is aristocratic, wealthy family, then one does not have to struggle much for material existence.
And by that, one can continue on in spiritual life steadily. Yoga bhrishto abhijayate, abhijayate, they take birth. So, Krishna, Arjuna has used earlier the word yoga chalitaman saha.
Krishna is using here yoga abhrishto, so same point, those who get deviated, yoga bhrishto. So, what happens in the shuchi naam shreemataam gehe? Normally, in this world, people get distracted from spiritual life for many reasons. Among them, the primary are that either they are brought up in such upbringing, there is a circumstance that it is very unconducive for spiritual life, it is very anti-spiritual, their upbringing and things like that.
Their culture is anti-spiritual. Or otherwise, they may be in a spiritual culture, but because they are so caught up in just struggling to maintain the body, that is difficult for them to practise spiritual life. So, that is shreemataam.
So, that problem is, that means either one can have so many internal, there is the soul and the soul can have mental obstacles in the practise of spiritual life or can have physical obstacles in the practise of spiritual life. So, physical obstacles can refer to the problems that one faces in terms of maintaining the body, making the arrangements for the body’s necessities. Mental obstacles can be the conditionings and misconceptions that one has acquired during one’s upbringing and because of one’s cultural conventions and conceptions.
So, now both of them can misdirect. So, shreemataam prevents one from getting too many misconceptions and shreemataam prevents one from having too many struggles. And in this way, it is actually an advantage.
So, now we may wonder sometimes, if a person is born in a wealthy family, a well-to-do family, shreemataam, powerful, prosperous family, won’t that lead to a sort of infatuation by wealth, which can distract one from spiritual life? Yes, definitely it can. And in fact, Kunti Maharani also says in her prayers, in the eighth chapter of the first canto, that janma aishwarya shruta shribhir. So, aishwarya, wealth, is one of the opulences that can intoxicate a person and make one feel that I don’t need God.
Well, that is true. But here we are talking about spiritualists who have already developed a spiritual inclination. So, because of their spiritual inclination, even if they get prosperity, materially, that will not delude them, that will not distract them from continued practise of spiritual life, they’ll continue on practise of spiritual life.
So, this way, the distractions are minimal for these two classes. Now, here Krishna is talking about those who have made a little bit of spiritual advancement. See, normally, when a person, why would Krishna, if somebody is wanting liberation, why would Krishna send such a person to heaven? The reason for that is that person has also the desires to enjoy heavenly pleasures.
And because of the desire to enjoy heavenly pleasure, the person gets distracted by that desire. So, we have to understand that. Ultimately, we have to deal with our desires if we want liberation.
There are two ways to deal with our desires. One is to indulge in them and get rid of them. And the second is to understand their futility and get rid of them.
Both ways, one has to get rid of one’s material desires in order to move towards to liberation. So, of course, it’s not that indulgence itself enables one to get rid of them. But indulgence, along with the practise of dharma, indulgence in the dharmic environment, so by the practise of dharma, one is getting a higher taste.
By indulgence, one is experiencing lower taste also. And when both are compared, one understands, lower taste is insignificant, let me focus on the higher taste. And that is how one transits.
But when that does not happen, that means a person is indulging but not doing dharma, then the person just, their lust and their greed and the anarthas simply aggravate. But if a person is having the higher taste, is having the lower taste, and is still attracted to the lower taste, so much so that the person’s attraction for the lower taste makes the person give up the higher taste. Then what happens to such a person? So, for such a person, Krishna says, okay, this is what you wanted to enjoy, this is what had distracted you from such a life, fine, you take this and enjoy it, whatever you want.
And far better than enjoyments of this world are the heavenly pleasures. And the heavenly pleasures are of, last also for a long time and their quality is much higher, quality, quantity, longevity, all are much higher. And because the person has also got some memory of the higher taste by the practise of devotional service while on earth as a sadhaka, and because the person is in heaven, in an atmosphere that is overall dharmic, one gradually starts realising the futility of heavenly enjoyment.
So, ushitva shashvati sama means, the person is aiming for liberation but also has a desire for enjoyment, so then the person is taken to heaven, and after the person goes to heaven, enjoys over there, comes back and is born in the environment over here from which one can practise spiritual life. So, it is interesting that Krishna does not say over here that from heaven one can continue on. He says, after ushitva shashvati sama, after staying in heaven, the person will come back to shrinam shrimatam, will come back to the earthly planetary system.
So, in general, the earthly planetary system is the karma bhoomi. This is the place where our destiny is shaped. The other arenas in the universe are primarily meant for exhausting the karma which we have acquired over here.
So, in heaven, in lower planets, one is exhausting the karma. In higher planets, one is exhausting the punya. In lower planets, one is exhausting the power.
But either way, one is exhausting the karma which one has acquired while one was here on earth, and in this way, one moves on. So, the going to heaven is to cater to the desire. If somebody wants to practise spiritual life but also has a strong desire to enjoy the world, then that person is given the facility to engage in heavenly enjoyment by going to heaven, and then one comes back and continues on one’s spiritual practise, either in shuchinam or shrinatam, in a prosperous family or a pious family.
So, now, this is the first possibility, that one was practising spiritual life, but one had a lot of very strong desires to enjoy this world, so that person is taken to heaven. In Krishna, in the next verse, Krishna will describe the other possibility. What is the other possibility? That one has practised spiritual life substantially, one has made a significant amount of spiritual advancement, but one is not able to complete the journey.
That means that person doesn’t become completely purified in order to go back to the spiritual world. So, what happens to such a person? Athava yoginameva kulebhavati dhimatam etadidurlabhataram loke janmayadidrisham So, Athava, Athava means alternatively yoginameva. So, those who are yogis, kulebhavati dhimatam, they are born in dhimatam.
So, dhi is intelligence, dhimatam means those who are endowed with intelligence. Prabhupada explains that this refers to very advanced devotees in the family. kulebhavati dhimatam etadidurlabhataram Durlabhataram is the very advanced devotees and such is rare, durlabha.
loke janmayadidrisham. So, because such advanced devotees, families are rare, therefore birth in such families is also rare. etadidurlabhataram.
So, Krishna is pointing out the good fortune of those who are born in such families. Because when a person is born in a family, then actually the auspiciousness begins right from the birth, from the Garbhala, not even from the birth, from the moment of conception, from the Garbhala and samskara onwards till even the food that the mother is taking is all prasad. Therefore, the milk that the infant is getting, that is also prasad that is converted.
Even what is nourishing the embryo in the womb, that is also all prasad. So, then practically speaking, the entire body of the infant is made of prasad. So, that creates a very auspicious environment for the soul inside to practise one’s spiritual life.
So, etadidurlabhataram, this is extremely rare, this kind of janma, loke janma. Now, it’s interesting that Prabhupada puts himself as well as his disciples as a spiritual master in this category. Fortunately, both are spiritual masters.
Om Vishnupasla Bhakti Siddhanta Shastri Goswami Maharaj and our humble self had the opportunity to take birth in such families by the grace of the Lord. So, now it’s interesting that Prabhupada has told on some occasions that he was in the spiritual world and that he descended from the spiritual world on the instruction of Krishna for writing the books and for sharing Krishna Consciousness with the world. Now, that being the case, if that is the case, then why is the Prabhupada placing himself in the category of those who take birth in devotee families, in advanced dhimatam families? There’s a reason for that.
Now, first of all, Prabhupada is not saying that, he is explicitly saying that, he is saying that I or my spiritual master were deviated yogis, yoga bhrisht. Prabhupada is not saying that anywhere at all. And he makes it very clear, he’s also adding by the grace of the Lord.
So, he’s not saying by our past spiritual practises, we were born in devotee families. He’s saying by the grace of the Lord, my spiritual master and I, we were born in devotee families, birth in such families, that is referring to advanced transcendental dhimatam. So, sometimes devotees will speculate, you know, what was Srila Prabhupada’s in his previous life? Who was Srila Prabhupada in his previous life? Or what is Prabhupada’s saurupa in the spiritual world? So, Prabhupada generally would not encourage this kind of this kind of speculation.
Now, when Prabhupada was asked, that there is this verse in our Guru, Guruvashchakam that we sing, Mangal Aarti, that we all, like the spiritual master, assist Radha Krishna in their pastimes by performing confidential service. So, the question may come up, what does it mean? How does the spiritual master assist? So, Prabhupada, when he was asked about it, he simply said, none of your business, that’s none of your business. Prabhupada cut off.
Prabhupada did not encourage this kind of speculation. There’s one letter which comes in, which Prabhupada wrote to Radha Krishna, Radha asked him, does the spiritual master know who he was in his previous life? And the devotees were asked indirectly, they did not ask Prabhupada, who are you in your spiritual life? So, they would ask indirectly, but Prabhupada understood the question, does the spiritual master know who is in his spiritual life? So, Prabhupada never made any supernatural claims. And he did not claim his authority came because of any supernatural visions that he had.
So, he just said nonchalantly that, I don’t know, one astrologer said like this, one astrologer said, Prabhupada sometimes quotes an astrologer who did my horoscope, he said like that. But Prabhupada said that when he was asked about himself, he said, from the disciple’s point of view, it doesn’t matter where the spiritual master came from, whether the spiritual master was sadhana siddha or kripa siddha, it doesn’t matter. Sadhana siddha, Prabhupada gives the example that if the father has now become a millionaire and is ready to give million dollars as an inheritance to the child, the child doesn’t have to bother whether the million dollars came to the father by his own hard work, or they were just given as an inheritance by his ancestors.
He got them somehow, he got his inheritance or he got it by acquisition and accumulation. It doesn’t matter. The same way kripa siddha means one who gets it by mercy.
Sadhana siddha means one who gets by sadhana. And itti siddha is of course, people who are eternally realised. So essentially there are two categories.
There is itti siddha and there is sadhana siddha. Kripa siddha is also among the three categories. Kripa siddha is extremely rare.
The point which Prabhupada is making is that if our spiritual advances at our master is more advanced than us, then he can guide us to spiritual success. Therefore, there is no need for us to bother how the spiritual master became so advanced. Is it because of being an eternal associate? Or is it because of having advanced to become purified and perfected? So, one time a reporter had asked Prabhupada, how many pure devotees are in your movement? Prabhupada asked one of the devotees, how many devotees do we have in our movement? The devotee gave something.
That many pure devotees he had. So the devotees started looking at him. Pure devotees.
Another time some devotees told that, Prabhupada told some of his disciples. He says, you are eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya. What sort of thing? We used to do so many things in our previous life.
We never heard of Lord Chaitanya. So we were eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya. A little bit puzzled.
And then one of them asked, Prabhupada, is it true that we are all eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya? So Prabhupada said, yes. And then he smiled and said, everyone is. Ultimately, everyone is an eternal associate of Lord Chaitanya.
In all of Lord Chaitanya, Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu, whatever the Swaroopa in the spiritual world, we are eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. So, we should not claim any spiritual status, special spiritual status because of our past spiritual advancement. That’s not the point.
If we have made advancement, then that should be seen in our commitment to practise, in our depth of understanding and in the purity of our heart. So rather than trying to go into these speculations, now who was Prabhupada in the previous life? Is this Prabhupada trying to imply over here that he was a yogi and that’s why he was a yogi who could not complete his spiritual life and that’s why he was born in the next life? Or for that matter, what was Swaroopa? Some people say that because one time Prabhupada said that, you know, I was thinking, what does this Krishna have in His lunchbox? Or I was imagining playing with Krishna in the spiritual world as he enjoys among the Gopas. So some people made the speculation that Prabhupada is in Sakhya Rasa and not in the Madhurya Rasa.
And because Prabhupada is in Sakhya Rasa, that’s why he also had a Krishna Balram temple made instead of a Radha Krishna temple. And because Prabhupada is in Sakhya Rasa and Madhurya Rasa is highest, the next conclusion that comes up is that we need a guru who is in Madhurya Rasa. So this kind of propaganda has come sometimes and it keeps coming.
So one shouldn’t give much credence to such things because Prabhupada himself did not make any explicit statements. And Prabhupada told us why he made the Krishna Balram temple was, there might be somebody, rather than trying to do a sort of, it’s dangerous to try to do a post-mortem of a pure devotee’s words and heart, to find out what the pure devotee’s intention was. And we have to look at his words and try to understand based on that.
So if we look at the words, Prabhupada did say that, that the place where we got the Krishna Balram, the place where we have now made the Krishna Balram Mandir in Vrindavan, that place was Raman Reti where Krishna performed pastimes with his Gopas primarily. And so it’s appropriate that there should be a Krishna Balram temple. And Prabhupada also said that in Vrindavan there are so many Radha Krishna temples.
So we want our temple to be distinctive. And because it is in the land where the Sakhira’s pastimes were performed, so let’s have a Krishna Balram temple over there. And then beyond that, it is not that Prabhupada did not have a Radha Krishna temple.
Now we have Krishna Balram and we also have Radha Jam Sundar. And of course we have also. So the point is there is sort of speculation is not there.
Prabhupada is simply illustrating through this purport that birth in a devotional, in a devotee family is advantageous for spiritual advancement. And that’s what he is, that’s what is the main point. So beyond that, one doesn’t have to try to speculate.
Prabhupada did not encourage that speculation. So we can definitely for ourselves see the commitment of Srila Prabhupada in the advanced stage. He worked so tirelessly to practise spiritual life.
And after that also he continued till the last breath and he has purity and potency to transform so many people. So that is what we should focus on. So now after describing this, this is he has described those who have done little practise of spiritual life, lot of practises of spiritual life.
Either way what happens to them after that? Now they have to continue on their practise. So let’s look at the 43rd verse now. So samyoga means connection.
Yoga is connection, samyoga means reconnection. So Prabhupada translates it as a revival. So the buddhi here refers not just to the faculty of intelligence in general, but it refers to the buddhi for practising spiritual life.
Tatra means in that life, wherever a person is born next. That buddhi for practising spiritual life, one gets that. And once one gets it, then what happens? Where has one got that? What one had cultivated in one’s previous life, one gets it in the next life.
One starts endeavouring again. The person starts endeavouring. So we may wonder, if we practise spiritual life, where is our spiritual advancement stored? Where is it stored? Obviously, if we store something in a bank or in a treasury, that is not going to come with us in our next life.
If somebody stores, somebody even believes in reincarnation. Okay, I am keeping this portion of my inheritance for my next incarnation. But we do not know where we will be born.
And even if we came to know, others will not necessarily believe our claims. If a millionaire is born somewhere else, it is unlikely that that person when he takes birth and goes back to the relatives and acquaintances, I was that millionaire and all that money belongs to me. People do not accept that.
But that is not the way the spiritual advancement is stored. So actually, the attraction that we develop for Krishna on the devotional path is in a sense, a revival of the original propensity of the soul. And because the same soul continues from one body to another, that reactivated spiritual attraction also goes on from one life to another.
And in a sense, the subtle body also becomes purified. As the subtle body becomes purified more and more, one makes further spiritual advancement. And the subtle body also stays the same from one life to another.
So our spiritual credits, like our karmic credits, are not stored in physical form. They are not stored, they are not connected with the physical body. They are stored within, deep within.
And one gets it from one’s pure body, because it is revived. And then one starts endeavouring once again. Now the important point is that revival, Krishna will give opportunity for that revival.
But the soul, the sadhaka has to personally choose to start that practise. That’s why it’s not that just because one has gone to heaven and come back, and there is no more endeavour. Oh, now all temptations are gone.
So now I can just straight away move ahead in spiritual life. No, the temptations will always be there and the battle will also always be there. Against jipas and endeavours.
And for what? Samsiddha. For attaining success. And Prabhupada gives several examples of spiritual advancement going over many lifetimes.
I have an example he gives in the purport is of Bharat Maharaj, who became a deer and then became Jadbharat and then was liberated. So, so although Jadbharat had been born in a brahminical family and the brahmanas were engaged generally in karmakanda, but Jadbharat had enormous spiritual advancement. He had come from his previous life or second last life as the Bharat Maharaj who had renounced the world and made a lot of spiritual advancement.
And then Krishna describes, okay, what happens? You wonder how a person gets that utmost opportunity in the next life. purva-abhyasena te naiva riyate hi avasopisaha jijnasura piyogasya shabda brahmati vartate So, purva-abhyasa, by the practise, by the previous practise, te naiva, of that person, riyate hi avasopisaha, the person is attracted helplessly, riyate hi avasopisaha. And then jijnasura piyogasya.
A person who is a jijnasu, that person becomes jijnasu, inquisitive about spiritual practises. And shabda brahma ati vartate, that person will go beyond the range of shabda brahma. Here the word brahma refers to Vedic scriptures, especially the Veda Vyajad in three modes.
And Krishna has talked earlier about trigunya vishaya veda nishtrigunyo bhava arjuna. He has talked about it in 2.45, that the Vedas talk about three modes and I should go beyond the three modes. So here he is saying that shabda brahma ati vartate, the serious yogi will go beyond the range of Vedic sound.
So the Vedas talk about dharmartha kama and occasionally moksha, but people are not attracted much to moksha, they are attracted to dharmartha kama only. So that is the shabda brahma, that is the range of the Vedic sound. But the yogi, because of attraction to spiritual principles, goes beyond the range of the Vedic sound.
Shabda brahma ati vartate, goes far beyond that. So purvabhyasate naiva. Why the past spiritual practise? Purvabhyasate naiva.
It’s interesting, Krishna says avasya, avasya is helpless. So rihate hi avasya, rihate is attracted. Attracted helplessly.
Jijnasur apiyogasya. The yogi who is Jijnasur rapidly moves above it. Shabda brahma ati vartate.
So purvabhyasate naiva. Purvabhyasa means for the past practise. Labhate paurvade hi kam.
The same point has been made over here. So actually there are many people who have great attraction for spirituality and attraction which they themselves can’t explain. Where their attraction comes from, why they have that attraction? They are just there.
Many of the Prabhupada’s disciples, they were born in wealthy, prosperous families, ready to do, but just to talk. They left everything to become attracted, to try to devote themselves to the Supreme Lord, to the search for the absolute truth. They did not know at that time they were going to devote themselves to the Supreme Lord, but they were in search of the absolute truth and then actually rihate hi avasya apisa.
There are some people who just leave material life and seek spiritual life and they feel as if they are being pulled. It is rihate hi avasya. It’s a spontaneous attraction to which they are helplessly attracted.
So actually how does this happen? That is because of past spiritual practises. So when we have practised spiritual life in the past, then we are just not satisfied with material joys. We want something higher, something greater, something richer and that higher, richer, greater, that what it is, one may not know also.
See in some cases like Gajendra, he had been a king and he had practised spiritual life in the past and then when he became an elephant, he lived like a typical elephant. At a particular time when he was in crisis, he was suddenly able to remember not just the existence of the Supreme Lord, but he even started offering prayers to the Supreme Lord and eloquent, profound and potent prayers he offered. How was that? At that moment of crisis, the attraction to the Lord suddenly awakened and along with that the knowledge also came.
So in some cases, specific knowledge may come. In other cases, specific knowledge may not come, but what may otherwise come is actually riyate hi avasho vis. One must be attracted to the spiritual.
So generally, even the soul of a yoga bhashti, if that soul is very advanced devotee also, that does not necessarily mean that the soul will be attracted specifically to Krishna. It is possible to Krishna, even if it is not specifically to Krishna, that simply means that person is attracted to spirituality and soon one understands what is that spirituality. One will enquire and by the mysterious hand of the Supersoul, one will be directed towards Krishna and once one is directed towards Krishna, one returns back to Krishna gradually.
So Prabhupada quoted this interesting verse from the Bhagavatam which we have discussed. We have discussed the fate of a deviated yogi in our Ishopanishad verses. So I will not go much into the detail of that.
But this verse says, Prabhupada quotes this verse or how even those who are low-born, they may also go beyond the range of Vedic sound. So how they go beyond the range of the Vedic sound? Prabhupada gives two examples. So he says this.
So how amazing it is that those who are born in a dog-eating family, but actually those who are born in such low families, but they are chanting the names of the Supreme Lord. But your name is there on their lips. So they have actually done all other religious activities and now they have come to the spiritual level.
So whether it’s bathing in holy places, performing austerities, studying scriptures, all this they have done already and because of having already done this, they have come to the level of chanting the holy names of Krishna. What this means is that if somebody is chanting the holy name, that’s a great, great fortune. Now it’s possible that those who are chanting have already done all the rituals in their lives.
Another way of understanding this is that the purpose of doing all other Vedic rituals, the Vedic dharma has karma marga, then there is jnana marga, then there is bhakti marga. So those who have actually done the karma successfully, only after that they will come to the bhakti marga. Karma marga, jnana marga and then they will come to bhakti marga.
So if somebody is in the bhakti marga, then they have already transcended by inference the karma and jnana marga. So just like a person has a million dollars, that means the person automatically has five dollars and ten dollars. The person doesn’t have to separately strive to acquire five and ten dollars because million dollars already includes five and ten dollars.
Similarly, actually, the practise of bhakti yoga is a superset that includes everything else as a subset. That’s why I said if somebody is chanting holy names, then everything else is already there for such a person. Now, of course, as bhakti sadhakas, we shouldn’t become proud.
Oh, I’ve already done all these rituals. No, we should also try to live according to the principles of austerity that is anukul to our bhakti. And this is not a matter of our pride, it’s a matter of our fortune and our responsibility.
If we have done all that the seekers of other paths have already done, then that means we shouldn’t get allured by the things that allure other people. We should be able to stay fixed in Krishna, on Krishna, and then we’ll make spiritual advancement steady there. And Prabhupada gives example of Haridas Thakur also.
Now the point of Haridas Thakur’s example is what again? Chabda Brahma Ativartate. So there was a famous debate between some smart brahmanas, Gopal Chakravarti and Haridas Thakur. Haridas Thakur said that the holy name, the pious rituals can give liberation, but just a shadow of the holy name can give liberation.
And the holy name gives something far greater than liberation. In fact, chanting of the holy name, the fruit of liberation is insignificant result. And he gives scriptural pramana for this.
And his opponents were so scornful and derisive that they said if this is true, then let our nose fall off. And if it is false, then let Haridas Thakur nose fall off. And what happened was their own nose fell off and they were disgraced.
So the point is that actually we have to recognise that those who are chanting the holy name are very special souls and we do honour them, respect them. And then we will move forward onwards in our spiritual life study. Chabda Brahma Ativartate.
Spontaneously attracted. And this actually is very remarkable how devotees in different parts of the world, whatever situation they were in, how they became attracted to Krishna is itself a remarkable story. That’s why how I came to Krishna Consciousness.
These are always thrilling stories because we see how Krishna’s mercy reaches out to people in different parts of the world and people reach out to see Krishna’s mercy in different parts of the world. And both of them indicate how this Chabda Brahma Pujriyate hi avishobhi, helpless attraction works out. So now Krishna will tell in the next verse eventually how the yogi will attain perfection.
So prayatna. Prayatna means endeavour. Rigid practise.
So one is endeavouring rigidly for a long time. Then yogi becomes freed from all contaminations, from all impurities. It may take several lifetimes.
The yogi’s determination has to be such that the determination should go on for several lifetimes. The normal casual religious follower thinks that religion is a part of life. But one has to, a serious sadhaka understand that life is a part of my religion.
It means my religion, my religious practise may have to go on for lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. Not that bhakti is a part of life but life is a part of bhakti. It may take many lifetimes and then finally then one will attain perfection.
Now what is that perfection? That will be described later. Krishna has mentioned briefly earlier in terms of coming and being next to me. But it will be gradually described.
The important point here is so it is sobering conclusion to the section but sobering as well as illuminating. Sobering because one understands it is a serious practise from which one can get deviated and it may take many lifetimes of practise for one to attain eternal liberation. But it is also illuminating because one understands that actually one is never lost when one practises spiritual life.
Even if one seems to be temporarily lost one will find the way again and spiritual advancement will never be lost. It will stay with us and we will regain, we will reclaim it as soon as we are born in a new body and some fortunes or some circumstances come around through which our past spiritual manipulations are activated again. So in this way sadhaka understands that it is a supreme fortune to be able to make spiritual advancement and return back to Krishna over no matter how many lifetimes it takes.
So when one has that determination then that determination itself can accelerate one’s spiritual struggle and practise. In Chaitanya Charitam it is described how Mukunda, one of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associate was punished by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he said you will not be able to see me for 10 million lifetimes and actually he was so jubilant he said just after 10 million lifetimes I will be able to see Lord Chaitanya. So he started dancing excessively, only 10 million lifetimes.
So when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw this very optimistic attitude, only 10 million lifetimes, he said oh he is so optimistic, he has so much faith that for the sake of seeing me he is saying 10 million lifetimes is nothing. Bring him here. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brought him in his presence and gave him his mercy.
So when one has that determination no matter whatever price it takes it is not too great. Actually for the price of attaining Krishna anything and everything is worth it because that attainment is so glorious, it is so wonderful, so fulfilling. Nothing like it.
It is going to be forever and ever with us. So whatever the price it’s worth it. If one has that attitude, one makes rapid spiritual advancement, one doesn’t have to take any injunctions in this.
Especially by the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and Shri Prabhupada it’s possible even in one lifetime by religion practise one can return back to Krishna. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.