Bhakti Shastri (101) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 09 Text 22 to 28

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Welcome back to Abhagavita Bhakti Shastri course, we will discuss the 9th chapter. So we have been discussing about demigod worship briefly in the 7th chapter and in the last two verses we discussed about it. Now Krishna will contrast demigod worship with pure devotional service.
So to understand this contrast, let us look at briefly at the overview of the chapter first. So the 9th chapter is covering a wide variety of topics, let us look at these topics here and then you understand what is happening in this chapter primarily. So, we have the first three verses talking about developing Kevala Bhakti by knowledge about Krishna.
Then 4 to 10 talked about Krishna’s inconceivable relationship with the world. Then 11 to 19 discussed about those who understand Krishna in various ways. First was the Mayavadis, the impersonalists.
Then the Kevala Bhaktas, that is Sattva, Tantra, Kirta, Yantra and Tama. Then we discussed these three categories of people in 15th verse. And then 16 to 19 was Vishwaroop Vasana.
Now we are in the section of Kevala Bhakti is far superior to demigod worship. So let us look at these verses. So famous verse 9.22, अनन्यास्चिन्तयंतोमाम् एजनापर्युपासते तेशाम् नित्याभियुप्थानाम् योगक्षेमंवहाम्यहम् So, अनन्यास्चिन्तयंतोमाम् One who fixes the mind.
अनन्यास्चिन्तयंतोमाम् एजनापर्युपासते Those who does worship. जनापर्युपासते So, those who does worship. मी, माम् तेशाम् नित्याभियुप्थानाम् Those who are constantly absorbed in devotion to me.
For them. योगक्षेमंवहाम्यहम् योगक्षेमं So, I protect what they have and I provide what they lack. वहाम्यहम् This is a very important verse which illustrates the personal intervention and the personal care the Lord takes of those who approach Him personally and devotionally.
We see the principle which Krishna has talked about in 4.11 येथामांप्रपद्यंतेतांस्तथाइवभजाम्यहम् As all people surrender to me, I reward accordingly. So, here Krishna is continuing and elaborating on that principle by telling that if somebody approaches Him with pure devotion, He reciprocates also accordingly. He takes it as His responsibility to take care of them.
And not just His responsibility but His personal responsibility. वहाम्यहम् There are many beautiful stories of the great Acharyas and how the Lord personally intervened in their lives. The Lord may have as a deity come in their dream or the Lord may have manifested some supernatural phenomena to protect them.
We are primarily discussing the philosophy over here so we will not go into stories. In fact, this whole verse itself this verse 9.22 and later on 9.31 where Krishna talks about His protection of everyone and especially His devotees. कौन्ते प्रति जानी नमे भक्ता प्रणशति 9.31 These two verses are very reassuring, faith-building, inspiring for devotees.
And we can meditate on them, contemplate on them and see how they are actually connected with or rather demonstrated by many of the pastimes of the Lord. But let’s focus on the principles over here. अनन्याश्चिन्तयं तोमाम् So, Krishna is telling that He is giving His expectations and these expectations, we shouldn’t think that this is like a business arrangement.
And why is Krishna making such stiff demands? Krishna is saying, you have to fix, you have to do चिन्तनाप्मि अनन्या Then only I will do this for you. योगक्षेमं वहाम्या See, the point is, this is not a business arrangement. The point here is that, it’s a reciprocation.
And अनन्यचिन्तन is not a obligation or a restriction that we have to follow with resentment. When Krishna says अनन्याश्चिन्तन अनन्याश्चिन्तन results naturally when one fixes the mind on him. That अनन्याश्चिन्तन happens naturally when the mind is fixed on the Supreme Lord because at that time one naturally loves him.
One naturally fixes the mind on him. So what Krishna is talking about essentially is not a Krishna is not saying that I’ll be a security agent. Some people hire some security.
I want a bodyguard. So I’ll pay you this much, you guard me. This is not.
This is a bond of love Krishna is talking about. And अनन्यश्चिन्तन is the demonstration of that love. So when Krishna says those who love me what happens to them? Naturally I love them.
Of course, Krishna loves all living beings and even the whole creation of the material world is an expression of his love for all living beings because through this material world he is giving them an opportunity to play out their errant desires and to reform themselves and come back to him for eternal happiness. So Krishna cares for everyone and loves everyone but his love for his devotees is special. Those who love him he naturally reciprocates with them.
So, अनन्यश्चिन्तन तोमा Now we may think that constantly thinking of good Krishna is very difficult. So we have to understand that it’s a discipline. It’s a practise.
And as we practise more and more the wonderful thing about thinking about Krishna is that the more we think about him, the more we become purified by thinking about him. And when we are purified naturally Krishna’s all attractiveness becomes manifest to us and we fall in love with him. And then thinking about him becomes natural for us.
It becomes perpetual. It becomes habitual and it becomes joyful for us, blissful for us. So thinking about Krishna is a consciously chosen cultivation.
It’s a sadhana for us at our sadhaka stage. But then at the siddha stage, it is a spontaneous instinctive sort of decision that happens that as soon as the devotee doesn’t have to think about anything else, immediately the mind will go back to Krishna. So, for us, these sort of verses they demonstrate how much is the intimate loving relationship between the lord and the devotees.
And the purer the devotion, the greater is the reciprocation of the lord. Because the lord is reciprocating with the love of the devotee. And now, what is Krishna promising over here? So now, in India there is the Life Insurance Corporation and they have appropriated this part of this verse.
We will protect what you have and provide what you lack. Actually, life insurance most of the times, it doesn’t insure our life. After we die, somebody else gets the money that we have earned or we have invested in insurance.
So actually, nobody can insure life in this world at the material level. At the material level, ultimately there is death. And real life insurance is the insurance that we will attain eternal life.
And that insurance is provided by Krishna. But Krishna is telling over here that my blessings are not just at the spiritual level. We cannot really separate.
Once we start caring for somebody, if a devotee is caring for some other person, somebody is becoming a devotee or a devotee friend, we don’t think, this is the body, I won’t care for your body, this is soul, I’ll care for your soul. No, we care for the complete person. Similarly, Krishna also cares for the devotees as complete persons.
Now, of course, he will care more for the soul. Naturally, because the soul is the real person. But Krishna takes care of the material needs also when that is required.
So Krishna is telling over here two things. I protect what you have and I provide what you lack. In this world, these are the two main fears that people have.
One is that if I have something, it will be stolen away from me. So, if somebody is wealthy, the fear is, I’ve got wealth, but what if some thieves break in and steal away. Nowadays, we have internet banks, people have a lot of money, but what if somebody steals my security code and steals my password and then just in one key button, my bank account can be completely swindled.
So, people have fears like that. So, what we have, we fear that we may lose. And we may also fear that what I need, I may not get or I may not have.
So, if in the future I fall sick and then I don’t have health insurance, then how will I live? These are genuine fears which people have. So, these two fears that what we have may be taken away and what we need may not be available for us. These are the fears which normally plague us, everyone.
So, now Krishna is telling over here, I will take care of this. So, Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham. Now, the word Yoga and Kshema, in this context, Yoga, normally we use the word Yoga in terms of connection.
When we connect with the Lord. We discussed another meaning of the word Yoga in 9.5. Pashyame Yoga Maheshwaram. Pashyame, just see what? Yoga Maheshwaram.
The mystical opulence of minds. That is, Yoga essentially means connection. So, the connection that Krishna extends to us, that is also Yoga Maheshwaram.
So, both ways it’s Yoga Maheshwaram. And here, Yoga Kshema, Prabhupada translates Yoga as requirement, Kshema as protection. So, what it essentially means is that when you want to live in this world, you have to stay connected.
So, for living properly at the material level and for pursuing spiritual life, we need certain things. So, Krishna says, whatever is required for the Yoga, I’ll provide that. And Kshema, Kshema means protection.
I’ll protect also. So, provision and protection are the two assurances of Krishna. And now, what Krishna is essentially promising in this verse is, when we take care of the vies of life, He will take care of the house of life.
When we take care of the vies of life properly, that means, why am I living? I am living for the sake of serving Krishna. When we take care of the vies of life, Krishna will take care of the house of life. Krishna will make sure, work out the details for us, how things will work out.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we become impractical and we become utopian. About Prabhupada, it is said that His eyes were high up in the sky and that’s where His consciousness was, that’s where His head was, but His feet were firmly on the ground. When Srila Prabhupada spread Krishna Consciousness, it was step by step, one thing at a time, one thing at a time.
That’s how Srila Prabhupada spread Krishna Consciousness systematically. So, similarly, we can also practise our Krishna Consciousness and do our services with faith in Krishna’s protection and provision. So, a devotee doesn’t demand Krishna’s protection and provision.
A devotee naturally serves Krishna and Krishna reciprocates by providing. Srila Prabhupada would give the example of how he just went with 40 rupees and that time 40 rupees were not even convertible into dollars because their money was, there were not so many Americans and Indians in America and that’s why the rupee was not convertible at that time. And Prabhupada actually brought those 40 rupees back to India and when he was going from the airport to the place where he was staying in Chippywada Junction, the temple where he had been staying earlier, where he was returning, at that time he gave that money to the rickshaw valla and that Prabhupada felt the rickshaw valla has taken the amount disproportionately but it was night and there was nobody whom Prabhupada could call to stop and Prabhupada said he is cheating us.
The point was that Prabhupada practically took that money and brought it back. So, he did not use the money also. So, still he was able to build a worldwide mission.
How was that? That is Yogakshema Mahamyam Krishna is providing. So, now is this provision only for Krishna’s pure devotees? Not necessarily. You have to understand.
Now, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that Srivasa Thakur, that is the famous pastime that Srivasa Thakur, he just he had a house, he was a householder. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked him, how do you maintain yourself? So, he said, I just clap three times. I clap three times and he says, within the clap of three, whatever I read, it gets provided.
If that doesn’t happen, then he says, I am ready to drown in the Ganga. He was so confident that whatever is required will be provided. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that even if the goddess of fortune becomes poverty stricken and has to go out begging, you will be provided for.
So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, so pleased. Of course, it is a rhetorical statement because the goddess of fortune can never become poverty stricken. Again, the point is that the Lord will provide for those who devote themselves to Him.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we don’t think in practical terms. The point is, we don’t think only in practical terms. Certainly, we have to think practically.
If we are doing something new, then whether I have the financial support, whether it’s going to work out or not, we have to evaluate the pros and cons, do a SWOT analysis, strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. All that is basic, which we will do. But beyond that, a devotee doesn’t think only in practical terms.
Because ultimately, our faith is in Krishna and Krishna can work in miraculous ways. So, yogakshemam vahamyaham I will protect and I will provide. And this verse, apart from its overall inspiring message, is also to be seen in terms of the context of the previous verse.
In the previous verse, previous two verses, 20 and 21, Krishna has talked about those who do karma-kaan and go to heavens. So, they accumulate a lot of punya, but that stockpile of punya doesn’t last for them. And for them, there is nobody providing.
They may go to surendra-lok-kaan, but after punya gets over, they fall back. Kshine punya, martilokam vishanti. Krishna says, it doesn’t happen to His devotees.
So, here Krishna is again revealing His personal intervention and personal role more as the bhagavad-gita is progressing. In the second chapter, Krishna while talking about the path of spirituality in general, in 2.40, He said, deha-bhikramana shows the pratyabhayona vidyate, that whatever one aspires for, that will, whatever one endeavours and achieves in spiritual path, that will stay forever. There is no loss or there is no diminishing.
So, now Krishna is revealing that for His devotee, this principle is not just some law or some impersonal law acting. It is Krishna personally intervening. Krishna says, I will ensure that for my devotee, there will be no loss or not diminishing.
Now, that applies specifically for spiritual credits. But Krishna is telling over here, this is all wrong. He says, I take care of them.
I protect and I provide. So, devotees don’t demand from the Lord. Devotees simply want to serve the Lord.
And they focus primarily on the service. When Srila Prabhupada went to America, he was not primarily thinking, how will I earn a living over here? How will I manage my finances? He was thinking, how can I preach? How can I share Krishna’s message? And then as a, we could say, almost an afterthought or as a matter of detail, he says, I will also have to arrange for some way to maintain myself. Prabhupada was not utopian.
He had struggled to live in India. He struggled in the sense that for good amount of time, for a year or two, he was living practically homeless after he took sannyas. And even before when he took sannyas, before he was living in the valley, moving from house to house, staying at different well-wishers’ houses for few days and moving so fast that even his mail couldn’t catch up because his addresses were constantly changing.
Srila Prabhupada was aware of the practical difficulties. At the same time, Prabhupada was not consumed or exhausted or dejected by those practical difficulties because he saw beyond that the hand of Krishna and the protection of Krishna and the empowerment of Krishna. So, we can also meditate.
We have the why. Yes, I am here to serve Krishna and the house will work out. And actually when we try doing something adventurous for Krishna, not foolhardy, but something adventurous, something challenging, then we will find that Krishna does help us and that Krishna empowers us when we just feel that things are not working out.
Everything is going to fall apart and then Krishna reveals, this is how I will make things work out. And in this way, Krishna protects and provides for his devotees. So, Prabhupada talks about yoga and shema here primarily in devotional terms, in terms of the relationship between the lord and the devotee.
His only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Lord, personality of God. Such a devotee undoubtedly approaches the lord without difficulty. This is called yoga.
So, what is this talking about? That when we want to appraise the lord, we need purity, we need mercy. So, Krishna says, I provide that. That is a provision aspect.
Yoga is the provision for the sake of connection. And then, by the mercy of the lord, such a devotee never falls back. Never comes back to the material condition of life.
And shema refers to the merciful protection of the lord. So, that never falling back is the protection. And with both of these combined, the devotee marches ahead in journey towards Krishna.
Now, Krishna will talk about the demigod worshippers. How are they contrasted with pure devotees? One thing he said is that is eternal, that is temporary, whereas this is I will personally preserve it. But he further develops the contrast.
… … … Those who are the devotees of other devatas, then what happens to them? … They worship faithfully. … … … They are also worshipping me only. But it is avidhi purvakam.
It is improperly. It is in the wrong way. So, vidhi purvakam.
Vidhi is scriptural rules and regulations. So, avidhi purvakam is improperly. So, Krishna is saying over here, a very important point to understand about demigod worship.
He says, those who are worshipping the devatas are also worshipping me. … … Krishna is clearly differentiating. There are other devatas and those who worship other devatas.
… They worship with shraddha. Shraddhanvita, that word that is used over here, is almost identical to the word that was used by Krishna in the 7th chapter. In 7th chapter, 20th verse, Krishna talks about demigod worship starting from 20th to 23rd verse.
And there he describes … that … … … So, there also the word shraddha was used. … … So, in 21 and 22, Krishna talked about shraddha in 7th chapter also. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … do that.
So, avidhipurvakam. There are many Gita commentators who translate this verse and they, on some popular Hindu websites also, this verse is translated and the last part, avidhipurvakam, is removed entirely. So, what they put is, that those who worship the other gods also worship me.
Now, this is what is called as a misrepresentation of the Gita’s message. This is a graphic example. Because, it’s correct what they are saying, but it’s not complete.
And in fact, it’s so viciously, it is so misleadingly, we could say viciously incomplete that the most, the essential thrust of the verse is lost. So, yes, they also worship me. They also worship me certainly.
Now, we may say that, what is the emphasis of the verse? Is it that they are also worshipping me or that they are worshipping me improperly? What is the emphasis? Now, to understand that, we have to look at the context. Now, many people want to have the idea that, oh, all gods, don’t have conflict between people who worship different gods. So, let’s assume that all gods are one.
Whichever god you are worshipping, you are worshipping the same absolute truth ultimately. Well, we may want to believe certain thing out of sentiment, but is it the reality? Is worshipping any god the same as worshipping Krishna? If we look at the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad Gita doesn’t say that. Bhagavad Gita talks about anya devata and talks about mama.
And Krishna has talked about this earlier also. He has talked about how those who worship devatas are less intelligent. Alpamayitasa in 7.23, he says.
And he says that they do not go back to the eternal destination, but they stay on material world and they go to devatas. So, it’s not that they all reach the same destination. So, now, if you want to understand what is the emphasis of this verse, avidhipurvakam, is that the emphasis or mam eva, they worship me only, which is the emphasis.
Actually, both are important in it, but relatively speaking, it is avidhipurvakam that is what Krishna is testing. So, how do we understand that? Let’s look at the next verse for this. But before we move forward, Prabhupada gives another example, which needs clarification.
Prabhupada says that this is like bribing. The officers and directors engage in a representative of God and to offer some bribe to the officers and directors is illegal. This is stated here as avidhipurvakam.
So, now, what are we trying to say over here? Actually, we will say bribe is illegal and bribe should never be given. But is demigod worship illegal? Actually, it is given in the Vedas only. When it is given in the Vedas and it is a part of the Vedic culture, it is definitely legal.
So, why should it be compared to something illegal like bribing? Point which Prabhupada is making is how is it improper? Demigod worship is not illegal from the point of view of the Vedic culture. It is also a part of Vedic culture. Vedic culture has multi-level worship.
So, for those who are in the lower modes, they have corresponding forms of worship, which will attract them and elevate them gradually. But the ultimate goal of Vedic worship is to take a person to the level of transcendence. And at transcendence, one just serves the Lord out of pure love and one has no other desire.
So, avidhipurvakam, actually, Prabhupada explains, he is explaining it from the perspective of the ultimate goal. And when Krishna, in 18.66, he will say sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja. So, he is only given the various dharmas which comprise the Vedic culture.
But then he is telling focus on mam ekam sharanam vraja, just surrender unto me. So, sabhavaraktasya jugupasitam. Vyasadeva also is chastised mildly by Narada Muni when he says that actually sabhavaraktasya, people are by nature materialistic and you have sanctioned their materialism in the name of religiosity.
And the result of that will be that people will continue on their materialism and think that you are doing it according to your will, in your name, and they will not get elevated. So, this is jugupasitam. Jugupasitam actually means reprehensible, abominable, regrettable.
It’s a very strong word to use for a guru when chastising a disciple as exalted as Vyasadeva. So, the point here is that there is the Vedic progressive perspective in which demigod worship is good. But from a transcendental perspective, anything short of devotional service is cheating.
And Bhagavatam calls anything short of pure devotional service as kaitava dharma, as cheating religion. And that is what is being emphasised in this verse also in Prabhupada’s explanation of avidipurvakam. So, whatever we want, we can worship these devatas and get it or we can worship Krishna also and Krishna will provide it to us because Krishna is the ultimate lord of all devatas.
And that’s what Krishna will talk about in the next verse. So, let’s look at the next verse here. aham hi sarva yajnanam bhokta cha prabhureva cha na tumama vijananti tattvena tachchavantite So, aham hi sarva yajnanam.
Krishna is telling, for all the yajnas, I am the bhokta and I am the prabhu, I am the master and I am the enjoyer. Those who do not understand this, tattvena tachchavantite, tattvena in reality, ataha therefore chavantite. So, those who do not understand me properly in truth, they will fall down.
So, again, the point of this verse is fall. So, if you look at what is happening, 2021 has told that those who worship the devatas, like they do punya and go to surendra loka, like they worship Indira, go to Indira through karma kand, they will fall back. And 22nd said, on the other hand, for those who worship me, I will protect them forever.
23rd says that those who are worshipping the other gods are also worshipping me. But it’s avidhi purvaka. And what is the result of worshipping other gods? Krishna is telling the general principle in this verse.
So, actually, he has told in 23rd verse that those who are worshipping other gods are also worshipping, but improperly. And he’s already told that the result of worshipping the other gods and worshipping him is not the same. Now, why is it not the same? Somebody may say that actually those who are worshipping other gods are also worshipping him.
Then why don’t both get the same results? Because of ignorance. So, they don’t know about Krishna’s transcendental position. If we don’t know Krishna’s position, if we don’t love Krishna, then we cannot return back to Krishna because that’s not what we are seeking or desiring.
We will get ultimately what we desire, of course, along with what we deserve. But our desire is important. So, Krishna is telling the general principle that anyone who doesn’t understand his position, they will not get the eternal result.
So, he will not intervene in their lives because that’s not what they want. So, if we see the emphasis is on avidhipurvakam in the previous verse. Why? Because Krishna is telling that that is the reason why they are not getting the eternal result which is available for those who worship him.
So, Krishna is telling over here, what should we understand? Understand that he is the bhokta and the Prabhu. Now, Krishna has talked about the same point in another context in 5.29. bhoktaram yajnatapasam sarvalokam ahesvaram surdham sarva-bhutanam jnatvamam shanti-mrtyati So, he says, bhoktaram yajnatapasam, that one who understands, I am the bhokta of all the yajnas. So, Krishna has said the same point over here.
aham hi sarva-yajnanam bhoktachyaprabhurevachyam I am the bhokta, I am the Prabhu. And one who does not understand this, such a person falls away. tattvena tachyavantite So, here the point which Krishna is making is, ignorance of his position and here Krishna is telling my position is not some generic all-pervading Brahman that accommodates all the devatas.
No, he is saying that aham, I and I have been understood as the enjoyer and as the master. And if we don’t understand it, then we fall away. So, Krishna is using the tattvena.
That’s why Krishna has also used the word tattvataha in 4.9. In truth, we have to understand Krishna in truth, then we can return back to him. So, here Prabhupada also quotes from 3.9 in the Bhagavad Gita, where yajna athaat karmana unyatra Ultimately, all work was done for the sake of yajna. Otherwise, loko yam karma bandhanaha.
So, it will cause bondage. Similarly, tattvena tachyavantite, one will fall back. So, falling back has already been talked about in 21st verse.
What are the falling back? One may be even elevated to heaven, but from heaven, one will fall back to this world because of the punya getting exhausted. Now, Krishna may come up at this point. Okay, then what happens to those who actually worship the devatas? You see, they fall back.
But what is the use of the worship of the devatas? And what is its difference from worshipping you? So, Krishna will give a summary verse. It’s one of the most off-quoted verses of the Bhagavad Gita by Sri Prabhupada. yanti deva vrata devan pitrin yanti pitra rathaha bhutani yanti bhutejya yanti madhya jinopimam So, yanti deva vrata devan.
So, those who worship the devatas, they go to the devan. They go to the demigods. pitrin yanti pitra rathaha Those who worship the ancestors, go to the ancestors.
bhutani yanti bhutejya Those who worship the ghosts, they go to the ghosts. yanti bhutejya jinopimam yanti deva vrata devan So, what is Krishna explaining over here? Let’s look back at this verse. Actually, we could say that roughly this verse is talking about the point that different paths lead to different destinations.
So, yanti deva. That those who worship the devatas, they go to the devatas. So, that is what Krishna is talking about briefly in the previous verse also.
pitrin yanti pitra rathaha Those who worship the ancestors, go to the ancestors. So, this verse talks about, it’s a very clear and categorical contradiction to the popular notion that all paths lead to the same goal. Now, this verse says that different paths lead to different destinations.
And all forms of worship are not the same. So, actually speaking, yanti matya jinopimam If you want to come back to me, you will have to worship me. We discussed this elaborately in the Narishopanishad verses about how the different paths do not lead to the same goal.
I won’t repeat that over here. But suffice it to say that Prabhupada explains the point about how this knowledge, this clear knowledge is not available so easily. So, what is this? The Krishna consciousness movement is therefore distributing sublime information to the entire human society to the effect that by simply chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, one can become perfect in this life and go back home, back to Godhead.
So, most of the time, Prabhupada’s purport focusses on the point of yanti matya jinopimam Those who worship me, they will attain me. yanti matya jinopimam Those who worship me will attain me. Now, Prabhupada talks about the sublime planets.
People have no information about these sublime planets where Krishna and Vishnu live and because they do not know of them, they fall down. So, we all were in this category, but by Prabhupada’s mercy, we have the opportunity to return back to Krishna for an eternal life there. So, now, after describing this, Krishna will contrast devotional service to the devatas or worship of the devatas and devotional service in another way in terms of the simplicity of worship.
So, So, when demigods have to be worshipped, elaborate yajnas have to be performed and somaras have to be provided and through all those sacrifices, if they are done properly, one can please the devatas. But here Krishna says, as far as worshipping Him is concerned, it is extremely simple. And that He describes in this verse.
So, He describes, that what I can, you can just offer something very simple, like a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even simply water. And, one offers, if one offers me with devotion, then, so that is offered, upahara is a gift. So, upahara is that is gifted to me, offered to me with love.
Then, I accept it. So, here, Krishna is emphasising, how is the two distinct aspects to it, two distinct emphasis for this verse. So, All these points talk about the consciousness from our side, that there has to be devotion, there has to be pure heart.
So, if somebody wants to approach Krishna with devotion, with love, then, Krishna reciprocates, which is a person, by flooding that person with His mercy. And one aspect of the mercy is that Krishna accepts whatever is offered. Even if it is very simple.
The famous pastime is there, that when Krishna came to Hastinapur, sorry, to Hastinapur, he came there as a shanti doodh. There were these two cities, Hastinapur and Indraprastha. So, Indraprastha was the capital of the Pandavas and Hastinapur was the capital of the Kauravas.
So, after the Pandavas had been exiled, Indraprastha was also taken over by the Kauravas. But the Kauravas were ruling in Hastinapur. Hastinapur is more or less today’s Delhi city.
So, after the Pandavas came out of Anubhava, Krishna came as shanti doodh. And at that time, Duryodhana had an intention of trying to bribe Krishna onto his side and to placate Krishna by giving him a lot of material gifts and thereby take him, steer him off the mission of brokering peace. So, he said, as soon as Krishna arrives, Krishna has arranged a big feast for you.
And then, Krishna says, I am not interested. He says, why? I have arranged a feast for you. So, he says that actually one person eats at another person’s house in two situations.
First is that if that person is hungry and second is if there is affection between the two people. Krishna says that I am not hungry and because you are so inimical to my dear devotees, the Pandavas, there is no affection between us. So, I will not eat.
And then what happens? Krishna chooses to go to the house of Vidura. When he goes to the house of Vidura, what does Vidura do? Actually, Vidura is not even there in the house. And although Vidura is a brother, no doubt a step-brother, but still a brother of Dhritharashtra, who is officially the king.
Duryodhana is actually having all the power. Dhritharashtra is officially the king. But still, Vidura, despite being connected with the royal family, is not living in much royal opulence.
And that’s why when Krishna comes along, there is practically nothing in his house. And he has come unexpectedly. At that time, Vidura’s wife, she sees that there is nothing and she just sees some banana peels.
She says, there are some bananas over there. So, what should I offer to Krishna? Krishna himself comes. So, normally, if a devotee, a devotee lady, if somebody is going to come to the house, then they want to cook very nicely and elaborate feast and offer.
So, now what if the lord himself is coming? But unfortunately, there is nothing. So, a fruit is a very simple thing to offer. So, Vidura’s wife is so excited, when she is offering the fruit, she takes the fruit and she wants to offer it the best that she can.
So, in her excitement, she wants to take out the peel and offer the fruit. But in her excitement, she takes out the peel and throws away the fruit and offers Krishna the peel. And what does Krishna do? Krishna eats it.
Krishna eats it. Now, just to understand this pastime better, I once tried to eat a banana peel. Now, you cannot eat even a little bit more than a fraction.
Not just tasteless, it’s very difficult to taste. Tasteless means having no taste. Difficult to taste means having an unpalatable taste.
So, actually, now Krishna ate not just one, two, three, Krishna ate so many. And finally, he was satisfied. And Krishna left and Vidura came rushing back to the house.
He said, I heard Krishna had come to our place. He said, yes, yes, yes. So fortunate, where were you? I was missing.
You should have come back earlier. He said, I had no idea that Krishna was going to come. What did you do? Did you offer him something? He said, yes.
There was nothing, unfortunately, but there were fruits, so I offered him fruits. And he ate a lot of fruits. Just see the peels are lying here.
He looked back and he is dead. And Vidura is dead. And they look at the bananas lying there.
They look at each other and both of their minds and hearts are filled with the beautiful form and the beautiful heart of Krishna. And tears started streaming down from their eyes. He says, He says, This is the Lord who does not take an opulent feast at the house of Duryodhana, but takes not just fruit, but actually the peels of a fruit.
So, this is Prem Pujari. What Krishna is looking for is love. And love offered to any medium, Krishna accepts that.
So, actually, So, this is Phalam. And there are pastimes for each of these. So, we know Gacchendra, when he was in great crisis, I described in the 8th Canto, he was fighting with the crocodile, but he was losing the battle.
At that time, he just took a flower and offered it to Lord Narayana. He offered the prayers, of course, that is the point of offering Bhakti. But along with that, what did he offer? Material, just a simple flower.
And he says, He offered a flower in his trunk and he says, Narayana Khilagura Bhagavan Namaste. So, Bhagavan Namaste. He offered obeisances in that way.
And then, Lord Narayana blessed him, Lord Vishnu. Similarly, we have Patram. There are many pastimes, of course.
At one time, Rukmini was there. And basically, she has a whole long pastime. But she offered a Tulsi flower.
I mean, she offered a Tulsi flower, Tulsi leaf rather, not flower. Tulsi leaf. So, there had been some sort of gambling match in which they had lost Krishna.
And then they decided that we will give gold equivalent to Krishna. So, there is a Narada Muni. Narada Muni said that actually, you put Krishna on one side of the weighing scale and you put gold on the other side.
So, no matter how much gold was put, it was never enough. Never enough. Never enough.
Krishna was always having too much. And finally, Krishna just put a Tulsi over there. Actually, Tulsi became heavier.
So, the point is that Krishna is conquered by love. So, there are many pastimes which illustrate this point. And the essential point is that what pleases the Lord is the devotion of our heart.
And with this devotion, then even if the expression of the devotion is very simple, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. Because the expression of the devotion is what the Lord doesn’t primarily look at.
He looks at the devotion. So, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t even if we have a million dollars, we should offer Krishna a leaf. No.
When there is devotion in the heart, we will want to offer the best that we can to the Lord. And that is the meaning of devotion. That whatever we have, we offer the best of it to the person whom we love.
But Krishna is telling, if we don’t have anything to offer, then Krishna will accept even the simplest of things. In the 80th and 81st chapters of the 10th Canto, there is a passage of them, I used to offer some rice, chipped rice, which is a very simple item. But Krishna was delighted with that.
So, the simplicity of devotion is what is talked about in this verse. Now, Prabhupada also uses this verse to explain how actually Krishna doesn’t mention any flesh or any meat item over here. So, we can say that we cannot offer these things to Krishna because Krishna doesn’t take those things.
So, this verse is not primarily a dietary prescription, but that is also an important point. It is significant that while Krishna is talking about offering him anything, he doesn’t mention any of those items. So, those who offer, when we offer like this to Krishna, Krishna says, I accept.
Now, at this time, the question may come up, what if we are not in a situation where we can offer these things to Krishna because Krishna is not there right now. So, Krishna is present as the deity also. And we can offer to the deity.
And Krishna accepts through the deity also wonderful offerings. So, we have many past times in that connection also. But whatever benefit is available to us by worshipping Krishna directly, that is also available through worshipping Krishna through the deity form.
And then we may get the question that what if I don’t have devotion? So, one is Krishna’s presence for offering, but Krishna’s presence is okay, deity is there. What if I don’t have devotion? Then what will happen? Then Krishna says, still you can offer it to me. So, Prabhupada is talking about elaborately in the purport.
We discussed some of this point. Now, how is Krishna accepting, Prabhupada explains. Prabhupada quotes from the Brahma Samhita, He is Therefore, when Krishna is hearing the devotees’ words of love and offering food, it is wholly identical with his eating and tasting.
So, all his senses are identical and interchangeable. Now, when we say Krishna’s senses are identical and interchangeable, that doesn’t mean that we treat Krishna impersonally. When Yashodamayi is feeding Krishna, she doesn’t put food in her ears.
She puts food in Krishna’s mouth. Why? Because when we are serving Krishna, we are not concerned with trying to test Krishna’s omnipotence. We are not testing.
If I put in the ear, does it go inside? No. Our goal is to serve Krishna in the best possible way. So, Yashodamayi, she doesn’t care.
She doesn’t think of Krishna as God. She thinks Krishna is my beloved child and if I don’t feed him, he will become weak and sick and he may even die. So, when we consider the past time, suddenly Krishna may exhibit omnipotence also at any moment.
But our focus is not on examining Krishna’s omnipotence. Our focus is on rendering the best possible service. But the point remains that when we are offering the food to the deities, people may ask, the food remains as it is.
What has happened? Actually, it is the devotion that we have offered that has been accepted by Krishna and the mercy that Krishna has given that has come back through the prasad. It is a reciprocation of love. Sometimes, when one relative goes to meet another relative, say there are two cousins are there, and one cousin goes to meet the other family.
So, at that time, the mother may give some nice food, some sweets in a box. And his child, he goes to his uncle’s house and then he gives the sweets to the uncle, aunt and the cousin and they talk and maybe he stays overnight, he will sleep over there. And the next morning when he is leaving, the auntie, what she will do? In a cultured families, they will not let the box go away empty.
So, she will fill the box with some other snack items, some sweets and she will give it to him. Now, if somebody is observing simply from the external view, the person may say, what is this? The box went inside the house, the box came outside of the house, nothing happened. No, but something sweet was reciprocated.
Externally the box seems to be the same, but actually, the content of the box was not the same. Now, even if it happens that the same sweet was offered by the friend and by the mother and the boy took the same sweet and then his auntie had also made the same sweet. She gave that.
So, from the external point of view, not only would the box remain the same, the content may also remain the same. But actually, the content is not the same. What happened is, through the giving of the sweet, love was offered and through the returning of the sweet, maybe the content is the same, but the sweet is different.
The love is reciprocated. So, like that, when we offer food to Krishna, we are offering our bhakti to him and the prasad is the medium through which that bhakti is offered. At that time it is bhoga and then when Krishna accepts it, the food externally remains the same, but what happens is, Krishna gives his krupa.
Krishna gives his mercy. And in this way, there is the reciprocation of love through the medium of food. And after that, Krishna considers the possibility.
What if somebody doesn’t have devotion? Krishna says, it doesn’t matter. Still, you offer to me. So, Krishna is telling generically over here, that whatever one does, one can offer it to him.
Whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we give away, whatever we are offering, all these things, you do this, you offer that to me. So, Krishna is not using the word bhakti over here. So, what does that mean? Krishna is saying that just the principle of offering to him is also auspicious.
Just the principle of offering to him is also auspicious. Now, there are two word points absent over here. Bhakti is also not mentioned and ashnami is also not mentioned.
So, Krishna doesn’t say specifically that I will accept it. That doesn’t mean Krishna is going to reject it. When we offer food to Krishna and a pure devotee offers food to Krishna, is there a difference? Yes, there is a difference in the quality of devotion and naturally, accordingly, there will be a difference in the quality of reciprocation.
But still, that doesn’t mean that everybody who doesn’t have pure devotion is left out of the world of devotion. Proportionate to our devotion, Krishna reciprocates. So, in that verse, the emphasis was on ashnami, I accept, and bhakti.
But here the emphasis is on the principle of offering. We offer it to me. By this, you will get auspiciousness, you will get purified.
And Krishna will describe in the next verse what will be the auspicious result that will come by this kind of offering. But the broad principle is that whatever we do, we offer it to the Supreme Lord. And when we act in this way, by that we make rapid spiritual advancement.
And in the next verse, Krishna will tell us what happens. shubha shubha phalairevam mokshase karma bandhanai sanyasa yoga yuktatma vimukto mam upaysyasi So, when we offer our activities and in that way our life to Krishna shubha shubha phalairevam shubha ashubha phala so we become free from the auspicious and inauspicious results of our work mokshase, we become free karma bandhanai, karma bandhan from the bondage of karma, we become free and when we thus become free from the bondage of karma, then sanyasa yoga yuktatma which a person is engaged in sanyasa yoga So, it’s interesting, sanyasa means disconnection and yoga means connection. Sanyasa is renunciation, yoga is connection.
So, sanyasa yoga yuktatma In the sixth chapter, first and second verses Krishna has told us sanyasa and yoga is the same thing sanyasa is disconnection from matter and yoga is connection with spirit So, Krishna is integrating the two words over here sanyasa yoga yuktatma such a person who is offering all the works to me such a person will become free from the auspicious and inauspicious of this world See, punya and paap these are the two kinds of activities that we can do and punya is better than paap definitely, but still both are material and both will keep us within karmic bondage So, if you want liberation from karmic bondage then we should become free from both and Krishna says, by doing your work for me, by offering your work to me you will become free from those both shubha shubha phalai revam mokshase, one will become free and then, what will be the end result? One will not only stay free from karmic bondage but vimukto, mukti is liberation but vimukto is a special liberation the ultimate liberation, the highest liberation What is the highest liberation lead to? mamupayshase, will attain me mamupayshase So, Krishna is telling, this special liberation is you will return back to me this is a gradual progression that will happen and Prabhupada quotes a famous verse of whatever we want, whatever can be used in Krishna’s service that should be used in Krishna’s service we discussed this verse earlier and then, Prabhupada talks about five different kinds of liberations but one comes, one goes back to the Lord that’s what Prabhupada emphasises in this and interestingly, Prabhupada quotes the verse over here that vaishnavera kriyamudra vigyehana bhujaye there is a verse like that, there is another verse like that which Prabhupada is quoting over here So, even if one tries to understand one cannot understand the activities of a pure devotee the words of a pure devotee, the gestures of a pure devotee what is the point being made over here? what is the connection with the verse? the connection is, shubha shubha phalai reva mokshase that for an advanced devotee, the advanced devotee is not bound by the goodness or the badness of this world the pure devotee is bound simply by the love of Krishna and because of the love of Krishna, whatever the devotee does is ultimately good for everyone but the emphasis of the devotee is not on doing good the emphasis of the devotee is on serving God and for that, sometimes the devotee may apparently do something bad or something which is not Vedic Vedically standard we discussed in the second chapter by Madhavendra Puri’s verse that he says, I cannot do my sandhyavandan I cannot do my tarpan, I cannot do my various rituals he says, bhadramastu, I offer my respects to you but I am simply, I am going to remember Krishna and that is enough for me so, like that, shubha shubha phalai reva mokshase one becomes freed from all sinful complications all material complications whether they be positive or negative mukto mam upaysase this is the ultimate goal, ultimate perfection of pure devotional service that by pure devotional service we return back to Krishna we’ll continue about the glory of devotional service and we’ll more systematically recap these verses and look at how Krishna is glorifying bhakti in different ways in this chapter, in our next class