Bhakti Shastri (148) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Text 66 to 71

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So, let us look at these verses in our next class.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Welcome back to the Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course.
We are now in the 18th chapter, concluding part. We discussed 18.66 yesterday. Let us discuss this in our previous class.
Let us discuss it a little bit more and then we will move forward. So, look at 18.66. So, Vishwanath Chakravarthy explains in his commentary that maam ekam, that Me alone, means that, it means two things basically. So, ekam can refer to maam and it can refer to sharanam also.
Ekam sharanam. So, that means, it refers to that we accept Krishna only as the object of worship and we accept surrender to Krishna only as the means of worship or as the means of spiritual elevation. So, in spiritual life, there is sadhan and there is sadhya.
So, sarva-dharman parityaja ekam sharanam. If we take it that way, that means, give up all other sadhyas, sorry, give up all other sadhan. Sadhan is the means and sadhya is the goal.
So, give up all other sadhans and accept the only sadhana of bhakti, that is of sharanam, prapadye. And then maam ekam, when we take it that way, then give up all other sadhyas, give up moksha, give up devata upasana, give up paramatma, puja, every other forms of sadhya, whatever may be, give them all up and accept Me as the only sadhya. So, this verse conclusively establishes Krishna is the supreme sadhya and bhakti, bhakti is expressed as surrender, surrender to Him as the only sadhana.
In this way, this verse brings the whole previous discussion of the Bhagavad Gita to a conclusion. The Bhagavad Gita talks about various sadhyas and various sadhans and this is a part of the Vedic culture’s multi-level form of worship. That means, in the Vedic culture, there are different sadhyas and different sadhanas talked according to the level of different people.
But ultimately, all the sadhyas and all the sadhanas are meant to help people come to the level of pure devotion to the Supreme Lord, unalloyed devotion to the one Supreme Lord. So, maam ekam sharanam vraja. Now, is this sort of statement exclusivist? Exclusivist means that there are certain religions which say this is the only way and all other ways are false.
In fact, they say that by this way alone, you can go back to God and by no other way one can go back to God. No, this is not exclusivist because Krishna is using the word for other paths also as dharmaan. So, he is not rejecting all other paths as false.
He is not rejecting all other paths as wrong paths, but they are lower paths. So, dharmaan indicates that they are also religions. They are also paths involving virtue and they lead to elevation.
But they don’t lead to the fastest or the highest elevation. It is bhakti to Krishna that leads to the fastest and the highest elevation. So, that is why Krishna is not being exclusivist.
In fact, Krishna has himself delineated different paths and he has acknowledged that different paths lead to destination. So, for example, 9.25 says yanti devaprata devan pitrun yanti pitravrata. So, this path leads to his destination.
And going to the abode of the devatas is also not a small thing. Attaining swarga is also a very big thing. And from the point of view of material existence, then we can consider how attaining goloka is such a great thing.
So, therefore, this is not in any way exclusivist. It is the Vedic culture and the Bhagavad Gita are inclusivist. But inclusivist does not mean that everything is accepted equally.
Not all paths elevate to the same highest destination. So, Krishna is telling that this is the best path for you. Other paths are also potent in their own way, but they are not as potent as bhakti.
Now, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam raja also indicates something very important. This far from being exclusivist is a universalist declaration. Why? Because dharma can refer to religious formularies.
Religious formularies means religious externals, externals associated with religion. So, Krishna is telling that one should not get caught up in externals associated with religion, but rather should focus on the essence, the inner core of the religion. So, that means dharma can refer here to the externals and mam ekam sharanam refers to the internal.
So, we see this sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam raja demonstrated in several places in the Bhagavatam. For example, we see that the yagic brahman patnis, they are having husbands who are brahmanas and they are in their own way virtuous brahmanas. So, in the Vedic culture, the dharma of the wife is to assist the husband and if the husband is virtuous, then all the more so.
So, the husbands are doing dharma, they are doing, they are engaging in yajna and the wives are meant to assist their husband. If the husband is doing yajna, which is dharma, then why should the wives not assist? But then, if this dharma is not leading to mam ekam sharanam raja, when Krishna’s associates come and say that Krishna wants food, please give us some food and the brahmanas neglect them, then they go to Krishna’s, they go to the yagic brahmana’s wives and what do the wives do? They demonstrate sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam raja, give up all varieties of religion and just surrender to me. So, the wives give up both their dharma as a wife towards the husband and the wives give up the dharma also of doing yajna, which is to be done by the husband and wife together.
So, in general, a wife should be obedient to the husband and in specific, when the husband is doing a religious ritual, which requires the presence of both the husband and the wife, then it’s all the more important. But sarva-dharman parityajya. So, we see this repeatedly in the Bhagavatam, where, for example, Bali Maharaj rejects the instruction of his teacher, who is like a spiritual master for him, that is Shukracharya.
So, the gopis demonstrate this in the highest degree, where, now at least the yagic brahmana patnis, they went in the daytime. Now, for a woman to go to some other man at night is considered to be scandalous even according to today’s standards and for a woman, especially in traditional culture, her chastity is considered to be the most valuable asset. It’s a treasure for a woman, a chastity.
And when a woman considers this to be so valuable, so at that time, actually, for a woman to lose her chastity or even to lose the good name in society, that means, even if the woman does not lose her chastity or does not, but still, people start perceiving her as unchaste, that it can be a very great disaster for a woman. But the gopis are ready to court that, accept that willingly and they go against everything else for the sake of Krishna. When Krishna plays his flute and calls the gopis, at that time, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, the gopis give up everything else.
They give up the sri dharma, they give up even their duty towards their children. Now, normally, for a woman, taking care of the child is considered a very important duty. Yes, it is important, extremely important and nobody can take the role of a mother for a child apart from the mother, actually.
But still, when the call of Krishna comes, everything else should be given up. So, that is what the gopis demonstrate. So, it’s not, it may seem immoral for a woman to go out to meet some other man.
But in the case of the Rasthila, the woman is not an ordinary woman and the man is not an ordinary man. The women are the most exalted devotees, the gopis, and the man is the Supreme Lord. So, therefore, this is not adharma.
That means there is aparadharma, there is adharma and there is paradharma. So, an ordinary woman going towards a man would be going from aparadharma to adharma. That is to be condemned.
But the gopis going towards Krishna is that they’re giving up aparadharma for paradharma. This is sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, me alone. And this way, what the Bhagavad Gita through this verse demonstrates is, for the sake of Krishna, we should be ready to give up not only the bad of this world, but also the good of this world.
The bad of this world means with sinful activities we have to give up. So, that is definitely required. But for the sake of Krishna, even the pious activities of the world, if it is required, we should be ready to give them up.
So, good and bad, because good and bad, both are at the material level, whereas Krishna is at the transcendental level. So, in this way, what is demonstrated is that surrender to Krishna is the supreme virtue and there is no virtue as compared to that. So, all the religious formularies that are there, that means externals that are there, they’re important.
But what is their importance? Their importance is that it enables us to surrender to Krishna. So, same way, we see this point made in the Vishnu Purana in the famous verse, So, the purpose of all rules and regulations is what? To remember Krishna. To always remember Krishna and to never forget Krishna.
That is the purpose of all rules and regulations. When one understands this, then one can make steady spiritual advancement. So, that same point that sarva-dharman parityajya, give up the externals and focus on the essence.
Now, this doesn’t mean the externals are unimportant. We cannot say that, okay, I will not chant. I just focus on the essence.
No. The externals do help us in the essence. No doubt about it.
But here when the word dharman is being used, it is being more used in terms of material religiosity. And material religiosity is like doing yajnas or doing other subjectivities. They are important, but their importance is that they enable us to take shelter of Krishna.
And if they don’t, then we should be ready to give them up. The gopis demonstrate this also when they are searching for Krishna in the Ras Neela and Krishna assumes the form of Vishnu. So, when the gopis see Vishnu, they are disappointed and they offer obeisance and they say, oh Lord Vishnu, please tell us where is Krishna.
This is maam ekam sharanam vraja. Surrender to me alone, to nobody else. So, Srila Prabhupada writes in the Parpot that we should become attracted to the beautiful form of Krishna.
And this attraction to the beautiful form of Krishna is the supreme perfection of life. Actually, when we become attracted thus to Krishna, Prabhupada says one should be attracted by the beautiful vision of Krishna. The beautiful vision of Krishna.
So, Krishna is there and He is all attractive. So, Prabhupada concludes by saying, He is establishing how Krishna is the supreme sadhya. And there are different kinds of sadhyas.
Here Prabhupada mentions there are different kinds of transcendentalists and they are attracted to different things. But those who are attracted to Krishna are the topmost transcendentalists. And then Prabhupada talks about different sadhans also.
Karma yogis, empirical philosophers, mystic are all transcendentalists. But one who is a pure devotee is the best among them all. So, here Krishna is, Prabhupada is mentioning that the supreme sadhya and the supreme sadhan are Krishna and pure devotion to Krishna.
And now this may involve an extraordinary amount of sacrifice. So, maa shucha means do not fear, do not hesitate. So, in this world, whatever we have in this world, that gives us some sense of security and shelter.
So, it may be our material status, our job, our relationships. In fact, even if a person is doing something very bad, suppose somebody is drinking, now that drinking is causing alcohol, drinking alcohol is causing a lot of suffering to the alcoholic. But even within that alcoholism, the alcoholic gets some sense of security.
It’s a pseudo security. Pseudo security means that what one is getting from there is not supreme happiness. It is not even a stable happiness, you know, supreme happiness.
But still, when a person drinks, because one has done the drinking repeatedly, and there is a routine, there is some familiarity involved in it, that okay, I’m doing something which I have done again and again. And there may be a little pleasure after there is a lot of trouble, but one gets some security over there. So, even in the bad things that we do, sometimes some security comes over there, because we are repeating some familiar routine that we have done again and again.
And that is not the purpose of life. That sort of pseudo, that is pseudo security. So, Krishna is telling us, that means, give up pseudo security and accept the real security.
The real security is the security that comes by surrender to Krishna. Because Krishna is a supreme protector. He can offer us a protection which nobody else can offer us in the world, because He is supreme and He is supremely loving.
Generally, if you want protection, if the person is very strong, then that person can protect us. But then that person may be strong, but the person may be unconcerned about us. Krishna is strong, supremely strong, and He is supremely caring.
He is supremely loving. Therefore, So, we get, we feel fear, because surrender involves giving up some things. But actually what we are giving up is our sources of pseudo security.
In this world, there may be very many sources of security, but they are all, from the ultimate point of view, they are pseudo-secret. In the second canto, Shukadeva Goswami begins his instructions by telling that, actually, he says that people have various sources of security in this world. He says, whatever happens, some people have very strong muscles.
They say, I’ll beat up people. Or even if they don’t have strong muscles, people learn self-defence. They may learn karate or judo or something like that.
Okay, by this, I’ll be able to fight with us. So, wife is there, the relatives are there, the spouse is there. And then through all these, we get some security.
One thing, these are my protectors. These are my sena. So, I am a warrior and this is my sena.
And with the sena, I am going to protect myself. But all of them are temporary. None of them can give us permanent protection.
When one sees the destruction of all this, one sees the futility of all this ultimately, but still one holds on to this. This is apinapashyati. This is seeing but not seeing.
So, Krishna doesn’t want us to stay in illusion like this. He doesn’t want us to suffer in this kind of pseudo-security. I mean, pseudo-security actually causes uncertainty because we feel that this is going to provide me some safety, but we’re not sure whether it will provide me safety or not.
So, Krishna is telling us, do not fear. Do not think that when you take shelter of me, I will not protect you. I’ll definitely protect you.
So, when we are giving up the material things for Krishna’s sake, we have to understand that what we are giving up is far, far tiny as compared to what we are going to get. There might be a pseudo-security that is like a drop of water in a desert. But what Krishna is, the security that Krishna is going to offer us is like an ocean.
It’s immense. It is completely satisfying. So, that’s what we should aspire for in our life.
And how do we take shelter of Krishna? We discussed earlier, primarily by anukulyasa sankalpa and pratikulyasa varjanam. Surrender is not passive. Okay, Krishna, I surrender to you.
Yes, that’s one way of surrender. When we can’t do anything, then we depend on Krishna. But Krishna has also given us intelligence and he wants us to use the intelligence in his service.
So, we use our intelligence to think about, okay, what is favourable for my bhakti? What should I do in this situation? What should I not do in this situation? So, Prabhupada has always surrendered to Krishna. But at the same time, Prabhupada is always dynamic, trying to find out what is the best way I can serve Krishna. So, Prabhupada is thinking, should I write books? Should I write magazines? Should I start an institution? Should I go to America? So, Prabhupada is devising new new strategies for serving Krishna.
And that is the mood of a devotee, that let me always serve Krishna. And the sharanam vraja, mam ekam sharanam vraja, is not passive. It is active.
In fact, it is dynamic. Okay, in this situation, how can I surrender to Krishna? So, sometimes it may mean taking up a new project, doing a new service. And sometimes it may mean persevering in the same service, no matter how many difficulties come up.
So, how do we decide that? That will be our sincerity. Dhami buddhi yogam tam. When we are sincerely serving Krishna, when we show him that Krishna, I want to serve you, please guide me.
Then he will give us the guidance about how to act. And then of course, we can consult senior devotees and then take guidance also about how we should act. But this is Maha Ashvachaha.
So now, with this, more or less Krishna has completed the Bhagavad Gita. And then he starts giving us the phala shruti. In the Vedic literature in general, at the end of a particular book, the phala shruti is given.
That means, after hearing this, what will be the benefit that is going to come? Or rather, what is the glory of this book in terms of hearing, in terms of speaking it? So, Krishna will talk about the glory in three terms. Now, first is, in 67, we will talk about these glories one by one. Let’s look, first Krishna talks about his glory by talking about this, the confidentiality of this knowledge.
How this knowledge is very rare and precious. So, let’s look at that. So, Krishna is telling, oh Arjuna, don’t tell this knowledge to these categories of people.
Tapaskaya is body, tapas is austerity. So, those who do not perform austerities, those who are un-austere. And don’t speak it to abhaktaya, don’t speak it to the devotees.
That means, those who are not engaged in service. Sushrusha especially refers to service. But bhaktaya refers to the attitude of devotion, whereas the sushrusha refers to the activity of service.
And certainly don’t speak it to abhyasuyati, those who are envious. So, what is the reason for this kind of words? Now, we may think that, we don’t speak to those who are non-austere, those who are not devoted, those who don’t do service, those who are non-envious. Then who is left? There is no one left.
Most people, practically all people, we all have some envy towards Krishna. How many people in this world are engaged in service to Krishna? So, how many people are actually doing austerities? What is the meaning of this verse? So, actually, there are multiple understandings of this. First and foremost, we understand that Krishna is referring here to the most confidential knowledge that He has given.
See, in general, people can understand according to their adhikar. So, Krishna has told over here few verses earlier, in 63 and 64, He has 64, especially says, I am now giving the most confidential knowledge. Sarva-guhyatamam bhuya, most confidential knowledge.
So, you know, a parent, a father may have a very precious treasury, some very rare and precious jewels, which the father keeps deep inside the treasury and doesn’t tell anyone about that. Now, when the children are there, the children are going to get inheritance from the father and they know, okay, this is the inheritance. But there will be some very special treasure that the father doesn’t tell to the children at all.
Why? Because that treasure is so precious that the father wants the children to grow up. When the children grow up and when they get a treasure, they will not squander it away. They will use it properly.
So, they will use it properly. So, He wants the children to grow up and then He will tell them about the treasure. So, similarly, the souls who are not grown up, they are tiny.
They don’t understand the glory of Krishna and His love. They are caught up in petty things and they have envy towards Krishna. So, they have these attributes.
They are not serving Krishna. They are not austere because they are caught up in petty, trivial, worldly things. Just like children, the father has got a multi-million dollar business and the children are caught up in playing marbles.
So, the father says, come on, grow up now. Grow up. You can inherit this whole business.
I have got it all for you. So, the father doesn’t want to hide the business. But the children are just caught in playful, trivial things and are not growing up.
And if they take a big, big amount of money and just squander it away carelessly, then it is a great tragedy. Sometimes when parents work very hard and make inheritance and sometimes the parents have to, even when they want to hand over the inheritance to children, sometimes they make laws by which they say, you know, this inheritance, it’s my children’s only, but they will not get it immediately. Every year they will get only this much amount.
And each year this much amount. And they cannot withdraw more than this much amount from the inheritance because they cannot trust the responsibility of the, how much responsibility the children have inculcated. So, similarly, Krishna here wants to give the supreme treasure.
Krishna’s greatest blessing is Krishna himself. All the other blessings can give us some temporary happiness. But when Krishna gives himself to us, that means he reveals his all attractiveness and we become attracted by him and choose to love him.
And in that, there is supreme happiness. So, this is the greatest blessing that Krishna wants to give us. But when we are caught up with worldly things, which are toys, then our infatuation with worldly things doesn’t allow us to value Krishna and pure devotion to Krishna.
So, that’s why the parent wants the child to grow up. And when the children grow up, then the parent reveals the supreme treasure. So, like that, Krishna wants the souls to grow up.
And therefore, those who are envious, those who are non-austere, those who are non-devotees, Krishna doesn’t want to reveal this to them. But then still he has spoken the Bhagavad Gita and Prabhupada writes at the start of the Bhagavata itself. And the Bhagavata is spoken in public.
That means the idea is everybody can hear it. So, if Krishna wants something to be kept confidential, then why is he spoken in public, in a battlefield where there are soldiers on both sides. So, they are all there observing.
So, what does it mean? Actually, it essentially means that Krishna wants this knowledge to be given to everyone, but still he wants them to grow up and understand it. So, when the father is feeling great love for the children, and at that time, one of the children, the child has pleased the father very much. And the father takes the child to the inner treasury and opens the treasury and shows those precious jewels.
This is what I meant for you. This is what I want to give you. And then, and the father starts thinking, you don’t tell all this to your other brothers, to your other brothers and sisters.
Now, that doesn’t mean that that treasure is not meant for the other brothers and sisters. It is also meant for them. But right now, they are not mature enough.
Similarly, Krishna is telling, Arjuna, I have told you this. Most confidential knowledge I have given you. But don’t tell this to others.
That means, don’t, as it is said in the biblical tradition, don’t throw pearls before a swine. A swine is a pig. A pig is interested only in stool.
So, if pearls are thrown before a swine, then you cannot understand. What is pearl? No value. So, like that, Krishna’s love, it can gather eternal happiness.
It is a supreme pearl, supreme jewel. But those people who are not spiritually evolved enough, they cannot understand its value. And they will devalue it, they will reject it, they will not care for it.
And they will commit offences to Krishna because of that. That’s why, the purpose is not to hide when Krishna is telling, don’t tell it to all these people. The purpose is to encourage people to grow up and then to give them when they have grown up.
So, this knowledge, idam refers not to the wholeness of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita has karma yoga, it has Atma-gyana, it can also be told to everyone. But the knowledge of Krishna’s love, intimate knowledge, especially the knowledge of Sarva-dharman parityajyamam ekam saranam vraja.
Now, this, the envious people may think that Krishna is, what is he demanding? Surrender only to me, don’t do anything else. This may seem like Krishna is arrogant. But actually, Krishna is not arrogant.
Krishna is supremely sweet. He is transcendent. And he is transcendent and I am transcendent.
His love is beyond our perception, our normal worldly perceptions and conceptions. So, if we drag our normal worldly perceptions and perceptions, then we will think that Krishna is arrogant. So, because we have to grow up spiritually to understand Krishna and understand the pure and exalted nature of his love for all of us.
So, there is a restriction. Don’t speak this to everyone. But as the soul grows up, as a person grows up, then Krishna wants to reveal to everyone also.
So, the idea of restriction and revelation is not deprivation, but it is growth. It is evolution. It is not to cause deprivation, but it is to stimulate evolution.
Let the persons grow up. And when they grow up, then they can learn truly. So, just like a parent doesn’t want to hide the treasure, but wants the children to grow up, then they can gain the treasure.
Similarly, Krishna wants the souls to grow up and then they will learn the treasure. And then, that’s what Prabhupada explains in the previous verse, in this verse itself. Prabhupada writes, without understanding Krishna from the authority or purity, one should not try to comment upon the Bhagavad Gita.
So, Krishna is saying, don’t even speak this to others, all those non-devotees. What to speak of non-devotees? Commenting on the Gita. That is not at all appropriate.
Now, Krishna in the next two verses will talk about how he wants this knowledge to be shared, but through proper channels. This paramam guhyam, the supremely confidential knowledge, the supreme confidential knowledge, speak it to my devotees. And if you do this, you will be able to perform parabhakti, transcendental devotion to me.
And by that, what will happen? You will definitely come back to me. You will definitely come back to me. So, now, here there are many significant words.
Here he is saying, So, param is transcendental. Now, Krishna has used parabhakti, this phrase, once more in a very significant place in 18.54. In 18.54, Krishna talks about, So, Krishna has said that, that means, Krishna is saying, when does one get parabhakti? After one comes to the Brahman platform, after one becomes completely equipoised towards everything material, then one gets parabhakti. But Krishna is telling, if we just share this message, share this knowledge of bhakti with everyone, then what will happen? We will get parabhakti.
Krishna is guaranteeing that. You will be attaining, you will be performing pure devotional service to me and at the end, without any doubt, you will come back to me. So, we will do the supreme good to others.
That is, we will be giving them the knowledge of pure devotion and at the end will come back to me. So, the Vaishya Prabhupada has taught us, for us, preaching is not just, preaching is a part of our sadhana. You know, we are not pure devotees right now.
We are sadhakas who are trying to go towards pure devotion. But even while we are going towards that, still we can share Krishna consciousness with others. So, for us, preaching is a part of our outreach.
That means, preaching is a part of our, sorry, it’s not just a part of our outreach, it’s a part of our sadhana also. So, by preaching, we will become purified. That means, when we speak about Krishna, it pleases Krishna and Krishna blesses us with advanced devotion.
So, we shouldn’t hesitate in preaching about Krishna, thinking that, oh, I don’t have so many realisations, I am not so advanced. Actually speaking, as compared to Kali Yuga’s level of understanding of people, most people have no knowledge at all. As compared to that, even a devotee who has spent a few years in Krishna consciousness has tremendous knowledge.
And when we share, our understanding deepens and then as our understanding deepens, we can share the deeper understanding. So, we have to begin somewhere. So, Krishna is, first in the previous verse, He says, don’t share this with everyone.
But then He is saying, those who share it, actually, they are very dear to Me and they are performing pure devotional service and they will perform pure devotional service by My mercy and then they will come back to Me also. So, now, speak this to My devotees. Now, what does it mean, My devotees? See, again, the idam is referring to the confidential knowledge about devotion.
This should be spoken to My devotees. So, here the word devotees refers to upcoming devotees, those who are devotionally minded. So, we speak about Krishna, we cannot speak about Krishna’s love to entirely new people.
They can’t comprehend it only. People who don’t even know God exists, if we tell them God is a bluish complexion, cowherd boy, who wears a peacock feather, what nonsense, mythology, they will say. So, for them, we have to go step by step and explain the existence of God, existence of soul.
So, that’s what Srila Prabhupada did in his preaching. Srila Prabhupada gave people experience of Krishna through the chanting of the holy names. But then in his classes, he focused on basics.
And then for devotees, he also, you know, he gave his Bhagavatam purports, he gave his Chaitanya Charita Amrit translation and purports, he gave his Krishna book. So, by which he told the Krishna’s glories to us. So, we have to talk with people according to their level and bring them to Krishna closer and closer.
So, even new people at ultimate level, they are also devotees, they are potential devotees, because they are also souls who also have within them dormant and attraction to Krishna. So, if we see them as potential devotees and attract them towards Krishna, then also we are doing a very valuable service in furthering Krishna’s message reach to more and more people. So, basically, when Krishna is telling over here, that Madh Bhaktesh Vabhidhasati, that basically is not a restriction.
Again, it is a precaution to present according to the level of people. Yes. Okay, for this level, we have to present.
So, for those who are bhaktas, that means those who are devotionally minded, for them to hear the glory of Krishna and the beauty of Krishna and the sublimity of Krishna’s love, that will increase their attraction to Krishna more and more. And that’s how they will come closer and closer to Krishna. So, similarly, for those who are entirely new to Krishna, for them just entirely new to spirituality itself, talking about basics will be important.
The whole idea is there is a progression. And Krishna wants everyone to come closer and closer to him. And he guides everyone according to their level.
And he wants us to progress in the knowledge according to their level. So, by speaking about Krishna to those who are devotionally minded, we can please Krishna, we can benefit those people, we can please Krishna and we can accelerate our own spiritual advancement. So, Srila Prabhupada was always concerned that devotees not just do their own sadhana, but reach out to other people.
And in the next verse, Krishna will tell very strongly that what happens to those who share his message. He expresses how dear they are to him in the next verse further. But in this verse also, another point to understand is, when you talk about Krishna’s intimate glories, for example, Krishna’s intimate pastimes, like say, his Raslila pastimes, where the gopis demonstrate sarva-dharman parityajya where the gopis give up lower level of religion to practise the highest level of religion.
So, this kind of practise is extraordinary. And the gopis do this, they can be very easily misunderstood. And they have been misunderstood.
Krishna’s pastimes have been considered very immoral by many people. So, to counter this misconception about immorality, we need systematic education. And therefore, we cannot have triple integral calculus taught to a junior, to a kindergarten student.
Similarly, we cannot have advanced levels of devotional knowledge taught to people who are very new. So, Srila Prabhupada gave us the highest goloka prema of Krishna, but then he gave it systematically. In his books, he talks about basic concepts and gradually removes our misconception and helps us to come to the knowledge about Krishna in a proper and pure way.
So, now Krishna will talk about further how dear those who love him are to him. So, among all people, among all human beings, in the Vedic culture, manushya is often used in an inclusive sense. It refers to men as well as women.
Mara also refers to, in a generic sense, as males and females both. So, among all human beings, there is no one who will be more dear to me than this. And in the future, in this world, will anyone be more dear to me? So, sometimes, Krishna is telling, such a person is most dear to me.
There is no one more dear. So, that means, what is Krishna telling over here? That how dear is such a person to him. And sometimes, you know, we may become overcome by sentiment and say, you know, I love you so much.
I’ll do anything for you. And in that moment, we tell that person, ask, can you do this for me? No, no, I can’t do that for you. Afterwards, we tell like that.
So, Krishna is saying that don’t think my declaration is sentimental like this. He is saying, that even in the future, there will become no one more dear to me than you. That means, Krishna is saying, this is a guarantee for all time.
For all time, one who shares his message with others will be very, very dear to him. So, here Krishna is revealing how eager he is for all the lost souls to come back to him. And how grateful he feels to those who assist him in getting those souls back to him.
The same Krishna comes as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And he is having the fruits of love of God. When he comes to Kashi, he says, I came to Kashi to distribute the fruits of love of God.
But actually, people are not interested. People there were all impersonalists. And they were not interested.
So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that I am carrying so many fruits. How can I carry them alone? So, I want some people to distribute this with me. And he says, actually, people are not taking.
So, I’ll give it free. Just accept it. And not just accept it, just help me in distributing it.
So, similarly, Krishna is telling over here that one who assists me in distributing this knowledge is so dear to me. There’ll be no one who is more dear to me than this. It’s most dear to me.
So, now, of course, the superlative is also qualified. When Krishna is saying, there is no one more dear to me, what does it mean? That means there can be many people who are as dear to him. So, actually, when we go into the spiritual realm, there can be many bests.
There is not only one best. So, we shouldn’t think that the preachers are more dear to Krishna than other devotees. And if we have been given some other service, if we have a service of cooking, garland making, deity worship, and we are not doing preaching, then we shouldn’t think that we are less dear to Krishna.
Actually, everybody is dear to Krishna, no doubt. But at the same time, those who are trying to reach out to Krishna directly, those who have that spirit of reaching out to Krishna, they are special. If army has to function, it’s not just the soldiers who are fighting on the war front.
They comprise the army. Along with that, there is the backup staff. The army needs food.
They need cooks who cook the food. The army needs doctors who take care of the sick patient, of the soldiers who get wounded, of the soldiers who fall sick. And they need intelligence.
So, they need technology, they need spies, they need so much support is needed. So, all of them are serving the nation in a very valuable way. All of them are sacrificing.
So, all of them are in their own way glorious. Now, of course, those who are on the war front, the fighting, actually risking their lives, maybe facing the first bullets, they are in one sense especially glorious. But the point is, it’s all a teamwork.
So, nobody should claim privilege and become proud because of one’s own specific service. So, that way, every service to Krishna is special and precious. And whatever service we are doing, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to serve Krishna and be a part of the team that is executing Krishna’s mission of compassion in this world.
So, yes, those who are at the front line sharing Krishna’s message with people, they are fighting the misconceptions that are there in this world, challenging and countering those misconceptions. Yes, we can say they are special. But those who are doing this, they shouldn’t think that I am doing something special.
You think, actually, I am a servant of Krishna. They are servants of Krishna. And ultimately, what Krishna sees is how much of a service attitude I have developed.
So, what is important is for me to have a service attitude. And I try to develop that as much as possible. And by that, I move closer and closer to Krishna.
So, beyond this, another point to recognise is preaching also, we should not have a very restrictive definition. Preaching is not just sitting on an asana and speaking classes. That is preaching, definitely.
But in a broad sense, preaching means inspiring other souls to come towards Krishna. So, in the Christian tradition, there is a great saint, Saint Francis. One time he said, you know, preach all day and on a few occasions when required, speak a few words.
So, the idea is that preaching doesn’t mean just giving lectures. Yes, that is also one part. But then our actions are also preaching.
And our actions, along with our words, they comprise the effective preaching. So, people have to see that we are transformed, that we are devoted to Krishna and we are concerned about other living beings. And when people see that, then they become attracted to Krishna.
As it is, people don’t care how much we know, but people know how much we care. So, we should know about Krishna. And along with that, we should also care about people because they are the souls who are Krishna’s beloved children, lost children.
And we have the opportunity to help them to come back to Krishna. So, we help, we value the souls as parts of Krishna and help them to connect with Krishna. So, our actions are also important.
So, preaching is not just speaking about Krishna. Any action that inspires the soul to come closer to Krishna is preaching. And it is valuable, it is important, it is essential.
And preaching at a deeper level also means removing the obstacles on the path of people to come to Krishna. That means, first is, we act in such a way by which people who have forgotten Krishna, they can come closer to Krishna. So, we speak about Krishna and say that is preaching.
Otherwise, we act in such a way, oh, these people, these devotees, they are really good people. I want to become like them. So, we inspire people also to come closer to Krishna.
Another level of misconceptions that stop people from coming towards Krishna. So, for example, Shri Prabhupada would say that by refuting atheism, refuting atheistic theories, like say the theory of evolution, Prabhupada said by refuting this, you will make spiritual advancement. So, what is the idea over there? The idea is that this particular, the atheistic notion or other atheistic notion in general, they form a wall between the soul and Krishna.
So, now preaching does not just mean speaking about Krishna, that is just there. But preaching also means breaking down that wall. So, we see most of Shri Prabhupada’s purports, they focus a lot on countering misconceptions.
They focus on telling, okay, this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong, we should give it up. And in this way, by removing misconceptions, Prabhupada helps people to come closer to Krishna. So, Shri Prabhupada’s purports, what are they doing? They are bringing people closer to Krishna, not just by speaking about Krishna, but also by speaking about what are the misconceptions that people have, the misconceptions that form a wall between people and Krishna and breaking down those misconceptions.
So, there can be intellectual misconceptions, but there can be other obstacles also in people coming closer to Krishna. So, removing those obstacles are also important. So, that is also preaching.
So, for example, creating a social support system for devotees, having counselling arrangements, having marriage bureau, having other social support systems, these are also a part of preaching. Because there are material things which devotees need in their life, and those material things are not taken care of, then for those material things, people may have to go away from Krishna. For those material things, people may have to go away from Krishna.
So, we shouldn’t want people, people shouldn’t need to go away from Krishna for anything. And we should be able to create within the devotee community arrangements by which people can keep coming closer and closer to Krishna. So, where they are, wherever people may be, preaching doesn’t mean just getting new people to start chanting Hare Krishna.
No, preaching means helping everyone to move closer to Krishna from wherever they are. So, if somebody is not knowing Krishna at all, helping them to come to know Krishna, that is preaching. But somebody knows Krishna, to help them to know Krishna more, to help them to advance deeper in their devotional life, in their relationship with Krishna, that is also preaching.
So, therefore, at a generic level, anything that removes obstacles and inspires soul to come closer to Krishna is preaching. And just like in army, any activity that is done to support the army’s endeavour, that is preaching. Along with that, the army’s frontline soldiers who fight the war, they are special.
So, those who are actually sharing Krishna’s message by speaking about Krishna’s glories, they have a special position. But that should not make them proud. That should not, that should actually make them feel the gravity of the responsibility that they have.
We have been given this responsibility. It is important for us to share this, to execute this responsibility. So, with this mood, when a devotee shares Krishna consciousness, it is such a precious asset.
And we can see from these two verses, we can think about how glorious Prabhupada is and how dear he will be to Krishna. Prabhupada in his old age, without any money, without any contacts, without any institutional support, all alone went to America, risking his life, enduring heart attacks and went to the most degraded place in the world and shared Krishna’s message vigorously. Prabhupada all day and all night, he would be speaking about Krishna.
All day, he would speak about Krishna to people who came to meet him. And all night, he was speaking about Krishna to people who didn’t come to meet him by writing books, which would reach to those people. So, Sri Prabhupada is so dear to Krishna.
And Sri Prabhupada is actually a great example of a devotee of Krishna who is utterly dedicated to sharing Krishna’s message. And by Sri Prabhupada’s mercy, we got Bhagavad Gita as it is. We understood the devotional essence of Bhagavad Gita and we can share that essence with others.
So, now Krishna is giving a descending ladder of mercy. So, he is saying, okay, now that you have known the message, share this message. You will become very dear to me.
Somebody may say, oh, but you know, sharing this is very complicated. I can’t do all that. Then Krishna says, if you can’t do that, then at least study the message.
So, the next verse will tell, at least study the message. So, let’s look at this verse now. So, Krishna is saying, adhesyate.
Adhesyate means to study. Chaiyya imam, one who studies this knowledge. So, this is a samvad about dharma.
Now, it’s interesting, Krishna has earlier only told, the conclusion of the samvad is to give up dharma. But then why is Krishna calling it as a dharmyam samvadam? That it is a dharmic conversation. Because there is aparadharma and there is paradharma.
So, Krishna is telling that this is a conversation about dharma, about various levels of dharma and what is the supreme dharma. Dharmyam samvadam avayo. Avayo means between us.
So, then such people who study, those who study, one who studies this, what is that person doing? Gyana yajyena tenaham. Gyana yajyena is a worship of knowledge or worship by knowledge. Tenaham.
Tena is by that person. Aham is I. Ishta syam iti mehmati. By Him, I am being worshipped through gyana.
Ishta is worshipped. Syama means shall be or is. Is being worshipped.
Iti mehmati hi. This is my opinion. So, what does this mean? Krishna is describing how devotional an activity study of the Bhagavad Gita is.
Many people think that, okay, Bhagavad Gita is a very philosophical book. We are rasik bhaktas. So, you know, we will study.
We will relish the past time in the Bhagavatam. We will relish the past time in Chetan, Charita, Amrit. We don’t want to be jnanis.
Actually, Bhagavad Gita is not for jnanis. Bhagavad Gita is for bhaktas. And Krishna is telling that studying the message of the Bhagavad Gita is what? It is a form of bhakti.
It is a form of worship. Generally, when we do aarti, when we do worship of Krishna, we may take a diya, we may take agarbatti, we may take incense and we will worship Krishna with that. So, Krishna is telling that don’t think that worship can be performed only with a torch, only with a lamp and incense.
He says worship can be performed with not just gross paraphernalia or subtle paraphernalia. Subtle paraphernalia is our own intelligence. So, when we study the Bhagavad Gita, we are worshipping Krishna with our intelligence.
So, it is a very devotional activity and it is a limb of bhakti. It is an integral part of bhakti. Krishna is saying different people may have different opinions.
Some people may say this is jnana, whatever, no. Iti me mati. And his opinion is the supreme opinion because he is the Supreme Lord.
So, by studying the Bhagavad Gita, we are worshipping Krishna. But of course, we also should have a devotional disposition. There may be scholars who study the Bhagavad Gita very scrutinizingly.
But if their disposition is anti-devotional, that means they think, oh, they come to the Bhagavad Gita not with an open-minded attitude of knowing what the Bhagavad Gita is teaching, of wanting to know what the Bhagavad Gita is teaching. Rather, they come to the Bhagavad Gita with a preconceived notion. Yes, the impersonal Brahman is the highest and that is what I want to prove with the Bhagavad Gita.
Then that sort of study is not having a devotional mindset. So, they do not intend to worship Krishna and that is why their study does not constitute worship of Krishna. That sort of misinterpretation of the Bhagavad Gita is undesirable.
Prabhupada strongly condemned that and Krishna has also talked about this. He has talked about it in 3.32. He says, So, he says that those who are envious of me, they may have a lot of Gyan. Their Gyan is lost.
They are deluded because they are misdirected. So, Krishna is not talking about academic scholars or other kinds of scholars who misinterpret the Bhagavad Gita or who study the Bhagavad Gita with their own agenda. But devotees who study the Bhagavad Gita, to understand it more and more, to understand it deeply, they are actually worshipping Krishna with their intelligence.
So, it is a very devotional activity. And what we are doing in the Bhakti course, studying the Bhagavad Gita, this is actually a very central limb of Bhakti and by this we will understand how much Krishna loves us and our desire to love Krishna will increase. And in this way, our Bhakti will be nourished.
So, explicitly, by understanding how Krishna is so loving, our love for Him will increase. And implicitly, because Bhakti itself is a form of service to Krishna, we are worshipping Krishna. We are doing Archanam in a way.
We are actually worshipping Krishna with our intelligence. That action will also nourish our Bhakti. And in this way, by studying the Bhagavad Gita, we will move forward in our devotional understanding.
Now, Krishna will say that, okay, in the next verse, let us see what he says. If you can’t study, then at least hear. Å›raddhāvānanyasÅ«yaÅ› ca Å›ruṇudyād apiyo naraḥ Å›opimuktaḥ Å›ubhāl lokān prāpnuyād puṇya-karmanām So, Å›raddhāvānanyasÅ«yaÅ› ca, Å›raddhāvān, with faith and anyasÅ«yaÅ› ca, without envy, Å›ruṇudyād, just hear, those who hear, apiyo naraḥ, those human beings who hear, Å›opimuktaḥ, those people will become liberated from what? Å›opimuktaḥ Å›ubhāl lokān.
Now, in auspicious planets, prāpnuyād puṇya-karmanām, and they will attain the abodes which are attained by those who are puṇya-karmanām, those who know puṇya-karma. So, here, what is Krishna doing? Krishna is making things even easier for us. So, in 68, 69, He said, okay, now we understood the message, preach this message to everyone.
And he says, if you can’t preach, 70 says, study at least. He said, if you can’t study scrutinizingly, at least hear this message. It’s like somebody’s fallen in a well and somebody throws a rope from outside.
And the person says, okay, now hold on to the rope and climb out of it. He says, oh, I can’t climb out. And then he says, okay, just hold on to the rope.
I will pull you out. Somebody says, oh, no, I can’t do that. And then that person takes a rope and then ties it up and makes a lasso around it.
And he says, just tie this rope and just be still. I will pull you out. So like that, Krishna is offering increasing mercy.
He says, first speak this message, share with the others, if you can’t do that, study it. If you can’t study it, at least hear it. So here we see how eager Krishna is for our elevation, that he’s offering us more and more mercy.
And our Acharya has explained over here, that when Krishna is saying over here, Mukta Subhaloka. So this is not referring just to going to Swarga, Praapya Punya Karmana. So yes, one can go to Swarga even by doing any form of yoga.
But he is talking about elevated abode like Dhruvaloka. So in Dhruvaloka, Dhruva is a pure devotee and the Lord Vishnu is also present. Although this abode is in the material world, it is almost like the spiritual world.
And there in the association of Dhruva Maharaj and the other exalted devotees over there, the devotee will advance and will ultimately get liberated. So here we see, Krishna is offering multiple levels of worship and is encouraging us to somehow or the other connect with his exalted message and thereby advance in devotion and return back to him. So in the next section, we will discuss Krishna’s last statement and then Arjuna’s response and then Sanjay’s concluding verses.
Thank you very much.