Gita Study 2012 9.26-9.34 Why is a sinful devotee considered saintly?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna. So we continue with the 9th chapter. We discussed Yantra, Deva, Pratah, Devaan.
So we basically discussing how Krishna is the ultimate goal within the Vishwa Upasana and the Deva Upasana, the living order. And then we discussed also how at different times the Acharyas have had different approaches or attitudes towards any God worship depending on the circumstances prevailing at that time. So there were a few questions in the morning.
Let’s complete those questions and then we can move forward. What is the description of those who worship Krishna as supreme but do not consider Krishna to be supreme? So normally those people who consider Vishnu to be supreme also accept that Krishna is also in the Supreme Personality of God category. But they consider that Vishnu is the source and Krishna is the avatar.
And this conception is valid from a particular perspective. The perspective is if you focus on this world and understand that God is the overseer and the controller of this world, then if we look at the Vedic scriptures in general, the references to Vishnu are much more than to Krishna. And that is also because Vishnu is the official name of God.
I mentioned earlier also how if the Prime Minister of India has a nickname, that nickname will not come in the official Gazette of India or the Parliamentary Report or certainly not in the Constitution of India. Isn’t it? But that name is there. So in the official Gazette, the name of the Prime Minister of India and his formal name will come.
But say when he goes home, his mother will tell him, Mannu, why do you always come late? So that name will not come in. So similarly, Krishna and Vishnu are the same person, but Krishna is not. So as long as they accept Vishnu as supreme and devote themselves in a pure way, they will go back.
Certainly they will go back to the spiritual world because they are worshipping a transcendental person who is eternal. That’s why what is required, is it just a sectarian idea that because we worship Krishna, so we consider that Krishna will take us back to Godhead and we somebody worship somebody else and they will not go back to Godhead. It’s not sectarian.
It is based on the position of that person. Krishna is an eternal person, whereas Indra, Chandra, they are not eternal. And that’s why when we become attached to the eternal, we can attain the eternal.
If you become attached to the temporary, you will attain the temporary. So it’s not discriminatory in that sense. So I would ask the question on my website, you know, isn’t it perverted that you people say that by chanting the name of Jesus and Allah, one can go back to God.
But by chanting the name of Ganesha or Shiva, you cannot go back to God. So what is the logic behind that? So the answer is that actually it is not just whose names you chant. It is the conception of the person that is there in the mind and the nature and position of that person that matters.
So if we look at the descriptions of Allah or Christ that are given in the Quran or the Bible, it’s clear that they are referring to one supreme eternal person. Example, Bible says that I am the Alpha, God is speaking, I am the Alpha and Omega of all. I am the beginning of end of all.
So the supremacy is very clear. So if one devotes oneself to the eternal, one will attain that. And generally because these scriptures don’t give any direct specific personal conception of God.
There is no specific personal conception of God. It’s okay, he is eternal, he is a supreme being. There is no specific conception that comes up in the mind.
On the other hand, when a person chants the name of Ganesha, that name is chanted with a particular specific conception in the mind. And that person who is conceived with a trunk and with a tusk and with a pot belly and everything like that, that person is not eternal. So, in an absolute sense, Madhavacharya explains based on the Rig Veda that Lord Vishnu is Sarva-Namavan.
He is Sarva-Namavan, he is the possessor of all names. That means, ultimately speaking, all names refer to Vishnu. That’s why you will see, one of the names of Vishnu is Shiva.
So in this context, Shiva is referring to the all-auspicious quality of Vishnu. So, in such situations, if a person is chanting, while chanting the name of Vishnu, if one refers to his quality as Shiva, then here when the name Shiva is used, it does not invoke the image of Shiva, the person. It invokes the conception clearly of Vishnu, and it is that Vishnu whose all-auspicious quality is being referred to as Shiva.
So, you know, there is this difference between, subtle but important difference to understand. See, in English there are proper nouns, I don’t want to go into Sanskrit words for this, just proper nouns and common nouns. So, proper nouns are names of persons.
Now Shiva is both a proper noun, proper noun means referring to the person Shiva, and a common noun. This is referring to the quality, common noun refers to generic qualities. The quality of auspiciousness.
So, if Shiva is chanted as a proper noun, it will take us to Shivaloka. But, if Shiva is chanted as a common noun, referring to Vishnu’s qualities, then it is a part of Bhakti Yoga, that will take us, so as a common noun, Shiva can refer to the quality of Vishnu, who is Sarva-Namavaan. So, ultimately, what is important is, what is one’s conception while chanting.
It’s like, we have in the pastime of Ramdas Vishwas, where he is chanting the name of Ram, but because his conception is contaminated, it isn’t an auspicious result. So, that means, somebody is chanting the name of Shiva. So, Vishwapitama is inside the Vishnu Sahasranama, on his deathbed, that time he is chanting the Vishnu Sahasranama, when that Shiva name comes.
But he is referring to Shiva, when he is chanting the name Shiva, he is actually referring to Vishnu, Vishnu’s qualities. So, more important than the name that is chanted, is the conception that is over and over. It is not that, I can just chant any name, and imagine some conception.
The names and conceptions are associated. But still, as I said, let’s write this separately, then I will come back to the channel experience. Names and conceptions.
So, right name, right conception. So, in fact, as we chant Hare Krishna, understand that Krishna is the creator. We will go back to Godhead.
Right name, wrong conception. What is the example of this? Ramdas Vishwas. Then, wrong name, wrong conception.
Sorry, wrong name, right conception. So, wrong name means, I am not saying wrong in the name, that is wrong. But suppose, you know, I don’t remember exactly, in the native American languages, God is referred to by a very strange sounding word like Vittanku or something like that.
It’s a very strange, Vittanku, something like that. It’s a word that starts from W. Now, we may say, this is not a name of God. But, within their language, they conceive of God by that particular name.
So, if the conception that is coming in their mind is of an eternal being, then by referring to that name, they will make spiritual advancements. Isn’t it? So, What was that book? Rainbow Gatherings. What was the name of the book? Welcome Home.
I don’t know whether I can find it in this book. Let’s look for it. No, I think we need to go now.
No, no, but there are so many references to Holy Name. How do I find the right one? No, within Welcome Home, there are so many references to Holy Name. No, I’ll find it out.
Okay, the Holy Name. It’s a different copy of that book. I have marked that in there.
The point which I am making is, some wrong name means, there is no wrong name in the sense that, we can say it’s a non-Vedic name, address of God. But, if the person has the right conception, he will make spiritual advancements. And if somebody chants a wrong name with a wrong conception, somebody just chants, there are some, there are many concocted mantras, nowadays they are so common.
They chant that, and their conception is also that, I am God. Then what happens? Moha, Shya, Moga, Karma. So, what are the examples of wrong name? A wrong name is the non-Vedic use.
Ramdas Vishwas was a apparently great Ram devotee, who, when Raghunath Bhatt Goswami was coming to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he accompanied him, and he said that, you are such a great Vaishnava, I will serve you, I will carry your luggage, I will cook for you, I will take care of you. So, he was constantly chanting the name, and when Raghunath Bhatt Goswami saw this, he said, no, no, no, you are also working, there is no need for you to serve, both of us in the society will go together. He said, no, no, I want to serve.
So, it seems that he was not only chanting the name, he was also very eager to do Vaishnava service. When they met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Raghunath Bhatt Goswami, but he paid no attention to Raghunath Bhatt Goswami. Raghunath Bhatt Goswami tried to introduce him, but still Chaitanya Mahaprabhu didn’t pay any attention.
And then finally, Raghunath Bhatt Goswami asked him, why Raghunath Bhatt Goswami? He says, he is chanting the name of Ram, but he wants to become Ram. And therefore, his chanting is of Ayuso. Therefore, this Bhaktivinoda Thakur calls this as, their chanting of the name is called as Pratibimba Namavahas.
Pratibimba is reflection. It is not Namavahas also, it is a reflection of Namavahas. Namavahas is like the rising of the sun.
So, rising of the sun will give a little light. But if there is a reflection of the rising of the sun, how much light will come down there? How much warmth will come from there? Not really much. So, in that sense, the important thing is, that we have the right name and the right conception, that is the best.
So, we are chanting the right name, we are chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, and by our process of hearing and studying, we are trying to develop the right conceptions. And sometimes, some people may chant some other names, where the conceptions may not be so correct, but if the names are correct, gradually the conceptions can become purified if the person has a desire for purification. If the person sticks to the wrong conception, the person cannot become purified.
Clear? Yes. By chanting the name of Christ, do they go to Vaikuntha? Not necessarily, immediately. In general, one has to have some conception of God, before one can truly love God and return back to Him.
Srila Prabhupada said that, by chanting any names of God, people will go back to God, but it may not be immediately. How it may work out is, that Srila Prabhupada in some places has said, not unambiguously, but he has indicated, Christ was a Yogi and he went to Tapaloka, not the High Plains. So, Christ will guide, okay, sorry, not guide, Jesus.
Srila Prabhupada differentiated between Jesus and Christ. Jesus of Christ, he says. Christians have a different conception of that, which we will not go into.
So, he said, Jesus will guide those people forward. And, He will take the responsibility of guiding them. So, it may happen that, if somebody is very pure hearted, then, ultimately, the soul has love of God dormant within.
And, what is required for awakening that love, is not just external knowledge. It is inner purification. So, if somebody truly devotes oneself to God completely, then, even without a lot of clear external knowledge, the internal conceptions can awaken, if one becomes pure hearted.
So, there are many exalted saints in, outside the Vedic tradition also, there is St. Arasova, she was a lady, she was completely devoted to God. And, she talks about the seven mansions of the soul. And, her last mansion she talks about, it is practically Madhuri Arasova.
Similarly, I mentioned about, a Muslim saint, a Sufi saint. She says that, I forget, but she says that, Oh Allah, if I want to see your face, so that I can enjoy the pleasures of heaven, then forever keep those pleasures away from me. If I want to enjoy, see your face, to save myself from the fires of hell, then let me burn in those fires.
But, if I want to see your face, out of love for you, then please don’t hide your face from me. So, it is such a pure prayer. It is also a personal prayer.
Face, she says. So, now, that means, we don’t consider that, your love of God is the monopoly of any particular organisation, or any particular sampradaya, or even any particular religion. No, it is the nature of the soul, I think.
And, what is required is purification. So, if the purification is done properly, sincere, Krishna can awaken. Of course, this level is very rare.
Generally speaking, bhakti sanjayate bhakti. So, the person needs to have contact with the bhakta to move forward. But, that contact could have been in a previous life.
Can be in a next life. And, we cannot say that bhakti itself is not there outside the paramparas. Bhakti is also there.
But, it may not be in a pure form. So, one can surely make advancement. The extent of the advancement in the specific nature of the destination, we cannot predict.
And, for that matter, we cannot make a blanket statement that everybody who has come to ISKCON will go back to Goloka Vrinda. Isn’t it? All of us have to also become purified to go back to Godhead. So, in that sense, yes, people can go back to Godhead.
How and when, this lifetime, in a future lifetime, or after many lifetimes, that will be depending on their consciousness. Essentially, Prabhupada emphasises that if we take guidance from a representative of God, then God or that representative will arrange for us to stay guided on the path back. Okay.
So, now we say that outside the sampradaya, we cannot go back to Godhead. Though they are very pure, it looks like poisonous. Okay.
So, let me touch by poison. Now, let’s understand this very clearly. Specific word is sampradaya vina ye mantras te nishpanamata The mantra becomes hopeless.
The other verse is avaishna mukho deedam utam harikatha amrutam shravanam naivakatam sarpo chishthe thapay That, harikatha heard from somebody else, not a Vaishnava, that although harikatha is pure, it will not help us. Just like milk clutch layer, poison fang, snake will not help us. So, now, our Acharya will explain.
I think it is Bhaktivinoda Thakur. He says, what is this sarpo chishthe thapay? What is considered poison? He says, that is mukti mukti kam. So, that means when somebody is not a Vaishnava and he is speaking harikatha, such a person will have the desires of mukti and mukti.
When those desires of mukti and mukti are there, then those desires will be coming through the harikatha. The poison is not like the poison that kills the body. And the poison is not also like, it is not that by hearing harikatha from somebody outside the parampara, from a Vaishnava one will go to hell.
No. One will not get shuddha. See, from the point of pure devotional service, even dharma is called as kaitava.
Bhagavatam says that, kaitava dharma. And then, Narottam Das Thakur says that, karma kanda, jnana kanda, kevala vishera bhanda. Now, it is a pot of poison.
Are karma kanda and jnana kanda pots of poison? Well, from the pure devotional point of view, they are pots of poison. But for others, they may be processes for their elevation. So, what is being talked about here is that for one who is aspiring for the path of pure devotional service, for such a person to hear from a Vaishnava is harmful.
Because, the pure devotional service will get contaminated. But, it is, for example, we see, his spiritual journey did not begin directly with pure devotees. Actually speaking, the first he went to the Himalayas, practically all the yogis in the Himalayas are Shaivites.
And Shaivites in general have their goal, jeeva shiv ek hona hai. They are generally impersonals. So, he heard from the devotees.
What happened by that? Did that give the spiritual tendency? Not necessarily. So, see, we have to understand that Vedic scriptures are offering a multi-level spirituality. So, somebody who is just moving towards this pure devotional level, at that time, any kind of Harikatha is helpful.
Any kind of Harikatha is helpful. But, by hearing that Harikatha, if a person develops an impersonal misconception and stays stuck to that impersonal misconception, then that becomes like falsehood. So, if I am going from here upwards, if I think of an intermediate level to be the highest, that will become false.
Or, if I have come to this level and then I get attracted to this level just because somebody speaks more eloquently or somebody memorises more verses, somebody speaks more sweetly, melodiously, then we may get into trouble like that. So, why? Because that will not be pure devotion. So, I believe Prabhu he writes in Harikrishna Explosion that after they were practising Krishna Consciousness, he gave up all his karmic music and he thought, now I will hear only spiritual music.
And he got a tape of Ravishankar, not Sri Sri Ravishankar, the musician Ravishankar was there. He is quite a spiritual person. He was introduced by George Harrison to Indian spirituality.
He is quite a spiritual person on his own way. And he started playing his sitar music and some, he was chanting some devotional songs. And he said, he thought that Prabhupada is very pleased that I am hearing this.
Prabhupada just heard it quietly and he said, that is sense gratification. From India, this is about God. This is Indian music.
How do you call it sense gratification? Prabhupada said, if something is not sung with pure devotional intention, that is some sense gratification. Then he said, oh this is very high level. But the point is that there are, now George Harrison, this spiritual quest began by Sri Sri Ravishankar’s music.
Ravishankar taught him sitar and introduced him to Indian spirituality. So, we have to see that means from somebody, somebody who is materially, who is living a materialistic life and is coming towards spirituality. For such a person, it’s quite often that those spiritual teachers who are popular or influential in the culture at that time, they become the beginning points for spirituality.
So, Radhanath Maharaj, when he began from America, the popular image of Indian spirituality was the Himalayan yogis meditating in their caves. So, that became the starting point for his search. But Maharaj also writes in his book that, you know, all the teachers that I met, they were very kind and gentle to me, but still I felt a prompting in my heart that I should keep going on, keep going on, keep researching on.
I was wondering, why? They are kind and I am, they are having good process, but still, because he had that yearning, he kept moving forward, kept moving forward. So, in that sense, this has to be carefully understood. Most people, see, I would say for example, most devotees who come to ISKCON, either, see, we come in two ways.
One is that, see, basically you can come to Krishna in two ways. We go in search for Krishna and Krishna comes in search for us. Through by sending his devotees.
So, most of us come because devotees come in search for us. Isn’t it? In fact, none of us went in search all over the world like Radhanath Maharaj. We might have done a little search by maybe going to some little temple or some organisation, something like that.
And that search, if we do, that will usually take us to some Mayavadi teachers. Isn’t it? And that may become our beginning point. So, was that like poison? Not necessarily.
If we had stayed stuck over there, it would have been poison. And we recommend that today to people. That may also be like poison for them, especially for devotees over there.
So, what is poison from one perspective, from the perspective of pure devotional service, is not necessarily poison for a materialist who is moving towards Krishna. Hmm? Is this point clear? So, when we say Nishphalamatha, Nishphalam is in developing pure devotional service and going back to Krishna. The no connection Sampradaya will be Nishphalam.
But then, the connection Sampradaya could have been in the previous life also. It is not said that we have to have connection Sampradaya in this very life. It is not essential.
Bhairava Mangal Thakur, he said that he was initiated by Somagiri, his guru in his previous life. And in this life, he had general spiritual inclination and then Chintamani, he was attached to her. And she said, if you had been devoted to Krishna the way you are devoted to me, just awaken him.
And he went to Vrindavan. And there is no mention in Bhairava Mangal Thakur’s writings that he accepted a guru in this life again. He acknowledges his debt to Somagiri and he acknowledges his debt to Chintamani.
So now, as sadhakas, we should not assume that I had a guru in my previous life, so I don’t need a guru in this life. That would be presumptuous. We should understand that I am a seeker and I need a guru.
But we cannot monopolise bhakti where we see bhakti. We have to respect that. So for our sake and for guiding those who are coming to us, we need to emphasise that one has to take initiation.
But we cannot legislate bhakti. Bhakti Devi is independent. Even initiation does not automatically produce bhakti.
Initiation is a facility by which you can get bhakti. There is a link with our guru. But through that link with our guru, we can get bhakti.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s automatically going to happen to everyone. One has to actually become purified. One has to please Vaishnavas, then bhakti will happen.
Okay, without sampradaya, can there be pure devotional service? There has to be some connection. There has to be some connection. Like Veerabai? Like Veerabai, so in general, Sri Prabhupada, for example, just going completely out of sampradaya, he said, Jesus Christ, Prabhupada said, is a pure devotee for all time.
He laid down his life for God’s sake. Now was he connected with some sampradaya? Not to our knowledge. Prabhupada did not claim that, per se, directly.
No, but the fact that Prabhupada, that is just one statement about his destination. The way Prabhupada talked about he laid down his life for the service of God, Prabhupada said, he is our guru. And there are clear references that Prabhupada says, Prabhupada generally puts Jesus Christ, Haridas Thakur, Nityanand Purush, same category.
How they take dangers and accept sufferings for the sake of God. Haridas Thakur was in many places, Nityanand Purush was even there, and Jesus Christ was crucified. He puts all the three in the same category.
In the point of sacrifice and accepting, doing sacrifice and accepting suffering for the sake of God. So now, if you want to talk about pure devotional service in terms of the technical category of devotion, that’s a question. But generally speaking, we cannot monopolise bhakti.
That’s the broad principle. Sampradaya Vinaya Mantras Tirishpal Mata is true. But, like all scriptural statements, there are always subtleties to it.
There are always subtleties and nuances to it. And, Bhakti Devi can manage. So, Mirabai, as far as we see her writings, they are quite pure hearted.
So, now, if devotion is actually manifesting, what does it mean? It simply means that, sometimes, just like we have Krupa Siddhi. Gopal said there is Sadhana Siddhi, Vidya Siddha, Krupa Siddha. So then, Krupa Siddhi may not necessarily require connection with the Sampradaya.
Krishna can directly give also. So, this is a general principle. But, it is not an absolute principle.
There can always be exceptions. Now, the exceptions don’t mean that anybody and everybody should start claiming to be an exception. But, in Jyotirthi, we have to accommodate the possibilities.
Just like, Prabhupada’s example of Krupa Siddhi was what? Somebody might get a Nobel laureate just because he writes a very good book. Somebody might get an honorary Ph.D. degree just because he has written a very famous book. Rabindranath Tagore or whoever got an honorary Ph.D. degree.
But, that doesn’t mean that all of us, we can all get honorary Ph.D. degrees. We have to go to the college, go through the university, do the education, then we get the degree. So, exceptions might be there.
But, the standard system is that we have to go through the university. Sampradaya is like the university. Standard system is that we have to go through the university.
In some cases, there might be exceptions. Correct. Upper Sampradaya, what will be their destinations? That will vary according to how wrong their conceptions are.
So, you can’t make a blanket statement. For example, somebody chants Nitayagraha, Radhe Shyam, Vajra Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. So, now what will happen by this? As far as I know, Bhakti Sannyasa Thakur did not give a specific destination.
What he said is that, this is not according to Shastra. So, in that sense, because it is not according to Shastra and all the more so because it is actually displacing and replacing what is given in Shastra. That means, if some people are not chanting Hare Krishna, they start chanting Nitayagraha, Radhe Shyam, there is no problem.
But if this is portrayed as the teaching of the Gaudiya Vaishya Sampradaya and those who could and should have been chanting Hare Krishna, they start chanting this, then this is a deviation. And it will depend on their conception and what purification they have. One point is that it is pleasing a pure devotee, it is subbing a pure devotee.
In the case of those people who are Bhakti Sannyasa Thakur, that will also have some consequences. But we shouldn’t be fanatical about these things. It is not a… Prabhupada at one time spoke very strongly about one of his Godfathers.
What happened was that Prabhupada brought his disciples to India and he took them to one of his… He introduced them to his Godbrother. One of his Godbrothers had a college in Delhi. He told them you can study Sanskrit over here.
And then this Godbrother started teaching his devotees some things. He said that you know what Bhaktivan Swami has taught is not proper. That is not the proper Gaudiya teaching.
And he confused him completely. And Prabhupada just called him back and said don’t stay over there. And there are letters of Prabhupada.
He said I just rescued him in the Nainik of time. And after that Prabhupada said to his disciples don’t associate with my Godbrothers. And then some devotees asked.
He is a very learned person. Prabhupada said he is an envious snake. Very strong statement Prabhupada.
But then eventually when that disciple, devotee departed from the world, some devotees came up. Prabhupada where did he go? So devotees, Radha Maharaj quotes this whole thing and he says devotees get a lot of glee in asking questions like this. Where did he go? So Prabhupada is very kind.
So then he went back to Gaudiya. What is the shock? He said Prabhupada you said he is an envious snake. How could he have gone back to Gaudiya? He says my spiritual master is very powerful.
He is the son of my spiritual master. So that means from the point of view of his connection to spiritual master and the potential of spiritual master he can get elevated. But from the point of view of effect that he was having on Prabhupada’s disciples, that was harmful.
And from that point of view Prabhupada is an envious snake. But that doesn’t mean that all the devotional service that he has done is nullified by that. Prabhupada is an envious snake.
So in that sense if there are certain misconceptions that a person is portraying then there are consequences for that. But that doesn’t nullify all the devotion. See for example now there are rathriks in our movement.
So now among rathriks there are soft rathriks and hard rathriks. Hard rathriks are those who say that Prabhupada is the only guru and they criticise all the current gurus. And sometimes they propagate malicious lies for that so that is offensive.
But a soft rathriks who believe that Prabhupada is the guru and they are devoted to chanting Hare Krishna, following the four Vedic principles. So you know, Radhamastra says we should respect even those who are serving Prabhupada in a way that Prabhupada did not want. They are serving Prabhupada but not in the way that Prabhupada conceptually, that what Prabhupada wanted.
So now we don’t have to label those people and say that they are going to this destination, that destination. We can try as much as possible if we can help to correct their misconceptions. We can’t let them do what they want to do.
That is between them and Prabhupada. Similarly, the upper sampradayas, now some upper sampradayas, they get into immoral things. They start imputating the pastimes of Radha Krishna.
So, then it becomes offensive. Where? If the upper sampradaya, the upper of that part, the deviation of that part is either leading to offence to a pure devotee or is leading to sinful activity. Then that will bring karmic reactions and that will of course lead to obstacles, significant obstacles in the path of devotional service.
But, if those misconceptions that are there, they are not leading to immoral activities, they are not leading to offensive behaviour, then it may not be pure devotional service entirely, but still it is devotional service. And then next spiritual advancement. Now the upper sampradayas, that Bhaktivinoda Thakur enlisted, Paola, Paola, some of them had very serious, not just in spiritual life, there are two things.
There are the beliefs and there are practises. So, the beliefs may be wrong and the practises may be wrong. So, if the practises are wrong in terms of involving immorality, that is a serious problem.
If the beliefs are wrong, that is also a serious problem. But that may not be as serious. It depends on how inimical those beliefs are.
I think we should move forward now. Let’s move forward. 9.26 Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ Yo me bhaktyā prayacchati Yo me bhaktyā prayacchati Tadāṁ bhakti-uparitam Tadāṁ bhakti-uparitam Translation? Yes.
So, here we quote this verse very often and we quote this verse for one main purpose, that is that when something is offered in bhakti, Krishna accepts it. Another quote we quoted for that how practising of devotional service is Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ Prabhupāda also quotes this for saying that Krishna is not saying māṁsa, more things like that over here. Krishna is talking about vegetarian food only.
So, in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, this verse is talking about the simplicity of devotional service. So, Krishna has earlier said that devotional service is alone given eternal. And he has said Trayvidyā māṁso bhagavāpūta-pāpā These people perform big big rituals.
But as contrasted with that, bhakti is so easy to perform. Simple Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ. It’s not even plural, it’s singular.
It’s not Patrāṇi puṣpāṇi phalāṇi. It’s just Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ. So, it’s very easy to perform.
And Krishna very emphatically says Ashnami, I accept, I accept it. So this verse talks about the simplicity of pure emotions. Let’s move forward and Prabhupada says that this is actually one way we can worship the deity.
Now we will have to do some hard work. So this verse, according to Bhukti Vrat, Vishwanath Chidambaram is Karma, Gyan, Anisha, Pradhani, Shuddha Bhakti. So there is no need to memorise this technical classification.
But you can understand this to see how our Acharyas have been so analytical about this. So the previous verse is Shuddha Bhakti. Now this verse is, it is not Sakama Bhakti.
Sakama Bhakti means Bhakti with material desires. They have no material desires, so it is not Sakama Bhakti. And it is not Karma Yoga.
In Karma Yoga what happens? One does one’s various duties and one offers the scripturally prescribed duty to the Supreme Lord. See there is Niyata Karma, that is offered to the Supreme Lord. But Krishna is telling over here, everything that you do, offer to me.
In Karma Yoga, one offers one’s prescribed duties to the Supreme Lord. It is not that one offers everything. Because in Karma Yoga still the conception is, Okay I will do my work and I will offer the fruits of my work.
So I have my job and the salary that I get from my job, I will offer a fruit of that to God. Part of that to God, that is Karma Yoga. But Krishna is telling not just your work, everything.
So your work, your home, your family, everything you offer to me. Everything. So in that sense, Karma Yoga in general centres on one’s prescribed duty and the offering of the fruit of that.
Whereas this is pervading one’s entire life. So it is not Karma Yoga. It is not Jnana Yoga, because as I said over here, this appreciation of the Lord’s personal features.
Personal features means what? That there is the knowledge that Krishna is a person. I am offering this to a person. yad karoṣi viṣṇāśi yad tat kuruṣa mad-arpaṇam It’s a person that has been offered.
So then he says, na kevala bhakti śuddha bhakti. Is it kevala bhakti? So he says no, because like if you remember in 8.5, it was māṁ anusmara yuteja. First remember me and then fight.
Whereas here it is, you do and then offer. yad karoṣi tad kuruṣa mad-arpaṇam Whatever you do, you offer that to me. Śrī Chakravarūpa says here the offering is coming after the doing.
It is not coming before. So the remembrance is not total. It’s not pure devotional service.
And he called it iti puṁsāra tata viṣṇu. So this is, when all these activities are offered to Viṣṇu, then it is śuddha bhakti. So now, pradhāni bhūta.
This is a technical qualification that has been used. Pradhāni bhūta means, pradhāni bhūta bhakti means, bhakti is pradhāni. So pradhāni bhūta bhakti means, it’s a mixture of bhakti and other processes with bhakti greater than 50%.
That is called as pradhāni bhūta bhakti. So, now if you would have yoga-mixture pradhāni bhūta bhakti or you would say karma-mixture pradhāni bhūta bhakti, what would that mean? That bhakti is more than 150%, other part is karma. But when the other part is both karma and jñāna, that is karma-jñāna-mixture pradhāni bhūta bhakti.
When the other part involves both karma and jñāna, then the karma and jñāna is there, but bhakti is the principal element, more than 50%. And when there is kevala bhakti, it is jñāna-karmādi-anāvṛtam. Jñāna and karma are zero over there.
So, anyābhilāṣita-śūnyam jñāna-karmādi-anāvṛtam. Then it will become kevala bhakti. So that’s how it is.
So, as seekers, we obviously need to come to pradhāni bhūta bhakti. Kevala bhakti is very far away for us. At least, we have various desires, but Krishna should become our strongest desire.
Very difficult for Krishna to become our only desire. At least Krishna should become our strongest desire. If that happens, then that itself indicates that we are well on the track back to Godhead.
But even if this is the strongest desire, it is likely that it will come to our mind at the time of death. But if there are other desires that are stronger than Krishna, then that can be a problem for us in the past. So, Krishna will describe now.
Now, interestingly, in this verse, yat karoṣita-raśnāsi, Krishna doesn’t say, I will accept this. You offer it to Him. He doesn’t say, aṣṇāmi, I will accept it.
Now, what does it mean? Does it mean Krishna will reject it? No, it’s not like that. It’s not like Digital Logic 1.0. It is that, see, sometimes, there are grades. When a pure devotee offers bhoga to Krishna, and when a sādhaka offers bhoga to Krishna, both are prasad.
But still, the potency of Krishna’s mercy that is there, that will vary. So, there are degrees of acceptance, and then there are degrees of potency that are there. So, when Krishna says, I accept, that means the potency there is 100%.
Whereas, when a devotee offers, it is not that Krishna’s, Krishna is not emphasising the word potency. See, you offer it. The act of offering itself is an indication of bhakti.
Krishna is not saying, you have to offer it to me. Whatever you do, at least offer it to me, that is the expression of your bhakti. So, it is not that Krishna will not accept.
But, because there is not so much devotion in the offering, so, the mercy that is there will not be that much. So, now Krishna will describe that what will be the end result of this. If one practises these processes, what will be the end result? Shubhashu Upalayi Revam Moksha Se Karma Bandhanai Sanyasa Yoga Yuktatma Vimukto Mam Upaishyasi Yes.
So, the important word over here is in Karma Kanda, in demigod worship, Shubhashu is very important. But Krishna is saying, Shubhashu Upalayi Revam Moksha Se You will become free from all auspicious and inauspicious. And you will become free from karmic bondage.
And, what will happen? This is Sanyasa Yoga Yuktatma. You don’t have to take sanyasa. This offering of the Tulsa to me itself is sanyasa.
And by this, Vimukto. It is not Mukto, it is Vimukto. Special kind of mukti.
And what is that special kind of mukti? Mam Upaishyasi. You will attain me. You will come back to my kingdom.
That is what is described. So, till now. So, glories of bhakti.
Gives eternal result. That is 9.22. It doesn’t need fancy material assets. That is 9.26. Fancy material assets means? You don’t need any complex.
Patram, Pushpam, Phalam, Thoyam, everything. Very simple. And, can be performed even by those who are not pure hearted.
Those who don’t have bhakti right now. But, at least do Madarpana. They will come to me.
And, now, Krishna will describe. Can redeem even if the performance fails. So, I am trying to practise bhakti.
But, I have fallen in sinful activity. Still, bhakti itself can elevate. In the other parts, if I do something wrong, then I have to do some specific atonement.
You don’t have to do atonement. Bhakti itself is the complete process. So, we will discuss this section briefly today.
And, we will continue the discussion tomorrow. So, there are 5 glories of bhakti that I described. 6.30? Really? Is it okay? Fine.
So, then we should be able to complete this chapter today. So, what are the 5 glories? It is, first is? And, it is right in number. Destination.
Then, there is? What is the possession that one needs to have? One doesn’t need to be wealthy. Something very easy one can have. Then, the remaining 3 is? In terms of, what is the qualification? One doesn’t necessarily have to be pure hearted.
And, what happens if there is deviation? Doesn’t matter. This is devotional qualification. And, the last is? Material qualification.
Material qualification means, even if one is materially unqualified, still one can become elevated. Whatever one may be, one will get elevated. So, now is it that we can actually perform bhakti without bhakti? No, there has to be some bhakti.
But, actually even the desire for bhakti is also form of bhakti. I don’t feel really very devoted when I go in front of the ladies and take darshan. But, still I go and take darshan.
So, service is an expression of our devotion. And, service is also an expression of our desire for devotion. Service is an expression of our devotion.
And, service is an expression of our desire for devotion also. So, when it is in 9.26 Patram, Pushpam, Palam, Toyam, There, the offering is the expression of our devotion. In 9.27, 28, it is an expression of our desire for devotion.
Even if I don’t have devotion, still I will offer it, by that offering, I’ll become purified. So both ways it will work. Can I move on? Let’s recite the next verse.
Samoham Sarvabhuteshu Name Dvesho Sthila Priya Yeh Bhajanti Tumham Bhaktya Maite Teshu Chaapya Ham So, translation. This is a very important concept. What is the connection? Actually, if I say Krishna is Parshi, he is saying, my devotees will come to me, but others will not come to me.
My devotees will attain eternal destination, Krishna will not, others will not attain eternal destination. So, I discussed this earlier, you remember, Krishna is impartially Parshi, you remember that. So can you tell how Krishna is Parshi and how Krishna is impartial? Krishna is impartial for the general and for the people, but still he is impartial.
Excellent. He is giving facilities to everyone to come to him. If you don’t take it up then? He is partial to devotees, but impartially allows everyone to become his devotees.
In that sense, he is partially, he is impartially Parshi. So, now, of course, Acharyas have different levels of meaning of this also. They say that the word parts A and B refer to the super soul.
Samoham Sarvabhuteshu Name Dvesho Sthila Priya CD refer to Bhagwan. That Krishna is not Te Bhajanti Tuvaam Bhaktya Mai Te Te Shuchaapiham There is a very intimate relationship with the devotees. As the super soul he is, he is as was described in 9.9 Udaasinavadaasinam Now it is described that he is, as a lord, he is very intimate, intimately connected.
And actually the second part is Mai Te Te Shuchaapiham It is very personal. He is saying, I am in them and they are in me. It is like, I am in their hearts, they are in my heart.
Sadhamam Hrudayam Mayyam Sadhunam Hrudayam Tadaham Madanyate Na Jaanaati Naaham Te Bhiyo Manangapi Lord Vishnu tells Vasamuni, Sadhus, he doesn’t say sadhus are in my heart. He says sadhus are my heart. Sadhamam Hrudayam Mayyam And Sadhunam Hrudayam Tadaham And I am the sadhus heart.
So, and that is a very sweet address. So, he is saying that it is not partiality because I open the doors of devotion to everyone. So now he is describing how the speciality to his devotees he will describe in the next remaining verses of this chapter.
So, Vijetsuduracharo Vijetsuduracharo Bhajate Mamanyabha Bhajate Mamanyabha Sadhurevasamandavya Sadhurevasamandavya Samyagyamasitohisa Samyagyamasitohisa Even if he will commit the most abominable action, if he engages in devotional service, it is because he is proper. Next verse Shri Prambhavati Dharmatma Shri Prambhavati Dharmatma Shashvachantim Nigachati Shashvachantim Nigachati Kaunteya Pratijani Kaunteya Pratijani Name Bhakta Pranashyati Name Bhakta Pranashyati Yes So, generally we use Name Bhakta Pranashyati in the material sense of protection. If you look up the Bhagavad Gita flow, it is talking about the spiritual protection.
That even if my devotee commits something wrong, it will not lead to any it will not lead to a permanent destruction, you see. Now, this set of verses have got extensive commentaries by the Acharyas. So, I will basically the commentaries go over a spectrum.
Spectrum is there are liberal commentaries and there are conservative commentaries. So, liberal means what? Even if a devotee commits sinful activity, it doesn’t matter. So, I will start with the liberal commentary and then I will move towards conservative commentaries.
So, I hope the word liberal and conservative family will come up. So, Vishnachiketa Akar gives a very liberal commentary for this. He says, that Krishna is telling over here that Arjuna says, my devotee Suduracharo, he commits a very sinful activity.
Still you should call him a sadhu. Why? Because he is rightly situated. So, this is okay.
If he is rightly situated, that is fine. But what if he does a very terrible immoral activity and he keeps doing that immoral activity. Chakravartipat gives a very terrible example.
He steals or he runs away with somebody’s wife or he has sexual immorality like that. So, all these sort of things somebody does. Then how can such a person be considered immoral? Krishna says that Kshiprambhavati dharmatma at soon he will become pious.
So, Chakravartipat says that when he commits an immoral activity, he feels I have disgraced the community of devotees. I am such a fallen person. And I have spoiled the name of the Vaishnavas.
I have spoiled the name of the Lord. I am very fallen. And because of his repentance, he will soon become a dharma.
He will become purified. Kshiprambhavati dharma. And then he will be peaceful.
Then Arjuna asks, But what if such a person doesn’t reform? He commits a wrong activity and he never repents. Then what happens? Kaunteya pratijani name bhakta prashna Even if he doesn’t repent, still he will not perish. What does that mean? So, he is talking about four levels over here in this verse.
Our liberal comment, liberal explanation. Still how he will not perish? So, why is devotee considered saintly? First reason is Ananyabhag. Ananyabhag.
He doesn’t give up bhakti. So, I am talking about here. This is Vishwamitra commentary.
Ananyabhag. Because he is fixed in devotional service. So, that’s why he is considered saintly.
Because he has not given up devotional service. And by the potency of devotional service, he has become purified. Because he is Ananyabhag, so he will become dharmatma.
And because he is Ananyabhag, he will repent and he will become dharmatma. Now, Chakravarti Path says that if he doesn’t become dharmatma, Chakravarti Path still, he says Name bhakta pranashyati. So, he says, still my devotee will not perish.
Why? Because eventually when he comes back to his senses, he will become saintly. Now, if we see example of this Ajamil. Ajamil, in a sense, throughout his life, never repented.
So, is it that Ajamil was a good brahmana, then he became a debauchee, and then again he became saintly? Yes, you could see that from the external behaviour point of view. From Krishna’s perspective, at least from Krishnaji Prabhu’s commentary point of view, he was always sane. He should always be respected because he had practised devotional service.
Now, certainly, we may not associate with that devotee. We may not ask that devotee, if some devotee is having some difficulties, has some fall down or something. We may not take spiritual guidance from that devotee.
But still, that respect has to be there. Because those devotional credits are there and they will manifest. Krishna is saying that bhakti will never perish.
Bhakti will never perish. This is the most broad. That even if my devotee commits sinful activity and persists sinful activity, still he will not perish.
why is it he will not perish? Because, sinful inclination is never eternal. Devotional inclination is always eternal. Of course, depending on how much we misuse our free will, I can go on being sinful for one year, one decade, one lifetime, many lifetimes also.
But eventually, sinful inclination is not eternal for us. But if I have practised some devotional service, that devotional inclination is always eternal. It is going to stay with me.
Helplessly, one will be attracted to Krishna. So, in that sense, one will never perish. Now, going to some other commentaries.
The conservative commentary is, conservative means, see, these commentaries, this sort of words should not be used to justify saying that I can do any sinful activity and still I should be considered saintly. So, actually, here, the Acharya has described, Shridhar Swami has described this. Shridhar Swami says that Ananyabhag, what does it refer to? It refers to that he doesn’t go to any other deity.
Doesn’t go to any other deity or any other process. Because, if we use the word Ananyabhag to refer to undeviated devotional service, then it is a contradiction. You know, the very act of Suduracharya is a deviation.
If somebody is Suduracharya, how can he be considered Ananyabhag? If I am saying that it is uninterrupted devotional service, then sinful activity is an interruption in the devotional service. So, how can the two, Suduracharya and Ananyabhag be reconciled? Shridhar Swami says that Ananyabhag refers to not necessarily the continuity of the practical engagement in devotional service, but it is the commitment to a process and commitment to a deity. In that, he is undeviated.
He doesn’t think, oh, while practising bhakti, I had problems, so let me practise yoga or let me practise karma. He doesn’t think, oh, Krishna worship didn’t work, let me worship some other god. So, that is Ananyabhag.
So, he is not, Suduracharya is certainly a break in the devotional service. But Ananyabhag is not going to any other process or any other deity. Then, after that, he inscribes Sadhur eva samantavya.
Why is a sadhu? Because his sadhya and sadhana are still clear. Sadhya and sadhana are still clear. And then, he says, soon he will become righteous.
Why? Because the sadhya and sadhana are clear, they will purify. And that’s why soon such a person will become righteous. And now, Jiva Goswami, so, I’ll just, all this is not required here.
So, Jiva Goswami says, that this whole thing is actually, it’s a hypothetical glorification. What does it mean? Hypothetical glorification means, this is what roughly he said, and this is not his only position. He takes various positions at different places.
Just like, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu tells Srivasa Thakur, when Srivasa Thakur says, I’ll just clap three times and if food doesn’t come in my house, I will drown in the Ganga. So, at that time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, even if the goddess of fortune becomes poverty stricken and has to go begging from house to house, still there will not be any shortage in the house, in your house. Now, is it possible that the goddess of fortune can ever become poverty stricken? Never.
So, this is a rhetorical explanation to expression to illustrate the glory of that particular devotee. So, for example, I do not reside in Vaikuntha. I say that Vishnu doesn’t reside in Vaikuntha.
No, it’s a rhetorical glorification. So, rhetorical glorification is to highlight a particular point. Rhetorical glorification is to highlight a particular glory.
So, say the glory of example is Srivasa Thakur’s glory and how much I am pleased with the devotional service or the process of Shravanam Kirtanam. The process of Gayanti. So, just to illustrate a devotee to highlight the glory of a devotee or a process.
Rhetorical glorification might be. So, he says, actually a devotee will never commit sinful activities. Actually, a devotee will never commit sinful activities.
So, one of the problems is of this sort of idea this has happened in Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s times. If you remember Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s life, Bhaktivinoda Thakur did not find the copy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for 6 years when he was searching. But it does not mean that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was unknown.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very widely being worshipped. But what had happened was at that time, people were just saying that you can chant the names of God and you will get elevated, whatever you do. It doesn’t matter whether you are moral, whether you are legal, whether you are ethical, how you are behaving, it doesn’t matter.
You just chant and you will get purified. So, there is this is in whatever you want to say. In philosophy, this is called a document.
This is an idea called antinomianism. Antinomianism means devotion is a licence. Devotion frees one from moral behaviour.
So, Christians also have this idea. Just you accept Jesus as your saviour and then after that, whatever you do, it doesn’t matter. So, is the path of bhakti antinomian? No, it is not.
And this verse cannot be used as justification for that. Because Krishna says, bhavati dharmatma. He will become a dharmatma.
So, the goal, Krishna is not saying that just by being suduracharya, he will come back to me. No, he will become a bhavati dharmatma. So, eventually, one has to come to a devotional level.
If one doesn’t come to a devotional level, then it is not proper. So, it is for others to consider a person saintly. It is not for that person to consider himself saintly.
I am doing whatever I am doing, I am still saintly. No. It is for others to consider that person saintly.
That is actually wrong from our perspective. And this verse is not a support for that. So, that’s why, when Bhaktivinoda Thakur, he mentioned this and Bhaktivinoda Thakur, they were the first acharyas in those times to actually talk about naamaparada and to talk about how there are offences to the holy name and moral behaviour is required.
And Draupadi was very emphatic to emphasise the four original principles. So, there were Christian missionaries who came to India and they said, H.H. Wilson was a very famous Christian scholar. He said, this bhakti doctrine is so perverted that a person might be a monster throughout his life, but if he just dies with the name of Vishnu on his lips, he will go back to God.
He says, such a doctrine will bring immorality and havoc in society. And we need to rescue India from such a perverted doctrine. So, this is not actually the doctrine of bhakti.
Actually, what is highlighted is the glory of bhakti to elevate even the sinful. But that elevation has to happen. If that elevation doesn’t happen, then that is not proper.
A devotee has to become elevated. Now, beyond this, there is one more commentary. This is a rasik commentary.
So, this is given by, Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote two commentaries in the Bhagavad Gita. He wrote, he read Baldevidya Vishnu’s commentary. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s commentary, when he read Baldevidya Vishnu’s commentary and based on that he wrote a commentary which is called as does anyone know what is Baldevidya Vishnu’s commentary’s name? Gita Bhushan.
And when he read Gita Bhushan, he commented on that and his Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s commentary is called as Vidvatranjan. And then he wrote another commentary based on Vishwanatha Chakravarti’s commentary. What is Vishwanatha Chakravarti’s commentary’s name? Are you sure? Saradarshani’s Bhagavatam commentary.
Yeah. So, when he read this commentary based on that he wrote a commentary called Rasikranjan. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura when he read this commentary he wrote this.
So, in Rasikranjan he says that actually what is this verse referring to? So, he says Apichetsuduracharo bhajate mam ananyabhak. So, he says actually it is talking about three levels. It’s sudurachara.
That is the first verse. So, this is in A. Then B is ananyabhak. And it’s not in C. This is, okay.
9.30. A is one level. Apichetsuduracharo. Then 9.30. B is another level.
That is ananyabhak. And then 9.31. Chipram bhavati dharmatma. A is another level.
That is dharmatma. So, he says actually if you want to have a hierarchy this is say level 1. This is level 0. Sudurachara is a very bad level. This is actually the highest level.
Level 2. And this is level 1. Isn’t it? So, he is saying that somebody who is durachara, apichetsudurachara, bhajate mam ananyabhak. So, if somebody is at level 0, how can that be at level 2? If somebody is sudurachara, how can he be ananyabhak? And he says, okay, if somebody is ananyabhak and he is at level 2, then after that why should he come to level 1 of dharmatma? Dharmatma actually is not the highest level. Is it confusing? Or is it clear? Okay.
So, if somebody is at level 0, how can he be at level 2? But if he is at level 2, then after that by practise why will he come at level 1 of dharmatma? Because Krishna says the highest level is sarva-dharman parittancha. So, ananyabhak is higher than dharmatma. So, he says that his whole series of verses is referring to the gopis.
And… So, sudurachara is referring to the raslila. Where the gopis leave their husbands and go to the forest. So, from the material point of view, to leave their family and go to the forest is sudurachara.
But actually what they are doing is pure devotional service. They are actually practising sarva-dharman parittancha. The gopis are doing 18.66 Bhagavad Gita.
Sarva-dharman parittancha. And then he says will the gopis become dharmatma? No. Those who… Krishna is saying… You should consider yourself a person to be sadhu.
So, he says those who glorify the gopis as sadhus, they will become dharmatma. So, they will be at a lower level. They will rise to a higher level.
So, in this way, Bhaktivinoda Thakur gives a very extraordinary insight into this whole verse. So, in general, we can… See, in bhakti, there are times when we need encouragement and there are times when we need chastisement. So, you know, when a person needs encouragement, that time you give him chastisement that person will go down completely.
So, I think I told this earlier. One time Prabhupada… One devotee wrote to Prabhupada, Prabhupada, I want to help you by preaching and saving the whole world. And Prabhupada wrote back, he said, it is good to save the world but it is more important to save oneself.
And another devotee wrote to Prabhupada and said, Prabhupada, I am such a fallen soul. I can’t do anything to serve you. Prabhupada said, I need many solemn souls like you to help me in saving the whole world.
So, what does it mean? It means that actually the acharya, the spiritual master recognises, okay, what a person needs. If a person is becoming over-ambitious, over-confident, the person needs some caution, some warning, some chastisement maybe, some cautioning he needs. On the other hand, if a person is feeling very discouraged, then that person needs encouragement.
So, what do we mean by liberal commentary and conservative commentary? You know, if a person is having great difficulty in the practise of bhakti and is falling down repeatedly, then we can understand, yes. It is not that because of this I am disqualified from the practise of devotional service. No, I can still practise and gradually because I am being fixed in bhakti and fixed in Krishna and not giving that up, I will become purified.
So, that can be a source of encouragement for us. But, if somebody uses these kind of verses to justify, actually, you know, it’s Kaliyuga only, all of us are fallen, what can we do? This is the way we all are and this is the way we will be. There is somebody justifying like that, then we have to understand that actually Krishna doesn’t talk only these verses.
There are other verses also where Krishna is very strongly condemning immorality. So, the conservative commentaries are given so that this doesn’t become a licence for continuing or justifying immoral behaviour. So, now, after describing these two verses, Krishna talks about these are 29 and 30 talk about incidental or occasional false in a person.
A person is practising bhakti but occasionally there are false. Whereas, 9.32 and 33 will talk about inherent false. Inherent false means false that are there from the birth itself.
So, going back to this, you could put this another way as occasional or incidental false. That means nobody is practising bhakti but somehow there is a false. This is referring to inherent false.
That means from birth only there is a contaminated birth. But both can be overcome. So, let’s see that now.
Yes. So, from one point of view, Krishna is calling as really women are sinful? Is it like this is like a misogynist sort of thing where women are considered lower? No, that is not the point over here. Krishna’s emphasis is different.
Krishna is saying even if according to convention women are considered sinful, Shudra are considered sinful, Vaishya are considered sinful, it doesn’t matter. So, Krishna is not saying that they are sinful. Krishna is saying even if somebody considers them sinful, it doesn’t matter.
Even if you consider them paapyona, for bhakti, it doesn’t matter at all. Because the power of bhakti will purify. So, Krishna is telling whatever be the birth, if they take shelter of me, then they will become purified and gyanti param vati they will attain the supreme destination.
But still why should Shudra, Vaishya, Shudra be considered paapyona at all by anyone? Because the birth that we get, that is often determined by our past karma and that birth actually also is accompanied with a certain kind of mentality. So, Vaishyas normally are very much interested in money. Shudras are always lamenting, lamenting this went wrong, that went wrong.
So, these mentalities are not very conducive to the practise of bhakti. In the female body, actually the identification with the body and the emotionality are very high. So, because of these, these are unfavourable for the practise of bhakti to some extent.
They are not unfavourable to the practise of bhakti, they are unfavourable to overall spiritual path. Actually spirituality, emotionality can be favourable to bhakti. Money making ability can be favourable to bhakti.
The ability, expertise at material skills can also be favourable to bhakti. But from the traditional point of view of Vedic piety, Shudra, Vaishya, Shudra are considered to be less qualified. But Krishna says for bhakti, it doesn’t matter.
For bhakti, it doesn’t matter. Then, to assure Arjuna, Krishna will give a rhetorical question in the next verse. Hmm.
So, Krishna is telling that even they can get elevated. Arjuna, you fall among the Rajarushis. So, you will definitely be elevated.
Therefore, I know you have to face this troublesome war. It’s just a part of this Anitya Masukham Lokam. It’s just there, but you just bhajaswoma, just practise devotional service and get out of this material existence.
You will also, if they can attain Paramgati, even you can attain. So, that is actually a matter of great hope for us. Some of us may feel that we are from very bad, we have some bad conditionings from our earlier life.
But we can see that many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples had much more terrible conditionings. For them, sexual immorality and other things were just a daily norm. But we see many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, they have become exalted devotees and they have become purified, they have become liberated.
Now, of course, some of them may be, as Prabhupada said, eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya who were sent to assist him. But not all. But even they have become elevated.
So, as devotees, we can take hope that even people who are from background which are worse than us, they have also become elevated. So, we can also become elevated. So, Krishna using that same way, even people who are lower than you will become elevated.
So, why not you? So, practise devotional service. And then bhajaswoma is a call for practising devotional service. And then, the last bhajaswoma will conclude by saying, how one can practise devotional service.
Yeah. So, this is very clear, emphatic words about devotional service. That is, Krishna dasi, you will come to me and you will, he is telling also how to do it.
We will discuss the components of this course later when we come to the 18th chapter. But Chakravarti Pada explains that this comes in the centre of the centre of the centre. It is the essence of the essence of the essence.
How he says? The Gita is the essence of all books. Sarvopanishad Gopalandana. Within the Gita, the middle 6 chapters are the essence.
Within that essence, the 9th chapter is the most confidential knowledge. And the most intimate directly devotional verse within that is this verse. That’s how it is, the essence of the essence of the essence.
So, this is the conclusion of this 9th chapter where Krishna has, after analysing various parts, encouraged Arjuna by describing the glory of bhakti and just practised devotional service. Thank you very much. Shreemad Bhagavad Gita Ki Jai.
Shreemad Bhagavad Gita Ki Jai. Gaur Bhaktivinda Ki Jai. Jai Gaur Srimanand.