Gita Study Pune 2013 – 13.8-19 Achintyabhedabheda in the Gita

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, thank you very much. अनित्वम् अधम्भित्वम् अहिम्साशान्तिरार्जवम् आचार्योपासनंशवचम् स्थैर्यमात्मविनेग्रह इंद्रियार्थेषुवैराज्यम् अनहंकारेवच जन्ममृत्युञ्जराव्याधि दुख्खदोशानुधर्शनम् असक्तिरणभिष्वंगः पुत्रदारग्रहाधिषु नित्यंचसमचित्तत्वम् इष्टानिष्टोपपतिषु मैचानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी विविक्तदेश्यसेवित्वम् अरतिर्जनसंसदी आध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वम् तत्वज्ञानार्थदरिशनम् एतज्ञानमितिप्रोक्तम् अज्ञानम्यदतोअन्यता ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्ष ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्षेत्र ख्ष one is expected to be interested in earning and accumulating. The brahmanas, they have a lot of knowledge and they are also generally not entirely poverty stricken, not that they are starving, but the brahmanas are never opulent.
The brahmanas don’t care much for accumulating wealth. They are interested in simple living and that is the result of knowledge. To a large extent, jnana leads to vairagya.
Because when we actually get knowledge, then we understand that things of this world are temporary and there is something substantial, which is beyond the things of this world. And that is what one should aspire for. So, now, with respect to jnana, as is talked about over here, the qualities are those qualities which help a person to come closer to spiritual reality.
And, you know, knowledge was defined differently. If you look at the history of the world, you know, as I normally discuss in the 18th chapter, but we’ll discuss it here now. Knowledge as understood historically.
So, Plato was a prominent European thinker, Greek thinker. And Plato said knowledge is virtue. That means, knowledge should lead to the development of virtue.
Whereas, at the start of the age of science, there was a thinker, Francis Bacon. So, he said, knowledge is power. So, his idea was significantly different.
His idea was that by acquiring knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, one will be able to control the external world. And this, to a large extent, is Rajasic knowledge. Whereas, this is Sattvic knowledge.
Of course, that is, Krishna describes Sattvic and Rajasic in the 18th chapter. And that will be in a different framework. But here is, generally knowledge is virtue means what? This is knowledge which is, how does virtue come about? By inner transformation.
Whereas, knowledge is power. So, Rajasic is outer transformation. That means, try to control nature, try to control external things by using machines.
So, this is the idea of knowledge mostly in today’s terms. And we see in today’s society that people are able to control big, big machines, but they are not able to control their own minds. So, we have controlled machines and uncontrolled minds.
And that is because our knowledge is lopsided. So, lopsided means it is not properly developed holistically. We have tremendous knowledge about controlling external things, but no knowledge about controlling internal things.
That’s why it’s important that knowledge be developed in a balanced way, in a holistic way. So, here Krishna’s explanation of knowledge is similar to what Plato has talked about. You know, in Greek history there is a famous geometrician, Euclidus.
So, Euclidus was teaching geometry and one of his students asked, but what is the practical use of studying this geometry? What am I going to gain by studying this? So, then he called one of his servants, give him a coin. He said, because for him without gaining a coin, he thinks that there is no use to knowledge. So, his idea was to instruct that knowledge should not be understood only in monetary terms.
And actually we have, you know, if you look at the history of the world, there is monetization of knowledge and eventually there has been monetization of life also. Monetization means evaluating everything in monetary terms. So, if you see traditionally Jnana was meant for dana, but now education is one of the biggest businesses in today’s society.
One of the biggest businesses. So, that is the whole ethos has changed and when education is used just for monetary purposes, then that education does not lead to the growth of the actual person. We may have good technicians, but we don’t have good human beings or to speak of good spiritualists.
Now, we have people who can manipulate machines very well, but we can’t manipulate, we can’t manage people, we can’t manage our own selves. So, actually if you look at the history of medicine, when the first stethoscope was developed, stethoscope is what is used to understand the heartbeat and blood pressure and things like that internally. So, there was a number of doctors who opposed it.
They said bringing an instrument between the patient and the doctor will dehumanise the treatment process, will dehumanise the treatment process and today that has precisely what has happened. When we go to a doctor, the first thing the doctor tells us is do these, these, these tests and the doctor relies more on the machine to understand the person than the person to understand the person. So, what happens is because of this, now in some ways the machine’s reports might be reliable.
Okay, the machine can tell what is the blood count and what is the heartbeat and things like that, but the subjective aspect, a lot about healing is about caring. So, that aspect is completely neglected. That means the doctors often treat patients just as bodily machines which are to be repaired, not human beings who are to be healed.
So, why has that happened? That is because of the monetization of medicine and that all begins with monetization of knowledge, then all knowledge becomes monetised. So, now when Krishna talks about knowledge, he doesn’t talk about it in informational terms, he doesn’t talk about it in monetary terms, he doesn’t talk about it in knowledge’s power in terms of controlling the external world. He talks about it primarily in terms of virtue, in terms of developing inner qualities.
So, Amanitvam Adambhitvam, the mana and dambha is slightly different. Mana is when I have good qualities and I want respect for that. Dambha is when I don’t have good qualities and still I want respect for that.
So, mana is actually in a sense more honest than dambha. So, but still mana is also undesirable. Dambha means sometimes some politicians, when they want to get some votes of some poor people, then they will go to some slum and then they will take a poverty stricken baby from the slum and they will put him on their lap and then they will click a photograph, see how the politician cares for the child and as soon as the child starts responding, they will throw the child away.
They don’t care for the child. So, that is actually sort of just window dressing. So, dambha means I want credit for that which I don’t have.
And so, now Krishna is telling that we certainly should not seek that, but we should also not seek credit for the quality that we have or for the power, position, whatever we have, because with knowledge we understand that whatever I have is a gift from God. It is, they are my borrowed plumes, they will be there temporarily and they will go away. Amanitvam Adambhitvam and he talks about Ahimsa, Shanti, Rajyam.
I won’t go into all the qualities over here, because Prabhupada has explained that quite well in the Purport and you can read that. Here, I will focus on the significant points over here. So, one thing is Krishna in the 16th chapter talking about the process of Jnana Yoga and in Jnana Yoga, Bhakti is one limb of Jnana.
Bhakti is one limb of Jnana, because the Jnanis also practise Bhakti as a part of the sadhana, so that they can become elevated and come to the Brahman platform. So, are these qualities of Jnana only for Jnana Yogis? No, they can apply for devotees also, but all of them do not apply for devotees. For example, there is Vivektadesha Saivitvam, staying in a secluded place.
Now, devotees are recommended to stay in the association of devotees, in association. Vivektadesha Saivitvam, Prabhupada will explain that as, it means to not stay in the association of worldly people, but stay either separate or stay with devotees. So, we will recommend staying with devotees.
So, all these qualities as it is, may not apply to devotees, but many of them do apply to devotional life. So, even in the Jnana Marga, a person is expected to develop these qualities. So, here, Maicha Ananya Yogena Bhaktir Avyabhicharini.
So, Bhaktir Avyabhicharini is that fixed devotional service is what is to be practised. Now, it is significant, the use of the word. Where does the word Avyabhichari come once again? Yes, very good, 14.26. Mamchayo Avyabhicharena.
Now, Avyabhichari Bhakti is not the same as Ahaituki Bhakti. What is the difference between Avyabhichari and Ahaituki? Avyabhichari is undistracted. Now, like Avyabhichari is one of the regular principles, that means for a spouse to have a relationship with somebody other than the spouse, that is Avyabhichari, that is distraction.
So, Avyabhichari means undistracted, Ahaituki means unmotivated. So, the Jnani’s Bhakti is motivated. The Jnani is practising Bhakti so that the Jnani will attain Mukti, not Krishna.
The Jnani doesn’t want to attain Krishna. Jnani wants to attain Mukti, Moksha. So, it is Ahaituki, not Ahaituki.
But still, even for the Jnani, his practise has to be Avyabhicharini because to the extent it is undistracted, to that extent the Jnani will be able to ascend towards the spiritual level. Now, Nityamji Samachit Tattvam, that actually, earlier also we discussed in 12th chapter, how for a person to be transcendental, he has to be equipoised towards material things. Now, the most common part of this verse which Prabhupada quotes is, Chandramrityu Jaravyadi, Dukha Doshanudarshanam.
Now, when Krishna talks about perceiving the miseries of material existence, this is not pessimism. It is like a patient confronting the reality that I have a disease. Then the patient can start taking the treatment and then there is hope for being cured.
The patient lives in denial. To the extent the patient denies the disease, to that extent the disease will become more complicated and the patient will suffer more. Same way, we are in material existence where there will be birth, old age, disease and death.
So, it is best to recognise it and then to prepare to transcend it by rising to the spiritual level. Now, Adhyatma Jnanatitam Tattva Jnanat Darshanam. This means that one practises, one recognises that the spiritual knowledge that is lasting, so one should cultivate, focus on the cultivation of spiritual knowledge.
Tattva Jnanat Darshanam. And one is reasoning, analysis, philosophising for actually understanding the truth. So, all these are elements of knowledge.
Now, apart from this, whatever it is, Krishna calls it as ignorance. That means that it all leads to the perpetuation of ignorance. The person is forgetfulness of God in material existence and that is what will continue.
Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that, jada vidyayata maya ravaibhava, tomara bhajane badha, moha janamiya anitya samsare, jiva ke karaye gada, se gada hoya, that I became such a donkey, that what I have been, vahinu aneka kala, for a long time I was carrying this burden. Now, why is Bhaktivinoda Thakur comparing material knowledge to a burden? Because it doesn’t lead to any transformation of the heart. Actually, to the extent we have material desires, we will have material anxieties.
And material desires and material anxieties will burden the heart. Now, the knowledge which doesn’t decrease our material desires and anxieties, but only keeps us in the realm of materialism, where our desires and anxieties will increase, that knowledge is going to burden us. That knowledge itself may be written in eloquent terms, there may be brilliant analysis in it, there may be lot of enjoyment at the intellectual level in it.
But if it keeps us attached to the material level, then it is simply going to lead to bondage. It is going to burden us, basically. So, bhoja is, as you know, burden.
So, material knowledge is burden because, what are two reasons? Yeah, doesn’t take away material desires and so doesn’t take away material anxieties. And then, that’s why there is, and both these, both these burden our heart. It’s like nowadays, in India, football is becoming immensely popular.
And you know, people are mad. Now, India is nowhere in the world football map. Nowhere at all.
And Indian, especially the upper middle class, you know, those who have become a little well off, because of the, after liberalising last 15-20 years, their children, they are completely mad after football. You know, and especially it’s all European League, Manchester United and Milan and this and all that. Now, actually, there is no connection of the country and people are mad.
People wear those dresses and they cheer and all these matches are late at night and they are watching these matches. And it’s just a totally media created craze. Totally media created craze.
Because that’s what was glamourised in the media. And now, actually, for European football, now India is in one sense the financial superpower of cricket. Because most of the money that comes to the cricketing world comes from India.
So, the European economy is going down rapidly. The EU is in the middle of a recession, European Union. So, what has happened? It has been for a long time.
So, now they have, the European football leagues, they have sort of, to a large extent, decided that the future revenue for continuing European football will come from India. So, of course, they are not poverty stricken. But, you know, the money, for example, that average football league, there are franchises.
So, many of these football leagues, the money that they transact, that means the money that they earn and the money that they give out, it is often bigger than many multinational companies. It’s huge money involved. Every football player’s salary and advertisements and promotions.
So, most of that money is also, it was a media created craze. And people get sometimes, you know, their favourite team, whichever it is, it loses and they are heartbroken and they cry and they are, you know, this player played like this and this player did that, why did like this and it’s such stupidity. So, what has happened is, it’s just infatuation, there are material desires and there are material anxieties.
So, it’s just the whole expansion of technology, the availability of television and internet, all that has basically led to the creation of new anxieties. So, it just created new anxiety, that’s all. So, knowledge, as I said earlier, Jnana should lead to Vairagya.
But today, Jnana leads to Raga. Raga is attachment, not Vairagya, but the opposite of that is Raga. It is newer and newer forms of attachment.
And that’s why this knowledge is Jada Vidhyayata Mayara Vaibhava, Tomara Vajane Badha, Moha Janamiya Anitya Samsara. It is Moha Janamiya. It creates more and more illusions.
It creates more and more attachments and distractions. It’s Moha Janamiya. So, now, somebody may argue that it is not that this knowledge is bad, it’s misuse is bad.
That is true. But every knowledge also brings with it a certain set of values. Every system of knowledge comes with a certain set of values.
So, modern education, although it was rooted in religious roots, in most of the educational institutes, the whole culture of education, the way we have it today. Traditionally, if you see, education was through Gurukuls in India. And Gurukuls were completely non-financial institutes.
There was no finance involved in that. There was no money taken, no money given. At the end, some Guru Dakshina might be given.
And the government would, whatever is required, the government would support the Gurukuls. But when the education started, now today, the whole concept of universities that we have today is substantially different from the Gurukuls that were there in Vedic culture. Many differences.
One, of course, as I said, is the difference of money. But the other differences are, if you see how the history of education started in Europe, educational institutes, the universities, what we have today, they were primarily started by the Catholics. Because there was this, as the age of science started spreading, then there was a lot of attack on Christianity.
So then the church, in order to defend its theology, it started training its own cadets. And their church had a huge amount of money. In European history, the Catholic Pope was richer than the, on many occasions, he was richer in terms of his personal assets, than the kings of all the other European countries combined together.
Because all of them were supposed to bow down to him, because he was the, he was supposed to be the head of, head of God’s mission in the world. So all of them, so then Catholics had a lot of money. So they built all these big, big universities for the sake of education.
So initially they wanted to give primal theological education. But then they introduced secular education also. Subjects like, because they found that through science, existence of God is being debated.
So then we will teach science, so that that will be countered. And as their education started expanding more and more, they started including students who are not religiously inclined also. So first it was meant for religious purposes, taught by religious teachers to religious students.
Then they started including non-religious subjects. And then they started including non-religious teachers to non-religious subjects. Then they started including non-religiously inclined students.
And then gradually, as they started, this institute started becoming big, more and more big, they started needing more and more money. So the church started taking its hands off, because they saw that these students are not really fulfilling the mission of the church. And the institutes to go on, they needed money from private sources.
And because they were such big institutes, they needed money from big patrons. And the big patrons meant that those people would be people like industrialists or business magnates. And then they started gaining control over the education.
And eventually their goal in educating people was not so much to develop the minds and hearts of the people. It was basically to help make them tools in the socio-economic system that is existing. So that’s how the whole education system got degenerated.
And today, as I said, education and commerce are so intrinsically connected, that not only is education controlled by commerce, but education is one of the main sources of commerce. So as I said earlier, education was controlled by commerce, but now education has itself become a source of commerce. So it’s big business.
And because it is big business, so those who go through education also are primarily interested in earning money. Now, actually, even in the Catholic universities, up to 150-200 years ago, most of the teachers were monks. Because Catholic Church has a tradition, Protestants don’t have a tradition of monks.
They have only married pastors. But Catholics have the tradition of monks. So they had the monks who would be teaching the subjects.
And they did not have the system of co-education. But as the times changed, then the number of monks in the Catholic Church started decreasing tremendously. So then they felt that the monks are best used as pastors to administer to the congregation and not as teachers.
So then more and more secular teachers came into the picture. So why I am talking about this history is to illustrate how illusion is spreading through the education system. So that education which is meant to originally take people towards spirituality, that itself has become subverted and that is now taking people towards illusion more and more.
And now especially the campus culture is often such that even virtuous students, if there are any, they become slaughtered, practically speaking. Because the whole culture is a culture of degradation, licentiousness and debauchery and they just get dragged into that, sucked into that completely. So education is originally meant to bring out the better side of the person.
But today’s education does not talk about bringing out the better side. It just talks about making money and making fame and position for oneself. So that is, etad jnanam iti proktam ajnanam yad to anyatha.
It is ajnanam, ajnanam yad to anyatha. So, any questions about this? Yes. You can speak loudly.
Here Krishna has spoken about the jnan yogi or the qualities which a jnan yogi, jnani, jnanmarg person, he has to basically apply. So how do we categorise that in that way? How do we categorise that these are the qualities which a jnan yogi has to apply? Because this is the jnana section of the Bhagavad Gita and the context, if you see the questions, purusha, prakriti, jnana, kshetra, kshetragna, these are not concepts that are discussed in bhakti literature primarily. You won’t find these terms in Bhakta Samhita, Sindhu or Madhurya Kadambini or anywhere like that.
So these are terms which can have devotional connection because everything in the world has devotional connection. But they are not primarily or integrally parts of devotional service. So those terms are itself indicating that now a discussion on the jnana aspect has started.
Even in the jnan marg, Krishna means to say this, mayi cha ananya inna yogena bhaktir avyabhicharini. That is what I have heard, this part is considered the most important part among them. Yes, Prabhupada explains in the purport.
This is actually, in a sense, the engine of transformation. Because all others are qualities that have to be described. It’s like when you go to a doctor, the doctor tells us that you have got sugar deficiency, you have got RBC deficiency, and you have got so and so problems.
Well, what do I do after that? Give me some prescription, isn’t it? So treatment has two parts, diagnosis and prescription. So the diagnosis is, you lack humility, you lack detachment, you lack non-violence. What do I do about it? So give me some prescription by which the transformation will take place.
So in a sense, all the other 19 elements are the diagnosis. This is what is wrong and this is what needs to be corrected. But how do I correct it? Bhakti is the prescription.
So if there is only diagnosis and no prescription, then practical change doesn’t take place. That’s why Prabhupada also writes that actually. Among these, of course, even for the Gyanam, earlier there was a question about, are there gurus in other paths? So here also Acharya Pasnam is mentioned.
So Acharya Pasnam is going to a guru. That is important. And the guru helps us to develop these qualities.
But he helps us to develop these qualities by teaching us the process of transformation. That is the process of Bhakti. So for treatment and transformation.
So treatment is like all of us are in a diseased condition in material existence. Treatment has these two parts. Diagnosis is what qualities are lacking.
And prescription is how to develop them by Bhakti Yoga. So how does Bhakti Yoga develop these qualities? Is it that because we are Bhaktas, we are saying that we practise Bhakti Yoga? No, actually the Atma has divine qualities. This is one of the fundamental difference between the Abrahamic religions and Vedic tradition.
Both recognise humanity’s fallen condition. But the Abrahamic religions consider that that fallen condition is intrinsic to human beings. All of us are intrinsically sinful because of Adam’s original sin.
Whereas the Vedic religion explains that we are intrinsically pure because we are parts of God. However, our fallen condition is because of our coverings. So once we remove the coverings, then we will get restored to our godly nature.
So their idea is that, you know, in Christianity, it’s a little interesting notion. Of course, Christianity is very broad. When I talk about Christianity, you shouldn’t think that all Christians are like this.
But many Christians have the idea that eternity is not our nature. Eternity is a gift given to us by grace. That means it is not that we are intrinsically eternal beings.
It is only if we surrender to Jesus, then we will become eternal. So because some Christians feel embarrassed by the idea that if you don’t surrender to Jesus, then you’ll have to go to hell forever. So they say better than saying that you’ll go to hell forever is you won’t exist afterwards only.
So their idea is that you will become eternal if you surrender to Jesus. If not, you’ll be destroyed. And that’s the end of everything.
So that means the intrinsic spirituality of the person is not so well recognised. So our understanding is that we are fallen because we are covered by contamination. Intrinsically, we are pure and we can remove these impurities by our own efforts, but that will be very laborious.
But on the other hand, if we connect with Krishna, then it is Krishna’s power that helps us in cleansing. So that is like getting a higher power. So then when you get the higher power, then the whole thing becomes easier.
It’s like if I’m trying to swim against the current, it’s difficult. But if I find a current that is going in the same direction where I want to swim and I join that current, then swimming becomes much easier. So like that, when we start, when we just want to get purified, the general tendency of things in this world is to go down, will go down.
So it’s very difficult to purify ourselves and elevate ourselves. But when we join the bhakti stream, we join the bhakti current and we become the association of devotees and start practising bhakti, then also it may be difficult, but the bhakti current pushes us forward. So that is very important.
And that’s how we get the power of God on our side. So that’s why when you talk about a prescription, prescription is, mahi chaana niyogi na bhakti rabhya picharani. Any other questions? That would mean this, technically speaking, would not become exactly a gyan yoga.
It would become a mix of bhakti also. Yes, technically speaking, will it not be gyan yoga? Will it be bhakti yoga? Yes. It will be a mixture depending on what is the conception of the seeker.
So the conception of the seeker is primarily impersonal Brahman. Then it is primarily, it can be, we must have discussed this in the 9th chapter, there is, you know, Chakravarthy says, if the bhakti element in karma is less than 50%, it is more than 50%, it is almost 100%. Have you discussed that earlier? Oh, really? OK.
So there is gunamishra bhakti, there is pradhani bhuta bhakti and there is kevala bhakti. Kevala bhakti means 100% bhakti. There is gunamishra bhakti means, it is bhakti which is contaminated by the modes, where the contamination is so much that bhakti is less than 50%.
And pradhani bhuta bhakti means bhakti is the pradhanand, bhakti is more than 50%. So kevala bhaktas, so basically this is the destination Chakravarthy talks about. I’ll come to this first.
Just don’t know where our destination is right now. Just look at the part here. So guni bhuta bhakti, where bhakti is less than 50%.
Pradhani bhuta bhakti is where bhakti is more than 50%. Kevala bhakti is where bhakti itself is 100%. So now when you can have guni bhuta bhakti, where you can have yoga mishra bhakti, you can have jnana mishra bhakti.
So because both jnana and yoga, they are basically products of the three modes. They are not entirely transcendental processes. So what he describes is that different people will get different destinations.
So jnana yoga, dhyana yoga, karma yoga, people who follow this, if they add bhakti to their element, bhakti to their transit path, then they will attain brahmajyoti. Not just by themselves, they have to have bhakti as a part of their path. Now the other transcendental, so that means in this case, jnana yogis, dhyana yogis, their primary sadhana is jnana or karma or dhyana, but they are also doing bhakti, they will go to brahmajyoti.
Now what about some people who practise bhakti, but bhakti is less than 50%. So they are practising bhakti, but that’s less than 50%. That means the other paths are more prominent.
So that is almost identical to the earlier thing. So they will also attain brahmajyoti, he describes. Now only when the bhakti is more than 50%, now pradhani bhuta bhakti is when the bhakti is more than 50%, but still there is the whole, this is the path of jnana is there, similarly the conception of jnana with respect to bhagwan is there, and the aishwarya conception of bhagwan is there.
So then he says that these are generally people who come from parmatmavadis to bhakti. So the pradhani bhuta bhaktas, they will attain vaikuntha with shantarati. Vaikuntha with shantarati, generally speaking, because the yogis, they are primarily interested in meditating, passive meditation.
So that’s what they will continue in vaikuntha. On the other hand, those who become kevala bhaktas, that means they are not practising any other path except the path of bhakti, they will attain golokarindavan with prema. It’s not gaudiya vaishnavism, it’s golokarindavan, jivi.
Is it clear? Yes, generally it can be guni bhuta or pradhani bhuta. Of course it can be jnana yoga with bhakti also, we can’t say, it depends on the conception of the person. Just in addition to this question only, about jnani’s practise, you previously told that how speculation is the main practise of jnanis.
So we hear this philosophical speculation, the neti neti process, and also now you added the element of bhakti in their practises. So can you just clarify, basically what is a jnani’s procedure? Is neti neti part of their process or it’s not part of their process? What is the process of jnana marga basically? See, the primary sadhana is analysis. A negative way to label analysis is speculation.
But essentially it’s intellectual activity. So it is through intellectual activity and through the discrimination that comes from intellectual activity, they try to develop qualities. So these are some qualities which the path of jnana is supposed to lead to.
And similarly we discussed in chapter 18.49-53, Krishna talks about jnana, nishkarma siddhim paramam, taapnoti tathasu, nishkarma siddhim paramam, Krishna said. This is how you attain the nishkarma siddhi. And there he describes how the jnanis, laghvashi, should eat less, and things like that are described.
But the primary activity which they do is intellectual. It’s basically analysis. So that analysis can be neti neti.
It is definitely an important part of their process. But it is also about aham brahmasmi, that sort of analysis and contemplation is there. And that analysis and contemplation is also centred on, not centred on, it also includes some conception of controlling being.
So generally, now Shankaracharya also says, I mean Shankaracharya as he is through his advaitic teachings, not Shankaracharya as he actually is from the point of view of he being Lord Shiva. But Shankaracharya as he says that in the material world there are various devatas and Vishnu is supreme among them. But this whole hierarchy of the devatas and the entire material reality is vyavaharik.
It is practical reality. But beyond that is paramarthic reality where there is no difference between bhakta and bhagwan. And there is no bhakti.
There is just existence. So now he says that prematurely one cannot jump to the paramarthic level. So if one has come to the paramarthic level then one has gone beyond the sadhana stage.
So one has become a siddha purusha. But you cannot artificially jump to the level of siddha purusha. And as long as one is in the vyavaharik stage, one has to practise sadhana.
So that means this whole conceptual frame of thinking comes from jnana. But within that conceptual frame of thinking as a means of ascending they will also practise bhakti. So the whole conceptual frame of thinking that is the primary attribute of jnana.
But because they recognise that when we are in the material world the vyavaharik reality is true to a large extent. So then you have to operate according to the vyavaharik reality. So they will practise bhakti also.
So do they really develop these qualities because we see jnanis, yogis, usually humility is talked a lot about bhaktas. But jnanis and yogis are not, usually they are very proud and like that. So are they able to really develop these qualities? Do jnanis and yogis develop qualities like humility and others? It depends.
So often these, especially jnana marga and yoga marga, it can lead to pride. Because there is the, for the yoga marga there is the siddhis which bring power with them. For the jnana marga there is the idea that I am myself God.
So those can lead to infatuation. But there is the jnana marga and the jnana marga is, the serious jnani is expected to develop these qualities. So in general mayavadis, although they deny individuality, they are also as individual as our Vaishnavas.
Among Vaishnavas also we will see that some devotees are little bit more proud, some devotees are humble. So that variety is there because the sadhana will not be followed equally well by everyone. So mayavadis will also have that.
Some mayavadis may be humble. Now some mayavadis may be arrogant. Now we may say that mayavad as a conception itself is arrogant.
That is true. That is definitely true. But within that, within that basic flaw, that, just like there may be atheists.
But you know, just because a person is an atheist, doesn’t mean that the atheist will have all bad qualities. For whatever reason that person may be an atheist right now, but it’s possible that the atheist can have good qualities. But their good qualities won’t last.
Their good qualities won’t last. You know Prabhupada says, when Prabhupada asked about Chanakya Pandit, was he a Vaishnava? Prabhupada said no, he was a mayavadi. So now, now there are 2-3 verses of Chanakya which quote about him being devoted to Vasudeva.
But that is just, you know, even mayavadis talk about Vasudeva. Very, they talk about. But Prabhupada asked in Niti Shastra, that book by Satsvarupa Maharaj about the various verses of Chanakya.
So if you see, Prabhupada never quote Chanakya as a spiritual authority. There is not one verse of Prabhupada about Chanakya’s conception of God. All of Prabhupada’s quotations about Chanakya are about worldly morality.
So Prabhupada did not accept Chanakya as a spiritual authority. But he accepted Chanakya as a worldly authority. Now of course, it’s very difficult to say who Chanakya was.
In general, as I said, the lines dividing Vaishnavism and Mayavad in real life are not so, are often blurred. They are not very clear. So according to academic scholars, he was a Parsi, which is absurd.
Which is absurd, you know. There is really no basis to that idea. He was a Zoroastrian.
But one thing is very true that he was against Jainism and Buddhism. Because he strongly felt that Jainism and Buddhism, these are philosophies which are so world-rejecting, that they breed a culture of irresponsibility, which is not conducive to worldly administration. So anyway, my point here is that Prabhupada, he had some good quality.
That’s why Prabhupada would quote him. So he may be quoted, but primarily the focus is on the knowledge that he has given at a social level. So knowledge at a social level, we can quote that.
There is nothing wrong in that. So they may have some good qualities also. Here you were telling that in Gune Bhuta Bhakti, when Bhakti is less than 50%, then most of the time they end up in Brahmajyoti.
So what is the conception which these Bhaktas have, Gune Bhuta Bhakti, Pradhani Bhuta Bhakti, and Kewala Bhaktas have conception as Krishna, Supreme Personality of Godhead, but what about them? Pradhani Bhuta Bhakti, what is the conception? It’s Bhagwan only, but it’s an Aishwarya Bhav. It’s like Shantarati, they know that there is God, but they know that God is a person, but they feel God is so great, what can I do for Him, I am so tiny. So they just focus on meditating on the glory of God.
Now Gune Bhuta Bhakti and Gyan Yoga, basically there the conception is that Bhakti is a sadhan to attain Brahmajyoti. That’s their conception. Gune Bhuta Bhakti, 50% since they go to Brahmajyoti, and the down people also go to Brahmajyoti.
Then why is it like that? Down level people are also going to Brahmajyoti, only top people are also going to Brahmajyoti, even though they have some Bhakti. So that is the potency of Bhakti, that Bhakti is required for all sadhanas to attain success. But now when he is talking about this Gune Bhuta Bhakti, what he is talking about is slightly different.
He is saying that if a Bhakta while practising Bhakti, stays at the level of Gune Bhuta, then even the Bhakta may end up in Brahmajyoti. Therefore the Bhakta should go towards at least Pradhani Bhuta, if not Kevala. So the idea is that, first of all, the other Yogis, if they don’t include Bhakti in it, they will not attain transcendence, even Brahmajyoti.
But even Bhaktas, if they don’t make Bhakti the primary element of their sadhana, then they may not attain the destination where they will continue forever. Now the idea here is again, we say Neha, Vikram and Ashosti. Bhakti continues on forever.
But then, that is true, Purvabhyasena tenai varhiyate yaho vasyopisa. We will continue from the next life to this life. But that will continue on as long as there is some desire for material enjoyment.
But if one is cleansed of the desire for material enjoyment and at the same time has not yet developed a proper spiritual conception of the Absolute Truth, then that person will go to Brahmajyoti. So it’s not something which will happen in just one lifetime. Purification takes many lifetimes and they will have many chances.
But eventually they have to make the choice of focussing on Bhakti. So after I have described Jnana, now I will describe Jnana. And interestingly he says, what is the result of this Jnana? Yaj jnatva amrutam asnute.
One will attain eternity by this. And then Anadi matparam brahma. That this is beginningless and it is subordinate to me.
Nasat tanna saduchyate. Now, in the 13th chapter, the section that is going to come, this is the most difficult section of the 13th chapter. So I will not go into what the Acharyas talk about this section.
Because it will become too complex. Basically the complexity comes because it is not often the terms of references are such that they can be ambiguous. That means, is a particular verse referring to the Atma or is it referring to Bhagawan? And if Bhagawan, which feature of Bhagawan? That can lead to confusion.
So Prabhupada, he translates this matparam brahma as the Brahman. Lies beyond the cause and effect of this world. So now, basically after this, this confusion of Atma and Paramatma comes because this section is phrased in the Achintya Bheda Veda mode.
Atma and Paramatma are same and different. This is the best exam. If somebody asks, where is Achintya Bheda Veda in the Bhagavad Gita? This 13.14-18 is the section where we see the thoughts that are resonant with Achintya Bheda Veda.
Of course 9.4 and 5 is also similar. But that is primarily with respect to God’s interaction with the material world. Whereas this is with respect to God’s self existential nature, God’s own nature.
So, sarvaptāpāṇi pādaṁ tad sarvato kṣiṣiro mukhaṁ sarvataḥ śruti malloke sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati So, this whole verse is without a clear describer. That means, who is it that is being referred to? Tath means that. That is the only pronoun that is there to describe what it is referring to.
But that will become clear in the later verses. But here it is clear sarvata pāṇi pādaṁ tad. So, whatever that is, that is hands and legs everywhere.
That is eyes, ears and face everywhere. Eyes, face, ears, head everywhere. And that exists everywhere.
So, now we know that Prabhupāda is referring to the super soul. But if you just look at the verse as it is, it is very difficult to understand what it refers to. And that is why Chaitanya Charitāmṛta describes how Aditya Achārya was puzzled by this verse.
Aditya Achārya was convinced that ultimately all the scriptures in their conclusive understanding they are talking about bhakti and the absolute truth in personal terms. But when he was asked about this verse, he didn’t know how to explain it in personal terms. So, then that’s why he was bewildered and Chaitanya Mahāprabhu came in a dream and told him that this refers to super soul.
And then that pastime is remembered by Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and Aditya Achārya during the Ashtaprahālīlā. So, basically, when we have Prabhupāda’s purports, it’s like, you know, you have the answer to the crossword puzzle. When you have the answer to the crossword puzzle, you don’t even know what is the puzzle.
Sometimes it becomes like that. Things are so easy for us. But without that, if you just look at these verses, the Sanskrit itself, it can be quite complex to understand it.
Now, if you go forward, it will become clear what is being talked about. So, sarve indriya guṇābhāsaṁ sarve indriya vivarjitam asattam sarva-bhṛtyaiva nirgunaṁ guṇa-bhoktu ca. So, sarve indriya guṇābhāsaṁ is the sarva indriya and sarva guṇa, all the senses, all the qualities.
Abhāsaṁ. Abhāsaṁ is the source. Like nāmabhāsa means, nām, that is very close to the source, but that is not right there right now.
So, sarve indriya guṇābhāsaṁ. So, it’s the source of all the guṇas and all the indriyas. But at the same time, that absolute truth is sarve indriya vivarjitam.
So, again, the problem is there is no reference. What is being talked about is not clear in the verse. And that, whatever is the subject of discussion is, so the contradictory descriptions you can see over here.
The previous verse said that everywhere are hands and legs and everything. But now he is saying he has no hands and legs. Sarve indriya vivarjitam.
And then he is saying sarva-bhruk, he is the maintainer of everyone. Normally, if he maintains someone, we become attached to that person. But he is asaktam.
And nirgunaṁ guṇa-bhoktu ca. So, if I want to enjoy the modes, I usually get entangled in the modes. But this absolute is guṇa-bhoktu and is nirguna also.
So, what does guṇa-bhoktu mean? Krishna doesn’t enjoy the modes in and of themselves. But the whole material world is under his control. And ultimately, it is acting in a way that fulfils his plan to relieve everyone from material existence and bring them back to him.
So, Krishna is not an enjoyer of the modes per se, but the ultimate way in which things happen in the material world for the return of the souls to Krishna, that is what is pleasing to him. He is nirgunaṁ, he is transcendental. Asaktam sarva-bhruk ca eva.
So, he maintains all living beings, but at the same time, udāsīnam udāsīnam. He is not attached to anyone in the material world. Now, after describing this, we will further describe that how this supreme soul is everywhere.
So, first we will describe the relationship of it with things, that absolute truth. Now, we will describe the location. bahir-antasya-bhūtānāṁ acaraṁ jarameva ca sukṣa-matvā tad-avijñeyam dhūrastham jāntike ca tan So, bahir-antasya, which is a similar verse to this? So, now, let’s go back to the verses, or we will go to 17th, 18th, when the identification becomes clear.
But here, how is that absolute truth bahir-antasya? Bahir, he is outside as Bhagwan. Antasya, he is as Paramātmā. Acaraṁ jarameva, he is there everywhere.
And sukṣa-matvā tad-avijñeyam. Now, it’s again a very striking thing. Krishna started this section by saying, jñeyam yathat-pravakṣāmi.
Now, that he is saying that jñeyam is avijñeyam. So, the object to be known is unknowable. Then what is the point in knowing him then? If I say that, ok, the purpose of coming to study engineering is to understand that you can’t understand engineering.
Then what is the point in studying? But actually, avijñeyam means that he is not understandable in completeness. But surely, we can understand him enough to love him. You remember, I gave the example of the ocean.
You know, a person who has never swum in the ocean, he may say, I don’t know the ocean. And another person has dived deep into the ocean and has gone as far as is humanly possible and still he finds the ocean is endless, endless, endless. And then he comes back and says, the ocean is so big that I don’t know the ocean.
So, although both are saying I don’t know the ocean, there is a significant difference. One has actually explored the ocean to some extent. So, similarly, an ignorant person may say, I don’t know God.
And a devotee in ecstasy may say, Krishna, you are so glorious that I can’t know you. So, there is a difference between the two. So, here avijñeyam refers to not being known incomplete.
And why is that? Because sukshamatva. He is so subtle. He is subtler than everything else.
He is far away and he is inside of everything also. avibhaktam ca bhūteṣu vibhaktam iva ca sthitam bhūta-bhartrucha-tajjñeyam gṛsiṣṇo prabhaveṣṇu ca. So, avibhaktam ca bhūteṣu, that is absolute truth, is undivided.
But vibhaktam iva ca sthitam. So, actually most of this section is referring to the Paramatma. Some aspects are referring to Bhagawan.
Now, how is avibhaktam and vibhaktam? One Paramatma is in all living beings. But still the Paramatma in different living beings appears different. You have seen that picture.
Super soul is above and the super soul is there in the hearts of various living beings. Yogi, the dog, the elephant, all that. So, avibhaktam ca bhūteṣu, it’s one Paramatma.
But vibhaktam iva ca sthitam. He is situated as a vibhaktam. And bhūta-bhartrucha-tajjñeyam.
So, now another paradox is described that he is the maintainer, he is the prabha-viṣṇu, he is the creator, but he is also the gṛsiṣṇu, he is the destroyer. That means, here Krishna is talking about, you remember I talked in the Virat Rūpa about pervasion through time. So, basically three things happen in time, creation, maintenance and destruction.
So, ultimately this absolute truth, this super soul does all these three things. Gṛsiṣṇu, Prabha-Viṣṇu and Bhartru. All three he does it.
So, generally speaking as devotees, we refer to God in his positive terms. We know that God is also the destroyer. But that is not what is generally talked about.
Although it is acknowledged, but we understand that God is primarily the doer of good. At the material level, seeing how destruction is good is not very easy to see. So, that’s why we will have devotees by the name Prabha-Viṣṇu, but we will not have devotees by the name Gṛsiṣṇu.
So, that is the aspect of God that is acknowledged, but that is not so much talked about. Just like we talk about Krishna’s appearance, but we never talk about Krishna’s disappearance. We don’t celebrate Krishna’s disappearance.
Then why do we celebrate Ācārya’s disappearance? As for Ācārya, we celebrate appearance as a disappearance, but for Krishna, we celebrate only appearance. We don’t celebrate the disappearance. Why? Because Krishna’s disappearance is not an occasion of joy for anyone.
Devotees feel heartbroken that Krishna has left the material world and gone. Ācārya’s disappearance is also a cause of sorrow, but at the same time, it is also a cause of joy because Ācārya doesn’t have to stay on in this material world where there is so much struggle and conflict and suffering. So, although we are bereaved that Ācārya has returned back to the spiritual world.
So, that’s why we celebrate Ācārya’s appearance as a disappearance, but we don’t celebrate the Lord’s disappearance. There is no occasion to celebrate that. So, we don’t talk about this aspect of God as the destroyer because that is not anukul to bhakti.
As we discussed in 11th chapter, Arjuna also saw that, but he didn’t want to see it. And Prabhupāda called that as a godless display of opulence. Are there any questions? Let me know.
Jyotish is the light of all those objects and he is situated beyond all darkness. Let’s look at these three components. Jyānam, jñēnam, jñānagamyam.
What is this? So, jñāna is the object of knowledge, jñānagamyam is the goal of knowledge, and jñāna is the process of knowledge. So, the primary question is what is the difference between object of knowledge and goal of knowledge? So, this is 18. So, Prabhupāda writes on the way to Krishna, all knowledge comes from Krishna, but knowledge doesn’t begin from Krishna.
So, what does that mean? We’ll have to understand that to see this. So, it doesn’t begin from Krishna. That means when I start studying the world around me, as I discussed, we can look inwards, we can look outwards, we can look upwards.
So, the tendency to look upwards doesn’t come immediately. It comes gradually. First, normally we tend to look outwards and when we look outwards, some people may see the design in the world and they may think, oh there has to be a designer.
So, the idea here is that generally speaking, it is the world that is the object of study, the object of knowledge. And Krishna is the goal of knowledge. So, that means that we start our study with the material world.
I look at the world and then I see that there is so much good in this world. It must be coming from a good God. Or there is so much bad in the world.
That means this is because there is some connection with something wrong in this world. Something which is disconnected, something which is amiss. And then also I look beyond this world.
So, gyanam gheeyam gyanagamyam. So, now, in a Achintya Miraved sense, even this world is Krishna because it is Krishna’s energy. But at the same time, if I just stay stuck in the study of this world, then I am not making spiritual advancement.
So, I have to start, you know, the whole process, process of knowledge is to rise from a shakta to a bhakta. So, what is a shakta? Shakta in a narrow sense means one is a worshipper of Shakti. But actually everybody in the material world is a shakta.
Because in various forms, everybody is adoring the material energy. In whatever way it may be. So, the process of knowledge is to rise from a shakta to a bhakta.
So, generally our knowledge begins with study of material world. And if we are fortunate, it progresses from there towards Krishna. So, gyanam gheeyam gyanagamyam.
So, this is, the world is generally gheeyam for us, at least in the beginning stages. And then ultimately Krishna is the gyanagamya, the person to be known. Itikshetram tathagyanam gheeyam choktam samasatah mad-bhakte tad-bhiknyaya mad-bhavayopapadyate So, itikshetra, so now Krishna is, this is summary verse.
So, he is saying, I have described kshetra, gyana and gheeyam. Choktam samasatah, in summary. And he is, even in this section he describes, mad-bhakta etad-bhiknyaya.
All this can be known by my devotee. So, he is making it very clear that even in the gyanamarga, bhakti is very important for acquiring knowledge. And then mad-bhavayopapadyate, he will attain mad-bhav, he will attain my nature.
Bhav generally means nature. So, my nature can be either going back to the spiritual world in a personal form or it can be going to the impersonal Brahman. Whichever it is.
But it is possible through mad-bhakta etad-bhiknyaya. So, this is a word which is right in the middle of the gyana section and it is saying that mad-bhav will attain by mad-bhakta. So, what Chakravartipada says that, not just Chakravartipada, Adaracharya, Chakravartipada is emphatic, that all sadhanas lead to success only through bhakti.
That we can see a demonstration here in 13.19. Mad-bhakta etad-bhiknyaya, mad-bhavayopapadyate. One way of understanding is that, only when one is a bhakta, one will understand the difference between soul and super-soul. And then complete knowledge will come.
That’s true. That’s one way of looking at it. The jnanis will look at it in the way that bhakti is a transitional path.
So, that’s why the scriptures are state-specific. State-specific means, depending on the state of my consciousness, I will read the scriptures accordingly. In the second canto, Bhagavatam is described that, when Brahmaji heard the Vedas for the first time, he thought that teaching is karma.
When he heard it for the second time, he thought that teaching is jnana. He heard it third time, he understood it is bhakti. So, what was happening is that his consciousness, by hearing the Vedic literature, the Vedic message, was becoming purified and elevated.
And accordingly, his understanding also evolved. So, that’s why it’s not always that everybody will see the words in the same way and get the same understanding. It will vary depending on one’s consciousness.
That’s state-specific. We saw how like Lord is avigyayam, who cannot be completely known. Similarly, we find scriptures are also very deep and having so many infinite meanings.
But still, when we are studying scriptures, like in 7th chapter Krishna is saying that, यज् न्यात्वानेय भुहयो न्यातवेम अवशिष्षते, that after knowing this, nothing else remains to be known. So, previously also, I had this question that there is no madhuya jnana or rasa being talked over in Bhagavad Gita. So, when Krishna claims, if such a claim is made, then what is the understanding behind it? So, yeah.
So, the scriptures, here Krishna is saying that these are avigyayam, scriptures are very difficult to know. And yet Krishna is saying that, once you know this, there is nothing more to be known. So, there is no rasa jnana exactly, no direct description of Krishna’s pastime.
So, how can we say this knowledge is complete? So, actually, this is knowledge of tattva. The Upanishads talk about tattvatraya. Tattvatraya is Jiva, Ishvara and Prakriti.
And in the essence of substance or categories of existence, these three are what are there. So, by studying the Bhagavad Gita, by studying that section of the Bhagavad Gita, if one understands the tattvatraya, then one understands the basic categories or substances of existence. Now, what comes after that is details.
So, once one understands there is an Ishvara, there can be further detailed knowledge about who that Ishvara is, what he does, how he acts. Same applies to others also, Jiva and Prakriti. So, in terms of substance or category, this knowledge is all that there is.
But in terms of details, the details are unending. And actually, the details are what bring rasa. See, the Bhagavatam starts with dhimahi.
1.1.1 is dhimahi. But 1.1.3 is, 1.1.3 is, muhuraho rasika bhuibhavo kaha. Enjoy rasa.
So, actually dhimahi, meditation comes from analysis. Relishing comes from, not analysis, but aesthetics. I will give an example to illustrate this.
See, if there is a beautiful flower. Now, if I take the flower and look at it with the botanist’s eye. So, I say, ok, there is andrushyam, there is ganushyam, there are carpels, there are stamens and there are these many pollen grains.
I have a complete analysis of that, but I completely miss the beauty of it. Isn’t it? So, that is one way of looking at the flower. It’s a valid way, valuable in its own way.
So, that is an analytical way. The other is the aesthetic way. So, the aesthetic way is where we relish the beauty of the flower.
So, in analysis, emotions are the roadblock. In aesthetics, emotions are the road. That is the difference.
So, in analysis, emotions are the roadblock. To the extent I am emotional, I cannot analyse properly. But in aesthetics, to the extent I am unemotional, you know, if some nice musical kirtan is going on, I stay completely analytical, observing.
I won’t relish anything over there. So, what happens is, these two modes of thinking are different. And the whole purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is not so much to talk about aesthetics.
It is primarily to talk about analysis. Because as I said, whole of Bhagavad Gita is not to teach us how to develop prema. That is the ultimate goal.
But the primary goal of the Bhagavad Gita is what sadhana to follow, which sadhana to achieve. Now, within that, there will be details. So, there will be details about how bhaktis we follow, there will be details about how Bhagawan is.
But those are details. So, the Bhagavad Gita is primarily a book of analysis. It’s not a book of aesthetics.
All the aesthetics come here and there. So, that’s why the Bhagavad Gita focusses on decreasing emotions. And in analysis, you just focus on essential substances.
So, then, in that sense, what this chat verse means is that there is nothing beyond this to be known in terms of essential categories. But within the categories, there are details. And the unknowing of those details will bring rasa.
Any other questions? The spiritual variety is not being spoken. Only in Tadbhasata Surat, Taddhamam Parmamam. Only that word said that yes, there is some abode.
But apart from it, like the destination, what the person will be going after going destination, that’s not being mentioned. Or how we can know, he has very clearly stated that there is a spiritual variety. And after the destination, you will be serving Krishna the way we are serving here.
So, how do you understand? There is no clear mention of spiritual variety in the Bhagavad Gita. Yes, in Prabhupada’s sense, Bhagavad Gita was an emergency book. It is an emergency over there, on the battlefield.
And Krishna, in a sense, what Bhagavad Gita gives is a crash course. It’s not an exhaustive course. So, the aspect of spiritual variety is inferred from the Bhagavad Gita.
From the fact that this world is a reflection of the spiritual world. Urdhva Moola Madhashakam 15.1 is there. And 15.7 is there.
Mamai Vamsho Jeevaloke Jiyo Bhuta Sanatana. Sanatana is there. So, like this, there are some verses from which you can infer that there will be individuality, variety, beauty, reciprocity, activity, all this in the spiritual world also.
But primarily, the Bhagavad Gita is not so much focused. Again, it is not focused so much on describing in detail the Sadhya. Sadhya is very clear.
Aham sarvasya prabho. Now, the most clear verse with respect to Sadhya is 15.19, which comes right at the end of the Shloka Gita. So, why this is so clear is, first is, first clarification is, the person is completely free from delusion.
How does he know me? Purushottama. And if there is no further doubt, such a person knows everything. And he knows everything.
And what does he know? Sarvabhavena, with all bhava. So, there are the three emphatic words, asamudho, sarvavid, sarvabhava. And within that, there is a very explicit personal reference, mam janati purushottama.
So, in that sense, the Sadhya, as being Bhagavan, is very clear. But Bhagavan’s abode, for that matter, Bhagavan’s pastimes are also not described in the Bhagavad Gita. It is indicated that those pastimes are very potent in terms of purifying and uplifting us.
Bhagavad Gita 4.9 says that if you know him, you will come back to him. But the pastimes themselves are not described in detail. So, Bhagavad Gita focusses on analysis.
So, it gives principles or essential categories, substances. Yes, sir. Regarding destinations, so, this ghanohod bhakti, you were telling that they will go to Brahmajyoti.
And gyan, karma, etc., if they add bhakti into their path, they may go to Brahmajyoti. So, we have heard that Prabhupada is saying that many of the followers may go to Svargaloka. So, how do we understand these two aspects? Prabhupada says some of the followers may go to Svargaloka.
And here he is saying that gunibhuta bhakti will take one to Brahmajyoti. So, the idea is, one can go to Brahmajyoti only when one is detached from matter. As long as one is attached to matter, one has to stay in material existence.
So, then, if you are attached to matter, where we will stay in material existence will depend on the extent of our material desires. So, if we have a lot of desires to enjoy, then we can go to heavens and enjoy. If we don’t have so many desires to enjoy, then we can be born in a devotee’s family and continue practising devotional service.
Yes, this chapter talks about that. So, this attaining Brahmajyoti is for one who has become free from material desires. So, he is free from material desires, but he has not developed a proper conception of the positive spiritual reality.
Is this same as karmamishra, bhakti, jnanamishra? Yes. Pradhanibhuta is the same thing. Sorry, not gunibhuta.
Gunibhuta can be either. It can be karmamishra, jnanamishra, yogamishra. So, each of these, all these three are ultimately products of the gunas.
Because there are material conceptions involved there, over there. So, gunibhuta, bhakti can be either jnanamishra, karmamishra or yogamishra, any of them. Pradhanibhuta can also have that, because more than 50% is bhakti.
But what is the other component that will depend on the sadhaka, if the sadhaka has come from some other path to the path of bhakti. Okay. Yes.
Suppose your material desires are gone, and still you have not developed a positive conception about Krishna, then you go to Brahman. But if you don’t have that, material desire is gone, you will go to swarga loka. So, like it is a very dangerous thing.
Better develop first positive conception about Krishna, better than working on getting rid of material desire. Is it like, if we don’t have positive conception, we go to brahmajyoti. On the other hand, if we go to swarga, then at least we have a chance that afterwards we can go to bhagwan.
Yes, so we are continuing to treat brahmajyoti as a spiritual untouchable. So, going to brahmajyoti is not a disaster. Yeah, so, actually speaking, that danger is unlikely to be there for sadhakas in ISKCON or in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Because, you know, we may not have developed positive attraction to Krishna, but Prabhupada hammers things so clearly, that, you know, that at least a devotee who studies Prabhupada’s books properly, then the devotee understands that the personal aspect of the absolute truth is much higher than the impersonal aspect. Going to heaven also looks like an inferiority complex. Yes, going to heaven is like a significant distraction on the spiritual path.
That’s why, at least if you are reborn among devotee families, then you can continue on. And if you go to heaven, then who knows how long we will stay on in heaven. And then after that, the golden age of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has passed away by that time.
Then continuing on bhakti will be much more difficult. OK, last question. OK, wait a minute.
Where have we stopped now? We have completed the section, no? Yeah, OK, fine. It says, anadi mat param brahmat. So, mat param Prabhupada says, subordinate to me.
So, you did not explain, I could not understand. This is an important point. So, what are, there is a whole section that sort of point got left off in the discussion.
I said that 14 to 19, what is being referred to is sometimes ambiguous, 14 to 18 especially. What is being referred to? So, in general, if you start from, or from 13 itself. From 14 to 18, it is clear that what is being referred to is somewhere all-pervading, is powerful, is everywhere, is the source of everything.
So, that refers to some aspect of the absolute truth, some feature of the absolute truth. And if we correlate it with what we know about the various features of the absolute truth, it is clear it refers to the Paramatma. Now, the primary discussion is, the various Acharyas have a lot of analysis to try to explain, what the 13th verse refers to.
So, anadi mat param brahmat sattannasa dujyate. Subordinate to me, the way Prabhupada uses it in the translation, that seems to refer to the Jivatma. Jivatma is subordinate to me.
But then if you look at the purport, Prabhupada is saying that it refers to, the way Prabhupada infers it is, yes. So, therefore, the description of Brahman mentioned in this verse is in relation to the individual soul. And when the word Brahman is applied to the living entities, it is understood that he is Vijnana Brahma as opposed to Ananda Brahma.
Ananda Brahma is supreme Brahman, personality of Godhead. So, what this means is, this last part of the purport, Prabhupada is explaining that this Brahman refers to the Jivatma. Now, why does it refer to Jivatma? Because Prabhupada uses the word mat param.
Now, mat param means attached to me or subordinate to me. It means both ways. So, that’s why this verse refers to the Jivatma.
Now, anadi mat param brahmat sattannasa dujyate. So, this can, by a different analysis, even refer to the Brahman aspect. Because Brahman is also beyond the cause and effect of this world.
And mat param, even Brahman is dependent on me. Brahman is subordinate to me. So, this verse can refer to both.
But primarily, Prabhupada explains that it refers to the Brahmajyoti. Is it clear? Any other questions? We will stop here. We will continue in the afternoon at 3.30. Thank you very much.