Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (32 page)

Bg 3.39

TEXT 39

TEXT

āvṛtaṁ jñānam etena

jñānino nitya-vairiṇā

kāma-rūpeṇa kaunteya

duṣpūreṇānalena ca

SYNONYMS

āvṛtam-
covered;
jñānam-
pure consciousness;
etena-
by this;
jñāninaḥ-
of the knower;
nitya-vairiṇā-
eternal enemy;
kāma-rūpeṇa-
in the form of lust;
kaunteya-
O son of Kuntī;
duṣpūreṇa-
never to be satisfied;
analena-
by the fire;
ca-
also.

TRANSLATION

Thus, a man's pure consciousness is covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.

PURPORT

It is said in the
Manu-smṛti
that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. In the material world, the center of all activities is sex, and thus this material world is called
maithuṇya-āgāra,
or the shackles of sex life. In the ordinary prison house, criminals are kept within bars; similarly, the criminals who are disobedient to the laws of the Lord are shackled by sex life. Advancement of material civilization on the basis of sense gratification means increasing the duration of the material existence of a living entity. Therefore, this lust is the symbol of ignorance by which the living entity is kept within the material world. While one enjoys sense gratification, it may be that there is some feeling of happiness, but actually that so-called feeling of happiness is the ultimate enemy of the sense enjoyer.

Bg 3.40

TEXT 40

TEXT

indriyāṇi mano buddhir

asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate

etair vimohayaty eṣa

jñānam āvṛtya dehinam

indriyāṇi-
the senses;
manaḥ-
the mind;
buddhiḥ-
the intelligence;
asya
-of the lust;
adhiṣṭhānam-
sitting place;
ucyate-
called;
etaiḥ-
by all these;
vimohayati-
bewilders;
eṣaḥ-
of this;
jñānam-
knowledge;
āvṛtya-
covering;
dehinam-
the embodied.

TRANSLATION

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

PURPORT

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus the mind is the reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇāpe tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma idyadhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salite na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva gokharaḥ.

"A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth as worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered as an ass or a cow."

Bg 3.41

TEXT 41

TEXT

tasmāt tvam indriyāṇy ādau

niyamya bharatarṣabha

pāpmānaṁ prajahi hy enaṁ

jñāna-vijñāna-nāśanam

SYNONYMS

tasmāt-
therefore;
tvam-you; indriyāṇi-
senses;
ādau-
in the beginning;
niyamya-
by regulating;
bharatarṣabha
-O chief amongst the descendants of Bharata;
pāpmānam-
the great symbol of sin;
prajahi-
curb;
hi-
certain
ly; enam-
this;
jñāna-
knowledge;
vijñāna-
scientific knowledge of the pure soul;
nāśanam-
destroyer.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bhāratas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.

PURPORT

The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the greatest sinful enemy, lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization, and specifically, knowledge of the self.
Jñānam
refers to knowledge of self as distinguished from non-self, or, in other words, knowledge that the spirit soul is not the body.
Vijñānam
refers to specific knowledge of the spirit soul and knowledge of one's constitutional position and his relationship to the Supreme Soul. It is explained thus in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: jñānaṁ parama-guhyaṁ me yad-vijñāna-samanvitam / sarahasyaṁ tad-aṅgaṁ ca gṛhāna gaditaṁ mayā:
"The knowledge of the self and the Supreme Self is very confidential and mysterious, being veiled by
māyā
, but such knowledge and specific realization can be understood if it is explained by the Lord Himself."
Bhagavad-gītā
gives us that knowledge, specifically knowledge of the self. The living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord, and therefore they are simply meant to serve the Lord. This consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, from the very beginning of life one has to learn this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thereby one may become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious and act accordingly.

Lust is only the perverted reflection of the love of God which is natural for every living entity. But if one is educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the very beginning, that natural love of God cannot deteriorate into lust. When love of God deteriorates into lust, it is very difficult to return to the normal condition. Nonetheless, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so powerful that even a late beginner can become a lover of God by following the regulative principles of devotional service. So, from any stage of life, or from the time of understanding its urgency, one can begin regulating the senses in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service of the Lord, and turn the lust into love of Godhead-the highest perfectional stage of human life.

Bg 3.42

TEXT 42

TEXT

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur

indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ

manasas tu parā buddhir

yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ

SYNONYMS

indriyāṇī-
senses;
parāṇi-
superior;
āhuḥ-
is said;
indriyebhyaḥ-
more than the senses;
param-
superior;
manaḥ-
the mind;
manasaḥ-
more than the mind;
tu-
also;
parā-
superior;
buddhiḥ-
intelligence;
yaḥ-
one which;
buddheḥ-
more than the intelligence;
parataḥ-
superior;
tu-
but;
saḥ-
he.

TRANSLATION

The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.

PURPORT

The senses are different outlets for the activities of lust. Lust is reserved within the body, but it is given vent through the senses. Therefore, the senses are superior to the body as a whole. These outlets are not in use when there is superior consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness the soul makes direct connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the bodily functions, as described here, ultimately end in the Supreme Soul. Bodily action means the functions of the senses, and stopping the senses means stopping all bodily actions. But since the mind is active, then, even though the body may be silent and at rest, the mind will act-as it does during dreaming. But, above the mind there is the determination of the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul proper. If, therefore, the soul is directly engaged with the Supreme, naturally all other subordinates, namely, the intelligence, mind and the senses, will be automatically engaged. In the
Kaṭha Upaniṣad
there is a passage in which it is said that the objects of sense gratification are superior to the senses, and mind is superior to the sense objects. If, therefore, the mind is directly engaged in the service of the Lord constantly, then there is no chance of the senses becoming engaged in other ways. This mental attitude has already been explained. If the mind is engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord, there is no chance of its being engaged in the lower propensities. In the
Kaṭha Upaniṣad
the soul has been described as
mahān,
the great. Therefore the soul is above all-namely, the sense objects, the senses, the mind and the intelligence. Therefore, directly understanding the constitutional position of the soul is the solution of the whole problem.

With intelligence one has to seek out the constitutional position of the soul and then engage the mind always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That solves the whole problem. A neophyte spiritualist is generally advised to keep aloof from the objects of senses. One has to strengthen the mind by use of intelligence. If by intelligence one engages one's mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, automatically, the mind becomes stronger, and even though the senses are very strong, like serpents, they will be no more effective than serpents with broken fangs. But even though the soul is the master of intelligence and mind, and the senses also, still, unless it is strengthened by association with Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is every chance of falling down due to the agitated mind.

Bg 3.43

TEXT 43

TEXT

evaṁ buddheḥ paraṁ buddhvā

saṁstabhyātmānam ātmanā

jahi śatruṁ mahā-bāho

kāma-rūpaṁ durāsadam

SYNONYMS

evam-
thus;
buddheḥ-
of intelligence;
param-
superior;
buddhvā-
so knowing;
saṁstabhya-
by steadying;
ātmānam-
the mind;
ātmanā-
by deliberate intelligence;
jahi-
conquer;
śatrum-
the enemy;
mahā-bāho-
O mighty-armed one;
kāma-rūpam-
the form of lust;
durāsadam-
formidable.

TRANSLATION

Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus-by spiritual strength-conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

PURPORT

This Third Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gītā
is conclusively directive to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by knowing oneself as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without considering impersonal voidness as the ultimate end. In the material existence of life, one is certainly influenced by propensities for lust and desire for dominating the resources of material nature. Desire for overlording and sense gratification are the greatest enemies of the conditioned soul; but by the strength of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may not give up work and prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can be situated in a transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses and the mind-by steady intelligence directed toward one's pure identity. This is the sum total of this chapter. In the immature stage of material existence, philosophical speculations and artificial attempts to control the senses by the so-called practice of yogic postures can never help a man toward spiritual life. He must be trained in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by higher intelligence.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Third Chapter of the
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā
in the matter of
Karma-yoga
, or the Discharge of One's Prescribed Duty in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

Bg 4: Transcendental Knowledge

4. Transcendental Knowledge

Bg 4.1

TEXT 1

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ

proktavān aham avyayam

vivasvān manave prāha

manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavān uvāca-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
imam-
this;
vivasvate-
unto the sun-god;
yogam-
the science of one's relationship to the Supreme;
proktavān-
instructed;
aham-
I;
avyayam-
imperishable;
vivasvān-
Vivasvān (the sun-god's name);
manave-
unto the father of mankind (of the name Vaivasvata);
prāha-
told;
manuḥ-
the father of mankind;
ikṣvākave-
unto King Ikṣvāku;
abravīt-
said.

TRANSLATION

The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.