Bhagavad-gita As It Is
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
CHAPTER FIVE
Bg5.15
TEXT 15
nadatte kasyacit papam
na caiva sukrtam vibhuh
ajnanenavrtam jnanam
tena muhyanti jantavah
na—never; adatte—accepts; kasyacit—anyone’s; papam—sin; na—nor; ca—also; eva—certainly; sukrtam—pious activities; vibhuh—the Supreme Lord; ajnanena—by ignorance; avrtam—covered; jnanam—knowledge; tena—by that; muhyanti—bewildered; jantavah—the living entities.
TRANSLATION
Nor does the Supreme Spirit assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.
PURPORT
The Sanskrit word vibhuh means the Supreme Lord who is full of unlimited knowledge, riches, strength, fame, beauty and renunciation. He is always satisfied in Himself, undisturbed by sinful or pious activities. He does not create a particular situation for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain of action and reaction begins. A living entity is, by superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is anu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramatma, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning of the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independant living entities. However, when one desires Krsna, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy. The Vedic hymn therefore declares:
esa u hy eva sadhu karma karayati tam yamebhyo lokebhya unninisate
esa u evasadhu karma karayati yamadho ninisate.
ajno jantur aniso ’yam atmanah sukha-duhkhayoh
isvara-prerito gacchet svargam vasvabhram eva ca.
“The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities so he may be elevated. The Lord engages him in impious activities so he may go to hell. The living entity is completely dependant in his distress and happiness. By the will of the Supreme he can go to heaven or hell, as a cloud is driven by the air.”
Therefore the embodied soul, by his immemorial desire to avoid Krsna consciousness, causes his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal, blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his existence he forgets his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped by nescience. And, under the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence. The Vedanta-sutras also confirm this:
vaisamya-nairghrnye na sapeksatvat tatha hi darsayati.
“The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to.” Bg5.16 TEXT 16 jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesam nasitam atmanah tesam aditya-vaj jnanam prakasayati tat param jnanena—by knowledge; tu—but; tat—that; ajnanam—nescience; yesam—of those; nasitam—is destroyed; atmanah—of the living entity; tesam—of their; adityavat—like the rising sun; jnanam—knowledge; prakasayati—discloses; tat param—in Krsna consciousness. TRANSLATION When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime. PURPORT Those who have forgotten Krsna must certainly be bewildered, but those who are in Krsna consciousness are not bewildered at all. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, “sarvam jnana-plavena,” “jnanagnih sarva-karmani” and “na hi jnanena sadrsam.” Knowledge is always highly esteemed. And what is that knowledge? Perfect knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Krsna, as is said in the Seventh Chapter, 19th verse: bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Krsna, or when one attains Krsna consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as the sun reveals everything in the daytime. The living entity is bewildered in so many ways. For instance, when he thinks himself God, unceremoniously, he actually falls into the last snare of nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can he become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater than God. Real knowledge can be obtained from a person who is in perfect Krsna consciousness. Therefore, one has to seek out such a bona fide spiritual master and, under him, learn what Krsna consciousness is. The spiritual master can drive away all nescience, as the sun drives away darkness. Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is not this body but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However, he can know everything well if he cares to take shelter of the perfect, bona fide Krsna conscious spiritual master. One can know God and one’s relationship with God only when one actually meets a representative of God. A representative of God never claims that he is God, although he is paid all the respect ordinarily paid to God because he has knowledge of God. One has to learn the distinction between God and the living entity. Lord Sri Krsna therefore stated in the Second Chapter (2.12) that every living being is individual and that the Lord also is individual. They were all individuals in the past, they are individuals at present, and they will continue to be individuals in the future, even after liberation. At night we see everything as one in the darkness, but in day when the sun is up, we see everything in its real identity. Identity with individuality in spiritual life is real knowledge. Bg5.17 TEXT 17 tad-buddhayas tad-atmanas tan-nisthas tat-parayanah gacchanty apunar-avrttim jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah tad-buddhayah—one whose intelligence is always in the Supreme; tad-atmanah—one whose mind is always in the Supreme; tat-nisthah—whose mind is only meant for the Supreme; tat-parayanah—who has completely taken shelter of Him; gacchanti—goes; apunah-avrttim—liberation; jnana—knowledge; nirdhuta—cleanses; kalmasah—misgivings. TRANSLATION When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation. PURPORT The Supreme Transcendental Truth is Lord Krsna. The whole Bhagavad-gita centers around the declaration of Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the version of all Vedic literature. Paratattva means the Supreme Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing more than that.TheLord says, mattah parataram nanyat kincit asti dhananjaya. Impersonal Brahman is also supported by Krsna: brahmano pratisthaham. Therefore in all ways Krsna is the Supreme Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Krsna, or, in other words, one who is fully in Krsna consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence. A Krsna conscious person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity and individuality) in Krsna, and, equipped with such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation. Bg5.18 TEXT 18 vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini suni caiva sva-pake ca panditah sama-darsinah vidya—education; vinaya—gentleness; sampanne—fully equipped; brahmane—in the brahmana; gavi—in the cow; hastini—in the elephant; suni—in the dog; ca—and; eva—certainly; svapake—in the dog-eater (the outcaste); ca—respectively; panditah—those who are so wise; sama-darsinah—do see with equal vision. TRANSLATION The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste] . PURPORT A Krsna conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brahmana and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, or an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramatma, is present in everyone’s heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramatma regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramatma is present both in the outcaste and in the brahmana, although the body of a brahmana and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body, whereas the Paramatma is present in each and every body. A Krsna conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body, whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction. Bg5.19 TEXT 19 ihaiva tair jitah sargo yesam samye sthitam manah nirdosam hi samam brahma tasmad brahmani te sthitah iha—in this life; eva—certainly; taih—by them; jitah—conquered; sargah—birth and death; yesam—of those; samye—in equanimity; sthitam—so situated; manah—mind; nirdosam—flawless; hi—certainly; samam—in equanimity; brahma—the Supreme; tasmat—therefore; brahmani—in the Supreme; te—they; sthitah—are situated. TRANSLATION Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman. PURPORT Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self-realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered already liberated, and their symptoms are described below. Bg5.20 TEXT 20 na prahrsyet priyam prapya nodvijet prapya capriyam sthira-buddhir asammudho brahma-vid brahmani sthitah na—never; prahrsyet—rejoice; priyam—pleasant; prapya—achieving; na—does not; udvijet—agitated; prapya—obtaining; ca—also; apriyam—unpleasant; sthira-buddhih—self-intelligent; asammudhah—unbewildered; brahmavit—one who knows the Supreme perfectly; brahmani—in the Transcendence; sthitah—situated. TRANSLATION A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is to be understood as already situated in Transcendence. PURPORT The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body, but is the fragmental port~on of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Krsna consciousness. Bg5.21 TEXT 21 bahya-sparsesv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham aksayam asnute bahya-sparsesu—in external sense pleasure; asakta-atma—one who is not so attached; vindati—enjoys; atmani—in the self; yat—that which; sukham—happiness; sah—that; brahma-yoga—concentrated in Brahman; yukta-atma—self-connected; sukham—happiness; aksayam—unlimited; asnute—enjoys. TRANSLATION Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure or external objects but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme. PURPORT Sri Yamunacarya, a great devotee in Krsna consciousness, said: yadavadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krsna, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” A person in brahma-yoga, or Krsna consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Krsna consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Krsna conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure due to his being a liberated soul. Bg5.22 TEXT 22 ye hi samsparsa-ja bhoga duhkha-yonaya eva te ady-antavantah kaunteya na tesu ramate budhah ye—those; hi—certainly; samsparsajah—by contact with the material senses; bhogah—enjoyment; duhkha—distress; yonayah—sources of; eva—certainly; te—they are; adi—in the beginning; antavantah—subject to; kaunteya—O son of Kunti; na—never; tesu—in those; ramate—take delight; budhah—the intelligent. TRANSLATION An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them. PURPORT Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Purana it is said: ramante yogino ’nante satyananda-cid-atmani “The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rama.” In the Srimad-Bhagavatam also it is said: nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke “My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and, as a result, you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.” (Bhag. 5.5.1 Therefore, those who are true yogis or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries. Bg5.23 TEXT 23 saknotihaiva yah sodhum prak sarira-vimoksanat kama-krodhodbhavam vegam sa yuktah sa sukhi narah saknoti—able to do; iha eva—in the present body; yah—one who; sodhum—to tolerate; prak—before; sarira—body; vimoksanat—giving up; kama—desire; krodha—anger; udbhavam—generated from; vegam—urge; sah—he; yuktah—in trance; sah—he; sukhi—happy; narah—human being. TRANSLATION Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogi and is happy in this world. PURPORT lf one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvami, or svami. Such gosvamis live strictly controlled lives, and forego altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger. Bg5.24 TEXT 24 yo ’ntah-sukho ’ntar-aramas tathantar-jyotir eva yah sa yogi brahma-nirvanam brahma-bhuto ’dhigacchati yah—one who; antah-sukhah—happy from within; antah-aramah—active within; tatha—as well as; antah-jyotih—aiming within; eva—certainly; yah—anyone; sah—he; yogi—mystic; brahma-nirvanam—liberated in the Supreme; brahma-bhutah—self-realized; adhigacchati—attains. TRANSLATION One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme. PURPORT Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhuta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home. Bg5.25 TEXT 25 labhante brahma-nirvanam rsayah ksina-kalmasah chinna-dvaidha yatatmanah sarva-bhuta-hite ratah labhante—achieve; brahma-nirvanam—liberation in the Supreme; rsayah—those who are active within; ksina-kalmasah—who are devoid of all sins; chinna—torn off; dvaidhah—duality; yata-atmanah—engaged in self-realization; sarva-bhuta—in all living entities; hite—in welfare work; ratah—engaged. TRANSLATION One who is beyond duality and doubt, whose mind is engaged within, who is always busy working for the welfare of all sentient beings, and who is free from all sins, achieves liberation in the Supreme. PURPORT Only a person who is fully in Krsna consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krsna is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Krsna as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Krsna conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Krsna. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love. A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with Krsna, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material tabernacle. Bg5.26 TEXT 26 kama-krodha-vimuktanam yatinam yata-cetasam abhito brahma-nirvanam vartate viditatmanam kama—desires; krodha—anger; vimuktanam—of those who are so liberated; yatinam—of the saintly persons; yata-cetasam—of persons who have full control over the mind; abhitah—assured in the near future; brahma-nirvanam—liberation in the Supreme; vartate—is there; vidita-atmanam—of those who are self-realized. TRANSLATION Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are selfrealized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future. PURPORT Of the saintly persons who are constantly engaged in striving toward salvation, one who is in Krsna consciousness is the best of all. The Bhagavatam confirms this fact as follows: yat-pada-pankaja-palasa-vilasa-bhaktya “Just try to worship, in devotional service, Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even great sages are not able to control the forces of the senses as effectively as those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving the lotus feet of the Lord, uprooting the deep grown desire for fruitive activities.” (Bhag. 4.22.39 In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep-rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Krsna consciousness, perfect in self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-realization, he always remains in trance. To cite an analagous example of this: darsana-dhyana-samsparsair matsya-kurma-vihangamah “By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring. Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!” The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them. The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, a devotee in Krsna consciousness, although far away from the Lord’s abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly—by engagement in Krsna consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries; this state of life is called brahma-nirvana, or the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme. Bg5.27-28 TEXTS 27–28 sparsan krtva bahir bahyams caksus caivantare bhruvoh pranapanau samau krtva nasabhyantara-carinau yatendriya-mano-buddhir munir moksa-parayanah vigateccha-bhaya-krodho yah sada mukta eva sah sparsan—external sense objects, such as sound, etc.; krtva—doing so; bahih—external; bahyan—unnecessary; caksuh—eyes; ca—also; eva—certainly; antare—within; bhruvoh—of the eyebrows; prana-apanau—up-and down-moving air; samau—in suspension; krtva—doing so; nasa-abhyantara—within the nostrils; carinau—blowing; yata—controlled; indriya—senses; manah—mind; buddhih—intelligence; munih—the transcendentalist; moksa—liberation; parayanah—being so destined; vigata—discarded; iccha—wishes; bhaya—fear; krodhah—anger; yah—one who; sada—always; muktah—liberated; eva—certainly; sah—he is. TRANSLATION Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils—thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the tranecendentalist becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated. PURPORT Being engaged in Krsna consciousness, one can immediately understand one’s spiritual identity, and then one can understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service. When he is well situated in devotional service, one comes to the transcendental position, qualified to feel the presence of the Lord in the sphere of one’s activity. This particular position is called liberation in the Supreme. After explaining the above principles of liberation in the Supreme, the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to how one can come to that position by the practice of mysticism or yoga, known as astanga-yoga, which is divisible into an eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. In the Sixth Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly detailed, and at the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily explained. One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell by the pratyahara (breathing) process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the nose with half closed lids. There is no benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because then there is every chance of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted by sense objects. The breathing movement is restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the up- and down-moving air within the body. By practice of such yoga one is able to gain control over the senses, refrain from outward sense objects, and thus prepare oneself for liberation in the Supreme. This yoga process helps one become free from all kinds of fear and anger and thus feel the presence of the Supersoul in the transcendental situation. In other words, Krsna consciousness is the easiest process of executing yoga principles. This will be thoroughly explained in the next chapter. A Krsna conscious person, however, being always engaged in devotional service, does not risk losing his senses to some other engagement. This is a better way of controlling the senses than by the astanga-yoga. Bg5.29 TEXT 29 bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati bhoktaram—beneficiary; yajna—sacrifices; tapasam—of penances and austerities; sarva-loka—all planets and the demigods thereof; mahesvaram—the Supreme Lord; suhrdam—benefactor; sarva—all; bhutanam—of the living entities; jnatva—thus knowing; mam—Me (Lord Krsna); santim—relief from material pangs; rcchati—achieves. TRANSLATION The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries. PURPORT The conditioned souls within the clutches of illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is explained in this part of the Bhagavad-gita. The greatest peace formula is simply this: Lord Krsna is the beneficiary in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service of the Lord because He is the proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon. No one is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of the demigods, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. In the Vedas the Supreme Lord is described as tam isvaranam paramam mahesvaram. Under the spell of illusion, living entities are trying to be lords of all they survey, but actually they are dominated by the material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of material nature. Unless one understands these bare facts, it is not possible to achieve peace in the world either individually or collectively. This is the sense of Kssna consciousness: Lord Krsna is the supreme predominator, and all living entities, including the great demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect peace only in complete Krsna consciousness. This Fifth Chapter is a practical explanation of Krsna consciousness, generally known as karma-yoga. The question of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can give liberation is answered herewith. To work in Krsna consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the Lord as the predominator. Such work is not different from transcendental knowledge. Direct Krsna consciousness is bhakti-yoga, and jnana-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga. Krsna consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one’s relationship with the Supreme Absolute, and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with maya (illusion) due to the desire to lord it over maya, and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Krsna consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in an effort to control the senses and conquer the influence of desire and anger. And, attaining Krsna consciousness by controlling the above-mentioned passions, one remains factually in the transcendental stage, or brahman-nirvana. The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Krsna consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served. There is gradual process of elevation in the practice of yama, niyama, asana, pratyahara, dhyana, dharana, pranayama, and samadhi. But these only preface perfection by devotional service, which alone can award peace to the human being. It is the highest perfection of life. Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifth Chapter of the Srimad-Bhagavad-gita in the matter of Karma-yoga, or Action in Krsna Consciousness.
nava-nava-rasa-dhamanudyata rantum asit
tadavadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah sustu nisthivanam ca
iti rama-padenasau param brahmabhidhiyate
kastan kaman arhate vid-bhajam ye
tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam
suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam.
karmasayam grathitam udgrathayanti santah
tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi ruddha-
srotoganas tam aranam bhaja vasudevam.
svanya patyani pusnanti tathaham api padmaja.