Bhagavad-gita As It Is
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
CHAPTER TEN
Bg10.10
TEXT 10
tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te
tesam—unto them; satata-yuktanam—always engaged; bhajatam—in devotional service; priti-purvakam—in loving ecstasy; dadami—I give; buddhi-yogam—real intelligence; tam—that; yena—by which; mam—unto Me; upayanti—come; te—they.
TRANSLATION
To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
PURPORT
In this verse the word buddhi-yogam is very significant. We may remember that in the Second Chapter the Lord, instructing Arjuna, said that He had spoken to him of many things and that He would instruct him in the way of buddhi-yoga. Now buddhi-yoga is explained. Buddhi-yogam itself is action in Krsna consciousness; that is the highest intelligence. Buddhi means intelligence, and yogam means mystic activities or mystic elevation. When one tries to go back home, back to Godhead, and takes fully to Krsna consciousness in devotional service, his action is called buddhi-yogam. In other words, buddhi-yogam is the process by which one gets out of the entanglement of this material world. The ultimate goal of progress is Krsna. People do not know this; therefore the association of devotees and a bona fide spiritual master are important. One should know that the goal is Krsna, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved.
When a person knows the goal of life but is addicted to the fruits of activities, he is acting in karma-yoga. When he knows that the goal is Krsna, but he takes pleasure in mental speculations to understand Krsna, he is acting in jnana-yoga. And when he knows the goal and seeks Krsna completely in Krsna consciousness and devotional service, he is acting in bhakti-yoga, or buddhi-yoga, which is the complete yoga. This complete yoga is the highest perfectional stage of life.
A person may have a bona fide spiritual master and may be attached to a spiritual organization, but still, if he is not intelligent enough to make progress, then Krsna from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to Him without difficulty. The qualification is that a person always engage himself in Krsna consciousness and with love and devotion render all kinds of services. He should perform some sort of work for Krsna, and that work should be with love. If a devotee is intelligent enough, he will make progress on the path of self-realization. If one is sincere and devoted to the activities of devotional service, the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately attain to Him. Bg10.11 TEXT 11 tesam evanukampartham aham ajnana-jam tamah nasayamy atma-bhava-stho jnana-dipena bhasvata tesam—for them; eva—certainly; anukampa-artham—to show special mercy; aham—I; ajnana-jam—due to ignorance; tamah—darkness; nasayami—dispel; atma—within; bhavasthah—themselves; jnana—of knowledge; dipena—with the lamp; bhasvata—glowing. TRANSLATION Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. PURPORT When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. Prakasananda, a very influential and learned scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist. Sometimes philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion, but even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Krsna Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in Krsna consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Krsna consciousness. The modern philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who are engaged in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient education and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse. The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Krsna or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Krsna, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Krsna within his heart; therefore he is just like the sun that dissipates the darkness of ignorance. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Krsna. Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one’s heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Krsna, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal of Visnu can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the necessities of life; he need not be anxious because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, for He is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the Gita’s teachings. By studying Bhagavad-gita, one can become a completely surrendered soul to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors. Bg10.12-13 TEXTS 12–13 arjuna uvaca param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan purusam sasvatam divyam adi-devam ajam vibhum ahus tvam rsayah sarve devarsir naradas tatha asito devalo vyasah svayam caiva bravisi me arjunah uvaca—Arjuna said; param—supreme; brahma—truth; param—supreme; dhama—sustenance; pavitram—purest; paramam—supreme; bhavan—Yourself; purusam—personality; sasvatam—original; divyam—transcendental; adi-devam—original Lord; ajam—unborn; vibhum—greatest; ahuh—say; tvam—unto You; rsayah—sages; sarve—all; devarsih—the sage among the demigods; naradah—Narada; tatha—also; asitah—Asita; devalah—Devala; vyasah—Vyasa; svayam—personally; ca—also; eva—certainly; bravisi—explaining; me—unto me. TRANSLATION Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me. PURPORT In these two verses the Supreme Lord gives a chance to the modern philosopher, for here it is clear that the Supreme is different from the individual soul. Arjuna, after hearing the essential four verses of Bhagavad-gita in this chapter, became completely free from all doubts and accepted Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He at once boldly declares, “You are Parambrahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” And previously Krsna states that He is the originator of everything and everyone. Every demigod and every human being is dependant on Him. Men and demigods, out of ignorance, think that they are absolute and independant of the Supreme Lord Krsna. That ignorance is removed perfectly by the discharge of devotional service. This is already explained in the previous verse by the Lord. Now by His grace, Arjuna is accepting Him as the Supreme Truth, in concordance with the Vedic injunction. It is not because Krsna is an intimate friend of Arjuna that he is flattering Him by calling Him the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Whatever Arjuna says in these two verses is confirmed by Vedic truth. Vedic injunctions affirm that only one who takes to devotional service to the Supreme Lord can understand Him, whereas others cannot. Each and every word of this verse spoken by Arjuna is confirmed by Vedic injunction. In the Kena Upanisad it is stated that the Supreme Brahman is the rest for everything, and Krsna has already explained that everything is resting on Him. The Mundaka Upanisad confirms that the Supreme Lord, in whom everything is resting, can be realized only by those who engage constantly in thinking of Him. This constant thinking of Krsna is smaranam, one of the methods of devotional service. It is only by devotional service to Krsna that one can understand his position and get rid of this material body. In the Vedas the Supreme Lord is accepted as the purest of the pure. One who understands that Krsna is the purest of the pure can become purified from all sinful activities. One cannot be disinfected from sinful activities unless he surrenders unto the Supreme Lord. Arjuna’s acceptance of Krsna as the supreme pure complies with the injunctions of Vedic literature. This is also confirmed by great personalities, of whom Narada is the chief. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one’s transcendental relationship with Him. He is the supreme existence. He is free from bodily needs, birth and death. Not only does Arjuna confirm this, but all the Vedic literatures. the Puranas and histories. In all Vedic literatures Krsna is thus described, and the Supreme Lord Himself also says in the Fourth Chapter, “Although I am unborn, I appear on this earth to establish religious principles.” He is the supreme origin; He has no cause, for He is the cause of all causes, and everything is emanating from Him. This perfect knowledge can be had by the grace of the Supreme Lord. Here Arjuna expresses himself through the grace of Krsna. If we want to understand Bhagavad-gita, we should accept the statements in these two verses. This is called the parampara system, acceptance of the disciplic succession. Unless one is in the disciplic succession, he cannot understand Bhagavad-gita. It is not possible by so-called academic education. Unfortunately those proud of their academic education, despite so much evidence in Vedic literatures, stick to their obstinate conviction that Krsna is an ordinary person. Bg10.14 TEXT 14 sarvam etad rtam manye yan mam vadasi kesava na hi te bhagavan vyaktim vidur deva na danavah sarvam—all; etat—these; rtam—truths; manye—accept; yat—which; mam—unto me; vadasi—You tell; kesava—O Krsna; na—never; hi—certainly; te—Your; bhagavan—O Personality of Godhead; vyaktim—revelation; viduh—can know; devah—the demigods; na—nor; danavah—the demons. TRANSLATION O Krsna, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality. PURPORT Arjuna herein confirms that persons of faithless and demonic nature cannot understand Krsna. He is not even known by the demigods, so what to speak of the so-called scholars of this modern world? By the grace of the Supreme Lord, Arjuna has understood that the Supreme Truth is Krsna and that He is the perfect one. One should therefore follow the path of Arjuna. He received the authority of Bhagavad-gita. As described in the Fourth Chapter, the parampara system of disciplic succession for the understanding of Bhagavad-gita was lost, and therefore Krsna reestablished that disciplic succession with Arjuna because He considered Arjuna His intimate friend and a great devotee. Therefore, as stated in our Introduction to Gitopanisad, Bhagavad-gita should be understood in the parampara system. When the parampara system was lost, Arjuna was again selected to rejuvenate it. The acceptance of Arjuna of all that Krsna says should be emulated; then we can understand the essence of Bhagavad-gita, and then only can we understand that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bg10.15 TEXT 15 svayam evatmanatmanam vettha tvam purusottama bhuta-bhavana bhutesa deva-deva jagat-pate svayam—personality; eva—certainly; atmana—by Yourself; atmanam—Yourself; vettha—know; tvam—You; purusottama—O greatest of all persons; bhuta-bhavana—O origin of everything; bhutesa—O Lord of everything; deva-deva—O Lord of all demigods; jagat-pate—O Lord of the entire universe. TRANSLATION Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe! PURPORT The Supreme Lord Krsna can be known by persons who are in a relationship with Him through the discharge of devotional service, like Arjuna and his successors. Persons of demonic or atheistic mentality cannot know Krsna. Mental speculation that leads one away from the Supreme Lord is a serious sin, and one who does not know Krsna should not try to comment on Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is the statement of Krsna, and since it is the science of Krsna, it should be understood from Krsna as Arjuna understood it. It should not be received from atheistic persons. The Supreme Truth is realized in three aspects: as impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and at last as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So at the last stage of understanding the Absolute Truth, one comes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A liberated man and even a common man may realize impersonal Brahman or localized Paramatma, yet they may not understand God’s personality from the verses of Bhagavad-gita, which are being spoken by this person, Krsna. Sometimes the impersonalists accept Krsna as Bhagavan, or they accept His authority. Yet many liberated persons cannot understand Krsna as Purusottama, the Supreme Person, the father of all living entities. Therefore Arjuna addresses Him as Purusottama. And if one comes to know Him as the father of all the living entities, still one may not know Him as the supreme controller; therefore He is addressed here as Bhutesa, the supreme controller of everyone. And even if one knows Krsna as the supreme controller of all living entities, still one may not know that He is the origin of all the demigods; therefore He is addressed herein as Devadeva, the worshipful God of all demigods. And even if one knows Him as the worshipful God of all demigods, one may not know that He is the supreme proprietor of everything; therefore He is addressed as Jagatpati. Thus the truth about Krsna is established in this verse by the realization of Arjuna, and we should follow in the footsteps of Arjuna to understand Krsna as He is. Bg10.16 TEXT 16 vaktum arhasy asesena divya hy atma-vibhutayah yabhir vibhutibhir lokan imams tvam vyapya tisthasi vaktum—to say; arhasi—deserve; asesena—in detail; divya—divine; hi—certainly; atma—Yourself; vibhutayah—opulences; yabhih—by which; vibhutibhih—opulences; lokan—all the planets; iman—these; tvam—You; vyapya—pervading; tisthasi—remain. TRANSLATION Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them. PURPORT In this verse it appears that Arjuna is already satisfied with his understanding of the Supreme Lord Krsna. By Krsna’s grace, Arjuna has personal experience, intelligence and knowledge and whatever else a person may have through all these agencies, and he has understood Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For him there is no doubt, Yet he is asking Krsna to explain His all-pervading nature so that in the future people will understand, especially the impersonalists, how He exists in His all-pervading aspect through His different energies. One should know that this is being asked by Arjuna on behalf of the common people. Bg10.17 TEXT 17 katham vidyam aham yogims tvam sada paricintayan kesu kesu ca bhavesu cintyo ’si bhagavan maya katham—how; vidyam aham—shall I know; yogin—O supreme mystic; tvam—You; sada—always; paricintayan—thinking; kesu—in which; kesu—in which; ca—also; bhavesu—nature; cintyah asi—You are remembered; bhagavan—O Supreme; maya—by me. TRANSLATION How should I meditate on You? In what various forms are You to be contemplated, O Blessed Lord? PURPORT As it is stated in the previous chapter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is covered by His yoga-maya. Only surrendered souls and devotees can see Him. Now Arjuna is convinced that His friend, Krsna, is the Supreme Godhead, but he wants to know the general process by which the all-pervading Lord can be understood by the common man. No common man, including the demons and atheists, can know Krsna because He is guarded by His yoga-maya energy. Again, these questions are asked by Arjuna for their benefit. The superior devotee is not only concerned for his own understanding, but for the understanding of all mankind. Out of his mercy, because he is a Vaisnava, a devotee, Arjuna is opening the understanding for the common man as far as the all-pervasiveness of the Supreme is concerned. He addresses Krsna specifically as yogin because Sri Krsna is the master of the yoga-maya energy by which He is covered and uncovered to the common man. The common man who has no love for Krsna cannot always think of Krsna; therefore he has to think materially. Arjuna is considering the mode of thinking of the materialistic persons of this world. Because materialists cannot understand Krsna spiritually, they are advised to concentrate the mind on physical things and try to see how Krsna is manifested by physical representations. Bg10.18 TEXT 18 vistarenatmano yogam vibhutim ca janardana bhuyah kathaya trptir hi srnvato nasti me ’mrtam vistarena—in description; atmanah—of Yourself; yogam—mystic power; vibhutim—opulences; ca—also; janardana—O killer of the atheists; bhuyah—again; kathaya—describe; trptih—satisfaction; hi—certainly; srnvatah—hearing; na asti—there is no; me—my; amrtam—nectar. TRANSLATION Tell me again in detail, O Janardana [Krsna], of Your mighty potencies and glories, for I never tire of hearing Your ambrosial words. PURPORT A similar statement was made to Suta Gosvami by the rsis of Naimisaranya, headed by Saunaka. That statement is: vayam tu na vitrpyama uttama-sloka-vikrame “One can never be satiated even though one continuously hears the transcendental pastimes of Krsna, who is glorified by Vedic hymns. Those who have entered into a transcendental relationship with Krsna relish in every step descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord.” Thus Arjuna is interested to hear about Krsna, specifically how He remains as the all-pervading Supreme Lord. Now as far as amrtam, nectar, is concerned, any narration or statement concerning Krsna is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience. Modern stories, fiction and histories are different from the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in that one will tire of hearing mundane stories, but one never tires of hearing about Krsna. It is for this reason only that the history of the whole universe is replete with references to the pastimes of the incarnations of Godhead. For instance, the Puranas are histories of bygone ages that relate the pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord. In this way the reading matter remains forever fresh, despite repeated readings. Bg10.19 TEXT 19 sri-bhagavan uvaca hanta te kathayisyami divya hy atma-vibhutayah pradhanyatah kuru-srestha nasty anto vistarasya me sri bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; hanta—yes; te—unto you; kathayisyami—I shall speak; divyah—divine; hi—certainly; atma-vibhutayah—personal opulences; pradhanyatah—principally; kurusrestha—O best of the Kurus; na asti—there is no; antah—limit; vistarasya—to the extent; me—My. TRANSLATION The Blessed Lord said: Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent, O Arjuna, for My opulence is limitless. PURPORT It is not possible to comprehend the greatness of Krsna and His opulences. The senses of the individual soul are imperfect and do not permit him to understand the totality of Krsna’s affairs. Still the devotees try to understand Krsna, but not on the principle that they will be able to understand Krsna fully at any specific time or in any state of life. Rather, the very topics of Krsna are so relishable that they appear to them as nectar. Thus they enjoy them. In discussing Krsna’s opulences and His diverse energies, the pure devotees take transcendental pleasure. Therefore they want to hear and discuss them. Krsna knows that living entities do not understand the extent of His opulences; He therefore agrees to state only the principal manifestations of His different energies. The word pradhanyatah (principal) is very important because we can understand only a few of the principal details of the Supreme Lord, for His features are unlimited. It is not possible to understand them all. And vibhuti, as used in this verse, refers to the opulences by which He controls the whole manifestation. In the Amara-kosa dictionary it is stated that vibhuti indicates an exceptional opulence. The impersonalist or the pantheist cannot understand the exceptional opulences of the Supreme Lord nor the manifestations of His divine energy. Both in the material world and in the spiritual world His energies are distributed in every variety of manifestation. Now Krsna is describing what can be directly perceived by the common man; thus part of His variegated energy is described in this way. Bg10.20 TEXT 20 aham atma gudakesa sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah aham adis ca madhyam ca bhutanam anta eva ca aham—I; atma—soul; gudakesa—O Arjuna; sarva-bhuta—all living entities; asaya-sthitah—situated within; aham—I am; adih—origin; ca—also; madhyam—middle; ca—also; bhutanam—all living entities; antah—end; eva—certainly; ca—and. TRANSLATION I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings. PURPORT In this verse Arjuna is addressed as Gudakesa, which means one who has conquered the darkness of sleep. For those who are sleeping in the darkness of ignorance, it is not possible to understand how the Supreme Godhead manifests Himself in the material and spiritual worlds. Thus this address by Krsna to Arjuna is significant. Because Arjuna is above such darkness, the Personality of Godhead agrees to describe His various opulences. Krsna first informs Arjuna that He is the Self or soul of the entire cosmic manifestation by dint of His primary expansion. Before the material creation, the Supreme Lord, by His plenary expansion, accepts the Purusa incarnations, and from Him everything begins. Therefore He is atma, the soul of the mahat-tattva, the universal elements. The total material energy is not the cause of the creation, but actually the Maha-Visnu enters into the mahat-tattva, the total material energy. He is the soul. When Maha-Visnu enters into the manifested universes, He again manifests Himself as the Supersoul in each and every entity. We have experience that the personal body of the living entity exists due to the presence of the spiritual spark. Without the existence of the spiritual spark, the body cannot develop. Similarly, the material manifestation cannot develop unless the Supreme Soul of Krsna enters. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is existing as the Supersoul in all manifested universes. A description of the three purusa-avataras is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam. “The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests three features, as Karanodakasayi Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu, in this material manifestation.” The Supreme Lord Krsna, the cause of all causes, lies down in the cosmic ocean as Maha-Visnu or Karanodakasayi Visnu, and therefore Krsna is the beginning of this universe, the maintainer of the universal manifestation, and the end of all the energy. Bg10.21 TEXT 21 adityanam aham visnur jyotisam ravir amsuman maricir marutam asmi naksatranam aham sasi adityanam—of the Adityas; aham—I am; visnuh—the Supreme Lord; jyotisam—of all luminaries; ravih—the sun; amsuman—radiant; maricih—Marici; marutam—of the Marutas; asmi—I am; naksatranam—of stars; aham—I am; sasi—the moon. TRANSLATION Of the Adityas I am Visnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, I am Marici of the Maruts, and among the stars I am the moon. PURPORT There are twelve Adityas, of which Krsna is the principal. And among all the luminaries twinkling in the sky, the sun is the chief, and in the Brahma-samhita the sun is accepted as the glowing effulgence of the Supreme Lord and is considered to be one of His eyes. Marici is the controlling deity of the heavenly spaces. Among the stars, the moon is most prominent at night, and thus the moon represents Krsna. Bg10.22 TEXT 22 vedanam sama-vedo ’smi devanam asmi vasavah indriyanam manas casmi bhutanam asmi cetana vedanam—of all the Vedas; sama-vedah—the Sama-veda; asmi—I am; devanam—of all the demigods; asmi—I am; vasavah—heavenly king; indriyanam—of all the senses; manah—the mind; ca—also; asmi—I am; bhutanam—of all living entities; asmi—I am; cetana—the living force. TRANSLATION Of the Vedas I am the Sama-veda; of the demigods I am Indra; of the senses I am the mind, and in living beings I am the living force [knowledge]. PURPORT The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter. Bg10.23 TEXT 23 rudranam sankaras casmi vitteso yaksa-raksasam vasunam pavakas casmi meruh sikharinam aham rudranam—of all the Rudras; sankarah—Lord Siva; ca—also; asmi—I am; vittesah—the lord of the treasury; yaksa-raksasam—of the Yaksas and Raksasas; vasunam—of the Vasus; pavakah—fire; ca—also; asmi—I am; meruh—Meru; sikharinam—of all mountains; aham—I am. TRANSLATION Of all the Rudras I am Lord Siva; of the Yaksas and Raksasas I am the lord of wealth [Kuvera]; of theVasus I am fire [Agni], and of the mountains I am Meru. PURPORT There are eleven Rudras, of whom Sankara, Lord Siva, is predominant. He is the incarnation of the Supreme Lord in charge of the modes of ignorance in the universe. Among the demigods Kuvera is the chief treasurer, and he is a representation of the Supreme Lord. Meru is a mountain famed for its rich natural resources.
yac chrnvatam rasa-jnanam svadu svadu pade pade.