Bhagavad-gītā for Everyone

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Сообщение Aditi » 15 сен 2020, 23:09

TEXT 44

Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts, driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness.

PURPORT

Self-serving desires will necessarily lead a person to a dead end of actions and their consequences. To get out of this impasse, one must follow the principles of true renunciation by offering fruits to the Supreme Lord. Priests and managers (including gurus) of faiths should use all money, temples, and honor for God and dedicate it to God, while living modestly themselves, if they don't want to fall victim of their own shortsightedness. Both they and their followers should focus on developing understanding, knowledge. The sacrifice of knowledge is in any case higher than the sacrifice of material property, which will be discussed later in one of the chapters of the Bhagavad-gītā. Spiritual expansion of any kind depends on the level of understanding and following, not on the level of material wealth of the church.

TEXT 45

I would consider it better for the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra to kill me unarmed and unresisting, rather than fight with them.

PURPORT

The treachery and unscrupulousness of some people in Kali-yuga sometimes beget a desire to give up. By our spiritual nature, we seek honesty and truth, and sometimes, when faced with a complete deception, a person feels the meaninglessness of any of his actions. In fact, such feelings are quite typical for kṣatriyas, who have a very strong sense of justice. On the one hand, the described arguments of Arjuna indicate his sincerity and good qualities, on the other hand, this would never have happened if he kept God at the center of his life.

In fact, all kinds of problems are born because of the lack of God-centricity in society, in the family, or individually in a person. The main attachment of people is attachment to themselves, to the evaluation of themselves by others and the like, that is, they are in the center of their life themselves, but if a person puts the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā first, then all problems of this kind disappear. When a person follows these instructions, his personal position is eliminated, it no longer has special significance, because the actions of the person begin to be coordinated by a higher authority. As long as a person is engaged in himself, he will inevitably suffer.

The entire Bhagavad-gītā directs the personality towards true happiness and freedom in place of a petty selfish life. Sometimes they say that one needs to believe... well, one can believe it, but when a person follows, everything becomes an obvious fact. One of the central points of spiritual life is shifting one's attention from oneself to God, or developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

TEXT 46

Sañjaya said: Arjuna, having thus spoken on the battlefield, cast aside his bow and arrows and sat down on the chariot, his mind overwhelmed with grief.

PURPORT

Saints and great devotees give us many examples of how even they had to go through various difficulties. Active preaching will always be accompanied by certain problems. Devotional service to God is opposed to the tendencies of the material world, so one who tries to do something meaningful in this direction may both be tempted and be pressured by materialists. Spiritual life is quite a complex thing with many situations and contexts of spiritual understanding, and a true spiritual master is like an experienced captain who helps us bypass all obstacles on this path. Just as Kṛṣṇa was driving Arjuna's chariot and leading him to victory.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 18 сен 2020, 15:58

Chapter 2. Contents of the Gītā Summarized

TEXT 1

Sañjaya said: Seeing Arjuna full of compassion and very sorrowful, his eyes brimming with tears, Madhusūdana, Kṛṣṇa, spoke the following words.

PURPORT
Unfortunately, people often spend a lot of time to take care of the body, but do not care about the most important thing - about their future life, although this issue is much more important than the needs of the body of one person or even a whole society. We learn theoretically first that we are souls, but later comes a practical realisation of our spiritual nature. First understanding comes through analytical study and then through spiritual practice.

The soul, or consciousness, gives life to the body and fills it; there are no any chemical reactions could support the body. There is no any possibility that life could arose from the mixing of material elements, and every second there are both birth and death of billions of living entities throughout the universe. The fact of birth in the material world is already a kind of judgment, and from the point of view of Eternity, material life, as such, is scanty. Therefore, great personalities do not worry about things meant to be, but they strive to enlighten person while he is in the body. The sooner a person understands these things the more successful he is, and perhaps in this way, he will have more time to study a spiritual subject. However, the temporality of the material body and the eternity of the soul are not reasons to neglect own body or the bodies of others. One need to be reasonable and also talk about such things in accordance with one's real position, it will be honest and more effective.

From the point of view of God, or a self-realized saint person the temporary body is not particularly valuable, and Krsna will explain all this to Arjuna who has temporarily forgotten his true patron and the true values of life. "This realization is made possible by working with the fruitive being situated in the fixed conception of the real self." Attachment to the fruits of work seriously conditions a person and covers his spiritual abilities. The soul is eternal, but the constant searching for material happiness covers the soul and leads away from the knowledge of spiritual science. Among all the instructions, perhaps, the first and most important for many people, is the renounce all attachment to the fruit, or concentration on the soul because this is how a person comes to peace.

A person does not need to give up work or its results, he needs to give up attachment to it, make it all secondary or tertiary in his life. Life goes on and everyone is engaged in some kind of activity that brings him money or other values, but just do not get too engrossed, but put spiritual science first. So, gradually the spiritual nature will be manifested and person will practically understand that there is no sense in worrying too much about the vicissitudes of the material body or, as in the case of Arjuna, about relatives. Being close to God, with the creator of everything and everyone, it is simply ridiculous to grieve for anything.


TEXT 2

The Supreme Person [Bhagavān] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.

PURPORT
Of course, my comments are just a small addition to Śrīla Prabhupāda's comments. Perhaps for some people this addition will be a preface to reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, but for others it may be interesting as a touch to understanding or as another vision of His books. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has a wonderful commentary on this verse, so I just give His full comment:

"Kṛṣṇa and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are identical. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is referred to as "Bhagavān" throughout the Gītā. Bhagavān is the ultimate in the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding, namely Brahman or the impersonal all-pervasive spirit; Paramātmā, or the localized aspect of the Supreme within the heart of all living entities; and Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this conception of the Absolute Truth is explained thus:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

"The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding by the knower of the Absolute Truth, and all of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth are expressed as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān." (Bhāg. 1.2.11) These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun, which also has three different aspects, namely the sunshine, the sun's surface and the sun planet itself. One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary student. One who understands the sun's surface is further advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is the highest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply understanding the sunshine—its universal pervasiveness and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature—may be compared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth. The student who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to knowledge of the Paramātmā feature of the Absolute Truth. And the student who can enter into the heart of the sun planet is compared to those who realize the personal features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Therefore, the bhaktas, or the transcendentalists who have realized the Bhagavān feature of the Absolute Truth, are the topmost transcendentalists, although all students who are engaged in the study of the Absolute Truth are engaged in the same subject matter. The sunshine, the sun disc and the inner affairs of the sun planet cannot be separated from one another, and yet the students of the three different phases are not in the same category.

The Sanskrit word Bhagavān is explained by the great authority, Parāśara Muni, the father of Vyāsadeva. The Supreme Personality who possesses all riches, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation is called Bhagavān. There are many persons who are very rich, very powerful, very beautiful, very famous, very learned, and very much detached, but no one can claim that he possesses all riches, all strength, etc., entirely. Only Kṛṣṇa can claim this because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No living entity, including Brahmā, Lord Śiva, or Nārāyaṇa, can possess opulences as fully as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is concluded in the Brahma-saṁhitā by Lord Brahmā himself that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one is equal to or above Him. He is the primeval Lord, or Bhagavān, known as Govinda, and He is the supreme cause of all causes.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

"There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavān, but Kṛṣṇa is the supreme because none can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the cause of all causes." (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1)

In the Bhāgavatam also there is a list of many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but Kṛṣṇa is described as the original Personality of Godhead, from whom many, many incarnations and Personalities of Godhead expand:

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

"All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself." (Bhag. 1.3.28)

Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, the source of both the Supersoul and the impersonal Brahman.

In the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna's lamentation for his kinsmen is certainly unbecoming, and therefore Kṛṣṇa expressed His surprise with the word kutas, "wherefrom." Such unmanly sentiments were never expected from a person belonging to the civilized class of men known as Āryans. The word āryan is applicable to persons who know the value of life and have a civilization based on spiritual realization. Persons who are led by the material conception of life do not know that the aim of life is realization of the Absolute Truth, Viṣṇu, or Bhagavān, and they are captivated by the external features of the material world, and therefore they do not know what liberation is. Persons who have no knowledge of liberation from material bondage are called non-Āryans. Although Arjuna was a kṣatriya, he was deviating from his prescribed duties by declining to fight. This act of cowardice is described as befitting the non-Āryans. Such deviation from duty does not help one in the progress of spiritual life, nor does it even give one the opportunity to become famous in this world. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not approve of the so-called compassion of Arjuna for his kinsmen."

TEXT 3

O son of Pṛthā, do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not become you. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O chastiser of the enemy.

PURPORT

There is a similar description in the Bible: "But the fearful, and unbelieving ... and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." This means that all unbelievers will remain in the material world. From the spiritual point of view, the entire material world is a place of death, mṛtyu-loka, the planet of death. So, these verses say that a person who follows the spiritual life should also show courage. Arjuna is a warrior, so it is natural for him to fight, it is his duty; but do not think that everyone should go to war or commit any violence. Nevertheless, everyone in his place may perform some kind of spiritual feat, overcome one's weaknesses relying on spiritual knowledge and practice. Sometimes materialists say that the Gita is too radical, or Christians criticize the Gita for its belligerence, but we can find a similar call in the Bible both in the Old Testament and in Jesus Christ words, when he calls to "rip out" things which tempt a person. We are not trying to mix Christianity and the Vedas, this would be wrong in many ways. We also do not encourage Christians to become believers of Kṛṣṇa, however, there are many parallels in these two scriptures, and those who know both of them unwittingly note this.

Kṛṣṇa manifests here His qualities as Lord Nārāyaṇa (the Almighty). Those who neglect Lord Nārāyaṇa by saying that greatness is a lower aspect compare to close relationship with God, do not understand His position. Lord Nārāyaṇa never ceases to be God, whatever the role of a devotee, and a pure devotee is always happy to see His unalloyed valor; exactly in such mood Kṛṣṇa inspires Arjuna to fight.

TEXT 4

Arjuna said: O killer of Madhu [Kṛṣṇa], how can I counterattack with arrows in battle men like Bhīṣma and Droṇa, who are worthy of my worship?

PURPORT

God is the owner of everything. He is perfect, therefore any His plan is also perfect. All the living entities are His eternal parts, and from the point of view of uttama (the one who is outside the darkness of the material world) there are neither higher nor lower living entities - all are spiritual souls. Of course, behind everything that happens on the field of Kurukṣetra, is the history of the relationship with God of each character described; all of them did not accidentally get into this situation.

The relationship with God is individual and since God is all-powerful, He can stay with every soul individually and return to each soul's individual feelings. God created living entities to take care of them, to exchange relationships with them, or to communicate with them, and whatever the soul desires in the spiritual world, He fulfills the soul's desires. In the material world is the specific situation because people here want to dominate themselves. They think spiritual life is a fairy tale and consider their inventions as a progress. People want to create their own paradise without God and God gives them such opportunity; but in this case people bear responsibility themselves and are forced to receive the consequences of their actions.

God deliberately placed Arjuna in an extreme situation in order to emphasize the importance of spiritual principles over material morality. However, no one can use this example as an excuse for the violence; or if someone considers himself as a kṣatriya, a warrior, he must always fight on equal terms, with an equal ones.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 19 сен 2020, 17:48

TEXT 5

It is better to live in this world by begging than to live at the cost of the lives of great souls who are my teachers. Even though they are avaricious, they are nonetheless superiors. If they are killed, our spoils will be tainted with blood.

PURPORT
It is natural for a devotee to consider others above himself. This is a good position, but we should be careful when it comes to matters of principle. The spiritual masters of Arjuna took the side of Duryodhana and this deprived them of their right to honor and respect. If a spiritual master deviates from the philosophy given to us by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, such a master can certainly be left. The position of the guru is not absolute and he can fall; there are many examples in life and in the scriptures.

Reverence for the spiritual master or worship of the spiritual master is not an end in itself. The difference between cult and reverence is that cult is blind worship and reverence is respect for the experience and knowledge of the spiritual master. The main criterion of the guru is what he says; his words have practically, in real time, guide us and help us in spiritual life. The spiritual master may not know some minor things (both in material life and in the secondary sections of spiritual knowledge), but he is an expert in the main path of spiritual life. The spiritual master is not interested in glory or veneration, but he accepts such a role by following the instruction of a higher authority. In the material world, everyone is obsessed with fame and appreciation, but on the spiritual level there is no envy or struggle for fame.

TEXT 6

Nor do we know which is better—conquering them or being conquered by them. The sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, whom if we killed we should not care to live, are now standing before us on this battlefield.

PURPORT

Arjuna believed that both victory and defeat in this battle would be unfavorable. When a person's mind is darkened, everything seems unfavorable to him; but when a person is enlightened and devoted to God, e.i. he acts in the interests of the Supreme Lord, then he feels spiritual uplift and happiness. In fact, a devotee has no problem. More precisely, he has only one problem: how to convey the message of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to other living entities. Whether a devotee lives or dies, he always understands the all-pervading nature of God; and when he comes in contact with Him personally, he realizes how important it is to talk to others about God. God is always present in the teachings of self-realized souls. In fact, they pass on their spiritual experience to us. Those who preach are bound to ascend to a higher being, and those who are already blessed are bound to preach.

Having experienced local communication with God, the devotee takes the position of madhyama-adhikārī (the middle-level devotee); uttama-adhikārī (the highest type of devotee) is connected with God continuously. But even without seeing the Supreme Lord, devotee may be full of spiritual senses by following in the footsteps of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. However, one should not think that Lord Caitanya's mood of separation (vipralambha) is only for establishing a direct relationship with God; this is not true. Even those who are in the direct contact with God (sambhoga), recognize this even higher nature of love in separation. The mood of separation crowns the entire gradation of devotion and love for God, and manifests itself as the eternal bhajana of separation. In some cases, separation (bhajana) is used to achieve God, but we generally do not follow this interpretation, but accept the higher one, given to us by Lord Caitanya. In short, no matter what situation a believer is in, he has no reason for material sorrow.

Arjuna was ready to beggar because he understood the illusion of material wealth. Those who are spiritually elevated, do not strive for material achievements and money, and do not try to get them more than it is necessary for life, because they are happy with spiritual awareness.

TEXT 7

Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.

PURPORT

It was simply natural for Arjuna to ask for help from Kṛṣṇa. Such devotees constantly communicate with God and are always under His protection. God wants to see them perfect, so sometimes He leads them through ordeals, which strengthens their mutual feelings. It is not always easy to serve God, and for doing this, perfect intelligence or awareness of God is necessary, but if the mutual love between the devotee and the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been awakened, it is already inseparable. Even if a devotee who has reached this level stumbles, anyway, God will take him to Himself; such care is certainly one of the highest values of life.

Another criterion of the spiritual master is that under his guidance the disciple gain knowledge of the essence of everything. God knows everything, the guru knows everything, and the disciple eventually gets to the same. Any person at any age and position should think about the purpose of his life. One should think and find the answer to the question: where did the world come from and who controls it? It is necessary to understand the falsity of both materialistic concepts and various concepts of monism, and then go on the pure path of monotheism. The absolute is one, there are no two infinities, since they would be mutually exclusive. And since we see forms everywhere, therefore, at the beginning of the world there is also a form, or Personality. Where did the mind and intelligence come from? If they were not exist in the cause of being, where would they come from to us? Emptiness or "nothing" cannot create qualities. Therefore, the existence of God is fully proven. It can be given dozens or hundreds of proofs, and this approach is much better than the initial faith.

Further, one should not think that the spiritual master is some esoteric figure who holds the "keys" to our spiritual life, such as "if he bless one - there will be progress, if he does not bless – there will be no progress". The spiritual master widely spreads the message of God without discriminating between people. His function is to prompt, to guide the deciple, but much also depends on the the deciple's own efforts. Sometimes spiritual slackers and materialists want someone to appear who would "bless" them, and thus, they would easily gain something... they do not know what they want ... they want to be pseudo-chosen one, so they often declare one or another master "chosen one" or great in their own interests.

Of course, it can be difficult to practice year after year, but person should not turn away from this path. Whether a person is righteous or sinful in some way, he can continue his spiritual practice as much as he can.

TEXT 8

I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even if I win an unrivalled kingdom on the earth with sovereignty like that of the demigods in heaven.

PURPORT

We can see that materialistic or religious morality cannot always provide solutions to specific problems. Any morality has its origins in religion. Materialists cannot create morality because their selfish goals will contradict any morality, and it will be destroyed by egoism; we see this in the modern world. Religious morality without knowledge of God is also unstable and generally secondary. For example, in the Bible the main commandment is to love God with all one's heart, with all one's mind; all the other commandments are secondary and do not have much significance without fulfilling the first, main condition. The similar situation is for the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: in the first place is devotion to God, devoting all one's senses and all intelligence to God; other things, including the restrictive principles, lose their meaning without fulfilling the first condition. All moral principles are just some help to the main path. Sometimes it is emphasized to strengthen the spiritual life, and sometimes they are not taken as significant. A person should treat these moments conscientiously, then everything will lead him forward. We can deceive ourselves or others, but it is impossible to deceive God, so it is in our interests to honestly understand our position and follow the spiritual path.

A lower-level spiritual master teaches spiritual science by following a standard pattern and also through his local experience. Such a guru can be attached to material things, fame and so on. However, such guidance can be valuable if the guru does not distort the scripture. The trouble is not material corruption in a spiritual society; the real trouble is spiritual corruption, when under the pressure of material nature, one begins to distort the scriptures by introducing materialistic contexts in it, or substituting true goals for false ones. In general, it is not so important whether a person is rich or poor, it does not matter in spiritual life at all; however, sannyasis, monks, priests and gurus should avoid wealth both for the purpose of preaching and for personal welfare.

A disciple can receive initiation (pass the rite of initiation) from one or another guru and continue his spiritual practice. The rite of initiation itself (or an analog for christians – baptism) is only a ritual similar to the registration of marriage in the registry office; but registration does not guarantee a happy family life, just as the rite of initiation does not guarantee spiritual advancement. In some cases, the disciple can practice without any initiation or rite because the Holy name does not depend on formal initiation. The real initiation is following the main instructions of the scripture; and the spiritual master is the one who helps in this. Nowadays most people are outside the church or any spiritual society for a quite logical reasons. In this case, they can practice at home without membering any church and without going through the rites.

Many spears are broken in the debates about who is the true guru and who is not true. There are people who say that there is no need for false gurus who do not follow the principles; and instead of these gurus they offer themselves as "guru-ritviks" (priests, representatives of God), but they also do not follow. Both of them can be kaniṣṭha-gurus (lower – level gurus) because they are cut from the same cloth; but those who try to follow the standard principle of a guru, who follows all the regulation principles, have a greater chance to rise because their concept is higher, while the status of "ritvik-guru" implies less responsibility. The Supersoul can also help us, but in this case everything must match with the books of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, so "books are the basis" of everything.

There is also a variant when the guru is defined as someone who introduces into esoteric games. It is impossible to say for sure whether such gurus are introduced someone somewhere or not (most often, this is just a fraud); but we have other goals and we also know that those who actually entered that games, still studying if they are not qualified like preachers. If someone enters into games, returns to Godhead - he is done well, but the principles of devotional service are higher than liberation. Devotional service is a great science that is preached both here and in the spiritual world.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 20 сен 2020, 10:24

TEXT 9

Sañjaya said: Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Kṛṣṇa, "Govinda, I shall not fight," and fell silent.

PURPORT

Arjuna accepted materialistic views as the spiritual ones. Good, or goodness, this is everything that leads to the knowledge of God; and evil, or sin, this is everything that leads away from such knowledge. A person must necessarily distinguish between good and bad. Since childhood the child is taught what is good and what is bad; and this is very true. Perhaps the child is taught by simple examples, but the general concept of good and evil is laid in his mind, and by person growing up, he learns to recognize these concepts more subtly. The western concept of the relativity of being, including the relativity of good and bad, which is spreading in the world nowadays, is truly deadly and can destroy the whole entire society. When people believe that there is neither good nor evil, that everything is relative, so this leads to the fact that sinfulness is legitimized and the whole world plunges into chaos.

Nowadays there are three concepts demonic life bases on: 1) the relativity of good and evil, 2) the relativity of truth (everyone has its own truth), and 3) consciousness is the source of the surrounding world (solipsism). All these three are obviously false, but they are popular in the western world now.

In the case, for example, of the material body the good indeed may look relative when one person is suitable for some food, another person for other food, but this relativity is within rigid framework. Nobody eats rocks or sawdust, does they? If everything is absolutely relative why not start eating sawdust? The idea of total relativity is artificially introduced into society in order to discard religious prescriptions – like there is no need to follow "ancient, outdated principles". People who confess relativity consider themselves advanced and very smart, but they avoid eating sawdust.

Further, there are those who say that truth is relative: from one point of view everything looks like this, and from another - it looks like that; they are give a thoughtful example how three blind men took an elephant by one of a different parts of its body – trunk, leg and tail - and each man made his own conclusion based on his perception. But an elephant is still an elephant and someone's limited experience of perception an elephant does not mean that the elephant has become someone else. We can perceive the world in different ways, but the world is objective, it is a very concrete entity, especially it has inexorable laws. The limitation of our senses does not make the world different, it does not give birth to a new truth; the truth in the highest sense is the source of everything. There are many local truths, but the Absolute Truth is what everything came from.

And finally, still others say that being arises from individual consciousness, that everything is created in the mind. That means, reality is only in the mind and everything else is not real. Such people say that it is enough to change the mind and everything will change. They are like a child who closing his eyes and thinks that night has come all over the world. This doctrine also finds a practical application, such as: "believe in yourself and you will achieve everything you want." Of course, some enthusiasm can increase the probability of achieving a goal, but it is not a guarantee of success.

All these are varieties of ignorance that can be gradually dispelled by studying the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā.

TEXT 10

O descendant of Bharata, at that time Kṛṣṇa, smiling, in the midst of both the armies, spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

PURPORT

Whenever a devotee is in a difficult situation, God comes to help him. As for us, the fastest way to get God's help is studying the scripture, when we read or remember His teachings, such as the Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is considered to be a scripture for beginners, but in fact the Gītā is absolute; just as it is good for beginners, it is also good for pure devotees. The Gītā briefly, but capacious explains all the necessary aspects of spiritual development; and if you take some high level of devotion then its criteria are also given in the Bhagavad-gītā.

The Supersoul can also help a devotee, but His help should not contradict the main scripture. Nevertheless, God spoke with Arjuna personally for the benefit of the whole world.

TEXT 11

The Blessed Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead.

PURPORT

Everyone who has born in this material world is initially ignorant and stupid. To get out of the animal state, a man must go through the learning process. This is study at school, at the institute, but the main thing should be study of the spiritual life. People studies for about a decade and a half at school and institute, but spiritual education must be cultivated throughout all life. Religion this is primarily a scripture and preaching, and not temple and rituals. It is not so important to get a formal initiation or baptism, much more important is a sincere search for truth.

Of course, it is good when there is spiritual communication or some kind of spiritualal association, but in many cases religious society becomes a stumbling block on the spiritual path, and not a bearer of spiritual life. Nowadays the churches are filled with superstitions rather than teaching the science of the soul and God. Unfortunately, spiritual authorities (priests, gurus, preachers and lecturers) instead of seeking the truth, are often interested in material wealth and respect for themselves. Now is the age of Satan and his influence is very strong, so we must be careful about such "spiritual authorities".

TEXT 12

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.

PURPORT

The soul is eternal and it is a great tragedy when the soul is in the cycle of birth and death. Since personality getting into animal life forms, he has no possibility of self-awareness and return to the spiritual world. Eternal, bliss-seeking soul is forced to languish in various bodies, devoid of love and knowledge. People put so much effort to achieve some meager results: to get a rich house or the opportunity to travel; in the spiritual world all desires are fulfilled, but people consider this a myth. However, we are all spiritual souls and a man can learn about this, first theoretically and then understand or see it practically. Spiritual science begins with the knowledge of Eternity and oneself as a particle of this Eternity, the eternal soul – "I exist", "I am", and ends with the knowledge of the Personality of God which is the highest, most complex and multifaceted aspect.

Impersonalists think that the form of God is invented by the ignorant, and they, on the contrary, have cognized the Supreme Truth, which, in their opinion, is impersonal and all-pervading - "universal mind", Brahman, or Nirvana. Since any form they know is material, they conclude that the antiform is an impersonal Spirit. From their point of view God cannot have a body because the body is always matter. Both materialists and impersonalists think that the form of God was invented by ignorant people, made an analogy with themselves. "If we have hands and feet then the "aborigines" have invented that God also has hands and feet, but the Supreme Truth is impersonal and in fact, incomprehensible." They like to say something in the manner of "everything said is a lie" and practice silent meditation on the universal mind or emptiness. They consider that liberation is the merging with the Supreme Truth and dissolve in it. Moreover, they are often firm in such convictions because the impersonal aspect of God really exists and they really know it. Nevertheless, the scripture indicate that this is the lowest aspect of God, the beginning of the path to Truth.

The gradation is as follows: first man is a materialist and immensely values material form and material acquisitions; then he becomes a jñānī, an impersonalist, and denies any form; and then he can already cognize the eternal spiritual form. If the cause of the world were impersonal, where would the qualities come from in the world? The Māyāvādī say on it that qualities are only an illusion; but we ask them: "What is the use of a higher intellect to create this kind of illusion?» They say it's incomprehensible. That means, they have no answer why the universal intellect should create a temporary world by placing a soul there; whereas a full knowledge gives the answer to all questions.
Impersonalism can be a very serious obstacle in spiritual life, sometimes it is even called "hellish philosophy". But impersonalism can be a step up and a Māyāvādī who discovers the Personality of Godhead can become a powerful and knowledgeable preacher; there are many examples on it. At the same time, let's be frank, ordinary people who worship God "just in case", do not really know much and usually do not have any clear concepts of spiritual knowledge; often even priests are in such position. Impersonalism is formally higher than their position, but people who pray to God, even without knowing anything about Him, are directed more correctly; God and prayers to Him are always absolute. The answer is that everything depends on the desire of people: a sincere materialist and a sincere impersonalist both have the opportunity to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 20 сен 2020, 17:57

TEXT 13

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.

PURPORT

Now almost everyone knows about reincarnation, but such knowledge is usually superficial and theoretical, and no one pay much importance to it. A person can listen to all arguments "for" reincarnation, agree with it, but still his interests remain on the material level. Sometimes he is even ready to "calculate his past incarnations" and "cleanse karma"; but he is not try to get out of this endless circle of births and deaths by knowing God and freeing himself from material attachments. In religion there are also people or even teaches who talk about some high things, but for any reason they are still very sensitive to their material comfort. If we are eternal souls, why so much worry about a temporary body? People do not understand their own happiness: they have the opportunity, finally, to get away from material concepts and become truly happy without worrying too much about the bodily changes; after all, even from the material point of view, this is the perfect position. Materialists think that they will gain happiness and power by getting as much property as possible at their own disposal, but this property is the cause of all their problems.

Everyone who has born in the material world will leave the body in due time. This may happen sooner or later, but the real danger is not in death itself, but in the next life. A soul that has fallen into animal forms, falls into a cycle that may last millions of years until the next human birth. And when the soul having suffered hundreds of millions of years and finally having received a human body, again spends it on money and apartments, there is no greater stupidity in the world than this.

Sometimes they ask: "Why do we not remember past lives?" Forgetfulness of past lives is given for a person to have the hope of becoming happy. In the past everything was the same, and if a person could remember even a dozen of their lives, he would clearly understand that in this life he will fail. But since a person wants to experience happiness, the memory goes away; a person appears like from nowhere, and a world full of secrets and great opportunities opens up before him. This is how illusion works, so that people can endlessly try to achieve something in the material world.

TEXT 14

O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.

PURPORT

In the material world conditions are constantly changing, happiness and suffering come and go, and when a person does not fall under the influence of such temporary phenomena, he can cognize his spiritual nature. The soul is eternal and unchanging, we are part of the great Eternity, or the Holy Spirit. Now our consciousness is filled with changing impressions, so sometime it seems to us that everything is good and sometime it seems that everything is bad. A person who rises above such ideas begins to realize his spiritual nature and becomes happy every moment, every second. The mystic who takes this superposition is no longer distracted by anything because the happiness he experiences is higher than material happiness, and moreover, it increases. This is the secret of all true ascetics: why do they need the temporary if they have received the eternal? A devotee can automatically attain the same position or understanding by chanting the holy name.

TEXT 15

O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation.

PURPORT

The minimum goal of human existence is to achieve liberation, or salvation. In fact, a human's entire life is intended to got the lesson about the meaninglessness of being here and return to the spiritual world during his lifetime or after leaving the body. It is necessary to understand the general principle of the material world and stop worrying too much about some material needs and problems. The fulfillment of desires is not in the full competence of people. If this were not so, everyone around would be rich and happy, but there are not many rich people. Desires are fulfilled or not fulfilled according to a person's past actions – someone works hard and gets nothing, while another person gets rich without much effort. In the same way, everyone wants to be happy and no one wants to suffer, but sufferings comes. Therefore, such things are not under the people's control. It is necessary to recognize that there is a supreme power behind everything - God or material nature - and person should find out his responsibilities in this connection.

TEXT 16

Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.

PURPORT

Is it possible to call something existing that will disappear forever? This world is real and its illusory nature lies in its temporality, so it is sometimes said that matter does not exist. The basis of the world is Eternity, Brahman; but material forms are constantly changing, appearing and disappearing. It is unnatural for the soul to live in a temporary world, so both individually and collectively people struggle for a certain stability of both the body and the things that surround them. The growth of chaos prevails in the world - there are destruction, everything bears the stamp of decay, disappearance; and this creates a contradiction between the eternal soul and the temporary world. No one wants to grow old, get sick, and die because it is unusual and unnatural for the soul. People want beauty, happiness, harmony, and love because it is organic for the soul to be in such atmosphere.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 20 сен 2020, 19:46

TEXT 17

Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.

PURPORT

Spiritual energy permeates the entire body and when a person's mind is purified, the person clearly sees or feels it. Since the soul is present in the body, various life processes take place in it because he supports them. No one material body without a soul would not be able to move, perceive the surrounding world or carry out metabolic processes. The soul is located in the heart, and with the support of spiritual energy the heart can pump blood for millions of cycles. The heart or any other organ is just a specific construction, which is incapable functioning by itself. Sometimes people ask: "What happens when a person gets an artificial heart?» But this or that heart is not important for the soul: if the organ is functional, he uses it. The soul is in the heart, nevertheless, it is not mechanically connected either with the heart or with the whole body, because it is fundamentally of a different nature. The soul is eternal and can be born or located in any environment: living beings live in the earth, in water, in space, and in fire, but we perceive only those who are like us. Our planet is mostly covered with water, so the body is also mostly made up of water, but the souls live in all the elements. Sometimes there is evidence that even some stones can move, grow, and multiply.

The soul is inside the body and acts through the body. The soul sees through the eyes, feels through other parts of the body, but it can see everything by itself. This is where the mystical abilities of people are taken (for example, when a person can read a text with his hands), because the localization of the soul in the body is temporary and not mandatory. The soul is eternal and eternally active; the temporary body is inert and wears out, therefore, it needs periodic rest. A person might be love to have fun all days long in continuous impressions, but the temporary body needs rest.

When man begins to comprehend his spiritual nature, he becomes inspired by a magnificent perspective - boundless Eternity or the beauty of the spiritual world. Materialists think that spiritual science is a fiction, but anyone can see or perceive all these things directly through consistent regular practice. As souls we know the spiritual world, and gradually our spiritual consciousness is awakening by studying the scripture and chanting the holy name. This is how a man restores his knowledge of the magnificent God; we are all parts of Him.

TEXT 18

Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is subject to destruction; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.

PURPORT

The soul is indestructible, immortal, but this is not a reason to justify violence. Any kind of violence will be subjected to investigation and tribunal, and even if the state in some cases can not fulfill this function of maintaining justice, there is a supreme court from which it is impossible to escape. Sometimes so-called religious people think that the violence they commit will be justified by God, or that the violence they commit making in the name of God, but in most cases such thoughts are a creature of darkness and such people will have to answer and pay for their actions.

Most of so-called religious wars do not have a religious background and it is only the result of a clash of material interests of the parties, and already these material interests are covered with religion by interested parties. At the same time, some kind of total pacifism also has nothing to do with religion. For example, if an atheist state declares a hunt for believers, they have full right to defend themselves. Humility is the development of intelligence; and ideally, the state should be ruled by a religious king who knows perfectly when violence is permissible and when it is not.

This battle was started by God, the Master of all things, for the sake of establishing justice; and He pushes Arjuna to fight in a very kṣatriya spirit, in a spirit of excitement: "Anyway everything will be destruct, so fight, Arjuna." Of course, God is the source of every thing and all qualities, so both in terms of adventure and in terms of the speed of punishment, He is ahead of everyone. God is a Personality and everyone who does not want to take this into account, meet an inevitable death.

TEXT 19

He who thinks that the living entity is the slayer or that he is slain, does not understand. One who is in knowledge knows that the self slays not nor is slain.

PURPORT

From a spiritual point of view, the soul does not act in the material world at all, however, the state should keep a sharp eye on the observance of justice - stand guard over the law and severely punish all rapists and murderers. A person who kills other people must certainly be convicted and executed, in this way the order will be maintained in society; and, in this case, the executed criminal maybe not have to go to hell, because during the time before execution, he can seriously repent. Punishment for the criminal is good, and violence against the innocent is arbitrariness and criminal. Nevertheless, from the highest point of view the soul is immortal, and unlike ordinary people, those who are spiritually advanced always know their final destination.

TEXT 20

For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

PURPORT

In the material world everything has a beginning and an end, while in the spiritual world everything is eternal. We are used to material categories, so sometimes it is difficult for us to understand Eternity. Eternity is not some object that is eternal, but Eternity is the "matter" that makes up the spiritual world. There are three qualities that make up the spiritual nature: eternity, knowledge, and happiness (sat, cit, ānanda). The entire spiritual world is "woven" of these three categories and eternity is the foundation all of this. Both God and soul have no beginning of existence; and the understanding of Eternity comes when a person realizes himself. Each of us is a soul and each of us is eternal, but when a person cognized himself, he personally begins to perceive and understand it. He feels himself eternal and understands what Eternity is, no longer theoretically, not in the form of some mental envision.

The mind cannot encompass Eternity because it is limited, but the mind immerses into Eternity and the personality embraces the direct perception of Eternity, eternal happiness (kaivalya). In fact, any type of material happiness is only a pale reflection of this aspect of sat, Eternity; when a person begins to renounce the material by the method of jñāna or yoga, he perceives this initial aspect of the Supreme God. Eternity, the Holy Spirit, sat, Brahman, Nirvana are only the beginning of the path, but an even higher aspect of happiness (ananda) is in relationship with God.

A person who follows this path becomes happy, he also gains complete knowledge of everything, freed from the influence of the material world. While we are in the power of material nature, we are covered by it like a hood and cannot clearly understand what is happening, but when person come out into the light, he gains knowledge. Therefore, in Chapter 13 of the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that knowledge is a way out from the influence of the material body.

Sometimes a "spiritual vision" or "third eye" opens up for practitioners, and person should be careful about this and check everything against the scriptures because such vision is often relative and highly dependent on the practitioner's intelligence. Also it is not always possible to call this vision spiritual because most often it is a mixture of spiritual and material. The universe is structured in a complex way, so even if person clearly see some events ahead, he can make mistakes. Even the Creator of this world Brahma with his great intellect can be wrong about the spiritual course of events. Our spiritual practice is not aimed at opening the chakras or the third eye, both because such things are relative in most cases, and because they will not raise us to the top of spiritual understanding.

Often such a vision turns out to be very insidious because everyone sees "to the extent of their depravity" - a person sees what is close to himself. Accordingly, he may well see other's shortcomings and completely fail to understand another person's spiritual position, if he is conditioned himself. The scripture nowhere emphasizes the importance of vision on the subtle plane and even spiritual vision; the scripture clearly transcend all mystical powers of such kind. Similarly a person who follows the instructions of the scripture, surpasses all and any mystics. The same applies to the instructions of the Supersoul, the "voice of the heart": the Supersoul always takes into account the desires of the person, which means a long detour. The Supersoul is God, isn't He? Yes, He is God, but the scripture is higher then the “voice of the heart” and leads directly to the top, because the scripture refers to a higher aspect of God. This is also the position of a bona fide spiritual master.

It is very rare that a devotee in his material body enters into God's pastime; but even in this case, the scriptural instructions are higher. If person has attained such perfection, he should not think of himself as an acarya or a great guru, because if he is interested in devotional service, he is still has a long way to go. There is quite a big difference between liberation of all kinds and devotional service under the guidance of Bhāgavata Ācārya, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. From the same point of view, the practice of secluded bābājī (recluses) or various kinds of rasa lovers is not particularly valuable. We recognize such spiritual achievements, but usually such preachers are not effective, and they also do not understand the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

It is good and joyful when some person has returned to the spiritual world; yet there is no need for extensive preaching of any particular rasa other than Lord Caitanya's mood of separation. Srīla Prabhupāda has forbidden the cultivation of direct relationship with God; but the experience of direct contact with God is very inspiring for beginners, and in some cases, the spiritual master may allow the disciple to remain in such position forever or until he reaches maturity.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 22 сен 2020, 12:08

TEXT 21

O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, unborn, eternal and immutable, kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?

PURPORT
of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
Everything has its proper utility, and a man who is situated in complete knowledge knows how and where to apply a thing for its proper utility. Similarly, violence also has its utility, and how to apply violence rests with the person in knowledge. Although the justice of the peace awards capital punishment to a person condemned for murder, the justice of the peace cannot be blamed because he orders violence to another person according to the codes of justice. In Manu-saṁhitā, the lawbook for mankind, it is supported that a murderer should be condemned to death so that in his next life he will not have to suffer for the great sin he has committed. Therefore, the king's punishment of hanging a murderer is actually beneficial. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa orders fighting, it must be concluded that violence is for supreme justice, and, as such, Arjuna should follow the instruction, knowing well that such violence, committed in the act of fighting for Kṛṣṇa, is not violence at all because, at any rate, the man, or rather the soul, cannot be killed; so for the administration of justice, so-called violence is permitted. A surgical operation is not meant to kill the patient, but to cure him. Therefore the fighting to be executed by Arjuna at the instruction of Kṛṣṇa is with full knowledge, so there is no possibility of sinful reaction.

TEXT 22

As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

PURPORT

A man shapes his future by commiting actions and developing desires throughout life. When man's desires and values are associated with the material world then, of course, he will be born here again and again. Even those who have decided to go back home, back to Godhead, it is necessary to make efforts and devote their lives to this; so, what about materialists who have no any interest in spiritual science? Those sincere believers who do not know much about God can go up to paradise to continue their spiritual practice; but materialists and those who deny God, as a rule, fall down into animal and uncivilized forms of life. One can eat, sleep or have a family in any other form of life, there it is easier and free; but the human form of life has a different purpose, and it is unacceptable luxury to spend life on such primitive functions. Unfortunately, society is degrading more and more now, and millions of people spend their lives on ghostly, worthless things.

Individual preaching has become even more difficult because of the decline in the level of people's education; many people simply devoid of logic, or they live on the level of cartoons and sensual assessments - "good" for them is what they like, and "evil" is what they do not like. It is also difficult to preach within spiritual organizations, since they are all formalized to rituals and faith in their teachings; moreover, their teachings are often differ from the holy scripture, which does not bother either the leaders or participants of these organizations at all. Now almost for any spiritual organization the number of people is important, because this determines their material income and also, in their opinion, this indicates the truth of their religion. From this point of view, the most true religion is the television because its "flock" exceeds the flock of any famous confessions. Since such confessions do not carry the truth in itselves, they are very afraid of any external criticism, and also their tactic is to limit communication only within a particular sect by intimidate parishioners (in particular, "Vaiṣṇavas") with the inadmissibility of criticism in their address. In the current age, the age of Kali, the temple, the church, the spiritual society, as a rule, are not a carrier of progressive religiosity, so Srīla Prabhupāda focused on the mass distribution of the books. In this age the basis of religiosity is spiritual literature and discussions of spiritual subject.

Nevertheless, in contrast to individual preaching and preaching within spiritual organizations, the preaching at the level of concepts of the entire society is actively moving forward. Now is the time of mass technologies and through them the sound of brihad-mridanga, the sound of the preaching spreads around the world; it penetrates into all spheres of society and gradually shapes the future of this world. Srīla prabhupāda, His desire, is distributing thousands and millions of books in order to find at least a few people who will be able to understand them. One should not be embarrassed, we need to continue this process and God will gradually bestow all kinds of blessings on us. However, there is no special need to create any new movement or try to get the status of "guru". When you preach, you are already a guru; and the absence of titles, regalia or any official recognition makes you a real renounced sannyāsī. The personality will be much more effective without wearing a "big turban" on the head than with a turban and inert followers. The leaders in confessions do their job, it is also useful in some way; but we do ours job - mostly avoiding them. One can teach one's deciple or deciples the same things, exactly this will be the real movement and the real initiation; so, three, or five, or ten people will be able slowly but surely reform an entire country.

If you are spiritually disposed and a disciple follows your instructions and preaches himself, he will be naturally raised to the spiritual level; while the "great leaders" are shackled by their recruited formal disciples and admirers. As for money, the most effective tactic nowadays is to use the incoming money only for direct preaching by printing books, leaflets and so on. There is no special need to form congregation around us, but preachers must be formed around us. Also, there is no particular need to build a temple or temples, often it becomes just an extra burden and another reason for corruption. Some of the preachers' mistake is when they try to invite people into an organization or into a particular process. This is not always necessary. One can simply talk about God in an acceptable way to everyone, so the society will be flooded with spiritual ideas automatically, and in the future all this will take the required forms

While the personality is in the body, one can always tell him something spiritual and give the person a chance. While the personality is in the body, one can always tell him something spiritual and give the person a chance. We must always improve in this, applying all our abilities. Whether a person is young or old everything can end at any moment, and he will go somewhere else, most likely not to the best place. Therefore, ideally, one can continuously fulfill one's spiritual duty and thus achieve real life and real happiness.

TEXT 23

The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

PURPORT

The soul is immaterial and beyond the control of any weapon. Although it is said that the soul have the size of one ten-thousandth of a hair's tip, actually he has not any material size and cannot be detected by any material methods, as this verse confirms. Scripture gives only some analogies to give an idea of his atomicity.

TEXT 24

This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.

PURPORT

God expands Himself into an infinite number of His full parts while remaining the Complete Whole; but He also expands Himself into an infinite number of His own separate parts - souls - endowing them with individual consciousness. Sometimes the monists say that the totality of all living beings constitutes God or that the self-aware soul becomes God. Indeed, we are all parts of God and in this sense we are one with Him; but God, unlike us, has never fall into an illusion - God is always God. God does not fall into illusion either when He comes to the material world, it is all His own energy and His own creation.

Sometimes Christians say that God became a man in the image of Christ, but God does not become a man, He is always God, He is always on the top of the world, and He also never suffers. God does not need to become a man or anyone else for the sake of saving souls, He is all-powerful, He can always do anything. He can liberate this world or all the worlds in the blink of an eye without any sacrifice or redemption; but He respects the tiny independence of souls, living beings, and He does not interfere with their desire to exist apart from Him. God also does not need to "investigate" anything taking the place of a man, He already knows everything. He knows each of us and all the moments of life of all living beings throughout the universe in an infinite period of time – such is His power.

God created us, living beings, as His children to give us joy and bestow us. He enjoys with our love, just as we enjoy with the love of our children. He can create an endless world for each individual soul and this will not make any difficult to Him, and it will not reduce His potential, His further possibilities in any way. Such is God - Almighty and unlimited.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 23 сен 2020, 18:38

TEXT 25

It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable, immutable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.

PURPORT

The soul is invisible with material vision, but he can be seen with spiritual vision. The soul as a part of Brahman, or Eternity, is a small shining particle; but in the spiritual world the soul has a spiritual body. When a person restores his relationship with God, he sees both God and himself; all this manifests as a concrete feelings for God, love for God. As a soul everyone has his own place and role in the spiritual world, sometimes even several roles. In fact, the entire spiritual life leads a person to restore his lost relationship with God. We all once were in the spiritual world and then fell out of there, just as it is described in the example of Adam and Eve.

Sometimes some people say that falling from the spiritual world is impossible because everything is blissful nature there, but the material world is also "daivī", divine, it is also the energy of God. The answer is that the soul, being a small expansion of God, has a tendency to dominate just like God Himself; and if such tendency grows in the soul, then God grants he the protection of the material world. The soul may fall into the material world gradually: first to Paradise, then he can fall under the greater influence of matter, and gradually fall down to the very bottom of the world. At what point in time does the soul fall? This moment cannot be determined because soul comes here from a place where time is completely absent. Therefore, the scripture says: "once fell." But of course, God does not "create" living beings inside the material world, He does not create souls in a "prison"; there is neither justice, nor necessity for this. Above, in the verse about the soul, it was said that he is "unborn, eternal." So, the soul was never created and has always existed just like God; it is obviously follows that initially soul was next to God. The material world is insignificant and it is a special case of eternal spiritual life; this means that the most souls are in the spiritual world, but some of them may fall. However, after returning to the spiritual world, the soul never falls down again because he has the experience of living in the material world.

All these propositions are contained in the scripture, however, each of them can be proved logically, since any part of God's creation is perfect and harmonious.

TEXT 26

If, however, you think that the soul is perpetually born and always dies, still you have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.

PURPORT

In the highest sense the soul is not born or die because he is eternal, but if the personality does not understand this, then there is still no reason to worry. Even if we take a variant of extreme atheism, accepting that a person lives only once and after death the personality disappears, then what has he got to lose? However, everyone's desire to continue to live and be happy refutes this idea of materialism. Everyone wants three things: eternity, knowledge, and happiness; and this just indicates three qualities of the soul: sat, cit and ānanda. Sometimes we are told in response that not all people want to live forever and many of them even commit suicide. Yes, this happens because of the lack of happiness, since ānanda, happiness, is the basis of both spiritual and material life. Whatever a person does in the material world, the ultimate goal of all his actions is a feeling of happiness.

TEXT 27

For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

One has to take birth according to one's activities of life. And, after finishing one term of activities, one has to die to take birth for the next. In this way the cycle of birth and death is revolving, one after the other without liberation. This cycle of birth and death does not, however, support unnecessary murder, slaughter and war. But at the same time, violence and war are inevitable factors in human society for keeping law and order.
The Battle of Kurukṣetra, being the will of the Supreme, was an inevitable event, and to fight for the right cause is the duty of a kṣatriya. Why should he be afraid of or aggrieved at the death of his relatives since he was discharging his proper duty? He did not deserve to break the law, thereby becoming subjected to the reactions of sinful acts, of which he was so afraid. By avoiding the discharge of his proper duty, he would not be able to stop the death of his relatives, and he would be degraded due to his selection of the wrong path of action.

TEXT 28

All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?

PURPORT

There is nothing outside of God, nothing can exist outside of God, since God is the Absolute; but when a soul wants to live outside of God and try on himself the role of God, a specific world, separated from God, is created for the soul, where God does not seem to exist - it called the material world. This is called an illusion because, in essence, these two things are impossible: it is impossible for anything to exist outside of God, and it is impossible for the soul to dominate, but it creates a temporary appearance of this. The erroneous activity of souls, the living beings, leads to the fact that the material world has to be periodically "rebooted" like a computer. When the number of mistakes of the souls accumulates to some critical mass, the material world is destroyed and then it is created anew, so that it becomes "good as new" and so that souls can exploit it again.

This applies to the whole world, the same applies to everyone's body, which wears out due to mistakes and wrong actions. Also, the situation in the modern world can serve as a good example of this, when people actively destroy the environment with their "progressive" activities. Modern innovations and science are destroying more and more species of life and also polluting the entire planet, gradually making it uninhabitable. When this situation will reache a peak and the Earth will be so polluted that it will become completely uninhabitable, there will be a partial destruction of life on Earth in the form of a flood or in another form, and then everything starts anew. When the entire universe is destroyed, the matter goes into an unmanifest state for a kind of break; at this time the souls go into the form of sleep, entering for a while into the body of God, but not realizing Him. In fact, things that happen to us every day, when we are awake during the day and sleep at night, is a small copy of the universal processes.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 26 сен 2020, 08:50

TEXT 29

Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

PURPORT

The entire space of the universe is filled with souls in different bodies; just like wherever we look on our planet there are living beings everywhere: in the air, in the water, in the ground live billions of bacteria and other living creatures both small and large. If we could see these souls, we would see that the entire space is filled with their radiance. In fact, the matter is only a deceiving shell covering the infinite space of Brahman, or living entities. Souls also live on the other planets, and in space, and everywhere - soul is omnipresent; and it is not true that life is formed only where there are water and oxygen. On this planet is such situation that water and oxygen are the main elements of bodies, and on the other planets bodies are formed from other elements; what seems to us desolate and lifeless is also filled with life, but in bodies of a different kind and based on different principles.

The soul is active, and in the material world he wants to create something useful or beautiful from his point of view. This is eternal desire for beauty, love, and happiness, however, it is broken by the harsh laws of the material world. An insignificant soul makes many mistakes in the material world receiving the opposite result of his actions - this is how material nature educates souls, explaining them their dependent position and the fundamental impossibility of happiness in this world. An intelligent person is one who has already understood this and has taken up the study of spiritual science.

TEXT 30

O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body is eternal and can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any creature.

PURPORT

Being aware of oneself, person gradually becomes calm and fearless. In the beginning, we rely on support and protection of God; as the devotee develops, he becomes less concerned about himself and may no longer rely on the support and protection of God by realizing his own insignificance and also not wanting to disturb the Supreme Lord. In the process of preaching the relationship between devotee and God is not interrupted even for a second and devotee becomes an instrument in God's hands. The less a person has ambitions, claims, and personal desires, the better he can be used, and God leads him easily ferrying him along the most dangerous paths. God wants to see His devotee perfect, so God gradually removes him from all unnecessary things, so devotee becomes more experienced and happy year after year. On the other hand, God can fulfill some of our desires, and He does it generously and right royal.

Everyone can get unlimited riches in the spiritual world, or one can become aware of one's relationship with God there, but Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Kṛṣṇa) wants to see us preaching, but not engaging in the personal relationships of Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka Vṛndāvana. Person may know his rasa (the type of relationship with God), but this is more secondary by comparison of Lord Caitanya's preaching. We are not creating a movement as a set of people in personal rasas, we are creating a movement as a single force in the single rasa of Śrī Caitanya, and the personal relationship of Kṛṣṇa-līlā is a some individual point of everyone. Therefore, Śrīla Prabhupāda did not pay much attention to the rasas because their attainment is more secondary.

Like the soul is eternal, the personal relationship with God is also eternal. The soul cannot be separated from God, but in the material world these relationships are transformed into material attachments and material love. It is certainly favorable to dream about the spiritual world or the spiritual relationships, but all these dreams and desires need to mature, and the more thoroughly a person approaches the spiritual life, the more clearly and perfectly everything will be revealed. On the other hand, we are all servants and in some ways this position of servant is higher than any rasa or type of relationship with God. In fact, the Bhagavad-gītā provides a description and instruction for attaining the position of a perfect devotee who is completely in the hands of God.

TEXT 31

Considering your specific duty as a kṣatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation.

PURPORT

Nowadays all kinds of battles with materialism take place, mainly, at the level of spreading spiritual ideas. The government is formed by the idea and not by politics or economics; this is applies both to material statehood and to the spiritual state. Therefore, for the formation of a viable state or even a spiritual civilization, it is enough to bring the right ideas into society and implement them. It is also part of the varṇāśrama system, when great sages ruled the country by giving good advices to the government. Nowadays there is increasing chaos all over the world, which affects both states and religions. Religions are weakening and cease to perform their function. The institution of religion was neutralized, in fact, by two things: (1) by introducing to religion the primacy of faith over the knowledge, and (2) by the growth of interest in science and the "miracles" it provided to people. By introducing the primacy of faith in religion, materialists have made it a stronghold of ignorance and prejudice, while in fact the basis of religion is a system of knowledge based on a scientific approach.

Unfortunately, dissension between the countries and the fall of institutional religion will continue, but the real religion of our time is studying and preaching of the holy scripture. In our case, "to fight for religious principles" means "to develop knowledge, practice it and preach." One can preach spiritual knowledge using any sphere of ​​material life: politics, economics, culture, or others. God created this world, and any branch of knowledge or science can be explained from the point of view of the scripture.

TEXT 32

O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.

PURPORT

A person who studies the holy scripture, follows it, and preaches according to it, brings great benefit to the whole world and also accumulates benefit to himself. As Lord Kṛṣṇa further will say: "There is no servant more dear to Me", or as the Bible says: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." God can bestow us here or in the paradise, but the greatest treasure is He Himself because there is nothing more attractive in the world than His attention. God is perfect, so relationship with Him is an endless source of happiness. There is no love stronger or higher than love of God, although such love does not deny ordinary relationship here or in the spiritual world. In fact, there is no difference between different kinds of relationships with God (for example, when God acts in the role of Father or in the role of Lover); all kinds of relationships with Him conquer and consum us, filling us with infinite happiness. Therefore, the preaching devotee receives it all in due time, but those who follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu receive an even higher gift. In fact, the all Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission and all His commentary lead us to this shining peak of love, and all types of rasas and relationships converge in Śrī Caitanya's emotions. Rūpa Gosvāmī writes:

saṅgama-viraha-vikalpe
varam iha viraho na saṅgamān tasya
ekaḥ sa eva saṅge
tri-bhuvanam api tan-mayaṁ virahe

In the alternation of meetings and separations, separation is better than meeting. When I meet Him there is only one Him, while in separation all three worlds are filled with Him (Padyāvalī 240).

This is certainly a serious topic, most in such love is difficult to explain, but Śrīla Prabhupāda, as the most perfect mentor, ingeniously leads us there practically making it all real in our lives. Śrīla Prabhupāda's commentary are the embodied eternity of love of Lord Caitanya.
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Сообщение Jayanti » 12 окт 2020, 00:15

TEXT 33

If, however, you do not fight this religious war, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.

PURPORT

In the spiritual world, in fact, there is nothing but love and happiness, everything revolves around the relationship between God, God's expansions, and souls. Love is the eternal foundation of everything, but in the material world love between living entities is temporary and mostly impossible. People make plans that fail one after another, fall in love and disappointed. The spiritual soul goes through a lot of sufferings here and it is unbearable to see how having fallen into this hellish cycle of death, instead of happiness he receives torments. When a person sees God face to face he understands that God is the only value. And from that moment all his desire is to tell others about God, but we need to learn how to do it correctly to avoid committing insults. One must become mature, well experienced as the Bible good says: "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

Lord Nārāyaṇa wants to see us strong, mature in both victories and defeats. Sometimes they say: "One need faith," but one mostly need knowledge. The "faith" is very flimsy foundation. God is infinitely intelligent and He is not guided by faith in His plans. Of course, sometimes we have to go forward blindly and it is difficult for us to understand His whole plan, but the plan is gradually revealed on the foundation of spiritual knowledge and practice. There is no question of faith for mature devotee; he is absorbed in his beloved God both as the perfect master and also in various rasas and relationships - there is no contradiction in this. Pure devotee studies the science of spiritual life from Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and does not believe in anything unintelligible. He is engaged in practical activities, continuously gaining experience of the truthfulness of spiritual existence. Similarly, the spiritual master gives knowledge to deciple and does not encourage him to believe. Sometimes Caitanya-caritāmṛta says that the path of spiritual life is the formation of faith. Yes, some faith is needed in the beginning, but the main criterion Caitanya-caritāmṛta says about is knowledge.

"One whose faith is not very strong, who is just begging, should be considered a neophyte devotee." (Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Madhya-līlā, 22.70).

"One who is not very expert in logic, argument based on revealed scriptures but who has firm faith is considered a second-class devotee. He also must be considered most fortunate." (Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Madhya-līlā, 22.67)

"One who is expert in logic, argument and the reveals scriptures and who has firm faith in Kṛṣṇa is classified as a topmost devotee. He can deliver the whole world." (Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Madhya-līlā, 22.66)

The level of understanding and knowledge determines the position of the believer. "Deep faith" is the level of spiritual emotions: the initial faith (śraddhā) becomes spiritual emotions (niṣṭhā and higher).

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-
saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā
tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt
tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas
tataḥ premābhyudañcati
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ
prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Madhya-līlā, 23.14-15)

At the begging one must have some desire to understand the Truth or have faith in God (śraddhā). This will lead to communication with those who are spiritually evolved (sādhu-saṅga, for example, in the form of reading the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda). Further comes the practice of devotional service (bhajana-kriyā) - reading books, chanting the holy name, preaching. Initiation this is when we have been inspired to follow the spiritual path and have been explained all necessary elements of this process. Person also can take a spiritual master, but one can also study without formal initiation. Equal treatment to the dīkṣā-guru (initiating guru) and the śikṣā-guru (instructing guru) is the secret of success in spiritual life (this is the conclusion of Bhaktivinod Thakur). Sometimes they say that "communication with Vaiṣṇavas" is very important, but mostly important communication with uttamā (Śrīla Prabhupāda) and those who preach "door-to-door". A real Vaiṣṇava is a pure devotee.

Understand, Hindu organizations have to somehow identify themselves, and similarly as followers of Christ are called "Christians" followers of Vishnu are called "Vaiṣṇavas"; but if you look at Śrīla Prabhupāda's commentary, in most cases the use of the word "Vaiṣṇav" refers to a pure devotee, mahā-bhagavata. Of course, we should treat well all the faithful of any confessions, in fact, they are all "Vaiṣṇavas" or worshippers of God in greatness, however, we can rise and receive appropriate guidance mainly by associating with uttama Śrīla Prabhupāda and those who "follow in His footsteps."

Unfortunately, the situation in the material world is such that the more lower position of a person then the more passionate desire to lead he has. The more lower position of a person the more stupid and egoistic he is, so it is a common story when active fools are knocked out as leaders. Modern spiritual masters often gain faithful followers but not preachers; and the congregation is mainly concerned with their material affairs - family, health, money - and it is improbable to find any good leadership among them. This fact applies to any confessions both Hindu and Christian and others. The faithful should not be disdained even if they are materialists, in any case they are innocent souls taking their steps in spiritual life, however, one should not look at them as pure devotees, it would be a mistake. Anyway, this is often situation when the faithful receives incorrect guidance from either parishioners, spiritual masters, or priests. This cannot be avoided in some way and person must have patience and determination to follow the spiritual path - as a result of studying books, over the years, various kinds of delusions will gradually dissipate.

It is also a huge problem for any confession when "spiritual leaders" use their sermons to propagate misconceptions. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us three books with his commentary to study, they are called Bhagavad-gītā, Srīmad Bhāgavatam, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta, so the words of those persons who actively comment on something else and promote other ideas should be questioned. About initiation: it is possible to get initiation from one or another guru, but unfortunately it also happens that it turns out to be only a formal rite, when the guru is not qualified enough and he does not teach the disciple after performing the rite. Therefore, one can simply follow the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda; it is our following has power and not initiation. In other words, without going through the initiation rite, but following the process the deciple will get the same result. On the other hand, such not very qualified gurus can also be useful with some general instructions. In the begging a person is very wary to be “right”, and such gurus can encourage their disciples or prompt them some generally insignificant, but initially important details for the person.

Since many of the spiritual leaders are not qualified, the rotation of people in spiritual societies is often very significant. In fact, this is formal discipleship, although it can be useful sometimes as a general preaching. The situation is that being unable to give real teachings such leaders engage the disciples in temple worship, festivals, and various materialistic encouragements. The dream of these leaders is to create strong social ties, a "friendly community", that's what makes the mass of deciples they recruited, at least, did not run away; but they are still there – all attempts of this kind are doomed to failure.

The creation of a “community of love”, a “community of mutual support and help” is a general trend both among the Vaiṣṇavas confessions and among Christians - Protestants, Orthodox and others. The effect of such ideas is quite insignificant because the congregation recruited by such leaders is mainly materialistic and of course, the society of "friendship and love" can not be created from them for technical reasons. It is funny that Śrīla Prabhupāda has often said that our goal is not to create such communities, anyway, there are many temples or yatras where a small community is formed around the administrative leader. In principle, all of them could be more effective if they did not make any monetary contributions to the center (nowadays the administrative leader is not the president of the temple or the preacher of the temple, but the guru of the entire zone, which leads to disastrous centralization). That means, such small centers can be linked to each other by a spiritual concept, but they should not make monetary contributions in higher center - this is the instruction of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Otherwise, He writes, everything will be corrupted.

There are also "ritviks" who believe that Śrīla Prabhupāda is the eternal spiritual master. As I have already written, this view can be accepted; the difference between the first guru and the second guru is small. If something is bothering you, just practice without joining any of the organizations. In fact, in the age of Kali the vast majority of the faithful are outside of confessions, that's why non-confessional preaching is the most successful and the majority of people are free as they say. In order to develop spiritually, it is not necessary to undergo baptism, communion, confession, initiation, also it is quite pious and not offensive to call things by their proper names. It is clear that all sects (confessions) both Christian and Vaiṣṇavas intimidate the inhabitants into treating them well and praying for them, but one may treat them as they really deserve it. In fact, there was no particular hope for the movement as a physical organization (ISKCON), and the movement is certainly not within any physical, organizational frameworks.

So, either by inspiration or by a sense of duty, a person performs spiritual practice, and a guru is someone who can help him, suggest specific things for spiritual advancement. Then comes appropriate purification (anartha-nivṛtti). Then the disciple reaches "niṣṭhā" - a stable position, and then there is taste (ruchi), then attachment (asakti) which passes into spiritual emotions (bhava) and reaches the love to God (premā). When a person knows God, of course, there is nothing to believe anymore; faith is always a product of ignorance.

Another thing about faith. In the scriptures faith most often refers to a firm conviction based on knowledge and experience, confidence in God, devotion to God, the strength of one's feelings toward God, the strength of one's desire for spiritual life, and so on. In this sense, faith really determines the position of the faithful and his development, but this is not blind faith in something, not "just faith". And yes, really blindly believing is impossible. People usually choose religion not on the basis of faith, but on the basis of their personal subjective preferences, for example, like the Prince Vladimir did when he chose Orthodoxy which attracted him with beautiful rituals, but he did not choose Islam for practical reasons because of the ban on alcohol in Islam.

Person accepts religion based, for example, on local traditions and other things, and almost never he takes religion on faith. Everything is always preceded by research or some facts. Or, alternatively, a person could feel a spiritual uplift in the temple, peace, be attracted by this and call such a state: "I have faith" (or "I believe"). But this is not a faith, this is some direct experience. Sometimes people call some direct (at the same time not explicable by logic) experience the "faith", but in the literal sense it is not a faith. In common parlance people say, “I have faith,” but more often it means “I feel goodness, uplifting, inspiration,” or direct emotions and experience.

TEXT 34

People will always speak of your infamy, and for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

PURPORT

Lord Nārāyaṇa (Kṛṣṇa) is our Lord, He is full of infinite greatness and power, there is no one equal to Him or superior to Him, and He is always fighting this great battle with materialism. Lord Nārāyaṇa is unshakable, and thus He will win victory after victory with His firm hand. When Kṛṣṇa looked at the battlefield, someone saw Him as a friend, someone as a colleague, others saw Him as incarnate of Eternity, but for all others He became incarnate of death. God does not interfere in the lives of rebellious living beings, but when He wants to do something there is no force that could prevent Him, as can be seen in the example on this battle of Kurukṣetra. And this will still be shown in the future, when through His representative He will establish on Earth one state for the entire planet, varṇāśrama-dharma, after that the Golden age will come into full force. By the way, all this will be established by the "sword" of knowledge. A word is stronger than a sword, as they say. The arrival of this incarnation is also stated in the Book of Revelation.

TEXT 35

The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you a coward.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Lord Kṛṣṇa continued to give His verdict to Arjuna: "Do not think that the great generals like Duryodhana, Karṇa, and other contemporaries will think that you have left the battlefield out of compassion for your brothers and grandfather. They will think that you have left out of fear for your life. And thus their high estimation of your personality will go to hell."

TEXT 36

Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa is a God, therefore, He gives Arjuna almost all kinds of arguments. The concept of honor and personal dignity is very important for warriors. Because of a difficult situation, Arjuna wants to act like a brahman - a scholar-priest who having a humble nature does not pay attention to insults. But still Arjuna is a warrior inside and it will be hard for him to bear ridicule. Kṛṣṇa knows everything of this, so He argues to him as to warrior, kṣatri.
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