Bhagavad-gītā for Everyone

[Jayanti]

TEXT 15

Thus practicing control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Kṛṣṇa] by cessation of material existence.

PURPORT
When one preaches or acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is in a state of active samādhi. He is either preach, or think about further plans for the preaching, or study the scriptures. Thus, he will be always, constantly connected with God and no kind of matter will defile him. In this way, anyone can become a dear servant of God, and he will gain knowledge, maturity, and spiritual senses. At the same time, there is no particular difference whether a person is in a spiritual society or outside such a society, whether he has a large social circle or a small one, whether he is married or not. And the position of a bona fide spiritual master is that he teaches all of that, as we see in the example of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

The preacher also does not need any recognition in the material world or in the spiritual community. Sometimes we get recognition and preach, then we lose recognition and continue to preach. Such a devotee practically attains all the qualities described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, after the failure of His temple mission, after the fall of almost all of His sannyāsīs, pointed out to Śrīla Prabhupāda that in this age the main chanting is to spread the spiritual message in the form of a printed word - books - and now there is also an Internet.

Śrīla Prabhupāda also gave a personal example of how to act in the event of the death of a spiritual organization (in his case it was the Gauḍiya Math), he left it. However, in our case, this point is not required, even if the organization (ISKCON) is half-dead, one may stay there and preach to them and to the outside world, since the basis of everything is knowledge and preaching universally applicable anywhere. On the other hand, the influence of various heresies and materialism within ISKCON may be strong, therefore, a devotee may leave the organization and in many cases this can improve his position.

It is clear that being in the formal structure of ISKCON does not determine devotion to Śrīla Prabhupāda, just as it is clear that each administration wants to convince everyone otherwise. Any organization based on the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda is one of the branches of His movement in any case, and each of them can insist on its own selectness and truthfulness. They can argue with each other, and in some ways this is acceptable because it allows to better understand the philosophy and ideas of Śrīla Prabhupāda. In the same way, philosophical "wars", discussions within one organization, can be useful; while the philosophy of "there are many Vaiṣṇavas, so there are many opinions and all these opinions are correct" is materialism and this is really dangerous.

When there is a spectrum of opinions or even trends in an organization, it may even be good and favorable, but such diversity will become an amorphous mess without a natural dialogue, as a result, people's consciousness will be blurred and they will lose conviction. Once again: intelligence is always needed in the spiritual life, and any rule of writing, used only externally, formally, is always wrong. The organization must work, that is, people must develop an understanding of many aspects, but following one or another formal philosophy and one or another formal rules will lead to stagnation and decline. The presence of discussions and healthy criticism allows to maintain integrity and purity, while agreeing with everything under the guise of "criticism is an insult" leads to decline. This is a living movement; otherwise there will be another Orthodox Church as a result.

Devotion to Śrīla Prabhupāda determines by understanding and adherence to Him, not by formal ISKCON membership or external discipleship. Contextual quoting of Śrīla Prabhupāda is meaningless in this regard, because one such quote (for example, that one should be in ISKCON) can be answered with other quotes and the question can be fully revealed. But the point is that some kind of social preaching by such organizations is also somewhat acceptable; and those who want to leave will still leave with or without quotes.

Śrīla Prabhupāda created the organization mainly for the publication and distribution of books, he did not have a mission to create something else. The organization as a collection of temples or monasteries was a failure at the beginning of the last century; however when the distribution of books increased, Śrīla Prabhupāda practically showed how everything else is born out of the distribution of His books: temples, communities, and so on.

The life of a temple or community is given by the distribution of books or the philosophy of Śrīla Prabhupāda, everything else will be some kind of sectarianism. We don't even need to try anything like that, everything has already been tested by other denominations and there is a result. The temple should be supported mainly by money from the distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, but not by money from other sources. This rule is specially established so that society does not perish spiritually.

In other words, if temples or community are supported by other incomes, the temples may remain, but there will be little spiritual life in them. We know that it is not always easy to maintain a temple by distributing books, but in another case, only rituals and public programs will remain in the temples. There are already many such temples around the world, but they are of little use. God does not need another series of materialists in religion; it makes no sense to create another clone of the Protestant or Orthodox Church.

There is no difference between a Christian rite or a Hindu rite, between the formalized Bible or the formalized books of Śrīla Prabhupāda from which contextual quotes are often extracted just to justify one's own materialism. One way or another, temples and an ordinary church have not been counted for a long time, since 1935 such plans have not existed, therefore: "harer nāma" - where there are an open discussions and distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, there will be spiritual life.

The future became so clear. After some time the material world will read Śrīla Prabhupāda's books even more, so the books were printed, and they must continue to be printed and distributed - they will all be in demand. The x-hour - a nuclear war or other catastrophes - could have already come many times, but thanks to the preaching, it is still being postponed. Humanity has long earned the consequences, but the distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and preaching on them sanctifies this world, and people are given more time to accept spiritual life voluntarily and not under the blows of their fate. It is our business to try to follow instructions, and it is not our business to think whether the result will work or not. Even if one book is distributed per year, one still need to follow this instruction. We also need to read and understand these books ourselves.

Criticism of materialistic religious organizations is good both for them and for the preacher; but if they somehow painfully react to this, then one can not criticize them but simply preach the spiritual message oneself. Those who follow the instructions receive the blessings, the presence or absence of membership in the organization does not play any role in this. A spiritual mission is a "spiritual preaching machine" based on open communication, but it is not a gathering of people who are engaged in satisfying each other's senses, searching for earnings, or enjoying real or fictional rasas. The age of Kali is very strong and many people simply do not understand where humanity is going, to what consequences, and that their methods of solving problems do not represent anything significant. One way or another, nowadays the situation is not very good everywhere; and we are interested in preaching, only it can really change something for the better inside the denomination and outside it.

TEXT 16

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogī, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

PURPORT
Sleep is an absolute waste of time. When a person develops spiritually, he begins to see this and he becomes sorry to waste time on sleep. It seems to us that sleep is a kind of pleasure while we are in an illusion, but having a higher consciousness, a person understands that this lapse into unconsciousness is not good. However, sometimes a person needs to sleep more due to heavy loads, in this sense, sleep is a good thing because after resting one can continue to preach in an even mind. All such external components as sleep, food, and others can always be assess in terms of their help to spiritual life. It helps - it means good, it interferes - it means bad.

As far as food is concerned: a spiritually developed person does not attach much importance to it. The preacher as a soul is active, therefore all functions of the body work well, and when the fire burns well in the body then almost any food is easily digested. Of course, devotees cook for God and therefore do it as best as possible, but food is spiritualized from the level of human consciousness and not from the quantity and material quality of food. Also the offering process is a part of the pāñcarātrika. All together it means that one shouldn't make too much cult of food. Lord Caitanya was offered dozens of types of food, and when we will preach on the uttama level then we can afford such a variety. On the other hand, there are many examples of great devotees eating very sparsely, so it is better to be just practical with food.

Of course, the altar, the deity, and the offering of food are an essential part of neophyte devotee's spiritual life and devotion. However, now I regret that at one time I did not understand what is important in spiritual life and what is secondary, and I lost a lot of time on things that not so important. Fortunately, we had a real spiritual teacher who encouraged us to distribute books or sometimes even pushed us to distribute books. This is also why good spiritual experience was accumulated. A person who did not actively distribute books or preach in his life, will not understand many things until the end of his days and will not get rid of significant defilements. There is simply nothing to replace it, nothing to make up for it. Sannyasa means going door-to-door preaching therefore a devotee who distributes books is a real sannyāsī. Titles are not important, the experience that he gets is important.

TEXT 17

He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

PURPORT
Everything should be regulated, only preaching has no boundaries. A person can preach constantly and sometimes interrupt for some food and sleep. Real preaching leads one into samādhi, and Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote his books exactly at this level. God just dictates everything. The same thing happens to varying degrees when we preach on the street, on the Internet, or give lectures. This is the highest position of a devotee. In a sense, this is higher than a personal relationship with God. No matter what rasa a person is in, God will always be satisfied with the preaching and it never brings dissonance to the relationship with Him.

It is both easy and difficult to satisfy Lord Caitanya. On the one hand, He does not consider offences and bless everyone. But in the later period of His presence He was strict, and it was almost impossible to approach Him. Therefore, serving Śrī Caitanya in His highest mood is a difficult task.

"Some learned devotees say that Navadvīpa is identical with the land of Vrndavana. Others say that Navadvīpa is actually the spiritual planet Goloka. Some say that Navadvīpa is the planet Śvetadvīpa, and others say that Navadvīpa is actually the spiritual sky of Vaikuṇṭha. All glories to the wonderfully splendid land of Navadvīpa" (Gaura-Gaṇoddeśa-Dīpikā, 18).

It is difficult to determine where Lord Caitanya is in the spiritual world. His abode is all taken together, but it is also different from everything else. He reveals Himself to those who are consistently elevated and thus devotee can see His abode. Lord Kṛṣṇa is available in Goloka, devotees of all rasas live with Him; on the planet of Lord Caitanya there are mainly His disciples and His preachers. However, in another sense, Lord Caitanya does not live in the spiritual world, He continuously preaches in the material worlds, experiences the eternal happiness of His feelings. He has no other interests than preaching the holy name and His higher feelings, but this is the secret of His favor.

Lord Caitanya is powerful in appearance, and He is powerful in his feelings. He is God, the source of all incarnations, He is manifest both the greatness of Lord Nārāyaṇa and the attraction and feelings of Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī's feelings multiplied by His strength constitutes His beauty and the power of His emotions. The Supreme king, the king of the Supreme rasa - from Him emanates the greatness of such love. All the devotees in His abode are as golden as He is.

TEXT 18

When the yogī, by practice of yoga, disciplines his mental activities and becomes situated in Transcendence—devoid of all material desires—he is said to have attained yoga.

PURPORT
All these rules and regulations constitute a series of conditions, the purpose of which is to bring a person to God. When a person reaches the realization of God, the rules begin to play a lesser role for him, but they need to be explained to those who are below. This material world is a hellish place where thousands of problems constantly arise, so a devotee has to develop perfect intelligence by thinking for himself and for others. And just as the mystical yogī hones his exercises year after year, so the devotees hone their preaching. The preachers have unlimited patience and they are far superior to any of the yogīs.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 19

As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent Self.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
A truly Kṛṣṇa conscious person, always absorbed in Transcendence, in constant undisturbed meditation on his worshipable Lord, is as steady as a lamp in a windless place.

TEXTS 20-23

The stage of perfection is called trance, or samādhi, when one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

PURPORT
The soul is atomic in nature, but when he attains the realization of Brahman, he merges with the great Eternity, with the radiance of happiness, and identifies himself with it. The soul considers himself to be all this Eternity without end and edge, he thinks that Eternity is God and that he himself has become God. Such a soul is filled with happiness that is many times greater than any worldly pleasures. However, since there are no relationships in Brahman, the soul may fall out of the Brahman position and return to the material world.

Similarly, a yogī who contemplates the Supersoul may begin to identify himself with He. That is, to identify oneself with the greatness of God and consider oneself God, which may also end in a fall too. The realization of the Supersoul has to continue in the form of devotional service, otherwise it is a dead end position.

In fact, this happens to everyone every day in the material world – when we, ourselves, waste the radiance of our soul for material purposes, or when we use some of our qualities in a position of domination. But it is impossible to get rid of the desire for domination by external humility, it will be just a temporary humility on a materialistic basis. It is necessary to realize God, which will manifest true spiritual humility as the person's following instructions from above. The real realization of Brahman or the Supersoul gives one real freedom, as Kṛṣṇa describes in this verse. Narrow-minded people do not understand the happiness of such freedom, betting on domination in the material world.

TEXT 24

One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with undeviating determination and faith. One should abandon, without exception, all material desires born of false ego and thus control all the senses on all sides by the mind.

PURPORT
Yoga involves mechanical deliverance from material desires, but in devotional service, to get rid of material desires, we can use all our inclinations for God. There is no other way out of the material world for a person except by devotional service, so no matter what situation we are in, we must continue the process. Anyone who gives up devotional service certainly did not understand anything, they just formally listened to information about God and material nature. A knowledgeable person cannot leave the practice, if only for reasons of hopelessness of the situation. A person who changes the spiritual life for some kind of actions in the material world certainly does not understand anything. Sometimes people leave the spiritual organization for one reason or another and give up the practice of devotional service. One can leave the organization, but why give up the spiritual life? Some say that such devotees end their spiritual life because they have committed offenses to leaders, but this is not the case, since, for example, one church can offend another for hundreds of years and still exist sometimes even in semi-brahminical goodness.

As far as insults are concerned, insults to the uttama, Śrīla Prabhupāda are dangerous, such as deviating from His philosophy or changing his books for the benefit of the administration of the spiritual society, but even such insults do not violate the chanting of the practitioners. If some insults to the saints immediately threw people to the bottom, how would the preaching go? Here, at the beginning, everyone is offensive in one way or another, and even a certain outwardly humility does not mean the absence of offenses. Non-offensive chanting immediately elevates person, but we are in the stage of offenses. Of course, when a person is constantly hostile or hates the belivers and God, nothing good awaits him, but some general exchange of opinions, even if critical, should not be taken as a serious insults. There are people who never criticize anyone outwardly for one reason or another, but this does not mean that they do not commit offenses. The essence is always important. If silence or outward benevolence is dictated by material motives, then such a person is offensive, at the same time, sincere criticism can speak of the purity of the critic.

Materialists want to reduce everything to formal rules, but this approach is useless. Materialists often take scripture quotes (or Śrīla Prabhupāda's) for personal gain and this is their big mistake. Since the scripture is an "oṁ pūrṇam", a complete whole, a spectrum of everything is presented there, therefore they easily find that they are “correct”, but this approach takes them away from spiritual life, from the world of eternity and happiness into the world of personal interests. Until a person gets rid of selfishness, he will be superficial and, accordingly, he will not understand the scripture. Get rid of selfishness as a desire for money and material property is one thing, the second and somewhat more difficult half is get rid of the selfish motives of the desire for domination, personal glory. This is possible when a person is interested in the essence, and not in his own external position. The main idea of ​​the material world is to become God, to become a master flourishes in spiritual organizations too; in some ways this kind of problem and the struggle for power and leadership in them is even stronger than in ordinary, worldly organizations. Outward humility or talking about humility does not indicate the presence of true humility. True humility is knowledge and preaching. When a person is pure, he is knowledgeable, when a person is humble, he preaches, everything else points to defilements.

Therefore, in some ways it is much better to discuss some mistakes or shortcomings than to “humbly” carry defilements within oneself throughout one's life. There is criticism when we want to understand or improve something; there is faultfinding when a person is unsatisfied or envious and sees “shortcomings” or “problems” everywhere - these are different things. Spiritual organizations that mechanically prohibit criticism will stagnate, and leaders who do not want to hear criticism and avoid debate will only worsen their own situation. It is in their interest to have an open dialogue, but in most cases they will not engage in it.

On the other hand, when a society is mainly composed of materialistic devotees, one or another futile mental ferment and futile criticism are inevitable, because people simply have nothing to do and they are also undeveloped spiritually. Such mental ferment and criticism do not make sense, but the point is that even if criticism is prohibited, it will not improve the situation much, since materialism will find a different form of application. In this case, as in spiritual life in general, until a person develops a positive component, all different kinds of rules and prohibitions have no much effect. When they try to prohibit criticism by mechanical means within society or mechanically induce everyone to "support" and "love", all this takes grotesque forms and usually the organization becomes an object of ridicule from the material world; the common people begin to call it a sect and in general they are right.

TEXT 25

Gradually, step by step, with full conviction, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else.

PURPORT
The personality have focused on the soul, becomes self-sufficient. Cognition oneself as a soul is the first and most accessible part of spiritual life. This is the soul who fills mind, intellect, feelings, and the whole body with vital energy, so there is no point in manipulating matter in search of happiness - it is not there. The usual happiness that people experience is the reflection of Brahman on material things, when a person has convinced himself that some things will make him happy. The half of the teachings that we have already read in the Bhagavad-gītā are that a person should break away from material reflections and look inside oneself. The second half of the teachings says that the same effect arises from the dedication of feelings and activities to God.

Spiritual practice is eternal. It happens that we make mistakes and lose our level, but since all this is eternal, later, when we make efforts again, consciousness is restored. In fact, kaniṣṭha means instability, but such a long experience of ups and downs may be useful in the future for preaching. When people see a direct description of various aspects of their spiritual life, a description of the solution to their problems, it helps and inspires them, and although no evidence may be given, it is all obvious to them because it is their direct experience.

After realizing Brahman, one ends the stage of contemplation, therefore no materialistic philosophies can influence him. He understands the difference between the mind and the soul and understands the Supreme Truth as Brahman, the Holy Spirit. But this very moment creates difficulties in preaching to the impersonalists, because it is very difficult to move them from the position of Brahman. They perceive any argument as an illusion, which is true in relation to matter, but not true in relation to God. Most of the modern impersonalists are mainly theoretical jñānīs, they do not have as much intelligence as the māyāvādīs in Vedic times, when they could appreciate the beauty of spiritual philosophy just by heard the "ātmārāma" verse once. When one is a real brāhmaṇa, he has developed spiritual taste; when he hears the descriptions of God, he becomes fascinated by them. This is the meaning of the verse "ātmārāma".

[Jayanti]

TEXT 26

From whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self.

PURPORT
As the mystics focus on the soul, similarly, the devotees focus on God. Man can think of any expansion of God. In fact, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam was created for this purpose. The faithful may think of any form of God, of any devotees of God described in the scripture. Consistently ascending in the study of the Bhāgavatam, a devotee may be attracted by one form of God for some time, then by another; there are no disadvantages or offenses in this. Do not be afraid that one is lose something thinking about the greatness of God. For example, rather a person will quickly attain rāsa-līlā by thinking of greatness, than by thinking directly of rāsa-līlā itself. In the beginning, in any case, there is a period of sādhana or cognition of God in greatness:

"The awakening of transcendental emotional ecstasies (bhāva-bhakti) is never said to occur before the practice of regulated devotional service (sādhana-bhakti)"
(Prākṛta-rasa Śata-dūṣiṇi, 1.16).

Rāsa-līlā is the young love (Kṛṣṇa was eight to fifteen years old); these are the most bright and pure feelings. Such love is touching and sweet, and everyone who brings something else there is simply unhealthy. Certainly, there are other games of God where there are more adult relationships, but it is better to stay away from these topics; there is no special spirituality in thinking about such things, rather it indicates material contamination.

Anyway, most commentators and narrators of "rāsa-līlā" and "sweet relationships" are not at this level, otherwise they would know the greatness of God and other rasas. Second, they would never tell about their relationships with God even to a religious audience, because their rasa may be disrupted by this or ended at all. A person at the level of direct relationship will always be afraid to tell his personal experience to avoid to lose his relation.

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura writes:

āpana bhajana-kathā nā kahiba jathā tathā
ihāte haiba sābadhāna

"I will not disclose my path of worshiping the Lord to anyone and everyone. I will be extremely careful about it" (Śrī Prema-bhakti-candrikā, 9.19).

Similarly Śrīla Prabhupāda says: "A devotee who is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, should not manifest himself even though he has attained perfection" (The Nectar of Devotion, 16).

Look how Lord Caitanya preached: He initiated millions of people in the holy name, but He never publicly preached any personal rasas or even more conjugal relationships with God. Also Lord Caitanya was not absorbed in a direct relationship with God while He stayed in Nīlācala. All the stories He heard about Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa only intensified His sorrow, and He came to earth precisely for the sake of feelings of separation from God. This is also the reason why the pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa were described by Goswamis and not by Lord Caitanya Himself. Along with this, Goswamis described all categories of spiritual life, all rasas, and not just some innermost pastimes.

The less ambitions a person has, the higher his position is; this is true both in the world of matter and in the spiritual world. The highest position in Kṛṣṇa-līlā is achieved by those who do not have direct conjugal relationships, but who are in dāsya-rasa (mañjarī). The soul, by and large, cannot make God completely happy due to his atomicity, therefore, when God is in union with His energy and the soul only assists Them, this is a higher position than the personal relationship of the soul with God.

Since the exchange between God and His energy is maximal, the happiness of the assistants is also maximal. We are parts, we are happy when He is happy. This is the highest position of the soul in direct relationships (sambhoga); this is a part of knowledge of the Gauḍiya Sampradāya, but this is not its goal. Those who are in a different relationships with God - in the "lower" ones - are not worried about their position in any way, because they are completely happy. The search for "higher rasas" and "greater happiness" when one is in the material world is often just a materialistic reflection on the spiritual world.

Gauḍiya Vaishnavism, its essence, its highest rasa, and highest goal is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mood of separation. Anyone who thinks that the goal of the devotees is the parakīya-rasa of Kṛṣṇa-līlā is halfway at best. The situation is such that the vast majority of devotees are not at the level of parakīya-rasa, just as most devotees, due to contamination, should not think about these topics, therefore this kind of meditation is not so relevant. The second and more important point is we need the fruit of a higher mood, and Gaura-līlā illuminates this world with its depth and golden radiance.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura established preaching as the primary method of raga marg. He emphasized preaching and books publishing, as opposed to physical chanting, because such preaching, combined with knowledge and enthusiasm, most closely matches spontaneous devotion. Moreover, one should understand that the preaching of the lower levels of devotional service is as good as the higher ones. Spiritual life is absolute in all its phases, therefore, by preaching something initial, a devotee will develop at his (for example, high) level. To achieve the highest, it is not necessary at all to preach exactly this very thing. By helping those who are at any stage, the devotee moves further in his development.

There are many things in the spiritual realm, but there is no point in describing everything, since it will not help. Scripture gives somewhat discrete descriptions to help people become aware of the spiritual world, but at the same time do not to push them to invent something or perceive it as a material situation.

TEXT 27

The yogī whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
Brahma-bhūta is the state of being free from material contamination and situated in the transcendental service of the Lord. Mad-bhaktim labhate parām (Bg. 18.54). One cannot remain in the quality of Brahman, the Absolute, until one's mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ. To be always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, or to remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is to be factually liberated from the mode of passion and all material contamination.

TEXT 28

Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogī achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the Supreme Consciousness.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
Self-realization means knowing one's constitutional position in relationship to the Supreme. The individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme, and his position is to render transcendental service to the Lord. This transcendental contact with the Supreme is called brahma-saṁsparśa.

PURPORT
Śrīla Prabhupāda describes all relationships mainly in terms of the greatness of God. He could describe everything from the point of view of the higher rasas, but in order to come to the higher rasas, one must realize the greatness of God.

The "Self" meanings are "Personality", "Essence", "Myself", "I". The impersonalists consider themselves to be the higher self, and such verses of the Bhagavad-gītā only confirm their self-vision. Nevertheless, spiritual science is presented consistently; the chapter is devoted to the description of mystical yoga, and mystics can really engross into themselves in meditation, into their “self”, into the eternal essence, into Brahman. Some impersonalism in these verses is correct from a technical point of view, it is also correct from a preaching point of view, enabling impersonalists to take their first steps in realization of God.

As for impersonalism: "The impersonalist theory is that Brahman Himself has accepted different types of bodies and that this is His līlā or pastime. There are, however, many hundreds and thousands of species of life in different standards of living conditions, such as human beings, demigods, animals, birds and beasts, and if all of them were expansions of the Supreme Absolute Truth, then there would be no question of liberation because Brahman is already liberated. Another interpretation put forward by the Māyāvādīs is that in every millennium different types of bodies are manifested, and when the millennium is closed, all the different bodies or expansions of Brahman automatically become one, ending all different manifestations. Then in the next millennium, according to this theory, Brahman again expands in different bodily forms. If we accept this theory, then Brahman becomes subject to change. But this cannot be accepted. From Vedānta-sūtra we understand that Brahman is by nature joyful. He cannot, therefore, change Himself into a body which is subject to painful conditions."

TEXT 29

A true yogī observes Me in all beings, and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized man sees Me everywhere.

PURPORT
God is everywhere. Sometimes people want to make constant pilgrimages to holy places, believing that this way they will quickly gain spiritual life. However, the scripture warns us that many materialists may gather in places of pilgrimage and such travels are not always favorable. Also, the perception of the holy place depends on the qualification of devotee, so if he is not engaged in spiritual life properly here, he will not receive special benefits there, and sometimes such pilgrimages even have the opposite effect. Preaching in the material world is higher than visiting dhāma - that is the conclusion of the scripture.

Perhaps, once in a lifetime it is worth visiting some holy places, but preaching in the material world can bring a person closer to God much faster than such travels. There are many ācāryas who have never been to Vrndavan, and this does not diminish their position in any way. One must understand that when a person develops the consciousness of God, God will be with him everywhere. One should not think that the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa-līlā take place only in "earthly" Vrndavan. When a person is spiritually developed, he is connected with God and realizes Him wherever he is. All this is the result of preaching, and sometimes such a devotee is not too eager to visit holy places because there is no special need to visit them. Any kinds of rasas will be manifested where the developed preacher is, and this is not a metaphor. As Christ said: "The kingdom of God is within you."

Often, trips to holy places are just unnecessary expense and also a loss of preaching time; but those who are not actively preaching have nothing to do, and they ride back and forth in the hope of gaining spiritual benefit or in the manner of excursions, but the meaning is not in a mechanical stay in holy place, but in spiritual development. Any place is sacred for a preacher, which is also confirmed by Advaita Ācārya. Śrīla Prabhupāda certainly developed preaching in the holy dhāmas, however His mission is to preach all over the world and that is why He left Vrndavan in due time; and after He returned in dhāma, He preached the supreme position of Caitanya Mahāprabhu there.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 30

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.

PURPORT
Basically, a devotee sees God indirectly, through the qualities of material nature. Such a vision is quite favorable, but the point is that a person should align his consciousness and connect his whole life with God. Ordinary religiosity sanctifies and spiritualizes people, but, as a rule, it is not enough for active development. Therefore, in most cases, the faithful live by some external religious things without reaching a more mature perception of God. As far as preaching is concerned, one must gradually make it the mission of his life himself. Devotional service should be unselfish and continuous, so the devotee should preach in any course of action, this should become his essence, his real life and then he will develop well.

Many people act in religion or preach, but for the sake of some material incentives or under external influence. Preaching has not become their life, so they do not full benefit and they do not attain the highest consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda's goal is madhyamas who will eventually become uttamas. Sometimes devotees talk about pure devotion, but often the background of such conversations is just a desire for personal prestige. Those who will act instead of such conversations, including developing the intelligence, they will really gain good. For this, it is not necessary to be either a sannyāsī or a guru, it is available to everyone, but one have to start living it.

Thus, a devotee gradually moves from indirect perception of God and theoretical knowledge to an even more real spiritual life. When a person finds God, he is no longer interested in any material incentives, including in religion. Everything that Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote, everything is true and everything works, but one should seriously engage in spiritual practice and preaching. Even a little, but one have to go this way.

One who accepts Śrīla Prabhupāda as his leader, one who preaches on the basis of His books, one who inspires to distribute His books, one who regularly distributes His books himself, should be considered the best guru, and these criteria will not change for four hundred thousand years.

TEXT 31

The yogī who knows that I and the Supersoul within all creatures are one worships Me and remains always in Me in all circumstances.

PURPORT
Both the realization of greatness of God and the realization of God in a spontaneous relationship are spiritual and a devotee can act in any of these directions: sometimes he is more aware of greatness, at other times he thinks of a spontaneous relationship. God is absolute, so the focus of consciousness on any possible relationships with Him is always spiritual and favorable.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes that a devotee should be equally between Kṛṣṇa-līlā and Gaura-līlā. At least this is true for devotees who are already in a direct relationship, because it will be difficult for them to bear separation. After time such a devotee would be able to understand Gaura-līlā and the emotions of Lord Caitanya. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes separation because it is a higher position and goal of Gauḍiya Vaishnavism. The result of culmination of the meeting of the rāsa-līlā was the culmination of separation, but the power of separation is unlimited which Kṛṣṇa saw and later accepted this mood.

TEXT 32

He is a perfect yogī who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna!

PURPORT
All souls are the same, but they enter into different bodies due to their own actions and desires. A good or bad body this determines the level of religiosity in the past, but when a person accepts the spiritual process, he is purified, manifests intelligence and spiritual activity. The soul is very powerful. Look at the Sun to understand the power of the soul - by purifying himself, a person can develop the power of such a force. Therefore, it is not surprising at all that, for example, mystical yogīs have superpowers. Why is our power hidden now? Because we are absorbed in matter. The matter, like mud, hides the greatness of the soul, and having such great power, we waste it on insignificant things.

Due to the constant vibrations of the mind, due to duality, the energy of the soul becomes hidden. Due to attachments, fears, doubts, worries, spiritual energy disperses or becomes hidden by clouds of defilements. Even when a person is simply focused on the soul, on himself, this power begins to manifest itself. As such a yogī is purified, he becomes stronger and stronger. Because of the power of the soul, he can support the body of a man, an elephant, or even an entire planet such as the Sun. For the same reason, a devotee does not need to worry about any secondary material things - by preaching, he gradually becomes self-sufficient like the Sun planet. This world needs such a Sun expressed in the preaching of a pure devotee or in a community of such devotees.

Seeing the Sun, a person can understand how much more powerful God is, then it will be said about Him that He is like "a thousands of suns".

TEXT 33

Arjuna said: O Madhusūdana, the system of yoga which you have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady.

PURPORT
Arjuna doubts that he will be able to do such a practice and in some ways he is right: such methods will be difficult to perform for most people. Most people are not going to control anything, or even trying to do so, they fail. Also, the disadvantage of this practice is that if a person controls himself, this in itself does not lead him to the highest goal. Both yogīs and ordinary believers who care only about limitations without a positive, affirmative component - the cognition of Brahman and God - cannot achieve spiritual consciousness. Limitations should feed a positive spiritual impulse, but not exist on their own. Sometimes a devotee goes through some difficulties or experiences separation from God, all of this should ultimately increase his fortitude.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 34

For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.

PURPORT
Everyone's goal in the material world is to feel happiness. Since the soul is of blissful nature, we want to be happy every moment. Such a desire arises because this is how we lived in the spiritual world: we were happy every moment, every second. Now we have fallen into the material world and we are looking everywhere for our happiness.

An innocent soul is born and waits with all his heart for his happiness to come. The parents are protect, look out for children, take care of them, so the children as long as possible do not know the sufferings of the material world, in order to give them at least a short opportunity for peaceful development. Politicians and scientists are also looking for a formula for a happy life: they are try to create some kind of perfect state system or discover the laws of the universe and find endless energy for comfort and happiness. Men and women seek love also in order to find happiness, and when we do not have our own happiness, we watch films about the happiness of others. So the whole world, every soul seeks happiness in one form or another.

Therefore, when the senses give us some kind of feeling of happiness, the mind is immediately attracted by it and it is very difficult to control the mind, because the purpose of our life is to feel happiness. But the mind can stop and calm down when it is full of happiness; this happens when a person is connected with God. This is the real principle of mind control.

As souls, we are eternal and we need eternal happiness. God is also eternal. He is eternal but, unlike us, He is unlimited and omnipotent, therefore, a person gains both happiness and peace by connecting with Him. However, the conditioned soul is used to achieving happiness on his own, and God is something remote and incomprehensible for him. Until a person becomes interested in spiritual science, he will be doomed to endless sufferings in the material world.

TEXT 35

The Blessed Lord said: O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by constant practice and by detachment.

PURPORT
Hearing about God basically means studying the holy scripture. Sometimes the faithful think that it is only necessary to listen to the direct pastimes of God, but until a person is purified, such listening won't do much good. Materialists like different kinds of stories because they remind them of sensual life. When such stories contain this or that morality, materialists think this is the height of perfection and storytellers in this style can be successful with the public. Certainly, the preaching in the form of stories is also somewhat necessary, nevertheless it is better to study everything sequentially. A devotee may not know many stories, but read only Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and on this foundation realize Brahman, then the greatness of God, and then achieve a relationship with God. Therefore, consistent scripture study and practice is much better than listening to stories of God for fun.

TEXT 36

For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by right means is assured of success. That is My opinion.

PURPORT
When a devotee is performing devotional service, sometimes it is difficult for him to control himself, to follow all the rules and regulations. But despite this, one must continue to practice. As for the rules and regulations, the main thing is the study of the scripture, chant the name of God, and preach. By following only these three things, one can attain complete perfection.

TEXT 37

Arjuna said: What is the destination of the man of faith who does not persevere, who in the beginning takes to the process of self-realization but who later desists due to worldly-mindedness and thus does not attain perfection in mysticism?

PURPORT
It is better for a practicing devotee to be set up to finish everything in one lifetime. This is mean to take a stable position: first of all, basically without change anything in your external life, start to read the scripture and chant the holy name, while set yourself up for a long time and for consistent development. In general, any holy name or prayer specified in the scripture are suitable; we recommend to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. "Hare" is an appeal to God's energy, "Kṛṣṇa" means all-attractive, and "Rama" means joy or power. Any of these names are spiritual and signify beauty, joy, and power. Power means both the power of God and the power of the spiritual feelings.

While changing these names, a person can think about any incarnation of God, these names represent All of Them. While chanting, praying, or meditating, one can think of any aspect, but in general the practice is simply to listen to the sound of the name. We involuntarily jump to other thoughts when we chant; do not worry too much about this, you can just try to listen again. Success from such chanting will come over the years. Sometimes we feel uplifted while chanting, sometimes there is no uplift and then we chant out of a sense of duty; all this is included in the concept of purification.

You can make beads from wood (or other materials) to chant - 108 beads collected through knots and tied together with the large 109th bead. The mantra is chanting once on each bead, and when all 108 beads pass in this way, it is called "one circle." Then, without jumping over the 109th bead, you need to turn the beads and start chanting the next circle in the opposite direction. You can start with one to four circles, gradually increasing them. The main thing is to try to maintain a certain norm, chanting a stable amount of circles every day. Ideally, a person should read 16 circles, which takes about two hours. However, any number of chantings is both spiritual and favourable. Chant the holy name at a pace.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

One can start learn to chant slowly, gradually the mantra will speed up itself. Such slow changing at the beginning can help get used to it and the person will not miss words or syllables. The body and mind do not always want to sit and listen, so sometimes it takes some efforts, but it is better to increase chanting smoothly.

Sometimes devotees want to chant more; this is a good desire and in some cases it will do; however even better to learn, study the scripture, and preach. So, basically 16 circles and preaching are needed; this is much better than 32-64 circles and sit all day in one place without preaching. There are those who repeat 32 circles and preach; this is deserve respect; but mechanical increase of circles does not always mean an increase in a person's spiritual position, since there are important the clear of consciousness and personal motives, and adherence to Śrīla Prabhupāda. There are those who take bliss in chanting (bhajanānandī); this is the bliss of Brahman or the bliss of the greatness of God; however, after drinking the bliss, a person should go to preach, so he will bring more happiness to Śrīla Prabhupāda than hang out in Brahman. A person can also chant in a prayer state. One way or another, all tastes and moods are present in the holy name.

One should be prepared to act in this way for the rest of one's life; but if one falls and stops this practice, there is no loss either as Kṛṣṇa will say about this in the following verses.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 38

O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, does not such a man, being deviated from the path of Transcendence, perish like a riven cloud, with no position in any sphere?

PURPORT
Since the spiritual is eternal, any effort on the spiritual path will never disappear. Even if a person has not completed the process, he will be given such an opportunity in the next life or lives, and all his spiritual understanding will always be with him. This is manifested in the fact that in the next life a person quickly regains his previous spiritual position. God is the owner of everything, but man must develop knowledge and understanding. It is difficult to expect that acting on a whim, a person will be successful; anyone can achieve success by acting on the basis of true knowledge. Such success does not mean the acquiring material possessions, but rather developing knowledge and a taste for spiritual life.

TEXT 39

This is my doubt O Kṛṣṇa, and I ask You to dispel it completely. But for Yourself, no one is to be found who can destroy this doubt.

PURPORT
Arjuna asks various questions; this indicates that he is trying to understand, trying to figure it out. The guru is not a figurehead, he must answer all the questions of the disciple. First, the disciple has many questions, then he should start to follow, study the scripture regularly, and chant the holy name. After gaining initial experience, the disciple can engage in preaching and the spiritual master helps him in this. After many years of preaching, the disciple will become more mature and his questions will become deeper and deeper. Kṛṣṇa quickly explained the whole science to Arjuna. And we need our whole life to understand. Śrīla Prabhupāda says that questions without service will have no effect. This means if one do not apply knowledge in one's life and does not preach, the disciple's formal knowledge and the teacher's answers will have no effect.

Arjuna says that doubts bother him, which means that he has a strong desire to solve his life problems. Arjuna is not asking out of idle curiosity, it really worries him.

TEXT 40

The Blessed Lord said: Son of Pṛthā, a transcendentalist engaged in auspicious activities does not meet with destruction either in this world or in the spiritual world; one who does good, My friend, is never overcome by evil.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17) Śrī Nārada Muni instructs Vyāsadeva as follows:

tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
bhajann apakko 'tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ

"If someone gives up all material prospects and takes complete shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no loss or degradation in any way. On the other hand a nondevotee may fully engage in his occupational duties and yet not gain anything." For material prospects, there are many activities both scriptural and customary. A transcendentalist is supposed to give up all material activities for the sake of spiritual advancement in life, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One may argue that by Kṛṣṇa consciousness one may attain the highest perfection if it is completed, but if one does not attain such a perfectional stage, then he loses both materially and spiritually. It is enjoined in the scriptures that one has to suffer the reaction of not executing prescribed duties; therefore one who fails to discharge transcendental activities properly becomes subjected to these reactions. The Bhāgavatam assures the unsuccessful transcendentalist that there need be no worries. Even though he may be subjected to the reaction of not perfectly executing prescribed duties, he is still not a loser, because auspicious Kṛṣṇa consciousness is never forgotten, and one so engaged will continue to be so even if he is lowborn in the next life. On the other hand, one who simply follows strictly the prescribed duties need not necessarily attain auspicious results if he is lacking in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The purport may be understood as follows: humanity may be divided into two sections, namely, the regulated and the nonregulated. Those who are engaged simply in bestial sense gratifications without knowledge of their next life or spiritual salvation belong to the nonregulated section. And those who follow the principles of prescribed duties in the scriptures are classified amongst the regulated section. The nonregulated section, both civilized and noncivilized, educated and noneducated, strong and weak, are full of animal propensities. Their activities are never auspicious because, enjoying the animal propensities of eating, sleeping, defending and mating, they perpetually remain in material existence, which is always miserable. On the other hand, those who are regulated by scriptural injunctions and thus gradually rise to Kṛṣṇa consciousness certainly progress in life.

Those who are then following the path of auspiciousness can be divided into three sections, namely, 1) the followers of scriptural rules and regulations who are enjoying material prosperity, 2) those who are trying to find out the ultimate liberation from material existence, and 3) those who are devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are following the rules and regulations of the scriptures for material happiness may be further divided into two classes: those who are fruitive workers and those who desire no fruit for sense gratification. Those who are after fruitive results for sense gratification may be elevated to a higher standard of life—even to the higher planets; but still, because they are not free from material existence, they are not following the truly auspicious path. The only auspicious activities are those which lead one to liberation. Any activity which is not aimed at ultimate self-realization or liberation from the material bodily concept of life is not at all auspicious. Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only auspicious activity, and anyone who voluntarily accepts all bodily discomforts for the sake of making progress on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be called a perfect transcendentalist under severe austerity. And because the eightfold yoga system is directed toward the ultimate realization of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, such practice is also auspicious, and no one who is trying his best in this matter need fear degradation.

TEXT 41

The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.

PURPORT
Until a person develops consciousness of God, the desire to know God or at least the desire to leave the material world, he will be born inside the material world. The purpose of both spiritual and material nature is to fulfill the desires of the soul, therefore those who are imperfect are born in the paradise, after which they can fall to Earth or other similar planets again. The faithful or devotee may retain the remnants of materialism in his life, being unable to fully comply with the instructions of the scripture; but if his main goal is God and he does his best, his imperfections may not be taken into account. In some cases, he can rise to the spiritual level during life. On the other hand, those who scrupulously follow prescriptions with some material goals in mind such as monetary gain, desire to dominate or fame, may be bound by such desires without making significant progress.

The Lord Jesus Christ actively criticized this kind of priesthood such as the righteous, scribes, and Pharisees. The righteous or Pharisees are those who externally live a pure life, but their purpose is material. At the time of Christ, the Pharisees were a whole caste that was considered spiritual teachers and taught, guided the entire nation. However, the goal of the Pharisees (as well as the Sadducees) was dominion as such, but not a spiritual life. The Pharisees reinterpreted the scriptures, the Sadducees emphasized temple worship and prayer. We see all the same approaches to this day, since such deviations are based on the tendencies of the material mind and body, whose principles are always the same.

Therefore, the desire of the individual, the emphasis that he makes always plays a role. Sometimes, of course, the desire of a person to gain power can be a stage in spiritual life, as in the example of Dhruva Mahārāja (Fourth Canto of the Bhāgavatam). However, he was lucky and he saw God after which such desires have been neutralized. In general, the desire for money, fame, and power can be a serious obstacle in spiritual life, and a person needs to go through a good school to make such things do not affect him, whether they exist or not. Scripture warns us that wealth, good education, good appearance, and being born into a prosperous materialistic family are basically obstacles in spiritual life.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 42

Or he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Verily, such a birth is rare in this world.

PURPORT
As rare advanced devotees are, so rare is a chance of being born in such a family. Kṛṣṇa speaks here again of spiritual life as knowledge. Of course, devotional service is not just science but the science of all sciences, because it answers to all and any questions. The scripture describes both the principles of mind, body, universe, the main paths of humanity, and the principles of government and all methods of spiritual life.

Devotees may take birth in spiritual families or families of spiritual dynasties, but Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, "In India there are many such ācārya families, but they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training." The birth in such spiritual dynasties both in Hinduism and in other traditions, often does not indicate a high position of the individual, rather it continues as some kind of material tradition. The position of a person is determined by the level of his spiritual understanding and it is not determined by his birth. The same goes for the varṇāśrama system: a person born in a brāhmaṇa family is not necessarily a brāhmaṇa. A pure devotee can take birth in any family which does not affect his position in any way.

TEXT 43

On taking such a birth, he again revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.

PURPORT
All of that indicates a certain difficulty in cultivating spiritual life, so a devotee should be quite determined on this path. Determination arises from developing understanding and following, but nothing is as effective as distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and preaching. It is difficult to imagine how a person would have attained spiritual perfection without such practice. As we said, following this approach is true sannyāsa, but a person himself must accept these principles as the principles of his life. Sometimes people distribute books due to some spiritual fashion, or occasionally as some kind of spiritual entertainment, or under external pressure. Of course, they gain benefit from this, but if they do not make sufficient efforts then the benefit is obtained accordingly to it.

The distribution of books does not necessarily imply any result. The distribution of books does not mean setting any records in terms of quantity; the principle of preaching and understanding is important. A devotee or a faithful can go from person to person, passing through a large number of people and learning accordingly; this is more secondary whether books are distributed or not. As a rule, it is better to sell books rather than donate to make person feels the value of the book, but making money from distributing books is also not good. In fact, people on the street or on the Internet are excellent teachers, because communication with them helps to better understand the essence of a spiritual subject, look for new arguments, better understand people, their motives, get rid of one's own undesirable qualities, and so on - so a person can gain a preaching and spiritual experience year after year. The preaching within a confession is even less effective in some ways, although such an experience is useful; the goal of any type of preaching is spiritual understanding.

TEXT 44

By virtue of the divine consciousness of his previous life, he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles—even without seeking them. Such an inquisitive transcendentalist, striving for yoga, stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures.

PURPORT
A devotee is not attracted to material wealth, family or anything like that; he is always interested in the essence and spiritual life. He avoids materialists both outside of religion and within religion. There are infinite quantity of material ideas and defilements, but the path of spiritual life is always the one. It is said that for the benefit of all living entities, the supreme truth is different from illusion, therefore, despite many obstacles, a devotee can eventually understand everything. Therefore, steadfastness is important.

Materialists always do everything according to a scheme and attach importance mainly to external things, since in the absence of spiritual understanding they have no other criteria for spiritual life. At the beginning of the spiritual path such schemes can be useful because they regulate thinking and help to fix the mind, however, spiritual life is not schematic and later a person may gradually understand everything. But without making any conscious efforts, a person will mainly remain at a schematic level, dose not understanding the essence of the scripture. There are also those who endlessly philosophize studying one or another scripture - such an approach will also not give result. The holy scripture, Śrīla Prabhupāda's commentaries, is an "encrypted" monolith that is revealed by applying it in one's life. Person can follow one sentence of Śrīla Prabhupāda for many years and develop spiritually. The holy scripture is an eternity of spiritual love for God, and "jumping" over the scriptures is unlikely to help in understanding them.

The study of the scripture is a spiritual process, it is not an ordinary reading, it is a certain spiritual discipline. First, we read because we have an interest; then, having learned everything theoretically and putting everything in its places in the mind, a person continues to study the scripture "which he already knows all" and follows it in order to understand it practically. Sometimes this approach may seem monotonous, but it is spiritual practice, it is not material entertainment. We actually don't have time even to understand three main books of Śrīla Prabhupāda, let alone read anything else. Sometimes devotees study some other scriptures; this is possible, but in general it is not necessary. If one deviates from studying the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda to the instructions of other ācāryas, one may miss the most important thing. The study of the scripture must be directed by Śrīla Prabhupāda then it will be fruitful. This is the same principle for studying the Bible and the Koran. It is better to study the Bible starting with the New Testament and then put it into practice.

The principle of lectures should be the same. Lectures should be read according to the main scripture - according to Śrīla Prabhupāda's words. The purpose of the lecture is to educate the devotees and further inspire them to preach. The lecture is not intended for the entertainment of the speaker or the audience. People are mostly śūdras in the age of Kali, so they are happy when they manage to have some fun or hear some new "interesting" story. When there is no preaching in the community, its members stagnate, do not moving anywhere; so lecturers and community leaders have to be sophisticated in order to somehow maintain the tone of people, but in general all this is ineffective. The lecture is interesting when a preacher shares his practical realization of understanding God and spiritual life; no matter what level this experience is, because such an experience is always alive and always fills. In general, other people's real spiritual successes do not cause envy, since such successes are absolute and such blessings automatically extend to everyone.

All devotees may give lectures and everyone should also listen to the lectures. In a spiritual society, In a spiritual society, it is usually assumed by default that all those who are called gurus or sannyāsīis are at the top of the spiritual life; although they may have some experience, they may also do not have any significant realization. Kaniṣṭha-adhikārī forms the system "one leader - many worshipers", madhyama-uttama forms the system "many leaders".

Some kind of external guru worship is not valid. When such a system of worship is established, then if the gurus do not develop themselves and others, they will be periodically criticized or their disciples will leave the community. Formal priesthood, or guruism, under this approach can degenerate into the state of ordinary temples, where priests, brāhmaṇas and gurus are on the payroll and perform their "priestly duty", the rest of the time living like ordinary materialists.

TEXT 45

But when the yogī engages himself with sincere endeavor in making further progress, being washed of all contaminations, then ultimately, after many, many births of practice, he attains the supreme goal.

PURPORT
Once person is liberated, his real spiritual life begins, but since spiritual life is absolute, a devotee can immediately engage in the spiritual process of Lord Caitanya's mission without waiting for liberation. Spiritual life is absolute, yet even the standard position of a brahmana and higher may differ in strength and depth. Śrīla Prabhupāda is the most trusted associate of Lord Caitanya, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given Him the key to the most esoteric part of spiritual life. Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was one of the few who understood Śrī Caitanya when He was in seclusion. It was impossible to approach Lord Caitanya in private. It is not easy to get into the circle of His close devotees who understand His mood, but it is possible by following Śrīla Prabhupāda.

TEXT 46

A yogī is greater than the ascetic, greater than the empiricist and greater than the fruitive worker. Therefore, O Arjuna, in all circumstances, be a yogī.

PURPORT
Yoga is the pinnacle of all activity and philosophy, therefore yoga crowns the entire spiritual path, just as Vedanta crowns all the Vedas. Ultimately, a devotee must come to understand God and enter the spiritual realm, having achieved spiritual happiness forever.

TEXT 47

And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.

PURPORT
Although there are many variations in the relationships with God, He is unsurpassed in each of His roles. The soul cannot manifest so many qualities, and he cannot build any type of relationship so exquisitely. Now we know God mostly in greatness, but in personal relationships no one can compare with Him. Communication with the Personality of Godhead fills the devotee with happiness. Since no one can compare with God in anything, so all and any spiritual attachments and relationships come to focus on Him. The relationships between devotees also revolves around God. There is nothing exist outside of Him and He is represented in the spiritual world in an infinite number of forms and expansions while remaining one Personality.

[Jayanti]

Chapter 7. Knowledge of the Absolute

TEXT 1

Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

PURPORT
“You can know Me in full” means that one fully understands both God and the science of devotional service. As long as there is no such knowledge, a person wanders, he thinks: "Maybe it is true, or maybe it is different" or: "Maybe that devotee is exalted, or maybe another one." It is better for a devotee to take a stable position and fulfill his duty; the essence should appear in his life - the preaching - this should be done no matter bad or good we are. If we are bad, we should do it modestly, and if we are good, then we may also do it modestly.

A devotee sees everyone superior to himself, he is surprised how much knowledgeable, pure, or even great everyone around; and he still continues to read the Bhagavad-gītā and occupy an insignificant position. Others talk about rasas and some relationships, or serve each other day and night, but he is distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda's books sometimes in a spiritual society, sometimes outside of it. This way, gradually, he will gain knowledge about everything and he will not have to guess what is good and what is bad. Since he does not participate in duality, he does not seek to increase his wealth, he also does not worry whether he is great or not. He is not going to seek spiritual recognition or create any special family, because he is very insignificant to take on such difficult things.

The spiritual master told him not to worry about all that things, called him a fool, and ordered him to chant the holy name in the form of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Since such a devotee studies the scripture and preaches, gradually everything will be revealed to him, but even if he has attained some spiritual development, he will still continue to preach. Since he himself will pass this path, he will be able to help any other people in this without trying to somehow artificially rise above them. He does not need to seek any special mercy from someone, because this is how all mercy comes - through daily spiritual work, selflessness, intelligence, and preaching.

TEXT 2

I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge both phenomenal and noumenal, by knowing which there shall remain nothing further to be known.

PURPORT
This is one of the central verses of the Bhagavad-gītā. God knows everything and He gives all His knowledge to the disciple. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that when he gets knowledge, nothing unknown will remain to him - this is the result of spiritual training. Here Arjuna is taught by God Himself, we are taught by a spiritual master, but the result is the same finally. The spiritual master sees what the disciple has already understood (practically realized) and what has not yet, so spuritual master preaches in a way to move him further in the spiritual science - this is quiet a live process. The spiritual master knows that generally material problems are insoluble, but the experience of spiritual life and spiritual development are valuable.

Generally, we can be calm for anyone in the case when he does not lose his spiritual consciousness under any circumstances. God both in the Gītā and in life teaches the same. This position means true well-being and means that a person is completely protected. He is free from the desire for material possessions, he is balanced in both fame and disgrace, and he thinks of God even in emergency situations - this is a perfect person. Perfection is not about having a lot of money, a perfect family, or a big house full of spiritual furniture. Perfection is also not about being famous. Perfection is in stability and spiritual understanding. When a person develops in this way, God will begin to use him which will give even more happiness and knowledge.

As for the big money that many people strive for, big money is a big and often dangerous karma. Sometimes people want a lot of money just not knowing what is behind it. Firstly, making money is not easy, secondly, a rich person always risks both physically and spiritually. Money itself is a tool. A reasonable manufacturer uses a tool not for the purpose of earning money as it is common in the western world, but for the purpose of creating benefits for people. If a person uses money for himself, he simply drives up his fate in the wrong direction; if he serves people with his money, then his bad fate will be less; but ideally money is better use for God (for preaching). We will not surprise God with any temple, but He will be pleased if someone, by virtue of our actions, returns to Him - this is the purpose of preaching.

TEXT 3

Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.

PURPORT
Out of many thousands of people, only one strives to know God. When we preach, we are looking mainly for such people; we have no goal to recruit a lot of people using some kind of populist methods. This is the most effective formula.

God is extraordinary, God is extraordinary, He never does anything ordinary, He is always full of variety. Knowledge of God also occurs in preaching, since it is always an eternal dialogue. We are small helpless souls and He is great. Nevertheless, He knows everything and loads us according to our power and our understanding. In this sense, we are always His children or His servants. The greatness of God is spread throughout all the worlds. Even singing His glory forever, we will not be able to sing all of it to the end. His greatness surpasses the great Brahman; He is more than infinity. Trying to describe Him, we are looking for the edge of the endless sky. How can I describe You, great Lord?! There are no worries in His eternal kingdom, and there are no rivals or equals to Him anywhere.

He came to the battlefield, and even the millions of armies stood on both sides could not match Him in strength and valor. He alone is worth them all. However, He wants to show how powerful a devotee is under His guidance, so He vowed not to take up arms, but only to drive Arjuna's chariot. And just by drove the chariot, He led Arjuna to victory.

In the material world, everyone fights with each other for their own interests. Real spiritual life extinguishes this fire. People are quite crazy when in the face of God, they want to deceive or somehow infringe on someone in the face of God. It is in our personal interest to act fair in accordance with the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā or other authoritative world scriptures.

TEXT 4

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego - altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.

PURPORT of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:
The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakṛti, or the energy of the Lord in His different puruṣa incarnations (expansions) as described in the Svatvata Tantra:

viṣṇos tu trīṇi rūpāṇi puruṣākhyāny atho viduḥ
ekantu mahataḥ sraṣṭṛ dvitīyaṁ tv aṇḍa-saṁsthitam
tṛtīyaṁ sarvabhūta-sthaṁ tāni jñātvā vimucyate

"For material creation, Lord Kṛṣṇa's plenary expansion assumes three Viṣṇus. The first one, Mahā-Viṣṇu, creates the total material energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramātmā, who is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Viṣṇus can be liberated from material entanglement."

This material world is a temporary manifestation of one of the energies of the Lord. All the activities of the material world are directed by these three Viṣṇu expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa. These Puruṣas are called incarnations. Generally one who does not know the science of God (Kṛṣṇa) assumes that this material world is for the enjoyment of the living entities and that the living entities are the causes (Puruṣas), controllers and enjoyers of the material energy. According to Bhagavad-gītā this atheistic conclusion is false. In the verse under discussion it is stated that Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the material manifestation. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also confirms this. The ingredients of the material manifestation are separated energies of the Lord. Even the brahmajyoti, which is the ultimate goal of the impersonalists, is a spiritual energy manifested in the spiritual sky. There are no spiritual diversities in brahmajyoti as there are in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and the impersonalist accepts this brahmajyoti as the ultimate eternal goal. The Paramātmā manifestation is also a temporary all-pervasive aspect of the Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. The Paramātmā manifestation is not eternal in the spiritual world. Therefore the factual Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa. He is the complete energetic person, and He possesses different separated and internal energies.

In the material energy, the principal manifestations are eight, as above mentioned. Out of these, the first five manifestations, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, are called the five gigantic creations or the gross creations, within which the five sense objects are included. They are the manifestations of physical sound, touch, form, taste and smell. Material science comprises these ten items and nothing more. But the other three items, namely mind, intelligence and false ego, are neglected by the materialists. Philosophers who deal with mental activities are also not perfect in knowledge because they do not know the ultimate source, Kṛṣṇa. The false ego - "I am," and "It is mine," which constitute the basic principle of material existence-includes ten sense organs for material activities. Intelligence refers to the total material creation, called the mahat-tattva. Therefore from the eight separated energies of the Lord are manifest the twenty-four elements of the material world, which are the subject matter of sāṅkhya atheistic philosophy; they are originally offshoots from Kṛṣṇa's energies and are separated from Him, but atheistic sāṅkhya philosophers with a poor fund of knowledge do not know Kṛṣṇa as the cause of all causes. The subject matter for discussion in the sāṅkhya philosophy is only the manifestation of the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 5

Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.

PURPORT
In contrast to material nature, the spiritual world is much more diverse and more subtly arranged. Matter as a whole is primitive - it is a set of mechanical principles; similarly human life as a whole is a set of primitive functions. It is difficult for a person to understand the scripture living on a sensory level, because in contrast to monotonous matter, spiritual science contains hundreds of nuances and contexts. As long as man is absorbed in the fruits of labor or satisfaction of egoism, his whole intelligence will be hidden by these crude mechanical principles. The universe is constantly collapsing and people are also degrading from year to year. Animal life is a lack of knowledge and uncontrollable senses. The more a person knows and the better he can control himself (to engage his senses in positive spiritual activities) the more civilized he is and the more intelligence he has.

Spiritual life means knowing various spiritual contexts and relationships described in the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda or in the Bible, in the Koran. When a person has an interest in such knowledge, he ceases to notice the lower principles. Spiritual life brings flourishing to both thinking and feelings of a person, but this does not happen if we are constantly engaged in some kind of primitive activity, therefore the scripture advises to minimize it. The dog is praised and it wags its tail, they want to hit it and it runs away. People must have some high convictions in order not to be completely controlled by the matter.

In this age, most people have little culture and thinking at a low level. The more a person has plans for material success, the more he will be disappointed in life and the greater will be his ultimate downfall. If people do not achieve their goals, unsatisfied lust makes them rude and aggressive, therefore religious precepts restrain this destructive process.

The material world is built on violence: a big fish eats a small fish, and the first one is eaten by an even larger fish. The predator sees its prey and rushes to kill it. People should not live like animals, they should control themselves, but without religion, society is more and more filled with animal inclinations. Honesty and other good qualities are valued among pious people, but in animal civilizations, it is appreciated when a person has cheated as much as possible or achieved fame and wealth in dishonest ways. When such trends increase, the entire society is filling with wars or violence at all levels. Animals do not control themselves, they want something and they go to it without any moral worries. Both help and mutual assistance are possible within one clan of animals, but when they see a victim, they unite to kill it - this is animal life and animal principles. A holy king can stand in the way of such an animal life, who will besiege such animals and force them to follow the law. Scripture has a similar function, but when people have little intelligence, they are forced by force which is quite favorable.

TEXT 6

Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both its origin and dissolution.

PURPORT
God is not responsible for events happen inside the material world. He creates all the components of the world, but things happen inside the universe comes from the desire of living beings. God might not interfere at all in the life of fallen souls, nevertheless, He supports religion in the material world for the common good.

God can do everything; He could establish religion immutably, but this would violate the freedom of living beings. It would go against the wishes of living beings. This is also why religion is often established by His representative - thus, the order of the material world is not disturbed: the desire of one soul opposes the desires of the rest of the world or exactly the same souls. One soul wants to introduce God to everyone and everyone else wants more comfort, sensual life, and entertainment. This is how this battle goes on. However, the desire of even one such soul is absolute, so he wins. Śrīla Prabhupāda could have come to the West when he was twenty years old, live there for another hundred years and during this time spread spiritual knowledge and establish varṇāśrama - nothing is impossible. But God wants everyone to learn, so He did, showed us and then the choice is ours again.

People just want to feel material happiness, sometimes they don't even care what nature it is. Is happiness from God? Fine. Is happiness from science? Great. Most do not care, they just want to feel happy. Therefore, this kind of conformism is materialism, just like materialistic religion operating in a similar way. If God had firmly established religion, then in the end it would have turned out that we did not make the choice, but everything was done for us, everything was adjusted for us, and accordingly, no intelligence woke up in us either. There is no love in this either, this is trade, exchange: God sent us blessings and we gave Him “love” in return. God is not worried, He has enough love, He does not suffer from its lack, but He, unlike us, does everything well, efficiently. Therefore: 1) He does not violate the justice of the material world, 2) He gives everyone the opportunity of a free choice, 3) He gives everyone the opportunity to achieve true love, 4) He gives everyone the opportunity to learn, and 5) He does not mind that people got the fruits of their actions.

God makes everything beautiful. Scientists have deployed this civilization and then it will collapse. He kills all demons in the same way: first He lets them reveal, show themselves and only then destroys them. Otherwise, the beauty is lost: the demon was just born and God immediately swat him - there is no dynamic. Or how Kṛṣṇa was born: it is not exactly that He was simply born and everyone friendly danced around Him. Firstly, it would not be interesting, and secondly, in the material world, many are not glad to see Him; so should He give them freedom of self-expression? Therefore, first came the persecution of parents, then the father in the deep night took Him out of prison, transported Him to a safe place, and thus He passed from one parents to another, and so on - everything full of mysteries and adventures. He is God, He does not do like everyone else, as usual. If you have not read these stories, we recommend the book Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Or how the demigods decided to meet Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. First they sent Moses who conquered the whole people from the king of Egypt. Moses took them out, led them for forty years, so that they would forget all their traditions and could start from scratch. He gave them a place to live. These people had to meet Lord Brahmā (Jesus Christ) and then help him prepare everything for the coming of Lord Caitanya. Brahmā is the creator and owner of the entire universe. Since Brahmā is great, they decided to prepare a whole nation for him, blessed them, so that later with their help he would spread spiritual knowledge throughout the entire earth and, accordingly, so that later God would set foot on an already sanctified, in all senses prosperous land. It's like officials meet the president and prepare the entire city for a meeting: flags are everywhere, music is playing, people are everywhere, immensely happy with the ruling power.

Further, Brahmā was born immaculately came as Jesus Christ; in his honor the countdown of earthly events was set anew. But further everything did not go as planned - the prepared people fell to materialism and instead of meeting decided to kill the messenger. Certainly, Christ saw all this and could escape execution, but He also understood that this was God's plan. “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." He did not understand why the whole plan had failed, yet he humbly accepted God's will.

"41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22).

His sufferings were of a spiritual nature, not a material one, and the peak of these sufferings came at the moment when He lost contact with God. In this way, Lord Caitanya taught the demigods that luxurious life and preaching do not go well together, and He laid the spark for His future spiritual mission, the spark of the highest mood of spiritual life. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

TEXT 7

O conquerer of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.

PURPORT
God is the essence of everything. A person can understand this, see this truth through the eyes of the scripture, through the eyes of knowledge. A person can always develop knowledge and logic in this matter. Even if we have realized God to some extent, everyone else needs such evidences. They will be useful to us ourselves more than once when the illusion will knock us down. The devotee is like the Phoenix bird which burn and reborn from the ashes and thus achieving immortality: the illusion constantly tries to knock him down, but he gets up and moves on. Thus, after being knocked down many times and rising up many times, the devotee gains good experience.

If we can prove the existence of God in ten ways, that's good, but it's better when there are even more such ways. This is called preaching. Thus, responding to the endless arguments of the materialists, the devotee becomes experienced; and in terms of faith: his faith becomes unshakable because it is based on knowledge.

When a devotee becomes more mature, he preaches, but not in order to assert himself, to prove that he is right, or to prove that his religion is better than others, but in order to help people. In the beginning, all this is inevitably accompanied by many defilements, but when preaching in the material world, it is difficult to maintain such defilements. People can see our selfishness and shortcomings well enough without any prior preparation, so even if we are a walking assembly of all anarthas, from the desire for recognition to self-admiration, such things can wear off rather quickly in the process of preaching.

TEXT 8

O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.

PURPORT
At the beginning of the spiritual life, we are more interested in general philosophy, the performance of various rituals, the establishment of a pure life, recognition, some new comprehensions and realizations, but the further, the more we are interested in God Himself. Hearing about Him, the soul instinctively reaches out in His direction. God ceases to be something impersonal or some kind of abstract principle. On the other hand, in order to realize God, it is not always necessary to hear about Him directly or read stories with His personal participation, but, for example, even listening to some comparisons, as in this verse, one can be aware of Him. First, we see the light of the sun or the moon and try to think about God, but then we see the light of the sun and the moon and realize that He is already with us.

As for the stories, it is not necessary to know all of them in details or to extract from each of them some kind of philosophical meaning or some kind of morality. Of course, God is absolute and any of His actions have many meanings, however, relationships with God and His actions in this connection, for example, in Kṛṣṇa-līlā, do not have any special philosophy; it is a love exchange, spiritual feelings. The quickest way to bring us closer to understanding God can be the realization of His greatness, since this gives us a stable position. Such a realization of the greatness of God does not go anywhere, further it also helps to maintain stability both in the material world and in the spiritual life. A devotee can balance between awareness of greatness and spontaneous relationship as much as he wants; this is not undesirable. In the same way, he can balance between meeting and separation - all this is a spiritual experience.

God gives many analogies related to Him and a person can think of Him in any of them. Someone likes His power, others like His beauty, others like His mercy - all these are absolute qualities and one can think about any of them or about all of them together as much as one want. This is part of spiritual life. This is how we realize Him, get what we lack and move on.

[Jayanti]

TEXT 9

I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.

PURPORT
God can be represent in analogies of the most outstanding and purest phenomena. God is all that exists, but He is also beyond of everything. The standard God realization is the awareness of Brahman and Supersoul. Śrīla Prabhupāda writes one should not try to artificially think about the pastimes of God or invent some ideas of his own; it is better to see Paramātmā equally present everywhere. So, it is again about the greatness of God. Sometimes in India you can see pictures of God on almost every corner: here the bags with Kṛṣṇa, there Kṛṣṇa on the bus, and there you asked for money, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." It's hard to say that all these are good and spiritual. Those who are God-conscious do not have developed material interests; also some sentiments about God do not mean spiritual life. This is similar to how many people, for example in Russia, wear a cross: some as ornament, others with some religiosity. Only if you put crosses on every building, but continue to engage in yourself, what will it change?

Sometimes Hindus go to Christianity from all this cacophony where Kṛṣṇa is mixed with Indian films "about great and beautiful love." Perhaps it seems to them that Christianity is more prayerful and esoteric, more pure; in a sense Christianity is so, because in its essence it is aimed at realizing the greatness of God. If one do not realize the greatness of God, thoughts about the games of God will be on the material level, and unauthorized preaching of spiritual life leads to materialism, just under a spiritual sign.

The same applies to spiritual enterprises, such as cafes. This must be done in the spiritual consciousness and one should preach then it will be spiritual, otherwise one will get a version of some kind of blissful materialistic public catering. We made a cafe where we gave lectures every day and we did not charge any fees, including for food. If someone wanted, he could donate something; in the end there was more money than if we had set the price. Eventually, someone drop off a big bag of money to us; there was not even a note from whom and why. The brahmacārīs themselves refused the salary, because we were all spiritually happy there and nobody had an idea to make money at any stage. Maybe it not always possible or not always worth do everything for free, but it is always better to follow the scripture - it can raise a person to a level that is difficult for him to even imagine. This is exactly what Kṛṣṇa explains throughout the Bhagavad-gītā.

TEXT 10

O son of Pṛthā, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.

PURPORT
God is the source of all life and also the source of strength and intelligence. Brāhmaṇas may look defenseless, but they are the most powerful people on the earth. They are powerful because they can influence this world with the help of knowledge, and they are powerful because they are under the protection of God. When a person is unselfish, he is given additional protection; even criminals may not touch the unselfish person, because even they can see and feel it.

TEXT 11

I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O Lord of the Bhāratas [Arjuna].

PURPORT
When a person shows strength without pursuing selfish goals, such strength is pure and represents God. Selflessness is possible only when a person realizes God, all other actions in the material world are always selfish in one way or another. The sexual life aimed at conceiving children also represents God.

Kṛṣṇa says addressing Arjuna, "bharatarṣabha" - "O Lord of the Bhāratas", this is similar to how we say, "Lord Jesus Christ." Although Christ is not God, he is addressed as God because he is the representative of God, and so is Arjuna. By calling Arjuna the Lord, Kṛṣṇa indicates the eternal connection of Arjuna with Himself and that in this sense he is indistinguishable from God. Arjuna was overwhelmed by this war, and Kṛṣṇa speaking of His own greatness, also encourages Arjuna by calling him the Lord and thereby pointing out his supreme identity.

TEXT 12

All states of being—be they of goodness, passion or ignorance—are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything—but I am independant. I am not under the modes of this material nature.

PURPORT
Goodness is a feeling of the spiritual nature regardless of external circumstances; a pious person is happy when everything is good and when everything is bad. Goodness is also asceticism, purity of understanding. There is external purity - this is goodness, but inner purity is much more important - purity of mind, purity of motives. Goodness does not mean that a person feels material happiness or smiles at everyone. Passion is most often expressed in the form of vigorous activity, in the desire for sensual happiness, creativity. Passion is somewhat of a high mode and people of passion - warriors (kṣatriyas) - are a rare type of people.

The combination of passion and ignorance gives birth to merchants (vaiśyas); the kṣatriyas have broad thinking, but the vaiśyas are more mundane. And under the influence of ignorance, workers (śūdras) are born - jack of all trades. Since all are śūdras by birth in the age of Kali, then some simple activities are always harmonious for a person living at this time and they relaxe in such activities. Although now everyone is śūdra by birth, nevertheless the system of varṇas (brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras) is still relevant and we can see that people are naturally divided into these four categories. The value ​​of the brāhmaṇas is knowledge, the values of the kṣatriyas are power and strength, the vaiśyas - wealth and agriculture, and the śūdras - personal life.

The material world is created not from atoms, from below, according to the principle of "self-formed", but from the intelligence, therefore everything is a derivative of the three original qualities. It is like build a building: first, a project is made, qualities and characteristics are set, and only later something concrete is built. The world was created, planned by the intelligence, therefore all great achievements within the world are created not by a shovel, but by the mind and intelligence. A person can do little with physical strength, but with the help of his mind he increases his capabilities and his strength by orders of magnitude. This fact is proof of the creation of the world. Obviously, the mind and intelligence in the body of everyone are determinant of all his activities, but because of false education everything is turned upside down in people's mind; and it is believed that atoms have formed into water, water - into algae, algae - into fish, and fish came out on land and became dinosaurs. This is called scientific knowledge today.