BG – Introduction to Bhagavad-gita

Giriraj Swami: We are reading from the Introduction to Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.

In the Fourth Chapter of the Gītā (4.1–3) the Lord says:

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ‘bravīt

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā
yogo naṣṭaḥ paran-tapa

sa evāyaṁ mayā te ‘dya
yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ
bhakto ‘si me sakhā ceti
rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam

Here the Lord informs Arjuna that this system of yoga, the Bhagavad-gītā, was first spoken to the sun-god, and the sun-god explained it to Manu, and Manu explained it to Ikṣvāku, and in that way, by disciplic succession, one speaker after another, this yoga system has been coming down. But in the course of time it has become lost. Consequently the Lord has to speak it again, this time to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra.

He tells Arjuna that He is relating this supreme secret to him because Arjuna is His devotee and His friend. The purport of this is that Bhagavad-gītā is a treatise which is especially meant for the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes of transcendentalists, namely the jñānī, the yogī and the bhakta, or the impersonalist, the meditator and the devotee. Here the Lord clearly tells Arjuna that He is making him the first receiver of a new paramparā (disciplic succession) because the old succession was broken. It was the Lord’s wish, therefore, to establish another paramparā in the same line of thought that was coming down from the sun-god to others, and it was His wish that His teaching be distributed anew by Arjuna. He wanted Arjuna to become the authority in understanding the Bhagavad-gītā. So we see that Bhagavad-gītā is instructed to Arjuna especially because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord, a direct student of Kṛṣṇa, and His intimate friend. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā is best understood by a person who has qualities similar to Arjuna’s. That is to say he must be a devotee in a direct relationship with the Lord. As soon as one becomes a devotee of the Lord, he also has a direct relationship with the Lord. That is a very elaborate subject matter, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five different ways:

1. One may be a devotee in a passive state;
2. One may be a devotee in an active state;
3. One may be a devotee as a friend;
4. One may be a devotee as a parent;
5. One may be a devotee as a conjugal lover.

Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as friend. Of course there is a gulf of difference between this friendship and the friendship found in the material world. This is transcendental friendship, which cannot be had by everyone. Of course everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and that relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the present status of our life, not only have we forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out of the many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarūpa. By the process of devotional service, one can revive that svarūpa, and that stage is called svarūpa-siddhi – perfection of one’s constitutional position. So Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.

COMMENT

So, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, why he selected Arjuna to receive the message of the Gītā. He says, bhakto ‘si me sakhā ceti, “Because you are my devotee and my friend.” In other words, the qualification for receiving the knowledge of the Gītā is that one should be a devotee of Krishna. He should not be envious of Krishna. In another place in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, “Because you are My devotee and you are not envious of Me, I am giving this knowledge to you.” So, in order to understand the Gītā, one must be a devotee. Arjuna was not a Vedantist, nor a sannyasi, he was a grihastha, he was a warrior. But because he was a devotee of Krishna, he was eligible to understand the science of yoga. Therefore, Krishna chose Arjuna to receive the knowledge and begin the paramparā anew because the chain was broken. The Lord wanted the chain to begin again so that the knowledge could be disseminated. He says, yogo naṣṭaḥ paran-tapa, naṣṭaḥ means spoil. When knowledge is not received in paramparā, it becomes naṣṭaḥ. Just like you have nice plate of prasādam, but it is left for several hours or several days, it becomes naṣṭaḥ, it becomes spoiled, although the food is very good, if it becomes spoiled, no one will touch it. So, in the same way, the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā is very good but if knowledge is not received through paramparā, it becomes naṣṭaḥ, it becomes spoil. It cannot benefit us. Therefore, the Lord wanted to begin the paramparā again, and He selected Arjuna to be the first recipient of this knowledge in the new paramparā.

Then he addresses Arjuna as sakha; sakha means friend. And here Srila Prabhupada explains that every living entity has some eternal relationship with Krishna, either in passive appreciation, in active service, in friendship, in parental affection, or in conjugal love. Every soul has the seed of some svarūpa, a eternal relationship and eternal form in relationship with Krishna. By the practice of sādhana-bhakti, the svarūpa becomes manifest, and it will manifest in one of five relationships. Now, in passive appreciation, or śānta-rasa, a devotee is completely detached from material affection and is completely steady in spiritual consciousness. He cannot be deviated for one moment, but he is completely free from material attachment and fully fixed in spiritual consciousness. In dāsya-rasa, we find the same quality as in śānta-rasa with the addition of service. In śānta-rasa, one appreciates the glory of the Lord, the beauty of the Lord, the mercy of the Lord, but the next development is that one feels inspired to render service. So, the addition of service brings one to dāsya-rasa. But in dāsya-rasa, there is some fear, some feeling of awe and reverence that God is great and I am small, and I have to serve God very carefully.

But with the addition of confidence that actually I am on the same level as Krishna, and I can deal with Him intimately as an equal, with freedom and confidence, that becomes sākhya-rasa. Of course, the equality perceived by the devotee in sākhya-rasa is completely different from the equality imagined by the impersonalists, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Krishna is brahman, I am also brahman, so I am equal to Krishna. The devotee is never to be compared to the impersonalist. The devotee always wants to maintain his individual identity as the servant of Krishna, but the service is manifest in the mood of friendship. Just like Krishna has so many cowherd boyfriends in Vrindavan, and when Krishna goes to tend the cows in the pastures, the cowherd boys also accompany Him, and they serve Him by helping to take care of the cows. They are also serving Krishna, but the mood is of friendship because of the addition of confidence. They are confident that they are on the same level as Krishna, and they treat Krishna with intimacy and freedom as equals, not fearing that Krishna will be angry with them, but knowing that Krishna will be pleased with them.

Then, when through the qualities of śānta-rasa, the quality of increased affection is added, we come to vātsalya-rasa, or parental affection. In vātsalya-rasa, the devotee considers himself to be superior to the Lord and considers that the Lord is dependent on him for arrangement, maintenance, and protection. When to the quality of vātsalya-rasa, the quality of conjugal is added, it becomes mādhurya-rasa. All of the qualities of the lower rasas are included in the higher rasas, with the addition of another quality, and another quality, and another quality. Just like the material elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. Space has the quality of sound; sound can be transmitted through space. When we come to air, the additional quality of touch is added. Just like we cannot see the air, we cannot taste the air, but we can feel the air, so air has two qualities, sound and touch. Then, when we come to fire, the quality of form is added. We can see the shape of the fire. Then, when we come to water, taste is added. We can taste water. So within water are four qualities: sound, touch, form, and taste. Finally, when we come to earth, the quality of aroma is added, the quality of fragrance. So, in earth are all five qualities: sound, touch, form, taste, and smell. In śānta-rasa, there is one quality, appreciation. In dāsya-rasa, there are two qualities: appreciation and service. In sākhya-rasa, there are three qualities: appreciation, service, and confidence. In vātsalya-rasa, there are the same three qualities plus increased affection. In conjugal love, there are four qualities plus the offering of one’s body in service. So in mādhurya-rasa there are five qualities.

Now, if we compare Krishna consciousness, in relation to religions in general, reveals some differences. In almost every religion, worshipers conceive God as father. They pray to God as father: “Dear Father, give us this day our daily bread.” However, the unique contribution of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the concept that one can have other relationships with God besides viewing God as a father. In fact, in the exalted state of Krishna consciousness, God can become the son. When God is the father, we seek service from God, much like a child seeks service from a father: “Give me food, give me shelter, give me clothing, give me this, give me that.” But in the concept of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, God can become son. In love, the devotee can think that the Lord is dependent on them, although actually Krishna is providing the needs of everyone, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām, that out of many living entities, there is one eternal entity; cetanaś cetanānām, among so many plural numbers of eternal living entities, there is one singular living entity. Out of many plural numbers of conscious entities, there is one singular conscious entity, and eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān, the one is providing all the needs of the many. So, Krishna is providing all the needs of all these eternal conscious living entities actually. But in intense affection for Krishna, Mother Yasoda thinks that Krishna is dependent upon me and if I don’t feed Him, He will starve. He will become sick, He will die. Here, we find that the mood of service is greater. The mood of service of the parents for the child is greater, and therefore Lord Chaitanya has taught how the living entity can be established in a transcendental relationship with Lord Krishna, whereby Krishna becomes his son or even his lover. The relationship in which Krishna becomes the lover is the highest or the most pure.

In the material world, we have no experience of actual love. What we term as love in the material world is actually lust. In the material world, one is thinking of their own satisfaction. There is a relationship, but the relationship is based on the consideration of what one can get out of it. If a person thinks they can get more from someone else, they can leave one person and go to another for their own satisfaction. But in the spiritual world, there is no lust; there is only love. There, the devotees are not thinking “What can Krishna do to make me happy?” Instead, the devotee is thinking, “What can I do to make Krishna happy?” The most pure love is found in the gopīs of Vrindavan. The gopīs of Vrindavan have no desire for personal happiness. They only want to see that Krishna is happy. During the day, when Krishna would go into the field with the cows, the gopīs would be at home crying. Why would they be crying? Because they were thinking that while Krishna is walking on the path, His very soft and tender lotus feet may be pierced by some thorn or pebble. Thinking that Krishna’s lotus feet may be experiencing some pain, they grieve. They have no desire for personal gratification; they desire only Krishna’s satisfaction. For the satisfaction of Krishna, they are ready to go to any extent. They are ready to give up anything for Krishna’s satisfaction.

In the beginning, we engage in sādhana-bhakti because we are conditioned. In sādhana-bhakti, there are sixty-four items, and out of these, there are three preliminary items. ādau guru-pāda-āśraya. First, one must take shelter of a spiritual master. Then, one must take initiation from him, learn from him, and serve him. One must receive instruction from him and follow his instructions. Out of the sixty-four items in sādhana-bhakti, ten are preliminary things that we should do, like accepting a guru. Then, there are ten other preliminary items, which are things that we should not do. We should not blaspheme devotees. There are ten do’s and ten don’ts, and then there are forty-four other items. Out of the whole list of sixty-four items, five are most important or best. They are sādhu-saṅga: association with advanced devotees, nāma-kīrtana: the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, bhāgavata-śravaṇa: reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, mathurā-vāsa: residing in Mathura, Vrindavan, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana: worshipping the deity with faith and devotion. Even by a little contact with any of the five potent forms of devotional service, one can attain kṛṣṇa-prema or bhāva-bhakti, which is the preliminary stage of prema-bhakti. When one comes to the stage of bhāva-bhakti, then he can attain svarūpa-siddhi. In svarūpa-siddhi, his eternal spiritual form and his eternal relationship with Krishna become manifest.

So here, Arjuna was already beyond the stage of sādhana-bhakti, beyond practice. He was in stage of sādhya or perfection. He was established in relationship of friendship. Actually, there was no need for Krishna to speak Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna. Actually, the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā is, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, to give up all other activities and surrender to Krishna. Surrender to Krishna is the prior stage of bhakti. After we surrender to Krishna, we have to make more advancements and develop pure devotional service. The last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā, the final instruction is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, to surrender to Krishna. And after we surrender to Krishna, we begin the process of devotional service. In the process of devotional service, there is sādhana-bhakti, bhava-bhakti, and prema-bhakti. Arjuna was already in the stage of prema-bhakti, so where is the question of Krishna having to tell Arjuna that he should surrender to Krishna. Arjuna was already far far beyond surrender.

Actually, Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna for his benefit but for our benefit so that we can come to the stage of surrendering to Krishna. And after coming to surrender to Krishna, we have to come to the stage of pure devotional service. In pure devotional service, there are sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti, and prema-bhakti. Then our svarūpa become manifest. There our eternal spiritual identity and service to Krishna become manifest. So, Arjuna had already achieved that. But because Arjuna was a devotee of Krishna, Krishna chose him to receive the knowledge. A devotee will understand Krishna in the right way and will accept the knowledge in the right way. What is the right way to understand Krishna? The right way is to understand Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What is the right way to accept the knowledge? It is to accept it as the absolute truth, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye. Arjuna tells Krishna that I accept whatever you say as true in total, not that by accepting one part and rejecting another. We must accept everything Krishna says as true. As soon as we accept one part and reject another, everything is lost.

Here, Srila Prabhupada quotes the story of the farmer who had a hen that laid golden eggs. Have you heard the story? The story goes that the hen was giving golden eggs, and the farmer was very happy. Then the farmer thought, Actually, the behind portion of the hen is very good because I am getting the golden eggs from the behind portion, but the neck portion is very troublesome. I am always having to go and get food to feed the hen. So the farmer thought, Let me cut the neck portion, which is useless, and just keep the behind portion, which is useful. Immediately, the hen died, and there were no more golden eggs. So, persons who are foolish like the farmer, they want accept some portions of Bhagavad-gītā and cut other portion. When they come to the verse, karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana, they think, I can do my work. I like my work. When they read the scriptures, they think, karma is very good; this is very valuable. I will keep this. When they come to sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, gave up your nonsense and just surrender to Krishna, they feel it very troublesome. So, let us cut this part and just keep valuable part where Krishna says, “Do your work, do your duty.” And as soon as they accept some part and reject another part, cut one part and keep another part, everything is lost. Therefore, we have to accept Bhagavad-gītā in the same way as Arjuna in total, completely in full as true, spoken by Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:33:50]

Giriraj Swami: Arjuna was in prema-bhakti, so why was he in dilemma? He was not in dilemma because Krishna wanted Arjuna to be in some sort of illusion so that He could make Arjuna the example for us. Being in confusion, we should not try to solve our problems independently. We should surrender to Krishna and take instruction from Krishna to solve our issues. There are so many lessons in the Bhagavad-gītā that Krishna wants to impart to humanity, which He imparted through Arjuna.

Sometimes, the example is given that to teach the daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law will instruct her own daughter. In other words, if the mother-in-law tries to instruct the daughter-in-law, she may get offended. So, in the presence of the daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law will instruct her own daughter because her own daughter will accept it. By speaking to her daughter, the daughter-in-law automatically receives the same instructions. If Krishna were to speak to some non-devotee, he may not appreciate it. So, Krishna speaks to a devotee. There is no need to speak to a devotee who is already beyond sarva-dharmān parityajya. So, he speaks to the devotee for the instruction of the non-devotees, so they may become enlightened, just like the mother-in-law instructs her daughter for the sake of instructing her daughter-in-law, whom she cannot instruct directly. Then a devotee cannot be an illusion. A devotee will not need to hear Bhagavad-gītā, so Krishna arranged that Arjuna should be put in illusion. Arjuna was not in the same illusion like us. We are in maya but Arjuna was in maya like us but he was put in illusion by Krishna, but the illusion resembled maya so Krishna could give instruction to Arjun on how to become free from maya. So actually, we are in illusion because of our own fault, but Arjuna was not in illusion because of any fault. He was in illusion by some special arrangement of Krishna to create a situation where He could speak Bhagavad-gītā.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:37:30]

Giriraj Swami: In Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna explains the mission. His mission is,

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

To protect the devotees and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to establish the principles of religion, He appears. His mission is not to allow the miscreants to flourish at the expense of devotees in the name of peace. There are some speculators who try to derive the principle of non-violence from the Gītā, but actually, the Gītā is full of violence because Arjuna was kshatriya and kshatriya have to employ violence in the service of the Lord to maintain law and order and protect the innocent citizens or devotees. Kshatriya are not expected to be non-violent. If they become non-violent, then the miscreants will take advantage, and in any case, the miscreants will perpetrate violence on the innocent people. So, the duty of kshatriya is to give protection to the citizens, to the innocent. And in order to protect the innocent, they may have to punish the miscreants.

Srila Prabhupada said that the Gandhi preached non-violence in Bhagavad-gītā but in the end, he was killed by violence. So, we cannot avoid the violence. Violence, like anything else, should be employed in the service of the Lord, and kshatriyas are specifically entrusted with the duty to employ violence when all other means fail to check the miscreants. Otherwise, suppose someone comes to your house. He wants to plunder your riches, he wants to murder you, he wants to steal your wife, and you call the police, and the police say, you try to save yourself. Then what will happen? We say, we are non-violent, we are good students of Bhagavad-gītā, we are not violent, then what will happen? All the bad people will become prominent, and the good people will be in jeopardy. Then the mission of Lord Krishna will be frustrated. So, in order to protect the devotees and to punish the miscreants, violence may be necessary.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:41:30]

Giriraj Swami: He says that if someone puts a bomb and someone is killed, do you say that the person died because of his karma, or do we say that the person sent the bomb blast because of his free will?

Both can be true.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:42:15]

Giriraj Swami: Just like Krishna told Arjuna that you should fight, but until the other side, Arjuna did not want to fight. Then Krishna says if you do not fight, I will find someone else to fight, and then they will get the credit. So why don’t you fight? Then you will get the credit. So, if you are bound to be punished, Krishna will find someone who will use his free-will to punish you, and if one person doesn’t do it, then another person will do it.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:43:00]

Giriraj Swami: if Krishna tells them to put bomb, and if they put the bomb then they are obeying the order of Krishna. But if Krishna doesn’t give the order, and he does it then he is involved in sinful activities; he is killing people.

Our duty is not to act as the instrument of Krishna to bring misery to others. Our duty is to try to relieve the suffering of others; that is our duty. It is not our duty to inflict sinful reactions on others. You are sinful, so I am going to set a bomb so that you will get your sinful reaction; that is not our duty. Bhagavad-gītā doesn’t says that we should cause suffering to others so that they can get their sinful reaction. Rather to teach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā so that the sinners will surrender to Krishna and become free from sinful reaction. If you are so concerned that people should be free from sinful reaction, then you should preach Bhagavad-gītā.

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

That if you surrender to Krishna, Krishna will free you from all reactions.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:44:40]

Giriraj Swami: Demonic people will not surrender. No, they won’t surrender. We should not preach to demonic people. We should only preach to the innocent people who are open to the message of Krishna. We should not preach to the demons who are envious of Krishna and will not listen in any case.

Devotee: Then what to do?

Giriraj Swami: We neglect them. The shastra says we should neglect them; neglect is the proper medicine for them. We don’t have to do anything else.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:45:45]

Giriraj Swami: He says that Krishna is the supreme father. The father should give good instructions to the child; therefore, Krishna gives good instructions in the Bhagavad-gītā. And just as the child has free-will to follow the instructions of the parents, we also have the will to follow the instructions of Krishna in the Gītā or not to follow. So, Krishna is doing His duty, driving up. Did you have some other points?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:47:00]

Giriraj Swami: You want Krishna to come to you personally? This is the way.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:47:30]

Giriraj Swami: He says, people in mode of ignorance do not read Bhagavad-gītā, and even if they read, they don’t understand, so what about them?

They can chant Hare Krishna, they can take kṛṣṇa-prasāda, and they will gradually come out of the mode of ignorance. Eventually, they will come to the mode of goodness, and they can understand Krishna consciousness. Krishna has given a way to everyone. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given a way to everyone: Chanting, dancing, and feasting on kṛṣṇa-prasāda is open to everyone, appealing to everyone. So gradually, they can become purified and elevated, and then they can appreciate the need for Krishna consciousness, appreciate the science of bhakti-yoga, and they can also surrender and begin this practice of bhakti-yoga.

Okay, thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.