BG 5.29

Giriraj Swami: So, we shall be reading from the Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is the basic textbook of yoga, and in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna, who is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explains the different types of yoga. The word yoga means to link, and it is related to the English word “yoke,” “to yoke oxen together.”

As I mentioned, this knowledge is received through paramparā. And at the beginning of this edition, Srila Prabhupada lists the paramparā. It begins with Krishna, then Narada, Vyasa, ultimately goes down to Srila Prabhupada and we are following him. So, I am going to read a verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (Chapter Five, “Karma-yoga,” Text Twenty-nine) which is very instructive and relevant. Before we read, we usually repeat a mantra, offering respect or obeisance to Krishna, also known as Vasudeva.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 29

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

TRANSLATION

A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The conditioned souls within the clutches of the illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is explained in this part of the Bhagavad-gītā. The greatest peace formula is simply this: Lord Kṛṣṇa is the beneficiary in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service of the Lord because He is the proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon.

COMMENT

So, what is a demigod? Within the Universal creation, Krishna is the Supreme Lord, but He deputes certain pious living entities to handle different aspects of the universal management, and they are called demigods, or in Sanskrit, “devas” or “devatas.” You have probably heard of many of them, such as Brahma, Shiva, Durga, and they are compared to ministers in the cabinet of a king. Krishna is the king, and they are His ministers who look after different departments of the universal management. Brahma looks after creation, Shiva looks after destruction, Indra is in charge of rainfall, and there are also different demigods in charge of different planets, but they are all servants of Krishna.

Some people who do not really understand the science of Krishna consciousness or of the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā might think that all these different personalities are, you could say, independent gods, which they are not. They are all servants of Krishna. They are all devotees of Krishna, and they have been assigned different duties in the management of the universe.

PURPORT (continued)

The greatest peace formula is simply this: Lord Kṛṣṇa is the beneficiary in all human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service of the Lord because He is the proprietor of all planets and the demigods thereon.

No one is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of the demigods, Lord Śiva, and Lord Brahmā. In the Vedas (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.7) the Supreme Lord is described as tam īśvarāṇāṁ paramaṁ maheśvaraṁ. Under the spell of illusion, living entities are trying to be lords of all they survey, but actually they are dominated by the material energy of the Lord.

The Lord is the master of material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of material nature.

COMMENT

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

Krishna says (Gītā 7.14), this material energy, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it. Yes, Lord Krishna says that His material energy, that is, the three modes of nature. That is another discussion, but there are three modes of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. The Lord is beyond the three material modes of nature. He is the transcendental level, which is called “śuddha-sattva” or pure goodness. And those who are engaged fully in bhakti-yoga, they come to that stage of pure goodness, transcendental. And that was also confirmed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gītā, that those who are fully engaged in devotional service and rise to the platform of brahman transcend the modes of material nature - daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. This material nature consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te — But for those who surrender to Krishna, they can overcome maya.

PURPORT (continued)

Under the spell of illusion, living entities are trying to be the lords of all they survey, but actually, they are dominated by the material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules of material nature. Unless one understands these bare facts, it is not possible to achieve peace in the world, either individually or collectively. This is the sense of Krishna consciousness. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the supreme predominator, and all living entities, including the great demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect peace only in complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

Who wants peace? We all want peace.

PURPORT (continued)

This Fifth Chapter is a practical explanation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, generally known as karma-yoga. The question of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can give liberation is answered herewith. To work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the Lord as the predominator. Such work is not different from transcendental knowledge. Direct Kṛṣṇa consciousness is bhakti-yoga, and jñāna-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga.

COMMENT

So, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna describes the different types of yoga. There is karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga, and ultimately the highest is bhakti-yoga. And at the end of the Sixth Chapter, which is about dhyana-yoga, Krishna says, Bhagavad-gītā Chapter Six, Text Forty-seven

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ

mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ

sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ

Meaning is of all yogis, one who worships me with transcendental faith is considered the highest of all.

TRANSLATION

And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

COMMENT

You could say, Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of the science of Godhead and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the graduate study. And at the end of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It says, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino. That the yogis see Krishna within their hearts.

PURPORT (continued)

Direct Kṛṣṇa consciousness is bhakti-yoga, and jñāna-yoga is a path leading to bhakti-yoga. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one’s relationship with the Supreme Absolute, and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with māyā (illusion) due to the desire to lord it over māyā, and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world.

COMMENT

So, there are different stages in Bhakti-yoga, and the first stage is sādhana-bhakti which means devotional service in practice. Generally, we are in the stage of sādhana-bhakti, and within sādhana-bhakti there are seven stages: ādau śraddhā, which means preliminary faith or attraction. Tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo, then one associates with devotees, like you are today, and I hope it is a regular practice or will become a regular practice; ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo ‘tha bhajana-kriyā. Then, associating with devotees, one begins the practice of devotional service or Bhakti-yoga. And then, anartha-nivṛtti - anartha means unwanted desires and lusts, thoughts, and unwanted feelings that cause disturbance in our minds and in our activities.

So, after bhajana-kriyā comes that stage of anartha-nivṛtti, the eradication of anarthas. And then comes niṣṭhā; after anartha-nivṛtti, things become much easier and clearer. Niṣṭhā means steadiness. There is no wavering, that you are not going to break this [Unintelligible]. You are steady in your spiritual practices. Then, ruci, means taste and have a real taste for the holy name and for the activities of Bhakti-yoga. Āsakti which means that you become attached. You actually become attached to Krishna. So those are the seven stages in sādhana-bhakti. Then there is bhāva-bhakti, which means devotional service in ecstasy. At that stage, one actually begins to realize Krishna and then comes prema-bhakti, at this stage one fully realizes Krishna. These are all very important stages that we can look forward to.

PURPORT (continued)

Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter.

COMMENT

Practice is sadhana. So, matter, again is daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. “This material nature consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome.” Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te — “But for those who surrender to Krishna, they can overcome maya.”

PURPORT (continued)

The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one’s practical performance of duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which helps one control the senses in every respect and conquer the influence of desire and anger. And one who stands fast in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, controlling the abovementioned passions, remains factually in the transcendental stage, or brahma-nirvāṇa.

The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served.

COMMENT

The eightfold yoga mysticism is Sankhya-yoga.

PURPORT (continued)

There is a gradual process of elevation in the practice of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyana, and samādhi. But these only preface perfection by devotional service, which alone can award peace to the human being. It is the highest perfection of life.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifth Chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of karma-yoga, or Action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So even in karma-yoga, there are different stages. Karma means work or action, and yoga means to link. So, karma-yoga, is a way of linking to Krishna through one’s work. In karma-yoga, there is sakāma karma-yoga, in which one has some desire and offers some of the fruits to Krishna and keeps some to himself. Then, there is niṣkāma karma-yoga, in which one gives everything to Krishna and doesn’t want to keep anything for one’s self. So, this is a very beautiful process, that will give us relief from the clutches of material bondage and bring us to eternal, happy, and blissful life in Krishna consciousness. So, as far as possible, please associate with devotees, chant the holy name, hear or read the Bhagavad-gītā, and after that, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and use all of your time as far as possible for your spiritual development.

In one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada said, ”If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense. Don’t waste time.” So, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. So, if you have any questions, comments or reflections, you can raise your hand.

Devotee: I have noticed that the devotees are often quite busy, engaged in all sorts of services. Can you describe about how that is peace, because this is talking about how Bhakti leads to peace, and I see the advanced devotees are often, they don’t seem peaceful. They seem full of activity and anxiety for their service. Can you explain how those fit together?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, the devotees are active in the devotional service but they are peaceful because they do not consider themselves to be the proprietor or beneficiary of any of these activities. The beneficiary is Krishna, so they are peaceful, because they have no personal gain or loss. They are peaceful; busy, but peaceful.

Devotee: You mentioned twenty-five minutes earlier, that by following the path of Bhakti, you could be elevated to the platform of Brahman. What does that mean?

Giriraj Swami: Brahman means spirit, transcendence. As explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which I mentioned is a post graduate study of the Bhagavad-gītā, the Absolute Truth is realized in three features: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. So, Brahman is the spiritual light or effulgence that emanates from the transcendental body of Krishna. It is the goal of impersonal [Unintelligible] to merge and become one with that light, brahmajyoti. Paramātmā is the localized feature within the heart; it is the goal of yogis to realize the Lord within their heart. As I mentioned at the end of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino, Krishna is the one seated within the heart of yogis in meditation. And then beyond the Paramātmā is Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and He is realized by bhakti-yoga. So, Brahman in one sense is the spiritual platform, but it can also mean the impersonal effulgence coming from Krishna’s transcendental body. The impersonal jnanis want to merge and become one with that light. Then Paramātmā, the Lord within the heart is the goal of yogis, and Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the goal of bhaktas.

Devotee: Thank you

Giriraj Swami: The benefits of realizing Brahman and Paramātmā are all included when one realizes Bhagavān.

Devotee: The miracle of bhakti-yoga, the process is that, we can acquire, define, and act upon a relationship. Even in this world, seeing a picture of our friend, seeing the glorious effulgence of our friend may not be sufficient. We want to have dealings with that friend, we want to send something to him or her and to receive something from him or her. We want that opportunity to establish our true, deepest relationship—this pretty much outshines Paramātmā or other steps in realization.

Giriraj Swami: True.

Devotee: I was wondering, curious, about the phrase, “This is my opinion.”

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is occasionally something that Krishna says, because if that is His opinion, then there is no doubt about it. It is the Ultimate Truth; it is sort of a humble way of presenting, in my opinion. But, one point, Krishna never, it is sort of related to “my opinion” and Krishna is not too overbearing. Krishna never interferes with the minute independence of the living entity and at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, He tells Arjuna, “Now you have heard everything,” yathecchasi tathā kuru, “Now you do as you like.” Arjuna replies, naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā, “My illusion is now finished, I have regained my memory,” kariṣye vacanaṁ tava—“I am prepared to act according to your order.” Krishna does not interfere with our minute independence. But Arjuna after hearing everything came to the right conclusion, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava—I am prepared to act according to your instructions.

Devotee: Thank you, that makes a lot more sense.

Devotee: I have a question; when you talk about detachment from material things specifically, how do you balance understanding that there is a degree- there is an aspect of material nature to sustain your lifestyle or even spirituality. Using an example, if someone is donating to a nonprofit cause, reinvent a temple, orchestrate a retreat like today. I would like to hear more about your concept of detachment, or maybe utilizing material means to get closer to Krishna consciousness. I hope I worded that correctly.

Giriraj Swami: Important question, one of the great authorities in Krishna consciousness is Rupa Gosvami. He is a direct disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he wrote a book called Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and Srila Prabhupada translated it as a summary study called The Nectar of Devotion. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Rupa Gosvami defines yukta-vairāgya which basically means, using everything in Krishna’s service. The definition is anāsaktasya viṣayān, which begins without attachment to the objects of the senses; nirbandha-kṛṣṇa-sambhandhe, seeing the relationship of everything to Krishna. [Unintelligible] and use everything in Krishna’s service. Yes, we are in the material world and most people have to work. By working they earn money, and that money can be used in Krishna’s service. And ideally, we should dedicate our lives to Krishna’s service; so whatever we spend in maintaining our body is ultimately for Krishna’s service because our body is engaged in Krishna’s service. So, no harm in earning money but we should not be attached to using it for our sense gratification, but we should be happy to use it in Krishna’s service. Even our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada said, “The money is the honey.” [Unintelligible]

Devotee: To expand on that topic a little bit, it sounded from what was being discussed earlier that we should minimize the times that focus on these material things, like emphasize as much as possible on the spiritual transcendent journey towards Krishna and through bhakti as well. How do you find that balance? She asked a really great question. I don’t feel like I completely understand how you find the balance between these two things because you could in theory spend too much time focusing on material things, on the honey, on the money, and not enough on Krishna but also put that in service of Krishna as well. How do you find that sweet spot?

Giriraj Swami: Balance is a very good word because we need to find a proper balance. And what might be the proper balance at one time might not be the proper balance at another time. So, we might have to adjust as we go along. But it is true, if we neglect some aspect of our material life, that can cause a disturbance in our life, which in turn will disturb our spiritual practices. So, we don’t want to be neglectful any aspect of our life, otherwise it could impact our spiritual practices. Also, like our health, we have to take care of our health. I lived in India for about thirty years, and at one stage in India, it became clear that Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter saying, “You must take care of your health. Your body is dedicated to Krishna’s service, so you must take care of your body very carefully.” And then he said, “The best course is to take rest and follow the doctor’s prescription and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is [Unintelligible] the cure for all material diseases.”

Devotee: Prabhupada stated that there are four things: health, chanting, reading, and sevā. And the first thing to attend to is your health, because if that is not happening, the others are not happening. You can’t do anything if your health is shot. And if you are not paying attention and have capacity to read, chant, and do service, then you have got a problem.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada said – there are two slightly different versions, but almost the same. It is first health, then sadhana, then service. And then another kind: first health and chanting, then service, then reading. Yes, so yes, we don’t neglect anything. And then increase [Unintelligible] devotional aspect of our lives.

Devotee: Thank you. Especially as we reach our late thirties, it is good to pay attention to us.

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada said in a letter, [Unintelligible] to spend more time taking care of your body.

Devotee: You mentioned the importance of associating with devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Then you mentioned writing letters with Srila Prabhupada. How did you approach your interactions in your association with your spiritual master? And how should we approach someone who we determine is our spiritual master?

Giriraj Swami: What was the connection between that and letters?

Devotee: I was just thinking about how you were in dealings with Srila Prabhupada, writing to him, associating with him. How did you, what was your mood and your approach to associating with your spiritual master? And how would you recommend we approach devotees, especially highly advanced devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Well, in Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Four, Text Thirty-four, Krishna says,

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

This means to understand the science, one must approach a spiritual master. And then he mentions praṇipātena, which means surrender, and then paripraśnena, which means to ask questions; that is also part of the process of bhakti-yoga, and sevayā, we have to render service. So, these elements should be there with the spiritual master. And that is surrendered inquiry and a submissive mood; not a challenging one but a service attitude. The reciprocation between the spiritual master and the disciple is complete.

Devotee: So, you mentioned that bhakti-yoga is the highest form of yoga, and there are so many different kinds of yoga. I was just thinking regular yoga, like hatha-yoga that we did this morning, it is so popular. Every block has a yoga studio. And then why is bhakti-yoga not as popular? Why doesn’t it come as naturally to us as other forms of yoga? Because it is widely popular with other forms of people.

Giriraj Swami: But most people identify with the body, and they see yoga as a way of improving the fitness of the body. But the real purpose, the original purpose of hatha-yoga, is to make the body fit so that one can meditate for a long period of time on the Supreme. But now, yoga is out of its context, and it is just something to make you fit, healthy, and helps you relax.

Devotee: So, it doesn’t come naturally because it requires detachment or giving up things that you don’t want to give up?

Giriraj Swami: Bhakti-yoga is really accessible and can be practiced [Unintelligible], but the prevalence of yoga studios, the popularity of yoga studios, is that people identify with the body more. But we have devotees who have yoga studios and gradually bring their students to bhakti along with the asanas and so on.

Devotee: Yes, that is one of the reasons that bhakti-yoga, I mean, hatha-yoga studios are popular, is people can go in for thirty minutes a day. Oh, I have done yoga, and they can go on with the rest of their life. Whereas bhakti-yoga is very inclusive. It includes everything, not that we renounce everything, but we engage everything. We utilize the things around us, recognizing that everything is produced by God. And if we have a chance, because we can offer it or utilize these things. But the hatha-yoga studio, you go in, you do your asanas, and then you leave. So, there is not, it is useful, but it is not complete. I guess that is the difference.

Giriraj Swami: There is not much commitment needed.

Devotee: Yes, commitment is not required, yes.

Devotee: Could you please let us know how the chanting of these holy names and let me say Krishna’s holy names, how does it really empower or take us away from the body towards the soul?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is a very good question about the chanting. So, in the material world, the name of the thing and the thing are different. For example, if I am in the desert and I am searching for water, and I keep chanting water, water, water, that is not going to quench my thirst, because the word “water” and the substance “water” are different. But in the absolute realm, the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same. So, when we chant Hare Krishna, Srila Prabhupada says Krishna is dancing on our tongues. And because Krishna is all pure, when we chant and associate with Him, we become purified. Because he is full of pleasure, when we chant and associate with Krishna, we also experience pleasure. So, the chanting is very powerful. It is direct association with Krishna, and it cleanses the heart, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam; it removes the dirty things from the heart. And the first dirty thing is identifying with the body. [Unintelligible]. Thank you.

Devotee: I have a question. Back to the “in my opinion,” and you said when He says in my opinion, it is a humble way to say it because it is true. I just wonder if I say “that is my opinion or in my opinion” or say Amy says that is in my opinion, are they also the truth, and what is the difference?

Giriraj Swami: Well, with all due respect, when people would say to Srila Prabhupada, “In my opinion. . .” he would say, “What is the value of your opinion?“ But I mean in your case, your opinion might have some value. But usually we don’t say “in my opinion,” because what is the value of our opinion? But we speak more on the authority of Krishna’s opinions. And then it is true. Does that address your question?

Devotee: So, does that mean if in my opinion something is valuable to the world, then it can also be true or The truth?

Giriraj Swami: In your opinion, if you think something valuable to the world, it could be, it is. Yes, you are a good person, so your [Unintelligible] opinion would be valuable.

Devotee: So, in the chanting, we say Krishna and Rama, why do we, why is Rama or Krishna? everything we talked about is about Krishna, why we take Rama and not Shiva in the chant? Where did Rama come from the chant?

Giriraj Swami: Okay, so there are two things, one is Rama, Lord Ramachandra. He is Krishna, I mean He is the Personality of Godhead. Shiva, on the other hand, is the demigod, he is not on the same level. That being said, the Rama in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra can refer to Ramachandra, it can also refer to Krishna. Rama means that he is the enjoyer and Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer. So, Rama can also refer to Krishna and can also refer to Balarama, Krishna’s first expansion, generally when we can’t [Unintelligible], I mean, our mood is that around like this, Krishna is Radhika-ramana.