Kingdom Of God
TEXT 56
दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्रमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः।
वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरूच्यते॥५६॥
TRANSLATION
"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."
PURPORT
The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion. It is said that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless a muni differs from other munis, he cannot be called a muni in the strict sense of the term.
Nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117). But a sthita-dhir muni, as mentioned herein by the Lord, is different from an ordinary muni. The sthita-dhir muni is always in Krsna consciousness, for he has exhausted all his business of creative speculation.
He is called prasanta-nihsesa-mano-rathantara (Stotra-ratna 43), or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord Sri Krsna, or Vasudeva, is everythin (vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durabhah).
He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Krsna conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all misries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more troubles due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his misries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest.
Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion.
Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment or aversion. But one fixed in Krsna consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful. Success or no success, a Krsna conscious person is always steady in his determination.
TEXT 57
यः सर्वत्रानभिस्त्रेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य श्रुभाश्रुभम्।
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टे तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता॥५७॥
TRANSLATION
"In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in perfect knowledge."
PURPORT
There is always some upheaval in the material world which may be good or evil. One who is not agitated by such material upheavals, who is unaffected by good and evil, is to be understood to be fixed in Krsna consciousness.
As long as one is in the material world there is always the possibility of good and evil because this world is full of duality. But one who is fixed in Krsna consciousness is not affected by good and evil, because he is simply concerned with Krsna, who is all-good absolute. Such consciousness in Krsna situates one in a perfect transcendental position called, technically, samadhi.
TEXT 58
यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता॥५८॥
TRANSLATION
"One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense abjects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness."
PURPORT
The test of a yogi, devotee, or self-realized soul is that he is able to control the senses according to his plan. Most people, however, are servants of the senses and are thus directed by the dictation of the senses. That is the answer to the question as to how the yogi is situated.
The senses are compared to venomous serpents. They want to act very loosely and without restriction. The yogi, or the devotee, must be very strong to control the serpents--like a snake charmer. He never allows them to act indendently. There are many injunctions in the revealed scriptures; some of them are do-not's, and some of them are do's.
Unless one is able to follow the do's and the do-not's, restricting oneself from sense enjoyment, it is not possible to be firmly fixed in Krsna consciousness. The best example, set herein, is the tortoise.
The tortoise can at any moment wind up his senses and exhibit them again at any time for particular purposes. Similarly, the senses of the Krsna conscious persons are used only for some particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are withdrawn otherwise. Arjuna is being taught here to use his senses for the service of the Lord, instead of for his own satisfaction. Keeping the senses always in the service of the Lord is the example set by the analogy of the tortoise, who keeps the senses within.
TEXT 59
विषया विनिवर्तन्ते निराहारस्य देहिनः।
रसवर्जं रसोऽप्यस्य परं द्वष्ट्वा निवर्तते॥५९॥
TRANSLATION
"The embodied soul may berestricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness."
PURPORT
Unless one is transcendentally situated, it is not possible to cease from sense enjoyment. The purpose of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules and regulations is something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables.
The patient, however, neither likes such restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables. Similarly, sense restriction by some spiritual process like astanga-yoga, in the matter of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, etc., is recommended for less intelligent persons who have no better knowledge. But one who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord Krsna, in the course of his advancement in Krsna consciousness, no longer has a taste for dead, material things.
Therefore, restrictions are there for the less intelligent neophytes in the spiritual advancement of life, but such restrictions are only good until one actually has a taste for Krsna consciousness. When one is actually Krsna consciousness, he automatically loses his taste for pale things.
TEXT 60
यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरूषस्य विपश्र्चितः।
इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः॥६०॥
TRANSLATION
"The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them."
PURPORT
There are many learned sages, philosophers and transcendentalists who try to conquer the senses, but in spite of their endeavors, even the greatest of them sometimes fall victim to material sense enjoyment due to the agitated mind. Even Visvamitra, a great sage and perfect yogi, was mislead by Menaka into sex enjoyment, although the yogi was endeavoring for sense control with severe types of penance and yoga practice.
And, of course, there are so many similar instances in the history of the world. Therefore, it is very difficult to control the mind and senses without being fully Krsna conscious. Without engaging the mind in Krsna, one cannot cease such material engagements. A practical example is given by Sri Yamunacarya, a great saint and devotee, who says:
yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit
tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu nisthivanam ca
"Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental humor, whenever I think of sex life with a woman, my face at once turns from it, and I spit at the thought."
Krsna consciousness is such a transcendentally nice thing that automatically material enjoyment becomes distasteful. It is as if a hungry man had satisfied his hunger by a sufficient quantity of nutritious eatables. Maharaja Ambarisa also conquered a great yogi, Durvasa Muni, simply because his mind was engaged in Krsna consciousness ( sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane).
TEXT 61
तानि सर्वणि संयम्य युत्कआसीत मत्परः।
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता॥६१॥
TRANSLATION
"One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence."
PURPORT
That the highest conception of yoga perfection is Krsna consciousness is clearly explained in this verse. And unless one is Krsna conscious it is not at all possible to control the senses. As cited above, the great sage Durvasa Muni picked a quarrel with Maharaja Ambarisa, and Durvasa Muni unnecessarily become angry out of pride and therefore could not check his senses. On the other hand, the king, although not as powerful a yogi as the sage, but a devotee of the Lord, sliently tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged victorious.
The king was able to control his senses because of the following qualifications, as mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.18-20):
sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor
vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane
karau harer mandira-marjanadisu
srutim cakaracyuta-sat-kathodaye
mukunda-lingalaya-darsane drsau
tad-bhrtya-gatra-sparse 'nga-sangaman
ghranam ca tat-pada-saroja-saurabhe
srimat-tulasya rasanam tad-arpite
padau hareh ksetra-padanusarpane
siro hrsikesa-padabhivandane
kamam ca dasye na tu kama-kamyaya
yathottama-sloka-janasraya ratih
"King Ambarisa fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, engaged his words in describing the abode of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, his eyes in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body of the devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasi leaves offered to Him, his legs in traveling to the holy place where His temple is situated, his head in offering obeisances unto the Lord, and his desires in fulfilling the desires of the Lord...and all these qualifications made him fit to become a mat-para devotee of the Lord."
The word mat-para is most significant in this connection. How one can become mat-para is described in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, a great scholar and acarya in the line of the mat-para, remarks, mad-bhakti-prabhavena sarvendriya-vijaya-purvika svatma-drstih sulabheti bhavah.
"The senses can be completely controlled by the strength of devotional service of Krsna." Also, the example of fire is sometimes given: "As a blazing fire burns everything within a room, Lord Visnu, situated in the heart of the yogi, burns up all kinds of impurities." The 'Yoga-sutra also prescribes meditation on Visnu, and not meditation on the void. The so-called yogis who meditate on something which is not on the Visnu platform simply waste their time in a vain search after some phantasmagoria. We have to be Krsna conscious---devoted to the Personality of Godhead. This is the aim of the real yoga.
TEXT 62
ध्यायतो विषयान्पुंसः सङ्गस्तेषूेपजायते।
सङ्गात्सञ्ञायते कामः कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते॥६२॥
TRANSLATION
"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises."
PURPORT
One who is not Krsna conscious is subjected to material desries while contemplating the objects of the senses. The senses require real engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism.
In the material world everyone, including Lord Siva and Lord Brahma--to say nothing of other demigods in the heavenly planets--is subjected to the influence of sense objects, and the only method to get out of this puzzle of material existence is to become Krsna conscious.
Lord Siva was deep in meditation, but when Paravati agitated him for sense pleasure, he agreed to the proposal, and as a result Kartikeya was born. When Haridasa Thakura was a young devotee of the Lord, he was similarly allured by the incarnation of Maya-devi, but Haridasa easily passed the test because of his unalloyed devotion to Lord Krsna.
As illustrated in the above-mentioned verse of Sri Yamunacarya, a sincere devotee of the Lord shuns all material sense enjoyment due to his highest taste for spiritual enjoyment in the assocaition of the Lord.
That is the secret of success. One who is not, therefore, in Krsna consciousness, however powerful he may be in controlling the senses by arificial repression, is sure ultimately to fail, for the slightest thought of sense pleasure will agitate him to gratify his desires.
TEXT 63
क्रोधाद्ववति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति॥६३॥
TRANSLATION
"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool."
PURPORT
Srila Rupa Gosvami has given us this direction:
prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.258)
By development of Krsna consciousness one can know that everything has its use in the service of the Lord. Those who are without knowledge of Krsna consciousness artificially try to avoid material objects, and as a result, although they desire liberation from material bondage, they do not attain to the perfect stage of renunciation. Their so-called renunciation is called phalgu, or less important.
On the other hand, a person in Krsna consciousness knows how to use everything in the service of the Lord; therefore he does not become a victim of material consciousness. For example, for an impersonalist tries to avoid good eatables, a devotee knows that Krsna is the supreme enjoyer ad that He eats all that is offered to Him in devotion.
So, after offering good eatables to the Lord, a devotee takes the remnants, called prasadam. Thus everything becomes spiritualized, and there is no danger of a downfall. The devotee takes prasadam in Krsna consciousness, whereas the nondevotee rejects it as material.
The impersonalist, therefore, cannot enjoy life, due to his artifical renunciation; and for this reason, a slight agitation of the mind pulls him down again into the pool of material existence. It is said that such a soul,even though rising up to the point of liberation, falls down again due to his not having support in devotional service.
TEXT 64
रागद्वेषविमुत्कैस्तु विषयानिन्द्रियैश्र्चरन्।
आत्मवश्यैर्विधेयात्मा प्रसादमधिगच्छति॥६५॥
TRANSLATION
"But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord."
PURPORT
It is already explained that one may externally control the senses by some artificial process, but unless the senses are engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord, there is every chance of a fall. Although the person in full Krsna consciousness may apparently be on the sensual plane, because of his being Krsna conscious he has no attachment to sensual activities. The Krsna concious person is concerned only with the satisfaction of Krsna, and nothing else.
Therefore he is transcendental to all attachment and detachment. If Krsna wants, the devotee can do anything which is ordinarily undesirable; and if Krsna does not want, he shall not do that which he would have ordinarily done for his own satisfaction.
Therefore to act or not to act is within his control because he acts only under the direction of Krsna. This consciousness is the causeless mercy of the Lord, which the devotee can achieve in spite of his being attached to the sensual platform.
TEXT 65
प्रसादे सर्वदुःखानां हानिरस्योपजायते।
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याश्रु बुद्धिः पर्यवतिष्ठते॥६५॥
TRANSLATION
"For one thus satisfied [in Krsna consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one's intelligence is soon well established."
TEXT 66
नास्ति बुद्धिरयुत्कस्य न चायुत्कस्य भावना।
न चाभावयतः शान्तिरशान्तस्य कुतः सुखम्॥६६॥
TRANSLATION
"One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krsna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiess without peace?"
PURPORT
Unless one is in Krsna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Krsna is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace.
Therefore, if one is not in Krsna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Krsna is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace.
Therefore, one who is engaged without a relationship with Krsna is certainly always in distress and is without peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement in life. Krsna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Krsna.
TEXT 67
इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते।
तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि॥६७॥
TRANSLATION
"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's intelligence."
PURPORT
Unless all of the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord, even one of them engaged in sense gratification can deviate the devotee from the path of transcendental advancement. As mentioned in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa, all of the senses must be engaged in Krsna consciousness, for that is the correct technique for controlling the mind.
TEXT 68
तस्माद्यस्य महाबाहो निगृहीतानि सर्वशः।
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता॥६८॥
TRANSLATION
"Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence."
PURPORT
One can curb the forces of sense gratification only by means of Krsna conciousness, or engaging all the senses in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As enemies are curbed by superior force, the senses can similarly be curbed, not by any human endeavor, but only by keeping them engaged in the service of the Lord. One who has understood this--that only by Krsna consciousness is one really established in intelligence and that one should practice this art under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master--is called sadhaka, or a suitable canditate for liberation.
TEXT 69
या निशा सर्वभूतानां तस्यां जागर्ति संतमी।
यस्यां जाग्रति भूतानि सा निशा पश्यतो मुनेः॥६९॥
TRANSLATION
"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."
PURPORT
There are two classes of intelligent men. One is intelligent in material activities for sense gratification, and the other is introspective and awake to the cultivation of self-realization. Activities of the introspective sage, or thoughtful man, are night for persons materially absorbed.
Materialistic persons remain asleep in such a night due to their ignorance of self-realization. The introspective sage remains alert in the "night" of the materialistic men. The sage feels trancendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his sleeping condition.
The introspective man is always indifferet to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions.
TEXT 70
आपूर्यमाणमचलप्रतिष्ठं समुद्रमापः प्रविशन्ति यद्वत्।
तद्वत्कामा यं प्रविशन्ति सर्वे स शान्तिमाप्रोति न कामकामी॥७०॥
TRANSLATION
"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires--that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still--can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires."
PURPORT
Although the vast ocean is always filled with water, it is always, especially during the rainy season, being filled with much more water. But the ocean remains the same--steady; it is not agitated, nor does it cross beyond the limit of its brink. That is also true of a person fixed in Krsna consciousness. As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense gratification will continue.
The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such desires, because the Lord fulfills all his material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean--always full in himself. Desires may come to himlike the waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification.
That is the proof of a Krsna conscious man-one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace. Others, however, who want to fulfill desires even up to the limit of liberation, what to speak of material success, never attain peace.
Thefruitive workers, the salvationists, and also the yogis who are after mystic powers are all unhappy because of unfulfilled desires. But the person in Krsna consciousness is happy in the service of the Lord, and he has no desires to be fulfilled. In fact, he does not even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees of Krsna have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect peace.
TEXT 71
विहाय कामान्यः सर्वान्पुमांश्र्चरति निःस्पृहः।
निर्ममो निरहङ्कारः स शान्तिमधिगच्छति॥७१॥
TRANSLATION
"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego--he alone can attain real peace."
PURPORT
To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification. In other words, desire for becoming Krsna conscious is actually desirelessness. To understand one's actual position as the eternal servitor of Krsna, without falsely claiming this material body to be oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over anything in the world, is the perfect stage of Krsna consciousness.
One who is situated in this perfect stage knows that because Krsna is the proprietor of everything, everything must be used for the satisfaction of Krsna. Arjuna did not want to fight for his own sense satisfaction, but when he became fully Krsna conscious he fought because Krsna wanted him to fight.
For himself there was no desire to fight, but for Krsna the same Arjuna fought to his best ability. Real desirelessness is desire for the satisfaction of Krsna, not an artificial attempt to abolish desires. The living entity cannot be desireless or senseless, but he does have to change the quality of the desires.
A materially desrieless person certainly knows that everything belongs to Krsna (isavasyam idam sarvam), and therefore, he does not falsely claim proprietorship over anything. This transcendental knowledge is based on self-realization--namely, knowing perfectly well that every living entity is an eternal part and parcel of Krsna in spiritual identity, and that the eternal position of the living entity is therefore never on the level of Krsna or greater than Him. This understanding of Krsna consciousness is the basic principle of real peace.
TEXT 72
एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः पार्थ नैनां प्राप्य विमुह्यति।
स्थित्वास्यामन्तकालेऽपि ब्रह्यनिर्वाणमृच्छति॥७२॥
TRANSLATION
"That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God."
PURPORT
One can attain Krsna consciousness or divine life at once, within a second-or one may not attain such a state of life even after millions of births. It is only a matter of understanding and accepting the fact. Khatvanga Maharaja attained this state of life just a few minutes before his death, bu surrendering unto Krsna.
Nirvana means ending the process of materialistic life. According to Buddhist philosophy, there is only void after the completion of this material life, but Bhagavad-gita teaches differently. Actual life begins after the completion of this material life.
For the gross materialist it is sufficient to know that one has to end this materialistic way of life, but for persons who are spiritually advanced, there is another life after this materialistic life. Before ending this life, if one fortunately becomes Krsna conscious, he at once attains the stage of brahma-nirvana.
There is no difference between the kingdom of God and the devotional service of the Lord. Since both of them are on the absolute plane, to be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord is to have attained the spiritual kingdom.
In the material world there are activities of sense gratification, whereas in the spiritual world there are activities of Krsna consciousness. Attainment of Brahman, and one who is situated in Krsna consciousness has certainly already into the kingdom of God.
Brahman is just the opposite of matter. Therefore brahmi sthiti means "not on the platform of material activities." Devotional service of the Lord is accepted in the Bhagavad-gita as the liberated stage (sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate). Therefore, brahmi sthiti is liberation from material bondage.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has summarized this Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita as being the contents for the whole text. In the Bhagavad-gita, the subject matters are karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. In the Second Chapter karma-yoga and jnana-yoga have been clearly discussed, and a glimpse of bhakti-yoga has also been given, as the contents for the complete text.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Second Chapter of the Srimas Bhagavad-gita in the matter of its Contents.