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This is the second chapter of The Friend Who Never Left, a novel on the “Fall” of the jīva. With the beginning of the conversation between Mādhava and his mentor Gaurāṅga Dāsa:

Chapter Two: Contradictory Teachings

When Mādhava arrived, Gaurāṅga Dāsa was sitting in front of Tulasi, reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The door was open; Mādhava just entered after knocking. He offered obeisances and started opening his backpack.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa was surprised to see him so early and with such a worried expression. He asked: What happened, Mādhava? Is everything all right?

Mādhava Dāsa: Prabhu, I have been reading a book that left me confused. The authors say that we were never with Kṛṣṇa, because no one can fall from the spiritual world. We have therefore always been conditioned by Māyā.

They quote several passages from previous ācāryas to support their arguments; it seems quite scholarly written. I don’t know what to think anymore. I have always understood from Prabhupāda that we were originally with Kṛṣṇa, but somehow we forgot Him and became entangled in the material world, but He continues to follow us as Paramātmā to get us back. With this understanding, I was chanting daily, meditating on Kṛṣṇa as my eternal friend, and I was getting a lot of taste in it. Now, however, I feel like a stranger intruding in a place I don’t belong to.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa appeared distant at first, like remembering something from the past. I see... he finally said. I know the book you are speaking about. I know the argument. But first, tell me, what do the authors say about our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa?

Mādhava Dāsa: They accept that we are eternally His servants in nature, but they argue that no one ever falls from Vaikuṇṭha because there is no Māyā there, and thus they conclude that we were never personally with Him. They say that the conditioned souls have always been conditioned, while the liberated souls have always been liberated, and from there argue that Prabhupāda’s explanations of our forgotten relationship should not be taken literally.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: Yes, Prabhupāda himself teaches that perfect devotees in Vaikuṇṭha never fall or are overcome by Māyā. But he also tells us that we are Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants and that we have forgotten Him. What are we to do with these statements? We cannot accept one and dismiss the other.

We are Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servants, true, but at the same time we have forgotten Him. Prabhupāda explains that our original consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that we must revive it. He speaks of returning to our original position, of going back to Kṛṣṇa. How can we return to Him if we were never with Him in the first place? Still, Prabhupāda also mentions that no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha. And consider another point: bhakti is eternally established in the heart, but at the same time we receive it from the spiritual master.

Think about it. All of these statements are simultaneously true. We cannot discard some of them simply because they are difficult to reconcile. We should not be so quick to conclude that one passage contradicts another.

The philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is simple for the simple, but if you want details, there are unlimited sides to consider. We are dealing with the transcendental reality here; it doesn’t easily fit the human mind.

Mādhava Dāsa: That’s exactly my problem. Prabhupāda repeatedly explains that we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Mahāprabhu says that love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally present in the heart and can be awakened by hearing and chanting: nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya, śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya. We were studying this verse the other day. But if we are eternally conditioned and were never with Kṛṣṇa, then what is there to awaken? I always understood that devotional service means reviving our original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, but now I am not even sure if there is a relationship at all, or what it means.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: There is no need to despair. Your questions are reasonable, but you are jumping to conclusions. First of all, we have to be careful not to imagine the spiritual world as if it were another material place filled with imperfections. Sahajiyas do that; we are not planning to join them.

When we hear that a soul was with Kṛṣṇa and forgot him, we often imagine a person in Vaikuṇṭha becoming dissatisfied and leaving, or a gopī forgetting Kṛṣṇa. But is that what Prabhupāda was teaching? We should study his explanations carefully before attaching such conceptions to his teachings. The eternal relationship of the soul and Kṛṣṇa exists as part of a transcendental reality; we should not assume that it must operate under the same faults and conditions we experience in this world.

Mādhava considered this for a moment. Indeed, he had imagined the conditioning of the soul as something that happened at a particular time, some millions, or billions of years ago. He had never thought much about such philosophical details. But then he remembered something else.

Mādhava Dāsa: The main point is that the book says that our bondage is anādi, without beginning. If that’s true, how could there have ever been a time when we were not conditioned? Transcendental or not, if we were never with Kṛṣṇa, how could them any relationship exist at all? This seems to contradict everything Prabhupāda says about our original position. The authors give Sanskrit explanations from Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, and I don’t know enough Sanskrit to argue with them.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: There is a difference between understanding what a word means and understanding all its philosophical implications inside the text. According to the dictionary, anādi means beginningless; that’s true, the question is what its implication is inside the passage.

A scholar may translate a Sanskrit passage correctly but still get an incorrect conclusion out of it. We have to study the context and consider how the passage fits with the rest of the teachings and not take an isolated word and make everything else fit it. The scriptures do not contradict themselves, and neither do the previous ācāryas. If something appears contradictory, we should first of all consider that our understanding may be incomplete.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa deals with many examples of passages that are frequently misinterpreted in his Govinda-bhāṣya. He explains that by examining discrepancies between earlier and later parts of a text, we should find what meaning is intended, resolving apparent contradictions. He warns us that dry logic and speculation, śuṣka-tarka, should be avoided.

Mādhava Dāsa: That’s a good point. But there is something even more disturbing. The authors argue that Prabhupāda’s explanations of we having been with Kṛṣṇa are just a preaching strategy. They say he spoke like that to make the philosophy more appealing for beginners, but that the actual siddhānta is different. From there, they imply that we need to study the previous ācāryas to understand what Prabhupāda really meant. This is the point that is bothering me most. If Prabhupāda is teaching something different from the actual conclusion, then why are we studying his books at all?

Gaurāṅga Dāsa seemed pained. He again paused for a moment and put his Bhāgavatam aside.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: Now I understand why you are so disturbed. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. This is part of what makes us advance in spiritual life. There is also nothing wrong with studying the previous ācāryas. On the contrary, their conclusions are invaluable. However, we must be very careful with the way we approach them.

Prabhupāda is the ācārya through whom we received Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is the link in the paramparā that connects us with the previous links. If we accept him as our spiritual authority, then the process is that his conclusions must guide our study. We cannot jump over him, build an understanding based on our interpretation of the writings of the previous ācāryas, and then come back to decide which parts of Prabhupāda’s teachings should be accepted and which should be rejected. That would place our own interpretation above the ācārya. If our interpretation becomes the final authority, paramparā loses its meaning. In this case, the mind becomes the guru.

Mādhava Dāsa: But what if the previous ācāryas really say something different? We cannot dismiss their authority either.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: Of course not. But why should we assume that they contradict Prabhupāda? If we accept all of them as links in the same disciplic succession coming from Kṛṣṇa, then they must all be speaking the same siddhānta. If we find something difficult to reconcile, we should study more carefully, examine the context, and try to understand how both teachings can be true.

Do you remember Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.28?

Mādhava Dāsa: ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ, mṛḍayanti yuge yuge—“All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.”

Good! Gaurāṅga Dāsa exclaimed. He then got up to get a volume that was high on his shelf. Now read this one:

Mādhava Dāsa: etau bhagavataḥ sākṣād, dharer nārāyaṇasya hi, avatīrṇāv ihāṁśena, vasudevasya veśmani—“[The people said:] These two boys are certainly expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world in the home of Vasudeva.”

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: How do you explain it? Same Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One verse says Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, the other says He is the expansion of Viṣnu. This is from the later chapters of the Tenth Canto; Prabhupāda did not have an opportunity to comment on it.

Mādhava Dāsa thought about it, but he did not know what to say.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa continued: The first verse is the paribhāṣā-sūtra, the governing conclusion of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the second verse, the common people of Mathurā are struggling to understand who these two powerful personalities in front of them are. Some of them, repeating rumors they heard, conclude that they must be expansions of Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world as the sons of Vasudeva.

But I have another question for you: The Bhāgavatam is described as the spotless Purāṇa; therefore, if the second verse gives an incorrect conclusion, how can it be part of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Maybe Śukadeva Gosvāmi was using preaching strategies?

Mādhava hesitated. He could understand Gaurāṅga’s main point, but he was puzzled about how the two verses could possibly fit together.

After a few seconds, Gaurāṅga Dāsa continued:

Jīva Gosvāmi explains that although the statement comes from nātividvaj-jana (people who are not very learned), their words are sarasvatī-preritatayā, inspired by Sarasvatī. This indicates that the verse is not incorrect but that there is a deeper level of meaning in it.

The key is the word aṁśena. The dictionary meaning is “as a portion,” and this leads to the translation you just read. Jīva Gosvāmi, however, examines the context of the preceding verses and reveals that in this context, aṁśena means “with all their expansions.” Therefore, although the common people referred to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma as the expansions of Nārāyaṇa, the real meaning of their words is that Kṛṣṇa, together with Balarāma, has descended to this material world accompanied by all their plenary expansions, appearing in the home of Vasudeva.

This is an example of how apparent contradictions come from our limited understanding of a subject. Another possibility is that one may add assumptions that are not actually present in the original statements. Sanskrit and logic are very useful in this process; Baladeva mentioned they should be used, but they must help us to understand the teachings of the ācāryas and not become instruments for rejecting them. This is the difference between bhakti and jñāna. In bhakti, the right conclusions are received through the paramparā instead of independent study.

Mādhava looked again at the book in his hand. If he had read the second verse in isolation, without considering the governing conclusion of the Bhāgavatam, he might have accepted that Kṛṣṇa was an expansion of Nārāyaṇa. The Sanskrit would have seemed to support it. He was struck by how Jīva Gosvāmī had explained the passage by drawing attention to its context. With this, Mādhava began to see that quoting scripture and establishing its meaning were not necessarily the same thing.

Mādhava Dāsa: I see. The mistake is to take a particular interpretation of a passage as the final conclusion and use it to dismiss other teachings. Thinking about it, that is what troubled me in this book. Whenever Prabhupāda’s words did not fit into the explanation being woven by the authors, they classified them as a preaching strategy. Perhaps it is their explanation that needs to be reconsidered.

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: Yes. Calling something a preaching strategy to dismiss a teaching does not solve the problem. Our duty is to establish what the ācārya explains and how these explanations fit together with other explanations. As you have seen, a passage can contain much more than what we can presume in a first reading. The question is that this meaning must be uncovered through the guidance of the ācāryas, following their conclusions, and not by independent speculation. We should have this same care with Prabhupāda’s teachings, instead of assuming that we are so learned that we can judge what to accept and what to put aside.

Mādhava Dāsa: I can understand now. But when I read a book, how can I understand what comes from the previous ācāryas and what is the author’s interpretation?

Gaurāṅga Dāsa: First, you need to understand how your study should be guided. You accepted Prabhupāda as your teacher and began practicing according to his instructions. This brought you so far in spiritual life; therefore, by the result, you can understand that the process given by him is genuine. We can start by examining his place in our spiritual life, how we receive knowledge from the paramparā through him, and how this knowledge is further explained by his disciples and followers who guide us. This will give us the foundation for examining the arguments that have disturbed you.

Mādhava kept the Bhāgavatam open before him. He still wanted to understand how beginningless bondage could coexist with a forgotten relationship, but the example of the two verses had given him a reason to be patient. Now he was ready to listen.

Soon the next part…

If you want to study the philosophical basis of this story, here is the book:

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

You can also receive updates on WhatsApp or Telegram.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.

CHAPTER FIVE:
Karma-yoga – Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness (karma-sannyāsa-yoga)

At the beginning of the Gītā, Arjuna was inclined to abandon the battlefield and adopt a process of dry renunciation. This was counteracted by Kṛṣṇa in chapters two and three, by His exposition of analytical knowledge, and the process of karma-yoga. In chapter four, however, Kṛṣṇa appears to again glorify knowledge and renunciation, which many are predisposed to interpret as abstaining from activity.

In text 4.41, for example, one could understand that yoga-sannyasta-karmāṇaṃ applies to one who has renounced actions due to connection with the Supreme, instead of one who acts in devotional service. In this way, up to text 4.41, one could interpret the whole chapter as meaning that one should become situated in yoga and stop material activities. However, in text 4.42, Kṛṣṇa unmistakably urges Arjuna to fight with the words ātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata: “O Bhārata, stand and fight,” which brings the discussion back to action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Arjuna then starts the fifth chapter with another honest inquiry: what is better, after all? To renounce work, sannyāsa, or to act in devotional service? Kṛṣṇa answers that both can lead to liberation. Renouncing work is connected with the path of jñāna, which is practiced by sages who have this inclination, but work in devotional service is superior because it purifies the heart without the danger and artificiality of premature renunciation. Kṛṣṇa already identified that Arjuna’s qualification is to act (karmaṇy evādhikāras te), and not to meditate in the forest, and in this chapter Kṛṣṇa will deepen this instruction, concluding His explanation of the path of karma-yoga.

True renunciation does not mean merely stopping all activity, but giving up attachment and aversion while engaging our work in Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Follow the study:

+ CHAPTER FIVE: Karma-yoga – Action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness (Karma-sannyāsa yoga)

• Devotional action is better than renunciation of work (5.1 to 5.6)

• Niṣkāma-karma-yoga: Remaining free from bondage (5.7 to 5.12)

• The liberated soul does not create activities, nor induce others to act (5.13 to 5.16)

• The vision of the self-realized (5.17 to 5.21)

• Resisting the urges of the senses and attaining liberation (5.22 to 5.26)

• Introducing dhyāna-yoga and its goal (5.27 to 5.29)

• A map of the fifth chapter of the Gītā

Next: Devotional action is better than renunciation of work (5.1 to 5.6)

Read the entire book:
« The Song of God—Volume 1, chapters 1-6

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can also choose a paid subscription to support this work.

You can also receive the updates on WhatsApp or Telegram.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.

You can receive new articles directly in your inbox. Subscription is free; donations are welcome.

Subscribe now

This is the first chapter of a novel I started writing with a dialogue on the “Fall” of the jīva. We have the book explaining all the philosophy, but a story can make the concepts more accessible. Practically every devotee comes to this question at some point. Post a comment if you appreciate this format.

Chapter One: A Disturbing Book

Mādhava Dāsa had started practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness a few years before. He got a Bhagavad-gītā from a devotee who had now passed away. He still remembers it: he was walking to university when Sarasvatī stopped him with a clever question: “You’re a university student, right? Check this out. It discusses a question universities are very good at avoiding: you say ‘my head,’ ‘my hand,’ ‘my body,’ ‘my brain’—so who is the ‘I’ that owns all these things?”

He read the whole book in just a few days, and then other books from Prabhupāda. From them, he understood that the soul is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, that love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally present, even though covered, and must be awakened by the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He understood that material existence is a condition of forgetfulness, in which we identify with the body and mind and try to enjoy matter independently of Kṛṣṇa. The purpose of devotional service, thus, is to revive this original Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus revive our eternal relationship with Him. These teachings seemed clear to Mādhava; he never had a reason to doubt them.

With this conviction, he was waking up early every day to chant his rounds and study the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam before going to university. Gaurāṅga Dāsa, his mentor, an elderly, experienced devotee, had taught him that we should offer everything best we have to Kṛṣṇa, and this includes the best hours of the day, early in the morning. That’s when the brain is fresh, and we can think clearly. Just as water is clear when appearing from the spring, he said, the mind is clear in the early morning, but after being affected by so many thoughts and images during the day, it becomes murky, like the river that crosses the town. By following this, Mādhava was noticing the difference day by day.

One day, he was discussing some points about the soul coming in contact with matter with another devotee he met online. For him, these points were clear, but to his surprise, the devotee disagreed strongly. He sent him a book discussing the origin of the jīva. In the book, the authors quoted from Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, and other ācāryas, analyzing Sanskrit terms and supporting their conclusions with many scriptural references. What Mādhava understood from their argument, however, surprised him: the conditioned souls were never with Kṛṣṇa. Material bondage is anādi, without beginning, since no one can fall from Vaikuṇṭha. The authors maintained that these conclusions represented the teachings of the previous ācāryas, the proper siddhānta.

As Mādhava continued reading, several doubts arose. If material bondage is anādi, does it mean the soul had never turned away from Kṛṣṇa, that we were simply always here in the material world? And if that’s the case, then how could the soul be at all connected with Kṛṣṇa?

He remembered that Mahāprabhu says that Kṛṣṇa-prema is nitya-siddha, eternally established in the heart, and that Prabhupāda explained that this love for Kṛṣṇa, which is already present in the heart, has simply to be awakened. If the soul has never been with Kṛṣṇa, as the book claims, then what exactly was forgotten, and to what original position are we supposed to return?

More troubling, however, was the authors’ explanation of Prabhupāda’s teachings. They argued that Prabhupāda’s explanations of the soul having been originally with Kṛṣṇa and somehow forgetting Him were just a preaching strategy and should not be accepted literally. According to them, the deeper philosophical meaning is found in the writings of the previous ācāryas. Mādhava found this point difficult to accept. He had learned that spiritual knowledge descends through paramparā, perfect knowledge that descends from a perfect source and is maintained as it is link after link, different from the scientific knowledge he studies in the university, which is composed of theories that are constantly evolving and changing. The book, however, seemed to use a scholarly interpretation of earlier authorities to determine which statements of Prabhupāda should be accepted and which should be rejected.

Mādhava did not know how to resolve these contradictions. The arguments of the book appeared convincing, but they conflicted with many conclusions he had received from the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The arguments themselves, however, were based on the words of the previous ācāryas, which he could not dismiss. He could never say Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura or Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa were wrong, but he also could not accept that Prabhupāda had repeatedly taught something contrary to their conclusions.

The next morning, he felt drained. He chanted his rounds somehow, but mechanically, with no taste. For the first time in months, chanting seemed like a chore he had to finish, and not something he enjoyed. He looked at the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam but felt no desire to open it.

Then, something crossed his mind: Gaurāṅga Dāsa also woke up early every day, and he did not live very far. Maybe he could just visit him and ask. He had studied both Prabhupāda’s books and the teachings of the previous ācāryas for several decades. If there were contradictions there, he must have noticed them. Mādhava put his tablet with the book in his backpack and sped off on his bicycle.

Soon the next part…

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

You can also receive updates on WhatsApp or Telegram.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.

Yogārurukṣu and yogārūḍha: two stages in the practice of yoga (Bg 6.1 to 6.9)

After the short introduction at the end of chapter five, Kṛṣṇa begins to explain the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga in greater detail. Real yoga does not begin with dry renunciation, but with detached action. One who acts without attachment to the fruits of his labor is already a true renunciant and yogī, and not the pretender who sits under a tree while thinking of sense enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa explains the distinction between the beginner, who is still struggling to control the mind, and the advanced yogī, who has already controlled the mind and become steady in realization, and the different processes recommended for them.

Text 1: śrī-bhagavān uvāca
anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ, kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ
sa sannyāsī ca yogī ca, na niragnir na cākriyaḥ

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty.

Text 2: yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur, yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṇḍava
na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo, yogī bhavati kaścana

What is called renunciation you should know to be the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, O son of Pāṇḍu, for one can never become a yogī unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification.

Text 3: ārurukṣor muner yogaṁ, karma kāraṇam ucyate
yogārūḍhasya tasyaiva, śamaḥ kāraṇam ucyate

For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means.

Text 4: yadā hi nendriyārtheṣu, na karmasv anuṣajjate
sarva-saṅkalpa-sannyāsī, yogārūḍhas tadocyate

A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.

Text 5: uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ, nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur, ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

Text 6: bandhur ātmātmanas tasya, yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ
anātmanas tu śatrutve, vartetātmaiva śatru-vat

For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.

Text 7: jitātmanaḥ praśāntasya, paramātmā samāhitaḥ
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu, tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.

Text 8: jñāna-vijñāna-tṛptātmā, kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ
yukta ity ucyate yogī, sama-loṣṭrāśma-kāñcanaḥ

A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything – whether it be pebbles, stones or gold – as the same.

Text 9: suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna-madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu
sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu, sama-buddhir viśiṣyate

A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind.

Chapter five ended with the real peace formula: we should know Kṛṣṇa in truth, as the supreme enjoyer, the proprietor of everything, and the eternal friend. This is the real position of the soul. Everything else is part of the same material illusion.

Chapter six describes a particular progression in the yoga ladder, where one starts from the process of jñāna-yoga and gradually progresses into dhyāna-yoga (meditation) and from there eventually reaches bhakti-yoga.

Kṛṣṇa starts the chapter by again emphasizing that the path of action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is superior to the path of dry renunciation. Many great sages attain perfection by the practice of the yoga system, like Kardama Muni, but none of them have adopted the path of artificial renunciation Arjuna was inclined to at the end of the first chapter.

Instead, Kṛṣṇa emphasizes the same formula as in chapter five: the real renunciant is one who renounces the fruits, working without attachment, as a matter of duty, and not the one who simply abandons his duty, thinking the world is his to renounce. This is the true sannyāsī and the true yogī. This makes the point that yoga and renunciation are not goals in themselves. They are just processes that lead to a goal, and the goal for both is the same: pure devotional service. One who attains it is considered perfect, no matter if coming from the path of action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness or meditation. This also frames the process of mystic yoga Kṛṣṇa is about to explain in the right light. It is not a progression of the process of niṣkāma-karma-yoga Kṛṣṇa already explained, but a parallel process that, although more difficult, can potentially bring one to the same result.

Prabhupāda summarizes the whole discussion in his purport:

“The criterion of perfection is to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and not with a view to enjoying the fruits of work. To act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the duty of every living entity because all are constitutionally parts and parcels of the Supreme. The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self-satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole. Similarly, the living entity who acts for satisfaction of the supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect sannyāsī, the perfect yogī.”

Currently, we have two problems: We are disconnected from our eternal nature as souls, and we are attached to matter. Dry renunciation solves neither, because it may restrict external action, but it does not eliminate selfish desire, which is the root cause of our material conditioning. We may cut grass, but as long as the roots are there, it will grow again sooner or later.

Desire for impersonal liberation is also not pure, for it is also based on self-interest, just as mystic yoga performed to attain mystic perfections. The real solution comes from rejecting the desire for selfish sense enjoyment and reviving our original attitude of service to Kṛṣṇa. This is the sanātana-yoga, the yoga of understanding our eternal constitutional position, and understanding Kṛṣṇa in truth, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kṛṣṇa continues to push this conclusion in the second verse: “What is called renunciation you should know to be the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, O son of Pāṇḍu, for one can never become a yogī unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification.”

What is the difference between sannyāsa and yoga? They may appear as two unrelated terms at first, but when the proper meaning is accepted, we can understand they are one and the same. It was already defined that true sannyāsa, or renunciation, means to use everything for Kṛṣṇa in devotional service, abandoning all sense of false proprietorship, or in other words, devotional service. Yoga means connection with Kṛṣṇa. Real connection with Kṛṣṇa means to be situated in devotional service. With this, Kṛṣṇa again emphasizes that the ultimate goal of all yoga processes is to come to the platform of devotional service. This is a conclusion Kṛṣṇa will state again, even more directly, at the end of the chapter.

Prabhupāda also emphasizes this point, as well as the point of the constitutional position of the soul in his purport to text two:

“The purpose of knowledge and of restraining the senses, as prescribed in the jñāna and yoga processes, is automatically served in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one is unable to give up the activities of his selfish nature, then jñāna and yoga are of no avail. The real aim is for a living entity to give up all selfish satisfaction and to be prepared to satisfy the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no desire for any kind of self-enjoyment. He is always engaged for the enjoyment of the Supreme. One who has no information of the Supreme must therefore be engaged in self-satisfaction, because no one can stand on the platform of inactivity. All purposes are perfectly served by the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

In text 6.3, Kṛṣṇa speaks of two levels of yoga practice: yogārurukṣu and yogārūḍha. For the first level, work is said to be the means; and for the second level, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means. What does it mean?

A neophyte yogī has still not controlled his mind and senses. One must therefore continue working, keeping himself properly engaged to advance. In aṣṭāṅga-yoga, this corresponds to the first four limbs: yama, niyama, āsana, and prāṇāyāma: the rules and regulations, plus āsanas and breathing exercises. Moving the body or breathing in a deliberate way is also a form of karma, or work, but without it, a neophyte has no means to elevate himself to the platform of pratyāhāra (sense control), and without it there is no question of factual meditation. Not only is the yogic process at this stage also a form of work, but the yogī also has to maintain his body by eating, sleeping, etc., which also demands some occupation. As Kṛṣṇa mentioned previously, “One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work.”

We can see how this reinforces Kṛṣṇa’s previous arguments. Even a yogī has to perform work for a long time before becoming situated on a platform of firm meditation. Without such work, one simply follows the path of cheap imitation already rejected.

The sentence “For one who is a neophyte in the yoga system, work is said to be the means” is also applicable in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the beginning, there is no question of sitting and meditating; the way to progress is by working for Kṛṣṇa. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport to SB 3.28.11, “For every item in the yoga system there is a parallel activity in bhakti-yoga, but the practice of bhakti-yoga is easier for this age.” Both the aṣṭāṅga-yogī and the bhakta have to work in the neophyte stage. The difference is that a yogī has to spend many years in the preliminary stages of yama, niyama, āsana, and prāṇāyāma, without much of a touch with transcendence, while the devotee is in contact with Kṛṣṇa since the first day, chanting, seeing the deity, taking prasādam, etc. The devotee can thus think of Kṛṣṇa and experience transcendental bliss since the beginning, something the yogī experiences only much later, in the advanced stages of his practice.

Similarly, “for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means,” also applies to both. After controlling his mind and senses, the yogī can finally start the process of meditation, continuing to progress until the stage of samādhi. At this stage, he advances by stopping the activities of his senses and focusing his meditation on the Supreme Lord. Similarly, at the last stage of his life, a devotee, after controlling his mind and senses, may retire to a solitary place to chant and focus his attention on Kṛṣṇa. The point is that in both cases this cannot be done prematurely.

Prabhupāda emphasizes this difference in his purport:

“Concerning the eightfold yoga system, attempts in the beginning to enter into meditation through regulative principles of life and practice of different sitting postures (which are more or less bodily exercises) are considered fruitive material activities. All such activities lead to achieving perfect mental equilibrium to control the senses. When one is accomplished in the practice of meditation, he ceases all disturbing mental activities.

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person, however, is situated from the beginning on the platform of meditation because he always thinks of Kṛṣṇa. And, being constantly engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, he is considered to have ceased all material activities.”

After the difference between the levels of yogārurukṣu and yogārūḍha is explained, the next question is how to determine when one becomes qualified for the yogārūḍha stage. This is answered in text 6.4. One has to have renounced all material desires, and stopped all selfish activities. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport, the way to achieve that is through Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everyone needs engagement; therefore, only when we become fixed in the service of the Lord, can we fully abandon the desire for satisfaction in this world.

Many great yogīs are devotees, who practice meditation as a way to perfect their devotion to Kṛṣṇa, such as the Pracetās. They are already advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, free from material desires, and this allows them to practice meditation on the highest level. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a yogī may fix his mind through a mechanical process, but this will not be so stable. This again emphasizes the difference between the ordinary yogī who follows the mechanical process, and the pure devotee who happens to use aṣṭāṅga-yoga as a process for further deepening his meditation on the Lord.

Prabhupāda gives us a very deep purport:

“When a person is fully engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he is pleased in himself, and thus he is no longer engaged in sense gratification or in fruitive activities. Otherwise, one must be engaged in sense gratification, since one cannot live without engagement. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one must be always seeking self-centered or extended selfish activities. But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person can do everything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and thereby be perfectly detached from sense gratification. One who has no such realization must mechanically try to escape material desires before being elevated to the top rung of the yoga ladder.”

What is the process for controlling the mind for a person who is progressing through these different stages, and how can we measure our progress? These questions are answered in texts 6.5 to 6.9.

We often see the mind as a force that pushes us down, incessantly replaying different desires, hopes, and frustrations. However, this is not the natural state of the mind. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is mentioned that the mind is created from the mode of goodness. It is originally placid, just as the waters of a lake. However, it becomes progressively more and more agitated as we become involved with material life.

The natural function of the mind is to desire. When this propensity is applied to matter, we become entangled in this material world, but if we can somehow redirect it to self-realization, by following the proper process, the mind can become a friend. The mind is thus just a tool. When absorbed in sense objects, it becomes the cause of bondage, but when directed to self-realization through the yoga process, it becomes the cause of liberation. This applies to both aṣṭāṅga-yoga and devotional service.

As long as we don’t finish our homework, focusing our mind on the service of Kṛṣṇa, it will remain our enemy. It will keep distracting us, and forcing us off the path. Here again, Kṛṣṇa emphasizes how we must practice with seriousness in the beginning stages, withdrawing the mind from sense gratification, not artificially, but through the proper process. Without disciplining the mind in the beginning, it becomes difficult to progress to the higher stages later. We then may fall later, or be tempted to become a fraud, performing a show of spiritual advancement just to attract cheap adoration from the innocent public.

As Prabhupāda mentions, “The purpose of practicing eightfold yoga is to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga (for show) is simply a waste of time.”

Kṛṣṇa then gives us another enigmatic verse: “For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.”

Technically speaking, the mind is controlled in the pratyāhāra stage, while the yogī may be able to see Paramātmā in the samādhi stage. There is a long path between the two stages, so how can Kṛṣṇa say that the Supersoul is already reached by the time one controls the mind?

The point is that being in contact with the Supersoul does not mean just seeing Him. He lives with us inside the heart, and dictates from within. However, because of the agitation of the mind, we cannot hear, and thus we go astray. When the mind finally silences, the guidance of the Supersoul becomes clear, and we automatically follow it. Just as a yogī who has failed in controlling the mind may fall, a devotee who is still disturbed by the turbulence of the mind and senses may act erratically. However, as we fix the mind, we become dovetailed with the desires of the Lord and stop acting independently. That is the stage mentioned by Kṛṣṇa. We may not see Paramātmā, but He is already within reach.

At this stage, we attain tranquility, and become impervious to the changing conditions of this world. We become aware of our eternal relationship with Him, and the mere semblance of this realization makes the temporary situations we face in this world, such as heat and cold, happiness and distress, look small. In fact, we gradually come to realize they are all the same, different faces of the same material manifestation.

Kṛṣṇa then concludes the section by explaining the symptoms by which such an advanced yogī or devotee can be recognized.

The first level is that one becomes fully satisfied because of the acquired knowledge and realization. Situated in transcendence, he is self-controlled, and sees all material objects, be they pebbles, stones, or gold, as the same.

The second level is that this sameness is extended even to people with whom one relates. One starts seeing well-wishers, benefactors, neutral people, as well as the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and sinners with an equal mind.

What makes these two platforms different?

A materialistic person sees gold as more valuable than stones because gold can be converted into material possessions and power. Gold is thus an instrument to satisfy desires. A self-realized soul, however, has no material desires, and thus sees no value in gold or money. For him, gold is like an ordinary stone, and money is like ordinary paper. A devotee may desire for Kṛṣṇa, of course, but in terms of his self-satisfaction, there is indifference. There are other forms of “gold” in this world, such as fame or mundane scholarship, which may look valuable for others, but are also pebbles and stones for a pure devotee.

Seeing all people as the same, however, demands even higher realization. How to react the same to both offenses and praise, honor, and dishonor? It demands not only fully controlling the mind, but becoming completely free from ego.

Once, great sages wanted to determine who was supreme, and sent Bhṛgu Muni to test Brahmā, Śiva, and Viṣṇu. Bhṛgu went first to the assembly of Brahmā, his father. However, when he entered, he deliberately did not greet him or offer respects. Brahmā became angry, but because Bhṛgu was his son, he controlled his anger and did not punish him. Thus, Bhṛgu understood that Brahmā, although very advanced, was not completely free from the material influence. He then went to Lord Śiva, who rose to embrace him affectionately. Bhṛgu, however, refused the embrace and seriously insulted him. Śiva became furious, but somehow controlled himself. Bhṛgu then understood that even he was not completely unaffected. Finally, he went to Lord Viṣṇu, and committed the greatest offense by directly kicking Him on the chest. Lord Viṣṇu, however, did not become angry. Instead, He humbly asked whether Bhṛgu’s foot had been hurt by touching His hard chest.

Lord Viṣṇu is completely transcendental, and thus beyond material anger. This is a platform that even great demigods cannot imitate. A pure devotee, however, rises to the same spiritual platform, and becomes one with the Lord in quality, and can exhibit the same form of transcendental tolerance that is impossible even to demigods. Kṛṣṇa mentions it last, because this is the definitive proof one has reached the transcendental platform.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no duty.”

a) Although Kṛṣṇa explains aṣṭāṅga-yoga in chapter six, He emphasizes that action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is better. To act in this spirit is the duty of every living being, because we are all parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone in this material world works out of self-interest, be it concentrated or extended. One who can give this up and act for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa is the perfect sannyāsī and yogī.

b) Even the impersonal liberation desired by impersonalists who accept sannyāsa and stop performing their material duties is not free from self-interest. It is just a more refined form of selfish desire. Similarly, the yogī who performs the eightfold process to attain mystical perfections also desires personal satisfaction. Only the devotee, working for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, acts without self-interest.

“What is called renunciation you should know to be the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, O son of Pāṇḍu, for one can never become a yogī unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification.”

a) Bhakti is also called sannyāsa-yoga, knowing our constitutional position and acting accordingly. There is no separate identity from our original identity in relation to Kṛṣṇa. Material life means being bound by illusion. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is our real, natural state of life, when we are aware of the spiritual energy.

b) When a yogī comes to complete knowledge, he stops all activities for sense gratification, understanding them to bind him to illusion. In the case of a devotee, however, this is automatic, due to his complete absorption in the service of Kṛṣṇa. The devotee is, therefore, both a sannyāsī and a yogī.

c) No one can remain inactive. If a person has no knowledge about Kṛṣṇa, then one automatically has to act on the selfish platform. The real goal is to abandon this desire for selfish satisfaction and come to the platform of satisfying Kṛṣṇa. Jñāna and yoga can help one to come to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but if they don’t lead a person to this goal, they become useless. On the other hand, if one practices Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the purposes of both jñāna and yoga are automatically satisfied. All purposes are perfectly served by the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

“For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means.”

a) Yoga means linking oneself with the Supreme. The yoga ladder starts from the lowest material position and goes all the way to full self-realization. The progression described in the sixth chapter is jñāna-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. The beginning stage is called yogārurukṣu and the advanced, yogārūḍha.

b) In the aṣṭāṅga process, regulative principles and the practice of āsanas are still considered material activities, performed with the goal of controlling the senses. When one becomes accomplished in this process, one can finally meditate. A devotee, however, becomes situated in meditation from the beginning by always thinking of Kṛṣṇa and being engaged in His service. On this platform, one can cease all material activities.

“A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.”

a) Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one must pursue selfish activities, for no one can live without engagement.

b) A pure devotee can do everything for Kṛṣṇa and thereby be perfectly detached from sense gratification. A yogī who has no such realization has to first control his material desires using the mechanical yogic process before being elevated to the higher stage.

“One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.”

a) The word ātmā, or “self,” has different meanings in different contexts. Here it denotes the mind, the central point in the yoga practice.

b) We become conditioned in the material world because the mind becomes involved with the false ego, the idea of lording over matter. The mind must be thus trained in such a way that it can save us from material ignorance. How is this possible?

c) Instead of degrading ourselves by attraction to material sense objects, we should discipline the mind by always keeping it engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. “For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.”

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.”

a) Controlling the mind is the goal of the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, for without controlling the mind, the performance of yoga becomes merely a show. To live with an uncontrolled mind is like living with the greatest enemy.

b) Our constitutional position is to serve. An uncontrolled mind forces us to serve lust, anger, and so on. When the mind is controlled, however, we can voluntarily serve the Lord, who is present in our hearts as Paramātmā. Real yoga means meeting Him inside the heart and following His dictation. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this surrender to the dictation of the Lord follows automatically.

“For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquillity. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.”

a) Everyone is intended to live under the guidance of Paramātmā. What prevents it is the agitated mind focused on the material sense objects. When the mind is finally controlled, one again follows the Supersoul; therefore, it is said one has already reached Him.

b) This position, however, which is so difficult for the yogī to reach, can be attained at once by a devotee fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee can remain unaffected by the material dualities. This is practical samādhi.

“A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything – whether it be pebbles, stones or gold – as the same.”

a) The message of the Bhagavad-gītā cannot be understood by mere mundane scholarship. One has to associate with a self-realized soul situated in pure consciousness. Realized knowledge comes from pure devotional service, and by this knowledge, one becomes perfect.

b) This transcendental knowledge makes a devotee fixed. Mundane, academic knowledge, on the other hand, keeps one vulnerable to illusion and confusion due to apparent contradictions.

c) A truly self-realized soul has nothing to do with mundane scholarship. He becomes self-controlled because he is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. This brings him to the platform of real spiritual realization instead of mere speculative knowledge. The mundane knowledge that is so valuable to others is like pebbles or stones to the pure devotee.

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There is a video that appeared in my feed today that I believe summarizes everything that is wrong about the discussion of the “Fall of the jīva” and causes so much animosity among devotees. The video is technically well produced and attractive, but there are a number of problems with the philosophical aspect. You can watch it first, and then we can discuss it point by point:

The video starts with Kṛṣṇa dancing with the Gopīs somewhere in Goloka Vrndāvana. This brings us to a very high level of spiritual rāsa. Kṛṣṇa dancing with the Gopīs is a reference to the rāsa dance, the ultimate expression of spiritual love. The scene shows souls who have achieved the highest level of love of Godhead and now relate to Kṛṣṇa in the most intimate way. It is not a joke. We can see in the talks of Lord Caitanya and Ramananda Raya how high it is.

Here the problems start. Kṛṣṇa looks to the side and sees one of the gopis a little farther away, engaged in her own thoughts. This is the first impossibility depicted in the video. The gopīs love Kṛṣṇa more than themselves; their love is so incomprehensibly enormous that they cannot think of anything separate from Kṛṣṇa. Imagine a woman with a very small baby. Multiply her concern and attention by an unlimited number, and you may start to have an idea.

The Gopī then reveals her thoughts: “Why are you the center, Kṛṣṇa? Why not me?” That’s where the problems really start.

The problem with most discussions on this topic is that they start from a very incorrect conclusion. Prabhupada mentioned that “Previously we were with Kṛṣṇa in His lila, or sport,” and many jump to the conclusion that we were originally Gopīs that somehow or other fell from Goloka. Many then see the need to answer this absurd proposition, and go to the diametrically opposite, quoting Prabhupāda saying that “No one falls from Vaikunta,” and therefore that we must have never been with Kṛṣṇa. They conclude then that we were never with Kṛṣṇa, that we are, somehow, a product of this material world and have never been outside. We have then one misconception against the other.

The video then depicts Kṛṣṇa showing the gopi the material world, and she deciding to go there just to take a look. The next scene shows her in an office, as a conditioned soul. The question is, is this what Prabhupāda was speaking about?

Were we all gopīs?

In the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa insists:

“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.”

There are many other passages that explain that attaining a personal relationship with Kṛṣṇa in one of the spiritual planets is fundamentally different from elevation to the celestial planets, or even the impersonal brahmajyoti. A soul falls from the celestial planets when his pious karma ends, and falls from the impersonal bramajyoti due to the lack of spiritual engagement. However, none of these conditions are present in the spiritual planets. There is no force there that can push a soul away, and there is no way Māyā can extend her hands there to drag down some screaming jīvas. The idea that we were all Gopīs and fell is completely absurd.

Prabhupāda said that “Previously we were with Kṛṣṇa in His lila, or sport,” but we jump the gun in concluding we were all Gopīs. This shows a profound misunderstanding of what a Gopī is.

If no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha, how could we have been with Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda emphasizes the point of the eternal associates of the Lord not falling in his purport on the Third Canto, dealing with the “fall” of Jaya and Vijaya. He concludes that ultimately they didn’t fall, because they remained connected with the Lord even after taking birth as demons. Their pastime is thus not associates falling, but a reminder that the personal associates of the Lord cannot ever forget Him. Later, in ŚB 7.1.35, he concludes: “Otherwise it is a fact that no one falls from Vaikuṇṭha” (ŚB 7.1.35, purport). Their “fall” happened because of the Lord’s arrangement, not because they were conquered by Māyā.

Yet, Prabhupāda also writes, “We never had any occasion when we were separated from Krsna,” and compares our apparent separation to a dream. We can go to many places in a dream and perform so many activities, but ultimately, we never leave our bed. This calls our attention to a difference between the constitutional position of the soul, always with Kṛṣṇa, and the apparent, conditioned position.

Both statements must be taken seriously. The spiritual world is not a place where perfected devotees become envious and are expelled. At the same time, however, current illusion does not invalidate our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Both aspects are there.

Without reconciling these two points, the discussion degenerates into a geographical speculation: maybe we didn’t fall from Goloka, but from Vaikunta, which is equally absurd.

The real question is thus not from which geographical place in the spiritual sky we fell. The question is what exactly does separation from Kṛṣṇa mean when the soul is eternally His?

Does anādi mean we were never with Kṛṣṇa?

The conditioning of the soul is described in the scriptures as anādi, beginningless. Does it mean we were never with Kṛṣṇa? No, it just means we cannot put a date on it. That’s why Prabhupāda translates anādi as “since time immemorial.”

Our mistake here is to imagine it as a timeline: The jīva starts in Goloka, and then at some point travels to the material world. We can see that’s precisely what the video shows, and it is fundamentally wrong.

Material time cannot serve as a clock for the transcendental reality; it has no effect in the spiritual world, where everything is eternal and without change. Material conditioning has no first instant within material time. It cannot be reconstructed as an historical event. Here we reach the limits of our conditioned reasoning. From the material side, it appears that the soul is always here, and from the material side it appears the soul never left.

What exactly becomes conditioned?

This is a more relevant question, and that’s something we find an explanation for. In the teachings of Lord Kapila (SB 3.27), we find the explanation of how Kṛṣṇa enters the material creation without getting in contact with it. He explains with a simple example: the light of the sun enters a dark room through an opening and is reflected in a recipient of water and then again on the walls. Then, he immediately adds that the soul is similarly reflected in the false ego, body, and mind. In this way, the soul becomes present in the body without leaving his eternal spiritual nature, just as the Lord becomes present in the material cosmos without contacting the material energy.

Just as the sun does not enter the water, the soul does not become a material particle that moves here and there. The material nature provides the gross and subtle body, and the false ego makes the soul identify with it. As Kṛṣṇa mentions in the Gitā, the material nature performs the activities, and the bewildered soul imagines to be the doer.

It is not that there are two souls, one in Goloka and another on earth; that’s another mistaken idea. There is one eternal soul, whose identity remains spiritual but who experiences material existence through this reflection of consciousness in the body, mind and ego. “Fall” thus refers primarily to a mistaken identity or consciousness. Thus, when the consciousness is corrected, or, in other words, when we revive our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we become immediately liberated. There is no need to become something else.

This is an essential point to understand, because it allows us to understand what material bondage is without falling into the mistake of trying to put it into a timeline.

Are conditioned souls products of the material world?

Some interpret “anādi” in the sense that we are somehow a product of this material world and were never outside of it. That’s another gross misconception. The soul is not matter; we come from outside.

Some descriptions connect the soul with Mahā-Viṣnu and the causal ocean, the frontier of the material creation. This is correct, but it does not mean this is the constitutional position of the soul.

Everyone has to pass through passport control to enter a country, but this does not mean they are born at the border. One can tell the story of a tourist visiting a country starting from his crossing the border, but this does not mean there was nothing before that, or that the border is his origin. We were all in the causal ocean before joining the material creation. This is, however, already a fallen position, just like the impersonal brahmajyoti.

Is love of Kṛṣṇa something we acquire, or something we awaken?

Mahāprabhu teaches:

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

“Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.”

He does not say that our original spiritual identity is manufactured by practice. Love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established; it is the very essence of the soul.

There is, however, another side to it: the eternal present of prema does not automatically imply that every jīva has it manifested to the highest level of mādhurya-rasa.

Things that are spiritual are eternally existing, and they never change. There is, however, a third characteristic: it grows.

When Kṛṣṇa sees the Gopīs, He becomes more beautiful, and in seeing Kṛṣṇa, the Gopīs become even more beautiful, and in seeing them, Kṛṣṇa becomes even more beautiful, and thus there is an eternal competition without limit.

Our love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally existing, and it never changes, but it is eternally increasing. Our eternal relationship is real; but it doesn’t mean it is fully awakened. Indeed, the awakening of this eternal relationship is the very goal of the process of devotional service.

A liberated soul never falls again. Does it mean they lose free will?

Kṛṣṇa promises that those who attain Him never return to this miserable material world. This, however, does not mean liberated souls have no free will. How can both be true?

Imagine someone decides to visit Afghanistan, curious to see how people live there. He crosses the border and is captured by some bad people who do terrible things to him, repeatedly. Twenty years later, without teeth and with three fingers less, he somehow escapes and returns to his country. He is a free man, but this doesn’t mean he will want to return. If even a material experience can awaken this kind of decision, what to say about fully awakened love for Kṛṣṇa, combined with perfect knowledge? Freedom does not have to imply eternally repeating the same bad choice.

How does Kṛṣṇa actually call us back?

In the final scene of the video, Kṛṣṇa appears on the window paying His flute to remind her. The scene is again wrong, but the general concept is true: Kṛṣṇa never abandons the conditioned soul. He accompanies each one of us as Paramātmā, giving both forgetfulness and remembrance, according to our desire.

He appears to us in the form of the scriptures and empowers His devotees to instruct us. He manifests personally as the holy names, to awaken our eternal relationship. He is waiting for us; we are the ones who are unwilling. This is very clearly described in the final chapters of the Fourth Canto, when Kṛṣṇa appears to Purañjana in the form of a brāhmana to remind him of their eternal relationship.

The final question

Once we understand our eternal position as souls, the question stops being “How did I fall?” This has no answer; not even Jīva Gosvāmī tries to answer that. Mahāprabhu phrases it perfectly: “Somehow or other.”

The right question is: “Who am I eternally?” or “What is my constitutional nature?”

What is your answer to this question? Are you the body? Maybe the mind or the ego? And if you answer that you are a soul, then what is your constitutional position? Are you a piece of matter or an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa? Once we get it correctly, the question becomes how to revive this eternal identity, not how I came here.

Prabhupāda himself warned about not becoming trapped in trying to trace the chronology of the “fall.” In his article, “Crow and Tal-Fruit Logic”, he compares this debate with scholars uselessly arguing over whether a falling fruit dropped because of a crow or some other cause. His point is that a sick person should focus on the cure.

We have an entire book on this topic. If you are curious, you can read it to understand all the intricacies of the topic and how Prabhupāda solves it. It can take up to six hours to read it in full, but it is considerably less time you can waste trying to discuss this topic with others without knowing it beforehand. Apart from that, avoiding the wrong conclusion can be priceless.

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

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A map of the fifth chapter

This is the chapter where the topic of action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is concluded. What happens when karma-yoga (chapter three) is combined with transcendental knowledge (chapter four)? We come back to buddhi-yoga, which is karma-yoga in its perfect form. Work performed for Kṛṣṇa without attachment and in full knowledge is the perfect form of renunciation. That’s the process Kṛṣṇa summarized in the second chapter and has been explaining in detail since chapter three. This chapter also emphasizes the difference between this practical process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the path of jñāna, which nowadays often degenerates into mere mental speculation.

The keys are:

Action - Freedom - Doer - Vision - Liberation - Peace

Action: Devotional action is better than dry renunciation (Bg 5.1 to 5.6)

Arjuna again asks whether renunciation or work in devotion is better. Kṛṣṇa replies that while both may lead to liberation, devotional service (karma-yoga) is superior, safer, and more direct than the artificial renunciation of the jñāna path. True renunciation means doing everything for Him, the Supreme Lord.

Freedom: Niṣkāma-karma-yoga (Bg 5.7 to 5.12)

A person who works in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is never entangled by his actions. When we dedicate all our physical and mental activities entirely to Kṛṣṇa, we remain untouched by sin and free from karmic bondage, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water, even while living directly on it. This platform becomes possible through transcendental knowledge, the understanding of our eternal relationship with Him.

Doer: The liberated soul does not create activities (Bg 5.13 to 5.16)

Who is actually performing the action? The materialist, bewildered by false ego, thinks he is the doer and he is the enjoyer of the results. However, the liberated soul understands that the soul does not act. The soul desires, but the actions themselves are carried out by the material nature under the sanction of the Supersoul. Since everything is performed by Kṛṣṇa’s energies, He is the proprietor of the fruits. The self-realized devotee does not work in the sense that he does not claim proprietorship. By working in this consciousness, we remain free, even while living in the body.

Vision: The vision of the self-realized (Bg 5.17 to 5.21)

Because self-realized souls see with the eyes of transcendental knowledge, they do not distinguish between the outer material coverings of different beings. They see the soul, and not the body, and thus they see everyone with equal spiritual vision (sama-darśinaḥ). They are not even affected by pleasant and unpleasant situations. Such a sage finds happiness within and is not attracted to external sense gratification.

Liberation: Resisting the urges of the senses (Bg 5.22 to 5.26)

The material senses are actually sources of misery. Real happiness is possible only on the spiritual platform. Understanding this, an intelligent person tolerates the urges of the senses and resists the forces of lust and anger, and thus becomes situated in transcendence. He works for the benefit of all and remains happy and free from sin, even while still living in this world. At the end, he attains the Supreme.

Peace: Introducing dhyāna-yoga (Bg 5.27 to 5.29)

Kṛṣṇa concludes the chapter by briefly introducing the next process He wants to discuss, dhyāna-yoga, and giving its goal, the ultimate peace formula. One can attain complete peace and the ultimate goal only by understanding three things: Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer of all sacrifices, the Supreme Lord of all planets and their controllers, and the greatest well-wisher of all living entities. With these words, Kṛṣṇa declares that devotional service is the ultimate goal of all processes of yoga.

Through Action offered without claim,
Freedom breaks the binding chain.
When knowledge clears the false Doer from sight,
In true Vision, we see all beings in equal light.

Resisting desire leads us to Liberation,
beyond the waves of material agitation.
Knowing Kṛṣṇa as the enjoyer, Lord, and friend,
we attain Peace, on which all happiness depends.

Read the entire book:
« The Song of God—Volume 1, chapters 1-6

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Most of us have seen this painting of Lord Viṣnu appearing on Garuda's shoulders to save a devotee from the ocean of material existence. We can appreciate it as a metaphor, but we usually don’t think this happens in practice. Maybe He may send the Viṣnudutas, we may think, but coming personally?

That’s a point we misunderstand. We think that just because Kṛṣṇa is so great, He is too busy for His devotees. That’s not true. This coming on Garuda's shoulders is not metaphorical; it is literal.

See what He mentions in the Bhagavad-gītā, 12.6-7:

“But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.”

Yogīs have to follow the path of light when leaving their bodies if they hope to attain liberation, as Kṛṣṇa explains in chapter eight. On this path, they are taken upwards by a succession of demigods. This process is, however, very uncertain and difficult, and without bhakti, even the successful yogī cannot progress further than the impersonal brahmajyoti by it. In any case, even for the yogī, entrance into the spiritual planets is possible only if one develops his devotional service. Pṛthu Maharaja transferred himself to the Vaikuṇṭha planets at the time of death by the mystical process because he was a pure devotee of the Lord (SB 4.23.11). His qualification was his devotional service, and not his yoga practice.

Yogīs who are not devotees usually can’t even leave the material universe. They typically reach the higher planets, from where they have a chance of engaging in devotional service and gradually progressing over billions of years (Iso 14). If they fail to do so, they eventually fall back to earth.

A devotee, however, is taken directly by Kṛṣṇa all the way, as indicated by the words teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā (for them I am the deliverer) in text 12.7. Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa also notes the words na cirāt (swiftly), which indicate Kṛṣṇa’s unwillingness to tolerate any delay in the devotee’s attainment of Him.

Prabhupāda supports this point by quoting the Varāha Purāṇa in his purport:

nayāmi paramaṁ sthānam, arcir-ādi-gatiṁ vinā
garuḍa-skandham āropya, yatheccham anivāritaḥ.

In this verse, Kṛṣṇa makes clear that He personally takes His devotee out of the cycle of birth and death. The meaning is:

Placing My devotee on Garuḍa’s shoulders, I take him to the supreme abode according to My will, without obstruction and without him having to follow the path of light taken by yogīs.

Prabhupāda gives us a purport to this verse:

“The purport of this verse is that a devotee does not need to practice aṣṭāṅga-yoga in order to transfer his soul to the spiritual planets. The responsibility is taken by the Supreme Lord Himself. He clearly states here that He Himself becomes the deliverer. A child is completely cared for by his parents, and thus his position is secure. Similarly, a devotee does not need to endeavor to transfer himself by yoga practice to other planets. Rather, the Supreme Lord, by His great mercy, comes at once, riding on His bird carrier Garuḍa, and at once delivers the devotee from material existence. Although a man who has fallen in the ocean may struggle very hard and may be very expert in swimming, he cannot save himself. But if someone comes and picks him up from the water, then he is easily rescued. Similarly, the Lord picks up the devotee from this material existence. One simply has to practice the easy process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and fully engage himself in devotional service. Any intelligent man should always prefer the process of devotional service to all other paths.”

This explains many details of the relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees that may appear inexplicable to an outsider. After being instructed by Nārada Muni and receiving the audience of the Lord, Citraketu attained great opulence as the king of the Vidyādhara planet. After some time, however, he was cursed by Mother Pārvatī to become a demon.

Why is it that Kṛṣṇa arranged such a situation for His devotee? Why didn’t He protect him as He promises in the Gītā? The point is that Kṛṣṇa became so anxious to bring His pure devotee to the spiritual world that He was not willing to wait until his long celestial life ended (SB 6.17.17). He thus created a situation where Citraketu was moved from this position to a very short life as Vṛtrāsura, where he attained perfection in his Kṛṣṇa consciousness and returned home, back to Godhead.

Similarly, other devotees may at different points face material difficulties that are ultimately organized by Kṛṣṇa to bring them back home, back to Godhead as soon as possible. For ordinary souls, Kṛṣṇa is patient, as Paramātmā, waiting for them to turn to Him. With His pure devotees, however, Kṛṣṇa becomes impatient and cannot wait.

This shows us the extent of His reciprocation. On his part, however, a pure devotee does not make liberation a condition for his service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gives us the perfect example in His Śikṣāṣṭakam:

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ, kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye
mama janmani janmanīśvare, bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

“O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.”

A pure devotee simply serves Kṛṣṇa out of love, simply aspiring for more service. Kṛṣṇa, on His part, however, can’t wait to be with His devotee; therefore, He brings him back as quickly as possible, even though the devotee does not ask for it. This is the paradox of their relationship. The more a devotee is unwilling to accept, the more Kṛṣṇa is eager to give.

Read more:

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

You can also receive updates on WhatsApp or Telegram.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.

Introducing dhyāna-yoga and its goal (Bg 5.27 to 5.29)

This section connects the description of perfection in devotional service given in chapter five with the process of dhyāna-yoga, explained in detail in chapter six. At first, the change may seem abrupt. Kṛṣṇa has just emphasized the superiority of devotional work over mere renunciation, and now He appears to go in the opposite direction, telling us to sit and meditate. Meditation, however, is also a part of the yoga ladder, and many great sages attained perfection in the past through this process. By explaining this system, Kṛṣṇa shows how the different yoga paths ultimately aim at the same perfection: fixing the consciousness on Him. It also gives Arjuna the opportunity to reject the process, opening the door for Kṛṣṇa to explain the direct path of bhakti-yoga starting from chapter seven.

Texts 27-28: sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś, cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ
prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā, nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau
yatendriya-mano-buddhir, munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ
vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho, yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ

Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils, and thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming at liberation becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.

Text 29: bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ, sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

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.

Kṛṣṇa started the fifth chapter speaking about action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and how this is the natural result of transcendental knowledge and the perfect way for becoming free from material entanglement. Now, suddenly, it appears that He changes topics and starts speaking about aṣṭāṅga-yoga, a process He continues to explain in the sixth chapter. This can create a few questions, since it appears that He is presenting aṣṭāṅga-yoga as a progression of the path of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, which is the advanced form of the path of action in devotional service He has been explaining since chapter two.

The main point is that Kṛṣṇa offers different processes of self-realization in the Bhagavad-gītā. All of them, if properly practiced, can lead to the perfection of devotional service He described in the previous sections. For example, in text 5.5, He declared that “One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.”

Ordinarily, the path of jñāna is considered superior to karma. However, when they are practiced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they both purify and lead us to the transcendental platform. Technically, there is a difference in reaching the top floor of a building by going through the stairs, the elevator, or flying through the window, but once we reach the destination, these practicalities are not relevant.

The ultimate goal of all the different yoga processes described in the Bhagavad-gītā is to bring us to the stage of complete absorption in Kṛṣṇa in full realization of our constitutional position of service to Him. Karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, buddhi-yoga, and the other processes described in the Gītā are different paths that lead us to this ultimate goal. Inside these processes, however, there are natural paths of progression. Just like sakāma-karma-yoga, when perfected, leads to niṣkāma-karma-yoga, the path of jñāna-yoga, or the path of understanding the self through philosophical inquiry, often leads to the practice of aṣṭāṅga-yoga. Therefore, after explaining the path of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, Kṛṣṇa also explains the path of mystic yoga as a progression for those coming from the path of jñāna-yoga.

Aṣṭāṅga-yoga is very difficult to practice in modern times, but still, many are attracted to it, just as Arjuna was inclined to abandon his prescribed duties and practice meditation. By explaining the process, Kṛṣṇa shows how difficult it is, leading Arjuna himself to reject it. This will open the doors for Him to describe the direct process of bhakti-yoga in chapters seven to twelve, teaching us how to achieve perfection by always remembering Him, and never forgetting Him. This is the ultimate stage of the yoga ladder, the answer to all other processes. No matter which path we are following, the direct path of hearing about Kṛṣṇa and always remembering Him is the final progression.

As Prabhupāda explains:

“After explaining the above principles of liberation in the Supreme, the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to how one can come to that position by the practice of the mysticism or yoga known as aṣṭāṅga-yoga, which is divisible into an eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. In the Sixth Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly detailed, and at the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily explained. One has to drive out the sense objects such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell by the pratyāhāra process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the nose with half-closed lids. There is no benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because then there is every chance of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening the eyes completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted by sense objects. The breathing movement is restrained within the nostrils by neutralizing the up-moving and down-moving air within the body. By practice of such yoga one is able to gain control over the senses, refrain from outward sense objects, and thus prepare oneself for liberation in the Supreme.”

Aṣṭāṅga-yoga is also recommended in several places of the scriptures as a process to allow people who are not ready to practice the path of devotional service to gradually achieve transcendental realization. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, for example, we see the story of Vidura guiding Dhṛtarāṣṭra in practicing meditation after he retired from the palace, understanding that after committing so many offenses to the Pāṇḍavas during his life, he would not be able to directly adopt the process of bhakti.

Nowadays, there is a great interest in yoga, but with so many fashionable styles and the almost universal goals of controlling stress and toning the body, the essence of the yoga process is lost, to the point that most simply relate the word “yoga” to physical exercises.

The original process of transcendental meditation is called aṣṭāṅga-yoga, or the eightfold yoga system (aṣṭa means “eight” and aṅga means “limbs” in Sanskrit). It consists of eight levels of practice: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi. This is the process mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā and other scriptures, which was practiced by yogīs and transcendentalists through the ages. All the modern processes of yoga derive from this original eightfold system, but in most cases, important parts of the process are lost, discarded, or modified.

The aṣṭāṅga-yoga process starts with yama and niyama. Yama means “restraint,” and niyama means “observance.” In other words, these are rules and regulations, or prescriptions and prohibitions, that yogīs are supposed to follow as part of their practice.

Yama means avoiding what is unfavorable to spiritual practice; niyama means practicing what is favorable. Together they lead to a regulated life. For example, in the Gītā (6.16) Kṛṣṇa mentions that “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.” This is an example of yama and niyama.

Similarly, other prescriptions include waking up early in the morning, not going to sleep too late, following a vegetarian diet, being non-violent, maintaining a good standard of cleanliness and sense control, etc. Most rules and prohibitions of yama and niyama are useful for all spiritual seekers, not only for aṣṭāṅga-yogīs.

The third component is āsana, which consists of bodily exercises and sitting postures. The āsanas help one to ascend from a gross material platform to a more subtle platform, calming the mind and helping to develop concentration, which are prerequisites for the more advanced stages of the process. The āsanas are thus a preparation, just like runners warm up and execute other routines as a preparation for their training.

In other words, āsanas mean to use the material body to perform activities that can elevate one’s consciousness. In this sense, there are similarities with the process of karma-yoga described in the Bhagavad-gītā. In the case of the aṣṭāṅga-yoga process, the āsanas also help to prepare the body for sitting in the same position for the long times required in the practice of meditation.

More advanced than bodily postures is the process of prāṇāyāma, which consists of breathing exercises: inhaling, exhaling, and holding the breath. It’s a more subtle form of the process of employing the gross body in actions that help to elevate one’s consciousness. The prāṇāyāma process is summarily explained in text 4.29: “Still others, who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to remain in trance, practice by offering the movement of the outgoing breath into the incoming, and the incoming breath into the outgoing, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing. Others, curtailing the eating process, offer the outgoing breath into itself as a sacrifice.”

Just like the āsanas, the purpose of the prāṇāyāma process is to stop the mind and senses from engaging in materialistic activities. In both cases, the goal is not to make the body and mind stronger in order to be able to work more, or simply to manage stress, but to advance in spiritual practice. The problem with the way most people practice yoga nowadays is exactly that, because of a lack of a broader understanding of the process and its goals, most people practice isolated parts of the process with the goal of simply improving their physical endurance or mental alertness, and thus they are just like someone who licks the external part of a pot of honey instead of tasting what is inside.

The next step is the process of pratyāhāra, which means to control the mind and senses. In the Gītā, the material body is compared with a chariot, where the senses are the horses, the mind is the reins, intelligence is the coachman, and the soul is the passenger. When one starts the meditation process, the mind will wander everywhere, bringing to consciousness a series of remembrances, desires, plans, feelings, etc. Pratyāhāra means to withdraw the mind and focus it on the practice of yoga, or, in other words, to withdraw the senses from matter and engage them in transcendence, just like in the example of the tortoise, which can withdraw its limbs when necessary, and again expand them when desired.

Without mastering the process of pratyāhāra, it’s not possible for a yogī to successfully practice the next level (dhāraṇā, or meditation). Nowadays, many try to meditate, but without pratyāhāra, it’s not possible to successfully do that. This leads to many concocted processes of guided meditation that just make one meditate on different aspects of daily life instead of proper dhāraṇā. In this way, the practice becomes a dead end.

The next stage is called dhāraṇā, or fixed meditation. Nowadays, many have the idea that to meditate means to empty the mind of all thoughts. However, not only is this not recommended, but it is actually not even possible, since thoughts will always come to one’s mind. Instead, the aṣṭāṅga-yoga process prescribes meditation on the form of the Lord. A yogī takes shelter (āśraya) in a particular form of the Lord and fixes his mind on all the details of this particular form. This fixed meditation is thus a form of worship.

The object of the meditation (dhāraṇā-āśraya) can be the universal form (virāṭ-rūpa) or the form of Paramātmā inside the heart, according to the yogī’s level of advancement. Some yogīs meditate on the impersonal Brahman, which is an intermediate stage between the two, but ultimately the goal of the aṣṭāṅga-yoga process is to meditate on the personal form of the Lord, not to get stuck in impersonal meditation.

What is this process of meditation on the virāṭ-rūpa? One who has material desires or is at a gross level of consciousness is recommended to meditate on the universal form of the Lord (as described in the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam). In this process, one meditates on the different levels of planetary systems situated inside the universal form, and thus gradually elevates his consciousness, from the gross planetary systems to the subtle planetary systems, up to Brahmaloka, and then to the subtle coverings of the universe, including ego, and mahat-tattva, up to the point of pure consciousness, or Brahman realization (the stage of liberation). This is a process that can take several lives and involve taking birth in progressively higher planetary systems, where the yogī gradually improves in practice and consciousness until achieving perfection. The upper planetary systems are full of souls who are following this gradual ascending process.

This universal form is essentially an imaginary form, where different levels of planetary systems and different personalities and elements of the cosmic creation are taken as different parts and limbs of the universal form. In one sense, this is so, since the universe is the energy of the Lord, but in the other sense, it’s imaginary since the Lord doesn’t have a material form. To meditate on the universal form of the Lord is thus an indirect form of meditation that can help yogīs who are too much absorbed in material consciousness, and thus can’t conceive anything beyond it. Such yogīs can’t conceive the existence of the transcendental forms of the Lord, and thus meditation on the universal form is the only feasible process.

A yogī who is already free from material desire, situated in a more advanced stage, can skip meditation on the universal form and go straight to meditation on the Supersoul, the form of the Lord situated in one’s heart, fixing his mind on all the details of the transcendental form of the Lord. This is a direct process that allows one to achieve perfection in this same life.

For a bhakti-yogī, the process of dhāraṇā is achieved through the chanting of the mahā-mantra and absorption in the form of the deity, which provides a shelter for one’s meditation, allowing a devotee to ascend to the transcendental platform with much less effort.

The next stage is dhyāna, achieved as the meditation intensifies and deepens. Although both dhāraṇā and dhyāna involve essentially the same practice of meditation, dhāraṇā is the beginning stage, whereas dhyāna is the advanced stage, in which the yogī masters the process and begins to approach the final goal.

Finally, we have the stage of samādhi, a deep trance that is attained when the yogī attains perfection in the meditation process. In samādhi, the yogī is capable of fully situating his consciousness on the spiritual platform, attaining the level of brahma-bhūta, or liberation.

Samādhi is also attained in the process of bhakti-yoga, where it’s also attained through fixed meditation. The main difference is that in the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, one has to execute a very difficult process, and usually he will be, at best, capable of achieving Paramātmā realization, while a bhakta can achieve complete Bhagavān realization, the final and ultimate level of transcendental realization, by just becoming absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, pastimes, etc.

The stage of brahma-bhūta is described in the last chapter of the Gītā (18.54): “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state, he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”

The very word “yoga” means “to connect” or, in other words, to bring one’s consciousness from matter to spirit, allowing one to connect with the divine. This connection is firmly established in this stage of brahma-bhūta.

The stage of brahma-bhūta also marks the stage where one can start to practice a personal relationship with the Lord, in one of the five rasas cultivated in the spiritual realm. Some souls prefer the stage of neutrality, others prefer to serve the Lord, others cultivate a personal relationship on an equal level (friendship), others a paternal relationship, and others a conjugal relationship. Any of these rasas, or relationships, is possible for sincere souls, but they start from the stage of brahma-bhūta, where one becomes free from material entanglement and thus is firmly situated on a pure, transcendental platform.

In this way, aṣṭāṅga-yoga is a valid process of self-realization that was practiced by many great sages in bygone ages. The conclusion, however, is that constant engagement in the service of Kṛṣṇa is a better way to control the senses than the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, especially in the age we live in.

The process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga in the devotional context is described in more detail in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the teachings of Lord Kapila, and Prabhupāda explains its relation to the practical process of devotional service we practice in our age in his purports.

While a yogī performs āsanas as a way to use his body to focus the mind, we can achieve the same by doing different practical services. While a yogī controls his breath using prāṇāyāma, we simply sit and silently recite the holy names (japa). While a yogī fixes his meditation on the form of Paramātmā inside the heart, a devotee simply fixes his attention on the form of the deity, and so on. In this way, all the limbs of aṣṭāṅga-yoga have their equivalents inside the process of bhakti, but the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is much simpler and easier, allowing us to direct our natural propensities, instead of trying to focus our attention mechanically for very long periods of time. This is the same conclusion that Arjuna will come to in the next chapter.

Prabhupāda also makes the point that the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes the practice of aṣṭāṅga-yoga in the sense that the ultimate purpose is achieved. The purpose of the process of meditation is to fix our mind on Kṛṣṇa, and that’s precisely what the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness offers. As he explains:

“The eightfold yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the ultimate purpose is served. There is a gradual process of elevation in the practice of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna 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.”

The peace formula

After giving this introduction to the aṣṭāṅga-yoga process, Kṛṣṇa concludes the fifth chapter with a verse that summarizes much of what He has described up to this point in the Gītā:

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ, sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

This is the true peace formula, at all levels. In the material world, people want peace, but they have no idea of how to achieve that. On the contrary, we see conflict at all levels. Even in the celestial planets, there is enmity, war, and the misery caused by them. Kṛṣṇa reveals three realizations that solve the problem.

a) bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: Kṛṣṇa is the real beneficiary and enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities. He is the root of all existence. We should not perform sacrifices or austerities for our own prestige or gain. Instead, all activities should be performed for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. This eliminates artificial competition based on ego.

Since Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate beneficiary, everyone should work together for Him, instead of against each other. More than that, by working in this spirit, all our sacrifices will culminate in transcendental knowledge, as Kṛṣṇa declared in chapter four.

b) sarva-loka-maheśvaram: Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor. He is the master of all planets and their controllers, greater than anyone. This realization defeats the illusory sense of ownership that is the root cause of all conflicts. A materialist thinks he is the lord of everything he sees, but in reality he is just a slave of his senses. When the proper conclusion is restored, we can finally see everything properly, just like when the sun appears to dispel the darkness of night. Conversely, when we refuse the service of Kṛṣṇa, we end up being enslaved by material nature.

c) suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām: Kṛṣṇa is the closest friend of all living entities, the well-wisher of all. Therefore, surrendering to Him is not our loss, but our welfare. This also explains how a pure devotee can be friendly to all living entities. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme friend, and a pure devotee is His representative.

These three realizations work together. If Kṛṣṇa were simply the proprietor, we would fear, or maybe envy, Him. If He were only the enjoyer, one could feel exploited. But because He is the supreme friend, surrendering to Him becomes natural.

We can see that other religious scriptures emphasize God as the ruler, master, or recipient of worship, but they neglect His aspect as the supreme friend. This leads to unbalanced philosophies that modern people tend to resist. People are told that they must obey God, but they are not given a sufficiently deep understanding of why surrender is their highest welfare. God is presented as an authority demanding obedience, not as the dearmost friend inviting the soul back into an eternal loving relationship.

When this incomplete presentation collides with modern education and individual freedom, people tend to reject it, but without encountering the complete philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they often fall into crude materialism or atheism. Only the Bhagavad-gītā presents a deep and balanced view of the Absolute Truth, and has the potential of being a universal scripture. This is further elaborated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which brings details about Kṛṣṇa’s qualities and activities, and the process of developing a personal relationship with Him.

Once Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the dearmost friend, the fact that He is the supreme proprietor and enjoyer becomes a distant secondary detail. That’s how Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd associates in Goloka Vṛndāvana see it. They understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Controller, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but this knowledge is eclipsed by their love for Kṛṣṇa as a friend, son, or lover. At this stage, a devotee does not think that Kṛṣṇa owns everything; he simply thinks that “Kṛṣṇa is mine, and I am His.” Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy remains eternally true, but it is eclipsed by their pure love. They love Kṛṣṇa because of who He is, not because He is a powerful person or celebrity.

Kṛṣṇa then concludes the verse with jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati. One who fully understands these three facts becomes situated in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and attains peace from the pangs of material miseries. This is a summary of the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness that Kṛṣṇa has been explaining since chapter two, and that will be deepened in the following chapters.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils, and thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming at liberation becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.”

a) By practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can quickly become situated on the platform of liberation, and from there gradually come to understand Kṛṣṇa as our devotional service blossoms. When we finally become fixed in this platform, we can directly experience Kṛṣṇa everywhere. This position of a direct relationship with the Lord is higher than ordinary liberation.

b) During the fifth chapter, Kṛṣṇa explained the general principles of liberation. Now, Kṛṣṇa explains how one can come to this platform by practicing the process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga. The system is explained preliminarily in these two verses and explained in more detail in chapter six.

c) Aṣṭāṅga means the eightfold process of yoga, composed of yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. After practicing the four preliminary processes, one comes to the stage of restricting the senses in the pratyāhāra stage. From there, one enters into a state of meditation by keeping the vision of the half-closed eyes between the two eyebrows and concentrating on the tip of the nose, while neutralizing the movement of the air inside the body.

d) This process of yoga can make one free from fear and anger, bringing him to a transcendental platform, where one can feel the presence of the Supersoul.

e) A yogī has to carefully control his senses to not fall, but a devotee fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness faces no such risk. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is thus a better process for controlling the senses.

“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.”

a) Everyone wants peace, but people do not know the formula. Here it is given: Kṛṣṇa is the beneficiary of all activities. We should thus connect all our activities with Him in devotional service. He is the proprietor of everything, the greatest. Nothing belongs to us; everything should be used in His service. A materialist thinks he owns everything around, but he is controlled by the material energy, the inferior potency of the Lord. We can attain peace only in complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

b) Karma-yoga, the practical process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the main topic of chapter five. Working for Kṛṣṇa means to understand Kṛṣṇa’s special position as the supreme predominator. It can’t thus be separated from transcendental knowledge.

c) Bhakti-yoga is direct Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Jñāna-yoga is a path leading to it, because Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to work in full knowledge of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. What is this relationship? The soul is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. We come here due to a desire to lord it over Kṛṣṇa’s energy. This is the cause of all our sufferings. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is the process that allows us to return to the spiritual platform even while still living here. As we advance, we become proportionally free from the material clutches.

d) Kṛṣṇa is not partial to anyone; everything depends on our effort and determination in performing our duties in the spiritual process. This is the process that allows us to control desire and anger. Staying firm in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and controlling these forces means remaining in the transcendental stage.

e) The process of aṣṭāṅga-yoga is automatically practiced inside the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the ultimate goal of attaining perfection in devotional service is served.

Next: A map of the fifth chapter of the Gītā

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« The Song of God—Volume 1, chapters 1-6

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If we look around, we can usually see many devotees who practiced seriously for some period of their lives, but later gave up spiritual practice almost completely, returning to most of their previous habits. When we meet them, they often look like ordinary people absorbed in work or other activities, not spiritualists. If they speak about Kṛṣṇa at all, it is usually with nostalgia or regret, something they did when they were young but have since lost or moved on from. If we could go back in time, we would see the same devotees waking up very early to chant and attend spiritual programs, running away from home to join the temple, distributing books or chanting all day long, fasting, praying, etc., all of it out of eagerness to reach Kṛṣṇa. How to reconcile these two selves?

It may look difficult to comprehend, but this just shows the natural tendency of the individual soul to forget. When we are conditioned, going from one body to the other, we forget all the time. We don’t remember at all what we were doing in previous lives, and we can easily forget even what we were doing a moment ago. Perfect souls who live in the association of Kṛṣṇa do not forget Him at any point, but still they can forget details or particular circumstances. Arjuna is always with Kṛṣṇa, appearing as His friend life after life, but still, when he saw his relatives on the other side of the field, he forgot why he should fight. Similarly, as Kṛṣṇa explains, Arjuna was present when Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvan, millions of years ago. Kṛṣṇa still remembered it perfectly, but Arjuna forgot.

Therefore, even in the liberated stage, the soul can forget. The point is that Kṛṣṇa never forgets, and thus, as long as we are connected with Him, He can remind us. Kṛṣṇa is infallible, and as long as one remains connected with Kṛṣṇa, one can also be infallible, but as soon as we distance ourselves from Kṛṣṇa, our natural tendency for forgetfulness becomes prominent, and we can fall back to the level of a common person, completely covered.

Once we come to Kṛṣṇa, sincerely starting the process of devotional service, we get something that is permanent: we start reviving our eternal relationship with Him. This is like the ember that continues burning even after we put out the fire. There is no visible fame, but because the ember is there, the fire can come back as soon as there is opportunity. Similarly, having practiced Kṛṣṇa consciousness sincerely for some time is not a guarantee that we will continue to practice all our lives sincerely, because we have free will at every stage. I may be serving Kṛṣṇa today, waking up early, chanting, going to the temple, etc., but this doesn’t automatically mean I will be doing the same tomorrow. Every day (and in fact every moment) I have to continue making the same decision. The moment I decide something else is more important, my practice can easily stop.

We come then to the question of material desires. Everyone has certain dreams and desires, things we would like to do if we had the chance. However, there is a difference between having a desire and acting on it. A man may see an attractive woman and have desire, but this doesn’t mean he should leave his family and go after her. Desire is always there, but the intelligence has the mission of resisting what goes against our goals.

Therefore, the main question is not desire, but what is our goal. As long as Kṛṣṇa remains the goal, we will not stop our spiritual practice. We may make mistakes; we may fall at some points, but these faults are ultimately not very important, because after the fall we get up and continue. We may fall a dozen times on the way home, but if each time we get up and continue, we still get there. The problem is not the fall itself, but if at some point we give up the goal. That’s the real problem.

Everything we do in life can be connected with Kṛṣṇa. We can connect our family with Kṛṣṇa; we can connect a career or business with Kṛṣṇa; we can connect hobbies with Kṛṣṇa. Even scrolling can be connected with Kṛṣṇa if we follow devotees who post about Him. Therefore, none of these things are real impediments. The problem is when we come to the conclusion that one of these things is more important, when some of them become the goal itself.

When this happens, the focus can completely change. Then, it is not that I’m a devotee who is trying to come to Kṛṣṇa, despite working on a job and responsibly taking care of a family. The job itself can become the goal. At this point, chanting and spiritual practice become superfluous, and I can easily give them up, because they don’t pay my bills.

That usually leads to the phenomenon we discussed in the beginning of the article. It is not about material desires or weakness, but about a conscious decision, made at some point, where one decided that something else was more important. It doesn’t have to be a decision made at once; usually it is the result of a process that takes years.

Initially, we come to the conclusion that work, family, or something else is more important, but that we still want to maintain some level of spiritual practice. We may then try to chant 16 rounds and follow the basic principles, but over time, because spiritual practice stops being the focus of our attention, we gradually lose the taste for it. Then, we may continue following for some more time out of a feeling of obligation, but once the taste is lost, it becomes difficult to maintain. Eventually we completely stop, and when this happens, the other activities completely take over. At this stage, we forget, and as time goes by, our devotional practice, the sacrifices we made for Kṛṣṇa, the spiritual goals we at some point established, etc., become just part of the past. When this happens, time goes by, and when we look around, 20 or 50 years have already passed.

How can we avoid it? We need to keep spiritual practice our main priority in life, and organize other activities around it, instead of the opposite. The best way to maintain that is to wake up early to chant our rounds and study the philosophy. If we can reserve two hours per day early in the morning for these two things, before anything else, we can go a very long way. Because we are starting our day with our spiritual practice, our consciousness will remain organized around it. With time, as we become purified, we get a taste for spiritual practice, and this becomes the time of the day we actually crave. That’s the reason many advanced devotees start to go to sleep very early, and wake up extremely early. No one tells them to do that—often the social pressure is the exact opposite—they do it because that’s the part of the day they actually enjoy, and thus they want to maximize it. We have the extreme, superhuman example of this principle in the life of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura. He was waking up at 10 PM (before midnight!) and spending the whole night chanting and writing. After a short rest, he would answer letters, chant more, receive visitors, read, etc. Only after almost 12 hours of that would he go to the office and do his work as a magistrate.

Another dimension is to hear about Kṛṣṇa. That’s another aspect we should cultivate as much as possible, following spiritual teachers we are attracted to, hearing their classes on the way to work, while we walk in the park, in the shower, and whenever else we have the opportunity. As long as we keep hearing about Kṛṣṇa, we continue to remember Him, and everything else works.

The conclusion is that we don’t have to sacrifice our work and family to follow spiritual life. Most of us will reconcile these three things during most of our lives. What we need to give up is part of the time we are doing directly doing these things, the time that we would otherwise waste, sleeping over time, scrolling, watching TV, cultivating bad habits, etc.

And, even if our spiritual practice has already become a distant memory, the ember of our previous service is still there. It’s always possible to fan it again by giving Kṛṣṇa a new place in our lives. SB 1.5.19 is very instructive in this connection. As Prabhupāda mentions there:

“There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father.”

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Resisting the urges of the senses and attaining liberation (Bg 5.22 to 5.26)

In the previous section, 5.17 to 5.21, Kṛṣṇa described the vision and realization of a self-realized person, who has fixed his intelligence, mind, faith, and shelter on Him. He sees the spiritual reality, and thus does not discriminate between different living beings based on the body. He has his intelligence fixed on the self, and is thus steady in both pleasure and distress. He is detached from external sense pleasure, fixed instead on inner spiritual happiness. Now, in 5.22 to 5.26, Kṛṣṇa elaborates on the practical results of this realization, or, in other words, the qualifications that such a transcendentalist develops.

Text 22: ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā, duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya, na teṣu ramate budhaḥ

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.

Text 23: śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ, prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt
kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ, sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ

Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.

Text 24: yo ’ntaḥ-sukho ’ntar-ārāmas, tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ
sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ, brahma-bhūto ’dhigacchati

One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

Text 25: labhante brahma-nirvāṇam, ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ
chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ, sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ

Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.

Text 26: kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ, yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām
abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ, vartate viditātmanām

Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.

The three original characteristics of the soul are sat, cit, and ānanda: eternity, knowledge and spiritual bliss. These original characteristics are covered by contact with matter. This forces us to look for substitutes, seeking satisfaction in the material senses, looking for immortality in trying to somehow extend the longevity of the body, and so on. These material endeavors, however, ultimately result in misery. A self-realized person has superior knowledge; he understands perfectly that real happiness is found on the spiritual platform, and thus avoids material happiness, which obscures it.

Light and darkness can coexist to a certain extent during dawn, when the sun is still not fully visible. However, as the sun comes higher in the sky, there is no question of darkness remaining in any open space. Conversely, as the sun goes down, darkness gradually reappears.

Similarly, at a neophyte stage, one may try to balance material happiness and spiritual practice, but as we progress, we gradually come to the point that we need to choose one side. Spiritual realization means to gradually come to the platform of a sage, who rejects the false ego, and stops seeing himself as the actor and enjoyer, while material bondage means to become again immersed in the material ego and objects of the senses and forget about self-realization.

Kṛṣṇa defines material enjoyment as duḥkha-yonaya. This is a very strong statement. Yoni means “womb” in the sense of source, the place where something is nourished. Duḥkha means “distress” or “suffering.” In material life, we see material happiness as the solution for material suffering, but Kṛṣṇa explains that the material happiness itself is the source of future suffering. It is thus just like taking a loan to pay another loan. It may bring some momentary relief, but in the long term the debt only increases. Similarly, in the process of searching for material happiness, we accumulate so many attachments and karmic reactions that will bring even more suffering later.

Imagine, for example, a young man desiring to get married, with the idea of finding happiness. To attract a good wife, he has to accumulate many resources, like a house, a car, money, etc., forcing him to work hard. When he eventually finds his bride, he has to arrange the marriage and all other functions, which also demand work. The relationship, of course, establishes attachment that gradually grows, as they get their children, expand their circle of friends, grow in social position, etc. All of these come together with certain expectations that will not necessarily be fulfilled. We create many plans, but they do not necessarily work.

After all this effort and anxiety, one may feel happy for some time, but gradually things deteriorate. Things may not go well on the financial side, or there may be other problems; the children may not be obedient, there may be divorce, etc. Even if everything works perfectly, suffering will come later in life, as old age, disease, and eventually death set in. Apart from that, one has to work very hard to maintain his family, and not all these activities may be perfectly honest and religious. This also brings inevitable karmic reactions that he will have to suffer in his next life. We can thus see that a short period of material happiness can only be achieved with great effort, and even then, it inevitably leads to a long period of acute material suffering afterward.

Analyzing this process, we can easily understand the trap of materialistic life. Material suffering makes us look for material happiness, which forces us to work hard in this world to secure the resources we need for that. This inevitably forces us to accumulate so many karmic reactions. Material happiness in itself comes together with material attachment, and both karma and attachment come back in the form of loss and suffering. This acute suffering leads us to seek material happiness again, restarting the cycle. This can be connected with texts 2.62 and 2.63, where Kṛṣṇa describes the cycle of contemplation, attachment, lust, anger, bewilderment, and fall.

What is the solution, then? Kṛṣṇa explains that the intelligent, budhaḥ, does not delight in these temporary material pleasures (na teṣu ramate). As already explained, this does not mean he stops all kinds of activities, but he renounces the sense of proprietorship, acting only for Kṛṣṇa. With this, he gives up attachment, and instead performs actions out of duty, as an offering to Kṛṣṇa. This, in turn, frees him from karmic reactions. We can thus see that this process of detached work that Kṛṣṇa explains in chapters two, three, four, and five of the Gītā is the real solution for the problem of material suffering, and, at the same time, it brings us to real happiness with Kṛṣṇa on the transcendental platform.

The difficulty is that when we try to follow the spiritual path, the mind and senses push us back. Although there is plenty of spiritual engagement for the senses in spiritual practice, including chanting, dancing, and prasādam, we have to abstain from many gross sensory pleasures that are contradictory to our practice. What is the solution then? Kṛṣṇa gives us the path: some restriction is necessary. On the one hand, as we advance in spiritual life, the knowledge and spiritual realization make us less prone to sense enjoyment, but at the same time, voluntary restriction is also necessary, so our progress is not blocked. These are thus two tracks on the same railway.

Kṛṣṇa thus gives us the path to follow: “Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.” This is also in line with what He mentions in text 2.64: one who is capable of controlling his senses through the regulative principles can obtain the mercy of the Lord.

The successful transcendentalist follows this path of sense control, and we should also follow it to attain the same result. This, however, should be taken in the context of the previous instructions. It is not about abandoning our duties or mere repression. To tolerate the urges of the senses means to patiently follow the whole spiritual process He describes, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master. Prabhupāda goes deeper in his purport:

“If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called gosvāmī, or svāmī. Such gosvāmīs live strictly controlled lives and forgo altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.”

Kṛṣṇa then continues to describe the results of transcendental knowledge: “One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.”

A self-realized devotee enjoys, but his happiness does not come from contact with the sense objects. It comes from within. Even if technically living in a material body, he is already liberated and, in due time, assumes a spiritual form to serve the Lord in the spiritual world.

In general, a materialist depends on many external objects to be happy. One depends on his house, his car, his family, and friends, hobbies, pets, etc. If such a person is separated from these at some point, he or she cannot feel happy. We can see that when people organize vacations, they have to bring many people and objects with them: their spouses and children, personal objects, close friends, often even their pets. Without these, one cannot enjoy the vacation. Their happiness is thus very unstable, because it depends on all these external objects. If the spouse decides to divorce, the children become rebellious, the best friend betrays them, or their financial position deteriorates, they immediately feel anxiety.

How is it possible for a self-realized person to feel happy anywhere, regardless of the material situation? The point is that the self-realized person bases his happiness on his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. As already discussed, the Absolute Truth is realized in three aspects. Full realization happens in the Bhagavān aspect, but even in Brahman or Paramātmā realization, one experiences a level of spiritual happiness that completely eclipses any form of material enjoyment. Because this happiness comes from within, the self-realized carries it everywhere, and therefore, his happiness does not depend on anything else. Because he carries Kṛṣṇa inside his heart, all he needs to be happy goes with him, and therefore he does not need anything else. This stage is called brahma-bhūta, the liberated stage. As mentioned in text 18.54, brahma-bhūta is the platform that precedes devotional perfection.

A self-realized soul can sit anywhere in silence, or he can travel anywhere with just a stick and a water pot, or, conversely, he may live in a palace, surrounded by fully surrendered disciples. In any situation, he is equipoised, because feeling happiness from within, he is not affected by the presence or absence of external material objects of the senses. All of these are simply engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. If a materialist receives a mansion, he or she will consider how to live there comfortably, while a pure devotee will look for ways to use it for Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa then concludes His description of the qualifications of one who has attained the brahma-bhūta stage. Texts 25 and 26 may be taken together:

“Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme. Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.”

Such a devotee is free from all sins (the result of giving up false ego and working only for Kṛṣṇa), is free from doubt, and is beyond the material dualities that come from it (the result of transcendental realization). His mind is engaged within (the result of fixing his mind on the transcendental platform), and he is busy, working for the welfare of all. He is also free from anger and material desires, self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection.

Prabhupāda connects this welfare of all with the performance of devotional service. The central point is that a pure devotee understands that Kṛṣṇa is the source and support of everything, and works in this spirit, gradually trying to bring others to this same understanding. This means that the activities of a pure devotee are always directly or indirectly connected with expanding the mission of the Lord, bringing others to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A pure devotee may thus maintain a temple, for a temple serves many purposes in benefiting the general people. Or, conversely, he may publish books and directly approach people to speak about Kṛṣṇa. He may distribute prasādam or give people spiritual education under the guise of welfare work, and so on.

As Prabhupāda mentions:

“When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.”

On the other hand, a materialist will never be able to factually benefit others, because all his activities will be on the bodily platform. One may give food to the poor, but without being offered to Kṛṣṇa, this food will just further entangle them in karmic reactions. We can see that due to this lack of knowledge, the whole effort is ultimately wasted. The question is not that one should not do welfare work; the point is that one should connect it with Kṛṣṇa.

Ultimately, people do not suffer because of the lack of food or other material facilities; they suffer because they have forgotten Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Only when we perform our activities in this consciousness can we truly benefit people.

Can other types of transcendentalists, like impersonalists and yogīs, attain the stage of brahma-bhūta? They can, but their advancement is much more difficult, and they always face the risk of falling due to the smallest agitation, even after practicing for a very long time.

Prabhupāda describes this point in his purport to text 5.26:

“In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep-rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, perfect in self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-realization, he always remains in trance.”

The root cause of conditioned life is the desire of the soul to enjoy independently from Kṛṣṇa. Devotional service uproots this desire because it gives a higher engagement and higher taste. A devotee may thus fall at an immature stage, but as soon as he becomes fixed, his position becomes secure.

Liberation is thus not about a physical location, but about attaining this state of consciousness where one becomes strongly connected with Kṛṣṇa. Even while living in the material world, a devotee can become connected with Kṛṣṇa and elevate himself to the spiritual world by constantly thinking of Him. This stage is called brahma-nirvāṇa, the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.”

a) The soul is eternal, but the body is temporary. Temporary happiness cannot satisfy the eternal soul. Thus, a liberated soul, situated in knowledge, is not interested in temporary sense gratification.

b) Material happiness is available even for animals, just as material suffering is. We should, therefore, not work hard for obtaining it. Instead, we should purify our existence and enjoy the transcendental platform. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he or she is entrapped by material miseries. Therefore, those who are truly learned are not attracted by them.

“Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.”

a) We need to learn to control our senses to make progress on the path of self-realization. One who can control the urges of the senses is called a gosvāmī. We need to learn this art while living in this body, so we may attain liberation at the end of this life.

b) Why is it so difficult to control the senses? We have to go to the root cause, and control desire. When desire is not satiated, it generates anger, which agitates the mind. A transcendentalist works hard to control desire and anger. One who can do that becomes happy in a state of self-realization.

“One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.”

a) It is not possible to renounce material happiness unless one feels happiness from within. That’s the secret of a liberated person. He can be happy by just sitting anywhere and enjoying his internal spiritual activities. This level is called brahma-bhūta.

“Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.”

a) Kṛṣṇa is the root of all existence. All suffering is due to forgetfulness of Him, and thus, real welfare means to reconnect people with their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A person who is situated in real knowledge, freed from all sins, can see this perfectly, and thus acts in this spirit. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without having attained a state of divine love, being liberated in the Supreme.

b) On the other hand, one working only on the level of mundane welfare cannot factually help anyone. He works only on the level of temporary relief of the body and mind, without addressing the real cause.

“Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.”

a) Among all saintly persons who strive for liberation, the devotee is the best. No other process is as effective in controlling the senses as being engaged in devotional service.

b) The desire for material enjoyment is so deeply rooted in the conditioned soul that even great sages have difficulty in curbing it. A devotee constantly engaged in devotional service, however, has a positive engagement, and thus quickly attains liberation. He is situated in perfect knowledge and always remains in trance.

c) How is a devotee elevated to the spiritual world? By simply thinking of the Lord constantly, being engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In that state, even while living in this material world, the devotee already lives on the transcendental platform, without feeling material miseries.

Next: Introducing dhyāna-yoga and its goal (5.27 to 5.29)

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💬 Text of the lesson

“A person is considered no better than a crow if after receiving some food, he does not divide it among guests, old men and children, but simply eats it himself, or if he eats it without performing the five kinds of sacrifice. After death he is put into the most abominable hell, known as Kṛmibhojana. In that hell is a lake 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] wide and filled with worms. He becomes a worm in that lake and feeds on the other worms there, who also feed on him. Unless he atones for his actions before his death, such a sinful man remains in the hellish lake of Kṛmibhojana for as many years as there are yojanas in the width of the lake.” (SB 5.26.18)

Sharing food is considered a very important principle in Vedic society. The central idea is that food is given by the Supreme Lord; it doesn’t belong to us. It should thus be first offered in sacrifice, and then the prasāda should be distributed to others. Prabhupāda quotes Bg 3.13 and 3.9 in his purport to sustain this point.

In Vedic societies, there would be many itinerant sages who would dedicate themselves to serving the Lord and educating society and would depend on the charity of the householders to eat. Each family would thus always cook extra to feed these exalted guests as well as other hungry people who would be around. Similarly, a man, as the head of the family, was supposed to feed his dependents, including his wife, children, elderly parents, etc. If one just eats without sharing food with all these dependents or offering it to the Lord, one becomes eligible to be born as a worm in this hellish lake.

Another similar verse is SB 5.26.35, which describes an envious person who mistreats such guests:

“A householder who receives guests or visitors with cruel glances, as if to burn them to ashes, is put into the hell called Paryāvartana, where he is gazed at by hard-eyed vultures, herons, crows and similar birds, which suddenly swoop down and pluck out his eyes with great force.”

In summary, receiving guests and distributing prasāda should be accepted as an important duty in family life, that we should perform with happiness according to our means. As Kṛṣṇa mentions in the Gītā (17.20-21), charity given out of duty, without expectation of return, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person is considered to be in the mode of goodness. Conversely, charity performed with the expectation of some return, or with a desire for fruitive results, or in a grudging mood is said to be charity in the mode of passion.

“My dear King, a person who in the absence of an emergency robs a brāhmaṇa — or, indeed, anyone else — of his gems and gold is put into a hell known as Sandaṁśa. There his skin is torn and separated by red-hot iron balls and tongs. In this way, his entire body is cut to pieces.” (SB 5.26.19)

When we speak about not eating meat, people often bring forth the idea of killing animals to feed starving people and other extreme situations. This idea of emergency situations is acknowledged in the Vedas. One may have to kill an animal, or even be forced to steal, to survive some extreme situation. That is understandable. If, however, one performs such activities when there is no emergency, unnecessarily causing suffering to others, one becomes punishable.

Another similar verse is 5.26.27: “In this world, some persons are professional plunderers who set fire to others’ houses or administer poison to them. Also, members of the royalty or government officials sometimes plunder mercantile men by forcing them to pay income tax and by other methods. After death such demons are put into the hell known as Sārameyādana. On that planet there are 720 dogs with teeth as strong as thunderbolts. Under the orders of the agents of Yamarāja, these dogs voraciously devour such sinful people.”

“A man or woman who indulges in sexual intercourse with an unworthy member of the opposite sex is punished after death by the assistants of Yamarāja in the hell known as Taptasūrmi. There such men and women are beaten with whips. The man is forced to embrace a red-hot iron form of a woman, and the woman is forced to embrace a similar form of a man. Such is the punishment for illicit sex. A person who indulges in sex indiscriminately — even with animals — is taken after death to the hell known as Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī. In this hell there is a silk-cotton tree full of thorns as strong as thunderbolts. The agents of Yamarāja hang the sinful man on that tree and pull him down forcibly so that the thorns very severely tear his body.” (SB 5.26.20-21)

In Vedic societies, people would be extremely careful about their sex lives, being sure to follow the principles that would bring forth good children, who could be trained to follow the path of dharma and uphold the family traditions.

Illicit sex is often described as the most sinful activity, because it invites a degraded soul to take shelter in the womb. A child may be innocent when small, but as one grows up, the nature of one’s past life comes to the surface, and one continues on the path one was previously. One may not kill brāhmanas or cows, but if he or she is the cause of the birth of people who will perform these activities, one also becomes responsible. That’s precisely the problem with promiscuous sex. It has immediate consequences, in terms of degrading one’s consciousness and destroying families, and even more serious consequences for the future, for the quality of the descendants it produces.

Uncontrolled sex drive is also the cause of many types of violence, especially against women. Sometimes people molest even animals for this purpose. All of this is also punishable.

Prabhupāda explains this point didactically in his purport to text 20:

“Generally a man should not have sexual relations with any woman other than his wife. According to Vedic principles, the wife of another man is considered one’s mother, and sexual relations are strictly forbidden with one’s mother, sister and daughter. If one indulges in illicit sexual relations with another man’s wife, that activity is considered identical with having sex with one’s mother. This act is most sinful. The same principle holds for a woman also; if she enjoys sex with a man other than her husband, the act is tantamount to having sexual relations with her father or son. Illicit sex life is always forbidden, and any man or woman who indulges in it is punished in the manner described in this verse.”

Becoming degraded

“A person who is born into a responsible family — such as a kṣatriya, a member of royalty or a government servant — but who neglects to execute his prescribed duties according to religious principles, and who thus becomes degraded, falls down at the time of death into the river of hell known as Vaitaraṇī. This river, which is a moat surrounding hell, is full of ferocious aquatic animals. When a sinful man is thrown into the river Vaitaraṇī, the aquatic animals there immediately begin to eat him, but because of his extremely sinful life, he does not leave his body. He constantly remembers his sinful activities and suffers terribly in that river, which is full of stool, urine, pus, blood, hair, nails, bones, marrow, flesh and fat.” (SB 5.26.22)

Many of the punishments described in this chapter apply only to people from certain classes or occupying certain positions, taking into account one’s varṇa, knowledge, duties, and social responsibilities. The higher one’s social and spiritual position, the more is expected, and the more serious the consequences of failing to follow basic religious and moral principles. This suggests that varṇa and the level of training and facilities one receives affect the consequences one faces. A person in a lower varṇa, such as a śūdra or lower than a śūdra, might not be held to the same standard or suffer the same punishment for the same acts, just like children in primary school are not supposed to answer the same tests as adults in the university.

“The shameless husbands of lowborn śūdra women live exactly like animals, and therefore they have no good behavior, cleanliness or regulated life. After death, such persons are thrown into the hell called Pūyoda, where they are put into an ocean filled with pus, stool, urine, mucus, saliva and similar things. Śūdras who could not improve themselves fall into that ocean and are forced to eat those disgusting things.” (SB 5.26.23)

Brāhmanas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are supposed to perform the duties and regulations prescribed to their own classes. There are many reasons for that, but one of them is because they occupy responsible, privileged positions on which many others depend. If a brāhmana fails to give the proper example and educate people in religious principles, people become irreligious, perform sinful activities, and go to hell, and thus the brāhmana also shares part of these sins. Similarly, if a kṣatriya fails to perform his duty of protecting people, or abuses his position, he causes suffering to many innocent persons, and thus becomes punishable. The same applies in a lesser degree to a vaiśya, who is supposed to protect many workers, animals, etc.

Śūdras are not expected to perform the same level of duties at the start, but they must try to elevate themselves. It is not because one has been born into a degraded position that one should stay there. We should use the higher intelligence we receive in human life to improve ourselves, no matter how high or low our current birth is, what kind of education we received, or what kind of mistakes we made in the past. In any case, we should reform ourselves, and the most practical way to do that in the age we live in is by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

“If in this life a man of the higher classes [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya] is very fond of taking his pet dogs, mules or asses into the forest to hunt and kill animals unnecessarily, he is placed after death into the hell known as Prāṇarodha. There the assistants of Yamarāja make him their targets and pierce him with arrows.”(SB 5.26.24)

Animal hunting is not entirely prohibited in the Vedas, but was practiced under very strict conditions. Hunters and forest dwellers would kill animals without cruelty and chant a mantra on the ear of the dying animal, promising that just as they are killing the animal to eat its flesh, the animal would kill them in a future life. In this case, the hunter would still have to be killed in a future life, following the laws of nature, but he would not go to hell. This custom is still followed in some tribes of Africa.

Kṣatriyas would be allowed to hunt ferocious animals such as tigers to practice their military skills. This was considered a duty to control the population of these animals and prevent them from attacking innocent sages and villagers, and similarly, brāhmanas would sometimes sacrifice animals in sacrifices. This was also under the scope of their duties and would not produce reactions if executed under the proper regulations.

Hunting animals unnecessarily, as a form of sport, is condemnable in any circumstance, but it is especially serious for members of the higher classes, who are supposed to follow the principles of the scriptures. If a brāhmana, kṣatriya, or vaiśya disregards all these regulations and hunts animals for sport, one becomes eligible to be punished in this particular hell.

Unnecessary sacrifices

“A person who in this life is proud of his eminent position, and who heedlessly sacrifices animals simply for material prestige, is put into the hell called Viśasana after death. There the assistants of Yamarāja kill him after giving him unlimited pain.” (SB 5.26.25)

Prabhupāda connects this verse with caste brāhmanas who kill animals as a supposed sacrifice to Durgā, as it is popular in many parts of India:

“The word dambha-yajñeṣu in this verse is significant. If one violates the Vedic instructions while performing yajña and simply makes a show of sacrifice for the purpose of killing animals, he is punishable after death. In Calcutta there are many slaughterhouses where animal flesh is sold that has supposedly been offered in sacrifice before the goddess Kālī. The śāstras enjoin that one can sacrifice a small goat before the goddess Kālī once a month. Nowhere is it said that one can maintain a slaughterhouse in the name of temple worship and daily kill animals unnecessarily. Those who do so receive the punishments described herein.”

Sexual violence, false witness, intoxication, false pride

“If a foolish member of the twice-born classes [brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya] forces his wife to drink his semen out of a lusty desire to keep her under control, he is put after death into the hell known as Lālābhakṣa. There he is thrown into a flowing river of semen, which he is forced to drink.” (SB 5.26.26)

Women often become victims of different forms of sensualized violence. One common form is when a woman is pressed into performing oral sex and taking the semen. It appears that it was also sometimes done in previous ages by men as a way to make their wives submissive; this is defined by Prabhupāda as a black art, a demoniac practice. Here a specific hell is mentioned for that.

“A person who in this life bears false witness or lies while transacting business or giving charity is severely punished after death by the agents of Yamarāja. Such a sinful man is taken to the top of a mountain eight hundred miles high and thrown headfirst into the hell known as Avīcimat. This hell has no shelter and is made of strong stone resembling the waves of water. There is no water there, however, and thus it is called Avīcimat [waterless]. Although the sinful man is repeatedly thrown from the mountain and his body broken to tiny pieces, he still does not die but continuously suffers chastisement.” (SB 5.26.28)

Families are one of the pillars of society. Another is trust. When people can’t trust each other in basic transactions, life becomes extremely difficult. Anṛtam means lie. Lies are always wrong, but this verse applies specifically to lies that undermine three important dharmic functions: justice, economic trust, and religious trust.

The first is sākṣye (when giving witness). This undermines the principle of justice, potentially causing an innocent to be condemned or a culprit to be freed. Another is dravya-vinimaye (in commercial exchanges), which undermines economic trust and creates problems for others. The third is dāne (in acts of charity), when one promises to give something and later break his promise. All three of them are considered serious sins. We should be honest in our dealings and never deliberately lie to gain advantage.

“Any brāhmaṇa or brāhmaṇa’s wife who drinks liquor is taken by the agents of Yamarāja to the hell known as Ayaḥpāna. This hell also awaits any kṣatriya, vaiśya, or person under a vow who in illusion drinks soma-rasa. In Ayaḥpāna the agents of Yamarāja stand on their chests and pour hot melted iron into their mouths.” (SB 5.26.29)

Prabhupāda explains that “One should not be a brāhmaṇa in name only and engage in all kinds of sinful activities, especially drinking liquor. Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas must behave according to the principles of their order. If they fall down to the level of śūdras, who are accustomed to drink liquor, they will be punished as described herein.”

It is much better to be an honest worker than artificially maintain an exalted position just for the sake of privileges.

“A lowborn and abominable person who in this life becomes falsely proud, thinking “I am great,” and who thus fails to show proper respect to one more elevated than he by birth, austerity, education, behavior, caste or spiritual order, is like a dead man even in this lifetime, and after death he is thrown headfirst into the hell known as Kṣārakardama. There he must suffer great tribulation at the hands of the agents of Yamarāja.” (SB 5.26.30)

In Vedic culture, people are very strictly about offering respects to senior persons. This is another essential part of the social structure. If seniors are not respected, they can’t transmit their knowledge, culture and experience to the next generations, and society gradually descends into barbarism. By being respectful to seniors we can benefit from their experience and gain their blessings, and this is especially important in spiritual life. Excessive pride breaks this process, and thus makes us eligible to punishment.

“There are men and women in this world who sacrifice human beings to Bhairava or Bhadra Kālī and then eat their victims’ flesh. Those who perform such sacrifices are taken after death to the abode of Yamarāja, where their victims, having taken the form of Rākṣasas, cut them to pieces with sharpened swords. Just as in this world the man-eaters drank their victims’ blood, dancing and singing in jubilation, their victims now enjoy drinking the blood of the sacrificers and celebrating in the same way.” (SB 5.26.31)

Human sacrifices are not sanctioned anywhere in the Vedas. Even animal sacrifices are not practiced with the goal of killing the animal, but merely testing the power of the mantra, sacrificing an old animal and immediately reviving it. However, as time passed, this original understanding of sacrifice was forgotten, and people started to indiscriminately kill animals, with some going to the point of human sacrifice, like in the case of certain classes of followers of Kālī. It is described that Jaḍa Bhārata was once captured by one of such groups. There is a particular hell for those who do this kind of thing.

“One who in this world or this life is very proud of his wealth always thinks, “I am so rich. Who can equal me?” His vision is twisted, and he is always afraid that someone will take his wealth. Indeed, he even suspects his superiors. His face and heart dry up at the thought of losing his wealth, and therefore he always looks like a wretched fiend. He is not in any way able to obtain actual happiness, and he does not know what it is to be free from anxiety. Because of the sinful things he does to earn money, augment his wealth and protect it, he is put into the hell called Sūcīmukha, where the officials of Yamarāja punish him by stitching thread through his entire body like weavers manufacturing cloth.” (SB 5.26.36)

In his purport, Prabhupāda makes the point that whatever money we earn should be used for Kṛṣṇa, since all belongs to Him. Maharaja Parīkṣit allowed Kali to live in five places: where there is gambling, intoxication, prostitution, animal slaughter, and where there is accumulation of money, since money enables all the other four activities. Too much money also brings pride and greed, which are two great obstacles for any transcendentalist. When a person becomes greedy, one tries to accumulate more and more money, often by dishonest means, and, becoming proud, he disrespects superiors.

The ultimate purpose of the study of the cosmos

“My dear King Parīkṣit, in the province of Yamarāja there are hundreds and thousands of hellish planets. The impious people I have mentioned — and also those I have not mentioned — must all enter these various planets according to the degree of their impiety. Those who are pious, however, enter other planetary systems, namely the planets of the demigods. Nevertheless, both the pious and impious are again brought to earth after the results of their pious or impious acts are exhausted.” (SB 5.26.37)

Śukadeva Goswami named 28 hellish planets in this chapter (you can find a summary by Prabhupāda in the introduction of the chapter), but he now reveals that there are thousands of other planets with different types of punishment for many different types of sins. The rule is that if one commits sins during his life and doesn’t atone for them before death, one has to visit these different planets, according to the severity of his acts.

How can one atone for his sins? There are processes of atonement prescribed in the Vedas, but they are generally not possible for people of our age, nor are they interested. Practically speaking, the only viable process is that one should become a devotee and chant the holy names sincerely; that’s the practical process for our age.

We can see that Prabhupāda was always emphasizing this point of the chanting of the holy names when meeting with members of other faiths, emphasizing that they should chant whatever names of God are mentioned in their scriptures, and if they don’t know any name, they should take from us. This point is emphasized in the Sixth Canto, where we are offered a graphic example of how even a very sinful person can be saved from the Yamadūtas by sincerely chanting the holy names, even if at the last moment.

The material world is a very dangerous place. We often prefer to close our eyes and focus on whatever material enjoyment we can find, trying to convince ourselves that everything is all right, and that this situation will continue. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Practically everything we call pleasure, in the material sense, is based on creating suffering for others. We can drive a car only at the costs of many people working on minimum wage all over the world to produce all the parts used in it, combined with all the animals and other creatures that suffer due to the pollution it generates, or that are crushed under its wheels. Everything we eat is produced from the smashed bodies of other living beings, plants or animals, and even the house we live in is the product of a destroyed forest, or some other form of environmental degradation. We may like to think ourselves non-violent just because we are vegetarian, but that’s not how it works on a cosmic scale.

As Kṛṣṇa explains in the Gītā, work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise, work causes bondage in this material world. All types of material activities create suffering for others in one way or another; even a walk in the park causes so many insects to be crushed under our feet. The way to become free from all of this is to perform our activities for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, connecting our activities with His service. When we do that, Kṛṣṇa protects us from all karmic reactions, and assures us that even creatures who are eventually harmed in the course of these activities may advance. That’s how human life is meant to be lived, and that’s the only workable formula for lasting happiness.

As Prabhupāda explains in his purport: “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” This is the perfection of life and the real solution to life’s problems. We should not be eager to go to the higher, heavenly planetary systems, nor should we act in such a way that we have to go to the hellish planets. The complete purpose of this material world will be fulfilled when we resume our spiritual identities and go back home, back to Godhead.”

“In the beginning [the second and third cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam] I have already described how one can progress on the path of liberation. In the Purāṇas the vast universal existence, which is like an egg divided into fourteen parts, is described. This vast form is considered the external body of the Lord, created by His energy and qualities. It is generally called the virāṭ-rūpa. If one reads the description of this external form of the Lord with great faith, or if one hears about it or explains it to others to propagate bhāgavata-dharma, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his faith and devotion in spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will gradually increase. Although developing this consciousness is very difficult, by this process one can purify himself and gradually come to an awareness of the Supreme Absolute Truth.” (SB 5.26.38)

In the previous verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmi concluded his explanation of the Vedic universe. Now, he explains why this description is useful.

The description of the universe in the Fifth Canto is similar to the description of the virāṭ-rūpa offered in the 2nd and 3rd cantos that has the purpose of helping the yogī to see the universe as a form of the Lord, and thus meditate on Him. If a yogī can directly meditate on the transcendental form of the Lord, this is much better, but the question is that it is not so easy in the beginning. A yogī is thus instructed to start with what he can see, the expansive universe we see when we look to the sky, and imagine it as a form of the Lord, connecting the different planetary systems and natural features of our planet with parts of His body. By doing that, a yogī learns to focus his mind and grows in spiritual realization and gradually comes to realize the transcendental form of the Lord.

Similarly, if we come to the stage of being interested only in the transcendental form of the Lord—His qualities, pastimes, and so on—and completely lose interest in this material creation, that’s perfect. As long as we are not on this platform, however, we can advance by studying the composition of the material universe and learning to see all of its features as manifestations of Kṛṣṇa’s potency. Just as a yogī meditating in the universal form, we grow in spiritual realization by doing that. As Śukadeva Gosvāmi explains, “If one reads the description of this external form of the Lord with great faith, or if one hears about it or explains it to others to propagate bhāgavata-dharma, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his faith and devotion in spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will gradually increase.”

People normally have curiosity in understanding the world around them. Modern educators hijack this natural propensity, using it to teach people an atheistic model of the universe that pushes them away from God consciousness. Śukadeva Gosvāmi, however, offers an alternative: the theistic view of the universe described in these pages. Prabhupāda had the view that if correctly understood, the model of the Vedic universe could form a coherent response to modern scientific theories, offering people an option.

He envisioned the temple of the Vedic planetarium as a vehicle to spread this alternative version, with a giant chandelier showing a working model of the Vedic universe, and different exhibitions explaining the different concepts that are part of the model. By studying this model and learning to see the universe in connection with Kṛṣṇa, understanding how our acts in this life affect our consciousness and how our consciousness determines where we stay in this gigantic universal creation, people can automatically advance in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. As Śukadeva Gosvāmi explains: “by this process one can purify himself and gradually come to an awareness of the Supreme Absolute Truth.”

Prabhupāda emphasizes this point in his purport, connecting our cosmological study with the ultimate goal of reviving our original Kṛṣṇa Consciousness:

“The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is pushing forward the publication of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as explained especially for the understanding of the modern civilized man, to awaken him to his original consciousness. Without this consciousness, one melts into complete darkness. Whether one goes to the upper planetary systems or the hellish planetary systems, he simply wastes his time. Therefore one should hear of the universal position of the virāṭ form of the Lord as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That will help one save himself from material conditional life and gradually elevate him to the path of liberation so that he can go back home, back to Godhead.”

“One who is interested in liberation, who accepts the path of liberation and is not attracted to the path of conditional life, is called yati, or a devotee. Such a person should first control his mind by thinking of the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic universal form of the Lord, and then gradually think of the spiritual form of Kṛṣṇa [sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha] after hearing of both forms. Thus one’s mind is fixed in samādhi. By devotional service one can then realize the spiritual form of the Lord, which is the destination of devotees. Thus his life becomes successful.” (SB 5.26.39)

Here, the process to help common people reach spiritual consciousness is further explained. First, we should study the Vedic universe, learning to see the Lord behind the cosmic manifestation. After acquiring a little faith, one should hear about the spiritual form of the Lord and gradually move his meditation from the material manifestation to the spiritual form of the Lord, gradually reaching samādhi. However, he alerts that the spiritual form of the Lord can’t be understood by academic study alone: to realize the spiritual form of the Lord, we need to practice devotional service. Practical devotional service is thus an integral part of the process.

Prabhupāda saw the spiritual society he created as a vehicle for both education and practical engagement of the public in the process of devotional service.

Once, Madan Mohan Malaviya, the vice-chancellor of the Benares Hindu University, came to the Gaudiya Math to ask some intricate philosophical questions to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura. Asked the questions, however, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta answered that he should go to the next room and ask the devotees who were polishing the ārati paraphernalia of the deities.

The scholar was skeptical that these devotees could answer such difficult questions on Vedanta philosophy, but since Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta insisted, he decided to go and ask them. When he approached them, they immediately engaged him and helped to polish the different items, a task that took some time.

Even though he was a famous scholar, Madan Mohan was humble in heart and agreed to help them in their service. As he did that, however, something changed in his heart. Suddenly, he could understand the intricate questions that were previously troubling him. By the time he finished polishing the brass items, everything was clear in his mind.

When he went back to the first room, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī asked if he got the answer to his questions, and he confirmed that as he helped polish the paraphernalia, the answers automatically came to mind. Bhaktisiddhānta then explained that the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness can be understood only through a service attitude (sevonmukhe hi jihvado); it can’t be understood just by reading books. He then described the example of his own Guru Maharaja, Śrīla Gaura Kiśora Dās Babaji, who, although illiterate, had the highest level of spiritual realization and could explain all kinds of intricate philosophical concepts, because he was sevonmukha, inclined to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Before meeting Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura, the scholar was trying to find the answers by mere intellectual exercises. Bhaktisiddhānta understood that his problem was not a lack of intellectual arguments but simply the fact that he never started the process of practical devotional service. When this gap was finally filled, he could finally understand everything.

“My dear King, I have now described for you this planet earth, other planetary systems, and their lands [varṣas], rivers and mountains. I have also described the sky, the oceans, the lower planetary systems, the directions, the hellish planetary systems and the stars. These constitute the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic material form of the Lord, on which all living entities repose. Thus I have explained the wonderful expanse of the external body of the Lord.” (SB 5.26.40)

Ultimately, the purpose of the description of the universe in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is to bring us to the platform of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Śukadeva Gosvāmi tries to conduct us to this ultimate realization in several ways.

The first is by describing the structure of the material universe, and thus helping us to understand its temporary nature and realize the futility of a life of sense gratification, even if in celestial conditions. What is the value of gaining one million dollars if the money will disappear in five minutes? Would one billion make it any better? Or one trillion? The point is not the amount, but the fact that it is not really ours. An intelligent person wants something permanent. Similarly, the opulent life of the inhabitants of Bhū-mandala, or of the demigods in Svargaloka, sounds purposeless when we understand the futility and illusion of it.

A second way in which Śukadeva Gosvāmi pushes us in the direction of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is by including the prayers of great personalities, such as Prahlāda Maharaja and Hanumān, who act as the leaders of the different varṣas of Jambūdvīpa, as well as many other great devotees. In the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa mentions that “Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” Everyone is inclined to follow great personalities, and thus, by seeing that the greatest personalities of the universe worship Kṛṣṇa and consider devotional service the ultimate goal of life, we also become inclined to do the same.

Apart from describing the higher realms of the universe, he also describes the realms of the asuras, where people remain blind to the path of self-realization, as well as the hellish planets, which are the ultimate result of materialistic life. This compounds the previous arguments: to become either a great devotee or a successful materialist, we need to accept austerities and inconveniences. Nothing comes for free. The difference is that the devotional path ultimately makes us free from all material contaminations and eligible for eternal blissful life in the spiritual world, while the materialistic path makes us progressively more conditioned, under the control of lust, anger, and other qualities, down to the level of the inhabitants of Pātāla and eventually to hell. When we understand where the two paths lead us, the choice becomes obvious.

Finally, he describes the importance of educating the innocent public on this important science. Once they come in contact with this description of the universe, learning about the different paths we can take inside of it, and learning to see it in relation to Kṛṣṇa, it becomes natural for them to follow the path of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

The description of Śukadeva Gosvāmi continues in the Sixth Canto, with the description of the pastime of Ajāmila, a practical example of the potency of the holy names that brings us hope after hearing the description of the hard reality of the souls entrapped in hell. This description is also a call for action, illustrating how even a little bit of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness can drastically change the destiny of even the most sinful people. How can we sit at home after understanding the difference we can make?

From this, more details of the process of devotional service are given, culminating with the description of the personal pastimes of the Lord in the Tenth Canto. As he mentioned, we should first hear about the universal form and then hear about the spiritual pastimes of the Lord. After hearing of both forms, we can gradually break our fixation on the physical world we see around us, and bring our mind to fixed meditation on the transcendental form, qualities, pastimes, etc. of the Supreme Lord.

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

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Often we say that devotional service is eternal, and even if someone does just a little in this life, he or she can be saved. Śrila Prabhupada went as far as saying that if someone reads just one line of his books, his life can change. Krsna Himself says in the Bhagavad-Gita that “In this endeavor, there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.”

Seeing from this perspective, everything is very simple and easy. We just need to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and broadcast the mercy by chanting in public, distributing books, and reaching people in other ways. If the idea is to make people Kṛṣṇa conscious, why do we need to bring all the institutional talk about accepting a guru? Why can’t people just practice on their own?

On the one hand, the scriptures advertise the potency of the holy names, giving examples like the history of Ajamila, who was saved by just chanting the name of Narayana once when calling his son. On this line, there are statements like “there are no hard and fast rules,” spoken by Mahaprabhu Himself. On the other hand, the same scriptures mention that one can’t go back to Godhead without accepting a spiritual master and being trained under him. How can we reconcile the two sides?

The point is that these two categories of statements refer to people in different stages of spiritual development. Anyone can start and go to a certain point by just reading books and chanting; that’s why Śrila Prabhupada asked us to distribute his books. There is no prerequisite for taking a book or for chanting when one sees devotees on the streets. Everyone is welcome to join, regardless of having a pious or sinful life, being clean or not, being educated or not, etc.

At a certain point, however, one should accept a spiritual master to move further. When one comes to this stage, different layers of discipline become necessary. One has to abandon previous sinful habits and lead a clean life. He needs to be submissive to the spiritual master (a student who is not submissive can’t properly learn) and so on.

There are therefore two priorities: to convince people to start and to convince devotees who have already come to a certain level to go further. When we talk to new people, we emphasize the flexibility of the process, the absence of hard and fast rules, and so on. These are the aspects most essential in the beginning, and the flexibility encourages them to start practicing and thus benefit from the chanting and association with devotees. This is not a “preaching strategy”; it is the proper instruction at the moment. In the beginning, the priority is to hear, chant, and associate with spiritually advanced people, not to follow each and every detail.

As we advance, however, regulated practice becomes more important. Now, the priority is not just to chant a few times, but to chant every day. Not just to hear once from a sadhu, but to regularly study the philosophy and so on. Simultaneously, we also have to follow the spiritual principles, staying away from bad habits and activities that may jeopardize our practice.

One may prefer not to assume any vows and simply practice spontaneously, chanting whenever he feels like, and maybe following a principle or two. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no loss or diminution; therefore, even one who is reluctant to become serious in spiritual life will have other chances in the future. This is the power of the devotional process: as we start practicing devotional service, we receive progressively more opportunities to continue and advance further. Even someone who just starts in this life will have an opportunity to continue in the next life.

However, for the ones who are serious, who don’t want to play with the future, there is a certain process to be followed.

This is described in the Caitanya-caritāmrta (Madhya 23.14-15) by Mahāprabhu Himself:

“ ‘In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sādhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.’

We can see that accepting a spiritual master comes close to the start of the process, followed by the regulated practice of devotional service that leads to the advanced stages. Kṛṣṇa explains this need in the Gītā, when He mentions:

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.
Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries. As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.”

It is difficult to agree to follow the process seriously without having a guide that corrects us and inspires our faith. Without such guidance, we tend to create our own process, accepting a few things and rejecting others, doing only what is comfortable for us. Another danger is that we can very easily create a new philosophy, interpreting what we hear according to our own convictions, instead of the opposite. When we take all of this together, we can easily see that without the help of someone who knows the path, it is very easy to get lost. One can learn a lot by watching videos on YouTube, but to advance past a certain point, one must go to a university or find a private teacher.

Accepting a spiritual master is a simple and natural step. We often make it an institutional affair, but it is not supposed to be like that. As Prabhupāda mentions, “Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on. (CC Ādi 1.35)

As one starts hearing about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one will naturally find devotees who inspire faith and who help him or her to progress, and as time passes and the relationship is established and reinforced, initiation becomes a natural step. After that, we just continue to develop this relationship of guidance and trust, gradually coming in contact with more spiritual teachers who gradually also assume the position of instructing gurus for us.

Prabhupāda explains this process in more detail in the same purport:

“If one develops love for Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, one can know the Supreme Absolute Truth, but he who tries to understand God simply by logical arguments will not succeed, nor will he get a taste for unalloyed devotion. The secret is that one must submissively listen to those who know perfectly the science of God, and one must begin the mode of service regulated by the preceptor. A devotee already attracted by the name, form, qualities, etc., of the Supreme Lord may be directed to his specific manner of devotional service; he need not waste time in approaching the Lord through logic. The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage his disciple’s energy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he engages a devotee in a specific devotional service according to his special tendency. A devotee must have only one initiating spiritual master because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one is always forbidden. There is no limit, however, to the number of instructing spiritual masters one may accept. Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in spiritual science becomes his initiating spiritual master later on.”

There is also another point emphasized by Prabhupāda later in the same purport. Often we don’t want to accept anyone because of pride, thinking that we are already perfect and need no help. This thinking is common in material life, sometimes even encouraged, but it doesn’t at all work in the spiritual process. No one goes to Kṛṣṇa by his own power. We always need His mercy to progress, and this mercy comes to us through His devotees. See this point, for example:

“One should always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a spiritual master and be initiated is sure to be baffled in his endeavor to go back to Godhead. One who is not properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee, but in fact he is sure to encounter many stumbling blocks on his path of progress toward spiritual realization, with the result that he must continue his term of material existence without relief. Such a helpless person is compared to a ship without a rudder, for such a ship can never reach its destination. It is imperative, therefore, that one accept a spiritual master if he at all desires to gain the favor of the Lord.”

A problem we have nowadays in our spiritual institution is that there is a small number of authorized gurus, most of them already with thousands of disciples and not physically capable of directly caring for all of them. There are also problems, like obstacles to senior women being allowed to initiate and so on. This creates many situations where one may have a relationship with a senior devotee, with established trust and faith, and not be allowed to be initiated by him or her simply because the chosen teacher is not in the small list of accepted initiating gurus.

It is, however, important to keep in mind that these are temporary obstacles we have to learn to navigate. My personal advice is to focus first on the relationship, not on initiation. It works better if, in the beginning, we focus more on learning, asking questions, obtaining guidance, and establishing trust, leaving the question of initiation for later. The right question is not “Who can initiate me?” but “Who can guide me?” Once we find a spiritual teacher in whom we trust, who can guide us and help us find our way, initiation is just another detail that our instructing spiritual master can help us to navigate.

Prabhupāda explains this point in more detail in his purport to CC Ādi 1.47:

“Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī states that the instructing spiritual master is a bona fide representative of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself teaches us as the instructing spiritual master from within and without. From within He teaches as Paramātmā, our constant companion, and from without He teaches from the Bhagavad-gītā as the instructing spiritual master. There are two kinds of instructing spiritual masters. One is the liberated person fully absorbed in meditation in devotional service, and the other is he who invokes the disciple’s spiritual consciousness by means of relevant instructions. Thus the instructions in the science of devotion are differentiated in terms of the objective and subjective ways of understanding. The ācārya in the true sense of the term, who is authorized to deliver Kṛṣṇa, enriches the disciple with full spiritual knowledge and thus awakens him to the activities of devotional service.”

The spiritual master is the representative of Kṛṣṇa; he is the person through which Kṛṣṇa can speak to us. The diksa guru is essential in the sense that he is supposed to also be the primary instructing guru. If the relationship with the diksa guru is merely ceremonial, then the benefit is very limited.

The purpose of accepting a guru is not to obtain a spiritual name or prestige inside the group. The purpose is to develop a genuine relationship of trust and service, where we can find proper spiritual guidance. Formal initiation should consolidate this relationship, not serve as a relationship for it.

Read more:

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

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If we pay attention, we can find an apparent contradiction in the 11th chapter of the Gītā. In text 52, Kṛṣṇa says:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, this form of Mine you are now seeing is very difficult to behold. Even the demigods are ever seeking the opportunity to see this form, which is so dear.”

Here, Kṛṣṇa mentions that He is very difficult to behold, and even demigods cannot see Him. At the same time, however, when He was present on earth, everyone could see Him, including even common people. How can this two ideas be reconciled?

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura deals with this question in his Rasika-Rañjana commentary. He explains that there are three levels at which one can see Kṛṣṇa: avidvat-pratīti, yauktita-pratīti, and vidvat-pratīti. In the three levels, one sees something, but only in the third level can one truly see Kṛṣṇa. In the other two, Kṛṣṇa remains covered by His yoga-māyā potency.

What are these levels?

Avidvat-pratīti means perception without knowledge. This is the level of common people. They see Kṛṣṇa with their material eyes and material minds, and as a result they can’t at all perceive Him. They think He is just an ordinary man. We can see that many demons who encountered Kṛṣṇa, such as Śiśupāla, had this mentality.

The second level, yauktita-pratīti, means logical perception. This is the view of jñānis and others who are proud of their knowledge, including even demigods. Demigods, of course, are devotees, and many of them came to meet Kṛṣṇa, but this was due to His mercy, and not to their own personal ability. We can thus say that demigods cannot see Kṛṣṇa, but sometimes they meet Kṛṣṇa by His mercy, when He desires to show Himself to them. One example of this is Brahma. Even though Kṛṣṇa was present on earth, Brahmā could not recognize Him at first, and even kidnapped His cowherd boys to test His power. Only later, when Kṛṣṇa showed him His potency, could Brahmā understand, by His mercy.

If even demigods cannot see Kṛṣṇa by their own power, what to say about others? Those who rely only on their knowledge and intellect end up concluding that Kṛṣṇa must be subordinate to Brahman or the universal form. They then accept Kṛṣṇa as just a temporary worshipable form. Again, they fail to see Him.

Modern speculators conclude that it is not to Kṛṣṇa that we should surrender, but to the eternal unborn speaking through Him, but those who receive the Gitā through the disciplic succession accept Kṛṣṇa’s words and Arjuna’s conclusion.

Who can see Kṛṣṇa then? Only devotees can truly see Kṛṣṇa, for they have spiritual eyes by which they directly experience Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual form, the supreme abode of eternity, knowledge, and the ultimate expression of spiritual bliss. This is called vidvat-pratīti (perception with real knowledge), and is achievable only through pure devotion, as in the case of Arjuna.

Without devotion, even study, austerity, charity, and sacrifice cannot produce this realization. The human brain cannot penetrate the covering of yoga-māyā, and thus all speculative interpretations will fail to reveal Kṛṣṇa. One also cannot find Him by just officially following some religious process. Only one who develops pure devotion by receiving transcendental knowledge through the process of paramparā and practicing the devotional process with faith can come to understand Kṛṣṇa as He is.

This conclusion is offered by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the last two verses of the chapter: Kṛṣṇa can be understood as He is only by undivided devotional service. This is the only process by which one can see Kṛṣṇa directly. For others, He is a great mystery.

In his purports to the two verses, Prabhupāda summarizes the whole process of devotional service, from the beginning of the devotional practices, all the way to the point of dedicating our whole existence to Kṛṣṇa.

Interested?

Here is an expansion of the points he makes:

1) The first point is that Kṛṣṇa can be understood only through undivided devotional service. Although the study of the Vedas, austerity, charity, and even worship are not sufficient to reveal Kṛṣṇa independently, they become effective when practiced with a devotional attitude. Bhakti is thus the active principle of any effective process of self-realization.

2) What are the practical examples? As penance, we can fast on Janmāṣṭamī and on Ekādaśīs. For charity, we can give money to devotees who are engaged in devotional service, spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness throughout the world, and worship should be offered in temples of Kṛṣṇa. Worship in the temple is essential, especially in the beginning of the process.

3) We should be guided in the spiritual process by a bona fide spiritual master, who is a faithful representative in the disciplic succession. Without the guidance of a spiritual master, we will get lost and will not be able to even begin to understand Kṛṣṇa. Just as we have faith in Kṛṣṇa, we should have a similar faith in the spiritual master, accepted as His representative. Prabhupāda connects this point with the words bhaktyā tv ananyayā śakya in the verse (only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am), because accepting a bona fide spiritual master is the very beginning of the process of devotional service, as explained by Kṛṣṇa in chapter four. There are different types of spiritual masters—the vartma-pradarśaka-guru, dīkṣā-guru and śikṣā-gurus—and Prabhupāda himself serves as the main instructing guru through his books. The point is that we should always be under guidance to be able to advance. No one can come to Kṛṣṇa independently.

4) On the other hand, by repeatedly hearing about Kṛṣṇa from authoritative sources, we develop affection for Him. From this initial affection, we can fully engage in devotional service, practicing the nine devotional processes: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord, making friends with Him, and surrendering everything to Him. Even one of these nine processes, when perfected, can lead us to the supreme goal, and by practicing under the guidance of the spiritual master, we can avoid the many traps that can prevent our advancement.

5) By following this process, we can understand whom we are worshiping. Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is the source of Nārāyaṇa and all other expansions.

6) As our devotion develops, Kṛṣṇa’s personal form becomes the center of our attraction, because in His personal form Kṛṣṇa inspires loving devotion, and reciprocates with our service. This is exemplified in the case of Arjuna, who prefers to see Kṛṣṇa instead of the powerful universal form.

7) The ultimate goal of life is to revive our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa and return to Him, back home, back to Godhead. The Bhagavad-gītā is meant to help us attain that, and the process of attainment is devotional service.

8) We should invest our energy in serving Kṛṣṇa. Material life means seeing ourselves as the proprietors and enjoyers, while Kṛṣṇa consciousness means working for Kṛṣṇa. One can work according to one’s inclinations and means. A rich man can dedicate his business to Kṛṣṇa, accepting Him as the real proprietor and using the results to advance His mission. Instead of constructing a big building just for one’s prestige or comfort, one can construct a nice temple for Kṛṣṇa, establish His worship there, and use this temple to bring Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others.

Making one’s house a temple of Kṛṣṇa does not prevent one from living there, and making one’s company Kṛṣṇa’s company does not prevent one from acting as the CEO or executive head there, just as offering a preparation to Kṛṣṇa does not prevent one from accepting the prasāda. There is, however, a great change in consciousness that makes all the difference. Similarly, if one has a garden, one can cultivate tulasīs, as well as flowers and fruits for Kṛṣṇa, and even if we have no material asset or talent that can be directly used for Kṛṣṇa, then we can simply offer our work, cleaning the temple, plowing the land, etc.

9) We should make Kṛṣṇa the highest goal of life, rejecting not only immediate sense gratification, but even promotion to the higher planets or to the impersonal Brahman. Our desire should be fixed in attaining the association of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana. With this goal in mind, we should always engage ourselves in the nine processes of devotional service, culminating with full surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

10) Throughout this process, we should dissociate ourselves from all forms of material contamination that create obstacles to the development of our devotional service, including the different forms of material desires, ambitions, and speculative pursuits. We should also give up the association of persons who are inimical to Kṛṣṇa, remaining without enmity, but not associating closely. Our devotional service should become free from separate material desires and be cultivated favorably for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. When we complete this process, we come to the platform of pure devotional service.

11) A devotee of Kṛṣṇa is friendly to everyone. This means a devotee understands that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only real solution for all the problems of life, and thus works to spread it among all classes, even to the point of risking his life. This is the most powerful method for attracting the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.

As Prabhupāda concludes:

“A Kṛṣṇa conscious person knows that if a man is suffering it is due to his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the highest benefit one can render to human society is relieving one’s neighbor from all material problems. In such a way, a pure devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord. Now, we can imagine how merciful Kṛṣṇa is to those engaged in His service, risking everything for Him. Therefore it is certain that such persons must reach the supreme planet after leaving the body.”

12) At the highest level of devotional service, a devotee does not even desire to attain Goloka Vṛndāvana. His goal becomes not liberation, or even the direct association of Kṛṣṇa, but simply the service itself. At this stage, a devotee simply desires to serve Kṛṣṇa wherever he may be. His service is not conditioned on attaining liberation or not. This supremely selfless desire to serve Kṛṣṇa is the fullest expression of devotion.

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The vision of the self-realized (Bg 5.17 to 5.21)

In the previous section, Kṛṣṇa described the results of perfect knowledge: we acquire firm faith, Kṛṣṇa becomes our shelter, and, as a result, we become fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This produces peace and freedom from all miseries, as we become liberated from material duality. Now, Kṛṣṇa describes in more detail the symptoms of a person situated in such transcendental consciousness. He becomes fixed on the spiritual platform, and his happiness no longer depends on material sense pleasure. He sees all living beings with equal spiritual vision and remains steady amid pleasant and unpleasant circumstances. This vision, however, does not come from mere sentiment; it comes from factual spiritual realization.

Text 17: tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas, tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ
gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ, jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ

“When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.”

Text 18: vidyā-vinaya-sampanne, brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

Text 19: ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo, yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ
nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma, tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ

“Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.”

Text 20: na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya, nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammūḍho, brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ

“A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.”

Text 21: bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā, vindaty ātmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā, sukham akṣayam aśnute

“Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.”

The first verse, 5.17, describes four components of absorption of a devotee on the transcendental platform: buddhayaḥ (the intelligence), ātmānaḥ (the mind) niṣṭhāḥ (faith) and parāyaṇāḥ (refuge). When these four are fully focused on Kṛṣṇa, a devotee becomes free from all misgivings.

There are three levels of understanding of the Absolute Truth: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. One may become fixed in any of these three levels, but ultimately, the spiritual nature of the soul is fully realized only through absorption in the personal form of Kṛṣṇa. The main difference is the realization of the Bhagavān aspect, Kṛṣṇa as a person, which brings us to the platform of service, while Brahman and Paramātmā imply the realization of our spiritual nature without engagement in direct service.

Why is that important? Prabhupāda elaborates in his purport:

“Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing more than that. The Lord says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañ-jaya. Impersonal Brahman is also supported by Kṛṣṇa: brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham. Therefore in all ways Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Kṛṣṇa, or, in other words, one who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity and individuality) in Kṛṣṇa, and, equipped with such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation.”

As mentioned by Prabhupāda, another characteristic of the self-realized devotee is that he is free of all doubts and misconceptions due to being firmly established in transcendental knowledge. One thus has no doubts about Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy, about the individuality of the soul, the soul’s constitutional position in devotional service and the goal of life. Once one is well fixed in knowledge, one progresses fast on the spiritual path.

We have then the famous verse 5.18: “The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

The basic meaning is that a self-realized soul sees on the spiritual platform; therefore, he sees the soul present in the body. He sees that different individual souls of the same nature are present in different bodies, but they are all the same in terms of spiritual quality. He also sees the Supreme Soul, Paramātmā, present simultaneously in all bodies. It does not mean a self-realized soul will not make distinctions in the practical sense; the point is that he can see the spiritual reality behind everything, and he treats everyone as a friend, acting in ways that are beneficial to all, not hating or despising anyone based on the body.

One common misinterpretation of this verse is to presume that since the soul and the Supersoul inhabit the same body, they are the same. That’s a serious misinterpretation Prabhupāda warns us about in his purport. Another misinterpretation is to take the verse sentimentally and try to imitate this platform artificially, without the necessary practical distinctions. The soul in the heart of the tiger is the same in quality as in the heart of a cow, but this does not mean both can be treated in the same way.

Kṛṣṇa continues in text 5.19, explaining that devotees who have attained this level of equal vision are already situated on the spiritual platform. They have already attained liberation, even in this life, and revived their eternal spiritual nature, becoming pure and flawless, just like Kṛṣṇa Himself. In other words, just as Kṛṣṇa is pure and perfect, a self-realized soul is also pure and perfect. In terms of spiritual quality, both are the same, but they are separated as individuals, and Kṛṣṇa is very big, while the infinitesimal soul is very small. This simultaneous equality and difference is just like the relation of a big fire and the sparks emanating from the fire.

More symptoms of a self-realized person are that just as he sees everyone with equal eyes, he also sees pleasant and unpleasant situations with equanimity and understands that they are connected only with the body. This is an elaboration of something Kṛṣṇa already explained in 2.14:

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

The mind perceives a certain situation as pleasant and another unpleasant, but the self-realized understand that both situations do not affect the soul, and thus continue to perform their duties without being disturbed. This steadiness is defined as sthira-buddhiḥ, self-intelligence, indicating that the intelligence becomes steady, being anchored in the soul, and not in the body.

This self-centered, or soul-centered intelligence, in turn, leads to the other two symptoms: he is unbewildered by the changing material conditions, and knows the science of God. Such a devotee is already situated on the spiritual platform.

We can see that these are all symptoms we try to develop as part of our spiritual practice, but they become fully manifest in a perfect devotee (siddha), who is not at all entangled in matter. The main trap here is impersonalism. Many of these symptoms can be developed by an impersonalist, or yogī, but full realization is attained by a devotee who realizes the three aspects: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. The first two levels of realization are incomplete, while Bhagavān realization includes all the three aspects. This point is reinforced by Kṛṣṇa in 18.54.

All of this culminates in the symptoms described in text 5.21: “Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.”

Spiritual realization can be measured by the degree to which sensual desire is replaced by love of Godhead. Prabhupāda quotes Śrī Yāmunācārya to reveal the mind of such a pure devotee: “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”

Sexual desire is the root cause of material desire. We can practically see that even transcendentalists who are able to renounce all material possessions often fall because of sexual attraction. It may be repressed for some time, but it eventually comes out. Śrī Yāmunācārya, however, speaks of a level of realization when this sexual attraction is replaced by a more powerful force that completely eclipses it. That’s love of Godhead. This love of Godhead is like a powerful sun that immediately dissipates all darkness of material ignorance. A devotee who attains this platform always lives in unlimited happiness, fully aware of his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.”

a) The Absolute Truth is known as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. The Bhagavān aspect is the last word, Kṛṣṇa Himself. The whole Gītā is centered around this declaration. There is nothing beyond Kṛṣṇa. The impersonal Brahman is also supported by Him.

b) Since Kṛṣṇa is the last word, the highest aspect, when one is situated in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one reaches perfect knowledge of everything connected with transcendence. He can understand he is simultaneously one and different from Kṛṣṇa, escaping the calamity of monism and quickly advancing toward liberation.

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

a) A learned transcendentalist sees the individual soul, together with Paramātmā, living in all bodies. This is real knowledge. Because of this spiritual vision, he does not make distinctions based on species or castes.

b) The bodies of a brāhmana and a dog-eater are not the same, being the product of different combinations of the material modes. However, the Lord is equally kind to all, treating everyone as a friend and inhabiting all bodies as Paramātmā, regardless of the material situation of each individual soul.

c) Just as different souls are equal in quality, the individual soul and Paramātmā are also of the same spiritual quality. They are, however, very different in quantity. The individual soul is present just in a particular body, while the Supersoul is present simultaneously in all bodies. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has full knowledge of all of this.

“Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.”

a) The equanimity of mind mentioned in this verse is the sign of self-realization. It shows one has conquered birth and death, as well as other material conditions. Different from conditioned souls, who identify with the body, he identifies with his real self.

b) Kṛṣṇa is perfect because He is always free of material contamination. When the individual soul also frees himself from material contamination, becoming free from attraction and hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter the spiritual world. Even while living here, he is already liberated.

“A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.”

a) The symptoms of a self-realized soul are that he is not under the illusion of identification with the body, understanding perfectly that he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. He does not desire or lament in relation to the body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence.

b) Because of this sthira-buddhi, he does not mistake the body for the self, nor accept the body as permanent. This knowledge elevates him to the knowledge of the three aspects of the Absolute Truth, and allows him to properly understand his constitutional position in relation to Kṛṣṇa.

“Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.”

a) A person situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness loses the taste for material sense enjoyment. Spiritual realization and sexual pleasure are opposites; therefore, one replaces the other. The whole world moves around sexual attraction; a materialist cannot work without this motivation. A pure devotee, however, can work for Kṛṣṇa with greater vigor than a materialist, without seeking sexual pleasure. This is the test of spiritual realization.

Next: Resisting the urges of the senses and attaining liberation (5.22 to 5.26)

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There is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that is especially significant in the context of the philosophy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That’s the ātmārāma verse, ŚB 1.7.10:

ātmārāmāś ca munayo
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ

The primary meaning of the verse is that Kṛṣṇa is full of transcendental qualities. He is not a material manifestation of an impersonal Absolute Truth as insinuated by Māyāvādīs. He is the original, Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this is proved by the fact that great sages like the four Kumāras and Śukadeva Gosvāmi, who were already in the transcendental stage, beyond attraction to anything material, became attracted to Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda translates it as:

“All different varieties of ātmārāmas [those who take pleasure in the ātmā, or spirit self], especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. This means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu greatly expanded this primary meaning into 18 explanations in His talks with Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and further expanded it into unprecedented 61 explanations in his instructions to Sanātana Gosvāmī.

These explanations, however, were not just some empty intellectual exercise or a mere proof of divinity. Instead, these explanations encapsulate the conclusions of the whole philosophy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which Gaudiya Vaiṣnavas try to apply in their practical lives. Understanding this verse can thus be a great impetus for our spiritual practice, because it gives us a capsule that includes the whole philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness inside.

These explanations are described in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, chapter 24. Here I’m just giving a summary, so you can get the main thread of the discussion.

The verse is composed of 11 words: (1) ātmārāmāḥ, (2) ca, (3) munayaḥ, (4) nirgranthāḥ, (5) api, (6) urukrame, (7) kurvanti, (8) ahaitukīm, (9) bhaktim, (10) ittham-bhūta-guṇaḥ, and (11) hariḥ.

What Mahāprabhu does is gradually reveal the meaning of the verse by exploring the individual meanings of each word.

He establishes three important principles:

a) Bhakti is superior to liberation. As Kṛṣṇa mentions in Bg 18.54, liberation is not the ultimate destination; it is just the beginning of a new stage. Even one who has achieved liberation will find greater happiness in loving devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

b) Kṛṣṇa’s qualities and pastimes are transcendental. They attract even great liberated souls, who have completely lost their attraction to material enjoyment. Therefore, His qualities cannot be material.

c) Bhakti is universally accessible. Not only liberated sages, but philosophers, yogīs, ordinary people, and even ignorant people can become devotees through contact with Kṛṣṇa’s devotees.

What makes devotional service so accessible is that a person does not have to first become liberated before starting his practice of devotional service, because bhakti itself purifies one from material desires and awakens devotion to Kṛṣṇa, provided it is practiced sincerely and in proper association. Conversely, other schools have much tighter prerequisites. To follow the path of karma, one has to be a righteous follower of the Vedas; the path of jñāna requires one to be a renunciant, and yoga has even higher prerequisites. Only the process of bhakti is powerful to the point of purifying all classes of people and sublime enough to attract even great sages who have already exhausted the benefits of these other processes.

Thus, bhakti is both the means of spiritual perfection and the perfection itself. Liberation is not the ultimate purpose but just a by-product. The real result of bhakti is achieving loving service to Kṛṣṇa.

Mahāprabhu’s explanation

He starts with the basic meaning of the verse: Even great sages and self-realized persons become attracted to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa because His transcendental qualities are extraordinarily attractive. In other words, Kṛṣṇa attracts even great, liberated sages.

From there, he expands the meaning by examining each individual word.

Let’s go one by one:

1) Ātmārāmāḥ (those who find pleasure in the self)

Initially, ātmārāma suggests someone satisfied in spiritual realization, without dependence on material enjoyment. They find pleasure in the ātmā, the Absolute Truth.

However, Mahāprabhu explains that apart from “the Absolute Truth,” the word ātmā has six other meanings: the body, the mind, endeavor, firmness, intelligence, and nature.

Therefore, the meaning of “ātmārāma” changes according to how we read the word “ātmā”. Therefore, the ātmārāmas who are attracted to Kṛṣṇa are not only great sages; it includes many other categories of people, ultimately, everyone:

Body: If we take ātmā as the body (deha), then ātmārāma is someone seeking satisfaction through the body and senses.

Mind: If atmā is taken as the mind (mana), then ātmārāma is someone absorbed in mental activity.

Endeavor (prayatne): Someone who seeks pleasure in work and activity.

Firmness (dhṛti): Someone whose satisfaction comes from steadiness and determination.

Intelligence (buddhi): Someone who searches for happiness in studies and intellectual activity.

Nature (svabhāva): Someone who acts according to his nature and finds happiness in this way.

In this way, the verse not only applies to great sages; it also applies to philosophers, yogīs, ordinary people, and even the sinful, like fruitive workers and hedonists. All of them become attracted to Kṛṣṇa.

2) Munayaḥ (the sages)

Initially, muni means a thoughtful sage, like the four Kumāras. These certainly become attracted to Kṛṣṇa. It is described that the four Kumāras were already completely absorbed in the impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth, but still, they were immediately attracted to the worship of Kṛṣṇa simply by smelling the aroma of the tulasī leaves offered to Lord Nārāyaṇa. Similarly, Śukadeva Gosvāmi was attracted simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa’s activities.

Mahāprabhu broadens the word to include those who are thoughtful, persons who are grave or silent, ascetics and others who undergo great vows, those in the renounced order and saints.

Later, He even applies the word “muni” to birds and bumblebees, supporting it with descriptions of creatures absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s flute and the descriptions of His glories. This implies that not only human beings but even lower animals and plants become attracted to Kṛṣṇa, as can be noted in His pastimes in Vṛndāvana.

3. Nirgranthāḥ (those without knots or bindings)

Mahāprabhu gives different meanings to grantha and the prefix nir-:

a) Someone without the knots of ignorance (a liberated soul).

b) Someone without connection to scriptures (an illiterate or ignorant person).

c) Someone who does not follow the Vedic regulations (illiterate, lowborn, misbehaved, unregulated).

d) Someone without wealth, or, conversely, someone possessing a lot of wealth.

The word nirgranthāḥ, therefore, describes both the liberated transcendentalist and the helpless fool completely submerged in ignorance. Both can come to the platform of service to Kṛṣṇa. Later, Mahāprabhu illustrates this point by telling the story of the hunter Mṛgāri, who became a great devotee by the association of Nārada Muni. This makes the point that even the lowest person can become a devotee through the association of a pure Vaiṣnava.

4) Api (even, although, indeed)

In the primary meaning of the verse, “api” establishes a contrast: even though the sages are already liberated, they engage in devotional service.

Mahāprabhu, however, gives the word many other meanings: possibility, question, doubt, censure, aggregation, appropriate application of things, and extravagance.

This introduces many more meanings for the verse, opening interpretations such as:

a) Even liberated persons become devotees.

b) Even ignorant persons can become devotees.

c) Indeed, various categories of living beings engage in devotional service.

Basically, the previous words included all classes of living entities; all of them become attracted to the service of Kṛṣṇa, and now, api denotes different ways they become attracted. We can see that with each word, the inclusiveness of the verse is dramatically expanded.

5) Urukrame (the Lord who performs extraordinary activities)

Uru means great, and krama means steps. Originally this refers to Kṛṣṇa, as Vāmanadeva, who captured the whole universe with His steps.

Mahāprabhu adds several additional meanings: power, trembling, a systematic method, argument, and a forceful attack by stepping forward.

In this way, the word describes Kṛṣṇa’s inconceivable potencies, responsible for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of innumerable universes, as well as His spiritual activities.

This makes clear that the ultimate object of devotion is not some form of impersonal principle but the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, who possesses extraordinary personal qualities and potencies.

6) Kurvanti (they perform)

Up to here, we have many classes of people and living entities that become attracted to Kṛṣṇa. However, what is their engagement, or the process followed by them?

Here the word kurvanti indicates the process of bhakti itself. As He explains:

“The word ‘kurvanti’ means ‘they do something for others,’ since it is a form of the verb ‘to do’ indicating things done for others. It is used in connection with devotional service, which must be executed for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. That is the purport of the word ‘kurvanti.’”

In other words, they do not simply contemplate Kṛṣṇa or cultivate knowledge about Him. They actively perform devotional service. This point becomes even more significant later, as the discussion progresses into superiority of pure devotion to mere self-satisfaction.

7) Ahaitukīm (without ulterior motive)

This word comes from the root “hetu” (motive, or cause).

Mahāprabhu connects it with three goals that are excluded from pure devotional service. In other words, because Kṛṣṇa is so attractive, different classes of people come to serve Him without becoming distracted by these three classes of things. This makes the point that the pleasure derived from these three is vastly inferior to the pleasure of loving service to Kṛṣṇa, or, alternatively, that their quality is inferior.

What are these three things?

a) Bhukti (material enjoyment).

b) Siddhi (mystic perfections).

c) Mukti (liberation).

One may initially approach Kṛṣṇa looking for these things (as Kṛṣṇa explains in chapter seven of the Gītā); as they progress, they lose attraction to them, because devotional service makes us develop a higher taste.

8) Bhaktim (devotional service)

Here we come to the main point, the practice itself. Mahāprabhu identifies ten divisions of bhakti: one is sādhana-bhakti, the other nine are stages of development of prema-bhakti.

He then explains how devotional love develops according to one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa. There are five primary rasas (neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal love), and each of them has unlimited details and variations. They are explained in detail in The Nectar of Devotion.

In other words, bhakti is not just a process of religion but a process that culminates in transcendental loving relationships with Kṛṣṇa, which are, in turn, the ultimate goal of life and the highest perfection.

9) Ittham-bhūta-guṇaḥ (possessing such extraordinary qualities)

In this way, different classes of people become attracted to Kṛṣṇa, who possesses transcendental qualities, and they express this attraction by practicing devotional service without attraction to material goals.

However, how exactly does this attraction manifest? This is explained by the word ittham-bhūta-guṇaḥ.

Kṛṣṇa possesses such transcendental sweetness that even the happiness of impersonal Brahman realization becomes insignificant compared to His transcendental qualities.

For example, the four Kumāras are attracted by the fragrance of the Tulasī leaves offered to Him, Śukadeva Gosvāmi was attracted by hearing His pastimes, the gopīs are attracted by His beauty and personal qualities, and other devotees are attracted by mercy, friendship, affection, and other qualities.

Devotional service is thus not just some form of religious duty devotees perform. They serve Kṛṣṇa because of genuine attraction to His transcendental qualities and derive a degree of transcendental pleasure from this service that has no parallel.

10) Hariḥ (He who removes and attracts)

Hari is another name of Kṛṣṇa. It has two meanings:

a) He who removes ignorance, material suffering, sinful reactions and obstacles to devotional service.

b) He who bestows transcendental love.

This word indicates the reciprocation of Kṛṣṇa. He is not an inert deity. He directly reciprocates the service of His devotees by taking away all obstacles and actively helping them to progress in the direction of the ultimate goal.

11) Ca (and, also, certainly)

Mahāprabhu explains that this last word includes meanings such as addition, aggregation, emphasis, connection, and certainty. As a result, “ca” allows combining different classes of ātmārāmas with other different meanings, creating unlimited meanings.

As He mentions:

“When the conjunctions ‘ca’ [‘and’] and ‘api’ [‘although’] are added to this verse, the verse can assume whatever meaning one wants to give it.”

The deeper progression

After explaining the meaning of the individual words, Mahāprabhu details and exemplifies numerous interpretations of the complete verse. These detailed explanations go through the rest of chapter 24 of the Madhya-līlā:

a) The jñānīs become devotees (107–153).

b) The yogīs also become devotees (154–164).

c) Scholars, foolish persons, birds, animals, and even trees become devotees (165–210).

d) Even the sinful and unregulated become devotees (221–283).

e) Everyone can become a devotee (295–311).

In this way, we can summarize his teachings in five points:

1) Even liberation is not comparable with bhakti. Those who are already free from material contamination find a superior happiness in serving Kṛṣṇa.

2) Even ignorance, material attachment, or bad habits are not a disqualification for one to start on the path of devotional service. One does not need to be liberated to start in the process.

3) The attraction to Kṛṣṇa is the eternal nature of the soul. It becomes covered by material association, but it can be awakened by association with pure devotees.

4) Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of satisfaction. In this way, the true ātmārāma is not simply someone who is self-satisfied but a pure devotee who finds complete satisfaction in the loving service of Kṛṣṇa.

5) All living entities, regardless of their current position or consciousness, have the tendency to become attracted to devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and have the potential to awaken love for Him to the highest degree. This is awakened through the association of devotees and the practice of devotional service.

These five points describe the essence of the philosophy taught by Mahāprabhu and the very essence of what we are trying to practice.

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Nowadays, more and more products and services are offered as subscriptions. Instead of just paying upfront once, like before, companies try to sell everything as indefinite monthly payments. The idea is simple: a company can earn much more long-term with a subscription than by just selling a product once.

The basic technique is well known: make subscribing very easy, renewing automatic, and unsubscribing incredibly difficult, so once one gets in, in a moment of weakness, one can’t easily get out. That’s a perfect description of life in this material world.

Here we go from one body to the other, going through different cycles in our material experience. In each life we are offered different illusory goals to pursue: house, car, family, social prestige, personal gratification, fame, etc. These different goals and images create impressions in our consciousness that nourish different material desires that keep expanding. In each life we find many difficulties and frustrations, but we also find some material pleasure and new material goals we keep pursuing. All these images are stored in the mind and nourish a material consciousness that keeps carrying us from one body to the other. As long as our material consciousness continues, our material subscription is automatically renewed. Death is thus simply the end of a cycle that leads to the start of a new one, called birth.

Why does the subscription keep renewing? Because we remain attached to material life. Try to turn off the phone or computer for five minutes. Close your eyes. What images come to your mind? These are the thoughts that, at the time of death, can carry us to the next body. This is what makes the subscription automatically renew.

Kṛṣṇa explains this in the Gītā (13.22):

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.”

How to end it? That’s the tricky part. Renewing is easy; we just continue as usual. Canceling, however, demands active effort. We need to make a decision, call the office, resist all the offers of discounts and extra services, resist all the reminders of the features and functions we will lose access to, and keep insisting that we don’t want a different plan; we want to get out.

Material life is extraordinarily difficult to cancel by our own strength. Even intelligence, austerity, wealth, or philosophical knowledge can’t independently free the conditioned soul from the grasp of material nature. Just as the operators on the other side of the line are trained to keep insisting until we decide to keep the service, Māyā has the function of testing our determination. What is the solution then? We call the CEO:

“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” (Bg 7.14)

Kṛṣṇa is the controller of Māyā. The way to become free is connecting directly with Him. When He sees that we are sincere in getting out and gets in our case, Māyā immediately gives up. His order is supreme. Māyā is His energy, not His rival. Kṛṣṇa also explains this in the Gītā (9.10):

“This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.”

What does it mean to surrender to Kṛṣṇa? We need to understand his teachings in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and apply them to our lives. We should keep a clean life, chant the mahā-mantra regularly, and work for Kṛṣṇa. By following this regulated spiritual practice, we can come to Him, as He promises in the Gītā:

“Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.”

One does not have to be an important person to speak with the CEO. He explicitly remembers us that all classes of subscribers can call Him:

“O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.” (Bg 9.32)

In Kali-yuga, everyone is a śūdra, which includes all the men. Vaiśyas are rare people who have slightly higher qualifications. Women are mentioned separately so no one could argue that they are excluded. So, no matter if one is a woman or a śūdra, it does not matter; if we are dissatisfied with our material subscription, we can call the CEO, and He can order Māyā to release us. It’s our choice.

What is the difficulty then? The problem is that we keep choosing “Remind me later.”

See what Kṛṣṇa explains in 2.62-63:

“While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. 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.”

Our material bondage is perpetuated because of desire and attachment; it is not because of the lack of an escape route. Kṛṣṇa is in the heart of everyone; as soon as someone shows a sincere desire, He can put him or her in contact with someone who can offer guidance. The problem is for us to develop this sincere desire to get out. We are like a person watching one more reel before getting up from bed, and then another, and another...

This process is also explained in the Gītā. That’s 3.39:

“The wise living entity’s pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.”

As long as we keep putting fuel into the fire of material lust, it will keep burning. The way to stop is by gradually suffocating it by a combination of material regulation and the acquisition of a higher taste in the spiritual practice.

One interesting detail to understand is that our desires can be quite contradictory. We may desire to become free from suffering, while simultaneously desiring the very causes of suffering. It may sound illogical, but it is incredibly common. An alcoholic may desire to become free of hangouts and all the difficulties that his habits cause. This part is easy. The problem is that he continues to desire to drink! As long as he doesn’t come to the conclusion that drinking is the source of his problems, there is no point in disliking the hangouts. One has to pass through the stage of knowledge, understanding the consequences of drinking, and then realization. When he finally decides to stop, it comes the hardest part: resisting the impulse to relapse.

Similarly, canceling our material subscription passes through acquiring transcendental knowledge, starting our spiritual practice, realizing it, making a firm decision to avoid the causes of material life, renouncing our ego, ambitions, etc., and then keeping our decision firm until the current subscription ends (at death), resisting the “remind me later” button that keeps blinking on the screen.

Before we go, Māyā may offer a final deal. What about a free upgrade in our subscription? We may get some unexpected inheritance, a better job, or even the possibility of becoming a great scholar, a guru, or a respected religious leader. There is no problem in using these things for Kṛṣṇa, but if it awakens our ego and desires, we can lapse back into the automatic renewal. As Kṛṣṇa explains in the Gītā, all places in this material world share the same basic problems. A better subscription does not solve anything.

Do you remember what the verse is? Exactly! 8.16:

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.”

The process of devotional service is not about obtaining a more comfortable material life but about stopping the cycle entirely. We may finish our current cycle in whatever subscription plan we are currently in; that’s just temporary anyway. The main point is to be fixed on where we will go next.

As Arjuna notes on Bg 6.34–35, the mind is difficult to control, but Kṛṣṇa explains that it can be controlled through practice and detachment. The entire Bhagavad-gītā teaches us this process, and at the end Kṛṣṇa points us to the unsubscribe button: “Surrender Now.”

He, however, does not force us to click on it. At the end of the Gītā, after instructing us, He allows us to choose:

“Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.”

There are two options on the screen; we can choose which to click.

Read more:

This is a publication for thoughtful readers who want to go deeper into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I publish daily, trying to offer high-quality spiritual content, and all posts are available to free subscribers. If you wish, you can support this work with a monthly contribution. When you subscribe, you can choose between a free subscription and a monthly contribution, and you can switch from a free subscriber to a supporter at any time.

You can also receive updates on WhatsApp or Telegram.
If you would like to contribute further, you can find the donation links here.

The liberated soul does not create activities, nor induce others to act (Bg 5.13 to 5.16)

In the previous section, Kṛṣṇa explained how a devotee can act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness without becoming entangled. Now, He offers a philosophical analysis of the process of action: who are the doers, how the transcendental soul becomes entangled in karmic reactions, and how He, as the Supersoul, is behind everything. Although He gives the living entity the facility to act, He does not assume the soul’s pious or sinful reactions. In this way, conditioned souls act to satisfy their material desires, identifying with the body and claiming proprietorship over their activities, and thus become entangled in the reactions. The liberated soul, however, does not identify with the body or senses, nor does he fall into the trap of seeing himself as the independent creator of activities and their results. Because of this, such a devotee remains free from material entanglement, and acts in perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Text 13: sarva-karmāṇi manasā, sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī
nava-dvāre pure dehī, naiva kurvan na kārayan

When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.

Text 14: na kartṛtvaṁ na karmāṇi, lokasya sṛjati prabhuḥ
na karma-phala-saṁyogaṁ, svabhāvas tu pravartate

The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.

Text 15: nādatte kasyacit pāpaṁ, na caiva sukṛtaṁ vibhuḥ
ajñānenāvṛtaṁ jñānaṁ, tena muhyanti jantavaḥ

Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.

Text 16: jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ, yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ, prakāśayati tat param

When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.

It was already explained that the soul is different from the body. The body is just an instrument, a machine composed of material energy. In text 5.13, the body is compared to a city of nine gates: two eyes, two ears,

two nostrils, a mouth, anus, and genitals. This analogy is explained in full detail in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the allegory of King Purañjana. The soul lives in that city, together with the material intelligence and the Supersoul.

The soul lives in the body, but is not identical to the body, just like a king may live in a city, but he is not the city. The soul simply receives a body, according to the results of his previous material activities, and has free will to choose how to use it. The body, however, does not belong to the soul, nor is it powered by the soul. Kṛṣṇa, as the Supersoul, is the one indirectly moving the body through the three modes of material nature. This is exactly the point that makes us accountable for our acts.

One example is that the employee of a company may have the desire to be a driver. The boss may then assign him a car to act in this capacity. The employee, however, does not become the owner of the car. He is not the one maintaining it, or paying for the fuel. All the expenses for the car are paid by the company. The employee simply receives it as a tool to perform his work, in the service of the company. The employee has the freedom to act, but if he misuses this freedom, stealing the car and using it for his own purposes, he becomes a criminal.

From this, we can understand the situation of an atheist, who claims that there is no God, and that he is the proprietor of things that are around him, not only stealing, but also using them to harm others. A devotee, on the other hand, understands that Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of everything. Without envy, he simply uses the car he was given in the service of the company. Unlike the atheist, he uses the car without becoming entangled in criminal acts, and, as a result, he receives a promotion.

In text 5.12, Kṛṣṇa mentioned that “a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.” In 5.13, He again gives the contrast to the devotee, by mentioning that, “When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates.”

Life in the material world, in itself, does not bring us misery. The misery comes from identifying with the body. One who can see the situation as it is, can live happily, even while still living in the body. This is the situation of a liberated soul.

A good example of this contrast is the history of Jada Bharata and King Rahūgana, described in the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Rahūgana’s soldiers captured the great sage Jada Bharata and forced him to work carrying the palanquin of the king, which was very strenuous work. Still, he was not complaining. The one who became disturbed was the king. Because of Jada Bharata’s sense of non-violence, he would stop every few steps to avoid stepping on the ants moving around. This would make the palanquin move unevenly, disturbing the king. We can thus see the difference: the sage, unfairly engaged in very hard work without payment, was not disturbed, while the materialistic king, traveling in very comfortable conditions, became disturbed over a small inconvenience. The story is summarized by Śukadeva Gosvāmī:

“My dear King, O son of mother Uttarā, there were some waves of dissatisfaction in the mind of Jaḍa Bharata due to his being insulted by King Rahūgaṇa, who made him carry his palanquin, but Jaḍa Bharata neglected this, and his heart again became calm and quiet like an ocean. Although King Rahūgaṇa had insulted him, he was a great paramahaṁsa. Being a Vaiṣṇava, he was naturally very kindhearted, and he therefore told the King about the constitutional position of the soul. He then forgot the insult because King Rahūgaṇa pitifully begged pardon at his lotus feet. After this, he began to wander all over the earth, just as before.”

Kṛṣṇa also mentions that when the soul controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he neither works nor causes work to be done. What does it mean?

The soul does not work because a devotee does not claim proprietorship. As previously mentioned, he is free from false ego. He does not think that he did something and should take credit for it. The exact Sanskrit words are “naiva kurvan na kārayan” (indeed, not doing anything, nor causing something to be done). This is more elaborately explained by Prabhupāda in his purport:

“The embodied soul lives in the city of nine gates. The activities of the body, or the figurative city of body, are conducted automatically by its particular modes of nature. The soul, although subjecting himself to the conditions of the body, can be beyond those conditions, if he so desires. Owing only to forgetfulness of his superior nature, he identifies with the material body, and therefore suffers. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can revive his real position and thus come out of his embodiment. Therefore, when one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one at once becomes completely aloof from bodily activities. In such a controlled life, in which his deliberations are changed, he lives happily within the city of nine gates.”

Two important words are manasā and sannyasya. Manasā means “by the mind.” The mind is the center of the consciousness, and that’s the real point where activities must be renounced. A person who simply renounces externally, but continues to mentally act and desire, is called a pretender. The correct path is to continue working dutifully in the physical plane, but internally renounce all sense of proprietorship. This is the real sannyāsa, renunciation. Previously, Arjuna used the word sannyāsa in the sense of stopping activity, but now Kṛṣṇa uses it in the deeper meaning.

This idea is expanded by Kṛṣṇa in text 5.14: “The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act.”

A materialist generally tries to expand his circle of influence. He considers himself the controller of not only his own body, but also of other people around, like family members and employees. Seeing himself as the master, he tries to engage them in various activities. He thus not only works himself, but he also makes others work according to his desires. A pure devotee, however, situated in proper knowledge, rejects both misconceptions. He understands that his body is moving, but he, as the soul, is not. He acts for Kṛṣṇa, without claiming proprietorship, and tries to teach others how to act on the same platform. Again, this is true renunciation.

Prabhupāda explains the process in his purport:

“The temporary body or material dwelling place which he obtains is the cause of varieties of activities and their resultant reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere, one suffers the results of the activities of the body by identifying himself (in ignorance) with the body. It is ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cause of bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he becomes free from the reactions as well. As long as he is in the city of the body, he appears to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its actions and reactions.”

This brings us to the next point made by Kṛṣṇa: the soul does not create the fruits of action; all of this is enacted by the modes of material nature.

A materialist may think, “I worked and created the result.” However, this is the product of a lack of knowledge. In reality, the result depends on many factors that are beyond his control. To perform any action, one depends on the body and senses, the work of the three material modes (which move the body), the place, and circumstances; the effort applied; the results of previous karma; cooperation of others, etc.; and, especially, the sanction of the Supersoul. If these factors are not aligned, he cannot have success in his endeavors, no matter how much he desires something and how much effort he may put into it.

This is another factor behind material suffering: material life means depending on factors that are not under our control. A few persons may be able to fulfill their plans due to a combination of the right factors brought about by the results of karma, but most simply hanker and work tirelessly to obtain almost nothing. As long as our happiness depends on attaining material goals, we will remain dissatisfied, and even if at a certain point we come to a situation we consider close to ideal, time will eventually take it away. A pure devotee, on the other hand, bases his happiness on what is eternal, and once attaining it, there is no possibility of loss.

One argument that could be used at this point is that if we are not responsible for the action, why do we have to accept the reactions? Kṛṣṇa Himself mentioned that everything happens due to the action of the three material modes, and He is the one behind the modes. Kṛṣṇa, as Paramātmā, is thus the real actor behind all actions, because He is the one who creates the conditions for them, and He is also the one giving sanction. Why then is the individual soul the one carrying the results? To dispel this misunderstanding, He mentions:

“Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.”

Kṛṣṇa creates the factors of action and gives everyone free will to decide how to conduct their lives. To make sure there are no injustices, He creates the law of karma, to put face-to-face people who desire to commit crimes, and people who committed similar crimes in the past, as well as different systems of reward and punishment. He gives us the law books that explain how to live and prosper in the gigantic universal machine He created, in the form of the scriptures. Even if one committed mistakes in the past, he or she can be easily excused by simply surrendering to Him, and following His instructions from that point on. If, however, one wants to be a criminal and act outside this system, abusing the facilities he was given, Kṛṣṇa gives the conditions for him to do so, but the reactions do not belong to Kṛṣṇa; they belong to the individual soul.

A way to understand this is that although we, as souls, are not capable of performing material actions by ourselves, we desire to perform actions, and the Lord gives us the conditions for that. He thus helps us to satisfy our desires in the hope we will one day turn to Him, but at the same time, He is not responsible for the reactions. It is just like a charitable person giving money to a person in need. He is not responsible if one uses it to buy a bottle of vodka.

Kṛṣṇa thus explains the topic from both perspectives. He is the one giving all the facilities for material action; therefore, we should understand that everything belongs to Him, and use everything in His service, without false proprietorship. At the same time, He warns that if one decides to abuse the system, one has to also accept the karmic reactions.

This dynamic that creates material suffering and the path out of it are explained by Prabhupāda in his purport to text 5.15:

“A living entity is, by superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is aṇu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy.”

With all these successive layers of instructions, Kṛṣṇa deepens our knowledge about our conditioning in this material world. At first, He explained that we are not the material body, and that the material dualities such as heat and cold, honor and dishonor do not affect us. Now, He is guiding us through the intricacies of the material ego, and the process of purifying material action. When we hear we are not the body, our first impulse may be escapism: I’m not the body; therefore, I should reject the body. Now He is deepening it by explaining that the body is an important instrument, and it doesn’t belong to us. It should therefore be properly engaged.

The soul is constitutionally eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge, but these qualities are only manifested in connection with Kṛṣṇa. Because we have been for a long time in this material world, trying to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have forgotten our constitutional position of service to the Lord, and have become entrapped in material existence. Through His instructions in the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa is giving us the path back to Him.

He thus concludes the section, mentioning that “When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.”

Ignorance is the cause of our bondage, and the knowledge of our eternal relationship with Him is the cause of our liberation. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport, “Knowledge is always highly esteemed. And what is that knowledge? Perfect knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, as is said in the Seventh Chapter, nineteenth verse: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, or when one attains Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as everything is revealed by the sun in the daytime.”

A last possible argument is the question of a supposed partiality of the Lord. In his purport, Prabhupāda mentions Vedānta-sūtra 2.1.34, vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt tathā hi darśayati:

“The Supreme Lord is not partial, nor does He lack compassion. Material bodies are given according to karma. The scriptures describe this.”

Prabhupāda mentions this passage to uphold the Vedantic principle that Kṛṣṇa is not responsible for our suffering, nor does He lack compassion. Materialists often blame God for the world’s injustices, and similarly, some Vaiṣṇavas blame Kṛṣṇa for us being in this material world, accusing Him of randomly sending some souls to the spiritual world, and some here. Both perspectives, however, are incorrect.

Some are born rich, while others are born poor, not because of partiality from the Lord, but because of the combinations of the previous desires of the soul and the results of previous activities. In other words, the causes for these differences are people’s own choices. The Lord gives the same possibilities for everyone; we are the ones who create misfortune. Kṛṣṇa is also not to blame for our suffering in this material world. As Prabhupāda explains, the soul becomes conditioned by one’s own immemorial desire to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are like the sons of a rich father, who prefer to loiter in the streets.

This is made clear in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, when the Lord Himself, appearing in the form of a brāhmana, speaks to Queen Vaidarbhī when she was lamenting the death of her husband:

“The brāhmaṇa inquired as follows: Who are you? Whose wife or daughter are you? Who is the man lying here? It appears you are lamenting for this dead body. Don’t you recognize Me? I am your eternal friend. You may remember that many times in the past you have consulted Me.

The brāhmaṇa continued: My dear friend, even though you cannot immediately recognize Me, can’t you remember that in the past you had a very intimate friend? Unfortunately, you gave up My company and accepted a position as enjoyer of this material world. My dear gentle friend, both you and I are exactly like two swans. We live together in the same heart, which is just like the Mānasa Lake. Although we have been living together for many thousands of years, we are still far away from our original home.

My dear friend, you are now My very same friend. Since you left Me, you have become more and more materialistic, and not seeing Me, you have been traveling in different forms throughout this material world, which was created by some woman.” (SB 4.28.52-55)

Being a separated expansion of Kṛṣṇa, each soul possesses a small independence, and when we misuse this independence to reject Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we stay in the material ocean. As explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.1), there is no meaning in the relationship of the soul and the material body. Conditioned life is a dreamlike condition, in which we remain covered by ignorance, forgetful of our real spiritual nature. The antidote for such an ignorant condition is knowledge, and that’s exactly what Kṛṣṇa is giving us in the Gītā. As Prabhupāda explains, “After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, or when one attains Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as everything is revealed by the sun in the daytime.”

There are many traps in the process of awakening from this dream. One can fail to control his senses, or one can become a faithless person, failing to surrender even after hearing many instructions, and so on. Even when one is able to avoid all these dangers, there is a last trap, the last snare of māyā: impersonalism. One may accept that he is a soul, and has nothing to do with matter, but end up rejecting his eternal position of service, concluding instead that he is one with God. This is also a form of ignorance.

In this case, one may achieve impersonal liberation, merging into the light of the brahmajyoti, but because this is not the constitutional position of the soul, there is every possibility of returning to this material world. While life in this material world is compared to a dream, existence in the brahmajyoti is compared to deep sleep. If one is having a bad dream, going into deep sleep brings relief, but from there one eventually returns to the dreaming stage. The real solution is to wake up. As Prabhupāda mentions, real knowledge means identity with individuality in spiritual life. Just understanding one is a soul is not sufficient; one has to realize his eternal constitutional position of service to Kṛṣṇa.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.”

a) The body is like a machine, moved by the material modes. The soul lives in the city of the body, but is very different in nature from it. When we identify with the body, we experience material suffering, but by Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can revive our real position and live beyond these conditions.

b) When we attain a state of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we become aloof from the activities of the body. In this condition, we can live happily, even while still residing in the body. When the soul identifies with the Lord, instead of the body, one becomes just as free as the Lord Himself.

“The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.”

a) Both the soul and matter are energies of Kṛṣṇa. The soul, however, is part of the superior energy, while matter is part of the inferior nature. There is no need for this combination, but somehow the soul remains entangled since time immemorial.

b) What is this force that makes us identify with the body? That’s ignorance. This ignorance from time immemorial is the cause of our material suffering, making us identify with the body and the material atmosphere.

c) The body is the cause of many material actions that bring karmic reactions. The soul thus suffers the results of such activities. However, as soon as we become aloof from the activities of the body, we become free from the reactions as well. Because of the false ego, we consider ourselves to be the masters of the body, but in reality we are just struggling in the material ocean. The solution is to get out of the water by renouncing this false sense of proprietorship.

“Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.”

a) The Lord is very big, while the individual soul is very small. Kṛṣṇa is never affected by material ignorance or karmic reactions, but we have a tendency to be influenced by ignorance due to our free will. When we, due to ignorance, desire to be put into material life, our suffering under the chain of material actions and reactions begins.

b) Free will also makes the individual soul capable of desiring. However, we are not able to fulfill these desires by ourselves. The Lord, therefore, gives us conditions to act in the material world and to satisfy these desires, but He is not responsible for the reactions. We are ourselves responsible for our actions and where they lead us.

c) How can Kṛṣṇa know the desires of each living entity? He is present in the hearts of everyone as Paramātmā. Being near, He can understand one’s desires, just as one can smell a flower. However, the Lord satisfies the desires of the soul as each one deserves.

d) Kṛṣṇa gives us free will to act as we desire, and therefore, one can go either to heaven or hell. However, when we desire to return to Him, He takes special care and encourages us, so we can attain the goal of life.

e) The constitutional position of the soul is to be eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. However, our immemorial desire to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of our conditioning. Immersed in the material atmosphere, we forget our constitutional position of service, and sometimes even claim that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of our conditional existence.

“When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.”

a) Bewilderment comes from forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, are not bewildered at all, even while living here. After many births in this material world, when we finally attain Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everything is revealed, just like the light of the sun destroys darkness.

b) The last snare of māyā is for the living entity on the path of liberation to think of himself as God. If one is God, how can one become illusioned? If illusion could bewilder God, then it would be greater than God.

c) How to avoid this trap? One has to receive knowledge from a person who is perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious. Such a spiritual master can drive away all ignorance from the disciple.

d) We can understand our relationship with God only when we meet His true representative. The individual soul is always distinct from Kṛṣṇa. We are separate individuals at every stage, both here and after liberation. In ignorance, one may see everything as one, just as we see everything as one in darkness, but in knowledge we can see the difference, just as in daytime.

Next: The vision of the self-realized (5.17 to 5.21)

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Gaudiya Vaiṣnavas accept the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all incarnations, including the many forms of Viṣnu. This is supported by many verses of the scriptures, including Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.28, which is defined by Jīva Gosvāmi as the paribhāṣā-sūtra:

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

“All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.”

There is, however, another verse from the Bhāgavatam itself that appears to contradict this conclusion. That’s SB 10.43.23:

etau bhagavataḥ sākṣād, dharer nārāyaṇasya hi
avatīrṇāv ihāṁśena, vasudevasya veśmani

“[The people said:] These two boys are certainly expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world in the home of Vasudeva.”

This is already the BBT translation, not the interpretation of an opposing party. It’s part of the later chapters of the 10th canto that were translated after the departure of Śrīla Prabhupāda by a team of disciples.

How can we explain it?

The first point is the context. The verse appears during the triumphal entrance of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Mathurā to challenge King Kaṁsa. Kṛṣṇa had already defeated the powerful elephant Kuvalayāpīḍa, and now was entering the arena together with Balarāma.

It is described that different people of Mathurā saw Kṛṣṇa in different ways, according to their level of understanding. The wrestlers saw Kṛṣṇa as a lightning bolt, the men of Mathurā as the best of males, the women as Cupid in person, the cowherd men as their relative, the impious rulers as a chastiser, His parents as their child, Kaṁsa saw Him as death, the unintelligent as the universal form, the yogīs as the Absolute Truth, and the Vṛṣṇis as their supreme worshipable Deity.

When they finally entered the arena, they overpowered the minds of all onlookers with their effulgence. This brings us to the passage:

“O King, as the citizens of the city and the people from outlying districts gazed upon those two Supreme Personalities from their seats in the galleries, the force of the people’s happiness caused their eyes to open wide and their faces to blossom. They drank in the vision of the Lords’ faces without becoming satiated.

The people seemed to be drinking Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma with their eyes, licking Them with their tongues, smelling Them with their nostrils and embracing Them with their arms. Reminded of the Lords’ beauty, character, charm and bravery, the members of the audience began describing these features to one another according to what they had seen and heard.

[The people said:] These two boys are certainly expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world in the home of Vasudeva.” (SB 10.43.20-23)

The words are thus presented as the words of common people, who were struggling to understand who this powerful and effulgent personality in front of them was. Some of them, thus, repeating rumors they have heard, conclude that they must be expansions of Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world as the sons of Vasudeva.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmi, however, explains that although the statement comes from nātividvaj-jana (people who are not very learned), their words are sarasvatī-preritatayā, inspired by Sarasvatī. This indicates that the verse is not improper or incorrect, but that there is a deeper level of meaning in it that is inaccessible to ordinary people.

In other words, the commoner who spoke had the idea that Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are incarnations of Viṣnu, and the ones who heard it probably got the same understanding, but Sarasvatī Herself made their words contain the real truth, even if hidden.

Jīva Gosvāmi mentions this passage in a section of the Śrī Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha where he is defending the conclusion of the paribhāṣā-sūtra (SB 1.3.28): kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam – Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In his exposition, he systematically examines verses that appear to suggest that Kṛṣṇa is an aṁśa (a part) or other form of incarnation of Viṣnu and shows how they can be properly understood.

So, how does he explain SB 10.43.20-23? “These two boys are certainly expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world in the home of Vasudeva.”

He begins by explaining a previous verse, SB 10.1.2:

yadoś ca dharma-śīlasya, nitarāṁ muni-sattama
tatrāṁśenāvatīrṇasya, viṣṇor vīryāṇi śaṁsa naḥ

“O best of munis, you have also described the descendants of Yadu, who were very pious and strictly adherent to religious principles. Now, if you will, kindly describe the wonderful, glorious activities of Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, who appeared in that Yadu dynasty with Baladeva, His plenary expansion.”

He calls our attention to the word “aṁśena” in the verse. He explains that aṁśena means “together with Baladeva.” Balarāma is the aṁśa, the expansion, and Kṛṣṇa is the original. Kṛṣṇa appears together with Balarāma, His expansion. There is another parallel in SB 10.41.46, where the word aṁśena is again used with the exact same meaning. This shows that this is not just his interpretation; it is the consistent meaning given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself.

Therefore, as he explains, the word aṁśena in SB 10.43.23 should be interpreted in the same way. Instead of appearing “as expansions” of Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa appears “with His expansions”.

This changes the interpretation of the verse.

The superficial meaning, as the simple people of Mathurā understood it, which is included in the BBT translation, following the context, is:

“[The people said:] These two boys are certainly expansions of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa who have descended to this world in the home of Vasudeva.”

How can the people not immediately recognize Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme? Jīva Gosvāmi explains that it is because He appears covered by Yogamāyā. Because of this covering, only a partial manifestation of His fullness is perceived by ordinary people. This explains why different classes of people saw Him in different ways. The central idea is that Kṛṣṇa is pūrṇa, complete, but ordinary people may perceive only a partial manifestation of Him.

The deeper meaning of the verse, however, as explained by Jīva Gosvāmi, is:

“Krsna, the Original Personality of Godhead, Krsna, togueter with Balarāma, have descended to this material world accompanied by all Their plenary expansions. They have appeared in the home of Vasudeva.”

The verse is thus understood as:

etau: these two (Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Balarāma, His expansion, who is the source of all other expansions).

bhagavataḥ sākṣād dharer nārāyaṇasya hi: of Bhagavān, Hari Nārāyaṇa Himself.

avatīrṇāv iha aṁśena: They have descended to this world together with all their expansions (all the forms of Bhagavān Hari Nārāyaṇa).

vasudevasya veśmani: [They have appeared] in the house of Vasudeva.

In his purport to SB 10.1.2, Prabhupāda gives us the final theological conclusion, wrapping up all these conclusions:

“Govinda, Kṛṣṇa, is the original Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Even Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, who by His breathing creates many millions upon millions of universes, is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s kalā-viśeṣa, or plenary portion of a plenary portion. Mahā-Viṣṇu is a plenary expansion of Saṅkarṣaṇa, who is a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa is a plenary expansion of the catur-vyūha, and the catur-vyūha are plenary expansions of Baladeva, the first manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore when Kṛṣṇa appeared with Baladeva, all the viṣṇu-tattvas appeared with Him.”

Prabhupāda also gives us a masterful demonstration of the application of these conclusions in his translation of SB 2.7.26.

bhūmeḥ suretara-varūtha-vimarditāyāḥ
kleśa-vyayāya kalayā sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ
jātaḥ kariṣyati janānupalakṣya-mārgaḥ
karmāṇi cātma-mahimopanibandhanāni

Ordinary scholars usually interpret the words “sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ jātaḥ” in the verse as “a portion of Viṣṇu, being born of white and black hair”, while the correct interpretation, given by Rupa Gosvāmi, is “the Lord, with beautiful black hair, descends with His plenary portion.” (the plenary portion being Lord Balarama, Kṛṣṇa’s immediate expansion).

We can see Prabhupāda applying this meaning in his purport:

“When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.”

Read more:

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Niṣkāma-karma-yoga: Remaining free from bondage (Bg 5.7 to 5.12)

After establishing that devotional action is superior to dry renunciation, Kṛṣṇa now explains how devotional action frees us from bondage. The devotee does not become liberated by stopping activity, but by changing the consciousness behind the activity. Because his body, mind, senses, work, and results are connected with Kṛṣṇa, he remains untouched by karma, just as a lotus leaf remains untouched by water. He acts, but does not fall into the mistake of seeing himself as the doer and enjoyer. He uses the senses without falling under their control, and he performs duties without attachment. In this way, a devotee practicing niṣkāma-karma-yoga lives in this world without anxiety and without becoming entangled.

Text 7: yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā, vijitātmā jitendriyaḥ
sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā, kurvann api na lipyate

One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.

Texts 8-9: naiva kiñcit karomīti, yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paśyañ śṛṇvan spṛśañ jighrann, aśnan gacchan svapañ śvasan
pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇann, unmiṣan nimiṣann api
indriyāṇīndriyārtheṣu, vartanta iti dhārayan

A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.

Text 10: brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi, saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ
lipyate na sa pāpena, padma-patram ivāmbhasā

One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Text 11: kāyena manasā buddhyā, kevalair indriyair api
yoginaḥ karma kurvanti, saṅgaṁ tyaktvātma-śuddhaye

The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.

Text 12: yuktaḥ karma-phalaṁ tyaktvā, śāntim āpnoti naiṣṭhikīm
ayuktaḥ kāma-kāreṇa, phale sakto nibadhyate

The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.

After explaining how devotional service is superior to dry renunciation, Kṛṣṇa now describes how a devotee can remain active without being touched by karma. The main thread of this section is that although a devotee is constantly acting, because his body, mind, senses, and results are offered to Kṛṣṇa, he remains untouched by karma. This art of working for Kṛṣṇa without attachment to the results is called niṣkāma-karma-yoga, the perfection of the process of detached work Kṛṣṇa had been explaining since chapter two.

What are the characteristics of such a devotee? He is dear to all because he serves Kṛṣṇa, the root cause of everything; his senses are controlled because they are engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service; he knows he is not the material doer and therefore he offers all results to Kṛṣṇa. Acting in this transcendental consciousness, he attains real peace.

In text 5.7, Kṛṣṇa mentions that “One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.”

There are two terms that are central to the understanding of this passage: yoga-yukto and sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā. Māyāvādīs accept the process of karma-yoga described by Kṛṣṇa, but they take it as a preliminary process for neophytes, where one works with a detached mindset for purification, with the goal of ultimately abandoning all activity. They then interpret “sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā” as one later becoming the soul of all living entities, or, in other words, becoming one with Brahman. With this, they change the meaning of the whole passage, making it look as if one should engage in karma-yoga as a preliminary process, and then attain the platform of liberation later on, becoming one with Brahman. In this way, they can distort the whole passage and cover the real meaning.

Prabhupāda, on the other hand, keeps his commentary faithful to Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. He translates yoga-yukto as “engaged in devotional service” and sarva-bhūtātma-bhūtātmā as “being compassionate to all living entities.” Where do these meanings come from? They follow the thread of the previous sections. That’s the proper way to translate scripture. Not by taking verses as isolated passages, but by following the meaning of the previous verses, and the conclusions of the whole book. That’s how Prabhupāda translates the whole Bhagavad-gītā. That’s why it is called “The Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.”

With this, the real meaning of the verse is revealed: “One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.”

A devotee working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness sees everyone as connected with Kṛṣṇa. He wishes everyone well, and becomes in this way dear to them, satisfied in his work, and pure in consciousness.

One could then protest: How could Arjuna be called dear to everyone if he was fighting in the war, attacking the soldiers on the other side with lethal weapons? How can this be called kind or beneficial?

This was already answered in the second chapter. No one dies with the death of the body. The main point is thus not to avoid death, but to die in a situation favorable to spiritual advancement, which will bring one to a better condition of life. No one would accept to live a thousand years if the price were to become a cockroach in the next life.

Kṛṣṇa was personally present in Kurukṣetra. He had created a plan to liberate all soldiers in both armies, organizing the battle in such a way that they would all die thinking of Him, after being enlightened by his words in the Bhagavad-gītā, and in His direct presence. Before the battle, Arjuna was reluctant, thinking that his engagement in the battle would cause them to suffer, but after understanding the plan of Kṛṣṇa, he agreed to fight, understanding that this would bring ultimate good for all the assembled fighters. To take away an old, broken coat to give a new one is not an act of violence. Similarly, Arjuna killing in the particular situation of the battle of Kurukṣetra was the ultimate welfare activity.

We come thus to an important point: nonviolence is not the absolute criterion; obedience to Kṛṣṇa is the criterion, because Kṛṣṇa’s desire means the ultimate good for everyone. A diseased person may want to eat, but if food will make his condition worse, a physician will refuse to give it. Superficially, it may appear he is being cruel to the patient, but that’s not the case. On the other hand, a person without knowledge could very well give opulent food to the patient, thinking it is welfare, only to see his condition worsen the next day.

Similarly, a devotee is always kind to everyone, doing what is ultimately beneficial for them. However, because others may not have the same transcendental vision, they may sometimes misunderstand his actions.

Another important point in the verse is the construction “yoga-yukto viśuddhātmā”. The word viśuddha-ātmā means “a purified soul.” A devotee is pure, but this purity does not appear by chance. One becomes pure by engaging in devotional service. This engagement in devotional service brings him to purity, and this purity leads to the development of the other qualities mentioned:

1. He controls his mind and senses.

2. He is dear to everyone.

3. Everyone is dear to him.

4. He is never entangled, even though always working.

The next symptom is indicated in texts 5.8 and 5.9: even though acting using his senses in Kṛṣṇa’s service, in reality he does nothing at all, because he does not identify with the body or the senses. The point thus is not inactivity, but freedom from the false ego, the concept of “I’m the doer.”

“Although he appears to be acting with his body and senses, he is always conscious of his actual position, which is spiritual engagement. In material consciousness, the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa’s senses. Therefore, the Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses.”

In a sense, a materialist also performs no activity, because all activities are performed by the body and senses under the control of the three modes. However, because a materialist claims the credit and the results, he also has to accept the karmic reactions. One may not be the one killing, but if he is the one who ordered the killing, he will go to jail all the same.

Being situated in knowledge, a devotee understands he is not the doer. His body, senses and other facilities were given by Kṛṣṇa and should be used in His service. He is just like a soldier, who kills in the battlefield for the right cause, and receives a medal. Therefore even if the external actions may appear similar, the purpose, intention, and consciousness are opposite, and thus the results are also very different. Because the pure devotee acts only for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, without identifying with the body, he remains aloof from all sinful reactions, even while living in the material world. The analogy used is of a lotus leaf. A lotus may grow in the mud, but the leaves remain untouched by it. Being engaged in devotional service is thus the only method for remaining uncontaminated, even while living in this world.

In text 5.11, Kṛṣṇa lists the instruments of action that a devotee engages in service: the body, the mind, the intelligence, and the senses. A devotee does not offer just physical action; he uses his thinking, planning, desiring, hearing, speaking, and sensory activity to Kṛṣṇa. In this way, a pure devotee remains fully absorbed in service. This brings the state of complete purification and absorption Kṛṣṇa mentions in other verses. We often engage only partially in service, and therefore the absorption and purification are also only partial.

For a materialist, or even a neophyte devotee, beneficial activities are not natural, requiring a separate discipline. For example, a person may spend most of the time gossiping and speaking about mundane topics, but control himself to repeat prayers for a few minutes during a religious function. He or she may not have a taste for it, but because one is convinced it is beneficial, one stays. Similarly, when we are starting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we need to control ourselves to be able to perform sādhanā. For a pure devotee, however, spiritual activities are automatic, because all his actions are connected with Kṛṣṇa. The same eating that binds a materialist in many sinful reactions for killing animals liberates a devotee because he eats only Kṛṣṇa prasādam. The same speaking liberates, because a devotee is attracted only to Kṛṣṇa-kathā, and so on.

Prabhupāda quotes Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: “A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kṛṣṇa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.”

The word used in the verse is jīvan-muktaḥ. A pure devotee is not practicing a provisional process that will later be abandoned when he attains liberation. Jīvan-mukta means he is liberated while living. Even while technically living in a material body, he is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the original nature of the soul. He may be thus still living among us, but he is already tuned to the spiritual reality. This makes all his activities transcendental, even while acting using his body and senses.

Kṛṣṇa then concludes the section, mentioning that: “The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.”

This verse describes two categories of workers: the yuktaḥ (the devotee) and the ayuktaḥ, the fruitive worker. One works for Kṛṣṇa, and attains peace (śāntim), while the other claims the results and becomes entangled.

Why is it that the devotee attains peace? Anxiety comes from material calculation of gain and loss. Because of material desire and attachment, we perform certain actions, calculating that we will receive something. However, things are not under our control, and we have many previous experiences of things not working as planned. Even before the results come, therefore, we are already anxious, questioning whether we will get it or not. Even when our plans work, there is a second problem: everything here is temporary. After I get what I desire, the next problem is how to maintain it. The maintenance of any material object or facility demands more work. In this way, my work simply expands my desires and anxiety. Since material work is the source of the problem, more of it cannot be the solution.

The devotee, on the other hand, offers the results of his work to Kṛṣṇa. This removes the material duality of seeing things as separate from Kṛṣṇa. He understands he is serving Kṛṣṇa now, and after the demise of the body, he will continue serving Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world. His position is thus stable. He has nothing more to achieve, nor does he fear losing anything, since everything that he considers valuable exists in the transcendental platform.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never entangled.”

a) A pure devotee cannot think of anyone as separate from Kṛṣṇa. Because he loves Kṛṣṇa, he automatically loves everyone, and because he loves everyone, everyone loves him.

b) The sequence of causes and consequences is that he is a servant to all, and because of this he is dear to everyone. This makes him pure in consciousness, which results in a controlled mind and controlled senses. His mind is always fixed on Kṛṣṇa, and his activities of hearing, eating, moving, etc., are always connected with Kṛṣṇa, since he has no taste for anything else. Therefore, there is no question of forgetting Kṛṣṇa or using his senses for activities outside the service of the Lord.

c) Considering that a devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, with controlled senses cannot do harm to anyone, how can we understand that Arjuna killed others in battle? He was only superficially violent. In reality, he was simply engaged in changing their external dresses under the order of Kṛṣṇa.

“A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.”

a) There are different causes for material action: the performer, the activity itself, the place of action, the practical effort, and divine sanction. A materialist thinks he is the one doing things, but in reality material action is the result of a complex system. A pure devotee, however, has nothing to do with it, because he acts in his original position as a soul, in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

b) The main difference is that in material action we act for sense gratification, while in Kṛṣṇa consciousness the body and senses are engaged in work for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. A devotee, thus, remains free, even while acting using the body and senses.

c) Material activities entangle us, while spiritual activities bring us freedom. Because a pure devotee is fixed in his position as an eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa, he does not perform any activity that is not connected with his service, and therefore he remains always free.

“One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.”

a) Everything in the material creation is a manifestation of the Supreme Brahman. Despite all material variety, the creation is ultimately nondifferent from the cause. In other words, everything is Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and therefore everything belongs to Him.

b) One who understands this and engages everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa, acts in devotional service without being affected by karmic results. Even the material body itself is seen as property of Kṛṣṇa and used as an instrument in His service. With this, not only the devotee, but even the material body used by him remains free from material contamination.

“The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.”

a) When a devotee acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all his actions are purified. Because all his actions in devotional service are beneficial, it is very easy for him to advance simply by engaging his body, senses and intelligence in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Purified activities are generally called sad-ācāra. For ordinary people, proper conduct requires separate discipline, but for a devotee sad-ācāra is automatic, because all his actions are connected with Kṛṣṇa.

b) A devotee remains liberated even while still living in this material world, even though performing many types of activities. The key for this state of liberation is that a pure devotee is free from false ego. This is the change that allows him to give up all sense of proprietorship and use everything for Kṛṣṇa. In this way, he becomes fully dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa and situated on the spiritual platform.

“The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.”

a) In the material world, people work under the concept of duality, and consequently are constantly in anxiety over the results of their work. A devotee works on the transcendental platform, where everything is connected with Kṛṣṇa and is all good. Therefore, he has no anxiety. He realizes that there is no existence besides Kṛṣṇa, and therefore lives on the platform of peace and fearlessness.

Next: The liberated soul does not create activities, nor induce others to act (5.13 to 5.16)

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💬 Text of the lesson

The hellish planets

The descriptions of hell in the Fifth Canto are another difficult passage of the text. At first, the punishments described may appear barbaric or disproportionate, but it makes more sense when we understand that they are punishments for specific types of sins. Just as in modern judicial systems, the punishment for a crime has to be significant to discourage people from committing it. If the punishment for stealing were just a small fine, every dishonest person would steal, calculating that if caught, the consequence would be minimal. If instead the punishment for stealing is 10 years in prison, people will think twice.

In Vedic culture, people would know their duties and would also hear descriptions of the punishments for performing grossly immoral acts, and thus would learn to avoid them, understanding the consequences. It is not difficult to understand that one who kills animals or seduces the wives of others will have to face consequences for that.

The greatest risk of modern life is exactly that, because atheistic philosophies are so popular and even established religions more often than not fail to alert their followers to the dangers of animal cruelty and other activities, people are clueless about the consequences of their habits and thus risk falling into very painful situations after death.

There is a phenomenon studied in modern medicine called terminal restlessness, or terminal agitation. People who are about to die commonly become restless, complain about seeing frightening figures and animals in corners or floating around the bed, and even being bound by them, visions that provoke great panic. From the description of the scriptures, we can understand that these are visions of the Yamadūtas preparing to take the soul. The visions usually start a few days before one passes away, and continue until one falls unconscious. Doctors and nurses are trained to deal with these episodes using sedatives, and in this way they just put a person to sleep, trying to create the illusion of a peaceful death. This, however, does nothing to solve the underlying problem. Even if the physical body is put to sleep, one continues to experience the same in the subtle body.

Devotees who have the opportunity of being with relatives and other people in such a situation describe great improvement when they chant the holy names and give the dying person Tulasi, garlands from deities, and so on. This all matches the description of the protective power of the holy names and sacred items. Being engaged in hearing and chanting the holy names is the best way to save oneself from the Yamadūtas, even at the last moment, as described in the history of Ajāmila.

Just as in the case of the general cosmological model of the Vedas, hearing these descriptions can help people to escape from the dangerous path of atheism. By understanding the consequences of their acts, people gain the opportunity to take a different path.

“King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear sir, why are the living entities put into different material situations? Kindly explain this to me.

The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, in this material world there are three kinds of activities — those in the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Because all people are influenced by the three modes of material nature, the results of their activities are also divided into three. One who acts in the mode of goodness is religious and happy, one who acts in passion achieves mixed misery and happiness, and one who acts under the influence of ignorance is always unhappy and lives like an animal. Because of the varying degrees to which the living entities are influenced by the different modes of nature, their destinations are also of different varieties.” (SB 5.26.1-2)

In Western culture, people have in general an aversion to the idea of hell, perhaps due to Christianity having abused this idea for centuries. Even people who are religious often prefer to believe that people just go to heaven or that we immediately reincarnate, without passing through any form of judgment. However, the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam describes in detail the activities of Yamarāja and his servants, as well as the hellish worlds with which they punish the sinful.

Prabhupāda explains the basic rationale in his purport to text five:

“The conditioned souls, who have come to this material world for sense gratification, are allowed to enjoy their senses under certain regulative principles. If they violate these regulations, they are judged and punished by Yamarāja. He brings them to the hellish planets and properly chastises them to bring them back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By the influence of māyā, however, the conditioned souls remain infatuated with the mode of ignorance. Thus in spite of repeated punishment by Yamarāja, they do not come to their senses, but continue to live within the material condition, committing sinful activities again and again.”

We don’t live alone in the world. When our actions are not properly directed, we can create a lot of pain to others. Just as people who commit crimes are sent to jail, souls who commit serious sins are sent to hell for some time to be punished for them and thus corrected. The mistake in Christianity is the belief in hell as a place of eternal damnation, instead of a correctional facility.

Such hellish planets are part of the universal model described in the Bhāgavatam and part of the experience of conditioned souls in this world. They are thus included by Śukadeva Gosvāmi in his description of the universe, opening the door for Maharaja Parīkṣit to question how people can become free from such torments, leading, in turn, to the description of the pastime of Ajāmila in the beginning of the Sixty Canto, which emphasizes the potency of the holy names.

Because of their devotional service, devotees are escorted to their next bodies (be it spiritual or material) by the Viṣṇudutas. This is also described in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.3.85-91):

“Śrī Gaṇeśa said: These are associates of the ruler of Vaikuṇṭha, the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. They have attained bodily forms similar to His and have come here from Vaikuṇṭha itself. Just see these other Vaikuṇṭha companions of the Lord, traveling in this small universe ruled by four-headed Brahmā. And further away those others, moving swiftly in the universe of an eight-headed Brahmā, a world twice as large. And those others in the world of a Brahmā with sixteen heads, a world twice as large again.

In this way Gaṇeśa showed me many Vaikuṇṭha companions of the Lord traveling with ease in the millions and billions of universes of multitudes of huge Brahmās, who had millions and billions of lotus faces. The Vaikuṇṭha devotees, attractive to the eyes and mind, all had suitable bodies and were suitably equipped for the universes they were visiting.

Śrī Gaṇeśa continued: These persons cherish only devotional service to the Lord. They travel as they please, spreading pure devotion everywhere. They save the Lord’s devotees from all fears, even at the time of death, if those devotees have but once had even a reflection of the Lord’s name on the tip of their tongues or the path to their ears.”

As Śrila Haridāsa Thākura explains, even chanting on the stage of Nāmābhāsa is capable of destroying one’s sins and bringing a person to the liberated platform, where there is no question of meeting the Yamadūtas. The history of Ajāmila, narrated in the 6th canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, is a graphic illustration of how one can be saved from hell even by chanting at the last moment.

Because Ajāmila was so sinful, the Yamadūtas were prepared to bring him to hell, but at the moment they started snatching the soul from the body using their subtle ropes, the Viṣṇudūtas appeared carrying weapons and ordered them to release Ajāmila, or else. It happened that Ajāmila destroyed all his karma by desperately chanting the name of Narāyana at the last moment. Even though he chanted to call his son (and not directly addressing Lord Narāyana), because he chanted in full concentration, it was sufficient to free him from all his past sinful activities. By the time the Yamadūtas started taking the soul out of the body, he was indeed an innocent man, and thus the Viṣṇudūtas immediately appeared to protect him.

What about the souls who are not so fortunate? How is the severity of the punishment one will receive in hell determined? Śukadeva Gosvāmi explains that it is determined according to one’s individual consciousness. Those who commit sins due to madness receive the least punishment. Those who know the difference between right and wrong, but still commit sins due to weakness, receive moderate punishment, but those who are stubborn atheists, consciously willing to commit sins and deluding themselves with the idea that there is no God, receive the most severe punishment. This is explained in the next verse:

“Just as by executing various pious activities one achieves different positions in heavenly life, by acting impiously one achieves different positions in hellish life. Those who are activated by the material mode of ignorance engage in impious activities, and according to the extent of their ignorance, they are placed in different grades of hellish life. If one acts in the mode of ignorance because of madness, his resulting misery is the least severe. One who acts impiously but knows the distinction between pious and impious activities is placed in a hell of intermediate severity. And for one who acts impiously and ignorantly because of atheism, the resultant hellish life is the worst. Because of ignorance, every living entity has been carried by various desires into thousands of different hellish planets since time immemorial. I shall try to describe them as far as possible.” (SB 5.26.3)

Why do atheists receive a harsher punishment? The point is that the main purpose of this punishment is reformation. The system of justice in the universe is designed to correct and purify the soul, not to eternally condemn. If someone acts out of ignorance, usually a small reaction is sufficient for him to learn. If a person acts knowingly, a stronger reaction is usually needed to make him realize his mistake, and if one is obstinate, arrogant, and fully opposed to the Lord, the punishment must be very strong to break that illusion and bring him to humility.

We can see thus that this topic of hellish punishment is not simple. It is highly nuanced, taking into account the intention, consciousness, knowledge, background, and level of spiritual advancement of each soul. Yamarāja is empowered by the Lord to understand all these factors and thus pass the correct judgment in each case.

Another point is the nature of this punishment. In hell, one does not have a gross body like here; everything happens in a subtle, astral plane. Still, the mind is active, and thus one perceives the experience as painful.

“King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: My dear lord, are the hellish regions outside the universe, within the covering of the universe, or in different places on this planet?

The great sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered: All the hellish planets are situated in the intermediate space between the three worlds and the Garbhodaka Ocean. They lie on the southern side of the universe, beneath Bhū-maṇḍala, and slightly above the water of the Garbhodaka Ocean. Pitṛloka is also located in this region between the Garbhodaka Ocean and the lower planetary systems. All the residents of Pitṛloka, headed by Agniṣvāttā, meditate in great samādhi on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and always wish their families well.” (SB 5.26.4-5)

Geographically, the hellish planets are situated under Pātāla-loka, a little above the waters of the Garbhodaka ocean. That’s the same place where Pitṛloka, the court of Yamarāja, is situated.

It is described that after leaving his body, Vidura was received by the inhabitants of Pitṛloka. Vidura is Yamarāja himself, who took birth from a maidservant due to a curse, and thus had the opportunity of associating with the Pandavas and being present in many of the personal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. After leaving his body in Prabhāsa, he was reinstated in his post.

Although situated at the bottom of the universe, Pitṛloka is a celestial place where pious persons who are attached to their families have the opportunity to meet their ancestors and enjoy with them while at the same time observing their descendants on earth. They can remain there as long as their descendants honor them and offer them food and water (piṇḍa) every year. In other words, Pitṛloka offers pious people the possibility of keeping their current identities in the afterlife and remaining connected with their family members, provided that they perform their family duties properly and leave pious descendants who can continue the family tradition, continuing to follow the scriptures and honoring their ancestors according to the rules and regulations. That’s why in Vedic culture, the offerings to the ancestors are considered so important. When this chain is broken, all the ancestors fall from Pitṛloka and the lineage ends. From this point, each ancestor follows his individual destiny, and they forget each other.

That’s what Arjuna refers to when he mentions that, “An increase of unwanted population certainly causes hellish life both for the family and for those who destroy the family tradition. The ancestors of such corrupt families fall down, because the performances for offering them food and water are entirely stopped.” (Bg 1.41)

We can see that there are many possibilities for one’s destiny after life, according to one’s acts. Devotees who directly worship the Lord and focus their attention on Him go back home, back to Godhead. Transcendentalists engaged in meditation and other advanced spiritual practices can be elevated to Maharloka and upwards, up to the impersonal Brahmajyoti, while those who spend their time performing fruitive activities may reach Svargaloka, or the earthly heavens of Bhū-mandala. Those who perform their duties and are dedicated to family traditions may enjoy Pitṛloka, while others who don’t do anything special, but have some rudimentary faith in God and are not very sinful, may take birth again as human beings on this planet.

There are many different paths. Even if one is an atheist, if one can act according to the precepts of the scriptures, avoiding gross sinful activities, one can have the opportunity of enjoying one of the subterranean heavens. However, if one doesn’t want to follow any religious principle at all and just enjoys at the cost of the suffering of others, then one may see himself surrounded by the Yamadūtas after death. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport to text 15:

“It doesn’t matter which set of religious principles one follows: the only injunction is that he must follow them strictly. An atheist, or nāstika, is one who does not believe in the Vedas. However, even if one takes up a different system of religion, according to this verse he must follow the religious principles he has accepted. Whether one is a Hindu, or a Mohammedan or a Christian, he should follow his own religious principles. However, if one concocts his own religious path within his mind, or if one follows no religious principles at all, he is punished in the hell known as Asi-patravana. In other words, a human being must follow some religious principles. If he does not follow any religious principles, he is no better than an animal. As Kali-yuga advances, people are becoming godless and taking up so-called secularism. They do not know the punishment awaiting them in Asi-patravana, as described in this verse.”

The path that a sinful person is forced to take is described earlier in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by Lord Kapila. There, it is described that:

“At death, he sees the messengers of the lord of death come before him, their eyes full of wrath, and in great fear he passes stool and urine. As a criminal is arrested for punishment by the constables of the state, a person engaged in criminal sense gratification is similarly arrested by the Yamadūtas, who bind him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle body so that he may undergo severe punishment.

While carried by the constables of Yamarāja, he is overwhelmed and trembles in their hands. While passing on the road he is bitten by dogs, and he can remember the sinful activities of his life. He is thus terribly distressed.

Under the scorching sun, the criminal has to pass through roads of hot sand with forest fires on both sides. He is whipped on the back by the constables because of his inability to walk, and he is afflicted by hunger and thirst, but unfortunately there is no drinking water, no shelter and no place for rest on the road. While passing on that road to the abode of Yamarāja, he falls down in fatigue, and sometimes he becomes unconscious, but he is forced to rise again. In this way he is very quickly brought to the presence of Yamarāja. Thus he has to pass ninety-nine thousand yojanas within two or three moments, and then he is at once engaged in the torturous punishment which he is destined to suffer.” (SB 3.30.19-24)

This path corresponds to a subtle path from our planet all the way to the bottom of the universe, where one is first judged and then sent to the appropriate hellish planets according to his sins.

The Sāroddhāra recension of the Garuḍa Purana describes that there are a total of four paths that one can take after death to the castle of Yamarāja. They are taken by different classes of people according to their actions:

dharmarājapure yānti tribhir dvārais tu dhārmikāḥ
pāpās tu dakṣiṇa-dvāra-mārgeṇaiva vrajanti tat

“In the city of Dharmarāja, the righteous pass through three gates; but sinners reach it only by the route of the southern gate.”

The description of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam matches the description of the path to the southern gate, which is the path taken by sinful people, who are meant to be punished in hell. On this path, they face the scorching sun, are beaten by the Yamadūtas, and so on. This is already part of the hellish punishment they are entitled to. The other three paths (to the east, north, and west) are reserved for pious people who follow the principles of the scriptures: great kings, brāhmanas, renounced sages, and others practicing advanced pious or spiritual activities. They are decorated with many trees and gardens, refreshments, and so on. The pious go through these paths escorted by pleasant companions who help them in the journey. Reaching the city of Yamarāja, they are received personally by him, who appears in a pleasant form, describing their pious actions before awarding them the results. This is, however, rare for people of our age.

“The King of the pitās is Yamarāja, the very powerful son of the sun-god. He resides in Pitṛloka with his personal assistants and, while abiding by the rules and regulations set down by the Supreme Lord, has his agents, the Yamadūtas, bring all the sinful men to him immediately upon their death. After bringing them within his jurisdiction, he properly judges them according to their specific sinful activities and sends them to one of the many hellish planets for suitable punishments.

Some authorities say that there is a total of twenty-one hellish planets, and some say twenty-eight. My dear King, I shall outline all of them according to their names, forms and symptoms. The names of the different hells are as follows: Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, Raurava, Mahāraurava, Kumbhīpāka, Kālasūtra, Asipatravana, Sūkaramukha, Andhakūpa, Kṛmibhojana, Sandaṁśa, Taptasūrmi, Vajrakaṇṭaka-śālmalī, Vaitaraṇī, Pūyoda, Prāṇarodha, Viśasana, Lālābhakṣa, Sārameyādana, Avīci, Ayaḥpāna, Kṣārakardama, Rakṣogaṇa-bhojana, Śūlaprota, Dandaśūka, Avaṭa-nirodhana, Paryāvartana and Sūcīmukha. All these planets are meant for punishing the living entities.” (SB 5.26.6-7)

Yamarāja is an empowered living entity who receives the power of observing all activities of all human beings to reward or punish them according to their actions. Not all living beings are judged by him. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport to 6.3.12,

“Yamarāja is in charge of some of the moving living entities, namely the human beings, but the animals, who also move, are not under his control. Only human beings have consciousness of right and wrong, and among them only those who perform sinful activities come under the control of Yamarāja. Therefore although Yamarāja is a controller, he is only a departmental controller of a few living entities. There are other demigods who control many other departments, but above them all is one supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa.”

Even though so powerful, Yamarāja does not work alone. He is in charge of a large police force, composed of millions of Yamadūtas. They are very strong and ruthless, and in general can’t be challenged even by demigods. In the Ramayana, it is described that once Rāvana attacked hell and fought with the Yamadūtas with the intention of challenging Yamarāja to a fight. He took a beating and could defeat them only by invoking the pāśupata-astra he had previously received from Lord Śiva.

Who are they? In the Garuḍa Purāṇa (2.18.34), it is mentioned that “Those who have passed several years in the dreadful hell and have no descendants (to offer gifts) in their favor become messengers of Yama.”

In his purport to Bg 1.14, Prabhupāda mentions that,

“According to the rules and regulations of fruitive activities, there is a need to offer periodical food and water to the forefathers of the family. This offering is performed by worship of Viṣṇu, because eating the remnants of food offered to Viṣṇu can deliver one from all kinds of sinful reactions. Sometimes the forefathers may be suffering from various types of sinful reactions, and sometimes some of them cannot even acquire a gross material body and are forced to remain in subtle bodies as ghosts. Thus, when remnants of prasādam food are offered to forefathers by descendants, the forefathers are released from ghostly or other kinds of miserable life. Such help rendered to forefathers is a family tradition, and those who are not in devotional life are required to perform such rituals. One who is engaged in the devotional life is not required to perform such actions. Simply by performing devotional service, one can deliver hundreds and thousands of forefathers from all kinds of misery.”

We can see thus that a person who falls into hell under a heavy load of sins can still be saved if he has living descendants who can offer him prasādam or save him by becoming devotees. If, however, one has no living descendants, one falls into a very dangerous position, having a very long sentence ahead, without any hope of being saved. In such cases, Yamarāja can show compassion and convert their sentences into work as Yamadūtas, just as sometimes prisoners are engaged in guarding and punishing other prisoners.

Yamadūtas act carefully under the orders of Yamarāja and are very devoted to him. We can see that the Yamadūtas who went to take Ajāmila in the Sixth Canto saw Yamarāja as the Supreme Lord and became deeply surprised in seeing that there was someone above him.

“My dear King, a person who appropriates another’s legitimate wife, children or money is arrested at the time of death by the fierce Yamadūtas, who bind him with the rope of time and forcibly throw him into the hellish planet known as Tāmisra. On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadūtas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamarāja cause him severe suffering, and sometimes he faints from their chastisement.

The destination of a person who slyly cheats another man and enjoys his wife and children is the hell known as Andhatāmisra. There his condition is exactly like that of a tree being chopped at its roots. Even before reaching Andhatāmisra, the sinful living being is subjected to various extreme miseries. These afflictions are so severe that he loses his intelligence and sight. It is for this reason that learned sages call this hell Andhatāmisra.” (SB 5.26.8-9)

Family life is considered very sacred in Vedic culture. Not only is one’s family very central to his duties and place in society, but it is also the place where one can perform the service of educating his children in God consciousness. Having one’s wife or children taken away is certainly a very painful experience, and it is also very damaging for society at large. If one treacherously commits such a sin, one becomes entitled to be punished on this particular planet.

“A person who accepts his body as his self works very hard day and night for money to maintain his own body and the bodies of his wife and children. While working to maintain himself and his family, he may commit violence against other living entities. Such a person is forced to give up his body and his family at the time of death, when he suffers the reaction for his envy of other creatures by being thrown into the hell called Raurava.

In this life, an envious person commits violent acts against many living entities. Therefore after his death, when he is taken to hell by Yamarāja, those living entities who were hurt by him appear as animals called rurus to inflict very severe pain upon him. Learned scholars call this hell Raurava. Not generally seen in this world, the ruru is more envious than a snake.

Punishment in the hell called Mahāraurava is compulsory for a person who maintains his own body by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment him and eat his flesh.

For the maintenance of their bodies and the satisfaction of their tongues, cruel persons cook poor animals and birds alive. Such persons are condemned even by man-eaters. In their next lives they are carried by the Yamadūtas to the hell known as Kumbhīpāka, where they are cooked in boiling oil.” (SB 5.26.10-13)

The rurus are not regular animals. They are very angry and have very strong bodies, and are thus capable of causing great suffering. From where do they come? The very animals and other creatures that a person tortured in his life have the opportunity to take such forms to avenge their suffering.

In the Fourth Canto, it is described that Nārada Muni showed these rurus to King Prācīnabarhi in a visual display of what was awaiting him after death due to his indiscriminate killing of animals in unnecessary fruitive sacrifices:

“The great saint Nārada said: O ruler of the citizens, my dear King, please see in the sky those animals which you have sacrificed without compassion and without mercy in the sacrificial arena. All these animals are awaiting your death so that they can avenge the injuries you have inflicted upon them. After you die, they will angrily pierce your body with iron horns.” (SB 4.25.7-8)

This is, however, not something imposed. The animals are not forced to take such forms, but if they keep a grudge against their tormentor, they have this opportunity of waiting for him or her at the doors of the hellish planets to get their revenge. After that, they continue their evolutionary path.

In his purport to text 10, Prabhupāda explains, “If one simply considers his body to be his self, as do the animals, he is not very sinful. However, if one needlessly commits sins to maintain his body, he is put into the hell known as Raurava. This is the opinion of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Although animals are certainly in the bodily concept of life, they do not commit any sins to maintain their bodies, mates or offspring. Therefore animals do not go to hell. However, when a human being acts enviously and cheats others to maintain his body, he is put into a hellish condition.”

Meat eating is sanctioned in the scriptures in certain cases and for certain types of persons, but never with unnecessary cruelty. When Nārada Muni saw Mṛgāri torturing the animals before killing them, intentionally shooting them at non-vital points so they would bleed to death, he asked him to at least kill the animals immediately, so they would not suffer in that way. At that occasion, he also showed him the punishment that was awaiting him in hell. This led Mṛgāri to have a change of heart and stop killing animals altogether, becoming a pure Vaiṣnava instead.

“The killer of a brāhmaṇa is put into the hell known as Kālasūtra, which has a circumference of eighty thousand miles and which is made entirely of copper. Heated from below by fire and from above by the scorching sun, the copper surface of this planet is extremely hot. Thus the murderer of a brāhmaṇa suffers from being burned both internally and externally. Internally he is burning with hunger and thirst, and externally he is burning from the scorching heat of the sun and the fire beneath the copper surface. Therefore he sometimes lies down, sometimes sits, sometimes stands up and sometimes runs here and there. He must suffer in this way for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of an animal.” (SB 5.26.14)

In Vedic societies, brāhmanas and cows have special importance, for the brāhmanas take care of the society spiritually, while cows and bulls maintain it materially, with milk, labor, and fertilizer for agriculture. Brāhmanas and cows are thus considered most beneficial for any civilized society. Due to their importance, and also for the fact that they are basically defenseless, it is considered a great sin to kill them. If, despite this strong warning from the scriptures, one so does, he becomes eligible for being tormented in this particular type of hell.

“If a person deviates from the path of the Vedas in the absence of an emergency, the servants of Yamarāja put him into the hell called Asi-patravana, where they beat him with whips. When he runs hither and thither, fleeing from the extreme pain, on all sides he runs into palm trees with leaves like sharpened swords. Thus injured all over his body and fainting at every step, he cries out, “Oh, what shall I do now! How shall I be saved!” This is how one suffers who deviates from the accepted religious principles.” (SB 5.26.15)

People who were born in Vedic societies would be trained from birth to follow the path of the Vedas and worship the Supreme Lord. This was a great privilege that would allow them to follow the path of piety since early life, instead of being born in degraded families and having the opportunity to come in contact with Kṛṣṇa Consciousness only later on, as most of us nowadays. However, this would also come with a great responsibility, since they were expected to continue following these principles. An innocent person who was never educated in the Vedas, and because of this would commit different sinful activities, would not be punished in the same way as someone who was born in an advanced society and received proper training since birth, but still chose to live a life of sin, even though having all opportunities and understanding that these activities are wrong.

There is also the question of emergencies. Sometimes there would be great famines, and people would be forced to eat animals or other types of food that would normally not be acceptable. This would generally not be considered very sinful if performed under certain limits. However, if one were to kill an animal without necessity, just to enjoy the meat, there would be serious punishment.

What about us? Even though we may not be expected to follow rules and regulations to the same extent as people born in Vedic societies, we still need to accept the laws of God. Prabhupāda explains how this applies to our reality in his purport.

Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: The only religious principle is to follow the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The dharma for this age is to adopt the process of saṅkīrtana, chanting the holy names of the Lord. When we do that, not only do we automatically advance in spiritual realization, but we are also excused for past sinful activities. There are also other systems of religion that offer other forms of God worship. Everyone should follow one of these systems and abide by the rules and regulations prescribed, thus following the laws of God at least to some level. If one intentionally rejects the path of religion and becomes an atheist, living a life of sin, disregarding all regulations from the scriptures, one becomes eligible to be punished in this particular hell.

In this context, it’s important to note that both the Bible and the Quran contain passages that condemn the killing of animals, such as “Thou shalt not kill”. This is not unique to Vaiṣṇava literature. The difficulty is that people opt to overlook these rules. Other forms of animal cruelty are also punishable. As described in texts 32 to 34.

“In his next life, a sinful king or governmental representative who punishes an innocent person, or who inflicts corporal punishment upon a brāhmaṇa, is taken by the Yamadūtas to the hell named Sūkaramukha, where the most powerful assistants of Yamarāja crush him exactly as one crushes sugarcane to squeeze out the juice. The sinful living entity cries very pitiably and faints, just like an innocent man undergoing punishments. This is the result of punishing a faultless person.” (SB 5.26.16)

Kings, ministers, and other government officials concentrate a great deal of power, but this power is supposed to be used to protect the innocent. If instead one becomes cruel or corrupt and uses this power to oppress, punishing innocent people, he becomes eligible to be punished on this particular planet.

Brāhmanas are generally considered out of the jurisdiction of common law. Even if a brāhmana commits some mistake, he is supposed to be corrected by other brāhmanas or realize the mistake himself and atone for it. If a brāhmana commits serious sins and doesn’t atone for them, he is eligible to be punished by Yamarāja. However, a brāhmana is never supposed to be imprisoned, whipped, or hanged like an ordinary criminal. If a government officer were to do that, he would also become eligible to be punished in this way.

“By the arrangement of the Supreme Lord, low-grade living beings like bugs and mosquitoes suck the blood of human beings and other animals. Such insignificant creatures are unaware that their bites are painful to the human being. However, first-class human beings — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas — are developed in consciousness, and therefore they know how painful it is to be killed. A human being endowed with knowledge certainly commits sin if he kills or torments insignificant creatures, who have no discrimination. The Supreme Lord punishes such a man by putting him into the hell known as Andhakūpa, where he is attacked by all the birds and beasts, reptiles, mosquitoes, lice, worms, flies, and any other creatures he tormented during his life. They attack him from all sides, robbing him of the pleasure of sleep. Unable to rest, he constantly wanders about in the darkness. Thus in Andhakūpa his suffering is just like that of a creature in the lower species.” (SB 5.26.17)

The most fundamental religious principle is non-violence. We can see that Lord Buddha was forced to reject the Vedas because people at the time were misusing the authority of the scriptures and indiscriminately killing animals. He thus centered his message on the idea of non-violence, bringing people back to the path of piety and creating the basis for the work of the following ācāryas.

Even insects that bite, such as mosquitoes, should not be killed, for they lack the understanding that their bites create pain to others and are thus considered to be innocent. Animals may kill each other, like a tiger hunting a deer, or a spider capturing another insect, but as human beings we are gifted with superior intelligence and should use it to find peaceful ways to deal with disturbing insects and other creatures. As Prabhupāda explains in his purport, “Although a tiger is not sinful if he attacks another animal and eats its flesh, if a man with developed consciousness does so, he must be punished.”

Even if one argues that this is too difficult for general people to follow, the scriptures prescribe that at least brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas, who would receive higher education, should follow this principle. If a member of these higher classes indiscriminately kills these animals, he or she becomes eligible to be punished in this particular place.

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