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This is an updated version of the article I published two weeks ago. The conclusions are the same, but I decided to revisit the original argument:

Kṛṣṇa is the essence of everything, the object of all attraction, and the natural recipient of love for the soul. Philosophically, we can understand that after studying the Bhagavad-gītā. However, when we look around, we don’t see many people deeply in love with Kṛṣṇa. Most are more interested in material things.

Why is that? That’s because of the influence of the three material modes. Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to the material modes, karma, etc. These are His energies and can’t ever cover Him. However, as individual souls, we are very small, and we can be overwhelmed by their influence.

Because of their influence, we become absorbed in matter, and as a consequence, we become attracted to the material objects of this world. That’s exactly the position of most people.

Both the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam guide us in the process of becoming free from this influence. In the Gītā, for example, Kṛṣṇa reveals:

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

“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.”

Material nature is like an ocean for us, which is very difficult to surpass. However, it is just a small fraction of Kṛṣṇa’s energies, and it is under His full control. He can easily take us out; we just need to ask. The soul is also part of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, and when we again connect with the source, we get out of the diseased condition of material attachment.

There is, however, a question that can easily distract us from this process. Instead of trying to get out, we can become absorbed in understanding how we ended up here in the first place. The difficulty is that this is a very difficult philosophical discussion that ultimately can be understood only when we become free from material influence. As long as we are here, the right answer always escapes us, because it is the exact thing that our material attachment makes us desperately reject.

Imagine that we visit a hospice, and one of the patients asks us, “How did I become Napoleon?”

What is your answer to that? There is no answer. He will not accept that he is not Napoleon, and any other answer will lead to a circular argument; and anyway, he will end up convinced of something that is not true. To find the right answer, he has to first cure his craziness.

Similarly, the question appears difficult to us because under material illusion we tend to consider it from a false premise. Prabhupāda explains it in many passages, and he keeps consistently repeating the conclusion every two or three paragraphs in his whole corpus. It’s easy if we just go along, but when we stop to deeply consider it using our intellect, material illusion catches us, and we become absorbed in the apparent contradictions. See the purport to Bg 7.14, for example:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable energies, and all these energies are divine. Although the living entities are part of His energies and are therefore divine, due to contact with material energy their original superior power is covered. Being thus covered by material energy, one cannot possibly overcome its influence. As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal. The living entities belong to the eternal superior nature of the Lord, but due to contamination by the inferior nature, matter, their illusion is also eternal. The conditioned soul is therefore called nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned. No one can trace out the history of his becoming conditioned at a certain date in material history. Consequently, his release from the clutches of material nature is very difficult, even though that material nature is an inferior energy, because material energy is ultimately conducted by the supreme will, which the living entity cannot overcome. Inferior, material nature is defined herein as divine nature due to its divine connection and movement by the divine will. Being conducted by divine will, material nature, although inferior, acts so wonderfully in the construction and destruction of the cosmic manifestation. The Vedas confirm this as follows: māyāṁ tu prakṛtiṁ vidyān māyinaṁ tu maheśvaram. “Although māyā [illusion] is false or temporary, the background of māyā is the supreme magician, the Personality of Godhead, who is Maheśvara, the supreme controller.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.10)”

Prabhupāda’s explanation is sound, but it can appear contradictory to the casual reader. Prabhupāda mentions that the soul is part of the divine potency of Kṛṣṇa and at some point becomes covered, but later says that the soul is eternally conditioned. How to understand that?

1) The first point is that the soul is part of the spiritual potency of Kṛṣṇa, the eternal superior nature. We are not matter. Kṛṣṇa has two principal potencies: the internal or spiritual potency, and the external, or material potency. The soul is part of the superior nature, but because we have free will, staying either under the shelter of the spiritual potency or the material potency, we are called marginal. Marginal means the possibility of choice, not constitution. Other passages emphasize we are like Kṛṣṇa in quality, although different in quantity.

The soul may thus be covered by the three modes and forget his spiritual nature, but we do not belong to the material world. It is important to keep this point in mind, for misunderstanding it is the source of much confusion. We don’t need to become something else; we just need to uncover our original constitutional nature of love and service to Kṛṣṇa. This point is emphasized by Mahāprabhu Himself:

“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.” (CC Madhya 22.107)

2) Although the soul is spiritual by nature, once we are covered by the material energy, we cannot overcome its influence by ourselves. For this, we need the help of Kṛṣṇa. A person can jump into the ocean, but to get out, one needs help. When one is tied, one cannot untie oneself; the only hope is to be rescued by another person. This point is elaborated by Prabhupāda later in the same purport:

“Another meaning of guṇa is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself – he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kṛṣṇa, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can help one gain such release. Kṛṣṇa, being the Lord of the illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity, who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature.”

3) There is a difference between the external potency of Kṛṣṇa, which is eternal and divine, and the material manifestation, which is temporary. We can say that the external potency is the eternal energy, the material creation is the temporary manifestation of that energy, and Māyā is the bewildering or covering function that acts upon the conditioned souls, making them forget their transcendental nature and identify with matter.

As Prabhupāda mentions in his purport:

“As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal. [...] Inferior, material nature is defined herein as divine nature due to its divine connection and movement by the divine will. Being conducted by divine will, material nature, although inferior, acts so wonderfully in the construction and destruction of the cosmic manifestation. The Vedas confirm this as follows: māyāṁ tu prakṛtiṁ vidyān māyinaṁ tu maheśvaram. “Although māyā [illusion] is false or temporary, the background of māyā is the supreme magician, the Personality of Godhead, who is Maheśvara, the supreme controller.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.10)

When Mahā-Viṣnu glances at pradhāna, the external potency is assembled into the cosmic manifestation, and later dissembled back into its original constituents, in an eternal cycle. This is a delicate philosophical discussion held in the Vedānta-sūtra 1.4.25 and 1.4.26, but the important part is that the external potency comes from Kṛṣṇa and is eternal, even though the cosmic manifestation is sometimes active and sometimes not.

4) Here is the part where it appears to become contradictory: “The living entities belong to the eternal superior nature of the Lord, but due to contamination by the inferior nature, matter, their illusion is also eternal. The conditioned soul is therefore called nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned.”

If the souls are part of the internal potency of Kṛṣṇa, belonging, constitutionally, to the spiritual nature, how can they be called nitya-baddha, eternally conditioned? Do they actually belong to this material world? This is explained in the next sentence: “No one can trace out the history of his becoming conditioned at a certain date in material history.”

There is a difference between the constitutional nature of the soul, the factual, eternal position as a servant of Kṛṣṇa, and the apparent, conditioned nature of the soul, which appears to be eternally part of this material world. These two points must be considered together.

The relation between the eternal nature of the soul as part of the spiritual potency, as well as the eternal constitutional nature of service to Kṛṣṇa and the nitya-baddha classification, can be better understood when we study the CC Madhya 22.107 I just quoted:

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

Here, the opening states the eternal nature of the soul: nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema, emphasizing that the eternal nature of the soul is love for Kṛṣṇa. That’s exactly the point Prabhupāda makes. Then, the second line, ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya, refutes the opposing element, making the point that the idea that love for Kṛṣṇa has to be established is incorrect. Then, the third part, śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya, gives the process, explaining that this eternal perfection that is already there is uncovered by sādhana, hearing, chanting, etc., which purifies the heart. This is again emphasized by the words karaye udaya: it is not gained, but awakened. Therefore, nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema refers to the constitutional position, while “nitya-baddha” describes the soul as he appears in the beginningless condition of forgetfulness.

The term nitya-baddha explains that the conditioning of the soul cannot be located within material history, and therefore its beginning cannot be calculated in terms of years, kalpas, or any other material unit of time. It is not a historical event that can be traced back. Therefore, for all effects, it appears that the conditioned soul has always been here.

From the spiritual perspective, however, the soul is never separated from Kṛṣṇa at any point, even while living here in the material world. The spiritual connection is thus permanent and constitutional, while the material covering is nonconstitutional and terminable. The eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, and the material covering is like a cloud covering it.

This delicate point is further discussed in the Third and Fourth Cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in a layered discussion that finds a crescendo in the allegory of King Purañjana.

Ultimately, however, this is a very delicate philosophical point that can be understood only by realization; it cannot be forced through material logic. The more we try to force this subject into the categories of material time and logic, the more prone we become to reaching the wrong conclusion.

That’s a point where we have to accept the explanation given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram, patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau kripaya tava pada-pankaja, sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya

“O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.”

We must accept the main point, that the soul is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, that our position in this material world is an unnatural condition, and from there try to reestablish this forgotten relationship. The intelligent question is not how we fall but how to get out. That’s how Prabhupāda teaches us.

Go deeper:

• Uncovering the soul’s eternal nature

• Achieving the transcendental platform

• Conditioned life: The reflection in the dark room

• How the soul enters the body without leaving the spiritual sky

• Reflected consciousness

• Becoming free from the false ego

• Releasing the soul from material bondage

• Awakening from the dream

• Our real position and relationship with the Lord

• The conclusion of the instructions of Sanat-kumāra

• Everyone should surrender to the 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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Rejecting aparā-vidyā (Bg 2.42 to 2.46)

The Vedas offer different types of knowledge for different types of people. As a kṣatriya, Arjuna is well-versed in the Vedas, but Kṛṣṇa wants to bring him higher, directly to the platform of buddhi-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Attachment to the fruitive rituals of the Vedas and their promises of prosperity and elevation to the heavenly planets is one of the obstacles that can prevent one from becoming fixed in devotional service. Kṛṣṇa therefore tells Arjuna to go beyond this limited understanding and seek the essence of the Vedas.

Texts 42-43: yām imām puṣpitām vācam, pravadanty avipaścitaḥ
veda-vāda-ratāḥ pārtha, nānyad astīti vādinaḥ
kāmātmānaḥ svarga-parā, janma-karma-phala-pradām
kriyā-viśeṣa-bahulām, bhogaiśvarya-gatim prati

Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this.

Text 44: bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām, tayāpahṛta-cetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ, samādhau na vidhīyate

In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.

Text 45: trai-guṇya-viṣayā vedā, nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho, niryoga-kṣema ātmavān

The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.

Text 46: yāvān artha uda-pāne, sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu, brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.

We hear that the Vedas are the source of perfect, transcendental knowledge. The Vedic knowledge was originally transmitted by Kṛṣṇa to Brahmā, from Brahmā to Nārada, and so on, resulting in the pure chain of paramparā that brings it all the way to us. All conditioned souls are plagued by four types of defects, but the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas is infallible.

Considering these points, how is it that Kṛṣṇa describes the Vedas as containing flowery knowledge based on fruitive activities, dealing mainly with material subjects, and giving the impression that they are something to be rejected? This is connected with the division of parā-vidyā and aparā-vidyā inside the Vedas.

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.1.5) mentions: “All the Vedas, including the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda, and Atharva Veda, along with their corollaries, known as śikṣā, kalpa, vyākaraṇa, nirukta, chanda and jyotiṣa belong to the inferior system of material knowledge (aparā-vidyā). By parā-vidyā one can understand the akṣara: Brahman or the Absolute Truth.”

This verse defines different branches of knowledge inside the Vedas as aparā-vidyā (inferior knowledge), contrasting them with knowledge about the Absolute Truth, which is defined as parā-vidyā, or superior knowledge. In his commentary on this verse, Śrīla Madhvācārya explains that these branches are considered inferior, or aparā, when they do not designate Viṣṇu but are employed in a ritualistic sense. However, they become parā-vidyā, when they directly express Lord Viṣṇu and service to Him.

How does it work? In essence, the whole Vedic literature exists with the sole purpose of glorifying the Lord and bringing one to the platform of devotional service to Him. However, when one misses this purpose and instead focuses on rituals and fruitive results (karma-kānda), he deals with the inferior knowledge mentioned in this verse.

Madhvācārya explains that in Satya-Yuga, the Vedas were one. This single and undivided Veda revealed a single ultimate truth: Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Lord, without a second. Inhabitants of Satya-yuga respected the demigods, but not as separate deities. They were seen as guardians, transmitters of Vedic knowledge, and representatives of the Lord. Because at the time, there was no worship apart from the worship of the Lord, there was no concept of higher and lower Vedic knowledge. The division between parā-vidyā and aparā-vidyā started in Tretā-yuga, when people manifested the desire for fruitive activities. The Vedas were then divided into three: Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma, and people began to worship through these divisions by performing Vedic ceremonies. Everything that deals directly with devotional service and worship of the Lord then began to be classified as parā-vidyā, and knowledge connected with the worship of demigods, as well as fruitive activities and material subjects, was defined as aparā-vidyā.

In Dvāpara-yuga, the capacity of the general population to understand the Vedas decayed further, and the Vedas were divided into five divisions, including also the Atharva-Veda and the fifth Veda in the form of the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata, etc., making the knowledge of the Vedas more accessible. Still, most of the population was not able to directly understand the Vedas, and thus they were advised to worship the Lord in the temples, following the rules and regulations of the pañcarātric system.

In Kali-yuga, the knowledge of the Vedas practically disappears. We are also not capable of rigidly following the pañcarātric system of temple worship; therefore, the only hope for us is to directly surrender to the Lord by adopting the process of devotional service, which is the essence and ultimate purpose of the Vedas.

Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa says that “Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas”, He refers to this limited understanding of the Vedas as a source of material knowledge and fruitive rituals to obtain material results. He tells Arjuna to instead look for the real purpose of the Vedas, which is pure devotional service to the Lord.

This is emphasized in verse 2.44, where He explains that excessive attachment to sense enjoyment keeps one bewildered and bound to the material energy, incapable of ascending to the platform of devotional service. The reason the Vedas offer the path of fruitive activities is to attract the conditioned souls, offering material rewards. By following the regulations of the scriptures, one becomes gradually purified, and after ascending to the celestial planets and eventually coming back to Earth, one has an opportunity to come in contact with devotees and start on the path of devotional service. However, one who misses the opportunity and again just performs fruitive activities is defined by the Lord as avipaścitaḥ, a man with a poor fund of knowledge, lacking discernment or wisdom.

Aparā-vidyā is not transcendental knowledge. The karma-kānda section of the Vedas (which encompasses most of the verses of the four Vedas) thus contains knowledge that is still under the three modes of material nature, as indicated by the Lord with the words trai-guṇya-viṣayā vedā (the Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature). Kṛṣṇa thus encourages Arjuna to transcend this limited understanding, coming to the platform of devotional service, which exists on the transcendental plane.

Arjuna could argue about the importance of dharma, of fulfilling his material obligations, but Kṛṣṇa explains that “all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them”, just like all the purposes served by a small well can be served by a great reservoir of water.

Typically, in villages, people would have several smaller reservoirs of water that would be used for different purposes. Water from a clean well would be used exclusively for drinking and cooking, while other sources could be used for washing, bathing, etc. However, when there is a very large, unpolluted river crossing the village, there is no necessity for such considerations, since, being so large, the river could fulfill all purposes simultaneously, without ever becoming compromised. Similarly, the Lord explains that when one adopts the path of unalloyed devotional service, there is no need for minor considerations about fruitive activities, since all these purposes are automatically fulfilled by the process of devotional service. One who dedicates himself to the practice of devotional service is not deprived of the results of all other processes, just like being a billionaire includes possessing a thousand and a million. Material opulence, elevation to the heavenly planets, mystic powers, and even impersonal liberation stand at the door of a pure devotee, anxious to serve him, but have little opportunity to do so, since a pure devotee does not desire anything apart from the transcendental service to the Lord.

Prabhupāda explains these points in his purport to text 2.46:

“So one must be intelligent enough to understand the purpose of the Vedas, without being attached to the rituals only, and must not desire to be elevated to the heavenly kingdoms for a better quality of sense gratification. It is not possible for the common man in this age to follow all the rules and regulations of the Vedic rituals, nor is it possible to study all of the Vedānta and the Upaniṣads thoroughly. It requires much time, energy, knowledge and resources to execute the purposes of the Vedas. This is hardly possible in this age. The best purpose of Vedic culture is served, however, by chanting the holy name of the Lord, as recommended by Lord Caitanya, the deliverer of all fallen souls.”

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this.”

a) Most people desire sense gratification and are thus attracted to the promises of material rewards in the karma-kānda section of the Vedas. Because of their poor fund of knowledge, they think that this is the whole purpose of the Vedas.

b) The karma-kānda section prescribes many types of elaborate ceremonies for elevation to the celestial planets that attract materially minded people, who are anxious to increase their material enjoyment.

c) Elevation to the celestial planets is, however, temporary, and when one’s pious merits are exhausted, one has to come back to Earth. The real purpose of the Vedas is to bring one to the eternal platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. However, such pious materialists have no faith or interest in the process of becoming free from material bondage.

“In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.”

a) Prabhupāda connects the word samādhau in the verse (in the controlled mind) with the word samādhi (fixed mind). This samādhi is not possible for people interested in sense enjoyment and blinded by fruitive rituals. They have to stay in the material world until their consciousness somehow changes.

“The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.”

a) Material activities are executed due to the influence of the three modes and produce material results that cause material bondage.

b) The Vedas prescribe fruitive activities to gradually elevate materialists from the platform of material activity to the transcendental plane, which starts with brahma-jijñāsā, questions about the supreme transcendence, which are the beginning of Vedānta philosophy. Arjuna is advised to follow this path, going beyond fruitive activities.

c) The natural progression of a student of the Vedas is to go from karma-kāṇḍa to the Upaniṣads, which speak about the soul and are thus the beginning of transcendental life. The Upaniṣads are selected passages from the four Vedas, and the Bhagavad-gītā is part of the Mahābhārata, the fifth Veda.

d) As long as we are in the body, we have to face difficulties due to the reactions to past actions. Materialistic people try to solve these difficulties by material means and thus they become further entangled in material activities. To be elevated to the transcendental position, we have to learn to tolerate these difficulties and focus on our spiritual practice, depending on the goodwill of Kṛṣṇa.

“All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.”

a) The highest goal of Vedic knowledge is to revive our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The reason the Vedas prescribe rituals and fruitive activities in the karma-kānda section is just to attract materialistic people to follow the scriptures and thus gradually encourage them on the path of self-realization.

b) When a person comes to the point of service to the Lord in devotional service, it is presumed he has already graduated from all the other lesser processes prescribed in the Vedas. There is no need to go back.

c) Nowadays, it is very difficult to follow this gradual process of elevation, starting from the rituals, then studying the Vedānta and Upaniṣads, etc. The only way to fulfill the goal of the Vedas is by accepting the process recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chanting the holy names inoffensively. The highest Vedāntist is the great soul who takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord.

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.

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Śaṅkarācārya is an extremely well-known and revered figure in Indian philosophy. He is also honored by Vaiṣnavas as an incarnation of Lord Śiva and respected for his work in restoring the authority of the Vedas after they were obscured by Buddhism. In fact, the name “Śaṅkarācārya” is mostly used by Vaiṣnavas. His own followers usually call him “Ādi Śaṅkara.” Vaiṣnavas add the honorific ācārya.

However, Śaṅkarācārya is also accepted as the founder of the Māyāvāda school, which is massively criticized in Vaiṣnava circles. One may have a certain difficulty in reconciling both points.

First of all, what is the problem with Māyāvādis? There are many points, but the central issue is that they conclude that Kṛṣṇa’s form is material and His activities are performed under the material modes. In other words, they believe that Kṛṣṇa is covered by māyā, just like us. That’s why their doctrine is known as Māyāvāda.

The point, however, is that Śaṅkarācārya was not a Māyāvādī, although he incidentally became the founder of the school. He spoke certain things that were later distorted by his followers. He became the origin of it, but He did not agree with their interpretation of Kṛṣṇa falling under the influence of Māyā and having a material form.

We can see it clearly when we examine his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā.

He opens his commentary with the words:

nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktād aṇḍam avyakta-sambhavam
aṇḍasyāntas tv ime lokāḥ sapta-dvīpā ca medinī

Avyaktād means pradhāna, the unmanifest material nature; “paro” means “beyond.” Nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktād means that Nārāyaṇa is beyond this cosmic manifestation. Who is this Nārāyaṇa? After a few sentences, he declares:

sa ādi-kartā nārāyaṇākhyo viṣṇur bhaumasya brahmaṇo brāhmaṇatvasya cābhirakṣaṇārthaṃ devakyāṃ vasudevād aṃśena kṛṣṇaḥ kila sambabhūva

That original creator, Viṣnu, known as Nārāyaṇa, desiring to protect the brāhmanas, appeared as Kṛṣṇa in Devakī through Vasudeva. Prabhupāda elaborates on this point in CC Ādi 5.132 and Madhya 20.359:

“Even Śaṅkarācārya, the most elevated impersonalist, says in the beginning of his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt. When this material creation is not yet manifested from the mahat-tattva, it is called avyakta, and when it is demonstrated from that total energy, it is called vyakta. Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond this vyakta-avyakta, manifested and unmanifested material nature. This is the chief qualification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He assumes a particular incarnation. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that although they both took birth many, many times before, Kṛṣṇa remembers everything about His previous appearances but Arjuna does not remember. Since Kṛṣṇa is beyond the cosmic creation, He is in the exalted position of being able to remember everything in the past. Everything within the cosmic creation has a material body, but Kṛṣṇa, being beyond the material cosmic creation, always has a spiritual body.”

Māyāvādīs conclude that the impersonal Brahman is the ultimate reality, while Kṛṣṇa’s form is a temporary manifestation. Śaṅkarācārya, however, contradicts them by mentioning (still in the introduction) that:

paramārtha-tattvaṁ ca vāsudevākhyaṁ para-brahmābhidheya-bhūtam

The ultimate reality (paramārtha-tattva), called Vāsudeva, the Supreme Brahman (para-brahman).

Later, in his commentary on Bg 4.6, Śaṅkarācārya explains that Kṛṣṇa is unborn, imperishable, and the Lord of all beings, from Brahmā down to a blade of grass. He describes the material nature as Kṛṣṇa’s own Vaiṣṇavī māyā, composed of the three modes, and explicitly states that Kṛṣṇa keeps this māyā under His control. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa only appears “as if embodied” and “as if born”; He is not born like an ordinary conditioned soul. In Bg 4.9, he is even more explicit, describing Kṛṣṇa’s birth and activities as divyam aprākṛtam aiśvaram: transcendental, nonmaterial, and divine.

At first, Śaṅkara’s use of the expression māyā-rūpam in the passage may appear to suggest the opposite, but proper analysis of the text is essential here. Māyā-rūpam qualifies janma (the birth), and not Kṛṣṇa Himself or His body.

In the previous verse, he has already described Kṛṣṇa as unborn, imperishable, and the Lord of all beings who keeps His own Vaiṣṇavī māyā under control, and then he immediately qualifies His birth and activities as divyam aprākṛtam aiśvaram (divine, nonmaterial, and transcendental). Māyā-rūpam, thus, does not mean that Kṛṣṇa assumes an ordinary material body under the influence of ignorance. It means “an apparent birth manifested through His own māyā” or, in other words, Kṛṣṇa appearing in His original, transcendental, and eternal spiritual form “as if embodied.”

Then, we have Bg 7.24, the verse where Kṛṣṇa Himself is heavy on the Māyāvādīs:

avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ, manyante mām abuddhayaḥ
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto, mamāvyayam anuttamam

“Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.”

In his commentary, Śaṅkarācārya confirms the words of Kṛṣṇa, mentioning that,

nitya-prasiddham īśvaram api santam abuddhayo ‘vivekinaḥ paraṃ bhāvaṃ param ātma-svarūpam ajānanto ‘vivekinaḥ mamāvyayaṃ vyaya-rahitam anuttamaṃ niratiśayaṃ madīyaṃ bhāvam ajānanto manyanta ity arthaḥ

Kṛṣṇa is the eternally established Lord, but the unintelligent, devoid of proper discrimination, do not know His supreme nature, which is imperishable, unsurpassed, and absolutely supreme.

These are just a few passages among many. In summary, Śaṅkarācārya emphasized the impersonal aspect in his explanations, speaking according to the capacity of his audience, often in a very indirect way, but he was not a Māyāvādī; he did not agree with the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa has a material body or that He is a temporary manifestation of the impersonal Brahman. Śaṅkarācārya is Lord Śiva Himself, the greatest Vaiṣnava, who came with a specific mission of speaking about the Absolute Truth in a way that would bewilder the atheists.

He became thus the doctrinal source of the later Māyāvāda school as part of his divine mission, but his followers pushed conclusions that Śaṅkara himself explicitly did not accept. In his commentaries, he explicitly acknowledges Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental position. The vicious conclusions of the Māyāvāda doctrine as currently propagated appeared later, due to the influence of people who, as Kṛṣṇa puts it, are abuddhayaḥ, devoid of intelligence.

Even when Kṛṣṇa becomes personally visible, as He did 5,000 years ago, He remains covered to the ignorant. How? He remains covered by His internal potency. Pure devotees can perfectly understand Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the ignorant usually see Him as a common man.

Kṛṣṇa remains covered for the ignorant in the sense they cannot recognize Him, but in reality, Kṛṣṇa is not covered: they are. Just as a cloud cannot cover the sun, the illusory potency cannot cover Kṛṣṇa; it simply covers the vision of the conditioned soul, preventing one from understanding Kṛṣṇa and His opulences. How can this cover be removed? Only through an attitude of service. One has to hear from a self-realized soul, and by practicing devotional service according to this transcendental knowledge, one can come to the point of seeing Kṛṣṇa.

Māyāvādīs say that māyā covers Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa turns it around in Bg 7.26: “O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.”

Māyā is not a problem for Him; He can perfectly see everything, past, present, and future; He can understand all the thoughts and desires of every single soul. It is the Māyāvādī’s knowledge that is covered.

You can see how these arguments develop further in our Vedānta-sūtra: Understanding the Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, Vol. I, especially sūtras 1.1.5 to 1.1.11:

• Sutra 1.1.5 - īkṣater nāśabdam: The Lord is not indescribable

• Sutra 1.1.6 - gauṇaś cen nātma-śabdāt: The Supreme Self

• Sutra 1.1.7 - tan-niṣṭhasya mokṣopadeśāt: Descriptions of the transcendental Lord

• Sutra 1.1.8 - (na) heyatva-vacanāc ca: There is nothing higher

• Sutra 1.1.9 - (na) svāpyayāt: The source of all incarnations

• Sutra 1.1.10 - (na) gati-sāmānyāt: The One and transcendental Brahman

• Sutra 1.1.11 - śrutatvāc ca: Material qualities can’t touch the Lord

• Exercise

Or, if you would like to read more about Śaṅkarācārya and other ācāryas, check the introduction:

• Lord Buddha - Śūnyavāda (nihilism)

• Śaṅkarācārya - Advaita-Vedanta (non-dualism)

• The Vaishnava schools

• Rāmānujācārya - Viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda
  (specific monism, non-dualism with distinctions, or purified monism)

• Madhvācārya - Śuddha-dvaita (purified dualism)

• Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Acintya-bhedābheda-tattva (inconceivable oneness and difference)

• Acintya-bhedābheda-tattva and the Govinda-Bhāṣya

Read more:

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Family life is recommended in the scriptures because it offers us a foundation for our spiritual practice. That’s a place where we have space to develop our material activities and fulfill our desires and ambitions to a certain extent, but at the same time continue to progress in spiritual life. Family life, however, is not a solution in itself. It demands a continuous effort in the direction of cultivating transcendental knowledge and developing our Krsna Consciousness. When this effort is abandoned, we can very easily fall into the trap of materialistic life, even if externally still following basic rules and regulations. That's the trap of a pious materialistic life.

These two sides of the question are explained by Prabhupada in his purport to SB 4.27.1:

“By coming home, taking his bath, eating nice foodstuffs, getting refreshed and searching out his wife, King Purañjana came to his good consciousness in his family life. In other words, a systematic family life as enjoined in the Vedas is better than an irresponsible sinful life. If a husband and wife combine together in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and live together peacefully, that is very nice. However, if a husband becomes too much attracted by his wife and forgets his duty in life, the implications of materialistic life will again resume.”

He then explains the goal:

“Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has therefore recommended, anāsaktasya viṣayān (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255). Without being attached by sex, the husband and wife may live together for the advancement of spiritual life. The husband should engage in devotional service, and the wife should be faithful and religious according to the Vedic injunctions. Such a combination is very good. However, if the husband becomes too much attracted to the wife due to sex, the position becomes very dangerous.”

He makes the point that in family life, it is the duty of the husband to satisfy the material needs of the wife for clothes, ornaments, children, etc., but at the same time engage her in Krsna consciousness. At the same time, the wife tries to satisfy the needs of the husband for respect, attention, intimacy, etc. In this way, both the husband and wife get something, materially speaking, but the real goal is the practice of Krsna consciousness. When this goal is forgotten, and one becomes absorbed in material pleasures and economic development, family life becomes a trap. It is, in any case, still better than a plain sinful life in promiscuous relationships, but if spiritual practice is not present, we are ultimately just wasting our time.

Why should the husband take care of the necessities of the wife? And why should the wife bother trying to understand what the husband needs? Shouldn’t we just practice Krsna consciousness? The point is that if we were ready to just practice, forgetting all material needs, we would not have a desire to enter family life in the first place. We would be satisfied just chanting under a tree. Our family status is proof that we are not ready for it.

When basic necessities are satisfied, family life can be peaceful, and we can have a stable foundation to pursue our spiritual practice, balancing it with different material duties. This particular purport mentions more the side of the man, but the same applies to both. However, as Prabhupada puts it, “if the man becomes attracted to the woman simply for sex enjoyment, then family life becomes abominable.”

As we can see, family life is a balancing act, where on the one hand one has to take care of material needs and provide for one’s family, but on the other hand should not lose track of the goal of life.

Family life can be understood as a stepping stone or as a ladder to get out of a sinful, promiscuous life devoid of responsibility and keep oneself on a platform of piety. However, as the story of Purañjana teaches us, a mere life of material piety devoid of Krsna Consciousness is not sufficient. To go somewhere, we need to avoid being caught in the illusion of materialistic life. For a man, the trap is to become too attracted to sexual life, or, on the other extreme, to neglect his family duties. For a woman, the trap is to become too attracted to material possessions, social status, and other aspects of materialistic life and use her husband to obtain these things instead of assisting him in the development of his Krsna consciousness. A good wife is called dharma-patnī because she assists the husband in his spiritual practice, creating an auspicious situation where both can advance.

If both are successful, their family life can become like Vaikuṇṭha. Otherwise, if a man becomes too attracted to sexual life, becoming absorbed in simply satisfying the whims of a materialistic wife, or if a woman becomes too much involved in her own material ambitions and forgets the goal of life, family life can easily be converted into a prison where we simply waste our precious human life without achieving either the material happiness we hoped for or the spiritual advancement we could have made otherwise.

As Prabhupada concludes, “The conclusion is that a household life is better than a sinful life devoid of responsibility, but if in the household life the husband becomes subordinate to the wife, involvement in materialistic life again becomes prominent. In this way a man’s material bondage becomes enhanced. Because of this, according to the Vedic system, after a certain age a man is recommended to abandon his family life for the stages of vānaprastha and sannyāsa.”

Another point that is mentioned in the passage is that after he returned home, the wife of Purañjana dressed nicely to receive him. This also has a meaning.

It is described that she bathed and decorated herself to satisfy him. Prabhupada connects this to a good wife dressing herself well to keep her husband happy, thereby helping him fulfill his family duties. This comes from the idea of dovetailing our natural propensities with beneficial activities. If a woman desires to dress well, she should do so for her husband or for the Lord. As Prabhupada explains:

“It is the duty of the wife to dress herself up very nicely so that when her husband returns home he becomes attracted by her dress and cleanliness and thus becomes satisfied. In other words, the wife is the inspiration of all good intelligence. Upon seeing one’s wife dressed nicely, one can think very soberly about family business. When a person is too anxious about family affairs, he cannot discharge his family duties nicely. A wife is therefore supposed to be an inspiration and should keep the husband’s intelligence in good order so that they can combinedly prosecute the affairs of family life without impediment.”

There is nothing wrong with a couple having affection for each other. Sex life is also expected, as well as everything else connected with a peaceful life at home. The point is that all of this must be combined with the development of Krsna Consciousness.

Prabhupada then concludes with series of sobering points:

“Human consciousness should be used for elevation to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But when a person is too much attracted to his wife and family affairs, he does not take Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously. He thus becomes degraded, not knowing that he cannot buy back even a second of his life in return for millions of dollars. The greatest loss in life is passing time without understanding Kṛṣṇa. Every moment of our lives should be utilized properly, and the proper use of life is to increase devotional service to the Lord. Without devotional service to the Lord, the activities of life become simply a waste of time (śrama eva hi kevalam). Simply by becoming “dutiful” we do not make any profit in life. If after performing one’s occupational duty very perfectly one does not make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it should be understood that he has simply wasted his time in valueless labor.”

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.

Kṛṣṇa explains the path of buddhi-yoga (Bg 2.39 to 2.41)

After laying the foundation of detached work, Kṛṣṇa now turns to the practical process of buddhi-yoga, working for Kṛṣṇa in spiritual knowledge, which will be further described in the following sections. “I am the soul” is just the first step. After that, we need to learn to act as a soul. A person in material consciousness is constantly distracted by many different thoughts and plans, but once we come to the platform of real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can become fixed and resolute in purpose, connected with our real, eternal nature.

Text 39: eṣā te ’bhihitā sānkhye, buddhir yoge tv imām śṛṇu
buddhyā yukto yayā pārtha, karma-bandham prahāsyasi

Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study. Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results. O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works.

Text 40: nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti, pratyavāyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya, trāyate mahato bhayāt

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.

Text 41: vyavasāyātmikā buddhir, ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca, buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām

Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.

The arguments Kṛṣṇa gives from verses 2.11 to 2.38 are well-founded in logic. He analyzes the situation from different points of view and concludes that Arjuna should fight because this is the course of action that will bring the best results not only for him but for all his relatives. This type of logical philosophical analysis is called Sāṅkhya, and because it is connected with devotional service to the Lord, it is called sāṅkhya-yoga. In this verse, the connection between sāṅkhya-yoga and buddhi-yoga is established. Kṛṣṇa uses the analytical description of the body and the soul and the results of fruitive activities to bring him to the platform of buddhi-yoga, working for Kṛṣṇa without material attachment and with deep philosophical understanding.

In his purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda takes time to explain the difference between the three types of Sāṅkhya. The first is the original, devotional Sāṅkhya philosophy described by Lord Kapila to his mother Devahūti at the beginning of the current day of Brahmā, which is explained in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The second is the atheistic Sāṅkhya, propagated by the false Kapila during the last Dvāpara-yuga. Although loosely based on the Vedas, this is a mistaken philosophical system that Vyāsadeva debunks in the Vedānta-sūtra. What Kṛṣṇa describes here is, however, a third type of Sāṅkhya, disconnected from the other two. The process of sāṅkhya-yoga mentioned here is just an analytical description of the body and the soul, enunciated by the Lord to bring Arjuna to the point of buddhi-yoga, or bhakti-yoga.

On the other hand, because both the Sāṅkhya enunciated by Lord Kapila and the analytical knowledge offered by Kṛṣṇa here are aimed at reestablishing our relationship with the Lord, they are simultaneously one and the same, since both are connected with the process of bhakti-yoga. This may sound ambiguous, but that’s just how it works in the transcendental platform. Just like the soul and Kṛṣṇa are simultaneously one and different, most other philosophical points also have multiple points of view that are reconciled when we understand the truth behind them. Prabhupāda explains these points in his purport to text 39:

“Thus the buddhi-yoga mentioned in this verse is the devotional service of the Lord, and the word Sāṅkhya mentioned herein has nothing to do with the atheistic sānkhya-yoga enunciated by the imposter Kapila. One should not, therefore, misunderstand that the sānkhya-yoga mentioned herein has any connection with the atheistic Sāṅkhya. Nor did that philosophy have any influence during that time; nor would Lord Kṛṣṇa care to mention such godless philosophical speculations. Real Sāṅkhya philosophy is described by Lord Kapila in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but even that Sāṅkhya has nothing to do with the current topics. Here, Sāṅkhya means analytical description of the body and the soul. Lord Kṛṣṇa made an analytical description of the soul just to bring Arjuna to the point of buddhi-yoga, or bhakti-yoga. Therefore, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Sāṅkhya and Lord Kapila’s Sāṅkhya, as described in the Bhāgavatam, are one and the same. They are all bhakti-yoga.”

Now, starting from text 2.39, all the way to text 2.53, Kṛṣṇa explains the process of buddhi-yoga.

There are two basic levels inside the process of working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness described in the Bhagavad-gītā: sakāma-karma-yoga, and niṣkāma-karma-yoga. Before coming to these two levels, there are two other lower levels: sinful action (vikarma) and karma-kānda (pious fruitive activity).

Everything starts with the lowest level, sinful action, executed out of whimsical desire, against the principles of the scriptures. The next level is karma-kānda, the materialistic process of piety offered in the Vedas, where one follows religious principles in exchange for material progress and elevation to the celestial planets after death. Karma-kānda is still materialistic, but it at least gives a path for progression.

The next level is sakāma-karma-yoga, which is where the path of devotional service begins. Sakāma-karma-yoga means one tries to serve Kṛṣṇa from a platform where one still has material desires and is attached to the results. On this platform, one offers the results of his work to Kṛṣṇa, and in this way gradually becomes purified of these desires. One may have the desire to eat nice food, for example, but by cooking it for Kṛṣṇa, offering it to Him, and then accepting the prasādam, this desire is connected with the Lord, and thus purified. Offering the results of one’s work to Kṛṣṇa does not necessarily mean one is deprived of them, but that one accepts the supremacy of the Lord and receives His prasādam. The fact that one builds a big house and makes it a temple of the Lord does not prevent him from living there. Thus, the desire to live in a beautiful house can be reconciled with the service of the Lord.

As one gradually becomes detached from sense enjoyment and from the desire to enjoy the results of his activities, one gradually comes to the stage of simply working for Kṛṣṇa, without being concerned about results. This is the stage of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, which is a higher, purer form of karma-yoga. Finally, when we speak directly about a devotee who works for Kṛṣṇa without attachment and with deep philosophical understanding, we call it buddhi-yoga: a firm connection with Kṛṣṇa through the use of intelligence.

Śrīla Prabhupāda gives a deep explanation of the process in his purport to text 2.39:

“One should therefore understand that buddhi-yoga means to work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the full bliss and knowledge of devotional service. One who works for the satisfaction of the Lord only, however difficult such work may be, is working under the principles of buddhi-yoga and finds himself always in transcendental bliss. By such transcendental engagement, one achieves all transcendental understanding automatically, by the grace of the Lord, and thus his liberation is complete in itself, without his making extraneous endeavors to acquire knowledge.”

In this way, in texts 2.39 to 2.53, Kṛṣṇa gives a summary study of the different levels of the process of karma-yoga, which will be explained in more detail in the next chapters of the Bhagavad-gītā, culminating in buddhi-yoga. It’s important to note that although there is a technical distinction between these different processes, which is useful for understanding the differences and progressing through these different phases, these are all different stages in the process of devotional service.

Karma is the basic force that binds us to the material world. The results of our past activities not only force us to accept material bodies one after the other, but also determine the situation we live in, the type of body and mental disposition we have, and even the way we think!

It may be hard to accept, but the way we think now is not based on what we are or even what we currently want, but is just a result of our previous activities in this material world. Because of our previous activities, we are put in a certain condition of life, and due to the particular influence of the three modes we receive in such a condition, we think in a particular way. If we somehow end up receiving the body of a dog, we will start barking like a dog; if we receive the body of a demigod, we will start acting like a demigod, and so on. The way we think now is thus more a result of our past karma than of our current desire.

The process of becoming free from material contamination thus involves becoming free from karma, which is really possible only by the process of devotional service, since other processes may destroy the results of past actions, but they can’t extinguish the material desire that burns inside the heart, and as long as material desires are there, we will be impelled to material action, which will create new karma, keeping us entangled in the same circle.

The instructions Kṛṣṇa gives us here are intended to elevate us to the path of bhakti-yoga, and that’s why He mentions that “O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works.”

Apart from being the only process capable of completely destroying the seed of material desire from inside the heart, devotional service has another property: it’s eternal, and it awards transcendental results even when done imperfectly. In the material world, all endeavors award results only when completed. I may bake a very beautiful birthday cake, but if I don’t deliver it in time, I won’t get any money for it. Even Vedic sacrifices award pious results only if successfully completed. The results of devotional service, however, are awarded directly by the Lord, who takes into consideration one’s intention. Different from demigods, who award results according to one’s practical actions, the Lord is present inside the heart, and He rewards His devotees based on their sincerity. There are cases of devotees attaining perfection by just performing devotional service mentally, without performing physical actions at all. Because the results of practicing devotional service are purely spiritual, they follow the soul and continue with us even when we change to a new body. Devotional service executed in this life leads to more opportunities to practice devotional service in future lives, and as the results accumulate, our consciousness changes, and we become more serious on the spiritual path, up to the point of achieving pure love for Kṛṣṇa. We can thus see that our activities in devotional service are the most important and sublime part of our lives. This is the meaning of the Lord saying that “there is no loss or diminution”.

When He says that “a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear” (sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya, trāyate mahato bhayāt), He refers to the possibility of falling back into the animal species, losing our higher human consciousness, by which we can understand Him. Even a little devotional service awards us a human body in our next life, by which we can continue. Later, Kṛṣṇa reveals that when a devotee tries to develop his devotional service in this life but is not capable of concluding the process, he takes his next birth in a pious or rich family, where he has a comfortable life and facilities for continuing his service. If this is the result for those who fail, we can only imagine the prize for those who succeed.

In text 2.41, Kṛṣṇa mentions that those who are seriously practicing the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness have resolute intelligence and a single goal (vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha). The word vyavasāyātmikā in the first line is a compound word that breaks into vyavasāya (determination, resolve) and ātmikā (one’s nature). Buddhir means intelligence, and ekeha is the combination of eka (one) and iha (in this world), indicating a single-pointed aim. Conversely, bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca, buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām: the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched. Because their minds are full of material desires, their intelligence becomes absorbed in making plans to satisfy such desires, and because the desires of the mind are unlimited, the plans of the intelligence to satisfy them are also unlimitedly branched.

How is it that the intelligence of devotees who are serious about the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness becomes resolute and fixed, unlike that of regular materialists? Because they renounce the material conception of life. If I believe I’m the body and mind, I will surely identify with the needs of the body and the desires of the mind, thinking they are my needs and desires. My intelligence will then work to satisfy these, and because they are unlimited, my intelligence will always hop from one material plan to the other, without an end. This is what we call material life. When, however, I understand that I’m not the body or the mind, these needs and desires become very distant. When a man is attracted to a woman, he will identify with her and work very hard to try to satisfy all her desires, but the same man will not be at all willing to satisfy the desires of some random woman he has no relationship with. When we are able to renounce this bodily concept of life, we start identifying with our real nature as souls, and as souls, we have only one desire, which is to please Kṛṣṇa. When all material desires are taken away, this single, intrinsic spiritual nature manifests. Then the intelligence also becomes purified and starts to work to satisfy this sole desire, becoming firmly fixed on this single goal of self-realization. This is the meaning of vyavasāyātmikā buddhir, ekeha.

By practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, such an enlightened soul renders the best service to everyone, including his family, country, etc., just as one who waters the root of a plant automatically serves the branches and leaves. As Prabhupāda mentions: “If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied by one’s actions, then everyone will be satisfied.”

This determination in the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is, however, not just sentimental. As Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions in his purport to verse 2.41, it is based on knowledge. One who is now sentimental about Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be sentimental about something else tomorrow. Without solid spiritual knowledge and realization, one will not be able to attain the stage of fixed practice described in this verse. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura explains the spiritual process as being divided into three stages: sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana. To attain the ultimate goal (prayojana), one has to follow the appropriate spiritual practice, and to determine what this practice should be, one has to have proper spiritual understanding, sambandha. This philosophical understanding is the basis of our spiritual lives, the foundation upon which everything else is built. If the foundation is not properly built, everything can collapse later at the smallest sign of disturbance. As Prabhupāda mentions in his purport, for the best results, one should practice under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, who knows the nature of the student and who can guide him to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Spiritual knowledge starts with study, which is done through the process of hearing. Hearing means both directly hearing and reading. This book knowledge (jñāna), however, has to be converted into realized knowledge (vijñāna). To obtain that, the study of the scriptures under proper guidance should be combined with the practice of devotional service. As Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions in his purport to verse 39, it is also possible to obtain transcendental knowledge automatically by the practice of devotional service if one is exceptionally determined and sincere in his service. Śrīla Gaurakiśora Dāsa Bābājī, for example, was illiterate, but due to his pure devotion, he had perfect philosophical understanding and could instruct even Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the greatest scholar of the time.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study. Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results. O son of Pṛthā, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of works.”

a) Arjuna’s desire not to fight was based on sense gratification. He thought that by avoiding the fight he would be happier than by fulfilling his duty of fighting against his relatives.

b) Kṛṣṇa counteracted that through analytical knowledge (Sāṅkhya), explaining the eternity of the soul, the fact that we are eternal individuals, etc. The goal of this knowledge is to bring Arjuna to the stage of bhakti-yoga.

c) The analytical knowledge Kṛṣṇa gives here has no relationship with the atheistic Sāṅkhya of the atheistic Kapila. It is also different from the devotional Sāṅkhya of Lord Kapila, although in another sense, they are the same because both deal with devotional service. As Kṛṣṇa explains, “only the less intelligent class of men make a distinction between sānkhya-yoga and bhakti-yoga”.

d) What are the basic teachings of the Sāṅkhya philosophy of Lord Kapila? The Lord creates the material world by glancing over it. The souls join the material creation due to free will and remain here due to the desire for sense gratification. All conditioned souls want to be the enjoyer, and the last snare of Māyā is impersonal liberation, which offers the possibility of becoming free from material suffering without accepting one’s eternal position of service to Kṛṣṇa.

e) Kṛṣṇa will now describe to Arjuna the process of buddhi-yoga (work in devotion combined with intelligence nourished by transcendental knowledge), the highest stage of the karma-yoga system. Buddhi-yoga results in direct communion with the Lord and is possible only by the mercy of the Lord, granted to one who is sincerely situated in devotional service.

f) “Buddhi-yoga means to work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the full bliss and knowledge of devotional service.” When we are fixed in working for the Lord, regardless of difficulty, we enjoy transcendental bliss and achieve transcendental realization. Such transcendental work is very different from ordinary fruitive activities.

“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.”

a) Different from material work, which has to be completed before awarding results, work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness results in a permanent transcendental effect, even if done imperfectly or left unfinished. It is thus the highest type of work.

b) Even if one can’t conclude his process of devotional service, he will obtain a human body in his next birth and continue from where he stopped.

c) All material activities ultimately result in no benefit, since all the results are temporary and end with the body. Work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, on the other hand, awards eternal results, which bring a person back to the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in his next life until he achieves perfection. Therefore, even a failure in the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is much more valuable than success in material activities.

“Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched.”

a) Vyavasāyātmikā intelligence means firm faith in the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

b) The highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is renunciation of the material conception of life. One who achieves this platform performs activities on the absolute plane. He becomes free from obligations to family, nation, etc., because by just serving Kṛṣṇa, he performs the best service to everyone.

c) The resolute purpose of a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is based on spiritual realization, which is in turn nourished by his practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is best practiced under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, who acts as a representative of Kṛṣṇa, guiding the student and engaging him according to his nature. Under the guidance of the spiritual master, the student can develop not just book knowledge, but genuine spiritual realization, which keeps him fixed in the devotional path, avoiding a fall back into the path of fruitive activities and sense gratification.

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The Pracetās were the ten sons of King Prācīnabarhi, descendants of Pṛthu Mahārāja. Their story is described in the Fourth Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When they became sufficiently grown-up, their father instructed them to marry, produce qualified descendants, and eventually take responsibility for ruling the kingdom. Before doing that, however, he instructed them to perform austerities to become purified.

The Pracetās were very obedient and accepted this order seriously. This obedience to their father is compared to the obedience of a disciple to the spiritual master. We often like to over-analyze and end up following only the parts that fit our preferences, but the Pracetās simply accepted the instruction without arguing, and this brought them great blessings.

While traveling, they came across a great reservoir of water, a large bay or lake, close to the ocean. Different from the ocean, however, this reservoir of water was very calm and quiet, an ideal place to practice meditation. The waters of the lake were very clear, like the mind of a great soul, and it was adorned with lotus flowers, different types of auspicious birds, creepers, and so on. Great sages and devotees prefer this type of place to practice meditation, because the atmosphere fosters the mode of goodness in the mind. This lake, however, was not an ordinary lake: it was part of the abode of Lord Śiva, and as soon as they approached it, they got the audience of Lord Śiva, who was anxious to show them mercy because of their gentleness and other good qualities.

Lord Śiva didn’t appear alone: he came accompanied by his different associates who were playing different musical instruments. These were not the ghosts and spirits he associates with as Bhūtanātha, however, but denizens of the higher planets, such as Gandharvas and Kinnaras, who live with him in his abode in Mount Kailāsa. It appears that the Pracetās walked from Bhārata-varṣa, on the southern part of Jambūdvīpa, all the way to somewhere between Mount Kailāsa and the salt ocean, where they found this lake or bay. In other words, this is not a place situated on our planet, but in the higher-dimensional Bhū-mandala to which the Pracetās had access due to their elevated spiritual stature.

Lord Śiva is the protector of pious persons and people of gentle behavior, and he is especially inclined to devotees surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Demons are not true devotees of Lord Śiva. He blesses them with material benefits just out of formality. In reality, Lord Śiva loves and blesses devotees of the Lord, just as demonstrated in the case of the Pracetās, and devotees show all respect to Lord Śiva as the greatest of the Vaiṣṇavas. To show the example, the Lord Himself, appearing as Lord Rama, sometimes worshiped Lord Śiva.

Prabhupāda explains this point: “It is said, vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Lord Śiva is the best of all devotees. Therefore all devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are also devotees of Lord Śiva. In Vṛndāvana there is Lord Śiva’s temple called Gopīśvara. The gopīs used to worship not only Lord Śiva but Kātyāyanī, or Durgā, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa does not disrespect Lord Śiva, but worships Lord Śiva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Consequently whenever a devotee worships Lord Śiva, he prays to Lord Śiva to achieve the favor of Kṛṣṇa, and he does not request material profit.”

Lord Śiva understood what the Pracetās intended to do, and therefore, he became very pleased with them, observing that they were fully surrendered to the Supreme Lord. Later, the Lord Himself appeared to bless the Pracetas, mentioning their friendly relations between themselves as a reason for his satisfaction. All ten Pracetās were great souls, and their gentleness and non-enviousness were a visible proof of that. Because of these qualities, they could cooperate in great friendship (to the point of later sharing a wife) and together advance in their spiritual practice. From the example of the Pracetās, we can observe how a humble devotee can attract blessings without even seeking them.

The real purpose of Lord Śiva’s appearing before the Pracetās was to give them a prayer by which they could worship the Lord while practicing austerities inside the water. That’s the Rudra-gītā, which he utters from text 4.24.33 to text 68.

Just as the instructions of Sanat-kumāra, the Rudra-gītā is one of the important sets of instructions contained in the 4th canto. Just as the instructions of Sanat-kumāra revealed many details about the eternal position of the soul and his entanglement in the material world, as well as the process of becoming free, the prayers of Lord Śiva reveal more details about the potencies of the Lord and the position of Lord Śiva as the greatest Vaiṣnava.

Often, we focus on studying the pastimes while studying the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and just skim through the prayers and philosophical discussions. In reality, however, these are the most significant parts of the text. Without studying these parts, our study of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam may remain superficial.

The verses of the Rudra-gītā can be divided into four parts:

a) Understanding the greatness of the Lord

From texts 4.24.33 to 43, Lord Śiva describes the Lord as the all-pervading Supersoul, and explains how He conducts the cosmic manifestation and how only by His mercy we can become free from it.

The principle is that although we see many different energies acting in the universe, all of them ultimately come from Kṛṣṇa. This understanding of the greatness of the Lord is important. Sometimes we want to immediately jump to the intimate pastimes without first understanding who Kṛṣṇa is. However, before properly appreciating His pastimes, we must understand His greatness; otherwise, there is the danger of taking Him cheaply. Kṛṣṇa may play like an ordinary cowherd boy, but He is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead from whom innumerable universes emanate.

b) The transcendental form of the Lord

From texts 44 to 52, he speaks about the transcendental form of the Lord, and understanding that is the foundation of the process of devotional service. Without becoming attracted to the personal form of the Lord, there is no question of transcendental service in transcendental love.

There is no question of developing transcendental service in divine love if we think that the Absolute Truth is ultimately impersonal or that His form is just a temporary manifestation, as believed by Māyāvādīs.

c) Developing devotional service

From 53 to 59, he speaks directly about devotional service to the Lord, which becomes natural after we get to know the Lord in His personal form.

In the beginning, Kṛṣṇa may appear very distant and inaccessible. He is there enjoying with His associates, and we are here. However, as we come to understand more about Him, we start seeing Him less as a distant concept and more as a person. As we understand His transcendental qualities, we become attracted to Him, and the next step is to serve Him. Devotional service is the natural activity of the soul; it has only to be uncovered.

d) Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate object of worship

The last part, which goes from text 60 to 68, reinforces that the Lord is the ultimate object of worship. Brahman and Paramātmā are aspects of the same Supreme Personality of Godhead whom Lord Śiva has been glorifying throughout the prayer. Kṛṣṇa is at the same time everything, and a blue boy who plays with His cowherd friends.

Everything material will eventually disappear. The universe itself will eventually be destroyed; what to say about everything else? The Lord, however, is eternal, and our relationship with Him is also eternal. Once we take shelter of this eternal relationship, there is no need to fear destruction or anything else.

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Do thou fight for the sake of fighting (Bg 2.31 to 2.38)

After concluding His explanation of the nature of the soul, which is the philosophical foundation for Arjuna not to lament the destruction of the body, Kṛṣṇa now speaks from the perspective of Arjuna’s duty as a kṣatriya. For a kṣatriya, fighting for justice is dharma, and refusing to fight when violence is necessary is sinful. Above all, however, Kṛṣṇa teaches us how to work without attachment, which is the essence of the process of working in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Text 31: sva-dharmam api cāvekṣya, na vikampitum arhasi
dharmyād dhi yuddhāc chreyo ’nyat, kṣatriyasya na vidyate

Considering your specific duty as a kṣatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation.

Text 32: yadṛcchayā copapannam, svarga-dvāram apāvṛtam
sukhinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ pārtha, labhante yuddham īdṛśam

O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.

Text 33: atha cet tvam imam dharmyam, sangrāmam na kariṣyasi
tataḥ sva-dharmam kīrtim ca, hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi

If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.

Text 34: akīrtim cāpi bhūtāni, kathayiṣyanti te ’vyayām
sambhāvitasya cākīrtir, maraṇād atiricyate

People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.

Text 35: bhayād raṇād uparatam, mamsyante tvām mahā-rathāḥ
yeṣām ca tvam bahu-mato, bhūtvā yāsyasi lāghavam

The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant.

Text 36: avācya-vādāmś ca bahūn, vadiṣyanti tavāhitāḥ
nindantas tava sāmarthyam, tato duḥkha-taram nu kim

Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?

Text 37: hato vā prāpsyasi svargam, jitvā vā bhokṣyase mahīm
tasmād uttiṣṭha kaunteya, yuddhāya kṛta-niścayaḥ

O son of Kuntī, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight.

Text 38: sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā, lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva, naivam pāpam avāpsyasi

Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – and by so doing you shall never incur sin.

In these eight verses, Kṛṣṇa presents arguments from a different side, examining the question from the perspective of the performance of duties according to the varṇāśrama system, as prescribed in the scriptures. The varṇāśrama system is also called varṇāśrama-dharma because it offers a process of elevation based on the performance of duties connected with one’s nature. These duties, or sva-dharmas, must be performed until one comes to the platform of liberation.

Everyone has to perform some kind of work or activity, and thus varṇāśrama-dharma is based on executing pious work according to one’s nature, according to the prescriptions of the scriptures. Such duties are like a treatment for one’s material contamination, and thus each should follow his own duty, just as each patient is supposed to follow the particular treatment given to him by the doctor according to his particular disease.

Brāhmaṇas are recommended to be forgiving and nonviolent, but Arjuna is not a brāhmaṇa. As a kṣatriya, he has a fiery nature and is prone to fighting for justice and honor. Even if he did not fight in the battle of Kurukṣetra, he would not be able to escape his nature. Instead of living a life of frustration trying to imitate the prescribed duties of a brāhmaṇa, it would be better to fulfill his prescribed duty as a kṣatriya, fighting for the just cause.

Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes a verse from the Parāśara-smṛti that summarizes the duties of a kṣatriya: “The kṣatriya’s duty is to protect the citizens from all kinds of difficulties, and for that reason, he has to apply violence in suitable cases for law and order. Therefore he has to conquer the soldiers of inimical kings, and thus, with religious principles, he should rule over the world.”

The general reason for Arjuna refusing to fight was ignorance about the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body, which resulted in an illusory sense of compassion for his family members. This was counteracted by Kṛṣṇa through the transcendental knowledge given in the previous verses. Another issue was the fear that fighting in the battle would impair his material enjoyment due to the loss of his relatives. This point is counteracted in these eight verses by examining the question from the perspective of material results.

For a kṣatriya, fighting in the battle is equivalent to a brāhmaṇa performing fire sacrifices. Just as a brāhmaṇa does not incur sin in performing fire sacrifices, the kṣatriya does not incur reactions by fighting in a battle under moral principles. In this case, the battle is compared to a fire, in which the kṣatriya sacrifices his life, just as a brāhmaṇa offers oblations into the fire. By performing his duties, even an ordinary kṣatriya can be elevated to the celestial planets. Conversely, avoiding a battle is considered sinful for a kṣatriya, since he is neglecting his duty of protecting society. Arjuna was thinking he would avoid sinful reactions by not fighting in the battle, but it was the opposite: Arjuna would incur sinful reactions by avoiding the battle, and not by participating in it.

This concept of wrongdoing by neglecting one’s duty is still current in many circumstances, even in civilian life. A doctor who refuses to save a patient, having the means to do so, can be prosecuted in most countries, and similarly, a mother who seriously neglects her child may even go to jail.

In text 2.32, Kṛṣṇa argues that a battle like Kurukṣetra, where a kṣatriya can fight for the just cause, is a great opportunity, because one can be granted elevation to the higher planets by just participating in it. Kṣatriyas, conscious of their duty, would embrace such an opportunity and fight without hesitation, knowing that victory would bring prosperity on Earth, and falling in battle would mean elevation to the celestial planets. Arjuna thus had nothing to lament for his relatives who would fall in battle, because they would not only receive new bodies but would also take their next birth in the celestial planets, enjoying much higher material facilities and knowledge. He would gain both in victory and defeat, and the same applied to his relatives.

Higher than that is the fact that Kṛṣṇa is directly guiding him, and therefore his fighting is not only the right thing to do according to the principles of dharma but also an act of devotional service, which is the highest dharma. As a result of the presence of the Lord, the soldiers who would fall in the battle would not be elevated to the celestial planets, but would directly achieve liberation, and their wives and children would be maintained and protected by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira afterward, when he would become the emperor. The role of Arjuna in the battle was thus clear from all sides. All that was left was for the Lord to remove the ignorance that was clouding his judgment. Similarly, when we are enlightened by this knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā, the proper path of action for us can also become clear.

On the other hand, running away from the fight would bring only disgrace. If Arjuna did not fight, he would not only incur the sin of neglecting his duty (just like a doctor who neglects a patient or a mother who abandons her child) but would also lose his social reputation, being labeled as a coward. Dying in battle would not be something a kṣatriya would fear, but living in dishonor would be truly disgraceful.

As Prabhupāda mentions:

“Both as friend and philosopher to Arjuna, Lord Kṛṣṇa now gives His final judgment regarding Arjuna’s refusal to fight. The Lord says, “Arjuna, if you leave the battlefield before the battle even begins, people will call you a coward. And if you think that people may call you bad names but that you will save your life by fleeing the battlefield, then My advice is that you’d do better to die in the battle. For a respectable man like you, ill fame is worse than death. So, you should not flee for fear of your life; better to die in the battle. That will save you from the ill fame of misusing My friendship and from losing your prestige in society.”

Ordinary people have material desires they wish to fulfill, and thus the varṇāśrama system offers a set of carrots and sticks in the form of material rewards for performing one’s duties and karmic consequences for neglecting them. In this way, everyone is impelled to perform their respective duties, and thus not only does society work properly, with everyone being well cared for, but, more importantly, people stay on the path of piety, gradually elevating themselves on the spiritual path. The goal of the system, however, is to go beyond this fruitive mentality, coming to the stage of acting in a spirit of renunciation, simply performing one’s duty because it has to be done, by the order of the Lord. This marks the transition from the platform of karma-kānda (ordinary fruitive activities) to a platform of devotional service.

That’s what Kṛṣṇa urges Arjuna to do in verse 2.38, one of the most iconic verses of the Bhagavad-gītā: “Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – and by so doing you shall never incur sin.”

In his purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda directly relates the contents of the verse to the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, showing how this practice is essential for us. In material activities, we perform activities according to the results we expect. No one will want to work if there is no expectation of a salary at the end, no one will enter into a relationship if there is no prospect of finding personal satisfaction in it, and so on. We can see that in material activities, the purpose of performing activities is fundamentally selfish, and we may become angry, neglectful, or even violent if the expectations are not fulfilled, as we can frequently see in romantic relationships. When we come to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, the reason for performing activities changes. Instead of doing things based on a calculation of personal gain, we start to perform our activities based on the idea of pleasing the Lord and making Him satisfied. Initially, we may serve out of a desire to achieve liberation, the end of material suffering, but as our love for Kṛṣṇa grows, even this last selfish consideration is overwhelmed, and we come to the platform of unconditional service described by Lord Caitanya in the Śikṣāṣṭakam prayers. This is real love, very different from the perverted reflection we find in this material world.

As soon as we come to this pure platform of working for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, chanting, spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, worshiping, or performing other activities that are pleasant to Him, there is no question of sinful or pious reactions. The activities performed on this platform of love are fully transcendental, the performer of the activities is transcendental, and, as Kṛṣṇa will reveal later, even the offerings themselves and the so-called material environment where these activities are performed (such as a house) are fully transcendental. Such a devotee is no longer obliged to anyone or indebted to anyone.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“Considering your specific duty as a kṣatriya, you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation.”

a) Kṣatriyas are specifically trained for fighting and killing because sometimes violence is necessary for upholding religious principles. Because of their mental constitution, kṣatriyas are not meant to take sannyāsa at any stage, different from brāhmaṇas.

b) Brāhmaṇas are meant to follow the principle of ahimsā more strictly, while kṣatriyas are meant to take a more pragmatic approach. Idealistic or absolute nonviolence for a kṣatriya engaged in managing a state is impractical. Effective leadership sometimes requires taking strong measures, like when protecting citizens from aggressors or criminals. Such violence is according to the principles of dharma. If a kṣatriya refrains from applying such necessary violence, he becomes irreligious.

c) Brāhmaṇas also have to commit violence sometimes by sacrificing animals. Such violence, which is also according to the principles of dharma, is also beneficial for all involved, since the soul in the animal sacrificed is purified of the reactions that are binding it to the animal body and thus immediately promoted to a human form.

d) As long as one is not liberated, one has to perform duties according to his particular body and social position in the varṇāśrama system to become purified and ascend to the platform of liberation. In this case, the duties are still connected with the body, because one is still on the bodily platform. By following one’s duties according to the orders of higher authorities, one can progress to a higher status of life.

e) After the platform of liberation, one’s sva-dharma, or specific duty, becomes fully spiritual and transcends the material bodily concept. Ultimately, sva-dharma is ordained by the Lord; therefore, in the case of Arjuna, following the direct order of the Lord is the highest dharma.

“O Pārtha, happy are the kṣatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets.”

a) Arjuna previously stated, “I do not find any good in this fighting. It will cause perpetual habitation in hell.” This was due to ignorance of his specific duty. A kṣatriya has the responsibility of fighting when necessary for upholding the principles of dharma. For a kṣatriya, trying to uphold nonviolence when violence is necessary is a fool’s philosophy. Kṛṣṇa condemns such an attitude.

b) Considering the Parāśara-smṛti and other passages, Arjuna should not hesitate to fight. Both achieving victory and dying in battle would be beneficial to him.

“If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter.”

a) Arjuna was a famous fighter, having even satisfied Lord Śiva in a fight. He had received many celestial weapons from great authorities due to his skill and achievements. If he were to leave the battle, he would not just incur sin for neglecting his duty as a kṣatriya, but also lose his fame and good name. He would go to hell not for fighting but for avoiding the battle.

“People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death.”

a) Even from the aspect of personal gain and loss, Arjuna should fight. Since he would not incur sin by fighting according to his duty, the worst that could happen was for him to lose his life in the battle. Even this would be better than the alternative. By avoiding the battle, Arjuna would lose his reputation, and for a respectable person like Arjuna, this kind of infamy is worse than death.

“The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant.”

a) No one would believe that Arjuna left the battlefield out of compassion. Everyone would consider him a coward and mock him. He would lose all the respect of his peers, like Duryodhana and Karṇa.

“Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you?”

a) Previously, Kṛṣṇa defined Arjuna’s proposal not to fight as befitting the non-āryans, or uncivilized people. Here, He continues to pose arguments.

“O son of Kuntī, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight.”

a) By material calculation, the victory of Arjuna was not certain, since the Kauravas had a strong army. Still, if he was killed, he would be elevated to the higher planets, and if he won, he would enjoy a kingdom on earth. Both alternatives would be positive; therefore, he should fight.

“Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat – and by so doing you shall never incur sin.”

a) For a pure devotee, there is no consideration of material happiness or distress, gain or loss. He is situated in transcendental consciousness, aloof from such trivialities. Because all his activities are an offering to Kṛṣṇa, there is no material reaction.

b) Activities for personal interest result in good and bad reactions, but a person who surrenders all his activities to Kṛṣṇa becomes free from all reactions and all material obligations.

Read the entire book:
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Prabhupada mentions in his books that in previous times people used to marry much earlier. He mentions that in Vedic societies, an age of 24 years for the boy and 16 years for the girl was considered ideal. This may be considered quite early by today’s standards, but it is actually quite conservative in a historical context. In most historical societies, people used to get married sooner than that. In most of medieval Europe, girls would be married around 13, if not earlier. This changed only in recent times, a couple of centuries ago.

Nowadays, it is, of course, more common for both ladies and men to get married much later, often in their late thirties, sometimes in their forties. This is a general tendency that has been noticeable in practically all societies, including among devotees. That’s just how things work nowadays.

There is, however, one disadvantage in it: late marriages don’t stop boys and girls from having romantic relationships; it just makes them have them outside of marriage. It’s not up to me to judge, but in the end, that’s a decision every society has to make: early marriages or early sexual relationships outside of marriage. Unless someone finds the secret formula to create a society composed exclusively of pure devotees, it’s going to be one or the other.

Apart from technical progress, what has changed in modern times compared to the traditional Vedic societies described by Śrila Prabhupada? The main difference is that in these societies, people would have strong role models in their mothers, fathers, and other relatives. People would grow up in families and learn by observing how to be a husband, father, wife, mother, etc. Moreover, their education would be strongly geared towards family life and moral values. As a result, a boy of twenty-four years, or a girl of sixteen, would already be perfectly capable of cultivating a mature relationship. Even if there were problems, the parents were around to help to fix them.

Nowadays, however, few people receive a good example from their parents, and schools teach only technical knowledge. To make things worse, consumer societies teach people to remain in a permanent childlike state, satisfying their basic instincts and seeing themselves as the center of the universe. We try to apply the same consumer mentality we have towards products and services to our relationships, and as a result, we have people in their twenties or thirties who are still emotionally immature and bereft of the basic tools needed to cultivate practically any kind of healthy relationship.

In this situation, people often have to learn by trial and error, usually by going through a series of failed relationships. The ones who are intelligent may be able to learn something by their thirties, but the majority reach maturity only in their forties or fifties, or not even that. Many become so scarred by all these failed relationships and setbacks suffered earlier in their lives that they continue having problems cultivating normal relationships up to the end.

This affects not only the relationships with the wives and husbands but also the relationships with the children. It’s not uncommon to see children who, observing the emotional immaturity of their parents, try to assume an adult role early on, having to emotionally support their parents instead of being supported by them. This may sound like a good idea at first, but it can be very detrimental to their development, later creating issues in their relationship with their own children.

People going from one partner to the other during their lives, with the children often not being raised by their biological fathers, mothers, or both, is not considered a very good thing from the spiritual perspective. Prabhupada mentions that women have, by nature, a tendency to be faithful to the first man they have a romantic relationship with. When women are properly protected in such a relationship, they can grow into affectionate wives and mothers, who are the fabric of any civilized society. When men are unreliable, and women are forced to go from one partner to the other, many problems ensue.

Child marriage is certainly a very serious issue, but the way things happen nowadays is not much better. The Vedas seem to offer a solution for both extremes, training both boys and girls and getting them married at the ages they attain maturity. Girls are trained inside the family, learning from the example of their mothers, while boys learn to be responsible and control their senses in the gurukulas.

It’s important to notice that in the traditional gurukulas, the boys would be educated not just by a brāhmana teacher but by a couple. The brāhmanas would be married and would receive the boys in their houses, with the wife taking the role of a mother to them. In this way, the boys would learn not only the scriptures but also have a positive family experience, which would be positive both for the ones who would become householders later on and for the ones who would go to renounced life. One of the reasons many of the early gurukulas in our movement failed so miserably was exactly that immature celibates would be put in the role of teachers of small children, instead of mature couples. Even nowadays, good schools are difficult to establish due to a lack of mature couples in our movement with this disposition.

How to solve these problems? This situation can change only when we can somehow rediscover this lost culture and be able to successfully implement it in our spiritual society. From the point we can again have people who will reach emotional maturity in their twenties, we may again have earlier marriages that can work, with mature couples being established, who in turn may be able to bring forth good children who may change the world.

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The amazing people who can see the amazing soul (Bg 2.29 and 2.30)

The soul is not an ordinary object that can be seen or measured by material instruments. It is atomic, spiritual, and beyond material perception, yet its presence animates the whole body. Very few truly understand it. Still, knowing that the soul is eternal and indestructible, Arjuna has no reason to lament for the body.

Text 29: āścarya-vat paśyati kaścid enam, āścarya-vad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ,
āścarya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti, śrutvāpy enam veda na caiva kaścit

Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

Text 30: dehī nityam avadhyo ’yam, dehe sarvasya bhārata

tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni, na tvam śocitum arhasi

O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.

These two verses conclude the section of the second chapter where Kṛṣṇa describes transcendental knowledge about the soul. Beginning with text 2.31, He will start a new section, describing the process of pious fruitive activity described in the Vedas, before starting His teachings on the process of karma-yoga.

Text 2.29 is the “amazing” verse, where the word āścarya is repeated three times, indicating how surprising the nature of the soul is. Āścarya means amazing, marvelous, surprising, extraordinary, remarkable, etc., and āścarya-vat means “as amazing.” Some see the soul as something amazing, some describe the soul as amazing, and some hear from them about the amazing soul.

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa explains that the adjective āścarya-vat can be interpreted as modifying the pronoun (enam, this soul), the subject (kaścit, someone), or the verb (paśyati, sees). There are thus three possible interpretations, and the three are simultaneously true:

a) Some look on the soul as amazing.
b) Some, who are amazing, look at the soul.
c) Some look, amazingly, at the soul.

In this way, the soul is amazing, the individuals who come to the point of seeing the soul (due to being spiritually advanced) are amazing, and the power of seeing the soul is amazing, being ultimately given by the Lord in response to one’s sincerity.

Once one comes to see and understand the soul, one may have the desire to speak about the soul to others, bringing us to the second line, āścarya-vad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ, which can also be interpreted in three ways, following the explanation of Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa. The soul is described as something amazing; the people who describe the soul are amazing (having come to the point of obtaining this confidential knowledge), and the power of speaking about the soul (being given by the Lord in response to one’s sincerity) is amazing.

Speaking about something implies having someone hear about it, which brings us to the third line: āścarya-vac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti. The soul is described as something amazing; the power of hearing about the soul (being a potency of the Lord) is amazing, and the very people who are hearing about the soul (being empowered by the Lord to do so) are amazing. In this way, the soul is an amazing subject to be described; the power of hearing about the soul is amazing, and the capacity for hearing about the soul is amazing.

This explanation of the nine meanings of the verse by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa is certainly amazing, and Prabhupāda speaks about something even more amazing in his purport, revealing the practical implications of this amazing knowledge about the soul.

The same soul inside the body of a great animal like a whale or elephant can also enter the body of a microscopic germ and manifest varied degrees of consciousness and power. The soul can thus animate both very large and very small bodies, just like Kṛṣṇa can manifest the gigantic universal form and at the same time enter inside the atoms. By understanding the nature of the soul, we can also understand something about the nature of Kṛṣṇa, and from there inquire about the relationship between the two and the process of re-establishing this eternal relationship. However, because ordinary people are engrossed in material life, they have no time or interest in this type of inquiry. Therefore, a person who comes to inquire about the amazing soul is a remarkable person.

When one comes to this stage of inquiring about the soul, however, there is another trap, which is the possibility of hearing from an unqualified source. Many misunderstand the nature of the soul, concluding that the soul and the Supersoul are one, and thus misguide their followers with Māyāvāda philosophy. Only a devotee can understand the soul and the Lord and properly speak about them. Such devotees are extraordinary, and the process of hearing from them about the amazing soul is remarkable.

It is not easy to understand Kṛṣṇa. Normally, one has to perform austerities for many lives to come to the point of acquiring knowledge about Him. However, one can very easily come to understand Kṛṣṇa through the mercy of a pure devotee, just like one has to work very hard to get a million dollars, but the same amount can be given very easily by a billionaire.

In text 2.30, the Lord concludes the teaching about the immortality of the soul, explaining that the soul is eternal and the body temporary; therefore, Arjuna should not lament the loss of the temporary body while performing his duty.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.”

a) People who don’t have real knowledge and are immersed in materialistic life can’t understand how the same soul can become both big and small, powering both the body of a microbe and a gigantic animal like a whale or elephant. Even when they accept the existence of the soul, they can’t understand it at all, even though it is explained in detail in the scriptures. Instead, they become distracted by material subjects.

b) The problem with being materially absorbed is that one is ultimately defeated, since without understanding our real self, all activities ultimately end in defeat (with death, etc.). Only spiritual knowledge can bring a definitive solution to the problems of life.

c) Even when people become inclined to hear about the soul, they are often misguided by the idea that the soul and the Supersoul are the same.

d) It is thus very difficult to find a person who perfectly understands both the soul and the Supersoul, and even rarer to find someone who has applied and realized this knowledge. In any case, if one somehow comes to understand the soul, his life is successful.

e) How can we come to understand the soul? The easiest process is to accept the instructions of Kṛṣṇa. To come to the point of accepting Kṛṣṇa, however, one has to have a lot of spiritual merit, accumulated during this life or in previous lives (by penance, sacrifices, etc.). One who is bereft of spiritual merit will not be inclined to accept Kṛṣṇa’s guidance.

f) How can one come to accept Kṛṣṇa if he has no previous merit? This becomes possible through the association of a devotee. In any case, even after one accepts Kṛṣṇa, one can come to know Him only by the association and mercy of a pure devotee. Therefore, the association of devotees is the most important factor.

“O descendant of Bharata, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being.”

a) This verse concludes the instructions on the characteristics of the soul that establish the soul as eternal and the body as temporary. The soul is transcendental and different from the body, and life does not come from the interaction of material elements.

b) Although the soul is immortal, the Lord does not sanction unnecessary violence.

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We may sometimes think that spiritual realization is all or nothing, that unless we become pure devotees, we will never be accepted by Kṛṣṇa. Reality, however, is more nuanced. It is more like a relationship developing. A relationship does not start the day we decide to marry someone. Normally, it evolves through multiple stages.

Kṛṣṇa makes this point clear when He mentions that “four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” Then, shortly afterward, He adds: “All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls.”

Here, Kṛṣṇa describes four classes of devotees who approach Him with some interest. None of them is completely pure, but this does not mean Kṛṣṇa rejects them. Just the opposite, Kṛṣṇa acknowledges them and helps them to progress.

What are these four classes of pious persons who approach Kṛṣṇa with some interest, but are still accepted by Him?

The first is the Ārtaḥ (the distressed). This is someone who is generally absorbed in material activities, trying to obtain happiness by working and making different material arrangements. As long as everything goes well, he may feel no particular need to approach God. However, when a seriously distressing situation appears, and ordinary means fail to solve the problem, he may pray or come in contact with pure devotees. The baseline is that one has some preliminary form of faith or devotion to God, but the helplessness is the trigger that makes him finally approach Kṛṣṇa and begin devotional service.

The point is that distress itself is not what makes him pious. An ordinary person in distress may beg from powerful people or demigods, or try to solve his problems by working hard. However, pious souls remember God when they face difficulties, recognizing Him as the ultimate shelter. The distress brings him toward Kṛṣṇa instead of away from Him, and when they come in contact with devotees, this search for shelter can evolve into genuine inquisitiveness and foster a genuine attitude of devotional service.

An example of ārtaḥ is Gajendra, the celestial elephant, whose story is described in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He was bathing in a lake when a strong crocodile bit his leg. He fought for a long time, but was gradually overpowered by the crocodile, who was fighting in his natural habitat. In great distress, Gajendra took a lotus flower with his trunk and started offering it to Lord Viṣnu, fully surrendering to Him. Gajendra was previously King Indradyumna, who was cursed to become an elephant. In this animal body, he forgot about his devotional service and became absorbed in sensual enjoyment, but when a distressful situation appeared, he remembered his previous devotion, even in an animal body.

The second is the Jijñāsuḥ (the inquisitive). This is someone who has become frustrated with material life and begins to inquire about what is beyond. He realizes that ordinary material pursuits cannot give a satisfactory answer to deeper existential questions, and therefore seeks spiritual knowledge and the association of devotees to understand what is beyond.

His original motivation is curiosity or inquiry, and not devotion itself. He simply wants to know what happens after death, what the purpose of life is, how to put an end to material suffering, and so on. The baseline is this existential inquiry, and previous piety makes him come to devotees instead of mental speculators.

Thousands of years ago, Śaunaka Rṣi heard from great devotees about self-realization. He heard the Mundaka Upaniṣad from Angirasa, Puranas from Romaharṣaṇa, and so on. When he enquired from Angirasa, his initial question was, “Knowing what does everything become known?” However, by the time he came to inquire from Suta Gosvāmi, he was already eager to directly hear about Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, and His incarnations.

The third is the Artha-arthī (one who desires material gain). The point is that until we become fixed in the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have many material desires, and one who is pious may come to worship Kṛṣṇa for that. Again, this is not pure devotion, but it is still positive, because Kṛṣṇa reciprocates in such a way that he gives the material blessings one may ask in ways that purify the devotee of material contamination, solving the root cause of the problem.

The perfect example is Dhruva Maharaja. As a prince, Dhruva was expected to inherit the kingdom of his father, Uttānapāda. However, his stepmother deprived him of this right. Instructed by His mother, and later by Nārada Muni, Dhruva practiced great austerities in the forest with the goal of satisfying Lord Viṣnu and obtaining a kingdom greater than his father’s. As He practiced, his heart was purified, and by the time Lord Viṣnu appeared to grant him the kingdom of earth for 36,000 years and after that sovereignty over his own Vaikuṇṭha planet, Dhruva already wanted nothing apart from serving the Lord.

This is the main difference between approaching Kṛṣṇa and approaching demigods. A demigod, just like any powerful person, may give what we ask for, but this will be very impermanent, because tomorrow we will need something else. When we ask Kṛṣṇa, he solves the underlying problem by bringing us to the platform of devotional service.

The last is the Jñānī (one who knows things as they are). There are different classes of jñanis, which go all the way from an ordinary mental speculator to a niṣkāma-sannyāsī (a renunciant free from material desires) who has attained Brahman or Paramātmā realization. In both cases, the baseline is the frustration with material life and search for spiritual realization and liberation, and the trigger is a dissatisfaction with the dry philosophical process, that may lead one to associate with devotees and thus approach Kṛṣṇa. As in the other cases, the intention is initially not completely pure. One approaches Kṛṣṇa to obtain knowledge or liberation, but spiritual practice gradually makes one pure.

There are many examples of dry philosophers becoming devotees after becoming dissatisfied with the process, and also examples of high-class jñānīs approaching Kṛṣṇa, as in the case of the four Kumāras. They were initially Brahmavādīs, attracted to the impersonal aspect of the absolute truth. However, they were attracted to the worship of Lord Viṣnu simply by the aroma of the tulasī leaves offered to Him. Attaining perfect realization, they later instructed King Pṛthu, as described in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

We usually start from one of these four categories. We initially come to Kṛṣṇa looking for something else, but as we progress, we gradually come to the point of desiring nothing else apart from Him. This realization usually comes as the realization of transcendental knowledge. He describes this elevated stage of realization in the next verses:

“All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider to be just like My own self. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he is sure to attain Me, the highest and most perfect goal. After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.”

Here, Kṛṣṇa describes the goal: we may start from any of the previous categories, but the goal is to become a pure devotee who understands Kṛṣṇa and is always situated in devotional service.

Everyone wants something from Kṛṣṇa. One may even desire prema with an idea of personal satisfaction, understanding that devotees who have it enjoy the highest bliss. The perfect devotee avoids all these traps. Situated in knowledge, he wants nothing apart from Kṛṣṇa Himself. Such a devotee doesn’t want to enjoy Kṛṣṇa, but simply offers his sincere loving service unto Him. Kṛṣṇa makes an extraordinary statement: “I consider him to be just like My own self” and reassures that “he is sure to attain Me, the highest and most perfect goal.”

This potential multi-life progression is acknowledged by Kṛṣṇa in 7.19 with the words bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (after many births and deaths). However, one can come to Krsna at any of the four stages, and Krsna will help him or her to advance and come to the ultimate goal. Prabhupāda makes the point that one can become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious even in one second; it’s all about accepting our eternal position as loving servants of Kṛṣṇa. It is just that often we take time to fully understand this simple point.

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In the first chapter of the Śrīmad Bhagavatam, the sages ask Suta Goswami six questions. These questions are not only asked for the sage’s own sake. They are concerned about the situation of people who will be living in the age of Kali, and they want to get from Suta Goswami some knowledge that can help them find their way out of all the darkness and illusion of this age.

These six questions are asked in chapter one, and the answers are given in chapters two and three. These chapters are thus intimately connected.

The first question is asked in verse 1.1.9: What is the ultimate good for people?

The answer to this question is given in 1.2.6:

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.”

The Vedas explain many types of dharma, or religious duties, that apply to different people according to their way of life. There are different types of dharma for brahmanas, kṣatriyas, and so on. However, there is a type of dharma that is higher and applies to everyone: Pure devotional service to Krsna.

Other types of dharma (different duties, rules, and regulations prescribed in the scriptures) can help us to live a pious life and thus gradually advance in spiritual life, but these other types of dharma are by themselves insufficient. Only when they lead us to develop love for Krsna is their real purpose fulfilled.

Pure devotional service has two characteristics. The first is that it is unmotivated since it is practiced out of love, without expectation of material results. The second is that it is uninterrupted since once one develops this love, he will want to continue serving Krsna without stopping. This transcendental relationship starts here and continues eternally in the spiritual world.

The second question comes on 1.1.11: What is the essence of the scriptures?

The answer is given in 1.2.7:

“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.”

Although the Vedas explain many different subjects, giving different instructions to different types of people, the ultimate goal of the Vedas is to bring people to the platform of devotional service to Krsna. Everything else in the Vedas is more or less just like an excuse or enticement to gradually bring people to this ultimate conclusion.

Different from different activities offered in the Vedas, such as sacrifices, austerities, and so on, are available only to certain classes of people who attain the necessary qualifications. Devotional service, on the other hand, can be practiced by everyone, without any consideration of gender, age, culture, social status, and so on. As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to this verse, bhakti is simultaneously sublime and easy. It is sublime for advanced devotees who are in direct contact with the Lord, and easy for others who are just starting. It is a science that is open to all classes of people.

To become free from material things without a positive engagement is very difficult. No one can just give up all desires and become a dead stone. The way to become free from the negative desires connected with material ambitions is to develop positive desires connected with the service to Krsna. When the desire to serve Krsna becomes sufficiently mature, the desire to engage in negative material ambitions starts to disappear. Desire continues to be present, but the quality changes from material to spiritual. Just as material desires keep us in this world, spiritual desires bring us to the spiritual world.

Therefore, just as the ultimate good is the practice of devotional service, the essence and ultimate purpose of the Vedas is to explain devotional service. Without developing love for Krsna, just following rules and regulations has little utility.

The idea is that by following the Vedas, people can at first come to a pious platform of life, which serves as a base for them to go further, starting on the path of devotional service. A sinful life is a great obstacle on the path to realization. Once a person starts leading a pure and religious life, many obstacles are cleared from their path.

However, if a person just continues executing material duties and activities and never comes to the platform of devotional service, all this effort is considered useless, because one is working but is not getting the fruit of this work. One will thus never find real happiness.

The third question (asked on 1.1.12) is: Why and how did Krsna appear on this planet as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki?

The answer is given on 1.2.34:

“Thus the Lord of the universes maintains all planets inhabited by demigods, men and lower animals. Assuming the roles of incarnations, He performs pastimes to reclaim those in the mode of pure goodness.”

Krsna mentions in the Bhagavad-Gita that He comes to this world to kill the atheistic demons, protect the devotees, and reestablish the principles of religion (BG 4.7-8). However, the first and third activities are actually secondary. The real reason Krsna comes to this world in different forms is to give association to His devotees and thus bring them back to Godhead. Not just His pure devotees, but all pious souls (people influenced by the mode of goodness, such as pious sages, demigods, and so on) are benefited. People influenced by the mode of passion and ignorance, like sinful atheists, fruitive workers, and so on, frequently just offend Krsna and consider Him an ordinary person.

Krsna is extraordinarily intelligent, and therefore He can fulfill many purposes simultaneously through each of His actions and pastimes. A more elaborate explanation of the reasons for Krsna’s advent is given later in the tenth canto.

The fourth question (asked on 1.1.17) is: What are the activities and pastimes Krsna displays in His different purusha incarnations, in creating the material universes?

According to Śrila Jiva Goswami, this question is about the activities of the Lord connected with the creation of the world. This is answered on SB 1.2.30 to 1.2.33.

As Lord Maha-Viṣnu, Krsna creates the whole material manifestation by generating the Maha-Tattva (the sum of all material elements) and emanating all the different material universes through His pores. Through His look, he sends all the souls who want to take birth in these different universes, and He enters into each of these different universes as Garbhodakasayi Viṣnu. This is the form of the Lord who lies down in the Garbhodaka ocean and gives birth to Lord Brahma through a lotus flower coming from His navel. The Lord then expands again and becomes Ksirodakasayi Viṣnu, entering into everything as Paramatma, appearing in the heart of all living beings and even inside the atoms.

We often think that there is a separate form of Paramatma in each living being and every atom, but in reality there is just one Ksirodakasayi Viṣnu who just observes everything and is present everywhere. The same Ksirodakasayi Viṣnu lives on a small island in the ocean of milk (one of the seven cosmic oceans that are part of the intermediate planetary system, in the middle of our universe). This is the form of Lord Viṣnu to whom the demigods pray when they are defeated by the demons, as described in different pastimes of the Śrīmad Bhagavatam.

The fifth question is asked on SB 1.1.18: What are the transcendental incarnations of the Lord and their pastimes?

This question is answered in chapter three, which gives a short description of each of Krsna’s incarnations in this particular universe. Krsna’s forms are unlimited, and therefore He plays unlimited pastimes in the different material universes, as well as in the spiritual world, but to keep the list short, Śrila Suta Goswami describes just the incarnations that appeared in this universe and in the current cycle of creation.

Each time Lord Brahma goes to sleep, the universe is partially destroyed, and every time he wakes up, the universe is created anew. During each day, there is a sequence of different incarnations, including Nara-Narayana rishis, Lord Kapila, Yajña, Ṛṣabhadeva, Pṛthu, Matsya, Dhanvantari, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmanadeva, Parasurama, Rama, Balarama, Kalik, and so on, as well as the four Kumaras (the sons of Brahma), Narada Muni, and others, who are considered empowered incarnations since they are special souls who are empowered by the Lord to perform different activities. This all culminates with Krsna coming personally with Balarama to perform their pastimes in Vrindavana. Śrīla Vyāsadeva concludes that all of these different incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead.

The sixth and last question is asked on 1.1.23: What became the shelter of the religious principles after Krsna left our planet, five thousand years ago?

Krsna was personally present on our planet with Balarama five thousand years ago. They both played their pastimes like human beings, but at the same time performed many wonderful activities. Krsna organized things so that many demons would be killed, culminating in the battle of Kurukṣetra. In this way, Krsna took out the burden of all these sinful people and restored religious principles. However, where can we take shelter now that Krsna left? By the time Suta Goswami was speaking the Bhagavatam to the sages, Krsna had already left, so this question was as relevant back then as it is today.

The answer is given on SB 1.3.43:

“This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the Age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa.”

At the same time, Krsna left our planet, going back to the spiritual world, the Śrīmad Bhagavatam descended, offering a beacon of light to the people confused due to all the ignorance and confusion of the current age. The Śrīmad Bhagavatam is non-different from Krsna; therefore, taking shelter in the Śrīmad Bhagavatam by attentively studying it is as good as personally associating with Krsna.

When Krsna was present on our planet, five thousand years ago, not everyone could associate with Him. Many devotees were able to associate with Him only briefly, while others (like the sages in Badarikasrama) were not able to meet Him personally at all. However, in our age, we can associate with Krsna constantly through the pages of the Śrīmad Bhagavatam. In other words, we have an even greater opportunity of understanding Krsna than people who were here when He was personally present.

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Kṛṣṇa argues from the atheistic perspective (Bg 2.26 to 2.28)

After explaining the eternal nature of the soul and its implications, Kṛṣṇa now examines the question from another angle. Even if one thinks that life comes from matter, there is still no reason to lament death. If the body has no permanent existence and there is no soul, then death is simply unavoidable, and lamentation serves no purpose. In this case, one should simply fulfill his duty without lamenting.

Text 26: atha cainam nitya-jātam, nityam vā manyase mṛtam
tathāpi tvam mahā-bāho, nainam śocitum arhasi

If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] will always be born and die forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.

Text 27: jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur, dhruvam janma mṛtasya ca
tasmād aparihārye ’rthe, na tvam śocitum arhasi

One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.

Text 28: avyaktādīni bhūtāni, vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva, tatra kā paridevanā

All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?

Up to text 2.25, Kṛṣṇa sustained his arguments on the idea of the immortality of the soul. In text 2.26, He makes an additional point: even if one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is still no reason to lament.

The idea that life comes from the combination of material elements and is lost forever with the destruction of the body (which is largely accepted in modern scientific circles) is nothing new. Even in antiquity, some philosophers thought in that way, like the Lokāyatikas and Vaibhāṣikas. These philosophies offer conclusions that are similar to classical Buddhism and also to the modern scientific view. However, Kṛṣṇa argues that even if one believes that life appears just due to the combination of material elements, there is still no reason to lament, since in this case life would be ephemeral and ultimately without value or purpose. No one stops performing his duties due to fear of spoiling a small amount of chemicals. Another side of the argument is that if there is no soul, it means there is no afterlife and no karma; therefore, Arjuna would have no reason to lament the death of his relatives. Kṛṣṇa thus shows how the performance of duty is more important than petty considerations, both from the viewpoint of dharma and from the atheistic viewpoint.

The philosophy that most follow nowadays is not exactly atheism, but hedonism. Atheism is still based on some idea of personal and social progression or development, even though deprived of a clear understanding of God. Hedonism, on the other hand, is based just on selfishness and immediate satisfaction, resulting in the most complete type of degradation. Atheism still has a certain resemblance to rationality and certain goals, but hedonism is purely self-destructive. An atheist may still question the value and goals of life, which may create opportunities for receiving spiritual knowledge at a certain point, but in hedonism, there is just a cynical process of denial and justification that leads to a troubled and purposeless life, followed by degradation to lower forms of existence.

Examining the question from different sides, Kṛṣṇa therefore frankly suggests that Arjuna should fight, fulfilling his duty instead of abandoning the battlefield and going to meditate in the forest as he had considered. This is also an important lesson for us since we have a similar tendency to use renunciation as an excuse to run away from problems. Renunciation is good when practiced with the right mentality by someone without material desires, but false renunciation based on escapism or frustration does no good. One of the main secrets revealed in the Bhagavad-gītā is the art of engaging our natural propensities in Kṛṣṇa’s service. This is an art that can elevate us to a transcendental position, regardless of what our starting point is.

Later in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa reveals that the message of the Bhagavad-gītā had previously been transmitted to kings and leaders of society. A king is someone who can’t whimsically reject his duties. He is someone who has to forge his spiritual path while simultaneously dealing with all the complexities of running a kingdom and protecting the citizens. This is what makes the Bhagavad-gītā so useful for us: it teaches how one can become spiritually advanced even while dealing with all the complexities of modern life. The point is not necessarily about changing our place or occupation, but about changing our consciousness. If Arjuna could become self-realized while fighting in a war, certainly we also can, no matter how challenging our situation may be.

Kṛṣṇa continues arguing from the point of view of analytical knowledge in texts 2.27 and 2.28, mentioning that one who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again, and that all created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. He thus makes the point of the inevitability of birth and death, something that is accepted by both theists and atheists. As it is popularly said, “as sure as death.”

From the theistic viewpoint, once one dies, he will surely take another birth, and from the atheistic viewpoint, the matter that composes our bodies will continue to exist in other forms. We can see that often, atheists find solace in the idea of their ashes being thrown into the ocean and thus merging into it, or having a tree planted over their buried bodies, so they can have the idea of merging into the tree and thus continuing to exist, etc. Kṛṣṇa thus poses additional arguments to maintain His conclusion that whether or not one believes in the existence of the soul, there is no reason to lament or fear death.

This point was surely relevant for Arjuna, since he was the one facing death on the battlefield, but it is also no less relevant for us. The point is that all of us face death and loss on a daily basis, even though not as dramatically as Arjuna, and this fear of death and loss may play a role in our decisions, just as it was playing in the case of Arjuna. The arguments Kṛṣṇa offers in these verses are thus also relevant for us, and they serve as a foundation for the spirit of detachment that Kṛṣṇa will try to inculcate into us in the following verses and chapters. One who truly understands this science becomes fearless.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] will always be born and die forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.”

a) Lokāyatikas and Vaibhāṣikas are ancient classes of philosophers who, similar to modern scientists, don’t believe in the existence of the soul separate from the body. According to them, life comes from the combination of material elements.

b) In a war, many tons of chemicals are wasted to achieve victory in the form of munitions and other military equipment. Therefore, if life comes from matter, what is the problem with wasting tons of chemicals in the form of material bodies? In this way, even if Arjuna accepted these atheistic philosophies, there was no reason to lament.

c) If there were no rebirth or continuation of the soul after death, Arjuna would also not have to fear sinful reactions for killing his relatives. In this way, Kṛṣṇa argues that both from the side of Vedic understanding and from the materialistic conclusion, there was no need for Arjuna to lament in the performance of his duty.

d) Kṛṣṇa calls Arjuna mahā-bāhu (mighty-armed) to emphasize that he was a follower of the Vedas and therefore should perform his duty, following the principles of the scriptures.

“One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.”

a) The fact that the soul goes from one body to the other does not support unnecessary murder, slaughter, and war. At the same time, violence is necessary to maintain law and order in society.

b) The Battle of Kurukṣetra was an inevitable event, and being a kṣatriya, Arjuna had a duty to perform. By neglecting his duty, he would break the law and become liable for the very sinful reactions he was afraid of. He would not be able to stop the death of his relatives and would be degraded for acting inappropriately.

“All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?”

a) Even if we accept the atheistic view that there is no soul, there is no cause for lamentation. The law of conservation of energy guarantees that all material elements remain; they just assume different forms. All bodies didn’t exist in the past; they exist now but will not exist in the future. Everything changes, and there is no way to stop it; therefore, there is no reason to lament. If life comes from matter, it means we are matter, and matter continues to exist in different forms. Since nothing is lost, and things are manifested for just a short time, life or death makes no material difference.

b) And, if we accept the Vedic conclusion, there is also no reason to lament, because the body is just a dress for the eternal soul. Because of its temporary nature, the body is just like a dream for the soul, something ephemeral.

c) Although the body is not false, because it is temporary, it is as if it does not exist. Just as a dream is not false, but at the same time is also not real. The body is thus called asat (nonexistent). The Vedas encourage self-realization based on the understanding of this nonexistence of the material body, contrasted with the eternity of the soul.

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Any introspective person can come to the conclusion that this material world is a place of hardships and, realizing that he is a soul, come to the point of desiring liberation. However, the material energy is very difficult to overcome. Many philosophers and yogīs try to become free from this material world, but they rarely succeed.

In the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa gives us an easy process: we just need to surrender to Him. The soul is constitutionally an eternal loving servant of the Lord, and as soon as we give up our false sense of material identity, we naturally return to this original position.

So, why do people still refuse? Why is it that even people well-qualified by material standards, like scholars and intellectuals, who may even come to study the Bhagavad-gītā, refuse to accept this simple process?

Ultimately, it is because of material illusion. Material illusion covers our original knowledge and makes us see everything in a distorted way. Suddenly, we are the body; the universe appeared by chance, life serves no ultimate purpose, and there is no God.

There is also another point. Truly qualified personalities mentioned in the scriptures do surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and as a result become great devotees. We have many examples in history: Brahmā, the patriarch of our universe, meditated for 1,000 years of the demigods and received the personal darśana of Kṛṣṇa, who revealed the whole Vedic knowledge to him and ordered him to create the universe. Lord Śiva lives on Mount Kailāsa, constantly absorbed in meditation on the Supreme Lord. The Four Kumāras, the exponents of the jñāna school and teachers of countless students, are pure devotees of Viṣnu, having become attracted to His service simply by smelling the aroma of Tulasi leaves offered to Him. Similarly, Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Vedas, Manu, the father of mankind, and so many other greatly exalted personalities are pure devotees of the Lord.

According to Prabhupāda, the reason intellectuals, philosophers, political leaders, and other prominent leaders of contemporaneous societies refuse is that they are not true intellectuals, philosophers, or leaders. Rather, they are ordinary people who occupy these positions for material gain. This is a heavy claim, but Kṛṣṇa Himself supports it in Bg 7.15 by calling them duṣkṛtinaḥ: miscreants, or atheistic planmakers.

The root kṛtī indicates ability, merit, and action, but the prefix duṣ- indicates that the action is misdirected. The duṣkṛtinas are often materially qualified and work very hard, but because they act under material illusion, their efforts fail in producing anything truly beneficial for themselves or others. This shows that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, material qualifications not only fail to bring real benefit, but often become harmful. Kṛṣṇa divides the duṣkṛtina class into four groups:

1) The mūḍha is the gross materialist who works very hard for little gain. They are compared with asses and other beasts of burden. Kṛṣṇa gives us the process of advancing by working for Him, but the mūḍhas prefer to work for materialistic masters and use whatever little they gain to try to satisfy their senses.

2) The second class is the narādhama, the lowest of mankind. These are materialists who are educated by material standards but follow no religious principles. In other words, due to some previous piety, they receive the opportunity of a human birth, with good education and other facilities, assets that they could immediately use to understand the Absolute Truth, but they deliberately reject the process. As Prabhupāda mentions, the majority of the current population falls into this category.

3) The māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (those whose knowledge has been stolen by illusion) are intellectuals and philosophers who excel in terms of material knowledge. They possess substantial education and material intelligence, but illusion diverts this material intelligence, forcing them to work in the wrong direction. Instead of using their intelligence to understand Kṛṣṇa and surrender unto Him, they simply produce atheistic philosophies and scientific theories that misguide themselves and others. This category includes many classes of materialistic philosophers, such as the followers of the atheistic Sāṅkhya system, which is discussed in detail in the Govinda-bhāṣya. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura also includes persons who worship demigods without understanding Kṛṣṇa’s supreme position in this category. Prabhupāda includes all kinds of intellectual circles, like philosophers, poets, literati, scientists, etc.

4) The last class is the āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ, the ones who share the atheistic nature of the demons. This is the class that offers the deepest resistance. They are deeply averse to God and averse to His supremacy. Just as demons such as Kaṁsa tried to kill Kṛṣṇa with weapons, such persons try to kill Him with atheistic theories that deny His existence or transcendental position. Some say that there is no God; others say that Kṛṣṇa has a material form, or that He is subordinate to the impersonal aspect. They are even ready to worship common men as incarnations, anything but accept the path that Kṛṣṇa offers in the Bhagavad-gītā. Just as Kaṁsa, they usually maintain their enmity up to the very end, and just as Kaṁsa, they are eventually killed by Kṛṣṇa, who appears to them in the form of death. Unlike the great historical demons who were personally killed by Kṛṣṇa, however, ordinary atheists don’t attain liberation, but simply receive the results of their activities in the cycle of birth and death. Later (16.19-20), Kṛṣṇa adds that He casts them into various demoniac species of life, where they cannot approach Him. In other words, they continue descending, taking births in demoniac families that reinforce the same consciousness and progressively close the opportunity for approaching Kṛṣṇa. Gradually, they sink to the most abominable type of existence, eventually taking birth in the animal species. Their mentality puts them into a self-reinforcing cycle, from which it is very difficult to escape. Practically speaking, their only chance is to somehow receive the mercy of a pure devotee.

Prabhupāda explains the four categories in more detail in his purport to Bg 7.15. There are many classes of impious people and atheists, but they can all be fit into these four basic classes. Another important point is that these classes come from material contamination. Even the greatest narādhama is still a pure soul, constitutionally bound to love and serve Kṛṣṇa. The problem is that for the time being, this pure soul identifies with a nefarious material identity. There is always the possibility that an atheist may meet devotees and have a change of heart, but if this doesn’t happen, the tendency is that one continues acting impiously, accumulating sinful reactions that eventually lead to hellish conditions and life in the animal species. By the time one receives the opportunity of a human birth again, his consciousness may have been changed.

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More about the qualities of the soul (Bg 2.22 to 2.25)

Different weapons can harm the body in different ways, burning, cutting, or crushing it. Similarly, one may suffer from extreme heat or cold, or fall and break his leg. The soul, however, is not affected, and the proof is that when the body becomes useless, the soul simply transmigrates to a new one. When this is understood, the instructions of Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna to fight and not lament the destruction of the body become clear.

Text 22: vāsāmsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya, navāni gṛhṇāti naro ’parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny, anyāni samyāti navāni dehī

As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

Text 23: nainam chindanti śastrāṇi, nainam dahati pāvakaḥ
na cainam kledayanty āpo, na śoṣayati mārutaḥ

The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.

Text 24: acchedyo ’yam adāhyo ’yam, akledyo ’śoṣya eva ca
nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur, acalo ’yam sanātanaḥ

This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.

Text 25: avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam, avikāryo ’yam ucyate
tasmād evam viditvainam, nānuśocitum arhasi

It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.

In his commentary, Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa mentions that after verse 2.21, Arjuna could have thought that even though the soul does not die, the bodies of men such as Bhīṣma and others would still be destroyed in the battle. This would be improper since it would deprive the respective souls of the material happiness they would otherwise enjoy in these bodies.

This possible argument is, however, counteracted by Kṛṣṇa in verse 2.22. The change of bodies is just like changing clothes. Just like we don’t lament when a person changes old clothes for new ones, we should not lament over the soul changing from an old body into a new one. Prabhupāda already commented on this point in text 2.13:

“There was no cause for lamentation by Arjuna on account of death, neither for Bhīṣma nor for Droṇa, for whom he was so much concerned. Rather, he should rejoice for their changing bodies from old to new ones, thereby rejuvenating their energy. Such changes of body account for varieties of enjoyment or suffering, according to one’s work in life. So Bhīṣma and Droṇa, being noble souls, were surely going to have spiritual bodies in the next life, or at least life in heavenly bodies for superior enjoyment of material existence. So, in either case, there was no cause of lamentation.”

Once, Nārada Muni met a brahmacārī who led a pure life, completely faithful to the service of his spiritual master. Nārada blessed him to “die immediately”, since being so pure, he would immediately go back to Godhead. Next, he met a prince, whom he blessed to “live a long life”, since the prince was now immersed in sense gratification, and therefore his situation after death would be precarious. Living for a long time, he could at least enjoy for some time, and maybe become renounced and start the spiritual path later in life. Finally, he met a butcher, whom he blessed to “not live and not die”. The butcher was already living a hellish life because of his occupation, and after death, he would be immediately carried by the Yamadūtas to hell. The cryptic blessing highlighted how deeply implicated he was.

Since the soul is eternal and the body is temporary, everyone will have to leave their bodies one day. For one who takes birth, death is certain. The point is thus about living a progressive life and dying in favorable circumstances, and not about prolonging our lives at all costs. For a kṣatriya, dying while fighting on the battlefield is beneficial because it destroys his sins and promotes him to the celestial planets. In the specific case of the battle of Kurukṣetra, the benefit would be even greater, since all the soldiers and generals who would fall in battle would attain liberation due to the personal presence of the Lord.

The Lord then proceeds to describe more characteristics of the soul. Nainam chindanti śastrāṇi: the soul can’t be cut into pieces by any type of weapon. All modern weapons are classified as fire weapons according to the Vedic definition since they are based on the use of explosions, flames, radiation, or electricity, which are all manifestations of the fire element. In previous times, kṣatriyas also had mystic weapons based on the elements earth, water, and wind, but none of these weapons, modern or ancient, can affect the soul, which is acchedyaḥ (unbreakable), adāhyaḥ (impossible to burn), akledyaḥ (insoluble), and aśoṣyaḥ (impossible to dry).

The soul is also sarva-gataḥ (all-pervading) because it can enter anywhere in the creation. Since the soul can enter everywhere, it means there is life everywhere in the creation, including places like the sun, with the soul assuming bodies appropriate for the conditions there. The sun is described as a celestial planet, an extremely opulent place presided over by Sūrya. This abode, however, is so luminous that we can’t even look at it, so how can one believe that it is possible to live there? Certainly not in our current bodies, but extraordinarily pious souls receive bodies appropriate to live there.

The soul is also described as acalaḥ (immovable) because it can’t be moved in or out of the body by mechanical means, nor can the transmigration to a new body after death be stopped. In a higher sense, however, acalaḥ means the soul resides eternally in his eternal position, the material identity being a mere reflection of the consciousness of the soul, which is then covered by the false ego, mind, intelligence, senses, and gross body, as explained in detail in the teachings of Lord Kapila in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This material identity, encased in the subtle body, transmigrates from one body to the other, while the soul proper resides eternally in the spiritual sky, just as the light of the moon is reflected in a pot of water. However, because this explanation is so complicated, it is often said that the soul transmigrates from one body to the other, which makes clear the main principle (we are not the body) without entering into all the difficult details. In Sanskrit, the word for “soul” is ātmā, which is a term difficult to translate because it can mean different things in different contexts. Ātmā, which means “the self,” can be used in the sense of the individual soul, the Supersoul, the material consciousness, the mind, the intellect, or even the body itself. The word “soul” is used as a loose translation for this complex term.

The soul is also defined as avyaktaḥ (invisible) because it can’t be found by experimental means. In fact, the soul can’t be studied by any kind of scientific or experimental process. The only reliable source of knowledge about the soul is the Vedas. Just as one can’t understand the identity of his father except by asking the mother, one can’t understand the soul except by studying the scriptures.

The soul is also described as sthāṇuḥ (unchangeable) and sanātanaḥ (eternally the same), as well as avikāryaḥ (immutable). As Prabhupāda explains, these characteristics described by Kṛṣṇa directly contradict the Māyāvāda interpretation that the souls are separated parts of the Supreme Brahman and merge back into it after liberation. As Kṛṣṇa explains, the soul is not a lump of matter that can be broken and recombined. The soul is an immortal particle that is always the same, immutable, and unchangeable. This reinforces the conclusion that the soul is eternally a separate individual. As defined by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we are simultaneously one with Kṛṣṇa (sharing the same spiritual characteristics), and different, because we are eternally separate individuals. Just as we are separate individuals here, we will continue to be separate in the spiritual world; the only change will be in the quality of our consciousness and activities. There is no possibility of merging into anything or anyone anywhere in the creation. Even if one attains impersonal liberation in the brahmajyoti, still there is no merging; the individual soul is simply put in the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa, from where we can fall back into the material world in search of variety.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”

a) The fact that the body continuously changes but the person remains the same is a logical proof of the existence of the soul. Despite all changes in the body, the soul remains as it is, and at the time of death, the soul is transferred to another body.

b) Who is responsible for the transfer of the soul from one body to another? The Supersoul does it according to one’s desires and activities, just as a friend fulfills the desire of another. The soul and the Supersoul are like two birds sitting on the tree of the body, one enjoying the fruits of the tree, and the other simply observing. They are friends, but at the same time, one is the master and the other is the servant. Because of forgetfulness, the soul continues to go from one tree to another, and in each body, one struggles very hard. When we turn to the Lord and accept His instructions, however, we become free from all lamentation.

c) Brāhmaṇas sometimes kill animals in religious sacrifices, and similarly, kṣatriyas kill enemies in battle. Both the animals sacrificed and the warriors killed are purified of past reactions and promoted to a higher status of life. That’s another reason for Arjuna not to lament the deaths of Bhīṣma and Droṇa.

“The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.”

a) In previous eras, kṣatriyas possessed mystical weapons based on the manipulation of all four elements, including not only fire but also water, air, and earth. These weapons were not chemical or mechanical, but controlled by mantras capable of manipulating the material elements. By using the appropriate mantras, a kṣatriya could produce a tornado to attack his enemies, for example. Arjuna possessed many such mystical weapons, but none of the weapons at his disposal were able to kill the soul.

b) The Māyāvādī theory that the Supreme Brahman becomes many individual souls by being covered by ignorance is false. The Supreme Brahman can’t be covered by Māyā, nor cut into pieces.

c) The correct understanding is that the souls are eternally separate from the Lord, and being individuals, we have free will. Because of free will, there is the possibility of us being covered by the material energy and thus becoming separated from the association of the Lord. One example is that sparks may fall out of a fire, although they are one in quality with the fire.

d) The living entity is a separate individual at every stage. After being liberated from illusion, the living entity maintains his separate identity, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā. The soul becomes liberated from material contamination, but never becomes one with Kṛṣṇa.

“This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.”

a) The theory of monism, that the soul merges into the Supreme Brahman, is very difficult to maintain when faced with the verses of the Bhagavad-gītā because so many verses reinforce that the soul is an eternally separate particle and remains eternally the same without change.

b) What the impersonalists call merging into the Supreme is simply the soul being put into the brahmajyoti, the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. The intelligent, however, prefer to enter into the spiritual planets to associate with the Lord.

c) The word sarva-gata (all-pervading, living everywhere) indicates that the soul can live in any part of the creation. Everywhere, there are living beings with bodies adapted to the environmental conditions.

“It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.”

a) Since we can’t find or measure the soul by material means, the only source of information about the soul is the śruti, or Vedic wisdom. Just as one has to accept the identity of the father based on the word of the mother, there is no source of understanding about the soul except the Vedas.

b) The soul is conscious, and at the same time the soul is consciousness itself, since consciousness is the symptom of the soul and the two can’t be separated. When the soul enters the body, consciousness permeates it, and when the soul leaves, the body becomes just a bunch of matter. In reality, the body never becomes conscious; consciousness just manifests as a symptom of the presence of the soul. The soul is atomic and unchangeable; therefore, the soul can’t ever become equal to God.

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💬 Text of the lesson

What does “yojana” mean?

One important point when we study the Vedic Universe is the distances. All the measurements of the universe given in the Puranas are based on a unit called yojana. This is a measure of distance based on characteristics of the human body, much like the inches and feet used in the imperial system.

One definition is that a yojana equals 8,000 times the height of a man. Another is that it equals 32,000 sets of 24 finger widths. Yet another definition states that a yojana equals four times the maximum distance a healthy man can shout and still be heard. That’s one of the reasons the length of the yojana varies through different sources, sometimes as 5 miles, 8 miles, etc.

The difficulty with the Vedic model is that when the distances described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam are taken literally, the universe is described as being very small, with just 4 billion miles in diameter. When we take out the vast areas of Aloka-varṣa, the Golden land, and the Garbhodaka Ocean, which are uninhabited, the inhabited universe becomes even smaller, with just 656 million miles (two times 41,100,000 yojanas, the diameter of the inner border of the golden land) and about two billion miles in height (from Bhū-mandala to the upper covering). It is very difficult to imagine that everything we see in the sky could fit in such a small space.

To have an idea, taking the relative distances of the stars of our Galaxy, a universe of just four billion miles would result in each star having just a few dozen meters in diameter. If we fit what is believed to be the observable universe (with all the galaxies), then the size of each star would fall into the scale of microns.

Taking the idea of 4 billion miles literally, the only logical conclusion would be to take just our solar system as the Vedic universe and, from there, conclude that other solar systems are separate universes. This, however, results in many contradictions that just grow as we try to reconcile with different passages from the scriptures.

There is, however, another possible interpretation that perhaps makes more sense.

The Vedas describe that other species that live in our universe (like the celestial humans living in the other varṣas of Bhū-mandala, as well as demigods and great sages living in the upper planetary systems) have different physical characteristics. They are much larger than us, and can travel for much greater distances, apart from having different mystical perfections that allow them to perform feats impossible to us. 8,000 times their height, 32,000 sets of 24 of finger widths, or four times the maximum distance they can be heard would surely be much more than it is in our case.

It is thus not completely implausible to believe that the effective scale of a yojana may correspond to different dimensional metrics in different planes. In other words, what is a yojana for us may be perceived differently by inhabitants of different planets, and, conversely, what is a yojana for them, in their abodes, may be very different from what it is for us.

Imagine a yogi traveling through the cosmos using the mystical process prescribed in the Vedas. Being an inhabitant of Satya-yuga, he starts from the higher-dimensional reality of Bhū-mandala that we study in the pages of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (which is already much more refined than our gross reality). It is described that from this level, he has to traverse a vertical distance of 100,000 yojanas to reach Svargaloka, traveling using the rays of the sun, first reaching the sun itself, and from there reaching the desired planet in the celestial planetary system.

By the time he reaches there, he is free from all sinful reactions and has acquired a much more elevated state of consciousness, which makes him qualified to assume a celestial body that is larger, subtler, and much more powerful than the body he had while living in Bhū-mandala. Now, his perception of distance becomes different. What is now a yojana for him is much more than what a yojana is for the inhabitants of Bhū-mandala, and even more than what it is for us.

Now, imagine that he again sits in meditation, this time aiming to reach Maharloka, the next planetary system, which is 10,000,000 yojanas above, by what is now his measure. This time, he travels a distance that is inconceivable to an inhabitant of Bhū-mandala, and even more for us. For this trip, he elevates his consciousness even further, which leads him to acquire an even subtler and more powerful body. Now, the yojana, in his higher dimensional reality, is even larger, incalculable to us.

Now, imagine he continues traveling upwards, traveling the 20,000,000 yojanas (from his measure) to Janaloka, and then the 80,000,000 yojanas to Tapoloka, then the 120,000,000 yojanas to Satyaloka, then the 5,000,000,000 yojanas of the first covering, the 50,000,000,000 yojanas of the second covering, etc. How many miles is it for us?

If we see from this perspective, the universe described in the Vedas is even larger than what is believed in modern science, incalculable from our perspective. The only way to travel through it and reach the spiritual side is thus by following the process of purification described in the scriptures and not by building a spaceship. This is precisely the point made in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

The main point is that although we are limited by such distances, higher beings are not. Inhabitants of Satyaloka can thus easily reach all regions of the cosmos, while we can travel only around our planet, or close by.

Therefore, when we study the model of the universe described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, it makes more sense to try to understand it as a map of different levels of consciousness, a description of how each level is progressively harder to attain than the previous, and the process to achieve it, rather than a literal description of distances measured in earthly inches or meters.

There is another illustration that may help to understand this concept:

What is it?

This image is an artistic representation of the modern understanding of the observable universe, with our solar system in the middle and the rest of the structures of our Milky Way galaxy, as well as other galaxies positioned around it, with the distances increasing at a logarithmic scale. This means that everything becomes exponentially smaller as we move away from the center of the image. In this way, we have our solar system in the center, surrounded by the other stars of the Milky Way galaxy and by other galaxies.

We can notice that it’s actually very similar to artistic representations of the Vedic Universe, where the seven coverings are also depicted on a logarithmic scale. In reality, each one of the coverings is 10 times the circumference of the previous, with the first covering being 10 times the circumference of the Universe itself. However, to keep things in a manageable size, these illustrations depict a big Universe and narrow coverings around it, in a logarithmic scale, similar to the previous illustration. When we see from this perspective, these two views of the Universe are actually not so different:

Time dilatation and other mysterious features of the Vedic universe

This concept of distances being perceived differently as we go upwards in the hierarchy of planetary systems of the universe may sound like mere speculation at first, but there is another similar concept described in the Vedas, which is time dilation. In short, each planetary system of the cosmos has its own clock rate, with time being experienced differently by different inhabitants of the universe. What is 360 years for us, is just a year to the demigods in Svargaloka, and what is 8.64 billion years is just a set of day and night in Brahmaloka. As we go higher, the concept of time changes radically and lifetimes extend for millions or even trillions of years. In this way, there are years both here and in Brahmaloka, but what we call “year” is very different from what is a “year” in their calculation.

This dilatation of time is also studied in modern science, following the relativity theory of Einstein, which concludes that time runs faster near massive or higher-energy regions.

One practical example of this working in practice is the story of King Kakudmī, described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. He stayed for just a few minutes in Brahmaloka, but when he returned, many sets of four yugas had passed:

“Taking his own daughter, Revatī, Kakudmī went to Lord Brahmā in Brahmaloka, which is transcendental to the three modes of material nature, and inquired about a husband for her. When Kakudmī arrived there, Lord Brahmā was engaged in hearing musical performances by the Gandharvas and had not a moment to talk with him. Therefore Kakudmī waited, and at the end of the musical performances he offered his obeisances to Lord Brahmā and thus submitted his long-standing desire. After hearing his words, Lord Brahmā, who is most powerful, laughed loudly and said to Kakudmī: O King, all those whom you may have decided within the core of your heart to accept as your son-in-law have passed away in the course of time. Twenty-seven catur-yugas have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons, grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names. O King, leave here and offer your daughter to Lord Baladeva, who is still present. He is most powerful. Indeed, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose plenary portion is Lord Viṣṇu. Your daughter is fit to be given to Him in charity.” (SB 9.3.29-33)

Another example is Brahmā himself briefly returning to his planet after taking away the cowherd boys and the calves from Kṛṣṇa. He stayed for just a moment in his planet, quickly returning to earth, afraid of the result of his mischief. However, by this time, a whole year had passed in our planet.

These descriptions make two points:

a) The Vedic universe has a higher-dimensional geometry. The flow of time becomes different as we move from the earthly regions to the celestial regions and from there to the upper regions of the cosmos.

b) Travel between the different planetary systems involves movement through subtle dimensions. Even though the distances separating the planetary systems are huge, higher beings can travel very fast between them using these subtle passages, just as King Kakudmī quickly returning from Brahmaloka to earth in order to marry his daughter to Balarāma. A very crude example to illustrate how this can be possible inside the concept of a multidimensional universe is that a two-dimensional being can only travel horizontally or vertically on a map. A tridimensional being, however, can just fold the map and make two points very close, while a four or five-dimensional being could manipulate the map in ways we can’t even imagine.

We can see an example of this subtle manipulation of space in the pastime where Kṛṣṇa shows Brahmā many forms of Viṣnu, each one complete with His own universe, and then brings all the Brahmās together, leaving the Brahmā of our universe completely disconcerted and bewildered.

Each universe is separated from the other by trillions of yojanas, and each Brahmā never leaves his respective universe. Kṛṣṇa, however, the master of all mystic power, could not only show one universe inside of another, but bring all Brahmas together, without any of them leaving their respective universe. It seems Kṛṣṇa knows a few extra dimensions that are beyond what even Brahmā can understand.

Kṛṣṇa Himself, personally, is another example. From our perspective, He appears to be the size a regular human child, but at the same time everything that exists is inside of Him. Similarly, what is a Mahā-kalpa, a whole cycle of creation for us is just a breath for Mahā-Viṣnu, and so on.

The same way Kṛṣṇa can bent space and time in ways we can’t even imagine, a small fragment of His potency can create all the variety of abodes and experiences we have in the cosmos.

When we take this into perspective, the idea that, just as time, the concept of distances for inhabitants of the higher planetary systems may be radically different, doesn’t sound too implausible. If we see from this perspective, the universe described in the Vedas is incalculable from our perspective, matching the apparently unlimited vastness we see when we look into the sky.

Therefore, when we study the model of the universe described in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, it makes sense to try to understand it as a map of different levels of consciousness (a description of how each level is progressively harder to attain than the previous, with a higher level of existence and even different perceptions of time and distances), rather than a literal description of distances measured in earthly inches or meters.

A non-Euclidean space

Another way to explain it is this: When we study the description of distances contained in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, we tend to presume that the distances add linearly, just like when we drive through different cities or countries of our planet. Therefore, when we read that a yojana is 8 miles, we presume that this is the same distance we can run in about 95 minutes everywhere in the cosmos. However, the description of the Bhāgavatam resists this reading.

When we try to apply the model of the Bhāgavatam to what we see when we look to the sky, we face many apparent contradictions: the Vedic universe appears to be too small to fit all the stars we see. The descriptions of demigods traveling through the cosmos in short periods of time appear to be impossible according to what we understand as physical laws, and so on. This adds to all the other questions we may have when we study the text: How can Sumeru be surrounded by gigantic islands and oceans, and why can’t we see them? How can Lokāloka block the rays of the sun? How can yogis travel through the rays of the sun? How can the time flow differently in different planetary systems?

One way to reconcile this is to conclude that the problem is not in the description of the Bhāgavatam, but in our assumption of the universe being a linear, Euclidean space. When we examine the description through the thesis of the universe being a multidimensional space, where the perception of distances depend on the dimension one inhabits, it becomes much easier to understand and relate to our perception of the cosmos.

In the level we live in, Bhū-loka, our reality is composed of gross elements, time goes slowly, and the universe appears to be unlimitedly vast. In the level of the demigods, Svargaloka, reality is formed by subtle material elements. Time and distances are experienced differently. Demigods probably see our limited reality just as we see an ant-colony. If we go to the level of great sages, culminating with Brahmaloka, reality is even subtler, almost a mental space rather than a physical dimension. There is enormous time dilatation (8.64 billion years for us equal just one day), and the perception of distance is radically different.

The 14 planetary levels described in the scriptures are thus organized like pages of a book, with each page bringing a different paradigm from the previous. The pages are close to each other, but moving from one page to another requires a different process than just moving horizontally or vertically in the same page. The different planetary systems described in the Vedic universe can be thus seem like 14 different realms stacked on top of each other, accessible through different combinations of consciousness, karma, and qualities. Moving to a higher realm gives access to a whole new level of reality, changing one’s perception of space and time.

These are just a few points that I hope may serve as food for thought.

The ultimate conclusion

All of this, however, is just my personal thesis. If you prefer to believe that the universe is literally just four billion miles in diameter, and that we can reach the coverings after traveling just two billion miles in any direction, you may also find passages that appear to support that. If you can find a way to explain the whole observable universe in this framework, your guess is as good as mine.

The main point, however, is to accept that the universe is a mechanism built by an intelligent and conscious God, and not just the result of mechanical physical laws, and that the way to travel through the universe and reach the spiritual side is by following the process of purification described in the scriptures, and not by building a spaceship. This is precisely the point made in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

The movements of the sun

Based on what we learn in school, the sentence “movements of the sun” may sound nonsensical. Which movements, if the sun is stationary in the center of the solar system?

When it comes to the Vedas, however, there is a different explanation for the sunset and sunrise, as well as the passages of the seasons. The crucial difference is that the Vedic model assumes that the earth is stationary (as part of the fixed structure of Bhū-mandala), while the sun, together with all the stars and other planets circle around.

In other words, the Vedic model explains the movements of the sun from a geocentric perspective, instead of a heliocentric one. Because all the movements of the sun and stars are relative, it can’t be proved or disproved by modern science. Astronomers conclude that the earth orbits the sun because it makes more sense to them based on their models, while the Vedas conclude that the sun circles the earth because Kṛṣṇa decided it would be so. The main point is to understand that the Vedic model also works, and it actually explains the movements of the sun in a more natural way, explaining it from the perspective of someone standing on our planet and looking to the sky.

In his description of chapter 5.21, Śrila Prabhupāda gives us a synopses of the whole model:

“The sun is not stationary; it is also moving like the other planets. The sun’s movements determine the duration of night and day. When the sun travels north of the equator, it moves slowly during the day and very quickly at night, thus increasing the duration of the daytime and decreasing the duration of night. Similarly, when the sun travels south of the equator, the exact opposite is true — the duration of the day decreases, and the duration of night increases. When the sun enters Karkaṭa-rāśi (Cancer) and then travels to Siṁha-rāśi (Leo) and so on through Dhanuḥ-rāśi (Sagittarius), its course is called Dakṣiṇāyana, the southern way, and when the sun enters Makara-rāśi (Capricorn) and thereafter travels through Kumbharāśi (Aquarius) and so on through Mithuna-rāśi (Gemini), its course is called Uttarāyaṇa, the northern way. When the sun is in Meṣa-rāśi (Aries) and Tulā-rāśi (Libra), the duration of day and night are equal.

On Mānasottara Mountain are the abodes of four demigods. East of Sumeru Mountain is Devadhānī, where King Indra lives, and south of Sumeru is Saṁyamanī, the abode of Yamarāja, the superintendent of death. Similarly, west of Sumeru is Nimlocanī, the abode of Varuṇa, the demigod who controls the water, and north of Sumeru is Vibhāvarī, where the demigod of the moon lives. Sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight occur in all these places because of the movements of the sun. Diametrically opposite the place where the sunrise takes places and the sun is seen by human eyes, the sun will be setting and passing away from human vision. Similarly, the people residing diametrically opposite the point where it is midday will be experiencing midnight. The sun rises and sets with all the other planets, headed by the moon and other luminaries.”

What does it mean?

Here, the orbit of the sun is explained from the perspective of someone standing on earth and looking to the sky. Every day we see the sunrise and sunset, but as the year go on, we observe that the sun passes high in the sky during the summer season, and lower (closer to the horizon) as winter approaches, making the days longer or shorter. Days and nights occur in opposite times on different sides of the globe. What is midday for someone in Brazil is midnight for someone in Japan and vice versa. Similarly, the seasons are also inverted in the northern and southern hemispheres. December, for example, is summer in Brazil.

In modern cosmology, this is explained in terms of two movements: the rotation of the earth and its orbit around the sun. You can see how this works in this illustration:

Modern cosmology uses a heliocentric model (the sun at the center), explaining days and nights in terms of the rotation of the planet on its own axis, and the passages of the seasons through the movement of the planet around the sun. Note also that in this model the axis of the planet is tilted. This creates two separate axes: the daily rotation of the planet, which happens on the line of the equator (the celestial equator), and the path of the light of the sun reaching our planet, which is called the ecliptic. The annual movement of the sun on this path makes the days longer in the summer and shorter in the winter, leading to the appearance of the seasons.

That’s how modern cosmology explains it. What about the Vedic model?

The Vedas explain the same two axes. The difference is that the phenomenon is explained in terms of two separate movements (the annual orbit of the sun, and the daily movement of the whole sky), explained on a geocentric model (the earth at the center).

In the Vedic model, the earth is fixed on the plane of Bhū-mandala, and the sun, as well as all the stars and planets, move around the whole structure.

Śrila Prabhupāda uses the example of a chandelier that rotates. We can imagine all the stars and planets as components of a gigantic chandelier. All the parts of this cosmic chandelier are kept together by ropes of subtle wind, some kind of attraction force that is unknown in modern science. As the whole chandelier rotates, all the parts move together as part of the chandelier, but at the same time, each part has its own motion relative to the other parts. The combination of both motions when observed from our planet results in the movements of the sun, planets, and stars that we see when we look into the sky.

Here we have an illustration showing this chandelier model:

Here you can see Dhruvaloka shining on top of Bhū-mandala, with all the stars, as well as the sun and planets circumambulating it. The whole structure rotates daily, creating the passage of the days and nights.

We can imagine something like many particles of dust caught in a whirlwind. All the particles are moving with the whirlwind, but at the same time, each particle is moving independently in relation to the others. In other words, all the particles are moving in relation to the ground, following the general flow of the wind, but each particle moves in a subtly different way, and thus the particles also move in relation to each other.

In this model, the sun circles around our planet every 24 hours, following the rotation of the whole sky. This is the clockwise rotation around Dhruvaloka, on the path of the Mānasottara Mountain. This movement is perceived not only by us, but by all inhabitants of Bhū-mandala as the passage of the days and nights.

However, there is also the counterclockwise rotation, which takes one full year to complete. This second movement is the independent movement of the chariot of the sun facing the signs of the zodiac. The two movements go on simultaneously; thus, from the perspective of someone standing on earth, the sun passes higher in the sky during summer days and lower during winter days, making the length of days and nights to vary according to the seasons.

One way to imagine this model is to imagine a clock with just one arm, which takes 360 seconds to complete a circle. Imagine we put a lamp, representing the sun, at the end of this arm. Now imagine that the whole clock is moving in horizontal circles, each circle taking one second. The sun, at the end of the arm, is moving very fast in a circle, together with the clock, but at the same time it has its slower, independent vertical movement. As the horizontal circles go on, the lamp goes gradually up and down. The movement of the sun is not fully vertical like a clock, but this is a crude example that can help to visualize it.

This model may seem complicated when explained in terms of text and diagrams, but it can be presented in a simpler way in the form of a working model, showing how the movements work in practice. That was the idea of Prabhupāda in insisting in the construction of the temple of the Vedic planetarium. His idea is that having a working model would make regular people understand the system and see the universe through the eyes of the scriptures, as a divine creation. Once we accept that the universe is created by God, life gains a purpose, and we start the process of using things for Him.

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Most of us can recognize this situation: The salary comes, we pay the bills, then a few unexpected expenses appear, and suddenly there is practically nothing left. We then have to use the credit card, or some other form of micro-credit to get to the end of the month. Then, by the time the next salary comes, it’s already partially spent. From there, the situation just becomes worse: we pay interest, we are forced to buy everything on credit, often paying substantially more, and so on. On top of these, we also pay rent, mortgages, etc., which are also expenses that come from us not having enough money. In other words, not having money costs even more money, keeping us bound to a seemingly endless cycle, where we are reduced to living hand to mouth.

Faced with this situation, the natural conclusion is that we have to earn more. In some cases, it may be true. Many truly don’t earn enough to cover basic necessities. There is, however, another problem that we can keep in mind: our necessities have a remarkable ability to grow faster than our salary. The old phone was perfectly fine until we saw the new model. The apartment was large enough until our friend moved into a larger one. The car was fine until we got a promotion. Our clothes are never enough, because people on Instagram always have better. We earn more, but instead of becoming free, we simply upgrade our prison.

Nowadays, there is even a term for that: the upgrade cycle. We are continuously encouraged to believe that whatever we have is not enough, and we are constantly manipulated into adopting new necessities. Since it was originally launched in 2007, the iPhone has had 17 generations, and there are people around who bought every single one.

The trap is that once we start upgrading things and adding new necessities, there is no end to it. We have to keep spending more and more on maintaining it. More than that, it makes us entangled in karma, making us violate an important cosmic principle, īśāvāsyam idaḿ sarvaṁ. Everyone has a certain quota reserved for oneself, which includes the necessities of life. When we take more than needed, we encroach on other people’s quotas. Material nature produces enough for everyone, but when we take more than what we need, we deprive others of their shares, implicating ourselves in karmic debits. Understanding it and learning to avoid this process frees us from this cycle.

Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke about this decades ago. His formula was very simple: “Simple living high thinking.”

That’s a principle that can be applied at all levels of our lives, reducing needs and expenses and achieving freedom and peace of mind to develop our spiritual practice. It may sound revolutionary in the modern context, but happiness goes beyond disposable material objects.

Desire is expensive

Advertising rarely sells only the object itself; it works on desire. We can see how advertisements of cars and clothes sell status, freedom, etc. with attractive, successful people. It is not about transportation or a piece of fabric to cover one’s modesty, but about a whole ecosystem of images, desires and expectations. The product becomes attached to an emotion or even identity, inventing a need that didn’t exist before. Marketing people call it selling “an experience”, a certain feeling attached to a certain product, or, in other words, an illusion.

Kṛṣṇa explains that lust is never satisfied and burns like fire. Prabhupāda adds that trying to satisfy this lust is like supplying fuel to a fire. It just makes it burn more strongly. This explains one of the great mysteries of modern life: how can someone earn twice as much and remain as broke as before.

A higher taste

We could speak for a long time about all the ways the industry cheats us, but that’s ultimately not the most important question. The question is how to get out of it. That’s what Prabhupāda was explaining fifty years ago, when this system was still in its infancy: Simplify your life, save your time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The goal is not to buy more stuff, but to reduce our material necessities and arrange things efficiently enough so that we can use the human form of life for its real purpose.

The first step is not to earn more, but to desire less. This is the cheat code that breaks the system. Happiness is not in increasing consumption; it is in reducing desire.

In consumer societies, the senses are constantly stimulated, and the mind is trained to interpret every new desire as a need. Unless we learn to control the senses, an increase in income simply gives us more capacity to consume, without solving the real problem.

At first, controlling the senses may feel like depriving ourselves. We see something we want, we have money to buy, but we grind our teeth and try to resist it. The mind protests because we have been trained to equate consumption with happiness. Kṛṣṇa, however, gives the solution in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.59): “Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.” Repression can work as a provisional tactic in the beginning, but the real solution is finding a better engagement for the senses.

This is where Kṛṣṇa consciousness breaks the chain. We all look for happiness, and the spiritual process gives us a real source of it. That’s a point Kṛṣṇa explains in the sixth chapter of the Gītā:

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

If I find satisfaction in my spiritual practice and in activities connected with Kṛṣṇa, I don’t need to look for happiness in material objects. It’s not even about heroically renouncing things; it’s about getting something genuinely better.

In the material cycle, we are manipulated into desiring things. Desire leads to spending, and spending leads to debt. Debt takes away our peace of mind, forcing us to work more to pay it, which in turn leads to more stress. More stress makes us more propense to quick gratification, an escape valve for the dissatisfaction that builds inside. This, however, creates more expenses, leading to a vicious cycle.

The spiritual cycle goes in the opposite direction. Spiritual knowledge combined with spiritual practice brings us maturity to understand what we really need. Fewer needs means more time, and more time means more freedom to cultivate our spiritual practice. It is very dificult to chant and study when we don’t have a peaceful mind, so from there you can see how things connect.

Simple living is thus not about becoming a miser who spends nothing. The point is to reduce the amount of time we are forced to sell to buy unnecessary things. Prabhupāda put it directly: “Make your life simplified. Save your time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Time is the actually scarce resource. Money can be earned again. A phone can be replaced. But an hour spent earning money for something we never needed will never return. At death, all the objects accumulated through decades of work stay behind. When we understand that, the question “Can I afford it?” becomes secondary. The real question becomes: “Is this worth part of my human life?”

When we start asking these questions, consumerism stops making sense to us. The advertisements stop manipulating our desires. A friend buys a newer car, but we don’t feel diminished. Others may have more expensive clothes, or newer phones, or bigger houses, but we don’t feel diminished, because our sense of identity is not anchored in these things.

Instead of spending our human form of life producing garbage, we upgrade our consciousness. Instead of working harder to improve our status inside the prison, we prepare ourselves to leave it. That’s the real meaning of simple living, high thinking: freedom.

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The true nature of the soul (Bg 2.17 to 2.21)

Having established the fundamental difference between spirit and matter in the previous section, Kṛṣṇa now describes the individual soul in detail and explains how the soul interacts with the body. This serves as the foundation for the arguments Kṛṣṇa will use later. One way to identify with the body is to think that I die when the body dies. Another is to think that I act when the body acts. When we become free from both misconceptions, then who kills and who is killed?

Text 17: avināśi tu tad viddhi, yena sarvam idam tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya, na kaścit kartum arhati

That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.

Text 18: antavanta ime dehā, nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ
anāśino ’prameyasya, tasmād yudhyasva bhārata

The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.

Text 19: ya enam vetti hantāram, yaś cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto, nāyam hanti na hanyate

Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.

Text 20: na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin, nāyam bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ’yam purāṇo, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

Text 21: vedāvināśinam nityam, ya enam ajam avyayam
katham sa puruṣaḥ pārtha, kam ghātayati hanti kam

O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?

In these five verses, Kṛṣṇa describes the characteristics of the soul. The soul is capable of permeating the entire body, and the symptom of the presence of the soul is consciousness, which can be observed in all living beings to a greater or lesser degree. Even unicellular organisms, which have no nervous system, much less anything resembling a brain, are capable of avoiding obstacles and fighting predators, showing that even in such rudimentary forms of body, consciousness is present. Plants may look inanimate at first, but when we make a time-lapse, we can clearly see that plants move and avoid obstacles in their process of growth. They produce chemicals and thorns to fight insects and animals wanting to eat them, and so on.

If the soul is the same, one could question why different living beings show different levels of consciousness and intelligence. Why aren’t they all the same? The point is that in conditioned life, the soul identifies with the body, and thus manifests consciousness, intelligence, and other qualities according to the limitations of the body. Different light bulbs will offer different levels of illumination, even though the electrical socket is the same. The soul has the potency to power any powerful material body, up to the body of a demigod, or even Brahmā, but if the soul receives the body of an ant, the soul will act within this capacity.

However, the limitations offered by the body affect us only to the extent we identify with the body. Great devotees and yogīs can manifest levels of power and awareness that go far beyond the characteristics of their bodies. Once the soul connects with the source of all potency, the Supreme Lord, one can manifest any level of material power, including all the different mystical perfections.

The soul is also defined as indestructible and imperishable in text 2.17, reinforcing the definition of the soul as eternal, given in the previous verse. Vināśam avyayasyāsya, na kaścit kartum arhati: no one is capable of destroying this imperishable soul. The concept of destruction exists only in the material world, where it exists together with the concept of creation. The soul exists on the spiritual plane, where there is just eternity. There is no beginning for the soul, and thus there is no end. Anything that happens here in the material world affects only the physical and subtle bodies, and never the soul. Even when Kṛṣṇa Himself kills demons, He just destroys the material coverings in the form of the subtle and gross bodies, giving them liberation. Any questions about the possibility of the soul being destroyed, even if by the Lord Himself, miss the point of the basic nature of the soul that Kṛṣṇa is trying to explain in these verses.

Just like Kṛṣṇa, as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu (Paramātmā), can permeate an entire universe and be conscious of everything that happens inside, an individual soul can permeate a particular material body, and be aware of this particular body. This illustrates how, although the Lord and the individual soul share the same basic characteristics (being non-material, eternal, etc.), there is a great difference in terms of power. The Lord is infinitely big, and the soul is infinitely small. This is exemplified in the passage of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes in his purport to verse 2.17. The soul is defined as measuring one ten-thousandth of the upper portion of the hair, illustrating how elusive it is. Whatever the size of the smallest particle we can measure, the soul will still be smaller. This shows that trying to find the soul by material means is futile. The soul can be perceived only by perfect intelligence, and part of the process of understanding it involves giving up the idea of the soul being a physical particle that can be found, measured, pushed around, etc.

After explaining the nature of the soul, Kṛṣṇa then contrasts it with the temporary nature of the body in verse 2.18. Antavanta ime dehā: material bodies are perishable by nature. Even if one tries, there is no way one can maintain his body or any other body indefinitely. The material universe itself will eventually come to an end, and we will meet our demise much before that. As already explained, in the same way that the soul passes through infancy, youth, old age, etc., inside the body, at the time of death, the soul migrates to another body. This is a natural and unstoppable process, and therefore, there is nothing to lament.

The soul is immortal and can never be killed. The body, on the other hand, is composed of dead matter and is never really alive. The body looks alive because it is permeated by the energy of the soul, but the source of life is the soul, and not the body itself. As soon as the soul leaves, the body shows its real nature as a corpse. It was a corpse all along, but it was working and moving for some time due to the presence of the soul.

Kṛṣṇa makes this concept even clearer in text 2.19, stating that neither he who thinks the living entity is the slayer nor he who thinks he is slain is in knowledge. Only due to ignorance may I think I’m killing someone, and only due to ignorance may I think I’m being killed by someone, but what is being killed? The soul is never killed because it is eternal and spiritual, and the body is also not killed because it is never alive. It would be incorrect to say that someone “killed my car”. A car can’t be killed because it is not alive in the first place.

The concept of the soul being immortal, however, does not support unnecessary killing. Although the car can’t be killed, if it is destroyed, it will surely be inconvenient for the owner, who will have to find some other vehicle to continue his activities. Although there is no harm to the person, it is still a criminal act due to the difficulties it causes.

In normal circumstances, we follow the principle of ahimsā: mā himsyāt sarvā bhūtāni (never commit violence to anyone). However, taking away one’s old car to give him a new and better car is not a bad thing. Similarly, we should never commit violence against anyone whimsically, but in certain circumstances, violence may be necessary to uphold higher principles, like in the case of Arjuna. In such circumstances, everyone benefits, and there is no reason for lamentation.

Arjuna knew about this, but due to the severity of the situation, his knowledge became temporarily covered. Similarly, all of us are originally spiritual particles full of knowledge, eternity, and bliss. However, becoming engrossed in the temporality of this material world, our knowledge becomes covered, and we are overwhelmed by hankering and lamentation. Just as the Bhagavad-gītā helped Arjuna regain his position of knowledge, it can also help us to surpass the fear and lamentation derived from the temporary nature of this world and regain our original condition.

In text 2.20, Kṛṣṇa gives still more details about the eternal nature of the soul by explaining, na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin (for the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time.) Everything material exists under the limits of material time, which is divided into past, present, and future. Time, or kāla, is an energy of the Lord, and because of this, no one can escape its influence. This time energy is sent by Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu in the direction of pradhāna, the undivided source of all material elements, and the presence of the time energy puts it into motion, generating the mahat-tattva and the whole cosmic manifestation. The idea that the material manifestation appeared from the combination of material energy and time may sound strange at first, but we have many similar examples even on our plane. If we take milk from a cow and let it sit overnight, cream will appear on top. We can thus say that milk, combined with time, produces cream, just like iron combined with time produces rust. Similarly, the combination of pradhāna (the original undifferentiated mass of material energy) with kāla (time) produces the three material modes, and by the recombination of these five energies, all material elements are produced, followed by the whole cosmic manifestation.

However, just like time leads to the creation of the universe, it also leads to its destruction. Nāsato vidyate bhāvo, nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: Everything that changes is impermanent; everything that is real is eternal and unchangeable. The material creation and everything that exists within it have a beginning and pass through different transformations. As a result, they also must have an end. Even Lord Brahmā, who lives for 311.04 trillion years, eventually has to face death. When he dies, the whole universe also faces demise.

The soul is, however, different: Nāyam bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ (has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being). The soul exists eternally as part of the eternal nature, the internal potency of Kṛṣṇa, where there is no creation and no destruction. The division of time into past, present, and future observed in our plane is actually a very unnatural situation. It exists only inside the material manifestation, this corner of creation where we somehow became entrapped. In the spiritual plane, there is no past or future. Time also exists there, but it presents itself in the form of an eternal present based on one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

The idea of an eternal situation may sound menacing; we may fear becoming bored, but that’s what we have been looking for all along. When we find someone we love, we don’t make plans to part with him or her, nor do we do so with our children or our very lives. On the contrary, we strive for a permanent, happy situation, and we become frustrated when material nature kicks us out and forces us to move from one place to another, dying again and again. This position of eternal happiness we hanker for exists, and it is the actual, eternal, natural position of the soul. We are just looking for it in the wrong place.

Kṛṣṇa continues by defining four characteristics of the soul: aja (unborn), nitya (eternal), śāśvata (permanent), and purāṇa (the oldest). The soul is unborn, and therefore eternal, belonging to the spiritual nature. The soul is ever-existing, beyond the confines of past, present, and future. The word purāṇa is translated by Prabhupāda in the word-for-word as “the oldest” and in the translation as “primeval”. The word primeval comes from Latin, combining “prīmus” (first) and “aevum” (age, time). Primeval means something that has existed since the beginning of time, thus being timeless. No matter how far we can go back in time, the soul is always there. In fact, the soul was there even before the influence of time on the material energy.

Kṛṣṇa then concludes the argument about not killing by questioning, “O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?”

This may sound like a strange question, considering that Kṛṣṇa is urging Arjuna to fight and kill, but it becomes clear when we examine it in the context of the previous verses. Kṛṣṇa explains to Arjuna the eternal nature of the soul and the temporality of material happiness and distress in verses 2.12 to 2.17 and then urges him to fight in verse 2.18. To reinforce this conclusion, He explains that no one can be killed and that the idea of killing and being killed in itself is an illusion since the soul is never created or destroyed. By this conclusion, therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna to act in knowledge, performing his duty in the understanding that death means just a change of body, acting in the understanding that no one can kill or be killed, and that the eternal benefit derived from the performance of dharma outweighs any temporary consideration.

Main points in the purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda:

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.”

a) The symptom of the soul is consciousness, but this consciousness is limited to just one’s body. This proves that in each body there is a different individual soul.

b) The souls are innumerable and very small, even smaller than material atoms, ever elusive. It is described as one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size. Still, the influence of the soul spreads all over the body, just like some types of medicine.

c) The constitution of the soul is described in the Vedas, and it is clearly different in power from the Supreme Lord. Only the insane will consider the soul to be all-pervading like the Lord.

d) The existence of consciousness is proof of the existence of the soul. A living person minus consciousness is a dead body. This consciousness cannot be revived by any material process. This proves that consciousness is not due to material combination but to the presence of the soul.

e) The process of yoga aims at controlling the vital airs to achieve liberation from material entanglement, and not for any type of material gain.

f) The soul is situated inside the heart along with the Supersoul, and therefore, the heart is the center of the energies of the body. When the soul moves to another body, all circulation stops. However, because the measurement of the soul is beyond any material experiment or comprehension, many foolishly think there is no soul.

g) The souls are also compared to particles of sunshine in relation to the sun. All the souls are sparks of the rays of the Supreme Lord, part of His spiritual potency. The science of the soul is described in the Bhagavad-gītā.

“The material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata.”

a) The material body will inevitably come to an end, be it today or after many years. The soul, however, can’t even be seen by an enemy; what to say about being killed?

b) Since the body can’t be saved and the soul can’t be killed, there is no cause for lamentation. More important than the current situation is the destination of the soul, which is determined by one’s activities, especially by properly executing religious duties. This is thus more important than other considerations.

c) The Lord is the supreme light, and being part and parcel of the Lord, the soul is thus also described as light. Just as the light of the sun maintains the universe, the light of the soul maintains the body. Compared to the soul, the body is unimportant; therefore, Arjuna should fight and fulfill his dharma, which is more important than material considerations.

“Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.”

a) The soul is not only very small, but its nature is fully spiritual. Because of this, it is impossible to kill the soul with any material weapon. When one is attacked, only the body may be killed.

b) This, however, does not support slaughter or assassination. The principle is mā himsyāt sarvā bhūtāni: never commit violence to anyone. Killing one’s body is a sinful action, punishable both by the law of the state and the law of God.

c) Arjuna, however, is instructed to kill according to the principles of religion, for a higher cause. This is different from a person killing whimsically.

“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.”

a) The soul is qualitatively one with the Lord. Just as the Lord is eternal and undergoes no transformation, the soul also doesn’t change. What changes is only the body.

b) The soul is unborn and immortal, transcendental to past, present, and future. Because the soul identifies with a material body, however, it appears that one takes birth and dies. In reality, however, these are just transformations of the body.

c) The changes of the body don’t affect the soul, and therefore the soul never deteriorates. The soul also doesn’t produce any by-products. When one begets a child, one just creates a new body, which becomes the abode of a soul that already exists.

d) Even if we can’t find the soul inside the heart, we can still understand that the soul is there because of the presence of consciousness. When the sky is overcast, we may not see the sun, but we can understand the sun is there due to the presence of light. Similarly, as long as there is some level of consciousness, we can understand the soul is inside the body.

e) There is, however, a difference between the consciousness of the soul and that of Kṛṣṇa. The Lord has complete consciousness of everything; He has all knowledge of the past, present, and future. We have very little knowledge and even the little we have, we are prone to forget. When we forget our spiritual nature, we can find enlightenment in the instructions of Kṛṣṇa.

f) The minute soul is called aṇu-ātmā, and the Lord, the Supersoul, is called vibhu-ātmā. Both are situated inside the heart, and the individual soul can become free from all material lamentation and acquire transcendental knowledge by the grace of the Supersoul.

“O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?”

a) Everything has its proper utility, including violence. Although nonviolence is a general principle, sometimes violence is necessary. One who is in perfect knowledge can understand how to act. When a murderer is condemned to death, according to the recommendation of the scriptures, this is beneficial to him because by being punished in this way, he will not have to face the reactions to his crime in his next life.

b) Similarly, if Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna to fight and kill, it must be concluded that this violence will be ultimately beneficial to all involved, considering that the destination of the soul is more important than the preservation of the body. A surgical operation is not meant to kill the patient but to cure him.

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

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One important point to understand to eventually become free from this material world is the relationship between the soul and the mind. Although I’m a spirit soul, I have a body, and I have a mind. Just like I’m not the body, I’m also not the mind. In the case of the body, it’s easy to understand since we assume a new body at each birth, but the relationship with the mind is much more intimate, and it’s thus much harder to spot the difference. Different from the body, the mind doesn’t change at each birth; we have the same mind for as long as we are in this material world, and this mind not only stores desires and sensations but is the very tool that allows us to experience and enjoy the world.

In the story of King Purañjana narrated in the 4th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the material mind and intelligence are amalgamated in the figure of the queen, to which the king is very strongly attached. In many explanations, the mind and intelligence are explained separately (in the Bhagavad-gītā, for example, Krsna says we should use the intelligence to control the mind), but in this case, they are combined because when one is just enjoying materially, the intelligence becomes subordinate to the desires of the mind and works in combination with it. We can see that in the analogy the king follows the queen in all her steps, and thus enjoys and suffers together with her:

“When the Queen drank liquor, King Purañjana also engaged in drinking. When the Queen dined, he used to dine with her, and when she chewed, King Purañjana used to chew along with her. When the Queen sang, he also sang. Similarly, when the Queen cried, he also cried, and when the Queen laughed, he also laughed. When the Queen talked loosely, he also talked loosely, and when the Queen walked, the King walked behind her. When the Queen would stand still, the King would also stand still, and when the Queen would lie down in bed, he would also follow and lie down with her. When the Queen sat, he would also sit, and when the Queen heard something, he would follow her to hear the same thing. When the Queen saw something, the King would also look at it, and when the Queen smelled something, the King would follow her to smell the same thing. When the Queen touched something, the King would also touch it, and when the dear Queen was lamenting, the poor King also had to follow her in lamentation. In the same way, when the Queen felt enjoyment, he also enjoyed, and when the Queen was satisfied, the King also felt satisfaction.” (SB 4.25.57-61)

These verses show that although different from the mind, the soul develops a very intimate relationship with it, and this is the basic principle that keeps the soul imprisoned in this material world. The process of becoming free passes thus through becoming free from this deep attachment to the mind, which becomes possible by practicing the process of devotional service.

As mentioned in SB 1.7.6:

“The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service.”

Just like we become involved with the mind because, at some point in eternity, we desired to enjoy this material world, we can become free from it when we renounce this tendency and desire instead to reestablish our forgotten relationship with Krsna. We can see that the miseries we experience in this material world are described in this verse as “anartha” (superfluous), indicating that the soul is different from the mind, and thus doesn’t really have anything to do with it.

The relationship of the soul and the mind is further explained by Srila Jiva Goswami in his Paramatma Sandarbha (annucheda 1), where he says:

yah suddho ‘pi mayataḥ paro ‘pi māyā-racitasya vakṣyamānasya sarva-kṣetrasya mayayā kalpitasya manaso ‘ntahkaranasyaitaḥ prasiddha vibhutir vṛttir vicaste visesena pasyati. pasyams tatrāvisto bhavati. sa khalv asau jiva-nāma sva-sarira- dvaya-laksana-kṣetrasya jñātṛtvāt kṣetrajña ucyata ity arthaḥ

Which means:

“Even though he is by nature pure (suddhah), that is to say beyond the touch of the illusory potency maya, the individual spirit soul sees (vicaste) the (etah) activities (vibhutih) of the mind (manasah), the mind having been created by the illusory potency maya (maya-racitasya). The mind sees all fields of activity. The mind will be further described later in this book. By seeing these activities, the individual soul, who is called the ‘jiva’, enters into them. Because he thus has knowledge of two different material bodies, the soul is thus called ‘ksetrajña’ (the knower of the field of action).”

We can pay attention to his choice of words. Even though conditioned, the soul is described as “suddhah” (pure) and “mayatah paro” (beyond the touch of maya). How can the soul be pure and beyond the touch of Maya if we are now firmly conditioned, shackled to this material world? That’s what the verse explains.

Srila Jiva Goswami mentions that the soul sees (vicaste) the activities of the mind. This shows how the soul doesn’t really come in contact with Māyā. Our conditioning is based on observing and identifying with the activities of the mind. He supports this point by quoting SB 1.7.5:

“Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.”

He further elaborates this point by saying:

tasya manasah. kidṛśatayā māyā-racitasya. taträha jivasya jivopādhitayā jīva- tādātmyena racitasya. tataś ca tat-tayopacaryamanasyety arthah.

“Here someone may ask: “How does the illusory energy mayǎ create (māyā racitasya) the material mind (manasah)?” The answer is given in the word “jivasya”, which means “by making the individual soul think that the external material body is his true identity”.

The point made here is that the soul is fundamentally different from the mind. The mind is a thing, a product of the material energy, while the soul is a living spiritual spark, part and parcel of Krsna. The soul does not directly come in contact with Maya, remaining perpetually in his eternal, spiritual position. However, the soul observes and thus identifies with the activities of the mind, and this is the start of conditioned life.

In a modern example, this relationship could be compared with someone playing a computer game, becoming absorbed in the game, and forgetting his real life. One never really enters into the game, and being a human being, he doesn’t have anything to do with the computer, but becoming absorbed in the game, his consciousness becomes absorbed in an illusory reality.

Srila Prabhupāda gives a similar idea using the example of a dream. When we dream, we don’t leave our beds, but our consciousness becomes absorbed into different illusory situations, a process that continues until we wake up. Srila Prabhupada thus explains that the soul never really leaves his original position, although his attention becomes focused on this illusory material world.

One point of dissension for some comes later in the verse, when Srila Jiva Goswami writes: nityā anădita evānugatāḥ. atra ca kadā kidṛśir ity apekṣayam äha jāgrat-svapnayor avirbhūtaḥ suṣuptau tirohitas ceti.

Here the conditioning of the soul is described as “nityā” (continuous) and “anădita” (beginningless). Some interpret these words in the literal sense, meaning that the soul has always been under the spell of Māyā, and thus was never anywhere else, but this contradicts the previous passage (as well as many other passages) that state that the original position of the soul is different from the present conditioned state. Srila Prabhupada explains this point by explaining that “anadi” simply means that it is so long in the past that it is not possible to trace the origin. He thus doesn’t translate the word “anadi” as “beginningless” but as “from time immemorial”, making the real meaning clear.

By attentively studying the Paramatma Sandarbha, we can understand that these examples given by Srila Prabhupada are directly based on the explanations of Srila Jiva Goswami. Different from what some think, Prabhupada deeply studied the Sandarbhas and incorporated the conclusions in his purports. When there are apparent disagreements with Srila Jiva Goswami, he is actually just showing a deeper understanding of the text.

Go deeper:

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Kṛṣṇa means “the all-attractive.” For devotees, it makes perfect sense, since Kṛṣṇa is so beautiful. However, a materialist, or even a follower of a different philosophy, could protest: Not everyone is attracted to Kṛṣṇa. People are often attracted to money, women, cars, or deities that they consider different gods. Considering this point, how can we sustain that Kṛṣṇa is truly the all-attractive?

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa explains that the cosmic manifestation is composed of His separated material energies. He is the source, the foundation, and the essence of everything.

A materialist may say that he is not attracted to Kṛṣṇa, but the things he is attracted to, including cars, houses, money, or women, are nothing but the energy of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, he is also attracted to Kṛṣṇa; it is just that due to a lack of knowledge, he is attracted indirectly. Let’s take a beautiful woman, the supreme object of attraction for a materialistic man, for example. This woman is the combination of a body composed of the five material elements and an individual soul. Both are potencies of Kṛṣṇa. Her beauty and other assets are also nothing but small fragments of Kṛṣṇa’s opulence. The materialist is thus deeply attracted to Kṛṣṇa; it is just that this attraction manifests in an unhealthy way, as envy and a desire to enjoy Kṛṣṇa’s potencies separated from Kṛṣṇa as a person. When this tendency is purified, the soul again comes to its normal, healthy state, manifesting an attitude of love and service to Him.

Not only does everything that exists come from His potencies and rest upon Him, but Kṛṣṇa is the active principle behind everything. He is the potency by which everything functions and attracts us. He is the force behind the radiance of the sun, extraordinary talents and abilities, and even the sound from which the cosmos itself manifests. Whatever attractive things we see, we should know they are just fragments of Kṛṣṇa’s attractiveness. Due to illusion, we may think we are attracted to certain material objects, but in reality the attractive potency in the object comes from Kṛṣṇa. The problem is that material illusion causes us to seek that potency separately from Him. When this material conditioning is cleared, we realize that what we had been seeking all along was ultimately Kṛṣṇa.

For example, Kṛṣṇa mentions that He is the taste of water, raso ’ham apsu. There is a certain sequence in the creation of the material elements. Ether introduces sound, air touch, fire form, and water taste. This original taste of pure water, the very essence of water, is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. Water can then be mixed with salt and other substances, just like our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be covered by lust, anger, and so on, but when this happens, it stops being attractive.

Although water is available for free almost everywhere, people still buy mineral water, because they prefer to drink pure water. Every time we drink, pure water, we can remember Kṛṣṇa, and every time we are forced to drink stale or foul-tasting water, we can remember of our contaminated condition and desire to return to our original consciousness of devotion to Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa also declares that He is the light of the sun and the moon, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ. When physicists study the sun, they conclude that the sun emits light through a process of nuclear fusion. According to the Vedas, however, this is just the apparent process. Ultimately, all light is an emanation of Kṛṣṇa. It starts as the impersonal brahmajyoti, Kṛṣṇa’s spiritual effulgence that permeates the whole creation, penetrating even inside the material universes. If this transcendental light is everywhere, why is it that we see the sky dark at night? The point is that this is transcendental light, and we have material eyes. What the sun does, is to reflect this spiritual light in a form that we can see. Superficially, it appears that the sun is generating light by a process of nuclear fusion, but the ultimate cause is this process of transcendental reflection.

In this way, every time we see the light of the sun or the moon, or in fact any form of light, we can remember that this light is just an insignificant fraction of Kṛṣṇa’s effulgence. Behind this effulgence is Kṛṣṇa Himself, in His personal form. If the light of the sun is so dazzling, and the light of the moon so cooling, we can only imagine how attractive Kṛṣṇa is in His personal form.

Kṛṣṇa also mentions that He is ability in man, pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu. There are many persons who can achieve extraordinary things, but we should understand that this ability also comes from Kṛṣṇa. The word used in this case is “vibhūti”. It indicates a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s potency. Kṛṣṇa later gives a series of examples. Even animals such as the shark and the lion are powerful only because they show a small fragment of Kṛṣṇa’s power.

In material consciousness, when we see someone showing some extraordinary talent, we either become envious, or glorify the person as the responsible for what was accomplished. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, there is no need for envying anyone. We can respect and honor the person, but at the same time appreciate that the source of his or her talent is Kṛṣṇa. This soul is simply being empowered to achieve something due to His grace. Kṛṣṇa confirms this point later in the Gītā, by stating that “Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”

One may desire, or even work hard to achieve something, but unless Kṛṣṇa agrees to empower this soul with a fragment of His power, one cannot accomplish anything. Many work hard, but that does not mean they all become millionaires.

The point is that together with a certain talent, Kṛṣṇa gives us free will. We can use it under the false ego, claiming the merits and results of what we do, or we can use it as an instrument to serve Kṛṣṇa and benefit others.

An interesting example of the contrast between these two mentalities is described in the Ramayana. Rāvana is the materialist, trying to capture Sītā, the eternal consort of Lord Rāma, while Hanumān is the devotee trying to reunite her with Him. Ability is the potency of Kṛṣṇa, and should be brought back to Him, being used in devotional service. Everyone has a certain talent that was given by Kṛṣṇa. Using this talent for Kṛṣṇa brings us to the perfection of life.

Go deeper:

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