Source
Texts:
Lord
Krishna's Explanation of the Vedic Path
Text
1
The Supreme
Lord said: 'They who give up on these means for achieving Me,
consisting of the devotion, the knowledge and the work to be
done, are by the insignificant of the flickering lusts with the
senses that they cultivate, confronted with the finality of
life.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said - Those who give up
these methods for achieving Me, which consist of devotional
service, analytic philosophy and regulated execution of
prescribed duties, and instead, being moved by the material
senses, cultivate insignificant sense gratification,
certainly undergo the continual cycle of material
existence.
Text
2
Steadiness of
each in his own position as such is declared to be the virtue
and the opposite is indeed the vice; this is the definite
conclusion about the two [see also B.G.
2:
16].
Steadiness
in one's own position is declared to be actual piety,
whereas deviation from one's position is considered impiety.
In this way the two are definitely ascertained.
Text
3
A particular
object is to be evaluated within the same category of objects
and thus is for the purpose of the religion the pure and
impure, for the ordinary dealings the virtue and the vice and
for one's physical survival the auspicious and inauspicious
established, o sinless one.
O
sinless Uddhava, in order to understand what is proper in
life one must evaluate a given object within its particular
category. Thus, in analyzing religious principles one must
consider purity and impurity. Similarly, in one's ordinary
dealings one must distinguish between good and bad, and to
insure one's physical survival one must recognize that which
is auspicious and inauspicious.
Text
4
This way of
proceeding [distinguishing between good and bad] is
revealed by Me for those bearing the burden of religious
principles.
I
have revealed this way of life for those bearing the burden
of mundane religious principles.
Text
5
Earth,
water, fire, air and ether are the five basic elements that,
from Lord Brahmâ down to the nonmoving creatures, make up
the bodies of all living beings equally relating to the Supreme
Soul.
Earth,
water, fire, air and ether are the five basic elements that
constitute the bodies of all conditioned souls, from Lord
Brahmâ himself down to the nonmoving creatures. These
elements all emanate from the one Personality of
Godhead.
Text
6
Though being
equal in their elements are, in relation to them, Uddhava, by
the Veda different names and forms conceived for the
achievement of their self-interest [see
varnâs'rama].
My
dear Uddhava, although all material bodies are composed of
the same five elements and are thus equal, the Vedic
literatures conceive of different names and forms in
relation to such bodies so that the living entities may
achieve their goal of life.
Text
7
O most truthful
one, the positive quality and the detrimental of the space and
time and so on of the states of existence and of things, are by
Me established to be sure of the restriction of profit minded
activities.
O
saintly Uddhava, in order to restrict materialistic
activities, I have established that which is proper and
improper among all material things, including time, space
and all physical objects.
Text
8
Among the
places are the places where there is no respect for the
brahminical and the spotted antelopes are missing, spoiled; and
even if there are spotted antelopes [left, viz. not all
being killed] is a place without saintly cultured men, a
place uncivilized where the practice is unclean and the earth
is barren [see mleccha
and
*].
Among
places, those bereft of the spotted antelope, those devoid
of devotion to the brâhmanas, those possessing spotted
antelopes but bereft of respectable men, provinces like
Kîkatha and places where cleanliness and purificatory
rites are neglected, where meat-eaters are prominent or
where the earth is barren, are all considered to be
contaminated lands.
Text
9
That time is
valid which, either by its own nature [the not-for-profit
time of nature] or the same way to the person [the
Lord, or the object, the lakshmî,
the time for harvesting etc.], is suitable for executing
one's prescribed duty; and bad and offensive is the time that
impedes one's duty, the time that is unsuitable for doing work
[lust- and profit-minded time, see 11.20:
26,
kâla
and kâlakûtha
**].
A
specific time is considered pure when it is appropriate,
either by its own nature or through achievement of suitable
paraphernalia, for the performance of one's prescribed duty.
That time which impedes the performance of one's duty is
considered impure.
Text
10
The pure or
impure of a thing [or: the substance] is there by
another thing, by the speech and by a ritual performance or
else by time or according the relative magnitude
[***].
An
object's purity or impurity is established by application of
another object, by words, by rituals, by the effects of time
or according to relative magnitude.
Text
11
Depending one's
power or impotence, the intelligence and increase of wealth, as
also to one's condition or place, causes it to oneself a sinful
[or pious] reaction accordingly.
Impure
things may or may not impose sinful reactions upon a person,
depending on that person's strength or weakness,
intelligence, wealth, location and physical
condition.
Text
12
By time, by
air, by fire, by earth and by water in combination or
separately [do also wither away] the grains, things of
wood and bone, thread and liquids, things won from fire and
skins and things of clay.
Various
objects such as grains, wooden utensils, things made of
bone, thread, liquids, objects derived from fire, skins and
earthy objects are all purified by time, by the wind, by
fire, by earth and by water, either separately or in
combination.
Text
13
That which
touching the impure removes a bad smell or dirt and so restores
the original nature of that object, that is for that matter
considered as purifying.
A
particular purifying agent is considered appropriate when
its application removes the bad odor or dirty covering of
some contaminated object and makes it resume its original
nature.
Text
14
By bathing,
charity and austerity, by virtue of his age, his heroism,
ritual purification and his prescribed duties should a
twice-born man [: the doer] in the remembrance of Me,
perform to the pure, the cleanliness of the
self.
The
self can be cleansed by bathing, charity, austerity, age,
personal strength, purificatory rituals, prescribed duties
and, above all, by remembrance of Me. The brâhmana and
other twice-born men should be duly purified before
performing their specific activities.
Text
15
The
purification derived from a mantra so follows the correct
knowledge of it and the purification by a certain act so
follows the dedication to Me; the religiousness is achieved by
the six [as mentioned: the place, the time, the substance,
the mantras, the doer and the devotional act] but the
irreligious follows the contrary.
A
mantra is purified when chanted with proper knowledge, and
one's work is purified when offered to Me. Thus by
purification of the place, time, substance, doer, mantras
and work, one becomes religious, and by negligence of these
six items one is considered irreligious.
Text
16
Sometimes a
virtue turns into a vice though and turns a vice on the
strength of vedic instruction into a virtue; it is actually in
regard of this restriction of the two that the distinction
falls away [4*].
Sometimes
piety becomes sin, and sometimes what is ordinarily sin
becomes piety on the strength of Vedic injunctions. Such
special rules in effect eradicate the clear distinction
between piety and sin.
Text
17
The same karma
is for those who are fallen not a cause of a falldown; with the
one who lies down not further falling down is the natural
attachment a virtue.
The
same activities that would degrade an elevated person do not
cause falldown for those who are already fallen. Indeed, one
who is lying on the ground cannot possibly fall further. The
material association that is dictated by one's own nature is
considered a good quality.
Text
18
Whatever one
desists from, from that is one liberated - this is for human
beings the foundation of dharma that takes away the suffering,
fear and delusion.
By
refraining from a particular sinful or materialistic
activity, one becomes freed from its bondage. Such
renunciation is the basis of religious and auspicious life
for human beings and drives away all suffering, illusion and
fear.
Text
19
Presuming the
objects of gratification to be good rises from that presumption
the attachment of a person, from that attachment springs the
lust and from the lust so the quarrel among
people.
One
who accepts material sense objects as desirable certainly
becomes attached to them. From such attachment lust arises,
and this lust creates quarrel among men.
Text
20
From the
quarrel there is the anger difficult to handle and the
ignorance that follows the anger; thus is of a man the
broadmindedness, swiftly seized by darkness.
From
quarrel arises intolerable anger, followed by the darkness
of ignorance. This ignorance quickly overtakes a man's broad
intelligence.
Text
21
O saintly one,
a living being bereft of that [wider consciousness]
becomes empty-headed so that, consequently fallen down from his
goals in life, he like dull matter is as good as dead
[compare B.G.: 2:
62-63].
O
saintly Uddhava, a person bereft of real intelligence is
considered to have lost everything. Deviated from the actual
purpose of his life, he becomes dull, just like a dead
person.
Text
22
Overly absorbed
in the sensual knows he, in vain living to the lifestyle of a
tree, not himself nor the other and is his breathing mere
bellowing.
Because
of absorption in sense gratification, one cannot recognize
himself or others. Living uselessly in ignorance like a
tree, one is merely breathing just like a bellows.
Text
23
Those awards
the scriptures speak are for man not the highest good; they are
merely enticements with the idea of prompting for the ultimate
good, just the same as what one says to make someone take a
medicine.
Those
statements of scripture promising fruitive rewards do not
prescribe the ultimate good for men but are merely
enticements for executing beneficial religious duties, like
promises of candy spoken to induce a child to take
beneficial medicine.
Text
24
Simply by birth
do mortals, attached in the mind to the cause of their objects
of desire, their vital functions and their folks, defeat the
purpose of their soul.
Simply
by material birth, human beings become attached within their
minds to personal sense gratification, long duration of
life, sense activities, bodily strength, sexual potency and
friends and family. Their minds are thus absorbed in that
which defeats their actual self-interest.
Text
25
Submissive
[religiously] do they ignorant to their real
self-interest wander the path of disaster; for what reason
would the intelligent [the vedic authority] cause them,
entering the darkness, to engage further in that all? [see
also 5.5:
17]
Those
ignorant of their real self-interest are wandering on the
path of material existence, gradually heading toward
darkness. Why would the Vedas further encourage them in
sense gratification if they, although foolish, submissively
pay heed to Vedic injunctions?
Text
26
Some, this way
with a perverted intelligence not understanding the actual
conclusion, speak in flowery statements of the material awards
that the one who knows the Veda's indeed doesn't speak of
[see also B.G. 2:
42-44].
Persons
with perverted intelligence do not understand this actual
purpose of Vedic knowledge and instead propagate as the
highest Vedic truth the flowery statements of the Vedas that
promise material rewards. Those in actual knowledge of the
Vedas never speak in that way.
Text
27
The lusty,
miserly and greedy ones think the flowers to be the ultimate
truth; bewildered by the fire do they, suffocating from the
smoke, not know their own place [of being an individual
soul instead of being a body].
Those
who are full of lust, avarice and greed mistake mere flowers
to be the actual fruit of life. Bewildered by the glare of
fire and suffocated by its smoke, they cannot recognize
their own true identity.
Text
28
They, armed
with their expressions, My dear, do not know Me who is seated
within the heart and from whom this universe has risen - they,
self-indulgent, are like persons with their eyes in the
fog.
My
dear Uddhava, persons dedicated to sense gratification
obtained through honoring the Vedic rituals cannot
understand that I am situated in everyone's heart and that
the entire universe is nondifferent from Me and emanates
from Me. Indeed, they are just like persons whose eyes are
covered by fog.
Text
29-30
They without
understanding My confidential conclusion [see also
10.87
and B.G. 9]
are, when absorbed in the sensual, attached to the violence
that may be, but certainly never is encouraged in the
sacrificial prescriptions. Indeed taking pleasure in being
violent with the animals that in the desire for their own
happiness were slaughtered, are they in their worshiping the
gods, the forefathers and the leading ghosts with rituals,
mischievous people.
Those
who are sworn to sense gratification cannot understand the
confidential conclusion of Vedic knowledge as explained by
Me. Taking pleasure in violence, they cruelly slaughter
innocent animals in sacrifice for their own sense
gratification and thus worship demigods, forefathers and
leaders among ghostly creatures. Such passion for violence,
however, is never encouraged within the process of Vedic
sacrifice.
Text
31
That world
unholy [upheld by them] equals a dream that sounding
nice is about mundane achievements with which they, imagined in
their hearts like a businessman, do give up the purpose [of
realizing the soul].
Just
as a foolish businessman gives up his real wealth in useless
business speculation, foolish persons give up all that is
actually valuable in life and instead pursue promotion to
material heaven, which although pleasing to hear about is
actually unreal, like a dream. Such bewildered persons
imagine within their hearts that they will achieve all
material blessings.
Text
32
Not worshiping
Me the proper way do they, established in the mode of passion,
goodness or ignorance worship the gods and others headed by
Indra who delight in that passion, goodness and ignorance
[see also B.G. 9:
23 and
10:
24 & 25].
Those
established in material passion, goodness and ignorance
worship the particular demigods and other deities, headed by
Indra, who manifest the same modes of passion, goodness or
ignorance. They fail, however, to properly worship
Me.
Text
33-34
'Worshiping out
here will we by our sacrifices to the gods enjoy in heaven and
at the end of that enjoyment will we on earth become great
housekeepers of high standing', thus with their minds
bewildered by the flowery words have they nevertheless, as
proud and most greedy men, no attraction for My
topics.
The
worshipers of demigods think, 'We shall worship the demigods
in this life, and by our sacrifices we shall go to heaven
and enjoy there. When that enjoyment is finished we shall
return to this world and take birth as great householders in
aristocratic families.' Being excessively proud and greedy,
such persons are bewildered by the flowery words of the
Vedas. They are not attracted to topics about Me, the
Supreme Lord.
Text
35
The
tri-kânda
divided Vedas have the spiritual understanding of the Self as
their subject matter but also dear to Me are the vedic seers
esoterically expressing themselves in indirect terms [the
'other gurus'].
The
Vedas, divided into three divisions, ultimately reveal the
living entity as pure spirit soul. The Vedic seers and
mantras, however, deal in esoteric terms, and I also am
pleased by such confidential descriptions.
Text
36
The spiritual
sound [the s'abda-brahman]
manifesting itself in the prâna,
the senses and the mind knows no limit and is unfathomably deep
like the ocean.
The
transcendental sound of the Vedas is very difficult to
comprehend and manifests on different levels within the
prâna, senses and mind. This Vedic sound is unlimited,
very deep and unfathomable, just like the ocean.
Text
37
The groundless,
changeless Absolute of endless potencies [that I am],
is, as promoted by Me [see omkâra],
represented within the living beings in the form of
soundvibrations, the way a single single strand of fiber is on
a lotus stalk [see also 11.18:
32 and
6.13:
15].
As
the unlimited, unchanging and omnipotent Personality of
Godhead dwelling within all living beings, I personally
establish the Vedic sound vibration in the form of
omkâra within all living entities. It is thus
perceived subtly, just like a single strand of fiber on a
lotus stalk.
Text
38-40
Just as a
spider from its opening from within emits its web, is the
breath of God [the prâna] from the ether
manifesting the soundvibration through the mind in the form of
the different phonemes. Comprising all the shapes full of
nectar branching out in thousands of directions, has the
Master, decorated with consonants, vowels, sibilants and
semivowels, expanded from the syllable om. By the elaborated
diversity of expressions and metrical arrangements each having
four more syllables, does He create and Himself withdraw the
great unlimited expanse [of the vedic literature, see also
B.G. 15.15].
Just
as a spider brings forth from its heart its web and emits it
through its mouth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
manifests Himself as the reverberating primeval vital air,
comprising all sacred Vedic meters and full of
transcendental pleasure. Thus the Lord, from the ethereal
sky of His heart, creates the great and limitless Vedic
sound by the agency of His mind, which conceives of
variegated sounds such as the spars'as. The Vedic sound
branches out in thousands of directions, adorned with the
different letters expanded from the syllable om - the
consonants, vowels, sibilants and semivowels. The Veda is
then elaborated by many verbal varieties, expressed in
different meters, each having four more syllables than the
previous one. Ultimately the Lord again withdraws His
manifestation of Vedic sound within Himself.
Text
41
For
instance the metres: Gâyatrî,
Ushnik and Anusthup; Brihatî and Pankti as also Tristhup,
Jagatî, Aticchanda, and Atyasthi, Atijagatî and
Ativirâth [have each in this order four more
syllables].
The
Vedic meters are Gâyatrî, Ushnik, Anusthup,
Brihatî, Pankti, Tristhup, Jagatî, Aticchanda,
Atyasthi, Atijagatî and Ativirâth.
Text
42
What they
[karma-kânda] enjoin, what they
[upâsana-kânda] indicate, what aspects they
describe or what alternatives they
[jñâna-kânda] thus literarily offer,
that heart in this world, is not known by anyone else but by Me
[compare 11.20,
B.G. 5:
5,
7:
26,
10:
41].
In
the entire world no one but Me actually understands the
confidential purpose of Vedic knowledge. Thus people do not
know what the Vedas are actually prescribing in the
ritualistic injunctions of karma-kânda, or what object
is actually being indicated in the formulas of worship found
in the upâsanâ-kânda, or that which is
elaborately discussed through various hypotheses in the
jñâna-kânda section of the Vedas.
Text
43
I am the object
of worship enjoined and I am the alternative offered and
argued; I thus am the meaning of all the Vedas that establish
Me,the transcendental soundvibration, and elaborately describe
the material duality as simply the illusory to negate to
ultimately become happy.
I
am the ritualistic sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas, and I am
the worshipable Deity. It is I who am presented as various
philosophical hypotheses, and it is I alone who am then
refuted by philosophical analysis. The transcendental sound
vibration thus establishes Me as the essential meaning of
all Vedic knowledge. The Vedas, elaborately analyzing all
material duality as nothing but My illusory potency,
ultimately completely negate this duality and achieve their
own satisfaction.
*:
S'rîla Madhvâcârya quotes from the Skanda
Purâna as follows: 'Religious persons should reside
within an eight-mile radius of rivers, oceans, mountains,
hermitages, forests, spiritual cities or places where the
s'âlagrâma-s'îlâ [a black oval
river-stone suitable for worship] is found. All other
places should be considered kîkatha, or
contaminated. But if even in such contaminated places black and
spotted antelopes are found, one may reside there as long as
sinful persons are not also present. Even if sinful persons are
present, if the civil power rests with respectable authorities,
one may remain. Similarly, one may dwell wherever the Deity of
Vishnu is duly installed and worshiped.'
**:
The paramparâ adds here: Political, social or economic
disturbances that obstruct the execution of one's religious
duties are considered inauspicious times. (...) Therefore is
that moment in which one achieves the association of the
Supreme Lord or the Lord's pure devotee is the most auspicious
time, whereas the moment of losing such association is most
inauspicious.
***:
An example to this rather abstract formulation is the clock:
the clock is pure or impure relative to its object measured:
the time of nature as another 'thing' of time. This is called
the criterion of scientific validation or the determining of
the zero point of measurement. But also speaking of it in a
scientific lecture telling that the mean of time, the clock
deviating from nature, is derived from and refers to nature
itself through a scientific formula that expresses the socalled
equation of time, is a way of sanctifying, declaring the purity
of , an obviously deviating clock. Furthermore is there also
the religious ritual that presents the cross of Jesus for
instance, or the mahâmantra of Caitanya, to the standard
of time adhered to in order to forgive the sin of deviating
from God's nature of time pragmatically and the scientific
rationalization about it. Next we can simply set the clock to
the nature of time to be true to the religious insight [see
f.c.o.].
And finally, realizing that the confidentiality of Krishna's
time cannot be imposed politically, is there the purity to the
relative magnitude, as this verse states, that with the modern
complexity of time-awareness simply knows the difference by a
dual display of time that some clocks do offer: one display set
to nature and one to the politics of pragmatical timekeeping.
Thus we can by this verse tolerate the impurity of
profit-motivated karmic time-manipulations and still manage
with purity as devotees [Prabhupâda who at the one
hand demanded punctuality, requested his devotees to further
study the subject of time. 'All days and hours are the same to
me. I leave that matter to you', he confided in ' A
Transcendental Diary' by Hari S'auri
Dâsa].
4*:
According to S'rîla Madhvâcârya, persons
above the age of fourteen are considered capable of
distinguishing between good and bad and are thus responsible
for their pious and sinful activities.
