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TEXT 11 tesam evanukampartham
SYNONYMS  tesam--for
them; eva--certainly; anukampa-artham--to show special mercy;
aham--I;
ajnana-jam--due to ignorance; tamah--darkness;
nasayami--dispel;
atma--within; bhavasthah--themselves;
jnana--of knowledge;
dipena--with the lamp; bhasvata--glowing.
TRANSLATION Out of compassion
for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of
knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.
PURPORT When Lord Caitanya
was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna
Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, thousands
of people were following Him. Prakasananda, a very influential and learned
scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist.
Sometimes philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most
of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically
naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very
learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion, but even
if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or of his spiritual
master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Krsna
Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in Krsna consciousness
cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one carry out
devotional service in full Krsna consciousness.
The modern
philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have pure knowledge.
For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who are engaged
in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient education
and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still
helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse.
The Lord
tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding the
Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not
possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental
effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if
he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never
understand Krsna or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the
Supreme Truth, Krsna, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal
Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Krsna
within his heart; therefore he is just like the sun that dissipates the
darkness of ignorance. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee
by Krsna.
Due to the
contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births,
one's heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one
engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Krsna, the dust
quickly clears and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The
ultimate goal of Visnu can be attained only by this chant and by devotional
service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does
not have to worry about the necessities of life; he need not be anxious
because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided
automatically by the Supreme Lord, for He is pleased by the loving devotional
service of the devotee. This is the essence of the Gita's teachings.
By studying Bhagavad-gita, one can become a completely surrendered
soul to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service.
As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of
materialistic endeavors.
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