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TEXT 4-5 buddhir jnanam asammohah
ahimsa samata tustis
SYNONYMS  buddhih--intelligence;
jnanam--knowledge; asammohah--freedom from doubt; ksama--forgiveness;
satyam--truthfulness; damah--control of the senses; samah--control
of the mind; sukham--happiness; duhkham--distress; bhavah--birth;
abhavah--death; bhayam--fear; ca--and; abhayam--without
fear; eva--also; ca--and; ahimsa--nonviolence; samata--equilibrium;
tustih--satisfaction; tapah--penance; danam--charity;
yasah--fame; ayasah--infamy; bhavanti--become; bhavah--natures;
bhutanam--of living entities; mattah--from Me; eva--certainly;
prthak-vidhah--differently arranged.
TRANSLATION Intelligence,
knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness,
self-control and calmness, pleasure and pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness,
nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy
are created by Me alone.
PURPORT The different
qualities of living entities, be they good or bad, are all created by Krsna,
and they are described here.
Intelligence
refers to the power of analyzing things in proper perspective, and knowledge
refers to understanding what is spirit and what is matter. Ordinary knowledge
obtained by a university education pertains only to matter, and it is not
accepted here as knowledge. Knowledge means knowing the distinction between
spirit and matter. In modern education there is no knowledge about the
spirit; they are simply taking care of the material elements and bodily
needs. Therefore academic knowledge is not complete.
Asammoha,
freedom from doubt and delusion, can be achieved when one is not hesitant
and when he understands the transcendental philosophy. Slowly but surely
he becomes free from bewilderment. Nothing should be accepted blindly;
everything should be accepted with care and with caution. Ksama,
forgiveness, should be practiced, and one should excuse the minor offenses
of others. Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented
as they are for the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented.
According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth
only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The
truth should be spoken in a straight and forward way, so that others will
understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people
are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although sometimes the truth
is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands
that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That
is the definition of truth.
Self-control
means that the senses should not be used for unnecessary personal enjoyment.
There is no prohibition against meeting the proper needs of the senses,
but unnecessary sense enjoyment is detrimental for spiritual advancement.
Therefore the senses should be restrained from unnecessary use. Similarly,
the mind should not indulge in unnecessary thoughts; that is called samah,
or calmness. Nor should one spend one's time pondering over earning
money. That is a misuse of the thinking power. The mind should be used
to understand the prime necessity of human beings, and that should be presented
authoritatively. The power of thought should be developed in association
with persons who are authorities in the scriptures, saintly persons and
spiritual masters and those whose thinking is highly developed. Sukham,
pleasure or happiness, should always be in that which is favorable for
the cultivation of the spiritual knowledge of Krsna consciousness. And
similarly, that which is painful or which causes distress is that which
is unfavorable for the cultivation of Krsna consciousness. Anything favorable
for the development of Krsna consciousness should be accepted, and anything
unfavorable should be rejected.
Bhava,
birth, should be understood to refer to the body. As far as the soul is
concerned, there is neither birth nor death; that we have discussed in
the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Birth and death apply to one's embodiment
in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about the future. A person
in Krsna consciousness has no fear because by his activities he is sure
to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. Therefore
his future is very bright. Others, however, do not know what their future
holds; they have no knowledge of what the next life holds. So they are
therefore in constant anxiety. If we want to get free from anxiety, then
the best course is to understand Krsna and be situated always in Krsna
consciousness. In that way we will be free from all fear. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam
it is stated that fear is caused by our absorption in the illusory energy,
but those who are free from the illusory energy, those who are confident
that they are not the material body, that they are spiritual parts of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and are therefore engaged in the transcendental
service of the Supreme Godhead, have nothing to fear. Their future is very
bright. This fear is a condition of persons who are not in Krsna consciousness.
Bhayam, fearlessness, is only possible for one in Krsna consciousness.
Ahimsa,
nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will put others
into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many
politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good
results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental
vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society.
Ahimsa means that people should be trained in such a way that the
full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human body is meant
for spiritual realization, so any movement or any commissions which do
not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers
the future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called nonviolence.
Samata,
equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To be very
much attached or to be very much detached is not the best. This material
world should be accepted without attachment or aversion. Similarly, that
which is favorable for prosecuting Krsna consciousness should be accepted;
that which is unfavorable should be rejected. That is called samata,
equanimity. A person in Krsna consciousness has nothing to reject and nothing
to accept unless it is useful in the prosecution of Krsna consciousness.
Tusti,
satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more and more
material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be satisfied with whatever
is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord; that is called satisfaction.
Tapas means austerity or penance. There are many rules and definitions
in the Vedas which apply here, like rising early in the morning
and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very troublesome to rise early in the
morning, but whatever voluntary trouble one may suffer in this way is called
penance. Similarly, there are prescriptions for fasting on certain days
of the month. One may not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because
of his determination to make advancement in the science of Krsna consciousness,
he should accept such bodily troubles which are recommended. However, one
should not fast unnecessarily or against Vedic injunctions. One should
not fast for some political purpose; that is described in Bhagavad-gita
as fasting in ignorance, and anything done in ignorance or passion does
not lead to spiritual advancement. Everything done in the mode of goodness
does advance one, however, and fasting done in terms of the Vedic injunctions
enriches one in spiritual knowledge.
As far as
charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to
some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is conducted
in terms of Krsna consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but it
is the best cause. Because Krsna is good, His cause is also good. Thus
charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Krsna consciousness.
According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given
to the brahmanas. This practice is still followed, although not
very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction
is that charity should be given to the brahmanas. Why? Because they
are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brahmana
is supposed to devote his whole life to understanding Brahman. A brahma-jana
is one who knows Brahman; he is called a brahmana. Thus charity
is offered to the brahmanas because since they are always engaged
in higher spiritual service, they have no time to earn their livelihood.
In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to the renouncer
of life, the sannyasi. The sannyasis beg from door to door,
not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from
door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance.
Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten
their actual purpose in life--awakening their Krsna consciousness--it is
the business of the sannyasis to go as beggars to the householders
and encourage them to be Krsna conscious. As it is said in the Vedas,
one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life.
This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyasis; hence
charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brahmanas,
and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause.
Yasah,
fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man is famous
when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If one has become
a great man in Krsna consciousness and it is known, then he is truly famous.
One who does not have such fame is infamous.
All these
qualities are manifest throughout the universe in human society and in
the society of the demigods. There are many forms of humanity on other
planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one who wants to advance
in Krsna consciousness, Krsna creates all these qualities, but the person
develops them himself from within. One who engages in the devotional service
of the Supreme Lord develops all the good qualities, as arranged by the
Supreme Lord.
Of whatever
we find, good or bad, the origin is Krsna. Nothing can manifest in this
material world which is not in Krsna. That is knowledge; although we know
that things are differently situated, we should realize that everything
flows from Krsna.
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