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TEXT 55 mat-karma-krn mat-paramo
SYNONYMS  mat-karma-krt--engaged
in doing My work; mat-paramah--considering Me the Supreme; mat-bhaktah--engaged
in My devotional service; sanga-varjitah--freed from the contamination
of previous activities and mental speculation; nirvairah--without
an enemy; sarva-bhutesu--to every living entity yah--one
who; sah--he; mam--unto Me; eti--comes; pandava--O
son of Pandu.
TRANSLATION My dear Arjuna,
one who is engaged in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations
of previous activities and from mental speculation, who is friendly to
every living entity, certainly comes to Me.
PURPORT Anyone who wants
to approach the supreme of all the Personalities of Godhead, on the Krsnaloka
planet in the spiritual sky, and be intimately connected with the Supreme
Personality, Krsna, must take this formula, as is stated by the Supreme
Himself. Therefore, this verse is considered to be the essence of Bhagavad-gita.
The Bhagavad-gita is a book directed to the conditioned souls, who
are engaged in the material world with the purpose of lording it over nature
and who do not know of the real, spiritual life. The Bhagavad-gita
is meant to show how one can understand his spiritual existence and his
eternal relationship with the Supreme Spiritual Personality and to teach
one how to go back home, back to Godhead. Now here is the verse which clearly
explains the process by which one can attain success in his spiritual activity:
devotional service. As far as work is concerned, one should transfer his
energy entirely to Krsna conscious activities. No work should be done by
any man except in relationship to Krsna. This is called Krsna-karma.
One may be engaged in various activities, but one should not be attached
to the result of his work, but the result should be done for Him. For example,
one may be engaged in business, but to transform that activity into Krsna
consciousness, one has to do business for Krsna. If Krsna is the proprietor
of the business, then Krsna should enjoy the profit of the business. If
a businessman is in possession of thousands and thousands of dollars, and
if he has to offer all this to Krsna, he can do it. This is work for Krsna.
Instead of constructing a big building for his sense gratification, he
can construct a nice temple for Krsna, and he can install the Deity of
Krsna and arrange for the Deity's service, as is outlined in the authorized
books of devotional service. This is all Krsna-karma. One should
not be attached to the result of his work, but the result should be offered
to Krsna. One should also accept as prasadam, food, the remnants
of offerings to Krsna. If, however, one is not able to construct a temple
for Krsna, one can engage himself in cleansing the temple of Krsna; that
is also krsna-karma. One can cultivate a garden. Anyone who has
land--in India, at least, any poor man has a certain amount of land--can
utilize that for Krsna by growing flowers to offer Him. He can sow tulasi
plants, because tulasi leaves are very important, and Krsna has
recommended this in Bhagavad-gita. Krsna desires that one offer
Him either a leaf, or a flower, or a little water--and He is satisfied.
This leaf especially refers to the tulasi. So one can sow tulasi
leaves and pour water on the plant. Thus, even the poorest man can
engage in the service of Krsna. These are some of the examples of how one
can engage in working for Krsna.
The word
mat-paramah refers to one who considers the association of Krsna
in His supreme abode to be the highest perfection of life. Such a person
does not wish to be elevated to the higher planets such as the moon or
sun or heavenly planets, or even the highest planet of this universe, Brahmaloka.
He has no attraction for that. He is only attracted to being transferred
to the spiritual sky. And even in the spiritual sky he is not satisfied
with merging into the glowing brahmajyoti effulgence, for he wants
to enter the highest spiritual planet, namely Krsnaloka, Goloka Vrndavana.
He has full knowledge of that planet, and therefore he is not interested
in any other. As indicated by the word mad-bhaktah, he fully engages
in devotional service, specifically in the nine processes of devotional
engagement: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus
feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord,
making friends with Him, and surrendering everything to Him. One can engage
in all nine devotional processes, or eight, or seven, or at least in one,
and that will surely make one perfect.
The term
sanga-varjitah is very significant. One should disassociate himself
from persons who are against Krsna. Not only are the atheistic persons
against Krsna, but also those who are attracted to fruitive activities
and mental speculation. Therefore the pure form of devotional service is
described in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu as follows: anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam anukulyena krsnanu silanam bhaktir uttama. In
this verse Srila Rupa Gosvami clearly states that if anyone wants to execute
unalloyed devotional service, he must be freed from all kinds of material
contamination. He must be freed from the association of persons who are
addicted to fruitive activities and mental speculation. When, freed from
such unwanted association and from the contamination of material desires,
one favorably cultivates knowledge of Krsna, that is called pure devotional
service. Anukulyasya sankalpah pratikulyasya varjanam. One should
think of Krsna and act for Krsna favorably, not unfavorably. Kamsa was
an enemy of Krsna's. From the very beginning of Krsna's birth, he planned
in so many ways to kill Him, and because he was always unsuccessful, he
was always thinking of Krsna. Thus while working, while eating and while
sleeping, he was always Krsna conscious in every respect, but that Krsna
consciousness was not favorable, and therefore in spite of his always thinking
of Krsna twenty-four hours a day, he was considered a demon, and Krsna
at last killed him. Of course anyone who is killed by Krsna attains salvation
immediately, but that is not the aim of the pure devotee. The pure devotee
does not even want salvation. He does not want to be transferred even to
the highest planet, Goloka Vrndavana. His only objective is to serve Krsna
wherever he may be.
A devotee
of Krsna is friendly to everyone. Therefore it is said here that he has
no enemy. How is this? A devotee situated in Krsna consciousness knows
that only devotional service to Krsna can relieve a person from all the
problems of life. He has personal experience of this, and therefore he
wants to introduce this system, Krsna consciousness, into human society.
There are many examples in history of devotees of the Lord risking their
lives for the spreading of God consciousness. The favorite example is Lord
Jesus Christ. He was crucified by the nondevotees, but he sacrificed his
life for spreading God consciousness. Of course, it would be superficial
to understand that he was killed. Similarly, in India also there are many
examples, such as Thakura Haridasa. Why such risk? Because they wanted
to spread Krsna consciousness, and it is difficult. A Krsna conscious person
knows that if a man is suffering, it is due to his forgetfulness of his
eternal relationship with Krsna. Therefore, the highest benefit one can
render to human society is relieving one's neighbor from all material problems.
In such a way, a pure devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord. Now,
we can imagine how merciful Krsna is to those engaged in His service, risking
everything for Him. Therefore it is certain that such persons must reach
the supreme planet after leaving the body.
In summary,
the universal form of Krsna, which is a temporary manifestation, and the
form of time which devours everything, and even the form of Visnu, four-handed,
have all been exhibited by Krsna. Thus Krsna is the origin of all these
manifestations. It is not that Krsna is a manifestation of the original
visva-rupa, or Visnu. Krsna is the origin of all forms. There are
hundreds and thousands of Visnus, but for a devotee, no form of Krsna is
important but the original form, two-handed Syamasundara. In the Brahma-samhita
it is stated that those who are attached to the Syamasundara form of Krsna
in love and devotion can see Him always within the heart and cannot see
anything else. One should understand, therefore, that the purport of this
Eleventh Chapter is that the form of Krsna is essential and supreme.
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