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TEXT 8-12 amanitvam adambhitvam
indriyarthesu vairagyam
asaktir anabhisvangah
mayi cananya-yogena
adhyatma-jnana-nityatvam
SYNONYMS  amanitvam--humility;
adambhitvam--pridelessness; ahimsa--nonviolence; ksantih--tolerance;
arjavam--simplicity; acarya-upasanam--approaching a bona
fide spiritual master; saucam--cleanliness; sthairyam--steadfastness;
atma-vinigrahah--control; indriya-arthesu--in the matter
of the senses; vairagyam--renunciation; anahankarah--being
without false egoism; eva--certainly; ca--also; janma--birth;
mrtyu--death; jara--old age; vyadhi--disease; duhkha--distress;
dosa--fault; anudarsanam--observing; asaktih--without
attachment; anabhisvangah--without association; putra--sons;
dara--wife; grha-adisu--home, etc.; nityam--eternal;
ca--also; sama-cittatvam--equilibrium; ista--desirable;
anista--undesirable; upapattisu--having obtained; mayi--unto
Me; ca--also; ananya-yogena--by devotional service; bhaktih--devotion;
avyabhicarini--constant, unalloyed; vivikta--solitary; desa--place;
sevitvam--aspiring; aratih--without attachment; jana--to
people in general; samsadi--mass; adhyatma--pertaining to
the self; jnana--knowledge; nityatvam--eternity; tattva-jnana--knowledge
of the truth; artha--the object; darsanam--philosophy; etat--all
this; jnanam--knowledge; iti--thus; proktam--declared;
ajnanam--ignorance; yat--that which; atah--from this;
anyatha--others.
TRANSLATION Humility,
pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide
spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation
of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception
of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children,
wife, home and the rest, and even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant
events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places,
detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of
self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth--all
these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is
ignorance.
PURPORT This process
of knowledge is sometimes misunderstood by less intelligent men as being
the interaction of the field of activity. But actually this is the real
process of knowledge. If one accepts this process, then the possibility
of approaching the Absolute Truth exists. This is not the interaction of
the tenfold elements, as described before, This is actually the means to
get out of it. Of all the descriptions of the process of knowledge, the
most important point is described in the first line of the tenth verse:
the process of knowledge terminates in unalloyed devotional service to
the Lord. So, if one does not approach, or is not able to approach, the
transcendental service of the Lord, then the other nineteen items are of
no particular value. But, if one takes to devotional service in full Krsna
consciousness, the other nineteen items automatically develop within him.
The principle of accepting a spiritual master, as mentioned in the seventh
verse, is essential. Even for one who takes to devotional service, it is
most important. Transcendental life begins when one accepts a bona fide
spiritual master. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, clearly
states here that this process of knowledge is the actual path. Anything
speculated beyond this is nonsense.
As for the
knowledge outlined here, the items may be analyzed as follows: Humility
means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being
honored by others. The material conception of life makes us very eager
to receive honor from others, but from the point of view of a man in perfect
knowledge--who knows that he is not this body--anything, honor or dishonor,
pertaining to this body is useless. One should not be hankering after this
material deception. People are very anxious to be famous for their religion,
and consequently sometimes it is found that without understanding the principles
of religion, one enters into some group, which is not actually following
religious principles, and then wants to advertise himself as a religious
mentor. As for actual advancement in spiritual science, one should have
a test to see how far he is progressing. He can judge by these items.
Nonviolence
is generally taken to mean not killing or destroying the body, but actually
nonviolence means not to put others into distress. People in general are
trapped by ignorance in the material concept of life, and they perpetually
suffer material pains. So, unless one elevates people to spiritual knowledge,
one is practicing violence. One should try his best to distribute real
knowledge to the people, so that they may become enlightened and leave
this material entanglement. That is nonviolence.
Tolerance
means that one should be practiced to bear insult and dishonor from others.
If one is engaged in the advancement of spiritual knowledge, there will
be so many insults and much dishonor from others. This is expected because
material nature is so constituted. Even a boy like Prahlada, who, only
five years old, was engaged in the cultivation of spiritual knowledge,
was endangered when his father became antagonistic to his devotion. The
father tried to kill him in so many ways, but Prahlada tolerated him. So,
for making advancement in spiritual knowledge, there may be many impediments,
but we should be tolerant and continue our progress with determination.
Simplicity
means that without diplomacy one should be so straight-forward that he
can disclose the real truth even to an enemy. As for acceptance of the
spiritual master, that is essential, because without the instruction of
a bona fide spiritual master, one cannot progress in the spiritual science.
One should approach the spiritual master with all humility and offer him
all services so that he will be pleased to bestow his blessings upon the
disciple. Because a bona fide spiritual master is a representative of Krsna,
if he bestows any blessings upon his disciple, that will make the disciple
immediately advanced without the disciple's following the regulative principles.
Or, the regulative principles will be easier for one who has served the
spiritual master without reservation.
Cleanliness
is essential for making advancement in spiritual life. There are two kinds
of cleanliness: external and internal. External cleanliness means taking
a bath, but for internal cleanliness, one has to think of Krsna always
and chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process cleans the accumulated dust of
past karma from the mind.
Steadiness
means that one should be very determined to make progress in spiritual
life. Without such determination, one cannot make tangible progress. And
self-control means that one should not accept anything which is detrimental
to the path of spiritual progress. One should become accustomed to this
and reject anything which is against the path of spiritual progress. This
is real renunciation. The senses are so strong that they are always anxious
to have sense gratification. One should not cater to these demands, which
are not necessary. The senses should only be gratified to keep the body
fit so that one can discharge his duty in advancing in spiritual life.
The most important and uncontrollable sense is the tongue. If one can control
the tongue, then there is every possibility of controlling the other senses.
The function of the tongue is to taste and to vibrate. Therefore, by systematic
regulation, the tongue should always be engaged in tasting the remnants
of foodstuffs offered to Krsna and chanting Hare Krsna. As far as the eyes
are concerned, they should not be allowed to see anything but the beautiful
form of Krsna. That will control the eyes. Similarly, the ears should be
engaged in hearing about Krsna and the nose in smelling the flowers offered
to Krsna. This is the process of devotional service, and it is understood
here that Bhagavad-gita is simply expounding the science of devotional
service. Devotional service is the main and sole objective. Unintelligent
commentators on the Gita try to divert the mind of the reader to
other subjects, but there is no other subject in Bhagavad-gita but
devotional service.
False ego
means accepting this body as oneself. When one understands that he is not
his body and is spirit soul, that is real ego. Ego is there. False ego
is condemned, but not real ego. In the Vedic literature it is said: aham
brahmasmi. I am Brahman, I am spirit. This "I am," the sense of self,
also exists in the liberated stage of self-realization. This sense of "I
am" is ego, but when the sense of "I am" is applied to this false body,
it is false ego. When the sense of self is applied to reality, that is
real ego. There are some philosophers who say we should give up our ego,
but we cannot give up our ego because ego means identity. We ought, of
course, to give up the false identification with the body.
One should
try to understand the distress of accepting birth, death, old age and disease.
There are descriptions in various Vedic literatures of birth. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam
the world of the unborn, the child's stay in the womb of the mother, its
suffering, etc., are all very graphically described. It should be thoroughly
understood that birth is distressful. Because we forget how much distress
we have suffered within the womb of the mother, we do not make any solution
to the repetition of birth and death. Similarly at the time of death, there
are all kinds of sufferings, and they are also mentioned in the authoritative
scriptures. These should be discussed. And as far as disease and old age
are concerned, everyone gets practical experience. No one wants to be diseased,
and no one wants to become old, but there is no avoiding these. Unless
we have a pessimistic view of this material life, considering the distresses
of birth, death, old age and disease, there is no impetus for our making
advancement in spiritual life.
As for detachment
from children, wife and home, it is not meant that one should have no feeling
for these. They are natural objects of affection, but when they are not
favorable to spiritual progress, then one should not be attached to them.
The best process for making the home pleasant is Krsna consciousness. If
one is in full Krsna consciousness, he can make his home very happy because
this process of Krsna consciousness is very easy. One need only chant Hare
Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare, accept the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Krsna, have some
discussion on books like Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam,
and engage oneself in Deity worship. These four will make one happy. One
should train the members of his family in this way. The family members
can sit down morning and evening and chant together Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If
one can mold his family life in this way to develop Krsna consciousness,
following these four principles, then there is no need to change from family
life to renounced life. But if it is not congenial, not favorable for spiritual
advancement, then family life should be abandoned. One must sacrifice everything
to realize or serve Krsna, just as Arjuna did. Arjuna did not want to kill
his family members, but when he understood that these family members were
impediments to his Krsna realization, he accepted the instruction of Krsna
and fought and killed them. In all cases, one should be detached from the
happiness and distress of family life because in this world one can never
be fully happy or fully miserable. Happiness and distress are concomitant
factors of material life. One should learn to tolerate, as advised in Bhagavad-gita.
One can never restrict the coming and going of happiness and distress,
so one should be detached from the materialistic way of life and be automatically
equipoised in both cases. Generally, when we get something desirable, we
are very happy, and when we get something undesirable, we are distressed.
But if we are actually in the spiritual position, these things will not
agitate us. To reach that stage, we have to practice unbreakable devotional
service; devotional service to Krsna without deviation means engaging oneself
in the nine processes of devotional service, chanting, hearing, worshiping,
offering respect, etc., as described in the last verse of the Ninth Chapter.
That process should be followed. Naturally, when one is adapted to the
spiritual way of life, he will not want to mix with materialistic men.
That would go against his grain. One may test himself by seeing how far
he is inclined to live in a solitary place without unwanted association.
Naturally a devotee has no taste for unnecessary sporting or cinema-going
or enjoying some social function, because he understands that these are
simply a waste of time. There are many research scholars and philosophers
who study sex life or some other subject, but according to Bhagavad-gita,
such research work and philosophical speculation have no value. That is
more or less nonsensical. According to Bhagavad-gita, one should
make research by philosophical discretion into the nature of the soul.
One should make research to understand with what the self is concerned.
That is recommended here.
As far as
self-realization is concerned, it is clearly stated here that bhakti-yoga
is especially practical. As soon as there is a question of devotion, one
must consider the relationship between the Supersoul and the individual
soul. The individual soul and the Supersoul cannot be one, at least not
in the bhakti conception, the devotional conception of life. This
service of the individual soul to the Supreme Soul is eternal, nityam,
as it is clearly stated. So bhakti or devotional service is eternal.
One should be established in that philosophical conviction, otherwise it
is only a waste of time, ignorance.
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam,
this is explained; vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam.
"Those who are actually knowers of the Absolute Truth know that the Self
is realized in three different phases, as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan."
(Bhag. 1.2.11) Bhagavan is the last word in the realization of the
Absolute Truth; therefore one should reach up to that platform of understanding
the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus engage in the devotional service
of the Lord. That is perfection of knowledge.
Beginning
from practicing humility up to the point of realization of the Supreme
Truth, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, this process is just like a
staircase beginning from the ground floor up to the top floor. Now on this
staircase there are so many people who have reached the first floor, the
second or third floor, etc., but unless one reaches the top floor, which
is the understanding of Krsna, he is at a lower stage of knowledge. If
anyone wants to compete with God and at the same time make advancement
in spiritual knowledge, he will be frustrated. It is clearly stated that
without humility understanding is harmful. To think oneself God is most
puffed up. Although the living entity is always being kicked by the stringent
laws of material nature, still he thinks, "I am God" because of ignorance.
One should be humble and know that he is subordinate to the Supreme Lord.
Due to rebellion against the Supreme Lord, one becomes subordinate to material
nature. One must know and be convinced of this truth.
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