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TEXT 42 tasmad ajnana-sambhutam
SYNONYMS  tasmat--therefore;
ajnana-sambhutam--outcome of ignorance; hrt-stham--situated
in the heart; jnana--knowledge; asina--by the weapon of;
atmanah--of the self; chittva--cutting off; enam--this;
samsayam--doubt; yogam--in yoga; atistha--be
situated; uttistha--stand up to fight; bharata--O descendant
of Bharata.
TRANSLATION Therefore
the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed
by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with yoga, O Bharata, stand and fight.
PURPORT The yoga
system instructed in this chapter is called sanatana-yoga, or eternal
activities performed by the living entity. This yoga has two divisions
of sacrificial actions: one is called sacrifice of one's material possessions,
and the other is called knowledge of self, which is pure spiritual activity.
If sacrifice of one's material possessions is not dovetailed for spiritual
realization, then such sacrifice becomes material. But one who performs
such sacrifices with a spiritual objective, or in devotional service, makes
a perfect sacrifice. When we come to spiritual activities, we find that
these are also divided into two: namely, understanding of one's own self
(or one's constitutional position), and the truth regarding the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. One who follows the path of the Gita as
it is can very easily understand these two important divisions of spiritual
knowledge. For him there is no difficulty in obtaining perfect knowledge
of the self as part and parcel of the Lord. And such understanding is beneficial
for such a person who easily understands the transcendental activities
of the Lord. In the beginning of this chapter, the transcendental activities
of the Lord were discussed by the Supreme Lord Himself. One who does not
understand the instructions of the Gita is faithless, and is to
be considered to be misusing the fragmental independence awarded to him
by the Lord. In spite of such instructions, one who does not understand
the real nature of the Lord as the eternal, blissful, all-knowing Personality
of Godhead, is certainly fool number one. Ignorance can be removed by gradual
acceptance of the principles of Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness
is awakened by different types of sacrifices to the demigods, sacrifice
to Brahman, sacrifice in celibacy, in household life, in controlling the
senses, in practicing mystic yoga, in penance, in forgoing material
possessions, in studying the Vedas, and in partaking of the social
institution called varnasrama-dharma. All of these are known as
sacrifice, and all of them are based on regulated action. But within all
these activities, the important factor is self-realization. One who seeks
that objective is the real student of Bhagavad-gita, but
one who doubts the authority of Krsna falls back. One is therefore advised
to study Bhagavad-gita, or any other scripture, under a bona fide
spiritual master, with service and surrender. A bona fide spiritual master
is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate
at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord as they were imparted
millions of years ago to the sun-god, from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gita
have come down to the earthly kingdom. One should, therefore, follow the
path of Bhagavad-gita as it is expressed in the Gita itself
and beware of self-interested people after personal aggrandizement who
deviate others from the actual path. The Lord is definitely the supreme
person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this
is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of the Gita.
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