Introduction a Introduction
Although God is one, sages have described Him in different manners. For this reason
Yüklə 8,84 Mb.
|
117 Although God is one, sages have described Him in different manners. For this reason, one may not be able to gain a complete understanding of God from one ordinary spiritual master. COMMENTARY The question may arise that since the Supreme Lord has said, tasmäd guruŕ prapadyeta jijďäsuů çreya uttamam: “One should take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master who knows the science of the Absolute Truth and inquire from him about one’s ultimate welfare,” then how can one have more than one guru? Çvetaketu and Bĺghu are examples of those who had more than one guru. In this regard, the brähmaëa replied, “It is true that I have only one initiating guru, but in the field of practical activity, I have found these twenty five objects as providing very good and bad examples to take lessons from, and so I have accepted them as my
one will be strengthened in devotional service, and in seeing negative examples one will be forewarned and avoid danger.” “ I have learned to become detached from eight spiritual masters—the pigeon, fish, deer, young girl, elephant, snake, moth, and kurara bird. I have learned both renunciation of the temporary and acceptance of the eternal from three spiritual masters—the honeybee, the honey thief, and Piěgalä. I have learned how to cultivate interest in the Supreme Lord from the other spiritual masters, beginning with the earth. Acceptance of many instructing spiritual masters often helps to strengthen one’s convictions.”
The most correct meaning of the word Brahman is Lord Vińëu. There is no worthy song or subject for hearing other than that which glorifies Lord Väsudeva. There is nothing actually worth learning in this world other than knowledge leading to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Cultivating knowledge in a way that is not related to the Lord can do nothing more than enhance our material enjoyment. 118 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ TEXT 32 é[q>aGavaNauvac wTYau¤-aSaYadu&ivPa[STaMaaMaN}YaGa>aqrDaq > ) viNdTa>SvicRTaaerajaYaYaaEPa[qTaaeYaQaaGaTaMa( ))32)) çré-bhagavän uväca ity uktvä sa yaduŕ vipras tam ämantrya gabhéra-dhéů vanditaů sv-arcito räjďä yayau préto yathägatam The Supreme Lord said: Having thus spoken to King Yadu, the wise brähmaëa accepted obeisances and worship from the king. Feeling satisfied within himself, he left exactly as he had come, after bidding the king farewell. TEXT 33 AvDaUTavc>é[uTvaPaUveRza&Na>SaPaUvRJa> ) SavRSa®iviNaMauR˘->SaMaictaaeb>aUvh ))33))
The Supreme Lord Kĺńëa said to Uddhava: “After the brähmaëa, Dattätreya, had instructed King Yadu, he departed out of his own sweet will, just as he had come.”
“Detachment from all that is material,” with the commentaries of Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura and purports of Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura. CHAPTER 4 THE NATURE OF FRUITIVE ACTIVITY CHAPTER SUMMARY In this chapter, Lord Çré Kĺńëa refutes the doctrines of philosophers like Jaiminé and describes to Uddhava how the conditioned souls can develop pure transcendental knowledge. One who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord should follow the Vaińëava dharma that is described in the Paďcarätra and other revealed scriptures. According to his natural qualities and work, one should follow the rules of varëäçrama without duplicity. So-called knowledge that is received through one’s material senses, mind, and intelligence is as useless as the dreams experienced by a person attached to sense gratification. Therefore, one should give up work for sense gratification and accept work as a matter of duty. When one has come to understand something of the truth of the self, he should give up material work performed out of duty and simply dedicate himself completely to the service of the bona fide spiritual master, who is the manifest representative of the Personality of Godhead. A disciple should have firm faith in his spiritual master, he should be anxious to learn from him the science of the soul, and he should be free from envy and the tendency to indulge in nonsense talk. The spirit soul is separate from both the gross and subtle bodies. An embodied soul accepts different kinds of bodies according to his karma. Only a bona-fide spiritual master is able to impart the knowledge of self-realization. By refuting the philosophies of Jaiminé and others, Lord Çré Kĺńëa explains that the embodied soul who has come in contact with segmented material time takes upon himself a perpetual chain of births
and deaths and is therefore forced to suffer the resultant happiness and distress. Thus, there is no possibility that one who is attached to the fruits of his material work can achieve any substantial goal in life. The pleasures of heaven, which are achieved by performing sacrificial rituals, can be experienced for only a short time. After one’s heavenly enjoyment is finished, one must return to this mortal sphere to partake of lamentationandsuffering. On thepathof materialism, thereiscertainly no uninterrupted happiness. TEXT 1 é[q>aGavaNauvac MaYaaeidTaeZvvihTa>SvDaMaeRzuMadaé[Ya> ) v In this chapter, the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, the living entities’ bondage as a result of their contact with matter, and the refutation of philosophers like Jaiminé are
described. Having given Uddhava many valuable lessons by narrating the story of an “O Uddhava, you should follow the varnäçrama dharma, and the devotional practices described by Me in the scriptures like the paďcarätra.”
The Supreme Lord said: One should take shelter of Me and work under My direction while following the system of varnäçrama. If one gives up My shelter and engages in
fruitive activities due to material attachment, he will never attain his ultimate welfare. When one follows varnäçrama dharma and family traditions simply for amassing pious
merit rather than for engagement in My service, one is certainly misdirected and will never attain eternal benefit. Despite executing one’s duties as prescribed by Me in the
The Nature of Fruitive Activity 121 Vedas, and rejecting all prohibited activities, if one does not take shelter of Me, then his endeavor is ultimately useless. On the other hand, if one engages in My devotional service without deviation, there is no necessity for performing the religious duties prescribed in the Vedas. When My unalloyed devotees fail to observe all the rules and regulations prescribed in the Vedas, they should never be considered as misguided.
ANvq+aeTaivXauÖaTMaadeihNaa&ivzYaaTMaNaaMa( ) Gau How is it possible to give up material desires? The reply given here is that one should see the disastrous result obtained by materialistic people who consider the temporary manifestations of this world to be ultimate reality. By such an observation, one will certainly become detached from the aspiration to enjoy such objects that will disappear in due course of time. PURPORT When the conditioned souls come to realize the utter futility of their endeavors to enjoy the temporary manifestations of this world, they certainly become detached.
SauáSYaivzYaal/aek-aeDYaaYaTaaevaMaNaaerQa> ) NaaNaaTMak-TvaiÜf-l/STaQaa>aedaTMaDaqGauR 122 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ are all creations of the Lord’s illusory potency and have no permanent existence. One who meditates upon the temporary objects of the senses therefore uselessly engages his intelligence. COMMENTARY Because the results of material work are temporary, they cannot provide one with lasting benefit and are thus considered useless. Materialistic activities can never bring one to the perfection of life or free one from the pangs of material existence. Material intelligence, when impelled by the senses, strongly desires sense gratification, and thus separates one from one’s real self-interest. Such diverted intelligence will never be able to understand the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, Çré Kĺńëa. The devotees of the Lord, however, fix their intelligence upon Him by meditating upon the His form, qualities, pastimes, and devotees. In this way, their intelligence is never separated from the Absolute Truth. As stated in Bhagavad-gétä (2.41): vyavasäyätmikä buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-çäkhä hy anantäç ca buddhayo ’vyavasäyinäm Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many- branched. PURPORT The sense objects observed in one’s dreams are of no value, just as the objects seen in the waking state are ultimately useless, because they are temporary.
iNav*ta&k-MaRSaeveTaPa[v*ta&MaTParSTYaJaeTa( ) iJajaSaaYaa&SaMPa[v*taaeNaaid]YaeTk-MaRcaedNaaMa( ))4))
The Nature of Fruitive Activity COMMENTARY 123 A materialistic person does whatever is pleasing to his senses. One who acts according to religious principles regulates his material enjoyment in a way that is prescribed in the scriptures. Those who are advancing toward the transcendental platform, however, desist from all activities of sense gratification. In Bhagavad-gétä (6.3-4) it is stated: ärurukńor muner yoga karma käraëam ucyate yogärüňhasya tasyaiva çamaů käraëam ucyate For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means. yadä hi nendriyärtheńu na karmasv anuńajjate sarva-saěkalpa-sannyäsé yogärüňhas tadocyate A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities. PURPORT There is no need for those who are engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord to perform fruitive activities with a desire to enhance their worldly enjoyment. One should remain aloof from the activities of sense gratification and instead engage in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Engagement in devotional service to the Supreme Lord is real freedom from material desires. The paths of sense gratification and renunciation are always full of contradictions whereas the service of the Supreme Lord is the doubtless path of perfection. TEXT 5 YaMaaNa>aq+ Madi>aj&Gauĺ&XaaNTaMauPaaSaqTaMadaTMak-Ma( ))5))
124 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ religious principles, such as those dealing with cleanliness. One should approach a bona fide spiritual master who is intimately related to Me, and who is thus very peaceful, and is non-different from Me. COMMENTARY One should very carefully control his senses and follow the scriptural injunctions for morality, such as non-violence and cleanliness. These rules will be more fully described later on. One who is intelligent should faithfully render service to a self-realized spiritual master, who has full knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
It is the eternal duty of everyone to worship his spiritual master, who is always engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord. The devotees of the Lord are always engaged in devotional service, which is concomitantly inclusive of activities, such as yama and niyama. If one is indifferent to the service of Lord Hari, one’s guru, and the Vaińëavas, one can never achieve eternal benefit. TEXT 6 AMaaNYaMaTSaraed+aaeiNaMaRMaaed*!SaaEôd> ) ASaTvrae_QaRiJajaSaurNaSaUYaurMaaegavak( ))6))
The duties of a disciple are being described. The disciple should not expect any respect for himself. He should not envy anyone, and he should be expert and free from material attachment. He should have firm faith in the spiritual master, as well as his worshipable Lord. He should always be eager to engage in devotional service and thus attain his goal of life. One who wants to advance in spiritual understanding should not find fault in others, and should always avoid idle talk.
The Nature of Fruitive Activity TEXT 7 JaaYaaPaTYaGa*h+ae}aSvJaNad]iv odaSaqNa>SaMa&PaXYaNSaveRZvQaRiMavaTMaNa> ))7))
A sincere disciple is equal to everyone. He should remain detached from his wife, children, household, property, relatives, wealth, and so on. COMMENTARY How can one be without a sense of proprietorship? For example, a wealthy materialist will feel equally attached as the proprietor of all his various assets but if some are taken away by thieves or the government, he gives up attachment for them. An intelligent person should understand that everything he possesses will not remain for long and thus he should cultivate a mood of detachment. The son of Citraketu said in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (6.16.6-7):
As far as the spiritual master and the Lord are concerned, one should simply keep firm faith at their lotus feet.
126 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ PURPORT A devotee of the Lord should not consider himself to be the enjoyer of his wife, children, house, land, friends, and other possessions, knowing them to be intended for the Lord’s service, just like himself. He should not try to demand respect from others with a desire to enjoy fame and reputation. He should become free from envy, laziness, and material attachment. He should be inquisitive, devoid of pride, truthful, and steady in his determination. TEXT 8 ivl/+aSQaUl/SaU+MaaŐehadaTMaei+aTaaSvd*k( ) YaQaaiGandaRĺ One should not maintain the false egoistic conception of “I” and “mine” in relation to the material body. The gross and subtle bodies covering the living entities are made of the material elements but the spirit soul is transcendental to matter. The spirit soul possesses the transcendental qualities of the Lord, but in minute quantity. In this verse, the soul is described as self-enlightened. Because the conditioned soul is enlightened by the mercy of the Lord, one may question how this can be. Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead certainly furnishes the living entity with consciousness, being endowed with the potency of the Lord, has himself the capacity to revive and expand his pure consciousness. In this regard, the soul is compared to gold and silver, which, although having no power of self-illumination, brightly reflect the rays of the sun. Thus, it may be said that gold and silver possess the power to illuminate, although not independently. This verse gives an example to illustrate how the spirit soul is distinct from the body. Just as fire is distinct from the wood it burns, the soul is distinct from the body it illuminates with consciousness. In the conditional state, the spirit soul is compared to fire that is dormant within wood. When the conditioned soul is enlightened, on the strength of his spiritual knowledge, he can burn his ignorance to ashes, just as fire burns wood. The Nature of Fruitive Activity PURPORT Yüklə 8,84 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|