Introduction a Introduction
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TEXT 37 WvMaeTaaNMaYaaidíaNaNauiTaďiNTaMaePaQa> ) +aeMa&ivNdiNTaMaTSQaaNa&YaŘ]řParMa&ivdu> ))37))
The Lord is herein concluding His discussion of the path of auspiciousness. Those who travel on this path that is instructed by the Lord actually achieve ultimate benefit. The devotees of the Lord reach the abode of the Lord, Vaikuëöha, whereas the jďänés become merged in Brahman.
Unrestricted sense gratification, performance of fruitive activities, and engagement in mental speculation cannot be the ultimate religion for the living entities. Because these practices are born from aversion to the Lord’s service, they are temporary and incomplete. The devotees who follow the instructions of the Supreme Lord become liberated from the clutches of all inauspiciousness by accepting the path of devotional service. Such devotees obtain the ultimate benefit of transferring themselves to the abode of the Supreme Lord, Vaikuëöha. Thus end the translation of the fourteenth chapter of the Uddhava-géta entitled “Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment” with the commentaries of Çréla Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura and chapter summary and purports by Çréla Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura. CHAPTER 15 EXPLANATION OF THE VEDIC PATH CHAPTER SUMMARY Some people are unfit for practicing any of the three forms of yoga—karma, jďäna, and bhakti. Such persons are inimical to Lord Kĺńëa, attached to sense gratification, and are only interested in performing fruitive activities so that they can fulfill their material desires. This chapter describes their faults in terms of place, time, substance, and beneficiary of actions. Those who are perfect in knowledge and devotion to the Lord have no material good qualities or faults. However, for one who is acting on the platform of karma in the hopes of transcending material existence, the execution of his prescribed duties is good, and the failure to do so is evil. Those activities that counteract sinful reactions are also considered to be good. When one is endeavoring to remain fixed in the mode of goodness, the cultivation of knowledge is always helpful. When one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the nine practices, beginning with hearing and chanting, are most beneficial. Everything that is detrimental to one’s advancement in spiritual life should be avoided. However, for those who are simply interested in engaging in fruitive work with the aim of gratifying the senses, there are innumerable considerations of what is good and what is pious and what is sinful, what is purifying and what is contaminating. All of these must be carefully considered in terms of time, place, circumstances, and the performer of the work
Factually, virtue and fault are not absolute, but are relative to one’s particular platform of advancement. Remaining fixed in the discrimination that is suitable to one’s level of advancement is good, and anything contrary to that is bad. This is the basic understanding of virtue and fault. Even among objects belonging to the same category, there are different considerations of their purity or impurity in relation to performance of religious duties, worldly transactions, and the maintenance of one’s life. These distinctions are described in various scriptures. In the varëäçrama society, there are very clear injunctions designating what is pure and what is contaminating. With regards to place, it is said that the presence of black deer is auspicious. Actions must be performed after considering the time as well. Purity and impurity with regards to substances is exemplified by bathing, giving in charity, and performing austerities. The mind can always be purified by remembering the Supreme Lord. There are also distinctions of purity and impurity regarding the performers of activities. When a mantra is received from the lips of a bona fide spiritual master, it is considered pure, and all work, as well as all objects, are considered purified by being offered to the Supreme Lord. For the execution of religious principles, these six factors must be considered in terms of purity and impurity. Ultimately, there is no fixed standard by which to make distinctions of virtue and fault, because they transform according to the place, time, beneficiary, and so on. In regard to the execution of prescribed duties for sense gratification, the actual intent of all the scriptures is the subduing of materialistic propensities. This is the actual principle of religion because only this destroys sorrow, confusion, and fear, and bestows all good fortune. Work performed for sense gratification is not actually beneficial. The descriptions of such fruitive benefits described in the sections of the Vedic literature known as phala-çruti are actually meant to help one gradually cultivate a taste for the highest benefit. Unfortunately, those possessing inferior intelligence take the flowery benedictory verses of the scriptures to be the actual purport of the Vedas. However, this opinion is never upheld by those who factually know the truth of the Vedas. Those whose minds are agitated by the flowery words of the Vedas have no attraction for hearing discussions of Lord Hari. It should be understood that there is no inner purport to the Vedas apart from the original Personality of Godhead. The Vedas focus exclusively upon the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. Because this material world is simply the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord, the Vedic literature always recommends that one become aloof from material association by becoming attached to the Absolute Truth.
Explanation of the Vedic Path TEXT 1 é[q>aGavaNauvac Ya WTaaNMaTPaQaaeihTva>ai˘-jaNai§-YaaTMak-aNa( ) +aud]aNk-aMaa&ęlE/>Pa[a çré-bhagavän uväca Ya etän mat-patho hitvä bhakti-jďäna-kriyätmakän kńudrän kämäŕç calaiů präëair juńantaů saŕsaranti te 467 The Supreme Lord said: Those who will not follow the paths of devotional service, speculative knowledge, and fruitive activities, as prescribed by Me, and simply work to fulfill their insignificant material desires, will certainly continue in the cycle of repeated birth and death. COMMENTARY Here, Lord Kĺńëa condemns those who simply work hard for achieving sense gratification without any care for spiritual advancement. Devotional service places one directly under the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the cultivation of speculative knowledge leads one to the impersonal Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth. By executing one’s duties without attachment to the results, one also becomes detached from fruitive desires. In contrast, those who work hard in the hopes of ruling a kingdom or enjoying celestial delights will certainly continue on the path of material existence.
Those who renounce the paths of performing fruitive activities without attachment, cultivating transcendental knowledge, and devotional service, are certainly uncontrolled and thus take pleasure in gratifying their insignificant desires for sense gratification. Unalloyed devotional service is certainly superior to devotional service mixed with
service, there is only desire for sense gratification, or the desire for renouncing sense gratification. Those whose aim is either material enjoyment or impersonal liberation cannot gain ultimate freedom from the cycle of repeated birth and death. TEXT 2 SveSve_iDak-areYaaiNaďaSaGauPairk-IiTaRTa> ) ivPaYaRYaSTaudaez>SYaadu>aYaaereziNaęYa> ))2))
468 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ sve sve ‘dhikäre yä nińöhä sa guëaů parikértitaů viparyayas tu dońaů syäd ubhayor eńa niçcayaů To remain fixed in one’s position is known as piety, or qualities, and to deviate from one’s position is known as impiety, or fault. This is how piety and impiety should be ascertained. COMMENTARY Çré Uddhava said, “My dear Lord, I had asked You how one can determine good qualities and faults. You had replied by saying that to find fault with Your devotee was itself a fault. But, what if a devotee appears to be faithfully engaged in Your service but somehow or other comes under the influence of karmés or jďänés, and thus deviates from his engagement in pure bhakti? Is it a mistake to find fault in such a devotee? What about a person who is a neophyte in spiritual life but after coming in contact with a pure devotee, decides to imitate such an exalted soul? If one prematurely gives up his occupational duties, thinking that he is situated on the liberated platform, although he is still in the bodily conception of life—isn’t that also to be considered as faulty?” In reply to this inquiry of Uddhava, the Lord said, “The characteristics of faults and piety can be understood in this way. To remain fixed in one’s natural position is always to be considered a good quality. Occasionally, a neophyte devotee may become polluted by the association of those engaged in fruitive activities and mental speculation, so that he becomes affected by mundane tendencies. Similarly, an ordinary person who observes the exalted status of a pure devotee sometimes externally imitates his activities, considering himself to be on the same exalted platform of pure devotional service. These imperfect practitioners of bhakti-yoga are not exempt from criticism because their fruitive activities, mental speculation and false prestige are material intrusions in the pure loving service of the Lord. A pure devotee engaged exclusively in the Lord’s service should not be criticized, but a devotee whose devotional service is mixed with material qualities may be corrected so that he can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.”
One’s faithfulness to his particular status is to be considered one’s good quality. If, due to restlessness, one tries to imitate the position of another, that is to be understood as a fault. Different processes of self-realization exist because of people are at various stages of development. When one who is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord exhibits a spirit of enjoyment or a propensity for dry renunciation, his position is faulty. When one accepts a position that is favorable for his advancement in life that is to be
Explanation of the Vedic Path 469 considered a good quality, whereas when one accepts a position that is unfavorable for his advancement, that is a fault.
XauÖyXauÖqivDaqYaeTaeSaMaaNaeZviPavSTauzu ) d]VYaSYaivicik-TSaaQa|Gau DaMaaRQa|VYavharaQa|Yaa}aaQaRiMaiTacaNaga ))3)) çuddhy-açuddhé vidhéyete samäneńv api vastuńu dravyasya vicikitsärthaŕ guëa-dońau çubhäçubhau dharmärthaŕ vyavahärärthaŕ yäträrtham iti cänagha O sinless Uddhava, to understand what is proper in life, one must evaluate everything, such as religious principles and considerations of economic development, in terms of its purity and impurity. Even in ordinary dealings, one must be able to distinguish between good and bad. As a matter of survival, one must be able to distinguish between that which is auspicious and that which is inauspicious. COMMENTARY Here, the Lord is further describing the necessity for considering qualities and faults. Uddhava has presented his doubt, and the Lord will remove it. Every doubt can be removed by good instruction, just as mosquitoes can be removed by smoke. Every material object has its good qualities or faults. For example, bästaka spinach is considered pure, whereas kalamé spinach is considered impure. In this way, the faults and good qualities, or the piety and impiety, must be considered in all aspects of practical life. The same principle also applies to religion, as well as all kinds of ordinary dealings. Even though one who is well situated in terms of good behavior comes from a lower-class family, he should be considered a superior person, due to his possessing good qualities. There are also auspicious and inauspicious times to be considered while beginning a journey. Although accepting charity from an inappropriate person is a fault, in an emergency, or to save one’s life, one may accept whatever is required.
Whether in ordinary dealing, religious practices, or basic survival, one cannot avoid making a distinction between good and bad. Religious principles must be followed for the upkeep of society and for this purpose, there must be a correct ascertainment of what is piety and what is sin, what is pure and what is impure. It is practically seen that
470 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ everyone makes such distinctions with regards to food, residence, associates, and so on. Just to insure one’s survival, one must distinguish between that which is healthy and that which is injurous, and that which will be profitable and that which will result in disaster. Thus it is to be concluded that even a wise man must distinguish between that which is favorable and that which is unfavorable in this material world, while at the same time understanding the transcendental position above the dualities of material existence. TEXT 4 diXaRTaae_Ya&MaYaacaraeDaMaRMauÜhTaa&DaurMa( ))4)) darçito ‘yaŕ mayäcäro dharmam udvahatäŕ dhuram I have revealed these methods for making distinctions for those who bear the burden of maintaining mundane religious principles. PURPORT Materialistic persons, who are attached to enjoying the results of their activities, must constantly consider the purity and impurity, vice and virtue, and good qualities and faults of all their actions. Transcendentalists are not confined to such material conceptions, however. In this regard, one should discuss these two verses from the
‘dvaite’ bhadräbhadra-jďäna, saba-‘manodharma’ ‘ei bhäla, ei manda’,——saba ‘bhrama’
>aUMYaMBvGanyiNal/ak-aXaa>aUTaaNaa&PaÄDaaTav> ) Aab]řSQaavradqNaa&Xaarqra AaTMaSa&YauTaa> ))5))
Explanation of the Vedic Path bhümy-ambv-agny-aniläkäçä bhütänäŕ paďca-dhätavaů ä-brahma-sthävarädénäŕ çärérä ätma-saŕyutäů 471 Earth, water, fire, air and ether are the five gross elements emanating from the Supreme Lord that make up the bodies of all conditioned souls from Lord Brahmä down to the most insignificant blade of grass. COMMENTARY The varieties of good qualities and faults are understood from the authority of the Vedic literature. The Vedic literature makes such distinctions to help the conditioned souls on their gradual march towards progress in spiritual life. Earth, water, fire, air, and sky are the five material elements. These are the primary ingredients of the gross material bodies of all living entities, up to the standard of Brahmä. TEXT 6 vedeNaNaaMaćPaai DaaTauzUÖvk-LPYaNTa WTaeza&SvaQaRiSaÖYae ))6))
Although the bodies of all conditioned souls are made of the same five gross material elements, they are designated by various names and forms. The Vedic literature takes
into account such varieties and classifies human society in terms of varëa and äçrama. Thus, someone is a brähmaëa, someone else is a brahmacäré, another person is a betel
nut merchant, and still another is an oil merchant. One may question, “What is the need for such diversity?” The answer is that the Vedic system is designed by the Lord so
that conditioned souls may pursue their individual achievements and at the same time advance toward the ultimate goal of life, Kĺńëa consciousness.
472 UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ TEXT 7 deXak-al/aid>aavaNaa&vSTaUNaa&MaMaSataMa ) Gau O foremost of devotees, in order to regulate the activities of the living entities, I have imparted the understanding of that which is good and that which is bad in relation to time, place, and objects. COMMENTARY In the previous verse, the Lord explained why the Vedic literature assigns different positions to the various bodies of the living entities. In this verse, the Lord explains the Vedic evaluation regarding the entities that interact with the various classes of material bodies. The purpose of the Vedic literature is to restrict the sinful propensities of human beings by establishing proper behavior for all classes of men and defining what is improper with regards to time, place, and the objects of this world.
A conditioned soul falsely identifies with the gross body and thus considers anything that gives immediate satisfaction to the body to be good and anything inconvenient or disturbing for the body to be bad. By higher intelligence, however, one can recognize one’s long-term self-interest and dangers. By designating and restricting the exploitation of the material world, Vedic knowledge gradually brings a conditioned soul to the platform of material goodness. At that stage, one becomes eligible to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TEXT 8 Ak*-Z k*-Z Explanation of the Vedic Path 473 neglected, where meat-eaters predominate, and where the earth is barren, such as Kékaöa, are to be considered as contaminated. COMMENTARY In these eight verses, Çré Kĺńëa describes the purity and impurity of objects, places, and times. Among countries, those where there is no spotted deer are considered to be impure. Besides this, any country where the inhabitants do not show respect to the brähmaëas is considered most impure. The word kĺńëasära means “spotted deer.” Countries where the people are uncivilized, or asauvira, which are inhabited by mlechhas, and where food grains do not grow because the land is barren are considered impure. Kékaöa refers to the province of Gayä. PURPORT While living at the gurukula, brahmacärés dress in the hide of spotted deer. It is required to wear this during the period of learning about sacrifice. The skin of the black or spotted antelope is also used as a garment by those receiving instruction in the execution of Vedic sacrifice. Therefore, since sacrifice cannot be properly performed in areas bereft of such creatures, these places are considered impure. Even if people are advanced in terms of pious activities and the performance of sacrifice, their country is considered to be impure if they are averse to the devotional service to the Supreme Lord. When there was no respect for devotional service to Lord Hari in countries such as Aěga (Bihar) and Baěga (Bengal), they were counted as impure. However, after the appearance of great Vaińëavas, such as Çré Jayadeva Gosvämé, they have been glorified by the scriptures for their purity, even though they were also considered impure because of not having spotted deer. Yüklə 8,84 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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