DEEP MEANING OF BHAGAVAD-GITA 18.66: SURRENDER UNTO ME sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi mä çucaù Completely abandoning all bodily and mental dharma, such as varna and äsrama, fully surrender to Me alone. I shall liberate you from all reactions to your sins. Do not grieve. Commentary by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura “Should I perform dhyäna, meditation on You, and also fulfill my äsrama-dharma (religious duties in accordance with a particular stage of life, or äsrama)? Or should I exclusively perform meditation and so forth, and not depend on any other dharma?” In response, Sri Bhagavän (God) speaks this verse beginning with sarva-dharmän. Renouncing all types of varnäsrama-dharma, take exclusive shelter of Me. It is incorrect to translate the word parityajya as sannyäsa (complete renunciation of karma) because as a ksatriya, Arjuna did not have the qualification to take sannyäsa. Someone may say, “Krsna (God) is making Arjuna an instrument to show that he does not have the qualification for sannyäsa. But is He, in fact, indicating that this instruction is for common people who may consider that they have that qualification, and not for Arjuna, who was a kñatriya?” In answer to this, it is said that if this instruction regarding sannyäsa had been applicable to Arjuna, who is the prime object of Krsna’s instructions, it would be applicable to all others, and not otherwise. Furthermore, it is also not appropriate to translate the word parityajya as ‘renouncing the fruits of one’s activities’. Srimad-Bhägavatam (11.5.41) states: devarñi-bhütäpta-nåëäà pitåëäà na kiìkaro näyam åëé ca räjan sarvätmanä yaù çaraëaà çaraëyaà gato mukundaà parihåtya kartam One who gives up the false ego of being the doer and accepts, with his whole being (ätmä), the shelter of He who is the supreme shelter Sri Mukunda, becomes free from any obligations to the demigods, sages, living entities, family members and forefathers. Srimad-Bhägavatam (11.29.34) also states: martyo yadä tyakta-samasta-karmä niveditätmä vicikérñito me tadämåtatvaà pratipadyamäno mayätma-bhüyäya ca kalpate vai When a person renounces all types of karma and completely surrenders himself to Me, by My will he becomes more opulent than a yogi or a jnäni. Within no time, he attains liberation (mukti) and becomes qualified to receive opulences like My own. Another verse from Srimad-Bhägavatam (11.20.9) states: tävat karmäëi kurvéta na nirvidyeta yävatä mat-kathä-çravaëädau vä çraddhä yävan na jäyate Until a person develops detachment from sense objects and attains faith in hearing narrations about Me, he should continue to perform his nitya (obligatory) and naimittika (incidental) duties. Also, in Srimad-Bhägavatam (11.11.32) it says: äjïäyaivaà guëän doñän mayädiñöän api svakän dharmän santyajya yaù sarvän mäà bhajeta sa tu sattamaù Those who render service to Me, having abandoned all types of religious duties, and having understood the inherent positive and negative aspects of the prescribed duties instructed by Me in the Vedas, are counted among the best of sadhus (saintly persons). It is necessary to explain the meaning of this Gitä verse in accordance with the above profound statements of Sri Bhagavän, and to reconcile their meanings. The word pari (parityaja) indicates that the highest objective of these instructions is not to renounce the fruits of one’s duties. “Rather, you should take absolute shelter of Me and not surrender to dharma, jïäna, yoga or any of the demigods. Previously, it was stated that you do not have the qualification to perform exclusive devotion (ananyä-bhakti) to Me. Therefore, in statements such as yat karoñi yad açnäsi (Gitä 9.27), I have explained that your qualification is to perform bhakti along with your prescribed duty (karma-misrä-bhakti). Now, however, I am mercifully bestowing upon you the qualification to execute ekäntika-bhakti, exclusive devotion. I have solemnly declared that this exclusive devotion is attained only by the great fortune of receiving the mercy of My ekäntika-bhaktas. But just as I will break My vow for Grandsire Bhima, I am breaking this vow so as to personally bestow upon you the qualification to perform exclusive devotion. If you give up your regular and occasional duties (nitya-naimittika karma) just to pursue My order, you will not have to face any reaction. I alone, in the form of the Vedas, have given the instruction to perform nitya-karma, and now I am personally ordering you to give it up. If you accept My order, where is the possibility of your incurring sin by abandoning your regular prescribed duty (nitya-karma)? On the contrary, if you choose to ignore My direct order and instead continue to perform nitya-karma, then certainly you will incur sin. Know this for certain.” If a person surrenders to someone, he remains under that person’s ownership and control, just like a purchased animal. Whatever the master commands him to do, he does that only; wherever he keeps him, he stays there only; whatever food he gives him, he eats that only. This is the fundamental principle of dharma, the symptom of which is full surrender, or saranägati. The Väyu Puräna lists the six aspects of saranägati: änukülyasya saìkalpaù prätikülyasya varjanam rakñiñyatéti viçväso goptåtve varaëaà tathä ätmä-nikñepa-kärpaë ye ñaò-vidhä çaraëägatiù The six types of surrender: (1) to accept that which is favourable to krsna-bhakti, (2) to reject that which is unfavourable, (3) to have the strong faith ‘Bhagavän will protect me’, (4) to feel dependent, thinking ‘Bhagavän will take care of me’, (5) to be fully self-surrendered, and (6) to be humble. To remain devotedly engaged for the pleasure of one’s worshipable deity, as established in the bhakti-sästras, is favourable (änukülya), and any acts contrary to this are unfavourable (prätikülya). Varana, choosing Him as one’s maintainer, means to feel, ‘He alone is my protector; I have no one other than Him’. Rakñiñyati refers to the faith seen in those such as Gajendra and Draupadi: “Whenever I am threatened by some unfavourable situation, He will surely protect me.” Nikñepaëa means to devote one’s gross and subtle body, as well as one’s own self, for the sole purpose of serving Sri Krsna. Akärpaëya means to not express one’s humility anywhere else [but to Sri Krsna alone]. When these six activities are performed to attain Bhagavän, it is called saranägati. Arjuna may doubt, “If beginning from today, I surrender to You and You alone, then my sole duty is to remain surrendered, whether I attain auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, as You have described. In this way, Your engaging me in religious activity only is no cause for anxiety. But what will my destination be if You, the supremely independent Lord, engage me in sinful acts?” In response, Sri Bhagavän says, “I will liberate you from all your accumulated sins, past and present, as well as from any sins I may cause you to perform. I am capable of liberating you from sin, unlike any other master. Having made you My instrument, I am giving you this instruction from scripture for the benefit of every human being.” The meaning of mä sucaù is as follows: “Do not worry for yourself or for others. I am bound by My vow to carry the burden of freeing any person like you, who is dedicated to remembering Me, from all his sins and deliver him from the cycle of birth and death. If such a person fixes his mind upon Me, completely giving up his sva-dharma or para-dharma and if he remains happily situated, having surrendered to Me, I am also bound to carry the burden of providing him with the means to achieve Me. What more can I say? I am even ready to accept the burden of maintaining his material life, as I stated when I spoke ananyäç cintayanto mäm (Gitä 9.22). “Do not grieve by thinking, ‘Alas! I have placed such a heavy load on my Lord and master!’ For Me, there is absolutely no labour involved in accepting this burden, for I am always kindly disposed towards My devotee (bhakta-vatsala) and am satya-saìkalpa, one whose vows always hold true. This instruction eliminates the need for any other. I therefore conclude this scripture here.” Commentary by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja: In the previous verse, Sri Krsna gave the most confidential instruction of Bhagavad-gitä concerning pure devotion (suddha-bhakti). Now, in this present verse, He states that to become qualified to receive this suddha-bhakti, it is first necessary to surrender exclusively to Him. Here, the word sarva-dharmän means that the practice of varnäsrama-dharma, prescribed action (karma), knowledge (jnana), mystic perfection (yoga), demigod worship and any bodily or mental action apart from the path of bhajana of Sri Krsna, are all based on the bodily or mental platform and should be abandoned. It is not correct to think that the sole meaning of parityajya is to renounce attachment to prescribed duty and its results. The innermost intention of Bhagavän’s statement is to completely give up prescribed duty altogether. This is the deeper meaning of the prefix pari. Someone may think that sinful reaction may be incurred by one who gives up all other dharma as described above, to exclusively surrender to Sri Krsna. This doubt may exist in the minds of common, faithful persons, so to remove it, Sri Krsna has made this declaration, thus bestowing fearlessness upon them: “sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi mä sucaù – do not grieve; I will certainly free you from all types of sins.” eta saba chäòi ära varëäçrama-dharma akiïcana haéya laya kåñëaika-çaraëa Sri Caitanya-caritämrta (Madhya-lélä 22.93) One should give up the bad association of mäyävädis, who are bereft of bhakti, as well as karmis, yogis, materialists, womanizers and those who associate with such womanizers. One should even give up varnäsrama-dharma and take full shelter of Krsna, and become humble, meek and devoid of attachment to material possessions. One who does not follow this instruction cannot embrace the moods described in the previous verse. As long as one falsely identifies the body as his true self, he will fear that by abandoning dharma he will incur sin. For this reason, Sri Bhagavän has to take a vow that He will free one from any sin incurred by giving up all dharma. Even after making this promise, He again raises His hand to reassure Arjuna and make him fearless. And he tells him, “Do not grieve.” In the conversation between Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu and Sri Rämänanda Räya (Räya Rämänanda Samväda), Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu said that even this stage of devotion (sarva-dharmän parityajya – abandon all other dharma) is external, since a loving relationship with Krsna is absent. It merely gives one the qualification required to understand the mood of the previous verse (18.65). One who does not become firmly fixed in the spirit of this verse will not be able to understand the purport of the previous one. It will be impossible, like trying to catch an imaginary flower in the sky. Pure devotees naturally possess a pure ego – ‘I am a servant of Krsna’ – and therefore, they naturally renounce varnäsrama-dharma of their own accord. No sin or irregularity affects them because they are completely renounced. Such devotees are uttama-adhikäris, the topmost class of Vaisnava. äjïäyaivaà guëän doñän mayä diñöän api svakän dharmän santyajya yaù sarvän mäà bhajeta sa ca sattamaù Srimad-Bhägavatam (11.11.32) Those who render service to Me, having abandoned all types of dharma and having understood the inherent positive and negative aspects of prescribed duties as instructed by Me in the Vedas, are counted among the best of saintly persons. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thäkura quotes Krsna as saying, “I have instructed you in the various types of dharmas, or religious duties, such as varnäsrama-dharma, yati-dharma (the renounced order), vairägya (detachment), control of the mind and senses, meditation, and the acceptance of the domination of Isvara, the Supersoul. I gave these instructions so that you can attain brahma-jïäna and isvarajïäna. Now, completely give up all these religious processes and exclusively surrender to Me, the Supreme Lord. Only if you surrender in this way will I deliver you from all types of sins, whether those sins are caused by material existence or by renouncing these other dharmas. You should not lament that you are not performing these activities. The true constitutional nature of the living entity is easily awakened by the performance of that bhakti which is transcendental to the modes of nature. One is not required to perform religious duties, prescribed duties, atonements and so forth, or jnäna, mysticism, meditation or any other process. In the conditioned state, one should perform bodily, mental and spiritual activities, but he should abandon any adherence to the impersonal feature of Bhagavän and surrender to Him, being attracted by His beauty and sweetness. This means that whatever karma an embodied living entity performs to maintain his life should be executed with these higher types of resolve (nisthä). Those whose nisthä is on a low level perform akarma – avoidance of one’s duty; vikarma – sinful activities; and so forth, which create unwanted obstacles and desires. “The higher nisthä is of three types: brahma-nisthä (devotion to the Lord’s featureless aspect), isvara-nisthä (devotion to the Supersoul) and bhagavad-nisthä (devotion to the Supreme Person). All processes such as varnäsrama and renunciation assume their respective natures by adopting one of these types of nisthä. “Action that is performed with brahma-nisthä manifests karma and jnäna. Action that is performed with isvara-nisthä manifests as offering one’s prescribed action to Isvara and meditating upon Him. And action that is performed with bhagavad-nisthä transforms into exclusive, pure devotion. Therefore, bhakti alone is the most confidential truth‚ and prema is the supreme goal of life. This, only, is the principal teaching of Bhagavad-gitä. It may seem from external observation that the lifestyle of the karmis, jnänis and yogis is just like that of the bhaktas, but their method of worship, their sädhana (spiritual practices) and their ultimate goal are vastly different.”
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 04:05:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015