Participants:
Prabhupāda
...by performance of yoga practice and a different divisions and by performance of devotional service certainly, and by exhibiting the process of devotional service containing the symptoms of attachment and detachment both wise.
PURPORT
The word mentioned here, bhakti-yogena caiva hi [b-h-a-k-t-i y-o-g-e-n-a c-h-a-i-v-a h-i], bhakti-yogena caiva hi means whatever is to be performed, either yoga, or sacrifice, or fruitive activities, or studying Vedic literature, or philosophical researches, or accepting the renounced order of life, anything, whatever are prescribed in the previous verse, they are to be executed in bhakti-yogena. The words caiva hi, according to Sanskrit grammar, means that must..., one must perform all these activities mixed with devotional service, otherwise such activities will not produce any fruit. Any prescribed activity which has to be done must be for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Either duties prescribed in the Vedas or scriptures or duties ordinarily done in the material world, everything should be executed for the matter of developing devotional service. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā [Bg 18.46]: sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya, one has to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his occupational duty. So either prescribed duties for our living condition or prescribed duties for next life, elevation of one's position, one has to add the process of devotional service. Similarly, if one is very munificent and he is desirous of making charity, that also should be done for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā [9.27] that yat karoṣi yaj juhoṣi: "Whatever you do and whatever you sacrifice, whatever you undergo austerities and whatever you make charities, everything should be..., the result should be given to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or everything should be acted on account of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." The word e-v-a is added in the sense that one must execute in such a way. Because without adding devotional service in all such activities, there is no such achievement of the desired result. And bhakti-yoga being prominent in every activities, the ultimate goal is also settled that one has to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā [7.19] that "After many, many births, one approaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and surrenders unto Him," that He is everything. And this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā [5.29], the Lord says: bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām, "If anyone is undergoing a rigid type of austerity or if anyone is performing different kinds of sacrifices, the beneficiary is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Because He is the proprietor of all the lokas or planets, and He is the friend of everyone.
The word dharmeṇobhaya-cihnena is very significant [d-h-a-r-m-e-n-a-u-b-h-a-y-a c-h-i-h-n-h-e-n-a], dharmeṇobhaya-cihnena. The bhakti-yoga process contains two symptoms, namely attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead and detachment for all material affinities. These are two symptoms of advancing in the process of devotional service, just like there are two processes in the matter of eating that while a hungry man eats he feels strength and satisfaction, and gradually he becomes detached for eating more. As he goes on eating, he feels strength and satisfaction. That is one side, and another is that with the progress of his eating he feels detachment for eating more. Similarly, those who are executing devotional service, they must be detached from all material activities because with the execution of devotional service real knowledge develops; and as soon as real knowledge develops, one becomes detached from material activities. So in no other activity except devotional service there is such detachment from matter and attachment for the Supreme. So far attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is concerned, there are different nine processes to increase this attachment, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving, making friendship and offering everything, these are the processes of increasing attachment. So far the process of increasing detachment for material affinities, they are explained in the following verse.
TEXT 36
By understanding the science of self-realization, by developing detachment with strong sense, one who is expert in understanding different process of self-realization realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is represented in the material world and in transcendence.
PURPORT
One can achieve the elevation to the higher planetary system like the heavenly kingdom, etc., by executing the prescribed duties and of performing sacrifices. And when he is transcendental to such position by accepting renounced order of life, then he can understand the Brahman feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And when one is able to see his real constitutional position, he becomes seer of all other processes and thus he sees his position in reality or his post in the stage of pure devotional service. And at that time, he can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān.
The path of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is ātma-tattva-avabodhena. Ātma-tattva-avabodhena means understanding one's real constitutional position. And if he actually understands his constitutional position as eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord, then he becomes detached to the service of this material world. Everyone is engaged in some sort of service. So without knowing one's constitutional position, everyone is engaged in the service of personal gross body, or the family, or the society, or the country. But as soon as one is able to see, sva-dṛk (s-w-d-r-i-k), sva-dṛk means one who is able to see his constitutional position, he becomes detached to such material services and engages himself in the devotional service.
So, so long one is in the modes of material nature and performance of the prescribed duties in the scriptures, he can be elevated in the higher planetary systems where the predominating deities are also material representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like the sun-god, the moon-god, the air-god, Brahmā and Lord Śiva, there are different demigods, and they are supposed to be material representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So by material activities one can approach such demigods only, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā [9.25]: yānti deva-vratā devān. Those who are attached to the demigods and performs the prescribed duties thereon, they can approach the different demigods, and similarly one can go to the planet of the pitris, forefathers. Similarly, one who is fully understood about the real position of his life, he takes to devotional service and realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 37
Now, my dear mother, I have explained to you the process of devotional service and its identity in four different divisions. As well as I have explained to you about the movement of the eternal time is chasing the living entities, imperceptible by him.
PURPORT
The process of bhakti-yoga, devotional service, is the main river flowing down towards the sea of the Absolute Truth, and all other processes mentioned, they are just like tributaries to the process of devotional service. Therefore, Lord Kapila is summarizing about the importance of the process of devotional service. Such bhakti-yoga, as described before, divided into four divisions—three in the material modes of nature and one in transcendence without any tinge of the modes of material nature. Devotional service mixed with the three modes of material nature is meant for material existence, whereas the transcendental devotional service or pure devotional service without any desire for fruitive result or without any attempt for empiric philosophical research, that is pure devotional service and transcendental.
TEXT 38
There are varieties of material existence of the living entity on account of his work manufactured by him in ignorance or forgetfulness of his real identity. My dear mother, if anyone enters into that forgetfulness, he is unable to understand where his movements will end.
PURPORT
Once entered into the continuation of material existence is the very difficult to get out of it. And therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes Himself, sends His bona fide representative, and leaves behind Him scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so that these..., these living entities hovering in the darkness of nescience may take advantage of these instructions and saintly persons and spiritual master and get out of it. But unless there is mercy of the saintly persons or spiritual master or Kṛṣṇa, it is not possible for the living entity to get out of this darkness of material existence by one's own endeavor.
TEXT 39
TRANSLATION
Lord Kapila continued that this instruction is not meant for the envious person or for the agnostics and not for persons who are unclean in their behavior, nor for the persons who are too much proud of material possession.
TEXT 40
Neither it is to be instructed to persons who are too much greedy and too much attached to family life, nor to the persons who are nondevotees and who are envious to the devotees of the Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT
Persons who are always planning to do harm to others or putting violence to other living entities are not eligible for understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness or can enter into the realm of transcendental loving service of the Lord. Then again, there are so-called disciples who become submissive to the spiritual master most artificially, with an ulterior motive, cannot also understand what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness or devotional service. Persons who on account of being initiated by other sect of religious faith and do not find devotional service as the common platform for approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot also understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have got practical experience that many students come and join us but at the end of being biased in some particular type of faith, they go out from the camp and is lost in the wilderness. Actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a sectarian religious faith; it is a teaching process for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead and our relation with Him. So anyone can join this movement without any prejudice, but unfortunately there are persons who understand it differently. Therefore, it is better not to instruct the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness unto such persons.
Generally, materialistic persons are after some name, fame and material gain. So if somebody takes Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the matter of name, fame and material gain, he will never be able to understand the philosophy. Such persons take to religious principle as a social decoration. They admit into some cultural institution for the sake of name only, especially in this age. Such persons also cannot understand the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even one is not too greedy for material possession but if one is too much attached to family life, they also cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such persons may superficially may not very greedy for material possessions, but they are too much attached to wife, children and family improvement. When a person is not contaminated by the above-mentioned different kinds of faults but at the ultimate end if he is not interested in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or a non-devotee, he also cannot understand the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
TEXT 42
This instruction should be imparted by the spiritual master to person who have taken Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the dearmost than anything else and is not envious to anyone, perfectly cleansed and has developed a detachment for anything which is outside the purview of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
PURPORT
As in the previous verse persons non grata are explained, similarly in this verse just the opposite numbers, namely who are actually favorable to receive Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are mentioned. The first qualification is one must be very much faithful to the instruction of the scriptures and of the spiritual master who is quite conversant with the purport of the scriptures without any malinterpretation.
Note: Before the text number 42, text number 41 is left. Therefore, the translation is given as follows:
Kṛṣṇa conscious instruction should be given to the faithful devotee and respectful to the spiritual master, nonenvious and friendly to all kinds of living entities and eager to render service with faith and sincerity.
Purport continued:
Bhaktāya. Bhaktāya means in the beginning, of course nobody can be elevated to the highest stage of devotional service, but here bhaktāya means one who is not hesitating to accept the reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta. Just like in order to become a devotee of the Lord, one has to accept the spiritual master and to inquire from him about the progress of devotional service, and serve the devotee, to chant the holy name under certain counting method, to worship the Deity and to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā from the realized persons. There are similarly about sixty-four items for making progress in devotional service. So at least out of those sixty-four items, five items—namely, chanting the holy name of the Lord, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and offering worship to the Deity, and to become responsible to the devotees, and to live in a place where devotional service is not disturbed—these five things at least must be accepted. And one who has accepted, he is called a devotee.
Such devotee must be prepared to offer the necessary respect and honor to the spiritual master. He should not become unnecessarily envious to his godbrothers. Rather, if some godbrother is more enlightened and advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one should accept such godbrother as almost equal to the spiritual master or should be happy to see...
[break]
...in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For the general public, a devotee should always be very kind in the matter of instructing Kṛṣṇa consciousness because that is the only solution for getting out of the clutches of māyā. That is really humanitarian work, or to show mercy to other people who need them very badly. The word śuśrūṣābhiratāya (s-u-s-r-u-s-a-b-h-i-r-a-t-a-y-a), śuśrūṣābhiratāya, that means a person who is faithfully engaged in serving the spiritual master, to give him personal service and all kinds of comforts to the spiritual master, he is also a bona fide candidate for taking this instruction. [SB 3.32.41]