GITA SHLOKA 3.43 KNOWING ONESELF TO BE TRANSCENDENTAL TO MATERIAL SENSES, MIND AND INTELLIGENCE, ONE SHOULD CONTROL THE LOWER SELF BY THE HIGHER SELF AND THUS—BY SPIRITUAL STRENGTH—CONQUER THIS INSATIABLE ENEMY KNOWN AS LUST.16TH JULY

GITA SHLOKA 3.43 KNOWING ONESELF TO BE TRANSCENDENTAL TO MATERIAL SENSES, MIND AND INTELLIGENCE, ONE SHOULD CONTROL THE LOWER SELF BY THE HIGHER SELF AND THUS—BY SPIRITUAL STRENGTH—CONQUER THIS INSATIABLE ENEMY KNOWN AS LUST.

TRANSLATION

THUS KNOWING ONESELF TO BE TRANSCENDENTAL TO MATERIAL SENSES, MIND AND INTELLIGENCE, ONE SHOULD CONTROL THE LOWER SELF BY THE HIGHER SELF AND THUS—BY SPIRITUAL STRENGTH—CONQUER THIS INSATIABLE ENEMY KNOWN AS LUST.

PURPORT

THIS THIRD CHAPTER OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA IS CONCLUSIVELY DIRECTIVE TO KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS BY KNOWING ONESELF AS THE ETERNAL SERVITOR OF THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD, WITHOUT CONSIDERING IMPERSONAL VOIDNESS AS THE ULTIMATE END.

IN THE MATERIAL EXISTENCE OF LIFE, ONE IS CERTAINLY INFLUENCED BY PROPENSITIES FOR LUST AND DESIRE FOR DOMINATING THE RESOURCES OF MATERIAL NATURE.

DESIRE FOR OVERLORDING AND SENSE GRATIFICATION ARE THE GREATEST ENEMIES OF THE CONDITIONED SOUL; BUT BY THE STRENGTH OF KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS, ONE CAN CONTROL THE MATERIAL SENSES, THE MIND AND THE INTELLIGENCE.

ONE MAY NOT GIVE UP WORK AND PRESCRIBED DUTIES ALL OF A SUDDEN; BUT BY GRADUALLY DEVELOPING KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS, ONE CAN BE SITUATED IN A TRANSCENDENTAL POSITION WITHOUT BEING INFLUENCED BY THE MATERIAL SENSES AND THE MIND—BY STEADY INTELLIGENCE DIRECTED TOWARD ONE'S PURE IDENTITY.

THIS IS THE SUM TOTAL OF THIS CHAPTER.

IN THE IMMATURE STAGE OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE, PHILOSOPHICAL SPECULATIONS AND ARTIFICIAL ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL THE SENSES BY THE SO-CALLED PRACTICE OF YOGIC POSTURES CAN NEVER HELP A MAN TOWARD SPIRITUAL LIFE.

HE MUST BE TRAINED IN KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS BY HIGHER INTELLIGENCE.

Bhagvat THE GOAL OF LIFE IS TO BECOME A DEVOTEE OF LORD KRSHNA SO THAT ONE MAY BE FREED FROM THE BONDAGE OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE. THE SPIRITUAL MASTER HELPS THE DISCIPLE ATTAIN THIS STAGE BY DEVELOPING KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS,15th July

Bhagvat THE GOAL OF LIFE IS TO BECOME A DEVOTEE OF LORD KRSHNA SO THAT ONE MAY BE FREED FROM THE BONDAGE OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE. THE SPIRITUAL MASTER HELPS THE DISCIPLE ATTAIN THIS STAGE BY DEVELOPING KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

TRANSLATION

Shri Shukadeva Gosvami said: O King Parikshit, when Bali Maharaja was thus advised by his spiritual master, Shukracarya, his family priest, he remained silent for some time, and then, after full deliberation, he replied to his spiritual master as follows.

PURPORT

Shrila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura remarks that Bali Maharaja remained silent at a critical point. How could he disobey the instruction of Shukracharya, his spiritual master? It is the duty of such a sober personality as Bali Maharaja to abide by the orders of his spiritual master immediately, as his spiritual master had advised. BUT BALI MAHARAJA ALSO CONSIDERED THAT SHUKRACHARYA WAS NO LONGER TO BE ACCEPTED AS A SPIRITUAL MASTER, FOR HE HAD DEVIATED FROM THE DUTY OF A SPIRITUAL MASTER. 

ACCORDING TO SHASTRA, THE DUTY OF THE GURU IS TO TAKE THE DISCIPLE BACK HOME, BACK TO GODHEAD. IF HE IS UNABLE TO DO SO AND INSTEAD HINDERS THE DISCIPLE IN GOING BACK TO GODHEAD, HE SHOULD NOT BE A GURU. Gurur na sa syat (Bhag. 5.5.18). ONE SHOULD NOT BECOME A GURU IF HE CANNOT ENABLE HIS DISCIPLE TO ADVANCE IN KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS. 

THE GOAL OF LIFE IS TO BECOME A DEVOTEE OF LORD KRSHNA SO THAT ONE MAY BE FREED FROM THE BONDAGE OF MATERIAL EXISTENCE (tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna). THE SPIRITUAL MASTER HELPS THE DISCIPLE ATTAIN THIS STAGE BY DEVELOPING KRSHNA CONSCIOUSNESS. Now Shukracarya has advised Bali Maharaja to deny the promise to Vamanadeva. 

UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, THEREFORE, BALI MAHARAJA THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE NO FAULT IF HE DISOBEYED THE ORDER OF HIS SPIRITUAL MASTER. HE DELIBERATED ON THIS POINT—SHOULD HE ACCEPT THE ADVICE OF HIS SPIRITUAL MASTER, AND SHOULD HE INDEPENDENTLY DO EVERYTHING TO PLEASE THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD? HE TOOK SOME TIME. Therefore it is said, tüshnim bhütva kshanam rajann uvacavahito gurum. AFTER DELIBERATING ON THIS POINT, HE DECIDED THAT LORD VISHNU SHOULD BE PLEASED IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, EVEN AT THE RISK OF IGNORING THE GURU'S ADVICE TO THE CONTRARY.

ANYONE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GURU BUT WHO GOES AGAINST THE PRINCIPLE OF VISHNU-BHAKTI CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AS GURU. IF ONE HAS FALSELY ACCEPTED SUCH A GURU, ONE SHOULD REJECT HIM. Such a guru is described as follows (Mahabharata, Udyoga 179.25):

SHRILA JIVA GOSVAMI HAS ADVISED THAT SUCH A USELESS GURU, A FAMILY PRIEST ACTING AS GURU, SHOULD BE GIVEN UP, AND THAT THE PROPER, BONA-FIDE GURU SHOULD BE ACCEPTED.

"A SCHOLARLY BRAHMANA EXPERT IN ALL SUBJECTS OF VEDIC KNOWLEDGE IS UNFIT TO BECOME A SPIRITUAL MASTER WITHOUT BEING A VAISHNAVA, BUT IF A PERSON BORN IN A FAMILY OF A LOWER CASTE IS A VAISHNAVA, HE CAN BECOME A SPIRITUAL MASTER." (Padma Purana)

GITA SHLOKA 3.41 ONE SHOULD CURB THIS GREAT SYMBOL OF SIN [LUST] BY REGULATING THE SENSES, AND SLAY THIS DESTROYER OF KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-REALIZATION 14TH JULY

GITA SHLOKA 3.41 ONE SHOULD CURB THIS GREAT SYMBOL OF SIN [LUST] BY REGULATING THE SENSES, AND SLAY THIS DESTROYER OF KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-REALIZATION 

TRANSLATION

Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust] by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.

PURPORT

The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the greatest sinful enemy, lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization, and specifically, knowledge of the self.

Jnanam (ज्ञान) refers to knowledge of self as distinguished from non-self, or, in other words, knowledge that the spirit soul is not the body.

Vijnanam (अध्यात्म) refers to specific knowledge of the spirit soul and knowledge of one's constitutional position and his relationship to the Supreme Soul.

It is explained thus in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: jnanam parama-guhyam me yad-vijnana-samanvitam / sarahasyam tad-angam ca grhana gaditam maya: 

"THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF AND THE SUPREME SELF IS VERY CONFIDENTIAL AND MYSTERIOUS, BEING VEILED BY MAYA, BUT SUCH KNOWLEDGE AND SPECIFIC REALIZATION CAN BE UNDERSTOOD IF IT IS EXPLAINED BY THE LORD HIMSELF." BHAGAVAD-GITA GIVES US THAT KNOWLEDGE, SPECIFICALLY KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF.

THE LIVING ENTITIES ARE PARTS AND PARCELS OF THE LORD, AND THEREFORE THEY ARE SIMPLY MEANT TO SERVE THE LORD.

THIS CONSCIOUSNESS IS CALLED KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS.

SO, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF LIFE ONE HAS TO LEARN THIS KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THEREBY ONE MAY BECOME FULLY KRSNA CONSCIOUS AND ACT ACCORDINGLY.

LUST IS ONLY THE PERVERTED REFLECTION OF THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS NATURAL FOR EVERY LIVING ENTITY.

BUT IF ONE IS EDUCATED IN KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, THAT NATURAL LOVE OF GOD CANNOT DETERIORATE INTO LUST.

WHEN LOVE OF GOD DETERIORATES INTO LUST, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO RETURN TO THE NORMAL CONDITION.

NONETHELESS, KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS IS SO POWERFUL THAT EVEN A LATE BEGINNER CAN BECOME A LOVER OF GOD BY FOLLOWING THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE.

SO, FROM ANY STAGE OF LIFE, OR FROM THE TIME OF UNDERSTANDING ITS URGENCY, ONE CAN BEGIN REGULATING THE SENSES IN KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS, DEVOTIONAL SERVICE OF THE LORD, AND TURN THE LUST INTO LOVE OF GODHEAD—THE HIGHEST PERFECTIONAL STAGE OF HUMAN LIFE.

GITA SHLOKA 3.40  A HUMAN BEING WHO IDENTIFIES THIS BODY MADE OF THREE ELEMENTS WITH HIS SELF, WHO CONSIDERS THE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE BODY TO BE HIS KINSMEN, WHO CONSIDERS THE LAND OF BIRTH AS WORSHIPABLE, AND WHO GOES TO THE PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE SIMPLY TO TAKE A BATH RATHER THAN MEET MEN OF TRANSCENDENTAL KNOWLEDGE THERE, IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN ASS OR A COW. 13TH JULY

TRANSLATION

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust, which veils the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

PURPORT

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krsna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found.

 Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus the mind is the reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust.

 Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities.

 Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul.

 Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses.

 The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness.

 This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke

sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma idyadhih

yat-tirtha-buddhih salite na karhicij

janesv abhijnesu sa eva gokharah.

"A HUMAN BEING WHO IDENTIFIES THIS BODY MADE OF THREE ELEMENTS WITH HIS SELF, WHO CONSIDERS THE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE BODY TO BE HIS KINSMEN, WHO CONSIDERS THE LAND OF BIRTH AS WORSHIPABLE, AND WHO GOES TO THE PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE SIMPLY TO TAKE A BATH RATHER THAN MEET MEN OF TRANSCENDENTAL KNOWLEDGE THERE, IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN ASS OR A COW."

Bhagvat: ALTHOUGH THE BODY IS TEMPORARY, NOT ETERNAL, ONE CAN TAKE FROM IT THE BEST SERVICE AND MAKE ONE'S LIFE PERFECT,12th JUly

Bhagvat: ALTHOUGH THE BODY IS TEMPORARY, NOT ETERNAL, ONE CAN TAKE FROM IT THE BEST SERVICE AND MAKE ONE'S LIFE PERFECT

TRANSLATION

THEREFORE ONE WHO IS IN FULL KNOWLEDGE SHOULD DIVIDE HIS ACCUMULATED WEALTH IN FIVE PARTS—FOR RELIGION, FOR REPUTATION, FOR OPULENCE, FOR SENSE GRATIFICATION AND FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF HIS FAMILY MEMBERS. SUCH A PERSON IS HAPPY IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE NEXT.

PURPORT

The shastras enjoin that if one has money one should divide all that he has accumulated into five divisions—one part for religion, one part for reputation, one part for opulence, one part for sense gratification and one part to maintain the members of his family. 

At the present, however, because people are bereft of all knowledge, they spend all their money for the satisfaction of their family. 

SHRILA RÜPA GOSVAMI TAUGHT US BY HIS OWN EXAMPLE BY USING FIFTY PERCENT OF HIS ACCUMULATED WEALTH FOR KRSHNA, TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT FOR HIS OWN SELF, AND TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT FOR THE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY. One's main purpose should be to advance in Krshna consciousness. This will include dharma, artha and kama. However, because one's family members expect some profit, one should also satisfy them by giving them a portion of one's accumulated wealth. This is a shastric injunction.

TRANSLATION

The Vedas enjoin that the factual result of the tree of the body is the good fruits and flowers derived from it. But if the bodily tree does not exist, there is no possibility of factual fruits and flowers. Even if the body is based on untruth, there cannot be factual fruits and flowers without the help of the bodily tree.

PURPORT

This shloka explains that in relation to the material body even the factual truth cannot exist without a touch of untruth. The Mayavadis say, brahma satyam jagan mithya: "The spirit soul is truth, and the external energy is untruth." The Vaishnava philosophers, however, do not agree with the Mayavada philosophy. 

Even if for the sake of argument the material world is accepted as untruth, the living entity entangled in the illusory energy cannot come out of it without the help of the body. Without the help of the body, one cannot follow a system of religion, nor can one speculate on philosophical perfection. Therefore, the flower and fruit (pushpa-phalam) have to be obtained as a result of the body. Without the help of the body, that fruit cannot be gained. 

THE VAISHNAVA PHILOSOPHY THEREFORE RECOMMENDS YUKTA-VAIRAGYA. IT IS NOT THAT ALL ATTENTION SHOULD BE DIVERTED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BODY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ONE'S BODILY MAINTENANCE SHOULD NOT BE NEGLECTED. AS LONG AS THE BODY EXISTS ONE CAN THOROUGHLY STUDY THE VEDIC INSTRUCTIONS, AND THUS AT THE END OF LIFE ONE CAN ACHIEVE PERFECTION. THIS IS EXPLAINED IN BHAGAVAD-GITA (8.6): yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram. EVERYTHING IS EXAMINED AT THE TIME OF DEATH. THEREFORE, ALTHOUGH THE BODY IS TEMPORARY, NOT ETERNAL, ONE CAN TAKE FROM IT THE BEST SERVICE AND MAKE ONE'S LIFE PERFECT.