Bhagavad-gétä 7.28–8.

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—
October 21, 1966, New York

661021BG-NEW YORK [40:11 Minutes]

Audio

Prabhupäda:

yeñäà anta-gataà päpaà

janänäà puëya-karmaëäm
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktä
bhajante mäà dåòha-vratäù
[Bg 7.28]

[Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose
sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of
delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.]
This verse we have been discussing last day. Dvandva-moha. Dvandva-moha,
this duality, that "You are..., you have got different interest, I have got
different interest," this is called dvandva-moha. "Your interest is clashing with
my interest." This is illusion. This illusion can be removed only by this Kåñëa
consciousness. Therefore the Lord says that yeñäm anta-gataà päpam. Päpam
means sin.
So sin, we commit sins out of ignorance. Our sinful nature is due to ignorance.
Just like a person who does not know the laws of the state, he commits
something which he does not know, but he is captured, he is arrested under the

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law. So similarly, all kind of sins we perform, it is due to ignorance. And
ignorance is no excuse at the same time.
Suppose a child does not know that fire burns, but the child catches fire. The
fire is so cruel that it will not excuse. The laws of fire will act, even on the
child. The child is innocent, or ignorant. Innocence is also sometimes
ignorance, due to ignorance. We sometimes praise the quality of child, the
ignorance. But that child, when grown up, becomes a vicious man. So this
ignorance or innocence, they are not very good qualities.
So yeñäm anta-gataà päpam. Päpam means sin. "One who has been completely
freed from the reactions of sinful acts," anta-gataà päpaà janänäà
puëya-karmaëäm, "of those persons who are simply engaged in activities of
piety," te, "those people," dvandva-moha-nirmuktäù, "they can become free from
this duality of interest." That means one who becomes Kåñëa conscious, he has
no distinction between one person to another. He has no distinction, "Oh, this
is Indian," "This is American," "This is Chinese," "This is Russian." No. He
transcends this. By Kåñëa consciousness we can transcend this material
consciousness of different interest.
We have no other interest except realization of our self. But because, due to
our ignorance, we have created our different interest and we are committing
sins and breaking the laws of nature, and therefore we are gradually, by and by,
becoming more and more entangled in this material nature. So the Lord says
that "One who has surpassed this material nature and ignorance," te, "they can
become free from this conception of duality," and bhajante mäm, "and becomes
a perfect devotee of Myself." That means, in other words, one who becomes
perfectly Kåñëa consciousness, he becomes liberated from this conception of
duality or illusion of duality. He becomes a perfect man.
Jarä-maraëa-mokñäya. Now, one can question why this perfection is required.
What is the necessity of perfection? Because there are still... There are... People
are mostly under the spell of the modes of nature of ignorance. Therefore they

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do not know the value of Kåñëa consciousness. They can enquire that "What is
the use of becoming Kåñëa consciousness..., Kåñëa conscious, and become free
from this conception of duality? What is the use?"
So Lord Kåñëa replies that question. Why?

jarä-maraëa-mokñäya
mäm äçritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduù kåtsnam
adhyätmaà karma cäkhilam
[Bg 7.29]

[Intelligent persons who are endeavoring for liberation from old age and
death take refuge in Me in devotional service. They are actually Brahman
because they entirely know everything about transcendental and fruitive
activities.]
This is necessary for you to become this Kåñëa conscious, to adopt this life of
Kåñëa consciousness. Why? Because jarä-maraëa-mokñäya: "In order to get out
of the miseries of jarä." Jarä means old age, invalidity. And jarä-maraëa.
Maraëa means death. Due to ignorance, we forget the miseries of death, the
miseries of invalidity, or old age. We think, "Now we are young, young man,
young woman. Oh, we don't care for what is old age or what is death. Let us
enjoy." We forget. But a man who is not in ignorance, he has always in his view
that this material life is full of miseries, because there is birth, there is death,
there is old age and there is disease.
So we materialist, we don't take into consideration that birth, death, disease
and old age are the greatest miseries of our life, due to our ignorance. But this
ignorance has to be removed if one has to become out of these clutches of
birth, death, old age and disease. This is not possible to remove by the so-called
material science. Material science cannot remove these miseries. They can
remove temporary, something artificially, some of our miseries. Just like we are

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feeling little warm. If the room was..., had been air-conditioned, we could feel
some comfort. That is temporary. But our ultimate miseries are these four
things: jarä-maraëa-mokña. Jarä means old age, and birth, death.
So Lord Çré Kåñëa says, jarä-maraëa-mokñäya mäm äçritya [Bg 7.29]. If one has
to..., has the ambition for getting out of these clutches of birth, death, old age
and disease, then one, if he's intelligent enough, then, jarä-maraëa-mokñäya
mäm äçritya, under Kåñëa consciousness, if one attains his life living
activities... Activities there must be. We cannot stop, so long we have got this
body or we have no body. That is an activity... We are active. Every living soul
is active by nature. But that activity should be coordinated, dovetailed. That
activity should be in Kåñëa consciousness.
So, jarä-maraëa-mokñäya mäm äçritya yatanti ye. Yatanti means "one who
endeavors in that way." Te brahma: "They are actually Brahman." Brahman
means they are transcendental, in transcendental stage. Te brahma tad viduù
kåtsnam: "Or they can understand what is the meaning of Brahman, or the
transcendental, Transcendence." Te brahma tad viduù kåtsnam adhyätmaà
karma cäkhilam: "They understand what is Brahman, and their work, their
activities, are also Brahman."
Now, there are two classes of transcendentalist. One class of transcendentalist,
just like the impersonalist, they want to stop activities. They think like that,
that when one becomes one with the Transcendence, then their activities stop.
But actually, from the Bhagavad-gétä we find that te kåtsnam adhyätmaà karma
cäkhilam. Their activities are not stopped, but the quality of the activity is
changed. Brahman. The quality of activities become transcendental. Karma
cäkhilam. Akhila. Whatever he does in Kåñëa consciousness, whatever he does,
that becomes Brahman, or transcendental. That means free from the
contamination of the three modes of material nature.
Therefore, as he becomes free from the contamination of the three modes of
material nature, therefore he's not going to have next body of this material

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nature. Next body he's not going to have material... The same example: Just
the, if you put iron rod into the fire, it becomes gradually the fire. The nature
of fire the iron rod attains. So when it is red hot, there is no possibility of its
being the iron, but it is fire.
So by our activities in Kåñëa consciousness, we become free from the
contamination of these three modes of material nature, and thus, at the end,
we become purely, purely spiritual, transcendental. Here it is stated,

sädhibhütädhidaivaà mäà
sädhiyajïaà ca ye viduù
prayäëa-käle 'pi ca mäà
te vidur yukta-cetasaù
[Bg 7.30]

[Those who know Me as the Supreme Lord, as the governing principle of the
material manifestation, who know Me as the one underlying all the demigods
and as the one sustaining all sacrifices, can, with steadfast mind, understand
and know Me even at the time of death.]
"One who understands this science of Kåñëa consciousness," sa-adhibhütam
adhidaivam, "so even at the time of his death, he remains steady in that Kåñëa
consciousness." And therefore his next birth is not in this material world, but
in the spiritual world.
Now next chapter Kåñëa enquires, er, Arjuna enquires, "What is this
adhibhütam, adhidaivam, adhiyajïam?" These three questions are being put by
Arjuna.

arjuna uväca
kià tad-brahma kim adhyätmaà
kià karma puruñottama
adhibhütaà ca kià proktam

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 adhidaivaà kim ucyate
[Bg 8.1]

[Arjuna inquired: O my Lord, O Supreme Person, what is Brahman? What is

the self? What are fruitive activities? What is this material manifestation? And
what are the demigods? Please explain this to me.]
Now, this, these are technical terms. What are these technical terms? First
technical term is "brahma." What is Brahman? Arjuna's question is first, "What
is Brahman?" Then next question is, "What is adhyätmä? What is adhyätmä,
spirit?" Then next question is: adhibhütam. Adhibhütam means, "What is these
material elements?" And adhiyajïa: "What is Supersoul?" And "At the time of
death, what are the perception of these three things?" Very complicated
questions. Very complicated question. Adhyätma..., brahma, adhyätmä,
adhibhüta and adhiyajïa and adhidaiva.
So Kåñëa is answering one and each gradually. Çré bhagavän uväca. Bhagavän
uväca means Lord Kåñëa, He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He's
replying. Çré bhagavän uväca. What is that? Now, akñaraà paramaà brahma
svabhävo 'dhyätmam ucyate. Akñaraà paramaà brahma. Now, akñaram means
infallible. Infallible. And paramam means supreme. And brahma means
indestructible, Brahman. Indestructible or which is eternal, that is called
Brahman.
Now, akñaraà paramaà brahma. Paramaà brahma. Now, eternal, we are
eternal. This has been explained in the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä. Na
hanyate hanyamäne çarére [Bg 2.20]
[For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he
ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval.
He is not slain when the body is slain.]
We do not die even after the destruction of this body. So we are Brahman.
Brahman means indestructible and eternal. Some, some matter may be

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indestructible sometimes, but not eternal. Matter is not eternal. Therefore two
things are to be understood about Brahman: indestructible and eternal.
So as we have several times explained, that we are all Brahman, but we are part
and parcel of the Brahman. Now here it is said that paramaà brahma, the
Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Brahman means one who does not come into
this material contamination. He is called Supreme Brahman.
The impersonalist school, they do not distinguish between these two
Brahmans. They say, "Brahman is one. This individual Brahman, this
conception of individual Brahman, is mäyä, illusion." That is their doctrine.
But according to Vaiñëava doctrine, they do not accept this. Their question is,
"If Brahman is Supreme, then how He comes in contact with the mäyä?" A
Supreme cannot be under the subordinate..., subordination of anything else. If
something is under subordination, he cannot be Supreme. He cannot be
Supreme. That is their argument.
Therefore the Brahman who comes under the clutches of this material...
energy, that Brahman is not the Supreme Brahman. And that is accepted in
the Vedic literature, nityo nityänäà cetanaç cetanänäm [Kaöha Upaniñad 2.2.13]:
[The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The
Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference
is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many
other living entities.]
"There are eternals, but out of the eternals, there is one supreme eternal."
Nityaù. Nityaù means singular number, and nityänäm means plural number. So
plural number; we are plural number.
Nityo nityänäm, cetana. Cetana means living. I am also living. God is also living.
He is also a living being like us, but He, His distinction is like this: eko
bahünäà vidadhäti kämän. "That eka, that singular number Brahman, He
maintains all these plural number Brahmans." Therefore, this plural number

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Brahman, this jévätmä, these living entities, they are supported by the Supreme
Brahman, Bhagavän. Just like government and citizens. Now, together that is a
nation, but government supports the citizens. Similarly, Paraà Brahman and
these ordinary living entities, Brahman, simple Brahman, they are qualitatively
one, but the Supreme Brahman supports all other Brahmans.
Akñaraà paramaà brahma. Akñaram means that the Supreme Brahman, or the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, svabhävo 'dhyätmam ucyate... Svabhäva, these
qualities, they are called adhyätmä. Bhüta-bhävodbhava-karo visargaù
karma-saàjïitaù [Bg 8.3].
[The Supreme Lord said, The indestructible, transcendental living entity is
called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called the self. Action pertaining to
the development of these material bodies is called karma, or fruitive activities.]
And the activities out of these three qualities of material nature, they are
called karma, work. Adhibhütaà kñaro bhävaù. Adhibhütam. The material
energy is kñaraù. Kñaraù means destructible. Kñaro bhävaù. Puruñaç ca
adhidaivatam. And the living soul, he's called adhidaiva. Adhiyajïaù aham eva
atra dehe deha-bhåtäm [Bg 8.4].
[Physical nature is known to be endlessly mutable. The universe is the
cosmic form of the Supreme Lord, and I am that Lord represented as the
Supersoul, dwelling in the heart of every embodied being.]
Now, there, there are... We have several times explained in this meeting that
there, there are two birds: the individual soul and the Supersoul. They're
sitting in this tree of this body. So the Supersoul is called adhiyajïa. These are
all the technical names. You can remember. The Supersoul is called adhiyajïa,
and the soul is called adhibhüta. Now, Kåñëa says... These technical terms, of
course, one should know, but it requires very long description; we have to give
our attention with..., separately for understanding. Generally, we can take up.
Now, the real fact is that why these things are to be known? Now, Lord Kåñëa

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says,

anta-käle ca mäm eva

smaran muktvä kalevaram
yaù prayäti sa mad-bhävaà
yäti nästy atra saàçayaù
[Bg 8.5]

[And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone,
at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.]
Now here is the critical point. The critical point is anta-käle. Now, if you go on
with Kåñëa consciousness, your, the ultimate result of Kåñëa consciousness...
What is the ultimate result? The ultimate result is described here. Now,
anta-käle: "at the time of your death." That is called anta-käle—now end
everything, all our activities, all this proprietorship, everything is now ended.
Not end; it is just going to, just at the verge of your point of death... Anta-käle
ca mäm eva. Mäm eva. Kåñëa says, mäm: "unto Me, Kåñëa."
So therefore one who is always, constantly in Kåñëa consciousness, naturally, at
the time of his death he'll think of Kåñëa. This is a practice. This is a practice.
Just like that King, er, Kulaçekhara. He has got many nice verses about his
devotional service, and in one verse he describes about his position. He says,

kåñëa tvadéya-pada-paìkaja-païjaräntam
adyaiva viçatu me mänasa-räja-haàsaù
präëa-prayäëa-samaye kapha-väta-pittaiù
kaëöhävarodhana-vidhau smaraëaà kutas te
[Mukunda-mälä-stotra 33]

[My Lord Kåñëa, I pray that the swan of my mind may immediately sink
down to the stems of the lotus feet of Your Lordship and be locked up in their
network; otherwise at the time of my final breath, when my throat is choked up

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with cough, how will it be possible to think of You?]
"Because at the time of death, my dear Kåñëa, I do not know what will be my
position, because at that time all the functions of my body will be stopped, and
naturally there will be a block in my throat of the coughs..." At the time of
death... One who has seen a dying man, he'll see there is cough in this kaëöha,
in this throat, in the channel, throat.
So he prays, "At the time of death," kaëöhävarodhana-vidhau kapha-väta-pittaiù,
"by the derangement of the bodily function, when kapha will choke up my
throat, then how I shall be able to chant? Because I am now healthy. I am now
chanting Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare, but at that time,
how I shall be able to chant? So therefore, while I am chanting now in good
health, please let me die immediately, so that I can die chanting." Yes. That is
the prayer. But, er... Because that is the ultimate examination.
Here it is stated, anta-käle ca mäm eva smaran muktvä kalevaram. Just
kalevaram. Kalevaram means this body, and when becomes freed from this
body, he..., or gets out of the body, and at the very same time he remembers
Kåñëa, then one who passes this body, life, in this way, yaù prayäti sa
mad-bhävaà yäti... Mad-bhävaà yäti means he at once attains the nature of
Kåñëa: eternity, blissful and knowledge.
This is the advantage of Kåñëa consciousness. Because at the time of death,
whatever you practice now in your healthy life, that will be... Just like asleep we
dream of the things of our activities, similarly, this death is also a kind of
dream. Death is a dream, er, sleep, sleeping. Death is nothing but sleeping for
seven months. That's all. Sleeping for seven months, that is called death. Just
like in the operation table one becomes unconscious for one hour, half an hour,
then he comes to his consciousness; again he comes to the same point.
So similarly, death is nothing but to remain practically unconscious for seven
months. That's all. This body is left, and we enter into a particular womb of
mother, and just to develop another body it takes about seven months. Then,

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after seven months, when the body is fit, then our consciousness comes back.
Then we want to come out of the womb. And at the tenth month we come out.
That is a very miserable condition. That is the miserable condition of birth.
"But one who leaves his body in Kåñëa consciousness," anta-käle, "at the point
of death," Kåñëa says, yaù prayäti, "who leaves his body in this way," sa
mad-bhävaà yäti, "he at once attains the perfection like Me, like My nature."
His nature is transcendental; therefore one attains at once, transcendental.
Yäti nästy atra saàçayaù: "These things are to be taken up." Nästy atra
saàçayaù: "There is no doubt about it."
Now, if we believe Kåñëa as the supreme authority, if we believe Him, then we
can adopt this. And there is no question of disbelieving Him, because all great
souls, all great scholars and all great spiritualists... Arjuna, you say the example
of Arjuna. He's not an ordinary man. He belongs to the royal order. And he's a
very, I mean, a great fighter, great general. And he is taking instruction from
Kåñëa.
If Arjuna has taken instruction from Kåñëa... He's a... Rämänujäcärya has
taken, accepted Kåñëa as the Supreme. He... Çaìkaräcärya has accepted the
Kåñëa as Supreme. And all the äcäryas... Lord Caitanya has accepted Kåñëa as
the Supreme. Then what is the difficulty of my understanding about His
greatness? Mahäjano yena gataù sa panthäù [Cc Madhya 17.186].
[Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu continued, ”’Dry arguments are inconclusive. A
great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a
great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot
come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid
truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated,
self-realized person. Consequently, as the çästras confirm, one should accept
whatever progressive path the mahäjanas advocate.’]
Just like when we go to the market, if we see that everyone is purchasing at the
same time, then I think, "Oh, undoubtedly it is the exactly price. Oh, let me

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purchase at this price." The doubt is gone at once, because I see several persons,
they're accepting at that price. So it is right price. That is the standard.
Mahäjano yena gataù sa panthäù.
The çästra says that knowledge... Because our receptive power of knowledge is
very limited. We are not perfect. Our senses are not perfect. Therefore
whatever knowledge we acquire by these blunt senses, they cannot be perfect.
The direction is, therefore, tarkaù apratiñöhaù [Cc Madhya 17.186]:
"If you want to reach to the ultimate conclusion simply by arguments and
speculation, that is not possible." Because argumentative power is a special gift.
Suppose you can argue very nicely, that's all. I cannot. But somebody may
come—he's more powerful in arguments—he can defeat you. So don't depend
on your speculative function or arguments. Don't depend on that. They're all
imperfect. Tarkaù apratiñöhaù. These are the direction of higher authorities.
So tarko 'pratiñöhaù çrutayo vibhinnäù. Çrutayaù means scriptures. If you take
scriptures, different scriptures there are, and one scripture may differ from
another scripture. So that is also very difficult, to find out the real truth,
transcendence, from the scriptures. So tarko 'pratiñöhaù çrutayo vibhinnä näsäv
åñir yasya mataà na bhinnam. And so far philosophy is concerned, each and
every philosopher is different from the other philosopher. One philosopher is
putting some theory, another philosophy is putting another doctrine or theory.
So we are puzzled which of them has to be accepted.
Çrutayo vibhinnä näsäv åñir ya... Because in the mundane philosophers,
mundane scholars, they want to give his own interpretation of everything.
That is their habit. They don't accept the interpretation of the higher
authorities. They want..., each and every one of them want to become the
higher authorities.
So our this principle, this devotional principle, is not like that. We don't pose
ourselves as the higher authority. We just try to follow the higher authority.
We don't pose ourself. We never... We'll never say that "In my opinion, it

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should be like this." Oh, what opinion I have got? What value I have got of my
opinion? What is my value? I am a blunt man. I cannot acquire any knowledge
perfectly. And what is the use of my opinion?
So this is the line. Kåñëa consciousness is, er, they do not accept anything
which is not authorized by the higher personality. But in the material world
you'll find one philosopher is putting one doctrine, another philosopher is
putting another doctrine, and they're differing with one another. So you
cannot conclude what is real thing. Näsäv åñir yasya mataà na bhinnam,
dharmasya tattvaà nihitaà guhäyäm [Mahäbhärata, Vana-parva 313.117]:
[Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does
not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the
Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which
religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is
hidden in the heart of an unadulterated self-realized person. Consequently, as
the çästras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the
mahäjanas advocate.]
"Therefore the truth, real truth, is lying in the very confidential part of your
body." Then what is to be done? Now, best thing is mahäjano yena gataù sa
panthäù: "You just try to follow the higher authorities."
So Kåñëa is the higher authority. Kåñëa is the higher authority. If we accept
Him and follow this instruction, and if we believe Him, then we get perfection.
There is no doubt about it. Of course, these philosophical questions are
difficult. It may not be very interesting. But it is..., they are to be understood.
Actually, if we want to get out of ignorance, these books are meant for driving
our ignorance. And as we become out of the ignorance, so we become free from
this material entanglement.
But at the present age, people are not so intelligent that they can follow.
Therefore this saìkértana movement is the best. Everyone can take part. And
when Hare Kåñëa is chantings there, undoubtedly... We discuss this

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Bhagavad-gétä only for understanding that we are not blindly following a
principle. It is a science. It is based on philosophy and science. But we have
made the process easy, that's all, by following great, stalwart personalities. But
it is not that it is a blind following. It is based on philosophy and science, this
Kåñëa consciousness.
So if anyone wants to understand on the basis of philosophy and science, oh,
we have got ample philosophy and science on this point. But if you accept it,
then it is the same thing. The acceptance is required—if you directly accept it.
Suppose the fire, the fire, you accept it at once or you accept fire by scientific
study, "What is fire? What is the quality? What is the...?" Go on. You can
understand scientifically fire. But either you understand it scientifically or
philosophically or you touch it directly, the action is the same. The action is
the same. A child, without knowing the science of fire, physical constitution of
fire, if he touches the fire, the fire will act. And, I mean to say, a great scientist
who has physical knowledge of this fire, if he touches also fire, he'll get..., he is
also burnt.
So Kåñëa consciousness is so nice that you accept without understanding any
philosophy or science about it—this, it will act. But if you want to understand
it through philosophy or science, we have got ample stock in the Bhagavad-gétä.
These are the...
So now Kåñëa concludes. Of course, I shall conclude this portion after reading
one verse. Yaà yaà väpi smaran. Now, Kåñëa has said that at the last point of
your death, if you are in full Kåñëa consciousness, then your next promotion is
to the equal status of Kåñëa. Mad-bhävam: "in the same nature." Why? Now,
the truth is,

yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà

tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya
sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù

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 [Bg 8.6]

[Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state
he will attain without fail.]
The nature's law is that if you are practiced under certain condition of life, and
at the end of death if you think of that life, then your next birth... The next
birth is, means, carrying the idea of this birth to the next birth. You are
changing simply body, death. Suppose you are poet, you are a thoughtful poet.
Now, when you change your body, oh, you'll still remain a poet. By changing
your body, it does not become something else.
So the thought is the real thing. That will carry you to the other body. This is,
this is gross body, and there is subtle body. The subtle body is mind, ego and
intelligence. So when you give up this gross body, the subtle body carries me to
another gross body, another gross body. But when you become on the same
level of Kåñëa consciousness, then your this subtle body also cannot act. You
directly go in spiritual body to Kåñëa.
So we shall discuss this point next. Now, if there is any question, you can ask.
[end]

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