Transcription : Lalitamadhava Dasi, Krishna Dasa, Premalila Dasi, Kalindi Dasi

Editing : Hemavati Radhika Dasi

THE FOLLOWING IS A CLASS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI IN 2009, AT VAIL, COLORADO US SEMINAR BHAGAVAD GITA DAY 4

From today, I thought of conducting the seminar in a special way. Ithought, for say about half an hour I will discuss the 7th chapter andthen I will divide you all into different groups and then I will speakto all, to discuss among yourselves and bring out the essence of the7th chapter from that discussion. Do you like the idea?

As I mentioned yesterday, from 7th chapter begins the bhaktiessence. The first 6 chapters gradually lead to the bhakti. And howmany of you remember the last verse of the previous chapter? How manyof you? I ask you to raise your hands, no, just start reciting. So whatis the verse? O dattatreya’. What’s the meaning of it?

So what is the purpose of yoga? The purpose of yoga is to becomeunited with Krsna and what is the best way to become united with Krsna.Through love and that love is bhakti. Bhakti is pure and in simplewords means love and when that love is for Krsna, it is called bhaktiand when that love is expressed through certain love and itsexpression. It is not just I love you and you love me. It is not thatjust some empty words. There must be some substance. Ok, you love mewhat are you going to do about it? You say that you love me and wouldyou give me your bank account? Sometimes Prabhupada used to say thatsome people used to come from Calcutta to Mayapur, they used to comeand they wanted to surrender. And Prabhupada’s question used to be,“What would you be doing with your money?” “Oh, I gave my money to mychildren”. “So, you gave your money to your children and you have comehere to become a burden. That’s not fair!” If you really want tosurrender, surrender with wherever your heart is not just some emptyfalse or fake surrender. Because, one thing, we must remember, we can’tcheat Krsna or we can’t fool Krsna. He’s sitting right in the heart.And he knows us better than we do. He knows more than us, what’s goingon inside of us. With that understanding we must approach Krsna andthat is the actual meaning of the “Krishna’s stealing the garments ofthe gopis”. Krsna stole the garments of the gopis. The way, they areapproaching Krsna, we should be completely naked, nothing to hide andthat is the surrender, so that is the meaning of bhakti.

So the 7th chapter is beginning with:

sri bhagavan uvaca
mayy asakta manah partha
yogam yunjan mad asrayah
asamsayam samagram mam
yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear o son of Prtha,how by practicing yoga  in full consciousness of Me, with mind attachedto Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.” (BG 7.1)

So, what is the simple meaning of this verse? Your mind fullyattached to me. What does it mean? When does the mind become fullyattached to somebody? When, we have love for that person. It is due toour love that our mind becomes attracted to him and naturallycompletely attached to him, obsessed with him.

So, what is the best way of knowing Krsna? By developing love forKrsna. When we develop love for Krsna then our heart will be completelyabsorbed in his thoughts. When we fall in love with Krsna, then,whatever we do, we simply would want to do it more. That is, what lovemeans and then only will we get to know Krsna. What does it mean,“we’ll get to know Krsna?”

Krsna will reveal Himself to us. What is the best way to knowsomeone? When the person comes and stands in front of us, then you getto know him. Getting to know Krsna means Krsna will come and revealhimself to us. And, that will happen only, when we develop our love forHim. Krsna is assuring Arjuna now. So the word bakshami means, I willtell you

jnanam to ham sa vijnanam
idam vaksyamy asesatah
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo
nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate
(BG 7.2)

So vaksyamy, the word vaksyamy means I will tell you. The wordasesatah means in full, in complete. Asesatah endless, in complete  andthis is vijnanam. Vijnanam means knowledge and realized knowledge.Intellectual perception of, intellectually knowing something is jnanamand realising something means vijanam.

So, Krsna is not talking about jnanam. He is talking about savijnanam. I will tell you about the realisation about myself and whenyou get to know that, nothing will be left to know. So that is themeaning of Krsna consciousness.

So Krsna is assuring Arjuna, reassuring, but then Krsna is pointingout, manusyanam sahasresu, not everybody wants to aspire for spiritualperfection and those who aspire for spiritual perfection are rarely onewho achieve perfection and out of those perfected, one, is very rare tofind one who knows Me. On one hand, Krsna is telling, I will give youthat knowledge, but, in the next verse, Krsna is telling, how rare thatknowledge is.

Then Krsna is imparting the knowledge and this one verse is actuallyvery, very important to understand. The transcendental reality.Transcend means what? Going across. So, at some point, we have to goacross this material world. Staying on the material nature means,material nature will never be able to understand the spiritual reality.We have to transcend this platform to go into that platform.

So Krsna is making the transition here.

bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha (BG 7.4)

This material nature is comprised of earth, water, fire, air, ether,mind, intelligence and false ego. How many did you get? Eight? So thismaterial nature is composed of these eight elements. But then Krishnais pointing out apareyam itas tv anyam. This material nature composedof these eight elements is apara, is inferior but beyond this inferiormaterial nature, there is a superior nature of mine.

And jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat. And the livingentities, the jiva-bhutam who are sustaining this material nature, whoare exploiting this material nature, they come from there. So you seethis point.

Yesterday I mentioned in relation to Sankhya. In Sankhya, what ishappening? In Sankhya philosophy, you analyze the whole material naturebut then what is the purpose of this analysis? The purpose of analyzingthe entire material nature is to transcend the material nature, andcome to the spiritual reality. So here Krishna is actually making ustranscend the material nature. This material nature consisting of theseeight elements is not everything. Beyond this, there is a superiorspiritual reality and we all have come from there. We are not a productof this material nature. Unfortunately modern science cannot acceptthat. They have concluded that living entities are a product ofchemical combination. Therefore they will always remain in this endlessdarkness, eternal darkness. They will never be able to come to theright conclusion. They will never be able to have the properunderstanding, right understanding.

etad-yonini bhutani
sarvanity upadharaya
aham krtsnasya jagatah
prabhavah pralayas tatha
(BG 7.6)

“All created being have their source in these two natures.”Everything has their source and origin in these two natures, materialand spiritual. “Of all that is material and all that is spiritual inthis world, know for certain that I am both the origin and thedissolution.”

Prabhavah pralayas tatha, I am the prabhavah, I am the origin and Iam pralayas cause of destruction. Of course that concept of destructiondoes not apply in the spiritual reality because that reality iseternal, so there is no consideration of destruction of that nature. Sosee how systematically Krishna is now giving us this knowledge step bystep.

First we are in the material nature. What this material nature,consisting of the eight elements. But beyond this material nature,there is the spiritual reality, and we all came from the spiritualreality, we all are spiritual beings and we are sustaining thismaterial nature. We are exploiting this material nature, we areexperiencing this material nature. We are experiencing. material naturerelative to our personality.

If there is no one to perceive this, if there is no one here, willthe material nature exist or not? It will exist but it will exist inits unmanifested form, unmanifest, not manifest. So what is causingthis material nature to manifest? The appearance of the living entitiesin this nature. And then Krishna is pointing out that of both thesematerial and spiritual nature, He is the origin and He is the cause ofdestruction. That means everything is maintained and everything issustained by Him. Then He is saying:

mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva
(BG 7.7)

There is no one superior to Me. Krishna is broadcasting. So shouldyou believe in Krishna? Yes. Is there anyone superior to Krishna? No.So that is the identity of Krishna. Akam eva aditya, one without asecond. One without a second, supreme param. The expression paramindicates that no one is equal to Him and no one is superior to Him. SoHe is making that point here, mattah parataram nanyat kincid astidhananjaya. Sometimes people may say “oh you are Hare Krishna, that’swhy you say Krishna is the greatest.” Is not our words, it’s Krishnawords. And all the great saintly personalities, all the exalted soulsin India, greatest spiritual personalities have accepted Bhagavat Gitaas the authority. So in the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna is saying no one issuperior to Him. So should we accept it? YES.

Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya mayi sarvam idamprotam sutre mani-gana iva. So everything is sustained by Me, just asthe tread is holding all the jewels, that in the necklace.

Raso ham.  Then Krishna is pointing out that how we have to see Himin everything. Krishna, everything is being sustained by Krishna. How everything is being sustained by Krishna, how Krishna is present ineverything.

raso ham apsu kaunteya
prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh
pranavah sarva-vedesu
khe paurusam nrsu
(BG 7.8)

So Krishna is telling that “O son of Kunti, I am the taste of water,the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable Om in the Vedicmantras, I am the sound in ether and ability in men.”

punyo gandhah prthivyam ca
tejas casmi vibhavasau
jivanam sarva-bhutesu
tapas casmi tapasvisu

I am the original fragrance of the earth, I am the heat in fire, Iam the life of all that lives and I am the penances of all ascetics.(BG 7.9)

bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham

O son of Prtha, know that I am the original seed of all existence,the intelligence of the intelligence and the prowess of all powerfulmen.(BG7.10)

balam balavatam caham
kama-raga-vivarjitam
dharmaviruddho bhutesu
kamo ‘smi bharatarsabha

I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I amsex life which is not contrary to religious principle, O Lord of thebharata Arjuna. (BG7.11)

ye caiva sattvika bhava
rajasas tamasas ca ye
matta eveti tan viddhi
na tv aham tesu te mayi

Know that all state of being be they of goodness, passion orignorance are manifested by my energy. I am in one sense everything butI am independent. I am not under the modes of material nature for theyon the contrary are within me. (BG 7.12)

tribhir guna-mayair bhavair
ebhih sarvam idam jagat
mohitam nabhijanati
mam ebhyah param avyayam

Deluded by the three modes of nature, the whole world does not know me who am above the modes and inexhaustible. (BG 7.13)

daivi hy esa guna-mayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te

The divine energy of mine consisting of the three modes of materialnature is difficult to overcome but those who have surrender unto mecan easily cross beyond it. (BG7.14)

na mam duskrtino mudhah
prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrta-jnana
asuram bhavam asritah
(BG 7.15)

Four kinds of people will never surrender to Krsna. Although Krsnais the Supreme, Krsna is the most merciful shelter of everyone, butstill there are some people who will never surrender unto Him. Who arethose? Duskritinah, those who are the miscreants. They fall in? Thereare four catagories of them: mudha, a fool. Mudha , na mam duskritinahmudhah. And naradhamah, nara adhamah they look like human beings butthey are not human beings, naradhamah. And mayayapahrta-jnana whoseknowledge have been stolen by maya and asuram bhavam asritah those whoare demoniac by nature.

catur-vidha bhajante mam
janah skrtino ‘rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi
jnani ca bharatarsabha
(BG 7.16)

And four kind of people who surrender, who are they? They are artha,they’re some people in distress they surrender unto Him. Those who arein need of money, they may surrender unto Krsna, then those who areinquisitive about the spiritual reality, they surrender unto Him, andthose who are situated in proper knowledge, they surrender unto Him. Sothere are four kinds they are sukritinah. The word sukritinah has beentranslated by Srila Prabhupada as those who are pious.

tesam jnani nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir visisyate
priyo hi jnanino ‘tyartham
aham sa ca mama priyah
(BG 7.17)

Of those the one who is in full knowledge and one who is alwaysengaged in pure devotional service is the best. Of all those peoplethose who surrender unto Krsna, one who is in full knowledge and who isalways engaged in pure devotional service. Now what is the meaning offull knowledge? Full knowledge is very simple knowledge, Krsna is theSupreme Personality of Godhead and we are His eternal servants. Nowthis is the full knowledge. Full knowledge doesn’t mean we have to havevast intellectual ability. Full knowledge is very simple. When the suncomes up is it very difficult to see everything? No, with the light ofthe sun we see everything. Similarly with this understanding,everything becomes perfectly understood. Krsna is the SupremePersonality of Godhead and we are His servants. And then what happens?

Then eka-bhaktir visisyate, then one becomes engaged in puredevotional service. So who can become a pure devotee of Krsna? Who canrecognise his identity as His eternal servant. And he is very very dearto Krsna. Sometimes people make a mistake thinking “oh we have tobecome very learned in order to become dear to Krsna”, because Krsna issaying of those one who is in full knowledge, so we have to becomejnani, NO! we don’t have to become jnani, rather we simply have tounderstand a very simple point that we are eternal servants of Krsnaand we become engaged in His devotional service then we will becomeperfectly situated and then we will become very dear to Krsna.

udarah sarva evaite
jnani tv atmaiva me matam
asthitah sa hi yuktatma
mam evanuttamam gatim
(BG 7.18)

Krsna is now making this point, all these devotees, of all thosedevotees undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated inknowledge of Me, I consider to be just like Me, just like My own self,atmaiva, being engaged in My transcendental service is sure to attainMe, the highest and most perfect goal.

bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma su-durlabhah
(BG 7.19)

So what is the ultimate perfection of knowledge? Vasudevah sarvamiti; Vasudeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna and Heis everything, He is the source of everything, He is the maintainer ofeverything and He is the shelter of everything. “After many, manybirths and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me,knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a greatsoul is very, very rare.”

kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah
prapadyante ‘nya-devatah
tam tam niyamam asthaya
prakrtya niyatah svaya

Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desiressurrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulationsof worship according to their own natures. (BG 7.20)

So when somebody worships other demigods, kamais tais tairhrta-jnanah, whose knowledge has been stolen by lust. Lust, what is themeaning of lust? Lust simply means the desire to enjoy this materialnature. When we have the desire to enjoy the material nature then ourknowledge will be stolen hrta-jnanah and what will we do then? We willtake shelter of someone other than Krsna, someone other than Krsna,anya-devatah. Anya devatah doesn’t mean just the demigods, even others,your boss you are taking shelter of him. Your political leader, you’retaking shelter of him. So when do we take shelter of others, other thanKrsna? Only when our knowledge has been stolen by lust. Those whoseintelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender untodemigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worshipaccording to their own natures. At least those days they used tosurrender to demigods now-a-days they don’t even surrender to demigods,they surrender to their boss, they surrender to the movie stars, theysurrender to the politicians, they surrender to everybody else why?Because their intelligence has been stolen by lust. They think that byworshipping them, they will get their desires fulfilled.

yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah
sraddhayarcitum icchati
tasya tasyacalam sraddham
tam eva vidadhamy aham

I am in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires toworship some demigod, I make his faith steady so that he can devotehimself to that particular deity. (BG 7.21)

sa taya sraddhaya yuktas
tasyaradhanam ihate
labhate ca tatah Kaman
mayaiva vihitan hi tan

Endowed with such a faith, he endeavours to worship a particulardemigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality these benefits arebestowed by Me alone. (BG 7.22)

antavat tu phalam tesam
tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam
devan deva-yajo yanti
mad-bhakta yanti mam api

Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits arelimited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planetsof the demigods but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet. (BG7.23)

avyaktam vyaktim apannam
manyante mam abuddhayah
param bhavam ajananto
mamavyayam anuttamam

Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, theSupreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, was impersonal before and havenow assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do notknow My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme. (BG 7.24)

naham prakasah sarvasya
yoga-maya -samavrtah mudho
yam nabhijanati loko
mam ajam avyayam

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I amcovered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that Iam unborn and infallible. (BG 7.25)

vedaham samatitani
vartamanani carjuna
bhavisyani ca bhutani
mam-tu veda na kascana

O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead I know everythingthat has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present,and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities,but Me no one knows. (BG 7.26)

Krishna knows everything, Krishna knows everybody, but no one knows Krishna.

Iccha-dvesa-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bharata
sarva-bhutani sammohan
sarge yanti parantapa

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities areborn into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire andhate. (BG 7.27)

Yesam tv anta-gatam papam
jananam punya-karmanam
Te dvandva-moha-nirmukta
bhajante mamdrdha-vratah

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this lifeand whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from thedualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service withdetermination. (BG 7.28)

jara-marana-moksaya
mam asritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduh krtsnam
adhyatmam karma cakhilam

Intelligent persons who are endeavoring for liberation from old ageand death take refuge in Me in devotional service. They are actuallyBrahman because they entirely know everything about transcendentalactivities (BG 7.29)

sadhibhutadhidaivam mam
sadhiyajnam ca ye viduh
prayana-kale pi ca mam
te vidur yukta-cetasah

Those in full consciousness of Me, who know Me, the Supreme Lord, tobe the governing principle of the material manifestation, of thedemigods, and of all methods of sacrifice, can understand and know Me,the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even at the time of death. (BG7.30).

That means even if they did not understand Krishna before, at thetime of death they will positively understand Krishna. Why? BecauseKrishna will come to them.

What I will do now is I will divide you in five groups. How many arethere? 47 total here. So nine in each group. Those who are elderly donot have to participate. Who wants to actively participate? Okay, maybeone group can come this side-nine of you-okay one group. How manyothers want to participate? These are the two lady groups. Men’s groupat the other side-Ok, nine of you.