Chapter 3

Chapter III - Karma-Yog or "The Book of Virtue in Work"
Translation: Arnold, Sir Edwin

Arjuna:

Thou whom all mortals praise, Janardana! If meditation be a nobler thing Than action, wherefore, then, great Kesava! Dost thou impel me to this dreadful fight? Now am I by thy doubtful speech disturbed! Tell me one thing, and tell me certainly; By what road shall I find the better end?

Krishna:

I told thee, blameless Lord! there be two paths Shown to this world; two schools of wisdom. First The Sankhya's, which doth save in way of works Prescribed1 by reason; next, the Yog, which bids Attain by meditation, spiritually: Yet these are one! No man shall 'scape from act By shunning action; nay, and none shall come By mere renouncements unto perfectness. Nay, and no jot of time, at any time, Rests any actionless; his natures' law Compels him, even unwilling, into act; [For thought is act in fancy]. He who sits Suppressing all the instruments of flesh, Yet in his idle heart thinking on them, Plays the inept and guilty hypocrite: But he who, with strong body serving mind, Gives up his mortal powers to worthy work, Not seeking gain, Arjuna! such an one Is honorable. Do thine allotted task! Work is more excellent than idleness;

[Footnote 1: I feel convinced sankhyanan and yoginan must be transposed here in sense.]

The body's life proceeds not, lacking work. There is a task of holiness to do, Unlike world-binding toil, which bindeth not The faithful soul; such earthly duty do Free from desire, and thou shalt well perform Thy heavenly purpose. Spake Prajapati In the beginning, when all men were made, And, with mankind, the sacrifice - "Do this! Work! sacrifice! Increase and multiply With sacrifice! This shall be Kamaduk, Your 'Cow of Plenty,' giving back her milk Of all abundance. Worship the gods thereby; The gods shall yield ye grace. Those meats ye crave The gods will grant to Labor, when it pays Tithes in the altar-flame. But if one eats Fruits of the earth, rendering to kindly Heaven No gift of toil, that thief steals from his world."

Who eat of food after their sacrifice Are quit of fault, but they that spread a feast All for themselves, eat sin and drink of sin. By food the living live; food comes of rain, And rain comes by the pious sacrifice, And sacrifice is paid with tithes of toil; Thus action is of Brahma, who is One, The Only, All-pervading; at all times Present in sacrifice. He that abstains To help the rolling wheels of this great world, Glutting his idle sense, lives a lost life, Shameful and vain. Existing for himself, Self-concentrated, serving self alone, No part hath he in aught; nothing achieved, Nought wrought or unwrought toucheth him; no hope Of help for all the living things of earth Depends from him.2 Therefore, thy task prescribed With spirit unattached gladly perform, Since in performance of plain duty man Mounts to his highest bliss. By works alone Janak, and ancient saints reached blessedness! Moreover, for the upholding of thy kind, Action thou should'st embrace. What the wise choose The unwise people take; what best men do The multitude will follow. Look on me, Thou Son of Pritha! in the three wide worlds I am not bound to any toil, no height Awaits to scale, no gift remains to gain, Yet I act here! and, if I acted not Earnest and watchful - those that look to me For guidance, sinking back to sloth again Because I slumbered, would decline from good, And I should break earth's order and commit Her offspring unto ruin, Bharata! Even as the unknowing toil, wedded to sense, So let the enlightened toil, sense-freed, but set To bring the world deliverance, and its bliss; Not sowing in those simple, busy hearts Seed of despair. Yea! let each play his part In all he finds to do, with unyoked soul. All things are everywhere by Nature wrought In interaction of the qualities. The fool, cheated by self, thinks, "This I did" And "That I wrought;" but - ah, thou strong-armed Prince! A better-lessoned mind, knowing the play Of visible things within the world of sense, And how the qualities must qualify, Standeth aloof even from his acts. Th' untaught Live mixed with them, knowing not Nature's way, Of highest aims unwitting, slow and dull. Those make thou not to stumble, having the light; But all thy dues discharging, for My sake, With meditation centred inwardly, Seeking no profit, satisfied, serene, Heedless of issue - fight! They who shall keep My ordinance thus, the wise and willing hearts, Have quittance from all issue of their acts; But those who disregard my ordinance, Thinking they know, know nought, and fall to loss, Confused and foolish. 'Sooth, the instructed one Doth of his kind, following what fits him most; And lower creatures of their kind; in vain Contending 'gainst the law. Needs must it be The objects of the sense will stir the sense To like and dislike, yet th' enlightened man Yields not to these, knowing them enemies. Finally, this is better, that one do His own task as he may, even though he fail, Than take tasks not his own, though they seem good To die performing duty is no ill; But who seeks other roads shall wander still.

Arjuna:

Yet tell me, Teacher! by what force doth man Go to his ill, unwilling; as if one Pushed him that evil path?

Krishna:

Kama it is! Passion it is! born of the Darknesses, Which pusheth him. Mighty of appetite, Sinful, and strong is this! - man's enemy! As smoke blots the white fire, as clinging rust Mars the bright mirror, as the womb surrounds The babe unborn, so is the world of things Foiled, soiled, enclosed in this desire of flesh. The wise fall, caught in it; the unresting foe It is of wisdom, wearing countless forms, Fair but deceitful, subtle as a flame. Sense, mind, and reason - these, O Kunti's son!

Are booty for it; in its play with these It maddens man, beguiling, blinding him. Therefore, thou noblest child of Bharata! Govern thy heart! Constrain th' entangled sense! Resist the false, soft sinfulness which saps Knowledge and judgment! Yea, the world is strong, But what discerns it stronger, and the mind Strongest; and high o'er all the ruling Soul. Wherefore, perceiving Him who reigns supreme, Put forth full force of Soul in thy own soul! Fight! vanquish foes and doubts, dear Hero! slay What haunts thee in fond shapes, and would betray!

Here endeth Chapter III. of the Bhagavad-Gita entitled "Karma-Yog," or "The Book of Virtue in Work"


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Chapter 2

Chapter II -Known as the Sankhya-Yog or "The Book of Doctrines"
Translation: Arnold, Sir Edwin

Sanjaya:

Him, filled with such compassion and such grief, With eyes tear-dimmed, despondent, in stern words The Driver, Madhusudan, thus addressed:

Krishna:

How hath this weakness taken thee? Whence springs The inglorious trouble, shameful to the brave, Barring the path of virtue? Nay, Arjun! Forbid thyself to feebleness! it mars Thy warrior-name! cast off the coward-fit! Wake! Be thyself! Arise, Scourge of thy foes!

Arjuna:

How can I, in the battle, shoot with shafts On Bhishma, or on Drona-oh, thou Chief! Both worshipful, both honorable men?

Better to live on beggar's bread With those we love alive, Than taste their blood in rich feasts spread, And guiltily survive! Ah! were it worse - who knows? - to be Victor or vanquished here, When those confront us angrily Whose death leaves living drear? In pity lost, by doubtings tossed, My thoughts - distracted - turn To Thee, the Guide I reverence most, That I may counsel learn: I know not what would heal the grief Burned into soul and sense, If I were earth's unchallenged chief A god - and these gone thence!

Sanjaya:

So spake Arjuna to the Lord of Hearts, And sighing, "I will not fight!" held silence then. To whom, with tender smile (O Bharata!) While the Prince wept despairing 'twixt those hosts, Krishna made answer in divinest verse:

Krishna:

Thou grievest where no grief should be! thou speak'st Words lacking wisdom! for the wise in heart Mourn not for those that live, nor those that die. Nor I, nor thou, nor any one of these, Ever was not, nor ever will not be, For ever and for ever afterwards. All, that doth live, lives always! To man's frame As there come infancy and youth and age, So come there raisings-up and layings-down Of other and of other life-abodes, Which the wise know, and fear not. This that irks Thy sense-life, thrilling to the elements Bringing thee heat and cold, sorrows and joys, 'Tis brief and mutable! Bear with it, Prince! As the wise bear. The soul which is not moved, The soul that with a strong and constant calm Takes sorrow and takes joy indifferently, Lives in the life undying! That which is Can never cease to be; that which is not Will not exist. To see this truth of both Is theirs who part essence from accident, Substance from shadow. Indestructible, Learn thou! the Life is, spreading life through all; It cannot anywhere, by any means, Be anywise diminished, stayed, or changed. But for these fleeting frames which it informs With spirit deathless, endless, infinite, They perish. Let them perish, Prince! and fight! He who shall say, "Lo! I have slain a man!" He who shall think, "Lo! I am slain!" those both Know naught! Life cannot slay. Life is not slain! Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never; Never was time it was not; End and Beginning are dreams! Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spirit for ever; Death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems!

Who knoweth it exhaustless, self-sustained, Immortal, indestructible, - shall such Say, "I have killed a man, or caused to kill?"

Nay, but as when one layeth His worn-out robes away, And, taking new ones, sayeth, "These will I wear to-day!" So putteth by the spirit Lightly its garb of flesh, And passeth to inherit A residence afresh.

I say to thee weapons reach not the Life, Flame burns it not, waters cannot o'erwhelm, Nor dry winds wither it. Impenetrable, Unentered, unassailed, unharmed, untouched, Immortal, all-arriving, stable, sure, Invisible, ineffable, by word And thought uncompassed, ever all itself, Thus is the Soul declared! How wilt thou, then, Knowing it so, - grieve when thou shouldst not grieve? How, if thou hearest that the man new-dead Is, like the man new-born, still living man One same, existent Spirit - wilt thou weep? The end of birth is death; the end of death Is birth: this is ordained! and mournest thou, Chief of the stalwart arm! for what befalls Which could not otherwise befall? The birth Of living things comes unperceived; the death Comes unperceived; between them, beings perceive: What is there sorrowful herein dear Prince? Wonderful, wistful, to contemplate! Difficult, doubtful, to speak upon! Strange and great for tongue to relate, Mystical hearing for every one! Nor wotteth man this, what a marvel it is, When seeing, and saying, and hearing are done!

This Life within all living things, my Prince! Hides beyond harm; scorn thou to suffer, then, For that which cannot suffer. Do thy part! Be mindful of thy name, and tremble not! Nought better can betide a martial soul Than lawful war; happy the warrior To whom comes joy of battle - comes, as now, Glorious and fair, unsought; opening for him A gateway unto Heav'n. But, if thou shunn'st This honorable field - a Kshattriya If, knowing thy duty and thy task, thou bidd'st Duty and task go by - that shall be sin! And those to come shall speak thee infamy From age to age; but infamy is worse For men of noble blood to bear than death! The chiefs upon their battle-chariots Will deem 'twas fear that drove thee from the fray. Of those who held thee mighty-souled the scorn Thou must abide, while all thine enemies Will scatter bitter speech of thee, to mock The valor which thou hadst; what fate could fall More grievously than this? Either - being killed Thou wilt win Swarga's safety, or - alive And victor - thou wilt reign an earthly king. Therefore, arise, thou Son of Kunti! brace Thine arm for conflict, nerve thy heart to meet As things alike to thee - pleasure or pain, Profit or ruin, victory or defeat: So minded, gird thee to the fight, for so Thou shalt not sin!

Thus far I speak to thee As from the "Sankhya" - unspiritually Hear now the deeper teaching of the Yog, Which holding, understanding, thou shalt burst Thy Karmabandh, the bondage of wrought deeds. Here shall no end be hindered, no hope marred No loss be feared: faith - yea, a little faith Shall save thee from the anguish of thy dread. Here, Glory of the Kurus! shines one rule One steadfast rule - while shifting souls have laws Many and hard. Specious, but wrongful deem The speech of those ill-taught ones who extol The letter of their Vedas, saying, "This Is all we have, or need;" being weak at heart With wants, seekers of Heaven: which comes - they say As "fruit of good deeds done;" promising men Much profit in new births for works of faith; In various rites abounding; following whereon Large merit shall accrue towards wealth and power; Albeit, who wealth and power do most desire Least fixity of soul have such, least hold On heavenly meditation. Much these teach, From Veds, concerning the "three qualities;" But thou, be free of the "three qualities," Free of the "pairs of opposites."1 and free From that sad righteousness which calculates; Self-ruled, Arjuna! simple, satisfied!2 Look! like as when a tank pours water forth To suit all needs, so do these Brahmans draw Texts for all wants from tank of Holy Writ. But thou, want not! ask not! Find full reward Of doing right in right! Let right deeds be Thy motive, not the fruit which comes from them. And live in action! Labor! Make thine acts Thy piety, casting all self aside, Contemning gain and merit; equable In good or evil: equability Is Yog, is piety!

Yet, the right act Is less, far less, than the right-thinking mind. Seek refuge in thy soul; have there thy heaven! Scorn them that follow virtue for her gifts! The mind of pure devotion - even here Casts equally aside good deeds and bad, Passing above them. Unto pure devotion Devote thyself: with perfect meditation Comes perfect act, and the right-hearted rise More certainly because they seek no gain Forth from the bands of body, step by step, To highest seats of bliss. When thy firm soul Hath shaken off those tangled oracles Which ignorantly guide, then shall it soar To high neglect of what's denied or said, This way or that way, in doctrinal writ. Troubled no longer by the priestly lore Safe shall it live, and sure; steadfastly bent On meditation. This is Yog - and Peace!

Arjuna:

What is his mark who hath that steadfast heart, Confirmed in holy meditation? How Know we his speech, Kesava? Sits he, moves he Like other men?

Krishna:

When one, O Pritha's Son! Abandoning desires which shake the mind Finds in his soul full comfort for his soul, He hath attained the Yog - that man is such! In sorrows not rejected, and in joys Not overjoyed; dwelling outside the stress Of passion, fear, and anger; fixed in calms Of lofty contemplation: such an one Is Muni, is the Sage, the true Recluse! He, who to none and nowhere overbound By ties of flesh, takes evil things and good Neither desponding nor exulting, such Bears wisdom's plainest mark! He who shall draw, As the wise tortoise draws its four feet safe Under its shield, his five frail senses back Under the spirit's buckler from the world Which else assails them, such an one, my Prince! Hath wisdom's mark! Things that solicit sense Hold off from the self-governed; nay, it comes, The appetites of him who lives beyond Depart, - aroused no more. Yet may it chance O Son of Kunti! that a governed mind Shall some time feel the sense-storms sweep, and wrest Strong self-control by the roots. Let him regain His kingdom! let him conquer this, and sit On Me intent. That man alone is wise Who keeps the mastery of himself! If one Ponders on objects of the sense, there springs Attraction, from attraction grows desire, Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds Recklessness; then the memory - all betrayed Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind, Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone. But, if one deals with objects of the sense Not loving and not hating, making them Serve his free soul, which rests serenely lord, Lo, such a man comes to tranquillity; And out of that tranquillity shall rise The end and healing of his earthly pains, Since the will governed sets the soul at peace. The soul of the ungoverned is not his, Nor hath he knowledge of himself; which lacked, How grows serenity? and, wanting that, Whence shall he hope for happiness? The mind

That gives itself to follow shows of sense Seeth its helm of wisdom rent away, And, like a ship in waves of whirlwind, drives To wreck and death. Only with him, great Prince! Whose senses are not swayed by things of sense Only with him who holds his mastery, Shows wisdom perfect. What is midnight-gloom To unenlightened souls shines wakeful day To his clear gaze; what seems as wakeful day Is known for night, thick night of ignorance, To his true-seeing eyes. Such is the Saint!

And like the ocean, day by day receiving Floods from all lands, which never overflows; Its boundary-line not leaping, and not leaving, Fed by the rivers, but unswelled by those;

So is the perfect one! to his soul's ocean The world of sense pours streams of witchery; They leave him as they find, without commotion, Taking their tribute, but remaining sea.

Yea! whoso, shaking off the yoke of flesh, Lives lord, not servant, of his lusts; set free From pride, from passion, from the sin of "Self," Toucheth tranquillity! O Pritha's son! That is the state of Brahm! There rests no dread When that last step is reached! Live where he will, Die when he may, such passeth from all 'plaining, To blest Nirvana, with the Gods, attaining.

Here endeth Chapter II. of the Bhagavad-Gita, entitled "Sankhya-Yog," or "The Book of Doctrines"


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Chapter I

Chapter I. of the Bhagavad-Gita, entitled "Arjun-Vishad," or "The Book of the Distress of Arjuna."
Translation: Arnold, Sir Edwin

Dhritirashtra:

Ranged thus for battle on the sacred plain On Kurukshetra - say, Sanjaya! say What wrought my people, and the Pandavas?

Sanjaya:

When he beheld the host of Pandavas Raja Duryodhana to Drona drew, And spake these words: "Ah, Guru! see this line, How vast it is of Pandu fighting-men, Embattled by the son of Drupada, Thy scholar in the war! Therein stand ranked Chiefs like Arjuna, like to Bhima chiefs, Benders of bows; Virata, Yuyudhan, Drupada, eminent upon his car, Dhrishtaket, Chekitan, Kasi's stout lord, Purujit, Kuntibhoj, and Saivya, With Yudhamanyu, and Uttamauj Subhadra's child; and Drupadi's; - all famed! All mounted on their shining chariots! On our side, too, - thou best of Brahmans! see Excellent chiefs, commanders of my line, Whose names I joy to count: thyself the first, Then Bhishma, Karna, Kripa fierce in fight, Vikarna, Aswatthaman; next to these Strong Saumadatti, with full many more Valiant and tried, ready this day to die For me their king, each with his weapon grasped, Each skilful in the field. Weakest - meseems Our battle shows where Bhishma holds command, And Bhima, fronting him, something too strong! Have care our captains nigh to Bhishma's ranks Prepare what help they may! Now, blow my shell!"

Then, at the signal of the aged king, With blare to wake the blood, rolling around Like to a lion's roar, the trumpeter Blew the great Conch; and, at the noise of it, Trumpets and drums, cymbals and gongs and horns Burst into sudden clamor; as the blasts Of loosened tempest, such the tumult seemed! Then might be seen, upon their car of gold Yoked with white steeds, blowing their battle-shells, Krishna the God, Arjuna at his side: Krishna, with knotted locks, blew his great conch Carved of the "Giant's bone;" Arjuna blew Indra's loud gift; Bhima the terrible Wolf-bellied Bhima - blew a long reed-conch; And Yudhisthira, Kunti's blameless son, Winded a mighty shell, "Victory's Voice;" And Nakula blew shrill upon his conch Named the "Sweet-sounding," Sahadev on his Called "Gem-bedecked," and Kasi's Prince on his. Sikhandi on his car, Dhrishtadyumn, Virata, Satyaki the Unsubdued, Drupada, with his sons, (O Lord of Earth!) Long-armed Subhadra's children, all blew loud, So that the clangor shook their foemen's hearts, With quaking earth and thundering heav'n. Then 'twas

Beholding Dhritirashtra's battle set, Weapons unsheathing, bows drawn forth, the war Instant to break - Arjun, whose ensign-badge Was Hanuman the monkey, spake this thing To Krishna the Divine, his charioteer: "Drive, Dauntless One! to yonder open ground Betwixt the armies; I would see more nigh These who will fight with us, those we must slay To-day, in war's arbitrament; for, sure, On bloodshed all are bent who throng this plain, Obeying Dhritirashtra's sinful son."

Thus, by Arjuna prayed (O Bharata!) Between the hosts that heavenly Charioteer Drove the brightfcar, reining its milk-white steeds Where Bhishma led, and Drona, and their Lords. "See!" spake he to Arjuna, "where they stand, Thy kindred of the Kurus:" and the Prince Marked on each hand the kinsmen of his house, Grandsires and sires, uncles and brothers and sons, Cousins and sons-in-law and nephews, mixed With friends and honored elders; some this side, Some that side ranged: and, seeing those opposed, Such kith grown enemies - Arjuna's heart Melted with pity, while he uttered this:

Arjuna:

Krishna! as I behold, come here to shed Their common blood, yon concourse of our kin, My members fail, my tongue dries in my mouth, A shudder thrills my body, and my hair Bristles with horror; from my weak hand slips Gandiv, the goodly bow; a fever burns My skin to parching; hardly may I stand; The life within me seems to swim and faint; Nothing do I foresee save woe and wail! It is not good, O Keshav! nought of good Can spring from mutual slaughter! Lo, I hate Triumph and domination, wealth and ease, Thus sadly won! Aho! what victory Can bring delight, Govinda! what rich spoils Could profit; what rule recompense; what span Of life itself seem sweet, bought with such blood? Seeing that these stand here, ready to die, For whose sake life was fair, and pleasure pleased, And power grew precious: - grandsires, sires, and sons. Brothers, and fathers-in-law, and sons-in-law, Elders and friends! Shall I deal death on these Even though they seek to slay us? Not one blow, O Madhusudan! will I strike to gain The rule of all Three Worlds; then, how much less To seize an earthly kingdom! Killing these Must breed but anguish, Krishna! If they be Guilty, we shall grow guilty by their deaths; Their sins will light on us, if we shall slay Those sons of Dhritirashtra, and our kin; What peace could come of that, O Madhava? For if indeed, blinded by lust and wrath, These cannot see, or will not see, the sin Of kingly lines o'erthrown and kinsmen slain, How should not we, who see, shun such a crime We who perceive the guilt and feel the shame Oh, thou Delight of Men, Janardana? By overthrow of houses perisheth Their sweet continuous household piety, And - rites neglected, piety extinct Enters impiety upon that home; Its women grow unwomaned, whence there spring Mad passions, and the mingling-up of castes, Sending a Hell-ward road that family, And whoso wrought its doom by wicked wrath. Nay, and the souls of honored ancestors Fall from their place of peace, being bereft Of funeral-cakes and the wan death-water.So teach our holy hymns. Thus, if we slay Kinsfolk and friends for love of earthly power, Ahovat! what an evil fault it were! Better I deem it, if my kinsmen strike, To face them weaponless, and bare my breast To shaft and spear, than answer blow with blow.


So speaking, in the face of those two hosts, Arjuna sank upon his chariot-seat, And let fall bow and arrows, sick at heart.

Here endeth Chapter I. of the Bhagavad-Gita, entitled "Arjun-Vishad," or "The Book of the Distress of Arjuna."

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Philosophy behind Bhagavadgita

Bhagavadgita is ‘a symphony in which God is seen in all things’

Some philosophers say that the manifestation of material nature is false, but according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita or according to the philosophy of the Vaisnavas, this is not so. The manifestation of the world is not accepted as false; it is accepted as real, but temporary. It is likened unto a cloud which moves across the sky, or the coming of the rainy season, which nourishes grains. Such are the workings of nature. This cycle is working eternally. Therefore nature is eternal; it is not false.

‘Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead’

‘That which dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being’

‘There are two classes of men who try to realise the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.’

‘Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental specultation.’

‘ Without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.’

‘Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus—by spiritual strength—conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust’

‘All living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, they are mine.’

‘But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor the next.’

‘One who sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.’

The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ultimate goal of life.
Since the ultimate goal of life is self-realisation, there is no difference
between the conclusions reached by the two processes. A living entity is not a
part and parcel of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole.

‘A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing the eyes, he always knows that only the material sense are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.’

‘For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.’

‘Regard honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind.’

Those who are imitating the yoga system in different so-called schools and societies, although complacent, are certainly wasting their time. They are completely ignorant of the desired goal, which is inaccessible to the common man.

‘All living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and lust.’

‘At the time of death, the consciousness created by the living being carries him to his next body. If the living being has made his consciousness like an animal’s, he is sure to get an animal’s body.’

‘[Arjuna] saw in that universal form unlimited mouths, unlimited eyes, unlimited wonderful visions. The form was decorated with celestial ornaments and bore many divine upraised weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scents were smeared over His body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all-expanding.’

‘If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once in the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that universal form.’

‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Time I am, the great destroyer of worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you, all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain.’

all-devouring time

‘Death could not be checked, even if he did not fight. In fact, they were already dead. Time is destruction, and all manifestations are to be vanquished by the desire of the Supreme Lord. That is the law of nature.’

‘Nonviolence is generally taken to mean not killing or destroying the body, but actually nonviolence means not to put others into distress. People in general are trapped by ignorance in the material concept of life, and they perpetually suffer material pains. So unless one elevates people to spiritual knowledge, one is practicing violence. One should try his best to distribute real knowledge to the people, so that they may become enlightened and leave this material entanglement. That is nonviolence.’
‘False ego means accepting this body as oneself. When one understands that he is not his body and is spirit soul, he comes to his real ego. Ego is there. False ego is condemned, but not real ego. In the Vedic literature it is said: I am Brahman, I am spirit. This “I am,” the sense of self, also exists in the liberated stage of self-realisation. There are some philosophers who say we should give up our ego, but we cannot give up our ego, because ego means identity. We ought, of course, to give up the false identification with the body.’

Material nature consists of three modes—goodness, passion and ignorance.

‘The demoniac say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust.’

The demonic conclude that the world is phantasmagoria. There is no cause and
effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this
cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. They
have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that
there is no reason to believe that there is a God behind it. For them there is
no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme
Spirit. Everything is matter only, and the whole cosmos is supposed to be a mass
of ignorance. According to them, everything is void, and whatever exists is due
to our ignorance in perception. Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who
are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial,
horrible works meant to destroy the world.’

‘The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another.’

‘Taking shelter of insatiable lust and absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige, the demoniac, thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attached by the impermanent.’

‘Although such demoniac people are most abominable in the world, by artificial means the world creates a false honour for them. Although they are gliding toward hell, they consider themselves very much advanced.’

‘There are three gates leading to hell—lust, anger, and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.’

‘At the beginning of Brahma’s day, all living entities become manifest from the unmanifest state, and thereafter, when the night falls, they are merged into the unmanifest again. Again and again, when Brahman’s day arrives, all living entities come into being, and with the arrival of Brahma’s night they are helplessly annihilated.’

Mortal world it is

more words of wisdom

‘One who sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.’

- The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal of life is self-realisation, there is no difference between the conclusions reached by the two processes. A living entity is not a part and parcel of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole.

‘A person in the divine consciousness, although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or opening or closing the eyes, he always knows that only the material sense are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.’

‘For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.’

‘Regard honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind.’

Those who are imitating the yoga system in different so-called schools and societies, although complacent, are certainly wasting their time. They are completely ignorant of the desired goal, which is inaccessible to the common man.

‘All living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and lust.’

‘At the time of death, the consciousness created by the living being carries him to his next body. If the living being has made his consciousness like an animal’s, he is sure to get an animal’s body.’

Words of wisdom

‘Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead’

‘That which dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being’


‘There are two classes of men who try to realise the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.’


‘Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental specultation.’


‘ Without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.’


‘Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus—by spiritual strength—conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust’


‘All living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, they are mine.’


‘But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor the next.’