TEXT 39
यदग्रे चानुबन्धे च सुखं मोहनमात्मनः ।
निद्रालस्यप्रमादोत्थं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ।। 39 ।।
yad agre cānubandhe ca
sukhaṁ mohanam ātmanaḥ
nidrālasya-pramādotthaṁ
tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
yat – that which; agre – in the beginning; ca – also; anubandhe – at the end; ca – also; sukham – happiness; mohanam – illusory; ātmanaḥ – of the self; nidrā – sleep; ālasya – laziness; pramāda – and illusion; uttham – produced of; tat – that; tāmasam – in the mode of ignorance; udāhṛtam – is said to be.
TRANSLATION
And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.
PURPORT
One who takes pleasure in laziness and in sleep is certainly in the mode of darkness, ignorance, and one who has no idea how to act and how not to act is also in the mode of ignorance. For the person in the mode of ignorance, everything is illusion. There is no happiness either in the beginning or at the end. For the person in the mode of passion there might be some kind of ephemeral happiness in the beginning and at the end distress, but for the person in the mode of ignorance there is only distress both in the beginning and at the end.
TEXT 40
न तदस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः ।
सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर्मुक्तं यदेभिः स्यात्त्रिभिर्गुणैः ।। 40 ।।
na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā
divi deveṣu vā punaḥ
sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair muktaṁ
yad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ
na – not; tat – that; asti – there is; pṛthivyām – on the earth; vā – or; divi – in the higher planetary system; deveṣu – amongst the demigods; vā – or; punaḥ – again; sattvam – existence; prakṛti-jaiḥ – born of material nature; muktam – liberated; yat – that; ebhiḥ – from the influence of these; syāt – is; tribhiḥ – three; guṇaiḥ – modes of material nature.
TRANSLATION
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature.
PURPORT
The Lord here summarizes the total influence of the three modes of material nature all over the universe.
TEXT 41
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप ।
कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणैः ।। 41 ।।
brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-viśāṁ
śūdrāṇāṁ ca paran-tapa
karmāṇi pravibhaktāni
svabhāva-prabhavair guṇaiḥ
brāhmaṇa – of the brāhmaṇas; kṣatriya – the kṣatriyas; viśām – and the vaiśyas; śūdrāṇām – of the śūdras; ca – and; param-tapa – O subduer of the enemies; karmāṇi – the activities; pravibhaktāni – are divided; svabhāva – their own nature; prabhavaiḥ – born of; guṇaiḥ – by the modes of material nature.
TRANSLATION
Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy.
TEXT 42
शमो दमस्तपः शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च ।
ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम् ।। 42 ।।
śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ
kṣāntir ārjavam eva ca
jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ
brahma-karma svabhāva-jam
śamaḥ – peacefulness; damaḥ – self-control; tapaḥ – austerity; śaucam – purity; kṣāntiḥ – tolerance; ārjavam – honesty; eva – certainly; ca – and; jñānam – knowledge; vijñānam – wisdom; āstikyam – religiousness; brahma – of a brāhmaṇa; karma – duty; svabhāva-jam – born of his own nature.
TRANSLATION
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness – these are the natural qualities by which the brāhmaṇas work.
TEXT 43
शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम् ।
दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम् ।। 43 ।।
śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ
yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam
dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca
kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam
śauryam – heroism; tejaḥ – power; dhṛtiḥ – determination; dākṣyam – resourcefulness; yuddhe – in battle; ca – and; api – also; apalāyanam – not fleeing; dānam – generosity; īśvara – of leadership; bhāvaḥ – the nature; ca – and; kṣātram – of a kṣatriya; karma – duty; svabhāva-jam – born of his own nature.
TRANSLATION
Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the kṣatriyas.
TEXT 44
कृषिगौरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम् ।
परिचर्यात्मकं कर्म शूद्रस्यापि स्वभावजम् ।। 44 ।।
kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ
vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam
paricaryātmakaṁ karma
śūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam
kṛṣi – plowing; go – of cows; rakṣya – protection; vāṇijyam – trade; vaiśya – of a vaiśya; karma – duty; svabhāva-jam – born of his own nature; paricaryā – service; ātmakam – consisting of; karma – duty; śūdrasya – of the śūdra; api – also; svabhāva-jam – born of his own nature.
TRANSLATION
Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaiśyas, and for the śūdras there are labor and service to others.
TEXT 45
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः ।
स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु ।। 45 ।।
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ
saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ
sva-karma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ
yathā vindati tac chṛṇu
sve sve – each his own; karmaṇi – work; abhirataḥ – following; saṁsiddhim – perfection; labhate – achieves; naraḥ – a man; sva-karma – in his own duty; nirataḥ – engaged; siddhim – perfection; yathā – as; vindati – attains; tat – that; śṛṇu – listen.
TRANSLATION
By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done.
TEXT 46
यतः प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् ।
स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानवः ।। 46 ।।
yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya
siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
yataḥ – from wh
om; pravṛttiḥ – the emanation; bhūtānām – of all living entities; yena – by whom; sarvam – all; idam – this; tatam – is pervaded; sva-karmaṇā – by his own duties; tam – Him; abhyarcya – by worshiping; siddhim – perfection; vindati – achieves; mānavaḥ – a man.
TRANSLATION
By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
PURPORT
As stated in the Fifteenth Chapter, all living beings are fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Supreme Lord is the beginning of all living entities. This is confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra – janmādy asya yataḥ. The Supreme Lord is therefore the beginning of life of every living entity. And as stated in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord, by His two energies, His external energy and internal energy, is all-pervading. Therefore one should worship the Supreme Lord with His energies. Generally the Vaiṣṇava devotees worship the Supreme Lord with His internal energy. His external energy is a perverted reflection of the internal energy. The external energy is a background, but the Supreme Lord by the expansion of His plenary portion as Paramātmā is situated everywhere. He is the Supersoul of all demigods, all human beings, all animals, everywhere. One should therefore know that as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord one has his duty to render service unto the Supreme. Everyone should be engaged in devotional service to the Lord in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is recommended in this verse.
Everyone should think that he is engaged in a particular type of occupation by Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses. And by the result of the work in which one is engaged, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, should be worshiped. If one thinks always in this way, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then, by the grace of the Lord, he becomes fully aware of everything. That is the perfection of life. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (12.7), teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā. The Supreme Lord Himself takes charge of delivering such a devotee. That is the highest perfection of life. In whatever occupation one may be engaged, if he serves the Supreme Lord he will achieve the highest perfection.
TEXT 47
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुणः परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् ।
स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् ।। 47 ।।
śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇaḥ
para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
svabhāva-niyataṁ karma
kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
śreyān – better; sva-dharmaḥ – one’s own occupation; viguṇaḥ – imperfectly performed; para-dharmāt – than another’s occupation; su-anuṣṭhitāt – perfectly done; svabhāva-niyatam – prescribed according to one’s nature; karma – work; kurvan – performing; na – never; āpnoti – achieves; kilbiṣam – sinful reactions.
TRANSLATION
It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one’s nature are never affected by sinful reactions.
PURPORT
One’s occupational duty is prescribed in Bhagavad-gītā. As already discussed in previous verses, the duties of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra are prescribed according to their particular modes of nature. One should not imitate another’s duty. A man who is by nature attracted to the kind of work done by śūdras should not artificially claim to be a brāhmaṇa, although he may have been born into a brāhmaṇa family. In this way one should work according to his own nature; no work is abominable, if performed in the service of the Supreme Lord. The occupational duty of a brāhmaṇa is certainly in the mode of goodness, but if a person is not by nature in the mode of goodness, he should not imitate the occupational duty of a brāhmaṇa. For a kṣatriya, or administrator, there are so many abominable things; a kṣatriya has to be violent to kill his enemies, and sometimes a kṣatriya has to tell lies for the sake of diplomacy. Such violence and duplicity accompany political affairs, but a kṣatriya is not supposed to give up his occupational duty and try to perform the duties of a brāhmaṇa.
One should act to satisfy the Supreme Lord. For example, Arjuna was a kṣatriya. He was hesitating to fight the other party. But if such fighting is performed for the sake of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there need be no fear of degradation. In the business field also, sometimes a merchant has to tell so many lies to make a profit. If he does not do so, there can be no profit. Sometimes a merchant says, “Oh, my dear customer, for you I am making no profit,” but one should know that without profit the merchant cannot exist. Therefore it should be taken as a simple lie if a merchant says that he is not making a profit. But the merchant should not think that because he is engaged in an occupation in which the telling of lies is compulsory, he should give up his profession and pursue the profession of a brāhmaṇa. That is not recommended. Whether one is a kṣatriya, a vaiśya, or a śūdra doesn’t matter, if he serves, by his work, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even brāhmaṇas, who perform different types of sacrifice, sometimes must kill animals because sometimes animals are sacrificed in such ceremonies. Similarly, if a kṣatriya engaged in his own occupation kills an enemy, there is no sin incurred. In the Third Chapter these matters have been clearly and elaborately explained; every man should work for the purpose of Yajña, or for Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anything done for personal sense gratification is a cause of bondage. The conclusion is that everyone should be engaged according to the particular mode of nature he has acquired, and he should decide to work only to serve the supreme cause of the Supreme Lord.
TEXT 48
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् ।
सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृताः ।। 48 ।।
saha-jaṁ karma kaunteya
sa-doṣam api na tyajet
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa
dhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtāḥ
saha-jam – born simultaneously; karma – work; kaunteya – O son of Kuntī; sa-doṣam – with fault; api – although; na – never; tyajet – one should give up; sarva-ārambhāḥ – all ventures; hi – certainly; doṣeṇa – with fault; dhūmena – with smoke; agniḥ – fire; iva – as; āvṛtāḥ – covered.
TRANSLATION
Every endeavor is covered by some fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work born of his nature, O son of Kuntī, even if such work is full of fault.
PURPORT
In conditioned life, all work is contaminated by the material modes of nature. Even if one is a brāhmaṇa, he has to perform sacrifices in which animal killing is necessary. Similarly, a kṣatriya, however pious he may be, has to fight enemies. He cannot avoid it. Similarly, a merchant, however pious he may be, must sometimes hide his profit to stay in business, or he may sometimes have to do business on the black market. These things are necessary; one cannot avoid them. Similarly, even though a man is a śūdra serving a bad master, he has to carry out the order of the master, even though it should not be done. Despite these flaws, one should continue to carry out his prescribed duties, for they are born out of his own nature.
A very nice example is given herein. Although fire is pure, still there is smoke. Yet smoke does not make the fire impure. Even though there is smoke in the fire, fire is still considered to be the purest of all elements. If one prefers to give up the work of a kṣatriya and take up the occupation of a brāhmaṇa, he is not assured that in the occupation of a brāhmaṇa there are no unpleasant duties. One may then conclude that in the material world no one can be completely free from the contamination of material nature. This example of fire and
smoke is very appropriate in this connection. When in wintertime one takes a stone from the fire, sometimes smoke disturbs the eyes and other parts of the body, but still one must make use of the fire despite disturbing conditions. Similarly, one should not give up his natural occupation because there are some disturbing elements. Rather, one should be determined to serve the Supreme Lord by his occupational duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the perfectional point. When a particular type of occupation is performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, all the defects in that particular occupation are purified. When the results of work are purified, when connected with devotional service, one becomes perfect in seeing the self within, and that is self-realization.
TEXT 49
असक्तबुद्धिः सर्वत्र जितात्मा विगतस्पृहः ।
नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धिं परमां संन्यासेनाधिगच्छति ।। 49 ।।
asakta-buddhiḥ sarvatra
jitātmā vigata-spṛhaḥ
naiṣkarmya-siddhiṁ paramāṁ
sannyāsenādhigacchati
asakta-buddhiḥ – having unattached intelligence; sarvatra – everywhere; jita-ātmā – having control of the mind; vigata-spṛhaḥ – without material desires; naiṣkarmya-siddhim – the perfection of nonreaction; paramām – supreme; sannyāsena – by the renounced order of life; adhigacchati – one attains.
TRANSLATION
One who is self-controlled and unattached and who disregards all material enjoyments can obtain, by practice of renunciation, the highest perfect stage of freedom from reaction.
PURPORT
Real renunciation means that one should always think himself part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore think that he has no right to enjoy the results of his work. Since he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the results of his work must be enjoyed by the Supreme Lord. This is actually Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is really a sannyāsī, one in the renounced order of life. By such a mentality, one is satisfied because he is actually acting for the Supreme. Thus he is not attached to anything material; he becomes accustomed to not taking pleasure in anything beyond the transcendental happiness derived from the service of the Lord. A sannyāsī is supposed to be free from the reactions of his past activities, but a person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically attains this perfection without even accepting the so-called order of renunciation. This state of mind is called yogārūḍha, or the perfectional stage of yoga. As confirmed in the Third Chapter, yas tv ātma-ratir eva syāt: one who is satisfied in himself has no fear of any kind of reaction from his activity.
Bhagavad-Gita As It Is Page 97
