2 BG 6-7
2 BG 6-7
Text 33:
6 and 7. By the strength of his intelligence, he might be able
to do it for a few days, but how is it possible for Arjuna
I've deleted most of the text where there are no to see both his friends
comments. The comments appear as annotations; to see
these, choose "Annotations" from the "View" menu Text 34:
above.) Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments that the
intelligence is sometimes compared to a sharp needle.
Chapter Six As a sharp needle can easily pierce cloth or paper,
Text 1: strong intelligence can pierce through a difficult
The phrase “lights no fire” refers to brahmanas. One problem or situation. Arjuna, however, does not
of the
Text 35: Lord Sri Krsna said: O mighty-armed son
Text 3: of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the
practices first dharana, then dhyana, different restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice
intensities of and by detachment.
Text 25:
Sanaih sanair means “gradually, step by step.” The
yogi should act slowly and steadily. He cannot expect
instant success. The intelligence has to become fixed by
properly hearing the sastra.
Text 26:
Here Krsna uses three adjectives to describe the
mind. Niscalati (agitated), cancalam (flickering), and
asthiram (unsteady). The
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Chapter Seven Mayayapahrta-jnanis often follow atheistic sankhya
philosophy and think that creation is enacted by
Text 1: material nature. Thus
Krsna begins by saying mayy asakta-manah, “with
mind attached to Me.” The word asakta refers to Text 16:
attachment to Krsna (asakti). Asakti is the state one The jijnasur is curious. He approaches Krsna to
achieves before he experiences bhava. Then Krsna say, understand the soul, Sanskrit grammar, logic (nyaya),
yogam yunjan mad-asrayah, “by practicing yoga in full and to become self-realized. Saunaka Âsi is an example
consciousness of me” asamsaya samagram, “we can of a jijnasur.
know Krsna completely without doubt.” How do we The artha-arthi may want to enjoy land, money,
attain this? Tac chrnu, simply by hearing about Krsna. sons, or a wife in this life or the next. Fortunately, he
asks Krsna, not the demigods, to supply his desires.
Text 2: Dhruva Maharaja is an example of an artha-arthi.
Jnana generally refers to knowing that the body and All of the above categories describe sakama
soul are different. Here, however, it also includes devotees. More specifically, they are karma-misra
knowledge of Krsna and His energies. Srila bhaktas because they turn to
Ramanujacarya says that the vijnana mentioned here
refers to knowledge of Krsna’s form. The jijnasur is mentioned in the Sanskrit verse between
artah and the artha-arthi because both must come to
Text 4: the platform of jijnasur, curiosity about Krsna
The first five gross elements, when combined with consciousness, to advance. If they are
their sense objects (earth—smell, water—taste, fire—
form, air—touch, and Text 17:
He is called eka-bhaktir, interested only in
fourth element, which is the cause of false ego. All devotional service. It is clear that Krsna is using the
these material elements are called apara, inferior, term “jnani” to refer to one who has abandoned his
because they lack individual consciousness. pursuit of jnana and turned to bhakti. In other words,
In the next two verses, Krsna will explain that the Krsna is not referring to one who practices bhakti in
material creation consists of two parts: the material order to obtain knowledge. Such a jnani loves Krsna
energy and the tathasta-sakti (the living entities). It has and Krsna loves him.
already been explained in Chapter Two that the living Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana comments that this
entities are spiritual by nature. type of jnani (the devotee in knowledge who desires
only Krsna’s service) is so dear to Krsna that the Lord
Text 6: is not satisfied to say that he is the best of the four.
The combination of Krsna’s two energies makes up Krsna opens His heart further and says, mama priyah
everything—both living and non-living—in the material “he is most dear.”
world. The two energies are called ksetra and ksetrajna After hearing this verse, one may conclude that the
and they will be discussed in detail in Chapter 13. The three karma-misra bhaktas are insignificant and only
point we are to understand here, however, the jnani is important. Anticipating this, Krsna speaks
text 18.
Text 10:
Srila Prabhupada writes that bijam means seed. That Text 18:
seed is pradhana, the undifferentiated sum total of the Such persons are also dear to Krsna because they
material elements—the seed of material existence. have approached Him, out of love, to have their needs
fulfilled.
Text 14: Sri Cakravartipada continues saying that Krsna
The three modes tie us tightly to the material world. considers the jnani, on the other hand, to be like His
Srila Prabhupada tells us that guna also means “rope.” own self. The jnani neither
A rope is made strong by weaving together three
strands. Similarly, these three modes woven together Text 19:
bind the conditioned soul tightly to illusion. This verse stresses the rarity of pure devotion. The
artah, jijnasuh, and artha-arthi must come to the
Text 15: jnani’s level before they are eligible to go back to
Srila Prabhupada describes each of these four types Godhead. That is the clear message
of duskrtinas in his purport. Visvanatha Cakravarti
Thakura and Text 20:
Influenced by the lower modes, their knowledge is
They take to hearing mundane village news stolen away because they foolishly think the demigods
(gramya-katha) the way pigs take to eating garbage. can fulfill their desires
According to Srila Baladeva
Text 23:
As the demigods eventually perish, so do the fruits
that they offer. Both the demigods and Krsna give fruits
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to their worshippers, but the followers of the demigods
are call alpa-medhasam, less
Text 24:
Krsna just described demigod worshipers as alpa-
medasam, possessing “small intelligence.” Here He
labels the impersonalists abuddhayah, even less
intelligent. Abuddhayah can also be translated as
possessing “no intelligence.” Srila Prabhupada
systematically reveals their misconceptions in his long
purport.
Text 26:
She carries out His orders from afar and cannot
affect Him. “Mam tu veda na kancana” signifies that
truly knowing Krsna is very rare.
Text 27:
From the beginning of creation, the conditioned living
entities are born into the illusory world of duality,
desire, and hate. They desire (iccha) one set of sense
objects and are repulsed (dvesa) by other
Text 30:
Three additional concepts now mentioned are:
adhibhuta, adhidaiva, and adhyajna. Arjuna will ask
their meaning in the