Devanagari
स्वे स्वेऽधिकारे या निष्ठा स गुण: परिकीर्तित: ।
कर्मणां जात्यशुद्धानामनेन नियम: कृत: ।
गुणदोषविधानेन सङ्गानां त्याजनेच्छया ॥ २६ ॥
Verse text
sve sve ’dhikāre yā niṣṭhā
sa guṇaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
karmaṇāṁ jāty-aśuddhānām
anena niyamaḥ kṛtaḥ
guṇa-doṣa-vidhānena
saṅgānāṁ tyājanecchayā
Synonyms
sve sve
—
each in his own
;
adhikāre
—
position
;
yā
—
which
;
niṣṭhā
—
steady practice
;
saḥ
—
this
;
guṇaḥ
—
piety
;
parikīrtitaḥ
—
is thoroughly declared
;
karmaṇām
—
of fruitive activities
;
jāti
—
by nature
;
aśuddhānām
—
impure
;
anena
—
by this
;
niyamaḥ
—
disciplinary control
;
kṛtaḥ
—
is established
;
guṇa
—
of piety
;
doṣa
—
of sin
;
vidhānena
—
by the rule
;
saṅgānām
—
of association with different types of sense gratification
;
tyājana
—
of renunciation
;
icchayā
—
by the desire .
Translation
It is firmly declared that the steady adherence of transcendentalists to their respective spiritual positions constitutes real piety and that sin occurs when a transcendentalist neglects his prescribed duty. One who adopts this standard of piety and sin, sincerely desiring to give up all past association with sense gratification, is able to subdue materialistic activities, which are by nature impure.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When the jṣānī or devotee remains situated according to his qualification it is praised as a good quality. With a desire to give up material enjoyment, there should be restriction on karma for the practitioners of karma who are innately impure, by following the rules and avoiding the prohibitions.
“Why do you say there is no other method? What is the fault if one uses another method?” Sve sve indicates the jṣānī and the bhakta. The meaning is this. If the jṣānī did not destroy sin by jṣāna and the devotee did not destroy sin by bhakti, they would have to perform penances or atonements to destroy the sin. Because there are plenty of scriptural statements that jṣāna and bhakti destroy sin, if sin is destroyed, why should they perform penances with a different qualification (karma-yoga)? If they were to perform atonements, it would mean that they have two faults: giving up their dharma and practicing another’s dharma. There should be no inclination for sin in the jṣānī or the devotee, but if by fate it occurs, sin is destroyed by those processes themselves, since jṣāna and bhakti are purifying by their very nature. Thus the Vedas generally say that the jṣānī and devotee do not fall within the qualifications of injunction and prohibition, good quality and bad quality. However, of the two, when the devotee commits sin, it is everywhere said that one should not see it as a fault, or think that he is subject to material guṇas, since it is explained that he is beyond the guṇas. Because the jṣānī is in sattva-guṇa, his control of the mind and senses are seen as good qualities and the lack of control are seen as bad qualities:
yas tv asaṁyata-ṣaḍ-vargaḥ pracaṇḍendriya-sārathiḥ
jṣāna-vairāgya-rahitas tri-daṇḍam upajīvati
surān ātmānam ātma-sthaṁ nihnute māṁ ca dharma-hā
avipakva-kaṣāyo ’smād amuṣmāc ca vihīyate
One who has not controlled the six forms of illusion (lust, anger, greed, excitement, false pride and intoxication), whose intelligence, the leader of the senses, is extremely attached to material things, who is bereft of knowledge and detachment, who adopts the sannyāsa order of life to make a living, who deceives the devatās, ātmā and Paramātmā, thus ruining all religious principles, and who is still infected by material contamination, is deviated and lost both in this life and the next. SB 11.18.40
Therefore it is not a fault to find good and bad among the jṣānīs.
Karmīs by their nature are subject to good and bad. The Vedas repeatedly enjoin that there should a restriction (niyamaḥ) on the natural inclination of engaging in sin for karmīs attached to their houses and bodies by applying the injunctions and prohibitions, for the purpose of giving up attachment to material enjoyment. The meaning is this. Man’s inclination to sin is present and cannot be completely stopped immediately. This destruction is accomplished by restricting the natural inclination by injunctions and prohibitions: do this, do not do that. It will be explained later how the Vedas do not encourage enjoyment.
utpattyaiva hi kāmeṣu prāṇeṣu sva-janeṣu ca
āsakta-manaso martyā ātmano ’nartha-hetuṣu
Simply by material birth, human beings become attached within their minds to personal sense gratification, long duration of life, sense activities, bodily strength, sexual potency and friends and family. Their minds are thus absorbed in that which defeats their actual self-interest. SB 11.21.24
natān aviduṣaḥ svārthaṁ bhrāmyato vṛjinādhvani
kathaṁ yuṣjyāt punas teṣu tāṁs tamo viśato budhaḥ
Those ignorant of their real self-interest are wandering on the path of material existence, gradually heading toward darkness. Why would the Vedas further encourage them in sense gratification if they, although foolish, submissively pay heed to Vedic injunctions? SB 11.21.25
Purport
Lord Kṛṣṇa here explains more clearly that those persons directly engaged in self-realization either through
jṣāna-yoga
or
bhakti-yoga
need not give up their regular duties and perform special penances to atone for an accidental falldown. The actual purpose of Vedic literature is to direct one back home, back to Godhead, and not to encourage material sense gratification. Although the
Vedas
recommend innumerable rituals for promotion to heavenly planets and enjoyment of all varieties of material opulence, such materialistic rewards are meant only to engage materialistic people, who otherwise would become demoniac. To purify an accidental falldown, one who is engaged in transcendental realization need not adopt any procedure beyond his own spiritual practice. The words
saṅgānāṁ tyājanecchayā
indicate that one should not practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness or self-realization superficially or casually; rather, one should sincerely and earnestly desire freedom from one’s past sinful life. Similarly, the words
yā niṣṭhā
indicate that one must constantly practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus, essential piety is to give up material sense gratification and engage in the loving service of the Lord. One who engages his senses, mind and intelligence twenty-four hours a day in the Lord’s service is the most pious person, and the Lord personally protects such a surrendered soul.