Devanagari
प्रकृति: पुरुषस्येह दह्यमाना त्वहर्निशम् ।
तिरोभवित्री शनकैरग्नेर्योनिरिवारणि: ॥ २३ ॥
Verse text
prakṛtiḥ puruṣasyeha
dahyamānā tv ahar-niśam
tiro-bhavitrī śanakair
agner yonir ivāraṇiḥ
Synonyms
prakṛtiḥ
—
the influence of material nature
;
puruṣasya
—
of the living entity
;
iha
—
here
;
dahyamānā
—
being consumed
;
tu
—
but
;
ahaḥ
—
niśam — day and night
;
tiraḥ
—
bhavitrī — disappearing
;
śanakaiḥ
—
gradually
;
agneḥ
—
of fire
;
yoniḥ
—
the cause of appearance
;
iva
—
as
;
araṇiḥ
—
wooden sticks .
Translation
The influence of material nature has covered the living entity, and thus it is as if the living entity were always in a blazing fire. But by the process of seriously discharging devotional service, this influence can be removed, just as wooden sticks which cause a fire are themselves consumed by it.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord said; By energetic bhakti to me for a long time, without desire for results, which purifies the heart and is performed according to one’s occupational duties, by knowledge with realization of the elements, by strong renunciation, by yoga accompanied by austerities, by intense concentration on the Lord, the subtle body of the jīva burns continually and gradually disappears, like the kindling stick is consumed by fire.
O mother! Prakṛti is not the cause of bondage for the jīva. Imposition of prakṛti’s guṇas on the jīva is the cause. This is caused by ignorance. By destroying ignorance one attains liberation. Sometimes, by faults in practice, the fear of saṁsāra reappears. When Kapila speaks of intense practice, such a condition of fear is excluded. This bhakti should be performed without desire for results (animitta). It purifies the antaḥkaraṇa (amala ātmanā). It should be energetic because of spontaneity (tīvrayā). It should be nourished by hearing about me (śruta-saṁbhṛtayā).
The subtle body (prakrṭiḥ) of the jīva becomes burned up, conquered, destroyed. It is like a stick in relation to a fire. Fire is produced by the kindling stick (araṇiḥ) but destroys the stick. Knowledge is produced by the subtle body (mind) but destroys that subtle body.
Purport
Fire is conserved in wooden sticks, and when circumstances are favorable, the fire is ignited. But the wooden sticks which are the cause of the fire are also consumed by the fire if it is properly dealt with. Similarly, the living entity’s conditional life of material existence is due to his desire to lord it over material nature and due to his envy of the Supreme Lord. Thus his main diseases are that he wants to be one with the Supreme Lord or he wants to become the lord of material nature. The
karmīs
try to utilize the resources of material nature and thus become its lord and enjoy sense gratification, and the
jṣānīs,
the salvationists, who have become frustrated in enjoying the material resources, want to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or merge into the impersonal effulgence. These two diseases are due to material contamination. Material contamination can be consumed by devotional service because in devotional service these two diseases, namely the desire to lord it over material nature and the desire to become one with the Supreme Lord, are absent. Therefore the cause of material existence is at once consumed by the careful discharge of devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
A devotee in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness appears superficially to be a great
karmī,
always working, but the inner significance of the devotee’s activities is that they are meant for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is called
bhakti,
or devotional service. Arjuna was apparently a fighter, but when by his fighting he satisfied the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he became a devotee. Since a devotee also engages in philosophical research to understand the Supreme Person as He is, his activities may thus appear to be like those of a mental speculator, but actually he is trying to understand the spiritual nature and transcendental activities. Thus although the tendency for philosophical speculation exists, the material effects of fruitive activities and empiric speculation do not, because this activity is meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.