Devanagari
यावन्नृकायरथमात्मवशोपकल्पं
धत्ते गरिष्ठचरणार्चनया निशातम् ।
ज्ञानासिमच्युतबलो दधदस्तशत्रु:
स्वानन्दतुष्ट उपशान्त इदं विजह्यात् ॥ ४५ ॥
Verse text
yāvan nṛ-kāya-ratham ātma-vaśopakalpaṁ
dhatte gariṣṭha-caraṇārcanayā niśātam
jṣānāsim acyuta-balo dadhad asta-śatruḥ
svānanda-tuṣṭa upaśānta idaṁ vijahyāt
Synonyms
yāvat
—
as long as
;
nṛ
—
kāya — this human form of body
;
ratham
—
considered to be a chariot
;
ātma
—
vaśa — dependent upon one’s own control
;
upakalpam
—
in which there are many other subordinate parts
;
dhatte
—
one possesses
;
gariṣṭha
—
caraṇa — the lotus feet of the superiors (namely the spiritual master and his predecessors)
;
arcanayā
—
by serving
;
niśātam
—
sharpened
;
jṣāna
—
asim — the sword or weapon of knowledge
;
acyuta
—
balaḥ — by the transcendental strength of Kṛṣṇa
;
dadhat
—
holding
;
asta
—
śatruḥ — until the enemy is defeated
;
sva
—
ānanda — tuṣṭaḥ — being fully self-satisfied by transcendental bliss
;
upaśāntaḥ
—
the consciousness being cleansed of all material contamination
;
idam
—
this body
;
vijahyāt
—
one should give up .
Translation
As long as one has to accept a material body, with its different parts and paraphernalia, which are not fully under one’s control, one must have the lotus feet of his superiors, namely his spiritual master and the spiritual master’s predecessors. By their mercy, one can sharpen the sword of knowledge, and with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s mercy one must then conquer the enemies mentioned above. In this way, the devotee should be able to merge into his own transcendental bliss, and then he may give up his body and resume his spiritual identity.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
As long as one remains in this body, controlling the senses and other components of the chariot of the body with peaceful demeanor, one should destroy the enemies by the strength of the Lord, using the sword of knowledge, sharpened by serving the lotus feet of the great gurus, and then, satisfied with one’s bliss, one should give up the body.
As long as one possesses the chariot of the human body, which is assisted by senses and other facilities, while holding the sword of knowledge sharpened by service to the feet of great gurus, being strong with bhakti to the Lord, having destroyed the enemies and satisfied by attaining one’s kingdom of bliss, one should give up the chariot since it is no longer suitable.
However one does not give up the strong body on attaining one’s kingdom. After defeating the enemy, one gives up the chariot, bow and arrow. The jṣānī gives up jṣāna, his sādhana for liberation, since it is a covering composed of prakṛti, and then merges with Paramātmā by the small portion of pure bhakti included in his practice of jṣāna. He does not give up that bhakti. One must reject both jṣāna and ajṣāna since they are functions of māyā-śakti, in order to merge with Paramātmā by the functioning of the Lord’s svarūpa-śakti. They say that oṁ is the bow. The arrow is the jīva, aimed at the Brahman. The arrow, separating from the bow and chariot, enters the target by the force of the person shooting the arrow. Similarly, the pure jīva, giving up the impure jīva with its body, senses and avidyā, and giving up vidyā in the form of oṁ, which causes knowledge for liberation--by the strength of a small amount of pure bhakti residing in the impure jīva, the pure jīva realizes Paramātmā and merges into him. That is the meaning when the Lord says:
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām ||
Having attained the state of Brahman, being a pure soul, he does not lament at the loss of what he has attained nor does he desire what he has not attained, and looks upon all beings as equal. He then manifests pure bhakti.
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jṣātvā viśate tad-anantaram ||
Only by bhakti can a person know me as Brahman. Then, knowing me as Brahman by that bhakti, he merges with me. BG 18.54-55
When the coverings are removed by perfection of jṣāna mixed with bhakti, one attains the stage of brahma-bhūta, the form of Brahman as pure consciousness without coverings. Because of the removal of contamination, it is called ātmā and joyful (prasanna). He does not lament for what he has lost, as he would in his previous condition, nor does he long for what he has not attained, since he is without bodily identity. He is equal to all beings who are either inimical or friendly, since he does not seek any pleasure in externals. Then, with the disappearance of jṣāna, which is like a fire which disappears without fuel, he attains bhakti which was included in jṣāna, but which is indestructible, since it belongs to the Lord’s svarūpa-śakti, and is different from māyā-śakti. It does not disappear with the disappearance of vidyā and avidyā. Thus he attains pure bhakti (parām), devoid of jṣāna and karma. Previously this small amount of bhakti used for achieving liberation through jṣāna and vairāgya was not visible, though it was present like Paramātmā. The verse says “he attains pure bhakti” rather than “he performs pure bhakti.” It is just like a jewel which, though covered by grains, is not destroyed when the grains are destroyed in time, and then becomes visible. But it is not possible for that person to attain full prema-bhakti at that time, or even merging. Thus parām should not be explained as prema-bhakti.
What happens to the person with that bhakti? A particular example is given. Either the jṣānī or various types of devotees, who know me as I am, knows me in truth by bhakti. The Lord says bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ: I am only known by bhakti. Because of that, by that bhakti alone, after the disappearance of avidyā (tad-anantaram), knowing me, the jṣānī enters me, enjoying the happiness of merging with me. I am not known by vidyā since that is part of māyā, and I am beyond māyā.
Bhakti is also sometimes known as a part of vidyā:
sāṅkhya-yogau ca vairāgyaṁ tapo bhaktiś ca keśave
paṣca-parveti vidyeyaṁ yathā vidvān hariṁ viśet
The five parts of knowledge (vidyā) are sāṅkhya, yoga, vairāgya, austerity and bhakti. One who knows these enters the Lord.
However, the happiness of merging arises only from the action of the hlādinī-śakti. A portion of bhakti enters into vidyā in order to make it successful, just as a portion of bhakti enters into karma-yoga to make it successful. Without that bhakti, karma, jṣāna and yoga are just wasted labor. Thus, bhakti, beyond the guṇas, is not actually a function of vidyā which belongs to sattva-guṇa. Smṛti says sattvāt saṣjāyate jṣānam: knowledge arises from sattva. (BG 14.17) Just as vidyā is knowledge in sattva, so the knowledge arising from bhakti is actually bhakti. Thus there are two types of knowledge.
Purport
In
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.9)
the Lord says:
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” This is the highest perfection of life, and the human body is meant for this purpose. It is said in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
(11.20.17)
:
nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ
plavaṁ sukalpaṁ guru-karṇadhāram
mayānukūlena nabhasvateritaṁ
pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātma-hā
This human form of body is a most valuable boat, and the spiritual master is the captain,
guru-karṇadhāram,
to guide the boat in plying across the ocean of nescience. The instruction of Kṛṣṇa is a favorable breeze. One must use all these facilities to cross over the ocean of nescience. Since the spiritual master is the captain, one must serve the spiritual master very sincerely so that by his mercy one will be able to get the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
A significant word here is
acyuta-balaḥ.
The spiritual master is certainly very merciful to his disciples, and consequently by satisfying him a devotee gets strength from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says,
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja:
one must first please the spiritual master, and then one automatically pleases Kṛṣṇa and gets the strength with which to cross the ocean of nescience. If one seriously desires to return home, back to Godhead, one must therefore become strong enough by pleasing the spiritual master, for thus one gets the weapon with which to conquer the enemy, and one also gets the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Simply getting the weapon of
jṣāna
is insufficient. One must sharpen the weapon by serving the spiritual master and adhering to his instructions. Then the candidate will get the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In general warfare one must take help from his chariot and horses in order to conquer his enemy, and after conquering his enemies he may give up the chariot and its paraphernalia. Similarly, as long as one has a human body, one should fully use it to obtain the highest perfection of life, namely going back home, back to Godhead.
The perfection of knowledge is certainly to become transcendentally situated (
brahma-bhūta
). As the Lord says in
Bhagavad-gītā
(18.54)
:
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
“One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything; he is equally disposed toward all living entities. In that state he attains pure devotional service.” Simply by cultivating knowledge as the impersonalists do, one cannot get out of the clutches of
māyā.
One must attain the platform of
bhakti.
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jṣātvā
viśate tad-anantaram
“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (
Bg. 18.55
) Unless one has attained the stage of devotional service and the mercy of the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa, there is a possibility that one may fall down and again accept a material body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa stresses in
Bhagavad-gītā
(4.9)
:
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”
The word
tattvataḥ,
meaning “in reality,” is very important.
Tato māṁ tattvato jṣātvā.
Unless one understands Kṛṣṇa in truth by the mercy of the spiritual master, one is not free to give up his material body. As it is said,
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ:
if one neglects to serve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot become free from the material clutches simply by knowledge. Even if one attains the stage of
brahma-padam,
merging in Brahman, without
bhakti
he is prone to fall down. One must be very careful in regard to the danger of falling down again into material bondage. The only insurance is to come to the stage of
bhakti,
from which one is sure not to fall. Then one is free from the activities of the material world. In summary, as stated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one must get in touch with a bona fide spiritual master coming in the
paramparā
of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for by his mercy and instructions one is able to get strength from Kṛṣṇa. Thus one engages in devotional service and attains the ultimate goal of life, the lotus feet of Viṣṇu.
Significant in this verse are the words
jṣānāsim acyuta-balaḥ.
Jṣānāsim,
the sword of knowledge, is given by Kṛṣṇa, and when one serves the
guru
and Kṛṣṇa in order to hold the sword of Kṛṣṇa’s instructions, Balarāma gives one strength. Balarāma is Nityānanda.
Vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta haila sei, balarāma ha-ila nitāi.
This
bala
— Balarāma — comes with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and both of Them are so merciful that in this Age of Kali one may very easily take shelter of Their lotus feet. They come especially to deliver the fallen souls of this age.
Pāpī tāpī yata chila, hari-nāme uddhārila
. Their weapon is
saṅkīrtana, hari-nāma.
Thus one should accept the sword of knowledge from Kṛṣṇa and be strong with the mercy of Balarāma. We are therefore worshiping Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma in Vṛndāvana. In the
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
(3.2.4) it is said:
nāyam ātmā bala-hīnena labhyo
na ca pramādāt tapaso vāpy aliṅgāt
etair upāyair yatate yas tu vidvāṁs
tasyaiṣa ātmā viśate brahma-dhāma
One cannot attain the goal of life without the mercy of Balarāma. Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore says,
nitāiyera karuṇā habe, vraje rādhā-kṛṣṇa pābe:
when one receives the mercy of Balarāma, Nityānanda, one can attain the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa very easily.
se sambandha nāhi yāra, bṛthā janma gela tāra,
vidyā-kule hi karibe tāra
If one has no connection with Nitāi, Balarāma, then even though one is a very learned scholar or
jṣānī
or has taken birth in a very respectable family, these assets will not help him. We must therefore conquer the enemies of Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the strength received from Balarāma.