TEXT 20
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ।। 20 ।।
guṇān etān atītya trīn
dehī deha-samudbhavān
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-duḥkhair
vimukto ’mṛtam aśnute
guṇān – qualities; etān – all these; atītya – transcending; trīn – three; dehī – the embodied; deha – the body; samudbhavān – produced of; janma – of birth; mṛtyu – death; jarā – and old age; duḥkhaiḥ – the distresses; vimuktaḥ – being freed from; amṛtam – nectar; aśnute – he enjoys.
When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means “embodied.” Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness.
In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.
TEXT 21
अर्जुन उवाच
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतान्स्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ।। 21 ।।
arjuna uvāca
kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān
atīto bhavati prabho
kim-ācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs
trīn guṇān ativartate
arjunaḥ uvāca – Arjuna said; kaiḥ – by which; liṅgaiḥ – symptoms; trīn – three; guṇān – qualities; etān – all these; atītaḥ – having transcended; bhavati – is; prabho – O my Lord; kim – what; ācāraḥ – behavior; katham – how; ca – also; etān – these; trīn – three; guṇān – qualities; ativartate – transcends.
Arjuna inquired: O my dear Lord, by which symptoms is one known who is transcendental to these three modes? What is his behavior? And how does he transcend the modes of nature?
In this verse, Arjuna’s questions are very appropriate. He wants to know the symptoms of a person who has already transcended the material modes. He first inquires of the symptoms of such a transcendental person. How can one understand that he has already transcended the influence of the modes of material nature? The second question asks how he lives and what his activities are. Are they regulated or nonregulated? Then Arjuna inquires of the means by which he can attain the transcendental nature. That is very important. Unless one knows the direct means by which one can be situated always transcendentally, there is no possibility of showing the symptoms. So all these questions put by Arjuna are very important, and the Lord answers them.
TEXTS 22–25
श्रीभगवानुवाच
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव ।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ।। 22 ।।
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येव योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ।। 23 ।।
समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ।। 24 ।।
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ।। 25 ।।
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca
moham eva ca pāṇḍava
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni
na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati
udāsīna-vad āsīno
guṇair yo na vicālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ
yo ’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ
sama-loṣṭāśma-kāñcanaḥ
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras
tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ
mānāpamānayos tulyas
tulyo mitrāri-pakṣayoḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī
guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate
śrī-bhagavān uvāca – the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; prakāśam – illumination; ca – and; pravṛttim – attachment; ca – and; moham – illusion; eva ca – also; pāṇḍava – O son of Pāṇḍu; na dveṣṭi – does not hate; sampravṛttāni – although developed; na nivṛttāni – nor stopping development; kāṅkṣati – desires; udāsīna-vat – as if neutral; āsīnaḥ – situated; guṇaiḥ – by the qualities; yaḥ – one who; na – never; vicālyate – is agitated; guṇāḥ – the qualities; vartante – are acting; iti evam – knowing thus; yaḥ – one who; avatiṣṭhati – remains; na – never; iṅgate – flickers; sama – equal; duḥkha – in distress; sukhaḥ – and happiness; sva-sthaḥ – being situated in himself; sama – equally; loṣṭa – a lump of earth; aśma – stone; kāñcanaḥ – gold; tulya – equally disposed; priya – to the dear; apriyaḥ – and the undesirable; dhīraḥ – steady; tulya – equal; nindā – in defamation; ātma-saṁstutiḥ – and praise of himself; māna – in honor; apamānayoḥ – and dishonor; tulyaḥ – equal; tulyaḥ – equal; mitra – of friends; ari – and enemies; pakṣayoḥ – to the parties; sarva – of all; ārambha – endeavors; parityāgī – renouncer; guṇa-atītaḥ – transcendental to the material modes of nature; saḥ – he; ucyate – is said to be.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O son of Pāṇḍu, he who does not hate illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present or long for them when they disappear; who is unwavering and undisturbed through all these reactions of the material qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active; who is situated in the self and regards alike happiness and distress; who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities – such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.
Arjuna submitted three different questions, and the Lord answers them one after another. In these verses, Kṛṣṇa first indicates that a person transcendentally situated has no envy and does not hanker for anything. When a living entity stays in this material world embodied by the material body, it is to be understood that he is under the control of one of the three modes of material nature. When he is actually out of the body, then he is out of the clutches of the material modes of nature.
But as long as he is not out of the material body, he should be neutral. He should engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord so that his identity with the material body will automatically be forgotten. When one is conscious of the material body, he acts only for sense gratification, but when one transfers the consciousness to Kṛṣṇa, sense gratification automatically stops. One does not need this material body, and he does not need to accept the dictations of the material body. The qualities of the material modes in the body will act, but as spirit soul the self is aloof from such activities. How does he become aloof? He does not desire to enjoy the body, nor does he desire to get out of it. Thus transcendentally situated, the devotee becomes automatically free. He need not try to become free from the influence of the modes of material nature.
The next question concerns the dealings of a transcendentally situated person. The materially situated person is affected by so-called honor and dishonor offered to the body, but the transcendentally situated person is not affected by such false honor and dishonor. He performs his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and does not mind whether a man honors or dishonors him. He accepts things that are favorable for his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise he has no necessity of anything material, either a stone or gold.
He takes everyone as his dear friend who helps him in his execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he does not hate his so-called enemy. He is equally disposed and sees everything on an equal level because he knows perfectly well that he has nothing to do with material existence. Social and political issues do not affect him, because he knows the situation of temporary upheavals and disturbances. He does not attempt anything for his own sake. He can attempt anything for Kṛṣṇa, but for his personal self he does not attempt anything. By such behavior one becomes actually transcendentally situated.
TEXT 26
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतानू ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ।। 26 ।।
māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
mām – unto Me; ca – also; yaḥ – a person who; avyabhicāreṇa – without fail; bhakti-yogena – by devotional service; sevate – renders service; saḥ – he; guṇān – the modes of material nature; samatītya – transcending; etān – all these; brahma-bhūyāya – elevated to the Brahman platform; kalpate – becomes.
One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.
This verse is a reply to Arjuna’s third question: What is the means of attaining to the transcendental position? As explained before, the material world is acting under the spell of the modes of material nature. One should not be disturbed by the activities of the modes of nature; instead of putting his consciousness into such activities, he may transfer his consciousness to Kṛṣṇa activities. Kṛṣṇa activities are known as bhakti-yoga – always acting for Kṛṣṇa. This includes not only Kṛṣṇa, but His different plenary expansions such as Rāma and Nārāyaṇa. He has innumerable expansions.
One who is engaged in the service of any of the forms of Kṛṣṇa, or of His plenary expansions, is considered to be transcendentally situated. One should also note that all
