Bhagavad Gita – Chapter IV Part 3

• nirasir yata-cittatma
• tyakta-sarva-parigrahah
• sariram kevalam karma
• kurvan napnoti kilbisam.

Purport:
A Krishna conscious person does not expect good or bad results in his
activities. His mind and intelligence are fully controlled. He knows
that because he is part and parcel of the Supreme, the part played by
him, as a part and parcel of the whole, is not his own activity but is
only being done through him by the Supreme. When the hand
moves, it does not move out of its own accord, but by the endeavor of the whole body.

A Krishna conscious person is always dovetailed with
the supreme desire, for he has no desire for personal sense gratification. He moves exactly like a part of a machine. As a machine part
requires oiling and cleaning for maintenance, so a Krishna conscious
man maintains himself by his work just to remain fit for action in the
transcendental loving service of the Lord, He is therefore immune to
all the reactions of his endeavors. Like an animal, he has no proprietorship even over his own body. A cruel proprietor of an animal
sometimes kills the animal in his possession, yet the animal does not
protest. Nor does it have any real independence.

A Krishna conscious
person, fully engaged in self-realization, has very little time to falsely
possess any material object. For maintaining body and soul, he does
not require unfair means of accumulating money. He does not,
therefore, become contaminated by such material sins. He is free
from all reactions to his actions.

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:

He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is
free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success
and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.

Purport:
A Krishna conscious person does not make much endeavor even to
maintain his body. He is satisfied with gains which are obtained of
their own accord. He neither begs nor borrows, but he labors honestly
as far as is in his power, and is satisfied with whatever is obtained by
his own honest labor. He is therefore independent in his livelihood.
He does not allow anyone’s service to hamper his own service in
Krishna consciousness.

However, for the service of the Lord he can
participate in any kind of action without being disturbed by the
duality of the material world. The duality of the material world is felt
in terms of heat and cold, or misery and happiness. A Krishna con-
scious person is above duality because he does not hesitate to act in
any way for the satisfaction of Krishna. Therefore he is steady both in
success and in failure. These signs are visible when one is fully in
transcendental knowledge.

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:
The work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material
nature and who is fully situated in transcendental knowledge merges
entirely into transcendence.

Purport:

Becoming fully Krishna conscious, one is freed from all dualities and
thus is free from the contaminations of the material modes. He can
become liberated because he knows his constitutional position in
relationship with Krishna, and thus his mind cannot be drawn from
Krishna consciousness. Consequently, whatever he does, he does for
Krishna, who is the primeval Visnu. Therefore, all his works are
technically sacrifices because sacrifice aims at satisfying the Supreme
Person, Visnu, Krishna. The resultant reactions to all such work
certainly merge into transcendence, and one does not suffer material
effects.

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:
A person who is fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness is sure to
attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to
spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that
which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.

Purport:
How activities in Krishna consciousness can lead one ultimately to the
spiritual goal is described here. There are various activities in Krishna
consciousness, and all of them will be described in the following
verses. But, for the present, just the principle of Krishna consciousness
is described. A conditioned soul, entangled in material contamination,
is sure to act in the material atmosphere, and yet he has to get out of
such an environment. The process by which the conditioned soul can
get out of the material atmosphere is Krishna consciousness. For
example, a patient who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels due
to overindulgence in milk products is cured by another milk product,
namely curds. The materially absorbed conditioned soul can be
cured by Krishna consciousness as set forth here in the Gitd. This
process is generally known as yajna, or activities (sacrifices) simply
meant for the satisfaction of Visnu, or Krishna.

The more the activities
of the material world are performed in Krishna consciousness, or for
Visnu only, the more the atmosphere becomes spiritualized by com-
plete absorption. The word brahma (Brahman) means “spiritual.”
The Lord is spiritual, and the rays of His transcendental body are
called brahmajyoti. His spiritual effulgence. Everything that exists is
situated in that brahmajyoti, but when thejyoti is covered by illusion
(mayo) or sense gratification, it is called material. This material veil
can be removed at once by Krishna consciousness; thus the offering for
the sake of Krishna consciousness, the consuming agent of such an
offering or contribution, the process of consumption, the contributor,
and the result are?all combined together?Brahman, or the Absolute
Truth.

The Absolute Truth covered by mayd is called matter. Matter
dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual
quality. Krishna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory
consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme. When the mind is
fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness, it is said to be in samddhi, or
trance. Anything done in such transcendental consciousness is called
yajna, or sacrifice for the Absolute. In that condition of spiritual
consciousness, the contributor, the contribution, the consumption,
the performer or leader of the performance, and the result or ultimate
gain?everything?becomes one in the Absolute, the Supreme
Brahman. That is the method of Krishna consciousness.

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:
Some yogis perfectly worship the demigods by offering different
sacrifices to them, and some offer sacrifices in the fire of the Su-
preme Brahman.

Purport:

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:

Some [the unadulterated brahmacaris sacrifice the hearing process
and the senses in the fire of mental control, and others [the regulated
householders] sacrifice the objects of the senses in the fire of the
senses.

Purport:

Sanskrit working:

English Translation:

Others, who are interested in achieving self-realization through
control of the mind and senses, offer the functions of all the senses,
and of the life breath, as oblations into the fire of the controlled
mind.

Purport:

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:

Having accepted strict vows, some become enlightened by sacrificing
their possessions, and other; Dy performing severe austerities, by
practicing the yoga of eightfold mysticism, or by studying the Vedas
to advance in transcendental knowledge.

Purport:

These sacrifices may be fitted into various divisions. There are
persons who are sacrificing their possessions in the form of various
kinds of charities. In India, the rich mercantile community or
princely orders open various kinds of charitable institutions like
dharma-sald, anna-ksetra, atithi-sald, analhalaya and vidyd-pitha.
In other countries, too, there are many hospitals, old age homes and
similar charitable foundations meant for distributing food, educa-
tion and medical treatment free to the poor. All these charitable
activities are called dravyamaya-yajna. There are others who, for
higher elevation in life or for promotion to higher planets within the
universe, voluntarily accept many kinds of austerities such as can-
drdyana and cdturmdsya. These processes entail severe vows for
conducting life under certain rigid rules.

For example, under the
cdturmdsya vow the candidate does not shave for four months
during the year (July to October), he does not eat certain foods, does
not eat twice in a day or does not leave home. Such sacrifice of the
comforts of life is called tapomaya-yajna. There are still others who
engage themselves in different kinds of mystic yogas like the Patanjali
system (for merging into the existence of the Absolute), or hatha-yoga
or astdnga-yoga (for particular perfections). And some travel to all
the sanctified places of pilgrimage. All these practices are called
yoga-yajna, sacrifice for a certain type of perfection in the material
world. There are others who engage themselves in the studies of
different Vedic literatures, specifically the Upanisads and Veddnta-
sutras, or the Sankhya philosophy.

All of these are called svddhydya-
yajna, or engagement in the sacrifice of studies. All these yogis are
faithfully engaged in different types of sacrifice and are seeking a
higher status of life. Krishna consciousness, however, is different from
these because it is the direct service of the Supreme Lord. Krishna
consciousness cannot be attained by any one of the above-mentioned
types of sacrifice but can be attained only by the mercy of the Lord
and His bona fide devotees. Therefore, Krishna consciousness is
transcendental.

Sanskrit working:

English Wording:

English Translation:

Still others, who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to
remain in trance, practice by offering the movement of the outgoing
breath into the incoming, and the incoming breath into the out-
going, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing.
Others, curtailing the eating process, offer the outgoing breath into
itself as a sacrifice.

Purport:
This system of yoga for controlling the breathing process is called
pranayama, and in the beginning it is practiced in the hatha-yoga
system through different sitting postures. All of these processes are
recommended for controlling the senses and for advancement in
spiritual realization. This practice involves controlling the airs within
the body so as to reverse the directions of their passage. The apana
air goes downward, and the prana air goes up. The pranayama-yogi
practices breathing the opposite way until the currents are neutralized
intopuraka, equilibrium. Offering the exhaled breath into the inhaled
breath is called recaka. When both air currents are completely
stopped, one is said to be in kumbhaka-yoga. By practice of
kumbhaka-yoga, one can increase the duration of life for perfection
in spiritual realization. The intelligent yogi is interested in attaining
perfection in one life, without waiting for the next. For by practicing
kumbhaka-yoga, the yogis increase the duration of life by many,
many years. A Krishna conscious person, however, being always
situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, automatically
becomes the controller of the senses. His senses, being always engaged
in the service of Krishna, have no chance of becoming otherwise
engaged. So at the end of life, he is naturally transferred to the
transcendental plane of Lord Krishna; consequently he makes no
attempt to increase his longevity. He is at once raised to the platform
of liberation, as stated in Bhagavad-Gita:

“One who engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Lord
transcends the modes of material nature and is immediately elevated
to the spiritual platform.” A Krishna conscious person begins from the
transcendental stage, and he is constantly in that consciousness.
Therefore, there is no falling down, and ultimately he enters into the
abode of the Lord without delay. The practice of reduced eating is
automatically done when one eats only Krishna-prasadam, or food
which is offered first to the Lord. Reducing the eating process is very
helpful in the matter of sense control. And without sense control
there is no possibility of getting out of the material entanglement.

Sanskrit working:

English wording:

English Translation:
All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become
cleansed of sinful reactions, and, having tasted the nectar of the results of sacrifices, they advance toward the supreme eternal
atmosphere.

Purport:

From the foregoing explanation of different types of sacrifice (namely
sacrifice of one’s possessions, study of the Vedas or philosophical
doctrines, and performance of the yoga system), it is found that the
common aim of all is to control the senses. Sense gratification is the
root cause of material existence; therefore, unless and until one is
situated on a platform apart from sense gratification, there is no
chance of being elevated to the eternal platform of full knowledge,
full bliss and full life. This platform is in the eternal atmosphere, or
Brahman atmosphere. All the above-mentioned sacrifices help one
to become cleansed of the sinful reactions of material existence. By
this advancement in life, not only does one become happy and
opulent in this life, but also, at the end. he enters into the eternal
kingdom of God, either merging into the impersonal Brahman or
associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.