Lord Krishna as Vasudeva in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

Lord Krishna as Vasudeva in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

and

The Heliodorus Column

by

Srila Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Goswami

from

Vaisnava Vijaya: The Life History of Mayavadism

Preface and Introduction

The name Vasudeva referring to Lord Krishna is revealed in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita in four different chapters. Lord Krishna uses the name Vasudeva twice to describe Himself in chapters 7 and 10 and then He is described twice more as Vasudeva in chapters 11 and 18 by Vedavyasa.

The first example of Vasudeva is in Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 7, verse 19 below:

bahunam janmanam ante jnanavam mam prapadyate

vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabah

Translation

Thus after innumerable births one who is perfected in wisdom, understanding completely that Vasudeva is the ultimate cause of all causes surrenders unto Me; such a great soul is very rare.

In Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 10, verse 37 Lord Krishna declares again:

vrsinam vasudeva'smi pandavanam dhananjayah

muninam apy aham vyasah kavinam usana kavih

Translation

Of the descendants of Vrisni I am Vasudeva, of the Pandavas I am Dhananjaya, of the holy sages I am Vyasadeva and among great scholars of scriptures I am Usana.

Vedavyasa also refers to Lord Krishna as Vasudeva when describing the phenomenal universal form Lord Krishna displayed in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 11, verse 50:

ity arjunam vasudevas tathoktva svakam rupam darsayamasa bhuyah

asvasayamasa ca bhitam enam bhutva punah saumya-vapur mahatma

Translation

Vasudeva speaking to Arjuna in this way, exhibited His four-armed form and then again appeared in His beautiful two armed form as the Supreme Lord Krishna and pacified Arjunas fears.

Then in the concluding chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, Vedavyasa again refers to Lord Krishna as Vasudeva in the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 18, verse 74:

ity aham vasudevasya parthasya ca mahatmanah

samvadam imam asrausam adbhutam roma-harsanam

Translation

Thus I have heard this wonderful divine, discourse between two great souls Vasudeva and Arjuna and it is so electrifying that my hair is standing on end.

Vasudeva is a primary expansion of the Supreme Lord Krishna as revealed in the Vedic scriptures within the category designated as catur-vyuha. The signifigance and paramount position of Vasudeva is also thoroughly revealed in the illustrious Vedic scripture known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 1, chapter 2, verse 28 and 29 as revealed below:

vasudeva para veda vasudeva para makhah

vasudeva para yoga vasudeva para kriyah

vasudeva param jnanam vasudeva param tapah

vasudeva paro dharmo vasudeva para gatih

Translation

The ultimate goal of all knowledge is the Supreme Lord Krishna known as Vasudeva. The purpose of all austerities is to please Vasudeva. The purpose of yoga is to realize Vasudeva. All benefits which we receive are awarded by Vasudeva solely and all penances are performed to learn Vasudeva only. Vasudeva is the Supreme knowledge. Righteousness in its most complete form is rendering loving devotional service unto Him. Vasudeva is the supreme goal and ultimate reality of all existence.

So from this brief introduction the criteria of Vasudeva has been amply established .

Jagannatha Das

Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti

Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya

Srila Bhakti Prajnan Keshava Goswami Maharaja’s Discourse

In India at the present time there is an archeological phenomena from antiquity. In the Vedic culture it is known as the Garuda Stambha a pillar of stone with a statue of the Lords carrier Garuda on top of it but in western archeological circles it is called the Heliodorus Column. The marvel of the Heliodorus Column is that it reveals that the cultured and intelligentsia from western society were knowledgeable and adept regarding the Vedic culture even before the birth of Christ to the point of embracing and adopting it as their own as is evidenced by the Greek ambassador at the time named Heliodorus, who was so devoted and entralled by the Vedic culture that he established a memorial to Vasudeva Krishna over 2000 years ago that is still existing in Madhya Pradesh in India.

Heliodorus was the Greek ambassador to India 150 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. As a diplomat representing Greece in a foreign country, Ambassador Heliodorus obviously had the full confidence of the cultured Grecian government and undoubtedly possessed a sophisticated understanding of the world as it existed at that time. Although his political skills and diplomatic expertise certainly must have been exemplary, they are not however what he is best known for.

What establishes his importance and what he is best known for is the erection in 113 B.C. of his monumental pillar at Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh India which glorifies Vasudeva the direct expansion of Lord Krishna. Although knowledge of its existence is not so widespread in the international archeological circles of the world its proven legacy was quite sensational and its discovery revealed the sublime universality and profound influence of the imperishable Vedic culture. Especially in light of the fact that the western countries received the vast majority of their knowledge data base from the cultured Greeks makes this a very significant and unique archeological discovery of worldwide importance.

The Heliodorus column first came to the attention of the western intelligentsia during an archeological expedition from England in 1877 headed by Sir Alexander Cunningham. After analyzing the style and form of the column he incorrectly deduced that it was erected during the reign of the Imperial Gupta dynasty in 200A.D. He never dreamed that underneath the thick coating of red silt accumulated over the ages at the bottom of the pillar was an ancient inscription. However 32 years later an independent researcher accompanied by Dr. J.H. Marshall went to the site and had the coating of silt removed and then the inscription brought to light that the Heliodorus column was in fact erected in the second century B.C. several hundred years before the Imperial Gupta period.

Dr. Marshall described in an article he wrote in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society that Cunningham had made a mistake in his evaluation of the age of the column and could never have imagined the magnitude and value of the column which he had missed in his discovering. The language of the inscription was Prakriti influenced by Sanskrit and is called Brahmi and it conclusively proved its age back to 200 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

This came as a great surprise to Dr. Marshall but what caused him to be amazed and what totally electrified the international archeological community as well was the translation of the ancient Brahmi script given below:

devadevasya vasudevasya garuda dhvajah ayam karitah

heliodorena bhagavatena diyasa putrena taksasilakena

Translation

This Garuda pillar dedicated to Vasudeva, the lord of lords, has been erected by Heliodorus, a devotee of the Vedic culture, the son of Dion and resident of Taxsasila.

yavanadutena agatena maharajasya antalikitasya upantat sakasam rajnah

kasi putrasya bhagabhadrasya tratuh varsena caturdasena rajyena vardhamanasya

Translation

Who had come as an ambassador from the great King Antialkidas to the kingdom of King Bhagabhadra, the son of Kasi, the protector reigning prosperously in the fourteenth year of his kingship.

Now to put everything in the proper perspective it must be understood that Greece's greatest philosophers starting with Pythagoras who lived in 500B.C., Socrates who lived in 450B.C., Hippocrates who lived in 400B.C. and both Plato and Aristotle who lived in 350 B.C., all had come and preached their doctrines, defined their theories, promulgated their philosophies and wrote their treatises. Ambassador Heliodorus being among the cultured Greek elite in the 2^nd century B.C. was most certainly well versed in the conclusions of all their philosophies. Yet and still Ambassador Heliodorus became an avid and enthusiastic devotee of the Supreme Lord Krishna and left a most impressive monumental pillar in the Heliodorus Column as a testament to this for posterity.

In conclusion it can be clearly ascertained that the Heliodorus Column effectively illustrates that the Vedic culture was excellent enough to capture the mind and the hearts of the refined and cultured Greeks; yet catholic enough to allow them into their ranks.

The Four Principle Verses of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

The Four Principle Verses of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

by

Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Goswami Maharaja 

 

The four principle verses of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita are in chapter 10 verses 8, 9, 10, 11. The ontological substance of the entire book is contained within these four essential verses beginning in verse 8 with Lord Krishna declaring aham sarvasya prabhavo meaning: Everything emanates from Me. In the Srimad Bhagavatam verse I.II.XI beginning vadanti tat tattva vidas the three absolute conceptions of the Supreme Lord Krishna are given as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. Brahman is the all comprehensive aspect of the supreme absolute. Paramatma is the all permeating aspect of the supreme absolute and Bhagavan is the personal manifestation of the supreme absolute. We find the defintion of Bhagavan in the Vishnu Purana VI:V:XXXXVII beginning aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah defines: Bhagavan the Supreme Lord Krishna is  inseparably replete with the six sublime qualities of complete wealth, complete power, complete fame, complete beauty, complete knowledge and complete renunciation.  

The characteristic of Bhagavan in the form of Lord Krishna's expansion of Narayana the Lord of Vaikuntha in the celestial spiritual worlds is that all potencies are personally controlled by Him. However Srila Jiva Goswami has revealed a special and particularly fine interpretation by revealing that Bhagavan means bhajaniya guna visista meaning: Whoever comes into contact with Lord Krishna cannot resist serving Him. No one can resist feeling moved to worship and adore His charming form and captivating personality as He attracts the love of all. Therefore the word sarvasyameaning of all causes denotes that Lord Krishna is factually Svayam Bhagavan, the Supreme Lord Himself, the originator of all. His statment mattah sarvam pravartate indicates that all efforts and every endeavour originates from Him including the methods by which everyone worships and propitiates Him in devotion. The Katha Upanisad I.II.XXIII beginning nayam atma pravacanena states: The Supreme Lord cannot be realised by erudite logic, superior intelligence or penetrating study of the Vedic scriptures. The Supreme Lord reveals Himself personally to the atma the immortal soul of the jiva or embodied being who having become enthused to engage in loving devotional service unto Him, humbly prays to be a recipient of His causeless mercy. In this way the Supreme Lord is the first to reveal Himself to the public as how to worship Himself by appearing as the guru the spiritual master and through Him instruct others on how to worship Himself. Lord Krishna explains in Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto, chapter 17, verse 27 beginning acaryam mam vijaniyan states: One should understand that the bonafide guru is verily an expansion of the Supreme Lord and should never be dishonoured. The inherent nature of the guru represents  everything that is divine and thus he should never be envied or disrespected by ascribing  mundane conceptions of time, place and circumstances upon Him. 

The most rare and elevated stage of devotion is the line of spontaneous devotion known as raga marga. In that line guided by the qualified guru an elevated pure devotee may gradually advance to render service to a group leader of one of Lord Krishna's personal associates who serve Him in sakhya rasa which is friendship, in vatsalya rasa which is parental or in madurya rasa which is consorthood. In the eternal spiritual worlds of Goloka Vrindavan the Supreme Lord Krishna is being served in spontaneous loving devotion by His friends in sakhya rasa such as Sridham and Subal. Invatsalya rasa by Nanda Baba and Yasoda Ma and in madhurya rasa by the gopis such as Lalita and Vishaka.  

The words mac-citta mad-gatta-prana in verse 9 mean: Lord Krishna is the core of His devotees hearts, in their every thought. Their entire energy, their whole life is dedicated to the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord Krishna. In private His devotees enjoy conversing about the Supreme Lord to mutually enlighten one another of His glories. In public His devotees love to preach the Supreme Lord's glories and nothing else. At all times, in all places, in every situation they are enlivened by topics concerning the Supreme Lord. The words tusyanti ca means they become gratified. Up unto the divine interaction of vatsalya rasa or parental relationship with the Supreme Lord there is a feeling of satisfaction. The words ramanti ca denote that just as a wife feels great satisfaction in conjugal relationship with her husband the devotees feel similar ecstasy when discussing intimate pastimes about the Supreme Lord. This conception has also been verified by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana and Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura. 

In verse 10 Lord Krishna reveals that the highest group of servitors who were described in the previous verse by the word ramanti indicating the highest enjoyment are those who are satata yuktanamor always engaged in loving devotion to Him. Then He reveals that He will personally bestow the spiritual illumination by which they will be able to assuredly come to Him. The Supreme Lord Krishna's relationship with His devotees is independent of everything conceivable. It is beyond rules, laws, society, even scriptures. It is fully innate and natural and does not require any approval or sanction. One may show formal respect to the norms and restrictions of society but in their heart of hearts they are totally surrendered to the Supreme Lord. This is the special dispensation Lord Krishna bequeaths to His devotees. Externally there are ordinances and injunctions that must be followed but the position of the Supreme Lord is transcendental them all. The Vedic scriptures are His instructions for the masses who have deviated from Him and society is also under the jurisdiction of the Vedic scriptures. But the Supreme Lord's divine, transcendental relationships with His devotees is intrinsic and independent, not requiring recognition from anyone and this is the highest. It supersedes all laws and rules. Like signposts the Vedic scriptures are all pointing in the direction of the Supreme Lord Krishna. In this direction He is available; but where and how is unknown. 

The general interpretation for verse 11 is always given that Lord Krishna situated in the hearts of all living entities dispels the darkness of ignorance with the radiance of knowledge out of compassion for His devotees. But if we appreciate pure uncalculated devotion then this verse may appear redundant and inconsistent. When the highest devotees are already committed to performing continuous unadulterated devotional service and above even that they are situated on the plane of pure love which is spontaneous and unmotivated. How can it be harmonised that the Supreme Lord will now in the last stage destroy their non-existing ignorance which arises from misunderstanding by giving them jnana or knowledge? Jnana is only a cover, a futile, finite conception of the infinite absolute. When these highest devotees have already achieved devotion devoid of the covering of knowledge why will they again have to return to this jnana. In this regard the great preceptor Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti has commented that this jnana is vilaksanam or extraordinary; but he did not put forth any specific details. To clarify this point we have given the following explanation. Lamentation and suffering are generally known to be symptoms of tama guna the mode of ignorance. Yet in jnana-sunya the elevated devotees who see Lord Krishna not as the Supreme Lord; but see Him intimately as their friend, son, husband or paramour will come to experience lamentation and suffering; but this is only an external appearance of ignorance. In reality it is the pain of vipralambha or divine separation. So they will lament: Where has Krishna gone? When will He return? Why has he left us? Etc.  

Lord Krishna's states tesam evanukampartham which usually means: Certainly to favour them I dispel the darkness of ignorance; but it may also be interpreted as: Being conquered by their love I aspire for the favour of these elevated devotees by atma-bhavah-stah appearing in the soul within their hearts and revealing bhasvata jnana dipena the extraordinary illumination of My dazzling divine presence which nasayami destroys all ignorance. Another great preceptor Srila Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami has determined a similar internal meaning when he concluded: Through devotion everyone wants the Supreme Lord to help them attain the highest position of eternal benefit and if they have a connection with Lord Krishna they consider themselves. But Lord Krishna considers Himself fortunate when He comes in contact with the invaluable affection that He is offered from His surrendered devotee's hearts. Although Lord Krishna is the absolute controller of all existence and the paramount Supreme Lord of all creation; He is so sublimely wonderful that He feels it is His great, good fortune to experience the association of His loving devotees. So in this light it can be understood that Lord Krishna stating tesam evanukampartham can be understood as: Conquered by the love of My devotees, when I can no longer tolerate the pain of their separation, I at once show Myself to satisfy them and I reveal to them with jnana dipena the extraordinary illumination of transcendental consciousness. Sweetly I tell them that I have returned to you, I am here. With the powerful brilliance of jnana dipena's dazzling illumination I show them my presence when they are very much in need of me and relieve their pain of vipralambha. The Supreme Lord Krishna reveals Himself in the form that is in accordance with the mood His devotees are individually situated in. In sakhya rasa it is as a friend to a friend, in vatsalya rasa it is as a child to His parents, in madhurya rasa it is as the beloved to the beloved or as a husband to a wife. Such extraordinary illumination is transcendental and beyond even the superlative jnana of topics found within the Vedas that we are accustomed to hearing and learning about. 

The acme of theism is found in madhurya rasa and it is called parakiya-rasa. Parakiya means another's. Rasa means divine mood in relationship. In every rasa Lord Krishna attracts everyone. Throughout the whole spiritual world of Goloka Vrindavan where everyone is eternally feeling the rasa of love for Lord Krishna, this parikiya rasa is infused. In sakhya rasa Krishna's friends sometimes hear stories that He is not really a gopa or cowherd boy and that really he is the son of a king from the ksatriya or royal warrior class and that He cannot remain as their friend because soon He will be leaving to join His parents. His friends worry that they can lose Krishna's company at any time. They think that without Him how will they ever be able to go daily to the forest tending the cows? They experience such apprehensions and this increases their feelings of loving friendship towards Him. Similarly Yasoda Ma and Nanda Baba hear rumours that some say Krishna is not really their son but the son of King Vasudeva and Queen Devaki in Mathura. They both reject this idea as foolishness, that it cannot be and they refuse to accept the possibility of it. They both think Krishna is our child. We raised Him right from birth. How can anyone think otherwise? But in the back of their mind they reflect that if it is somehow true they could lose Him. They ponder how could they live without Him? So such contrary feelings greatly enhance their love for Krishna. Therefore parikiya-rasa stresses the rarity of relationship with Krishna due to the apprehension of possibly losing Him and this is always in the background and is most evident in the highest intensity of devotion to Lord Krishna in madhurya rasa.  

In Vaikuntha, the eternal spiritual worlds where Lord Krishna's expansion of Narayana rules majestically, the nature of worship there is grandiose, opulent, reverential and awe-inspiring. But aboveVaikuntha in Goloka Vrindavan which is the highest conception of divinity, the fountainhead of all incarnations and expansions, Lord Krishna performs His eternal divine pastimes in the spiritual form of a human being as an ever youthful, cowherd boy bedecked with peacock feather, playing upon a flute. His beauty is so sublimely charming and sweet that all creation is inundated from just an atom of it and all living entities are drawn irresistibly to Him. 

The Supreme Lord Krishna is approachable by all His creation. We can find the Supreme Lord Krishna very near residing within our hearts as paramatma the Supreme Soul. It has been explained by the previous acarya's or spiritual preceptors of our parampara or disciplic succession in the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya, how the nature of Lord Krishna's human form is the highest manifestation of the ultimate reality, the supreme absolute truth according to the calculation of rasa which is the common standard of measurement for the whole scope of the infinite. By the progressive development of rasas ascending from santa rasa or neutraliy to dasya rasa or servotorship to sakhya rasa or friendship to vatsalya rasa or parental affection and madhurya rasa as the beloved; this is scientifically proven without   whimsical speculation or blind faith. If we follow the line of rupanuga bhajana devotion in the mood of Srila Rupa Goswami which originates from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; then this scientific basis can be appreciated. The previous acaryas have left this for us, step by step, how we can follow, conceive and attain all these things. 

Interpretations of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

Interpretations of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

1948 Commentary by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj

It has become a luxurious fashion of the day, along with progressing material civilization that anyone can make their own interpretation of the great Aryan philosophy of India known as the Bhagavad-Gita. This concise form of Vedic knowledge known also as the Gita Upanisad is acknowledged by all transcendentalists and scholars of Vedic scriptures as the apex of all the Upanisads and the Vedantasutras as well. This is true especially in India. Scholars and acrayas like Sripada Sankaracarya and some of his followers could in no way ignore or even attempt to not reccognize out this very important book of knowledge, although such scholars of the Mayavada school did not acknowledge the bona fides of the Puranas. But the interpretation of Sri Sankaracarya differs from the interpretations of the Vaisnava acaryas headed by Sri Ramanujacarya and Madhvacarya. There are innumerable interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita in the market, and it is certainly a puzzling business to select which of the various interpretations shall be accepted as bona fide and which of them shall be rejected as mala fide.In order to make a distinction between these two classes of bona fide and mala fide interpretations, we have to make an impartial study of the book, and such unbiased study only will make us able to discern the bona fide from the mala fide.
In this connection, we may first of all try to find out the origin of the Bhagavad-Gita. It is wrong to believe that the Bhagavad-Gita was first spoken in the battlefield of Kuruksetra as it is a part of the great history of India, namely, the Mahabharata. We can understand from the talks of Sri Krsna and Arjuna, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-Gita, that long, long before the battle of Kuruksetra, this philosophy was once spoken by Sri Krsna to Vivasvan (the Sun), and from Vivasvan the knowledge was transferred to Manu, and from Manu it was transferred to King Iksvaku. And, in that way of disciplic succession, the knowledge has come down to generations after generations, but in course of time, such disciplic succession broke, and therefore, Sri Krsna again repeated the same yoga or transcendental knowledge to Arjuna. In the beginning of the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, verses 1-3 this fact is stated as follows:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha manur iksvakave ’bravit
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.
evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa
This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.

sa evayam maya te ’dya yogah proktah puratanah
bhakto ’si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam
That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”Rsis and kings or the kings who were as good as the rsis is the meaning of the word rajarsaya, and, as such, every one, whether he was a householder or mendicant, knew Bhagavad-Gita before the battle of Kuruksetra, or before the period of Mahabharata, which is calculated to be at least five thousand years before, and as such, how it is hinted that the same knowledge was lost. That transcendental knowledge was lost because there must have been some mala fide interpretations of the knowledge, and such knowledge would do more harm than good to the people. It had to be repeated again by Sri Krsna before a bona fide king, and for this, Arjuna was selected at a critical moment because Sri Krsna acknowledged him to be not only a confidential friend, but also a bona fide devotee at the same time. We have to mark the words in Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, verse 3 especially bhakto ’si etc.
bhakto ’si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam
“Because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.”Sri Krsna had many friends and relatives at that time who might have been great scholars also, but He selected Arjuna as the bona fide person to grasp the knowledge of Bhagavad-Gita only because Arjuna was a great devotee of the Lord. It may be concluded therefore that the principle of Bhagavad-Gita can be understood only by personalities like Arjuna, who was a completely surrendered soul to Sri Krsna, and this knowledge (yoga) can be explained only by personalities like Sri Krsna (i. e. His bona fide devotees) or for the matter of that by the Personality of Godhead only.
Under such circumstances, the bona fide interpretations can be given only by those who follow the footprints of Arjuna, or, in other words, one who happens to come in the line of disciplic succession from Sri Arjuna as it was formerly delivered from Vivasvan to Manu (and Iksvaku). That is the first condition of understanding Bhagavad-Gita. And, violations of this condition means breaking of the link of disciplic succession and thereby losing the real purpose of the great philosophy. Beside, Bhagavad-Gita is not a new thesis of speculative philosophy, but it is as old as the Sun is. Nobody can say what is the age of the Sun, neither can anybody calculate the age of Manu. According to authentic sastras, the age of a Manu is 72 x 4,200,000 years. It is also understood that at the present moment, the Manu who has been referred to in the Bhagavad-Gita has been passing his age on the point of the 28th period, out of the above mentioned 72 periods of 4,200,000 years each, and because Manu was told by Vivasvan, it may be safely calculated that Bhagavad-Gita was spoken once before the battle of Kuruksetra at least 197,600,000 one hundred ninety-seven million sixty hundreds of thousand years before.
A transcendental source of knowledge which was coming down in a chain of disciplic succession for millions of years before the battle of Kuruksetra must have been studied by various scholars of the period, but still, we don’t find more than one edition or interpretation of the Bhagavad-Gita as represented by Sri Arjuna; but during the last two hundred years, we have so many interpretations of Bhagavad-Gita by different speculators. This advancement of speculative activities by different mundaners without any reference to the chain of disciplic succession, are all mala fide interpretations, and spread of such mala fide knowledge on the so-called basis of the Great Book of Knowledge, will do more harm than good to the people.
We find also in the last chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, that the Personality of Godhead has persistently advised that the essence of Bhagavad-Gita must not be disclosed to a person at any time who has not undergone any disciplinary method of austerity and penances, who is not a devotee of Sri Krsna, who is unwilling to accept the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita and, lastly, one who actually envies Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead. The sloka which instructs the above procedure is found in chapter 18, verse 67 as follows:
idam te natapaskaya nabhaktaya kadacana
na casusrusave vacyam na ca mam yo ’bhyasuyati
“This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.”So, according to Bhagavad-Gita, the following four classes of readers are incompetent to understand the principle of Bhagavad-Gita, and therefore they are not able to make any bona fide interpretations whatsoever. They are:
1. Ordinary men who have no training in austerity or penance.
2. Those who are not devotees of Godhead but are either mundane workers, mundane philosophers or mundane mystics.
3. Those who do not come in the line of disciplic succession like Vivasvan, Manu, Iksvaku, Arjuna, etc.
4. Those who disbelieve Sri Krsna as the Absolute Personality of Godhead.
And, these unlucky four classes of men are described in the Bhagavad-Gita as (a) Naradhamah the lowest class of men, (b) mudhah non-intelligent men of society, (c) mayayapahrta-jnana persons who have sufficient mundane education, but they are robbed of essential knowledge by the illusory energy or maya, and (d) the asuras who disbelieve in the very existence of Godhead. In chapter 7, verse 15 can be found a description of the above fact as follows:
na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrta-jnana asuram bhavam asritah
“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me.”These four mala fide classes of men have done tremendous harm to the society by making mala fide interpretations of the Bhagavad-Gita according to their limited sensual perceptions, and the result is that the whole atmosphere has been surcharged with mala fide poisons, which are eating the vital necessities of life. We can very well imagine how this process can do harm if we compare it partially with adulterated foodstuff or adulterated medicines. Foodstuff and medicines are concerned with the material body only, but the knowledge which is administered in the Bhagavad-Gita is concerned with spirit soul. In the very beginning of Bhagavad-Gita, the identity of the material body and the spirit soul has been elaborately explained, and the specific instruction of Bhagavad-Gita has always been stressed for the benefit of the spirit soul. The subject matter of the material body and mind has not been neglected in Bhagavad-Gita, but on the contrary, it has been nicely coordinated with the necessities of the spirit soul; but more importance and attention has been drawn on the subject matter of the spirit soul. Therefore, if we protest so much against spread of adulterated foodstuff and medicines which are concerned with the temporary material body only, we have to protest more vigorously against the spread of adulterated interpretations of Bhagavad-Gita because that concerns to the eternal vital power of the spirit soul as verified in chapter 2, verse 17.
avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam
“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible.” For ordinary class of men, the Bhagavad-Gita has enjoined “sastra-vidhi”, i. e. such men have been advised to follow the instructions as have been enjoined in the authentic scriptures. Because the outlaws who are reluctant to follow the instructions of the scriptures cannot ever be successful in all their attempts, and as such they cannot have any peace and prosperity or be elevated to the spiritual or transcendental plane. It is stated in the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 16, verse 23 as follows: yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate kama-karatah
na sa siddhim avapnoti na sukham na param gatim
“He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.” [Bg. Such ordinary men, when they manufacture spiritual procedure of austerity or penances for any such pseudo-spiritualistic method, do so according to the mundane quality they might have acquired in the course of their mundane activities. The mundane qualities being divided into three categories, such pseudo-spiritualistic methods are also divided into three categories, namely sattvic (mode of goodness), rajasic (mode of passion) and tamasic mode of ignorance). This is described below in Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 17, verses 1-10.

arjuna uvaca

ye sastra-vidhim utsrjya yajante sraddhayanvitah
tesam nistha tu ka krsna sattvam aho rajas tamah
“Arjuna inquired: O Krsna, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

sri-bhagavan uvaca

tri-vidha bhavati sraddha dehinam sa svabhava-ja
sattviki rajasi caiva tamasi ceti tam srnu
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: According to the modes of nature acquired by the embodied soul, one’s faith can be of three kinds—in goodness, in passion or in ignorance. Now hear about this.

sattvanurupa sarvasya sraddha bhavati bharata
sraddha-mayo ’yam puruso yo yac-chraddhah sa eva sah
O son of Bharata, according to one’s existence under the various modes of nature, one evolves a particular kind of faith. The living being is said to be of a particular faith according to the modes he has acquired.

yajante sattvika devan yaksa-raksamsi rajasah
pretan bhuta-ganams canye yajante tamasa janah
Men in the mode of goodness worship the demigods; those in the mode of passion worship the demons; and those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

asastra-vihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapo janah
dambhahankara-samyuktah kama-raga-balanvitah
karsayantah sarira-stham bhuta-gramam acetasah
mam caivantah sarira-stham tan viddhy asura-niscayan
Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demons.

aharas tv api sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyah
yajnas tapas tatha danam tesam bhedam imam srnu
Even the food each person prefers is of three kinds, according to the three modes of material nature. The same is true of sacrifices, austerities and charity. Now hear of the distinctions between them.

ayuh-sattva-balarogya-sukha-priti-vivardhanah
rasyah snigdhah sthira hrdya aharah sattvika-priyah
Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.

katv-amla-lavanaty-usna tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah
ahara rajasasyesta duhkha-sokamaya-pradah
Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.

yata-yamam gata-rasam puti paryusitam ca yat
ucchistam api camedhyam bhojanam tamasa-priyam
Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness.” So, these ordinary men who are influenced by the three modes of Nature can work out a plan of their sensual pleasure, but it is not possible for them to give authentic interpretations of Bhagavad-Gita as it was spoken by the Personality of Godhead to Vivasvan or Arjuna. The whole thing is received in transcendental submissiveness by aural reception, which is not accepted by the mundane wranglers deliberately refusing to approach the bona fide spiritual master who has got the keynote of Bhagavad-Gita. It is therefore stated in the Bhagavad-Gita that one who actually wants to have an access to the essence of Bhagavad-Gita must himself engage in the service of a bona fide spiritual master by full surrender. In that position only, one can make bona fide enquiries regarding the Bhagavad-Gita, and in that posture only, the self-realized spiritual masters impregnate the submissive disciple with the knowledge of Gita, because they have already seen the Truth of it as confirmed in Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 4, verse 34. tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.”Mental speculationists can manufacture wonderful interpretations of Bhagavad-Gita by an intellectual activity, but such interpretation cannot be accepted as bona fide because that is not transcendental to the mundane senses, neither to the material mind in subtle state. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-Gita, such interpretations depending on the mind and senses are sure to be doomed like a boat on the troubled sea. It is shown in Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 2, verses 67-72:
indriyanam hi caratam yan mano ’nuvidhiyate
tad asya harati prajnam vayur navam ivambhasi
“As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.

tasmad yasya maha-baho nigrhitani sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas tasya prajna pratisthita
Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence.

ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani sa nisa pasyato muneh
What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

apuryamanam acala-pratistham samudram apah pravisanti yadvat
tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve sa santim apnoti na kama-kami
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

vihaya kaman yah sarvan pumams carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nirahankarah sa santim adhigacchati
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego, he alone can attain real peace.

esa brahmi sthitih partha nainam prapya vimuhyati
sthitvasyam anta-kale ’pi brahma-nirvanam rcchati
That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated, even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.”By these presents it is not however meant that we shall have to accept somebody who is a professional spiritual master or a social spiritual master. The transcendentalist is one who has known Sri Krsna as He is. Sri Krsna is never the person Who can be conceived by mental or physical adjustment. He can only be known by those who have full surrender unto Him. He cannot be understood by sense perception because He is behind a curtain spread by yogamaya. Unless that curtain is removed by the process of transcendental loving co-operation with Him, one cannot know Sri Krsna as He is as follows.
naham prakasah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavrtah
I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency.” [Bg. 7.25]
manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam kascin mam vetti tattvatah
Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” [Bg. 7.3]

avajananti mam mudha manusIm tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto mama bhuta-mahesvaram
“Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.” [Bg. 9.11]Sri Vyasadeva experienced Sri Bhagavan in the following way given below.
This param bhavam or transcendental nature of Sri Krsna, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is unknowable to the unlucky four classes of men as aforesaid. Some of them who are influenced by asurabhava or demoniac nature especially consider that Sri Krsna is no better than an ordinary man and the extraordinary qualities that He possessed can be acquired by any ordinary man, or in other words, any one and every one can become a Sri Krsna or more than Him. But the mahatmas who are graced by Sri Krsna know Him otherwise. Such mahatmas know Sri Krsna as the Supreme Personality bhutamahesvaram, while the asuras or raksasas (like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu) who defy Sri Krsna as the Supreme Being above everthing and thereby are baffled in their speculative work, frustrated in their hopes, befooled in their search of knowledge thus remain entrapped by the illusory laws of material nature which they are unable to conquer by any amount of speculative method. [margin note: (Nobody is at or above: (asrama urdhva))] These asuras and mahatmas are definitely distinguished in the Bhagavad-Gita in so many words, as in Chapter 9, Texts 12–14:
moghasa mogha-karmano mogha-jnana vicetasah
raksasim asurim caiva prakrtim mohinim sritah
“Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.

mahatmanas tu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah
bhajanty ananya-manaso jnatva bhutadim avyayam
O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.

satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah
namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta upasate
Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” The whole purpose of Bhagavad-Gita is to reveal Sri Krsna the Personality of Godhead as He is. The whole theme of Bhagavad-Gita is to preach the surrendering process of all living beings unto the Lotus feet of Sri Krsna, because all living beings are His parts and parcels, and without this surrendering process, nobody can conquer the indefiable laws of Nature. Material existence of all living beings means a perpetual struggle struggle for existence and a continued fight with Prakriti without any success. [margin note (as done by induction)] Advancement of material science has undoubtedly discovered many weapons by the Asuras to fight with the laws of Nature, but without full surrender unto the Lord Krsna, nobody can get relief from such perpetual struggle for existence. The fittest person who shall survive this struggle is one who has completely surrendered unto the Will of Sri Krsna the Personality of Godhead.

daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te
“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.” [Bg. 7.14]
This fact is further stated in the Bhagavad-Gita, chapter 18, verses 65-66 below:
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te pratijane priyo ’si me
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”Further evidence is given in Bhagavad-Gita, 10, verses 8-11 as follows:
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca
The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.

tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te
To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

tesam evanukampartham aham ajnana-jam tamah
nasayamy atma-bhava-stho jnana-dipena bhasvata
To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.”
There are certain extraordinarily learned prospective mahatmas who try to understand Sri Krsna by the ascending process of acquiring knowledge, but such process is not only defective, but also troublesome. Such learned scholars attain the Lotus feet of Sri Krsna after many, many births and deaths. Such would-be mahatmas are stated in the Bhagavad-Gita as follows:
bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah
“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” [Bg. 7.19] avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah
param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam
“Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.” [Bg. 7.24] avyakto ’ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama
“That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme abode. (Bg. 8.21)

purusah sa parah partha bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya
yasyantah-sthani bhutani yena sarvam idam tatam
. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.” [Bg. 8.22] jnana-yajnena capy anye yajanto mam upasate
ekatvena prthaktvena bahudha visvato-mukham
“Others, who engage in sacrifice by the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, as diverse in many, and in the universal form.” [Bg. 9.15] kleso ’dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam
avyakta hi gatir duhkham dehavadbhir avapyate
“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied. (Bg. 12.5)

ye tu sarvani karmani mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena mam dhyayanta upasate
tesam aham samuddharta mrtyu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami na cirat partha mayy avesita-cetasam
But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotinal service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Prtha for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death. [Bg.12.6-7]Preaching of Bhagavad-Gita is not, therefore, a proposition of mental speculation and putting in different mental interpretations of speculative empiric philosphers. It is the one without a second, concrete fact for the amelioration of the sufferings of humanity especially and animality generally. It must be presented in the bona fide method of spreading the knowledge, strictly in the line of transcendental chain of disciplic succession. Om Tat Sat.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Reincarnation

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Reincarnation

by

Swami Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Srila Prabhupada

Preface and Introduction

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, chapter two is entitled: Sankhya Yoga: The Eternal Reality of the Souls Immortality. In this chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita are many verse references regarding the reality and science of reincarnation. Here are some relevant examples.

Chapter 2, verse 13

dehino'smin yatha deha kaumaram yauvanam jara

tatha dehantara praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati

Translation

Just as in the physical body of the embodied being is the process of childhood, youth, old age; similarly in the transmigration from one body to another the wise are never deluded.

Chapter 2, verse 17

avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam

vinasam avyayasasya na kascit kartum arhati

Translation

But know that by whom the entire physical body is pervaded is indestructible. No one is able to cause the destruction of the imperishable soul.

Chapter 2, verse 20

na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah

ajo nityah sasvato yam purano na hanyate hanyamane

Translation

The soul never takes birth and never dies at any time nor does it come into being again when the body is created. The soul is birthless, eternal, imperishable and timeless and is never terminated when the body is terminated.

Chapter 2, verse 22

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro'parani

tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyati navani dehi

Translation

As a person gives up old and worn out garments and accepts new apparel, similarly the embodied soul giving up old and worn out bodies verily accepts new bodies.

Chapter 2, verse 24

acchedyo'yam adahyo'yam akledya'sosya eva ca

nityah sarva-gatah sthanur acalo'yam sanatanah

Translation

The soul is indestructible, the soul is incombustible, insoluble and unwitherable. The soul is eternal, all pervasive, unmodifiable, immovable and primordial.

Chapter 2, verse 27

jatasya hi dhruvo mrtyur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca

tasmad apariharye'rthe na tvam socitum arhasi

Translation

For one who has taken birth, death is certain and for one who has died, birth is certain. Therefore in an inevitable situation understanding should prevail.

In this last verse the cycle of life is clearly revealed. From birth comes death and from death comes birth. Just like in the spring new buds grow which blossom into flowers and leaves in summer and in autumn change to red, yellow and orange in fall and blow away and become dormant in winter to begin the process all over again in the following year. In the a similar way the soul enters new bodies for its seasons of infancy, youth, maturity and old age and at the end of its cycle of life is born again accepting a new body for another season. This is an inevitable process in the material existence and is the automatic process that governs the birth and death. All beings existing in the material manifestation completely follow this reality.

Jagannatha Das

Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti

Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya

1929 Interview by Professor Suthers of Ohio University

Professor Suthers

The Bhagavad-Gita accepts the doctrine of transmigration of the soul. How does this relate to the Vaisnava philosophy?

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Srila Prabhupada

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita cannot be separated from the Vaisnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of the doctrine of the Bhagavad-Gita which is reincarnation of the soul. Christianity has refused to acknowledge the principle of reincarnation and transmigration of the soul on the alleged grounds that if it is accepted then humanity will not restrain their sinful propensities. To the contrary they will indulge in sinful vices unrestrictedly in their present life in expectation of being able to redeem themselves of all reactions in their future lives. But Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam have neutralized this viewpoint in principle by the means of a much more comprehensive and scientific, philosophical understanding emphasizing the urgent necessity of ardently commencing and culturing loving devotion to God with our intelligence even in our present human life without wasting a single moment on any other frivolous and useless pursuits.

If we do not accept the doctrine of reincarnation and transmigration of the soul, then we will be unable to go beyond the conception of believing we are our physical bodies. Thus we will be consumed by gross materialism and subject to the perpetual revolving in the ocean of material existence know as life and death.

Although most Christians do not believe in reincarnation and transmigration, many of the intellectual giants of the Christian world have exhibited acceptance of this reality. Origen has stated thus: "Is it not more in conformity with reason that every soul for certain mysterious reasons is introduced into a physical body in accordance to its rewards and past activities?" Goethe also has remarked: "I am sure that I, such as you see me here, have lived a thousand times and I will have to come again another thousand times."

Even Jesus Christ himself reveals he was knowledgeable about transmigration of the soul and reincarnation as is verified in the Bible in the book of St. Mathew, chapter 17, verses 12 and 13 where we find Jesus saying, "Verily I say unto you that Elijah has already come and they recognize him not; but have done with him whatever they wanted. Likewise the son of man shall suffer also due to them." Then the disciples could understand that Jesus was in fact referring to John the Baptist as being the reincarnation of Elijah.

What the Greeks called metempsychosis is called transmigration in the English language and in bygone eras was known and accepted as reality in Egypt as well as Greece. Introspective and reflective scholars have reasoned that the apostles of Jesus Christ failing to understand and subsequently to reconcile their previous conclusions regarding the doctrine of transmigration were compelled to discard it. Yet not a single rationalist among the Christian orthodoxy has been able to refute reincarnation and transmigration on the basis of logic and sound reasoning; contrarily most of the Christian intellectuals have had to admit it. Herodotus, Pindar, Plato, Socrates etc. have all accepted it.

The soul being immortal, where does it go at the moment of death and from where does it come from to enter the fetus? Aldous Huxley, the illustrious 19^th century scientist has written in his religious treatise Evolution and Ethics that: "None but the very hasty will reject reincarnation on the grounds of inherent absurdity. Like the doctrine of evolution itself, that of transmigration of the soul has its root in the world of reality and it may claim such support as the great argument of analogy is capable of supplying.

Professor Lutloski has said, "I cannot give up my conviction of a previous existence before my birth and I have the certainty to be born again after my death until I have assimilated all human experiences, having been many times male and female, wealthy and poor, free and enslaved; generally having experienced all conditions of human existence." But the transmigration theories of the 17^th and 18^th centuries like Francisus Mercurius Helmont, Leichtenbourg, Lessing, Herder, Schopenhauer in Europe and also of Jalaluddin Rumi of the Sufi sect in Persia, or the Theosophists and the Rosicrucians as well as the Nyaya philosophy of India. Those follow the aphorism that a babies desire for mothers milk is due to the habit in a previous life. The Buddhist hypothesis of the annihilation within matter is also assailable to by various hostile reasoning and all having their origins in inductive concepts are incomplete and imperfect. But the information revealed in Srimad Bhagavad-Gita and the conclusions drawn from Srimad Bhagavatam are completely perfect and unassailable.

The Bhagavad-Gita shows the way to the highest acquisition of the paramount attainment of blessedness, even in this very lifetime. There is no need for delay in waiting for future lifetimes. Thus the Bhagavad-Gita being the very root of the Vaisnava philosophy is thoroughly free from all delusions and misconceptions regarding the reality of reincarnation and transmigration.

The Bhagavad-Gita and the Vedic scriptures have given a scrutinizing analysis of the mutual difference of the soul as the sub-atomic sentience, the mind as being atomic sentience and the physical body as being gross matter. The soul is the owner of the mind and the body. The mind and body are properties of the soul and the soul is the sole property of paramatma the Suprasoul which is the Godhead. The Suprasoul is the casual sentience and the jivatma the individual soul is the effectual sentience.

The soul has two bodies or distinguishing properties: one is subtle like the mind and the other is gross which forms the external, physical body. The physical body is an aggregate of atoms composed of the five basic elements of earth, air, water, fire and ether. The inner subtle mental body is the conductor of the outer physical body. Our souls are conditioned being bound by conceptions of a non-spiritual nature imperfectly reflected by our minds. Our souls are now asleep, dormant to the and inattentive to the wondrous service to the Suprasoul. Seeing that the owner is asleep the subordinate workers being the mind and the physical body are busy with their own self-interests. The mind in seeking to be the pseudo-controller and the physical body in seeking to gratify the senses; instead of looking after the interest of their owner, the Suprasoul. This is called the conditioned state of bondage.

Professor Suthers

I am truly astonished to hear from your Holiness these mysteries of the Vaisnava philosophy and their scientific analysis with the most reasonable proofs. I never imagined that the Vaisnava philosophy provided such excellent solutions, corroboration and elucidation to the problems that we in the western countries perceive to be in the philosophy of India.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Srila Prabhupada

Let us now consider how we in our conditioned state have been put in bondage by the two distinguishing properties of the mind within and the physical body without; and how again we may be liberated from them. The subtle mind and physical body have no properties which the soul possesses. They are non-souls. Even in our conditioned state of bondage we are still animate, not sentient. The mind and the physical body are connected to the mental world and the external physical world. We have yet to envision and attain that which is beyond the body and the mind. The word jiva or jivatma refers collectively to the soul, the mind and the body.

According to the authority of Ramanujacarya, the establisher of the Sri Sampradaya which is one of the four authorized channels of disciplic succession as revealed in Vedic scriptures: Paramatma or the Suprasoul is indeed a sentient body. The Suprasoul also has two bodies. The total aggregate of all living entities throughout all of existence is the Suprasouls mental body and the physical manifestation of all material worlds in all of creation is the Suprasouls physical body. The different parts of paramatma, the Suprasouls mental body are the jivatmas or indiviual souls of atomic sentience.

When the jivatamas, the individual souls finally realize that they are factually an expansion of paramatma the Suprasoul and become steady in their eternal service designated by this realization. At that time all nescience and bondage becomes extinct. It is this contact through the further realization of loving devotional service between paramatma and jivatma as the refuge and complete shelter and the dependence respectively that culminates in the termination of any material conceptions of differentiation from divinity.