Defending As It Is

The following article appeared in the July 2010 issue of Back To Godhead India.

Multiple conclusions?

Vedic scholars world-over accept the Bhagavad Gita as one of the most important transcendental literatures originating in India. It talks about the all encompassing Absolute Truth. It’s simple, but profound. It’s easily accessible, yet mystical. Simultaneously being simple and mystical, the Bhagavad Gita continues to be the subject of myriad interpretations. However, since the Bhagavad Gita talks about the Absolute Truth, it must have only one ultimate conclusion, since the Absolute Truth is one.

Srila Prabhupada chose to name his Bhagavad Gita commentary “Bhagavad Gita As It Is”. This presumptuous sounding title puts off many. A common retort is “How can one man have a monopoly on what the Bhagavad Gita means?” However, by using this title, Srila Prabhupada wants to highlight that not only does the Bhagavad Gita have a very specific message, but also that his commentary presents it as it is, without change.

Is Bhagavad Gita ambiguous?

One common objection to identifying a single conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita is that the Bhagavad Gita itself is ambiguous, and that it can be interpreted in multiple ways. Some point to some verses which can be easily interpreted in multiple ways. Without denying that, one can still clearly understand the ultimate conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita from its own unambiguous declaration of it.

BG 18.64-69:

“Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit. 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. Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. 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. For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.”

There cannot be any other interpretation of the above series of verses but that about becoming a pure devotee of Krishna and surrendering oneself completely to His sweet will. Since this is the Bhagavad Gita’s supreme instruction, all other instructions in the Bhagavad Gita must be subservient to and be pointing to this single instruction. The above verses come at the very end of the Bhagavad Gita, and can therefore be considered its conclusion. Not only that, the words guhya-tamam (most confidential) have been used thrice in the Bhagavad Gita – BG 9.1, BG 15.20, and in BG 18.64 above; in all three places they are used to describe knowledge about unalloyed devotional service to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada highlights this clear specific message – Bhakti – all throughout his commentary. But some others contend that the Bhagavad Gita talks about other spiritual paths as well - like karma yoga (the process of developing detachment from the results of one’s work), gyaan yoga (the process of mental and philosophical speculation to be able to clearly discern between the material and spiritual), and dhyaana yoga (the process of meditation eventually leading to the realization of the self and God). How then can we say that unalloyed devotion of Krishna is the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita? Apart from the fact that the Bhagavad Gita itself declares so unequivocally, as already noted, even a slightly deeper study of the Bhagavad Gita reveals that all other processes described in the Bhagavad Gita depend on Bhakti for their practice as well as its fruition. Here are a few examples:

BG 3.30: Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.

BG 7.17: One who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me.
BG 7.19: 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: 6.47: And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me — he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

Thus, we see that whether it be karma yoga (BG 3.30 above), gyaana yoga (BG 7.17,19 above), or dhyaana yoga (BG 6.47 above), all of them depend on devotion to Krishna. We find such references all over the Bhagavad Gita. On the other hand, at the end of the Bhagavad Gita, as its supreme instruction (BG 18.64-69), Bhakti is declared to be its single supreme conclusion, independent of any other process.

What about intellectual freedom?

Despite the evidence given above, some people refuse to accept that the Bhagavad Gita has just one conclusion; they think that accepting this premise would preclude any intellectual discussion on the Bhagavad Gita. That’s not true. Even though the conclusion is as bright and clear as the sun on a cloudless day, the complete text of the Bhagavad Gita is like a gem-studded highway leading up to the final conclusion. Each verse is profound and can provide deep realizations, all in line with the final conclusion. In fact, as one continues to practice the principles of the Bhagavad Gita, the realizations become deeper and deeper still, each coming along with the thrill of a new discovery. Understanding the concepts of the Bhagavad Gita decidedly stimulates the intellect. Figuring out how one concept leads onto another, how the various concepts are interrelated, how one concept is used to explain another, and so on, is an intellectual adventure replete with astonishing discoveries and unexpected surprises.

For example, while one is wading through the marshy land of so many types of faiths, through the fog of so many clouding philosophies, trying to reach a clear conclusion about what exactly is faith, the sunlight of transcendental knowledge imparted in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, regarding faith in different personalities, shows us the way. Then, the solid ground of the fourteenth chapter regarding the three modes of nature (sattvik, rajasik, tamasik) assures us that dry land is near. And finally, the discovery of the seventeenth chapter regarding faith in the different modes takes us safely out of the marshlands of confusion, high and dry, with a clear understanding of faith. One’s faith is guided by the modes of nature, but the results of any kind of faith are bestowed by Krishna alone. Thus, the best faith is that which is reposed in Krishna.

Such philosophical and intellectual exertions are very helpful in realizing the correct conclusion. But the beauty is that even those who are not intellectually very gifted are not bereft of the ultimate conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita; Krishna personally rewards a sincere student with the required intelligence to realize the Absolute Truth (BG 10.10).

Thus, intellectual pursuits are certainly not thwarted even if one accepts, at the very outset, the unambiguous final conclusion of unalloyed devotion to Krishna. On the contrary, the Bhagavad Gita is an intellectual’s treat as he wrestles using his intellectual muscles to try and grasp the ever deepening profundity of the message of the Bhagavad Gita. His sincerity and devotion to Krishna attracts Krishna’s mercy, which then bestows the fruits of his intellectual labors. Krishna encourages such use of intelligence by declaring that one who studies the Bhagavad Gita is actually worshipping Krishna by his intelligence (BG 18.70).

Faithless Mal-Interpretations

Some people think that the words of the Bhagavad Gita just can’t be literally true, and hence open to more than one interpretation. They find it hard to believe some of the things mentioned in it – for example, the Bhagavad Gita talks about heaven, hell, and the spiritual world, all three of which are not perceptible to the general populace. But, taking the Bhagavad Gita message “as it is” implies accepting the existence of heaven, hell, and the spiritual world as truths. One of the most important messages in the Bhagavad Gita is about getting out of the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material world and going back to the spiritual world.

BG 9.3: Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

Those who understand this goal would never propagate anything less in the name of the Bhagavad Gita. But since many shun the literal meaning of its words, there are so many commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita which do not highlight this goal. Instead, they use the Bhagavad Gita concepts as mere management tips for becoming better leaders in this material world. Although the Bhagavad Gita can certainly help us manage our lives better, that is not its ultimate purpose. None of these commentaries are “as it is”.

Inconceivable Krishna

There is another reason why some people don't accept the message of the Gita literally; they believe that the Absolute Truth is impersonal. Therefore, when Krishna speaks of Himself (the person) as the highest Truth, they take Krishna as a mere instrument that metaphorically represents the impersonal Absolute Truth. This distorts the “as it is” meaning of the Gita text.

These philosophers can’t fathom how Krishna, whose inconceivable opulence and powers are described in the Bhagavad Gita, can be a person. For example, how can an entity always be everywhere, yet being a person? Krishna explains that He is everywhere always in His unmanifest form, i.e. in the form of His unlimited energies. At the same time, since He is the source of everything, He is always aloof from His creation (BG 9.4-5). Just like the sun, which is situated in one place in the sky, but whose energies pervade all creation, Krishna is situated aloof from His creation, but still pervades it.

Overwhelmed by such mystic powers of Krishna, unable to fathom them, such philosophers try to hide their bewilderment by lowering the status of Krishna from being the all powerful person whose energies are all encompassing and everywhere, to being just a representation of an all pervading impersonal entity. However, as soon as this is done, the message doesn’t remain “as it is”.

BG 7.24: Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, 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.

The “as it is” meaning of “I”, used by Krishna throughout the Bhagavad Gita is quite straightforward. Only a person (and not an impersonal entity) will speak in terms of “I” and “mine” the way Krishna does all throughout the Gita. Moreover, only if Krishna is accepted as a person (and not as a mere metaphorical instrument), does the final conclusion of devotion to Krishna makes sense. How can one love something impersonal? Thus, by not accepting that the Absolute Truth is the person Krishna, such philosophers are forced to forego the literal meaning of the Bhagavad Gita text and to interpret it in many concocted ways.

“As It Is” - Why?

Some may raise the objection: why must one take the Bhagavad Gita message “as it is”? This is like asking why should one take the doctor’s prescription as it is? The answer is simple; a concocted interpretation would keep us away from the desired goal. Arjuna accepted the words of the Bhagavad Gita “as it is” (BG 10.14), so should we if we are interested in achieving the desired result of studying and following it. The desired goal of the Bhagavad Gita is to get out of the cycle of birth and death in this material world - by reviving our dormant love for Krishna.

The essence of “As It Is”

Some people object to Prabhupada's seemingly presumptuous use of "as it is" in the title of his commentary; it seems to imply that only his Gita commentary is accurate, or that it's better than everyone else's. But any commentary on the Gita that sticks to Krishna's clear message is "as it is." All commentaries by Vaishnav acharyas like Sripad Ramanujacharya, Sripad Madhvacharya, etc. are “as it is” commentaries. Although the commentaries by the different Vaishnav Acharyas seem to differ, since all of them conclude with unalloyed devotion to Krishna, they are all “as it is”. Different acharyas preach the message of the Gita in different social and intellectual climates, and therefore emphasize the philosophical and practical details that most suit the times in terms of effectiveness in bringing the general mass of people towards the ultimate conclusive principle of the Bhagavad Gita – unalloyed devotional service to Krishna.

There can be many concocted conclusions of the Bhagavad Gita. But when one is clear about its “as it is” conclusion, one can easily identify conclusions which are not “as it is”. Srila Prabhupada deliberately used the phrase “as it is”, not in defiance to the revered Vaishnava commentaries which are all “as it is”, but in defiance to all those others which did not highlight unalloyed devotion to Krishna as the only conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita. Prabhupada’s commentary title continues to shake up and entice all those who come in contact with it.

In today’s world, freedom of expression is the mantra. Although the Absolute Truth is not subject to personal opinions, it has still become a matter of choice rather than a matter of fact. In such a setting, Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad Gita – As It Is” is an outright challenge to the incumbent intellectual scene of the world. Irresistibly audacious. Only one who has something awesomely powerful up his sleeve can take on the whole world this way. Don’t miss this opportunity. Take up Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad Gita – As It Is” and see for yourself how Prabhupada’s commentary lives up to its catchy name.

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The Eternally Limitless and Me

From my early childhood I had wondered where might be the limit of the universe I live in. At night, as the stars twinkled enigmatically overhead, with the moon majestically presiding over the celestial assembly, I pondered what lies beyond this universe. Suppose I venture out into the enchanting night sky and some fine hour reach its limit, what will I find beyond it? If I ever find the boundary, I’ll be able to distinguish between the two sides of it, inside the boundary, and beyond it. Certainly, the inside part belongs to this universe, but if I can perceive the beyond, then certainly the inside is not all that exists; there is existence beyond too. And so, with the spirit of adventure and with the anticipation of new discoveries, I would continue my journey. But then, I could come across another boundary, and another, and another. At every boundary, there will certainly be something beyond it, because a boundary implies the existence of the beyond. Either I’ll keep finding such boundaries, or after certain number of boundaries, I’ll never find the next bounding limit. In either case, I concluded, I would never find a boundary beyond which existence ceased. Existence is unlimited. Incomprehensible, but undeniable.

We read from the Vedic scriptures that existence is indeed unlimited. This universe we live in has a boundary. It is shaped like a sphere covered by layers of material elements like earth, water, fire, air, etc. The sky we see at night is inside this universe and can be called the material sky. But beyond this limited universe, there is the unlimited existence of the spiritual sky which has no limits. In that spiritual sky there are unlimited material universes, in one of which we presently live. Apart from that, in the unlimited spiritual sky there also exist unlimited spiritual planets on which the Supreme Lord Himself resides in His unlimited all-powerful forms along with His uncountable loving devotees enjoying unlimited loving pastimes experiencing ever increasing and ever fresh happiness.

Another question I have wondered is about the origin of everything. Everything has a source, but what is the source of everything? And when did everything start coming into being? So, I started my thought experiments. Very soon I reached to the following. For there to be a time instant at which existence came into being, there has to be a time instant at which existence was absent. That is, at time t, there was non-existence – nothing existed. And then, out of nowhere, literally, at time t+dt, voila! There was existence! Existence came out of non-existence. This, I was convinced beyond doubt, is not possible. So, what’s the alternative explanation? The only alternative is that there is existence eternally, for all time instants t. Since we are certain that there is existence, and that existence cannot crop out of non-existence, existence is eternal.

Combined with my earlier conclusion, that existence is unlimited, this means that existence is not only unlimited, but also eternal. Eternally unlimited existence. Again, incomprehensible, but undeniable. But the Vedic scriptures confirm this as well. The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and His energies exist eternally, and simultaneously. Just like the Sun and sunlight exist simultaneously, the Sun being the source, the Lord and His energies exist simultaneously, the Lord being their source. One of the Lords energies is the material energy of which the material universes are made of. This energy is also eternal, but its different manifestations are temporary. Therefore, everything inside this universe and the universe itself is temporary, being temporary manifestations of the eternal material energy of the Lord. The time scales might vary astronomically; some manifestations exist for a few minutes, while some, like this universe, exist for millions of years. But in any case, all temporary; and in fact hopelessly insignificant compared to the eternally unlimited nature of existence, in terms of both time and size.

The next question I have pondered, which quite logically followed the above conclusions, is about my own existence in this whole eternally unlimited scheme of things. If my existence is limited to the hundred years of the existence of my body, then nothing of this world is of any significance to me at all. What is a hundred years compared to eternity? All human endeavors, philosophy, morality, social welfare activity, achievement, emotions, aspirations, everything, is just plain insignificant. All discussions on any matter whatsoever is insignificant; right and wrong, justice and injustice, independence and slavery, this philosophy or that, sports, politics, showbiz, likes and dislikes, virtue and sin, nothing is significant any more than an invisible harmless speck of dust compared to the vast desert. And therefore, I could resign myself to doing whatever I like for the hopelessly limited expanse of my existence.

But what about the other possibility? What if my existence is not limited to just this one lifetime of hundred years? If it extends to many lifetimes at least? And what it if my existence is actually unlimited. If so, then how I lead my life becomes an important question because I don’t want to be uncomfortable for any significant length of time. How should I act so that my existence is comfortable and happy? And this question opens up all the discussions.

The Vedic scriptures assert, and are in fact based on, the fundamental understanding that life is eternal. All living beings are called souls (atman) who have existed eternally and will continue to exist eternally. Their original home is one of the spiritual planets, and they have an eternal relationship of love with the Lord. The souls are thus meant for an eternal life of happiness and enjoyment experienced through their spiritual senses by lovingly serving the Lord in the spiritual planets. The souls who desired to experience an existence independent of the Lord were kindly provided by the Lord with this material world and with a material body to interact with the material world. Thus, typically, the souls in the material universes are forgetful of their original position as an eternal loving associate of the Supreme Lord. However, because the souls have experienced sublime love and happiness in the spiritual world, they seek the same experience in this material world. They develop the notion that happiness can be derived only by gratifying their own mind and senses. Thus, in the quest for unlimited happiness, but through the temporary and limited material senses, either they are resigned to frustration (either tolerating it quietly or venting it out), or they start exploiting others for their own selfish desires. In any case, that which is experienceable only through spiritual senses by loving service to the Lord can never be experienced by the temporary and limited material senses merely by interaction with the objects of this material world. This situation is, in a nutshell, the cause of all the ills of this material world.

Thus, the root cause of all misery is that we are, of our own volition, looking for happiness in the wrong place. Unless the mind and senses are engaged in the loving service of the Lord, that which we are seeking – unlimited happiness – will never be ours. No amount of material ingredients can give us that. If it were so, all rich people would be happy and all poor ones sad. But by observing things around us we can clearly see that happiness levels have nothing to do with material affluence. What is that X-factor then that is the source of all lasting happiness? A few people begin to understand that the foundation of happiness is satisfaction. Being satisfied with what one has. An unsatisfied soul can never be happy, and a satisfied soul doesn’t require much to be happy. And what brings satisfaction? Selfless service.

Quite a few of us have the experience that helping others brings a sense of satisfaction to our lives. Many people dedicate their lives keeping the ideal of service as their guide. Why does selfless service bring about satisfaction? The Vedic scriptures explain that the very nature of the soul is selfless service to The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. Thus, even a semblance of it, i.e. service to someone other than Krishna, brings about a drop of that ocean of satisfaction and happiness that is in store for us when we start lovingly serving Krishna directly. When we start serving Krishna directly, very shortly we start experiencing a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness. And but naturally, we want to share our good fortune of discovering real happiness with others.

Very often the question crops up that what’s the use of serving God who doesn’t really need our help instead of serving the needy and unfortunate of this world? The answer, which the reader would have figured out by now, is that it’s the need of every soul to serve God. Only by serving God can a soul really be as happy as he really wants to be. Therefore, one should serve God for our own benefit. Moreover, having understood this fundamental truth, one would naturally want to serve others by encouraging them to also serve God and thus find true happiness in their lives. This is the only real service one can render to others; all else will just be a mere semblance of service with no lasting positive impact, because nothing else tries to fix the root cause of all maladies. Thus, let all forms of social workers carry on their good work, but also add this most important factor of spreading God consciousness into their list of activities. With that, their endeavors will be truly successful; and without which they are all but utter failures.

At this point another question raises its hood, especially in the minds of the cynical. So, after all, they say, all you want is your own happiness. You are not really as selfless as you want us to believe. You are serving God because it gives you happiness; that’s not really selfless. We acknowledge the astute intelligence behind this question. And the answer to this very question is what actually touches the heart of all sincere devotees of God. For those who are seeking happiness away from God, we inform that unlimited happiness is found only in serving God. But by rendering some service to God, even selfishly, the dormant love for God starts getting revived. And very soon the person who had started serving God for personal satisfaction starts rendering service out of love. This is the natural state of the soul. It’s the nature of the soul to love and serve God, and once reinstated in that natural original consciousness, the soul just wants to serve God out of pure love. For a pure devotee of God, there is no consideration of whether he himself is happy or not, all he is concerned about is how he can serve His Lord and please Him. The Lord, who is all loving, is moved by the love of such a devotee and reciprocates in such a way that the devotee’s happiness knows no bounds. However, still, the pure devotee does not act motivated by Krishna’s reciprocation, but out of pure love only. The pure devotee is never seeking happiness, he is always seeking service – indeed, this is the very definition of pure love; and pure love for Krishna is the very essence of the existence of the soul.

Thus, the journey which started from the terrace of my house, gazing into the lovely night sky, led me beyond the boundaries of the material world into the limitless expanse of the spiritual sky. It further led me into the eternally limitless existence of the Lord and His energies. Discovering such incomprehensible vastness made me wonder about the significance of my own existence. Further excursions led me to the discovery of the eternity of my own existence, and of my natural eternal state of being a loving servant of God. Thus, at this point in my life, my focus is on reviving my natural spiritual consciousness and helping others do the same.

The incomprehensible but undeniable eternal limitlessness of existence out there has led me to discover myself in here.