Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (33 page)

PURPORT

Herein we find the history of the
Bhagavad-gītā
traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order, the kings of all planets. This science is especially meant for the protection of the inhabitants and therefore the royal order should understand it in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from the material bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human form of life.

In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvān, the king of the sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the
Brahma-saṁhitā
it is stated:

yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ
rājā samasta-sura-mūrttir aśeṣa-tejāḥ
yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kālacakro
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

"Let me worship," Lord Brahmā said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."

The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name Vivasvān) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Kṛṣṇa originally made Vivasvān His first disciple to understand the science of
Bhagavad-gītā.
The
Gītā
is not, therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial. In the
Mahābhārata (Śānti-parva
348.51-52) we can trace out the history of the
Gītā
as follows:

tretā-yugādau ca tato vivasvān manave dadau
manuś ca loka-bhṛty-arthaṁ sutāyekṣvākave dadau
ikṣvākuṇā ca kathito vyāpya lokān avasthitāḥ

"In the beginning of the Tretā-yuga [millennium] this science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvān to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku, the King of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty in which Lord Rāmacandra appeared. Therefore,
Bhagavad-gītā
existed in the human society from the time of Mahārāja Ikṣvāku."

At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was Dvāpara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Tretā-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the
Bhagavad-gītā
to his disciple and son Mahārāja lkṣvāku, the King of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some 305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth of Manu, the
Gītā
was spoken by the Lord to His disciple, the sun-god Vivasvān, a rough estimate is that the
Gītā
was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the
Gīta,
according to the
Gītā
itself and according to the version of the speaker, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvān because he is also a
kṣatriya
and is the father of all
kṣatriyas
who are descendants of the sun-god, or the
sūrya-vaṁśa kṣatriyas.
Because
Bhagavad-gītā
is as good as the
Vedas,
being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge is
apauruṣeya,
superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the
Gītā
must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the
Gītā
in their own ways, but that is not
Bhagavad-gītā
as it is. Therefore,
Bhagavad-gītā
has to be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Ikṣvāku.

Bg 4.2

TEXT 2

TEXT

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam

imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ

sa kāleneha mahatā

yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

SYNONYMS

evam-
thus;
paramparā-
disciplic succession;
prāptam-
received;
imam-
this science;
rājarṣayaḥ-
the saintly kings;
viduḥ-
understood;
saḥ-
that knowledge;
kālena-
in the course of time;
iha-
in this world;
mahatā-
by great;
yogaḥ-
the science of one's relationship with the Supreme;
naṣṭaḥ-
scattered;
parantapa-
O Arjuna, subduer of the enemies.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

It is clearly stated that the
Gītā
was especially meant for the saintly kings because they were to execute its purpose in ruling over the citizens. Certainly
Bhagavad-gītā
was never meant for the demonic persons, who would dissipate its value for no one's benefit and would devise all types of interpretations according to personal whims. As soon as the original purpose was scattered by the motives of the unscrupulous commentators, there arose the need to reestablish the disciplic succession. Five thousand years ago it was detected by the Lord Himself that the disciplic succession was broken, and therefore He declared that the purpose of the
Gītā
appeared to be lost. In the same way, at the present moment also there are so many editions of the
Gītā
(especially in English), but almost all of them are not according to authorized disciplic succession. There are innumerable interpretations rendered by different mundane scholars, but almost all of them do not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, although they make a good business on the words of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This spirit is demonic, because demons do not believe in God but simply enjoy the property of the Supreme. Since there is a great need of an edition of the
Gītā
in English, as it is received by the
paramparā
(disciplic succession) system, an attempt is made herewith to fulfill this great want.
Bhagavad-gītā-
accepted as it is-is a great boon to humanity; but if it is accepted as a treatise of philosophical speculations, it is simply a waste of time.

Bg 4.3

TEXT 3

TEXT

sa evāyaṁ mayā te 'dya

yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ

bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti

rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam

SYNONYMS

saḥ-
the same ancient;
eva-
certainly;
ayam-
this;
mayā-
by Me;
te-
unto you;
adya-
today;
yogaḥ-
the science of
yoga; proktaḥ-
spoken;
purātanaḥ-
very old;
bhaktaḥ-
devotee;
asi-
you are;
me-
My;
sakhā-
friend;
ca-
also;
iti-
therefore;
rahasyam-
mystery;
hi-
certainly;
etat-
this;
uttamam-
transcendental.

TRANSLATION

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; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.

PURPORT

There are two classes of men, namely the devotee and the demon. The Lord selected Arjuna as the recipient of this great science owing to his becoming the devotee of the Lord, but for the demon it is not possible to understand this great mysterious science. There are a number of editions of this great book of knowledge, and some of them have commentaries by the devotees, and some of them have commentaries by the demons. Commentation by the devotees is real, whereas that of the demons is useless. Arjuna accepts Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and any commentary on the
Gītā
following in the footsteps of Arjuna is real devotional service to the cause of this great science. The demonic, however, concoct something about Kṛṣṇa and mislead the public and general readers from the path of Kṛṣṇa's instructions. One should try to follow the disciplic succession from Arjuna, and thus be benefitted.

Bg 4.4

TEXT 4

TEXT

arjuna uvāca

aparaṁ bhavato janma

paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ

katham etad vijānīyāṁ

tvam ādau proktavān iti

SYNONYMS

arjunaḥ uvāca-
Arjuna said;
aparam-
junior;
bhavataḥ-
Your;
janma-
birth;
param-
superior;
janma-
birth;
vivasvataḥ-
of the sun-god;
katham-
how;
etat-
this;
vijānīyām-
shall I understand;
tvam-
You;
ādau-
in the beginning;
proktavān-
instructed;
iti-
thus.

TRANSLATION

Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?

PURPORT

Arjuna is an accepted devotee of the Lord, so how could he not believe Kṛṣṇa's words? The fact is that Arjuna is not inquiring for himself but for those who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead or for the demons who do not like the idea that Kṛṣṇa should be accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; for them only Arjuna inquires on this point, as if he were himself not aware of the Personality of Godhead, or Kṛṣṇa. As it will be evident from the Tenth Chapter, Arjuna knew perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the fountainhead of everything and the last word in Transcendence. Of course, Kṛṣṇa also appeared as the son of Devakī on this earth. How Kṛṣṇa remained the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, the eternal, original person, is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand. Therefore, to clarify this point, Arjuna put this question before Kṛṣṇa so that He Himself could speak authoritatively. That Kṛṣṇa is the supreme authority is accepted by the whole world, not only at present, but from time immemorial, and the demons alone reject Him. Anyway, since Kṛṣṇa is the authority accepted by all, Arjuna put this question before Him in order that Kṛṣṇa would describe Himself without being depicted by the demons who always try to distort Him in a way understandable to the demons and their followers. It is necessary that everyone, for his own interest, know the science of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa Himself speaks about Himself, it is auspicious for all the worlds. To the demons, such explanations by Kṛṣṇa Himself may appear to be strange because the demons always study Kṛṣṇa from their own standpoint, but those who are devotees heartily welcome the statements of Kṛṣṇa when they are spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself. The devotees will always worship such authoritative statements of Kṛṣṇa because they are always eager to know more and more about Him. The atheists, who consider Kṛṣṇa an ordinary man, may in this way come to know that Kṛṣṇa is superhuman, that He is
sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha-
the eternal form of bliss and knowledge-that He is transcendental, and that He is above the domination of the modes of material nature and above the influence of time and space. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa's, like Arjuna, is undoubtedly above any misunderstanding of the transcendental position of Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna's putting this question before the Lord is simply an attempt by the devotee to defy the atheistic attitude of persons who consider Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary human being subject to the modes of material nature.

Bg 4.5

TEXT 5

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

bahūni me vyatītāni

janmāni tava cārjuna

tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi

na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavān uvāca-
the Personality of Godhead said;
bahūni-
many;
me-
of Mine;
vyatītāni-
have passed;
janmāni-
births;
tava-
of yours;
ca-
and also;
arjuna
-O Arjuna;
tāni-
all those;
aham-
I;
veda-
do know;
sarvāṇi-
all;
na-
not;
tvam-
yourself;
vettha-
know;
parantapa
-O subduer of the enemy.

TRANSLATION

The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!

PURPORT

In the
Brahma-saṁhitā
we have information of many, many incarnations of the Lord. It is stated there:

advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca
vedeṣu durllabham adurllabham ātma-bhaktau
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.