BG 2.56
The last 18 verses from 2nd chapter are very important. In verse # 54 Arjuna is asking a question to Krishna and as His answer last 18 verses are recited to explain to Arjuna that how a transcendentally situated person behaves. The persons who are transcendentally situated they are always attracted to the Supreme absolute Truth who is correctly known in Vedic culture as Krishna.because He is all-attractive, all-powerful, totally wealthy, we may be wealthy to some extent but He has total wealth, total fame, total beauty, total knowledge, and total renunciation. All these qualities make Him the Supreme Absolute Truth. No human being can claim that he can be a God. If any human being claims that he is God then SrilaParbhupad has correctly instructed us that he is not God but he is reverse than that. GOD is God’s spelling, he can be at the best DOG. Please don’t believe anybody if he / she claims that he / she is God. Nobody can compete with Him. Ishwarahparamahkrishnah and He, when He answers the questions He is very clear in His answers. The first answer is that we should completely get free from the sense gratificatory desires. That is very nicely described in verse no 55. And we are looking to verse no 56. Please repeat after me.
Om namobhagavatevasudevaya (3)
duḥkheṣvanudvigna-manāḥ
sukheṣuvigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ
sthita-dhīrmunirucyate
it can be very sweetly sung. The lyrics of the verse is in built in the verse. If you understand the word to word equivalent then it is very easy to sing it and definitely we should glorify the Lord through these verses. Because these verses being the song sung by God, has a transcendental lyric and transcendental lyrics are very satisfying to our soul. Mundane songs they don’t satisfy us. Ha, ha, ha, kyahuvapyarmein pad gaya. (laughs) and we have so many things, they don’t satisfy. But if you sing this one verse your soul will be completely satisfied and as soon as the spiritual existence which is very important in your existence, as soon as that existence is satisfied your whole material existence will be completely satisfying. Because we are starving our soul. We don’t give the soul the proper food. The soul wants the spiritual food, the soul does not eat chapatti and dal and rice, soul cannot be satisfied with them. If you want to satisfy the soul then you have to have few verses from Bhagavad Gita so please sing it very nicely.
duḥkheṣvanudvigna-manāḥ
sukheṣuvigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ
sthita-dhīrmunirucyate
We will go to the equivalents now.
duḥkheṣu — in the threefold miseries; anudvigna-manāḥ — without being agitated in mind; sukheṣu — in happiness; vigata-spṛhaḥ — without being interested; vīta — free from; rāga — attachment; bhaya — fear; krodhaḥ — and anger; sthita-dhīḥ — whose mind is steady; muniḥ — a sage; ucyate — is called.
Translation by SrilaPrabhupad.SrilaPrabhupadki jai. Please repeat.
One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
Again.
One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
Now please hear the purport.
The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion. It is said that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless a muni differs from other munis, he cannot be called a muni in the strict sense of the term. Nāsāvṛṣiryasyamataḿnabhinnam (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.117). But a sthita-dhīrmuni, as mentioned herein by the Lord, is different from an ordinary muni. The sthita-dhīrmuni is always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for he has exhausted all his business of creative speculation. He is called praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntara (Stotra-ratna 43), or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord ŚrīKṛṣṇa, or Vāsudeva, is everything (vāsudevaḥsarvamitisamahātmāsu-durlabhaḥ). He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion. Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful. Success or no success, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is always steady in his determination.
oḿajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣurunmīlitaḿ yena
tasmaiśrī-guravenamaḥ
śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaḿ
sthāpitaḿyenabhū-tale
svayaḿrūpaḥkadāmahyaḿ
dadātisva-padāntikam
mukhamkarotivacalam
pungamlangategirim
yatkrpa tam ahamvande
srigurumdeenataarunam
mukhamkarotivacalam
pungamlangategirim
yatkrpa tam ahamvande
paramaandammaadhavam
vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaśca
kṛpā-sindhubhyaevaca
patitānāḿpāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyonamonamaḥ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaitagadādhara
śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇa
kṛṣṇakṛṣṇaharehare
harerāmaharerāma
rāmarāmaharehare
It is very easy to understand. It is very difficult for us to come to this conclusion that happiness and misery both, in both situations we become very steady. It is nearly impossible in this age. Because this age is particularly meant for the activities which are increasing the sense gratificationand as soon as there is impediment to it, we become agitated. Here Krishna advises us that if you can cultivate Krishna consciousness in your life then it is the best. When there is misery Krishna is clearly advising that we should not be miserable. One thing we have to understand that everything is under the control of Krishna and as soon as we remember this thing, the control of the Supreme authority, then whatever comes we take it as His mercy. And He never does anything wrong for us. It may appear to us that it is not good for me but in the end it proves a very nice thing for us. For few moments or few months we may feel that Krishna, what is Krishna doing with me.
Sudama was completely poor and Sudama was intimate friend of Lord Krishna. But he was not at all dissatisfied in his condition and because he was equal minded in the poverty also, in the end Krishna gave him so much that he got all the opulence. On the other side there were the two sons of Kuver. Kuvera who is the treasurer of the demigods and he is the devotee of Lord Siva. By the mercy of Lord Siva Kuver has so much material opulence that there is no limit to it. He had two sons Nalkuver and Manigrev and as you know the rich men’s sons they get easy money. So as soon as the riches are there, as soon as they see that is father’s property now we are going to inherit them then three things follow – stri, dudam and aardavam, illicit connections with women enjoyment, then dudam gambling, casinos etc and aardava means intoxication. These three things without fail they are there when the easy money is there. These things Manigrev and Nalkuver they were attracted to, they can easily take and they had the reach to the gardens of Siva over the Kailas province in the Himalayas. So they wanted to enjoy themselves. And one day they completely forgot their own position and they went to the Kailas garden and they entered into the water to take bath with the beautiful girls. This was the condition of Nalkuver and Manigrev. On the other hand I gave you the example of Sudama who is the intimate friend of the Lord. He tolerated the poverty. He did not really feel any time that he is in trouble. Whereas these people were extra rich, they were trying to enjoy their lives and as they tried to enjoy they were completely intoxicated and it so happened, by their destiny, thatNarad Muni passed from there. andwhen Narad muni was passing, the girls were not that intoxicated, so they tried to cover their bodies. Whereas these two people they were very much intoxicated. The intoxicated people they don’t understand what is good and what is bad for them.
pravrithincanivrithincanajanaanavidhurathura
These asuras because they drink wine they completely forget themselves and pravritti what is to be done and nivritti what is not to be done, they don’t know. nasaucamtheir life is not freed nabhicacaaro they don’t know how to behave aacar and nasatyamdheshumvidyate, in the back there is no truth and this Manigrev and Nalkuver became completely shameless and they did not even care for Narad muni.
aarjoabinjanmaanasmi, in Bhagavad Gita it is very nicely described aarjo that I am rich abhijanmaanasmi I am surrounded by aristocrated friends and sandarsosadrsomaya who is like me I am the one, I am all powerful siddho ‘ham I am perfect, isvaro ham I am the controller ahambhuvi I am the enjoyer balvanI am the strongest and sukhi I am the happiest. This is the mentality of these people people who are intoxicated by the riches. And the result according to their activities was a horrible result. When Narad muni saw that these living entities are behaving like the trees. The trees stand naked for years to gether, so they should be converted to the trees. And they were cursed that you will have to accept the body of the trees. In that intoxicated stage also Nalkuver and Manigrev they realized what terrible thing has happened to them. Now they have to leave their father’s riches and go to the earth planet and become the trees. And they became two Yamala trees in the compound of Nanda Maharaj and by the extra mercy, causeless mercy of Narad, he cursed them no doubt, but there was something good for them that after 100 years according to the demigod’s calculation, Krishna will appear on the planet of death, this mrthyuloka and at that time you will see Krishna face to face and then you will be liberated and will be restored to your own position. The point is that if you don’t behave alright then we are going to glide down like Nalkuver and Manigrev and then we know when Krishna appeared on this planet Yasodamayi tried to tie Him and when she was successful to tie the Lord, the Lord moved with it and went through the trees and then the trees fell down and tehnNalkuver and Manigrev they were libereated. The point is that if you don’t behave when the riches are there, if we are elated and we ignore the friendly persons or the elderly persons or the instructions of the scriptures then the horrible results awaits us. That’s why Krishna advises us in dukha in miserable conditions, which is the horrible condition, but we should not be disturbed at all. as well as when we are very happy, we are situated in nice country, nice money we have then we should not be elated. Otherwise that elation will throw us into the bad activities. This is the main point to be understood. And when the miseries are there nobody really cares the miseries. We all have 7 problems in front of us and you can very well remember and these 7 problems are inevitable, there is no cure for it. The first problem is that when we accepted this body we had to take birth. Nobody can escape the pangs of birth. Those who are born like us they have to pass away, the death is definitely there. Birth and death inevitable, there is no medicine so far that is can accept the body without taking birth. Nobody falls from the sky. Everybody has to come from the material womb. Then those who are born they cannot be there for long, that is also definite, they have to die, and in between birth and death there are two problems again. Old age you cannot deny, you cannot bribe Krishna that I have billion shillings you take half of billion and leave me alone. No, He will catch your neck. galatkarananiscico and when Krishna catches your neck you cannot even speak anything. And He just takes you away. This is the misery. Old age is a miserable condition without Krishna consciousness. If you are attracted to God then the old age is bearable. Otherwise you become mad. The other day we were in the airport at Frankfurt. We were leaving Frankfurt to come to London. We were in Belgium. At the Frankfurt airport there was a man. He was not in his senses. he was just talking to himself. This way we see so many people in the western airports. These airports are third world. We see all manners of people. We must have some mad people the airports. In America you go plenty of mad people you find. Because that is the first world, the ratio of the mad people are more there. so the point is that as soon as the old age comes it is the rule, the unwritten rule that the living entities remember all the activities from the youth and there is nobody to talk to and so he remembers his activities and there is nobody to talk to, he talks to himself and he enjoys that you know. “I went to Africa, I earned money I put in the bank in Switzerland and the Switzerland bank went bankrupt.” (laughs) So many things he remembers you know and this is how we become completely mad in the old age without the attraction to Krishna. Particularly in old age we must have affection for the Supreme Lord Krishna and young age is meant for that because in the young age your brain is completely sharp. You remember so many things, you can go anywhere, your body obeys you. In old age your body stops obeying you and at death it is horrible thing. Then suppose we tolerate old age. Then again we have to be sick, so many times during the life. So birth, death, disease and old age, these are four inevitable miseries we have to face and in addition to this there are three again miseries. The first misery in Sanskrit is known as adyatmicdukh, it arises from our body and mind. Our mind is also wonderful. It creates so many miserable conditions. this is adyatmic miseries. Inevitable. Body is always rogamandirmaataram. Body is full of diseases. Then the second misery is aadibhautik, other living entities out of envy they try to inflict miseries to you and you cannot do anything, you have to face. Then the third misery is demigod given misery. Suppose we are sitting here nicely and there is earthquake, we just go down and bury under the cement rubble. And there is no way that we can escape. This is the god given misery. Then there may be too much rainfall or no rainfall, there are so many other things to come. These also problems cannot be really warded off. But Krishna advises us here that you just get attached to Me and these all these miseries may be inevitable but they become very happily bearable. We can bear these miseries. Any loss we can incur, any misery we can face. Without Krishna we cannot face these miseries. And that’s why Sri caitanyaMahaprabhu and SrilaPrabhupad and all our gurus and members they are insisting that we should start chanting the names of the God. That is how we approach Krishna. Communion with the Lord through these transcendental vibrations is the complete perfect way to approach Krishna. There is no other way in Kali Yuga. Harernama, harernama, harernamaivakevalamharinaam is the transcendental vibration and if you take advantage of this transcendental vibration then you cannot go wrong at all. You will definitely experience Krishna, same way these verses also. You learn one or two verses and sing it very nicely and you become completely elevated from the material platform to the spiritual platform. Nice description of Krishna is given in one verse you know
kasthuritilakamlalaakpatale
vakshasthalekausthubham
naasaagrevaramurthikamkaratahale
venukarekankanam
sarvaangeharichandanamsulalitham
kandecamuktaavali
gopastriparivestithovijayathe
gopaalachudaamani
Beautiful description of His vigraha Krishna’s vigraha is given here. Kasthuritilakamlalaakpatale He has kasthuritilak on His forehead kasthuritilakamlalaakpatale and then it describes vakshasthale on His breast there is a kausthub jewel, kausthub jewel naasaagrevaramauthiknaasaagre at the end of nose He has nice jewel on the nose also, naasaagrevaramauthikkarathalevenu He has a nice flute in His hand, karekankanam, in His hands there are nice bangles. sarvange on all His body sarvangeharicandanam nice fragrant candan is there and kande in His neck there is nice moti mala mauthikamgopastriparivestitha, all gopis are surrounding Him gopastriparivestitho, very nice, vijayathe He is always successful , such Gopal I pay obeisances to. And these lyrics are beautiful. You learn any verse from Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita or at least you start chanting Hare Krishna maha mantra and your miseries will be completely evaporated.