The Subjective Bhagavad-gita

Both Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur and Baladev Vidyabhusan have commented on Bhagavad-gita, and Jiva Goswami has also given his explanation of different verses. Bhakti Vinod Thakur has given his own explanation, and he has included both Baladev’s and Visvanath Chakravarti’s commentaries in his Bengali translation on Bhagavad-gita. Sridhar Swami’s commentary was the original one, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had great appreciation for his commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita.

I have attempted to shed some new light on some verses in Bhagavad-gita. On the basis of what the previous commentators have said, I have shown the further development of madhura-rasa in Bhagavad-gita, and even the paramour relation of parakiya-rasa. When I discussed my explanation with Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, I asked him, «In this place in Bhagavad-gita, I have given my interpretation to include madhura-rasa. What do you think?» He told me, «What more can be said? Your interpretation is perfectly correct.»

Still, it was a new conception I had given there. I found parakiya, the paramour devotion of the gopis for Krishna, represented in the verse: tesam satata yuktanam … yena Mam upayanti te. Just as Srimad Bhagavatam has four essential verses, there are four essential verses in Bhagavad-gita which contain the very gist, the very substance of the whole ontological conception of Bhagavad-gita.

In Bhagavad-gita (10.8), the first of the four nutshell verses is as follows:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

«I am the origin of everything. Everything emanates from Me (including all conceptions of the Absolute Truth and even My own worship). The wise who know this fully worship Me with bhava, deep devotional ecstasy.»

Here, Krishna says, «Aham sarvasya prabhavo Mattah sarvam pravartate: everything emanates from Me, including all conceptions of the Absolute Truth.» In Bhagavatam, the three main conceptions of the Absolute are given: Brahma, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. Brahma means the all-comprehensive aspect of the Absolute. Paramatma means the all-permeating aspect of the Absolute, and Bhagavan means the personal conception of the Absolute.

In his Bhakti-sandarbha, Jiva Goswami has given the real meaning of Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead. The general meaning of Bhagavan is «one who commands all sorts of potencies.» All sorts of potencies are controlled by Him personally. That is the conception of Bhagavan found in Narayan of Vaikuntha. But Jiva Goswami has given a particularly fine interpretation of Bhagavan. He says that Bhagavan means bhajaniya-sarva-sad-guna-visista: the nature of Bhagavan is such that whatever comes in contact with Him feels a natural serving tendency towards His charming personality. He is endowed with such qualities that everyone is drawn to worship Him, to love Him. He attracts the love of everyone. Everyone wants to serve Him — this is Bhagavan. He is endowed with qualities that attract everyone to serve Him.

I have included this special interpretation of Jiva Goswami in my commentary on the above Bhagavad-gita verse. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, three phases of the Absolute Truth have been described (all-comprehensive Brahma, all-pervading Paramatma, and the all-attractive, absolute person, Bhagavan). I have explained in my commentary that Krishna’s statement here (Aham sarvasya prabhavo) means: «I am Svayam Bhagavan, the Original Personality of Godhead. I am at the root of all these three conceptions of the Absolute. And I am the origin not only of Brahma, the all-comprehensive Absolute, and Paramatma, the all-permeating Absolute, but also of Narayan, the master of all potencies who commands the respect of everyone. I am the origin of all of them: I am Svayam Bhagavan.»

In this way, I have interpreted the meaning of Aham sarvasya prabhavo. And in the next line, when Krishna says Mattah sarvam pravartate, here we must concentrate more finely. Krishna says, «Sarvam pravartate: everything comes from Me.» With this, Krishna is saying, «Even worship of Me comes from Me. I reveal it first. I Myself worship Myself. I do this as Guru, as My finer potency. This potency is nothing but Myself. And My finest potency is Radharani. Through My potency, I worship Myself. Every movement begins from Me; even My own worship. My own service is begun by Me, in My role as Guru. I reveal that to the public so that you will properly worship Me. For this reason, Guru is called Bhagavan, for he is nondifferent from Me (Acharyam Mam vijaniyan).»

The finest potency of Bhagavan is Radharani. So, Guru in the highest sense, as well as service in the highest sense, is represented in Srimati Radharani. Next, Krishna says, «Those who know this will worship Me (iti matva bhajante Mam).» Those who understand this conception, that Radharani serves Him in the highest way, will serve Krishna in subjugation to Her. That is Radha-dasyam, the divine service of Sri Radha. And it is with this understanding that a worshiper will come to worship Krishna.

In my interpretation, I have taken it that this is Krishna’s intent when He says, «Iti matva bhajante Mam: knowing this, they worship Me.» He means, «Those who know that My worship comes from Me, and that My finest potency worships Me best, will worship Me under the direction of My finest potency.» Here we find the importance of Radha-dasyam, the service of Sri Radha, the highest goal of the followers of Rupa Goswami, the Rupanuga–Gaudiya sampradaya. Here, Krishna is saying, «Knowing that it is My finest potency that worships Me best, one will worship Me under the direction of My first-class worshiper (Sri Radha). With this idea, one will always worship Me under the guidance of My finest sakti, Srimati Radharani, or Her representation, Sri Gurudev. In this way, they will always worship Me under their direction, and never as a direct worshiper.» This is the meaning of iti matva bhajante Mam.

Then, Krishna says budha bhava-samanvitah. Here, budha means those of fine theistic intellect (sumedhasah). In Bhagavatam, it is said that those of fine theistic intellect will be able to appreciate this (yajanti hi sumedhasah). Fine theistic intelligence is the outcome of good fortune which comes from above (sukrti); it is not self-acquired. That fine intellectual inner direction and guidance can only come from the nirguna or transcendental plane. Budha here means «one who has a direct connection with the nirguna or transcendental plane.» His intelligence doesn’t come from this mayic quarter; rather, it springs from the spiritual platform. Only such a person can appreciate these subtle points. This is said in Bhagavatam:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

«Those who are of fine theistic intellect (sumedhasah) will worship Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in sankirtan, not others.»

So, this verse from Bhagavad-gita means, «One whose devotion is the product of the nirguna wave, whose faith is not collected from this world of misunderstanding, shall worship me through Radha-dasyam.» Here bhava-samanvitah means raga-samanvitah — that is, they worship Krishna with anuraga, love. Their affinity for Krishna, their devotion to Him, is not governed by rules; it does not spring from strictly following the scriptural rules, but from bhava, inner inspiration. This worship is called raga-marg, the path of spontaneous attraction.

Scriptural rules involve calculations of loss and gain. But worship which is bhava-samanvitah is not drawn from any consideration of loss and gain; it flows naturally through love and attraction for Krishna. It is jnana-sunya-bhakti, free from calculation, free from profit and loss: jnana-karmady-anavrtam.

The next of the four essential verses which contain the entire message of Bhagavad-gita is as follows (10.9):

mach-chittā mad-gata-prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam
kathayantaś cha māṁ nityaṁ tuṣyanti cha ramanti cha

«The hearts and minds of My devotees are always filled with Me, and they are forever experiencing pleasure and ecstasy in talking about Me.»

Here, Krishna says, «I am in their hearts, in their thinking (Mach-chitta Mad-gata-prana). Their whole life, their entire energy, is spent for Me, utilised for Me. Their prana-sakti, their life-energy, is also fully devoted for My cause. Internally, they are always thinking about Me and devoting their whole energy for Me, and externally they talk about Me to enhance their mutual understanding (bodhayantah parasparam). They love to talk about Me with one another; they talk about nothing else. In private life, and in public life also, they love to talk about Me, and nothing else. I am the only subject of their discussions (kathayantas cha Mam nityam). Whatever they do, wherever they are — everywhere — I am the subject of their talk.»

And next Krishna says, «In this they find great satisfaction (tusyanti cha ramanti cha).» The internal meaning of tusyanti cha ramanti cha is as follows. Here two levels of devotees are described. Up to vatsalya-rasa, or the parental mellow of devotion, Krishna’s devotees are feeling great satisfaction (tusyanti). And above this is the higher kind of satisfaction (ramanti) experienced in the madhura-rasa. Just as a wife and husband enjoy a particular kind of connection, Krishna’s devotees feel ecstasy (ramanti) in His connection, simply by talking about Him. Here the Acharyas have agreed that the word ramanti indicates consorthood, and that devotees in consorthood can experience the very deep connection of husband and wife in relation to Krishna. In the company of Krishna, they feel the ecstasy of consorthood, ramanti cha. They also feel that ecstasy even when they are only talking about Krishna. This meaning of the word ramanti has been explained in different places by Visvanath, Baladev, Bhakti Vinod Thakur, and is also admitted even by Sankar Acharya, who agrees that the word ramanti indicates consorthood.

Then there is the next nutshell verse of Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

teṣām satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te

«To those who constantly worship Me with devotion, I give the intelligence by which they can come to Me.»

This is the ordinary meaning of this verse, but there is a deeper meaning. Here, Krishna says, «Those persons who are continuously engaged in Me without interruption (satata-yuktanam), who are always in Me, who are connected with Me, who serve Me with great love and respect with their heart — dadami buddhi-yogam tam — I inspire them with the intelligence by which they will come to Me. They will come to Me in a closer connection.» But I found that this is redundant. Krishna has already said satata-yuktanam: «Their devotion is continuous; they are always there in My connection.» If they are already in connection with Krishna, then we must ask why He would again say, «They will come to Me.»

Krishna has already said that these devotees talk only of Him, think only of Him, take pleasure in Him, and are always engaged in His service. He says, «They are always connected with Me without interruption, and they are serving Me with heartfelt love.» They are already serving with heartfelt love, and then Krishna says, «I shall give them the inspiration by which they will come to Me (Mam upayanti te).» This is redundant. It has already been said that they are connected to Krishna; how is it that again they will «come to Him»? How is Krishna’s statement «they come to Me» to be harmonised? So, I found a deeper meaning to the words Mam upayanti te. I took here the word upayanti, which ordinarily means «they come», to indicate upapati, or «paramour». So, upayanti, «they come to Me», means they consider Krishna as upapati, as a paramour.

In society, there is the lawful husband, or pati, and there is the paramour, or upapati. In Vrndavan, Krishna is not considered by the gopis as their lawfully married husband, but as master, as the Lord, of their hearts.

Here Krishna says, «I inspire those who are constantly engaged in devotional service to come to Me.» Which devotees does Krishna here inspire? Those who are ramanti, the highest group of devotees, those who are related to him in consorthood, in full rasa — mukhya-rasa. Krishna says here, «I inspire them to come to Me, considering Me as paramour, upapati.» Here Krishna says bhajatam priti purvakam: this means prema, which is generally found in madhura-rasa, consorthood. So, the real meaning of this verse is that Krishna inspires those who are in consorthood to come to Him, seeing Him as paramour, upapati. And how do they come to Him? He inspires them to come to Him without any consideration of social and scriptural demands. And so, inspired by Him from within, crossing the line of scriptural and social regulations, and even deceiving their own husbands, the gopis are united with Krishna in paramour consorthood (parakiya).

Krishna’s position is absolute, and He relishes more the devotion of those who can cross everything for Him. And He inspires His devotees from within with this message: «Externally you have to fulfil social and scriptural demands, but My position is over and above the scriptures. My position is above whatever the social laws and scriptural laws tell you to do. I am above the Vedas and everything else. The Vedas are My instructions for the ordinary people. Their instructions are meant for those who are deviated from Me. Society is also under the guidance of those instructions which were given to the fallen. But My connection with everything is intrinsic; it is independent of the laws of scripture and society. I do not require recognition from anyone. My connection with everything is the constant in all equations. It can never be avoided. So, you must neglect all the demands from your previous life’s connections and come to Me. You have no freedom to do anything else. When your devotional nature will come to demand you to come to Me, you are not free. Your heart must come towards Me.»

That is upapati, paramour devotion. The devotion of Vrndavan. Vrndavan-bhajan means paramour devotion: yena Mam upayanti te. So here, Krishna says that to those who are ramanti, who are already inclined to come in connection with Him in consorthood as husband and wife, He gives some special feeling and inspiration within their hearts, and they shall come to Him as upapati, as paramours. Here Krishna is saying, in effect, «This paramour devotion is so great that it crosses the rules of both society and scripture. It is independent of everything. Connection with Me is independent of everything that you can conceive. It is most innate and natural. It does not require any scriptural or any social sanction. You may live in society showing formal respect to scriptural and social convention, but from your inner heart of hearts you are Mine. That is yena Mam upayanti te, the special instruction or nature or insight I give to these devotees.»

In other words, these devotees do not allow a second pati or husband to come between them and Krishna. They cannot tolerate the interpolation of any second thing, even if it involves social laws or scriptural regulations. Their devotion is so high that all the Vedas are searching after this idea, this divine position:

āsām aho charaṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ
vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām
yā dustyajaṁ sva-janam ārya-pathaṁ cha hitvā
bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām

«Although the most exalted devotion of the gopis is only hinted at in the Vedas, I can now understand their most exalted position. O when shall I take birth as a creeper in Vrndavan, so that I can take the dust of the lotus feet of the gopis upon my head? Those great souls gave up society, friendship, love, their relatives — and even the Vedic principles — to take shelter of the holy lotus feet of Krishna.»

Here, one thing should be mentioned: parakiya-bhava has a broader application. It does not only mean paramour devotion. This feeling of crossing scriptural and social rules for an ‘unsanctioned’ relationship is found not only in madhura-rasa or consorthood. Parakiya literally means «belonging to another». Vatsalya-rasa, parental affection, and sakhya-rasa, friendship, are also infused with the sentiments of parakiya. This is the method of love for those who follow raga-marg.

In the case of Yasoda, parakiya takes the following form: Yasoda says, «Some people say that Krishna is not my son. They say that he is Devaki’s son!» This feeling enhances her heart’s affection towards Krishna, for then she thinks, «I could lose Him at any moment.» This idea draws more intense affection towards Krishna. It increases the affection of her service.

In sakhya-rasa, the sentiments of parakiya are also found. «Some say Krishna has come from Mathura and He may again go to Mathura. He does not belong to us; he is not exclusively our friend.» This apprehension also fills the minds of the cowherd boys, and they become anxious, thinking, «We may lose Him at any time.» So, that sentiment makes friendly service towards Him more intense. In this way, the whole sentiment in Vrndavan is parakiya.

In the mood of servanthood, or dasya-rasa, also there is some sentiment like that. Devotees feel, «Some say that Krishna comes from Mathura, that He is the son of Vasudev. He is here only for a while; He is not an ordinary man like us.» This idea is more or less current in Vrndavan. So, parakiya is not only found in madhura-rasa; Krishna may capture all with that sentiment.

Parakiya is a very special thing in madhura-rasa. Its speciality is that in madhura-rasa it is more objectionable both to the scriptures and to society. But for the gopis it is not objectionable. In madhura-rasa, they have to cross over the directions of both the Vedas and society — they must take that great risk. In other rasas, there is only the fear that «We may not have Krishna permanently, He may go away, He does not belong among us …» This suspicion increases the intensity of their service, but in madhura-rasa, they must cross the positive directions of the Veda and society. They must go against these authorities, as if to take the risk of committing sin. This is the special feature of parakiya in madhura-rasa, so there the intensity of devotion is in its highest condition. So, the inspiration towards parakiya (yena Mam upayanti te) that Krishna discusses here with special reference to those who are ramanti, who are connected to Him in consorthood, is also present in all the servitors in Vrndavan.

Finally, we come to the last of the four nutshell verses of Bhagavad-gita (10.11):

teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
naśayāmy ātma-bhāvastho jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā

Krishna says: «To show them special mercy, I enter their hearts and destroy their ignorance with the lamp of knowledge.»

The inner meaning of this verse is more difficult to draw out. The words tesam evanukampartham may be interpreted in two ways. The external interpretation is that Krishna favours His devotees, and the internal explanation is that Krishna is saying, «I want their favour. I aspire after the favour of the devotees of the highest order.» As in Bhagavatam (10.82.44), Krishna says:

mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpate
diṣṭyā yad āsīn mat-sneho bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ

«My dear gopis, everyone considers themselves fortunate if they possess devotion for Me, and by that they achieve an eternal life of nectar. But I must admit that I consider Myself most fortunate because I have come in touch with the wonderful affection found in your hearts.»

Still the paradox is that Krishna seems to say that after such grief and continued engagement with Krishna, then He gives these higher devotees pure knowledge, and by that knowledge they get salvation by attaining Brahma. That is the point of argument made by the followers of Sankar Acharya. But I have taken it in another direction.

Jnana-dipena is a troublesome expression — «I enlighten them with knowledge» — so I have given another interpretation: when the pangs of separation felt by Krishna’s devotees comes to its extreme stage, Krishna suddenly comes and shows Himself. For example, Sachi Devi feels extreme separation when she cooks for Nimai, and then by His mercy she can see clearly that Nimai has come and taken prasadam. Similarly in Vrndavan, when the pangs of separation reach their highest degree, then suddenly the devotees can see that «Krishna is here in our company.» So, when Krishna says that out of His mercy He appears and removes their ignorance, their ajnana, He means that when the devotees are experiencing separation from Him, He appears before them and removes the darkness they feel from separation. Out of His mercy, He gives them sustenance. And when that sort of medicine has been applied, they can go on further. In Vrndavan, when His devotees felt separation, sometimes He had to come and to show His friends, «I am amongst you. I have not left you.» This is what is meant by dispelling darkness with the light of divine knowledge: jnana-dipena bhasvata. Here the word ignorance or ajnana means jnana-sunya-bhakti, knowledge-free devotion. Devotees do not think that they are part and parcel of the lila, the Pastimes of the Supreme God. No, their devotion is free from such calculation. It is jnana-sunya-bhakti: most innocent.

Here Krishna is saying, «I can’t tolerate the pangs of separation felt by My devotees. I must run towards them and show them, ‘I am here, My mother. You see? I am here taking food.’» Sometimes Sachi Devi prepares food for the Deity, and after offering it, she sees that it is all gone. At that time, she thinks, «Was this a dream? I saw Nimai. He was taking prasad, and of course nothing was left in the pot. But Nimai has gone long ago. But then who has taken this prasad? What was it I saw? Was it a dream, or has some dog taken the food? Or is it that I forgot? Have I not cooked today? Perhaps I did not give the bhoga to the Bala Gopal Deity. What did I do?»

In this way, Sachi is confused. This may be seen as her ajnana, her ‘ignorance’. Then, Sri Chaitanya sends some devotee to her, saying, «You tell all this to my mother: on those days when such things occur I actually go there; I take food from her hand. It is not a dream. Remind My mother of this and console her. Tell her that I come to her and I take her cooked prasadam. Remind her that this has occurred.»

So, this is the meaning of the fourth nutshell verse from Bhagavad-gita: by His mercy Krishna removes the darkness of separation from His devotees. And those that remind us of Krishna, and thus remove the darkness born of separation from Him, are the real humanitarians. They are distributing the highest cure. The gopis tell Krishna, «We are suffering from this pang that is created by You. But the messages about Your Pastimes give us life and sustenance. We are eager to hear this, and then we may feel that we are getting our life back. There is no other medicine but Your assurance and consolation: that alone can save us from these pangs of the burning heart.» This is their statement in Srimad Bhagavatam (10.31.9):

tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ
kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmaṣāpaham
śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad-ātataṁ
bhuvi gṛṇanti ye bhuridā janāḥ

«O Krishna, we are always suffering in this world, but just hearing the nectar of Your words and Pastimes gives us life and as a by-product it removes all of our sinful reactions. This sort of hearing is all-auspicious and fills us with spiritual wealth. Those who deliver this message of Godhead are doing the highest relief work for human society and are actually the greatest humanitarians.»