Secrets of the Soul 24

dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said in many places that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ
prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ
aham ādir hi devānāṁ
maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ

“Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages.” [Bhagavad-gita 10.2]

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

“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.” [Bhagavad-gita 10.8]

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ 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.” [Bhagavad-gita 7.14]

So these are the authoritative statements of Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gita. And the conclusion is that to solve all the problems of life, we should surrender completely unto Him alone.

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.66]

If we do not accept Bhagavad-gita in terms of the statements given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then it is simply a useless waste of time. One cannot make any meaningful commentary on Bhagavad-gita based on fallible human knowledge. Bhagavad-gita is not very difficult to understand. It is written in very simple Sanskrit language, and the philosophy is very clear—as clear as sunlight in the clear sky.

There is no question of needing a flashlight to see the sunlight. When the sun is out, there is enough light to see the sun and everything else very clearly. Then if somebody brings a flashlight and says, “Now I shall show you the sun,” it is ludicrous. Similarly, Bhagavad-gita is perfectly clear all by itself. Bhagavad-gita does not require any human interpretation to explain Kṛṣṇa or the Esoteric Teaching. To get the full benefit, we must try to understand Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any false interpretation. Otherwise, we will be misled.

Just like in the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita King Dhrtarastra said,

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya

“O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” [Bhagavad-gita 1.1]

It is perfectly clear. Kuruksetra is a dharma-ksetra (a place where religious rituals are performed). It is there still; and it is still a dharma-ksetra—people go there on pilgrimage and to perform Vedic sacrifices. And Vedas state that kuru-ksetre dharmam acaret: One should go to Kuruksetra and perform religious rituals there. So it is dharma-ksetra both by Vedic injunction, and by practical example: dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre [Bhagavad-gita 1.1]. So simple, so direct; this is Bhagavad-gita.

But some interpreters insist that “Kuruksetra means this body.” We would like to know in which Vedic dictionary they found that meaning. That kind of speculative misinterpretation of Bhagavad-gita is very widespread. But our value proposition is that if you really want to be benefited by reading Bhagavad-gita, then you should avoid such malinterpretation. Why associate with merely human-level intelligence, when you can get the original knowledge from the greatest intelligence? Thus the Esoteric Teaching of Bhagavad-gita is the gateway to the highest perfection of yoga.

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