O best of the brāhmaṇas! The complete perfection of dharma, according to divisions of varṇāśrama by men, is pleasing the Lord.

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COMMENTARY

Why is dharma in the form of varṇāśrama not considered to be paro dharma? This verse answers. That dharma undertaken by men—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras which does not produce attraction for talks about the Supreme Lord is completely useless. The śruti says karmaṇā pirtṛ-loke: by performance of varṇāśrama duties one goes to Pitṛ-loka in the material world. (Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.5) Performance of varṇāśrama duties does not produce attraction for the Lord. This is clear from Nārada’s statements in the Fourth Canto:

kiṁ janmabhis tribhir veha śaukra-sāvitra-yājñikaiḥ

karmabhir vā trayī-proktaiḥ puṁso ’pi vibudhāyuṣā

A civilized human being has three kinds of births. The first birth is by a pure father and mother, and this birth is called birth by semen. The next birth takes place when one is initiated by the spiritual master, and this birth is called sāvitra. The third birth, called yājñika, takes place when one is given the opportunity to worship Lord Viṣṇu. Despite the opportunities for attaining such births, even if one gets the life-span of a demigod, if one does not actually engage in the service of the Lord, everything is useless. Similarly, one’s activities may be mundane or spiritual, but they are useless if they are not meant for satisfying the Lord. SB 4.31.10

kiṁ vā yogena sāṅkhyena nyāsa-svādhyāyayor api

kiṁ vā śreyobhir anyaiś ca na yatrātma-prado hariḥ

Transcendental practices that do not ultimately help one realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead are useless, be they mystic yoga practices, the analytical study of matter, severe austerity, the acceptance of sannyāsa, or the study of Vedic literature. All these may be very important aspects of spiritual advancement, but unless one understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, all these processes are useless. SB 4.31.12

Because it does not produce attraction for topics about the Lord it is merely useless endeavor. Because of the temporary nature of the results of performing varṇāśrama duties such as attainment of Pitṛ-loka, one should give up those duties (sva-dharma) and perform the paro dharma mentioned in the previous verse consisting of hearing and chanting about the Lord.

However it is also said:

asmiû loke vartamānaḥ sva-dharma-stho ’naghaḥ śuciḥ |

jñānaṁ viśuddham āpnoti mad-bhaktiṁ ca yadṛcchayā ||

One who is situated in his prescribed duty, free from sinful activities and cleansed of material contamination, in this very life obtains transcendental knowledge or, by fortune, devotional service unto Me. SB 11.20.11

The Lord himself says that karma is the cause of bhakti. How can you say that bhakti is without cause?

That is true. It can be explained in that statement that karma gives rise to jñāna, but does not directly produce bhakti. That is understood from the use of the word yadṛcchayā (by itself) in the verse. Pure bhakti is independent (yadṛcchayā), indifferent to other processes. If by good fortune it happens to appear in a person, then he attains attraction for the Lord’s topics. The meaning of yadṛcchayā is “by itself.” By explaining the verse in another way, the self-manifesting nature of bhakti would be lost. Therefore such meanings are rejected. Thus even niṣkāma-karma is not the cause of bhakti. That is said in the present verse. Paro dharma is understood from verse 1.2.6 (sa vai puṁsām paro dharmaḥ). All dharmas other than that, undertaken as one’s duties (svanuṣṭhitaḥ), even if they are niṣkāma, and which do not produce affection (ratim) for topics about the Lord, are only useless labor. The word yadi here indicates disgust generated from the wasted labor. Medinī says yadi indicates disgust or doubt.

Or yadi can be used to express doubt where no doubt exists as in the example yadi vedāḥ pramāṇam: if the Vedas are proof. Or in the sentence dhatte padam tvam avitā yadi vighna-mūrdhni: You, the protector, place your foot on the head of obstacles, yadi expresses certainty. This is how Śrīdhara Svāmī explains yadi.

Another meaning is as follows. It is said that from this varṇāśrama sometimes attraction for topics of the Lord does arise. That is true. Because one cannot attain the results of dharma without such affection for the Lord’s topics, that affection is present but that is an appearance only, not genuine. If activities of varṇāśrama-dharma, whether kāmya (for fulfilling personal desires) or nitya (daily obligations), do not produce affection for the Lord’s topics, they are a waste of labor (for no material results will come). For farmers, agriculture must generate affection for the king; otherwise they cannot attain its results. Intelligent people, seeing that there will be no results without attraction for those topics, perform dharma that produces affection for the topics of the Lord. If the foolish perform the duties without producing affection for topics of the Lord, they labor for nothing. Just as it is wasted labor if one cannot attain the results of farming because of lack of loyalty to the king, it is wasted labor if one cannot get the results of Svarga and knowledge because of lack of devotion to the Lord.

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam

kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvara na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam

Knowledge of self-realization, even though free from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the Infallible [God]. What, then, is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature, if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord? SB 1.5.12

Just as affection for the king arises only because of attachment to agriculture, so attraction to topics of the Lord arises only because of attachment to varṇāśrama- dharma and its material results. Therefore that attachment to the topics of the Lord is not genuine. Prahlāda has expressed a pure relationship:

ahaṁ tv akāmas tvad-bhaktas tvaṁ ca svāmy anapāśrayaḥ

nānyathehāvayor artho rāja-sevakayor iva

O my Lord, I am Your unmotivated servant, and You are my eternal master. There is no need of our being anything other than master and servant. You are naturally my master, and I am naturally Your servant. We have no other relationship. SB 7.10.6

|| 1.2.9 ||

harmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho ’rthāyopakalpate |

nārthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ ||

TRANSLATION

Material results are not suitable as the goal for the person dedicated to higher spiritual goals. Attainment of material assets is not the desire of the person who is dedicated to the higher path.

COMMENTARY

There are four types of persons in this world: karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and bhaktas. It is said dharmād arthaś ca kāmaś ca sa kim arthaṁ na sevyate: from performance of dharma comes artha and kāma. Can dharma not be used for any purpose? (Mahābhārata 18.5.49) Thus, the result of performance of dharma is artha, acquisition of material results. The result of material acquisition is desire, kāma. The result of kāma is pleasure of the senses. When the senses are pleased, for further gain of pleasure, one executes the sequence starting with dharma again. This is true for the karmīs, but does not apply to the jñānīs, yogīs and devotees. That is explained in this verse.

Dharma in this verse refers to control of mind and senses (śama, dama etc.) for the jñānī, to yama and niyama etc. for the yogīs and to hearing, chanting and other devotional processes for the devotee. Though the material results appear by executing all these processes, they are not suitable as the goal (arthāya na kalpate), for after examining the nature of material gain, one becomes detached from it. That is indicated in text by the word āpavargyasya. Apavargya means “having the goal of apavarga.” The vowel is lengthened without a change in meaning, as in such words as svarga. Thus from apavarga comes apavargya and then āpavargya. It should be understood that by these processes apavarga is the concomitant result of practice. That apavarga is liberation for the jñānī and yogī, and prema-bhakti for the devotee.

yathā-varṇa-vidhānam apavargaś cāpi bhavati.|

yo ’sau bhagavati sarva-bhūtātmany anātmye ’nirukte ’nilayane paramātmani vāsudeve ’nanya-nimitta-bhakti-yoga-lakṣaṇo nānā-gati-nimittāvidyā-granthi-randhana-dvāreṇa yadā hi mahā-puruṣa-puruṣa-prasaṅgaḥ.

In terms of different cases, liberation (apavarga) becomes possible. After many, many births, when the results of one’s pious activities mature, one gets an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. Then one is able to cut the knot of bondage to ignorance, which bound him because of varied fruitive activities. As a result of associating with devotees, one gradually renders service to Lord Vāsudeva, who is transcendental, free from attachment to the material world, beyond the mind and words, and independent of everything else. That bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Lord Vāsudeva, is the real path of liberation. SB 5.19.19-20

sa vai mahā-bhāgavataḥ parīkṣid yenāpavargākhyam adabhra-buddhiḥ

jñānena vaiyāsaki-śabditena bheje khagendra-dhvaja-pāda-mūlam

O Sūta Gosvāmī, please describe those topics of the Lord by which Mahārāja Parīkṣit, whose intelligence was fixed on liberation (apavarga), attained the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of Garuḍa, the king of birds. Those topics were vibrated by the son of Vyāsa [Śrīla Śukadeva]. SB 1.18.16

As well, in Skanda Purāṇa it is said:

niścalā tvayi bhaktir yā saiva muktir janārdana |

muktā eva hi bhaktās te tava viṣṇo yato hare ||

O Janārdana! O Lord! O Viṣṇu! That bhakti which is fixed on you is called liberation, because your devotees are certainly liberated.

Therefore the desire of the avid practitioner should not be for attaining material results (arthasya kamo labhāya na). This is because, for the avid practitioner of apavarga-dharma, the practice itself has its own results. In certain actions the jñānīs use material assets which are favorable for śama and dama and the yogīs uses material assets which are favorable for yama and niyama. The devotee uses material assets for service to the Lord and his devotees. This is clear.

|| 1.2.10 ||

kāmasya nendriya-prītir lābho jīveta yāvatā |

jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ ||

TRANSLATION

For one who desires apavarga, sense pleasure attained from enjoying sense objects is not the goal as long as one lives. The goal of life is inquiry into the highest truth. What is accomplished by prescribed duties is not the goal.

COMMENTARY

The pleasure of the senses (indriya-pritiḥ) arising from enjoying senses objects is not the goal (lābhaḥ). Rather, as long as one lives (yāvatā jiveta) one should work for the fulfillment of life (apavarga). The pleasure of the senses from enjoyment for the jñānīs or the yogīs consisting of the secondary results that appear long with the desired results is designated as results of action. Since jñāna and yoga are transformations of niṣkāma-karma, they perceive whatever happiness and distress they experience as results of karma. For the devotees, the pleasure of the senses from sense objects which accompany bhakti however are not called fruits of action (karma) since bhakti is not a transformation of karma. The devotees, however, perceive happiness to be the result of bhakti only. They regard suffering as the mercy of the Lord:

yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ |

tato ’dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam ||

If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another. SB 10.88.8

Taking this statement of the Lord into consideration, according to the particular case, the devotee’s suffering should be regarded as direct action of the Lord or a result of devotional offenses. The goal of life (jīvasya) is inquiry into the highest truth (tattva-jijñāsā). What is accomlished (iha) by performance of karmas, such as attaining Svarga, is not the goal.

|| 1.2.11 ||

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam |

brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate ||

TRANSLATION

The knowers of truth call this truth advayam-jñānam, the supreme conscious being, who is called brahman by the jñānīs, paramātmā by the yogīs and bhagavān by the devotees.

COMMENTARY

What is that highest truth (tattvam)? This verse explains. It is advaya-jñānam. And what is jñānam? It is called brahman. What the jñānīs call brahman is jñānam. According to them it is without form, without distinction of knower and known, a condition of consciousness alone.

This jñānam is called paramātmā by the yogīs. This jñānam is advaitam because of oneness between him and his śaktis--jīva and prakṛti, because as cause he pervades the effect, this universe, the prison-like abode, and because paramātmā is non-different from his form and abodes through particularization of his consciousness aspect. According to the yogīs, the form of Paramātmā is still pure jñāna because his form is also the same knowledge. Even though he is pure jñāna, Paramātmā is also the shelter of particularization of jñāna, because he performs functions such as acting as the witness. Paramātmā is just like the sun or a lamp. Though the sun is the very form of light, it is also the possessor of luminosity. Thus there is no contradiction. Paramātmā is understood to have a form as shown in the following verse:

kecit sva-dehāntar-hṛdayāvakāśe prādeśa-mātraṁ puruṣaṁ vasantam

catur-bhujaṁ kañja-rathāṅga-śaṅkha-gadā-dharaṁ dhāraṇayā smaranti

Others conceive of the Personality of Godhead residing within the body in the region of the heart and measuring only eight inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a wheel of a chariot, a conch shell and a club respectively. SB 2.2.8

This jñānam is called bhagavān by the devotees. He is called advayam because material energy is the śakti (and śakti and śaktimān are one); because he is completely different from the jīvas in illusion (advayam meaning unique); because the jīvas are distinct aṁśas or parts of the whole (identity of part and whole); and because no one is in the same position as the Lord (advayam meaning having no equal). According to the devotees, though bhagavān is pure jñāna, as the yogīs and jñānīs agree, he has a form possessing the six qualities described by the word bhaga, which is non-material, because the form is pure consciousness. Thus it is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa:

aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ |  

jñāna-vairāggyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā ||

Bhaga of six parts is defined as: complete control, complete influence, complete excellent qualities of body, mind and words, complete beauty or wealth, complete knowledge, and complete detachment from worldly affairs. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.74

jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejāṁsy aśeṣataḥ |

bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ ||

The word bhagavān means to be endowed with unlimited knowledge, sense power, bodily strength, power of control, influence and beauty without inferior

guṇas. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.79

Though he is situated within and without in various forms of pure consciousness with two or four hands, and though there is eternally a difference between himself and the jīva as served and servant, he is still advaya or one. That the difference between jīva and the Lord is eternal is stated in the Skanda Purāṇa: na cyavante hi mad-bhaktā mahatyāṁ pralayād api: my devotees are not destroyed even at the time of pralaya. The word advayam negates any conception of difference, since one must consider non-difference between the Lord and his śaktis, spiritual actions, and abodes.

The jñānī who selects the general form of the Lord is qualified for brahman. The yogī who accepts the Lord as the soul within all beings, who possesses qualities, and who is different from the jīva, is qualified for realizing paramātmā. The devotee who accepts the Lord — who possesses an inconceivable and infinite form of knowledge and bliss, with infinite qualities and pastimes — is qualified for realizing bhagavān. Actually he alone exists. This is shown in the following verses:

aho bhāgyam aho bhāgyaṁ nanda-gopa-vrajaukasām

yan-mitraṁ paramānandaṁ pūrṇaṁ brahma sanātanam

How greatly fortunate are Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd men and all the other inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi! There is no limit to their good fortune, because the Absolute Truth, the source of transcendental bliss, the eternal Supreme Brahman, has become their friend. SB 10.14.32

kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya haraye paramātmane

praṇata-kleśa-nāśāya govindāya namo namaḥ

Again and again we offer our obeisances unto Lord Kṛṣṇa, Hari, the son of Vasudeva. That Supreme Paramātmā, Govinda, vanquishes the suffering of all who surrender to Him. SB 10.73.16

madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca paraṁ brahmeti śabditam

vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi

You will be thoroughly advised and favored by Me, and because of your inquiries, everything about My glories, which are known as paraṁ brahma, will be manifest within your heart. Thus you will know everything about Me. SB 8.24.38

brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham

I am the basis of brahman. BG 14.27

viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ krṭsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat

I pervade this universe by my one portion, paramātmā. BG 10.42

This is also shown by the attainment of prema for the worshippers of bhagavān. Because the worshippers of brahman and paramātmā do not attain prema, it can be seen that bhagavān is the root of the other forms, though bhagavān is both brahman and paramātmā. The yogī worshipping paramātmā is superior to the jñānīs who worship the brahman. But the worshipper of bhagavān is superior to the yogīs. This hierarchy is seen in the Gītā:

tapasvibhyo ’dhiko yogī jñānibhyo ’pi mato ’dhikaḥ |

karmibhyaś cādhiko yogī tasmād yogī bhavārjuna ||

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā |

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ ||

According to Me, the yogī is better than the tapasvī, better than the jñānī, and better than the karma-yogī. Therefore be a yogī, Arjuna. But I consider he who worships Me with faith, with mind attached to Me, to be greater than all types of yogīs. BG 6.46-47

Rāmānujācārya explains that the possessive case (of the yogīs--yogīnām) actually means the ablative case (than the yogīs).

|| 1.2.12 ||

tac chraddadhānā munayo jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā |

paśyanty ātmani cātmānaṁ bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā ||

TRANSLATION

The seriously inquisitive student or sage, well equipped with knowledge and detachment, realizes that Absolute Truth by rendering devotional service in terms of what he has heard from the Vedānta-śruti.

COMMENTARY

This verse describes the practice to realize that tattva. The sages (munayaḥ) — the jñānīs cultivating contemplation, the yogīs and the devotees — see that jñāna of three forms by bhakti. Those who conceive of jñāna as brahman realize (paśyanti) the jīva (ātmānam) as the Lord (ātmani). (tat tvam asi: You, jīva, are that, the Lord.) Those who conceive of the Lord as paramātmā see through meditation the lord in the heart (ātmānam) in their heart (ātmani). Those who conceive of bhagavān see bhagavān (ātmānam) in the mind (ātmani) and also directly in front of them (ca), and taste the sweetness of the Lord with their very eyes. The sages realize their form of the Lord by bhakti, which is first heard from the guru (śruta) and then practiced (gṛhītayā).

The word bhaktyā is used with its conventional meaning, indicating hearing and chanting about the Supreme Lord, bhagavān. The worshippers of brahman and paramātmā must also perform bhakti directed to bhagavān in order to perfect their own sādhanas. Jñāna and vairāgya mentioned in this verse are the two sādhanas for the jñānīs and yogīs only. For the devotee these two arise only from bhakti and indicate the loving nature of bhakti (because he loves the Lord he strives to know the Lord and shows distaste for everything else), since separate cultivation of jñāna and vairāgya are forbidden in pure bhakti:

tasmān mad-bhakti-yuktasya yogino vai mad-ātmanaḥ |

na jñānaṁ na ca vairāgyaṁ prāyaḥ śreyo bhaved iha ||

Therefore, for a devotee engaged in My loving service, with mind fixed on Me, the cultivation of knowledge and renunciation is generally not the means of achieving the highest perfection within this world. SB 11.20.31

Or by mentioning jñāna, vairāgya and bhakti, the verse can express the idea that the devotees can realize through bhakti all the three aspects of the Lord: brahman, paramātmā and bhagavān. Some who have that particular faith (tac craddhadhānāḥ) develop the desire to realize all the three forms. Then, by bhakti, they can see all the three forms. Thus the goals of the sādhanas of jñāna and yoga for realizing brahman and paramātmā will be accomplished only by bhakti.

|| 1.2.13 ||

ataḥ pumbhir dvija‑śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama‑vibhāgaśaḥ |

svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari‑toṣaṇam ||

TRANSLATION

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