Nitai: Translation: "O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is My opinion."
Prabhupada:
ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi
sarva-ksetresu bharata
ksetra-ksetra-jnayor jnanam
yat taj jnanam matam mama
Jnanam, knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna is explaining about knowledge. People are being educated all over the world for advancement of knowledge. Knowledge is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. Therefore, for human being, there are so many universities, schools, colleges, institutions, laws.
There are so many things (indistinct) to advance knowledge is to understand "Who am I?" If I do not know who am I, then what is the meaning of my advancement of knowledge? Generally, despite so many universities all over the world, people are going on in the concept of this body, "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." So everyone is identifying himself with this material body. Then where is the advancement of knowledge?
Here Krsna says, ksetra-ksetra-jnayor jnanam yad jnanam, taj jnanam matam mama. The ksetra, this body, and the owner of the body... I am not this body, I am the owner of this body. This is jnanam. That is being explained in this chapter of Bhagavad-gita by Krsna. This is the thirteenth chapter, and Arjuna's question was
prakrtim purusam caiva
ksetram ksetra-jnam eva ca
etad veditum icchami
jnanam jneyam ca kesava
This was the question in this chapter, "My dear Krsna, I want to know what is the prakrti, what is purusa, what is ksetra, what is ksetra-jna, what is jnana?" These are the items inquired by Arjuna.
Arjuna is disciple, and Krsna is the teacher. The disciple submissively inquired from the teacher about knowledge. That is the Vedic injunction. You cannot have knowledge, I cannot have knowledge, without teacher. By speculative advancement, one cannot come to the real platform of knowledge. At the present moment, so many philosophers, scientists, they are trying to advance in knowledge by speculation. "I think," "In my opinion," "Perhaps," like this. These things are going on. Big, big philosophers, scientists, they give their opinion. "I think like this." Everybody is thinking, "I think..." And it is being supported. Knowledge means anyone can think in any way, and at the present moment that is being accepted as knowledge.
Just like at the present moment, amongst the scientists the knowledge is going on that life is made of matter, from matter, chemical evolution theory. And such person also being awarded with Nobel prize. He is going on on the wrong field of knowledge, that life is product of matter; by combination of matter, life is produced. It is not knowledge. It is ignorance. But by speculative process, one is writing a big volume of books and he is getting Nobel Prize. Where is the proof that by combination of matter life comes out?
This was discussed by a big professor in California University. He was touring, lecturing all over the world. So when I was in Los Angeles he also came there. So in the Los Angeles University there is one Dr. Svarupa Damodara. He is PhD in Chemistry. He is my student. He challenged the professor that "If you say that life is combination of some chemicals, suppose I give you the chemicals. Can you produce life?" The professor said, "That I cannot say."
So this is going on. What you do not know exactly -- simply theoretically you put some theories and speculate -- that is not knowledge. But our process, we are getting knowledge from the perfect personality. That is Vedic system. You acquire knowledge from a person who is perfect in knowledge. Perfect in knowledge and imperfect in knowledge. So long we are imperfect, we cannot give perfect knowledge. Therefore we must find out knowledge from the perfect person. That is Vedic injunction. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Guru. Guru means one who has got perfect knowledge. One who hasn't got perfect knowledge, he cannot become guru. How he can? Guru means heavy. So if I am light and I take knowledge from another light person, then what is the use of such knowledge?
So therefore the Vedic injunction is tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Abhigacchet, "must." Gacchet. This form of verb, vidhilin, is used when there is the meaning "must. Abhigacchet. So it is not optional that "I may go or I may not go." No. You must go. That is Vedic injunction. So here is the perfect teacher, Krsna, real jagad-guru. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it appears in due course of time. There is a time when Krsna appears. Everything is there in the calculation of the sastras.
Just like we have got a fixed time for the sunrise. Everyone knows that in the morning at 6:30 there will be sunrise. That is certain. Similarly, in the sastras there is description when Krsna comes down, descends in this universe. In one day of Brahma at the end of Dvapara-yuga... Brahma's days are described in the Bhagavad-gita, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh [Bg. 8.17]. Forty-three lakhs of years multiplied by one thousand becomes one day of Brahma. So forty-three lakhs thousand times, add another forty-three lakhs times thousand -- this is the period after which Krsna comes.
So why does He comes, that is also described. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8], yuge yuge sambhavami. So the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna descends to give us knowledge like Bhagavad-gita, personally speaking, so that even after disappearance of Krsna, you can take advantage of Bhagavad-gita and, as Arjuna is asking personally, so similarly, all Your question, not only religious...
Of course, when there is something, talks about God, it is taken as religious. So religious, the meaning of religion in the English dictionary is different from what we mean by religion, that in the dictionary it is said, "Religion is a kind of faith." Faith may be wrong or right, but religion cannot be wrong or right. Religion must be correct. That is the meaning of religion. the example is that the sugar is sweet. It is not the question of wrong or right. Sugar must be always sweet. You cannot change it. That is religion. Chili is hot. That is correct. Chili cannot be sweet, and sugar cannot be hot. So religion means that. Religion described in the Vedic sastras is said, dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: [SB 6.3.19] "Dharma means..." The plain description of religion is "the code, or the laws, given by God." Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19].
Just like the state law means the order given by the government. That is correct. You cannot accept government laws in a way, that "I may believe or I may not believe." That is not law. Law means you must believe it. That is law. If you don't believe, then you will be punished. That is law.
Similarly, religion means, as it is described in the English dictionary that it is a kind of faith... Faith I may accept. Suppose Hindu faith or Christian faith. So you may accept or not accept; there is no compulsion. But religion does not mean like that. Religion means you must accept. You believe or don't believe. It doesn't matter. You must accept. That is religion. And what is that religion? That religion... From Bhagavad-gita we find, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. That is religion.
Why Krsna says, dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge: "I come down on this planet or in this universe for reestablishing the principles of religion"? Dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge. Then what is that dharma? That is not Hindu dharma or Muslim dharma or Christian dharma or this dharma or that dharma. No. Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, does not come down to teach a sectarian type of dharma. There is one dharma. What is that one dharma? To surrender to the orders of God. That's all. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is dharma.
Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. Why you should surrender to God unless you have got love? Just like we surrender to the government laws. Why? Because we are confident that "If I surrender to the government laws, we shall be peaceful citizen. There will be no trouble." Because we know that, therefore we surrender to the laws of government.
So government at the present moment... Everywhere we see defective government. Therefore there is agitation against government. There are parties. One party is agitating to take the seat of the government. When he goes, then another party agitates. Because everyone is imperfect. Therefore they cannot give the real law so that the citizens may be happy and peaceful. That is the defect. But when we receive from the perfect the laws, then we become peaceful and perfect. Yayatma suprasidati. That is real law.
That is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that
vasudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogah prayojitah
janayaty asu vairagyam
jnanam ca yad ahaitukam
[SB 1.2.7]
If we engage ourself in the service of Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead... Vasudeva is another name of Krsna. Because Krsna appeared as the son of Vasudeva, and Vasudeva means all-pervading also... So Krsna is both. He is the son of Vasudeva. He appears. He accepts. Ajo 'pi sann avyayatma bhutanam isvaro 'pi san. Although He is the original source of everything, still, He appears like a human being, becoming the son of His devotee like Vasudeva or Nanda Maharaja, like that, or Maharaja Dasaratha. That is his option. He can appear from anywhere.
So Krsna is perfect. If we take lessons from Krsna, instruction from Krsna, then we get perfect knowledge. That is the process of studying Bhagavad-gita. If you accept Krsna as ordinary human being, then we are befooled. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. We should accept Krsna. Why should we accept? Because all the sastras accept. Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. Sadhu-sastra-guru -- that is the evidence. According to our Vedic knowledge, we shall accept a thing when it is proved by Vedic evidence. Therefore Veda means knowledge, perfect knowledge.
So sadhu-sastra. Sastra means Vedas, and sadhu, saintly persons, and guru. Saintly person means who abides by the sastra, Vedic knowledge. One who does not accept Vedic knowledge, so, followers of Vedas, they do not accept him as an authority.
Even Lord Buddha, He, because he did not accept the authority of Vedas, therefore in India he was rejected. Although Lord Buddha appeared in India, for some time many people became followers of Buddhist religion, but later on it disappeared from India. It went outside. What was the reason? Because Lord Buddha did not accept the authority of the Vedas. So although Lord Buddha is accepted as incarnation of God... We Vaisnava, we worship Lord Buddha, kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare. Nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam.
Sruti-jatam. The statement in the Vedas, that is called sruti-jatam. Nindasi. Because his mission was to establish animal, to stop animal killing. Sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. Therefore he had to reject the Vedic principles because in the Vedic principle, in the sacrifice, there is recommendation sometimes, not always, about sacrifice of the animal. But his aim was, mission was, to stop animal killing. Therefore for the time being he rejected the Vedic authority, because people will take advantage that "In the Vedas there is recommendation for sacrificing animals." So just to stop, to take this advantage, he said that "I do not accept the authority of Vedas." Therefore he was accepted as atheist. Veda na maniya bauddha haya ta' nastika. That's a big story.
Anyway, we have to accept knowledge from the perfect person. This is the sum and substance. Unless we take knowledge form the perfect person, our knowledge is defective. Therefore Arjuna is asking, "What is this prakrti, material nature? What is purusa?" Purusa means who is trying to exploit [break] ...he is also prakrti. Prakrti. Just try to understand, woman, stri. But if one stri wants to enjoy another stri. So how it is possible? That is not possible. There must be purusa. So purusa, these living entities, although they have dressed like purusa, they are not purusa. They are prakrti. Jiva-bhutam maha-baho. They are superior prakrti, but not purusa. But they are trying to be purusa. This is called illusion. If a woman dresses like a man and wants to act like man, that is artificial. That is not possible. Similarly, a living entity is not purusa; he is prakrti. But because he wanted to enjoy this material world, nature has given him a dress like a purusa, and he is falsely trying to enjoy another prakrti.
A purusa can enjoy. That is also described in the Bhagavad-gita.
bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
[Bg. 5.29]
Santi. If you want santi, peace of mind, peace of living condition, then you must know three things, that Krsna is the supreme bhokta, enjoyer... And we are trying to imitate him to become enjoyer. That is false. Because if you try to capture something false, then it is simply labor. You will never achieve that thing. Or even if you achieve, you cannot be happy. Because thing is false.
So real bhokta is Krsna. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram, suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. People are after peace, santi, but this is the santi formula, that we must know Krsna -- the supreme enjoyer of everything. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam.
If tapasya, you undergo severe austerities... Suppose you are doing business; that is also tapasya. You have to work very hard. Money does not come so easily. Then you get some money. So it is also the result of your tapasya. Sometimes we see that a poor man, working very, very hard, he becomes a millionaire. There are many instances. But that is tapasya. The result is you have got millions of dollars, but you cannot enjoy it. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam.
Yajna also. There are many ritualistic ceremonies in the Vedas to achieve something very great. That you can get. But Krsna says that "When you achieve the result, you are not enjoyer; I am the enjoyer." Now, who will accept it? Everyone will say, "I have got this result after working so hard, and Krsna will take everything?" Yes. If you want to enjoy yourself, you will never be happy. You give it to Krsna and you will be happy. This is the formula. So this simple formula, if we understand, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram... [Bg. 5.29]. Because He is the proprietor sarva-loka-mahesvaram, he must enjoy. Suppose a carpenter makes a very nice furniture, a nice closet, very beautiful. So will the carpenter shall be the proprietor or the man, the person who has supplied him wages, who has supplied him the wood, and he has made it? Who will be the proprietor? Very simple philosophy. Whatever we used...
Similarly, suppose you construct a skyscraper building, costly building. But who has supplied the material? The brick, stone, wood, iron -- where you have got it? It is Krsna's property. You cannot produce these bricks or the iron or the wood. It is Krsna's property. Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca. These five elements of material ingredients... earth, water, air fire, all these things, even mind, intelligence... The mind... Unless you have got intelligence, you cannot manufacture anything with this material things.
Just like in America. Before the Americans, the Europeans or from other countries, mostly Europeans, they went to America... And the American land was there. The ingredients were there. But because the red Indians, they had no sufficient intelligence, they could not make America like present time. Lack of intelligence. So we are manufacturing so many things industrially, but the intelligence is also given by Krsna. Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhih. The buddhi is also given by Krsna. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah. "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: [Bg. 15.15] "From Me, one gets intelligence, memory, and also forgets."
We are completely dependent on Krsna. Otherwise why a man is extraordinarily intelligent, another is not? Why this difference? He... Constitutionally, if you study the body of the intelligent man and the less intelligent man, the anatomy and physiological conditions, you will find the same -- the same blood, same bone, same marrow, same muscle, same skin, same veins running, same heart, everything. But why one man is less intelligent and another is very, very highly intelligent? Why this difference? Because the supply of intelligence is by Krsna. That is said in the Bhagavad-gita. Mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca [Bg. 15.15]. If Krsna is favorable, you will get the right intelligence at the right moment. Otherwise you will miss. This is the position.
So we are completely dependent on Krsna. We are conducted by the manipulation of Krsna. Therefore right knowledge should be taken from Krsna. Mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca jnanam [Bg. 15.15]. "From Me." Therefore Arjuna is rightly intelligent. Therefore asking Krsna, "What is this prakrti? What is this purusa? What is jnana? What is ksetra-jna? What is ksetra?" And Krsna is answering. So if we want to receive real knowledge, then we should consult this Bhagavad-gita.
That is our propagation. We are propagating this message, Krsna consciousness movement, that "You take knowledge from Krsna." That's all. Don't take knowledge from the rascals and fools. Then you will be misled. That is our propaganda. So why not take this opportunity?
Our business is not very difficult. Our business is very easy because we are not manufacturing knowledge like the rascals. "I think." What you are, you are thinking like this? You are rascal number one, and you are thinking? What is the meaning of your thinking? We reject immediately. "I think." "It is my opinion." This is going on. Big, big scientists, big, big philosophers. We don't accept. We must see whether he has received knowledge from Krsna. And one who receives knowledge from Krsna...
Just like Arjuna. Arjuna said to Krsna, sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam prapannam: "My dear Krsna, the perplexity which has arisen in my mind, it cannot be solved by anyone except Yourself." Because Arjuna knew that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he surrendered to Him. He surrendered. He was talking like friend. Friendly talking cannot give any good result, simply waste of time. But when there is talking between disciple and the spiritual master, that has got meaning.
Just like my disciples, because they have accepted me as guru, whatever I say, they accept it. Otherwise I have not bribed them. These European, Americans... I have no money. I went to New York with seven dollars. What money I have got? But they have accepted. So this is the process. You must find out somebody whom you can accept as guru. That guru must be bona fide. Otherwise what is the use of accepting a bogus guru? So what is that bona fide guru? That bona fide guru means one who has accepted Krsna as guru. He is bona fide guru. That is bona fide guru.
Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. Krsna says that "This system of yoga, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita, was first of all described by Me to the sun-god." Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam, vivasvan manave praha: [Bg. 4.1] "And the sun-god again handed over the knowledge to his son Manu." Manur iksvakave 'bravit: "And Manu explained the same thing to his son Iksvaku." Evam parampara-praptam rajarsayah. So that means the knowledge is actually coming from Krsna.
In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is also stated, tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. Adi-kavi is Lord Brahma, and brahma means the Vedic knowledge. So there was nobody to teach Brahma. Brahma is called prapitamaha [Bg. 11.39], the first-class knower of the Vedic knowledge, adi-kavi. But wherefrom he got the knowledge? He got the knowledge form Krsna. Tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. And Brahma distributed it to Narada. Narada distributed it to Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva distributed it to other acaryas. In this way, evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. So there is parampara. The knowledge is the same. There is no alteration. But it is coming through disciplic succession, one after an... So one who receives the knowledge from the disciplic succession...
Just like at the present moment we see that Krsna and Arjuna, they are talking. Arjuna is direct disciple of Krsna. So if you take Bhagavad-gita as it was understood by Arjuna, then you get the right knowledge. And if you take the knowledge of Bhagavad-gita explained by some so-called scholar and politician, then it is rascaldom only. It has no meaning. It has no meaning.
That is the process. You try to understand Bhagavad-gita as Arjuna understood. Arjuna is asking Krsna. So what Krsna is answering, you take it. Arjuna accepted Krsna, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. These are all statement in the Bhagavad-gita. So our only request is that if you want knowledge as it is inquired by Arjuna, you take it from Krsna or one who has accepted Krsna as guru, the original. Then your knowledge is perfect. Otherwise you are cheated. You will not get the right knowledge. It is not possible. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2].
So therefore Krsna says that ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi. Ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata. First of all He gave knowledge that "This body is ksetra." Ksetra means field of activities. Just like a cultivator. He has got a field, and he is working with plow. So according to his labor he is getting the fruit. Similarly, we have got this field, this body, and we are working -- you, me, and everyone -- according to our knowledge, according to my understanding capacity. So therefore... I am not this body; I am the owner of the body. I am working with this body. This is the position. Ksetra-ksetra-jna.
You study yourself. You take your finger. Ask yourself, "Am I this finger?" No. The answer will be "I am not this finger. It is my finger." "I am this head?" So... Just like you ask one child, "What is this, my boy?" "Oh, my finger, father." No child will say, "I finger." Even a child will not say that "I finger." But the whole material civilization is going on, "I body." That's all. "I am Indian," "I am American." Therefore this is foolishness.
yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke
sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih
yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij
janesv abhijnesu sa eva go-kharah
[SB 10.84.13]
Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke. This bag of bones and flesh and blood and urine and stool... This is the bag. This is body. What is this body? You dissect this body. You will find these things. You will find blood, muscles, bones, urine, stool and so many other things. Does it mean that such a great intelligent man is combination of urine, stool, blood, bone? So why don't you create another intelligent man with these ingredients? But the so-called scientists and philosophers say that this body is everything. They have discovered some cellular theory, this theory... But that is not the fact.
The fact is that within this body there is the owner of the body. That is called soul. Dehino 'smin yatha dehe [Bg. 2.13]. This is not the cause of our intelligence, but it is given by Krsna, less or more intelligence. That is your position. But that knowledge, where you get? Not in the university, but you get from the Bhagavad-gita. Therefore our request is, our only propaganda is, "Be Krsna conscious. Try to understand everything, all problems." Then the solution is there in the Bhagavad-gita.
The present problem is food problem. It is not simply talking on this platform or that platform. Yesterday some news reporter, "Sir, what is your view of the Bhagavad-gita, dvaita-vada, advaita-vada?" The dvaita-vada, advaita-vada -- that we shall consider later on. Come to the practical field. Now, suppose there is scarcity of food. So Krsna does not say that this problem of scarcity of food will be solved by dvaita-vada philosophy or advaita-vada philosophy. Krsna says practical way: annad bhavanti bhutani. Annad. You have, you must have sufficient food grains for the living entities, animal or man. This is practical. There is no question of talking. What is he talking of advaita-vada philosophy or dvaita-vada philosophy when you are needy, you require anna? That is practical solution given by Krsna. Annad bhavanti. He never says that your food problem will be solved by philosophizing advaita-vada or dvaita-vada. Here is practical. Annad bhavanti bhutani. You must find out sufficient grains. Annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah. Parjanyat. When there is sufficient rain, then there will be food grains, not by your advaita-vada philosophy or dvaita-vada philosophy. These are practical solution.
Catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. Krsna has divided the society, human society, in four divisions: the brahmana, the ksatriya, the vaisya, the sudras. These divisions of the human society must be there. If there is no intelligent person, brahmana, simply sudras, you cannot be happy. That is not possible. Just like to keep your body, there must be head, there must be arms, there must be belly, and there must be legs. Simply if you have got legs, that is dead body. Even simply you have got head, that is also dead body. Four things must be there. How you can violate? "No, no, we don't require head" or "don't require leg." No, no. Krsna says, "no." Catur-varnyam maya srstam [Bg. 4.13]. "This is My regulative principle. I give you. Just maintain a first-class, intelligent man. Don't disturb them. Give them all facilities. Let them cultivate Vedic knowledge and help you." That is required.
So in this way you will find solution all problems -- social, political, economical,philosophical, religious, everything. So our Krsna consciousness movement is for this purpose, that you study Bhagavad-gita as it is, don't try to, foolishly try to interpret in this way and that way and spoil your time. Then you get right direction for solution of all problems and your life will be successful. That is our request. Thank you very much. (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 13.3 -- Hyderabad, April 19, 1974
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