SB 11.19.40-45

Srimad-Bhagavatam - Eleventh Canto - Chapter 19: The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge

SB 11.19.36-39 - SB 11.20.1

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Please note: The synonyms, translation and purport of this verse were composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda

TEXTS 40-45

bhago ma aiśvaro bhāvo

lābho mad-bhaktir uttamaḥ

vidyātmani bhidā-bādho

jugupsā hrīr akarmasu

śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ

sukhaṁ duḥkha-sukhātyayaḥ

duḥkhaṁ kāma-sukhāpekṣā

paṇḍito bandha-mokṣa-vit

mūrkho dehādy-ahaṁ-buddhiḥ

panthā man-nigamaḥ smṛtaḥ

utpathaś citta-vikṣepaḥ

svargaḥ sattva-guṇodayaḥ

narakas tama-unnāho

bandhur gurur ahaṁ sakhe

gṛhaṁ śarīraṁ mānuṣyaṁ

guṇāḍhyo hy āḍhya ucyate

daridro yas tv asantuṣṭaḥ

kṛpaṇo yo 'jitendriyaḥ

guṇeṣv asakta-dhīr īśo

guṇa-saṅgo viparyayaḥ

eta uddhava te praśnāḥ

sarve sādhu nirūpitāḥ

kiṁ varṇitena bahunā

lakṣaṇaṁ guṇa-doṣayoḥ

guṇa-doṣa-dṛśir doṣo

guṇas tūbhaya-varjitaḥ

SYNONYMS

bhagaḥ — opulence; me — My; aiśvaraḥ — divine; bhāvaḥ — nature; lābhaḥ — gain; mat-bhaktiḥ — devotional service unto Me; uttamaḥ — supreme; vidyā — education; ātmani — in the soul; bhidā — duality; bādhaḥ — nullifying; jugupsā — disgust; hrīḥ — modesty; akarmasu — in sinful activities; śrīḥ — beauty; guṇāḥ — good qualities; nairapekṣya — detachment from material things; ādyāḥ — and so on; sukham — happiness; duḥkha — material unhappiness; sukha — and material happiness; atyayaḥ — transcending; duḥkham — unhappiness; kāma — of lust; sukha — on the happiness; apekṣā — meditating; paṇḍitaḥ — a wise man; bandha — from bondage; mokṣa — liberation; vit — one who knows; mūrkhaḥ — a fool; deha — with the body; ādi — and so forth (the mind); aham-buddhiḥ — one who identifies himself; panthāḥ — the true path; mat — to Me; nigamaḥ — leading; smṛtaḥ — is to be understood; utpathaḥ — the wrong path; citta — of consciousness; vikṣepaḥ — bewilderment; svargaḥ — heaven; sattva-guṇa — of the mode of goodness; udayaḥ — the predominance; narakaḥ — hell; tamaḥ — of the mode of ignorance; unnāhaḥ — the predominance; bandhuḥ — the real friend; guruḥ — the spiritual master; aham — I am; sakhe — My dear friend, Uddhava; gṛham — one's home; śarīram — the body; mānuṣyam — human; guṇa — with good qualities; āḍhyaḥ — enriched; hi — indeed; āḍhyaḥ — a rich person; ucyate — is stated to be; daridraḥ — a poor person; yaḥ — one who; tu — indeed; asantuṣṭaḥ — unsatisfied; kṛpaṇaḥ — a wretched person; yaḥ — one who; ajita — has not conquered; indriyaḥ — the senses; guṇeṣu — in material sense gratification; asakta — not attached; dhīḥ — whose intelligence; īśaḥ — a controller; guṇa — to sense gratification; saṅgaḥ — attached; viparyayaḥ — the opposite, a slave; ete — these; uddhava — My dear Uddhava; te — your; praśnāḥ — subjects of inquiry; sarve — all; sādhu — properly; nirūpitāḥ — elucidated; kim — what is the value; varṇitena — of describing; bahunā — elaborately; lakṣaṇam — the characteristics; guṇa — of good qualities; doṣayoḥ — and of bad qualities; guṇa-doṣa — good and bad qualities; dṛśiḥ — seeing; doṣaḥ — a fault; guṇaḥ — the real good quality; tu — indeed; ubhaya — from both of them; varjitaḥ — distinct.

Translation and purport composed by disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda

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TRANSLATION

Actual opulence is My own nature as the Personality of Godhead, through which I exhibit the six unlimited opulences. The supreme gain in life is devotional service to Me, and actual education is nullifying the false perception of duality within the soul. Real modesty is to be disgusted with improper activities, and beauty is to possess good qualities such as detachment. Real happiness is to transcend material happiness and unhappiness, and real misery is to be implicated in searching for sex pleasure. A wise man is one who knows the process of freedom from bondage, and a fool is one who identifies with his material body and mind. The real path in life is that which leads to Me, and the wrong path is sense gratification, by which consciousness is bewildered. Actual heaven is the predominance of the mode of goodness, whereas hell is the predominance of ignorance. I am everyone's true friend, acting as the spiritual master of the entire universe, and one's home is the human body. My dear friend Uddhava, one who is enriched with good qualities is actually said to be rich, and one who is unsatisfied in life is actually poor. A wretched person is one who cannot control his senses, whereas one who is not attached to sense gratification is a real controller. One who attaches himself to sense gratification is the opposite, a slave. Thus, Uddhava, I have elucidated all of the matters about which you inquired. There is no need for a more elaborate description of these good and bad qualities, since to constantly see good and bad is itself a bad quality. The best quality is to transcend material good and evil.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is naturally full of six opulences, namely unlimited beauty, wealth, fame, knowledge, strength and renunciation. Therefore the greatest profit in life is to achieve personal loving service to the Lord, who is naturally the reservoir of all pleasure. Real education means to give up the false idea that anything is separate from the Lord, the source of all potencies. Similarly, one should not falsely consider the individual soul to be different or separate from the Supreme Soul. Mere bashfulness does not constitute modesty. One should spontaneously withdraw in disgust from sinful activities; then one is actually modest or humble. One who is satisfied in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus does not seek material pleasure or suffer material unhappiness is considered to be actually situated in happiness. The most wretched person is one addicted to sex pleasure, and a wise man is one who knows the process of freedom from such material bondage. A fool is one who gives up his eternal friendship with Lord Kṛṣṇa and instead identifies himself with his own temporary material body, mind, society, community and family. The real path in life is not simply a modern interstate highway or, in more simple cultures, a footpath free of thorns and mud. It is that path that leads to Lord Kṛṣṇa. The wrong path in life is not simply a road having many thieves or tollbooths; it is that path that leads one to utter confusion in material sense gratification. A heavenly situation is that in which the mode of goodness predominates, rather than that found on the planet of Indra, where passion and ignorance sometimes disturb the celestial atmosphere. Hell is anywhere the mode of ignorance is predominant, and not merely the hellish planets, where, according to Lord Śiva, a pure devotee can think of Kṛṣṇa and remain happy. Our actual friend in life is the bona fide spiritual master, who saves us from all dangers. Among all gurus, Lord Kṛṣṇa is Himself the jagat-guru, or spiritual master of the entire universe. In material life our own material body is our immediate home, rather than some structure of bricks, cement, stone and wood. A rich man is one who possesses innumerable good qualities; he is not a neurotic fool with a large bank account. A poor man is one who is unsatisfied, which is self-explanatory. One who cannot control his senses is certainly wretched and miserable in life, whereas one who detaches himself from material life is actually a lord or controller. In modern times there are remnants of aristocracy in Europe and other countries, but such so-called lords often display the habits of lower forms of life. A real lord is one who conquers material existence by rising to the spiritual platform. A person who is attached to material life will undoubtedly manifest the opposites of all the good qualities mentioned here, and he is thus the symbol of going backward in life. The Lord concludes His analysis by stating that there is no need for further elaboration of these good and bad qualities. Indeed, the purpose of life is to transcend materially good and bad qualities and come to the liberated platform of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This point will be further explained in the following chapter.

Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Eleventh Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge."

SB 11.19.36-39 - SB 11.20.1