Expressions researched:
"Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature"
|"jatu tisthaty akarma-krt"
|"karyate hy avasah karma"
|"na hi kascit ksanam api"
|"no one can refrain from doing something"
|"sarvah prakrti-jair gunaih"
Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness; otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the śāstras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17) affirms this:
"If someone takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even though he may not follow the prescribed duties in the śāstras or execute the devotional service properly, and even though he may fall down from the standard, there is no loss or evil for him. But if he carries out all the injunctions for purification in the śāstras, what does it avail him if he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious?" So the purificatory process is necessary for reaching this point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, sannyāsa, or any purificatory process, is to help reach the ultimate goal of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, without which everything is considered a failure.
King Nimi said: O great sages, please speak to us about the process of karma-yoga. Purified by this process of dedicating one's practical work to the Supreme, a person can very quickly free himself from all material activities, even in this life, and thus enjoy pure life on the transcendental platform.
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.5),
"All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." Since the living entity cannot remain inactive, he must learn to dedicate his activities to the Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments on this verse from Bhagavad-gītā as follows: "It is not a question of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged in the good work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise it will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed duties enjoined in the śāstras. But if the soul is engaged in his natural function of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whatever he is able to do is good for him."
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Five: "All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature. Therefore nobody can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment (BG 3.5)."
Prabhupāda: Yes. They say... We saw one signboard in a yoga society in Los Angeles that "You become silent, and you'll become God." (laughs) And here Kṛṣṇa says that you cannot become silent even for a moment. You see? These things are going on. Go on.
Prabhupāda: (leads chanting line by line:)
Hm. In the previous verse it has been discussed, na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt. Nobody can... (child making sounds) Just like this child. He wants to do something. (laughter) He does not know that he is doing something nonsense. (devotee translates throughout) Similarly, the child's father also, he wants to do something although it is nonsense. Therefore, here it is mentioned, na hi kaścit, "Anyone," kṣaṇam api, "even for a moment," na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma, "he must do something." This is the tendency. How? Kāryate hy avaśaḥ. Avaśaḥ means being forced. He has no control. He must do something and he has no control over it. So why no control? No control means he is controlled by somebody else. He is not in his own control. And what is that controller? Guṇaiḥ svābhāvikair balāt. He has infected some type of material modes of nature and he has to act accordingly. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. The similar verse is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27).
| Page Title: | BG 03.05 na hi kascit ksanam api... cited |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 23 of Feb, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 4 |