Kṛṣṇa's lifting of Govardhana Hill and His killing of great demons like Pūtanā are all obviously extraordinary activities. Similarly, the rāsa dance is also an uncommon activity and cannot be imitated by any ordinary man. An ordinary person engaged in his occupational duty, like Arjuna, should execute his duty for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa; that is within his power. Arjuna was a fighter, and Kṛṣṇa wanted him to fight for His satisfaction. Arjuna agreed, although at first he was not willing to fight. Duties are required for ordinary persons. They should not jump up and try to imitate Kṛṣṇa and indulge in rāsa-līlā and thus bring about their ruin. One should know with certainty that Kṛṣṇa had no personal interest in whatever He did for the benediction of the gopīs. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: (BG 4.14) Kṛṣṇa never enjoys or suffers the results of His activities. Therefore it is not possible for Him to act irreligiously. He is transcendental to all religious duties and principles. He is untouched by the modes of material nature. He is the supreme controller of all living entities, whether in human society, in demigod society in the heavenly planets, or in lower forms of life, and He is also the supreme controller of material nature; therefore, He has nothing to do with religious or irreligious principles.
BG 04.14 na mam karmani limpanti... cited
Expressions researched:
"iti mam yo 'bhijanati"
|"karmabhir na sa badhyate"
|"na mam karmani limpanti"
|"na me karma-phale sprha"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become entangled in the fruitive reactions of work.
As there are constitutional laws in the material world stating that the king can do no wrong, or that the king is not subject to the state laws, similarly the Lord, although He is the creator of this material world, is not affected by the activities of the material world. He creates and remains aloof from the creation, whereas the living entities are entangled in the fruitive results of material activities because of their propensity for lording it over material resources. The proprietor of an establishment is not responsible for the right and wrong activities of the workers, but the workers are themselves responsible. The living entities are engaged in their respective activities of sense gratification, and these activities are not ordained by the Lord. For advancement of sense gratification, the living entities are engaged in the work of this world, and they aspire to heavenly happiness after death. The Lord, being full in Himself, has no attraction for so-called heavenly happiness. The heavenly demigods are only His engaged servants. The proprietor never desires the low-grade happiness such as the workers may desire. He is aloof from the material actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth. Vedic smṛti confirms this fact as follows:
- nimitta-mātram evāsau
- sṛjyānāṁ sarga-karmaṇi
- pradhāna-kāraṇī-bhūtā
- yato vai sṛjya-śaktayaḥ
"In the material creations, the Lord is only the supreme cause. The immediate cause is material nature, by which the cosmic manifestation is made visible." The created beings are of many varieties, such as the demigods, human beings and lower animals, and all of them are subject to the reactions of their past good or bad activities. The Lord only gives them the proper facilities for such activities and the regulations of the modes of nature, but He is never responsible for their past and present activities. In the Vedānta-sūtra (2.1.34) it is confirmed, vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt: the Lord is never partial to any living entity. The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the external energy. Anyone who is fully conversant with all the intricacies of this law of karma, or fruitive activities, does not become affected by the results of his activities. In other words, the person who understands this transcendental nature of the Lord is an experienced man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he is never subjected to the laws of karma. One who does not know the transcendental nature of the Lord and who thinks that the activities of the Lord are aimed at fruitive results, as are the activities of the ordinary living entities, certainly becomes entangled himself in fruitive reactions. But one who knows the Supreme Truth is a liberated soul fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
A conditioned soul who accepts a material form for undergoing a certain term of material activities is subjected to the laws of matter. But here in this verse it is clearly stated that although the forms and activities of the Lord appear to be the same as those of a conditioned soul, they are supernatural and impossible for the conditioned soul. He, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always unaffected by such activities. In the Bhagavad-gītā (4.14) the Lord says:
- na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
- na me karma-phale spṛhā
- iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti
- karmabhir na sa badhyate
The Lord is never affected by the activities which He apparently performs by His different incarnations and personalities, nor does He have any desire to achieve success by fruitive activities. The Lord is full by His different potencies of wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, and thus He has no reason for physical exertion like the conditioned soul. Therefore an intelligent person who can distinguish between the transcendental activities of the Lord and the activities of the conditioned souls is also not bound by the reactions of activities.
SB Canto 3
Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1): the form of the Lord is eternal, blissful, and all-satisfying. His so-called birth is therefore an appearance only, like the birth of the sun on the horizon. His birth does not, like that of the living entities, take place under the influence of material nature and the bondage of the reactions of past deeds. His works and activities are independent pastimes and are not subject to the reactions of material nature. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.14) it is said:
- na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
- na me karma-phale spṛhā
- iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti
- karmabhir na sa badhyate
The law of karma enacted by the Supreme Lord for the living entities cannot be applicable to Him, nor has the Lord any desire to improve Himself by activities like those of ordinary living beings. Ordinary living beings work for the improvement of their conditional lives. But the Lord is already full of all opulence, all strength, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Why should He desire improvement? No one can excel Him in any opulence, and therefore the desire for improvement is absolutely useless for Him.
The illusory energy acts very powerfully on them because in spite of their elevated mundane education, such persons are faithless and are infected by the mentality of atheism. They are always very eager to establish that Lord Kṛṣṇa was an ordinary man who was killed by a hunter due to His many impious acts in plotting to kill the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Jarāsandha, the demoniac kings of the earth. Such persons have no faith in the statement of the Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord is unaffected by the reactions of work: na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). According to the atheistic point of view, Lord Kṛṣṇa's family, the Yadu dynasty, was vanquished due to being cursed by the brāhmaṇas for the sins committed by Kṛṣṇa in killing the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, etc. All these blasphemies do not touch the heart of the devotees of the Lord because they know perfectly well what is what. Their intelligence regarding the Lord is never disturbed. But those who are disturbed by the statements of the asuras are also condemned. That is what Uddhava meant in this verse.
The activities of the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are a kind of imitation of the activities going on in the material world. He is just like an actor on a stage. An actor imitates the activities of a king on stage, although actually he is not the king. Similarly, when the Lord incarnates, He imitates parts with which He has nothing to do. In Bhagavad-gītā (4.14), it is said that the Lord has nothing to do with the activities in which He is supposedly engaged: na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā. The Lord is omnipotent; simply by His will He can perform anything and everything. When the Lord appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He played the part of the son of Yaśodā and Nanda, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill, although lifting a hill is not His concern. He can lift millions of Govardhana Hills by His simple desire; He does not need to lift it with His hand. But He imitates the ordinary living entity by this lifting, and at the same time He exhibits His supernatural power. Thus His name is chanted as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, or Śrī Govardhana-dhārī.
SB Canto 4
In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord has no desire to achieve any result from His wonderful activities, nor has He any need to perform them. But still, in order to give an example to people in general, He sometimes acts, and those activities are very wonderful. He is not attached to anything. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: although He acts very wonderfully, He is not at all attached to anything (BG 4.14). He is self-sufficient. The example is given here that the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, is always engaged in the service of the Lord, but still He is not attached to her. Even great demigods like Brahmā worship the goddess of fortune in order to win her favor, but although the Lord is worshiped by many hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune, He is not at all attached to any one of them. This distinction concerning the exalted transcendental position of the Lord is specifically mentioned by the great sages; He is not like the ordinary living entity, who is attached to the results of pious activities.
In this verse the word anahaṅkāra means "without ego." The conditioned soul has a false ego, and as a result of his karma he gets different types of bodies in this material world. Sometimes he gets the body of a demigod, and he thinks that body to be his identity. Similarly, when he gets the body of a dog he identifies his self with that body. But for the Supreme Personality of Godhead there is no such distinction between the body and the soul. Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, certifies that anyone who thinks of Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary human being is without knowledge of His transcendental nature and is a great fool. The Lord says, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: (BG 4.14) He is not affected by anything He does, because He is never contaminated by the material modes of nature. That we have a material body proves that we are infected by the three material modes of nature. The Lord says to Arjuna, "You and I had many, many births previously, but I remember everything, whereas you do not." That is the difference between the living entity, or conditioned soul, and the Supreme Soul. The Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has no material body, and because He has no material body, He is not affected by any work He executes.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
And if you have got any doubt, you can ask, you can understand. But as soon as you understand it rightly, you become a liberated person. That is the secret. As soon as you understand the fact as it is, the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, oh, you step forward to your liberation. So similarly, these things are being described one after another. The next śloka,
- na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
- na me karma-phale spṛhā
- iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti
- karmabhir na sa badhyate
- (BG 4.14)
Just see. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti. Karmāṇi. Just like we are acting something. Anything we are doing, there is some reaction. There is some reaction. In every action there is some reaction.
Just like I am speaking here. This vibration is being recorded all over the universe, this sound vibration. You know the radio message, how it is transmitted in the modern world. Similarly, as I am speaking, so whatever I am doing, that is immediately recorded and there will be some reaction. Just like the sound vibration, it reacts who has got some radio machine, there is reacting, similarly, every, any action, either good action or bad action, it will have reaction. That is the law of nature. You cannot be free from the reaction of my action.
But here Kṛṣṇa says, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti. There is no reaction of the activities of Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa was commanding over Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and practically He was ordering that "You must fight. You must kill the enemy." Now, this act of Kṛṣṇa's has no reaction on Him. One should understand it. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14).
So this is the Kṛṣṇa's life. So one has to understand this thing. He was not need. Here just exactly the same thing, as He says, that na me karma-phale spṛhā: "I have no desire. I no..." Why He shall be desire? He is full. Desire, a needy person has desire. But a man who is full, why he shall be desire? Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me ka... iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti (BG 4.14).
Now, just to... I have tried to explain a little portion of the Kṛṣṇa's activities. When He appeared in this world, He showed His activities just to attract us, that "You are frustrated in friendship? Come on. Make friendship with Me. Oh, you are frustrated in getting a good master? Come on. Serve Me. I am, I become your good master. Oh, you are frustrated in the love of your sons? Oh, have Me as your son." Because here we are frustrated with our sons and daughters. We expect something, but when they are grown up, they go in their own way. We are frustrated.
Pradyumna: Translation: "There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become entangled in the fruitive reactions of work."
Prabhupāda:
- na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
- na me karma-phale spṛhā
- iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti
- karmabhir na sa badhyate
- (BG 4.14)
Last night we discussed, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). There are two condition of life. Actually, conditioned life and non-conditioned life, liberated life and conditioned life, that is real nomenclature, "liberated life and conditioned life." Conditioned life means this material world. We are conditioned by the laws of material nature.
Just like we are trying to go to the moon planet, but we are conditioned; we cannot go. There are so many impediments. This is the nearest planet. Still, because we are conditioned, we cannot go. No free access. Otherwise, a living entity name is sarva-ga. Sarva-ga(taḥ) sthāṇur acalo 'yam. Sarva-ga means a living entity can go anywhere. As we see, there are so many planets. Why we cannot go? There are means also. We are flying in the air, but we cannot go. This is called conditioned life.
The material world means you work, and you enjoy or suffer the result of your work. This is material world. Everyone is given facility, but it is karmānubandhanaḥ, karmānubandhanaḥ, just a facility for the living entities who wanted to enjoy this material world. This material world is not wanted. Everyone should live in the spiritual world. There is spiritual world. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There is no birth and death. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma (BG 15.6). Everything is there. People do not know it.
Therefore the karma should be systematized, and it should be regulated by brahminical culture, by kṣatriya culture, by vaiśya culture, by śūdra culture. But Kṛṣṇa says that "Don't think... Because I have prescribed this for the systematic life of all the conditioned soul, it does not mean I am also one of them." Kṛṣṇa is not one of them. And some foolish rascals they say that "Kṛṣṇa is also bound up by the laws of karma."
No. Kṛṣṇa is... Not only Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa's devotees also. That is stated here. Iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate (BG 4.14). Simply by knowing, simply by knowing that Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. Kṛṣṇa gives us prescription how to live in this conditional state, but He is not one of us. He is not one of us. He is above, transcendental. Therefore He says, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti.
Just like Arjuna was hesitating to fight because he thought that "I shall be entangled in the karma-phala if I kill my family men and my grandfather, my teacher." So he was thinking. That was good consideration, pāpa-puṇya. But because he fought for Kṛṣṇa, because he satisfied Kṛṣṇa, he was not bound up. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). If you do anything for your satisfaction, then you become entangled in the karma-phala. But if you do anything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, there is no karma bondage. This is the secret. That is clearly stated. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). He is the Supreme. He can direct, but He is not under the direction. He is free.
The words of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference. When you read Bhagavad-gītā, if you feel like that, that "Here Kṛṣṇa is speaking before me," then your life is successful. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Actually, it is a fact. It is a fact. It is not that "Kṛṣṇa is no longer here. Five thousand years He spoke. Therefore this Bhagavad-gītā has become null and void." This is nonsense. Kṛṣṇa can speak at every moment, at every second. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). Those who are santas... Therefore it is said here, iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti. Does He say that "Simply in this age"? No. At any time. Iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti. One who understands Kṛṣṇa, at any time, at any place, iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate (BG 4.14)," he comes liberated person, simply by this understanding that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. He is not bound up by the laws of karma and He is not conditioned by this material nature."
So here we should know in this chapter, Kṛṣṇa said that cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). Why Kṛṣṇa has to work? Kṛṣṇa hasn't got to work because He is self-sufficient. If we want something, we conditioned soul, we have to work very hard for it. But Kṛṣṇa He can, by simply will, He can create the whole universe. So why should He work? Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca. This is the Vedic information. The Supreme Absolute Truth, God, has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate. Nobody is equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). His energies are multi. Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. It is multi-energies working so nicely that we are seeing that it is automatically being (done). Not automatically. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10), under His direction. But the machine, but the energy is so subtle, it appears like "Oh, it is has become automatically." But it is not being automatically. There is superintendence. But parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca.
How the moon is shining, 200,000 miles away? Still, the shining is so perfect. Can you make any lamp like that? Have you got such brain? Then how you can compare yourself with Kṛṣṇa? Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. But he has got the power. You can create one imitation moon or imitation sun, but that is not in your power. But still, you are so falsely proud of your scientific knowledge. What scientific knowledge you have got? So in this way, if we study Kṛṣṇa, then we can understand that, as Kṛṣṇa says, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā.... Karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14).
He hasn't got... Why he should have any desire? He can create anything, without any effort, simply by His willing. Simply by His willing. Sa īkṣata, sa asṛjata. These are the Vedic information. Simply by His glancing, there was the whole material cosmic manifestation. So if we understand Kṛṣṇa like that...
So we have got so many nice things, our Vedic literature, and they are all summarized in the Bhagavad-gītā. If we simply hear, by simply hearing Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then if we understand Kṛṣṇa, yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati, then what happens? Iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate (BG 4.14). There is no more entanglement in the karma. Because so long we will be entangled in the karma, we will have to transmigrate from one body to another. And we do not know how long we have to rotate in this way.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). Everyone is rotating in this way. Out of that, one who is very, very fortunate, then guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja, by the grace of guru and Kṛṣṇa he gets the seed of devotional service. Then, if he waters it.... mālī hañā kare sei bīja āropaṇa. Just like if you get a seed of nice flower, if you sow it and water it, it will grow, similarly, the seed, śraddhā, that "Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very nice," this is seed, but if you pour water.... What is that watering? Śravaṇa-kīrtana-jale karaye secana (CC Madhya 19.152). If you simply hear and you chant also, that is the watering of the seed. Then it will grow. And one day it will grow, a big tree or big plant, and it will reach Kṛṣṇa's.... This is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You will find.
So so much in the renounced order of life. But they lived—how? Gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī-kallola-magnau muhuḥ. They were always thinking of the gopīs' dealing with Kṛṣṇa. So from this standpoint of view, the, the dealings of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa, that is not these ordinary human dealings. That is all spiritual. Without understanding the spiritual platform of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs... Nobody try to understand it. Then they will be misled. So... Therefore Kṛṣṇa says. People may not be misled. Sometimes He's seen to be acting against the social laws. Therefore Kṛṣṇa warns, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: (BG 4.14) "These social, political or religious laws do not apply to Me." Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti.
This question was raised by Parīkṣit Mahārāja when Śukadeva Gosvāmī described the rāsa-līlā. So that... "Kṛṣṇa appeared on this material world, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya, paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8), dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya. So why He violated these rules of dharma?" Violation because, according to Vedic civilization, nobody can mix with other's wife or other woman. Even in moral principle, as Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, mātṛvat para-dāreṣu. "All women should be treated just like mother." Not like the present society. Formerly, every woman should be addressed as "mother," Mātājī. And now they have invented "Bahinjī." No. Woman should be addressed as "mother." Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu.
This is to be understood. Unless we understand Kṛṣṇa, that He is not bound up by the material laws, then we do not understand Kṛṣṇa. And if anyone understands it perfectly, then what is the result? The result: iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti karmabhir na sa badhyate (BG 4.14). If one understands clearly that Kṛṣṇa is not under any material laws, then he also becomes not bound up by any material laws. Simply by knowing it. Karmāṇi nirdahati ca bhakti-bhājām.
In the Brahma-sūtra it is said... Brahma-saṁhitā. Yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma... Indra, indra-gopa, and the King Indra, both are named as indra. Yas tu indra-gopam atha mahā-indra sva-karma-phala-bhuk. Everyone is enjoying the resultant action of his karma. Yas tv indra-gopam athavendram aho sva-karma-bandhānurūpa-phala-bhājanam ātanoti (Bs. 5.54). Everyone is enjoying or suffering the resultant action of his karma. Sva-karma-phala-bhuk. But karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54). But one who is in the devotional service, although he has to suffer the resultant action of his past karma, but that is reduced to the minimum. Karmāṇi nirdahati. Or practically no.
So somehow or other, approach Kṛṣṇa. Then your life is perfect. Kṛṣṇa does not become imperfect. Kṛṣṇa is always... In the Īśopaniṣad: apāpa-viddham. Description of God is there. Apāpa-viddham. That Kṛṣṇa, or the Lord, is never contaminated by any so-called... For Him, there is nothing sinful. This is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). Why He should be? Therefore, if anyone understands, studies Kṛṣṇa perfectly, about His activities, about His birth, about His name, about His form, anything... He has got everything like us. He has got His form. He has got His activities. He has got His attributes. Everything is there. But they're all transcendental.
Prabhupāda:
- na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti
- na me karma-phale spṛhā
- iti māṁ yo 'bhijānāti
- karmabhir na sa badhyate
- (BG 4.14)
Now... You can come please forward. Yes. Yes. Come forward. There is... Sit down. Karmabhir sa na badhyate. Now, the whole world is bound by his own karma, action. Everyone, every living entity... In the Brahma-saṁhitā, there is a nice verse about this... (kids yelling in the background; pause)
There is a nice verse just to... Beginning from the germ... There is a germ which is called indra-gopa. You know that among the living entities, the germs are in very minute forms. You cannot see even with your microscope. In a, in a space of one millimeter, you can find millions of germs. That is a scientific truth. So beginning from the germs which are called... (to kids:) Please stop! Please stop!
Beginning from the germs up to the heavenly kingdom... The king of heaven is called Indra, and the smallest, minutest germ, it is also called indra-gopa in Sanskrit language. So in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that "Beginning from this indra up to that Indra..." That means "Beginning from the germ which is known as indra-gopa up to the point of the king who is also known as Indra, all of them are bound up by the reaction of his own karma, or his own work."
Kṛṣṇa is a great science. So if we study Kṛṣṇa science with great attention, then the result will be that we shall be free from the reaction of our activities. This is clearly said here, na mam karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). The Lord has nothing to do. He is full. He has nothing to do. But why He does? Just to set example. Set example. He's not bound up by the works which He is doing in the material world. This science has to be learned. Na me karma-phale spṛhā. And anyone who understands this transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, he is also becoming free from the reaction of karma.
- evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma
- pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ
- kuru karmaiva tasmāt tvaṁ
- pūrvaiḥ pūrvataraṁ kṛtam
Now, the whole spiritual process is to follow the example of the previous ācāryas who have attained, I mean to, success... (boys making noise outside) These boys, wherefrom they come? They disturb...
- evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma
- pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ
- kuru karmaiva tasmāt tvaṁ
- pūrvaiḥ pūrvataraṁ kṛtam
Now, there are, Arjuna... Kṛṣṇa is advising Arjuna that "If you act and follow in the footprints of the previous ācāryas and previous great devotees and kings who have done in their lives karma-yoga, acting for Kṛṣṇa, if you follow that principle, then you shall also become free from the reaction of activities." Because Arjuna was very much afraid for being entangled in the reaction of his fighting, Kṛṣṇa therefore assures that "You shall not be... If you follow, if you act, if you fight for My sake, then you will not be entangled by the reaction of karma."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ bhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam (SB 1.2.5). "These questions..." Just like our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the same: it is simply questioning about Kṛṣṇa and hearing the answer. It is loka-maṅgalam. Anywhere this vibration will go on, there will be all auspicity. Loka-maṅgalam. Kṛṣṇa-sampraśno yenātmā suprasīdati. Another feature is Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive; therefore, talks about Him is also attractive. In our Kṛṣṇa book there are so many topics about Kṛṣṇa, janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9), about His birth, about His transference from real father's house to another foster father, then the attack by the demons upon Kṛṣṇa, Kaṁsa. All these activities, if we simply study and hear the kṛṣṇa-sampraśnaḥ, then we are liberated. Without any doubt, our liberation is guaranteed. Simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa therefore comes, so many activities. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). Kṛṣṇa says that He has nothing to do. What He has to do? But still, He's killing so many demons, He's giving protection (to) so many devotees. Because He has come to reestablish what is religious principles. So by His personal activities He establishes. Otherwise, Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do. He's ātmārāma, Kṛṣṇa. He is self-satisfied; He has nothing to do. But to teach us He comes. In this way we should live. From the very beginning of His childhood.
So we are forced to come here and suffer or enjoy the fruits of our last karma. That is one thing. But Kṛṣṇa is not like that. Kṛṣṇa does not come, being forced by nature or for His karma. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). Kṛṣṇa says that He also works, karma, to show example, but He is not affected by the result of the karma. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma... Neither He has got any desire to work for something to gain something. He is full. Why He should try for gaining...? We work something. We work to gain something, to make some profit. But Kṛṣṇa hasn't got to do any profit. He is self-sufficient. Whatever He wants, immediately present. Omnipotent, omniscient. Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do like that. Therefore why does He come? He has got a different mission. What is that? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. He says, "I come for this purpose, to rescue the sādhus, the devotees, and to cut down the demons." Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8).
So Kṛṣṇa, although He's playing the part of human being, His activities are transcendental. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). That is the distinction between Kṛṣṇa and ourself. He is killing. He has killed so many demons; from the very childhood His one side is killing-Pūtanā killing, Aghāsura, Bakāsura, this asura, that asura, then Keśī, and so many asuras He killed. But His killing and our killing is not the same. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti. And in the Īśopaniṣad is..., apāpa-viddham. That is Kṛṣṇa. If we imitate Kṛṣṇa... We cannot imitate. Therefore our business is to follow the words of Kṛṣṇa, not to imitate Him. That is suicidal. We shall follow the instruction of Kṛṣṇa as He is giving in the Bhagavad-gītā, but if we become so rascal to imitate His rāsa-līlā, then we'll go to hell. But the Māyāvādīs, they sometimes do that. That... In the Bhāgavata it is forbidden, that "Imitation of this..." Idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ. What is that verse, vraja..., that...? That "These pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is Viṣṇu, with the gopīs, they should not be..., not only they should be imitated, they should not be thought even within the mind, that 'We can also do like that.' " It is forbidden.
Akartuḥ means He has nothing to do. Here, so far we are concerned, we have to do something in the material world. We are destined. Śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "If you do not work, you cannot maintain even your body. You have to work." You see therefore all living entities... At night, millions and trillions of living entities, they come, fly and work. The work has no meaning. The work is death. Still, they are working. So what to speak of others? The birds, the sparrows, they are working, from here to there, here... And we are also working. So that is the nature of material existence.
But Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do. Akartuḥ. He has nothing to do. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). He has not... But He comes as a human being just to teach us how to work, how to work. That He explains in the Bhagavad-gītā, how to work and be happy. But not to work, Kṛṣṇa has never... And neither this place is like that, that you will not work, and everything will come automatically. Things are coming automatically, but you have to pick up the things by working. That is the nature. Just like you have got gold mine under your feet. So you have to take it by working, by digging. You cannot say, "Now I have got the gold mine. Now sit down tightly." No. That is not material nature. But Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. That is the Vedic instruction. That is akartuḥ. He has nothing to do. Why He has nothing to do? Now, because He has got many energies. Just like nowadays, by electronics, one man is sitting... We have seen the pilot. He's sitting in his place. He's simply pushing on the button, and the whole, big gigantic 747 is flying in the sky. We see the pilot is sitting there. He's doing nothing, but he's doing everything. But the electronic arrangement is so perfect. But sitting in one place he is working the big gigantic machine. As it is possible for a small material man, how much it is possible for Kṛṣṇa. Although He does not do anything, still, He's viśvātman: He is controlling the whole universe, viśvātman. He's the vital force, viśvāt... This is Kṛṣṇa.
Just like Kṛṣṇa comes as a human being in this material world, but He is not affected with any of the qualities of the material world. That is therefore called nirguṇa. Nirguṇa means the material qualities cannot touch you. Similarly, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa also, when he is in service of Kṛṣṇa, he is also nirguṇa. The material qualities cannot touch him. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). He immediately becomes transcendental to all the material qualities. But that does not mean I cannot act in the material quality. Kṛṣṇa is working just like ordinary prince. He was born of a king, in the royal family. But He has nothing to do. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). Kṛṣṇa is not affected. Dhari māccha nāce pāni. There is a Bengali proverb that "You go to catch fish, but don't touch the water." You see? If you are clever, if you have that rod to catch fish, take out the fish, but don't touch the water. Similarly, for our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have to go in so many places. They are all materialistic, but we cannot become materialistic. We will take some service from a person for Kṛṣṇa's service. So we'll do some good to him, but we don't accept his quality. That should be our position. So in this way we should know that bahu-rūpa ivābhāti. Ivābhāti. Iva means "just like." Ābhāti, "appears." Actually these are temporary. Bahu-rūpa iva Māyayā bahu-rūpayā ramamāṇo guṇeṣv asyā. Guṇeṣu, in the quality, asyā, of māyā.
So Bhagavān, Bhagavān is not like that person. Therefore it is said, bhagavān ātma-māyayā. When Bhagavān... We come here to stay for some days, say fifty years or hundred years, enjoy or suffer life, but Bhagavān does not come for that purpose. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). That is stated in the previous verse. And the second verse it is further... Na hy asya varṣmaṇaḥ: "Nobody is greater than Him." Bhagavān means the person, nobody is greater than Him and nobody is equal to Him. That is Bhagavān. Everyone is lower. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛacā says, ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya (CC Adi 5.142). Āra saba bhṛtya. Only one master is Kṛṣṇa, and others, beginning from Brahmā... Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Indra, Candra, all these demigods... There are hundred and thousands. Thirty-three million demigods. And then this naraloka, there are so many rich men, Rockefeller, Ford, Birla and others, others... So they are bhṛtyas, all servants. When Kṛṣṇa will order, "My dear Mr. such and such, now give up your place. Go away," finish. So therefore they are all servants. This is the position beginning from Brahmā down to the ant.
So the aṇu, vibhinnāṁśa jīva, when he comes within this material world, he becomes entrapped or his that jyoti... In the previous verse you have studied jyoti. Vibhinnāṁśa living entity, we are also jyoti. Just like spark. The original fire is also fire, and the spark fire, that is also fire. Quality, the same, but a spark, when falls down on your cloth, it can burn a little portion. Similarly, if the whole fire comes, then you become burned into pieces. The same example again: the sun and the sunshine. Sunshine is combination small particle of shining molecules. Similarly, we are also the same spark. Dīpārcir eva hi daśāntaram abhyupetya dīpāyate (Bs. 5.46). So Kṛṣṇa and His expansion, They are all the same. And we, vibhinnāṁśa jīva, we are very small. Therefore our condition is different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not infected by the material qualities but, we become infected. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14), it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā. The activities in this material world, Kṛṣṇa remains unaffected, but we, being a small particle, we become infected by the qualities: tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ.
Just like if we enter into the fire, we'll be burned, but sometimes the fire brigade men, they enter into the fire... They have got suit and contradictory dress that they can enter into the fire. Similarly, māyā... Māyā is very strong, but Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, when He comes within this material world—yuge yuge sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6)—He comes in His own original turya status. He does not become affected. Guṇāṁś ca yuṅkṣe. He's not affected. This is the position of Kṛṣṇa. He's always transcendental. Na me karma-phale spṛhā. Na māṁ limpanti karma... Karmāṇi. Yes. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). This is position. We are here under the pressure of karma-phala. By the result of our past lives' fruitive activities we have got this body, material body. That is also not our real body. That is the body of the prison house, just like when a criminal is put into the prison house, he is given a different dress. In hospital, in prison house, when a man is there, his original dress is taken away. It is kept. When he's released from the hospital or jail, the same dress is again returned. Otherwise his present dress is taken and a separate dress is given. Similarly, we have got our spiritual body, not that we are zero, as the Māyāvādī thinks. We are not zero. We have got our spiritual body but very, very small. Very small. The measurement is given: one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair, very minute. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. The Supreme Lord is great.
Festival Lectures
So our taking the shape of crocodile or boar or something animal that is karma. But that is a horse, real horse is karma but the Gladstone's becoming horse, that is not karma, that is enjoyment. We should understand like that, that when keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra and varāha-śarīra, He's not forced by karma. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, na me karma-phale spṛhā. He is self-sufficient. So, everything His enjoyment. We are also seeking enjoyment because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. So ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Kṛṣṇa or His part and parcel, the same quality. Kṛṣṇa is seeking enjoyment, and we are also seeking enjoyment, but we can enjoy together in the spiritual world without any hamper, without any impediment.
General Lectures
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Mr. Malhotra: How can he be supreme if he can fall down?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). "I have nothing to do, and neither if anyway I act, the resultant action does not effect Me." But we are all karma-phala vatya. (?) So how God and myself can be equal? Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. There is daiva, there is superior arrangement. According to my karma I get a different type of body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1).
| Page Title: | BG 04.14 na mam karmani limpanti... cited |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 09 of Apr, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=6, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=25, Con=1, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 34 |