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Portion of the Bhagavad-gita

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Preface and Introduction

One is not allowed to accept one portion of Bhagavad-gītā and not another. We must accept Bhagavad-gītā without interpretation, without deletion and without our own whimsical participation in the matter.
BG Introduction:

Vedic knowledge is not a question of research. Our research work is imperfect because we are researching things with imperfect senses. We have to accept perfect knowledge which comes down, as is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, by the paramparā (disciplic succession). We have to receive knowledge from the proper source in disciplic succession beginning with the supreme spiritual master, the Lord Himself, and handed down to a succession of spiritual masters. Arjuna, the student who took lessons from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, accepts everything that He says without contradicting Him. One is not allowed to accept one portion of Bhagavad-gītā and not another. No. We must accept Bhagavad-gītā without interpretation, without deletion and without our own whimsical participation in the matter. The Gītā should be taken as the most perfect presentation of Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is received from transcendental sources, and the first words were spoken by the Lord Himself. The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruṣeya, meaning that they are different from words spoken by a person of the mundane world who is infected with four defects.

The Lord says very loudly in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā.
BG Introduction:

The Lord says very loudly in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies such a person against all reactions of sins.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 9.97, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the brāhmaṇa, "My dear sir, why are you in such ecstatic love? Which portion of the Bhagavad-gītā gives you such transcendental pleasure?"

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Nectar of Instruction

It is not that one accepts a portion of Bhagavad-gītā according to his own whimsical interpretations and then rejects another portion.
Nectar of Instruction 5, Purport:

After hearing Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna told Kṛṣṇa: sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava. "O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me." (BG 10.14)

This is the correct way of understanding Bhagavad-gītā, and this is called śraddhā. It is not that one accepts a portion of Bhagavad-gītā according to his own whimsical interpretations and then rejects another portion. This is not śraddhā. Śraddhā means accepting the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā in their totality, especially the last instruction: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." (BG 18.66) When one becomes completely faithful in regard to this instruction, one's strong faith becomes the basis for advancing in spiritual life.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa very plainly says to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, now I have spoken everything to you. Now you may choose to accept it or not".
Krsna Book 87:

This process of realizing the Supreme Personality of Godhead is open for everyone, but still it is the choice of the particular living entity whether to accept or reject this proposal. In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa very plainly says to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, now I have spoken everything to you. Now you may choose to accept it or not." Similarly, the living entities who have come down to this material world have made their own choice to enjoy this material world. It is not that Kṛṣṇa sent them into this world. The material world was created for the enjoyment of living entities who wanted to give up the eternal service of the Lord to become the supreme enjoyer themselves.

Kṛṣṇa is known as Yogeśvara, as stated in the last portion of the Bhagavad-gītā.
Krsna Book 89:

Kṛṣṇa is known as Yogeśvara, as stated in the last portion of the Bhagavad-gītā. Yogeśvaro hariḥ: all mystic powers are under His control. In our experience we can see many human beings who have yogic mystic power and who sometimes perform very wonderful acts, but Kṛṣṇa is understood to be the master of all mystic power.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

That is also not allowed, that we accept a certain portion of Bhagavad-gītā and reject another portion.
Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

The perfect knowledge is coming down, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, just we have begun, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). We have to receive the knowledge from the right source in disciplic succession of spiritual master beginning from the Lord Himself. So Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Lord Himself. And Arjuna, the, I mean to say, the student who took lessons of the Bhagavad-gītā, he accepted the whole story as it is, without any cutting. That is also not allowed, that we accept a certain portion of Bhagavad-gītā and reject another portion. That is also not accepted. We must accept the Bhagavad-gītā without interpretation, without any cutting, and without our own whimsical participation in the matter because it should be taken as the most perfect Vedic knowledge.

If one surrenders fully unto Kṛṣṇa then he is no longer any more indebted to all these obligations. You will find this statement confirmed in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā.
Lecture on BG 3.8-13 -- New York, May 20, 1966:

The Bhāgavata says, "If somebody fully surrenders unto the Supreme, Mukunda..." Mukunda means one who can offer you liberation from this material bondage. He is Mukunda. So if one surrenders fully unto Kṛṣṇa—Kṛṣṇa is Mukunda—then he is no longer any more indebted to all these obligations. He is immune. At one stroke he becomes liquidated from all obligation. And in the Bhagavad-gītā you will find this statement confirmed in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord says that ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: "If you surrender unto Me..." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). The Lord says that "You have not do. You have to do nothing. You simply surrender unto Me.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

If you read little, a portion of Bhagavad-gītā, your life will be successful.
Lecture on SB 1.7.32-33 -- Vrndavana, September 27, 1976:

So vāsudevasya matam? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is vāsudevasya. "You simply surrender unto Me." That is real mata. Everyone is surrendered. Even Śaṅkarācārya says bhagavad-gītā kiñcid adhita(?). If you read little, a portion of Bhagavad-gītā, your life will be successful. That is the recommendation

Sādhu means who is trying to make others sādhu. He is sādhu. Kṛṣṇa likes such sādhu, as He has described in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā.
Lecture on SB 6.2.12-14 -- Allahabad, January 17, 1971, at Kumbha-mela:

So if there is one sādhu, he can make many other sādhus. Sādhu. Sādhu does not mean that he is alone enjoying the fruits of his spiritual life. Sādhu means who is trying to make others sādhu. He is sādhu. Kṛṣṇa likes such sādhu, as He has described in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ (BG 18.69). The sādhu... And sādhu means he should preach according to the scriptures, not outside the scriptures.

Correspondence

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gita the necessary qualification of understanding the Bhagavad-gita is clearly stated.
Letter to Jugalkishore Birla -- Bombay 26 August, 1958:

In the last portion of the Bhagavad-gita the necessary qualification of understanding the Bhagavad-gita is clearly stated.

According to this formula of qualification one who does not accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead—is unable to understand the Bhagavad-gita.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Gaurasundara -- Los Angeles 13 July, 1969:

You will be pleased to know that one hippy girl named Chris who came to see me in your apartment is now living in our Los Angeles temple and doing very nicely. So if you make propaganda amongst the hippy group simply by our standard method; Sankirtana, reading some portion of Bhagavad-gita, and distributing prasadam, then I am sure the quarters in which you have now shifted will be very much prospective.

1970 Correspondence

In the Bhagavad-gita, last portion of eighteenth chapter, it is said that nobody is dearer to Krsna than anybody on the earth except the person who is engaged in preaching the most confidential philosophy of life.
Letter to Kirtanananda -- Los Angeles 18 February, 1970:

Your touring in different places and preaching Krsna Consciousness is fulfilling my dream. May Krsna bless you on and on for being engaged in such exalted work. In the Bhagavad-gita, last portion of eighteenth chapter, it is said that nobody is dearer to Krsna than anybody on the earth except the person who is engaged in preaching the most confidential philosophy of life, namely surrendering unto Krsna, leaving aside everything material or spiritual.

Page Title:Portion of the Bhagavad-gita
Compiler:Matea, Sahadeva
Created:10 of Nov, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=2, SB=0, CC=1, OB=3, Lec=4, Con=0, Let=3
No. of Quotes:13