Chapter 18: Conclusion — The Perfection of Renunciation

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 18.37

yat tad agre viṣam iva

pariṇāme 'mṛtopamam

tat sukhaḿ sāttvikaḿ proktam

ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam

SYNONYMS

yat — which; tat — that; agrein the beginning; viṣam iva — like poison; pariṇāme — at the end; amṛta — nectar; upamam — compared to; tat — that; sukham — happiness; sāttvikamin the mode of goodness; proktam — is said; ātmain the self; buddhi — of intelligence; prasāda-jam — born of the satisfaction.

TRANSLATION

That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.

PURPORT

In the pursuit of self-realization, one has to follow many rules and regulations to control the mind and the senses and to concentrate the mind on the self. All these procedures are very difficult, bitter like poison, but if one is successful in following the regulations and comes to the transcendental position, he begins to drink real nectar, and he enjoys life.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness