Chapter 2: Contents of the Gītā Summarized

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 2.63

krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ

sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ

smṛti-bhraḿśād buddhi-nāśo

buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati

SYNONYMS

krodhāt — from anger; bhavati — takes place; sammohaḥ — perfect illusion; sammohāt — from illusion; smṛti — of memory; vibhramaḥ — bewilderment; smṛti-bhraḿśāt — after bewilderment of memory; buddhi-nāśaḥ — loss of intelligence; buddhi-nāśāt — and from loss of intelligence; praṇaśyati — one falls down.

TRANSLATION

From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.

PURPORT

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given us this direction:

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā

hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ

mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo

vairāgyaḿ phalgu kathyate

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.258)

By development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness one can know that everything has its use in the service of the Lord. Those who are without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness artificially try to avoid material objects, and as a result, although they desire liberation from material bondage, they do not attain to the perfect stage of renunciation. Their so-called renunciation is called phalgu, or less important. On the other hand, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness knows how to use everything in the service of the Lord; therefore he does not become a victim of material consciousness. For example, for an impersonalist, the Lord, or the Absolute, being impersonal, cannot eat. Whereas an impersonalist tries to avoid good eatables, a devotee knows that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer and that He eats all that is offered to Him in devotion. So, after offering good eatables to the Lord, the devotee takes the remnants, called prasādam. Thus everything becomes spiritualized, and there is no danger of a downfall. The devotee takes prasādam in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas the nondevotee rejects it as material. The impersonalist, therefore, cannot enjoy life, due to his artificial renunciation; and for this reason, a slight agitation of the mind pulls him down again into the pool of material existence. It is said that such a soul, even though rising up to the point of liberation, falls down again due to his not having support in devotional service.

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