Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Chapter 5: Karma-yoga — Action in Krishna Consciousness |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 5.10
SYNONYMS
brahmani — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ādhāya — resigning; karmāni — all works; sańgam — attachment; tyaktvā — giving up; karoti — performs; yah — who; lipyate — is affected; na — never; sah — he; pāpena — by sin; padma-patram — a lotus leaf; iva — like; ambhasā — by the water.
TRANSLATION
One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
PURPORT
Here brahmani means in Krishna consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of material nature, technically called the pradhāna. The Vedic hymns sarvam hy etad brahma (Māndūkya Upanishad 2), tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annam ca jāyate (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.10), and, in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.3), mama yonir mahad brahma indicate that everything in the material world is a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are differently manifested, they are nondifferent from the cause. In the Īśopanishad it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman, or Krishna, and thus everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly well that everything belongs to Krishna, that He is the proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous or sinful. Even one's material body, being a gift of the Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in Krishna consciousness. It is then beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord also says in the Gītā (3.30), mayi sarvāni karmāni sannyasya: "Resign all works unto Me [Krishna]." The conclusion is that a person without Krishna consciousness acts according to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in Krishna consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property of Krishna and should therefore be engaged in the service of Krishna.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness