Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.pdf

Preface

Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gétä As It Is in the form in which it is

presented now. When this book was first published, the original manuscript

was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and

without explanations for most of the original verses of the Çrémad

Bhagavad-gétä. In all of my other books— Çrémad-Bhägavatam, Çré Éçopaniñad,

etc.—the system is that I give the original verse, its English transliteration,

word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. This

makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning

self-evident. I was not very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my

original manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gétä As It Is

considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to

present the book in its original form. Thus the present attempt is to offer the

original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full paramparä

explanation in order to establish the Kåñëa consciousness movement more

soundly and progressively.

Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is genuine, historically authorized,

natural and transcendental due to its being based on Bhagavad-gétä As It Is. It

is gradually becoming the most popular movement in the entire world,

especially amongst the younger generation. It is becoming more and more

interesting to the older generation also. Older gentlemen are becoming

interested, so much so that the fathers and grandfathers of my disciples are

encouraging us by becoming life members of our great society, the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In Los Angeles many fathers

and mothers used to come to see me to express their feelings of gratitude for

my leading the Kåñëa consciousness movement throughout the entire world.

Some of them said that it is greatly fortunate for the Americans that I have

started the Kåñëa consciousness movement in America. But actually the

original father of this movement is Lord Kåñëa Himself, since it was started a

very long time ago but is coming down to human society by disciplic

succession. If I have any credit in this connection, it does not belong to me

personally, but it is due to my eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Oà

Viñëupäda Paramahaàsa Parivräjakäcärya 108 Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta

Sarasvaté Gosvämé Mahäräja Prabhupäda.

If personally I have any credit in this matter, it is only that I have tried to

present Bhagavad-gétä as it is, without any adulteration. Before my

presentation of Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, almost all the English editions of

Bhagavad-gétä were introduced to fulfill someone’s personal ambition. But our

attempt, in presenting Bhagavad-gétä As It Is, is to present the mission of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa. Our business is to present the will of

Kåñëa, not that of any mundane speculator like the politician, philosopher or

scientist, for they have very little knowledge of Kåñëa, despite all their other

knowledge. When Kåñëa says, man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà

namaskuru [Bg. 18.65] , etc., we, unlike the so-called scholars, do not say that

Kåñëa and His inner spirit are different. Kåñëa is absolute, and there is no

difference between Kåñëa’s name, Kåñëa’s form, Kåñëa’s qualities, Kåñëa’s

pastimes, etc. This absolute position of Kåñëa is difficult to understand for any

person who is not a devotee of Kåñëa in the system of paramparä (disciplic

succession). Generally the so-called scholars, politicians, philosophers, and

svämés, without perfect knowledge of Kåñëa, try to banish or kill Kåñëa when

writing commentary on Bhagavad-gétä. Such unauthorized commentary upon

Bhagavad-gétä is known as Mäyäväda-bhäñya, and Lord Caitanya has warned us

about these unauthorized men. Lord Caitanya clearly says that anyone who

tries to understand Bhagavad-gétä from the Mäyävädé point of view will

commit a great blunder. The result of such a blunder will be that the misguided

student of Bhagavad-gétä will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual

guidance and will not be able to go back to home, back to Godhead.

Our only purpose is to present this Bhagavad-gétä As It Is in order to guide

the conditioned student to the same purpose for which Kåñëa descends to this

planet once in a day of Brahmä, or every 8,600,000,000 years. This purpose is

stated in Bhagavad-gétä, and we have to accept it as it is; otherwise there is no

point in trying to understand the Bhagavad-gétä and its speaker, Lord Kåñëa.

Lord Kåñëa first spoke Bhagavad-gétä to the sun-god some hundreds of millions

of years ago. We have to accept this fact and thus understand the historical

significance of Bhagavad-gétä, without misinterpretation, on the authority of

Kåñëa. To interpret Bhagavad-gétä without any reference to the will of Kåñëa is

the greatest offense. In order to save oneself from this offense, one has to

understand the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He was

directly understood by Arjuna, Lord Kåñëa’s first disciple. Such understanding

of Bhagavad-gétä is really profitable and authorized for the welfare of human

society in fulfilling the mission of life.

The Kåñëa consciousness movement is essential in human society, for it

offers the highest perfection of life. How this is so is explained fully in the

Bhagavad-gétä. Unfortunately, mundane wranglers have taken advantage of

Bhagavad-gétä to push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people

regarding right understanding of the simple principles of life. Everyone should

know how God, or Kåñëa, is great, and everyone should know the factual

position of the living entities. Everyone should know that a living entity is

eternally a servant and that unless one serves Kåñëa one has to serve illusion

in different varieties of the three modes of material nature and thus wander

perpetually within the cycle of birth and death; even the so-called liberated

Mäyävädé speculator has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a

great science, and each and every living being has to hear it for his own

interest.

People in general, especially in this Age of Kali, are enamored by the

external energy of Kåñëa, and they wrongly think that by advancement of

material comforts every man will be happy. They have no knowledge that the

material or external nature is very strong, for everyone is strongly bound by

the stringent laws of material nature. A living entity is happily the part and

parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to render immediate service

to the Lord. By the spell of illusion one tries to be happy by serving his

personal sense gratification in different forms which will never make him

happy. Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy

the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants

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