Positive spiritual identity (Taittiriya Upaniṣad #4)

Although being a husband or a wife is not the svarūpa of the soul, these positive identities can help for the time being, helping one to perform his or her duties and thus gradually progress.

Nov 26, 2024

The process of reinforcing a positive identification instead of adopting the negative process of destroying one's material identity is commonly offered in the scriptures. The passages that speak about duties emphasize the idea of cultivating a positive identity, such as a responsible husband, a dedicated wife, an obedient child, a humble disciple, and so on. Although being a husband or a wife is not the svarūpa of the soul, these positive identities can help for the time being, helping one to perform his or her duties and thus gradually progress.

We can see that even Krsna Himself used this strategy while dealing with the illusion of Arjuna at the beginning of the Bhagavad-Gita, by addressing him as the son of Kunti and the scion of Bharata (emphasizing his great heritage both from the side of the father and the mother), calling him "best among men" and so on. In this way, Krsna emphasized the greatness of Arjuna as a way to encourage Him to perform the difficult task of fighting in the battle. Only a great person could do what Krsna was asking Arjuna to do, and Arjuna was surely a great person, but in the process, he had to be convinced of that. Otherwise, he was planning to adopt the mediocre plan of abandoning the fight and becoming a beggar.

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Verses we studied in this session:

Text 1.7.1

pṛthivy antarikṣam dyaur diśo ’vāntara-diśaḥ

agnir vāyur ādityaś candramā nakṣatrāṇi

āpa oṣadhayo vanaspataya ākāśa ātmā ity adhibhūtam

athādhyātmam prāṇo ’vyāno ’pāna udānaḥ samānaḥ

cakṣuḥ śrotram mano vāk tvak carma māmsam snāvā’sthi majjā

etad adhividhāya ṛṣir avocat

pāṅktam vā idam sarvam pāṅktenaiva pāṅktam spṛṇotīti

The entire universe is composed of these groups of five elements, and everything interacts with these elements. The first group is earth, sky (antarikṣa), heaven, the directions, and sub-directions. The second group is fire, air, the sun, the moon, and the constellations. The third group is water, herbs, trees, ether, and the body. These all concern the elements. Concerning the self, there are three more groups as follows. The fourth group is prāṇa, vyāna, apāna, udāna, and samāna. The fifth group is eye, ear, mind, voice, and skin. The sixth group is skin as a covering, flesh, bone, nerves, and marrow.

Commentary: This verse describes the elements that compose the universe, describing both physical elements, such as earth, fire, water, etc., and subtle elements, such as the vital air and the mind.

The Srimad Bhagavatam offers a number of descriptions of the material elements. These descriptions are offered to help us understand the material universe and thus gradually lose our interest in it. At first, the material creation may look very dazzling, but it becomes less and less attractive as we understand its real nature.

In the third canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, for example, Lord Kapila describes 24 material elements:

1- The five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether).
2- The five subtle elements (smell, taste, color, touch and sound).
3- The four internal senses (mind, intelligence, ego, and contaminated consciousness).
4- the five senses for gathering knowledge (the auditory sense, the sense of taste, the tactile sense, the sense of sight, the sense of smell).
5- The five outward organs of action (the active organs for speaking, working, traveling, generating, and evacuating).

To these 24 elements, a 25th element can be added: the time factor, which acts as the mixing element, putting the material manifestation into action. This time element represents the influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is behind the entire material manifestation. In this way, the original theistic Sankhya philosophy counts the material elements as a way to ultimately bring one to the Lord.

However, the material elements can be counted in many other ways. Krsna offers a summary in the Uddhava Gita (SB 11.22.17-26):

"In the beginning of creation nature assumes, by the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, its form as the embodiment of all subtle causes and gross manifestations within the universe. The Supreme Personality of Godhead does not enter the interaction of material manifestation but merely glances upon nature.
As the material elements, headed by the mahat-tattva, are transformed, they receive their specific potencies from the glance of the Supreme Lord, and being amalgamated by the power of nature, they create the universal egg.
According to some philosophers there are seven elements, namely earth, water, fire, air and ether, along with the conscious spirit soul and the Supreme Soul, who is the basis of both the material elements and the ordinary spirit soul. According to this theory, the body, senses, life air and all material phenomena are produced from these seven elements.
Other philosophers state that there are six elements — the five physical elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) and the sixth element, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That Supreme Lord, endowed with the elements that He has brought forth from Himself, creates this universe and then personally enters within it.
Some philosophers propose the existence of four basic elements, of which three — fire, water and earth — emanate from the fourth, the Self. Once existing, these elements produce the cosmic manifestation, in which all material creation takes place.
Some calculate the existence of seventeen basic elements, namely the five gross elements, the five objects of perception, the five sensory organs, the mind, and the soul as the seventeenth element.
According to the calculation of sixteen elements, the only difference from the previous theory is that the soul is identified with the mind. If we think in terms of five physical elements, five senses, the mind, the individual soul and the Supreme Lord, there are thirteen elements.
Counting eleven, there are the soul, the gross elements and the senses. Eight gross and subtle elements plus the Supreme Lord would make nine.
Thus great philosophers have analyzed the material elements in many different ways. All of their proposals are reasonable, since they are all presented with ample logic. Indeed, such philosophical brilliance is expected of the truly learned."

Text 1.8.1

om iti brahma om itīdam sarvam

om ityetad anukṛtir ha sma vā apyo śrāvayety āśrāvayanti

om iti sāmāni gāyanti

om śam iti śastrāṇi śamsanti

om ity adhvaryuḥ pratigaram pratigṛṇāti

om iti brahmā prasauti

om ity agni-hotram anujānāti om iti brāhmaṇaḥ pravakṣyann āha brahmopāpnavānīti brahmaivopāpnoti

Om is indeed Brahman, the ultimate reality. Om is the essence of everything. Om is chanted to consent to all duties and prohibitions. Chanting om śravāya, they begin to recite. The udgātṛs sing sāma verses chanting om. The hotṛs chant the mantras, starting with om śam. The adhvaryu chants om in response to the hotṛ. The brahmā priest chants om to give permission. The sponsor gives permission for the sacrifice by chanting om. The brāhmaṇa chants om before studying the Vedas, saying “Let me study the Vedas.”

Commentary: The syllable om is very central in Vedic culture. Om is the holy name that makes the Lord present. The syllable om is used in all steps of a fire sacrifice, is pronounced before one studies the sastras, and is even used to enter into a contract. Since om invokes the presence of the Lord, if one agrees to do or not do something by uttering om, he cannot take his word back after that. Om could be used to celebrate any kind of agreement, to make promises, or even to celebrate a marriage.

An impersonalist who sees the Supreme Lord as an impersonal entity may chant the syllable om to avoid personal names of the Lord, such as Rama or Krsna, but in any case, there is no difference. The syllable om represents the Lord in all His aspects, one is just limited by his own comprehension. In the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11 it's explained:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas/ tattvam yaj jñānam advayam

brahmeti paramātmeti/ bhagavān iti śabdyate

"Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān."

An impersonalist may chant om to address the impersonal Brahman, a yogi may pronounce om referring to Paramātmā inside his heart, while a devotee understands that om is the Lord in His personal form. Om is, however, easier for impersonalists and others who are not ready to accept names that directly describe the form and pastimes of the Lord.

The contents of this verse are explained in much more detail in Prabhupada's purport to Caitanya Caritāmṛta Adi 7.128:

"Omkāra is the basic principle of all Vedic mantras, for it is a representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding of whom is the ultimate goal of the Vedas, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15)). Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand these simple facts explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, and yet they are very proud of being Vedāntīs. Sometimes, therefore, we refer to the Vedāntī philosophers as Vidantīs, those who have no teeth (vi means "without," and dantī means "possessing teeth"). The statements of the Śaṅkara philosophy, which are the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosopher, are always broken by the strong arguments of Vaiṣṇava philosophers such as the great ācāryas, especially Rāmānujācārya. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya break the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosophers, who can therefore be called Vidantīs, "toothless."
As mentioned above, the transcendental vibration omkāra is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Eight, verse thirteen:
om ity ekākṣaram brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan deham sa yāti paramām gatim
"After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets." If one actually understands that omkāra is the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether he chants omkāra or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the result is certainly the same.
The transcendental vibration of omkāra is further explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Nine, verse seventeen:
pitāham asya jagato mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
vedyam pavitram omkāra ṛk sāma yajur eva ca
"I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable om. I am also the Ṛg, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas."
Similarly, the transcendental sound om is further explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Seventeen, verse twenty-three:
om tat sad iti nirdeśo brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛtaḥ
brāhmaṇās tena vedāś ca yajñāś ca vihitāḥ purā
"From the beginning of creation, the three syllables om tat sat have been used to indicate the Supreme Absolute Truth (Brahman). They were uttered by brāhmaṇas while chanting Vedic hymns and during sacrifices for the satisfaction of the Supreme."
Throughout all the Vedic literatures the glories of omkāra are specifically mentioned. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his thesis Bhagavat-sandarbha, says that in the Vedic literature omkāra is considered to be the sound vibration of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only this vibration of transcendental sound can deliver a conditioned soul from the clutches of māyā. Sometimes omkāra is also called the deliverer (tāra). Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins with the omkāra vibration: om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Therefore omkāra has been described by the great commentator Śrīdhara Svāmī as tārānkura, the seed of deliverance from the material world. Since the Supreme Godhead is absolute, His holy name and His sound vibration omkāra are as good as He Himself. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that the holy name, or omkāra, the transcendental representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has all the potencies of the Personality of Godhead.
nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
All potencies are invested in the holy vibration of the holy name of the Lord. There is no doubt that the holy name of the Lord, or omkāra, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In other words, anyone who chants omkāra and the holy name of the Lord, Hare Kṛṣṇa, immediately meets the Supreme Lord directly in His sound form. In the Nārada Pañcarātra it is clearly said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa personally appears before the chanter who engages in chanting the aṣṭākṣara, or eight-syllable mantra, om namo nārāyaṇāya. A similar statement in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad declares that whatever one sees in the spiritual world is all an expansion of the spiritual potency of omkāra.
On the basis of all the Upaniṣads, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that omkāra is the Supreme Absolute Truth and is accepted as such by all the ācāryas and authorities. Omkāra is beginningless, changeless, supreme and free from deterioration and external contamination. Omkāra is the origin, middle and end of everything, and any living entity who thus understands omkāra attains the perfection of spiritual identity in omkāra. Omkāra, being situated in everyone's heart, is īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.61): īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati. Omkāra is as good as Viṣṇu because omkāra is as all-pervasive as Viṣṇu. One who knows omkāra and Lord Viṣṇu to be identical no longer has to lament or hanker. One who chants omkāra no longer remains a śūdra but immediately comes to the position of a brāhmaṇa. Simply by chanting omkāra one can understand the whole creation to be one unit, or an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord: idam hi viśvam bhagavān ivetaro yato jagat-sthāna-nirodha-sambhavāḥ. "The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only this cosmic manifestation has emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him it enters after annihilation." (SB 1.5.20) Although one who does not understand concludes otherwise, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that the entire cosmic manifestation is but an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord. Realization of this is possible simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, omkāra."

You can find even more details in the purport, this is just the most relevant part.

Text 1.9.1

ṛtam ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

satyam ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

tapaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

damaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

śamaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

agnayaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

agni-hotram ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

atithayaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

mānuṣam ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

prajā ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

prajanaś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

prajātiś ca svādhyāya-pravacane ca

One should practice righteousness (ṛtam) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should practice truthfulness and equal vision (satyam) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should practice austerity (tapaḥ) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should practice control of the senses (damaḥ) while studying and teaching the Vedas.

One should develop peacefulness (śamaḥ) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should perform his household duties (agnayaḥ) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should perform fire sacrifices (agni-hotram) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should properly receive guests (atithayaś) while studying and teaching the Vedas.

One should worship the Lord (mānuṣam) while studying and teaching the Vedas. One should also benefit the future generations (prajā) by approaching his wife (prajanaḥ) and generating good children (prajātiḥ) while studying and teaching the Vedas.

Commentary: It's understood that a person who accepts the renounced order of life to exclusively serve the Lord has no more material duties to perform. However, as long as one is in family life, one should execute the appropriate duties as part of his or her spiritual practice. The duties may be different according to one's social and spiritual position, but one should not try to abandon his duties before the appropriate time.

We can see that at the beginning of the Bhagavad-Gita Arjuna wanted to abandon his duties to go to meditate in the forest, but Krsna disagreed, arguing that he would not be able to escape his nature. Instead, Krsna said he should stay and perform his duties as an offering to Him, in devotional service.

As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-Gita 6.3: "For one who is a neophyte in the eightfold yoga system, work is said to be the means; and for one who is already elevated in yoga, cessation of all material activities is said to be the means."

There is an appropriate time for everything in life. One who is old enough and advanced enough may accept renounced life, but as long we are not prepared for it, we should practice the principles of the Bhagavad-Gita, by performing our material duties as an offering to Krsna.

As He Himself says on SB 11.20.9: "As long as one is not satiated by fruitive activity and has not awakened his taste for devotional service by śravaṇam kīrtanam viṣṇoḥ, one has to act according to the regulative principles of the Vedic injunctions."

Another meaning of this verse is that we should not discard moral principles, such as righteousness, truthfulness, etc. These principles are not only important for our spiritual practice, but also essential parts of our prachar, or broadcast of Krsna Consciousness. The best form of presenting Krsna Consciousness to others is by our own example, and this verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad teaches us about that.

The duties for different social classes and spirtual orders according to the Vārṇāśrama system are described both in the teachings of Prahlada Maharaja (chapters 7.10 to 7.15) and in the Uddhava Gita (chapters 11.17 and 11.18).

For example, in verses 11.17.16-21, Krsna describes the four duties for the different social classes:

"Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brāhmaṇas.
Dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brāhmaṇas and leadership are the natural qualities of the kṣatriyas.
Faith in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the brāhmaṇas and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities of the vaiśyas.
Service without duplicity to the brāhmaṇas, cows, demigods and other worshipable personalities, and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the natural qualities of śūdras.
Dirtiness, dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger and hankering constitute the nature of those in the lowest position outside the varṇāśrama system.
Nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all others and freedom from lust, anger and greed constitute duties for all members of society."

Text 1.9.2

satyam iti satya-vacā rāthītaraḥ

tapa iti taponityaḥ pauruśiṣṭhiḥ

svādhyāya-pravacane eveti nāko maudgalyaḥ

tad dhi tapas tad dhi tapaḥ

The sage Rāthītara, who always spoke the truth, believed that truth is the highest principle. The sage Paurśiṣṭhi, who performed great austerities, thought that practicing austerities was the most important. The sage Naka, the son of Maudgalya, considered studying and teaching the Vedas the most important. True austerity is the combination of all of that.

Commentary: Some passages of the scriptures say that Lord Śiva is the greatest devotee, while others say that Narada Muni is the greatest devotee, or that Prahlada is the greatest devotee. Which references should we take as correct? All of them together. All pure devotees are the greatest devotees because they are all in the absolute platform, and thus it is not possible to distinguish between them based on material calculations. Similarly, when some passages of the scriptures recommend the study of the Vedas, while others recommend austerities, and so on, these passages should not be taken as contradictory, but as complementary. Study of the Vedas is good, austerity is good, control of the mind is good, and if one can achieve all of them together, that is the best.

It is natural that one will emphasize one or the other in his or her spiritual practice, and even great teachers tend to emphasize one factor or another according to what they see as more beneficial to their students, what they are personally practicing, or what is appropriate according to time place and circumstance, but it doesn't mean other principles are not important or should not be practiced. If they were not important at all, they would not be mentioned in the scriptures.

Text 1.10.1

aham vṛkṣasya rerivā kīrtiḥ pṛṣṭham girer iva

ūrdhva-pavitro vājinīva svamṛtam asmi

draviṇam savarcasam sumedhā amrṭokṣitaḥ iti

triśankor vedānuvacanam

Like a deep-rooted tree, I'm firmly grounded and connected with the Lord, the source of knowledge that destroys the identification with the body. I am famous for having praiseworthy qualities, like the peak of a mountain. I'm completely pure. I'm the repository of the Lord's affection and the object of His enjoyment. I am the splendid property of the Lord. I am most intelligent since I have knowledge about the Lord. I'm above birth and death, indestructible and immutable. This is the mantra uttered by Triśanku.

Commentary: Although Triśanku is famous for being cursed to become a candala and for his failed attempts to reach the celestial planets without giving up his mortal body, he is also described in the Upaniṣads as a sage who showed great spiritual wisdom. In this passage, he is mentioned in this context.

The word aham means "I". Kīrtiḥ means famous, and pṛṣṭham girer iva means "like the peak of a mountain". Urdhva-pavitraḥ means completely pure, savarcasam means "splendid", amṛta means "immortal", akṣitaḥ means "indestructible" and so on.

This verse spoken by Triśanku is a meditation to be practiced as part of the process of cultivation of knowledge. We often hear that we need to destroy our false ego, and thus it may sound strange to meditate on a mantra that speaks about oneself, but this actually has a purpose.

The point is that the mantra doesn't speak about a material identity connected with the false ego. This is made clear by the words vṛkṣasya rerivā. This can be translated as cutting down a tree that represents the identification of the body, or as the roots of a tree connected with the knowledge that destroys the identification with the body. In any case, the idea is the same: the destruction of the identification with the body.

Once the identification with the body is destroyed, one sees himself as a pure soul. As explained by Sukadeva Goswami:

"O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working. The illusioned living entity appears in so many forms offered by the external energy of the Lord. While enjoying in the modes of material nature, the encaged living entity misconceives, thinking in terms of “I” and “mine.” As soon as the living entity becomes situated in his constitutional glory and begins to enjoy the transcendence beyond time and material energy, he at once gives up the two misconceptions of life [I and mine] and thus becomes fully manifested as the pure self." (SB 2.9.3)

What are the qualities of a soul? According to the Nectar of devotion, the soul has 78% of the qualities of Krsna, including qualities such as truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, perseverance, renunciation, peacefulness, simplicity, control of the senses, equilibrium of the mind, austerity, equality, forbearance, placidity, learning, knowledge, detachment, opulence, chivalry, influence, strength, memory, independence, tactfulness, luster, patience, kind-heartedness, ingenuity, gentility, mannerliness, determination, perfection in all knowledge, proper execution, possession of all objects of enjoyment, gravity, steadiness, faithfulness, fame, respectfulness and lack of false egotism.

Krsna is unlimited, therefore He has all good qualities in unlimited quantity. The soul is infinitesimal, but being part and parcel of Krsna shares most of His qualities. In conditioned life, these qualities are covered, but when one is reinstated in his original pure Krsna Consciousness, these qualities again manifest.

The verse thus serves as a meditation that can help a devotee to reject material designations and situate himself in his real identity as a spirit soul, an eternal, pure, and blissful servant of Krsna.

This process of reinforcing a positive identification instead of adopting the negative process of destroying one's material identity is commonly offered in the scriptures. The passages that speak about duties emphasize the idea of cultivating a positive identity, such as a responsible husband, a dedicated wife, an obedient child, a humble disciple, and so on. Although being a husband or a wife is not the svarūpa of the soul, these positive identities can help for the time being, helping one to perform his or her duties and thus gradually progress.

"The two different names of address given to Arjuna are also significant. To address him as Kaunteya signifies his great blood relations from his mother’s side, and to address him as Bhārata signifies his greatness from his father’s side. From both sides he is supposed to have a great heritage. A great heritage brings responsibility in the matter of proper discharge of duties; therefore, he cannot avoid fighting."

In the 6th chapter, Krsna explains that for a neophyte, work is the means, while for one who is advanced, cessation of all material activities is the means. While one is still on the platform of work, one has to perform different services, struggle to chant his rounds and perform austerities, work to solve the problems in his family life, and so on. In this process, a healthy sense of identity is necessary to keep himself in the fight. Otherwise, one will tend to abandon everything and go to the forest, which is precisely the wrong solution at this stage.

Similarly, passages in the Vedas that speak about the cultivation of knowledge often recommend one to identify with the positive attributes of the soul as a way to reject the conditioned, polluted material identity. If one starts to identify with his original qualities as a soul and practices such qualities, this can surely be positive.

Seeing oneself as famous as a devotee of the Lord will make him careful not to tarnish the fame of the Lord and His devotees by doing any questionable activity. If one sees himself as pure, he will not perform any impure activity. If one sees himself as loved by the Lord, he will have the confidence to maintain his spiritual practice. If one sees himself as intelligent and capable, he will persevere in his studies of the Vedic scriptures, even when challenged by difficult passages. If one understands he is above birth and death and is indestructible and immutable as a soul, he will not have fear, and so on.

When one reaches the advanced stage, one may finally practice being more humble than the grass and more tolerant than the tree, without any kind of false prestige, an attitude that reinforces his relationship with Krsna. However, until one gets there, the cultivation of a positive material identity based on duty, or of the positive qualities of the soul may help one to progress.

Text 1.11.1

vedam anūcyācāryo ’ntevāsinam anuśāsti

satyam vada dharmam cara

svādhyāyān mā pramadaḥ

ācāryāya priyam dhanam āhṛtya prajātantum mā vyavacchetsīḥ

satyān na pramaditavyam

dharmān na pramaditavyam

kuśalān na pramaditavyam

bhūtyai na pramaditavyam

svādhyāya-pravacanābhyām na pramaditavyam

A teacher well versed in the Vedas teaches the following to the brahmacari students who live in his house: Speak the truth, follow the path of dharma. Do not be negligent while studying the Vedas. After finishing your studies, offer a good dakshina to the teacher. Find a suitable wife and beget good children to continue your family's lineage. Do not be inattentive to truth, do not be inattentive to dharma. Do not be inattentive to the pious activities meant for gaining wealth, do not be inattentive to the study and teaching of the scriptures.

Commentary: This session explains pious duties that allow one to follow a pious life. As long as one is still acting on the material platform, one should maintain a pious life, following the principles of the scriptures.

In the Vārṇāśrama system, after being trained as a brahmacari, one has the choice of entering family life, or remaining a celibate student under the guru and later directly accepting sannyasa. This is not just a capricious choice but is connected with one's nature and qualifications. One who is free from material desires will be naturally attracted to the renounced life, while another who has still material desires is recommended to accept a wife and live as a dutiful householder. Krsna explains this point in the Bhagavad-Gita (3.5-9):

"Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
One who restrains the senses of action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender.
On the other hand, if a sincere person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] without attachment, he is by far superior.
Perform your prescribed duty, for doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical body without work.
Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise, work causes bondage in this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way, you will always remain free from bondage."

One who accepts the renounced order can dedicate himself 100% to the practice of Krsna Consciousness. Since this is the highest dharma, one does not have to perform other material duties. However, one who is in family life has to perform different duties connected with the maintenance of his family, the education of the children, taking care of elderly parents, etc. These duties should be executed in the spirit of the instructions of the Bhagavad-Gita, as an offering to Krsna, and not neglected.

If one starts to consider himself transcendental to all rules and morality, while still under the influence of lust and material desires, the result is that one starts acting in immoral ways, with disastrous results.

Text 1.11.2

deva-pitṛ-kāryābhyām na pramaditavyam

mātṛ-devo bhava pitṛ-devo bhava

ācārya-devo bhava atithi-devo bhava

yāny anavadyāni karmāṇi tāni sevitavyāni no itarāṇi

yāny asmākam sucaritāni tāni tvayopāsyāni no itarāṇi

One should not be inattentive to pious material duties. One should treat his mother, his father, and his guru as representatives of God. Guests who come to one house should be treated like the Lord Himself. One should perform all pious activities and faultless actions, and not other actions.

Commentary: When one is completely engaged in serving the Lord, he becomes free from material duties, because there is no duty higher than serving the Lord. Devotional service is the highest dharma. However, as long as one is not acting on this platform, he should perform his material and spiritual duties to not risk falling back into a sinful life. Krsna also speaks on this topic in the third chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita (3.10-16):

"In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”
The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices, will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods, prosperity will reign for all.
In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.
The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.
Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.
My dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain."

Even if one is on a pure platform, if one is in family life one should still perform his material duties to give example to others. Krsna also explains this in the Bhagavad-Gita (3.20-26):

"Kings such as Janaka attained perfection solely by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work. Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
O son of Pṛthā, there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I a need to obtain anything – and yet I am engaged in prescribed duties.
For if I ever failed to engage in carefully performing prescribed duties, O Pārtha, certainly all men would follow My path. If I did not perform prescribed duties, all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all living beings.
As the ignorant perform their duties with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path. So as not to disrupt the minds of ignorant men attached to the fruitive results of prescribed duties, a learned person should not induce them to stop work. Rather, by working in the spirit of devotion, he should engage them in all sorts of activities [for the gradual development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness]."

Arjuna is a pure devotee and eternal associate of the Lord. However, because he was in the position of Ksatriya and a family man, Krsna still instructed him to perform his duties, despite these qualifications to give a good exemple to others. The Bhagavad-Gita, however, teaches us how one can perform such duties while remaining completely absorbed in Krsna Consciousness, by performing all these actions as an offering to the Lord.

Text 1.11.3

ye ke cāsmāc chreyāmso brāhmaṇāḥ

teṣām tvayā ’sanena praśvasitavyam

śraddhayā deyam/ aśraddhayā ’deyam

śriyā deyam/ hriyā deyam

bhiyā deyam/ samvidā deyam

One should treat brahmanas and other superior persons with respect. One should offer them gifts and a place to sit. This should be offered with faith, with a smiling face, with humility, with full attention, and in full agreement.

Commentary: In the Krsna Book, there is a description of Krsna receiving Sudama when he visited the Lord's palace in Dvaraka. Although Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no one is above Him, still, he gives us the proper example:

"At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was sitting on the bedstead of Queen Rukmiṇī. Even from a considerable distance He could see the brāhmaṇa coming to His home, and He could recognize him as His friend. Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately left His seat and came forward to receive His brāhmaṇa friend and, upon reaching him, embraced the brāhmaṇa with His two arms. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasure, yet He Himself felt great pleasure upon embracing the poor brāhmaṇa because He was meeting His very dear friend. Lord Kṛṣṇa had him seated on His own bedstead and personally brought all kinds of fruits and drinks to offer him, as is proper in receiving a worshipable guest. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the supreme pure, but because He was playing the role of an ordinary human being, He immediately washed the brāhmaṇa’s feet and, for His own purification, sprinkled the water onto His head. After this the Lord smeared the body of the brāhmaṇa with different kinds of scented pulp, such as sandalwood, aguru and saffron. He immediately burned several kinds of scented incense and, as is usual, offered him ārati with burning lamps. After thus offering him an adequate welcome and after the brāhmaṇa had taken food and drink, Lord Kṛṣṇa said, “My dear friend, it is a great fortune that you have come here." (KB ch. 80)

Text 1.11.4

atha yadi te karma-vicikitsā vā vṛtta-vicikitsā vā syāt

ye tatra brāhmaṇāḥ sammarśinaḥ

yuktā āyuktāḥ/ alūkṣā dharma-kāmāḥ syuḥ

yathā te tatra varteran/ tathā tatra vartethāḥ

When there is any doubt about duties or how to perform one's work or earn one's livelihood, one should follow the example of these brahmanas who are experts in deliberation, who are righteous, well versed in the scriptures, and competent in world affairs, who are devoid of anger and without greed and who act in exemplary ways.

Commentary: The basic principle of Vedic culture is to receive knowledge from superior persons. Not only are brahmanas and other elders more learned in the scriptures than a younger person, but they also have a better understanding of the practical application of this knowledge in dealing with the perplexities of life. By receiving instructions from them, observing and following their example, we can not only obtain good advice but absorb a lot of their knowledge and experience. One should, however, not be a blind follower. One should follow persons who show good qualities, such as being free from greed and anger, and who act in exemplary ways.

As Prabhupada mentions in his purport to BG 4.34, both absurd inquiries and blind following are condemned: “In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. One should not only hear submissively from the spiritual master; but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries.”

We can see that there is a delicate balance between inquiring submissively from the spiritual master and other spiritual authorities and being a blind follower. One should surrender using his intelligence, and not surrender his intelligence.

Being submissive means being respectful and deeply considering the knowledge we are receiving, but at the same time asking relevant questions and clarifying all doubts before accepting something. In other words, submissive inquiry is the process of acquiring spiritual knowledge using our intelligence and making conscious choices and changes based on this knowledge, while blind following means to stop using our intelligence and mechanically follow some charismatic leader.

Devotional service is something that can’t be forced or imposed. It’s not possible to force a person to love someone: love can only be given voluntarily. Therefore, freedom is a prerequisite for love. Love must be the result of a conscious choice: I’m free to stay or to go away, and I choose to stay.

This is a point very deeply discussed in the Jaiva Dharma, where Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that free will is the very thing that distinguishes spirit souls from dead matter. Free will is ultimately what allows a soul to love Krsna, and therefore Krsna doesn’t interfere with the free will of the soul. We are free to serve Him or not, and devotional service has to be the fruit of a conscious choice.

Text 1.11.5

athābhyākhyāteṣu

ye tatra brāhmaṇāḥ sammarśinaḥ/ yuktā āyuktāḥ

alūkṣā dharma-kāmāḥ syuḥ

yathā te teṣu varteran/ tathā teṣu vartethāḥ

Concerning persons of a bad reputation, one should act according to what is done by such skillful and righteous brahmanas, observing their example and acting like them.

Commentary: What to do about people who act in improper ways? How to relate to them? The best is to just follow the example of learned persons. They know how to react to unexpected situations based on time, place, and circumstance, taking into consideration different religious principles and other factors. We should deal with them in the same way such learned persons do.

Text 1.11.6

eṣa ādeśaḥ

eṣa upadeśaḥ

eṣā vedopaniṣat

etadanuśāsanam evamupāsitavyam evamu caitadupāsyam

This is the instruction, this is the teaching. This is the secret knowledge of the Vedas. This is what should be practiced, respected, and worshiped.

Text 1.12.1

śam no mitraḥ śam varuṇaḥ

śam no bhavatv aryamā

śam na indro bṛhaspatiḥ

śam no viṣṇur urukramaḥ

namo brahmaṇe namas te vāyo

tvam eva pratyakṣam brahmāsi

tvām eva pratyakṣam brahmāvādiṣam

ṛtam avādiṣam satyam avādiṣam

tan mām āvīt tad-vaktāram āvīt

āvīn mām āvīt vaktāram

om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

May the sun give us auspiciousness! May Varuṇa give us auspiciousness! May Aryamā give us auspiciousness! May Indra and Bṛhaspati give us auspiciousness! May Lord Viṣṇu, who as Vamanadeva covered the universe with His great steps give us auspiciousness! I offer my respects to the Vedas. O Vāyu, I offer my respects to you. You are directly Brahman. I spoke proper words of truth. The Lord protected me and protected the speaker. He protected me and protected the speaker. Peace, peace, peace.

Commentary: This verse is the same as the first. The only difference is that it is in the past tense, indicating the end of the teachings.