Q4: How does he walk? (Bg 2.64 to 2.72)

Krsna answers the 4th question of Arjuna: How does he walk? Or, in other words, how does the devotee who has achieved the transcendental platform act, or engage his senses?

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Verse 64: rāga-dveṣa-vimuktais tu, viṣayān indriyaiś caran

ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā, prasādam adhigacchati

But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord.

Verse 65: prasāde sarva-duḥkhānām, hānir asyopajāyate

prasanna-cetaso hy āśu, buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate

For one thus satisfied [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one’s intelligence is soon well established.

Verse 66: nāsti buddhir ayuktasya, na cāyuktasya bhāvanā

na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir, aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?

Verse 67: indriyāṇām hi caratām, yan mano ’nuvidhīyate

tad asya harati prajñām, vāyur nāvam ivāmbhasi

As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.

Verse 68: tasmād yasya mahā-bāho, nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ

indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas, tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā

Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence.

Verse 69: yā niśā sarva-bhūtānām, tasyām jāgarti samyamī

yasyām jāgrati bhūtāni, sā niśā paśyato muneḥ

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

Verse 70:
āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭham, samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat

tadvat kāmā yam praviśanti sarve, sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.

Verse 71: vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān, pumāmś carati niḥspṛhaḥ

nirmamo nirahankāraḥ, sa śāntim adhigacchati

A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace.

Verse 72: eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha, nainām prāpya vimuhyati

sthitvāsyām anta-kāle ’pi, brahma-nirvāṇam ṛcchati

That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God.

These final verses of the 2nd chapter answer the 4th question of Arjuna: How does he walk? Or, in other words, how does the devotee who has achieved the transcendental platform act, or engage his senses?

Verse 2.64 answers that by being engaged in Krsna Consciousness, a pure devotee becomes free from all attachment and aversion, cutting the identification with body and senses by the root. He uses the body and senses as a tool in his service to Krsna, but he doesn't see himself as the body, senses, or mind. As a result, he becomes the master of the body and the controller of his senses. We often think that freedom means avoiding rules and doing whatever we want, but in reality, this means being a slave of our senses. Real freedom means controlling our senses and minds.

Another characteristic explained by Krsna is vidheyātmā: a devotee is a self-disciplined person who doesn't discard regulative principles. Srila Prabhupada translates vidheyātmā as "one who follows regulated freedom", or one who follows the regulative principles of freedom, meaning the four principles, as well as other principles of the process of bhakti-yoga. We may at first have trouble reconciling the idea of restriction and freedom, but it becomes clear when we analyze the question through the prism of the previous discussion: real freedom passes through controlling our senses, not by letting them roam free.

Because a devotee is not interested in using his senses for personal enjoyment, preferring to engage them in Krsna Conscious activities, all his actions are auspicious, and he remains free from material bondage, even though executing all kinds of activities. This is the great art of work explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Often we think that we have to experience material miseries as long as we are living in the material world, but Krsna reveals in verse 2.65 that it is not necessarily so. Material miseries come from material consciousness, from identifying with the body and mind. When one is elevated to the platform of Krsna Consciousness, identifying with his original position as a soul, the threefold miseries of material existence no longer exist. Apart from the absence of material miseries, this state of consciousness is characterized by knowledge.

Just as spiritual bliss (ānanda), knowledge is also a constitutional characteristic of the soul. When we identify with the body, we identify with both the miseries and ignorance of the body. When we become free from the shackles of the false ego, seeing ourselves again in our original constitutional position, we become free from both. Ordinarily, this is very difficult, but it becomes possible through the process of bhakti-yoga, as long as we are sincere in the process. The process of buddhi-yoga described by Krsna in this portion of the Bhagavad-gītā is no different from bhakti.

In verse 2.66, however, Krsna describes the negative, the result of not being fixed in this transcendental consciousness. In verse 2.41, Krsna already explained that the intelligence of the ones not firmly situated in Krsna Consciousness is many-branched, due to many material desires. These desires force a person to remain active in the material platform, where there is no peace.

As Krsna explains, peace is a prerequisite for happiness. As long as we are in anxiety, there is no question of happiness, and therefore, the only way to achieve happiness is to be elevated to the transcendental platform. Although impersonalists and other classes of transcendentalists can also achieve the platform of liberation, the process of bhakti-yoga is superior, because it is not only much more effective but also allows one to fully reawaken his original nature, while jñāna and yoga can bring one only up to a certain stage. Even if one is able to reach the impersonal brahmajyoti, without awakening his original spiritual identity, there is all possibility of falling back into the material world. Ultimately, as long as a soul has not reestablished in his original position of service to Krsna, he will be forced to roam from one place to another; no other position will be truly permanent. A devotee of the Lord, on the other hand, can be elevated to the spiritual platform even while living in this material world, and once achieving the spiritual planets, he never has to come back.

We can see that many transcendentalists fall down from the path of self-realization. Viśvāmitra was very seriously practicing meditation with his eyes closed, but he became attracted by just hearing the tinkling of bangles on the hands of Menakā and abandoned his meditation to engage in sex life with her. Haridāsa Thākura, however, was directly tested by the material energy herself, personified in the form of the most beautiful woman, and even she was not able to divert him from his chanting of the holy names. The difference was that Viśvāmitra was engaged in a process of mechanical meditation, trying to artificially keep his senses under control, while Haridāsa Thākura was directly attracted to Krsna. A hungry person can fall into temptation and eat at any point, even by seeing some tasteless food, but a person who is fully satisfied after eating a banquet of opulent prasāda will reject the same food without effort. Once one becomes firmly attracted to Krsna through the practice of devotional service, his position is very secure, while yogis and jñanis who are trying to mechanically control their senses have to be always very careful.

As long as we are not situated in this platform of love for Krsna, however, we should be careful in engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, since any sense that is not engaged can attract the mind back into material life. Sense gratification is like a type of drug for the conditioned soul. Until we fully reestablish our eternal connection with Krsna, we are always propense to fall back into it as Krsna warns us. To prevent that, we should be careful in maintaining a path of discipline and in following the regulative principles of freedom. As Krsna explains in verse 2.68, "one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence." indicating how we can maintain our intelligence in order by keeping our senses engaged in devotional service. As long as the senses are properly engaged, there is no opportunity for misusing them.

Apart from developing firm faith, discipline, and determination, another challenge in this path is that we need to remain fully engaged in devotional service. As the saying goes, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." When we are fully engaged in devotional service, it is easy to keep the mind under control, especially when we get the higher taste, but as soon as we become idle, the contaminated mind starts again making plans for sense gratification and we go back to the situation where "As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence."

As we can see, the process of devotional service is more like an endurance race than a sprint. We need to maintain ourselves fully engaged in Krsna-conscious activities in order to achieve success. The best way to guarantee that is to be engaged according to our nature and talents. We can see that this is how Krsna instructs Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā. Arjuna was a trained warrior, armed with all kinds of celestial weapons. Fighting was second nature to him. He could shoot his arrows accurately even with his eyes closed. At the beginning of the Gītā, however, Arjuna wanted to abandon the battlefield, abandoning this natural talent and skill to go to the forest and meditate like a brāhmaṇa, something that was unfamiliar to him. Krsna, however, didn't agree with this plan. He had already prepared a plan for Arjuna, where he would use his natural talent to fight in the battle of Kurukṣetra and become fully engaged in meditation on Him, achieving perfection in Krsna Consciousness. As a kṣatriya, it was natural for Arjuna to fight for 18 days during the battle and manage the kingdom afterward, and by doing so, he was perfectly situated in samādhi, using all his senses in the service of Krsna. Have him go to the forest to practice a mechanical process of meditation, however, his situation would be much more difficult.

Similarly, all of us have some particular nature and some special talent that is given to us by Krsna. When we can engage this particular talent in the service of Krsna, we will find a situation where our devotional service becomes naturally fulfilling. In this position, we can maintain our service to Krsna without strenuous effort and find the strength to surpass all obstacles. As Srila Prabhupada once said, in a letter dated April 4th, 1973: "Krsna has given everyone something extraordinary and to serve Krishna with one’s extraordinary talent means successful life."

A good example in this connection is given in the 8th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam in the story of the elephant Gajendra fighting the crocodile. Normally, an elephant is stronger than a crocodile and can easily kill it in a fight by stomping on it. In a fight on land, there is not much a crocodile can do.

However, Gajendra was attacked when he was bathing in a lake and was thus forced to fight the crocodile in an environment where he was weak. Even though he was strong and able to fight for a long time, eventually he was defeated. In his purports, Srila Prabhupada makes the point that we should fight the illusory energy in a position where we are strong. This includes not only being engaged according to our natural talents and nature but also being situated in a position where we can find stability. Some are stronger as renunciants, while others are stronger as householders, and similarly, some are stronger when engaged in intellectual activities or worship, others are stronger when engaged as managers or in economic activities, while others may be stronger by just working in a stable job without anxiety. Each of us has to find our position of strength with the help of the spiritual master, and from there fight with determination.

In text 2.68, Krsna gives another enigmatic instruction: "What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."

This doesn't mean the self-realized live in a different timezone, but that their activities are different (and in fact opposite) from the activities of the materialist. Materialistic persons remain asleep for self-realization, while a devotee is fully awakened in the devotional process. On the other hand, the materialist is wide awake to material activities and sense gratification, which are like night to the introspective devotee.

The pure devotee remains alert in the path of self-realization, while the materialist remains asleep to his original nature as a soul, and similarly, the materialist is well awakened to bodily identification and all the miseries and ignorance connected with that, while the self-realized devotee is awakened to his eternal nature as a soul. Even in terms of the time of the day, their activities are different. A devotee prefers to wake up very early to chant, study, and attend the Mangala-ārati, while materialists prefer to remain awake until late and then wake up only late in the morning.

Main points in the purports of Srila Prabhupada:

"But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord."

a) A pure devotee may appear to act in the material plane, performing many types of activities, but in reality, he is transcendental, because he is concerned only with the satisfaction of Krsna. He is thus transcendental to attachment and detachment.

b) Because he fully surrenders to Krsna, he can do anything or give up anything. If Krsna wants, he can do things that would ordinarily be undesirable, and if Krsna does not want, he can easily give up things he would ordinarily have done for his own satisfaction.

c) Even a devotee still attached to the sensual platform can achieve this transcendental consciousness by the mercy of the Lord.

"For one thus satisfied [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness], the threefold miseries of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness, one’s intelligence is soon well established. One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?"

a) One can attain peace only when his mind becomes steady. For that, one has to reach the ultimate goal, understanding that Krsna is the enjoyer, proprietor, and friend, and be engaged in His devotional service. In other words, there is no possibility of peace unless one is Krsna Conscious.

b) Even if a person is trying to follow some transcendental process, without a relationship with Krsna, he will always be in distress. He may make a show of spiritual advancement, but internally, he will be in distress, without peace.

c) Krsna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition that can be achieved only in a relationship with Krsna.

"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence."

a) The process for keeping oneself firm on the path of spiritual advancement is to engage all the senses in the service of Krsna, as in the example of Maharaja Ambarīṣa. Even one of the senses involved in material sense gratification can take one off the path.

"Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence."

a) The senses are very strong and can't be curbed by human endeavor. However, just as enemies can be defeated by a superior military, the senses can be controlled by being engaged in devotional service, which is a stronger force.

b) One who understands this point practices Krsna Consciousness under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master. He is called a sādhaka and is a suitable candidate for attaining liberation.

"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."

a) A self-controlled devotee is interested in the practice of self-realization and feels transcendental pleasure in Krsna Conscious activities, to which a materialist is not interested. In this way, what is day for one is night for the other.

b) Materialists are very interested in sense pleasures, which are night for the self-realized sage, who is indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on thus with his spiritual activities undisturbed by material reactions, while the materialist feels sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his ignorance.

"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires."

a) The ocean is constantly being filled with water from so many rivers, but it is always steady and never crosses the limits of its margin. Similarly, as long as one is in a material body, there will be demands for sense gratification, but a devotee remains undisturbed.

b) A person in Krsna Consciousness is not in need of anything because his material necessities are satisfied by the Lord. Because he has lost the inclination for sense gratification, he does not need more than necessary, and therefore remains full in himself, just like the ocean.

c) The proof of a Krsna Conscious person is that he has lost all inclination for material sense gratification, even though desires are still present. This is possible because he remains satisfied in the transcendental service of the Lord.

d) Such a devotee enjoys full peace, different from others who want to satisfy their material desires. Impersonal liberation is also a form of material desire, and because the attitude of loving service to the Lord is missing, an impersonalist can't attain lasting peace even after attaining it.

e) Peace (and happiness) can't be attained by the process of satisfying material desires. Not only materialists but also salvationists and yogis are unhappy due to unfulfilled desires. A devotee in Krsna Consciousness has no material desires to fulfill, and therefore, he is the only one in perfect peace.

"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego – he alone can attain real peace."

a) To become desireless does not mean to become free from all desires, but to become free from material desires. Becoming Krsna Conscious is a spiritual desire, and thus, to desire to revive one's original position as a servitor of the Lord is actual desirelessness.

b) The perfect stage of Krsna Consciousness includes not claiming proprietorship over anything in this material world, including one's material body. One who attains this stage knows that Krsna is the proprietor of everything and thus everything should be used for His satisfaction.

c) Arjuna had no personal desire to fight, and thus, in the beginning, was reluctant. However, after becoming fully Krsna conscious, he fought to his best ability for the satisfaction of Krsna.

d) Real desirelessness means desiring to satisfy Krsna, and not artificially trying to stop all desires. No one can become desireless, it is not possible. Instead, we need to change the quality of the desires, from material to spiritual.

e) The understanding that everything belongs to Krsna is based on self-realization, the realization that every soul is part and parcel of Krsna, identical with Him in quality but subordinate in nature. This is the basic principle of real peace.

"That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death, one can enter into the kingdom of God."

a) How long does it take to become fully Krsna Conscious? It can take a second or many lifetimes. Depends on us accepting the fact that we are eternal servants of Krsna and abandoning our material pursuits. Khaṭvānga Mahārāja attained it in just a few minutes.

b) Buddhist philosophy teaches that after finishing our material existence, there is only voidness, but the Bhagavad-gītā disagrees. After finishing this material existence, real life begins. Real Nirvāṇa means attaining the state of Krsna Consciousness (brahma-nirvāṇa). Impersonal liberation is just partial perfection.

c) There is no difference between the spiritual world and pure devotional service to the Lord. To be engaged in the service of the Lord means to have already attained the spiritual platform. In other words, spiritual perfection can be attained even in this life. One in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has already entered the kingdom of God.

d) Brahman is the opposite of matter, the spiritual platform. The words "brāhmī sthiti" (being situated in the spiritual platform) in the verse mean the stage of Krsna Consciousness.

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