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We have reached the point in our detailed study of Bhagavad-gita where Arjuna surrenders to Kṛṣṇa as a disciple, and concludes his argument by flatly declaring that he will not fight.

sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva hrsikesam
gudakesah parantapah
na yotsya iti govindam
uktva tusnim babhuva ha

Sanjaya said: “Having spoken thus, Arjuna, chastiser of enemies, told Kṛṣṇa, ‘Govinda, I shall not fight,’ and fell silent.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.9]

But by the end of Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna accepts Kṛṣṇa’s order, surrenders fully to Him and fights under His direction. This is devotional service, the primary spiritual method of the Esoteric Teaching. Bhagavad-gita begins with Arjuna struggling against Kṛṣṇa, and ends with his full surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of the Esoteric Teaching. The lesson of Bhagavad-gita is to surrender to God, Kṛṣṇa. The Esoteric Teaching continues in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam begins,

dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu sivadam tapa-trayonmulanam
srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte kim va parair isvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate ’tra krtibhih susrusubhis tat-ksanat

“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Srimad-Bhagavatam propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Srimad-Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.2]

Dharmah projjhita-kaitavah atra: “Now, in this Srimad-Bhagavatam, all cheating type of religions are rejected, projjhita.” So the relationship between Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam is that they are both based on the principle of surrender to Kṛṣṇa and devotional service. Bhagavad-gita is about the process of surrender, but Srimad-Bhagavatam takes up from that point and goes higher, up to love of Godhead.

Real religion means to love God. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam says,

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6]

This is a description of first-class religion, and it is non-sectarian. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you follow any particular religion. You may follow any religion. It doesn’t matter whether you follow Vedic religion or Christian religion or Mohammedan religion, as long as the objective is pure love of Godhead, uninterrupted devotional service. That is the actual standard of self-realization.

If someone demonstrates all the symptoms of pure love of Godhead, then it doesn’t matter which religious path he follows. Just like if you have your M.A. degree. Nobody cares which college your degree is from, as long as you have passed your M.A. examination. Similarly in spiritual life, our question is whether you are an undergraduate, a graduate, or a postgraduate student.

If someone is on the platform of mundane religion, simply morality and rituals for material gain, then he is not even enrolled in college. If someone is becoming surrendered to God, then he is an undergraduate. If someone’s life is completely surrendered to God, he is a graduate, and if someone displays the symptoms of love of Godhead, then he is a postgraduate and can become a professor in the school of authentic spiritual life.

We don’t care which religion you have followed, as long as you have passed your graduate examination, you are fit to be a Master Teacher in this esoteric school. We do not inquire, “Which religion do you follow?” We ask whether you are on the ontological platform of morality, surrender to God, or love of Godhead. Our objective is to learn the art of loving God, because that is the real standard of religion. We don’t care which religious path you took to get there. This is real religion:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.66]

This is the beginning of real religion. And Srimad-Bhagavatam says, dharmah projjhita-kaitavah atra: “All cheating type of religion is kicked out from this Bhagavatam.” Only nirmatsaranam, those who are not envious of God, are accepted as students of Srimad-Bhagavatam. If someone objects, “Why shall I love God? Why shall I worship God? Why shall I accept God?” they are fools, rascals and demons.

Bhagavad-gita is to help us learn how to surrender to God, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is only for those sincere people who are actually serious about learning to love God: ahaituki apratihata yenatma samprasidati: “Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.”

So real success of life is learning how to love God. Then your heart will be satisfied.

yam labdhva caparam labham
manyate nadhikam tatah
yasmin sthito na duhkhena
gurunapi vicalyate

“In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain.” [Bhagavad-gita 6.22]

If you get love of Kṛṣṇa or God, then you have transcended all suffering. Kṛṣṇa means God. If you have got another name of God, that is also accepted. But God, the Supreme Lord, is the Supreme Person. When you have this love of God, then you have the greatest attainment possible in human life.

Because the loving propensity is there in everyone, but it is misdirected. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam: “Kick out all these other objects of love, and just love Me.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.66] Loving other things besides Me will never be able to satisfy you. Srimad-Bhagavatam says,

atah sadho ’tra yat saram
samuddhrtya manisaya
bruhi bhadraya bhutanam
yenatma suprasidati

“O sage, please select the essence of all these scriptures and explain it for the good of all living beings, that by such instruction their hearts may be fully satisfied.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.11]

Yenatma samprasidati. If you want real satisfaction, then you must love Kṛṣṇa, or God. That is the whole philosophy of religion, whether you take Vedic philosophy, or any religious philosophy; because after all, you want satisfaction for yourself, full satisfaction of your mind. The real truth is, that can be only achieved when you love God.

Therefore first-class religion teaches, and trains the candidate how to love God. That is first-class religion. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktih: “The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6]

The great sages who originated every great religion know that this perfect spiritual love is the supreme dharma, the ultimate satisfaction for the mind. That perfect love does not have any motive. In this material world, love is always motivated: “I love you; you love me.” In the background there is always some selfish motive. But real spiritual love is uninterrupted, and without motive: ahaituky apratihata: “Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6]

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena Kṛṣṇanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]

Pure devotional service is performed without desire for material gain or spiritual liberation. The only desire is for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction. That will be taught later on in Bhagavad-gita.

In material consciousness, people are working with a motive. Some are working for knowledge, but most working for sense gratification. Material consciousness means motivated work. Some people are trying to become a big scholar by accumulating knowledge. Not for understanding God, but for having some superfluous knowledge. This is called jnana. And karma means working day and night for sense gratification, like an animal. But bhakti, pure love of Godhead, is transcendental.

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena Kṛṣṇanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.” [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]

Real love of Godhead is not tainted by the contamination of jnana and karma, because both of these are material. Therefore Narottama dasa Thakura says, jnana-kanda, karma-kanda, sakali visera bhanda. In material consciousness, either you are engaged in the activities of speculative knowledge or acquiring sense gratification: jnana-kanda or karma-kanda. So Narottama dasa Thakura says that “Both the jnana-kanda and the karma-kanda are pots of poison. If you drink from either one, it doesn’t matter; it will kill your spiritual life.”

By working according to karma-kanda, one may get a little sense gratification—nice house, money, good family life—but according to your accumulated karma you’ll have to take another body. By working according to jnana-kanda also, you can get a body in a brahmana family, in a very educated family. But you’ll still have to go through the transmigration of the soul, repetition of birth and death. And there is a great risk, because you do not know what kind of body you are going to get. There is no guarantee, because the laws of karma and rebirth are very complex.

sri-bhagavan uvaca
karmana daiva-netrena
jantur dehopapattaye
striyah pravista udaram
pumso retah-kanasrayah

“The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.31.1]

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam
tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya
sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail.” [Bhagavad-gita 8.6]

Because nature is so perfect, at the time of your death, according to your mental condition, you will get a similar body in the next life. Because Kṛṣṇa is within your heart as the Supersoul. Kṛṣṇa will see how you are thinking, what is the quality of your mental conception, and immediately give you an appropriate vehicle for that conception. You take the body that embodies your state of consciousness at the time of death. So if you are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, you will take your original spiritual body.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.9]

This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how to train the mind to die thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Then your life is successful. Therefore we have to chant Kṛṣṇa’s Holy Name, serve Him, and always think of Kṛṣṇa.

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me

“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.65]

Then your life is perfect. This is the aim of the Esoteric Teaching.