The Song of God

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.13]

Bhagavad-gita means the song sung by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan Sri Kṛṣṇa. It is the best known and most universally beloved work of the Vedic spiritual tradition. The First Chapter of Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study, setting the scene for Kṛṣṇa’s exposition, and the Second Chapter that we are studying now is a summary of the entire Esoteric Teaching. (We cover the main topics of the First Chapter of the Gita in Your Perfect Body.)

Bhagavata means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from the word bhagavata, we address Him as Bhagavan. You’ll find the word Bhagavan everywhere in Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic scriptures: sri bhagavan uvaca, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said.” So the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas is the science of understanding God, as revealed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself.

sri bhagavan uvaca
jnanam parama-guhyam me
yad vijnana-samanvitam
sa-rahasyam tad-angam ca
grhana gaditam maya

The Personality of Godhead said: “Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is very confidential, and it has to be realized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.9 31]

The Esoteric Teaching is vijnana, or an applied science, as distinguished from jnana, or merely theoretical knowledge. So if you want to know the science of God, then you have to apply the process by which one can understand God. The process is very difficult to understand, but it can be understood easily when it is explained by the Lord Himself. The process of self-realization is described by God Himself in Bhagavad-gita:

bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram

“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.55]

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says, “If anyone wants to understand Me, then he has to apply the process of devotional service (bhakti-yoga),” not the speculative process (jnana-yoga) or material fruitive activities (karma-kanda), or by some mystic yoga process (astanga-yoga). This is clearly stated, not only in Bhagavad-gita, but also in all other Vedic scriptures:

athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi
janati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko ’pi ciram vicinvan

“My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.29]

We cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by our own endeavor, but by His mercy alone. Anyone who has received a small particle of the mercy of the Lord can understand the Him. No human being can understand the Lord perfectly; it is impossible because the Lord is unlimited. Our senses are very limited and imperfect. In the material world, we are in illusion, and also we try to cheat. We have so many defects, therefore it is impossible to understand God simply by exercising our material senses and mind.

Kṛṣṇa gives the Esoteric Teaching so that we may have a chance to realize the truth: that we are all spiritual beings, eternal servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This process of self-realization is actually the solution to all the problems of material existence. Everyone who is actually intelligent should take it up as their mission in life, both to attain perfection of yoga for themselves, and also to help others.