Srila Prabhupada defines dharma as one’s inherent nature. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.3.19) it is stated: dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam, “The principles of religion [dharma] are initiated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one else, including the sages and demigods, can manufacture any such principles.” By following dharma, we satisfy the Lord and thus attain material and spiritual advancement. The best, of course, is to follow dharma simply because it is pleasing for the Lord, not because of the material piety we will acquire. In any case, Dharma is so important that when it is neglected the Lord Himself comes to reestablish it (BG 4.7).
At the beginning of Bhagavad-gita we see a competent person rejecting his dharma because of lack of faith. Arjuna is doubtful whether performance of dharma will actually produce happiness. The chastiser of enemies, Arjuna, refuses to chastise the enemies; instead, he declares: na yotsya iti govindam, “Govinda, I shall not fight”. At the end of the Gita that same Arjuna says: “My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.” Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport:
‘… he understood Krsna factually. So to study Bhagavad-gita is to understand Krsna factually. When a person is in full knowledge, he naturally surrenders to Krsna.’
How did the Lord convince Arjuna to fight? And, even prior to that, why did He want to convince him to fight in the first place? In other words, why was Krsna so insistent that jnana must lead to vijnana? Why did He not just reveal some lofty esoteric truths leaving the mystery of existence intact? Why everything needed to be so precise and practical?
It is because Bhagavad-gita, and for that matter the whole Vedic tradition, is not just another theoretical philosophical treatise meant for the “entertainment of armchair speculators” whose highest value does not permit the existence of an absolute truth. The Gita is meant to clear up our doubts and misgivings and thus establish firm faith in Krsna’s instructions. Once this faith is established as an “irrevocable fact” we are supposed to apply it in our life and relish the blissful result of it. Therefore, the Lord declares surrender to Him as the highest truth, and the standard for proper understanding of the Gita is set by Arjuna himself. In the first of the catuh-sloki of the Gita the Lord states:
‘I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.’
How did Krsna reestablish Arjuna’s faith and engaged him in devotional service? In chapter two, He imparts on him transcendental knowledge that uproots the anarthas – Krsna explains the inherent nature of the eternal spirit soul. When noticing that this knowledge, though appreciated by Arjuna, is insufficient to dispel his illusion, He proceeds by explaining its practical application. Krsna thus describes the practice of bhakti-yoga by first enumerating and elaborating upon its various aspects – karma, jnana, and dhyana (chapters 3-6), and then by showing how they should be understood and combined with proper consciousness (buddhi, or bhakti-yoga, chapters 7-12). In the last six chapters, Krsna imparts further knowledge about the practical application of bhakti-yoga by analyzing the difference between the field and its knower and how, though different from matter, the soul is conditioned by the modes of nature, which affect his faith and determine whether he is classified as demigod or a demon. Thus, the Lord establishes Arjuna’s firm faith (sraddha) and engages him in bhakti by asking him to forget all dharmas and just to surrender to Him.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu defines sraddha as “confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Krsna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service.” In other words faith is the conviction that only pure devotional service can truly satisfy the soul and that nothing else will do it. Neither karma, jnana, yoga, or their modern derivatives can satisfy the Lord and thus bring happiness for the soul.
This is because the actual standard of right and wrong is Krsna’s pleasure. Devotional service is the most pleasing for Him, therefore it is the ultimate value of life. Krsna confirms this in both Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam:
My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding. (BG 11.55)
My dear Uddhava, the unalloyed devotional service rendered to Me by My devotees brings Me under their control. I cannot be thus controlled by those engaged in mystic yoga, Sankhya philosophy, pious work, Vedic study, austerity or renunciation. (SB 11.14.20)
Thus the ultimate criteria for proper and improper action depends on whether it is pleasing to Krsna. In material sense proper and improper are estimated on the basis of mundane religiosity, wealth, sense enjoyment and liberation. The Lord is the origin of the creation which therefore can be properly operated only by following His rules described in the Vedas. But if we only aim at pious manipulation of material energy this is not proper, and it is not proper because it is not pleasing for Krsna:
Prahlada Maharaja continued: One may possess wealth, an aristocratic family, beauty, austerity, education, sensory expertise, luster, influence, physical strength, diligence, intelligence and mystic yogic power, but I think that even by all these qualifications one cannot satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, one can satisfy the Lord simply by devotional service. Gajendra did this, and thus the Lord was satisfied with him. (SB 7.9.9)
As pointed out by Srila Prabhupada in his introduction, Bhagavad-gita has five main topics: cit, acit, isvara, kala, and karma; the knowledge about these five tattvas is called sambandha-jnana. The instructions on how to use this knowledge in its various aspects (karma, jnana, dhyana, and ultimately bhakti-yoga – chapters 3-12) and the further technical details, which make its use comfortable (chapters 13-17) outline the abhideya-jnana. When all this is properly heard, contemplated upon, understood, and applied in practical life, one realizes that dharma has a value only when it is connected to Krsna (BG 18.65) and develops firm faith and one-pointed determination to follow Krsna’s instructions (BG 2.41) in order to please Him (18.66). This is called prayojana.
Thus, Bhagavad-gita is not just theoretical knowledge; rather, it aims at developing firm faith so that we may perform our devotional service with steadiness and determination. When we are steady in devotional service and on that basis develop taste for hearing krisna-katha, we will be able to appreciate and derive the true benefit from Srimad-Bhagavatam and relish Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
