Gita 04.10 – Overcome 3 obstructive attitudes for taking shelter of Krishna
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ (Bg 4.10)
Word-for-word:
vīta — freed from; rāga — attachment; bhaya — fear; krodhāḥ — and anger; mat-mayāḥ — fully in Me; mām — in Me; upāśritāḥ — being fully situated; bahavaḥ — many; jñāna — of knowledge; tapasā — by the penance; pūtāḥ — being purified; mat-bhāvam — transcendental love for Me; āgatāḥ — attained.
Translation:
Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me – and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
Explanation:
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ: Freed from attachment, fear, and anger,
man-mayāḥ mām upāśritāḥ: fixing their minds on Me and taking shelter of Me,
bahavaḥ jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ: many persons, purified by the penance of knowledge,
mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ: have attained My transcendental abode.
Here, Kṛṣṇa provides an intriguing repetition that also illustrates how context can shape meaning. The phrase “vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ” appeared earlier in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.56): duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate.
There, Kṛṣṇa spoke of becoming free from attachment, fear, and anger as necessities for becoming a sthita-dhīr muni. Here, He refers to the same three qualities as prerequisites for becoming man-mayāḥ mām upāśritāḥ—for being able to take wholehearted shelter of Him. These three—rāga, bhaya, and krodha—are essentially three kinds of attitudes toward the material world.
Rāga: Some people have an attitude of infatuation with the material world. This infatuation is straightforward—it is the belief that this world is a place where one can be happy by simply fixing a few things, achieving certain goals, or possessing specific objects. Such attachment naturally agitates the mind, preventing one from becoming a sthita-dhīr muni. Moreover, this attachment distracts us from Kṛṣṇa and from any spiritual purpose in general.
In Bhagavad-gītā 2.44, Kṛṣṇa states: bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām—attachment to bhoga (sense enjoyment) and aiśvarya (opulence) steals away one’s mind and distracts it from one-pointed intelligence (vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ), which is essential for pursuing any higher spiritual purpose. What, then, to speak of the highest spiritual purpose—Kṛṣṇa Himself?
Bhaya: At one level, bhaya refers to excessive anxiety about material enjoyment, which can distract one from Kṛṣṇa. Of course, in some cases, such fear may prompt a person to turn to Kṛṣṇa, seeking refuge in God. However, in this context, bhaya can also refer to a more philosophical kind of fear—arising from repeatedly experiencing the futility of material enjoyment while pursuing material forms and sense objects. Such a person may begin to feel that all forms are illusory and all enjoyment is deceptive. As a result, they may feel compelled to go beyond form, beyond personality, toward a formless, impersonal, quality-less state of bliss—a kind of transcendental existence where one simply seeks peace.
This is an erroneous understanding because it can keep us away from Kṛṣṇa. We may begin to think that Kṛṣṇa is just another form—and that we must ultimately transcend even His form. As a result, that philosophical bhaya, which impersonalists have toward form and personality, also prevents them from taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa.
Krodhā: Krodhā means anger. At one level, a person may become angry because they have not attained the material enjoyment they desired. In that frustration, they may direct their anger toward God, thinking, “God doesn’t help me, so I don’t care about God.”
At a deeper level, krodhā can also represent the frustration that arises from the inability to grasp the Absolute Truth. When one encounters many conflicting philosophies and doctrines but fails to find a clear understanding, this can lead to deep dissatisfaction.
Over time, such frustration may cause a person to give up the search for truth altogether and adopt a nihilistic attitude, rejecting all attempts to discover the Absolute Truth. This too becomes an obstacle, keeping one away from Kṛṣṇa and preventing them from taking shelter of Him.
In this way, these three—rāga, bhaya, and krodhā—act as obstacles. Excessive attachment to the material world, fear of form, and frustration stemming from the inability to ascertain the Absolute Truth—each of these can keep a person bound in material existence and away from Kṛṣṇa.
Only when one gives up these three can the mind be fixed on Kṛṣṇa (man-mayā). And not only fixed on Him, but one can also genuinely take shelter of Him (mām upāśritāḥ).
Many people may think of Kṛṣṇa with the desire to enjoy sense gratification—such as hearing His playful pastimes or, in Kṛṣṇa’s case, the rāsa-līlā—and interpreting them as romantically titillating stories. However, this kind of mental focus on Kṛṣṇa does not involve taking shelter of Him. And without genuine shelter, such engagement will not lead to any lasting spiritual benefit.
Kṛṣṇa further says bahavo jñāna-tapasā—many in the past have attained purification through the austerity of knowledge. Austerity of knowledge means understanding Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Enjoyer. And this requires tapasā—discipline, dedication, and inner effort.
Generally, jñānīs believe that meditating on the Absolute Truth as formless and devoid of personality is difficult, and that emotional or sentimental people are not suited for such practice. Therefore, they consider bhakti-mārga suitable for those who are less intellectually inclined.
However, truly understanding Kṛṣṇa as a person—how someone can be all-pervading and still remain a person, how someone can be omnipotent and yet manifest as a child—is far more difficult. Grasping this requires jñāna-tapasā—a much deeper austerity of knowledge.
Yet, Kṛṣṇa assures us that if one can undertake this austerity, it leads to purification. He says, bahavaḥ…pūtāḥ—many have become purified by this path.
By this, mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ—they attain My nature. The word bhāva can refer to multiple things. It can mean nature, indicating that they attain a spiritual nature. Bhāva can also refer to an emotion—it is the penultimate stage in the nine-stage progression toward prema, or pure love for God.
When we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa in this way, we can ultimately attain love for Him. This love—prema—is the ultimate perfection of life. That is the meaning of mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ.
In this way, this verse helps us understand how we can attain the tattvataḥ understanding mentioned in the previous verse. It also explains how that understanding leads to the ultimate result—punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna: one does not take birth again but attains Kṛṣṇa.
When we become free from attachment, frustration, and fear, and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, the resulting knowledge of Him—understanding and receiving that knowledge—is itself an austerity. But if we undertake that austerity, it will purify us.
Kṛṣṇa assures Arjuna that many people in the past have purified themselves in this way and have attained Him. Similarly, Arjuna too can attain Him.
Thank you.
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