Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya

  • 1-9: From Arurukshato (beginning stage) To Arudha stage (advance Stage) (Advancement in astang yoga)

Now Sri Krishna will talk about higher level of consciousness, equal vision towards all kinds of people also, it is one thing to see things equally it another things to see people equally and that is what Sri Krishna talks about in next verse.

Bg 6.9

suhṛn-mitrāry-udāsīna-
madhyastha-dveṣya-bandhuṣu
sādhuṣv api ca pāpeṣu
sama-buddhir viśiṣyate

Word for word: 

su–hṛt — to well-wishers by nature; mitra — benefactors with affection; ari — enemies; udāsīna — neutrals between belligerents; madhya–stha — mediators between belligerents; dveṣya — the envious; bandhuṣu — and the relatives or well-wishers; sādhuṣu — unto the pious; api — as well as; ca — and; pāpeṣu — unto the sinners; sama–buddhiḥ — having equal intelligence; viśiṣyate — is far advanced.

Translation: 

A person is considered still further advanced when he regards honest well-wishers, affectionate benefactors, the neutral, mediators, the envious, friends and enemies, the pious and the sinners all with an equal mind.

 

suhṛn is friends, well-wisher, very close well-wisher, it is used earlier in 5.29 suhrn-servabhunanam, Sri Krishna is the greatest well-wisher of all living entities. Mitra is friend ary is enemy, Udasina is neutral (different from madhyastha, udasina is one who doesn’t take any side) madhyastha is one who try to act as mediator to bring conflict resolution by trying to act as a discussion channel for two opposing warring factions. dveṣya, one who is envious, bandhuṣu, who is friend or relatives, sādhuṣv – saintly person, pāpeṣu is sinful person. sama-buddhir viśiṣyate, one who sees all of them equally, viśiṣyate, such a person is higher, Sri Krishna is saying why such a person is higher not only because he sees things equally but also people equally, e.g. we see different things in a room and think all of them are made up of matter and none of them can make me happy actually this is one level of equality but things just stay at one place, whereas people can act, some people are kind and smiling some people are grim and frowning some people are negligent, some people are very loving and caring so different people are different kinds, to be equal towards all people how that is possible, Sri Krishna has talked about something similar in 5.18 when He has talked about how Pandita Samdarsina, a person who is yogi sees all living beings equally. About the people talked in the verse is Brahmana and swapacha dog eaters, Brahmana are top in society and swapacha are in mode of ignorance at the bottom of the spectrum. Krishna is saying to see all equal in this spectrum, what He talked about includes humans and animals also. So in this verse Sri Krishna is focusing on human beings and there are different kinds of human being, this can cover all living beings also this is wide spectrum. He talks about relationship which we have with different human beings similarly we also have relationship with different animals e.g. cows, dogs etc. The point is equal vision to all people. When we have equal vision we stop seeing other people based on their potential to provide sense gratification. We see people based on their potential to provide sense gratification, how is that? If a person is very good looking he attracts glance of everyone, why, people wanted to look at the person so that they get pleasure for their eyes again and again, some people looks haggardly or old, people don’t even notice also such people because their deciding point is how much sense gratification that person can give to me, if some person is looking very wealthy people will come and meet them in office may be this person will give some bribe, if someone is wearing torn cloth then people will say you wait there is queue and keep that person waiting for a long time. A person of material level conscious sees people based on the potential how much sense gratification he can provide. When we have given up sense gratification and we understand that sense gratification cannot make me happy then it is serva sankalpa sanyasi so we discussed that in this chapter 6.3 / 6.4 about Yogarudha and Yogaruksha, so yogaruda stages are serva sankalpa sanyasi, 

one who has given up the desire for sense gratification knowing that it cannot make me happy then one doesn’t evaluate people based on how much sense gratification they can provide us and that is how one can have equal vision and Sri Krishna says that those who have such an equal vision they can move forward and they can take renounced order, they can renounce and go out of world to situation elsewhere so now Sri Krishna describes about going to the forest

End of transcription.