Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya

38-45: If the mind deviates the yogi, what is his destination?

 

Then Krishna describes ok what happens how such a person gets opportunity in next life?

Bg 6.44

pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva
hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ
jijñāsur api yogasya
śabda-brahmātivartate

Word for word: 

pūrva — previous; abhyāsena — by practice; tena — by that; eva — certainly; hriyate — is attracted; hi — surely; avaśaḥ — automatically; api — also; saḥ — he; jijñāsuḥ — inquisitive; api — even; yogasya — about yoga; śabda–brahma — ritualistic principles of scriptures; ativartate — transcends.

Translation: 

By virtue of the divine consciousness of his previous life, he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles – even without seeking them. Such an inquisitive transcendentalist stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures.

 

Pūrvābhyās, by previous practice, tenaiva, of that person.

hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ, the person is attracted helplessly

jijñāsur api yogasya, such a person who is Jijnasu, such person become Jijnasu or inquisitiveness for spiritual practices. 

And śabda-brahmātivartate, such a person will go beyond the range of Sabda Brahma. Here the word Brahma refers to Vedic scriptures. Specially the Vedas which tells about three modes. When Sri Krishan has talked earlier about Traygunya Visya Veda nistragunyo Bhavarjuna, He has talked about in BG 2.45, Vedas talk about three mode and one should go beyond three modes, so here He is saying that the śabda-brahmātivartate, the serious yogi will go beyond the range of Vedic sound, so the Vedas talked about Dharma-Artha-Kama and occasionally talked about Moksha but people are not attracted to Moksha, they are attracted to Dharma, Artha and Kama only, so that is the Sabdha Brahma, that the range of the Vedic sound, but the yogis because of attraction to the Vedic principles goes beyond the range of Vedic sound Sabdha Brahma. śabda-brahmātivartate, goes far beyond that.

pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva, by the past spiritual practice pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva, hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ, it is interesting Sri Krishna is saying avaśo helpless so hriyate hy avaśo, hriyate is attracted, attracted helplessly. jijñāsur api yogasya, the Yogi who is Jijnasu rapidly moves over. śabda-brahmātivartate.

So there are many people who are attracted for spirituality and the attraction that they themselves can’t explain, where the attraction comes from why they have attraction. There are many Srila Prabhupada disciples born in wealthy prosperous family but in moment they left everything and become and try to devote themselves to Supreme Lord, in the search for the absolute truth they did not know that time that they are going to devote themselves to supreme Lord but they search for absolute truth and then actually hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ, some people who just leave material life and seek spiritual life and they feel that they are being pulled, it is spontaneous attraction to which they are helplessly attracted. So actually how it happens it happens because of past spiritual practices. So when we have practiced spiritual life in past we have not just satisfied with material enjoyments we want something higher something greater something richer and that higher, greater, richer what it is one may not know also. In some cases like Gajendra he has been a king and he has practices spiritual life in the past and then when he became elephant he lived like a typical elephant at a particular time when he was in crisis he suddenly able to remember not just the existence of the supreme Lord but started offering prayers to the Supreme Lord and eloquent, profound, potent prayers he offered. How is that? That is hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ, That moment of crisis the attraction to the Lord is suddenly awaken and along with that knowledge also came, so in some cases specific knowledge may come in other cases specific knowledge may not come but what may otherwise come is actually hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ, one just be attracted to the spirituality so generally even the soul of a Yoga Brasta even that soul is a very advance devotee, also that doesn’t necessary mean that the soul is attracted specifically to Krishna, it is possible to Krishna even if it is not specifically to Krishna it simply means that the person is attracted to Spirituality, soon one understands what is that spirituality, enquire and by the mysterious hand of the Super-Soul one will be directed towards Krishna and once directed to Krishna one returns to Krishna gradually. śabda-brahmātivartate, 

So Srila Prabhupada quotes this interesting verse from Srimad Bahgvatam that even those who are low born will go beyond Sabda-Brahma, śabda-brahmātivartate. So how they go beyond vedic sound? Srila Prabhupada gives two examples, so he gives this:

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.33.7), such disregard of Vedic rituals by the advanced transcendentalists is explained as follows:

aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān

yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam

tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā

brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

“O my Lord! Persons who chant the holy names of Your Lordship are far, far advanced in spiritual life, even if born in families of dog-eaters. Such chanters have undoubtedly performed all kinds of austerities and sacrifices, bathed in all sacred places and finished all scriptural studies.”

aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān, aho amazing it is that sva-paco, those who are born in dog eating families, ’to garīyān, they are born in such families but they are chanting the name of the supreme Lord, yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam, when your name is there on their lips . tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā, so they have actually done all other religious activities and now they have come to the spiritual level so bathing in holy places, performing austerities, studying scriptures, all this they have done already and because they have already done all this they have come to the level of chanting the holy names of Krishna. What this means is if somebody is chanting holy name it is great-great fortune. It is possible that those who are chanting has done all rituals in previous life another way of understanding is the purpose of doing all other vedic ritual, Vedic Dharma has karma marga then -> Gyana Marga then -> Bhakti Marga, So those who have done karma marga successfully only after that they will come to Bhakti Marga. Karma Marga -> Gyana Marga then they will come to Bhakti Marga, so if someone is at Bhakti Marga they have already transcended by inference karma and Gyana marga. Just like a person who has million dollars that means the person automatically have 5 & 10 dollars, the person doesn’t have to separately strive to acquire 5 & 10 dollars because million dollars already included 5 & 10 dollars similarly practice of Bhakti yoga is super set which includes sub set of Karma and Gyana Marga. Now as a Bhakti Sadhaka we  shouldn’t be proud, O I have already done all these rituals no we should also try to live according to principal of austerity if it is anukul to our Bhakti, and this is not matter of our pride matter of our fortune but is matter of our responsibility, if you have already done what seekers of other paths have done then we shouldn’t get allured by the things which allures other people, we should be able to stay fixed on Krishna and make spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada has given example of Haridas Thakur about śabda-brahmātivartate.

There was a famous debate between Smartha Brahmana Gopal Chakravarti and Haridas Thakur, where Srila Hari das Thakur said that pious karma cannot give liberation but just a shadow of Holy Name can give liberation and holy name gives something far greater than liberation, for chanting of holy name fruit of liberation is insignificant and he gave scriptural pramana for this and opposition parties become so upset and angry they said if this is true then let our nose fall off and if it is false then let Haridas Thakur nose fall off what happen is there nose fell off and they were disgraced so the point is actually we have to recognise that those who are chanting are special souls and we have to honour them, respect them, and then we will move forward in our spiritual life steadily śabda-brahmātivartate, spontaneously attracted and it is actually remarkable in different parts of world devotees were in different situation before starting devotional service and how they became attracted towards Krishna, this itself is a remarkable story, there are thrilling stories because we see how Sri Krishna’s mercy reaches to people in different parts of the world. People reach out to seek Krishna’s mercy in different parts of the world and it shows how śabda-brahmātivartate, helplessly attraction towards Krishna works out.

End of transcription.