Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

This is single most complicated verse of the BG and different Acharyas has given different commentaries, and we will try to look at some of those commentaries. 

Bg 12.12

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj
jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas
tyāgāc chāntir anantaram

Synonyms: 

śreyaḥ — better; hi — certainly; jñānam — knowledge; abhyāsāt — than practice; jñānāt — than knowledge; dhyānam — meditation; viśiṣyate — is considered better; dhyānāt — than meditation; karma–phala–tyāgaḥ — renunciation of the results of fruitive action; tyāgāt — by such renunciation; śāntiḥ — peace; anantaram — thereafter.

Translation: 

If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.

 

Śreyo, means better

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj, that better than gyana is practice

SP Purport: “If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge”

jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate, better than Gyana is Dhyana

dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas, better than Dhyana is Karma Phala Tyag

Then 

tyāgāc chāntir anantaram, by tyag one will get peace

 

So what is so complicated about this verse? We will look at the normal hierarchy in BG to understand what is problem in understanding this verse. 

Problem with this hierarchy SEEMS to makes whole previous hierarchy of BG top side down.

So what is the other hierarchy in BG Karma Yoga then Gyana then Dhyana then Bhakti, first is Sadhana Bhakti then Kevala Bhakti or Pure Devotion or Raganuga Bhakti whichever way we look at.

So normal hierarchy is Karma Phala Tyaga is part of Karma Yoga, after that when one goes beyond that one starts practicing Gyana Yoga, contemplating analysis primarily in philosophical speculative analysis, beyond that there is Dhyana, meditation generally aimed for meditation on Super Soul, above that is level of Bhakti because one is fixing mind on Krishna. In Dhyana one is trying to move towards the Parmatama.

So in Karma Phala Tyaga one basically gets detached from matter but one doesn’t have much clarity about spirituality, in Gyana one tries to get conception about Brahman reality, search for Brahman. In Dhyana one starts focusing on paramatma, and in Bhakti one starts focusing on Bhagavan, so this is the normal hierarchy. 

But what does this verse say 

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj
jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas
tyāgāc chāntir anantaram

 

So previous explanations are Karma Phala Tyaga then Gyana then Dhyana then Bhakti

But here it is telling Gyana then Dhyana (meditation better than knowledge) then Karma Phala Tyaga.

What is Abhyasa, if abhyasa is Bhakti then what is actually happening over here? So actually Bhakti should be highest and Karma Phala Tyaga should be lowest. 

SP addressed this by changing the referent. Sometime while talking I might mean about some person but the person listening may think about another person. Ambiguous reference like that. In English it is called ambiguous antecedents, antecedents means which comes before which is referred to.  E.g. If I start this BS course by saying He said he is very angry with that, then we do not understand who is this “He”? Because that is not explained. Sometimes in middle of conversation also it may be little confusing because I might be discussing about a particular person but my thought goes to someone else and since others cannot follow my thought so it become confusing. 

So SP says 12.12 refers back to 12.10 and not to 12.11

It means when Krishna is giving an Hierarchy over here Karma Phala Tyaga is referring to 12.10, mat-karma-paramo bhava so here the word Abhyasa doesn’t always refers to Bhakti only, the word Abhyasa essentially means practice, this is used many times by Krishna say in reply to Chancalam He Manah Krishna in 3.33-3.36, by practice and detachment you will be able to conquer the mind. So Abhyas in none specific word it is practice what that practice is we don’t know, it can be practice of any of the yogas discussed.

We may assume that this abhyas referred to 12.9 since abhyas is used there:

abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya

But that doesn’t make a sense which we have discussed. 

Meanings of the words are not just as per the dictionary we have to see the meaning in broader context. And words in Sanskrit are multivalent, one words can have many meaning that is true of all languages actually.

So generally we have to go with the overall message of the book. 

So here SP refers to Abhyas as Nishkam Karma Yoga, 

Then SP is saying karma-phala-tyāgas is not referring to just Tyaga of Karma Yoga it is referring to mat-karma-paramo bhava in 12.10. Then the hierarchy makes sense.

So what Sri Krishna is telling:

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj

So Gayana is better than Abhyasaj, Nis kam Karam Yoga 

jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate

Dhyana is higher than Gyana 

dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas

If karma-phala-tyāgas is referring to Karma that is referred to Krishna then definitely Bhakti is higher than Dhyana. 

And if that is the case then we have next is 

tyāgāc chāntir anantaram

Krishna has said this is 5.29 also, Jyataya Mam Shanti Rechati.

You will get Supreme Shanti.

This is the explanation from Srila Prabhupada.

Of course SP doesn’t specifically said this we have to read SP Purport repeatedly to get this understanding and also Bhurijan Prabhu mentioned this in his book surrender unto Me. 

 

Next try to understand how Srila Baladeva Vidya Bhusan resolves this:

He takes two things first is śreyo and viśiṣyate doesn’t mean higher in the hierarchy but he is saying they are easier to perform for the unqualified. 

That means they are more accessible. 

So śreyo and viśiṣyate are not from the perspective of AT because here Krishna is accommodating various level of people, so He is not talking from the point of view of absolute but the access, from the point of view of seekers. 

So here Krishna is saying:

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj
jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas
tyāgāc chāntir anantaram

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj, that better than Gyana is practice

jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate, better than Gyana is Dhyana

dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas, better than Dhyana is Karma Phala Tyag

Then 

tyāgāc chāntir anantaram, by tyag one will get peace

So if look from the point of Srila Baladev Vidya Bhusan it gets very easily with the overall message of BG.

So from the perspective of easier to perform for the unqualified 

Yes Karma Yoga is easier to perform (12.11) one who doesn’t know anything about the transcendence, one who doesn’t know about Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagvan clearly, one just understand that this material world is a place of entanglement and one wanted to get out of it for that person Karma Yoga is easiest to perform. So in that sense it is most accessible. 

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj, that better than Gyana is practice

 

The way Krishna presented BG in 2-5 chapter he talked about Karma yoga and then He DOESN’T talked about Gyana Yoga He talked about Dhyana Yoga in chapter 6 and later He talked about Gyana Yoga. So Krishna preferred Dhana Yoga for a neophyte than Gyana Yoga. 

jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate, better than Gyana is Dhyana

So the idea is one starts with detachment then one starts contemplating on Absolute Truth then one realized self-knowledge then after that when one starts practicing Bhakti the practice of remembering Krishna then one will be at a very steady level.

dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas, better than Dhyana is Karma Phala Tyag

So we see this in 7.17 and 7.18 also, in 7.16 Krishna talks about four kinds of people who approach Him, then He says in 7.17 among them the Gyanis is the best, teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta, eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate. jñānī is best among them, (Here jñānī is Bhakta, who also has the knowledge and not speculative jñānī).

So in that sense the Sadhana Bhakti that is performed after getting Gyana is very strong, if one goes that way. 

So this is how Srila Baladev Vidya Bhusan analyses this hierarchy.

So the important point Srila Baladev Vidya Bhusan has taken is śreyo and viśiṣyate doesn’t talk about from the point of what is ultimately best it talks from the perspective of what is most accessible for the seeker who does not have any spiritual qualification per say. 

Now we generally say Bhakti is the most accessible su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam, so if Bhakti is most accessible then why it is said over here that Karma Yoga is the most accessible see bhakti become accessible when there is Kripa, but every one doesn’t have Kripa or Bhakti Unmukhi Sukriti, so if that is not available then Karam Yoga is the best way to move forward.

Now we will have to become little more technical so…

Analysis of 12.8-11 Hierarchy

  1. Internal Bhakti:
  2. Smarana-atmika: Meditating on Krishna with mind (12.8)

In 12.8 there are two things

mayy eva mana ādhatsva
mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya

SP put this whole verse in one level what is that? 

Our whole inner life, inner world is offered to Krishna which is perfectly valid explanation.

Another level of looking at this is mind and intelligence are at two different levels. 

In spiritual path generally it is easier to become spiritually convenience than to become mentally purified or mentally transformed. 

If I contemplate the philosophy and analyze I can understand that sense gratification leads to misery but that itself does not mean that I will lose desire for sense gratification. I still may have the desire and I have to battle the desire. 

So once mind accept something that means we are more and less realized. If mind accept that this thing leads to misery I will not do this, that is a very steady platform for self-realization. That is what is being recommended over here that mind should become purified. 

So Smarana-atmika bhakti is mayy eva mana ādhatsva 12.8.a is considered to be higher level, i.e. meditating Krishna with mind, we remember spontaneously. Below that is Manana-atmika.

  1. Manana-atmika: Contemplating on Krishna with intelligence (12.8)

Below that is Manana-atmika.

Generally we mistake manan with mind, but the word manna is contentious contemplation, smaran is more like spontaneous recollection. So what is the difference between these two, Smarana-atmika, spontaneous recollection is when a mother sees a baby items at some other house spontaneously the thought goes to her baby. Lord Chaitanya was at that level when He see a river He will spontaneously think about Yamuna. We don’t have that so first we have to begin conscious contemplation then spontaneous recollection. 

Here someone doesn’t have the attraction for example if someone has to solve the problem of mathematics it is not that one is in love with mathematics but the person understands that for exam I have to solve this problem so let me think seriously about it, so it is conscious contemplation this is one level lower. 

But both of them are internal Bhakti. The mind is fixed the intelligence is fixed. 

  1. Abhyasa-rupa: Endeavoring to fix mind on Krishna (12.9)

12.9c & d

abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañ-jaya

By the practice of Abhyasa strive to attain Me. This is also internal Bhakti.

  1. External bhakti:
  2. Mad-arthakarma: Serving Krishna with external senses even if mind is not on him (12.10)

Mad-arthakarma that is work for Me.

e.g. flowers for Krishna, cooking for Krishna, cleaning temple so it may be that our mind in not on Krishna at that time, our mind may be running here and there but externally we engage ourselves in Devotional Service externally.  This is external Bhakti. 

III. Nishkama karma yoga offered to Krishna (12.11)

12.11 c & d

sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ
tataḥ kuru yatātmavān

sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ, give up the fruits of work.

So Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur said whole section is talking about bhakti only the chapter is Bhakti Yoga, the section before this has talked about Bhakti Yoga and the section after this has talked about Bhakti Yoga, so this section is also about Bhakti Yoga. So even if Krishna has not used the word Mam it is still understood that the word Mam is there i.e. to be offered to Krishna 

So He (Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur) analyzed that Mad-arthakarma is directly working for Krishna.

And sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ means doing whatever work as per our requirement (Occupational duty) and then offering it to Krishna.

So first is doing work of Krishna and second is doing whatever we wanted to do and then offer it to Krishna. So these are two distinct levels but it helps one to move upward towards Krishna.

Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur’s solution to the 12.12 puzzle

śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj
jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas
tyāgāc chāntir anantaram

  1. Abhyasa(12.9) < Jnana(Manana-atmika12.8)

12.12 says śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj, now according to him the word Gyana refers to Manana-atmika Bhakti 12.8

Because Gyana is generally the intellectual faculty and Dhyana involves mental faculty.

As compare to Abhyasa, Gyana is higher that means striving to fix mind on Krishna and fixing mind on Krishna.

  1. Gyana < Dhyana(Smarana-atmika12.8)

Then better than Gyana is Dhyana because one is not intellectually trying to connect to Krishna but at the level of mind spontaneously connected to Krishna and recollecting Krishna.

So Smarana-atmika is higher than Manana-atmika. 

Now in 12.12 there are two words śreyo and viśiṣyate both means Superior or better , now there are no such words in the 3rd and 4th line, there is no words like dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas viśiṣyate, So what Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur is saying there is no comparison or hierarchy but it is a relationship of causal chain so it is not that karma-phala-tyāgas is higher than dhyānāt so he is saying no from Dhyana karma-phala-tygat will come, so he says karma-phala-tygat refers to Bhava Bhakti. Why Bhava Bhakti because at that level there is no desire of Bhukti and Mukti and when someone is at Tyaga it leads to Shanti. This can be correlated with Bhukti Mukti Siddhi Kami Sakali Ashanta Krishna Bhakta Niskam Ateva Shanta

  1. Dhyana = Bhava-bhakti
  2. Bhava-bhakti —> No desire for bhukti& mukti
  3. No desire = Karma-phala-tyaga
  4. Tyaga leads to Shanti

Summary:

Abhyasa < Gyana< Dhyana leads to —> Tyaga one gets—> Shanti

So this is multiple explanations which multiple Acharyas has given.

BG is the word of God in terms of conclusion it is very clear but in terms of technicalities there are complexities. And these complexities are gloriously addressed by Acharyas and painstakingly they are explained, Acharyas have not only given their hearts to Krishna but also have used their heads to understanding Krishna’s words. Reading previous Acharya’s commentary is also hard work and devotional ecstasy.

End of transcription.