Radha Krishna - Chapter 29: Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapila

(1-2) Devahûti said: 'Dear master, you described the specific characteristics of the material and personal nature of the complete reality the way they in the analytical philosophy of [Sânkhya] yoga are discussed as being the primary ones. Please elaborate now at length on the path of bhakti yoga that is considered its ultimate purpose. (3) Dear Lord, describe to me and for the people in general, the different ways in which birth and death repeat themselves, for someone may become completely detached by such a description. (4) And yes, what can You say about Eternal Time that represents the eternal and original form of the Supreme Ruler ruling over all the other rulers and under the influence of which the common people act piously? (5) You have appeared as the sun of the yoga system for the sake of the living beings whose intelligence, in their propensity for material actions, is blinded by false ego, [an attachment] because of which they without finding shelter fatigued for a long time slumber in darkness.'

(6) Maitreya said: 'Appreciating the words of His mother oh best of the Kurus, the great and gentle sage satisfied and moved by compassion said the following. (7) The Supreme Lord said: 'Devotion in the discipline of yoga that is so diverse in its appearance, knows many paths oh noble lady, [ways] proving how people follow their own course according to their natural qualities. (8) What one does out of love for Me in violence, pride and envy or being angry from a different point of view, is considered to be in the mode of ignorance. (9) He who in a different spirit worships Me with idols or is after material things, fame and opulence, is in the mode of passion. (10) He who worships Me as distinct from himself or who is of worship with offering the results of his actions or for the sake of transcendence wants to be free from fruitive actions is in goodness. (11-12) Simply hearing about My transcendental qualities continuously will result in a mind moving towards Me, the One residing in the heart of everyone, that flows the way the water of the Ganges flows towards the sea. Such a manifestation of unadulterated devotional yoga - yoga performed without ulterior motives - is devotional service to the Supreme Personality. (13) Without being of My service, pure devotees will not accept it, not even when being offered these, to live on the same planet, to have the same opulence, to be a personal associate, to have the same bodily features or to be joined in oneness [the so-called five forms of liberation of sâlokya, sârshthi, sâmîpya, sârûpya and ekatva or sâyujya]. (14) When one by means of this bhakti yoga - that one calls the highest platform - succeeds in dealing with the three modes of nature the way I explained it, one attains My transcendental nature. (15) When one performs one's duties without attachment to the results one is stronger [in one's yoga] and when one without unnecessary violence [without eating meat e.g.] is regular in the performance of one's yoga exercises one will find happiness. (16) Being in touch with the ritual of seeing, offering respect, doing mantras and being of a positive approach with My [original] form and abode, and thinking of Me as present in all living beings, one lives by the mode of goodness and detachment. (17-19) By means of sense control and proper regulation [yama and niyama, the does and don'ts of yoga *], being of the greatest respect for the great souls, being compassionate with the poor and by being friendly in association with equals; by hearing about spiritual matters, chanting My holy names, being straightforward, by association with the ones civilized and not entertaining false ego, the consciousness of a person who with these qualities is dutiful towards Me is completely purified. No doubt he by simply hearing about My excellence will reach Me without delay. (20) The way the sense of smell catches the aroma that is carried from its source by means of the air, similarly consciousness catches by means of yoga the Supreme Soul that is unchanging.

(21) A mortal human being who has no respect for Me as the Supersoul always situated in every living being, but nevertheless worships the deity, is just imitating. (22) Someone who in worship of the deity disregards Me as the Supreme Ruler and Supersoul present in all beings, is in his ignorance only offering oblations into the ashes. (23) He who offers Me his respects but is envious with others being present, lives in his campaigning against others in enmity and will never find peace of mind. (24) Oh sinless one, I am certainly not pleased when they who manage to worship Me in My deity form with all paraphernalia, are not of respect for other living beings. (25) One has to worship the idol of Me the Controller and such, for as long as one is of profit minded labor [is building karma] and not of the realization that I reside in one's heart and in the hearts of all. (26) I in the form of death, will create fear in those who with a different perspective on their physical frame discriminate between themselves and other living beings. (27) Therefore one should with charity, respect and in friendship regarding everyone as an equal, propitiate Me, the One abiding in all as the True Self.

(28) Living entities are better than inanimate objects, better than entities with life symptoms oh blessed one, are entities with a developed consciousness and better than those are they who developed their sense perception. (29) Further, those who developed their taste are better than those who [only] developed their sense of touch and better than they are those who developed their sense of smell. Even better are the ones who developed their hearing faculty. (30) Better than those are the ones distinguishing differences of form and those who have teeth in both their jaws are better than these. Those who have many legs are superior to them. Of them the four-legged creatures are the better ones while the two-legged ones [the human beings] are even better. (31) Among human beings a society with four classes is the better one and of those classes the brahmins are the best. Among the brahmins the better one is further he who knows the Vedas and the one who knows its purpose is still better [viz. to know the absolute of the truth in three phases: brahman, paramâtmâ and bhagavân]. (32) The one who puts an end to all doubts is better than he who knows what the purpose of the Vedas is and the brahmin among them who performs his duty is better than him. He who is free from worldly attachment is still better and the one who does not do his righteous duty for himself alone is the best of them all. (33) Therefore I know of no greater being than a person who with a dedicated mind has offered all of his actions, wealth and life without any reservation to Me and with persistence is of service without any other interest. (34) Such a one who regards the Supreme Lord, the Controller of the individual soul, as having entered all the living beings by His expansion in the form of the Supersoul [the Paramâtmâ], thus is mindfully of respect in regard to all. (35) Oh daughter of Manu, someone can achieve the Original Person by following either of these two paths of bhakti and mystic yoga alone that I have described. (36) This [original] form of the Supreme Lord of Brahman [the Supreme Spirit] and Paramâtmâ [the personalized local aspect] is the transcendental, ethereal personality of the primal reality [pradhâna] whose activities are all spiritual.

(37) [Natural] time known as the divine cause of the different manifestations of the living entities, constitutes the reason why all living beings live in fear who motivated by cosmic intelligence and such matters consider themselves as separated. (38) He who from within enters all the living entities, constitutes the support of everyone and annihilates [them again] by means of other living beings, is named Vishnu, the enjoyer of all sacrifices who is that time factor, the master of all masters. (39) There is no one who is specially favored by Him nor is He bound or averse to anyone; He cares for those who are attentive and of persons inattentive He is the destroyer. (40-45) He for whom out of fear the wind blows and this sun is shining, for whom out of fear Indra sends his rains and the heavenly bodies are shining; He because of whom out of fear the trees, creepers and herbs each in their own time bear flowers and produce their fruits; He afraid of whom the rivers flow and the oceans do not overflow, because of whom fire burns and earth with her mountains does not submerge; He because of whom the sky provides air to the ones who breathe and under the control of whom the universe expands its body of the complete reality [mahat-tattva] with its seven layers [**], He for whom out of fear the gods of creation and more in charge of the modes of nature within this world carry out their functions according to the yugas [see 3.11], He of whom afraid all the beings animate and inanimate find their control; that infinite, final operator of beginningless Time is the unchangeable Creator who creates people out of people and puts an end to the rule of death by means of death.'