48
yah karma-phalam karmani sanyasyati tato nirdvandvo bhavati
SYNONYMS
yah -- who; karma-phalam -- the fruit of material work; karmani -- his material activities; sanyasati -- resigns; tatah -- thus; nirdvandvah -- un-affected by dualities; bhavati -- becomes.
TRANSLATION
[Who can cross beyond illusion?] That person who renounces material duties and their profits, thus transcending duality.
PURPORT
A devotee has faith that Lord Krsna will supply his needs. But this does not mean that he becomes lazy or inactive. He works for Krsna. By dedicating all acts to the Lord, the devotee becomes free from karmic reactions. As long as one continues to work under the influence of the modes of nature, one must experience duality -- good and bad, hot and cold, rich and poor, pleasure and pain, and so on. As Lord Krsna states in Bhagavad-gita (7.27),
iccha-dvesa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bharata
sarva-bhutani sammoham sarge yanti parantapa
"O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of foes, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by dualities arisen from desire and hate." And in his purport, Prabhupada explains,
Deluded persons, symptomatically, dwell in dualities of dishonor and honor, misery and happiness, woman and man, good and bad, pleasure and pain, etc., thinking, "This is my wife; this is my house; I am the master of this house; I am the husband of this wife." These are the dualities of delusion. Those who are so deluded by dualities are completely foolish and therefore cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The delusion of duality stems from identifying the self with the body. When a person understands that he is not the body but an eternal servant of Krsna, the delusion of duality ceases for him. A devotee can break the bonds of duality even while living in the material world. When a devotee feels bodily heat or cold, pleasure or pain, he sees it in terms of the body, and he continues to perform his service without distraction. Early in the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna advises Arjuna to remain equipoised in both happiness and distress. Later, Krsna expresses His pleasure with the devotee who transcends duality: "One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things -- such a devotee is very dear to Me" (Bg. 12.17).
It should be obvious by now that bhakti is not merely pious thoughts of "love" but rather fearless action. Narada asks nothing less of the bhakta than complete surrender and complete dedication unto the will of Bhagavan. But if at any point one feels himself unable to reach the ideals taught by Narada, he is not condemned. Lord Krsna also says that if we cannot achieve the topmost surrender, then we should do what we can and try to progress gradually (see Bhagavad-gita 12.8-12). But we should be humble about our inability to fully surrender to Lord Krsna. We should not attempt to change the uncompromising teachings in order to justify our weakness. Narada and the Vaisnava acaryas are asking us to change our lives in order to become bhaktas, because that alone will make us eternally happy. The difficulties we feel in making these changes are due to our material attachments.
Lord Krsna gives a stern order in Bhagavad-gita (3.30):
mayi sarvani karmani sannyasyadhyatma-cetasa
nirasir nirmamo bhutva yudhyasva vigata-jvarah
"O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight." And Srila Prabhupada was also stern, cautioning his followers, "An easy-going life and Krsna consciousness go ill together." Maya dictates to us to take it easy and stay in the material world, but her suggestions are only a deception. She will tell us not to perform austerities in devotional service, but if we fall under her influence, we will be forced to labor and suffer in lower species of life, birth after birth. Narada is asking us to undergo a little trouble now in order to cross over the ocean of maya and be free of all suffering forever.
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
