Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 Verse 5 — Bhakti Yoga
Sanskrit
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् | अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दुःखं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते ||१२-५||
Transliteration
kleśo.adhikatarasteṣāmavyaktāsaktacetasām || avyaktā hi gatirduḥkhaṃ dehavadbhiravāpyate ||12-5||
Hindi Meaning
।।12.5।। परन्तु उन अव्यक्त में आसक्त हुए चित्त वाले पुरुषों को क्लेश अधिक होता है, क्योंकि देहधारियों से अव्यक्त की गति कठिनाईपूर्वक प्राप्त की जाती है।।
English Meaning
For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.
Commentary
The group of transcendentalists who follow the path of the inconceivable, unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord are called jñāna-yogīs, and persons who are in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service to the Lord, are called bhakti-yogīs. Now, here the difference between jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga is definitely expressed. The process of jñāna-yoga, although ultimately bringing one to the same goal, is very troublesome, whereas the path of bhakti-yoga, the process of being in direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is natural for the embodied soul. The individual soul is embodied since time immemorial. It is very difficult for him to simply theoretically understand that he is not the body. Therefore, the bhakti-yogī accepts the Deity of Kṛṣṇa as worshipable because there is some bodily conception fixed in the mind, which can thus be applied. Of course, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature that worship may be saguṇa or nirguṇa – of the Supreme possessing or not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṇa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord. A crude example may be given here. We may find some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an imitation which we may find somewhere but which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form. The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful; therefore, by His incarnation as arcā-vigraha He can accept the services of the devotee, just to make it convenient for the man in conditioned life. So for a devotee there is no difficulty in approaching the Supreme immediately and directly, but for those who are following the impersonal way to spiritual realization the path is difficult. They have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme through such Vedic literatures as the Upaniṣads, and they have to learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and realize all these processes. This is not very easy for a common man. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. There is no doubt that the impersonalists are unnecessarily taking a troublesome path with the risk of not realizing the Absolute Truth at the ultimate end. But the personalist, without any risk, trouble or difficulty, approaches the Supreme Personality directly. A similar passage appears in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . It is stated there that if one ultimately has to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead (this surrendering process is called bhakti ), but instead takes the trouble to understand what is Brahman and what is not Brahman and spends his whole life in that way, the result is simply troublesome. Therefore it is advised here that one should not take up this troublesome path of self-realization, because there is uncertainty in the ultimate result. A living entity is eternally an individual soul, and if he wants to merge into the spiritual whole, he may accomplish the realization of the eternal and knowledgeable aspects of his original nature, but the blissful portion is not realized. By the grace of some devotee, such a transcendentalist, highly learned in the process of jñāna-yoga, may come to the point of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. At that time, long practice in impersonalism also becomes a source of trouble, because he cannot give up the idea. Therefore an embodied soul is always in difficulty with the unmanifest, both at the time of practice and at the time of realization. Every living soul is partially independent, and one should know for certain that this unmanifested realization is against the nature of his spiritual, blissful self. One should not take up this process. For every individual living entity the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which entails full engagement in devotional service, is the best way. If one wants to ignore this devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism. Thus the process of centering attention on the unmanifested, the inconceivable, which is beyond the approach of the senses, as already expressed in this verse, should never be encouraged at any time, especially in this age. It is not advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Hinglish Commentary
Jo transcendentalists hain jo Supreme Lord ke unmanifested aur impersonal aspect ka path follow karte hain, unhe jñāna-yogī kaha jata hai, aur jo log Kṛṣṇa consciousness me hain, Lord ki bhakti me engaged hain, unhe bhakti-yogī kehte hain. Yahan jñāna-yoga aur bhakti-yoga ke beech ka farq clearly dikhaya gaya hai. Jñāna-yoga ka process, jo ultimately same goal tak le jata hai, wo kaafi mushkil hai, jabki bhakti-yoga ka path, jo Supreme Personality of Godhead ki direct service me hai, wo asan aur embodied soul ke liye natural hai. Individual soul hamesha se embodied hai, isliye uske liye sirf theoretical level par yeh samajhna ki wo body nahi hai, kaafi mushkil hai. Isliye bhakti-yogī Kṛṣṇa ke Deity ko worshipable maante hain, kyunki unke mann me kuch bodily concept fixed hai. Temple me Supreme Lord ki form ki puja idol worship nahi hai. Vedic literature me yeh evidence hai ki worship saguṇa ya nirguṇa ho sakta hai – yaani Supreme ke attributes wale ya bina attributes ke. Temple me Deity ki puja saguṇa worship hai, kyunki Lord material qualities se represent kiye gaye hain. Lekin Lord ka form, chahe wo stone, wood ya oil paint se ho, wo asal me material nahi hai. Yeh Supreme Lord ki absolute nature hai. Ek simple example se samjhate hain: agar hum street par mailboxes dekhte hain aur unme apne letters post karte hain, toh wo asani se apne destination tak pahunchte hain. Lekin agar hum koi purani box ya imitation box use karte hain jo post office dwara authorized nahi hai, toh wo kaam nahi karegi. Waise hi, God ka authorized representation Deity form me hai, jise arcā-vigraha kaha jata hai. Yeh arcā-vigraha Supreme Lord ka incarnation hai. God apne is form ke through devotee ki service accept karte hain, taaki conditioned life me insaan ke liye yeh convenient ho. Isliye devotee ke liye Supreme se seedha aur turant approach karna mushkil nahi hai, lekin jo log impersonal way se spiritual realization ki taraf ja rahe hain, unke liye yeh path mushkil hai. Unhe Vedic literatures jaise Upaniṣads ke through unmanifested representation samajhna hota hai, language seekhni hoti hai, nonperceptual feelings ko samajhna hota hai, aur in sab processes ko realize karna hota hai. Yeh aam aadmi ke liye aasaan nahi hai. Kṛṣṇa consciousness me engaged ek vyakti, sirf bona fide spiritual master ki guidance se, Deity ko regulative obeisances offer karke, Lord ki glories sun kar, aur Lord ko offer kiye gaye foodstuffs ke remnants khake, Supreme Personality of Godhead ko bahut asani se realize kar leta hai. Koi shak nahi ki impersonalists ek troublesome path le rahe hain, jisme unhe ultimate end par Absolute Truth ko realize karne ka risk hai. Lekin personalist bina kisi risk, trouble ya difficulty ke seedha Supreme Personality ki taraf badh sakta hai. Ek similar passage Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam me bhi hai, jahan kaha gaya hai ki agar kisi ko ultimately Supreme Personality of Godhead ko surrender karna hai (yeh surrendering process bhakti hai), toh agar wo samajhne me time lagata hai ki Brahman kya hai aur kya nahi hai, toh uska jeevan sirf troublesome ho jata hai. Isliye yahan yeh advice di gayi hai ki kisi ko yeh troublesome path nahi lena chahiye, kyunki ultimate result me uncertainty hoti hai. Ek living entity hamesha ek individual soul hota hai, aur agar wo spiritual whole me merge hona chahta hai, toh wo apni original nature ke eternal aur knowledgeable aspects ko realize kar sakta hai, lekin blissful portion ko realize nahi kar sakta. Kisi devotee ki kripa se, aisa transcendentalist, jo jñāna-yoga ke process me highly learned hai, bhakti-yoga ya devotional service ki taraf aa sakta hai. Tab, impersonalism me lambi practice bhi ek source of trouble ban jati hai, kyunki wo apne idea ko chhod nahi sakta. Isliye ek embodied soul hamesha unmanifest ke sath difficulty me hota hai, chahe wo practice ke time ho ya realization ke time. Har living soul partially independent hota hai, aur yeh samajhna zaroori hai ki yeh unmanifested realization uske spiritual, blissful self ke nature ke against hai. Is process ko nahi lena chahiye. Har individual living entity ke liye Kṛṣṇa consciousness ka process, jo devotional service me full engagement ko entail karta hai, best way hai. Agar koi is devotional service ko ignore karna chahta hai, toh atheism ki taraf turn hone ka danger hota hai. Isliye unmanifested, inconceivable par focus karna, jo senses ke approach se pare hai, jaisa ki is verse me pehle bataya gaya hai, kabhi bhi encourage nahi karna chahiye, khaas karke is age me. Yeh Lord Kṛṣṇa dwara bhi advise nahi kiya gaya hai.
Chinmaya Commentary
सगुण और निर्गुण दोनों के ही उपासकों को एक ही लक्ष्य की प्राप्ति बताने के पश्चात् भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण दोनों मार्गों की तुलना करने का प्रय़त्न करते हैं जबकि वास्तव में वे अतुलनीय हैं तथा समान प्रभाव और गुण वाले हैं। भगवान् कहते हैं अव्यक्त के उपासकों को सगुणोपासकों की अपेक्षा अधिक कष्ट होता है। इस कथन को इतना ही और इसी रूप में समझने पर ऐसा प्रतीत होगा कि यह कथन न केवल सगुणोपासना का समर्थन ही करता है बल्कि निर्गुणोपासना की निश्चयात्मक रूप से निन्दा भी करता है। इस प्रकार की त्रुटिपूर्ण और पथभ्रष्टक व्याख्या गीता को उपनिषत्प्रतिपादित सनातन ज्ञान का खण्डन करने वाला शास्त्र बना देगी। भक्ति मार्ग के कुछ वाचाल समर्थक ऐसे हैं जो श्रद्धालु धर्मप्राण जनता को छलने के लिए इस श्लोकार्थ को ही उद्धृत करते हैं स्वयं भगवान् ही प्रथम पंक्ति के तात्पर्य को दूसरी पंक्ति में स्पष्ट करते हैं। अव्यक्त के उपासकों को अधिक क्लेश क्यों होता है भगवान् बताते हैं कि देहधारियों के द्वारा अव्यक्त की गति कठिनाई से प्राप्त की जाती है। इस श्लोक में परीक्षणीय शब्द है देहवद्भि अर्थात् देहधारियों के द्वारा। प्राय इस शब्द का यही वाच्यार्थ स्वीकार किया जाता है। परन्तु यदि हम इस प्रकार की व्याख्या के दूसरे स्वाभाविक पक्ष को देखें तो ऐसे अर्थ की असंगति स्पष्ट हो जायेगी। यदि सभी देहधारी मनुष्य केवल सगुणसाकार की ही उपासना कर सकते हैं तो इसका अर्थ यह होगा कि निराकार का ध्यान करना केवल देहत्याग के बाद ही संभव होगा।इसलिए श्रीशंकराचार्य इसे स्पष्ट करते हुए लिखते हैं कि देहवद्भि का अर्थ है देहाभिमानवद्भि अर्थात् देहधारी से तात्पर्य उन लोगों से है जिन्हें देहाभिमान बहुत दृढ़ है। जो देह को ही अपना स्वरूप समझते हैं वे लोग उनमें आसक्त होकर सदा विषयोपभोग का ही जीवन जीते हैं। ऐसे विषयासक्त पुरषों के लिए अनन्त निराकार और सर्वव्यापी तत्त्व का ध्यान करना प्राय असंभव होता है। जिसकी दृष्टि मन्द हो और हाथ काँपते हों ऐसे वृद्ध व्यक्ति को सुई में धागा डालने में बड़ी कठिनाई हो सकती है। इसी प्रकार जो मन और बुद्धि क्षुब्ध हैं चंचल और विषयोपभोग में लालायित रहती है ऐसे अन्तकरण से युक्त पुरुष समस्त नाम और रूपों के अतीत अनन्त आत्मवैभव को कदापि प्राप्त नहीं कर सकता। तात्पर्य यह है कि स्वयं अव्यक्तोपासना में कष्ट नहीं है वरन् देहाभिमानियों के लिए वह कष्टप्रद प्रतीत होती है।संक्षेप में बहुसंख्यक साधकों के लिए विश्व में व्यक्त भगवान् के सगुण साकार रूप का ध्यान करना अधिक सरल और लाभदायक है। यदि मनुष्य जगत् की सेवा को ही ईश्वर की पूजा समझकर करे तो शनैशनै उसकी देहासक्ति तथा विषयोपभोग की तृष्णा समाप्त हो जाती है। और मन इतना शुद्ध और सूक्ष्म हो जाता है कि फिर वह निराकार अव्यक्त और अविनाशी तत्त्व का ध्यान करने में समर्थ हो जाता है।अक्षरोपासकों के जीवनवर्तन के विषय को इसी अध्याय के अन्तिम भाग में वर्णन किया जायेगा। तथापि अब सगुण की उपासना करने वालों के लिए उपयोगी साधनाओं का वर्णन किया जा रहा है