Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 5 — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Sanskrit
श्रीभगवानुवाच | बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि जन्मानि तव चार्जुन | तान्यहं वेद सर्वाणि न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप ||४-५||
Transliteration
śrībhagavānuvāca . bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna . tānyahaṃ veda sarvāṇi na tvaṃ vettha parantapa ||4-5||
Hindi Meaning
।।4.5।। श्रीभगवान् ने कहा -- हे अर्जुन ! मेरे और तुम्हारे बहुत से जन्म हो चुके हैं, (परन्तु) हे परन्तप ! उन सबको मैं जानता हूँ और तुम नहीं जानते।।
English Meaning
The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!
Commentary
In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) we have information of many, many incarnations of the Lord. It is stated there: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is the original person – absolute, infallible, without beginning. Although expanded into unlimited forms, He is still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord are usually not understood by even the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees.” It is also stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.39): rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Kṛṣṇa], who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and many subincarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as Kṛṣṇa, and who incarnates personally also.” In the Vedas also it is said that the Lord, although one without a second, manifests Himself in innumerable forms. He is like the vaidūrya stone, which changes color yet still remains one. All those multiforms are understood by the pure, unalloyed devotees, but not by a simple study of the Vedas ( vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau ). Devotees like Arjuna are constant companions of the Lord, and whenever the Lord incarnates, the associate devotees also incarnate in order to serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is one of these devotees, and in this verse it is understood that some millions of years ago when Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god Vivasvān, Arjuna, in a different capacity, was also present. But the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord remembered the incident whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is the difference between the part-and-parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā as infallible ( acyuta ), which means that He never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore, the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gītā cannot be understood by demonic brains. Kṛṣṇa remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His sac-cid-ānanda body. He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is spirit – whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material body. And because the Lord’s body and self are identical, His position is always different from that of the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, which the Lord Himself explains in the following verse.
Hinglish Commentary
Brahma-saṁhitā mein bahut saari avataaron ke baare mein bataya gaya hai. Yahan kaha gaya hai ki main Govinda, yaani Kṛṣṇa ki pooja karta hoon, jo ki sabse pehle vyakti hain – ekdum nishchay, kabhi na bhoolne wale, bina shuruat ke. Wo anant roop mein vistarit hain, lekin wo wahi purana, sabse purana vyakti hain jo hamesha yuva dikhte hain. Aise anant, sukhmay aur gyaan se bhare roop aksar shreshth Vedic vidyaarthiyon ke samajh mein nahi aate, lekin ye hamesha shuddh bhakton ko dikhte hain. Brahma-saṁhitā mein ye bhi kaha gaya hai ki Kṛṣṇa alag-alag avataaron jaise Rāma aur Nṛsiṁha mein sthit hain, par wo asli Bhagwan hain jo khud bhi avataar lete hain. Vedas bhi kehte hain ki Bhagwan, jo ki ek hai, anek roop mein prakat hote hain. Wo ek vaidūrya patthar ki tarah hain, jo rang badalta hai lekin ek hi rehta hai. Ye anek roop sirf shuddh bhakton ko samajh aate hain, sirf Vedas ka adhyan karne se nahi. Bhakton jaise Arjuna Bhagwan ke saath hamesha rehte hain, aur jab bhi Bhagwan avataar lete hain, unke saathi bhakton ka bhi avataar hota hai taaki wo Bhagwan ki seva kar saken. Arjuna bhi in bhakton mein se ek hain, aur is shlok mein samjha jaata hai ki kuch millions saal pehle jab Bhagwan Kṛṣṇa ne Bhagavad-gītā surya-dev Vivasvān ko sunayi thi, tab Arjuna bhi ek alag roop mein wahan maujood the. Lekin Bhagwan aur Arjuna mein ye farq hai ki Bhagwan ko wo ghatna yaad hai, jabki Arjuna ko nahi. Ye farq hai Bhagwan aur jeevatma ke beech. Arjuna ko shaktishaali veer kaha gaya hai jo dushmanon ko harane ki kshamata rakhta hai, lekin wo apne pichle janmon ko yaad nahi kar sakta. Isliye, koi bhi jeev, chahe wo kitna bhi bada kyun na ho, kabhi bhi Bhagwan ke barabar nahi ho sakta. Jo Bhagwan ke saath hamesha rahte hain, wo zaroor mukti prapt vyakti hote hain, lekin wo Bhagwan ke barabar nahi ho sakte. Bhagwan ko Brahma-saṁhitā mein acyuta kaha gaya hai, matlab wo khud ko kabhi nahi bhoolte, chahe wo material sambandh mein kyun na ho. Isliye, Bhagwan aur jeevatma kabhi bhi sabhi pehluon mein barabar nahi ho sakte, chahe jeevatma Arjuna ki tarah mukti prapt hi kyu na ho. Arjuna, jo Bhagwan ka bhakt hai, kabhi kabhi Bhagwan ki prakriti ko bhool jata hai, lekin divya kripa se ek bhakt turant Bhagwan ki acyuta sthiti ko samajh leta hai, jabki non-devotee ya demon is transcendental prakriti ko nahi samajh sakte. Isliye, Gītā mein diye gaye varnan demon ke dimaag se samajh nahi aate. Kṛṣṇa ko wo kaam yaad hain jo unhone millions saal pehle kiye the, lekin Arjuna ko nahi, iske bawajood ki dono Kṛṣṇa aur Arjuna amar hain. Ek jeev apne sharir ke badalne se sab kuch bhool jata hai, lekin Bhagwan yaad rakhte hain kyunki unka sac-cid-ānanda sharir kabhi nahi badalta. Wo advaita hain, matlab unka sharir aur unki aatma mein koi farq nahi hai. Bhagwan se sambandhit sab kuch aatma hai – jabki conditioned soul apne material sharir se alag hai. Aur kyunki Bhagwan ka sharir aur unki aatma ek hi hain, unka sthal hamesha ordinary living entity se alag hota hai, chahe wo material platform par kyun na aate hain. Demons is Bhagwan ki transcendental prakriti ko samajh nahi sakte, jo Bhagwan khud agle shlok mein samjhaenge.
Chinmaya Commentary
हिन्दू शास्त्रों के आचार्य सदैव शिष्यों के मन में उठने वाली सभी संभाव्य शंकाओं का निरसन करने को तत्पर रहते हैं। हम उनमें असीम घैर्य और शिष्यों की कठिनाइयों को समझने की क्षमता के साक्षात् दर्शन कर सकते हैं। यहाँ श्रीकृष्ण अर्जुन को यह समझाने का प्रयत्न करते हैं कि किस प्रकार वे अनन्त स्वरूप हैं और सृष्टि के प्रारम्भ में कैसे उन्होंने सूर्य देवता को ब्रह्मविद्या का उपदेश दिया।पुराणों में वर्णित अवतार का सिद्धान्त इस प्रकरण में विस्तारपूर्वक बताया गया है। अनेक विदेशियों को हिन्दू दर्शन का यह प्रकरण और हिन्दुओं का अवतारवाद में विश्वास अत्यन्त भ्रामक प्रतीत हो सकता है। अनेक विद्वानों ने इस प्रकार के मत प्रगट भी किये हैं परन्तु मैक्समूलर के समान संभवत किसी ने इतनी तीब्र आलोचना नहीं की होगी। अवतार के विषय में वे कहते हैं यह आध्यात्मिक बकवास है।परन्तु यदि हम सृष्टिसम्बन्धी वेदान्त के सिद्धान्त को जानते हुये इस पर विचार करें तो अवतारवाद को समझना कठिन नहीं होगा। एक अन्य स्थान पर मनुष्य के पतन के प्रकरण में यह विस्तार पूर्वक बताया गया है कि सत्वगुणप्रधान उपाधि के माध्यम से व्यक्त होकर अनन्तस्वरूप परमार्थ सत्य ब्रह्म सर्वशक्तिमान् ईश्वर के रूप में प्रकट होता है। इसी अध्याय में आगे श्रीकृष्ण बतायेंगे कि किस प्रकार वे स्वेच्छा और पूर्ण स्वातन्त्र्य से उपाधियों को धारण करके मनुष्यों के मध्य रहते हुए कार्य करते हैं जो उनकी दृष्टि से लीलामात्र है। उन्हें कभी भी अपने दिव्य स्वरूप का विस्मरण नहीं होता।किसी एक भी प्राणी का जन्म केवल संयोग ही नहीं है। डार्विन के विकास के सिद्धान्त के अनुसार भी प्रत्येक व्यक्ति जगत में विकास की सीढी पर उन्नति करने के फलस्वरूप आया है। प्रत्येक देहधारी का जीवन उस जीव के दीर्घ आत्मचरित्र को दर्शाता है। असंख्य और विभिन्न प्रकार के शरीरों में वास करने के पश्चात् ही जीव वर्तमान विकसित स्थिति को प्राप्त करता हुआ है। प्रत्येक नवीन देह में जीव को पूर्व जन्मों का विस्मरण हो जाता है किन्तु वह पूर्व जन्मों में अर्जित वासनाओं से युक्त रहता है। परन्तु भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण की स्थिति एक जीव के समान नहीं समझनी चाहिये। वे अपनी सर्वज्ञता के कारण अर्जुन के और स्वयं के अतीत को जानते हैं अत उन्होंन्ो कहा मैं उन सबको जानता हूँ और तुम नहीं जानते।आपके लिये धर्मअधर्म के अभाव में जन्म की क्या आवश्यकता है आपका जन्म कैसे सम्भव है इसका उत्तर है