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Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 – The Perfection of Renunciation
01. Why Arjuna asked for the clarification of renunciation and the renounce order of life to Krishna?
a) Because these words were sounding different to Arjuna
b) Because he liked the renounce order of life
c) Because purpose of life is renunciation and attainment of transcendental position
d) Because this topic is subjective
02. Why is Krishna called as Hrishikesha ?
a) Because He is the master of the three worlds
b) Because He is the master of all senses
c) Because He is the master of all demigods
d) All of the above
03. Why Arjuna addresses Krishna as Keshi-nishudana?
a) Because Krishna killed the demon Keshi
b) Because Arjuna had doubts which were like demons
c) Because Arjuna wanted Krishna to clarify his doubts as Krishna killed the demon Keshi
d) All of the above
04. What is meant by the renounced order of life?
a) Giving up activities that are based on material desire
b) Giving up all activities
c) Performing severe austerities
d) Having all knowledge about the scriptures
05. What is meant by renunciation?
a) Giving up all activities
b) Giving up the results of all activities
c) Giving up desires
d) None of these
06. How many kinds of renunciation are there?
a) Thirty-two
b) Sixteen
c) Three
d) One hundred and eight
07. Is marriage ceremony considered as a sacrifice for advancing a human being to spiritual life?
a) Yes
b) No
08. Charity if given to suitable person, _________________ one’s heart.
a) Reads
b) Specifies
c) Activates
d) Purifies
09. Sacrifice, charity, penance should be performed without any expectation of _____________.
a) Work
b) Result
c) Recommendation
d) None of these
10. What among the following should be encouraged?
a) Sacrifices that purifies one’s existence
b) Everything leading to Krishna consciouness
c) Activities helping one in the discharge of devotional service to the Lord
d) All of the above
11. When is renunciation said to be in the mode of ignorance?
a) If one gives up his prescribed duties because of illusion
b) If one gives up his prescribed duties out of fear of bodily discomfort
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
12. What happens if a person renounces in the mode of passion?
a) He is always miserable
b) His consciousness advances
c) He never gets the result of renunciation
d) None of these
13. An intelligent renouncer in the mode of goodness
a) Hates inauspicious work
b) Attaches to auspicious work
c) Hates anything which troubles his body
d) None of these
14. How can one renounce the fruits of action?
a) By working for Krishna
b) By not enjoying the fruitive results himself
c) By offering everything to Krishna
d) All of these
15. What are the threefold fruits of action that accrue after death for those who are not renounced?
a) Desirable, suffering and work
b) Desirable, undesirable and mixed
c) Good, prohibition and understanding
d) None of these
16. What are the causes for the accomplishment of action?
a) Body, soul and the various senses
b) Supersoul, soul, various senses, different kinds of endeavor and willpower
c) Body, soul, various senses, different kinds of endeavor and Supersoul
d) Soul, various senses, different kinds of endeavor and Supersoul
17. How that is a person in Krishna consciousness doesn’t suffer or enjoy the reactions of work?
a) Because he acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord Krishna
b) Because his every action is dependent on the supreme will, the Supreme Lord Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
18. What requires for the complete performance of both right and wrong action?
a) Five factors of action
b) The performer
c) The presence of Supersoul
d) Knowledge about the scriptures
19. Who thinks himself to be the doer?
a) One who does not see the four material causes
b) One who does not see the Supreme
c) Both a & b
d) None of thee
20. Personal activity & responsibility arises from _____________ & _____________.
a) Consciousness, work
b) False ego, godlessness
c) Thought, endeavor
d) Action, intelligence
21. What are the impetuses for daily work?
a) Knowledge
b) The object of knowledge
c) The knower
d) All of these
22. ______________ is the center of all senses, and the object is _____________ itself.
a) Knowledge, knower
b) Mind, work
c) Inspiration, process
d) None of these
23. In accordance to what, are the kinds of knowledge, action, and the performers of action divided?
a) According to the three modes of material nature
b) According to the way of life
c) According to the knowledge one receives
d) Not divided at all
24. What is the characteristic of a person possessing knowledge in the mode of goodness?
a) He is always happy
b) He is self-satisfied
c) He sees one spirit soul in every living being
d) He receives knowledge after great austerities
25. Is consciousness temporary?
a) Yes
b) No
26. The knowledge concerned with only keeping the body comfortable, is said to be in the mode of _______________.
a) Ignorance
b) Passion
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
27. The action which is performed with great effort and false ego to gratify one’s desire is said to be action in the mode of ______________.
a) Ignorance
b) Passion
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
28. The action which is performed without future considerations, is impractical and based on violence is said to be in the mode of ________________.
a) Ignorance
b) Passion
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
29. A person who is equal to both happiness and distress is in the mode of __________________, while a person who is moved by both happiness and distress is in the mode of __________________.
a) Passion, ignorance
b) Goodness, ignorance
c) Goodness, passion
d) All of the above
30. What are the characteristics of a person who works against the injunctions of scriptures?
a) He is very materialistic
b) He is not very gentle and cheats others
c) He is very lazy and appears to be morose
d) All of the above
31. What are the characteristics of men of passionate understanding?
a) They accept irreligion as religion
b) They are misguided in all views & activities
c) They always take the wrong path
d) All of the above
32. What sort of determination is in the mode of goodness?
a) Its unbreakable
b) Its never deviated by any other activity
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
33. Which of the following can be called as determination under the mode of darkness?
a) Determination which is desirous for fruitive results
b) Determination which makes morose
c) Determination which is desirous of economic development
d) None of the above
34. What kind of persons experiences no happiness both in the beginning and at the end?
a) Persons in the mode of goodness
b) Persons in the mode of passion
c) Persons in the mode of ignorance
d) None of these
35. Who is freed from the three modes of material nature?
a) Living beings in this material world
b) Demigods in the higher planetary systems
c) Everyone
d) No-one
36. What are the qualities of a brahmana?
a) Self-control, austerity, purity, knowledge, honesty & resourcefulness
b) Self-control, austerity, purity, knowledge, wisdom, honesty & religiousness
c) Self-control, austerity, purity, knowledge, resourcefulness, determination & honesty
d) Self-control, austerity, purity, knowledge, leadership, honesty & power
37. Knowing ourselves to be the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord what is our duty towards Lord?
a) We should thank Lord
b) We should be engaged in the service of the Lord
c) We should be aware of everything
d) None of these
38. Being engaged in any occupation and serving the Lord, can one achieve the highest perfection?
a) Yes
b) No
39. On what basis should one decide his occupational duty?
a) On one’s personal gains
b) On one’s honesty
c) On one’s mode of nature
d) On one’s determination
40. Anything done for personal ________________ is a cause of bondage.
a) Decision
b) Engagement
c) Sense-gratification
d) Sacrifice
41. What should be one’s approach towards the work one is performing born out of his nature but full of faults?
a) He should discontinue that kind of work
b) He should be determined to perform his work for the satisfaction of the Lord
c) He should take steps to purify himself
d) He should search for a uncontaminated work
42. What does real renunciation means?
a) To be austere so that one is freed from the reactions of one’s past sins
b) Not enjoying the results of his work
c) Working for the Lord to enjoy the results of his work
d) Both b & c
43. Who is elevated to the position of self-realization?
a) One who controls the tongue, body & mind, gives up objects of sense-gratification, freed from attachment and hatred
b) One who is without false ego, does not accept material things
c) One who is always in trance
d) All of the above
44. What does the word “brahma-bhutah” means?
a) Being one with the Absolute
b) Living entities
c) Living entities created by Lord Brahma
d) All transcendental
45. Why one who is transcendentally situated does attains pure devotional service?
a) Because he realizes the Supreme Brahman & is joyful
b) He neither laments or desires for anything
c) He is equal to all living beings
d) All of the above
46. How a personalist will describe himself in the ocean?
a) As the river flowing into the ocean
b) As an aquatic in the ocean
c) As a ship in the ocean
d) All of the above
47. How can one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
a) By taking vedic knowledge under the guidance of an teacher
b) By becoming homogenous with the impersonal Brahman
c) By taking to pure devotional service under the guidance of a pure devotee
d) None of the above
48. The constitutional position of a living entity is to _________________.
a) Be learned
b) Serve the Lord
c) Be conscious
d) None of the above
49. The results of acting under the personal direction of Krishna when Krishna was present and acting under the guidance of the representative of Krishna when Krishna is not present, are the same?
a) Yes
b) No
50. What sort of duties among the following is considered in the devotional service of Krishna consciousness?
a) Acting for one’s own interests or gains
b) Working for the satisfaction of Krishna
c) Doing something whimsically & offering the result of that to Krishna
d) All of the above
51. A person not acting in Krishna consciousness loses himself in _________________.
a) The fight
b) The material whirlpool
c) The fear
d) The prescribed duties
52. What happens if one does not act under the direction of Supreme Lord?
a) He will work according to his own interests
b) He declines the presence of the Lord
c) He will to compelled to act by the modes of nature in which he is situated
d) None of the above
53. All the activities of living entities are directed by the __________________.
a) Supersoul
b) Mind
c) Soul
d) Senses
54. What happens if one surrenders unto the Supreme personality of Godhead?
a) One is relieved of all miseries
b) One attains the Supreme
c) One reaches the Supreme abode
d) All of the above
55. After explaining the most confidential knowledge, why does the Lord asks Arjuna to act according to his own wish?
a) Because the Lord doesn’t interfere with the little independence of the living entity
b) Because the Lord is not bothered by the decision of living entity as He being the most renounced person
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
56. What is the most confidential part of knowledge given by the Lord to Arjuna?
a) To become pure devotee of Krishna
b) To always think & act for Krishna
c) To be austere in all conditions of the life
d) Both a & b
57. What is the promise of Krishna to those who follow the confidential part of knowledge?
a) One will get all the comforts of life instantly
b) One will certainly go to the abode of Krishna
c) One’s austerity in life ends
d) One achieves victory in life
58. Why Krishna spoke this confidential part of knowledge to Arjuna?
a) As he was a kshatriya
b) As he was a noble man
c) As he was the dear friend of Krishna
d) None of the above
59. Can anyone following the path of Arjuna obtain the same perfection as Arjuna?
a) Yes
b) No
60. With ____________ & ___________ one should surrender unto Krishna.
a) Austerity, performance
b) Good performance, seriousness
c) Power, progress
d) Faith, love
61. Can anyone who is not free from all sinful reactions be freed, if he surrenders to Krishna?
a) No
b) Yes
62. Fearing to give up all religious forms and simply surrendering unto Krishna is an ______________ worry.
a) Understandable
b) Impersonal
c) Useless
d) Actual
63. To whom the confidential knowledge may not be told?
a) Those who are not austere
b) Those who are not devoted or engaged in devotional service of Krishna
c) Those who are envious of Krishna
d) All of the above
64. One who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, he is ____________ to Krishna.
a) Related
b) Dear
c) Whimsical
d) Offender
65. If Bhagavad-Gita is meant for the devotees of the Lord, then what explanation you will give for a situation when a devotee of Krishna holds an open class of Bhagavad-Gita where all are not expected to be devotees?
a) The devotee wants to tell others about his knowledge of Bhagavad-Gita
b) The devotee gives everyone a chance to become free from sinful reaction & to become a devotee of the Lord
c) The devotee wants to present himself before the audience
d) None of the above
66. Why was the Lord ready to re-explain any point or whole Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna again?
a) Because the Lord wanted to inquire if Arjuna understood the Bhagavad-Gita completely
b) As the Lord was acting as a spiritual master to Arjuna so He wanted to make sure that Arjuna’s ignorance is dispelled
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
67. What is illusion?
a) Thinking oneself to be the master of the world besides being bound by one’s lust & desires
b) Thinking oneself to be important for not one is not worth
c) Thinking oneself to be bonded
d) None of the above
68. How can one’s illusion be over?
a) By the mercy of the Lord
b) By the mercy of a pure devotee
c) Both a & b
d) By one’s own endeavor
69. What is the result, if illusion is over?
a) One becomes satisfied
b) One agrees to act in Krishna consciousness
c) One gets peace of mind
d) None of these
70. What was the effect on Arjuna after hearing Bhagavad-Gita from Krishna?
a) He became free from all illusion
b) He understood Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) He came to know the full knowledge & surrendered himself to Krishna
d) All of the above
71 Why Sanjaya addresses the conversation between Krishna & Arjuna as wonderful?
a) Because Supreme Personality of Godhead is speaking about Himself & His energies to Arjuna who is a great devotee of Lord
b) Because such a conversation never took place before & would not take place again
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
72. Is there a difference between hearing directly from Krishna & hearing directly from Krishna through a bona fide spiritual master?
a) No
b) Yes
73. What was the effect on Sanjaya after hearing Bhagavad-Gita?
a) He became a great scholar
b) He took pleasure and was thrilled & rejoicing at every moment
c) He took the renounce order of life
d) He became a great personality
74. What was Sanjaya’s opinion after hearing Bhagavad-Gita?
a) His opinion was, that Arjuna is the supreme archer
b) His opinion was, that where Krishna & Arjuna are present there is all good fortune & victory
c) His opinion was, that Arjuna is a great renunciant
d) He had no opinion to give
75. What is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita?
a) To become peaceful
b) To follow all the yoga-asana to reach the Supreme
c) To become well versed in the scriptures
d) To fully surrender unto Krishna
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | b | d | a | b | c | a | d | b | d | a | c | d | d | b | c | c | a | c | b |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Answer: | d | b | a | c | b | a | b | a | c | d | d | c | b | c | d | b | b | a | c | c |
| Question No. | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
| Answer: | b | d | d | a | d | b | c | b | a | b | b | c | a | d | c | d | b | c | a | d |
| Question No. | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | |||||
| Answer: | b | c | d | b | b | c | a | c | b | d | c | a | b | b | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 – The Divisions of Faith
01. Can one change his position to a higher mode of nature?
a) No
b) Yes
02. If every living being is the part & parcel of the Lord then why is he influenced by the modes of material nature?
a) Because he feels comfortable in that situation
b) Because only the modes of material nature are accessible to him
c) Because he forgets his relationship with the Lord
d) By doing so, he acts practically
03. When is the faith subject to contamination by any of the modes of material nature?
a) When one is depressed
b) When one’s faith is not completely in purified goodness
c) When one’s faith is tainted
d) None of these
04. Who do not worship according to the scriptures Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
a) Those who are not conversant with the scriptures
b) Those who are not faithful to the scriptures
c) Those who worship according to their mode of material nature
d) All of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |
| Answer: | b | c | b | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16 – The Divine and Demoniac Natures
01. What is the varnasrama dharma meant for?
a) To divide the society according to birth
b) To make progress in spiritual life
c) To become humble
d) All of the above
02. Why should a person in the renounced order of life be fearless?
a) Because he has to be alone without support and depend completely on the Supreme Personality of Godhead
b) Because he should tell others the qualities of fearlessness
c) Because this helps him to be austere
d) All of the above
03. What is the duty of a sannyasi?
a) Distribute knowledge to those who have forgotten their spiritual advancement
b) He should preach with logic & understanding about spiritual science
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
04. Charity should be given to ________________ person.
a) A simple
b) Any
c) A ignorant
d) The right
05. What among the following are recommended for the householders according to BG 16.1?
a) Charity
b) Sense control
c) Performance of sacrifice
d) All of the above
06. What among the following are meant for the brahmacaris according to BG 16.1?
a) Vedic study, austerity & performance of sacrifice
b) Vedic study, austerity & simplicity
c) Vedic study,& simplicity
d) Austerity & simplicity
07. Simplicity is the quality for _____________________ asrama.
a) Brahmacari & sannyasa
b) Brahmacari, sannyasa & vanaprastha
c) Brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprastha & sannyasa
d) None of the above
08. What is real ahimsa?
a) Not killing any living entity
b) Not checking anyone’s progressive life
c) Being calm & quiet
d) All of the above
09. Anger is a product of _____________________.
a) Provocation
b) Pollution & conditioning
c) Lust
d) Mode of passion & lust
10. How many qualities are described in BG 16.1-16.3, gradually developing which, one can rise to transcendental realizations?
a) Twenty-six
b) Twenty
c) Sixteen
d) Thirty-two
11. What are the qualities of a demoniac person?
a) Ignorance, harshness, anger & arrogance
b) Ignorance, harshness, conceit, anger & pride
c) Ignorance, harshness, conceit, anger, arrogance & pride
d) Ignorance, harshness, conceit, demanding, anger & arrogance
12. Why Arjuna’s fight against the kauravas is not considered as demoniac?
a) Being a kshatriya, fighting with the enemy is transcendental
b) He did not have any demoniac qualities
c) Neither a or b
d) Both a and b
13. Both the demigods and demons are born of __________________.
a) Brahma
b) Prajapati
c) Yoga-maya
d) Themselves
14. Which is the law of the human race?
a) Manu-samhita
b) Brahma-samhita
c) Both a & b
d) Neither a nor b
15. The demons do not follow rules for _________________ cleanliness
a) Internal
b) External
c) Both a & b
d) Neither a nor b
16. What interpretation do demons have regarding the creation of the world?
a) The material manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions
b) There is no cause other than the material nature being the origin of this manifestation
c) They do not accept God as the creator of this world, but rather everyone has their own theory of creation
d) All of the above
17. According to BG 16.9, are the atomic or nuclear weapons meant for peace and prosperity of the world?
a) No
b) Yes
18. What are the unclean habits of demoniac people?
a) Wine, women, gambling & meat eating
b) Creating their own hymns & chant accordingly
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
19. What is the ultimate goal of life for the demoniac people?
a) Serving humanity
b) Serving the Lord
c) Sense enjoyment
d) Serving impersonalism
20. __________________ is observing the activities of the individual soul.
a) Brahma
b) Brahman
c) Spiritual spark
d) Supersoul
21. What forces a person to fall down to hell?
a) Being illusioned
b) Too much attachment for sense gratification
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
22. Disregard for the rules and regulations of the scriptures are due to __________________.
a) Illusion & ignorance
b) Illusion
c) Ignorance
d) None of these
23. Why is a demoniac person envious of the scriptures & the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
a) Because of his prestige
b) Because of his wealth
c) Because of his strength
d) All of the above
24. What is the cause of so many species of life in the material existence?
a) It indicates the Supremacy of the Lord
b) So that the living entity gets a particular kind of body according to his own choice in which he can fulfill his desires
c) Its accidental
d) None of these
25. The placing of demons in the lowest species of life is a kind of _______________ of the Supreme Lord.
a) Incarnation
b) Mercy
c) Advertisement
d) Hatred
26. What one has to give up so that one does not fall to demoniac life?
a) Lust, anger & greed
b) Lust , anger & pride
c) Anger, pride & material austerity
d) Anger, greed & material austerity
27. Self realization is ___________________ in devotional service.
a) Called
b) Succeeded
c) Perfected
d) Instructed
28. A person who knowingly violates the rules and regulations of the scriptures acts in ________________.
a) Pride
b) Lust
c) Happiness
d) Irrelevant knowledge
29. What can’t be attained by discarding the scriptural injunctions?
a) The Supreme Lord
b) Happiness
c) Perfection
d) All of the above
30. Are the scriptures above the four principal defects that are in the conditioned soul?
a) Yes
b) No
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | b | a | c | d | d | b | c | b | d | a | c | d | b | a | c | d | a | c | c | d |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 39 | 30 | ||||||||||
| Answer: | c | a | d | b | b | a | c | b | d | a |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15 – The Yoga of the Supreme Person
01. What is the purpose of the vedic study?
a) To become humble
b) To understand Krishna
c) To develop love for everyone
d) To gain knowledge
02. What is compared as the leaves of the banyan tree in BG 15.1?
a) Entanglement in the material world
b) Fruitive activities
c) Vedic hymns
d) All of the above
03. What is the basic principle of devotional service?
a) Detachment from material activities
b) Attachment to service to the Lord
c) Both a & b
d) None of the above
04. How does the root of this banyan tree grow?
a) Upwards
b) Downwards
c) Both ways
d) None of the way
05. What is the effect of knowing this banyan tree?
a) One comes to know about the Vedas
b) One can get out of this material existence
c) Attachment to this tree leads to the impossibility of liberation
d) All of the above
6. From where does this tree get its nourishment?
a) From the lower parts of the tree
b) From the three modes of material nature
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
07. The twigs of this banyan tree are considered to be ___________________.
a) Different modes of nature
b) Enjoyment
c) The sense objects
d) All of the above
08. What are tendencies to piety & impiety considered as?
a) Fruitive activities for promotion
b) Field of activities
c) Virtuous activities
d) Secondary roots spreading in all directions
09. This planet of human beings is considered the ___________________.
a) Fruitive activities for promotion
b) Field of activities
c) Virtuous activities
d) Secondary roots spreading in all directions
10. Can anyone see the beginning of this tree?
a) Yes
b) No
11. With ___________ should one cut off this tree with the weapon of _____________.
a) Determination, detachment
b) Personality, determination
c) Connection, science
d) Knowledge, reality
12. What one must do to get out of the entanglement of this strong banyan tree?
a) Gain knowledge about self
b) Become religious
c) Surrender to Krishna
d) None of the above
13. Pride is due to ________________.
a) Happiness
b) Duality
c) Knowledge
d) Illusion
14. In Goloka Vrndavana all the planets are _____________________.
a) Bright
b) Self-luminous
c) Perverted
d) Conditional
15. What is enjoyed by a living entity after reaching the abode of Sri Krishna?
a) Eternal bliss
b) Eternal life
c) Full knowledge
d) All of the above
16. How can one reach the supreme abode of Sri Krishna from this material world?
a) By taking the process of Krishna consciousness
b) Associate with devotees
c) By surrendering oneself to Krishna
d) All of the above
17. The spiritual world is full of ___________ opulences.
a) Sixteen
b) Twenty
c) Six
d) Twenty-eight
18. What are the primary expansions of Supreme Lord called as?
a) Visnu-tattva
b) Brahma
c) Living entities
d) All of the above
19. By the use or misuse of which quality does one become liberated or conditioned?
a) Embodiment
b) Independence
c) Knowledge
d) Austerity
20. The conditioned soul is covered by the ________________.
a) Material body & senses
b) Mind
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
21. As the living entities are the fragmental parts & parcels of the Supreme Lord, then does it mean that the fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord is like some material broken part?
a) Yes
b) No
22. Why is the living entity called as the Lord of the body?
a) Because the body belongs to him
b) Because the body works according to his need
c) Because of the minute independence available to him, he can change his body to a higher or lower grade
d) All of the above
23. What is carried in the process of transmigrating from one body to another?
a) Subtle body
b) Fate
c) Struggle
d) None of the above
24. Who can understand that how the living entity’s body is changing & how he quits the body?
a) Those who are self-realized
b) Those who developed spiritual knowledge
c) Both a & b
d) Those who are suffering
25. What are the thoughts regarding sun, moon and fire that provoke to Krishna consciousness in the conditioned soul?
a) Without their presence no living entity can live
b) They are pleasing to the living entity
c) They all emanate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and without His mercy they can’t live
d) None of these
26. The fire in the stomach is the _________________ of the Supreme personality of Godhead.
a) Cause
b) Representative
c) Digestion
d) Fist
27. Supreme Personality of Godhead is the digestive force for how many kinds of foodstuff?
a) Fifteen
b) Twenty-two
c) Sixteen
d) Four
28. From whom remembrance, knowledge & forgetfulness comes?
a) Within
b) Vedas
c) Supreme Personality of Godhead
d) The results of one’s own karma
29. Krishna in His incarnation as ____________________ is the complier of the Vedanta-sutra.
a) Brahma
b) Vyasadeva
c) Prajapatis
d) All of the above
30. What is the ultimate goal of the Vedas?
a) Austerities
b) Getting involved in yogic processes
c) Develop intelligence
d) Supreme Personality of Godhead
31. For what reason one does undergo changes in the body?
a) Due to one’s own will
b) Due to contact with matter
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
32. What does oneness with the Supreme Personality of Godhead mean?
a) Supreme personality of Godhead and the living entities are the same
b) Having no individuality
c) Everyone’s individuality being innumerably divided
d) There is no disunity between Supreme personality of Godhead and the living entities
33. Living entity cannot surpass in quantity the ____________________ of the Lord.
a) Inconceivable potencies
b) Service
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
34. Who is the knower of everything?
a) One who can chant the Vedic hymns
b) One who offers his/her obeisances to the Lord
c) One who knows Krishna as the Supreme personality of Godhead & engages himself/herself in His service
d) All of the above
35. Devotional service to the Lord and the Lord Himself are ____________________.
a) Different
b) Natural
c) Bright
d) One and the same
36. By engaging in the devotional service of the Lord one is freed of all ___________________.
a) Contamination
b) Sinful activities
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
37. What are the weaknesses of the heart?
a) Desire to lord over the material nature
b) Becoming attached to matter & its possessions
c) Both a & b
d) Material existence
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | b | c | c | a | d | b | c | d | b | b | a | c | d | b | d | d | c | a | b | c |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | |||
| Answer: | b | c | a | b | c | b | d | c | b | d | b | d | a | c | d | c | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 – The Three Modes of Material Nature
01. Who is not affected either by the creation or the destruction of the material world?
a) One who is perfect
b) One who has develops spiritual qualities
c) One who is intelligent
d) One who is brave
02. Who among the following, even after liberation doesn’t lose their individuality?
a) Perfectionists
b) Impersonalists
c) Devotees
d) All of the above
03. _____________________ is the total cause of the total cosmic manifestation.
a) Brahman
b) Spirit soul
c) Both a & b
d) Mahat-tattva
04. What makes possible for the births of all living beings?
a) When the spirit soul desires to change body
b) When all the twenty-four elements combine together
c) When the Supreme Personality of Godhead impregnates Brahman
d) None of these
05. If Krishna is the same seed giving father for all entities, then why do different forms of life come during creation?
a) Because of their past deeds
b) Because Brahma designed them so
c) To have a wide range of species
d) None of the above
06. How a living entity in the mode of goodness does become conditioned?
a) Thinking that he is advanced in knowledge
b) Thinking that he is better than others
c) Thinking that he is happiest of all
d) All of the above
07. What makes a living entity in the mode of passion to get bound to material fruitive actions?
a) His austerities for maintaining life
b) His unlimited desires and longings
c) His civilization
d) None of the above
08. What are the symptoms of a person in the mode of ignorance?
a) Madness
b) Laziness
c) Excessive sleeping
d) All of the above
09. Can a particular mode dominate over the other two?
a) Yes
b) No
10. A devotee is situated in _________________.
a) Mode of ignorance
b) Mode of passion
c) Pure goodness
d) Mode of goodness
11. What are the symptoms of all the gates of the body in the mode of goodness?
a) Happiness
b) Illumination by knowledge
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
12. Which of the following are manifested in the mode of ignorance?
a) Darkness & illusion
b) Madness & darkness
c) Madness & inactivity
d) Both a & c
13. Which of the following according to BG 14.14 means pure?
a) Sattve
b) Amalan
c) Tadottma
d) None of these
14. What happens if one dies in the mode of ignorance?
a) He takes birth as human being again
b) He takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities
c) He takes birth in the animal kingdom
d) None of these
15. Slaughtering animals is due to the mode of ________________.
a) Ignorance
b) Passion
c) Goodness
d) All of the above
16. Is there any possibility for peace & happiness all over the world if only a certain percentage of population are Krishna conscious?
a) Yes
b) No
17. How can a person in the mode of passion or ignorance rise to the level of the mode of goodness?
a) Being austere
b) Being kind to others
c) Being a good listener
d) Being Krishna conscious
18. Why is the living entity forced to perform different activities?
a) As he wants it that way
b) Because doing so, he is relieved of his sufferings
c) Because he is in a particular type of body governed by some particular mode of material nature
d) All of these
19. How can one be freed from the influence of the modes of material nature?
a) By chanting the vedic hymns
b) By practicing devotional service in Krishna consciousness
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Answer: | b | c | d | c | a | d | b | d | a | c | c | d | b | c | a | a | d | c | b |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 – Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness
01. What is the field of activity for the conditioned soul?
a) Capacity
b) Body
c) Heart
d) None of these
02. Are the actual field of activities and knower of the field of activities different?
a) Yes
b) No
03. What is perfect knowledge in Krishna’s opinion?
a) Perfect knowledge of the constitution of the body, soul & Supersoul
b) Understanding the soul & Supersoul as one and yet distinct
c) Understanding the nature, the enjoyer of the nature, and the Supreme controller
d) All of the above
04. Krishna being the highest in the knowledge of the field of activities, why He explains it referring to the Vedanta-sutra?
a) Because He likes it
b) Because Arjuna learned all his teachings from Vedanta-sutra
c) Because Vedanta-sutra are accepted as authority
d) All of the above
05. There are _____________ stages of Brahman realization.
a) Three
b) Ten
c) Eight
d) Five
06. Which of the following involve the fields of activities of living entities?
a) Vijnana-maya & ananda-maya
b) Anna-maya, prana-maya, jnana-maya
c) Prana-maya & jnana-maya
d) Anna-maya, prana-maya, jnana-maya & vijnana-maya
07. How many elements are there in the field of activity?
a) Five
b) Eight
c) Twenty-four
d) Thirty-two
08. Are subtle elements also included in the field of activity?
a) No
b) Yes
09. Consciousness is represented by ________________.
a) Intelligence
b) Material nature
c) Proprietorship
d) None of these
10. What does “unmanifested stage” in BG 14.6 mean?
a) Interactions
b) Symptoms
c) Elements
d) The three modes of material nature
11. Even for one who takes to devotional service the principle of accepting ____________________ is essential.
a) Knowledge
b) A spiritual master
c) Regulation in life
d) None of the above
12. How does a man in perfect knowledge follows humility?
a) He is not affected either by honor or dishonor.
b) He honestly listens to others
c) He doesn’t reply back to anyone
d) None of these
13. What does nonviolence mean?
a) To not put others into distress
b) To distribute real knowledge to the people to enlighten them
c) Both a & b
d) Neither of these
14. Why tolerance should be practiced?
a) To win over others
b) To advance in spiritual knowledge
c) To get out of danger
d) To free oneself
15. How the regulative principles become easy for one?
a) By sincerely following them
b) By regulating all the bad habits
c) By practicing dishonor
d) By serving the spiritual master without reservation
16. Simplicity means__________________.
a) Without diplomacy
b) Being straight-forward
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
17. How many kind of cleanliness are there?
a) Four
b) Three
c) Two
d) One
18. Which is the most uncontrollable sense?
a) Tongue
b) Eyes
c) Ear & nose
d) Touch
19. Is both false & real ego condemned?
a) Yes
b) No
20. How can one make his home pleasant?
a) Chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra
b) Accepting the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Krishna
c) Discussing on books like BG & SB and engaging in Deity worship
d) All of the above
21. According to BG, research by philosophical discretion should be on __________________.
a) Science
b) Beginning of the Universe
c) Nature of the soul
d) Speculative function
22. What is the last stage in perfection of knowledge?
a) Tolerance
b) Detachment
c) Renunciation of the objects of sense gratification
d) Realization of the Supreme Truth
23. Individual soul is ____________________.
a) Vijnana-brahma
b) Ananda-brahma
c) Anadi-brahma
d) All of these
24. Is the Supersoul all pervading?
a) No
b) Yes
25. How will you explain the fact that the Supersoul is without senses?
a) His senses are transcendental
b) His senses are not contaminated by material nature
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
26. Why can’t we see the Supreme Lord who is always transcendental?
a) Because Supreme Lord doesn’t want to reveal His form
b) Because Supreme Lord doesn’t have any form
c) Because we will not be benefited by seeing such form of the Lord
d) Because we have materially contaminated senses
27. Supreme Lord is present in ______________________.
a) Spiritual world
b) Material world
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
28. As the Supersoul is present in everyone’s heart, then does it mean that He has become divided?
a) Yes
b) No
29. What covers the Lord’s spiritual effulgence in the material world?
a) Illumination of planets
b) Knowledge
c) Universal effulgence
d) Material elements
30. What includes the science of knowledge?
a) The knower
b) The knowable
c) The process of knowing
d) All of these
31. ___________________ is the field of activity which is composed of material nature, & ______________ is embodied in it.
a) Body, individual soul
b) Material manifestation, energy
c) Universal creation, illumination
d) None of these
32. Do both the living entities & the material nature exist before the manifestation of this cosmos?
a) Yes
b) No
33. Who is the cause of all material activities and effects?
a) Living entity
b) Material nature
c) Enjoyment
d) All of these
34. __________________ are instruments for gratifying desire.
a) Different manifestations
b) Different species
c) Senses
d) None of these
35. Why does the living entity transmigrates form one body to another?
a) Due to his attachment to material existence
b) Due to his desire of lording over material nature
c) Due to association with the different modes of nature
d) All of the above
36. Is the Supersoul present as finite enjoyer in the living entity?
a) Yes
b) No
37. What makes the living entity reject the sanction of the Supreme Lord?
a) His minute independence
b) His rebellious nature
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
38. How can the living entity attain a blissful eternal life of knowledge?
a) By understanding material nature, Supersoul and individual soul and their relation
b) By associating with saintly persons
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
39. One who understands the Supreme Personality of Godhead by cultivation of knowledge can be counted in the ________________ class.
a) First
b) Second
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
40. Is it possible for a person, who is not conversant in spiritual knowledge, but just faithfully hearing from the authoritative persons about the Supreme personality of Godhead, transcend the path of birth and death?
a) Yes
b) No
41. Anything created in this existence, is only a combination of ___________ & ____________.
a) Moving, unmoving
b) Touch , its results
c) Material nature, living entity
d) Supreme controller, eternity
42. Who actually sees according to BG 13.18?
a) One who has proper vision
b) One who understands that Supersoul is master of the body
c) One who understands that both the Supersoul & individual soul are not destroyed
d) None of these
43. According to BG 13.29 who advances to the spiritual world?
a) One who performs severe austerities
b) One who sees the presence of Supreme personality of Godhead everywhere
c) One who performs the mystic yogic activities
d) One who has faith in himself
44. Present body of a living entity is given according to his past _________________.
a) Circumstances
b) Development
c) Desires
d) Senses
45. Soul is _____________________.
a) Transcendental
b) Eternal
c) Beyond the modes of nature
d) All of the above
46. Does the soul mix with the body?
a) No
b) Yes
47. Is it necessary to know the difference between the body and the owner of the body?
a) No
b) Yes
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | b | a | d | c | d | b | c | b | a | d | b | a | c | b | d | c | c | a | b | d |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Answer: | c | d | a | b | c | d | c | b | d | d | a | a | b | c | d | b | a | c | b | a |
| Question No. | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | |||||||||||||
| Answer: | c | c | b | c | d | a | b |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 – Devotional Service
01. In how many classes are transcendentalists divided?
a) Two
b) Four
c) Ten
d) Fourteen
02. According to Lord Krishna who is the more perfect?
a) One who is worshiping the impersonal Brahman
b) One who is engaged in devotional service
c) One who in yogic meditation
d) All of these
03. Is there any penance involved before one surrenders to Krishna?
a) Yes
b) No
04. Which one of the following is easier for the embodied soul?
a) Jnana-yoga
b) Karma-yoga
c) Bhakti-yoga
d) All of these
05. Arca-vigraha is a/an _________________ of the Supreme Lord.
a) Service
b) Incarnation
c) Realization
d) None of the above
06. Who has to become experienced in order to transfer himself to the spiritual sky?
a) Yogi
b) Jnani
c) Karmi
d) Pure devotee
07. A devotee does not live on ___________________.
a) The impersonal position
b) The intelligence
c) The material plane
d) None of the above
08. How many different processes of Bhakti-yoga are indicated in BG 12.9?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
d) Four
09. Practice of bhakti-yoga, _____________ will surely bring one to the stage of love of God.
a) Under the rules and regulations
b) With the directions of a spiritual master
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Can a person, who cannot sacrifice the results of his activities, but sacrifices some percentage to propagate krishna consciousness, reach the stage of perfection?
a) Yes
b) No
11. What can be done, if there are impediments to accepting Krishna consciousness?
a) One should perform severe austerities
b) One should be faithful
c) One should try to give up the results of his actions
d) None of the above
12. Which of the following comes under the indirect path of devotional service?
a) Meditation
b) Knowledge & renunciation
c) Realization of Supersoul & Brahman
d) All of these
13. Why the indirect path of devotional service is not recommended for Arjuna?
a) Because he was a statesman
b) Because he was very much disturbed by the results of the war
c) Because he is already in the stage of loving devotional service to Krishna
d) None of the above
14. A pure devotee takes the distress and disturbance as ____________________.
a) A regulative principle
b) The Lord’s mercy
c) A consciousness
d) A service
15. A devotee is pure _________________.
a) Form of the Lord
b) Inwardly
c) Outwardly
d) Both b & c
16. What is meant by saying that “a devotee is silent”?
a) He doesn’t speak anything nonsense
b) He doesn’t speak
c) He keeps his mind always fixed in the Lord
d) He doesn’t speak while mediation
17. A devotee is fixed in his ____________ & ____________.
a) Determination
b) Knowledge
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
18. How a devotee has good qualities?
a) Because of his endeavor
b) Because of his engagement in devotional service
c) Because of his qualifications
d) Because of his conditions
19. The best of all spiritual realization is ___________.
a) Yogic practice
b) Performing severe austerities
c) Devotional service
d) All of the above
20. How does one develop attachment for pure devotional service?
a) Through good association
b) Accepting a bona fide spiritual master
c) Hearing, chanting & observing regulative principles of devotional service
d) All of the above
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | a | b | a | c | b | d | c | b | c | a | c | d | c | b | d | a | c | b | c | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11 – The Universal Form
01. What made Arjuna’s illusion to be dispelled?
a) By accepting Krishna as the source of everything
b) By hearing the instruction on confidential spiritual matters by Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
02. Is Arjuna convinced of the fact that in spite of being Krishna the source of everything, He is aloof from them?
a) Yes
b) No
03. Why Arjuna desired to see the universal form of the Lord?
a) Because of his personal desire for confirmation
b) To convince others of Krishna’s divinity
c) To satisfy the Lord
d) None of these
04. To whom does Krishna reveal Himself?
a) One who is very perfect in yogic performances
b) One who fully surrenders in krishna consciousness
c) One who engages in devotional service
d) Both b & c
05. Is the universal form of Krishna, eternally situated in the spiritual sky?
a) Yes
b) No
06. To see the universal form of Krishna, Arjuna is told to change his ________________.
a) Vision
b) Mind
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
07. Devotees correctly situated in transcendental relationship with Krishna are attracted by _____________.
a) The loving features of Krishna
b) Universal form of Krishna
c) Doing proper yogic penances
d) None of these
08. Because of ____________________, Arjuna could see the universal form of the Lord sitting at one place.
a) Arjuna’s family lineage
b) Pandava’s piety
c) Krishna’s inconceivable potency
d) Being a great warrior
09. How could Sanjaya explain the Universal form of the Lord to Dhrtarastra?
a) He described it in an imaginable way as far as he could
b) He didn’t feel the need to tell about this form of the Lord to the king
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Could anyone else, other than Krishna and Arjuna understand about the Universal form of the Lord in the battlefield?
a) Yes
b) No
11. Why Arjuna offered his obeisances with great respect to Krishna?
a) Because he was meditating on Krishna in the battlefield
b) Because Krishna drove his chariot
c) Because he saw the Universal form of Krishna
d) None of these
12. Which of the following celestial serpent did Arjuna saw, upon which Garbhodakshayi Vishnu lying?
a) Kaliya
b) Vasuki
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
13. Why Arjuna repeats the glories of Krishna again and again, upon seeing the Universal form?
a) He does so, to honor Krishna
b) Because he was bewildered
c) Because he was in wonder
d) Both b & c
14. What was Arjuna’s reaction upon seeing the Universal form of the Lord?
a) He was very happy & satisfied
b) He was bewildered & afraid
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
15. Arjuna saw the leaders of the opposite party being _______________ in the Universal form of the Lord.
a) Annihilated
b) Fighting
c) Sleeping
d) None of these
16. Does the Supreme Truth destroy everything, including Brahma also?
a) Yes
b) No
17. What does “savya-sacin” refers to in BG 11.33?
a) Refers to one who is very intelligent in the field
b) Refers to one who is very strong physically
c) Refers to one who can shoot arrows very expertly in the field
d) Refers to one who is conscious of his acts in the field
18. Battle of Kuruksetra was fought according to ____________.
a) The kaurvas
b) The pandavas
c) The state leaders of Hastinapur
d) The plan of the Lord
19. Why Krishna gives credit to His devotees who carry out His plans according to His desires?
a) Because He is kind
b) Because He is merciful
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
20. In the outer space, the demigods took pleasure in the universal form of the Lord whereas the demons fled. Why this kind of Krishna’s treatment to the demigods & demons praised by Arjuna?
a) Because Arjuna was in relation to Krishna
b) Because Arjuna was a devotee
c) Because Arjuna knew that whatever the Lord does is right
d) Both b & c
21. Arjuna addresses Krishna as mahatma. This means ____________________.
a) Transcendental
b) Great
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
22. Does the Brahman effulgence also rest on the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna?
a) Yes
b) No
23. Why Arjuna addressed the Lord as the grandfather?
a) Because Krishna was 126 yrs. old when he spoke BG
b) Because Arjuna was in relation to Krishna
c) Because Krishna is the father of Brahma, the first living creature in the universe
d) None of these
24. Why Arjuna asks for forgiveness to Krishna for his informal behavior towards Him?
a) Because Arjuna found it safe to ask for forgiveness to Krishna
b) Because the universal form of Krishna, showed Arjuna that, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
25. Why is Krishna addressed as the spiritual master by Arjuna?
a) Because He gave spiritual advice to Arjuna
b) Because Drona was a disciple of Krishna
c) Because Krishna wanted Him to be addressed as the spiritual master
d) Because he gave the vedic instructions to Brahma & to Arjuna also in the battlefield
26. Krishna & Arjuna are related as ____________________.
a) Master & servant
b) Father & son
c) Friends
d) None of these
27. Why Arjuna asks to Krishna, to show the His Narayana form, after seeing the universal form of the Lord?
a) Because he knew that Krishna can assume any form
b) Because he is afraid of the offense committed by him to Krishna after watching the universal form
c) Because Narayana form is one & the same to Krishna
d) All of the above
28. The universal form of Krishna was manifested by Krishna through His _____________.
a) Internal potency
b) Thoughts
c) Devotees
d) Speculation
29. Was the universal form of the Lord known to anyone before Arjuna?
a) Yes
b) No
30. Who can see the universal form of the Lord?
a) Anyone
b) Great yogis
c) Pure devotee
d) All of the above
31. Why a devotee is not interested in the universal form of the Lord?
a) Because its not beautiful
b) Because its doesn’t enable one to have loving relations with the Lord
c) Because its unlawful
d) None of these
32. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is originally ____________________.
a) Two-handed
b) Four-handed
c) Universal
d) None of the above
33. Which is more difficult to understand?
a) Universal form of the Lord
b) Four-handed form of the Lord
c) Two-handed form of the Lord
d) None of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | a | b | d | b | a | a | c | a | b | c | b | d | b | a | a | c | d | c | d |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | |||||||
| Answer: | b | a | c | b | d | c | d | a | b | c | b | a | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10 – The Opulence of the Absolute
01. Who is the source of demigods and great sages?
a) Lord Brahma
b) Lord Siva
c) Lord Krishna
d) All of these
02. Krishna appeared _____________________ first, to Devaki and Vasudeva.
a) In His original form
b) As a ordinary child
c) Ecstatically
d) None of these
03. How can freedom from doubt and delusion be achieved?
a) Being not hesitant
b) Understanding transcendental philosophy
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
04. Fear is due to ______________________.
a) Nature
b) Worrying about the future
c) Birth
d) None of these
05. Are penance & austerity required in Krishna consciousness?
a) Yes
b) No
06. Who develops all the good qualities?
a) One who is very knowledgeable
b) One who is a great yogi
c) One who is very sober
d) One who engages in the devotional service of the Lord
07. How many great sages are known as the patriarchs of the living entities all over the world?
a) Seven
b) Four
c) Fourteen
d) Twenty-five
08. What is the effect of knowing the greatness of Krishna?
a) One gains knowledge about Him
b) One becomes fixed in devotional service
c) One becomes a mystic
d) None of these
09. Krishna is the source of ____________ world.
a) Spiritual
b) Material
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Realized souls in Krishna consciousness derive satisfaction, pleasure and bliss by ______________.
a) Hearing transcendental literatures
b) Conversing about Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
11. What is buddhi-yoga?
a) Acting intelligently
b) Taking Krishna consciousness in devotional service
c) Intelligence in mystic activities
d) None of these
12. How does Krishna reciprocates to one who is engaged in devotional service properly, but is not intelligent?
a) By giving him instructions from within to come to Him without difficulty
b) By giving him a chance to progress and ultimately attaining Him
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
13. A devotee sincere in Krishna consciousness ________________ be without knowledge.
a) May
b) Can
c) Cannot
d) None of these
14. What made Arjuna to conclude that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, The Supreme origin & the cause of all causes?
a) Vedic literatures confirm that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
b) Great sages proclaim that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) Krishna Himself declared that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
d) All of these
15. Which process is recommended for understanding Bhagavad-Gita?
a) Academic education
b) Acceptance of disciplic succession
c) Academic education taught through great scholars
d) None of these
16. How the truth about Krishna is by Arjuna?
a) Arjuna addresses Krishna as the father of all living entities & the supreme controller of everyone
b) Arjuna addresses Krishna as the Lord of all demigods & the supreme proprietor of everything
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
17. Why Arjuna asked Krishna, for the explanation of Krishna’s all pervading nature?
a) Because Arjuna had some doubts in his mind
b) So that, in the future, people will understand Krishna
c) Because he wanted to satisfy his guru
d) None of these
18. Why the materialists cannot understand Krishna spiritually?
a) Because they are guarded by yoga-maya
b) Because they meditate on spirit
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
19. Why is hearing and reading about the Lord and His pastimes are forever fresh and not tiring?
a) Because its transcendental
b) Because its divine
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
20. Why the devotees want to understand Krishna, although one is not able to?
a) So that, at some point of time they will be able to know Krishna fully
b) Because, hearing about Krishna appear to be nectar to them
c) So that, their senses will not be imperfect
d) Because, they are compassionate to the conditioned souls
21. Why Krishna agrees to tell only His principal manifestations and not all?
a) Because He is not interested in disclosing His details
b) Because the living entities do not understand the extent of His opulences
c) Because Krishna’s features are unlimited
d) Both b & c
22. Why the address by Krishna to Arjuna as “Gudakesha” is significant?
a) Because Arjuna has conquered the darkness of sleep
b) Because Arjuna is the best of the Kurus
c) Because Arjuna is always victorious
d) None of these
23. The sun is considered to be which part of the Supreme Lord’s body?
a) Brain
b) Head
c) Eye
d) All of these
24. Who is the controlling deity of the heavenly spaces?
a) Varuna
b) Marichi
c) Indra
d) None of these
25. Can consciousness be produced by a combination of matter?
a) No
b) Yes
26. Of all the _________ Rudras, Krishna is Shiva.
a) 9
b) 7
c) 12
d) 11
27. Of all the mountains, Krishna is ____________.
a) Himalaya
b) Meru
c) Kailash
d) None of these
28. Who is the chief of all priests?
a) Brhaspati
b) Valmiki
c) Vyasadeva
d) None of these
29. Among the generals, Krishna is ________________, the lord of the war.
a) Indra
b) Shiva
c) Skanda
d) All of these
30. Bhrgu is the _________________.
a) Most powerful son of Brahma
b) Greatest sage
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
31. Om represents ______________________.
a) Auspiciousness
b) The Supreme Lord of all sacrifices
c) Devotion
d) Trans
32. Who is the representation of Krishna as a devotee?
a) Vyasadeva
b) Kapila
c) Shiva
d) Narada
33. In vedic literature, ________________ is considered to be the representative of God.
a) King
b) Sages
c) Learned men
d) None of these
34. Sex for the generation of good children is called ______________ and represents Krishna
a) Varuna
b) Ananta
c) Kandarpa
d) All of these
35. Who represents Krishna, in the planet of ancestors?
a) Varuna
b) Ananta
c) Kandarpa
d) Aryama
36. Among the beasts, _________________ represents Krishna.
a) Eagle
b) Lion
c) Tiger
d) All of these
37. Why Prahlada is considered to be a representative of Krishna among demons?
a) Because his godly nature
b) Because of his devotional service
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
38. Among the rivers, _______________ is the representation of Krishna?
a) Yamuna
b) Ganges
c) Godavari
d) Cauvery
39. Who is the secondary creator?
a) Maha-Vishnu
b) Krishna
c) Brahma
d) None of these
40. Among the killers, ______________ ultimately kills everything.
a) Time
b) Duality
c) Reasoning
d) One’s own interpretation
41. How many feminine qualities are listed by Krishna in BG?
a) Five
b) Ten
c) Seven
d) Fifteen
42. Which of the Veda is rich in beautiful songs played by the demigods?
a) Artha-veda
b) Yajur-veda
c) Rig-veda
d) Sama-veda
43. Which of the following season is considered as the representative of Krishna?
a) Winter
b) Spring
c) Summer
d) Autumn
44. Of all cheating processes, ______________ stands supreme.
a) Lying
b) Fighting
c) Gambling
d) None of these
45. ____________ is the immediate expansion of Krishna.
a) Vasudeva
b) Brahma
c) Baladeva
d) None of these
46. Among the following, which of the confidential activity is important?
a) Hearing
b) Thinking
c) Meditating
d) Silence
47. How is the Supreme Lord represented throughout the entire material universes?
a) Through His teachings
b) Through devotional service
c) By entering into all things as Supersoul
d) None of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | a | c | b | a | d | d | b | c | c | b | c | c | d | b | c | b | a | c | b |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Answer: | d | a | c | b | a | d | b | a | c | c | b | d | a | c | d | b | c | b | c | a |
| Question No. | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | |||||||||||||
| Answer: | c | d | b | c | a | d | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 09 – The Most Confidential Knowledge
01. Why the message of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be realized by mental speculators or academic scholars?
a) Because they are not the right persons to approach the Lord
b) Because they are in miserable life conditions
c) Because the message is a realized knowledge, full of potencies of the Lord and difficult for them to understand
d) None of these
02. Why the ninth chapter of BG is called the most confidential?
a) Because it deals with liberation
b) Because it deals with unalloyed, pure devotion
c) Because it brings enlightenment in Krishna consciousness
d) Because it gives spiritual knowledge
03. Who is the author of Vedanta-sutra?
a) Kapila
b) Yajnavalkya
c) Shandilya
d) Vyasadeva
04. Does the soul become inactive after leaving the body?
a) Yes
b) No
05. What is the highest perfection of religion?
a) Attainment of the stage of devotional service
b) Liberation
c) Becoming one with the God
d) All of these
06. What makes the process of devotional service a happy one?
a) Simply hearing & chanting the glories of the Lord
b) Accepting the remnants of the food offered to the Lord
c) Devotional service can be practiced even in most poverty-stricken condition
d) All of the above
07. What is meant by saying that devotional service eternally exists?
a) Devotional service continues even after liberation
b) Even after going to the spiritual planet one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord
c) Both b & c
d) None of these
08. Who cannot accomplish the process of devotional service?
a) Impersonalists
b) Great scholars
c) Faithless persons
d) None of these
09. What are second-class men in Krishna conscious like?
a) They are not very advanced in devotional scriptures
b) They have firm faith that service to Krishna is the best
c) In good faith they taken up the process of devotional service
d) All of the above
10. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not perceivable through ____________________.
a) The gross material senses
b) Creation
c) His energies
d) His existence
11. What is described as the inconceivable potency of the Lord?
a) All His creation
b) His love
c) That although everything is resting on Him, still He is aloof
d) None of these
12. _______________ is the biggest manifestation we can conceive.
a) Space
b) Sky
c) Atoms
d) All of these
13. What happens to the material manifestation during creation and annihilation?
a) Every entity is created newly each time & then destroyed
b) All are created but only the true one survives during annihilation
c) Cosmic manifestation is created but hided during annihilation
d) At the end, every living entity enters into the Lord’s nature & at the beginning again the Lord creates
14. Which of the following incarnation of Krishna enters into everything minutely?
a) Garbhodakasayi Visnu
b) Karanodakasayi Visnu
c) Ksirodakasayi Visnu
d) None of these
15. When the activity of the different species of living entities begins after creation?
a) After they grow little older
b) From the very moment of the creation
c) When they adjust to the surrounding atmosphere
d) None of these
16. Why are the different species of life created immediately along with universe?
a) To fulfill the desires of the living entities which they had at the last annihilation
b) To fill the voids in the universe
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
17. Is the Lord attached to the creation and annihilation of this world?
a) No
b) Yes
18. The material nature, without the superintendence of _____________ cannot do anything.
a) Its qualities
b) Heavenly God
c) Supreme Personality of Godhead
d) All of these
19. When Krishna descends in the human form, & acts just like a normal man, even then, what is His body described as?
a) Eternal
b) Blissful
c) Full of knowledge
d) All of these
20. Why the persons who consider the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna as an ordinary man are deluded?
a) Because they are developed
b) Because they are infected
c) Because they cannot understand the eternal form of Krishna
d) None of these
21. How can one be not under the control of material nature?
a) By understanding the material nature
b) By surrendering his soul to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) By diverting his attention towards material nature
d) By meditation
22. What are the qualities of great souls described as by Krishna to Arjuna?
a) They are under the protection of divine nature
b) They are fully engaged in devotional service
c) They know Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible
d) All of these
23. Why a “Mahatma” is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
a) He glorifies the Lord’s holy name, pastimes, eternal form and transcendental qualities
b) He undergoes severe penance and austerity
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
24. How does a mahatma achieves success in having association with the Lord in any of the five rasas?
a) By performing severe austerities
b) By having determination
c) By engaging his mind, body and speech, everything in the service of the Supreme Lord
d) All of these
25. A “Mahatma” can be ________________.
a) Brahmacari
b) Householder
c) Sannyasi
d) Any of these
26. Which of the following comes under the lower class of God worship?
a) He who worships himself as one with the Supreme Lord
b) He who concocts some form of the Supreme Lord and worships
c) He who accepts the universal form
d) All of these
27. Knowing the Vedas is but a progressive step towards understanding _________________.
a) Vedas
b) Krishna
c) Marginal energy
d) Creation
28. The progressive path of the persons not knowing Krishna is __________.
a) Partial
b) Hallucinatory
c) Either a or b
d) Neither of these
29. The energy which sustains us by prolonging the duration of our life is _______________.
a) Material
b) Krishna
c) Advanced
d) Falling
30. What kind of happiness does a person achieve in the higher planetary systems?
a) Ecstatic
b) Sense pleasure
c) Flickering
d) Both b & c
31. What is the promise made by Krishna to the persons who serves Him with devotion & surrenders fully unto Him?
a) Krishna carries what they lack
b) Krishna preserves what they have
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
32. Demigod worship is a/an _______________ way of worshiping Krishna.
a) Indirect
b) Same
c) Approved
d) Satisfying
33. Is “black arts” or “black magic” spiritualism?
a) Yes
b) No
34. Persons worshiping demigods, ghosts, ancestors or Krishna achieve __________________ abode.
a) The same
b) That respective
c) Simple
d) None of these
35. Why meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Krishna?
a) Because Krishna didn’t ask these things to offer Him
b) Because Krishna asks for only a leaf, a flower, fruit or water
c) Vegetables, fruits, grains, milk and water are the proper foods prescribed for human beings by Krishna
d) All of the above
36. Who is asking, to work, eat, give charity and perform austerities, to be done as an offering to Krishna?
a) Sukadeva Goswami
b) Krishna
c) Vyasadeva
d) Dronacarya
37. What is the result of performing actions as service to Krishna and fruits of those actions being given to Krishna?
a) One is freed from all reactions to good and evil deeds
b) One becomes situated in renunciation
c) One completely surrenders himself to Krishna
d) All of the above
38. If Krishna is equal to all then why He gives specific attention to His devotees?
a) Because they have surrendered unto Him
b) Because Krishna is a devotee of His devotees
c) Because the presence of reciprocation in relationship reflects personalist philosophy
d) All of the above
39. Which of the following activities a conditioned living entity has?
a) Conditional
b) Constitutional
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
40. If a devotee falls down accidentally, then, he is to be considered as __________.
a) Abominable
b) Saintly
c) Normal
d) Exclusive
41. Why Krishna’s devotees’ never perishes?
a) Because they are always thinking of Krishna
b) Because he can undergo any purificatory process
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
42. Who is eligible for the supreme destination?
a) Anyone who is austere
b) Women & sudras
c) Anyone who is engaged in transcendental devotional service to the Lord
d) None of these
43. What is the means of being delivered from the clutches of this material world?
a) Being charitable
b) Being Krishna conscious
c) Being austere
d) Being personal to everyone
| Question No.1 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | b | d | b | a | d | c | c | d | a | c | a | d | c | b | a | a | c | d | c |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Answer: | b | d | a | c | d | d | b | c | b | d | c | a | b | b | d | b | d | d | c | b |
| Question No. | 41 | 42 | 43 | |||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | a | c | b |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 06 – Dhyana Yoga
01. The mystic yogi who practices the yoga system ___________.
a) Is very pure by nature
b) Is renounced
c) Is a perfect yogi
d) Is desiring some self satisfaction
02. When does a yogi cease all disturbing mental activities?
a) When he is healthy
b) When he is self centered
c) When he is done in the practice of meditation
d) None of the above
03. Which of the following are important in yoga system?
a) Body & mind
b) Mind & conditioned soul
c) Conditioned soul
d) None of the above
04. Which one of the following are both the friend and enemy of oneself?
a) Body
b) Mind
c) Soul
d) All of these
05. What is the effect of controlling the mind?
a) One follows the dictation of the Supersoul
b) One is unaffected by the dualities of material existence
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
06. What are the qualities of a transcendentalist?
a) He should concentrate the mind on the Supreme self
b) He should control his mind
c) He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness
d) All of these
07. Which of the following is required for yoga practice?
a) Secluded place
b) Grass on the ground covered with deer skin and soft cloth
c) Mind and senses are controlled and fixing the mind on one point
d) All of these
08. Which of the following yoga system admits householder brahmacaris?
a) Bhakti yoga
b) Dhyana yoga
c) Jnana yoga
d) All of these
09. What makes a conditioned soul fearful?
a) His perverted memory
b) His forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. What is the ultimate goal in practicing yoga according to Bhagavad-Gita?
a) To attain any kind of material facility
b) To attain to the kingdom of God
c) To improve one’s health
d) To aspire after material perfection
11. Who can perform yoga among the following?
a) One who eats and sleeps too much
b) One who eats or sleeps too little
c) Both of these
d) None of these
12. There is no material misery for a Krishna conscious person as he is regulated in ___________________.
a) His work & speech
b) His sleep & wakefulness
c) His bodily activities
d) All of the above
13. What is the primary characteristic of yoga principle?
a) By practice of yoga one becomes sensual
b) By practice of yoga one becomes gradually detached from material concepts
c) By practice of yoga one becomes religious
d) None of these
14. One should engage oneself in the practice of yoga with ___________________.
a) Undeviating determination & faith
b) Abandon all material desires & control all senses
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
15. What is required to remain in the quality of Brahman?
a) Fix one’s mind on the lotus feet of the Lord
b) Consciousness
c) Engagement in yoga
d) Identification with the absolute
16. Who sees the Lord everywhere?
a) Person in Krishna consciousness
b) Everyone
c) Demigods
d) None of the above
17. What is the cause of distress of a living being?
a) Conditioning by the modes of material nature
b) Forgetfulness of his relationship with the Lord
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
18. What reason do Arjuna gives for not practicing the yoga system described by Krishna?
a) Yoga system being a long process to carry on
b) The mind being restless and unsteady for performing yoga system
c) Yoga system not applicable for the kshatriya class of men
d) None of the above
19. How in this age of kali can one curb the restless mind?
a) Impersonal spiritual detachment
b) By practice of Krishna consciousness
c) Engaging in nine types of devotional service to the Lord
d) Both b & c
20. What happens to a person who in the path of self realization desists due to worldly mindedness and doesn’t attain perfection?
a) He meets destruction in material world
b) He meets destruction in the spiritual world
c) He would continue from where he left in his previous life
d) All of these
21. Why the birth in a family of yogis or transcendentalists appreciated?
a) Because such a birth is rare
b) Because one receives spiritual impetus in that family
c) Because such families are very learned and devoted spiritually
d) All of these
22. Fruitive work without Krishna consciousness is _____________________.
a) Waste of time
b) Different
c) Particular
d) Spiritually predominant
23. Which of the following is the highest stage of yoga and all other yogas being progressions towards that?
a) Karma-yoga
b) Jnana-yoga
c) Astanga-yoga
d) Bhakti-yoga
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | d | c | b | b | c | d | d | a | c | b | d | d | b | c | a | a | c | b | d | c |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | d | a | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 08 – Attaining the Supreme
01. Why Arjuna addresses Krishna as “Purushottama” in BG 8.1?
a) Because it is offensive to call Krishna by any other casual name
b) Because a chariot driver has to be addressed like that
c) Because Arjuna knew that Krishna is the supreme authority able to give definitive answers to his questions
d) All of the above
02. Brahman refers to the ____________________.
a) Living entity
b) Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
03. What is the physical nature called as?
a) Adhidaivata
b) Adhibhuta
c) Anadi
d) Adhiyajna
04. Quitting one’s body at the time of death in Krishna consciousness, __________________.
a) Transfers one to the transcendental abode of Krishna
b) Relieves one of all relations
c) Takes one far away from this world
d) None of these
05. What effects one at the moment of death?
a) Thoughts of one’s life
b) Actions of one’s life
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
06. What instruction Krishna gives to Arjuna for fixing his mind on Him?
a) Always think of Krishna
b) Carry out the prescribed duty of fighting dedicating to Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
07. Can we comprehend this material world?
a) Yes
b) No
08. For ________________, the syllable om is identical with Brahman.
a) Celibates
b) Renounced persons
c) Impersonalists
d) None of the above
09. What one has to do first, to practice the yoga system?
a) Detach from all sensual engagements
b) Fix the life air at the top of the head
c) Leave one’s body by meditating on the Supersoul
d) All of the above
10. The personalists after quitting this body enter __________________.
a) Goloka Vrindavan
b) Vaikunthas
c) Brahmajyoti
d) Both a & b
11. Bhakti-yogi is engaged in how many different ways?
a) Two
b) Five
c) Sixteen
d) Twenty-two
12. How Krishna describes this material world as to Arjuna?
a) Temporary world
b) Full of miseries
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
13. What is common between the highest material planets down to the lowest?
a) Austerity
b) Repeated birth and death
c) Elevation
d) Eternal advancement
14. Which is the highest planet in the material universe?
a) Indraloka
b) Chandraloka
c) Maharloka
d) Brahmaloka
15. What comprises one day of Brahma according to human calculation?
a) The four yugas rotating million times earth years
b) The four yugas rotating billion times earth years
c) The four yugas rotating hundred times earth years
d) The four yugas rotating thousand times earth years
16. At what time of Brahma’s life are living entities annihilated?
a) When Brahma’s day is manifest
b) At the arrival of Brahma’s night
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
17. What happens to the living entities when Brahma’s life is finally finished?
a) They are all annihilated
b) They remain unmanifest for millions of years
c) They are manifested again when Brahma is born again in another millennium
d) All of the above
18. Krishna’s supreme abode and Krishna Himself are ______________.
a) Descended
b) Replica of each other
c) Nondifferent
d) Unattainable
19. Which of the following are the presiding deities who make arrangements for the passage of the soul?
a) Fire
b) Light
c) Day and moon
d) All of these
20. For who is there no fear of returning, whether he leaves the body at an auspicious or inauspicious moment, by accident or arrangement?
a) Yogi
b) Pure devotee
c) Mystic yogi
d) All of the above
21. The mystic who reaches the moon, does he come back?
a) Yes
b) No
22. A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from _______________.
a) Studying the Vedas & performing austere sacrifices
b) Giving charity
c) Pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities
d) All of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | a | b | a | c | c | b | c | a | d | b | c | b | d | d | b | d | c | d | b |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | a | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 07 – Knowledge of the Absolute
01. Why a paramatma realized yogi can’t know Krishna as He is?
a) Because he doesn’t practice devotional service to the Lord
b) Because he is not a pure devotee of the Lord
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
02. Which of the following are the separated material energies of Krishna?
a) Earth, water, fire, air & ether
b) Mind, intelligence & false ego
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
03. ___________________ exploits the inferior energies for different purposes.
a) Cosmic manifestation
b) Living entity
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
04. __________________ is not created at a certain stage of material development.
a) Spirit
b) Matter
c) Forgetfulness
d) Liberation
05. In which of the verse of BG chapter 7th is it stressed that the Absolute Truth is a person?
a) 7.14
b) 7.5
c) 7.11
d) 7.7
06. Omkara is the sound representation of _________________.
a) Liberation
b) Krishna
c) Knowledge
d) Consciousness
07. Parabrahman is __________________.
a) Impersonal
b) Intelligence
c) Personal
d) Maintained
08. Is Krishna subjected to any of the three modes of material nature
a) No
b) Yes
09. What is the means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature?
a) By surrendering unto Krishna
b) By surrendering unto Shiva
c) By surrendering unto Brahma
d) All of these
10. Why the atheistic planmaker is called “duskrtina”?
a) Because everyone in the society is troubled form him
b) Because he is unauthorized materially
c) Because his intelligence and efforts are utilised in opposing the plan of the Supreme Lord
d) None of these
11. How many kinds of “duskrtina” are there?
a) Five
b) Four
c) Twenty-four
d) Thirty-two
12. Which of the following class of men never surrender unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord?
a) Grossly foolish persons & the lowest of mankind
b) Deluded speculators
c) Professed atheists
d) All of the above
13. How many kinds of men come to Krishna for devotional service?
a) Two
b) Fifty
c) Four
d) Twelve
14. Those who are _______________________ are one of those men who aspire for devotional service unto Krishna.
a) In need of money
b) Envious of Krishna
c) Unknowable persons
d) None of these
15. Why a devotee in full knowledge is very dear to Krishna?
a) Because he benefits the society
b) Because his only purpose is to serve the Supreme Lord with love and devotion
c) Because they he is very pure
d) Because he is self realized
16. Why do some people worship demigods?
a) To get immediate fulfillment of their material desires
b) Because of their own nature they take up demigod worship
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
17. __________________ are dependent on the Supreme will of Krishna.
a) Living entities
b) Demigods
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
18. What makes one to devote himself to some particular demigod?
a) One’s affinity to the demigod
b) One’s inspiration to the demigod
c) One’s behavior to the demigod
d) Supersoul present in the living entity’s heart
19. Do both the demigod worshippers and devotee of the supreme Lord reach the same Supreme abode?
a) Yes
b) No
20. One can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or his form by:
a) Mental Speculation
b) Discussing Vedic Literature
c) Devotional Service
21. The Supreme Personality is:
a) Formless
b) Impersonal
c) Person with unlimited auspicious Qualities
22. Krishna-The supreme Personality of Godhead manifest to :
a) Scholarly people who are experts in vedic scriptures.
b) Only devotees who are engaged in devotional service
c) People who believe – God is formless
23. The non-devotees/ordinary people cannot see Bhagavan because:
a) He is covered by the curtain of ‘Yoga-maya.’
b) Bhagavab in his transcendental form of bliss and Knowledge, is covered by the internal potency of Brahma jyoti
c) Both above
24. The Internal Potency of Supreme Personality of God head is
a) Yoga Maya,
b) Brahmajyoti
c) Both above
25. The given sloka is from
hiranmayena patrena
satyasyapihitam mukham
tat tvam pusam apavrnu
satya-dharmaya drstaye
a) Bhagavat Geeta
b) Isopanishad
c) Upadeshamrta
d) Brahma Samhita
26. Who can know about his past, present and future:
a) one who is liberated from all material contaminations
b) who practice yoga.
c) One who is perfected by realization of impersonal Brahman
27. People who:
1. Practice the regulative principles
2. Who act piously.
3. Who has conquered the sinful reactions of material nature.
Which of the above are in spiritual platform:
a) 1
b) 1 & 2
c) 1 & 2
d) 1, 2 & 3
28. Who are entitled to be called ‘Brahman’?
a) who are worshipers of demigods
b) Brahman Realized persons
c) Personas who perform activities in Krishna Conciousness
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | c | b | a | d | b | c | a | a | c | b | d | c | a | b | c | c | d | b | c |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | ||||||||||||
| Answer: | c | b | c | c | b | a | d | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 05 – Karma Yoga – Action in Krishna Consciousness
01. Which of the following two is better?
a) Renunciation of work
b) Work in devotion
c) Both a & b
d) None of the above
02. The soul of the material world is ___________________.
a) Vishnu
b) Supersoul
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
03. Are the ultimate aim of sankhya-yoga and karma-yoga the same?
a) Yes
b) No
04. A man of controlled senses cannot be _______________ to anyone.
a) Separated
b) Satisfied
c) Offensive
d) Formal
05. What reason would you give for Arjuna being not offensive in the battlefield, as he killed so many soldiers from the kauravas side?
a) He was following the orders of Krishna in full krishna consciousness
b) No one was killed in the battlefield as the soul cannot be slain
c) He was only superficially offensive in the battlefield
d) All of the above
06. Why a Krishna conscious person is not affected by sinful action?
a) He performs his duty without attachment
b) He surrenders the results unto the Lord
c) He engages himself in the service of the Lord
d) All of the above
07. What is called as the city of nine gates?
a) Material body
b) Embodied soul
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
08. ________________ is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity.
a) Beauty
b) Desire
c) Influence
d) Bewilderment
09. What is the effect of receiving the real knowledge?
a) Nescience is destroyed
b) Everything is revealed by the real knowledge
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Which among the following are similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul?
a) Conscious
b) Eternal
c) Blissful
d) All of these
11. Why do a learned transcendentalist or a Krishna conscious person sees everyone with equal vision?
a) Because they are very learned
b) Because they see Paramatma being present in everyone’s heart
c) Because they like everyone
d) None of these
12. Whom among the following persons neither rejoices after achieving something nor laments after losing something related to this body?
a) A person who is very charitable
b) A person who is attracted to yoga
c) A person who has mystic powers
d) A self realized person
13. What should a transcendentalist tolerate before quitting the material body?
a) Desire
b) Anger
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
14. Ashtanga-yoga is divisible into _________________ procedure.
a) Eightfold
b) Fivefold
c) Threefold
d) Eleven fold
15. Why closing of the eyes altogether not advised in the yogic process?
a) Because it creates a dark atmosphere around the person
b) Because it creates fear in the person
c) Because there is every chance for the person to sleep
d) Because the senses cannot be controlled
16. What Krishna says about attaining peace from the pangs of material nature?
a) He is the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices
b) He is the proprietor of all planets and demigods
c) Everything should be offered to His transcendental service
d) All of the above
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Answer: | b | c | a | c | d | d | a | b | c | d | b | d | c | a | c | d |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 04 – Transcendental Knowledge
01. Who instructed the knowledge of BG to Ikshvaku?
a) Sun-god
b) Vivasvan
c) Manu
d) Krishna
02. Why the science of BG appears to be lost in this present moment?
a) Because original BG in not available right now
b) Because all of them are not according to the authorized disciplic succession
c) Because most of them do not accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead
d) Both b & c
03. Why Krishna chose Arjuna for delivering the science of BG?
a) Because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord
b) Because Arjuna was Krishna’s friend
c) He can understand the transcendental knowledge as told by Krishna
d) All of the above
04. Why Arjuna inquires about the fact that, Krishna instructed the knowledge of BG to Vivasvan who is senior in birth to Krishna?
a) Because Arjuna was doubtful of believing Krishna’s words
b) Because Arjuna asked this for demoniac people who don’t accept Krishna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead
c) Because Arjuna was himself not aware of the fact that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
d) All of the above
05. What answer Krishna gives in reply for Arjuna’s question stated above in ques. 4?
a) Krishna is unborn
b) Krishna’s body never deteriorates
c) Krishna appears in every millennium in His original transcendental form
d) All of the above
06. Why and when the Lord appears in this world?
a) Whenever there is predominance of irreligiosity and disappearance of true religion
b) To deliver the pious and annihilate the miscreants
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
07. How does one attain Lord’s eternal abode after leaving this body?
a) Being charitable
b) By understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord
c) By relieving oneself from the bondage of material hankerings
d) By performing yogic process
08. How Krishna reciprocates with His devotees in the transcendental world?
a) He reciprocates according to the devotee’s desire
b) He reciprocates according to the devotee’s fearlessness
c) He reciprocates according to the devotee’s perfection
d) None of these
09. Who is the creator of the four divisions of the social order?
a) Manu
b) Brahma
c) Krishna
d) None of these
10. Why Krishna asks Arjuna to act in Krishna consciousness following in the footsteps of past liberated souls?
a) Then Arjuna will attain liberation
b) Then Arjuna would perfect his life
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
11. Why one has to learn about action, forbidden action and inaction?
a) Because its transcendental
b) To get liberated from material bondage
c) So that one is not bewildered
d) None of these
12. Who sees inaction in action and action in inaction?
a) One who is Krishna conscious
b) One is a mystic yogi
c) One who ceases fruitive activities
d) All of the above
13. Why a Krishna conscious person is steady both in success and failure?
a) Because he acts for the satisfaction of Krishna
b) Because he has no desire for personal sense gratification
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
14. How many different varieties of sacrifice are placed in the primary division
a) Two
b) Three
c) Five
d) Eleven
15. What are the four divisions of human life meant for?
a) To become charitable
b) To become perfect transcendentalists
c) To restrict work
d) None of these
16. Who among the following Sacrifices the senses in the fire of the controlled mind?
a) Brahmachari in Krishna consciousness
b) Impersonalist brahmachari
c) A person engrossed in sense gratification
d) All of these
17. What is the soul called as in the Patanjali system of yoga?
a) Pratyag-atma
b) Parag-atma
c) Pratyag-atma & parag-atma
d) None of these
18. What is the common aim of these different types of sacrifices like sacrifice of one’s possessions, study of Vedas and the performance of yoga system?
a) To live a peaceful life
b) To control the senses
c) To be cleansed of sinful reactions
d) Both b & c
19. Without ___________ one can never live happily on this planet.
a) Grades
b) Sacrifices
c) Marriage
d) Consciousness
20. When do sacrifices bestow spiritual benefit?
a) When sacrifices are elevated to the level of transcendental knowledge
b) When they turn up to the level of fruitive activities
c) When material possessions are sacrificed
d) None of these
21. Why the Lord asks to approach a spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession?
a) Because spiritual realization is difficult to understand and hence person in disciplic succession helps
b) Because a person in disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is
c) Because a person in disciplic succession has seen the truth
d) All of these
22. What is the perfect knowledge referred to as which burns all reactions to material activities?
a) Perfect knowledge of self
b) Perfect knowledge of Supersoul
c) Perfect knowledge of self and Supersoul and their relationship
d) All of these
23. What is the yoga system instructed by Krishna in this chapter is called as?
a) Ashtanga-yoga
b) Hatha-yoga
c) Sanatana-yoga
d) Budhhi-yoga
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | d | d | b | d | c | b | a | c | c | b | a | c | a | b | a | c | d | b | a |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | d | d | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 03 – Karma Yoga
01. How many classes of men are there who realize the self?
a) Two
b) Three
c) Five
d) Ten
02. Being active is the nature of the ___________.
a) Materialism
b) Soul
c) Vedas
d) Impersonalist
03. Why renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord?
a) Because it doesn’t cleanse the heart from material contamination
b) It makes one just a mere pretender
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
04. What if work performed is not sacrificed for Vishnu?
a) That work binds one to this material world
b) One remains unattached
c) One is free from bondage
d) All of these
05. Why is it said that people, who eat for sense gratification, eat only sin?
a) Because they don’t share anything
b) Because they are very self centered
c) Because they don’t first offer the food to the Lord before eating it
d) None of these
06. What are yajnas meant for?
a) To lead one to the point of moral codes
b) To transcend them to attain Krishna consciousness
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
07. Why a fully Krishna conscious person has no duty to perform to transcend him?
a) Because all his impurities are cleansed instantly
b) Because he knows his eternal position in relationship with Krishna
c) Because he is not obligated to the vedic injunctions
d) All of these
08. By working __________________ one attains Supreme.
a) In Krishna consciousness
b) Under proper guidance
c) Without attachment
d) All of these
09. How a great man should be so that the common men would follow in his footsteps?
a) He must follow the principles of scriptures
b) He must be conversant with moral and spiritual codes
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Why Krishna follows the religious duties even when there is no need for Him to perform?
a) Because common men would follow in His foot steps
b) Because Krishna is the greatest authority
c) Because He descended to establish the principles of religion
d) All of these
11. How should a Krishna conscious person approach an ignorant man attached to fruitive action?
a) By not discouraging an ignorant man in his activities
b) By engaging him in the service of Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
12. Which of the following is a symptom of nescience?
a) A person who has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Krishna
b) One who doesn’t engage himself in sense gratification
c) One who lacks confidence in Krishna
d) One who is unaware of his surroundings
13. Duties must be carried out with ________________________.
a) Full confidence
b) Dependence on Krishna
c) Sacrifice
d) Stern order
14. What is the result of executing one’s duties according to the injunction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna?
a) One attains a good character
b) One becomes free from the bondage of fruitive actions
c) One becomes very pleased
d) None of these
15. What are the stumbling blocks on the path of self realization?
a) Senses
b) Sense objects
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
16. For whom among the following the four varnas duties are immaterial to perform?
a) One who is transcendentally situated
b) One who is on the material platform
c) One who is a impersonalist
d) All of these
17. As the living entity is the part and parcel of the Supreme, and is originally spiritual, pure and free from material contaminations then how is he subjected to sinful acts?
a) Due to the contact of material creation
b) In the association with mode of passion his love for Krishna is transformed into lust
c) Unsatisfied lust transforms to wrath and then to illusion
d) All of the above
18. When can lust and wrath become our true friends?
a) When are organized
b) When are they executed in Krishna’s service
c) When they are understood properly
d) When they are covered with satisfaction
19. The living entity is ______________________ with different degrees of lust.
a) Cleansed
b) Referred
c) Covered
d) Compared
20. Which of the following is the sitting place for lust?
a) Mind
b) Senses
c) Intelligence
d) All of the above
21. Which of the following destroys the urge for self realization?
a) Lust
b) Body
c) Intelligence
d) None of these
22. Which of the following is the most inferior?
a) Senses and mind
b) Intelligence
c) Soul
d) Dull matter
23. How can one control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence?
a) By practicing yogic postures
b) By merging into the Supreme
c) By Krishna consciousness
d) None of the above
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | a | b | c | d | c | b | d | d | c | d | c | a | b | b | c | a | d | b | c | d |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | a | d | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 02 – Contents of the Gita Summarized
01. What is material compassion compared to in BG 2.1?
a) Fire covered by smoke
b) Saving the dress of a drowning man
c) Killing the demon of misunderstanding
d) All of these
02. The three phases of Absolute truth are compared to ____________.
a) Sun
b) Devotion
c) Devotees
d) Progressive values of life
03. Who is in an Aryan?
a) One who knows the value of life
b) One who has spiritual realization
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
04. Why according to Krishna, would Arjuna become infamous by not fighting?
a) Because Arjuna being a kshatriya, his duty is to fight
b) Because deviation from one’s duty doesn’t lead to spiritual advancement
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
05. What Arjuna considers sinful?
a) Killing his superiors
b) Killing his own devotional service
c) Killing his mother
d) All of these
06. Why Arjuna realizes he is confused and lost his composure?
a) Because he was acting like a brahmana
b) Because of his miserly weakness
c) Because of his love
d) Because of his ill health
07. Finally, Arjuna accepts Krishna as his _______________.
a) Friend
b) Spiritual master
c) Disciple
d) None of the above
08. Krishna and the living entities ______________are eternal.
a) Individuality
b) Scriptures
c) Spirit
d) Conditioning
09. How is Krishna’s individuality not material?
a) Because Krishna affirms His individuality in the past, present and future
b) Because if Krishna is deluded then BG has no value as authoritative scripture
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
10. Why a self realized soul is not bewildered by changing body from boyhood to old age and then to death?
a) Because he knows everything
b) Because he believes in next life
c) Because in the end everything becomes void
d) Because the spirit soul doesn’t undergo any change
11. Why should one not be disturbed and tolerate happiness and distress?
a) Because they arise from sense perception
b) Because performing the prescribed rules and regulations of religious principles in any condition raises one to the platform of knowledge
c) Because by knowledge and devotion only one can liberate oneself from the clutches of maya
d) All of the above
12. Which of the following is accepted as the Supreme?
a) Energy
b) Energetic
c) Energizer
d) None of the above
13. What is spread all over the body?
a) Consciousness
b) Pain
c) Pleasure
d) Knowledge
14. What is the size of the soul?
a) One thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size
b) One hundred-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size
c) One ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size
d) One thousand-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size
15. The soul is floating in __________ kinds of air, situated within the heart.
a) Five
b) Seven
c) Nine
d) Eleven
16. If the soul is indestructible, then why animal slaughter is abominable?
a) Because it involves whimsical killing
b) Because it is not approved by authority
c) Because it involves violence to the innocent animal
d) All of the above
17. Does the soul produce any by-product?
a) Yes
b) No
18. What are the characteristics of the soul?
a) Unborn, indestructible & unchangeable
b) Cannot be burned, dried, wet or withered by wind
c) Everlasting, immovable, all-pervading, Invisible, inconceivable and immutable
d) All of the above
19. The analogy given here of two birds in the same tree, of which, one is eating the fruit of the tree and another is watching the activities of the other bird. Why is that so, the bird who is eating the fruits of the tree is in anxiety, morose and struggling very hard on the tree?
a) Because it has forgot its relationship with the witnessing bird
b) Because it not accepting the witnessing bird as the supreme spiritual master
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
20. If Arjuna did not believe in the existence of soul, and accepts that life develops from chemicals, then why there is no need to lament?
a) Because Arjuna was a kshatriya
b) Because no one laments on the loss of some chemicals
c) Because physical body and chemical elements are non different
d) None of these
21. How is the soul described as amazing?
a) Soul has innumerable qualities
b) Soul is known for its constitution
c) Soul is such a small particle which is both so great and so small
d) None of these
22. Even if Arjuna identifies with his body as kshatriya body, then also, how by fighting he would enjoy?
a) If he wins then he would enjoy the earth
b) If he dies then he would go to heaven
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
23. How, by not fighting the war, Arjuna would be affected?
a) Being a kshatriya, fighting is his duty as performing sacrifice is the duty of a brahmana
b) By not fighting he would be neglecting his duties and incur sinful reactions
c) By not fighting he would lose his reputation as a great warrior
d) All of the above
24. Final judgment of the Lord for Arjuna was to ___________ the battle.
a) Withdraw from
b) Die in
c) Mislead
d) None of the above
25. For the sake of fighting, which of the following Krishna asks Arjuna to consider?
a) Happiness or distress
b) Loss or gain
c) Victory or defeat
d) None of these
26. What is the unique quality of work done in Krishna consciousness?
a) Work begun in Krishna consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished
b) The performer of the Krishna conscious work is never at a loss even his work in Krishna consciousness is incomplete
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
27. What does capricious work means?
a) Activities performed while one is in the modes of material nature
b) Actions without the sanction of authority
c) Not performing one’s duties
d) None of these
28. Why one shouldn’t be attached to the results of his work?
a) Because it causes bondage
b) Acting without attachment leads one to the path of liberation
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
29. Buddhi yoga means ______________.
a) Success in the work
b) Resultant action’s consciousness
c) Hard labor
d) Transcendental loving service to the Lord
30. A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of _________________ actions in this life.
a) Good
b) Bad
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
31. What are the results of performing devotional service?
a) Indifference to Vedic rituals
b) Freedom from sinful reactions, birth and death
c) Remains fixed in the trance of self-realization
d) All of the above
32. What are the symptoms of one who is in pure transcendental consciousness?
a) He gives up all kinds of sense desire arising from mental concoction
b) Takes pleasure in himself by realizing himself as the eternal servitor of the Lord
c) Remains happy in eternally serving the Lord
d) All of the above
33. Why a sage of steady mind not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries?
a) Because he can agitate his mind in various ways
b) Because he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord
c) Because he is detached
d) None of these
34. A sage of steady mind is daring and active for Krishna’s service when he is ________________.
a) Successful
b) Unsuccessful
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
35. What is the test of a devotee for him to be a self-realized soul?
a) He must be very strong to control his senses
b) He must be well versed in Vedic hymns
c) He must be compassionate
d) None of the above
36. According to BG 2.58 which among the following sets the example of keeping the senses always in the service of the Lord?
a) Serpent
b) Tortoise
c) Peacock
d) Frog
37. Artificial ceasing of senses by _________________, the mind dwells on sense objects.
a) Recommendation
b) Rules and regulations
c) Advancement
d) Consciousness
38. Due to ___________________, many learned sages fall victim to material sense enjoyment.
a) Consciousness
b) Hunger
c) Discrimination
d) Agitated mind
39. Who is a man of steady intelligence?
a) One who restrains his senses
b) One who fixes his consciousness on Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
40. By contemplating the _________________, one develops attachment, then lust, anger, delusion, bewilderment of ___________, ____________ is lost, then one falls down.
a) Impersonal form, intelligence, memory
b) Objects of the senses, memory, intelligence
c) Objects of the senses, consciousness, renunciation
d) Impersonal form, absolute, consciousness
41. What is the result of controlling one’s senses by practicing principles of freedom?
a) Freedom from all attachment
b) Attainment of mercy of Krishna
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
42. How does one in transcendental consciousness attains peace?
a) Accepting that Krishna is the Supreme enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone
b) Engages oneself in the service of Krishna with a relationship
c) Desires everything for Krishna & is devoid of false ego
d) All of the above
43. What is the correct technique for controlling the mind?
a) All of the senses must be engaged in Krishna consciousness
b) Any one of the senses must be engaged in Krishna consciousness
c) Any number of the senses must be engaged in Krishna consciousness
d) None of these
44. How is devotional service non-different from being in the spiritual world?
a) As both of them are on the absolute plane
b) As both of them are for the engagement in transcendental loving service of the Lord
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | b | a | c | c | a | b | b | a | c | d | d | b | a | c | a | d | b | d | c | b |
| Question No. | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Answer: | c | c | d | b | d | c | d | c | d | c | d | d | b | c | a | b | b | d | c | b |
| Question No. | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| Answer: | c | d | a | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 01 – Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra
01. Why Dhrtarastra had the fear of losing the battle?
a) Because the battle was to take place at dharma-ksetra, which is a place of pilgrimage
b) Because pandavas were virtuous by nature
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
02. What is the significance of the words dharma-ksetre and kuru-ksetre apart from their historical and Vedic importance?
a) In the field of Kuruksetra the father of religion is Krishna
b) In the field of Kuruksetra unwanted plants like Dhrtarastra’s son Duryodhana and others would be wiped out
c) In the field of Kuruksetra religious persons headed by Yudhisthira would be established by the Lord
d) All of the above
03. Why Duryodhana pointed out Dronacarya’s mistake in relation to his disciple Dhrstadyumna, the son of Drupada?
a) So that Dronacarya is alert and uncompromising in the fighting
b) So that Dronacarya is not lenient in the battle against Pandavas
c) So that Dronacarya’s such leniency if be any, would lead to defeat of Duryodhana’s party
d) All of the above
04. On account of the presence of great warriors on Duryodhana’s party like Bhisma and others, what was his conclusion on the result of the battle?
a) He was confident of his victory
b) He was also doubtful of his victory like his father
c) He had no opinion
d) None of these
05. Duryodhana after praising Bhisma as a far superior general, why asks others to support him?
a) Because he wanted everyone to feel important
b) Because he didn’t wanted anyone to be felt neglected
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
06. What did actually Bhisma’s loud blowing of conchshell symbolized for Duryodhana?
a) It symbolized of cheering Duryodhana
b) It symbolized that Duryodhana had no chance of victory in the battle
c) It symbolized of definite victory of Duryodhana
d) It had no meaning at all
07. Wherever Krishna is present, the ________ is also present.
a) Transcendental conchshell
b) Goddess of fortune
c) Appearance
d) Activity
08. The chariot on which Arjuna and Krishna were seated was donated by ____________.
a) The fire-god
b) The sun-god
c) Indra
d) Lord Shiva
09. What are the names of Krishna and Arjuna’s conchshell?
a) Ananta-vijaya and Dhananjaya
b) Sughosa and Manipushpaka
c) Pancajanya and Devadatta
d) None of these
10. Why the hearts of the sons of Dhrtarastra were shattered by the sound vibrated by the Pandava’s conchshell?
a) Because Pandavs were expert in the art of blowing the conchshell
b) Because Pandavas had full confidence in Krishna, that Krishna would take care of them
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
11. What was Arjuna’s flag marked with?
a) Fire-god
b) Hanuman
c) Goddess of fortune
d) Sword
12. Was Arjuna’s chariot bearing the flag also a sign of victory?
a) Yes
b) No
13. Although Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, why does He carry out the orders of Arjuna?
a) Because Arjuna is a pure devotee of the Lord
b) Because the Lord takes great transcendental pleasure when a pure devotee is ordering Him
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
14. Krishna is _____________, which means He never fails in His __________ for His _______________.
a) Transcendental, endeavor, engagement
b) Infallible, affection, devotees
c) Supreme, attempts, peace
d) Great, service, senses
15. Why did Arjuna ask Krishna his chariot to be taken to the midst of the two armies?
a) Because he wanted to see the leading persons present on the battlefield
b) So that he would get an estimate of the strength of the opposite party which he had to face
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
16. How could Arjuna conquer both sleep and ignorance?
a) Because of his friendship with Krishna
b) Because of his power
c) Because being born in a ksatriya family
d) Because being the son of queen Kunti
17. Krishna is Hrsikesa, _________.
a) The conqueror of sleep and ignorance
b) The conqueror of wealth
c) The director of the Pandavas army
d) The director of the senses and mind of every living entity
18. What did Krishna mean when He told Arjuna to “behold the Kurus”?
a) Krishna read Arjuna’s mind, and Arjuna becoming overwhelmed with compassion for his relatives
b) Krishna predicted Arjuna’s mind in a friendly joking
c) Krishna didn’t expected such response from Arjuna, the son of Kunti
d) All of the above
19. Upon seeing his kinsmen, relatives and friends, on the battlefield, why Arjuna feels his limbs of the body quivering and thus is overwhelmed with compassion?
a) Because of the weakness of the heart
b) Because of his soft heartedness which is the characteristic of a pure devotee
c) Because of fear of loss of life due to material concept of life
d) Both b & c
20. Arjuna calls Krishna Govinda, which means _________________________.
a) Krishna is the master of everyone
b) Krishna is the object of all pleasures for cows and the senses
c) Krishna is the object of all transcendental pleasure
d) Krishna is the master of the senses
21. How can the desires of the living entity be satisfied?
a) When the living entity tries to satisfy the senses of Govinda
b) When the living entity lives a very charitable life
c) When the living entity renounces everything
d) None of these
22. How many kinds of aggressors are there according to Vedic injunctions?
a) Two
b) Three
c) Ten
d) Six
23. Why Arjuna fears of sinful reactions?
a) Because of killing his kinsmen
b) Because engaging in the fight would just be for the matter of temporary bodily happiness
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
24. Arjuna calls Krishna as ______________, which means husband of the goddess of fortune.
a) Madhusudhana
b) Narayana
c) Janardana
d) Madhava
25. Why Arjuna points out Krishna to not induce him to fight which would cause his misfortune?
a) Because Krishna is the killer of the demon Keshi
b) Because Krishna is the husband of the goddess of fortune
c) Because Krishna is very source of pleasures
d) None of these
26. Good population for the spiritual progress in the society depends on the _________ and _________ of its womanhood.
a) Chastity
b) Faithfulness
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
27. What according to Arjuna will be the consequences if the elders of the family are killed?
a) Family traditions of purification may stop
b) Younger family members would develop irreligious habits and would lose their chance for spiritual salvation
c) Both a & b
d) None of these
28. Due to the evil deeds of the destroyers of family tradition, all kinds of ________________ projects and ______________ activities are devastated.
a) Community, family welfare
b) Serious, pious
c) General, serious
d) Pious, fruitive
29. All these arguments which Arjuna presents before Krishna as why he should not fight were ____________________.
a) Based on Arjuna’s personal experience.
b) Heard by Arjuna from authorities
c) Real
d) None of these
30. Arjuna finally casts aside his bow and sits down on the chariot, having decided not to _________________.
a) Lament
b) Understand
c) Fight
d) Inquire
| Question No. | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Answer: | c | d | d | a | c | b | b | a | c | b | b | a | c | b | c | a | d | d | d | b |
| Question No | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||||||||
| Answer: | a | d | c | d | b | c | c | a | b | c |
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 01, Text 42
Bg 1.42
dosair etaih kula-ghnanam
varna-sankara-karakaih
utsadyante jati-dharmah
kula-dharmas ca sasvatah
Word for word:
dosaih — by such faults; etaih — all these; kula-ghnanam — of the destroyers of the family; varna-sankara — of unwanted children; karakaih — which are causes; utsadyante — are devastated; jati-dharmah — community projects; kula-dharmah — family traditions; ca — also; sasvatah — eternal.
Translation:
By the evil deeds of those who destroy the family tradition and thus give rise to unwanted children, all kinds of community projects and family welfare activities are devastated.
Purport:
Community projects for the four orders of human society, combined with family welfare activities, as they are set forth by the institution of sanatana-dharma, or varnasrama-dharma, are designed to enable the human being to attain his ultimate salvation. Therefore, the breaking of the sanatana-dharma tradition by irresponsible leaders of society brings about chaos in that society, and consequently people forget the aim of life – Visnu. Such leaders are called blind, and persons who follow such leaders are sure to be led into chaos.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 03, Text 24
Bg 3.24
utsideyur ime loka
na kuryam karma ced aham
sankarasya ca karta syam
upahanyam imah prajah
Word for word:
utsideyuh — would be put into ruin; ime — all these; lokah — worlds; na — not; kuryam — I perform; karma — prescribed duties; cet — if; aham — I; sankarasya — of unwanted population; ca — and; karta — creator; syam — would be; upahanyam — would destroy; imah — all these; prajah — living entities.
Translation:
If I did not perform prescribed duties, all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would be the cause of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace of all living beings.
Purport:
Varna-sankara is unwanted population which disturbs the peace of the general society. In order to check this social disturbance, there are prescribed rules and regulations by which the population can automatically become peaceful and organized for spiritual progress in life. When Lord Krsna descends, naturally He deals with such rules and regulations in order to maintain the prestige and necessity of such important performances. The Lord is the father of all living entities, and if the living entities are misguided, indirectly the responsibility goes to the Lord. Therefore, whenever there is general disregard of regulative principles, the Lord Himself descends and corrects the society. We should, however, note carefully that although we have to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, we still have to remember that we cannot imitate Him. Following and imitating are not on the same level. We cannot imitate the Lord by lifting Govardhana Hill, as the Lord did in His childhood. It is impossible for any human being. We have to follow His instructions, but we may not imitate Him at any time. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.30–31) affirms:
naitat samacarej jatu
manasapi hy anisvarah
vinasyaty acaran maudhyad
yatharudro ’bdhi-jam visam
isvaranam vacah satyam
tathaivacaritam kvacit
tesam yat sva-vaco-yuktam
buddhimams tat samacaret
“One should simply follow the instructions of the Lord and His empowered servants. Their instructions are all good for us, and any intelligent person will perform them as instructed. However, one should guard against trying to imitate their actions. One should not try to drink the ocean of poison in imitation of Lord Siva.”
We should always consider the position of the isvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the isvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Siva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo devotees of Lord Siva who want to indulge in smoking gañja (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Siva they are calling death very near. Similarly, there are some pseudo devotees of Lord Krsna who prefer to imitate the Lord in His rasa-lila, or dance of love, forgetting their inability to lift Govardhana Hill. It is best, therefore, that one not try to imitate the powerful, but simply follow their instructions; nor should one try to occupy their posts without qualification. There are so many “incarnations” of God without the power of the Supreme Godhead.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 31
Bg 18.31
yaya dharmam adharmam ca
karyam cakaryam eva ca
ayathavat prajanati
buddhih sa partha rajasi
Word for word:
yaya — by which; dharmam — the principles of religion; adharmam — irreligion; ca — and; karyam — what ought to be done; ca — also; akaryam — what ought not to be done; eva — certainly; ca — also; ayatha-vat — imperfectly; prajanati — knows; buddhih — intelligence; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; rajasi — in the mode of passion.
Translation:
O son of Prtha, that understanding which cannot distinguish between religion and irreligion, between action that should be done and action that should not be done, is in the mode of passion.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 02, Text 11
Bg 2.11
sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam
prajña-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca
nanusocanti panditah
Word for word:
sri-bhagavan uvaca — the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; asocyan — not worthy of lamentation; anvasocah — you are lamenting; tvam — you; prajña-vadan — learned talks; ca — also; bhasase — speaking; gata — lost; asun — life; agata — not passed; asun — life; ca — also; na — never; anusocanti — lament; panditah — the learned.
Translation:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.
Purport:
The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, “You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned – one who knows what is body and what is soul – does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.” As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 78
Bg 18.78
yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama
Word for word:
yatra — where; yoga-isvarah — the master of mysticism; Krishnah — Lord Krishna; yatra — where; parthah — the son of Prtha; dhanuh-dharah — the carrier of the bow and arrow; tatra — there; srih — opulence; vijayah — victory; bhutih — exceptional power; dhruva — certain; nitih — morality; matih mama — my opinion.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Bhagavad-gita began with an inquiry of Dhrtarastra’s. He was hopeful of the victory of his sons, assisted by great warriors like Bhisma, Drona and Karna. He was hopeful that the victory would be on his side. But after describing the scene on the battlefield, Sanjaya told the King, “You are thinking of victory, but my opinion is that where Krishna and Arjuna are present, there will be all good fortune.” He directly confirmed that Dhrtarastra could not expect victory for his side. Victory was certain for the side of Arjuna because Krishna was there. Krishna’s acceptance of the post of charioteer for Arjuna was an exhibition of another opulence. Krishna is full of all opulences, and renunciation is one of them. There are many instances of such renunciation, for Krishna is also the master of renunciation.
The fight was actually between Duryodhana and Yudhisthira. Arjuna was fighting on behalf of his elder brother, Yudhisthira. Because Krishna and Arjuna were on the side of Yudhisthira, Yudhisthira’s victory was certain. The battle was to decide who would rule the world, and Sanjaya predicted that the power would be transferred to Yudhisthira. It is also predicted here that Yudhisthira, after gaining victory in this battle, would flourish more and more because not only was he righteous and pious but he was also a strict moralist. He never spoke a lie during his life.
There are many less intelligent persons who take Bhagavad-gita to be a discussion of topics between two friends on a battlefield. But such a book cannot be scripture. Some may protest that Krishna incited Arjuna to fight, which is immoral, but the reality of the situation is clearly stated: Bhagavad-gita is the supreme instruction in morality. The supreme instruction of morality is stated in the Ninth Chapter, in the thirty-fourth verse: man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. One must become a devotee of Krishna, and the essence of all religion is to surrender unto Krishna (sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja). The instructions of Bhagavad-gita constitute the supreme process of religion and of morality. All other processes may be purifying and may lead to this process, but the last instruction of the Gita is the last word in all morality and religion: surrender unto Krishna. This is the verdict of the Eighteenth Chapter.
From Bhagavad-gita we can understand that to realize oneself by philosophical speculation and by meditation is one process, but to fully surrender unto Krishna is the highest perfection. This is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gita. The path of regulative principles according to the orders of social life and according to the different courses of religion may be a confidential path of knowledge. But although the rituals of religion are confidential, meditation and cultivation of knowledge are still more confidential. And surrender unto Krishna in devotional service in full Krishna consciousness is the most confidential instruction. That is the essence of the Eighteenth Chapter.
Another feature of Bhagavad-gita is that the actual truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The Absolute Truth is realized in three features – impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma, and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth means perfect knowledge of Krishna. If one understands Krishna, then all the departments of knowledge are part and parcel of that understanding. Krishna is transcendental, for He is always situated in His eternal internal potency. The living entities are manifested of His energy and are divided into two classes, eternally conditioned and eternally liberated. Such living entities are innumerable, and they are considered fundamental parts of Krishna. Material energy is manifested into twenty-four divisions. The creation is effected by eternal time, and it is created and dissolved by external energy. This manifestation of the cosmic world repeatedly becomes visible and invisible.
In Bhagavad-gita five principal subject matters have been discussed: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, material nature, the living entities, eternal time and all kinds of activities. All is dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. All conceptions of the Absolute Truth – impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and any other transcendental conception – exist within the category of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although superficially the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the living entity, material nature and time appear to be different, nothing is different from the Supreme. But the Supreme is always different from everything. Lord Caitanya’s philosophy is that of “inconceivable oneness and difference.” This system of philosophy constitutes perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth.
The living entity in his original position is pure spirit. He is just like an atomic particle of the Supreme Spirit. Thus Lord Krishna may be compared to the sun, and the living entities to sunshine. Because the living entities are the marginal energy of Krishna, they have a tendency to be in contact either with the material energy or with the spiritual energy. In other words, the living entity is situated between the two energies of the Lord, and because he belongs to the superior energy of the Lord, he has a particle of independence. By proper use of that independence he comes under the direct order of Krishna. Thus he attains his normal condition in the pleasure-giving potency.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Eighteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita in the matter of its Conclusion – the Perfection of Renunciation.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 77
Bg 18.77
tac ca samsmrtya samsmrtya
rupam aty-adbhutam hareh
vismayo me mahan rajan
hrsyami ca punah punah
Word for word:
tat — that; ca — also; samsmrtya — remembering; samsmrtya — remembering; rupam — form; ati — greatly; adbhutam — wonderful; hareh — of Lord Krishna; vismayah — wonder; me — my; mahan — great; rajan — O King; hrsyami — I am enjoying; ca — also; punah punah — repeatedly.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O King, as I remember the wonderful form of Lord Krishna, I am struck with wonder more and more, and I rejoice again and again.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
It appears that Sanjaya also, by the grace of Vyasa, could see the universal form Krishna exhibited to Arjuna. It is, of course, said that Lord Krishna had never exhibited such a form before. It was exhibited to Arjuna only, yet some great devotees could also see the universal form of Krishna when it was shown to Arjuna, and Vyasa was one of them. He is one of the great devotees of the Lord, and he is considered to be a powerful incarnation of Krishna. Vyasa disclosed this to his disciple Sanjaya, who remembered that wonderful form of Krishna exhibited to Arjuna and enjoyed it repeatedly.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 76
Bg 18.76
rajan samsmrtya samsmrtya
samvadam imam adbhutam
kesavarjunayoh punyam
hrsyami ca muhur muhuh
Word for word:
rajan — O King; samsmrtya — remembering; samsmrtya — remembering; samvadam — message; imam — this; adbhutam — wonderful; kesava — of Lord Krishna; arjunayoh — and Arjuna; punyam — pious; hrsyami — I am taking pleasure; ca — also; muhuh muhuh — repeatedly.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O King, as I repeatedly recall this wondrous and holy dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, I take pleasure, being thrilled at every moment.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The understanding of Bhagavad-gita is so transcendental that anyone who becomes conversant with the topics of Arjuna and Krishna becomes righteous and he cannot forget such talks. This is the transcendental position of spiritual life. In other words, one who hears the Gita from the right source, directly from Krishna, attains full Krishna consciousness. The result of Krishna consciousness is that one becomes increasingly enlightened, and he enjoys life with a thrill, not only for some time, but at every moment.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 75
Bg 18.75
vyasa-prasadac chrutavan
etad guhyam aham param
yogam yogesvarat Krishnat
saksat kathayatah svayam
Word for word:
vyasa-prasadat — by the mercy of Vyasadeva; srutavan — have heard; etat — this; guhyam — confidential; aham — I; param — the supreme; yogam — mysticism; yoga-isvarat — from the master of all mysticism; Krishnat — from Krishna; saksat — directly; kathayatah — speaking; svayam — personally.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
By the mercy of Vyasa, I have heard these most confidential talks directly from the master of all mysticism, Krishna, who was speaking personally to Arjuna.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Vyasa was the spiritual master of Sanjaya, and Sanjaya admits that it was by Vyasa’s mercy that he could understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This means that one has to understand Krishna not directly but through the medium of the spiritual master. The spiritual master is the transparent medium, although it is true that the experience is still direct. This is the mystery of the disciplic succession. When the spiritual master is bona fide, then one can hear Bhagavad-gita directly, as Arjuna heard it. There are many mystics and yogis all over the world, but Krishna is the master of all yoga systems. Krishna’s instruction is explicitly stated in Bhagavad-gita – surrender unto Krishna. One who does so is the topmost yogi. This is confirmed in the last verse of the Sixth Chapter. Yoginam api sarvesam.
Narada is the direct disciple of Krishna and the spiritual master of Vyasa. Therefore Vyasa is as bona fide as Arjuna because he comes in the disciplic succession, and Sanjaya is the direct disciple of Vyasa. Therefore by the grace of Vyasa, Sanjaya’s senses were purified, and he could see and hear Krishna directly. One who directly hears Krishna can understand this confidential knowledge. If one does not come to the disciplic succession, he cannot hear Krishna; therefore his knowledge is always imperfect, at least as far as understanding Bhagavad-gita is concerned.
In Bhagavad-gita, all the yoga systems – karma-yoga, jnana-yoga and bhakti-yoga – are explained. Krishna is the master of all such mysticism. It is to be understood, however, that as Arjuna was fortunate enough to understand Krishna directly, so, by the grace of Vyasa, Sanjaya was also able to hear Krishna directly. Actually there is no difference between hearing directly from Krishna and hearing directly from Krishna via a bona fide spiritual master like Vyasa. The spiritual master is the representative of Vyasadeva also. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, on the birthday of the spiritual master the disciples conduct the ceremony called Vyasa-puja.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 74
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| BG_18_74_-_Vaisesika_Prabhu_-_2009-05-03.mp3 | 18.3 MB |
Bg 18.74
sanjaya uvaca
ity aham vasudevasya
parthasya ca mahatmanah
samvadam imam asrausam
adbhutam roma-harsanam
Word for word:
sanjayah uvaca — Sanjaya said; iti — thus; aham — I; vasudevasya — of Krishna; parthasya — and Arjuna; ca — also; maha-atmanah — of the great soul; samvadam — discussion; imam — this; asrausam — have heard; adbhutam — wonderful; roma-harsanam — making the hair stand on end.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Sanjaya said: Thus have I heard the conversation of two great souls, Krishna and Arjuna. And so wonderful is that message that my hair is standing on end.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In the beginning of Bhagavad-gita, Dhrtarastra inquired from his secretary Sanjaya, “What happened on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra?” The entire study was related to the heart of Sanjaya by the grace of his spiritual master, Vyasa. He thus explained the theme of the battlefield. The conversation was wonderful because such an important conversation between two great souls had never taken place before and would not take place again. It was wonderful because the Supreme Personality of Godhead was speaking about Himself and His energies to the living entity, Arjuna, a great devotee of the Lord. If we follow in the footsteps of Arjuna to understand Krishna, then our life will be happy and successful. Sanjaya realized this, and as he began to understand it, he related the conversation to Dhrtarastra. Now it is concluded that wherever there is Krishna and Arjuna, there is victory.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 73
Bg 18.73
arjuna uvaca
nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat-prasadan mayacyuta
sthito ’smi gata-sandehah
karisye vacanam tava
Word for word:
arjunah uvaca — Arjuna said; nastah — dispelled; mohah — illusion; smrtih — memory; labdha — regained; tvat-prasadat — by Your mercy; maya — by me; acyuta — O infallible Krishna; sthitah — situated; asmi — I am; gata — removed; sandehah — all doubts; karisye — I shall execute; vacanam — order; tava — Your.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Arjuna said: My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The constitutional position of a living entity, represented by Arjuna, is that he has to act according to the order of the Supreme Lord. He is meant for self-discipline. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that the actual position of the living entity is that of eternal servant of the Supreme Lord. Forgetting this principle, the living entity becomes conditioned by material nature, but in serving the Supreme Lord he becomes the liberated servant of God. The living entity’s constitutional position is to be a servitor; he has to serve either the illusory maya or the Supreme Lord. If he serves the Supreme Lord he is in his normal condition, but if he prefers to serve the illusory, external energy, then certainly he will be in bondage. In illusion the living entity is serving in this material world. He is bound by his lust and desires, yet he thinks of himself as the master of the world. This is called illusion. When a person is liberated, his illusion is over, and he voluntarily surrenders unto the Supreme to act according to His desires. The last illusion, the last snare of maya to trap the living entity, is the proposition that he is God. The living entity thinks that he is no longer a conditioned soul, but God. He is so unintelligent that he does not think that if he were God, then how could he be in doubt? That he does not consider. So that is the last snare of illusion. Actually to become free from the illusory energy is to understand Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and agree to act according to His order.
The word moha is very important in this verse. Moha refers to that which is opposed to knowledge. Actually real knowledge is the understanding that every living being is eternally a servitor of the Lord, but instead of thinking oneself in that position, the living entity thinks that he is not a servant, that he is the master of this material world, for he wants to lord it over the material nature. That is his illusion. This illusion can be overcome by the mercy of the Lord or by the mercy of a pure devotee. When that illusion is over, one agrees to act in Krishna consciousness.
Krishna consciousness is acting according to Krishna’s order. A conditioned soul, illusioned by the external energy of matter, does not know that the Supreme Lord is the master who is full of knowledge and who is the proprietor of everything. Whatever He desires He can bestow upon His devotees; He is the friend of everyone, and He is especially inclined to His devotee. He is the controller of this material nature and of all living entities. He is also the controller of inexhaustible time, and He is full of all opulences and all potencies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead can even give Himself to the devotee. One who does not know Him is under the spell of illusion; he does not become a devotee, but a servitor of maya. Arjuna, however, after hearing Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, became free from all illusion. He could understand that Krishna was not only his friend but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And he understood Krishna factually. So to study Bhagavad-gita is to understand Krishna factually. When a person is in full knowledge, he naturally surrenders to Krishna. When Arjuna understood that it was Krishna’s plan to reduce the unnecessary increase of population, he agreed to fight according to Krishna’s desire. He again took up his weapons – his arrows and bow – to fight under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 72
Bg 18.72
kaccid etac chrutam partha
tvayaikagrena cetasa
kaccid ajnana-sammohah
pranastas te dhanan-jaya
Word for word:
kaccit — whether; etat — this; srutam — heard; partha — O son of Prtha; tvaya — by you; eka-agrena — with full attention; cetasa — by the mind; kaccit — whether; ajnana — of ignorance; sammohah — the illusion; pranastah — dispelled; te — of you; dhanam-jaya — O conqueror of wealth (Arjuna).
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O son of Prtha, O conqueror of wealth, have you heard this with an attentive mind? And are your ignorance and illusions now dispelled?
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord was acting as the spiritual master of Arjuna. Therefore it was His duty to inquire from Arjuna whether he understood the whole Bhagavad-gita in its proper perspective. If not, the Lord was ready to re-explain any point, or the whole Bhagavad-gita if so required. Actually, anyone who hears Bhagavad-gita from a bona fide spiritual master like Krishna or His representative will find that all his ignorance is dispelled. Bhagavad-gita is not an ordinary book written by a poet or fiction writer; it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Any person fortunate enough to hear these teachings from Krishna or from His bona fide spiritual representative is sure to become a liberated person and get out of the darkness of ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 71
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Bg 18.71
sraddhavan anasuyas ca
srnuyad api yo narah
so ’pi muktah subhal lokan
prapnuyat punya-karmanam
Word for word:
sraddha-van — faithful; anasuyah — not envious; ca — and; srnuyat — does hear; api — certainly; yah — who; narah — a man; sah — he; api — also; muktah — being liberated; subhan — the auspicious; lokan — planets; prapnuyat — he attains; punya-karmanam — of the pious.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In the sixty-seventh verse of this chapter, the Lord explicitly forbade the Gita’s being spoken to those who are envious of the Lord. In other words, Bhagavad-gita is for the devotees only. But it so happens that sometimes a devotee of the Lord will hold open class, and in that class not all the students are expected to be devotees. Why do such persons hold open class? It is explained here that although not everyone is a devotee, still there are many men who are not envious of Krishna. They have faith in Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such persons hear from a bona fide devotee about the Lord, the result is that they become at once free from all sinful reactions and after that attain to the planetary system where all righteous persons are situated. Therefore simply by hearing Bhagavad-gita, even a person who does not try to be a pure devotee attains the result of righteous activities. Thus a pure devotee of the Lord gives everyone a chance to become free from all sinful reactions and to become a devotee of the Lord.
Generally those who are free from sinful reactions, those who are righteous, very easily take to Krishna consciousness. The word punya-karmanam is very significant here. This refers to the performance of great sacrifices, like the asvamedha-yajna, mentioned in the Vedic literature. Those who are righteous in performing devotional service but who are not pure can attain the planetary system of the polestar, or Dhruvaloka, where Dhruva Maharaja is presiding. He is a great devotee of the Lord, and he has a special planet, which is called the polestar.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 70
Bg 18.70
adhyesyate ca ya imam
dharmyam samvadam avayoh
jnana-yajnena tenaham
istah syam iti me matih
Word for word:
adhyesyate — will study; ca — also; yah — he who; imam — this; dharmyam — sacred; samvadam — conversation; avayoh — of ours; jnana — of knowledge; yajnena — by the sacrifice; tena — by him; aham — I; istah — worshiped; syam — shall be; iti — thus; me — My; matih — opinion.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation of ours worships Me by his intelligence.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 69
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Bg 18.69
na ca tasman manusyesu
kascin me priya-krttamah
bhavita na ca me tasmad
anyah priya-taro bhuvi
Word for word:
na — never; ca — and; tasmat — than him; manusyesu — among men; kascit — anyone; me — to Me; priya-krt-tamah — more dear; bhavita — will become; na — nor; ca — and; me — to Me; tasmat — than him; anyah — another; priya-tarah — dearer; bhuvi — in this world.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 68
Bg 18.68
ya idam paramam guhyam
mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati
bhaktim mayi param krtva
mam evaisyaty asamsayah
Word for word:
yah — anyone who; idam — this; paramam — most; guhyam — confidential secret; mat — of Mine; bhaktesu — amongst devotees; abhidhasyati — explains; bhaktim — devotional service; mayi — unto Me; param — transcendental; krtva — doing; mam — unto Me; eva — certainly; esyati — comes; asamsayah — without doubt.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Generally it is advised that Bhagavad-gita be discussed amongst the devotees only, for those who are not devotees will understand neither Krishna nor Bhagavad-gita. Those who do not accept Krishna as He is and Bhagavad-gita as it is should not try to explain Bhagavad-gita whimsically and become offenders. Bhagavad-gita should be explained to persons who are ready to accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is a subject matter for the devotees only and not for philosophical speculators. Anyone, however, who tries sincerely to present Bhagavad-gita as it is will advance in devotional activities and reach the pure devotional state of life. As a result of such pure devotion, he is sure to go back home, back to Godhead.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 67
Bg 18.67
idam te natapaskaya
nabhaktaya kadacana
na casusrusave vacyam
na ca mam yo ’bhyasuyati
Word for word:
idam — this; te — by you; na — never; atapaskaya — to one who is not austere; na — never; abhaktaya — to one who is not a devotee; kadacana — at any time; na — never; ca — also; asusrusave — to one who is not engaged in devotional service; vacyam — to be spoken; na — never; ca — also; mam — toward Me; yah — anyone who; abhyasuyati — is envious.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Persons who have not undergone the austerities of the religious process, who have never attempted devotional service in Krishna consciousness, who have not tended a pure devotee, and especially those who are conscious of Krishna only as a historical personality or who are envious of the greatness of Krishna should not be told this most confidential part of knowledge. It is, however, sometimes found that even demoniac persons who are envious of Krishna, worshiping Krishna in a different way, take to the profession of explaining Bhagavad-gita in a different way to make business, but anyone who desires actually to understand Krishna must avoid such commentaries on Bhagavad-gita. Actually the purpose of Bhagavad-gita is not understandable to those who are sensuous. Even if one is not sensuous but is strictly following the disciplines enjoined in the Vedic scripture, if he is not a devotee he also cannot understand Krishna. And even when one poses himself as a devotee of Krishna but is not engaged in Krishna conscious activities, he also cannot understand Krishna. There are many persons who envy Krishna because He has explained in Bhagavad-gita that He is the Supreme and that nothing is above Him or equal to Him. There are many persons who are envious of Krishna. Such persons should not be told of Bhagavad-gita, for they cannot understand. There is no possibility of faithless persons’ understanding Bhagavad-gita and Krishna. Without understanding Krishna from the authority of a pure devotee, one should not try to comment upon Bhagavad-gita.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 66
Bg 18.66
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
Word for word:
sarva-dharman — all varieties of religion; parityajya — abandoning; mam — unto Me; ekam — only; saranam — for surrender; vraja — go; aham — I; tvam — you; sarva — all; papebhyah — from sinful reactions; moksayisyami — will deliver; ma — do not; sucah — worry.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge and processes of religion – knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of nonattachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Krishna. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.
In the Seventh Chapter it was said that only one who has become free from all sinful reactions can take to the worship of Lord Krishna. Thus one may think that unless he is free from all sinful reactions he cannot take to the surrendering process. To such doubts it is here said that even if one is not free from all sinful reactions, simply by the process of surrendering to Sri Krishna he is automatically freed. There is no need of strenuous effort to free oneself from sinful reactions. One should unhesitatingly accept Krishna as the supreme savior of all living entities. With faith and love, one should surrender unto Him.
The process of surrender to Krishna is described in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (11.676):
anukulyasya sankalpah
pratikulyasya varjanam
raksisyatiti visvaso
goptrtve varanam tatha
atma-niksepa-karpanye
sad-vidha saranagatih
According to the devotional process, one should simply accept such religious principles that will lead ultimately to the devotional service of the Lord. One may perform a particular occupational duty according to his position in the social order, but if by executing his duty one does not come to the point of Krishna consciousness, all his activities are in vain. Anything that does not lead to the perfectional stage of Krishna consciousness should be avoided. One should be confident that in all circumstances Krishna will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Krishna will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krishna the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Krishna consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature. There are different processes of religion and purificatory processes by cultivation of knowledge, meditation in the mystic yoga system, etc., but one who surrenders unto Krishna does not have to execute so many methods. That simple surrender unto Krishna will save him from unnecessarily wasting time. One can thus make all progress at once and be freed from all sinful reactions.
One should be attracted by the beautiful vision of Krishna. His name is Krishna because He is all-attractive. One who becomes attracted by the beautiful, all-powerful, omnipotent vision of Krishna is fortunate. There are different kinds of transcendentalists – some of them are attached to the impersonal Brahman vision, some of them are attracted by the Supersoul feature, etc., but one who is attracted to the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and, above all, one who is attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Krishna Himself, is the most perfect transcendentalist. In other words, devotional service to Krishna, in full consciousness, is the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is the essence of the whole Bhagavad-gita. Karma-yogis, empiric philosophers, mystics and devotees are all called transcendentalists, but one who is a pure devotee is the best of all. The particular words used here, ma sucah, “Don’t fear, don’t hesitate, don’t worry,” are very significant. One may be perplexed as to how one can give up all kinds of religious forms and simply surrender unto Krishna, but such worry is useless.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 65
Bg 18.65
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me
Word for word:
mat-manah — thinking of Me; bhava — just become; mat-bhaktah — My devotee; mat-yaji — My worshiper; mam — unto Me; namaskuru — offer your obeisances; mam — unto Me; eva — certainly; esyasi — you will come; satyam — truly; te — to you; pratijane — I promise; priyah — dear; asi — you are; me — to Me.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The most confidential part of knowledge is that one should become a pure devotee of Krishna and always think of Him and act for Him. One should not become an official meditator. Life should be so molded that one will always have the chance to think of Krishna. One should always act in such a way that all his daily activities are in connection with Krishna. He should arrange his life in such a way that throughout the twenty-four hours he cannot but think of Krishna. And the Lord’s promise is that anyone who is in such pure Krishna consciousness will certainly return to the abode of Krishna, where he will be engaged in the association of Krishna face to face. This most confidential part of knowledge is spoken to Arjuna because he is the dear friend of Krishna. Everyone who follows the path of Arjuna can become a dear friend to Krishna and obtain the same perfection as Arjuna.
These words stress that one should concentrate his mind upon Krishna – the very form with two hands carrying a flute, the bluish boy with a beautiful face and peacock feathers in His hair. There are descriptions of Krishna found in the Brahma-samhita and other literatures. One should fix his mind on this original form of Godhead, Krishna. One should not even divert his attention to other forms of the Lord. The Lord has multiforms as Visnu, Narayana, Rama, Varaha, etc., but a devotee should concentrate his mind on the form that was present before Arjuna. Concentration of the mind on the form of Krishna constitutes the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is disclosed to Arjuna because Arjuna is the most dear friend of Krishna’s.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 64
Bg 18.64
sarva-guhyatamam bhuyah
srnu me paramam vacah
isto ’si me drdham iti
tato vaksyami te hitam
Word for word:
sarva-guhya-tamam — the most confidential of all; bhuyah — again; srnu — just hear; me — from Me; paramam — the supreme; vacah — instruction; istah asi — you are dear; me — to Me; drdham — very; iti — thus; tatah — therefore; vaksyami — I am speaking; te — for your; hitam — benefit.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord has given Arjuna knowledge that is confidential (knowledge of Brahman) and still more confidential (knowledge of the Supersoul within everyone’s heart), and now He is giving the most confidential part of knowledge: just surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the end of the Ninth Chapter He has said, man-manah: “Just always think of Me.” The same instruction is repeated here to stress the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gita. This essence is not understood by a common man, but by one who is actually very dear to Krishna, a pure devotee of Krishna. This is the most important instruction in all Vedic literature. What Krishna is saying in this connection is the most essential part of knowledge, and it should be carried out not only by Arjuna but by all living entities.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 63
Bg 18.63
iti te jnanam akhyatam
guhyad guhya-taram maya
vimrsyaitad asesena
yathecchasi tatha kuru
Word for word:
iti — thus; te — unto you; jnanam — knowledge; akhyatam — described; guhyat — than confidential; guhya-taram — still more confidential; maya — by Me; vimrsya — deliberating; etat — on this; asesena — fully; yatha — as; icchasi — you like; tatha — that; kuru — perform.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord has already explained to Arjuna the knowledge of brahma-bhuta. One who is in the brahma-bhuta condition is joyful; he never laments, nor does he desire anything. That is due to confidential knowledge. Krishna also discloses knowledge of the Supersoul. This is also Brahman knowledge, knowledge of Brahman, but it is superior.
Here the words yathecchasi tatha kuru – “As you like, you may act” – indicate that God does not interfere with the little independence of the living entity. In Bhagavad-gita, the Lord has explained in all respects how one can elevate his living condition. The best advice imparted to Arjuna is to surrender unto the Supersoul seated within his heart. By right discrimination, one should agree to act according to the order of the Supersoul. That will help one become situated constantly in Krishna consciousness, the highest perfectional stage of human life. Arjuna is being directly ordered by the Personality of Godhead to fight. Surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in the best interest of the living entities. It is not for the interest of the Supreme. Before surrendering, one is free to deliberate on this subject as far as the intelligence goes; that is the best way to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such instruction comes also through the spiritual master, the bona fide representative of Krishna.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 62
Bg 18.62
tam eva saranam gaccha
sarva-bhavena bharata
tat-prasadat param santim
sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam
Word for word:
tam — unto Him; eva — certainly; saranam gaccha — surrender; sarva-bhavena — in all respects; bharata — O son of Bharata; tat-prasadat — by His grace; param — transcendental; santim — peace; sthanam — the abode; prapsyasi — you will get; sasvatam — eternal.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A living entity should therefore surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone’s heart, and that will relieve him from all kinds of miseries of this material existence. By such surrender, not only will one be released from all miseries in this life, but at the end he will reach the Supreme God. The transcendental world is described in the Vedic literature (Rg Veda 1.22.20) as tad visnoh paramam padam. Since all of creation is the kingdom of God, everything material is actually spiritual, but paramam padam specifically refers to the eternal abode, which is called the spiritual sky or Vaikuntha.
In the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita it is stated, sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistah: the Lord is seated in everyone’s heart. So this recommendation that one should surrender unto the Supersoul sitting within means that one should surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. Krishna has already been accepted by Arjuna as the Supreme. He was accepted in the Tenth Chapter as param brahma param dhama. Arjuna has accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the supreme abode of all living entities, not only because of his personal experience but also because of the evidence of great authorities like Narada, Asita, Devala and Vyasa.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 61
Bg 18.61
isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya
Word for word:
isvarah — the Supreme Lord; sarva-bhutanam — of all living entities; hrt-dese — in the location of the heart; arjuna — O Arjuna; tisthati — resides; bhramayan — causing to travel; sarva-bhutani — all living entities; yantra — on a machine; arudhani — being placed; mayaya — under the spell of material energy.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Arjuna was not the supreme knower, and his decision to fight or not to fight was confined to his limited discretion. Lord Krishna instructed that the individual is not all in all. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, or He Himself, Krishna, as the localized Supersoul, sits in the heart directing the living being. After changing bodies, the living entity forgets his past deeds, but the Supersoul, as the knower of the past, present and future, remains the witness of all his activities. Therefore all the activities of living entities are directed by this Supersoul. The living entity gets what he deserves and is carried by the material body, which is created in the material energy under the direction of the Supersoul. As soon as a living entity is placed in a particular type of body, he has to work under the spell of that bodily situation. A person seated in a high-speed motorcar goes faster than one seated in a slower car, though the living entities, the drivers, may be the same. Similarly, by the order of the Supreme Soul, material nature fashions a particular type of body to a particular type of living entity so that he may work according to his past desires. The living entity is not independent. One should not think himself independent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The individual is always under the Lord’s control. Therefore one’s duty is to surrender, and that is the injunction of the next verse.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 60
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Bg 18.60
svabhava-jena kaunteya
nibaddhah svena karmana
kartum necchasi yan mohat
karisyasy avaso ’pi tat
Word for word:
svabhava-jena — born of your own nature; kaunteya — O son of Kunti; nibaddhah — conditioned; svena — by your own; karmana — activities; kartum — to do; na — not; icchasi — you like; yat — that which; mohat — by illusion; karisyasi — you will do; avasah — involuntarily; api — even; tat — that.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Under illusion you are now declining to act according to My direction. But, compelled by the work born of your own nature, you will act all the same, O son of Kunti.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
If one refuses to act under the direction of the Supreme Lord, then he is compelled to act by the modes in which he is situated. Everyone is under the spell of a particular combination of the modes of nature and is acting in that way. But anyone who voluntarily engages himself under the direction of the Supreme Lord becomes glorious.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 59
No files found.
Bg 18.59
yad ahankaram asritya
na yotsya iti manyase
mithyaisa vyavasayas te
prakrtis tvam niyoksyati
Word for word:
yat — if; ahankaram — of false ego; asritya — taking shelter; na yotsye — I shall not fight; iti — thus; manyase — you think; mithya esah — this is all false; vyavasayah — determination; te — your; prakrtih — material nature; tvam — you; niyoksyati — will engage.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
If you do not act according to My direction and do not fight, then you will be falsely directed. By your nature, you will have to be engaged in warfare.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Arjuna was a military man, and born of the nature of the ksatriya. Therefore his natural duty was to fight. But due to false ego he was fearing that by killing his teacher, grandfather and friends he would incur sinful reactions. Actually he was considering himself master of his actions, as if he were directing the good and bad results of such work. He forgot that the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present there, instructing him to fight. That is the forgetfulness of the conditioned soul. The Supreme Personality gives directions as to what is good and what is bad, and one simply has to act in Krishna consciousness to attain the perfection of life. No one can ascertain his destiny as the Supreme Lord can; therefore the best course is to take direction from the Supreme Lord and act. No one should neglect the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the order of the spiritual master, who is the representative of God. One should act unhesitatingly to execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead – that will keep one safe under all circumstances.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 58
Bg 18.58
mac-cittah sarva-durgani
mat-prasadat tarisyasi
atha cet tvam ahankaran
na srosyasi vinanksyasi
Word for word:
mat — of Me; cittah — being in consciousness; sarva — all; durgani — impediments; mat-prasadat — by My mercy; tarisyasi — you will overcome; atha — but; cet — if; tvam — you; ahankarat — by false ego; na srosyasi — do not hear; vinanksyasi — you will be lost.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A person in full Krishna consciousness is not unduly anxious about executing the duties of his existence. The foolish cannot understand this great freedom from all anxiety. For one who acts in Krishna consciousness, Lord Krishna becomes the most intimate friend. He always looks after His friend’s comfort, and He gives Himself to His friend, who is so devotedly engaged working twenty-four hours a day to please the Lord. Therefore, no one should be carried away by the false ego of the bodily concept of life. One should not falsely think himself independent of the laws of material nature or free to act. He is already under strict material laws. But as soon as he acts in Krishna consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Krishna consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death. No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, but a person who acts in Krishna consciousness is free to act because everything is prompted by Krishna from within and confirmed by the spiritual master.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 57
Bg 18.57
cetasa sarva-karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
buddhi-yogam upasritya
mac-cittah satatam bhava
Word for word:
cetasa — by intelligence; sarva-karmani — all kinds of activities; mayi — unto Me; sannyasya — giving up; mat-parah — under My protection; buddhi-yogam — devotional activities; upasritya — taking shelter of; mat-cittah — in consciousness of Me; satatam — twenty-four hours a day; bhava — just become.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In all activities just depend upon Me and work always under My protection. In such devotional service, be fully conscious of Me.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
When one acts in Krishna consciousness, he does not act as the master of the world. Just like a servant, one should act fully under the direction of the Supreme Lord. A servant has no individual independence. He acts only on the order of the master. A servant acting on behalf of the supreme master is unaffected by profit and loss. He simply discharges his duty faithfully in terms of the order of the Lord. Now, one may argue that Arjuna was acting under the personal direction of Krishna but when Krishna is not present how should one act? If one acts according to the direction of Krishna in this book, as well as under the guidance of the representative of Krishna, then the result will be the same. The Sanskrit word mat-parah is very important in this verse. It indicates that one has no goal in life save and except acting in Krishna consciousness just to satisfy Krishna. And while working in that way, one should think of Krishna only: “I have been appointed to discharge this particular duty by Krishna.” While acting in such a way, one naturally has to think of Krishna. This is perfect Krishna consciousness. One should, however, note that after doing something whimsically he should not offer the result to the Supreme Lord. That sort of duty is not in the devotional service of Krishna consciousness. One should act according to the order of Krishna. This is a very important point. That order of Krishna comes through disciplic succession from the bona fide spiritual master. Therefore the spiritual master’s order should be taken as the prime duty of life. If one gets a bona fide spiritual master and acts according to his direction, then one’s perfection of life in Krishna consciousness is guaranteed.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 56
Bg 18.56
sarva-karmany api sada
kurvano mad-vyapasrayah
mat-prasadad avapnoti
sasvatam padam avyayam
Word for word:
sarva — all; karmani — activities; api — although; sada — always; kurvanah — performing; mat-vyapasrayah — under My protection; mat-prasadat — by My mercy; avapnoti — one achieves; sasvatam — the eternal; padam — abode; avyayam — imperishable.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Though engaged in all kinds of activities, My pure devotee, under My protection, reaches the eternal and imperishable abode by My grace.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The word mad-vyapasrayah means under the protection of the Supreme Lord. To be free from material contamination, a pure devotee acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord or His representative, the spiritual master. There is no time limitation for a pure devotee. He is always, twenty-four hours a day, one hundred percent engaged in activities under the direction of the Supreme Lord. To a devotee who is thus engaged in Krishna consciousness the Lord is very, very kind. In spite of all difficulties, he is eventually placed in the transcendental abode, or Krishnaloka. He is guaranteed entrance there; there is no doubt about it. In that supreme abode, there is no change; everything is eternal, imperishable and full of knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 55
Bg 18.55
bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
Word for word:
bhaktya — by pure devotional service; mam — Me; abhijanati — one can know; yavan — as much as; yah ca asmi — as I am; tattvatah — in truth; tatah — thereafter; mam — Me; tattvatah — in truth; jnatva — knowing; visate — he enters; tat-anantaram — thereafter.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and His plenary portions cannot be understood by mental speculation nor by the nondevotees. If anyone wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has to take to pure devotional service under the guidance of a pure devotee. Otherwise, the truth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will always be hidden. As already stated in Bhagavad-gita (7.25), naham prakasah sarvasya: He is not revealed to everyone. No one can understand God simply by erudite scholarship or mental speculation. Only one who is actually engaged in Krishna consciousness and devotional service can understand what Krishna is. University degrees are not helpful.
One who is fully conversant with the Krishna science becomes eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the abode of Krishna. Becoming Brahman does not mean that one loses his identity. Devotional service is there, and as long as devotional service exists, there must be God, the devotee, and the process of devotional service. Such knowledge is never vanquished, even after liberation. Liberation involves getting free from the concept of material life; in spiritual life the same distinction is there, the same individuality is there, but in pure Krishna consciousness. One should not mistakenly think that the word visate, “enters into Me,” supports the monist theory that one becomes homogeneous with the impersonal Brahman. No. Visate means that one can enter into the abode of the Supreme Lord in one’s individuality to engage in His association and render service unto Him. For instance, a green bird enters a green tree not to become one with the tree but to enjoy the fruits of the tree. Impersonalists generally give the example of a river flowing into the ocean and merging. This may be a source of happiness for the impersonalist, but the personalist keeps his personal individuality like an aquatic in the ocean. We find so many living entities within the ocean, if we go deep. Surface acquaintance with the ocean is not sufficient; one must have complete knowledge of the aquatics living in the ocean depths.
Because of his pure devotional service, a devotee can understand the transcendental qualities and the opulences of the Supreme Lord in truth. As it is stated in the Eleventh Chapter, only by devotional service can one understand. The same is confirmed here; one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service and enter into His kingdom.
After attainment of the brahma-bhuta stage of freedom from material conceptions, devotional service begins by one’s hearing about the Lord. When one hears about the Supreme Lord, automatically the brahma-bhuta stage develops, and material contamination – greediness and lust for sense enjoyment – disappears. As lust and desires disappear from the heart of a devotee, he becomes more attached to the service of the Lord, and by such attachment he becomes free from material contamination. In that state of life he can understand the Supreme Lord. This is the statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam also. After liberation the process of bhakti, or transcendental service, continues. The Vedanta-sutra (4.1.12) confirms this: a-prayanat tatrapi hi drstam. This means that after liberation the process of devotional service continues. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, real devotional liberation is defined as the reinstatement of the living entity in his own identity, his own constitutional position. The constitutional position is already explained: every living entity is a part-and-parcel fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord. Therefore his constitutional position is to serve. After liberation, this service is never stopped. Actual liberation is getting free from misconceptions of life.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 54
Bg 18.54
brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
Word for word:
brahma-bhutah — being one with the Absolute; prasanna-atma — fully joyful; na — never; socati — laments; na — never; kanksati — desires; samah — equally disposed; sarvesu — to all; bhutesu — living entities; mat-bhaktim — My devotional service; labhate — gains; param — transcendental.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
To the impersonalist, achieving the brahma-bhuta stage, becoming one with the Absolute, is the last word. But for the personalist, or pure devotee, one has to go still further, to become engaged in pure devotional service. This means that one who is engaged in pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord is already in a state of liberation, called brahma-bhuta, oneness with the Absolute. Without being one with the Supreme, the Absolute, one cannot render service unto Him. In the absolute conception, there is no difference between the served and the servitor; yet the distinction is there, in a higher spiritual sense.
In the material concept of life, when one works for sense gratification, there is misery, but in the absolute world, when one is engaged in pure devotional service, there is no misery. The devotee in Krishna consciousness has nothing for which to lament or desire. Since God is full, a living entity who is engaged in God’s service, in Krishna consciousness, becomes also full in himself. He is just like a river cleansed of all dirty water. Because a pure devotee has no thought other than Krishna, he is naturally always joyful. He does not lament for any material loss or aspire for gain, because he is full in the service of the Lord. He has no desire for material enjoyment, because he knows that every living entity is a fragmental part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore eternally a servant. He does not see, in the material world, someone as higher and someone as lower; higher and lower positions are ephemeral, and a devotee has nothing to do with ephemeral appearances or disappearances. For him stone and gold are of equal value. This is the brahma-bhuta stage, and this stage is attained very easily by the pure devotee. In that stage of existence, the idea of becoming one with the Supreme Brahman and annihilating one’s individuality becomes hellish, the idea of attaining the heavenly kingdom becomes phantasmagoria, and the senses are like serpents whose poison teeth are broken. As there is no fear of a serpent with broken teeth, there is no fear from the senses when they are automatically controlled. The world is miserable for the materially infected person, but for a devotee the entire world is as good as Vaikuntha, or the spiritual sky. The highest personality in this material universe is no more significant than an ant for a devotee. Such a stage can be achieved by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, who preached pure devotional service in this age.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 51-53
Bg 18.51-53
buddhya visuddhaya yukto
dhrtyatmanam niyamya ca
sabdadin visayams tyaktva
raga-dvesau vyudasya ca
vivikta-sevi laghv-asi
yata-vak-kaya-manasah
dhyana-yoga-paro nityam
vairagyam samupasritah
ahankaram balam darpam
kamam krodham parigraham
vimucya nirmamah santo
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
Word for word:
buddhya — with the intelligence; visuddhaya — fully purified; yuktah — engaged; dhrtya — by determination; atmanam — the self; niyamya — regulating; ca — also; sabda-adin — such as sound; visayan — the sense objects; tyaktva — giving up; raga — attachment; dvesau — and hatred; vyudasya — laying aside; ca — also; vivikta-sevi — living in a secluded place; laghu-asi — eating a small quantity; yata — having controlled; vak — speech; kaya — body; manasah — and mind; dhyana-yoga-parah — absorbed in trance; nityam — twenty-four hours a day; vairagyam — detachment; samupasritah — having taken shelter of; ahankaram — false ego; balam — false strength; darpam — false pride; kamam — lust; krodham — anger; parigraham — and acceptance of material things; vimucya — being delivered from; nirmamah — without a sense of proprietorship; santah — peaceful; brahma-bhuyaya — for self-realization; kalpate — is qualified.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Being purified by his intelligence and controlling the mind with determination, giving up the objects of sense gratification, being freed from attachment and hatred, one who lives in a secluded place, who eats little, who controls his body, mind and power of speech, who is always in trance and who is detached, free from false ego, false strength, false pride, lust, anger, and acceptance of material things, free from false proprietorship, and peaceful – such a person is certainly elevated to the position of self-realization.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
When one is purified by intelligence, he keeps himself in the mode of goodness. Thus one becomes the controller of the mind and is always in trance. He is not attached to the objects of sense gratification, and he is free from attachment and hatred in his activities. Such a detached person naturally prefers to live in a secluded place, he does not eat more than what he requires, and he controls the activities of his body and mind. He has no false ego because he does not accept the body as himself. Nor has he a desire to make the body fat and strong by accepting so many material things. Because he has no bodily concept of life, he is not falsely proud. He is satisfied with everything that is offered to him by the grace of the Lord, and he is never angry in the absence of sense gratification. Nor does he endeavor to acquire sense objects. Thus when he is completely free from false ego, he becomes nonattached to all material things, and that is the stage of self-realization of Brahman. That stage is called the brahma-bhuta stage. When one is free from the material conception of life, he becomes peaceful and cannot be agitated. This is described in Bhagavad-gita (2.70):
apuryamanam acala-pratistham
samudram apah pravisanti yadvat
tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve
sa santim apnoti na kama-kami
“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 50
Bg 18.50
siddhim prapto yatha brahma
tathapnoti nibodha me
samasenaiva kaunteya
nistha jnanasya ya para
Word for word:
siddhim — perfection; praptah — achieving; yatha — as; brahma — the Supreme; tatha — so; apnoti — one achieves; nibodha — try to understand; me — from Me; samasena — summarily; eva — certainly; kaunteya — O son of Kunti; nistha — the stage; jnanasya — of knowledge; ya — which; para — transcendental.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O son of Kunti, learn from Me how one who has achieved this perfection can attain to the supreme perfectional stage, Brahman, the stage of highest knowledge, by acting in the way I shall now summarize.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord describes for Arjuna how one can achieve the highest perfectional stage simply by being engaged in his occupational duty, performing that duty for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One attains the supreme stage of Brahman simply by renouncing the result of his work for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. That is the process of self-realization. The actual perfection of knowledge is in attaining pure Krishna consciousness; that is described in the following verses.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 49
Bg 18.49
asakta-buddhih sarvatra
jitatma vigata-sprhah
naiskarmya-siddhim paramam
sannyasenadhigacchati
Word for word:
asakta-buddhih — having unattached intelligence; sarvatra — everywhere; jita-atma — having control of the mind; vigata-sprhah — without material desires; naiskarmya-siddhim — the perfection of nonreaction; paramam — supreme; sannyasena — by the renounced order of life; adhigacchati — one attains.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One who is self-controlled and unattached and who disregards all material enjoyments can obtain, by practice of renunciation, the highest perfect stage of freedom from reaction.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Real renunciation means that one should always think himself part and parcel of the Supreme Lord and therefore think that he has no right to enjoy the results of his work. Since he is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, the results of his work must be enjoyed by the Supreme Lord. This is actually Krishna consciousness. The person acting in Krishna consciousness is really a sannyasi, one in the renounced order of life. By such a mentality, one is satisfied because he is actually acting for the Supreme. Thus he is not attached to anything material; he becomes accustomed to not taking pleasure in anything beyond the transcendental happiness derived from the service of the Lord. A sannyasi is supposed to be free from the reactions of his past activities, but a person who is in Krishna consciousness automatically attains this perfection without even accepting the so-called order of renunciation. This state of mind is called yogarudha, or the perfectional stage of yoga. As confirmed in the Third Chapter, yas tv atma-ratir eva syat: one who is satisfied in himself has no fear of any kind of reaction from his activity.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 48
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Bg 18.48
saha-jam karma kaunteya
sa-dosam api na tyajet
sarvarambha hi dosena
dhumenagnir ivavrtah
Word for word:
saha-jam — born simultaneously; karma — work; kaunteya — O son of Kunti; sa-dosam — with fault; api — although; na — never; tyajet — one should give up; sarva-arambhah — all ventures; hi — certainly; dosena — with fault; dhumena — with smoke; agnih — fire; iva — as; avrtah — covered.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Every endeavor is covered by some fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of fault.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In conditioned life, all work is contaminated by the material modes of nature. Even if one is a brahmana, he has to perform sacrifices in which animal killing is necessary. Similarly, a ksatriya, however pious he may be, has to fight enemies. He cannot avoid it. Similarly, a merchant, however pious he may be, must sometimes hide his profit to stay in business, or he may sometimes have to do business on the black market. These things are necessary; one cannot avoid them. Similarly, even though a man is a sudra serving a bad master, he has to carry out the order of the master, even though it should not be done. Despite these flaws, one should continue to carry out his prescribed duties, for they are born out of his own nature.
A very nice example is given herein. Although fire is pure, still there is smoke. Yet smoke does not make the fire impure. Even though there is smoke in the fire, fire is still considered to be the purest of all elements. If one prefers to give up the work of a ksatriya and take up the occupation of a brahmana, he is not assured that in the occupation of a brahmana there are no unpleasant duties. One may then conclude that in the material world no one can be completely free from the contamination of material nature. This example of fire and smoke is very appropriate in this connection. When in wintertime one takes a stone from the fire, sometimes smoke disturbs the eyes and other parts of the body, but still one must make use of the fire despite disturbing conditions. Similarly, one should not give up his natural occupation because there are some disturbing elements. Rather, one should be determined to serve the Supreme Lord by his occupational duty in Krishna consciousness. That is the perfectional point. When a particular type of occupation is performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, all the defects in that particular occupation are purified. When the results of work are purified, when connected with devotional service, one becomes perfect in seeing the self within, and that is self-realization.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 47
Bg 18.47
sreyan sva-dharmo vigunah
para-dharmat sv-anusthitat
svabhava-niyatam karma
kurvan napnoti kilbisam
Word for word:
sreyan — better; sva-dharmah — one’s own occupation; vigunah — imperfectly performed; para-dharmat — than another’s occupation; su-anusthitat — perfectly done; svabhava-niyatam — prescribed according to one’s nature; karma — work; kurvan — performing; na — never; apnoti — achieves; kilbisam — sinful reactions.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
It is better to engage in one’s own occupation, even though one may perform it imperfectly, than to accept another’s occupation and perform it perfectly. Duties prescribed according to one’s nature are never affected by sinful reactions.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One’s occupational duty is prescribed in Bhagavad-gita. As already discussed in previous verses, the duties of a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra are prescribed according to their particular modes of nature. One should not imitate another’s duty. A man who is by nature attracted to the kind of work done by sudras should not artificially claim to be a brahmana, although he may have been born into a brahmana family. In this way one should work according to his own nature; no work is abominable, if performed in the service of the Supreme Lord. The occupational duty of a brahmana is certainly in the mode of goodness, but if a person is not by nature in the mode of goodness, he should not imitate the occupational duty of a brahmana. For a ksatriya, or administrator, there are so many abominable things; a ksatriya has to be violent to kill his enemies, and sometimes a ksatriya has to tell lies for the sake of diplomacy. Such violence and duplicity accompany political affairs, but a ksatriya is not supposed to give up his occupational duty and try to perform the duties of a brahmana.
One should act to satisfy the Supreme Lord. For example, Arjuna was a ksatriya. He was hesitating to fight the other party. But if such fighting is performed for the sake of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there need be no fear of degradation. In the business field also, sometimes a merchant has to tell so many lies to make a profit. If he does not do so, there can be no profit. Sometimes a merchant says, “Oh, my dear customer, for you I am making no profit,” but one should know that without profit the merchant cannot exist. Therefore it should be taken as a simple lie if a merchant says that he is not making a profit. But the merchant should not think that because he is engaged in an occupation in which the telling of lies is compulsory, he should give up his profession and pursue the profession of a brahmana. That is not recommended. Whether one is a ksatriya, a vaisya, or a sudra doesn’t matter, if he serves, by his work, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even brahmanas, who perform different types of sacrifice, sometimes must kill animals because sometimes animals are sacrificed in such ceremonies. Similarly, if a ksatriya engaged in his own occupation kills an enemy, there is no sin incurred. In the Third Chapter these matters have been clearly and elaborately explained; every man should work for the purpose of Yajna, or for Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anything done for personal sense gratification is a cause of bondage. The conclusion is that everyone should be engaged according to the particular mode of nature he has acquired, and he should decide to work only to serve the supreme cause of the Supreme Lord.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 46
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Bg 18.46
yatah pravrttir bhutanam
yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya
siddhim vindati manavah
Word for word:
yatah — from whom; pravrttih — the emanation; bhutanam — of all living entities; yena — by whom; sarvam — all; idam — this; tatam — is pervaded; sva-karmana — by his own duties; tam — Him; abhyarcya — by worshiping; siddhim — perfection; vindati — achieves; manavah — a man.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
As stated in the Fifteenth Chapter, all living beings are fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. Thus the Supreme Lord is the beginning of all living entities. This is confirmed in the Vedanta-sutra – janmady asya yatah. The Supreme Lord is therefore the beginning of life of every living entity. And as stated in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord, by His two energies, His external energy and internal energy, is all-pervading. Therefore one should worship the Supreme Lord with His energies. Generally the Vaisnava devotees worship the Supreme Lord with His internal energy. His external energy is a perverted reflection of the internal energy. The external energy is a background, but the Supreme Lord by the expansion of His plenary portion as Paramatma is situated everywhere. He is the Supersoul of all demigods, all human beings, all animals, everywhere. One should therefore know that as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord one has his duty to render service unto the Supreme. Everyone should be engaged in devotional service to the Lord in full Krishna consciousness. That is recommended in this verse.
Everyone should think that he is engaged in a particular type of occupation by Hrsikesa, the master of the senses. And by the result of the work in which one is engaged, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, should be worshiped. If one thinks always in this way, in full Krishna consciousness, then, by the grace of the Lord, he becomes fully aware of everything. That is the perfection of life. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (12.7), tesam aham samuddharta. The Supreme Lord Himself takes charge of delivering such a devotee. That is the highest perfection of life. In whatever occupation one may be engaged, if he serves the Supreme Lord he will achieve the highest perfection.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 45
Bg 18.45
sve sve karmany abhiratah
samsiddhim labhate narah
sva-karma-niratah siddhim
yatha vindati tac chrnu
Word for word:
sve sve — each his own; karmani — work; abhiratah — following; samsiddhim — perfection; labhate — achieves; narah — a man; sva-karma — in his own duty; niratah — engaged; siddhim — perfection; yatha — as; vindati — attains; tat — that; srnu — listen.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect. Now please hear from Me how this can be done.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 44
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Bg 18.44
krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam
vaisya-karma svabhava-jam
paricaryatmakam karma
sudrasyapi svabhava-jam
Word for word:
krsi — plowing; go — of cows; raksya — protection; vanijyam — trade; vaisya — of a vaisya; karma — duty; svabhava-jam — born of his own nature; paricarya — service; atmakam — consisting of; karma — duty; sudrasya — of the sudra; api — also; svabhava-jam — born of his own nature.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there are labor and service to others.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 43
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Bg 18.43
sauryam tejo dhrtir daksyam
yuddhe capy apalayanam
danam isvara-bhavas ca
ksatram karma svabhava-jam
Word for word:
sauryam — heroism; tejah — power; dhrtih — determination; daksyam — resourcefulness; yuddhe — in battle; ca — and; api — also; apalayanam — not fleeing; danam — generosity; isvara — of leadership; bhavah — the nature; ca — and; ksatram — of a ksatriya; karma — duty; svabhava-jam — born of his own nature.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 42
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Bg 18.42
samo damas tapah saucam
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma-karma svabhava-jam
Word for word:
samah — peacefulness; damah — self-control; tapah — austerity; saucam — purity; ksantih — tolerance; arjavam — honesty; eva — certainly; ca — and; jnanam — knowledge; vijnanam — wisdom; astikyam — religiousness; brahma — of a brahmana; karma — duty; svabhava-jam — born of his own nature.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness – these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 41
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Bg 18.41
brahmana-ksatriya-visam
sudranam ca paran-tapa
karmani pravibhaktani
svabhava-prabhavair gunaih
Word for word:
brahmana — of the brahmanas; ksatriya — the ksatriyas; visam — and the vaisyas; sudranam — of the sudras; ca — and; param-tapa — O subduer of the enemies; karmani — the activities; pravibhaktani — are divided; svabhava — their own nature; prabhavaih — born of; gunaih — by the modes of material nature.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 40
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Bg 18.40
na tad asti prthivyam va
divi devesu va punah
sattvam prakrti-jair muktam
yad ebhih syat tribhir gunaih
Word for word:
na — not; tat — that; asti — there is; prthivyam — on the earth; va — or; divi — in the higher planetary system; devesu — amongst the demigods; va — or; punah — again; sattvam — existence; prakrti-jaih — born of material nature; muktam — liberated; yat — that; ebhih — from the influence of these; syat — is; tribhih — three; gunaih — modes of material nature.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The Lord here summarizes the total influence of the three modes of material nature all over the universe.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 39
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Bg 18.39
yad agre canubandhe ca
sukham mohanam atmanah
nidralasya-pramadottham
tat tamasam udahrtam
Word for word:
yat — that which; agre — in the beginning; ca — also; anubandhe — at the end; ca — also; sukham — happiness; mohanam — illusory; atmanah — of the self; nidra — sleep; alasya — laziness; pramada — and illusion; uttham — produced of; tat — that; tamasam — in the mode of ignorance; udahrtam — is said to be.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One who takes pleasure in laziness and in sleep is certainly in the mode of darkness, ignorance, and one who has no idea how to act and how not to act is also in the mode of ignorance. For the person in the mode of ignorance, everything is illusion. There is no happiness either in the beginning or at the end. For the person in the mode of passion there might be some kind of ephemeral happiness in the beginning and at the end distress, but for the person in the mode of ignorance there is only distress both in the beginning and at the end.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 38
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Bg 18.38
visayendriya-samyogad
yat tad agre ’mrtopamam
pariname visam iva
tat sukham rajasam smrtam
Word for word:
visaya — of the objects of the senses; indriya — and the senses; samyogat — from the combination; yat — which; tat — that; agre — in the beginning; amrta-upamam — just like nectar; pariname — at the end; visam iva — like poison; tat — that; sukham — happiness; rajasam — in the mode of passion; smrtam — is considered.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A young man and a young woman meet, and the senses drive the young man to see her, to touch her and to have sexual intercourse. In the beginning this may be very pleasing to the senses, but at the end, or after some time, it becomes just like poison. They are separated or there is divorce, there is lamentation, there is sorrow, etc. Such happiness is always in the mode of passion. Happiness derived from a combination of the senses and the sense objects is always a cause of distress and should be avoided by all means.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 37
Bg 18.37
yat tad agre visam iva
pariname ’mrtopamam
tat sukham sattvikam proktam
atma-buddhi-prasada-jam
Word for word:
yat — which; tat — that; agre — in the beginning; visam iva — like poison; pariname — at the end; amrta — nectar; upamam — compared to; tat — that; sukham — happiness; sattvikam — in the mode of goodness; proktam — is said; atma — in the self; buddhi — of intelligence; prasada-jam — born of the satisfaction.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In the pursuit of self-realization, one has to follow many rules and regulations to control the mind and the senses and to concentrate the mind on the self. All these procedures are very difficult, bitter like poison, but if one is successful in following the regulations and comes to the transcendental position, he begins to drink real nectar, and he enjoys life.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 36
Bg 18.36
sukham tv idanim tri-vidham
srnu me bharatarsabha
abhyasad ramate yatra
duhkhantam ca nigacchati
Word for word:
sukham — happiness; tu — but; idanim — now; tri-vidham — of three kinds; srnu — hear; me — from Me; bharata-rsabha — O best amongst the Bharatas; abhyasat — by practice; ramate — one enjoys; yatra — where; duhkha — of distress; antam — the end; ca — also; nigacchati — gains.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O best of the Bharatas, now please hear from Me about the three kinds of happiness by which the conditioned soul enjoys, and by which he sometimes comes to the end of all distress.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A conditioned soul tries to enjoy material happiness again and again. Thus he chews the chewed. But sometimes, in the course of such enjoyment, he becomes relieved from material entanglement by association with a great soul. In other words, a conditioned soul is always engaged in some type of sense gratification, but when he understands by good association that it is only a repetition of the same thing, and he is awakened to his real Krishna consciousness, he is sometimes relieved from such repetitive so-called happiness.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 35
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Bg 18.35
yaya svapnam bhayam sokam
visadam madam eva ca
na vimuncati durmedha
dhrtih sa partha tamasi
Word for word:
yaya — by which; svapnam — dreaming; bhayam — fearfulness; sokam — lamentation; visadam — moroseness; madam — illusion; eva — certainly; ca — also; na — never; vimuncati — one gives up; durmedha — unintelligent; dhrtih — determination; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; tamasi — in the mode of ignorance.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
And that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness and illusion – such unintelligent determination, O son of Prtha, is in the mode of darkness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
It should not be concluded that a person in the mode of goodness does not dream. Here “dream” means too much sleep. Dreaming is always present; either in the mode of goodness, passion or ignorance, dreaming is a natural occurrence. But those who cannot avoid oversleeping, who cannot avoid the pride of enjoying material objects, who are always dreaming of lording it over the material world, and whose life, mind and senses are thus engaged, are considered to have determination in the mode of ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 34
Bg 18.34
yaya tu dharma-kamarthan
dhrtya dharayate ’rjuna
prasangena phalakanksi
dhrtih sa partha rajasi
Word for word:
yaya — by which; tu — but; dharma — religiosity; kama — sense gratification; arthan — and economic development; dhrtya — by determination; dharayate — one sustains; arjuna — O Arjuna; prasangena — because of attachment; phala-akanksi — desiring fruitive results; dhrtih — determination; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; rajasi — in the mode of passion.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
But that determination by which one holds fast to fruitive results in religion, economic development and sense gratification is of the nature of passion, O Arjuna.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Any person who is always desirous of fruitive results in religious or economic activities, whose only desire is sense gratification, and whose mind, life and senses are thus engaged is in the mode of passion.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 33
Bg 18.33
dhrtya yaya dharayate
manah-pranendriya-kriyah
yogenavyabhicarinya
dhrtih sa partha sattviki
Word for word:
dhrtya — determination; yaya — by which; dharayate — one sustains; manah — of the mind; prana — life; indriya — and senses; kriyah — the activities; yogena — by yoga practice; avyabhicarinya — without any break; dhrtih — determination; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; sattviki — in the mode of goodness.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O son of Prtha, that determination which is unbreakable, which is sustained with steadfastness by yoga practice, and which thus controls the activities of the mind, life and senses is determination in the mode of goodness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Yoga is a means to understand the Supreme Soul. One who is steadily fixed in the Supreme Soul with determination, concentrating one’s mind, life and sensory activities on the Supreme, engages in Krishna consciousness. That sort of determination is in the mode of goodness. The word avyabhicarinya is very significant, for it indicates that persons who are engaged in Krishna consciousness are never deviated by any other activity.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 32
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Bg 18.32
adharmam dharmam iti ya
manyate tamasavrta
sarvarthan viparitams ca
buddhih sa partha tamasi
Word for word:
adharmam — irreligion; dharmam — religion; iti — thus; ya — which; manyate — thinks; tamasa — by illusion; avrta — covered; sarva-arthan — all things; viparitan — in the wrong direction; ca — also; buddhih — intelligence; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; tamasi — in the mode of ignorance.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
That understanding which considers irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and darkness, and strives always in the wrong direction, O Partha, is in the mode of ignorance.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Intelligence in the mode of ignorance is always working the opposite of the way it should. It accepts religions which are not actually religions and rejects actual religion. Men in ignorance understand a great soul to be a common man and accept a common man as a great soul. They think truth to be untruth and accept untruth as truth. In all activities they simply take the wrong path; therefore their intelligence is in the mode of ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 30
Bg 18.30
pravrttim ca nivrttim ca
karyakarye bhayabhaye
bandham moksam ca ya vetti
buddhih sa partha sattviki
Word for word:
pravrttim — doing; ca — also; nivrttim — not doing; ca — and; karya — what ought to be done; akarye — and what ought not to be done; bhaya — fear; abhaye — and fearlessness; bandham — bondage; moksam — liberation; ca — and; ya — that which; vetti — knows; buddhih — understanding; sa — that; partha — O son of Prtha; sattviki — in the mode of goodness.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O son of Prtha, that understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating, is in the mode of goodness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Performing actions in terms of the directions of the scriptures is called pravrtti, or executing actions that deserve to be performed. And actions which are not so directed are not to be performed. One who does not know the scriptural directions becomes entangled in the actions and reactions of work. Understanding which discriminates by intelligence is situated in the mode of goodness.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 29
Bg 18.29
buddher bhedam dhrtes caiva
gunatas tri-vidham srnu
procyamanam asesena
prthaktvena dhanan-jaya
Word for word:
buddheh — of intelligence; bhedam — the differences; dhrteh — of steadiness; ca — also; eva — certainly; gunatah — by the modes of material nature; tri-vidham — of three kinds; srnu — just hear; procyamanam — as described by Me; asesena — in detail; prthaktvena — differently; dhanam-jaya — O winner of wealth.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
O winner of wealth, now please listen as I tell you in detail of the different kinds of understanding and determination, according to the three modes of material nature.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Now after explaining knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower, in three different divisions according to the modes of material nature, the Lord is explaining the intelligence and determination of the worker in the same way.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 28
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Bg 18.28
ayuktah prakrtah stabdhah
satho naiskrtiko ’lasah
visadi dirgha-sutri ca
karta tamasa ucyate
Word for word:
ayuktah — not referring to the scriptural injunctions; prakrtah — materialistic; stabdhah — obstinate; sathah — deceitful; naiskrtikah — expert in insulting others; alasah — lazy; visadi — morose; dirgha-sutri — procrastinating; ca — also; karta — worker; tamasah — in the mode of ignorance; ucyate — is said to be.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
In the scriptural injunctions we find what sort of work should be performed and what sort of work should not be performed. Those who do not care for those injunctions engage in work not to be done, and such persons are generally materialistic. They work according to the modes of nature, not according to the injunctions of the scripture. Such workers are not very gentle, and generally they are always cunning and expert in insulting others. They are very lazy; even though they have some duty, they do not do it properly, and they put it aside to be done later on. Therefore they appear to be morose. They procrastinate; anything which can be done in an hour they drag on for years. Such workers are situated in the mode of ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 27
Bg 18.27
ragi karma-phala-prepsur
lubdho himsatmako ’sucih
harsa-sokanvitah karta
rajasah parikirtitah
Word for word:
ragi — very much attached; karma-phala — the fruit of the work; prepsuh — desiring; lubdhah — greedy; himsa-atmakah — always envious; asucih — unclean; harsa-soka-anvitah — subject to joy and sorrow; karta — such a worker; rajasah — in the mode of passion; parikirtitah — is declared.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
The worker who is attached to work and the fruits of work, desiring to enjoy those fruits, and who is greedy, always envious, impure, and moved by joy and sorrow, is said to be in the mode of passion.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A person is too much attached to a certain kind of work or to the result because he has too much attachment for materialism or hearth and home, wife and children. Such a person has no desire for higher elevation in life. He is simply concerned with making this world as materially comfortable as possible. He is generally very greedy, and he thinks that anything attained by him is permanent and never to be lost. Such a person is envious of others and prepared to do anything wrong for sense gratification. Therefore such a person is unclean, and he does not care whether his earning is pure or impure. He is very happy if his work is successful and very much distressed when his work is not successful. Such is the worker in the mode of passion.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 26
Bg 18.26
mukta-sango ’naham-vadi
dhrty-utsaha-samanvitah
siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikarah
karta sattvika ucyate
Word for word:
mukta-sangah — liberated from all material association; anaham-vadi — without false ego; dhrti — with determination; utsaha — and great enthusiasm; samanvitah — qualified; siddhi — in perfection; asiddhyoh — and failure; nirvikarah — without change; karta — worker; sattvikah — in the mode of goodness; ucyate — is said to be.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One who performs his duty without association with the modes of material nature, without false ego, with great determination and enthusiasm, and without wavering in success or failure is said to be a worker in the mode of goodness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
A person in Krishna consciousness is always transcendental to the material modes of nature. He has no expectations for the result of the work entrusted to him, because he is above false ego and pride. Still, he is always enthusiastic till the completion of such work. He does not worry about the distress undertaken; he is always enthusiastic. He does not care for success or failure; he is equal in both distress and happiness. Such a worker is situated in the mode of goodness.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 25
Bg 18.25
anubandham ksayam himsam
anapeksya ca paurusam
mohad arabhyate karma
yat tat tamasam ucyate
Word for word:
anubandham — of future bondage; ksayam — destruction; himsam — and distress to others; anapeksya — without considering the consequences; ca — also; paurusam — self-sanctioned; mohat — by illusion; arabhyate — is begun; karma — work; yat — which; tat — that; tamasam — in the mode of ignorance; ucyate — is said to be.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
That action performed in illusion, in disregard of scriptural injunctions, and without concern for future bondage or for violence or distress caused to others is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
One has to give account of one’s actions to the state or to the agents of the Supreme Lord called the Yamadutas. Irresponsible work is destructive because it destroys the regulative principles of scriptural injunction. It is often based on violence and is distressing to other living entities. Such irresponsible work is carried out in the light of one’s personal experience. This is called illusion. And all such illusory work is a product of the mode of ignorance.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 24
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Bg 18.24
yat tu kamepsuna karma
sahankarena va punah
kriyate bahulayasam
tad rajasam udahrtam
Word for word:
yat — that which; tu — but; kama-ipsuna — by one with desires for fruitive results; karma — work; sa-ahankarena — with ego; va — or; punah — again; kriyate — is performed; bahula-ayasam — with great labor; tat — that; rajasam — in the mode of passion; udahrtam — is said to be.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
But action performed with great effort by one seeking to gratify his desires, and enacted from a sense of false ego, is called action in the mode of passion.
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Text 23
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Bg 18.23
niyatam sanga-rahitam
araga-dvesatah krtam
aphala-prepsuna karma
yat tat sattvikam ucyate
Word for word:
niyatam — regulated; sanga-rahitam — without attachment; araga-dvesatah — without love or hatred; krtam — done; aphala-prepsuna — by one without desire for fruitive result; karma — action; yat — which; tat — that; sattvikam — in the mode of goodness; ucyate — is called.
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
That action which is regulated and which is performed without attachment, without love or hatred, and without desire for fruitive results is said to be in the mode of goodness.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Regulated occupational duties, as prescribed in the scriptures in terms of the different orders and divisions of society, performed without attachment or proprietary rights and therefore without any love or hatred, and performed in Krishnaconsciousness for the satisfaction of the Supreme, without self-satisfaction or self-gratification, are called actions in the mode of goodness.