Papam means sin. So sin, we commit sins out of ignorance. Our sinful nature is due to ignorance. Just like a person who does not know the laws of the state, he commits something which he does not know, but he is captured, he is arrested under the law. So similarly, all kind of sins we perform, it is due to ignorance. And ignorance is no excuse at the same time. Suppose a child does not know that fire burns, but the child catches fire. The fire is so cruel that it will not excuse. The laws of fire will act, even on the child. The child is innocent or ignorant. Innocence is also sometimes ignorance, due to ignorance. We sometimes praise the quality of child, the ignorance. But that child, when grown up, becomes a vicious man. So this ignorance, or innocence, they are not very good qualities.

So yesam anta-gatam papam. Papam means sin. "One who has been completely freed from the reactions of sinful acts," anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, "of those persons who are simply engaged in activities of piety," te, "those people," dvandva-moha-nirmuktah, "they can become free from this duality of interest." That means one who becomes Krsna conscious, he has no distinction between one person to another. He has no distinction, "Oh, this is Indian," "This is American," "This is Chinese," "This is Russian." No. He transcends this. By Krsna consciousness we can transcend this material consciousness of different interests. We have no other interest except realization of our self. But because, due to our ignorance, we have created our different interests and we are committing sins and breaking the laws of nature; and therefore we are gradually, by and by, becoming more and more entangled in this material nature. So the Lord says that "One who has surpassed this material nature and ignorance," te, "they can become free from this conception of duality," bhajante mam, "and becomes a perfect devotee of Myself." That means, in other words, one who becomes perfectly Krsna consciousness, he becomes liberated from this conception of duality or illusion of duality. He becomes a perfect manjara-marana-moksaya.

Now, one can question why this perfection is required. What is the necessity of perfection? Because there are still... There are... People are mostly under the spell of the modes of nature of ignorance. Therefore they do not know the value of Krsna consciousness. They can inquire that "What is the use of becoming Krsna consciousness, Krsna conscious, and become free from this conception of duality? What is the use?" So Lord Krsna replies that question. Why?

So we materialists, we don't take into consideration that birth, death, disease and old age are the greatest miseries of our life due to our ignorance. But this ignorance has to be removed if one has to become out of these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. This is not possible to remove by the so-called material science. Material science cannot remove these miseries. They can remove temporary, something artificially, some of our miseries. Just like we are feeling little warm. If the room was, had been air conditioned, we could feel some comfort. That is temporary. But our ultimate miseries are these four things: jara-marana-moksa. Jara means old age and birth, death.

So Lord Sri Krsna says, jara-marana-moksaya mam asritya. If one has to..., has the ambition for getting out of these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease, then one, if he's intelligent enough, then, jara-marana-moksaya mam asritya, under Krsna consciousness, if one attains his life's living activities... Activities there must be. We cannot stop, so long we have got this body or we have no body. That is an activity... We are active. Every living soul is active by nature. But that activity should be coordinated, dovetailed. The activity should be in Krsna consciousness. So jara-marana-moksaya mam asritya yatanti ye. Yatanti means "one who endeavors in that way." Te brahma: "They are actually Brahman." Brahman means they are transcendental, in transcendental state. Te brahma tad viduh krtsnam: "Or they can understand what is the meaning of Brahman, or the transcendental, Transcendence." Te brahma tad viduh krtsnam adhyatmam karma cakhilam: "They understand what is Brahman, and their work, their activities are also Brahman."

Now, there are two classes of transcendentalists. One class of transcendentalists, just like the impersonalists, they want to stop activities. They think like that, that when one becomes one with the Transcendence, then their activities stop. But actually, from the Bhagavad-gita we find that te krtsnam adhyatmam karma cakhilam. Their activities are not stopped, but the quality of the activity is changed. Brahman. The quality of activities becomes transcendental. Karma cakhilam. Akhila. Whatever he does in Krsna consciousness, whatever he does, that becomes Brahman, or transcendental. That means free from the contamination of the three modes of material nature. Therefore, as he becomes free from the contamination of the three modes of material nature, therefore he's not going to have next body of this material nature. Next body he's not going to have material... The same example: just the, if you put iron rod into the fire, it becomes gradually the fire. The nature of fire the iron rod attains. So when it is red-hot, there is no possibility of its being the iron, but it is fire.

So by our activities in Krsna consciousness, we become free from the contamination of these three modes of material nature, and thus, at the end, we become purely, purely spiritual, transcendental. Here it is stated:

Now next chapter, Krsna inquires, er, Arjuna inquires, "What is this adhibhutam, adhidaivam, adhiyajnam?" These three questions are being put by Arjuna.

So Krsna is answering one and each gradually. Sri bhagavan uvaca. Bhagavan uvaca means Lord Krsna, He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He's replying. Sri bhagavan uvaca. What is that? Now, aksaram paramam brahma svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate. Aksaram paramam brahma. Now, aksaram means infallible. Infallible. And paramam means supreme. And brahma means indestructible, Brahman. Indestructible or which is eternal, that is called Brahman. Now, aksaram paramam brahma. Paramam brahma. Now, eternal, we are eternal. This has been explained in the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. We do not die even after the destruction of this body. So we are Brahman. Brahman means indestructible and eternal. Some, some matter may be indestructible sometimes, but not eternal. Matter is not eternal. Therefore two things are to be understood about Brahman: indestructible and eternal.

So as we have several times explained that we are all Brahman, but we are part and parcel of the Brahman. Now here it is said that paramam brahma, the Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Brahman means one who does not come into this material contamination. He is called Supreme Brahman. The impersonalist school, they do not distinguish between these two Brahmans. They say, "Brahman is one. This individual Brahman, this conception of individual Brahman, is maya, illusion." That is their doctrine. But according to Vaisnava doctrine, they do not accept this. Their question is, "If Brahman is Supreme, then how He comes in contact with the maya?" A Supreme cannot be under the subordinate, subordination of anything else. If something is under subordination, he cannot be Supreme. He cannot be Supreme. That is their argument.

Therefore the Brahman who comes under the clutches of this material maya, er, energy, that Brahman is not the Supreme Brahman, and that is accepted in the Vedic literature, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam: (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13) "There are eternal, but out of the eternals, there is one supreme eternal." Nityah. Nityah means singular number, and nityanam means plural number. So plural number, we are plural number. Nityo nityanam, cetana. Cetana means living. I am also living. God is also living. He is also a living being like us, but He, His distinction is like this: eko bahunam vidadhati kaman: "That eka, that singular number Brahman, He maintains all these plural number Brahmans." Therefore, this plural number Brahman, this jivatma, these living entities, they are supported by the Supreme Brahman, Bhagavan. Just like government and citizens. Now, together that is a nation, but government supports the citizens. Similarly, Param Brahman and these ordinary living entities, Brahman, simple Brahman, they are qualitatively one, but the Supreme Brahman supports all other Brahmans.

Aksaram paramam brahma. Aksaram means that the Supreme Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, svabhavo 'dhyatmam ucyate... Svabhava, these qualities, they are called adhyatma. Bhuta-bhavodbhava-karo visargah karma-samjnitah. And the activities out of these three qualities of material nature, they are called karma, work. Adhibhutam ksaro bhavah. Adhibhutam. The material energy is ksarah. Ksarah means destructible. Ksaro bhavah. Purusas ca adhidaivatam. And the living soul, he's called adhidaiva. Adhiyajnah aham eva atra dehe deha-bhrtam.

Now, there, there are... We have several times explained in this meeting that there, there are two birds: the individual soul and the Supersoul. They're sitting in this tree of this body. So the Supersoul is called adhiyajna. These are all the technical names. You can remember. The Supersoul is called adhiyajna, and the soul is called adhibhuta. Now, Krsna says... These technical terms, of course, one should know, but it requires very long description. We have to give our attention with separately for understanding. Generally, we can take out.

Now, the real fact is that why these things are to be known? Now, Lord Krsna says,

Here it is stated, anta-kale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram [Bg. 8.5]. Just kalevaram. Kalevaram means this body, and when becomes freed from this body, he..., or gets out of the body and at the very same time he remembers Krsna, then one who passes this body, life, in this way, yah prayati sa mad-bhavam yati... Mad-bhavam yati means he at once attains the nature of Krsna: eternity, blissful and knowledge. This is the advantage of Krsna consciousness. Because at the time of death, whatever you practice now in your healthy life, that will be... Just like asleep we dream of the things of our activities, similarly, this death is also a kind of dream. Death is a dream, er, sleep, sleeping. Death is nothing but sleeping for seven months. That's all. Sleeping for seven months, that is called death. Just like, in the operation table, one becomes unconscious for one hour, half an hour. Then he comes to his consciousness. Again he comes to the same point. So similarly, death is nothing but to remain practically unconscious for seven months. That's all. This body is left, and we enter into a particular womb of mother, and just to develop another body it takes about seven months. Then, after seven months, when the body is fit, then our consciousness comes back. Then we want to come out of the womb. And at the tenth month we come out. That is a very miserable condition. That is the miserable condition of birth. "But one who leaves his body in Krsna consciousness," anta-kale, "at the point of death," Krsna says, yah prayati, "who leaves his body in this way," sa mad-bhavam yati [Bg. 8.5], "he at once attains the perfection like Me, like My nature. His nature is transcendental. Therefore one attains at once, transcendental." Yati nasty atra samsayah: "These things are to be taken up." Nasty atra samsayah: "There is no doubt about it."

Now, if we believe Krsna as the supreme authority, if we believe Him, then we can adopt this. And there is no question of disbelieving Him, because all great souls, all great scholars and all great spiritualists... Arjuna, you say the example of Arjuna. He's not an ordinary man. He belongs to the royal order. And he's a very, I mean, a great fighter, great general. And he is taking instruction from Krsna. If Arjuna has taken instruction from Krsna... He's a... Ramanujacarya has taken, accepted Krsna as the Supreme. He... Sankaracarya has accepted the Krsna as Supreme. And all the acaryas... Lord Caitanya has accepted Krsna as the Supreme. Then what is the difficulty of my understanding about His greatness? Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Just like when we go to the market, if we see that everyone is purchasing at the same time, then I think, "Oh, undoubtedly it is the exactly price. Oh, let me purchase at this price." The doubt is gone at once, because I see several persons, they're accepting at that price. So it is right price. That is the standard. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186].

The sastra says that knowledge... Because our receptive power of knowledge is very limited... We are not perfect. Our senses are not perfect. Therefore whatever we acquire by these blunt senses, they cannot be perfect. The direction is, therefore, tarkah apratisthah: "If you want to reach to the ultimate conclusion simply by arguments and speculation, that is not possible." Because argumentative power is a special gift. Suppose you can argue very nicely. That's all. I cannot. But somebody may comehe's more powerful in arguments. He can defeat you. So don't depend on your speculative function or arguments. Don't depend on that. They're all imperfect. Tarkah apratisthah. These are the directions of higher authorities.

So tarko 'pratisthah srutayo vibhinnah. Srutayah means scriptures. If you take scriptures, different scriptures there are, and one scripture may differ from another scripture. So that is also very difficult, to find out the real truth, transcendence, from the scriptures. So tarko 'pratisthah srutayo vibhinna nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam. And so far philosophy is concerned, each and every philosopher is different from the other philosophers. One philosopher is putting some theory, another philosophy is putting another doctrine or theory. So we are puzzled, which of them has to be accepted. Srutayo vibhinna nasav rsir ya... Because in the mundane philosophers, mundane scholars, they want to give his own interpretation of everything. That is their habit. They don't accept the interpretation of the higher authority. They want..., each and every one of them want to become the higher authorities. So our this principle, this devotional principle, is not like that. We don't pose ourselves as the higher authority. We just try to follow the higher authority. We don't pose ourself. We never... We'll never say that "In my opinion, it should be like this." Oh, what opinion I have got? What value I have got of my opinion? What is my value? I am a blunt man. I cannot acquire any knowledge perfectly. And what is the use of my opinion?

So this is the line. Krsna consciousness is, er, they do not accept anything which is not authorized by the higher personality. But in the material world you'll find one philosopher is putting one doctrine, another philosopher is putting another doctrine, and they're differing with one another. So you cannot conclude what is real thing. Nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam: "Therefore the truth, real truth, is lying in the very confidential part of your body." Then what is to be done? Now, best thing is mahajano yena gatah sa panthah: [Cc. Madhya 17.186] "You just try to follow the higher authorities."

So Krsna is the higher authority. Krsna is the higher authority. If we accept Him and follow this instruction, and if we believe Him, then we get perfection. There is no doubt about it. Of course, these philosophical questions are difficult. It may not be very interesting. But it is..., they are to be understood. Actually, if we want to get out of ignorance, these books are meant for driving our ignorance. And as we become out of the ignorance, so we become free from this material entanglement. But at the present age people are not so intelligent that they can follow. Therefore this sankirtana movement is the best. Everyone can take part. And when Hare Krsna is chanting there, undoubtedly... We discuss this Bhagavad-gita only for understanding that we are not blindly following a principle. It is a science. It is based on philosophy and science. But we have made the process easy, that's all, by following great stalwart personalities. But it is not that it is a blind following. It is based on philosophy and science, this Krsna consciousness.

So if anyone wants to understand on the basis of philosophy and science, oh, we have got ample philosophy and science on this point. But if you accept it, then it is the same thing. Acceptance is requiredif you directly accept it. Suppose the fire, the fire, you accept it at once or you accept fire by scientific study, "What is fire? What is the quality? What is the...?" Go on! You can understand scientifically fire. But either you understand it scientifically, or philosophically, or you touch it directly, the action is the same. The action is the same. A child, without knowing the science of fire, physical constitution of fire, if he touches the fire, the fire will act. And, I mean to say, a great scientist who has physical knowledge of this fire, if he touches also fire, he'll get..., he is also burnt. So Krsna consciousness is so nice that you accept without understanding any philosophy or science about itthis, it will act. But if you want to understand it through philosophy or science, we have got ample stock in the Bhagavad-gita. These are the...

So now Krsna concludes... Of course, I shall conclude this portion after reading one verse. Yam yam vapi smaran. Now, Krsna has said that at the last point of your death, if you are in full Krsna consciousness, then your next promotion is to the equal status of Krsna. Mad-bhavam: "in the same nature." Why? Now, the truth is:

So we shall discuss this point next... Now, if there is any question, you can ask. (end)