Hare Krishna dear devotees. Even though I am most insignificant, I have a message which I am burning to share with you. Following the principle that a wise person can take gold even from a dirty place, I pray you will give some consideration to it and not be prejudiced by my lack of qualification.
First, allow me to tell you a little about myself. I joined in London in 1981. By 1995, I was married with three small children, and my husband, Krishna Dharma prabhu, had opened and was running a Hare Krishna Centre in Manchester, UK.
By late 1995, I was experiencing many problems in my life, and the cumulative effect was that my faith in Krishna was shaken. One day I sat in our kitchen considering the idea of leaving Krishna Consciousness, when an internal voice warned me that if I left, I would suffer greatly. The little voice urged me to study Srila Prabhupada’s books. Thankfully, I paid heed to this advice. When my children were asleep, I began systematically studying Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. Over the course of the next five or six years, this personal study developed into daily discussions with my husband. At first our discussions were argumentative and unpleasant, but by listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, we heard instructions which helped us to improve how we interacted with each other in our discussions. We have compiled many of those instructions and shared them on the ‘Principles’ section of this website.
After many years of discussing Bhagavad-Gita using the above principles, I made an incredible discovery, which I would like to share with you today. The discovery is regarding Srila Prabhupada’s two opening sentences of his Bhagavad-Gita purports, which I cite below. Please take a moment to follow what I share, as I am sure you will benefit greatly.
B.G. 1.1 purport: “1Bhagavad-gītā is the widely read theistic science summarized in the Gītā-māhātmya (Glorification of the Gītā). 2There it says that one should read Bhagavad-gītā very scrutinizingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations.”
Let us now do as Srila Prabhupada instructs in the second sentence and scrutinise the above statements.
First sentence: Srila Prabhupada tells us that Bhagavad-gita is a theistic science. In other words, it gives us systematic knowledge about God and his relationship with us and the world. It’s a science because this knowledge can be practically verified. Srila Prabhupada also tells us that the essence (or summary) of this science (Bhagavad-gita) is repeated in the Gita Mahatmya.
For many years I failed to understand the significance of this sentence, until one day I asked the right questions which helped me to access its hidden treasure. The questions I asked were:
1. What is the summary of the Bhagavad-Gita?
2. What is the Gita Mahatmya?
3. Where in the Gita Mahatmya can we find the summary of the Bhagavad-Gita?
Before you read my answers to the above questions, please take a moment to answer them yourself?
What is the summary of the Bhagavad-gita? In his purport to Bg 18.66 Srila Prabhupada writes:
“Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.”
In other words, Srila Prabhupada is telling us that 18.66 is the summary of the Gita. Now we can understand that the most important truth of Bhagavad-gita is that Krishna Himself will protect us from all our sinful reactions if we surrender to Him.
What is Gita Mahatmya? For many years I thought Srila Prabhupada was referring to the Gita Mahatmya which is a chapter in the Padma Purana, a conversation between Lord Shiva and Parvati. I read that chapter many times but could find nothing resembling Bg 18.66. Thus, the significance of this sentence remained hidden from me. Then one day, a friend pointed out that Srila Prabhupada cites another Gita Mahatmya at the end of his introduction to the Gita. His introduction was truncated in the original McMillan edition of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, but it has been inserted in full in the Revised edition. The audio of Srila Prabhupada speaking this introduction is still available to us and you can find it here if you wish to verify that the Revised edition’s introduction is actually what Srila Prabhupada said: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/bhagavad-gītā-introduction/ .
Below is the entire relevant section from Srila Prabhupada’s introduction in which he cites the Gita Mahatmya:
In conclusion, Bhagavad-gītā is a transcendental literature which one should read very carefully. Gītā-śāstram idaṁ puṇyaṁ yaḥ paṭhet prayataḥ pumān: if one properly follows the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā, one can be freed from all the miseries and anxieties of life. Bhaya-śokādi-varjitaḥ. One will be freed from all fears in this life, and one’s next life will be spiritual (Gītā-māhātmya 1).
There is also a further advantage:
gītādhyāyana-śīlasya
prāṇāyāma-parasya ca
naiva santi hi pāpāni
pūrva-janma-kṛtāni ca
“If one reads Bhagavad-gītā very sincerely and with all seriousness, then by the grace of the Lord the reactions of his past misdeeds will not act upon him.” (Gītā-māhātmya 2) The Lord says very loudly in the last portion of Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies such a person against all reactions of sins.
mala-nirmocanaṁ puṁsāṁ
jala-snānaṁ dine dine
sakṛd gītāmṛta-snānaṁ
saṁsāra-mala-nāśanam
“One may cleanse himself daily by taking a bath in water, but if one takes a bath even once in the sacred Ganges water ofBhagavad-gītā, for him the dirt of material life is altogether vanquished.” (Gītā-māhātmya 3)
gītā su-gītā kartavyā
kim anyaiḥ śāstra-vistaraiḥ
yā svayaṁ padmanābhasya
mukha-padmād viniḥsṛtā
Because Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gītā. In the present age, people are so absorbed in mundane activities that it is not possible for them to read all the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book, Bhagavad-gītā, will suffice, because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and especially because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Gītā-māhātmya 4)
As it is said:
bhāratāmṛta-sarvasvaṁ
viṣṇu-vaktrād viniḥsṛtam
gītā-gaṅgodakaṁ pītvā
punar janma na vidyate
“One who drinks the water of the Ganges attains salvation, so what to speak of one who drinks the nectar of Bhagavad-gītā? Bhagavad-gītā is the essential nectar of the Mahābhārata, and it is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, the original Viṣṇu.” (Gītā-māhātmya 5) Bhagavad-gītā comes from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Ganges is said to emanate from the lotus feet of the Lord. Of course, there is no difference between the mouth and the feet of the Supreme Lord, but from an impartial study we can appreciate that Bhagavad-gītā is even more important than the water of the Ganges.
sarvopaniṣado gāvo
dogdhā gopāla-nandanaḥ
pārtho vatsaḥ su-dhīr bhoktā
dugdhaṁ gītāmṛtaṁ mahat
“This Gītopaniṣad, Bhagavad-gītā, the essence of all the Upaniṣads, is just like a cow, and Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is famous as a cowherd boy, is milking this cow. Arjuna is just like a calf, and learned scholars and pure devotees are to drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gītā.” (Gītā-māhātmya 6)
ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam
eko devo devakī-putra eva
eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni
karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā
(Gītā-māhātmya 7)
In this present day, people are very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion and one occupation.Therefore, ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam: let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world – Bhagavad-gītā. Eko devo devakī-putra eva: let there be one God for the whole world – Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Eko mantras tasya nāmāni: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer – the chanting of His name: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā: and let there be one work only – the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Where in Gita Mahatmya is the summary of the Bhagavad-Gita?
You can see that right after he cites Gita Mahatmya 2, he refers to Bg 18.66. You can also note that the format of the two verses are very similiar. They both promise that Krishna will protect us from all our past sins if we do something.
In Bg 18.66 the Required Action is «Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me»; and Promised Fruit is «I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions.»
In Gita Mahatmya 2 the Required Action is «If one reads Bhagavad-gītā very sincerely and with all seriousness»; and the Promised Fruit is «then by the grace of the Lord the reactions of his past misdeeds will not act upon him.»
It should be obvious to most readers that the promised fruit of both verses is the same: Krishna will protect us from all our sinful reactions. However, one may think the required action stated in each verse is different. You might think surrendering to Krishna and reading Bhagavad-Gita ‘very sincerely and with all seriousness’ are two different things. That’s what I thought too at first until I realized in his opening sentence to his purport to BG 1.1 Srila Prabhupada is telling me that the meaning of Gita Mahatmya 2 is exactly the same as the meaning of Bg 18.66: surrendering to Krishna means to read Gita sincerely and with all seriousness.
Now let us examine the second sentence of Srila Prabhupada’s Bg 1.1 purport: “There it says that one should read Bhagavad-gītā very scrutinizingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations.”
When Srila Prabhupada writes ‘There it says’ what do you think he means? Take a moment to think about this before you read my understanding.
I understand he is referring to Gita Mahatyma 2. He is telling us that in Gita Mahatmya 2 we are told to read the Gita in the following 4 ways:
1. scrutinisingly,
2. with the help of a devotee,
3. try to understand it
4. without materially motivated interpretations.
Someone might argue that the Gita Mahatmya 2 only says to read Gita sincerely and with all seriousness. I, however, understand that Srila Prabhupada is unpacking in his own words what it means to read Gita seriously and sincerely. Just as the Gita Mahatmya unpacks what it means to surrender, Srila Prabhupada further unpacks what it means to read Bhagavad-Gita very sincerely and with all seriousness: «One should read Bhagavad-gītā very scrutinizingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations.»
Do you now see, dear devotee, that in his two opening sentences to his Bhagavad-gita purports Srila Prabhupada is cryptically yet succinctly telling us how we can surrender so as to get Krishna’s protection. If we follow his instruction in these opening sentences we will discover this hidden jewel, the secret of surrender.
This realization was a huge epiphany for me. Until this dawned on me, I was confused exactly how I should surrender. Did I have to donate all my wealth to ISKCON? Did I have to move into the brahmacharini ashrama and do full-time service? I had done both these things, and yet despite doing what I thought was ‘surrendering to Krishna,’ my life had plummeted into chaos. But within five years of my husband and I beginning to daily scrutinize the Gita together using the principles we share on our website, our lives turned from night to day.
This is why I am so eager to share this with others. In Kali Yuga, many of us are suffering the karmic reactions of a multitude of previous sins. This suffering can seem insurmountable and unbearable, but if we learn this small secret of how to surrender to Krishna, then very easily we will get relief. No matter how great our difficulties are, Krishna will protect us if we simply begin scrutinizing Bhagavad-gita with the help of another devotee and do our best to understand it without materially motivated interpretations.
I can testify that Krishna keeps his promise. Both my husband and I were adult survivors of childhood abuse. When we had our children, the trauma from our own childhoods began surfacing. I especially was struggling with depression and suicidal tendencies. After we married, we opened an ISKCON centre, rather than developing our careers and generating personal income. The decision seemed to be a good one at the time, but after I had given birth to three children, the instability of our financial situation struck home. By 1996, we had acute financial problems, our marriage was suffering, and we both were struggling with the emotional fallout of our difficult pasts. I experienced severe anxiety that we might become homeless and that we would traumatize our own children. But just by expanding our sankirtan yajna to include daily scrutinising the Gita together and trying to understand it ‘without personally motivated interpretations’, all our problems were steadily and magically resolved. The council gave us a newly built house close to Bhaktivedanta Manor, and although we had not worked outside of ISKCON for over 30 years, my husband got a well-paid managerial job five minutes’ walk from our house. (The way he got this employment was miraculous, but to describe how it happened would make this article too long.) As a result, we paid off all our debts. Since his office was so close to our house, we could maintain our daily family sadhana. Our regular discussions improved our marriage and my mental health. We now have a very harmonious relationship, and I can honestly say my depression and suicidal thoughts are history. Our children are all adults now and are happy and well balanced and enjoy a good relationship with us.
The Principles and Useful Tips we share on this website give further guidance on how to scrutinise sastra, and how to follow Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to ‘try to understand without materially motivated interpretations’. We have taught this to many devotees in the Bhaktivedanta Manor community, and those who have incorporated it into their daily practice have similarly experienced wonderful benefits. We more recently created our website (www.improvingsanga.com ) so we could share with devotees all over the world the principles that have helped us. Please have a look and feel free to contact us if you need more support. I am 100% certain that you too will attain Krishna’s protection from all the difficulties of your life by daily chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa, and scrutinizing Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretation. Hare Krishna.