Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 152

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita As It Is -Shri Shrimad A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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Karma-yoga
Chapter 3: Verse-24

We have to follow His instructions, but we may not imitate Him at any time. The Srimad-Bhägavatam [1] affirms:

naitat samäcarej jätu
manasäpi hy anisvarah
vinasyaty äcaran mauthyäd
yathä ’rudro ’bdhi-jam visam
isvaränäm vacah satyam
tathaiväcaritam kvacit
tesamyat sva-vaco-yuktam
buddhimäms tat samäcaret.

“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 super powerful. 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 ganjä (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 räsa-lilä, 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.


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References

  1. 10.33.30–31

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