Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 239

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

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Karma-yoga—Action in krsna Consciousness
Chapter 5: Verse-10

brahmany ädhäyakarmani
sangam tyaktvä karoti yah
lipyate na sa päpena
padma-patram ivämbhasä[1]

TRANSLATION

One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

PURPORT

Here brahmani means in krsna consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three modes of material nature, technically called the pradhäna. The Vedic hymns sarvam hy etad brahma[2] tasmäd etad brahma näma-rüpam annam ca jäyate[3], and, in the[4], mama yonir mahad brahma indicate that everything in the material world is a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are differently manifested, they are nondifferent from the cause. In the Isopanisad it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman, or Krsna, and thus everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly well that everything belongs to Krsna, that He is the proprietor of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities, whether virtuous or sinful. Even one’s material body, being a gift of the Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in krsna consciousness. It is then beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord also says in the[5], mayi sarvänikarmani sannyasya: “Resign all works unto Me [Krsna].” The conclusion is that a person without krsna consciousness acts according to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in krsna consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property of krsna and should therefore be engaged in the service of Krsna.


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References

  1. brahmani=unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ädhäya=resigning; karmäni=all works; sangam=attachment; tyaktvä=giving up; karoti=performs; yah=who; lipyate=is affected; na=never; sah=he; päpena=by sin; padma-patram=a lotus leaf; iva=like; ambhasä=by the water.
  2. Mändükya Upanisad 2
  3. Mundaka Upanisad 1.2.10
  4. Bhagavad-gita 14.3
  5. Gita 3.30

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