kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù
påcchämi tvam dharma-sammüòha-cetäù
yac chreyaù syän niçcitaà brühi tan me
çiñyas te 'haà çädhi mäà tväà prapannam

"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition, I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me."

Prabhupäda: This is very important verse in Bhagavad-gétä. It is a turning point of life. Kärpaëya-doña. Miserly, doña means fault When one does not act according to his position, that is fault. And that is called miserly. So everyone has got his natural propensities, svabhäva. Yasya hi svabhävasya tasyäso duratikramaù. Svabhäva, natural propensities. It is a common example, it is given, that yasya hi yaù svabhävasya tasyäso duratikramaù. One, habit is the second nature. One who has, who is habituated or one whose nature, characteristic in some way, it is very difficult to change. The example is given: çvä yadi kriyate räjä saù kià na so uparhanam. If you make a dog a king, does it mean that he'll not lick up shoes? Yes, dog's nature is to lick up shoes. So even if you dress him like a king and let him sit down on a throne, still, as soon as he'll see one shoe, he'll jump over and lick it. This is called svabhäva. Kärpaëya-doña.

So in the animal life, it is not possible to change one's nature, which is given by the material energy, prakåti. Prakåteù kriyamäëäni. Käraëaà guëa-saìgo 'sya, käraëaà guëa-sangaù asya sad-asad-janma-yoniñu. Why? All living entities are part and parcel of God. Therefore originally the characteristic of the living entity is as good as God. Simply it is a question of quantity. Quality is the same. Quality is the same. Mamaiväàço jéva-bhütaù [Bg. 15.7]. The same example. If you take a drop of sea water, the quality, the chemical composition is the same. But the quantity is different. It is a drop, and the sea is vast ocean. Similarly, we are exactly of the same quality as Kåñëa. We can study. Why people say God is impersonal? If I am of the same quality, so God is also person, how He can be imperson? If, qualitatively, we are one, then as I feel individually, so why God should be refused individuality? This is another nonsense. The impersonalist rascals, they cannot understand what is the nature of God. In the Bible also it is said: "Man is made after God." You can study God's quality by studying your quality, or anyone's quality. Simply the difference is quantity's different. I have got some quality, some productive capacity. We also produce, every individual soul is producing something. But his production cannot be compared with production of God. That is the difference. We are producing one flying machine. We are taking very much pride that: "Now we have discovered the sputnik. It is going to the moon planet." But that is not perfect. It is coming back. But God has produced so many flying planets, millions and trillions of planets, very, very heavy planets. Just like this planet is carrying so many big, big mountains, sea, but still it is flying. It is floating in the air just like a cotton swab. This is God's power. Gäm äviçya. In the Bhagavad-gétä, you'll find: ahaà dhärayämy ojasä. Who is sustaining all these big, big planets? We are explaining gravity. And in the çästra we find that it is being carried by Saìkarñaëa.

So the quality is the same, but the quantity is different. So because the quality's same, so we have got all the propensities as God has, as Kåñëa has. Kåñëa has got loving propensities with His pleasure potency, Çrématé Rädhäräëé. Similarly, because we are part and parcel of Kåñëa, we have also got this loving propensity. So this is svabhava. But when we come in contact with this material nature... Kåñëa does not come into the contact of the material nature. Therefore, Kåñëa's name is Acyuta. He never falls down. But we are prone to fall down, to be under the... Prakåteù kriyamäëäni. We are now under the influence of prakåti. Prakåteù kriyamäëäni guëaiù karmäëi sarvaçaù [Bg. 3.27]. As soon as we fall down under the clutches of this prakåti, material nature, which means... Prakåti's composed of three qualities, goodness, passion and ignorance. So we capture one of the qualities. That is the cause, käraëaà guëa-sanga. Guëa-saìga. Means associating with different quality. Guna-saìga asya jévasya, of the living entity. That is the cause. One can ask: "If the living entity is as good as God, why one living entity has become dog, and one living entity has become god, demigod, Brahmä?" Now the answer is käraëam. The reason is guëa-saìga asya. Asya jévasya guëa-saìga. Because he's associating with a particular guëa. Sattva-guëa, rajo-guëa, tamo-guëa.

So these things are described very vividly in Upaniñad, how guëa-sanga acts. Just like a fire. There are sparks. The sometimes the sparks fall down from the fire. Now there are three conditions of the fire spark falling down. If the spark falls down on dry grass, then it can immediately ignite the grass, the dry grass. If the spark falls down on ordinary grass, then it burns for some time, then again it becomes extinguished. But if the spark falls down on the water, immediately extinguished, the fiery quality. So those who are captured by the sattva-guëa, sattva-guëa, they are intelligent. They have got knowledge. Just like brähmaëa. And those who are captured by the rajo-guëa, they are busy in material activities. And those who have captured tamo-guëa, they are lazy and sleepy. That's all. These are the symptoms. Tamo-guëa means they're very lazy and sleepy. Rajo-guëa means very active, but active like monkey. Just like monkey's very active, but they're all dangerous. You'll never see inactive. Whenever it will sit down, it will make gat gat gat gat.

So these are activities, foolish activities. But when one is in goodness, he's sober. He can understand what is the value of life, how one should live, what is the aim of life, what is the goal of life. That goal of life is to understand Brahman. Brahma jänätéti brähmaëaù. Therefore the good quality means the brähmaëa. Similarly, kñatriya. So they are guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù. Guëa. Guëa has to be taken into account. Çré Kåñëa therefore said: catur värëyaà mayä såñöaà guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù [Bg. 4.13]. We have captured some kind of guëa. It is very difficult. But we can immediately transcend all guëas. Immediately. How? By bhakti yoga process. Sa guëän samatétyaitän brahma-bhüyäya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. If you take the bhakti-yoga process, then you are no longer influenced by either of these three qualities, goodness, passion, and ignorance. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gétä: mäà ca avyabhicäriëé bhakti-yogena sevate. Anyone who is engaged in the devotional service of Kåñëa, avyabhicäriëé, without any deviation, staunch, devout attention, such person, mäà cävyabhicäriëé yogena, mäà ca avyabhicäreëa yogena bhajate mäà sa guëän samatétyaitän [Bg. 14.26]. Immediately, he becomes transcendental to all the qualities. So devotional service is not within these material qualities. They are transcendental. Bhakti is transcendental. Therefore, you cannot understand Kåñëa or God without bhakti. Bhaktyä mäà abhijänäti [Bg. 18.55]. Only bhaktyä mäà abhijänäti. Otherwise, it is not possible. Bhaktyä mäà abhijänäti yävan yas cäsmi tattvataù. Reality, in reality, if you want to understand what is God, then you have to adopt this bhakti process, devotional service. Then you transcend. Therefore, in the Çrémad Bhägavatam, Närada says that: tyaktvä sva-dharmaà caraëämbujaà harer [SB 1.5.17]. If anyone, even by sentiment, gives such, gives up his occupational duty according to guëa... That is called svadharma... Svadharma means one's duty according to the quality he has acquired. That is called svadharma. The brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya, çüdra, they are divided guëa-karma-vibhägaçaù, by guëa and karma.

So here Arjuna says that kärpaëya-doñopahataù-svabhävaù. "I am kñatriya." He understands that: "I am doing wrong. I am refusing to fight. Therefore, it is kärpaëya-doña, miserly." Miserly means I have got some means to spend, but if I don't spend this is called miser. Kåpaëatä. So kåpaëatä. There are two classes of men, brähmaëa and çüdra. Brähmaëa and çüdra. Brähmaëa means he's not miser. He has got the opportunity, great asset of this human form of body, many millions of dollars worth, this human... But he's not using it properly, simply seeing it: "How beautiful I am." That's all. Just spend your beauty or utilize your asset, the human... That is brähmaëa, to be liberal. And the... Etad viditvä prayäti sa brähmaëaù, One who knows... Therefore Prahläda Mahäräja says: durlabhaà manuñyaà janma adhruvam arthadam. He was preaching amongst his class friends. He was born in a demonic family, Hiraëyakaçipu. And his class friends, also, of the same category. So Prahläda Mahäräja was advising them: "My dear brothers, let us cultivate Kåñëa consciousness." So other boys, what do they know about Kåñëa conscious...? Prahläda Mahäräja is liberated from the very birth. So they said: "What is this Kåñëa consciousness?" They could not understand. So he was convincing them: durlabhaà manuñyaà janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. This human body is durlabhaà. Labdhvä sudurlabhaà idam bahu sambhavänte. This human form of body is a great concession given by the material nature. People are so miscreant and foolish. They do not understand what is the value of this human form of life. They engage this body for sense gratification like cats and dogs. The çästra therefore says: "No, this human form of body is not meant for spoiling like the hogs and dogs." Näyaà deho deha-bhäjäà nå-loke. Everyone has got a body, material body. But nå-loke, in the human society, this body is not to be spoiled. Näyaà deho deha-bhäjäà nå-loke kañöän kämän arhati viò-bhujäà ye. This human form of life, simply working uselessly hard, day and night, for sense gratification. This is the business of the hog and dog. They are doing also the same thing, whole day and night, working hard simply for sense gratification. So therefore in the human society there must be a system of division. That is called varëäçrama-dharma. That is Vedic civilization. That is really called Ärya-samäja. Ärya-samäja does not mean to become rascal and fool and deny the existence of God. No. That is Anärya. Just like Kåñëa rebuked Arjuna: anärya-juñöa. "You are talking like anärya." One who is not Kåñëa conscious, he's anärya. Anärya. Ärya means who is advancing in Kåñëa consciousness. So really Ärya-samäna means Kåñëa conscious person. Otherwise, bogus, bogus ärya-samäna. Because here from the Bhagavad-gétä says, Kåñëa says Arjuna, rebuking, because he was refusing to fight, because he does not know what is his duty, again Arjuna is admitting here that kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù. "Yes, I am anärya. I have become anärya. Because I have forgotten my duty."

So actually äryan samäja means Kåñëa conscious society, International Society for Kåñëa... That is Ärya. Not bogus. So here, Arjuna is explaining, putting himself: "Yes, kärpaëya-doño. Because I am forgetting my duty, therefore upahata-svabhävaù, I am bewildered in my natural propensities." A kñatriya should be always active. Whenever there is a war, there is fight, they must be very much enthusiastic. A kñatriya, if another kñatriya says: "I want to fight with you," he, oh, he cannot refuse. "Yes, come one. Fight. Take sword." Immediately: "Come one" That is kñatriya. Now he's refusing to fight. He's forgetting his duty, kñatriya duty. Therefore, he's admitting: Yes, kärpaëya-doña. Kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù. "My natural duty I am forgetting. Therefore I have become miser. Therefore my..." Now when you become miser, that is a diseased condition. Then what is your duty? Then go to a person who can... Just like when you become diseased, you go to a physician and ask him "What to do, sir? I am now suffering with this disease." This is your duty. Similarly, when we are perplexed in our duties, or we forget our duties, it is very nice to go to the superior person and ask him what to do. So who can be superior person than Kåñëa? Therefore Arjuna says: påcchämi tväm. "I am asking you. Because it is my duty. I'm now falling in my duty, faulty. So this is not good. So I must ask somebody who is superior to me." That is the duty. Tad vijïänärthaà sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

"To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth."
[Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12]

1.2.12]. This is the Vedic duty. Everyone is perplexed. Everyone is suffering in this material world, being perplexed. But he'll not search out a bona fide guru. No. That is kärpaëya-doña. That is kärpaëya-doña. Here, Arjuna is coming out of the kärpaëya-doña. How? Now he's asking Kåñëa. Påcchämi tväm. "My dear Kåñëa, You are the most superior person. That I know. You are Kåñëa. So I am perplexed. Actually, I am forgetting my duty. Therefore, I am asking You."

So you have to approach the Supreme Person, means Kåñëa or His representative. All others are rascals and fools. If you approach a person, guru, who is not representative of Kåñëa, you are approaching a rascal. How you'll be enlightened? You must approach Kåñëa, or His representative. That is wanted. Tad vijïänärthaà sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

"To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth."
[Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12]

1.2.12]. So who is guru? Samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham. A guru is full Kåñëa conscious. Brahma-niñöham. And çrotriyam. Çrotriyam means who has heard, who has received knowledge by the çrotriyaà paöha. By hearing from superior authority. Evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayoù viduù. So here we have to learn from Arjuna that when we are perplexed, when we forget our real duty, and therefore we are puzzled, then our duty is to approach Kåñëa as Arjuna is doing. So if you say: "Where is Kåñëa?" Kåñëa is not there, but Kåñëa's representative is there. You should approach him. That is the Vedic injunction. Tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

"To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth."
[Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12]

1.2.12]. One must approach guru. And guru means Kåñëa originally. Tene brahma hådä ya ädi-kavaye muhyanti yat sürayaù. Janmädyasya yataù anvayät itarataç ca artheñu abhijïaù svarät. You have to approach. That is guru. So we consider, we take Brahmä... Because he's the first creature within this universe, he's accepted as the guru. He imparted... Just like we belong to the Brahma-sampradäya. There are four sampradäyas, Brahma-sampradäya, Çré-sampradäya, Rudra-sampradäya and Kumära-samapradäya. They're all mahäjanas. Mahäjano yena gataù sa panthäù. We have to accept the line of action which is given by the mahäjana.

So Brahmä is mahäjana. You'll find Brahmä's picture with Veda in his hand. So he's the, he gave the first instruction of Veda. But wherefrom he got the Vedic knowledge? Therefore Vedic knowledge is apauruñeya. It is not man-made. It is God-made. Dharmaà tu säkñäd bhagavat-praëétam [SB 6.3.19]. So how God, Kåñëa gave to Brahmä? Tene brahma hådä. Brahma, brahma means the Vedic knowledge. Çabda-brahma. Tene. He injected Vedic knowledge from hådä. Teñäà satata-yuktänäà bhajatäà prité-pürvakam [Bg. 10.10]. When Brahmä was created, he was perplexed: "What is my duty? Everything is dark." So he meditated, and Kåñëa gave him knowledge that: "Your duty is this. You do like this." Tene brahma hådä ya ädi-kavaye. Ädi-kavaye. Brahmä is ädi-kavaye. So actual guru is Kåñëa. And here is... Kåñëa is advising the Bhagavad-gétä. These rascals and fools will not accept Kåñëa as guru. They'll go to some rascal and fool and miscreants, sinful person, and accept guru. How he can be guru?

So guru is Kåñëa. Here is the example given by Arjuna. Påcchämi tväm. Who is that tväm? Kåñëa. "Why you are asking Me?" Dharma-sammüòha-cetäù. "I am bewildered in my duties, dharma." Dharma means duty. Dharmaà tu säkñäd bhagavat-praëétam [SB 6.3.19]. Sammüòha-cetäù. "So what I have to do?" Yac chreyaù. "What is actually my duty?" Çreyaù. Çreyaù and preyaù. Preyaù... They are two things. Preya means which I like immediately, very nice. And çreya means ultimate goal. They are two things. Just like a child wants to play all day. That is childish nature. That is çreya. And preya means he must take education so that in future his life will be settled up. That is preya, çreya. So Arjuna is asking not preya. He's asking instruction from Kåñëa not for the purpose of confirming his çreya. Çreya means immediately he was thinking that: "I shall be happy by not fighting, not by killing my kinsmen." That, he was, like a child, he was thinking. Çreya. But when he came to his consciousness... Not actually consciousness, because he's intelligent. He's asking for preya, uh, çreya. Yac chreyaù syät. "What is the, actually, my ultimate goal of life?" Yac chreyaù syät. Yac chreyaù syät niçcitaà. Niçcitam means fixed-up, without any mistake. Niçcitam. In Bhägavata, there is, called niçcitaà. Niçcitam means you haven't got to make research. It is already settled up. "This is the decision:" Because we, with our teeny brain, we cannot find out what is the actual niçcitaà, fixed-up sreya. That we do not know. That you have to ask from Kåñëa. Or his representative. These are the things. Yac chreya syät niçcitaà brühi tan me.

So... "Kindly speak to me that." "So why shall I speak to you?" Here says: çiñyas te 'ham. "Now I am accepting You as my guru. I become Your çiñya." Çiñya means: "Whatever you'll say, I'll accept." That is çiñya. The çiñya word comes from ças-dhätu. Ças-dhätu. Çästra. Çästra. Çäsana. Çiñya. These are from the same root. Ças-dhätu. Ças-dhätu means rule, ruling. So we can rule in various ways. We can be ruled, becoming a çiñya of a proper guru. That is ças-dhätu. Or we can be ruled by çästra, weapon. Just like king has got weapon. If you don't follow the king's instruction or government's instruction, then there is police force, military force. That is çästra. And there is çästra also. Çästra means book, scripture. Just like Bhagavad-gétä. Everything is there. So we must be ruled, either by çästra, çästra or guru. Or becoming çiñya. Therefore it is said: çiñyas te 'ham. "I become voluntarily... I surrender unto You." "Now you become çiñya. What is the proof that you have become My çiñya?" Çädhi mäà tväà prapannam. "Now I am fully surrender." Prapannam.

So this knowledge required, how to find out real guru and how to surrender unto Him. The guru does not mean that I keep a guru. So as order-supplier "My dear guru, I am suffering from this. Can you give me some medicine?" "Yes, yes. Take this medicine." "Yes." Not that guru. If you are suffering from some disease, you go to a physician. It is not guru's business to give you some medicine. A guru's business is to give you Kåñëa. Kåñëa sei tomära, kåñëa déte pära. A Vaiñëava is praying guru: "Sir, you are devotee of Kåñëa. You can give me Kåñëa if you like." This is the position of çiñya. Guru's business is how to give you Kåñëa, not any material things. For material things, there are so many institutions. But if you want Kåñëa, then guru's required. Who is, who requires a guru?

tasmäd guruà prapadyeta
jijïäsu çreya uttamam
çäbde pare ca niñëätaà
brahmaëy upasamäçrayam
[SB 11.3.21]

Who requires a guru? Guru's not a fashion. "Oh, I have got a guru. I shall make a guru." Guru means one who's serious. Tasmäd guruà prapadyeta. One has to seek out a guru. Why? Jijïäsu çreya uttamam. One who is inquisitive of the Supreme. Not guru make a fashion. Just like we keep a dog, fashion. Similarly, we keep a guru. That is not guru karma (?). "Guru will act according to my decision." Not like that. Guru means one who can give you Kåñëa. That is guru. Kåñëa sei tomära. Because Kåñëa is guru. That is stated in the Brahma-saàhitä. Vedeñu durlabhaà adurlabhaà ätma-bhaktau [Bs. 5.33]. Vedeñu durlabhaà. If you want to search out... Although Vedas means knowledge, and the ultimate knowledge is to understand Kåñëa. Vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. This is the instruction. So if you independently wants to study Vedas, just, there is, there are some rascals... They say: "We understand only Vedas." What do you understand Veda? How you'll understand Veda? So Vedas says, tad vijïänärthaà sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

"To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth."
[Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12]

1.2.12]. You'll understand Vedas by taking one, purchasing one Vedas book, or taking it, you'll understand Vedas? Vedänta is not so cheap thing. Without becoming a brähmaëa, nobody can understand a Veda, what is Veda. Therefore, it is restricted. Without becoming brähmaëa, nobody is allowed to study Vedas. It's all nonsense. What you'll understand about the Vedas? Therefore Vyäsadeva, after compiling the four Vedas, dividing the four Vedas, he made Mahäbhärata. Because the Vedas, subject matter of Vedas is so difficult. Stré-çüdra-dvija-bandhünäà trayé na çruti-gocaräù. For women, for çüdras, and for the dvija bandhu. They cannot understand what is Vedas. So all these rascal dvija-bandhus and çüdras, they want to study Vedas. No, that is not possible. One has to become first of all situated in the brahminical qualification, satyaà çamo damas titiksva ärjavaà jïänaà vijïänam ästikyaà brahma karma sva-bhäva... Then touch Veda. Otherwise, what you'll understand Vedas? Nonsense. Therefore, Vedas says: tad vijïänärthaà sa gurum [MU tad-vijïänärthaà sa gurum eväbhigacchet
samit-päëiù çrotriyaà brahma-niñöham

"To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth."
[Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12]

1.2.12]. You must approach a guru to understand Veda. And what is that Veda? Vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. The Vedas means, to study Vedas means to understand Kåñëa. And surrender unto Him. This is Vedic knowledge. Where Arjuna says that: prapannam. "Now I am surrender unto You. I am now no more going to talk with You on equal level just as if I know so many things." He was right, but he was thinking on the material platform. He was thinking that praduñyanti kula-striyaù. If everyone... This is material point. But Vedic knowledge is spiritual, uttamam. Tasmäd guruà prapadyeta jijïäsu çreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. Uttamam. This çreya. Uttamam. Yac chreya syät niçcitaà. Fixed-up. There is, there is no question of changing. That instruction is now, will be given by Kåñëa. Sarva-dharmän parityaja mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja. And this takes place-bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19].

So therefore in order to achieve the highest, goal of life, one should fully surrender to Kåñëa or His representative. Then his life is successful.