“The Supreme Person [Bhagavan] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” (Bhagavad-gita, 2.2)

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श्री-भगवान् उवाच
कुतस् त्वा कश्मलम् इदं
विषमे समुपस्थितम्
अनार्य-जुष्टम् अस्वर्ग्यम्
अकीर्ति-करम् अर्जुन

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ
viṣame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam
akīrti-karam arjuna

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that without a foundation in genuine religion, irrespective of the exact tradition followed, the human life becomes no different from the animal life. It is simply eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Action without purpose. Cause and consequence, but only in the manifest sense, where we can see the results. After the fact, everything stops.

But in truth, it does not. When a person departs this world, the effects of their work still linger. Even if they did nothing more than sleep the entire day, relying on the generosity and support of others, they still leave something behind. This means that even their departure is a kind of action, with visible confirmation of the continuation through the effects of what gets left behind.

Genuine religion has four qualities at the foundation: honesty, compassion, cleanliness, and austerity. Genuine religion begins with the premise of the continuation of an existence. In other words, there is an afterlife. What occurs today has repercussions for tomorrow. This life is in preparation for the next life.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि
जन्मानि तव चार्जुन
तान्य् अहं वेद सर्वाणि
न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

“The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.5)

This understanding is a way to confirm the otherwise mystical concept of reincarnation. The cycle of birth and death is nothing more than filling in what is otherwise missing from the picture of cause and effect. Just as my work in this life will impact the destination in the afterlife, so my previous work affected where I ended up in this life. In other words, my placement in the human form is not by random occurrence.

If we believe in the afterlife, the immediate effect is that we will apply some oversight to our actions. At least we will try. We will hold back, if necessary. We will try not to act on a whim. Those things we avoid are known as sin. Those things which will help us in the long-term future are known as pious deeds.

The sacred Bhagavad-gita conversation begins with this premise. The person in doubt is trying to do the right thing. They abruptly change course and rationalize the decision by giving arguments in favor of the future.

By abandoning the battlefield, Arjuna hopes to spare the lives of the enemy combatants. Avoiding military conflict prevents bloodshed. Arjuna thinks this is the right thing to do. He is not entirely sure, so he lays the presentation before someone he trusts.

Shri Krishna immediately smashes the illusion to Arjuna’s proposal. To quit the battlefield for the reasons stated is not the right thing to do. There will be negative consequences in the short-term, in that the people who have committed so many wrongs will get away with their crimes.

There will also be the long-term consequence of missing elevation to the heavenly realm. Krishna describes Arjuna’s proposal as asvargyam. The proposed action will not lead to heaven, which is a planetary system known as svarga-loka.

This is the opening salvo, if you will. If Arjuna wants fame, honor, distinction, and further progress on the right track, then dropping the weapons will not get him to where he wants to go. Simultaneously, Arjuna’s proposal presents an opportunity to explain the flaw in the desired destination itself.

ते तं भुक्त्वा स्वर्ग-लोकं विशालं
क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्य-लोकं विशन्ति
एवं त्रयी-धर्मम् अनुप्रपन्ना
गतागतं काम-कामा लभन्ते

te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ
kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti
evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā
gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante

“When they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus, through the Vedic principles, they achieve only flickering happiness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.21)

Svarga-loka is a temporary establishment. A person does not get to stay there forever. This means that the results to karma are not permanent. I pretend that my work will manifest in something strong and stable, like with building a house. It is an action with a specific consequence.

“Ishvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakriti (nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)

Nevertheless, the force of time continues to operate. It is the great destroyer, and its most gruesome form is death. That is why the Sanskrit word for time also applies to death: kala. In the same way, the time in the heavenly region, which is based on the amount of pious credits accumulated through deeds, runs out.

If a person is interested in doing the right thing, they should rise above temporary right and wrong, good and bad, and heaven and hell. They should work towards creating a permanent establishment. That is only possible through a change in consciousness.

गतसङ्गस्य मुक्तस्य ज्ञानावस्थितचेतसः ।
यज्ञायाचरतः कर्म समग्रं प्रविलीयते ॥

gata-saṅgasya muktasya
jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ
yajñāyācarataḥ karma
samagraṁ pravilīyate

“The work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material nature and who is fully situated in transcendental knowledge merges entirely into transcendence.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.23)

The recommendation for Arjuna is to proceed, but with detachment towards the outcome. Work for the sake of Krishna, who is not beholden to karma. Think always of Krishna, who is above time itself. Dedicate activity in a proper way with a mind fixed in transcendence, such that the work itself merges into transcendence.

In Closing:

Heaven highest place of all,
But even from there to fall.

When time from deeds expiring,
Karma again transpiring.

Like where to Arjuna teaching,
A realization reaching.

That transcendence better for me,
Where always Krishna to see.

Categories: religion

Tags: god, hare krishna, heaven, poem, poems, poetry, reincarnation, religion