Bhagavad Gita 2.52

[Paramananda das]

TEXT 52

yada te moha-kalilam buddhir vyatitarisyati tada gantasi nirvedam srotavyasya srutasya ca

SYNONYMS

yada--when; te--your; moha--illusory; kalilam--dense forest; buddhih--transcendental service with intelligence; vyatitarisyati--surpasses; tada--at that time; ganta  asi--you shall go; nirvedam--callousness; srotavyasya--all  that is to be heard; srutasya--all that is already heard; ca--also.

TRANSLATION

When your intelligence has  passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all  that has been heard and all that is to be heard.

PURPORT

There are many good examples in the  lives of the great devotees of the Lord of those who became indifferent to the  rituals of the Vedas simply by devotional service to the Lord. When a  person factually understands Krsna and his relationship with Krsna, he naturally  becomes completely indifferent to the rituals of fruitive activities, even  though an experienced brahmana. Sri Madhavendra Puri, a great devotee and acarya in the line of the devotees, says:

sandhya-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bhoh snana tubhyam  namo bho devah pitaras ca tarpana-vidhau naham ksamah ksamyatam yatra kvapi nisadya yadava-kulottamasya kamsa-dvisah smaram  smaram agham harami tad alam manye kim anyena me

"O Lord, in my prayers three times a  day, all glory to You. Bathing, I offer my obeisances unto you. O demigods! O  forefathers! Please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now  wherever I sit, I can remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty [Krsna],  the enemy of Kamsa, and thereby I can free myself from all sinful bondage. I  think this is sufficient for me." The Vedic rites and rituals are imperative for neophytes: comprehending  all kinds of prayer three times a day, taking a bath early in the morning,  offering respects to the forefathers, etc. But, when one is fully in Krsna  consciousness and is engaged in His transcendental loving service, one becomes  indifferent to all these regulative principles because he has already attained  perfection. If one can reach the platform of understanding by service to the  Supreme Lord Krsna, he has no longer to execute different types of penances and  sacrifices as recommended in revealed scriptures. And, similarly, if one has not  understood that the purpose of the Vedas is to reach Krsna and simply  engages in the rituals, etc., then he is uselessly wasting time in such  engagements. Persons in Krsna consciousness transcend the limit of sabda-brahma, or the range of the Vedas and Upanisads.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

From the performance of niskama karma yoga offered to the Supreme Lord, you will develop this neutrality (yoga). When your intelligence has surpassed particularly (vi) and completely (ati) the denseness of illusion, at that time you will become indifferent to all the subjects about which you will hear, and have already heard.

“By eliminating all that has been taught and will be taught in the future, then what is the use of my hearing instructions of scripture now?”

“By these instructions, you will at present consider that repetition in these practices must definitely be done at every moment.”

Rudra Vaisnava Sampradaya: Visnuswami Sridhara Swami's Commentary With genuine concern one may ask: When will I be able to attain that eternal  and everlasting spiritual world? An important question but first one must  successfully circumnavigate the maze of delusion in the material existence. When  one has factually rejected the conception of identifying oneself as the physical  body then one will by navigating oneself out of the maze of delusion  successfully escape the net of illusion which is likened to a bottomless abyss.  Therefore it should be understood that by surrendering all activities in  righteousness unto the Supreme Lord Krishna through the auspices of disciplic  succession, by His mercy the spiritual intelligence will naturally manifest  within and one will begin to clearly comprehend that the physical body is  distinctly separate from the individual consciousness. From this understanding  one will attain indifference towards the activities that are heard about or that  will be heard about. The desire to inquire about temporal things will cease as  it will be perceived that only existing temporarily they are not worth pursuing.  This is the meaning.

Brahma Vaisnava Sampradaya: Madhvacarya Madhvacarya's Commentary To answer the query regarding what is essential for one aspiring for  liberation the answer is given in this verse by Lord Krishna. The word nirvedam  means indifferent, renunciation is not indicated here. Rather it is to be  understood that by spiritual intelligence in the process of acquiring wisdom one  becomes indifferent to mundane pursuits. It is not that one with spiritual  intelligence is indifferent regarding the sublime activities of the Supreme  Lord. Liberated sages immersed in the delight of the soul through their highly  developed mental state advance onwards by devotion without any desires. Lord  Krishna is very attracted to those following devotion possessing these  attributes. The austerities and penance performed by Sukadeva and others give  them immeasurable satisfaction and great happiness. Those who meditate on the lotus feet of Lord Krishna relishing His glories  and phenomenal pastimes and that of His devotees, they derive a greater  satisfaction that is not even available to one fully realised. So needless to  speak about the satisfaction of those in the heavenly realms who are forced to  descend down to earth again once they have exhausted their benefits. For only  those situated with the wisdom of spiritual intelligence can understand Lord  Krishna's paramount position and thus perform all actions accordingly. Even in liberation there is taratamya gradation. If there were no gradation  then men of wisdom could not realise the mercy of Lord Krishna's divine grace  which is the sole cause of liberation. In this way no one will desire similarity  with Him. Even if it is offered it will not be accepted. Thus even those not  desiring liberation receive it anyway as the result of devotion and those so  desiring it, liberation comes manifesting auspiciousness. This auspiciousness  manifests even though undesired. Just as those exalted devotees with special  devotion to Lord Krishna receive special mercy at the end of their lives that  can be perceived. In the same way dispensation is received by those situated in  wisdom at the termination of the physical body. Other dispensation is given for  the ascetics at the severance of their mortal coil and still those who  experience supreme bliss with distinctive character as experienced. In all these  different levels gradation always exists. Liberation by whatever means is deliverance and in this no one can surpass  one for one will be fully situated in the ultimate wisdom of devotion to Lord  Krishna by spiritual intelligence. So in the matter of equilibrium it must be  regarded in abundance as well as in experiencing misery. Even though abundance  and misery must be regarded equally for the supreme bliss it is the realisation  in wisdom by spiritual intelligence that is the key ingredient for liberation  from the material existence as given in the Narayana Ashtaksha Kalpa. Hence  renunciation is not indicated as a means of liberation in Vedic scriptures.  There also does not exist any direction to other methods regarding liberation.  Thus the understanding for this verse is that by listening to the potent words  of great self-realised beings the true purport of the Vedas will be learned.

Sri Vaisnava Sampradaya: Ramanuja Ramanuja's Commentary Performing actions as prescribed in the previous verses and therefore purged  of all dross the realisation one attains will extricate them from the  perplexities of worldliness arising from identification with actions and the  reward of actions. From that point on all that one has hitherto heard regarding  the wisdom of renouncing the rewards of action as the cause of motivation for  action as well as what one would subsequently hear regarding the fruitiveness of  actions will by one's own free will be regarded with complete indifference. What  has thus far been given is in the next verse to be described. It is known as yoga which is the science of uniting the individual consciousness with  the ultimate consciousness by actions performed with the light of spiritual  intelligence based on bonafide knowledge of the immortal soul.

Kumara Vaisnava Sampradaya: Nimbaditya Kesava Kasmiri's Commentary If someone were to enquire that if they perform actions in the prescribed  manner will indifference to worldly topics come quickly. Lord Krishna indicates  that it is up to the individual by use of the word yada meaning when. There is  no exact time. Whenever one spiritual intelligence revives itself and allows  ones mind to cross over the gigantic dross and mud of mental delusion then and  only then one will achieve indifference to all worldly objects that are worthy  of hearing and yet to be heard and the rewards of actions in which to accomplish  them as written in the Vedic scriptures for this world and the heavenly  kingdoms.