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CATUH-SLOKI GITA (The Four Essential Slokas of Gita 10.08-11)
Sloka 8

aham sarvasya prabhavo / mattah sarvam pravarttate
iti matva bhajante mam / budha bhava-samanvitah

I am the source of both mundane and spiritual worlds. Everything emanates from 
Me. The wise who know this well, engage in My bhajana with great joy in their 
hearts.


While eplaining His vibhutis (majestic feature), which is characterised by 
supreme aisvarya [opulence], Lord krishna says, "I am the original cause and 
the source of everything material and spiritual. Inspired by My Antaryami 
svarupa, the whole universe engages in work, and by the inspiration coming from 
My avataras such as Narada, all become engaged in the sadhana (practice) of 
bhakti, jnana, tapasya and karma, etc. and the sadhya (attainment of the 
respective goals)". In defining ekantika bhakti-yoga, Sri Bhagavan says, iti 
matva, "Being fixed in this type of theistic knowledge and endowed with bhavas 
such as dasya and sakhya (servitorship and friendship), those who perform My 
bhajana are panditas (those who know the essence of the Vedas)."

PRAKASIKA-VRTTI
Sri Krsna is the origin of both mundane and spiritual creations. Such 
tattva-jnana is undoubtedly attainable from the instructions and mercy of the 
tattva-vit Vaisnavas. Only with the help of such transcendental knowledge 
(tattva-jnana), can the thoughts of sadhus become fixed in suddha bhakti to Sri 
Krsna. One cannot acquire pure tattva-jnana by receiving instruction that has 
come from modern concocted commentaries which are devoid of bhakti, by hearing 
from bewildered so-called gurus who are bereft of tattva-jnana, or by receiving 
the instructions of so-called bhaktas. This is also confirmed in 
Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.7.50),

aham brahma a sarvas ca / jagatah karanam param
atmesvara upadrasta / svayam-drg avisesanah

"Lord Visnu replied, 'Brahma, Siva and I are the supreme cause of the material 
manifestation. I am the Supersoul and the self-sufficient witness. But in one 
sense we are non-different because everything rests in Me'."
The Varaha Purana also states,

narayanah paro devas / tasmaj jatas caturmukhah
tasmad rudro 'bhavad devah / sa ca sarva-jnatam gatah

"Sri Narayana is the Supreme Lord and from Him alone Brahma, Rudra, etc., are 
born. Narayana is omniscient." This Narayana is the vaibhava-vilasa of Krsna. 
Elsewhere in the Vedas, Krsna is also described as the son of Devaki, brahmanyo 
devaki putrah (Narayana Upanisad 4).

Sloka 9

mac-citta mad-gata-prana / bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam / tusyanti ca ramanti ca

Those whose minds are absorbed in Me and whose lives are wholeheartedly devoted 
to My service, derive great satisfaction and bliss from constantly enlightening 
one another about My tattva and performing kirtana of My nama, rupa, guna and 
lila.


"By My mercy, only ananya bhaktas attain buddhi-yoga and although tattva-jnana, 
which is enriched by the above-mentioned characteristics is difficult to 
conceive, they attain it. Mac-citta refers to those whose minds are attracted 
to tasting the sweetness of My nama, rupa, guna and lila. Mad-gata-prana refers 
to those who cannot maintain their lives without Me, just as a person cannot 
maintain his life without food. Bodhayantah means that such people enlighten 
each other about the svarupa and tattva of bhakti and with great affection 
contribute to one another's spiritual progress. Mam means, "I am a great ocean 
of the sweetest rupa, guna and lila. They attain bliss while describing and 
loudly chanting about My sweet rupa, guna and so on." In this way, sravanam, 
kirtanam and smaranam are superior to all other processes of bhakti. Ananya 
bhaktas only attain satisfaction and bliss by performing this type of bhakti. 
This is the secret. In other words, they also attain satisfaction during 
sadhana-dasa, as they perform unobstructed bhajana. During sadhya dasa, they 
enjoy with Krsna within their mind by remembering their perfect state. Sri 
Bhagavan's above statements describe raganuga bhakti only.

PRAKASIKA-VRTTI
In the present sloka, Sri Krsna is explaining the nature of His ananya bhaktas 
and their practice of bhakti. Here, the word mad-gata-prana means, "My bhaktas 
are unable to maintain their lives without Me, just as fish canot remain alive 
without water." If a fish comes out of the water on to the beach with a desire 
to achieve happiness, it will certainly die immediately. In the same way, the 
jivas who are averse to Sri Hari are as good as dead, even while in these 
bodies.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura quotes Krsna as saying, "The character of those 
whose minds are exclusively devoted is as follows. By completely offering their 
minds and lives unto Me, they mutually exchange their bhavas and remain engaged 
in glorifying My lilas and so forth. In this way, by sravanam and kirtanam they 
attain the happiness of bhakti. In their sadhya stage, that is, after attaining 
pure prema, which is accessible only through raga-marga [the path of raga, or 
spontaneous attachment], they experience the pleasure of enjoying with Me 
within vraja rasa, culminating in the bhava of madhura-rasa [amourous love]."


Sloka 10

tesam satata-yuktanam / bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam / yena mam upayanti te
Upon those who perform bhajana to Me with love, yearning for My eternal 
association, I bestow the transcendental knowledge by which they can come to Me.

BHAVANUVADA
"So, they attain satisfaction and bliss. According to Your statement, Your 
bhaktas attain supreme bliss only by performing bhakti to You. It is therefore 
clear that they are beyond the gunas. But how do they get direct realization of 
You and from whom do they learn the process to achieve it?" Aniticpating this 
question from Arjuna, Sri Bhagavan speaks this sloka beginning with the word 
tesam. "I, Myself inspire all of the natural tendencies within the hearts of 
those who desire My eternal association so that they achieve this. This 
buddhi-yoga cannot be achieved by individual effort or obtained from someone. 
It is bestowed by Me alone and only such loving bhaktas are qualified to 
receive it. After being blessed with this buddhi-yoga, they achieve Me."

PRAKASIKA-VRTTI
This sloka explains how ananya bhaktas attain direct realization of Sri Krsna. 
Krsna says, "To those who continuously perform My bhajana with love, I Myself 
grant buddhi-yoga by which they easily attain direct realization of Me." It is 
also said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.28.41),

saksad bhagavatoktena / guruna harina nrpa
visuddha-jnana-dipena / sphurata visvato-mukham

"O King, as the guru of Malayadhvaja, Bhagavan Himself illuminated his heart 
with the light of knowledge." This is also explained in Vedanta-sutra (3.8.48): 
visesanugrhas ca. "One can only see Krsna by His mercy."

Sloka 11

tesam evanukampartham / aham ajnana-jam tamah
nasayamy atma-bhava-stho / jnana-dipena bhasvata

Only out of compassion for these ananya bhaktas do I, dwelling within the core 
of their hearts, destroy the darkness of samsara, born of ignorance, with the 
blazing lamp of transcendental knowledge.


Arjuna may aks, "Surely, You cannot be achieve by a person who has not acquired 
real knowledge (vidya-vrtti). That is why one will endeavour for vidya." In 
response, Sri Bhagavan says, "No, No. I am explaining how I only bless My 
ananya bhaktas, not yogis or others. I Myself am always enthusiastic to give My 
mercy to them so they need not undergo any anxiety to achieve it. Entering the 
core of their intelligence (atma-bhava-sthah), I dispel the darkness of their 
hearts with the lamp of knowledge (jnana-dipena). That jnana which enlightens 
one about Me is not sattvic; it is nirguna. And because this jnana is born from 
bhakti it is special, even within the category of nirguna-jnana. Only with the 
lamp of this particular jnana do I destroy the darkness in their hearts. 
Therefore, why should they endeavour for this? For those who are exclusively 
devoted to Me, I carry their maintenance and their requirements." In accordance 
with this statement of Gita (9.22), Sri Bhagavan accerpts the burden of 
satisfying all of the material and spiritual needs of his ananya bhaktas.

The above four slokas of Gita are famous as the essence of Bhagavad-gita. They 
are all-auspicious and dispel the jiva's misery, which is born of ignorance. 

PRAKASIKA-VRTTI
Although jnanis and yogis try to attain knowledge by the power of their own 
intelligence, they remain unsuccessful. Only the ananya bhaktas of Sri Krsna 
who take exclusive shelter of Him can easily attain knowledge of Him, by His 
mercy. And since the bhaktas cannot maintain their lives without Krsna, they 
are the supreme object of His mercy. Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana quotes Krsna as 
saying, "Being pleased by their ekantika bhava, I bestow upon them complete 
mercy and also inspire their intelligence, just as I care for their yoga and 
ksema. The full responsibility for their maintenance is solely Mine. They do 
not need to endeavour for anything."

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura quotes Krsna as saying, "In this way, ignorance 
cannot remain within those who engage in the process of bhakti-yoga. Some think 
that only those who try to search after tad-vastu (the Absolute Reality) by 
sequentially eliminating that which is atat (non-real), according to the 
principle of negation (neti-neti), attain true knowledge, and that those who 
simply cultivate the process of bhakti are unable to attain such rare jnana. O 
Arjuna, the basic idea is that the insignificant jiva can never attain real 
tattva-jnana merely on the strength of his own intelligence. No matter how much 
he deliberates, he can never achieve even a particle of pure jnana. But if I 
bless him, then even an insignificant jiva can easily acquire complete and 
thorough transcendental knowledge by the influence of My acintya-sakti. Simply 
by dwelling within the hearts of My ananya bhaktas, I easily enlighten them 
with the lamp of transcendental knowlege. By special mercy, I become situated 
in their hearts and completely destroy the darkness born of ignorance which 
arises from mundane association. It is the right of the jiva to acquire that 
pure knowlege which appears only by the process of bhakti-yoga, not by 
reasoning."

Just as the essence of Srimad-Bhagavatam is contained within four slokas 
(2.9.31-34) spoken directly by Bhagavan Sri Krsna to Brahma, in the same way, 
the above four slokas are the essence of Bhagavad-gita (10.8-11). Hence, they 
are popularly known as catuh-sloki Gita. The essence of Gita as decribed in 
these four slokas is bhakti. Sri Krsna is personally explaining the nature of 
ananya bhakti to Arjuna. When the sadhaka takes shelter of ananya bhakti, Sri 
Krsna bestows His mercy upon him so that he can easily cross the ocean of 
material existence and become eligible to enter His rasamayi bhakti (bhakti 
characterized by five primary mellows) in the land of Vraja. 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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