BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS Chapter 18 Text Who is qualified and disqualified for the most confidential knowledge?

idaḿ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana na cāśuśrūṣave vācyaḿ na ca māḿ yo 'bhyasūyati TEXT 67 This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.

Persons who have not undergone the austerities of the religious process, who have never attempted devotional service in Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a consciousness, who have not tended a pure devotee, and especially those who are conscious of Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a only as a historical personality or who are envious of the greatness of Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a should not be told this most confidential part of knowledge. Sometimes found that even demoniac persons who are envious of Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a, take to the profession of explaining Bhagavad-gita in a different way to make business, but anyone who desires actually to understand Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a must avoid such commentaries on Bhagavad-gita. Actually the purpose of Bhagavad-gita is not understandable to those who are sensuous. Even if one is not sensuous but is strictly following the disciplines enjoined in the Vedic scripture, if he is not a devotee he also cannot understand Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a. Even when one poses himself as a devotee of Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a but is not engaged in Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a conscious activities, he also cannot understand Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a. There are many persons who envy Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a because He has explained in Bhagavad-gita that He is the Supreme and that nothing is above Him or equal to Him. Such persons should not be told of Bhagavad-gita, for they cannot understand. Without understanding Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a from the authority of a pure devotee, one should not try to comment upon Bhagavad-gita.

TEXT 68 ya idaḿ paramaḿ guhyaḿ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati bhaktiḿ mayi parāḿ kṛtvā mām evaiṣyaty asaḿśayaḥ For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

Generally it is advised that Bhagavad-gita be discussed amongst the devotees only, for those who are not devotees will understand neither Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a nor Bhagavad-gita. Those who do not accept Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a as He is and Bhagavad-gita as it is should not try to explain Bhagavad-gita whimsically and become offenders. Bhagavad-gita should be explained to persons who are ready to accept Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is a subject matter for the devotees only and not for philosophical speculators. Anyone, however, who tries sincerely to present Bhagavad-gita as it is will advance in devotional activities and reach the pure devotional state of life. As a result of such pure devotion, he is sure to go back home, back to Godhead.

TEXT 69 na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi There is no servant in this World more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

TEXT 70 adhyeṣyate ca ya imaḿ dharmyaḿ saḿvādam āvayoḥ jñāna-yajñena tenāham iṣṭaḥ syām iti me matiḥ And I declare that he who studies this sacred conversation of ours worships Me by his intelligence

TEXT 71 śraddhāvān anasūyaś ca śṛṇuyād api yo naraḥ so 'pi muktaḥ śubhāl lokān prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.

In the sixty-seventh verse of this chapter, the Lord explicitly forbade the Gita's being spoken to those who are envious of the Lord. In other words, Bhagavad-gita is for the devotees only. But sometimes a devotee of the Lord will hold open class, and in that class not all the students are expected to be devotees. Why do such persons hold open class? It is explained here that although not everyone is a devotee, still there are many men who are not envious of Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a. They have faith in Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such persons hear from a bona fide devotee about the Lord, the result is that they become at once free from all sinful reactions and after that attain to the planetary system where all righteous persons are situated. Therefore simply by hearing Bhagavad-g ī t ā, even a person who does not try to be a pure devotee attains the result of righteous activities. Thus a pure devotee of the Lord gives everyone a chance to become free from all sinful reactions and to become a devotee of the Lord.

Generally those who are free from sinful reactions, those who are righteous, very easily take to Kr ̣ s ̣ n ̣ a consciousness. The word pun ̣ ya-karman ̣ am is very significant here. This refers to the performance of great sacrifices, like the asvamedha-yajña, mentioned in the Vedic literature. Those who are righteous in performing devotional service but who are not pure can attain the planetary system of the polestar, or Dhruvaloka, where Dhruva Maharaja is presiding. Who is a great devotee of the Lord, and he has a special planet, which is called the polestar.