Verse 5.29

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 5.29:

भोक्तारं यज्ञ-तपसां सर्व-लोक-महेश्वरम् ।
सुहृदं सर्व-भूतानां ज्ञात्वा मां शान्तिम् ऋच्छति ॥ २९ ॥

bhoktāraṃ yajña-tapasāṃ sarva-loka-maheśvaram |
suhṛdaṃ sarva-bhūtānāṃ jñātvā māṃ śāntim ṛcchati || 29 ||

bhoktāram–the enjoyer; yajña-tapasām–of sacrifices and austerities; sarva-loka–of all worlds; mahā-īśvaram–the Supreme Controller; suhṛdam–the friend; sarva-bhūtānām–of all living beings; jñātvā–having understood; mām–Me; śāntim–peace (through liberation); ṛcchati–attains.

He who knows Me to be the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Controller of all planets and the well-wishing friend of all living entities, attains liberation from bondage to material identification.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Like the jñānī who cultivates transcendental knowledge, such a yogī also achieves liberation by attaining knowledge of the Supersoul, which appears through bhakti. This is stated in this verse beginning with bhoktāram. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said, “I am the enjoyer of both the sacrifice performed by the fruitive worker and the austerities performed by the jñānī. I am the worshipable object of karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs, I am the internal witness and I am the only Supreme Controller of all the planets. I am the well-wisher of all living entities, because I mercifully bestow instructions on bhakti upon them through My devotees. For this reason, know Me to be the devotees’ worshipable object also. Since I am transcendental to the material modes of material nature, it is not possible to realize Me by knowledge in the mode of goodness. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.14.21) I declared, ‘bhaktyāham ekayā grāhyaḥ–I can be achieved only through bhakti.’ Only through nirguṇā-bhakti can the yogīs realize My partial aspect, Paramātmā, as their worshipable object, and attain peace or liberation.”

Jñānīs and karma-yogīs attain knowledge of both the jīvātmā and Paramātmā by selflessly offering the fruit of their endeavour to the Supreme. In this way they attain liberation. This is the essence of this chapter.

Thus ends the bhāvānuvāda of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s
Sārārtha-varṣiṇī-ṭīkā (the commentary that gives pleasure
to the devotees and is accepted by all saintly persons)
on the Fifth Chapter of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

The niṣkāma-karma-yogīs also achieve liberation by attaining knowledge of the Supersoul. This knowledge appears through bhakti. Śrī Bhagavān is the sole enjoyer of articles offered with devotion when performing sacrifice and austerities. He, as the indwelling Supersoul, is indeed the worshipable object of the yogīs, the well-wisher of all living entities, and the Supreme Controller of all planets:

tam īśvarāṇāṃ paramaṃ maheśvaraṃ taṃ devatānāṃ paramaṃ ca daivatam
patiṃ patīnāṃ paramaṃ parastād vidāma devaṃ bhuvaneśam īḍyam

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.7)

We know our worshipable Lord, who is the Master of the worlds, to be Supreme amongst all controllers, the Supreme Lord of lords, and the Supreme Protector of those who can award protection. He is transcendental to impersonal brahma.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, “Upon hearing the first four chapters, a doubt could arise. If one attains liberation as the result of worshipping Bhagavān by selflessly offering Him the fruits of one’s prescribed duty, then what place does jñāna-yoga have, and in what form does it manifest?

“The instructions in this chapter have been spoken to remove this doubt. Jñāna-yoga (sāṅkhya-yoga) and niṣkāma-karma-yoga are non-different, for they share the same supreme goal, namely bhakti. In the initial stages of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, the performance of prescribed action (karma) predominates over the development of transcendental knowledge (jñāna), and in the final stage (jñāna-yoga), the development of such knowledge predominates over prescribed action.

“By the jīva’s constitutional nature he is a pure, conscious entity. When he desires to enjoy māyā, however, he becomes bound by inert matter, and as he identifies himself with matter, his constitutional position gradually becomes more covered. As long as this material body exists, material action is necessary. The only way for the conditioned soul to attain liberation is through a spiritual endeavour to revive his original constitutional state.

“During his journey within the material body, the predominance of karma becomes weakened to the degree that he endeavours to revive his original conscious state. Brahma-nirvāṇa (the bliss of absolute spiritual emancipation) automatically appears while performing spiritual practices to develop equal vision, detachment, control over mundane lust and anger, the eradication of all doubts, and so forth. While engaged in the practice of karma-yoga and while maintaining one’s body, one can simultaneously engage in the performance of aṣṭāṅga-yoga, which consists of the following eight processes: yama (control of the senses), niyama (control of the mind), āsana (sitting postures), prāṇāyāma (breath control), pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation) and samādhi (trance).

“If one attains the association of a devotee, the bliss of devotion to Śrī Bhagavān gradually manifests during the performance of such sādhana. This is called mukti-pūrvikā-śānti, everlasting peace that accompanies liberation. Here, mukti means ‘being situated in one’s own eternal form and nature’. At that time, the tendency to perform pure bhajana illuminates the glory of the constitutional nature of the living entity.”

Thus ends the Sārārtha-varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja,
on the Fifth Chapter of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.