Verse 6.40

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 6.40:

श्री भगवान् उवाच–
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस् तस्य विद्यते ।
न हि कल्याण-कृत् कश्चिद् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ॥ ०० ॥

śrī bhagavān uvāca–
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśas tasya vidyate |
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛt kaścid durgatiṃ tāta gacchati || 00 ||

śrī bhagavān uvāca–the all-opulent Personality of Godhead said; pārtha–O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna); na–neither; eva–certainly; iha–in this world; na–nor; amutra–in the next; vināśaḥ–destruction; tasya–for that person; vidyate–there is; na–not; hi–because; kalyāṇa-kṛt–one who performs auspicious acts; kaścit–someone; durgatim–to an unfavourable destination; tāta–dear one, son; gacchati–goes.

Śrī Bhagavān said: O Pārtha, such an unsuccessful yogī does not perish either in this world or the next because, My dear friend, a person who is engaged in auspicious acts never attains an unfavourable destination.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

In this world as well as in the next, such an unsuccessful yogī engages in yoga, which leads to auspiciousness.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

In this verse, by addressing Arjuna as Pārtha, Śrī Bhagavān is instructing him in a very loving manner, considering him very dear. By using the word tāta, which literally means ‘son’, He demonstrates His affection for Arjuna. A father expands himself in the form of his son, and therefore the son is called tat. When the suffix ana is applied to the original word tat, it becomes tāta. Śrī gurudeva also affectionately calls his disciple, who is like his son, tāta. Here, Śrī Bhagavān says that those who engage in yoga with faith never arrive at a degraded destination.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “O Pārtha, one who engages in the practice of yoga never meets destruction, either now or in the future. The performer of that yoga, which leads to eternal good, can never be subject to an evil fate. Basically, all of humanity is divided into two categories: righteous (regulated) and unrighteous (unregulated). The behaviour of unregulated people is always like that of animals, whether they are cultured or uncultured, dull or intelligent, weak or strong. There is no possibility of any good coming from their activities.

“The righteous (regulated) can be divided into three categories: karmī, jñānī and bhakta. Karmīs are further divided into two divisions: sakāma-karmī and niṣkāma-karmī. The sakāma-karmīs hanker for petty kinds of happiness, or temporary pleasures. Although they attain heavenly planets and worldly progress, all their pleasure is temporary. Therefore, that which is called kalyāṇa (auspiciousness for the jīvas) is unknown to them. The state of auspiciousness for the jīvas is to become free from the grip of worldliness and to attain eternal bliss. Therefore, any process that does not lead to this eternal bliss is futile. Only when the purpose of achieving this eternal happiness is combined with karma-kāṇḍa activities can such activities be called karma-yoga. First, the heart is purified by such karma-yoga, and then one attains jñāna. After that, one engages in dhyāna-yoga (meditation) and then finally the zenith of all processes, the path of bhakti-yoga, is attained. Otherwise, the purport of ‘yoga’ is ‘among such yogīs, those who worship Me with bhakti are My devotees and are the best of sādhakas.’

“However, no matter how much austerity one may perform, one’s goal is only sense pleasure and nothing else. The demons, after achieving the results of their austerities, simply enjoy their senses. On the other hand, when that person performs his prescribed duties beyond the boundaries of the desire for sense enjoyment, he enters niṣkāma-karma-yoga, which aims at the eternal good of the jīva. A dhyāna-yogī or a jñāna-yogī who is firmly situated on the path of niṣkāma-karma-yoga, worshipping Bhagavān by selflessly offering Him the fruits of his work, often naturally performs actions for the eternal good of all beings.

“In every respect, an aṣṭāṅga-yogī surpasses whatever results a jīva attains by performing his prescribed duty with a desire for the fruits.”