Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत् ।
असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह ॥२८॥
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ
tapas taptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat
asad ity ucyate pārtha
na ca tat pretya no iha
Word for word (synonyms)
- aśraddhayā
- without faith
- hutam
- performed
- dattam
- given
- tapaḥ
- penance
- taptam
- executed
- kṛtam
- performed
- ca
- also
- yat
- that which
- asat
- falls
- iti
- thus
- ucyate
- is said to be
- pārtha
- O son of Pṛthā
- na
- never
- ca
- also
- tat
- that
- pretya
- after death
- no
- nor
- iha
- in this life
Translation
But sacrifices, austerities and charities performed without faith in the Supreme are nonpermanent, O son of Pṛthā, regardless of whatever rites are performed. They are called asat and are useless both in this life and the next.
Defined in the Gītā
Sacrifice
Which sacrifice is the greatest?
O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice of material possessions. O son of Pṛthā, after all, the sacrifice of work culminates in transcendental knowledge.
Austerity
What is austerity of body, speech and mind?
The austerity of the body consists in this: worship of the Supreme Lord, the brāhmaṇas, the spiritual master, and superiors like the father and mother. Cleanliness, simplicity, celibacy and nonviolence are also austerities of the body.
Purport
Anything done without the transcendental objective—whether it be sacrifice, charity or penance—is useless. Therefore, in this verse, it is declared that such activities are abominable. Everything should be done for the Supreme in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Without such faith, and without the proper guidance, there can never be any fruit. In all the Vedic scriptures, faith in the Supreme is advised. In the pursuit of all Vedic instructions, the ultimate goal is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa. No one can obtain success without following this principle. Therefore, the best course is to work from the very beginning in Kṛṣṇa consciousness under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. That is the way to make everything successful.
In the conditional state, people are attracted to worship demigods, ghosts, or Yakṣas like Kuvera. The mode of goodness is better than the modes of passion and ignorance, but one who takes directly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness is transcendental to all three modes of material nature. Although there is a process of gradual elevation, if one, by the association of pure devotees, takes directly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the best way. And that is recommended in this chapter. To achieve success in this way, one must first find the proper spiritual master and receive training under his direction. Then one can achieve faith in the Supreme. When that faith matures, in course of time, it is called love of God. This love is the ultimate goal of the living entities. One should, therefore, take to Krṣṇa consciousness directly. That is the message of this Seventeenth Chapter.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Seventeenth Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of the Divisions of Faith.
What this verse teaches
Asat
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.