Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa
प्राप्य पुण्यकृतां लोकानुषित्वा शाश्वतीः समाः ।
शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे योगभ्रष्टोऽभिजायते ॥४१॥
prāpya puṇya-kṛtāṁ lokān
uṣitvā śāśvatīḥ samāḥ
śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe
yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate
Word for word (synonyms)
- prāpya
- after achieving
- puṇya-kṛtām
- of those who performed pious activities
- lokān
- planets
- uṣitvā
- after dwelling
- śāśvatīḥ
- many
- samāḥ
- years
- śucīnām
- of the pious
- śrīmatām
- of the prosperous
- gehe
- in the house of
- yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ
- one who is fallen from the path of self-realization
- abhijāyate
- takes his birth
Translation
The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.
Defined in the Gītā
Yogī
Who is a real yogī?
The Blessed Lord said: One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic: not he who lights no fire and performs no work.
Purport
The unsuccessful yogīs are divided into two classes: one is fallen after very little progress, and one is fallen after long practice of yoga. The yogī who falls after a short period of practice goes to the higher planets where pious living entities are allowed to enter. After prolonged life there, he is sent back again to this planet, to take birth in the family of a righteous brāhmaṇa vaiṣṇava or of aristocratic merchants.
The real purpose of yoga practice is to achieve the highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But those who do not persevere to such an extent and fail due to material allurements are allowed, by the grace of the Lord, to make full utilization of their material propensities. And after that, they are given opportunities to live prosperous lives in righteous or aristocratic families. Those who are born in such families may take advantage of the facilities and try to elevate themselves to full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
What this verse teaches
Kṛṣṇa’s reply – For a yogī there is no misfortune even in failure; fate of fallen yogī after short and long practice; he resumes yoga and attains perfection
Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures 3
- Bhagavad-gītā 6.40–43 1966-09-19 · New York
- Bhagavad-gītā 6.35–45 [Sāṅkhya Yoga System] 1969-02-20 · Los Angeles
- Bhagavad-gītā 6.41 1971-07-17 · Detroit
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.