Bhagavad-gītā 6.42

Explain simply

Speaker: Śrī Kṛṣṇa

अथवा योगिनामेव कुले भवति धीमताम् ।
एतद्धि दुर्लभतरं लोके जन्म यदीदृशम् ॥४२॥

atha vā yoginām eva
kule bhavati dhīmatām
etad dhi durlabhataraṁ
loke janma yad īdṛśam

Word for word (synonyms)

athavā
or
yoginām
of learned transcendentalists
eva
certainly
kule
in the family of
bhavati
takes birth
dhīmatām
of those who are endowed with great wisdom
etat
this
hi
certainly
durlabhataram
very rare
loke
in this world
janma
birth
yat
that which
īdṛśam
like this

Translation

Or he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Verily, such a birth is rare in this world.

Purport

Birth in a family of yogīs or transcendentalists—those with great wisdom—is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives spiritual impetus from the very beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the ācārya or gosvāmī families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters. In India there are many such ācārya families, but they have now degenerated due to insufficient education and training. By the grace of the Lord, there are still families that foster transcendentalists generation after generation. It is certainly very fortunate to take birth in such families. Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and our humble self, had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives. Later on we met by the order of the transcendental system.

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 2

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.