Chapter 6 · Class prep
A printable handout for teaching this chapter. For each verse with Personal Guidance, you'll see Prabhupāda's translation, the essence, two or three practical applications, and a discussion prompt. Press ⌘P / Ctrl P to print as a handout.
BG 6.1
Lord Brahmā said: The mouth of the virāṭ-puruṣa [the universal form of the Lord] is the generating center of the voice, and the controlling deity is Fire. His skin and six other layers are the generating centers of the Vedic hymns, and His tongue is the productive center of different foodstuffs and delicacies for offering to the demigods, the forefathers and the general mass of people.
Essence. The Lord's universal body is the secret source of even the voice, the Vedas, and our food. Whatever nourishes speech, scripture, or sustenance is borrowed from Him. Our ordinary acts of speaking and eating echo a transcendental original.
BG 6.2
His two nostrils are the generating centers of our breathing and of all other airs, His smelling powers generate the Aśvinī-kumāra demigods and all kinds of medicinal herbs, and His breathing energies produce different kinds of fragrance.
Essence. Even breath, smell, fragrance, and healing herbs trace back to the Lord's nostrils and breathing energies. Each inhalation is a small reception of His arrangement. Health and aroma are not random; they are aspects of His body.
BG 6.3
His eyes are the generating centers of all kinds of forms, and they glitter and illuminate. His eyeballs are like the sun and the heavenly planets. His ears hear from all sides and are receptacles for all the Vedas, and His sense of hearing is the generating center of the sky and of all kinds of sound.
Essence. All forms, light, sound, and even the carriers of Vedic knowledge originate in the Lord's eyes and ears. Beauty seen and truth heard are reflections of His sensory base. Reverence the bringers of knowledge — they are tīrthas.
BG 6.4
His bodily surface is the breeding ground for the active principles of everything and for all kinds of auspicious opportunities. His skin, like the moving air, is the generating center for all kinds of sense of touch and is the place for performing all kinds of sacrifice.
Essence. The Lord's skin and bodily surface are the cradle of all sense of touch and the site of all sacrifice. Every auspicious opportunity is a small breeze from Him. Don't ignore the openings life gives you.
BG 6.5
The hairs on His body are the cause of all vegetation, particularly of those trees which are required as ingredients for sacrifice. The hairs on His head and face are reservoirs for the clouds, and His nails are the breeding ground of electricity, stones and iron ores.
Essence. Vegetation, clouds, electricity, and minerals all spring from the Lord's body — the hairs, the head, the nails. Nature isn't a separate machine but His body's growth. Every necessity flows from Him.
BG 6.6
The Lord’s arms are the productive fields for the great demigods and other leaders of the living entities who protect the general mass.
Essence. Powerful leaders and demigods who protect society are productive parts of the Lord's arms. Every great administrator, scientist, or scholar shines with a spark of His power. Recognize the Source behind every great human.
BG 6.7
Thus the forward steps of the Lord are the shelter for the upper, lower and heavenly planets, as well as for all that we need. His lotus feet serve as protection from all kinds of fear.
Essence. The Lord's lotus feet are absolute shelter from fear, in this planet or any other. Pure devotion is just this unmixed reliance on Him — not divided between Him and demigods. Total dependence is the doorway to fearlessness.
BG 6.8
From the Lord’s genitals originate water, semen, generatives, rains and the procreators. His genitals are the cause of a pleasure that counteracts the distress of begetting.
Essence. The pleasure that drives reproduction is real because it comes from Him, but it has taken a distorted form in matter. The hook of sex pleasure binds beings to family burdens; recognizing its true source brings freedom.
BG 6.9
O Nārada, the evacuating outlet of the universal form of the Lord is the abode of the controlling deity of death, Mitra, and the evacuating hole and the rectum of the Lord is the place of envy, misfortune, death, hell, etc.
Essence. Even death, envy, hell, and misfortune are situated somewhere on the cosmic Body — they are not outside the divine order. Difficult realities exist in their proper place. Nothing in the cosmos is finally unaccounted for.
BG 6.10
The back of the Lord is the place for all kinds of frustration and ignorance, as well as for immorality. From His veins flow the great rivers and rivulets, and on His bones are stacked the great mountains.
Essence. Frustration, ignorance, and immorality are described as the 'back' of the Lord — not separate from Him, but turned away. The Lord is neither only personal nor only impersonal; He contains both. Don't oversimplify Him.
BG 6.11
The impersonal feature of the Lord is the abode of great oceans, and His belly is the resting place for the materially annihilated living entities. His heart is the abode of the subtle material bodies of living beings. Thus it is known by the intelligent class of men.
Essence. Oceans, dissolved beings, and subtle bodies all rest somewhere within the cosmic form. Even during cosmic dissolution, no soul is lost; we are stored, awaiting the next manifestation. Sleep, dissolution, and renewal are all His rhythm.
BG 6.12
Also, the consciousness of that great personality is the abode of religious principles — mine, yours, and those of the four bachelors Sanaka, Sanātana, Sanat-kumāra and Sanandana. That consciousness is also the abode of truth and transcendental knowledge.
Essence. Religious principles, transcendental knowledge, and truth itself live in the consciousness of the Lord — and in the consciousness of those great sages who hold to Him. Truth is a person's awareness, not an abstract.
BG 6.13-16
Beginning from me [Brahmā] down to you and Bhava [Śiva], all the great sages who were born before you, the demigods, the demons, the Nāgas, the human beings, the birds, the beasts, as well as the reptiles, etc., and all phenomenal manifestations of the universes, namely the planets, stars, asteroids, luminaries, lightning, thunder, and the inhabitants of the different planetary systems, namely the Gandharvas, Apsarās, Yakṣas, Rakṣas, Bhūtagaṇas, Uragas, Paśus, Pitās, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and all other different varieties of living entities, including the birds, beasts, trees and everything that be, are all covered by the universal form of the Lord at all times, namely past, present and future, although He is transcendental to all of them, eternally existing in a form not exceeding nine inches.
Essence. From Brahmā down through demigods, demons, humans, beasts, and elements, every manifestation in the universe is one expansion of the Lord's potency. Nothing is finally separate from Him, yet He remains a distinct Person beyond all of it.
BG 6.17
The sun illuminates both internally and externally by expanding its radiation; similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His universal form, maintains everything in the creation both internally and externally.
Essence. The Lord maintains the world internally and externally just as the sun radiates light through space. The brahmajyoti is His radiation; Śyāmasundara is His original two-handed form. The impersonal is real but secondary; the Person is primary.
BG 6.18
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of immortality and fearlessness, and He is transcendental to death and the fruitive actions of the material world. O Nārada, O brāhmaṇa, it is therefore difficult to measure the glories of the Supreme Person.
Essence. The Lord is the controller of immortality and fearlessness; His glories cannot be fully measured. The spiritual sky's planets vastly outnumber all material universes — which are themselves like a bucket of mustard seeds.
BG 6.19
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is to be known as the supreme reservoir of all material opulences by the one fourth of His energy in which all the living entities exist. Deathlessness, fearlessness and freedom from the anxieties of old age and disease exist in the kingdom of God, which is beyond the three higher planetary systems and beyond the material coverings.
Essence. Only a quarter of His sandhinī energy is the material world; three quarters is the spiritual realm of deathlessness, no fear, no aging, no disease. The good news is not improvement of this place but admission to that one.
BG 6.20
The spiritual world, which consists of three fourths of the Lord’s energy, is situated beyond this material world, and it is especially meant for those who will never be reborn. Others, who are attached to family life and who do not strictly follow celibacy vows, must live within the three material worlds.
Essence. The spiritual world is for those who will never be reborn. Uncontrolled sex life chains the soul to repeated bodies; a civilization without restraint in this area is, by this standard, fourth-class. Self-mastery matters.
BG 6.21
By His energies, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead is thus comprehensively the master in the activities of controlling and in devotional service. He is the ultimate master of both nescience and factual knowledge of all situations.
Essence. By His energies the Lord is master of both knowing and not-knowing, of devotion and of bondage. He knows every field, including yours. There is no private inner world He doesn't already see.
BG 6.22
From that Personality of Godhead, all the universal globes and the universal form with all material elements, qualities and senses are generated. Yet He is aloof from such material manifestations, like the sun, which is separate from its rays and heat.
Essence. The cosmic form is generated from Him, but He stays as separate as the sun is from its rays. He acts through energies without being entangled. The universal form is not His original form; Śyāmasundara is.
BG 6.23
When I was born from the abdominal lotus flower of the Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], the great person, I had no ingredients for sacrificial performances except the bodily limbs of the great Personality of Godhead.
Essence. Even Brahmā, when he first appeared, had only the limbs of the Lord to offer in sacrifice. We never sacrifice 'our own'; we offer back what was already His. All giving is returning.
BG 6.24
For performing sacrificial ceremonies, one requires sacrificial ingredients, such as flowers, leaves and straw, along with the sacrificial altar and a suitable time [spring].
Essence. Real sacrifice requires the right ingredients, place, and time. Spiritual life isn't just intention; it is also concrete arrangement — flowers, season, altar. Honor the form, not just the feeling.
BG 6.25
Other requirements are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sāma Veda and four priests to perform the sacrifice.
Essence. Vedic sacrifice once required expert priests of four kinds. In our age such priests are rare, so chanting the Lord's holy name is recommended as the effective yajña. Choose the form suited to the age.
BG 6.26
Other necessities include invoking the different names of the demigods by specific hymns and vows of recompense, in accordance with the particular scripture, for specific purposes and by specific processes.
Essence. Vedic sacrifice depended on precise sound vibrations beyond modern science. Without qualified priests the old performances are ineffective; a showy revival becomes a cheating process. Don't perform spirituality as theater.
BG 6.27
Thus I had to arrange all these necessary ingredients and paraphernalia of sacrifice from the personal bodily parts of the Personality of Godhead. By invocation of the demigods’ names, the ultimate goal, Viṣṇu, was gradually attained, and thus compensation and ultimate offering were complete.
Essence. Sacrifice draws its ingredients from Him and offers them back to Him; the final goal is reaching Nārāyaṇa's direct association. Human life succeeds by pleasing Him and entering Vaikuṇṭha — not by any lesser fruit.
BG 6.28
Thus I created the ingredients and paraphernalia for offering sacrifice out of the parts of the body of the Supreme Lord, the enjoyer of the sacrifice, and I performed the sacrifice to satisfy the Lord.
Essence. Real peace comes from knowing the Lord as the enjoyer of all sacrifices, master of all worlds, friend of all beings. Karma-yogīs gradually become pure devotees through association with devotees. Peace is a fruit of right relationship.
BG 6.29
My dear son, thereafter your nine brothers, who are the masters of living creatures, performed the sacrifice with proper rituals to satisfy both the manifested and nonmanifested personalities.
Essence. Modern people insist on seeing everything with their own eyes and so disbelieve in demigods or in God. But unqualified eyes don't make the unseen unreal. Sometimes we must learn through scripture, not just sight.
BG 6.30
Thereafter, the Manus, the fathers of mankind, the great sages, the forefathers, the learned scholars, the Daityas and mankind performed sacrifices meant to please the Supreme Lord.
Essence. Devotees (eka-niṣṭha) seek the Lord directly; daityas seek demigods for material gain. The difference isn't ritual but motive. Spiritual emancipation, not comfort, is the devotee's concern.
BG 6.31
All the material manifestations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He accepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes.
Essence. All material manifestations sit within His self-sufficient energies, yet He remains untouched by material modes. Like a rich man whose house is built and razed by his resources while he himself isn't the house — He is rich beyond every form.
BG 6.32
By His will, I create, Lord Śiva destroys, and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies.
Essence. Brahmā creates, Śiva destroys, and the Lord Himself maintains — all by His one will. Everything is Vāsudeva. The impersonal oneness is also accepted by devotees; they just don't deny the original Person.
BG 6.33
My dear son, whatever you inquired from me I have thus explained unto you, and you must know for certain that whatever there is (either as cause or as effect, both in the material and spiritual worlds) is dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Essence. Every cause and every effect in the material and spiritual worlds depends on the Lord. He is the cause of all causes — Govinda. Trace any chain back far enough and you arrive at His feet.
BG 6.34
O Nārada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter.
Essence. Brahmā speaks with certainty because he has caught hold of the Lord's lotus feet. Holding tightly to Him keeps speech true, mind progressive, and senses undegraded. Anchoring matters more than effort.
BG 6.35
Although I am known as the great Brahmā, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization, and although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my birth.
Essence. Even Brahmā admits he cannot fully understand the Lord with all his learning, austerity, and mystic power. Only the eager mood of devotional service — hṛdautkaṇṭhya — unlocks Him a little. Mental qualification is not the key.
BG 6.36
Therefore it is best for me to surrender unto His feet, which alone can deliver one from the miseries of repeated birth and death. Such surrender is all-auspicious and allows one to perceive all happiness. Even the sky cannot estimate the limits of its own expansion. So what can others do when the Lord Himself is unable to estimate His own limits?
Essence. Brahmā, father of fathers, advises: simply surrender at the Lord's feet. Even the sky cannot measure its own limits; even He cannot measure His own. So stop trying to measure and start surrendering.
BG 6.37
Since neither Lord Śiva nor you nor I could ascertain the limits of spiritual happiness, how can other demigods know it? And because all of us are bewildered by the illusory, external energy of the Supreme Lord, we can see only this manifested cosmos according to our individual ability.
Essence. If even Brahmā, Śiva, and Nārada cannot ascertain the Lord's limits, what to speak of lesser beings? Every estimation is colored by individual capacity. Humility about our knowing is the only honest starting point.
BG 6.38
Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose incarnations and activities are chanted by us for glorification, though He can hardly be fully known as He is.
Essence. We offer obeisances and chant the Lord's pastimes even though we cannot fully know Him. He reveals Himself proportionally as senses are purified by hearing and chanting. Don't expect God to be on-demand; serve and let Him show Himself.
BG 6.39
That supreme original Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, expanding His plenary portion as Mahā-Viṣṇu, the first incarnation, creates this manifested cosmos, but He is unborn. The creation, however, takes place in Him, and the material substance and manifestations are all Himself. He maintains them for some time and absorbs them into Himself again.
Essence. Kṛṣṇa, expanding as Mahā-Viṣṇu, creates the cosmos that rests in Him though He is unborn and not located in it. The world is nondifferent from Him as creation, but as Person He stands apart. Both/and, not either/or.
BG 6.40-41
The Personality of Godhead is pure, being free from all contaminations of material tinges. He is the Absolute Truth and the embodiment of full and perfect knowledge. He is all-pervading, without beginning or end, and without rival. O Nārada, O great sage, the great thinkers can know Him when completely freed from all material hankerings and when sheltered under undisturbed conditions of the senses. Otherwise, by untenable arguments, all is distorted, and the Lord disappears from our sight.
Essence. The Lord is eternally pure, perfect knowledge, with no material taint — never contaminated by a body when He incarnates. Only sense-controlled, hankering-free thinkers perceive Him; argumentation alone makes Him 'disappear.'
BG 6.42
Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is the first incarnation of the Supreme Lord, and He is the master of eternal time, space, cause and effects, mind, the elements, the material ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form of the Lord, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and the sum total of all living beings, both moving and nonmoving.
Essence. Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is master of time, space, ego, modes, senses, and the universal form. The material world is the rope given to souls who would rather pose as imitation gods than serve. Even our 'enjoyment' here is a concession.
BG 6.43-45
I myself [Brahmā], Lord Śiva, Lord Viṣṇu, great generators of living beings like Dakṣa and Prajāpati, yourselves [Nārada and the Kumāras], heavenly demigods like Indra and Candra, the leaders of the Bhūrloka planets, the leaders of the earthly planets, the leaders of the lower planets, the leaders of the Gandharva planets, the leaders of the Vidyādhara planets, the leaders of the Cāraṇaloka planets, the leaders of the Yakṣas, Rakṣas and Uragas, the great sages, the great demons, the great atheists and the great spacemen, as well as the dead bodies, evil spirits, satans, jinn, kūṣmāṇḍas, great aquatics, great beasts and great birds, etc. — in other words, anything and everything which is exceptionally possessed of power, opulence, mental and perceptual dexterity, strength, forgiveness, beauty, modesty, opulence, and breeding, whether in form or formless — may appear to be the specific truth and the form of the Lord, but actually they are not so. They are only a fragment of the transcendental potency of the Lord.
Essence. Brahmā, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Indra, sages, demons, leaders, even great atheists — each holds only a fragment of the Lord's potency. Don't mistake fragments for the Whole. Even the most impressive being you meet is only a spark.
BG 6.46
O Nārada, now I shall state, one after another, the transcendental incarnations of the Lord known as līlā-avatāras. Hearing of their activities counteracts all foul matters accumulated in the ear. These pastimes are pleasing to hear and are to be relished. Therefore they are in my heart.
Essence. Hearing the Lord's pastimes cleans out the ear — the ordinary radio news of the world can never satisfy. The soul is built to be fed by transcendental sound. Choose what fills your ears wisely.