FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.18

ज्ञानवैराग्ययुक्तेन भक्तियुक्तेन चात्मना । परिपश्यत्युदासीनं प्रकृतिं च हतौजसम् ॥ १८ ॥
jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena
[jnaana-vairaagya-yuktena]
bhakti-yuktena cātmanā
[bhakti-yuktena chaatmanaa]
paripaśyaty udāsīnaṁ
[paripashyaty udaaseenam]
prakṛtiṁ ca hataujasam
[prakritim cha hataujasam]
jñāna — knowledge vairāgya — renunciation yuktena — equipped with bhakti — devotional service yuktena — equipped with ca — and ātmanā — by the mind paripaśyati — one sees udāsīnam — indifferent prakṛtim — material existence ca — and hata-ojasam — reduced in strength.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena
jñāna
knowledge
vairāgya
renunciation
yuktena
equipped with
bhakti-yuktena cātmanā
bhakti
devotional service
yuktena
equipped with
ca
and
ātmanā
by the mind
paripaśyaty udāsīnaṁ
paripaśyati
one sees
udāsīnam
indifferent
prakṛtiṁ ca hataujasam
prakṛtim
material existence
ca
and
hata-ojasam
reduced in strength.
In that position of self-realization, by practice of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence, and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him.

As the contamination of the germs of a particular disease can influence a weaker person, similarly the influence of material nature, or illusory energy, can act on the weaker, or conditioned, soul but not on the liberated soul. Self-realization is the position of the liberated state. One understands his constitutional position by knowledge and vairāgya, renunciation. Without knowledge, one cannot have realization. The realization that one is the infinitesimal part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit makes him unattached to material, conditional life. That is the beginning of devotional service. Unless one is liberated from material contamination, one cannot engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord. In this verse, it is therefore stated, jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena: when one is in full knowledge of one’s constitutional position and is in the renounced order of life, detached from material attraction, then, by pure devotional service, bhakti-yuktena, he can engage himself as a loving servant of the Lord. Paripaśyati means that he can see everything in its right perspective. Then the influence of material nature becomes almost nil. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: when one is self-realized he becomes happy and free from the influence of material nature, and at that time he is freed from lamentation and hankering. The Lord states that position as mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām, the real state of beginning devotional service. Similarly, it is confirmed in the Nārada-pañcarātra that when the senses are purified they can then be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. One who is attached to material contamination cannot be a devotee.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
When the mind is free of the contamination of lust and greed arising from the false identity of I and mine, and becomes pure, without grief, without joy and peaceful, the jīva sees himself different from ignorance, full of knowledge, devoid of coverings, subtle, undivided, and unattached, as well as sees ignorance devoid of power to affect him, by a mind endowed with jñana and vairāgya, and principally with bhakti. Jñāna and yoga only assist bhakti in giving liberation. This is expressed in three verses. The mind becomes free (vītam) of the contaminations by śama and dama (process of jñana) and by yama and niyama (process of yoga). These are the aṅgas of jñāna and yoga. The effects of purification are described: being without sorrow, without happiness, peaceful. At that time the jīva (puruṣaḥ) sees himself separate from ignorance (prakṛteḥ param). He is devoid of the obstacles of gross and subtle bodies (nirantaram). He has uncovered knowledge (svayaṁjyotiḥ). He is subtle (aṇimānam). The Lord himself says sūkṣāṇām apy ahaṁ jīvaḥ: of subtle objects I am the jīva. (SB 11.16.11) This means by nature the jīva is a very small particle. He is undivided by material desires (akhaṇḍitam). By the mind endowed with jñana and vairāgya, and by bhakti to which jñāna and vairāgya are mere assistants (indicated by the word ca), and with out which they can bear no results, the jīva sees himself unattached. He sees his own ignorance (prakṛtim) which is unable to do anything to him (hataujasam).
Renunciation here is reframed as honest accounting: noticing what we are actually clinging to, and what those attachments cost the soul over time. Its centre of gravity is material existence.
Reflection Questions
  • Which attachment, if you were honest, has been quietly running your decisions?
  • What would loving your people while holding them loosely look like in practice?
📝 My note

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