Bhagavad Gita: Understanding One Shloka at a time. (Chp. 4, Verse 9) — HBR Patel
जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वत: |
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर्जन्म नैति मामेति सोऽर्जुन || 9||
O Arjuna, one who knows the transcendental reality of my birth and activities; after relinquishing one’s body, does not take his birth again in this material world but attains unto Me.
Bhagwan Shree Krishna explained the reason behind his avatar on this earth. In the previous shloka, he explained the reason for his descent from His transcendental abode to this material earth.
This shloka explains how can one liberate from the bondage of birth and death. When we realize the true purpose behind the Bhagwan Shree Krishna birth and ‘Lilas’ (the divine actions), our mind gets cleansed and we can liberate ourselves from material bondage.
The moksha is not easy to attain and that is highlighted by countless yogis who renounce the world to do penance in the forest to attain Moksha. Even after countless births, they fail to attain liberation and if they somehow attain Moksha, there is the risk of returning to this material world due to materialistic desires that still resides in the subtle body. But, Bhagwan Shree Krishna makes the path to Moksha quite easy for the soul to break free of the bondage.
Bhagwan Shree Krishna points out that One who can understand the truth of his appearance and his divine Lilas in this material world is already liberated from material bondage. We should know that Bhagwan Shree Krishna’s manifestation is due only to his sweet will and are for the protection of eternal righteousness. His action is for the welfare of ourselves and not for his personal joy.
After quitting this material body the soul, who has realised the divine truth behind the birth and actions of Supreme Bhagwan, returns to the eternal abode of the Supreme Bhagwan.
Leela: Supreme Bhagwan is entirely satisfied by the boundless happiness of his own personality. He doesn’t need to conduct acts to acquire more inner joy. As a result, all he does is for the benefit of materially conditioned souls. Thus, his divine actions are termed as ‘Leelas’ and our mind gets cleansed by engaging it in such devotional remembrance.
