Page 47 - Metaphysical questions of life

arjuna uvāca
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛ r labdhā / tvat‐prasādān mayācyuta
sthito ’smi gata‐sandehaḥ / kariṣye vacanaṁ tava Bg 18.73

“Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I
have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from
doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instruc ons.”

“The cons tu onal posi on of a living en ty, represented by Arjuna, is
that he has to act according to the order of the Supreme Lord. He is
meant for self-discipline. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that the actual
posi on of the living en ty is that of eternal servant of the Supreme
Lord. Forge ng this principle, the living en ty becomes condi oned by
material nature, but in serving the Supreme Lord he becomes the liber-
ated servant of God. The living en ty’s cons tu onal posi on is to be a
servitor; he has to serve either the illusory māyā or the Supreme Lord. If
he serves the Supreme Lord he is in his normal condi on, but if he pre-
fers to serve the illusory, external energy, then certainly he will be in
bondage. In illusion the living en ty is serving in this material world. He
is bound by his lust and desires, yet he thinks of himself as the master
of the world. This is called illusion. When a person is liberated, his illu-
sion is over, and he voluntarily surrenders unto the Supreme to act ac-
cording to His desires. The last illusion, the last snare of māyā to trap
the living en ty, is the proposi on that he is God. The living en ty
thinks that he is no longer a condi oned soul, but God. He is so unintel-
ligent that he does not think that if he were God, then how could he be
in doubt? That he does not consider. So that is the last snare of illusion.
Actually to become free from the illusory energy is to understand Kṛṣṇa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and agree to act according to His
order.”
“The word moha is very important in this verse. Moha refers to that
which is opposed to knowledge. Actually real knowledge is the under-
standing that every living being is eternally a servitor of the Lord, but
instead of thinking oneself in that posi on, the living en ty thinks that
he is not a servant, that he is the master of this material world, for he
wants to lord it over the material nature. That is his illusion. This illu-
sion can be overcome by the mercy of the Lord or by the mercy of a
pure devotee. When that illusion is over, one agrees to act in Kṛṣṇa con-

47