Bg. 2.52

BG 2.52
Srila Prabhupada

Devanagari

यदा ते मोहकलिलं बुद्धिर्व्यतितरिष्यति । तदा गन्तासि निर्वेदं श्रोतव्यस्य श्रुतस्य च ॥ ५२ ॥

Verse text

yadā te moha-kalilaṁ buddhir vyatitariṣyati tadā gantāsi nirvedaṁ śrotavyasya śrutasya ca

Synonyms

yadā when ; te your ; moha of illusion ; kalilam dense forest ; buddhiḥ transcendental service with intelligence ; vyatitariṣyati surpasses ; tadā at that time ; gantā asi you shall go ; nirvedam callousness ; śrotavyasya toward all that is to be heard ; śrutasya all that is already heard ; ca also.

Translation

When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be heard.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

52. When your intelligence has completely crossed the denseness of illusion, you will be indifferent to all that has been heard and all that will be heard.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

52. When your intelligence has completely renounced the denseness of ignorance, you will be indifferent to all that has been heard and all that will be heard concerning fruits of action.

Purport

There are many good examples in the lives of the great devotees of the Lord of those who became indifferent to the rituals of the Vedas simply by devotional service to the Lord. When a person factually understands Kṛṣṇa and his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he naturally becomes completely indifferent to the rituals of fruitive activities, even though an experienced brāhmaṇa. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, a great devotee and ācārya in the line of the devotees, says: sandhyā-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bhoḥ snāna tubhyaṁ namo bho devāḥ pitaraś ca tarpaṇa-vidhau nāhaṁ kṣamaḥ kṣamyatām yatra kvāpi niṣadya yādava-kulottaṁsasya kaṁsa-dviṣaḥ smāraṁ smāram aghaṁ harāmi tad alaṁ manye kim anyena me “O my prayers three times a day, all glory to you. O bathing, I offer my obeisances unto you. O demigods! O forefathers! Please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit, I can remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty [Kṛṣṇa], the enemy of Kaṁsa, and thereby I can free myself from all sinful bondage. I think this is sufficient for me.” The Vedic rites and rituals are imperative for neophytes: comprehending all kinds of prayer three times a day, taking a bath early in the morning, offering respects to the forefathers, etc. But when one is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is engaged in His transcendental loving service, one becomes indifferent to all these regulative principles because he has already attained perfection. If one can reach the platform of understanding by service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, he has no longer to execute different types of penances and sacrifices as recommended in revealed scriptures. And, similarly, if one has not understood that the purpose of the Vedas is to reach Kṛṣṇa and simply engages in the rituals, etc., then he is uselessly wasting time in such engagements. Persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness transcend the limit of śabda-brahma, or the range of the Vedas and Upaniṣads.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

From the performance of niṣkāma-karma-yoga offered to the Supreme Lord, you will develop this neutrality (yoga). When your intelligence has surpassed particularly (vi) and completely (ati) the denseness of illusion, at that time you will become indifferent to all the subjects about which you will hear, and have already heard. This you will achieve by destruction of doubts and misconceptions, through hearing instructions of scripture from Me. You will think “At the present, I must practice my sādhanas continuously.”

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

“When will my intelligence become directed towards ātma as I perform niṣkāma karma?” When your intelligence completely gives up (vyati tariṣyati) the antakaraṇa, [Note: Antaḥkaraṇa refers to the internal organ, composed of mind, material intelligence and false ego.] a dense forest of ignorance, the cause of craving insignificant results (moha kalilam), then you will become indifferent to topics relating to these insignificant material results about which you have heard in the past, and will hear in the future. As the śruti says: parīkṣya lokān karma-citān brāhmaṇo nirvedaṁ āyāt The brāhmaṇa (one who has knowledge), having examined the world attained by karma, becomes indifferent to it. Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12 There is no rule about time: the person will become acquainted with that intelligence directed to ātmā by being indifferent to the results of action (whenever that occurs).

Surrender Unto Me

Because this Karma‑kanda Section of the Vedas describe how to gain fruitive benefits. But when one is intelligent he passes through this "dense forest of delusion" trying to get material benefits and heaven and trying to avoid material miseries. Then when one understands the purpose of the Vedas,