Bg. 6.45 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

प्रयत्‍नाद्यतमानस्तु योगी संश‍ुद्धकिल्बिष: । अनेकजन्मसंसिद्धस्ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥ ४५ ॥

Verse text

prayatnād yatamānas tu yogī saṁśuddha-kilbiṣaḥ aneka-janma-saṁsiddhas tato yāti parāṁ gatim

Synonyms

prayatnāt — by rigid practice ; yatamānaḥ — endeavoring ; tu — and ; yogī — such a transcendentalist ; saṁśuddha — washed off ; kilbiṣaḥ — all of whose sins ; aneka — after many, many ; janma — births ; saṁsiddhaḥ — having achieved perfection ; tataḥ — thereafter ; yāti — attains ; parām — the highest ; gatim — destination.

Translation

And when the yogī engages himself with sincere endeavor in making further progress, being washed of all contaminations, then ultimately, achieving perfection after many, many births of practice, he attains the supreme goal.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

45. That yogī, unlike before, striving with full effort, becoming purified of his faults and reaching full perfection after many births, finally attains the supreme goal of liberation.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

45. That yogī, more than in previous life striving with full effort, becoming purified of his faults, and reaching full perfection after many births, finally attains the supreme goal.

Purport

A person born in a particularly righteous, aristocratic or sacred family becomes conscious of his favorable condition for executing yoga practice. With determination, therefore, he begins his unfinished task, and thus he completely cleanses himself of all material contaminations. When he is finally free from all contaminations, he attains the supreme perfection – Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the perfect stage of being freed of all contaminations. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) : yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ “After many, many births of executing pious activities, when one is completely freed from all contaminations, and from all illusory dualities, one becomes engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.”

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The cause of falling from the path is lack of effort. That has been mentioned before: though he has faith, he puts forth little effort (ayatiḥ). It has been mentioned that the fallen yogī with lax practice attains the practice of yoga again in the next life. However, he does not attain perfection. That will only be attained after many births when his practice becomes mature. But he does not become lax in the yoga practice, and cannot be called a fallen yogī. The perfection takes place only after many births of practice. Kardama Muni says: bahu-janma-vipakvena samyag-yoga-samādhinā draṣṭuṁ yatante yatayaḥ śūnyāgāreṣu yat-padam After many births, mature yogīs, by complete trance in yoga, endeavor in secluded places to see the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. SB 3.24.28 Thus it is mentioned in this verse that he does not attain perfection in one birth. He makes great effort (prayatnād yatamānaḥ) in this life, in contrast to his previous life (tu), and burns up all faults, but even then he does not attain perfection in one life. Finally, he attains liberation (parāṁ gatim).

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse explains the spiritual happiness he attains. He makes even more effort in this life than in his last life, out of fear of his previous obstacles. By this additional effort he purifies himself of all material desires. From achieving a mature state of yoga (saṁsiddhaḥ) after many births, he attains liberation (gatim) which is supreme— seeing his own ātmā and paramātmā (param).

Surrender Unto Me

This specifically applies to those who are advanced transcendentalists like Jada Bharata. They make all endeavors in order to not fall down. They are extremelly serious. This is true for all yogis. [ F . THE TOPMOST YOGI (6. 46‑47) A yogi is greater than an empiricist, a fruitive worker, and an ascetic. And the yogi who always thinks of Krsna within, and who with full faith worships Krsna, is in a class by himself, and is the greatest of all. ]