SB 11.28.29 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

कुयोगिनो ये विहितान्तरायै- र्मनुष्यभूतैस्‍त्रिदशोपसृष्टै: । ते प्राक्तनाभ्यासबलेन भूयो युञ्जन्ति योगं न तु कर्मतन्त्रम् ॥ २९ ॥

Verse text

kuyogino ye vihitāntarāyair manuṣya-bhūtais tridaśopasṛṣṭaiḥ te prāktanābhyāsa-balena bhūyo yuṣjanti yogaṁ na tu karma-tantram

Synonyms

ku — yoginaḥ — those practitioners of yoga whose knowledge is not complete ; ye — who ; vihita — imposed ; antarāyaiḥ — by obstructions ; manuṣya — bhūtaiḥ — in the form of human beings (their relatives, disciples and so on) ; tridaśa — by the demigods ; upasṛṣṭaiḥ — sent ; te — they ; prāktana — of the previous life ; abhyāsa — of the accumulated practice ; balena — on the strength ; bhūyaḥ — once again ; yuṣjanti — engage ; yogam — in spiritual practice ; na — never ; tu — however ; karma — tantram — the entanglement of fruitive work .

Translation

Sometimes the progress of imperfect transcendentalists is checked by attachment to family members, disciples or others, who are sent by envious demigods for that purpose. But on the strength of their accumulated advancement, such imperfect transcendentalists will resume their practice of yoga in the next life. They will never again be trapped in the network of fruitive work.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Sometimes the progress of imperfect transcendentalists is checked by attachment to family members, disciples or others, who are sent by envious devatās for that purpose. But on the strength of their previous practice, they will resume their practice of yoga in the next life. They will never again be trapped in the network of karma. Yogīs who are obstructed by friends or disciples inspired by the devatās, not by their absorption in enjoyment, resume their practice in the next life. However, Bhāgavatam makes the following statement: yadi na samuddharanti yatayo hṛdi kāma-jaṭā duradhigamo ’satāṁ hṛdi gato ’smṛta-kaṇṭha-maṇiḥ asu-tṛpa-yoginām ubhayato ’py asukhaṁ bhagavann anapagatāntakād anadhirūḍha-padād bhavataḥ Members of the renounced order who fail to uproot the last traces of material desire in their hearts remain impure, and thus you do not allow them to understand you. Although you are present within their hearts, for them you are like a jewel worn around the neck of a person who has totally forgotten it is there. O Lord, those who practice yoga only for sense gratification must suffer punishment both in this life and the next: from death, who will not release them, and from you, whose kingdom they cannot reach. SB 10.87.39 Such sannyāsīs are different from the yogīs mentioned in the present verse. Śruti says yasmāt tad eṣāṁ na priyaṁ yad etan manuṣyā viduḥ: the devatās are not pleased that men know Brahman. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.10) Bhūyaḥ means “in the next life.”

Purport

Sometimes sannyāsīs and other spiritual teachers are bewildered by flattering followers and disciples sent by the demigods to embarrass spiritual leaders who are lacking complete spiritual knowledge. Similarly, spiritual progress is sometimes checked by attachment to one’s bodily relatives. Although an imperfect transcendentalist may fall down from yoga practice in this life, he will resume it in the next life on the strength of his accumulated merit, as described in the Bhagavad-gītā. The words na tu karma-tantram indicate that a fallen transcendentalist does not have to pass through the lower stages of fruitive activity and gradually be promoted to the practice of yoga. Rather, he will immediately resume his yoga practice at that point at which he left it. Of course, one should not presume to fall back on the facility offered here but should try to become perfect in this lifetime. Sannyāsīs, especially, should remove the knot of lust from their hearts and should avoid falling into the clutches of flattering followers or female disciples sent by the demigods to expose a so-called spiritual leader who is imperfect in Kṛṣṇa conscious knowledge.