Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Transcendental Knowledge
TEXT 1
sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit
SYNONYMS
çré bhagavän uväca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; imam—
this; vivasvate—unto the sun-god; yogam—the science of one's relationship to the
Supreme; proktavän—instructed; aham—I; avyayam—imperishable; vivasvän—
Vivasvän (the sun-god's name); manave—unto the father of mankind (of the name
Vaivasvata); präha—told; manuù—the father of mankind; ikñväkave—unto King
Ikñväku; abravét—said.
TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-
god, Vivasvän, and Vivasvän instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and
Manu in turn instructed it to Ikñväku.
PURPORT
Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gétä traced from a remote time when it
was delivered to the royal order, the kings of all planets. This science is especially
meant for the protection of the inhabitants and therefore the royal order should
understand it in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from the material
bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal
relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all
states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education,
culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to
spread the science of Kåñëa consciousness so that the people may take advantage of
this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human
form of life.
In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvän, the king of the sun, which is
the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the Brahma-saàhitä it is stated:
yac-cakñur eña savitä sakala-grahäëäà
räjä samasta-sura-mürttir açeña-tejäù
yasyäjïayä bhramati sambhåta-kälacakro
govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi
"Let me worship," Lord Brahmä said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda
[Kåñëa], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of
all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the
Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."
The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name
Vivasvän) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat
and light. He is rotating under the order of Kåñëa, and Lord Kåñëa originally made
Vivasvän His first disciple to understand the science of Bhagavad-gétä. The Gétä is not,
therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard
book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial. In the Mahäbhärata (Çänti-
parva 348.51-52) we can trace out the history of the Gétä as follows:
tretä-yugädau ca tato vivasvän manave dadau
manuç ca loka-bhåty-arthaà sutäyekñväkave dadau
ikñväkuëä ca kathito vyäpya lokän avasthitäù
"In the beginning of the Tretä-yuga [millennium] this science of the relationship with the
Supreme was delivered by Vivasvän to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave
it to his son Mahäräja Ikñväku, the King of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu
dynasty in which Lord Rämacandra appeared. Therefore, Bhagavad-gétä existed in the
human society from the time of Mahäräja Ikñväku."
At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the
Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was Dväpara-yuga (800,000
years), and before that there was Tretä-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000
years ago, Manu spoke the Bhagavad-gétä to his disciple and son Mahäräja lkñväku,
the King of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some
305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth
of Manu, the Gétä was spoken by the Lord to His disciple, the sun-god Vivasvän, a
rough estimate is that the Gétä was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in
human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord
again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history
of the Géta, according to the Gétä itself and according to the version of the speaker,
Lord Çré Kåñëa. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvän because he is also
a kñatriya and is the father of all kñatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or
the sürya-vaàça kñatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gétä is as good as the Vedas, being
spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge
is apauruñeya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are,
without human interpretation, the Gétä must therefore be accepted without mundane
interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the Gétä in their own ways,
but that is not Bhagavad-gétä as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gétä has to be accepted as
it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the
sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Ikñväku.

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Chapter 4: Transcendental Knowledge

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