एवं नियमकृद्राजन् शनैः क्षेमाय कल्पते ॥१२॥
nÄÅ›nataḥ pathyam evÄnnaá¹
vyÄdhayo 'bhibhavanti hi
evaá¹ niyamaká¹›d rÄjan
Å›anaiḥ ká¹£emÄya kalpate
9 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LSB(9)
na - not; aÅ›nataḥ - those who eat; pathyam - suitable; eva - indeed; annam - food; vyÄdhayaḥ - different types of disease; abhibhavanti - overcome; hi - indeed; evam - similarly; niyama-ká¹›t - one following regulative principles; rÄjan - O King; Å›anaiḥ - gradually; ká¹£emÄya - for well-being; kalpate - becomes fit.
My dear King, if a diseased person eats the pure, uncontaminated food prescribed by a physician, he is gradually cured, and the infection of disease can no longer touch him. Similarly, if one follows the regulative principles of knowledge, he gradually progresses toward liberation from material contamination.
One is gradually purified if one cultivates knowledge, even through mental speculation, and strictly follows the regulative principles enjoined in the Å›Ästras and explained in the next verse. Therefore the platform of jñÄna, speculative knowledge, is better than the platform of karma, fruitive action. There is every chance of falling from the platform of karma to hellish conditions, but on the platform of jñÄna one is saved from hellish life, although one is still not completely free from infection. The difficulty is that on the platform of jñÄna one thinks that he has been liberated and has become NÄrÄyaṇa, or BhagavÄn. This is another phase of ignorance.
ye ’nye ’ravindÄká¹£a vimukta-mÄninas
tvayy asta-bhÄvÄd aviÅ›uddha-buddhayaḥ
Äruhya ká¹›cchreṇa paraá¹ padaá¹ tataḥ
patanty adho ’nÄdá¹›ta-yuá¹£mad-aá¹…ghrayaḥ
(BhÄg. 10.2.32)
Because of ignorance, one speculatively thinks himself liberated from material contamination although actually he is not. Therefore even if one rises to brahma jñÄna, understanding of Brahman, one nevertheless falls down because of not taking shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, jñÄnÄ«s at least know what is sinful and what is pious, and they very cautiously act according to the injunctions of the Å›Ästras.
