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kleÅ›o 'dhikataras teá¹£Äm
avyaktÄsakta-cetasÄm
avyaktÄ hi gatir duḥkhaá¹
dehavadbhir avÄpyate

41 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: CC(3) , Iso(1) , KB(1) , LBG(7) , LSB(4) , SB(15) , TLC(1) , TLKS(9)

 kleÅ›aḥ - trouble; adhika-taraḥ - very much; teá¹£Äm - of them; avyakta - to the unmanifested; Äsakta - attached; cetasÄm - of those whose minds; avyaktÄ - toward the unmanifested; hi - certainly; gatiḥ - progress; duḥkham - with trouble; deha-vadbhiḥ - by the embodied; avÄpyate - is achieved.


Text

For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difï¬cult for those who are embodied.

Purport

The group of transcendentalists who follow the path of the inconceivable, unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord are called jñÄna-yogÄ«s, and persons who are in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service to the Lord, are called bhakti-yogÄ«s. Now, here the difference between jñÄna-yoga and bhakti-yoga is deï¬nitely expressed. The process of jñÄna-yoga, although ultimately bringing one to the same goal, is very troublesome, whereas the path of bhakti-yoga, the process of being in direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is natural for the embodied soul. The individual soul is embodied since time immemorial. It is very difï¬cult for him to simply theoretically understand that he is not the body. Therefore, the bhakti-yogÄ« accepts the Deity of Kṛṣṇa as worshipable because there is some bodily conception ï¬xed in the mind, which can thus be applied. Of course, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature that worship may be saguṇa or nirguṇa – of the Supreme possessing or not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṇa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord.

A crude example may be given here. We may ï¬nd some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their destination without difï¬culty. But any old box, or an imitation which we may ï¬nd somewhere but which is not authorized by the post ofï¬ce, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcÄ-vigraha. This arcÄ-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form. The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful; therefore, by His incarnation as arcÄ-vigraha He can accept the services of the devotee, just to make it convenient for the man in conditioned life.

So for a devotee there is no difï¬culty in approaching the Supreme immediately and directly, but for those who are following the impersonal way to spiritual realization the path is difï¬cult. They have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme through such Vedic literatures as the Upaniá¹£ads, and they have to learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and realize all these processes. This is not very easy for a common man. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the guidance of the bona ï¬de spiritual master, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. There is no doubt that the impersonalists are unnecessarily taking a troublesome path with the risk of not realizing the Absolute Truth at the ultimate end. But the personalist, without any risk, trouble or difï¬culty, approaches the Supreme Personality directly. A similar passage appears in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. It is stated there that if one ultimately has to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead (this surrendering process is called bhakti), but instead takes the trouble to understand what is Brahman and what is not Brahman and spends his whole life in that way, the result is simply troublesome. Therefore it is advised here that one should not take up this troublesome path of self-realization, because there is uncertainty in the ultimate result.

A living entity is eternally an individual soul, and if he wants to merge into the spiritual whole, he may accomplish the realization of the eternal and knowledgeable aspects of his original nature, but the blissful portion is not realized. By the grace of some devotee, such a transcendentalist, highly learned in the process of jñÄna-yoga, may come to the point of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. At that time, long practice in impersonalism also becomes a source of trouble, because he cannot give up the idea. Therefore an embodied soul is always in difï¬culty with the unmanifest, both at the time of practice and at the time of realization. Every living soul is partially independent, and one should know for certain that this unmanifested realization is against the nature of his spiritual, blissful self. One should not take up this process. For every individual living entity the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which entails full engagement in devotional service, is the best way. If one wants to ignore this devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism. Thus the process of centering attention on the unmanifested, the inconceivable, which is beyond the approach of the senses, as already expressed in this verse, should never be encouraged at any time, especially in this age. It is not advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa.