TEXT 15

Devanagari

एवं ज्ञात्वा कृतं कर्म पूर्वैरपि मुमुक्षुभिः ।
कुरु कर्मैव तस्मात्त्वं पूर्वैः पूर्वतरं कृतम् ॥ १५ ॥

Text

Tekst

evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma
pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ
kuru karmaiva tasmāt tvaṁ
pūrvaiḥ pūrva-taraṁ kṛtam

Synonyms

evam — thus; jñātvā — knowing well; kṛtam — was performed; karma — work; pūrvaiḥ — by past authorities; api — indeed; mumukṣubhiḥ — who attained liberation; kuru — just perform; karma — prescribed duty; eva — certainly; tasmāt — therefore; tvam — you; pūrvaiḥ — by the predecessors; pūrva-taram — in ancient times; kṛtam — as performed.

evam — således; jñātvā — velvidende; kṛtam — blev udført; karma — arbejde; pūrvaiḥ — af tidligere autoriteter; api — bestemt; mumukṣubhiḥ — der opnåede befrielse; kuru — udfør blot; karma — den foreskrevne pligt; eva — afgjort; tasmāt — derfor; tvam — du; pūrvaiḥ — af forgængerne; pūrva-taram — i forgangne tider; kṛtam — som udført.

Translation

All the liberated souls in ancient times acted with this understanding of My transcendental nature. Therefore you should perform your duty, following in their footsteps.

I fordums tid handlede alle befriede sjæle med denne forståelse af Min transcendentale natur. Derfor bør du følge i deres fodspor og gøre din pligt.

Purport

There are two classes of men. Some of them are full of polluted material things within their hearts, and some of them are materially free. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is equally beneficial for both of these persons. Those who are full of dirty things can take to the line of Kṛṣṇa consciousness for a gradual cleansing process, following the regulative principles of devotional service. Those who are already cleansed of the impurities may continue to act in the same Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that others may follow their exemplary activities and thereby be benefited. Foolish persons or neophytes in Kṛṣṇa consciousness often want to retire from activities without having knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Arjuna’s desire to retire from activities on the battlefield was not approved by the Lord. One need only know how to act. To retire from the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and to sit aloof making a show of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is less important than actually engaging in the field of activities for the sake of Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna is here advised to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following in the footsteps of the Lord’s previous disciples, such as the sun-god Vivasvān, as mentioned hereinbefore. The Supreme Lord knows all His past activities, as well as those of persons who acted in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the past. Therefore He recommends the acts of the sun-god, who learned this art from the Lord some millions of years before. All such students of Lord Kṛṣṇa are mentioned here as past liberated persons, engaged in the discharge of duties allotted by Kṛṣṇa.

FORKLARING: Der findes to klasser af mennesker. Hos nogle er hjertet fuldt af urene materielle ting, og nogle er materielt frie. Kṛṣṇa- bevidsthed er lige gavnlig for begge. De, der er fulde af urenheder, kan følge den Kṛṣṇa-bevidste vej for gradvist at blive rensede ved at overholde den hengivnes tjenestes regulerende principper. De, der allerede er renset for urenheder, kan fortsætte med at handle i den samme Kṛṣṇa- bevidsthed, så andre kan få gavn af at følge deres eksempel. Tåbelige mennesker eller begyndere i Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed ønsker ofte at trække sig tilbage fra enhver aktivitet uden at have kendskab til Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed. Arjunas ønske om at trække sig fra al handling på slagmarken bliver ikke billiget af Herren. Det er blot et spørgsmål om at vide, hvordan man skal handle. At trække sig tilbage fra handlinger i Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed og stille sig uden for alting, imens man foregiver at være Kṛṣṇa-bevidst, er mindre vigtigt end rent faktisk at engagere sig aktivt i handling for Kṛṣṇas skyld. Her bliver Arjuna rådet til at handle i Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed ved som før nævnt at følge i fodsporene på Herrens tidligere disciple som solguden Vivasvān. Den Højeste Herre ved alt om alle Sine tidligere handlinger såvel som handlingerne hos dem, der agerede i Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed i fortiden. Han anbefaler således at gøre ligesom solguden, der lærte denne kunst fra Herren Selv nogle millioner år tidligere. Alle sådanne elever af Herren Kṛṣṇa bliver her omtalt som tidligere befriede personer, der var engageret i udførelsen af pligter, som Kṛṣṇa havde givet dem.