Study a Verse

• When the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends to the material world, He generally observes the Vedic regulative duties to set a proper example for mankind.
• The Lord acts by His own free will, since no one can oblige, force or impel the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
• Similarly, the jñānī, or self-realized soul, is fixed on the spiritual platform, beyond the material body, and should therefore execute the regulative duties in relation to the material body by his own free will and not as a servant of the rules and regulations.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 18: Description of Varṇāśrama-dharma

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The Supreme Lord Himself, although not at all subject to the Vedic orders and prohibitions, by His own free will executes various prescribed duties; similarly the paramahaṁsa, even while on the platform of freedom from subjugation to Vedic rules and prohibitions, carries out various duties.