Lord answers — A transcendentalist engaged in auspicious activities meets no destruction either in this world or in the spiritual world
aSupporting verse to emphasize the all-auspicious nature of transcendental path — Ref. SB 1.5.17 “tyaktva sva-dharmam...”. It can be explained as follows:
Role of material duties – For material prospects there are many activities, both scriptural and customary
Expectation of this verse from a transcendentalist – He is supposed to give up all material activities for the sake of spiritual advancement
Argument offered by conditioned soul – Krishna consciousness may offer the highest perfection if completed, but if one does not attain the perfectional stage, then he loses both materially and spiritually
Scriptural understanding:
One has to suffer – Scriptures recommend that one has to suffer the reaction for not executing prescribed duties, therefore one who fails to discharge transcendental activities properly becomes subjected to these reactions
Still no loss – Because the Bhagavatam assures that
Even though one may be subjected to the reaction for not perfectly executing prescribed duties, he is still not a loser,
Because auspicious Krishna conscious activities is never forgotten and one so engaged will continue to be so even if he is low born in the next life
Material perfection without Krishna consciousness – On the other hand one who simply follows strictly the prescribed duties, need not necessarily attain auspicious results if he is lacking in Krishna consciousness
bTwo divisions of humanity
Regulated – Those who follow the prescribed duties according to scriptural injunctions
Their activities are all auspicious, because these activities gradually elevate them to Krishna consciousness
Non-regulated – Those who are engaged simply in bestial sense gratification without any knowledge of next life or any concept of spiritual salvation
Their activities are never auspicious because while enjoying animal propensities they perpetually remain in material existence and thus they are always miserable
They can be civilized or uncivilized; educated or uneducated; strong or weak
cFollowers of path of auspiciousness can be further divided into three sections:
Followers of scriptural rules and regulations for enjoying material prosperity – Two Types:
Fruitive workers – They may be elevated to higher planets, but because they are not free from material existence, they are not following the truly auspicious path
Those who desire no fruit for sense gratification
Seekers of ultimate liberation from material existence
Devotees in Krishna consciousness
dThe only auspicious activities in real sense are those which lead one to liberation – any activity not aimed at ultimate self-realisation or liberation from material bodily concept is inauspicious
eOnly auspicious activity — Factually only activities in Krishna consciousness are auspicious
Eightfold yoga system – even such a yogi, being directed towards the ultimate realisation of Krishna consciousness is also following the auspicious path and need not fear degradation
f“The perfect transcendentalist under severe austerity” — Anyone who voluntarily accepts all bodily discomforts for the sake of making progress on the path of Krishna consciousness