श्रद्धावाननसूयश्च शृणुयादपि यो नर: |
सोऽपि मुक्त: शुभाँल्लोकान्प्राप्नुयात्पुण्यकर्मणाम् || 71||
śhraddhāvān anasūyaśh cha śhṛiṇuyād api yo naraḥ
so ‘pi muktaḥ śhubhāñl lokān prāpnuyāt puṇya-karmaṇām
śhraddhā-vān—faithful; anasūyaḥ—without envy; cha—and; śhṛiṇuyāt—listen; api—certainly; yaḥ—who; naraḥ—a person; saḥ—that person; api—also; muktaḥ—liberated; śhubhān—the auspicious; lokān—abodes; prāpnuyāt—attain; puṇya-karmaṇām—of the pious
Translation:
And the man who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, even he shall attain the happy worlds of the righteous, freed from all evil.
Commentary:
On many occasions, the Lord has warned the devotee against the evils of malice and hatred, and once again he emphasises the idea at the end of his teaching Besides being free from these twin evils, one should possess single-minded devotion and faith (Sraddha). Without faith (Sraddha) no one can achieve anything great in any sphere of life. And particularly in the spiritual realm, no man can achieve any merit if his heart is impure. Malice is like a canker. It eats away the vital forces of man and renders him weak and disabled for any great purusuit.
There may be many illiterate persons who are eager to learn and know the Sastras, and who feel disappointed by their inability to read the sacred books. The Lord here declares that they need not at all be disappointed. They may hear the Gita-Sastra and acquire spiritual merit which offers them the reward of attaining the happy worlds of the righteous. Only the condition is that their hearts should be pure, free from malice and hatred. The center of spiritual knowledge is the heart and not the brain. It is the illumination of the heart that liberates man. The Lord abides in the lotus of the heart.
One comes across learned scholars who have thoroughly read the Sastras, but who still remain ignorant of the highest wisdom. This goes to show that their hearts are still dim and obscure in spite of their vast learning. People honour them for their learning, but the light of true knowledge they cannot give because their hearts are troubled by the tempest of Samsara.
On the other hand, there are illiterate people whose hearts are pure and untainted. They are fit to be initiated into the secrets of true knowledge. The Lord advises such pure souls to hear the Gita, and thus acquire spiritual merit.
Question: What is the way of Liberation for the illiterate?
Answer: For the illiterate, the way of Liberation is to hear the Gita.