Mantra Eighteen
95
PURPORT
This surrendering process and praying for the causeless mercy of the Lord leads the devotee progressively on the path of complete self realization. The Lord is addressed as the fire because He can burn anything into ashes—including the sins of the surrendered soul. As described in the previous  mantras , the real or ultimate aspect of the Absolute is His feature as the Personality of Godhead. His impersonal feature of the  Brahma-jyoti  is a dazzling covering over the face of the Lord. Fruitive activities, or the  karma-kāṇḍa  path of self realization, is the lowest stage in this endeavor. As soon as such activities become even slightly deviated from the regulative principles of the  Vedas , such activities are transformed into  vikarma , or acts against the interest of the actor. Such  vikarma  is enacted by the illusioned living entities simply for sense gratification, and thus such activities become hindrances on the path of self realization.
Self realization is possible for the human form of life, but not for other forms. There are 8,400,000 species or forms of life—of which the human form, with the qualifications of Brahminical culture, presents the only chance to obtain knowledge of the Transcendence. Brahminical culture means truthfulness, controlling the senses, forbearance, simplicity, full knowledge, full faith in God—and not to become simply proud of one's high parentage. To be the son of a  Brāhmaṇa  is a chance to become a  Brāhmaṇa , just as being the son of a big man is a chance to become a big man. But such a birthright is not everything, because one still has to attain the Brahminical qualifications for himself. As soon as one becomes proud of his birth as the son of a  Brāhmaṇa  and neglects to acquire the qualifications of a real  Brāhmaṇa , he at once becomes degraded and drawn from the path of self realization, and his life-mission as a human being is defeated.
In the  Bhagavad-gītā  it is assured us by the Lord that the  yoga-bhraṣṭas , or souls fallen from the path of self realization,