Text 45] Instructions for Civilized Human Beings
249
jñānāsim acyuta-balo dadhad asta-śatruḥ svānanda-tuṣṭa upaśānta idam vijahyāt
yāvat —as long as;  nṛ-kāya —this human form of body;  ratham —considered to be a chariot;  ātma-vaśa —dependent upon one's own control;  upakalpam —in which there are many other subordinate parts;  dhatte —one possesses;  gariṣṭha-caraṇa —the lotus feet of the superiors (namely the spiritual master and his predecessors);  arcanayā —by serving;  niśātam —sharpened;  jñāna-asim —the sword or weapon of knowledge;  acyuta-balaḥ —by the transcendental strength of Kṛṣṇa;  dadhat —holding;  asta-śatruḥ —until the enemy is defeated;  sva-ānanda-tuṣṭaḥ —being fully self-satisfied by transcendental bliss;  upaśāntaḥ —the consciousness being cleansed of all material contamination;  idam —this body;  vijahyāt —one should give up.
TRANSLATION
As long as one has to accept a material body, with its different parts and paraphernalia, which are not fully under one's control, one must have the lotus feet of his superiors, namely his spiritual master and the spiritual master's predecessors. By their mercy, one can sharpen the sword of knowledge, and with the power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's mercy one must then conquer the enemies mentioned above. In this way, the devotee should be able to merge into his own transcendental bliss, and then he may give up his body and resume his spiritual identity.
PURPORT
In  Bhagavad-gītā  (4.9) the Lord says:
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā deham punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this