Text 22
eṣā buddhimatāṁ buddhir
manīṣā ca manīṣiṇām
yat satyam anṛteneha
martyenāpnoti māmṛtam
eṣā — this; buddhi-matām — of the intelligent; buddhiḥ — the intelligence; manīṣā — the cleverness; ca — and; manīṣiṇām — of the clever; yat — which; satyam — the real; anṛtena — by the false; iha — in this life; martyena — by the mortal; āpnoti — obtains; mā — Me; amṛtam — the immortal.
This process is the supreme intelligence of the intelligent and the cleverness of the most clever, for by following it one can in this very life make use of the temporary and unreal to achieve Me, the eternal reality.
As described in this chapter, one who desires personal prestige in the Lord’s service cannot be considered intelligent and clever. Similarly, one who is anxious to become a sophisticated transcendental philosopher is not the most intelligent. Nor is one who is expert in accumulating money. The Lord here states that the most intelligent and clever person is the devotee who offers his temporary, illusory material body and possessions to Him with love and without personal motivation. The devotee thus obtains the eternal Absolute Truth. In other words, real intelligence is to actually surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, without personal desire or duplicity. That is the Lord’s opinion.