Now the description of that eternal sky... When we speak of sky, because we have material conception of the sky, therefore we think of sky with sun, moon, stars, like that. But the Lord says that the eternal sky, there is no need of sun. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). Neither in that eternal sky there is need of moon. Na pāvakaḥ means neither there is necessity of electricity or fire for illuminating because the spiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahma-jyotir. Brahmajyoti, yasya prabhā (Bs. 5.40), the rays of the supreme abode. Now in these days when people are trying to reach other planets, it is not very difficult to understand the abode of the Supreme Lord. The abode of the Supreme Lord is in the spiritual sky, and it is named as Goloka.
Description (Lectures, BG)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Practically in the Battle of Kurukṣetra great personalities, warriors, from all parts of the world they came and joined. Some of them joined with this party and others joined with the other party. So far we have studied... just like Śaibya, he belonged to Śibya. So all these personalities, we did not get their full description, it would enhance the pages. But these big personalities, we have got their information. There is a book, The Personalities of Mahābhārata. Bhagavad-gītā is part of Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata means greater India. Mahā means greater, and bhārata means India. So this whole planet was Bhārata-varṣa. There was only one flag. The whole planet was being ruled by one king. That is the king of this Hastināpura. The fight is that, that who would be the king, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or Duryodhana. But a king... It is not a democratic; it is monarchy. So Kṛṣṇa is deciding, "No, Duryodhana is unfit. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is fit." This is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Therefore this fight is there. Kurukṣetra. Kṛṣṇa wanted to wipe out all unwanted demons from the face of the world and enthrone Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira because he is the exact representative of Kṛṣṇa.
Clear conception. The śāstra, Brahma-saṁhitā, clear description of God, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam. He is playing on flute. It is not that the Muralīdhara, Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa, has been imagined by some poet. No, it is described in the śāstra, the form of the Lord. He is busy in playing flute, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam. Aravinda dalāyatākṣaṁ (Bs. 5.30), His eyes are just like petals of the lotus flower. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda, barhāvataṁsa, there is a peacock feather on His head. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ, and He is so beautiful that His beauty can cut down thousands of Cupids. Cupid is supposed to be the most beautiful in this material world. Kandarpa-koti-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.30). Clear conception.
This is the description of God in the śāstra. And when God came, Kṛṣṇa came on this planet, the same description. He is playing on flute, He has got the feather, peacock feather. So this painting of Kṛṣṇa is not an artist's imagination. It is exactly the form. So here is the form of the Lord. Here is the name of the Lord. Here is the activities of the Lord. This is clear conception. A sādhu knows what is God. Or sādhu cannot know. They are thinking, "God must be like this, God may be like this, He must be a very old man," because adi-puruṣa. He is the first living... In this way... So you cannot create God by imagination. That is not possible. God is God, always. You have to know simply what is God. He is never cyuta.
That ānanda is in exchange with the Supreme Brahman. Brahma-saukhyam anantam (SB 5.5.1). That is anantam, unlimited ānanda. Therefore ramante yoginaḥ anante (CC Madhya 9.29). Therefore those who are actually yogis, bhakti-yogīs... There are different types of yoga. So they ramante, they enjoy, ramante yoginaḥ anante, along with the ananta, unlimited. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. When you join with Kṛṣṇa in His rāsa dance as gopīs, or as cowherds boy, play with Him, or become His father and mother, Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodā-rāṇī, or become servant, or even become like water Yamunā, or land in Vṛndāvana and trees or fruits or flowers, any way, or cows and calves... Join with Kṛṣṇa. Then you get ānanda, real ānanda. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). That is the description in all Bhāgavatam, how the Kṛṣṇa's associates are enjoying life. Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ (SB 10.12.11). Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "These boys who are playing with Kṛṣṇa, oh, they are not ordinary boys." Kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ: "They have amassed the effects of pious activities for millions and trillions of births. Now they have come to play with Kṛṣṇa."
There are so many universes, so many universes. And it is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Jagad-aṇḍa. Jagad-aṇḍa means this universe. Brahmāṇḍa, jagad-aṇḍa. Koṭi, innumerable. Jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). And each universe there are innumerable planets. And each planet is different from others. This is God's creation. And these rascals are manufacturing God. And there is other description also. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). This jagad-aṇḍa, the universe. And there, in each universe, there is a controller of the universe, Brahmā. He is called jagad-aṇḍa-nātha, master of this universe. Because it is controlled by Brahmā, therefore each universe is called brahmāṇḍa. It is controlled by Brahmā. So in the Brahma-saṁhitā we get information: jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, plural number. There are many, many thousands jagad-aṇḍa... Not only one Brahmā. Many millions of Brahmās, many millions of Śiva, many millions of Viṣṇu, many millions of sun. Because there are many millions of universes. Now, just imagine. This is material creation. And that material creation, Kṛṣṇa says, ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). Taking all the material universes, it is only one-fourth creation of the Lord. And the three fourths creation is the spiritual world. Just imagine what is spiritual world. And in that spiritual, the topmost planet is Goloka.
So our worship is very simple. Tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. We worship that Govinda, ādi-puruṣam. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. We don't worship ordinary so-called rascals. We worship Govinda. How Govinda is? The Govinda's description is Brahma-saṁhitā. That Govinda, ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ: "He is always in the spiritual world, which is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa." Not this kind of ānanda-cinmayānanda, spiritual bliss. Spiritual bliss means it is continually going on; still, nobody is fed up. Here you can accept any ānanda in this material world, so many things. It cannot go on very long time. Suppose if I give you rasagullā, one rasagullā, you can take: "Oh, very nice." Another, "Very nice." Another, "Nice." Then next four or five, "No, I do not want." Finished. Similarly, any ānanda you can take. Sex life. It cannot be continued. Finished. So try to understand what is cinmayānanda. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhā... It, they'll never ends. It goes, nava-nava-yauvana, one after another, new, new, new, new. Just try to understand what is spiritual bliss. You do not... The sahajiyās, they accept this material bliss as spiritual bliss. That is called sahajiyā. Don't be sahajiyās. Try to understand according to śāstra.
Generally, everyone has got attraction for woman. Woman has got attraction for man. That is general. But when they are united by marriage, the attraction becomes very acute, hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. Hṛdaya-granthi means very hard knot. Hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. So this is called family attraction. Then I get my attraction for my children, for my society, for my home. So Arjuna's description of this means bodily concept of life. The sum and substance of this whole passage described by Arjuna, kiṁ no rājyena govinda kiṁ bhogair jīvitena vā (BG 1.32). Everyone works so hard to acquire money. Why? The family attraction. We were student of economics and there was a book, Marshall's Economics. That Mr. Marshall is explaining that economic impetus begins from family affection, family affection. Unless one has got family, he will not try to earn. He will not try to earn money. He will be irresponsible. Therefore it is essential. When one is given some responsible post... Some... I know some English firm in India, I had some connection with him. So he was simply trying to know, "The man who is going to work for us, whether he is family man?" Because unless he is a family man, he has no attraction. He can give up the job at any moment. Because there is no family attraction. This is the psychology. Therefore according to Vedic civilization, it is the duty of the parents to get the sons and daughters married so that they will have family attraction, they will be established, they will be organized, things will go nicely. If there is no family attraction, no responsibility, then the things will not go nicely. This is the basic principle.
Better give her in my custody. I shall take care." So immediately he abided by the order of Nārada, immediately. He released. And not only released, circumambulated the woman. So here is a mahā-bhāgavata, in the womb of this woman. So let us offer our obeisances. This is Vaiṣṇava. As soon as understood, that there is a Vaiṣṇava mahā-bhāgavata, in the womb of this woman, "She is to be respected, offered obeisances." This is called Vaiṣṇava. But the asura would not do that. Asura would not do that. That is the difference between devatā and asura. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Sixteenth Chapter, you will find the description of the asura: pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na vidur asurā janāḥ (BG 16.7). Pravṛtti. Pravṛtti means what sort of activities we shall do, and what sort of activities we shall not do. The asuras, they do not know. The asuras, they do not know. Anything they do. "For my sense gratification I must do everything." Therefore they become entangled. So long they are strong in this life, they do not take care of anyone. Śāstra, sādhu or guru. They do not care for anything. So that means... But the asuric civilization, the living entities become entangled because he may not care for any action, the asura, but the nature is there.
This is description of Durgā. So Kṛṣṇa also says. So we should not think like that, that animals or trees or birds and beasts, they are other than ourself. They are our brothers. Because the seed-giving father is Kṛṣṇa, and the mother is material nature. So we have got the same father and same mother. So if we have got the same father and mother, they are all our brothers.
So I do not know why foolish people, they do not understand what is God. Everything is there. And He comes also, personally. Not only the God's name, address, activities, and everything is there, but He comes personally also. He proves Kṛṣṇa. He proved that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Kṛṣṇa was present, He proved all these things. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). He proved. He had sixteen thousand wives, and each wife, a big palatial building of marble, bedecked with jewels and gardens with pārijāta flowers. These are description. Nobody can maintain sixteen thousand wives in sixteen thousand palaces. Not only that, not that if He enters in one palace, He lives with one wife, the other wives are vacant. No. He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms. And with each wife He was living comfortably. Each wife had ten children. And those children also had each ten children, grandsons. In this way, Kṛṣṇa's family was more than one crore, Yadu-vaṁśa.
Take, for example, that everyone marries, but Kṛṣṇa, being the Supreme Person, He married 16,108 women. But it is not that He remained one husband for sixteen thousand wives. He made arrangement for providing the sixteen thousand wives in different palaces. Each palace, there is described, they were made of first-class marble stone and furniture made of ivory and the sitting place made of very nice, soft cotton. In this way there is description. And the outward compound, there are many flower trees. Not only that, He also expanded Himself into sixteen thousand expansion, personal expansion. And He was living in that way with each and every wife. So it is not very difficult task for God. (devotees offer obeisances) God is said to be situated everywhere. So within our vision, if He is situated in sixteen thousand homes, what is the difficulty for Him?
They have got the audacity to say Vyāsadeva, he is accepted as incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, who has given us the Vedic literature, so many books he has given, the Vedas, the Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vedānta-sūtra. Everything is given by Vyāsadeva in writing, and we'll accept it, Nārāyaṇa, incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, mahāmuni-kṛte. He is also Vyāsa-muni, but He is also mahāmuni-kṛte. So there cannot be any mistake in the words of Vyāsadeva. This is the difficulty. If one does not come through the channel of disciplic succession, so they are in so many ways mistaken. Vyāsadeva is above all this. He is not an ordinary writer, material description or material name and faith. He cannot be mistaken. As Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa cannot be mistaken. Similarly, Vyāsadeva, incarnation of Bhagavān, he also cannot be mistaken. Neither devotee of Kṛṣṇa can be mistaken. Devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he does not say anything as his own opinion. He never says. What Kṛṣṇa says, he says. He may be not perfect, but what Kṛṣṇa has said, that is perfect.
So the kingdom was so nice. We have got description from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, many. The monarchy was so nice that because they were trained up, rājarṣi... They were not ordinary kings. They were as good as great sages and great saintly person. Imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Kṛṣṇa said, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). Kṛṣṇa said to the sun-god Vivasvān. And so He said, "The sun-god transferred the teaching to his son Manu, and Manu transferred the teaching to Mahārāja Ikṣvāku." Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2). In this way, the point is that the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā was especially taught to the royal order because they would know. They should know. Because a king is supposed to be representative of God, nara-deva. King is addressed as nara-deva. Even in 500 years ago when Sanātana Gosvāmī was minister of Nawab Hussein Shah... Sanātana Gosvāmī wanted to resign. He wanted to join Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement. So when the Nawab understood that Sanātana Gosvāmī... His name was Dabir Khas. He changed his name.
So Kṛṣṇa assumed the nara-hari, nṛsiṁha-rūpa, half-man, half-lion. So these are description in the śāstras.
- rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan
- nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu
- kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam...
- (Bs. 5.39)
So there is no significance. This Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to become immortal. Then, when he was refused by Lord Brahmā that "You cannot become immortal, that is not possible," then, in a roundabout way, he took benediction from Lord Brahmā that he would not die on land, on water, on the sky, no weapon can kill him, no demigod can kill him. In this way, roundabout way, he thought now he has become immortal. So to keep the words of Brahmā as it is, the Lord assumed a form which is not within his description. And instead of killing him with a weapon He killed him by the nails. Nail is not considered as a weapon. So He killed him between day and night, because he also took benediction that "I shall not die during daytime or nighttime." So God, Kṛṣṇa, is so intelligent that we may try to become immortal by so many scientific brain, but there will be some flaw and he wants, must be killed. This is God's intelligence
So these are opulences: wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation—six things. Anyone who possess all these six opulences in full, He is God. That is the definition of God. So when Kṛṣṇa was present on this earth, He showed His opulence, opulences, in full. Opulences in full. Of course, we have got all these historical records about Him. Now, so far His wealth is concerned, He had 16,108 wives. And for each of them, for each of them, He built a palace. And all those palaces were so nicely built that there was no need of electricity or light. It was bedecked with jewels. So day and night, they were blazing. You see? So these description are there. But if we forget that, that He is God, then this will be something like story, that "How a man can marry sixteen thousand wives? How He...?" But we should always remember that He is God. He is all-powerful. And for no other person such historical records are there, only for Kṛṣṇa. So in strength also nobody could conquer Him. And beauty... So far beauty is concerned, when He was on the battlefield... Have you seen any picture of Kṛṣṇa? Have you seen?
" If a man has got two, three wives... Why two, three? Our Lord had 16,100. So this is God. Sapatnya, but there is no competition. You'll find in the statements of all the queens in Kṛṣṇa book, when they were talking with Kuntī, er, Draupadī, every wife was giving description that how much she was anxious to become maidservant of Kṛṣṇa. Nobody is rival. In the material world, if a man has got more than one wife, there is rivalry. Rivalry. This example is given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that just like we have got our senses, similarly, if somebody has got different wife, so one wife is snatching him that: "You come to my room," another wife is snatching: "You come to my room." So he's perplexed. Similarly we have got these wives, the senses. The eyes are dragging: "Please come to the cinema." The tongue is dragging: "Please come to the restaurant." The hand is driving somewhere else. The leg is driving somewhere. So our position is like that. The same man, who has got different wives and dragging him different room. This is our position.
So when Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa was present, He actually showed by His activities, by His behavior, that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For example—it may be unbelievable, but these are in the history of Kṛṣṇa—that Kṛṣṇa married 16,108 wives. Now, it is unbelievable. We cannot maintain even one wife, but He maintained 16,108 wives, and each wife had big palatial buildings. This description we have got. So that means so far riches are concerned, Kṛṣṇa showed that there is no second comparison in the whole history of the world that one is maintaining sixteen thousand wives and each wife has got special palace. These descriptions are there. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and, by all the authorities of Vedic knowledge. Formerly, during Kṛṣṇa's time, there were authorities like Vyāsadeva, like Nārada. They also accepted that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And you will find in the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna, after understanding Kṛṣṇa, he expressed his opinion, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvatam ādyam (BG 10.12). He accepted. And he also said that "I am not accepting... Because it may be said that I am Your friend, so I am accepting You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but great ācāryas or great stalwart authorities like Parāśara Muni, Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Asita, Devala..." He gave evidence. So Kṛṣṇa is accepted.
So Kṛṣṇa is such a brahmacārī. In spite of in His just on the verge of youthhood at the age of 15, 16, years, all the village girls were friends, they were very much attracted with Kṛṣṇa's beauty. They used to come to Kṛṣṇa for dancing in the village. But He was brahmacārī. You will never hear that Kṛṣṇa had some illicit sex. No. There was no such thing description. The dancing is description, but no contraceptive pill. No. That is no described here. Therefore He is Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa means perfect brahmacārī. Vikāra-hetu, even there is cause of being agitated, He is not agitated. That is Kṛṣṇa. He has got thousands and thousands of devotees, and some of the devotees, if they want Kṛṣṇa as lover, Kṛṣṇa accepts that, but He does not require anyone else. He does not require. He is self-sufficient. He does not require anyone's help for His sense gratification. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses.
Now, we are trying to go to the moon planet. Now, here, in this life, if cultivate ourself for the same thought, the moon planet... That means the moon planet, about moon planet, we have to hear, and we have to think that "I shall go in such and such place." Unless you hear, you cannot abide here. Just like our friend, Mr. Cohen, he has left for California. Now, so far I am concerned, I have no idea of California. Now, he has told me that after reaching there, he'll write about the description of the place. Now, suppose if, reading that description of the place, I think of going there, so I prepare myself, "Oh, I must go there." So just like I, I was describing that cintāmaṇi-dhāma (Bs. 5.29), what sort of trees are there. And you were very much pleased that "I must go there." So we have to hear. Unless we hear what sort of God He is, what sort of God's place is, what is the mode of life there, we cannot be attracted. We cannot be attracted.
A bad, someone who is bad, he cannot be attractive. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, this very word, means all-attractive. He has got all the good qualities, all the opulences so that He is attractive. That is the right description of, or right nomenclature of God. If God has got any name particular which is full in everything, that word is Kṛṣṇa. It is a Sanskrit word, but it indicates... Kṛṣṇa means God. In the śāstra it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller, and paramaḥ, the supreme. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That is the instruction of Vedic literature. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sectarian religious movement. It is a scientific philosophical movement. Try to understand it. But the process is very simple. The process is by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. We are not magician, but we ask our students "Simply you chant this transcendental vibration," and he becomes gradually cleansed of all dirty things within the heart. This is our process. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has explained, He has given us the instruction, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12).
Yes. Let them talk all nonsense. But we have got information that this moon planet is a very nice planet, and the inhabitants there, they are very intelligent and the people who perform pious work here in this planet, they are promoted, promoted to the moon planet. And it is very cold also. Just like your European countries and American countries because, due to... You have come from America. America, European countries, people are accustomed to drink because due to the cold climate. Indians are not accustomed. But your drinking is necessary thing in Europe. Similarly, this moon planet is so cold that they live by drinking soma-rasa. There is a kind of liquor which is called soma-rasa. Yes. Soma-rasa. Soma-rasa. Soma-rasa, here, it is described in Āyur-veda. That soma-rasa preparation is there. If anyone can prepare that soma-rasa, and anyone can drink that soma-rasa, he becomes immortal. That means his duration of life increases. Increases. So anyway, these descriptions are there. So there are intelligent living beings there also.
Similarly, if you want to go to the higher planetary system, then you have to make your arrangement in this life. You cannot go to the moon planet by force because you have got a tiny airplane. That is not possible. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). A man can go to the higher planetary system when he is preparing himself to go there. So there are millions and trillions of planets. Wherever you want, you can go. The descriptions are there in the śāstra. But there is another description, the kingdom of God. That kingdom of God is there beyond this material sky. So we have to take information where that spiritual world is there. You can have it from Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another nature, the spiritual nature, which is beyond this material nature. That material nature... Vyaktāvyakta means some portion is manifested and some portion is not manifested.
So in this way, every planet has got different atmosphere, different temperature, different standard of life, different duration of life. So one has to become competent to transfer himself in a particular type of planet. So we, as spirit soul, dehī, the possessor of this body... Dehī means one who possesses this body, or the occupier of the body, the spirit soul. That is eternal. Changing body only, but eternal. Therefore we should not be interested to these different types of temporary body. That is not very good intelligence. So we have to prepare ourself. If we want... There is a full description of each and every planet. And we can prepare ourself according to our desire, which planet we wish to go. But Kṛṣṇa says, mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām (BG 9.25). "Persons who are engaged in My occupational duties, they will come to Me."
So you cannot become happy. These boys and these girls, American, American, European, they have tasted all this motorcar civilization. They have tasted very nicely. Motorcar, nightclub and drinking, they have tasted very nicely. There is no happiness. Therefore they have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ. Abhāvaḥ, and the sataḥ. So we are unhappy on account of our accepting asat, which will not exist. That is the description given by Prahlāda Mahārāja: tan ma..., sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām. We are always anxious, full of anxieties. That's a fact. Everyone of us, full of anxieties. Why? Asad-grahāt. Because we have accepted this material body. Asad-grahāt. Tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām. Dehinām. Dehinām means... Deha and dehī, we have already discussed. Dehī means the proprietor of the body. So everyone is dehī, either animal or human being or tree or anyone. Every living entity has accepted a material body. Therefore they are called dehī. So dehinām, every dehī, because he has accepted this material body, he's always full of anxiety.
That is Vedic injunction, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, means "Do not remain in darkness, come to the light." Light means knowledge, and darkness means ignorance. So every one of us now in the ignorance that we do not know "What I am." Everyone is in darkness in the concept of body. Ask anyone what you are. He will say, "I am this body. I am Mr. Such and such." "I am Indian." "I am American." This is all bodily description. And we have already discussed. This body is temporary, but I, the spirit soul, I am permanent. I have already experienced that I had my childhood body, I had my babyhood body, I had my boyhood body, youthhood body, I know it, but the bodies are no more existing, but I am existing. So therefore I am permanent, and the body is nonpermanent. Therefore it is said, nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ: "Permanency is not there in the body." Nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: "And there is no annihilation of the permanent or the eternal."
So I am conscious to a certain extent only, not fully. I am not abhijñaḥ. I am not very expert. These are simple truths. But these rascals are claiming that "I am God." The God is, means he is conscious, not only conscious, He's abhijñaḥ, very expert, knows everything, and svarāṭ. Now, to get abhijñaḥ, abhijñatā or experience, we have to consult somebody. But God is svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means He's personally so independent that He doesn't require to take knowledge from anyone else. That is God. Svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means fully independent. That is God. Now how He become? Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. These are the description in the Veda. Svābhāvikī. His knowledge is very natural. Svābhāvikī. Just like here something itching. Immediately my hand, attention, yes. Svābhāvikī. It is not that I have to think, "Now here it is itching, what I have to do?" No, you have... Immediately, hand comes. Svābhāvikī, by nature. Similarly when God has to create, as soon as He desires "Let there be a creation," immediately creation.
So we have to see through the authorized books the description which is beyond our perception. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet. Tarkeṇa, by argument, which is beyond your sense perception. So many things. Even we see daily so many planets, stars in the sky, but we have no information. They are going directly to see the moon planet, but hopelessly coming back. It is very doubtful to say so. And they have got dogmatic impression: "Except this planet, in other planets, so many, there is no life." These are not perfect understanding. From śāstra-yoni, if you want to see through the śāstra... Just like moon planet. We have got information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that there, the people, they live for ten thousands of years. And what is that measurement of year? Our six months equal to their one day. Now such ten thousands of years, just imagine.
Indian: (break) ...is supposed to be universal Lord, and about Him...
Prabhupāda: Why supposed? He is. Why you suppose like that?
Indian: Of course. But, at the same time, only in Indian history or in Indian philosophy, only God's description is there. But whereabouts, in America or other places, in other continents, there is no description in their history at all.
Prabhupāda: Because there is no history and there is no philosophy.
Indian: Pardon me.
Prabhupāda: There is no philosophy in other countries.
Indian: But, God, there is no...
Prabhupāda: If there is any philosophy, that is in India. And you are so, I mean to say, what can I say, that you say because the philosophy's not in America, therefore this philosophy is null and void.
Prabhupāda: Why not? They do not know. Now they are knowing it.
Indian: But they say that that description that He has wandered there, He lives in there. That should be some reason.
Prabhupāda: Why you are so envious of America? (laughter)
Indian: No, no. God is distributed (?) everywhere.
Prabhupāda: God is everywhere. Therefore God's disciples or God's sons are everywhere.
Indian: Why you...
Prabhupāda: So if, in America, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is preached, why you are envious?
Indian: Why?
Prabhupāda: Why you are envious?
Indian: I didn't follow you.
So here it is said, Arjuna might be thinking that "Kṛṣṇa says this body is different from the soul. The soul is within. So now suppose when I place my sword on the body of my grandfather or my kinsmen, the body will cut, and, in the meantime, the soul is within the body. It may be cut because the soul is there. By accidentally, he may be cut." Therefore Kṛṣṇa says very distinctly; nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi, that "Soul cannot be cut. Any weapon. It cannot be pierced by your arrows, it cannot be cut into pieces by your sword, or if you use firearms it will not burn." Nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. This is the position of soul. Immutable, indestructible. Another... This is the negative description of the soul. Nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi. Is there anything in this material world which cannot be cut into pieces? Have you got any experience? Take wood, stone, iron, or anything. It can be cut into pieces. Therefore, the..., when Kṛṣṇa says nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi, that means it is nothing like anything material elements. It is different. It is different. Any material elements. There are earth, water, fire, air, and ether. You can prepare weapons from earth. Water, you cannot do now. But there can be a weapon from the water also.
That is our present position. Now, here just the opposite word is used that yayā ātmā suprasīdati. If you want to actually, if you want actually to make yourself jolly, full of happiness, then you should search out your occupation in such a way that it will lead you to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. Para means the highest, or the transcendent. We are engaged in some, in some sort of activities. Nobody is free from activities. Even a ant, an ant, it is also engaged in activity. And the elephant. Ant is the most, I mean to..., according to our vision, the ant is very small and the elephant is very big. But everyone, beginning from the ant up to the elephant, so far our experience is concerned... There are other big animals also. We have not seen. But we can see from the description of the scriptures that there are fishes in the ocean which is called timiṅgila. So timiṅgila... You, perhaps you know that fish which is called in Sanskrit timi matsya, or whale fish, very big, sometimes hundred feet long. So there are other fishes which is a timiṅgila. That fish swallows up this fish, this hundred-feet-long. Now just imagine what must be the length of that fish's body. You see?
So the idea is that imitation God, there may be so many. Nowadays it has become a fashion. Not in your country; at least in India, it has become a fashion, that everyone is coming out and he declares himself, "I am God. I am God." As if the God has become a very cheap thing, and it can be had in the market, wherever you go. You see? That is not the thing. God is not so cheap thing. God is not so cheap thing. The description of God is, in the Brahma-saṁhitā is given,
- yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
- jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
- viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.48)
The God... This material creation... We have got this information from authoritative scripture. This material creation, how it is being done? It is being done that the Supreme Lord in His form of Mahā-Viṣṇu, He's lying on the Causal Ocean and in a sleeping mood, and with the breathing of His nostrils, so many universes are being born as seed.
So everything is resting on the shine of the Supreme Lord. Therefore He is called paraṁ dhāma. Paraṁ dhāma means "everything resting on You." Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitram (BG 10.12). Pavitram. Pavitram means uncontaminated. Because we, although we are Brahman, now we are contaminated by this material body. But the Lord has no contaminated body of this material existence. We have already noted, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda... Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ means His body is full—full of bliss, full of knowledge, and it is eternal. That is completely distinct from this body. So when there is description of the Lord that He is formless, He is formless means He is not of this form. He has got a sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), a different element. Therefore He's called pavitra. And paramaṁ bhavān: "You are the Supreme Original." Puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum.
The Supreme Lord can give us instruction. We are individual persons, individual living entities, infinitesimal. The Lord is infinite, and we are infinitesimal. So Lord can advise the infinitesimal to act in a certain way, but the infinitesimal, because it has got infinitesimal independence, it can reject it also. It can accept it or it can reject it. That we have got. That individuality, that independence... (break) "...that all other occupations you please surrender unto Me. You just try to follow Me. Then I take charge of you so that there will be no reaction of your work, and do not hesitate." Mā śucaḥ. This very word. Mā śucaḥ means "Do not hesitate. Do accept it. Do accept." That is the clear declaration of the Lord. You see. This is not for Arjuna only, but every one of us because we are all in the Arjuna's position. Arjuna is a living entity, individual living entity. So we are also, every one of us, a living entity. And the supreme entity—nityo nityānām. In the Vedic literature you'll find this hymn, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Description of the Supreme. The Supreme is nityaḥ nityānām. Nityānām means... Nitya means eternal. So we are all eternal. That we have already discussed.
And originally the Veda is one, Yajur Veda. And because it was very difficult to understand... Veda was spoken by Lord Himself to Brahmā. So seeing, foreseeing the condition of the present age, Vyāsadeva divided four Vedas, one Veda into four. The original Veda is Yajur Veda. Then he divided into Sāma, Yajur, Ṛk, Atharva. Then again the Vedic literatures were explained in Purāṇas, eighteen Purāṇas. Then Mahābhārata. Then again he summarized all the Vedic knowledge into Vedānta-sūtra, Vedānta-sūtra, summarized. Then again the Vedānta-sūtra is explained by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These are the all Vedic literature. When you read this book, in the preliminary, those who have got books, you will find all this description.
They resigned from ministership. The Nawab Shah was very much sorry. He was interned, that "You cannot resign from this post. Then whole thing will be, whole, my plan, whole, my kingdom will be lost. I cannot allow you to resign." But they decided that, "No. No more." Then the Nawab Shah told him, "Then I put you into, under internment." So they were put into jail. So anyway, they came out. So this fact is narrated. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat. Tuccha means insignificant. Such high post and position, they left everything. Left everything. Why? Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. And for doing good to the poor conditioned souls they came to Vṛndāvana and became just like niggardly, poor beggars. Their appearance... Their appearance became... The description is that living underneath a tree, one night underneath one tree, and next night another tree, and taking, I mean to say, dried, rejected breads given by the neighbors. In this way they were living.
Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām. Sādhu. Sādhu means who are actually following the religious principles. They are called sādhu. Sādhu means good men. There is description of sādhu also,
- titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
- suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
- ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
- sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
- (SB 3.25.21)
Sādhu, one who is called sādhu... Sādhu means titikṣavaḥ. Titikṣavaḥ means very tolerant, very tolerant, very much tolerant. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ. At the same time very kind-hearted. We find these two characters in the life of Lord Jesus. He was very much tolerant, at the same time kind to the people in general. You see? So titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. And he is friend. A sādhu is friend of all living entities. He is not only friend of the human kind. He is friend of the animals. He is friend of the trees. He is friend of the ants, worms, reptiles, serpents—everyone. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. And ajāta-śatru. And because he is friend of everyone, he has no enemy.
Now, according to our calculation, the sun is a planet which is too hot and nobody can go there. And actually, so far our this present body is concerned, it is not possible to, I mean to say, tolerate even the sunshine from a distance of ninety-three hundred millions or ninety-three... I do not exactly... It is far distant place. But actually, from the description of Vedic literature, we can understand that sun planet is just like a planet like this, but it is made of fire. It is made of fire. Just like this planet is predominant by earth only, similarly, there are varieties of planets in the universe. Some planet is predominant by air; some planet is predominant by water; some planet is predominant by fire. So similarly, the sun planet is predominated by fire. There are living entities also, and there is one principal living entity who is called the sun-god, Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. Or, in the language of the Bhagavad-gītā, he is called Vivasvān. In the language of Bhagavad-gītā.
So when in the Vedic literature it is said that the Absolute Truth has no hand or leg, that means He has no hand and leg as we conceive in this material world. When we speak of hand, immediately I think "my hand" or "your hand," but this is limited. So when we cannot adjust that God has got hands and also legs... In the Upaniṣads it is said that God, the Absolute Truth, Brahman, can walk so fast that even air cannot go so fast. In this way, there are descriptions. So that means, as stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, that īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). His form, He has got form undoubtedly, but His form is different. The Māyāvādī philosopher, whenever they think of form they think in terms of his own form. That is their defect. Therefore it is said in the Bhāgavata, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma is not ordinary nāma, name. Nāma means name. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma is transcendental, absolute. There is no difference between the name and person and object. Here, there is difference. The name and the object is different. Water and the name "water" and the substance water—different. I cannot satisfy my thirst simply by chanting "water, water." But by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, I can realize God. That is the difference.
That transportation service is still existing, but not with this planet. But higher planetary system there is transportation service from one planet to another by different kinds of airplanes. And in the Siddhaloka... There is another planet, which is called Siddhaloka. In the Siddhaloka the living entities or human beings are so advanced in yogic practice that they can travel with this body from one planet to another. This description are there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto. And in this planet also there are many yogis even still existing, they can travel in this planet very swiftly by yogic power. There are many yogis who daily take bath in four places: in Prayāga, in Rāmeśvaram, in Jagannātha Purī, and in Hardwar. Still there are some yogis in India. So they can transfer themselves, transport themselves, from one place to another very quickly. So there was no difficulty in communicating with Manu or Manu's son, Ikṣvāku. The communication was there, or the radio system was so nice that communication could be transferred from one planet to another.
When one person thinks that this body is I am, I am this body actually do so. If I ask you, what are you, what you are, you'll give all description of your body. I'll give all description of my body. I am Mr. such and such, I am born of such and such father, my national country is such and such, but these are all designation of this body. I do not know what I am, therefore I give only the designation. Therefore my intelligence is bodily concept of life. I am this body. So śāstra says, that if one is in bodily concept of life, then he is no better than the animal. Because the dog, it does not know that beyond this body... The dog is there, he is a living entity, he is a soul, he is Brahman, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman. These things dog does not know, or a cow does not know, or an ass does not know, or the animal does not know. Similarly, if we do not know beyond this body, then you are no better than animal, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). So if you analyze the whole population, you will find that we are simply a crowd or assembly of so many animals, that's all. This is fact, because they not know beyond this body.
Madhudviṣa: "The Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord. But by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Bhagavad-gītā cannot be understood by demonic brains."
Prabhupāda: There are six opulences, transcendental qualification of God. One is that He is full of knowledge. So if God is full of knowledge, how He can be in forgetfulness? That is impossible. Go on.
Madhudviṣa: "Kṛṣṇa remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Another thing to be noted here, that why we forget? We living entities, why we forget? It is a fact that from my past life I have transmigrated to this body. Now I cannot say in my my past life what was my body. This is my nature because I change my body. Just like you can remember some years, say, twenty years, twenty-five years. Or suppose I am now seventy-three years old. I can remember some accident when I was only three years old, that, because it is in this life. But I cannot remember what I was in my past life.
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that by the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness we shall revive our original spiritual body. And when we revive our original spiritual body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha... (Bs. 5.1). Sat, cit, ānanda. That is the formation of Kṛṣṇa, and that is our formation also. Sat means eternal. Cit means full knowledge. Eternal, full knowledge and ānanda. Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss. Now, we can make distinction from the spiritual body and the material body is this, that as the description of the spiritual body is given, sat-cit-ānanda, eternal, full of knowledge and blissful, so just the opposite number is this material body. It is neither sat, nor cit, nor ānanda. It is not sat. Sat means eternal.
Now, if you inquire where is now sunset or sunrise you can understand in different countries somewhere, the sun is now rising. Now, in America, the sunset and in India it is rising. It is rising. Exactly it is now eight, quarter past eight, and if you know by radio message what is the time in India you'll find that it is quarter past eight in the morning, and the sun has just rising. Now, here the sunset, and the sun... Similarly, if you inquire from Japan or any other country, the sun, the sun is somewhere in the meridian, sometimes it is, I mean to say, dead of night. So this timing difference is just like going on according to the position of the world movement. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa's appearance and disappearance is like that. It is not that Kṛṣṇa is born and Kṛṣṇa is gone. No, it is not like that. Somewhere is Kṛṣṇa there. Just like the sun is somewhere. There are innumerable universes. The one universe, you see, oh, this is only one, but there are many. You'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā that ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). Ekāṁśena sthito jagat. This material manifestation, with innumerable universes, is only a one part of manifestation of the Supreme Lord. Ekāṁśena sthito jagat. These descriptions are there in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Within this material world He's also there. In some of the universes. There are innumerable universes, I have already explained. Somewhere He is there. So a devotee just after giving this body, giving up this body, immediately he is transferred to that universe where Kṛṣṇa is there. And when he's trained up, then he is, again, he's transferred to the Goloka Vṛndāvana, the spiritual sky. These are the description of Sanātana Gosvāmī in Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, how a living entity...
So in this way we are changing our body but because we are minute particle of Kṛṣṇa.... We have got qualities of Kṛṣṇa not cent percent. Seventy-eight percent. When they are perfect, so minute quantity, then we can also become a little more advanced than at the present moment. But not like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is cent percent perfect. We can become minutely perfect, seventy-eight percent. These are all analyzed by the Gosvāmīs. So in the present stage, our conditioned stage, there is no comparison with Kṛṣṇa, what to speak of becoming Kṛṣṇa. The rascal foolish persons, they claim that they have become Kṛṣṇa. It is not possible. This is the defect, that we forget. They ask so many the incarnation of God, about his past life. They cannot speak.
But you read Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you understand immediately what is this moon planet. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī. Śaśī means this moon planet. You immediately understand that this moon planet is one of the stars. Just like the constitutional position of other stars, you understand the moon is like that. And they are searching after whether in the moon planet there is life or not, there is living condition or not. But you open Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you'll find the description of the moon planet, how they are living, what is the constitution of the living creatures there. The soma-rasa, you have heard this word. The soma-rasa is beverage in the moon planet. So everything is there. And who can go there, and how one can go there. So this is perfect knowledge, to hear from the authorities.
Bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna. As individuals, we are taking birth. That Kṛṣṇa's birth will be explained in the next verse. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā. Ajaḥ. Ajaḥ means "who does not take birth." We are also aja. Na janma... What is that? Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin...na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇaḥ. That is the description of the living entities. A living entity, as we are, we also do not take birth. We are eternal, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is eternal; we are also eternal. Kṛṣṇa is individual; we are also individual. The difference is that He is īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, He's the supreme controller, and we are... We are also controller, but limited, very minute controller. That is the difference. God is great, and we are a small particle. That is the difference.
Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8). Always, you'll know, there is always a class of men who are always God-fearing. There may be the percentage of such persons very small. But you'll find. That is the way of nature. There will be some percentage who are devoted to God. They are called sādhu. Sādhu. Sādhu. Sādhu means... Sādhu's description is there. Sādhu means sage, or saint. Who is a saint? Who is a sādhu. That description is given. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ.
- titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
- suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
- ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
- sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ
- (SB 3.25.21)
This is the definition of sādhu. Saint, who is a saint? A saint is called who is very tolerant, tolerant, tolerant to the utmost.
Why the Lord comes as incarnation. This point we have been discussing last meeting. And what is dharma, what is religion? Perhaps you'll remember that the translation in the English language, dharma, is a description of certain kind of faith, but according to the Vedic literature, dharma is not a kind of faith. Faith can be changed, but dharma cannot be changed.
The sādhu... In the Bhagavad-gītā, in the last meeting, I have described to some extent what is the qualification of a sādhu. Sādhu means saintly person. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām (SB 3.25.21). He's tolerant, he's very kind to everyone, and he's friend to all living entities. He has no enemy, or he is nobody's enemy. And he's peaceful. These are some of the qualification. There are twenty-six qualification in detail. But these are some of the qualification. And in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find the description of a sādhu, saintly person, is given by the Lord Himself.
So Kṛṣṇa says that "Even if you see a person immoral, but he is completely engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it should be concluded that he is a saint." He's a saintly person. That is the description given by Kṛṣṇa of sādhu. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). So in other words, He says, "Any person who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Never mind, he might have something externally immoral habits due to his past association. It doesn't matter." So some way or other, one should be Kṛṣṇa conscious. And then, gradually, he will become a saintly person; as he goes on executing this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then, with his advancement, he becomes a perfect saint. That you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā. And how Kṛṣṇa says that even if he's externally a little immoral... Of course, a devotee or a person who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he's never immoral. But it may be that due to his past association he may appear to be immoral or he may fall down, fall down. Due to habits, we may sometimes fall down.
And what is that home? That you'll find. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). Such description is there also in the Bhagavad-gītā, what is the position of that transcendental world. Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ. There is no, there is no need of the sun. There is no need of the moon. There is no need of electricity. That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So this is this world. This material world is dark, is always dark. Therefore here we require the sun and the moon and the electric light. Otherwise, it is dark. As soon as the electricity will fail, then whole city will be in darkness. So the nature of this... And the Vedic mantra also says that "Don't remain in this darkness." Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya: "Just try to transfer yourself in that illuminated world." Jyotir gamaya. Jyoti means illumination. So this world, this material world, is full of darkness. Darkness, one meaning of darkness is ignorance. And another darkness, you know, without, absence of light. So this nature of this material world is darkness.
Because as the Supreme Lord, He has nothing to do. But why He comes? In the Vedic literature you'll find, na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. The description of the Supreme Brahman is described there, that, Upaniṣad... Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate: "The Supreme, the Absolute, He has nothing to do." He has nothing to do. Just like if we want to do, have something, we have to do. But there, the Absolute, He has nothing to do.
Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate. And there is nobody who is equal to Him, and nobody who is above Him. That means everyone is below Him. Nobody equal to Him and nobody above Him; that means everybody is below. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport) "The Supreme has got many, manifold energies." Therefore everything is done, svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca.
There are... Just like Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His actions, wonderful actions, not that He pretended and cheated some people that "I am God." Actually, from the beginning of His appearance, He played, I mean to say, uncommon activities. Just like at the age of seven years old He lifted the Govardhana Hill. There are so many instances. If you read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, life of Kṛṣṇa in the Tenth Canto, there is description. And in the Battle of Kurukṣetra, the Bhagavad-gītā. So by His activities, by His knowledge, by His opulence—everything is there. Nobody is supposed to be cheated by a pretender if he is actually intelligent.
That is also described. Or energy. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). We living entities, we are prakṛti. We are not puruṣa. But we are trying to become puruṣa. Suppose a woman artificially wants to become man. That is very troublesome. Similarly, actually position is prakṛti. Prakṛti means enjoyed, one who is enjoyed. And puruṣa means one who is enjoyer. So our position is to be enjoyed, but we are trying to become enjoyer. Our position is to be predominated but we are trying to become predominator. That is called dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata.
But there are certain persons who are above this mistake, illusory energy. Who are those? The devotees. The devotees, who are called sādhu. Sādhu. There is a word, sādhu. Sādhu means honest, good behaved. They are called sādhu. There is description of sādhu. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ.
This is the description of sādhu. Sādhu does not mean for livelihood change the color of the garment or having big beard and become sādhu. No. Sādhu means devotee. Sādhu means first-class devotee. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ (BG 9.30). Who is that man? Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ. One who is fully engaged. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. He has no other engagement. Not partial, some percentage for this purpose, some percentage for that purpose. No. Samyak, wholeheartedly, twenty-four hours engaged in the service of the Lord. He is sādhu. He is sādhu.
They are not materialists. Materialists, they are concerned with this matter only. They are very much attached to lord it over this material nature and enjoy life. That's all. That is the short description of the materialist. But the transcendentalists, they are above these attached people. They are detached, but they have got three conception of transcendental idea. That is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
- vadanti tat tattva-vidas
- tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
- brahmeti paramātmeti
- bhagavān iti śabdyate
- (SB 1.2.11)
Tattva, tattva, the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is nondual. And that Absolute Truth is experienced in three ways. What are they? Now, Brahman, the all-pervading, impersonal feature, Brahman. And brahmeti paramātmeti. Paramātmeti means the Supersoul. Brahmeti paramātmeti and bhagavān iti. Bhagavān iti means the Personality of Godhead. Now these three conception of life have been analyzed in various places, and I will give you a short description.
And mām upāśritāḥ, and taking shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Mām... Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). As soon as you become submitted... Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ. This is the description given in Bhāgavata. Anyone who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Murāri... Kṛṣṇa's another name is Murāri. He's puṇya-yaśaḥ. If we chant Kṛṣṇa's name, then at least we become pious. Because we are all sinful. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offenselessly, you immediately become purified. If you do not commit again sinful activities.
He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Veda says. The Supreme Lord has nothing to do. Why He has to do? He's full, complete. He has nothing to do. He has nothing to aspire. There is nothing wanting. We are working for... Because we want so many things. But He has no want. He's ātma-tṛpta, fully complete. Thus He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. This is description of God. He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate.
There is nobody equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him. This is the Vedic description of God. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate, na tat-sama... Sama means equal. And adhika. Adhika means greater. Here you will find somebody is equal to you, somebody is greater than you, somebody is lower than you. Three positions. Everyone. Nobody can say that "I am the final." Anybody, beginning from Brahmā down to the ant, everybody you'll find that somebody is equal to him, somebody is greater than him, and somebody is lesser than him. But Kṛṣṇa, nobody one is equal to him, nobody is greater than Him, but every is lesser than Him. That's all. This is Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is lesser. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate.
This description we get from Vedic literature. The bird which is not eating the fruit of the tree, he is the Supersoul. And the bird which is eating the fruit of the tree, he is the soul, individual soul. That is, we are. We are sitting in this tree of body, and we are eating. This body means every one of us has got a particular body for particular type of distress or enjoyment. Every living being is responsible for his past acts, and he gets a body, either human body or animal body, American body or Indian body or African body. There are different kinds of... I have several times repeated that 8,400,000's of different bodies.
And if you go still further, penetrate into the sun globe, then you will see there is a sun god, sun god. His name is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā: Vivasvān. In the beginning of this chapter, Fourth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa said, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). So within the sun globe there is the person, the predominating deity whose name is Vivasvān. So it requires a little qualification, how to go to the sun planet. Sun planet is a fact. It is not fictitious. We are every day seeing. But we have no such power to go to the sun planet. Neither we have got the power to enter into the sun planet. That is inability.
Not that it is illusion. Kṛṣṇa is illusion or Kṛṣṇaloka is illusion. No, it is not illusion; it is fact. Goloka-nāmni nija-dhāmni tale ca tasya (Bs. 5.43). In the Vedic literature we find description of the planet of Goloka Vṛndāvana, the abode of Kṛṣṇa. It is stated, goloka-nāmni nija-dhāmni. Nija-dhāmni. Nija-dhāmni means the personal abode. Kṛṣṇa is person. God is person.
Goloka-nāmni, the planet.... We have given our picture of Goloka Vṛndāvana. As far as possible taking description from the śāstra, we have given. The Goloka Vṛndāvana is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā:
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
So Govinda has got place. Goloka-nāmni. The place name is Goloka Vṛndāvana, goloka-nāmni. Nija-dhāmni. That is His personal abode. Although every dhāma, every planet, everywhere, all over the universe, all over the creation, that is Kṛṣṇa's dhāma, God's place.... Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He is the proprietor of everything. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything, that is the property of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One has to learn this, that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. This is Vedic instruction. We have created trouble because we have forgotten the real proprietor. We are trying to become proprietor individually and collectively. "This is India. This is our India." "This is America. It is our America." "It is Germany, our." Nothing our. Everything Kṛṣṇa's. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa.
There are three conditions. Just like I have got this body, you have got your body. So this body is developed, created. You know. In the mother's womb the first body was just like a pea when it is first created. These descriptions are there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. After sex life of the man and woman there are two kinds of secretions. They mix up, emulsify, and they form into pea-like shape. In that pealike shape the living entity, which is atomic, takes shelter and becomes the living entity takes shelter in that pealike form it develops, develops. Just like you see the child born, he is also developing, developing.
Antavanta ime dehāḥ. Anta means this body. Antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ: (2.18) "But within the body, the proprietor of the body is nitya." So nityo nityānām. If I am nitya, eternal, then I should be interested in eternal happiness. But the eternal happiness is not possible to enjoy by this body. Therefore it is said, ramante yoginaḥ anante. So ananta-ramaṇa, that is the description of Rāma. Rāma means ananta-ānanda, unlimited happiness. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). Rāma is paraṁ brahma, and Kṛṣṇa is also paraṁ brahma. Kṛṣṇa is recognized by Arjuna after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). So there is no different between Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is also paraṁ brahma and Rāma is also paraṁ brahma. (break) ...day of Lord Rāmacandra. So we Vaiṣṇava, we have equal faith and obeisances to all viṣṇu-mūrtis, rāmādi-mūrtiṣu, Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, Nārāyaṇa, Mahāviṣṇu.... There are advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). But we Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava or Madhva-Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, we are worshiper of Lord Kṛṣṇa mūrti. Lord Rāmacandra's mūrti and Kṛṣṇa's mūrti, there is no difference. But as I have already explained, Kṛṣṇa paraṁ brahma full-fledged, and Lord Rāmacandra is also paraṁ brahma, but He did not exhibit His full-fledged opulence. So these are very confidential things, but still, on the birthday of Lord Rāmacandra we offer our respectful obeisances at His lotus feet so that He may be merciful upon us to bestow His bhakti, devotional service.
So in the Vedas the description is there about God and ourselves. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). What is God? God means He is the chief, nitya, chief. Nitya means eternal. Nityānām. There are millions and millions, unlimited. Nityānām, this is plural number. That we are, living entity. We are also nitya. We are also eternal and God is also eternal. But He is the chief eternal. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. He is also living entity, we are also living entities, but He is the chief living entity.
So all we living entities, those who are within this material world... There are so many. Just like you can see so many planets. In each and every planets and stars there are living entities. Sarva-ga. Don't think that only God has favored this planet full with living entities and others are simply empty showbottle. That is not the fact. They do not know it. They have no perfect knowledge. They say that only this earthly planet is full of living entities. No. Everywhere. That description you'll get from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fifth Canto. There is vivid description of all the planets and what kind of living entities are there. So some of them are described in this Bhagavad-gītā.
Just like He was creating disturbances, when He was, say, three years old. Just like children, two year, two years old, they create always disturbance with mother. They don't leave the company of mother. At the same time, they create disturb. So Kṛṣṇa was doing that. Now, the mother decided, "Now, I shall bind You with ropes. You are creating so much disturbance." And he took, she took a stick, and: "If You create disturbance, then I'll beat You." Oh, Kṛṣṇa began to cry. So there is description in the Bhāgavata by Kuntī that "The person who is the object of frightening for everyone, He was afraid of the stick of Yaśodā." Why? He was perfectly playing the childhood.
So somehow or other, approach Kṛṣṇa. Then your life is perfect. Kṛṣṇa does not become imperfect. Kṛṣṇa is always... In the Īśopaniṣad: apāpa-viddham. Description of God is there. Apāpa-viddham. That Kṛṣṇa, or the Lord, is never contaminated by any so-called... For Him, there is nothing sinful. This is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti (BG 4.14). Why He should be? Therefore, if anyone understands, studies Kṛṣṇa perfectly, about His activities, about His birth, about His name, about His form, anything... He has got everything like us. He has got His form. He has got His activities. He has got His attributes. Everything is there. But they're all transcendental.
But it should be extended to the topmost point, Kṛṣṇa. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. Then it will be kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ. And jñānāgni. Jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇaṁ tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ budhāḥ. He is paṇḍita, he is learned. One who is working for Kṛṣṇa, not for sense gratification, he's learned person. Tam āhuḥ paṇḍitaṁ. Budhāḥ. Who will say paṇḍita? So this is paṇḍita. And Cāṇakya Paṇḍita also gave this description:
- mātṛvat para-dāreṣu
- para-dravyeṣu loṣṭravat
- ātmavat sarva-bhūteṣu
- yaḥ paśyati sa paṇḍitaḥ
Paṇḍita does not require any so-called education. Real education: paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). There is another place. Here is also this paṇḍita. And Cāṇakya Paṇḍita also says paṇḍita.
The spiritual conception is that, that any number of fragments of the whole can be taken from the whole spirit, but still, the spirit whole is as it is. That is the description in the Vedic literature. We have got material idea: "One minus one equal to zero." But in the spiritual realm, one minus one equal to one. So these fragments, the fragments of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, we are. So with that consciousness, we have to sacrifice.
You establish Kṛṣṇa at home. This center, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness center, what is the purpose? You can also establish at home Deity. You can also perform the Deity worship. You can also perform kīrtana at home. You can also read Bhagavad-gītā at home. It is not that we are, we have made this business that you come here and pay something and we profit by your payment. No. It is education, how one should be satisfied by accepting kṛṣṇa-prasādam, for working Kṛṣṇa. Then you will be feeling satisfaction. You do business for Kṛṣṇa, you do your occupational duty for Kṛṣṇa, you cook for Kṛṣṇa, you offer to Kṛṣṇa, take prasādam of Kṛṣṇa. You will feel very happy. That is the description. Yadṛcchā-lābha-santuṣṭo dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ.
If you cannot chant, if you cannot hear about Kṛṣṇa, if you cannot understand about Kṛṣṇa.... Because the devotional method is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). So to hear about Kṛṣṇa, it does not appeal to everyone. Kṛṣṇa is fighting in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra and Kṛṣṇa is playing on the courtyard of Yaśodāmāyi. There are so many description in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So ordinary, less intelligent men, they cannot understand that the Para-brahman, Supreme Brahman, can crawl in the courtyard of Mother Yaśodā. It is very difficult for them to understand. Therefore the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is description of Kṛṣṇa's activities. Because unless one understands what is Kṛṣṇa, he is not interested in the activities of Kṛṣṇa. But those who are devotees, they know that Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's activities are one and the same, absolute. So if we cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.... Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He descends and plays in so many ways. If we simply hear about Kṛṣṇa, then that means we associate with Kṛṣṇa.
Similarly, there are many kinds of sacrifices they are described here. I think those descriptions may not be very elaborately described, but I will give you the idea.
- daivam evāpare yajñaṁ
- yoginaḥ paryupāsate
- brahmāgnāv apare yajñaṁ
- yajñenaivopajuhvati
- śrotrādīnīndriyāṇy anye
- saṁyamāgniṣu juhvati
- śabdādīn viṣayān anya
- indriyāgniṣu juhvati
Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma. Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat. This is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that yajña, sacrifice, charity, dāna. Yajña, dāna and tapaḥ, tapaḥ. Tapaḥ means penance.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was also engaged in chanting and dancing. That is a... His dancing description is there in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta during the Ratha-yātrā festival. So chanting, dancing, chanting of the holy name, and in ecstasy dancing, that is also yajña. That is the most perfectional yajña. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyaiḥ. This is called saṅkīrtana-yajña. Bahubhir militvā gāyantīti saṅkīrtanam.
Saṅkīrtana means when we combine together, many persons, and chant and dance. that is called saṅkīrtana-yajña. So those who are engaged in the saṅkīrtana-yajña, they are also performing yajña. That is better than dravyamaya-yajña, dravya-yajña. Dravya-yajña, charity. Suppose one man has no money. Then his life is spoiled? No. In any condition we can execute this yajña, saṅkīrtana-yajña. There is no need of money. Ahaituky apratihatā. This saṅkīrtana-yajña is so nice that it cannot be checked by any material condition. If one is interested, he can perform saṅkīrtana-yajña or the bhakti-yoga system, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23), in any condition of life.
You'll find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. There are description of different manifestation of Viṣṇu or God because God expands Himself in various ways. We are also expansion of God. So similarly, there are degrees of expansion, and the central point, or the primal Lord, is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We have got evidences from various Vedic literature that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavata confirms, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28), that... There is a list of incarnation of Godhead. There are many thousands and thousands of incarnation, and there is a list. Especially in Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a specific list. Now, after giving that list, the conclusion is made that ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam.
Just like here the Bhagavad-gītā is the description, what is God, how He is creating. You know that God has created this world. Now, here there is description how He creates. So such inquiries, such spiritual master, is overcrowded, but you have, if you are sincere, then you have to find out some spiritual master, bona fide spiritual master, who knows about the science of God. Then you try to see God. Otherwise you'll be cheated.
Somebody says, "Oh, everyone is God." Oh, he becomes puffed-up: "I am also God." But what you know about God? You are thinking, "My spiritual master has said that I am God." But you should not inquire that "How I become God?" We learn from scripture, God has created this material universe. Oh, what I have created? And still I am puffed-up—"I am God"? So this cheating business is going on. So these are absurd. Absurd inquiries are condemned herewith. Yes. One must approach to the real spiritual master in submission. Inquire from him by rendering service. Then, gradually, you learn the science.
Very nice description in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Every individual person is trying to control, to become controller. Just like somebody tries to become president of your state. What is the idea behind? To become controller. They are spending millions of dollars to get that post. So I want to become very rich businessman like Rockefeller or Ford. What is the idea? To become controller. I want to rule over my family members, I want to be controller. If I have nobody to control, I get some dog to control. This is my, I mean to say, intuition. I want to control. So everyone is controller in different degrees. And the Brahma-saṁhitā says that God is supreme controller. That's all. He is also controller. But there is nobody else who can control Him. He controls everything. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. Parama means the supreme. Very nice, very simple description of God.
So actually, when one is situated in proper knowledge, one who is actually a yogi, for him, this distinction altogether disappears. Yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ (BG 6.10). Now, now here is the beginning of the yoga system, how one should perform yoga. Now, you will understand from the description of Bhagavad-gītā that what is yoga system. In your city, New York City, the yoga is very popular. Everyone is performing yoga. There are so many groups of yoga schools, but just see what the yoga system is. You just, you can understand from Bhagavad-gītā. What is that? The first is yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ. The yogi's business is always to remain alone in a secluded place. Alone and secluded place. Yoga cannot be performed in assembly. Just like we are in assembly. Here you are performing yoga, I am performing yoga in the yoga class, and somebody is teaching, "Do like this. Do like that. Do like that." That is not yoga system. At least, according to Bhagavad-gītā. Here it is clearly said that yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṁ rahasi sthitaḥ. He should always be engaged in his, I mean to say, focusing his mind towards the Paramātmā. And that is possible, rahasi. Rahasi means in a secluded place. In a secluded place. It is not... I cannot concentrate my mind in the hubble-bubble of this society or in a big city.
One who does not know that real happiness can be experienced by our transcendental senses, not with these material senses... Senses are not to be sacrificed. Desires are not to be sacrificed, but there are desires in the spiritual field, there are sense satisfaction in the spiritual field. That is a different thing. So here it is said, sukham ātyantikaṁ yat (BG 6.21). What is really happiness, tad buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam, that is transcendental to this experience, empirical sense gratification. Vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ. One who does not know this, then certainly he will be agitated in the mind and fall down. So one should know that the happiness which we are trying to derive from the material senses, that is not happiness. I have, several times I recited one nice verse, the description of Rāma.
Now, Arjuna, he cannot be a false pretender. He frankly says, "My dear Arjuna, the system of yoga which you have prescribed," yo 'yaṁ yogas tvayā proktaḥ, "the summary description of yoga system which You have described," sāmyena madhusūdana... Kṛṣṇa's another name is Madhusūdana. Madhusūdana means He killed one demon whose name was Madhu. Therefore God's names are different according to different activities of God. God has got innumerable names because He has got innumerable activities. Suppose we are part and parcel of God. We have got innumerable... We cannot remember how many activities, how much activities we are engaged in, that, from our childhood up to this time. So just think about God. He is unlimited; therefore His activities are also unlimited. So He has got unlimited names also. Kṛṣṇa, of course, is the chief name, but He has got many other unlimited names also. So one of the names of Madhusūdana. Madhusūdana means He killed a demon, a very great demon.
Now Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes," asaṁyatātmanā, "one who has not been able to control his mind," yogo duṣprāpa, "the success in yoga is actually never possible." Duṣprāpa. Duṣprāpa means difficult to achieve. Iti me matiḥ. "Yes, I think you are right. You are right." Vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo 'vāptum upāyataḥ: "But one who is determined, he can find out the ways and means how he can control the mind, if he is serious." So this is the way. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious and try to follow the principles, then this is the nicest possible way of controlling the mind. Vaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo 'vāptum upāyataḥ. Upāyataḥ means you can find out means, ways and means. You can control. Arjuna uvāca. Now, so far the descriptions...
Now, Arjuna did not further say. Arjuna said that "It is impossible for me," and Kṛṣṇa also said, "Yes, it is difficult process. But if you try, you can do it." No further discussion because both of them were not very serious about... It is a process, recognized process, but it is very difficult for the human being at the present moment. The process is not rejected. Bhagavad-gītā accepts the yoga process. That means the process is recognized. It is a science. But at the present moment, even five thousand years before, it was impossible to be practiced. Now how we can imagine that five thousand years after, it has improved, the condition, so that you can practice this system? No. Therefore they did not, either Arjuna or Kṛṣṇa, both of them, indulge in discussing further on this point. So next point Arjuna is discussing.
Now, in the heavenly kingdom, it is said that our six months is... Six months are equal to their one day. And similarly, they live there for ten thousand years. This description we get from Vedic literatures. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā you have got the duration of life of Brahmā. That is the highest planet. So Kṛṣṇa says that "After... Even if he is a failure, he gets promotion to the higher planets." But in the higher planets you cannot remain for all the time. Kṣīṇe puṇye punaḥ martya-lokaṁ viśanti: "When your pious balance is finished, then you are again fallen in this earth." Kṣīṇe puṇye punaḥ martya-lokaṁ viśanti. Martya-lokam means, this martya-lokam, this earth. Now, even when he comes back here, He says, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, that "He gets his birth..." Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate (BG 6.41). He takes his birth in a family, two kinds of families. One family, śrīmatām. Śrīmatām means very rich family, very rich family.
A sādhu, the first qualification is he must be a staunch devotee of Kṛṣṇa or God. Whatever you say. That is sādhu. That is the basic definition... Religion means to abide by the orders of God. And sādhu means who is staunchly a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. These are the description of sādhu. Therefore sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83) means to associate with devotees, those who are devotees of Kṛṣṇa. That is sādhu-saṅga. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in another place, says: sādhu-saṅga sādhu-saṅga sarva-śāstre kaya, lava-mātra sādhu-saṅga... Sādhu-saṅga sādhu-saṅga sarva... lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya (CC Madhya 22.54). Sādhu-saṅga is very important. If we can associate with real sādhu, means real devotee, unadulterated devotee, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11), then the recommendation is that simply by associating with sādhu all perfection will come. By simply associating... Sādhu-saṅga sādhu-saṅga sarva-śāstre kaya, lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi. So this is very practical. We have got little experience how sādhu-saṅga is powerful. So ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ. First thing is faith.
Then next question is then who is asat? Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇa-abhakta āra. There... He has described who is asat. Strī-saṅgī. Strī-saṅgī means those who are unnecessary addicted to women. Unnecessary. One should be married. One must have children. That is not illicit association. But otherwise... Kṛṣṇa also says: dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmo 'smi. Kāma, lust, sex life, which is not against religious principles, that I am. That kind of lust I am. So dharma... So according to religious system, people should not be cats and dogs or hogs in the matter of sex life. They must have married wife, married husband. And only for nice children, they should unite. These are the descriptions given by the... Viṁśati prakāra dharma-śāstra manu-saṁhitā. Not otherwise.
Therefore it is called gṛhastha-āśrama. Āśrama. The sannyāsa-āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama, vānaprastha-āśrama. Everything is āśrama. We can understand, as soon as this word is used, āśrama, it means there is some spiritual tint or spiritual life. So gṛhastha, that is also spiritual life. One may lie with wife and children, and execute spiritual life. All the associates of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they were all gṛhasthas. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Himself, also was gṛhastha. So to become gṛhastha is not a disqualification. But to live as a gṛhastha according to the injunction of the śāstras, that is required. That, Kṛṣṇa says: dharmāviruddhaḥ kāma, which is not against religious principle, that sort of lust I am. So when Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: asat eka strī-saṅgī, that means one who is not satisfied. His, I mean to say, religious life with wife. That, that kind... He's asādhu. He's asādhu. Kṛṣṇa... Strī-saṅgī and kṛṣṇa-abhakta. He summarizes the description of asādhu in two words. One who is too much addicted to sense enjoyment and one who not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He's asādhu.
So there are many descriptions in many śāstras that one should avoid asādhu and try to associate with sādhu. Then his life will be successful. Because human life is meant for spiritual advancement of life, not for advancement of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is cats and dogs life. Human life means advancement in spiritual life. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). We have to purify our existence. That people do not know, what is impure existence and pure existence. They do not know. There is no education, there is no science. The... Because we do not, do not understand that we are living entities, we are part and parcel of God. God is eternal, so I am also eternal. God is always fresh. I am also fresh. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇaḥ. Although Kṛṣṇa is the oldest person. Kṛṣṇa is ādi-puruṣa. He must be the oldest. But He... Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanam (Bs. 5.33). This is Kṛṣṇa's feature. He is the ādi-puruṣa, the oldest.
Because Bhagavad-gītā was spoken... The narration which we are reading, it is the description of Sañjaya as secretary of Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Just like running from a radio. The play is going on in the auditorium, but you can hear from the room. Just like we have got now mechanical arrangement, similarly, at that time, maybe the same arrangement, but there was no machine. Still, the secretary of Dhṛtarāṣṭra could see what was going on in the battlefield, and he was just narrating to Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was blind. In other sense it may be said that there was television, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, being blind, he could not see, and Sañjaya, his secretary, was explaining what was seen in the television. But this is the position. Anyway, so the conclusion made by Sañjaya was this, yatra yogeśvaraḥ hariḥ. Hari means the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Take for the present Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is a great authority, a recognized, great authority. Oh, He is mad after Kṛṣṇa. He is mad after Kṛṣṇa. Then after Him, His six disciples, Gosvāmīs, the Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, they have written immense literature, valuable literatures—especially Jīva Gosvāmī—volumes of literature on Kṛṣṇa. So... Then, under disciplic succession also, we have come to this point, and if you take past history, bygone, long, long ago, Vyāsadeva, who is known as Vedavyāsa, he has written book, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, on Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is nothing but description of Kṛṣṇa. Vyāsadeva is also writer of Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa and noted down by Vyāsadeva. And he has put this Bhagavad-gītā in the Mahābhārata. So Vyāsadeva accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality. He has, in the Bhāgavatam, he has specifically mentioned, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. He has given description of different other incarnations of God. There are about twenty-five incarnations. In the conclusion he said that ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28), that "All the descriptions that are given of different incarnations, they are partially or part of the partial representation of God, but this Kṛṣṇa whom I have mentioned, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself." He is not part. Cent percent. Cent percent God.
So these are the evidences from revealed scripture. And in the Brahma-saṁhitā also, Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a very old book, supposed to be written by Brahma. It is called Brahma-saṁhitā. In that Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means God. There are many gods, but... In Sanskrit language, about God, there are many demigods, and there is Supreme God. So this Brahma-saṁhitā says, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme God. He is the God of gods." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). "And His body is eternal, and full of bliss and knowledge." This is the description of the body. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Anādi, "He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everyone." Anādir ādir govindaḥ. "And His name is Govinda." Go means senses, and go means cow, and go means land. So He is the proprietor of all land, He is the proprietor of all cows, and He is the, I mean to say, pleasure for all senses. We are after sense pleasure, but our perfection of sense pleasure can be achieved when we reciprocate our pleasure with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore His name is Govinda. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Govinda is the Supreme original Personality of Godhead.
That is the success of life, not to live like animals, simply eating, sleeping, sex intercourse and defense. They are the business of the animals also. If we develop simply in these four principles of animal life, that is not advancement of civilization. The advancement of civilization is tested when a nation or person is interested to inquire about God. That is advancement. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is advancement—how a nation or person is advanced to inquire about God or about himself. God and we, we are of the same quality, because it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. That's a fact. God is the supreme living being and we are also living being, but He is the head, supreme. That is the description in the Vedas:
- nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
- eko bahūnāṁ (yo) vidadhāti kāmān
- (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)
These are the description in the Vedas, that God means that as we are persons, He is the supreme person. That's all. Just like you are also persons, you are also Australians, and the president of the Australian government, he is also a person. He is not imperson. The government may be imperson, but the head of the government is a person.
Description of God. He's nitya. Nitya means eternal. And we living entities, we are also eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). We, at the present moment, in the material condition, we are changing body. That change of body is called death. Actually, the living entity within the body, he has no death. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. This description we have got in the Vedic literature. So God is also nitya, eternal. We are also eternal. God is also cognizant, and we are also cognizant. We have got knowledge, and God has got knowledge. The difference is that I have got knowledge limited within this limit of this body. I have no knowledge what is going on in your body; neither you know what is going on in my body. Therefore, we are individuals. But God is, although individual, He's spread everywhere. That is God.
We marry one wife. Or, in some countries, more than one wife—two, three, four. But when Kṛṣṇa married, He married 16,108. So... And sixteen thousand wives were given sixteen thousand palaces. And each wife got ten children. And Kṛṣṇa also expanded Himself into 16,108. That is God. For us, it is very difficult to maintain even one wife at the present moment. This is the difference. Just try to understand what is the meaning of this word bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence. This is one of the opulences, richness. When Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet, He was so rich that He could maintain sixteen thousand queens in sixteen thousand very costly palaces, made of marble, the furnitures made of ivory, and the beds were made of silk, and each and every room was decorated, bedecked with jewels, glittering jewels, so that at night there was no need of electricity or lamp. These descriptions are there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of Kṛṣṇa's palace, Kṛṣṇa's sixteen thousand wives, Kṛṣṇa's expansion into sixteen thousand forms. This is Bhagavān. Bhagavān means unlimitedly potential. That is Bhagavān.
Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). These are the descriptions of the Vedic literature. Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa's name is cintāmaṇi. Cintāmaṇi means spiritual. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu (Bs. 5.29). These are the Vedic descriptions. Where Kṛṣṇa lives, the place is described: cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). So nāma, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, is also cintāmaṇi, spiritual. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. He is the same Kṛṣṇa, person. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya (CC Madhya 17.133). Caitanya means not dead, but living entity. You can get the same benefit by chanting name as you get personally talking with Kṛṣṇa. That is also possible. But this will be gradually realized. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ. Rasa-vigraha means the pleasure, reservoir of all pleasure.
So here Kṛṣṇa is teaching, Himself, how you can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. The first item, He says: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha. "My dear Arjuna, if you increase your attachment for Me, that is the beginning." And that is the end. That is beginning, and that is end. It is not that beginning is something... Spiritual means it is nothing beginning, nothing end. The beginning and the end, the same thing. If you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa... Because, at the present moment, in our material conditional life, we have no attachment for Kṛṣṇa. We have got attachment for non-Kṛṣṇa. So you have to transfer that attachment to Kṛṣṇa. Attachment is there; simply you have to transfer the object of attachment. So here it is said: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This is yoga. This is meditation. If you are fond of meditation, then you meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, on the form of Kṛṣṇa, playing flute, bluish color, having a peacock on His head. The description is there. Barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam.
So this Deity, description of Kṛṣṇa, is there in the temple, in the book. So if you always simply think of this beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa, that is called perfect meditation. If you simply think of. That is very easy. If you... We are always attracted by beautiful things. So Kṛṣṇa is the most beautiful. So if you meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, then your meditation becomes very easy and perfect. Because Kṛṣṇa has said that yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā (BG 6.47). "Of all the yogis, one who is thinking of Me within himself," mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā śraddhāvān, "with devotion and faith," bhajate yo mām, "engaged in devotional...," sa me yukta..., "he's the first-class yogi." So you can become a first-class yogi at home without any expenditure, without any loss. But you come, become the greatest yogi and achieve the result. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. And we are distributing this system of yoga... We don't charge anything. We are not business man, that we give you something and charge something. Of course, when we give you book, we take, because we have to pay to the printers, to the press man. That is another thing. So far our words are concerned, our service is concerned, we don't charge anything. That is not our movement. That is free.
So we are trying to understand Bhagavān, which is explained by Bhagavān Himself, Bhagavān, God. You cannot understand God, or Bhagavān, by your speculation. Any one of us, our senses are defective. Just like we are very much proud of our eyes to see. Sometimes some rascal says, "Can you show me God?" He does not think that how far his eyes are capable to see, but he wants to see God. Our senses are conditional. So long the electric light is there, we can see. If it is immediately dark, we cannot see. Then what is the value of this seeing? But we are very much proud of seeing. Similarly, we have our defective senses and we accept something which is not fact. That is called illusion. And we commit mistake, every one of us. There is no man in the world who can say, "I did not commit any mistake in my life." That is not possible. "To err is human," it is said. So we have got four defects. We commit mistake, we are illusioned, bhrama-pramāda... Just like we accept this body as myself. "I am this body." "Who are you?" "I am Mr. such and such," "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Englishman," "I am white," "I am black," "I am fat," "I am thin." In this way we give description of our body. But we do not know what I am. This is called illusion. And commit mistake, we have got experience. Many times we have committed mistake, blunder, in our life.
So our only request is the leaders of the society should take up the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā very seriously, learn himself, and teach to others. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not at all difficult; it is very easy. Everyone can do it. But the result will be that as soon as you understand, people understand Kṛṣṇa, janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9), anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa, the result is tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti... After giving up this body he does not accept any more material body; he stays in his spiritual identity and enjoys the society of Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. Gopījana-vallabha. Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana means that Kṛṣṇa is the center. He is the lovable object of everyone. The gopīs, the cowherd boys, the calves, the cows, the trees, the fruits, flowers, the father, mother—everyone is attached to Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. So this is replica, this Vṛndāvana, and there is real Vṛndāvana. This is also real. In the absolute there is no difference. But for our understanding there is original Vṛndāvana,
- cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
- lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.29)
- veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ
- barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam
- kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.30)
This is the description, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
Their body is fiery body. That's all. Just like our body in this planet is earthly body, their body is fiery. Out of the five elements, the fire element is very prominent in the sun planet. But there are living entities. Otherwise how Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1), "First of all, I said this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the sun-god"? If there is no living entity, how Kṛṣṇa says there is a sun-god? And if we are to believe Kṛṣṇa and the Bhagavad-gītā, we have to accept it that the sun globe is not without living entities. It is also the same, just like we have got hundred of thousands, millions of living entities here. So in this way, we have to acquire the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. That is brahma-jñāna, paramātma-jñāna, and bhagavat-tattva-jñāna. And when we realize... Not only hear theoretically, jñānam... That is... Theoretical knowledge is jñānam. But sa-vijñānam, when we actually perceive, when we actually understand what is the position of the Personality of Godhead, that is called vijñānam. Jñānaṁ sa-vijñānam. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ (BG 7.2). Aśeṣataḥ, descriptive, not summarized.
Real happiness is there, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ man-mayā mad ar..., mām upāśritāḥ bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ. These are the descriptions in the Bhagavad-gītā. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ. Vīta-rāga. Rāga means attachment. So we are now attached to this material world. So, by practice one becomes vīta-rāga, no more attachment for the material world. That is possible. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca. If you develop your normal bhakti, or devotional life, that kṛṣṇa-bhakti nitya-siddha sādhya kabhu naya. It has to be awakened. Then you will become vīta-rāga. Bhaya-krodha, and this material world is always fearful. Every living entity is fearful what will happen next. There are, just like at the present moment, everywhere, every time, every, always we are fearful. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād. As soon as we forget our constitutional position and Kṛṣṇa, then an artificial way of fearfulness is created.
We accept Lord Rāmacandra as God, Lord Kṛṣṇa as God, Caitanya Mahāprabhu as God, because They are mentioned in the śāstras, all the incarnations, even this age. One may say that "Lord Rāmacandra is accepted God, Lord Kṛṣṇa is also accepted, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is the greatest devotee of God, but..." There are some persons in the Nimbārka-sampradāya, they put this argument. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu's name is there in the śāstra, many Upaniṣads, especially in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that in the Kali-yuga this incarnation of God should be worshiped. What is that description?
- kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
- sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
- yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
- yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ
- (SB 11.5.32)
Clearly Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣā akṛṣṇam. He is Kṛṣṇa. Or kṛṣṇaṁ varṇayati, iti kṛṣṇa-varṇam.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the most authoritative ācārya of our sampradāya, he has explained like this. Kṛṣṇa-varṇam means always chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇaṁ varṇayati, describing Kṛṣṇa, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." This is description of Kṛṣṇa, addressing Kṛṣṇa. So therefore kṛṣṇa-varṇam, or varṇam means category. Just like brāhmaṇa-varṇa, kṣatriya-varṇa. So in that way kṛṣṇa-varṇa means He is Kṛṣṇa, in the category of Kṛṣṇa. Either you take this meaning or that meaning, kṛṣṇa-varṇam. But Kṛṣṇa is black, and He is tviṣā, by the complexion, akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means not Kṛṣṇa. Now, there are so many colors. So everything is akṛṣṇa. That color, all the colors are mixed together, it becomes black. Otherwise there are many different colors. So akṛṣṇa means different color, "not kṛṣṇa," not black. So what is the actual? That we have to refer to śāstra again, that Kṛṣṇa, in how many categories of color He appears? That is stated in the Bhāgavatam. When Kṛṣṇa was born, then Gargamuni was calculating about His horoscope, and he said to Nanda Mahārāja that "This, your child..." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. Śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. "Your child had formerly white color." White color... Sometimes some critics criticize us that "Kṛṣṇa everywhere He is black. Why in your temple white?" But it is said that śukla, śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ: "Your son had other colors also, white and red and yellow, and now He has assumed blackish color."
So sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. This is the description of the God, Kṛṣṇa, in this age. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). And how to worship Him? What is the process? Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ. That's all. You keep Caitanya Mahāprabhu's Deity and chant and dance—your life is successful. So easy. We are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. That is very difficult. But if we keep Caitanya Mahāprabhu with His associates, this Pañca-tattva, Gaura-Nitāi, Gaura-Gadādhara, or Pañca-tattva, and worship Him according to the śāstra description... The śāstra description is yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ. This is yajña. Life is means for performing yajña. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said yajñārthe karma. You are very busy. Yes, you should be busy always, twenty-four hours. For what purpose? Yajñārthe, not for your sense gratification. That is devotional life. Yajñārthe karma. Karma. We are not dull matter. We have got our flexible hands and legs to work. People think that "These Kṛṣṇa conscious men, Hare Kṛṣṇa people, they are escaping." What is that, escaping? We are not escaping. We are practically taking the real activities. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). Although people see that we do not work, we do not go to the factory, we do not to the mine, we do not go to the so many, so many things, or professional.
Every description is there in the Vedic literatures. Therefore if we learn about Kṛṣṇa, being situated in the daiva-varṇāśrama or having acquired the real qualities of brāhmaṇa, higher or transcendental qualities... Brāhmaṇa qualities means brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. That is nirākāra, of course, but you have to transcend the position of brāhmaṇa and become a Vaiṣṇava. Then you will understand the Kṛṣṇa's form, Kṛṣṇa's qualities, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). Those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, those who are not advanced in Kṛṣṇa science, for them, Kṛṣṇa is covered by the yoga-māyā curtain.
This is one of the description of Bhagavān, Govinda. Kṛṣṇa is Govinda. So govindam ādi-puruṣam. He's the original, primal Lord.
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
- sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ
- sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
- (Bs. 5.1)
So these Bhagavāns... There are expansion of Bhagavān. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Bhagavān has got unlimited number of expansions. It is stated, "Just like you cannot count in the river how many waves are flowing, similarly, you cannot count even how many expansions are there of Bhagavān."
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam (CC Antya 20.12). Ānandāmbudhi... We have no experience that ambudhi... Ambudhi means the ocean. And ānandāmbudhi, the ocean of ānanda, vardhanam, it is increasing. It is increasing. We have no experience that the sea or the ocean is increasing. It is decreasing. So this is ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante. That is ananta ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante satyānande cid-ātmani. That is not jaḍātmā. Here this ānanda is jaḍa, dull. It is not ānanda, material, but cid-ātmani. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29). These are the description. Rāma means one who takes ānanda in the reality, not in the false. So this is the way of understanding Kṛṣṇa. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said,
- siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
- ihā haite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa
- (CC Adi 2.117)
"To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, do not be lazy." "Oh, now I have understood Kṛṣṇa." What you have understood Kṛṣṇa? Therefore we fall down.
So, so this is the process. This bhūmir āpaḥ, this material, it is not a fact. People are so much attached to this material world. That is called ignorance. Mūḍha. They are called mūḍha. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Their knowledge has been taken away. These things will be explained in the later verses, that do not try to take knowledge from imperfect person; take knowledge from the perfect person, perfect Supreme Personality. Who is perfect? God is perfect. And who carries the word of God, he is perfect. This is the definition of perfection. So Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). Matter is produced by Kṛṣṇa's energy. It is not automatically produced. Just like I have given the example that this body, this material gross body, is produced out of the soul which is put into the womb of the mother by the semina of the father. These are... These descriptions are there in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, very nicely, you consult.
The Brahma-saṁhitā... This is the description of the spiritual world. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. There are also buildings, but that building is not like this building, bricks and stone. Cintāmaṇi—touchstone. Cintāmaṇi-prakara. Prakara means houses. Sadmasu kalpa... There are also trees, but those trees are spiritual tree. How? Now, kalpa-vṛkṣa. Here go to a mango tree, you get mangoes, but there to go any tree, you ask for mango or any fruit or anything—it will be supplied. That we cannot imagine, that how one tree can supply everything. Yes, that can because they are spiritual. Spiritual. Just like my disciples, if I say, "Bring mango," so he'll go anywhere and bring mango because he is spirit soul, living. But if I ask this pillow, "Bring mango," it will not be possible. (laughter)
You can claim that you are proprietor of ten crores of rupees or other can claim that "I am proprietor of fifty crores of rupees," and other can claim hundred crores of rupees, but nobody can claim that "I am the proprietor of all the money that is available within this material world." Nobody can say that. Even Brahmā cannot say. But Kṛṣṇa, oh, His description is that samagrasya aiśvaryasya: "All the wealth that is conceivable, He is the proprietor." So any wealthy person, any rich person you see within this material world, it should be understood that a portion of Kṛṣṇa's money has been taken by him. That's all. Nobody can claim that "I am the proprietor of all the money that is here in this material world." That is not possible. So if that man also thinks that "Whatever money I have got, it is Kṛṣṇa's money, Kṛṣṇa's mercy, Kṛṣṇa has mercifully given me this money," then what is his next duty? He should spend it for Kṛṣṇa. That is the proper utilization of money. Similarly, if one is famous, he should utilize his fame for Kṛṣṇa's service. Suppose I am trying to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but if a very famous man tries for it, it will be very quickly spread. That is the utilization of his fame. If a scientist, if he proves Kṛṣṇa's supremacy by scientific law, then his knowledge in science is perfect.
So mayi sarvam idaṁ protam. The example is very nice. Mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva. Just like pearls. The pearls... Take it. Pearl is round, and the innumerable universes are also round. So all these universes are staying... Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4). Kṛṣṇa says. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ. So everything is resting on Kṛṣṇa. In another place He says that "I am sustaining all these planets." Of course, we understand law of gravitation according to our theory, but actually, according to Vedic description, the Saṅkarṣaṇa is sustaining all these planets. So anyway, it is to be understood. Just like the, all the planets are floating in the air in weightlessness... How this weightlessness comes? That is explained here. Mayi, "It is resting on Me." Kṛṣṇa says. Mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva.
That is stated in the śāstra: ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). With our these present senses we cannot understand what is the holy, transcendental name of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore sometimes we are misunderstood, that "Why these people are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?" So... Because ordinary man or ordinary senses cannot understand the value, the nature of the name, therefore śāstra says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi. Nāmādi, beginning from name. We can realize God by chanting name. Because abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). These are the description of the śāstras. Nāma, the holy name of the Lord, is completely spiritual. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇa. He is... Nāma is, name is as good as Kṛṣṇa. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ. Those who are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without any offense, they are tasting spiritual nectarine. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī has written a śloka that "If I could possess millions of ears and millions of tongues, then I could enjoy what is the transcendental mellow in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. But that is not possible for ordinary human being in the beginning.
So the rascals will give all description, but they'll never be prepared to prepare it, to manufacture it. Recently... It is a practical... In California one learned chemical scholar,... He has got Nobel Prize. So he was describing that "From matter, life has come." So there was one student, he's my disciple, Svarūpa Dāmodara. He questioned, "Sir, if I give you all these chemicals, can you produce life?" Then he said, "That I cannot say." But if you know that these chemicals composes life, so when I give you the chemicals, why don't you produce? So simply theorizing. Simply theorizing. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyaḥ (Bs. 5.34).
So here Kṛṣṇa specifically mentions dharma-aviruddha-kāma, sex impulse not against the law of God. What is that sex impulse against the law of God? The law of God is that sex life is required for progeny, for begetting children, not for sense enjoyment. Anyone who enjoys sex life for enjoyment, he is a śūdra or less than śūdra. That is the description in Vedic literature. When Nārada Muni instructed Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja about householder's life, the householder's life, when they beget child, there is a ceremony which is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Not that "I am today very sexually agitated. I must have sex." No. Just like that Kardama Muni. Kardama Muni's wife, Devahūti. Not Devahūti. Aditi or Diti? Hiraṇyakaśipu's mother?
Similarly, we require to eat, we require to sleep, we require to mate, and we require to defend. If these things are done on account of Kṛṣṇa or as enjoined in the śāstra... Śāstra means, as I have already told you, the orders of Kṛṣṇa or orders of God. Sādhu-śāstra-guru. They are the same thing. There is no difference. A sādhu follows the orders of the scriptures. A guru follows the order of the scriptures. And śāstra is description of the Supreme Lord. Just like we are reading Bhagavad-gītā. These are the injunction of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is śāstra. Or anyone who writes in terms of the śāstra, that is right direction. If we speak Bhagavad-gītā as Kṛṣṇa desires, then it is nice. And if we describe Bhagavad-gītā to fulfill our ulterior motives for some purpose, then it is useless. So similarly, Kṛṣṇa said, dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi bharatarṣabha. Those who are not following the principles, how to beget child, or not observing the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra—according to śāstra, immediately the family becomes converted into śūdra. No more brāhmaṇa, no more kṣatriya, if he does not follow. This is very easy to understand. If you do something illegally, against the law, immediately you become a criminal. Similarly, dharmāviruddha. The garbhādhāna-saṁskāra has to be observed. Otherwise we become śūdra, no more brāhmaṇa, no more kṣatriya.
Why such things take place, that a learned man becomes foolish without understanding Kṛṣṇa? Because āsuraṁ bhāvam, because he has accepted the atheistic principle, "There is no Kṛṣṇa. There is no God." Only for this reason, in spite of educational qualification, he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. And because he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, therefore he cannot take to devotional service. These are the descriptions. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). But there are certain jñānīs who are actually sincere to know the Absolute Truth. Such persons, even they may be misled in one life or two lives, three lives, but at the end they come to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is everything. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān (BG 7.19). Here it is said that māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. So long there is influence of māyā, he is lost of real knowledge. But in spite of that, if he makes progress in understanding the Absolute Truth, then, after many births, not in one birth—bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19)—when he comes to the actual point of knowledge, that Kṛṣṇa is everything, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti, prapadyante (BG 7.19), he surrenders. That means to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of all knowledge, all activities, all tapasya, all yoga. If one does not reach that point, then he is simply wasting his time and energy.
In the Purāṇas... There are tāmasika-purāṇas where it is recommended that if you want to eat flesh, then you can get a goat and sacrifice before Goddess Kālī and you can eat that. The purpose is that if a conditioned soul has got the natural tendencies, then why they are mentioned in the śāstras? The idea is... Just like Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha, his mission was to stop animal killing. Ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ. Lord Buddha appeared, being compassionate with the poor animals. Sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam. There is a description of Lord Buddha's activities by a Vaiṣṇava poet, Jayadeva Gosvāmī. He says, praying to Lord Buddha,
- nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ
- sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam
- keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal killing. But because in the Purāṇas there are sometimes regulative principle of killing animal, therefore he had to deny the authority of Vedas, because those who are after killing animals, they will find some clue that "Here in the Vedas the animal-killing is sometimes recommended." But that animal-killing is not a, I mean to say, instigation that "You go on killing animals." You can understand by a nice example. Just like the government opens liquor shop. It does not mean the government is encouraging to drink liquor. It is not like that. The idea is that if government does not allow some drunkards to drink, they will create havoc. They will distill illicit distillation of liquor. To check them, the government opens liquor shop with very, very great, high price. The cost... If the cost is one rupee, government excise department charges sixty rupees.
Now, we have got description of that planet. Because anything, if you want to understand, you have to hear first of all. Just like when, before my coming to your country, I had some experience by hearing: "Oh, America is such and such. New York is such and such." Somebody might have gone there, and he explains that "The climate of New York is like this." So this is by hearing. So hearing is the first experience. Similarly, if you want to get experience of the planet where God lives, then you have to hear. There is no other way. You cannot immediately make experiment. That is not possible. You cannot make experiment even on this material planet. You have no knowledge what other planets are, but you can hear from a description of the scriptures.
So these are the description of the Kṛṣṇaloka. There are many, good many books, especially this book, Brahma-saṁhitā. There is description. So cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. There the houses are made of touchstone. In this way the trees and the cows, they're all... How, what kind they are, what is their quality, and what they, what profession He is engaged—all, everything is there.
So any intelligent man can do it immediately. If one understands that "Ultimately I will have to surrender to the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord is here, personally speaking Bhagavad-gītā, so why not surrender immediately? If ultimately, after many, many births, I have to come to this point, to surrender, so why should I take so much trouble for many, many births? Why not immediately?" So if we take up this principle, this intelligence, then God is realized in one second. But if you don't, then go on with research work for many, many, many, many births. But you have to come to that point. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā (BG 7.19). Vāsudeva, the Supreme Lord, Personality of God, is everything. He is the root. He is the origin of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. These descriptions are there.
Now, there, there are... We have several times explained in this meeting that there, there are two birds: the individual soul and the Supersoul. They're sitting in this tree of this body. So the Supersoul is called adhiyajña. These are all the technical names. You can remember. The Supersoul is called adhiyajña, and the soul is called adhibhūta. Now, Kṛṣṇa says... These technical terms, of course, one should know, but it requires very long description. We have to give our attention with separately for understanding. Generally, we can take out.
Now, the real fact is that why these things are to be known? Now, Lord Kṛṣṇa says,
- anta-kāle ca mām eva
- smaran muktvā kalevaram
- yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
- yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ
- (BG 8.5)
Now here is the critical point. The critical point is anta-kāle. Now, if you go on with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, your, the ultimate result of Kṛṣṇa consciousness... What is the ultimate result? The ultimate result is described here. Now, anta-kāle: "at the time of your death." That is called anta-kāle—now end everything, all our activities, all this proprietorship, everything is now ended. Not end. It is just going to, just at the verge of your point of death... Anta-kāle ca mām eva (BG 8.5). Mām eva. Kṛṣṇa says, mām: "unto Me, Kṛṣṇa." So therefore one who is always, constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, naturally, at the time of his death he'll think of Kṛṣṇa. This is a practice. This is a practice. Just like that King, er, Kulaśekhara. He has got many nice verses about his devotional service, and in one verse he describes about his position.
So this body is neither blissful, neither eternal, nor full of knowledge. It is full of ignorance and full of miseries and not permanent; temporary. So God hasn't got such body. Therefore sometimes it is said in the Vedic literature: formless. Formless means the form which you can conceive at the present moment, God hasn't got that form. But when He descends like you and me, that is His mercy. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). He comes just to..., being visible to our eyes. Just like this picture. This picture is not... It is not to be taken that He's not God, He is picture. The picture of God is also God. Picture of Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa. The sound, name Kṛṣṇa, that is also Kṛṣṇa. But just to give us facility to understand... You do not think that this picture of Kṛṣṇa is painted by some artist's imagination. No. It is not imagination. There is description in the scripture what is the form of Kṛṣṇa.
Veṇu means flute. He is playing on flute. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam. Aravinda means lotus petal. His eyes are so nice, like lotus petal. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam (Bs. 5.30). Barhāvataṁsam means the peacock feather. You'll find Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, He is very fond of this peacock feather. Everywhere you'll find the peacock feather. Barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam. And His color is a cloud, darkish cloud. Asita, asitāmbuda. Ambuda means cloud and asita means blackish. Sundarāṅgam. But still, He is so beautiful... Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam, kandarpa-koṭi (Bs. 5.30). He is so beautiful that He surpasses the beauty of millions of Cupid. Cupid is supposed to be very beautiful. It impels lust, Cupid. So He is many more thousands times beautiful than Cupid. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham (Bs. 5.30). Viśeṣa-śobham. He has got His particular beauty. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. In this way there are description.
So according to the description, these pictures are drawn. It is not imagination. So this form is factual. It is not imagination. The Māyāvāda philosophers, impersonalists, they answer the Bhagavad-gītā's word that kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām... (BG 12.5). One who is attached to impersonal views, their process of meditation or execution of spiritual activities is very troublesome. Now, therefore Māyāvāda philosopher, they say that "God has no form. But because you cannot meditate upon the formless, so you just imagine any form you like." So God is not subjected to your imagination. That is not God's form. If we imagine something... And that has been degraded. Śaṅkarācārya limited such imaginative forms to five only. Five. What is that five? Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, and Sun, and Gaṇeśa, and Devī, Durgā. He limited, that "Any of these five forms you can meditate upon, you worship. And ultimately, it is formless." But at the present moment, unauthorized person has degraded in such a way that "You can imagine any form. You can imagine even stool." They say like that. You see.
So yogis, they have got information. How they have got information? From the scriptures, from Vedic literature, they have got. Just like before I came to your country I got the description of your country from the books, similarly, we can have all the description of higher planets and the spiritual world. They are mentioned there. The yogi know. The yogi knows everything, and he can transfer his self, any planet he likes. He does not require the help of any sputnik. The sputniks, they are trying for so many years, and they will go on trying for one hundred or one thousand years more. They'll never reach any planet. Be rest assured. This is not the process. This is not the process to reach another planet. Maybe, by scientific process, one man, one man or two man can reach, but that is not the general process. The general process is: if you want to transfer yourself any better planet, then you have to practice this yoga system, or jñāna system, not bhakti system. Bhakti system is not meant for any material planet. That will be explained later on.
So if anyone enters into the moon planet by this yogic process, he transfers his soul, transmigrates into the moon planet, he'll get long duration of life. In higher planets, our six months equal to their one day, and such one month, one year, for ten thousands of years they live. That is the description we get. So we get very long duration of life, undoubtedly. But there is death. There is death. After ten thousand years or twenty thousand years or millions of years... That doesn't matter. It is all counted, and death is there. But you are not subjected to the death. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). You are spirit soul. You are eternal. (aside:) You keep the watch here. You are eternal. Why should you subject yourself to this death and birth? This is intelligence. This is intelligence.
This, these are the description of the Kṛṣṇaloka. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu: "The houses are made of touchstone." Touchstone. Perhaps you know touchstone. It's a... A small particle touchstone, if it is touched in the iron beam, it will at once becomes gold. Of course, I do not know if any one of you has seen this touchstone, but there is such a thing. So all the buildings are there of touchstone. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29). The trees are desire trees. Whatever you like, can get. Here from mango tree, you get mango, and apple tree from, you get apple. But there any tree, anything you like, you can have. These are the some, some of the description of the Kṛṣṇaloka.
Then you may ask, "Then why people are so much anxious to go to the other planets?" The description of other planets is there also in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Now, here it is said, "the Brahmaloka." Because there are many yogis and many, I mean to say, philosophers, they aim at being elevated to the higher planets by their yogic process... Why? Because the facilities of life in the higher planets are more than in this planet. The duration of life, the enjoyment and the amenities and everything is better, thousand times better, thousand times better. So people like. Somebody likes that "We shall go to the heavenly planets or this planet, that planet."
Now, here is a nice description of the highest planet of this universe. What is that? Now, sahasra-yuga-paryantam. Sahasra-yuga means... One yuga means forty-three lakhs of years. Then that means 4,300,000's of years. That is the duration of one yuga. And sahasra-yuga... And sahasra means thousand. That 4,300,000 of years, just multiply it by another one thousand. Now we calculate. I am not mathematician. You can calculate what is that duration. So that duration, long duration, forty-three, five zero, into one thousand, that means forty-three, five zero, again three zero. Now, what is that duration? That is calculated to be twelve hours of Brahmā.
So there are many volumes of knowledge of this material sky and spiritual sky. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto, you will find description of the spiritual sky, what nature it is, what kind of people remain there, what is their feature—everything. Even we get information that in spiritual sky there is aeroplane, spiritual aeroplane in the spiritual sky. And the living entities, they are liberated. They travel on the spiritual sky on that plane, and it is so nice, just like lightning. The description is... They travel just like lightning. So everything is there. This is only imitation. This material sky and everything, whatever you see—all imitation, shadow. It is shadow. Just like in cinematographic picture you see the shadow of the real thing behind, similarly, this is only shadow. And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ, yatra tri-sargo 'mṛṣā (SB 1.1.1). This material world is a combination of matter. Just like you have seen a nice girl's doll in the showcase of the shopkeeper's exactly just like a nice, beautiful girl. But that is imitation. Imitation. Every sane man knows, "Oh, this is imitation."
So our aim is, the human life's aim is, to reach that spiritual sky, but they do not know. Bhāgavata says, na te viduḥ: "They do not know that there is reality." There is reality. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know their self-interest, that this human life is meant for understanding that reality and prepare for being transferred into that real reality, not to remain. The whole Vedic literatures instructs us like that. Tamasi mā jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness." This material world is darkness. We are artificially making it illuminated with electric light and fire and so many things, but the nature is dark. But that nature, that spiritual nature, is not dark. That is full of light. Just like the sun planet, there is no possibility of darkness, similarly, every planet there, they are self-illuminated, so there is no darkness. This description we'll get from Bhagavad-gītā:
- na tad bhāsayate sūryo
- na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
- (BG 15.6)
Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "Oh, that spiritual sky, there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity." Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ. Sūrya means sun. Na śaśāṅkaḥ: "Neither moon." Na pāvakaḥ. Pāvakaḥ means fire, electricity. These things are not required there. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: (BG 15.6) "That is My abode. Anyone who goes there, he doesn't come back again." We get eternal life.
Now we begin the Ninth Chapter. We have finished the Eighth Chapter. We are beginning the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā. Śrī bhagavān uvāca. The Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is speaking. Śrī Bhagavān. I have several times described what this word bhagavān means. Bhaga means "opulence," and vān means "who possesses." So bhagavān. There is... Everything has definition. So in the Vedic scripture we'll find the definition of God. We have got some conception of God, but in the Vedic literature you'll find definite description, what do we mean by "God." That what do we mean by "God" is described in one word: Śrī bhagavān. Bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means "one who possesses."
These are opulences. Aiśvarya means opulence and... Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya. Vīryasya means strength. And yaśasaḥ. Yaśasaḥ means fame. And aiśvaryasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ. Śriyaḥ means beauty. And jñāna. Jñāna means knowledge. And renunciation, vairāgya. Renunciation. These six opulences, when you find presented in a personality in full, He is God. He is God. That is the description of God. You have many rich men here in your New York City, but nobody can claim that he is the richest of all, he has got all the riches of the world. Nobody can claim. But if you find somebody who claims that "All the riches of the world or the universe belongs to me," He's God. He is God, just like Kṛṣṇa claimed.
Because Bhagavān means... Every word has got meaning. Bhaga means opulence. So one of the opulence is nobody is wiser than Him. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). Bhagavān means one who possesses six kinds of opulences, richness, aiśvaryasya samagrasya, total richness. You are rich, I am rich, he is rich, but nobody can claim that "I am the only rich," or "Nobody is richer than me." That is not possible. But if you find somebody who is the richest—nobody is richer than him—then he is God. Then he's God. God is not so cheap thing that in every street, every village, there is incarnation of God. Don't accept that. You must know what is meaning of God. At least we followers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we do not accept such cheap God. The God's description is there in the śāstra. Just like one of the description is given in the Brahma-saṁhitā,
- yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya
- jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ
- viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.48)
So that is meaning of God. And this God, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is partial representation of Govinda. Viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajā... So sometimes cheap gods in the Western country. They cheat you. But God is not so cheap. This is one of the description of God, that within the breathing period of God, Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is not directly God—He is an expansion of God, Mahā-Viṣṇu—the total material energy is being created an annihilated. That is God. So that aiśvaryasya samagra. This is one opulence. If we possess one house, we become very opulent. If another possesses two house or three house... Now, here, in the breathing period of God, there are innumerable universes. You cannot calculate what is the opulence. One universe you cannot calculate. The one universe you are daily experiencing. What is the position of the sun? What is the position of the moon? What is the position of other planets? You cannot calculate. And there are innumerable universes. And that is depending on the breathing period of God. So we say, "God is great." We should try to understand how great He is, not that the Dr. Frog's greatness, no. That is not greatness, no, my calculation, "God may be like this. God may be like that." You have to understand about God from the authorized person who knows things as they are. Then you can also know.
This has been decided. Nṛpa-nirṇītam. It is already considered and decided. So any part... Suppose Bhagavān means the supreme rich. Supreme Being means everything supreme. In richness He is supreme. In bodily strength He is supreme. His knowledge is supreme. In beauty He is supreme. In renunciation He is supreme. That is the description, definition of God, that He must be supreme in every respect. Therefore He is called Supreme Being in the dictionary. Nobody can be rival to Him. Asamaurdhva. Asama means equal. Nobody is equal to Him. If I become equal to Him, how He can become Supreme? If there is rivalry between the Supreme, then there is not meaning of Supreme. Supreme means there is no rivalry. He is the Supreme, means nobody is greater than Him; nobody is equal to Him; everyone is under Him. That is called Supreme. Asamaurdhva. Nobody can be sama. Sama means equal. If I am God, and another competitor God, you are also God, then neither I am God nor I am God. There cannot be any competition. That is called Supreme. So Arjuna is to that position. He does not challenge Kṛṣṇa that "There is another Supreme Being than Yourself." There cannot be. But sometimes we foolishly challenge. That is our foolishness. But God is always Supreme. So therefore this is the qualification of understanding confidential knowledge about God. Anasūyave. Pravakṣyāmy anasūyave.
Everyone should come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is his viewpoint. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. When one is qualified in that way, then mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). Lord Kṛṣṇa says "Then he becomes eligible for becoming a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa." So practically this process, under regulative principles, is not very easy, especially in this age. In this age, the description of the people are that prāyeṇa alpāyuṣaḥ: "Their duration of life is very short." And prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ mandāḥ. Manda means very slow. Sleeping, out of twenty-four hours, sleeping twelve hours, and out of twelve hours, they're busy in earning money ten hours. Then two hours left. What he can do for spiritual understanding. There's no time. So mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And if somebody has got some intention to make spiritual progress, then there are so many pseudo-spiritual, I mean to say, societies. They're entrapped by some of them. So manda-matayaḥ, sumanda-matayaḥ, manda-bhāgyāḥ: "And most of them are unfortunate, unfortunate." Most of them. If you count the population, take a statistic, they are so unfortunate that the primary principles of life—eating, sleeping, defending and mating—they haven't got sufficient arrangement. Oh. These are only primary principles. They are available even in animal life. But in this age even these primary principles... No one has got shelter, no one has arrangement for eating nicely, no one has got the mating or wife, and everyone is afraid of "When there will be war declared, and I'll have to go to the warfield?" This is the position.
These ślokas, these description, are not of the material world. Just like this word, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. In the spiritual world, in the..., the houses are made of cintāmaṇi stone. Cintāmaṇi stone you cannot have here. Maybe, but we have no experience. But cintāmaṇi stone means touchstone. If you take that stone and touch in iron, it becomes gold. That is cintāmaṇi. So cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu. The vaikuṇṭha-loka, goloka vṛndāvana, is made of houses, there are. Nirviśeṣavādī, śūnyavādī, they cannot understand that in the spiritual world there are also houses, there are also gardens, there are also rivers, there are also cows. They cannot understand, because they are in the tamaḥ, in this darkness of material world. They are disgusted with this material world. They want to make it zero, nirvāṇa. They want to make it zero. No. Why zero? The Bhāgavata said, nirasta-kuhakam. Nirasta-ku... Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi, janmādy asya. Actually, this material world is born out of the reflection of the spiritual world.
These are the description.
So there is spiritual world. There is spiritual world. And there is spiritual body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, Kṛṣṇa, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). So all this to be learned through bhakti-yoga. We cannot learn by speculation. That is not possible. That is jaḍa-vidyā, jaḍa-vidyā. It is rāja-vidyā. Jaḍa-vidyā will not help you to understand Kṛṣṇa. That will not help. No. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, jaḍa vidyā sab māyāra vaibhava. By advance of material science you are simply increasing the paraphernalia of this māyā, illusory energy. Jada-vidyā, māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. The more one become materialistic scientist, he, he defies God: "That is not. We, we believe in science, believe in science." But what is your science perfection? That is a different subject matter. But the difficulty is, at the present moment especially, the more one becomes advanced in this material knowledge, he becomes atheist. He becomes disbeliever. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, jaḍa-vidyā yata māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. It is simply hindrances. anitya saṁsāre moha janamiyā jīva ke karaye gadha. Every word has got meaning.
Similarly, there is test paper. What is that test? That test is, Kṛṣṇa says, the supreme authority says, that na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ āsuriṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. So anyone who is not surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, he must be duṣkṛtinaḥ. Duṣkṛtinaḥ means he has got brain, but his brain is being utilized for sinful activities. So duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, and rascal who does not know anything—what is God, what I am, what is this world—he's a rascal. He's animal. Mūḍhāḥ means ass. As ass does not know what is God, what I am, what is this world, what is our relationship, what is this universe, nothing, no knowledge—mūḍhāḥ—and narādhamāḥ, narādhamāḥ means human being is especially meant for understanding this philosophical aspect of life, but one does not care. He is simply acting where to eat, where to sleep and where to get woman, and that's all. That's his business. This is mūḍhāḥ. This is the business of hogs and dogs. So therefore, mūḍhāḥ, duṣkṛtinaḥ, narādhamāḥ, these description was there.
So if we can go back to home, back to Godhead, there is no darkness. It is all illuminating. It is stated in the śāstra that there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, there is no... Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). In the spiritual world there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity or fire. That is the description. Here in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ. We cannot imagine how without sun, without moon, without electricity, without fire, one can live. Yes, but there is a world like that. You do not require sunshine. You do not require. They are all illuminated. So that is uttamam. Udgata tama yasmāt, the Sanskrit word, "from which the darkness is completely eradicated."
Prabhupāda: Yes, astrology. Astrology. There is planetary system. It is the Vedic system. You can see at night. The whole planetary system is moving like this, bunch of tree. And in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham (BG 15.1). This, it is just like a big tree, and the root is upwards and the branches and fruits downwards. This is the... The Pole Star is the center of this root of this planetary system. So you read our books, Fifth Canto, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You will get full description.
Guest (1): I'm sorry... You were talking about the higher planets?
Prabhupāda: Yes, don't you see higher planetary system? The sun planet, the moon planet. They are not higher on your top? There are many others, many others, millions. These are prominent. According to the Vedic system, the moon planet is higher than the sun planet. So these descriptions are there in the Fifth Canto. I shall request you to read them to understand.
Guest (1): Thank you.
Guest (2) (man): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when Kṛṣṇa is perfect and complete in Himself, so why are there individual minute living entities? If Kṛṣṇa is perfect, surely there would be no need for smaller living entities.
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Gurukṛpā: If Kṛṣṇa is perfect and complete, then why does He need little entities like us?
Prabhupāda: So a high-court judge, why his son becomes a loafer?
To chant Hare Kṛṣṇa or in ecstasy, dance nicely and dancing, dancing, when you become hungry and tired, take nice prasāda. What is the difficulty? By this process they are becoming devotees. There is no need of discussing higher philosophy or becoming a mystic or magician or juggler or bluffer or cheater, nothing. Simply accept this simple process. You come here and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and automatically you'll be ecstatic. Because this Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is not ordinary sound. It is spiritual sound. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, golokera prema-dhana hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This sound, just like you receive sound from distant place, in radio. Similarly, this sound is not produced in this material world. It is brought from the spiritual world. Golokera prema-dhana. There in the spiritual world there are eternal liberated devotees. They are so much ecstatically enjoying simply by chanting and dancing, the descriptions are there, that there is no sex life.
In this way God is situated. Antar bahiḥ. He is situated outside, He is situated inside also. Kṛṣṇa says... This is quite reasonable, otherwise how He is God? Just like I am here, you are here, but you are not in your apartment. You are absent from your apartment. But God, God means He is in his apartment and He is everywhere. That is God. The rascals, they claim that "I am God." What kind of God you are? Are you everywhere spread? So you should not accept such cheap God. God's description is there in the śāstra. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭim (Bs. 5.35). One part, one portion is Paramātmā, the Supersoul. In His Supersoul feature He is present in innumerable universes. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. Jagad-aṇḍa means the universe. It is just like an egg. They are aṇḍa. Aṇḍa means egg. The form is like egg. So there are millions. So to maintain the millions and millions of universes by His one portion, Paramātmā, He is spread. He is called Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. It is a great science. God expands Himself in so many ways, and for the material world He is expanded as puruṣāvatāra: Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. He's expanding like that. Causal Ocean.
These are the description in the Vedic literature. So we have to learn. You cannot by your tiny effort with limited power, limited sense, I mean to say, perception, you cannot speculate. You have to understand from authoritative statements. That is called Veda. Vedas means knowledge which is perfect knowledge and if you study Vedas, then you get perfect knowledge of everything. And the cream of the Vedic knowledge is here in the Bhagavad-gītā. So if you read Bhagavad-gītā carefully, then you get all the knowledge very perfectly. Here it is said, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā. And that expansion, that impersonal expansion, avyakta, not manifested... You cannot see God in person in this expansion. Therefore sometimes we foolishly say that "Can you show me God?" God is there. You have to make your eyes to see. Just like God is here in the temple but somebody is thinking that "This is not God. This is a statue or an idol. They are worshiping idol." Supposing it is idol, but if God is everywhere, why He is not in the idol? What is the argument? If God is everywhere, then why He is not idol? God has the power. And actually this is not idol. This is God's energy. The same example: The sunshine is everywhere, so originally sunshine is the cause of everything.
"Those who are mahātmā..." Mahātmā means one who has enlarged his heart, enlarged his heart: "Oh, everything belongs to God, and I also belong to God." He's mahātmā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha: (BG 9.13) "My dear Arjuna, these mahātmās, they are not in, under the control of this material nature." One who can think that "Everything belongs to God, and I also belong to God. Therefore the supreme proprietor is God. Everything should be engaged in His service..." This is the qualification of mahātmā, broader. "God is great," and his heart is also has become great for serving the great. He's mahātmā. Mahātmā, not a stamp, a political leader, mahātmā. Don't misunderstand. "I stamp you mahātmā by votes, and you become God. You become mahātmā." These are not accepted in Bhagavad-gītā. Mahātmā's description is there, that mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ: (BG 9.13) "He has taken the shelter of the superior, spiritual energy."
So pṛthaktvena and viśvato-mukham. Viśvato-mukham means the universal form. Just like it is stated in the śāstras, the hills, oh, they are bones of God. The trees and grass and, I mean to say, vegetation, vegetation, they are just like hairs on the body of the Lord. So the, the ocean is the navel of God. In this way there are description. The highest planet, Svarga, Brahmaloka, oh, that is the head of God. The lowest planet, Pātālaloka, that is, I mean to say, sole of the God. These things are described, the whole universal form. So somebody prefers the universal form, somebody prefers that "All, everything, whatever we see, it is God," and somebody prefers that "I am God." So these are different methods of appreciating God. But they're also accepted because they have taken into the line. They are better than who are just like animals, simply eating, sleeping and defending and mating. But those who have taken either of these, jñāna-yajñena, pṛthaktvena, and viśvato-mukham...
Tapāmy aham. Now, what is this sun. Tapāmi. He is giving heat? Who is heating? The Lord is heating. You cannot manufacture a sun. Tapāmy aham ahaṁ varṣam. And the rain. You cannot regulate rain. That is in God's hand or God's management. If there is no rain, you cannot make rain, or if there is over-rain, you cannot stop. Tapāmy aham ahaṁ varṣaṁ nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi: "And if I want, I can give trouble to the whole population of the world." Nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi. He can... "If I want to annihilate them, in a moment I can do that." Amṛtaṁ caiva mṛtyuś ca sad asac ca aham arjuna. Amṛtam: "If I like, I can give you eternal life." If we approach God, eternal life, there is guaranteed. And if we don't like, then go on, the cycle of birth and death. Mṛtyuṁ cāmṛtaṁ ca sad asac ca aham arjuna. Sat. Sat means the spiritual energy, and asat means this material energy. "Because both energies are God energies, therefore these energies are also God, Arjuna." This description is given by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna about His personal position, God's position. So we have to learn from Bhagavad-gītā directly spoken by the Supreme Lord and accept it and do accordingly. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We think of Kṛṣṇa: He is everything, or God is everything. So let us become submissive and prosecute this, the process of devotional service. That is the way of happiness. That is the way of perfection. Thank you very much. Any questions? (end)
Now just see. Take any common man. Not yourself, not myself. Any common man. If you ask him that, "What you are?", he'll say... His conception is that I am this body. Everyone will say. He'll give you some description that, "I am Christian." "I am Hindu." "I am Mr. Such and Such." "I am Mrs. Such and Such." Everything, whatever he or she will say, that is all due to this body. All due to this body. Everyone. When you say, "You are American," that means this is the body. Because by accident, by something, by some reason, you were born in this land of America. That is also another artificial name. The land is neither America nor India. The land is land. But we give some designation, "This is America." We make some boundary. This is United States of America. This is Canada. This is Europe, and this is Asia. This is India. So this is our name, but actually was there any history that the land is American, or the land...? Say, four hundred years before, or five hundred years before, was this land was known as America? You have named it, America. Say, some thousands of years before was this, this, the continent which is known as, I mean, Europe, can you trace out history, that it was known as Europe? They are all designations.
So na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ prabhavaṁ na maharṣayaḥ aham ādir hi devānām: (BG 10.2) "I am the original... I am the source of all these maharṣayaḥ, all these demigods." He's the father of everyone. Maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ: "I am not only the origin of these demigods, but I am also the origin of all these great sages." That means He is the origin of this universe. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is very nicely described how this universal form took place and how Brahmā was created and from Brahmā the ṛṣis were created, how population increased generally. These descriptions are there. So actually He is the origin. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). As it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra, everything is emanating from Him.
This description we have got in several Vedic literatures, Brahma-saṁhitā and Vedānta-sūtra, Bhāgavata, in Purāṇas, in Upaniṣad. Everywhere these descriptions are there. Those who are scholarly student, they'll get information, and the whole thing is summarized in Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā is known also as Gītopaniṣad. At the end of every chapter you'll find these things are written, gītāsu or upaniṣatsu. It is one of the Upaniṣads. You have read Upaniṣad. The Bhagavad-gītā is also one of the Upaniṣads, and therefore Bhagavad-gītā is known as Gītopaniṣad.
Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva and san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām. San-mukharitām means just try to hear about the glories of the Supreme Lord from the mouth of realized souls. Don't go to the unauthorized persons. Now, how you can know what is the difference between unauthorized and authorized? That you can know also. There is description. That, in Bhagavad-gītā you'll see, who is authorized, who is not authorized. The Lord says, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). This authority is handed over by disciplic succession.
Just like a big man. A big man is sitting in his office. He wants to do something. Some business man has come, talking, and he wants to sign. He simply pushes one button, and everything, agreement and everything, comes immediately signed. So because his management is so perfect, his business is so perfect that so many men are working in his office. He has to simply desire, pushing a button, and everything is accom... Similarly, we have to understand. These are the Vedic description, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva: "The Supreme Lord has got multi-various energies. They are acting. He hasn't got to do anything personally." Just like a big man in establishment, he hasn't got to do anything personally. But he has got so many energies, so many servants, secretaries, that everything is done quick, at once.
Just like we have got a fixed time for the sunrise. Everyone knows that in the morning at 6:30 there will be sunrise. That is certain. Similarly, in the śāstras there is description when Kṛṣṇa comes down, descends in this universe. In one day of Brahmā at the end of Dvāpara-yuga... Brahmā's days are described in the Bhagavad-gītā, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). Forty-three lakhs of years multiplied by one thousand becomes one day of Brahmā. So forty-three lakhs thousand times, add another forty-three lakhs times thousand—this is the period after which Kṛṣṇa comes.
Of course, when there is something, talks about God, it is taken as religious. So religious, the meaning of religion in the English dictionary is different from what we mean by religion, that in the dictionary it is said, "Religion is a kind of faith." Faith may be wrong or right, but religion cannot be wrong or right. Religion must be correct. That is the meaning of religion. the example is that the sugar is sweet. It is not the question of wrong or right. Sugar must be always sweet. You cannot change it. That is religion. Chili is hot. That is correct. Chili cannot be sweet, and sugar cannot be hot. So religion means that. Religion described in the Vedic śāstras is said, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: (SB 6.3.19) "Dharma means..." The plain description of religion is "the code, or the laws, given by God." Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).
Devotee: "Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are."
Prabhupāda: Tat kṣetram (BG 13.4). Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate (BG 13.2). So Kṛṣṇa has already explained, kṣetra means idaṁ śarīram. Śarīram means this body. Tat kṣetram. First of all, you have to understand that this body or any field of action, anywhere, the three things are there: the field of activities, the owner of the field and the supervisor of the field. You can check and tally anywhere. So Kṛṣṇa says kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi. There are two kṣetrajñaḥ and one kṣetra. One field of activity and two personalities, kṣetrajñaḥ. One is to be supposed as occupier and the other is supposed to be the owner.
Nitāi:
- tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca
- yad vikāri yataś ca yat
- sa ca yo yat prabhāvaś ca
- tat samāsena me śṛṇu
- (BG 13.4)
Translation: "Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are."
Prabhupāda: So yesterday we had been discussing about the questions put forward by Arjuna,
- prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva
- kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jñam eva ca
- etad veditum icchāmi
- jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava
So to some extent we have discussed from where we have to receive knowledge, perfect knowledge, without any mistake, without any illusion. Our knowledge... We are possessing four defects: we commit mistakes, we are illusioned, our senses are imperfect, and we have got a cheating propensity. We are possessing these four defects. However great a man may be, he makes mistake in calculation. "To err is human."
This is statement of Brahma-saṁhitā. And in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Again it is said, rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu, kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yaḥ (Bs. 5.39). We have got description of many avatāras, incarnation. So they are Kṛṣṇa's expansion, by Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, Matsya. There are so many incarnation. But kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ paramaḥ pumān: "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person." In this way accept Kṛṣṇa, the origin of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Kṛṣṇa also explains,
- ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
- mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
- iti matvā bhajante māṁ
- budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
- (BG 10.8)
Nitāi: "Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are."
Prabhupāda:
- tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk ca
- yad vikāri yataś ca yat
- sa ca yo yat prabhāvaś ca
- tat samāsena me śṛṇu
- (BG 13.4)
We have discussed that this body is the field of activity. We are acting according to the body. I am the same person, but when I had my boyhood body or childhood body, I was acting differently. This child, they are acting now some way, but when they will get another body, they will act in a different way.
Pradyumna: Purport?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) That is mentioned here. The central point of process of knowledge is mentioned here, Mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicariṇī. One has to be fixed up on this point. There are eighteen different description of the process of knowledge, but the central point is mayi ca. Mayi ca. Ca means... That is the main point. Without Kṛṣṇa, if you simply try to become elevated in knowledge, that will not stand. That will not stand. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says mayi ca. Mayi cānanya-yogena. Ananya-yogena means without any deviation. Ananya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī. Without any deviation. Avyabhicāriṇī means without any disturbance. Ananya-bhakti. In another place Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk.
Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya. People claim. Some rascal claim, "I am God." So here is a description of God. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ means Brahmā. You have understood Brahmā's duration of life. Sahasra-yuga-paryantam arhad yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). The Brahmā's one day, twelve hours, you cannot calculate. Sahasra-yuga-par... Yuga means forty-three lakhs of years and multiply it by one thousand, and then it comes to be twelve hours of Brahma's ayuḥ. Such Brahmā lives only...yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya (Bs. 5.48). Mahā-Viṣṇu is exhaling and inhaling. When he is inhaling, so many Brahmas are going within, and when He is exhaling, so many Brahmās are coming, means so many brahmāṇḍas are coming. This is the position.
So this is the description of Vedic literature. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). That will be described. Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda vida jñāne. Vid-dhātu. From vid-dhātu, the word Veda has come, which means knowledge. There are different kinds of knowledge, and all kinds of knowledge you can get perfectly from the Vedas. There is Dhanur-veda, Āyur-veda, Ṛg-veda, Sāma-veda, different branches of Veda, but the objective of studying Vedas means to understand Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvaiḥ. All kinds of Vedas. Any book of knowledge. There are different types of book of knowledge. So if by studying the books of different types of knowledge one comes to the understanding of knowing the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, then his knowledge is perfect.
Prabhupāda: That's all right.
Indian man: It's not connecting.
Prabhupāda: Now here is the description of the asuras as stated by Kṛṣṇa. There are two classes of men, asura and deva. Daiva and āsura. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved deva asuras tad-viparyayaḥ. The devas, devatāloka... (aside) Don't talk.
Indian man: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: No... And whatever it may be, why you are interpreting? You stop. In the upper planetary system, beginning from the sun, there are Sūryaloka, Candraloka, Maṅgala, Bhūr, Bṛhaspati, up to Saturn, there are different lokas. So the upper planetary system, beginning from Sūrya, they are called devaloka. They are all devotees of the Lord; therefore they are called devatā. They are not pure devotees, but they are not disobedient to the orders of the Supreme Lord. Śuddha-bhakta means they do not come to the material world. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11), the śuddha-bhaktas, nitya, nitya-siddha, they do not come to this material world. They are everlastingly liberated soul, engaged in the service of Nārāyaṇa. This material creation is exhibition of one-fourth energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The three-fourth creation is in the spiritual world, Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
So people are surprised. They do not believe that they are... But dhīras tatra na muhyati: Those who are dhīra, sober, intelligent, they understand, "Yes, there is dehāntara-prāp..." The example He's giving, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). Just like we are changing body, kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, similarly, the old body, "old order changes to a new." Again we get another body. And this is very, very great botheration of life. They do not understand. But it can be stopped. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). It can be stopped. How? Simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). You simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself. Where is the difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa? You haven't got to speculate. You haven't got to manufacture ideas what kind of Kṛṣṇa He is. He is present, dvi-bhuja-muralīdhara-kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa when He was present in the, upon this earth, everyone has seen. Kṛṣṇa has His temple, thousands and millions of temples, Kṛṣṇa. You can see His picture. Description is there, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam, in the Vedic literature.
These demons, further description... Yesterday we discussed that "The world is untruth, this material world is untruth," asatyam apratiṣṭham, "and there is no background." This is the conclusion of the atheist demons. We have explained that this world is not untrue. That is our Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Untruth... If it is coming from the truth, it is true. How you can say untrue? The example: if cotton is truth, then thread is true. So if you say that thread is untruth, then cotton is also untruth, the cause. But they do not accept... (aside:) This child... Some sound is coming.
Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). So mahātmās... Mahātmās means those who have realized God, not this politician mahātmā, no. Mahātmās' description is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ: (BG 9.13) "They are under the spiritual energy." They are not under the material energy. They are not mahātmā. They are demons. So we are describing about the demons. Under the spiritual energy, one can understand his position, his relationship with God. Therefore it is said, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). And what is the sign? Bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā mām, avyayam. Their business is bhajana. Bhajana means bhakti. Bhaj-dhātu. From bhajana, bhakti and bhajana, bhakti, bhaj-dhātu. Bhaja sevanam. Bhaj-dhātu means offering service, rendering service. So bhakti, bhajana, bhakta, bhāgavata—they are coming from the same root, bhaj-dhātu, Sanskrit. Those who know Sanskrit... So this is the sign of mahātmā. Bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ: "Without any deviation, without any other occupation, they are always engaged in devotional service."
Therefore, accepted, God is accepted as the original father. The Christian, they go to the original father: "O Father, O God, give us our daily bread." So we also accept. That is the godly conception. That is the beginning of religious conception. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). What is dharma, religion? It is the codes given by God. That is dharma. Just like the state, the government, gives law: "You have to do like this. Keep to the right." You have to keep your car to the right. This is law. You cannot say, "Why not to the left?" You cannot say. Then you are criminal. Similarly, there are codes and description in the śāstra what God wants. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā God said that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: (BG 5.29) "I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices, all tapasya." You are engaged in some research work, tapasya, for what purpose? Now, finding out some deadly bone. A very big scholar, very big research student... So that is called asura. He has got some scientific knowledge, but he's busy to find out a nuclear weapon, how to kill other enemies. This is the research work. No. That is demonic. The same knowledge can be utilized for finding out God. That is mahātmā. This is the difference.
The description of mukti is given in the Bhagavad..., Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: muktir hitvā anyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). That is mukti. Mukti means if you give up the artificial endeavor to become predominator and become situated in your original position, being predominated. Artificially... Suppose a woman is trying to become man artificially, how long it will go on? How she can be happy? That is not possible. Actually, in the Western countries at least we see that the woman class, they want equal rights with men. And there is. There is no distinction. But it is my experience, the woman class, they are not happy in the Western countries. And still in our country, although we are so fallen, still our woman class remains satisfied. Being predominated, they are happy. They are happy. That is my practical experience. So I do not wish to discuss this point very much, but according to our Manu-saṁhitā, it is said that women should not be free.
| Page Title: | Description (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 27 of Mar, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=166, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 166 |