Sarva-dharman means

Expressions researched:
"Sarva-dharman means"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 4.24 -- Bombay, April 13, 1974:

Just like if you go very high with your airplane.... Just like they are trying to go to the moon planet. Because they are not getting any shelter, they are coming back again. And if you are going to the moon planet, why you do not stay there? But they cannot stay there. Similarly, this so-called Brahman realization, or Brahman, actual Brahman realization, that will not help. You must stay somewhere. That is the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavam. We have to take shelter. That is aim, paramaṁ guhyam. "You take shelter of My lotus feet." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is Kṛṣṇa, advise.

Not.... Sarva-dharmān means there are so many system of religion. But any system of religion, if it does not lead you to the platform of devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is defective. Therefore Bhāgavata says, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That is first class system of religion.

What is that? Which teaches one how to become unalloyed, unflinching devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is first-class. All others, they are defective. Sometimes they are described as cheating. Like in the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). Kaitava means cheating. So anything going in the name of religion, but it is cheating, that is rejected here. Dharmaḥ projjhita. Projjhita means prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa ujjhita. Just like when you sweep with a broomstick, you cleanse all the dust, throw away, similarly, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the beginning it is said that cheating type of religious system is completely swept away. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2).

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- Caracas, February 24, 1975:

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the word mukti, or liberation, is stated. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam defines mukti as this: muktir hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, means mukti means giving up, giving up our unreal engagement and to be situated in the real original characteristic engagement. For our original characteristic, that we are eternal servant of God, Kṛṣṇa, if we are situated in that platform or eternal platform, serving Kṛṣṇa, that is mukti. Mukti means give up the false conception of life and take the real conception of life. That is mukti. So Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā gives mukti in these words, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Sarva-dharmān means all kinds of these bogus religious system. You... Sarva-dharmān parityajya. Otherwise why He is advising parityajya, "Give it up."? Because it is bogus; it is cheating. The real dharma is mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: "Only surrender unto Me." Mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. Yes. This is religion.

Lecture on SB 2.9.14 -- Melbourne, April 13, 1972:

So Nārada Muni advised, tyaktvā sva-dharmam: "You give up all these occupational duties according to the modes of nature. Tyaktvā. You take immediately shelter of Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). Sarva-dharmān means all kinds of this dharma: brāhmaṇa's dharma, or the kṣatriya's dharma, or the... Give up all this. Then? Mām ekaṁ śaraṇam. So Nārada also says that same thing. That is the characteristic of devotee. What the Lord says, the devotee will say. He will not make any addition, alteration, and amalgamate and comment. No. He will say the same thing. Kṛṣṇa says that "You surrender unto Me, giving up all your occupational duty." Nārada also says that "Suppose one gives up his occupational duty and surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead," tyaktvā sva-dharmam caraṇāmbujaṁ harer (SB 1.5.17), "takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality." All right. It is very good. "But I am afraid if I fall down." Nārada says "It is all right." Bhajann apakvo. While you are discharging your devotional service even being immature you fall down, it doesn't matter even if you fall down. Bhajann apakvo 'tha. Apakva means nonmature. Patet tato yadi. He falls down from the path of devotional service. Yatra kva vā abhadram abhūd amuṣya kim: "What is the loss there?" And those who are sticking to their occupational duty... Ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ, "If one, one sticks to his occupational duty, but he does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, does not take to devo..., what does he gain?"

Lecture on SB 3.25.44 -- Bombay, December 12, 1974:

Tīvreṇa means very seriously, not superficially. Tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena. Kṛṣṇa wants to see that "Whether he has finished his all material desires?" Then He is very much pleased. He says, sarva-dharmān paritya... Sarva-dharmān means we have created so many dharmas. That is not dharma; that is... Dharma, we generally become so-called religious for artha, for money. Dharma-artha. Artha, money, is required. Why? For sense gratification, kāma. And when we are dissatisfied, then we want mokṣa. Therefore, we are actually busy with four kinds of activities: Dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). And above these, when we go above these, then bhakti begins. That is the beginning of bhakti. That wanted.

Lecture on SB 3.26.20 -- Bombay, December 29, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). This sarva-dharmān means everyone has got a particular type of occupational duty. That is called sva-dharma. Generally, the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, they have got particular type of duties. And as Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya: (BG 18.66) "You give up your brāhmaṇa-dharma, or kṣatriya-dharma, or vaiśya-dharma or śūdra-dharma, or Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, this dharma, that dharma." Sarva-dharma means everything. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). If we are little inclined, that is called..., that is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ (SB 1.5.17). He gives up all other duties: "I am no more any followers of any dharma. I am followers of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet." If this determination is there, then everything is possible.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.1 -- Mayapur, March 25, 1975:

Just like you offer your devotion, respects, to guru. So that respect is offered to Kṛṣṇa. Guru also does not think himself that he is Kṛṣṇa, but he collects the devotional services of the disciples to offer to Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. We cannot approach Kṛṣṇa directly. We should approach through guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). That is the injunction of the śāstra, that one should approach the guru who can transfer the service from the disciple to the Supreme Person. So... Therefore the first offering is guru, vande gurūn. Then guru creates many devotees. Guru's business is to canvass on behalf of Supreme Lord. That is guru's business. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), so, "You give up all material, engage..." Sarva-dharmān means in the material world we have created so many so-called duties. This is our material disease. People are interested in material engagements and they have created different varieties of engagements. Sociology, communism, and this "ism," that "ism," philanthropism, altruism, internationalism, nationalism—many, many duties they have created. That is all material. Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy... (children crying) Stop that children. Out of His causeless mercy, He comes, He descends. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). Glānir, this is glānir. Human life is meant for one thing, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about the Supreme Absolute Truth. But instead of doing that, they have created so many "isms." That is their misfortune.

General Lectures

Lecture to International Student Society -- Boston, December 28, 1969:

People are engaged in various types of occupational duties for sense gratification. Sometimes in religion they say you'll go to heaven. What is that heaven? That is also sense gratification. You'll live so long years, you'll have so many beautiful wives and so many things, so many things. All flowery language. What is the basic? Sense gratification. That's all. This is one way. Another way is nivṛtti-mārga. When one has seen perfectly that "This process of sense gratification cannot give me actual happiness," then they began to give it up. Just like the Māyāvādī philosophy. They say brahma-satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "This world is false." Just like in your country, a section of youngsters, they're disgusted with this materialistic way of life. They have taken to the hippies' path. Why? It does not give satisfaction, but they do not know the right way. They have taken a wrong way, hippies. So this is called accepting and rejecting. So Kṛṣṇa says, "You have to give up all this nonsense accepting and rejecting. You have to take to Me, then you'll be happy." Sarva-dharmān. Sarva-dharmān means some religious occupation is for sense gratification and some religious occupation is rejection of this material world. So we have to give up both these, the acceptance and rejection. We have to accept the Kṛṣṇa's path, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Surrender unto Me." Then we'll be happy.

Lecture -- Gorakhpur, February 17, 1971:

Now argument may be forwarded that if the simple process, simply by chanting the holy name, one becomes liberated, then why there are so many śāstras, manyadini? Manu is supposed to be the leader of giving all śāstras. There are twenty kinds of śāstras, dharma-śāstra. Vimsati dharma-śāstra. So what is the necessity of these dharma-śāstras? Actually, there is no need of dharma-śāstra. Kṛṣṇa also says the same thing. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). There are twenty kinds of dharma-śāstras, religious principles, in the Vedic literature, beginning from Manu, Parāśara, and other great, great sages. So here, Śrīdhara Swami is also putting forward the argument that if simply by chanting the holy name of God, one becomes liberated—even mahātmās also, they have to take to this process—then why, what is the necessity of so many, twenty kinds of dharma-śāstras? So from the conclusion of various Vedic literatures, there is no need of studying even the dharma-śāstras. Otherwise, why Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66)? Sarva-dharmān means the dharma-śāstra also. Simply surrender. But people are so rigid and so, I mean to say, doggish, that they do not like to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. For them only, so many different ways of convincing. Otherwise, the whole purpose is to induce him to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vidyam. Kṛṣṇa says. All these Vedic literatures, they are meant for bending the stubborn atheist to come to this point. Therefore there are so many ways of... Otherwise, the ultimate goal is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and chant His holy name.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: But he does not know what is the sva-dharma. Sva-dharma, that is for the lower stage. Sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyaḥ. You have got a brahminical body. All right, discharge your duties as brāhmaṇa. But he's not doing that.

Guest (5): So he's not performing his sva-dharma.

Prabhupāda: No!

Guest (5): And that's why it is dangerous for him.

Prabhupāda: It is dangerous. He's already... A brāhmaṇa is doing śūdra's business. Therefore this stress has been given. You have become brāhmaṇa- like, you do like, act like brāhmaṇa. Janma-karma, uh, guṇa-karma. So you have got good qualification of the brāhmaṇas. Now act like brāhmaṇa. Then your life is succ... Varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). You act as a brāhmaṇa and satisfy the Lord, Supreme. Varṇāśramācaravatāṁ puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān, viṣṇur ārādhyate (CC Madhya 8.58). If you strictly act as a brāhmaṇa or as a kṣatriya, as a vaiśya, as a śūdra, it doesn't matter. Sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). If, by your action, as it is described in the śāstra, the Supreme Lord is satisfied, then your life is successful. But they are not doing even sva-dharma, bodily. Therefore the ultimate solution is sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). Even sva-dharma. "Just surrender unto Me. I'll give you protection." Sarva-dharmān means sva-dharma, including, that "You have to give up your sva-dharma. Don't... You cannot act as a brāhmaṇa, you cannot act as a kṣatriya, neither you are brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. All right, whatever dharma you have got, give it up. Just surrender unto Me. I'll give you protection." Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etām... This is the protection.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Later. All other dharmas are cheating.

Dr. Patel: Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja.

Prabhupāda: This is dharma.

Dr. Patel: Sarva-dharmān means all other vocations, I would say. Dharma means whatever vocation... Is one of the interpretations. "All vocations you leave and come to Me only and be My bhakta." That is... I would... Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).

Prabhupāda: Yes. God is great. We are small. The small business is to serve the great. That is going on everywhere.

Dr. Patel: And mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja means "You do work according to My dictate. That is My śaraṇam."

Prabhupāda: This is śaraṇam, not that you remain independent from śaraṇam. No.

Dr. Patel: That means you obey the infallible laws of God.

Prabhupāda: God says man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī mām. This is dharma.