Prabhupāda: In the previous verse, Arjuna said that, "There is no profit in this fighting, because the other side, they are all my relatives, kinsmen, and by killing them, even if I become victorious, so what is the value?" That we have explained, that such kind of renouncement sometimes takes place in ignorance. Actually, it is not very much intelligently placed.
So in this way, evam uktvā, "saying this, 'So there is no profit in fighting,' " evam uktvā, "saying this," hṛṣīkeśam . . . He is speaking to the master of the senses. And in previous verse he has said, śiṣyas te 'haṁ prapannam (BG 2.7): "I am Your surrendered disciple." So Kṛṣṇa becomes guru, and Arjuna becomes the disciple. Formerly they were talking as friends. But friendly talking cannot decide any serious question. When there is some serious matter, it must be spoken between authorities.
So hṛṣīkeśam, I have several times explained. Hṛṣīka means the senses, and īśa means the master. Hṛṣīka-īśa, and they join together: Hṛṣīkeśa. Similarly, Arjuna also: guḍāka-īśa. Guḍāka means darkness, and īśa. Darkness means ignorance.
- ajñāna-timirāndhasya
- jñānāñjana-śalākayā
- cakṣur-unmīlitaṁ yena
- tasmai śrī-guruve namaḥ
- (Śrī guru-praṇāma)
Guru's duty is . . . a śiṣya, a disciple, comes to the guru for enlightenment. Everyone is born foolish. Everyone. Even the human being, because they are coming from the animal kingdom by evolution, so the birth is the same, ignorance, like animal. Therefore, even though one is human being, he requires education. The animal cannot take education, but a human being can take education.
Therefore śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate vid-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). I have several times recited this verse, that now . . . in the lower than human being condition, we have to work very hard simply for four necessities of life: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Sense gratification. Main object is sense gratification. Therefore everyone has to work very hard. But in the human form of life, Kṛṣṇa gives us so much facilities, intelligence.
We can make our standard of living very comfortable, but with the purpose of attaining perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You live comfortably—that's all right—but don't live like animals, simply increasing sense gratification. The human effort is going on how to live comfortably, but they want to live comfortably for sense gratification. That is the mistake of the modern civilization. Yuktāhāra-vihāraś ca yogo bhavati siddhiḥ (BG 6.17). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said yuktāhāra. Yes, you must eat, you must sleep, you must satisfy your senses, you must arrange for defense—as much as possible; not to divert attention too much.
We have to eat, yuktāhāra. That's a fact. But not atyāhara. Rūpa Gosvāmī has advised in his Upadeśāmṛta:
- atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca
- prajalpo niyamagrahaḥ
- laulyaṁ jana-saṅgaś ca
- ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati
- (NOI 2)
If you want to advance in spiritual consciousness—because that is the only objective of life—then you should not eat more, atyāhāraḥ, or collect more. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamagrahaḥ. That is our philosophy.
The other day in Paris one press reporter came to me, the Socialist press. So I informed him that, "Our philosophy is that everything belongs to God." Kṛṣṇa says—what is that?—bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29): "I am the enjoyer, bhoktā." Bhoktā means enjoyer. So bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ. Just like this body is working. The whole body is working, everyone's, to enjoy life, but wherefrom the enjoyment begins? The enjoyment begins from the stomach. You have to give sufficient nice foodstuff to the stomach. If there is sufficient energy, we can digest. If sufficient energy, then all other senses become strong. Then you can enjoy sense gratification. Otherwise not possible. If you cannot digest . . . just like we are now old man. We cannot digest. So there is no question of sense enjoyment.
So sense enjoyment begins from the stomach. The luxuriant growth of the tree begins from the root, if there is sufficient water. Therefore the trees are called pāda-pa: they drink water from the legs, the roots, not from the heads. Just like we eat from the head. So there are different arrangement. As we can eat from the mouth, the trees, they eat from their legs. But one must eat. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. Eating is there, either you eat through your legs or your mouth or your hands. But so far Kṛṣṇa is concerned, He can eat from anywhere. He can eat from hands, from legs, from eyes, from ears—anywhere—because He is complete spiritual. There is no difference between His heads and legs and ears and eyes. That is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā:
- aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti
- paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
- ānanda-cinmaya-sadujjvala-vigrahasya
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.32)
So as in this body our sense enjoyment should begin from the stomach, similarly, as the tree begins developing luxuriantly from the root, similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), root. So without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without pleasing Kṛṣṇa, you cannot be happy. This is the system.
Therefore how Kṛṣṇa will be pleased? Kṛṣṇa will be pleased that . . . we are all Kṛṣṇa's sons, God's sons. Everything Kṛṣṇa's property. These are fact. Now, we can enjoy taking prasādam of Kṛṣṇa, because He is the proprietor, bhoktā, enjoyer. So everything should be given first to Kṛṣṇa, and then you take the prasādam. That will make you happy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Bhuñjate te aghaṁ pāpaṁ ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt (BG 3.13): "Those who are cooking for eating themselves, they are simply eating sins." Bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpaṁ ye pacanty ātma . . . yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko' yaṁ karma . . .
Everything should be done for Kṛṣṇa, even your eating. Anything. All sense enjoyment, you can enjoy—but after Kṛṣṇa has enjoyed. Then you can eat. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's name is Hṛṣīkeśa. He is the master, master of the senses. You cannot enjoy your senses independently. Just like the servant. Servant cannot enjoy. Just like the cook cooking very, very nice foodstuff in the kitchen, but he cannot eat in the beginning. That is not possible. Then he will be dismissed. The master first of all must take, and then they can enjoy all the nice foodstuff.
So Kṛṣṇa is the master of the senses. The whole world is struggling for sense gratification. Here is the simple philosophy, truth, that "First of all let enjoy, let Kṛṣṇa enjoy. He is the master. Then we enjoy." Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā, the Īśopaniṣad. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1): "Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa." This is the mistake. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, but we are thinking, "Everything belongs to me." This is illusion. Ahaṁ mameti. Ahaṁ mameti. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This is illusion.