Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says three times, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Three times means giving too much stress. Just like we sometimes say, "You do this, do this, do this." That means no more denial. Finish all stress. So as soon as one thing is three times stressed, that means final. So Śaṅkarācārya says, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. Mūḍha, mūḍha I've several times explained. Mūḍha means rascal, ass. You are depending on your grammatical understanding, dukṛn karaṇe. Dukṛn, these are grammatical affix and prefix, pratya, prakaraṇa. So you are depending on this verbal root, that verbal root, and creating, interpreting your meaning in a different way. All this is nonsense. This dukṛn karaṇe, your grammatical jugglery of words, will not save you at the time of death. You rascal, you just worship Govinda, Govinda, Govinda. That is the instruction of Śaṅkarācārya also. Because he was a devotee, he was a great devotee. But he pretended to be an atheist because he was to deal with the atheists. Unless he presents himself as an atheist, the atheist followers will not hear him. Therefore he presented Māyāvāda philosophy for the time being. The Māyāvāda philosophy cannot be accepted eternally. The eternal philosophy is Bhagavad-gītā. That is the verdict. Go on.
That is the verdict (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"that is our verdict"
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|"this is our verdict"
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Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Therefore this paramparā system, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). "The Blessed Lord said that 'I said to Vivasvān. Vivasvān said to Ikṣvāku. Ikṣvāku said to Manu. Manu said to his son.' " In this way, rājarṣi. Rājarṣi. Formerly the kings were taken instructions, the head of the state, because they were responsible for the citizens' spiritual life, not only material prosperity but spiritual prosperity. That is the verdict of Vedic literature.
Now, dharma, everyone is executing his particular occupational duty very nicely. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. I am speaking the organized society, not this animal society as at present. Even organized society, a brāhmaṇa is discharging his duties just like a brāhmaṇa. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). Still... Dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ, he is very nicely executing his duty as a brāhmaṇa, but by executing such duties, if he does not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then śrama eva hi kevalam. This is the verdict. Then he has wasted time. Because to become brāhmaṇa, perfect brāhmaṇa, means to know Brahman. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. And the Para-brahman, Supreme Brahman, is Kṛṣṇa. So if he does not understand Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of his executing this brāhmaṇa's duty? That is the verdict of the śāstra. Śrama eva hi kevalam, simply wasting time.
Kṛṣṇa is existing in innumerable universes. Kṛṣṇa is existing everywhere; still, He's avyayātmā. From the original Kṛṣṇa, although He has expanded into millions and trillions, unlimited, still, He's avyaya, without any minus. It is not like that we have got some bank balance, and if it is taken away millions times, then it is finished. No. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. This is Kṛṣṇa. This is the verdict of the Vedānta. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam idam, pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate (Īśo Invocation). Everything which is emanating from Kṛṣṇa, that is complete. There is no deficiency. Everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The Absolute Truth... That is Absolute Truth.
And so long one does not reach to this point, surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he's a rascal. That's all. Mūḍha. Na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ, duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). That is his qualification. One who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, then he is duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ... "No, no. He's M.A., Ph.D." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. His knowledge has no value. Useless. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. Śrama eva hi kevalam. That is the verdict of the śāstras.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
Simply laboring for nothing. So this is called anartha-nivṛttiḥ. Jñāna-tapasā. Then niṣṭhā. "Oh, I must fix up." Then ruci, taste increases. Tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ athāsaktiḥ.
But in the śāstras it is said that if you chant the name of Viṣṇu, Viṣṇu-sahasra-nāma, by chanting one thousand times Lord Viṣṇu's name is equal to one name of Rāma. And by chanting three times the name of Lord Rāma it is equal to one name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the verdict of the śāstra. So when we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Rāma is there already, three times. It is not that because we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa we are neglecting Rāma, no. With each Kṛṣṇa name there are three times Rāma name. That is the verdict of the śāstra.
Besides that, we are chanting also Hare Rāma. Hare Rāma and Sītā-Rāma the same thing. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa or Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, there is no difference. This is also rāma-nāma, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. In the śāstras it is recommended, Agni Purāṇa, Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad, the
- Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
- Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
[My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.
So there is great need of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. People are so fallen. They are reluctant even to hear about this Bhagavad-gītā, where everything is explained. They are living like animals. So it is our duty to awaken them. That is the Vedic injunction. Vedic injunction is to awaken. They are sleeping. Ignorance... Just like when a man sleeps, he is ignorant of everything, what is going on outside. He is sleeping, deep-sleeping. So therefore the Vedic injunction, Upaniṣads says, uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata: "Please get up. You have got this human form of body. Now you get up and get out of these clutches of cycle of birth and death." Unfortunately they have become so dull that they cannot understand. So people should be trained up how to live conscientiously, especially in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That will solve the problems of life. Otherwise he is committing suicide. That is the verdict of the śāstra.
God must be all-attractive. It is not that God is attractive for a certain class of men and not attractive for others. You will find the picture of Kṛṣṇa. Here is Kṛṣṇa's picture, and there are many other pictures also. Here is also. He's attractive to the animals, He's attractive to the trees, He's attractive to the flowers, He's attractive to the water, and what to speak of human beings. He's attractive; therefore His name is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. So if any suitable name can be assigned to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of the Vedic literature. Now Kṛṣṇa says, "If you develop your attachment for Me," mayy āsakta-manaḥ pārtha, "My dear Arjuna..." Mayy āsakta-manaḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. It is a yoga, yoga system. You have heard the name of yoga system. There are different kinds of yoga systems, but the foremost and the topmost yoga system is to develop your attachment or constantly being in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is first-class yoga.
So bhagavān uvāca. We don't say anything which is not spoken by Bhagavān, the Supreme. We don't manufacture concocted ideas, dogmas. No, that is not our business. One should not do that. But if you speak what Bhagavān has said, what Kṛṣṇa has said, that is perfect. Bhagavān means the supreme complete, the possessor of all opulences. Aiśvarya means riches, strength, influence, beauty, knowledge, renunciation. These are called aiśvaryas. So you try to find out who is that person who possesses all these things, bhaga, in complete. If you are inquisitive, if you are actually philosopher, then you will find Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). That is the verdict of the Vedic śāstra. Kṛṣṇas tu... We are searching after Bhagavān, or God. We simply try to understand that God is very great. That's fact. But how great He is, that has to be known. That is called knowledge of God. Now we cannot think of that one person can become the proprietor of all the riches and wealth of the world. But unless we accept it, he is not God.
According to the association of particular type of modes of nature and working in that way, it makes a division of the human society. That is required. For upkeep of the human society in order, according to the quality and work there must be division. But that is not that division as we are thinking at the present moment in India—a man is born in the brāhmaṇa family, he is brāhmaṇa. No. He must have the brahminical qualification. That is first consideration. Śamo damaḥ satyaṁ śaucam ārjavaṁ titikṣā, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). That is the verdict of the śāstra. Not by birth. Birth is a facility. If you have the opportunity to take birth in a brāhmaṇa family, then you have got the best opportunity to acquire the brahminical qualification. Just like a person born as the son of a medical man, from the childhood he is learning all the medical terms and how his father is treating patient. So before entering medical college he is half medical man. That is the facility.
So to know God, God, He is personally giving instruction how to know God. Kṛṣṇa says, bhagavān uvāca. Here it is not, Vyāsadeva is not speaking, Kṛṣṇa says. Because sometimes Kṛṣṇa is misunderstood; therefore Vyāsadeva writes or says in this connection, bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān means the fully opulent, samagrasya. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya: He is the most powerful, the supreme rich, supreme wise, supreme beautiful and at the same time supremely renounced. These qualification makes one Bhagavān. So kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). That is the verdict of Vedic literature. So īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Bhagavān is also sometimes called Parameśvara. Īśvara means the ruling power or the personality who controls. So everyone of us, we have got some controlling power either in the society or family or community or government or international. Everyone has got some capacity to control, but nobody is supreme controller. Supreme controller means that He is no more controlled by anyone. Other controller, they are controllers, but they are controlled by somebody else. But Kṛṣṇa is not that kind of controller. He is the supreme controller means He controls everyone but nobody has above Him to control. Therefore He is called Parameśvara. Īśvaraḥ means controller.
These siddhas, those who are self-realized, athāto brahma jijñāsā... Even if he thinks that "I am the supreme," that is partially in the... That is also light. Just like if you come to the sunlight, sunshine, that is also light, but that is not perfection. If you can go within the sun globe and see the origin of shining, brightening principle, the sun-god, that is siddhi. Similarly, to merge into the Brahman is not siddhi. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Actually, it is a fact. Bhāgavata, whatever it says, that is real fact. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. If one thinks that "Now I am merged in the brahma-jyotir, so I am now vimukta. I am now mukta. I am now liberated," so that Bhāgavata says, "He is thinking like that, he's liberated. He is not liberated." Vimukta-mānina. Just like if I think am millionaire, does it mean I have become millionaire. I am not millionaire. Vimukta-mānina. Why? Tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because these persons who are thinking that he has become liberated, their buddhi is not yet cleansed. Aviśuddha. Śuddhāśuddha. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ, vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvāt. Asta-bhāvāt. No information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is thinking that the Absolute is imperson. Therefore, asta-bhāvāt, he has no information of the Supreme Person.
So here Kṛṣṇa says that "There is nobody greater than Me." That is the verdict of all ancient Vedic literatures. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, the same thing is confirmed, that kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). There is a list of different incarnations of God. In that list Lord Buddha's name is also there. Lord Buddha's name is described: kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati. Buddho nāmnāñjana-sutaḥ kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the Lord Buddha's name is mentioned as future incarnation. Bhaviṣyati, "will appear." Kīkaṭeṣu, "in the province of Gayā."So this is called śāstra. Because Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was composed five thousand years ago and Lord Buddha appeared 2,600 years ago... Therefore five thousand years ago Lord Buddha's case was in the future. Therefore it is said bhaviṣyati, "He will appear." This is called śāstra. Trikāla-jña. Śāstra writers, they are not ordinary men. Just like Kṛṣṇa is speaking. He is not ordinary man. Nobody will be interested so much if Bhagavad-gītā was written by ordinary man. It was spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was recorded by His incarnation, Vyāsadeva.
There are different kinds of incarnations, avatāras—śaktyāveśāvatāra, guṇāvatāra, manvantarāvatāra, yugāvatāra. Many incarnations. And in the Bhāgavata it is concluded that the Lord's incarnations are so numerous that you cannot count. Just like if you sit down on the bank of a river, you cannot keep an account of the waves, how many waves are passing, similarly, there is no account how many incarnations are coming out from Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is above all. Here Kṛṣṇa personally says, and it is confirmed by all the sages, authorities, formerly by great sages like Nārada Muni, Vyāsadeva, Asita, Devala, and in the modern age by all the ācāryas: Śaṅkarācārya, Madhvācārya Rāmānujācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī—so many other ācāryas—Lord Caitanya. Everyone accepts that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can you deny? We have to be guided by the ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who follows the principles of ācāryas, he knows the things as they are. That is the verdict.
So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Person. Kṛṣṇa is the original of everything, original source of everything. That is the verdict of the... Therefore Arjuna accepted; sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yad vadasi keśava: (BG 10.14) "My dear Kṛṣṇa, whatever You are saying, I accept Him, accept all these in toto, not deducting, not giving my own commentation." This is the way of studying Bhagavad-gītā. So if you study Bhagavad-gītā as it is, as it is said in the..., and if you accept it, then your life is successful. Otherwise, panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām (Bs. 5.34), you'll never understand what is God or what is ultimate source, what is Absolute Truth.
So we are brahma, that's a fact. The Veda stresses on this point, that you realize yourself that "You are not this body. You are brahma, spirit soul." That is wanted. That is brahma bhūta (SB 4.30.20) state, when one understands that "I am not this body. So long I am thinking in bodily concept of life, I am no better than the asses, animal." That is stated.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke
- svā-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Go-kharaḥ. Anyone who is in bodily concept of life, he is no better than animal, like cows and asses. This is the verdict. So therefore, whence when we are in the animal consciousness of life, there is no possibility of getting Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So this jñāna and vairāgya can be achieved simply by becoming a devotee of Vāsudeva. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ, janayaty āśu vairāgyam (SB 1.2.7). Āśu vairāgya, very soon. Just like these boys, these American, these European boys, they are young men. Now they have taken sannyāsa and dedicated their life for service of Kṛṣṇa. They are vairāgya. They are coming from opulent nation, very rich men, rich nation. Their parents are very rich. There is no scarcity of food. There is no scarcity of money. There is no scarcity of women in the western countries. But they have left everything. Simply boys. They are all within thirty. How much a young man may have propensities for enjoying this material way of life! And when there is facilities. But how they have taken to it? This is the proof.
Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. That is the verdict all... Just like Vyāsadeva, the giver of the Vedic knowledge, he says, bhagavān uvāca: God says. So we have to follow that. So kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. (aside:) Don't do that.
And this perception, kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānam. If we can understand what is kṣetra and what is kṣetrajñam. Kṣetra means field of activities. There are field of activities in so many ways. Not only of this body; body, mind, intelligence. They are all kṣetra. I am living entity, I am working with them. Similarly, I am working outside also. Not within, not outside.
Kṛṣṇa says that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). There is nothing superior than Kṛṣṇa. That is, if you accept that, then you immediately advance fifty percent in spiritual knowledge, immediately, if you simply accept this, that Kṛṣṇa said that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). And that is the verdict of the śāstra.
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
- sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ
- sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
- (Bs. 5.1)
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.
And we are using everything without utilizing for Kṛṣṇa's purpose; therefore it is material. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, stena eva sa ucyate: (BG 3.12) "He is thief. He is thief." Yañārthāt karmano 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). As one man is criminal because he does not satisfy the state... What is the position of a criminal person? Because he disobeys the laws of the state, he is criminal. That is the distinction between a good citizen and a criminal citizen. One who does not obey the laws of the state, he is criminal. So everyone who does not obey the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is criminal. Stena eva sa ucyate. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, or God, is materialism, and not to use things for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction is criminality.
Yes. This is the central point. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanāḥ sarvair guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ. All the qualities of the demigods, sura... Sura and asura. Sura means demigods or gods, and asura means demons. So if one becomes devotee of Kṛṣṇa... Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanāḥ. Akiñcana. Pridelessness. Akiñcana. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Akiñcana-gocara. He can be understood by akiñcana, one who thinks himself as very humble, meek. That is also said in the Bible, that one has to become meek and humble. Then he can understand. And that is also Kṛṣṇa demanding, that "First surrender. Become humble and meek." This is the verdict of all Vedic śāstras.
But actual knowledge means to come to the point of knowledge one has to acquire these qualifications. But if one at once takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness as it is stated, mam ca vyabhicarini. What is that? Mayi ca ananya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī. Bhakti-avyabhicāriṇī. vyabhicāriṇī means mixed with other things. There is karma, jñāna, yoga, and bhakti. So there are, everything must be with bhakti; otherwise there is no success. Even if you are a karmī, you must add bhakti. Then you'll be successful. Yat karoṣi yat juhosi yad aśnāsi kuruṣva mad arpanam (BG 9.27). This is karma-yoga. You may be a businessman, you may be engineer, you may be whatever you may be, it doesn't matter. But bhakti must be there. Then you are successful. If you are devoid of bhakti, then it is useless, waste of time. That is the verdict of the śāstra.
These are called varṇāśrama-dharma. So in every varṇa, brāhmaṇa, his qualification is described in the śāstra. Śamo damas titikṣā ārjavaṁ kṣāntir jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). Similarly, kṣatriya, vaiśya. So by discharging one's occupational duty according to varṇa and āśrama, if one does not understand Kṛṣṇa, the Bhāgavata says, śrama eva hi kevalam. Then he's simply spoiling his time and wasting his labor. That's all.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
This is the verdict of Vedic literature. He's simply laboring for nothing. One must know Kṛṣṇa-viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ. Viṣvaksena, another name of Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, is viṣvaksena-kathā. Just like we are speaking about Kṛṣṇa, nobody is interested to come here. Nobody is interested. Viṣvaksena-kathāsu notpādayed ratim. They will say, "Oh, I am busy with my occupational duty." But the human form of life is meant for increasing your interest in the matter of viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ. This means kṛṣṇa-kathā.
So one of the thieves is saying, "Sir, let us divide it honestly. Let us divide the booty honestly." Now, their basic principle is dishonesty, and now they want to divide honestly. So all these rascals, politicians, they are all dishonest, and they are trying to make adjustment honestly. Honestly. What is this honesty? There cannot be honesty. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord, he cannot be possessing any good qualities. That is not possible. He must be dishonest if he is a not devotee of the Lord. He must be dishonest. This is the verdict of the śāstras.
- yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
- sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
- harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
- mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ
- (SB 5.18.12)
Because one who is not in the transcendental plat... (break) So this material nature is also eternal. It is not... As the Māyāvādī philosopher says, "It is mithyā," jagan mithyā, we don't say. Why it is mithyā? It is fact. Because Kṛṣṇa says that bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). Kṛṣṇa says, "It is My prakṛti, My energy." If Kṛṣṇa is fact, why His energy should be mithyā? This is nonsense. The jagat is not mithyā. We don't say. If Kṛṣṇa is truth, then this world is also truth. But the fact that Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer, we are trying to be enjoyer, that is not true. That is mithyā. The jagat is not mithyā, but the propensity to enjoy this world, that is mithyā because we cannot be enjoyer.
So there are two kinds of muktis. So far sāyujya-mukti is concerned, that is not very sure. What is this sound? (thumping sound like drum or machine in background) Sāyujya-mukti, one who takes liberation of merging into the existence of the Supreme Absolute Truth, that is not very secure position because they may fall down again to the material world. That is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). These impersonalists, after undergoing severe austerities... To come to the Brahman platform, impersonal Brahman platform, that is also not very easy. One has to undergo severe austerities. Tapasya. Nothing can be achieved with(out) tapasya. Any kind of liberation cannot be achieved without tapasya. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. You cannot make it very easily accessible, but for this age it is easily accessible. Because the people are not so advanced, therefore śāstra gives them a little concession.
Nitāi: "They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and that there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust."
Prabhupāda:
- asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te
- jagad āhur anīśvaram
- aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ
- kim anyat kāma-haitukam
- (BG 16.8)
This is the verdict of the asuras. We have discussed the characteristics of asuras for the last two days. Now, gradually, Kṛṣṇa is explaining the demonic characteristic. He has explained the divine characteristic extensively before this. Now He is explaining what are the demonic characteristics. So, nāpi cācāraḥ. They even do not know how to live nicely. That verse we have already discussed last night.
If you desire to go to the planetary systems of the demigods, you can go. If you want to remain here, in this Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, you can remain. If you want to go to the Pitṛlokas... Just like according to our Vedic system, there is pitṛ-tarpaṇa. You know, all. By offering pitṛ-tarpaṇa, you can be promoted to the Pitṛloka. This is the idea. Similarly, if you want to go to the Supreme Planet, yad gatvā na nivartante (BG 15.6), the abode of the Supreme Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana or Vaikuṇṭhaloka, you can go. So if we want actually promotion of life, I mean to say, established life, eternal life, and eternal body, sac-cid-ānanda, and eternal blissful life of knowledge, then you must worship Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Another point is that it doesn't matter. I don't say that your religion is cheating or my religion is bona fide. I don't say that. We have no right to say that. I want to see... "I" means, we are Bhāgavata. We are representative of bhāgavata-dharma. Or Bhāgavata wants to see. Any religion you may profess—it doesn't matter—I want to see whether you have got the result of religion. The result of religion is you will love God. That is result of religion. If you have become actually lover of God, then your religion—it doesn't matter whatever religion you profess—that is perfect. But if instead of developing your love for God, you have developed love for so many nonsense things, then you have simply wasted your time. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So they have no problem. You can see, in the early morning, these parrots, they are dancing, chirping, and they have no problem. Immediately they will go to some tree and they will find out some little fruit. They will eat. Their eating problem... There is no eating problem. There is no sleeping problem, and there is no sex life problem also. Along with them, there is opposite sex. And they defend in their own way. So these are not actually problems. These are already settled up according to your body. That is the verdict of the śāstra. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā. According to your body, your eating problem, your sleeping problem, your sense gratification problem and defending problem are already settled. That is the verdict of the śāstra. Your real problem is, as our Pañca-draviḍa Mahārāja explained, how to solve the problem of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. That is your problem.
Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ, whatever we see, whatever there is, they are all emanation from God. That is the verdict of Vedānta-sūtra also. Simple. If you want to know what is God, the Vedānta-sūtra informs us very, in two words, very simple, "God, or the Absolute Truth, is that who is the source of everything." Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The original source from whom everything is coming, He is God. Very simple definition. Anyone can understand. If you find out... That is our inqu... Philosophy means to inquire, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to enquire.
So even one executes his sva-dharma very nicely, but if he does not develop his Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). This is also simply spoiling the life. On the other hand, Nārada Muni gives his opinion, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ (SB 1.5.17), "If one gives up his occupational duty and takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa," caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ, "so even he is not mature and falls down from the devotional service on account of so many reasons, still, he is not loser, whereas a person who is executing his occupational duties very nicely, but he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he doesn't get anything. He's loser." Ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ. Sva-dharmataḥ, keeping in his own position as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, if he is executing his duties very nicely, but has not developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is to be understood that he has lost everything. This is the verdict of śāstra.
A dog is also thinking like that. If human being also thinks like that, then what is the difference between cats and dogs? He may be very much proud that "I am discharging my duties very faithfully," but here Bhāgavata says, dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena kathāsu yaḥ, notpādayet: "If you do not develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you are simply wasting your time." This is the verdict.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is simply trying to educate people that "Don't waste your time. Just try to awaken your dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness." The Kṛṣṇa consciousness is there within you; simply you have to awaken. And what is the process? That awakening will take place simply by chanting and hearing. Śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya.
So this is the way. And this life is meant for that purpose. That is the advice of the Vedas. Vedaiś ca sarvaiḥ... (break) So Arjuna is inquiring from Kṛṣṇa, and He says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). So Bhagavad-gītā is real Vedānta. And if one understands Bhagavad-gītā as it is, he is really Vedantist. Veda means knowledge, and anta means the last word. So last word of knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). If one does not understand Kṛṣṇa and does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he is simply uselessly wasting his time. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata it is said, kāmasya nendriya-prītiḥ. Kāmasya nendriya-prītir lābho jīveta yāvatā (SB 1.2.10). Simply take so much as you will need, not for sense gratification. That is the process. Don't take more, don't take less. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya. Śāstra does not advise you that you starve, unnecessarily you starve. No. Kṛṣṇa has condemned one who unnecessarily starves. You take foodstuffs. But don't take anything which is forbidden. Take kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam (BG 9.26). Don't try to satisfy your senses. The senses will be satisfied. There are so many varieties of food, kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That you will... These Europeans and Americans, they used to take meat. Now if you give them, bribe that "You take again meat..." Because they have learned to cook so many nice foodstuffs. Ask any one of them. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā. When you get better thing, nivartate, then you give up which is not very good.
Another example is: just like if you see a mountain. Just like surrounding your this place, Tirupati, there are so many hills. From the distant place, your vision is not clear. You simply see something like cloudy, the same mountain. But if you make little further progress, you see the same mountain or hill greenish. And if you actually go in the same hill, you will find there are so many animals, so many men and so many houses. So object is the same, but from different angle vision, it appears differently. Similarly, unless one can understand Kṛṣṇa perfectly, he realizes the Absolute Truth as impersonal, nirākāra Brahman. Unless one understands Kṛṣṇa perfectly well, he cannot understand what is Paramātmā, which is realized by yogic principles. But when you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand Paramātmā and Brahman also. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Just like if you have got one lakh of rupees, your possession of few thousands of rupees or few hundred of rupees are already there.
This is the... You must have complete knowledge, jñānam and vairāgya, detachment. Jñāna means detachment. If one is attached to the material activities, he is not a jñānī, because he is in the bodily concept of life. Therefore he is not jñānī. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13), sa eva go-kharaḥ: "If one is in the bodily concept of life, he is no better than the cows and asses." This is the verdict of the śāstra. So you cannot understand the Absolute Truth on the platform of bodily concept of life. You must get yourself on the transcendental platform, and bhakti is the transcendental platform for the activities of the spirit soul.
So ultimate Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature, Vedānta, and Kṛṣṇa says that vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). Anyone who has not understood Kṛṣṇa, he has not studied the Vedic literature very perfectly. Vedānta-vid vedānta-kṛd ca aham. Kṛṣṇa says He's the compiler of Vedānta. So who will know Vedānta better than Kṛṣṇa? The so-called Vedantists, they are very much proud of their knowledge of Vedānta, but the, the real compiler of the Vedānta philosophy is Vyāsadeva. He's incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, vedānta-kṛd vedānta-vit. He is the compiler of the Vedānta-sūtra and He knows what is Vedānta-sūtra, not the so-called Māyāvādī philosophers.
Prabhupāda: In the Bible also it is said, "God said 'Let there be creation,' and there was creation." That means God is the origin of creation. Yes. Go on.
Upendra: "That is the verdict of Veda." Text 3. Translation: "It is conceived that all the universal planetary system are situated on the extensive bodily features of the puruṣa but He has nothing to do with the created material ingredients."
Prabhupāda: This is universal form of the Lord, virāṭ-puruṣa. Here is also. This is more or less imaginary. But virāṭ-puruṣa... Just like Arjuna was shown the virāṭ-puruṣa, universal form. That is not eternal. That was causal or temporary; for the time being it was shown to Arjuna.
So viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. Unless, even after having all the qualifications, material qualifications, if one is simply nonsense about God, he is rākṣasa, or demon. That is the injunction, or that is the verdict of Vedas. You may have all material qualifications. That's all right. You may be very great man. You may be very well situated man, very much educated, but if you are godless, then you are demon. Viṣṇu-bhakta... That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Duṣkṛtinaḥ. Duṣkṛtinaḥ means these rascals, these demons, these atheists, these godless men can act in any way for their sense gratification. They can do any sinful act, never mind, however grievous it may be. If it is applicable for their satisfaction of senses, they'll do it. They'll do it. They don't care anything. "Oh, I can satisfy my senses by this way. Never mind. Oh, we don't care for God, don't care for sin or hell or this or that. They are all simply allegory." Hedonism.
He is instructing Vyāsadeva, "Give this literature to the people." We are taking advantage of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Are we not debtor? We go to school, college, and pay so much fees to the teachers. Are we not debtor to Vyāsadeva and Nārada? But we don't care for it. So acyutejya. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, naturally you will try to propagate the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That means you are paying. You have learned something from them, and you are distributing the knowledge. That was their mission. If you keep it for yourself, then you are simply debtor. You are not paying. So there are so many complications. So all these complications can be solved simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sarvārhaṇam acyutejya. That is the verdict of Veda.
So here the point is that just direct people to Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord. Don't misguide them that "Here is another god, here is another god, here is another..." The Bhagavad-gītā also, in the last instruction, Bhagavān says, mām ekam. Ekam means one. "Only surrender to Me." So this is the verdict of all Vedic literatures. But if somebody thinks that "I can worship Brahmā, I can worship Kālī, I can worship Śiva, or many other demigods, and still the same thing," this is impersonalist view. It is not a fact. Because according to them, "The Absolute Truth is impersonal. There is no question of personality. But because we cannot concentrate our devotional energy or attention in the impersonal feature, therefore let us imagine some form of God." This is the, I mean to say, principle of the impersonalists. They imagine some form of God, and they get perfection. And ultimately they become impersonal, merge into the effulgence, brahma-jyotir. That is their philosophy. The Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy differs here. Our Bhāgavata says that ultimate truth, Absolute Truth, is a person. Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti (SB 1.2.11). Vyāsadeva says that "You direct people, attention, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
You have to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily, regularly. Then anartha upaśamaṁ sākṣāt. This sātvata-saṁhitā is given by Śrīla Vyāsadeva so that... We are fools, rascal, ajānataḥ, ajānataḥ. Lokasya ajānataḥ. All these fools and rascals, if they hear with great attention from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the activities and glories of Kṛṣṇa... Yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe (SB 1.7.7). He is the parama-puruṣa. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). He is īśvara, parama-puruṣa, the Supreme Person. Īśvara means the Supreme Person. In the English dictionary also it is said "God means the Supreme Person." God means the Supreme Person. So that Supreme Person is Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior authority than Me." But people do not understand, because ajānataḥ. Ajānataḥ means without any knowledge.
He was not such a fool because that is the only business. That is the only business, how one should develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the verdict of all Vedic śāstras. What is the meaning of Vedic..., studying Vedas? Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). That is the only necessity. To become educated, learned scholar and learned in Vedas, catur-vedi, tri-vedi, dvi-vedi, four-vedi... The brāhmaṇas were divided according to education. Ordinarily they must study, vedi, Vedas. Veda-pāṭhād bhaved vipraḥ. Without Vedic knowledge, nobody can become a brāhmaṇa. Veda-pāṭhād bhaved vipro brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. And by Vedic knowledge, when one understands Brahman, the Absolute Truth, he becomes brāhmaṇa.
Bahir-artha-māninaḥ means they are thinking, "By utilizing this external energy, material world, we shall be happy." Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know that, especially for the human being, the destination is to know Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). All these Vedic literatures, all these philosophy, science and everything... That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, yad uttama-śloka-guṇānuvarṇanam (SB 1.5.22). You may be talented in so many ways. You may be very big man, politician or philosopher or chemist or physicist. So many we are; we are occupied. So why you should become big man? What is the purpose? The purpose is to understand Kṛṣṇa. Intelligent. So whatever talent you have got, it doesn't matter. Whatever you may be. You may be engineer. But if you are intelligent actually, through engineering, you'll describe Kṛṣṇa, how Kṛṣṇa is the greatest engineer so that He's keeping all the planets floating in the air. That is engineer. You cannot do it. He is keeping... Gām āviśya (BG 15.13). He has said. Aham ojasā dhārayāmi, Kṛṣṇa says. So we have to understand Kṛṣṇa like that. Kṛṣṇa says like that, "I am keeping all these planets floating." Now, if you are a physicist, then you try to understand how Kṛṣṇa is keeping them floating. That is your perfection. That is your perfection. If you remain a physicist or chemist and don't understand Kṛṣṇa, it is a waste of time. It is waste of time.
Therefore, yesterday we were explaining the ten kinds of offenses. Out of ten kinds of offenses, the serious offense is guror avajñā, disobedience of the order of guru. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Kṛṣṇa is helping us in so many ways. He comes personally to help us, to deliver us from these clutches of māyā, and He advises, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). And when He's not physically present, He keeps Bhagavad-gītā left by Him so that others may read and take advantage of this sublime instruction of Kṛṣṇa. So He is helping us from within—buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam—from within. Tene brahma hṛdā. These statements are there in the śāstras. "He expounded the Vedic knowledge," hṛdā, "from the heart,"—brahma means Vedic knowledge, śabda-brahman—"to Brahmā." Because at that time there was nobody to instruct him. So how he got the instruction of Vedas? Because Kṛṣṇa instructed. Kṛṣṇa hoite catur-mukha, hoy kṛṣṇa-sevonmukha. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung. Catur-mukha means Brahmā. So being instructed by Kṛṣṇa, Brahmā became inclined to serve Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he has written Brahma-saṁhitā. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. He understands, "Here is ādi-puruṣa. I am the only creature now within the universe, so I am getting instruction from Kṛṣṇa, hṛdā, from my heart."
He must be very wise man. Jñānaṁ vijñānam, and practical application, vijñānam. Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. And not nāstika, not atheist. Jñānaṁ vijñānam means one must know what is God. That is jñāna. And brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. Brāhmaṇa means one who has already known God, or brahma-vastu. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). That is brāhmaṇa. Therefore people should go to brāhmaṇa. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, one cannot become guru. Because if he does not know Brahman, Paramātmā, Bhagavān, what kind of brāhmaṇa he is, and what kind of guru he is? So therefore one must know the ultimate truth, Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti. Not silent, simply by understanding Brahman or Paramātmā, but he must know what is Bhagavān. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Bhagavān is Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of the Vedas. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam.
So "Big, big, men, big, big scientist, big, big... Still, they are rascal?' Yes. Still, they are rascal. Why? Because irreligious. They do not know what is God. Therefore they are rascal. This is the only test. "Whether you know God?" "No, sir." "Then you are rascal." That's all. No more test. One test is sufficient: "Whether you know God?" Because this human life is meant for knowing God. This temple is meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs. So if you (do not) know God, then you are a rascal. You are exactly like the cats and dogs. That's all. This is the verdict. Now you can fight. "Why you are calling me cats and dogs?" But this is the... We are talking, following Kṛṣṇa, the great authority. But what Kṛṣṇa says, that is right. If you scrutinize by your logic, argument, philosophy, science, you will find that Kṛṣṇa is perfectly right. Therefore we accept Kṛṣṇa.
So we should be very much careful of our next birth. Because... Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). This is the verdict of Kṛṣṇa. At the time of death, whatever thought is there, you get next birth a similar body. The mind, mind creates the body, gross body. As we have got this gross body, so within this gross body there is the subtle body: mind, intelligence and ego. These rascals, they do not know that when the gross body is annihilated, it does not mean that the soul is finished. No. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is the verdict. Don't think because the gross body is now finished, therefore the person is finished. No. The person is there within the subtle body. And the subtle body will carry him. Just like the fragrance is carried by the air. You cannot see what is this fragrance, but you can smell. A very good smell, wherefrom it came? That is subtle carrying. Similarly, the soul is carried after annihilation of this body, gross body, material... Mind, intelligence, ego—that is also material, but subtle.
I'll get three lakhs." That is karma-kāṇḍīya-vicāra. That is not wanted. The hearing of Bhāgavatam means to cleanse your heart, that you are not this body, you are spirit soul, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is purification. When you come to this understanding, that "I am not this body, I am spirit... Ahaṁ brahmāsmi," then... Brahmāsmi, finished? The Māyāvādī says as soon as you come to this conclusion, brahma-bhūtaḥ, then your business is finished. No. Your business begins there. That is the verdict of Bhagavad-gītā.
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
- mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
- (BG 18.54)
After being liberated, brahma-bhūtaḥ, then bhakti begins. People misunderstand that by bhakti one gets mukti. No. One who is engaged in bhakti, he is always... He has already got mukti. Muktir mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura says that if one has attained to the platform of bhakti, then mukti is hankering after his feet: "What can I do for you?" Muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mama janmani janmani. A devotee doesn't require mukti. Janmani janmani tvayi bhaktiḥ. If you are situated in the devotional service of the Lord, then you are already mukta. Avyabhicāriṇī.
- māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
- bhakti-yogena sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- (BG 14.26)
Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā... (BG 18.54). This is the verdict. So for a devotee mukti is not very big thing. Mukti's already there if he's actually a pure devotee. A pure devotee means just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says. He has no other desire. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīm (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Everyone is desiring in this material world for riches, wealth, dhanam, and janam, good family, high aristocratic family, or good followers, leader, minister. Janam. They are aspiring popular votes. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitām. And next is to have a very beautiful, obedient wife.
If actually Gosvāmī principles were followed strictly and real gosvāmīs would preach, then there would not have continued the so-called religious systems, or increase the so-called... Because any religious system which... That is the verdict of Bhāgavata. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, ahaituky apratihatā (SB 1.2.6). Religion means by following the system one will become a great lover of God, or Kṛṣṇa. That is religion. Then why this system of religion is going on, maintaining slaughterhouse? That means the..., there was no attempt to preach sad-dharma, real dharma. Therefore, in the name of religion, they are maintaining thousands of slaughterhouse. You see? It is asad-dharma. Asad-dharma. But the..., they studied. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu... They wrote so many books just to establish what is real religion. Nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau. Why? Lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau. They were simply doing welfare activities for the people in general, lokānām. For everything.
We also have information from the Bhagavad-gītā that all the planets within the material world, including Brahmaloka, are but temporarily situated, and after a fixed period they are all annihilated. Therefore the demigods and their followers are all annihilated at the period of devastation, but one who reaches the kingdom of God gets a permanent share in eternal life. That is the verdict of Vedic literature. The worshipers of the demigods have one facility more than the unbelievers due to their being convinced of the Vedic version, by which they can get information of the benefit of worshiping the Supreme Lord in the association of the devotees of the Lord. The gross materialist, however, without any faith in the Vedic version, remains eternally in darkness, driven by a false conviction on the basis of imperfect experimental knowledge, or so-called material science, which can never reach into the realm of transcendental knowledge.
Hog. So this is the verdict of... That means one who does not know whom to eulogize, whom to give honor, they give votes to these classes of men, without any knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. They are becoming the great philosophers, leaders, scientists. They have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, no knowledge of God. Still, they are leading the society. And who praise them? This class of men—dogs, hogs, camels, and asses. This is the verdict. Now you can challenge. You can talk, if it is right or wrong. This is the challenge given by Bhāgavatam, that "Persons who have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are praised by these dogs, hogs, camels, and asses." This is the challenge. Now how can you refute it? Can you refute it? This is a great challenge. We are not only... We are accepting some rascal as God, as incarnation of God. So who accept this so-called God? These classes of men. These classes of men: camel, hogs, dogs. So by the vote of camels, dogs, hogs, one cannot become God.
Brahman is always greater than anything. If you limit within some limited idea, that is not brahma-jñāna. Brahman is unlimited, the greatest. Bṛhatvān bṛhanatvat(?). So Brahman includes everything—nirākāra, sākāra, and whatever you can speak. But Brahman ultimately is sākāra. It's not nirākāra. That is the verdict of the śāstra.
- vadanti tat tattva-vidas
- tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
- brahmeti paramātmeti
- bhagavān iti śabdyate
- (SB 1.2.11)
This is brahma-jñāna. Brahman... Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything Brahman, but there is division-brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Just like the sun. The sunshine is impersonal, but the sun globe is localized and the sun-god is person, but the same sun. Similarly, you have to understand Brahman. When you cannot understand the real nature of Brahman, then it is nirākāra. And when you partially understand, Paramātmā, then localized. And you fully understand, that is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.
So anyway, somehow or other, if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ, and practices for some time regularly, then again, due to bad association or by something, he falls down, so śāstra says that "What is the loss? There is no loss. On the other hand, if a person is executing his occupational duties very nicely, but he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa conscious, then what is the gain? There is no gain." No gain. Even if you become very pious by acting as a strict brāhmaṇa or a sannyāsī, but if you do not understand what is Kṛṣṇa, then there is no gain. It is simply waste of time.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
This is the verdict of Vyāsadeva. Śrama eva hi kevalam. You are very nice, executing your occupational duties. Dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ. Svanuṣṭhitaḥ. You are brāhmaṇa. That's nice. You are executing the brāhmaṇa's duties very nicely, or a kṣatriya, or a vaiśya, or a medical man, engineer, whatever you may be. That's all right.
Therefore guru, guru is servant of Kṛṣṇa, but he is accepted as Kṛṣṇa. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ. This is the verdict of all śāstra. Guru never says that "I am Kṛṣṇa. I am God. I am Bhagavān." No. He never says. He is not guru then. He will say, "I am the most humble servant of the servant of the servant of God, not direct servant-servant, servant, servant, servant, hundred times down (CC Madhya 13.80)." Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's words. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. The more you become servant, servant, you are perfect servant. Don't try to become direct servant. That is not possible. You cannot become direct servant. You first of all become servant of the servant. The guru is the servant of Kṛṣṇa, and you become his servant. Then you, you are bona fide servant. That is our real position.
He has learned engineering and planning very high skyscraper building, but he does not know how long he will live in that skyscraper building. Say, twenty-five years, fifty years, that's all. Māyā-sukhāya, temporary happiness. He is engaging his brain in so stupendous, horrible work, ugra-karma. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Real business he has neglected, how to get out of these clutches of birth and death, and he's engages his brain for manufacturing a skyscraper building, and he is thinking, "Now advancement of knowledge, advancement of education." This is going on.
Therefore, if we want to save ourself from the fierceful condition of this material life, then we must take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the verdict of the all śāstras, and Kṛṣṇa comes for this purpose, and Kṛṣṇa's devotees work day and night for this purpose, and that is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness... (end)
So ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhasya. We are now vimūḍha. Now when you say that "These mūḍhas," they become angry. But actually, this is the verdict of the śāstra. So long you are within the time factor, within the material nature, you are vimūḍha. We are all vimūḍha. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhasya. And the same thing is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate (BG 3.27). Nobody is kartā. Here the prakṛti is kartā. Just like when you are under the influence of some contaminated disease, at that time, that disease infection is kartā. You are not kartā. That is our practical experience. When you are in high fever, then your so-called mastership is gone. You are under the mastership of the feverish condition. Similarly, we spirit soul, although we are better in quality than the material element... That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtām: "The jīva, living entities, they are better quality than the material elements." But still, on account of his viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ, forgetting God—we are leading a different type of civilization or different type of life—therefore we have been subjected to the influence of time. This is Kṛṣṇa's, or God's, influence.
So there is no such problem for a devotee of how to secure money. Their only problem is how to turn these rascals to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all rascals, vimūḍhān. We say clearly, "If you are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, you are rascal number one." "No, I am M.A. Ph.D." "Still, you are rascal." That is our verdict. "We don't care for your Ph.D. I know that you are a rascal because you do not know Kṛṣṇa." Just a few minutes before, one gentleman came to see me, and he advertised himself that "I have read Vedas, I have read the Purāṇas, I have seen Dr. Radhakrishnan, but I do not get peace of mind." So I asked him, "You have studied so many literatures. Do you know who is God?" And the God who has created this, what is His name, what is the address—that he does not know. Yes. This is going on. Vimūḍhān. They are proud of education, proud of learning, advancement, everything, all right, complete. But real knowledge—"Do you know God?"—that he cannot explain. That he cannot explain. He will explain something hodgepodge. This is the disease. Therefore they are vimūḍhān.
One plan you make, and it is baffled by the material nature, stringent laws of nature. And at last, making plan, making plan, making plan—one day the time comes and immediately orders, "Please vacate your presidency, your prime ministership." Although I am trying to make plan, successful plans, up to the point of death... Pralayānta, pralayānta, asuric plan, up to the end of life... And then he entrusts. He says, "My dear son, my dear daughter, I could not fulfill this plan, so you do it. Now I hand it over to you." And the son also going on, making plan, plan, plan. It will never be fulfilled.
That is the verdict of the śāstra. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Durāśayā. It is impossible. Therefore this saṅkalpa-vikalpa, accepting some plan and rejecting again, this is going on perpetually. It is never fulfilled; neither it will be fulfilled at any time. And for making this plan, saṅkalpa-vikalpa, perpetually I am giving up one kind of body; I am accepting another body. I am giving up the residence of one planet.
It was only possible in the Satya-yuga when people were very peaceful, long duration of life, there was no artificial necessities of life. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇum. At that time, to meditate upon Viṣṇu and for years Just like Vālmīki Muni. He practiced meditation for sixty thousands of years. Then he got perfection. At that time people used to live for 100,000.
So this meditation is very difficult to execute at the present moment. That is the verdict of the Vedic literature.
- kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
- tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
- dvāpare paricaryāyaṁ
- kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt
- (SB 12.3.52)
The meditation which was possible in the kṛte, in the Satya-yuga... Satya-yuga continued for twelve lakhs of years; then Treta-yuga, eight lakhs of years... No, Satya-yuga, eighteen lakhs; then Treta-yuga, twelve lakhs; then Dvāpara-yuga, eight lakhs; and Kali-yuga, four lakhs. Altogether forty-three. So bhakti-yoga includes everything. So this process, this arcanā process. If we... Everyone alternately they should learn how to worship.
So the cats, dogs, trees, birds, beasts, insects, reptiles, they have all body. But He's specifically mentioning nṛloke, the body in the human society. Ayaṁ dehaḥ, "This body in the human society," nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1), "it is not meant for working very hard to satisfy the senses." Why you are working so hard? What is the principle? What is the aim? Everyone is working very hard. What is the...? Sense gratification. So Ṛṣabhadeva says, "Simply for sense gratification we should not work so hard."
That is the verdict of Vedic literature. If you say that we have got senses, so in order to keep the body fit, we have to give something for the enjoyment of the senses. That is accepted, yes. But don't aggravate it. The śāstra says that do not increase artificially the demands of the senses. Then you will be entangled. Just like eating. We have got tongue, we have got belly. We require to eat something for maintaining the body. That's right—you maintain.
So we are preaching in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, "Everyone should become a first-class yogi. And when one becomes a first-class yogi, perfect yogi, then ramante yoginaḥ anante, then they enjoy eternal, blissful life of knowledge. Ramante yoginaḥ satyānande, that is real happiness, satyānande. In this material world it is mithyānande. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya says, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Jagan mithyā. The material world, wherein you are trying to find out happiness, that is false, illusion. If you want real happiness, that is in the spiritual world. That is the verdict of Vedas. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. Don't try to be happy in this darkness. But real happiness is in the light, jyotir gama. Light. The spiritual world is light. The material world is dark. It is... Because this material world is dark, therefore we require sunlight, moonlight, electricity and so many things. In the spiritual world there is no need of this sunlight, moonlight or electricity. Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ. There is no need of sun, moon, or electricity. These are explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Tattva-jijñāsā, that is the main business. Now, what is that tattva? That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam: (SB 1.2.11) "Those who are aware of the tattva, they say that tattva means the Supreme Absolute Truth." Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). Jñānam, that knowledge, is advaya. Advaya means without any duality. But they are expressed in three different ways—Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān—brahmeti paramātmeti, according to the stage of understanding. Those who are in the lower stage—we cannot say lower—in the beginning stage, that is Brahman realization. And one who has made further progress, that is Paramātmā realized. And one who has made further progress, that is Bhagavān realization. This is the verdict. So if you realize Bhagavān, then vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Then you'll understand that Vāsudeva, Bhagavān, He is Paramātmā. He's also Brahman. Rather, He is Para-brahman.
In the Vedic literature the father, the teacher, the king, they are advised to look upon them as God. This is for the common person. But when he is advanced, then he goes above, that there is God above father, above king, above teacher. So according to the stages, there are different literatures in the Vedic knowledge. Sometimes demigods are also accepted. So they have also got power, but... Controller, they are also controller, but the ultimate controller is fixed up—īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa." That is the verdict of the Vedas. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior controller or person than Me." So that is Absolute. Everywhere you will find. Suppose if you accept me God, but I am controlled by somebody else. So I am not absolute God. But if you can find out somebody—he is not only controller, but he is not controlled by anyone—then he is absolute. That is Kṛṣṇa. Yes. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya quoted this when Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired from him what is sādhya-sādhana. "What is the business of the human society and what is the aim of human society?" This was the question put forward by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He first of all quoted varṇāśrama. The human society begins when there is varṇāśrama-dharma. Otherwise it is animal society. There is no human society. That is beginning of human society, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya. Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). My Guru Mahārāja also wanted to establish daiva-varṇāśrama. Yes. There must be the human society, not this, daiva-varṇāśrama, not this āsuric varṇāśrama. Āsuric varṇāśrama... Just like Rāvaṇa. He was also son of a brāhmaṇa, but he was rejected, that "You are not brāhmaṇa; you are rākṣasa because you do not care for Bhagavān Rāmacandra." So this is the verdict of the śāstra. So therefore daiva-varṇāśrama. Varnāśrama should be established on the principles of devata, to make people devata. Devata means viṣṇu bhaktaḥ bhaved daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. Unless one is not a Vaiṣṇava, he cannot be a devata. He cannot be a civilized man.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on authority. We are prescribing the right medicine, and it is becoming very effective also. That is the proof. If you say that "How I can understand that this medicine is very effective?" Yes, it is effective. By chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, any part of the world, although they do not know the meaning, they chant and they join and they become rectified, and they become bright-faced. That is the verdict. So therefore we appeal to everyone, irrespective of any caste-creed consideration, please come, join this movement, and be happy.
So you are all initiated to become brāhmaṇa. You have become brāhmaṇa. Don't become false brāhmaṇa. Real brāhmaṇa. It is not by birth; it is by education, by practice, by knowledge. So we are offering the sacred thread to the Americans and Europeans in the Western countries, and some of our Indian contemporaries, they are not very happy with my action. They are under contemplation that a brāhmaṇa can be, I mean to say, seen by birthright. No. No. Brāhmaṇa is by qualification. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. That is the verdict of Kṛṣṇa. We are concerned with Kṛṣṇa, not any other else. Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: (BG 4.13) "By division of quality and, guṇa, and work, one must have the symptoms, the quality of a brāhmaṇa, and work as a brāhmaṇa." Not that... Quality will be tested by work. Suppose if you are engineer. You have got the quality of... But if you sit down at home, what is your value? You must be engaged in some engineer work.
So we are in ignorance. We do not know. We are accepting this body as "I am." So many animal propensities, animal condition. So if we remain in animal condition of life, then that is aghavān. When one is in animal condition, that means more sinful. So we have to become sinless. That requires jñāna-vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya. So jñāna, vairāgya can be attained very easily if one becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga-prayo... This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures, that if one becomes devotee, then he'll develop his original good qualities. Because we are part and parcel of God, so we have got good qualities. It is covered now by material contamination. That gold, gold is gold, but it is covered by mud, dirty things, one cannot understand whether is it gold or something else. So our position is like that. So when we are free from these dirty things, then our original life becomes manifest. That is called mukti.
So those who are attached to Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and those who are attached to the service, they should take prasādam, first-class prasādam. Everyone likes the taste of the prasādam. I used to go in my household life to take prasādam in the temples and pay them. I used to do that. And I used to go... Especially in Śrī Rāmapur, there are two temples, one of Jagannātha and one of Rādhā-Vallabhajī. So it was very nice. On Sunday I used to go to take prasādam. So you should be habituated to prasādam as far as possible unless you are very sick, you cannot take. That is different. Otherwise you should take it. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). Then we will remember Kṛṣṇa, and that will keep us fit and immune from all infection of material miserable condition.
So prāyaścittāni, because one, if he, one is not nārāyaṇa-parāṅmukha... Nārāyaṇa-parāṅmukha and nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa—just the opposite. One is Nārāyaṇa..., attached to Nārāyaṇa, and one is detached to Nārāyaṇa. So Nārāyaṇa detached cannot be purified simply by performing or executing the ritualistic ceremony. That is the verdict of this verse.
So every living entity who has forgotten Kṛṣṇa, trying to imitate Kṛṣṇa, that is sinful. So these sinful activities we are doing in ignorance, in lower grade of life. Just like cats and dogs and birds and trees and the..., they do not know, there is no capacity. They are so much covered with ignorance that a tree is standing, you cut it: there is no protest because it is so dull. Similarly, you take the animal, slaughterhouse, it cannot protest. These are the symptoms of ignorance. And as soon as there is awakening of Kṛṣṇa consciousness or advanced consciousness, then if I pinch you, immediately you protest, "Why you have pinched me?" That is the difference between the lower-grade life and higher-grade life. So if in the higher-grade life we do not understand Kṛṣṇa, then we are making suicide, cutting our own throat. That is sinful. So here is a chance, the human form of body. Death will come to the dog and to me also. Then where is the difference? The difference is so long I am living, I can try to understand Kṛṣṇa; others cannot. If we miss this opportunity, then we are committing suicide. This is the verdict of the śāstra.
For such a person, if he has become captivated by the material attraction, means money and material comforts... Woman and material comforts. This is material civilization. Everyone is after woman. Woman or men, the... It is not that woman means the form of woman and man is the form of man. Woman means enjoyable and man means enjoyer. So here in this material world everyone is enjoyer. Everyone is enjoyer. Not only the man thinks "I shall enjoy the woman," the woman thinks, "I shall enjoy the man." The spirit is now to become enjoyer, Therefore sometimes the living entity is described as puruṣa. Actually every living entity is prakṛti. Prakṛti means enjoyable. So everyone is to be enjoyable by Kṛṣṇa. But thinking, "I am enjoyer." That is māyā. So everyone is thinking of enjoying this material world. Viṣayiṇāṁ atha yoṣitāṁ ca. Viṣayiṇāṁ sandarśanam atha yoṣitām. So for any person who is serious about going back to home, back to..., for them these things are abominable, more than drinking poison. This is the verdict of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
So actual fact is Viṣṇu worship. That is the ultimate goal of Vedic civilization, but they do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Their attention is diverted in so many demigods. The greatest disservice to the society, that "Here is another god, here..." Not only manufacturing a man-god, but they are advising that "Any god you can worship." No: Viṣṇu. Tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ. This is Vedic mantra. Those who are sūrayaḥ, means advanced... Sūrayaḥ means... Sūrayaḥ and asūrayaḥ. Asūrayaḥ means demons. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved suraḥ: "Those who are devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, they are sura." Asuras tad-viparyayaḥ: "And those who are not Viṣṇu bhaktas, they are asuras." Just like Rāvaṇa was very great devotee of Lord Śiva; still, he was a asura. Hiraṇyakaśipu, he was a great devotee of Lord Brahmā, but he was considered asura. So anyone who is not devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, he is asura. That is the verdict. Asuras tad-viparyayaḥ. And this piṇḍa-dāna is offered oblations to the Viṣṇu. So if any man becomes a Vaiṣṇava, he is offering oblations to Viṣṇu every moment, so his forefathers are delivered without any trouble. Without any trouble. If one's son becomes a Vaiṣṇava in the family, he can deliver fourteen generations, up and down. That is the verdict. Not only verdict, this is the version in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So this dictation of Kṛṣṇa comes through the disciplic success, and if we follow the instruction of ācārya, or spiritual master, then we are directly following the orders of Kṛṣṇa, and thus I become a bhagavad-dūta. No more I am the dūta or the follower of the dictation of my senses. And one who is bhagavad-dūta, he is called gosvāmī, just like Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī. Whose life is dedicated to follow the dictation of Kṛṣṇa, they are gosvāmī. Gosvāmī is not a caste title, just like it has become in India. Gosvāmī... Rūpa Gosvāmī was a minister. He was rejected by the brāhmaṇa society, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu made him gosvāmī. He is the original gosvāmī. Why? Because he gave up the dictation of Nawab Shah but he followed the dictation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Therefore he became gosvāmī, prabhupāda. He became prabhupāda. Prabhupāda means the title or the respect which is given to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called... Prabhu means master and pāda means maryādā, or the respect or the distinction. So bhagavad-dūta, those who are strictly following the dictation of Kṛṣṇa under strict disciplinary chain of disciplic succession, he is Kṛṣṇa's representative and he should be given all the respect. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ. That is the verdict of all śāstras.
Prabhupāda: What he has written? "In this age government is ruled by...?"
Guest: The lowest class.
Prabhupāda: "Lowest class of men." He is bold enough to declare like that. One of my, our students, he has written an article in which he has said that "At the present moment, everywhere, the government is ruled by lowest class of men." And he's right in this sense because this is the verdict of the Vedas. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Unless one is a devotee of the Personality of Godhead, he cannot have any good qualification. That's a fact. And one who is a devotee, all good qualifications automatically develop. (noise) What is this? Hm?
Guest: He tipped a glass of water.
Prabhupāda: So as far as possible, let us follow the footsteps of mahājana-mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186)—and depend on Kṛṣṇa and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Everything will be all right. The simple method. Try to follow Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teachings. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and be sincere, and, as far as possible, worship the Deity.
Our real pleasure should be in bhajanānandena. Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena. In this way we have taken very serious job. In this life we want to finish this material existence for good. That should be the responsibility, that "We are going to finish this material existence for good. No more coming." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). If you take responsibility in that way, then everything will be adjusted. Serious. My Guru Mahārāja used to say like that, that "Finish this business in this life. Don't delay for the next life." He was telling also that "Don't give me trouble again to come here to deliver you." That is the responsibility of spiritual master. Spiritual master responsibility is to take the disciple to Kṛṣṇa, until he is able to do, to help him, to help him, to help him. That is the verdict of the śāstras. Just like Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. His spiritual master delivered him, taking the shape of a prostitute. So these stories are there.
This verse Nārada Muni's instruction, we were discussing the last meeting. Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi (SB 1.5.17). One has taken to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness cult and is chanting as far as possible, but there is possibility, because one is not mature, there are so many attraction of māyā, he may fall down. But Nārada Muni says, "Still, he is not in loss." It is so powerful. "Still he is in gain. And one who does not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if he is following the religious principles... Everyone has got some religion. Still, what does he gain? He does not gain anything." That is the verdict of Nārada Muni. A person who has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, giving up his all religious principles and occupations, even he falls down on account of his immature position, he is much gainer than the person who is sticking to his religious principle, so-called religious principle, but does not know what Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He does not gain anything. That is the verdict of Nārada Muni.
So these are special cases, not that because Kṛṣṇa promises to excuse... Because Kṛṣṇa says that "Even though he has committed such sinful activities, still, he's a sādhu," and although Yamarāja says that "Those who are engaged in devotional service, they are out of my jurisdiction of punishment," so we should not take advantage of this concession. That is a great offense, greatest offense. Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. These concessions are there for the devotees, but not for intentional committing sinful activity. If by accident, if by previous habit, one commits some mistake or falls down, that is excused. And one should be repentant: "My dear Lord, I have committed this offense. Please excuse me." And one should fast. One should be very much repentant. Then Kṛṣṇa is so kind. But he hasn't got to take to the prāyaścitta or, what is called, atonement system. A devotee hasn't got to do that. A devotee's sinful activities is excused, and if he is repentant, then he is again elevated to his original position. That is the verdict of all śāstras.
So we are trying to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is very difficult task because people are so much addicted to material enjoyment that they do not like this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although this is the objective, aim, and ultimate goal of human life: how to revive our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Since we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa means God. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). This is the verdict of the Vedic literature, that people are searching after God, making great research work to find out what is God. Most people, they are not interested in God. At the present moment, especially in this Kali-yuga, they are not interested in God consciousness.
This is dharma. That is called bhāgavata-dharma, intimate relationship with the Lord, Bhagavān. Brahmeti bhagavān iti... Brahmeti paramātmā iti bhagavān iti. Tattva-vit. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). There is no difference between Brahman and Paramātmā and Bhagavān. But still, there is difference. This is called acintya-bheda-bhedābheda. There are two kinds of philosophers, bheda and abheda, oneness and different. So these bheda, abheda, combine together. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, acintya bheda abheda, simultaneously one and different. So other gods, they are also gods. We are also god. You are also god because god means controller. Your Honor, Chief Justice, he is also controlling the whole high-court. I am controlling this institution, you are controlling your family or office or factory. So in that sense everyone is god, controller. But he is not Supreme God, that is not. Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa. We may be īśvara, god, but Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That is the verdict of Lord Brahmā.
If a cat and dog becomes nicely dressed, that does not mean he becomes a human being. He is cat and dog. Similarly, if we keep our mentality like cats and dog and outwardly we dress very nicely, they have been described as dvi-pada-paśuḥ, "two-legged animal." Animal. He is animal because he is not cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The cats and dogs cannot do it, so he is no better than cats and dog. This is the conclusion. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). That is the verdict of Vedic literature.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ
- yat tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicit
- janeṣu abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
Just like in Vṛndāvana many visitors come. They think that by simply taking a dip into the Yamunā water their tīrtha is finished, pilgrimage is finished. But śāstra says, yat tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile. If one comes to Vṛndāvana and simply takes advantage of taking a bath in the river Yamunā, that is also very good, but that does not finish his business. He must seek out where in Vṛndāvana Kṛṣṇa consciousness is going on, janeṣu abhijñeṣu, "Where there is a person who can teach me about Kṛṣṇa conscious." That is humanity.
"I am the origin. I am the source of all creation." Bhagavad-gītā says. "And from Me everything is coming." Sarva. Sarva means whatever you can think, everything is coming from... If you think for the time being about the sun, what is the sun? The sun is also coming from Him. Sarvam. Sarvam means including everything. Sarvam ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ. He is the origin of Brahmā. Generally, we think Brahmā has created. Brahmā is also created by Him. Lord Śiva is also created by Him. Because from Brahmā, Rudra... Rudra is stated to be the son of Brahmā. So Brahmā is the son, or born out of the lotus flower from the abdomen of Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. In this way Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. That is a fact. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you can understand the original person, Kṛṣṇa, then everything will come to your knowledge. Everything will be understood: how everything is existing, how they are appearing, how they are disappearing, how they are existing. Everything will be known.
So this materialistic way of life is not human life. It is less than animal life. Animal also does not work so hard. You see? And the people are engaged, wherever you go, the very big highways. What is called? Freeways. Four lines of motor cars running this way and four lines of motor cars running this way at the speed of seventy miles, and everyone is busy. You see? And they take, "It is a very good civilization." And if you shortcut your hard labor, sit down and discuss what is the Absolute Truth, what is the philosophy of life, "They are nonsense." You see? And if you work day and night, hard labor, and to get that energy, inject some medicine or some tranquilizer and this and that... You see? This is the..., going on. So actually, this is not life. This is cats' and dogs' life. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye: (SB 5.5.1) "This life, human form of life, is not meant for working so hard just like animals." Then? "This kind of engagement is for the dogs and hogs." The hogs also, they work the whole day and night and have some sex pleasure. They are happy.
Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). This is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction, that don't be falsely proud unless you have got the qualification. That is our mistake, dambha, dambha. And the pure life begins when we give up dambha, false prestige. Adambhitvam amānitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntiḥ ārjavam. This is the begin... One who is falsely proud, he is... (aside:) What is that sound? One should not be falsely proud. Everyone... Material world means everyone is falsely proud. Everyone is thinking, āḍhyo 'smi dhanavān asmi ko 'sti mama samaḥ, everyone. This is the disease. "I am the richest. I am the powerful. I am the very intelligent." Everything, "I am." This is called ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra vimudhātmā kartāham iti manyate (BG 3.27).
The Bhāgavata says, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto. We are all born ignorant. Unless there is ignorance, nobody takes birth in this material world. Anyone—may be he is Brahmā or the smallest insignificant creature like a germ or an ant—everyone has got body, a particular type of body. So anyone who has got this material body, he is more or less sinful. That is the verdict. Without being sinful, we do not get this material body. And as soon as we are out of the influence of this material energy, sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). How? Māṁ ca vyabhicāriṇi-bhakti-yogena. Simply by bhakti-yoga. Simply by engaging yourself cent percent, without any deviation, in the devotional service of the Lord, you immediately become freedom or liberation from this material bondage. And if you keep yourself in that position, then you are liberated in this life, and after leaving this body, you get your liberated body. That is mukti. Mukti means hitvā anyathā rūpam. Mukti means when you give up your material contaminated life. Hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ sa guṇena avasthiti.
So those who cannot understand the omnipotency, they speak of omnipotency, but they do not know what is that omnipotency. They describe sometimes, "God is omnipotent," but they do not know how the omnipotency acts. Here are some of the examples. Those who are devotee, they can understand. Nondevotees, they call—what is?—"mythology." It is not mythology; it is all fact. But foolish people who do not know how Kṛṣṇa or His confidential devotee act, they do not know it. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that ye bhaje sei baḍa abhakta hīna chāra: "One who is devotee, he is exalted. And those who are not devotees, they are low grade," hīna chāra, "condemned." So nobody can be exalted personality without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not possible. This is the verdict of the Vedic knowledge. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathena āsato dhāvato bahiḥ: (SB 5.18.12) "Those who are not devotees of the Lord, they cannot have any good qualities." That is not possible. "Why? There are so many big, big men, doctors, doctorate, having so big, big title from university." No. The śāstra says, "Yes." Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā. Why they have no good qualities? Because mano-rathena: "They are hovering over the mental platform." They have no realization of the spiritual platform.
So if we always remember like that, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be very, very strong and established. That is wanted. Sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhi nā dekhe tāra mūrti (CC Madhya 8.274). Why people come here? You have seen while you are walking, a devotee. He was taking the dust, Rāmaṇ Reti, and putting on his head. This is Vṛndāvana—the dust. Vṛndāvana dust is also Kṛṣṇa. Vṛndāvana dust is also Kṛṣṇa. So ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeṣa-tanaya tad dhāmaṁ vṛndāvanam. This is the verdict of the ācāryas. Vrajendra-nandana, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, He is worshipable, everyone knows. But His dhāma, Vṛndāvana, is also as good as Kṛṣṇa. It is also worshipable. Therefore so many devotees, they are keeping strictly in Vṛndāvana. This is the idea. We should not consider Vṛndāvana... Not even Vṛndāvana. Everywhere. Not that we limit Kṛṣṇa within Vṛndāvana. That is special, because Kṛṣṇa came here and displayed His pastimes, a special significance. But wherever you are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is Vṛndāvana. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Wherever He was going He said that "It is Vṛndāvana." After taking sannyāsa He was in Bengal, and He was thinking the Ganges as Yamunā.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. In the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, one is joyful, prasannātmā. That is the symptoms of brahma-bhūtaḥ. Prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Because he has nothing to do with material world, therefore sometimes it is said, "It is mithyā," because I have nothing to do. It may be very important thing, but unless you realize Kṛṣṇa, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54), by devotional service, even by lifting yourself to that stage, transcendental stage of Brahman realization, there is chance of falling down. That is the verdict of, I mean to, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛtaḥ-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because they could not search out the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they have to come down again to this material existence, which they left as mithyā. But their..., because there is no shelter on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, this brahma-bhūtaḥ stage also not secure. One has to fall down. We have seen many big, big sannyāsīs, very learned scholars, sannyāsīs, they take part in politics, sociology. Because they could not catch up real Brahman, therefore they come again to his material existence.
So the bhakti-mārga means directly giving you the ultimate goal of life—Viṣṇu. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇu. People do not know that what is the aim of life. The aim of life is to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the aim of life. But they have no information. There is God. "Who is God? Who is Viṣṇu?" No information. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ (SB 10.2.32). So without understanding Viṣṇu, without understanding Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all other attempts, they are not successful. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. Without understanding Kṛṣṇa, if one is thinking that "I have become liberated," that is vimukta-maninaḥ. He's thinking like that. Actually he's under the clutches of māyā. He's thinking like that. Why? Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Because his intelligence is not yet clear. Still it is contaminated by māyā. Therefore āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛtaḥ-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Āruhya kṛcchreṇa. The, they take too much hardship for rising to the Brahman platform, nirviśeṣa Brahman platform. Kṛccha sādhana.
They are not dharmas. And the Bhāgavata says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra: (SB 1.1.2) "The cheating type of dharma is kicked out from this Bhāgavatam." Cheating type. Real dharma, what is that real dharma? Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). What Bhagavān says. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ (BG 18.66). This is real dharma. So we request everyone... It is very scientific. It is authorized. We are not talking nonsense. Authorized. We are taking the version of Kṛṣṇa. We are taking the version of the Vedic conclusion. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). Vedas, study of Veda means to understand Kṛṣṇa. One who does not understand Kṛṣṇa, he's simply wasting his time.
- dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
- viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
- notpādayed ratiṁ yadi
- śrama eva hi kevalam
- (SB 1.2.8)
You can execute your dharma, your occupational duty, very nicely. That's all right. But if you do not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you are simply wasting your time and working hard for nothing. This is the verdict.
If he, one does not understand Kṛṣṇa, his Vedic study is simply waste of time. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. The test will be whether he has understood Kṛṣṇa. If one has studies Vedas, the test will be whether he understands Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). If he is missing Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is unknown, then all his study is useless waste of time. Useless waste of time. This is the verdict of the śāstra. So those, one who does not understand Kṛṣṇa, he, his knowledge is not at all advanced, what to speak of perfection. There is no question of perfection. Perfection of knowledge is surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa.
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
- (BG 7.19)
So this is the position. So one who does not understand Kṛṣṇa, if they speak to the public about Kṛṣṇa, about Bhagavad-gītā, they are nonsense, simply misleading people. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are themselves blind, and there are other blind men there also, therefore they do not get any profit out of it. So many Gītār jñāna, Gītār version is going on, but still they are in the same darkness. Same darkness. Not a single staid(?) is follower. Why? Well, that is not the way of understanding Kṛṣṇa. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).
The conclusion is, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa is picked up out of many, many liberated persons. Mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. Kṛṣṇa realization, bhagavat-tattva-vijñānam, mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. Bhagavat-tattva, the truth, the Absolute Truth, which is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhagavat-tattva-vijñānam. Tattva means truth, and that is Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti (SB 1.2.11). Brahman realization is not all. One has to go further. Paramātmā realization—one has to go further. When one comes to realization of Bhagavān, ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa-bhagavān-Bhagavān means full will six kinds of opulences, person, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1)—that is ultimate goal of life. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Such kind of mahātmā is very rare. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature, and confirmed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: koti-mukta-madhye durlabha kṛṣṇa-bhakta. Kṛṣṇa bhakta, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, is very rarely to be found out amongst the muktas, amongst the liberated souls. Others are trying to become liberated, but a Kṛṣṇa-bhakta is above liberation.
There are philosophers, the Māyāvādī philosophers, they do not accept Purāṇas as Vedic literature, but Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has proved in his Tattva-sandarbha, in the beginning, that Purāṇas, Mahābhārata, itihāsa-purāṇa, they are part and parcel of the Vedic literature. Supplementary. Purāṇa means that which supplements. So evidences from Purāṇa is as good as the evidence from the Vedic quotation. That is the verdict of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī is not prepared to accept any statement which does not refer to the Vedic literatures: Vedas, Purāṇas, Upaniṣads, Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa, like that. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also says in another place, śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-pāñcarātriki-vidhiṁ vinā (Brs. 1.2.101). So he has taken purāṇas also as evidences, Vedic evidences. So śruti, the Vedas, smṛti, the Purāṇas and other literatures, dharma-śāstra, smṛti-śāstra and Purāṇa, pañcarāti-vidhi—without reference to all these authentic literature, any kind of devotional activities are not accepted by the Gosvāmīs. They say, "Without any reference to these all Vedic literatures, any kind of devotional service is simply disturbance." Pañcarātri-vidhiṁ vinā aikāntikī harer bhaktir upātāyaiva kalpate. Utpāt, disturbance.
Because fix up mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is yoga. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Who is yogi? Dhyānāvasthita, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā... Tad-gatena manasā, absorbed in the thought of Kṛṣṇa. This is yoga system. Some way or other, if you fix up your mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection of yoga. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ (BG 6.47). That is the verdict of all śāstras. So by fixing up your mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, immediately you become first-class yogi. There is no doubt about it.
So long we are in dirty heart, dirty, polluted mind, there is no question of anxiety-less. That is required. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). One who is God-realized, one who is advanced in spiritual life, he will be anxiety-less, prasannātmā. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ (SB 1.2.20). Bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. One who is practicing Bhagavad-yoga, then this is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That is the verdict of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12).
- evaṁ prasanna-manaso
- bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ
- bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ
- mukta-saṅgasya jāyate
- (SB 1.2.20)
The process is one must be free from anxiety. And how one can become free from anxiety unless one is realized Brahman soul, realized soul, brahma-bhūtaḥ? There are one after another. So evaṁ prasanna-manaso. Without being anxiety-less, nobody can understand the science of God. This is the verdict of Bhagavad, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So the śāstra says the highest, the topmost man in the society, brāhmaṇa, if he's avaiṣṇava, he cannot be guru, but the, a person coming out from the lowest grade of human society, śvapacaḥ, caṇḍāla, if he's a Vaiṣṇava, he can become guru. This is the verdict of the śāstra.
- ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro
- mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ
- avaiṣṇava guru na sa syād
- sad vaiṣṇava śva-pacaḥ guru
Therefore one, one who, even coming from low-grade family, if he has become Vaiṣṇava, then he's no longer in the worldly society. He's transcendental. Brahmā-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). One who is engaged in pure devotional service, he's in the Brahman platform. He should not be neglected. Vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ, arcye śilā-dhīr, guruṣu nara-mati, vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. These are warned. One should not consider the Deity as made of stone, arcye śilā-dhīr. Śālagrāma-śilā. If somebody says, "What is this, a stone chip, or stone ball?" No. These are warned in the śāstra. Vaiṣṇave... Ja... Similarly, to consider a Vaiṣṇava as belonging to certain caste is as abominable as to think that the Deity is made of stone.
So we should take care of everyone. That is the verdict of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, verdict of Kṛṣṇa. Now we are doing that in our Māyāpur. All the Muhammadans and Hindus, they are taking prasādam together. This has been a unique thing. People are very much appreciating. But some of them, some envious persons are there. They are taking it otherwise. Why? In Jagannātha Purī, still the regulation is that anyone can come and take together jagannātha-prasādam. It doesn't matter whether he's a baṅghi, camara or brāhmaṇa. They take actually. Prasāda. Prasāda is transcendental, nirguṇa. So prasāda should be taken together. If you have got really sense of prasāda... If we think it is dahl, capati, then it is another thing. Otherwise, if you have got the sense of prasāda, then there should be no distinction. It should, it can be... "Prasādam, I am taking prasādam, which is nirguṇa." So these are the conclusions.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
He's glorified because he receives... To become under the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu means you have got Kṛṣṇa. You have already got. That is the verdict of the śāstra and Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Because Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, does not give anything else. Simply directly gives you Kṛṣṇa and His love. And to award this greatest benediction to the human society, He took sannyāsa at the age of twenty-four years only in this land of Māyāpur, Navadvīpa. It is very glorified place. It is not ordinary place. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, gauḍa maṇḍala bhūmi, yeba jane cintāmaṇi tara hoy vrajabhūme vāsa. Anyone who understands gauḍa maṇḍala bhūmi in Bengal—this Navadvīpa, Navadvīpa-candra, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu—if anyone understands the spiritual value of this land, he lives in Vrajabhūmi, in Vṛndāvana. There is no difference between Vṛndāvana and this Gaudamaṇḍala-bhūmi. That is the verdict of the śāstra. Gauḍa-maṇḍala-bhūmi yena jane cintāmaṇi tara hoy vrajabhūme vāsa.
So all the verdict of the śāstra is the same. It is simply our misfortune that we do not understand the verdict of the śāstra. In the śāstra, everything is there. So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. That is the verdict of the śāstra. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said. In Bhāgavata also said,
- ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
- kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
- indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
- mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
- (SB 1.3.28)
So try to understand. And Kṛṣṇa said, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "No more superior." You don't misunderstand that there is something superior to Kṛṣṇa. That is rascaldom. So long we shall remain such rascal we shall not surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said, na māṁ prapadyante duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Prapadyante. Who does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa? You'll say that "There are so many big, big persons, and they do not surrender to Kṛṣṇa. So they are all mūḍhas?" Yes, they are all mūḍhas. That is the verdict of the śāstra. We cannot make any compromise. That is not possible, against the principle of the śāstra. If we keep one competitor of Kṛṣṇa, then we are mūḍha.
That is not possible in this age, in Kali-yuga. Mass of people, they are almost śūdra. Śūdra-sambhava. Scholarship, to study Sanskrit, to study Vedas, Purāṇas, they are meant for the brāhmaṇas. Not even for the kṣatriyas, or what to speak of vaiśya. Vaiśya, śūdra and woman, they have been classified in the Bhagavad-gītā as less intelligent. Striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdras te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. But Kṛṣṇa is so merciful. If you take the shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, whatever you may be... You may be scholar or not scholar. You may be rich or poor; women, śūdra, vaiśya, or pāpa-yoni. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. In Bhāgavata also, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbha yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ ye 'nye ca pāpā (SB 2.4.18). Pāpā means born in low-grade family. They are called pāpā. Śuddhyanti: they become purified. This is the verdict of the śāstras, that bhagavad-bhakti does not depend on any kind of material qualification. Simply you have to become very sincere and serious. That is the only price.
So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, admitted by all ācāryas. And on the basis of that authority, we are preaching all over the world that "You are searching after God? Here is God." Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. In the Bhāgavata has given different list of different incarnation of God but ultimately concludes that ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: (SB 1.3.28) "All the incarnations, they are parts or parts of the parts." Aṁśa means part, and kalāḥ means part of the part. "But svayaṁ pūrṇa-bhagavān, ṣoḍaśa-kala pūrṇa, ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa-bhagavān is Kṛṣṇa." That is the verdict all Vedas, all śāstras. So we should also accept in that light. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). And Kṛṣṇa also says personally, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: (BG 10.8) "I am the origin of even Brahma, Śiva, and Viṣṇu also." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate.
Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, he was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. He was uncle of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who started at Vṛndāvana the Rādhā-ramaṇa temple. Perhaps you know. So this Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī was a gṛhastha, a householder. Later on, after meeting Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he accepted sannyāsa. Then he wrote a book, Caitanya-candrodaya, very nice book. In that, this verse appears. He is canvassing on behalf of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of the Gosvāmīs.
- rādhā-kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmād
- ekātmānāv api (bhuvi purā) deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
- caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ
- rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam
- (CC Adi 1.5)
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. That is the... This śloka is made by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, who was personal secretary of Lord Caitanya. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is giving us the easiest process to approach Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not easily approachable, especially in this age. Because the Bhāgavata says, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo (SB 1.1.10). They are very slow; they're reluctant. They don't care for the opportunity they have got.
So they have been described as animals. The śāstra, they say, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). One who is in this bodily concept... Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ: "In my country, bhauma... I am born in America or I am born in India, so it is my country." How long you'll remain America? How long you'll remain India? They do not know. But they are mad after this conception of life, bodily conception of life. Bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicit. People in every community, religious community, there is tīrtha. People want (indistinct) holy place. So they go, they take bath. Just like in India they go to Hardwar or Vṛndāvana or Prayag, take bath in the Ganges or Yamunā. Similarly, Christians, they go to take bath in the river Jordan. So everyone has got. Yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na tad janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). This kind of life is go-kharaḥ. Go means cows, and kharaḥ means ass. Without understanding the value of life, na tad-janeṣv abhijñeṣu, without associating with abhijñaḥ, learned spiritual master, if he passes his life with this understanding, then he is no better than the cows and ass. This is the verdict.
So both the brothers, they wrote many books. This book is, of course, by different devotee, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. But Rūpa Gosvāmī's book, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which we have translated into English, Nectar of Devotion... He said in that book that... That is the verdict of Vedic culture, to follow the authorities. Kṛṣṇa also said in the Bhagavad-gītā, tasmād śāstra-pramāṇaṁ te: "Whatever you do, you must follow the śāstra." Otherwise it is not bona fide. And if anyone neglects the order of śāstra:
- yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
- vartate kāma-kārataḥ
- na siddhiṁ sa avāpnoti
- na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
- (BG 16.23)
So we cannot avoid śāstra. So our, this Caitanya cult is strictly under the injunction of the śāstra. So he has come to Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he is submitting himself.
So here the same kṣetrajña. Kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā. The jīva-śakti, that is also spiritual. We are all spiritual, and this is our mistake, that I am thinking "I am this body." This is ignorance. The whole world is going on under this ignorance, that "I am this body," "I am this body." Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). If we study this verse, that anyone who is under the conception of..., bodily conception—"I am this body"—then he is no better than the animal. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go means cow, and khara means ass. But this is going on. The whole, the so-called nationalism, nations... So what is this idea of nation? "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Hindustani," "I am Pakistani." Bodily concept of life. But śāstra rejects immediately. If anyone is under the bodily conception of life he is... Sa eva go-kharaḥ: "He is no better than the animal." This is the challenge of the śāstra. So all these so-called nationality, big, big nations, big, big races, caste, and so on, so on, what is their position? The position is that all of them are animals. That's all. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Actually this morning we were talking, one dog sees another dog: "Oh, he is coming from another neighborhood." He immediately begins to bark. Immigration department: "Why you are coming in this neighborhood? All right, you can stay here for three days. Then you must have to go out." The dog barking. So we have opened so many branches, but the basic principle is sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). All of them are on the platform of animal consciousness. This is the modern civilization.
So far salvation is concerned, nobody can be liberated without bhakti, without devotional service. Bhakti vinā, without devotion, or without love of Godhead, without attaining... That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So long one is not a surrendered soul to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no question of liberation from this material world. Bhāgavata says, śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho. Here's a nice verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is said there that śreyaḥ-sṛtim, the real path of salvation, śreyaḥ-sṛtim, bhaktim, that is devotional service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śreyah-sṛtiṁ bhaktim. Bhaktim udasya te vibho. If somebody gives up the path of devotional service, kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye, and wastes time simply for understanding that "This is not Brahman, this is not Brahman..." That is the way of Māyāvādī philosophers. They scrutinize that "This is māyā and this is Brahman"; therefore they are called Māyāvādīs.
So this is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that śreyaḥ-sṛtiṁ bhaktim udasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye. Bodha-labdhaye. They stress on knowledge. What is this knowledge? You can talk on any insignificant thing for many years. That is not knowledge. Just like in the present modern civlization, so many nonsense articles without any utility, or volumes of volumes of books are sold in the market. There is nothing, no substance. Take for this..., newspaper. Especially in your country, volumes of papers in the news. Just after glancing over, it is thrown away. That's all. No more use. Just as The newspaper is published early in the morning, and just in the afternoon it is useless, it is heap of paper only, because there is no substance. Nobody can take any interest. But see Bhagavad-gītā, it is, five thousand years before it was published, and a few pages only, and how much care is being taken after Bhagavad-gītā. Because there is substance.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
You automatically will learn what is māyā if you have got full surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa will give you intelligence from within. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151), Caitanya-caritāmṛta. "By the mercy of spiritual master and by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, one enters into this devotional service." How is that? The mercy is parallel line. If you have not found out a spiritual master, but if you are sincere, then Kṛṣṇa will take you to a bona fide spiritual master. And if you get a bona fide spiritual master, then he will take you to Kṛṣṇa. So both things parallel. If you are sincere... Kṛṣṇa is always sitting within your heart, caitya-guru, the spiritual master within the heart. That spiritual master within the heart manifests himself externally as spiritual master. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ **. Sākṣāt, directly, directly representative of Kṛṣṇa. This is the verdict of all śāstras. Samasta. Samasta means all śāstra. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva **. And it is not only stated, but it is accepted as such by all great sadbhiḥ, devotees.
Festival Lectures
Simply struggle for..., unnecessarily. The best thing is that you have enjoyed sense life in so many varieties of life, as cats, as dogs, as demigods, as tree, as plants, as insect. Now, in this human form of life, don't be captivated by sensuous life. Just try to understand Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of the śāstras. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). To work very hard like dogs and hog for sense gratification is not the ambition of human life. Human life is meant for little austerity. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam. We have to purify our existence. That is the mission of human life. Why I shall purify my sattva existence? Brahma-saukhyam tv anantam. Then you get unlimited pleasure, unlimited happiness. That is real pleasure. Ramante yogino 'nante satyānanda-cid-ātmani iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (CC Madhya 9.29).
He said, "Don't hesitate. Either one may become a brāhmaṇa or one may become a śūdra..." Kibā vipra, kibā śūdra. Vipra means brāhmaṇa, and śūdra. Śūdra is the fourth-grade human being. Brāhmaṇa is the first grade. So kibā vipra, kibā śūdra. He may be a first-grade human being or the lowest grade human being, or he may become a sannyāsī or a gṛhastha. It does not matter. Anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he can become a guru. This is the verdict. Because spiritual science does not belong to the bodily platform. It is on the spiritual platform. It is very nice. Just like when you go to a lawyer or to an engineer or to a physician. You do not inquire whether he's a brāhmaṇa or śūdra. Simply you have to know whether he's a lawyer. That's all. Whether he's a physician actually. If he knows the medical science, he may be a brāhmaṇa, he may be a śūdra, he may be a sannyāsī, he may be a householder. It doesn't matter. Your business is with a physician, with a lawyer. Similarly, your business is to understand Kṛṣṇa. So anyone who knows Kṛṣṇa perfectly, you have to go there. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). It is... Vedic injunction is not that you have to approach a sannyāsī or a gṛhastha or an Indian or American. No. Gurum. And guru means who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for releasing all these conditioned souls from this misconception of life. Anyone, any intelligent man can understand that as soon as we identify our activities with the body, then we are fool number one. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Anyone who is identifying himself with this body... Sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. "And family members, wife, children, they are our own men. All others are enemies." Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. "And the land in which we have taken birth, that is worshipable." People are sacrificing their life in so many ways. The leaders are enthusing them, "Oh, you are national of this, national of that." Falsely they are working so hard. This is the basic principle, mistake, of the modern civilization—identifying oneself with this body, which he's not. So by Kṛṣṇa kīrtana, this bodily concept of life is..., in the beginning it becomes vanquished. A tacit example: you are all boys. You have forgotten that this body is Indian or American. You are Kṛṣṇa's. This is the first installment.
So basic principle of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to correct the wrong foundation of the human civilization. In the Bhagavad-gītā this is the beginning of spiritual knowledge. When Arjuna was identifying himself with this body and bodily relationship, Kṛṣṇa first of all corrected that "You are not this body." So if we do not understand these first steps of spiritual knowledge, then where is the question of making further progress? Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). This is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Yasya ātma-buddhiḥ. One who has accepted as self kuṇape tri-dhātuke, this bag of bones and flesh and blood... This body is made of... According to Vedic medicine or Vedic anatomy, it is made of three elements—mucus, bile, and air. Tri-dhātu. Apart from that medical science, this body, one who accepts this body as self and Sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu, and persons in relationship with this body as kinsmen, own men, bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, and the land where we take our birth as worshipable, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), he is accepted as go-kharaḥ. Go means cow, and khara means ass. That means animal. The animal, they accept this, that "I am this body."
Caitanya Mahāprabhu, paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam: All glories for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So this is the verdict of Vedic literature also. When Parīkṣit Mahārāja was talking with Śukadeva Goswāmī, he described the varieties of follies in this age of kali-yuga. But he pointed out that there is one great benediction in this age. Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ. The faulty kali-yuga is just like an ocean of miserable condition, but there is one great opportunity. What is that? Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa one becomes liberated, and he is elevated to the highest perfection of life. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet. So Lord Caitanya preached this Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, and He ordered every Indian. It is the duty of every Indian.
He's a good man. He has studied the movement very fairly. He is only surprised, "How these drug-addicted hippies have become devotee?" That is his surprise. He has mentioned that, that "We appreciate your movement, that you have turned so many drug-addicted hippies into devotee of Kṛṣṇa and in the service of humanity." That they are appreciating. And that is the fact. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. If one is turned into devotee, then all the good qualities automatically become manifest. That is the verdict of Bhāgavata. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who is not a devotee, his material qualification has no value. Mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ. He is hovering over the mental plane. Therefore in your country, Western country, the so-called big, big philosophers, scientists, they could not do anything tangible, because they are hovering on the mental plane. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Manorathena. Mana means mind and ratha means car. They are driving on the mental car. So mind is material. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja-selling more books?
Everyone is doing something. Everyone is eating something. Everyone is undergoing some austerity for success of his endeavor. So that should be converted to Kṛṣṇa only. Then it is success. This is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā
- varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
- svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
- saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
- (SB 1.2.13)
This is the resolution passed in the Naimiṣāraṇya big meeting, that... Everyone is working according to his capacity. Of course, in the Vedic conception a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, or brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa—this is the division. So in the meeting in the Naimiṣāraṇya the conclusion was that ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā. The president addressed all the learned brāhmaṇas and scholars assembled... Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant for very first-class men, not for the loafer class. In the Bhagavad-gītā this is clearly said, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Not for the loafer class.
We have simply created misunderstanding on account of material concept of life. We have accepted this body: "I am this body." I am, because I am accepting that I am this body... Accidentally this body was born in India; therefore I am thinking I'm an Indian. Or accidentally the body was born in Canada or in America—I am thinking I'm Canadian or I'm Indian or I'm American. This is created. This is not the actual fact. Actual fact is that I am not this body but I am the spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am the spirit soul." This is actual knowledge.
So,
- yasyātmā-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
This is the verdict of Vedic literature. Anyone who is thinking that "I am this body," and with reference to the body the family members, the society members or the nation members, national members... We are expanded. Or even international members. But I am not this body. So this kind of thinking is there in the animals also. The animals, the dog is thinking, "I am dog." And it is barking-dog's business.
So we have made this verse a standard of examination. We haven't got to do anything. Everything is there, because Kṛṣṇa is the original guru. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). Arjuna, in the paramparā system, is teaching us how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. So this is the qualification how to advance in spiritual consciousness. People are suffering. For want of spiritual consciousness, they are living like animal, dehātma-buddhiḥ.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijyadhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Go-kharaḥ means animals, cows and asses. Anyone who is thinking, "I am this body," he is animal. This is the verdict. Actually he is animal. If the dog is thinking, "I am dog," and if some gentleman is thinking, "I am Indian," "I am American," or "I am Englishman," where is the difference? To identify the body? There is no difference.
Initiation Lectures
So actually in the Vedas accepted one God. Eka brahma dvitīya nāsti. There is no second. God cannot be two. God is one. It is a misconception, there are many Gods. There are Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that "You worship any demigod. It is the same thing." They misinterpret the Bhagavad-gītā śloka, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante: (BG 4.11). "You can worship Me in any way." The Māyāvādī philosophers, there is a great missionary activities in India. They have got their branch here also. They propagate that "You may worship any demigod, goddess Kali or this or that. Everything is all right." No. God is one, and that is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān (SB 1.3.28). Even incarnation of God, they are part and parcel. They are bigger part. Just like we are, living entities, we are also part and parcel, Viṣṇu-tattva, they are also part and parcel, but nobody can excel Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. That is the verdict. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). There are so many evidences, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. And Kṛṣṇa Himself says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nāsti: "There is no more superior than Me," in the Bhagavad-gītā. So God is one, and that is Kṛṣṇa.
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: He says reason is by nature equal in all men. Now isn't reasoning power different in different men?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Otherwise why it is called "This man is intelligent," other man is called "You are ass." So when, on this reasoning platform, when one comes to the conclusion that the living force within the body is different from this lump of matter, then he is on the human platform. And if he keeps himself that this life means combination of these material things, then he remains an animal. This is the reasoning. Where is the life? You analyze beginning from the breathing up to the urine and stool—where you will find life? That is human reasoning. Human civilization is now advanced in analyzing things in the chemical laboratory. So if we analyze this breathing, it is air. So you replace this air, let life come again. What is this breathing? Breathing is simply exhaling and inhaling some air. So by machine, by electric, what is called, batteries, let it work and it will act accordingly, breathing. But does it mean it will bring life? So they say breathing is stopped; therefore life is stopped. So breathing can be revived, but where is the life? They say the blood has become white. So blood can be colored. So anything of this body, analyze perfectly and bring life; then you say that life is combination of this matter. You cannot bring it; therefore it must be concluded that life is different from this combination of matter. This is reasoning. This is human reasoning. And if you still keep yourself that this body is, it is everything, then you are animal. This is reasoning. That is the verdict of the Vedic..., sa eva go-kharaḥ. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). If one is thinking still that he is this body, he is no better than animal. There is no reasoning. Who can challenge this? Analyze every part of the body. Where is life? Hm? What do you think? Is that reasoning or not?
Hayagrīva: That's what he says.
Prabhupāda: So without religion, without spiritual ideas, then what is the difference between dogs and man? There is no difference. Dharmeṇa hīna paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. That is the verdict of Vedic civilization. If you do not know what is the spiritual necessity of life, and for awakening his spiritual interest of life the religious system is introduced in the human society... But in that, of course so-called religion system will not help. Therefore we repeatedly say religion means the execution of the order of God. So if you have no conception of God, no conception, no idea what is God's order, then there is no religion also. That is not religion. So that kind of religion is also, can be neglected, but religion must be there. Otherwise the human society becomes another edition of the animal society.
Hayagrīva: Well, his conception of religion is that of the..., having, playing some music, and uh, daliance with the supernatural, intellectual aesthetic enjoyment. He says, "What else does organized religion provide?" Religion is a form of, sort of enjoying art.
Prabhupāda: No. Art is there, and singing is there, dancing is there, but that is based on spiritual conception. That is the difficulty in the Western countries, that they are not fully aware of the conception of religion. Therefore Bhāgavata says that cheating religion, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ. There is no purpose, simply a recreation of different nature in material life. That is, means, they do not know, except sense gratification, any other engagement. They think religion is also another kind of, type of sense gratification, "So we can perform it." And actually that is going on. Whenever there is some festival they change the daily way of life into some more eating, drinking, and dancing, like that. But religion means to understand God and our relationship with God and live in God practically. That is real religion. That is the aim of life.
Purports to Songs
The body's supposed to be conducted by three elements, kapha pitta vāyu, cold, and bile, and air. So when these three elements work simultaneously, there is no disease in the body, but, as soon as there is overlapping disruption of these three elements, the body becomes diseased. And when it is not possible to bring them again in their regulative principle, a man dies. That is the verdict of Āyurveda śāstra. So death takes place when these three elements become overlapped with one another. And the symptom is that there is a sound on the throat which is called: garhh, garhh. That means the patient cannot speak. The throat is choked up and he becomes suffocated and dies. So this is the last stage, symptom of his body.
It is a punishment on me by the Yamaraja, the superintendent of death." Actually, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, saṅkīrtana movement, is so nice and attractive, every simple, I mean to say, unsophisticated person shall be attracted. But if one is not attracted it is to be understood that he is being punished by the laws of the superintendent of death. Anyway, if we stick to this principle of chanting, then even Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, he'll also fail to punish. That is the verdict of Brahma-saṁhitā. Brahma-saṁhitā says, one who takes to this devotional life, his reaction of past deeds are adjusted immediately. so every one of us should take part in this movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. (end)
| Page Title: | That is the verdict (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 21 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=121, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 121 |