Prabhupāda: Ah, mahātmāna. This mahātmāna means devotees of Lord. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). This is mahātmā. Not by stamping "mahātmā." Mahātmā means . . . mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. Mahātmās, they are under the protection of spiritual energy. And what is the sign? That bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ. Find out this verse, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. Just like we are under the material energy. This is called . . . this is also daivī-prakṛti, but it is inferior.
Parā-prakṛti and aparā-prakṛti. That is described. That real daivī-prakṛti is transcendental. Everything is Kṛṣṇa's energy. Just like heat and light, they are different energies of the fire. But heat or light, light is superior than the heat. Both of them coming from the same source, heat and light. Just like sun: the heat and light. But we are more concerned with the light, sunlight. Similarly, the spiritual world and the material world, both of them are creation or emanation, mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, from God. But the light energy is more perfect. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. What is that verse? You have found out? Read it.
Pradyumna:
- mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
- daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
- bhajanty ananya-manaso
- jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
- (BG 9.13)
"O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Bhajanti. Bhajanti means "engaged in devotional service." Bhaja sevāyām. Bhaj-dhātu, this verb, is meant for "rendering service." Bhaj-dhātu, kti, bhakti. So bhakta. Bhakti, bhakta and Bhagavān. So these are the mahātmās. But these mahātmās, these bhakta-mahātmās . . . actually, mahātmā is bhakta-mahātmā. But there are others, mahātmās; they are also called mahātmās, but they are not mentioned in the Bhāgavata. They have been mentioned anye. Anye mean others. Is that verse there? Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha? No. Anye?
Anye means others. The impersonalists, they are also sometimes called mahātmā. But the mahātmā who is kṛṣṇa-bhakta, that is very rare. That is described in Bhāgavatam, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. There are mahātmās, but the mahātmā who is the devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he is very rare. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Jñānīs they are also mahātmās, speculating what is the Absolute Truth. They are also called mahātmā. But this mahātmā, bhajanty ananya-manaso, without any deviation, this mahātmā is very rare. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. This prapadya . . .
(aside:) Oh, why you are . . .? You can keep it closed. Yes.
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
- (BG 7.19)
Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. The jñānīs and yogīs, they have to search for the Absolute Truth for many, many births. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān. Those who are searching out the Absolute Truth, they are also jñānavān. Or after many, many births, when one becomes actually wise, jñānavān. Everyone is searching after the Absolute, or the highest perfection of life. "In this way, searching, when one comes to the real platform of becoming wise, then he surrenders unto Me." Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). Why? Now, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Such wise man, jñānavān, he knows that, "Kṛṣṇa is everything." Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. "That mahātmā is very rare."
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is making that sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ, not ordinary mahātmā. Sa mahātmā, that mahātmā, who fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa also says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is real perfection of life. By understanding Kṛṣṇa, by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, by going back to home, back to Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, that is saṁsiddhi. What is that verse, saṁsiddhi?
Pradyumna: Saṁsiddhiṁ paraṁ gati . . .
Prabhupāda: No . . . nāpnuvanti. Saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ. Saṁsiddhim. Siddhi, siddhi is ordinary. If you become transcendentalist, jñānī, yogī, that is also kind of siddhi. Yogīs, they have got aṣṭa-siddhi, aṇimā-laghimādi. But that is not saṁsiddhi. Saṁsiddhi is different. Saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ. The highest perfection, saṁsiddhi, is to go back to home, back to Kṛṣṇa. That is saṁsiddhi. Mām upetya kaunteya duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). That will save him from coming down again to this place which is full of miserable condition of life. That is saṁsiddhi. That one can attain very easily.
That is also described, that janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9): "Anyone who understands Me in truth . . ." Generally, people understand Kṛṣṇa that "He appeared as a great personality, son of Vasudeva. At Mathurā, He was born. And He acted very gorgeously in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra," and so on, so on. This is also knowing. But this is not knowing factually that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one understands Kṛṣṇa the original source of everything, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), which Kṛṣṇa explains, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7): "There is no superior authority beyond Me." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8): "I am the origin of all." When one understands Kṛṣṇa like that . . .
The Māyāvādī philosophers, they think that, "I am also Kṛṣṇa. I am also Kṛṣṇa." But people who follow, they do not ask him that "If you are Kṛṣṇa, you show something as Kṛṣṇa showed. Kṛṣṇa lifted the Govardhana Hill when He was seven years old. And you are seventy years old. What you have done like that?" (laughs) So everyone wants to become Kṛṣṇa, but he cannot manifest Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Kṛṣṇa showed the virāṭ-rūpa to Arjuna. What you have got? So this is Māyāvāda. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). Kṛṣṇa says, "Nobody can be superior than Me or equal to Me, equal to Me." Therefore Kṛṣṇa's another name is Asamordhva. Nobody is equal; nobody is above Him. Asamordhva.
So in this way if we understand Kṛṣṇa, then we become liberated. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). And this tattvataḥ is very significant. How you can know Kṛṣṇa as He is, in truth? That is also explained: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). If you want to understand Kṛṣṇa in tattva, in fact, in truth, then you have to adopt this process of bhakti. Not jñāna, not yoga, not karma. karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti. So Kṛṣṇa is understandable simply by bhakti, not by other methods. Not by karma, not by jñāna, not by yoga. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19). The jñānīs, karmīs, yogīs, they are trying to come to the Absolute Truth, but they will take many, many births to come to this point to surrender. Therefore intelligence means if one understands that "Ultimately I have to come to Kṛṣṇa for my highest perfection; then why not immediately? Kṛṣṇa is canvassing, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Why not take this process?" This is intelligence.