"This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is nice. Let me see." So this is the beginning. Ādau śraddhā. And then sādhu-saṅgaḥ: then associate with these devotees. Then, after some time, when he's little advanced more, then he is eager to become initiated. This is third stage, as some of these students are going to be initiated today. The initiation means bhajana-kriyā. Actually executing devotional service: initiation. And if one actually executes devotional service, then anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt, then all nonsense habits will disappear. Then I'll not have to stress on the point these four regulative principles. Automatically it will go away. That is the test. How one has properly utilized his initiation will be tested that he has no more attraction for these four principles: illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, and meat-eating. They will automatically go. There is no need of asking. Anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Then ruci. When one is freed from all these prohibitive principles, then he develops a taste, tato ruci. Tato niṣṭhā: then he's steadily confirmed. Athāsaktiḥ. Then attachment: he cannot go. He cannot go. Athāsaktis tato bhāvaḥ. Then ecstasy. And then he comes to the platform of love of Godhead. So when that platform is reached, then everything is successful. And if that platform is not reached, then everything is simply waste of time. But in the beginning, if you follow these principles, as laid down by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and other ācāryas...
There is no need of... (Lectures, Other)
Lectures
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
That is called paraṁ pada. According to Vaiṣṇava, paraṁ pada means to go to Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka Vṛndāvana and be engaged as servant, eternal servant of the Lord. But according to the jñānīs, the paraṁ pada means merge into the effulgence of brahma-jyotir. Śāstra says that āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). To go to that paraṁ padam, that is also not very easy. Kṛcchreṇa. Severe austerities and penances, one has to undergo to merge into the Brahman effulgence. Therefore you'll find, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, their stricture is very rigid. They must take bath thrice in, in a day and lie down underneath a tree and... Their renunciation is very rigid. Of course, those who are strictly following. In our Brahmā, Vaiṣṇava sannyāsa, there is little leniency. Because they live in Kṛṣṇa, so there is no need of very strict, rigid following. Although it is stated that they should live like this. But there is leniency. But Māyāvāda, they are very rigid in their principles of sannyāsa life. That is called āruhya kṛcchreṇa. Kṛcchreṇa, with great difficulty, they merge into the Brahman effulgence. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). They attain in the perfectional stage. Not perfectional. Paraṁ padam. In the spiritual realm. But patanty adhaḥ. Again falls down. Again falls down means because in the effulgence there is no varieties. The example is just like you have got a nice sputnik or, what is called...?
Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ **. Sākṣād dharitvena. Because guru is representative of Kṛṣṇa, therefore he should be respected as good as Kṛṣṇa. Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. But because a guru is respected as Kṛṣṇa, the guru does not think that he has become Kṛṣṇa. No. That is foolishness. He's the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore... Just like most confidential secretary, he acts as the master. His signature, his settlement will be accepted by the master. Similarly yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasya prasādād na gatiḥ kuto 'pi **. We have to select the right representative of Kṛṣṇa, and accept him as guru. And if I please him, then Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. There is no need of... Somebody, they say that "Kṛṣṇa is not present. How shall I please Him?" No. Kṛṣṇa's representative is present. You please him. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo, yasya **. Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau (ŚU 6.23). This is the process. Yathā deve tathā gurau. Tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante. This is the process. Ādau gurvāśrayam. That is Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī giving his, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, ādau gurvāśrayam. If you are actually interested to understand Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa-bhakti, the first business is ādau gurvāśrayam: you take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master who is representative of Kṛṣṇa.
That is pure devotion. Not that forced. In the beginning, we have to force, that "You rise early in the morning. There is maṅgala ārātrika. You have to perform it." But when this function will be done spontaneously, "Oh, this is the time to offer maṅgala ārātrika to my Lord..." That is wanted. That is wanted. Not that "Oh, it is a heavy burden to rise early in the morning and to offer maṅgala ārātrika." That is not spontaneous. But one has to act under the direction of spiritual master and śāstra, which is called vidhi-bhakti, regulative devotional service, he comes to the platform of spontaneous service.
We have got an example in this connection. Formerly there was child-marriage. Boys and girls were married at the age of ten years, twelve years. So at that time, there was no practically love. But the guardians, they induced the girl to go and offer her husband some eatables, to give her some service. In this way... That was just like regulative. But when they actually come in the platform of attraction, there is no need of direction. So the spontaneous love, when spontaneously we shall serve Kṛṣṇa, without any obligation, without any force, that is required. Spontaneous love, rāga-mārga. Go on.
So dharmasya āpavargyasya arthaḥ na arthāya upakalpate. So dharma is not meant for developing economic condition. That is secondary. But dharma is meant for ultimate goal of liberation. People do not know that. People are not educated that what is the ultimate goal of life. Still, they take to religious life as a compromise between the contending elements, that "We must live peacefully under religious system." The aim is how to live in this material world peacefully. Sometimes religion and God is conceived in that way, that is, "If we have some conception of God, then we shall be moral, we shall be peaceful. Otherwise, there is no need of presenting God in the society." There are so many different opinions, different philosophers, different religious system, according to the modes of nature. But actually every system must be targeted towards realization of Kṛṣṇa, or God. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). That is Bhāgavata-dharma. Bhāgavata-dharma means realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prahlāda Mahārāja recommended culture of this Bhāgavata-dharma from the very beginning of life: kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). That is the success of human form of life, to execute Bhāgavata-dharma. The, the process... And dharma, as we have several times explained, dharma means the codes of Bhagavān. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).
They will say. But if you give them some difficult job, that "You press your nose in this way, you make your head downwards, and you exercise in this way, do...," they'll think, "Yes, it is something." So things are very easy, and one can achieve very easily, but they are reluctant to take the easiest process given by Kṛṣṇa, given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa is giving the easiest process, that "You surrender unto Me. I give you all possible help." We are not prepared to do that. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "You simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. You'll achieve the highest perfection." Not we are prepared. Therefore it is said, "Pure devotional service is rarely achieved." People will not accept the simple thing. They want to make something very difficult, then it is all right.
"Those in pure devotional service deride even the conception of liberation." Yes. Muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān. A devotee does not care for mukti. Mukti... Why they will care for mukti? As soon as he's a pure devotee, Mukti is on his leg. Why he should try for mukti? Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura says, muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān. There is no need of separate endeavor for getting liberation. It is already there. Muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣa samaya-pratīkṣāḥ (SB 4.8.41).
So we must elevate ourself to the second class devotee position. To become first-class devotee, that is very difficult job. We can expect after executing devotional service as a madhyama-adhikārī. Then we can be promoted. But if we keep ourself simply on the lower stage of devotional service, then there is chance of falling down. Sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ. Simply... Just like, generally, they keep in the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī stage. Of course, there is no loss. In any adhikāra, in any position, you are benefited because you have taken to devotional service. But our attempt should be from kaniṣṭha-adhikāra to madhyama-adhikāra. Madhyama-adhikāra means preacher. Unless one comes to the madhyama-adhikāra, he cannot preach. Because in the uttama-adhikāra there is no need of preaching, because uttama-adhikāra, he sees everything good. He does not think anyone is lacking Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He says everyone is Kṛṣṇa conscious, "Simply I am not Kṛṣṇa conscious." Just like Kavirāja Gosvāmī says, purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi sei lagiṣṭha (CC Adi 5.205). He sees himself lower than the worm in the stool... But he's not so, but he thinks like that. So uttama-adhikārī, it is not to be imitated. One must keep himself in the madhyama-adhikārī stage. Madhyama-adhikārī stage means that one knows what is Kṛṣṇa, īśvara, one knows who is Kṛṣṇa's devotee. Īśvare tad-adhīneṣu. And one knows who is innocent, neither devotee nor nondevotee, and he knows who is nondevotee. This is preaching. In kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, he knows simply how to worship the Deity. Arcāyām eva haraye śraddhayā pūjāṁ śraddhayehate.
So it is the duty of the spiritual master to promote the devotees from the kaniṣṭha-adhikāra to the madhyama-adhikāra. Not to keep them.
Everyone should be happy. But they are trying to be happy, but they do not know how to, how to become... Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They are misguided. They cannot be happy without becoming Vaiṣṇava. This is open declaration in the śāstra. They cannot become happy. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā (SB 7.5.31). If they are trying to become happy otherwise, that is durāśayā, hopeless thing. It will never be fructified. It will never be successful. Na te viduḥ. They do not know. Therefore our business is to make them know that "This is the way of perfection. Take Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Make your life perfect. Be happy, and go back to home, back to Godhead." This is our mission. They do not know.
So we are trying to convince them in so many ways. There is no need of so many ways. The one, simple method, chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, will be sufficient to make them perfect. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). The problems, bhava-mahā-dāvāgni. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, mahā-dāvāgni, "great forest fire." Forest fire, we have no experience immediately, but in America, there is occasionally forest fire. They have got very good experience. There are many forests also. So the forest fire takes place automatically. Nobody goes to set fire. Similarly, in this material world the blazing fire is always there—problems, different problems. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. This will be extinguished immediately. It is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's saying. How? Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Simply by spreading this saṅkīrtana movement, all the problems of the world will be immediately mitigated. So to make people Vaiṣṇava, pure Vaiṣṇava, and to spread the saṅkīrtana movement, this is the mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and we are trying our best. Actually, it was the duty of the Indians, but fortunately, the Americans have taken up instead of Indians. Therefore I have brought them. The Indians... You are forgetting your duty. The foreigners are doing your duty. So you should welcome them, instead of driving them away by so many pleas. This is not very good. Yes. Go on.
Yamarāja said that "These are the eight authorities." Therefore we have got sampradāya: Brahma-sampradāya, Rudra-sampradāya, then Lakṣmī-sampradāya, Śrī-sampradāya, and Kumāra-sampradāya. The present ācāryas, they are Rāmānuja-sampradāya, Śrī-sampradāya, Madhva-sampradāya, Brahma-sampradāya. In this way... So we have to follow the footprints of the sampradāya. Just like we are Gauḍīya, Mādhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya. We are following the footprints of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as enunciated by the six Gosvāmīs,
- śrī-rūpa sanātana bhaṭṭa-raghunātha
- śrī-jīva gopāla-bhaṭṭa dāsa-raghunātha
So we have to follow the authorities. We cannot manufacture. There is no need of research work. Simply if we follow the chalked-out path given by the great authorities, that will help us. Yes, go on.
Mādhavānanda: "There is a similar statement by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself to Uddhava in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Twenty-seventh Chapter, verse 49. The Lord says there, 'My dear Uddhava, all persons are engaged in activities, whether those indicated in the revealed scriptures or ordinary worldly activities. If by the result of either of such activities they worship Me in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then automatically they become very happy within this world, as well as in the next. Of this there is no doubt.' We can conclude from this statement by Kṛṣṇa that activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness will give everyone all perfection in their desires.
"Thus the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that there is no need of even designating oneself brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha or sannyāsī. Let everyone be engaged in whatever occupation he now has. Simply let him worship Lord Kṛṣṇa by the result of his activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That will adjust the whole situation and everyone will be happy and peaceful within this world. In the Nārada Pañcarātra, the regulative princi..."
Prabhupāda: "Everyone" means one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Everyone" does not mean that one who does not. But if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by his influence, hundreds will be happy. Hundreds will be happy. So a few people, if they become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then there will be tremendous benefit to the human society. Not that everyone will become Kṛṣṇa conscious. By the presence of really a pure Kṛṣṇa conscious person, many people will be benefited.
Therefore one should concentrate upon devotional service. Everything is there. Sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā. If you..., one is devotee of Acyuta, everything is complete there. And he's śānta. He does not require it. He does not endeavor for it. But because he's Kṛṣṇa-bhakta, everything follows him. Everything follows him. That ānanda is nice. There is no need of showing magic or renouncing this world or accepting this world. These things are not required by Kṛṣṇa-bhakta. Because if he accepts, it is for Kṛṣṇa. If he rejects, that is for Kṛṣṇa. Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa prātikūlyaṁ vivarjanam. We advise, "Give up this habit. No illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating." So this is tyāga. Why tyāga? For Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wants this. Kṛṣṇa does not want to see us debauchees. Therefore we must give it up. And Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī mām... (BG 18.65). We accept it. So our business is to accept by which Kṛṣṇa is pleased, and reject by which Kṛṣṇa is pleased. Our central point is how Kṛṣṇa is pleased. So we have nothing to do with acceptance and rejection. We have to see whether Kṛṣṇa or His representative is pleased. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasya prasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi **. That is our practical... And if we live in that way, then we shall be happy. That is called happiness by devotional service. Go on.
This is the only thing. If we have got unflinching faith and devotion to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then we can automatically become niṣkiñcana, liberated, developed in economic condition. That is not important thing for a devotee. They come automatically. Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22). Kṛṣṇa says. Why he should try for economic development? Kṛṣṇa personally comes. "You want this. Take it." That is devotee. Why he should hankering after economic development? No. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches: na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). There is no need of hankering. Kṛṣṇa knows what he requires, "How My devotee will be satisfied." Kṛṣṇa knows... If Kṛṣṇa sees that this devotee has got little desire for some material enjoyment, Kṛṣṇa will give.
Just like Dhruva Mahārāja. Dhruva Mahārāja, he went to the forest to worship the Lord, for getting the kingdom of his father or better than that. So although when Dhruva Mahārāja saw the Lord he said svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yā..., "I, I don't want anything. I am now fully satisfied", still Kṛṣṇa gave him Dhruvaloka. Because he desired: "No, you enjoy. Then you come back again." So there is no need of asking any... Kṛṣṇa knows, as the father knows, the mother knows what is the need of my child; Therefore pure devotee never asks from Kṛṣṇa anything except His service. Mama janmani janamanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī. "Without any cause let me be engaged in Your service." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, perfection. Go on.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
The Absolute Truth can not be ascertained by imaginative speculation. One has to learn the tattva from the tattva-vit. Therefore the tattva-vid vadanti. Vadanti means they explain, tattva-vit, one who is tattva-vit, he explains. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam. One who knows, he's not silent. He is to preach, he is to speak. Nowadays it has become a fashion to be maunī-baba, does not speak. So these are, may be very good device for professional business, but so far we are concerned, in the Vedic culture, the tattva-vit must speak. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. The tattva-vit must hear from the authorized person; then he'll speak. That is nice. Otherwise there is no need of speaking. So those who have not heard from the authorized person, they may make a business by making himself maunī-baba. Tāvac ca śobhate mūrkho yāvat kiñcin na bhāsate: "A mūrkha, a dull rascal, is very beautiful so long he does not speak." Because as soon as he speaks, then his knowledge, his learning, his capacity, his position, will be immediately exposed. So our paramparā line... Prahlāda Mahārāja has condemned this system, maunī-baba. No. Our system is kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching.
Of course, now they are stopping, finish. They are also taking now to this process of singing and dancing in India. So formerly they used to, I mean to say, decry. So sannyāsī ha-iyā kare nācana gāyana: "Oh, here is a sannyāsī. He is dancing and singing." Nā kare vedānta-śravaṇa: "He does not give His attention for studying Vedānta," kare saṅkīrtana, "and always engaged in Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." Mūrkha sannyāsī: "That means He has (no) knowledge. He has not studied all this Vedānta philosophy, and He's a nonsense. What He can do?" Sometimes we are considered a nonsense because we have no other stock except chanting. And actually, we have no stock except chanting. But why do we talk of philosophy? Because the fools want to talk of philosophy. Otherwise, there is no need of talking philosophy. Simply by chanting, everything is complete. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was showing this example, and other Māyāvādī sannyāsīs criticizing Him, "Oh, here is a, a foolish, is a," mean, "a illiterate sann..." Because there were many illiterate sannyāsīs also in India. "Illiterate sannyāsī. He does not know how to execute..." (aside:) Oh, I have forgotten. (break) "...how to execute the sannyāsa life. Therefore He's chanting and dancing." This sort of criticism was going on. Bhāvuka ha-iyā phere bhāvukera sane: "And there are other sentimentalists who are also equally foolish and ignorant. So therefore they are following this sannyāsī."
E saba śuniyā prabhu hāse mane mane: "When Lord Caitanya was being criticized in that way, He was smiling. He was smiling, 'What can I do?' "
Bahirmukha. Bahirmukha means those who are trying to be happy by adjustment of this material energy. They are called bahirmukha. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). This is their misconception, hope. They are hoping against hope. Don't you see? Everyone is trying to be very happy individually, nationally, but it is not happening. Sukhera lagiya, ei ghara bhandinu, agune puriya gelo (?). The nature's law is that, that it will set fire. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Bhāgavata says that "Why you are hankering after happiness? If you are destined to get some happiness, you'll have it. There is no need of your further endeavoring." "Why? Everyone is trying. I shall try." No. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Just like you don't hanker after distress. Why distress comes? Why distress is forced upon you? So many people come to us, "Swamijī, I am in distress in this way and that way." But he never wanted this distress. Why it has come? "Similarly," Bhāgavata says, "when distresses come without your invitation, similarly, your happiness also will come without your invitation, hankering. Rest assured." Because you are under the laws of nature—prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27)—so the effect will come. So don't try for moving your distress, or don't try, don't be puffed up with so-called happiness. God is... (break) ...things will be managed. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. Don't think that you are managing. It is being managed by nature's law. Everything is there, destined. That is called adṛṣṭa. You cannot see, adṛṣṭa. Dṛṣṭa means seeing; a means not. Therefore everyone's business is to cultivate this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only business of the human society. And there is ample opportunity. And the process is very simple. Why do you losing the opportunity? Don't do it. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12).
So I shall request you to understand the philosophy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His movement. We have got already six centers, five centers in your country. I started first in 1966, July, in New York. Then I started in San Francisco, then Boston, then at Montreal. Of course, I did not go everywhere. These boys, the sincere boys and girls who are helping me, who have joined this movement, they are doing. This center was started also by one boy. I have come for the first time here. Now I will request you that this movement is nothing sectarian or anything bluff. It is the movement as the necessity of the human society. You join it, you consider it. You put your logic, arguments. In every way, you'll find that this is the necessity of the present day.
So not only one center in Los Angeles, but you open centers in every village, every country, every home. And the process is very simple. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance in ecstasy and everything will come within yourself gradually. Everything will come. You'll practically feel how you are becoming reformed. There is no need of wasting time. This Hare Kṛṣṇa movement can be done at home, outside home, when you are working, when you are walking, every moment. So try to understand this movement and try to follow it. It is not sectarian; it is the need. I shall discuss all these points gradually. If you kindly come and attend our classes, I shall be very much thankful.
Thank you very much. If there is any question, you can ask.
Just like nobody hankers after distress, but we have experienced, distress is forced upon us. So similarly, śāstra says that whatever happiness you are destined to get, wherever you remain, you'll get it by destiny. So there is no need of trying for suppressing distress and getting happiness. Don't waste your time in that way. But you try for that thing which you never got in other different forms of life. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This life is meant for this purpose, to understand Kṛṣṇa and God, or God. Yes. That is the only... athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is meant. Not for wasting our time simply with the animal propensities. The modern civilization, modern education, has no information about this. Nobody is trying to understand what is the actual aim of life. There is no such civilization. Therefore he is presenting himself, kuviṣaya-kūpe paḍi' goṅāinu janama. "Simply in the matter of searching after false happiness I have wasted my time." That he has condemned.
They do not take it. Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī said, āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni. "I do not know what is independence, I am dancing like dog, independence." Therefore he says, āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni: "How independence I can get, that I do not know." Real independence is, as Kṛṣṇa puts in the Bhagavad-gītā, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). One who is intelligent, he sees that "My real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, birth, death, old age and disease."So when we get free from these four problems, that is real independence. Otherwise, there is no independence. I may dance with independence, but any moment I shall have to leave my country, my society, my friends, my family, any moment, "Get out immediately. No, no independence." That is my position. So that is intelligence.
So in order to know all these problems of life... Just like Arjuna submitted, and any one has to submit. One has to... Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). So Sanātana Gosvāmī is teaching us by his personal behavior how to approach the bona fide spiritual master and submit before him and putting himself praṇipā, blank. Not that "I know something, and what my spiritual master can teach? I know everything. There is no need of spiritual master." No. This will spoil our life. The Vedic injunction is that you must have not a so-called guru but... That is also given definition.
Then you deliver yourself, you deliver others also. That is the mission. So what we are doing? We are not discovering anything. We are simply presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That's all. Kṛṣṇa said, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). We are teaching all over the world the same thing, that "Here is Kṛṣṇa. You always think of Him, you just offer your obeisances, you just become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī, worship." So we are teaching. So there is no discovery. It is already there. So that we are carrying simply. Yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). We don't interpret. There is no need of interpretation; then there is no authority of Bhagavad-gītā. If I am a third-class man, if I interpret Bhagavad-gītā, then Bhagavad-gītā has no authority. Bhagavad-gītā should be preached as it is. Then you become guru, you can deliver others. This is the process. (indistinct) Hare Kṛṣṇa.
"Actually what I am?" Ke āmi kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya: "I do not want sufferings, but sufferings are forced upon me, three kinds of suffering: adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika." This is knowledge. So adhyātmika means sufferings pertaining to the body and mind, and adhibhautika means sufferings offered by other living entities. Adhibhautika. And adhidaivika, sufferings offered by natural disturbances. There are three kinds of sufferings. Just like the firework is going on, the heavy sound. It is intolerable by somebody. But still, he has to tolerate, that "This firework is going on by other persons." This is called adhibhautika. Similarly, there are so many sufferings which we do not want. Still, they are forced upon us. Therefore he said, kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya: "These three kinds of miseries are always giving me trouble, and at the same time, I do not know what I am." Everyone is thinking, "I am this, I am that," but he is suffering. These are very plain questions. So these questions should be put before the spiritual master, and he should get proper answer and act accordingly. Then spiritual life will be successful. Unless we are interested in such questions, there is no need of wasting time to accept any guru or spiritual master.
So again he says, sādhya-sādhana-tattva puchite nā jāni: "Actually I do not know. It is my duty to put questions upon you." That is also indicated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So in this way, kṛṣṇānuśīlanam, that is our duty, ānukūlyena, ānukūla, not pratikūla. There are two ways of acting, ānukūla and pratikūla. If you act as I desire, that is ānukūla, and if you act what I don't desire, that is pratikūla. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be ānukūla, according to the desire of Kṛṣṇa, as it is confirmed by guru. That is ānukūla, favorable. And if you act whimsically, which Kṛṣṇa does not desire or the guru does not desire, then it is pratikūla. So ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167), that is bhakti.
So here it is said, avidya-karma-samjñānya trtiya śaktir isyate. This material energy is full of ignorance, avidya, and karma-sanga. Here you have to work hard. But if you become devotee, then there is no need of working hard. Yoga-kseman vahamy aham. Then Kṛṣṇa takes charge. Kṛṣṇa takes charge of you. Kṛṣṇa has taken charge of everyone, but especially yo tu bhajanti yam pritya tesu te mayi. Those who are devotee, for them special care. So here we are careless. Nobody is taking... The materialistic persons, they are working in their own capacity, that "I shall become happy in this way, I shall become happy in this way," and therefore entangling, committing so many sinful activities. And he's not becoming happy; more and more unhappy. Karma-bandha. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, sata sanga chadi khainu, asate vilāsa, te karane lagile mora karma bandha phansa. So if we don't take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if we act independently, then the result will be that we shall be entangled in the laws of karma. Laws of karma means karmana daiva-netrena jantor deha upapatti (SB 3.31.1). By karma we are creating another body, next body.
He is providing so many, innumerable living entities. So our business is... And the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham: (BG 10.10) "I supply whatever he needs. Who is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I supply it. I take the goods personally and deliver there." Why should you be anxious? Kṛṣṇa will take hundred pounds of flours, hundred pounds of rice, and deliver you. Just be Kṛṣṇa conscious. In ordinary home you don't find more than five pounds. You see in our stock, all hundred pounds.
So these are facts. These are not stories. But foolish people, they have no knowledge or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All your material necessities will be... But don't be extravagant. Take only whatever you need to maintain your body and soul together and execute this... Make this primary and other things secondary. Kṛṣṇa will supply you. But if you want to make your sense gratification, if you want to accept more than what you need, then you'll be in trouble. That is māyā. So Kṛṣṇa has provided for everyone, everything. There is no need of being anxious. But that does not mean that I shall feel, "Oh, I shall do everything and anything." No.
This is called baddha jīva, conditioned soul. But mukti means... This is mukti. That means... Caitanya Mahāprabhu is immediately, by one word, giving you mukti. They are trying so much, undergoing austerities, penances, going to the Himalaya, making mystical..., so many things for mukti. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu? That mukti He's given directly: "Take this mukti." This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. "You simply try to understand your position, that you are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." And as soon as you accept this position, you are mukti.
So mukti is not difficult for a devotee. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has said, muktiḥ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān: "Oh, mukti? She is standing at my door with folded hands: 'What can I do for you?' " So the bhaktas, they do not care for mukti. They are already mukta. There is no need of separate endeavor for mukti. You simply accept this truth, that you are servant of Kṛṣṇa—immediately you are mukta, immediately. It doesn't require... It requires only one second to become mukta. It doesn't require... Just like Kṛṣṇa says in the Bha...,
- sarva-dharmān parityajya
- mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
- ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
- mokṣayiṣyāmi...
- (BG 18.66)
This is mukti. "You surrender unto Me, and immediately I save you." Sarva-pāpebhyo... Because we become entangled by our sinful activities... There are all sinful activities, that "I am independent. I can do whatever I like. I am as good as God. I am God," or "I am God. Where is the difference for me?
I shall love my..." Oh, no, you cannot love. It is not possible. Because you are missing the central point. These are facts. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). One who does not love God, he cannot have any good qualification. Why? Mano-rathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ. Because he'll simply speculate on the mental plane and he will fall down under the spell of this material energy. He has no standing. However materially, academically qualification he may be, it is clearly stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. We have given you the list, twenty-six qualifications. As we become advanced in devotional service, all these good qualities will develop automatically. There is no need of legislation. There is no need of, but, anything, but all those good qualities will develop. Otherwise, what is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Is it a sentiment or fanaticism? No. It is a science. If you follow the rules and regulation and systematically, then all these qualities will develop. You'll practically see it. And as soon as these qualities are there, then you become actually lover of your country, you become a lover of your fellow man. You become friend, God, everything.
So uttara, uttara means uttara-mīmāṁsā. There is a philosophy which is called karma-mīmāṁsā. Karma-mīmāṁsā means there is no need of making your relationship with God. God is Supreme, accepted, but He is bound to give you the result of your honest work. This is another philosophy. So you work honestly, there is more or less moral principles. If you stick to the moral principle, ethics and morals, then you will be entrapped by the prideness that "Oh, I am very moral. I do not speak lies. I do not steal. I treat with my neighbors very nicely. So I have no necessity to search out father. I am quite all right." That means, this mundane moralist, if you become mundane moralist, or if you become mundane philosopher or if you stick to the ritualistic process of your particular faith, then there is no hope of reaching to the Absolute Truth. Mundane scriptural, ritualistic way and dry speculative philosophy and mundane moralists. Just like Arjuna and his brother. His eldest brother is Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira; he was very moralist, Dharmarāja. His name was "the king of religious principles," Dharmarāja. So Kṛṣṇa Himself advised him that "You go to Droṇācārya and tell him a lie, that 'Your son is dead. Your son is dead.' " Now Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, he was a mundane moralist, so "How can I tell lie? How can I tell lie? I have never spoken lie in my life." So there was some argument. Of course this was, fight was, some compromise was made between them in the camp. So he became a mundane moralist. He did not consider that "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is asking me to tell lie." So he could not transgress his moral principles so he could not become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He (was) considered mundane moralism, so it was not possible for him to become a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. He could not take Kṛṣṇa's order as the Supreme.
Because Kṛṣṇa's energy is manifested here, māyikā... Māyikā means like illusory, imitation, perverted. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated, ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham (BG 15.1). Here the tree, the original tree, is presented also, but how it is presented? Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham: "The root is upward, and the branches are downward." I think you may remember. Several times we have discussed. So how the root is upward and branches are downward? Have you seen any tree? Yes. We have seen. Where? In the reservoir of water or in a reflection you see the real tree is upwards, but the reflection is downwards. Therefore this material world is reflection. It is not real. Just day before yesterday I was pointing out the reflection of the sun from this side. So that reflection is playing. It is giving light, everything. But it is reflection, imitation. It has no value. Similarly, all this material world, it appears very nice, as if everything is all right, but nothing is all right. It is simply a temporary illusion. Therefore it is called māyikā. It is not the real thing. The real thing is there in the spiritual world. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says if you return to that real, I mean to say, abode, then you will have..., you haven't got to come back again to take birth in this material body. Yad dhāma gatva na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na candro na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). This is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "There is no need of sun. There is no need of moon. There is no need of electricity." These things are there.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Hmm. So the natural law, without being influenced by unnecessary attachment, or abhorrence. There is no need of attachment for this material world; neither there is need of abhorrence. That is īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Suppose we are sitting in this temple. So, of course, for temple we should have attachment. Ordinary home, or ordinary house, temple... We must explain. The temple is transcendental. According to Vedic civilization, to live in the forest is residential quarter in goodness, to live in the forest. Therefore, formerly, great sages and saintly persons, they used to go to the forest and live there. And the government would give them protection. The king's duty was to supply them food. What sort of food? The king used to give them in charity cows, nice cows. So they would take little milk, and whatever fruits are available in the forest, that was sufficient for them. And the king would sometimes hunt ferocious animals so that they may not disturb. But actually, they do not disturb saintly persons still. So to live in the forest is in the mode of goodness, and to live in the city, or town, is..., is in the mode of passion, and to live in slaughterhouse and brothel and drunkards, these are the residential quarter in ignorance. And to live in the temple is transcendental, above goodness, pure goodness. In the material world goodness is sometimes mixed up with ignorance and passion, but in the spiritual world there is pure goodness—no contamination or tinges of passion and ignorance. Therefore it is called śuddha-sattva. Śuddha-sattva. Śabdam, sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam: "That pure goodness is called Vasudeva, and in that pure goodness one can realize God."
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So if we want to learn about Kṛṣṇa, then we have to follow the path of mahājanas, great personalities. Just like Brahmā is presenting Brahma-saṁhitā, describing; Vyāsadeva is presenting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Bhagavān, Himself, is describing Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. So where is the difficulty to understand Bhagavad-gītā or Bhagavān? We don't find any difficulty. Where is the difficulty? The mahājana is there, the śāstra is there, the guru is there, the Veda is there. And why should we make research after God? What is this nonsense? Everything is there. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). The purpose of Vedas is to know Kṛṣṇa. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman. Brahman. So there is no need of searching out God. You can simply try to digest whatever is already there. The Bhagavad-gītā is there. All the ācāryas, they have accepted. They have written commentation on Bhagavad-gītā with reference to the Vedic knowledge. The Absolute—kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam—is accepted everywhere by all ācāryas. Why you are searching after God? I do not know. So this Bhagavad-gītā and this Brahma-saṁhitā, and the description is about Kṛṣṇa, and His abode:
Festival Lectures
There is planet beyond this material sky. There is another sky. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paras tasmāt tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another sky, which is eternal. This sky is temporary. Just like your body, my body, or anything in this material world, they are temporary. They have got a date of birth, and they grow, they stay, they produce some by-products, then dwindle, and then vanishes. That is material nature. But there is another nature, which is called spiritual nature. Even when everything is annihilated, that nature stands. So that spiritual nature, or spiritual sky, is described in the Vedic literature, in the Upaniṣads, that there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electricity. That is another sky. So our only business is to transfer ourself from this sky to that sky, that illuminating sky. That is the Vedic injunction. Tamasi mā jyotir gamaya: "Don't remain in this darkness, in this world of darkness. Come to the world of light." So this movement is very important movement. We are trying to educate people how to transfer one from this world of darkness to the world of light, which is called Goloka Vṛndāvana. So I am very much thankful to you that you have given me your time. So we have got our books; our devotees are preaching. Take advantage of this opportunity and make your life successful.
Thank you very much.
There was one incidence, very interesting. When he was magistrate in Jagannātha Purī... The system is... Jagannātha temple is a very big establishment. In the temple fifty-six times daily, bhoga is offered. And you'll find in the temple always at least five hundred to one thousand people gathered. And they come from outside, and prasāda is ready. If you go and ask in the Jagannātha temple that "We are one hundred men come from outside. We want prasāda," yes, immediately ready. So it is a huge temple. This is one temple, but there are many other thousands of temple in India where prasāda is distributed. Now it is minimized by our present government. They think that it is unnecessary expenditure. They are minimizing. But not unnecessary expenditure. They do not understand. Formerly, in India there was no necessity of hotel. Anyone goes anywhere, even in a village, he goes to a temple-prasāda is ready. There is no need of going to a hotel. You pay or don't pay. If you say that "I want little prasāda," "Yes, take it." That is the system still. There is the Nāthadvārā temple in Rajasthan. You pay two annas only. Two annas means one cent. You get sumptuous prasāda for two annas, all very nice prasāda, still. So prasāda distribution in temple is longstanding usage. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura... The Jagannātha temple is managed by a body, and it is the custom that the local magistrate of the district, he becomes the president, or manager. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was manager in that sense, because he was magistrate. The managing committee was being presided by him. So there was a complaint. In Orissa, this Jagannātha temple is situated in Orissa. Utkāla. Utkāla, this state, was originally belonging to Dhruva Mahārāja. His son's name was Utkāla, Mahārāja Utkāla. Anyway, so this Utkāla, there was a pseudo yogi.
So when the things are not practical, that becomes a forbidden. If you actually get the result by some spiritual or religious rituals, performance, then it is very good. Otherwise it is superstition. Lord Caitanya's opinion is that because all these Vedic injunctions, sacrifices, they are not possible to be performed in this age... They are very difficult. There is no expert leader to perform all these ceremonies and rituals. Therefore, take to this Hare Kṛṣṇa. Take to this. There is no need of rituals. There is no need of expenses. Simply God has given you tongue, and God has given you ear. Just go on chanting: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and it will fulfill your spiritual advancement. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa said, jñātvā ajñātvā ca karmāṇi jano 'yam anutiṣṭhanti: "Generally, mass of people, they are ignorant. They perform some religious rituals knowingly or unknowingly as a matter of superstition or custom." So, viduṣa karma-siddhiḥ syāt. But one who is intelligent, he should know that "By this sacrifice, I must get the result." Viduṣo karma-siddhiḥ syāt tathā na viduṣo bhavet: "And those who are fools, they, simply by superstition, they do it."
"So therefore we are not going to the city. We are inhabitants of this village. So it is better to worship this land, this land, this land, Govardhana." Because Kṛṣṇa was herding His cows on the Govardhana Hill, so indirectly He hinted that "We should worship this Govardhana Hill, and that is our duty."
So it is a long story, three, four chapters. Of course, it will take some time. I don't think you can give us so much time. The net, the result is that when Kṛṣṇa talked like this, then His father agreed not to perform the sacrifice. Because all the inhabitants of Vraja, Vṛndāvana, they are so much fond of Kṛṣṇa, whatever Kṛṣṇa will say, they will accept. So although Kṛṣṇa was a boy, He implored his father and other elderly gentlemen present there that "There is no need of performing this sacrifice." So they stopped sacrifice. As a result of this stopping, Indra became very much angry, and there was torrents of rain, incessant rain, and very vehemently. So the whole village and whole tract of land comprising the Vrajabhūmi, they became overflooded. And the cows and the animals and the people became too much afflicted. So they had no other source. They approached Kṛṣṇa, "Protect us. Kṛṣṇa, protect us." So at that time Kṛṣṇa said, "Yes, I will give you protection." So He was, although a boy of six or seven years old, He lifted that hill. That is... We are... If any time you go to India you will see the hill. It is not less than at least five, six miles area, very big hill. That hill was lifted by Him, and He kept that hill in His hand for seven days. And then everything was cleared. Then Indra prayed Him.
Of course, in 1922 Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he wanted me to do something in this connection. He wanted from his, all his disciples. Especially he stressed many times that "You do this. Whatever you have learned, you try to expand in English language." And in 1933, when he was in Rādhā-kunḍa, I was at that time Bombay in connection with my business life. So I came to see him, and one friend wanted to give some land in Bombay for starting Bombay Gauḍīya Maṭha. He's my friend. So that's a long story, but I wish to narrate this, the Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī's mission. So at that time one of my Godbrother was also present. He reminded me about my friend's donation, and Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda immediately took up the land. He continued that "There is no need of establishing many temples. Better we publish some books." He said like that. He said that "We started our, this Gauḍīya Maṭha in Ultadanga. The rent was very small, and if we could gather 2 to 250 rupees, it was very nice, going on. But since this J.V. Datta(?) has given us this stone, marble stone Ṭhākurabari, our competition between the disciples have increased, so I don't like anymore. Rather, I would prefer to take out the marble stone and sell it and publish some books." So I took that point, and he also especially advised me that "If you get money, you try to publish books." So by his blessing it has become very successful by your cooperation. Now our books are being sold all over the world, and it is very satisfactory sale. So on this particular day of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura's advent, try to remember his words, that he wanted that many books should be published about our philosophy and it should be given to the English-knowing public especially, because English language is now world language. We are touring all over the world. So anywhere we speak English, it is understood, except in some places. So on this day, particular on the advent of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, I'd especially request my disciples who are cooperating with me that try to publish books as many as possible and distribute throughout the whole world. That will satisfy Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as well as Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Thank you very much.
Not an imitation, bona fide. And bona fide means as they are depicted, as they are described, as they are enjoined in the authorized śāstra like śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-pañca... (Brs. 1.2.101). Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśrityā ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Never mind in whatever family one is born, sinful family, never mind. Striyaḥ śūdrās tathā vaiśyaḥ, including woman and śūdras and vaiśyas, they are considered as less intelligent. They are considered as less intelligent. Therefore, according to Vedic system, a boy born in a brāhmaṇa family, he is allowed all the saṁskāras, reformatory, purificatory process, but the girl is not. Why? Now, because a girl has to follow her husband. So if her husband is brāhmaṇa, automatically she becomes brāhmaṇa. There is no need of separate reformation. And by chance she may be married with a person who is not a brāhmaṇa, then what is the use of making her a brāhmaṇa? That is the general method. So therefore the, even born in a brāhmaṇa family, a woman is taken as woman, not as brāhmaṇa. But Kṛṣṇa says, "Never mind. Even if she is woman, even she is śūdra, even she is vaiśya, or any other, I mean to say, family born in, never mind." Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśrityā (BG 9.32), if anyone is bona fidely made Kṛṣṇa conscious, te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim, so his way is open to the path of Vaikuṇṭha, parāṁ gatim. Kiṁ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayas tathā (BG 9.33).
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Prabhupāda: They will be also Kṛṣṇa conscious. We are maintaining, raising all these children. There are so many children in our society. We have got... There is school. We are preparing special school study books for them. We are taking care of them nicely.
Woman Guest: I wondered, are you sending them, or do you advocate sending them to secular schools, or have you made arrangements...?
Prabhupāda: No, no. We admit without application. There is no need of application. You'll please come and stay with us, that's all. Our door is open. We are rather appealing to the person, "Please come." In ordinary institution you have to put your application. When it is sanctioned, then you are admitted. We are canvassing, "Please come, please come, please come." Still they are not coming.
Woman Guest: That isn't exactly what I meant. I just wondered if you made arrangements with the government to...
Prabhupāda: Yes, we're trying for that.
Woman Guest: It's still under way now?
Prabhupāda: To get our institution in New Vrindaban, the government has said that "You make such and such building." So we have no money, but still we are trying. So as soon as the government conditions are fulfilled, we'll get government cooperation also.
And to worship Him, to please Him, is very easy. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. Simply you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and dance, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu will be very pleased. He introduced this dancing and chanting, and this is the easiest process for God realization. So as far as possible... If possible, twenty-four hours. If that is not possible, at least four times, six times, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra before Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and you will get success in your life. This is a fact.
So I am very glad that you are worshiping Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu. So continue to do this. There is no need of installing Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa at least at the present moment. When you become more advanced in spiritual consciousness, you can establish. But even if you do not establish, it doesn't matter. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is sufficient. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is combination of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In one place you worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So I see this place is very nice, and you are also very nice. Take advantage of this opportunity, and go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and worship Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He will bless you sufficiently to become successful in getting shelter of the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
People also want to be cheated. As soon as we say that "If you want to become my disciple, you will have to give up four things: no illicit sex, no intoxication up to drinking tea and smoking cigarette, no meat-eating and no gambling," and they criticize me, "Swamijī is very conservative." And if I say that "You can do all nonsense, whatever you like. You simply take this mantra and give me $125," they will like. Because in America, $125 is nothing. Any man can pay immediately. So I would have collected millions of dollars if I would have cheated like that. But I do not want that. I want one student who follows my instruction. I don't want millions. Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca tara-sahasrasaḥ. If there is one moon in the sky, that is sufficient for illumination. There is no need of millions of stars. So my position is that I want to see that at least one disciple has become pure devotee. Of course, I have got many sincere and pure devotees. That is my good luck. But I would have been satisfied if I could find out one only. There is no need of so-called millions of stars.
So therefore the process is there, and it is very simple, and if we understand the all instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā and then we study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam... Or even if you don't study, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given very simple method. That is also recommended in the śāstra:
Any karatālas? (sings Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava) So after two years, I think, I have got the opportunity of seeing you and your Rādhā-Vṛndāvana-candra, who is so kind upon you. So real happiness is here. Rādhā-Vṛndāvana-candra is staying here, and He's pleased with your service. This is the perfection of life. Keep Kṛṣṇa always with you and serve Him sincerely, then all happiness will come, without any endeavor. The foolish people, they do not know. They are trying to improve their economic condition, position, and wasting their time. It has no value. Of course, modern people will take it as very revolting that there is no need of this endeavor for economic development. Actually you, if you study minutely, what is the benefit by economic development? Prahlāda Mahārāja said that, what is that verse? Only waste of time. Prayateta? Na prayateta, na tasya etad prayateta tat-prayāso kartavyo yata āyur-vyayaḥ param. This modern civilization, it is not modern, but in modern civilization it has become very prominent, that to improve the economic condition. Economic condition means we improve the standard of sense gratification. This is called going on economic condition. But we require a little sense gratification. Dharma artha kāma mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). This is the gradual process of evolution. Real purpose is mokṣa, how to become free from this entanglement of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is the real aim of life. But because we are coming from the lowest grade of living condition, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati-like that, 8,400,000 different species of life—our tendency is only for sense gratification. Because in the lower grade of life there is no other pleasure except sense gratification. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. A small ant, some information has come to him that on the third floor there is a grain of sugar, and he's running there. Āhāra: something eatable is there. So sense enjoyment means these four things: eating, sleeping, sex and defense. This is called sense enjoyment. But this is common to everyone.
This is real problem. Unfortunately there is no such education all over the world to deal with the real problem. They are simply tackling some temporary problem and spoiling the human form of life to solve these petty problems and creating a situation for the next life which may not be very good, because this material world is matsaratā. Matsaratā means envious. I am envious of you, you are envious of me. This is material life. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not for the people who are envious. Dharmaḥ projjhita kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu (SB 1.1.2). Why enviousness? You are human being, I am human being. Why we should be envious of one another. This is artificial. There is no need of. But we are put into certain condition that we have to become envious by nature or someone.
So this materialistic way of life is full of enviousness, rivalry, competition, then birth, death, old age, disease, threefold miseries-ādhyātmic ādhibhautic, miseries from the mind, from the body, from other living entities, natural disturbance. And we are trying to be happy here. This is called foolishness. It is not possible. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). The creator of this world says that this place is for suffering, duḥkhālayam. And aśāśvatam. That is also temporary. You may think, "Never mind. I am American. We have got big, big buildings and big, big roads and cars. Never mind it is duḥkhālayam, I shall remain here." No, sir, you cannot remain." Aśāśvatam: you have to leave this place. Even if you make compromise that "Never mind. I am happy now to my estimation," the answer is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). You cannot make permanent settlement. That is not possible.
This is not our manufactured words; it is kṛṣṇa-upadeśa, that "Anyone who is not surrendered to Me, duṣkṛtina, he is immediately classified into four groups." What are they? Duṣkṛtina, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. So it is a very simple thing. Who is a mūḍha? If one does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, if one does not understand what Kṛṣṇa, he is either duṣkṛtina, means sinful; mūḍha, rascal; narādhama, lowest of the mankind; and māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, and his so-called education and degrees are useless because real knowledge is taken away from him. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. So there is no need of fighting by... But we can understand what are these people in general. They are within these four groups of men. So we have to face them. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is facing these rascals, these duṣkṛtinas, these narādhamas, and to request them to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You cannot sit idly to show your gorgeousness in a secluded place, imitating Haridāsa Ṭhākura: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. No. You have to preach. That is the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). That is really following the Caitanya Mahāprabhu's... Not to imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura. You can... Even you do that very nicely, that is for your safety. Supposing that you are doing nicely, but that is for your safety. But one who is facing dangerous position for others' benefit, they are very quickly recognized by Kṛṣṇa.
Initiation Lectures
You see? There are sufficient proofs. Just like Arjuna says, "Kṛṣṇa, You are the paraṁ brahma. It is not because I am Your friend I am flattering You. You have been accepted by authorities like Vyāsadeva, Nārada, in all scriptures, and You are personally explaining Yourself." So there is no doubt about it, but the demons, in spite of all this—dog's obstinacy—they will not accept. So let them go to hell. So far we are concerned, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His body is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge, end sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). If we simply remember that Kṛṣṇa is like that, and as soon as we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we remember Kṛṣṇa, and we understand that He is the Supreme Personality.
This very consciousness will lead you. It is not very difficult. It is very easy, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. And those who have taken already, they are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, and they are making progress both, I mean to say... Their health is improving; their mind is becoming very nice. So you will be also feeling. There is no need of talking. You will yourself feel, but you must follow. And there are ten kinds of offenses. That also, you should avoid. And these rules and regulations. Now chant mantras. (end)
These kind are explained. In that spiritual kingdom there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electricity. And one who goes there, he does not come back. He lives there eternally, blissful life of knowledge.
So the initiation process means to give the conditioned soul a chance. This chance can be available in this human form of life. The cats and dogs, they cannot take chance of entering into the spiritual kingdom, or they cannot... It is not possible they can take initiation for purifying the body. So everybody, every human being, should take advantage of this form of life, human form of life, and cultivate this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And it is very simple and easy also. For this age, Lord..., by the grace of Lord Caitanya, we have got very easy method: simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This mantra also which we uttered just now, it is said, yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam: "Anyone who remembers puṇḍarīkākṣam, Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, immediately he becomes purified." Śuci. Śuci. Śuci means purified. Śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu. Three times. So the Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu is the same thing. Kṛṣṇa is the original person of all viṣṇu-tattva. So anyone who is keeping himself always in touch with the vibration of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—that is the only, I mean to say, guaranteed platform where you can keep yourself purified without any material contamination. And in this purified state, if we can leave this body ultimately, then there is no doubt we enter into the supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead.
Everyone has to accept sannyāsa āśrama at a certain period, generally at the end. But one who is advanced, he can take sannyāsa even at young age. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, Rāmānujācārya took sannyāsa very young age. My Guru Mahārāja took sannyāsa at very young age. So it is not that only old men should take sannyāsa, but there are many instances. Why? Now, parātma-niṣṭhā. Etāṁ sa āsthāya ahaṁ tariṣyāmi: "I shall cross over." Tariṣyāmi means cross over. Duranta-pāram: "which is very difficult to overcome." Tamo: "this darkness." This material world is dark. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. Vedic injunction is, "Don't remain in this darkness. Go the other side, jyoti, where there is..." Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ. There is another nature, where there is no need of sun, no need of moon, no need of electricity. There jyoti... Jyoti means effulgent light, only light. So we have to cross over this ocean of darkness and reach that jyotir dhāma. Jyotirmāyā dhāma, brahma-jyotir. Tamo mukundāṅghri. How it will be possible? Mukunda. Mukunda means... Muk means mukti, or liberation. So one who gives liberation and gives ānanda... Unless one is liberated, one cannot understand what is ānanda, or pleasure. Here in the material world we are trying to be happy by false pleasure. Actual pleasure... Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure. When we serve Kṛṣṇa, mukundāṅghri... Aṅghri means lotus feet, leg. When we appoint ourself, engage ourself in the service of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who can deliver liberation and transcendental bliss... Tamo mukundāṅghri niṣevayaiva: "Only by serving Him I shall be able." This mantra you shall take copy. Also Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja, you can read this portion and...
Prabhupāda: Yes, that will help. Oh, you do not know. You never done it.
Devotee (7): Yes.
Prabhupāda: How is that, it is...? Do. Do. Do. Yes. Let him. Let him do one more. Now you can put it. Simply... That's all right. Don't... Yes. Go on. Yes, like that. There is no need of... Do that. Yes. Yes, like that. Go on. You know the mantras? Then you can do. Go on putting fuel in. Yes. Yes. Like that.
Devotee (7): Should I begin to chant...
Prabhupāda: Yes. (Devotee (7) chants standard prayers for fire sacrifice with devotees and Śrīla Prabhupāda repeating and Śrīla Prabhupāda giving instructions on pouring the ghee)
Prabhupāda: Now stand with banana, all. Take the banana and stand up. You also take.
This, this is not required at all. Similarly, by worshiping Kṛṣṇa, you don't require to endeavor to worship the demigods, to worship the daridras, to worship the this and that. It will be automatically done.
Just like in our temples, everywhere, we are daily feeding so many daridras. So many. In Los Angeles, in New York, and Māyāpur also, daily we are feeding five hundred to one thousand people. They are daridras. So that is the duty of every temple. There we're feeding not only Hindus and, only, but Muslims also. Anyone. Anyone come here and take prasādam. And the whole village is so satisfied with these activities. Temple means there must be sufficient foodstuff. Anyone who comes for foodstuff, he should be given. So by worshiping Kṛṣṇa, these things automatically done. There is no need of extra endeavor. Parātma-niṣṭhā. This is called parātma-niṣṭhā. Etāṁ sa āsthāya parātma-niṣṭhā. Not only now. From time immemorial, all the temples in India, they have got sufficient foodstuff. Even at Nātha-dvāra, if you pay them only one anna or four annas, they'll give you so much nice prasādam. The two annas, four annas, the priestly order, they take. Otherwise, prasāda is distributed. So by worshiping Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa is not hungry. He's fully satisfied. He doesn't require to eat. Temple worship means to distribute the prasādam to the poor. That is temple worship. Temple worship does not mean that you, you bring some rice from the neighborers and cook it and eat yourself and sit, sleep down, nice. No. Temple worship means you must distribute prasādam... You should... To the poor. Everyone is poor. Not that the rich man is not poor. Actually I have seen one rich man, he was coming for asking some prasādam. In my, before when I taking, when I was gṛhastha, I was going in so many temples, asking for some prasādam. That's a long history. So there is no question of, if one is financially poor, he should come to the temple. Everyone should come to the temple and ask for prasāda. That is required.
Cornerstone Ceremonies
There is no question of interpretation in the Bhagavad-gītā. Interpretation is allowed when you cannot understand. When the things are clearly understood... If I say, "This is microphone," everyone understands this is microphone. Where is the necessity of interpreting it? There is no necessity. This is foolishness, misleading. There cannot be any interpretation in the Bhagavad-gītā. It is... Everything is clear to the point. Just like Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa does not say that "You all become sannyāsī and give up your occupational duty." No. Kṛṣṇa says, sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya saṁsiddhiḥ labhate naraḥ (BG 18.46). You remain in your business. You remain your occupation. There is no need of changing. But still, you can become Kṛṣṇa conscious and make your life successful. This is the message of Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is not going to make any topsy-turvy of the social order or spiritual order. No. It should be standardized according to the authority. And the best authority is Kṛṣṇa.
So make this center successful, you ladies and gentlemen of Bombay. We have got very nice place. We are building so that you can come here, stay, at least in weekend. If you stay, all those who are retired or elderly gentlemen, ladies, they can come here and stay. We will have sufficient place. But try to organize these principles of Bhagavad-gītā all over the world. That will be the gift of India. Caitanya Mahāprabhu desired that anyone who has taken birth in India as human being, not cats and dogs... Cats and dog cannot take any part for doing good to others.
General Lectures
Yes. The point is that what is the constitutional position of the spirit soul is very elaborately discussed in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. Now the last instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). He has instructed to Arjuna all kinds of yoga system, all kinds of religious ritualistic process, sacrifice, and philosophical speculation, the constitutional position of this body, constitutional position of the soul. Everything He has described in the Bhagavad-gītā. And at last He says to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, because you are My very intimate and dear friend, therefore I say the most confidential part of Vedic knowledge." And what is that? "You simply surrender unto Me." That's all. People are not inclined to surrender; therefore he has to learn so many things. Just like a child, he has simply a feeling of surrender to the parents, he's happy. There is no need of learning philosophy how to live very happily. The child is completely dependent on the care of parents and he's happy. Simple philosophy. But because we have advanced in civilization, in knowledge, therefore we want to understand this simple philosophy in so many jugglery of words. That's all. So if you want to learn in jugglery of words, then this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not lacking. We have got volumes of books of philosophy. But if you accept this simple process, that we have to... God is great and we are part and parcel; therefore my duty is to serve and surrender unto God. That's all. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, without discussing all the constitutional position, philosophy, knowledge, and so many other things, yoga system, He immediately begins that the constitutional position of the living entity is to serve the supreme whole. That is... That is the beginning of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. That means where the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā ended, Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from that position. (aside:) Yes. Go on.
Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. (audience responds) Somebody is helping him? Yes, it is all... So we are interested in capturing the original person. (chuckles) We are not interested with any subordinate. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ. But if one can capture the original person, then he captures everyone. Just like the same example. In the Vedas it is said in the Upaniṣad, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti. If you can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the Absolute Truth, then you understand everything. There is no need of understanding separately. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam etaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti. Similarly, in the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said,
- yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ
- manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ
- yasmin sthito na duḥkhena
- guruṇāpi vicālyate
- (Bg. 6.20-23)
Now we are, everyone, searching after some standard of life where we will have no anxiety. That is the aim of everyone. Why we are struggling? We are trying to approach a certain point. Just like two parties playing on football, they are, each one of them, trying to approach the goal. That is victory. So everyone is trying to gain something, according to different position, according to different idea. Not everyone is searching after the same thing. Somebody searching after material pleasure, somebody searching after intoxication, somebody is searching after sex, somebody is searching after money, somebody is searching after knowledge, somebody is searching after so many things.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that there is another spiritual sky, where there is no need of sunshine. Na yatra bhāsayate sūryo. Sūrya means sun, and bhāsayate means distributing the sunshine. So there is no need of sunshine. Na yatra bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko. Śaśāṅka means moon. Neither there is need of moonlight. Na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ. Neither there is need of electricity. That means the kingdom of light. Here, this material world is kingdom of darkness. That you know everyone. It is actually darkness. As soon as there is sun on the other side of this earth, it is darkness. That means by nature it is dark. Simply by sunshine, moonshine, and electricity we are keeping it light. Actually, it is darkness. And darkness means ignorance also. Just like at night people are more ignorant. We are ignorant, but at night we are more ignorant. So Vedic instruction is tamasi mā jyotir gama. The Vedas say, "Don't remain in this darkness. Just transfer yourself to the kingdom of light." And the Bhagavad-gītā also says that there is a special sky, or a spiritual sky, where there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonlight, there is no need of electricity, and—yad gatvā na nivartante (BG 15.6)—and if anyone goes to that kingdom of light, he never comes back again to this kingdom of darkness.
This is example. God is far away and He's the greatest. He has created so many millions of suns. But I am giving that example. Now to study the sun, first of all you come to the sunshine. The sunshine is distributed all over the universe, and the sun planet is situated in a localized place. And within the sun planet, there is the predominating deity who is called sun-god. But if you want to study all these things, first of all you come to the sunshine. The sunshine is impersonal. Similarly, there is a transcendental rays from the planet where Kṛṣṇa, or God, is there. Just a few minutes before I recited one verse from Bhagavad-gītā that na tad bhāsayate sūryo (BG 15.6). That means it is illuminating. There is no need of sunshine. Just like this planet is not illuminating; therefore we want light from the sun, from the moon, from electricity. But Bhagavad-gītā says that the planet of the Lord, there is no... Why planet? The sky. There is no need of sunshine. Every planet in the spiritual world is illuminating. So because every planet is illuminating, the whole spiritual sky is dazzling illumination. So one who approaches that dazzling illumination called brahma-jyotir, they are called impersonalists. Is it clear?
There is no need of... It is not possible to practice that yoga. Yoga practice... That kuṇḍalinī process of yoga is not possible in this age. It is a very difficult process. So we should recommend not to waste your valuable time following something which is not possible to be done by you. That is our recommendation. But if you have got some hobby, that is a different thing. But it will never be successful. It is very difficult to perform. At the present age, as it is recommended and it is followed, practiced, and experienced, this bhakti-yoga is the only possible way for self-realization. It is made very simple: simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma... Anyone can do it. Any part of the world can people practice it, of any age, it doesn't matter, either old, young, or child. We have got many children of our devotees, they are also chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And many old men like me, they are also chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And these young boys and girls, they are also chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So it is universal. And all these boys and girls, they are neither Hindus nor Indians, nor they have any knowledge of Sanskrit. But they easily pick up this Hare Kṛṣṇa and chant and getting the result. So this is the easiest, universal method of self-realization in the present age. Any other practice of yoga system will never be successful. It will be simply waste of time.
It is a second edition of Buddha philosophy. Zero, but that zero is without life. Māyāvāda philosophy says, "Yes, that zero, but with life." That is the mistake. If there is life, then there must be varieties. Life without variety is not possible. Dead body without variety, not life without variety. So these are the defects of all other philosophies. They're not defects, but the class of people amongst whom the philosophy was taught, they could not understand more than that. That's all. Just like a patient too much disturbed, he wants some medicine from the physician: "Please stop my disturbance. Kill me. Kill me." Sometimes they say like that: "Give me some poison, kill me. I cannot tolerate." A physician says, "Yes, there is no need of killing. I shall give you good, healthy life." He's so much impatient, "No. I cannot tolerate. Please kill me." So this Buddha philosophy, Māyāvāda philosophy is like that. Kill him "Kill me, please. Make me zero, void." So much frustration. So much disturbance that they want to make it zero. But our philosophy is life, real life.
But it is difficult to understand this philosophy, Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Why it is difficult? That is explained, gṛha-vratānām. Gṛha-vratānām. Gṛha means "house." So vrata means "vow." Just like everyone, common man, anywhere, they are interested with these bodily comforts, nice apartment, nice country, nice state, confident, nice bank balance. These things are their aspiration, no more. Nothing more. First of all this body, gṛha. Gṛha means "house, living place." So I am the soul, I am living, and this body is my first living place. This is also gṛha. I am not this body. Just like I am living in this apartment, I am not this apartment. Similarly, I am living in this body, but I am not this body.
That is required, routine, practice. Just like in India, formerly, the boys and girls were married at very early age. So I was also married very early age. My wife was only eleven years old. So I have heard my mother-in-law was married—she was seven years old and my father-in-law was eleven years old. So this marriage was performed, but it is not that the husband and wife live together unless they are mature, grown-up. So there was a system to, in order to... Because premixing is still not allowed in India, but the husband and wife... The wife by the elderly members was asked that "Just take this foodstuff, tiffin, to your husband." So she comes, offers little foodstuff, pan. In this way they gradually develop their relationship, loving relationship. But actually, when that love is mature, there is no need of introduction. In the beginning it is required. So devotional service is divided into two portions. Vidhi. Vidhi-mārga, rāga-mārga. Vidhi means by according to the order of the spiritual master. Then, when it is fully developed, then no more vidhi. Automatically one will be anxious to serve Kṛṣṇa: "How I shall make nice dress. How I shall serve Kṛṣṇa. How I shall cleanse the temple." There is no question of ordering. Spontaneous love. By rendering service, he feels transcendental bliss. That is spontaneous.
"He's my father. He's my child." Similarly, if we develop our original consciousness, that "God is our father; we are all children," then the whole trouble ceases. If God is the proprietor of everything and every children has got right to enjoy the God's property, then where is the trouble? For want of this consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everyone is claiming, "This is my property. This is my state. This is my country." Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Aham means "I," and mama means "mine." This is nonsense. Nothing belongs to you. Everything belongs to God. Everyone has got right to live on God's property. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If everyone is taught this God consciousness, there is no need of this artificial United Nations. We are united by nature. God is the center. Why artificial spending so much money? We are united not only in the human society, but we are united in all living societies, all living entities. Why we should treat the animals as different? Because there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I have got my consciousness that "The human beings in America are my brothers, or my countrymen. They should be given all protection." And why not cows? They are also born in America. Why they are being sent to slaughterhouse? Because there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore this partiality, that "Only human being is my brother, and the cows and the other animals, they are not my brother," this is lack of knowledge. But if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, if we take teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ: (BG 14.4) "In all species of life, in all forms of life, as many creatures are there, they are all My sons." So how can you treat others as not your brother?
Material life means satisfying our own senses, and vairāgya-vidyā, or devotional service, means satisfying Kṛṣṇa's senses. That's all. What is the difference between material so-called love and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa love? The difference is, in the material world, both the parties, they are trying to satisfy their own senses. It doesn't matter. When a boy loves a girl or a girl loves a boy, the motive is his or her own sense satisfaction. But the gopīs, their view is... Not only gopīs. All the cowherds boys, Mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, the Vṛndāvana party. So all of them—ready to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, when He was a boy, His father was arranging for Indra-yajña. Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear father, there is no need of arranging for Indra-yajña. Better you offer these materials to Govardhana Hill." The father answered, "My dear boy, if You want to offer some sacrifice to the Govardhana Hill, I shall arrange for another yajña. This is our custom. We are observing this traditionally. So let us perform this." Kṛṣṇa said, "No, there is no need." The old man immediately rejected, "All right. Kṛṣṇa, to satisfy Kṛṣṇa." The old tradition immediately gave up. And Indra saw, "Oh, this boy is so impudent. He has stopped my yajña. All right, I shall teach something."
There is very vivid description. They are not ordinary human being like us. The scientist says that the temperature is 200 degree less than zero. Even here, in your Western countries, although sometimes the temperature goes down below zero, if it is below ten degree or twenty degrees, you become suffocated. So how you can go there and live in a place where the temperature is below zero degree, 200 degree below the zero? So it is not possible. Even if you go, it is not possible to live there. If you have to live, then you have to dress yourself nicely. Just like when men like us from tropical countries come to your country, we dress... In India, practically there is no dress. You see these pictures, they are without any dress because there is no need of dress. It is tropical country. But in your country you require dress. You cannot go out without dress. You have to take precaution. Similarly, in other planets the atmosphere is different, the standard of living is different, the duration of life is different. There are varieties. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ (BG 9.25). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that if you want to go to the higher planets, there is ways and means. So we have discussed this point in our small book Easy Journey to Other Planets. So there is life in other planet, there is standard of living.
If somebody imitates or tries to imitate, he is simply wasting time. Only austerity is that don't have illicit sex life just like cats and dogs, because marriage is recommended in the human society. There is no marriage in cat society, dog society, hog society. Any human society you take, either in the Western world or in the Eastern world, or in Christian society, Hindu society, Muhammadan society—in every civilized human society there is a ceremony called marriage. And that is also Vedic system, that one should not have any illicit sex life, but one should be combined according to religious rite and live peacefully and execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This much austerity.
The next austerity, we say that don't take any animal food. There is no need of taking. Perhaps you are coming to our love feast. We can prepare. Of course, these boys and girls, they are not very expert, but still, whatever they have learned, and they are supplying prasādam to your American boys and girls, and people, they are appreciating very much. In Los Angeles—that is our biggest temple in your country—we get in every love feast day not less than two hundred guests. They come from far away with their car and they take. They like it. You see? So if you accept this austerity, that "We shall not eat meat, but we can have very nice foodstuff from grains, from fruits, from vegetables, milk, sugar, so many nice foodstuff," you will forget. Simply you have to learn. That is not very severe austerity. Simply our process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how from this present consciousness we want to change to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So these are plain truths. Kurukṣetra... Still there is a place of the name Kurukṣetra near Delhi. And people interpret, " 'Kurukṣetra' means this body." We do not know wherefrom he gets this meaning, what is that dictionary. Now, how he can establish? Kurukṣetra is still existing, and it is called dharma-kṣetra; it is a place of religious pilgrimage. So everything is clear. There is no need of interpretation. Simply you have to take the teachings. Then you will be benefited. So in this Bhagavad-gītā you will find so many nice information that if you see... If you don't see, that is another thing. You have to see that "Why I am put into so many miserable conditions of life although I do not want it?" That should be your question. If this question does not arise in your mind, that means still you are in the animal state of life. That is the human stage of life, when one inquires that "I do not wish to suffer. I do not want this suffering, but I am put into this suffering. Why?" This "why," for this "why," there is Upaniṣad which is called Kena Upaniṣad. So this "why" question must be there in the developed stage of human consciousness. And when that "why" question comes, there is an answer. There is answer in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and all Vedic literatures. So although people are not very much interested with all these questions and answers, but they are essential. If they do not question and seek for the answers, then they are simply wasting their the opportunity of human life. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that this Kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—paraṁ vijayate: "All glories." Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. Because the śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana will increase the ocean of transcendental bliss. Now, here in this meeting we are present. I am an old man of seventy-four years old, and here is a child, one year old. So beginning from this child, abala-vṛddha-vanita (?), the Sanskrit word. Beginning from the child, woman, up to the old man, everyone can take part in this saṅkīrtana movement. Actually we can see practically that everyone can take part in it. This is such a nice yoga system. There is no need of any material qualification. But we don't neglect material qualification. We can dovetail material qualification to render service to Kṛṣṇa, and that will make our all material possessions, assets, successful. (child making noises, like japa) He is trying to...
So our request is that you read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Here there are many Englishmen and Indians. That is my request. I am not charging anything. I am not making a profession. This saṅkīrtana movement, we are chanting freely. You can hear. There is... Not that it is a secret thing—if you pay me something, then I shall disclose. No. It is open secret. Anyone can take, and there is no loss. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, there is no loss, but there is great gain. You can try it. So we are freely distributing it by chanting. You can join with us, you try to understand us, what is our philosophy. We have got monthly magazine, Back to Godhead. We have got many publications, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya. If you want to understand this movement through philosophy, science, argument, we are prepared. There is ample opportunity for you. But if you simply chant, there is no need of education, there is no need of philosophizing. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and you gain everything.
The hint is given there that in the sky of freedom, in the spiritual sky, there is no need of sunshine. That is the distinction. Try to understand. This is also confirmed in the Upaniṣads. In the spiritual sky there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electricity, because everything is shining there, all Brahman effulgence. And as we have got one huge planet here, the sun planet, which is efful..., effulgent, dazzling, bright, in the spiritual sky all the planets are like that. So therefore, there is no question of darkness. Darkness is here. So you try to understand that there is a spiritual sky. That is not like this sky where we experience darkness. Now we are experiencing at night... Night means we are experiencing darkness; therefore we require this electricity or moonlight or sunlight. But the Vedas say, tamasi mā: "Don't remain in this darkness." Jyotir gamaḥ: "Go, just try to reach that system, that planetary system, where everything is dazzling, bright." That is the human form of life. That is required, how to enter into that spiritual kingdom or spiritual sky. These things are very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
I quarrel with you; you quarrel with me. Everyone thinks that he is independent, he is God or he is everything. But he is dependent in every step. But still, he's proud of becoming God. So these nonsense things are going on. Of course, this is a process of spiritual understanding, ekatvena bahudhā pṛthaktvena bahudhā viśvato-mukham, that "I am God," whether "I" means this body or "I" means this mind, or there is something "I" else than this body and mind. Therefore meditation required. Accepting that you are God, now find out "I." Now what is that "I"? Is that "I" this body or this, that "I" the mind, or is that "I" the intelligence? So meditation means to find out that "I" who's claiming that "I am God."
So if you identify yourself with this body, then there is no need of meditation because body, you are actually seeing—this is body. No meditation means that you have to transcend the bodily platform, the mental platform, the intellectual platform. Then you find out what is the "I." That is meditation. But fortunately we get information directly. Instead of searching out what you are, what is your position, what is this "I," you get direct information from Kṛṣṇa. What is that? Kṛṣṇa says that "All these living entities, they are My part and parcel." So as part and parcel, you may claim as God. How is that? Just like this whole body. Now, the finger, which is the part and parcel of this body, can be said also "body." But the finger is not the whole body.
These descriptions are there in the Bhagavad-gītā, that in the spiritual sky there is no need of sunshine. Bhāsayate sūr... Na yatra bhāsayate sūryaḥ. Sūrya means the sun. There is no need of sun. There is no need of moon. There is no need of electricity. These descriptions are there.
- na yatra bhāsayate sūryo
- na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
- (BG 15.6)
If one, one, anyone goes there, he doesn't come back again. So to go to that platform, or that plat..., planet, you don't require any sputnik or any airplane. Simply you have to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That's all. But unfortunately, we have no taste for this simple thing. We want to do something wonderful. Very simple thing. Kṛṣṇa does not prescribe anything which is impractical. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). The process is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām: (BG 9.14) "Always chanting about Me."
And what are the functions of such mahātmā? Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā, one who is so broadminded, he is not crooked to be under the spell of this material energy. He is under the protection of the spiritual energy, daivī prakṛti. Prakṛti means nature. This nature is called the material energy. And there is another, spiritual energy. These things are all explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Apareyam. These are aparā. Aparā means inferior energies, material energy. Itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parā. Beyond this inferior energy, there is another, spiritual energy. There are so many verses you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So our propagation is to present Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any nonsensical commentation. There is no need of nonsensical commentation. Bhagavad-gītā is as clear as the sunlight. As you do not require to see the sun with another lamp, similarly, you do not (chuckling) require to study Bhagavad-gītā with another commentation of a common man who has no knowledge. Bhagavad-gītā as it is, you should study. Then you will get all this knowledge. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) you become wise and you can understand Kṛṣṇa. Then you surrender. Then you become mahātmā. And what is the function of mahātmā? Mahātmā is under the protection of spiritual energy. And what is the symptom of that protection of spiritual energy?
These are the authoritative statements; therefore, we have to follow the ācāryas. They pick up nice authorized verses from various Vedic literature and present before you. So Śrīdhara Swami says, purāṇantare. In other Purāṇas also it is stated, pāpa-kṣayaś ca bhavati smaratāṁ tam ahar-niśam. "Anyone who is always absorbed in Your thought, no material scene can effect him, cannot touch him." Pāpa-kṣayam. "And if he has any sinful activities in his past life, that also becomes nullified." Pāpa-kṣayam. Pāpa-kṣayaṁ bhavati smaratāṁ tam ahar-niśam. "Anyone who is always..." Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā that yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā: "One who is always thinking of Me within himself, he is first-class yogi." Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ (BG 6.47). There is no need of speculating. Simply this easy process, thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that yoginām api sarveṣāṁ. All big, big yogis, there may be, but a person who is always absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa within himself, he is greater than all such big, big yogis. Greater than the greatest yogi. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā. Mad-gata means his life is so molded that he cannot stay without thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Mad-gata. He has become absorbed. That is samādhi. Mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān. Not for artificial makeshow, but śraddhāvān, with faith and love. Śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ.
Now argument may be forwarded that if the simple process, simply by chanting the holy name, one becomes liberated, then why there are so many śāstras, manyadini? Manu is supposed to be the leader of giving all śāstras. There are twenty kinds of śāstras, dharma-śāstra. Vimsati dharma-śāstra. So what is the necessity of these dharma-śāstras? Actually, there is no need of dharma-śāstra. Kṛṣṇa also says the same thing. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). There are twenty kinds of dharma-śāstras, religious principles, in the Vedic literature, beginning from Manu, Parāśara, and other great, great sages. So here, Śrīdhara Swami is also putting forward the argument that if simply by chanting the holy name of God, one becomes liberated—even mahātmās also, they have to take to this process—then why, what is the necessity of so many, twenty kinds of dharma-śāstras? So from the conclusion of various Vedic literatures, there is no need of studying even the dharma-śāstras. Otherwise, why Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66)? Sarva-dharmān means the dharma-śāstra also. Simply surrender. But people are so rigid and so, I mean to say, doggish, that they do not like to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. For them only, so many different ways of convincing. Otherwise, the whole purpose is to induce him to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vidyam. Kṛṣṇa says. All these Vedic literatures, they are meant for bending the stubborn atheist to come to this point. Therefore there are so many ways of... Otherwise, the ultimate goal is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and chant His holy name.
So Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, this Bhagavad-gītā was first spoken by Me to the sun-god, Vivasvān. Vivasvān spoke to his son Manu. And Manu, by his turn, spoke to his son Mahārāja Ikṣvāku." So if you take the history of Manu, then it becomes 400,000's millions of years ago Bhagavad-gītā was spoken. So Bhagavad-gītā is not a new thing. If we accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is, if we believe in the words of Bhagavad-gītā, or Kṛṣṇa, then Bhagavad-gītā is the oldest. It is not a new thing. It was long, long ago spoken to the sun-god Vivasvān. The sun-god, the president or the predominating Deity in the sun planet, is known as Vivasvān. So we have to study Bhagavad-gītā as it is by the paramparā system. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2). Not that whimsically somebody purchases a book from the market and he takes his pleasure to make an interpretation of his own intelligence. Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa. He did not leave it for being interpreted by an ordinary man. There is no need of explaining Bhagavad-gītā in a different way.
Then everything is there. Ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim, nārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim (Nārada Pañcarātra). The kim word is used: "What is the use of?" That is kim. So the śāstra says that if you have learned how to love Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of these books? There is no use. You can avoid anything, all this reading. But if you have actually developed your love for Kṛṣṇa... And after reading all these books, philosophy, science, if you cannot love Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of it? Both ways. Useless. If you do not love, do not develop your love for God or Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of your philosophizing and scientific knowledge? This is all useless. And if you actually have learned how to love Kṛṣṇa, or God, then there is (no) need of philosophy or science or books. So therefore the main point is how to develop. Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends this. Premā pumartho mahān. Our greatest success of life is how to love God, Kṛṣṇa. That is greatest success. Now you can do it. But there is prescribed method, given by great ācāryas. Just like in this temple we are doing. We are timely giving. The atheist will say, "Oh, these are so foolish that they are taking so much labor for preparing food and offering and wasting time. Best thing would have been to go to some club and enjoy wine and playing cards." They'll waste time in that way, but when... We are not wasting, but they say we are wasting time. They will criticize. You see? They are prepared to waste time in a brothel, but if people are sitting nicely in a temple and talking of Kṛṣṇa, serving Kṛṣṇa, they will laugh. That is our position. So we have to become callous to all these criticisms. We have to go with our business, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That's all.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness is there in everyone's heart. Just like we see the child, three years old child, she is dancing in ecstasy. We have got many children like that, they are chanting. There is no need of higher education to understand. Simply give oral reception to this transcendental vibration. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, golokera prema-dhana hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is not this material vibration like radios and television. It is imported from the Goloka Vṛndāvana. Therefore, if we are pure, if we chant this vibration, immediately we will be touching Kṛṣṇa. Immediately. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any offense... There are ten kinds of offenses. Apart from that offenses, if you simply chant, then Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), immediately your heart will be cleansed of all nasty, dirty things. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpanam. And you will get immediately freed from this.
Why should you try to understand Bhagavad-gītā from a different angle of vision? The first preference should be given to the author. The author has given you some knowledge, so he has got some particular aim and objective. So why should you change that? You have no right to change that. If you want to speak something from your side, you write your own book. Why should you take advantage of the popular book of Bhagavad-gītā and misrepresent it? That is the fun. You see? There are about six hundred different types of editions commenting on Bhagavad-gītā. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, all these six hundred editions in different, studied from different angle of vision, they are all absurd and nonsense. It is very difficult. People have been misled by the so-called commentaries. There is no need of unnecessarily commenting on certain things. There is no necessity. Commentary or interpretation required when things are not very clear. Then you can suggest, "The meaning may be like this." But when the things are clear, why should you comment? There is no necessity of comment. Just like, for example—this is also from Sanskrit scholar's example—that gaṅgāyaṁ ghoṣapalli. Gaṅgāyam: "On the Ganges there is a neighborhood which is known as Ghoṣapalli." Now, this statement is in your front. So one may question that "The river Ganges is water. How there can be a neighborhood which is known as Ghoṣapalli? On the water how there can be a quarter or neighborhood of human habitation?" You can question that. Gaṅgāyaṁ ghoṣapalli. Then the interpretation should be, "No, not on the Ganges. 'On the Ganges' means 'on the bank of the Ganges.' " This interpretation is nice.
Kurukṣetra is dharma-kṣetra, and historical fact is māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva yuyutsavaḥ (BG 1.1). Two groups of cousin brothers, they wanted to fight to settle up. Formerly the war was declared—the leader of the war, if he is killed, then the other party is victorious. Not that unnecessarily killing the civil citizens, no. This was nonsense. If there was fight between two kings, the citizens, they were unaffected, not that there is fight now between two parties, there is immediately siren, (imitates siren:) gaw, gaw, gaw, gaw, now bomb and the civil..., the most uncivilized way of war. In those days—those days means at least five thousand years ago—they selected a place, and "Let us fight and decide our fate," kṣatriyas. Why the public should suffer? So in this way Kurukṣetra was selected to fight between the two parties. And still it is existing. It is a great field. And dharma-kṣetre... Just try to understand that there is no need of our imperfect comments on the Bhagavad-gītā. That is my point.
Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). We say that, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What Kṛṣṇa says Himself, we simply carry the message. That's all. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Just always think of Me," man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, "just become My devotee," and man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī, "just worship Me and offer your respectful obeisances unto Me. In this way you shall come back to Me." So we are teaching that, that... We are teaching our students that "Always think of Kṛṣṇa." Smārtavyaṁ satato viṣṇuḥ. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same category.
So this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, very easy. There is no need of education, there is no need of becoming very wealthty or very intelligent. Anyone, even a child, can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So each time you pronounce the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, you remember Him, the smārtavyaḥ satato viṣṇuḥ. Ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ (SB 2.1.6). If by practicing this, at the time of death, if we can remember Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. Then our life is successful, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ, if you can remember simply Nārāyaṇa at the time of death. Because next life means the mental position of your life at the time of death. Whatever mental position you put yourself, that is your next life. That is your next life. Yad yad... What is that?
That is injunction. Jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam. Guruṁ prapadyeta. Tasmād prapadyeta guruṁ jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam. If you are actually inquisitive to understand higher science, uttamam... Uttama means higher. These are not higher sciences, how to earn some money. Earn some money, and eat something, and sleep, and have some sex life, and die—this is not higher science. This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it. It does not require much education. There is no scientific education how to enjoy sex life. Everyone knows how to do it. Similarly, there is no need of scientific education, how to eat or how to find out your food. The birds and beast, they are also finding out, and are they also eating. So these are not higher sciences. The higher science is to inquire, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about God, the Supreme. And that can be done by the human being, not by others. Not the cats and dogs. So if we do not give education of this higher science to the human society, if we keep them dumb about this, or if we make secular state, prohibitive injunction to understand God, then it is an animal society. It is an animal society. So such things happen sometimes.
So there is a narration of King Vena. The King Vena happened to be an atheist king. So because that... The reason is given that his mother was the daughter of an atheist king. Narānāṁ matur lakṣānām. It is a scientific fact that a son inherits the quality of the mother, and a daughter inherits the quality of father. So the King Vena's mother inherited the quality of her father, and the Vena, King Vena, inherited the quality of grandfather, or mother. So he was atheist king, atheistic. When he become king... He was very powerful, strong, but atheist. So when he became king, because he was very powerful, he declared by drum beating... What is that?
If we argue that animal stool... (aside:) Stop. Stop him. Don't make noise. ...the animal stool is impure, but when the Vedas says the animal stool of the cow is pure, so this is, this true. Similarly conchshell. Conchshell is the bone of an animal. So according to Vedic instruction, if you touch the bone of an animal, you become impure. But the bone of an animal which is conchshell, it is kept in the Deity room. So Vedic instruction is so perfect. Why this animal bone is pure, why this stool of animal is pure, that is already known. You don't require to make any research. You simply accept and get the fact. This is Vedic truth.
So that is called āstikyam. Āstikyam means to accept the Vedic instruction as it is. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. There is no need of interpreting. If we accept it, the truth, as it is, then we are benefited. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says that "I am the Supreme." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). "My dear Dhanañjaya, Arjuna,..." Arjuna is called Dhanañjaya. That's a background, how he became a dhanañjaya. So mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior person than Me." So we accept that way. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Not only we accept—all the authorities, whom we accept as authority. Just like Vyāsadeva. He is the authority of the Vedas. He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nārada accepts the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Of course, that is long, long, ages ago. In the recent years, all the ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Śaṅkarācārya, all of them accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So what is the difficulty for us to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? There is no difficulty. If you do not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you must present somebody else, that "Here is another person..." Then we have to compare whether Kṛṣṇa is actually Supreme Personality of Godhead or the another person. Because there is definition of God: aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47).
And the śūdras should live under the protection of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūd..., three higher castes. This is the injunction. So one has to do something for his livelihood, but, at the same time, he has to cultivate knowledge for his perfection of life. So this is perfection of life, simple thing. Simple thing we are prescribing all over the world. You try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Simple. And it is not very difficult. You read Bhagavad-gītā as it is. You understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is explaining everything. If the neophytes, one who cannot, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is prescribing like this: raso 'ham apsu kaunteya, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ: (BG 7.8) "My dear Kaunteya, I am the taste of the water." So there is no need of saying that "I cannot see God. I have not seen God." Here is God. The taste of water is God. Everyone is drinking water. And who is not tasting it? He's seeing God. Why do you say that "I do not see God"? You see, as it is directed by God. Then gradually you'll see Him. If you simply remember this instruction, this one instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ, "I am the taste of water. I am the shining illumination of sun and moon..." Who has not seen the sunlight? Who has not seen the moonlight? Who has not tasted water? Then why do you say, "I have not seen God"? If you simply practice this bhakti-yoga, as soon as you drink water and taste and be satisfied, "Oh, here is Kṛṣṇa." So immediately you remember Kṛṣṇa. As soon as you see sunshine, you remember, "Oh, here is Kṛṣṇa." As soon as you see moonshine, you remember, "Eh, here is..." As soon as you see something wonderful, pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu śabdaḥ khe, as soon as you hear in the sky some sound, so if you remember, "Here is Kṛṣṇa," that means you are remembering Kṛṣṇa in every step of your life. And if you're remembering Kṛṣṇa in every step of life, then you become the topmost yogi.
Ajñāna means ignorance, without knowledge. That is called ajñāna. So ajñāna is compared..., ignorance, stupidity, is compared with darkness. Just like if you are, if this room, immediately, all lights are off, then it becomes dark. We cannot see where I am sitting, where others are sitting. It becomes a confusion. Similarly, in this material world, we are all in the darkness. This material world is called darkness. It is called tamaḥ. Tamaḥ means darkness. Or timir. Timir means darkness. And actually, it is darkness. Because, because this material world is dark, there is need of sunlight, there is need of moonlight, there is need of electricity. (aside:) This child disturbing. But there is another world. We get description from the Vedic literature, na yatra bhāsayate sūryo na śaśaṅko na pāvakaḥ. There is another world, spiritual world, where there is no darkness, and therefore, there is no need of sunlight, there is no need of moonlight, there is no need of electricity.
So guru's business is to bring out the disciples from darkness to light. That is guru's business. That is guru. First business is that because he is suf... Everyone is suffering on account of ignorance. Just like you contaminate some disease out of ignorance. You do not know hygienic principle; you do not know that "This thing will contaminate me. This association will contaminate me. This kind of food will contaminate me." Because we do not know, therefore we contact infections, sometimes suffer from disease. It is very simple to understand.
Who needs a guru? A third-class, fourth-class man, ordinary man, doesn't require a guru. Guru, to keep a guru or to have a guru is not a fashion. One who is very serious to understand spiritual life, he requires a guru. Otherwise, there is no need of guru. Just like you keep a dog as a fashion, don't keep a guru. Guru means..., is a question of necessity. One must be very serious to understand what is spiritual life, what is God, what is my relation with God, how to act. When we are very much serious about this subject matter, then we require a guru. Don't go to a guru as a matter of fashion. That is useless. That is useless. Therefore śāstra says, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta. Because we have to go to guru and surrender there. Without surrendering, you cannot learn anything. If you want to challenge guru, it is not possible. Then you'll learn nothing. Tasmad guruṁ prapadyeta. Praṇipātena. So, just like Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as guru, he said, śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "I am now surrendered to you." That is the process. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). To... Guru means Kṛṣṇa's representative, former ācāryas' representative. Kṛṣṇa's... All ācāryas are representative of Kṛṣṇa; therefore guru should be offered the same respect as you offer to God. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Therefore Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo **. Because guru is bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa, or God, so if you surrender to guru, bona fide guru, that means you surrender to God. God is accepting your surrender through the guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo. If you surrender to guru, that means Kṛṣṇa is pleased. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) surrender. That somebody argues, "Where is Kṛṣṇa?
Because guru's business is ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā. Guru's business is to enlighten the disciple, because he's in darkness. In another place in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. Parābhavaḥ, parābhavaḥ means defeat. Defeat. So whose defeat? Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto: one who is born rascal and fool. Everyone is born rascal and fool. Nobody, otherwise, if you are learned, if you are..., if you know things, then why do you go to a school and college and pass university? It is a fact. Animals. If we do not cultivate knowledge, then we are as good as animals. Now another animal is saying that there is no need of books, and he has become guru. But how you can get knowledge without authoritative studies of books and science and philosophy? But they are trying to avoid this. So imagine what kind of guru and what kind of disciple.
So śāstra says, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto. Abodha-jāto. Everyone is born rascal, fool. He has to be enlightened, he has to be given knowledge, and he has to receive knowledge to make his life perfect. Therefore parābhavaḥ means one who does not make his life perfect, he's being defeated. What is the defeat? Struggle for existence. We are trying to get better life. Here also, in this life also, we are struggling hard for getting better position. So real better position we do not know. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: saḥ amṛtatvāya kalpate. Here in this material world there is no better position because there is death. You may possess a very good better position, but you'll have to give it up. Either the better position will give up you, or ultimately you have to give up that better position.
So if you understand, if you want to understand this movement through philosophy, science, and good logic, argument, we have got sufficient stock to convince you how this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is important. But suppose you are not interested in reading or you cannot read, cannot understand philosophy, we have got a very simple method: chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
So either you become a scholar or you become an ordinary man, you can take advantage of this movement, and there is no need of qualifying yourself. We don't say that first of all you qualify yourself, then come here. No. Any condition, even a child can take part. If you come here, you'll see. When kīrtana goes on, even small children, they also take part. It is so nice movement. And by taking part in this movement, automatically you feel some ecstasy, spiritual ecstasy. Then you begin to dance. We don't ask you to dance, but the chanter automatically dances. These are the spiritual significance of this movement, and anyone is invited. There is no restriction for any caste, creed and color. Because God is one, and everyone, according to our philosophy, every living entity... There are, as I have already explained, 8,400,000 different forms of living entities. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, said that "I am the seed-giving father of all the living entities." So we have no discrimination between even man or animal. Animals are also accepted as the sons of the Supreme. But they are differently dressed. We are simply changing dress. On account of changing dress, we think that we are dying and taking birth. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). Just this verse we were discussing this morning. So all living entities are sons of God, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore those who are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are called paṇḍita, learned. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. A paṇḍita sees equally everyone.
There is no (indistinct) who can calculate how many forms of life are within the ocean. But from the Vedic literature you get just exact conclusion—900,000 species of life. The botanists, they cannot say how many forms of trees and plants are there. But in the Vedas you'll find sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati—2,000,000's forms of life, of trees and plants. Sthāvara. Sthāvara means the living entities which cannot move, stand in one place. This is a punishment, those who are too much dull. Means..., dull means cannot understand what is God. That is dullness. Otherwise for eating, sleeping, sex life and defense there is no need of university education. Nobody goes to the university to learn how to eat, how to sleep, how to enjoy sex life and how to defend. There is no education required, because these four kinds of bodily necessities of life are known even to the animals. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. How to eat, the animal knows. Even the newborn child who has no education, no experience, he still... Even the cats and dogs, cubs, as soon as born, they find out the nipples of their mother and eat or suck. Even the eyes are blind at that time, but still he knows where is their food. Similarly, human child also knows.
So for eating, sleeping, mating and defending, there is no need of education. Education means athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is education. How to know the Supreme Absolute Truth—that is education. But the university, they are educating people how to eat, how to sleep. Eh? They are manufacturing so many eatables, different types of eatables, although God has given immense foodstuffs for human society. Just like these fruits, they are made for human beings. They are not eatables for the cats and dogs. They are meant for human beings. So eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has supplied, He is supplying immense foodstuffs for all living entities. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). But there is allotment for the pig—the foodstuff is stool—and for the human being, the foodstuff—fruits, flowers, foodgrains, milk, sugar. So as God has allotted, you use that for your eating. Eating is required. Then your life is successful. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā. Do not try to imitate others. Do not try to imitate the hog and the pig to eat stool. That is not human bodies' foodstuff. You eat your own foodstuff. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ. This is life. Food is already there, but the difficulty is that we do not know that we should be satisfied with the foodstuff allotted to us by God. Īśāvāsya. The foodstuff belongs to Kṛṣṇa, God. You cannot manufacture in the factory this nice foodstuff—apple, orange, banana and others, so many hundreds and thousands. So therefore the only business of human form of life is to inquire about the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Being.
Prabhupāda: I think Kalki. Tenth avatāra is Kalki. He will appear in the district of Śambhalapur. His father's name will be Viṣṇu-yaśā, and He will be dressed like a prince and cut all the heads of the demons.
Devotees: Jaya! Haribol! (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Because gradually we are so advancing that we shall remain only animal. So there is no need of preaching. Cut the head. Finish them.
Guest (2): What does the name Jehovah mean?
Prabhupāda: That you say. You say. I do not know. What is the meaning of Jehovah? I do not know. Who will say what is the meaning of? You do not know?
Guest (2): I think it's a name for God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So why? What is the... Give the word meaning, Jehovah. Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa's, the word meaning: all-attractive. So God must be all-attractive; otherwise how He can be God? If God is attractive for me only and not to others, then he is not God. God should be attractive... Just like God's knowledge. Kṛṣṇa is giving this Bhagavad-gītā. It is attractive all over the world, among the scholars, among the religionists, public. Not that simply my Bhagavad-gītā is being read. There are many other editions of Bhagavad-gītā. It is widely read because the knowledge is so perfect. So knowledge is an attraction. Riches, wealth, that is attraction. If a man is very rich, just like in your country, Ford, Rockefeller, they are attractive. A man, if he is beautiful, if he is strong, if he is wise, they become attractive. So you will find in Kṛṣṇa all these attractive features. Therefore He is God.
Unfortunately, so many persons go there. One big swami, he said that "Kṛṣṇa means black, and black means unknown." Of course, nobody cares for his speech. Kṛṣṇa is going on, forward. Everyone is accepting Kṛṣṇa. But this is the most unfortunate thing, that our men go there to deprecate Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we should very carefully try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is presented by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). This should be preached, that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme, ultimate. Ahaṁ saravsya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. Even Brahman, Paramātmā, has also come from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is ultimate. He says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). He is the supreme of all the demigods. There is no need of worshiping any other demigod. Kṛṣṇa says, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajanty anya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20). Hṛta-jñāna. Hṛta-jñāna means who has lost his intelligence. How he has lost his intelligence? Because they get from these demigods some temporary benefit. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23).
So our real problem is that we... Every one of us, we are the spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We are struggling for existence within this material world. So manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7), struggle for existence. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "Your real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9)." We are eternal. We understand from Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So if I am eternal, nityaḥ śāśvata, then why I am accepting death? This is real question. But foolishly we are thinking, "I am this body." Therefore we remain as an animal. So we should be interested to understand actually "What I am," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is real solution of all problems. This is called knowledge. But sometimes we are misled by misleaders; therefore we still remain in darkness in spite of cultivating knowledge. But actually, when we cultivate knowledge under the guidance of real guru, then we can understand vasudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). This is confirmed in the Vedas, Brahma-saṁhitā:
Therefore India is supposed to be the best place for developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because the climate is very suitable. So here also, now this climate. It is not conditional, but you can perform service, kīrtana, without any check. Not that we have to live in that palace, then we can chant. No. We can live, we can sit down underneath a tree and chant. There is no limit. We can go on. So we have to adjust things in such a way that without any condition, without any check, we can go on with our devotional service. Just like we can sit down here or anywhere. Here is the opportunity. This land is very good. You can sit down anywhere and chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. There is no need of chair or cushion or nothing else. Ahaituky apratihatā. Any condition. And yenātmā samprasīdati, that will please your everything—your heart, your mind, your body, your soul, everything. Yenātmā samprasīdati. This is the easiest method for achieving the highest perfection of life. So go on with this process without any check and be happy.
The short-cut description is there: mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ. At the same time, disturbed always. This material world means always disturbed condition, but in this age, Kali-yuga, the disturbance is more and more.
So under the circumstances, it is out of Kṛṣṇa's kindness that making Arjuna as a target of His instruction, Bhagavad-gītā, He has given us this valuable instruction. We should accept it as it is. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, without any malinterpretation. Take Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. You'll be benefited. And so far as brahma-jijñāsā, the Kṛṣṇa begins with this aphorism of brahma-jijñāsā. When Arjuna submitted to Kṛṣṇa that "I am Your now disciple. There is no need of friendly talks. You can give me instruction seriously because I am surrendered to You, and You give me the real instruction," so the first instruction was, as soon as Arjuna submitted... Because unless you submit, it is useless to talk because you'll not hear. Therefore to accept an authority is submission. First thing is, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). Unless you submit, if you think yourself that you are a very big scholar, very learned scholar and very good philosopher—you don't require any instruction from guru—then there is no possibility. The first thing is Kṛṣṇa instructs in the Bhagavad-gītā, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. If you want to know the substance, then the first thing is that you must be submissive, praṇipāta. Prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa nipāta. You fall down. Therefore the system is: the disciple falls flat before the spiritual master. That is the etiquette, praṇipātena. And if you think that you know better than Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa's representative, the guru, there is no necessity of accepting guru. Do not keep a guru as a pet dog. No. You must be submissive. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). This is wanted. That Kṛṣṇa... That is the example given by Arjuna. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). This prapannam is required.
So Kṛṣṇa bhajana is so magnanimous, so exalted, in any position you can become the greatest guru, provided you follow the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (break) ...says how one can become perfect. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Four things. Simply think of Kṛṣṇa, this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare... So you remain gṛhastha. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said, nāmāśraya kari thākaha āpana kāje. In whatever occupation you are, remain there. There is no need of changing. But nāmāśraya kari. If you remain a gṛhastha, what is your loss if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra? And if there is gain, why don't you take it? Simple thing. And Kṛṣṇa also says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru, mām evaiṣyasi asaṁśayaḥ (BG 18.68). These four things will get you back to home, back to Godhead. What is that? Simply think of Kṛṣṇa. But if from the very beginning you want to understand the meaning of Kṛṣṇa—"Kṛṣṇa is nirākāra. He has no hand, He has no leg"—then how you'll think of Kṛṣṇa? You have to give up all this nonsense idea. Then wherever you live, you will be perfect by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (break) ...Kali-yuga the special advantage is that people cannot become very much advanced in spiritual life, but for Kali-yuga there is a special concession. Kalau nāsty nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma iva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, it is confirmed, kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅga paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). So you remain gṛhastha. It is now difficult to give up gṛhastha life. But don't be merged into this black hole. Don't make black hole tragedy. Be alive, take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and you'll be happy. So there is no distinction in Kṛṣṇa-bhajana whether one is a gṛhastha or a sannyāsī. He must take the science. Then he will be all right.
He's the puruṣa Purāṇa, Kṛṣṇa, but now He has appeared as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. So he also accepted guru, what to speak of our... Kṛṣṇa also accepted guru. So how you will get the ultimate goal of life without accepting guru? Why do you manufacture this idea? There is no need of manufacturing this. You have to follow. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). If you manufacture, then you'll be cheated. Don't do this. That has become a fashion, that you manufacture your own way of service. That is not possible. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī stresses, ādau-gurvāśrayam: "The first business is that you must find out a bona fide guru." Then other things.
So the speculators, they are thinking that "God has no form. You can imagine any form of the Lord and try to worship Him." That is speculator. (break) ... Another type of atheism. The atheists, they say, Śūnyavādī, "There is no God." But these Māyāvādī, they say, "Yes there is God, but He has no head, no leg, no mouth, nothing." Means, indirectly, they are saying there is not God.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has therefore clearly said that this Māyāvādī, nirākāravādī, is more dangerous than the Śūnyavādī. Śūnyavādī, they publicly declare, "There is no God," just like modern population, that "There is no need of God." Asatyam aprathiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). That is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā. The atheist class, they say that "This world is asatya. There is no meaning." Asatyam jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). "And there is no God." We can understand that they are atheist. (break)... Māyāvādī philosopher, they take the shelter of Vedic literature and indirectly, directly, they try to wipe out the existence of God. (break) The Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore has said, māyāvādī-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: (CC Madhya 6.169) "If you hear from a Māyāvādī, nirākāravādī, then you are doomed." You cannot understand about God at any time. (break) So our request is that if you at all want to understand what is God, don't go to the Māyāvādī or Śūnyavādi, but try to understand about God from God Himself. Sometimes they may say that "What is the use of understanding God? What is the necessity of understanding God?" No. That is not the right conclusion. Human life is meant for understanding God. (break)...God, you may say there is no God, but there is God. There is no doubt about it.
Departure Talks
Somebody is cleansing the floor. Somebody is going to sell books. Somebody is doing something. Everything—nirbandhe kṛṣṇa sambandhe, in relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Because the relationship is there with Kṛṣṇa, then every activity which you are doing, that is complete. There is no such material distinction. Just like here in the material world somebody is sitting in the office chair and somebody is cleansing the office, so the cleaner is supposed to be lower than the officer, but in the spiritual world there is no such distinction. The officer and the cleaner, they are of the same importance. That is even Kṛṣṇa, with Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual world. In Vṛndāvana the cowherds boys, they are playing with Kṛṣṇa on equal terms. They do not know Kṛṣṇa is God. They simply know how to love Kṛṣṇa, that's all. There is no need of thinking that "Kṛṣṇa is greater than the other cowherds boy. They are living entities." There is no such sense. Kṛṣṇa wants that. That is Goloka Vṛndāvana worship. Simply the center is Kṛṣṇa, and all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa, and they do not know anything except Kṛṣṇa. This is Vṛndāvana life. Everyone knows that "Kṛṣṇa is my very intimate friend." Somebody knows, "Kṛṣṇa is my son," somebody knows that "Kṛṣṇa is my master," and somebody is thinking, "Kṛṣṇa is my lover." But center is Kṛṣṇa. The cows, the calves, the friends, the gopīs, and the cowherds boy, Kṛṣṇa's father, Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa's mother, Yaśomatī, and... Everyone's center is Kṛṣṇa, "How Kṛṣṇa will be happy?" This is Vṛndāvana life. If we try to follow the footsteps of the residents of Vṛndāvana, how to love Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: Yes. Without person how there can be love? There is no question of love. You cannot love air or sky; you must find out a man or woman in the, under the sky. So therefore if you want to love God then you must accept God is a person; otherwise there is no question of love. Therefore for the Māyāvādī philosopher there is no question of love. They merge. They want sāyujya-mukti, to become one. They have no other conception, because they cannot conceive personal God. So there is no love. Therefore they manufacture an idea that in the material condition of life, you just imagine any form of God and love Him, and ultimately you become one. That is their philosophy. Ultimately you throw away this... The example is given that you want to rise on some top floor you take a ladder and go to the top and throw away the ladder: there is no need of this ladder, now you have come to the position. So their theory is that because you cannot love or worship something impersonal, because it is difficult, it is troublesome... It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, kleśa adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām: those who are attached to impersonal deities, their progress in spiritual life is very troublesome because they never fix up. So in order to give them some facility, they say that "You imagine some form of the Absolute Truth, and when you are perfect, then throw away that form. You become one." This is their philosophy. But if God is God, then how I can throw Him? That means while they are thinking of God, that is not God. And they say it is imagination. Then what is the value of imagination if it is not reality? So how by imagination, by kalpana, by taking something false, you can reach the reality? That is the defect of their philosophy. If you take it something wrong, how you can reach the reality? Your process is wrong, because you are accepting something wrong: imagination, imagination.
Prabhupāda: You don't take... That means that analytical study of the leaf.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. But without any previous knowledge—as if I knew nothing about leaves before, but I begin to look at the leaf and it will be self-evident what that leaf is.
Prabhupāda: So you can talk any nonsense. (laughter) Then what is the use of going to school? There is no need of opening so many schools and colleges. You go on studying, you can know all knowledge and talk all kinds of nonsense. Is that perfect?
Śyāmasundara: No. He says that if a man has a clear intelligence that he will be able to understand the essence of that...
Prabhupāda: But why these schools are there? Every day we see, actually, from the most intelligent persons, scientist, he has to go to a school. Not that at home, by speculating and talking nonsense, they have become a scientist. They will never become.
Śyāmasundara: But if evidence from that leaf—that it is the color green, for instance...
Prabhupāda: Still, you have to learn how the color green comes in.
Śyāmasundara: Well, he calls that kind of knowledge—how the color green comes in—you must exclude that kind of consideration; only...
Prabhupāda: But the knowledge was there. That is Vedic knowledge. Knowledge was there. Just like five millions of years ago there was no scientist (indistinct), analytical laboratory. But the Vedic knowledge is that cow dung is pure. Now you analyze at the present moment scientifically you'll find yes, it is pure. So wherefrom this knowledge came? There is no need of scientist if this knowledge was there. That is Vedic knowledge.
Śyāmasundara: Well, what about someone who has no recourse to Vedic knowledge or any authority...
Prabhupāda: Then he is a fool. However you may speculate, he is a fool.
Śyāmasundara: But for thousands of years man has been in contact with leaves, and they have not had Vedic scriptures to read...
Prabhupāda: Vedic scripture was there. They did not read. That's all.
Śyāmasundara: So does that mean they have no knowledge about leaves?
Prabhupāda: No. They may have partial knowledge, I mean to say, perfect knowledge. Just like the same example: cow dung is the stool of an animal, but it is stated in the Vedic language, Vedic literature, that it is pure. Now if you analyze it, as modern scientifically in the laboratory, you will find it is pure. Therefore all perfect knowledge was there in the Vedas. So whatever is stated there in the Vedas, that is perfect knowledge. There may be botanists or no botanists; the knowledge is there.
Prabhupāda: He is a, he is a crazy fellow. That's all. And all these rascal philosophers, they are more or less crazy. One who does not know what is God, what is the value of his knowledge? But our criterion of knowledge is one who has known God. As long as you do not come to that point, your knowledge is useless. Simply misleading. And that is not knowledge. It is a fact that there is some supreme controller. Now if one give education how that supreme controller is working, how He is Supreme, that is real education. And you cannot understand how the Supreme is working, you simply deny the Supreme, that is not knowledge. Supreme is there because you are controlled. How can you avoid the control? How you can say there is no supreme controller? You make a plan and it is frustrated. There is supreme controller. You are making arrangement to live here very happily; next day you die. So you are under controller. How can you deny it? So there is supreme controller. Now, knowledge means, "Who is that supreme controller? How He is controlling?" Not that deny it, "Grapes are sour." Jumping, jumping, jumping, jumping, when he could not reach the grapes, he said, "Oh, there is no need of them. It is sour." Their position is like that. They cannot understand... God is there, that's a fact-supreme controller. But they cannot explain, neither they can understand. There is jackal struggle. Jackal jumping, jumping; when he cannot get the, reach the grapes, he says, " Why (indistinct)? It is sour." Their conclusion is like that. They cannot understand what is God, how He is acting, what is religion, and they are defying, "There is no need of religion, there is no need of God." Jackal struggling, that's all. Jackal struggling is no philosophy. (end)
Prabhupāda: Yes, I agree with him. That is the degradation of human civilization. But the philosophy of the Communist, that everyone has equal right or everyone must take share of the state equally, that is little, basic principle of real communism. According to our understanding, God is the father, material nature is the mother, and we, all living entities, are sons of the father and mother. So as sons everyone has right to live at the cost of father's property. The whole universe is the property of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all living entities, they are being supported by the father. But one should be satisfied with the supplies allotted to him. That is, Īśopaniṣad says, tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). There is no need of encroaching on others' property. We should not become envious of the capitalist or rich man, because everyone is given his allotment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I should be satisfied with my allotment. I should not encroach upon others' allotment. But the exploitation idea is not there. The same thing, that nobody should exploit. If one has become rich man, that's all right. That, that is natural. One is born in rich family, from his very birth he is a rich man. So why we should interfere his richness? But everyone should be God conscious. Either the rich man or the poor man, they must be God conscious. And God consciousness means that the property I am owning, or the position I am placed in, that is by God's arrangement. Therefore my duty is to serve God in my position. Sthane sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ manobhiḥ. This is the philosophy of, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, confirmed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sthane sthitāḥ. We should stay in our place, as it is allotted by God, but our common culture should be śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ manobhiḥ. We should hear about God and act accordingly—it doesn't matter in which work—then there will be harmony. I
Prabhupāda: That means he does not know what is philosophy. Philosophy cannot be changed. Just like āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam—the four principles of life—eating, sleeping, mating... (aside:) Sit down here.
Devotee: I was watching the (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: All right. So they are eating—where is the change of philosophy? Eating philosophy is there. Sleeping philosophy is there. Why it should change? What is fact, there is no need of changing. Imperfect knowledge changes. Perfect knowledge never changes. So he changes philosophy means his knowledge is imperfect.
Śyāmasundara: He comes in the tradition of the British empiricists, which believes that nothing outside of our senses can give us any knowledge. But still, he was never able to believe that simple mathematical principles like "Two plus equals four" are merely generalizations which we derive from our experience. He says that these things must be eternal principles, such as "Two plus two equals four."
Prabhupāda: Yes. So mathematical calculations, if it is perfect, then it is all right. Just like a child is born: father plus mother equal to child. So this is all right. But if one says that without father, through mother only, child, then how this is mathematical calculation? Whenever there is a child, it is to be understood that there is father and mother. If somebody says "No. Without father, simply mother gives birth to a child," then what kind of calculation is this? Similarly, these so-called philosophers, they simply think the nature is all-in-all, but that's not the fact. Nature is prakṛti, just like mother. There must be father. But they do not believe in father. So what kind of mathematical calculation? That is not mathematical calculation; that is concoction. Mathematical calculation—"Two plus two equal to four"—is a fact everywhere. Either you go to Europe or America or anywhere you go, that mathematical calculation—"Two plus two equal to four"—it can be understood.
Prabhupāda: No. Without your... This is the thing, you have to gain by your own endeavor. Other things naturally come in. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. Therefore śāstra says, "For that perfection, one should devote his life." Here people are taught to struggle how to get material comforts, but according to Vedic system, material comforts you will have whatever is destined to you. But so far your spiritual development is concerned, you have to understand that you are spirit soul and you can develop yourself to go back to the spiritual world, you can be associated with the Lord. So many things, spiritual activities. So the śāstra says that one should try to achieve spiritual perfection, and for that he should endeavor. Not for material comforts. Material comforts will come to you as material distress come upon you. You don't ask for material distress, but it comes. Similarly, material comforts also will come automatically. So there is no need of wasting time. Just like see in the nature there are so many millions of living entities. They have no business, they have no profession. These birds, early in the morning, they have no fixed (?) (figs?). But they know there is food somewhere. They go to a tree and enough fruits there are you eat. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. They have got their nest upon the tree, and another female bird is there already. So he has sex life and they try to defend themselves in their own way. So these things, āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam, these four things, by nature it is already given. You haven't got to try for it. Simply you have to try for spiritual emancipation. That endeavor should be engaged.
Śyāmasundara: So if the majority of the whole world accepted Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he would call that of value.
Prabhupāda: No, the majority may not accept. You see, if you want to sell jewels, a diamond, you cannot get many customers. That is not possible. But still, diamond is diamond. It may not have many customers. It doesn't matter. If there is one customer, that is sufficient. Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca taraḥ sahasrasaḥ. If there is one moon in the sky that is sufficient to dissipate all darkness. There is no need of thousands or millions of stars. So our movement, if anyone, through all men in the world, can understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he will do tremendous good to the people. My Guru Mahārāja used to say like that.
Śyāmasundara: So he searched around for those values that are most accepted by the most people and he found they are truth, beauty, and goodness are the three main values. Truth, beauty, and goodness.
Prabhupāda: Well, it is a false proposition. In the material world nobody likes truth. They always want to place untruth, at least in this age. The majority of people are not truthful. As soon as one becomes truthful, he's a brāhmaṇa. (end)
Prabhupāda: But actually that is the fact. Just like we are say so many times, Dr. Frog. A frog within the dark well, he is thinking, "Here is everything." And if he is informed, "Oh, there is big miles of water, Atlantic Ocean," so this Dr. Frog, from within the well he has never seen the Atlantic Ocean, and he cannot conceive that the water can be so expansive. So therefore those who are in the dark well, for them it is surprising that what is the light outside. But that's a fact. And one who has fallen, he is in the..., if he is crying that "I am fallen," so it is said that the man outside, he drops a rope, that "You catch this rope and I shall take it out." But he does not catch up. Just like we are presenting that you, everyone in the material world, you are suffering, you take, catch up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are refusing, or they do not admit; that is going on. But if one is fortunate, he can catch up the rope, and the man wants to help him, he can get him out. But he has to catch up. It is Kṛṣṇa's advice also, that "You are crying, you are suffering, you are finding, trying to find out how your suffering will be ended." That materialist, they are doing their own way, and the impersonalists, they are doing in their own way; the yogis, they are doing in their own way. Everyone is trying to get out of the suffering. But when Kṛṣṇa says that these things will not help you, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), he does not catch up. That is his misfortune. God Himself says that "You take." "You take Me" means by His instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā. "You take to Me, you will be saved." But they will not. That is their obstinacy. And the Vedas therefore says, tamasi mā jyotir gamaḥ: "Don't remain in the dark well. You come out to the light." But they will not come to the light. They want to remain in the dark well. And if you want to become perfect, that is their misfortune. Within this material world it is darkness, just like the, just now it is evening. It is giving us that actually it is dark. Because Kṛṣṇa has supplied the sun, moon, therefore it is light. But there is another place where, without sun, without moon, you will get light. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: na yatra bhāsayate sūryo, na pāvakaḥ, like that, there is a na yatra bhāsa, tad dhāma paramam, "That is My kingdom." So everything is Kṛṣṇa's kingdom, but there is specially, that there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electric light; it is all effulgent. So He is giving the information, but these rascals will not take. They want to make adjustment in the darkness of night. How it is possible?
Hayagrīva: As far as seeming contradictions and seeming absurdities in scripture are concerned, Origen considered these as stumbling blocks allowed by God to exist in order for man to go beyond the literal meaning. He says, "In some cases no useful meaning attaches to the obvious interpretation, but everything in scripture has a spiritual meaning, but not all of it has a literal meaning."
Prabhupāda: Literal... Generally, every word in the scripture there is literal meaning, but one who cannot understand properly because one does not hear from the proper person, he makes some interpretation. But there is no need of interpretation in the words of God. It may be that the words of God sometimes cannot be understood by ordinary person; therefore he requires to understand through the via-media of transparent guru. Guru is fully cognizant of the words spoken by God. One has to accept, therefore, a guru to go through the scripture properly. Generally there is no ambiguity in the words of God, but due to our lack of perfect knowledge we sometimes cannot understand and try to interpret. But this is, this interpretation is not at all feasible, because imperfect person interpreting means whatever he interprets, that is imperfect. So the proper import of the words of scripture or words of God should be understood from a person who has realized God.
Hayagrīva: For Origen there are two rebirths. One is a baptism, which is something like an initiation, and then there is a complete purification, a rebirth in the spiritual world with Christ. So baptism is compared to a shadow of the ultimate rebirth, and when the soul is reborn with Christ, it receives a spiritual body like Christ and beholds Christ face to face.
Hayagrīva: So he concludes that Divine revelation is absolutely necessary, because by the philosophical method very few men could arrive at the truth, and only after a long time and many errors.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That's a fact. The so-called philosophers, they are imperfect, so there is no need of consulting them. Our path is that you directly contact the Supreme Person in knowledge, who has got complete knowledge—Kṛṣṇa—and we take His instructions and try to follow Him.
Hayagrīva: This knowledge based on revelation or scripture is called sacred doctrine or scripture. He says it, this scripture, "does not provide information about God and about creatures in equal fashion, but about God principally and about creatures as they are related to God as to a source or to an end. Hence the unity of the science is not ended." So scripture for him is the science of God.
Prabhupāda: This is science of God.
Hayagrīva: Yes.
Prabhupāda: God is explaining Himself... (break)
Hayagrīva: This is a continuation of Thomas Aquinas. We've been discussing sacred doctrine, which is the same as scripture. He states that the only author of sacred scripture is God Himself, within whose power is not only to adjust words to their meaning, which even man can do, but also to adjust things themselves. In reading the scripture, one should avoid two mistakes. 1) One should not think that they can be false in any way.
Prabhupāda: Everyone says, "Don't accept leader. Accept me as leader, that's all." But our proposal is that the, without leader nothing can be done. And the supreme leader is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His representative should become leader. Then the society will be perfect. The supreme leader is God. So He gives instruction, and real leader takes the instruction by disciplic succession, and for the benefit of the total human society they spread the message of God. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Without leader nothing can be done. Even if he says that without leader, he is, that preaching is also leadership. So why people should accept his leadership if there is no need of leader?
Hayagrīva: This was the position of Mr. Rose, who started to try to, try a community at, where we have New Vrindaban now. The man we initially bought New Vrindaban from. This was his position: "No leaders." But it turned out that he wanted to be the leader.
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Who is that gentleman?
Hayagrīva: Mr. Rose. You met him once, I recall.
Prabhupāda: Oh. He is not initiated?
Hayagrīva: Oh, no, no. He lives in West Virginia.
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, yes. In the beginning.
| Page Title: | There is no need of... (Lectures, Other) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 17 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=101, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 101 |