Last meeting we have been describing the symptoms of mahātmā, great soul. So the first symptom is that he is equal to everyone, sama-cittāḥ. And the next qualification is praśāntā. Praśāntā means pacified. He's not disturbed by any material anxiety. And why a great soul should be disturbed by material anxieties? Because he has no material desire. Anyone who has got material desire, he is full of material anxiety. But one who has no material desire, one who lives only for serving Kṛṣṇa, naturally he has no anxieties. Praśāntā.
There is another verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam quoted by Yamunācārya, that he says, bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ.
- bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ
- praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntaraḥ
- kadāham aikāntika-nitya-kiṅkaraḥ
- praharṣayiṣyāmi sanātha-jīvitam
- (Stotra-ratna 43)
This is very important verse. Śrī Yamunācārya says: "My dear Lord," bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ, "When I shall be fully engaged in Your service?" This is the process of being freed from all anxiety. Just like this child. This child is restless. He's going here, going there. But if the child is given some engagement, toy, which he likes, then she will remain there pacified and will not disturb any of us. That is natural.
Similarly, we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. So long we are not again linked up with His service, with His . . . so long we are not again reestablished in our lost relationship with Kṛṣṇa, we shall remain restless. That is our natural condition. Just like the child is crying, restless. But as soon as the mother takes the child on the lap, the child is immediately pacified. Why? Because the child wants that. She cannot express what she wants. She is crying. But she has no language to express, but she can express her feeling. As soon as she is on the lap of the mother, she understands, "Now I am fully satisfied." You can also understand.
So even there is no language, there is a stage of satisfaction. That stage is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as one comes to the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he'll be satisfied. And unless he comes to that stage, he'll always be disturbed, full of anxieties.
Therefore our prayer should be how we shall be twenty-four hours engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ praśānta-niḥśeṣa. I'm just trying to explain the word praśānta, "pacifism," how one can be pacified, fully satisfied. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, a boy. He wanted the kingdom of his father, and he underwent severe penances to see God, Nārāyaṇa, so that he may ask His benediction to be, I mean to say, seated on the throne of his father. That was his desire. He went to forest to undertake severe penances to see Nārāyaṇa so that he can ask from Him the benediction that he should have . . . seated on the throne of his father. Because by the intrigue of his stepmother, he was rejected by his father. He wanted . . .
That is that material desire we, every one of us in conditioned state, we want. Sometimes we competitive. We become very much obstinate, that "I must have this," and we work very hard. Just like in Europe, that Hitler, he wanted supremacy over Europe, and he fought very valiantly. But at the end he became vanquished. Similarly, in the material world we have got so many desires and we want to fulfill it—and for which we work very hard. But at the end we become frustrated.
That is the nature of the material world. You cannot have anything here permanent, however hard you work. You may achieve that. Not only in this material world . . . even you achieve the liberation, perfectional stage, as the impersonalist philosophers want. They want nirvāṇa. Just like Buddhists, they want nirvāṇa, extinction of this material conditional life. That is called nirvāṇa. And the Māyāvādī philosophers, impersonalists, they want not only extinction of these material pangs but they want to be situated in spiritual consciousness only. But our Vaiṣṇava philosophy that you cannot keep yourself in spiritual consciousness unless you are fully engaged in spiritual activities. That is the perfect philosophy.
So Yamunācārya is praying to the Lord, "My dear Lord, when I shall achieve that stage of life when I shall be fully engaged in Your service?" Bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ. Nirantaraḥ means without any interval. In the material world, after working for some time, we want an interval for rest. But if you are actually engaged in spiritual activities, you won't like to be rested.
You want to continue always: work, work, work. Rest will be disgusting. Of course, so long we have got this material body, we have to take rest, but this rest is also not required, because in the spiritual world there is no such fatigue. Everyone is always active. So that is perfectional stage. Bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntaraḥ. And how one can be pacified fully? When he does not manufacture the fulfillment of desire.
We manufacture. The whole material world is going on by manufacturing ideas. The so-called scientists, the so-called philosophers, poets, they are manufacturing ideas that, "We shall be happy in this way, in that way." So this will not help us, this manufacturing. I may be satisfied by some manufactured ideas. Just like in USA especially, the frustrated, confused younger generation, they are manufacturing ideas that, "We shall be happy in this way." But that is not possible. You cannot be happy. So long you manufacture ideas, you may be pacified for some time, but it will not exist.
Therefore you have to stop this manufacturing process that, "I shall be happy in this way." No. That is called free of anxiety. If you want to manufacture that, "I shall be happy in this way," that will also create another anxiety. That will create another anxiety. Therefore Yamunācārya says, praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntaraḥ. Mano-rathāntaraḥ, this particular word, is used, "mind," "on the chariot of mind." In the material stage of life, we are being driven by the chariot of mind.
In the Bhagavad-gītā also, it is stated, bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni. All living entities are traveling within this material world in different species of life, in different planets. Sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā: on the chariot given by the material energy. So that is mind.
So, so long we shall travel on the chariot of the mind, mano-ratha, then there is no question of our being freed from anxiety. Therefore we have to give up this chariot of mind. The chariot of mind will not give us satisfaction. We have to transcend the mental state, the intellectual state. The philosopher, they are intellectually trying to be happy. That also we have to transcend. We have (to) come to the spiritual platform, brahma-bhūtaḥ. And not only come to the spiritual platform; we must have spiritual engagement. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.