And here is an important fact. The other day while I was walking, I saw one advertisement of tourist agent. India, (indistinct) can view wonderful land. The wonderful land. Anyway, so I asked Karttikeya(?), "So India is considered very wonderful?" He said "Yes." Anyway, India is still considered the land of spiritual cultivation. Even one Chinese author, he has written that if you want to study religion, then you have to go India. He is impartial. He is not Indian nor an American or any country. He is Chinese. Chinese are considered to be Communist country, but he has very impartially said that if you have to learn what is religion then you have to go to India. Anyway India, actually it is the land of religion, dharma-kṣetra, although it has gone down at the present moment. But anyway, there are two sections in the..., amongst the Indian, bona fide religionists. That means bona fide religionists means those who are following the Vedic principles. They are called bona fide. Anyway, that is, that wa the system in the bygone ages, even one thousand years ago. And now that, just like Buddha, Buddha religion. Buddha religion is also Indian religion. Lord Buddha, He was Indian. He, just like Lord Caitanya began His propaganda from Bengal, Lord Buddha made His propaganda from Bihar. He was Indian. But the defect was that He did not acknowledge the authority of the Vedas. Therefore His philosophy was considered atheism. And this Śaṅkarācārya drove away all the Buddhists from the land of India. Therefore they took shelter in China, Japan, Burma. Outside India. So anyway, strict religionists they are followers of Vedas, and they are divided into two groups: one group led by Śaṅkarācārya and the other group is led by the Vaiṣṇavas, or generally Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya or Lord Caitanya. They are all the same, Vaiṣṇava. Now all these two groups, following the Vedic principles, they accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So far India's authoritative persons are concerned, there is no two opinions, that Kṛṣṇa is not God. Both of them accept Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality.
View (Lectures, BG)
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Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Then if we don't believe Him, then where is the possibility of advancing in knowledge? There is no possibility of it. So there is no question of individuality. This is the statement of authority. Now, apart from statement of authority, you have to apply your reason and arguments. Can you say anywhere there is agreement between two parties? No. You go, study. In the state, in the family, in the community, in the nation, there is no agreement. Even in the assembly, even in your country. Suppose there is Senate, everyone has got country's interest, but he's thinking in his individual way. One is thinking that "My country's welfare will be in this line." Otherwise, why there is competition during election of president. Everyone is saying that "America needs Nixon." And another person, he also says, "America needs me." So, but why two? If America you, and you are both... No. There is individuality. Mr. Nixon's opinion is something else. Mr. another candidate's opinion is something else. In the assembly, in the Senate, in the Congress, in the United Nations, everyone is fighting with his individual view. Otherwise why there are so many flags in the world? You cannot say anywhere impersonalism. Personality is predominating everywhere. Everywhere, the personality, individuality, is predominant. So we have to accept. We have to apply our reason, arguments, and accept the authority. Then the question is solved. Otherwise it is most difficult.
That knowledge, at least theoretically, one must accept, that "I am not this body." Now Kṛṣṇa is describing that what is the position. I am not this body. That's all right. Now, actually, what we are? What we are? I'm not body. That's all right. Then what we are? Now, the next, next version is Kṛṣṇa... We must always know that Kṛṣṇa... Here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān uvāca means that He has got so extensive knowledge that there cannot be any mistake. He's authority. He's authority. So whatever He says is right. Is right. That is the conception of bhagavān. Here it is not said, Kṛṣṇaḥ uvāca. Because somebody may doubt Kṛṣṇa, that "Kṛṣṇa was a historical personality. Why you should be so much concerned with Kṛṣṇa?" as is general view. But here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. And I have given you the definition of Bhagavān, that He is all knowledge. So whatever He will speak, Bhagavān, there cannot be any mistake. For ordinary persons, there are four, I mean to say, difficulties, four imperfectness. Just like we are ordinary man. We have got four imperfectness. What is that imperfectness? That we must commit mistake. We must commit mistake. Our constitutional position at the present moment is such that we are sure to commit mistake. Even greatest politician like Gandhi, he committed mistake, and so many great men, they committed mistake. "To err is human," therefore, it is called, that any, any man, however he may be great in the estimation of this world, he is sure to commit mistake. And another imperfection is that he is illusioned.
You cannot check the nature's law. Suppose in this life you are very big leader, prime minister, and everything. That's all right, but according to your mentality, you are creating next life. So in this life you remain a prime minister, and in next life you become a dog. Then where is the benefit? There is not... Therefore these atheist fools, they want to deny next life. That is very horrible for them. That is very horrible to them. If they accept next life... They know their life is very sinful. Then what life they are going to get by the laws of nature? When they think of it, they shudder. "Better deny it. Better deny it." Just like a rabbit. Enemy is in his front, and he is going to die, but the thinks, "Let me close my eyes. I am out of danger." This is atheistic view, that they are trying to forget that there is... Therefore they deny, "There is no life." Why not? Kṛṣṇa says that "You had a childhood body. You had a baby... Now you have... Where is that body? You have left that. You are in different body. Similarly, this body you'll change. You will get another body." And who says? Kṛṣṇa says. The most superior authority, he says. I may not understand, but when He says... This is the process of our knowledge. We accept knowledge from the perfect person. I may be fool, but the knowledge received from the perfect person is perfect. This is our process. We don't try to speculate. That may or may not be successful, but if you accept knowledge from the perfect authority, that knowledge is perfect. Just like we are speculating, "Who is my father?" You can speculate who is your father, but that speculation will not help you. You will never understand who is your father. But you go to your mother, the supreme authority. She'll immediately, "Here is your father." That's all. And you cannot know father in any other way. There is no other way. This is practical. You cannot know your father without the authoritative statement of your mother. Similarly, things which are beyond your perception, avan mānasa-gocara, you cannot think of, you cannot speak of. Sometimes they say, "God cannot be spoken. God cannot be thought of." That is all right. But if God Himself comes before you and says, "Here I am," then where is the difficulty? Where is the difficulty? I am imperfect. I cannot know. That's all right. But if God Himself comes before me...
Devotee: (reading question) The question: First, what are the senses, to control. Then, what are the things to be done? And the next question he asks is, "What are your views about meditation on one's own self..."
Prabhupāda: Take it here. I cannot follow.
Devotee (2): What are the senses?
Devotee (1): "What are the senses, how to control the things to be done?"
Prabhupāda: Senses, everyone knows. You see. How we are seeing? Through the sense of eyes. These are senses. Sense organs. You can touch with the hand. These are sense organs. You can hear about some knowledge. That is sense organ. You can taste one fruit. These are senses. Is it very difficult to understand? You have got these senses. By some senses, you are acquiring knowledge, and some senses you are working. There are five senses for acquiring knowledge, and five senses for working. These are senses.
Devotee (1): "How to control them? What are the things to be done?"
Prabhupāda: Yes. Control. It is very difficult. To control. But if you put it under the control of the Supreme, it will be controlled. You want to see very beautiful thing. But if you engage your seeing power on the most beautiful, Kṛṣṇa, then you forget, other things. This is sense control. You are going to restaurant to enjoy your tongue, but if you take kṛṣṇa-prasādam, then you'll forget going to restaurant. This is sense control. Sense control means to engage the senses in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Simply we have to purify the senses. The senses must be there. Otherwise, I am not a living being. I am stone. But at the present moment, I am misguided. I am using my senses for other purposes than Kṛṣṇa's. Therefore I cannot control. And as soon as you apply your senses for satisfying Kṛṣṇa, then they are controlled, automatically.
Devotee(1): (reading question) "What are your views about silent meditation on one's, in one's own self, and this japa, gāyatrī-mantra?"
Prabhupāda: Yes. Simply by mechanical japa, we'll not be ha... We have to hear from the śāstra what is self. Of course, those who are actually following the rules and regulation of gāyatrī-mantra, they'll be, gradually come to the spiritual understanding. But not as official chanting. That will not help. "Because I have got gāyatrī-mantra, oh, om-burble bura burra..." (makes sound) Finish. Not like that. Don't cheat yourself. Try to understand.
Indian: (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: (Hindi for several minutes, Hindi, back and forth,
then:)
- kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī
- dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau
- śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bhārāvahantārakau
- vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
- nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau
- lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau
- rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau
- vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
Kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau. All the six Gosvāmīs, they were always engaged in chanting, utkīrtanam. Utkīrtanam. Not this professional kīrtana. Utkīrtanam. Udgata-tamaḥ. Transcendental kīrtana, transcendental vibration. Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau. So they were engaged in singing and dancing and chanting. Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. Merged into the ocean of love of Godhead, premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. Dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau.
So Kṛṣṇa is putting forward the modern scientific view. The modern scientific view is that there is no soul. Life is generated from matter. By combination of material elements at a... Just like chemical combination. You mix acid and soda, alkaline and acid. There will be some reaction, effervescence, movement. Similarly, the Buddhist philosophy mostly, they do not believe in the existence of the soul. The Buddhist philosopher thinks that the combination of matter makes a living symptom. Their ultimate goal is nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means stop this combination. Due to this combination, we feel pains and pleasure. Therefore, if we disintegrate the combination, there will be no more pains and pleasure. Materialistic. Their solution, pains and pleasure, any philosophy or any religious system, ultimately aims at ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti. Duḥkha means pain, and nivṛtti, nivṛtti means stop. Why people go to the church? Because they feel some pain, they go to church or temple to appeal, "If there is somebody as God..." They think like that. "Let me appeal to the Supreme Person so that my distress may be mitigated." So aim is ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti. We are also cultivating this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our aim is also the same. Duḥkha-nivṛtti. Kṛṣṇa says janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). We keep always in view that in this material existence there are four kinds of miserable condition, primarily. To stop this. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). Everyone's aim is duḥkha-nivṛtti. It may be presented in a different way. So the Buddha philosophy is also duḥkha-nivṛtti, stop pains.
The Bhāgavata says that ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti, means ultimate solution of miserable condition, is in the fact that we realize God and we go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our philosophy. And persons who cannot understand what is God, what is kingdom of God, they want to adjust. The aim is the same, ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti, ultimately solution of all miseries. In a different way. So Kṛṣṇa says, putting forward the Buddha philosophy which was formerly known as lokāyatikas and vaibhāṣikas... These two kinds of philosophers, they did not believe. Mostly the materialistic philosophers, they have no understanding of the soul. Therefore they have different kinds of theories which we do not accept. Kṛṣṇa says that if you are not sanātanist or followers of the Vedic principles, if you think that your principle and views are different, that by combination of matter this existence coming, atha cainaṁ nitya-jātam... Nityam means by combination of... Just like so many things are taking place by interaction of different material elements. Similarly, if you don't believe in this existence of the soul, if you think that there is no soul, the life is the result of combination of matter, nitya-jātam, and when this combination of matter is some way or other dismantled, then there is no more soul, it is finished. It began at a point by combination of matter, and it ends in a point by disintegration of matter. If you think like that, then also tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho. Kṛṣṇa is criticizing Arjuna, mahā-bāhu. Actually he is mahā-bāhu. Mahā-bāhu means mighty-armed. One who has got a very strong, mighty arm, he can fight very strongly. Then also, why should you give up your fighting spirit? Why should you lament for combination of chemicals and material elements. Suppose this house is a combination of material elements. So some way or other, if it is dismantled, who laments for it? No sane man will lament. Similarly, if you have no idea of the existence of soul, then also you do not require to lament. Tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho nainaṁ śocitum arhasi.
Tataḥ sva-dharmaṁ kīrtiṁ ca hitvā pāpam avāpsyasi. Pāpam means sin or sinful reaction. So it has to be judged, when... Sometimes fighting is pāpam, means sinful activity, and sometimes fighting is puṇyam, pious activities. It requires the time, circumstances, on what ground the fighting was going on, on whose order the fighting was going on. These are to be studied. So violence and nonviolence. Our great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, he wanted to prove from Bhagavad-gītā, nonviolence. He started the nonviolence movement, and he wanted to support... Everyone takes advantage of Bhagavad-gītā and tries to support his view on the strength of Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore you will find so many interpretations. Everyone wants to utilize. There are more than six hundred publication, commentaries, on Bhagavad-gītā. One Dr. Rele in Bombay, he has interpreted Bhagavad-gītā as talks between a physician and a patient.
So these things are going on, but that is not Bhagavad-gītā. That is nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. Nāma-aparādha, ten kinds of offenses... This is offense. Just like nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. We say, the śāstra says, that by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you become cleansed of your sinful activities. That's a fact. But if somebody thinks that "I shall go on committing sinful activity and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra so it will be adjusted, neutralized, this is the most sinful activity, nāmno balāt, by the strength of chanting, committing sin. So similarly on the strength of Bhagavad-gītā, if one wants to prove his foolish philosophy, that is a great offense. That's a great offense. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā cannot be interpreted by foolish commentators. It must be studied through the paramparā system, ācārya upāsanam. One must worship the ācārya and learn from him what is Bhagavad-gītā. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. This is the Vedic injunction.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Purport: "The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion."
Prabhupāda: Mental speculators are called muni. There are so many munis. Go on.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "It is said that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless one muni is different in view from another, he cannot be called a muni in the strict sense of the term. But a sthita-dhīr muni, the kind mentioned herein by the Lord is different from an ordinary muni. The sthita-dhīr muni is always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for he has finished all his business with creative speculation. He is called praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntara, or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculation and has come to the conclusion that Lord Sir Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, is everything. He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, those due to nature, to other beings, and to the frailties of one's own body. Such a muni accepts all misery as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds, and sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy, he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of that happiness. He realizes that it is due only to the Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and thus able to render better service to the Lord. And for the service of the Lord..."
So whole scheme of Bhagavad-gītā is like that, that we have to stand on the spiritual consciousness of life. And what is that spiritual consciousness of life? Now, some philosophers... Just like Śaṅkarācārya. There are many philosophers in the world. I, we may cite some of the authorities. Just like Lord Buddha. Then Śaṅkarācārya. Then Rāmānujācārya. Lord Caitanya. They're all big stalwart authorities, authorities. They have given different views. Lord Buddha's views is that you can be happy only when you are free from this consciousness. Lord Buddha says that consciousness is a production of this combination of matter. So therefore if, if you dismantle this material body, then there will be no consciousness and thus there will be no feeling of distress or happiness. That is called nirvāṇa, stopping, stopping the feelings of... It is just like a patient suffering from some disease, and the doctor gives him some pill so that he dies and there is no more feeling. Oh. Then he sees it is all right. If by stopping feeling like that, that a... "Doctor, my son is having hundred and seven degree temperature." "All right. I stop it. Give him some injection, poisonous." The child dies. Now there is no fever. Now the father says, "My child does not move." "Oh, whether this fever is stopped or not?" "Yes, there is no fever also." "That's all right. My business finished." That sort of foolish doctor will not do. (laughs) We should not stop consciousness. No. That is the... That is the, I mean to say, secret of philosophy. If my consciousness is stopped altogether, then what do I gain? That means my death. My whole existence finished. No. Then comes... I am shortly giving the substance of different philosophers.
Prabhupāda: That door is open? People will see. The door is... Read.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Chapter Three: Karma-yoga. One: "Arjuna said: 'O Janārdana, O Keśava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work (BG 3.1)?' "
Purport: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa has very elaborately described the constitution of the soul in the previous chapter with a view to delivering His intimate friend Arjuna from the ocean of material grief. And the path of realization has been recommended: buddhi-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is misunderstood to be inertia, and one with such a misunderstanding often withdraws to a secluded place to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious..."
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is very important point. Sometimes it is thought that spiritual life means to retire from active life. That is general impression. People think that for cultivation of spiritual knowledge or self-realization they should go to some Himalayan caves or some secluded place. That is also recommended. But that sort of recommendation is meant for persons who are unable to engage themselves in activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Lord Kṛṣṇa is teaching Arjuna how one can remain in his position. Never mind whatever he is, still he can become perfectly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the whole substance of the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also. He never asked anybody to change his position. He simply recommended that you associate with pure devotees and hear from him. That's all. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never asked anybody that "You first of all..."
Then the interpretation is required. But that sort of thinking is not bona fide because if you want to study Bhagavad-gītā, you have to take the words of Bhagavad-gītā. The Blessed Lord. He is Lord. He can say. The Lord is not like ordinary man. That "Because we cannot say to the sun-god, therefore Kṛṣṇa cannot say," that is our foolishness. Why should we calculate Kṛṣṇa's activity with my activities? Therefore all the commentaries who think Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man, they are null and void. Such commentaries should not be accepted.
We have explained in our introduction that all the commentaries in the market, they are simply presentation of the particular commentator's personal view. That is not Bhagavad-gītā. If you want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, then you should understand as they are said. You don't interpret in your own way.
Now, because there should be some doubt of the ordinary man, that "How Kṛṣṇa could say to the sun-god?" that is explained in the next verse. Because Arjuna was taking instruction from Kṛṣṇa, he knew Kṛṣṇa, what He is. Otherwise he would not have accepted him as a spiritual master. But because others would doubt, "This is fictitious that Kṛṣṇa said to the sun-god. How it is possible?" so you will find Arjuna said, "The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?" Kṛṣṇa is taking our position, er, Arjuna. Persons who are thinking of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary person, so Arjuna is trying to clear that point, that Kṛṣṇa is not ordinary person. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he has put this question, that "The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to you."
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Guest: Are you referring to self-realization, cosmic consciousness?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means cosmic consciousness. Kṛṣṇa... When we speak of Kṛṣṇa, you don't take any personal view. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. So all-attraction is there in the cosmic. Cosmic consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Guest: Well, I believe that most of the westerners do not know the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Prabhupāda: That we are explaining here.
Guest: You have yet to explain that it's cosmic consciousness, self-realization.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So we are explaining Kṛṣṇa consciousness here. And as you say, that most of the westerners, they do not know the meaning. So we are present here to explain the meaning. So that is our humble service. Because Kṛṣṇa and Bhagavad-gītā is very well known in the western countries, and there are so many editions and publication of Bhagavad-gītā, both in Europe and America and other parts of Asia. Kṛṣṇa is more or less well known. But actually, the science of Kṛṣṇa is not so well known. Therefore we have put up this association, International Association of Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
Guest: I believe that most of the westerners read the Bhagavad-gītā, Upaniṣads...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.
Just like I am repeatedly mentioned here that in our country Mahatma Gandhi, he had his philosophy of non-violence, and he wanted to prove non-violence from Bhagavad-gītā. But Bhagavad-gītā is spoken in the warfield. Bhagavad-gītā is spoken when Arjuna was in problem, whether to fight or not to fight. That is the, I mean the, background of Bhagavad-gītā. Now, if anyone wants to prove that Bhagava..., in Bhagavad-gītā there is non-violence, then you, you, you something else. Violence is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. So similarly, we should not try to under... Yes! We should not try to understand Bhagavad-gītā according to my viewpoint of view. I must understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is presented by Kṛṣṇa. Then it is (indistinct). Then it is (indistinct). (end)
And you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā, Fourteenth Chapter, He claims sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ (BG 14.4). There are eight million four-hundred-thousands of forms of living entities including human being. And Kṛṣṇa says ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, "I am their seed-giving father." So He claims to be father not only of the human society but of the animal society, beast society, bird society, insect society, aquatic society, plant society, tree society—all living entities. God cannot belong to any particular community or class. That is misconception. God must belong to everyone.
So when we speak of Kṛṣṇa consciousness do not take it as a sectarian view. Try to understand the philosophy. He belongs to every living entity. He is the supreme living entity. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That is the Vedic version. He is the leader of all living entities. By our different result of our work we have assumed different dresses but as living entity we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness in that way. Go on.
So brāhmaṇa means one who knows God. That is brāhmaṇa. And keeping in view God, they teaches others to become God conscious. Without becoming God conscious, the human society's simply animal society. Because animals cannot be God conscious, however you may go on preaching amongst the animal, cats and dogs. It is not possible. Because they have no brain to understand what is God. So in the human society, if there is no brāhmaṇa who can teach about God, who can elevate persons to God consciousness, then it is also animal society. Simply eating, sleeping, and sex life and defense, these are the business of the animals also. The animals also know how to eat, how to sleep, how to enjoy sex life, how to defend. They know in their own way.
So he gave up, tucchavat, considering them most insignificant. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā. They have, gave up their opulent family. He was also belonging to the aristocratic family. He gave up. And became a mendicant, beggar, madhukārī. They were asking one cāpāṭi from one gṛhastha. They would not accept three or four or..., cāpāṭis at a place. Only half, one, like that. All in this way.
So so much in the renounced order of life. But they lived—how? Gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī-kallola-magnau muhuḥ. They were always thinking of the gopīs' dealing with Kṛṣṇa. So from this standpoint of view, the, the dealings of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa, that is not these ordinary human dealings. That is all spiritual. Without understanding the spiritual platform of Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs... Nobody try to understand it. Then they will be misled. So... Therefore Kṛṣṇa says. People may not be misled. Sometimes He's seen to be acting against the social laws. Therefore Kṛṣṇa warns, na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti: (BG 4.14) "These social, political or religious laws do not apply to Me." Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti.
That budha you'll find in the Tenth Chapter, and the same budha, paṇḍita, paṇḍita and budha. Paṇḍita, according to Bhagavad-gītā, paṇḍita. Paṇḍita means learned man. The Sanskrit word paṇḍita means... And budha is "well-versed."
Now who is well-versed? And who is paṇḍita? A very learned man from, by academic education, may not be a learned man according to the view of Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā says, "He is the learned man who can see everyone on the equal footing, equal level."
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
- śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
- paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
- (BG 5.18)
A paṇḍita, paṇḍita can see... Paṇḍita means a learned man can see that "Here is a learned brāhmaṇa." In India, according to Vedic civilization, a learned brāhmaṇa is considered to be the topmost man in human society. So therefore He is taking the example that "Here is a very learned brāhmaṇa." Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe. Not only he is brāhmaṇa, but he is very gentle. Vidyā means... What is the result of vidyā? Education means one becomes gentleman. That is the result of vidyā. If one is not a gentleman, then his learning is not accepted according to the Vedic literature.
Devotee: "Whereas others who stick to the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth and regard the forms of the demigods as temporary sacrifice their individual selves in the supreme fire and thus end their individual existences by merging into the existence of the Supreme. Such impersonalists relinquish their time in philosophical speculation for understanding the transcendental nature of the Supreme. In other words, the fruitive workers sacrifice their material possessions for material enjoyments whereas the impersonalist sacrifices his material designations with a view to merging into the existence of the Supreme. For the impersonalist the fire, altar, and the sacrifice is the Supreme Brahman and the offering is the self being consumed by the fire of Brahman. The Kṛṣṇa conscious person, however, sacrifices everything for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa and as such all his material possessions as well as his own self, everything, are sacrificed for Kṛṣṇa as with Arjuna. Thus he is the first-class yogi for he does not lose his individual existence."
Prabhupāda: That's it. Question? Yes?
Devotee: (indistinct) eternally individual, so how do the impersonalists (?) attaining their goal merge into the impersonal brahma-jyotir?
Prabhupāda: That is their sign of less intelligence. Therefore we call the impersonalist as less intelligent. Just like the same example, the child is thinking that the constable is very important man. Similarly, the impersonalists are less intelligent in this sense, that what is this brahma-jyotir? The brahma-jyotir is combination of atomic spiritual sparks. Just like sunshine is combination of molecular shining particles. This is scientific. Anything you take, either take sunshine or fire or water, you'll find atomic, even earth, they are all atomic, small, very small parts. Similarly, the brahma-jyotir is combination of the atomic spiritual sparks who are individual living entities.
Who? Who is recommended to find out a spiritual master? Tasmād gurum...jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means who is inquisitive. What kind of inquisitive? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: "What is the ultimate goal of my life?" If you have no such view to inquire what is the ultimate goal of your, you need not require to search out a spiritual master. Spiritual master is not a show bottle. Just like, "Oh, so many people, they have got a spiritual master. Let me have also some spiritual master." It is not like that. It is only jijñāsuḥ, one must be very much inquisitive of the transcendental subject matter. He requires a spiritual master. So here also, the Lord says that tad viddhi: "If you want to understand that transcendental subject matter, then you must approach a person, a bona fide spiritual master."
And the process is praṇipāta, praṇipātena. Praṇipāta means full surrender. Pra means prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa, fully, and nipāta means completely becoming a blank slate. Blank slate. Nobody should approach a bona fide spiritual master just to argue with him and just to, with a desire that "I shall see what kind of spiritual master." No. This is useless. You have to select a spiritual master...
My Guru Mahārāja, my spiritual master, used to say that you have to select a spiritual master not by seeing but by your ear, but by hearing. And you don't select a spiritual master who has got a very good hair or beard or some very beautiful feature, "Oh, he is a very good, nice looking." No. You must hear. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Śruti. The whole process is śruti. The Vedas are called śruti. The ear has to aural reception.
Now, this verse we are discussing in our last meeting. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has concluded that all kinds of sacrifices that we can expected, we are expected to do, the best sacrifice is to acquire knowledge, acquire knowledge. Because whole, our this material conditioned life is due to ignorance. Therefore the purpose of sacrifice, penance, yoga, and philosophical discussion, everything—the ultimate aim is to acquire knowledge.
And even in that knowledge field also... Of course, transcendental knowledge, as we have discussed already, they are viewed in different, three different angles of vision: the knowledge of Brahmavāda, or impersonal, impersonal Absolute Truth, and the knowledge of Paramātmā, the localized Supersoul, and the knowledge of Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are different stages of development of knowledge. But the first beginning knowledge is that we must understand that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul, and my aim of life should be how to get out of this material entanglement." That is knowledge. That is the beginning of knowledge.
In this chapter the Lord explains that the process of the eightfold yoga system is a means to control the mind and the senses. However, this is very difficult for people in general to perform, especially in this age of Kali. Although the eightfold yoga system is recommended in this chapter, the Lord emphasizes that the process of karma-yoga or acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is better. Everyone acts in this world to maintain his family and their paraphernalia, but no one is working without some self-interest, some personal gratification, be it concentrated or extended. The criterion of perfection is to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and not with a view to enjoy the fruits of work. To act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the duty of every living entity because we are constitutionally parts and parcels of the Supreme. The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self-satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole. Similarly the living entity, acting for the satisfaction of the supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect sannyāsī, the perfect yogi.
"The sannyāsīs sometimes artificially think that they have become liberated from all material duties and therefore they cease to perform agni-hotra yajñas, fire sacrifices."
When Śukadeva Gosvāmī described the cowherd boys playing with Kṛṣṇa... So he is remarking that "These boys who are playing with Kṛṣṇa... Who is this Kṛṣṇa?" Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. Those, those who are impersonalists, those who are attached to the impersonal brahma-jyotir, for them, He is the target. He is the target. From Him, the brahma-jyotir comes. Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. And dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena: "And those who are devotees, for them, here is the Supreme Lord." Dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena. And māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa: "And those who are under the influence of māyā, for them, He's ordinary human child." The same person. Different views. One is seeing that the ultimate target of brahma-jyotir, and somebody is seeing that He is the Supreme Lord, and somebody's seeing, "He's ordinary boy." So Kṛṣṇa is visioned under different positions. Under different positions. But He's the Supreme Lord.
So this yoga system, attachment for Kṛṣṇa, begins from the temple worship and ends into mahā-bhāgavata. Mahā-bhāgavata means who simply sees Kṛṣṇa, nothing... Sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti. Sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe nā dekhe tāra mūrti (CC Madhya 8.274). Similarly, in the Bhagavad-gītā also:
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Persons who have questions may come up to the front and speak through the microphone. (break)
Indian man (1): As a child is born, he grows up. As he grows up, as he gains knowledge, he knows the right from the wrong. Now, the question is, in connection with karma, if man has the intelligence, and he follows the way of karma apart from these Hindu philosophies and the way for me to live, does one have to, in view of his consciousness and his intelligence, does he give way for the children to come... Must I accept death? (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: What is that? What does he say?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The question is... What is the question?
Indian man (1): The question is, what I want to find out...
Prabhupāda: What is that question?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: What is your question?
Indian man (1): Oh, in punishing the intelligence of man, does he know the right from the wrong according to the karma? Does man have to pay one way to others in different forms of life?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The question is that man knows right from wrong because of his karma, or...
My grandfather died at the age of ninety-six years. Similarly, there are many instances. People used to live for long time. But the first qualification of this age that they, they are dying fifty, sixty, forty-five. The India's average age is thirty-five. In other countries, a little more. So practically, nobody's living a very long time. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ and manda. They do not know that they have a mission of life. Siddhi. Siddhi-lābha. They do not know. Like cats and dogs, dying. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge, mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And if one is interested for spiritual life, they are also captured by so many pseudo spiritual things. Pseudo. Manda. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ, mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. They have got a different views. They do not like to take knowledge from the Vedic, perfect knowledge from the Vedic literature or from Bhagavad-gītā. They manufacture their own way of life, this mandaḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And manda-bhāgyāḥ. And unfortunate, mostly they are unfortunate. And hy upadrutāḥ. And distributed by so many things. Sometimes earthquake, sometimes famine, sometimes scarcity of water, sometimes war, or sometimes fight. So many things, problems, simply problems. This is the position of this age.
So if one is actually interested to make his life perfect, then we should accept the standard knowledge instead of manufacturing now different ways. No. Here is standard knowledge, Bhagavad-gītā, the śāstra. Sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya tinete kariyā aikya. Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ (BG 16.23). If you do not follow the standard knowledge of perfect śāstra, then Kṛṣṇa says, na siddhiṁ sāvāpnoti. He never gets siddhi. Here it is said, siddhaye. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhaye, to become perfect. So unless we follow the injunction of the śāstra, then there is no possibility of siddhi. Na siddhiṁ sāvāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim. Neither perfection, neither happiness in this life, and what to speak of next life? These things are not possible if we do not follow standard knowledge. So for the standard knowledge, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. And those who have taken the standard knowledge, yatatām api siddhānām (BG 7.3).
This is a verse from the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā which we have published: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. There are many editions of Bhagavad-gītā, but most of them, they have been edited to push forward the editor's own personal philosophical views. But we do not accept Bhagavad-gītā in that light. Bhagavad-gītā is supposed to be spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is stated here, bhagavān uvāca. Those who are Sanskrit scholar, they will understand what is meant by the word bhagavān. Bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and one who possesses opulences, he is called vān. The vat-pratyaya. From vat-pratyaya, the word comes, vān. So bhagavān means "one who possesses all opulences."
There are six kinds of opulences: wealth, I mean to say, reputation, strength, knowledge, renunciation, beauty. These are called opulences. If one person is very rich, he is opulent, he attracts attention of many persons. Similarly, if one person is very influential, strong, he also attracts. Similarly, if one man is very famous for his activities, he also attracts attention. Similarly, if one man is very beautiful or a woman is very beautiful, he or she attracts attention. If one is very wise, learned, he also attracts attention. These are called six opulences, and these opulences are possessed by us in small quantity. Every one of us may possess some riches, maybe little wise or very... Not very strong, little strong. Little, little quantity of these opulences are there in every person. But when you find a person that nobody possesses more than him all these opulences... The Sanskrit word is asama ūrdhva. Asama means "equally," and asama means "without being equal." And ūrdhva means "above." When you find somebody, above him or equal to him, anyone else is as rich, as famous, as opulent, as wise, as beautiful, that person is called God. This is the definition of God.
And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that those who are intelligent persons, those who are making progress to become wiser, for them four things should be kept always in view. What is that? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-dosanudarśanam (BG 13.9). We may think very..., that we are very safe and we are making good advancement in economic development, but there is no solution for these four problems, as enunciated by Bhagavad-gītā, janma, mṛtyu, jarā, vyādhi. Oh, there is no solution for birth. There is so much attempt for birth control all over the world, but still, in every minute or in every second some percentage of population is increasing. Janma, mṛtyu. Similarly, there are so many attempts to discover scientific measures to stop death, but it is not possible. Death is taking place. Rather, in the present age, death is taking place earlier than in years before. Formerly people were living, say, hundred years, eighty years, ninety years, and nowadays a man is living, utmost, seventy years, sixty years. If a man lives for eighty years, then he is considered to be very... But time will come, as we get information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that at the end of this age, Kali-yuga, if a man lives for twenty to thirty years he'll be considered as the grand old man. So practically we are not making any progress. And materially it is not possible to make progress. It is... That is called māyā, illusion. We are actually not making any progress, but we are thinking that we are making progress. This is called spell of māyā.
This is necessary for you to become this Kṛṣṇa conscious, to adopt this life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Why? Because jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya: "In order to get out of the miseries of jarā." Jarā means old age, invalidity. And jarā-maraṇa. Maraṇa means death. Due to ignorance, we forget the miseries of death, the miseries of invalidity, or old age. We think, "Now we are young, young man, young woman. Oh, we don't care for what is old age or what is death. Let us enjoy." We forget. But a man who is not in ignorance, he has always in his view that this material life is full of miseries because there is birth, there is death, there is old age and there is disease.
So we materialists, we don't take into consideration that birth, death, disease and old age are the greatest miseries of our life due to our ignorance. But this ignorance has to be removed if one has to become out of these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. This is not possible to remove by the so-called material science. Material science cannot remove these miseries. They can remove temporary, something artificially, some of our miseries. Just like we are feeling little warm. If the room was, had been air conditioned, we could feel some comfort. That is temporary. But our ultimate miseries are these four things: jarā-maraṇa-mokṣa. Jarā means old age and birth, death.
He is so beautiful that He surpasses the beauty of millions of Cupid. Cupid is supposed to be very beautiful. It impels lust, Cupid. So He is many more thousands times beautiful than Cupid. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham (Bs. 5.30). Viśeṣa-śobham. He has got His particular beauty. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. In this way there are description.
So according to the description, these pictures are drawn. It is not imagination. So this form is factual. It is not imagination. The Māyāvāda philosophers, impersonalists, they answer the Bhagavad-gītā's word that kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām... (BG 12.5). One who is attached to impersonal views, their process of meditation or execution of spiritual activities is very troublesome. Now, therefore Māyāvāda philosopher, they say that "God has no form. But because you cannot meditate upon the formless, so you just imagine any form you like." So God is not subjected to your imagination. That is not God's form. If we imagine something... And that has been degraded. Śaṅkarācārya limited such imaginative forms to five only. Five. What is that five? Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, and Sun, and Gaṇeśa, and Devī, Durgā. He limited, that "Any of these five forms you can meditate upon, you worship. And ultimately, it is formless." But at the present moment, unauthorized person has degraded in such a way that "You can imagine any form. You can imagine even stool." They say like that. You see.
So after nine years I'll have to change this body. Sure. There is nobody can, by scientific process, can stay here. No. That is not allowed. You have to change your body. This is called punar āvartinaḥ, changing... Just like you change your old dress, similarly, you have to change your old body, again enter into another new body. So this is called punar āvartinaḥ. So Kṛṣṇa says that "If you enter in this material world, if you enter even to the highest planet..." What to speak of this moon planet... Moon planet is just our neighbor. Your modern scientists have calculated that if we want to go to the highest planet, it will take—this same speed of sputnik, twenty thousand miles per hour—still, it will take forty thousands of years to reach the highest planet. That is the scientific view.
But there is such planet where living entities like you and me are there. We have got this information from Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literatures. All planets, they are full of living entities. Don't think simply on the earth we are here, and in all planets are vacant, no. From your experience, you can see that no place in this earth is vacant, without living entities. Even you dig earth, you'll find some worms. You, you go deep into the water, you'll find some living entities. You just analyze that outer space, air, you'll find so many living entities. So how you can conclude that other planets are without living entities? They are all full of living entities.
In another place it is said that, just like He says that "The worshiping the other demigod, that is also worshiping Me," but avidhi bhur bhavam. Yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam: that is not vidhi. Vidhi is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66), to worship Kṛṣṇa. It is very simple. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). But people will not accept this simple thing which will give him complete perfection. But māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuri bhāvam āśritāḥ, because they have taken the atheistic view, āsuri bhāvam āśritāḥ, therefore māyā has taken his knowledge. They..., everything is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mayaiva vihitān hi tān. If we worship other demigod, they cannot independently offer you any benediction. Kṛṣṇa said, mayaiva vihitān hi tān. They have to take sanction from the Supreme Personality of Godhead before giving you the benediction. But still such benediction is temporary, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). They are temporary.
So such temporary benediction is meant for the alpa-medhasām, one whose brain substance is very small, or the brain substance, instead of brain substance, it's cow dung. They attempt, they accept in this way; otherwise every śāstra says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). One..., all the Vedic literatures, they aim at understanding Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Give up all these things. Simply surrender unto Me." It is so easy. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam... Any, any part of the world, any poor man can offer Kṛṣṇa. This is the poorest, not that who are rich, for them it is prescribed. Anyone can offer Kṛṣṇa according to his capacity. Kṛṣṇa is not hankering after your offering, but if you offer Kṛṣṇa, that is for your own interest, own benefit. Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā (BG 9.4).
Guest (2): What can you do to still two voices inside yourself? One voice tells me that the mystics' view on the world is correct and it has its own logic and it's consistent. And this, when I'm in a meditative mood I can comprehend. But when I walk in the daylight and the illusions are around one, then the other voice talks and says, my so-called logical voice, my daily, logical voice, says, "That a fantasy, a dream you're chasing. You're only putting your logic to it. Maybe it doesn't exist." How can one get over this doubt?
Prabhupāda: That means you are surrendering to different people. That is your position.
Guest (2): Sorry, I didn't hear you. Sorry.
Prabhupāda: You are surrendering to this boy or that boy, hearing. This is correct or that is correct. But you do not know what is correct. So under the circumstances, you surrender to Kṛṣṇa; you'll get the correct answer.
Guest (2): Be patient and wait.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because He is the Supreme, there is no cheating; there is no imperfection. Therefore you get the correct answer. You surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
Guest (5) (young man): Śrīla Prabhupāda, I was told that... When one is surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, how does he discriminate between being tactful and, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, compromising in his speech?
Prabhupāda: To surrender to Kṛṣṇa is the best tactful and if you surrender, He will give you instruction. Then all tactfulness will be there. Teṣām aham.
Gurukṛpā: If somebody would like to ask some question to Śrīla Prabhupāda, raise your hand. No questions? Everybody agrees?
Guest (1) (young man): Would you like to give your views on psychiatry?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Would you like to give your views on psychiatry? Psychiatry. Psychiatrist.
Prabhupāda: What is that? (laughter)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Well, when someone is having some kind of mental problem the psychiatrist analyzes it from the medical viewpoint, sometimes from the psychological viewpoint.
Prabhupāda: Hm. Psychiatrist.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: This is an expansion of the energy known as mind. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca. These are subtle matter. So different division. God's creation is wonderful that even if you take the atom, there are so many things. That is... Scientists are... So what to speak of mind, thinking, feeling, willing, and there are so many divisions. So what is your question about the psychiatrist? It is a material thing and very subtle, and there are so many divisions. So what is your question about it?
Guest (1): I just wanted your views on your concept of...
Prabhupāda: Yes, everything is resting on God. This is also resting on God.
Guest (1): Is it necessary to have a therapeutic system?
Prabhupāda: No, everything First of all we have to understand that everything is expansion of God's energy. So if you understand God, then the energies are automatically understood. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. This is the Vedic injunction. If you try to understand God, then His energies also will be understood by you. If you know the root, if you water on the root of the tree, then the tree, whole tree, becomes luxuriantly flourished. So our proposition is: you take the root, Kṛṣṇa, and you will understand everything properly from the root. If you want to understand the tree, whole tree, you try to understand it from the root, not from the top. So disease, any disease, if you understand the root cause of the disease you can give proper medicine and he's cured.
So psychiatrists generally their patients are crazy fellows. Generally they treat crazy fellows. Is it not? No sane man goes to a psychiatrist. (laughter) Is it not a fact? So all these crazy men sometimes makes the psychiatrist a crazy also. So more or less, everyone is crazy. That is the... It is not my layman's opinion. It is the opinion of a big medical surgeon. There was a case in the court, murder case. The murderer pleaded that "I became crazy, mad, at that time." That is generally... So the medical man was called to examine. He was great civil surgeon in Calcutta. So he gave his opinion in the court that "So far I have treated many patients, so my opinion is that everyone is more or less a madman. More or less. It is a question of degree." So our opinion is like that, that anyone who is not under the direct connection with God, he's a crazy man. He's a madman. Now you can treat. So we are also psychiatrists. We are pushing this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So because anyone who is in this material world—more or less crazy, madman. Because he doesn't care for God, therefore he's crazy. He is completely under the control of God, but still, he has the audacity to say, "No, I don't believe in god." Crazy man. So anyone who does not believe in God, he's a crazy fellow. You can treat him. Everyone is patient.
Now, every human being, he has got a philanthropic view. Now, the other day I met one gentleman. So I did not know that he is not a family man because in India we are supposed to accept anyone, any gentleman, as family man. So he said, "Yes, I am not family man." Then what he is doing? He is earning nicely, but he is helping one orphanage. That's nice. He said that "I have got many sons in this orphanage." That is very good. So this natural inclination for loving an orphanage is there, is there. So this give and take, this inclination, is there in the human being.
So the Lord says that yat karoṣi... And we have to work. It is not that without working, we can have our body and soul maintained. This is not possible. This material world, we have to work. Everyone is working. Yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi. And we have to eat also. That is a fact. And yaj juhoṣi. And for our salvation or advancement we do something, religious rituals or attending church and temple or mosque. Something there is in human society. And dadāsi yat, and charity. Everyone is more or less charitably disposed, and he makes some charities according to his capacity. Dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi. And everyone accepts some penance, voluntary penance in his life. Yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam. Now, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "All these activities—your work, your charity, your eating, your penance, and your rituals—everything should be done for me." That's all. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everything should be done for...
In, in the market you'll have so many commentaries of the Bhagavad-gītā. In India we have counted, there are about six hundred and forty-five different commentaries of Bhagavad-gītā. One Dr. Rele(?) of Bombay, he has interpreted Bhagavad-gītā as the talks between the patient and the medical practitioner. Yes. He has imposed on Kṛṣṇa as the physician and Arjuna as the patient. And in his commentary he has tried to, I mean to say, interpose all the meanings of anatomy, physiology, everything in his own imagination.
Similarly, at the present moment, there are so many commentaries and people have taken that anybody can interpret in his own way. This is the modern view. Everyone is perfect and he can interpret any scripture in his own way. But so far we are concerned, we are not agreeable to that point. We agree to read Bhagavad-gītā in terms of the instruction as it is given in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā says that this knowledge has to be taken by the paramparā system or the disciplic succession. It is not that anyone can interpret. This viewpoint no bona fide student of Bhagavad-gītā will accept.
So this Bhagavad-gītā is being taught by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to Arjuna. He says again the same thing. He's repeating that yat te 'haṁ prīyamāṇāya vakṣyāmi hita-kāmyayā. "Because you are My dear friend, I desire that you become prosperous, you become happy. Therefore I am speaking to you." Do you think that Kṛṣṇa is not interested with others? To make them happy and prosperous? No. He's, He's equally disposed. He wants everyone to be happy and peaceful and prosperous. But they do not want it. That is the difficulty.
Then santuṣṭa, satisfied. Satataṁ yogī. A devotee should not be dissatisfied in any condition of life. He should remain satisfied. Because he knows that "My pains and pleasure are now dependent on the will of Kṛṣṇa. Not now, always. So if Kṛṣṇa desires that I should suffer like this, why should I bother? Let me suffer." Santuṣṭa.
There are many verses to support this. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtam (SB 10.14.8). A devotee, when he is put into distress, he thinks that "It is God's kindness that He is giving me little pain, hurt, although I should have suffered more." This is devotee's view. He is not, I mean to, disturbed by any kinds of pains and pleasure. Santuṣṭa. Satataṁ yogī. Even in distressed condition he also thinks of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he is yogi. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā (BG 6.47). A devotee always thinks of Kṛṣṇa. That is devotee. Yogi. Yatātmā. He does not neglect his duty, his devotional service.
And dṛḍha-niścayaḥ. Dṛḍha-niścayaḥ means he believes in the word of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). A devotee believes in this, that "I have nothing to do, simply to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Then my all business is done." That is confirmed in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya: "Simply by serving Kṛṣṇa, all other duties are discharged." This is called dṛḍha-niścayaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), and the devotee takes it very seriously. That is called dṛḍha-niścaya. Dṛḍha means firmly convinced, "Yes, if I surrender to Kṛṣṇa, all other business is complete." That is confirmed in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
The fact is that within this body there is the owner of the body. That is called soul. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). This is not the cause of our intelligence, but it is given by Kṛṣṇa, less or more intelligence. That is your position. But that knowledge, where you get? Not in the university, but you get from the Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore our request is, our only propaganda is, "Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Try to understand everything, all problems." Then the solution is there in the Bhagavad-gītā.
The present problem is food problem. It is not simply talking on this platform or that platform. Yesterday some news reporter, "Sir, what is your view of the Bhagavad-gītā, dvaita-vāda, advaita-vāda?" The dvaita-vāda, advaita-vāda—that we shall consider later on. Come to the practical field. Now, suppose there is scarcity of food. So Kṛṣṇa does not say that this problem of scarcity of food will be solved by dvaita-vāda philosophy or advaita-vāda philosophy. Kṛṣṇa says practical way: annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Annād. You have, you must have sufficient food grains for the living entities, animal or man. This is practical. There is no question of talking. What is he talking of advaita-vāda philosophy or dvaita-vāda philosophy when you are needy, you require anna? That is practical solution given by Kṛṣṇa. Annād bhavanti. He never says that your food problem will be solved by philosophizing advaita-vāda or dvaita-vāda. Here is practical. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. You must find out sufficient grains. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Parjanyāt. When there is sufficient rain, then there will be food grains, not by your advaita-vāda philosophy or dvaita-vāda philosophy. These are practical solution.
So about the soul and Supersoul, ṛṣibhiḥ, great sages, saintly persons, they have also discussed. Just like in the present age also, we are different parties, the impersonalist and the personalist. Śaṅkara-sampradāya, they ascertain the Absolute Truth as impersonal, nirviśeṣa, and the Buddhists, they ascertain, "The Absolute Truth is zero."
We are struggling—nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. We are struggling against these nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi, voidists and impersonalists. So it is not now new. From time immemorial there are different views. But Kṛṣṇa refers herewith that brahma-sūtra-padaiḥ hetumadbhir viniścitaṁ. Others... There are many other books of knowledge. They are not very reasonable. That is dogmatic. But hetumadbhiḥ, if we accept with our logic and sense, that is first-class book which gives us information of the ātmā, Paramātmā.
Therefore, in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the author says, caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra, vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra. The author says that "You kindly put your consideration and judgement about the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And if you consider with logic and reason," vicāra karile pābe citte camatkāra, "you'll feel that these are wonderful things." So we haven't got to accept anything blindly.
Vivikta-deśa-sevitvam aratir jana-saṁsadi (BG 13.11). Aratir jana-saṁsadi, not very much attached with general public, because they are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. We can meet them as far as possible, as far as required. Not that we have to sit down and talk all nonsense with these general people. No. Aratir jana-samsadi, and vivikta-deśa-sevitvam (BG 13.11). Naturally, we shall be inclined to avoid such company. But preaching work, we have to go. Not to associate with him, but to give your association to him. That should be the principle. Because you have learned something about devotional service, you should give your experience to such person, but not to accept their behavior. If you keep this in view, then you will be preacher. And if you become victimized by his association, then you are doomed. You should give him the opportunity of your association, whatever you know, whatever you have learned about bhakti-yoga. When you go to meet a person, you should try to inform him, "This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You also take to it." As Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa-upadeśa' (CC Madhya 7.128). Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa-upadeśa'.
This is real business. Adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvam. Spiritual knowledge. That is eternal knowledge. It will not break. If you learn spiritual knowledge, a little of it in this life, svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt, then you will be saved from the greatest danger. Tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam. If you want to become philosopher, then you philosophize for understanding the tattva-jñāna. And what is tattva-jñāna?
| Page Title: | View (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 21 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=41, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 41 |