Śyāmasundara: He says that real religion is a mystic oneness with God.
Prabhupāda: That is... Yes. Oneness means I agree with God. God says your surrender. I say, "Yes. I surrender." God says Arjuna "You fight," he fights. That is oneness, that we have no disagreement in any point with God. That is oneness. Just like in this institution, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as soon as I say anything, there is no disagreement of any other disciple. If there is disagreement, then it is ended. Disobedient immediately. As it is going, it is being done, taking God's representative, Kṛṣṇa's representative, so similarly with God also. And what, what I am doing? I am simply taking the order from God and I am disseminating the same knowledge. I have accepted that surrender to Kṛṣṇa is my life. I am teaching others, "You also surrender." This is called disciplic succession. There is no disagreement with God. It is not that I am posing myself, "I am God."
Śyāmasundara: What does it mean, "mystic oneness with God"? What does mystic mean?
Prabhupāda: Mystic means spiritual. What is the mystic? What is the meaning of?
Śyāmasundara: "Mystic means known only to those of special comprehension or especially initiated." Known only to those with special comprehension.
Prabhupāda: What is that? Yes.
Śyāmasundara: So Bergson believed that this mystic who had contacted God, that he can lead others and he can teach others how to become godly.
Prabhupāda: That's it. God's representative. That we are. That is disciplic succession. Yes. That is spiritual... He is accepting spiritual master. He is accepting spiritual master. And that is the definition in the śāstra.
- tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
- jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
- śābde pare ca niśṇātaṁ
- brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
- (SB 11.3.21)
One who has realized God, you go to such spiritual master to understand the spiritual science. The Bhagavad-gītā also... That is our word, that you should approach... What does he say? That word?
Śyāmasundara: The mystic teaches us how to become godly.
Prabhupāda: How to become godly. That's right.
Śyāmasundara: He says how to become God.
Prabhupāda: Who?
Śyāmasundara: This man. In the sense of godly, how to become God.
Prabhupāda: All right. That can be accepted. But a better word is how to become godly or God conscious. That is the exact word. Śyāmasundara: This definition in the dictionary for mystic is "known only to those of special comprehension or especially initiated."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That means one who is God conscious. He is mystic.
Śyāmasundara: But the modern interpretation of the word mystic is something different. People take "mystic" to mean someone who is very mysterious and magic.
Prabhupāda: Yes. It has come to that. God consciousness... Just like at the present moment, if a guru can show some miracles, just like that Sai Baba, (laughter) so they accept that he's mystic. Yes.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. That's the modern meaning of mystic.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Although it may be rascaldom, false, still, he's received like that. Miracles. That means less intelligent class of men, they want to see some miracles. That is mysticism.
Śyāmasundara: And he says that God means love and the creative... Through creative love the world came into being, and the world is a manifestation of God's love.
Prabhupāda: Yes. God loves. Because unless He loves, why does He come personally? Why He gives instruction through scriptures? (break)