Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. If you be situated in whatever position you are, it doesn't matter. We are not going to inquire what you are. "Are you businessman, engineer, doctor, or police, or intelligent, or educated, non-educated, black, white?"—there is no question, no question. The only thing is sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatām. Śruti-gatām means... Śruti means this aural reception. You have to receive this word little submissively. Namanta eva. Don't think yourself, that you are very man of knowledge. Because our knowledge is very limited, so we should not be puffed up with false thinking that I am very learned man. No. Just become a little gentle and submissive, and hear these messages from Kṛṣṇa. Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. Tanu. Tanu means your body, and vāk means your words, and mana means mind. Just try to adjust your mind, your body, your words, and hear the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā which is spoken by the Supreme Lord, and put your arguments, put your reason, whatever you have got. Don't accept it blindly. And think over it, and then you'll see what is the result. This is... So rākṣasīm.
But in spite of all these facilities, the Lord says, the rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva, those who are rākṣasas... Rākṣasa means almost man-eaters. Rākṣasa are called man-eaters, more than tigers. They, for their self-satisfaction, they can eat, I mean to say, even, even their own sons. You see? They are called rākṣasas. No shame. "My sense gratification should be satisfied. Never mind. You go to hell." So this is the age. So we, we create a machine that everyone comes and becomes smashed in that machine, and my sense satisfaction is there. Although I'll never be happy by that sense satisfaction. This is going on. You can know this world is now managed by the rākṣasas. Rākṣasa. They don't mind what is happening. They are prepared to sacrifice everything for fulfilling their whimsical nonsense. They are called rākṣasa. Rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ. Why they are? Now, they are very much enamored by this material beauty. Not beauty. The material civilization. So they cannot. They cannot understand. It is very difficult for them. They cannot understand. And they'll never try to understand because they are rākṣasas.
Then who will understand God? Mahātmā.
- mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
- daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
- bhajanty ananya-manaso
- jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
- (BG 9.13)
And here it... "Those who are mahātmā..." Mahātmā means one who has enlarged his heart, enlarged his heart: "Oh, everything belongs to God, and I also belong to God." He's mahātmā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha: (BG 9.13) "My dear Arjuna, these mahātmās, they are not in, under the control of this material nature." One who can think that "Everything belongs to God, and I also belong to God. Therefore the supreme proprietor is God. Everything should be engaged in His service..." This is the qualification of mahātmā, broader. "God is great," and his heart is also has become great for serving the great. He's mahātmā. Mahātmā, not a stamp, a political leader, mahātmā. Don't misunderstand. "I stamp you mahātmā by votes, and you become God. You become mahātmā." These are not accepted in Bhagavad-gītā. Mahātmā's description is there, that mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ: (BG 9.13) "He has taken the shelter of the superior, spiritual energy."
As we have discussed many times, God has got many energies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). There are unlimited energies, different varieties of energy. Out of that, those who are in the knowledge, they have divided the whole energy into three divisions. What is that? Material energy, spiritual energy and marginal energy. This material energy, you are seeing. And the spiritual energy, now we have no knowledge. But the marginal energy, something spirit, something matter, that we are, we living entities. I am... As I am, I am spirit. But I am mixed up with this matter. Therefore I am marginal energy, between spirit and matter. I am combination of spirit and matter. As soon as I am spirit, I am away from this matter, this bodily matter. "Dust thou art; dust thou beist." Yes. So those who are mahātmā, they have take shelter of the spiritual energy. Of course, for God, every energy is His energy. Therefore He has no distinction what is spirit and what is matter. But for me, because I am in marginal energy, I have to make distinction that "This is spirit; this is matter."
So mahātmā, those who have broadened their heart for becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious or devoting himself for the service of the great... Just like to, one, a government servant, important government servant, he also becomes important, similarly, God is great, and when you are engaged in His service you become great. You become great. That is called mahātmā. So as soon as you take shelter of the spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord, at once you become mahātmā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). And suppose now I have identified with the greatness of the Supreme, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This Vedic word is called ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am the... I am Brahman." But simply being puffed up, "I am Brahman, I become God," that is another rākṣasīm, another misleading. Here it is said that if you have become Brahman, then you must show your activities in Brahman. Because you are spirit, you are not inactive. To become Brahman does not mean that I become inactive. Oh, in matter I am so much active because I am Brahman. Although I am contaminated with matter, still, I am so active. And when I am purified from matter, do you mean to say my activities stop? What is this reasoning?