Human life is meant... This is an opportunity to understand Kṛṣṇa. Hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu, manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. This is Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's song. Anyone who is not trying to understand Kṛṣṇa... Not even trying, what to speak of worshiping Him, giving Him service... And Kṛṣṇa says simply by trying to know Him, one becomes liberated. Simply by trying, not perfectly. Even imperfectly. Because he is endeavoring to understand Kṛṣṇa, that very activity will make him liberated. That very activity. It is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa. He is so great, unlimited. How we can understand Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa cannot understand Himself. Or Ananta cannot understand. So... Actually, that is the fact. We cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. But still, whatever Kṛṣṇa says about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, if we accept so much, then we immediately become fit for going back to Godhead, back to home.
Songs (BG and SB Lectures)
Expressions researched:
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Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
There is song by Govinda dāsa, śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇa e dina jāminī jāgi re, biphale sevinu kṛpaṇa durajana, capala sukha-laba lāgi re. He says that śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇa: "I have worked without caring for scorching heat and severe cold." Actually people work so hard. He has to go to office. Suppose there is snowfall. So he cannot stop. He has to go. Or there is scorching heat. You have no experience in your country, scorching heat. But India, 122 degrees.
Bhagavad-gītā means the song sung by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhagavata. From the word bhagavata, we speak Bhagavān. Bhagavān, here, in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find everywhere: śrī bhagavān uvāca. So it is the science of understanding God. Yad vijñāna-samanvitam. Jñānaṁ te pravakṣyāmi yad vijñāna-samanvitam. It is a vijñāna. Vijñāna means science.
One class is duṣkṛtina and the other class is mūḍha. Mūḍha means less intelligence, or no intelligence. na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. And narādhama means the lowest of the mankind. And māyayā apahṛta-jñānāḥ, those whose knowledge have been taken by māyā, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. These classes of men do not surrender unto Kṛṣṇa. We are not manufacturing these words. These words are in the Bhagavad-gītā. If we study Bhagavad-gītā, we have to accept the statements, Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā means the speeches which is delivered, or the song which is sung by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Just like Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma... There are many glories, not only in Sanskrit language, in other languages also, glories of Lord. If we try to hear glories of the Lord with the ear, then my ear may not be engaged in other songs. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). Similarly, my tongue. If I determine that "I shall eat only foodstuff which is offered to Kṛṣṇa," then naturally my eating problem becomes restricted and as I go on eating the foodstuff which is offered first to Kṛṣṇa and then I take, then, now, the natural effect will be that my tongue will be controlled. And if I want to control my other senses, then the tongue control is the first business, because if we cannot control the tongue, then other senses is impossible to be controlled. Therefore we, when we take our foodstuff, we sing this nice song, śarīra abidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl: "This body is a network of nescience." Śarīra abidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl: "And the material senses, they are just like kāla." Kāla means venomous serpents. So śarīra abidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl, tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati: "Amongst all the senses, the tongue is very avaricious."
Those who are beginners, the arcanā process, the Deity worship in the temple, is very nice. But apart from all those engagements, where it is not possible, this singing or glorifying the Supreme Lord or this simple song—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—it will elevate certainly to the highest extent if you do it very nicely and seriously. Ātma-vaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati. Prasāde sarva-duḥkhānāṁ hānir asyopajāyate. And as soon as you are satisfied, then your all miseries are ended.
So unless one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he must be in the māyā's engagement, same thing. People may eulogize such engagement, "Oh, he's so moneyed man. He has dismantled such nice building and again constructed another nice building." So, this is very nice in material estimation, but in spiritual estimation they are simply wasting time. (sings) Hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu, that song. (sings) Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. Knowingly, purposefully, I am drinking poison. Poison. Why poison? Wasting time of this valuable human form of life is drinking poison. Just like a man drinks poison. He does not know what is his next life. He's going to become a ghost. For years together, he'll not have this material body as punishment. You have seen? Gaurasundara has written one ghost article in our Back to Godhead.
Jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. We know, we are hearing from the scriptures, from authorities, Vedic literatures, that "I have got this miserable conditional body, material body, to suffer threefolds of material miseries; still, I am not very much anxious how to stop this repetition of birth and death. I am drinking poison." Jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. Hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu. These songs are very instructive. Simply purposefully, we are drinking poison.
Now it is known, Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā means the, generally in this Western world they say, "Song of God." So Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So He said that "This is not a new literature. Millions of years ago I spoke about this yoga system, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān... (BG 4.1). Proktavān means, "I said." Whom? Vivasvān. Vivasvān is the name of the sungod or the president of the sun planet.
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung a very nice song, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My Lord Hari, Kṛṣṇa, I have simply wasted my time." Why? Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa na bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu: "I got this human form of life, but I did not take the advantage offered in this life to understand Kṛṣṇa; therefore I have taken poison knowingly. I have taken poison knowingly."
Now, here, the bhakti-yoga system is that if you stick to the hearing of Hare Kṛṣṇa and the music, melodious music of khol, karatāla, then naturally you become detestful for hearing other songs. So this is practically indriya-saṁyama. The bhakti process is that sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). You cannot stop the senses to work. That is the negative process. Because the senses are meant for working. Therefore you have to give better engagement to the senses.
So ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. The Vedic version says, Vedānta, that "A spirit soul is by nature joyful." Therefore—we are spirit soul—we are hankering after joy, where there is dance, where there is cinema, where there is nice food, where there is nice song, nice picture, nice beautiful woman or man. Everyone is searching after joy. Therefore the Supreme must be joyful. But I am conditioned. Therefore my joy is being checked up. But He is not conditioned. His joy is unlimited. He is everlastingly in enjoyment in Vṛndāvana, dancing with gopī.
Just like this tape recorder. It is being recorded. My words or my songs are being recorded. But they are different from me. This is dual, the world of duality. But the absolute world, there is no such difference. Just like we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare. This name Kṛṣṇa and the personality Kṛṣṇa is the same. Is the same. Hare Kṛṣṇa means when I hear the sound, the transcendental sound vibration Kṛṣṇa, that means Kṛṣṇa is on my tongue, on my ear. Therefore, if we chant this vibration of transcendental sound with devotion and with attention, that is the highest type of meditation and yoga. And very easy.
A person who has no knowledge, he also a jantu, animal. So vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevāḥ. Sex life and meat-eating, āmiṣa, and madya-sevāḥ, intoxicant, and natural tendency. Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānām. This is pravṛtti. They have got inclination. That is material life. Āmiṣa-madya-sevāḥ. But they have to be controlled by tapasya. That is tapasya. If because I have got this inclination, I have got a desire to drink or have intoxication, therefore I shall take it.... There is a Bengali song, cakṣe yadi lāge bhāla kena dekha nā:(?) "Now if I, my eyes like to see it, why shall I not see?" This is sense enjoyment. This is animalism.
This is the first process. Praṇipātena paripraśnena. Paripraśnena means by sincere inquiries. Not only surrender, you must be intelligent enough to inquire. Not that when something is heard, and there is no question. No. There must be some question. Paripraśnena and sevayā. So surrender, inquiry, and sevā, service.
We sing this song every day,
- yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo
- yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi
- dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ
- vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam **
Yasya, if we actually find a spiritual master, bona fide spiritual master, and if we can make him satisfied by my service, then my path for realization of God is guaranteed. This is the thing. Here it is. First of all we have to find out a bona fide spiritual master.
So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says this body is the network of ignorance, simply sense gratification. "I shall eat this. I shall eat that. I shall hear this. I shall..." The ear is engaged in hearing nice cinema songs, and the tongue is engaged, going to the restaurant, so many so-called palatable dishes. Similarly, other senses, they are engaged. So the... According to bhakti-yoga system, the first control is recommended to the tongue. That is said, that ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136).
Female devotee (2): Kṛṣṇa says so many times, "You must surrender unto Me." Why do people say, "No, there's something else."
Prabhupāda: Because they want something new. This is very old. There is a song by a great dramatist in India. He is singing, ekṭā navana kichu koro. That means "You do something, invent something new. You invent something new, and then you become very popular." You see? That is the way of modern thoughts. You invent something new. Not modern, this is going on. Just like there is version in the Vedic literature, na cāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam.
People are engaged in the matter of economic development for sense gratification. So that is also ignorance. That is also ignorance. Because advancement of economic development... There is a nice song by a Vaiṣṇava. He says that jaḍa-vidyā, saba māyāra vaibhava. Jaḍa-vidyā means the material advancement of knowledge is a manifestation of this illusory energy. The illusory energy manifests herself in different ways, and that is called material advancement of knowledge. The material advancement of knowledge means we are becoming more and more illusioned. Illusioned.
Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma—you have heard it while singing Six Gosvāmīs song. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. So there are very nice examples of minimizing. Minimizing all material necessities. Up to the point nil. You see? But that is not possible for everyone. Don't try to imitate Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. But because they were associates of Lord Caitanya, each one of them showed some example, unique example of how Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be advanced. But our business is not to imitate them, but try to follow them. Try to follow as far as possible. Not artificially.
We are speaking from Bhagavad-gītā. I think most of you know this book, Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is sometimes translated in foreign languages: "The Song of God." In other words, God Himself speaking. So far we are concerned, we cannot understand God by mental speculation. Even in this material world, we cannot understand what is there in the planetary systems. So our knowledge is very, very limited. Besides that, we have got four deficiencies.
There is Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings very nice song, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My dear Lord, Hari, I have simply spoiled my life." Hari hari biphale, janama goṅāinu. Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā: "I got very nice body, just fit for worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa." Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa..., jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu: "Knowingly I have drunk poison." Jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. This is the life of mūḍha. One should be conscious that "I have got this opportunity of human life. I must be, in this life, simply Kṛṣṇa conscious. I shall simply think of Kṛṣṇa." Satataṁ cintayanto mām (BG 9.14). Always cintaya. Satataṁ cintayanto mām, kīrtayanto mām.
Abhyāsāt means by natural tendency he wants joyful life. But... There is a song, Bengali song. A poet writes, sukhera lāgiyā ei ghara bandhila anale puriya gelā:(?) "I constructed my home to live very peacefully and comfortably. All of a sudden, there was set fire and everything vanquished." Just like in America you have got experience that Mr. Kennedy, he became president after long struggle. He had very nice wife, children, honor, prestige, everything. And somebody was saying, telling me yesterday, that people took him as a very happy man. Within a second, all finished. He was driving, he was in procession, people were honoring him, and within a second—finished.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, "The māyā is very strong." But if you capture Kṛṣṇa very, more strongly, then māyā cannot do anything. If something is opposing your chanting, then you'll have to chant more loudly: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So you defeat māyā. The medicine is the same. At least, I do so. When I am in some danger, I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa loudly. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ (laughter) Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. That's all. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura... There is song: jāy sakal bipod bhaktivinod bole jakhon o-nām gāi. He says, "As soon as I chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa, I become immediately free from all dangers."
That (is) Vidyāpati's song. What is that? Can you remember? Tatala seikate vari-bindu-sama, suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje. Suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje.(?) The exact English equivalent is "society, friendship and love." Everyone is busy—society, family, friends, country, nation, community, in this way, suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje. And what is the composition? Now, children, suta; mitā means friends; and ramaṇi, some woman. If they are beautiful woman, that is also very nice. So they are busy. They are busy. The other day we had been guest in Hyderabad. He is very busy with this suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje. Everyone is. Everyone is busy with suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje.
Our heart is desiring real pleasure, transcendental bliss. So if we are put into this desert, suta-mitā-ramaṇi-samāje, where is the benefit? This song is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). They do not know what is the aim of life. They are satisfied with this drop of water in the desert. It will never mitigate. Desert is very vast tract of land dry, and if somebody says, "All right, take one drop of water," then what is the meaning? It has no meaning. Similarly, we are spirit soul. We are hankering after Kṛṣṇa. That is our inner desire.
We take the advantage of musical science. But we don't sing any ordinary song. We glorify the Supreme Lord. But we enjoy. Therefore it is happy. Then again, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam. Now, what you are hearing from Bhagavad-gītā, if you remember it at home, that "Swamiji was spoke, speaking like this, and how does it apply in my life?"... We should remember this. We should not forget just after leaving this place. And if there is any question, any doubt, we should place before this assembly.
When you see the beautiful Deity, the forms of Lord Kṛṣṇa, you'll forget to see anymore any other beauty. You see? These are the process, very nice, susukham. There is no trouble. Decorate with flower, with dress, with ornaments and see and hear and eat very... You offer very nice foodstuff to Kṛṣṇa and then partake it. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanam (SB 7.5.23). Vandanam means prayer. Of course, if you do not like, if you think, "This is Hindu system. We won't accept. We are Christian," all right, you go to church, sing there. You have got also songs of Bible. You can sing very nicely.
Devotee: If we don't finish our Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, how we come in contact with the guru in next life? Prabhupāda: Yes, that arrangement will be done, you go on with your business. We are singing this song daily. Why do you forget? Cakhu-dān dilo jei janme janme prabhu sei. One who has opened the eyes, he'll remain my master life after life.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
My Guru Mahārāja, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, he did not like that his disciples would be easy-going, cheap Vaiṣṇava. Cheap Vaiṣṇava. Duṣṭa mana tumi kisera vaiṣṇava. He sang a song, "My dear mind, oh, you are going to be a Vaiṣṇava. And what kind of Vaiṣṇava you are?" Duṣṭa mana tumi kisera vaiṣṇava, pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare, tava hari-nāma kevala kaitava. "You are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, imitating Haridāsa Ṭhākura or Rūpa Gosvāmī, in a solitary place... Not solitary place. You are thinking of woman and money. That's all. Mind is filled with dirty things. So this kind of bhajana is simply cheating, cheating." He was after preaching. First of all, go door to door.
Mārobi rākhobi jo icchā tohārā... In this way, there is a nice song. So you cannot take charge of your family, society or community or country. No. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Everything is going on under the influence of different modes of material nature. Just like in our country, when Gandhi was living, he got sva-rājya, but still, he was thinking he had to do something, he had to do something. And he did not separate from politics. He was old man. He should have retired, but he did not, unless he was killed by somebody. This is the attachment for material things.
We have invented so many nonsense things for simply satisfaction of the tongue. A vaiṣṇava kavi, Vaiṣṇava poet, ācārya, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he has wrote a song. That song we chant or sing during the time of taking prasādam. In that song he writes, śarīra abidyā-jāl joḍendriya tāhe kāl: "This body is an emblem of ignorance." Actually we get this material body due to our ignorance. By ignorance we commit so many wrong things, and you have obliged to accept a certain type of body. Therefore it is a network of ignorance.
We have to repeat the prayers offered by liberated soul, not by ordinary man. Because he is not yet uttama, he is not yet in the transcendental platform. Therefore we don't allow songs which are not sung by liberated souls like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. They are liberated souls. We don't allow any literature which is not given by liberated soul. Literatures, they are always following Vedic principles. Vedas, the original transcendental literature, and any literature which is produced under the guidance of Vedic literature, that is also nice. That is perfect.
Just like Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, they are poets. They have produced so many songs. But about whom? About Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, under the instruction of Nārada, now Vyāsadeva will produce a literature like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is simply glorification of the Lord and His devotees. Bhāgavata. Bhāgavata means the Lord, and Bhāgavata means pertaining to the Lord. So pertaining to the Lord, everything. Vāstava-vastu vedyam atra. In the beginning of Bhāgavata it is said vāstava-vastu. Vastu means substance, the summum bonum. And vāstava, in relation to the summum bonum.
First of all, 'This body's mine,' or 'The home, the family, that is mine.' " So mānasa deho geho, jo kichu... "Whatever I have got in my possession, now I am surrendering unto You." Arpiluṅ tuwā pade nanda-kiśora. This is surrender. "So I am giving unto You my family, my home, my body, my mind, everything." Arpiluṅ tuwā pade nanda... "Now, whatever You like, You do." That is very nice song. So we have to do that. Then Kṛṣṇa will take care. That's all. The same example: you simply have to capture the rope. Then you'll be lifted immediately.
So bala means spiritual strength, not material strength. Nāyam ātmā bala-hīnena labhyaḥ. That means one must be spiritually strong. And that spiritually strong means to have good faith in Kṛṣṇa and guru. That is spiritual strength. Therefore Baladeva means guru, spiritual strength. Balarāma haila nitāi. Nitāiyer karuṇā habe... What is that song? Nitāiyer karuṇā habe vraje rādha-kṛṣṇa pābe. He is... "If there is mercy of Nitāi, then..."
Our Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a song, eita eka kalir celā: "Here is a disciple of Kali." What is that? Nāke tilaka galai mālā. "He has got tilaka..." Nata nara nāke tilaka galai mālā. He sings that, sahaja bhajana kache namu saṅge laiyā pare dala. (?) Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings that "He's dressed like a bābājī. He has shaven his head, and has got tilaka and kaṇṭhi. But he has got at least half a dozen women, and that is his bhajana." So not that... That is not mahātmā. That is durātmā, a cheating... Of course, in this Kali-yuga... Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, eita eka kalir celā. Kalir celā means the disciple of Kali. Dressed like a sādhu, or Vaiṣṇava, but within, all rubbish things. That will not help us. He must be mahātmā, real mahātmā.
If one is little pious, he prays to Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, this time save me. Now I shall begin worshiping You so that get out of this entanglement of birth and death, birth and death." He becomes conscious.
But as soon as he comes out, then, māyā is there. Māyā is there, and there is father, there is mother, nice child. Now the child thinks, "I am very happy. I have got such a nice father. Nice father, nice mother. And other friends, they are taking..." This, these are described by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in a song. What is that song? Who can say? Janama haila...?
So we are also puruṣa, living entities. Puruṣa means enjoyer. So we are trying to enjoy, but we are incomplete, not complete. We have got so much desire to enjoy, but we cannot because we are incomplete. There are... That song sung by Vidyāpati, that tātala saikate vāri-bindu-sama. Tātala saikate. In hot sand beach you require so much water. But if somebody says, "Yes, I will supply water." "Give me some water." "No, one drop." So that will not satisfy me. So we have got so many desires. That cannot be fulfilled by so-called material advancement of life. It is not possible. So Vyāsadeva saw the pūrṇaṁ puruṣam. Pūrṇaṁ puruṣaṁ māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. And he saw māyā also, but māyā is not conquering over him. Because Kṛṣṇa is pūrṇam, māyā cannot conquer. In full light there cannot be darkness. Any amount of darkness, you put before the sunshine, there is no possibility... It cannot stand.
The Dāmodara month is coming, and it will begin on the 18th of this October. So from that day, we'll observe Dāmodara-vrata for one month. From 18th to 17th November. The duty will be that in the evening you'll offer candle, a small candle, all of you, just before the Deity, not within the room, outside the room, and chant the Dāmodarāṣṭaka, namāmīśvaram. That is already printed in our song book. So this will be Dāmodara-vrata. That Dāmodara is explained here.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, brahma-janme nāhi mora āśa, kīṭa-janma hao yathā tuwā dāsa. This is Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's song, that "Let me become one insect where there is Your devotee, because if I fall down on the dust of the devotee, my life will be successful." Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, kīṭa-janma hao yathā tuwā dāsa, bahir-mukha brahma... Brahma-janma is not easy. It is very difficult. But if Brahmā is bahir-mukha-bahir-mukha means not devotee of Kṛṣṇa—it is possible. Because we are in ignorance, māyā, at any time we can forget Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we have to always be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that we may not forget Kṛṣṇa. And that is stated here, śravaṇa-smaraṇa-arhaṇa. Śravaṇa means hearing, And smaraṇa means memorizing, and arhaṇa means worshiping the Deity.
Just like we are also working. It may be soft, but it is also work. But it is practicing; therefore it is work. We should not take this work, bhakti, is not actually the fruitive activities. It appears like that. It is also working. But the difference is when you are engaged in devotional service you will not feel tired. And the material work, you will feel tired. That is the difference, practical. Materially, you take one cinema song and chant, and so after half an hour you will be tired. And Hare Kṛṣṇa, go on chanting twenty-five hours, (laughter) you will never be tired. Is it not? Just see practically.
So love of Kṛṣṇa is not an easy thing obtainable, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu distributed this love of Kṛṣṇa to anyone, to everyone, even to Jagāi and Mādhāi. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore has sung in his song, pāpī tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo, tāra sākṣī jagāi mādhāi. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so magnanimous that He delivered all kinds of sinful men. Jata chilo. And simply allowing them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, delivered. Tāra sākṣī jagāi mādhāi.
Hare Kṛṣṇa is transcendental sound vibration. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is not a cinema song. No. It is golokera prema-dhana. This sound is coming... Just like we catch sound in the radios and television, similarly, you can catch sound also which is transmitted from Goloka Vṛndāvana. But you must have the particular machine to catch it. Then you can get message from Goloka Vṛndāvana.
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says in his song, tīrtha-yātrā pariśrama, kevala manera bhrama. He says, "To go to the holy places of pilgrimage, it is also a mental satisfaction." Actually, if one is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he is so exalted that wherever he lives, that is a holy place of pilgrimage. That was Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's... And actually, that is the fact. The pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). They cannot forget Kṛṣṇa even for a second, carrying Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, because Kṛṣṇa is with the devotee, such devotee, wherever he goes, that becomes a place of pilgrimage.
- mānaso deho geho, yo kichu mora,
- arpilun tuyā pade nanda-kiśora
Everyone knows. Automatically, by the collision of dry branches of bamboo and others there is electricity and dry leaves that set fire, in this way, a big fire. So similarly, in this material world nobody wants that there may be fire and we all burn. No, nobody wants. But it happens. There is another Bengali song like that. Sukhera lāgiyā ei ghare bandhinu agune puriya gelun(?): "I constructed this house to live very happily. Unfortunately, there was set fire. Fire was set and everything finished." So this is material world. We should always know.
Just like we are utilizing everything. This building we are utilizing, the chandelier(?) we are utilizing. We are using this microphone and using paper and press. We are using everything. But why? For Kṛṣṇa. We are not engaged here for singing cinema songs or like that. No. We can utilize these instruments for singing the glory of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we have taken advantage. Otherwise... But people..., there are so-called tyāgīs: "Oh, these people are using material things. This man is taking material advantage; at the same time, he's condemning material advancement." We don't condemn. We simply teach people that utilize for Kṛṣṇa. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe.
Devotee (3): If Kṛṣṇa's name, fame, form and paraphernalia, everything is equal, then is it not true that the devotee who worships the Lord in the temple, or sings, you know, authorized songs in the Vaiṣṇava songbook, is not that the same, equal level as chanting the mahā-mantra?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Devotee (3): Is chanting Vaiṣṇava songs on an equal level with mahā-mantra?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes, that is also... But first of all understand what is the mahā-mantra. He Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, "O the energy of Kṛṣṇa, please accept me." This is the prayer. This is addressing, He Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, "Harā, please, now I am engaged in this material service; kindly accept me in Your service." This is meaning of Hare Kṛṣṇa. So a relationship, requesting something. So all these songs are like that, requesting relationship. Therefore they are the same. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. All right. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says in connection with the explanation of this verse, vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ, so he says vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ means to take the words of the spiritual master as life and soul. That is vyavasāya... That is called vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ. And Viśvanātha Cakravartī says that "Whatever I am ordered by the spiritual master, that is my life and soul. I don't care for liberation. My only business is to serve my spiritual master." And in the song you have just sung, ye prasāde...
Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that bhāgavata para giya bhāgavata sthāne(?): "You should go and read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the bhāgavata, person bhāgavata." Otherwise you will misunderstand. Bhāgavata para giya bhāgavata sthāne. One big poet, he composed some songs when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was at Purī. And many people used to come and see Him. Because in those days there were many scholars and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also a very great scholar, so they used to compose and come to see Him, and they would get some applause. But before seeing Him, the rule was that it must be passed through his secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara.
Our present conditioned stage is due to our being carried away by the waves of material nature. We are being carried away. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has translated in his song, keno māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi. "Why you are being carried away by the waves of māyā, and sometimes drowned and sometimes on the surface? Why you are taking so much trouble?" Jīv kṛṣṇa-dās, e biśwās, korle to' ār duḥkho nāi. As soon as you take it... It is a fact, but you are misled. It is a fact that you are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, but artificially you are thinking that you are master. You are master, you are God, you are enjoyer, you are this, you are that.
Just like you are chanting so many songs, similarly, if we chant one or two verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that will make you very quickly advanced for spiritual realization. We are therefore taking so much trouble to get this transliteration, the meaning, so that the reader may take advanced step, full advantage of the mantra. It is not that to show some scholarship, that "I know so much Sanskrit." No. It is just offered with humility to learn the mantra because one who will chant the mantra... They are all transcendental vibration.
Just like you have chanted so many verses, songs, by hearing. The hearing is very important. A child learns another language simply by hearing, pronunciation, hearing. That is natural. If we hear one thing repeatedly, you will learn. You will learn. So one has to hear little attentively. Then it will be easy. There is no difficulty. Just like you are singing our song in tune, (sings) saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka **. This is by hearing. So simply you have to hear. Therefore whole Vedic śāstra is called śruti. It is a process of hearing.
We should know how māyā is acting, but still, we have to do our duty, preaching work on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, sometimes taking risk also. What can be done? This is the position of the world. All rascals, the so-called PhD, DAC, NAC. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung one nice song: jaḍa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā: "My dear Lord, all this material scientific advancement of education, they are simply expansion of the three qualities of māyā. That's all." Jaḍa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava. They are all the different combinations.
One has to tolerate. But a sādhu's toleration and ordinary man's toleration is different. Sādhu's toleration is not so acute because a sādhu knows that he is not this body. There is a Bengali Vaiṣṇava song, deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-bandhana kāhāṅ tāra. If we understand properly that "I am not this body," then, although there is suffering, you will not feel very much, although we are now absorbed with this body, bodily sufferings are there.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung one song, jaḍa-vidyā jato, māyāra vaibhava. This material education without God consciousness is expansion of the influence of māyā. Jaḍa-vidyā jato, māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. They are simply impediments in the matter of advancing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Tomāra bhajane bādhā. Anitya saṁsāre. And why? Now, result of godless material education means that anitya saṁsāre moha janamiyā. We are already illusioned. Anyone who has come to this material world, he is illusioned.
The materialistic persons, they are simply busy for satisfying the senses. Go to the hotel; satisfy the tongue. Go to the cinema; hear the cinema song, see nice girls, and so on, so on. But these devotees, they are not interested at all. The cinema is here, a few steps away, but you will never see a student or a disciple of Kṛṣṇa consciousness will go to that nonsense place. Practical you can see. Why it has become possible? Bhaktyā pumāñ jāta-virāga aindriyāt. It is practical. The more you engage yourself in devotional service, the more you will forget your sense gratification process. And as soon as you become completely detestful for sense gratification, then you are liberated person, fit for going back to home, back to Godhead. This is the process.
Bala-hīnena means one who is not favored by Balarāma or Nityānanda, he cannot make any progress to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the real meaning, bala-hīnena: "without the favor of Balarāma." Balarāma is guru-tattva, and Balarāma is present in this age as Nityānanda. So bala-hīnena labhyaḥ does not mean "without any physical strength." One has to get favor of Nityānanda Prabhu. Nityānanda Prabhu, katiya mohan, avadhya karuna sindhu katiya mohan, durlabha kṛṣṇa-prema kare jare tare jana.(?) There is a song like that.
Some actress, some cinema artist, singing, and people are so fond of hearing that singing that the artist is paid fifteen thousand rupees for one song. There are many here in Bombay. So just see how much attraction we have got for the material sound vibration. Similarly, the same attachment, if we turn to hear about Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, then we become liberated, the same sound. One is material; one is spiritual. So you practice to be attached by this spiritual sound vibration. Then your life will be successful.
Every human being should not waste his valuable time. So therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great devotee and a great Vaiṣṇava ācārya, he has sung a nice song, that hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My dear Lord, I got this chance of human form of body. Unfortunately I have wasted my time without any self-realization." Hari hari biphale, janama goṅāinu. Manuṣya janama pāiyā, rādhā kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā: "I got this very valuable form of life, human form of life, but instead of understanding what is God, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu, "knowingly I have drunk poison." This is the opportunity to understand God and make solution of all different types of births and deaths and transmigration from one body to another.
Everyone is being carried away by the waves of material nature. This is not life. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, a Bengali Vaiṣṇava poet, he has written one song, kena māyāra vaśe yāccha bhese kāccha hābu ḍubu bhāi. Jīva kṛṣṇadāsa ei viśvāsa korleto ār duḥkha nai. Māyāra vaśe. There is the laws of nature. We are under the grip of laws of nature. You cannot violate. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). If you have touched fire, it doesn't matter whether you are elderly person or a child, innocent or knowingly or unknowingly, the fire must burn. There is no excuse.
- māyār bośe jāccho bhese'
- Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi
- jīv kṛṣṇa-dās, ei viśvās,
- korle to' ār duḥkho nāi
Very instructive, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's songs, very instructive simple, and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's. So,
- hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu
- manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā,
- jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu
Regretting, lamenting, my Lord I got this human form of life. Unfortunately I have simply wasted. Why? Rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā. It is exactly like drinking poison knowingly.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's song, "My Lord, forgetting You I came in this material world. I am simply suffering." Peye nānā-vidha byathā. These... The same thing is there in the Vedic literature, the same thing is instructed by the advanced, enlightened, liberated devotee. The same thing. This forgetfulness. We have forgotten what is our position. Temporarily, because I have got this body in India, I am thinking, "I am Indian, so my interest is Indian." And somebody is thinking, "My interest is American," "My interest is brāhmaṇa," "My interest is śūdra," "My interest is this, that." We have created so many interests. That has to be rectified.
We have already understood, avadhūta: no conception, no bodily conception, completely. There is a song, deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra kāhāṅ tāra. If one is completely free from the bodily conception of life, as it is shown practically by Ṛṣabhadeva—people are spiting (spitting on him), calling him by ill names, and sometimes passing urine—he doesn't care. This is the example. Āpani ācari prabhu jīveri śikhāya. By imitation, it is not possible. We'll learn more and more about His body, how it was completely spiritual. Na jāyate na mriyate va. In other place the spiritual body is nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. The... No weapon can cut it, no fire can burn it. These descriptions are there.
There are practical experience I have got. Unless there is control over the mind, it will dictate something new: "Do it like this." There was a Bengali poet. He also sung a song, ek ta nūtana kichu koro: "Do something new." This is mind's business. He is not satisfied with the old things. Nūtana kichu koro. So that's a very big song. Why change? The whole material world is like that. Ei nūtana kichu koro: "Do something new," and be implicated. We are not satisfied with old things. "Old order changes, yields to..." "Old order...," there is an English proverb like that, "yielding to the new."
So no sense is stopped, but you have to utilize it for Kṛṣṇa. You can walk to Kṛṣṇa's temple, you can dance to the tune of Kṛṣṇa's song, you can eat nice foodstuff, you can see very beautiful Deities, you can hear very beautiful sound, you can talk on Kṛṣṇa philosophically from Bhāgavata and Bhagavad-gītā. So everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no stoppage. And devotional service means that purifying the senses and engage them in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Tat-paratvena nirmalam. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170).
Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). You can enter into the devotional service by double mercy. One mercy is Kṛṣṇa; another mercy is the spiritual master. Therefore here it is said, the same thing, kṛṣṇārpita-prāṇas tat-puruṣa niṣevayā. One cannot be kṛṣṇārpita prāṇaḥ, one cannot dedicate his life to Kṛṣṇa, unless he has gotten the mercy of spiritual master. This is the way. You cannot get directly. That is not possible. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said in many of his songs, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā, nistāra pāyeche kebā: "Without serving Vaiṣṇava, who has got liberation?" Nobody has.
You can prepare. It is in your hand. It is in your hand. God has given you the superior intelligence better than the animals. The animals are simply interested eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. So we have got better intelligence, so we must utilize it. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, you know, those who are, the song, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My Lord, I have simply wasted my life." Why? Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa na bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā viṣa-khāinu. "I got this nice human form of body for understanding, worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Now I did not do anything, that means knowingly I have taken poison."
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he sings one song, miche māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi: "By the waves of māyā you are being carried away, and hābuḍubu, sometimes being drowned within the, under the water, and sometimes rising, floating on the water." This is our life, material life. We are being carried away by the waves of nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). And sometimes... Just like in the waves of water you will find many straws and vegetables and leaves, they gather together. You will find. And again, by another toss, they are separated. One straw goes this way, another straw, leaf, goes this way, no combination.
So your position is like that, simply if you have a tilaka and a kaṇṭhi, that does not mean that you belong to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Any cheater can do that. You must know the philosophy. If one challenges, you must reply. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a song indicating these cheaters. He says, ei oto ek kalir cela(?). "Here is a servant of Kali." What kind of cela? Na te tilal golai mālā (?). "He has got a tilaka and golai mālā, bās, that's all." He does not know what is the philosophy. If you do not know the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if you simply mark your body with tilaka and kaṇṭhi, then you are not proper servant, you are not qualified. So tilaka, mala, is necessary.
So this, my song... I was thinking on board the ship that rajas tamo gune erā sabāi ācchanna, vāsudeva-kathā ruci mahe se prasanna (SB 1.2.16). Nobody is interested. At the present moment, everyone is covered by the rajas-tamaḥ, the base qualities, ignorance and passion, so they have no interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not possible. One has to purify himself. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhadayaś... (SB 1.2.19). When we kill the rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ, ceta etair anāviddham... When our heart is no more contaminated by the rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ, ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati. There are three guṇas. If you make minus these two guṇas, rajas-tamo-guṇa, then the remaining—only sattva-guṇa. So these rajas-tamo-guṇa can be counteracted simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa.
Just like we are singing this song daily, gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī. It is... Kṛṣṇa is playing with the gopīs. The sahajiyās, they take it very easily. But giri-vara-dhārī, oh, that is very difficult thing. He raised the whole Govardhana Hill in His finger; that nobody is imitating. But gopī-jana-vallabha, very easy. "You are gopī, I am Kṛṣṇa. Let us enjoy." This is sahajiyā. This is sahajiyā. That is going on. Parakīyā-rasa. All rascaldom is going on. But one should understand that here is Kṛṣṇa. He can dance with the gopīs and He can lift the Govardhana Hill also, simultaneously. That is also for pleasing the gopīs.
The ocean of nescience, if we place ourselves to be carried away by the waves of nescience, then our life is spoiled. If we want to save our life from this being carried away by the waves of material nature, then we must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Jīv kṛṣṇa dās ei viśvās korle to' ār duḥkha nai. This is Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's song, that if we simply accept this truth, that "I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa," then we are immediately free.
We have got eyes; therefore eyes are engaged for seeing something beautiful, rūpa. Rasa. Rasa means taste. That is the business of the tongue. And to see beautiful thing, that is the business of the eyes. Rūpa, rasa, śabda. Śabda means sound. The ear, we have got ear. We want to hear nice songs, music, radio, television. So ear is there; the objects are there. Rūpa, rasa, śabda, gandha, smelling. There is good odor also, bad odor also. Rūpa, rasa, gandha, śabda, sparśā. In this way we are entangled, completely under the laws of material nature. I am the spirit soul. Saptadaśaḥ. I have given my power of attorney to the mind, and mind is creating different varieties of the śabda, sparśā, rūpa, rasa, gandha, śabda, sparśā.
Because we cannot control the mind and the senses, especially karmendriya, the eyes, the ear, the tongue, the touch, the udara upastha... Pāṇi, pāda, pāyu, udara, upastha, these five karmendriya Pāṇi means hand, pāyu means rectum, and pāda means leg. Udara means belly, and upastha means genital. And these are karmendriya, and mind So mind dictates, "Oh, let me see this beautiful thing"—immediately eyes act. "Let me hear this sweet song"—immediately ear is engaged. So of all, the jihvā, the tongue, is very strong. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. Amongst all the senses, the tongue, taste, it is very strong.
Just like there is a song, "My dear Lord, please appear before me, dancing with Your flute." This is not devotion. This is not devotion. People may think, "Oh, how great devotee he is, asking Kṛṣṇa to come before him dancing." That means ordering Kṛṣṇa. A devotee does not order anything or ask anything from Kṛṣṇa, but he loves only. That is the pure love. That is the teaching of Lord Caitanya. Āśliṣya vā pāda-ratāṁ pinaṣṭu mām: (CC Antya 20.47) "Either You embrace me or You trample down, You give me all kinds of miserable life and You break my heart, not being seen by me..." This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's prayer in His ecstasy of Rādhārāṇī.
These songs we sing every day. So my Guru Mahārāja used to say that "Instead of seeing Kṛṣṇa, you serve so faithfully that Kṛṣṇa will see you." That should be the process. Kṛṣṇa is omnipresent. He can see you, He can understand you, what are doing. So we have to execute devotional service in such a faithful way that Kṛṣṇa will see us. Then you will be successful. "Don't try to see Kṛṣṇa. Try to become seen by Kṛṣṇa." That was my Guru Mahārāja's instruction. Cakṣur yathaiva kṛtayaiva antaḥ-param. Tasyātma-tantrasya harer ahīśituḥ parasya māyādhipater mahātmanaḥ. Evaṁ bhūtaḥ parameśvaraḥ mad-anyad astīti.
We want to be happy by adjustment of this external energy. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. That cannot be. You are spirit soul. You must have spiritual food. You must have spiritual life. Then you can be happy. Simply as you cannot be happy by having nice shirt and coat, similarly, simply by materialistic way of life, I mean a gross and fine... Gross means this high skyscraper building, machines, factories, nice road goes motorcar. These are gross. And subtle: nice song, poetry, philosophy. That is subtle, subtle matter. So people are trying to be happy with this gross and subtle material existence. That cannot be. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31).
Even one is not liberated, still, it is so pleasing to the ear and the mind. Bhavauṣadhac chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt. Such a nice thing. What is that? Uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt. Uttamaśloka means the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is prayed by selected poems. Uttama, transcendental poetry, transcendental songs. He's worshiped by transcendental vibration of sound. Ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt. Who keeps himself aloof from this transcendental vibration of sound? Vinā paśughnāt. Simply the person who is animal killer. Therefore, meat-eating is so dangerous for a devotee. Because one who is animal killer, he'll never be attracted.
There is a Bengali song, pāyecha manava janma, emona janam āra pabe na(?): "Fortunately, you have got this human form of life. You'll not get this opportunity." Don't spoil. So let us follow. We have come to Vṛndāvana. Let us follow the Gosvāmīs. Rūpa raghunātha pade haibe ākuti. We should be very, very anxious to follow the principles laid down by the six Gosvāmīs.
Prārthanā karaye sadā narottama dāsa. The Narottama dāsa, he has sung so many Vedic songs. Narottama dāsa's song, although it is written in Bengali, it is considered as śruti, Vedic. Śrīnivāsa Ācārya has eulogized Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura that "Your songs are Vedic evidences." Whatever Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has said in simple Bengali song, they are all Vedic injunction. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's Prārthanā are very popular and famous amongst the Vaiṣṇava, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, and others also. So we should not waste our..., mugdhasya, bewildered, befooled or illusioned, mugdhasya. Don't be illusioned.
Unless one is very rigid devotee, even he has approached the other feature—that means the Brahman feature: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān—so he falls down, very, very easily. And why? That is this attachment—sneha-pāśair dṛḍhair baddham. Dṛḍhair baddham. That, I was citing Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's song, jaḍa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā, anitya saṁsāre moha janamiyā jīvake karaye gādhā. Gādhā means ass. Uṣṭra khara. Śva-viḍ uṣṭra khara. So this so-called advancement of civilization means the living entity is always compared as an ass, mūḍha. So instead of becoming intelligent, by material education one becomes more and more first-class ass.
Prahlāda Mahārāja says if you don't train up in the beginning, then ko gṛheṣu pumān saktam ātmānam ajitendriyaḥ. Ātmānam ajitendriyaḥ, the whole training is to control the senses, and the most powerful sense is the tongue. Sense control begins from the tongue. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given you the song: tār madhye jihvā ati lobhamoy sudurmati. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives a description that Śarīra avidyā-jāla joḍendriya tāhe kāl. This body is the encagement. We are in the prison of this material world. How we are imprisoned? We have been given a material body. This is imprisonment. Śarīra avidyā-jāl. And we are very happy to keep this body very comfortably without knowing the aim of life. That is avidyā-jāl, a network of ignorance. Śarīra avidyā-jāl, and the senses are our greatest enemies.
We cannot produce it. So how nice system it is, that "Kṛṣṇa, it is Yours, You have given us. So first of all You eat." This is love. Kṛṣṇa is not hungry. Kṛṣṇa can have sumptuous food. He is the maintainer of everyone. So this is how good feeling, very reasonable. Any man with some sense, he'll take it very seriously, "Yes, everything given by God, Kṛṣṇa. So let us offer it first of all to Kṛṣṇa." And there is no fear that Kṛṣṇa will eat everything and then we shall have nothing to eat. It is not like that. Kṛṣṇa's eating is a different way. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti. We sing this song every day:
- aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
- paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti,
- ānanda-cinmaya sad-ujjvala vigrahasya
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.32)
In this material world we are making so many plans for permanent settlement, but unfortunately, we are meeting with just the opposite result. That is in our experience. There is very nice song sung by a Vaiṣṇava poet. He says, sukhere lagiya e baro bhaginu anale puria ghare (?). "I constructed this house for living happily. Unfortunately, it was set in fire, so everything is finished." That is going on. In the material world we are making so many plans for living very comfortably, peacefully, eternally. But that is not possible. People do not understand it.
All Vaiṣṇavas are ṭhākura. They are not ordinary persons. Ṭhākura... We therefore address: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākur. So Vaiṣṇava Prahlāda Ṭhākura. So we should always pray, vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, tomāra kukkura boliya jānaha more. This is There is a song of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura: "My dear Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura, kindly accept me as your dog." Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura. As the dog, by the indication of the master, does everything very obedient, we have to learn this lesson from the dog, how to become faithful to the master. That is the instruction. In everything you can learn something.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he said... He has got a nice song that "If you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, oh, I become sold to you." Nityānanda Prabhu also says like that. So to please a devotee is very nice. Therefore our process is to take shelter of a devotee. Directly we don't approach Kṛṣṇa. Gopī-bhartur pāda-kamalayor dāsa-dāsanudāsa. Therefore in Vṛndāvana you will see everyone is praising Rādhārāṇī because Rādhārāṇī is very quickly pleased. And as soon as Rādhārāṇī is pleased, Kṛṣṇa is automatically pleased. This is the process.
Devotee: Could you say that prayer again of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, "You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa..."? I didn't understand that.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has composed a song that he is going all around the city begging alms. So he says that "I don't want anything from you. Simply you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and that will be satisfactory." So we can do also, following the footprints of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Nityānanda Prabhu. Āmāre kiṁlaha, laha gaurāṅgera saṅge... Nityānanda Prabhu...
Ugra-jāteḥ. Ugra-jāteḥ, just like in Europe and America, we see, they are very much fond of ugra-karma, just like big, big factories, big, big bridges, wonderful. Long, long ago when the Britishers came here, they constructed big, big bridges, railway line. People thought, "It is wonderful." There is a song composed in Bihar. So when the Calcutta, the floating bridge made of wood, wooden bridge, floating bridge was constructed, connected Calcutta proper and Howrah, so there was big, wonderful song: ki apana banaylay sahat campani (?). There is song, ki apana banaylay sahat campani upara me ami cale, and..., just like that, nīche me pāni (?).
So just like here, our Jagāi-Mādhāi. Jagāi-Mādhāi, they were zamindars and born of brāhmaṇa family, but because by bad association they became drunkard, gamblers and woman-hunters, they were condemned. They were taken as pāpī, sinful. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is to rescue them. That is the song by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta hoilo sei, balarāma hoilo nitāi, pāpī tāpī yata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo, tare sākṣī jagāi and mādhāi. Everyone wants evidence that how Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered pāpī tāpī. Now, here is the instance. Tāre sākṣī jagāi and mādhāi. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that it can deliver the Jagāi and Mādhāi, ugra-karma. That is the mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He began this. Pāpī tāpī yata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo. Now this same flow is going on in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So ugra-karma.
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung very nice song. Satsaṅga chāri kainu asatye vilās, ei kāraṇe lāgila more karma bandha-phāṅsa. Because we have given up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore we have been entangled in the different varieties of material activities. Now we have to simplify it. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to simplify, to save the valuable life, to save the time of valuable life. This human form of life is very valuable. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19). After many, many births we have got this important life. So we have to save our time to utilize it for Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So evaṁ janaṁ nipatitaṁ prabhavāhi-kūpe. Ahi kūpa. Ahi means the serpent. So we have got these serpents surrounded by us, surrounded, all round. What are the serpents? The senses. Everyone, we are in the dark well surrounded by serpents, this body. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung this song, śarīra avidyā-jāl, jaḍendriya tāhe kāla. Kāla means serpents, kāla-sarpa. Kāla-sarpa, it can bite at any moment and finish you. We are being bitten every moment. It is Kṛṣṇa's grace that we are living. Otherwise our senses are so dangerous that it can bring me down at any moment, kāla-sarpa.
So in this material world there is ādi, ādy-anta, beginning and ending. But Kṛṣṇa has no beginning or end. The material... Therefore Kṛṣṇa is not material. Urugāya. Kṛṣṇa is urugāya. Uru means He is exalted with nice, many, many ślokas, gāya. Gāya means songs, poetry. Uru. We cannot imagine. Uru-gāya. Just like in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. So this jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, mean Brahmā... Jagad-aṇḍa. Āṇḍa means egglike, egg-shaped, this Brahmāṇḍa or this universe. And there are jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, plural number. So in each universe there is a chief living entity. He is called Brahmā because Brahmā is created first.
Kāma-pūro asmy ahaṁ nṛṇām. Nṛṇām, ordinary person. Because a devotee is above the nṛṇām. So, so long we are, remain in the material condition, we have so many kāmas, desires. But as soon as we come to the spiritual platform... Because there everything is ready, why shall I be desiring to have this thing or that thing? Everything is ready. Everything is ready. That is spiritual platform. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu (Bs. 5.29). Kalpa-vṛkṣa. Everything, everything you want, it is ready immediately because there is Kṛṣṇa only, and He is always ready. What is that song? Gopījana-rañjana. Sing this song.
| Page Title: | Songs (BG and SB Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Serene |
| Created: | 14 of Jan, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=95, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 95 |