View source for I am not the greatest. I have got my spiritual master. He has got his spiritual master. He has got a spiritual master. In this way, we go up to Brahma who is the original spiritual master within this universe, who gave us the Vedic knowledge

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{{terms|"I am not the greatest. I have got my spiritual master. He has got his spiritual master. He has got a spiritual master. In this way, we go up to Brahmā. Brahmā is the original spiritual master within this universe, who gave us the Vedic knowledge"}}
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[[Category:I Am Not (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Greatest]]
[[Category:I Have Got (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:My Spiritual Master (Bhaktisiddhanta)]]
[[Category:Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji]]
[[Category:Bhaktivinoda Thakura]]
[[Category:In This Way]]
[[Category:go]]
[[Category:Up To]]
[[Category:Brahma Is A Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Original Spiritual Master]]
[[Category:Within The Universe]]
[[Category:Vedic Knowledge]]
[[Category:Prabhupada and His Humility]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, 1972]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Lectures, General]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in USA, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - His Life]]
[[Category:Give]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="SundayFeastLectureLosAngelesMay211972_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="116" link="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972" link_text="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972">
<div class="heading">Lord Brahmā gives his decision: "The greatest personality is Kṛṣṇa." Just like we are sitting, so many ladies and gentlemen here. We can analyze who is the greatest here. So, say, for arguing, you can accept that "You are the greatest." But I am not the greatest. I have got my spiritual master. He has got his spiritual master. He has got a spiritual master. In this way, we go up to Brahmā. Brahmā is the original spiritual master within this universe, who gave us the Vedic knowledge.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972|Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">
So these are the potencies of God. Not that I can show some magic and immediately I become God. Just see the magic, real magic of God. Don't accept cheap God. God must show godly magic. Just like we are showing little magic, floating some airplane or sputnik or jet in the sky. We are taking so much credit—so much credit that scientists are declaring, "There is no God. I am God, because I have made this aeroplane." And what is your aeroplane in comparison to these planets? So intelligent person, they will give more credit to God than to these scientists or philosophers. Because he can see the potencies, how much potency is there.

So He has many potencies. In the Vedic literature we can understand, ''parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate'' (''Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad'' 6.8, [[Vanisource:CC Madhya 13.65|CC Madhya 13.65, purport]]). In the ''Vedas, Upaniṣad: na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate'' (''Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad'' 6.8). God has nothing to do, personally. ''Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Na tat-samas cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate''. Nobody is found equal to Him or greater than Him. Nobody. That is God. If somebody is competitor, one God competitor, another God competitor . . .

Just like nowadays it has become a fashion to become God, and there are competition between one "God" to another. But actually, nobody can compete with God. That is God. ''Na tasya sama. Sama'' means equal; ''adhikasya'', or greater. That means everyone subordinate. Everyone subordinate. Everyone is lower than God. He may be very powerful, but nobody can be equal or greater than God. That is the Vedic information.

''Na tasya sama adikasya dṛśyate''. We don't find . . . they are also, great saintly persons, they're researching that who is the greatest personality. Greatest personality. So by research work by great saintly person, especially by Lord Brahmā . . . he is the first creature within this universe. So he has found by his spiritual advancement and research work that Kṛṣṇa is the greatest. ''Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ'' (Bs. 5.1).

He gives his decision: "The greatest personality is Kṛṣṇa." Just like we are sitting, so many ladies and gentlemen here, we can analyze who is the greatest here. So, say, for arguing, you can accept that "You are the greatest." But I am not the greatest. I have got my spiritual master. He has got his spiritual master. He has got a spiritual master. In this way, we go up to Brahmā. Brahmā is the original spiritual master within this universe, who gave us the Vedic knowledge. He's therefore called forefather, er, grandfather, ''pitāmaha''. But he's also not independent.

In the ''Vedānta-sūtra'' or ''Bhāgavata ''it is said that Brahmā, he's the first creature. There was no other, any other living entity when he was created first. So if I say that he also got knowledge from others, then the argument may be, "Who is the next person to give him knowledge?" So therefore ''Bhāgavata'' says, "No. He received knowledge from Kṛṣṇa." How? "From the heart." ''Tene brahma hṛdā. Hṛdā''. Because God, Kṛṣṇa, is sitting in everyone's heart—your heart, my heart, everyone. And He can give you instruction. His name is therefore ''caitya-guru. Caitya-guru'' means who gives conscience and knowledge from within.

In the ''Bhagavad-gītā'' Kṛṣṇa says, ''sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo'' ([[Vanisource:BG 15.15 (1972)|BG 15.15]]): "In everyone's heart I am sitting." ''Hṛdi'', "within the heart"; ''sanniviṣṭo'', "I am sitting there." ''Sarvasya'': not only you and me; even animals insects, birds, beasts, Brahmā, everyone. ''Sarvasya'', all living creatures. So ''sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ'': "from Me"; ''smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca'', "remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." Forgetfulness also. If you want to forget God, God will give you intelligence that you can forget God forever. He's so kind. Whatever you want, He will give you intelligence, "Do like this."

So there are two things. There are two living entities. One is trying to forget God, and another is trying to remember God. That's all. There are two kinds of people, or men. Men, not the animals. Animals cannot understand what is God. It is the business of human being. So if you want to know God sincerely, seriously, then God is within yourself. He'll give you intelligence how you can know Him.

But if you want to forget God, challenge God, "There is no God. God is dead," then He'll give you such intelligence that you'll always think that there is no God, that God is dead, like that. He'll give some arguments. There are so many atheists, they are also putting their arguments. So wherefrom the argument comes? It comes from God, that "You take this argument and forget God forever." ''Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam'' ([[Vanisource:BG 15.15 (1972)|BG 15.15]]).

Vedic knowledge means to understand God. That's all. One who has understood God, he has studied all ''Vedas''. Finished. And one who has not understood God, simply studying this literature, that literature, that scripture, then he's simply wasting his time. That's all. Because ultimate knowledge is God. If one cannot understand what is God after so much education, then ''Bhāgavata ''says, ''śrama eva hi kevalam'' ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]]): "It is simply labor, labor, waste of time." Simply waste of time. There is no education. Education, knowledge, means ultimately to understand, to know what is God. Actually; not fictitiously, vaguely.

So there are many classes of men who have no understanding of God. Some of them are saying, "God is dead," or "God is impersonal," "There is no God," "Zero," "I am God," "You are God," so many things. All these people do not know what is God, therefore there are different theories. Therefore somehow or other if you can understand God, then your life is successful. Somehow or other. Because this human life is especially meant for understanding God. ''Athāto brahma jijñāsā'', the ''Vedānta-sūtra''. You have heard the name of ''Vedānta. Vedānta'' means . . . ''Veda'' means knowledge, and ''anta ''means ultimate. The ultimate knowledge. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the ''Bhagavad-gītā, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam'' ([[Vanisource:BG 15.15 (1972)|BG 15.15]]): "The ultimate purpose of reading ''Vedas'' is to know Me."