Those who are grossly materialistic, those who do not know that beyond this materialistic body there is the soul, they cannot understand, for them, this yogic principle is recommended, to exercise this body. As if by exercising the body he will understand God and understand religion.
Therefore the yoga system is not recommended for the first-class men. First-class men, they know that by gymnastic process of exercising the material senses, one can(not) understand God or religion. Viśuddham. It is beyond.
Therefore another name of Kṛṣṇa, or God, is Adhokṣaja. Adhaḥ. Adhaḥ means falls down, and akṣaja, akṣaja means . . . akṣa means direct experience, direct seeing, direct touching. And ja means born. Knowledge born of direct perception of the senses—this is called akṣaja. And adhaḥ means where akṣaja, the direct perception of material senses, is cut down. There is no possibility. He is called adhokṣaja. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa's another name is Adhokṣaja: "beyond the sense perception knowledge."
Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyaḥ. We cannot understand God or religion by our mental speculation even by the speed of mind, manasā. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara. And the speculation continues by . . . continues to hundreds and hundreds of years. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara. Śata means hundred, and koṭi means ten million. So ten million into hundred—then unlimited time. If you go on speculating, by speculation, panthās tu koṭi, still, your conception of God or religion will remain incomplete.
Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi (Bs. 5.34). By airplane, with the speed of the mind . . . there are different airplanes, and they have got different speeds. Now, if you manufacture an airplane which runs with the speed of the mind . . . you know the speed of the mind. Within a second, you can travel millions of miles.
So an airplane running on, on that speed, and thinking for millions of years, still, you cannot approach the abode of Kṛṣṇa or understand Kṛṣṇa. Only you can understand by His mercy. Only by the mercy of . . . bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Just like Kṛṣṇa is voluntarily offering Arjuna to understand Bhagavad-gītā. He's not going to canvass anyone. "Arjuna, you understand it. You'll be able to understand, because you are My devotee."
So for a devotee only, the door of God is open. For others, there is no possibility. Therefore He's called durbodham. Durbodhaṁ yaṁ jñātvā. But somehow or other, if he can understand the principles of religion and God, then immediately he becomes immortal. Immortal means he's no more going to accept any material body. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- janma karma ca me divyaṁ
- evaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ
- tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
- naiti mām eti kaunteya
- (BG 4.9)
Anyone who can understand in truth, not ephemerally, substantially if one understands what is Kṛṣṇa, how He appears, what are His activities, what is our relation—these things, when one understands, immediately he becomes liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma. Such person, giving up this body, no more comes into this material world. The same thing is herein, that jñātvā. If one can understand what is religion and what is Kṛṣṇa, only by this understanding, jñātvā amṛtam aśnute. Amṛtam. Mṛtam means death. A means "none," "not," negation. So amṛtam aśnute: he drinks nectarine. The word nectarine, sudhā.
You know there was fight between the demons and the demigods, who will drink the amṛta, the nectarine. Because by drinking nectarine one becomes immortal. So here it is said, amṛtam aśnute. As by drinking nectarine one can become immortal, similarly, by drinking the nectarine of devotion one becomes immortal. Therefore we have named the book Nectarine of Devotion. You drink it and become immortal. That's all. Amṛtam aśnute.
- etāvān eva loke 'smin
- puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ
- bhakti-yogo bhagavati
- tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ
- (SB 6.3.22)
So dharma, this religion, so although it is very difficult to understand, still, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, it has been made very simple and easy. Unfortunately, people have no faith. They do not believe. They think something cumbrous, something speculative, something very difficult is the process of executing religion. No.
Yamarāja says that etāvān eva loke 'smin puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ: "The highest principle of religion is this." What is that? Bhakti-yogaḥ bhagavati. Bhakti-yoga. One may . . . just like some people, some foolish say, "Bhakti-yoga . . . I have got very much devotion to Goddess Kālī, to Goddess Durgā," or so many demigods. "This is also bhakti." No. Bhakti-yoga means bhagavati.
Love means love of Godhead. Otherwise, there is no love—only lust. Similarly, bhakti means, when this word used, bhakti-yoga, that is only in relationship with the bhakta, or devotee, and Bhagavān. That is called bhakti-yoga. Nāma, harer nāma, not that any name. Harer nāma harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Any name can be applied to Kṛṣṇa indirectly, but directly . . . we are concerned directly.
Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). We have to cultivate Kṛṣṇa not indirectly. Indirectly, everything is worshiping Kṛṣṇa, because there is nothing but Kṛṣṇa everywhere. Just like Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa, he was thinking of Kṛṣṇa indirectly, as enemy. Therefore, that is not bhakti. Bhakti means Kṛṣṇa consciousness favorably, directly.