So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva... "Or then I, I give up the speculative process and I become humbler, as you advise. Then what is My next duty?" Next duty is: namanta eva, being humble, san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām, you should approach a person who is a devotee, and you should hear from him. Sthāne sthitāḥ. You remain in your place. You remain American. You remain Indian. You remain Christian. You remain a Hindu. You remain black. You remain white. You remain woman, man, whatever you are. Simply you lend your ear to the discourses given by realized souls. This is recommended. And when you hear, then you contemplate also. Just like you are hearing me. If you contemplate that "What Swamiji said...?" Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. Śruti-gatām. Śruti means just receiving through the ear. If you contemplate and try to understand with your body, mind, then gradually you'll... Because your aim is self-realization. So self means Superself. The Supreme Lord, He's the Supreme Self. We are part and parcel. So by this process, Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, God, Ajita, one who is never conquered... If you... By challenge, if you want to know God, you'll never understand. God never accepts challenge. Because God is great. Why should He accept your challenge. If you say, "Oh, my dear God, please come here. I shall see You," so God is not like that, that He will carry your order. You must carry His order. Then God realization. God says: "You surrender," sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That process, you'll learn God. Not that "Oh, I shall know God. I have got good intelligence, speculate." No.
Discourses (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
The result will be, if you surrender to the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that Īśvara, the supreme controller, sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate... Īśvara is already there, but here it is used, the word avarudhyate, "He is locked up." He wants to be locked up. Kṛṣṇa, Paramātmā, He wants to be, but we don't care. But by reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, by discourses in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, īśvara sadyaḥ, immediately, hṛdy avarudhyate. But in whose heart He becomes locked up? Kṛtibhiḥ. Kṛtibhiḥ means those who are pious. Those who are sinful, they cannot. Kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhiḥ. Two things: he must be pious. That pious, piety, as soon as he surrenders... Just like Kṛṣṇa says... Piety, it is not that "Then I have to become pious first of all; then I shall understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So it will take long time." No. If will take tat-kṣaṇāt, in a second. In a second. How? Simply by surrender. As soon as you surrender, immediately you become pious. How immediately?
He has given us facility to live here, but He is not coming here to enjoy this. He has got better. Or He doesn't care for all these opulences. That is another qualification of God. So this human form of life is meant for understanding God and scientifically, with full knowledge. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore we are preaching this Bhāgavata discourse. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam what is the nature of God? That has been described, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ (SB 1.1.1). God, God is cognizant, He knows everything. He is a sentient being. Not that a dead stone. If God is not sentient being, if God is not a person, how so many powerful persons, sentient persons coming from Him? If the father is not intelligent, how the sons and daughters can become intelligent?
He is giving protection everyone but a protection general, and protection special, for the devotee special protection. Just like a very nice gentleman, he loves everyone but he gives special protection to his own children.
So in this way try to understand the philosophy of God, that is bhāgavata. Bhāgavata discourse means to understand the philosophy of God. So this process. The religion means first-class religion means one who has learned to love God. That is first-class religion. And how to love God, how to practice that love? That is bhakti-yoga. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ, janayaty āśu vairāgyam (SB 1.2.7). Vairāgyam, the word, two things required in human life, knowledge and renunciation. Renunciation-try to understand what is renunciation—just like we, the members of the Kṛṣṇa society, we have renounced all material activities.
So this Bhāgavata discourse is meant for giving enlightenment to the people of the world. It is not a sectarian religion; it is meant for all human beings. They should take advantage of the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, and make their life perfect. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
That is the Vedic injunction. If we understand Kṛṣṇa, then we must understand also how Kṛṣṇa's different energies are working. That is called tattvataḥ. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). The other day I was reading Gandhi's discourses on Bhagavad-gītā. He said that "I can imagine any way Kṛṣṇa. I do not accept the historical Kṛṣṇa." In this way, so many things. He was a big man. He can say like that. But we cannot imagine or manufacture Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. That is not Kṛṣṇa. God is never imagined or speculated or manufactured by my limited knowledge and limited senses. That is not Kṛṣṇa. Of course, Kṛṣṇa is everything. But if we want to know tattvataḥ Kṛṣṇa, in truth, how Kṛṣṇa has created the pañca-bhūta and how each bhūta or each material element is working, that is being discussed. This is perfect knowledge, tattvataḥ.
Prabhupāda: So you surrender to Kṛṣṇa; then your fate is changed. Otherwise it is not possible.
Guest (4): Your Divine Grace, on behalf of the residents of the Jorbhag Colony, I thank you most sincerely for coming here, taking the trouble of coming here and giving this learned discourse. In the inscrutable past and from the holy ages, this land of ours has thrown up great masters who have drunk deeply at the inexhaustible spiritual knowledge handed over to us... (end)
Prabhupāda: At the time of death, somehow or other, if you are fortunate enough to remember Kṛṣṇa, then your life is successful. I shall describe this instance in these discourses, Ajamila, how he became delivered. So the real purpose is ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ: at the time of death we may be able to think of Kṛṣṇa. Then life is successful.
Guest (1): Much has been said about yoga and...
Prabhupāda: That yoga is also the same thing. Yoga practice means to concentrate one's mind, to practice, the Viṣṇu form within the heart. Viṣṇu is another form of Kṛṣṇa. So, not this modern yoga system, thinking something void. This is not prescribed in the authoritative scriptures. That is simply taking trouble. Kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām. Those who are attached void, voidness, they simply take more trouble to realize God.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
We should have discourses of Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or any literature about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mama vīrya-saṁvido those words are vīrya-saṁvido. Vīrya means potency. Just like, if a man is potent, as soon as there is sex, he gives birth, potency. Similarly, we should associate with devotees who have got potency, mama vīrya-saṁvido, bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ. Otherwise we may go on hearing for three millions of years, we are in the same position. But the words must be from the potent person. Potent person. Then it will act very quickly. Therefore Kṛṣṇa Himself advises, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido (SB 3.25.25). Satām, devotees. That same thing Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says. Tādera caraṇa, the desire should be, how to serve the Gosvāmīs, how to serve Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, how to serve Kṛṣṇa. That should be the desire, that this desire can be fulfilled when we are living with the devotees.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Simply hearing will do. Simply by hearing they will become pious. And the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, somehow or other, if one takes part in these discourses, he will be pious. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Paraṁ vijāyate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), simply by hearing it is effective. So from the very beginning of our life, we should try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Not try, but we must. It is not, what is called, optional. It is compulsory. If you want to make your life successful, then this is compulsory, from the very beginning to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Initiation Lectures
Many. But nobody could become a Kṛṣṇa conscious, a Kṛṣṇa's devotee, because they were not discussed amongst the devotees. They took it, Bhagavad-gītā, as table talks or some sort of philosophical... They could not seriously understand Kṛṣṇa, because the writing or discussing or discourses took place amongst the nondevotees. Satāṁ prasaṅgāt. But if you actually (indistinct) Kṛṣṇa, then you have to talk of Kṛṣṇa amongst devotees. We are opening different centers just to give people chance. They may have intimate association with the devotees. Satāṁ prasaṅgāt mama vīrya-saṁvido. Vīrya-saṁvida. Vīrya means full potency. Mama vīrya-saṁvida bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ. Hṛd means heart and karṇa means ear. Rasāyanāḥ means pleasing, very pleasing, tasteful, rasāyanāḥ.
General Lectures
Prabhupāda:... some of the sannyāsīs will speak or I will speak? Where is Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja?
Śyāmasundara: Maybe someone should introduce the bhāgavata-dharma discourse... Kīrtanānanda?
Prabhupāda: Or Rūpānuga, Rūpānuga Mahārāja....oḥ, it will fall down. You can take this. (conversation between devotees) (japa)
Kīrtanānanda: You can hear?
Devotees: Yes.
Kīrtanānanda: Everybody can hear. New Vrindaban began when Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote to me about four or five years ago and expressed some desire that we could make a transcendental place of pilgrimage here for the purpose of celebrating the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. (break)
Prabhupāda: Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much for your kindly participating with this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. As already described by Śrīman Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja, that this bhāgavata-dharma was spoken by Bhagavān Himself. Bhagavān, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Bhaga-vān.
So we are giving opportunity to everyone to hear about Kṛṣṇa. Of course, in your country it is new. But in our country, in India, still although India is fallen in so many ways, still, if there is some bhāgavata discourses, throngs of people, crowds will come there. We are holding bhāgavata discourses in Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Jaipur, big, big cities. So in Calcutta and Bombay we saw thirty thousand people were daily attending, continually, for ten days. Similarly in Bombay. So although there is propaganda in India to forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but how they can forget? They're born in a land where Kṛṣṇa appeared. They cannot forget. They have been given the opportunity, took birth in India. That is also due to pious activities. But unfortunately they are being forced to be dragged. I do not wish to discuss this point. But Kṛṣṇa is for everyone.
Kṛṣṇa says, "If anyone is very serious and sincere, and constantly engaged in My devotional service," satata... Satata means constantly. Satata-yuktānām. Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam: "Engaged in devotional service with love and faith." For them, Kṛṣṇa says, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam: "I give him intelligence." Because Kṛṣṇa is in everyone. Kṛṣṇa is within your heart—in my heart, your heart, everyone's heart. So He gives you intelligence. What kind of intelligence? The intelligence by using which one can come or go back to home, back to Godhead. That intelligence. So these bhāgavata-dharma discourses mean constantly calling, "My dear sir, please get up, please get up." Jīva jago jīva jago gauracandra bole. This is the message of Lord Caitanya. He says, "My dear jīva, living being, kindly get up. This is the opportunity."
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: This is John Dewey, who believed that religions were basically myths and that experience is of the utmost necessity. He felt that philosophy was superior to religion. He writes, "The form ceases to be that of the story told in imaginative and emotional style and becomes that of rational discourse, observing the canons of logic." So it's apparent that Dewey considers religion simply to be a story told in imaginative and emotional style, and for him philosophy observes the canons of logic. So for him the Vedic accounts of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes would be imaginative and emotional, or mythic. How does one argue against this kind of a...?
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is historical fact. It is not imagination. It is, to think like that, is imaginative. Kṛṣṇa... The Mahābhārata is there. It is accepted by all Indian authority, and Kṛṣṇa is a historical figure. How it can be imaginative? So... he may think like that, like a madman, but India's leader will not accept that. Especially the ācāryas who are controlling the spiritual life of India, they do not accept a lunatic foreigner speaking like that.
| Page Title: | Discourses (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 12 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=15, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 15 |