Then the another feature of the sunshine is the sun globe. That is not so easily available. You cannot go to the sun globe. According to the modern scientific conclusion, we can understand that the sun globe is away from us by 93,000,000's of miles, and still, we cannot tolerate the temperature. And what will be your position if you go to the sun globe? Before reaching sun globe even by some millions of... We are already apart 93,000,000 miles, and suppose when there is three million miles apart from ninety, then the temperatures is so high that we will be finished. We cannot approach the sun globe even, and what to speak of entering into the sun globe? That requires a different body. Of course, there are living entities in the sun globe, within the sun globe. And there is the predominating deity also, the president. You may call. There is a state. Just like you have got here, United State, there is state also. And there is also president, and the president's name is Vivasvān. Everything is there in the śāstra. We read from Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa said, "I spoke to Vivasvān, the president or the predominating deity in the sun globe." So this is all fact. It is not fiction. You are seeing the sun globe, and you are seeing that the sunshine is coming from the sun globe. So it is a globe; therefore there must be inhabitants. But their body is different. That is... Just like this earthly planet is made of earth or dirt—that is made of fire. This is within these five elements: earth, water, fire, air, ether. So the mixture of these things are there also, but the fire element is there prominent. As here, in this earth, all the mixtures are there, but here the earthly element is prominent. So this is also one of the material worlds.
Enter into (Lectures, SB cantos 3 - 12)
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Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So that is... Because we are after ānanda, sac-cid-ānanda... Simply to rise to the platform of Brahman, that is sat, partial realization of the Absolute Truth, sat. Then cit. Cit means knowledge. That is also partial. Ānanda. Sac-cid-ānanda. When there... Ānanda you cannot get. Just like if you, simply in the sky you fly, you don't get ānanda. Therefore you have come to down, come down again to the airplane, airport. Without that, there is no ānanda. Similarly, simply rising up to the Brahman effulgence, there is no ānanda. Ānanda means you have to enter into the spiritual planet, where Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, is there. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). You have entered to that eternal planet. You must get some residence. The impersonalists, they do not get that. They remain... Just like you remain in the sky. You cannot be happy. You want some planet, but if you cannot get planet, then again you come back in this planet. So āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Again in this material world. Therefore we have to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is real self-realization. And what is that? Very simple thing. Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. If you simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa, why does He come, what is His business, what is His form...
Those who are pious, they are getting chance of birth, in very aristocratic, high family, educated, learned brāhmaṇa family. Jñāna. Then aiśvarya, opulence, riches; education, śruta; śrī, beauty. These are the symptoms of pious life. And just the opposite, ugly-looking, born in very low-grade family, almost animal, then no education, no character, these are impious life. So... But the sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83), even by, one is born in low-grade family, pāpa-yoni, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya, if one takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa says, "If one takes shelter of Me..." Kṛṣṇa never denies anyone. Socially, we may deny a caṇḍāla to enter into my house, but Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's devotee does not deny. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They never, they'll never deny. "Yes, you are welcome. You take also education in the spiritual life. You also become devotee of Kṛṣṇa." Sometimes we are criticized. But Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). He is giving, offering shelter. "Come on. Never mind you are born in low family or impious family. It doesn't matter." Striyaḥ śūdrās tathā vaiśyās te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. Kiṁ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayas tathā (BG 9.33).
No. "I belong to Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa says jīv..., mamaivāṁśa. Kṛṣṇa says. And brahma-bhūtaḥ stage means I have realized that I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and my only business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is Brahman realization. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ (BG 7.3). Tattvataḥ means one has to understand in truth what is Kṛṣṇa and what is my relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Simply siddha is not perfection. Siddha means "I am not this body." That is all right, that is perfection. But you have to make further progress. Brahma-bhūtaḥ, you have become now self-realized, that's all right. Na śocati na..., samaḥ sarveṣu. But you have to enter into the parā-bhakti. Then your self-realization will stand. Otherwise again you will fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
I have given this example that you have got a very nice sputnik, airplane, you can go many thousands and millions miles up. But if you don't get any shelter either in the moon planet or any other planet then you come back again. The same example. Similarly, you may become brahma-bhūtaḥ, Brahman realized, but if you simply remain in the impersonal or void... Brahma-bhūtaḥ means to make this material world null and void and you come to the another world, spiritual world. So if you cannot enter into the spiritual world, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54), if you simply remain brahma-bhūtaḥ, then you will fall down. Because you are by nature seeking ānanda, blissful life. So if you do not get varieties of life... Just like we want varieties in this material world. This material world is simply imitation of the spiritual world. So we are attached to the varieties; therefore we are seeking ānanda. But because it is material and we are spiritual being, we cannot enjoy this ānanda, material varieties fully. There are so many defects, inebrieties, and we are seeking that spiritual variety. So if you don't enter into the spiritual world with spiritual variety then you will again fall down. That is called bhakti-yoga.
Once chewed and thrown it away, again somebody is coming chewing. So spiritual variety is not like that. Spiritual varieties is ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. The more you are attached to spiritual variety, it is just like ocean. An ocean does not increase, but spiritual varieties are said they are increasing. Now just like here you have got the Arabian Sea. It is not increasing. It would have increased, then Bombay town would have been finished long ago. So it is not increasing. It has got a certain limit. You go to the beach you see no, no more than. But it is compared with ānandāmbudhi, the ocean of bliss, increasing, vardhanam. Ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. The more you enter into the spiritual bliss, the more you become joyful. That is spiritual. Spiritual, just like these boys, these girls they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Had it been hackneyed, how long they would have chanted? No. That is not possible. Unless it is spiritual, nobody can be satisfied simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa. You take any other word, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," how long you will chant? After chanting for half an hour you will be fed up. But this is ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. The more you chant the more you become spiritually advanced. This is called ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. Otherwise how one can be satisfied simply by chanting, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? They are not mad, they are not foolish. They are human being. And how they have given up everything simply by chanting if it is not ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam, if it is not increasing in spiritual blissfulness. Practical. They have forgotten everything, they are also young men. They don't go to cinema. Just one block after there is cinema, they will never go, giving up this chanting and go to the cinema. Don't you see practically?
They cannot understand the Supreme Being Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. They cannot understand. That is the defect. Therefore some yoga system, jñāna-yoga system, or dhyāna-yoga system, and there is bhakti-yoga system. That bhakti-yoga system is the perfect. And jñāna-yoga system or dhyāna-yoga system, that is partial understanding, Paramātmā feature. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). In that way you can understand, you can come to the platform of understanding samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. But that is not perfection. Still you have to go. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). After realizing samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, this principle, then you will have to enter into the devotional service, parā-bhakti. Parā-bhakti means transcendental. Bhakti means parā. Bhakti does not mean material. Material, it looks like material activities, but it is not material activities. Just like the example can be given just like a man, a boy is flying kite. He is, what is called, the reel? So sometimes he brings down the kite and sometimes he allows the kite to go. There are two kind of playing. So similarly, the one kind of activity means you are becoming free from the resultant action of activities, and one kind of activity is you are becoming entangled.
No more birth—there are two kinds of more more birth. For the Māyāvādīs, or impersonalists, they want to stop birth, to merge into the existence of the Supreme, brahma-nirvāṇa. Brahma-nirvāṇa... The Buddha philosophy teaches nirvāṇa, devoid of all material desires, that much. He does not give any more. Śaṅkarācārya gives further, more, that brahma-nirvāṇa, that "You become desireless of this material world, but you enter, merge into Brahman." That is called brahma-nirvāṇa. And the Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that "You make null and void all your material desires, enter into Brahman and be engaged in the service of the Lord." This is called bhakti. So brahma-nirvāṇa is also siddhi, but more than that siddhi is to be engaged in the service, Brahman service.
That service is not ordinary service. The service to the Lord is not to be calculated as equal to this material service. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot understand it. But Kṛṣṇa says personally that this devotional service is in the transcendental platform, Brahman service. Therefore He says, māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate (BG 14.26). This bhakti-yoga, one who is actually employed, engaged in pure devotional ser..., animittā, without any motives, without any material purpose, that is real spiritual service.
Therefore a devotee who is actually in knowledge, na ekātmatām. Na ekātmatām. To become one with the Supreme, they never desire. They never desire. They... Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu is saying, mama janmani janmani īśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi: "My dear Lord, I do not want to stop even." Mukti means stopping of this repetition of birth, death. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, mama janmani janmani: "Let Me take birth after birth. It doesn't matter. But let Me be engaged in Your service." That is ānanda. That is real ānanda, not that you become one with...
And one means you cannot enter into the spiritual planets. There are so many, not devotees but spiritualists; they want to become one. That oneness means that you remain outside the spiritual planet in the brahma-jyotir, in the rays. We are part and parcel of the rays. Just like I have given the example: the sun rays means combination of so many bright, minute, atomic particles. Similarly, we can remain as atomic soul outside. Just like this sunshine is outside the sphere of the sun globe. It is outside. It is not... Inside also, that is brightness, but the sunshine is outside the sun globe, and inside there is sun-god. That information we get from Bhagavad-gītā. Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). The sun planet is also a planet like this, but it is fiery planet. And it is earthly planet. The sun planet is fire. But fire and earth is the same material element. Bhūmir āpaḥ analaḥ. Analaḥ. Analaḥ means fire. So either it is made of earth or it is made of fire or it is made of water or it is made of air or prominent, it is all material.
So those who have got developed love of Godhead, they can hear. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says that "I am speaking to you the old message, Bhagavad-gītā, which I spoke to sun-god some millions of years ago." So "Why You are speaking to me? I am not a Vedantist. I am not a sannyāsī. I am not any advance in spiritual understanding." People may say. But Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes. You are My bhakta." Bhakto 'si. Therefore to understand Bhagavad-gītā means one has to become first of all a bhakta. The so-called nondevotee, atheist class, scholar and politician, they cannot understand. It is not possible. They cannot enter into it. The same thing, licking up the honey bottle, that's all. What you will taste? It is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says,
- tad viddhi praṇipātena
- paripraśnena sevayā
- upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
- (BG 4.34)
The same example can be... You can go to a person who knows how to open the bottle of honey. Then you can taste. Otherwise, if you simply lick up the book, Bhagavad-gītā, becoming a very big scholar, you will never taste it. You will never taste it. You can satisfy yourself, "Now I am licking up daily Bhagavad-gītā, thrice," but what you will understand unless you are a devotee? You will not understand. The bottle is packed up.
"Then who is His father?" His father is devotee. When He accepts anyone as His father, that father is His devotee. That is said here that karhicin mat-parāḥ, yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is loved by the devotee as their son, as his son. Sutaś ca. Somebody loves Kṛṣṇa as his son.
The Vasudeva and Devakī, in their previous life they underwent severe austerities. After their marriage, they immediately were not anxious to beget child. They went to the forest and began practicing austerity and penances, severe, some hundreds of years. Then Kṛṣṇa appeared that "What do you want? Why you are undergoing so much severe...?" "No, we want a son like You. Then we enter into the family life." So Kṛṣṇa said that "Where is another Kṛṣṇa?" Because God is one. "So if you want a son like Me, then I will have to become your son. There is no competitor." God has no competitor. God is one. Ekaṁ brahma dvitīyaṁ nāsti. This is the... Kṛṣṇa therefore says, mām ekam. Mām ekam. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). Kṛṣṇa is one, but Kṛṣṇa can expand. That is Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers say that "If Kṛṣṇa has become everything, then where is Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is finished." This is Māyāvādī philosophy. That is materialistic idea. Just like you take a big piece of paper and you tear it into small pieces and throw it; then the paper has no existence. The paper is finished. But Kṛṣṇa is not like that. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33).
Then there will be no more suffering of the piercing arrow of the Cupid. That is called akuto-bhayam, no more fear. No more fear. Now you become fearless. And when... If you want to become fearless, akuto-bhayam, then Kṛṣṇa says that, Kapiladeva says, praviśanty akuto-bhayam. He enters, bhakti-yogena, when one is actually in bhakti-yoga, full knowledge, and vairāgya, renunciation of the material world, then he is able to enter. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad, tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā.
In this way, when one understand what is Kṛṣṇa in truth, that is called knowledge. Jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena (SB 3.25.18). Tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram. He is allowed to enter into the spiritual kingdom, not before that. Not before that, without bhakti. And bhakti, by bhakti, you will automatically attain the stage of jñāna-vairāgya. Just like if you take one very nice digestive pill, so whatever you have eaten, even stone, it will be digested. It will be digested. Similarly, as soon as you take to bhakti immediately your gross and subtle body is digested. You will live in the spiritual body. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26).
If you engage yourself in the devotional service of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, if you enter, then vāsudeve bhagavati. Vāsudeva means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (SB 1.2.7). If you apply yourself, engage yourself in bhakti-yoga, then janayaty āśu vairāgyam, cause and effect. As soon as you engage yourself in devotional service of Vāsudeva under the direction of śāstra and spiritual master, then janayaty āśu vairāgyam. As you are practically experiencing that since you have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement you have no more interest material activities no more interest, that is vairāgya. You are simply meant for service of Kṛṣṇa. That is jñāna. In this way, if you want actually to be fearless and enter into the spiritual life, or spiritual kingdom, back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to accept this bhakti-yoga process, and it is very easy, and then you become fearless, and your life is successful.
Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛacā says, bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī-sakali 'aśānta.' Kāmī. Kāmī means one who desires. So either you desire comforts of this material body in different standard of life, either in this planet or other planet... Just like they are trying to go to the moon planet for getting higher standard of life. Unfortunately, they are not allowed to stay there. They come back. So you cannot go in the higher planets in that way. You must be fit for going there. I have several times discussed this matter. Just like American standard of life is better than our Indian standard of life, but you cannot enter America or the Americans cannot enter India without required visa permission; similarly, it is not that by your whims you can enter into the higher planetary system. That is not possible. Anyway, these are the field of activities of the karmīs, those who want to become happy by their active execution. "I shall be happy in this way. I shall be happy in this way, and make my plan like that." These are karmīs. They are making simply plans to become happy, but they forget that this is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). This material world is the place for suffering. They forget that. The scientists, the physists, they are all trying to make this life very comfortable. They are called durāśayā. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum... (SB 7.5.31). What is that? Durāśayā. They are thinking that "By material adjustment, we can be happy." Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. These karmīs, they have got a hope which will never be fulfilled. That is called durāśā. Āśā means hope, and durāśā means which will never be successful.
Therefore it was the custom of the brāhmaṇas—they would not accept anyone's service. They will sit down anywhere and open a school for teaching Vedic literature. Paṭhana pāṭhana. He will personally become learned, and he will teach others. And the students, they will go from door to..., brahmacārī, door to door for begging, "Mother, give me some alms," and they will give because their students are there in the gurukula or catuṣpāṭhī. So whatever they will bring, that will be cooked and offered to Kṛṣṇa, and the prasādam will be distributed amongst themselves. This was the process, not twenty rupees' fee and give some bribe to enter into the school, and that is also all rascal education, no. First-class education, without any fee, from the realized soul—that was educational system, varṇāśrama-dharma.
So we have to find out such guru, Vaiṣṇava. Śāstra says, ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ. Not only expert in six kinds of occupational..., paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha, but mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ: "Vedic mantra or tantra—everything he knows perfectly well." Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra..., avaiṣṇavo gurur na sa syāt: "But if he has got one disqualification—he is faithless; he does not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead or Viṣṇu; he is believer in other demigods and other process, even Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā, the best of all the demigods—then he becomes avaiṣṇava." Just like Rāvaṇa.
This is beginning of successful life. Ādau śraddhā, this śraddhā, or this niścayātmikā buddhi, or vyavasāyātmikā buddhi, is the beginning of spiritual life. If one has no faith in the words of the authorities, then he has no hope. Saṁśayātmā vinaśyati. Vinaśyati means he does not get any chance to enter into spiritual life. We are in the material world. We are... Vinaśyatsu. We are in an atmosphere of being finished. That everyone, we know. This body... I am concerned with this body, and the body is to be finished. But the soul is not finished. Therefore our bhakti-mārga... How one can make progress in bhakti-mārga? If we have got faith in the words of Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), if we apply our intelligence, niścayātmikā, then our spiritual life begins. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). These are the different methods to make advance in spiritual life, especially in bhakti-yoga, devotional life.
So ādau śraddhā. Kṛṣṇa says these are on the intellectual platform. Sometimes intellectual platform is taken as sentimental. But if it is rightly taken, somebody believes, even Kṛṣṇa..., Kṛṣṇa's statement, they are not sentimental. They are vijñāna-sahitam. Jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitam. Yaj jñātvā mokṣyase aśubhāt, jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave, yaj jñātvā mokṣyase aśubhāt. This is the statement in Bhagavad-gītā. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ (BG 7.2). Pravakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ, yaj jñātvā mokṣyase aśubhāt. That
They cannot display all these yoga-siddhis. Simply by some exercise, gymnastic, they become yogi. That is... Gymnastic is required in the beginning for controlling the mind. But the yoga-siddhi is different. That require perfect yoga practice. Aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti-siddhi, īśitā, vaśitā.
So there is a planet which is called Siddhaloka. In that Siddhaloka, the inhabitants are by nature siddhas. They can fly in the sky. From one planet to another planet they can go. There is siddhi, there is laghimā-siddhi, to become lighter than the air. So they can fly in the air without any burden. These are Siddhaloka. So even these Siddhalokas, the inhabitants who are by nature born perfect in yoga-siddhis, they also could not enter into the Vaikuṇṭhaloka. And karmīs, they go up to the heavenly planet. And jñānīs, they may go up to Brahman effulgence. Paraṁ padam. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). Āruhya kṛcch... They elevate themself very high, so much so that they enter the spiritual world, paraṁ padam. Paraṁ padam, the spiritual world. Really paraṁ padam means the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. But paraṁ padam, because this Brahman effulgence is also bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa, the Brahman effulgence is also called sometimes paraṁ padam. But those who are aspiring to merge into that paraṁ padam, Brahman, they are actually not vimukta, vimukta-māninaḥ. They are thinking, "Now we have become liberated." Māninaḥ. Māninaḥ means the position is different, but he is thinking that "I have become now perfect."
Actually, it has no connection with the favorable, unfavorable condition. It is simply abhiniveśa. The mind being affected by the material contamination, we are suffering so-called miserable condition of life. It is due to the mind. Otherwise, as it is said, one man is satisfied in a very poor condition of life, and another man is not satisfied even in the best opulent condition of life. Why? It is due to the mind. It is due to the mind.
So therefore whole process of spiritual life or peaceful life... Spiritual life is peaceful life. Material life is not peaceful life. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. There are so many varieties of desires in material life. Therefore one cannot be peaceful. That is not possible. But when one enters into spiritual life... Spiritual life means to revive our spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then we can become happy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Three things, if we learn... What are those three things?
Suppose one is big businessman. He is always thinking of his business, how to sell this, how to purchase this. This is... His mind is absorbed with these things. So if he sits down to meditate upon the Lord, it will not be possible. It will not be possible. His mind will be disturbed, and he will think of his business transaction. So that is natural. But if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa loudly, you will be forced to hear "Kṛṣṇa," and that Kṛṣṇa immediately comes within your mind by force. So it is better process than sit down and think of Kṛṣṇa.
"When there is sound vibrated passing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, however, one is forced to hear. That hearing process enters into the mind, and the practice of yoga is automatically performed. For example, even a child can hear and derive the benefit of meditating on the pastimes of the Lord simply..." Now, just like these children. They do not understand English, they do not understand language, but when there will be chanting, they will stand up and dance. See how this process is easy. There is no question of language understanding, no question of being young or child. Anyone who will hear the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa Mantra, he will be enthused immediately, and that is natural. Unless he is covered with sinful activities very much, he will be enthused. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). But even if he is covered with sinful activities, by chanting, immediately the process of cleansing begins. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Simply by hearing and chanting, he becomes pious. And the more he becomes pious, he understands what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa. Without being pious, nobody can understand. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmanām, te dvandva-moha-nir...
"My dear friend, how you are feeling today?" He can say, "Yes, I am feeling today all right." What is that all right? He is lying on the bed and he is taking medicine, and so many discomfitures are there, and still he says, "I am all right." So in the material world, this prosperity, so-called prosperity, is not prosperity, because the next life I do not know what is going to happen. And the next life is there. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). Therefore learned man, he sees always that "My happiness..., what is the value of this happiness? I will have to die, I will have to accept old age, I will have to suffer from disease. And as soon as I die, again I will have to enter into the womb of a particular mother to take birth again." So where is the happiness? In the womb of the mother to live for ten months in a very awkward position—we have forgotten—that is not very happiness.
Pavitra, pavitra means purity. So "You are, Kṛṣṇa, You are the supreme pure." So because we are trying by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are trying to approach Kṛṣṇa... Just like if you want to approach the sun, the same example can be given. Everything is there in the nature. If you study minutely, you become learned philosopher. But if we want to enter the sun planet, then you must equip yourself. Just like you are trying to go to the moon planet by artificially dressing, but still, you cannot stay there more than a few hours—if we suppose that somebody has gone there. So this is the position. If you want to enter into the sun planet also... That is also a planet. That is also possible. If it is possible to enter into the moon planet, then it is also possible to enter into the sun planet. Why not? And there are living entities. We get information from Vedic literature. But you have to raise your temperature so that you can exist there. Similarly, God is Supreme Pure. If you want to go back home, back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to become pure, without any contamination of this material world.
Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvam (SB 5.5.1). Sattvam means your existence. Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet. Śuddhyet means becomes purified. Then you may ask "What is the result?" "Suppose if I purify by your prescription." Śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyam anantam. Because if you purify your existence, then you get unlimited pleasure. Your life is, you are finding out where is pleasure. That is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Every living entities is fit for enjoying because he's part and parcel of God. Because he part and parcel, he's also enjoyer, although in the minute quantity. But he can enjoy in association with God. So in order to enter into the association of God, he has to purify himself. Yasmād brahma-sau... Brahma, brahma-saukhyam. Brahma means the unlimited or spiritual. Spiritual means unlimited, unending, eternal—the greatest. These are some of the meanings of brahma.
So you are searching after pleasure, that is your prerogative. That is your right. You must be. But you are searching in this sense gratificatory platform, you'll never get it. If you purify your this existence, then you get unlimited pleasure in your spiritual existence. Unlimited pleasure. Brahma-saukhyam anantam (SB 5.5.1). Anantam means unlimited. So this life we should utilize for purifying, not for extravagancy in sense gratification. You'll not suffer at... You'll... This is māyā. Actually, just like a child, a boy, wants to play, and the father prescribes him, "My dear boy, do not play so long. Please read."
So he's thinking that "My father is prescribing something which is very troublesome." But actually this tapasya, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness regulated life, is not for trouble. It is for your progress of life to the spiritual understanding, where you get unlimited eternal life, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). God is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Sat, cit, ānanda. Sat means eternal, cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda, full of pleasure. So as soon as you become purified from this material existence, then you enter into the spiritual kingdom, and you get your body sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha and live there eternally in full knowledge and full bliss.
Thank you very much. (devotees offer obeisances)
Just like in your American country you do not allow everyone—there is check by the immigration department, what class of men you shall admit—similarly, you cannot enter in the moon planet by force unless you are purified. Or the temperature, the atmosphere, is so severe there, it is unfit. It is the statement of the scientists who are trying to go there that the temperature is below two hundred degrees zero. So how you can live there? Here, in your America, Canada, if the temperature is ten degrees below zero, you suffer so much. How you can live there? So you have to purify yourself before entering moon planet. Similarly, you have, if you want to enter into the sun planet, you have to purify a different way. Similarly, there are different heavenly planets. What do they know? There are millions and millions of high-grade planets, and they are... There is Siddhaloka, perfectional, according to this material conception. They are called Siddhaloka. Siddhaloka means the residents of that planet can fly in the space without any mechanical or any support, aeroplane or anything like that. They can, automatically can, travel in the space. Just like Nārada Muni, he can travel in the space. There are different grades of purificatory processes and purified life. And the highest purified life is Kṛṣṇaloka. So these are not imagination. We get all this knowledge from Vedic, I..., literature.
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means, as we have read from the Bhagavad-gītā, that tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya: (BG 4.9)
That is not human civilization. One should utilize the opportunity.
So next point is how you can do this? How you can purify your existence? That instruction is that mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ (SB 5.5.2). If you associate and serve mahat—mahat means the great, great personality—mahat-sevāṁ dvāram, then your door for purification will be open. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāram... And the opposite is, if you want to enter into the darkest region of ignorance, then you associate with persons who are simply meant for sense gratification. Two ways, this way or that way. If you want to approach to the perfectional point of purificatory birth, then you associate with mahat-sevā. Sevā means service. Service. Our whole process is service. This spiritual life can be attained simply by service, not by any other qualification. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā the last instruction is surrender. You cannot render service to a person unless you surrender. That is the first condition, mahat-sevā.
Death means change of the, final change of the body. When this body is no more useful to continue, then by nature another body is offered. At the time of death, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram, sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6)—we create a mental situation. We have got two kinds of bodies—subtle body and gross body. This gross body is made of five gross material elements: earth, water, fire, air, ether. And the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence and ego. When we sleep, the gross body does not work but the subtle body works. We dream therefore. So the... At the time of death this gross body is finished, but the subtle body—mind, intelligence and ego—will carry me to another gross body. It will enter into the womb of another mother, and she will create another similar body like the mother, and when it is complete, then it will come out.
So the spirit soul is in this way bound up by the material gross body and subtle body. This is our disease. This is... Material existence means we are suffering from this disease. So in the first verse it was suggested by Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons, "My dear sons," tapo putrakā. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvaṁ yasmād brahma-saukhyam anantam (SB 5.5.1). Our position is... As I explained the other day, we are part and parcel of God. So God's existence is sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ: (Bs. 5.1) eternal, blissful, knowledge. So we are part and parcel. Our knowledge, our blissfulness, our eternity may be very small, but we possess the same quality. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said that spirit soul or God... God is the supreme spirit, and we are minute. He is vibhu, unlimited; we are aṇu, very small—molecular or atomic. So quality is the same. So our seeking after eternity, seeking after full knowledge and to remain blissful, that is our nature because we are part and parcel of God.
So this life is, human life is the sum total of developed consciousness. That is to be understood. But we are not utilizing it. How this developed consciousness should be utilized, that education is lacking. The modern civilization, specially in this age, they are simply busy... Advancement of civilization means advancement of the process of eating, advancement of the process of sleeping, advancement of process of sex life, advancement of defense. That's all. But that will not help us. Just like there are thieves. There were some thieves. They have got very organized system of stealing. Very educated man, scientist, they can enter into the bank safety room. With scientific method, they can open the chest, treasury, and take, at a time, millions of dollars away. And there is another kind of thief, they simply pickpocket or burglar when they get opportunity, take away some goods from your house. In Hindi, it is called hīrā and kṣīrā. Somebody is stealing kṣīrā. Kṣīrā means cucumber. Just like we saw on the street. In so many houses, there are so many fruits, apples. If we like, we can take it. But if we take it beyond the fence of that private house, it is criminal. It is criminal. If you take one apple, it, it has no cost here practically. And somebody's stealing from your box hīrā. Hīrā means diamond. But if these two classes of thieves are arrested, according to law, they are punishable for six months imprisonment. The man cannot say, who has stolen one apple, "Oh, what is the price of this apple, sir? I have taken one apple. Why you are putting me into jail?" But law is there. Even it is apple, it has no value, because you have stolen, it is the property of a private person, so, as you have stolen, therefore you are punished. And similarly, another thief, who has stolen a diamond worth ten millions dollars, he's also punished. Because both of them are thieves. You cannot say that "I am thief, certainly, but I have taken which is practically has no worth." No.
Ah. So that is not allowed. You cannot go. The moon planet, from the śāstra we understand that nobody can go there unless he is fit. Not only the moon planet, any other planet. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). These are higher planetary systems. The demigods live there. So unless you are fit to live with the demigods, you cannot go there. Just like Kṛṣṇaloka. Unless you make yourself fit to enter into the Kṛṣṇaloka, you cannot go by force. That is not possible. Just like to enter into some foreign country, you have to take visa, you have to take passport, immigration. Then you will be allowed. So such attempt to go there. And even if you go there, you will be driven away. So what is the use of such attempt?
Therefore this so-called, what is called, excursion, to attempt to go to some planet, you cannot stay there, neither you'll be allowed to enter. So this endeavor to go there by so-called scientific advancement is simply defeat, because you will not be allowed, neither you can go there. And actually it is happening. What they have achieved so far? Nothing. No tangible action made. But they have spent millions of dollars, Russia and America, to go to the moon planet. And even you go there, but after all, you will have to die, you have to give up this body, and after death, you do not know where you'll be placed. That is under the nature's hand. You cannot dictate that "After death, I shall go to that planet or this planet." No. You are completely under the nature's control. Prakṛteḥ kriyāmāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Unless you are qualified...
Gata-smṛtiḥ tatra tāpān āsādya maithunyam agāram ajñaḥ. Because he is foolish, therefore he likes to be imprisoned simply for sense gratification.
You know the elephant is captured for sense gratification. You know that? Elephant is captured. A big elephant, to capture, it is very difficult. But a female elephant goes there, and he comes for sex, and the female elephant goes forward. Then she brings in a place where there is a big pit and he falls down, the male elephant. Then he becomes captured. Yes. These are the nature's example, how for... And not only sex. Just like the bees. They enter into the lotus flower for eating honey, and they are enjoying. In the meantime, the lotus flower petals becomes closed. So he becomes entrapped, cannot come out, dies. The fish. The fish, how they tackle? You know? You have seen the, what is called, tackle? What is that? There is a small attractive foodstuff, and the fish comes, and as soon as he swallows, bas, he is captured. Similarly, the deers, they are also captured by the hunter. He plays nice flute, and the deers stand up. They are very much fond of music. So as soon as they stand up, entrapped. So one animal or lower than human being, they have got one sense very strong. Someone's the ear, someone's the nose, someone's the tongue, someone's the genital, in this way. But they have got one sense strong. And we, so-called civilized man, our six senses are all strong. So what is the position?
We have to approach such person who has perfectly listened to his... Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). So by śruti, by hearing oral reception. Just like there is practical example. Suppose you are sleeping, and somebody is coming to do you some harm, to kill you. But another person is warning you, "Please get up! Get up! Somebody is coming to kill you." But it will act, because while other senses are practically dead, the ear is working. By hearing, you can get up. This is practical.
So at the present moment we are sleeping, sleeping in the darkness. Therefore to get knowledge we have to use our ears. Śravaṇam. Therefore to enter into the devotional service one has to use this ear, śravaṇam. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda... And śravaṇam about whom? Śravaṇam about Viṣṇu, śravaṇaṁ kīrta..., śravaṇam. They say that "You can hear anything." No.
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
- smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
- sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
- (SB 7.5.23)
This is the process. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet, śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12). These are the injunction. Ādau gurvāśrayaṁ sad dharma pṛcchat sādhu mārganu gamanam. These are the process.
Yarhi vāva sa bhagavān lokam imaṁ yogasyāddhā. (SB 5.5.32) So this is another process of yoga-siddhi, ājagara-vṛtti, ājagara, python, lying down in one place, eating and passing urine, stool, everything. Ājagara-vṛtti. Ājagara, the python, it lies down in one place, big, big python, sometimes covered by the earth, but still, he gets his food. Big, big animals enter into the home of the python. And the python can eat even a full horse, what to speak of other animals. But still, Kṛṣṇa supplies him food. He hasn't got to go anywhere. So sometimes saintly persons, they sit down in one place. If Kṛṣṇa sends him food he will eat; otherwise he will starve. In our ācārya-sampradāya, Mādhavendra Purī, Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, they were doing that. In Vṛndāvana Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, he was blind. He was sitting in one place, and Kṛṣṇa used to come and supply him milk.
So there is no anxiety for maintenance of the body. There is no anxiety. Śāstra therefore says that "Don't spoil your energy for the matter of maintenance of the body. That is already settled up." Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That is the Vedic injunction. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The Supreme Lord is nitya as we are nitya. Nitya means there is no birth and death. Na jāyate na mriyate vā, nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is our constitutional position. And what is the difference between the two nityas? One is plural number and the other is singular number.
This is Kṛṣṇa's activity. A devotee never takes the credit of any wonderful thing. But it is a fact. What wonderful thing we can play? Kṛṣṇa can do that. Therefore His name is nānā-yoga-caryācaraṇo bhagavān kaivalya-patiḥ. Kaivalya-patiḥ. Kevaladvaitavādī, Māyāvādī philosophers, they think that kaivalya, to become one, one... Just like if you fly in the sky, after going long distance we cannot see you. It appears that you are no longer existing, you have mixed up, you have become one with the sky. But actually it is not the fact. That is not one with God. I cannot see you. The example is given: just like a green bird enters into a green tree. So it appears that the tree has become, the bird has become one with the tree, no more separate existence. No. It appears like that. Actually that is not the fact. The fact is that the bird, green bird, existing with the green tree, but due to my defect in the eyes I am seeing it has become one.
Actually it is not so. Every individual living entity is always individual. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, we are individuals. In the past we were individuals, at the present we are individuals, and in the future we shall continue to be individuals." There is no question of oneness. Oneness means to agree to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is oneness. There is no disobedience, "Whatever You say, I accept"—that is oneness. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). That is oneness. At the present moment we differ. We make differences. "Here is the opinion of the American. Here is the opinion of Indian. Here is the opinion of the German. Here is the opinion of the śūdra, and so on, so on. So here means disagreement, always disagreement.
We do not see. Therefore our seeing should be through knowledge, paśyati jñāna-cakṣuṣā, not this gross seeing. Gross seeing is imperfect. It has no value. We know. We should inquire that "This gross body is finished. Now what about the subtle body?"
So we have to understand from authoritative literature. The subtle body is working, just like when you sleep your gross body is not working, but the subtle body, the mind, intelligence and ego is working; therefore you dream. Your subtle body is lying is some apartment, and you have gone to the seaside by the mental body. So, so long this gross body is able, you again come and enter into this gross body, but when it is not workable, then you have to find out another gross body in the womb of a certain type of mother. This is the law of transmigration of the soul. That subtle body will be carried by the laws of nature. According to the work you have done to your whims, then a certain type of body will be offered to you. You will be forced to enter into the womb of a certain type of mother, and the mother will give you the body. That we have got, everyone, experience. In the mother's body, after pregnancy, the body grows. Everyone knows it. So body grows why? Because the soul has entered, and according to his karma, either good mother or bad mother... So you are growing the same body or better body or lower body, and when it is mature, then you come out. You begin again your life. That is called pravṛtti-mārga. In this way we have to accept birth, death, old age. As soon as you get this material body, there is birth, and as soon as there is birth, there is death. And as soon as the body is there, it is growing old. It is suffering disease.
If I borrow from friends ghee, then I'll have to pay...," because these are the injunctions in the śāstras. But he is atheistic. He says, bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet. According to Vedic culture, the body is burned into ashes. So when the body is burned to ashes, who is coming again and paying him back? (laughter) "Don't think about it. Everything is finished." So this is the atheistic nonsense. But actually it is not. If you take real knowledge from Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), that is real knowledge. After destruction of this body, don't think that you are finished. You live, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati, dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). This is the first instruction. If you want to enter into spiritual life, you must know that you, spirit soul, you are eternal. You don't die; you are not finished. That after the destruction of this body, you accept another body, tathā dehāntara prāptir. These are the versions in Bhagavad-gītā, authoritative. And dehāntara means another body. There is no guarantee what kind of body you get. That will depend on your work. You may get the body of a king or you may get the body of a hog, as you have done work in this life. This life is a preparation for the next life.
"Oh, don't care for them." That is ignorance. Our real problem is not this temporary problem that we are in such and such distressed condition. That is temporary. But real problem is, as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). If anyone is intelligent enough, he should always keep before him that there are, these are my distresses: janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. I don't want to die, so what I have done for stopping my death? What have I done to stop my birth? Huh? Because as soon as I die, again I enter into the womb of a particular type of mother. Hm? Again I have to live there, packed up. That is the... Everyone knows. I cannot move even. No independence. The insects biting my delicate body, I cannot protest. I'm simply suffering. So many things. After coming out of the womb, still there is suffering. Suffering, suffering, suffering—the whole life is suffering—but I do not know how to compensate the suffering. That I do not know. That is ignorance. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. Just like the ass cannot understand that he's suffering, loading so much cloth upon his back. That is ass, one who cannot understand the suffering. And we are taking it, "This is now pleasure. This is not suffering, this is pleasure. I am working so hard." I remember long ago, about forty years ago, one of my servants, he left my service and he was pulling on ṭhelā. You know ṭhelā, a hand-pulled cart? So after that he came to see me. I asked him, "How you are doing now?" So he was very pleased that "I am working, pulling on this ṭhelā and eating sumptuously, and by evening it becomes all digested and again I'll eat." That is the (indistinct).
You have got practical experience that if you violate the law of the state you become criminal and punished. But if the cats and dogs or animals, they violate the law, they are not punishable. Therefore human life must be very responsible. Yes. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "My dear king, if before one's next death whatever impious acts one has performed in this life with his mind, words, and body are not counteracted through proper atonement according to the description of the Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter into the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible sufferings as I have previously described." So just like in our ordinary life if we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse. Therefore human life is distinct from animal life. If we live in human life without caring for the supreme laws, then we are destined to suffer.
Therefore in the human society there is a system of religion and scripture. It is the duty of the human being to understand the laws of the nature, the injunction in the śāstras and live very honestly according to their direction.
Because he was kṣatriya... His mother said that "God can only help you, my dear son. If you want to become king on the throne of your father, better position, then only God can help you. I cannot help you. It is not..." So he was determined, "I must see God." So he went to the forest but he did not know how to approach God. A boy of five years old only, he has got the determination. So Kṛṣṇa saw that "This boy is very determined." Therefore He sent His representative, Nārada: "Go and train him. He is very eager."
Therefore 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.
Out of them, tesam tu yo avamaḥ, the youngest child, youngest child was named as Nārāyaṇa. Tasya pravayasaḥ putrā daśa teṣāṁ tu yo avamaḥ . Bālo, "a boy," nārāyaṇo nāmnā, "his name was Nārāyaṇa." Pitroś ca dayito bhṛśam. Naturally the youngest child becomes very favorite to the parents. So this Ajāmila was very much attached to the youngest child. Sa baddha-hṛdayas tasminn arbhake kala-bhāṣiṇi. The youngest child, naturally... This is the attraction of family life. When a small baby smiles, immediately the father, mother and relatives become attracted. When the child begins to talk broken language, they enjoy. Unless this attraction is there, it is not possible to raise the child with affection. That is natural. That affection is even in the animals. You'll find a dog, even a tiger, everyone. That affection is there in the every... Monkey. I have seen it practically. In Kanpur I was staying in a room, and one monkey came with a child, and the child somehow or other entered into the window through the bars and the mother became mad. She thought, "My child is gone." She became mad. So somehow or other, again I pushed that monkey out of the bars, and immediately she embraced the child and took away. Just see. The affection is there.
There is no birth, death, old age, and disease. So actually, we do not like to die. Why? Because I am eternal, you are eternal, so I want to live forever. But we are put under certain condition of this material world, that we have to die.
Die means in this body we are creating some situation for the next life, and in order to accept... Just like one person—especially this Ajāmila upākhyāna—his ways of life was not ordinary; most abominable. So abominable, good, or bad, in this life we are creating some situation so that we will get next life another body. Therefore there is death. That is material world. And as soon as there is death, there is birth. Death means we enter into the womb of a mother for, say, ten months. That ten months is considered as death. Not ten months, because the child within the womb of the mother returns his consciousness when the child is seven months old. This is human body. At that time he feels inconvenience within the womb of mother. Before that, he is unconscious, sleeping. Now, when the body grows within the mother womb and it is seven months, then he returns consciousness. He feels inconvenient. And he is very eager to come out. Those who are advanced, they pray to God, "My Lord, somehow or other get me release from this condition. This life I shall devote for rendering You service so that I may be free from this condition." So similarly, at ten months, ten days, he comes out and..., but forgets. Svajanera kole. Many relatives, mother, father, takes care, and he forgets that "I promised I shall become Kṛṣṇa conscious this time." But on account of illusory energy, he thought that "I am very comfortably situated. My father is taking care. My mother is taking care. My relatives are taking care. So very happy life." This is called forgetfulness.
The real purpose of life, goal of life, is to satisfy Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu, Lord, the Supreme Lord, or Kṛṣṇa. This is life, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, to know Kṛṣṇa, and try to satisfy Him. That is life.
So to enter into this elevated life, fulfilling the desire or the aim of life is varṇāśrama-dharma. Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān, viṣṇur ārādhyate. Viṣṇur ārādhyate, that is required, how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious or Viṣṇu conscious and to worship Him. So that begins with this varṇāśrama. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He knew that this is Kali-yuga; it is very, very difficult to engage people strictly in the varṇāśrama-dharma. Actually it is difficult. Who is going... If you open a varṇāśrama college, there will be no student. Because they will think, "What is this nonsense, varṇāśrama? Let us learn technology. We shall get good salary. We shall earn money." Yes. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately said, eho bāhya, āge kaha āra. In this age it is not possible, varṇāśrama-dharma. So āge kaha āra: "If you know something better than this, you say." So in this way Rāmānanda Rāya recommended that karma-tyāga, sannyāsa, so many stages. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu went on saying, eho bāhya āge kaha āra: "This is useless now. If you know better, then something, something." So then at last—not at last, in the middle—Rāmānanda Rāya said that jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva..., namanta eva, bhavadīya-vārtām, sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. The purport is that all these processes recommended in the śāstra, varṇāśrama-dharma, acceptance of sannyāsa, or other, karma-tyāga, miśra, karma-miśra-jñāna... There are so many things.
Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). Favorably. That is bhakti. And pratikūlyena, just in the opposite way, thinking of Kṛṣṇa in inimical way, that is also accepted by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. Anyone who thinks of Kṛṣṇa always, he is the greatest yogi. So even the enemies who think of Kṛṣṇa always, although unfavorably, he becomes a yogi because thinking of Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore the result of yogic performances are achieved by the inimical personalities. In the impersonal Brahman effulgence, not only the highly learned scholars who are trying to attain brahma-jñāna, they enter, but also the enemies who are unfavorably thinking of Kṛṣṇa, they also enter into that spiritual kingdom, impersonal effulgence, nirviśeṣa-brahma-jyotir. Therefore a devotee's position is different from the jñānīs', impersonalists'. Because the destination which is achieved by the jñānīs is also achieved by the enemies of Kṛṣṇa. So that is not a very high position. Therefore devotees' position is very exalted. They do not... They go through the impersonal effulgence of Brahman, but they are not attracted. They are attracted in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, Goloka Vṛndāvana planets, where the Supreme Personality of Godhead lives eternally with His associates.
So the effect of chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa was immediately visible in the person of Ajāmila.
At the time of death, especially those who are full of sinful activities, they become too much agitated how to save himself, how to enter into another body. It is a very painful situation. The painful situation becomes so acute that no more the living entity can live in this body. Just like sometimes it happens: when a person becomes too much painful, he commits suicide. He does not want to live within this body. But he does not know that is another sinful activity. You cannot commit suicide. That is another criminal action.
So at the time of death... Of course, those who are devotees, their position is different. People may say, "The devotee is also dying, and the nondevotee, sinful man, is also dying. What is the difference?" So there is much difference. The example is given: just like a cat catching a rat in his mouth and at the same time carrying his cubs in the mouth. Superficially, we can see that the same mouth is being used, but one is feeling comfortable being carried by the mother, and another is feeling the death knell. Similarly, at the time of death, the devotee's feeling that they are being transferred to Vaikuṇṭha, whereas the ordinary sinful man is feeling that the Yamarāja, the dūtas, the constables of Yamarāja are dragging him to the hellish condition of life. So one should not conclude simply by seeing that he is dying. No. The process is different. Janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9).
These things are there. What information you have got? You do not know fully what is the material nature. Therefore we do not believe that these men went to the moon planet. We have got different description of the moon planet. The moon planet is situated 1,600,000's of miles above the sun. We have got this description: 1,600,000 miles above the... And there is also blazing fire like the sun planet. Sun planet is very hot, and the moon planet is surrounded by very cool atmosphere. Just like when there is cold and heat together, you enjoy it, so moon planet is like that. And those who are in the karma-kāṇḍīya, means fruitive activities, those who are actually acting very piously, they are allowed to enter into the moon planet. And there you get life, ten thousands of years' duration of life. And that year is very, very big than our years. Our six months equal to one day in the moon planet. Now, such ten thousands of years you can get your duration of life, and very cold. Therefore you can drink there soma-rasa.
So these are the explanation in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And it is situated above the sun planet, and above, the distance is also given there: 1,600,000's of miles. And above that, similarly, 1,600,000 miles, there is Mars, there is Jupiter, there is Venus, like that. So universe is not so small that you can ride on your 747 and go. (laughter) It is not so easy. It is not so easy. So therefore, from the circumstances, we can conclude that they could not approach the moon planet. And now they are saying that "It is useless. There is no need of going there. The grapes are sour." (laughter) The jackal jumping, jumping, jumping. When he could not get the grapes, then he is rejecting, "Oh, this is sour. It is no use." So after jumping so many years and spending so much money, they are now rejecting: "The moon planet is not habitable." But we get there.
The Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇu lying in the Causal Ocean of material creation, so He is in the nature of sleeping, ananta. And He is breathing. So yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya. This breathing, exhaling and inhaling, that is going on. So that exhaling and inhaling is the duration of this material existence. When Viṣṇu exhales, whole creation takes place. And when He inhales, the whole creation again is... Prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, "Then it again enters into the nature of the Supreme." So with the exhaling of breathing, innumerable universes are being generated. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam atha. Niśvasita-kāla, that period. Now, imagine what is that period. Jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. And also from the holes of the body, many universes are coming out. Such Viṣṇu, the Brahma-saṁhitā says, yasya iha kalā-viśeṣaḥ, such Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, He is also a plenary portion of Govinda. Just imagine what is Govinda. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā (Bs. 5.48). That is also confirmed by Govinda, Kṛṣṇa, in the Bhagavad-gītā: ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "What is Your opulence?" then He is describing the opulence, and in that opulence He concludes that "There is no necessity of describing My opulence very much. You simply understand that the whole material creation is existing in one fourth of My energy." So that is understanding of Bhagavad-gītā. We have to understand what is Kṛṣṇa.
That is wanted. Brahma-bhūtaḥ. As soon as one becomes brahma-bhūtaḥ, then immediately he becomes prasannātmā, jubilant, just like one is suffering from a disease, and some way or other, when he is relieved from that disease, immediately he becomes jubilant. That is required. That is wanted. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). And when one becomes jubilant, then, in that attitude, one can enter into devotional service of the Lord, not in the material condition, which is always suffering. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). But we go on suffering just like animal. Animal is being taken to the slaughterhouse; still, he is eating very jubilantly. Next item, he will be killed. So this kind of consciousness is called animal consciousness.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke
- svā-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- (janeṣu abhijñeṣu) sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
- Go-kharaḥ.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to deliver people from this ignorant ignorance platform and bring him to the light platform, or..., and knowledge platform, so that one can understand what is his constitutional position, how he can stop the sufferings of life, and how one can become eternally blissful life of knowledge. (break) ...ness. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He has given us the Śikṣāṣṭaka. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12).
This material existence means sometimes we are very jubilant: "Oh, I have got this. Now I have got in America, I have got so many cars." Now harṣa, jubilant. Then śoka. And you take birth in some other place, lamentation, scarcity: "This is not. This is not." And bhaya. So there are 8,400,000 species of forms of life, and by this process we are entering into different types of atmosphere and subjected to sometimes harṣa, jubilation, sometimes lamentation, sometimes fear. Even in this life we are undergoing such changes.
So if one is actually intelligent, then he should consider that "I don't want this lamentation. Why it is forced upon me?" It is forced upon me—on my desire, on my desire. It is not forced by any external thing. It is my desire. I wanted this position, and I got it by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, but when I got it, then again... Because the nature is like that, material nature... Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). You can place yourself in any position—the whole thing is duḥkhālayam; it is miserable. We are simply changing, that "If I am posted in this position, then I will be happy. If I am posted in this position, then I will..." And we are changing different positions. Harṣa-śoka-bhayāpaha. But if we want to stop this, if we want to come to our original position... Original position means we are part and parcel of God. So qualitatively the same position... It may be small, but the position is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), eternal life of bliss and knowledge. If we want to come to that, then the process is that we should not any more desire or manufacture some ideas for becoming happy in this material world. This is intelligence.
That is also subtle sex enjoyment. Gross and subtle, there are so many subtle sex enjoyments—to think of woman, to see a beautiful woman going on the street, or to talk about woman, to read about woman. There are eight kinds of subtle sexual intercourse. So it is restricted. But in the Kali-yuga it is very difficult to follow all the rules and regulation. One is not trained up. Even up to ripe old age, one becomes attracted by beautiful women. Especially in the Western countries. I have seen in Paris, old man, seventy-five years old, eighty years old, they are going to the brothel. They are going to the night club. They are purchasing ticket to enter into the club-fifty dollars. Then they have to pay for the woman and wine and everything. In this way...
So hṛd-roga-kāma, this hṛd-roga, hṛc-chaya, is a heart disease. It is very, very difficult to avoid unless one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. And that is stated by Yamunācārya:
- yadavadhi mama cettaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde
- nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt
- tadavadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne
- bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca
This is the test. Yadavadhi kṛṣṇa-padāravinde. "Since I have learned how to take transcendental bliss from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa..." He is explaining. He was an emperor. He had ample opportunity of enjoyment, material enjoyment. He was enjoying it. But he said, "Since I have become Kṛṣṇa conscious and I am taking pleasure in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, from that time," bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne, "whenever I think of enjoying with woman, I spite on it." This is the test. This is the test, how I am becoming advanced.
Suppose you actually want some money from somebody. He has taken money, he is not paying, or something else. So you have to push good money after bad money. So money which is due from others—he is not paying—that has become a bad money. Good money means which is in your hand. That is good money. And if you are simply speculating that "I shall get this money from that person. I shall get this money from...," that is bad money. So there is an English proverb, perhaps you know all, "To push good money after bad money." So therefore sometimes intelligent persons, they do not go to the court because he knows that money which is not being paid... Before entering into agreement you should be very clever so that your money may not be bad money which you are advancing. But if somehow or other it has become bad money, don't try to put good money. Let that bad money go to hell. So better nowadays not to go to the court as far as possible. But you should deal with people in such a way... Just like I was advising you, just find out a respectable transporter, because the time is very bad. Otherwise it will become a bad money. You go for cheap thing, that "He will carry my goods free," but he will throw it away. Somebody will take away. Then your whole profit is gone. You should be very careful. And if you have to go to court, then it is still more bad. You see?
Na niṣkṛtair uditair brahma-vādibhiḥ. Brahma-vādibhiḥ, those who are very much anxious to realize Brahman, they have prescribed so many methods, ritualistic methods, but they are not sufficient because such things cannot elevate a person to the standard of a pure devotee. He may...
Just like this arrangement, this Kumbha-līlā arrangement, is a prescription by the Brahmavādīs. There is a prescription that one should go during this time, maghamelā, and live in the confluence, on the bank of the confluence of Gaṅga and Yamunā and at least three days he must live. Then he becomes eligible to enter into the heavenly kingdom. These people who have come here, their ambition is to enter into the heavenly kingdom. But a devotee does not care for heavenly kingdom. A devotee cares a very fig in any planet within this material world. As Kṛṣṇa says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokān punar āvartino arjuna. Means they know what is the benefit of entering into heavenly kingdom. There is no benefit. Suppose I may get thousands of years' age and I enjoy very high standard of life, woman, money, wine. Just think. But what is the benefit? There is no benefit. I was very glad to read one article sent by Satsvarūpa in Boston. He has said, "What is this society, family? It is all hellish. We do not wish to live without Kṛṣṇa." Very nice statement. That is real realization. We do not like to live without Kṛṣṇa. So anyone who has realized it that "Any amount of material happiness is to be kicked out. We don't care for it. We simply care for Kṛṣṇa, how Kṛṣṇa will be happy," that is pure devotee. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). Ānukūlyena means favorably. We should simply try to please Kṛṣṇa favorably, not unfavorably.
Otherwise this world is going to hell. It has already gone and it will go. The result will be that I'll kill you, you'll kill me. So both of us will be killed. And this human form, or the facility of this human form of life, which was given to us by grace of God or by the mercy of material nature, Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "Don't misuse it. Don't misuse it like animals, simply eating, sleeping, and mating and defending." Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. Don't be assured that your next life is going again to be a human form of life. It may be... There are 8,400,000 species of life and according to my work I may enter into any type of body. Durlabhaṁ. Therefore this rare opportunity that we have got this human form of life, mānuṣaṁ durlabhaṁ janma, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam. And it will not exist for very long time. But if you utilize it properly then you can achieve the greatest boon. What is that? Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You can achieve the greatest boon. So Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending that "From the very childhood, my dear friends, you learn what is God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, if you advance in age, then you'll be more complicated, more complicated."
Actually, we are experiencing. We have got about eight branches of our this movement. Not only this movement, any movement. Generally, these youngsters, they are being attracted. Any nice movement started, the youngsters, they become more attracted. Not the, I mean to say, elderly people. Because elderly people, whatever they have understood, it takes to forget for some time. But if they try they can also understand. But Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending that before growing very old, from the childhood, receptive state, one should learn this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
There is 24 hours duration of day and night. So supposing that I sleep for 12 hours, day and night, then actually I live fifty years, because sleeping is death. That is also daily death. The sleeping... What is the different between death and sleeping? There is no difference. Just like at the present moment we are sleeping, say, for 12 hours or 8 hours or 10 hours and getting up in the next morning, and death means we shall sleep for seven months continually, and when we get up I see another body. That is birth and death. That is birth and death. Death means you give up this body. "You" means the soul. And you carry yourself with your subtle body, mind, intelligence and ego. According to your mental situation you enter into the womb of a mother injected by the semina of your father, you get an opportunity to grow another body. It takes about seven months to grow that body. So during this period, I mean to say, quitting this body, entering into another body and to develop that body, come to the consciousness point of view, it takes seven months. So death means sleeping for seven months.
Therefore in the Vedic mantra, Rg mantra, it is, tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sada paśyanti sūrayaḥ. The sūraya, those who are demigods or Aryans, they are, their destination is Viṣṇu. But ordinary men, they do not know that. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know that their ultimate goal of life is to understand Viṣṇu. Why? Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. They are trying to become perfect with this material condition. That is not possible. You have to know Viṣṇu. Then you become perfect. Otherwise, you have to change this body one after another. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You have one body, you remain for some time, then it is destroyed, you get immediately another body, again enter into the womb of mother, again form your body from little, a pulse-like body to this body and grow to your higher status in your younger age. Then again become dwindled, become old man, and again vanish. So bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Everything material will have to change like this. And there are 8,400,000's of different kinds of bodies, and you have to evolve in the cycle of such body. So if you want to get out of this circulation, continually, then here is the formula: tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Simply try to understand what is God or Viṣṇu, then you get that opportunity.
If he does not identify himself with this matter, then if the matter is lost or gained what he has got to do with it? Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Because you have got material attachment, therefore something material lost we lament and something material we do not possess, we hanker. The two kinds of diseases. So brahma-bhūtaḥ means these things are the symptom: he is joyful, prasannātmā, na śocati na kāṅkṣati, and samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then he can see.
Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇi gavi hastini, śuni caiva śva-pāke..., paṇḍita... (BG 5.18). He has become paṇḍita. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. When these conditions are fulfilled, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54)—then he enters into devotional service. So devotional service is not a sentiment. It is most scientific, just to become freed from the contamination of this material world. That means one who is devotee, he is already mukta, he is liberated. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that
- māṁ cāvyabhicāriṇi
- bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- (BG 14.26)
So if you want to be brahma-līna, so that is... Actually brahma-līna means to be engaged twenty-four hours in devotional service. That is brahma-līna. There is not a second vacant without Kṛṣṇa's service. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me: "I am seeing everything vacant without Govinda." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is thinking simply on Kṛṣṇa. And without Kṛṣṇa, everything is zero.
Any Vedic literature, it is dealing with three things—sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana. Everywhere... In our relationship with mundane world... You are American. So American means the sambandha, the relationship. You have got intimate relationship with the country known as America. This is called sambandha. Unless you know what is your relationship with America there is no question of fighting for America, because the relationship is there. Similarly, in any country... This is, of course, artificial, man-made sambandha, externally. But the principle, to know first of all our relationship, then act accordingly and then the purpose for which we establish relationship, that is obtained. A businessman, he enters into business contract with another businessman. The agreement is there, that "We shall transact business as purchaser or seller, as agent or as principle." This is called sambandha-jñāna. If we do not know what is our sambandha, relationship with God, then why one should be interested to worship God? There is no question. Therefore sambandha-jñāna is the first principle to understand.
That is called śreya. To become educated is good for him for future, but he doesn't like. But if we give our lugdu, immediately he'll accept. This is the distinction between śreya and preya.
So we must be interested in śreya, not preya. Preya is sense gratification. The material life, sense gratification is only required. This is material world. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). This śreya, or this preya, very dear things, ultimately, sex life, maithunādi... (break) ...married, the same sex life. Then he gets some children. Then he again grandsons. They go on. Yan maithunādi. Here, the happiness is centered around that sex life. Kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. And as soon as he enters into sex life, iva duḥkha-duḥkham, one after another, one after another, one after another. So this is preya. But śreya is now to approach the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Therefore here it is said, yathā hi puruṣasyeha viṣṇoḥ padopasarpaṇam, how to be engaged in the worship of the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. That is possible. This ṣreya means sense gratification, culminating in sex life. That is available. That will be explained in the next verse.
And tadayet daśa-varṣāṇi. And as soon as he is on the fifth year, you must be very strict on the child, on the boy, so that he may not be spoiled. Very strict. Simply engage him in proper education. Tāḍayet daśa varṣāṇi. And prāpte tu ṣoḍaśe varse. And as soon as he is on the sixteenth year... Ṣoḍaśe means sixteenth year. Prāpte tu ṣoḍaśe varṣe putraṁ mitravad ācaret: the son, the boy should be treated as friend. No more punishment. Then there will be reply. So there must be restraint. So from sixteenth year to twenty-fifth year, higher education. And after higher education, if the boy is still after sense gratification, he should be allowed to get himself married and enter into family life. That family life is allowed for another twenty-five years. When youthhood is very strong, let him beget some children and... Of course, there is regulation of children. One has to take care of the children and he has to educate children, not that irresponsibly begetting children. No. So family life.
Then as soon as he reaches fiftieth years or little advanced, when he might have a grown-up child at home, then the father and mother leaves home. Pañcaśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. The gentleman, when the boy is grown up, he may get his boy married and get out of home. The wife may remain with him as friend, but there is no sex life. That is called vānaprastha. Vānaprastha means retired life. And that is also another training. First training is brahmacārī so that when he becomes householder, he lives very restrained and regulated life.
So these question arises in the mind of a person out of many thousands of men. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhaye means one who is trying to reach to the point of perfection; not perfection, but simply trying. And yatatām api siddhānām: (BG 7.3) "And out of many thousands of such persons who are trying to approach the Absolute Truth," kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ, "one can understand Me as I am." Therefore one who can understand Kṛṣṇa, His birth, His appearance, His disappearance, His activities, all these things... That is also confirmed in another place, tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā: "Thus one understanding Me in truth," viśate tad-anantaram, "he is allowed to enter into My kingdom." Yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: "Only by devotional service one can understand Me, actually what I am." So if we engage ourself in submissive way in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will let you know what is His birth, what is His appearance, disappearance, activities—everything revealed. These things are not to be understood by mental speculation. These things are revealed to a heart of a devotee when he is engaged in devotional service. So that is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As you make more advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you understand everything. Any other question?
Still, in India, in the, some district, there was a servant of mine, he belonged to that... There are professional class of servant, they voluntarily sell themselves to the master: "Sir, I'll require five hundred rupees, and if you advance me this five hundred rupees I shall remain lifelong your servant." Still you get. Formally there were slaves, slave trade, but..., you get it still. You advance, the servant class, śūdra class—nowadays may not be five hundred—you advance five thousand, you can purchase. There will be agreement. That is law court, that "He has to work lifelong." And, specially the professional soldiers, nowadays the economic activities are so..., varieties. One of our disciples' son, he has accepted the service of a diver. He enters into the ocean. This is his service. Sometimes they accept the service of coming down from the aeroplane, paracy... What is called? Parachute. Fall down. They are forced, from three miles up. These are all risky things. At any moment... Of course, at any moment there is death, that is a fact, but people voluntarily accept these kind of services. For what purpose? For getting money. And what for money? For sense gratification. And where is the sense gratification? In family.
So, otherwise our propensity for sense gratification will increase, and for satisfying our sense gratification we require money, and for money they are risking their life. Yesterday our Pradyumna was speaking about the description of the factory. For some money they are going to the factory, hellish life. But money required, never mind hellish life. Going underneath the mine, at any moment the mine may collapse, and we risk life. Especially, here it is given that taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik. Taskaraḥ means thieves, they risk their life, enter into the house of another rich man, and he can shoot him immediately. There is dog, so many, but he risks his life for money. Taskaraḥ. Taskaraḥ means thieves, burglars, they risk their life. And sevaka. Sevaka, as soon as we become servant of some materialistic person, he'll extract, as much as possible, service in the factory. That is also very risky. We are not happy, sevaka. And vaṇik. Vaṇik means merchants. Sa vai vaṇik. They also risk their life. In European colonization, how much they risked life. When the Americans came here, how much they risked their life. So because you require money, we have to risk our life in so many ways. So the best thing is that we have to minimize our wants. We should be satisfied with the yāvad artha-prayojana, as little as possible. Not that we shall starve. That is not recommended. But don't increase.
Or "I have become poverty." Or "Somebody is... Some tiger is eating me," and so many things, you sleeping, you dreaming. This is another stage, active stage. Then sleeping stage. And then another stage is which is called deep sleep, deep sleep. Just like you are under chloroform or LSD. That is a kind of sleep only. It is not, does not mean that you have become free from this material bondage. You are simply under some mental condition, sleeping condition. Suṣuptiḥ. Just like our death. What is this death? Death means a sound sleep for seven months. That's all. A sound sleep for seven months. As soon as I give up this body, I enter into another body in sound sleep. And sound sleep, just like you are sleeping sound, somebody is taking you away to another place. You do not know. I have got experience. I have got, underwent some, some surgical operation. So I was under chloroform. So I did not know when I was operated, when I was in the operation table, then who brought me again to my bed. And in this way I did not... But when gradually I got my consciousness, I remember still, that I am sleeping, and then I am dreaming. Then I come to consciousness, active consciousness. This is the position.
Just like a student educates himself with an ambition that "When I am grown up I shall have this standard of life. I shall become a high-court judge, I shall become a military man, I shall become a very good businessman." As there are different ambitions, similarly, for your next life also you can maintain different ambitions. That is in your hands. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25), if you are ambitious to elevate yourself... Just like people are trying to go to the moon planet, that is an ambition. But they are trying to fulfill the ambition wrongly. That is not the way, that we manufacture some machine and by force we enter into the moon planet. That is not possible. You have to undergo certain rules and regulations so that after quitting this body you are allowed to get a particular type of body suitable for a particular type of planet.
- yānti deva-vratā devān
- pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
- bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
- mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām
- (BG 9.25)
Those who are desiring to enter into the higher planetary system where demigods live, Candraloka, Sūryaloka, Indraloka, Varuṇaloka, Vāyuloka, Brahmaloka, Dhruvaloka, Bhūr, Bhuvar, Svar, there are different millions of..., vibhūti-bhinnam. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). In the brahma-jyotir of Kṛṣṇa, there are innumerable planets.
If I say, suppose somebody is sitting here with his subordinate servant. And if I say, "For me, you are all the same." So the master who is sitting, he will be insulted. Similarly, anyone who thinks that the Supreme Lord and the demigods are on the equal footing, that is offense. Therefore, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu warned that don't hear the interpretation of the Māyāvādīs. Māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva nāśa (CC Madhya 6.169). Anyone who tries to understand Māyāvāda philosophy, misunderstands, not understands, misunderstands, his future is doomed. Doomed means he will never be able to enter into this bīja-nirharaṇam, nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ. There are different kinds of yoga. This yoga is called bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ pravāhoparamo dhiyaḥ. Now he is recommending that how this bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ can be practiced. The first important thing is guru-śuśrūṣayā. Śuśrūṣayā means you have to satisfy the spiritual master, guru. Now suppose you are very big man and you have to serve a spiritual master. Therefore, you cannot serve any third-class man or anyone. You must be satisfied that here is a person I can render my service. I can accept as subordinate and I can...
That is not possible. Just like some rascals, they say, "It doesn't matter what you are eating, what you are doing. There is no hindrance for your spiritual advancement." These rascals, these fools, misleading the whole world that in the matter of understanding the Supreme Person one can behave like the low-grade persons. No. That is not possible. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12).
So if you have to approach the supreme pure, you have to become pure. Otherwise there is no possibility. Without being fire, you cannot enter into the fire. Then you'll be burned. Similarly, although you are also Brahman... Part of Para-brahman is also Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is our identification. But what kind of Brahman? But minute particle of Brahman, small particle. Just like spark and the whole fire. Both of them are fire, but spark is spark, and the big fire is big fire. So the spark cannot become big fire. If he wants to become so, then he falls down. Then whatever little light was there, fire, it becomes extinguished. If the spark out of impudency wants to try to become the big fire, then he falls down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Āruhya kṛcchreṇa, by severe austerities and penances you can rise up to the impersonal Brahman, but you'll fall down again. That is the fact. So many persons, they are trying to become merged into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, but the result is they are falling down. They must fall down. It is not possible.
So everything is there. Don't think that God is zero. No. Śūnyavādi. Everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Athāto brahma jijñāsā. You are inquiring about Brahman. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). So there must be anger, not that God should be always peaceful. But the difference is His anger and His peaceful attitude produces the same result. Prahlāda Mahārāja, a devotee, He is very satisfied with Prahlāda Mahārāja and He is very much dissatisfied with his father, but result is the same: both of them got liberation. Although a devotee becomes associate whereas the demon who is killed by God, he does not become an associate... He is not qualified. But he enters into the spiritual kingdom. He gets liberation from this material bondage. So why a devotee should take the same position? Therefore, māṁ eti. Tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram. They viśate, enters, enters in the spiritual kingdom. Everyone who is liberated, he is entered.
Everyone who is liberated, he is entered.
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
- mad-bhaktiṁ labhate...
- (BG 18.54)
But those who are devotees, they are allowed to enter into the planet, Vaikuṇṭha planet or Goloka Vṛndāvana planet. In this way one gets his original position. But if we do not take to bhakti, then we may enter into the Brahman effulgence, but there is chance of falling down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yusmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). So those who are impersonalist, they may enter into the spiritual kingdom. That is called paraṁ padaṁ. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām (SB 10.14.58). But there is also chance of fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa. After severe austerities and penances one can enter into the Brahman effulgence. But unless one gets information of the paraṁ padaṁ-samāśritā ye pada pallava plavam—there is chance of falling down. In the material world there is bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). But in spiritual also, if you enter into the spiritual kingdom, from there also... Even sometimes it so happens. Of course, that is by God's desire. Just like Jaya-Vijaya. They were personal associates. But the explanation is Kṛṣṇa wanted that "They should go..., the Hiraṇyakaśipu..., these two, Jaya-Vijaya, they should go to the material world, and I must fight with them." Because that fighting, to become angry, that tendency is there. Where He will exhibit? In the Vaikuṇṭha there is no chance of exhibiting this anger and fighting. That is not possible. Therefore He induces His devotee to "Go to the material world and become My enemy, and I shall fight. I shall become angry," because in the Vaikuṇṭha, spiritual kingdom, there is no chance. Everyone is serving; everyone is friendly. Some relation... Where is the question of fighting? But fighting spirit is there; anger is there. Where He shall exhibit? And therefore Kṛṣṇa incarnates, He becomes angry, and a devotee becomes enemy, and this is Kṛṣṇa-līlā, nitya-līlā. It is going on.
If not this, you do this, you do that, you do that, hundreds of items. Take any one of them and you'll be benefited. This is arcana-mārga. There are many foolish person, they make propaganda, "There is no need of going to the temple." That is another rascaldom. Because if you come to the temple, you get so many facilities to make advance in spiritual life. This is our mission. We are opening, spending so much money for opening gorgeous temple. It is not new thing. This is very, very old, coming by paramparā system. There are many thousands of temples in India, very old, five thousand, three thousand years old. Why? The ācāryas wanted to give facility to the common man to enter into spiritual life. That is the idea.
It is not childish. Rather the so-called meditation is childish. You cannot, if you do not know what is God, how you can meditate upon Him? Meditation means, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino. The yogis perform meditation. Why? To concentrate their mind on the Viṣṇu form. You'll find some picture that everyone is depicted with the Viṣṇu form in the core of the heart. That is real yoga. Indriya-samyamaḥ. Real yoga means indriya-samyamaḥ. Our senses are so much disturbed, agitated always. So if you can control your sensory organs to your, employ them in the matter of understanding God, yoga indriya-samyamaḥ.
They, although they are always in the exalted position, they never advertise that "I am in exalted position." He is never puffed up. As you have read it, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, such a great devotee, who could produce in his ripe old age such nice transcendental literature, which is certified by my Guru Mahārāja as the postgraduate study of the devotees... So Bhagavad-gītā is the study for the neophytes, those who are inquiring, those who are trying to understand the science of God, for them. That means it is primary study. And after studying Bhagavad-gītā, just like the boys, after passing the school final examination, they are allowed to enter into the degree college, similarly, one who has understood Bhagavad-gītā very nicely and taken up the instruction, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), such person is eligible to enter into the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a preliminary qualification.
The beginning of devotional service is to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is also said that what is the beginning of devotional life. He has explained that śraddhā. Devotion means... The Sanskrit word is śraddhā, devotion, affection, affinity, attachment. So... Or faith. The faith word is generally understood. So what sort of faith? There are different kinds of faith. But Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, he says that strong faith, not ordinary faith. Strong faith. What sort of strong faith? He has explained, śraddhā śābde viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya: (Cc. Madhya 22.62) "That faith means unflinching faith without any deviation, with full understanding." What is that understanding? Kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya:
"It is all right," then you know that Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. You have to approach such a person whose certificate will ensure that Kṛṣṇa will be satisfied. You have to find out such person. Then your life is success. That will also... You will get according to your sincerity of purpose because Kṛṣṇa is within you.
So after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, if one becomes faithful that "I shall devote my life for service of Kṛṣṇa," then he is eligible to enter into the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That means Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins from the point where Bhagavad-gītā ends. Bhagavad-gītā ends at the point: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), one has to surrender fully unto Kṛṣṇa, giving up all other engagements. Always remember, all other engagement means not that you have to give up. You... Try to understand that Kṛṣṇa said that "You give up everything and surrender unto Me." So that does not mean that Arjuna gave up his fighting capacity. Rather, he took to fighting more vigorously. So "Give up all other engagement" means don't take the fruit of your engagement. Give up. Just sacrifice the fruit of the engagement. That is to be given to Kṛṣṇa. This is surrender. Just like a good boy surrenders to his father means whatever he earns, the money, at the end of month he puts in the hand of the father: "Oh, this is my month's earnings"; similarly, we have to sacrifice the fruits of our labor to Kṛṣṇa. This is the beginning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
And to develop that Kṛṣṇa consciousness, just like when you have passed preliminary examination in the school, then you have to further enlightenment, further progress of advancement of education, you enter into the college, degree college, similarly, after finishing or understanding Bhagavad-gītā very nicely, if you are convinced about Kṛṣṇa, then study Bhagavad-gītā (Bhāgavatam), where the beginning is: namo bhagavate vaṣudeva. Vyāsadeva begins by surrendering himself to Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). He is the origin of everything. Then Bhāgavata begins. And one who has understood Bhāgavata, or he has made his relationship well established with Kṛṣṇa and is functioning in that relationship, then he is passed on the subject matter of Bhāgavata, and then you begin Caitanya-caritāmṛta. That is postgraduate study. After getting your degree, as you try for your Ph.D. or M.A., similarly, Caitanya-caritāmṛta is like that, post-graduate study. And the author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, he places himself that "I am lower than the worm in the stool." Just see how humble. This is the nature of Vaiṣṇava. That is not artificial. He says. Every Vaiṣṇava thinks himself as very insignificant. Actually, every one of us is very insignificant in comparison to the Supreme Lord. What we are? Nothing. But if we establish our loving relationship, which is already there, then we will become the greatest. By relationship with the greatest, we become the greatest.
If you put yourself, keep yourself in the modes of goodness, then you get more and more your spiritual power. And if you keep yourself in the modes of ignorance and passion, then you cannot make progress. You'll have to remain here or go down. If you keep yourself in the modes of ignorance, then you go down even to the animal kingdom. If you keep yourself in the modes of passion, then at most, you can remain in Europe and America, that's all. But if you keep yourself in goodness, then you can go up. These are explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ, those who are in the modes of goodness, even they are not spiritually very much advanced so that they can enter into the spiritual kingdom, they'll go in the upper status of planetary system, just like Siddhaloka, Janarloka, Maharloka. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ (BG 14.18). And in the middle planetary system... The middle planetary system, this earth is in the middle planetary system, heaven also. Bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ. You are chanting Gāyatrī mantra: bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, these are within the middle. Then above this there was Mahar, Jana, Tapa, Satya, four. Three and four, seven up and seven down planetary system. So those who are in the modes of goodness, they are elevated to the higher planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tisthanti rājasāḥ jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti (BG 14.18)—they are elevated to the higher planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā. Jaghanya means very abominable character. You see? Eating nonsense, and keeping nonsense, habits nonsense. Just like little more than the animals, that's all. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. They are going down, down, down, down. These things are explained there.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How do we enter into the modes of goodness?
Prabhupāda: Just try to follow the four principles as we have prescribed: no intoxication, no gambling, no illicit sex, and no meat-eating. That's all. This is goodness. This is goodness. These prohibitions are there. Why? Just to keep you in goodness. In every religion... Now, in the Ten Commandments also, I see that "Thou shall not kill." The same thing is there, but people are not obeying. That is a different thing. No religious person... Nobody can be religious unless he is situated in the modes of goodness. A passionate person or a person in ignorance, they cannot be elevated to the religious platform. Religious platform means in goodness. Then you can understand. On the platform of goodness, you can understand the All-good. If you are in ignorance platform, if you are in the passionate platform, how you can understand the All-good? That is not possible. So one has to keep himself in goodness, and that goodness means one should follow the prohibitions. Either you follow the Ten Commandments or these four commandments, the same thing. That means you have to keep yourself in goodness. The balance must be in goodness. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as the supermost pure. How you can approach the supermost pure without becoming yourself pure? So this is the steppingstone to become pure, because we are contaminated. So to become pure... The Ekādaśī, why we observe? To become pure. Brahmacarya tapasya, austerity, penance, celibacy, keeping the mind always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, keeping the body always cleansed—these things will help us to keep us in goodness. Without goodness, it is not possible. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that even one is in the modes of passion and ignorance, at once he'll be elevated on the platform of goodness, provided he agrees to follow the rules and regulations and chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa and following the rules and regulation will keep you intact in goodness. Rest assured. Without failure. Is that very difficult? Huh? That's all right.
"Why śūdras?" That is modern convention. Actually that is very nice. What a śūdra can understand Vedas? To the śūdras, a different type of knowledge... Just like the same thing, that the two plus two in the lower class is different from the two plus two in the higher mathematics. So śūdra cannot understand. So one has to become brāhmaṇa, vipra at least, dvija, twice—birth by initiation. Then he is allowed to study. Then he will be able to understand the language of... It is not injustice that śūdras are not... Just like... I do not know what is the system in your country, but in India, one who is not a graduate, he is not allowed to study law. If one, anyone wants to study law, if he wants to enter into the law college, then he must be a graduate first of all, at least B.A. Otherwise he cannot. So if somebody says, "It is injustice," why? "Everyone should." Everyone cannot understand. Similarly, without being initiated by proper spiritual master, nobody can understand. The Vedas is not like that: you purchase a book, the Bhagavad-gītā or Bhāgavata, and study at home, and you learn. Oh, it is not possible just like simply by purchasing some medical books and study at home you cannot become a doctor, medical man. That is not possible. Neither you can become a lawyer. The books are available in the market, but that is not the process. You have to enter yourself in an institution, take lessons from the professors, must attend lecture classes, seventy-five percent at least. Then you are allowed to sit in the examination.
Young man: How did the gopīs surrender unto Kṛṣṇa? You said they surrendered everything. How did they do it?
Prabhupāda: Gopīs' surrender is the perfection of life. That is the highest perfectional stage of surrender. So that stage is very far, far away. First of all, learn to surrender; then you... Just like let us first of all enter into the school; then talk of M.A. examination. The gopīs' love is just like M.A. examination. So people are not even schooling. So first we have to surrender by the regulative principle, by the order of the spiritual master: "You do this, you do that, you do this, you do that." Then gradually, ādau śraddhā, if you have got faith, then ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). Sādhu-saṅga means to associate with the bona fide spiritual master and abide by his order. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga 'tha bhajana-kriyā. And as soon as you intimately associate with the spiritual master, he teaches you how to develop devotional service. Bhajana-kriyā. And if you are perfectly executing devotional service, then anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt, then all your misgivings and misunderstanding will be cleared. Then niṣṭha, then you get firm faith. Beginning is the faith, but when your misgivings are all, I mean to say, eradicated, then the firm..., faith becomes firm. Tato niṣṭha tataḥ rucis. Then after firm faith, you come to the stage of taste. It is very nice, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Tato niṣṭha tataḥ rucis tathāsakti, then attachment. Then you cannot leave. Then ecstasy. Then you come to the stage of gopī love. Don't try to come to the stage of gopī immediately. First of all, follow the rules and regulation. Gradually, when misgivings are all gone, you have got firm faith, attachment, ecstasy, then come to this stage.(?) But the ideal is to come to that stage. Just like a student's ideal is to pass the M.A. examination. But that requires time and endeavor, patience. Not immediately. Yes?
"We are disturbing because we are atheistic. We do not accept God. My father never accepted God and he wanted to teach me that there is no God. So I refused my father's teaching. So he tortured me so much." Still, he is taking his father's side. Now we have to study this fact, that a Vaiṣṇava is never proud of his assessment. He'll never think, "Because I am Kṛṣṇa conscious, so I have become so great." No. He thinks always very humble and meek. This is the example. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was so powerful devotee that Lord Caitanya used to come daily at his place. But he was thinking, "Oh, I am born in Muhammadan family, so I cannot enter into Jagannātha temple." Similarly Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was also not entering the temple of Jagannātha. That does not mean that they were lower than somebody else. No. But it is the, I mean to say, general tendency of a devotee that he always thinks that "I am lower than the lowest. Lower than the lowest." Purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha (CC Adi 5.205). Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the author of a literature, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, unique in the world, he said that "I am lower than the worm in the stool." Purīṣera kīṭa haite. Purīṣa means stool and kīṭa means worms. There are some worms in the stool. So he said that "I am lower than that worm in the stool." Just see.
Similarly Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "My dear Lord, these demigods, they are all devotees. They are Your obedient servant. Sattva-dhāmno. And they are not like us, disturbing." Kṣemāya bhūtaya utātma-sukhāya cāsya vikrīḍitaṁ bhagavato rucirāvatāraiḥ. "And Your appearance as Nṛsiṁha-deva is not for me, but for them. Because I am born in atheistic family. It is Your determination that You want to cut down the atheistic people.
No. He's not afraid of these. But he's afraid of this repetition of birth and death. That is called saṁsāra-cakra. Is it not botheration? Any sane man will understand how much botheration it is. Just like I am now old man. There are so many inconveniences. And in this way every old man will die, and if he's fortunate enough, if he has done something, he may be promoted to the higher planetary system, or if he has tried for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he may go back to home, back to Godhead. So why one should bother here in this material world, changing body, one after another? This is called saṁsāra-cakra-kada...
So the ordinary person, they cannot understand what is the difficulty. As soon as I die I enter into the womb of a mother according to my karma. The mother may be a lady dog or lady pig or lady such and such, because the body will be manufactured within the womb of the mother. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantor dehopapatti (SB 3.31.1). Upapatti means getting one type of body. So that type of body is given by the mother, and the seed is given by the father. Yathā bījaṁ yathā yoni. So we take a form. This is going on. So a devotee should be very very much afraid of this repetition of birth and death. Saṁsāra... This is Prahlāda Mahārāja... To follow the footprints of Prahlāda Mahārāja, one should be very, very afraid. And the whole process of Vedic civlization, especially devotional service, is how to avoid this saṁsāra-cakra-kadanā. Everyone should be very, very afraid of. Foolish persons...
So if you study yourself, that "I am spirit soul and this body is external expansion only," then you can understand that within this external expansion of cosmic manifestation there is the Supersoul. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). The Lord says that "By My one portion I enter into this cosmic manifestation and thus I maintain it." Similarly, as we are maintaining this body by entering into this body, similarly God is maintaining this cosmic manifestation by entering into it. Therefore we are qualitatively one. As I enter into this material body and expand it and maintain it, similarly the Supersoul enters into this cosmic manifestation and maintains it and develops it. (disturbance in the background) (aside:) That's all right. Don't disturb. So as you have got consciousness, a small consciousness or limited consciousness, similarly the Supersoul has got unlimited consciousness. You are conscious of your bodily existence, I am conscious of my bodily existence, but I am not conscious of your bodily existence, neither you are conscious of my bodily existence. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. And the Supersoul is conscious of your bodily existence and my bodily existence. Therefore God is present everywhere—in your heart, in my heart, in everyone's heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). It is specifically mentioned that Supersoul is everywhere within the heart of every living entity. The exact Sanskrit word used in this connection is called kṣetrajñāḥ. (to translator:) Yes, explain. Kṣetra, kṣetra means field, and jñāḥ, jñāḥ means knower. Kṣetrajñāḥ.
How it is possible? By the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu it is possible. Just like you can break the fangs of the... There are expert snake charmer. Because this poison is required for some medicinal purpose, so they take it out. Then it is useless. But they again grow. The body is so made of the snake, even if you take once the fangs, again it grows. That is stated here, that how it is possible? Kāmābhikāmam anu yaḥ prapatan prasaṅgāt. Once it may be broken, but if you have bad association, then again it will grow. Kāmābhikāmam. One kāma, one lusty desire, produces another lusty desire. In this way, one after another, this is going on. That is the cause of our repeated birth and death. Bhūtva bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). So therefore, if we want to enter into bhakti platform, then we should give up this. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11).
So "How it can be zero? I am a living being. How it can be zero? I am always thinking, planning. I have got so many desires," they say. One who does not know what is the position of a living being, they say that "Give up desires. Desireless." That is not possible. Desirelessness is not possible. Because I am a living being, I must desire. Therefore desires may be purified. That is wanted. You cannot make the desires zero. That is not possible. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). Now our desires are there according to my designated position. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim. Why shall I take Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" Because I am designated, I have taken this designation, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian." Therefore we cannot take Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "Oh, this is... Kṛṣṇa is Hindu God. Kṛṣṇa is Indian. Why shall I take Kṛṣṇa?" No. "You have to be desireless" means you have to purify your this false understanding that "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am Indian," "I am this." This has to be purified. One has to understand that "I am gopī-bhartur pada-kamalayor dāsa. I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa (CC Madhya 13.80)."
"I enter into this creation." Without spiritual creation, without spiritual entities, there cannot be development of material. That is our contention, that this material world has developed because Kṛṣṇa has entered it. Anupraviṣṭaḥ. It is said here clearly, tair avasitas tad anupraviṣṭaḥ: "Because You have entered, therefore things have developed." Aṇḍāntara-sthaṁ paramāṇu-cayāntara... Without spiritual touch, nothing can develop. We have got practical experience that without the spirit soul, the body cannot develop. If a dead child comes out, the body does not develop. Because the spirit soul is there... So this nonsense theory that "Within the womb of the mother, unless the body is developed to seven months, there is no life," what is this nonsense? The body has developed to that seven months' condition because there is a spirit soul. Otherwise how it becomes seven months' developed? You'll find this description in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore the knowledge received from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is perfect. Any knowledge which does not corroborate with the knowledge in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is useless knowledge. Therefore, in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstava-vastu vedyam atra (SB 1.1.2). Vāstava-vastu, real knowledge. This is real knowledge. In the Bhāgavata it is said, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantor deho upapatti: (SB 3.31.1) "
So the same principle is applicable to the whole cosmic creation, that even within the ant the same principle, within Brahmā the same principle, and within the gigantic universe, the same principle. Without the spirit soul, there is no question of creation. Creation, maintenance and destruction, three things are going on on account of presence of the Supreme Soul. Therefore the three principal deities—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara—are there, guṇa-avatāra. He is not within the guṇa; therefore He expands Himself as guṇāvatāra: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. But He's turya of the guṇas. Just like if we enter into the fire, we'll be burned, but sometimes the fire brigade men, they enter into the fire... They have got suit and contradictory dress that they can enter into the fire. Similarly, māyā... Māyā is very strong, but Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, when He comes within this material world—yuge yuge sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6)—He comes in His own original turya status. He does not become affected. Guṇāṁś ca yuṅkṣe. He's not affected. This is the position of Kṛṣṇa. He's always transcendental. Na me karma-phale spṛhā. Na māṁ limpanti karma... Karmāṇi. Yes. Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). This is position. We are here under the pressure of karma-phala. By the result of our past lives' fruitive activities we have got this body, material body. That is also not our real body. That is the body of the prison house, just like when a criminal is put into the prison house, he is given a different dress. In hospital, in prison house, when a man is there, his original dress is taken away. It is kept. When he's released from the hospital or jail, the same dress is again returned. Otherwise his present dress is taken and a separate dress is given.
So we have to undergo tapasya because our grandfather, he had to undergo tapasya. So anyone who is in this material world, Brahmā, beginning from Brahmā down to the ant, must undergo tapasya. But for the ant, cats and dogs, it is not possible. They are condemned. They will have to come to the human form of life by evolutionary process by the help of nature. But as soon as we come to the human form of life, the responsibility is there. What is that responsibility? Because you have got developed consciousness more than the cats and dogs, you have to decide, "How I have come to this material world? Why I am suffering? I do not wish to die. The death is there. I do not want disease. The disease is there. I don't want to take birth, enter into the womb of the mother. Still I am forced to do it. I don't want to become an old man. I become old man." So this is human intelligence. Unless you come to this intelligence, athāto brahma jijñāsā, "What I am? Am I this body or something else...?"
So we have to analyze, analyze that this body is made of the material elements: earth, water, fire, ether, like that. The... We are breathing. What is this breathing? We are very much proud of breathing. Eh? The breathing is simply ventilation, air. But you cannot set up this breathing to a dead man. That is not possible, although it is simply air, nothing but air. But as soon as it is gone out of it... You are great scientist. Bring this air, pump. No, there is no life. So in this way there is analysis. From water we are getting blood. From blood we are getting semina. From urine... So many things we are getting. So this body is manufactured by these things, by the material elements. So am I this body? If I am this body, then after the death why...? These material elements are there. Why you cannot replace it? I am not body. I'm living within the body. And that is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam, tathā dehāntara (BG 2.13). Asmin dehe: "In this body there is the living entity."
| Page Title: | Enter into (Lectures, SB cantos 3 - 12) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 03 of May, 2013 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=79, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 79 |