First of all he came with great enthusiasm to fight; now he is lamenting. And Kṛṣṇa is mentioned here as Hṛṣīkeśa. He is solid. He is Acyuta. He is solid. He is not changed. Another significance of this word Hṛṣīkeśa... Because in Nārada-Pañcarātra the bhakti means hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam. Therefore this very name is mentioned here, Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. Bhakti means to serve Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses. And the master of senses, some rascals are describing that Kṛṣṇa is immoral. He is master of senses and He is immoral. Just see how he has studied Bhagavad-gītā. If Kṛṣṇa is perfect brahmacārī... Kṛṣṇa is perfect brahmacārī, for... It was declared by Bhīṣmadeva. Bhīṣmadeva is the first-grade brahmacārī in the universe. He promised to Satyavatī's father... You know the story. Satyavatī's father... His, Bhīṣmadeva's father was attracted by a fisherwoman, fishergirl. So he wanted to marry. And the father of the girl denied, "No, I cannot give my daughter to you." So "Why? I am king, I am asking your daughter." "No, you have got a son." Bhīṣmadeva was the son of his first wife, mother Ganges. The mother Ganges was wife of Santanu Mahārāja, and Bhīṣmadeva was the only remaining son. The contract was between Santanu Mahārāja and Ganges, Mother Ganges, that "I can marry you if you allow me that all the children born I shall throw in the water of the Ganges. And if you do not allow me, then immediately I shall leave your company." So Santanu Mahārāja said, "All right, still, I shall marry you." So she was throwing all the children in the Ganges. So this Bhīṣmadeva...
Grade (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
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Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Madhudviṣa: Does Lord Śiva have a wife, like, a consort?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Pārvatī. Satī. Everyone has got wife. Yes. Śakti.
Devotee: Is Lord Śiva a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Everyone is devotee. Only the madmen, they are not devotees. Any sane man is devotee of... Sanity means become devotee. That is sanity. And one who is not devotee is insane, insanity. So how you can expect that Lord Śiva is not devotee? He's not insane. We are, the material, the ordinary living entities, in the lower grades of life, they are all insane. What is that? Yes?
Dayānanda: Lord Śiva's relationship with Durgā—does he have a relationship with Durgā?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Durgā is the material energy. So Lord Śiva is directly connected with the material energy. Therefore he's less than Lord Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is not directly related with the material energy. The example is given in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Just like milk, as soon as in touch with something sour, it becomes yogurt. The yogurt is nothing but milk, but in connection with some sour material, it is yogurt. So yogurt is milk, but it is not milk also. Your child requires milk. You cannot give yogurt. Nobody can argue, "Oh, yogurt is milk preparation, why not give?" No. It will be not beneficial for him. Similarly, if you want release from this material world, you have to take to Viṣṇu, no other demigod. If you want strength, then you have to drink milk, not yogurt. Yogurt, at times you can eat for some taste or some particular purpose. The milk is general drinking. Just take the statistics, how many bottles of milk are sold in the store and how many bottles of yogurt is sold. The yogurt and milk is the same thing. Why they'll demand milk and not the yogurt? Is that right? Yes. But nobody can put argument, "Oh, why do you take milk? Take the yogurt." No. Yes?
Yes. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna (BG 2.45). The exact verse is like that. The whole material world is working under three modes of material nature. The modes of goodness, modes of passion, and modes of ignorance. Those who are acting in the modes of goodness, they are being elevated to higher standard of life. Those who are acting in the modes of passion, they'll remain in the same position as they are now, and those acting in the modes of ignorance, darkness, without any knowledge, they are being degraded in lower grades of life. This is material world. But Kṛṣṇa is advising Arjuna that either goodness or passion or ignorance, after all, they are activities of this material world. You have to come above, transcend this position of goodness also. So goodness is not qualification for spiritual advancement, but it is helping. If a man is very good man, then it is helping to spiritual life. But that is not the cause. Here the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this chanting, is directly offering spiritual life. Even one is not in goodness, even one is in the darkest part of the quality of ignorance, still, he can be immediately elevated to the spiritual platform, which is recommended by Kṛṣṇa, that you have come to the platform above the modes of goodness. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directly offering the spiritual platform which is above the mode of goodness. The quality of goodness will (be) automatically there. Any person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his quality of goodness, namely, he does not indulge in illicit sex life, he does not smoke even or take tea or coffee even, he does not eat any forbidden foodstuff, neither he takes part in unnecessary gambling. So good character is immediately there. That is the test. How one is spiritually advanced will be tested how he has acquired all the good qualities. Not that a yogi talking with a cigarette in hand.
The senses are there and the man is there and everything is there. Nothing to be changed. In the bhakti-mārga is like that. In the Nārada Pañcarātra you'll find, tat-paratvena nirmalam. Tat-paratvena nirmalam. When one's sense becomes purified... Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). Now, at the present moment, I am covered by, I am embarrassed by so many designations. My senses are engaged in performing or satisfying my designational position. "I am American." "I am Indian." "I am Hindu." "I am Muslim." "I am the father of such and such." "I am the husband of such and..." So my position is now embarrassed with so many designations. So my senses are engaged in satisfying or fulfilling the obligation of this, mean, embarrassment. Now, when these senses are purified by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then like Arjuna we shall say, "Yes." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava: (BG 18.73) "Now I am prepared to satisfy Your senses. I am not going to satisfy any more my senses." That is the difference between spiritual promotion to the highest state and the lowest grade of life. And this you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā very nicely, how he's improving, how he's improving...
And as Kṛṣṇa is object of worship, similarly, His place, Vṛndāvana, Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Those who have visited India. Vṛndāvana-dhāma, still, if you go to Vṛndāvana without knowing about Kṛṣṇa, you will at once feel Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is such a nice place. So that Vṛndāvana-dhāma is also worshipable.
And ramya kaścid upāsanā vraja-vadhu-varga-vīrya kalpita. Now, Kṛṣṇa was worshiped by the damsels of Vrajadhāma. Lord Caitanya recommends, "That is the highest, topmost grade of worship because that was pure love." The damsels of Vraja loved Kṛṣṇa so much, without any return. That's a sublime thing. So He recommended, "That is the highest form of worship."
Ramya kaścid upāsanā vraja-vadhu-varga-vīrya kalpita, śrīmad-bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇam: "And Śrīmad-Bhāgavata is the spotless Vedic literature." Because Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of Kṛṣṇa consciousness only. That's all. Just like this Bhagavad-gītā is full of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is the preliminary study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The last word of the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā is that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You give up everything. You just surrender unto Me," Kṛṣṇa said. One who accepts this philosophy—"I accept Kṛṣṇa as vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ" (BG 7.19)—then for him Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the postgraduate study.
The people known as Hindus in the world, the Hindu is a term given by the Mohammedans, from "Indus." Indus River is there. Now it is in Pakistan. So people beyond the Indus River, the Mohammedans in Arabia and other countries, they pronounce "s" as "h". Instead of "Sindhu," they used to pronounce it as "Hindu." So people living, crossing the river Indus or Hindus, they were called "Hindus." Otherwise, this "Hindu" term is not seen in any Vedic literature.
The real meaning is the people who observe the varṇāśrama-dharma, four varṇas and four āśramas. Four varṇa means brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. And below the śūdras, they are called caṇḍālas, pañcama, fifth grade, less than the śūdras. That natural division is there everywhere.
Brāhmaṇa means the most intellectual, most intelligent person. Intelligent means one who knows, who has got sufficient knowledge. So brāhmaṇa means he has got sufficient knowledge even up to the understanding of the Absolute Truth. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. So that is first-class men, brāhmaṇa. So intellectuals or very intelligent class of men, these are everywhere, all over the world. You may call them brāhmaṇa or not, but a class of men, very intelligent, that is available in every part of the world. So brāhmaṇa means the intelligent class of men. And kṣatriya means they are less than the brāhmaṇas. And vaiśyas means less than the kṣatriyas. And śūdras less than all of them. It is a question of intelligence.
So cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). Kṛṣṇa says, "These four varṇas are created by Me." So anything created by God, that is not monopoly for any class of men or for any country. Just like the sun is created by God. The sun is the thing which is enjoyed by all parts of the world. But there are countries, Western countries, where sun is not visible, covered by the cloud. Any country, any part of the world which is covered by cloud and the sun is not visible, according to śāstra, such country is condemned. Because, although the sunshine is there, but certain condition, they cannot enjoy the sunshine.
The kṣatriyas, they are working in the modes of passion. They want to possess land, they want to be king, they want to be leader of the citizens, and they see to the protection of the citizens. This is called in the mode of passion.
And the third degree is the mercantile community. They are engaged in trades, commerce.
In this way the fourth grade of man is the laborer class. They have no capacity either to become brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya. They have to take shelter of somebody and must be satisfied with the wages he takes from that.
In this age the Vedic literature says kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In this age practically everyone is a śūdra, laborer class because everyone is dependent. The brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya, they are not dependent but laborer class, they are dependent. So because this human civilization at the present moment is so made that everyone is dependent. Nobody is self-sufficient. One has to work somewhere for his livelihood.
So in this age practically everyone is dependent or laborer class. Now here it is said that "the work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material nature." Now this division, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya vaiśya, or the intelligent class, the administrative class, mercantile class and the laborer class. You say in any way. These are material activities. But when you engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, either you are a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra, then you are transcendental immediately.
The Absolute Truth is one, either you say Brahman, or Para-brahman or Bhagavān, but still, there is grades of realization. Brahman realization is impersonal realization. Paramātmā realization is localized. And Bhagavān realization is the perfect, ultimate realization. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti.
The same example: Just like you are in the sunshine. That is also light. It is not darkness. Similarly, those who have realized impersonal Brahman, that is also light. Those who have realized localized Paramātmā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 18.61), the yogis... The yogis realize Paramātmā. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Yogis' business is in meditation to see Kṛṣṇa within the heart. And the jñānīs, they realize impersonal feature, brahma-jyotir. But the bhaktas, they directly come to the original source of Brahman and Paramātmā—Bhagavān. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara has expanded in everyone's heart.
So far we have got this body, we have to accept not for sense gratification, but for maintenance. So anāsaktasya, without being attached, we may accept the necessities of our bodily requirements, yathārham, as far as possible, as much as I want for maintaining the body and soul together. In this way, if we live, but everything dedicated to the Supreme Lord, that is the highest standard of renounced. And another, other side he explains that, that the things... Phalgu-vairāgyaṁ kathyate. Nirbandhaḥ. The idea is... I exactly forgot the verse, but it is stated like this, that a person who is trying to renounce this world without knowing that everything can be engaged in the service of the Lord, and he's renouncing, he is..., his renunciation is not first-grade. His renunciation is not first-grade. Why?
Now, what do you mean by renunciation? Suppose I am in the renounced order of life. What I have renounced? Oh, you are, you have got clothing. I have got also clothing. It may be less costly. Or you are living in some room. Oh, I am also living in some room. So what is the difference between you and me? Renunciation. Suppose a mendicant becomes..., he has renounced everything. In India you'll find, simply a loincloth he's wearing, even naked body. Sometimes, they are naked. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the monkey, monkey is completely naked, and he eats fruit. Markaṭa-vairāgya. Markaṭa-vairāgya..., mendicantism just like the monkey. He is... He is living in a jungle. Suppose a sage or saintly person goes to the jungle. So monkey is there in the jungle. Oh, he has renounced. He has no clothing. He's naked. And he eats also only fruits. Just like the sages also eat only fruit. So these are not qualification, simply eating fruit or renouncing. The real qualification is that how much one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the service of the Lord.
"My dear Arjuna, now I shall speak to you the topmost part of knowledge." Idaṁ tu te guhyatamam. Guhyatamam means "most confidential." There are different kinds, grades of knowledge. But here the Lord says, "Just now I am going to explain what is the most confidential part of knowledge." Idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave. Anasūyave. This very word is used. Anasūyave means "who does not envy." Does not envy. Just like the Lord says, "I am the proprietor of all planets." Somebody may say, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is claiming the proprietorship of everything. How is that?" Because in the material world we are always envious. If somebody is greater than me, I am envious: "Oh, he's..., in that way, he has so much progressed." We are envious. This is the disease of material world, envious. So we are envious of God also. When God says that "I am the proprietor," we disbelieve it.
So here this very word is used, anasūyave. Arjuna is hearing from Lord Kṛṣṇa without any enviousness. He's accepting what does He say. This is the way of understanding. We cannot understand by our mental speculation what is God. We have to hear, and we have to accept. Otherwise there is no way to understand what is God. So God says that "Because you are not envious, therefore, I speak to you about the most confidential part of knowledge." Jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitam.
Prabhupāda: "Never mind." Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). "Simply little flower, little fruit, if you offer Me with devotion, I accept." So there is no difficulty.
Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). These four things. Very, very easy to do it. It is universal. There is no restriction. It is not that "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not an Indian, I am not a Sanskrit scholar, I cannot go to the temple." No, that is not. Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). Never mind whether he is Indian, brāhmaṇa or this or that. Even if he's born in the lowest, lowest grade of family, pāpa-yoni. They are kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ (SB 2.4.18), there are so many. They're pāpa-yoni, almost animal. Śudhyanti, they also become purified and comes to Kṛṣṇa. It is so wide, universal, easy and especially you are Indian, why you should not take advantage of this facility. You take it and be happy. That is my request. Thank you very much.
Guest: Swamiji, is there some way (indistinct) duty of the student to the knowledge (indistinct) guru shortcoming?
Prabhupāda: First of all, you have to know who is guru. If you accept one rascal as guru, how you can be helped? First thing is who is guru. That I have already explained. Guru is he who repeats the words of Kṛṣṇa. He is guru. Otherwise he's a rascal. This is the test.
This division of varṇāśrama, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, they're all meant for satisfying the Supreme. Varṇāśrama. Varṇāśramācāravatā. Those who are strictly following the rules and regulations of the varṇa and āśrama, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. These are varṇa and āśrama.
So this Vedic civilization is meant for, I mean to say, training the whole people in such a way, that they'll be engaged in the performance of yajña. That is called yajña, yajñārthe karma. So that either he acts as a śūdra or either he acts as a brāhmaṇa, it doesn't matter. The real aim is to satisfy the Supreme. This is very easy. Now, there are so many grades of officer in a big establishment. Either the manager or the orderly or the servant. Because the whole thing is to satisfy the supreme authority of the office, everything is all right.
Similarly, according to the capacity, one is ordinary servant, one is manager, one is clerk, one is this and that. That, That's all right. Similarly, according to our particular quality, one may be a brāhmaṇa, one may be a kṣatriya, nor be a śūdra, or vaiśya. It doesn't matter. But the whole society, if they are engaged in satisfying Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not that we are asking everyone to become a sannyāsī like me, and give up everything. No. That is not our program. You act as a brāhmaṇa, as a kṣatriya or a vaiśya or a śūdra. It doesn't matter. But you try to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is the program.
Yesterday we were discussing tat kṣetram, kṣetram, this body, how we enter into different types of bodies, how it is obtained. There are eight million four hundred thousand forms of bodies according to the qualities. Three qualities. Three multiplied by three, it becomes nine, nine multiplied by nine, it becomes eighty-one. So at least, in the lower grades of forms, there are eighty-one lakhs or eight million one hundred thousand and above that, about four hundred thousand forms of human beings. So one has to understand.
Unfortunately, people are so foolish at the present moment that they do not believe even in the next life. Mūḍha. What to speak of understanding God and Kṛṣṇa, they have no even the basic principle of spiritual knowledge.
Basic principle of spiritual knowledge is to understand that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul. I am now fallen in this material condition, and therefore, according to my different desires, I am accepting different types of bodies and wandering throughout the whole universe, sometimes this body, sometimes that body, sometimes in this planet, sometimes in other planet. This has become my unfortunate condition of life."
That is not possibility. But they have become so foolish. They are thinking that this duration of life, say fifty or sixty years, that's all. After this...
Big, big leaders, they say like that, that "After death, there is no life. Everything is finished." Big, big professors, big, big learned scholars, they are of this opinion, that after death there is no life. Everything is finished. And wherefrom all these different forms of life come, they cannot answer. There are eight million four hundred thousand forms of life. Wherefrom they come? What is the purpose of so many forms of life. What is the purpose of life? What is the distinction between the form of human life and these lower grades of life. Higher grades of life—no knowledge, no knowledge. Everyone is ignorant, foolish. Therefore they have been addressed as mūḍha, mūḍha, all rascals.
If we say that "This is a civilization of rascals," it is not very strong word. Actually, they are rascals. They do not know the value of life. And the real problem of life. Simply like animals, they are eating, sleeping, having sex life and dying. That's all. This is their life. So one has to learn.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, ya evaṁ vetti puruṣaṁ prakṛtim (BG 13.24). You must learn what is this living entity. That also we do not know. Prakṛti. This body is prakṛti. And the living force which is within the body, that is puruṣa. And there are two kinds of puruṣas—the living entity and the Supersoul, Paramātmā. Ātmā and Paramātmā. The ātmā is creating his own field of activities. Paramātmā is observing only, "What you are doing?" These things we have already discussed. Upadraṣṭā anumantā. The paramātma-puruṣa is upadraṣṭā, overseeing your activities. You want to do something, but without His permission, you cannot do. Upadraṣṭā anumantā ca bhartā. He is the maintainer.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
This high literature was meant for the less intelligent class of men, and at the present moment the highest intelligent class of men cannot understand it. So how much you have degraded, just try to understand. Which was written five thousand years ago for the less intelligent class of men, that literature is not understandable even by the highest and elevated, educated persons at the present moment. Try to understand this point. How much you have degraded! Formerly this Vedic literature was not in written pages. As soon as one will hear from... Just like Sūta Gosvāmī. There is no question of taking notes. As soon as they will hear, they'll immediately get it in the memory, and they will never forget. So memory was so sharp. At the present moment, our memory is so low-graded we cannot remember even what I have done two hours past.
So this is Kali-yuga. We are in so many degraded positions; still, falsely we are proud that we are advancing. No that. It is false prestige. Actually, we are very, very much degraded. So the only means of our being elevated to the highest position is this means: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
"I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a gṛhastha, I am not a vānaprastha," everything, all the eight varṇāśramas, He denied. "I don't belong to any group." Then what You are? "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant—one hundred times down the servant." Of who? "The maintainer of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa." A pure devotee does not belong to any group, and he wants to become the lowest servant, not the first-grade servant. That is pure devotion.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja, a pure devotee, he did not like to make any exchange. Then again he was offered a chance, "You can at least, whatever you have desire within your mind, you can ask from Me." So again Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "My dear Lord, in this material world, who could be more powerful than my father? I have seen it. Even big demigods, they were trembling in the presence of my father, he had so much power. Practically he was the topmost of all material power. But I have seen also that within a second You have finished everything. So what is the value of this material power? Why should I ask from You? Kindly engage me as servant of Your servant. If You want to give me something, please engage me as the servant of Your servant." And still, because he was Vaiṣṇava, he prayed to Lord Nṛsiṁha, "For my personal, I am quite satisfied. If I can chant Your holy name, then there is nothing more I want. But there is one thing I want." What is that? "My father was a great atheist, and demon, and he has committed so many offenses unto You. But I request that You forgive him." This is Vaiṣṇava son. And Lord Nṛsiṁha said, "My dear Prahlāda, before you are requesting like that, your father, his father, up to fourteen fathers, all are delivered because you are his son." Such a devotee, taken birth in a family, this is a special concession. Whatever the others may be, they are all delivered.
So different animals in different species of life, they have got one type of consciousness very strong. Just like you can see the vultures. It is a low-graded animal. But it goes four miles above the earth and it can see where is a dead body. You cannot do that. You cannot see even twenty yards after. But the animal, another animal, the vulture, he can see... From four miles away he can find out where there is a dead body. So this consciousness of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, that is common. In one animal or, it is very strong. In another man, animal, it is not so strong. But this consciousness is there. But this God consciousness is not there except in human being.
So the human society is becoming so degraded that they are trying to forget God. That is their advancement of civilization. The more you deny existence of God and become a so-called rascal scientist, then you are advanced. This is the position. So this position will degrade so much after, say, 400,000's of years, gradually degrading, that at time, Kṛṣṇa will come in His incarnation as Kalki. At that time the Kalki's business will be simply to kill. That's all. No more. No more preaching of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply kill them. That is Kalki avatāra. That Kalki avatāra is given the father's name. This is called śāstra. This is called scripture. Four hundred thousand's after, 400,000's of years after, Kalki will come. Now, His father's name is given there. Just like Lord Buddha's mother's name is there.
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is placing himself to the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that "My dear Lord, Your incarnation is to reclaim all these fallen souls. But I am the lowest of the fallen souls. So my claim is first. Kindly deliver me." Mo sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra. "You are, Your determination is to deliver the fallen. So I am the first-class fallen. Please accept me."
So Kali-yuga, people are suffering. They're all fallens, all meat-eaters, all drunkards, all fifth-grade, sixth-grade men. They are puffed-up, but actually they are fifth-, sixth-and tenth-grade men, not even gentlemen. Therefore my Guru Mahārāja used to say that "No gentleman can live here. The society is so polluted." And... But the, there is opportunity of serving Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because the society is so fallen, therefore there is good opportunity to serve Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's incarnation is to reclaim these fallen souls. So you have got the opportunity to serve Śrī Caitan..., to please Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu because He wanted the fallen souls to be delivered. Kṛṣṇa also wanted. Yadā yadā hi glānir bhavati bhārata, dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. Kṛṣṇa comes... This is... God's business is going on like that. He's very anxious to reclaim all these rascals, rotting in this material world. Kṛṣṇa is always anxious. He comes Himself. He comes as devotee. He comes..., sends His bona fide servant, bona fide son.
Ajānataḥ means one who does not know. That is the karmīs. Karmīs, they think that "If I can satisfy the senses of this body, that is perfection of life." So there are three kinds of philosophers to make the solution of this unwanted material body, anartha. But actual solution is to remain in your spiritual body and meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and live with Him in eternal, blissful life of knowledge. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.
The Māyāvādī philosophy or the jñānīs and yogis and karmīs... Try to understand. The karmīs want to enjoy the senses of this body. Because the body is anartha, therefore sense gratification is another anartha. Because in this body you are enjoying certain type or certain grade of material enjoyment, sense gratification, and if you want more than that... Just like there are prescription, menu, of human food: vegetable, rice, wheat, sugar. This is actually the food for the human being. But if one hasn't got restriction within the area of the allotted foodstuff... Because we have to accept allotted foodstuff. Everything is food, but the human being has got an allotted foodstuff by the Supreme Lord. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is supplying everyone foodstuff. But not that the dogs' and hogs' foodstuff is the same for the human kind, no. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). You should enjoy as it is allotted by the Supreme Lord. So if we transgress this law... Our constitutional position, anatomical fittings, is to eat fruit, vegetable, rice, wheat, milk or milk product. This is our constitutional position. But if we imitate the cats and dog, without any discrimination, if we eat, then my next body is ready, the hog's body or the dog's body. This is natural law.
And that goodness also has to be purified. In the material world the goodness is also attacked by the other, lower qualities. Big, big men, very good men, but there are so many defects. Because unless... First of all you have to come to the platform of goodness, brahminical position. Then you have to purify that goodness, sattvaṁ viśuddham, viśuddha-sattva, vasudeva-sattva, vasudeva platform. Then you will be able to understand what is God. It is not so cheap thing that one can understand God so easily while he is in the modes of material nature, especially the lower grade modes.
So at the present moment, most people, they are in the lower grades of the material qualities, ignorance and passion. Therefore you see all over the world, rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobha (SB 1.2.19). Every man is greedy and lusty. Every man. So in this position, it is very difficult. Alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (SB 1.8.18). So unless you change this quality... This quality can be changed. It is not that it is stereotyped. How these European, American boys and girls, they are coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? How? They have changed their quality. By the process, we have got this process. In this process we can change the quality. That process is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā:
Similarly, it is the duty of the state or of the monarch to see that one who is claiming as a brāhmaṇa, whether he is qualified, whether he is acting as a brāhmaṇa. Similarly, a man claiming kṣatriya, whether he is qualified as a kṣatriya and he is acting as a kṣatriya. Similarly, the vaiśya. And śūdra is general. Śūdra means one who has no education, no culture. That is called śūdra. So that is the remnants. First of all, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśyas, and others, those who have no sufficient brain, they are counted as śūdra. Still, śūdras have also prescribed duties. If there are others, those who are less than śūdras, or even the śūdra qualities are wanting, they are doing anything and everything without any control, they are called mleccha-yavana. Mleccha-yavana. This is the pañcama, fifth-grade. First grade, brāhmaṇa; second grade, kṣatriya; third grade, vaiśyas; fourth grade, śūdras; and all others, rejected, fifth grade, they are called caṇḍālas, caṇḍāla.
But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that even caṇḍālas can be also raised to the platform of brāhmaṇa. Caṇḍālo 'pi dvija-śreṣṭho hari-bhakti-parāyaṇaḥ. Even if a caṇḍāla is trained up as a devotee, he can be better than a qualified brāhmaṇa. These are the shastric injunctions. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). The yavanas' names are there also. Yavana-mleccha means generally they are meat-eaters, especially cow meat, cow flesh eaters. They are called yavana-mlecchas. So the higher caste, they cannot become meat-eaters. Meat-eating is there. That is for the lower class, not for the higher class. If anyone gives up meat-eating or the bad habits of lower class, illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication, gambling, and if he's trained how to become a qualified brāhmaṇa, then he can be accepted. That is sanctioned in the Bhagavad-gītā.
You see. The sex life is very strong in this material, in this age. But sex life should be regulated. Not that anywhere and everywhere, or any time. Therefore the population is unwanted population. One irregular sex life produced the Hiraṇyakaśipu. Hiraṇyakaśipu's mother became very sexually agitated, and she wanted to sex, with her husband (have) intercourse. And just in the evening. Kaśyapa Muni, he said, "No, no, this is not the time, proper time." But she was insistent. So the result was two demons were born.
So everything should be regulated. But in this age there is no regulation, there is no knowledge. Less than animals also. They have sex life at a certain period of the year, not always. But human being has become so low-graded that... And that is due to Kali-yuga. Therefore it is very lamentable. Everything is topsy-turvied. It's no regular. It is the Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy that we are reforming the whole society very simple way-chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. You see. It is so nice. You see? The examples are here. It is no story. Simply by chanting.
His personal expansion and separated expansion. We are all separated expansion, vibhinnāṁśa, a small particle. Just like the sun, we are. The sunshine means combination of, what is called, sparking, sparking molecules, very small. The sunshine means they are not homogenous; they are small particles of shining, part and parcel of the sun. Similarly, we living entities, we are like that—a small particle, part and parcel of God. So we are also brightening, shining. We are not dull. But on account of our combination with the material nature, we have been covered. Therefore our shining quality is now stopped. Shining quality is now stopped. That is our forgetfulness about our relationship with the Supreme puruṣa, puruṣottama, uttama puruṣa. Uttama, madhyama, and adhyama. There are three grades of puruṣa. We are the lowest grade, adhyama. So, because we are adhyama puruṣa, therefore there is chance of our brightness being sometimes covered. But we can again revive our brightness and shine with the Supreme Person. As the sun and the sunshine, they are together shining, there is light, similarly, when we are again posted in our own constitutional position, and Kṛṣṇa is like the sun and we are shining particles, then our life is successful. That is wanted.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes, the puruṣottama, to take us back. "Why you are now covered, your shining is stopped? You are morose. You are suffering threefold miserable condition of material existence. Why you are rotting here?" Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Kṛṣṇa comes Himself. He is within everyone's heart. He's instructing. He is ready to instruct, but He'll only instruct to such persons who have engaged themselves in devotional service. Kṛṣṇa is there, just like the master is there and many workers are there also. The master speaks to the important persons, not to the ordinary person. Similarly, the master is there in everyone's heart.
Prabhupāda: So one has to become ascetic and therefore penance. Then these things will be learned. Not with imperfect senses, imperfect conclusion we can understand. No. Then?
Pradyumna: "Purport: Lord Brahmā then heard the occult sound tapa, but he did not see the person who vibrated the sound. And still he accepted the instruction as beneficial for him, and therefore he engaged himself in meditation for one thousand celestial years. One celestial year is equal to 6 x 30 x 12 x 1000 of our years. His acceptance of the sound was due to his pure vision of the absolute nature of the Lord. And due to his correct vision he made no distinction between the Lord and the Lord's instruction. There is no difference between the Lord and the sound vibration coming from Him, even though He is not personally present. The best way of understanding is to accept such a divine instruction, and Brahmā, the prime spiritual master of everyone, is the living example of this process of receiving transcendental knowledge. The potency of transcendental sound is never minimized because the vibrator is apparently absent. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the Bhagavad-gītā or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency.
One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source and accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without any hesitation, and the secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance, if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from a bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. The disciple, however, must be ready to execute the order of the bona fide spiritual master, as Lord Brahmā executed the instruction of his spiritual master, the Lord Himself. Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the only duty of the disciple, and this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the secret of success.
Lord Brahmā controlled his two grades of senses by means of sense perception and sense organs, because he had to engage such senses in the execution of the order of the Lord.
It is very great shackle, repetition of birth and death, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). One should understand this implication, how we are implicated. We are thinking, "Now I am very happy." No, next moment you can become a low-graded body because karmaṇā daiva... If we are acting in a different way, the nature's way is to give you... Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Guṇa-saṅga. As we are associating, infecting the different types of material modes of nature, the body is ready immediately. Everything is explained. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). At the time of death everything will be, I mean to say, the atmosphere of our death. So, sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ. If you have acted like devas or bhaktas, then tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti: (BG 4.9) you can immediately transfer to the spiritual world, go to Kṛṣṇa, go to Vaikuṇṭha. Yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). If you are thinking of some demigods whom you are worshiping, you can go there. Bhūtejyā yānti bhūtāni pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ, mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām. If you think of Kṛṣṇa, then you go immediately. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). Everything is there.
So we have to approach such person. As it is described here, mahat-sevām. I have to give my service to the great soul. And these are the symptoms of great soul. So as we are finding out so many things for our satisfaction, so our real business is how to get out of this material disease, and to get out of this material disease, the prescription is given here, mahat-sevām: "Just try to serve a great soul." And who is a great soul? That is described here. Mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye.
Then the next verse it is said... This is, this sādhu, this mahātmā, generally those who are in the renounced order of life. There are four grades of life: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. The description already given, it is meant for mendicant who have nothing to do with material affairs or household life, renounced order, sannyāsī. It, that is applicable to them. But another mahātmā also is recommended here:
At the end of the Fifth Chapter, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has given description of the hellish planets. You have seen in the sky. There are millions and millions of stars or planets, and they are divided into three groups. Everything is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So as it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). (break) ...sattva-sthāḥ, meaning that those who are in the sattva-guṇa, modes of goodness, they are promoted to the higher planetary system. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasaḥ: "Those who are under the influence of passion, they remain in the middle planetary system." And those who are in the lowest grade of tamo-guṇa, adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, after hearing the pitiable condition of persons in the hellish planets, he became sympathetic. Therefore he is putting the statement before Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Adhuneha mahā-bhāga yathaiva narakān naraḥ: "My dear sir, you have described about the hellish condition of the suffering persons. Now kindly give me any enlightenment how they can be delivered."
This is the symptom of a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava cannot tolerate the sufferings of the humanity. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja. He said before Nṛsiṁha-deva, naitad udvije paro duratyaya-vaitaraṇyāḥ: "My dear Lord, I have no problem how to get delivered from this material world," because a devotee is already on the transcendental platform.
So first of all Parīkṣit Mahārāja was tested by Śukadeva Gosvāmī whether he is satisfied by the karma-kāṇḍa, or fruitive activities. Fruitive activities means that "I have done something wrong. So I go to the church and make some atonement and finished; then again I do." This is karma-kāṇḍa. Just like somebody has done something criminal. He says, "All right, never mind. I shall go to the court and pay some fine. That's all." So this is karma-kāṇḍīya-vicāra. And nowadays, even karma-kāṇḍīya vicāra, they are also not accepted. People have become so foolish. This karma-kāṇḍīya vicāra, means action and reaction of the fruitive activities, they also do not believe that. This is the lowest grade. So here it is answered that "If you want to be saved from the sinful reaction of your life and put into the hellish condition, then you have to do like this." Tasmāt purā eva āśu iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau. Tasmāt: "Therefore, in order to become freed from the reaction of your sinful activities," pāpa-niṣkṛtau, puraiva, purā eva āśu, "before your death, as soon as possible, you should atone. You should counteract. Otherwise you will suffer very much." Just like a disease. A little disease, if you treat immediately, it may not increase to be a very problem, big problem disease. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has instructed that three things we should be very careful: disease, fire, and debts. If there is disease, if you think, "Oh, this is little ailment. There is no need of going to the doctor," no, you must immediately take steps. It may increase to be a very big problem. Disease increases. Similarly fire. If there is fire, you have extinguished everything and little fire there is, if you think that "Oh, little fire, it will automatically...," no, that also you must extinguish.
I have explained several times. There are three modes of material nature, and when you mix up, then it becomes three into three equal to nine, and again mix up, nine into nine, eighty-one, and again mix up Every minute particles, there is account. You cannot avoid. Material nature's punishment you cannot avoid. Even little, whatever you have done, it will be punished. Automatically the rules and regulations are there. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-sangaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. Why there are so different varieties of life if there is no some judgment behind it? There must be. Otherwise everyone should have been of the same bodily feature, same standard of life, same opulence. No. So many grades, because the modes of material nature are different, different mixture.
So here it is said that doṣasya dṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁ yathā (SB 6.1.8). Doṣa. Still people in India, they go to a bhaṭṭācārya, that "Sir, I have done this sinful activity. What is my atonement?" Amongst the Christian also, they go to the church. So guru-lāghavaṁ dṛṣṭvā. Guru means heavy. We use this word guru. Guru means heavy. So according to the criminal activities Just like a man has stolen some fruit from a fruit shop, his criminality is not equal to the man who has committed murder—one he has killed one man. This is guru-lāghavam. So there is punishment according to the heaviness and lightness of criminal activities. The example is given here: bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit.
If you do not elevate them... He is already born śūdra, janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ. Now you have to reform him. Saṁskārāt. Saṁskāra means reforming. You are born śūdra. You are inclined to do something, so many things—intoxication, illicit sex and drinking and gambling and meat-eating. These are all śūdra qualities or less than that. Śūdras also, they abide by the Vedic orders. Śūdras also do not do whimsically whatever he likes. Śūdras, they are taken among the, in the Vedic society... Because śūdras also, they are last class, fourth class, they are eager to follow the orders or the orderly things as given by the brāhmaṇas. Therefore śūdras, up to śūdras, accepted as bona fide classification. And below the śūdras, they are called caṇḍālas, caṇḍālas, fifth grade. They are also mentioned, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśāḥ. Everything is analyzed.
So human civilization should be to raise the fourth-class man to the first-class man. That is human civilization. But there is no idea who is first-class man. Everyone is a drunkard, everyone is illicit sex hunter, and everyone is gambler, and everyone is meat-eater. Where is first-class man? There is no first-class man. All fourth-class man. And they are being taught simply how to manufacture big, big skyscraper, and every year, new model of car. Is that civilization? That is not civilization. You may be advanced in technology. So technology means technician.
This is called ātmavat. What you feel yourself... If somebody cuts your throat, do you feel very happy? No. Then why should you cut throat of others, other animals or human beings? So these three things, Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has said that this is, if one has learned these three things, he is learned. Not that he has got a university degrees, no. Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu para-dravyeṣu loṣṭravat, ātmavat sarva-bhūteṣu.
So this is gentleman; this is educated, culture. So this man, Ajāmila, as soon as he became fallen down from the sadācāra, gentleman's behavior, the next stage is this, bandy-akṣaiḥ kaitavaiś cauryaiḥ. One must earn his livelihood. But he has fallen down to the sixth grade. First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or lower than that, everyone must have his means of livelihood. So what is the means of livelihood of the first-class man? That is said, paṭhana-pāṭhana yajana-yājana dāna-pratigraha. First-class man means brahminical class. Their occupational duty is first of all he must become a very learned scholar in the Vedic literature. Veda-pāṭhād bhaved vipraḥ. He must become a learned scholar. And after becoming a scholar, it is not that that he will enjoy himself the knowledge. No. He will distribute the knowledge. This is one, that first-class man, or the brāhmaṇa, first of all he must become a learned scholar... If he is not scholar, what he will, nonsense he will teach? So the first position is that he must become a learned scholar. And the next business is to teach others, to make disciple. Formerly even fifty year or sixty years ago in India a brāhmaṇa would not accept anyone's service. Because whatever he has knowledge, he would sit down anywhere, underneath a tree or in the corridor of somebody, and he will invite the village small children, and they will go, and he will teach little grammar, little mathematics, gradually. And the children will bring from their father and mother. Somebody will bring rice. Somebody will bring ḍāl. Somebody will bring something. So he had no necessity of making any contract, that "You give me so many dollars. Then I shall teach you." No. Free. Free education. In this way India was free education. So paṭhana-pāṭhana yajana-yājana.
Everyone is engaged in executing a particular type of faith or religious system, ritualistic. That's all right. Dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ. You are Hindu; you are doing your Hindu ritualistic ceremony or religious rules and regulations. Or a Christian is doing nicely, or a Muhammadan is doing... That's all right, but we are interested—those who are followers of real Vedānta—to see the result. Phalena paricīyate. Phalena means "by the result." So what is the result? The result is by executing one's particular type of religious system, he must develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness. That is the test. If you are unaware of what is God, what do you mean by God, and you are very, very religious, that is useless. One must know God. So therefore, those who are in the lowest grade of human life, they cannot understand. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Narādhama ... Nara means human being, and adhamāḥ means the lowest. So one who is in the lowest grade of human society, they are called the śvapaca. Śvapaca. Śvapaca means those who are the dog-eaters. So in this way there is description. There are others also.
This guṇa-saṅga... Why one is in the lowest grade, and why... There are three grades generally, and if you mix it, it becomes eighty-one. Three into three equal to nine; nine into nine, eighty-one. Therefore we have got so many species of life, 8,400,000. So how it is possible? Now, guṇa-saṅgo 'sti. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is... Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Why there are different varieties of life, so many, 8,400,000? Now, what is the reason? Kāraṇam... Kāraṇam means reason, the cause. Guṇa-saṅga. Guṇa-saṅga. Now, here is temple, and a few yards after this temple there may be a brothel, there may be liquor house. So somebody is coming here, and somebody is going there. So what is the reason? Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṇgo 'sti. One is attached to sattva-guṇa; one is attached to rajo-guṇa; one is attached... But everyone is working, and that working must be under the influence of one of these three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa.
So we are trying to save people from this modern civilization. This is... Modern means in this age it is, excessively has increased, but this process was existent. This is the way of material life. So in the Satya-yuga it was less, in the Tretā-yuga it was more, and the Dvāpara-yuga, it is still more, and Kali-yuga, it is full. This is the difference of ages. Therefore kalau, in this age, nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). Kalau saṅkīrtanaiḥ prāyaiḥ yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ. There is no hope for liberation from this material bondage except chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Other things, it is not possible. If you want to revive the old Vedic civilization, brahmacārī and gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya... These are all spoiled. Everything is spoiled. Then what is the position? Kalau śūdra samabhavaḥ. In this age simply they are śūdras. "So how the śūdras will be delivered? By your Kṛṣṇa conscious..." Yes. They'll be. Not only śūdras, those who are less than śūdras. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ ye 'nye ca pāpā (SB 2.4.18). Not only śūdras, the less than the pañcamas, the fifth-grade, sixth-grade, seventh-grade, tenth-grade, all rascals and all sinful men, they will be all delivered simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Pāpī tāpī yata chilo hari-nāme uddhārilo. Take this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa and your life will be saved.
Thank you very much.
In this age, Pañcarātriki-vidhi, not Vaidic. Vaidic is very very strict. Unless one is born by a brāhmaṇa father, he is not given the advantage of becoming a brāhmaṇa. That is Vaidic vidhi. But Pañcarātriki-vidhi means although he is not born of a brāhmaṇa family, if he has got a little tendency to become a brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. One who is inquisitive to understand Brahman—brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11)—he should be given chance. Just like there is a little fire. Fan it. Fanning, fanning, fanning, and it becomes a big fire. So our process is that. Anyone, we pick up anyone, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā, what to speak of the śūdra. Striyaḥ śūdrās tathā vaiśyaḥ. In the ordinary way the stri, woman, śūdra, the fourth-grade man, and vaiśya, they are taken together, not very intelligent. But Pāñcarātriki-vidhi offers facility even persons who are lower than these striya, śūdra, vaiśya. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpā (SB 2.4.18). And less than that, ye 'nye ca pāpa yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ... A devotee, a pure devotee of the Lord, and if these persons take shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord, then śudhyanti—they become purified by following the injunction of the spiritual master. He knows how to deal with them, how to elevate them to the brahminical position. So that is not artificial. Śāstra says, Bhāgavata says, "Yes. By such expert management these kirāta-hūṇāndhra, lower than the śūdras, śudhyanti..." Śudhyanti.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Pradyumna: "Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī quotes another verse from the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Thirty-third Chapter, 6th verse, in which Devahūti addresses her son, Kapiladeva, and says, 'My dear Lord, there are nine different kinds of devotional service, beginning from hearing and chanting. Anyone who hears about Your pastimes, who chants about Your glories, who offers You obeisances, who thinks of You, and in this way executes any of the nine kinds of devotional service—even if he is born in a family of dog-eaters (the lowest grade of mankind)—becomes immediately qualified to perform sacrifices.' "
Prabhupāda: Yes. Śvādo 'pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate. This is the verse. Actually we have seen it. Last time, when I was coming via Philippines, so we have got a center there, and it is very nicely organized within six months by one of our devotees, Siddha-svarūpa, Siddha-svarūpānanda Mahārāja, and his colleague. So it is very nicely organized. And they are actually dog-eaters. These Philippines, they're dog-eaters. In these parts of the world, the Koreans, the Philippines, even the Chinese, some of the Japanese, they're dog-eaters. But even though they are dog-eaters, they attended the meeting and chanted with us so nicely, better than a so-called Vaiṣṇava in India. Yes. They were so nice. It is practically seen. So that is also stated in the, confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Śvādo 'pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate. If one dog-eater, a person born in the family of dog-eaters... Because the dog-eaters are considered lowest of the human kind, caṇḍāla, śva-paca. In many places it is said. Aho bata śvapaco 'pi garīyān yaj-jihvāgre nāma tubhyam. Śva-paca. Śvapaca means dog-eaters. They also become glorious provided they chant offenselessly the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Aho bato śvapaco 'to garīyān yaj-jihvāgre nāma tubhyāṁ.
Pradyumna: "The injunctions of rules and regulations and the resultant reactions are mentioned in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fifth Chapter, first and second verses. Camasa Muni, one of the nine sages who came to instruct King Nimi, addressed the King and said, 'The four social orders, namely, the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas, the vaiśyas and the śūdras, have come out of the different parts of the universal form of the Supreme Lord as follows: the brāhmaṇas have come out from the head; the kṣatriyas have come out from the arms; the vaiśyas have come out from the waist; and the śūdras have come out from the legs. Similarly, the sannyāsīs have come out from the head; the vānaprasthas from the arms; the gṛhasthas from the waist; and the brahmacārīs from the legs.' These different orders of society and grades of spiritual advancement are conceived in terms of qualification. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that the four social orders and the four spiritual orders are created by the Lord Himself, in terms of different individual qualities. As the different parts of the body have different types of activities, so the social and spiritual orders also have different types of activities in terms of qualification and position. The target of these activities, however, is always the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, 'He is the supreme enjoyer.' So whether one is a brāhmaṇa or a śūdra, he has to satisfy the Supreme Lord by his activities."
Prabhupāda: Yes. The brāhmaṇa is considered to be the mouth of the total body, and the śūdras are considered to be the legs. So by comparative position, the head is more important than the leg, but they are equally important in terms of the whole body. Because the head cannot walk. For walking, you require the cooperation of the legs. So, as to maintain this body we require the cooperation of the head, arms, waist and legs, similarly, for serving Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, the whole, it doesn't matter whether one is a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra; everyone can be engaged. Sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). One has to worship the Supreme by his own work.
So ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro. Such strict brāhmaṇa, very expert in his business, paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ... And very well expert in his studies, mantra, Vedic mantra, tantra. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, avaiṣṇava guru na sa syād. If he is avaiṣṇava, then he cannot be guru. Cannot be guru. Sad-vaiṣṇava śva-paca guru. But a śvapacaḥ, a dog-eaters family, caṇḍāla... Just the brāhmaṇa is considered to be the highest in the society, similarly caṇḍāla is considered to be the lowest, dog-eaters. So the śāstra says the highest, the topmost man in the society, brāhmaṇa, if he's avaiṣṇava, he cannot be guru, but the, a person coming out from the lowest grade of human society, śvapacaḥ, caṇḍāla, if he's a Vaiṣṇava, he can become guru. This is the verdict of the śāstra.
- ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro
- mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ
- avaiṣṇava guru na sa syād
- sad vaiṣṇava śva-pacaḥ guru
Therefore one, one who, even coming from low-grade family, if he has become Vaiṣṇava, then he's no longer in the worldly society. He's transcendental. Brahmā-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). One who is engaged in pure devotional service, he's in the Brahman platform. He should not be neglected. Vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ, arcye śilā-dhīr, guruṣu nara-mati, vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. These are warned. One should not consider the Deity as made of stone, arcye śilā-dhīr. Śālagrāma-śilā. If somebody says, "What is this, a stone chip, or stone ball?" No.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Similarly, the ages are also conducted by the three modes of material nature. Just like there are seasonal changes—in our experience in one year sometimes it is summer, sometimes it is winter, sometimes it is spring—similarly, in course of nature's way there are different yugas, millennium. So in the Satya-yuga people are all in the modes of goodness. Therefore, at that time they could concentrate the mind in the Supreme, and meditation was recommended at that time. Kṛṣṇa-'dhyāna' kare loka jñāna-adhikārī. Jñāna-adhikārī means they were quite fit to understand spiritual knowledge. Because without developing the modes of goodness, nobody can understand spiritual knowledge. In the ignorance, the lowest grade of men, they are in ignorance. The ignorance, the symptom of ignorance we have already described in the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā. Ignorance means laziness. Laziness. That is ignorance. And passion means active. And goodness means sober. So we cannot find all men in this world of the same quality. Some of them are in goodness; some of them are in passion; some of them are in ignorance. But in this age seventy-five percent or more than that, they are in ignorance. And maybe ten or fifteen percent in passion, and hardly five percent, they are in goodness.
Festival Lectures
So there are 8,400,000 species of living creatures, and all of them are being maintained by God, the Supreme Lord. We are also being maintained, but because we have become advanced in knowledge, therefore the result is we have forgotten God. This is the result of our education. The more we become advanced in so-called knowledge, you forget your relationship with God. Actually, that is not knowledge. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, "Those who are atheists, those who are godless, their knowledge is already taken away by māyā. They are so-called men of knowledge, wise men. Actually they are fools, rascals, those who are atheistic." This is the statement of Bhagavad-gītā. "Those who are lowest of the mankind..." Nara means man and adhama means lowest. The lowest grade of man denies the existence of God. So as we are forgetting our eternal relationship with God, so we are gradually degraded to the lowest position of living creatures. Our knowledge has no value. Anyone who is atheist, who has no knowledge of God, he has no good qualifications. These are the statements from the scriptures.
Not only five thousand years—Bhagavad-gītā is the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and although it was five thousand years ago in our memorable history, but in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that it was spoken some millions of years ago to the sun-god. So apart from that reference, Bhagavad-gītā is eternal because it teaches what is your relationship with God, what is your eternal duty to God, and what is the ultimate end of life. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, and the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā is that one has to give up all sorts of rascaldom or concocted religion. Simply one has to surrender to God. That is religion. We have developed this human form of life after passing through many millions of lower grades of life, and similarly we have to now develop this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, love of God. If you will take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very seriously, then we have volumes of books to convince you what is your relationship with God, what is your duty, what is your ultimate goal of life—these things are all very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. But unfortunately, so-called scholars and so-called wise men misinterpret the whole thing. That is why the Lord appeared as Lord Caitanya five hundred years ago to establish the correct principles of Bhagavad-gītā, and He showed that even if you do not understand the processes of religion, you simply chant
- Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
- Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
And it is practical. Just like when we were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, all the members who were assembled here were joining in, but when I am now talking about philosophy, some are leaving. It is very practical to see.
He said, "Don't hesitate. Either one may become a brāhmaṇa or one may become a śūdra..." Kibā vipra, kibā śūdra. Vipra means brāhmaṇa, and śūdra. Śūdra is the fourth-grade human being. Brāhmaṇa is the first grade. So kibā vipra, kibā śūdra. He may be a first-grade human being or the lowest grade human being, or he may become a sannyāsī or a gṛhastha. It does not matter. Anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he can become a guru. This is the verdict. Because spiritual science does not belong to the bodily platform. It is on the spiritual platform. It is very nice. Just like when you go to a lawyer or to an engineer or to a physician. You do not inquire whether he's a brāhmaṇa or śūdra. Simply you have to know whether he's a lawyer. That's all. Whether he's a physician actually. If he knows the medical science, he may be a brāhmaṇa, he may be a śūdra, he may be a sannyāsī, he may be a householder. It doesn't matter. Your business is with a physician, with a lawyer. Similarly, your business is to understand Kṛṣṇa. So anyone who knows Kṛṣṇa perfectly, you have to go there. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). It is... Vedic injunction is not that you have to approach a sannyāsī or a gṛhastha or an Indian or American. No. Gurum. And guru means who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Initiation Lectures
Therefore Kṛṣṇa's name is Vasudeva. Pure stage of life is called vāsudeva stage. Just like Vasudeva was father of Kṛṣṇa. That means when one is situated in the Vāsudeva stage, śuddha-sattva, pure goodness, Kṛṣṇa is born. Kṛṣṇa born means Kṛṣṇa becomes visible, revealed. So this initiation process is gradually to raise a devotee to that platform. Go on. (break) There is a list of lowborn human beings. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). So many. So even they are born in low-graded family, still, they can be elevated to the highest position by purificatory process. The example is given by Sanātana Gosvāmī: just like bell metal, if one can mix with it mercury, it becomes gold. Anyone can try it. Bell metal. Bell metal means mixture of copper and tin. That makes bell metal. Eighty percent copper, eighty percent tin. And along with it, if some suitable percentage of mercury is mixed, it becomes immediately gold. This chemical suggestion is there in the Vedic śāstras. So it is clear that they were quite aware of all these chemical method. So the example is given, as the base metal or bell metal can be transferred into gold by mixture of mercury under certain process, yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ... Rasa, rasa means mercury. Tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena. Similarly, any lowborn, it doesn't matter what he is, if proper initiation is conducted, then tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām, he becomes a brāhmaṇa. He becomes a brāhmaṇa. Dvijatvam. Dvija means twice-born. Any man. In India there are many rascals who think that without being born in a brāhmaṇa family nobody can become brāhmaṇa. That is not the verdict of śāstra. Here is a verse in the Bhāgavata, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ ye 'nye ca papa (SB 2.4.18).
General Lectures
Our consciousness can be brought to the point where I can develop love for God. This is what our spiritual master teaches, that God is great and He is mighty. He is teaching this, and there is no difference in any scripture. They all teach this. We are in complete agreement with Lord Jesus and the Bible. The Bible too states that the Lord is great, God is great, He is mighty. The differences in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the Bhagavad-gītā and the Vedic scriptures which we study in our courses at our temple, is that the Bhagavad-gītā is like this: If there is a young boy who is in the sixth grade and he wants to find out about birds, he'll open a dictionary, a pocket dictionary, and he'll read about birds, and the definition will state that it's an entity which flies through the air. There might be a picture there of a bird. Whereas a person who's studying for a graduate course and doing a thesis perhaps on the different kinds of birds, he needs something more for finding out about birds than just that they fly through the air. He opens an international dictionary. He opens an encyclopedia. He finds out all the varieties of birds, where they fly to, where they nest. He gets all the details about birds. Similarly, for those who are interested in finding out all the details about how God is great, how He is mighty, that is "What does He look like?" "What does He do?" "Who is He?"—you go through the Vedic scriptures. This is not to say that the Bible is nonsense. The Bible is the Absolute Truth. It is Absolute Truth that Lord Jesus taught. But look at the people to whom he taught. They crucified him for teaching about God. He could not teach as great a depth as he would have liked to. He could teach only to the audience that was listening, and yet they still crucified him.
There is chance. There is educational facilities. You educate yourself. You become doctor of law, you also one day. You become one day president. Everyone is open. Similarly, the chance is open for everyone how to become the supreme man. Supreme man means one who understands God and his relationship. He is supreme man. All others, they are below the supreme man. The supreme man is the first-class man, and the others, who are below God understanding, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are second class, third class, fourth class, fifth class, like that. This is the classification. So below the third-class, fourth-class man, śūdras, they are called caṇḍālas. Caṇḍālas. Caṇḍālas means fifth-grade man. The fifth-grade man also can be elevated to the first-grade man. That is the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā
- ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ
- ye 'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ
- śudhyanti prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ
- (SB 2.4.18)
God is so powerful. Just like sunlight is so powerful it can sterilize any infected thing. Any infected. Infection, we are afraid of being infected. But if you come to the sunlight, no infection. No infection. This is scientific. Similarly, whatever your qualification may be, however you may be impelled by the qualities of this material nature, if you come to the sunlight of Kṛṣṇa consciousness you become immediately purified. There are many instances among my students, how they have become immediately purified.
Therefore, human life should be very much responsible. This life is the preparation for the next life. Next life we have always, but we do not know what kind of life we are getting next. That we should know. That is the business of human form of life, not to waste life like animals and evolve. By the laws of nature, we get another form of life. We are evolving by the evolutionary theory. It is not theory. Of course, Mr. Darwin has called it theory, but in the Padma Purāṇa, Vedic literature... This evolutionary process is very nicely explained in Vedic literature. Aśītiṁs caturaś caiva bhramadbhiḥ jīva-jātiṣu. These Sanskrit words are there in the Padma Purāṇa, that "A living entity is traveling or evolving from lower grades of life to the higher grades of life in 8,400,000 species of life." There are 900,000 species of life in the water. There are 2,000,000 species of life of plants and vegetables. Similarly, microbes, reptiles, there are 1,100,000 species of life. Then birds, 1,000,000 species of life. Then beasts, four-legged beasts, there are 3,000,000 species of life. Then, from beastly life, he comes to the human form life. There also variety, 400,000's of varieties. In this way we come to the point of civilized human form of life. The evolution is coming. Just like we evolve our body or grew our body from the womb of our mother. It is stated... Everything is there in the Vedic literature. After the sex intercourse of the man and woman, there is an emulsification of the two kinds of secretion. And in the first night there is a pealike form that takes place. Then he grows, growing. Then many holes come out of that pealike form—that becomes our eyes and other nine holes. In this way the body is developed in seven months. Then the child gets consciousness, and he feels very much inconvenience.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: That is Vedic conception. The soul, he, as he is, he is part and parcel of God, but he is imprisoned in different types of body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "I am the seed-giving father of all different forms of life, and the mother, material nature is the mother." That is actually very logical. Through the matter different varieties of living entities are coming out. From water, from earth, from air, even from fire, ether, everywhere, sarva-gataḥ, life, living entities are visible. Therefore the combination of five elements—earth, water, fire, air—that is the body of the living entities. And the soul is the part and parcel of the Supreme, and the souls are impregnated within this material world by God, and they come out through the womb of the mother, nature or individual mother, whatever you say. The soul is coming out of matter but it is not matter. The living entities, part and parcel of God, assuming different types of body, either you say according to pious or impious activities, or according to his pious and impious desires. Vāsanāḥ. So the desire actually is the cause of higher and lower grades of body, but the soul is the same. Therefore those who are advanced in spiritual consciousness, they see the same soul in, in each and every body. Either in the body of a dog or in the body of a brāhmaṇa, the same soul is existing, but according to different desires and karma one gets a different types of body.
Hayagrīva: Augustine believed that all men came from Adam, that is the first man or one man, and that this one man God created—this one man—and this one man is the root of all mankind. He writes, "God knew how good it would be for this community often to recall that the human race had its roots in one man, precisely to show how pleasing it is to God that men, though many, should be one."
| Page Title: | Grade (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 15 of May, 2013 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=47, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 47 |