So if we actually want to be happy, then we should not live like animals, without any restriction, without any... Even in your state, just to keep proper management of the state, there are so many laws. Even you... As soon as you go on the street, you see there is state law immediately, "Keep to the right." Discipline must be there. That is dharma, discipline, to abide by the state laws. There must be some discipline. Similarly, to make yourself advanced in spiritual life, you must have to observe the discipline. Without discipline, it is not possible. Ādau gurvāśrayam. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī says in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu that discipline means, one who observes discipline, he is called disciple. Everyone knows it. Disciple means one who observes discipline. If one does not observe discipline, then he is not a disciple. And one who is not a disciple, his life is chaotic. He cannot be happy. Therefore Vedas say that "You must accept a bona fide guru and become disciplined under his instruction." Then you'll know the higher system of knowledge, the necessity of life, and thus you become happy.
So here it is said that caturbhir yena pādair loka-sukhāvahaiḥ. Without discipline, without proper understanding of the four principles of life, dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90), nobody can become happy. Therefore, it is said there that "You know..."
- bhavān hi veda tat sarvaṁ
- yan māṁ dharmānupṛcchasi
- caturbhir vartase yena
- pādair loka-sukhāvahaiḥ
Then next? (break)
Devotees: (chanting synonyms to texts 26-30)
Prabhupāda: These things are all mentioned, how the human society can be peaceful and progressive. These are the qualifications. Not like animallike jumping all day and night. Here in Hawaii we see that children, children and elderly persons also, the whole day and night, simply jumping in the sea. Someone is swimming, somebody is doing something else, somebody is swimming. How they're wasting time. But they have taken, "This is civilization. This is civilization." Human life is so important. So many things are to be learned, neither in the school, college, educational institution, society, nothing of the sort. Just like a dog is also jumping, a man is also jumping. This is going on. But that is not civilization. Real civilization means these things are to be acquired in real life, personal life, then that is civilization. Now, these are mentioned one after another. Read.
Pradyumna: (chants synonyms)
Prabhupāda: Now, truthfulness is a, nowadays, is a matter of dream only. There is no truthfulness. Everyone is... Beginning from the president and down to the ordinary man in the street, nobody is truthful. Now the president in your country is being questioned so many ways because he has proved himself not truthful. So this is a forgotten story, truthfulness. That is brahminical qualification. All these qualifications are mentioned. It is not possible to acquire all the qualities by one man. That is not possible. Just like we divide some... If there is something to be done, we divide the task, "Mr. You, you do this. And you, you do this. You do this." Similarly, all these qualities must be divided amongst the whole population. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā we have got the direction from the Supreme Lord, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). One man cannot be... Suppose a businessman. A businessman, he cannot become strictly truthful. That is not possible. A politician, he cannot become actually truthful. Then the whole business will be spoiled. Everyone... Suppose you go to a store. The storekeeper says, "Oh, you are my dear friend. I will not take any profit from you. I will give you at cost price. You take." So you believe, But actually, how it is possible to give at cost price? How he'll maintain the business establishment? I know that he's speaking untruth, still, I accept, "Oh, he is very truthful." So there are so many things.
So first thing is truth. Therefore... Then truthfulness has to be rejected? No. Another class, the brāhmaṇa class, he must be truthful. The idea must be there. Just like in the university, educational department, there is law department. It is not that the whole population of the state becomes lawyers. No. A section of the people may be lawyers. Another section may be other, engineer, medical man. So all these qualifications must remain there. Just like educational system: "Here is law class. Here is botany class. Here is chemist class." Whatever you are prepared to accept, you can accept. But these qualities must be there. The... Not that because it is impossible to become truthful, therefore truthfulness should be rejected altogether. No. One section must be there. That is the qualification of a brāhmaṇa, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam. But these qualities must be there in the society, some way or other. And they should cooperate. That is the perfection of society. Go on.
Pradyumna: (chants synonyms)
Prabhupāda: Dayā. One must be merciful. Dayā means... When a man is suffering a fellow man, another fellow man must feel for it. That is called dayā. There are two things: dayā and sevā. Sevā means to give service to the superior, and dayā means to give service to the inferior. Both of them are service. Dayā, I mean to say... A man is suffering. He is in helpless condition. Just like in hospital, those who are patients, who are diseased, they go to the hospital There is also sevā. The nurse is serving. The doctor is serving. But that is not sevā. That is called dayā. He is not obliged, but out of his compassion, he's giving service to the patient. That is called dayā. And sevā means superior. Just like spiritual master. Sevayā. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). Because the Vedic injunction is that "You must go to a spiritual master." Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Abhigacchet means "must." There is no alternative. If you're actually interested in transcendental knowledge, tad-vijñānam... Tad-vijñānam means transcendental knowledge. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. And the human life is meant for tad-vijñānam, to understand.
So tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet. So there, how to learn from guru, that is also stated. Tad viddhi: try to learn from him... Tad viddhi praṇipātena. First of all surrender yourself. You cannot go to any person for learning anything where there is no sense of surrender. I accept a guru, but in my mind I remain independent, "Oh, why shall I abide by the orders of guru?" That means there is no surrender. There is no surrender. It is false. It is just to satisfy some motive, but that will not help. If you have got any duplicity in your mind, then you'll never be successful in any field of activities. So the process is... Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Must be surrendered. Praṇipāta means prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa nipāta. And therefore, unless you find somebody where you can fully surrender, don't accept guru. That is cheating. Unless you are fully confident that "I am surrendering to this person. He is... Actually he is superior to me. He can give proper knowledge..."
So therefore the process is before accepting a guru, one must hear him at least for one year. And when he's convinced that "Here is actually a guru who can teach me," then you accept him, guru. Don't accept whimsically. This system now should stop that somebody's coming for three days—"Prabhupāda, initiate him." Why? First of all see whether he's fit for becoming a disciple; then recommend. Otherwise, don't recommend. Because the chief recommendation is creating havoc. One is not fit for becoming a student, disciple, and he's accepting discipleship, and after three days he's going away. This should not be allowed. Therefore, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta..., er, Hari-bhakti-vilāsa by Sanātana Gosvāmī it is directed that the spiritual master and the disciple must meet together at least for one year so that the disciple may also understand that "Here is a person whom I can accept as my guru," and the guru also can see that "Here is a person who is fit for becoming my disciple." Then the business is nice. Because the business is tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34), one must be prepared to surrender. So unless that character is there, surrendering, how he can become a disciple? It is not possible.
So these are very difficult things, but because it is the age of Kali, kālena balīyasā, as we studied yesterday, that kālena vā te balināṁ balīyasā: time is very hard time. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that it is very difficult time, kalau. It is not Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's version; it is the Vedic version. Kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva. Simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This will clarify your heart. Then you can understand who is guru, where to surrender, where to take lesson. In this way we can make... Haphazardly, if we accept, then there will be failure.
So satyaṁ śaucaṁ dayā. To accept guru, there is also service. And to give service to an inferior person who is suffering, that is also service. The one service is called dayā, and the other service is called sevā. So if you want to realize God, then the other service, sevā, not dayā. You cannot show your mercy to God. God is full. There is no need of your showing mercy. That sevā. Two kinds of service. One is called dayā, and another is called sevā. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. If you want to know what is God, then the other service, sevā. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. And that service begins from the tongue. Now, generally, when we think of service, we think of our hand and legs, that "By..., I can render service with my hands, with my legs." No. The science of understanding God—the service begins with the tongue. Just see. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). You cannot understand what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa, His name, His activities, nāmādi... Nāmādi means name, form, qualities, activities, pastimes, entourage, so many things, ādi. Therefore... Just like we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, but we cannot understand what is the meaning of Hare Kṛṣṇa. We cannot understand. Nāmādi. Na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. Indriyaiḥ means the senses. There are so many people are hearing this sound vibration, but why they're not becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious? Because there is no sevā, there is no service. Therefore it is said, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). But how it will be perceived by the indriyas? Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. By service. And wherefrom the service begins? It begins jihvādau, beginning with the tongue, beginning with the tongue. This is the service.
