Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit Person. He is all-pervading. Everywhere He is present. He is so expansive. We are simply... We are also all-pervading, but within this body. That's all. Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading means throughout the whole creation, Kṛṣṇa all-pervading. And we are also all-pervading only in this body. You are all-pervading within your body; I know the pains and pleasures of my body; you know the pains and pleasures of your body. So all-pervading means within this body. If I pinch anywhere, I'll feel pain, you'll not feel pain. Therefore, you are not all-pervading, I am not all-pervading. But Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading. When I feel pain, Kṛṣṇa knows it. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26). "I know everything." That is Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand distinction between Kṛṣṇa and us. He's all-pervading, but He's nitya, ever-existing. We are also ever-existing. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). We have got knowledge, Kṛṣṇa has got knowledge. But we have got limited knowledge. Kṛṣṇa has got unlimited knowledge. That is the difference. Kṛṣṇa is also cognizant. He's also acknowledged. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām.
Supreme spirit (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"Supreme Absolute Spirit"
|"Supreme Brahman, spirit"
|"Supreme Spirit"
|"supreme whole spirit"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So the test is within our hand. If during maṅgala-ārati we feel laziness, that means I'm not yet spiritually advanced. And if one feels enthused, "Now it is time for maṅgala-ārati, let me stand up, let me do this," then it is spiritual. Anyone can test. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). Bhakti means spiritual. So as soon as you are touched with the Supreme Spirit, viraktir anyatra syāt, no more enjoyment in this material world. So Kṛṣṇa is there. Kṛṣṇa is also sitting within the heart, and I am also sitting within the heart, just like two friends on the same bar. This is also described in the Upaniṣad. Samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagnaḥ. They are sitting, equally, on the same level. Nimagnaḥ. The bird is eating the fruit of the tree, or the jīva soul, the living entity, he is making his fruitive action. Kṣetra-jña. These are all described. Kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). The owner and the occupier. I am the occupier of this body, and the owner is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa's another name is Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa. So He is actually owner of my hand and leg and eyes, everything, all my senses. I am simply occupier.
So here, this beginning of spiritual understanding, that spirit, the Supreme Spirit, cannot be cut into pieces. Nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. Now try to understand. We are thinking, the modern scientists, they are thinking that there cannot be any life in the sun globe. No. There is life. We get information from Vedic literature that there is life. There are also human beings like us. But they're made of fire. That's all. Because we have got teeny experience that "How in the fire a living entity can live?" To answer this problem, Kṛṣṇa says that nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. (aside:) Why you are sitting there? You come here. Nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. The spirit soul cannot be burned. If it would have been burned, then according to our Hindu system, we burn the body, then the soul is burned. Actually, the atheists think like that, that when the body's burned, everything is finished. Big, big professor, they think like that. But here, Kṛṣṇa says, nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ: "It is not burned." Otherwise, how it exists? Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Everything is very clearly stated. The soul does not burn; neither it can be cut into pieces. Then: na cainaṁ kledayanty āpaḥ. Neither it is moistened.
So unless we think of Kṛṣṇa possessing unconceivable powers, we cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.
Nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. Another study from this verse is that the Māyāvāda philosophy, they say that spirit is one. The Supreme Spirit, impersonal. When the spirit is embodied, it becomes individual. This is their philosophy. Otherwise, they give the example... Just like there is water on the sea. It is also sustained on the earth. A big mass of water. And on that water, you can put one boat or ship full of water. And on that boat, you put another, a cup of water, and in the cup of water, you put another pot, a small cup or small utensil or even the skin of a grain, that will also contain. So their philosophy is that the water is one, but according to the pot or container, it becomes small and big. This is their philosophy. And when the container is broken, then the whole water becomes one. This is their philosophy. Now this nonsense philosophy is refuted in this verse.
Therefore matter is produced or grows on the platform of spirit. Not that a spirit comes into existence, or living force come into existence by the combination of matter. This is scientific point. Matter is dependent on spirit. Therefore, it is called inferior. Yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat. Dhāryate, it bears. The spirit is there; therefore, the gigantic universe is resting on the spirit. Either the supreme spirit Kṛṣṇa, or the small spirit. There are two kinds of spirit. Ātmā and paramātmā. Īśvara and parameśvara.
So the matter is explained by Kṛṣṇa, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parāṁ yayedaṁ dhāryate. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5). So spirit is bearing. Everything is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. The gigantic big, big planets, why it is floating weightless in the air? That is also explained. Gām āviśya aham ojasā dhārayāmi (BG 15.13). That, just try to understand. A big 747 airplane taking five hundred, six hundred passengers is floating, flying in the sky without any difficulty. Why? Because the pilot is there. Not the machine.
So far the body is concerned, that is now fully analyzed. Now buddhir yoge tv imām, another department of knowledge, buddhi-yoga. Buddhi-yoga means spiritual life. That is buddhi-yoga. Just like you'll find in the Tenth Chapter. Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam. When there is talk between the spirit, supreme spirit, Kṛṣṇa and the individual spirit, subordinate spirit, the living entity... Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Being, and we are subordinate being. So these people at the present moment, they do not know. But we have to take instruction from Vedas. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The Supreme Being, He is eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He is supplying the necessities of life, kāmān, whatever we require. There are so many things for birds, beasts, human being, different types of fruits, flowers, milk. Everything is being supplied by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He's Supreme Being. How He can be supreme? Just like in a family the father is considered to be supreme. Why?
Yes. That I just now explained. That is liberation. I am identified just now with this matter. "I am this body, I belong to this country, I belong to this world." This is illusion. And as soon as I can understand that I belong to none of these, I belong to Kṛṣṇa, that is enlightenment. Simply changing the understanding. It is not very difficult. But it is difficult one who cannot understand. That is another thing. But if one can understand this fact, then he's immediately enlightened. Just like this light, it is now enlightened. There is illumination. And as soon as the switch is off, immediately darkness. And switch is on, immediately light. So it is not very difficult to understand what is enlightenment. Enlightened means ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I do not belong to this material world. I belong to the Supreme Spirit. That conviction makes you enlightened. So anyone who has got this conviction, he's enlightened. This is not very difficult.
And mind is conducted, thinking, feeling, and willing, the psychology, the science of psychology, that is being conducted under intelligence. And above the intelligence, I am sitting. I am a spirit soul. So how we become victim of this māyā, that is described here, that from anger, delusion arises, and from delusion, bewilderment of memory. Bewilderment memory. I have forgotten completely that I am not this body, I am spirit soul, ahaṁ brahmāsmi; I am part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, spirit, absolute whole. That I have forgotten. And when memory is bewildered, and as soon as I forget that I am spirit soul, I identify myself with this material world, illusion. Intelligence is lost. I should have used my intelligence to conduct the activities of the mind—thinking, feeling and willing—and because my mind is not controlled, my senses are not controlled, therefore I am fallen. This is the analysis of the whole bodily construction. Go on.
In the Vedic literature you will find that God has expanded Himself into many, just like the father expands himself into many children. The children is nothing but expansions of the body of the father. Similarly, we, all living entities, spiritual parts or living souls, we are also expansion of the supreme spirit. Now, the reason is, why the supreme spirit soul expanded himself into so many? What is the purpose? We have to understand. Now you can take the example. What is the purpose of father's expanding himself into children? A father takes the responsibility of maintaining the children. Why? Why he takes such, I mean, a grave responsibility, a family man. That "why" is answered—just to have happy and enjoyable life. That's all.
Similarly, God has expanded into so many living entities because He wants enjoyment. He wants enjoyment. Because you will find in the Vedic literature that the nature of God is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12)"By nature He is enjoying."
So Lord Caitanya says by chanting this śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, I become at once liberated from this misconception of life. What I need? I am suffering due to my, this misconception of life. The whole Vedic literature advises me that "You are not this material body." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am Brahman." Brahman means I am spirit. I am the supreme..., not supreme spirit, but I am spirit, Brahman. The Vedic literature does not say that I am Parambrahman. Parambrahman is Bhagavān. Qualitatively, I am one with Parambrahman, and Brahman, there is qualitatively oneness because Brahman... Gold, big gold or small gold, that doesn't matter. Gold, both of them are gold.
So Lord Caitanya says that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This misconception of life will be the first installment of our profit by chanting, by regularly chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, by performing this yajña, the first installment. That first installment will be: I become liberated from the material conception of life at once.
Nāyam ātmā pravacanena... Or because you are a big speaker, you can speak very nicely, decorating language, therefore you have understood. That is also not possible. The spiritual knowledge has to be understood by the grace of the Supreme Spirit. Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ-labhyaḥ Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23. One who is favored by the Supreme... Here Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Being, God, He's explaining about Himself. So you have to learn about God, or Kṛṣṇa, from Kṛṣṇa, or through the paramparā. As Kṛṣṇa says, evaṁ paramparā.
Paramparā means Kṛṣṇa explained the knowledge, Vedic knowledge, to Lord Brahmā, ādi-kavaye. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayāt itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ sva-rāṭ tene brahma hṛdā (SB 1.1.1). The spiritual knowledge, brahma, brahma-vidyā, śabda-brahma, the Vedic knowledge... Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā, the words written in this book, Bhagavad-gītā, although it appears like ordinary letters, they are not like that. It is Vedic vibration. The things which are being spoken by Kṛṣṇa, they are not ordinary language. Had it been ordinary language, how...? Because it was written five thousand years ago. How it is still going on?
It is eternal. It is spiritual, avyayam. Avyayam means "that does not perish." Anything material, it perishes. But spirit soul, or spiritual anything, everything, that is imperishable, avyayam. So knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā, as Kṛṣṇa is avyayam, the spirit whole, whole spirit, paraṁ brahma, paraṁ dhāma (BG 10.12), Supreme Spirit, similarly His words, Bhagavad-gītā, is also spirit, Supreme Spirit. Abhinna. There is no distinction. Therefore we are giving so much importance to the... The so-called scholars may take it as ordinary book, but one who is serious about Bhagavad-gītā, he does not take Bhagavad-gītā, the words of Bhagavad-gītā or the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, as ordinary teachings. This is confirmed. Therefore it is so important.
And it has to be received through the paramparā channel. That I was explaining, (that) as Kṛṣṇa is going to speak to Arjuna... Here it is said: sa evāyaṁ mayā te 'dya yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ (BG 4.3). Next verse, it will explain. Bhakto 'si me priyo 'si sakhā ceti rahasyam etad uttamam. Kṛṣṇa will say. Because it is so important... It is a complete spiritual. Unless one is devotee... Devotee means complete spiritual. Any other one, if he's not a devotee, he is material. Karmī, jñānī, yogi, they are all material. They're trying to utilize the material possessions. Karmīs, they are trying to utilize this body for happiness. Whole day, night, they are working like ass for some sense gratification. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43).
"The sun is now dead, or gone." But later on, by scientific method, they have come to know the sun is always in the sky. Due to our different position, we do not see the sun at night. Otherwise, the sun is there. This is... If this is possible for an ordinary material thing, how much it is greatly possible for the Supreme Spirit.
Therefore ajo 'pi san. Kṛṣṇa has no birth, no death. We have also no birth and death because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We have no birth and death; that is explained already in the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā: Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit...na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20).
So if the part and parcel particles, small atomic particle... We are atomic particle. Our magnitude is described in the śāstra, Padma Purāṇa and Upaniṣad also: keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatāṁśaḥ kalpitasya ca (CC Madhya 19.140). The top portion of the hair, if you divide it into one hundred parts, and again, that one hundredth part, if you divide again hundred parts, that is the magnitude of the spirit soul.
Just like two lawyers are arguing in the court. The medium is the law court. So neither of them can deny the law court, but one has to establish his convictions by argument, by logic. So similarly, tat tvam asi is the code of Vedic principle or Vedas, "You are that." Tat tvam asi. Tat means that supreme spirit. "You are." So our philosophy, Vaiṣṇava philosophy, we begin from this point. As Kṛṣṇa began Bhagavad-gītā from the point that "You are not this body," we begin from this version, tat tvam asi. Tat tvam asi. "You are not this." That means "What I am?" Then I must be something; otherwise what is my identity? That reply is your identity is that "You are as good as God." That means you are qualitatively the same. Tat tvam asi. Qualitatively you are...
The mistake of the Māyāvāda philosophy is that "You are the same." You are the same in which way? I am the same in quality, not in quantity. Just like if I say, "You are as good as President Nixon," there is nothing wrong because you are American, he is American. Is there anything wrong? From the point of view, American citizenship, you are as good as President Nixon. But when you go deep into the matter, you will find, oh, you are far, far away from President Nixon.
Is there anything wrong? From the point of view, American citizenship, you are as good as President Nixon. But when you go deep into the matter, you will find, oh, you are far, far away from President Nixon. Similarly, we are identifying ourself with this matter, but Vedas says that "You are not matter. You are supreme spirit soul." Not supreme, "You are spirit soul."
That understanding is tat tvam asi. You have to understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am Brahman. I am not matter." Our disease is that I am identifying with this matter, "I am this material body," which is foreign to me. This is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā instruction, that "You are not this body."Tat tvam asi: "You are spirit soul." So we also have to accept. We are accepting that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." But my constitutional position is part and parcel of the supreme whole. So just like the gold mine and a small particle of gold. That small particle of gold is also gold. But that does not mean it has the same value as the gold mine. Tat tvam asi. Just like a drop of sea water. Chemical composition is the same.
That is Brahman realization. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then that oneness is still not sufficient. That means you have to engage yourself in Brahman activities. That is perfection. Therefore it is said that samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). After this Brahman realization, actual devotional service begins. Brahman realization means that "I am spirit soul and the Lord is the Supreme Spirit." Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13).
He is the Supreme Spirit, chief living entity, and we are innumerable, without any number. Asaṅkhya. The living entities are innumerable. These are stated in Vedic literature. The very word is used, asaṅkhya. Asaṅkhya means without any numerical estimation. And God is one. God is one, but the living entities are many. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. So, eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. That one is the supreme one who is supplying all the necessities of living entities.
Similarly, as you have got in your Bible, you pray in the church, "Oh God, give us our daily bread. Excuse us our faults." Because He is the prime one. He is supplying the necessities, He's giving you protection, He's giving you everything. You require sunlight. God has created sunlight for you. You require water, God has created immense water for you. You require air, there is immense air for you.
Who is gone? Have you see who is gone? "No." Then what you are seeing? "I am seeing this dead body." So whole life you have seen this dead body. If I cannot see at the present structure of my body even the spark, material atom, how we can see God, the Supreme Spirit?
So we have to qualify ourselves. So that qualification is, here it is stated, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. If you try to surrender yourself into Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Just like Kṛṣṇa is canvassing, asking Arjuna, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam: (BG 18.66) "You just try to surrender unto Me, and I shall give you all protection." And just I described a few minutes before that Kṛṣṇa is seated along with you in the same tree of this body. He is just waiting for your voluntary looking unto Him. That's it. He does not press you. He gives you all instruction.
Just like Kṛṣṇa gave all instruction of Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, but at last, He asked him, "My dear Arjuna, I have given you all instruction. Whether you have understood it? And how you are going to follow? Have you decided to follow Me?" Just see. He does not say that "I force you to follow," no. He asked him, "Now, have you decided to follow Me?"
Matter cannot develop. That you have got experience. A dead body does not develop. A living body develops. A child, when it comes out of the mother's womb, if the child is dead, oh, there is no further development, however you can keep the child in a very antiseptic way preserved. No. There is no development. Therefore it is concluded that the supreme spirit, Kṛṣṇa, from Him everything has come out. Everything has come out. Any stage you take, that is Kṛṣṇa.
And whenever I surrender... Because my position is to surrender. I am spiritual, that atom, however big body I can develop. I can develop the body like an elephant, but the elephant is conducted under the direction of a man. You know? Such a big animal is controlled by a small boy of human being. So everyone is under control. We cannot deny that. So we have to... We are under control of different dimensions of that spiritual energy covered by material energy. But the real control is from Kṛṣṇa. That we have to understand.
I am also, although I am small... Just like a particle of the sea water, that is also salty. That is also salty. The taste of a small drop of sea water is the same as the taste of the big, vast, big ocean of the, Atlantic Ocean. So the quality is the same. Similarly, I may be small. I may be a spiritual atom. My position is that I am spiritual atom, and the Supreme Spirit is all, the greatest, but that does not mean I am different from the quality. I am of the same quality. So I am not void. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20).
If by frustration one commits suicide, oh, that is not the end of his miseries. He creates another misery. He creates another misery by committing suicide. Just like here, in the state law, if somebody attempts suicide and takes some poison, and if by treatment of the physician he's all right, he's again under the law, to be punished. Perhaps you know it. After curing him from that poisonous effect, he is under criminal code of the state: "Why you have attempted suicide?" Similarly, in the laws of nature, if you commit suicide, that is another criminal act. So suicidal policy, to end this misery of life, is not all. We must have, I mean to say, greater life.
Similarly, the impersonalists, they think that "I am Brahman, but I am not this matter." That is a fact. I am spirit. I am not this matter. But that understanding is not sufficient. What is my position as spirit? Then, when we come to the supreme spirit, the all-spirit, that is perfection of knowledge. So impersonal conception is simply a negation of these material varieties. But above that, there is spiritual variety. And that is real knowledge. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Negation... Just like there is no fever. In diseased condition one is trying to get out of the feverish condition. So by medicinal treatment one gets out of fever. But that is not healthy condition. That is not final. There is negation of fever. That's admitted. That's all right. But that is convulsion (convalescent) stage. You may relapse again. When you actually come to the healthy state, that is your life. So negation of fever is not as good as your healthy life. So negation of this materialistic idea, impersonalism, is not complete knowledge. Because I am spirit soul, I am active even in this material diseased condition. How much active I must be in my healthy condition. That is real knowledge. Healthy condition does not mean that I am dead.
Yes. Even one is illiterate. Even he does not know what is ABCD, he can realize God provided he engages himself in this submissive transcendental loving service. And one may be very learned, high scholar, but he cannot realize God. God is not subjected to any material condition. He is supreme spirit. Similarly, the process of realizing God is also not subjected to any material condition. It is not that because you are poor man you cannot realize God. Or because you are very rich man, therefore you shall realize God. No. Because you are uneducated, therefore you cannot realize God, no, that is not. Because you are highly educated, therefore you can realize God. No, that is not. He's unconditional. Apratihatā. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. In the Bhāgavata it is said, that is first-class religious principle.
Bhāgavata does not mention that this Hindu religion is first-class or Christian religion is first-class or Mohammedan religion is first-class or any other religion. We have created so much, so many religions. But Bhāgavata says that religious principle is first-class. Which one? Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That religion which helps you to advance your devotional service and love of God.
These children who are bowing down or trying to vibrate "Kṛṣṇa" or clap. These things are being accumulated in bank account of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like if the child touches this fire, it will act. It will not excuse the child, that, "Oh, he is child, he does not know." The fire will act. Similarly if Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit, a child who may take part in it, Kṛṣṇa will act. You may know it do not know it. It doesn't matter. Because Kṛṣṇa is there. So it is so nice. Therefore every living being should be given chance. These boys are inviting outsider, "Come on," this love feast. What is the idea? The idea, let them come, take little prasāda and it will act someday in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It will act. So that is their propaganda. They are seeing everyone. Kṛṣṇa, they are seeing Kṛṣṇa in everyone, in that way. Not that everyone is Kṛṣṇa. Don't make this mistake. Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading. Why in this human being, He is there in the atom also. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). You'll find in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Paramāṇu means atom. So he's there within atom also. Why not every living being? You should have that knowledge. So "the true yogi observes Me in all beings. And also sees every being in Me." How "in Me"?
It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy that He comes before you in the Deity form made of so-called wood or stone because we cannot see at the present moment except wood and stone. We cannot see. Just like I was explaining we cannot see even our father, the spirit soul. And how we can see the supreme spirit? So when we worship Deity, it is not idol worship. It is worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, and the Deity is not different from the person. This is the idea. We have to understand. It is a science. Just like the holy name of the Lord. It is as good as the Lord Himself. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). When we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, this means Kṛṣṇa is dancing on my tongue. Otherwise why these people are chanting twenty-four hours, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa"? If you ask them to chant some other name, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," it will be not possible. He will be tired: "No more." But you go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours. You'll never feel tired. That is the proof that the holy name of God and God is nondifferent.
They'll remain individual, but the whole atmosphere is spiritual. That's all. But it is impersonal spiritual. There is only existence, sac-cid-ānanda. But there is no ānanda. But every spiritual identity, every spiritual soul, as well as the supreme spirit, they are ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37). Everyone, as Kṛṣṇa enjoys, similarly we, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we also want to enjoy. But we can enjoy in combination with Kṛṣṇa. Just like our parts and parcel of the body, the finger, the leg, the toes, the eyes and ears, they cannot enjoy separately. When the enjoyable things or the foodstuff is given to the stomach, every part enjoys. Similarly, we being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we can enjoy life in cooperation with Kṛṣṇa, not separately.
So this is the actual siddhi to understand, that "I am eternally part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. I can enjoy eternally blissful life in knowledge with cooperation or in the association of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees." That is real life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yatatām api siddhānām (BG 7.3). Some of them are thinking that by merging into the existence of the Supreme, that is siddhi. That is not siddhi. That is partial siddhi, and it will not exist. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So Kṛṣṇa expands by His energy, one of the energy, external energy. Therefore it is called aparā. Kṛṣṇa will explain in the next verse, apareyam, inferior energy. For Kṛṣṇa there is no superior or inferior, but for us it is superior and inferior. Because Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit soul. Take, for example, just like electricity is producing heat and cool also. There is refrigerator. That is being worked out by the electric energy. And the heater is also being worked out by the electric energy. So we may distinguish this, that "This is heat and this is cold." But for Kṛṣṇa there is no such distinction. That will be understood by further explanation of this chapter.
So these energies, the external energy, Kṛṣṇa says, they are separated. Separated means you cannot perceive Kṛṣṇa directly from this energy. All materialistic scientists, they cannot understand that earth is also Kṛṣṇa's energy, water is also Kṛṣṇa's energy, fire is also Kṛṣṇa's energy. But they are energy, that they can understand. They are accepting... The scientists, they are accepting that these are different energies, but whose energy, that they do not know. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is explaining herewith that "It is My energy, separated energy."
Sa guṇān samatītyaitān. Bahu-vacana. These three qualities, sama, samyak atītya, samatītya. Sama means transmigrating or transcending. Samatītyaita etān guṇān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). Because every living entity is by nature Brahman. Brahman means spirit soul. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit soul, and we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is Para-brahman, we are Brahman. It is very easy to understand. You don't require to become Brahman, you are already Brahman. Simply you have to be purified from non-Brahman. That is material qualities. Then you become Brahman. Therefore it is said, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. Brahma-bhūta (BG 18.54) (SB 4.30.20) means...
At the present moment we are now jīva-bhūta. Because we are in this material world, because we have got this material body, our present position is jīva-bhūta. But when we surpass, when we transcend this material concept of life, the bodily concept of life... And that can be done very easily if you engage in the service of Kṛṣṇa.
One who is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, he is not associating with this material nature. He is associating directly with Kṛṣṇa, the supreme spirit.
So if you keep yourself constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you are not in this material world. There is no more fear of what kind of body you will get next. You will get next body go back to home back to Godhead. This is wanted. If you go back to home, back to God, in the same style of body as Kṛṣṇa has got, spiritual body īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1)—then no more birth. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). The devotees who are constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa, trying to understand Kṛṣṇa and engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, such personality, after giving up this body...
We have to give up this body. Everyone, the cats, dogs, they will also give up body. We shall also give up body. But the difference is, a devotee after giving up this body, he does not get anymore material body.
There are two puruṣas, not one. One is inferior and other is superior. Superior puruṣa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). That is puruṣa-para. And apara. As there are aparā-prakṛti and parā-prakṛti. This material world is aparā-prakṛti, but there is spiritual world also. That is called parā-prakṛti.
When there is such a statement in the Vedas that "The Supreme Spirit is nirākāra, or without form," that does not mean He has no form. He has His form, but that is spiritual form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). When it is negativated, that means the negative idea is of this inferior energy. So these things we should know. And if you know, then the result will be sarvathā vartamāno 'pi, wherever you stay, Sarvathā vartamāno 'pi, you are mukta. As it is stated by Rūpa Gosvāmī, īhā yasya harer dāsye... (aside:) Stop that talking.
"These Americans, these Europeans, these Africans or these Indians or these cows, these dogs and the elephant, trees, the plants, the fish—they have got different dress only, but the soul is the same. The living force within the body, that is the same particle, spiritual particle, part and parcel of the supreme spirit, Kṛṣṇa." This is daivī sampat.
So when we come to this platform of knowledge, that daivī sampad vimokṣāya (BG 16.5), then you become liberated immediately. Liberation means who comes to the platform of real knowledge. That is called liberation. That is the definition given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, what is liberation, mukti. It is said, muktir hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Hitvā means giving up. Mukti means hitvā, giving up, hitvā anyathā rūpam, something otherwise. I am spirit soul. I am thinking, "I am American." I am thinking, "I am Indian." This is anyathā rūpam. That is not the real conception of life. Real conception of life is ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am the spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa." That is realization. That is called self-realization.
Nitāi: "The demoniac conclude that the world is a phantasmagoria. There is no cause, no effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. They do not think that the world was created by God for a certain purpose. They have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that there is no reason to believe that there is a God behind it. For them there is no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme Spirit. Everything is matter only, and the whole cosmos is supposed to be a mass of ignorance."
Prabhupāda: Therefore they say chemical evolution. They cannot think of spirit. Go on.
Nitāi: "According to them, everything is void, and whatever manifestation exists is due to our ignorance in perception. They take it for granted that all manifestation of diversity is a display of ignorance. Just as in a dream we may create so many things which actually have no existence, so when we are awake we shall see that everything is simply a dream.
That is the injunction in the Vedas, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). He remains still pūrṇa. One minus thousand times one is still one. That is absolute. Absolute Truth means the truth never diminishes or becomes relative or conditioned. That is Absolute Truth.
So in the absolute platform, in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme whole spirit. Therefore He may expand Himself... Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Ananta-rūpam, various kinds of forms... Everything is Kṛṣṇa's forms. Your form is also Kṛṣṇa's form, my form is also Kṛṣṇa's form. Therefore foolish rascals, they think, "Now I have become God." He has got the affinity that he is also God expansion. Therefore sometimes he thinks that "I am God." This is... We are also expansion of God, vibhinnāṁśa. There are two kinds of expansions: svāṁśa, vibhinnāṁśa. When Kṛṣṇa expands in fullness, that is called svāṁśa, viṣṇu-tattva. Just like Kṛṣṇa has expanded Himself as Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, so many, millions. There is no limit. That is called svāṁśa. And Kṛṣṇa expands as His energy, this material energy, this material world, the spiritual world, spiritual energy, and we are also energy, marginal energy. Taṭastha. Taṭastha means, marginal means... You can have a conception of marginal in the sea beach.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
(My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.)
These prayers, although it is in Sanskrit language, simply by hearing, the effect is made by the vibration. They're symbolical representation of the Supreme Spirit. Just like you are acquainted with the oṁkāra, om, that is also an alphabetical representation. But the sound, oṁkāra, has a specific significance. So, even sometimes you do not understand the meaning, by hearing the vibration you will be benefited.
There was a meeting in the Naimiṣāraṇya. Naimiṣāraṇya is a place in northern India. Still that Naimiṣāraṇya is still existing. There is a railway station of the name Nimsar. So formerly, at least five thousand, six thousand years before, all the sages and saintly persons used to gather there and perform ritualistic rituals or discuss on the matter of spiritual progress. There are several places in India. One of them is this Naimiṣāraṇya, and another place, important place is, that is called Prayag, generally known as Allahabad, but original name is Prayag.
Yes, everything you have to take a master. If you become a tailor you have to go to a tailor master. But if you want to know the spiritual science or the Supreme Absolute Spirit, do you not require to go to a person who knows the subject matter? It is natural.
- tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
- samit-pāniḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
- (MU 1.2.12)
This is the Vedic injunction. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsu śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). Śabde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. In the Bhagavad-gītā,
- tad viddhi praṇipātena
- paripraśnena sevayā
- upadekṣyanti tad jñānaṁ
- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
- (BG 4.34)
So if you actually serious to know about spiritual subject matter, then you must have to, abhigacchet... Abhigacchet, this word is used when the sense is "must". Not that without I can go, I can have spiritual knowledge without having accepted a spiritual master, that is not possible. You must go to a spiritual master and he must be bona fide, he must be in full knowledge, then your life is successful. Any other question?
Viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam ekāṁśena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). So God is the supreme spirit. If you individually study this individual spirit, as you are, I am... We must know because we are sparks, God is the original fire. We are sparks. Qualitatively the spark and the fire the same thing. The spark is very minute small and the big fire is very great. But this... You can study, by studying yourself that because I am spirit soul, I have entered into this lump of matter, therefore this body has developed, this body is moving, the body is working, it is so important, Mr. such-and-such professor's body or scientist's body, but as soon as that spiritual spark is over, it is nothing but a lump of matter, you can kick it out. So God is everywhere, simply we have to make our these blunt eyes... Just like education. I am seeing a motor car but a advanced motor engineer, he sees also the car, the difference of seeing. If there is some defect in the car, I cannot do it. But one engineer, one who knows, a mechanic, he knows, immediately touches and the car runs. Similarly, we should know that by education, by culture, by knowledge we can understand God. Not by fictitious, by concoction, "Oh, I accept this God. I accept that God." So that education can be very quickly done. Otherwise it is very difficult to understand God.
I am pure soul. Because this is designation. This American, or Indian, or German, or Englishman, or cats and dogs and this and that, black and white, all these are designations. Spiritual consciousness means to become free from all these designations.
So that freedom is achieved when we are in constantly touch with the supreme spirit, Kṛṣṇa. That supreme spirit is Kṛṣṇa. So this assembly which we are trying to conduct is just to keep in touch constantly with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa can be in constantly companion with us. Because He's omnipotent, God is omnipotent, therefore He can be exactly in touch with us by His words. His words and He are not different. That is omnipotency. Omnipotency means in everything relating to Kṛṣṇa has the same potency. Just like here in this material world the..., if you want water, you are thirsty, if you want water, then this water, simply calling, simply saying repeatedly, "water, water, water, water, water," will not satisfy your thirst. Because this word has not the same potency as water itself. You require the water as it is. Then your thirst will be satisfied. But in the transcendental, in the absolute world, there is no such difference. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name and Kṛṣṇa's words and Kṛṣṇa's qualities, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes—everything is Kṛṣṇa.
Just like human civilization, they're discovering so many laser weapons, atomic bomb, so many things. So it is improving the defending condition. But modern civilization is in the opinion that if they can improve their material condition of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, that is advancement of civilization. But that is not advancement of civilization. Advancement of civilization means brahma-darśanam. That is advancement. Because so long we do not come to the platform of understanding that "I am spirit soul, I am part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit," we are in the ignorance—in different forms. The example is given very nicely. Just like raw wood, just from the trees, you cut the trees, it is raw, it is not immediately fit for burning. But when it is little dried you can ignite fire, and, igniting fire, immediately there is no flame, there is smoke. Then, after the smoke, there is flame. And that flame is required.
So this gradual process of evolution means one must come to the platform of understanding Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am..., I am spirit soul, and I am part and parcel of the Supreme Soul." This understanding one must come. So for that understanding one has to come to the platform of goodness, sattva-guṇa. If one remains in the rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, as we have explained, then we shall be entangled in this material world.
Now, this material creation is possible when the Supreme Spirit enters into it. This is a problem to the modern scientist, how creation was possible. They cannot understand that without spiritual touch, there cannot be any creation. That is their poor fund of knowledge. The Darwin's theory, development, process of evolution, they are childish. They are concentrating on the matter: matter is evolving. Matter does not evolve; matter is dead. It is due to the presence of the spirit soul it evolves. That they do not understand, although actually we are seeing. Just like a child born. If the child is born dead, it is simply dead matter. It does not grow. It is our practical experience. But if the child is living, or the spirit soul is within that body, then it develops. Similarly, the whole cosmic manifestation, this big universe, unless there is, in the center, the Supreme Spirit, how it develops? It cannot develop. Either you take this body or take this universal body—without the spirit being entered within it, there cannot be development. The modern scientists, they have no knowledge. They cannot understand this. They are so poor fund of knowledge. Practically we are seeing every day.
And some of them, they think that with our spiritual body, spiritual vision, if we can observe continuously the Supreme Spirit, Paramātmā, then that is the solution of anartha. That is the yogi. Jñānī, yogi. And the karmīs, those who have no knowledge, ajānataḥ, fools, rascals... 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.
When your senses will be uncontaminated with all these designations, that is the beginning of bhakti. If I think, "I am American. Why shall I take Kṛṣṇa consciousness? It is Hindu God," that is foolishness. If I think "I am Muhammadan," "I am Christian," then you are gone. But if we purify the senses that "I am spirit soul. The Supreme Spirit Soul is Kṛṣṇa. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; therefore it is my duty to serve Kṛṣṇa," then you become free immediately. Immediately. You are no more American, Indian or African or this or that. You are Kṛṣṇized, Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is wanted.
Therefore Kuntīdevī says, "Hṛṣīkeśa, my dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the master of the senses, and for the sense gratification, we are fallen in this material condition of life, different varieties of life." So we are suffering, and suffering to the extent, even one becomes Kṛṣṇa's mother... Because this is material world, she's also put into suffering, what to speak of others? Devakī is so advanced that she has become the mother of Kṛṣṇa, but still she's put into difficulties. And difficulties by whom?
So here Kuntī says, janma karma ca viśvātmann ajasya. Aja means who never takes birth. Ajasya. Aja, the living entities, they are also aja, but sometimes the living entity, being attracted by the material energy, they come to this material world. Then their quality of aja, or not to take birth, becomes vanquished, because in the material world one has to take birth. But actually spirit soul, or the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa, they are aja. Ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said clearly that living entity is aja, nitya, śāśvata, ayam. "Then how he is dying?" one may question. That is also replied: na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Don't think... That dying means he's changing body, not dying. Therefore... Because Kṛṣṇa says the living entity is aja, everyone can question that "If he's aja, he does not take birth, then why he's taking birth? Why he's dying?" The answer is immediately there: na hanyate: "Don't think that he's dying." Na hanyate. "No, I see his body's being burned." No, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). That body is being burned. That...
Suppose if your cloth is burned... In my childhood, when I was three, four years old, I was saved. My all cloth burned, and there is a scar. You have seen. I would have died that day, but fortunately I was saved. The cloth was burning.
Why it becomes overburdened?
Yes. First of all, you have to consider how this planet is floating in the air. It is floating in the air as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, gām āviśya (BG 15.13). Because Kṛṣṇa enters within this... Kṛṣṇa. Just like He enters within the atom. So He's the spirit, Supreme Spirit. So because the Supreme Spirit is within, therefore it is floating. Not that weightlessness. Weight is there, very heavy weight. Just like you can test. This body will float in the water so long you are living. And as soon as the spirit soul goes, then immediately the body goes down. The law of gravity acts. The so-called law of gravity. This is an example. A child, so long it is living you can take in one hand. But as soon as the child is dead, it becomes heavier. That is natural.
So everything is lighter as soon as it is spiritually advanced or there is spirit. Similarly when we'll be spiritually advanced, then there will be no impediment. Now we cannot fly in the air, but when you are free from this body, your spirit soul, within a second you can go to the Vaikuṇṭhaloka. It is so light. Within a second.
Pradyumna: "This principle was followed from the very beginning of the creation. The Supreme Spirit entered the universe, and the first living being, Brahmā was born on a lotus flower grown out of the transcendental abdomen of Viṣṇu."
Prabhupāda: Now... Just like sometimes we see. Take for example Brahmā. He grew from the lotus flower. So one can say this lotus flower is matter. No. The lotus flower has grown from the navel of Viṣṇu, the original cause is Viṣṇu. If you take the lotus flower as matter, then it has also grown from the spirit. This is the beginning. The spirit soul is the basis of creation. What is the difficulty to understand? We can see practically. Unless there is spirit soul, there cannot be...
Just like this body, your body, my body, even elephant's body... It has grown. It has grown because the spirit soul is there. As soon as the spirit soul is not there, there will be no more growth, no more growth and the body will be heavy. Due to the spirit soul within the body, the body is light. You can make an experiment.
We have given it, this example, that these flowers, these flowers they are in the florist shop, there are so may flowers that people are purchasing, we are purchasing, others are purchasing. They are purchasing for sense gratification, and we are purchasing for Kṛṣṇa. The flower is the same. So one may ask that "You are offering to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit, how you are offering material things, these flowers?" But they do not know that actually there is nothing as material. When you forget Kṛṣṇa, that is material. That is material. This flower is meant for Kṛṣṇa. This is spiritual. And when we take it, this flower, for my sense enjoyment, this is material. This is avidyā. Avidyā means ignorance. Nothing belongs to me. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore our movement is for awakening this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We should know that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is fact. The world is fact. This world is created by Kṛṣṇa, therefore it is also fact. So everything is fact when it is done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise it is māyā, avidyā.
The Māyāvādī philosopher says that when Kṛṣṇa comes, He accepts a material body. But these foolish people, they do not know that Kṛṣṇa has no material body. For Kṛṣṇa, everything is spiritual. Kṛṣṇa has no material body. It is for us to distinguish between matter and spirit. But Kṛṣṇa, being the original source of everything, He is absolutely spirit. That's all. The Supreme Spirit. He has no such distinction.
The same example, as I have given many times: Just like for an electrical engineer, there is no such distinction that "This is heater" and "This is cooler." Heat and cool, opposite. But the, for the engineer, electrical engineer, he takes as much importance for the heater, as much for the cooler. So, for Him, there is no such distinction, material or spiritual. It is for us. Because we are now in the dual stage, the world of duality, relativity. This world is relativity. We cannot work so nicely with material consciousness. But Kṛṣṇa has no such thing. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. There is no distinction, material and spiritual.
So therefore, out of such millions of karmīs, one becomes jñānī. Jñānī. Koṭi karmī madhye eka jñānī śreṣṭha.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that "Out of many, many karmīs, one who is jñānī..." Jñānī means one who knows that "I am not this body. I am spirit." But still, there is some mistake. They think that "I am the Supreme Spirit." So 'ham. Māyā is so strong. Even after so much austerities, coming practically on the verge of perfection, they are misled by māyā. This so 'ham. So 'ham means "I am the same." But "I am the same" does not mean "I am the same Supreme." "I am the same in quality." So 'ham does not mean that "I am as good as the Supreme Brahman." It does not mean. Part is never equal to the whole. We are part of the Supreme Brahman. Mamaivāṁśaḥ. So in quality, just like a small particle of gold is also gold-quality is the same. A small drop of sea water is the same quality, salty. But that does not mean the drop of sea water becomes the sea. The māyā is so strong. Therefore Bhāgavata says, "The impersonalists, Māyāvādīs, although they think that they have become one with the Supreme, but their intelligence is not yet complete." Ye 'nye, ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.
This is love. Yugāyi... Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu tasted the gopīs' feelings. Śrī-caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktiḥ. Kṛṣṇa, when He wants to enjoy... He is the Absolute Supreme Person, spirit, Absolute, the Supreme Spirit. So for spiritual enjoyment in this material world great saintly persons, sages, they give up all material enjoyment just to taste what is spiritual enjoyment, spiritual life.
Brahmānubhūti. They give up everything. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). By austerity, brahmacarya, yamena, niyamena, tyāgena, satya-śaucābhyām—so many processes they adopt for tasting a little brahmānubhūti. Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena (SB 10.12.11). So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that "Here, the Kṛṣṇa, here is, playing with the cowherds boys. Who is He?" Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. "The great sages, saintly persons, who are trying to taste the spiritual realization, that is here. He is playing as cowherd boy." Dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena: "And those who are devotees, for them He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa: "And those who are māyāśrita, they are thinking, 'This Kṛṣṇa is ordinary human child.'
"You are Parabrahma." Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Bhavān. Bhavān means "Your Lordship." "You are Parabrahma, the Supreme Brahma." He's the Supreme Brahma. Brahma means spirit and brahma means the greatest. So he has explicitly explained that spirit soul, we are all spirit soul, every one of us. But He is the supreme spirit soul, param. Param means the supreme. He's not ordinary. So He comes as ordinary, not ordinary, as human being, but He is the supreme human being. That is the difference. Supreme human being. But one who cannot understand, one who thinks, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is like us. He has got also two hands, two legs, one head. We have got also. He is like me," he is a mūḍha, rascal. Therefore it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ: (BG 9.11) "These rascal fools, they deride." Mānuṣīṁ tanum āś... Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ, "They have no knowledge of the paraṁ bhāvam." So the paraṁ bhāvam, that is understood by the devotees. That is the difference. Budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ, Kṛṣṇa has said. Budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ (BG 10.8). Paraṁ bhāvam, this bhāva... Bhāva means assimilation—"Oh, Kṛṣṇa is so great." This is called bhāva. That is real understanding, when you understand really this bhāva stage. Bhāva-bhakti.
The spark is also fire. When the sparks fall on your body, it immediately burns your clothes, because it is fire. Similarly, in quality, we are as good as God. We are spirit soul, and Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit soul, Paramātmā. So qualitatively, there is no difference. But quantitatively, there is difference. His intelligence, His power, and my power, my intelligence, is not the same.
You can manufacture a toy sputnik to fly in the sky, to float in the sky, by so many mechanical arrangements. As soon as the machine is gone out, immediately falls down. But just see what machine is there, millions and trillions of airplanes, big, big planet with big, big mountains, oceans, they are floating. So that is His intelligence. Your intelligence may be that you can also float a big airplane. But what is that big airplane in comparison to this big, big planet? It is nothing. There is also petrol stock, and in the airplane there is also petrol stock.
You are sitting here. Immediately, within a second, you can go thousands of miles away, immediately. That is mind's force. And the spiritual force is still more greater than the mind's force. So tyaktvā deham, as soon as you give up this body, immediately, within a second, you reach Kṛṣṇa-loka. That is perfection. That perfection is suggested here. Paraṁ brahma dhyāyan, paraṁ brahma dhyāyan nāvarteta. The real... You don't come back again to accept material body. You are spiritual spark. Again you are with the supreme spirit, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha.
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
- sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ
- sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
- (Bs. 5.1)
Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Eternal, sat, cit. Cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda, bliss. That is required.
"Now the age of Kali is making his progress very nicely." This is progress. Then another symptom is vittam eva kalau nṟṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ. Formerly, according to spiritual understanding, one man's position was calculated. Just like brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa was honored because he knew Brahman. He was aware of the supreme spirit. So now in Kali-yuga, actually there is no brāhmaṇa. That will be also described, how a brāhmaṇa is. So janma ācāra, birthright. Birthright was there, but according to the behavior. If a man is born in a brāhmaṇa family or kṣatriya family or vai..., he must behave like that. That was the king's duty, to see that "This man is not falsely representing himself." Just like in England there is lord family. So to maintain their aristocracy, the family had to deposit some money with the government so that they may not deteriorate in their aristocratic behavior. Still, it is going on. But now things are finished.
So aristocracy and respectability, these things were according to culture, according to education. But nowadays, what is that? Vittam eva kalau nṟṇām. If you get money somehow or other, then everything is there. You may be a third-class, fourth-class, tenth-class man, but if you get money some way or other, then you are very respectable.
He may not know in the beginning, but if he is inquisitive about knowing the Absolute Truth, he is human being. Just try to understand what is the distinction between a human being and cat and dog. So a human being means he is inquiring about the spirit soul or the spiritual world, the supreme spirit, God, Kṛṣṇa. He is human being. Otherwise cats and dogs. It is very simple to distinguish who is a cat and dog and who is a human being. There is no difficulty. What is the subject matter of his inquiry and what he is after? What he wants in life? Everyone wants to eat very nicely in table, chair and nice plate, nicely cooked food, and palatable. Never mind whatever nonsense it is; it must be palatable. So that is eating, eating problem. So in this way, if we analyze, it is not difficult to find out who is a human being and who is a cat and dog. That is... Everything can be understood.
That is animal qualification. But a human being, he has the opportunity to come to the stage of jñāna and vairāgya.
Jñāna means to understand that "I am not this material body. I do not belong to this material body. I am a spirit soul. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit, and I belong to the spiritual world. Therefore my business is to finish this material world business and go back to home, back to Godhead." This is jñāna, knowledge. Therefore we have to understand Kṛṣṇa. If we have to go somewhere, we must know where we are going. Because we are serving here. Now, another program has to be made to serve Kṛṣṇa and live there in the spiritual world. So we have to understand Kṛṣṇa very nicely. That... And if you can understand Kṛṣṇa... Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, that is not very easy task. That is very, very difficult task. Even the muktas cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhi means mukti, liberation. Kaścid yatati. Who is trying for liberation? Nobody's trying. But still, there are somebodies who are trying for liberation.
And self-realization means opening the knots, opening the knots. The knots began like that. Janasya moho yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). And here it is said, hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam. Bhedanam means separate them. Separate them. That is self-realization. Self-realization means that "I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. So 'ham, "I am as good as the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa. Somehow or other I am now in contact with this material attachment." This is called ātma-darśana. And that is clearly explained, ātma-darśana means hṛdaya-granthi-bhedanam. Ātma-darśanam does not mean hṛdaya-granthi vṛddhi or increasing. Therefore, real ātma-darśana, real liberation, real consciousness is separation from this material attachment. Voluntarily, forcefully, or by knowledge, that is required.
Therefore you will find, India, Vedic civilization is meant for this unknotting, the hṛdaya-granthi. Therefore sannyāsa is compulsory. Vānaprastha is compulsory.
Just like this fire. This fire, if there are too many ashes, the heat of the fire is not properly felt. But you move the ashes and just fan it, and when it is blazing, then you get the proper heat and you can utilize it for so many purposes. Similarly, we, as spirit soul, we have immense power. And God is the supreme spirit soul, so we cannot imagine how much power God has got. But even we, who are a simply minute particle... Just like... Comparison is just like the fire and the sparks. The fire and the sparks, both of them are fire. The spark even, wherever the spark will fall, immediately it will burn. Similarly, we have got all the qualities in minute quantity of God. God has the creative force; therefore we are also creating so many things. The scientists are creating so many wonderful things. That is wonderful for persons like us, because we do not know how much wonderful one can play. That we do not know.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is educating people that "You are not this body, not this mind, not this intelligence, but above this. You are spirit soul." So Kṛṣṇa confirms that mamaivāṁśa. So if Kṛṣṇa is spirit, supreme spirit, then you are also supreme spirit. But the only difference is that He is the supreme; we are subordinate. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti... (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). This is Vedic injunction. He's also living entity, we are also living entity, but He is supreme and we are subordinate. That is the difference. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. This is our position. This is self-realization. When you understand this, that "Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, or God, whatever you say, He's the whole spirit soul, and we are fragmental portion of that spirit soul, and He's the maintainer; we are maintained. He is the predominator; we are predominated," So this is first realization. This is called brahma-bhūta. And if you make more advance in brahma-bhūta stage, then maybe after many births you can understand what is Kṛṣṇa. That is the, ver... Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19).
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.
But on account of being covered by these material elements—earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, intelligence, and ego—we are suffering this disease—janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). Janma means birth, and mṛtyu means death. As soon as we take birth, it means we must be prepared for death. I am increasing my age means decreasing my age, not increasing. When a child is born, if some friends asks, "When this child is born?" "Now, one week before," that means the child has already died one week. From his duration of life, make one week minus. So we are dying every moment. Mṛtyu, death, is sure. "As sure as death."
And understanding from the right person, Kṛṣṇa or His representative. And it has to be understood simply by hearing. There is no other process. You cannot see; it is so small particle. Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca (CC Madhya 19.140). So in these material eyes we cannot see even the spiritual spark within the body. How you can see the Supreme Spirit? It is not possible. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). These blunt senses cannot see. But we can perceive. This much concession is there, and one can become completely free from bodily conception of life. That is...
Here is the example by Ṛṣabhadeva. There are many. In the yogic process, aṇimā-siddhi... Yogis, those who have attained some perfection in the yoga process, you can put him into locked room but he'll come out. That is called aṇimā-siddhi. Very small, the spirit soul, he'll come out. Aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti, siddhi, there are eight kinds of... He can do that. There was one sannyāsī, Trailinga Swami in Benares. He was sitting on the road naked.
This spiritual spark, as soon as takes shelter into the womb of a woman, it develops this body. The spiritual spark has that power, develops body. So I am a spirit soul, I have developed this body. That means I am a spiritual spark, which is source of this body, all mechanisms. And similarly, the whole creation, it is..., there is supreme spirit. The whole creation, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So He knows everything because He is perfect. But I do not know. Although it is by my energy this body is produced. I do not know how these veins are created, how these bones are created. I do not know. Therefore I am not God. I do not know... I say "my body," but actually this body has developed, me, as spirit soul, but I do not know how many hairs are there on my head and how it is growing. But He knows. That is a characteristic of the Absolute Truth. He must be knowing everything, and that is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Vedahaṁ samatītāni: (BG 7.26) "I know everything in the past. I know what will happen in the future. I know everything." That is God.
So long we are in this bodily concept, "I am this car," that is ignorance. I am not this car, but I have to utilize this car for going to my destination. That is wanted. So I am not this body. I am spirit soul. My destination is how to go to the spiritual world, how to meet the supreme spirit, God, and live with Him in His association. So this life is meant for understanding what is the Supreme Lord, where does He live, what does He do, what is my relationship with Him. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. That is actual education. And I am given this machine. If we simply study the machine, then what is the use of it? The śāstra says that machine is working, and it will work until it is rotten. So you don't bother with the machine, but you simply appreciate that you have got now a good machine. The dog has got also a machine, and a human being has got a machine. Everyone has got a machine, living entity, but the śāstra says, "This machine should not be utilized like the dog's machine." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ... Everyone has got machine.
When the spirit soul goes away, you're crying, "My father is gone, my father is gone." Why father is gone? He's lying on the bed. You have seen the coat, pants, hands, legs, that is there. Why you say gone? "No, he's gone." So we cannot see the spirit soul even of our father and mother; how can you see God, the Supreme Spirit? Therefore God comes before you just like stone, which you can see. It is to favor you. God is everything. So, in this way, we have to understand God, Kṛṣṇa. And if anyone understands, then he becomes immediately fit for going back to home, back to Godhead. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo tattvataḥ (BG 4.9).
So therefore we require good association. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis tato bhāvas sadhakānām ayaṁ premnaḥ prādurbhāve... (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). You cannot develop love of Godhead in one second. You can, provided you are so sincere and God is very much pleased upon you. He can give you. He can give you immediately. That is possible. But that may be some rare cases. Ordinarily, this is the process.
They accuse us. But they do not know that we do not distinguish matter and spirit. Anything which is used for Kṛṣṇa, that is spirit. This house, if you use for making a club, dancing club, that is material. And if this house is used for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and dancing, that is spiritual. That is the difference, because actually everything is emanation from the supreme spirit soul, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says bhūmir āpo 'nalaḥ vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, apareyam. What you say material, that is also expansion of the energy of Kṛṣṇa. So actually it is not material. But when you use it for other purposes than Kṛṣṇa, that is material. You should know this philosophy very nicely.
Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī said, prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi. Īśāvāsyam idam sarvam (ISO 1). Everything has got relationship with God. We must know that, that nothing can exist without God. Therefore in other sense, everything is God. So everything is God, then how it is material? It is material when it is not used for God. This is material. And if it is used for God, Kṛṣṇa, then it is... Therefore, abhadrāṇi and bhadrāṇi, two things, are to be distinguished. How? This is the process. Try to engage everything in God's service. Then it is bhadrāṇi.
What is the engagement? At night, sleeping or sex indulgence, and at daytime, "Where is money? Where is money?" And if there is money, then "Where to purchase these things?" Go to the store. Go to the shop. Finish. So that sort of inquiry engagement is not a qualification for understanding spiritual science. One should be inquisitive. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. One should be inquisitive to understand what is the highest benefit of life. And that is the beginning of Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsā. And the highest benefit of life is to understand the spiritual science or the supreme spirit, athāto brahma, brahma-jijñāsā. So before establishing our relationship with God, we have to establish our relationship with the negotiator. If that relationship is sound and secure, then your realization of God is secure and sound. There is no doubt about it. If, fortunately, one gets a bona fide spiritual master and if he follows the instruction rigidly, then his God realization is guaranteed. There is no doubt about it.
Therefore those who are Māyāvādīs to become one with the Supreme, they do not know what is satisfaction really. Artificially they try to become one. That is not satisfaction. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). The Māyāvādī thinks that "Now I have realized Brahman. I am Brahman, spirit soul. So I'll become one with the supreme spirit soul as soon as this body is finished." Gatākāśa potakāśa, it is said. But that is not real satisfaction. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. They think, "Now I am liberated. I am one with the Supreme." But actually he is artificially thinking that. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Because they have no right information how to become satisfied fully, therefore they are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Their intelligence is not yet pure. It is impure, again material. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
A young boy loves a young woman for his sense gratification, not for her sense gratification. Similarly she also. So in this material, this cheating is going on. I want to satisfy my lusty desires, but it is going on in the name of love. There cannot be any love in this material world. Because love is between spirit and spirit. But if we try to love the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa, then we shall understand how our love can be spread in the spiritual world. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām.
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu...
- (BG 18.54)
When we come to the spiritual platform, then actual love begins. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. That love begins... If we can love Kṛṣṇa, then, through Kṛṣṇa's love, we can expand our love for everyone. Yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ (SB 4.31.14).
Last night in the television, one boy was asking me, "Swamijī, you are all after spiritualism. Why you are using this clay as tilaka and so many things you are using which is matter?" So I explained to him... Perhaps you have known. Actually, there is no matter, actually, in this sense, because everything is emanating from the Supreme Spirit. Everything is emanating... Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). What is the Absolute Truth? The Absolute Truth is that from which everything is emanating—the source, the fountainhead, the fountainhead of everything. So whatever we see... Now, of course, we are in condition, material condition. We see everything material. But even this material energy is also spiritual because it is coming from the spirit, the Supreme Spirit. Suppose anything comes from the fire, it is hot. Fire, anything coming from... Anything you take. You are cooking daily, and as soon as you cook something it becomes very hot, and you take it from... It is hot. You cannot touch it. So by nature, everything is hot or everything is spirit because it is coming from the spirit, by nature. Just like sunshine. Sunshine has got all the qualities of the sun. Sunshine has got temperature. Sunshine has got illuminating power as the original sun has got. Similarly, although the whole creation, whole manifestation, is the display of the energy of the Supreme Lord, they are not different in quality. In quality there is no difference.
Then whatever energy you have got, that is sufficient to approach God. It doesn't matter what you are. Sarvātmanā mahi gṛṇāmi yathā manīṣam. Yathā manīṣam means "as far as it is possible by me." Nīco ajayā, "although I am born low," guṇa visargam anupraviṣṭaḥ, "but as soon as the vibration of Lord's name will enter unto me, so I am, I may be qualitatively very low..." Just like there are three qualities. Someone may be in the quality of goodness, someone may be in the quality of passion, someone may be in the quality of darkness, or ignorance. But Kṛṣṇa, or God, is transcendental to all qualities, because He's Supreme Spirit. We are also transcendental to all qualities, but at the present circumstances we are under the clutches of this qualitative existence. Somebody is very good man, somebody is very passionate man, somebody is ignorant fool. These are all qualitative representation of this material world. But as soon as you come to the platform of God, you transcend all the qualities. All the qualities. There is no such distinction, "good man," "bad man," "this man" or "that man."
"The world belongs to me or to my nation or to my family or to my community," he is thief. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). The Vedic literature informs us that everything belongs to Īśa, God. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yad kiñcit jagatyāṁ jagat. And by Him it is going on: the Supreme Spirit. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, yayedam dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5). Just like what is the value of this city of Montreal? Because there are so many living entities. That's all. If the all men and women immediately becomes dead, what is the value of this city? Is there any value of the matter? No. Because the living entities, the living force is there, therefore the city has value, the land has value. Suppose if everyone was dead, what was the value of this apartment? Nobody would come and ask for rent. Valueless.
So we have to understand that behind every value there is spirit, Supreme. And the Supreme Spirit is the real value. So Vedic instruction is īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: "Everything belongs to God." The world is moving due to that Supreme Spirit or the small spirit. We are small spirit, and God is Supreme Spirit. So we are changing... We are under Him. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13).
One man fainted; there is no consciousness. That does not mean there is no life. There is life. The consciousness has not developed.
So this is the anupraviṣṭaḥ. This is the fact. Matter cannot develop without the entrance of the spirit, either the spark of the spirit or the Supreme Spirit. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antam, aṇḍāntarastham: He enters. We have got many informations that this brahmāṇḍa, the Garbhodakaśayī Viṣṇu enters. Then, from His abdomen, the lotus flower stem is there. Then Brahmā comes, and then Brahmā creates. So the original creation or the beginning of the activities of this universe was first the entrance of Garbhodakaśayī Viṣṇu. The Mahā-Viṣṇu... Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). First of all this universe is one of the millions of universes who is coming out from the pores of the transcendental body of Mahā-Viṣṇu, and then Mahā-Viṣṇu, in the form of Garbhodakaśayī Viṣṇu, enters each and every universe, and then things takes place. Then Brahmā is created. This is the process of creation. Anupraviṣṭaḥ.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Then there is no existence of the body, and there is no pains and pleasure. Make it zero. This is called śūnyavādī. And the Māyāvādī, their philosophy is stop this variegatedness. We are suffering pains and pleasure within this material world on account of these varieties. So these varieties, they are on, built on the foundation of the Supreme Spirit. So merge into the Supreme Spirit and get out of these varieties. This is their philosophy. So the Buddha philosophy or the Māyāvāda philosophy, they're almost one, because their ultimate goal is to make things zero.
But our philosophy is different. Our philosophy is that as there are varieties in this material world, there are varieties in the spiritual world. That varieties. Just like the sky. In the sky, there are varieties. There are different kinds of planets, floating in the sky. Ordinarily seeing, in daytime, we see the sky is vacant. How it is vacant? It is not vacant. It is the defect of my eyes that I cannot see the varieties. The vari... At night we can see the varieties. There are so many planets, so many stars. And each of them full of varieties. Just like this planet. It is, we learn from the śāstra. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudādhi bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). There are innumerable universes. This universe is one only.
These are all designations of the body. Spiritually, we are all one. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). So if we are on the spiritual platform... On the spiritual platform means to understand the Science of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Spirit. Then if we are conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, then anyone who is such enlightened, he is perfect spiritual master. It doesn't matter what he is. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was born in Muhammadan family. Sanātana Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī, they were rejected from the brāhmaṇa community and they took the Muslim names, Sākara Mallika, Dabira Khāsa. But it is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's preaching that He collected all these exalted personalities. They were associates of Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
But the universality of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is such that anyone can become Kṛṣṇa conscious, and anyone can accept or be elevated to the exalted post of gosvāmī, namācārya. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura was made the Namācārya. And Sanātana Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī, although rejected by the brāhmaṇa community, they were the exalted Gosvāmīs, six Gosvāmīs.
Because if our attention is diverted towards these material things... Material things means, as I have repeatedly explained, forgetful of Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise there is no, nothing material. It is illusion. Illusion means actually there is nothing material. How it can be material? If the Supreme Lord is Supreme Spirit, everything is coming from Him, so what we call the material energy, that is also coming from the Supreme.
But the difficulty is that in this inferior energy... Inferior energy means where there is possibility of forgetting Kṛṣṇa. Actually, that is the fact. People are engaged in so many activities. We can see it very nicely in the Western countries. They are inventing so many modern facilities. But the result is they're forgetting Kṛṣṇa. That is material. Material means forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, there is nothing except Kṛṣṇa. Idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ. Prahlāda Mahārāja, yes, Nārada Mahārāja said that "This world is Kṛṣṇa." Idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ. "But it appears like that it is different from Bhagavān."
"Others, who are less intelligent, or those whose intelligence has been taken away by the spell of māyā, are attached to different demigods on account of the influence of the modes of nature. The wise man is he who has clearly understood that he is not..., that he is spirit soul and not simply a body. Because he realizes that he is spirit and that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit, he knows that his intimate relationships should be with Kṛṣṇa, not with this body. The distressed and the man who wants money are in the material concept of life because distress and need of money are both in relationship with this body. One who is inquisitive may be a little above the distressed and the man in need of money, but still he is on the material platform. But a wise man who seeks Kṛṣṇa knows perfectly well that he is spirit soul, or Brahman, and that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme spirit soul, or Para-brahman. He knows that the spirit soul, being subordinate and finite..."
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
We are also expansion of Kṛṣṇa, but we are not equal to the Viṣṇu-tattva. We are fragment fires. The example is given, just like the big fire and the spark fire. So we living entities, we are spark fire. We are also fire, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, vibhinnāṁśa... Aṁśa means part and parcel. So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit, and we are part and parcel. We are also spirit, but we are not supreme. That is the difference. Svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa ekale īśvara. So actually, īśvara means the controller. The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa.
So in the next verse the Kṛṣṇa's business is rāsādi-vilāsa. He's busy in dancing with the gopīs. He has no other business. Just like we try to imitate Kṛṣṇa. Big, big rich men, they go to the ball dance. Especially in your country, at night, big, big businessmen, politicians, they go to the night club for dancing. You know that. And they pay fifty dollars for entrance fee. I have seen in France, Paris. And then other fees for dancing with particular girls, and other things. So wherefrom this propensity comes, dancing? That comes from the Supreme Lord. Rāsādi-vilāsa.
Therefore in each end of chapter of Bhāgavatam you'll find, brahma-sūtrasya bhāṣyayam. So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the natural comment on Vedānta-sūtra by the author himself. So the Vedānta-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā, unless one is inquisitive to understand about Brahman or the supreme spirit or the basic principle of our life...
- indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur
- indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
- manasas tu parā buddhir
- buddhes tu ya para saḥ
- (BG 3.42)
So Brahman means... Generally we are identified with this body. Body means the senses. We take prominent the senses. Whole world is going on on the sense perception, sense gratification. So indriyāṇi parāny āhuḥ. The indriyas are very prominent in materialistic way of life. Indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ. Then, above the indriyas, there is the mind. Just like philosopher, psychologist or scientist, who are thoughtful, thinking, they are also on the mental platform.
Similarly, the one may understand that he is spirit soul and he may try his best to merge into the spiritual effulgence, Brahman—ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I shall remain in Brahman"—but because he is person, the impersonalism condition will not be helpful to him, and because he has no personal view of the supreme spirit—he cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa—naturally he again comes back to this material world and surrenders to the material subject matter. Sometimes he is engaged in philanthropic work or altruistic work. He thought, "This is the best service. instead of serving myself, let me serve the whole humanity, whole community, whole nation," so on, so on, so on. But they are all asad-dharma. They are not sad-dharma.
So when one is actually in sad-dharma or he is hankering after sad-dharma, then Kṛṣṇa helps him. Kṛṣṇa helps him. That we get information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart, so Kṛṣṇa gives him opportunity. Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi.
So a paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18), means even materially all these living entities, although in different forms of body, the ingredients are the same. Sama-darśinaḥ. And spiritually, if living entity is spiritual spark, the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, that is all the same. You are also spark of the supreme spirit; I am also the spark supreme spirit, every one of us. So therefore they can see equally everyone. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. When one comes to this position, then mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). That means bhakti begins when one is mukta. Mukti has already been attained. Bhakti begins. So unless you accept Kṛṣṇa as your eternal master, how you can engage yourself in His service? So bhakti means mukti.
We can see water. We cannot see even air, the finer material things. We cannot see mind. We know that mind is there in every soul, every body. Every one of us has got mind, but we cannot see. We cannot see the sky. So the..., in the material world also, there are so many finer things which we cannot see. And what to speak of spiritual? So that spiritual, Supreme Spirit, when He appears before us, seeable, so that we can see, so that is His mercy. That is His mercy. Because we cannot see even the soul within ourself; we are seeing only the body. So what to speak of the Supreme Spirit? That is not possible. Yasyāvatāra jñāyante śarīriṣv aśarīriṇaḥ. Therefore it is the inconceivable power that the incarnation of God appears before us.
Mukti, liberation... The impersonalists think that simply by cultivating knowledge that "I am not matter; I am spirit," or "I am one with the Supreme Spirit; I am now... Out of ignorance, I am thinking different, but when I am fully elevated to the platform of knowledge, then I become liberated." But the..., there is no answer that "Why you have become conditioned?" The impersonalists think that "I am one with the Supreme. Now, due to my ignorance, I have forgotten that I am the Supreme." Because they do not recognize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so they think that impersonal conception of the spirit soul: "I am now... Out of ignorance, I am thinking matter, but as soon as my ignorance is over, I shall become one with the Supreme." So this is the theory of the impersonalists. But they... They cannot give any answer that "Why you have become under the influence of ignorance? If you are the Supreme, then what is the cause that you have become conditioned? Then the Supreme will become conditioned under the material nature. Then how one can become the Supreme? Supreme cannot be conditioned." So there is no answer for this question from the impersonalists' school.
Festival Lectures
If we do not agree to be controlled by Kṛṣṇa, then we shall be controlled by the material energy, this bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). Actually, we are spiritual energy. We should voluntarily agree to be controlled by Kṛṣṇa. That is devotional service. That is devotional service. We are spiritual energy, and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Spirit. So if we agree to be controlled by Kṛṣṇa, then we are promoted to the spiritual world. If we agree. Kṛṣṇa does not interfere with your little independence. Yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63). Kṛṣṇa say to Arjuna, "Whatever you like, you can do." That independence we have got.
So out of that independence we have come to this material world, to enjoy freely. So Kṛṣṇa has given us freedom, "You can enjoy freely." And we are trying to do that. But the result is that we are becoming entangled. We are given the freedom to work in this material world. Everyone is trying to become the master of the material world. Nobody is trying to become the servant. Only we, the Vaiṣṇavas, we are trying to become servant. The karmīs and jñānīs, they do not like to become servant. They criticize us that "You Vaiṣṇavas, you have got slave mentality." Yes, we have got the slave menta... Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). That is our position.
If one is God, then how he has become dog? This much common sense there is not. God is God; dog is dog. This Dvaitavāda philosophy is perfect. Acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different. We have got... Because we are spiritual energy, therefore... Kṛṣṇa is Supreme Spirit. Therefore we are in one in quality, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Aṇor aṇīyān mahataḥ. He's mahato mahīyān, and we are aṇor aṇīyān. We are smaller than the smallest. This relationship with Kṛṣṇa is perfect. If we had been actually God, then why we are fallen? This is not possible. God is God. He's never... God's name is Acyuta. He never falls down. But jīva-bhūta, jīva, living entities, they are cyuta. They falls down from the spiritual platform to the material platform.
So they may... Although we have fallen in the material platform, but because we are spiritual energy, therefore Kṛṣṇa is describing this living entity as para prakṛti. It is prakṛti. Prakṛti means to be controlled by the puruṣa.
General Lectures
Just like you can have fire only in association with fire, not with water. If you want to get yourself warm, then you have to associate with fire, not with water, not with air. Similarly, if you want to spiritualize your vision, if you want to spiritualize your action, if you want to spiritualize the whole constitution of your existence, then you have to associate with the supreme spirit. And that supreme spirit is very kind because He is everything. That we have already explained. Everything is interrelated with the Supreme; therefore He is interrelated with sound also. So by God's inconceivable potency, He can present before yourself in sound incarnation. That is His potency. That is His potency. He can do that. And therefore this name, Kṛṣṇa, and the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference.
So our, this sound representation of the Supreme Lord constantly will make us... Just like our association with the fire, the, I mean to say, iron rod's association with the fire makes the rod equally qualified, exactly—not equally qualified, but almost the quality of burning it gets—similarly, by our constant association with Lord... Lord is not only incarnation in a sound form. He is incarnated in many other forms, in many other forms. Just like arcā. Arcā means the form of the Lord situated, I mean to say, established in some temple and worshiped.
Similarly, although it is written in Sanskrit words symbolically, but it is vibration. It is transcendental vibration. If you take to this vibration, then we become directly in touch with the Supreme Lord. That makes us purified. Just like if you go to the fire you become warm, similarly, if you be directly in touch with the Supreme Spirit, then our purification begins. So if you take to this movement, if you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, then this impure consciousness will be purified and you will know what you are. Just like Brahmānanda said that it is the process of cleansing the mind, cleansing the mind from all dirty things. And as soon as you are cleansed of all dirty things, then your material anxieties are immediately over. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
- mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
- (BG 18.54)
Brahma-bhūtaḥ means as soon as you come to the platform of your spiritual understanding, then immediately you get free from all material anxieties. Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. You are no more hankering after any profit, neither you are very sorry when there is a great loss. Then you can see everyone on the equal level, and then your relationship or your lost relationship is again established with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then your real life begins.
There is no difference in quality. Just like you take a drop of water from the vast Atlantic sea and you chemically analyze the ingredients. The composition of the drop of water is equal to the composition of the vast Atlantic water. Drop of water is equal to the vast mass of water in the Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, you are a spark of the Supreme Spirit Soul. You have got all the chemical qualities or composition as God has. But God is great; you are minute. He is infinite; you are infinitesimal. Qualitatively one, but quantitatively different. So those who are simply accepting the feature of being qualitatively one, they are called Advaitavādis. They are mistaking that quantitatively they cannot be equal. If quantitatively the living entity is equal to God, then why he is fallen in this conditional life of material existence? That means being his constitutional position very infinitesimal, he is prone to be caught up by the influence of māyā. And if you say that you are also the Supreme, then how you are caught by the māyā? Then māyā becomes great; God is not great. These things are to be considered.
So we are also shining just like the particles of the sun globe, but we are not equal to the complete sun. The glowing particles, molecules of the sunshine, is not equal in quantity with the sun globe, but in quality it is the same. Similarly, we living entities, we are minute particles of that supreme spirit soul, Kṛṣṇa or God. Therefore we are also shine. We are of the same quality. Just like a small particle of gold is gold. It is not iron. Similarly, we are spirit soul; therefore we are one. But because I am minute... Just like the same example. The marginal portion being very small, it is being sometimes covered by the water. But the large portion of the land, that is without any water. Similarly, māyā can cover the minute particles of the spirit soul, but māyā cannot cover the supreme whole. Just like the same example, the sky, the sunshine. The sunshine, portion of the sunshine, is covered by cloud. But if you go by airplane, jet plane, above the cloud, you'll find the sunshine is without any cloud. The cloud cannot cover the whole sun.
There is no material microscope or machine to find out. But it is there. It is there. The symptom is, because it is there in my body, because it is there in your body, therefore you are moving, you are talking, you are planning, so many things you are doing—simply for that spiritual spark. So we are very minute spark of the supreme spirit. Just like there are in the sunshine minute particles, shining particles. With shining, these shining particles, when they are mixed together, that is sunshine. But they are molecules. They are separate, atomic molecules. Similarly, in relationship with God and ourselves, we are also minute particles of God, shining. Shining means we have got the same propensities, thinking, feeling, willing, creating, everything. Whatever you see in yourself, that is there in God. So God cannot be impersonal, because we are all persons. I have got so many propensities—that is very minute quantity. The same propensities are there in Kṛṣṇa, or God, but that is very great, unlimited. This is the study of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply greatness, my position is very small. And we are so small, infinitesimal; still, we have got so many propensities, so many desires, so many activities, so many brain work. Just imagine how much greater brain work and desire and propensities are there in God, because He's great.
Man knows, at least, he should try to know, "What I am? What is God? What is this world? What is our interrelation?" This is man's business. This is called athāto brahma jijñāsā. In the Vedānta-sūtra, the first sūtra, aphorism, is atha ataḥ brahma-jijñāsā: "This human form of life is meant for inquiry about the spirit, Supreme Spirit, Brahman." That is the beginning of spiritual education.
So spiritual education—first to understand "What I am," then "What is God," "What is this world." "What is our interrelation," then "What is God's position," "What is my position," "How I shall deal with God"—these things are spiritual education, and human life is meant for that purpose. The nature gives chance to the living entity, this developed consciousness of human being, in order to understand these things. And if he is fortunate enough to understand that he is spirit soul, he is Brahman, then the Bhagavad-gītā gives definition of such man that brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: (BG 18.54) as soon as he comes to the understanding of spiritual platform, then he becomes joyful, immediately—freed from all anxieties.
And my relationship with God is this. God is like this." And gradually, you will develop your love for God. You have got that love. Dormant love is there, but because we do not know what is God, because we do not see the beauty of God, because we do not know the mercy of God, therefore our love has been forced or placed in the dog. Instead of God, we have placed our love on dog. So we have to simply change. Our love is distributed in the matter in so many ways. That will not make me happy because I am not matter. I am a spirit soul. I have to transfer my love towards the Supreme Spirit, God, then I'll be happy.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a process by which you can transform your love from matter to God. That's all. You have got love but you are being frustrated. You are being frustrated. You are being baffled. Your love is not placed in the proper place. Therefore we have to make our choice, "Where I shall place my love?" Then I'll be satisfied.
This is called mukti, liberation. As soon as we understand that "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa," this identification is ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this." Brahmāsmi, this concept of life, that "I do not belong to this material world. I am Brahman. I am spirit soul..." So without being spirit soul, how we can become servant of the supreme spirit? Just like without being fire, you cannot remain in the fire, similarly, without becoming Brahman, how we can serve the Supreme Brahman? So this is Brahman realization. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). Now, after being purified, what is your position? Not that you become imperson. There are philosophers, that when one becomes identified with Brahman, he becomes immediately imperson. No. We keep our personality. We are never imperson. All of us are individuals. Kṛṣṇa is individual. We are sitting here. We are all individual. So we keep our individuality, but our senses become purified. That is called mukti.
What is called? Computer? Eh? Computer. But still, a trained man requires to handle the computer. Then what is the meaning of this computer? Whatever machine you make... Similarly, we should understand that this great machine, which is known as cosmic manifestation, material nature—there is a supreme spirit which is manipulating. That is Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa says. It is confirmed. So our process of knowledge is very easy and perfect. The scientists, they are searching out what is the ultimate cause or ultimate control of this material nature, and they are putting, theorizing different propositions. But our means of knowledge, very easy and perfect because we are hearing from the perfect person, Kṛṣṇa. And He says, mayādhyakṣeṇa (BG 9.10). So immediately we know that all this cosmic machine, which is working so nicely and wonderfully, behind this machine the driver is Kṛṣṇa. Exactly behind a machine here, there is a machine driver, similarly, behind this big machine of material nature, there is Kṛṣṇa.
The two energies are coming from the sun, and the material world is creation of the sunshine, heat and light. Similarly there are two energies of God, heat and light. So one is called material energy, another is called spiritual energy, although both of them coming from the supreme spirit, exactly like heat and light is coming from the sun. But heat is not light; light is not heat. There is distinction. This is called inconceivable one and difference simultaneously. Acintya-bhedābheda tattva. This is our philosophy. Nothing is different from God, but not that everything is God. Simultaneous one and different. So two energies are working, material and spiritual. The spiritual energy is called superior, and the material energy is called inferior. Just like matter. Material energy means earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, ego, and spiritual energy means spiritual force, the living force. So every one of us, combination of two energies, spiritual energy and material energy.
There are so many talks about to keep the varṇāśrama intact for peaceful condition of the society, and the modern problem, the overpopulation... We... In the śāstras, in the Vedic literature, we don't find such thing as overpopulation, because the living entities are already fixed up. From the Padma-Purāṇa, we can understand that the living entities, they're very, very small particles of the supreme spirit soul, or God. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). And their dimension is also mentioned, keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca: (CC Madhya 19.140) the one ten-thousandth part of the top of the hair. And jīva-bhāgo sa vijñeya sa anantaya kalpate. So the living entities are already ananta, unlimited. In another place of Upaniṣad, Kaṭhopaniṣad, we find that nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). These living entities, they are maintained. Their provision for their maintenance is already there, made by God. So there is no question of overpopulation. The question is varṇa-saṅkara. Varṇa-saṅkara, that is the problem. So the human life is meant for systematic organization of spiritual realization. That is human life.
A spiritually advanced devotee of the Lord, he sees the trees or the animals or the stone or the anything he sees—he sees that it is the energy of God. Nā dekhe tāra mūrti. Just like your mūrti or my mūrti—mūrti means form—may be little different, but we are made of the same ingredients. If your body surgically operated, the same blood, stone, or bone, or flesh, everything is there the same because same ingredients. Similarly, our outward covering is covered by these material elements, but inside, within this, there is the spirit soul. Therefore one who is advanced, he does not see that "This is cat, this is dog, this is man, this is elephant, and this is brāhmaṇa, this is this..." No. He sees the soul, that "Here is the soul, part and parcel of God." That is his vision. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). So that is God realization. God is spirit, Supreme Spirit, and he is part and parcel, the living entities. That is real vision. Paṇḍitāḥ. Paṇḍitāḥ means learned.
Philosophy Discussions
Yes, but spirit is, according to our philosophy, the spirit is realized in three phases, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The supreme spirit is realized in three phases. An example is given, just like you see from a distant place the mountain, you see just like a hazy cloud. You go forward, you will see something, substance, green, and if you enter it you'll see so many trees, so many animals. So you are seeing the same object but according to your understanding, somebody is saying, "Oh, it is a cloud." Somebody is saying, "It is some green (indistinct)," and somebody is saying, "No, it is very nice place." It is a question of where he is standing, to understand God. So those who are standing in distant place, for them imperson. Just like we are seeing the sunshine imperson, and the sun globe localized, and if you have got capacity to enter into the sun globe, you'll see sun god. Similarly, God is realized in three capacities, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Either impersonal Brahman, or localized Paramātmā, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you somehow or other approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is Kṛṣṇa. Then you understand the other two things. And Kṛṣṇa is explaining, brahmaṇo ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā.
Prabhupāda: Actually, as we say, that anti-matter are fixed up in (indistinct). I say anti-matter is spirit. That spirit soul is very small, keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya: (CC Madhya 19.140) the tip of the hair divided into ten thousand parts. So it is unimaginable by the modern scientist. Therefore the ultimate smallest part is the spirit soul, spark, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit. Therefore we have to take the knowledge from Vedas. That is the perfect (indistinct).
Śyāmasundara: He says there are two types of logical atoms—the sense data and universals. And this problem, he saw, of the difference between the crude data of the senses and the things as understood by physical sciences. So he divided these into two types of knowledge. The knowledge of sense data is the immediate knowledge by acquaintance with something, and the knowledge of physical science is that knowledge derived from things, or inferred, by description from things. And he says the example of the first type of knowledge...
"They are simply trying to adjust by so many revolutions, these material things." But he has no knowledge that he is spiritual being. Unless he goes back to the spiritual world and associates with the supreme spirit, God, there is no question of happiness. Exactly, if you have taken a fish from the water, there is no question of happiness of this fish unless it is again thrown into the water. So we have come... We are part and parcel of the supreme spirit. We have come from the spiritual world with the mentality of enjoying this material world. So unless we divert, reverse ourself to that spiritual conclusion, we understand our spiritual position and go back to home, we go to back... Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramam (BG 15.6). When you come to this position, that is happiness. Otherwise you go on theorizing, but one revolution will be... That is the world. "Yielding place to new. Old order changes, yielding place to new." This is revolution. So this will go on. What he is thinking now new, it will be old after some days, and another new thing will come, will be changed. So this is the order. "Old order changes, yielding place to new." Or, in other words, "History repeats itself."
Then as soon as this change of body takes place, you will again enter into the dog's family or cat's family or demigod's family. Again you identify, 'I am dog,' 'I am cat,' 'I am demigod.' " So this is the, our ignorance. We have to stop this mentality of bodily concept of life, identify ourself as a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, and act according to His direction. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). What Kṛṣṇa says, if we act, then gradually, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170), we become immediately free from all upādhi, designation, and gradually develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the instruction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to spread this knowledge all over the world.
| Page Title: | Supreme spirit (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 01 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=96, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 96 |