The dried cow dung. So dried cow dung is used for fuel. So when the dry cow dung is being burned into the oven, the safe oven is laughing, "Oh, you are being burned. I am in safe side." (laughter) He does not know that when he'll be dry, he'll be put into the fire also. So we are laughing that "President Nixon is in trouble. I am very safe. I have got so much bank balance." No, nobody's safe. They... As like the same, cow dung soft. When it will be dried up, it will be put into the fire. And that dryness will come to everyone. That is a fact. What is that? Death. You may be safe at the present, for a few years, but you cannot avoid death. "As sure as death." And what is the result of death? The same. As the president is taken out from his position, everything, all honor, all money all..., even life, similarly, at the time of death Kṛṣṇa says, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham: "I come as death and plunder everything, whatever you have got."
Trouble (Lectures, SB cantos 3 - 12)
Expressions researched:
"trouble"
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|"troubles"
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Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Still... Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. And to practice this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, there is no hard and fast rule. Niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. Any time suitable you can chant and you get perfection. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. This much little trouble, austerity, or whatever you call. But we have no interest. Being contaminated by this material, this Kali-yuga... Etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi durdaivam, misfortune, durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ. "I have no attraction."
So therefore Kapiladeva or His representative, when he sees somebody is little interested, he becomes very glad and thanks him, "Thank you very much." Because people are not interested. So Kapiladeva, when He saw His mother interested, He thanked within. Not openly, but within the mind: "Thank you, mother. You are so interested."
"What is the use of taking so much botheration? We have got hundreds of temples outside India. If Bombay people are not liking, let us go away." No. Kāruṇikāḥ. We have come to distribute Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We must tolerate and give this message to the people. Kāruṇikāḥ. Very merciful, in spite of all trouble. What is the use of...? These boys, these American boys, they have come to help me—not that they are hungry, they have come here. No. My mission is that "You American, your, you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa so that India, people of India will see, 'Oh, Americans, they are also chanting. Why not ourselves? It is our property.' " But unfortunately, so much dull brain. But that is not coming. But still, we have to do it. We have to tolerate and we have to become kāruṇikāḥ.
Therefore it is said that para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Kāruṇikāḥ. Why kāruṇikāḥ?
So in the previous verse we have discussed ṛjubhir yoga-mārgaiḥ (SB 3.25.26). Ṛju, very simple method. Ṛju means very simple. Everyone can perform it. Susukhaṁ kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). In the Bhagavad-gītā, very happy. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance, it is very happy thing. And by dancing, dancing, as soon as you become hungry, take prasādam, ready. So where is the trouble? Therefore it is ṛjubhir yoga-mārgaiḥ. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice there is no trouble only. And another thing is that that is great hope. Everything you are doing under the spell of māyā we do not know where you are going, what is the ultimate aim. We do not know. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. We are under the spell of māyā given by the guṇas. You must accept. If you don't take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and give it ourselves on the waves of māyā, then we do not know where we are going. The Caitanya Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi.
He may be a son of a big brāhmaṇa or big king, it doesn't matter. The one who goes to gurukula, he immediately becomes the menial servant of guru. This is the system. That means guru can order him to act any, I mean to say, low class service, still he is prepared to do it. This is the business of brahmacārī, and he takes all trouble, and childhood, he doesn't mind. Even Kṛṣṇa, he went to gurukula. To teach us. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is the use of His going to gurukula? No, He is teaching, āpani ācari' prabhu jīveri śikhāya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also accepted guru, teacher, guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsana (CC Adi 7.71).
He is able to finish these duṣkṛtas or the asuras by His omnipotency. That He can do. But the asuras are always... Their only business is to give trouble to God and His devotee.
Therefore it is advised, titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām (SB 3.25.21). A devotee should be so advanced that in spite of being troubled by the asuras, he should tolerate, titikṣavaḥ, and still, he should be kind upon him, not that "This man is talking against me, against God. Therefore I shall be angry and drive him away." No. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ. Everyone in this material world, more or less, they are asuras, atheists. So if you want to preach, then you have to learn tolerance and speak in such a way that these asura can become also devotee. That is the business.
He says, "Me." Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Ahaṁ sarvasya... Aham, "Me," "I." He says everywhere. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is person. Kṛṣṇa is not imperson. Kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām. It is said that "One who is impersonalist, he takes more trouble to come to Me. He will come later on, but it will take some time." The impersonal feature of understanding of the Supreme Absolute Truth, it is partial understanding.
Just like we have explained several times that we have got experience of the sunshine. Because sunshine is very easily approached. But that understanding of the sunshine is not real understanding of the sun globe or sun planet or the sun-god. That is not perfect understanding. It is partial understanding that you can understand the sun globe is full of heat and light.
We have become so much dull or foolish that we do not know what is bhayaṁ tīvram. Tīvram means very fierce, and bhayam, fierce fearfulness, very strong. And we are entangled in this very strong fearfulness, but we have become so dull by the spell of māyā that we don't care for it. Just imagine. At the time of death there are so many troubles, very fierceful. Sometimes a person is dying, he is attacked with coma, and he is lying unconscious. Big, big politicians, "Mr. such and such," prime minister, and this and that, but he is lying unconscious in coma for seven days. And we do not know, but he is going very fierceful test. He is dreaming so many things that sometimes he is crying. He cannot express. Especially those who are very sinful, they die in that way. So this is not finished. Then, after death, you have to enter in the womb of the mother. That is another fierceful stage.
This is actual fact. We have forgotten. Therefore we are not afraid of. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that your real trouble is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). You have to accept your birth within the womb of your mother in a packed-up condition, body developing. The germs, the worms within the urine, stool, biting very delicate skin. You cannot make any adjustment, simply moving. And if one is little pious, he can pray to God, "Please get me relief from this condition. Now I shall worship You." This is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this consciousness. There is consciousness. After seven months, there is consciousness. Then, some way or other, you get out of the womb of your mother. Then there are so many troubles, crying.
So these things you have to pass. And again disease, again old age, and again death, and again birth. This is bhayaṁ tīvram. But the... We have become... By the spell of māyā, by illusion, we are thinking, "Now we are making very much progress." What progress you have made? Have you stopped birth, death, old age, and disease? These troubles are awaiting. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). You should always think that "I am waiting for the miserable condition." It is already miserable condition. Even in living time there are threefold miseries. Even you sit down peacefully, then the mosquito will bite you, bugs will bite you, and you will get some letter from some enemy. So even if you cannot sit down peacefully... If you think, "Now I am sitting at my home very peacefully," so many things will disturb you one after another. That is called tīvram, bhayaṁ tīvram.
"Now I am sitting at my home very peacefully," so many things will disturb you one after another. That is called tīvram, bhayaṁ tīvram.
But we are so bold that we are not afraid of it. That is foolishness. If we become overbold, "I don't care for these things," that is foolishness. Mūḍha. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. There are... He is awaiting so many troubles in birth, death, old age, and disease. Therefore, the atheist class, they want to forget this. They think that there is no life after death. Just like I have given several times the example: The rabbit, when there is some enemy, it will immediately kill him, and he closes the eyes so that there is no enemy. So similarly, we are... we have become so foolish about this birth, cycle of birth and death, and we do not ever think that how to get out of this birth and death and threefold misery of this material world. That means the whole subject matter of suffering is this material body. Because we are accepting this body, therefore there are so many troubles. Therefore the solution is how to stop this acceptance of material body again and again. That is intelligence. That is intelligence.
That is a fact. Every one of us, we are searching after happiness. Ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛttiḥ. Duḥkha means unhappiness, and nivṛtti means decreasing or completely avoiding. But that is not possible. Everyone... T his morning I was talking that everyone who have come on this beach just to mitigate some trouble. So many people are exercising, throwing the hand, throwing the leg or something, but because there is some trouble. Because there is some trouble. Not that because they have come in car, very rich man... But still, he is throwing his hands and legs and something like that. So we have to study like that. We should be intelligent, that there is nobody happy in this material world. Nobody happy in this material... But by the illusion of māyā he is thinking, "I am happy." That is called māyā. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8).
He canvasses that "Why you are captivated by this false, so-called happiness? You give up this." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "I will give you relief. You come to Me. You will live happily, eternally, blissful life, without any scarcity, without any trouble."
So the Kṛṣṇa's business—He comes here. He has no business to come here because His agent, prakṛti, is doing everything. But still, out of compassion, He comes in His original form, Kṛṣṇa, or in His incarnation as Kapiladeva, and He says the same thing, "My dear sons, My dear rascal sons, you are suffering so much on account of this material contact. Please come to Me. Take shelter of Me, and you will be happy." This is going on. And Kṛṣṇa's representative says the same thing, that "You rascal, you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and be happy." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are going from door to door of all rascals.
When Kṛṣṇa was present, there was Giridhārī. Giridhārī, He lifted the mountain, Govardhana Hill. Govardhana-dhārī. So Nanda Mahārāja was arranging to worship the Indra, Indra-yajña. There are different kinds of yajña. But Indradeva was little proud that he is all in all. Everyone thinks... If he is in power, then he tries to give some trouble to others. Similarly, all the demigods, they are, if they are not satisfied, they will give you trouble. Similarly, the Indra-yajña was there, but Kṛṣṇa said to His father, "My dear father, there is no need of Indra-yajña. You better worship Govardhana Hill. He is symbolic representation of God because the cows, they get their food, grasses. So better you make this Govardhana-yajña." So first of all, Nanda Mahārāja was not willing, but out of the affection of Kṛṣṇa... That is devotee, that Kṛṣṇa... Devotees of Kṛṣṇa, they are acting always in love for Kṛṣṇa.
They can enjoy. But they must remain very obedient to the father—very natural—then he is happy. If the father is very rich man, he has got all the resources, and if the son is obedient, then where is trouble? Is there any trouble? Father wants simply... Father is ready to give all the property to the sons. That is natural inclination. And the son's duty is just to become obedient to the father.
But that we have rebelled: "No, why shall I be obedient?" Therefore it is said, evaṁ parābhidhyānena kartṛtvaṁ prakṛteḥ pumān. All the living entities in this material world, they are thinking that "I am proprietor. I am supreme. I can do anything, whatever I like. There is no question of accepting any authority of God. These are primitive thoughts. We are self-sufficient." That means he is speaking all nonsense under the influence of prakṛti.
"One who is trying to meditate upon the impersonal Brahman," kleśaḥ, "it is very troublesome," because we are not accustomed to concentrate our mind, meditate upon anything which is impersonal. That is not possible. We simply try to do that under labor, under trouble, kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām, whereas devotee, he immediately sees Kṛṣṇa in the temple: "Here is Kṛṣṇa. Here is Rādhārāṇī.' Arcā-vigraha. Kṛṣṇa has appeared to be visible. We cannot see Kṛṣṇa or God by these material eyes, but as we can be seeing, as we can appreciate, as we can touch, Kṛṣṇa has accepted the form to be touched by us, to be seen by us, to be served by us. This is called arcā-vigraha. It is not idol worship. The Māyāvādī says it is imagination. No, not it is imagination. Arcā-vigraha. Vigraha. Kṛṣṇa is vigraha, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), His form.
Blazing fire means the forest fire. The forest fire... The example is very typical, because nobody goes to set fire in the forest, neither it is possible to extinguish the fire in the forest by your so many counteractive methods. This is very appropriate example. Similarly, in the material existence nobody wants any trouble, but automatically the trouble comes. Everyone has got experience: everyone is trying for happiness—nobody wants for distress—but distress comes here. You cannot stop it. Therefore those who are advanced in knowledge, they take it for granted that "I do not want distress. So the distress cannot be checked. It comes upon me. Then why shall I try for happiness? It will also come." This is very right conclusion. If without my endeavor distress comes upon me, so there are two things, distress and happiness, two counterparts.
Why not to you? He is giving bread to the elephants, He is giving bread to the ants, and what you can eat? That is not very difficult thing. But you should go to God not for begging something but for giving something. That is Vāsudeva stage. Then you will get śānti, when you will go to God not for begging material happiness or material liberation, mukti, bhukti-mukti, and not for any jugglery, magic things, just like yogis show some magic.
So if you want all these things, then you will never get happiness. You will be troubled. Therefore a devotee... Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's standard of devotion: nothing to possess. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye. Nothing to possess.
Just like Devahūti when she was grown up, young, she proposed her father that "I want to marry that gentleman, that yogi." And the father also offered. So, so long she was not married she remained under the protection of the father. And when she was married she remained with the yogi husband. And she was troubled in so many ways because she was princess, daughter of king. And this yogi, he was in a cottage, no food, no shelter, nothing of the sort. So she had to suffer. She never said that "I am king's daughter. I was raised in so opulent condition of life. Now I have got a husband who cannot give me a nice apartment, nice food. Divorce him." No. That was never done. That is not the position. "Any way my husband may be, whatever he may be, because I have accepted some gentleman as my husband I must look to his comforts, and whatever his position, it doesn't matter." This is the duty of the woman.
Then everyone can do it. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. No. Simply... Just as Advaita Prabhu, He simply offered Gaṅgā-jala and tulasī to please the Lord to come. Caitanya Mahāprabhu came. This is... There is no difficulty at all. Because we simply use..., misuse our intelligence, misuse our opportunity, there is trouble. Otherwise there is no difficulty. Where is the difficulty? Tulasī-patra you can have, and little water, offer to the, on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and pray, "Give me intelligence so that I can serve You nicely." And he gives intelligence. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām (BG 10.10). If you are continually giving tulasī flower and water and praying, "Kṛṣṇa, give me intelligence how can I serve You nice," then Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes." Teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānām: "One who is engaged in this way, teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānām... What is that?
We live simply on these things, fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, that's all. So are we dying for want of food? Then why should we eat meat? What is the reason? Simply for satisfaction of the tongue? If I can live peacefully, otherwise which is allotted to me by God, why shall I give trouble to another animal for satisfaction of my tongue? What is the reason? If you have no food... Of course, in the deserted country, just he has to find out "Where is stool, where is stool?" You see?
So there are different grades of life. So does it mean that we shall live a life like a hog while we have got this human form of body? Just try to understand. The hog is eating stool, which is rejected by everyone. And still, he is searching that out, where is that stool. And it is called research work. So we should not make our life complicated like the hog.
Actually, just like a child, a boy, wants to play, and the father prescribes him, "My dear boy, do not play so long. Please read." So he's thinking that "My father is prescribing something which is very troublesome." But actually this tapasya, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness regulated life, is not for trouble. It is for your progress of life to the spiritual understanding, where you get unlimited eternal life, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). God is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Sat, cit, ānanda. Sat means eternal, cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda, full of pleasure. So as soon as you become purified from this material existence, then you enter into the spiritual kingdom, and you get your body sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha and live there eternally in full knowledge and full bliss.
Then you will understand what is your real position, what, how beautiful is your face. That is called self-realization, ātma-jñāna. Ātma-jñāna.
So unless one will come to the platform of self-realization, we are in the trouble, so long we are not self-realized. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. Without self-realization, whatever we are acting, we are piling up the stones and woods and iron in such skyscraper building. So we may do that, but it is our defeat. It is not conquering; it is defeat. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. If we don't inquire about ourself, "What I am? Why I am put into this miserable condition of life, birth, death, old age, and there are so many other things...?" Unless you come to question why, your human life is not perfect.
First of all, you learn what is your duty; then talk of duty. In your office if you go, if you say, "Anything I do, it is my duty," no. You must know the particular work you are advised to act by the superintendent or the director, not that you can manufacture your duty. If you execute that duty, then you are dutiful. Otherwise, you are simply creating trouble. Just like a monkey. They create their duty, and wherever he goes, "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!" The monkey's duty is no duty. A man must know what is duty, and he should execute. That is duty.
The other day Swami Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa was telling that in this country there is maximum number of suicide. Is it not? So, why one commits suicide unless he feels bodily position very uncomfortable, mental condition very disturbing? So this is called adhyātmika, pertaining to the body and mind. There are many troubles. Every one of us, we have got that experience, that there are troubles. I may be very rich, I may have immense wealth, but if my body and mind is not in order, I am in trouble. So simply material opulence, material wealth will not satisfy us. We require bodily comforts. And if I have got millions of dollars and if I am diseased man, I cannot enjoy; I cannot be in happiness. So these are one type of miserable condition. Similarly, there are other types of miserable condition as adhibhautika.
I do not wish to create any misunderstanding with a friend, but automatically there is some misunderstanding between friends, neighbors, nation, man to man, business friend. There are troubles. So this is called... And not only... If not human being, human being, but other, lower animals. Just like there are insects, there are cockroaches, there are so many other living bodies—they are giving us trouble. That is called adhibhautika. And adhidaivika. Adhidaivika is nature's disturbance.
So there are three kinds of miserable condition in this material world, and either of them or all of them, they are always troubling us. This is our position. We have to understand that. We are suffering. That everyone knows. But by illusion we think that "This is not suffering. This is natural."
We have to understand that. We are suffering. That everyone knows. But by illusion we think that "This is not suffering. This is natural." No. It is not natural. Just like if you have got fever, it is disease. Don't think that it is natural. Why you should be suffering from all these troubles? That is not natural; that is unnatural. Because we are part and parcel of God, we living entities, we should be as happy as God is. That is our position. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. God is described īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac cid ānanda vigrahaḥ. Sat, cit, ānanda (Bs. 5.1). This is three different features of God's body. What is that? Sat. Sat means eternal. Sat. And cit. Cit means knowledge, full of knowledge. And ānanda means full of bliss. That is ānanda. So this is God's body. And we are part and parcel of God. Just like gold and particle of gold. It may be very small particle, but one shall say it is gold.
It was formerly also the same, but not so extensively. At the present moment, in this age of Kali, the hog civilization is spread very widely. Therefore this instruction is very important. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Human life means very peaceful life, without any trouble. That is Vedic civilization. These books written by Vyāsadeva, he was writing these books, such exalted knowledge, in Hardwar, in a secluded place, very peacefully situated. And that knowledge was taken by the kṣatriyas, and they were distributing. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Vedic knowledge was first of all taken up by the kṣatriyas. Brāhmaṇas, they used to cultivate knowledge and they used to advise the kṣatriyas, rulers, and they took it and they distributed to the general mass of people for the elevation of the spiritual platform. This is civilization.
Prabhupāda: By Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54). Others cannot change their fate, but only the devotees can change. How? Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). Kṛṣṇa says, "I shall give you protection from all the resultant action of your sinful life." That is fate changed. If you don't surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then you have to suffer or enjoy the actions of your fruitive activities. But when you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, He takes charge of squaring up all your sinful activities and their reaction. That is... So you surrender to Kṛṣṇa; then your fate is changed. Otherwise it is not possible.
Guest (4): Your Divine Grace, on behalf of the residents of the Jorbhag Colony, I thank you most sincerely for coming here, taking the trouble of coming here and giving this learned discourse. In the inscrutable past and from the holy ages, this land of ours has thrown up great masters who have drunk deeply at the inexhaustible spiritual knowledge handed over to us... (end)
Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). You are working hard for maintaining your body and soul together. You have to work hard. But here, that hard work should be for self-realization, divine contact. That is called divyam.
Divyam is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9). If you simply take little trouble to understand Kṛṣṇa... That tapasya required: to read Kṛṣṇa's instruction, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Because that tapasya, if you take little painful... It is not painful. It is very pleasing. But we avoid it. We think it is painful. "Ah! Who is going to read books? We are meant for selling books, not for reading books." This is not good. We should read also. That is tapasya. Saddhaya. That is tapasya. Don't think that simply our books are meant for selling. No. It is meant for reading also. If we read regularly, at least two hours, three hours, that is tapasya. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1).
There is no necessity of soap. There is no necessity of anything. Simply if you wash your body with water sufficiently. Of course, in your country it is cold country. In India, common people they go to the river and take bath very nicely because it is a tropical climate. There is no trouble. So you can cleanse your body. There are many saintly persons residing on the bank of the river Ganges. Early in the morning they cleanse the body. They go to evacuate on the field. After evacuating they come to the river, cleanse the body very nicely, and smear the body with the clay received from the river, and they sit down at a place and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa—whole day. They don't care for whether they have got to eat or not to eat. By God's grace somebody is coming, somebody is giving something, somebody is giving something.
To satisfy the senses that also requires tapasya, hard labor, but here Ṛṣabhadeva says that you accept some painful condition. It is not at all painful, but it appears. Tapo divyam, for God realization. (break) ...that everyone is working hard day and night, but that is for sense gratification. Similarly, if you take little trouble, if you accept voluntarily some painful condition for realizing God, divyam, that is the human mission. Now the question may be raised that both ways I have to accept some painful situation, so why shall I accept painful situation for realizing God? For material sense gratification, although I am working very hard, I am getting, immediately, some pleasure, sense pleasure. So why shall I work hard or accept some painful situation for realizing God which is unknown and fictitious to me? So the reply is, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyed sattvam (SB 5.5.1), "My dear boys, if you accept a little trouble for realizing God, then your existential condition will be purified."
What is the use of purifying? There is need. If you purify, purify yourself, existentional condition, then you will be saved from the four kinds of troubles or miseries of life, namely birth, death, old age and disease. So God realization means spiritual realization. So Ṛṣabhadeva says tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed (SB 5.5.1), by purification of your existentional condition you enjoy brahma-saukhyam. After all, we are searching after happiness, pleasure. So on account of our impure existential condition, our so-called happiness is temporary. Brahma-saukhyam means, here again, yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed, when your existence is purified. Now we have got impure existence, this material body. When we get our spiritual body, that is called purified. So Ṛṣabhadeva says sattvaṁ yasmād brahma-saukhyam anantam. As soon as you get your spiritual body, then there is unlimited happiness.
What is in your mind?" So when he was talking with the old man like that, his son came out, "You rascal, you want to marry my sister? Are you fit for that?" So all ill names. And he brought a stick: "Get out; otherwise I shall beat you like that."
Then other neighborhood men said, "What is the trouble?" So he said that "This man, this young man, went with my father to Vṛndāvana. He took all his money by giving him intoxication. And now he's talking that my father has promised to give my sister to him. Do you think it is possible?" So all the neighborhood men said, "Yes, he's very rich man, How this poor man can be...? Maybe he has taken his money." So the young man said, "No, sir! He has promised before... I am not very much anxious to marry his daughter. But I'm simply anxious that he promised before the Deity. So how is that he can withdraw the promise? It is a great offense." He's thinking in that way.
You do not know that you have got this material body. And what is this material body? Material body means full of miserable condition. That's all. Who has got a material body, they do not understand what is spiritual body. So suppose material or spiritual, anyone who has got this body, can anyone here say, "I have no trouble, I am free from all trouble"? Is there anyone? Is it possible to say? What do you think? Can anyone say that "Yes, I've got this body, but I have no miserable condition, I'm always very happy"? Is there anyone? That rascal civilization, they cannot understand. They are trying to stop miserable condition, but he does not know that miserable condition is his body. Just see how much foolish (it) is. He does not know that this very body is the cause of your miserable condition. They do not know. They are trying to improve the condition. How you'll improve the condition?
Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), that is the perfection of life. If we work otherwise, forgetting Kṛṣṇa... Here it is said, gata-smṛtir vindati tatra tāpān. If we forget Kṛṣṇa, if we make our own plan to satisfy myself, community, society, nation, this is forgetfulness and the result will be, gata-smṛtir vindati tatra tāpān. You get simply trouble. That is being done, actually. The whole world is forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, or God. Kṛṣṇa, forgetfulness, and they are making so many plans to become happy but the result is vindati tāpān, simply suffering, simply suffering. It will never be successful.
So this ugra-karma, they have introduced, but they are not happy. Because they are fools, they do not know their happiness is different. It cannot be had from the ugra-karma. Therefore here it is said, sarvatra vyasana? What is that? Jantor vyasanāvagatyā, sarvatra jantor vyasanāvagatyā. Your material civilization, wherever you advance materially, there is trouble. Not only on this planet, but in other planets also, I mean higher planets, where they live for many millions of years and their standard of happiness... Of course, these rascals, they are finding only stones and rocks in other planets. They have got everything only in this planet. And you have to believe them. Wherever they are going, in the moon planet or in the Mars planet, what do they see? Simply rocks and sands. But that is not the fact. Each and every planet is full of living entities, janatā(?). That is the statement in the... Everywhere, every planet, there are different kinds of living entities.
You have got a dog, and if you ask him, "Sit down here," a dog will sit. That kind of guru keeping has no value. But here is the responsibility of guru, first that he must save the disciple from the cycle of birth and death. Kṛṣṇa also said, "What is the problem of life?" Not that "I have got some pain here, I have some trouble or some..." These are not problems. This problem one should tolerate. Because destiny is there, one should āgamāpāyino nityā tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. We should not be disturbed for all these things. It is material world. You will have sometimes mātrā sparśās tu śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ. The whole world is like that. There is sometimes distress, there is sometimes happiness. So to mitigate the worldly distress or getting some happiness, one should not go to guru. That is not the proper way.
The proper way is that you should know the problem of life, and Kṛṣṇa personally says, "This is the real problem of your life." What is that?
All rascals. All rascals. Therefore they have demarcated, "This is India," "This is America." No. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Then there will be peace. If in the United Nation they simply pass one resolution with determination, that "The whole planet belongs to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we are all His sons," there is no trouble.
There is no scarcity. Kṛṣṇa has created this world in such a way that there is no question of starvation in any part of the world. There is no question. Sufficient. Pūrṇam idam (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation). There is no question of starvation. But because we have rebelled against the principle of universal brotherhood we are all suffering. I have several times said that there are ample space. There is no question of scarcity. Ample space. I am traveling all over the world. So much space lying vacant in America, in Africa, Australia. Why the Chinese or the Indians should be congested, overpopulation?
By touching the beams he can go to the sun planet. There are so many wonderful things. So Durvāsā Muni was a great yogi. He knew all these things. Still, he was defeated before a Vaiṣṇava. He had to come and immediately fall down, "Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, kindly excuse me. I have done offense." Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was so humble that "You are in trouble, brāhmaṇa, so whatever I have got, asset, whatever I have done austerity, penance, and..., you take immediately and be excused." This is Vaiṣṇava: "You take all my asset." So there was very friendly. Then both of them took prasādam, and then Durvāsā Muni could understand what is the power of devotee. Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. So be very much careful to remain a spotless devotee. Then all success is there. There is no doubt about it. There are so many instances.
That is not to be imitated. It is on the highest stage it is possible to forget completely, and he is liberated. Deha-smṛti nāhi yāra saṁsāra bandhana kāhāṅ tāra. He is no more conditioned by the material nature.
So how it can be possible? It can be possible. I have given already one crude example. Similarly, why Mr. Stalin could tolerate without any trouble? Because he was a leader. He was always absorbed in the thought of how he could advance the Communist cause. This is the real reason. Similarly, if we take our cause very seriously, our... What is our cause? That is explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:
Tato vimukha-cetasa. "Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are working so hard day and night like asses and pigs and dogs." They are very much anxious for this, "How to stop this foolish person from this unnecessary trouble?" Unnecessary trouble. That Ṛṣabhādeva has already instructed us in the beginning, that "Don't spoil your life working so hard like hogs and dogs. No, this is not good." Na sādhu manye. "This is not good." But they are thinking... Now it is advertised that "Work hard. Work hard." And the people have come to the stage of pulling thela and rickshaw, and still, they have to work hard. This is the position. Because they do not know what is..., how to become ātmārāma. That is the difficulty.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to teach people how to become ātmārāma. When one becomes ātmārāma, then yoga-samīrita-jñānam.
When there is wind, very forceful, the friction causes fire. So similarly, this material world is compared with this dāvānala. Saṁsāra dāvānala-līḍha-loka **. Nobody wants that there will be trouble. In your country there is another kind of fire that is not dāvānala. In the city there is electric anala. And especially in New York, you know, twenty-four hours the fire brigade is working, "dung dung dung dung dung dung dung." Nobody wanted, but there is fire, just to prove that you people, you have avoided jungle life but you cannot avoid dāvānala. This is the proof. You can make arrangement, very large arrangement for living comfortably, but you cannot escape dāvānala. That is not possible.
So what is our fault? That we are trying to make men—no illicit sex, no gambling, no meat-eating, no intoxication, and they take it otherwise. They take: "It is very dangerous." Without any fault they are finding fault. This is snake. Sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ. No fault, but still fault-finding and giving us trouble. So you'll find so many persons, without any fault they'll bite. A snake, without any fault... You are passing, and you are taking some fruit from the tree. If there is snake, it will bite—the krūraḥ. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, "There are two, two kinds of krūraḥ, envious living entities. One is the snake; another is the man-snake, or a man habituated to the snake quality." So sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ. But Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, "This man snake is more dangerous than the animal snake." Sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. Why?
In this way, the description is there. The summary is that there is no jurisdiction for the three modes of material nature. It is above the jurisdiction. That is Vaikuṇṭha world.
So long we are in the jurisdiction of three modes of material nature, up to that time we shall disagree with one another and there will be trouble. Therefore the Vaiṣṇava religion is meant for the peaceful person. No trouble. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). Those who have come to the stage of seeing everyone on the equal terms... Equal terms means spiritually. That we invite everyone. There is no discrimination. We don't care for the designations. We invite everyone to leave aside the designation and come in your original form and be Kṛṣṇa conscious and be happy, for which we are prepared to take all kinds of incon... There is no inconvenience, but suppose in the old age I am traveling all over the world.
We get information. Timiṅgila. Many very big, big animals are there within the water, deep. So there are nine lakhs, 900,000 forms of life within the water. And then jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Then... Sthāvarā means "stand up." We have got experience. I do not know whether you have got. In our school days, if a boy is making trouble, the teacher will ask him, "Stand up on the bench." So the stand-up punishment... The trees, the plants, they are stand-up punishment. (laughter) "Stand up here for five thousand years." You see? There are many trees, they are standing up for five thousand years, seven thousand years. In California I have seen one tree, they say it is seven thousand years old. So just imagine. If the teacher punishes a boy to stand up for few minutes, how much troublesome it is, and if one is ordered to stand up for seven thousand years, so just imagine what is the punishment.
Ma means "not," yā means "this." "You are thinking like this, but it is not this." This is called māyā. You are thinking that you are happy, but you are not happy. So we are seeing that a criminal is arrested by the police and he is put into the prisonhouse. We know that he is put into trouble, but still, in spite of seeing that "This kind of criminality will put me also into such kind of distress," but still, I commit that thing. This is the influence of māyā. This is the influence of māyā.
So these all description of hellish description has been given in the previous chapter. Now, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he is a Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava, Vaiṣṇava feeling... Vaiṣṇava means he is always feeling for the distress of the others. Just like Lord Jesus Christ. What is the necessity of being crucified?
Everything, facility, is there still. But they have... The people are being trained up to imitate Western civilization. That is the government policy, that, "Unless you become Westernized, technologist, you'll not be happy." But they can become happy even in this condition. This artificial partition has caused some trouble by the Britishers because the Pakistan has taken away all the wheat and rice. Their purpose was that. The Punjab side, they are producing wheat in very large quantity. In Bengal, that is the, perhaps the biggest rice producing country in the world, Bengal. So rice is in Pakistan and wheat is in Pakistan. Even cows, they were maintained by the Punjabis, big, big cows, milk-producing. They are now in the Punjab. So there is no milk, there is no rice, there is no wheat. And they have no sugar. The sugar is produced this side. In this way, always. And the Kashmir question... That is British policy.
Therefore, after hearing the description... Parīkṣit Mahārāja is a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava is very sympathetic. If actually there is any welfare worker, that is Vaiṣṇava. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on. The Vaiṣṇavas are taking so much, I mean to say, trouble. Just like in Melbourne our, these preachers are being punished regularly. They are taken to the jail, and still they are doing their duty. Still they are going for saṅkīrtana. Just like one side they are violating the so-called laws of the state, they are being punished. Similarly, important laws of God, if one violates, how you cannot be punished? This is an instance. Must be punished.
So Vaiṣṇava is always thinking how people will be happy. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on just to make people happy.
I am giving this particular example of motorcar because in your country you have got the greatest number of cars. But that does not solve the problem. You have manufactured cars. I have practical experience. When Dayānanda wanted to take me to a doctor from Los Angeles, it is thirty miles off. Thirty miles off. So I had to take trouble to go thirty miles and come thirty miles before I could consult the doctor. You see? And if you have created cars, then you must have meet your friends and necessities thirty miles off, forty miles off. You can go from New York to Boston in one hour, but go to the airport you will take three hours. (laughter) Therefore it is called māyā-sukhāya. (laughter) Māyā means false, illusory. We are trying to create some very comfortable situation, but creating another uncomfortable situation. This is called māyā-su... This is the way of...
Because you are habituated to smoke, and I say "You don't smoke," it will be very difficult for you. You are habituated to unrestricted sex life, and if I say that "Don't have illicit sex life," it will be troublesome for you. Similarly, so many things are there, we are habituated, and if they are restricted there will be some trouble. So voluntarily accepting some trouble is called tapasya, or austerity. Just like a patient, if he wants to be cured, he has to follow the restriction imposed by the physician. And he follows it. Just like doctor says it, "Oh, you cannot get up. You must lie down twenty-four hours." He doesn't like it, but he has to do it. This is called tapasya, austerity. Penance. Austerity. Just like we say that on the ekādaśī day you should fast. So fasting is not very, I mean to say, pleasant, but one has to do. This is called tapasya. Brahmacaryeṇa. Brahmacaryeṇa means celibacy.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī is first of all prescribing that they have to make atonement. Just like I gave you the example: If one man has committed criminal activities, he has to atone for the sinful activity. He must be arrested. He must be put into the jail and given some trouble for a certain period of time. And then he may be given freedom. So this atonement is there, by nature's law. You cannot avoid it. If you think that "God cannot see. I am doing this nonsense without His vision," that is wrong. Anything we do, that is recorded just like the service record. And the judgment... Just like in other literatures, there is the day of judgment. That's fact. We have to accept the judgment of the superior superintendent of all our activities.
As I explained the other day, that a murderer should be killed, that is mercy upon him. The, when the king orders... It is very old law. It is not new law, "Life for life." So that, when the king awards, or the judge, high-court judge, that "This man must be hanged," the judge is not the enemy of that man, but, according to law, in order to save him from further trouble in the next life, this prescription of hanging is there. The..., exactly like that: according to the disease, the prescription of medicine is there. Similarly, according to the gravity of the sinful activity, the atonement is there. If one has killed a man, he should be should be hanged—according to the gravity of his sin. So that is showing mercy upon him. But, if he's not killed, then he'll be killed in so many ways. He'll be... Suppose something, some animal, and this man who has killed. He will take another birth and he will slaughter him. There are so many subtle laws. Māṁsa. The word māṁsa, Sanskrit.
The world is going like that. They are chewing the chewed. We are teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that "What you will gain by this material way of life? Just try to understand Kṛṣṇa, and then you will get the greatest benefit." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). The all troubles which we are suffering, that is due to our accepting this material body. That they do not know. They do not know except this material body anything. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13).
So it is Parīkṣit Mahārāja. He is very intelligent devotee. He is criticizing this atonement process—"Whole week I have done all sinful activities, and on Sunday I go to church and pay some fine, and again, from Monday, I begin my business." Punaḥ punaḥ, again and again.
So tapasya generally means that first thing is that we should reduce our eating, sleeping, mating and defense. This is called tapasya, voluntarily accept. Suppose I am accustomed to eat very voraciously, and if I have to execute tapasya, that means I will have to reduce my eating to the point of no eating. But that is not possible. But that will create some trouble. But I will accept this trouble, this is called tapasya. I am habituated to sleep so many hours; I will have to reduce it. Yuktāhāra vihāraś ca. We don't say, "Don't sleep," but we say, "Reduce sleep as much as possible. Reduce your eating as much as possible." So this is called tapasya. And brahmacaryeṇa. Brahmacaryeṇa means completely cessation of sex life. So that is not possible to completely give up eating or completely sex life, but make it regulated. That is tapasya: eating, sleeping, mating, and defense as much as it is required. The aim should be to make it nil. That is called tapasya. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13).
Prabhupāda: That yoga is also the same thing. Yoga practice means to concentrate one's mind, to practice, the Viṣṇu form within the heart. Viṣṇu is another form of Kṛṣṇa. So, not this modern yoga system, thinking something void. This is not prescribed in the authoritative scriptures. That is simply taking trouble. Kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām. Those who are attached void, voidness, they simply take more trouble to realize God.
Guest (2): Many books from the East advocate the, without any success in yoga, before one has success, the kuṇḍalinī must be opened. What do you think about this?
Prabhupāda: Well, we think of Bhagavad-gītā first, then others. Bhagavad-gītā says that yoga should be practiced concentrating one's mind on Kṛṣṇa. Mat-parāyaṇaḥ. Vāsudeva-parāyaṇaḥ. Nārāyaṇa parāyaṇaḥ. These words are there. So if yoga practice is performed by concentrating one's mind on Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, that is first-class yoga, and that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā: (BG 6.47) "Of all yogis, one who is always thinking of Me within the heart, he is first-class yogi." So if you are practicing yoga, we should recommend that you think of Kṛṣṇa within your heart. That will help you.
Na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then universal brotherhood: "As I am part and parcel of God, my brother is also, my friend is also, the dog is also like that, the cow is also like that. They're all part and parcel of God as spirit, as spiritual spark. Therefore they're all equal. Why shall I envy him? Why shall I utilize(?) him? Why shall I trouble him?" These good consciousness, good qualities, automatically develop. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. Anyone who has developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the good qualities of the demigods will manifest in his body. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). The demigods are supposed to be very highly qualified. So all the godly or demigodly qualities will manifest. They are... Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca. The Vaiṣṇava becomes the ocean of mercy to others.
You can accept nine, eight, seven, as you like, as you can conveniently, either the whole nine items or one, two, three, four—any. Even if you accept one, your life will be perfect. If you simply take this śravaṇam, if you simply come to this temple and hear about Kṛṣṇa, your life will be successful. It is so nice. Even if you don't do anything, simply if you kindly take the trouble of coming here and just try to hear about Kṛṣṇa sincerely, then your life will be successful. This is called bhakti. Kevalayā bhaktyā. Simply by executing devotional service And there are nine different types of devotional services, out of which, even if you accept one, your life is successful. This is called kevalayā bhaktyā. Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja. At the last stage of his life he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy to die within seven days. So within seven days he had to prepare himself for the next birth.
The spirit soul is taken in that planet where the Yamarāja is there, and in the subtle form... Subtle form means the spirit covered in the subtle form of mind, intelligence and false ego, he is put into various trouble. Sometimes, just like we are also, even in this life, we are put into such troublesome position in dream. That is our experience. Suppose we are put into some narrow space and I am just going to be suffocated, or I am in the face of some dangerous animal, or deep into the ocean. Sometimes we dream like that. A similar punishment is given after death, and when the living being or the living entity becomes accustomed to such habit, then he is put into the womb of a certain type of animal or man where that suffering will continue. He is made into practice.
Although when we wake up we do not see anything like that, but still, the consequence of the dream we suffer. So here, Śukadeva Gosvāmī gives guarantee that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never to be troubled by the Yamarāja or his agents.
- atra codāharanti imam
- itihāsaṁ puratānam
- dūtānāṁ viṣṇu-yamayoḥ
- saṁvādaṁ taṁ nibodha me
Now, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is giving one historical examples. Example is better than precept. Generally, common men, if they see one example, they understand better. So how, one's mind being fixed up in the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, even for a moment, he can get relief from the greatest danger, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating one story. This fact is corroborated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Those who have read, you know. Lord Kṛṣṇa said, svalpam apy hi dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt.
Sometimes political leaders... Just like in Europe, Hitler unnecessarily picked up some war, and there was devastation all over the world. You see. There was no gain. The Germany become defeated and bifurcated. So this leader could not do anything good to the nation, but unnecessarily picked up some quarrel. So that is the cause of world trouble, the crowlike men, the doglike men, the hoglike men. So we have to create paramahaṁsas, good men. Then you can expect peace and prosperity. If you create cats and dogs, then how can you expect that there will be peace, there will be no war, there will be no disturbance? No. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstava-vastu vedyam atra (SB 1.1.2).
Nitāi: "That fallen brāhmaṇa of the name Ajāmila was giving trouble to all other men by forcibly arresting them, cheating them by gambling with weighted dice, or by directly plundering someone. Thus he used to earn his livelihood to maintain his family by giving trouble and pain to others."
Prabhupāda:
- bandy-akṣaiḥ kaitavaiś cauryair
- garhitāṁ vṛttim āsthitaḥ
- bibhrat kuṭumbam aśucir
- yātayām āsa dehinaḥ
- (SB 6.1.22)
Bibhrat. Bibhrat kuṭumbam aśucir yātayām āsa dehinaḥ. Bibhrat, we have to maintain our body. This is called bibhrat. That is necessary. We have got this body in this material world. This is not spiritual world. In the spiritual world there is no necessity of maintaining the body. The body is spiritual. As we have got here in this material world, to maintain this body I require to eat, I require to sleep, I require to satisfy my sense, and I require to defend—the four necessities... Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. And spiritual body means these four kinds of bodily demands, nil, no more.
So we should know that this is the defect of civilization, that by education, by practice, by examples we are simply creating eighth-class, tenth-class of men, so there cannot be any peace. Therefore the human society must take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and teach people at least how to become second class, third class, if not first class. But there must be first-class men, second-class men. Then everything, social affair, political affair, will go very smoothly, without any trouble. Otherwise you have to meet with this class of profession, stealing, cheating, and so on.
Why? Now, bibhrat kuṭumbam. He is thinking that "I have to maintain my family, my children, so any way I must get money." So bibhrat kuṭumbam. Kuṭumbam aśuciḥ, unclean. This is unclean method, aśuci. And yatayām āsa dehinaḥ. And as soon as one takes all this profession, it means his business will be to give trouble to the all living entities. Yatayām āsa dehinaḥ. Dehinaḥ means one who has accepted this material body. So he will not hesitate to kill anyone because he is practiced to give pains and misery to other living entities, and what to speak of killing animals under the plea, "The animal has no soul"? This rascaldom will go on.
So the civilization is how to make human being elevated to the standard of becoming a brāhmaṇa, dvija. And if one dvija falls down by bad association, especially by prostitution, then he comes to this. This is the Ajāmila's life.
Therefore, at the present moment the tendency is to kill the child. Because to enjoy sex life means there must be pregnancy. But when there is pregnancy, either illicit or..., legal or illegal, the child-bearing, the giving birth to the child, then taking care of it, then growing, raising, feeding him, education—so many troubles there is. But tṛpyanti neha kṛpaṇā bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ (SB 7.9.45).
The kṛpaṇa, those who are not brāhmaṇa... The brāhmaṇa means liberal or advanced in knowledge, and kṛpaṇa means miser. So the opposite word of brāhmaṇa is kṛpaṇa. Kṛpaṇa... Because one who is liberal, he knows how to utilize this life, therefore he is called brāhmaṇa. Brahma jānāti. This life is meant for knowing Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth. That is brāhmaṇa. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. And if somebody, getting this human life, he does not become a brāhmaṇa, then he remains a kṛpaṇa, miser.
Dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). This word is used, dhīra. So if one is not dhīra, adhīra, agitated always, they will go on begetting children one after another, up to the eighty-ninth year. Why? Tṛpyanti... They are not satisfied, although to beget a child means so many troubles, if you are responsible father. And those who are not responsible father-mother, they want to kill it, that's all. This is the psychology of killing children nowadays, because they know that "This child, I have to take care so much," bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ. There are... Tṛpyanti... By very analytical study... Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). This happiness of the gṛhamedhī, family attachment... Family you can utilize, gṛhastha. If you are inconvenienced to accept sannyāsa or brahmacārī life, remain in household life, but the purpose is the same, to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
There is no more other. Those who are little above the bodily concept of life, they find pleasure in the mind. And farther, they find pleasure in intellectually. And in this way the thing is very complicated. It requires very cool brain to understand all these things. But those who are meat-eaters, they are very troubled. They cannot understand. For them the subject matter is very, very difficult. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
- nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
- bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt
- ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt
- pumān virajyeta vinā paśu-ghnāt
- (SB 10.1.4)
Paśu-ghna. Paśu means life, or living entity. Paśu-ghna, ghna means killer. So unless one who is killing himself or killing this animal... Both are killing. The killing of the animal in the slaughterhouse, that is gross killing. And another killing is one who is killing himself without knowledge.
So you have got big, big stock. That is required. There may be scarcity at times, but if you keep stock, then there is no trouble. This one, no foolish rascal should be worshiped, food grains should be nicely stocked, and the third thing, most important, dampatyoḥ kalaho nāsti: "There is no disagreement between husband and wife." If these three things are there, then you haven't got to pray to the goddess of fortune, "Kindly be merciful." She will automatically come. "Here is a very nice place. I shall stay here."
So this Ajāmila, he was dāsī-pati. He was a husband of a prostitute. So he was not happy. He was attached. Another thing is... That is also Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. He says, duṣṭā-bhāryā. Duṣṭā-bhāryā means this prostitute. Duṣṭā, who is polluted by another man, he is called duṣṭā. Strīṣu duṣṭāsu varṇa-saṅkaraḥ abhibhavāt. Therefore human civilization must be very careful that the women may not become polluted. Strīṣu duṣṭāsu.
Then to become such spiritually advanced, is it very difficult task? No. Su-sukham: very easy and very happy. How it is happy? Happy because this spiritual consciousness is developed by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. That is very pleasing. With music, with musical instrument we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. There is no trouble. Even a child can take part, experience. A child also claps; he also dances. So what can be easier method than this? Any other method you take, you have to exercise, you have to tax your brain, press your nose, or so many other things. But here automatically you chant before ārātrika and you become spiritually enlightened. Even the child becomes. Therefore it is susukham, very happy to execute. Susukham kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). And whatever you do, little, that becomes a permanent asset, avyayam. It is never to be vanished. Even one percent of devotional service you execute, it will help you again to begin from that point.
There cannot be any scarcity. Pūrṇam idam (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation). Everything created by God is sufficiently pūrṇam. Pūrṇāt pūrṇam. It is... There is arrangement of raining; there is arrangement of producing. We simply, so-called rascals, so-called politicians, they have created all this trouble for their political ambition. Just like our politicians created the Pakistan and Hindustan. So all the foodstuff is there in Pakistan. Rice is in East Bengal and wheat is in East Pakistan. So this Hindustan is in shortage, in short of wheat and rice. So this is the creation of the politicians. By God's arrangement everything is complete. Therefore you have to change the whole consciousness of the people if you want to be happy. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
"Four kinds of sinful activities: illicit sex, and intoxication, and unnecessarily killing of animals, and gambling." All the slaughterhouses of the world are being maintained unnecessarily. That is recruiting simply sins. They are eating sins, and therefore the world is in trouble. Simply committing. There is no necessity of killing animals. But here in India they are killing ten thousand cows daily, what to speak of Western countries. So people are so much addicted to sinful activities. How they can be happy? They are condemned. Only this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if they take to this movement, they can be saved. Otherwise, there is no saving. They must cycle round the 8,400,000 species of life, sometimes very happy and sometimes very sad, sometimes this Brahma, sometimes the germs in the stool. This is going on, changing bodies, one after another, just like we change our dress.
Now, this place I see, although I have not seen all, is a nice place. And the gṛhasthas may come here, have some small cottage, and grow your own food grains, vegetables, and have your cow's milk. Get nice foodstuff, save time. Why should you go in the city, hundred miles in car and again hundred miles come back and take unnecessary trouble? Stick to this spot and grow your own food, your own cloth, and live peacefully, save time, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Very nice program. This is actual life. What is this nonsense life, big, big cities and always people busy? If he wants to see one friend, he has to go thirty miles. If he has to see a physician, he has to go fifty miles. If he has to go to work, another hundred miles. So what is this life? This is not life. Be satisfied. The devotee's life should be yāvad artha-prayojanam. We require material necessities as much as it is required, no artificial life. That is spiritual life.
So anyone who is not devotee of Lord Viṣṇu, he is asura. That is the verdict. Asuras tad-viparyayaḥ. And this piṇḍa-dāna is offered oblations to the Viṣṇu. So if any man becomes a Vaiṣṇava, he is offering oblations to Viṣṇu every moment, so his forefathers are delivered without any trouble. Without any trouble. If one's son becomes a Vaiṣṇava in the family, he can deliver fourteen generations, up and down. That is the verdict. Not only verdict, this is the version in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
When Prahlāda Mahārāja, offered all benediction, but he declined: "My dear Lord, I have tried to worship Your lotus feet not for any material benediction. And we are born of a father too much materialistic. Naturally I have got the tendency for enjoy material prosperity.
Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. In the forest there are millions of elephants. Who is supplying them food? Kṛṣṇa is supplying. So there is no question of overpopulation. Overpopulation, there is no question of. If Kṛṣṇa has overpopulation, He is competent to supply them food. But it is the nature's restriction. When we become godless, the nature's trouble will be there. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Just like the flood is going on in many parts of the world. So this is due to our sinful life. Nature is punishing. Adhidaivika. You cannot control. Nature will punish. Why nature is punishing? Because we are godless. That is nature's business. The more we become godless, the more we'll be punished by the laws of nature. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. You cannot surpass. You make many scientific plans to overcome—it is not possible. Then how it is possible?
One should endeavor in such a way that you do not take again birth in this material world. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Because as soon as you accept any material body, either the material body of Lord Brahmā or the material body of an ant, most inignificant, the trouble is there. You will have to suffer. You cannot escape it. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). Irresponsibly, we, if we act, pramattaḥ, like madman, without following the sastric injunction... That is a madman. Just like a madman does not care for any instruction. He acts according to his own whim. That is described here: svaira-cāri. Svaira-cāri. Svaira-cāri means "I will act according to my whims. I don't care for any authority." That is called svaira-cāri. No. The laws are meant for human beings. Even on the street, as soon as you go out on the street, immediately the law is there: "Keep to the right. Keep to the left."
A devotee, when he is in troubled condition, he thinks, "My Lord is so kind that He is purifying me. I am suffering from my past misdeeds. So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He is purifying me, giving me little suffering. That's all right. Therefore I must be obliged to Him." And he offers more respectful obeisances to the Lord: "My Lord, You are purifying me." If one lives like this, mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk, his liberation is guaranteed.
If there is rājarṣi, kṣatriya, ruler, king, just like saintly person, like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Parīkṣit, Lord Rāmacandra—there are many—Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, then people will be happy. Just like it is described, during the reign of Mahārāja Parīkṣit there was no trouble at all of the citizens. They were free from even ordinary minor diseases. It is said there, in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. And so far production is concerned, it is said that the land was producing all the necessities. Sarva-dughāṁ mahī. Sarva-kāma-dughāṁ mahī. Actually we get everything from the earth, all supplies. We are getting these flowers from earth. We are getting these fruits from earth. We are getting foodstuff from the earth. We are getting minerals from the earth—everything. Sarva-dughāṁ mahī. So nature will supply you sufficiently, provided you follow ideal life. Otherwise nature will punish you. There will be no supply.
Some way or other, if we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then we can save ourselves from so many troubles, as it is example. This verse shall explain tomorrow again.
Therefore, according to Bhagavat-siddhānta, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanti (SB 10.2.32). The individual soul who simply tries to merge into the effulgence, Brahman effulgence... That position is attained after many, many years' austerity and penances. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa. Kṛcchreṇa means with great trouble and difficulty one is elevated to that position, merging into the impersonal brahmajyoti. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). That is called paraṁ padam. But again says, patanty adhaḥ: "But they still, again they are prone to fall down." Why they fall down? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ: "Because they do not care for Your lotus feet."
That has been practically experienced. In our country many many, very, very big swamis, they attain perfection and realize that he is Brahman. But after a time again comes down to this material field of worker, opening hospital, schools. So these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they say that the world is false.
No more coming." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). If you take responsibility in that way, then everything will be adjusted. Serious. My Guru Mahārāja used to say like that, that "Finish this business in this life. Don't delay for the next life." He was telling also that "Don't give me trouble again to come here to deliver you." That is the responsibility of spiritual master. Spiritual master responsibility is to take the disciple to Kṛṣṇa, until he is able to do, to help him, to help him, to help him. That is the verdict of the śāstras. Just like Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. His spiritual master delivered him, taking the shape of a prostitute. So these stories are there.
The first thing is that we have taken very, very responsible task, to finish this so-called lording over this material nature. The material life means everyone is trying to lord over the material nature, bhoga. And we cannot do that. That is not possible. Therefore we are in trouble. This very mentality, that "I shall lord it over..." Everyone in the material world... And so long this, "I shall serve Kṛṣṇa, not lord it over..." Just the opposite. This is material mentality: "I shall lord it over." The whole world is struggling. Everyone is thinking, "I will lord it over. I shall be over everyone. My votes shall be the largest number. I shall become..." And our business is not to lord it over but to serve Kṛṣṇa.
Nobody wants blazing fire, dāvānala. Dāvānala means forest fire. Nobody goes to set fire in the forest, but it takes place. Similarly, this material world is also like that. Nobody wants, but still, miserable condition of life come in. Just like in Calcutta, nobody wanted the Naxalite disturbance, but it has come. There are so many troubles. And why this happens? Because their unconscious activities of sinful life... Just like we are walking on the street. Unconsciously, we are killing so many small ants and insects, unconsciously. I do not wish to kill, but we are, having situated, we are, being situated in material condition of life, we are unconsciously killing so many living entities. Therefore, according to the Vedic rites, the injunction is that one has to perform yajñas, sacrifices. And without that sacrifice you'll be liable to be punishment for that unconscious killing of small animals.
So devotees are generally very good, godly qualities. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he was insulted by his brothers, his wife was insulted, his kingdom was usurped, taken away, that..., forced to go to the forest for twelve years. So many troubles they had to undergo due to the political intrigues by the cousin-brothers. Still, while he was in front of fighting, he thought, "What is the use of fighting and killing my cousin-brothers? Better let them enjoy. I retire. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot fight," he said. Why? Because he was a devotee. He was prepared to forego his claim. It is not that he was a coward. He was a great warrior, fighter. He could fight immediately. But because he was devotee, he was avoiding, trying to avoid fight, "No." This is godly quality. So in order to induce him to fight, Kṛṣṇa had to speak to him the whole Bhagavad-gītā.
He says, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ (SB 7.5.32). Anartha. We have created so many unnecessary things and become entangled. So in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). If you want to get out of these anarthas, unnecessary trouble and problems which you have created, anarthopaśamam, if you want to cut down these unnecessary problems... This morning I was seeing one picture of Berlin sent by one of my disciples. So I had been in Moscow also. This city I have seen, very nice city. Berlin is very nice city. London is very nice city. But why they engaged in fighting and bombed each, other's city? Why this happenned? Because they have lost their interest in Viṣṇu, in God. Therefore I am thinking, "You are my enemy; I am your enemy," and we fight like cats and dogs.
Sometimes you will find mother is supplying very nice foodstuff to one child, and other child the mother is supplying only little barley water. Do you mean to say mother is unkind to one child and not unkind to other? Because mother knows better than anyone that this child cannot digest. There is some trouble in his stomach. He should be given light food. And the other child is all right. Similarly, mother nature is the guidance. So if somebody is starving, it should be noted like that, that he is put into that circumstances to get better. That's all. So any other question? (break) Everyone, I shall request you to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. We have enjoyed so many lives in the past, or suffered. Now, this life, at least one life may be devoted for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and see the result. That is our request.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that this bhāgavata-dharma... Bhāgavata-dharma means to revive our lost relationship with God. We should know what is God. We should know what we are, living entities. We should know what is this material nature. We should know what is time, and we should know what are our real activities. Why don't you come forward? The sunshine is troubling you. So come forward. Yes. Sit comfortably. So bhāgavata-dharma means it is scientific knowledge. It is not sentiment. Religion without philosophical understanding is sentiment. And philosophy without understanding of God is mental speculation. So we should not be both, neither sentimentalist nor dry mental speculator. There is a class of mental speculators, they're writing volumes of books but there is no substance. And there are some religious fanatics, but they do not know, do not understand what is religion. So these two classes of men are now very prominent at the present moment.
Why? They are brought up very nicely. The government system is very nice. They can get education. Everything is complete. But still, they are not happy. They are finding something else which will make them happy. Why? This is spiritual demand. Just like this child cannot express what is the trouble. May be some ant is there within the bedding, and it is cutting on his delicate body, but he cannot express what is the actual trouble. Cries, expression of difficulty.
So this frustration, confusion, is expression of spiritual unhealthiness, because actually we are spirit. That we do not know. Suppose you have got a very nice coat, and within that coat you are actually, so far we are concerned at the present moment. Now, if you simply take care of the coat and shirt, and if you don't take care of your actual person, how long you can become happy?
Guest (1): Apparently, I have trouble with the definition of meditation. You say that chanting is the way to attain...
Prabhupāda: Yes. I don't say, it is there...
Guest (1): Yeah, okay, right. Transcendental meditation by the Maharishi is not a form of meditation under concentrating powers. I was wondering...
Prabhupāda: What is that transcendental meditation? Can you explain?
Guest (1): If I could I would do.
Prabhupāda: You cannot. You cannot explain?
Guest (2): I think he had an explanation.
Guest (3): We're talking of the teaching of the Maharishi.
Prabhupāda: So what is that teaching? You don't know. Then don't talk. (everyone laughs)
This is the ultimate. But because people have become deviated, fallen, they do not know what is the aim of life, what is the goal of life. They are simply wasting time. Vimara-cetaḥ (?). Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "My Lord, I am not very much anxious for me because I have no trouble. As I have learned to chant Your glories, so anywhere I am happy simply by glorifying Your activities. But I am unhappy for this reason: when I see that these rascals simply for little material happiness, they are working so hard." Tato vimukha-cetasa māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). "They have forgotten You." Vimukha cetasam. They think that "What is the use of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" Vimukha. And what is required? Māyā-sukhāya. For few years to live in material comforts, bharam udvahato vimūḍhān, they are manufacturing so many big, big skyscraper building, nice road, nice car. Māyā-sukhāya.
Tāpa-traya means three kinds of miseries: miseries inflicted by other persons or other living entities... That is, we have practical experience. We create so many friends also, so many enemies also. We do not go into the jungle because we know there are jungle animals who may attack us. So... Even at home there are bugs, there are mosquitoes; they also give us trouble. So there is a kind of trouble or misery inflicted by other living entities. That is called adhibhautika. Three kinds of miseries. Miseries offered by other living entities. We also offer, I mean to say, miseries to the other animals. Just like we have created our slaughterhouse. We send so many cows and animals for being slaughtered. Similarly, we are also attacked by other animals. So this is the law of nature. I am killing you, you are killing me. This is called adhibhautika. This is one class of misery. The other class of misery is due to this body and mind. Sometimes the body is sick; we don't feel very nice.
The mosquito, if the body would have been very large, then it will kill every man. So he has been offered a very small, tiny body so that... His desire is to suck blood, but it cannot suck blood very much. The mosquito, bugs, there are so many. This is called adhibhautika. Adhibhautika means we are troubled by other living entities. These bugs, this mosquito, and many others. Just like you are passing on the road, a dog comes, barks and... So this is called adhibhautika; adhyātmika, pertaining to the body, mind and other living entities; and adhidaivika, offered by nature. There is always trouble.
So the point is that actually we do not require things for sense gratification, especially in this human form of life. That we have enjoyed. Even a mosquito is also enjoying, the bug is also enjoying. The arrangement is so nice by nature's arrangement. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Everyone has got the facilities for sense enjoyment.
That is the mission of human life. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1), purify. Why purification required? Because we are after happiness. That is our nature. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Everyone, we want happiness. But we are so blind that happiness in the material world is faced with so many other troubles. Just like I want to be happy, I am sitting peacefully, the mosquito will come and disturb me. The bugs will come, disturb me. The dogs will come, disturb me. And so many other... There will be some earthquake will disturb me, there will be some storm will disturb me. There will be some fever, disturb me. Some calamity will disturb me. So because all these disturbances are, this is nature's daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). That māyā is always ready to disturb us. Because to remind us that "You want to be happy in this material world, that is not possible. I shall disturb you always, in this way or that way."
In this way we become entrapped, and sarvatra tāpa-traya-duḥkhitātmā. Tāpa-traya, traya means three and tāpa means tribulation, suffering. So tāpa-traya, three kinds of tribulations: adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Pertaining to the body, we feel so many troubles due to the body, due to the mind. Then adhibhautika, troubles offered by other living entities, and adhidaivika, troubles offered by nature or the demigods. In this way, sarvatra. It is not that in India there is tāpa-traya and in America there is no tāpa-traya. No, in America there is tāpa-traya. "All right, I shall go to the heavenly planets." No, there is also tāpa-traya. Anywhere you go within this material world, as soon as you get this material body, then tāpa-traya will be there.
Prastha means "who has gone." Pañcaśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Vanaṁ vrajet means to free from all family responsibility and prepare for going back to home, back to Godhead. But those who are too much attached to family life, na nirvidyate, being repeatedly frustrated, repeatedly they are put into trouble. Still. But if one wants regular advancement of spiritual life, he must retire at the age of fifty. That is Vedic civilization. Not that unless one is killed, he's not going to retire. Even great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, he was seventy-eight years, and still he would not retire from this... Political life means greater family life. A family man is interested with his family members, and a political leader is interested with the whole, a group of family. The principle is the same.
Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "No it is not good." Prahlāda Mahārāja... Everyone will say, those who are in knowledge. Yato ātmano ayam, kleśada. You can do whatever you like, but you'll get a body which may be more troublesome than the present body. In the present body we have got so many troubles, adhyātmika, adhidaivika, and if we do not work properly, then we shall get another body, more troublesome. More troublesome.
So aśānta-kāmo harate kuṭumbī. This family attachment is so strong that a person who is not satiated, he simply gathers money. On one side, they do not believe in the next life, and if you ask him that "Why you are gathering so much money?" he'll say that "My grandson will enjoy it." They say like that. But if you don't believe in the transmigration of the soul, then who is coming to be your grandson and son you are accumulating money? So there is no logic, there is no argument. But people do so. Anyāyenartha-sañcayan.
Prabhupāda: Read the purport also.
Pradyumna: One may ask, "One is certainly very attached to family life, but if one gives up family life to be attached to the service of the Lord, one must undergo the same endeavor and trouble. Therefore, what is the benefit of taking the trouble to engage in the service of the Lord?" This is not a valid objection. The Lord asserts in Bhagavad-gītā (14.4):
- sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
- mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
- tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir
- ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
"It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father." The Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, is the seed-giving father of all living entities because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord (mamaivāṁśo. .. jīva-bhūtaḥ (15.7)). As there is no difficulty in establishing the intimate relationship between a father and son, there is no difficulty in reestablishing the natural, intimate relationship between Nārāyaṇa and the living entities.
They cannot distinguish the characteristics of the soul. Simply they see superficially and, identifying with the body, there is always trouble. "I am this nation", "I am Englishman," "I am German," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṇa", "I am this," "I am that," designation. So, one has to become free from this designation before one can understand what is spiritual life. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Sarvopādhi... These are designations, superficial.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that etair dvādaśabhir vidvān ātmano lakṣaṇaiḥ paraiḥ. Paraiḥ means superior. You have to distinguish ātmā by superior characteristics, not by inferior characteristics.
Just like adharma, irreligiosity, is described as the back side of God and religiosity is described as the front side of God. So there is no difference between front side and back side—Absolute. God is absolute any way. Even apart from God's body, even in our body, we do not make any distinction. Suppose if there is some trouble, if there is some boil here in the front side and if there is some boil in the back side, does it mean I shall not take care of the back side boil? I shall take care of it, I shall have treatment for it. I cannot neglect the back side boil because it has come out from the back side. There is no such reason.
So these bad habits, kāma krodha-kāma means lust; krodha means anger—so if they are also coming from God, then how we can neglect it? How we can reject it? So there is no need of rejecting. That is the Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's... You cannot reject. That is not possible.
The mahā-bhāgavata from the very birth, that is called nitya-siddha. They are eternally siddha, perfect. They come for some purpose. So Prahlāda Mahārāja came for this purpose, that the demons, even he's his father, he would give him so many troubles because one is Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is the instruction. Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to show this by the order of Kṛṣṇa. Hiraṇyakaśipu also came—how to become enemy of Kṛṣṇa—and Prahlāda Mahārāja came, show, to show how to become a devotee of... This is going on. So mahā-bhāgavata... Kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī, and mahā-bhāgavata or uttama-adhikārī. Kaniṣṭha-adhikārī is in the beginning they have to be taught how to worship the Deity very perfectly. According to the instruction of the śāstra, according instruction of the guru, one must learn how to worship Deity.
Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapilo manuḥ prahlādaḥ (SB 6.3.20). Prahlāda Mahārāja name is there. Janako bhīṣmo balir vaiyāsakir vayam. So Prahlāda Mahārāja is mahājana. So follow, try to follow, Prahlāda Mahārāja. Anusaraṇa. Sādhu-mārgānugamanam. So what Prahlāda Mahārāja did? He was put into so many troubles by his father, and what did he do? He was simply thinking of Kṛṣṇa, "What can I do? My father is against." That is man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. And at last, when the father is killed, he is offering obeisances. So these four things, follow in the footsteps sincerely, as an unalloyed devotee. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Prahlāda Mahārāja never thou ght that "I am son of Hiraṇyakaśipu." Never thought. He always used to think, "I am the servant of Nārada."
This is law of karma, fruitive activities. If you work in a certain way, you get the fruit. If you study very nicely, you become very educated. The university has the facility to give you. But if you say, "Oh, why God has made me uneducated?" is that reason? But the university is open for you. Why did you not take the trouble of being educated? You cannot say, "Why the government has made me uneducated?" Government is giving facility to everyone, "Come on." And is that argument, "Why government has made me criminal?" You have made yourself criminal. So you try to understand. You have to preach. We should not be defeated by any demons, provided he is not crazy. What is the argument there with the crazy man?
No, that you cannot. Can you make any material laws or scientific knowledge that you will not become old? No. You cannot stop death, you cannot stop birth, you cannot stop old age, you cannot stop disease. So what is the value of your material knowledge? And these are the troubles. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). Any intelligent man will see that what is the value of my material knowledge? I have to die. I have to be victim of disease and old age. Then what is the value? The best thing is that so long this material body is there, you have got the opportunity to develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, do that. That will save you from all dangers. Otherwise, nothing will save you. Simply śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8), simply waste of time. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
The... Those who are under the control of rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, they are engaged in ugra-karma, ugra-karma: industrial enterprise, big, big roads, big, big skyscraper. This is called ugra-karma. So ugra-karma is very pleasing to the ugra-jātis (just like) Hiraṇyakaśipu. What was the trouble between the father and the son? The father was for ugra-karma, and the son, Prahlāda, was for sattvika life. So when Prahlāda Mahārāja engaged himself in sattvika life, not only sattvika, śuddha-sattvika... In the material world there are three guṇas: sattvika, rajasika, tamasika. The sattvika is the best. So, and devotional activity is śuddha-sattvika, where there is no contamination. In the material world, sattvika, a person who is a brāhmaṇa, he may be contaminated by tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa. Just like Ajāmila.
So they are siddhas. What you cannot do, if other can do, that is called siddhi. So there is no question of disbelieving. We can see so many small insects, birds. They can fly from one tree to another. You cannot do that. If you have to go from one tree to another, you have to take so many trouble . So it is not to be rejected, "Ah, there cannot be any... This is unbelievable." But we have got this information from the śāstras. We are staunch believer: "Yes, there are siddhas." We are believers. That is called theism: one who believes in the statements of śāstra.
So there are siddhas. So they also came. Sura-gaṇā, brahmādayaā sura-gaṇā munayaḥ. Muna, muni, great personalities, philosophers, they are called muni, ṛṣi. Devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṛṇām (SB 11.5.41).
He was king, very responsible person, politics. But he practiced in such a way that he fixed up his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. This practice. Don't talk nonsense. (noise again) (aside:) What is the trouble? Take out.
So mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). We can learn Kṛṣṇa consciousness perfectly well if we follow the mahājanas. Mahājana means great personality who are devotees of the Lord. They are called mahājanas. Jana means person. Just like in ordinary way, in India a person is called mahājana who is very rich. So this mahājana means one who is rich in devotional service. He is called mahājana. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. So we have got Ambarīṣa Mahārāja. We have got Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Be tolerant more than the tree. I mean to say, one shall be meek and humble more than the grass. These things will happen. In one life if we execute our Kṛṣṇa consciousness attitude, even there is suffering little, don't mind. Go on with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't be disappointed or hopeless, even there is some trouble. That is encouraged by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā: āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata: "My dear Arjuna, even if you feel some pain, this bodily pain, it comes and goes. Nothing is permanent, so don't care for these things. Go on with your duty." This is the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. Prahlāda Mahārāja is the practical example, and our duty is to follow the footprints of such person like Prahlāda Mahārāja.
What is this? That śama. Śama means the equilibrium of the mind. Dama. Dama means controlling the senses. Śamo damas tapaḥ, austerity. Tapa means... Tapa means from tapa, heat. Just like this heat is not tolerable. I require the fan. So tapa means to accept voluntarily some physical trouble. That is called tapa. There are many sages who, in, during summer, they will burn fire all sides and meditate. There is already high temperature, 112 degrees in India. Sometimes 180 degree, and still they have fire all sides, all sides. Yes. And they are meditating, not disturbed. So this is called voluntarily tapa. And in winter season, when the temperature is forty degrees, fifty degrees, is of course, not below zero, anyway, he goes to the water and dip into the water simply keeping the mouth up and meditating. So there are some severe processes for tapasya. So this is one of the good qualities.
Śaucam means cleanliness, hygienic principles, to take bath thrice, at least once, daily. Therefore to keep no hair is better. You wash, there is no question of moisture in the hair. And those who have got big hairs, they cannot take daily bath. But if you keep your bald-headed, there is no trouble. Śaucam. So bathing is required, taking bath daily, śaucam. And kṣānti. Kṣānti means toleration. Because this world is full of miseries, and you have to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this condition... Kṛṣṇa advised in the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna, that... Because the topic was on the body, so Arjuna said, "Accepting that the soul is immortal and it never dies, still, if some relative dies, we feel pain. Is it not a fact?" Kṛṣṇa said, "Yes, it is a fact." Even if I know that my son is dead, my son is not dead. The soul of my son is departed from this body to another body. So there is no cause of anxiety.
He advised, "Yes, I understand there are pains and pleasures like that, but they have to be tolerated. You cannot be disturbed. You have to execute your business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If there is any trouble, you must know no trouble or no happiness exists because this is material. It has come. It will go. So for the time being, don't be mad after happiness and don't be mad after miseries." Āgamāpāyina: "They come and go." Just like nowadays it is very hot. This season will change, and again we will be disturbed by cold. So disturbance will continue, either heat or cold due to this material body, mātrā-sparśā, due to this skin attachment. So we have to tolerate.
"If one attains to the perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he has no more to understand anything." Yaṁ labdhvā cāparam. He does not want any more profit in any way. He thinks that "I am completely..." Yasmin sthite, and the test is that if one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then guruṇāpi duḥkhena... Because the world, this material world, we are always in trouble. So a person situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not troubled at all, even if he is put into very trying circumstances. Guruṇāpi duḥkhena. This is the test. That is called santoṣa, and satya, truthfulness, āstikya. Āstikya means belief, faith, faith in scripture, faith in God. That is called faith. This is faith. And when that faith is very much concentrated, then one can understand Kṛṣṇa. Viśvāsa śabde sudṛdha-niścaya, kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya. This is called strong faith or firm faith. What is that firm faith? When one is convinced that "If I am Kṛṣṇa conscious, then all my duties will be perfect." And that is the fact.
If I take, "It is Kṛṣṇa's," then I am liberated. Just try to understand. You are sitting here. You know that this apartment or this loft belongs to somebody. So there is no harm sitting here, hearing here. But if you think that "This is mine," and if you want you take something out of this, then there is trouble. Similarly, this world belongs to Kṛṣṇa. If you have always that consciousness that it belongs to Kṛṣṇa... Just like a bank cashier. He knows that millions of dollars is coming to him, but he knows that "This is belonging to the bank. I am simply cashier." Similarly, you can deal with all the worldly things, but if your consciousness is Kṛṣṇa then you are free. Nikhileṣv apy avasthāsu jīvan muktaḥ sa ucyate. In any condition of life if one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, he's always liberated. He's not affected. So that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not teach you to become a false renouncer. What is the use of becoming a renouncer?
It is simply childish—just to knock one's head on the mountain to break the mountain. If one thinks that "I shall knock my head to the mountain, and the mountain will break," that is foolishness. Your head will be broken. That's all. Similarly, as friend, nobody can give any service to Kṛṣṇa, or as enemy, nobody can give any trouble to Kṛṣṇa. Nija-lābha-pūrṇa. This is nija-lābha-pūrṇa. He's always full with all satisfaction. So why Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26)? So does it mean that Kṛṣṇa is so hungry that He has come to beg from us a little flower, little fruit? That some rascal taken this, that Kṛṣṇa comes as beggar, daridra. So when Kṛṣṇa comes as opulent Personality of Godhead they are not interested to serve Him, but when Kṛṣṇa comes as daridra, then they're interested.
So they are not troublesome like my father. They are not troublesome. Because my father was a demon, so he was against always, always against God. But these demigods, they are not like my father. So You pacify Yourself. Now my father is killed. That business is finished. Now, these people, they will never create any trouble, so You become pacified." That is the difference between demons and demigods. There are two classes of living creatures always. Either in this planet or any planet within this universe, there are two classes of living creatures. One is called the demon, and the other is called the demigod. What is the difference? The demigods are godly. They accept the existence of God, they obey the orders of God, they act in God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whereas the demons, they don't believe in God, they defy God's regulations, and they want to become imitation God.
Therefore if we can produce population in the modes of goodness, there will be no problem in this material world even. Just like in the Satya-yuga, they were all brāhmaṇas, in the modes of goodness, so there was no trouble. And again, Tretā-yuga, seventy-five percent, modes of goodness. In the Dvāpara-yuga, fifty percent, and the Kali-yuga, seventy-five percent calculated to be in the modes of ignorance. Therefore we are feeling so much disturbances in the social condition, in the political condition.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja assures that brahmādayo sarve hy amī vidhi-karāḥ. Vidhi-karāḥ means administrators. The demigods are different administrators appointed on behalf of the Supreme Lord. Just like the sun-god, he is also called god because he is godly. So he is supplying us heat and light. Similarly, there is Indra. He is supplying us water. Candra is supplying us moonlight.
Vayam iva. He is taking the part of his father. He's born of a father, a first-class atheist. So he is taking the side of his father, although he's more than Brahmā. Because Brahmā could not pacify the Lord. Brahmā requested Prahlāda, "My dear boy, the Lord has appeared to mitigate your trouble; so you try to pacify Him. We have failed." But just see. This is the behavior of Vaiṣṇava. He is the prominent personality in that assembly. Still, he says that "All these demigods, they are not like us, disturbing. I am born of atheistic father. Our family, our community, our society"—vayam, vayam means "we"—"Our society, country, family, they're all disturbing." Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "We are all disturbing because we are atheistic." In other words, the more the population is atheistic, the more disturbance in the society. So he says that these demigods... As I explained the other day, there are two classes of men everywhere: one godly and the other atheist.
Therefore killing of envious persons like Hiraṇyakaśipu... Unnecessarily... He was a child. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a child, innocent child. And his son, and youngest son. And his only fault was that he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And this person was after him, giving him all kinds of trouble. Just see the nature of the envious person. He doesn't care even his son, a child, a devotee. "Oh, this boy must be tortured. This boy must be tortured because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious." "This man must be crucified because he is preaching God consciousness." This is the nature of envious persons. More dangerous. Therefore their killing is the pleasure for the saintly persons. Modeta sādhur api vṛścika sarpa-hatyā. So Prahlāda Mahārāja was glad that his father was killed. So tatrāha (reads commentary) vṛścikādeḥ parapadraka kariṇā anyathaiva jātinā kutra vadhena tasyaiva tad bhadraṁ jātam (?).
Duḥkhauṣadhaṁ tad api duḥkham atad-dhiyāham. Atat. Atat means untruth, flickering, not... Atad-dhiyāham. We do not know what is our identification. Misunderstanding. Dehātma-buddhi. Asad-grahāt. Atat, asat, the same thing. We have accepted this body, identifying this body, on account of this. If you are on the spiritual platform, then there is no trouble, there is no misunderstanding. If we understand properly by education or knowledge that "You are also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. I am also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Our real position is to serve the Lord," so if we serve that, then there is no misunderstanding. If we be engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, there cannot be any misunderstanding. Otherwise, if we work on the platform of this body, material body, there must be misunderstanding.
"Either you or me, we are not enjoyer; we are servant. The enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa," then there will be something. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). We are trying to become friend of another friend. "My dear friend, I shall help you in this way. You are in trouble." So he can help, but there will be misunderstanding. Again the friend will be enemy. So there cannot be any peace. But if we all agree that Kṛṣṇa is the friend, real friend... Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Kṛṣṇa, if He's not our friend, why He's coming down on this platform where we are living in rotten condition? He's great friend, Dīna-bandhu. His name in Dīna-bandhu. Who is very, very poor in heart, He becomes very great friend, dīna-bandhu, and advises him. Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam. He's always friendly. Kṛṣṇa is never enemy. But still, we create enmity. We become demon with Kṛṣṇa. That is the trouble.
We have to accept economic development so far as we keep our body and soul together, fit for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not recommend that unnecessarily you should give trouble to the body. We do not recommend any man to go to the forest for spiritual realization. We simply recommend that you try to understand what is your constitutional position. If you actually think or meditate very cool-headed what is your actual position, first of all you shall realize that you are not this body. If you meditate in a solitary place... Meditation means to keep yourself alone and in a solitary place. So in the beginning, if you meditate as to "What I am? Am I this body? Am I this mind? Am I this intelligence?" in this way, if you search out, you will find that you are neither of these. Ultimately, you'll search out that you are consciousness.
When they are suffering, they do not accuse Kṛṣṇa. They say, "My Lord, it is Your mercy that I am suffering." Just the opposite. Tat te 'nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ (SB 10.14.8). Because he knows that "I am suffering on account of my own fault. So better Kṛṣṇa is adjusting the thing, giving me little trouble, that's all." That is the position. Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54).
So we have to learn all these things. Then, taptasya tat-pratividhiḥ. I think in some reading there is yat-pratividhiḥ. Eh? But here it is tat-pratividhiḥ. All right, what it is... So they, we have so many countermeasures for..., because this whole world, this material world, means duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). It is a place for suffering. And that also not permanent place. But our struggle is that "We may not suffer, and we may remain here permanently."
So sattva-guṇa and rajas-tamaḥ. This material world, there is three qualities, so there is always struggle. If you want to remain in the sattva-guṇa, then the rajas-tamo guṇa, they will give you trouble. Rajas-tamo-bhāvaḥ. Tato rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). So we are trying to introduce this sattva-guṇa, and above sattva-guṇa, śuddha-sattva. This sattva-guṇa... Just like sometimes we experience that one person is elevated to the brahminical principle, sannyāsī principle, but all of a sudden he falls down, he becomes a demon. We have got experience. He becomes demon. Very high... So this material world is so contaminated that even you are on the sattva-guṇa, there is chance of being contaminated by the rajas-tamo guṇa. The struggle is there. Therefore we have to become very, very careful.
The whole Vedic instruction is just to deliver all suffering humanity from the threefold miseries of material existence. That is the aim and object of Vedic civilization. That means this human form of life is meant for finishing all kinds of troubles. That should be the effort of human being. Actually, they are doing so. Everyone is trying to minimize the miseries of life and get happiness of life. That is the impetus of all activities. But unfortunately, they do not know how to do it.
The first thing is that one should very nicely understand the position of material existence. Sanātana Gosvāmī, who approached Lord Caitanya, he presented himself that "My dear Lord, people in general, they speak of me that I am very learned man," grāmya vyavahāre kaha paṇḍita, "I am very learned man.
Everyone is experienced that "I'm not feeling today well due to some sickness of my body or some mental disturbance." This is called adhyātmika. And there are other miseries inflicted by other living entities, my enemies, some animal, some mosquito or some bug. There are so many living entities, they are also try to give me some trouble. This is called adhibhautika. And there is another type of misery, which is called adhidaivika. That is natural disturbance—severe cold, severe heat, some famine, some earthquake, some disaster, some hurricanes. There are so many things, natural disturbance. So in either of these three types of miserable condition we are. But those who are foolish, they do not see to it. Under illusion of māyā they think, "Oh, we are very happy." This is called māyā. One is not happy, but he's thinking, "I am happy." And they are trying to become happy in so many other ways.
"Who is my father?" The mother says, authority, "Here is your father," and accept. Finish. Otherwise make research, "Who is my father? Are you my father? Are you my father? Are you my father? Where is father?" The authority is mother: "Here is your father." Accept it. There is no research. There is no trouble. And if you, "No, I want to find out my father by research," go on with your nonsense research. What research you can do? What knowledge you have got?
Therefore this knowledge is perfect. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2), by disciplic succession from authority. That knowledge is perfect. Our knowledge, most imperfect. Just like we are studying the moon. So many scientists were engaged to study the moon. Every day we read something about moon. And in Bhāgavata you see that the moon is very cold planet, and there people drink soma-rasa.
Bhramadbhiḥ puruṣaiḥ. Puruṣa means the living entity. The living entity is described here puruṣa because he wants to enjoy. Puruṣa is the enjoyer. Actually enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa, but we are imitating Kṛṣṇa. We want to become God. That is the Māyāvāda philosophy. And that is our trouble. I am trying to imitate something which I cannot. Suppose if I want to be God, is it possible to become God? But they are trying to be. Bhramadbhiḥ puruṣaiḥ. So in this way, for this misunderstanding, he is falsely trying to have happiness through so many species of life. "Let me enter this life. Let me enter that life, that life, that life, that." In this way he falls down. He is fallen already. From Vaikuṇṭha planet he is fallen in this material world, and he is again trying to make progress. Prāptaṁ mānuṣam. In this way, after many, many births, he gets this human form of life, prāptaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma-paryāyāt, by the graduation, gradual evolution process. This is real evolution, not the body is changing. Body is already there. Jīva-jātiṣu, the jīva-jāti, species, are already there. That is the defect of Darwin's theory.
| Page Title: | Trouble (Lectures, SB cantos 3 - 12) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 29 of Sep, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=125, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 125 |