Now, this is the mission, mission of the Lord and His representative. What is that mission? Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati: "Whenever there is decline of the principle of life." Now, it is, it is here stated, dharma. Dharma is translated in English as religion, but religion is meant just like a kind of faith. Just like "I am Hindu." "I am Hindu" means I have got faith in the Hindu system of religious functions. You are Christian. That means you have faith in the Christian system of religious functions. So religion, so far English dictionary is concerned, it is described as a matter of faith. But the word dharma, it is not exactly the same meaning, faith. Faith you may change. Suppose I am Hindu today. Now I can invest tomorrow in Christian religion. Or you are Christian. You can become a Hindu. There are so many changes. People are free to accept one faith and give up another faith. That is going on. But dharma does not mean that faith which can be changed. Dharma is a thing which cannot be changed.
What is the mission
Expressions researched:
"What is that mission"
|"what is God's mission"
|"what is His mission"
|"what is My mission"
|"what is the mission"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So here the same thing is said, that what is the mission of Lord, why does He come down. Now, that is explained here. He says, paritrāṇāya sādhūnām: "I come down, I incarnate Myself, or I send My representative only for the protection of the saintly persons, sages." And vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. Duṣkṛtām: "Of those who are miscreants, just to finish them." Lord Kṛṣṇa's mission, this was two things. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). He wanted to establish Arjuna, the five brothers, the most pious, I mean, devotees and kṣatriyas, He wanted to establish them for ruling over this world, and He wanted to vanquish the party of Duryodana. That was His mission. Two things.
So this is this world. This material world is dark, is always dark. Therefore here we require the sun and the moon and the electric light. Otherwise, it is dark. As soon as the electricity will fail, then whole city will be in darkness. So the nature of this... And the Vedic mantra also says that "Don't remain in this darkness." Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya: "Just try to transfer yourself in that illuminated world." Jyotir gamaya. Jyoti means illumination. So this world, this material world, is full of darkness. Darkness, one meaning of darkness is ignorance. And another darkness, you know, without, absence of light. So this nature of this material world is darkness. So if we understand the Kṛṣṇa science, and the activities of Kṛṣṇa, how He comes, how He works, what is the mission of His activity.
This perfection of yoga can be achieved by practicing bhakti-yoga as it is recommended here: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, bona fide. If you practice this yoga, then you can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in complete, without any doubt. And if you practice this yoga in this life, and try to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He is, then, after giving up this body—you have to give up this body, today or tomorrow—then you go directly to Kṛṣṇa. It is therefore explained in the Fourth Chapter, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). "My dear Arjuna, anyone, if he simply tries to understand why I come in this material world, what is My mission, what do I do, if he simply one understands, then he immediately becomes fit for being transferred to the spiritual world." So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to educate people how to understand Kṛṣṇa, and then make his life perfect.
So this Kṛṣṇa philosophy means to understand Kṛṣṇa as He is, without any interpretation. And if we actually understand Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. What is the mission of our life? The mission of life is to get out of the cycle of birth and death and old age and disease. That means to cease accepting material body, one after another. That is going on. We are wandering throughout the whole universe in different planets and different species of life. We are spirit souls. We don't require to accept this material body. But we have accepted it, somehow or other.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So you are marking that so many incarnation of God have been described. We are now in the seventh. So there is chronological number, which incarnation, what is His chronological number, what is His father's name, what is His mother's name, what are His activities, how the bodily feature, what is the mission. Everything is described in the śāstra. Nowadays any rascal comes, and he says, "I am incarnation." What is your father's name? Whatever it is described? Whether in the śāstra? Because incarnation, we cannot accept any rascal as incarnation without proper identification. But it has become a fashion now. Any rascal comes, says, "I am incarnation of God." So where is the mention? Some rascal says, "I was formerly Rāma and Kṛṣṇa." Another rascal accepts, "Oh, you were Rāma and Kṛṣṇa?"
So these things are there, and it is the duty of the government to see how things are going on. But it is simply now dream. People are also not interested what is the aim of life, what is the mission of this human form of life; neither there is guidance. There are so many upadravas. That is Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga means that people will be more and more unhappy. Prāyeṇa alpāyuṣaḥ kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. The first thing is that the duration of life will decrease, alpa-āyuṣa. And manda, all bad men. Hardly we'll find any good men. Manda. Manda means bad and slow. Both the meanings can be manda. Manda-gati. They're not interested in progressive life. That is also manda. Manda matayaḥ. And they have got their own opinions. They do not follow the standard path, and it is confirmed by the so-called leaders, yata mata tata patha, you can manufacture your own way of life. These are the situation of upadrava.
So if you can understand Kṛṣṇa... Janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9). Kṛṣṇa says that "If you can understand Me, how I come here, how I come, I play the part of a human being and teach the whole world, Bhagavad-gītā, what is My mission, why I come, everything, where is My residence, what is My father's name..." People are searching after God, but God is canvassing, "Please understand Me. Here I am." But people will not understand. So what God will help you? How can He help you? He says everything. Now, "I come from My Vaikuṇṭha, or spiritual world." Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). "At that time I come. And I teach. And what do I teach? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)." This is dharma. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma means the law given by God. That is dharma. You cannot make Hindu dharma, just like you cannot make any law.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered that pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma, so that means He wanted that all over the world, in every town, in every village, His mission should be propagated. And what is His mission? His mission is: yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya (CC Madhya 8.128). That is His mission, So it is not that in western countries one cannot become Vaiṣṇava, one cannot become guru. This is not. This, such sort of remark is not tolerable from śāstric point of view. It is completely, strictly to the śāstric point of view. And it is a glory for us that people in other countries, outside India, they're accepting this cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But crippled people, they unnecessarily criticize this method. But we don't care for them.
General Lectures
So there are four yugas: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. So the aggregate of all these yugas is about forty three hundred thousands of years. And if you multiply by one thousand, then that becomes Brahmā's one day only, twelve hours. Sahasra-yuga-paryantam arhad yad brahmaṇo viduḥ. So similarly, he has got one night also, and similarly, one day and night, then one month, then one year. In this way he lives for one hundred years. So during this period of daytime, Kṛṣṇa appears once. That we learn from the Vedic literature. So Kṛṣṇa said that what is His mission to come here? Kṛṣṇa is God. He does not require to come here, but He comes to serve some purpose. If God wants to come, nobody can check. Sometimes people question that "Why God should come?" So our answer is, "Why God should not come?" If He is all-powerful, who can check Him to come here? If we say that God cannot come, that means God becomes under our rules and regulation.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: So there is stated, "If you simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa, then you go back to home." Janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9). That is stated. If you simply understand how Kṛṣṇa takes birth, how He goes away, why does He come, what is His mission, these things, if you can understand, then you are a fit candidate to go back to home. So that is explained everything in the Bhagavad-gītā. You try to understand. Then you are guaranteed. Where is the difficulty? And if you think, "Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary man like us," then finished. Then do not understand Kṛṣṇa. If you simply accept this word faithfully, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), "Everything is Kṛṣṇa," then your knowledge is perfect.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Nobody can. This is the principle. So when so many rascal dharma is introduced, that is dharmasya glāniḥ. So we must know this. Then we can understand what is the mission of Bhagavān. When rascals are introducing so-called so many dharmas, that is dharmasya glāniḥ. Do you accept or not?
Minister: Yes, we accept.
Prabhupāda: Therefore, Bhagavān concludes at the end, "You rascal, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66)." This is dharma. To surrender to the Lord. That is dharma. In another place, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Without this, all cheating. If there is no bhakti, surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all these kind of dharmas, they're all cheating.
Prabhupāda: We have to take... You cannot manufacture where God goes. You should have to take lesson from God. That is one thing. If we manufacture ideas, that will never be successful. That will never be successful. Don't manufacture ideas. If you want to be servant of God, you must take instruction from God. That is wanted. You cannot manufacture idea that "God wants this." So first of all try to understand what is God's mission. God's mission is, it is clearly said, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). So, more or less, everyone is entangled with this glānir dharma. They have manufactured. Just like the demigod worship.
| Page Title: | What is the mission |
| Compiler: | Matea, Alakananda |
| Created: | 22 of Jan, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=10, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 13 |