Srila Prabhupada speaks on: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.1

Honolulu, May 5, 1976

Audio for this lecture: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/760505sbhon/
Prabhupada Radio: https://prabhupadaradio.com

Prabhupāda: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixth Canto, the first chaper, text number one. [leads chanting; devotees repeat]

śrī parīkṣid uvāca
nivṛtti-mārgaḥ kathita
ādau bhāgavatā yathā
krama-yogopalabdhena
brahmaṇā yad asaṁsṛtiḥ
[SB 6.1.1]

[01:39]

"Mahārāja Parīkṣit said = O my lord, O Śukadeva Gosvāmī, you have already described in the Second Canto the path of liberation, nivṛtti-mārga. By following that path, one is certainly elevated gradually to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, from which one is promoted to the spiritual world along with Lord Brahmā. Thus one's repetition of birth and death in the material world ceases."

So pravṛtti-mārga, nivṛtti-mārga. Pravṛttir eṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛttes tu mahā-phalam. Pravṛtti means inclination. Here in the material world everyone is inclined to gratify the senses. This is material world. Everyone is trying. Āhāra-nidra-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca [Hitopadeśa 25]. The best type of āhāra-nidra. Even in the human form of life they are also trying for the same thing as cats and dogs are trying. The cats and dogs, they are also trying to find out where it is, food, where sleeping comfort, where sex life and where defense. If the human form of life is also utilized for this purpose, pravṛtti-mārga, then it is, as I was talking in the park, it is just like using sandalwood for burning fuel. There is distinction even in wood. There are so many jungle wood, we can use it for cooking. But if the sandalwood, which is so valuable, if we do not know what is the value of sandalwood, if we use it for cooking and burning... Similarly, if we use this human form of life exactly like the cats and dogs, simply for sense gratification, then we are committing suicide.

The whole Vedic civilization means how to utilize this human form of life for better purposes. Even modern scientific point of view... Not scientific, but they say. Accepting their version... Just like Darwin's theory = by evolution you come to the human form of life. Accepting that from monkey one becomes a human being, so what is after this form? Then they have no information what is the next life. If the evolution is... That is also accepted in the Padma Purāṇa: 8,400,000 species, forms of life, and then we come to this human form of life. Then what is next? That is the question. But they have no knowledge. They have no sense. They cannot explain what is next. And there is next life. If by evolutionary process through the channel of so many species of life, 900,000 aquatics. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa... Two millions trees and plants, then 1100,000 insects, and ten..., one million species of birds, and then 33,000,000 species of animals, four-legged animals, paśu. And then we get this human form of life, especially civilized form of life. Then what is next? That question nobody inquires, neither there is answer by the so-called modern scientist, that what is next.

But the answer is there. Answer is there in the Vedic literature that there is higher planetary system. We can see at night, there are so many millions and millions of planets. So we can go there. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ [Bg. 14.18]. Now we have come to the human form of life. If we cultivate sattva-guṇa... The material word is composed of three modes of material nature = the sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. So if we remain in the sattva-guṇa, then we shall be promoted to the higher planetary system. If we remain in rajo-guṇa, then we shall remain where we are. And if we remain in tamo-guṇa, ignorance, then we shall go down again to the lower species of life. This is the laws of nature.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
[Bg. 3.27]

The rascals, they are thinking they are independent. They are not independent. Completely under the control of the material nature. Otherwise why there are different species of life? Where is the arrangement? Arrangement is there. If you remain in sattva-guṇa, then you get higher form of life. Nature's law is so perfect that it hasn't got to create; it is automatically. Just like if you infect some disease, germs, you will automatically suffer from that disease. Similarly, if we are in contamination, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa... Sattva-guṇa... Here sattva-guṇa is also a contamination. And what to speak of rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa? So this is called pravṛtti-mārga. According to our inclination we are contacting a certain type of the modes of material nature and we are getting different types of body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa saṅgo 'sya sad-asad janma yoniṣu [Bg. 13.22]. Kāraṇam. Why one is getting better position, and why one is not getting? Why one is dog, and why one is millionaire? So it is due to our association with different modes of material nature.

So here it is said,

nivṛtti-mārgaḥ kathita
ādau bhāgavatā yathā
krama-yogopalabdhena
brahmaṇā yad asaṁsṛtiḥ

Saṁsṛtiḥ means the cycle of birth and death. This is called saṁsṛtiḥ. Saṁsṛtiḥ. And asaṁsṛtiḥ means to stop the cycle of birth and death and go back to home, back to Godhead. Then, if you want to go back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to follow the nivṛtti-mārga. Pravrtti is there, my inclination is there, but if you practice nivṛtti-mārga, then you overcome the cycle of birth and death, saṁsṛtiḥ. So this human form of life is meant for nivṛtti-mārga, not to indulge the sense gratification but minimize sense gratification as far as possible. Try to make it zero. Then that is called nivṛtti-mārga. We are... We require this eating, sleeping, mating and defending. But if we try, if we practice, that is called austerity. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvaḥ [SB 5.5.1]. Śuddha. Śuddha means purification, existence, purifying the existence. We are eternal, we are existing, and on account of impurity we have got this material body, and it is subjected to the laws of material nature, and we have to change one after another. This is pravṛtti-mārga. But in the human form of life if we come to senses, that "Why I shall accept repetition of birth, death, old age, disease and so many miserable conditions?" so that is called sense. That is intelligence. That intelligence can be developed in human form of life, and if we do not do, then the same example = just you use the sandalwood for burning purpose.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]

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Srila Prabhupada speaks on: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.6.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.6.6

Vṛndāvana, Nov. 28, 1976

Audio for this lecture: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/761128sbvrn/
Prabhupada Radio: https://prabhupadaradio.com

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting, etc.]

athaivam akhila-loka-pāla-lalāmo 'pi vilakṣaṇair jaḍavad avadhūta-veṣa-bhāṣā-caritair avilakṣita-bhagavat-prabhāvo yogināṁ sāmparāya-vidhim anuśikṣayan sva-kalevaraṁ jihāsur ātmany ātmānam asaṁvyavahitam anarthāntara-bhāvenānvīkṣamāṇa uparatānuvṛttir upararāma

[SB 5.6.6]

[04:38]

Translation = "Lord Ṛṣabhadeva was the head of all kings and emperors within this universe, but assuming the dress and language of an avadhūta, He acted as if dull and materially bound. Consequently, no one could observe His divine opulence. He adopted this behavior just to teach yogīs how to give up the body. Nonetheless, He maintained His original position as a plenary expansion of Lord Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa. Remaining always in that state, He gave up His pastimes as Lord Ṛṣabhadeva within the material world. If, following in the footsteps of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, one can give up his subtle body, there is no chance that one will accept a material body again." [break]

Prabhupāda:

athaivam akhila-loka-pāla-lalāmo 'pi vilakṣaṇair jaḍavad avadhūta-veṣa

[SB 5.6.6]

So this is also opulence of Kṛṣṇa, jaḍavad avadhūta-veṣa. Although He is the proprietor, sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg. 5.29], still, this is another opulence, how to become renounced. This is another opulence. It is as good as the other opulences. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya. All the op..., means property, money, wealth---these are aiśvarya. And He says, Kṛṣṇa, sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Not only in one planet but all the universes, all the planets within the universes, they are all the properties of Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya vīryasya [Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47]. Strength... What is that? Eh?

Indian man: Dharmasya hi apavargasya jñāna-vairāgya...

Prabhupāda: Ah. So yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jñāna-vairāgya. This is vairāgya. Not that Kṛṣṇa is simply enjoying sixteen thousand palaces, sixteen thousand queens, and millions of descendants, yadu-vaṁśa. This is another side. And this is another side = vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya. Jñāna... We can understand a little piece of His contribution of jñāna = Bhagavad-gītā. That is a little piece of His stock of knowledge. Five thousand years He spoke, and still it is being continued, not only in India, but also all over the world. This is jñāna. So anyway---strength. When He was seven years old, Kṛṣṇa, He lifted the Govardhana Hill. Jñāna-vairāgya, everything complete. That is God. Nothing less. Not that, that "I am rich man, but I cannot lie down on the street." Not that kind of vairāgya. He is complete, completely different from a rich person. Akhila-loka-pāla. He is the controller of the whole universe; still, you see His vairāgya.

So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means vairāgya-vidyā. Vairāgya-vidyā nija bhakti-yogam [Cc. Madhya 6.254]. Bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-vidyā. We should under... That He is teaching by His personal behavior. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He also taught us vairāgya-vidyā. He, when He was a gṛhastha, He was the most learned scholar in Navadvīpa. When He was sixteen years old He defeated a very great learned scholar, Keśava Kāśmīrī. He was requested by Caitanya Mahāprabhu to make some stanzas praying the Ganges. So he immediately made one hundred ślokas. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu, at that time sixteen years old, He was a student of grammar. So He pointed out on the sixty-fourth śloka so many defects. He was surprised, that "This boy is a student of grammar, and He has picked up so many mistakes in my composition." One of the prominent mistake was bhavānī-bhartā. Bhavānī-bhartā. Bhavānī means the wife of Bhava, Lord Śiva. And He pointed out, "Who can be bhartā, he..., her, again?" So both of them were paṇḍita, yes. And there were so many mistakes He pointed out. So that was His learning. He was known as Nimāi Paṇḍita. Of course, brāhmaṇas were all called paṇḍita. Still in India that is the practice. The brāhmaṇas are addressed as "paṇḍitjī," because brāhmaṇa cannot be mūrkha. That is not possible. Then he's not a brāhmaṇa. He must be a scholar. At least he must know what is the ultimate goal of knowledge.

So in the Kali-yuga we do not expect everyone to be very great scholar. That is not possible. But if he knows what is the aim of education, what is the objective of education, then he is also scholar. Just like our Gaura-Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja. He was illiterate. He could not sign his name even. But he became the spiritual master of the best scholar of his time, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī. So it is not the education, A-B-C-D. In Bengal we say anguam[?]. No. What is the purport of education? The purport of education is spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself = vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. If one understands Kṛṣṇa and takes to the shelter of His lotus feet, he is also the biggest scholar.

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gata antarātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate
sa me yuktatamo...
[Bg. 6.47]

So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended, kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. By His practical life, when Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī criticized Him, that "You are a sannyāsī, and You do not read Vedānta, and You simply chant and dance..." This was the question. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied that "My Guru Mahārāja found Me a great fool. Therefore he advised Me that 'You have no jurisdiction in studying Vedas, because You are not a scholar. You are not a very highly learned. You are a mūrkha.' " Guru more mūrkha dekhi karilā śāsana [Cc. Ādi 7.71].

So who will read Vedānta at the present moment? There is no education. But if we follow the footsteps of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that Vedānta philosophy is not for ordinary person, simply if we chant---harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam---then you get the same result. What we get by studying Vedānta and Vedic literature, if we understand that kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28], and we sacrifice everything for achieving the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, then our Vedānta study is complete. That is the instruction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
[Cc. Ādi 17.21]

And pratically we see in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, all you are young Westerners, you never study Vedānta, but you can surprise many so-called Vedāntists how to understand Kṛṣṇa. How it has become possible? Simply by your firm faith in your spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau [ŚU 6.23]. This is the Vedic process. If we have got firm faith in guru and firm faith in Kṛṣṇa---guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpayā pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc. Madhya 19.151]---then you get the seedling of bhakti-latā. Some way or other, we have to come to this bhakti-latā, increasing or nourishing the bhakti creeper. That will be effective.

So those who are jñānīs, very learned scholars, they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Vedeṣu durlabhaṁ. It is not by academic education one can understand Kṛṣṇa. Yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ [Bg. 7.3]. They so many mistakes they commit. They say it is kalpanā, so many things. But here Kṛṣṇa as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa as Ṛṣabhadeva, Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa Himself, They are teaching us how to become pure devotee. Because sva kalevaraṁ jihāsur ātmanaḥ. Before leaving your this body, you must be self-realized. That is the aim of life. Bahūnāṁ sambhuvām ante [Bg. 7.19]. We have got this life, human form of life, and how to utilize this human form of life? How to achieve the vairāgya-vidyā? This is vairāgya-vidyā: no more interest in material things. That is vairāgya-vidyā. Even to the body. That is... Ṛṣabhadeva is teaching us. This is vairāgya-vidyā. Bhakti-yoga means vairāgya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also has spoken the same thing, niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad bhajanonmukhasya [Cc. Madhya 11.8]. Niṣkiñcanasya. If you actually want to become a pure devotee, then you have to make this material way of life completely zero. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Brs. 1.1.11]. Then it will be possible. If you have still a pinch of attraction for material life, then it will be stopped, your promotion to the other, spiritual world. Simply attachment to Kṛṣṇa, that will make you advanced. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā deham [Bg. 4.9]. He can, after giving up this body, mām eti. He does not accept any more the material body. He is immediately promoted to the spiritual world and Goloka Vṛndāvana, Vaikuṇṭha. There are many millions of Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual world.

So if we become vairagī... Vairagī means no attachment for this material world. How to become completely freed from all our attachment of this material world, that is being exemplified by Ṛṣabhadeva. He doesn't take care even of the body. Although He is Vaikuṇṭha-puruṣa... How comfortably He lives in Vaikuṇṭha-loka. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ [Bs. 5.29]. We are expecting, "One woman or wife will look after my comforts," but there Kṛṣṇa is taken care of by hundreds and thousands of women. And who are they? Lakṣmī. They're all goddess of fortune, not ordinary women. Lakṣmī has two features = māyā and the goddess of fortune; the same Lakṣmī according to position. Just like a government has got two departments = criminal department and civil department. So the government is the same, but there are two departments. This māyā is criminal department, and Vaikuṇṭha is civil department. Vaikuṇṭha means there is no anxiety, and māyā means always anxiety. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad grahāt [SB 7.5.5]. Because we accepted the jurisdiction of māyā, they are asad-grahāt. Asato mā sad gamaḥ. Therefore the Vedic instruction is, "Don't remain in this asat." Oṁ tat sat. "Go to the real life." Jyotir gama. "Don't remain in the darkness." This is Vedic instruction.

So anyone who has accepted this material world as very comfortable... It is not comfortable; it is simply suffering. Kṛṣṇa says, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg. 8.15]. And still, if we want to be happy in this material world, bahir-artha-māninaḥ... These fools, they are trying to be happy within this material world. Material means external energy, bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Na te viduḥ svārtha gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā [SB 7.5.31]. This is durāśayā, the hope which will never be fulfilled. But this we do not... Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān [SB 7.9.43]. So unless there is vairāgya, there is no question of happiness. But we cannot attain vairāgya immediately; therefore the vidhi-mārga, vidhi-mārga-bhakti: to rise early in the morning, to attend maṅgala ārati, to offer Deity flowers, fruits, and in this way we shall be engaged twenty-four hours. Then vairāgya-vidyā will gradually develop. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje [SB 1.7.6]. Then the anartha... This material life is simply anartha, has no meaning, because we are creating another life. Without any spiritual knowledge, if we simply give ourself to the action and reaction of material nature, then we are making progress on the path of mṛtyu-saṁsāra vartmani [Bg. 9.3]. And if we attain Kṛṣṇa, then mām upetya kaunteya duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, nāpnuvanti [Bg. 8.15]. The two ways.

So our request is that you have taken to this vairāgya-vidyā. So vairāgya-vidyā, we do not say that you starve, don't eat anything, don't sleep at all. No. It should be regulated. Anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārtham upayuñjataḥ [Brs. 1.2.255]. Don't be attached to eating, sleeping. That is not good. But you must eat, you must sleep as little as possible, and try to conquer over it. My mind dictating, "Sleep seventeen hours." No. That is tapasya. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa [SB 6.1.13]. Why shall you sleep more than four hours or five hours, or utmost six hours? That's all, not more than that. That is vairāgya-vidyā. We have to learn it. That is devotional service. Vairāgya-vidyā nija-bhakti-yogam [Cc. Madhya 6.254]. He's teaching. Kṛṣṇa Himself is teaching. Here you see. Ṛṣabhadeva is Kṛṣṇa. Vairāgyā-vidyā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He taught vairāgya-vidyā.

tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ
dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad
vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam
[SB 11.5.34].

So opulence, even Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Kṛṣṇa appeared in a kṣatriya family, very opulented. Lord Rāmacandra appeared in a kṣatriya family, kingdom, opulence. He also accepted vairāgya-vidyā. Father requested, "My dear son, Your mother likes that You should go to the forest." Immediately accept, "Yes." This śloka is applicable to Lord Rāmacandra. Tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīm [SB 11.5.34]. He was going to be coronated next day king, but immediately, by the order of His father, He left everything. Vairāgya... Tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rāj... Is there any instance throughout the history of the whole world that a prince was going to be king tomorrow, and on the order of father he left everything? This is vairāgya-vidyā. This is called vairāgya-vidyā. Tyaktvā sudustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam. Ārya-vacasā. Elderly person is called ārya. Respectful person is called. Ārya means one who is advanced. Ārya does not mean meat-eaters, Āryan family. No. Āryan means one who is advanced in civilization, they are called Āryan, not these fool and rascals, Āryan. No. Ārya-vacasā. By a superior person---His father, Mahārāja Dāsaratha, said---immediately. Similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu also...

This śloka can be applicable to Caitanya Mahāprabhu's life. He also became a sannyāsī, ārya-vacasā. One brāhmaṇa cursed Him. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to receive some blessings from the brāhmaṇas, when He was boy, He was voluntarily trying to give some service to the brāhmaṇas who were engaged in bathing in the Ganges. He'll clear the place because the brāhmaṇa, after taking bath in the Ganges, would sit down, would chant mantra. So He'll cleanse and He'll wash the cloth, and in... Voluntarily He was doing that, service. So one brāhmaṇa blessed Him, "My dear boy, You'll be very happy in Your family life. You'll have good wife, very opulent position." And Caitanya Mahāprabhu was blocking the ears. The brāhmaṇa said, "What is this?" "No, this is not blessing, sir." "Oh, it is not blessing? Then You'll never be happy in Your family life." "Yes, this is the..." [laughter] "This is all right." So therefore He took sannyāsa. Arya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam [SB 11.5.34]. Similarly, Lord Rāmacandra, ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam. These are the characteristic of the Personality of Godhead. Try to follow Them; not imitate, but follow.

Thank you.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]

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Srila Prabhupada speaks on: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.34

Vṛndāvana, Nov. 21, 1976

Audio for this lecture: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/761121sbvrn/
Prabhupada Radio: https://prabhupadaradio.com

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] [break]

evaṁ go-mṛga-kāka-caryayā vrajaṁs tiṣṭhann āsīnaḥ śayānaḥ kāka-mṛga-go-caritaḥ pibati khādaty avamehati sma

[SB 5.5.34]

[00:51]

Translation = "In this way Lord Ṛṣabhadeva followed the behavior of cows, deer and crows. Sometimes He moved or walked, and sometimes He sat down in one place. Sometimes He lay down, behaving exactly like cows, deer and crows. In that way He ate, drank, passed stool and urine and cheated the people in this way." [break]

Prabhupāda:

evaṁ go-mṛga-kāka-caryayā vrajaṁs tiṣṭhann āsīnaḥ śayānaḥ kāka-mṛga-go-caritaḥ pibati khādaty avamehati sma

[SB 5.5.34]

A character, avadhūta, without any connection with human bodily activities, Ṛṣabhadeva remained lying down on the street just like animals. We see so many cows and birds and crows, they do not care for anything of this material world; but eating, sleeping, mating, that is there. As in the human society, so amongst the lower animals the same activities are there. There is no change. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt [SB 11.9.29]. Śāstra says viṣayaḥ, the objects of sense enjoyment, sarvataḥ syāt, everywhere. There is no difference. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. So viṣaya. Sometimes we say viṣayī. Viṣayī, generally they mean a man having estates to manage. But actually viṣaya means this eating, sleeping, mating and defending. These things are there. So He was callous = "Never mind." Although He was the emperor, but when He took the position of avadhūta, without any conception of body, He became like ordinary animals, exemplifying that the, so far the body is concerned, the activities of the body, there is no difference between the lower animals and the higher animals; or, in other words, without spiritual conception of life, simply in the bodily conception of life we are equal with the animals. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ sāmānyam etad paśubhiḥ narāṇām.

So our real life is spiritual life, not this bodily conception of life. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that anyone who is above the bodily conception of life, he is liberated person. Saṁsāra bandhana... Deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-bandhana kāhāṅ tāra. Deha-smṛti: "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya." These are bodily conception of life. One who forgets this bodily conception of life, he is liberated. So how we can forget bodily conception of life? It can be forgotten. Just like one big person... Sometimes we have seen practically. We have, of course, heard, we have not seen, that Mr. Stalin, the great Communist leader, he was to undergo a surgical operation of the intestine. So the physician, the doctor, surgeon, he wanted to give him anaesthetic, chloroform. He refused = "There is no need of. Let the operation go on. I shall see what is there within the belly." Strong-minded, here, even in material conception, he was..., he undergo, underwent the surgical operation without any chloroform. So that is possible. If one is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he has no more bodily conception of life. 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:

īhā yasya harer dāsye
karmaṇā manasā vacā
nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu
jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate
[Brs. 1.2.187]

If you become fully absorbed in the thought of serving Kṛṣṇa, īhā. Īhā means complete absorption in the thought, "How I shall serve Kṛṣṇa?" What is serving Kṛṣṇa? That is explained by Kṛṣṇa, that He... We can see from his practical behavior, ācāraṇa. Not only His ācāraṇa, behavior, but later on, His incarnation, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's ācāraṇa, or behavior. What is that? To spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa also came for the same purpose = to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati [Bg. 18.68]. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu also came for the same purpose = to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So if we follow their footsteps and be fully engaged in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then immediately we become liberated.

This is the formula = īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā vacā. We act three ways = by our bodily activities, by the mind and by words. So if we engage our body... Body means senses. What is this body? So long the hand is working, the eyes are working, the legs are working, all these different karma and jñāna, indriyas, they are working, then it is body. Otherwise, if the indriyas do not work, then it is dead matter. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur [Bg. 3.42]. So these indriyas, so long the indriyas are working, that means my body is working; I am alive. Therefore if we engage our indriyas in the service of Kṛṣṇa, then this material... Not... This is not material activities. To engage the senses in the matter of serving Kṛṣṇa, these are not material activities. These are all spiritual activities. And the difference between the Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy, that the Māyāvāda philosophy, they want to stop activities. They think stopping of all activities is perfection, śūnyam, śūnyavādi. Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. Simply stop material. But what is the positive engagement? That they do not know. That is the difference. Positive engagement means serving Kṛṣṇa. That positive engagement means, engagement means, acting means, the employment of the senses.

So when we employ our senses in the positive activities, that is liberation. That is liberation. Just like a diseased man and a healthy man, what is the difference? The difference is that a healthy man is engaged in healthy activities, and the diseased man is engaged in diseased activities. The diseased man is also lying down, and the healthy man is also lying down. There is vast of difference. The diseased man is also eating, and the healthy man is eating. There is vast difference. So these activities, devotional activities, are not material activities. Material activities means sense gratification, and spiritual activities means to carry out the orders of Kṛṣṇa. This is the difference. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Nirmalam means purified senses must be there. We are living entities. There must be senses. There must be desires. That is not possible, because we are living entities. If our senses do not work, if we do not desire, then what is the difference between the stone and myself? The stone does not move, the stone does not act, the stone does not desire. So if I become like stone, then what is the benefit? No. The nirviśeṣavādi, śūnyavādi, they want to make oneself like stone. That is not curing. They give up everything. Brahmā satyaṁ jagan mithyā. They... That is not mithyā but temporary. Anyway, they simply give up.

But real thing is to accept the positive life. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is bhakti. Anukulyena...

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

So hṛṣīka means senses. Because I stop material activities, that does not mean my senses are also finished. No. Senses are there. That is purified senses. When I do not act for any material purpose, that means my sense activities are purified, and that is bhakti. That is bhakti. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. This is little difference, not very great difference. People are... One has to learn. Ādau gurvāśrayaṁ sad-dharma-pṛcchāt. Sad-dharma-pṛcchāt. To accept guru means to give up all material desires and be ready to ask from guru, "What shall I do?" Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī, when he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he asked this question, that "By Your grace I am now released from my responsible activities." He was a minister of Nawab Hussain Shah, so he had many responsible activities, but he resigned from the post. And when he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu he asked, "Now, by Your grace, I am now relieved from all material activities. Now kindly tell me what shall I do." So doing, it is not stopped. The Māyāvāda philosophy means stop doing. Jagat mithyā: there is no more activities. That cannot stay. That is artificial. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tathā patanty adhaḥ [SB 10.2.32]. If you give up this world as material---you have nothing to do---then you'll fall down again. Patanty adhaḥ. This is the śāstra injunction. So therefore our Gosvāmīs, under the śāstra..., that "Engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa activities; otherwise you will fall down." Īhā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā vacā.

So here is Ṛṣabhadeva giving example. So far the body is concerned, it has nothing to do with the spiritual activities. The body is as good as that of the animals, the crows and the cows, birds, beasts. He is showing the same now, that so far body is concerned, it is the same thing. But when you come to the spiritual platform, that is... This is negation or equation with the material body. But real activities are ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttama. Simply be ready to work for Kṛṣṇa, sad-dharma-pṛcchāt, as Sanātana Gosvāmī exemplified. He came to Caitanya Maha... Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. He was minister. His business was with the big, big men, maṇḍala-pati. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm sadā tucchavat: "It has no meaning. No more dealing with them." Tucchavat. Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. And in order to give some benefit to the dīna-gaṇeśakau... Gaṇa. Gaṇa means general public. To give them some benefit, that is Vaiṣṇava life. Stop material activities, and for the benefit of the mass of people, dīna... They are very dīna, very poor. Mahad-vicalanaṁ gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām [SB 10.8.4]. Dīna-cetasām. They're very, very crippled, dīnasām. Gṛhiṇām. Those who are gṛhi, they are very dīna, very poor-hearted, because they do not know anything except to maintain the family.

Especially in this age a person will be considered very expert if he can maintain his family. Dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. The age is so fallen that if one can maintain one wife and a few children, oh, he is Dakṣa Mahārāja. Dakṣa Mahārāja is called... Dakṣa means he was very expert in begetting children and maintaining them. That is Dakṣa Mahārāja. He was begetting children, many thousands, and Nārada used to visit and make them sannyāsī. That was Nārada's business. So..., and dakṣa in Kali-yuga, that is not very easy thing, to beget many thousands of children and maintain them and get them married and their children, their children. Because this is the happiness of home life. Yan-maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. These gṛhamedhis' happiness is sexual intercourse, that's all. So he produces dozens of children by sexual intercourse, and when the children are grown-up, educated, then for him also another arrangement for sex, very pompously married. What is the purpose? The same sex. Therefore gṛhamedhi-sukham is sex. "I have enjoyed sex. I have got so many nice children, educated, now working. Now give him facility for sex. Then again, grandchildren."

So anyone who can maintain like this himself, his children, with wife and eating, āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam, then he is expert. And if he becomes a sannyāsī, brahmacārī, does not take part in these stereotyped activities, then he is useless, escaping from the world, escaping. They do not take the responsibility. But that is not the fact. If one can maintain himself as brahmacārī, he is escaping all the tribulations of this material world. Escaping certainly, but he is escaping all the tribulations of the ma..., so much botheration. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham [SB 7.9.45]. Kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. Duḥkha-duḥkham, misery after misery. So kaṇḍūtivan manasijaṁ viṣaheta dhīraḥ. Tṛpyanti neha kṛpaṇā bahu-duḥkha-bhajaḥ. So these dīna-cetasām, mahad-vicalanam... Those who are mahātmās, their, I mean to say, wandering here and there is to enlighten these poor-hearted gṛhi. Gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām [SB 2.1.2]. Gṛhamedhi, they have no interest in the spiritual advancement of life. They think that "This is meant for the useless person who could not improve in this materialistic way of life. They have taken this dress as a token for maintaining their body and soul together. Useless person." They think like that. Gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām. Because they think, "This is our only interest," gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām. Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ [SB 2.1.2].

Those who are gṛhamedhis, they have got many, many things to learn. Just like you see the newspaper, so many subject matter. You'll find different stock exchange report, and this municipal report, and the advertisement, wine advertisement and meat advertisement. What is that? "Beefeater's" advertisement, and cigarette advertisement, and cinema advertisement, restaurant advertisement even. Gṛheṣu. Nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ. Thousands and thousands subject matter you'll find. Here we don't have such newspaper in the Western country. Such a big bunch, at least ten kilos' weight. Is it not? Big, big bunch, throwing. Who will read? But they have the subject matter.

So we have to cease these activities, and we shall consider such activities are no better than the activities of the crows and the cows and the other animals are there. These activities have no value, as the crow or the hogs and the dogs, they are engaged the whole day, activities. But these activities have no value. The human form of life are not meant for these activities. Their purpose is to make these activities and the activities of the crows and cows and lower animals only Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, how to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is bona fide. That is our life, real life.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]

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Srila Prabhupada speaks on: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.27

Vṛndāvana, Nov. 14, 1976

Audio for this lecture: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/761114sbvrn/
Prabhupada Radio: https://prabhupadaradio.com

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

mano-vaco-dṛk-karaṇehitasya
sākṣāt-kṛtaṁ me paribarhaṇaṁ hi
vinā pumān yena mahā-vimohāt
kṛtānta-pāśān na vimoktum īśet
[SB 5.5.27]

[break] [01:40]

Translation = "The true activity of the sense organs---mind, sight, words and all the knowledge-gathering and working senses---is to engage fully in My service. Unless his senses are thus engaged, a living entity cannot think of getting out of the great entanglement of material existence, which is exactly like Yamarāja's stringent rope." [break]

Prabhupāda:

mano-vaco-dṛk-karaṇehitasya
sākṣāt-kṛtaṁ me paribarhaṇaṁ hi
vinā pumān yena mahā-vimohāt
kṛtānta-pāśān na vimoktum īśet
[SB 5.5.27]

So the entanglement is made by the senses. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung that śarīra avidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl, jīve phele viṣaya-sāgore. This body is covering of ignorance, śarīra avidyā-jāl. Everyone has got a material body, and according to the different proportion of ignorance [child loudly crying in background] [aside:] This child is so crying. From three miles we can hear. Balanaṁ rodanaṁ balam. This is strength of the children = crying. They can disturb the whole world [laughter] simply by crying. So just see. This is the body, immediately. You cannot cry like that. Even if you are aggrieved, you cannot cry so loudly that up to four miles one can hear. That is not possible. Why it is not possible? Because he has got a different body and you have got a different body. Everything is going on according to the body. This is mahā-vimoha. This is going on, 8,400,000's of different forms of body according to mano, vaca, dṛk, karaṇa, etc. This body is the entanglement, and the senses are the instruments, and we are acting with the senses and we creating another type of body. This is going on. Śarīra avidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl.

Therefore the first business is how to purify the senses. Bhakti means that. Bhakti, devotional service, means purifying the senses. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said... What is that verse, the body and the senses? I forget now.

Hari-śauri: Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ?

Prabhupāda: Ah, very good. Thank you. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhiḥ [Bg. 3.42]. These are finer. This body means indriya, and finer than the indriyas is the mind. And finer than the mind is intelligence. And finer than the intelligence is the soul, very minute part and parcel of the Supersoul. That is also mentioned = keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca [Cc. Madhya 19.140]. So minute, you cannot imagine it. Keṣa agra, the tip of the hair, it is a small point. Divide into ten thousand, then you can get an idea what is the measurement of the soul. Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya, jīva bhāgaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ. Everything, measurement, is there. It is not that without body. It is. There is body. And the impetus is coming from there. Intelligence is working, then mind is producing the senses, and the senses are transforming into a gross body. This is material existence. How finely it is. Where is the science? The rascal do not know except this body. Dehātma buddhi.

Therefore one who sticks to this body only, gross body, atheist class... Just like in our country the Cārvāka, he says, bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar-āgamano bhavet: "Why you are thinking of next birth? It is not possible. We see this gross body is burnt into ashes. And where is the soul? Who is coming back again? Don't care for all these things. Live happily. Eat, drink, be merry and enjoy." Yāvaj jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet. This philosophy is going on = "There is no mind, there is no intelligence, there is no soul, only this gross body, and so long we possess this gross body, let us enjoy the senses." But this is called, it is described, mahā-vimoha. This is the greatest bewilderment, mahā-vimoha. So because people have no education how we are existing in this material world, vimohana, vimūḍha, prakṛti, how nature is working... Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā [Bg. 3.27]. Vimūḍha. Mahā-vimoha. This rascal is thinking that there is no other life. That is not the fact. It is very great entanglement.

So intelligent person, they will try to get out of this śarīra avidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl, to get out of these gross senses. Senses are there. The spirit soul is a person. Person. As Kṛṣṇa is person... Just like the father is person, the child is also person. It cannot be otherwise. Or if the child is a person, the father must be a person. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā [Bg. 14.4]. So all living entities, we experience it that we are all persons. Even a small insect, a small ant, it is a person. An ant is going this way. If you stop, it will struggle = "Why you are stopping me?" That is person. It will try its best to go this way and this way to avoid your checking. You will find it by practical experience. Even a small ant, it has got all the propensities. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna, these propensities---eating, sleeping, sex, and fearing---you will find everywhere. Viṣayaḥ sarvataḥ puruṣya[?]. Viṣaya. Viṣaya does not mean to become rich man. Viṣaya means enjoyment of the senses. That is called viṣaya. Viṣaya chāriyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari. This is instruction, that we can chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, we can chant the holy name of the Lord, purely, without offense. Because if we can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra once only---if it is pure---then immediately you become liberated. Ekara hari name yata pāpa hare, pāpi haya tata pāpa karibāre nare. Hari-nāma is so powerful that once chanting immediately vanquishes the accumulated sinful reaction of millions of lives. Pāpi haya tata pāpa karibāre. Every pāpi, sinful man, is very expert in committing sinful activities. But hari-nāma is so expert that once chanted, the pāpi, the sinful man, will be failure to commit sin anymore.

But the difficulty is that we cannot come to the pure stage of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Due to our past habits our mind is disturbed. We cannot concentrate. Therefore we have fixed up the minimum. We cannot imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura. That is not possible. If somebody imitates Haridāsa Ṭhākura... We can see this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and smoking bīḍī. We can understand what is the position. The offense is going on. Therefore we should try to avoid the ten kinds of offenses. Of course, in the beginning the offenses will continue. But chanting, chanting, chanting, chanting, as soon as we become purified... Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. By chanting, chanting, chanting repeatedly, when our the core of heart will be cleansed, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, then immediately bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam, this mahā-vimoha... This is mahā... This is bhava-mahā-dāvāgni. They do not know that what kind of position we are now passing through. Kṛṣṇa says the same thing = mṛtyu saṁsāra vartmani. Mām aprāpya nivartante mṛtyu saṁsāra vartmani [Bg. 9.3].

So we are rascals, we do not know what is that mṛtyu saṁsāra vartmani. We have dismissed everything, all instruction of the śāstra, all instruction of Kṛṣṇa, all instruction of guru. We have all dismissed, "Oh, these are all mythology. There is no life after death." This is going on, maha... Ahaṅkāra vimūḍhātmā. Vimudhātmā. This is the position. We should understand that what is our position. But they have become so dull, just like a stone or a tree. You cut it; it does not respond, does nothing. But if there is life, little pinching---immediately, "Why you are pinching?" That is the difference between life and dead body, or jaḍa and cetanā. So long one is not conscious, he's as good as the stone or the wood. Therefore sometimes Vaiṣṇava poets say that amāra lid pasanta bolo na, pasan hole bolo yato[?]. We have created such a strong heart of material existence that it does not respond even after suffering so much. This is our position.

So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to bring him to the right position of consciousness. Consciousness we have got. The more it is covered, dull, it cannot respond. But it can be brought into the proper existence, and the process is hearing, hearing. Go on hearing, hearing. Kṛṣṇa has given us one chance, this ear. If we properly use it... Therefore Vedic knowledge is to be heard, hearing. Listen. It is therefore called śruti. The Vedic instruction has to be gotten from the right person through aural reception.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
[SB 1.2.17]

So this is the process, that we should engage our ear to receive the knowledge, Vedic knowledge, very attentively. And therefore we have to approach to the proper person and inquire and hear. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg. 4.34]. Not to hear like animal, but paripraśnena sevaya. Then our knowledge will be developed. This is the process.

So mano-vaco-dṛk-karaṇehitasya sākṣāt-kṛtaṁ me paribarhaṇaṁ hi. So we can worship the Lord by mind, by words, by seeing---all senses. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. [aside:] You sit down. Yes. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ bhakti ucyate. Bhakti means hṛṣīka. Hṛṣīka means the senses, karaṇa. Mano-vaca. Mind is the king of the senses. So mind is also one of the senses. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg. 15.7]. Mind and the indriyas combined together, we are trying to be happy in this material world, but there is no happiness, simply struggling. Prakṛti-sthāni karṣati. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho bhuṇkte prakṛti-jān guṇān [Bg. 13.22]. He is put into this prakṛti, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ buddhi, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā [Bg. 7.4]. So we are put into this prakṛti. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ buddhi mano. These are material. There is also mana. Mind is subtle matter; it is not spirit. So in this way, separated energy and the jīva, the living entity, although he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, he wanted to enjoy life separately or independently without Kṛṣṇa, and that is called material world, struggle for existence. Without Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he has to come to Kṛṣṇa. If he wants to stop his struggle for existence with mind and senses, then he must come to Kṛṣṇa. That is the natural position.

But these rascals are not taught about Kṛṣṇa, but they are already in ignorance and they are kept into ignorance. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]. These rascals, they do not know that his real self-interest is how to approach Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, therefore comes personally just to show His causeless mercy upon them, to exhibit Himself, how He can be friend to everyone. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntiṁ ṛcchati. If you want śānti, then you must accept Kṛṣṇa, suhṛdaḥ. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaraṁ, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām [Bg. 5.29]. He is friend of everyone; therefore He comes. He is not only friend of Arjuna. Arjuna is symbolic friend. He is instructing Arjuna Bhagavad-gītā, His friend, but He is friend of everyone. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām.

So we must take advantage of the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. It is not meant for... Arjuna is already liberated, but he is placing himself as one of us just to take the lessons of Kṛṣṇa for the benefit of the whole world. Arjuna, who is living with Kṛṣṇa as friend not only in one life... Bahūni me janmāni vyatītāni tava cārjuna [Bg. 4.5]. So Arjuna is always with Kṛṣṇa. He cannot be in ignorance. Kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama, māyā andhakāra, yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra [Cc. Madhya 22.31]. Who is constantly living with Kṛṣṇa, he has no ignorance, but he's putting himself as ignorant. Just like Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is asking question from Rāmānanda Rāya. Does it mean that Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not know; Rāmānanda Rāya... No. Just to make a scene that how we can get knowledge from hearing from the authorities. Similarly, Arjuna placed himself---it is a theatrical stage---that ignorant. But actually he is liberated. When Arjuna was advised to practice haṭha-yoga, he said, "Kṛṣṇa, it is not possible for me."

cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa
pramāthi balavad dṛḍhaṁ
tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye
vāyor iva suduṣkaram
[Bg. 6.34]

"I cannot do this." He was frank enough. Or on behalf of us he said frankly that "It is impossible," at least in the Kali-yuga, "to control the mind." Yoga indriya saṁyamaḥ. It is not possible. Cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham [Bg. 6.34]. Five thousand years, Arjuna is denying to accept this yogic process. "It is not possible to give that. I am a politician. I am a military man. I have to fight. I have to see so many things. How can I control my mind? It is not possible."

So that is fact. This controlling the mind by the yogic process, by meditation, is impossible. It was possible in the Satya-yuga = kīrte[?]-yajñāya... [break] ...read so many śāstras, the essence of the śāstra. That is the duty of the ācārya. The essence of the śāstra should be presented to the fools and rascals so that, just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He presented Himself before His guru that guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsana [Cc. Ādi 7.71] = "My guru found Me a great rascal." Caitanya Mahāprabhu was not a rascal, but He presented Himself as a rascal because we are rascals. These people of this age, they are all rascals. Therefore He presented Himself, guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsana: "My guru saw Me a great rascal; therefore he has asked Me, chastised Me, that 'You rascal, You cannot understand Vedānta. You cannot read even.' " Mūrkha tumi nāhi tomāra vedānta adhikāra: "You cannot read Vedānta." That means the rascals of this age, what they will understand with Vedānta? They will simply misrepresent. They will simply mislead the persons. You see so many big, big politicians, scholars, simply misleading people from Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is spoken on the battlefield, and they want to prove that it is nonviolence. In this way people are being misled.

Therefore avoid this rascal process, to read something and interpret in a different way. Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to do that. Guru more mūrkha dekhi karila śāsana. So we should not try to become very learned scholar by misreading the Vedic literature. Take the instruction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Not Caitanya Mahāprabhu---the śāstra, the Bṛhad-nāradīya Purāṇa. Sādhu śāstra guru vākya [Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura]. Sādhu will not speak anything which is not in the śāstra. That is sādhu. Sādhu cannot manufacture anything. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that,

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalaṁ
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir...
[Cc. Ādi 17.21]

Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa as many times as possible and be liberated.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]

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Srila Prabhupada speaks on: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.19

Vṛndāvana, Nov. 7, 1976

Audio for this lecture: https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/761107sbvrn/
Prabhupada Radio: https://prabhupadaradio.com

Pradyumna: [leads chanting of verse, etc.] [break]

idaṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyaṁ
sattvaṁ hi me hṛdayaṁ yatra dharmaḥ
pṛṣṭhe kṛto me yad adharma ārād
ato hi māṁ ṛṣabhaṁ prāhur āryāḥ
[SB 5.5.19]

[00:58]

Translation = "My transcendental body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, looks exactly like a human form, but it is not a material human body. It is inconceivable. I am not forced by nature to accept a particular type of body; I take on a body by My own sweet will. My heart is also spiritual, and I always think of the welfare of My devotees. Therefore within My heart can be found the process of devotional service, which is meant for the devotees. Far from My heart have I abandoned irreligion, or adharma, and nondevotional activities. They do not appeal to Me. Due to all these transcendental qualities, people generally pray to Me as Ṛṣabhādeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all living entities." [break]

Prabhupāda:

idaṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyaṁ
sattvaṁ hi me hṛdayaṁ yatra dharmaḥ
pṛṣṭhe kṛto me yad adharma ārād
ato hi māṁ ṛṣabhaṁ prāhur āryāḥ
[SB 5.5.19]

So God, whether impersonal or personal, that we cannot conclude by our speculation. It is not possible. Durvibhāvyam. Durvibhāvyam means beyond your conception, beyond your speculation. But He says that idaṁ śarīram. He has got His body; He is not impersonal. He comes sometimes as incarnation. We can see Kṛṣṇa with two hands, two legs, one head.

Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda dalāyatākṣaṁ
barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam
[Bs. 5.30].

This is described in the Vedic literature. He has two hands and He is playing on flute. He has got the peacock feather on His head. It is not imagination. The Kṛṣṇa arcā-mūrti, it is not imagination, as rascals think, that they have imaginated an idol. This is not idol worship. This is actually... I have several times explained that here is Kṛṣṇa, personally present. We should always think like that, not that it is idol worship. But durvibhāvyam means although He is present, the less intelligent class of men, they will think that "They are worshiping one statue." But that is not possible.

You do not know what is the form of the Lord because your present senses are imperfect. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam idriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136]---the Lord's name, His form, His pastimes---na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ---our present senses are unable to conceive. Just like the soul is there within the body but nobody can see where is that soul. Similarly, God is also within this body, but nobody can see. It is specifically mentioned, īśvaraḥ sarva bhūtānām hṛd deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. The Lord is situated in everyone's heart, but find out the heart, where is God. There is, but you cannot see. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. Present senses are unable to see. You have to prepare your eyes. Just like with cataract you cannot see anything. You have to undergo surgical operation. Then you will see. That surgical operation process is bhakti.

sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ
bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

Hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa sevanam. If God has no form, how He is Hṛṣīkeśa, and how we can serve with our senses? Hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa sevanam. That is bhakti.

So God has form, but it is inconceivable by us. But from the śāstra we can understand what kind of body God has. Just like in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is explained,

aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
ānanda-sat-ujjvala-vigraha...
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
[Bs. 5.32]

Now, it is inconceivable. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya vṛtti-manti. Now we have got this understanding that we can see with our eyes, but God can not only see with His eyes, He can eat with His eyes. This is inconceivable. We shall think, "How it is possible that one can eat with His eyes?" Therefore śāstra says, aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya vṛtti-manti [Bs. 5.32]. Just like we offer foodstuff to the Deity. The atheist will say, "Oh, you have offered this, so many nice foodstuff, but He has not eaten. It is there, lying there." But he does not know that God has His indriyas, sakalendriya vṛtti-manti. As soon as sees the foodstuff is offered, He has eaten. That they do not know. This is inconceivable. Unless we accept the inconceivable energy of the Lord, there is no question of God. So He can eat by seeing. Aggāni yasya sakalendriya vṛtti-manti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti [Bs. 5.32]. He can offer you blessing, everything, by one aṅga. By one part of the body He can do everything. This is inconceivable. Adhokṣaja. Therefore another name of God is called Adhokṣaja. Akṣaja jñānam adhaḥ kṛta.

Our knowledge is sense perception. Sense perception, akṣaja jñānam. That will not act there. Acintya. Therefore we have to accept in that way. Idaṁ śarīram, but He has His body. He has His body, and because we cannot conceive, He, out of His causeless mercy, He presents Himself in a form which we can see. That is arcā-vigraha, arcā-mūrti. A vigraha. Arcā means the form which we can worship. If God is impersonal... Avyaktāsakta-cetasām. Kleśo adhikataras teṣām. If we accept God as impersonal... He is not impersonal. He says idaṁ śarīram. He is personal. But our present senses cannot perceive. That is the difficulty. Therefore out of His causeless mercy He has appeared in a form which you can see, you can touch, you can dress, you can offer garland, you can offer food---to accept your service. That is God's mercy. Don't think that "Because God mercifully has come before Me in a form which we can perceive, which we can see, with which we can serve," not that "He is not God." That is rascaldom. God is there. Otherwise Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as soon as He entered the Jagannātha's temple, immediately He fainted. Does it mean He made a fun? No. He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead present there.

So it requires eyes to see God. That eyes you have to prepare. What is that eyes? Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs. 5.38]. You have to apply eyes' ointment. Just like there is some medicine, eye ointment, which you apply---you can see very distinctly---similarly, that ointment is premāñjana. If you develop love for God... Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is in ecstasy, always in love. He can see. Similarly, if you develop your love for God, then you can see. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs. 5.38]. This premāñjana, this ointment of love, is bhakti. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg. 18.55]. Tattvataḥ, not superficially---actually what He is. That you can understand through bhakti, not any other process. Kṛṣṇa does not say that you can..., bhakta..., not bhakta but jñānam. There are jñānīs. There are yogīs. No. They cannot understand bhagavān tattvataḥ. Therefore Bhagavān says,

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ
[Bg. 7.3]

"Even persons who are already siddha, perfect jñānīs, yogīs, they are also unable to see Me." If one, however, by good fortune---the yogīs, the jñānīs---come in contact with a bhakta, then, by the mercy of the bhakta, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, he can see. Otherwise durvibhāvya, idaṁ śarīraṁ mama. The Supreme Personality says, mama: "My. My body. I have got My body," but durvibhāvyam.

So we have to understand God as He says. Don't imagine. Don't speculate. That is useless.

panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo
vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṇgavānāṁ
so 'py asti yat-prapada-sīmny avicintya tattve
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
[Bs. 5.34]

Avicintya or durvibhāvyam, the same thing. Even if you try to understand God or want to go to God vāyor athāpi, by your airplane at the speed of the mind, not ordinary speed... Mind's speed you can imagine. You are sitting here, and fifteen thousand miles away, New York, you can immediately see your room there. This is mind's speed. Immediately, within a second. Just imagine how much the mind is speedy. Mind is subtle. Everyone, you have got mind, I have got mind, but I cannot see your mind; you cannot see my mind. Subtle. This is a material thing. Bhūmir āpo'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano [Bg. 7.4]. Khaṁ mano, mano. The sky, ether, we cannot see but we can perceive. When you press the sky [claps] like this, there is sound. You can understand, "Here is sky." But mind you cannot see, still subtle.

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur
indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
manasas tu paro buddhir
buddhes para tu yaḥ
[Bg. 3.42]

So the soul is so subtle, you cannot see. You cannot see sky, and still finer is the mind, still finer is intelligence, and still finer, the soul. So how can you see? With your gross eyes it is not possible. Therefore they are bewildered, how the soul is being transferred from one body to another. They see the gross body. Kṛṣṇa says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20], tathā dehāntara prāptiḥ [Bg. 2.13]. But doctors, medical men, scientists, they cannot see that where is the soul, how the soul is transmigrating. These are all durvibhāvya, inconceivable.

Therefore we have to hear from the authorities, from Kṛṣṇa, that there is soul; there is ātmā; there is transmigration. And everything, what is spoken in the śāstra, they are fact. But we do not consult śāstra. We become scientists. We become philosophers. With gross understanding, dull understanding, poor understanding, how you can understand yourself and God? So there is no question of self-realization by your gross understanding. You have to understand by hearing. Therefore to get real knowledge is not by the eyes and senses but by the ear. Therefore Vedic knowledge is called śruti. You have to receive knowledge---śruti. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Why? The guru means who is fully aware of the śruti, śrotriyam, one who has perfectly listened to his guru. Śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. And by hearing only, he has become brahma-niṣṭham, without any doubt = "Yes, there is God. Yes." We have to approach such person who has perfectly listened to his... Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]. So by śruti, by hearing oral reception. Just like there is practical example = Suppose you are sleeping, and somebody is coming to do you some harm, to kill you, but another person is warning you, "Please get up! Get up! Somebody is coming to kill you, somebody." But it will act, because while other senses are practically dead, the ear is working. By hearing, you can get up. This is practical.

So at the present moment we are sleeping, sleeping in the darkness. Therefore to get knowledge we have to use our ears. Śravaṇam. Therefore to enter into the devotional service one has to use this ear, śravaṇam. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda... And śravaṇam about whom? Śravaṇam about Viṣṇu, śravaṇaṁ kīrta... Not of others. Śravaṇam. They say that "You can hear anything." No.

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
[SB 7.5.23]

This is the process. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet, śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham [MU 1.2.12]. These are the injunction. Ādau gurvāśrayaṁ sad dharma pṛcchat sādhu mārganu gamanam. These are the process.

So Ṛṣabhadeva said that "I have got My body," idaṁ śarīram, when He appears to solve our problem whether God is personal or impersonal. Impersonal is there, there is no doubt, but what is that impersonal? Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagat avyakta-mūrtinā [Bg. 9.4]. That is impersonal. No, He's mayā: "By Me." That means His energy. His energy is distributed throughout the whole creation, cosmic manifestation. But He is still there. Mayā. Unless He is there... Not that because He is spread everywhere---vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]---it does not mean He is finished. That is material understanding. In the materially, if you take a piece of paper and make it a small pieces and throw it, then the original paper is no longer existing. That is material conception. But spiritual conception? Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation]. That is spiritual idea. If you take cent percent God from God, still He is cent percent. That is pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate. Īśāvāsyam idam. So Kṛṣṇa says that mayā, "In My another feature, vasudeva feature," mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. Everything is God, but everything is not God. That is explained by God.

mayā tatam idam sarva
jagat avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
nahaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ
[Bg. 9.4]

The Māyāvādīs, the poor fund knowledge, they say, "Why you are worshiping God here? He is everywhere." "He is everywhere? He is in the temple also." "No," they will say, "not in the temple. He is everywhere except in the temple. Don't go to the temple." This is rascaldom. If God is everywhere, why He is not in the temple? So this is their knowledge, poor fund of knowledge. Alpa-medhasā. Alpa-medhasā. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ [Bg. 9.11].

So God has form, but He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. He is not... When it is said, the nirākāra, "no form," that does not mean that He has no ākāra. The ākāra, or the form which we understand, He hasn't got that form. He is sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]. Otherwise how He can accept your offerings? Kṛṣṇa says that patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati, tad aham aśnāmi [Bg. 9.26]. He says, "I eat." So if He has no mouth, how He can eat? And therefore the Vedic literature informs us that paśyati acakṣuḥ: "He sees, but He has no eyes." When the Vedic literature says that He has no eyes, that means He has no eyes like us. But He has got eyes; otherwise how He sees? Paśyati acakṣuḥ śṛṇoti akarṇaḥ. He can hear; otherwise what is the use of offering prayer? Yes, He hears, but akarṇa, not that He has got ears like you. He is in the Vaikuṇṭha, many, many millions' and trillions' miles away, but still, you are offering here, "Govindam ādi puruṣam." He is hearing. He is here. Sarvatra pāṇi pādas tat. This thing should be understood.

And because we do not understand---everything we try to test with our limited understanding---therefore we do not believe in the activities of the Lord, and we are deceived in that way. God is all-powerful, but when we hear that God at the age of seven years age, old, He lifted the Govardhana Hill, immediately we dismiss, "Oh, this is all mythology." Why? If He has got inconceivable power---He is all-powerful---is it very difficult for Him to lift the Govardhana Hill? "No, we don't believe in God. Even if we believe, we want to believe in our own way." That is bhāvyam, conceivable. But He is durvibhāvyam. You cannot conceive. Two contradict things. Just like here Kṛṣṇa said, Ṛṣabhadeva, that sattvaṁ hi me hṛdayaṁ yatra dharmaḥ. The dharma and adharma, they are two contradictory thought. But He is the source of dharma and adharma both. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. Adharma, which we hate, that is also coming from God. Janmādya asya yataḥ. Otherwise... That is explained here. Pṛṣṭhe. Pṛṣṭhe kṛto me yad adharma ārāt. So adharma is also there in God---on the back side. So is there any difference between back side and front side? Advaya-jñāna, absolute. No.

So these things have to be understood, that both dharma and adharma, they are coming from... He is the original soul. Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante [Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1]. Everything is coming from Him. So dharma and adharma, that is duality, duality understanding within this material world. In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The dharma and adharma is the same thing because the same source. This to be understood from right sources, right person. Then we can understand. But He comes, Kṛṣṇa comes, out of His causeless mercy to inform us. Not only Kṛṣṇa---many other incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Just like Ṛṣabhadeva, He is also incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. He is explaining Himself. So we should take advantage of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, from the Absolute Truth. Don't speculate. Speculation has no meaning. So we have got this instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gītā. So if we are serious about understanding about God, then we can hear from Him. And whatever He says, whatever He instructs, you take it. Then our life will be successful. And if we speculate, panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampra...

ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
[Cc. Madhya 17.136]

So this is the process. We must be ready to surrender to Him. We must be ready to render service unto Him. Then our spiritual life will be revived. At the present moment we are covered by the material conception of life = "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya." These are all designations, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. When you become free from these all these designation---you become purified---then you can develop your love for God. Hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]

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