Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.43 [Partially Recorded]

Prabhupāda: …just like when we at night, we are naṣṭa-dṛśām. Even though we have got these eyes, we cannot see; we require light. For a moment there was no electric light—you immediately became blind. That is our position. We are very much proud of our eyes. We see…, we say, "Can you show me God?" There are so many questions. But what is your eyes? Your eyes, if there is no light, electricity, you cannot see. And you want to see God with these eyes, these imperfect eyes? But they say, "Can you show me God?" So the answer is, "Can you see God?" You have to make the eyes naṣṭa-dṛśām. Our eyes, our senses, are so imperfect, it is not possible to understand Kṛṣṅa. Ataḥ kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136].

[”’Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṅa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṅa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṅa really is.’]

So you have to rectify your faulty senses—eyes, hands, everything. Then you can understand Kṛṣṅa. That is stated here: kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām. In this age, kalau… This is called Kali, Age of Kali—fighting. Quarrel means disagreement and fight, kalau. Kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṅārko 'dhunoditaḥ [SB 1.3.43]. This Purāna, this Bhagavata-Purāna, is just like sunshine, or sun: adhunoditaḥ. So we should take advantage of this sunshine, Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa’s…, what is called, śabdha incarnation. This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam… Kṛṣṅa has many incarnations. Just like here, we are worshiping the Deity, this is called arcā-avatāra. Similarly, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is sound avatāra. Kṛṣṅa can appear as avatāra in anything, because this sound means from sky, and this arcā is from stone.

Kṛṣṅa claims, bhūmir āpo analo vāyuḥ khaṁ buddhir [Bg 7.4].

[Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.]

Khaṁ means ākāśāḥ. From the ākāśāḥ, from the sky, there is śabdha, sound vibration. That is the symptom that existence of ākāśāḥ. And this arcā-mūrti, that is also made of stone, but Kṛṣṅa..., the stone is nothing but energy of Kṛṣṅa; the sound is energy of Kṛṣṅa. So as the sunshine is energy of the sun… When there is sunshine, the energy of the sun, you can understand the sun is there. Similarly, from anything, if you have got realization, you can understand Kṛṣṅa—energy. So this is, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is sound vibration incarnation of Kṛṣṅa: apurna, purāṅārko adhunoditaḥ.

So if we study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly, just according to the direction of the ācāryas, then we can become God conscious, Kṛṣṅa conscious, very easily. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā [SB 1.2.18]. Not officially, but nityaṁ: daily, regularly, we should hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the authorized source. Then our life is successful.

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī [SB 1.2.18]

[By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.]

These things will be explained gradually.

Now, it is established that after departure of Kṛṣṅa, knowledge and dharma is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā, personally He speaks about Him, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the great sage, mahāmuni, Vyāsadeva is speaking about Kṛṣṅa. So when this question was raised in Naimiṣāraṅya by the great sages and saintly person, the Sūta Gosvāmī was speaking. He replied, munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ [SB 1.2.5]. This was the answer when the question, that "After departure of Kṛṣṅa, where we can find dharma, jñāna?"

That is the inquiry of human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.1].

[Now, therefore, one should inquire into Brahman [the Supreme Personality of Godhead]]

This is jñāna and dharma. Without jñāna and dharma—knowledge and religion—that is not human society. Everyone should be inquisitive: athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is brahma jijñāsā. Jijñāsā means inquiry. Everyone should be interested to inquire about dharma and jñāna. That is human life. Tapo divyaṁ.

The Ṛṣabhadeva, the father of Mahārāja Bharata, under whose name this land is called Bhārata-varṣa, Bharata, his father Ṛṣabhadeva instructed His one hundred sons that "My dear sons, this life," nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke [SB 5.5.1],

[Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.]

"this body in the human society is not meant for working so hard like the dogs and hogs for sense gratification." This is not meant for. Don’t waste your time in that way. Simply for sense gratification to work so much hard, that is done by the dogs and hogs. Tapo divyaṁ. "This life is meant for understanding God," tapo divyaṁ, "for which one must undergo all kinds of austerity and penances." Austerity and penance means sacrificing our indulgence in sense gratification—little sacrifice required.

Formerly, great, great sages, they went to forest and Himalaya to meditate, just like Dhruva Mahārāja went. When five-years-old boy, in order to find out God, he went to the forest and meditated. Of course, he was successful, but at the present moment it is not possible to accept such kind of austerity. But therefore the śāstra gives us very short-cut austerity—chant Hare Kṛṣṅa:

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

[In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.]

A little austerity. A little austerity. We are asking our students to chant this Hare Kṛṣṅa, sixteen rounds at least—this much austerity. But Kali-yuga is so strong that even this sixteen rounds is also very difficult. So we are so much fallen, but still, although we are fallen, if we chant this mantra Hare Kṛṣṅa, as recommended by the śāstras: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam... Just like a small child: he tries to walk, sometimes falls down, again he tries to stand up. But we must try to come to the perfectional point by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra.

So the Sūta Gosvāmī is replying after hearing the question: munayaḥ—this is plural number, "all the sages," sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ, "Oh, your question is very, very nice," sādhu, most, I mean to say, worshipable. Sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ. munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁbhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam [SB 1.2.5]. "Your question about Kṛṣṅa, that after departure of Kṛṣṅa, where is now jñāna and dharma?" Dharma, jñāna. Now see, simply because it is related with Kṛṣṅa, Sūta Gosvāmī became so engladdened, that "Your question is very, very nice," sādhu pṛṣṭo. Why it is nice? Because loka-maṅgalam.

This Kṛṣṅa discussion is so nice that as soon as we begin it, and so long we discuss about Kṛṣṅa, it is loka-maṅgalam—the whole period is auspicious. At that time Yamarāja cannot touch you. The death, the time, the influence of time cannot touch you. If you go on in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then the influence of time cannot touch you.

How influence of time has touched us? We are eternal, but we have been under the clutches of birth and death. This is the influence of time. Not that time is changing, but the influence of time is changing. I am getting this body, another body, another body… This is influence of time. So if you are constantly in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, twenty-four hours, this influence of time cannot touch us. This is the secret.

So we recommend, therefore, our Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, that in whichever position you may be, it doesn’t matter. Please try to chant this holy name: Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]