Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

Bhagavad-gītā 18.67

Prabhupāda:

idaṁ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana na cāśuśruṣave vācyaṁ na ca māṁ yo 'bhyasūyati [Bg 18.67]

[This confidential knowledge may not be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.]

So we were discussing this verse yesterday. So there are persons abhyasūyati, envious of Kṛṣṅa. Envious. Who is envious of Kṛṣṅa? Demons. Just like Kaṁsa: always making plan how to kill Kṛṣṅa. As soon as he heard that his eighth son of his sister Devakī would kill him, as soon as he heard this prophecy, he become a determined enemy of Kṛṣṅa. He was always thinking of Kṛṣṅa. That is also Kṛṣṅa consciousness, but he was thinking in a different way. Prātikūlyena.

Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyaṁ vivarjanam. This devotional service means to accept favorable and reject unfavorable. This is called śaraṅāgati. Surrender means to accept favorable things, how I can make progress towards Kṛṣṅa, and prātikūlya, pratikūla means rejecting unfavorable things which are not very congenial for my progress to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Rakṣayiṣyaty iti viśvāsa-pālanam: and to have firm faith that "Kṛṣṅa will give me protection. Kṛṣṅa will give me protection."

Kṛṣṅa says,

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ [Bg 18.66]

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

So to have firm faith in the statement of Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says, "I'll give you protection from the resultant action of all sinful activities." We must know that anyone who are..., anyone who is in this material world—more or less sinful. Without being sinful, nobody exists in this material world. Just like yesterday we visited the Sabarmatī jail. So all the prisoners who are there, it is to be understood they are all sinful, or criminals. Otherwise, how they are put into the jail?

So this material world is jail. You cannot have freedom here. It is not possible. Daivī hy eṣā guṅamayī mama māyā duratyayā [Bg 7.14].

[This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.]

And the superintendent of jail is Durgā-devī. You have seen the many..., there are many worshiper of Goddess Durgā. She is the superintendent of this jail. Durgā. Durgā means fort.

So this material world is just like a fort, and the predominating deity is the Durgā-devī. Therefore she is equipped with so many weapons, ten kinds of weapons on ten hands. That means there are ten direction: the four corners..., east, west, south, north, and the four corners, up and down. These are the ten direction. So you cannot escape. Just like from the jail you cannot escape—there is very strong guard—similarly, we are all put into this fort, durgā, material universe. So... And the deity, predominating deity, is Durgā-devī.

There are some people, they think, "By satisfying Durgā we shall be happy." That is also mentioned in the śāstras. But that happiness is only within this material world. Dhanaṁ dehi rūpaṁ dehi rūpavatī-bhāryāṁ dehi yaśo dehi, dehi, dehi. After worshiping Goddess Durgā, we ask all these benediction: "Give me money, give me beautiful wife, give me reputation, give me strength, give me victory." Durgā-devī gives you. But that is not actual happiness.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa says that ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna [Bg 8.16]:

[From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.]

"My dear Arjuna, even if you are promoted to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, that is not happiness." In the Brahmaloka, the duration of life is so long that you cannot calculate even one day. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṅo viduḥ [Bg 8.17].

[By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahmā's one day. And such also is the duration of his night.]

Sahasra-yuga. One yuga means forty-three lakhs of years. And multiply it by one thousand: sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahaḥ. Now calculate. That duration is one day of Brahmā. One day means twelve hours. Similarly, another twelve hours, night. Day and night. Then again, thirty days, one month. Similarly, twelve months equal to one year. Such one thous..., one hundred years is the duration of Brahmā.

So anyone who goes to the Brahmaloka... They are trying to go to the moon planet. I don't think they have been successful. But this is not a very difficult task. But even if you go to the Brahmaloka, where the duration of life is so long and the comforts of life are many, many thousand times what..., which we can perceive here, Kṛṣṅa says that "Even you go there, then the birth, death, old age and disease is there. You cannot avoid it." Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg 13.9].

[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]

Brahmā, when he was approached by Hiraṅyakaśipu to have the benediction to become immortal, Brahmā said, "Oh, I am not immortal. How can I give you the benediction?" So any planet within this material world you may go, you may try to become happy, but there is no such thing as immortality. That is not possible within this material world. Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate. Kṛṣṅa says, "But if you come to My planet..." There is Kṛṣṅa's planet. As there is Brahmā's planet, similarly there is Kṛṣṅa's planet. That planet is called Goloka Vṛndāvana. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama [Bg 15.6].

So anyone can go. That is not very difficult. But we do have no information. Although the informations are all there in the Bhagavad-gītā or all Vedic literature, we do not take care of it. We are surprised only by the movement of the sputnik going to the so-called moon planet, coming back, taking some dust. So we are very much surprised with this movement, but we..., we do not care to know that "I am a spirit soul. My movement is so unique and beautiful that I can go back to home, back go Godhead." That we do not know. This is called ignorance, mūḍha. Mūḍha, foolish person, rascals. They do not know. Very meager idea.

How we can be promoted? Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā: yānti deva-vratā devān [Bg 9.25]:

[Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.]

those who want to go to the planetary system of the demigods... The moon planet is one of them. They can go. You have to prepare yourself in this life. We have discussed all these things in our small booklet Easy Journey to Other Planet, those who are interested who can read. So we can go any planet, any type of forms of living entities. There are 8,400,000 forms of body, material body.

So ye yathā māṁ prapadyante [Bg 4.11].

[All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.]

You desire anything, you'll be given chance by Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is so kind that He gives you chance according to your desires. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. Mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ [Bg 4.11]. But why we should want something which is perishable? That is intelligence. Kṛṣṅa says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ: even if you go the Brahmaloka planet, that is also perishable. You'll have to return again.

yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ bhūtejyā yānti bhūtāni mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām [Bg 9.25]

If you desire to go to the planetary system of the demigods, you can go. If you want to remain here, in this Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, you can remain. If you want to go to the Pitṛlokas... Just like according to our Vedic system, there is pitṛ-tarpaṅa. You know, all. By offering pitṛ-tarpaṅa, you can be promoted to the Pitṛlokas. This is the idea. Similarly, if you want to go to the supreme planet, yad gatvā na nivartante [Bg 15.6], the abode of the Supreme Lord, Goloka Vṛndāvana or Vaikuṅṭhaloka, you can go.

So if we want actually promotion of life, I mean to say, established life, eternal life and eternal body, sac-cid-ānanda, and eternal blissful life of knowledge, then you must worship Kṛṣṅa. That is the verdict.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66].

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

This is the mission of Bhagavad-gītā. The best chance. And Kṛṣṅa comes here to give you the idea what is the function of the Kṛṣṅa-loka. That He displays in Vṛndāvana here. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. That is His business, simple life, village life.

They're all young boys and girls, the gopīs and the cowherds boy. They're enjoying, dancing. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ surabhīr abhipālayantam [Bs 5.29]. And Kṛṣṅa, just like we have got some hobbies, we keep some cats and dogs, Kṛṣṅa has got also hobby. What is that? Surabhīr abhipālayantam: He's always engaged in taking care of the surabhī cows, gopāla. That is His business. So He's so simple life.

So the difficulty is the people cannot understand these things. They are of opinion that after this life, everything's finished. The greatest scientists, philosopher, they are thinking like that. That means practically they have no sense. Why there is no life after death? I am experiencing that I was a baby, and after that baby body is finished, I got a body of child. Then, from child body, I got the body of a boy; then as a young man, then I have got this... Now, why not after changing this body, another body? Where is the reason?

In my this experience I get that I have changed so many bodies. But I remember; I am existing. Although my different bodies are finished, I am existing. Similarly, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati [Bg 2.13].

[As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.]

Similarly, I shall get another body. So what kind of body I shall get, that is the preparation stage in this life, what kind of body I'm going to get.

That is karmaṅā daiva-netreṅa jantur deha upapatti [SB 3.31.1].

[The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.]

As you are working here, this is a chance, human body. Here is a chance. You can make your next body as lower animals or demigods or go back to home, back to Godhead. Whatever you like. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ [Bg 9.25].

These are the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā.

So one has to understand all these things by little tapasya. Because to go back to home, back to Godhead is not very easy thing, because we are so much entangled with this gross material body and subtle material body. And the subtle material body is creating... Just like a spool, creating another body, another body, desires. Material desires. So we have to change these material desires into spiritual desires. Then we get spiritual body. Karmaṅā daiva-netreṅa [SB 3.31.1].

There... This is the function of the laws of nature.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṅāni guṅaiḥ karmāṅi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate [Bg 3.27]

[The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.]

Prakṛti. So long we are in this material world, we are associating with different modes of material nature, and prakṛti is giving me different types of bodies. In this way we are rolling, we are wandering. Now, this, this human form of life is meant for understanding that there is spiritual life, there is eternal life, there is blissful life, and prepare for that. That is Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. Do not waste your time.

Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings,

hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṅa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu

After getting this opportunity, this human form of life, if we do not take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, that is means willingly we are taking poison. Willingly. By becoming Kṛṣṅa conscious in this life, you can be transferred to the spiritual world. Immediately. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti [Bg 4.9].

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]

Everything is explained there. As soon as you die, immediately you are transferred to the spiritual world. How? Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Anyone who understands Kṛṣṅa in truth, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ... This is tāttvika knowledge.

Tāttvika knowledge means to understand Kṛṣṅa as He is. Kṛṣṅa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg 7.7]:

[O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.]

"There is no more superior truth beyond Me. I am the Supreme Truth." Paraṁ brahma param... Arjuna understood it. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg 10.12].

[Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.]

This is understanding. This is paramparā understanding.

If you want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, if you want to understand Kṛṣṅa, then you have to follow the footprints of the mahājana, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam [Bg 4.2],

[This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.]

as Arjuna understood it. How Arjuna understood it? Paraṁ brahma, "the Supreme Brahman."

We are all Brahman. There is no difficulty to understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That's all right. But we are not Param Brahman. We are Brahman because part and parcel of Brahman, qualitatively one with Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Just like if you say, "I am Indian," so there is no harm. But you cannot say that you are as big, as powerful as Indira Gandhi. She is also Indian. Similarly, you may become Brahman, but you cannot become Param Brahman. That is Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Similarly, ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am not this body; I am not this material form. I have got my spiritual identity," that is called ahaṁ brahmāsmi. And when one understands this fact, that he is not this material body, that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. Without understanding this: jīva-bhūta.

Everything is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg 18.54].

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

As soon as one understands that he's not this body, he's spirit soul, then he becomes prasannātmā. Because prasannātmā means we are all working on the bodily concept of life: "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṅa," "I am śūdra," "I am this," "I am that." So when one understands that "I am not this body," then he comes to the point: "Why I am working so hard for this body?" Misunderstanding. That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. Immediately your so many responsibilities go away.

Brahmā-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then you understand that "Why I am envious of this man or that man, this animal or that animal? They are all part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. They are all brahmas." So samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, paṅḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg 5.18].

[The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṅa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]]

He sees brahma-darśī. In this way, when samatvam, samatvam, he comes to the point of samatvam, equality, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām, that is the beginning of devotional life. That is the beginning of...

It is not a sentiment. It is a great science to become a devotee, to come to the platform of devotional life. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām [Bg 18.54].

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

When one comes to that stage of devotional life, then bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

At that time, one can understand what is Kṛṣṅa. Tattvataḥ. The same thing. In three places, Kṛṣṅa has been described tattvataḥ. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ [Bg 4.9].

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]

Manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ [Bg 7.3].

[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]

How to understand tattvataḥ? Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ.

So if you want to understand Kṛṣṅa, then you have to take the life of devotion. And one who does not take to this life of devotion, he cannot understand Kṛṣṅa or Kṛṣṅa philosophy, Bhagavad-gītā. It is far, far away. It is... My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "It is just like licking the honey bottle." One may come to the bottle filled with honey, but simply by licking the bottle, what taste he will get?

The honey must be opened. Then if you taste, you will know what is honey. Similarly, simply by taking Bhagavad-gītā and trying to understand it by so-called scholarship is licking up the honey bottle. That's all. There will be no taste. There will be no taste. You go on for many millions of years licking up that bottle, you'll never understand.

If you want to understand, then Kṛṣṅa says here:

tad viddhi praṅipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ [Bg 4.34]

[Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.]

The same tattva. You have to approach a person who has seen tattva, tattva-darśinaḥ. So that tattva-darśī already explained. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

One can become tattva-darśī simply by devotional service.

So for coming to the platform of devotional service one has to make some sacrifice. That is called tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily accepting some difficult things. That is called tapasya. Therefore those who have not taken to that, those who have taken Bhagavad-gītā as a table talk, they cannot understand. Not Bhagavad-gītā should be preached amongst them.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa is warning, idaṁ te na atapaskāya nābhaktāya. Idaṁ te nātapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana: "Never describe. Never described this Bhagavad-gītā." Kṛṣṅa said in the previous verse... People will not be able to understand. Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66].

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

This simple fact cannot be understood by any man who has not undergone some austerities, penances, and who has not become a devotee. It is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is warning, "Don't speak to these nonsense. They will not understand."

But a devotee of Kṛṣṅa tries to make them devotee. Because Kṛṣṅa, in the next verse, says, ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati [Bg 18.68]. Mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati. Here in this verse it is said, nābhaktāya: "Don't speak this truth of Bhagavad-gītā to the abhaktas," but if you can speak to the bhaktas... Ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyam.

Paramaṁ guhyam. It is the most confidential knowledge, most confidential part of Vedic knowledge. It is said in the beginning, sarva-guhyatamam. Sarva-guhyatamam: "most confidential." So paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣu. Because from the beginning it is simply said, "Only the bhaktas can understand." Therefore it should be preached among the bhaktas. Mad-bhakteṣu abhidhāsyati, bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā mām eva eṣyasi, eṣyati asaṁśayaḥ.

So this is another opportunity. Just create, everyone, everyone, especially... Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra [Cc Ādi 9.41]:

[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

"Anyone who has taken birth in this holy land of Bhārata-varṣa...," janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra. This is the injunction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that "First of all, make your life perfect. Just try to understand what is Kṛṣṅa and what is Bhagavad-gītā, and make your life practical in understanding Bhagavān and the bhakti." Janma sārthaka kari': "Then go and preach all over the world." Paropakāra.

Because the whole world is in darkness. They are too much materially congested. Their brain... Big, big professors, they say, "After death, there is no life." And they are going as teachers and professors. So especially in the Western world, they are so much engrossed. So our request is, those who are actually intelligent, "Take to this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement seriously, especially Indian, and try to preach all over the world." They are also hankering after it. And Kṛṣṅa says that simply by trying to preach the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then he become a great devotee of Kṛṣṅa. Bhaktiṁ mayi parām. Parā-bhakti.

That parā-bhakti, already explained:

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām [Bg 18.54]

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

Parā-bhakti. Na aparā. Aparā means material, and parā means transcendental. Parā-bhakti. Without coming to the stage of parā-bhakti, one cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. So that parā-bhakti means one must be freed from all sinful activities. Yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpam. Not ordinary man. Yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānām, janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām. Those who are always engaged in pious activities, they cannot be engaged in sinful activities.

By pious activities, constantly being engaged in pious activities... Then what is that pious activities? Śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17].

[Śrī Kṛṣṅa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.]

Simply if you hear and chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ, you become pious. Even you..., you do not understand, if you simply engage. So the method is very simple. You can become pious and you can become free from all sinful activities.

So,

yeṣāṁ [tv] anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ [Bg 7.28]

[Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.]

Then he can surrender unto Kṛṣṅa: vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ [Bg 7.19].

[After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.]

These are the process, simple process. You..., we have to simply take it seriously.

So therefore this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is prohibiting the four pillars of sinful life. What is that? Illicit sex life. Illicit sex life. And meat-eating. Meat-eating. Meats, fish, egg, everything. Āmiṣa. Āmiṣa-bhoja. Meat-eating. And intoxication. All kinds of intoxication. Not only liquor or LSD, but also tea, coffee, cigarette, everything.

Illicit sex life, meat-eating and intoxicant and gambling. These are the four pillars of sinful life. So we are advocating, "Please give up these four principles of sinful life and chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, at least sixteen rounds." You'll become situated in the transcendental position, and you can understand what is Kṛṣṅa and what is Bhagavad-gītā.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa. [break]

Indian man (1): ...can be removed. Nistraiguṅya, traiguṅya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṅyo bhavārjuna [Bg 2.45].

[The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.]

If there is a contradiction between the principles taught by Vedas and taught by Gītā, sir?

Prabhupāda: Nistraiguṅya... As soon as you become a devotee, you become nistraiguṅya. As soon as you become a devotee, pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa, you are situated on the platform of nistraiguṅya.

Indian man (1): Traiguṅya-viṣayā vedāḥ...

Prabhupāda: Traiguṅya means these three qualities: sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. So the whole Vedic literature is describing how to get out of this entanglement of three guṅas. So as soon as you come out of these three guṅas, then you become nistraiguṅya.

Indian man (1): Nistraiguṅyo bhavārjuna.

Prabhupāda: Ahh. So how you can become nistraiguṅya? That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:

māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26]

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

This is nistraiguṅya. If you engage yourself in unadulterated, avyabhicāreṅa, devotion, then you become immediately situated on the platform of nistraiguṅya. Sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate.

So pure devotional service means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11].

[One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.]

Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Anyābhilāṣa. We have got so many desires, all material desires. So one should be free from all material desires. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Cc Madhya 19.167].

[When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṅa favorably, as Kṛṣṅa desires.]

Jñāna, nirbheda-brahmānu-sandhanaḥ. This is generally understood as jñāna.

And karma means to be elevated to the higher planetary system, heavenly planets. So anāvṛtam: we should not be touched with jñāna and karma. Neither we have any material desires. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṅānuśīlanam. Simply cultivating Kṛṣṅa consciousness ānukūlyena, favorably. Bhaktir uttamā. That is the highest platform of devotional service.

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

[Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.]

When we become free from all designations... We have so many designations: "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṅa," "I am this," "I am that." These are our upādhi. I am pure soul. And as pure soul, I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. My only business is to serve Kṛṣṅa. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṅānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā. Hṛṣīkeṅa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate [Cc Madhya 19.170].

Hṛṣīka, the senses, when the senses are engaged in the service of the proprietor of the sense, Hṛṣīkeśa, that is called bhakti. So nistraiguṅya means to be situated on the platform where these three guṅas cannot affect. That is nistraiguṅya.

Indian man (2): That mama sa janmakāra[?], that means we cannot be exactly Kṛṣṅa. We can be like Kṛṣṅa, but not exactly like Kṛṣṅa by bhakti.

Prabhupāda: No, no. You cannot become Kṛṣṅa.

Indian man (2): Mama sa janmakāra.

Prabhupāda: What is that? Mānuṣya? That is mental speculation. Kṛṣṅa is asamordhva. Nobody can become Kṛṣṅa nor even equal to Kṛṣṅa. Ekale īśvara kṛṣṅa āra saba bhṛtya. Only master is Kṛṣṅa, and everyone is servant. This is our real position. Everyone.

ekale īśvara kṛṣṅa āra saba bhṛtya yāre yaiche nācāya se taiche kare nṛtya [Cc Ādi 5.142]

[Lord Kṛṣṅa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.]

According to the direction of Kṛṣṅa, we are dancing in different activities. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca [Bg 15.15].

[I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.]

Kṛṣṅa is situated in everyone's heart. I wanted to do something, desire; Kṛṣṅa reminds me: "Now here is the opportunity. I give you opportunity. Now you can do it."

Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. So if you want to forget Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa will give you such intelligence that you'll forget Him. And if you want to serve Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa will give you such intelligence as you'll be able to serve Kṛṣṅa.

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi taṁ yena mām upayānti te [Bg 10.10]

[To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.]

So it is up to you whether you want to forget Kṛṣṅa or if you want to serve Kṛṣṅa. If you want to serve Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa will give you intelligence how you can elevate yourself by serving. And if you want to forget Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa will give you such intelligence that you'll forget forever. That is Kṛṣṅa.

Indian man (3): So many times Lord Kṛṣṅa told us: mama vartmānuvartante yantrārūḍhāni māyayā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām [Bg 18.61].

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

I want to know why He's so unkind and He allows us to sin. That people, who wants to go, they are very persevering.

And He again said, yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ, indriyāṅi pramāthīni [Bg 2.60].

[The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them.]

He should have helped the nature, how to leave the whole universe, so that if mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ, if that was the way, the royal road, the royal road of Kṛṣṅa, Lord Kṛṣṅa, should be very easier.

Prabhupāda: So mama vartmānuvartante means that just like on the top of..., just like there are so many skyscraper buildings in America. A hundred and five stories, I think that is the latest. So suppose you have to go to the topmost flat. There is staircase. So everyone is trying to go there. But someone has passed, say, ten steps.

Another had passed, say, fifty steps. Another has hundred steps. But you have to complete, say, two thousand steps. So the staircase is the same. Mama vartmānuvartante. Because the aim is to go to the topmost flat. But the one who has passed ten steps, he is lower than one who has passed fifty steps. And the one who has passed fifty steps, he's lower than who has passed hundred steps.

So similarly, there are different processes. But all the processes are not the same. They're aiming at the same goal, karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti, but bhakti is the highest step. Because when you come to the platform of bhakti, then you can understand what is Kṛṣṅa. Not by karma, jñāna, yoga.

That is not possible. You are trying, you are going towards that aim, but Kṛṣṅa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. He does not say, "By jñāna, by karma, by yoga." No. That you cannot understand. You can go forward, steps. But if you want to know Kṛṣṅa, then bhakti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

This is the process.

Therefore mama vartmānuvartante means, "Everyone is trying to come to Me, according to their capacity, ability. But one who actually wants to understand Me, the simple process..." Just like the staircase is there, but—not in this country; in Europe and American countries—side by side there is lift, elevator. So instead of going step by step to the highest flat, you take the help of this lift, you go immediately, within a second.

So if you take the lift of bhakti, then immediately you come in contact with Kṛṣṅa directly, instead of going by step by step by step. Why should you take? Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66]:

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

"You simply surrender unto Me. Your business is finished." Why should you labor so much, step by step by step by step by...? [break]

Indian man (4): ... is, what about the statement: jñānī tv ātmaivam eva tvam?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That jñānī does not mean nirbheda-brahmānusandhanaḥ[?]. Jñānī... Without jñāna, how one can become bhakta? Because the result of jñāna is to become brahma-bhūtaḥ. So those who are taking bhakti as sentiment, they may fall down. Sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ. Prākṛta-bhakta means sentiment. But jñānī-bhakta, one who becomes a devotee, knowing Kṛṣṅa, what He is, he's very important.

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, someone has written the question that "Who will carry on this movement after you?"

Prabhupāda: Who is asking me, he'll do it. [laughter] [break]

Indian man (5): Mahārāja, can I ask my godly[?] Gurudeva that what is your plan to carry again, to push your movement after you, that it would be after Śrī Bhaktivedanta Prabhu, to keep this ladder of..., keep this ladder held up: [indistinct] Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Prabhupāda: That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā:

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt [Bg 4.1]

[The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.]

First of all, Kṛṣṅa spoke this Kṛṣṅa consciousness science to the sun-god, and the sun-god Vivasvān explained it to his son, Manu. And Manu explained to his son Ikṣvāku. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg 4.2].

So this science is understood by the paramparā disciplic succession. So as we have understood by the paramparā system from my Guru Mahārāja, so any of my student who will understand, he will keep it running on. This is the process.

It is not a new thing. It is the old thing. Simply we have to distribute it properly, as we have heard from our predecessor ācārya. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended, ācārya upāsanam: "One must approach ācārya." Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Simply by speculating, by so-called scholarship, it is not possible. It is not possible. One must approach the ācārya.

So the ācārya is coming by paramparā system, disciplic succession. Therefore Kṛṣṅa recommends, tad viddhi praṅipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg 4.34]:

"One should approach the ācārya and try to understand by praṅipāta, surrender." This whole thing is depending on surrender. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. The surrender process, the proportion of surrender, is the means of understanding Kṛṣṅa. If we are fully surrendered, then we can understand fully Kṛṣṅa. If we are partially surrendered, then we understand Kṛṣṅa partially.

So ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. It is the proportion of surrender. The one who has surrendered fully, he can understand this philosophy and he can preach also, by the grace of Kṛṣṅa. What is that? [break]

Indian man (5): I want to ask you one more question. [break]

Prabhupāda: Anyone can become perfect in his own position simply if he receives this transcendental message by proper aural reception. Śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ [SB 10.14.3]...

[Those who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.]

[break] ...five thousand years, Kṛṣṅa says forty millions of years, He spoke...

Indian man (6): Forty millions of years, but as it is, Gītā was made to Arjuna five thousand years back. And so before five thousand years back, who was that surrendering? [indistinct] says that there may be five million years. That is what they say. Even today, you say or I say, then the world, ten million years back. That doesn't solve the problem. The problem is that Gītā was written or dictated or recited for the human about five thousand years back. So what was there before five thousand years back? Was there Kṛṣṅa consciousness?

Prabhupāda: Was, yes.

Indian man (6): Or was there, it was, it was given to... Hear me. Veda is the oldest scripture in the world. So all other are based on, after Veda, out of Veda. So if before one surrenders to Kṛṣṅa, what becomes of him?

Prabhupāda: Yes, in the Vedas there are Kṛṣṅa consciousness mentioned. It is not that five thousand years ago only Kṛṣṅa consciousness. No. In the Vedas there is Kṛṣṅa consciousness. In the Vedas.

Indian man (7): Guru Mahārāja, one more question. Do you agree that this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is an improvement over the whole...

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is the only solution of all problems. This is the only solution. [end]

Bhagavad-gītā 18.67

Referenced verses