Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.36

Pradyumna: [leads chanting of verse] [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat]

yadā mukundo bhagavān imāṁ mahīṁ jahau sva-tanvā śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ tadāhar evāpratibuddha-cetasām abhadra-hetuḥ kalir anvavartata [SB 1.15.36]

[break]

yadā—when; mukundaḥ—Lord Kṛṣṅa; bhagavān—the Personality of Godhead; imām—this; mahīm—earth; jahau—left; sva-tanvā—with His selfsame body; śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ—hearing about Him is worthwhile; tadā—at that time; ahaḥ eva—from the very day; aprati-buddha-cetasām—of those whose minds are not sufficiently developed; abhadra-hetuḥ—cause of all ill fortune; kaliḥ anvavartata—Kali fully manifested.

[03:33]

Translation: "When the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṅa, left this earthly planet in His selfsame form, from that very day Kali, who had appeared partially before, become fully manifest to create inauspicious conditions for those who are endowed with a poor fund of knowledge."

Prabhupāda: Here is one word, jahau. Jahau sva-tanvā śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ. So when Kṛṣṅa left, He left with His..., the self-same body. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṅa says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham [Bg 4.7]. In another place Kṛṣṅa says, ātma-māyayā. Ātma-māyayā. Māyā means potency, energy. So there are three potencies... There are many potencies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8].

[The Supreme Lord has nothing to do. Nothing is equal to Him or greater than Him. He acts in different phases by manifesting His parts and parcels, which are all simultaneously differently situated by His unlimited, variegated potencies. Each potency acts quite naturally in sequences, providing Him full knowledge, power and pastimes.]

God has unlimited potencies, but learned scholars, saintly persons, they have not rejected potencies, because that cannot be.

There are certain philosopher, they are of opinion that God has no potency. But that is not fact. From Vedic information we see potency. What is that? How to understand the potency? The potency, you can understand. Just like from the fire you have got two potencies: heat and light. Nobody can deny it. Similarly, as fire is placed in one place but it expands its potencies heat and light... That is within our experience. It is not very difficult. Similarly, the sun also. Everyone can see that the sun planet is a big planet, the biggest planet, or star, as somebody says. Whatever it may be, it is lying in one corner of the sky. But it expands its potencies throughout the universe. The sunshine is distributed all over the sky, all over the planet system..., planetary system. And similarly, heat also. We are feeling 99,000,000 miles away... Is that ninety-nine miles? What is that? Scientists say?

Devotees: Ninety-three.

Prabhupāda: Ninety-three millions of miles away from us; still, we are feeling scorching heat, 120 degree, 135 degree. In Middle East the temperature is 135 degree. It is impossible to stay on the surface of the globe. One goes down to the earth. So potency is there. If in material thing like the sun—sun is a material thing; it has got so much potencies—so how much potencies the Supreme Personality of Godhead has got, that is called inconceivable potency. Acintya: beyond your perception. He has got that potency.

So that is the statement of Vedas.

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṅaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8]

[The Supreme Lord has nothing to do. Nothing is equal to Him or greater than Him. He acts in different phases by manifesting His parts and parcels, which are all simultaneously differently situated by His unlimited, variegated potencies. Each potency acts quite naturally in sequences, providing Him full knowledge, power and pastimes.]

The is description of the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Person. Because it is said, tasya. Tasya means He's a person. So what kind of person? Like me? Whole day working, for money? No. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṅaṁ ca vidya... He has nothing to do. See here. Kṛṣṅa has nothing to do. Simply He is enjoying, playing on flute and enjoying with Rādhārāṅī. That's all. He hasn't got to go to the office, to the factory. [laughter] [laughs] He hasn't got. He is simply to enjoy. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12].

[By nature, the Supreme Lord is blissful.]

And we also take, imitate that enjoyment. We also want to mix, young boys and girls, dance together, because we imitate Kṛṣṅa. The same thing is there. With gopīs Kṛṣṅa is dancing; here also we are dancing, in nightclub, and this club, that club. But that will not give you satisfaction, because it is imitation. If you want real dancing, come to Kṛṣṅa. That is wanted.

That is Kṛṣṅa conscious movement, that we are trying to take the misled people from illusion to the reality. The Māyāvādī philosopher, they see that there is no more any pleasure in this dancing: "Make it zero. Forget it." No. We don't say that. We say that this dancing is there in the original conception in the Absolute Truth. That is... The Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. Whatever you are experiencing, wherefrom it has come? It has come from the Absolute. That is the Absolute idea. But here, in the relative world, it is pervertedly reflected, and because it is not reality, therefore you are confused, baffled. So our proposition is, "Come to the reality." That is Kṛṣṅa consciousness. The same dancing...

Just like here is a picture, Kṛṣṅa is dancing with the gopīs. We also like, anybody of us here. Even in old age they are dancing with young girls. In Paris there is club. All going to die, such old men, they are coming in the club, paying fifty dollars as entrance fee; then they have to pay for young girls and wine. But still, they come. They cannot actually enjoy. Vaya gate kim yuvati nārī[?]: "When one is old man, what is the use of mixing with young girls?" Yes. But they like it. They like it. They pay for it. But they do not enjoy. Because if they have enjoyed, they would have been satisfied, but they are not satisfied. Frustrated.

So this is the position. This is the position. Just like the heat and light. If... You are feeling the heat in the sunshine, but that does not mean the sun is there. You cannot say that. Sun is there and not there. This is called simultaneously inconceivable presence of God everywhere. He is present everywhere. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā:

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni nāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ [Bg 9.4]

[By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.]

Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. Kṛṣṅa says, "By My impersonal feature, I am spread everywhere. Everywhere." Everywhere is Kṛṣṅa. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni: "Everything is resting on Me." This is the fact. Just like in this material world, everything resting on the sunshine. That is scientific. Is is not, scientist, the sunshine? The planets, they are rotating on account of this heat and sunshine? It is not a theory?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. They agree with [indistinct].

Prabhupāda: Yes. So now what do we mean by "everything"? Just like this planet. Everything with this planet—the trees, the rivers, the mountains, the cities, the cars—everything within this planet, that is a unit. So this is one planet. And there are millions and mill..., trillions of planets. But how they are existing? Existing on the sunshine. So wherefrom the sunshine comes? The sunshine comes from God, or the sun comes from God. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. Everything is born, everything is emanating from the Absolute. Therefore, indirectly, everything is depending on Kṛṣṅa's potency. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni [Bg 9.4]:

[By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.]

"Everything is resting on My potency." Na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: "But I am not there." This is the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva,

[It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṅa and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord.]

simultaneously one and different. This is our philosophy.

So our point is that Kṛṣṅa, or God, is there, and He is working through His potencies. Just like a big man, he is sitting in his parlor. He hasn't got to go. Just like we have seen Mr. Birla in... Those who are with me, they have seen. He is sitting in his home, but he has got many potencies. He has got secretaries, clerks, and this and that, so many things. So they are doing all work. He hasn't got to work. A big man means he hasn't got to work personally. He has got so many assistants. Similarly Kṛṣṅa, He is the Supreme. He hasn't got to work Himself. He hasn't got to work. Vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya na padam ekaṁ gacchati. He is always engaged in His playing flute and dancing with the gopīs. That's all. Pleasure. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12].

[By nature, the Supreme Lord is blissful.]

That is pleasure. So His potencies are working. What kind of potency? That is described. I have given the example: Just like the sun is there and the sunshine is there, and the sunshine is working everything. By the sunshine, the trees are coming out, the leaves are coming out. They are dropping when there is no sunshine. So everything is depending on sunshine. That is explained in the Vedic literature:

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṅī yathā parasya brahmaṅaḥ śaktis sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat [Viṣṅu Purāṅa 1.22.52]

[Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Para-brahman, are spread all over this universe.]

Parasya brahmaṅaḥ śaktiḥ. Whatever you are seeing in this cosmic manifestation, they are simply manifest..., demonstration of the potency of the Lord. Parasya brahmaṅaḥ śaktiḥ.

So we are... We take our birth and we accept our death not independently. We are under the another potency. We are also one potency. The potency... There are... Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. Those potencies have been divided into three. Multi, but roughly they have been divided into three. One is called internal potency, one is called the external potency, and one is called the marginal potency. So the external potency means this material world. The whole material universe—so many universes, so many planets, stars, skies and everything—these are the demonstration of the external potency. And similarly, there is the spiritual world. Spiritual world. That we cannot see.

That is not within our experience. But we get it from the śāstra. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ [Bg 8.20]. Kṛṣṅa says, "There is another nature." Paras tasmāt. "This material nature, beyond that there is another nature." Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ. That is eternal. This material nature is not eternal. Just like your body, my body, it is not eternal; similarly, this gigantic body of universe, that is also not eternal. It has a date of creation, and it has a date for dissolution. That is the nature. Therefore it is said that "That material nature is sanātana. That is never created; neither it is annihilated."

So we, marginal... Marginal means actually we belong to the spiritual nature, because we are spirit soul. But we have come in contact with this material nature, some way or other, so therefore we are seeing our position incompatible. We cannot adjust here. Therefore we are getting one type of body and enjoying or suffering another type of body, another type of body, another type of body. This is going on. Therefore we are called marginal. If we like, we can transfer ourself to the spiritual world and remain eternally, because we are of the spiritual nature. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin, nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20]. This is the description of the soul. The soul is never born, na jāyate. Na mriyate, neither he dies. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. Kadācit, at any time. Not that sometime we wish to live or sometime we wish to die. No. Everlastingly, eternally, we never take our birth, never we die. Then what is this death? This death is of the material body, not of the soul. Therefore it is said, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20], more distinctly, that "Don't think that the soul is dead after the annihilation of this body."

So now the conclusion is that because we are marginal, in between the spiritual nature and the material nature, although we are spiritual, although we are..., our real nature is na jāyate na mriyate, we never take birth, never die, but on account of our contact with this material nature, we are getting this material body and the body is changing. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [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.]

Body is changing. And that we have taken as our nature, birth and death. That is not our nature. We are spirit soul. We are put into marginal because... Just like the margin is explained: taṭasthā. That is... We have translated into "marginal." Just like we go on the Pacific beach. Some day we find the water is covering the beach, and some day we see it is open; there is no water. So that is called marginal. Marginal. Sometimes it is covered by water; sometimes there is no water.

Similarly, we, being marginal potency, we are sometimes influenced by this material nature. Not always. Because at the present moment for sometimes we are under the material nature, now, if we try, then we can get out of this covering of material nature and come to the spiritual nature. That is Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement means don't remain in the marginal position. Come in the land, so there will be no disturbance by the water. This is the position. If you remain on the marginal position, then sometimes you will be covered by the water and sometimes it will be dry. But if you little come forward this side, land side, the ocean has no power to touch you.

But Kṛṣṅa is not like that, and that is described here. Although Kṛṣṅa left this world, that does not mean that He left this world as we leave. Our leaving this world means we are leaving this material body and accepting another body. Therefore, at the present moment we are not in our own body. Our body is changing. Now this American body, and next birth may be Russian body. This is going on. You are fighting against the Russian, Americans, but he may get the Russian body next life. Therefore as American, he fought the whole life with the Russian, and he is going to become a Russian. Sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ [Bg 8.6].

[Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.]

This is the law of nature. This is the law of nature. Then again fights with an American as soon as he gets the Russian body, then he becomes again American. This is going on, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19]. Sometime Russian, sometime American, go on fighting. That's all. So this is called māyā. [laughter] This is māyā. Everyone is doing that. Everyone is doing that.

Therefore Lord Caitanya says, ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva [Cc Madhya 19.151].

[According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṅa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṅa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.]

The living entities are loitering like this—sometimes this body, sometimes that body, sometimes this way, sometimes that way. He is simply loitering. He is not getting where to take shelter. Where permanent life, permanent peace, permanent happiness he does not know. He does not know. Simply changing. In the material world also, they are simply changing some form of government, electing one rascal, again rejecting; another rascal, another rascal. Because they are all rascals, they have no other alternative than to elect one rascal. But they are thinking, "By rejecting this rascal, we shall be happy." He does not know how to elect. He does not know how to elect. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ [SB 7.5.31].

[Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṅu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.]

He... They are themselves blind, and they are accepting a leader who is also blind. So what will be the profit? If you are led by... You are blind, and if you are led by another blind, then what will be the profit? Both of you will fall down in the ditch. That is going on.

Therefore, if you want real happiness, you must take the leadership of a man who has got eyes to see. Then it will be all right. So whose eyes are open. And that is in the Vedic literature said,

ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ [Gautamīya-tantra]

It is the business of the guru... Because everyone is blind, or in darkness, cannot see, so it is the guru's business to open his eyes, or to help him to see things as they are. That is guru's business. Ajñāna-timirāndhasya. Everyone is covered by the darkness of ignorance. So how darkness can be moved? If there is light. Immediately, if you make the switch off of electricity, this room will be dark. And again you make the switch on, there will be light. Just like at night, we cannot see. Everything is dark because the light, sun, is not there. In the morning, as soon as the sun is there, again everything you can see. So things are there. Because we are in the darkness of ignorance, we cannot see them properly. I am there, you are there, God is there—everything is there. Simply we have to get the light or the proper situation to see things as they are. That is wanted.

So Vedic literature therefore advises that if you want... First of all Vedas advises, "Don't keep yourself in the darkness." Tamasi mā jyotir gama: "Don't keep yourself in the darkness." This is human life. In the human life... In the animal life you kept yourself in darkness because there was no possibility of come to the light. If I invite all the dogs and animals of Los Angeles city to come here to hear about Bhagavad-gītā, it is not possible, because they are animals. But if I appeal to the human being, because he is human being, he may be interested. He should be interested, but the time is so bad that nobody is interested, but still, he may be interested. But that is not possible for the animals, cats and dogs. So in the human form of life, there is necessity of coming to the light and make a solution of the problems of life. Therefore Kṛṣṅa comes. That is the statement of Kṛṣṅa in the Bhagavad-gītā: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham, ātma-māyayā [Bg 4.7].

So Kṛṣṅa comes... He does not come like us. We are under the control of the material nature, but Kṛṣṅa is not under the control of material nature. That is to be understood. Therefore here it is said that jahau sva-tanvā. Sva means "own," and tanvā, tanu, tanu means "this body." We have got distinction, "I am the soul, but my this body is material." This distinction we have got because we are conditioned soul. Actually, I am not this body; I am soul. But I have become conditioned by this material body. And in case of Kṛṣṅa, He is not conditioned by this material body. Therefore it is said, sva-tanvā: "by His own original, spiritual body." This is the distinction you must understand. One scholar has described... Because he does not know Kṛṣṅa, and still writing comments on Bhagavad-gītā, when Kṛṣṅa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [Bg 18.65]:

[Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.]

"Just think of Myself, think of... Just become my devotee, offer your obeisances unto Me, worship Me," this rascal says, "It is not to Kṛṣṅa the person, but to the soul." Now he says... Just see how much ignorant he is. He does not know that Kṛṣṅa has no such division as His self or soul and the body, and he is writing comment. And this is very scholarly, it is said. He is a rascal number one, and he is accepted as scholar. This is going on. This is going on, all over the world.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg 9.11]:

[Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.]

"Mūḍhas, the rascals, they think, because I appear as a human being, they think as ordinary human being." Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ: "They do not know the great potentiality of Myself." Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. Still, they will go on explaining Bhagavad-gītā, writing Bhāgavata, comments on. These rascals, mūḍhas, one who does not know that Kṛṣṅa has no such distinction, as we have got distinction body and soul, Kṛṣṅa has no such distinction... Kṛṣṅa has no distinction between this Kṛṣṅa's form of stone and Kṛṣṅa Himself, because the stone is also Kṛṣṅa's energy. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ [Bg 7.4].

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

The earth, water, air, fire, everything is Kṛṣṅa energy. That we have already explained. Parasya brahmaṅaḥ śaktiḥ. Everything Kṛṣṅa's energy. So He can appear in any form, from anywhere, from anything. That is Kṛṣṅa. That is Kṛṣṅa.

So we have to understand what is Kṛṣṅa. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṅa, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, in truth, if you understand Kṛṣṅa, then you become liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya [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.]

So we have to understand Kṛṣṅa like that. Sva-tanvā: He left this body not as we leave our body. No. We are leaving and accepting our body by the force of nature, material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṅāni guṅaiḥ karmāṅi sarvaśaḥ [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.]

Our business is going on being forced, enforced by the laws of nature. Kṛṣṅa is not under the laws of nature; neither He has got distinction between His self and body. This is to be understood. Sva-tanvā. If somebody thinks that "Kṛṣṅa left His body and died like us..." There are a party, they think like that, "Kṛṣṅa also died like us." But that is not the fact. Kṛṣṅa left His so-called body just to befool the rascals. Because the rascals are thinking, "Kṛṣṅa is like us," therefore to bewilder them, Kṛṣṅa leaves a māyā body so that they may think that "Kṛṣṅa is like us." But actually here is the secret, that jahau sva-tanvā. He left this world in His original body. He has no such distinction. Śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ. If His body is like our body, material body, then what is the use of hearing about His activities? We are interested in the words of Kṛṣṅa. If Kṛṣṅa is like us, He has got the same material body, then why you should be interested to read Bhagavad-gītā, He is also a man like us?

Therefore here it is said, śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ. By hearing about Kṛṣṅa, you become liberated. So if He is equally as good as you are, then what is the use of reading His book, reading His instruction? But here it is said, śravaṅīya-sat-kathaḥ. Tadāhar apratibuddha-cetasām. These things are spoken by less intelligent class of men, apratibuddha-cetasām. They say, cetasām abhadra-hetuḥ kalir anvavartata: "Because Kṛṣṅa passed away, therefore Kali got the opportunity to enter." That is..., to some extent it is fact.

But Kṛṣṅa, although left this planet, and if He is everything, how Kṛṣṅa can go away? Kṛṣṅa can remain with you eternally. And even if you say that "Because Kṛṣṅa went away, therefore Kali got the chance of entering," but if you keep yourself with Kṛṣṅa, where is the chance of Kali to enter? Where is the chance? So you keep yourself in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Kali will not be able to touch you.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya... [end]