Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.5–6

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

maitreya uvāca pitari prasthite 'raṅyaṁ mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā tasmin bindusare 'vātsīd bhagavān kapilaḥ kila [SB 3.25.5]

[break] [01:01]

"Maitreya said: When Kardama left for the forest, Lord Kapila stayed on the strand of the Bindu-sarovara in order to please His mother, Devahūti."

Prabhupāda:

pitari prasthite 'raṅyaṁ mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā tasmin bindusare 'vātsīd bhagavān kapilaḥ kila [SB 3.25.5]

So father... What is the name?

Nitāi: Kardama Muni?

Prabhupāda: Kardama Muni. Kardama Muni left home. So Kardama Muni was a great yogī. So he was not interested, family life, but once he desired that "Let me marry." So Vaivasvata Manu, he brought his daughter, Devahūti, and she was married with Kapila, er, yes...

Devotee: Kardama.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Nitāi: Kardama.

Prabhupāda: Kardama Muni. So Kardama Muni, the wife, a king's daughter, but she was serving the husband, and... The yogī, in a cottage he was living, and she was king's daughter, princess. So working, working, she became very skinny. So Kardama Muni took [com]passion upon her that "This girl has come to me. She is not in a comfortable position." So by his yogic power he created big, palatial house, many servants, maidservants, garden, everything. Not only that: Kardama Muni created one airship. It was just like a small city. The modern airship—they have prepared 747—can carry about five hundred passengers. Of course, very big. But Kardama Muni created an airship just like a small city. In that airship there was nice lake and palaces and garden, and not only that, the airship traveled all over the universe. They could not make any airship to go to the moon planet, but Kardama Muni, by his yogic power, he created an airship which could go to all the planets. This is yogic power. Aṅimā laghimā prāpti—all kinds of siddhi, material siddhi. Whatever he likes, he can do. That is yoga-siddhi. Not simply pressing the nose and making some gymnastic. One must gain the yogic siddhi. By the..., by the siddhi-yogī, he can do everything he likes. He can become smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. Whatever he likes, he can get immediately in hand. Wherever he likes, he can go. That is yoga-siddhi.

So this Kardama Muni was a siddhi-yogī, and his wife, Devahūti... So he had nine daughters, and they were all distributed to the Prajāpatis. Just like Dakṣa Mahārāja, Prajāpati, and there were many others. And the only son was this Kapiladeva. He is incarnation of God, Kṛṣṅa, and He is one of the mahājana. Mahājana means authority. There are twelve authorities according to Vedic śāstra. One of them is this Kapila.

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapila kumāraḥ manuḥ prahlādo janaka bhīṣma balir vaiyāsakir vayam [SB 6.3.20]

[Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahūti], Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and I myself know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead.]

This is a statement of Yamarāja. Yamarāja is also one of the authorities. So Svayambhū. Svayambhū means Brahmā. And svayambhūr nāradaḥ, Nārada Muni, he's also authority. And Śambhu, Lord Śiva, he's authority. Similarly, Kapiladeva, He's also authority. These authorities should be followed. If we want to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we want to understand what is the purpose of religious life, then we have to follow these mahājana. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186].

[Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.]

Dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahā yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. Dharmasya tattvam.

So dharmasya tattvam is explained by the Dharmasetu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa: 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.]

That is actually dharma. And all these mahājanas—svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapilaḥ [SB 6.3.20],

[Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahūti], Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and I myself know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead.]

they also follow the same principle. Therefore we cannot understand very easily what is the truth of religious system, but if we follow these mahājana, then we can understand. So that Kapila Muni is explaining to His mother the glories of devotional service. So if we follow Him, then we also get informed what is the truth of devotional service. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ.

Here another feature is that pitari prasthite araṅyam. So it is the system of varṅāśrama-dharma, pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. One who has passed over fifty years of age, he must give..., leave home and go to the forest, and completely devote his life for spiritual realization. That is the system, varṅāśrama-dharma. The name "Hindu" is a foreign name, given by the Muslims on the other side of the ocean. They used to say the inhabitants of this part of the world as "Hindu." Actually, you won't find this word Hindu in any Vedic literature. The Vedic literature you'll find: varṅāśrama-dharma. Civilized human being means who are following strictly the varṅāśrama institution, four varṅas and four āśramas. So four varṅas means brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, and four āśrama means brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So for brāhmaṅa, the four āśramas should be followed. Brāhmaṅa should become a child born in brāhmaṅa family and trained up nicely as brahmacārī. Then he becomes a gṛhastha. Then he gives up the home. That is called vānaprastha. And after that, he takes sannyāsa.

So this Kardama Muni did it. Because he was a yogī, he strictly followed the principle. So as soon as Kapiladeva was grown up, the mother, Devahūti, was given in His charge and Kardama Muni left home. Therefore it is said that pitari prasthite araṅyaṁ mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā. Now, it is the duty of the son. Women should be under the protection. In the Manu-saṁhitā it is said that woman should not be given freedom. Na strī svātantryam arhati. They cannot properly utilize freedom. It is better to remain dependent. That is very good. Independent woman cannot be happy. That's a fact. We have seen in the Western countries, on..., in the name of independence, so many women are unhappy. So that is not recommended in the Vedic civilization and on the varṅāśrama-dharma. So therefore the mother, Devahūti, was given under the charge of his [her] grown-up son, Kapiladeva. And Kapiladeva was fully cognizant that He has to take care of His mother. Therefore mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā. It is the duty of the father to protect the girl very nicely. Women are very delicate. They should be given... So during childhood, until she attains, I mean to say, youthhood, puberty, the girl is under the protection of the father. Still, in India, the father takes care of the girl until she is married to a suitable boy. The father takes. And then the young husband takes care of the young girl, wife, and then some children are born, and then grown up. Suppose a man marries at the age of twenty... That is, I mean, the highest. A boy is married not later than twenty-five years. And the girl is not married not later than sixteen years. That is the system. So a sixteen-year girl and twenty-five-year boy, if the child is born, then when the man is fifty years old, the child becomes twenty-five years old. So he can take charge.

So taking this calculation, even Kapiladeva was twenty-five years old, He was quite able to take charge of His mother, Devahūti. So He knew that "Father left My mother in My charge, and therefore I must take charge of My mother and keep her always pleased." Mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā. This... The boy is not irresponsible. He is always ready to please His mother. Here we have given these pictures in this Bhāgavatam. Here Kapiladeva in a brahmacārī dress, and mother is taking lesson from the son. Now, sometimes it is asked, "How the mother will take lesson from the son?" That is the prerogative of the male. Strī... In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ, striyaḥ... [Bg 9.32].

[O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.]

Striyaḥ śūdrās tathā vaiśyāḥ. A woman is considered in the level of śūdra. Although a woman is married with a brāhmaṅa, the woman is not offered the sacred thread. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is also accepted like that by the Supreme Personality... Striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrāḥ. And another place it is said that Mahābhārata was compiled by Vyāsadeva because the direct Vedic knowledge is not understandable... Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā [SB 1.4.25].

[Out of compassion, the great sage thought it wise that this would enable men to achieve the ultimate goal of life. Thus he compiled the great historical narration called the Mahābhārata for women, laborers and friends of the twice-born.]

Trayī means Vedic literature. They cannot understand. Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnām: women and the śūdras and dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu means born in a brāhmaṅa family, but not qualified as brāhmaṅa. They are called not brāhmaṅa. They are called dvija-bandhu.

So this Mahābhārata was made by Vyāsadeva for these strī-śūdra-divja-bandhūnām. Therefore Mahābhārata is called fifth Vedas. There are four Vedas—Sāma, Yajuḥ, Ṛk, Atharva—and Mahābhārata is the fifth Veda. And the essence of Vedic knowledge is given within the Mahābhārata, this Bhagavad-gītā. So although woman is inferior than the man, still, the Vedic civilization is so perfect that the man, as father, as husband or as son, takes care, full care of the woman. This is Vedic civilization. Therefore it is said that mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā. The son was ready always to see that "Mother is not unhappy. My father has gone away. So she may not feel the absence of my father." This very word is very significant, mātuḥ priya-cikīrṣayā. She was..., He was always ready to take care of the mother. And the best care is to give her knowledge. Because women are supposed to be less intelligent, therefore they should be given knowledge. And they should also follow. They should follow the father's instruction, they should follow the husband's instruction, they should follow grown-up, learned scholar like Kapiladeva. Then their life is perfect. Dependent. Remain dependent.

Tasmin bindu-sarovare avātsīt. They lived there in the Bindu..., on the bank of the Bindu-sarovara lake. Avātsīd bhagavān kapilaḥ. Now, Kapiladeva is Bhagavān. There is another Kapiladeva, Kapila Ṛṣi. He is atheist. But here, this Kapiladeva is authority and Bhagavān, incarnation of Kṛṣṅa, Bhagavān. Most powerful. Bhagavān means most powerful, all-powerful.

aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṅṅāṁ itī bhaga ganā [Viṣṅu Purāṅa 6.5.47]

[Full wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation—these are the six opulences of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.]

Bhagavān, all-powerful means that aiśvaryasya, all opulence, all wealth, all reputation, all knowledge, all beauty, all renunciation. In this way, Bhagavān is opulent. Six opulences. And these six opulences is fully represented in Kṛṣṅa. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is accepted, kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28].

[All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.]

And others, they are expansion or incarnation, viṣṅu-tattva. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the Gosvāmīs, they have analyzed the characteristics of Bhagavān. The first Bhagavān is Lord Brahmā. Lord... Not first... First Bhagavān is Kṛṣṅa, but the Bhagavān realization, the opulences realization, begins from Lord Brahmā. He is jīva-tattva. Jīva-tattva means he's ordinary living being like us. If you become powerful in spiritual strength, then you can also have the post of Lord Brahmā. And better than Lord Brahmā is Lord Śiva. And better than Lord Śiva is Viṣṅu, or Lord Nārāyaṅa. And the best of all of them is Kṛṣṅa, kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. That is the analysis of the Vedic śāstra. So all śāstras accept..., the Brahma-saṁhitā and, I mean to say, other, all śāstras... Kṛṣṅas tu... Even Śaṅkarācārya accepts: sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṅaḥ. Śaṅkarācārya. He, this Māyāvādī philosopher, impersonalist, he also accepts Kṛṣṅa the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And all the ācāryas—Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṅu Svāmī, Nimbārka, and lately, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu—all accept kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam.

So Kapiladeva is incarnation, and He instructed His mother, Devahūti. Therefore to distinguish two Kapilas... One Kapila is the atheist Kapila, and the other Kapila is Bhagavān Kapila. Therefore Bhagavān Kapila is known as Devahūti-putra Kapila. Both of them expounded the Sāṅkhya philosophy, but the atheist Kapila expounded without understanding or without perception or realization of God, and here, Kapiladeva, He's expounding Sāṅkhya philosophy to His mother personally. Just like Kṛṣṅa personally expounded the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, His friend, similarly, Kapiladeva, Bhagavān, He expounded the Sāṅkhya philosophy to His mother, Devahūti, and that we are explaining.

So next verse is:

tam āsīnam akarmāṅaṁ tattva-mārgāgra-darśanam sva-sutaṁ devahūty āha dhātuḥ saṁsmaratī vacaḥ [SB 3.25.6]

So this philosophy, we'll begin from the next verse, and we shall be... [break] ...of understanding Kṛṣṅa. Because Kṛṣṅa and Kṛṣṅa's name is identical... [break] We should always remember this, that you cannot chant and dance with any material name. Because Kṛṣṅa's name is spiritual, He's Kṛṣṅa, therefore if you go on chanting for twenty-four hours, you'll never feel tired. That is the advancement. So, so here, Kapiladeva... This is tattva-jñāna. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā,

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin 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.]

Just like these Māyāvādīs, they cannot understand that this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṅa name is actually getting direct association with Kṛṣṅa. Therefore Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, in Benares, he considered Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as a crazy fellow. Crazy fellow. Why? Now, because He was sannyāsī, and He was not reading Vedānta-sūtra. He was simply chanting and dancing. So some devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very much praised Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at the..., in the presence of Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, and Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī became very angry, "Ah, don't talk of this rascal sannyāsī. He is a sannyāsī, He does not read Vedānta-sūtra, and in sentimental moods He chants and dances. Don't talk about Him. Better don't go there." So that devotee became very sorry, and he arranged a meeting between this Māyāvādī sannyāsī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Then, in the meeting... Caitanya Mahāprabhu was beautiful, very beautiful in His bodily feature. So... It is summary I am speaking. So the Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī inquired from Him that "You are a sannyāsī. You do not engage Yourself in studying Vedānta-sūtra, but in sentiment, with some foolish devotees, You some chant and dance. What is this?" So Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "My dear sir, My Guru Mahārāja saw Me a great fool number one." Guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsana [Cc Ādi 7.71]. "Therefore he has chastised Me." "What is that?" " 'You don't read Vedānta-sūtra. You chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra.' He has ordered Me like that. Because I am a fool, I have no knowledge; therefore he has given Me this engagement, chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa. So I am chanting this Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, and I do not know. I become mad after chanting. And I get..., I feel transcendental pleasure. And sometimes I act like a madman. So My Guru Mahārāja has said that 'You are very fortunate. You are very fortunate.' " Then Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī very mildly said, "It is all right, You are chanting. What is the wrong if You study Vedānta-sūtra?" Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "Vedānta-sūtra We know, but not like you. We know. If you don't mind, then I can explain Vedānta-sūtra." So He explained Vedānta-sūtra that Brahman, Brahman means "the biggest." So Brahman is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṅa, biggest, means He's full of all opulences. That is biggest. He's the richest. He's the wisest. He's the most beautiful. He's most famous. And... In this way He explained that Brahman, the biggest, He cannot be impersonal. He's personal. He gave many instances from Vedic literature. In this way, He convinced that "The way you study Vedānta-sūtra, that is not the proper way. Vedānta-sūtra means to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa."

As Kṛṣṅa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [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.]

By the study of Vedas, if you have attained perfection, then you should know what is Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa also said. Yatatām api siddhānām [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.]

Siddha means those who are liberated. Liberated means who have no more the bodily concept of life. They are called liberated, brahma-bhūta. Prasannātmā. So long one is in the bodily concept of life, he's conditioned. He's conditioned; he's not liberated. And when one understands fully that he's not this body, he's pure soul, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, when he realizes, then that stage is called liberated. So liberated stage is not final. If you simply understand that you are not this body, you are spirit soul, that is not sufficient. You must act as Brahman. You must act as Brahman. Then you will stay.

So,

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.]

So bhakti is attainable for the liberated person. Bhakti is not for the conditioned soul. Bhakti is for person who are already liberated. How it is possible? Yes, it is possible. Kṛṣṅa says,

māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena 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.]

If you engage yourself in devotional service,

śravaṅaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṅoḥ smaraṅaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]

[Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṅu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṅa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.]

Tan manye adhītam uttamam. One who is engaged in these nine different processes of devotional service... The first beginning is śravaṅam, hearing. So under the direction of the spiritual master and the śāstras, immediately he is liberated person. He doesn't require to make separate endeavor for becoming liberated. Because immediately he engages himself in devotional... Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṅa [Bg 14.26]. Avyabhicāreṅa, unfailing. Strictly. Dṛḍha-vrata. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ [Bg 9.14].

[Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.]

Dṛḍha-vrata, firm conviction that "I am engaged in Kṛṣṅa's service. I am now free from all material contamination." Dṛḍha-vrata.

So one has to do it. This is tattva-jñāna. Tattva-jñāna. Here it is said, tattva-mārga-agra-darśanam. This is tattva-jñāna. Of course, as it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11].

[Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.]

The Absolute Truth are differently understood according to the different position of the student. The Absolute Truth... Some of them understand that Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman. And some of them understand the Absolute Truth as localized Paramātmā. And some of them understand the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa, or Viṣṅu. They are not different. Brahman, Paramātmā and the Supreme Personality of Godhead—they are one. They are simply different phases. It is simply angle of vision. Just like a mountain from a very distant place, you'll see just like hazy cloud. And if you come nearer, then you see something green, very high, raised, I mean to say, earth. That is one vision. But you are seeing the mountain. From the distant place you see it is hazy cloud. As you come nearer, you see something green. And if you actually enter the mountain, you'll find there are so many houses, so many trees, so many animals. The vision is the same mountain, but on account of my different position, I see hazy cloud or something green or something animated. But the final stage is the varieties. A mountain, there are so many trees, so many animals, so many men, so many houses—varieties.

So the Absolute Truth is not without varieties. That is spiritual variety. That is not material variety. But the Māyāvādīs, they think that... Because they are seeing the Absolute Truth from distant place, far away, they think that in the Absolute Truth there is no variety. As soon as there are varieties, it is material. That is their misunderstanding. No. The Absolute Truth is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā:

cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.29]

There are, in the spiritual world, there are Vaikuṅṭhalokas. There are inhabitants, the devotees. They're all liberated persons. They're akṣara. They do not fall down. Kṣara, akṣara. We are kṣaras. We have fallen down in this material world. But there are devotees in the spiritual world, in the Vaikuṅṭhaloka, they never come down, never come down in this material world. But they are also persons like us, but eternal persons, with full knowledge and life of blissfulness. That is the difference between them and us.

So that is tattva-jñāna. Unless we understand the varieties of the Absolute Truth, if we simply stick to the indefinite, impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth, then there is chance of falling down. Generally, they fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ [SB 10.2.32].

[[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.]

Because they are not allowed to enter into the Vaikuṅṭha planets, they simply remaining in the Brahman effulgence, and that does not stay. They fall down. Again they come down in these material varieties. We have seen many, many sannyāsīs, they first of all give up... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "The jagat is mithyā." And ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I have no more anything to do. I have become Nārāyaṅa." Then he comes down again to feed the daridra-nārāyaṅa. That's all. He becomes Nārāyaṅa, but he comes to take activities in feeding... But why? It is mithyā. You have already left. Why do you come here again? That means he hasn't got anything. The unnecessary labor... Āruhya kṛcchreṅa. They undergo severe penances and austerities, and they reach up to the impersonal Brahman. But because there is no pleasure...

Suppose if I send you in a nice aeroplane in the sky. There is no varieties. Just like so many aeronautics, they, after flying in the impersonal sky, they become tired. And sometimes they pray to God, "Please let me go back to the land." And I have read in the paper, when the sputnik was carrying the Russian aeronautics, he was simply seeing down, "Where is Moscow?" [laughter] "Where is Moscow?" Because this impersonal traveling was very much agitating, he was finding out, "Where is Moscow?" So this kind of realization of the Absolute Truth will not stay, will have..., we'll have to fall down. Exactly like that. The Russian aeronautics, without getting any shelter in the sky, he was simply hankering after Moscow. That my book, that Easy Journey to Other Planet... One gentleman, he became very much enthusiastic, that "Oh, we can go to the other planet?" And "Yes, you can go. Read this book." "Then I shall come back again?" "And why you shall come back again? You shall remain there." "No, no, no. I don't want that. I don't want that. I shall go and come back."

So this is the, I mean, the mentality. Why this mentality? The mentality is that "Without varieties we cannot enjoy." Variety is the mother of enjoyment. So the impersonal Brahman realization, or Paramātmā realization, does not give us steady ānanda. We want ānanda. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12].

[By nature, the Supreme Lord is blissful.]

The living entity, or Brahman, or Para-brahman... Just like our Kṛṣṅa: He's Para-brahman. He's enjoying ānanda. Similarly, we also, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, mamaivāṁśo jīva... [Bg 15.7], we want ānanda. So ānanda cannot be in impersonalism or voidism. That is not possible. Ānanda means varieties. When you get varieties of foodstuff made of the same ingredient—same, I mean to say, grains or milk and sugar—but we can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparation—at least hundred preparation—and we enjoy: this is peṛā, this is burfī, this is kṣīra, this is rābṛi, this is dahī, and so many things. So variety is required. Variety is required. So therefore the last word of tattva-jñāna is to understand Kṛṣṅa, who is full of variety.

So here Kapiladeva is tattva-mārga, tattva-mārga-agra-pradarśanam. So Kapiladeva is the incarnation of Supreme Personality of Godhead. He would explain to His mother. That we shall read from the next verse, what is tattva and how we can approach the tattva-jñāna and how we can enjoy. Not that simply dry speculation. Dry speculation. One..., that professor who has said that "This Bhaktivedanta's book is not dry speculation. Order all the books made by him." So our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness is not dry speculation. There are varieties, but they are spiritual varieties. People misunderstand that these varieties are material things. They want nirviśeṣa, nirākāra, void. But our philosophy is not voidness. It is full of varieties and full of transcendental bliss.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupada. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]