Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.14

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] Sixth Canto, Second Chapter, verse number fourteen. [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā stobhaṁ helanam eva vā vaikuṅṭha-nāma-grahaṅam aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ [SB 6.2.14]

[break] [02:18]

Prabhupāda: All right. Sāṅketyam, "indication."

sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā stobhaṁ helanam eva vā vaikuṅṭha-nāma-grahaṅam aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ [SB 6.2.14]

Everyone should know, viduḥ. Generally we do not know what is the power of vaikuṅṭha-nāma.

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṅe na kālaḥ etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ [Cc Antya 20.16, Śikṣāṣṭaka 2]

[My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as “Kṛṣṅa” and “Govinda,” by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.]

Caitanya Mahāprabhu regretted that the holy name of Kṛṣṅa is so powerful that all the potencies or all the energies in the Absolute Person, the same thing you'll find in His name, in His form, but these things are not understood by less intelligent class of men. To understand these things means to know Kṛṣṅa in truth.

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ 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.]

This is tattva, truth, that Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Person, His holy name, His form, His attributes, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, His dhāma... Just like we are in Vṛndāvana-dhāma. So why Vṛndāvana-dhāma is worshiped? Because the Vṛndāvana-dhāma is not different from Kṛṣṅa. When you take little dust of Vṛndāvana-dhāma and take it, that means you are taking the dust of Kṛṣṅa's lotus feet, and you take it. Vṛndāvana-dhāma, so important.

So Vṛndāvana-dhāma, ordinary man cannot see. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says,

rūpa-raghunātha-pade haibe ākuti kabe hāma bujhabo śrī yugala-pīriti

[When shall I be very much eager to study the books left by the Six Gosvāmīs? One has to learn of the conjugal loving affairs of Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa through the teachings of these Six Gosvamīs.]

viṣaya chādiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana kabe hāma herabo śrī-vṛndāvana

Vṛndāvana, if you come from anywhere by the train and aeroplane and see Vṛndāvana, that is not seeing Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana-seeing means,

viṣaya chādiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana kabe hāma herabo śrī-vṛndāvana

When we shall be free from viṣaya... Viṣaya means āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam [Hitopadeśa 25].

[Both animals and men share the activities of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. But the special property of the humans is that they are able to engage in spiritual life. Therefore without spiritual life, humans are on the level of animals.]

So who can give up viṣaya unless it is a great devotee? Others cannot. Viṣaya, it is very difficult. But if one is advanced devotee—paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg 2.59],

[The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.]

they can give up. So if you come to Vṛndāvana and arrange for a viṣaya-bhoga—āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam—then Vṛndāvana is far away. Viṣaya chādiyā. The whole Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is on the basis of viṣaya chādiyā. And Śrī Locana dāsa Ṭhākura also sings, viṣaya chādiyā se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari. Viṣaya chādiyā. If... Of course, in the beginning it is not possible, but the ultimate goal of life is to give up viṣaya—no more āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna [Hitopadeśa 25].

[Both animals and men share the activities of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. But the special property of the humans is that they are able to engage in spiritual life. Therefore without spiritual life, humans are on the level of animals.]

That is called viṣaya chādiyā.

Just like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī did. He came here, lived in Vṛndāvana. He was a very, very rich man's son. Five hundred years ago his father's income was twelve lakhs of rupees. Now it may be crores of rupees. Five hundred years... He was such a rich man's son. And very beautiful wife. Because Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was restless, he was always trying to go with Caitanya Mahāprabhu, so his father and uncle—he was the only son of these two brothers—so they thought that "This boy is very restless. He wants to go away with Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Let him have a very nice, beautiful wife and he'll be attracted." But he was not attracted. He was not even going inside the house. He was lying down outside the house, young man. He had no taste for viṣaya. Viṣaya chādiyā. Therefore later on he became Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Formerly he was simply Raghunātha, and when he joined Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then he became Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

So he was eating... He was living in Rādhā-kuṅḍa, you know, all vṛndāvana-vāsīs. He was eating every alternate days a little butter. That's all. So āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna.

Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. This is... The more you have become free from nidrā, means sleeping; āhāra, eating; and vihāra, sex; and... Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi. And so far bhaya, a devotee is not fearful of anything.

nārāyaṅa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣu... narakeṣu api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ [SB 6.17.28]

[Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṅa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.]

A devotee is not interested whether he is going to hell or heaven. Everything is, for him... He knows hell is also kingdom of God and heaven is also kingdom of God. There... A devotee's kingdom of God means where he gets the chance of serving the Lord. That is wanted.

So sāṅketyam. Therefore in the Hindu families they keep the name of the children with the God's name. Just like this Ajāmila, although he was a very, very sinful man, still, because the culture was there, he kept his son's name Nārāyaṅa. He did not lose the culture, although he was so much sinful. The culture is so important. Still in India, as there is very, very good propaganda to make the people godless atheist, still, you see, find, in Vṛndāvana thousands and lakhs of people are coming. It is their birthright. Not only in Vṛndāvana; we have seen wherever we held that Hare Kṛṣṅa festival, thousands of men were coming, even the so-called educated. When we held that ceremony in Delhi, L.I.C. Ground, many, many secretaries, officers, they came, and they were dancing with their hat-coat-pant. So it is so nice. So some way or other, if you be in touch with this Hare Kṛṣṅa movement, then your life is successful.

Sāṅketyam. You keep your children's name just like he kept, "Nārāyaṅa." He actually became delivered because he kept his son's name Nārāyaṅa. Sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyam. Joking. Sometimes they joke: "Oh, these people are chanting 'Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa,' " and they joke also, "Hare Kṛṣṅa!" sometimes seriously, sometimes joking. So joking, they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa—that is taken to their credit, although he is joking; he is not serious. Sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ stobham. Sometimes we make fun. To complete one sentence sometimes we, "Hari," "Kṛṣṅa," we add it. So that is also accepted. And then helanam eva vā. Helanam eva vā. Just like sometimes in the Western countries there is propaganda, as it was in Germany. Now they are going in Japan: "These Hare Kṛṣṅa people are very bad." But he's chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa. While saying that "Hare Kṛṣṅa people are very bad," but the "Hare Kṛṣṅa" is chanted. The helanam eva vā. And that is going to their credit. Although they are going to say... Just like "Rāma chor nāhe," and somebody heard, "Nāhe Rāma chor." So "Rāma chor," but because he uttered the name Rāma, even he says, "Rāma chor," he gets the benefit. Sometimes they joke, "Kṛṣṅa is Mākhanchor." So he is accusing "chor," but because he is chanting "Kṛṣṅa" he is getting the benefit.

So some way or other... Yena tena prakāreṅa manaḥ kṛṣṅe niveśayet [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.4]. This is the process. Somehow or other, you engage your mind in Kṛṣṅa. Yena tena prakāreṅa. Without any regulative principle? Yes. Sarve vidhi-niveṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ. If you some way or other think of Kṛṣṅa, then the vidhi-niṣedhā, vidhi-niṣedhā, regulative principle and forbidden things... Just like we have got our regulative principle that "Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra at least sixteen rounds." This is called vidhi. And niṣedhā: "Don't have illicit sex, don't eat meat, don't have intoxication, don't indulge in gambling." These are niṣedhā. So sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ. As soon as you go on chanting the holy name of the Lord, vidhi, sixteen round, this niṣedhā will automatically follow. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṅais tatra samāsate surāḥ [SB 5.18.12].

[All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord's external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?]

This is the process.

śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṅi vidhunoti suhṛt-satām [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.]

This is the process. Somehow or other, yena tena prakāreṅa, you think of Kṛṣṅa, you chant Kṛṣṅa's name, you just offer your obeisances, and...

This temple is here. There are many temples. What is the process? Process... If somebody comes here, he immediately think of Kṛṣṅa. By seeing Kṛṣṅa's Deity... Kṛṣṅa's Deity and Kṛṣṅa is not different. So even if he thinks that it is some stone Deity, but Kṛṣṅa's stone Deity... Therefore "Kṛṣṅa's," he says—that will benefit him. Some way or other, he is chanting "Kṛṣṅa." "Kṛṣṅa and Balarāma is very nice in this temple." So that "Kṛṣṅa" and seeing Kṛṣṅa, thinking of Kṛṣṅa, chanting Kṛṣṅa... Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī [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.]

And if you worship Kṛṣṅa, offer ārātika, bhoga, decorate with flowers: śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan mandira-mār...** Even you wash this temple, you get the benefit. Somehow or other be in touch with this temple, with the holy name, with the Vaiṣṅava. In this way, by constant association—saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ—by association of devotees, you become a Kṛṣṅa devotee.

Actually it is happening. In your country, the Europeans and Americans, say, ten years before the beginning of this movement, you did not know Kṛṣṅa, every one of you. That's a fact. How you are now mad after Kṛṣṅa? It is simply because by association. So association is so important thing. You boys and girls in your country, you were so luxuriously living. Why you have left everything and you are after a beggar sannyāsī? It is the association. The association is so strong. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says,

tāṅdera caraṅa-sevi-bhakta-sane vās janame janame mor ei abhilāṣ

"Let me engage myself in the service of the Gosvāmīs and associate with the devotees. I do not want anything." Janame janame mor ei abhilāṣ. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that kīṭa-janma hau, jathā tuwā dās. This association. "Let me become a worm—not a devotee, even worm." Kīṭa. Kīṭa means worm, insignificant ant, worm. "Better to remain as an ant with the association of devotees than to become a Brahmā without any devotee's association." Brahmā-janme nāhi mora āś. Bahir-mukha brahmā-janme, nāhi mora āś, kīṭa janma hau, jathā tuwā dās. This is Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's hankering. So some way or other, we are propagating this association, Kṛṣṅa consciousness, International Society for Kṛṣṅa Consciousness. Why? Why we are establishing so many centers? Just to give the people in general the chance of association. It is very important thing, association. Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ.

So either kāma or lobha or bhaya or enviousness, some way or other connect with Kṛṣṅa. Just like the gopīs. The gopīs, they liked Kṛṣṅa. They did not know that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Lord. They did not know. They liked Kṛṣṅa. He was a very funny boy, young boy, very beautiful, and these girls were attracted. They went to Kātyāyanī: "Mother Kātyāyanī, please give Kṛṣṅa as our husband." Their only prayer was that. They did not go to Kātyāyanī for begging dhanaṁ dehi, rūpaṁ dehi, yaśo dehi—no. "Give me Kṛṣṅa. Give me Kṛṣṅa." So there is no harm to worship the deity, I mean to say, other demigods. But that is not possible for anyone. That was possible only for the gopīs, because they did not know anything except Kṛṣṅa. Wherever they go, they want Kṛṣṅa.

But we worship demigods not for Kṛṣṅa—for my sense gratification. Kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñāna yajanty anya-devatāḥ [Bg 7.20]. When we worship any other demigods... Just like you worship Gaṅeśa for siddhi, ṛddhi-siddhi. You will find in mercantile shop, namo gaṅeśāya namaḥ ṛddhi-siddhi kurdan mile[?]. So similarly, we worship Goddess Durgā for beautiful wife. These are prescribed in the śāstras, that "If you want this, then you worship this deity. If you want this, then you worship this deity." So different worshipers of demigods, they are meant for satisfying the senses. But Kṛṣṅa is not that. You cannot satisfy your senses by worshiping Kṛṣṅa. That is not possible. Kṛṣṅa is not order-supplier: "My dear Kṛṣṅa, please give me this. Then I shall worship You." Kṛṣṅa does not accept such worship. Kṛṣṅa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅam [Bg 18.66]: "You first of all surrender to Me. I am not your order-supplier." This is Kṛṣṅa's worship. So those who are not taking Kṛṣṅa as order-supplier, those who are accepting Kṛṣṅa as order-carrier, he will be successful. Otherwise, it will take time. Don't take Kṛṣṅa as your order-carrier..., order-supplier. You become. Hṛṣīkena-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.]

Bhakti means when you engage your senses for satisfaction of Kṛṣṅa. That is bhakti. And if you take Kṛṣṅa for satisfying your senses, just like you worship other demigod, that is not bhakti. That is not bhakti.

So helanam eva vaikuṅṭha-nāma-grahaṅaṁ aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ. So some way or other, if we are engaged in chanting the vaikuṅṭha-nāma... Vaikuṅṭha-nāma. Vaikuṅṭha is Kṛṣṅa, or Viṣṅu. Vigata-kuṅṭhād yasmād iti vaikuṅṭha. Here in the material world you are always filled up with kuṅṭha, anxieties. And if you go to Viṣṅu or Kṛṣṅa, then there is no more kuṅṭha—full freedom, without anxiety. Because even if you realize yourself that you are part and parcel of Para-brahman, when you realize Brahman yourself, not this body, immediately you become jolly. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [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.]

There are many sannyāsīs who are brahmavādī. So as soon as they feel "Ahaṁ brahmāsmi," they are no more in anxiety of this material world. And if you increase that—Brahman, Paramātmā, Bhagavān... That simple Brahman realization, it is knowledge that "I am not this, but I am that." Neti.

But that knowledge will not be sufficient. You have to make progress further, because we are by nature ānandamāya. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. Our nature is to search after ānanda. So simply Brahman realization will not give you ānanda. Therefore we see sometimes big, big sannyāsīs, they gave up this world as brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, but because they could not get ānanda, they come down again. Again they become busy in opening hospital and school and philanthropic work, politics, because they could not get ānanda. That is the defect of the impersonalist. They can simply understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am not this body. I am not matter. I am spirit." But that much understanding will not help. It may be helpful for some time, but because he is bereft of ānanda, he will fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta 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.]

Ānanda you cannot get without being a servant of the Supreme Lord. That is ānanda, reciprocation. That is Vṛndāvana. There is ānanda, cinmāya, ānanda, because everyone is engaged in the service of Kṛṣṅa. The cowherd boys, the calves, the cows, the birds, the beasts, the trees, the water, the father, mother, playmates—everyone—Kṛṣṅa is the center. That is ānanda. And if you make Kṛṣṅa minus, then there is no ānanda. You may be Brahman realized, you may be seeing the Paramātmā, but there is no ānanda.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. Haribol. [end]