Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.2 in Bengali
Prabhupāda:
mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam mahāntas te sama-cittāḥ praśāntā vimanyavaḥ suhṛdaḥ sādhavo ye [SB 5.5.2]
[One can attain the path of liberation from material bondage only by rendering service to highly advanced spiritual personalities. These personalities are impersonalists and devotees. Whether one wants to merge into the Lord's existence or wants to associate with the Personality of Godhead, one should render service to the mahātmās. For those who are not interested in such activities, who associate with people fond of women and sex, the path to hell is wide open. The mahātmās are equipoised. They do not see any difference between one living entity and another. They are very peaceful and are fully engaged in devotional service. They are devoid of anger, and they work for the benefit of everyone. They do not behave in any abominable way. Such people are known as mahātmās.]
Yesterday we were discussing about the instructions given by Samrat Rishabhdeva to his sons. Rishabhdeva said that this human form of life is not meant to work hard 24x7 like dogs and donkeys just to earn two pieces of bread or chapattis. But nowadays people are taught to work like labourers only. Its in fashion.
In this context our vedic scriptures says that this type of labour is also done by hogs. Do this labour is the very essence of this very precious human life? Certainly not. Nobody wants to work hard but due to our family affection we work like this. We may see that one can work very hard to earn money and when they are save a good amount of money then the same person is not interested to work hard that much. Then they want to relax peacefully.
So working hard only for the sake of money is not the right gesture. Why we should put our whole energy to something and work hard. We are recommended to work hard for the attainment of spiritual knowledge. We should accept hardships for that. Penance is hard work.
Why Penance to attain God. 'Tapo vidvam' [SB 9.16.8].
[Thereafter, by the benediction of Jamadagni, Lord Paraśurāma's mother and brothers immediately came alive and were very happy, as if awakened from sound sleep. Lord Paraśurāma had killed his relatives in accordance with his father's order because he was fully aware of his father's power, austerity and learning.]
Working hard for a higher and divine purpose, this is vedic civilization. In vedic civilization, from very childhood kids are taught to perform austerities- to become a brahmachari. This is life. After Brahmachari we should become a good householder or Grihastha. Then after a certain age we should leave grihastha ashram and accept Varnprastha and then accept Sanyaasa. This Brahmachari, Grihastha, Vaanprastha and Sanyaasa are the four ashrama and Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudras are the varnas. From this point we can see the beginning of human life.
varṅāśramācāravatā puruṣeṅa paraḥ pumān viṣṅur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṅam [Cc Madhya 8.58]
[The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṅu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṅa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṅas and āśramas.’]
Because every one of us has a goal or purpose and for what we are given this human life. We are all part and parcel of God. We are children of God, we forgot him. We forgot our identity and got stuck into this materially contaminated world and because of that we are working so hard. But this gesture is not correct. So we should return to God, goback to Godhead. We all should live with God.
Like, if a person left his own housefor many years and if he is allowed to stayin foreign or in any unknown place. If we provide him all the luxuries, all the comforts of life then also he is not going to stay happy and peaceful. It will be right forhim to go back to his family and meet his father, mother, family members etc. We forgot about God and as a result we come down to this place.
kṛṣṅa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare [Prema-vivarta]
[When an individual soul forgets his eternal relationship with God and tries to lord it over the material nature or resources, that condition, that forgetful condition, is called māyā, or illusion.]
We are trying to forget Krishna and we are striving for sense gratification in this material world. So, the desire to enjoy, this enjoying mentality is actually an illusion or Maya.
kṛṣṅa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare [Prema-vivarta]
When we forget Krishna and our loving relationship with him and try to enjoy our material existence that is called illusion. To forget Krishna is Maya. We all have heard about Maya. We can find it in this way in our scripture.
nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma [SB 5.5.4]
[When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another.]
Lord Rishabhdeva explains further, those who thinks themselves as material bodies and keep worrying about its maintenance are nothing else but mad. He looses his mental ability through sense gratification. He can fulfill any kind of sinful activity. But there is no pious activity or sinful activity for the animals. Nature has decided definite works for specific animals- they all abides nature and works that way. Like Hogs- in accordance with nature it will eat all waste things. So now we can't demand that we should give him Rasgullas or sweets. This is the rule of nature for it. But at least those who belongs to the human society- they have brains and they can use it to some extent- so he decides to eat both Rasgullas and wastes.
This is the culture we humans are now developing. They don't want to understand that the waste things are for animals and sweets are made for us. They don't have the capacity to think like this- we don't think even once that god has provided us lots of fruits, flowers, milk and numerous milk products so we should not take meat, that is the food for animals. Are we animals or humans? God himself has given rules and regulations for humanity. Lord tells
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati taya bhaktyā upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ [Bg 9.26]
[If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.]
This is human life. When we come to have darshan of the Lord who is seate on a throne, we should not think him as a material made up of stone, metal or wood. No it is his mercy that he made himself available to us in a form of deity and he accept our love in this way. Because he is omnipresent. If God shall be in the sky then how is it going to be easy for us to reach him. Therefore he comes as a form so that we all can serve him. We can wake him up before first light of the day, we can make him wear clothes, we can decorate him with flowers and garlands, we can offer him food which he can accept.
Actually, the supreme being is giving us an opportunity to serve him lovingly. Many insane people keep thinking that what is the need to go to the temple to worship a stone. No, its not like that, God is not a mere stone he is omnipotent, omnipresent. But it is the limitation to human eye that we cannot see anything other than stone, metal or wood that is why divinity comes like this to shower his mercy on us. The real thing is we are not capable to see him as he is. Lord is Sacchidananda Vigraha and the temple deity is also Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs 5.1].
[Kṛṣṅa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.]
It is only the difference of perception. As we may see him, the most merciful Lord will appear exactly like that. We cannot judge God by our material senses. There is one incident that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saw deity of Lord Jaggannatha at the Puri temple, he fainted immediately in love. And we claim that this is not God, this is mere a stone-figure made by any normal sculpturer and see this foolish sanyasi how he fainted! So there is a difference of perception. We are able to see the Lord as our devotion increases. A non- devotee cannot ever have a darshan of Lord.
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.]
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti [Bs 5.38]
[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṅa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.]
Lord dwells in a devotees heart and devotee is the supreme yogi.
Lord Himself says,
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. [Bg 6.47]
[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.]
Therefore, we all should come to temple so that we always find the Lord in our hearts. Those who are beginners in devotional service, those who are not so advanced, should definitely come to temple. It is mandatory, it is a rule.
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.]
As per shastras, how should one come to temple, how one should have darshan of the Lord, someone brings fruit, someone flowers, some plays mridanga, watching their parents children pay obeisances to the deity, some may come to listen Lord's glories, its all will be written in our karma spreadsheet. Though one cannot understand anything but comes to listen katha he becomes purified and pious. One cannot have darshan if he is not pious.
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.]
Devotional service is a pious activity. Infact it is more than piousness. It is of Brahma platform specially the 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti'.
māṁ ca yo '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.]
What we do to envoke this devotion attitude is called Tapasya. If you want to purify your life, for instance if someone caught to have been suffering from malaria and if he wants to be free from the disease. All we have to do is to consult a good doctor & as he prescribe we have to take medicines. We have medicate ourselves regularly. Then the doctor checks us and reveals that now you are free from Malaria. This is Mukti.
Now we all have a fever of enjoying this material world. Karmis, they continuously keep enjoying but when they get tired.
They say Brahmā satyaṁ jagan mithyā.
[The Supreme Brahman is the only truth, and this material world is false.]
They become gyanis. Lord is not present in this bhoga- tyaga. So, the all compassionate. Lord 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.]
We are the one who made this bhoga- tyaga dharma. Perform more & more sacrifices you will go to heaven, do more & more business you will attract a lot of money. This is one kingdom & the another dharma is tyaga Brahmā satyaṁ jagan mithyā. 'Jagat Mithya' so why to work hard, so lets become brahma, lets be one with god. No not with god; one with brahma. Yogi wants siddhi so they will not get god. We can get to see god only in loving devotion.
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.]
What is god, what is my relationship with god and what we have to do according to that relationship and last but not the least what is the very purpose of the human life- all this answers, we are supposed to get only through bhakti/devotion. That's why Rishabhdeva says- tapo vidvam.
My sons , do penances so that you can purify yourselves and can get free from the bondage of life and death. We don.t even understand, we don't even know that we all should stop this continuous process of life and death- this is the real happiness. They think that no one can stop life and death and it is inevitable. Yes, it is definitely possible. Why not. When you are eternal na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20].
[For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.]
Then why should I get indulge into taking birth and suffering from death pain?
These questions should be in your mind. Human beings don't give care to these questions, they consider these questions as unimportant. These people only live for few momets of happiness and sorrow. Cats and Dogs are busy for the temporary pleasure then why god has given you this gift of human life. In human life we should solve the last problem of birth and death cycle. So it is useless to do that much of hard work.
nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam [SB 5.5.1]
[Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.]
What will happen after working so hard for material desires. Is your life going to be pure? No you have to perform austerity/ penance. Everyone in this world strive hard for material things, do everyone becomes rich. No. you will get what you deserve. This is the law of nature. Its not like that if you work hard then you get more things or luxuries. Only intelligent people are capable to understand this. We should be concerned to get connected to the Lord. We have forgotten Lord which is the main reason for our sufferings and we have to suffer. 'Janma Mrityu Jara Vyadhi'. We should get connected to the Lord to get rid of these sufferings. Therefore Lord says,
janma karma [ca] me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ 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.]
Rishabhdeva and Lord Krishna's teachings in Bhagwat Gita compliment each other. Lord's birth and works are divine and transcendental. So reality is Lord comes, He gives us teachings of Bhagwat Gita, then he leaves the book and handover the teachings to a bonafide master and order him to forward his teachings and make, the less intelligent class of people, understand about the instructions of Lord.
Lord says that 'there is no one dearer to me except the one who make understand others, the most confidential knowledge of mine.' It is not right to add rubbish things or personal commentary to the Bhagwat Gita. It is not correct to create a vague concept about it and to wrongly influence the people.
Lord's devotees never motivates such things. Devotees present the Lord's message as it is without any wrong interruption. Lord instructs,
man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te pratijāne priyo 'si me [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.]
A bonafide speaker of Bhagwat Gita will never change the real meaning. He will convey the Lord's message that Lord Krishna is the supreme personality of godhead, every moment think of him, offer prayers to him, pay obeisances unto him, become his devotee- all these is to be taught by the guru or spiritual master. It is not right to teach anything else in the name of Bhagwat Gita. Preaching Lord's message is to mean as it is not as anyone wish.
'Paramam Guhyam'- this is the most confidential knowledge not to be understood by the less intelligent people but if we study sincerely then by Krishna's grace we can understand to some extent. But the one who make interpretation of Bhagwat Gita divert their minds from the pure devotional content.
Sarva-dharmān parityajya [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 most confidential knowledge of this sacred text. So, let us come to the point- how to perform austerity? Where is the very beginning of this process? 'Mahatseva'- By serving the Mahatmas our ascetic practices begins. Who is a genuine great personality or a Mahatma?
mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam [Bg 9.13]
[O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.]
This is a real quality of a mahatma. Those who doesn't glorify Lord can never be called a mahatma. We cannot be benefitted by going to these mahatmas. Those who have taken shelter of Lord's spiritual energy are actual mahatmas. This world is under Lord's material energy.
apareyam itas tv anyāṁ prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām jīva-bhūtaṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat [Bg 7.5]
[Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.]
'Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.'
So. One more energy is there, the Jiva or the living entity. The Jiva accept material body and support and carry the material energy of the Lord. Jivas are made up of elements of material nature, 'bhumi davanal vaayu', who is bearing this body, we are inside it. We are the one who is moving it from one place to another. When we leave this body only dust remains nothing else. So the individuals are so less aware that we try to make this body look attractive but who is the one who is actually there in the body. We should try to understand this.
When a individual leaves his body, his relatives shed tears in distress an pain, where is my father? Where is my husband? But the body is there lying on the death bed then what is the reason to cry. But they never pay attention to the real self or the soul. Gaining this knowledge is the necessity of life. Krishna is the supreme Lord and Lord Rishabhdeva is one incarnation of the supreme Lord. There is absolutely no difference in there teachings. Krishna never said that you are gross subtle body. The one who consider himself as the body is actually a donkey not a human being. How he can attain spiritual wisdom?
Henceforth, the first teaching of Krishna in the Bhagwat Gita to Arjuna was you are not this body, you are a pure soul.
dehino 'smin yathā dehe [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.]
Don't think that you are this body, you are inside this body. Thence, he says that, 'Mahatseva' or to serve great personage in order to get the knowledge of self. If you really a spiritual knowledge seeker you should accept and give yourself upto a Spiritual Master serve him and then you should inquire- 'tad vigyan artham' Who is a spiritual master?
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair
[The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord, because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Śrī Hari [Kṛṣṅa]]
What is the duty of the spiritual master? The spiritual master instructs his diciples to conduct their service towards the lotus feet of the Lord. It is repeatedly being orated in every sacred text that God is the master Lord and Guru is the servant Lord.
Lord is present in his deity forms and who are elevated in devotion descends in this world as Guru or Preceptor. We are blessed that Lord is so sympathetic and merciful towards us. It is mentioned in Chaitanya Charitamrita that do the representative of Lord claims himself as god. The answer is no. At all times he thinks of himself as Lord's servant. But a fake hollowly guru flaunts that because it is there in the sashtra that one should worship his spiritual master as God.He will deliver the thoughts to everyone that the Krishna of dwapara yuga had died now I am Krishna. Is this a Guru? He is a fool.
Mahatma is not a title to give someone. Mahatma is the one who accepted the lordship of spiritual potency of the Lord and materialistic is subservient to Lord's material potency. Lord's potency is one not two but they are divided into two department. Like in our government we have two departments- University department and Police department. Police department is for condemning the wrong doers and University department is for educating the gentleman and responsible citizen of the country. The intelligent class of people take shelter of the university and the defalcators chooses police and punishment. So the actual mahatma take shelter of Radharani- 'Jaya Radhe' and the crooks take shelter of Durga Maayi and ask for many many things.
rūpam dehi jayam dehi yaśo dehi dviṣo jahi
Durga Devi gives them everything. Then he becomes a demon and do not listen to God's instructions. The one who do not obey Lord will be condemned by Durga Devi because she is Lord's energy. You will be berated by Police till you don't become a good man and follow the laws of country. When you become a responsible citizen then police will cause you no harm.Because, human life is meant for austerity and penance. That is the way of vedic civilization. [end]
