Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.26

Anantarām Śāstrījī: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [chants verse; Prabhupāda and devotees respond] [break]

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṅa: [chants synonyms; Prabhupāda and devotees respond] [break]

[04:02]

Translation: "O my Lord, the Supreme, what is my position because I am born in a family which is full with the modes of the hellish material qualities of passion and ignorance? And what to speak of Your causeless mercy, which was never offered to even Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva and the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī, because You never put Your lotus hand upon their heads, but You have done so on my head."

Prabhupāda:

kvāhaṁ rajaḥ-prabhava īśa tamo 'dhike 'smin jātaḥ suretara-kule kva tavānukampā na brahmaṅo na tu bhavasya na vai ramāyā yan me 'rpitaḥ śirasi padma-karaḥ prasādaḥ [SB 7.9.26]

This is the position. Prahlāda Mahārāja, humbly submitting, because he is Vaiṣṅava, that "What is my position? My position is that I am born of rajas-tamo-guṅa." This birth takes place according to quality we acquire. Just like I was rebuking that toilet. This is so nasty, tamo-guṅa, and if I have no response to such tamo-guṅa place, that means I am also of that quality. Just like fire and fire, there is no reaction, but in fire and water there is reaction. Between fire and fire there is no reaction, but fire and water there is reaction. Similarly, sattva-guṅa–sattva-guṅa, there is no reaction. Tamo-guṅa–tamo-guṅa there is no reaction. It is... In English it is called incompatible. When different qualities, there is reaction, chemical reaction, acid and alkaline. Acid and acid, you mix; there is no reaction. But acid and alkaline, if you mix, there will be effervescence immediately. So kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu [Bg 13.22]. If one is developing tamo-guṅa, then if he becomes..., he becomes a pig next life, there is no reaction. He'll be very glad that "I am pig," "I am dog." There is no reaction. But if one is sattva-guṅa, then he cannot tolerate. Immediately obnoxious: "Oh, such a nasty condition." So I am very sorry there was no reaction in such nasty toilet room. And you are getting sacred thread, the quality of brāhmaṅa, sattva-guṅa. It is very regrettable. Nobody reacted.

So this is the position, that unless we...

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati [SB 1.2.19]

[As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.]

We have to curb down these rago-guṅa, tamo-guṅa; otherwise there is no improvement. If a person in Kṛṣṅa consciousness is found no reaction in rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa, then he's a dull stone. It is not improving. It is simply showbottle. So showbottle will not act. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ. This prescription is there. If one develops Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then it is to be understood that he has surpassed sattva-guṅa, the brahminical qualification. Why we offer sacred thread to a person who is coming from very, very low family? Because it is to be understood by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, by following the regulative principle, he has already come to the platform of sattva-guṅa. But if it is a false thing, there is no need of second initiation. There must be. One must come. This our process is "Don't do this. Do this." Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra sixteen rounds, and don't do this—no illicit sex, no meat-eating. That means he's becoming purified. He's becoming purified from the rotten condition of rajo-guṅa and tamo-guṅa. But if he does not, then there should be no second initiation. This should be the rule.

So, so Prahlāda Mahārāja is claiming. He's not neither in rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa, sattva-guṅa. He's Vaiṣṅava; he's transcendental. 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.]

He's on the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, on the spiritual platform. Otherwise how Kṛṣṅa touching? Kṛṣṅa is paraṁ-pavitraḥ. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg 10.12].

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

He cannot touch a rajas-tamas-bhava. No. That is not possible. When Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva touched his head, either by His touching he's already purified, or because he's purified, therefore Lord touched his head. This is the conclusion. So he is purified, but as a Vaiṣṅava he is placing himself in the platform of rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ [SB 1.2.19].

[As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature's modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.]

The whole world, at least in this age, Kali-yuga, these two qualities, mostly tamo-guṅa, and little rajo-guṅa, that's all, but no sattva-guṅa. No sattva-guṅa. Therefore people cannot understand what is Kṛṣṅa consciousness. They cannot understand. Rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ, ceta etair anāviddha. Therefore we have to purify ourself. The prescription is there, very simple thing, to become purified: śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17].

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

If we simply recite all these mantras... The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, all these ślokas, they're all mantras, just like as good as Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra. There is no difference. So if we hear... That is the prescription given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and we are trying to introduce this. Our so many centers, we are inviting people in so many ways so that they can hear. This class is meant for that. It is not that everyone will understand each word, but simply if he hears, it will be beneficial, the mantra. Simply if one hears Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra chanting, he'll be purified. If he hears this mantra, a verse from Bhagavad-gītā, a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, attentively, even he does not understand the meaning, the purport, still, he'll get benefit. That is the way. So we must hear.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is saying, rajaḥ-prabhava: "My dear Lord, Īśa, my this body, I have got this body from father and mother. They belong to the low-grade family." Suretara. Sura itara. Sura means high-class family, demigods, brāhmaṅa. That is called sura. And itara means low grade. So suretara-kule: "Because I am born..." Because everything is being done very perfectly by the laws of 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.]

Prakṛti, nature, is working. If you develop a kind of quality... There are three kinds, three qualities: sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. So if you develop sattva-guṅa, then your body gradually will be sattva-guṅa-ized. Sattva-guṅa, the goodness... The body will be purified and become good. Good, bad, and via media—three kinds. So that is the process. Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement means everything is being gradually developed into goodness. And at last, to surpass goodness... Here in this material world the goodness may be contaminated with the other qualities, but in the spiritual world it is so good, it is called śuddha-sattva. There is no contamination. There is no tinge of rajo-guṅa and tamo-guṅa. That is spiritual quality.

So Kṛṣṅa consciousness can be possible in perfectness when we are above the quality of goodness. Above. 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.]

One who has surpassed the three qualities and has come to the spiritual platform, then it is called cinmaya. Cit means spiritual, and maya... These word, mayāt-pratyaya, these are used when it is in great extent, in large quality. That is mayāt. And vikārāt. Vikāra means transformed. Just like gold: pure gold, you transform into a finger ring—this is also gold. This is called vikārārthe. Gold has become now a ring. And another meaning is that suppose it is made of iron or other base metal, but it is covered with gold, large quantity. That is called adhikārthe because a quantity of gold is there. That is not all gold, but there is gold, covered. So in two meanings, the mayāt-pratyaya is there. So similarly, cinmaya. Cinmaya means if you cultivate spiritual knowledge in large quantity, then your body is no more material. It is spiritualized. Cinmaya. Therefore great saintly person's body, after demise it is not burned; it is buried, samādhi, because it is cinmaya. So adikārthe, mayāt-pratyaya and vikārārthe. So a Vaiṣṅava, his body is cinmaya, is cinmaya body.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "My body is in large quantity this rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. So it is not possible for me to approach You, my Lord. Because You are śuddha-sattva and I am in the material contamination, how it is possible that You shall touch my head? It is simply Your causeless mercy." This is appreciation. "Otherwise how it is possible? You cannot touch this nasty quality of rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. My body is made by my father and mother. They belong to the nasty rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa quality. So it is not possible that You'll touch my body, but You have done it. You have placed Your lotus hand on my head. It is simply Your causeless mercy. Otherwise I am not fit for this. So, and I... You are so merciful that this mercy You did not offer to Lord Brahmā even." Brahmā is supposed to be the supreme creature within this material world, Brahmā. He's the first created creature, and he's called Svayambhū. He's not born of any material father and mother but directly came through the lotus stem which is growing from the navel of Viṣṅu. So he's not ordinary person. He's not ordinary person. He's not... Therefore he's known as Svayambhū. We are not svayambhū. We are begotten by father and grown up by mother. We are not self-sufficient. But Brahmā is called Svayambhū because he is not born of any material father and mother. So "He did not get this mercy. Although Brahmā's position is so exalted, still, my Lord, he did not get this opportunity."

Na brahmaṅo na tu bhavasya. Bhava means Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva's position is also very exalted, more than Brahmā. Lord Śiva is in between Lord Viṣṅu and living entity. We are living entity. So Lord Śiva is not ordinary living entity. Brahmā is ordinary living entity, but very pious, exalted. But Lord Śiva is more than Brahmā. "So he also could not get this mercy." Na vai ramāyā. Ramāyā means Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune. He always remains with Nārāyaṅa. She is not... She's... Her position is more than Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva. She is Nārāyaṅa in a different energy only. Rādhā-kṛṣṅa-praṅaya-vikṛtir āhlādini śaktiḥ [Cc Ādi 1.5] She is the manifestation of the pleasure potency of the Lord. The Lord has got unlimited potencies, parasya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate [Cc Madhya 13.65, purport]. So one of the potency is Rādhārāṅī, or Lakṣmī, or Sītā. They are equal. There is no difference. Rādhā-kṛṣṅa-praṅaya-vikṛtir āhlādini-śaktir asmāt. These loving affairs between Rādhārāṅī and Kṛṣṅa or Nārāyaṅa and Lakṣmī or Sītā and Rāma, they are both of them the same. One is potency; another is potent. That is the difference: potent and potency. So "Such Ramā, the goddess of fortune, she also could not get this compassionate mercy or causeless mercy." So he's feeling proud, that "You are so affectionate to Your devotee." Therefore Lord's name is bhakta-vatsala. He can offer to His bhakta any position, more than Himself. Just like Mother Yaśodā. She is bhakta, and Lord has given her the position for punishing Him. Mother Yaśodā is threatening Kṛṣṅa, that "Kṛṣṅa, You were very naughty. Now I shall bind You." So Kṛṣṅa, out of being afraid, was crying. So Kṛṣṅa has given the position to the bhakta that "You chastise Me; I'll accept it." This is bhakta's position. This is Kṛṣṅa's causeless mercy. He can do that.

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is appreciating that "I am worthless. I have no qualification." That should be the position of the bhaktas always. Never we should think that "I have become a big bhakta." No. Caitanya-caritāmṛta author says humbly, puriṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha [Cc Ādi 5.205]: "I am lower than the worm in the stool." Does it mean that he is actually? No. But he's feeling like that. An advanced devotee, they're always so humble and meek, they always think of himself as worthless. And still, the Lord is so kind and favorable. That is His causeless mercy, that "I am not qualified. I am not worthy of this facility." This is the humbleness. Kvāhaṁ rajaḥ-prabhava īśa tamo 'dhike 'smin. "Not only I am influenced by rajo-guṅa, but mostly, seventy-five percent, I am infested with tamo-guṅa." Adhika. Akhika means "in larger quantity." And there is no question of sattva-guṅa. Adhika 'smin jātaḥ sure... "Otherwise, why I am born in this family?" That is the test. Now they are... By force they are trying to be equal. Of course, in this age everyone is śūdra. That is an... Otherwise, lowborn means this differentiation of different low qualities. By nature it will give. I have several times explained that as you infect a certain type of contaminous disease, you get that; you suffer from that. So the brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, then antaja[?], caṅḍāla, mean, so many, Kirāta, Hūṅa, Pulinda, Pulkaśā, Abhīra, Śumbha, Yavana—so many, low-grade, low-grade, low-grade, low-grade, low-grade. Then why this low-grade birth? That is due to this kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya [Bg 13.22]. In the Bhagavad-gītā it says. It is due to our association with low-grade qualities.

Therefore the human life should be very cautious that we may not be contaminated by low-grade qualities. There are so many rules and regulations, but it is very, very difficult to follow. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended, just to remain purified, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa." Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam, kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva [Cc Ādi 17.21].

[In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.]

You cannot... Otherwise you cannot purify. So kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Cc Ādi 17.31].

[One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.]

We should always chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra. Then we'll gradually be spiritualized, cinmaya, spiritualized. Then our life will be successful.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]