Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.35

Anantarām Śāstrījī: [chants mantras] Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [chants verse; Prabhupāda and devotees respond] 9.35, 7.9.35 [break]

sa tv ātma-yonir ativismita āśrito 'bjaṁ kālena tīvra-tapasā pariśuddha-bhāvaḥ tvām ātmanīśa bhuvi gandham ivātisūkṣmaṁ bhūtendriyāśayamaye vitataṁ dadarśa [SB 7.9.35]

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṅa: [chants synonyms; devotees respond]

[05:14]

Translation: "Lord Brahmā, who is celebrated as ātma-yoni, 'born without any mother,' became struck with wonder and could see only the lotus flower on which he was sitting. Thus, undergoing severe austerities for many hundreds of years, he became purified. At that time he could see in his own body the cause of all causes. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is spread all over his body and senses."

Prabhupāda:

sa tv ātma-yonir ativismita āśrito 'bjaṁ kālena tīvra-tapasā pariśuddha-bhāvaḥ tvām ātmanīśa bhuvi gandham ivātisūkṣmaṁ bhūtendriyāśayamaye vitataṁ dadarśa [SB 7.9.35]

So dadarśa means "he saw." This seeing, this is impersonal seeing how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everything. Although he is born directly from the Supreme Lord, Viṣṅu, still, he could not see the Lord. Sa tv ātma-yonir ativismita. Suppose all of a sudden you are sleeping and you are put into a place where nobody else there—you are simply there and everything, it is dark—how much perplexed you would be. So the Brahmā's position was like that. After each millennium, Brahmā's death, and then again birth. Our birth and death is going on, the same process. We are in the womb of the mother, and all of a sudden we come out, we see light, began to cry, and the relatives take care of us and we forget everything, in how much precarious condition I was before my birth.

So those who are ordinarily sinful, they can at least see the light once, but those who are very severely sinful, they're killed within the womb. They cannot see even the light coming out. There are so many cases now, it is very..., that so many children, before coming out of the womb of the mother and before seeing the light of the sun, they are killed. And after killing, after being killed, the body is finished. Then he has to be put another body. Then enters another mother's body. Again the body is developed, and again he is killed. Just imagine. This... Because if... "Tit for tat." If I kill a child in the womb—"Now I am very much proud of my scientific advancement"—then I am have to be killed in my birth. That's all. You cannot avoid this nature's law. Daivī hy eṣā guṅamayī mama māyā duratyayā [Bg 7.14].

[This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.]

There is very, very sūkṣma. The word is used sūkṣma, very, very fine laws. Who can see it? Ātma-yoni, so he's also not free. Although he is Lord Brahmā, he's also not free. He's perplexed: "Wherefrom I came? What is the source of my birth in darkness?" He could see only the lotus flower on which he was sitting, nothing else. Exactly our position... Just like so many scientists, they think that this world is everything, and other planets and worlds, there is no life. Only because he is there, there is life. This is the modern presentation.

But that is not the fact. There are many, many millions and trillions of planets. Everywhere there is life. Even in the sun planet there is life. We see it is fiery. If there is no life, then where is the opportunity of Kṛṣṅa's speaking, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam [Bg 4.1]:

[The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.]

"I spoke first of all this science to Vivasvān"? Vivasvān manave prāha...

[break] "First of all I spoke this science to the sun-god, the chief person in the sun planet." So we cannot accept the so-called scientists' version that there is no life in the sun planet. Everywhere there is: sun planet, moon planet, every... In the moon planet al...

[break] ...arhad yad brahmaṅo viduḥ [Bg 8.17].

[By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahmā's one day. And such also is the duration of his night.]

So many millions of years is equal to twelve hours... [break] Lord Brahmā had to undergo austerity for hundreds of years of his calculation. So not our hundreds of years. Our hundreds of years may be Brahmā's a few hours only. Law of relativity.

So Brahmā, even though he is directly born of Viṣṅu, he's not ordinary living be... He's also a living entity like us, but very, very pious. Just like here somebody is very rich, very influential, very beautiful, very learned. These are the results of pious activities, janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī [SB 1.8.26].

[My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted, because one who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot address You with sincere feeling.]

If you are pious, then you get good opportunity of taking your birth in good family, aristocratic family, brāhmaṅa family, like that. You become beautiful, become educated. So Brahmā is also a similar living entity, but he's very, very pious. Very, very pious. And Brahmā... Brahmā's post is so exalted that when there is no living entity available, then Lord Viṣṅu Himself becomes Brahmā, the post is so important. My point is that although he's so pious, greatly exalted, still, he had to purify himself.

Here it is said, kālena tīvra-tapasā pariśuddha-bhāvaḥ. Pariśuddha-bhāvaḥ. To become purified of the material contamination is not so easy. So you should always remember that the purificatory process which has been prescribed to you, how rigidly you have to follow. If you are neglectful, then you are losing the chance, because you... Try to understand. This material world is so contaminous that even Lord Brahmā had to purify himself by austerities for many hundreds of years. I'm just trying to bring this point, how Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so kind that for purification of Brahmā's body he had to take so many years under severe austerity, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu, because we are so much fallen, not to compare with Brahmā—very, very fallen—still, He gives us a little formula:

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā [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.]

This much tapasya. So if somebody says that "Lord Caitanya gave us, certainly, but what is the proof that we are being purified?" No, there is proof. "Where?" It is stated in the śāstra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whatever He says, that is law. Still He does not act in that way. He gives reference to the śāstras. This is mentioned in the śāstra.

In the Bhāgavata also it is mentioned, kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet [SB 12.3.51].

[My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.]

Caitanya Mahāprabhu never said... Even Kṛṣṅa does not say unauthoritatively. He gives reference to the śāstras. Kṛṣṅa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, although He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead, brahma-sūtra-padaiś caiva hetumadbhir viniścitaṁ. Brahma-sūtra, Vedānta-sūtra—He's giving reference. So don't talk anything which is not authorized in the statement of śāstra. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this movement, Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, Hare Kṛṣṅa movement, has given us, not whimsically, although He can give any law; He is the Supreme Lord. Dharmaṁ tu sakṣad bhagavat-praṅītam [SB 6.3.19].

[Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although fully situated in the mode of goodness, even the great ṛṣis who occupy the topmost planets cannot ascertain the real religious principles, nor can the demigods or the leaders of Siddhaloka, to say nothing of the asuras, ordinary human beings, Vidyādharas and Cāraṅas.]

Whatever the Lord says, that is the principle of religion. So we do not know whether Caitanya Mahāprabhu is God or not, but śāstra says He is, so whatever He says, that is dharma.

So this is the important point, that sa tu ātma-yonir ativismita. He became very much surprised: "Wherefrom I am coming, and where I am situated? What is the purpose?" So to understand all these intricacies, he had to undergo... It was ordered: tapo. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there was a sound vibration. When Brahmā was perplexed there was a sound vibration. That sound vibration was indirectly said that "You undergo tapasya. Tapasya. Then you'll understand wherefrom you have come, why you have come, what is your business. These things will be revealed." Tapasya. So that tapasya he had to perform many hundreds years. Nābhinandat, avindad abda-śatam apsu. Not only he... He had to go underneath the water, apsu, and he performed tapasya there. Just imagine how much difficult it was to go underneath the water. He first of all wanted to search out, "Wherefrom my birth is?" Then he saw the stem of the lotus flower on which he was sitting, and then he found there is water. So he went within the water. It is said, apsu. And there he executed tapasya.

So this human form of life, we are born out of Brahmā. Brahmā is called, therefore, great-grandfather. Not great-grand... Grandfather. He is called grandfather. Because Manu, from Manu we have come; therefore our name is mānuṣya, "man," from the word manu. That Manu is born of Brahmā. Therefore he is called grandfather, pitāmahā. And Kṛṣṅa has been addressed in the Bhagavad-gītā, "the great-grandfather." So He is the father of Brahmā also. Ātma-yoni. So this is the position of Brahmā. So he had to undergo so great austerity to understand his position, so how much austerity we have to perform to understand our position: "What I am? What is my business? Why I have come here? Why I am suffering?" Everyone is suffering, but we are so callous, so rascal, we don't take care of it. We say, "That's all right. I shall die peacefully." Yes. I met one very exalted, I mean, lord in London. Eh?

Haṁsadūta: Brockway. Lord Brockway.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, Brockway. So, of course, we offered him prasādam very friendly. So I asked Lord Brockway, "What is the end of your life? How do you think?" He was eighty-four years old. So he said, "Yes, I shall die peacefully." And after death? "Oh, there is nothing. That's all." This is the idea. So actually people do not know what is going to happen after death. Therefore they are irresponsible. They are living like animals. But śāstra says, "No, no, no. Don't do this. You have got responsibility." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye [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.]

"Don't live irresponsibly. This body," ayaṁ deha, "this body..." Deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke. Nṛ-loke means in the human society, not cat society, dog society, fly society. In the human society. You should not live irresponsibly like the cats and dogs. It has especially mentioned, viḍ-bhujām: "the stool-eater, pig." "You should not be like the stool-eater, pig." Why this animal has been drawn? The, means, stool-eater pig means the pig has no distinction of eating. Whatever is there, up to stool, he can eat. So if the human society has no discrimination of eating anything... Now I understand they're eating..., they are killing their own child, and the child is also being eaten. Who was telling?

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Yes, I was telling.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just see how much the human society has degraded. One side, they're killing their own child, and after killing it, they're cooking it, and it becomes a very good delicacy. Just see. So this is the surety of become a pig, less than a pig. You see? But they do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṅum [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.]

This human life was meant for understanding Viṣṅu, God, but they did not use it. So thus, try to understand how much important is this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, how we are trying to save the whole human society from their irresponsible life.

So we have to undergo tapasya because our grandfather, he had to undergo tapasya. So anyone who is in this material world, Brahmā, beginning from Brahmā down to the ant, must undergo tapasya. But for the ant, cats and dogs, it is not possible. They are condemned. They will have to come to the human form of life by evolutionary process by the help of nature. But as soon as we come to the human form of life, the responsibility is there. What is that responsibility? Because you have got developed consciousness more than the cats and dogs, you have to decide, "How I have come to this material world? Why I am suffering? I do not wish to die; the death is there. I do not want disease; the disease is there. I don't want to take birth, enter into the womb of the mother; still I am forced to do it. I don't want to become an old man; I become old man." So this is human intelligence. Unless you come to this intelligence, athāto brahma jijñāsā, "What I am? Am I this body or something else...?"

So we have to analyze, analyze that this body is made of the material elements: earth, water, fire, ether, like that. The... We are breathing. What is this breathing? We are very much proud of breathing. Huh? The breathing is simply ventilation, air. But you cannot set up this breathing to a dead man. That is not possible, although it is simply air, nothing but air. But as soon as it is gone out of it... You are great scientist. Bring this air, pump. "No, there is no life." So in this way there is analysis. From water we are getting blood. From blood we are getting semina. From urine... So many things we are getting. So this body is manufactured by these things, by the material elements. So am I this body? If I am this body, then after the death, why...? These material elements are there. Why you cannot replace it? I am not body. I'm living within the body. And that is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṅa says, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam, tathā dehāntara [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.]

Asmin dehe: "In this body there is the living entity."

So one has to learn this. But they cannot learn, because they do not undergo austerity. That is the defect. No education is there how to perform austerity. Therefore Vedic civilization is how to teach small children austerities. That is brahmacārī. So we want to start this brahmacārī āśrama, or gurukula, to learn austerity from the beginning of life. Then their life will be successful; they'll understand. Not to become a grammarian. That is not our... So we should take lesson from Brahmājī, our grandfather, that pariśuddha-bhāvāḥ tīvra-tapasā. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's grace, mercy, that we haven't got to undergo tīvra-tapasā. But we are thinking, "This is also very difficult." What is that? No illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. But they are taking it very, very severe. What is the severity? We don't say "No sex," but "No illicit sex." This much tapasya, austerity, you cannot follow? Tapasya must be there. Unless you undergo tapasya, there is no rescue. Even Brahmā had to perform tapasya, what to speak of us. You cannot avoid it. Tapasā brahmacaryena [SB 6.1.13].

[To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord. Thus a sober and faithful person who knows the religious principles is temporarily purified of all sins performed with his body, words and mind. These sins are like the dried leaves of creepers beneath a bamboo tree, which may be burned by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity.]

Tapasya begins from brahmacarya: no illicit sex, no sex. But that is not possible, at least stop illicit sex. Tapasā brahmacaryeṅa. This is very important thing.

So we should always remember that without... Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattva [SB 5.5.1]. Ṛṣabhadeva advised His sons, "My dear sons, this human form of life, don't live like cats and dogs. Don't spoil your life." Then what to do? Now, tapaḥ: "Undergo..." Just like Brahmā was advised. Brahmā is the son of Viṣṅu, so when he was perplexed, the same advice was given: tapaḥ. So he underwent. He underwent tapasā, tīvra-tapasā. Tīvra means very severe. So we are advised, tīvra, tīvreṅa bhakti-yogena. It is said in the śāstra,

akāmaḥ sarva kāmo vā mokṣa kāma udāra-dhīḥ tīvreṅa bhakti-yogena yajeta paramaṁ puruṣaḥ [SB 2.3.10]

This is injunction. We are mixed up. Somebody has got all desire to fulfill within this material world. Sarva-kāmaḥ. They never become desireless—increasing, increasing, increasing, one after another. And that is... They are called sarva-kāmaḥ. And akāma means no more desire. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam [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.]

So we have to purify ourself. So to purify ourself means don't desire anything material. "Then I shall become void of desire?" No, not void of desire. Real desire must be there. Therefore we are singing daily, guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya, āra nā koriyā mane āśa. Āra... "No more. That's all." Āra nā koriyā mane āśa. We are singing daily. You must understand what is the meaning. Because we are bewildered, we are misdirected, so..., so guru's word, that should be taken seriously. Āra nā koriyā... "No more, anything." That is... Therefore how much difficult it is to find out such guru. Ādau gurvāśrayam. First of all you have to accept guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Muṅḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12].

[To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.]

So we have to follow guru.

"So how I can find out the real guru by whose words I'll be nicely directed and achieve?" That is not very difficult. You read Bhagavad-gītā, you'll understand. Just like Arjuna. When he was perplexed, he accepted Kṛṣṅa guru. He said, śiṣyas te 'ham [Bg 2.7]:

[Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.]

"I become Your..., now. We are talking friendly. The argument will not be ended. Now I become Your disciple." Śiṣyas te 'ham. Because as soon as one becomes a śiṣya... Śiṣya means under the order, regulation. A person cannot disobey the order of guru. Then he is śiṣya. If he argues, he's not śiṣya. He's not a śiṣya. Therefore Arjuna says, śiṣyas te 'ham: "I surrender, voluntarily surrender to become Your disciple. Now I shall not argue." That is called śiṣya. If you argue, then you are not a śiṣya. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā, āra nā koriyā mane āśa. This is tapasya, that "I shall not act anything which is not ordered by my guru." That tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā [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.]

Then we'll be nicely guided, and then sattva śuddhyam. Then our this existence will be purified. And as soon as our existence is purified, then we realize the situation, what is God, what is our relationship with Him, what is our activities, athāto brahma jijñāsā, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1], everything.

Here it is, tu ātmani īśa bhuvi. So what was the realization of Brahmā after tapasya? Now, gandham iva atisūkṣmaṁ bhūtendriya. Just like Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, puṅyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṁ ca [Bg 7.9]:

[I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.]

"I am the smell within the earth." So everyone knows there is smell within the earth, there is color within the earth. Everything is there within the earth; otherwise how in a particular plant the color and the smell, the flavor and everything is..., beauty, everything is coming? You daily see. So ordinarily you see heaps of dirt, but everything is there. Similarly, ordinarily we see this universe, but in every atom there is Kṛṣṅa. That was realized by Brahmā. Then he became the great personality to teach us. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1]. In this way He instructed ādi-kavi, the first learned man—kavi means learned man—Brahmā, Vedic knowledge. So there was no other teacher. Kṛṣṅa taught him. Therefore we belong to the Brahma-sampradāya. Kṛṣṅa instructed Brahmā. Brahmā instructed Nārada. Nārada instructed Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva instructed Śukadeva. In this way our guru-paramparā system. Therefore we worship the guru as Vyāsa-pūjā because representative of Vyāsa. And who is Vyāsa? Representative of Nārada. What is Nārada? Representative of Brahmā. What is Brahmā? Representative of Kṛṣṅa. This is called paramparā system.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]