Lecture

Lecture to Devotees

Prabhupāda:

oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ

śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam

he kṛṣṅa karuṅā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṅamāmi hari-priye

hare kṛṣṅa hare kṛṣṅa kṛṣṅa kṛṣṅa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

So since the beginning of this meeting the speakers were talking in Hindi, but these foreigners, they could not understand. But out of reverence they were sitting. So I have taken permission to give them the summary of the speeches spoken by the Vaiṣṅavas, especially by Śrīman Bhakti-dīpa Mahārāja. Bhakti-dīpa Mahārāja is disciple of my elder Godbrothers, so naturally he is very affectionate to me especially. Sometimes we lived together, and we follow the same principles of philosophy. So his speech about vaiṣṅave jāti-buddhi, arcye viṣṅau-śilā-dhīr, this is very important. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted that pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma [CB Antya-khaṅḍa 4.126].

[In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.]

He wanted that everywhere in the nook and corner of this world, every city, every town, every village, there should be the chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra. Chanting should be preached. So by His grace it is going on. Now in the remotest part of the world, even in Australia, the southernmost part of this globe, there also we have got four branches—Melbourne, Sydney—and we have got a very big building, very big temple of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Last year I established, and many hundred thousand devotees they are coming. So certainly the Caitanya Mahāprabhu foretelling is now spreading.

So this bhajana, as our speaker, Bhaktamā[?], he said that,

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām te dvanda-moha-nirmuktā bhajanti 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.]

So people say that I have done miracle. Maybe. At least it is the first time in the history that Vedic culture in its true form is bring distributed all over the world. We have got many, many appreciation by the learned scholar circle, big, big professors all over the world. They are accepting that this is the first time that India's traditional spiritual culture is being spread. One professor in France, he has plainly said that even Aurobindo or Dr. Radhakrishnan, they presented this Vedic culture in a modernized way, not in its original, traditional form. That is a fact. We don't make any compromise. Therefore we have especially meant Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Kṛṣṅa consciousness means to follow what Kṛṣṅa says. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa [Cc Madhya 7.128].

[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]

Ei deśa. Wherever you are, it doesn't matter. Either you are in India or in America or France or anywhere, any deśa, or any country, wherever you are, just try to deliver them. Because guru's business is to deliver the fallen souls.

saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka trāṅāya kāruṅya-ghanāghanatvam prāptasya kalyāṅa-guṅārṅavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṅāravindam

Guru's business is not to exploit the śiṣya. It is the business how to deliver. So who can deliver? Who is actually guru in the paramparā system? Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg 4.2].

[This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.]

So we have to take the authority of become guru from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the same thing. Within five hundred years His order is that āmāra ājñāya guru hañā [Cc Madhya 7.128]:

"You cannot become guru all of a sudden. You must take order from Me." He is jagad-guru. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says you, all of you, to become guru and deliver. Because there are so many innumerable fallen souls in this age—mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10],

[O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.]

we require hundreds and thousands of gurus. But not cheaters. This is the time when required hundreds and thousands of gurus. But who will become guru? That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's injunction, āmāra ājñāya: "By My order you become guru. Don't be all of a sudden guru. Become guru on My order."

So what is the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu? He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa Himself. Śrī-kṛṣṅa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṅa nahe anya [Śrī Guru-paramparā, text 6].

[Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is none other than the combined form of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṅa.]

Kṛṣṅa varṅaṁ tviṣākṛṣṅaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam... [SB 11.5.32].

[In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṅa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṅa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.]

He is Kṛṣṅa Himself. As Kṛṣṅa orders but by directly, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66], Kṛṣṅa can do that. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṅa, but He is acting as devotee. This is... Kṛṣṅa-caitanya-nāmne. Kṛṣṅāya kṛṣṅa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ. Namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṅa-prema-pradāya te [Cc Madhya 19.53].

[O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṅa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṅa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṅa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.]

Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī could understand that "Here is Kṛṣṅa Himself in the form of Kṛṣṅa devotee. Therefore He can deliver kṛṣṅa-prema—not only Kṛṣṅa, but kṛṣṅa-prema." So He is giving very simple formula:

āmāra ajñāya guru hañā tāra ei deśa yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṅa'-upadeśa [Cc Madhya 7.128]

Simple thing. We don't require to be very learned scholar, M.A., Ph.D. If you simply follow what Kṛṣṅa has said in the Bhagavad-gītā... If you do not go very deep into Kṛṣṅa consciousness, which is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam especially, and if you simply read the Bhagavad-gītā... We are presenting, therefore, Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any adulteration. They give me so much credit, that "You have done wonderful, miracle," and I do not know how to play any miracle. Our Dīpa Mahārāja knows me from the very beginning. I do not know how to play magic. I do not know. But only magic is that I don't adulterate. That's all. I don't adulterate. I say simple thing. Kṛṣṅa said, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg 7.7].

[O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.]

So Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Lord, Absolute Truth, that's all. What difficulty you have? Kṛṣṅa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat [Bg 7.7]. And He says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [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.]

Four things: "Always think of Me..." So I am teaching them, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa. You'll think of Him." So man-manā. And who can chant Hare Kṛṣṅa unless he is a devotee? Ordinary man cannot chant. He has no taste. But these boys, they are taking my word very serious. I have asked them to refrain from four kinds of sinful activities: illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling. They are seriously following. They have no illicit sex. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was questioned by a gṛhastha devotee, "How we can understand a Vaiṣṅava?" So He summarily replied that "Vaiṣṅava, to become Vaiṣṅava perfectly, asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṅava-ācāra [Cc Madhya 22.87]." This is the first principle. Don't associate with asat. Asato mā sad gama. So next line He described who is asat. Asat eka strī-saṅgī, kṛṣṅā bhakta āra—finished. In two lines we can understand who is a Vaiṣṅava. So I have asked them. These people, European and American, they are ordinarily very much accustomed to these habit: illicit sex, gambling, meat-eating. But upon my word they have given up everything. Asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṅava...

So there are many things. And other thing? They are reading the Vaiṣṅava literature very nicely, and they are pushing the Vaiṣṅava literature all over the world. By their personal efforts they are giving service. We have about sixty-five volumes, books, each book four hundred pages. And they are introducing in the universities, colleges, libraries. Even sometimes they are beaten. In this way these boys, they are helping this movement. And perhaps you'll be surprised that our sale collection from the books is not less than one lakh of rupees per day, sometimes five lakh of rupees per day. So this movement has captured the ideas, spiritual ideas of the Western people, by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And as His foretelling, or you are expecting, ambition, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma [CB Antya-khaṅḍa 4.126], that is being done.

[In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.]

And unfortunately in India they are not received very well. The government is thinking they are..., what is that? CIA. A CIA has become to become Vaiṣṅava dancing in Vṛndāvana. [laughter] Just see their intelligence. [laughs] And Purī also, they are not allowed to enter in the Jagannātha temple. These things are going on. So this is very regrettable, and our Śrīman Bhakti-dīpa Mahārāja has strongly protested against this idea. Therefore I thank him very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!

Indian man: [Hindi] [end]