Sacrifice Made Easy

“Everyone must perform sacrifice,” Lord Kṛṣṅa says. And He comes as Caitanya Mahāprabhu to show us how easy it can be.

A lecture in London on September 5, 1973 by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat yajño dānaṁ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṅām

“Acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity, and penance purify even the great souls.” (Bhagavad-gītā 18.5)

There are four stages of spiritual life: brahmacārya [celibate student life], gṛhastha (householder life], vānaprastha [retired life], and sannyāsa [renounced life]. From the beginning of student life, brahmacārya, one must be trained how to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brahmacārī is trained to rise early in the morning, offer fire sacrifice, study the Vedas, and then perform saṅkīrtana, preaching the glories of the Lord. There are so many routine duties for brahmacārīs, and these must be executed.

For gṛhasthas [householders], the first duty is to give charity. And who will accept this charity? The brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs [renunciants]. The brahmacārī may accept charity on behalf of the spiritual master, and the sannyāsī may accept just enough charity for his maintenance, but no more.

A householder cannot accept charity, unless he is a brāhmaṅa. Then he may accept charity, but he cannot accumulate money. Whatever he gets, he must use as much as he needs for his maintenance and then give any extra money in charity. There is a Bengali proverb that says. “Even if a brāhmaṅa gets 100.000 rupees, he remains a beggar.” Why? Because he immediately distributes it all in charity.

And for the sannyāsīs and vānaprasthas [retirees], tapasya is most important. Tapasya means voluntarily accepting all kinds of inconveniences. In material life one tries to avoid all inconveniences, but spiritual life means to accept many different kinds of austerities for the sake of Kṛṣṅa, even at the risk of all inconvenience.

So, here Lord Kṛṣṅa says, yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyam: “One should never give up sacrifice, charity, and austerity.” These things must be continued under all circumstances.

Now, the impersonalistic, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs strictly follow the principles of austerity—at least those who are genuine, not false. Three times a day they take a bath. even in the severest cold; they lie down on the floor to sleep; and they always study Vedanta and Sāṅkhya philosophy. But in spite of all these austerities, they do not approve of the worship of the Deity, the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they are impersonalists, they do not worship the form of God. So the śāstra [scripture] says, ye ’nye ’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ: “Although the Māyāvādīs think themselves liberated, they are averse to worshiping the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa, and so their consciousness is impure.”

The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs address one another. “Namo-nārāyaṅāya [Obeisances to Nārāyaṅa].” This means that they think every one of them has become Nārāyaṅa, the Supreme Lord. This is their philosophy. And from this namo-nārāyaṅāya principle. Vivekananda Swami manufactured the word daridra-nārāyaṅā, “poor Nārāyaṅa.”

So, for the Māyāvādīs Nārāyaṅa has become a very cheap thing: “Everyone has become Nārāyaṅa; everyone has become God.” And then the rascal God goes to the hospital and has an operation. They have no shame. They never think, “If I am God, why can’t I cure my bodily pains? What kind of God am I?” No, this thought never occurs to them. Rather, these rascals proclaim that they are God, and there is another set of rascals who accept them as God. Vivekananda said, “Why are you searching for God? Don’t you see so many Gods loitering in the street?”

No. We do not accept such a God. Our God is different Our Nārāyaṅa is the real Nārāyaṅa—the exalted Supreme Personality of Godhead. He cannot be compared even with such demigods as Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, what to speak of these rascal Mayavadls. As it is said,

yas tu nārāyaṅaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ samatvenaiva vīkṣeta sa pāṣaṅḍī bhaved dhruvam

“Any person who thinks that Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva is equal to Lord Nārāyaṅa is a rascal.” So the Māyāvādīs are rascals. They say, “Any demigod is as good as Viṣṅu. You can worship any god and get the same result; it doesn’t matter.” They believe that ultimately the Absolute Truth is impersonal. And so you can imagine any form and meditate on that, and ultimately you will merge into that impersonal Brahman. This is their philosophy, but this is not the fact.

In the ultimate issue, the Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṅa, Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases—the impersonal Brahman; the localized Paramātmā [Supersoul; and Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṅa (kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam). Ultimately the Absolute Truth is Bhagavān, and there are many expansions of Bhagavān (advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam). Kṛṣṅa has millions and trillions of expansions. One of them is the Paramātmā, the Supersoul in everyone’s heart (īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati). And the Paramātmā also resides in every atom: aṅḍāntara-stha-paramāṅu-cayāntara-stham.

So, Lord Kṛṣṅa has many expansions, but they are all one, advaitam. For example, if you place millions of pots of water in the sunshine, you will find millions of suns reflected in the water. But although we see that millions of suns are reflected in the millions of pots, we know that the sun is one. Similarly, God is one, but He can expand Himself into millions and trillions of forms. There is no question of counting them.

The Māyāvādī philosophy is that because God has expanded Himself into so many forms and is thus all-pervading, He is finished. This is a materialistic conception. Suppose you take a big piece of paper, tear it into small pieces, and then throw the pieces away. Then the original paper is lost; it no longer exists. That is the Māyāvādī philosophy: Because God is all-pervading, He has no form.

But this is not the spiritual conception. The spiritual conception is pūrṅasya pūrṅam ādāya pūrṅam evāvaśiṣyate: Lord Kṛṣṅa is the complete, supreme whole, and even though He expands Himself into millions and trillions of complete forms. He still remains complete. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is described as avyaya, which means He is never diminished in anyway. Suppose I have one hundred pounds in my bank balance. If I take one, two, three, four, five—in this way, my bank balance will be finished. But Kṛṣṅa is not like that He is so complete that although unlimited complete forms expand from Him. He still remains the complete whole. This is the statement of the Īśopaniṣad, and this is the real conception of God.

So, unless you practice yajña [sacrifice], how will you understand this philosophy? It is not possible. In the present age, however, the ritualistic sacrifices recommended in the Vedas are not possible to execute. They are very expensive. You have to acquire so much ghee and grains, along with so many other things. Daily you have to feed so many people. This is all very difficult in this age.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa has made yajña easy. As recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32],

kṛṣṅa-varṅaṁ tviṣākṛṣṅaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

What is the yajña for the present age? Saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names of God. This process was taught by the incarnation of God for the present Age of Kali.

Now, one may ask. Who is the incarnation of God for the present age? The Bhāgavatam says, kṛṣṅa-varṅam. The word varṅa means “category.” So Kṛṣṅa-varṅam means that the incarnation for the present age is in the category of Kṛṣṅa, not in the category of the jīva soul. In other words, He is Kṛṣṅa Himself. Or, kṛṣṅa-varṅam can also mean “one who describes (varṅa-yati) Kṛṣṅa.” So the incarnation who teaches saṅkīrtana is always describing Kṛṣṅa or chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṅa, and He is Kṛṣṅa because He belongs to the category of Kṛṣṅa.

The Bhāgavatam also describes this incarnation as tviṣākṛṣṅam, “having a non-blackish complexion.” But we know that Kṛṣṅa has a blackish complexion. He is described as asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam. Asita means “black,” and ambuda means “cloud.” So His complexion is like a blackish cloud, but very, very, very, very beautiful. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya: He is so beautiful that many millions of Cupids cannot be compared with Him.

So, although the incarnation who teaches saṅkīrtana is the same as Kṛṣṅa, His complexion is not blackish. Then may He be any color except blackish? No. There are fixed colors for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the greatly learned astrologer Garga Muni performed the birth ceremony for Kṛṣṅa at Nanda Mahārāja’s place, he said, śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṅatāṁ gataḥ: “Nanda Mahārāja, formerly this son of yours appeared three times with three different colors—white, red, and yellow. Now He has appeared in a blackish color.” Therefore the incarnation for the present age must be either white, red, or yellow.

So, the complexion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a yellowish golden color. Also. He is always describing Lord Kṛṣṅa and chanting His name, and He is in the same category as Kṛṣṅa. Therefore it is understood that He is the incarnation for the present age.

Next the Bhāgavatam says, sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam: “He is always surrounded by His associates and expansions.” Aṅga means “immediate expansion.” and upāṅga means “an expansion of the expansion,” which is also known as a kalā. The first expansion is called an avatāra, and when there is another avatāra from the first avatāra. He is called a kalā. Lord Caitanya appeared with His immediate expansion, Nityānanda Prabhu, and with the expansion of the expansion. Advaita Prabhu, and also with Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Gadādhara Paṅḍita, and many other devotees (gaura-bhakta-vṛnda). Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has all the symptoms of the incarnation for the present age.

There is a very scientific analysis of God in the śāstras. It is not that any rascal can come and declare. “I am God.” This is not acceptable. We have to understand God according to the śāstra. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared like an ordinary man, Nimāi Paṅḍita, but was actually shown to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so many rascals have imitated Him: “Well, if Nimāi Paṅḍita can become an avatāra, why not Gadadhara Chatterjee?” Ramakrishna’s name was Gadadhara Chatterjee. He imitated Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But where is the reference in the śāstra that he was God? As far as Caitanya Mahāprabhu is concerned, there are innumerable references proving that He is God—in the Mahābhārata, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. the Upaniṣads. Therefore we accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not that by some rascal’s vote we can declare some ordinary man as God, and then he becomes God.

So, one may ask. How should we worship Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu? The Bhāgavatam says, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ: “Those who are intelligent worship Lord Caitanya by the process of saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names.” Those whose brains are filled up with cow dung cannot understand the importance of the saṅkīrtana-yajña. But those who have nice brain substance will perform this sacrifice. In this way they fulfill the Lord’s injunction in the Bhagavad-gītā: yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyam. “Sacrifice, charity, and austerity should never be given up.”

Saṅkīrtana is the sacrifice for this age. You cannot give up the performance of sacrifice at any stage of life, but the sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas are not possible in this Age of Kali. As the Bhāgavatam says, mandāḥ su-manda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ: In this age people may advertise that they have made so much progress, but they are misguided, lazy, unfortunate, and disturbed. This is the position of the people in this age. How can they perform Vedic ritualistic ceremonies? It is not possible.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa has given us the opportunity to perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña. In the temple, if you keep a picture of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates and perform saṅkīrtana before them, you will become all-perfect, it is so easy.

It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [12.3.52]:

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṅuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

“The same result one could obtain in previous ages by other means, one can obtain in this age simply by chanting the holy names of God.” In the Satya-yuga the process was meditation, in the Tretā-yuga, elaborate sacrifice, and in the Dvāpara-yuga, Deity worship. But in the Kali-yuga it is simply saṅkīrtana. This is the sastric injunction.

So, I am very pleased that you are keeping this center nicely up to our standard by performing saṅkīrtana. Today is Rādhāṣṭamī, the appearance anniversary of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī. She is Kṛṣṅa’s internal pleasure potency. Kṛṣṅa can expand Himself. So when He wants to enjoy, He manifests His pleasure potency from His body, and that pleasure potency is Rādhārāṅī. Rādhārāṅī is not an ordinary living entity: She is Kṛṣṅa’s personal pleasure potency, ahlādinī-śakti.

Rādhārāṅī’s only business is to please Kṛṣṅa. and this should be our only business also. Saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṅam: “Your perfection is to please Kṛṣṅa.” And in the Bhagavad-gītā [15.15] Kṛṣṅa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: The whole of Vedic literature is meant for searching out Kṛṣṅa and satisfying Him.

Kṛṣṅa personally comes to give you this information: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja. “You rascal! Just give up all other engagements and surrender to Me.” And what about the demigods? There are so many demigods. Should we worship them? Kṛṣṅa says, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ: “The demigods are worshiped by persons who have lost all intelligence.” There is no need to worship the demigods. As Kṛṣṅa says, mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja: “Simply surrender unto Me alone.” That is the śāstric instruction.

So, Kṛṣṅa can be worshiped through Rādhārāṅī. Therefore we don’t keep Kṛṣṅa alone on the altar. No. We worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṅa. First you have to worship Rādhārāṅī. In Vṛndāvana all the devotees address one another, “Jaya Rādhe!” Why? Because they know that if Rādhārāṅī is pleased, Kṛṣṅa will also be pleased. Rādhārāṅī is the original pleasure potency of Kṛṣṅa and is always absorbed in thought of Him. So when someone comes before Her to serve Kṛṣṅa, She becomes so pleased—”Oh, here is a devotee of Kṛṣṅa.” Immediately She recommends. “My dear Kṛṣṅa, here is a devotee of Yours. He is better than I am.” This is Rādhārāṅī’s mood.

I may not be a devotee—I may be the most fallen rascal—but if I try to reach Kṛṣṅa through Rādhārāṅī then my life is successful. Therefore we should worship Rādhārāṅī first. Instead of directly offering Kṛṣṅa a flower, just put it in the hands of Rādhārāṅī: “O mother Rādhārāṅī, please kindly take this flower and offer it to Kṛṣṅa.”

“Oh,” Rādhārāṅī says, “you have brought a flower for Kṛṣṅa. This pleases Me so much.” Kṛṣṅa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam: “One can please Me with a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or some water offered with love.” But don’t offer it to Kṛṣṅa directly. Just offer it through Rādhārāṅī. Then She will appreciate it very much, and Kṛṣṅa will accept your offering.

So, this is our philosophy: to please Kṛṣṅa through Rādhārāṅī. And today is the auspicious anniversary of Her appearance. Therefore you should offer flowers to Rādhārāṅī and pray to Her. “Kindly be merciful and tell Your Kṛṣṅa about me.” Kṛṣṅa is not independent; He is Rādhārāṅī’s property. So you have to approach Kṛṣṅa through Rādhārāṅī. Therefore worship Rādhārāṅī very nicely and be happy.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa.