Śrī Īśopaniṣad and Initiations
[PR_ISO verse chanting class]
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṅa.
oṁ pūrṅam adaḥ pūrṅam idaṁ pūrṅāt pūrṅam udacyate pūrṅasya pūrṅam ādāya pūrṅam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation]
[The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.]
īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam [Īśo mantra 1]
[Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.]
kurvann eveha karmāṅi jijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥ evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto 'sti na karma lipyate nare [Īśo mantra 2]
[One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.]
asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ [Īśo mantra 3]
[The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.]
anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyo nainad devā āpnuvan pūrvam arṣat tad dhāvato 'nyān atyeti tiṣṭhat tasminn apo mātariśvā dadhāti [Īśo mantra 4]
[Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.]
tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ [Īśo mantra 5]
[The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything.]
yas tu sarvāṅi bhūtāny ātmany evānupaśyati sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate [Īśo mantra 6]
[He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.]
yasmin sarvāṅi bhūtāny ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvam anupaśyataḥ [Īśo mantra 7]
[One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?]
sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṅam asnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddham kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūr yāthātathyato 'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ [Īśo mantra 8]
[Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.]
andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye 'vidyām upāsate tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyām ratāḥ [Īśo mantra 9]
[Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.]
anyad evāhur vidyayā- nyad āhur avidyayā iti śuśruma dhīrāṅāṁ ye nas tad vicacakṣire [Īśo mantra 10]
[The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.]
Repeat it again.
anyad evāhuḥ sambhavād anyad āhur asambhavāt iti śuśruma dhīrāṅāṁ ye nas tad vicacakṣire [Īśo mantra 10]
[The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.]
All right. Hare Kṛṣṅa.
Congregation: Hare Kṛṣṅa.
[04:46]
Prabhupāda: So you can read?
Gargamuni: So we are on page 16, the last sentence of the second paragraph. It says, “Therefore in order to save themselves, both must follow the instruction of Śrī Īśopaniṣad and thus bring peace to the world.”
Next paragraph: “Human beings are not meant for quarreling like cats and dogs. They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance of human life and to realize the aims of human life. The Vedic literature is meant for humanity and not for the cats and dogs. Cats and dogs can kill other animals for food, and for that there is no question of sin on their part, but if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste buds, he is responsible for breaking the laws of nature, and therefore he must be punished.”
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is the responsibility of human life. The responsibility of human life, ordinarily you can understand. Several times I have explained also that even the state laws, they are meant for the human citizens. If a cat or a dog transgresses the law, there is no punishment or no arrest. Just like on the road, the direction is that when there is red light, you must stop your car. But if your dog passes in spite of the red light, he is not punishable, because it is animal.
Therefore human life has got a very great responsibility. So if you do not execute that responsibility, then by the laws of nature again you are put into the cycle of cats and dogs. You cannot say that “No, sir, I am not going to be cat again.” No. The law is very strict.
daivī hy eṣā guṅa-mayī 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.]
You cannot surpass the laws of material nature; Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā. You cannot transgress any law. You know that even for your personal, if you little…, eat more, little, then immediately you are diseased; you will be sick. You cannot transgress. Very nice thing, if you want to eat more, then next day you will have to starve; you will be sick. So you have to accept exactly the same thing as it is allotted to you by the Lord. You cannot transgress. Therefore you have got very great...
The only responsibility is that this human form of life is offered to us, to a living entity, for understanding self-realization. Athāto brahma jijñāsā—this is the Vedānta-sūtra—“Now this is the time for self-realization.” Brahma, brahma is the Supreme Spirit, or the part-and-parcel spirit. Brahma…, God is called also brahma, but He is Parabrahma. The Māyāvādī philosopher, they cannot distinguish that why this word is there, Parabrahma. Parabrahma means the supreme brahma, and brahma, spirit. So we are also brahma. Kṛṣṅa is also brahma, but He is Parabrahma. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13].
[The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many other living entities.]
He is the chief brahma. Just like in our ordinary life, everywhere we have got some chief man, a leader, just like you have accepted me as your leader. Similarly, the leaders of the leader, leaders of the leader, go on, go on, go on searching out; when you come to Kṛṣṅa, He is the leader of everyone. That is Kṛṣṅa. That’s all. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ [Bs 5.1].
Everyone is brahma, god, whatever you say, īśvaraḥ—but nobody is paramaḥ. Paramaḥ means “supreme.” I can be controller of this institution; the president can be controller of this country; but nobody can claim that “I am the supreme controller.” That is not possible. That is only for Kṛṣṅa. That post is for Kṛṣṅa.
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [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.]
So He is controlling everything. It is stated in the śāstra, just like the bull or the horse is controlled by the ropes. It is bound up in the mouth or in the nose. The driver, pushing little this way, immediately he has to turn this way. He is so powerful, he is so stronger than the driver, but in spite of the strength, he is managed to be kept in such a way as soon as the driver pushes like this, immediately he has to go. He cannot say, the animal cannot say, “No, I shall go this way.” No: immediately.
Similarly, Kṛṣṅa, by the reins of the laws of nature, He is keeping everyone under the control. The laws of nature, as soon as push this way, you have to go this way; this way, you have to go this way. You cannot say, “I cannot go.” This is the understanding of Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Foolish people, rascal people, who are claiming to be independent—nobody is independent. Nobody can be independent. His constitutional position is to be dependent, but if he keeps himself dependent under Kṛṣṅa, then he is happy.
Otherwise he will have to be dependent on māyā and suffer.
[aside: All right, thank you.]
He is responsible for breaking the laws of nature, and therefore he must be punished. That's all. Thank you. [devotees offer obeisances]
Begin. Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa, Hare, Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. I think, er, today we shall…, kīrtana will be performed at the end of the func… yes. Now there is time, you can begin your... Hare Kṛṣṅa. Hare Kṛṣṅa.
[japa]
[15:47]
Dayānanda: [explains about chanting mantras—indistinct] [chants verse word-by-word with devotees in response]
oṁ apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā yaḥ smaret puṅḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ śrī-viṣṅu śrī-viṣṅu śrī-viṣṅu
[Either pure or impure, or having passed through all conditions of material life, if one can remember the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṅa, he becomes externally and internally clean.]
[break] ...deliverance. We are attempting a deliverance from this mental concept of life—mundane consciousness of life and the mental concoctions. So this..., the purport of this mantra, the mantra enjoins, “Whether contaminated or uncontaminated, in any condition of life, if one simply remembers the lotus eyed one, Śrī Viṣṅu, one becomes purified, śuciḥ.” Śuciḥ means to become purified.
So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness process is a purification process. Simply by remembering the Lord, simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, one becomes purified. So this is all understood by us initially. Upon taking up this Kṛṣṅa consciousness process, by becoming in the association of the devotees, we accept, “Yes, I am impure. Therefore I will give up meat-eating, intoxication, gambling, and, ah…”
Prabhupāda: Illicit sex.
Dayānanda: “…illicit sexual connections. Therefore I will give these things up, these impure activities, and I will engage myself in a purifying process, the Kṛṣṅa consciousness process.” So this association of the devotees is a very important element. As soon as I come into the association of devotees, it becomes clear: “Here are some young people…, here are some people engaged in purification activities. I am so impure.”
This modern society is developing a lower class of individual, a fifth-class man, and this Kṛṣṅa consciousness society is developing first-class men. So simply by engaging in this purificatory process, simply by associating with the devotees, simply by remembering the lotus-eyed one, simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa and giving up these impure activities, one becomes purified.
So initiation means to begin this purification process. It is a gradual process, not that one becomes immediately purified. Of course, this is the chanting, or the amount of surrender. If one can surrender 100%, then immediately one is Kṛṣṅa conscious. So this is generally a gradual process, that gradually one surrenders to the lotus-eyed one, Viṣṅu. One surrenders one’s words, by money, by life, by intelligence—everything one surrenders to the Lord. So as much as possible, everyone should try to surrender. But initiation, at this point we are surrendering our lives...
Prabhupāda: [aside: Let it finish.]
Dayānanda: So this initiation is very important. It means that..., that you are agreeing to serve faithfully the spiritual master, carry out the orders of the spiritual master, to worship the spiritual master—not only to worship by bowing down but to worship in service, that we are dedicating our lives to this Kṛṣṅa consciousness process, spreading Kṛṣṅa consciousness throughout the world, building up so many centers to improve this [indistinct] Kṛṣṅa consciousness organization...
Prabhupāda: Ah, every one of you, just, ah, Dayānanda said that we are producing first-class men. So are you all, I mean to say, agreeing to this? Do you think that we are producing first-class men?
Devotee: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: Do you agree to this proposal?
Devotees: Jaya!
Prabhupāda: Or if anyone has got any objection, that this is dogmatic? [laughter] Is there anyone who…, anyone who protests against this, that we are producing first-class men? People may say that we…, you are dogmatic, but practically one can see. Eh? These boys and these girls, previously what was their life? And what is their life now? The practical proof, eh?
Most of you coming from Christian group, so before this, you were not even going to church. And since you are in contact with this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, you are twenty-four hours engaged in this temple. You are all young men; you have got so many propensities. You don't go to cinema, you don't go to restaurant, you don’t go to club—you don't go to any nonsense place. And let anyone come and compare whether we are not producing first-class men.
Everyone will give his history of life. So this is not dogmatic. This is a fact that we are producing first-class men, our boys and girls. That is the way of making... If you produce cats and dogs, how you can expect peace in the world? You must produce first-class men, first-class woman. Then you can expect peace. Peace is not so cheap thing. If you want peace in the jungle, same of the societies of the animals, cats and dogs—oh, that cannot be.
However you may train a dog nicely, as soon as he will see another dog, oh, immediately he’ll attack. That is the animal propensity. So unless there is first-class men, there cannot be. So there is necessity of producing a number of first-class men at the present moment. Therefore Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is very important movement. You should all know it, certainly.
[aside: So this arāti. Let it finish; who'll take care? Yes.]
[23:17]
[congregational japa]
[25:03]
[kīrtana] [end]
