Bhagavad-gītā 7.3 Paṅḍāl Wedding and Initiations at Cross Maidan
Haṁsadūta: The following was a wedding and initiations at the Cross Maidan, evening of 29th March, 1971. [break]
Prabhupāda:
...yaḥ smaret puṅḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bahyābhyantara-śuciḥ śrī viṣṅu śrī viṣṅu śrī viṣṅu [Garuḍa Purāṅa]
By chanting the holy name of Lord Viṣṅu, one becomes purified in whatever condition he may be. Apavitraḥ pavitro vā: either he is pure or impure; sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā: any condition of life, if he chants the holy name of Viṣṅu, then he becomes immediately purified internally and externally.
[break] ...on the strength of chanting. This is the greatest offense. It is a fact that when one chants this mantra, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, immediately, his past sinful reaction of life immediately ceases. But if he thinks that "Because by chanting, my sinful reaction are counteracted, therefore I may go on committing sinful activities, at the same time chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra," this is called nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ [Padma Purāṅa, Brahma-kaṅḍha 25.16].
One who is continuing sinful activities on the strength of chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, that is the greatest offense. So out of the ten kinds of offenses, as explained by Subala Mahārāja, this is the most important item. One should not commit any sinful activity because he is chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra.
Go on. Next.
[break] ...Oṁ Viṣṅupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Mahārāja Prabhupāda. He was creating more brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs for preaching work, but I am creating more gṛhasthas [applause], because in Europe and America the boys and girls intermingle so quickly and intimately that it is very difficult to keep one brahmacārī. So there is no need of artificial brahmacārī. It is sanctioned. My Guru Mahārāja wanted to establish daiva-varṅāśrama.
So married life is called gṛhastha-āśrama. It is as good as sannyāsa-āśrama. Āśrama means where there is bhagavad-bhajana. It doesn't matter whether one is sannyāsī or one is gṛhastha or a brahmacārī. The main principle is bhagavad-bhajana. But practically also, I may inform you that these married couples, they are helping me very much, because...
For practical example, I may say that one of my Godbrothers, a sannyāsī, he was deputed to go to London for starting a temple. But three or four years he remained there, he could not execute the will; therefore he was called back. Now, I sent six married couples. All of them are present here. And they worked so nicely that within one year we started our London temple, and that is going on very nicely. [applause]
So it is not the question of a brahmacārī, sannyāsī or gṛhastha. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said,
kibā vipra kibā śūdra nyāsī kene naya yei kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya [Cc Madhya 8.128]
[Whether one is a brāhmaṅa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṅa.]
It doesn't matter whether he is a sannyāsī or gṛhastha or brahmacārī. One who knows the science of Kṛṣṅa and preaches all over the world, he is guru, spiritual master. It doesn't matter.
So in Europe and America I am especially creating more gṛhasthas, families, so that they can take up this movement very seriously and preach, and I am glad to inform you that this process has become very successful. Thank you very much. [applause] [break]
[05:15]
om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave-namaḥ
[I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.]
śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam
[When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?"]
vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṅavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṅa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṅa-caitanya-devaṁ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṅa-pādān saha-gaṅa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
[I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṅavas and unto the six Gosvāmīs, including Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all His devotees, headed by Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṅa, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī and all the gopīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā.]
he kṛṣṅa karuṅā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te
[O my dear Kṛṣṅa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṅī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.]
tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṅamāmi hari-priye
[I offer my respects to Rādhārāṅī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṅa.]
That's all right. Anyone?
[break] ...Gītā Lord Kṛṣṅa says who can understand Him. By understanding Kṛṣṅa, as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter—janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ—simply by understanding Kṛṣṅa, one becomes so much elevated that after quitting this body, material body, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti [Bg 4.9], he never accepts again this material body.
[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]
As I have already explained to you that our miserable conditioned life is this—that we have to accept every, say, fifty years or sixty or utmost hundred years, we have to accept another body. We may make very good arrangement in this life—nice bungalow, good bank balance, nice family relationships, everything—but the thing is that we shall not be allowed to stay. Aśāśvatam. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg 8.15].
[After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.]
Therefore all our attempts to become very happy within this material world is futile. The intelligent man should know this, that "I want permanent settlement in my life, but that is not being done." Only intelligent man can understand, because intelligent means to understand that we are all eternal. Why should we accept this temporary body? We must have our eternal body. That is possible.
You can have your eternal body like Kṛṣṅa. At the present moment, although we are eternal, we have to accept a certain type of body which is not eternal. Asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ [SB 5.5.4]. Asann api. This body is temporary, but it is very miserable. It is always giving us trouble. That we should know. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg 13.9].
[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]
So in the human society there must be some program how to cultivate such knowledge which can give me relief from this repeated birth and death. That is perfect human society. Otherwise, those who are being carried away by the waves of material nature like cats and dogs, that is not proper human society. Human society means which society is making advance in spiritual knowledge, the Āryans. The Āryans means those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge. They are called Āryans. Ārya.
Kṛṣṅa says, manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu [Bg 7.3].
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
There are 400,000 species of human beings, different types of human being. Kirāta-hūṅāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ [SB 2.4.18]. There are so many varieties, they are considered lowest, low grade. They cannot realize what is the aim of life. Kirāta-hūṅāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ. Kirāta, the black race.
Sometimes it is interpreted the Africans or the south part of our country. Kirāta. Huns. These Huns are supposed to be inhabitants of the northern region of Russia. Some of them migrated into Germany. Kirāta, hūṅa, āndhra, pulinda, pulkaśa. There are so many different names. Of course, if we research from history, from the world history, we can find out where there are. But there are varieties of human beings.
Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu [Bg 7.3]. All human beings are not of the same standard. There are different standards. But Kṛṣṅa is so kind, Kṛṣṅa is so powerful, that anyone out of this human society can be claimed to become a Vaiṣṅava. Anyone. That is the statement of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Kirāta-huṅāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpāḥ [SB 2.4.18].
These names are mentioned, but there are many others whose names are not mentioned. Ye 'nye ca pāpāḥ. They are called pāpāḥ. Pāpa means very sinful life. Yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ. If such persons, such lower-grade persons even, they take shelter of a pure devotee, then they become purified. Śudhyanti, they become purified. How? Prabhaviṣṅave namaḥ. That is the special prerogative power of Lord Viṣṅu. He can deliver anyone, in any condition of life. Prabhaviṣṅave namaḥ. That is extra, extraordinary, inconceivable power.
According to smārta-vidhi, unless one changes his body, he cannot be purified. That impression is going on in India, that unless one is born in Hindu family or born in brāhmaṅa family, kṣatriya, he cannot be accepted as brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, like that. But according to Vedic literature, that is not sanctioned. It is...
To become a son of brāhmaṅa and to have the privilege of becoming a brāhmaṅa, certainly there is. Just like a boy born in a medical man's family, so he has got a chance, better chance, to become a medical man. Similarly, a boy born in a brāhmaṅa family, he has got better chance to become a brāhmaṅa. Or a boy born in kṣatriya family or vaiśya family, he has got better chance. But that does not mean simply by taking birth in a brāhmaṅa family or kṣatriya family, one becomes kṣatriya or brāhmaṅa. No. He has to acquire the qualities.
That is stated in Bhagavad-gītā: cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13].
[According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.]
And the qualification of brāhmaṅa is also stated there: satyaṁ śamaḥ damaḥ śaucaṁ titikṣā ārjavam āstikyam, jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam [Bg 18.42].
[Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the brāhmaṅas work.]
These are the characteristics of brāhmaṅa. Similarly, there are characteristics of kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra.
So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is not stated... At least... We are discussing Bhagavad-gītā. In the Bhagavad-gītā at least, there is no such statement that a man becomes brāhmaṅa simply being born in a brāhmaṅa family or a man becomes śūdra simply by becoming born in a śūdra family. Guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. This is also confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Nārada Muni instructs Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira,
yasya hi yal lakṣaṅaṁ syāt [puṁso] varṅābhivyañjakam yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta tat tenaiva vinirdiśet [SB 7.11.35]
[If one shows the symptoms of being a brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya or śūdra, as described above, even if he has appeared in a different class, he should be accepted according to those symptoms of classification.]
Nārada Muni said that if the symptoms or characteristics of a certain status of social order is found in other family... For example, if a śūdra-born boy is inclined to accept brahmanism or Vedic culture, he should be given the chance. That is accepted in the Pāñcarātriki-vidhi. Just like these boys, European and American boys and girls, they are, according to our śāstra, they are less than śūdras, or you can call them caṅḍālas. But they are being elevated to the status of the brāhmaṅa qualities by this Kṛṣṅa consciousness process. It doesn't matter.
Our Sanātana Gosvāmī gives direction in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that one man can become a brāhmaṅa by the regular process of dīkṣā. Dīkṣā, this initiation, cannot be offered to a śūdra. Dīkṣā cannot be offered to a śūdra. But in this age, Kali-yuga, it is the statement of the śāstras that in the Kali-yuga most of the population are śūdras. Kalau śūdrā sambhavāḥ. How they can be initiated?
This initiation is offered not according to the Vedic rules, because it is very difficult to find out a qualified brāhmaṅa. Dīkṣā is offered to a qualified brāhmaṅa. Therefore this dīkṣā is offered according to Pāñcarātriki-vidhi. That is recommended in this age. My spiritual master inaugurated this Pāñcarātriki-vidhi, and we are following his footsteps.
Anyone who is inclined to devote his life for Kṛṣṅa, he should be accepted as brāhmaṅa. Of course, he should be trained up. Not that these boys and girls are being initiated all of a sudden. They are trained up for six months, one year, then they are offered hari-nāma. And when they are qualified actually in chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, at least sixteen rounds daily, when we see, one year at least, that he is doing his duties, following the regulative principles... All these boys and girls who are initiated, they will have to follow the regulative principles: no illicit sex life.
Just like one couple is married, because we don't allow to live..., to allow the boys and girls to live as friends. No. That is not allowed. All my students who came to me... Because it has become a system in their country, the young boys and girls, they live as friends, without parents taking care of their being married. That has become a system, regular system in Europe and America. And India also it is going to be introduced very soon.
It is already introduced, and it will develop. And in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is foretelling that in this age there will be no more marriage. Vedic marriage will be stopped. Svīkāra eva ca udvāhe [SB 12.2.5]. Simply by agreement, the marriage function will be performed. But as far as we are concerned, we are trying to establish daiva-varṅāśrama, as it is instructed by the Gosvāmīs, by Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, by our spiritual master. May not be very perfect, but we are trying our best to introduce this daiva-varṅāśrama.
Therefore Kṛṣṅa says manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu [Bg 7.3],
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
means not ordinary men. Those who are situated in this daiva-varṅāśrama, qualified brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra... And we should note also that this division of brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra is not that to make artificial competition and to become puffed-up with pride, that "I am brāhmaṅa. You are śūdra." No. It is a cooperation. Just like you have got cooperative society, similarly, these four divisions of social orders are cooperative society.
The brāhmaṅa is considered to be the mouth of the social body. The kṣatriya is considered to be the army—arm or army, strength of the social body. The vaiśyas are considered to be the productive element of the body. And the śūdras are considered to be the working class. But the intelligent class, the brāhmaṅas, and the administrative class, the kṣatriyas, and the productive class, the vaiśyas, and the working class, the śūdras, they are equally important.
If you take the whole body, you cannot say that leg is unimportant than the head. Head is as important as the legs. But comparatively, because the head, the brain, gives direction, therefore it is more important than the legs. But without legs, the brain also cannot work. Without hand, the brain also cannot work, simply by brain. Brain is of course most important.
Similarly, in the social order, the brāhmaṅas, the intelligent class of men, are very important undoubtedly, but śūdras are not less important. They are also important. That is the system given by the Lord Himself. Cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13], to cooperate, to understand...
[According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.]
It is also compared that the brāhmaṅa is the head of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the virāṭ-puruṣa. So brāhmaṅa's business is, because it is the head, to give direction to the society, to the spiritual society, daiva-varṅāśrama, how to conduct the life and occupation of the society.
That is brāhmaṅa's business. The kṣatriya's business is to give protection to the society. And the vaiśya's business is to give food, productive. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṅijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam [Bg 18.44].
[Farming, cow protection and business are the qualities of work for the vaiśyas, and for the śūdras there is labor and service to others.]
In this way there is a cooperative system, taking as part and parcel of the supreme body. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ [Bg 15.7].
So we should cooperate, but there must be these four classes of men. Not that simply śūdras and vaiśyas. At the present moment, there are few vaiśyas and mostly śūdras. 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.]
Rajas-tamaḥ, by the rajo-guṅa, the kṣatriya are produced, and by tamo-guṅa the vaiśyas are produced, and vaiśyas are mixed up, rajo-guṅa and tamo-guṅa śūdras are produced. So it doesn't matter in whatever guṅa or status of life we are. If all of us take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then our life is successful, mutual cooperation. Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [Bg 7.3].
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
Now, how to make perfect, perfection of life, siddhi? That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
anādi-bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṅa bhuli' gelā, ataeva kṛṣṅa veda-purāṅa kailā [Cc Madhya 20.117]
[Forgetting Kṛṣṅa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [māyā] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence.]
Because we have all forgotten Kṛṣṅa. That is our miserable condition of life. We are all forgotten about Kṛṣṅa. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is teaching us personally. Five thousand years ago, He personally appeared and teaching us, we forgetful of Kṛṣṅa, the whole human society. Kṛṣṅa is teaching everyone. Don't think that Kṛṣṅa is teaching only in India, and to the brāhmaṅas or the Hindus.
Kṛṣṅa is for everyone. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is being accepted by everyone all over the world. It is our duty. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says it is the duty of all Indians to spread this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement for para-upakāra, all over the world. That is our business.
So manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [Bg 7.3].
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
The siddhi means when one takes to the daiva-varṅāśrama principles. That is stated in the Viṣṅu Purāṅa:
varṅāśramācāravatā puruṣeṅa paraḥ pumān viṣṅur ārādhyate pumām nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṅam [Cc Madhya 8.58]
[The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṅu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṅa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṅas and āśramas.’]
The whole life should be engaged how to satisfy Viṣṅu, or Kṛṣṅa. That is varṅāśrama-dharma. The four orders, social orders and spiritual orders—brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra and brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa—these orders are made for Kṛṣṅa realization. These Vedic principles are there to understand Kṛṣṅa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg 15.15].
[I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.]
So Kṛṣṅa says that out of many thousands of human beings, species of 400,000's of species..., manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [Bg 7.3].
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
They come to the principle of this Vedic system of varṅāśrama-dharma. That is the process of siddhi. Without coming to this process of varṅa and āśrama, cātur-varṅyam, the human life is animal life, or less than animal life. That is not accepted as human society. Therefore it is necessary that all over the world this varṅāśrama-dharma, according to Bhagavad-gītā, must be established.
I am therefore trying to get these boys and girls married. This is the system of varṅāśrama-dharma. And they are happy. These boys and girls who are married... Of course, there are sannyāsīs and brahmacārīs. My open order is... I get..., receive so many letters daily that "I wish to marry." Immediately I sanction, "Yes, you get yourself married."
But one who is strict, one who can follow very rigidly the orders of brahmacārī and sannyāsī, they continue. Therefore you will find in our society there are sannyāsīs, there are brahmacārīs, there are gṛhasthas, there are vānaprasthas, like that. So no one is checked or hindered to make progress in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Everyone is welcome.
So manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [Bg 7.3]. Siddhaye means to enter into the institution of daiva-varṅa and āśrama. That is called siddhi. Otherwise animals. And yatatām api siddhānām [Bg 7.3].
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
Those who are engaged in the four orders of varṅa and āśrama, out of them, yatatām api siddhānām. Those who are actually in the position of a brāhmaṅa, actually in the position of a kṣatriya, siddhānām... They are called siddha.
Actually following the rules and regulation of brāhmaṅas, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, they are called siddha. Kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ. It is not that because one has become a brāhmaṅa, qualified brāhmaṅa, because one has become qualified kṣatriya, he will understand Kṛṣṅa. It is not easy to understand Kṛṣṅa. But Kṛṣṅa is so kind that He is coming personally and He is leaving behind Him this Bhagavad-gītā to understand Him. That is Kṛṣṅa's kindness.
Otherwise, by so-called mental speculation, you cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. It is not possible. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136]. If a person is very expert in exercising his senses, mental speculator, it is not that he will understand Kṛṣṅa. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi. Nāmādi means His holy name, Hare Kṛṣṅa. Because name is the first. In our this forgetful condition, our first business is to chant the holy name. Therefore nāmādi. To understand Kṛṣṅa we have to chant His holy name first, ādi. Then gradually, Kṛṣṅa's qualities, Kṛṣṅa's form, Kṛṣṅa's pastimes, Kṛṣṅa's entourage and everything will be revealed.
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136]
[Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṅa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṅa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṅa really is.]
If we take to this devotional service, then this chanting, this vibration of the holy name of Kṛṣṅa, very simple method, if we accept this... Just like we have offered these boys this chanting process, and they have accepted it very humbly. And if they prosecute the routine work, gradually they will understand what is Kṛṣṅa. As you see the advanced students who are dancing in ecstasy, you can understand how much they have understood Kṛṣṅa. A simple method.
And nobody is checked or barred: "You are not Hindu. You cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṅa." No. Yei kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya [Cc Madhya 8.128].
[Whether one is a brāhmaṅa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṅa.]
It doesn't matter whether he is a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or this or that. One has to learn the science of Kṛṣṅa, Bhagavad-gītā, as it is. Then he becomes a spiritual master.
These boys, this boy and girl just now married, I am sending to Australia. The boy has come from Australia, the girl has come from Sweden. Now they are united. Now they are going to maintain our establishment there in Sydney. Just now I am sending them within two or three days. They will take care of the temple and they will preach also. This Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is expanding by their help. I am alone, but they are helping me. They are my gurus. I am not their guru, [applause] because they are helping me in executing my Guru Mahārāja's order.
So it is very nice combination that somebody is going to Australia, somebody is going to Fiji Island, somebody is going to Hong Kong, somebody is going to Czechoslovakia. And we are also negotiating to go to Russia also. There is chance of going to China also. We are attempting. We have already sent two boys to Pakistan—one in Dacca and one in Karachi. [applause]
So these boys, these American boys, are helping me. I am very sorry that no Indians are coming forward for this... Of course, there are some, but very few. They should come forward, younger generation of India, they should join this movement and spread Kṛṣṅa consciousness all over the world. That is Indian's business. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,
bhārata-bhūmitemanuṣya-janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra [Cc Ādi 9.41]
[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]
This para-upakāra business, welfare activities to spread Kṛṣṅa consciousness all over the world, is the most important business at the present moment. It will unite everyone politically, socially, culturally, religiously, in every way, Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is the center. That's a fact. It is making progress. And if we endeavor more and more, it will make more and more progress.
So Kṛṣṅa says therefore,
manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin vetti māṁ tattvataḥ [Bg 7.3]
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
Therefore one who has understood Kṛṣṅa by this process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ, Kṛṣṅa reveals to them. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam [Bg 10.10].
[To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.]
Kṛṣṅa is situated in everyone's heart. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, Kṛṣṅa helps him. If he comes forward one step, Kṛṣṅa comes forward ten steps. But if you do not want Kṛṣṅa, that is a different business. But one who takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness...
śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṅi vidhunoti suhṛt-satām [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.]
These boys and girls, they are simply engaged in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Twenty-four hours they are simply hearing about Kṛṣṅa. Twenty-four hours. Not that fifteen minutes' meditation and twenty-three hours doing all nonsense. It is twenty-four hours' meditation. Even in sleeping, meditation, chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra.
So ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136].
[Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṅa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṅa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṅa really is.]
If we simply speculate our senses, it is not possible to understand. But if we take to this process, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau... Jihvā, this tongue, can be engaged in two processes. You can glorify Lord Kṛṣṅa. Simply glorify Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is so great, Kṛṣṅa is so kind, Kṛṣṅa is so beautiful, Kṛṣṅa is so opulent, Kṛṣṅa is so powerful. Why you make Kṛṣṅa as imperson? He has got so many qualities, transcendental qualities. What would you gain simply by saying that Kṛṣṅa is nirākāra, finish all business? No.
Try to understand Kṛṣṅa, how much powerful He is, how much strong He is, how beautiful He is, how learned, wise He is, and hear from Him. The śāstras are there. Why you stop your business of Kṛṣṅa consciousness simply by saying that Kṛṣṅa is nirākāra? Kṛṣṅa is not nirākāra. How He can be nirākāra? Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. 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.]
Vigraha means He has got transcendental form. If He hasn't got transcendental form, how these great ācāryas are worshiping Him—Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Lord Caitanya and all the great ācāryas? Does it mean they are making a farce?
Kṛṣṅa has got ākāra. Kṛṣṅa therefore says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg 9.11].
[Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.]
Avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ manyante mām abuddhayaḥ [Bg 7.24].
[Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.]
Kṛṣṅa has got transcendental form. He has got His abode. He is engaged there always.
cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.29]
Every description is there in the Vedic literature. Therefore if we learn about Kṛṣṅa, being situated in the daiva-varṅāśrama or having acquired the real qualities of brāhmaṅa, higher, or transcendental, qualities... Brāhmaṅa qualities means brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṅaḥ. That is nirākāra, of course. But you have to transcend the position of brāhmaṅa and become a Vaiṣṅava. Then you will understand the Kṛṣṅa's form, Kṛṣṅa's qualities, Kṛṣṅa's pastimes. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234].
[No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṅa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.]
Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ [Bg 7.25].
[I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-māyā]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.]
Those who are not Kṛṣṅa conscious, those who are not advanced in Kṛṣṅa science, for them, Kṛṣṅa is covered by the yoga-māyā curtain.
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṅa-svarūpaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.38]
[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṅa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.]
Kṛṣṅa is Śyāmasundara, but one who has advanced his love of Kṛṣṅa, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti, he can see Kṛṣṅa every moment, everywhere. Anyone can elevate himself to that stage of seeing Kṛṣṅa every moment by this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. Therefore Kṛṣṅa says,
manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ [Bg 7.3]
[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]
So we have to understand Kṛṣṅa tattvataḥ, in truth, by this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement.
Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa. [applause] [end]