Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.9

Prabhupāda: Hmm? The small books? Where it has gone? Anyone will do. Come on. Why you are back side?

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [leads chanting of verse] [Prabhupāda and devotees repeat]

rājya-kāmo manūn devān nirṛtiṁ tv abhicaran yajet kāma-kāmo yajet somam akāmaḥ puruṣaṁ param [SB 2.3.9]

Prabhupāda: Girls? Anyone? [girls chant]

That's all right. Then, word meaning.

Pradyumna: [leads chanting of synonyms] [break]

rājya-kāmaḥ—anyone desiring an empire or kingdom; manūn—the Manus, semi-incarnations of God; devān—demigods; nirṛtim—demons; tu—but; abhicaran—desiring victory over the enemy; yajet—should worship; kāma-kāmaḥ—one who desires sense gratification; yajet—should worship; somam—the demigod named Candra; akāmaḥ—one who has no material desires to be fulfilled; puruṣam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; param—the Supreme. [break]

[07:53]

Translation: "One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the demons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Prabhupāda: This is significant. Those who are Kṛṣṅa conscious, they have no material desires. Finished. Brahmaṅy upaśamāśrayam. Upaśama. Upaśama means completely finished, don't want. They can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise, without being akāma... Akāma means no material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11], completely.

[One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṅa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.]

If we have got least desire for material enjoyment, Kṛṣṅa will give us chance again to accept a body which will satisfy the senses.

Deha-yogena dehinām. For our sense gratification, a particular type of body is offered, by the order of Kṛṣṅa, through the agency of material nature. Just like father gives the seed, and the mother gives the body, similarly, Kṛṣṅa, the supreme father, He is the giver of the seed, living entity, and according to the living entity's desire, the material nature gives the body. Therefore material nature is mother, and Kṛṣṅa is the supreme father. Tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy aham [Bg 14.3]. Garbhaṁ dadāmy aham: "I give the seed, garbha, pregnancy."

So we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, and He... According to my desire, He puts me into a circumstances, material circumstances; I get a particular type of body. This is the secret of different types of body and transmigration of the body. The foolish scientists, they do not know this science. They are trying to create living entity in the laboratory. It is impossible. Just like if a woman wants to create a child independently, it is impossible.

There must be contact with a man who must give the seed, then a woman can produce a child. Similarly, these rascals who are trying to produce life by material combination, through the material agency, they are all rascals. They do not know even the ordinary law. By combination of matter you cannot produce any living entity. That is not possible. Living entity, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa must give the seed. Tasmin garbhaṁ dadāmy aham. The creation, the yoni... Yathā yoni..., yathā bījaṁ yathā yoni. This is natural.

So to get this body means I have got material desire, this body. This is the philosophy. Anyone who has got this material body, beginning from Brahmā... He is considered the first creature within this universe, most intelligent, most learned, but still, because he has got this material body, he's not akāma, without any material desire. He has got material desire.

He wanted to become the supreme head of one universe. Just like we try to become supreme head of a family, then of a society, then of a nation, of a community. Then I desire to be head also. Go on, go on, increasing, to lord it over. So, so long there will be desire to lord it over, then we have to accept a body. It doesn't matter what kind of body. It may be Brahmā's body, it may be cat's body, it may be man's body, it may be bird's body, it may be beast's body. That will depend on my desire. But if I have got any desire, material desire, to fulfill, then I must be prepared for accept next body, another.

So if one wants to finish this business, accepting... And accepting a material body means to become subjected to the laws of material nature. You get a material body, and if you want that "I shall not die," it is impossible. It is not good. Then you must die. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19]. You get a material body and again you give it up, and again you get it. This is going on. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,

ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṅa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc Madhya 19.151]

[According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṅa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṅa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.]

In this way, all the living entities, beginning from Brahmā down to the microscopic germ, everyone is rotating in different species of life, in different planets, in different position. Innumerable. As the living entities are innumerable, so varieties of bodies are also innumerable. Not innumerable; they are counted: 8,400,000 species of life. This is Vedic knowledge, exactly giving the number. Exactly: 8,400,000. It doesn't say 9,000,000 or 500,000. No. Exact.

Jalajā nava-lakṣāṅi. In the aquatic, there are 900,000 species of life. Now, if you have got your science, go and see. This is Vedic knowledge—perfect, without any doubt. Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati: and the plants and trees, they are 2,000,000 species of life. So, ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite [Cc Madhya 19.151]. We are transmigrating from one species of life, one species of life, another, another, another, another...

They cannot explain why there are so many varieties of life. The varieties of life is there because we have desire, kāma. "I want this," "All right, take this." Kṛṣṅa is immediately prepared. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante [Bg 4.11].

[All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.]

"If you want, you can take it." But Kṛṣṅa says, ultimately, that "You'll never be happy in this way. Therefore you give up this business. Simply surrender unto Me." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅam [Bg 18.66].

[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]

So that is called akāma.

So here it is said that akāmaḥ yajet puruṣaṁ param. If you want to be akāma, devoid of all material desire, then surrender to Kṛṣṅa. That will save you from this business of rotating from one sort of body to another sort of body. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva [Cc Madhya 19.151]. To come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness is not very easy thing. It is by the grace of guru, guru-kṛṣṅa, and grace of Kṛṣṅa, combined together. One who sincerely wants to stop this business of repeated birth and death... But they do not understand that this is a suffering. They say, "Ah, let it happen."

When they forget what is the suffering of birth... Birth, as I have many times explained, nowadays it is so much suffering that a child is born within the womb, and there is abortion, killed: "Kill him." But they do not understand the suffering, that one chance given that it will get a body and come out, and may be able to come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, that oppor..., that chance, he's being killed within the womb. But these rascals, they do not know what is the suffering. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [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.]

Kṛṣṅa says the sufferings of birth... They do not understand, such fool, that what is the suffering of birth. Even if you are not killed, you have to remain compact in a vat, airtight. And the worms, they are biting. So many things. Suffocated. That is one. But if he can live at least for ten months, the mother does not kill, abortion, then it has got a chance to come out. Otherwise, there is no chance to come out even. He dies within the womb, again transferred to another womb, and again it is killed.

So those who are too much sinful, those who are causing these abortion, they will get this sort of life. They will never see light. One womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed. This is so sinful, this abortion. And the modern civilization and the priestly order, they are passing: "If the mother selects. Otherwise, there is no objection, abortion." Such foolish world is going on. You see?

There are so many subtle laws of nature. They do not know anything. And they are claiming to be educated scientist and Vedāntist, philosopher. All nonsense. All nonsense. Therefore it is said, akāmaḥ puruṣaṁ param. Give up your kāma, lusty desires, or any material desires, and surrender to Kṛṣṅa. Then that is life successful. Otherwise, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19]: take once birth... These are all desires.

And the so big list: "If you want this, then you can worship this." Why it is recommended that you worship these demigod? Because if one goes for fulfilling the desire to a demigod, there is connection of Viṣṅu. Because any yajña you perform, demigod, there must be Viṣṅu first. The mantra says that "With the sanction of Viṣṅu's order, you get this facility." So by worshiping the demigod, if he's sensible man, one day he will come to know that "Above the demigod there is Viṣṅu. So why I am worshiping these demigods? Why not Viṣṅu?"

Suppose if I get some facility from somebody, and if I see that this man is taking sanction from another, superior man, so my intelligence should be, "Why not go direct to the superior man? Why I am flattering this man?" That is sense. So therefore demigod worship is recommended in Vedas, that one day he may come to his intelligence that "Why demigod? Why not God personally, directly?" Therefore, it is not that it is encouragement, it is encouragement.

Just like, you know amongst the Hindus, the flesh-eater, they're recommended that "If you want to eat meat, then you sacrifice one goat before the goddess Kālī." And Goddess Kālī is worshiped once in a month, on the dark-moon day, at night. And there are mantras. The mantras say that... Within the ear of the animal it is said that "You are sacrificing your life before the deity; so next life, immediately, you get a human form of life.

And when you get a human form of life, you'll have the right to kill this man also." This is the mantra. Now, if you are a sane man, understand that "I am killing this goat at the risk of my life, next birth. So why I am going to take such responsibility? Better stop it." So, it is for discouraging. If I say directly, "Don't eat meat," he'll protest, "Why shall I not? It is our food. I must eat." Therefore, instead of directly prohibiting, the śāstra says, "Yes, yes, you can eat—but by sacrificing it before Goddess Kālī." That means condition, restriction.

Similarly, marriage. Marriage—what is the meaning of marriage? Everyone can have sex without marriage. So what it means, marriage? Marriage means restriction, that's all, that you have sex, but a particular selected woman, man. That's... No more. That's all. That is marriage. So all these Vedic rules are there... Śāstra says, loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā [SB 11.5.11].

Why this demigod worship, marriage, these are prescribed? They are prescribed to stop it, not to encourage it. But the foolish person, they say, "Well, it is in the śāstra. Why shall I not do?" Therefore Lord Buddha, when he appeared, he wanted to stop this animal killing, but because these rascal will show the evidence that "Here is sanctioned by the Vedas to kill an animal before Goddess Kālī. Why you stop?" therefore he said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Because his only idea was to stop this animal killing. Ahiṁsā.

So we should know, whenever there is sanction in the śāstra for meat-eating, for sex intercourse or for drinking, it is not for encouraging; it is for prohibiting, restricting. So the next question should [be], "Why it is restricted?" Restricted means so long you'll be addicted to this habit, you'll have to accept a body. So one who cannot stop it immediately, he's restricted. "All right, you want to do it? All right. Go to this demigod."

That is the list. "If you want this, all right, go to this demigod." Means somehow or other, this lusty person is being brought before a demigod to understand that this is not good. This is implicating. Therefore it is said akāma. If you become completely free from all material desires, or if you want that position, then come to Kṛṣṅa; no other demigod. If you actually want freedom from this material bondage, then Kṛṣṅa.

Kṛṣṅa also assures, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi. These are all pāpa, sinful. Either you take the body of a Brahmā or an ant or cat or dog—all sinful. Only the person who has taken to Kṛṣṅa consciousness seriously, he's pious. Akāma. The next verse will be akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā [SB 2.3.10].

Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to you Śrīla Prabhupāda. [devotees offer obeisances.]

Prabhupāda: [Hums] Kīrtana. [end]