Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

Bhagavad-gītā 2.26

Prabhupāda:

atha cainaṁ nitya-jātaṁ nityaṁ vā manyase mṛtam tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho nainaṁ śocitum arhasi [Bg 2.26]

[If, however, you think that the soul is perpetually born and always dies, still you have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.]

So this is the opinion of the modern scientists or the Buddha philosophy, that soul, there is nothing like soul separately, but by combination of matter, at a certain stage, the living symptoms are manifest. And as it is combination of several chemicals, so it is also finished as soon as the body is finished. There is no..., nothing as soul. That is their opinion.

So for argument's sake, Kṛṣṅa says, "If you think like that, that the body is all in all, by certain condition the material elements combine, and again it is finished..." So Arjuna was declining to fight. So the, for argument's sake, Kṛṣṅa says that "If you think like that, the body's everything, so it will be destroyed automatically, so why you are so much afraid?" Suppose I have combined some chemical and it is destroyed... Say, bottles of chemicals, some way or other, it is destroyed. So who laments for that? You can purchase another bottle. That is simply for argument's sake. Actually, that is not the position.

Now, if you think that the combination of chemicals can produce living force, then why don't you do it in the laboratory? The chemicals are there. You can combine and just produce a small ant, moving. Then it is... Science means observation and experiment. So if you simply observe, and cannot make any experiment, practical, so then that is not science; that is only theory.

That is not possible. No scientist has ever made any living entity by combination of chemicals in the laboratory. Nobody can do that. [pause]

jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca tasmād aparihārye 'rthe na tvaṁ śocitum arhasi [Bg 2.27]

[For one who has taken his birth, death is certain; and for one who is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.]

Jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyuḥ. "It is a fact that by the cycle of birth and death, one who dies, he has to accept again another body. So why you are deviating from your duty?"

The warfare of the kṣatriyas and the warfare at the present moment of the whimsical politicians, it is..., they are different. Formerly it was not democracy. Only the kṣatriyas would fight. Especially the king, the royal order, they should come forward. Not that the politicians are sitting very comfortably at home, and poor people, they are given to fight in front of the enemy.

No. That was not the system. The king must come forward. The other side, the king also come. And the opposite side, they also, he also should come forward and fight. It was duty. And as soon as the king is killed by the other party, then the other party becomes victorious. There was no more fighting.

It is not the so-called king and president is sitting very comfortably and the poor soldiers, they are fighting unlimitedly, and the war is going on for many years. Just like last war we saw at least eight years it continued. Eight years, six years, no. The Battle of Kurukṣetra, it was finished within eighteen days. There is no use of prolonging the war unnecessarily. If the chief man is killed, then war is finished.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa is advising Arjuna that "Suppose your grandfather on the other side dies, so where is the cause of lamentation? He's old man. He will get another, new body. So you should be, rather, happy that your old grandfather is going to have a new body." Jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyuḥ. "And everyone will die. You die today or tomorrow, or, say, fifty years after, you have to die. It is as sure as death. So why should you deviate from your duty? You are a kṣatriya. Your duty is to fight. Why you are afraid of being dead or killing others? This is your duty."

avyaktādīni bhūtāni vyakta-madhyāni bhārata avyakta-nidhanāny eva tatra kā paridevanā [Bg 2.28]

[All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?]

So the body was not existing before, and it will not exist after death. So in the via media, if the manifestation of body is there, so why it should be the object of lamentation? In this way, Kṛṣṅa is trying to convince Arjuna that he should act as kṣatriya and perform his duty.

A kṣatriya is profited, either dead or alive. That will be explained. Because in a..., in a fighting, I mean to say, real religious fighting, on principle it is..., a kṣatriya is not responsible for killing. Just like in sacrificial ceremony, if the animal is killed, the brāhmaṅa is not responsible for killing an animal. So because it is duty, it is ordained by the śāstras, therefore they are not ordinary killing. Avyakta-nidhanāny eva tatra kā pari... "It was nonmanifested before, and it will become nonmanifested again. So why should you lament for the via media?"

āścaryavat paśyati kaścit enam āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ āścaryavac cainam anyaḥ śṛṅoti śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit [Bg 2.29]

[Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.]

There are many theories and philosophical speculation all over the world about understanding the soul. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is concluding that "Somebody's explaining wonderfully, somebody is hearing wonderfully; but even after hearing and speaking, it remains a mystery, and less intelligent person cannot understand it."

That is the fact. There are so many theories. Therefore we have to accept the reality from the authority. By theorizing, by speculating, we cannot come into any decision. I may be very good logician. You may be greater logician. So you can defeat my logic; I can defeat your logic. So what is the conclusion? This kind of talking, it is called ku-tarka, unnecessarily talking, because you'll not come to my decision, I'll not come to your decision. So everyone is mysterious.

So in this way we cannot understand which is beyond the perception of our knowledge. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṅa yojayet [Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma parva 5.22].

[Anything transcendental to material nature is called inconceivable, whereas arguments are all mundane. Since mundane arguments cannot touch transcendental subject matters, one should not try to understand transcendental subjects through mundane arguments.]

Things which are beyond our perception, you..., we should not simply try to understand by logic and argument. It is useless waste of time, because nobody can decide theory.

The modern so-called scientists, they also write like that: "Perhaps," "It may be," like that. "It may be millions of years. It was like this." "It may be." What is the value of saying "It may be." Say definitely. That they cannot do. All the scientists' theory like "Perhaps," "Maybe." "Perchance, if it comes to be true..." So such kind of argument has no value.

Therefore our śāstra says, acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvāḥ. Beyond your perception, beyond your sense perception, don't try to understand it by argument and logic. Then how to know it? Know it from the person who knows it. That is knowledge. Just like we are trying to get knowledge about the soul, not by experiment, but we are trying to understand from the words of Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is the authority. So He says, in the beginning, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā [Bg 2.13].

[As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.]

We can... Kṛṣṅa says, and we can think over it and ponder over it. Then we come to conclusion. And the other process, Vedic process, is:

yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23]

[Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.]

Our process is descending process. We are not trying to understand by the ascending process. Inductive or deductive. We accept the statements of the Vedas. Therefore we haven't got to make much effort to understand a thing. Veda-vacana. Śruti, śruti-pramāṅa. There are three kinds of evidences: direct perception, and evidence from the Vedas, and evidence from history. Aitihya. Pratyakṣa, aitihya, śruti. Three kinds of evidences.

So pratyakṣa and aitihya is neglected. According to our Vedic system, śruti-pramāṅa, if it is statement, the statement is there in the śruti, in the Vedas, then we accept. We have got a society in India, they call veda-pramāṅa: "We cannot accept without it is not mentioned in the Vedas." That's a..., that's nice. But there is another class, who are described in the Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṅa Himself: veda-vāda-ratāḥ. They are simply unnecessarily fight on the basis of so-called Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge must be understood from the guru. That is injunction. They defy that. They...

The Vedic injunction is... Kaṭhopaniśad. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Muṅḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12].

[To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.]

You... To understand the Vedas, you must approach a guru. Otherwise, you cannot understand. Just like it is forbidden that without becoming a brāhmaṅa, nobody should read Vedas. Because he cannot understand. Unless one is qualified brāhmaṅa, unless one has approached another qualified brāhmaṅa who knows, there is no question of understanding Vedas. Just like Max Mueller translated Veda. What does he know about Veda? Such kinds of translation, understanding, is useless.

Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet. Abhigacchet means "He must!" There is not that "I may go or I may not." No, you must, if you really serious. In our vaiṣṅava-paramparā also—vaiṣṅava-paramparā is actually Vedic paramparā—that ādau gurvāśrayam. Ādau gurvāśrayam: "To enter into the spiritual life, first thing is first of all to accept a guru." That is... All big, big stalwarts...

Even Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva, the wonderful literature, this reading. We are reading Bhagavad-gītā. It is Vyāsadeva's literature. He heard from Kṛṣṅa and wrote it. And not only this—the Mahābhārata, the Purāṅas, the Vedānta-sūtra and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Wonderful literatures. There is no possibility of producing such literature by any scholar of these days. It is not possible. But he accepted guru, Nārada, Nārada Muni.

When, after compiling all the Vedas and Purāṅas, even Vedānta-sūtra, Vyāsadeva was not satisfied himself; he was seeming very morose. At that time his spiritual master, Nārada, came, and he asked that "Why you are morose? You have done so much nice literary work. So why you are not very happy?" So Vyāsadeva replied, "Yes, my lord, I am actually not happy, but I cannot understand why I'm not happy. So you know everything. Kindly describe why I am not happy."

So at that time, Nārada replied him that "All the literatures you have so far made, they are with reference to the body and the mind. You have nothing described very nicely about the Supreme Soul. So now you try to describe something about the Supreme Lord, about the Supreme Soul. That will make you happy."

Therefore he described the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This is the history of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And his last contribution was, mature contribution, was Vedānta-sūtra. So from the Vedānta-sūtra, he began writing Śrīmad-Bhāgavata: janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. This is the beginning of Vedānta-sūtra. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. He said, in a different language, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā.

So a human life should be engaged inquiring about the Absolute Truth, and he should inquire from a person who..., who has heard about the Absolute Truth from a realized person. This is a.... Therefore it is called śruti, paramparā, disciplic succession. One... Just like Vyāsadeva is hearing from Nārada. Nārada is authorized. He has heard from Brahmā. Brahmā has heard from Kṛṣṅa. So this is the paramparā system, disciplic succession.

So there are four paramparā systems. They are known as, at the present moment, Rāmānuja-sampradāya, Brahmā-sampra..., Brahmā-samprada..., yes, Madhva-sampradāya, Brahmā-sampradāya, Madhva-sampradāya, the same, and Rudra-sampradāya and Śrī-samp..., Śrī, Rāma, Kumāra-sampradāya. There is four sampradāyas. So we should hear from the sampradāya-ācārya by disciplic succession. As Kṛṣṅa recommends in this Bhagavad-gītā: 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.]

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt [Bg 4.1]

[The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.]

Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ.

So that is the system. We should receive knowledge by the bona fide, paramparā system. Otherwise it may be bogus. Because without paramparā system, we cannot understand actual fact. And we have to become in the disciplic succession. We must accept a guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21].

[Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.]

If you are actually eager, anxious to understand the spiritual science, then you must approach a guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam.

Uttama means transcendental subject matter. You cannot learn it. Just like if you purchase one pharmacology book from the bookseller's shop, and if you read, at home, do you mean that you become a medical practitioner, pharmacist? No. You must go to the university, you must go to the college. You must hear the experienced professor and learn it and practically experiment it. Then you can learn. Not that by purchasing a book you become a medical practitioner or lawyer. That is not possible. Therefore the direction is that tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Muṅḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12]: "Must."

[To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.]

Here also we see, Kṛṣṅa in the beginning was talking with Arjuna just like friends. But when Arjuna understood it that "We are talking like friends, so we cannot come into conclusion..." The friend, they talk, they argue, they put logic. In that way, we cannot understand. Na tāṁs tarkeṅa yojayet. Then? Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet. So therefore Arjuna surrendered himself: śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam [Bg 2.7].

[Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.]

Kārpaṅya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ. "I, I can understand that I am a kṣatriya. It is my duty to fight. But in front of my grandfather and relatives, I am declining to fight. Therefore I am affected with kārpaṅya-doṣa. I am deviating from my duty. So why I am deviating from this duty? Therefore I am surrendering myself unto You."

So in a position of perplexity, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master. That is the process, Vedic process. Otherwise, it is not possible. And our Sanātana Gosvāmī, our predecessor, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's direct disciple, he gives his direction that avaiṣṅava-mukhodgīrṅa-pūta-hari-kathāmṛtam, śravaṅaṁ na kartavyam. He says. He says, "Do not hear from a person who is not a Vaiṣṅava." He must..., one must become a Vaiṣṅava. Otherwise, his so-called ideas and interpretation has no value. Has no value.

Just like in your country, South India, Dr. Radhakrishnan, he has done so many works. But to tell you frankly, it is useless labor. Because he has said in one of his writing that Bhagavad-gītā is mental speculation. He is surpassing all the ācāryas who came, who appeared, in South India.

Rāmānujācārya appeared in South India, Madhvācārya appeared in South India. Nimbārka appeared in South India. Viṣṅu Svāmī appeared in South India. Śaṅkarācārya appeared in South India. South India is so blessed. And he also appeared in South India—he's decrying all the ācāryas. Just see the position.

He says, "Bhagavad-gītā is a mental speculation," and he has interpreted in a different way. Kṛṣṅa says that 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.]

And if you have seen Dr. Radhakrishnan's translation of Bhagavad-gītā, he says, "It is not to Kṛṣṅa." Kṛṣṅa says directly that man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. He says, "Not to Kṛṣṅa." You'll see.

So this defect will be there, unless one is sadācāra-sampanna-vaiṣṅava, self-realized. Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī says, avaiṣṅava-mukhodgīrṅa-pūta-hari-kathāmṛtam. Our first guru is Kṛṣṅa. To understand Bhagavad-gītā... Arjuna is understanding that Bhagavad-gītā from Kṛṣṅa directly.

So after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna accepts Kṛṣṅa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ sāśvatam ādyam [Bg 10.12].

[Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.]

These are the words. And Arjuna also accepted, "It is very, very difficult to understand Your personality."

Now people may say that Arjuna was Kṛṣṅa's friend. To satisfy his friend, he has accepted Him as paraṁ brahma. But that is not the fact. Arjuna gives evidences that "Not only I, but the great authorities like Vyāsa, Nārada, Asita, Devala, they have also accepted You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead." In the recent ages...

This is five thousand years ago. Even one thousand, five hundred..., Śaṅkarācārya, who is impersonalist, he has also accepted Kṛṣṅa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṅa. He has written in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā: nārāyaṅaḥ avyakta, avyaktāt, para avyaktāt. Nārāyaṅaḥ para avyaktāt: "Nārāyaṅa is not a creation of this material world. He's transcendental." He has accepted.

And what to speak of the Vaiṣṅava ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, all—they have written so many nice commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā, Brahmā-sūtra, establishing that the Supreme Absolute Truth is person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṅa is speaking as person, and He is warning the rascals, 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.]

"Because I am speaking as a human being, the rascals, they deride." Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. "They do not know what is My influence, what is My power." So this Personality of Godhead... It is a fact. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11].

[Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.]

The last word is Bhagavān. From Bhagavān, the expansion is Paramātmā, localized aspect. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg 18.61].

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

That is expansion. Ekāṁśena sthito jagat [Bg 10.42].

[But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.]

That is one of the plenary portions. Viṣṭabhya aham. He enters within this universe, and therefore the universe becomes manifest. Just like I am soul, dehino 'smin yathā dehe [Bg 2.13];

I enter into this body. You enter into your body. Therefore the body expands. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead enters as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṅu within each and every universe. Then it becomes manifest. So there is no question of impersonal. The original source is person. Kṛṣṅa says,

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ [Bg 10.8]

[I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.]

Budha, not the abudha. Abudha means less intelligent. Those who are intelligent, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ, with a bhāva, with an ecstatic position, can understand that Kṛṣṅa is the original person. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ. Sarvasya means including Brahmā, Viṣṅu, Maheśvara, all the devatās. Aham ādir hi devānām [Bg 10.2]. He is the original source of all the devas, the original devas within this... Brahmā is the first deva in the first creation.

[aside:] What is that?

So aham ādir hi devānām. The Brahmā, Viṣṅu, Maheśvara. So He's the origin of Brahmā, Viṣṅu, Maheśvara. From Kṛṣṅa, for material creation, there are three puruṣa. First of all, three puruṣa. Not directly from Kṛṣṅa. From Kṛṣṅa, Baladeva.

From Baladeva, catur-vyūha: Saṅkarṣaṅa..., Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṅa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha. Then from Saṅkarṣaṅa, Saṅkarṣaṅa, Nārāyaṅa. Then second catur-vyūha. From the second catur-vyūha Saṅkarṣaṅa, the puruṣa-avatāras, three puruṣa-avatāras, three Viṣṅus: Kāraṅodakaśāyī, Garbhodakaśāyī and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṅu.

So the..., in the Vedic literature all these informations are there. And as Kṛṣṅa says, personally, also... Arjuna accepted that "I accept, on the authority of Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Devala, Asita, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You also speaking directly. Then where is my doubt?"

So we should follow... This is called paramparā system. As Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gītā, if we understand in that way, then we are perfect. I may be imperfect, but because I understand Bhagavad-gītā as it was understood by Arjuna, I am perfect. Because the knowledge I am distributing, that is not imperfect. Just like a post peon. A post peon is delivering you one thousand dollars.

So he may be poor man, but the one thousand dollar he is delivering, that is a fact; that is not bogus thing. Because he has not manufactured something. He has received that money order from the post office. He's asked to deliver it to such-and-such person. His honesty is to deliver the money order as it is to the bona fide person. That is his perfection. He doesn't require... Because he's delivering one thousand dollar, he doesn't require to become a very rich man. He may be a poor man.

Similarly, a guru, a guru is perfect when he delivers the words of the superior authority as it is. Then he's perfect. He may be imperfect in your estimation. But that is his perfection, that he is not misleading people by becoming a so-called rascal scholar and interpreting in a different way and misleading the whole population. That is perfection. People say so much about me, that I have done some wonderful thing. But I say that I am not a magician. I'm not a magician. My only credit is that I am presenting Kṛṣṅa as He is. That's all. I am not diluting Kṛṣṅa. That is not my business.

And therefore, because it is pure, pure ghee, therefore everyone accepts. And if you place dalda, mixing with ghee some rascal thing, then nobody will accept. Therefore, so many svāmīs went before me in the Western countries, and they presented adulterated, and there was not a single person became a kṛṣṅa-bhakta. Now, by thousands they are becoming. Why? Because it is presented pure thing.

Pure thing will be accepted everywhere. I give this example. In a, in Delhi, there is... I have seen, one, there is confectioner's shop. He rigidly prepares in pure ghee all the sweetmeats. So you'll find always hundreds of customers there. And there are by the side of that, there is dalda manufacture. It is not... People are still prepared to pay sufficiently if you give pure thing.

So our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. We have not manufactured anything. While I started this movement in America, some friend suggested that "You are writing 'International Society for Krishna Consciousness'? Why not make it 'God consciousness.' It will be accepted by everyone." No. God is Kṛṣṅa. There must..., there must be clearly stated: "Krishna consciousness." I don't mind if nobody accepts it, but there must be 'Kṛṣṅa.'

So actually it is very happy that Western countries, they are accepting Kṛṣṅa. Why not? Kṛṣṅa is for everyone. Kṛṣṅa is Go... Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya [Bg 14.4]:

[It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.]

"In all forms of life, the living entities, they are My part and parcel. They are my sons. I am the father, original."

Bīja-pradaḥ pitā. So why Kṛṣṅa will not be accepted? And actually that is happening. They are coming from different groups, but because every one of us is Kṛṣṅa's son, Kṛṣṅa's part and parcel, therefore simply it requires a little attentive hearing about Kṛṣṅa. Śravaṅādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adhaḥ [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.]

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said, śravaṅādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya [Cc Madhya 22.107].

[Pure love for Kṛṣṅa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.]

Kṛṣṅa is there, in everyone's heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām [Bg 18.61].

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

But we do not know. But Kṛṣṅa and Kṛṣṅa consciousness can be awakened simply by hearing from the realized person.

Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṅa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ [SB 3.25.25]. Satāṁ prasaṅgāt. From the lips of devotees when it is heard, then it becomes hṛt-karṅa-rasāyana: it becomes very pleasing to the ear and to the heart. Taj-joṣaṅāt, if one cultivates in that way, āśu apavarga-vartmani śraddhā bhaktir ratir anukramiṣyati. These are the formulas.

So the process should be to receive the knowledge by disciplic succession, not sporadically hearing sometimes this scholar, hearing sometimes this scholar. "I interpret in my scholarship." No. This thing will not. Our process is, as directed by Sanātana Gosvāmī, avaiṣṅava-mukhodgīrṅa-pūta-hari-kathāmṛtam. Hari-kathā is amṛta. Amṛta. But still, it should not be received when it is uttered by some avaiṣṅava.

There is another direction: avaiṣṅavo gurur na sa syāt. Sat-karma-nipuṅo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ [Padma Purāṅa]. A person, a brāhmaṅa, sat-karma-nipuṅaḥ. Brāhmaṅa's business is become to become scholar and to make others scholar. Paṭhana pāṭhana, yajana yājana. He must be a worshiper and he must teach others how to worship. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha. Brāhmaṅa should receive charity and he makes immediately distribute the charity.

So these, these are the occupational duty of brāhmaṅa. Paṭhana pāṭhana. Sat-karma, sat-karma-nipuṅaḥ. A brāhmaṅa, he is very expert in his business, sat-karma. Sat-karma-nipuṅo mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ. And he has read the Vedic literatures and tantras very nicely. Viśārada. Still, if he's not a Vaiṣṅava, then avaiṣṅava gurur na sa syāt.

By that only qualification, that he's not a Vaiṣṅava, he cannot become guru, whereas, on the other's hand, sad-vaiṣṅavaḥ śva-pacaḥ guru. If a person, śva-pacaḥ—śva-pacaḥ means coming of the family of dog-eaters, caṅḍāla—if he has become a Vaiṣṅava, sadācāra-sampanna-vaiṣṅava, sa guruḥ syāt, you can accept him as guru. There are so many instances. Śrīman Rāmānujācārya's guru was not from a brāhmaṅa family, but still, he accepted guru.

So in the Vaiṣṅava literature... Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Haridāsa Ṭhākura, we give "Jaya. Ṭhākura Haridāsa Ṭhākura ki jaya," we say. This Haridāsa Ṭhākura was born in a Muhammadan family. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu made him Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra daily three hundred thousands of times. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu selected him nāmācārya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself came to broadcast the glory of Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra. So instead of becoming Himself the ācārya, He designated Haridāsa Ṭhākura as ācārya.

And similarly, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, they also became Muhammadans. They were born in Hindu Sārasvata brāhmaṅa family, but due to their association as minister of the then Muslim government, they were rejected from the brāhmaṅa society. Formerly, the brāhmaṅa society was very strict.

Anyone becoming serving, serving, servant, he is immediately excluded: "Oh, you cannot become a brāhmaṅa. You are serving." In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, by the, spoken by Nārada, he says a brāhmaṅa, if he's in difficulty, he should not accept the business of a dog, service. He should not accept service. He may go to the profession of a kṣatriya, or even up to vaiśya, not of a śūdra. These are the injunctions.

So they were strictly being followed. These Sanātana Gosvāmī, they were very learned scholar, in Sanskrit, in Arabic language, Persian language, but because they accepted the ministership of Nawab Hussain Shah, immediately they were rejected. And they changed their name. Almost they became Muslim. Sākara Mallika, Dabira Khāsa. Their name was that. These are Muhammadan names. So they were living like that. But when Caitanya Mahāprabhu blessed them, they became the first-class gosvāmī: Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy.

And He therefore said, 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 asked to spread this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement all over the world, in every village, in every town. Does he mean that let them become śūdras? Let them remain śūdras, and they become Kṛṣṅa conscious? No. He did not mean like that. That means everywhere there should be Vaiṣṅava. And a Vaiṣṅava means above brāhmaṅa. That is the Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṅa. [break]

[answering question:] Because you are here. It is for you. For us. "You" means you, me. Because we wanted to enjoy, we became..., we wanted to lord it over the material nature, therefore God has given you the facility that "You enjoy." But just to make you convinced that we cannot enjoy, we become enjoyed.

This conviction, when you come to this conviction, that we cannot enjoy, we become enjoyed, at that time we seek after God. That is natural. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. So God has created this material world because we wanted it. That is the philosophy... [break] ...your opinion, why God has created? Eh?

Indian man: No, I am not... [indistinct]

Prabhupāda: But the... No, the trouble must be there because God has created this world for your enjoyment and for my enjoyment, there therefore must be struggle. Because I don't agree with you, you don't agree with me. So why there shall not be trouble? Because everyone, if everyone... Just like in office, if everyone wants to become the proprietor, will not there be confusion and chaos? Do you think the office will go on nicely?

Similarly, here, God has given you chance to become master because you wanted. But everyone wants to be master. There is chaos. How there can be harmony when everyone wants to become God? Do you think it is all right? There must be chaos. Here is the position. Everyone in the material world, first of all, they want to become big man, big businessman, big, big this, big that, minister, president; and when everything is failure, then he wants to become God. That is the last snare of māyā.

So this is going on. How you can expect peace and prosperity here? That is not possible. 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.]

It is stated by Kṛṣṅa Himself that this is a place only for misery, but under the influence of māyā, we are accepting all miserable conditions of life as happiness. This is called māyā.

Indian man (2): Who is a real brāhmaṅa?

Prabhupāda: Who is qualified. Satya śama dama titikṣā ārjava āstikyam jñānam vijñānam [Bg 18.42].

[Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the brāhmaṅas work.]

When one has acquired all these qualities, then he becomes brāhmaṅa.

Indian man (3): Caitanya Mahāprabhu [Hindi]... [break]

Prabhupāda: ...come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. Māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate [Bg 14.26].

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

Unless we come to that platform of bhakti-yoga and become re-related, not related, again revive our Kṛṣṅa consciousness, we..., there cannot be equality. That is not possible. There must be distinction: some higher class, some middle class, some lower class. Even in European countries, there are, in America there are, so are in India.

So it is not very astonishing. Because the whole world is being conducted..., the whole material nature is being conducted by the three guṅas, and anyone associating with a particular type of guṅa, he must suffer or enjoy according to that guṅas. Jaghanya-guṅa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. Tāmasa, they, those who are in the tāmasika-guṅa, they go adhaḥ. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ.

And via media, those who are in touch with the rajo-guṅa. And ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ [Bg 14.18],

[Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.]

those who are in the goodness, they go up, in the upper platform of the society or in the universe. But Kṛṣṅa says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna [Bg 8.16].

[From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again.]

Either you go even to the Brahmaloka, one day you have come to the hellish loka. This is the way.

So some... Cakravat parivartante sukhāni ca duḥkhāni ca. Just like the wheel turns round, sometimes up, sometimes down, so this is the position of this material world. There is no question of lamenting. You cannot say, "These people are suffering and that people are enjoying." The man who is enjoying, he'll also suffer next moment. This is going on, suffering and enjoying.

Unless we come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, there is no way of coming out of this duality of this world. This is duality. Everything you'll find in dual. Unless there is happiness, you cannot understand what is distress. And unless there is distress, you cannot understand happiness. You cannot understand light unless there is darkness. So this is the world of darkness and light, so-called light. You have to transcend. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti [Bg 4.9].

[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.]

So we have to make arrangement. That facility is there to every human being, how he can get out of this world of duality and come to the transcendental platform, which is called avyabhicāriṅī-bhakti-yoga.

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26]

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

That is required. [break]

Indian man (4): ...to know how to awaken kuṅḍalinī, and how to have permanent state of awakened kuṅḍalinī.

Prabhupāda: Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa. [laughter] That's all.

[break] Thank you.

Indian man (4): Cārvāka not to believe God at all.

Prabhupāda: Eh? What is that?

Indian man (4): Cārvāka, Cārvāka...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man (4): And what was [indistinct]. And secondly, the god among the daśāvatāras, Buddha accepted, supposed to be one avatāra. Buddha never told any idol worship, or any Rāma and Kṛṣṅa worshiping. And particularly one [indistinct]. Or holy place. And will never accept in such a way, how to believe and what to believe and what is the temples.

Prabhupāda: So you reject everything. [laugher] That's all right. That is the way. That is very nice process. You reject everything. Because you are doubt in everything, so you reject everything. That's all right.

Indian man (5): [indistinct] even Lord Buddha...

[break] ...these are the contradictory.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Therefore our philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva.

[It is the living entity's constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṅa and a manifestation simultaneously one and different from the Lord.]

Acintya, inconceivable. Just like you are trying to conceive that whole world is God, and still, God is not there. That is spoken by God Himself, Kṛṣṅa: mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ [Bg 9.4].

[By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.]

Mayā tatam idam, avyakta-mūrtinā. So this impersonal feature, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti [SB 1.2.11],

[Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.]

the impersonal feature is Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma [Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1].

[Everything, both matter and spirit, is non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the Supreme Brahman.]

That means sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat, parasya brahmaṅaḥ śaktiḥ sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat [Viṣṅu Purāṅa 1.22.53].

[Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Para-brahman, are spread all over this universe.]

Just like the sunshine. You are in the sunshine. That is a practical faith. The sunshine is not different from the sun. The sun is ninety-three millions of miles away, but still, because you are in the sunshine, you are in sun. Can you deny it? That is the thing. You are in the sunshine. The sunshine is not different from the sun. But still, it is not the sun. This is the philosophy, inconceivably, simultaneously one and different. The sunshine is not different from the sun, but still, it is different.

Similarly, the whole manifested..., the cosmic manifestation is God, but still He is..., it is not God. This is, therefore, it is called inconceivable, acintya. With our teeny brain, we cannot accommodate how it is one and different. Therefore it is called acintya. Acintya-bhedābheda:

different and separate, simultaneously. Everything.

Idaṁ hi viśvo bhagavān ivetaraḥ [SB 1.5.20]. The whole world is Bhagavān, but it appears different from Bhagavān. So how? To a mahā-bhāgavata, who understands actually what is Bhagavān, he does not see any difference, because he, everywhere he sees his worshipable Deity, Kṛṣṅa. He does not see anything. I am seeing a tree, but a devotee is seeing tree: "Oh, it is the energy of Kṛṣṅa." Immediately he remembers Kṛṣṅa and worships Him.

So this is higher stage of realization of God, how the inconceivable things, simultaneously one and different, can be perceived. Therefore, there are three stages of devotional life: kaniṣṭhādhikārī, madhyamādhikārī and uttamādhikārī. So to become uttamādhikārī, it is not so easy, but we are generally in the kaniṣṭhādhikārī. But we shall try to come to the madhyamādhikārī. Then our life will be successful.

Indian man (6): That is correct, Swāmī. As you have told, [indistinct] he said we have no suffering. He suffered for others. [indistinct] We should not condemn them. We should pray to the Lord that we may take...

Prabhupāda: No. No devotee condemns anything. But when he does not... Just like when..., father always gives, always merciful to his son, but if the son is very obstinate, he gives him a slap. [end]