The Nectar of Devotion

[audio distortion]

Pradyumna: [reading] "The process of devotional service as it is recommended in The Nectar of Devotion will gradually elevate one from the material condition of life to the spiritual status, wherein the devotee becomes purified of all designations.

The senses can then become uncontaminated, being constantly in touch with bhakti-rasa. When the purified senses are employed in the service of the Lord, one becomes situated in bhakti-rasa life, and any action performed for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṅa in this transcendental bhakti-rasa stage of life ...

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Yes.

Pradyumna: ... can be relished perpetually."

Prabhupāda: So Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is giving us the process how to elevate one's self from this material platform to the spiritual platform. That is devotional service. Devotional life means purifying the present conditional life, contaminated life, life under the influence of the three modes of material nature: sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. So if we become unaffected by these three guṅas... Just like it is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, trai-guṅya-viṣayā vedā nistrai-guṅya bhavārjuna [Bg 2.45].

[The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.]

One has to become above the three guṅas—sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. In the material existence, the sattva-guṅa is considered to be first class, the rajo-guṅa is considered to be second class, and the tamo-guṅa is considered to be third class. But even if we remain in the sattva-guṅa, that is also not transcendental platform.

Sattva-guṅa means brahminical qualification: satya śama dama titikṣa ārjava jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ 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, these are the symptoms of sattva-guṅa. But rajo-guṅa—tejo īśvara bhāvaś ca yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam. Just like kṣatriyas: they're very powerful; they want to control; they are not afraid of fighting. These are kṣatriya qualifications. Rajo-guṅa. Creative power. They want to expand their kingdom, ruling over the people, taxing the people. These are the qualification of the rajo-guṅa. And tamo-guṅa means śūdra: ignorance and lazy. That is tamo-guṅa. These are the symptoms. They have no activity. They cannot become independent, because they are very lazy.

Brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, they have their independent life, but the śūdras, they are dependent. Therefore śūdra... Just like a dog. A dog, if he has no master, it is street dog; it has no value. It must be chained by a very big master. That is his life. And he very voluntarily agrees: "Come here," "Yes." So paricaryātmakaṁ kāryaṁ śūdra-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.]

Paricaryā, to satisfy the master.

So our this bhakti process is also the same. Sometimes we are criticized: "slave mentality." Yes, we want voluntarily to become slave—of Kṛṣṅa. We are, at the present moment, we are slave of the senses. Kāma krodha lobha moho mātsarya. Kāmādi. Kāmādi means kāma, desire to enjoy. And if our enjoyment, if our desire is not fulfilled, then we become krodhi, angry; lobhi, moha mātsarya. The material existence means we are servant of so many sense gratificatory processes. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma [SB 5.5.4]. We are now engaged to act sinfully. Any kind of sinful activity we can accept. Why? Yad indriya prītaya āpṛnoti. Simply for sense gratification. That's all. We are prepared to take any risk only for sense gratification.

But we do not know that we are taking great risk, great risk. Because there is another life. After death, there is life. The modern people, they do not understand it. Therefore śāstra says, na sādhu manye: "These kind of activities are not very good." Na sādhu. It is not honest. This is not good. Yato ātmano ayam asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ [SB 5.5.4]. We have got this body. That is kleśada. Just like we are feeling warm, therefore we want this fan, because the..., on account of this body, we are feeling warm, or sometimes chilly. So if I feel chilly, then I have to stop this fan. I'll have to cover this body. So all our pains and pleasure are due to this material body. That we do not understand. Śāstra says, asann api. Although this body's temporary, but it is kleśada, it is full of miserable condition: ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika.

So for our past karma, we have created this body and we are suffering. Therefore our mission should be not to create another body. And finish all sufferings in this body and do not create another material body. That is actually our duty. But we have no education. We have no information. Our leaders are blind, foolish. They are leading us to misuse this valuable life of human form. This is our position. They are misleading us.

Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṅape tri-dhātuke [SB 10.84.13].

[One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.]

They are impressing in us that "You are this body. You are born in this country. So your country, your nation is worshipable. Why you are after Kṛṣṅa? This is all bogus." This is our position. "Don't be after Kṛṣṅa. Just try to satisfy the senses of your body to the best capacity. Eat, drink, be merry and enjoy life. And next life? Oh, next life... That... Don't care." The atheist philosopher, Cārvāka Muni, says, bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kuto punar āgamano bhavet: "Don't care for next life." This is going on now: atheism. Big, big professors, educationists, they're also in this opinion. I have traveled all over the world. One Russian professor said, "Swāmījī, after this life, there is no... Everything is finished." But that's not the fact. That is the defect of modern education. There is life. There is life. Otherwise why there are so many varieties of life? We should consider that.

So bhakti, bhakti means to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is bhakti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

To understand Kṛṣṅa in truth, that is bhakti. Or by bhakti, by devotional service, you can understand Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa cannot be understand..., understood by karma, jñāna, yoga. Partially they can understand, but not fully. Karma, jñāna... Therefore Kṛṣṅa especially mentions, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg 18.55]. Na karmaṅā na jñānena na yogena. Nāhaṁ vasāmi vaikuṅṭhe yoginaṁ hṛdayeṣu. Yoga process or jñāna process can elevate... Of course, we become... The Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that out of millions of karmīs, one jñānī is first class, because he understands things as they are, that "I am not this body. I am Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi."

So therefore he's better than millions of karmīs who are simply working like an ass and dogs. They do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. They do not know what is the next life, what is the aim of life. They do not know. They are simply working for sense gratification. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma [SB 5.5.4]. And doing all kinds of sinful activities. Yad indriya-prītaya. The only aim is how to satisfy senses. That is karmī.

So out of such millions of fools who are working hard... They have been described just like asses. The asses work very hard for the dhobī, for the washerman, not for himself. He does not work for himself. Therefore the karmīs are called asses, mūḍhāḥ. The ass is satisfied with a morsel of grass and working very hard for the washerman. This is ass's qualification. The śāstras, they have selected some animals: śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ [SB 2.3.19].

The... Generally, population, general population, they are just like dogs, śva; viḍ-varāha, the stool-eater, hog. Śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra, camel. And kharaḥ, and ass. They have been selected. So... Just like... Why they are compared with the dog? Because the dog is searching after a master. Without master, he cannot live.

So those who cannot live independently, they are just like dogs. There are so many things, explanation. Viḍ-varāha. Viḍ-varāha means no distinction of eating. Anything. Any damn thing, any nonsense thing, up to stool, they can eat. They are..., they are called viḍ-varāha. And uṣṭra. Uṣṭra means that he's eating his own blood, thorny twigs. The uṣṭra, you know, the kharaiḥ, I mean, the camel, in the desert there is only thorny twigs. Because there are uṣṭras...

There is no other animal. And there are some date trees also, for the human being. Kṛṣṅa has provided everything. Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13]. Even in the desert Kṛṣṅa has provided food. So this uṣṭra, this camel, they like to eat these twigs, thorny twigs. And as soon as they chew the thorny twig, blood oozes out from the tongue, and it is mixed, and it makes a nice taste. So he's thinking that twigs are very nice, these thorns are very nice.

Similarly, this material existence, it is simply thorny life. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām. Every step. Here is our friend, Mr. Cakravartī. He was going to business, and immediately there was accident. The whole thing became turned into something else. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām. We do not understand this, that every step there is danger. This material life is so dangerous. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām. Na teṣām, who are they? Who do not face this padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ. Puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ mahat-padam. One who has taken shelter. Bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām [SB 10.14.58].

[For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṅṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.]

So the bhakti, bhakti cult... Everyone should take. Because that is natural. Natural. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṅa-bhakti. Bhakti's not unnatural. Other things unnatural. That is the statement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṅa dāsa [Cc Madhya 20.108-109]. Eternally you are servant of Kṛṣṅa. But we have accepted the service of māyā instead of Kṛṣṅa. And we are thinking we are independent. We are being kicked out every moment by māyā, and still I am thinking, "I'm God. I'm independent" This is called illusion. He's being slapped always, he's being kicked by māyā; still he's thinking that he's independent, he's God, he's big, he's minister, he is something, something, something. This is called māyā. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is called moha. So bhakti means to become freed from this moha, illusion. That is bhakti.

So dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣa [SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90].

[Any person who desires the fruits of the four principles religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, at the end, liberation, should engage himself in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for worship of His lotus feet yields the fulfillment of all of these.]

People are after these four things. Dharma. Dharma, generally, they try to become religious for some material gain, artha. Material gain. And why artha is required? Because kāma, to fulfill our desires, for lusty desires. We require money. Dharma-artha-kāma. And when we are frustrated in enjoying this material world, then we try to become mokṣa, merge into the existence of Brahman, brahmā satyaṁ jagan mithyā, when you are frustrated. So that kind of mokṣa... Of course, it is nice. But bhakti is beyond mokṣa. Mokṣa means brahma-bhūtaḥ, to understand that "I am Brahman." That is mokṣa. That is mukti. "I'm not this matter. I'm not this body." That is called mokṣa.

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām [Bg 18.54]

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

After being liberated from this material contamination, that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this matter; I am Brahman..." That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. In the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage one is joyful, prasannātmā. That is the symptoms of brahma-bhūtaḥ. Prasannātmā [Bg 18.54]. Na śocati na kāṅkṣati.

Because he has nothing to do with material world, therefore sometimes it is said, "It is mithyā," because I have nothing to do. It may be very important thing, but unless you realize Kṛṣṅa, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām, by devotional service, even by lifting yourself to that stage, transcendental stage of Brahman realization, there is chance of falling down. That is the verdict of, I mean to say, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛtaḥ-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ [SB 10.2.32].

[[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.]

Because they could not search out the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa, they have to come down again to this material existence, which they left as mithyā. But their..., because there is no shelter on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa, this brahma-bhūtaḥ stage also not secure. One has to fall down. We have seen many big, big sannyāsīs, very learned scholars, sannyāsīs, they take part in politics, sociology. Because they could not catch up real Brahman, therefore they come again to this material existence.

So Śrīdhara Swami, the great commenter on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he says, in connection with the second verse, First Chapter, First Canto:

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra paramo nirmatsarāṅāṁ satāṁ vāstava vastu vedyam atra ... [SB 1.1.2].

[Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṅa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.]

So Śrīdhara Swami says, atra mokṣavisandi api nirastam: to desire for mokṣa is also not ultimate goal of life. Ultimate goal of life is to accept the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate [Bg 7.19].

[After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.]

Actually who is jñānavān, he'll take shelter of Kṛṣṅa. If not in this life, he'll have to come to this status. Therefore nirviśeṣavadi, impersonalists... Kṛṣṅa says, kleṣaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta cetasām. Avyakta. Kṛṣṅa is vyakta. But one who is not after this vyakta, he's after impersonal Brahman, their labor is still more hard than the bhaktas.

So the bhakti-mārga means directly giving you the ultimate goal of life—Viṣṅu. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṅu. People do not know that what is the aim of life. The aim of life is to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the aim of life. But they have no information. There is God. "Who is God? Who is Viṣṅu?" No information. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ [SB 10.2.32]. So without understanding Viṣṅu, without understanding Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all other attempts, they are not successful. That is the verdict of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.

Without understanding Kṛṣṅa, if one is thinking that "I have become liberated," that is vimukta-maninaḥ. He's thinking like that. Actually he's under the clutches of māyā. He's thinking like that. Why? Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Because his intelligence is not yet clear. Still it is contaminated by māyā. Therefore āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛtaḥ-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ [SB 10.2.32]. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa. The..., they take too much hardship for rising to the Brahman platform, nirviśeṣa Brahman platform. Kṛccha sādhana. Their austerities, penances are very severe. Taking shelter underneath a..., as Śaṅkarācārya exhibited himself: he was living underneath a tree, thrice, four times taking bath. Very cutting vairāgya. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa. But if they do not approach Kṛṣṅa, then there is chance of falling down. There is chance of falling down again into this material world.

Because we are living entities, we want variety. As I have explained several times, just like if you go in the sky... The sky is very brilliant, all shining, but still you'll not like it. You'll come down. You'll want to come down again, because you want variety. So if you go very high in the sky, if you actually enter into some planet where there is varieties of life, then you become satisfied. Otherwise, if you remain only in the sky, nirviśeṣa, nirākāra, then you'll hanker after: "Where is viśeṣa? Where is varieties? Where is variety?" This is natural. Therefore śāstra says, āruhya kṛcchreṅa param...

You can go very high with your aero..., aeroplane, but if you don't get any shelter in the sky, then you'll have to come back. As they are doing. They're trying to go to the moon planet, not in the sky. The sky, you can remain in the sky. Why you are coming back? No, that is not very pleasing. That is not very pleasing.

So bhakti-mārga means that bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

You can understand Kṛṣṅa as He is. "As He is" means He's not a human being like you or me. He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sac-cid-ānanda vigraha.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṅa-kāraṅam [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.]

That is understanding of Kṛṣṅa. If we understand Kṛṣṅa as ordinary human being, 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.]

then we don't understand Kṛṣṅa. We understand Kṛṣṅa's māyā, not Kṛṣṅa. Nāhaṁ sarvasya prakāṣaḥ yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ. Kṛṣṅa cannot be understood, because He's covered by yogamāyā. He can be understood only by the devotees.

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yam 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.]

So the bhakti-mārga means we want real life, eternal life, and varieties also. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12].

[By nature, the Supreme Lord is blissful.]

Ānanda cannot... Variety is the mother of enjoyment. Without variety, you cannot feel enjoyment. That is not possible. Suppose if I simply give you a lump of flour. Will you enjoy? But the same flour, you make kachorīs, siṅgāra, lucī, purī and this and... Oh, you'll enjoy. The ingredient is the same, but when it is variety, it is enjoyable. Similarly, spiritual varieties... The impersonalists, they being fed up with this material varieties, they want to make it zero. But that will not help us. In zero we cannot be happy, because we are, by nature, we want to enjoy. Enjoy means there must be varieties. The same flour, but you pick up some different varieties of flour and keep it, oh, you'll enjoy: "Oh, it is very nice." Therefore Kṛṣṅa has given so many varieties.

So the varieties of life. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis [Bs 5.37].

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, residing in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, resembling His own spiritual figure, the embodiment of the ecstatic potency possessed of the sixty-four artistic activities, in the company of Her confidantes [sakhīs], embodiments of the extensions of Her bodily form, permeated and vitalized by His ever-blissful spiritual rasa.]

Ānanda-cinmaya. These varieties, this is material variety. We cannot enjoy here, but there is spiritual variety. That is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ. Just like Kṛṣṅa Himself is expanding Himself as gopīs, as cowherds boys, as calves and cows and trees in Vṛndāvana. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis. They are all ananda-cinmaya-rasa, expansion of Kṛṣṅa's pleasure potency. Rādhā kṛṣṅa-praṅaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād [Cc Ādi 1.5]. So we want liberation, but not liberation in the impersonal existence. That is... That is not very safe. We must enter into the spiritual varieties of life. That is Kṛṣṅaloka; that is Vaikuṅṭhaloka, especially Kṛṣṅaloka. Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

He's Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, 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.]

His body is not like us. He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. But He has got form.

So Brahman realization means partial understanding of the sat portion of sac-cid-ānanda. Paramātmā realization means realization of para, of the cit potency. But ānanda realization means to become associated with Kṛṣṅa. That is ānanda, varieties, rāsa-līlā. Kṛṣṅa is playing with the cowherds boys, Kṛṣṅa is dancing with the gopīs, Kṛṣṅa is enjoying the association of His mother, His father, His friend. Itthaṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena [SB 10.12.11].

[All the boys would be differently engaged. Some boys blew their flutes, and others blew bugles made of horn. Some imitated the buzzing of the bumblebees, and others imitated the voice of the cuckoo. Some boys imitated flying birds by running after the birds' shadows on the ground, some imitated the beautiful movements and attractive postures of the swans, some sat down with the ducks, sitting silently, and others imitated the dancing of the peacocks.

Some boys attracted young monkeys in the trees, some jumped into the trees, imitating the monkeys, some made faces as the monkeys were accustomed to do, and others jumped from one branch to another. Some boys went to the waterfalls and crossed over the river, jumping with the frogs, and when they saw their own reflections on the water they would laugh. They would also condemn the sounds of their own echoes.

In this way, all the cowherd boys used to play with Kṛṣṅa, who is the source of the Brahman effulgence for jñānīs desiring to merge into that effulgence, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead for devotees who have accepted eternal servitorship, and who for ordinary persons is but another ordinary child. The cowherd boys, having accumulated the results of pious activities for many lives, were able to associate in this way with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can one explain their great fortune?]

The Kṛṣṅa is the origin of Brahman effulgence. Those who are trying for brahma-sukha, here is the point. Śukadeva Gosvāmī: itthaṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā. The origin. Brahmano 'haṁ pratiṣṭhā. "Impersonal Brahman is situated on Me." Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṅḍa-koṭi [Bs 5.40].

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose effulgence is the source of the nondifferentiated Brahman mentioned in the Upaniṣads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth.]

So we get information.

We have to realize these things, what is Kṛṣṅa. That...

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām apisiddhānāṁ 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.]

To understand Kṛṣṅa is not very easy thing. Manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu. Out of many, many millions who are trying to become successful in the mission of life... Manuṣyāṅāṁ saha, kaścid yatati siddhaye. Siddhaye. Siddhaye means, to become siddha means to become brahma-bhūtaḥ, to understand that "I am not this material body. I am brahmāsmi." That is siddhi. And yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ [Bg 7.3]: out of many such siddhas who have realized Paramātmā or Brahman, out of many such millions of people, one can understand Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is so difficult subject matter.

But He's so kind also that He is giving us instruction personally in the form of Bhagavad-gītā what He is. What He is? He says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya [Bg 7.7]:

[O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.]

"My dear Arjuna, don't labor hard, simply that there is something beyond Me." Sometimes they say that "There is still more, beyond Kṛṣṅa." But Kṛṣṅa says, "No, there is nothing beyond." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya, mayi sūtre gaṅā iva: "Everything is resting on Me." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ [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.]

The Vedānta says, janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. Janma sthiti laya, where it is staying, where it is being conducted, that is Brahman. So Kṛṣṅa answers this question that ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo [Bg 10.8]. He's the Supreme Brahman. Therefore Arjuna accepted Him: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma [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.]

We are Brahmans, but we are not Param Brahman. Param Brahman is Kṛṣṅa. We are ātmā, but we are not Paramātmā. Paramātmā is Kṛṣṅa.

So in this way...

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścid vetti mām... [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 in this way we have to understand Kṛṣṅa. 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.]

We have to understand Kṛṣṅa through the paramparā, disciplic succession, not by our A-B-C-D knowledge. That is not possible. One has to accept the disciplic succession, line. 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.]

That guru... Guru means Kṛṣṅa's representative, Kṛṣṅa's... Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ. Sākṣād dharitvena.

Because guru is representative of Kṛṣṅa, therefore he should be respected as good as Kṛṣṅa. Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. But because a guru is respected as Kṛṣṅa, the guru does not think that he has become Kṛṣṅa. No. That is foolishness. He's the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṅa. Therefore... Just like most confidential secretary, he acts as the master. His signature, his settlement will be accepted by the master. Similarly, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasya prasādād na gatiḥ kuto 'pi. We have to select the right representative of Kṛṣṅa and accept him as guru. And if I please him, then Kṛṣṅa will be pleased.

There is no need of... Somebody, they say that "Kṛṣṅa is not present. How shall I please Him?" No. Kṛṣṅa's representative is present. You please him. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo, yasya. Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau [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.]

This is the process. Yathā deve tathā gurau. Tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante. This is the process. Ādau gurvāśrayam. That is Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī giving his..., in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, ādau gurvāśrayam. If you are actually interested to understand Kṛṣṅa and kṛṣṅa-bhakti, the first business is ādau gurvāśrayam: you take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master who is representative of Kṛṣṅa.

And how we can understand the representative of Kṛṣṅa? That is not very difficult. Because what Kṛṣṅa says, if the representative says the same thing, then he's representative. It is not very difficult. Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66].

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

If His representative says that "You surrender to Kṛṣṅa," he's representative. That's all. He does not become, himself, Kṛṣṅa. Then he's bogus. A faithful servant will never say that "I am the master." "I am servant"—although he's as good as the master. Similarly, a guru is sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva, kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. He, he is the most confidential, dear servant of Kṛṣṅa. That is guru. That's all. He does not know anything but Kṛṣṅa.

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu presenting Himself: gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayoḥ dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ [Cc Madhya 13.80].

[I am not a brāhmaṅa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa, the maintainer of the gopīs. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’]

A guru is always the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṅa. He does not represent himself direct servant. How he can be direct servant? But if you are in the disciplic succession of the servitude, servant of the servant of the servant, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam [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.]

then you become representative. And there is no difference between the original guru, Kṛṣṅa, and the latest guru Kṛṣṅa. Because the aim is the same. Kṛṣṅa personally says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66].

And who is representative of Kṛṣṅa, he'll say the same thing: "You surrender to Kṛṣṅa." Kṛṣṅa says, 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.]

The guru will say, "Yes, you become always Kṛṣṅa conscious." Man-manā. Kṛṣṅa says man-manā. A guru says, "You become Kṛṣṅa conscious." The same thing. There is no difference. You become devotee of Kṛṣṅa. You always think of Kṛṣṅa. You always chant of Kṛṣṅa. You always speak of Kṛṣṅa. You do not know anything but Kṛṣṅa. Simply this life is required.

So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is teaching people to become Kṛṣṅa..., Kṛṣṅa conscious. Means Kṛṣṅa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. The four things. You just become always thinking of Kṛṣṅa. You just become a devotee of Kṛṣṅa. You just offer your obeisances unto Kṛṣṅa. And you just worship Kṛṣṅa. And accept Kṛṣṅa, giving up any other engagement. Because real dharma is to surrender to Kṛṣṅa. Otherwise why Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg 18.66]?

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

Why He says, "Give up all other so-called dharmas"? They are not dharmas. And the Bhāgavata says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra [SB 1.1.2]:

[Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṅa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.]

"The cheating type of dharma is kicked out from this Bhāgavatam." Cheating type. Real dharma, what is that real dharma? Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṅītam [SB 6.3.19].

[Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although fully situated in the mode of goodness, even the great ṛṣis who occupy the topmost planets cannot ascertain the real religious principles, nor can the demigods or the leaders of Siddhaloka, to say nothing of the asuras, ordinary human beings, Vidyādharas and Cāraṅas.]

What Bhagavān says. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ [Bg 18.66]. This is real dharma.

So we request everyone... It is very scientific. It is authorized. We are not talking nonsense. Authorized. We are taking the version of Kṛṣṅa. We are taking the version of the Vedic conclusion. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [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.]

Vedas, study of Veda means to understand Kṛṣṅa. One who does not understand Kṛṣṅa, he's simply wasting his time.

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ notpādayed ratiṁ yadi śrama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8]

[The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.]

You can execute your dharma, your occupational duty, very nicely. That's all right. But if you do not develop Kṛṣṅa consciousness, you are simply wasting your time and working hard for nothing. This is the verdict.

So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is very genuine, and it is very easy. Especially in this age. That is also authorized statement of Śukadeva Gosvāmī: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet [SB 12.3.51].

[My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.]

He has described... Because in this age—in this age is called Kali-yuga—there are so many impediments. People are fallen. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10].

[O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.]

They are disturbed. So many botheration. It is very difficult to realize Kṛṣṅa consciousness. But there is very short-cut way recommended: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet. Simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare you become uncontaminated of this material contamination and thus, being freed from material contamination, you become eligible to go back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]