Bhagavad-gītā 7.1

Prabhupāda: We are reciting from Bhagavad-gītā, Seventh Chapter [Bg 7.1].

[Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.]

The yoga system is called attachment for Kṛṣṅa, or kṛṣṅa-yoga. Yoga means connecting, link, and if we always keep ourself connecting link with Kṛṣṅa, then we become the topmost yogī. There are many kinds of yogīs. Generally the yogīs, they think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead always within the heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti 'yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1].

[Sūta Gosvāmī said: Unto that personality whom Brahmā, Varuṅa, Indra, Rudra and the Maruts praise by chanting transcendental hymns and reciting the Vedas with all their corollaries, pada-kramas and Upaniṣads, to whom the chanters of the Sāma Veda always sing, whom the perfected yogīs see within their minds after fixing themselves in trance and becoming fully absorbed in thoughts of Him, and whose limit can never be found by any demigod or demon—unto that Supreme Personality of Godhead I offer my humble obeisances.]

This is the yogī's business. Yogī's business does not mean simply have some gymnastic or bodily exercise and keep the body fit for sense enjoyment. That is not the purpose of yoga. Yoga means connecting.

We are now..., or we are now disconnected. Or it is not disconnected; we are now forgotten our intimate relationship with God. We cannot be disconnected. That is not possible. Because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, there cannot be disconnection. Just like father and son. The son may go out of home, forget his father and mother for many years, but the connection between the son and the father and the mother is never disconnected. That is not possible. As soon as the son comes home, although the son was absent for many, many years, the father receives him, the mother receives him with affection. And immediately the paternal relationship, affection, immediately established.

This is our position. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. When I speak "Kṛṣṅa," means God. You know, all. It is not very difficult for Indians. So because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, there cannot be disconnection. Therefore it is a stage of forgetfulness. Instead of loving Kṛṣṅa, we have expanded our love for so many things. Somebody's loving his body, somebody's loving his family, somebody's loving his society, community, nation, or the human society. We are trying to... We must love. There is no escape. I must love somebody, because the propensity's there.

So the original love is for Kṛṣṅa. But because we have forgotten Kṛṣṅa, therefore our love is distributed in so many ways. But we are frustrated. We, we are not happy; neither the person whom we love or the country whom we love or the society which I love, they're also not happy. Because everything is misplaced. Everything is misplaced. Just like if you water on the top of the tree or every leaf, every branch, every twig, you cannot keep the tree very fresh. But if you water on the root of the tree, it keeps fresh, always.

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ prāṅopahārāc ca yathendriyāṅāṁ tathā sarvārhaṅam acyutejyā [SB 4.31.14]

[As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.]

This is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, instruction given by Nārada Muni to Pracetasas. Those who have read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they know how he was explaining. So this example is very nice. Yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena: if you water on the root of the tree, automatically the trunk, the branches, the twigs, the leaves, the flowers, fruits, everything is refreshed. Another example is also there in the next line: prāṅopahārāc ca yathendriyāṅām. As by supplying food to the stomach all the indriyas, all the senses, become refreshed, energetic, similarly acyutejyā, by loving Kṛṣṅa, Acyuta... Acyuta is another name of Kṛṣṅa. Senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me acyuta [Bg 11.21].

[Arjuna said: O infallible one, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom I must contend in this great battle attempt.]

Kṛṣṅa is addressed as Acyuta. So acyuta-ijyā, by worshiping Kṛṣṅa, by satisfying Kṛṣṅa, you can satisfy everyone. This is the process.

So here, this process is explained by Kṛṣṅa Himself. The śāstra says this is the process. But still Kṛṣṅa is explaining Himself the process. The process is mayy āsakta-manāḥ. One has to increase his attachment for Kṛṣṅa. We have got attachment for so many things. We have to divert the attachment towards Kṛṣṅa. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogam [Bg 7.1]. This is the yogaṁ. Yuñjan. One has to perform, execute, mad-āśrayaḥ. This yoga can be executed when we take shelter of Kṛṣṅa, mad-āśrayaḥ. Mad-āśrayaḥ means either you take shelter of Kṛṣṅa or one who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṅa. Mad-āśrayaḥ. In two ways you can take it, the meaning. Mad-āśrayaḥ. One who does not know except Kṛṣṅa, he's also mad-āśrayaḥ. And one who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṅa, that is also mad-āśrayaḥ.

So one has to become a devotee, or to take shelter of a pure devotee to practice the yoga system. Ādau gurvāśrayam. That is our system. That is our system. That is the Vedic system. The Vedic system is,

tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṅiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham [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.]

So to practice this yoga, any yoga, you have to take shelter of somebody who knows how to practice this yoga. Mad-āśrayaḥ. Then the result will be asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṅu [Bg 7.1]. Then, without any doubt and in complete awareness, you'll understand the process. And in complete awareness of Kṛṣṅa, your life is successful. Simply if you know Kṛṣṅa, if you try to understand Kṛṣṅa, and fortunately if you know Kṛṣṅa, then your life is successful.

What is the success of life? The success of life is that we are wandering throughout the universe.

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.]

We are transmigrating from different bodies. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṅi sthāvarā lakṣa viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. In Padma Purāṅa, the gradual process of evolution is there. This evolution theory put..., forwarded by Darwin, that is nonsense. Because the Darwin's theory is evolution of this body. In one sense, it is... But it is incomplete. Actually we are getting different types of body according to our association with the different modes of material nature. The material nature is being conducted by three modes: sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. So those who are in the modes of material nature, in the modes of goodness, their body is different. Just like brāhmaṅa. Simply getting the body of brāhmaṅa is not sufficient. One has to learn how to become brāhmaṅa. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā. But there is opportunity.

If one is born in a brāhmaṅa family, he has got the opportunity to develop the brāhmaṅa qualities. Similarly, if one is born in the family of a kṣatriya, he gets the opportunity of kṣatriya spirit. Similarly vaiśya. Cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13].

[According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.]

But the quality and actual action. Just like a boy is born of a medical practitioner, he has got greater chance of becoming, becoming a medical student, medical practitioners. But simply by getting birth as a son of medical practitioner is not sufficient. He has to take education. So cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13]. Kṛṣṅa does not say "by birth." By acquiring the qualities and action. One must have the brahminical qualities and act as a brāhmaṅa; then he'll be accepted as brāhmaṅa.

So we are transmigrating according to our karma, different forms of life. The reason is, kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu [Bg 13.22]. Kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅga, as you are associating with the guṅas, with the material qualities. So one has to increase his attachment for Kṛṣṅa by becoming nirguṅa. Everything is going on under the modes of material nature. Traiguṅya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṅyo bhavārjuna. That is the instruction. One has to become above the..., transcendental to these guṅas. And what is that process? The process is mad-āśraya. When you take shelter of Kṛṣṅa or you take shelter of Kṛṣṅa's pure devotee, then you become transcendental. Sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. Who? Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena 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.]

So mad-āśraya means..., kṛṣṅa-yoga means bhakti-yoga. If you want to learn Kṛṣṅa, if you want to know Kṛṣṅa, then you have to take this process, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogam. And if you practice this yoga, kṛṣṅa-yoga, or bhakti-yoga, then you become the topmost of all yogīs. That is also stated in the Sāṅkhya Yoga chapter of Bhagavad-gītā:

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ [Bg 6.47]

[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.]

So you have to keep always Kṛṣṅa within your heart. Kṛṣṅa is already within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna [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.]

He's already there. Simply you have to qualify yourself to see that Kṛṣṅa is here. That is called kṛṣṅa-yoga, or bhakti-yoga.

So there are many instances.

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṅa-svarūpaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.38]

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṅa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.]

Those who have developed this mayy āsakta-manāḥ, means to develop your love for Kṛṣṅa. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu said: premā pum-artho mahān. Generally people are attached to four principles of salvation: 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.]

But actually you have to go beyond mokṣa. Beyond mokṣa means brahma-jñāna, ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am not this body. I am spirit soul, Brahman." Kṛṣṅa is Paraṁ Brahman, and we are all Brahman, part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. We are not Paraṁ Brahman. That is not possible. Paraṁ Brahman is Kṛṣṅa. As we'll find in the Tenth Chapter: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [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.]

Kṛṣṅa is addressed as Paraṁ Brahman. Arjuna is never addressed as Paraṁ Brahman. That is the difference between Kṛṣṅa and the living entity. He's para. He's Parameśvara. Īśvaraḥ parama-īśvara, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ [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.]

There are two words: ātmā, Paramātmā; īśvara, Parameśvara. So Kṛṣṅa is para. Brahman, Paraṁ Brahman.

So people are after realization of Brahman, Brahman realization. Brahman realization is not very difficult for a intelligent man, because one can understand that he's Brahman, he's not this body. That is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā: dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [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.]

Asmin dehe, in this body, there is the proprietor of the body. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram iti abhidhīyate. This body is kṣetra, is field of activities according to our karma. But the proprietor of the body, the soul, he's Brahman. He's spirit soul. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20]. That Brahman, that spirit soul, is never annihilated after the destruction of this body. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre.

So we have to understand this fact. This is the business of human life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Everyone should be inquisitive to learn about Brahman, the spirit soul. Not like animals. The animals, they have got no inquiry about Brahman. They simply eat, sleep, beget some offspring and, in due course of time, die. That is not the business of human being. The business of human being is different. That is advised by Prahlāda Mahārāja:

kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam [SB 7.6.1]

Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān. Children, kaumāra... Kaumāra means from fifth year to the fifteenth year. These ten years, the boys and girls, especially boys, they should be instructed about religion. Now our government is secular. There is no question of teaching the children about religion, dharmān. Because dharmeṅa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ [Hitopadeśa]. If you don't teach your children from the beginning of life about religion, then you are creating so many animals. Dharmeṅa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. Not only here, everywhere, the whole world, they are..., their universities are producing some animals, that's all. Therefore there is so much chaos and confusion all over the world. Varṅa-saṅkara.

So if you want to be happy really, if you want to make your life successful, human life, then you have to take this principle of mayy āsakta manāḥ. You have to increase your attachment for Kṛṣṅa. This is the meaning of Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. It is not a sectarian religion; it is the fact. Unless the human society take to this principle of increasing their attachment... We have got... At last, we increase our attachment for dogs and cats. So attachment is there. Now this attachment has to be employed on Kṛṣṅa.

That yoga system, kṛṣṅa-yoga system, is described in this Bhagavad-gītā, Seventh Chapter: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ mām [Bg 7.1]. Asaṁśayam, "without any doubt." In any other process, you cannot understand what is God in full sense. That is not possible. By speculating process... There are so many speculators, theosophist, theologist, philosopher, Māyāvādī. They are speculating about God by... But that, by that process, by speculative process, you cannot understand God. That is not possible. Panthās tu... It is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā:

panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām so 'py asti yat prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve... [Bs 5.34]

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, only the tip of the toe of whose lotus feet is approached by the yogīs who aspire after the transcendental and betake themselves to prāṅāyāma by drilling the respiration; or by the jñānīs who try to find out the nondifferentiated Brahman by the process of elimination of the mundane, extending over thousands of millions of years.]

If you want to know Kṛṣṅa, or God, by the speculative process, not only for one year, two year... Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi. Not mental speculation, but on the aeroplane running on the speed of vāyu, or air, or mind, the speed of mind—still, by traversing many crores of years, you cannot reach. Still it..., it remains avicintya, inconceivable. But if you take to the process of this kṛṣṅa-yoga, or bhakti-yoga, then you can become aware of Kṛṣṅa very easily.

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 superficially, that is not sufficient. That is also good, but you must have tattvataḥ what is Kṛṣṅa actually. That knowledge can be achieved—bhaktyā, by this kṛṣṅa-yoga. Otherwise,

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin vetti māṁ tattvataḥ [Bg 7.3]

[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]

There are so many human beings all over the world. Mostly, they're like animals—without culture. Because, according to our Vedic culture, unless one takes to the institution of varṅa and āśrama, he's not a human being. He's not accepted. So therefore Kṛṣṅa says manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu. Who is accepting this varṅāśrama? No. Chaotic condition.

So in that chaotic condition you cannot understand what is God, what is Kṛṣṅa. Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu: out of many, many thousands and millions of people, one takes to the scientific institute of varṅāśrama-dharma. That means followers of the Vedas, strictly. Out of these persons who are following the Vedic principles, mostly they're attached to karma-kāṅḍa, ritualistic ceremonies. So out of many millions of persons engaged in ritualistic ceremony, one becomes advanced in knowledge. They are called jñānī, or speculative philosopher. Not karmīs, but jñānī. So out of many millions of such jñānīs, one becomes mukta, liberated.

Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [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.]

This is liberated stage. One who is Brahman realized soul, he has nothing to lament or nothing to hanker. Because in the karmī stage we have got two diseases: hankering and lamenting. Whatever we have got, if it is lost, then I lament: "Oh, I got this and that and it is now lost." And whatever we do not possess, we hanker after. So for possessing, we hanker, we work so hard. And when it is lost, we again lament and cry. This is karmī stage.

So brahma-bhūtaḥ stage... Jñāna stage means he has no more lamenting or hankering. Prasannātmā: "Oh, I am..., ahaṁ brahmāsmi. What I have got to do with this body? My business is to cultivate transcendental knowledge, brahma-jñāna." So in that stage, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu [Bg 18.54]. That is the test. He has no lamenting. He has no hankering. And he's equal to everyone. Paṅḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṅe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṅḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg 5.18]

[The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṅa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]]

He has no distinction. So in this way when one is situated, then 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.]

then he comes to the devotional platform. And when he comes to the devotional platform, 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.]

then he's able.

So this kṛṣṅa-yoga is the only process to understand God, or Kṛṣṅa. In the Bhāgavata also it is said: evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ [SB 1.2.20].

[Thus established in the mode of unalloyed goodness, the man whose mind has been enlivened by contact with devotional service to the Lord gains positive scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead in the stage of liberation from all material association.]

One can become jolly by practice of this bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ. Kṛṣṅa-tattva-jñānaṁ jāyate, mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. Unless you are liberated, you cannot understand what is God. In the nonliberated condition, you cannot understand what is God or what is Kṛṣṅa. And if you engage yourself in the bhakti-mārga,

śravaṅaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṅoḥ smaraṅaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]

[Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṅu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṅa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.]

These are the bhakti processes.

Śravaṅam. The first business is hearing. Tad-vijñānārtham. Vijñānārtham. If you want to know some science, you must hear from the authorized person. Similarly, our process is to hear from Kṛṣṅa, the most authorized person. Not only our; all the ācāryas. Mostly ācāryas, they advented in your country, South India: Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Śaṅkarācārya, Viṣṅu Svāmī, all of them. So in your country, in your part of India, they are very fortunate. And they can... Sometimes it is described the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is South Indian literature. I think in my Bhagavad-gītā one Professor Dimock, he has given an introduction of this Bhagavad-gītā, and he has mentioned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as South Indian literature. Actually it is not. It is Vedic literature. It is meant for everyone. But because from South India all the ācāryas, especially Vaiṣṅava ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, they distributed the Vaiṣṅava philosophy, people, they understand this Bhā..., Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is from South India. So anyway, it doesn't matter.

So our this preaching of kṛṣṅa-bhakti, Kṛṣṅa consciousness, is meant for everyone. Kṛṣṅa is for everyone. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yāḥ [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.]

Sarva-yoniṣu. Not only He's for human being, but He's for every living entity, sarva-yoniṣu. There are 8,400,000 forms of life—trees, birds, beasts, aquatics, human being. So many. They're all... Kṛṣṅa claims, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: "The material nature is the mother of all these forms, and I am the bīja, seed-giving father." So Kṛṣṅa is not only for Indians or for the Hindus or for the brāhmaṅas. Not like that. Or for the śūdras. No. Kṛṣṅa is for everyone. That is.

Therefore, because Kṛṣṅa is for everyone, therefore these Americans, the Europeans, Canadians, Africans, they're taking to Kṛṣṅa. The same thing, as I begun: because our relationship is father and son, how it can be disconnected? One might have forgotten, but as soon as the forgetfulness is removed, immediately understand: "Oh, I am Kṛṣṅa's." That this is Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. We are trying to invoke the dormant Kṛṣṅa's love in every human being. And this is the duty of the Indians.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu prescribed this duty:

bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra [Cc Ādi 9.41]

[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

Caitanya Mahāprabhu, within these five hundred years, He inaugurated the saṅkīrtana movement, Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, from Bengal. You know. So His order is... It is not that because Caitanya Mahāprabhu advented Himself in Bengal, He requested the Bengalis. No. He said, especially to the Indians: bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra [Cc Ādi 9.41].

[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

Anyone who has taken birth on the land of Bhārata-varṣa as human being, he should make his life perfect and distribute the knowledge to the others, who are in ignorance. Because transcendental knowledge, spiritual knowledge, that is only in India. That is a fact. That is nowhere else. Even one Chinese educationist, he has admitted that "If we want to know what is religion, then we have to approach India." There is no other source.

So my request is that we Indians, we shall take this order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very seriously. People are suffering for want of Kṛṣṅa consciousness. There is immense field for preaching this philosophy all over the world. You can see the example, the European and American boys, how they have been attracted, how they are singing in ecstasy. They have taken it seriously. So in India I don't find all young men are so serious about Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, but I invite that "Come and join this movement, make your life successful by understanding the Kṛṣṅa philosophy, and try to distribute it all over the world."

This is necessity of the present day. It is not sectarian, or crooked philosophy; it is meant for my brother and my sister, not for anyone else. No. It is meant for everyone. And this knowledge can be distributed specially if the Indians take it seriously. They are doing. There are... You'll find many sannyāsīs. The... Indians should have done it. Because Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, bhārata-bhūmite manu... But because there is scarcity of Indian philanthropist to do this business, so we are pushing on this movement through the Americans. But actually there is no such difference. Actually, American or Indian, for Kṛṣṅa consciousness we have no such distinction. Anyone. Everyone is Kṛṣṅa's, and Kṛṣṅa is for everyone.

So this is called sanātana. It cannot be disconnected. Kṛṣṅa is for everyone. Kṛṣṅa came personally to distribute this knowledge.

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham [Bg 4.7]

Paritrāṅāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya [Bg 4.8].

[In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.]

Kṛṣṅa came to establish what is real religion, not cheating religion. Cheating religion will not help us. Why I say "cheating religion"? Because it is said in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra [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.]

Kaitava means cheating. You cannot make people happy by presenting some cheating religion. That is the injunction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Real religion. What is the real..., real religion? 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.]

Dharma means the codes given by God. That is dharma. You cannot make this dharma, that dharma. Dharma is one. God is one. And you have to follow that one principle, how to approach Kṛṣṅa. That is bhakti.

So dharma is to approach Kṛṣṅa, and the process is bhakti. And Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme God.

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.]

He's the cause of all causes. This is the śāstric injunction. So if you take this movement very seriously, the world will be happy, we'll be happy, personally or socially or economically, politically... That's a fact. Therefore 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 we accept Kṛṣṅa, simply Kṛṣṅa, then you understand everything asaṁśayam, without any doubt; samagram, in fullness. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati [Muṅḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3].

[If one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of all controllers, one can understand everything else.]

So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is very important movement. And we have got many books, you can see. We have got at least twenty books of four hundred pages for explaining Kṛṣṅa. Either you try to understand Kṛṣṅa through these books... Otherwise, you can understand Kṛṣṅa, very simple thing: Hare Kṛṣṅa. Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra and you'll understand.

ceto-darpaṅa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṅaṁ śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṅaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṅāmṛtāsvādanaṁ ...paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṅa-saṅkīrtanam [Cc Antya 20.12]

[Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṅa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṅa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.]

So join saṅkīrtana movement. It is very important. Paraṁ vijayate. If you want victory of your life, join this movement. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṅa-saṅ... 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.]

These are the recommendation. So the simple truth is, you be..., become Kṛṣṅa conscious, and your life is successful. Not only your life is successful; if you preach in your family, in your society, in your community or internationally, they also become benefited.

So I thank you very much for your giving time. But my only request is that all of you try to chant this Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra and, if possible, read Kṛṣṅa book, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Don't read Bhagavad-gītā where the attempt is to kill Kṛṣṅa. Don't read. Then it will be spoiled. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa [Cc Madhya 6.169]. Sarva-nāśa. If you hear the rascal commentary that "Kṛṣṅa means this, Kurukṣetra means this, body means..., Pāṅḍava means this," in this way if you drag some concocted meaning, then you'll never understand what is Bhagavad-gītā. You'll simply spoil your time. 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.]

That is simply wasting time.

Read Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Kṛṣṅa says, "I am the Supreme."

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.]

Kṛṣṅa says that "I am the origin of everything." And Vedānta says the Brahman, Absolute Truth, is that janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1], wherefrom everything is emanating. And here Kṛṣṅa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate [Bg 10.8]. All the ācāryas, they have admitted this.

Even Śaṅkarācārya, who is not Vaiṣṅava, still he accepts: sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṅa devakī-nandana. He has admitted. So Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no doubt. If you want to know Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Lord, here is Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Try to understand, and your life will be successful.

Thank you very much. [end]