Bhagavad-gītā As It Is

Bhagavad-gītā 4.4

[poor recording]

Pradyumna: [leads the chanting word-for-word and verse] [devotees repeat]

arjuna uvāca aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ katham etad vijānīyāṁ tvam ādau proktavān iti [Bg 4.4]

[Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvān is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?]

[break] [01:16]

Prabhupāda: This is the misgiving of ordinary human being—to misunderstand Kṛṣṅa. Generally Kṛṣṅa is understood as a historical person. Therefore suppose if Kṛṣṅa was born as contemporary of Arjuna... Because they were two... [aside: Who is talking?] The modern scholars also—so-called scholars—they also think that Kṛṣṅa is a person like us. That is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā that,

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 Kṛṣṅa appears like ordinary human being... Not ordinary. His activities are not ordinary, but still, some foolish mūḍhā—the exact meaning of the mūḍhā means “foolish,” or “rascals”—they think Kṛṣṅa as ordinary. To accept a human being as God and to accept God as human being, both things are foolishness. God is God; human being is human being. That is the difference. A human being cannot become God, and God cannot become human being.

So Kṛṣṅa is not that God which are very cheap nowadays, so-called Gods. He is not that. He... Just like nowadays by mystic power, by worshiping some demigod one becomes God. These are ludicrous. You know that a person is going on, is being worshiped as God in a great big Mission. And how he became God? By worshiping Goddess Kālī. This is going on. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that,

kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajante anya-devatāḥ [Bg 7.20]

[Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.]

There is no need of worshiping any demigods. We offer our respect, all respect, to demigods. It is not that we Vaiṣṅavas, we do not offer respect to Goddess Kālī or Lord Śiva; it is not that. We offer proper respect. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us that amāninā māna-dena [Cc Ādi 17.31].

[One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.]

A Vaiṣṅava gives honor even to the lowest creature, because he sees every man in relationship with God, Kṛṣṅa. So if you are Vaiṣṅava, offer respect to everyone, then why not to the demigods? But they do not equalize the demigods with God. They are not such fools. They cannot say that Kṛṣṅa or Lord Śiva or Goddess Kali and Lord Brahmā, they are all the same. They do not commit this mistake. They know by following the footsteps of ācāryas. Just like in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the author says, ekale īśvara kṛṣṅa, āra saba bhṛtya [Cc Ādi 5.142]:

[Lord Kṛṣṅa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.]

“Only master is Kṛṣṅa.” And all others, including Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, Indra, Candra, very, very big, big demigods, they are also servants in one sense. When Kṛṣṅa requires personal service, His incarnation Śeṣa, He serves Kṛṣṅa. Śeṣa, Śeṣa Nāga, is expansion of Saṅkarṣaṅa, but Kṛṣṅa accepts service by His own expansion. He enjoys pleasure by expanding His pleasure potency, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī. Rādhā kṛṣṅa-praṅaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād [Cc Ādi 1.5]. Rādhārāṅī is also Kṛṣṅa, potency, expansion of Kṛṣṅa, pleasure potency.

So in this way Kṛṣṅa is the original person. Kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28], that is the version of Vedic literature.

[All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.]

Kṛṣṅa is the original person.

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.]

Īśvaraḥ means controller. Every one of us are more or less controller. Just like I am controlling my disciples, the family man is controlling his family, the big office manager is controlling his office. Managing director, some big businessman like Birla or others, they are controlling their big, big factories. So more or less every one of us is a controller, small or big; so in that sense everyone is īśvara. But Kṛṣṅa is not that type of īśvara. īśvaraḥ paramaḥ—that is Kṛṣṅa. It is not very difficult to understand what is God if you have got little sense. This is very nice explanation of God in the Brahma-saṁhitā: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ [Bs 5.1]. īśvaraḥ we can understand, “controller”; that is not very difficult. But here a controller is controlled by another controller. Suppose a gentlemen is manager of Vṛndāvana bank; he is controller, but he is controlled by another person. It is very difficult..., not difficult. Similarly, if you go on researching, that “Here is a controller, but he is controlled by somebody else. And who controls him? Who controls him?” If you go on research—there are many research scholars—now find out the supreme controller, and that is Kṛṣṅa. If you can find out the supreme controller, that is Kṛṣṅa. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1], ādi-puruṣa, ādyaṁ puruṣaṁ śāśvatam.

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.]

After hearing from Kṛṣṅa, Arjuna, Arjuna accepted that “You are the Supreme Person, paraṁ brahma,” because as the brahma... The Māyāvādis, they are after brahma: brahma-sukhānubhūtyā.

itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṅa sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṅya-puñjāḥ [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?]

Śukadeva Goswāmī is giving his comment, when Kṛṣṅa was playing with the cowherd boys, and here is the person who is worshiped: who is not directly worshiped—who is worshiped by His Brahman effulgence, brahma ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā. Kṛṣṅa's bodily effulgence is impersonal Brahman.

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṅḍa-koṭi- koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam [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.]

The whole universe, innumerable universes containing innumerable planets, they're simply floating on the bodily rays of Kṛṣṅa. Just like we have got experience, the sunshine. There are innumerable millions and trillions of planets, they are floating in the sunshine, floating, every one. Even the sun is floating. Every one is floating, weightlessness, modern scientific proof. So therefore Kṛṣṅa is the original person. The people, the man who does not know Kṛṣṅa, he thinks, “He is a human being; therefore let me imitate Him. I am also Kṛṣṅa. I am also God.” You may be god, but you are not that type of God as Kṛṣṅa. That is not... You may be god. As I have explained, there are many gods. So god means controller, but real God, svayaṁ bhagavān, kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28].

So Arjuna knows everything, but because he was talking with Kṛṣṅa as his friend, people may not misunderstand him. Therefore his answer is the question of the ordinary people:

aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ [Bg 4.4]

Kṛṣṅa said that,

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam [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.]

“I spoke this bhagavat bhakti-yoga, Bhagavad-gītā, first to sun-god.” So at the present moment people are so foolish they cannot understand even what is sun-god. Hopeless. They have no information, that the..., in the sun there is a predominating deity, or the president. Just like here in this planet we find presidents—not one president, hundreds of presidents. But actually time was there when on this planet there was only one president. Up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the one monarch, he was controlling the whole world, one flag. And nowadays, because people have advanced, so we see in New York almost every day on the First Avenue...? [aside: Is that on the First Avenue, in that, in the store? Eh?]

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: First Avenue.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So there is the United Nations organization, and you pass through, we see hundreds of flags—not one flag. Although they are trying to be united, United Nations, they are becoming more and more disunited. But where is the strength of unity? They're missing the point. Unity can be made possible when we become Kṛṣṅa conscious; otherwise there is no question of unity. On the material platform there cannot be unity; therefore there is no peace. But the peace formula is explained by Kṛṣṅa, that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg 5.29].

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati [Bg 5.29]

[The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.]

If anyone understands perfectly well that Kṛṣṅa is the supreme enjoyer, Kṛṣṅa is the supreme proprietor, Kṛṣṅa is the supreme controller...

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg 5.29]

He is the proprietor of all universes—not only one, but millions of universes. Spiritual world, material world, He is the supreme enjoyer and proprietor, and He is the supreme friend. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ [Bg 5.29]. We are searching after friends who can help me. We make friendship with another person, expecting some help and assistance from that friend. But if we accept Kṛṣṅa as the supreme friend, supreme protector, then there will be peace. This is the peace formula.

Therefore one who has selected Kṛṣṅa as the supreme friend, he is not disturbed by any dangerous position.

nārāyaṅa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ [SB 6.17.28]

[Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṅa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.]

Nārāyaṅa-parāḥ, those who are devotee of Nārāyaṅa, Kṛṣṅa, they can face anything. They do not invite danger, but this material world is such a place that you have to face with danger in every step. You cannot avoid it. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ. Padaṁ—every step. So who can avoid this dangerous position in every step?

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ 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.]

This is the only safe position: if you completely depend on Kṛṣṅa, mahat padaṁ, puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ. Kṛṣṅa's another name is Murāri because He killed of the name one demon, Mura, Murāri. So if we accept the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa as the boat for crossing over the ocean of nescience, then you are safe, paraṁ padaṁ. That is paraṁ padaṁ. Everyone has to take shelter of Kṛṣṅa, that is the success of life.

So Kṛṣṅa is so great, ekale īśvara kṛṣṅa, āra saba bhṛtya [Cc Ādi 5.142].

[Lord Kṛṣṅa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.]

Kṛṣṅa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti [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.]

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate [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.]

These things are there. So here Arjuna says, aparaṁ bhavato janma [Bg 4.4]. Arjuna is taking the part of a foolish man, like us; he is..., as if he does not know Kṛṣṅa. He knows Kṛṣṅa perfectly, and Kṛṣṅa also knows him, because Kṛṣṅa has already said, bhakto ’si me [Bg 4.3].

[That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend; therefore you can understand the transcendental mystery of this science.]

So if Arjuna is bhakta and Kṛṣṅa is accepting him as “My dear devotee, My friend,” so it is not that Arjuna does not know, but because as Kṛṣṅa has said, that “This philosophy I spoke to the sun-god,” foolish persons like me will not believe. These are all stated. Kṛṣṅa says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā [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 we are all mūḍhās. So it is our business to neglect Kṛṣṅa. So in order to clarify the position of Kṛṣṅa, the talk between Arjuna and Kṛṣṅa means to understand Kṛṣṅa as He is. One inquiry by Arjuna, and the answer by Kṛṣṅa makes the whole thing clear, to understand the position of Kṛṣṅa, so that we may be out of this ignorance that Kṛṣṅa is ordinary person, or ordinary human being. In this way,

aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ [Bg 4.4]

Vivasvataḥ.

So next verse He says that,

bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cārjuna tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṅi na tvaṁ vettha parantapa [Bg 4.5]

This is the difference between Kṛṣṅa and ordinary human being. Kṛṣṅa knows past, present, future—everything. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the supreme authority, supreme Brahmān is explained, janmādy asya yato'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ [SB 1.1.1]. He knows everything. Just like I am living in this room, but something is missing... [break] ...So I can say, “Now the matches are there in your pocket.” I am abhijñaḥ, the contents of my room. Similarly, Kṛṣṅa is the supreme creator of everything. He is aṅḍāntara-stha-paramāṅu-cayāntara-stham [Bs 5.35].

[He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.]

He is conscious, abhijñaḥ, of everything.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna 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.]

He knows everything, even within your heart, what you're thinking, what you are planning. It cannot be concealed to Kṛṣṅa. This is our foolishness, that we are doing something, concealing. You can conceal my eyes, other friend’s eyes, but you cannot conceal the eyes of Kṛṣṅa. He is upadraṣṭānumantā [Bg 13.23]. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Upadraṣṭā: He is seeing always what you are doing. You cannot play tricks with Kṛṣṅa; that is not possible.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg 18.61]

So those who are anxious to become Kṛṣṅa conscious, sincere devotee of Kṛṣṅa, they should not try to play tricks. Kṛṣṅa will know everything. So Kṛṣṅa is abhijñaḥ; Kṛṣṅa is situated everywhere. He has no past, present, future [indistinct Sanskrit].

So Kṛṣṅa [Arjuna] is questioning this simply to clarify Kṛṣṅa's position. This is happening. [aside: read that purport] [break] ...a devotee, that he believes Kṛṣṅa:

sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava [Bg 10.14]

[O Kṛṣṅa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality.]

Arjuna said. Just like modern scholars, they cut some portion, “Oh, this is not fact; this is some imagination.” The devotee does not do that—ardha-kukkuṭī-nyāya [Cc Ādi 5.176].

[If you have faith in one but disrespect the other, your logic is like the logic of accepting half a hen.]

Ardha-kukkuṭī-nyāya—to accept some portion and reject other portion—this is not the business of the devotee. A devotee accepts each and every word of Kṛṣṅa. That is devotee. Not that..., not only Kṛṣṅa or Kṛṣṅa's devotee who is in the paramparā system. So devotee means who accepts everything in toto, either spoken by Kṛṣṅa or by His devotee. That is sarvam etad ṛtaṁ. Arjuna said this: “I accept whatever You have said.”

paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg 10.12]

So if you simply follow these footsteps of Arjuna, that is paramparā. Don't... Why do we interpret Bhagavad-gītā otherwise? Kṛṣṅa says,

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.]

Paramparā. So apart from other paramparā, whatever Arjuna says. Arjuna talked directly with Kṛṣṅa; he heard Kṛṣṅa directly. So whatever Arjuna is admitting, you follow that footstep, then you are perfectly well[?]. Arjuna says, paraṁ brahma or parameśvara, paramātmā. So īśvaraḥ ātmā, we are also ātmā; there is no difference of opinion. But we are not paramātmā. Just like Kṛṣṅa said... [aside:] What is that? Sarva-kṣetreṣu dehinām. What is that in the thirteenth chapter? Open that verse, thirteenth chapter. I have forget it.

Devotee: Sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata?

Prabhupāda: That's it. From the beginning. Huh? Kṣetra-jñaṁ, that's right. Kṣetra-kṣetra-jña. Ah. But Kṛṣṅa says,

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor [Bg 13.3]

He is explaining kṣetra. Kṣetra means this body, and kṣetra-jña, the proprietor, and one who knows of the body, he is called kṣetra-jña. Just like there is some itching in my body; I know, so but you do not know. There is some itching in my body, it is known to me; therefore I am kṣetra-jña of this body. As this body is kṣetra, and because I know the pains and pleasures of this body, therefore I am kṣetra-jña. So you are kṣetra-jña in your body, I am kṣetra-jña in my body, another person is kṣetra-jña in his body, but Kṛṣṅa says that,

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata [Bg 13.3]

I am also kṣetra-jña, but what is the difference between you? You are also kṣetra-jña and I am also kṣetra-jña, then what is the difference? The difference is sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata: “I am kṣetra-jña in every body.” You are kṣetra-jña only in your body. The pains and pleasures of your body you know, but others do not know. Similarly, in others’ body the pains and pleasures he knows, but you do not know. This is the proof that we are all individual souls.

And when Kṛṣṅa says that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi, therefore He is Supersoul. Simple thing, but the rascals, they say there is no soul or Supersoul; there is only particle[?]. They simply want to pose themselves as Kṛṣṅa. How you can be Kṛṣṅa? How you can be the Supreme God? You may be god, and certainly you have got some power from total power, but you cannot become Supreme God; that is a different person. The Māyāvādis, they say that there is no such thing as Supreme God. “We are God. Now in māyā we have forgotten that we are God, but when the māyā will be dissipated, then we shall be one.” Now that oneness is not possible, because even if you are thinking that you have become God, can you feel my pleasure and pains? You cannot. So how I can accept that you are the Supreme God? You may be god of your body; others may be god for the others’ body; but you cannot expand yourself in all bodies. That is Supreme God, īśvaraḥ. That is the Supreme īśvaraḥ.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna 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.]

So here is the difference between Kṛṣṅa and ordinary human being, that He is also individual—Kṛṣṅa is also individual, person; you are also individual person, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13].

[The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant. The difference is that the Supreme Lord is supplying all the necessities of life for the many other living entities.]

But the difference is that Kṛṣṅa is the supplier of necessities of all others: eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13]. We cannot supply the necessities of everyone. It is very difficult even to maintain a family of a few members, and how we can supply the necessities of the whole world, all living entities?

So if you study Bhagavad-gītā very nicely, so you will never be bluffed by these so-called mūḍhās, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā. You will never be bluffed. You will understand Kṛṣṅa, what He is: He is the Supreme Person.

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.]

Kṛṣṅa says, “There is no more superior person than Me.” Therefore He is,

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs 5.1]

[Kṛṣṅa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.]

He is not impersonal. Vigrahaḥ. Vigrahaḥ... When Kṛṣṅa says ahaṁ ādir hi devānāṁ [Bg 10.2], so “I am person. The devatās, the demigods, they are also persons. So I am ādir hi devānāṁ.” So He is also person. How is it possible?

paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ [Bg 10.12]

He is puruṣaṁ. The Supreme Lord cannot be prakṛti. Prakṛti is Kṛṣṅa's energy. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā [Bg 7.4].

[Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.]

Jīva also. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām [Bg 7.5].

[Besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which are all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.]

The jīva is also prakṛti. How he can be puruṣa? Puruṣa is enjoyer; jīva is not enjoyer. That is prakṛti. We must understand.

So any way we go, Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Person, He is the enjoyer, He is the friend of everyone. And if we understand these things only, these three things, then you become liberated immediately.

janma karma ca me divyam yo jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna [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.]

Simply if you understand these three things: that Kṛṣṅa is the supreme enjoyer, Kṛṣṅa is the supreme proprietor and Kṛṣṅa is the supreme friend. So I must take shelter of Kṛṣṅa, then I am in safe custody. Simply if we know these three things, then divyam, then we become fit to go, to enter into the kingdom of Kṛṣṅa.

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram [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 be allowed to enter into the Goloka Vṛndāvana, where Kṛṣṅa is situated. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto [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.]

It is not that because He is staying in Goloka Vṛndāvana, therefore He is absent here. No. Akhilātma-bhūto, He is everywhere. Aṅḍāntara-stha-paramāṅu-cayāntara-stham [Bs 5.35].

He is even within the atom. This is the understanding of Kṛṣṅa.

So we are preaching this Kṛṣṅa consciousness on the basis of the Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without misinterpretating, to show our so-called scholars that that is not the way of understanding Kṛṣṅa. We should understand Kṛṣṅa submissively, as Arjuna is. 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.]

Kṛṣṅa also asks Arjuna to surrender fully; so he has already surrendered. When Arjuna saw that there are so many perplexities and this cannot be solved except by Kṛṣṅa, so he surrendered: śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ. In this way, if we surrender to Kṛṣṅa through His representative... Representative means one who says exactly what Kṛṣṅa says; he does not change anything. 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.]

And His representative says that “You give up everything, surrender to Kṛṣṅa”—the same thing. So there is no difficulty. One hasn't got to manufacture some idea, some philosophy. No. Everything is there. And if you preach what Kṛṣṅa has said, then you are spiritual master. It is not also a very big job; simply you have to become sincere to Kṛṣṅa, and you learn Kṛṣṅa through His representative, you become sincere to the representative of Kṛṣṅa, and Kṛṣṅa:

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.]

Then you are spiritual master. It is not very difficult. And become, every one of you, become spiritual master and preach this gospel of Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Then the world will be saved. Otherwise they are already in trouble, and they will go more and more into the depths of the troubled, dangerous position, and they will never become happy.

So Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is very, very important movement for saving humanity, civilization, human society. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. [break]

Devotee: Is it offensive if you are not chanting with the mind [indistinct] spiritual master?

Prabhupāda: The chanting process is that you chant with your tongue Hare Kṛṣṅa and hear. That's all. Then you are saved. Hare Kṛṣṅa must be chanted by the use of tongue, and you hear it, that’s all. Where is the difficulty?

Devotee: [indistinct]

Prabhupāda: Yes. Everything may come, but this is the process. This is the process. Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa and become happy.

Devotee: [indistinct]

Prabhupāda: Nothing is difficult in Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. One has to execute it very seriously and sincerely. Then it will come. Nothing is difficult, not at all.

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā [Cc Ādi 17.21]

[In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.]

Chant Hare Kṛṣṅa and hear, and everything will come. Kṛṣṅa's... By chanting purely, without any offense this Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, then you will understand Kṛṣṅa's form, Kṛṣṅa's qualities, Kṛṣṅa's pastimes, Kṛṣṅa's entourage—everything. Vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam. Sarvātma-snapanaṁ 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.]

Caitanya Mahāprabhu, paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṅa-saṅkīrtanam. Simply by chanting you get all such. Ihā haite sarva-siddhi haibe tomāra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu [Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya 23.78].

[By doing so, everyone will attain all perfection. Always chant, there is no other prescription.]

You get all siddhis. The greatest siddhi is to understand Kṛṣṅa as the Supreme Personality, that's all. [laughter] That’s all. If you simply admit this, that Kṛṣṅa is... Just like Kṛṣṅa says,

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.]

So why should you wait for bahūnāṁ janma? We accept Kṛṣṅa, “My Lord Kṛṣṅa, You are the Supreme. So, so long I was forgotten. Now I accept You. I surrender,” and your life is successful. Of course, it is not very easy to do that; therefore there are śāstra, sādhu and guru to take their help. But the real thing is this: accept Kṛṣṅa the Supreme Absolute Truth and surrender unto Him—this is a basic principle—and stay in that position. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given so nice and easy for the fallen souls in this Kali-yuga. They cannot do anything, so-called yoga, so-called austerity. This is not possible. Not possible.

prāyeṅālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ 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.]

It is not possible to proceed according to the ways of sacrifices, yajña, or mental speculations, yogic siddhis. Nobody can perform perfectly. And even one performs perfectly, that is not ways to understand Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says personally, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg 18.55]. That is the only way; there is no other way. They say there are many ways, and any way you accept that will lead you to Absolute Truth. But that is not a fact. To understand the Absolute Truth you have to accept the absolute path. That is bhakti-yoga. And Kṛṣṅa says,

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.]

If you want understand Kṛṣṅa superficially, that is another thing. But if you want to know Kṛṣṅa as He is, then only this devotional service:

sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136]

[Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṅa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṅa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṅa really is.]

Kṛṣṅa is revealed. He is so kind. If you simply sincerely engage in devotional service to Kṛṣṅa, then you will see Kṛṣṅa everywhere. Kṛṣṅa is everywhere. So chant Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra, purify your heart which is full of dirty things.

śṛṅvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṅaḥ puṅya-śravaṅa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]

[Śrī Kṛṣṅa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.]

Even if you do not understand anything, simply hear Hare Kṛṣṅa and Kṛṣṅa’s kathā; then you will become pious. In this way, as you become more and more pious, you, your path to understand Kṛṣṅa is clear. And at the last moment, when you're completely pure from all contamination of sinful activities, you are engaged in Kṛṣṅa’s service.

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ [Bg 7.28]

[Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination.]

One who is engaged in Kṛṣṅa's service with firm faith and devotion, it means he has already freed himself from all kinds of reaction of sinful activities. This is the test. Without being freed from all contamination of sinful activities, nobody can pinch his faith at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa. If one hesitates, that means he is still sinful. That’s all.

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ [Bg 7.15]

[Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.]

Duṣkṛti. Duṣkṛta means sinful; you cannot surrender. These are the [indistinct]. Is that all right? [laughter] Hare Kṛṣṅa. So any other question? [break]

When we are to talk of Kṛṣṅa, those who are advanced devotees, they go away. Advanced devotees, they do not like to hear about Kṛṣṅa. Why not? We are talking of Kṛṣṅa, someone goes away. Why? He doesn't like to hear about Kṛṣṅa; he has become so advanced. That is sahajiyā. That is sahajiyā: “Oh, we have heard all these things. Now we have to hear about Kṛṣṅa, He's embracing Rādhārāṅī and kissing, that's all. These are ordinary things.” Kṛṣṅa's talk is not ordinary talk. It is ordinary for the sahajiyās, one who has taken everything very easily, they have understood everything. One who has understood Kṛṣṅa, he will agree to hear more and more about Kṛṣṅa, “Ah, here is Kṛṣṅa and His talk. Kṛṣṅa is being placed in the supermost position. So nice.” That is the taste. There is a verse in the Bhāgavatam, “As soon as there is kṛṣṅa-kathā, one should be very much pleased, ’Oh, [indistinct].’ ” That is the taste.

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā tato ’nārtha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis [Cc Madhya 23.14, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15]

[In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sādhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Kṛṣṅa consciousness.]

Ruci, this taste, is very further on, after ārtha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Niṣṭhā then ruci, taste. Jñāna-śakti, then bhāva, then prema. This is the process. ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo. These are the paramahaṁsa[?], not jump over, immediately, to rāsa-līlā without understanding Kṛṣṅa, then smoking biḍi. Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa ihā ha-ite kṛṣṅe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa [Cc Ādi 2.117]

Siddhānta: one has to understand what is Kṛṣṅa, then one becomes firmly faithful to Kṛṣṅa. That's all he understands: Kṛṣṅa. One who does not understand Kṛṣṅa, they think that “Kṛṣṅa is as good as I am.” Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā [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.]

[aside: I think by this [indistinct]

So, is that all right about Kṛṣṅa? Hm? Any questions, anyone? All right, chant Hare Kṛṣṅa. [end]