Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.29

Pradyumna: Translation: "I was very much attached to those sages. I was gentle in behavior, and all my sins were eradicated in their service. In my heart I had strong faith in them. I had subjugated the senses, and I was strictly following them with body and mind."

Prabhupāda:

tasyaivaṁ me 'nuraktasya praśritasya hatainasaḥ śraddadhānasya bālasya dāntasyānucarasya ca [SB 1.5.29]

So the..., the one side, the guru. Saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. The... This is a relationship between disciple and guru. What are the qualifications of guru, and what are the qualifications of the disciple? If both of them are qualified, then immediately the result is there. Just like husband and wife: both of them, if they are healthy, by sex there will be pregnancy. Similarly, if the guru and the disciple, both of them are qualified, then immediately Kṛṣṅa consciousness will be there.

So the qualification of the guru is described in the previous verse.

viśṛṅvato me 'nusavaṁ yaśo 'malaṁ saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ [SB 1.5.28]

The guru must be mahātmā and muni. Muni means thoughtful, philosopher. Not foolish rascal, manufacturing some philosophy. And mahātmabhiḥ: not only self-realized, but by his character, by his behavior, by his understanding, he must be a mahātmā. What is that mahātmā? There are so many mahātmās simply by changing the dress. No. Not that kind of mahātmā. Our Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a song, eo ta’ eka kalira celā: "Here is a disciple of Kali." What is that? Nāke tilaka galāya mālā. "He has got tilaka..." Māthā neḍā nāke tilaka galāya mālā. He sings that sahaja-bhajana karachena māmu, saṅge la’ye parera bālā. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings that "He's dressed like a bābājī. He has shaven his head, and has got tilaka and kaṅṭhī. But he has got at least half a dozen women, and that is his bhajana." So not that... That is not mahātmā. That is durātmā, a cheating... Of course, in this Kali-yuga... Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, eo ta’ eka kalira celā. Kalira celā means the disciple of Kali. Dressed like a sādhu or Vaiṣṅava, but within, all rubbish things. That will not help us. He must be mahātmā, real mahātmā. We want guru like that. Then it will be a... We must be also qualified, and guru also qualified. Therefore it is said in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that one year should be taken to study one another, the guru and the disciple. The guru also will see whether the person is fit to become a disciple, and the disciple also will see, "Whether this gentleman can become my guru."

So the qualification of guru is, he should be mahātmā and muni. Muni means philosopher, and mahātmā means God-realized. Really mahātmā means God-realized. He knows. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ [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.]

One who knows Kṛṣṅa is the cause of all causes, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva means Kṛṣṅa. Sarvam iti. Vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ, vāsudeva-parāḥ... [SB 1.2.28]. There is... Everything to satisfy Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṅa. Either you perform sacrifices or you work piously, the aim should be how to satisfy Vāsudeva. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Just like if you want to keep your body fit and healthy, you must satisfy the stomach. If you satis..., if your stomach is all right and if you supply proper food to the stomach, then whole body will be energized, without fail. Similarly, the mahātmā means whose business is to satisfy Vāsudeva. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti.

Kṛṣṅa says, Vāsudeva... When Kṛṣṅa is in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, He's Vāsudeva. Kṛṣṅa does not go away from Vṛndāvana. But when He has got other business to do, He does it as Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva is in Mathurā. Vāsudeva is in Dvārakā. But original Kṛṣṅa is in Vṛndāvana. But that does not mean that this Vāsudeva is different from Kṛṣṅa. The foolish person, who cannot study, who does not know what is Vāsudeva, what is Aniruddha, what is Pradyumna, the, the Saṅkarṣaṅa... These are all expansion of Kṛṣṅa. They are not different from Kṛṣṅa, but still, They are not original Kṛṣṅa. There is no... It is not that Vāsudeva has got less power than Kṛṣṅa. They are equally powerful. Advaitam acyutam... Advaita. They are not different. Acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam [Bs 5.33].

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal puruṣa; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.]

But the difference is that the... Several times I explained that one candle, you lit up another candle, you lit up another candle, you lit up another, another, millions. So all the candles are of the same power, so far candlepower is concerned, but still, you have to say, "This is the first candle, this is the second candle, this is third candle, this is the fourth candle," like that. Not that because the second candle is lit up from the first candle, therefore second candle is less powerful than the first candle. No, that is not. That is called advaya-jñāna.

Advaitam acyutam. Advaitam acyutam ananta-rūpam. Kṛṣṅa's ananta-rūpam does not make any difference. There is no difference between Rāmacandra and Kṛṣṅa. Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan [Bs 5.39].

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who manifested Himself personally as Kṛṣṅa and the different avatāras in the world in the forms of Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Vāmana, etc., as His subjective portions.]

Kṛṣṅa is always... When we say "Kṛṣṅa"—Kṛṣṅa with all His expansions, Viṣṅu expansions. So either you worship Rāma or Kṛṣṅa, it is the same. Or Viṣṅu. There is no difference. Therefore advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyam [Bs 5.33].

But still, Kṛṣṅa is the ādyam, original. Ādyam purāṅa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca. Although He is ādyam, purāṅa-puruṣam, the oldest personality, still, nava-yauvanaṁ ca, always young. You have never seen Kṛṣṅa's photograph as old man. No. When He was charioteer of Arjuna, He was great-grandfather at that time. His grandson had sons. He's old man. But you see, just a young man of twenty years old. That is Kṛṣṅa. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. Ādyaṁ purāṅa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca. And these rascals, they try to understand Kṛṣṅa.

Kṛṣṅa personally says that,

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti 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.]

Out of many millions of person, one is perfect, and out of many millions of perfect person, one can hardly understand what is Kṛṣṅa. And these rascals understand Kṛṣṅa. They remark that "Kṛṣṅa is like this. Kṛṣṅa is like this." How much rascaldom it is. This is the... Kṛṣṅa says personally, and Lord Brahmā says, vedeṣu durlabham. Vedeṣu durlabham [Bs 5.33].

You cannot understand Kṛṣṅa simply by studying Vedic literature. It is not possible. Then? How we shall understand Kṛṣṅa? Adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. If you want to understand Kṛṣṅa, then go to His devotee. He'll make known Kṛṣṅa. That is mahātmā. You cannot understand Kṛṣṅa personally by your so-called speculation, neither you can understand Kṛṣṅa simply by studying Vedas as a scholar. There are many Vedāntist scholars. They cannot understand. So many Vedāntists there are in India, but they cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ [Bg 7.25].

[I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-māyā]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.]

Kṛṣṅa says, "I am not exposed to everyone." That is Kṛṣṅa.

So therefore, how to understand Kṛṣṅa? That is stated by Kṛṣṅa Himself: after many, many births struggling to understand Kṛṣṅa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān [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.]

Not foolish person. Foolish person cannot understand. But even jñānavān, who is wise, perfectly wise, learned scholar, such person, even after many, many births struggling to understand Kṛṣṅa... So that is mahātmā, one who has understood Kṛṣṅa. He is mahātmā. One who does not understand Kṛṣṅa or verifies himself as Kṛṣṅa, he's durātmā. He's not mahātmā. He's a rascal. Mahātmā is that person who has understood Kṛṣṅa, that vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti [Bg 7.19]: "Kṛṣṅa, Vāsudeva, is the cause of all causes." 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.]

One who has understood this perfectly, that the Supreme Controller, īśvara... Īśvara means controller. And not only controller, but Supreme Controller. Controller, we are; every one of us are controller. Just like I am also controlling a few of my disciples—or hundred or thousand. But Kṛṣṅa is controller of millions, millions upon millions and millions upon... All universes. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram [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.]

Simply to become controller does not become... Yes, that is also īśvara. You can say. But there is parameśvara.

These words are used in the Vedic language: īśvara, parameśvara; ātmā, paramātmā. So there is one Paramātmā. That Paramātmā is Kṛṣṅa. Ātmā, we are also ātmā, living being, and Kṛṣṅa is also living being. But not..., we are not equal to Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is the chief living being. Just like I am also living being; you are also living being. But you accept me as the chief of this institution. There must be one chief; otherwise there will be no management. It will be chaotic. So we are ātmā, and Kṛṣṅa is also ātmā, but He is Paramātmā. We are īśvara; Kṛṣṅa is also īśvara, but He's Parameśvara. Therefore we have named "Godhead" purposefully, not "God." We don't say "Back to God." We say, "Back to Godhead." "Head" means the chief. Everyone can claim that "I am God," because everyone has got some power, little power. But not the supreme power. That is Kṛṣṅa.

So when one understands Kṛṣṅa perfectly, he becomes mahātmā. Just try to understand. Not a politician. Not by changing dress, saffron-color cloth. No, that is not mahātmā. One who understands Kṛṣṅa perfectly well, he is mahātmā. Therefore here it is said, munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. The instruction was received from person, munibhiḥ, great philosophers. Not only philosopher, but mahātmā. Because one who has understood Kṛṣṅa perfectly... This is the qualification of guru. So that qualification, to attain, is not very difficult. But because we are rascals, we do not try to take the qualification. That qualification is very simple. One... Who can understand Kṛṣṅa? Kṛṣṅa is not so cheap thing. He has said already that 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.]

So it not very easy. But it is very easy if you take the process, easiest process. What is that easiest process? That easiest process: you don't talk nonsense; you simply talk what Kṛṣṅa has said. That's all. And many times they give me very great credit that I have done wonderful. Yes, I have done wonderful. But what is the reason? Because I am not a rascal. I speak what Kṛṣṅa has spoken, that's all. Very easy. Everyone can do that. Not only I; any of you, you can do this. Simply speak what is..., what Kṛṣṅa has said. That's all. Don't make addition, alteration. Then you become rascal. Immediately you become rascal.

So you don't want to..., if you don't want to become a rascal—if you want to become a mahātmā—then you accept what Kṛṣṅa says and preach that. Kṛṣṅa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat [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.]

"There is no more superior authority than Me." You say that. You say, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. "Here is... Kṛṣṅa is the cause." You understand or don't understand, if you simply pick up the words of Kṛṣṅa and talk like that, then you become mahātmā. There is no difficulty to become mahātmā. But these durātmās, the rascals, they talk differently from Kṛṣṅa. Therefore they are not mahātmās; they are all durātmā. Therefore the process is that if you want to make progress in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then you have to find out a guru who is mahātmā. Ādau gurvāśrayam. That is the first business. Ādau, in the beginning, gurvāśrayam, to take shelter of a bona fide mahātmā guru. That is the Vedic instruction. 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.]

"Must," abhigacchet. This verb is used—"must." It is not, "Oh, I can do without guru." No, that is not possible. That is not possible. If you want to understand the transcendental science, spiritual science, you must approach. Gacchet. This, this form of verb used when there is the meaning "must." Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet, samit-pāṅiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. And guru's qualification is brahma-niṣṭham. Brahma. And again this word. Brahman, and Kṛṣṅa is Para-brahman. Again this param. That Para-brahman has been said by Arjuna to Kṛṣṅa, 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.]

Bhavān: "My dear Kṛṣṅa, You are Para-brahman." Pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān.

So the process is that if you want to make any progress... Just like Nārada Muni. He made immediately progress simply by associating with the mahātmās only for four months. Why? That is explained in the next verse. What is that? Tasyaivaṁ me anuraktasya. "I became attached to them. I became a lover of the mahātmās." Anuraktasya praśritasya. "I became obedient." Not disobedient. Guror avajñāḥ, that is great offense. If you become disobedient to guru, then your business is finished. These are the qualification. Me anuraktasya praśritasya... And hatainasaḥ. Hata enasaḥ. Means "All my sinful activities stopped." Nobody can understand the bona fide guru or Kṛṣṅa unless he is free from sinful life. Therefore we have to accept this principle: no illicit sex, no gambling, no, I mean to say, intoxication, no meat-eating. If you follow these four principles, then you become hatainasaḥ. Hata enasaḥ. Your sinful life stopped. So hatainasaḥ śraddadhānasya. Śraddadhāna means with faith and obedience. Not that blindly. Śraddadhānasya bālasya. And although he was a boy, but he got this qualification. Bālasya dānta, silent, no more playing. Anucarasya. Anucara means following. These are the qualification. If you become qualified with these qualities... What is that? Anurakta, means attached, obedient, no sinful activities, and faithful, and not disturbing, dānta, and follower. And if the guru is mahātmā and if you are qualified with these qualification, then the result will be there. Immediately.

But there is no difficulty. One must be serious to understand, and he must approach a qualified mahātmā guru. Then his business will be..., transaction will be very nicely done. This is Vedic process. Is there any difficulty? Anyone can say? Is there any difficulty to become mahātmā and to become a qualified disciple? Is it very difficult? Say, if there is any difficulty.

Devotees: No.

Prabhupāda: See. So where is the difficulty? There is no difficulty. The difficulty is the rascals will not do it, and the so-called durātmās, they are passing on as mahātmās, and so-called disciples are passing as disciples. Therefore the transaction is imperfect. Things are not coming out. But if the transaction is perfect from both the sides—from the disciple's side and guru's side—then Kṛṣṅa consciousness is very, very easy.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]