Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.35

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

yad atra kriyate karma bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam jñānaṁ yat tad adhīnaṁ hi bhakti-yoga-samanvitam [SB 1.5.35]

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Translation: "Whatever work is done here in this life for the satisfaction for the mission of the Lord is called bhakti-yoga, or transcendental loving service of the Lord. And what is called knowledge becomes a concomitant factor."

[break]

Prabhupāda:

yad atra kriyate karma bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam jñānaṁ yat tad adhīnaṁ hi bhakti-yoga-samanvitam [SB 1.5.35]

A similar passage is there, saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṅam. Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṅāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ.

ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṅāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṅam [SB 1.2.13]

[O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.]

Similar. Bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam. Bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam or hari-toṣaṅam, the same thing. So first of all we must know what is bhagavat, or Hari; then we may try to satisfy Him. Unfortunately, we do not know what is God. Where is the question of satisfying Him? This is the... At the present moment, vague idea, what is God; practically no idea. What is their God? "God is good." They... Sometimes they say, "God is great," but what is that God, how great He is, how He is good, nobody knows. So where is the question of hari-toṣaṅam? If I do not know... Somebody says that "You go and satisfy Mr. Such-and-such, Mr. John." So I do not know who is Mr. John, where does he live, what does he do, then how can I satisfy him? This is the position.

So hari-toṣaṅam or bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam can be possible when we actually know what is God. Otherwise there is no question. So, so far we are concerned, Kṛṣṅa conscious devotees, we know who is God. Therefore this business is possible by us, not by others. We know what is God. We have no vague idea. We know who is God, where does He live, what does He do, His name, address, His father's name—everything we know. Therefore we can satisfy. We are competent to satisfy because we know exactly who is God. That is Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28].

[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.]

How do you know that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Yes. By history, by authority, by His action, everything complete. We know historical, from historical point of view, Kṛṣṅa is there in the Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata means "The history of great India." Mahā means great. So greater India. Greater India, this is history. Itihāsa. Itihāsa means history. So there is Kṛṣṅa, in the itihāsa, in the history. In the Vedas also, there is name of Kṛṣṅa. In the Yajur Veda, there is name of Kṛṣṅa and His father's name, Vasudeva. Everything is there. And besides that, Kṛṣṅa appeared as He is five thousand years ago, and He acted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So where is the difficulty to understand Kṛṣṅa?

Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ [Viṣṅu Purāṅa 6.5.47]—everything complied.

[Full wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation—these are the six opulences of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.]

Kṛṣṅa, the richest personality, the most beautiful personality, the most wise. He has given the Bhagavad-gītā. Apart from other instruction, the Bhagavad-gītā is there. Who has given such wise instruction throughout the whole world, throughout the whole universe? Nobody has given. God means the wisest, the richest, the most powerful, the most beautiful. So He was so beautiful that 16,108 very, very beautiful women... And this is married. And unmarried, many millions, they were attracted by Kṛṣṅa, the most beautiful. Śyāmasundara. His name is sundara, "very beautiful." Although śyāma, blackish, still He's so attractive.

Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham [Bs 5.30].

[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept in playing on His flute, with blooming eyes like lotus petals with head decked with peacock's feather, with the figure of beauty tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and His unique loveliness charming millions of Cupids.]

Kandarpa-koṭi. He's so beautiful that He can surpass in His beauty the Cupids, millions and millions of Cupids. His name is Madana-mohana. Madana-mohana. Madana is Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, but he is enchanted by Kṛṣṅa. Therefore His name is Madana-mohana.

So bhagavat-toṣaṅam, we must know first of all who is God, who is Bhagavān. So śāstra says, authority says, and history says. What more proof you want? Huh? What more proof? Is there anyone to challenge Kṛṣṅa? Everything is there. Still, why you are searching after God? This is foolishness. This is foolishness. Owls', owls' philosophy. Owls' philosophy... The owl will not open the eyes to see the sun. Just open your eyes, you see, here is sun. "No, there is no sun." This is owls' philosophy. Close the eyes; meditate. And the God is here, "No, I'll not open my eyes."

So we do not follow this philosophy, owls' philosophy. We follow real philosophy. What is that real philosophy? Śruti-pramāṅam, evidence from the Vedas, history, aitihya-pramāṅa, history. And anumāna-pramāṅa. There are many: pratyakṣa, anumāna, aitihya... So out of that, there are so many evidential processes, but according to followers of the Vedic principle, their process is śruti-pramāṅam. Śruti-pramāṅam means if it is mentioned in the Vedas, Upaniṣad, then it is pramāṅam. Śruti-pramāṅam. So Vedas, there are four Vedas and 108 Upaniṣads, and then eighteen Purāṅas, then this Mahābhārata. So all these are Vedic literatures. Śrīmad Madhvācārya describes them, these are Vedic literature. Not only the four Vedas—Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva—but expansion of Vedas. Purāṅas, they are also Vedas.

So in the Purāṅa, in the history, in the Vedas, by the authorities. Just like Brahmā, the best authority because he is the first living being created within the universe. Ādi-puruṣa... Not ādi-puruṣa; ādi-kavi. Ādi-puruṣa is Kṛṣṅa. Brahmā is ādi-kavi, the original learned scholar. So our theory of creation means first of all Brahmā is created. So Brahmā is called ādi-kavi. Tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1]. Ādi-kavaye means Brahmā. So Brahmā's knowledge, what does he say? Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Brahmā says Govinda, Kṛṣṅa. Cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam [Bs 5.29]. He's giving description about Kṛṣṅa in the Brahma-saṁhitā. And the description of Kṛṣṅa's abode: cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam. Everything is there. This is authority, śruti. Kṛṣṅa is very much fond of tending cows. Surabhīr abhipālayantam. Cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu. He has got His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the residential houses are made of cintāmaṅi, touchstone. Touchstone, we have heard the description: touchstone means the stone which you touch to the iron, and the iron becomes gold. So such touchstone, they're used as brick. Cintāmaṅi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu [Bs 5.29].

And kalpa-vṛkṣa. This is Kṛṣṅa's abode. They are not like this. They are all spiritual. Here it is, everything is material, but there is spiritual touch. That spiritual touch we are describing in the Bhagavad-gītā, bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām [Bg 7.10].

[O son of Pṛthā, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men.]

Without spiritual touch, there is no question of material manifestation. That is not possible. This body, your body, my body, this is material—everyone knows. It is made of earth, air, water, fire, like that. But how it is manifested? How the beautiful body is manifested? Because there is spiritual touch. The spirit soul is there. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā... [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.]

This external body is changing, but it is forming on account of that spiritual touch. That spiritual touch means Kṛṣṅa. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām. So therefore the origin of everything is Kṛṣṅa. Just like the origin of a big tree is the root. Similarly, Kṛṣṅa is the ādi-puruṣam. Govindam ādi-puruṣam, 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.]

Just like in the tree there are trunks, branches, twigs, sub-branches, leaves, flowers, so many things. But the cause is the root.

So here it is said that hari-toṣaṅam. Bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam [SB 1.5.35]. The root must be satisfied. If you want to maintain the tree, then the root, or the original cause of the tree, should be satisfied. Then everything is satisfied. So here in this material world they are trying to be happy, but they do not know how to become happy. They are put into the ocean of nescience. May be very expert swimmer, but simply swimming will not save you. You must know how to save. So here it is said, yad atra kriyate karma. Everyone is doing something. Vaidikī laukikī vāpi [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.200]. There are two kinds of karmas. Vaidikī means according to the Vedic rituals. Performance of big, big sacrifices and so many other, that is called vaidikī. And laukikī... Just like we have got good experience nowadays: there are so many activities, factories, mills, and scientific research work, so many. This is laukikī. So Kṛṣṅa does not say... Yes. The Sūta Gosvāmī does not say that simply by vaidikī activities, big, big ritualistic ceremonies, you can be happy. You can be happy even by laukikī. Laukikī mean these material activities. Generally, people understand, big, big factories nowadays, or agriculture or anything, there are laukikī. Laukikī means for maintenance of the body. So Nārada Muni recommends that yad atra, anything you are doing, kriyate. Atra means in this material world. Atra. Yad atra kriyate karma bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam [SB 1.5.35]. It doesn't matter that you do not understand these Vedic rituals, but you want to develop the economic position of your country by industrial enterprises. Yes, that is also good. That is also good. How? Bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam. If it is conducted for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṅa, then it is good.

So our Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement does not say you stop anything. No. Whatever you have got liking, you can do, but bhagavat-paritoṣaṅam: by your work you try to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. This is our proposal. We do not say the negative, stop. No. And it is confirmed in the śāstras, ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ... Generally, according to Vedic principle, there are four division of karma. Not four; eight division, according to varṅa and āśrama. Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṅāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. The division of work must be there; otherwise the society cannot go on very nicely. If everyone is brāhmaṅa, not interested in anything material or simply... Because it is, after all, material world. If everyone becomes brāhmaṅa, now it will not go. There must be others. Kṣatriyas means the statesman, protector, politician, diplomat. Kṣatriyas. And there must be vaiśyas also, productive class of men. They must produce. Economic development, that is also required. Otherwise, how human society will go on? Not only intelligent class of men—the protector class of men, the productive class of men and the worker class of men. Suppose we are constructing this temple. If we devotees remain "Hare Kṛṣṅa," then who will construct this temple? Everything is required. We do not say that "Stop this" or "Stop that." No.

So that division, different division, is scientifically made in the Vedic conception of life, varṅāśrama: four varṅas and four āśramas. Āśrama for spiritual advancement and varṅas for material advancement. So we want both of them, because our life is combination of spirit and matter. So it is not that... To make the best use of a bad bargain. Suppose you have got a car. It is not very good car. It's not American car, but Ambassador. [laughter] Thrice breaks. But you have to utilize it. Bad bargain. Similarly, some way or other, we have got this material body; we cannot neglect it. We don't say that "Neglect. Don't care for the body." No. Why?

That is the instruction of the Gosvāmīs: anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255]. Don't be attached to the bodily demands. Bodily demands means eating, sleeping, sex life and defending. These are bodily demands. So if we say that "I am not this body, so I don't care for this eating, sleeping..." No. That is not. It is not vairāgya. This kind of renunciation is not recommended by our Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, the Gosvāmīs recommend anāsaktasya viṣayān. You do not be attached to the demands of the body, but you utilize it for advancing in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Eating is required. If you don't eat nicely, then body cannot be maintained. But anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255]. Eating is required, but not eating too much—not eating to the taste of the tongue, unnecessarily eating meat, fish, eggs. Why? You are human being. For you, Kṛṣṅa has given so much varieties of foodstuff: fruits, vegetables, nice rice, dāl, milk, ghee. Why should you go to the meat-eating? This is required. You eat like human being, not like cats and dogs. But eating is not prohibited. That is not our philosophy. Don't eat like cats and dogs, but eat like human being.

Similarly, sleeping also. Sleep; you require some rest. But don't sleep twenty-six hours. Not like that. Utmost six hours to eight hours, sufficient for any healthy man. Even the doctor says, if anyone sleeps more than eight hours, he is diseased. He must be weak. Healthy man sleeps at a stretch six hours. That is sufficient. That's all. And those who are tapasvīs, they should reduce sleeping also. Just like the Gosvāmīs did: only one and a half hour or utmost two hours. That also sometimes not. Actually, we should reduce this. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. This is gosvāmī. Gosvāmī does not mean go-dāsa. Go means senses, and dāsa means servant. If we keep the title gosvāmī and become servant of the senses, it is cheating. You must be gosvāmī, means you must be master of the senses. Self-control. So what the Gosvāmīs did? Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau. Very humble and... Nidrā means sleeping, āhāra means eating and vihāra means sense enjoyment. Vijitau, they conquered over.

So our process is to follow the Gosvāmīs. Ei chay gosāi yāṅr tāṅr mui dās. So we should try to follow the Gosvāmīs. We should keep in view what they did. They used to, I mean to say, pass their time in kṛṣṅotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau. Kṛṣṅotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau [Śrīnivāsa Ācārya].

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṅa and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe.]

Dhīrādhīra. There are two classes of men in the world: dhīra and adhīra. Dhīra means saintly persons, sober, those who have controlled their senses, gosvāmīs. And adhīra, just the opposite. So these Gosvāmīs, six Gosvāmīs, they were popular to the both classes of men, dhīra and adhīra. Their character was so sublime, nice, that even in this Vṛndāvana when Sanātana Gosvāmī was there, the village men, they would accept Sanātana Gosvāmī as the leader of the village. Actually, they were leader. But to pose himself as leader, but cannot control others, gaya mane mora āpni moro. Not like that. He must able be to lead them. So although Sanātana Gosvāmī was interested kṛṣṅotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau, he was not disinterested with others who were not devotees. They were also interested. Not interested, but sympathetic. They were not interested with the materialists, but the ordinary householders, they would fight, husband and wife, and come to Sanātana Gosvāmī for settlement. And whatever Sanātana Gosvāmī would give judgment, they will accept. They will accept. He was..., they were very popular, Gosvāmīs. And they were staying sometimes here, sometimes there, sometimes Rādhā-kuṅḍa, sometimes... They were not staying in one place.

So our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement, its only aim is how to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. Method, that is intelligence: What method we should accept so that our this process of, or the propaganda of Kṛṣṅa consciousness may go on very nicely. The process should be only to satisfy Kṛṣṅa, hari-toṣaṅam. That is the recommended Vedic process.

ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṅāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṅam [SB 1.2.13]

[O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.]

Saṁsiddhi means perfection. So perfection, if we want perfection of our activities, then we shall try to satisfy by our activity the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You may say that "I do not see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. How I shall be able to know that I am satisfying or dissatisfying Him?" That you can know through your spiritual master. It is not very difficult. If your spiritual master is satisfied, then you should know that Kṛṣṅa is satisfied. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. There is no difficulty. Yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi. You cannot satisfy Kṛṣṅa by dissatisfying your spiritual master. That is not possible. That is not possible. You must satisfy. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. You do not take the excuse that "I do not know God. I do not meet Him. How I shall know that I have satisfied Him or dissatisfied Him?" No. Śāstra says, "Yes..." It doesn't matter. Therefore it is called paramparā. Paramparā. As you receive the knowledge from Kṛṣṅa, from Arjuna and from Nārada, from Brahmā, like that, come down to your spiritual master, similarly, as you receive the knowledge step by step, one after another, similarly, you satisfy also the Supreme Personality of Godhead from this step, this step, this step, this step. This is the process. Just like you come down step by step by step by step, similarly you go up step by step by step by step.

So this is the process, bhagavat-toṣaṅam or hari-toṣaṅam. Also this way. And to receive the knowledge from Bhagavān, that is also paramparā system. The paramparā system must be maintained, and if it is done nicely, then as it is stated here, yad atra kriyate [SB 1.5.35], whatever you do, that is for your perfection. If you keep this paramparā system and if you try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then whatever you do, that is perfection. It doesn't matter. The test is whether Kṛṣṅa is satisfied, whether your spiritual master is satisfied. Then you are perfect.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]