Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.9

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

ya ādyo bhagavān puṁsām īśvaro vai bhavān kila lokasya tamasāndhasya cakṣuḥ sūrya ivoditaḥ [SB 3.25.9]

[break] [01:42]

"You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the origin and the Supreme Lord of all living entities. You have arisen to disseminate the rays of the sun in order to dissipate the darkness of ignorance of the universe."

Prabhupāda:

ya ādyo bhagavān puṁsām īśvaro vai bhavān kila lokasya tamasāndhasya cakṣuḥ sūrya ivoditaḥ [SB 3.25.9]

So there is the Supreme Person, Bhagavān. Originally, the... It is very common sense. Just like we require a leader. To organize some business, some nationality, any group of organization, it requires a leader. Without leader, you cannot organize anything. Nobody has got any such experience that without direction, without leader, anything has sprung up automatically, by nature. The foolish philosophers say like that, that the whole cosmic manifestation has come out..., out of a chunk. They say like that. The rascals say like that: "There was a chunk." And wherefrom this chunk came? No, that is not fact. Fact is that there must be a good brain behind all this organization. This cosmic manifestation, there must be a leader. That is the information we get from Vedas. 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.]

Nitya, we living entities, we are nitya. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg 2.20]. We do not die. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. Neither we take birth or we die. We simply change the body. Vāsāṁsi jīrṅāni yathā vihāya [Bg 2.22]. As old garments, old shirts and coats, we change, similarly, when this body becomes old enough not to be used, we change to another body. 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.]

This is real knowledge.

So we are eternal, and God is also eternal. In that way we are the same quality. God is eternal; we are also eternal. God is cognizant, cetana, abhijña; we are also cetana. We are not dull matter. So what is the difference between God and me? The difference: He is great; we are small. He is vibhu; we are aṅu. He's all-pervading; we are very small. He is infinite; we are infinitesimal. That is the difference. So nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. That is the Vedic information. So you apply your reason, arguments. As you find here, you are more intelligent than me, somebody else more intelligent than you, other is more intelligent than he... In this way, if you analyze, there is not..., all of us not on the same level. One is more intelligent, one is less intelligent. Similarly, you go on analyzing, one after another, one after another, throughout the whole universe. Then you come to the demigods. And the most important demigod is Lord Brahmā. So he's the original creature within this universe. So he is also not enough intelligent. You'll have to find out a person more intelligent than him. So that is, we get information... Just like Brahmā. He was alone in the beginning. Wherefrom he got knowledge? There was nobody else. So śāstra says, "Yes, he got knowledge..." Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1]. He got knowledge from Kṛṣṅa. Brahmā haite catur-mukha[?].

So there must be some leader. In order to get knowledge, we have to find out some leader. And actually, by our experience, whatever we're doing... Just like we got independence. So there was a leader, Mahatma Gandhi. He led the country. Then you came to your national consciousness, and you combined together, and the Britishers went away. The opinion was against them. So there must be leader, and that leader is a person. That leader cannot be an imperson. No. That is not possible. I think there was a news in the newspaper, Free Press Journal, that the faith in personal God is diminishing. That means they are becoming more foolish. The faith in personal God is diminishing. That means they are becoming more foolish. The faith in personal God is diminishing, percentage diminishing. That means people are becoming more and more foolish. That is natural. This is Kali-yuga. 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.]

The more this Age of Kali will increase, people will diminish in their bodily strength, in their memory, in their mercifulness—in so many ways. Eight kinds of diminishing, decreasing. Actually, we find, even in Western countries, the present generation, they are not as strong as their father or grandfather. Bodily strength [sic] increasing. Memory is decreasing. There is no mercifulness. Now, at the present moment, if somebody is being killed and you are passing, nobody takes care. "Let him be killed." Because dayā, mercifulness, is diminishing. The duration of life diminishing. The bodily stature diminishing. The memory diminishing. Everything is diminishing.

So because we are diminishing in everything, therefore our God consciousness is diminishing also. Therefore they are in the news word that "Personal God conception is diminishing." That is natural. Mūḍha. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that one who does not accept the personal God, he is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, mūḍha.

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ [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.]

These classes of men. As soon as you'll find somebody godless, he does not know what is God, what is meaning of God, or he does not surrender to God... He does not know what is God—where is the question of surrender? Then we have got a test tube, statement of Kṛṣṅa. Then what class of man he is? If he does not believe in God, if he does not know what is God, what is our relationship with God, then what class of man he is? So we have got this test tube of Bhagavad-gītā. What is that? Duṣkṛtinaḥ. Always engaged in sinful activities. Therefore he does not know. Duṣkṛtinaḥ. And what other qualification? Mūḍha, ass, rascal. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Narādhama means the lowest of the mankind. Why lowest? Now, because the human life is meant for understanding God, and he does not know. Therefore he is lowest of the mankind, narādhama. Why it is so? There are so many university degrees—M.A., Ph.D., D.A.C., and so on, so on, delete.[?] Still, he does not know? Still, he's mūḍha? The Bhagavad-gītā says, "Yes." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ: "The knowledge he has achieved, that has been taken away by māyā." He's superficially simply degree holder. His actual knowledge is taken away. So therefore māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. Why this has happened? Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because he defies: "What is God? I am God. You are all God. Why you are searching God? There are so many Gods loitering in the street. Take care of them."

So this is not advancement of civilization. Because such kind of civilization is increasing, therefore in the paper we find that "Faith in personal God is decreasing." But God is person. Here it is said. What is that? Ya ādyaḥ bhagavān. Originally Bhagavān. Ādyaḥ means originally. There are three conceptions of Absolute Truth. What is that? That is stated in the Bhāgavata:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11]

[Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān.]

The Absolute Truth, tattva... Tattva means the truth, original. Tat tvam asi. That tattva is Bhagavān. In the... The Absolute Truth is understood in three features, three angles of vision. The first is Brahman, impersonal Brahman. The second is localized Paramātmā. And the ultimate is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Brahman realization is not complete realization of the Absolute Truth. Neither Paramātmā realization is absolute, or the complete understanding of the Absolute Truth. When you realize Bhagavān, then you understand what is Paramātmā, what is Brahman, and what is Absolute Truth. Yaj jñātvā... No. 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.]

That is the Vedic instruction. If you understand Bhagavān, then you understand Paramātmā, you can understand Brahman also. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā [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.]

This is Paramātmā. Ekāṁśena sthito jagat [Bg 10.42].

[But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.]

That is one portion, partial understanding of the Absolute Truth. So far Brahman is concerned, that is stated in the Bhagavad..., brahmaṅo ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā: "I am the origin of Brahman effulgence." Amṛtasya śāśvatasya ca. This is described. And so far He is concerned, Kṛṣṅa, 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.]

This is understanding of Bhagavad-gītā. So far He is concerned, He said, "There is no more superior truth than Me." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya.

So everything is resting on Kṛṣṅa. That is to be understood. That is the Vedānta understanding. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. "Everything" includes Paramātmā and Brahma, and what to speak of other demigods. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ [Bg 10.8].

[I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.]

This is the statement. Everyone reads Bhagavad-gītā, takes Bhagavad-gītā and takes photograph: "I am very good scholar of Bhagavad-gītā." But he does not know what is Kṛṣṅa. Just see. "I know everything—except Kṛṣṅa. This is my knowledge." No. If you understand Kṛṣṅa—yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati—then you understand everything. Just like if you understand what is one hundred thousands of rupees, then you can understand automatically what is ten rupees and what is fifty rupees. So everything is within that, the Absolute Truth.

Now, Devahūti has understood. Therefore she says, ya ādyaḥ bhagavān, "My dear son, Kapiladeva, I know that You are the, the same Supreme Person, Bhagavān." And the Bhagavān is ādyam. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Vāsudeva is ādyam. Arjuna, when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, he accepted Kṛṣṅa as all in... Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣam ādyam [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.]

"You are the Supreme Person, original person." Now, Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. He says that "I worship the original person, Govinda." Govindam ādi-puruṣam. Everywhere you'll find. And the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṅa, says also, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat... "I..." Govindam ādi-puruṣam. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādir ādiḥ [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 has no ādi. Somebody will say, "Why not? Kṛṣṅa is born of Vasudeva. Vasudeva is His father." That is His acceptance, a devotee as father. There are dealings of the devotee and the Bhagavān in different ways: śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya, mādhurya. We can have relation... We have that relation. Now it is covered. We can revive it again. Simply appreciation of the Supreme, that is called śānta-rasa. When one appreciates fully, then he wants to give some service. That is called dāsya. And giving service, when he becomes more intimate, then he becomes friend. That is called sākhya. And then, more advanced, the devotee wants to give service to Kṛṣṅa as father. Father-mother means to give service to the son—from the very beginning, even as a sweeper, all taking care.

So this is service. The Christian conception of God as Father is not so perfect. Because if we conceive God as Father and Mother, then the policy is to take from Him. Because everyone wants to take from the father: "Father, give me that. Mother, give me that." But this philosophy, that to accept the Supreme Lord as son, that means to give service. Yaśodāmāyi, he has gotten..., she has gotten Kṛṣṅa as her son. So always anxious: "Kṛṣṅa may not be in danger. Kṛṣṅa is crawling; some animal may not attack. He may not fall down in the water. He may not touch fire." Always anxiety, giving protection to Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is giving protection to the whole universe, and Yaśodāmāyi is giving protection to Kṛṣṅa. This is conception of philosophy, Vaiṣṅava philosophy. She is anxious to give protection. Kṛṣṅa was taken away by the... What is that asura?

Yaśomatī-nandana: Tṛṅāvarta.

Prabhupāda: Tṛṅāvarta. Yes. So Kṛṣṅa was taken, and Mother Yaśodā became mad: "My son has been taken." But Kṛṣṅa became so heavy that the asura could not stay in the sky. He fell from a deep, distant place and immediately died. Kṛṣṅa... And Yaśodāmāyi saw that "God has saved my Kṛṣṅa." Yaśodāmāyi saw: "God has saved." He [she] began to thank some other god, some devatā. Because she knows, "Kṛṣṅa is my son." She does not know that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If she thinks that Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then the relationship between mother and son will be destroyed. Therefore Kṛṣṅa is playing just like an ordinary child, and Mother Yaśodā is treating Him as her son. All Kṛṣṅa's friends complained to Mother Yaśodā, "Mother Yaśodā, your Kṛṣṅa was eating dirt." "Eh? I gave You sandeśa, and You are eating dirt?" [laughter] "No, Mother, I did not eat. They are telling all lies. This morning we had some quarrel." "No, Baladeva says also." "Yes, elder brother, He has also become My enemy." [laughter] "No, You open Your mouth." "Yes." When He opened His mouth, she saw the whole universe within the mouth. So she did not take very seriously. "All right, don't do it again." That's all. She never could take Kṛṣṅa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Neither Kṛṣṅa's friends, the cowherd boys. Neither the gopīs. The gopīs used to chastise Kṛṣṅa like anything.

So this is Kṛṣṅa's love. Kṛṣṅa is the īśvara. Here it is said, puṁsām īśvaraḥ: the controller of the whole universe. Mayādhyakṣeṅa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram [Bg 9.10].

[This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.]

But a devotee can control the Supreme Controller. Why they shall become one with God? They'll be God's father, God's controller. This is bhakti-mārga. Bhakti-mārga is not satisfied... They do not want to be equal with God or one with God. No. They want to give service. This is bhakti-mārga. Therefore Bhagavān. Bhagavān means "full of all opulence, all-powerful, almighty." That is Bhagavān. So to understand the Absolute Truth, you have to understand what is the meaning of Bhagavān. That is Absolute Truth. Here Devahūti... Devahūti is not ordinary woman. She was the wife of Kardama Muni, one of the greatest yogī. She has learned something from her husband. Otherwise, if she's not a very exalted woman, how Bhagavān has become her son? She is not ordinary woman. Therefore she says... She has understood Kapiladeva that ya ādyaḥ bhagavān.

Ādya is Bhagavān. Ādya is not Brahman or Paramātmā. Origin of everything is neither Paramātmā nor Brahman. Brahman is the bodily rays of Bhagavān. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṅḍa-koṭi [Bs 5.40].

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

Yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṅḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ. Yasya prabhā. The... Just like the sunshine. Sunshine is not ādya; the sun-god is ādya. The sunshine is distributed all over the world, all over the universe. Everyone knows it. But is it ādya? Is it the origin? No, no, no. It is not origin. The origin is the sun globe, or the sun-god. As soon as the sun disappears, there is no more sunshine. Therefore sunshine is not ādya. Sunshine is dependent on the sun globe. Similarly, this Brahman effulgence is dependent on the body of Kṛṣṅa. Brahmaṅo 'haṁ pratiṣṭhā. Similarly, Paramātmā is also Kṛṣṅa's expansion. Ekaṁ bahu syāma. That is the Vedic instructions. He becomes many—as many living entities are there. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṅa-puruṣam... [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.]

Ādyam again. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. That ananta-rūpam, as Paramātmā or incarnation. Advaitam acyutam. But it does not mean that because Kṛṣṅa has become many, it does not mean Kṛṣṅa is finished. No. Kṛṣṅa is there. Pūrṅasya pūrṅam ādāya pūrṅam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation].

[The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.]

This is Vedic instruction. Kṛṣṅa is pūrṅa, and if He expands Himself in millions of Kṛṣṅa... Actually, He has done so as Paramātmā. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām [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.]

There are millions. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13].

This bahu-vacana, living entities, they are anantyāya kalpate. They are unlimited number. There is no counting. So many. But He is the leader. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. So we are, living entities, we are expansion of Kṛṣṅa. Viṣṅu-tattva also expansion of Kṛṣṅa. Svāṁśa, vibhinnāṁśa. We are vibhinnāṁśa. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ [Bg 15.7]. But there are svāṁśa, personal expansion, and separated expansion. The separated expansions we are. We are also expansion of Kṛṣṅa. And viṣṅu-tattva also expansion of Kṛṣṅa. But viṣṅu-tattva is vibhu; we are aṅu—very, very small. Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca, jīva-bhāgaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ [Cc Madhya 19.140].

[If we divide the tip of a hair into a hundred parts and then take one of these parts and divide it again into a hundred parts, that very fine division is the size of but one of the numberless living entities. They are all cit-kaṅa, particles of spirit, not matter.]

The..., if you divide the top portion of your hair into one hundred parts, then take one part, again divide into one hundred parts, that is the dimension of the jīva. Therefore aṅu. Aṅu means like atom. And Kṛṣṅa is vibhu. So therefore Kṛṣṅa is ādya. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ [Bg 10.8].

[I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.]

Kṛṣṅa says, and Devahūti says also, the same thing.

Therefore by studying Vedic literature, we can understand Kṛṣṅa. Therefore one must seek for a Vedic teacher. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet [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.]

Not that "At home, by speculation, I can understand what is God." That is not produce[?]. Vedas says... Just like if you want to be educated, you must accept some school. It doesn't matter whether the school is perfect or not perfect, but you cannot avoid school-going. That is not possible. If you think that "Without going to school, I shall learn everything," that is not possible. Vedas says that if you want knowledge actually... Tad-vijñānārtham. Tad-vijñāna means transcendental knowledge. Because Vedic knowledge... There is material knowledge also. Just like Āyur Veda, Dhanur Veda and Jyotis Veda. Veda, veda means knowledge. There are all different types of knowledge. But real knowledge is brahma-vidyā, to understand the Absolute Truth. That is real knowledge. Other knowledge, they are temporary. We require medicine; therefore there is Āyur Veda. We require sometimes to fight; there is Dhanur Veda. And... So that is also required. Because the body is there. But real requirement is to know the Absolute Truth, Absolute Person. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṅum [SB 7.5.31].

[Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṅu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.]

That is our self-interest. That is our self-interest. If we want to become perfect, then we must see what is the ultimate Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the instruction of Vedānta.

This life is meant for simply how to understand the Absolute Truth. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Jīvasya... But that is missing now. Nobody is inquiring, neither there is any institution throughout the whole world where there is tattva-jijñāsā, what is the Absolute Truth. Simply technical knowledge—how to become this, how to become that, to fill up this belly. But we cannot see even that the birds, beasts, they do not become technologists. How they are getting food? There are 8,400,000 forms of body. The human form of body are 400,000. Out of many bodies that live in jungle, they have also no technology, no education, no systematic government—nothing—but they are also eating. The birds and beasts are eating. Everyone is eating. The ants within your home, within the hole of your room, they're also eating. So who is not eating? Everyone is eating. Why you have made a civilization to work hard like an ass for your eating? What is this civilization? If everyone is, without working, they're getting their food, then what is your advancement of civilization that you have to work like an ass to get your food? That is not advancement of civilization. Therefore, because we are becoming animal, less than animal, therefore they are decreasing the personal God. This is the idea.

But here it is said, ya ādyo bhagavān. This is human civilization. Everyone should know what is Bhagavān and take lessons from Bhagavān. Bhagavān is coming. Kṛṣṅa says,

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

He comes. He's very anxious. People are ignorant, so therefore Kapiladeva has come. And the mother says, lokasya tamasā andhasya cakṣuḥ: "My dear son, Kapila, You are just the real eyes of these blind men, who cannot see You, or who cannot see God." Cakṣuḥ. So how cakṣuḥ? Because by knowledge. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [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.]

By knowledge, when we shall develop or awaken our dormant love for God, then we can see God—with these eyes. Simply it has to be treated. Premāñjana-cchurita. You have to apply the ointment, eye ointment, of loving God. Then you'll see God everywhere. How? Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti [Bs 5.38]. He sees twenty-four hours God and nothing but God. Not only within his heart, but everywhere he sees God. If he goes to the sea, he'll see Kṛṣṅa. If you are thoughtful, you'll see, "Why such a big sea does not..., cannot touch my feet?" I am walking on the beach. There is order. There is order, "You cannot come beyond this limit." Otherwise, it can overpower you at any moment. Is it very difficult for the sea? One wave can overpower you. A whole Bombay city can be washed off. But it cannot do so.

So an intelligent man can see God even while walking on the beach. That requires intelligence. Therefore mūḍhāḥ. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ [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.]

Those who are asses, they cannot see God. Those who are intelligent, they can see God everywhere. Everywhere. God is present everywhere. 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.]

Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṅḍa-koṭi. He is within this universe. He is within your heart. He is within everything, even within the atom. Why you cannot see God? And God says that "Try to see Me in this way. If you are so dull, then you try to see Me in this way." What? What is that easy way? Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya [Bg 7.8]:

[O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.]

"I am the taste of the water." And Kṛṣṅa says, "I am the taste of the water." So have you not tasted the water? You are drinking water. Who has not tasted? Everyone has seen God. Why he says that "I do not see God"? Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ. "I am the sunshine." Who has not seen the sunshine? Everyone has seen the sunshine. Why he says that "I have not seen God"? First of all, try to see God, A-B-C-D; then you'll see the personal God. You'll see everywhere.

So then you will understand ya bhagavān. Ya bhagavān puṁsām īśvaraḥ. Bhagavān means Īśvara, controller. You are not independent. Everyone is dependent. Somebody is dependent of somebody, somebody... But you are dependent. Nobody can say, "I am independent." Even President Nixon, he's not independent. He was dragged down from the post. So you cannot say that "I am independent." That is a foolish proposal. You must always think that you are dependent. That is said, stated, in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṅamayī mama māyā duratyayā [Bg 7.14].

[This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.]

Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṅuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ [SB 7.5.31].

Bahir-artha-māninaḥ, and there is said, te 'pīśa-tantryām baddhāḥ. Īśa-tan... We are bound up by the laws of nature, hands and legs, tightly, and you still think that you are independent? You don't care for God? This is the mūḍha. The mūḍha says like that. No intelligent man will say like that. So why it is so happened? Devahūti says that tamasā andhasya. Lokasya tamasā andhasya. Generally, all these people in this material world, lokasya, they are blind by the darkness of ignorance. Therefore Kṛṣṅa comes. Therefore Kapiladeva comes. When they become dark, when they become blind out of ignorance—"There is no God," "I cannot see God"—then God comes, "Here I am. See. See My feature. I am a person. I am a flute-player. I am... I enjoy in Vṛndāvana. Why don't you see Me?" That is called yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham [Bg 4.7].

So God comes, God explains Himself. He leaves behind Him His instruction, Bhagavad-gītā. Still... He says, "You try to see Me like this, see Me like that," raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi... [Bg 7.8].

[O son of Kuntī [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.]

Still, if we do not know what is God, then what kind of man I am, just imagine. A mūḍha. That's all. So try to see God through the instruction of Devahūti and Kapiladeva. Your life will be successful.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]