Bhagavad-gītā 7.1

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

Prabhupāda:

śrī bhagavān uvāca mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṅu [Bg 7.1]

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

Arjuna is hearing from Kṛṣṅa, and Kṛṣṅa is speaking to Arjuna directly. How fortunate is Arjuna, that he is directly hearing from Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Here, therefore, it is said, bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān. Not ordinary teacher, a human being, or a living being, but Bhagavān.

There are two living beings. One is Bhagavān, and the other is the living being as we are. That is the Vedic version. 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.]

Bhagavān means He is also living being. He is not nirākāra. When we say bhagavān nirākāra, that means either we have no knowledge of Bhagavān or nirākāra means He is not a form like us. Our form and Kṛṣṅa's form—different. Kṛṣṅa is complete spiritual, divine, and we are, at the present moment, although we have got our spiritual form within this body, but because we have no vision of the spiritual form, we are taking this body as our form. This is called illusion.

The spiritual form is there. That is realization of Brahman, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. The Vedic injunction is just to understand that I am not this body. If anyone is under the concept of this body—"I am this body," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am American," "I am Indian"—in this way, with the bodily concept of life, we are thinking we are different from one another. At the same time, we desire that there may be unity of the human society, of the human being, and we can live peacefully. That is very desirable thing. That is the thing we require to understand. But so long we are on the bodily concept of life, this goal cannot be achieved.

Unless we have got spiritual understanding, we'll have to present ourself with this bodily designation. This is designation. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am Bengali," "I am Sindhi," "I am Punjabi," "I am American," these are all bodily conception of life. And so long we are in the bodily concepts of our life, we are no better than the animals, cats and dogs. That is the statement of Vedic literature.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṅape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13]

[One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.]

Go means cow, and kharaḥ means asses. So yasya ātma-buddhiḥ: "A person who thinks himself ātma-buddhiḥ, as 'I am this body...' " Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṅape tri-dhātuke. This body is made of tri-dhātu, three dhātus: kapha, pitta, vāyu. "So this kapha, pitta, vāyu, this body, I am not this body." This is self-realization. "I am different from this bag of flesh and bone." When we realize completely, that is the first point of self-realization.

In the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṅa has begun the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā from this point, that "I am not this body." This is the beginning of spiritual knowledge. So long we are entrapped with the bodily concept of life, there is no question of spiritual life. That is the beginning. What is that? Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [Bg 2.13].

[As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.]

The soul, the spirit soul, dehī, one who possesses the deha, body... Just like gṛhī. Gṛhī means one who remains in a home. He is called gṛhī, gṛhastha. Gṛhastha—gṛha, the room or the apartment, and stha, who is staying there with husband, wife, children, he is called gṛhastha. But the gṛhī is not the person who is staying within the gṛha. He is different from the gṛha. Similarly, dehī and deha. Deha means this body, and dehī means who lives within the body. That is first of all explained. Dehinaḥ asmin dehe: "In this body there is the resident of the body." That is soul. That is the beginning of spiritual knowledge. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [Bg 2.13].

So dehī... Just like we change from one place to another, from one apartment to another. That you have got experience. Similarly, in the material condition of life we, the proprietor of the body, we are changing, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ, from one body to another. This is the first knowledge, preliminary knowledge. People have no preliminary knowledge even. Everyone is thinking, "I am this body": "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṅa," "I am kṣatriya." It is not this body I am. I am put into this body under certain circumstances. Otherwise I am not this body.

So this realization can be possible by yoga practice, mystic yoga. So there are many yogīs. Generally, the haṭha-yogīs or aṣṭāṅga-yogīs who try to understand himself by mystic yoga process... But this has been summarized in the Bhagavad-gītā at the end of the Sixth Chapter. I am just trying to read from the Seventh Chapter. So at the end of the Sixth Chapter Bhagavān says, yoginām api sarveṣām: "There are many yogīs. So out of all the yogīs..." Yoginām api sarveṣām. Sarveṣām means "of all." There are different yogīs. Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gata, mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā [Bg 6.47].

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

The yogic practice is to meditate upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṅu within the heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1].

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

Those who are yogīs, they see the Paramātmā, and the Paramātmā is in everyone's heart. So they want to find out where is Paramātmā within the heart. This is sum and substance of yoga system.

So yoga means connecting link. We are... Our link is now separated. Somehow or other, we are thinking separate from God. But actually that is not the fact. We are interlinked always with God, with Kṛṣṅa. But some way or other, there is some difficulty. That is called māyā. Just like we are living under the sunshine always. At night there is some difficulty to see the sun, but sun is there, and I am also here. That's a fact. Everyone knows. Now, the earthly planet has turned around. The sun is on the back side of this earth. It is in America now. So sun is there, the American people are seeing sun, but on account of the different position of this earth we cannot see the sun. That does not mean there is no sun. The sunshine is always existing. It is shadowed by this earthly planet. Similarly, when... Our relationship with God, or Kṛṣṅa, is always existing, but when there is some intervention, māyā, then we think, "There is no God" or "I am God," like that.

So this misconception of life, that "I am God," "There is no God..." Atheists and voidists, they say like that. The voidists, they say śūnyavādi. They say, "There is no God." And the impersonalists, they say that there is God, but there is no head, there is no leg, there is no hand, there is no mouth, there is no, no, no... Ultimately, what is their God? If God has no head, no leg, no body, no mouth, then what is that God? That is also another way of explaining God as zero. The voidists, they directly say, "There is no God. We don't believe in God." That is understandable. But this impersonal explanation of God, that is not understandable. What is this? "God has no leg, neither God has no head, God has no hand, God has no mouth." Then what is that God? They cannot say.

So this impersonalists and the voidists, they are of the same group, denying the existence of God. But that is not the fact. There is God. The devotees know there is God, and He is Bhagavān. God is called Bhagavān. Therefore although it is said here... Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by Kṛṣṅa, everyone knows. But in some places in the Bhagavad-gītā it is described as bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān and Kṛṣṅa—the same person. Kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. Bhagavān, there is a definition of the word bhagavān.

[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.]

aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṅṅāṁ itī bhaga ganā [Viṣṅu Purāṅa 6.5.47]

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

Bhaga, we understand the word bhāgyavān, bhāgya. The bhāgya, bhāgyavān, this word comes from bhaga. Bhaga means opulence. Opulence means riches. How one man can be opulent? If he has got money, if he has got intelligence, if he has got beauty, if he has got reputation, if he has got knowledge, if he has got renunciation—this is the meaning of Bhagavān.

So when we speak "Bhagavān," this Bhagavān, the Parameśvara... Īśvara, Parameśvara; ātmā, Paramātmā; Brahman, Para-brahman—there is two words. One is ordinary, and the other is parama, supreme. Just like in our cooking process we can cook varieties of rice. Rice is there. The varieties of names are there: anna, paramānna, puṣpānna, kicoranna[?], like that. So the supreme anna is called paramānna. Param means the supreme. Anna, the rice, is there, but it has become supreme. Ordinary rice is not called supreme rice. This is also rice. And when you prepare rice with kṣīra, means milk, and other nice ingredients, it is called paramānna. Similarly, the symptoms of living entities and Bhagavān—one is practically the same. Bhagavān... We have got this body; Bhagavān has got this body. Bhagavān is also living being; we are also living being. Bhagavān has got creative energy; we have also creative energy. But the difference is He is very great, eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. When Bhagavān creates this whole universe, He does not require anyone's help. He creates the sky. From the sky there is sound; from the sound there is air; from the air there is fire; from fire there is water; and from water the earth is there.

So Bhagavān creates by His energy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, 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.]

He can create. Just like, take for example, water. Water... Sometimes we also create water by perspiration. Perspiration, we may create one satap[?], one ounce or two ounce water, or say four ounce, five ounce. So similarly, this same creative power is of Kṛṣṅa, but He can create millions of Pacific Ocean. The process is the same. We can create a little thing. We have created this airplanes; that is also flying in the sky. And there are millions and millions of planets; that is also flying and floating in the sky. So that is the difference. We can create a small airplane, airship, and flying in the sky, and Bhagavān has created innumerable universes flying in the sky, and He has created the sky also. The creative energy is there. You have got the creative energy, but you cannot create another planet which is floating in the sky. That is not possible. That is the difference between living entity and Bhagavān. The similarity is there. We are creating big, big factories, big, big cities, and Bhagavān is creating big, big universes. How He is creating, that is also stated in the śāstra. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṅḍa-nāthāḥ [Bs 5.48].

[Brahmā and other lords of the mundane worlds, appearing from the pores of hair of Mahā-Viṣṅu, remain alive as long as the duration of one exhalation of the latter [Mahā-Viṣṅu]. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whose subjective personality Mahā-Viṣṅu is the portion of portion.]

Bhagavān is creating by His breathing process innumerable universes. So we can create a skyscraper building, and we become very proud, that "How we have become advanced. We have created the skyscraper building." But we do not see that Bhagavān is creating millions of planets where millions and millions of skyscraper buildings are standing. This is understanding of Bhagavān.

So how we can understand Bhagavān's energy, how we can understand His creative energy, and what is the potency of Bhagavān, how He is doing that—everything—that is also a great science. That is called Kṛṣṅa science. Kṛṣṅa-tattva-jñāna. Yei kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā, sei guru haya [Cc Madhya 8.128].

[Whether one is a brāhmaṅa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṅa.]

Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that who is guru. Guru means yei kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya: "Anyone who knows Kṛṣṅa, he is guru." Guru cannot be manufactured. Anyone who knows about Kṛṣṅa as far as possible... We cannot know..., we cannot know Kṛṣṅa cent per cent. That is not possible. Kṛṣṅa's energies are so multi. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate [Cc Madhya 13.65, purport]. One energy is working in one way, another energy is working another way. But they are all Kṛṣṅa's energy. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. 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.]

The prakṛti... We see this flower is coming out of the nature, and not only flower, so many things are coming out—through the seed. The rose seed, there will be rose tree. Bela seed, there will be bela tree. So how it is happening? The same ground, the same water, and seed also looks like the same, but it is coming out differently. How it is possible? That is called parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna. The ordinary man or the so-called scientist, they say, "It is nature producing." But they do not know what is nature, who is supervising the natural activities, the material nature, how it is working.

That is said in the Bhagavad-gītā: mayādhyakṣeṅa [Bg 9.10]. Kṛṣṅa says, "Under My superintendence the nature is working." That is the fact. Nature, the matter... Matter cannot combine together automatically. These skyscraper building, they are created with matter, but the matter has not come to become skyscraper building automatically. That is not possible. There is a small, teeny spirit soul, the engineer or the architect, who takes the matter and decorate it and creates a skyscraper building. That is our experience. So how we can say that the matter is working automatically? Matter does not work automatically. It requires higher brain, higher manipulation, therefore higher order. Just like in this material world we have got the highest order, the sun, movement of the sun, the heat energy, light energy of the sun. So how it is being utilized? That is stated in the śāstra: yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. This sun planet is also a planet like this planet. As in this planet there may be many presidents, but formerly there was one president only, so similarly, in each planet there is a president. In the sun planet we receive this knowledge from Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṅa says, 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 first of all spoke this science of Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvān." Vivasvān means the president of the sun globe, and his son is Manu. This is the time. This time is going on. It is called Vaivasvata Manu period. Vaivasvata means from Vivasvān, the son of Vivasvān. He is called Vaivasvata Manu.

So everything is there in the śāstra. So it is our duty, the human life, to get knowledge from śāstra. That is, means Veda. Veda means knowledge. Get knowledge from the standard Veda. 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.]

"In order to understand that Vedic knowledge, one has to go to the proper master, teacher." Tad viddhi praṅipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg 4.34].

[Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.]

These are the things. Now, if you want to know Kṛṣṅa, Bhagavān... Here it is said, bhagavān uvāca, Bhagavān says, mayy āsakta, mayi āsakta. Therefore if you become attached... We have got attachment for so many things. But if we transfer that attachment to Kṛṣṅa, then, Kṛṣṅa says, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. You have to adopt this yogic process, meditation. Meditation... Unless you have got love for somebody, attachment for somebody, how you can think of him always? That is not possible. By force I cannot say that "You think of this thing or this man." That is not possible. If I have got attachment for a certain thing or a certain person, then we can think of that person or that thing. That is called yoga, connecting always, keeping linked always. That is called yoga. So if you want to know perfectly or as far as you can understand through your senses, mayy āsakta-manāḥ, then you transfer your attachment to Kṛṣṅa. This is the advice. If we want to know Kṛṣṅa, then we have to transfer our attachment to Kṛṣṅa. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ. The mind should be attached to Kṛṣṅa.

Now, Kṛṣṅa is there. We have got Kṛṣṅa's picture, Kṛṣṅa's photo, Kṛṣṅa's temple, so many Kṛṣṅa's. They are not fictitious. They are not imagination, as the Māyāvādī philosopher thinks, that "You can imagine in your mind." No. God cannot be imagined. That is another foolishness. How you can imagine God? Then God become subject matter of your imagination. He is no substance. That is not God. What is imagined, that is not God. God is present before you: Kṛṣṅa. He comes here on this planet. Tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham, sambhavāmi yuge yuge [Bg 4.7–8]. So those who have seen God, you take information from them.

tad viddhi praṅipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ [Bg 4.34]

[Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.]

Tattva-darśinaḥ. Unless you have seen, how you can give information of the truth to others? So God is seen, not only seen in the history. In the history, when Kṛṣṅa was present on this planet, the history of Battle of Kurukṣetra where this Bhagavad-gītā was spoken, that is a historical fact. So we can see through history also Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṅa and through śāstra also. Śāstra-cakṣusā. Just like at the present moment Kṛṣṅa is not physically present, but we understand through śāstra what is Kṛṣṅa.

So śāstra-cakṣusā. Śāstra cak... Either you take direct perception or through the śāstra. Through the śāstra the perception is better than direct perception. Therefore our knowledge, those who are following the Vedic principle, their knowledge is derived from the Vedas. They do not manufacture any knowledge. If one thing is understood by the evidence of the Vedas, that is fact. So Kṛṣṅa is understood through the Vedas. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg 15.15].

[I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.]

That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You cannot imagine of Kṛṣṅa. If some rascal says that "I am imagining," that is rascaldom. You have to see Kṛṣṅa through the Vedas. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. That is the purpose of studying Vedas. Therefore it is called Vedānta. Kṛṣṅa's knowledge is Vedānta. Anta means the end, the last word, last word. So last word... What is the last word of Vedic knowledge? Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11].

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

First of all knowledge of the Brahman, then Paramātmā, then last knowledge 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.]

Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. Kṛṣṅa says, 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.]

Sarvasya, or Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. The Bhagavān is the origin of Paramātmā and Brahman. Brahmaṅaḥ ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā.

So in this way we have to understand what is Kṛṣṅa, not superficially. Even superficially you understand—even you do not understand—if you accept Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme, then either you read Vedas or not Vedas, the same thing, because you have come to the conclusion. Suppose if there is fire. So the fire burns. So if you come to fire, if you have felt the heat and light, then either you know chemically what is fire, wherefrom it is coming... You know or may not know, but because you have come to the fire, the action of the fire will be perceived by you. Similarly, Kṛṣṅa says either you are very learned scholar or not, whatever you may be, if you simply concentrate your mind and attachment for Kṛṣṅa... Mayy āsakta-manāḥ. Āsakta means attachment. And mind, manas means mind. So if you practice this yoga... This is yoga. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan. This is yoga.

Yes, I was speaking that when Kṛṣṅa explained yoga system, He concluded,

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

[And of all yogīs, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all.]

Anyone... There are hundreds and thousands varieties of yogīs. The first-class yogī is he who is always thinking of Kṛṣṅa. He is first-class yogī. Mayy āsakta... Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā. Antar-ātmanā is in the core of heart. He is keeping the picture of Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa is there, but because we cannot see now in the present condition, so we think the formation of Kṛṣṅa, either from picture or from the Deity in the temple, and keep it within your heart always and think of Him—you become first-class yogī. Yoginām api sarveṣām. And if you continue this yoga system, yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ...

So how you can practice this yoga? This yoga system is that yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ, and in the previous verse it is said that mad-gatena antar-ātmanā. If you keep Kṛṣṅa always within your heart in this way, mayy āsakta-manāḥ, the mind being..., thus being attached, mayy āsakta, this is yoga. This yoga has to be practiced, how to keep Kṛṣṅa always within your heart. That is first-class yoga. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha. Yogam, this yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. And this yoga practice can be possible by the process mad-āśrayaḥ. Mad-āśrayaḥ means "one who has taken shelter of Me." Mat means "Me," and āśrayaḥ means to take shelter. That means devotee. Or mad-āśrayaḥ means one who has taken the shelter of a devotee. A devotee is also mad-āśrayaḥ. A devotee means who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa completely. So either you... Of course, it is not possible to take the shelter of Kṛṣṅa directly. That is not possible. May be possible by Kṛṣṅa's special mercy, but general process is you have to go through the mercy or process of accepting a guru. 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.]

Guru. And who is guru? Yei kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya [Cc Madhya 8.128].

[Whether one is a brāhmaṅa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṅa.]

There is no difficulty to find out. Sometimes they plead that "Whom I can accept as guru?" That is... Caitanya Mahāprabhu has cleared: ye kṛṣṅa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya. You haven't got any trouble to find out guru. Anyone who knows about Kṛṣṅa, he is guru.

So mad-āśrayaḥ means directly we cannot take shelter of Kṛṣṅa. Therefore, one who has taken shelter of Kṛṣṅa, one who knows the science of Kṛṣṅa, one who knows what is Kṛṣṅa—you take shelter of that person. Mad-āśrayaḥ. Taking shelter, ādau gurv-āśrayam, that is the process of this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. Ādau, in the beginning, you have to take shelter of guru. Ādau gurv-āśrayaṁ sad-dharma-pṛcchā: "Then you inquire from him about Kṛṣṅa." Sad-dharma-pṛcchā, sādhu-mārgānugamanam: "Then follow the footstep of big, big devotees." Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee; Kapiladeva, a great devotee; and similarly, Brahmā, a great devotee. Lord Śiva is great devotee; Nārada Muni, a great devotee. There are... Especially twelve names are given in the śāstras, that we have to follow them. That is called sampradāya. Sampradāya means coming in disciplic succession from the original guru. Just like Kṛṣṅa instructed Brahmā, so Brahmā is one of the gurus. So Brahma-sampradāya there is. Brahma-sampradāya. Our this Gauḍīya-sampradāya belongs to that Brahma-sampradāya. In this way there is Rāmānuja-sampradāya. This sampradāya comes from the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, Śrī-sampradāya. In this way there are twelve mahājanas. They are stated in the śāstra. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186].

[Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.]

We have to take the path of mahājana, and the purpose is how to increase your attachment for Kṛṣṅa. This is the business. And this business you can occupy yourself in this human form of life.

In other form of life... We are changing our form of life from one body to another, but if we want to understand God... That is essential. So long we do not understand God, so long we do not go back to home, back to Godhead, our struggle for existence will continue. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṅi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg 15.7]. They struggle. Everyone struggles hard to become happy. But that is not possible. Simply searching after, searching after happiness, when time comes: "Finished. Your business is finished. Now get out." That is called death. So death is also Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham [Bg 10.34].

[I am all-devouring death, and I am the generator of all things yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, speech, memory, intelligence, faithfulness and patience.]

Mṛtyu, Kṛṣṅa, comes as death. During your lifetime, if you do not understand Kṛṣṅa consciousness, this Kṛṣṅa will come as death and take away everything what you have got. Sarva-haraḥ. Then your body, your family, your country, your bank, everything business, business—finished. "Now you have to accept another body. You forget about all these things." This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19].

So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is the greatest benefactory movement to the human society because it is giving information to the human society that "You make your life... You have got this nice human form of body. Make this life perfect by understanding Kṛṣṅa." This is the opportunity. You may think of independent of Kṛṣṅa. You are not independent of Kṛṣṅa. You are under the rules and regulation of Kṛṣṅa, because we are under the rules and regulation of material nature. But what is this material nature? Material nature is agent of Kṛṣṅa. Mama māyā. Kṛṣṅa says, mama māyā duratyayā. You cannot surmount the stringent laws of material ways. And this māyā is Kṛṣṅa's māyā. Therefore the conclusion is given by Kṛṣṅa, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te [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.]

If you want to get out of the māyā's activities, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṅāni guṅaiḥ karmāṅi [Bg 3.27],

[The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.]

then you have to take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. There is no way out. This is a scientific movement. Anyone, intelligent person, any thoughtful person, he must take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Otherwise he is doomed.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṅa. Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]