Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.42

Kṛṣṅa-kānti: [introducing recording; testing microphone] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class, Sixth Canto, First Chapter, text forty-two, recorded June 23rd, 1975.

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse]

sūryo 'gniḥ khaṁ marud devaḥ somaḥ sandhyāhanī diśaḥ kaṁ kuḥ svayaṁ dharma iti hy ete daihyasya sākṣiṅaḥ [SB 6.1.42]

[04:35]

"The sun, fire, sky, air, demigods, moon, evening, day, night, directions, water, land and the Supersoul Himself all are witnesses..., all witness the activities of the living entity."

Prabhupāda:

sūryo 'gniḥ khaṁ marud devaḥ somaḥ sandhyāhanī diśaḥ kaṁ kuḥ svayaṁ dharma iti hy ete daihyasya sākṣiṅaḥ [SB 6.1.42]

Sometimes foolish people challenge that "Who has seen? Who has seen?" Sometimes they argue, Christian philosophers, that "If I am suffering the resultant action of my past life, then where is the witness that I have done something wrong in my past life? Where is the witness?" So to them this is the answer, that God has created so many witnesses. The first witness is sūrya, the sun. How you can go away from the sunlight? Anywhere you go... We are in this room. Because it is daytime, the sunlight is there. Sūryaḥ agniḥ. Agniḥ means fire. We have to touch with fire in so many ways. The factories are working fire, the electric powerhouse, the electricity, the oven, the kitchen, fire. So agniḥ..., sūryaḥ agniḥ kham ākāśa: sky. Where you can escape sky? Within the room there is sky; outside, the sky; up, the sky; down, the sky. Everywhere sky. Sūryaḥ agniḥ khaṁ marud: air. Where is no air? Every place there is air. Devaḥ. Devaḥ means the Supreme Lord. What is that devaḥ?

Nitāi: [indistinct] demigods.

Prabhupāda: Demigods or God. God is also situated in everyone's heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg 18.61].

[The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.]

Devaḥ. And sandhyā. In the morning there is sun, in the evening there is moon, and sandhyā ahanī. Ahanī means day. And diśaḥ, the direction: east, west, north, south, then corner, then up and down. These are called diśaḥ. Kaṁ: then water. And kuḥ, means the land. Kaṁ kuḥ svayaṁ dharma. And the Dharmarāja, Yamarāja, he is present. Iti, "thus," hi, "indeed," ete, "all these," daihyasya. Daihyasya means one who has accepted this body, material body. A living entity who has accepted this material body, he has to work. This is called field of work. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is called... What is called?

Devotees: Kṣetra.

Prabhupāda: Kṣetra, yes. Kṣetra-kṣetrajña. I am kṣetrajña. I am the soul. I know this is my body. I never say "I, the body." "My body." Never say "I body." Nobody says. So daihyasya. Any sane man, he knows that "I am not this body. It is my body." I never say "I finger." "My finger." I never say "I head." "My head." So this body is mine.

So anyone who has accepted this body, daihyasya, and whatever he is doing, it is all being witnessed by so many witnesses. How can you avoid? How you can do something very secretly? That is not possible. Everything is being noted. And so punishment or reward you will have to accept, because you are not independent. We foolishly say independent. "We don't care for anybody. There is no God." But there is death. That you have to believe. So that death is God. Kṛṣṅa says, ahaṁ mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca [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.]

One who does not see God during lifetime, so he will see God at the time of death. So there is no question of not seeing God. Here is God, Kṛṣṅa. He is standing. He is so merciful. He has come to this temple so that we can take the advantage of seeing Him. But we are seeing Him still idol or something stone or wood. He does not know that because we cannot see now at the present moment without being wood or stone or something material, so Kṛṣṅa has very kindly come to me so that I can see Him in a form which I can see. That is His mercy. We have repeatedly said this.

Therefore we should never think, arcye viṣṅu śilā-dhīḥ, the worshipable Deity, Kṛṣṅa, Viṣṅu, as made of stone. In the higher sense, stone is also Kṛṣṅa, because Kṛṣṅa's energy. Just like if you go to the street, you may see the sun in the sky, but when you are within the room, you may not see the sun in the sky directly. But because it is daytime, therefore we can understand there is sun on the sky. Similarly, we do not require to see God directly. We can see Him through His energy. Just like in a telephone hanger, as soon as somebody speaks, immediately see him. How it is possible? By his word, immediately see him. You are in a closed room, somebody knocking, and you say, "Who is it?" He says, "I am." So immediately by his voice, you can see him. So why do you want to see directly? We can see anything by his energy. Just like if you feel heat here, then immediately you becomes alert, "Oh, there must be some fire." If there is some smoke, immediately you can understand that there is fire. So by intelligence and by the energy of God, you can see God. That is intelligence. So Kṛṣṅa says,

bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca ahaṅkāra itī me bhinnā prakṛtiḥ aṣṭadhā [Bg 7.4]

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

"It is My energy." So stone is also energy of Kṛṣṅa, but you have not eyes to see Kṛṣṅa in the stone. That is your defect. Kṛṣṅa says that "This is My energy." Just like you can see, by energy, you can see the energetic, similarly, by seeing Kṛṣṅa's energy, you can see Kṛṣṅa.

Therefore those who are advanced devotee, for them, there is nothing material; everything is Kṛṣṅa. Sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe nā dekhe tāra mūrti [Cc Madhya 8.274].

[The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.]

Actually, a Vaiṣṅava is factually monist, because he does not see anything except Kṛṣṅa. Anything he sees, he will think, "This is Kṛṣṅa's energy." So why it is not Kṛṣṅa? So Kṛṣṅa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam [Bg 9.4]:

[By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.]

"I am expanded everywhere." Avyakta-mūrtinā. Avyakta means "not manifest." He is in the fire. He is in the water. He is in the land. He is in the sky. Everywhere. He is in the mind. He is in intelligence. He is soul. He's part and... So Kṛṣṅa is everywhere; simply you have to make your eyes how to see Him. That is required. That is prema. Premāṅjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti [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.]

Those who are santaḥ, saintly person, they always see Kṛṣṅa. Why? Premāñjana-cchurita, because he is in love with Kṛṣṅa. Just like you have your beloved child. Although he is out of sight, you can see him in his shoe, in his cloth, in his toy: "Oh, it is my child." That requires prema. Similarly, if you have knowledge, theoretical knowledge even, that everything is Kṛṣṅa's energy, and if you have love for Kṛṣṅa, with reference to the context, whatever you see, you see Kṛṣṅa.

That is Kṛṣṅa consciousness, perfection of Kṛṣṅa consciousness. You cannot see anywhere where there is no Kṛṣṅa. This is for the devotee. For the ordinary person these are the description, that the sūrya, the sun, is also Kṛṣṅa, the fire is also Kṛṣṅa, the sky is also Kṛṣṅa, the air is also Kṛṣṅa, the moon is also Kṛṣṅa, the evening is Kṛṣṅa, daytime is Kṛṣṅa. Then how you can avoid Kṛṣṅa? Kṛṣṅa says that "I am..." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca [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.]

Kṛṣṅa is everywhere. You cannot avoid Kṛṣṅa. Simply on account of your foolishness, māyā is covering your eyes to see Kṛṣṅa. So 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 surrender to Kṛṣṅa, then māyā's curtain will be taken away and you will see Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa. That's all. This is required. Then you become perfect as soon as you learn how to see Kṛṣṅa everywhere. This is the art, transcendental art, spiritual art, how to see Kṛṣṅa. Then you become perfect. That is wanted.

So the devotee of Kṛṣṅa, they know that "Everywhere is Kṛṣṅa, and I cannot do anything, concealing myself from the eyes of Kṛṣṅa. Therefore I should not do anything which is sinful." This is the first step of advancing in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. We are thinking that "Although we are doing this sinful activity, Kṛṣṅa cannot see." No, Kṛṣṅa will see. You should always know that. Kṛṣṅa will see. And Kṛṣṅa says that unless one is free from all sinful activities, he cannot be engaged in full devotional service of Kṛṣṅa consciousness.

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

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

So we should wilfully try to become... He is seeing, but there are two kinds of seeing. When you act sinfully, that is also being seen by Kṛṣṅa, and when you are serving Him, that is also being seen by Kṛṣṅa.

So we have to be seen by Him that we are actually acting for Him as His servant. Then we will be recognized. You cannot conceal Him. He is seeing. He can see everything. But when you act sinfully, then the māyā's curtain prohibits you not to see Kṛṣṅa. But when you actually surrender to Him, then you can see Kṛṣṅa is present. He is seeing everything. That is wanted. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that "Don't try to see Kṛṣṅa. Try to become being seen by Kṛṣṅa." That is wanted. You cannot see Kṛṣṅa so long... Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṅa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ [Cc Madhya 17.136].

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

So long we have got these material eyes, material senses, we cannot hear... Others may chant Hare Kṛṣṅa, he is enjoying, and others, they are thinking disturbing, the same chanting. So because one has got this material ear, he is thinking it is disturbing, and one who has got spiritual ear, then he is enjoying, "Oh, here is Hare Kṛṣṅa chant." This is the difference.

So we have to purify our senses. Then we shall see Kṛṣṅa. We shall know that Kṛṣṅa is seeing us, our activities, our sinful activities, and we have to suffer for this. We have to accept a similar body. Just Kṛṣṅa says,

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.]

So everybody of us, we are getting a new type of body. This is a yantra. This is a machine given by Kṛṣṅa through the agency of material nature. This body is made of material nature. I am the owner of the body or driver of the body, and Kṛṣṅa is the giver of the body. We should always remember. Kṛṣṅa is sitting within us, and He knows what kind of body I am desiring. So He is immediately ordering material nature that "You give him such and such body." And she is ready. She can manufacture millions of types of body in a second, material nature. That you have seen, nature, how all of a sudden all the trees become green. Yesterday or day before yesterday, there was no leaf. And the third day, in the morning, you see all the trees are full with leaves. How it is done? So nature is so powerful. Immediately. So therefore... Similarly, our bodies, your body, my body, millions and trillions and numberless body, immediately created. 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.]

We have to study like that, how prakṛti is working. The prakṛti is not under your control. That prakṛti is working under the supervision of Kṛṣṅa. Mayādhaykṣeṅa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. As soon as Kṛṣṅa says, "Now make all the trees leafless," immediately leafless. He says, "Make the all the trees with all leafs," immediately with leaves. That is God; that is prakṛti. Try to understand like that. Why you compare your silly intelligence with God's intelligence? "I cannot do it; therefore God cannot do it." "I cannot see God; therefore God cannot see me." These rascaldom is going on. Because I am an insignificant creature, kṣudrad api. Kṣudra. Kṣuḍra means very, very insignificant—I am comparing myself with the intelligence of God. This is my fault[?].

So we have to give up this nonsense idea as knowledge. We have to understand God as it is said in the śāstras. Practically, you have to judge. Then we shall understand God, His intelligence, how He is working. Because in the previous verse it is said,

yena sva-dhāmny amī bhāvā rajaḥ-sattva-tamomayāḥ guṅa-nāma-kriyā-rūpair vibhāvyante yathā-tatham [SB 6.1.41]

Everything is being supplied by the nature. By the order of Kṛṣṅa, according to the modes of nature, we are contaminating guṅa-nāma. As we are infected with a certain type of guṅa, immediately our body, activities, name... We have contacted, contaminated, with tamo-guṅa. There are so many animals in the tamo-guṅa—trees, plants. Tamo-guṅa: darkness, no knowledge. So similarly, sattva-guṅa. If you associate with sattva-guṅa, then you get the body of a brāhmaṅa, intelligent man, saintly man. Everything is ready. It requires only our association, that's all.

Therefore the advice is that "You all become the topmost qualified man." That is the propaganda of Kṛṣṅa consciousness. "Become first-class topmost men. Don't remain..." Tamasi mā: "Don't remain in darkness." This is our only request. Otherwise... But why we are making this propaganda? Because Kṛṣṅa wants. We are all servant of Kṛṣṅa; therefore our only aim is to serve Kṛṣṅa. And Kṛṣṅa wants that "Save these rascals from rajo-guṅa, tamo-guṅa. Bring them transcendent to sattva-guṅa, and they will be happy." This is Kṛṣṅa's desire. Nistraiguṅyo bhavārjuna [Bg 2.45]:

[The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.]

"Arjuna, you become above the three guṅas." That is the Kṛṣṅa's desire. "Why you are bothering with these guṅas, 'This is my body. This is my family. This is this. This is this. This is this'? You are arguing so much." So therefore Kṛṣṅa said, nistraiguṅyo bhavārjuna: "These are on the material platform. Come to the spiritual platform." Ultimately He said that "You are My very dear friend. Therefore I am disclosing to you the most confidential knowledge." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅam [Bg 18.66]. This is the whole instruction.

So all these śāstras, all these Vedas, all this knowledge, they are simply leading to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15].

But in the Kali-yuga it is very difficult to go step by step. People are so fallen, so much engrossed in rajo-guṅa and tamo-guṅa. Therefore, by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He has empowered the holy name of God, that simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra you can make equal progress than in other ages. Kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt.

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṅuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt [SB 12.3.52]

[Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṅu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra.]

This is the injunction of the śāstra, that in the Satya-yuga people used to live for 100,000's of years. At that time you could meditate upon for sixty thousand years; still, forty thousand years you can live perfectly. But it is not possible now. Therefore the supreme perfection attained in the Satya-yuga by meditation was possible in the next yuga, Tretā-yuga, by performing sacrifices. Tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ. Dvāpare paricaryāyām. In the next age, by worshiping Deity, paricaryāyām. Kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt: the same result you will get. Because Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to be fixed up in meditation or to perform very costly yajñas or to perform worship of the Deity. That is also difficult. I am very much pleased that you are worshiping Deity very nicely, gorgeously. But in India you will find there are so many temples. Of course, it requires the energy. Otherwise here also, there are so many churches, now they are being closed. This church..., this was a church. Now it was closed. There was no customer. And now it is filled up. Why? The same church, the same men, the same spot. It is due to real knowledge.

So if you go on simply opening centers, if there is no knowledge, then it will again become a closed church someday. So don't do that. Before opening a center you must have perfect worshiper, perfect devotees. Not perfect; at least those who are willing to become. Then open. Otherwise, simply chant. Kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt. That will never be impaired. Anywhere you chant, you will be successful. Anywhere. Sit down. If you chant without any offense, then kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt [SB 12.3.52].

But if possible, open nice centers, worship nicely. That will be very good. But if you are unable to do anything, either the meditation or offering sacrifices, worshiping the Deity, in this age, simply if you sincerely chant without any offense, then your life is sure to be successful.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]