Lecture in Hindi and English

[Hindi for much of lecture, translated here]

Prabhupāda: This land of India is for the welfare of humanity, not for looting others. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. The persons outside India are only planning how to loot others. This is not the plan of India. India’s plan is to do welfare for the humanity. But people outside India do not know what is the aim of life. This we have to make them understand. We have to make our own life successful, and how to do it is being disclosed by the Lord Himself and by the devotees of the Lord. So we need to hear that, work naturally on that, and make life successful. Then you go and tell others about this and make their life successful also. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission:

bhārata bhūmite manuṣya janma haila yāra janma sārthaka kari karo para-upakāra [Cc Ādi 9.41]

[One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.]

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma [CB Antya-khaṅḍa 4.126]

[In every town and village of the world, the chanting of My name will be heard.]

There is much to say, but we are requesting you. This Indian culture is being accepted by many. It is not that we are talking in the air. Actually they are accepting. So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness means that we take the message as spoken by Lord Kṛṣṅa, understand it nicely, and preach this message to the rest of the world. You will see how the glories of India increase. This is our request to you.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [break]

Audience member: [indistinct]

Prabhupada: If you wish to come back, then you will. Because mukti, or liberation, means, just like I told you earlier,

muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṅa vyavasthitiḥ [SB 2.10.6]

[The merging of the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Mahā-Viṣṅu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.]

This is called liberation. What is your constitutional position? Your constitutional position is jīvera 'svarūpa' haya—kṛṣṅera 'nitya-dāsa' [Cc Madhya 20.108],

[It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṅa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṅa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṅa has three varieties of energy.]

to be the servant of the Lord. But if you do not want to be the servant, then after mukti also you have to return to this world to become the servant of māyā. We all will remain servants. Servitorship will not go away. But when we rebel that we will not be the servant of God, then become the servant of māyā. This is a fact.

Audience member: Once we get God, we will not come back?

Prabhupada: [laughs] What will happen if you meet Him? That is sāyujya-mukti. There are five kinds of liberation—sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sārṣṭi and sāmīpya. This meeting Him is the merging into the brahma-jyoti, the impersonal effulgence of the Lord. This merging is not the ultimate liberation. After this, we come back into this world. This is given in the scriptures: ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas. By merging with the impersonal effulgence of Lord, he thinks that he is liberated. Tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Because he does not have any experience about the form of the Lord, therefore his intelligence is impure, not pure. That is why, āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ [SB 10.2.32].

[[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmā and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.]

After performing many severe austerities, he merges with the impersonal effulgence of the Lord but again falls down. He again falls down. But if he goes back to God, lives with God, eats, drinks, walks with God, then he does not have to come back here. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama [Bg 15.6].

[That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.]

But from the impersonal effulgence he has to return here, as he does not find any bliss there. Just like you may fly in an aeroplane in the sky for some time, but after some time you will be anxious to land the plane on the ground. So by going to the impersonal effulgence of the Lord he could experience eternity, sat, but not bliss. But to enjoy this bliss he has to come into this material bliss again.

So the sannyāsīs who give up this world, saying brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, they come back again to join politics or to open hospitals. Because they did not get anything there. This is the fact. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho. They again engage in material affairs, as they did not enjoy bliss by merging with the Brahman. That is why you should go to the abode of the Lord. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. You should go there. Then the liberation is complete.

Audience member: Once we go Vaikuṅṭha…

Prabhupada: Yes. Once we go to Vaikuṅṭha, Vṛīndavana, then we don’t have to come back here.

Audience member: Your Holiness, I would like to be enlightened on the etymology of "brahmacarya." There is lot of confusion. Brahmacarya is equated with celibacy, being a life-long celibate.

Prabhupada: Austerity means brahmacarya. Tapasā brahmacaryeṅa [SB 6.1.13].

[To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord. Thus a sober and faithful person who knows the religious principles is temporarily purified of all sins performed with his body, words and mind. These sins are like the dried leaves of creepers beneath a bamboo tree, which may be burned by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity.]

This austerity begins with the brahmacārīs. If the brahmacārīs do not perform austerities, then they will not be able to remain steady. You can perform any kind of austerity, jñāna, yoga, meditation; you need brahmacarya in that. It is not possible to indulge in unrestricted sense gratification and also become a big yogī. This is not possible. That is why tapasā brahmacaryeṅa. It is written in the scriptures: tapasya, or austerity, begins with the brahmacārī. Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyā na tyājyaṁ. The Lord says we should not give up sacrifices, charity and austerity. I have taken sannyāsa, but I should not give up my sacrifice, charity and austerity, although I have given up my home. Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyā pāvanāni manīṣiṅām [Bg 18.5]. This should not be given up. So these regulations for the brahmacarya increase the intellectual prowess quickly. So that is why these regulations are needed.

Audience member: Sarvaṁ khalu idaṁ brahma. If the whole world is Brahman, then all the anomalies like corruption, cheating propensity, gambling, drunkenness, lies, etc. are also emanating from this Brahman.

Prabhupada: Yes, just like in a house there is a toilet also. So we should not go there. We should go only to the room where the Deities are kept. Do you understand? Can you live in the toilet, saying that is also the part of the house? Is that a good idea?

Audience member: But we need to go once in a while.

Prabhupada: Yes, we need to go, but we must get out quickly. [everybody laughs and claps] If your mentality is such, then stay there. Who is stopping you? [laughter]

Audience member: Mahārāja, the rules and regulations of Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement are very nice. There are a lot of Life Members of your movement in Bombay. What are you doing for them to follow these regulations…

Prabhupada: Why don’t you come? We have big houses built there for you. Come and stay. Why don’t you come? After so many fights we are developing the Hare Kṛṣṅa land. Is it for us to stay? Do we not have a place to stay? We are making it for you. Why don’t you come?

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ sa yat pramāṅaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate [Bg 3.21]

[Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.]

You are all respectable people of Bombay, come and see, stay. We have written so many books. Read them, understand them, and then all things will work out. If you stay so far, then how will it work out?

Brahmānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Here's one question.

Prabhupada: Yes?

Brahmānanda: [reading question] "In your first chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, I read we have to detach ourselves from worldly life and then surrender to God. Instead of concentrating on the emphasis to detach, should we just concentrate on the Almighty? Then, with His grace, the attraction towards worldly life will die out. Is that not enough? Or should we constantly struggle to kill the attachment with the māyā?

Prabhupada: Attachment and detachment. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg 2.59].

[The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.]

Unless you get a better thing, you cannot give up your attachment for the inferior thing. Therefore you have to increase your devotion to Kṛṣṅa. Then you will be able to...

vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ... [SB 1.2.7]

[By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṅa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.]

As soon as you engage in devotional service, devotional life to Vasudeva, janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ, very soon you will be detached with this material world. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra ca [SB 11.2.42].

[Devotion, direct experience of the Supreme Lord, and detachment from other things—these three occur simultaneously for one who has taken shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the same way that pleasure, nourishment and relief from hunger come simultaneously and increasingly, with each bite, for a person engaged in eating.]

The vivid example is yourself [Brahmānanda]. You are American; your father is a great industrialist. How you have been able to give up everything and join Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement? This is attachment and detachment. If you become attached to Kṛṣṅa, then naturally you will be detached to material things. The more you become attached to Kṛṣṅa, the more you become detached. That is the test. Just like if you are hungry, the more you eat, the hunger is finished. Similarly, we have got this tendency for enjoying this material world. The more we become attached to Kṛṣṅa, then we forget this material world. This is attachment and detachment. You cannot remain simply detached. Then āruhya kṛccheṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanti adhaḥ, then you will again fall down. There must be some positive attachment. That positive attachment is Kṛṣṅa. Then you will be able to be detached with this material world. Otherwise, it will be not possible.

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.]

Two things: if you want to get out of this māyā, then you have to surrender to Kṛṣṅa and become more attached by devotional service. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga. The processes are there.

...tato bhajana-kriyā ato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tato rucis

athāsaktis tato bhāvas... sādhakānām ayaṁ premṅaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15-16]

[In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sādhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify, and finally there is an awakening of love. This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Kṛṣṅa consciousness.]

So the summary is if you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṅa. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna had already attachment for Kṛṣṅa, but when he listened Bhagavad-gītā from Kṛṣṅa, he understood what is Kṛṣṅa. Then, in the beginning, he was not listening to the order of Kṛṣṅa, that "You must fight." But when he understood that "Kṛṣṅa is my friend. Kṛṣṅa is my life and soul," then he said, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg 18.73]:

[Arjuna said, My dear Kṛṣṅa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy, and I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.]

"Yes. I shall do now. I shall kill. Never mind." This is attachment and detachment. First of all he had attachment to the family, and when he understood that "My real attachment is Kṛṣṅa. Whatever He is saying, I shall do it..." This is attachment, detachment.

Audience member: Your Holiness? Our Hindu sages from times immemorial have enjoined the four puruṣārthas—dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. How do you...

Prabhupada: To become Kṛṣṅa conscious you have to transcend even the dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the beginning it is said, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṅāṁ vāstavam vastu vedyaṁ atra [SB 1.1.2].

[Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṅa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.]

So we have to... Śrīdhara Svāmī is giving his comment in this connection, atra mokṣa-vāñchā api nirastam. You have to go beyond mokṣa-vāñchā; then there will be attachment for Kṛṣṅa. Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi [SB 1.1.1]. So this is ordinary things, dharma, artha, karma, moksa. And kṛṣṅa-bhakti is beyond mokṣa. So you have to go beyond that. How you can go? That is by kṛṣṅa-bhakti.

māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṅa bhakti-yogena sevate sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26]

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [Bg 18.54]

[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.]

So this is the way. Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṅa. If one takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness seriously, sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate, he very easily transcends the influence of the three modes of material nature, and immediately he becomes identified with his Brahman realization. That is wanted. [pause]

Now let us chant Hare Kṛṣṅa.

Devotees: Jaya. [end]