Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.7

Prabhupāda: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Six, Chapter One, verse number seven. [leads devotees in chanting]

śrī śuka uvāca na cet ihaiva apacitiṁ yathā aṁhasaḥ kṛtasya kuryān mana-ukta-pāṅibhiḥ dhruvaṁ sa vai pretya narakān upaiti ye kīrtitā me bhavatas tigma-yātanāḥ [SB 6.1.7]

[01:48]

So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "My dear King, if before one's next death whatever impious acts one has performed in this life with the mind, words and body are not counteracted through the proper atonement according to the description of the Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible suffering, as I have previously described to you."

So atonement is prescribed in every scripture. Even in Christian Bible there is atonement. So in other scriptures also there is atonement. Just like a man who has committed murder, he must die. "Life for life." This is atonement. When the government punishes a murderer with capital punishment, death, that is a mercy upon him. That punishment is accepted practically all over the world from time immemorial. So there must be atonement. So if a person who has committed murder, killed somebody else, then if he is punished by death, then the sinful activities which he has committed, that is counteracted. Otherwise he will have to suffer next life very severely, four times. So people do not believe even in the next life, and what to speak of atonement and punishment. They are kept in darkness. Otherwise they would have been... If they would have followed actually the injunction of the śāstras... First of all, one should not be killing anyone. In the Bible also it is said, "Thou shall not kill." Why it is forbidden? Because if he kills, he'll have to suffer. But they do not care for it. Therefore they suffer.

So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that "Whatever punishment I have described in the Fifth Canto on account of different sinful activities, one has to suffer that, unless he commits..., unless he performs atonement." This is the... Na ced ihaivāpacitiṁ yathāṁhasaḥ kṛtasya kuryān mana-ukta-pāṅibhiḥ. We can commit sinful activities in different ways. Mana, even by mind, we can commit sinful activities. If I contemplate something sinful by my mind, then we become affected. Therefore we must keep always sinless. Kaya-mana-vākya. This sannyāsa tridaṅḍa... There are three rods within the stick, or the cover. Three daṅḍas. Not three—four. Three is kaya—body; mind; kaya, mana, and words; and one he is personally. Therefore there are four sticks within the daṅḍa. Those who have taken sannyāsa, they know it. The idea is that "I surrender to my spiritual master or Kṛṣṅa." Spiritual master is identical with Kṛṣṅa because he gives true knowledge. Therefore he is as good as God. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata. A spiritual master is considered directly as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sākṣād. Sākṣād means "directly." Why? Because he is jñāna-prada. He gives knowledge, real knowledge. That is the qualification of spiritual master. Nobody can become spiritual master if he has no knowledge. If he's a speculator, he cannot become a spiritual master. He must give the right knowledge. Then he is bona fide spiritual master. Otherwise he's a bogus. Jñāna-prada. And without real knowledge, our life is useless.

Just like this morning we were talking so many things. They have no standard knowledge, no real knowledge. They do not know anything. Still, they present themselves, pretend themselves as philosopher, as scientist, as guru, as father. No. Everyone, those who are guardian... Therefore śāstra has forbidden, gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt pitā na sa syāj jananī na sa syāt [SB 5.5.18]:

[One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.]

"One should not become a guru, one should not become a relative, one should not become the father, one should not become the mother, one should not become the husband..." In this way there is a list. Why? Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: "If he does not know how to guide his disciple or subordinate to stop the cycle of birth and death." He should not do. This is the ultimate goal of life, that we have to stop the cycle. Punar-janma-jayayā [Rāmayana]. Punar-janma-jayayā, to conquer over next birth. Punar-janma-jayayā.

[Is everything going well in your endeavor to conquer the repetition of birth and death?]

When Viśvamitra Muni went to see Mahārāja Daśaratha to ask the help of Lord Rāmacandra and Lakṣmaṅa... There was a demon. They were disturbing in the forest. The saintly persons were disturbed. They could kill that demon, but because they were brāhmaṅas, saintly person, they did not like the killing business in their own hand. That was the system. A brāhmaṅa will not kill. A brāhmaṅa, simply by cursing, he can kill. Doesn't require even open... Just like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, he was cursed by a boy brāhmaṅa that within seven days he'll be bitten by a snake and he'll die. The brāhmaṅas were so powerful. So brāhmaṅa is not joke. In Kali-yuga there is no such brāhmaṅa. So this Viśvamitra Muni came to Mahārāja Daśaratha to request that "Send your sons Rāmacandra and Laksmana to kill these demons." Kṣatriyas' business is... Kṣat. Kṣat means injury. If somebody is injuring your body, it is the duty of the government to save you: "Why unnecessarily you are injuring this...?" Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja, when he was going, and some person was śūdra in the dress of the king, he was trying to kill a cow. Immediately Parīkṣit Mahārāja took his sword: "Who are you, rascal, you are trying to kill a cow in my kingdom?" That is kṣatriya. [break]

The tree has taken birth. The man has taken birth. Why simply man should be saved, not the cows, not the trees? He must be saved. This is the government's duty. Unnecessarily there cannot be any killing. Lord Christ also, "Thou shall not kill." Yes, this is the beginning of religious life. If you are accustomed to kill somebody, either man, animal, trees, fish, anything, there is no entrance in religious life. There is no entrance because everyone, every living entity, is son of God. Sarva-yoniṣu. You have read Bhagavad-gītā. Sarva-yoniṣu: in all sources of birth. Sarva-yoniṣu sambhavanti mūrtayo yaḥ [Bg 14.4].

[It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.]

There are different forms of life, 8,400,000. They are all living entities, but according to karma, they have got different bodies. This is the difference. Just like we have got different dresses according to my choice, similarly, we get different bodies according to my choice. This morning we were talking about the sufferers... What is called? The sea sufferers?

Devotees: Surfers.

Prabhupāda: Surfer, yes. [devotees laugh] Surfer. I call "sufferer." "Sea-sufferer." [laughter] Sea-surfer, it is practical, because we are creating a situation by which we shall become a fish. [laughter] Yes. Contamination. Just like if you purposely contaminate some disease, you must suffer from that disease. Kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad janma-yoniṣu [Bg 13.22], in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why there are different varieties of life? What is the reason? That reason means kāraṅam. Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad..., kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad janma-yoniṣu. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṅāni, prakṛti-stho 'pi puruṣaḥ bhuñjante tad-guṅān. So the reason is as we are infecting. The nature's law is so perfect that if you infect something, some disease, some contamination, then you must suffer. This is nature's law automatically going on. Kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya.

So there are three modes of material nature—goodness, passion and ignorance. So long we are in this material world, puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho 'pi bhuñjante tad-guṅān. If we remain in certain place, we must be affected by the modes of that place. So there are three modes: sattva-guṅa, rajo-guṅa... We have to associate either with the modes of goodness or with the modes of passion or with the modes of passion..., er, ignorance. Now, three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So mixture. Just like color. There are three colors: blue, red and yellow. Now, those who are expert in manufacturing color, artists, they mix these three colors in different way and they display. Similarly, according to the guṅas or mixture, association—kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya—we get different types of bodies. Therefore we see so many varieties of bodies. Kāraṅaṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sya [Bg 13.22]. So the person who is taking very much pleasure, dancing in the sea like fish, so he is contaminating that modes of nature so that in next life he will become a fish. He'll be very free to dance with the ocean. [laughter] Now it will take again millions of years to come to the stage of human being. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṅi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. He has to pass through the fish life. There are 900,000 different species of life. Then you again come to the land—you become trees, plants and so on. Two millions different forms you have to go through. That is evolution. Darwin's theory of evolution, that is not perfectly explained. It is explained in the Vedic literature. So just a tree is standing for ten thousands of years, we had to pass through this life. But there is no perfect knowledge. We are thinking that we are now very nice American body or Indian body. No. It took so many years to come to this life. Therefore śāstra says, labdhvā sudurlābhaṁ idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte [SB 11.9.29]:

[After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Kṛṣṅa consciousness is possible only for a human being.]

"You have got this human form of life after many, many millions of years' waiting." So do not misuse it. That is Vedic civilization, not to misuse the human form of life.

Nature's law is very, very strict. This life it is given, a chance. Nature gives a chance. Now you get this human form of life, advanced consciousness. Now you make further improvement. That is wanted. From here we can make further improvement. What is that further improvement? We can go to the better planets. There are many better planets. You can go there, heavenly planets. There you can live for ten thousands of years. Ten thousands of years, and that is also not our year. The higher planetary system, their one day—our six months. In that way you can live there for ten thousands of years. And the standard of living condition is thousand times better. Therefore it is called heavenly. So if you like, you can go there. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthaḥ [Bg 14.18].

[Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.]

Yānti deva-vrataḥ devān [Bg 9.25].

[Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.]

Everything is explained. Or if you can go, if you like you can go to the Pitṛloka. If you want to remain here as human being, you can also remain here, but you have to work for it to keep your position, status. Just like if you become rich man, high standard of life, you have to maintain it. Not that it will continue automatically. No, that is not possible, sir. This material world is not like that: you get one position and it will continue. No. A little discrepancy, immediately deteriorate your position. So you have to maintain it.

So if you want to maintain yourself within this Bhurloka... There are above this Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka. There are so many planetary system. And down also, Tala, Atala, Vitala, Pātāla, Talātala, like that. If you want to go down, you can go down. If you want to go up, you can go. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva... Everything is there; you can do that. Ordinary, anyone can understand that in the human society if you want to become high-court judge, you can become. And if you want to become a criminal in the prisonhouse, you can become. Everything is open. Not that government says that you become a criminal and he prefers somebody, "You become a high-court..." No. Everything is in your hand. If you like, you can become so. Similarly, if you like, you can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is perfection of life. And if you don't like, then remain here.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa says, aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani [Bg 9.3].

[Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.]

Kṛṣṅa has come to you to give you nice instruction how you can go back to home, back to Godhead. Back to home, back to Godhead. That is Kṛṣṅa's mission. Paritrāṅāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtam [Bg 4.8].

[In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.]

He comes Himself, Kṛṣṅa, and He comes as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as devotee of Kṛṣṅa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṅa, but because people misunderstood that Kṛṣṅa is asking sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja... [Bg 18.66], these rascals thought that "It is too much. Why I shall surrender to Kṛṣṅa? I am also as good as Kṛṣṅa. Why shall I surrender?" That is our mentality. If somebody says, good man, that "You surrender. I shall give you good instruction," "Oh, why shall I surrender to you?" That is material life. But our this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement begins when you are ready to surrender. That is beginning. Tad viddhi praṅipātena [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.]

Praṅipāt means surrender. Prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṅa nipāta: "Yes, I surrender to you." That is the beginning. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate [Bg 7.19].

[After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.]

To learn the surrender, it will take many, many births, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. But those who are intelligent, they will surrender immediately: "Kṛṣṅa says 'Surrender,' and why not? Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Lord. Let me surrender." Then his life is successful, immediately. Within a second his life is successful. But we are not prepared to surrender. That is our material disease. So if we do not surrender to Kṛṣṅa and take His instruction and make our life, that is our choice. But if you like, you can make your life successful within a moment simply by surrendering to Kṛṣṅa.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda! [end]