Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.35

Pradyumna: ...absorbed in transcendental bliss, which increased a thousandfold. Lord Kṛṣṅa, Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva, is the original source of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva. There is no difference in Their constitution, and consequently Lord Ṛṣabhadeva awakened the loving symptoms of crying, laughing and shivering. He was always absorbed in transcendental love. Due to this, all mystic powers automatically approached Him, such as the ability to travel in outer space at the speed of mind, to appear and disappear, to enter the bodies of others and to see things far, far away. Although He could do all this, He did not exercise these powers."

Prabhupāda: Iti nānā-yoga-caryācaraṅo bhagavān. So Bhagavān's another name is Mahat-pada. Mahat-pada means whatever wonderful things are there, that is resting at His lotus feet. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ [SB 10.14.58].

[For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṅṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.]

Samāśritā, if you take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bhagavān... 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.]

Kṛṣṅa is the origin of all manifestation of Bhagavān, Viṣṅu-tattva. Kṛṣṅa is the origin of Viṣṅu-tattva. 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.]

Viṣṅu-tattva is also originated from Kṛṣṅa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. He's the ādi-puruṣa. And Kṛṣṅa was accepted in the Bhagavad-gītā, puruṣam ādyam. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma [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.]

So everything is there in Kṛṣṅa. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ. All this manifestation of cosmic creation, that is from the mahat-tattva. That mahat-tattva is resting within the dust of the lotus feet of mahat-padaṁ puṅya-yaśo murāreḥ. So if one takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṅa, then this bhava-samudra, the vast ocean of birth and death...

This material world is called bhava-samudra. Bhava means the repetition of birth and death. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19]. This is called bhava. And that is like a samudra, great ocean. We can see by practical experience this outer space, the sky. You cannot have any limitation where it is beginning, where is end. Although we can see within our experience, but still, we cannot calculate. In our childhood we used to present a problem before our friends, that eka tala sukuri gunte pare na vyapare[?]. Now, one plateful of betel nuts, but nobody can count. The betel nut You can see the sky is within your experience, but how many stars and planets are there, till now nobody has been able to count. It is unlimited. This is only one universe. There are millions and millions, universes. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagadaṅḍa-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.]

Within the brahma-jyoti there are innumerable koṭi, jagadaṅḍa-koṭi. And some of the portion is called material; some portion is called spiritual sky, paravyoma. But the whole spiritual and material sky is full of different planets, and each planet is full of living entities, janakīrṅa. This very word is used, janakīrṅa, not vacant, as these rascals are calculating that it is full of dust.

[screeching noise—aside:]

What is that? It is full of dust and rocks.

[sounds of children playing]

[aside:] Ask them to be... Nothing is full of dust. Dust is there, as well as living entities are also there. janākīrṅa. This is God's creation. And this material world, ananta-koṭi-brahmāṅḍa, that is material. And Kṛṣṅa says 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.]

This is only one part manifestation of the creation. Three-fourths part is this paravyoma.

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṅḍa-koṭi- kotiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ... [Bs 5.40]

So this is Kṛṣṅa's opulence. We do not know what is actually opulence. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya. What is Kṛṣṅa's opulence, it is impossible to calculate. It is said that Ananta, Anantadeva, Śeṣaśāyī Anantadeva, He has got thousands and thousands of hoods, and He is chanting, describing about Kṛṣṅa, in ananta, unlimited mouths, for unlimited time—it is still unable. Advaitam acyutam ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṅa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca [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.]

This is yogic power. Therefore it is said, nānā-yoga-caryācaraṅam: "All yogic perfection is there."

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

That is first-class yogī. You want yogic power, mystic power, but if you keep Kṛṣṅa within your core of heart, naturally by the grace of Kṛṣṅa, you can perform all... Not the devotee can perform. Devotee is simply dependent on Kṛṣṅa. But Kṛṣṅa can perform unlimited mystic powers through His devotee. This is Kṛṣṅa's activity. A devotee never takes the credit of any wonderful thing. But it is a fact. What wonderful thing we can play? Kṛṣṅa can do that. Therefore His name is nānā-yoga-caryācaraṅo bhagavān kaivalya-patiḥ. Kaivalya-patiḥ. Kevaladvaitavādī, Māyāvādī philosophers, they think that kaivalya, to become one, one... Just like if you fly in the sky, after going long distance we cannot see you. It appears that you are no longer existing; you have mixed up, you have become one with the sky. But actually it is not the fact. That is not one with God. I cannot see you. The example is given: just like a green bird enters into a green tree. So it appears that the tree has become..., the bird has become one with the tree, no more separate existence. No. It appears like that. Actually that is not the fact. The fact is that the bird, green bird, existing with the green tree, but due to my defect in the eyes I am seeing it has become one.

Actually it is not so. Every individual living entity is always individual. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Kṛṣṅa said to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, we are individuals. In the past we were individuals, at the present we are individuals, and in the future we shall continue to be individuals." There is no question of oneness. Oneness means to agree to serve Kṛṣṅa. That is oneness. There is no disobedience. "Whatever You say, I accept"—that is oneness. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṅānuśīlanam [Cc Madhya 19.167].

[When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṅa favorably, as Kṛṣṅa desires.]

That is oneness. At the present moment we differ. We make differences: "Here is the opinion of the American. Here is the opinion of Indian. Here is the opinion of the German. Here is the opinion of the śūdra," and so on, so on. So here means disagreement, always disagreement. Because I am envious of you, you are envious of me, so how there can be agreement? So wherefrom this enviousness has begun? Because we are envious of Kṛṣṅa. Because we are envious of Kṛṣṅa—"Why Kṛṣṅa become God? I am also God." This is the beginning of enviousness, this rascaldom, that "Why Kṛṣṅa shall become alone God?" He said, māṁ ekaṁ śaraṅam. "Why Kṛṣṅa alone?" They say, the rascal philosophers say, "This is sophistry. It is demanding too much. Mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja. Why? Why shall I accept You as the Supreme?" This enviousness begins. This is the beginning of envy.

So we become envious, each other. I am envious of you, you are envious of me. So this Kṛṣṅa consciousness is not meant for the envious persons. It is meant for very liberal, paṅḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṅe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṅḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ [Bg 5.18]

[The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṅa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]]

One who has become sama-darśinaḥ, he is perfectly learned. And that is very difficult. It is meant for them. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra paramo nirmatsarāṅām [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.]

It is not meant for such bhangi, one who thinks that "My Hinduism is better than your Muhammadanism," or he thinks, "My Muhammadanism is better than your Hinduism." The matsaratā, it is in religious platform... There is matsara. That matsaratā dharma, that kind of religious system... Just like there are everywhere the same thing. In Ireland the fighting is going on between the Protestants and the Catholics. Is it not? Going on continuously. Now it has become so dangerous that you cannot walk on the street. At any moment there will be bombs. Last time when I was in London I had the experience. All of a sudden our car was diverted. The police came: "There is bomb. You cannot go there." So this is going on. In London, in Germany and other places it has become a terrible place. At any moment there can be bomb. And what is the bombing? The fight between the Catholics and..., the Roman Catholics and Protestants. Just like we have got experience, Pakistan and India, in 1947. Calcutta itself became divided into two, Pakistan and Hindustan. Nobody was going. There is one big road, Chitpur Road. So up to Harrison Road, it is Hindustan, and after that, it is Pakistan. The Pakistanis did not dare to come to this side.

So this is matsara. The matsaratā, enviousness, that is the nature of this material world. Therefore Kṛṣṅa consciousness, kṛṣṅa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā-matiḥ, it is very, very rare. Rūpa Gosvāmī said, "This rare thing, if you can purchase, do it immediately wherever available." Kṛṣṅa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā-matiḥ krīyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate: "If it is available, if you can purchase it, you do it." "So purchase it? I can try, but what price I have to pay?" Tatra laulyam ekalam mulyam: "The price is simply you must be very, very eager to have it. That's all." "Oh, that I can do. It is not very difficult. I am so much eager after money, after woman, and so I shall transfer." So Kṛṣṅa..., Rūpa Gosvāmī says, "No, no. It is not so easy."

kṛṣṅa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ krīyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate tatra laulyam ekalaṁ mūlyam na labhyate janma-koṭibhis sukṛtibhiḥ... [Cc Madhya 8.70]

Janma-koṭi sukṛtibhiḥ. If you become pious... Because pious is the good position. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām [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 to become pious is good because there is hope of understanding Kṛṣṅa. Otherwise, if you remain impious, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ [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.]

If you remain sinful, then you'll remain always rascal. You'll never understand Kṛṣṅa. You'll never understand. Therefore we must try to become pious. And that pious means no sinful activities. Therefore we proscribe four sinful things, the pillars of sinful life: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling—four pillars. If you break these four pillars from the very beginning of your spiritual life, then you stand on the platform. But if your these four pillars are there, you stand on a false platform, not on the spiritual platform. That is yogic siddhi. Yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānām.

So this eagerness to have Kṛṣṅa, kṛṣṅa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā-matiḥ, that eagerness is even impossible—janma-koṭi-sukṛtibhiḥ. It is simply happened by the mercy of Kṛṣṅa and His devotee. 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.]

Vedeṣu durlabham. Practical purpose of studying Vedas, vedānti... That vedānti means to understand Kṛṣṅa. But vedeṣu durlabham. At the same time, it is said, "It is very, very difficult to understand Kṛṣṅa by becoming so-called Vedānti." Actually Vedānta means... Anta means the last word. The last work of knowledge is Kṛṣṅa. Janmādy asya yataḥ [SB 1.1.1]. 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.]

So to understand Kṛṣṅa, manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye [Bg 7.3].

[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]

But it can be done through the mercy of devotee. Vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau [Bs 5.33].

Adurlabha. If you satisfy a pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa, he can give you Kṛṣṅa like this, "Take it." Vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau. Bhakta can do that. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg 18.55].

[One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.]

You come through bhakta or come through bhakti.

So bhakti means unless you become an apprentice of a bhakta, how you can attain bhakti? That is not possible. Therefore the bhakti-mārga, it is instructed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, ādau gurvāśrayam: "If you want bhakti, then you must accept bhakta as a guru." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21].

[Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.]

Bhakti means uttamam. Bhakti is not the activities of this material world. Uttamam. Urd-gata-tamo hy asmat. There is no material quality. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam [Cc Madhya 19.170].

[Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.]

That is uttamam. Here, so long we are in the tama, tamasi mā: "Don't remain in tama, envious." Tamasi mā jyotir gama. So bhakti is uttama. When you are transcendental, above this darkness of material world, then you can accept the... If you are actually interested in the uttama, something beyond this darkness of ignorance, then you accept one guru. Don't keep a guru as a fashion to satisfy your senses: "My dear guru, can you make some gold?" "Yes." "Oh, first-class guru." No. That is not guru. That is your flattery. You want something according to your order—"Guru, cure my disease," "Guru, give me some gold," "Guru, give me this. Show me some wonderful mystic power"—that is order supplier. No, guru is not order supplier. Guru can give you the way how to have mercy of Kṛṣṅa. That is guru. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. Bhagavat-prasāda. If you want mercy of Kṛṣṅa, then you have to satisfy the devotee of Kṛṣṅa. Ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhicit [SB 11.17.27].

[One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.]

"Never become envious of guru." Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā-deve tathā gurau [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23].

[Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.]

So this is the process. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. If you are actually interested something which is beyond this tama, this darkness of material world, then you require a guru. Otherwise it is not for you. So what is the... "Yes, I am prepared that 'What is that guru?' " Tasmād... Śābde pare ca niṣṅātaṁ brahmaṅy upaśamāśrayam, this is guru. Śābde pare ca niṣṅātam: "He knows the Vedic conclusion." He knows the Vedic conclusion. Śābde pare. There are two kinds of sounds. Just like we are speaking. This is also sound, but this is para sound, uttama sound, para-prakṛti. Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra is not ordinary sound; it is para-prakṛti. Golokera prema-dhana hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. Hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is not this material sound. If you think it is material sound, you are rascal. Therefore they are wonderful. The American people have become wonderful, astonished how simply by chanting they becoming brainwashed. That is the actual fact. The rascals, they do not know how these people are giving up illicit sex, meat-eating—their life and soul, all these things. How they are giving up unless they have become mad, hearing? The hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana can do that. Yes. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was chastised by His guru, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam [Cc Ādi 17.21],

[In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.]

so He said that "You are rascal. You cannot read Vedānta. You chant Hare Kṛṣṅa." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He said, "Yes, and chanting, I have become mad."

So this is actually the fact. But these rascals cannot calculate that how simply by chanting they are forever becoming out of home, no more return. "My dear son, come back. Take all these things." "No, sir. I am..." This was actually proved. Our Gargamuni, his father is very rich man. He wanted to take back the son from the Hare Kṛṣṅa movement. He was unable. Hardly! So many fathers. Our... So many... Not so many; few, they left this movement, but they could not stay outside—again come. That is brainwash.

Thank you very much.

[kirtan] [end]