Evening Darśana

Pradyumna: Translation: "The Blessed Lord said, One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no work."

Purport: "In this chapter the Lord explains that the process of the eightfold yoga system is a means to control the mind and the senses. However, this is very difficult for people in general to perform, especially in the Age of Kali. Although the eightfold yoga system is recommended in this chapter, the Lord emphasizes that the process of karma-yoga, or acting in Kṛṣṅa consciousness, is better. Everyone acts in this world to maintain his family and their paraphernalia, but no one is working without some self interest, some personal gratification, be it concentrated or extended. The criterion of perfection is to act in Kṛṣṅa consciousness and not with a view to enjoying the fruits of work.

To act in Kṛṣṅa consciousness is the duty of every living entity because all are constitutionally parts and parcels of the Supreme. The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self-satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole. Similarly, the living entity who acts for satisfaction of the supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect sannyāsī, the perfect yogī. The sannyāsīs sometimes artificially think that they have become liberated from all material duties, and therefore they cease to perform agni-hotra yajñas, or fire sacrifices. But actually, they are self-interested because their goal is becoming one with the impersonal Brahman. Such a desire is greater than any material desire, but it is not without self-interest.

Similarly, the mystic yogī who practices the yoga system with half-open eyes, ceasing all material activities, desires some satisfaction for his personal self, but a person acting in Kṛṣṅa consciousness works for the satisfaction of the whole without self-interest. A Kṛṣṅa conscious person has no desire for self-satisfaction. His criterion of success is the satisfaction of Kṛṣṅa, and thus he is a perfect sannyāsī or perfect yogī. Lord Caitanya, the highest perfectional symbol of renunciation, prays in this way:

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi [Cc Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]

[O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service to You.]

"O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in My life birth after birth."

Prabhupāda: There is any inquiry about...?

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Does anyone have any questions about this verse?

Prabhupāda: Next verse.

Pradyumna:

yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhur yogaṁ taṁ viddhi pāṅḍava na hy asannyasta-saṅkalpo yogī bhavati kaścana [Bg 6.2]

Translation: "What is called renunciation is the same as yoga, or linking oneself with the Supreme, for no one can become a yogī unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification."

Purport: "Real sannyāsa-yoga, or bhakti, means that one should know his constitutional position as the living entity and act accordingly. The living entity has no separate, independent identity. He is the marginal energy of the Supreme. When he is entrapped by material energy, he is conditioned. And when he is Kṛṣṅa conscious, or aware of the spiritual energy, then he is in his real and natural state of life. Therefore, when one is in complete knowledge, one ceases all material sense gratification or renounces all kinds of sense gratificatory activities. This is practiced by the yogīs who restrain the senses from material attachment, but a person in Kṛṣṅa consciousness has no opportunity to engage his senses in anything which is not for the purpose of Kṛṣṅa. Therefore a Kṛṣṅa conscious person is simultaneously a sannyāsī and a yogī. The purpose of knowledge and of restraining the senses, as described in the jñāna and yoga processes, is automatically served in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. If one is unable to give up the activities of his selfish nature, then jñāna and yoga are of no avail. The real aim is for a living entity to give up all selfish satisfaction and to be prepared to satisfy the Supreme. A Kṛṣṅa conscious person has no desire for any kind of self enjoyment. He is always engaged for the enjoyment of the Supreme. One who has no information of the Supreme must, therefore, be engaged in self-satisfaction, because no one can stand on the platform of inactivity. All these purposes are perfectly served by the practice of Kṛṣṅa consciousness."

Prabhupāda: So if they inquire, then you can discuss.

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: So if... The process of Kṛṣṅa consciousness requires inquiry and then discussion. So if anybody has any kind of questions about either of these two verses, if you can ask Śrīla Prabhupāda, that will give an opportunity for some discussion. Bhagavad-gītā is simply questions and answers between Arjuna and Kṛṣṅa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is questions and answers between Parīkṣit Mahārāja and Śukadeva Gosvāmī. So this is the... The beginning of knowledge is when one inquires from a self-realized personality.

Prabhupāda: Actually, spiritual life means questioning. [Hindi—asks lady if English is all right] Who requires a guru? Guru is not a fashion, as you keep some pet cat, pet dog. [chuckles] Guru is not like that. [Hindi] So when you require a guru? Aiye. [Hindi, again asking if the ladies can understand in English]

Indian man (1): [laughing] [Hindi] That is why I spoke some words yesterday without your permission, sir, just to explain to them in Hindi. Some ladies were sitting in the back. And they were more interested in that picture, "Kṛṣṅa likes Rādhārāṅī," so I had explained.

Prabhupāda: [Hindi] English boliye.

Indian man (1): I think that will be better. It will suit many.

Indian man (2): [Hindi]

Prabhupāda: So we are talking of who requires a guru. Guru is not a fashion.

[loud yelling outside] Hmm? What is that?

Indian man (2): Hmm. Shouting by some people.

Indian man (1): I think all the educational institutions are closed for summer vacation. Therefore many students and these people may have come, and these might be scouts, or something like that. I'm not sure, but that is what I guess.

Prabhupāda: They have also manufactured. [laughter] This is going on.

Indian man (1): This shout, that shows they are scouts.

Prabhupāda: So Vedic injunction is 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 is required to understand tad-vijñānam, transcendental science, not for any material understanding. Material understanding, there are so many chemists, physists and many other departmental... When we speak of guru, it means beyond this material world. For that purpose we require guru. So... Just like now it is being very much advertised that "You execute meditation. Your mind will be strong. Your health will be strong." That means from material point. But keeping your health strong, the medical science is there, and so many other thing. But people are taking advantage of this yoga system. The śāstra says that 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.]

He is yogī who is meditating and mind is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Otherwise it is material. Material things does not require... Maybe a gymnastic, muṣṭika[?] [husti???].

Indian man (1): Not for self.

Prabhupāda: If you practice muṣṭika [husti?], naturally you become very stout and strong. There are many wrestlers, they have got very strong body. But yoga does not mean that. Yoga means to find out the antaryāmī, Paramātmā, within the core of the heart. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ [SB 12.13.1]. 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.]

This information we get from the śāstra, that God is also situated within the core of the heart of every living entity. Sarva-bhūtānām. It is not that God is sitting in the core of the heart of the human being and not in the core of the heart of the dogs. He is there also. But the difference is that the dog cannot find out; man can find out. Therefore he is educated, taught about the yoga system, so that constantly he can meditate upon antaryāmī, viṣṅu-mūrti. Perhaps you have seen the picture. We have got that picture. But that is the purpose of yoga—not to make the body strong or the mind very powerful. That is automatically done. Aiye. It does not require separate attempt. Just like if you get one thousand of rupees, ten rupees is already there. Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ [Bg 6.22].

[The stage of perfection is called trance, or samādhi, when one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.]

If you get Kṛṣṅa, then you get all perfection. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja. Catur-vidhā bhajante mām [Bg 7.16].

[O best among the Bhāratas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.]

Four kinds of men, catur-vidhā, sukṛtinaḥ. If there is piety on the background, not the rascals or sinful man. Therefore śāstra always recommends to be pious, because a pious man has got the future chance of understanding God.

Indian man (1): [Hindi—explaining for those who don't understand English]

Prabhupāda: This tīrtha-sthāna, this is recommended. The general public is recommended to go to the tīrtha-sthāna so that he may have some spiritual atmosphere, saintly person. If somebody thinks that tīrtha-sthāna means—just like this Rishikesh—to take bath in the Ganges and go away, that is also good, but that is not the purpose. 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.]

Yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile. In every pilgrim..., pilgrimage, there is Gaṅgā, there is Yamunā. At least in India we have got so many holy places on the bank of the pious rivers. But if we take simply the advantage of the pious river, yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile, but we don't care for the person who are living there—very experienced, spiritually advanced person—then we remain animal. So "We have gone to such holy place. I have taken bath in the Ganges and Yamunā. Bās. My business is finished." Then go to the shop, purchase some plate, toys, go back home. Sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13].

Indian man (1): [Hindi, explaining]

Prabhupāda: Janeṣu abhijñeṣu. Sādhu means one who is in the knowledge. Otherwise anyone can become a sādhu by changing the dress.

Indian man (1): [Hindi, explaining]

Prabhupāda: A sādhu... The description of sādhu is given in the śāstra, titikṣavaḥ kāruṅikāḥ... Titikṣavaḥ kāruṅikāḥ... [SB 3.25.21].

[The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.]

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Suhṛdaḥ.

Prabhupāda: Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānām. And before that, there is... Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṅāḥ. These are the description of sādhu. Sādhu titikṣavaḥ: very tolerant. For preaching work they have to meet so many obstacles, and still, they go on, titikṣavaḥ. Titikṣā is the qualification of brāhmaṅa. Śamo damas titikṣā. So a sādhu... Titikṣavaḥ. He has to meet so many obstacles. Just see this judgment. We have to meet so many obstacles. But we cannot give up. Despite all obstacles, we have to go on. So titikṣavaḥ kāruṅikāḥ, suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānām. A sādhu is not a friend of a particular community, person or religion. No.

Indian man (1): Sarva-bhūtānām.

Prabhupāda: "I am sādhu. I am the leader of the, this society. And the animal-killing is going on. I don't care for it." Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānām. So titikṣavaḥ kāruṅikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva... These are the qualities. And ultimately, summary, sādhu is spoken by Kṛṣṅa Himself, that bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ [Bg 9.30]:

[Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service, he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.]

"One who has no other business than to execute Kṛṣṅa consciousness, he is sādhu." "Well, he is a foreigner. He is not brāhmaṅa. He is accustomed to so many habits." Sādhu is always in good habit. But due to past practice, sometimes we may see some discrepancy. You can find out some fault. But Kṛṣṅa says that "Never mind there is some fault. Still, he is sādhu." "Why?" Now, bhajate mām ananya-bhāk: "He has taken Me as everything." So sādhu descriptions are there. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṅaḥ. So sādhu means ultimately bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. So tīrtha-sthāna, one should try to associate with sādhus. This is the purpose to go to the tīrtha-sthāna. Otherwise, if you simply go to the tīrtha-sthāna and take bath in the Ganges and Yamunā, and if you think, "My business is finished..." Everywhere, all tīrtha-sthāna... In Gayā—actually, begins from Gayā—there is Phalgu River. Then Benares, there is Ganges. Then there is Prayāga. There is also Ganges, Yamunā. Then go to Mathurā, Vṛndāvana. Everywhere there is the sacred river. So if we simply think that going to the holy place and taking bath... In Kali-yuga it is general hobby. Dūre parjakanam[?] tīrtham. In Calcutta there is Ganges, but...

Indian man (1): They will come here.

Prabhupāda: They will come here.

Indian man (1): Dūre.

Prabhupāda: Dūre parjakanam[?] tīrtham. If gaṅgā-jala is pure, it is pure here and there also. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, tīrtha-yātrā pariśrama, kevala manera bhrama: "It is simply satisfying the mind." Otherwise, wherever there is Ganges, there is Yamunā, that is sacred place. Delhi also, sacred place; there is Gaṅgā. Anyway, so, we should take advantage of the knowledge of sādhu. And that is real progress in life.

So catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtinaḥ. Four kinds of men, they come to God, Kṛṣṅa. God means Kṛṣṅa, not ordinary... Caitanya Mahāprabhu said,

ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṅa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc Madhya 19.151]

[According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṅa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṅa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.]

Kṛṣṅa also says, 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 approach Kṛṣṅa is not so easy thing. After many, many births... We are rotating...

[break] ...superintendent of this egglike aṅḍa, universe. It is called brahmāṅḍa. And there are innumerable planets. That we can see. So we are wandering in all these places, sometimes down, sometimes up, sometimes in the middle, according to our karma, in different species of life, in different planets, in different position. So we are rotating. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "Out of these innumerable living entities who are entrapped with this brahmāṅḍa and janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi... [Bg 13.9]."

[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]

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.]

Life after life, life after life, they are. That we do not know. This is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. You die, accept another body, another place, another situation, another position. This is going on. Brahmāṅḍa-bhramaṅa. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "In this way, rotating, and in course of our rotation, if we are fortunate enough, then we come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness." Ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite. [aside:] Why you are closing that? Eh? Open it.

Ei rūpe brahmāṅḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān. So to come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, it is meant for persons who are very, very fortunate, kona bhāgyavān. Guru-kṛṣṅa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc Madhya 19.151].

[According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṅa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṅa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.]

When one is very much eager, serious, that "I want to see God..." Nobody's serious. But if one becomes serious, then Kṛṣṅa gives him chance. He sends him to the proper guru. Kṛṣṅa is there within the core of heart of everyone, and if somebody is... [aside:] Let him come. What he is doing? He is not a proper man.

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: [indistinct]

Prabhupāda: Eh? So to become Kṛṣṅa conscious, to take instruction from Kṛṣṅa and abide by the order, this is not meant for an ordinary person. Bhāgyavān, very fortunate. Those who are... Those who are unfortunate, they do not come to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. They manufacture some vague idea. Kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām. Find out this verse.

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Twelfth chapter.

Pradyumna:

kleso 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate [Bg 12.5]

"For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied."

Prabhupāda: Artificial. Cyavanti te. There is one verse: they'll fall down. What is the purport?

Pradyumna: "The group of transcendentalists who follow the path of the inconceivable, unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord engaged in devotional service to the Lord are called [sic:] bhakta-yogīs. Now, here the difference between jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga is definitely expressed. The process of jñāna-yoga, although ultimately bringing one to the same goal, is very troublesome, whereas the path of bhakti-yoga, the process of being in direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is natural for the embodied soul. The individual soul is embodied since time immemorial. It is very difficult for him to simply theoretically understand that he is not the body. Therefore the Bhakti-yogī accepts the Deity of Kṛṣṅa as worshipable because there is some bodily conception fixed in the mind which can thus be applied. Of course, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature that worship may be saguṅa or nirguṅa, of the Supreme possessing or not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṅa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord. A crude example may be given here. We may find some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally will go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box or an imitation which we may find somewhere, which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form. The Lord is omnipotent and all-powerful. Therefore, by His incarnation as arcā-vigraha, He can accept the services of the devotee just to make it convenient for the man in conditioned life.

So for a devotee, there is no difficulty in approaching the Supreme immediately and directly, but for those who are following the impersonal way to spiritual realization, the path is difficult. They have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme through such Vedic literatures as the Upaniṣads, and they have to learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and they have to realize all these processes..."

Prabhupāda: Just like in the Upaniṣads it is said, paśyaty acakṣuḥ [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.18]: "He sees, but He has no eyes." So what is that? How we can think of one is seeing without eye? Aiye. There are so many. Śṛṅoty akarṅaḥ: "He has no ears..." So both things are there. When it is said, paśyaty acakṣuḥ... Mean cakṣuḥ, eyes, as soon as we think of eyes, we think of our eyes, own eyes. And therefore it is forbidden, "Not like your eyes." Paśyati. He can see everywhere. Therefore we have to discuss śāstra. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti [Bs 5.32]. The aṅga, the different parts of the body of Kṛṣṅa, has got all the qualities of other aṅga. Just like we can see with eyes, but Kṛṣṅa can speak also with eyes. He can eat also with eyes. There is difference. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. So paśyaty acakṣuḥ means He has different type of eyes, not like our eyes. When there is nirākāra... Nirākāra means He hasn't got a ākāra, a form, like ours. That is nirākāra. But He has His form. And Kṛṣṅa says... So dehino 'smin yathā dehe [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.]

"Within this body, the owner of the body is there." But if the owner of the body has no form, how the material form has come into existence? Just like this shirt has got hand. Because I am the owner of the shirt—I have got hand—therefore the shirt has got also hand. I have got my leg; therefore the pant has got leg. If you say, "The pant has got leg, the shirt has got hand, but the owner of the shirt has no leg, no...," is it possible? And this external body described as dress... Vāsāṁsi jīrṅāni yathā vihāya [Bg 2.22]. Vāsa, dress. Dress cannot show any hand and leg unless the man who is dressed, he has got his hand and leg. So how He is nirākāra? [Hindi]

Indian man (1): Ākāra only.

Prabhupāda: If the dress has got hand and leg, then the person who is putting on the dress, he must have hand and leg. So this is the conclusion. When in the śāstra it is said that "God has no leg, no hand," that... In the Upaniṣad it said that "He has no leg, but He can walk swifter than anyone." So that means He has got a different type of leg. And that is summarized, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṅaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs 5.1].

[Kṛṣṅa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.]

His vigraha, His form, is not material form. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśri... [Bg 9.11].

[Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.]

Because Kṛṣṅa comes as a human being, the foolish mūḍha—mūḍha means rascal—rascal thinks that "He is also one of us." But Kṛṣṅa says, "No, no," sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā [Bg 4.6],

[Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.]

"I come here in My original, spiritual form." Sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā. So these are to be understood.

So manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu [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.]

Because they cannot understand—they cannot make distinction what is spiritual, what is material—therefore they cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. Manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. First of all one has to understand what is material, what is spiritual. So unless one comes to the spiritual understanding, he cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. Manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. Siddhaye means "for spiritual understanding." And yatatām api siddhānām [Bg 7.3]. So yatatām api siddhānām. Even the jñānīs, they are supposed to be siddha, and they also miss the point, that "The Supreme has no material body, so only negation." No. There is positive body. Therefore bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān [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.]

Although he has knowledge, still, his knowledge is not purified. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ. And because they cannot capture the real form of the Lord, they again fall down in this material world. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ [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.]

Falsely such persons think that "Now I have become liberated" without approaching the form of the Lord. Ye 'nye 'ravinda... Aravindākṣa: "One who has got lotus eyes." Ye 'nye... Ye anye aravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ: "Thinks of himself as he has become liberated." He may be liberated from material concept of life, but aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, because he could not understand, take, what is the form of the Lord, the result is āruhya kṛcchreṅa, with great austerity, he can come to the platform of nirguṅa Brahman, Parambrahman. But because naturally he is seeking after the reality... He does not get the reality, only eternity. Reality is bliss, sac-cid-ānanda. That ānanda he does not get.

Indian man (1): He gets only sat.

Prabhupāda: Partial. So partial understanding will not satisfy because he is himself the same quality, sac-cid-ānanda. He's seeking after ānanda. If he does not get ānanda, if he cannot dance with Kṛṣṅa, then he falls down. Āruhya kṛcchreṅa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ [SB 10.2.32]. Again material dancing; again hospital, schools. Big, big sannyāsīs could not get any relish. Then... [Hindi] The brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. If it is mithyā, why you are after the school? Patanty adhaḥ.

Therefore unless one is very pious, sukṛti, they cannot stick to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtinaḥ. Therefore piety, pious activities, is recommended in the śāstras. And so far devotees are concerned, especially in this age, directly, directly engage him in bhakti-yoga, and everything will be all right.

kecit kevalayā bhaktyā vāsudeva-parāyaṅāḥ aghaṁ dhunvanti kārtsnyena nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ [SB 6.1.15]

The general process is tapasā brahmacaryeṅa yamena niyamena, satya-śaucābhyāṁ tyāgena, satya-śaucam, śamena damena... [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.]

There are different stages. But kecit kevalayā bhaktyā, simply by bhakti, kevalayā bhaktyā, vāsudeva-parāyaṅāḥ. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga-prayojitaḥ. They can wash. Kārtsnyena aghaṁ dhunvanti. All sinful reaction of life becomes washed. Aghaṁ dhunvanti kārtsnyena. How it is possible? Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. Just like there is wash of mist, sun, as soon as the sun rises. So let Kṛṣṅa rise up. Therefore our this motto is in the English Back to Godhead, "Kṛṣṅa is light..."

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: "Kṛṣṅa is light..." "Godhead is light. Nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead, there is no nescience."

Prabhupāda: So this is direct process. Because Kali-yuga, they cannot actually undergo severe austerities, penances, vairāgya. Little difficult. Not difficult—very difficult. But that is a special concession for this age. Because we are very fallen, we cannot undergo severe austerities, penances, yamena niyamena vā, brahmacarya. Very, very difficult. So Bhāgavata, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, recommends that "Kali-yuga is full of faults." Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājan: "It is a ocean of faults. But there is one great opportunity." Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṅaḥ. Specially for this age. What is that? Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṅasya mukta-saṅgaḥ param [SB 12.3.51]:

[My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṅa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.]

"Simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa he can become liberated and go back to home, back to God..."

Indian man (1): [Hindi, explaining]

Prabhupāda: What is time now?

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Ten after six, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. [Hindi]

Tamāla Kṛṣṅa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, did you want him to translate? I mean, tomorrow?

Prabhupāda: Hindi. Hindi you have made?

Indian man (1): I have read it and translated two or three pages, but I don't know whether it will get approval. That's my difficulty.

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. Approval... You are a lawyer. You do it. Not that every common man can understand. Still, whatever you have done, you can read something. [end]