Founder's Lecture

The Most Confidential Knowledge

Only to His devotees does Lord Kṛṣṅa reveal the deepest knowledge of the soul and God.

Vṛndāvana, India—April 17, 1975

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

śrī-bhagavān uvāca idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ yaj jñātvā mokṣyase ’śubhāt

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.”—Bhagavad-gītā 9.1

Śrī-bhagavān uvāca. This word, bhagavān, I have explained many times. Bhagavān means the supreme authority. Kṛṣṅa's authoritative power has been analyzed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: Cent per cent power or cent per cent qualification is in Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam: “Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Even though other persons in the Vedic literature may sometimes be addressed as Bhagavān, that does not mean that they are equal to the Supreme Person. Sometimes Nārada Muni is addressed as Bhagavān. Lord Śiva is also addressed as Bhagavān. Not only viṣṅu-tattva [God and His full expansions], but others are also sometimes addressed as Bhagavān. But in order to particularly point out Kṛṣṅa, it has been said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [1.3.28], kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam: “Kṛṣṅa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Bhagavān is Kṛṣṅa because Kṛṣṅa has cent per cent qualities of Bhagavān. That is analyzed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Kṛṣṅa is cent per cent Bhagavān. Others are also Bhagavān, viṣṅu-tattva. Nārāyaṅa is also Bhagavān. But Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has analyzed that Nārāyaṅa is ninety-four percent, not cent per cent.

Bhagavān is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya pūrṅaḥ, full in six opulences: beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, and renunciation. That Bhagavān is Kṛṣṅa. Expansions of Kṛṣṅa are also ṣaḍ-aiśvarya pūrṅaḥ, but the full opulence is not displayed. Even Lord Rāmacandra did not display the full opulence of Kṛṣṅa, even though our authority Madhvācārya has accepted Him as Bhagavān.

Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣhan. Lord Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is existing as the Supreme Person along with Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha—many thousands of avatars. They are also Kṛṣṅa. Keśava dhṛta-rāma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Keśava dhṛta-mīna-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Kṛṣṅa exists with all the incarnations, not that He exists only as Kṛṣṅa. So when we speak of Kṛṣṅa, we mean all His expansions and incarnations.

Therefore it is said, rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā. They are kalā. Kalā means partial expansion, not full expansion. Full expansions are called pūrṅa. They are also Bhagavān. But kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam means that bhagavatva—the authority of Bhagavān—is fully expressed in Kṛṣṅa, not in others. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, after the list of different incarnations, it is said, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam: All the incarnations mentioned are partial expansions and expansions of the expansions, or expansions of Kṛṣṅa's power, śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Lord Buddha is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra. There are many śaktyāveśa-avatāras.

In this way Kṛṣṅa always exists along with His expansions and incarnations. But the real, original Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān svayam. Bhagavad-gītā is being spoken by Kṛṣṅa. But in order to distinguish Him, Vyāsadeva writes śrī-bhagavān uvāca. He does not write śrī-kṛṣṅa uvāca, because he wants to distinguish: kṛṣṅas tu bhagavān.

Knowledge From The Supreme

We are pledged to receive knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is our mission in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Here is knowledge given by Kṛṣṅa. Idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave: “Now I am giving you this knowledge, very confidential knowledge.”

Kṛṣṅa says that this knowledge is guhyatamam. Guhya means “confidential,” guhyatara means “more confidential,” and guhyatamam means “most confidential.” Positive, comparative, and superlative. Guhya is positive, guhyatara is comparative, and guhyatamam is superlative.

Brahma-jñāna, or knowledge of Brahman, spirit, is guhya, confidential, because if you achieve brahma-jñāna you become the most important person within the material world. That stage is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. And brahma-bhūtaḥ is the stage of the brāhmaṅa, or above that. To become brahma-bhūtaḥ, brahma-jñānī, is guhya, confidential knowledge.

The next stage is Paramātmā realization. Brahmeti paramātmeti. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣhati [Bg 18.61]. There are two different souls. One is Paramātmā, and He is present everywhere. The Māyāvādīs, impersonalists, say there is no difference between ātmā, the individual soul, and Paramātmā, the Supersoul, but that is not a fact. Ātmā is present within one body. I am ātmā; you are ātmā. Dehino smin yathā dehe [Bg 2.13]. Asmin dehe means “in this body.” I am ātmā, you are ātmā, but I am not Paramātmā. Paramātmā is different. Paramātmā is Kṛṣṅa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, situated in everyone’s heart. That understanding is guhyataram, more confidential.

First of all, to understand brahma-jñāna, or self-realization, is confidential. That is not ordinary knowledge. It is above ordinary knowledge. Therefore it is called guhya. Guhya means confidential. Nobody understands even ātma-tattva.

śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṅāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.2]

Gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. Those who are living within family life cannot understand ātma-tattva, self-realization. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is advising Parīkṣit Mahārāja that people are too busy with ordinary things to inquire about ātma-tattva. An ordinary, worldly man purchases huge volumes of newspaper, and he is interested in the contents. But he is not interested in understanding Bhagavad-gītā, where ātma-tattva is described. People are not interested.

Śukadeva Gosvāmī told Parīkṣit Mahārāja that for the ordinary man there are thousands and thousands of news items. We can see so many magazines—technical, musical, cinema magazines—and ordinary news in so many editions of every newspaper in every city. So this is a fact. Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṅāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ. Sahasraśaḥ means thousands and thousands and thousands. Why are people busy with so many newspapers, and why they are not interested in hearing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Because apaśyatām ātma-tattvam: They do not know that the real purpose of life is to understand ātma-tattva. Why do they forget? Gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. They have made a vow to maintain the family and to have some enjoyment from family life.

Family life means society, friendship, and love. There is a song by the poet Vidyāpati: Tāala saikate vāri-bindu-sama, suta-mita-ramaṅī-samāje. The exact English equivalent is “society, friendship and love.” Everyone is busy with society, family, friends, country, nation, community. And what is the composition of these? Suta means children; mita means friends; and ramaṅī means woman. If a man has a beautiful woman, he thinks it is very nice.

So people are busy. The other day we spoke with a guest in Hyderabad. He is very busy with this suta-mita-ramaṅī-samāje. Everyone is.

Somebody may ask, “Unless there is happiness, why should people be interested in these?” There is happiness certainly. But the great poet Vidyāpati has compared it to a drop of water in the desert. The desert requires huge quantities of water. Nowadays, practically in every country, especially in India, every land is just like a desert for want of water. You see in Vṛndāvana that so much land is lying vacant. No agriculture. Why? There is want of water. There is no sufficient supply of water. So in this way, if there is scarcity of water, then gradually these places will be converted into deserts.

So Vidyāpati uses the word desert because a desert requires a huge quantity of water. Similarly, in this material world we are trying to be happy in society, friendship, and love. Suta-mita-ramaṅī-samāje. But the happiness we are getting is compared to a drop of water in the desert. If in the vast desert we say that we want water and somebody brings a drop of water and suggests we take it, it will be very insignificant. The offer has no meaning. Similarly, our heart desires real pleasure, transcendental bliss. So if we are put into this desert—suta-mita-ramaṅī-samāje—where is the benefit?

This song is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, where it is said apaśyatām ātma-tattvam: People do not know the aim of life. They are satisfied with this drop of water in the desert. It will never mitigate the dryness. The desert is a vast tract of dry land, and if somebody says, “All right, take one drop of water,” what is the meaning? It has no meaning.

Similarly, we are spirit souls. We are hankering after Kṛṣṅa. That is our inner desire. What happiness shall we get with this society, friendship, or love? That is not possible. There is some happiness—temporary happiness, very small quantity, so-called happiness—but it will never satisfy you. Because we are eternal, we are trying to get eternal happiness.

For The Non-Envious

Kṛṣṅa is speaking here. Idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasūyave. Asūya means envious. Everyone is envious of Kṛṣṅa. That is demoniac. Take Kaṁsa, for example. In this tract of land, Mathurā, there was Kaṁsa. He was so envious that he ordered his servant, “As soon as Kṛṣṅa is born, please bring the child. I shall kill Him.” That is asūya.

At the present moment, practically the whole world wants to be godless. Everyone is trying to prove that there is no God, there is no Kṛṣṅa. This sentiment we find everywhere, especially in the Communist countries. If you become a demon, a Communist, or in favor of them, then you are also infected with asūya, envy of Kṛṣṅa. Then you cannot understand Kṛṣṅa.

Kṛṣṅa is very strict. But devotees are very lenient. Kṛṣṅa doesn’t want to speak with demons. But the devotees are so kind, they go to the demons and pray, “Kindly hear. Kindly hear about Kṛṣṅa.”

Therefore a devotee is more merciful than Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa doesn’t speak to the demons. Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna because he is a devotee: bhakto ’si me sakhā ceti. Kṛṣṅa was very strict. About Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṅa said, ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣu abhidhāsyati: “One who speaks this confidential knowledge amongst the bhaktas . . .” He recommends the bhaktas, devotees. But the devotees go to the abhakta, nondevotees, transgressing the order of Kṛṣṅa because they are so merciful: “All right, Kṛṣṅa has rejected them. Let me try. Let me try.” This is the position of the bhaktas. They are not only nonenvious of God, but they are also nonenvious of everyone.

Therefore devotees are called kāruṅikāḥ, most merciful. Devotees are always tortured by the demons. The demons are prepared to torture even Kṛṣṅa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and great devotees also. Devotees tolerate all these tortures. Therefore the devotees are described as titikṣavaḥ, tolerant. Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches, tṛṅād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṅunā: a devotee should be more tolerant than a tree. A devotee should learn this verse by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kāruṅikāḥ. Devotees take the risk of preaching amongst the demons, the nondevotees, because they are kāruṅikāḥ, very merciful—more merciful than Kṛṣṅa.

Kṛṣṅa says, “Do not speak this Bhagavad-gītā to the nondevotees, because they will not accept it.” Kṛṣṅa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66]: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” Who will accept this unless he is a devotee? The Māyāvādī, the karmī [fruitive worker], the jñānī [mental speculator], and the yogi cannot accept. They are envious: “I am Kṛṣṅa. I am God. Why shall I surrender to Kṛṣṅa? Why shall I accept Kṛṣṅa as God?”

This is the position of the bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī, those desiring material enjoyment, impersonal liberation, or mystic powers. You will find so many yogis who can play jugglery, magic, but who are not devotees. They will not surrender to Kṛṣṅa. Such persons cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. They cannot understand the science of Kṛṣṅa. They cannot understand because Kṛṣṅa does not disclose Himself to the nondevotees. So by their own attempt, however big a yogi or a jñānī or a karmī they may be, they cannot understand Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa reveals Himself to the anasūyave, to one who is not envious. And that is the devotee. Anasūyave means the devotee, who is not envious of Kṛṣṅa. Others—karmī, jñānī, and yogi—are envious.

The karmīs will say, “Work hard and get the result and enjoy. Why are you going to the temple to pray?” This is the philosophy of the Communists. “Why should you go to the church? Why should you go to the temple? Forget all these things. Work hard, earn money, and enjoy life.” But that is demonic. Because they envy God, they are demons.

Devotee Of The Devotee

The science of God, or the science of Kṛṣṅa, kṛṣṅa-tattva, is never disclosed or revealed amongst the non-devotee demons. It can be revealed to, and be understood by, a person like Arjuna. Therefore it is said anasūyave: We should never be envious of Kṛṣṅa and His devotees. You cannot think, “I am envious of the devotees, but I am not envious of Kṛṣṅa.” No, no. Kṛṣṅa does not accept that kind of business. First of all you should be nonenvious of the devotees. Mad-bhaktaḥ pūjābhyadhikā. “If you are envious of My devotee and try to become a devotee, that is not possible.”

It is stated that one who is directly a devotee of Kṛṣṅa is not a devotee, but one who is a devotee through His devotee—he is a devotee. You should learn this philosophy. You cannot say, “But why shall I go through a guru or through a Vaiṣṅava to Kṛṣṅa? I can go directly. I am so qualified.” No, you are not qualified. If you jump over like that, that is not acceptable. In Bengal it is said that one cannot jump over the horse to eat the grass in front of the horse. So one should be a devotee first of all. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet. We must approach a bona fide guru to understand the science of Kṛṣṅa. If you want to learn about Kṛṣṅa, then you should be very humble and submissive to Kṛṣṅa and His devotee—anasūyave.

Real Scientific Knowledge

Jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitam. Jñāna—this knowledge, most confidential knowledge—is not sentiment. Vijñāna-sahitam. It is science. In scientific knowledge you must know theoretically and practically. Not that you simply know that so much oxygen, so much hydrogen produces water by mixing. That is theoretical. You have to make water by mixing these two chemicals. That is practical. In the B.Sc. examination in the university, one is tested for both theoretical and practical knowledge.

The theoretical science in the Gītā is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja. Kṛṣṅa says, “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” But when you really surrender, that is practical science. That is practical. If you decide to surrender—that is called śaraṅāgati—then you have to learn the science of how to become surrendered. That is vijñāna. Jñāna means theoretical knowledge, and vijñāna means practical knowledge.

So we have to do it practically. Not that I think, “I have read Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, so I have become a devotee.” No. You should practically demonstrate in your life that you are actually a devotee. That is called vijñāna-sahitam.

And if you learn this science, the result is you become liberated from aśubha, the inauspicious condition of life. Yaj jñātvā mokṣyase aśubhāt. What is that inauspicious condition of life? This materialistic life. People are thinking, “We shall make it śubha.” Śubha means “auspicious.” People think they can make material life auspicious by material adjustment, by having a nice car, a nice road, skyscraper buildings, and so many machines and bodily comforts. These are known as material advancement. But the śāstra [scripture] says that it is all inauspicious.

If you want to become free from this inauspicious kind of life, then you should learn the science Kṛṣṅa is teaching, not materialistic so-called science. You should learn the real science, sa-vijñāna. That is how to surrender to Kṛṣṅa, how to become nonenvious of Kṛṣṅa.

This is a great science. We have to learn it. And this science of Kṛṣṅa consciousness is spoken in this Ninth Chapter. If you become expert in this science, then you become free from inauspicious science, material science.

Thank you very much.