750410 - Lecture SB 05.05.01 - Hyderabad
Prabhupāda: It is already described in the Bhagavad-gītā that kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu BG 13.22 . There are different forms of life, different species of life. What is the reason of these different gradations? A dog's life and a man's life is different. How it has so become? What is the scientist's reply? I don't think the scientists can reply this. Or they can reply, "Evolutionary process." How the evolutionary process is taking place? So that answer is also given in the Bhagavad-gītā,
mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ
sūyate sa-carācaram
hetunānena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate
That... The developed human life is obtained by karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye SB 3.31.1 .
We are working under the control of material nature, and we are infecting, contaminating different modes of material nature. Just like a person who has contaminated the smallpox infection, he must suffer from smallpox. That is medical science. Similarly, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya BG 13.22 . There are three material modes of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. So if you associate with goodness, then your next body becomes manifest in the modes of goodness, just like highly intelligent class of men or the brāhmaṇa. If you infect the modes of passion, then you become passionate; you get passionate body. And ignorance also.
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā
adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
Every reply is there. As we are associating or contaminating different modes of material nature, we are manufacturing or giving chance to get a certain type of body, exactly if I infect the smallpox disease, I must suffer from it. This is the law of nature.
So when, after associating with the modes of goodness for many, many years—or not many, many years but many, many lives—then one can become very intelligent brāhmaṇa.
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
After many, many births of this kind of contaminated diseases and births and body, when by culture of knowledge, by austerities, by penances, by brahminical culture, one becomes very, very learned and wise, at that time he can understand what is God—not before that. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān BG 7.19 . Not the rascals and the fools can understand what is God. Only the jñānavān.
So as you are trying to become jñānavān for higher status of life, similarly, if you become jñānavān to understand God, then God consciousness will come. Not so easily.
manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
So not only ordinary human being. What they can understand about God? Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. What is the perfection of life? One must know. The perfection of life is to understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is perfection of life, when one can understand.
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
So after becoming Brahman realized soul, when he is fully liberated from material contamination—goodness passion or ignorance— prasannātmā, na śocati na kāṅkṣati, he has no material hankering, neither he laments for any material loss. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, when he visions all living entities as spirit soul, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām BG 18.54 , at that time he is eligible to understand what is bhakti. And bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ BG 18.54 . If you become bhakta, if you have got the opportunity to come to that platform, then you can understand God. Otherwise, God is not so easy to understand. (break—questions and answers)
Prabhupāda: What is your duty? That is the first thing. Do you know what is your duty? You manufacture your duty, but you do not know what is your duty. Duty is: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja BG 18.66 . That is your duty. Anything you manufacture duty, that is not duty; That is cheating. (applause) First of all, you learn what is your duty; then talk of duty. In your office if you go, if you say, "Anything I do, it is my duty," no. You must know the particular work you are advised to act by the superintendent or the director, not that you can manufacture your duty. If you execute that duty, then you are dutiful. Otherwise, you are simply creating trouble. Just like a monkey. They create their duty, and wherever he goes, "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!" The monkey's duty is no duty. A man must know what is duty, and he should execute. That is duty.
Indian man (1): As you have explained, Lord Kṛṣṇa forbade(?) Arjuna to do this duty.
Prabhupāda: Well, first of all you try to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He says. Then, if you are dutiful, then you can say who is the other dutiful. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja BG 18.66 . If you come to that stage of life, then you are dutiful. Otherwise, if you create your duties as monkey, that is not duty. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Indian man (2): (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: So, our endeavor should be not to be implicated by the material modes of nature. Never mind what is the percentage. This material world is always mixed up—some goodness, some passion, some ignorance. Here you cannot possess the material quality in full, cent percent purity. No. That is not possible. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. One quality is overlapping the other quality. Our business is how to become transcendental to all these qualities, not to be touched by any of the qualities of material nature. That is our business. That should be our aim. Nirguṇa. That is called nirguṇa, no more contaminated by the material qualities. That is called nirguṇa.
And that is very simple thing. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā,
māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate. If one accepts this bhakti-yoga process—
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
These are the different, nine items of bhakti-yoga. If you take all of them or some of them or at least one of them, you become transcendental to all these material qualities. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān BG 14.26 . All these material qualities one can transcend and remain in the Brahman platform. Brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati BG 14.26 . This is the process. It is not that we shall possess this quality, certain percentage, that quality, certain percentage. No. Above all qualities. That should be the aim of life. Then we shall be in the Brahman platform or in the spiritual platform, and then our life will be successful. Otherwise, struggle for existence... Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate BG 14.26 . We take one type of body according to the contamination of material modes of nature. We suffer or enjoy, then again we die, again we accept another body. In this way it continues, and we remain entangled in this material world.
Indian man (2): (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is said in the śāstra,
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
The Kṛṣṇa, His form, His name, His quality, His pastimes, His paraphernalia cannot be experienced by these material senses. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. He is beyond the indriyas. But if one is engaged in devotional service, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. That devotional service begins from jihvā, tongue. This tongue means can be utilized in devotional service in two ways, namely by chanting the holy name of God and by tasting prasādam. If first of all one engages his jihvā, means tongue, in devotional service by chanting the holy name, Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and tasting only kṛṣṇa-prasādam, not anything else, then Kṛṣṇa, being pleased by his devotional service, He manifests Himself, reveals Himself. That revelation is experienced, very highly advanced devotee.
So for advanced devotee everything is possible, as described by this gentleman. But that is not for everyone. That is not a common thing. Exceptional. For the common person, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised and as He has practically shown in His life, that is devotional service in separation: "Where is Kṛṣṇa?" Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me. "I am seeing everything vacant because I cannot see Kṛṣṇa." The same thing was followed by the Gosvāmīs. He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ: "Where you are? O Rādhārāṇī, O Kṛṣṇa, O the gopīs, where you are?" He rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ. Govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale: "Either on the valley of the Govardhana Hill or on the bank of the Ganges. Where you are, all?" Seeking. Ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau. One should be mad after seeking Kṛṣṇa—"Where You are? Where You are?" Not that "I have seen." That is not bhajana. Bhajana means how to become mad after Kṛṣṇa. One who has once heard the tinkling sound of His anklebell, He'll be mad after Him—"Where You are? Where You are? Where You are?" Not that hearing and becoming engaged in the family affairs. No. That is not possible. One who has seen, one who has heard, he'll become mad—no more interest in this material affairs. That is the sign. We can say. Of course, if you are experienced devotee... But so far we see of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His immediate successors, Gosvāmīs, they are mad after Kṛṣṇa. They never said that "We have seen Kṛṣṇa." This is called bhajana by separation, vipralambha-sevā.
So if we become mad after Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection, not that "We have seen Kṛṣṇa." We may see, but so far the Gosvāmīs are concerned, they are simply seeking. Ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau. Vihvalau means mad—"Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa? Where is Kṛṣṇa?" That is self-realization.
Thank you very much. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)