730617 - Lecture SB 01.10.02 - Mayapur

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this Lecture

730617SB-MAYAPUR - June 17, 1973 - 35:39 Minutes

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse)

vaṁśaṁ kuror vaṁśa-davāgni-nirhṛtaṁ

saṁrohayitvā bhava-bhāvano hariḥ

niveśayitvā nija-rājya īśvaro

yudhiṣṭhiraṁ prīta-manā babhūva ha

(SB 1.10.2)

(break)

sūtaḥ uvāca—Sūta Gosvāmī replied; vaṁśam—dynasty; kuroḥ—of King Kuru; vaṁśa-dava-agni—forest fire set by the bamboos; nirhṛtam—exhausted; saṁrohayitvā—seedling of the dynasty; bhava-bhāvanaḥ—the maintainer of creation; hariḥ—the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa; niveśayitvā—having reestablished; nija-rājye—in his own kingdom; īśvaraḥ—the Supreme Lord; yudhiṣṭhiram—unto Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira; prīta-manāḥ—pleased in His mind; babhūva ha—became.

Translation: "Sūta Gosvāmī said: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the maintainer of the world, became pleased after reestablishing Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira in his own kingdom and after restoring the Kuru dynasty, which had been exhausted by the bamboo fire of anger."

Prabhupāda: The two words, vaṁśaṁ kuroḥ . . . vaṁśa means dynasty of the Kurus. Another word, vaṁśa-davāgni. Vaṁśa means bamboo. So this dynasty is like bamboo. One bamboo, automatically many bamboos grow side by side. So this dynasty also grows like that. One man, one woman, united, they beget children. They beget children. In this way, dynasty expands. So the expansion of dynasty and the bamboo growing, practically the same thing. Bamboo, they are also living entities, and another thing is davāgni, forest fire, davāgni. The bamboos, when they collide by air, there is heat. Electricity is generated, and the fire takes place. That is the cause of forest fire. Nobody goes to set fire in the forest. Nowadays, of course, in your country they are doing like that. But generally, the forest fire takes place by this collision of the bamboos.

So this world is like that. Therefore we sing, saṁsāra-dāvāgni. Saṁsāra-dāvā . . . what is that?

Devotees: Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka.

Prabhupāda: Ah. Saṁsāra-dāvāgni nala-līḍha-loka. So this world, you may try to keep yourself very peaceful, silent, but there will be set fire automatically, the nature. Because the natural law is that it will not allow you to live peacefully. That is not possible. Just like in prison house, it is not that you will go to the prison house and live very peacefully. No. Because prison house is meant for the criminals.

So anyone who is in this material world, they are criminals. They are all criminals. Why?

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare

pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

(Prema-vivarta 6.2)

As soon as . . . our business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. We are constitutionally made like that. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108-109). So these rascals, nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, when he forgets Kṛṣṇa, "Why shall I serve Kṛṣṇa? I shall become Kṛṣṇa," that is māyā. As soon as you forget the service of the Lord . . . that is your business, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. The finger's business is to carry out my order. I say: "Finger, come here," it comes immediately. I say: "Finger come here," it comes immediately. That is the business of the part and parcel of the body. I desire the leg now should go upstair: the leg immediately . . . similarly, we being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, our only duty is to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).

So as soon as we forget our duty or we want to imitate . . . just like these Māyāvādīs, they want to imitate Kṛṣṇa. They want to become Kṛṣṇa. Nobody can become Kṛṣṇa. These rascals, they think that by mystic yoga process one can become God. Simply rascaldom. Nobody can become God. God is never made. God does not become. God is always God, not that one is not God, and he becomes God by some mystic yogic power. This theory is going on amongst the Māyāvādīs, that by the mystic yoga practice, one can become God.

So we don't want such cheap God. They may become God, so-called God, but we are concerned with the real God—Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, when He was three months old, He was God. He did not practice any mystic yoga to kill Pūtanā. Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8). God's intelligence, power, is natural. Although Kṛṣṇa was on the lap of Mother Yaśodā like a little baby, but the full potency of God was there. Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā. How to kill Pūtanā, how to kill Aghāsura, Bakāsura, Kṛṣṇa knows perfectly. All the Kṛṣṇa's friends, they are entering within the mouth of Aghāsura. Kṛṣṇa is observing, "Now My all friends have entered the mouth of the Aghāsura, and how to kill this demon?" The last, He entered. And at the end of the throat, He began to expand Himself. Just see how He knows to do His business. Svābhāvikī. Kṛṣṇa was a boy also, little boy. Nobody taught Him how to kill this Aghāsura, Bakāsura. But He knows. Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. He expanded Himself within the throat, and the demon was choked up, and he died.

Similarly, the Keśī demon came as a horse, and Kṛṣṇa pushed His hand within the mouth of the horse. If you want to control horse, you have to control his mouth. Horse is controlled by the mouth. Therefore you have seen the harnesses are fit . . . fixed in the mouth, and the driver controls the mouth and the horse goes. So Kṛṣṇa was a boy. How He knew it that, "This demon has come in the shape of a horse. So if I have to control him, I will have to control his mouth"? So He pushed His hand within the mouth of the horse, and the horse felt just like an iron bar, and hot iron. So he died. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa fought with that bull . . . what is that asura?

Devotees: Ariṣṭāsura.

Prabhupāda: He knew that to control the bull you have to control the horns. So He took up the horns and killed him. This is svābhāvikī, natural. He knows everything.

So here it is said that prīta-manā īśvaraḥ. Īśvaro prīta-manā babhūva, "Īśvara became pleased." Īśvara is always pleased. He is never displeased. But when He sees that people are devotees, people are acting as part and parcel of Him, He is more pleased. That is bhakti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. How God is pleased, that you can understand by discharging devotional service. Whether God is pleased or not pleased, how you can understand? Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234).

You cannot understand what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa. Generally, all people, they do not know what is God. And what to speak of understanding whether God is pleased or not pleased. They do not know what is God. This is the position of the world. They do not know what is God, neither there is any education to understand, although the human life is meant for understanding God. That is human life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā.

The animal life, their inquiries are . . . in the morning . . . just like birds, they chirp, "Where we have to go now to find out our food? Where we shall eat today? Where we shall go?" That is their questions and answer. Similarly, we also, human being, we go to the share market, "What is the value? What is the price of this commodity? What is the price of that commodity? " for eating purpose. Not these questions.

Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The human life should be engaged in inquiring about Brahman: "What is the Absolute Truth? What is my position in relationship with the Absolute Truth? What is my duty towards the Absolute Truth? What is my ultimate aim of life?" These questions must be discussed. Perhaps these questions are being discussed by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and no other movement. They do not know. The Māyāvādīs, they deny the existence of God. They become themself God.

So the fact is that we have to see that īśvara, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is prīta-manā. That is gopīs. The gopīs' life is like that. They want to see Kṛṣṇa always, prīta-manā, satisfied. That is our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava philosophy, how to see Kṛṣṇa prīta-manā. That is our business. Here in the material world, everyone is trying to see himself, "How much satisfied I am?" Prīta-manā. He is . . . everyone is trying to become happy himself. Just . . . bhakti-mārga, or the path of devotional service, is just the opposite: to see how much Kṛṣṇa is prīta-manā, satisfied.

So here it is stated that vaṁśaṁ kuror vaṁśa-davāgni-nirhṛtam. When everything was finished . . . Kṛṣṇa knows how to kill the demons, setting fire. Just like you . . . some way or other, if there is fire in the forest, automatically so many trees, so many animals, so many other things, they becomes devastated, burned into ashes. So Kṛṣṇa, by the policy of Kṛṣṇa, all the demons were brought together in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and set them . . . the fire was set, fighting, and they died. When Arjuna was hesitating to fight, Arjuna was at last informed that "Why you are hesitating? It is all My plan. You fight or don't fight, it doesn't matter. These people are not going back home. They will die here." Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin (BG 11.33): "You just become only a nimitta, an immediate cause. Everything is arranged. But if you fight, you get the credit. I want to see My devotee gets the credit. Everything I am doing. Everything, actually."

Just like this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is quickly spreading all over the world within four, five years. Is it my credit? No. It is credit of Kṛṣṇa. But because I tried to do this business, people automatically giving me the credit. They say: "Swāmījī, you have done wonderful." I have done nothing wonderful. It is Kṛṣṇa's business. Kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nāhe tāra pravartana (CC Antya-līlā 7.11). Without Kṛṣṇa's strength, nobody can spread. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is always ready to help us, provided we are also ready to cooperate with Him. If we cooperate with Him, what Kṛṣṇa desires, if we want to do little, immediately Kṛṣṇa will help you. If you work one percent, Kṛṣṇa will help you ten percent. Again if you work one percent, Kṛṣṇa will help you another ten percent. But the cent-percent credit you get, by the help of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa gives you intelligence. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam (BG 10.10). If you are engaged satatam, twenty-four hours, without any other engagement, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66), giving up all other nonsense business . . . sarva-dharmān. Simply if you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa's business, prīti-pūrvakam, with love. Not as hackneyed: "Ah, here is a duty, chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. All right, Harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇa . . ." (chants very quickly and indistinctly) Not like that. With prīti, with love. Chant every name, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," and hear. Here is Kṛṣṇa, here is Rādhārāṇī. That kind of chanting, quality. Not "Harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇakṛṣṇakṛṣṇaharehare . . ." Not like that. Not like that. Prīti.

Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti (BG 10.10). That prīti is required. That is the essential quality. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Real thing is bhakti. Kṛṣṇa is not hungry, that you will give Him some good food and He will eat it, never mind in which way you can give. "Oh, here is purī, halavā. Kṛṣṇa must eat." Kṛṣṇa is not hungry for your purī, halavā. But if there is bhakti, if there is love, then He eats. Tad aham aśnāmi: "Then I eat, if there is bhakti, love." "Kṛṣṇa, what can I do for You? I am so teeny, You are so great. Still, I have tried to do something. If You kindly eat." This is mantra. Real mantra is that; not so many formalities of mantra. Kṛṣṇa does not say, "One who offers Me with the Vedic mantras . . ." Never says. Kṛṣṇa says bhaktyā, "with devotion."

So others may criticize you that, "These American Vaiṣṇavas, they do not know how to do this, how to do that." Let them criticize. But Kṛṣṇa says bhaktyā. You remain perfect devotee. Then your life is perfect. Kṛṣṇa does not say that the Indian devotee who discriminates between touchable and untouchable and big, big paṇḍitas or deva-gosvāmī, not dāsa-gosvāmī . . . Kṛṣṇa does not discriminate like that. Kṛṣṇa says bhaktyā, yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. Kṛṣṇa wants to see how much sincere devotee you have become. That is His business. Kṛṣṇa does not see, "Oh, whether you are coming from Brāhmin family or Śūdra family, this family or . . .?" No. Therefore in the śāstras it is forbidden: vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ (Padma Purāṇa). Vaiṣṇava does not belong to the material caste. He is transcendental, because He is rendering service to Kṛṣṇa on the transcendental platform. He is not in the material platform.

Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). That is guṇa. These Brāhmin, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra, they belong to the category of the three guṇas: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. But those who are pure devotee, they are transcendental to these three guṇas. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). They transcend. They do not belong to these guṇas. No. Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena se . . . (BG 14.26). Anyone who is engaged in devotional service avyabhicāreṇa, without any deviation, just to the rules and regulation, just to the standard, then immediately, sa guṇān samatītya etān, the plural number . . . all these guṇas, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa . . . he is above Brāhmin. Vaiṣṇava is above Brāhmin.

So this world is creation of Kṛṣṇa. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, aham ādir hi devānām (BG 10.2). So we may think that Brahmā created this universe, but not . . . that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa said, aham ādir hi devānām: "I am prior to the all the demigods." He is the origin of the demigods. Aham ādir hi devānām. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: everything emanates from Him. So therefore Kṛṣṇa's name is bhava-bhāvana. Bhava-bhāvana. This world is called bhava-saṁsāra, bhava-saṁsāra. Bhava means "become." There is another nature, spiritual world, that is not bhava, that does not become. It is always existing, nitya. Nitya-loka. Vaikuṇṭha-loka.

But this material world is called bhava. Bhava-saṁsāra. Bhava means it appears and again disappears. Everything here—just like your body, my body—it has appeared at a certain date and it will disappear at a certain date. Similarly, the whole universal body also, it has appeared at a certain date and it will disappear at a certain date. So bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It becomes manifested, again it becomes disappeared. Therefore it is called bhava-saṁsāra. But still, although it is temporary, the arrangement is so nice, pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate . . . (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation), everything is complete. It is not false.

The Māyāvādīs, they say this world is false. We don't say that. Why it is false? It is perfectly created by Kṛṣṇa. Why I discredit Kṛṣṇa, "Oh, it is false"? No. It is not false. It is reality, provided you know how to utilize it. When you think that you are the enjoyer of this world, that is false. You are not the enjoyer. Enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa. That is reality. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). Then it is reality. As soon as you think, "This is mine. This is mine. Ahaṁ mameti . . . (SB 5.5.8)." Ahaṁ mameti, "I am this body, and anything in relationship with this body is mine," that is moha. But as soon as you come to the understanding . . . (loud creaking sound in background) What is that?

Brahmānanda: Bullock cart.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. All right. So bhava-bhāvana. Kṛṣṇa . . . this world is created by Kṛṣṇa, and He wants to see it is properly maintained. And who will maintain? His own representative. Not the demons. Therefore king is supposed to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa. He will maintain this world properly. A Vaiṣṇava, he knows how to utilize everything for Kṛṣṇa. The aim of this creation is giving these conditioned souls another chance for liberation. That is the purpose. When the whole world is annihilated, then all the living entities again enter into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Then, when there is again creation, then the living entities again come out, according to their past position.

We do not accept this rascal theory, Darwin's, that from lower-grade life they . . . there is a promotion like that, but in the creation everything is there. All the 8,400,000 species, they are all there, although the gradations are there. So according to the past karma, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1), everyone comes out again, gets a different type of body, and begins his work. Again another chance. "Yes. You come to the point of human understanding. Try to understand your relationship with Kṛṣṇa and get yourself liberated. Go home, back to home, back to . . ." If you lose this opportunity—this creation is made for that purpose—then again you remain. Again, when everything is annihilated, you remain in dormant stage, millions of years. Again you become created.

So there is a great science. Everyone should try to understand what is the responsibility of human life. And to teach this responsibility, to keep men, the human society, in their responsibility, a good king is required like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Therefore king is supposed to be the representative of God. So after killing these demons, Kuru, kuror vaṁśa-davāgni-nirhṛtaṁ saṁrohayitvā bhava-bhāvano hariḥ niveśayitvā nija-rājya īśvaro yudhiṣṭhiram . . . when He saw, "Now Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is situated on the throne for the control of the world," He . . . prīta-manā babhūva ha, He became satisfied: "There is My real representative, and he will work nicely."

So these two things are going on. Those who are trying to capture the governmental power for his personal ambition, they will be killed. They will be killed. This way or that way, they will be killed. And persons who are taking responsibility for maintenance of the government as representative of Kṛṣṇa, they will be blessed by Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. So at the present moment, the so-called democracy . . . nobody is representative of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is demons. Everyone is a demon. So how you can expect peace and prosperity under this government? This is not possible. If you want . . . we have got to think politically also, because after all, all living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa wants their welfare so that they may come back to home, back to Godhead.

So it is the duty of the Vaiṣṇava to see that people are gradually educated to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So perhaps it would be better, if we can, we also capture political power. As there are many parties—Communist party, Congress party, this party, that party—so there must be one Kṛṣṇa's party. Why not? Then people will be happy if Kṛṣṇa's party comes to the governmental post. Immediately there will be peace. In India, in India there are so many slaughterhouses.

There are . . . it is said that ten thousand cows are being killed every day in the land were one cow was being attempted to be killed, immediately Mahārāja Parīkṣit took his sword, "Who are you?" In that land, now ten thousand cows are being killed every day. So you expect peace? You expect prosperity? This is not possible. Therefore if some day Kṛṣṇa's representative takes the governmental power, then he will immediately stop all these slaughterhouses, all these brothels, all these liquor houses. Then there will be peace and prosperity. Bhūta-bhāvana, Kṛṣṇa will be pleased, "Here is My representative."

So there are so many things to understand from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, full knowledge, all knowledge, as it is required by the human society. So we have to study from all angles of vision, not simply by sentiment. This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Haribol. (end)