720706 - Lecture SB 01.01.01 - London

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720706SB-LONDON - July 06, 1972 - 27:16 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Come on. Hmm. What is that?

Devotee: The Sanskrit.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Devotee: Sanskrit.

Prabhupāda: Bhāgavata? So from the very beginning, oṁ namo bhagavate, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1).

Devotee: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

Prabhupāda: Janmādy asya.

Devotee: (begins leading chanting of verse)

Janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ . . .

Prabhupāda: (interrupts and leads chanting one word at a time)

janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ

tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ

tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mṛṣā

dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi

(SB 1.1.1)

Like that.

Devotee: (indistinct) . . . line?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee:

Janmādy asya yato 'nvayād . . .

Prabhupāda: No, first of all let them practice.

(chants whole verse one word at a time)

janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ

tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ

tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mṛṣā

dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi

Read like that.

Devotee: (chants whole verse one word at a time)

Prabhupāda: Again.

(devotee repeats verse)

Next, you.

(devotee recites verse)

Hmm. Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja. Janmādy.

(Kīrtanānanda recites, Prabhupāda interrupts)

This, this word abhijñaḥ or abhijñaḥ, both ways you can pronounce. So it is easier for you, as it is spelling abhijñaḥ, or abhijñaḥ, as you like. Yes.

(Kīrtanānanda continues)

Thank you. Viṣṇujana Mahārāja.

(Viṣṇujana recites, Prabhupāda corrects pronunciation)

Karandhara Prabhu.

(Karandhara recites)

You.

(another devotee recites)

Any more? Anyone else? Hmm.

(Prabhupāda sings verse twice, one line at a time)

So if you chant these mantras, at least one in one day, your life will be glorious. These mantra, bhāgavata-mantra . . . not only Bhāgavata, every Vedic literature is a mantra, transcendental sound. So practice resounding this mantra. So we have taken so much labor to put in diacritic mark, all the words, word meaning.

Utilize it. Don't think that these books are only for sale. If you go to sell these books and if some customer says: "You pronounce it," then what you will do? Then he will understand, "Oh, you are for selling, not for understanding." What do you think? Eh?

So therefore it is necessary now, you have got nice books, each and every śloka, verse, should be pronounced. Therefore we have given this original verse in Sanskrit, its transliteration with diacritic mark—these marks are universally accepted amongst the scholars. So all the scholars of Sanskrit, they agreed to use this mark for pronouncing Sanskrit language.

Sanskrit language is very important, honored all over the world. Especially in Germany, they are very much fond of this Sanskrit. There are many German scholar who can speak in Sanskrit language for hours, they are so serious student of Sanskrit. One of my Godbrother, he is now in Sweden, he used to speak that, "When one Indian student used to come to our country from London . . ."

In British days Indians would go to London, and he would take a degree there, and he would become a big man. That was the system. So while coming back home, naturally they used to visit other European countries. So in Germany they used to test the Indian student, how far he knew about his own culture. So this my Godbrother, his name was Ansulye, now he's Sadānanda Swami, so he said that as soon as we saw that the student did not know anything of his Indian culture, immediately rejected him, "That is useless."

So if, those who are Indians, especially present in this meeting, that if you want to glorify your country, then you present this Vedic literature. You cannot excel the Western countries by so-called technological knowledge. That is not possible. They are far advanced, hundred years advanced. Whatever machine you may discover, that machine was discovered one hundred years ago in Western countries. So you cannot. Anything. So if you want, Indians, to glorify your country, then present this Vedic culture heart and soul, and . . . just like I am trying to do it.

So how people are accepting it? There is substance. Before me, so many svāmīs came in this country; they could not present the real thing. They wanted some money and went away. That's all. Our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not that. We want to give something to the Western countries. That is our purpose. Not we have come to beg, we have to give him something. That is my mission. They come here to beg, "Give me rice," "Give me ḍāl," "Give me wheat," "Give me money," but I have come here to give something of Indian culture. That is the difference.

So you European, American students, you take full advantage of this Vedic culture. I am therefore so much laboring hard that we . . . before my leaving this body, I may give you some books who you can enjoy after my death. So utilize it. Utilize it. Read every śloka nicely, try to understand the meaning, discuss amongst yourself. Nityaṁ bhagavata-sevayā. That is our mission. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhagavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Abhadra. We have got so many dirty things within our heart. So these dirty things can be cleansed simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other method.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

(SB 1.2.17)

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu

nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā

bhagavaty uttama-śloke

bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

(SB 1.2.18)

This is the process. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. Kṛṣṇa is trying to help you from within and from without. From without, He is presenting His form in this temple. You can take the advantage of serving Him. He is sending His representative, spiritual master, to speak you directly about Kṛṣṇa, and He is ready to help you from within as Paramātmā. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. He wants that you are all suffering in this material existence, Kṛṣṇa comes as He is, and He canvasses, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).

So bhāgavata-sevayā, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18), cleansing the heart. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is the process. We are part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, so we are pure. We have become impure on account of material contamination. So we have to purify ourself, and the process is to hear about Kṛṣṇa. That's all.

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇa

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

(SB 1.2.17)

This temple, these ISKCON centers, are open just to give everyone the chance of hearing about Kṛṣṇa so that his dirty heart may be cleansed. This is the purpose. We have no other purpose. We are not opening these centers for some material benefit. No. We want to give to the whole world the spiritual enlightenment, without which they are suffering. And this human form of body is especially meant for this purpose, to understand our spiritual position.

Janmādy asya yataḥ, that is the first Vedānta-sūtra. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the natural commentary on Vedānta-sūtra. Vedānta-sūtra philosophy was expounded by Vyāsadeva, mahāmuni. And thinking that in future so many fools and rascals will misuse the Vedānta-sūtra as so-called Vedāntists, and send all people to hell, therefore he personally wrote this commentary on Vedānta-sūtra, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Bhāṣyaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ vedārtha paribhṛṁhitaḥ. This is bhāṣya. Bhāṣya means commentary. Therefore he begins from the first aphorism of Vedānta-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ, athāto brahma jijñāsā, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā (SB 1.2.10). Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Jīva, those who are conditioned souls, their only business is to enquire about self-realization.

The piling of woods and stone is not advanced civilization. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, kāṭh pāthare mistri. If you are simply engaged how to have a skyscraper building, then we become craftsmen only, how to handle woods and stones. That's all; so much success. But what we'll do with this woods and stones? You are spirit soul.

Woods and stone will not give you any pleasure. That is not possible. You are not wood and stone, you are spirit soul—you must have spiritual food. Therefore in America especially, despite all material opulences there, you are becoming confused and frustrated and disappointed. Because woods and stone will not satisfy you. You must have spiritual food. That is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (cut) (end)