740212 - Lecture Excerpt - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740212LE-VRNDAVAN - February 12, 1974 - 11:18 Minutes

Devotee: . . . celebrated astronomer. (break)

Prabhupāda: . . . it is the Goloka Vṛndāvana where Kṛṣṇa is situated. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). It is not that because He is staying in Goloka Vṛndāvana therefore He is absent here. No. Akhilātma-bhūtaḥ: He is everywhere. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ (Bs. 5.35): He is even within the atom. This is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa.

So we are preaching this Kṛṣṇa consciousness on the basis of this Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without misinterpreting to show our so-called scholarship. No. That is not the way of understanding Kṛṣṇa. We should understand Kṛṣṇa submissively, as Arjuna is doing: śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). Kṛṣṇa also asked Arjuna to surrender fully, so he has already surrendered. When Arjuna saw that there were so many perplexities, and this cannot be solved except by Kṛṣṇa, so he surrendered: śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam. So in this way if we surrender to Kṛṣṇa through His representative . . . representative means one who says exactly what Kṛṣṇa says; he does not change anything. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), and His representative says that, "You give up everything and surrender unto Kṛṣṇa." The same thing. And there is no difficulty. One hasn't got to manufacture some idea, some philosophy. No. Everything is there, and if you preach what Kṛṣṇa has said, then you are spiritual master. It is not a very big job. Simply you have to become sincere to Kṛṣṇa, and you learn Kṛṣṇa through His representative, you become sincere to the representative of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa, yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau (ŚU 6.23), then you are spiritual master. It is not very difficult. And become, every one of you, become spiritual master and preach this gospel of Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then the world will be saved. Otherwise they are already in trouble, and they will go more and more into the depths of the trouble, dangerous position, and they will never become happy. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very, very important movement for saving the human civilization, the human society.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to Prabhupāda. Jaya. Haribol. (break)

Devotee: Is it offensive while chanting that the mind should dwell on thoughts referring to our devotional service activities, or the spiritual master or . . .

Prabhupāda: The chanting process is that you chant with your tongue, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," and hear. That's all. Then you are saved. Hare Kṛṣṇa must be chanted by the use of tongue, and you hear it. That's all. Where is the difficulty?

Devotee: Just hear the sound . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee: And then these thoughts that come in?

Prabhupāda: So everything may come, but this is the process. This is the process: chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and hear. Nothing is difficult in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. One has to execute it very seriously and sincerely, then everything is all right. Nothing is very difficult. Not at all.

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

(CC Adi 17.21)

Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and hear it. Hmm. Then everything will come. Kṛṣṇa's . . . by chanting purely without offense this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then you will understand Kṛṣṇa's form, Kṛṣṇa's quality, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Kṛṣṇa's entourage—everything that is. Vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam sarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam (CC Antya 20.12). This is the way. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Simply by chanting you'll get all success. Ihā haite sarva-siddhi haya tomāra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You'll get all siddhis. The greatest siddhi is to understand Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That's all. That's all. (laughs) If you simply admit this, that Kṛṣṇa is . . . just like Kṛṣṇa said, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). So why should you wait for bahūnāṁ janma? You accept Kṛṣṇa, "My Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are the Supreme. So, so long I was forgotten; now I accept You, I surrender unto You." Bās. Your life is perfect. Of course, it is not very easy to do that; therefore there are śāstras, sadhu, guru to take their help. But the real thing is this: accept Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Absolute Truth, and surrender unto Him—your business is finished. And stay in that position.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given so nice and easy for the fallen souls of this Kali-yuga. They cannot do anything. So-called yoga, so-called austerities, it is not possible. It is not possible.

prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya

kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ

mandāḥ sumanda-matayo

manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ

(SB 1.1.10)

It is not possible to proceed according to the ways of sacrifices—yajña—or mental speculation or yogic siddhis. Nobody can perform perfectly. And even one performs very perfectly, that is not the way to understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says personally, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). That is the only way—there is no other way. They say there are many ways, and any way we accept, that will lead you to the Absolute Truth. And that is not the fact. To understand the Absolute Truth you have to accept the absolute path—that is bhakti-yoga. And Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. If you want to understand Kṛṣṇa superficially, that is another thing. But if you want to know Kṛṣṇa as He is, then only this devotional service. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). Kṛṣṇa is revealed. He is so kind: if you simply sincerely engage in devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, then you will see Kṛṣṇa everywhere. Kṛṣṇa is everywhere.

So chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, purify your heart, which is full of dirty things: sṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Even if you do not understand anything, simply hear Hare Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's kathā, then you become pious. In this way, as you become more and more pious, you . . . your path to understanding Kṛṣṇa is cleared. And at the last moment, when you are completely pure from all contamination of sinful activities, you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service:

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ

janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām

te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā

bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

(BG 7.28)

One who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service with firm faith and devotion, it means he has already freed himself from all kinds of reactions of sinful activities. This is the test. Without being freed from all contamination of sinful activities, nobody can clinch his faith on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. If one hesitates, that means he is still sinful. That's all. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Duṣkṛtino. Duṣkṛta means sinful—he cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa. These are the plain things. (break) (end)