740803 - Lecture SB 01.05.22 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740803SB-VRNDAVAN - August 03, 1974 - 32:01 Minutes

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse, etc.) (devotees repeat)

idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā

sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ

avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito

yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam

(SB 1.5.22)

(break)

Translation: "Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry."

Devotee: Would you like the stand to be lower?

Prabhupāda: No.

idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā

sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ

avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito

yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam

(SB 1.5.22)

So this is our mission, that find out the original cause. That is scientific research. All the scientist, they are trying to find out the original cause. That is advancement of education. They are analyzing, one after another. But till now, they could not find it out. Big, big scientists have tried, but they could not . . . only theory, "This is the original cause. This is the original cause."

But we do not depend on the theories. We depend on the Vedic conclusion. We do not require to make any research. Just like ordinarily we say there are 900,000 forms of body in the water. We get it from Vedic knowledge: jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi (Padma Purāṇa). Now, the biologists, let them confirm it or deny it. Because . . . they cannot confirm it, because their knowledge is experimental. Unless they find it actually, by actual experience, that there are so many living forms within the water, they cannot say "Yes." Neither they are able to find it out. Is it not the position? First of all, if we say to the biologists that, "There are 900,000 different forms of life or species within the water," they will say: "How it is you are affirming in, so positively, without experiment, without research?" They'll say. Then we'll ask, "Then you say." That they cannot say. This is their position. They'll say: "In future." Future, there is no question. You do not know now. Admit this. So this is their position. Therefore this experimental knowledge is always imperfect. Always imperfect. It cannot be perfect, because our experience, our power of perception, advancement of knowledge, they are imperfect. They are deficiency.

Therefore, for perfect knowledge you have to approach the perfect. We accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as the perfect, and His bona fide representative is also perfect. How he is perfect? Kṛṣṇa may be perfect, one may admit, but how His bona fide representative is also perfect? So the answer is the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa, he does not say anything beyond Kṛṣṇa. That is perfect. He may be imperfect, it doesn't matter. But he is receiving knowledge from the perfect, and he's simply repeating that knowledge. That is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Yāre dekha tāre kaha . . . kaha kṛṣṇa-kathā. Yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-kathā.

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa

(CC Madhya 7.128)

You don't speak your upadeśa, your instruction. That is nonsense. What you are? That is the defect of the modern civilization. They simply want to instruct by his experience. But what is your experience? They're all imperfect. But they are persisting, "No, we cannot accept any knowledge without experiment." Is it not the position. Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Experiments . . .

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: . . . they're after.

Prabhupāda: Now, that the scientists will say: "Why we shall accept Kṛṣṇa's version as perfect?" Do they not say like that?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, they ask.

Prabhupāda: But they cannot give any perfect information, their theory. So our process is to take Kṛṣṇa . . . not only our, this is the paramparā system. All the ācāryas—Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya—they take Kṛṣṇa's version as perfect. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, therefore, that, "You do not instruct anything which is manufactured by you. Do not instruct all these . . ." Because you are imperfect. You have manufactured all your theories. They are imperfect. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says, yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). This is perfection. If you say Kṛṣṇa's upadeśa, instruction, then it is perfect. And if you say your experimental instruction, that is imperfect.

Here it is said that idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasas . . . every knowledge . . . just like here is our Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara. He has got the doctorate title. We have seen your book. It is a learned scholarship, research work. So that is nice. But he has admitted the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. So we are asking everyone that, "Whatever knowledge you have got . . ." It doesn't matter whether you are a chemist or physist or an engineer or medical man—any; there are so many—lawyer, politician. So many departmental knowledge. So one becomes doctor and expert by high research work. For the last . . . how many years you were in USA? Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I think five years.

Prabhupāda: Five years. After five years hard work and placing the theses amongst the learned scholars, they admitted, "Yes, it is very nice research work." Now they have offered him a Ph.D. So it is tapasya. Tapasya. Without tapasya, you cannot get any credit. That is not possible. If one wants to get credit immediately, without tapasya, that is bogus. Therefore it is said tapasaḥ, and śrutasya. Śrutasya means hearing from the authorities. By attending lectures of the professors, of the scientific scholars, hearing . . . or Vedic knowledge.

So anyway, everyone is getting knowledge, perfection, by tapasya, by austerity, by learned scholarship. So here it is said that . . . that these things are required for describing Kṛṣṇa. These things are required for describing Kṛṣṇa. Not only on the theory, but actually to prove that this knowledge is there, Kṛṣṇa is full of all opulences, and . . . it is said . . . jñāna, jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva śaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā. Eh? What is the beginning? Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). Kṛṣṇa means He's the full, opulent Personality of Godhead, with all riches, all reputation, all beauty, all knowledge. That you have to prove. Any department of knowledge, you have to prove that it . . . this knowledge is coming from Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

(Bs. 5.1)

That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (aside) Let him sit down properly. That is scholarship. You make research work, but . . . in the śāstra it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the original person of this departmental knowledge. Suppose you are a lawyer. So Kṛṣṇa gives the law. This is research work. Just actually Kṛṣṇa gives. What is Kṛṣṇa gives? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is law. The first giver of law is Kṛṣṇa that, "You give up all nonsense. Surrender unto Me." This is law. Then you'll understand everything. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Religion means the law given by Kṛṣṇa, or God. That is religion. Otherwise, it is not religion. That is cheating. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). This is cheating religion. If you do not follow Kṛṣṇa, that is cheating.

"Kṛṣṇa" means . . . when I say: "Kṛṣṇa," "Kṛṣṇa" means God. God is one. That is Kṛṣṇa. Others, they admit that God is one. But they do not know who is that one God. That is their defect. That is the difference between us and others. They do not know . . . just like if I say that "Have you got any father?" so he'll say: "Yes, I have got my father." "Now, who is your father?" "I do not know." That's not a very good credit. Because without father, mother, there is no existence. So everyone knows, "I have got a father." But who is my father, that I do not know. At least, in India, one who cannot say his father's name, immediately he becomes degraded.

Just like the Jābāla Satyakāma. Jābāla Satyakāma, he, he was . . . he went to Gautama Muni, "Please initiate me." And according to Vedic conclu . . . initiation is meant for the brāhmaṇa—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya. Not for the śūdras. Śūdras are not initiated. And in the Kali-yuga, because everyone is a śūdra, therefore he's first of all given training to become a brāhmaṇa. Then the sacred thread is offered. This is the process. Because actually, initiation cannot be given to anyone except a brāhmaṇa. So kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ: "In the Kali-yuga, everyone is śūdra." That is to be accepted without any disagreement. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. Because they have no saṁskāra. Asaṁskṛtāḥ kriyā-hīnā mlecchāḥ. One who is not undergone the reformatory processes, garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, upanayana-saṁskāra . . . there are ten kinds of saṁskāras, reformatory. One who has not gone, or one who is not permitted to undergo the saṁskāra, he's śūdra. Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. Everyone is born śūdra. By reformatory method he becomes twice-born—by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is the mother, and spiritual master is the father.

In this way, the Jābāla Upaniṣad . . . he was asked by his . . . by Gautama Muni, "Who is your father?" So he said that, "I do not know." "Then go to your mother. Ask him (her)." The mother could not say that, "I do not know who is your father. I have connection with so many men." So he came back to Gautama Muni, "Sir, my mother also does not know. She said that she had many connections, 'I do not who is particularly your father.' " But Gautama Muni immediately accepted him, "Yes, you are brāhmaṇa, because you are truthful. Nobody dares to say like that, that, 'I do not know my father's name. My mother said that she had many connections.' " Because he was truthful, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā, so by the quality he was accepted immediately, and he was initiated that, "You have the qualities of brāhmaṇa." A brāhmaṇa will speak truth, even to his enemy. If the enemy comes, if a rogue comes, "How much money you have got in your box?" a brāhmaṇa will say: "Sir, I have got one hundred dollars." (laughs) Just like the other day, the Customs examination in Bombay, so our Brahmānanda Mahārāja was asked, "What is the value?" "No, I have purchased it." "What is the value?" "Two hundred dollars." He did not say that, "I am using it for long time." No. "It is new. I have purchased." That's all right. Yes. But Kali-yuga is so implicated that sometimes we have to speak the untruth. But it is the business of the brāhmaṇa to speak the truth. No untruth.

So, so in this way our proposition is that if we want perfection, then in whatever position we are—either I am a brāhmaṇa, or I am a kṣatriya, or I am a vaiśya, or I am a śūdra—it doesn't matter if we simply take this vow, that Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything. A śūdra is also a . . . the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that He is the cause of the śūdras. We should not hate anyone, because everyone is born of Kṛṣṇa. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). Kṛṣṇa says. Sarva-yoniṣu. It doesn't matter in what form the living entity is there, but Kṛṣṇa claims that He is the father. He is the father. So either brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra or mleccha, yavana, or white, black, European, American—anyone—he should know that the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. This is perfection of life.

idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā

sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ

avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito

yad-uttamaśloka . . .

(SB 1.5.22)

So if everyone says that, "Original cause of my existence is Kṛṣṇa," this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It doesn't matter. Not that a brāhmaṇa . . . Brāhmaṇa is the mouth of Kṛṣṇa, and kṣatriya is the arm of Kṛṣṇa, and vaiśya is the belly of Kṛṣṇa, and śūdra is the leg of Kṛṣṇa. But do we distinguish that, "Here is Kṛṣṇa's mouth, or head; all the flowers should be offered here, not to the leg"? Do we make any such distinction? When we worship Kṛṣṇa, rather, our first duty is to offer to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa says that śūdra . . . in Bhāgavatam says śūdra is the leg. So there may be distinction of profession, occupation, caste, creed, color. It doesn't matter. But if everyone tries to become Kṛṣṇa conscious that, "The original cause of my existence is Kṛṣṇa," then there is life . . . life is perfect. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Not blindly, but by research work, that how the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8): "I am the original cause of everything. Everything emanates from Me." How can I deny that Kṛṣṇa is not cause? This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, those who are advanced devotee, he does not see anything else but Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa is the cause of everything. That is required. Therefore he's Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So we should not take anything neglectfully. Neither we should be careless to take care of Kṛṣṇa's property, Kṛṣṇa's living being, Kṛṣṇa's house, Kṛṣṇa's temple, Kṛṣṇa's business, Kṛṣṇa's . . . everything Kṛṣṇa's, Kṛṣṇa. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat (ISO 1). If we think like that, then that is perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ (BG 9.34). We may think . . . see varieties of things. It doesn't matter. But if we know that the original cause of this thing is Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection. We are seeing this table. It is wood. But if we know . . . it is a fact. You know or not know, that doesn't matter. The original cause is Kṛṣṇa. The microphone, the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. These karatālas, the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. This pitcher, original cause is Kṛṣṇa. Everything. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And it is fact. Not that we are imagining. Just like . . . take, for example, these material things. Material things, this table, it is . . . how it is caused by Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). Bhūmi, this earth . . . bhinnā prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā, "That is My energy." So, so bhūmi, the earth, is the cause of the tree, wood, and the wood is the cause of this table. Therefore, originally Kṛṣṇa is the cause of the table. There is no doubt about it. Anything you take, either you take this wood or you take this water or this ether or chemical, the original cause is Kṛṣṇa.

Now, to be ascertained, education, that why it is called Kṛṣṇa is the origin, that is research work. How it has been . . .? Just like I give you the hint of research work that . . . Kṛṣṇa says that, "The earth is My energy, separated energy." And earth is the cause of the wood. And wood is the cause of the fire. Fire is the cause of melting . . . so many, so many, you can go. So idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ . . . kavibhir nirūpitaḥ. Describe the attributes of Kṛṣṇa. You can write. Just like you can write volumes of books on this table. If you are intelligent enough, you can make research work on the table. But in that research work, conclude that Kṛṣṇa is the origin. A carpenter can . . . he can write about Kṛṣṇa if he's thoughtful. Anyone. Therefore it is said, yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam. Whatever your profession is there, you know that the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. Now make research work and find out how Kṛṣṇa is the original cause. That is education. That is wanted. Am I right?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So everyone can write books. Everyone wants to write books, wants to show some scholarship. Do it. But the conclusion should be that, "Here is the original cause." And it is already said in the śāstra . . . Kṛṣṇa personally says that:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

iti matvā bhajante māṁ

budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

(BG 10.8)

This is budhāḥ. Those who are actually educated, they're called budhāḥ, "In full knowledge."

So there are departmental knowledge. So by research work, when one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything, then that is siddhānta. Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛ says that:

siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa

ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa

(CC Adi 2.117)

Siddhānta, conclusion, try to study. Kṛṣṇa says: "I am the origin of everything." So whatever subject matter you have got, you study. Then when you come to this conclusion, "Yes, actually Kṛṣṇa is the original cause," then your devotion of Kṛṣṇa immediately increases. If you accept blindly Kṛṣṇa, that is one thing, another one thing. And if you study, make research work, and find out Kṛṣṇa is the original cause, then your love for Kṛṣṇa will increase. So this is required. This is required.

So this verse is very important thing. And everyone should make research work. But a devotee, one who has concluded, one who has perfectly known that Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything, he hasn't got to do anything. His business is finished. He doesn't require any more to go . . . undergo severe austerities to find out whether Kṛṣṇa is cause or not cause. Because he has already known. He has already known. Ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim (Nārada Pañcarātra). No more tapasya. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. But if you have got doubt, make research work. You'll have to come to the conclusion. But if you have concluded it, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything," then your business is finished. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. But if you have got doubt, then do it. That is your business. Don't be blind. Either you accept here the words of Kṛṣṇa . . . Kṛṣṇa says: "I am the original cause of everything." That's all right. If you believe that "Kṛṣṇa says," it is all right. If you do not believe, then make the research and find out. That is perfection. In both ways you'll have to come to the . . .

Because the fact is fact. Either . . . suppose somebody says: "Don't touch fire. It will burn your hand." If you accept it, your father's advice or your teacher's advice, "Don't touch fire," it is as good. And if you want to make research, "No, why shall I believe my father, my teacher? Let me experiment, touch," the result will be the same. Result will be the same. But if you want to make experiment, do it. But come to this conclusion, that Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of everything. Then your life is perfect.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) (end)