710726 - Lecture BS - New York

Lectures by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

710726BS-NEW YORK - July 26, 1971 - 16:22 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Govinda means who gives pleasure to the cows, who gives pleasure to the senses. He's Govinda. Go means . . . another meaning is "earth." So He gives pleasure.

Kṛṣṇa is all pleasure potency. And ādi-puruṣa. Ādi-puruṣam, original person.

(crashing sound) What is that? (pause)

Ādi-puruṣa, original person. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1).

(aside:) Why don't you sit down? Sit down. Ādi, original; puruṣa, person.

The origin . . . unless the origin of everything is a person, how so many persons are coming? Every one of us, all living entities, either man or animal or demigod, even trees, plants, they're all person. Everyone, individual person. So if every living entity is a person, how the original of, origin of everything can be imperson?

The origin must be person. Therefore ādi-puruṣam. The origin, original, or origin of everything, janmādy asya yataḥ, Absolute Truth, is that from whom or from which everything is emanating. So everything is a person, individual. So origin must be person. Ādi-puruṣam.

Therefore Brahmā . . . this Brahma-saṁhitā is made by Brahmā. He's the original creature within this universe. He's recommending that "My origin is also a person." Ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi: "I worship that original person." Therefore the origin of everything, the Absolute, the summum bonum, cannot be imperson. What is the reason?

Where is the experience that from imperson a person comes? There is no such instance within our experience. From person, a person comes. My father is a person, so I am a person. His father is a person, therefore my father is a person. Go on searching, you will find the origin in person. Try to understand this philosophy.

The whole world is impersonal. They do not know anything, of course, but they have got an impersonal philosophy. How the impersonal philosophy can stand? Every individual entity is person—so therefore origin must be a person, ādi-puruṣam. And it is recommended by the authority, Brahmā. Brahmā is the original creature within this universe.

We, we do not know what is beyond this universe, but within this universe, he's the first creature. He's also known as ādi kavi. Ādi-kavaye. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you have read: tene hṛdā ādi-kavaye. Ādi-kavi means the original learned person. Brahmā is the learned person.

Darwin's theory is that origin is void. That is nonsense. The origin also, even within this universe, is a learned person. Ādi-kavi. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. So ādi-kavi is person. Ādi means original learned person, learned creature, he's person. And his origin, also person.

Brahmā's description is there. (pause) I forget that verse now. The purport of that verse is that Brahmā, the first creature, he's also receiving knowledge from the ādi person, ādi person, or original person. Tene. That is described in Bhāgavatam. Brahma . . . Brahma means jñāna, knowledge.

Brahma-jñāna. Tene brahma. People may doubt how Brahmā can learn. "He's the original creature. Where is the other person? A spiritual master is also person. So if he was initiated, where is the another person?" Therefore in the Bhāgavata it is stated hṛdā, from within, from the heart.

God is situated in everyone's heart. So at that time, although Brahmā is the first creature and there was no other person, but the other person, ādi-puruṣa, is there, within the heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, is situated in everyone's heart. Therefore it is said hṛdā. Sometimes we get education, instruction from hṛdā.

That hṛdā, Kṛṣṇa, sitting in everyone's heart, instructs everyone. But those who are not devotee, they cannot understand what is the dictation. They deny. But those who are devotees, they can understand that, "Here is the dictation from the Lord." Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam.

So therefore to hear from the Lord which is situated within our heart, that requires a qualification, a certain stage. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam: "I give instruction to them." To whom? Not all. Of course, He's giving all. But to a devotee, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10):

"Those who are twenty-four hours, constantly engaged in My service." Satata. Satata means twenty-four hours. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām: engaged. Those who are engaged twenty-four hours, bhajatām. How engaged? Bhajatām: in devotional service.

How devotional service can be done? Prīti-pūrvakam, in love. They must enjoy. Here is an opportunity of serving Kṛṣṇa. The more they engage into service, the more they become pleased. That is spiritual service. There is no retirement. Material service, you'll get tired, fatigued, "Oh, I have worked so much now." In the spiritual service you'll get more energy, "Let me serve more, serve more." To such devotees, the Lord, sitting in the heart, gives instruction, "Do like this," so that he'll very soon come to Him. "Do like this."

And to the others? Yes, others also He gives instruction. What instruction? "You wanted to do this. Do it now. Here is the opportunity. You wanted to steal? All right. Here is the opportunity. Steal." Because everyone's heart, Kṛṣṇa is there. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15), in the Fifteenth Chapter: "I am situated in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "From Me, there is remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." Forgetfulness is also coming from Him.

So this is going on. Therefore the ādi-puruṣa—Kṛṣṇa is ādi-puruṣa—He's a person. But because He's not a person like us, therefore ordinary person cannot understand God can be person.

He thinks that, "God must be a person like me." His limited knowledge, speculator, poor fund of knowledge, he thinks that, "God must be like me." Therefore in some of the scripture He's denied personality, because this rascals think that, "God is a person like me." Therefore it is said: "Not person".

When it is said God is not person, that means He's not a person like you. He's not a rascal like you. That is description. When it is negatively described that He's not a person, that means He's not a person like you. But He's a person, he is a different person. Sac-cid-ānanda vigraha. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1).

His person is eternal. He does not die. We die. He's full of bliss. Our this body, is not full of bliss, full of miseries. So how God can be a person like you? Therefore sometimes He is described as imperson. Otherwise, God is a person. He's a person like us, and He's the original person. Govindam ādi-puruṣam tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.

So those who are in poor fund of knowledge, they can understand that the Absolute Truth is a person. Therefore we have to take lessons from Brahmā, the supreme poet, or learned person, who is the original person. And he says: govindam, govinda ādi-puruṣam. And he says, tam ahaṁ bhajāmi: "I worship."

So we are Brahma-sampradāya—our disciplic succession from Brahmā. Therefore we shall accept Brahmā's statement, and we worship ādi-puruṣam, Govindam. We may not know that ādi-puruṣa, but we follow the footsteps of ācāryas. Brahmā says this. Brahmā's disciple, Nārada, says like that.

Nārada's disciple Vyāsa says like that. Vyāsa's disciple, Madhvācārya, says like that. In this way . . . Īśvara Purī says like that. His disciple, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, says like that. His disciple, Gosvāmīs, ṣaḍ-gosvāmīs, they say like that. In this way, we receive knowledge by paramparā, by step by step in the disciplic succession. Therefore our knowledge is perfect.

Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)