760420 - Lecture BG 09.02 - Melbourne

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

760420BG-MELBOURNE - April 20, 1976 - 39.34 Minutes

Prabhupāda: (leads devotees in chanting)

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ

pavitram idam uttamam

pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ

susukhaṁ kartum avyayam

(BG 9.2)

(00:57)

So this knowledge, as we have begun yesterday, that idaṁ te,

idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ

pravakṣyāmy anasūyave

jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ

yaj jñātvā mokṣyase 'śubhāt

(BG 9.1)

Very important chapter, the most confidential knowledge, guhyatamam. And it is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even those who are liberated from this material contamination, they are called mukta-jīva, liberated soul. And there are nitya-mukta. Nitya-mukta and nitya-baddha. Nitya means eternally, and mukta means liberated. And again, nitya, eternally, baddha, conditioned. So just like there are many persons in the state who have never seen what is the prison life, and there are many persons in the state, the majority of one's life is passed in the prison. Similarly, there are two nature: material nature and the spiritual nature. What we are seeing, this nature, this universe, within the material nature. Similarly, there is another spiritual nature. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20).

There is another nature. You cannot deny it. Where God's kingdom, creation, how far it is, and how widespread it is—by your imagination you cannot determine. The so-called advancement of scientific knowledge is useless in the estimation of the total creation. This creation, material creation, is one-fourth exhibition of the total creation. And the three-fourth exhibition of the total creation is the spiritual world. So there are also . . . like here we have got so many planets, and each planet is full of living entities, as this planet is full of living entities; similarly, in other planets—upper, middle, down—there are millions, millions of different types of living entities. It is a false statement that "Only on this planet there is living entities; in other planets there are no living entities." That is nonsensical. There are living entities exactly like this. Maybe the climate, the situation, little different. Just like your climate, India climate . . . even on this planet there are different climatic situations, European, American, Australian, Asian. So that is God's varieties of creation.

So we have to take knowledge from the perfect person. So what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world? In the material world we are conditioned, and in the spiritual world we are liberated. This is the difference. In material . . . what is conditioned life? Conditioned life means subjected to the rules and regulation of the material nature. That is conditioned life. Just like we have got this body. This is also a condition of the material nature. We have got different types of bodies, why? Because we are conditioned. According to our karma we have got different types of body, 8,400,000's of bodies. So liberated life means not to go under the condition of this material nature. That is liberated life. In the conditioned life there are four defects. Out of many other conditions, so far our knowledge is concerned, that is defective. Why? Because we commit mistake. Every one of us, we commit mistake, we are illusioned, our senses are imperfect, and we have a tendency to cheat. This is four defects of conditioned life. But the liberated life, they have no such conditions.

And another condition is you have to live under threefold miseries, that miserable conditions pertaining to the body and mind. Even if you are opulent externally, if you are sick, if your mind is not in proper condition, you suffer. That is called adhyātmika. And there are other miseries offered by other living entities. Just like some friend all of a sudden becomes your enemy, and he tries to inflict some injuries upon you. You are full of anxieties. This is called adhibhautika. Even there is no enmity, there are so many living entities, just like bugs, mosquitoes, other animals. They are always prepared to give us trouble. This is called adhibhautika. Adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika, which is beyond your . . . Every miserable condition is beyond your control, but especially adhidaivika: famine, pestilence, overflood, no rain, scarcity. This is called adhidaivika. So this is called conditioned life.

So if you have got perfect knowledge—that is described here that jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitam—if you have got perfect knowledge, then the result will be yaj jñātvā. If you possess that perfect knowledge, then mokṣyase aśubhāt. These conditions we don't want. That is the real fact. We don't want any miserable condition due to my mind, due to my body, or due to other living entities or natural disturbances, birth, death, old age, disease. We don't want. These are inauspicities of life. But if you have got perfect knowledge, then Kṛṣṇa says that you become liberated from all these inauspicities. That is the subject matter of this chapter.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that this knowledge is rāja-vidyā. We have got different departments of knowledge, university and institutes. But nowhere this subject matter is discussed or there is any department. There are . . . suppose medical department. What is the medical department? To give us relief from diseased condition. But there is no department which discusses how to become free from all diseases. That is not found. There is no such department. There is department how to give you relief from disease, there is department how to manufacture, I mean to, very effective medicines, but there is no department where knowledge is given that no more disease. Is there any department? Therefore this knowledge which is given by Kṛṣṇa, it is called rāja-vidyā. Rāja-vidyā means the king of knowledge. If you learn this knowledge, then you become completely freed from the conditioned stage of this material world. Therefore it is called rāja. Rāja means king, and vidyā means knowledge. Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam. And at the same time, it is the most confidential knowledge, guhyam, guhyatamam, very confidential. It is not disclosed to ordinary man. This knowledge is not meant for. Suppose we are discussing this knowledge, and when we say, "By understanding this knowledge there is no more birth, death, old age and disease," ordinary person with less brain substance, they will laugh. They will say, "Ha, how it is possible?" Therefore it is very confidential. It is not open to everyone. It is meant for selected person. If I say that "I shall give you relief from birth, death, old age and disease," you'll not believe it. Therefore it is rāja-guhyam. Guhyam means very, very confidential.

Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram. Pavitram means very pure. Because unless we are purified, we cannot be free from these four miserable conditions especially, namely birth, death, old age and disease. Birth, death, old age is meant for this body, and the body is obtained by the spirit soul. The spirit soul is pure; there is no doubt about it, because it is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or God. So God is pure. Just like gold is gold, and the fragments of gold is also gold, the same quality. But the fragments of gold sometimes becomes mixed up with dirty things. So we are in the same condition. Becoming fragments of God, we are sometimes put into this material world and we are materially contaminated. So this knowledge, rāja-vidyā, most confidential. If we can learn it, then we become pure, completely pure.

Pavitram idam uttamam. Uttamam. Ut mean udgata, transcendental, and tama means this material world, darkness. In the material world the nature is darkness. Just like at night it is darkness. This is the nature of this material world. But it is . . . there is illumination on account of the sun. So God has created the sun to give us light. Sometimes we have heard that on account of absence of the sunshine they commit suicide. In Switzerland, no? Where?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Scandinavia.

Prabhupāda: Scandinavia, they say. So the darkness is very, very disgusting. But this material world is dark. To give us little relief, Kṛṣṇa, God, has given us the sun. The day before yesterday, I think . . . yesterday, in the morning, we saw, while coming on the path, how the sun was coming through the sea nicely. Within a second the whole light came. So this is God's arrangement. Don't think that this arrangement . . . exactly in the time, six o'clock in the morning, immediately the sun comes out of the sea and gives you light. Because this material world is dark, so in order to give you relief; otherwise you'll commit suicide. God is so kind, He is giving you light. So uttamam.

So if we can go back to home, back to Godhead, there is no darkness. It is all illuminating. It is stated in the śāstra that there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, there is no . . . na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). In the spiritual world there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity or fire. That is the description. Here in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find: na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ. We cannot imagine how without sun, without moon, without electricity, without fire one can live. Yes, but there is a world like that. You do not require sunshine. You do not require. They are all illuminated. So that is uttamam. Udgata tama yasmāt, the Sanskrit word, "from which the darkness is completely eradicated." There is another Bengali verse,

kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra

yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

(CC Madhya 22.31)

The meaning is that just like . . . "Kṛṣṇa is just like sun, and māyā, illusion, is just like darkness. So as the sun being present, there is no access of darkness, similarly, if you keep Kṛṣṇa always within your heart, there is no more darkness of this material world." Kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra, yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ. The example is given: if you keep yourself always, Kṛṣṇa within your heart . . . Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. It is not that you have to create a Kṛṣṇa or God or you have to call. He is there. But due to darkness we cannot see Him. But by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), by cleanings the core of our heart, you will be able to see Kṛṣṇa within yourself. (break)

Yena mām upayānti te. The instruction is how he can come back, go back to home, back to Godhead—mokṣyase aśubhāt—being free from all inauspicity. That stage can be attained. How? Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). If you engage yourself always in His service, satata-yuktānām. Satata means always, always engaged in His service. Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam. And worshiping the Lord with prīti, love, prīti. Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam. So this is being instructed to the students who have entered this institute, how to worship the Deity. The Deity worship is there just to give chance to the devotee satatam, satata-yuktānām—always engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. From early morning, half past three, four, up to night, ten, they are engaged. That is called satata-yuktānām. Only a few hours given to them for taking rest because, after all, we have got this material body; it requires little rest. Otherwise there is no question of resting. Twenty-four hours engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

So that is possible as you become advanced. Just like the six Gosvāmīs. They attained that stage. They were not sleeping at night. Giving service. It is said, nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 2). Nidrāhāra-vijitau. This is spiritual life: the more you conquer over the necessities of this body. The our necessities, the created necessities, they are necessities of the body. The body requires to eat. The body requires rest. The body requires sex. The body requires defense. But the soul does not require. So more you become advanced in spiritual consciousness, the material necessities become minimum.

Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau (Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 6). That is possible; that is not story. There are many instances, and the more you become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, spiritual life, these necessities of life, necessities of body . . . because body is different from the spirit soul. The necessities of the body is material, and the necessities of the soul is spiritual. But unfortunately, although the spirit is there, we are so much absorbed in material consciousness we do not understand what is spirit soul. We are simply busy in taking care of the body. So this is not very good condition. This is material condition. And it is very risky if we simply . . . simply to take care of the body means creating different desires: "I shall be happy in this way. I shall be happy in this way." So nature's mercy is that as soon as you think that you will enjoy life like this, she will give you good opportunity. That means changing a body wherein you can enjoy the material facilities very easily.

I have several times given example. There are different types of bodies: animals, birds, beasts, demigods, human being, many varieties of life, 8,400,000, higher life, lower life. So those who are associating with the base qualities of material nature, they get lower life. That is natural. Just like you contaminate a kind of disease, it will become manifest in due course of time. So this is going on. But if we understand this knowledge as Kṛṣṇa is speaking, rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam, then pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. Dharma. One meaning of dharma is the basic principle of our life or the occupational duty of our life, dharma. Occupational duty of our life, that is called dharma. Generally in the English dharma is translated by the word "religion," a kind of faith. But actually dharma means the characteristic. That is real meaning of dharma: characteristic.

Just like you can understand: by the characteristic in the chemical laboratory they test different chemicals. So the heading is "characteristic." "This chemical looking such and such color. The granules are like this. The taste is like this. The reaction is like this. If you put with this, it will react like this." So many. If certain chemical complies with all the characteristic, then it is declared pure. So suppose what is the characteristic of sugar? Everyone knows: it must be sweet. Sugar and salt, both of them externally seem the same: white. But you have to understand which is sugar and which is salt by tasting. So there are different test of characteristic. If sugar becomes salty, immediately, "Oh, it is not sugar. Throw it." And if salt become sweet, you throw it. Similarly, dharma means everything has got a special characteristic. That is called dharma.

So what is our dharma, living entities? We are living entities. We may be in different forms, it doesn't matter, 8,400,000's of forms. But what is the actual business? The actual business is that every one of us giving service to others. This is our dharma. That is enunciated by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108). This is the characteristic of living entity. Living entity is meant for giving service to Kṛṣṇa. This is the characteristic. When this characteristic is not found, or lacking, that means it is diseased condition or that is material condition. Just like this finger. What is the characteristic of finger? The finger characteristic: it is the part and parcel of my body. As soon as I say, "My dear servant finger, please capture this," immediately I capture, immediately. "Oh, my dear servant finger, come on the head and give me some itching." "Yes." (laughter) So this is characteristic. If the finger, I order, "Please pick up this rasagullā." "Yes." "Give it here." "Yes." The finger cannot eat. Just try to understand. The finger, if he gets one rasagullā, nice, tasteful sweetmeat, the finger will never try to smash it and spoil it. (laughter) The fingers immediately will take. You'll find. It is psychology, even for a child. The child captures with the finger some nice sweetmeats and immediately puts in . . . why? The child could smash it and taste this rasagullā? That is not possible. Study nature. You take the very nice sweet, but you cannot . . . the fingers cannot spoil it. The process is that by nature the child knows that "If I put into the mouth, it goes to the stomach, and if it is digested, these fingers will be healthy, the eyes will be healthy, the leg will be healthy, hands will be healthy, every—all parts of the body will be healthy." This is natural.

Just like another example is given: yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ (SB 4.31.14). Just like tree. If you—tree, plant, anything—you pour water in the root, it goes, transferred to the branches, to the twigs, to the leaves, to the flower and everyone, if you put water. Yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ, prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇām. And by giving food to the stomach, then all the different parts of the body, limbs and senses, they become healthy. Similarly, sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā (SB 4.31.14). If you worship Kṛṣṇa, Acyuta, then the whole world will be satisfied because He is the root. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā,

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

iti matvā bhajante māṁ

budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

(BG 10.8)

One who understands . . . this is rāja-vidyā. He must know how to work. We are manufacturing so many ways of happy life, this "ism," that "ism," that plan, that plan. So many plans. We are seeing suggestion, so many suggestions, in the television: "This is the problem. This is the suggestion. This is problem." Full of new, new problem, new, new suggestion. But because we are lacking this rāja-vidyā, the king of knowledge, we are perplexed. But if you know that Kṛṣṇa is the root cause of everything, and if we serve Kṛṣṇa, then every problem will be solved immediately. This is called rāja-vidyā. Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam. And pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. Just like I have given the example that the different parts of the body, they are suffering from different diseases. But if you make good treatment, if you take the proper medicine and put it in the stomach, then immediately you will understand, "Yes, I am getting relief."

Or suppose you are hungry. You are . . . on account of your hunger you are feeling headache. You cannot see through your eyes properly, you cannot hear, you cannot work—so many things, problems, will arise. But as soon as you put some foodstuff, nourishing foodstuff, immediately you'll feel strength and you'll happy, happy. That is called pratyakṣa. Pratyakṣa means "directly." Avagamaṁ dharmyam. If you are hungry and if you are given very nice, nutritious, palatable food, you haven't got to take any certificate from others. You'll understand yourself, "Yes, I am now feeling strength. I am now feeling energy." This is called pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. Similarly, if you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness—that is the process—then you'll feel automatically how you are satisfied. Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam.

These boys, these American, European—they are all Western country, belong to the Western country— why they are sticking to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Because they are feeling directly happiness. There is no doubt about it. Ask any one of them. This is pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. And susukham. To execute this dharma, this transaction, it is very, very happy. Don't you see? What is their business? They are not going to the factories to work twelve hours. They are simply chanting and dancing. This is their business. And when they are hungry, they are taking very nutritious prasādam. This is called susukham. Very happy. They haven't got to work in the factory, in the mine, in the sea for extracting oil or coal. They haven't got. We have no such business. We are simply engaged in chanting, dancing and eating Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Susukham. Pratyakṣāvagamam. Practically you can perceive. And how happy it is, you can perceive. Kartum avyayam. To execute this business of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so easy and happy, and whatever you do, a little, it is your permanent asset. It will never be spoiled.

You'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā that śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo sanjāyate (BG 6.41). This is called bhakti-yoga. Suppose somebody is enjoying, but māyā is very strong. If he falls down, he could not execute the Kṛṣṇa consciousness program completely in this life . . . mostly if you simply stick, there is no difficulty. But if voluntarily we give up, that is another thing. What is the wrong there? Chant, dance and take prasādam. You haven't got to work. You haven't got to go to the field work or to the factory. Still, if you don't accept it—you fall down—so that is your choice. But even if you fall down, because for a few days you joined Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, your the resultant actions for so much time is permanent asset. Permanent asset. What is that permanent asset? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo sanjāyate. Those who have fallen from this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their next life is guaranteed a human life.

Because others, there is no guarantee. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). According to one's karma he can get the body of a dog, cat, hog or demigod. There is no guarantee that . . . Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Antara means "another." He does not say that "This body he'll get." But if one is Kṛṣṇa's devotee, then there is guarantee. What is that guarantee? Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe (BG 6.41). He'll take birth in a very rich family or in a very nice brāhmaṇa and Vaiṣṇava's family. If he gets a Vaiṣṇava's . . . birth in a Vaiṣṇava's family . . . just like we have got so many children among our gṛhastha devotees. How fine they are. They're getting Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the beginning of their life. That means in the past they advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Somehow or other they failed to complete. Now they have got again chance, again in the temple, dancing and chanting from the very beginning of life.

So this is the opportunity. So this knowledge, rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam, susukhaṁ kartum avyayam. Avyayam means in ordinary fruitive activities, whatever you do . . . suppose by karma, by material activities, fruitive activities, you become very rich man or very learned man, very good office. But everything will be finished with your death. As soon as the body is finished, all your asset finished. But if you become a devotee, your body may be finished but the soul is eternal. The soul will carry your assets of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and nature will give you another chance of taking birth in a very rich family or in a Vaiṣṇava family. To get birth in a Vaiṣṇava family is greater asset than to take birth in rich family. Rich family means there is no economic problem. But on account of richness one may fall down, but if one takes birth in a Vaiṣṇava family there is no more falldown. He makes progress further and further. In this way he is allowed again go back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! (end)