760904 - Lecture SB 01.07.05 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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760904SB-VRNDAVAN - September 04, 1976 - 18.20 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

yayā sammohito jīva

ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam

paro 'pi manute 'narthaṁ

tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate

(SB 1.7.5)

Vyāsadeva saw three things: the jīvātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead and māyā. Māyā means what is not. Mā-yā. So that māyā begins from what is not. I am not this body, but I am thinking I am this body. This is māyā. I am not this body, that's a fact. But I am thinking, "I am this body." This is māyā. This is the beginning of māyā. This is the conception of the animals, less than human beings. Nowadays even a human being, he's also thinking like that. This is anartha. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā lesson, to impress, "Arjuna, you are not this body." Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So many ways. So this is anartha. To accept this body and in bodily relationship everything, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8), this is māyā. So this is anartha. Anartha means meaningless, no artha. Artha means meaning.

So if we want to stop this anartha, misconception of life, then we have to take to bhakti-yoga. It is explained in the next verse. But for the time being we are misled. The māyā, or the material nature, is misleading us. We are trying to adjust things according to the dictation of māyā, that we shall be able to stop our struggle for existence in this way and that way. That is not possible. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). If you make some plan . . . you can make plan, but that plan will never be successful. This is the . . . by false understanding we may make hundreds and thousands of plan to be happy in this material world. That is not possible. This is therefore called sammohito, "bewildered." Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam (SB 1.7.5). Ātmānam, himself, he is thinking that he is a material product, tri-guṇa—sattva, rajas, tamo-guṇa. Somebody is thinking, "I am very good man. I am very honest man. I am very qualified man." That is also false identification. And somebody is thinking that "I can do this. I can do that. I am so powerful. Who is equal to me?" Passion. That is also māyā's dictation. And somebody is lazy, sleeping, does not understand anything—tamo-guṇa. That is also tri-guṇātmakam, within this tri-dhāma. So within this material world, either the good man or the passionate man or the ignorant man, there may be some differences, guṇo-gata, but actually every one of them is entangled by māyā.

So to come to the spiritual platform, as it is said in the next verse, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6), then you have to take bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga means directly contact the Supreme Lord, Adhokṣaja. And that has been described in many places, the process how to be in contact with the Adhokṣaja. That is called dharma. In every country, in every human society there is a conception of dharma, religion. So what is the purpose? The purpose is to contact the supreme authority, Adhokṣaja. We cannot see Adhokṣaja. Adhokṣaja means beyond our sense perception. Akṣaja. Akṣa means eyes, and akṣa means autukya. So our knowledge, our experience, experimental knowledge, everything will fail to understand the supreme controller. Therefore His name is Adhokṣaja. Still you have to understand that.

So that is recommended here:

anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād

bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje

lokasyājānato vidvāṁś

cakre sātvata-saṁhitām

(SB 1.7.6)

People do not know it, how to become transcendental to this material conception of life and how to contact the supreme controller, Adhokṣaja. That is the only way. It is recommended . . . not recommended; it is the fact. Bhakti-yogam: only by bhakti-yoga. There is no other way. So in the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). If you want to know Adhokṣaja, that is the real purpose of religion. Religion is not a type of ritualistic ceremonies. That is external. Real fact is how to contact the adhokṣaja, who is beyond our material conception. But bhakti-yoga . . . if you take to bhakti-yoga, then it is possible. Anarthopaśamam. Then anartha will be cleansed—things which are not wanted.

Our life is meant for understanding God. This is human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā. Human life is meant for this purpose. The animals, they are jijñāsā. Their jijñāsā, inquiry . . . there are many, many inquiries. And answers also. Just like we see in the newspaper so many news, unlimited number of news. But there is no news of how to understand God. There is no news. This is anartha. So lokasyājānata, they have no information. Because they are animals . . . the animal has no information, neither he has got capacity to understand what he is, what is his relationship with God, what he has to do. Sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana. The whole Vedic principles are based on these three principles. Sambandha. Sambandha means relationship. Everyone says there is God, but what is God and what is our relationship with God, that is to be understood. Sambandha. Then as soon as relationship is understood, then our real activity begins. That real activities is called bhakti, and the material activities, which is not bhakti, that is māyā. Therefore in the Bhāgavata it is said,

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ

viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ

notpādayed ratiṁ yadi

śrama eva hi kevalam

(SB 1.2.8)

You may be very religious person, executing the ritualistic ceremonies very nicely, very expertly, but if you do not know Adhokṣaja, Viṣvaksena . . . Viṣvaksena is another name of Kṛṣṇa. If you do not become anxious to understand athāto brahma jijñāsā, then all these ritualistic ceremony of religion, of different types of religion, śrama eva hi kevalam—simply waste of time. The jñānīs, they are simply trying to understand. No. You can go on understanding, but if you do not come to the understanding abhidheya . . . no. Abhidheya is acting actually. Sambandha is understanding. So if you do not come to the platform of acting, abhidheya, then simply understanding will not help you. And acting also with the aim to achieve.

So that has been explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, what is that aim: premā pum-artho mahān. That is wanted. That is wanted. You have to develop your natural love for God, Kṛṣṇa. Then it is perfect. That, therefore, anarthopaśamam. As soon as we come to the stage how to love Kṛṣṇa, then our all anarthas, misgivings, are finished. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā: lokasya. They are rascals, fools, ajānata. They do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Everyone is trying to adjust things materially, but that is not possible. Materially, whatever you do, māyā is so strong that it will break everything.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

(BG 3.27)

He does not know. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā, those who are carried by the material egotism, they cannot understand. They are thinking that by material adjustment everything will be done nicely. No. That is not possible. Therefore lokasya ajānata. These foolish persons, they do not know it. Therefore vidvān. Vidvān. Vyāsadeva is the most vidvān. He is giving vid. Vetti veda vida jñāne. Vid means knowledge; vān means one possessing. Vidvān. That is Vyāsadeva. He knows actual knowledge. So lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām (SB 1.7.6). Saṁhitām means Vedic knowledge, and sātvata means eternal, or for the devotees.

So this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for persons who want to finish this life of anartha, meaningless life. For them is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vyāsadeva has given us. We should study very carefully, and we have tried to give each and every word's meaning and the translation and the purport, consulting all the big, big ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is following the footsteps of the ācārya, he knows. He knows everything. So that is explained everywhere. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2), by the ācāryas. We don't create any meaning. Ācāryavān. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and take knowledge from him. Vidvān. Vidvān means who is following vidvān. I have given this example many times, that I may be a fool, but if I have learned from a person that this is called microphone . . . so a child, if he says, "This is microphone," that is correct. Because the child is fool, when he says, "This is microphone," that is not foolish, because he has heard it from the authorities, from his father or from his teacher, that "This is called microphone." And if he says correctly that "This is microphone," that statement is correct, although he may be a child, a fool. Similarly, ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Anyone who is following ācārya, whatever he says, it is correct, because he does not manufacture. He says what he has heard from the ācārya, exactly like the child, what he has heard from his father, from the superior, he speaks.

So that is the position of guru. Guru is respected as good as God. Why? Only for this qualification, that he does not speak anything nonsense. He speaks only what he has heard from the ācārya. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2). Ācāryopāsanam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said ācāryopāsanam. So Vyāsadeva is our ācārya; therefore we offer vyāsa-pūjā. On the birthday of guru we offer vyāsa-pūjā. Actually, it is not directly Vyāsa, but because the bona fide guru represents Vyāsadeva, his pūjā is also vyāsa-pūjā. Mad-bhakta-pūjā abhyadhikā. To worship Vyāsadeva, worship the bona fide spiritual master and worship the Lord, they are the same. Rather, Kṛṣṇa says that if you worship His bona fide representative, that worship is better than directly worshiping. Directly it is not possible to worship the Supreme Lord. One has to go through the ācārya. Therefore Vyāsadeva is the original ācārya. Lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata . . . (SB 1.7.6). He's vidvān. So we have explained many times how to become vidvān. Vidvān does not mean one has to become a big grammarian, logician. No. Vidvān means one who follows the previous ācārya who is representative of Kṛṣṇa. He is vidvān.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! (end)