740601 - Lecture BG 04.11 - Geneva

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740601BG-GENEVA - June 01, 1974 - 42:11 Minutes

(translated into French throughout)

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) (leads chanting of verse, etc.)

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante

tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham

mama vartmānuvartante

manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

(BG 4.11)

ye—all of them; yathā—as; mām—unto Me; prapadyante—surrender; tān—unto them; tathā—so; eva—certainly; bhajāmi—do I reward; aham—I; mama—My; vartma—path; anuvartante—do follow; manuṣyāḥ—all men; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ—in all respects.

(break)

"All of them, as they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā."

Prabhupāda:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante

tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham

mama vartmānuvartante

manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ

(BG 4.11)

We are continuing from yesterday's subject matter, how one can become purified and go back to home, back to Godhead. Here the second line of this verse is very important. It is said, mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ: "All human being is searching after Me." As we have explained yesterday, Kṛṣṇa means sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), the transcendental form of eternity, knowledge and blissfulness. In the Vedānta-sūtra, the summarized philosophy of Vedic knowledge, it is said, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: "The spirit soul by nature is jubilant." So the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is supreme living being, and we are also living being, but we are not the Supreme. Try to find out this difference. But both of us, we are of the same quality. That means jubilant. So our present position being materially contacted . . . just like a man in his healthy condition, he is happy, but in his diseased condition he is not happy, similarly, we, being part and parcel of the Supreme, we are naturally jubilant, but on account of being contacted in material nature, we are morose.

In the Upaniṣads, the Vedas, it is said that nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13): "The God is the chief of the living being. He is the chief of the persons. He is the chief of knowledge." In this way He is described. Just like we can find out amongst us, one is more intelligent, more in knowledge. In this way you search out. God means the most intelligent, the full of knowledge, full of opulence, everything full.

Now, Kṛṣṇa said in the last stanza, mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ (BG 4.10). Mad-bhāvam means "My nature." So Kṛṣṇa's nature, you will find always Kṛṣṇa, He is enjoying with His flute and His associates, His consort Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs. You will never find Kṛṣṇa in morose condition. He is in jubilation always. And because we are also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we have got the propensity to dance with young girls or enjoy the company of the young girls. That propensity is not unnatural. It is natural, jubilation, but because it is in material contact, we cannot enjoy it fully. There are so many inebrieties. Those who have seen our temple, we worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in jubilation. They are, along with the gopīs, playing the flute and many musical instruments, dancing. That is the definition given in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt, means "by nature jubilant." There is no moroseness. There is no unhappiness. That is the kingdom of God.

Now, Kṛṣṇa says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante: "According to the degree of surrender, one comes nearer and nearer." Kṛṣṇa is manifested in three features, namely, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11), means He is revealed as impersonal Brahman, as localized Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. There are three different types of transcendentalists. They are called the jñānīs, the yogīs and the bhaktas. Jñānīs means those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth in impersonal feature, brahma-jyotir. The jñānīs means those who are mental speculators, philosophers, neti neti. They are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by dint of their limited knowledge. They are called jñānīs. And the yogīs, the mystics, they are trying to find out the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart, because the Lord is situated in everyone's heart as Supersoul.

In the Vedic literature it is said that dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). "Yogīs, mystics, they are meditating and trying to find out the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Supersoul, Paramātmā, within the heart." And the bhaktas, or the devotees, they are directly contacting the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like Kṛṣṇa appeared, and the bhaktas met Him face to face. Not everyone could understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but bhaktas could understand. That is vṛndāvana-līlā, pastimes. Vṛndāvana-līlā, Kṛṣṇa manifests just to attract us that how you can meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like we are meeting in this meeting face to face, similarly, you can also meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. But you have to be qualified for that purpose.

If you want to understand Kṛṣṇa in His impersonal Brahman feature, there is risk also. I will explain that. The Brahman feature is impersonal. Just like . . . try to understand that there is sun, the sun globe, and within the sun globe there is the sun deity, and outside the sun globe there is sunshine. All of them are light. The . . . within the sun globe, there is light, and in the . . . outside the sun globe, there is light, and the sunshine is also light, but still, there are differences. Another example is: just like if you try to observe a mountain from distant place, it will appear as hazy cloud. And if you go still nearer, you will find something, greenish rock. The subject of observation is the same thing, but you are looking in different way on account of your different angle of vision. Similarly, if you actually enter the mountain, you will find there are many trees, many houses, many animals, many men. It is full of varieties. Similarly, the Absolute Truth, object of vision, is one, but according to our angle of vision, sometimes we are seeing it is hazy cloud, sometimes as greenish mountain, and when you actually in that place, you see varieties of living entities, trees and houses, everything there.

Similarly, those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by dint of his limited knowledge, they realize impersonal Brahman. Here Kṛṣṇa says, mama vartmānuvartante manuṣyāḥ (BG 4.11): everyone. "Everyone" means those who are actually seeking after God realization, they are following the same path, but on account of their distance of vision, they are realizing the Absolute Truth in different way. But all of them are beyond this material world. That I have already explained yesterday. Tapasā pūtā bahavaḥ. Tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ. Bahavo jñāna-tapasā. Bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ (BG 4.10). The process of going to the spiritual world is knowledge and austerities. That is for everyone, either he is jñānī, yogī or bhakta. But even going to the spiritual platform, there are differences according to the angle of vision.

So risk of impersonal realization is that because in the impersonal feature you cannot enjoy that blissfulness eternally, therefore sometimes—not sometimes; mostly—they come back again into the material world. Because by nature we are jubilant, in the impersonal feature of brahma-jyotir, we cannot enjoy life. Therefore again we come back to this material enjoyment. Just like by an aeroplane, you want to go higher and higher, but if you don't get the shelter, a shelter in another planet, you will have to come back again to this planet. It is stated in the Vedic literature . . . (baby crying) (pause) Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32): "Unless you become elevated to the position of serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, simply by impersonal Brahman realization you cannot become happy. Therefore for enjoyment . . ." enjoyment means varieties, the varieties of enjoyment, "you come down again to the material world."

We have seen it practically. Many big, big sannyāsīs and transcendentalists, they give up this world as mithyā, or false, and take to sannyāsa, but after some time, again they come back to this material world for executing philanthropic activities like opening hospitals or opening schools and other philanthropic activities. It so happens because they cannot fully realize the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Person, they again come to these material persons. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā you will find, Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19), which means, "After many, many births, the jñānīs after speculative knowledge, when actually they come to the platform of knowledge, they surrender unto Me or they understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

The next line is, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). One who can understand Kṛṣṇa, whose another name is Vāsudeva—so He is everything, He is the origin of everything—one who can understand, he is supposed to be mahātmā, the liberated soul, or the great soul, mahātmā. Mahā means great; atmā means soul. But sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ: it is very difficult to find out such mahātmā. So the Kṛṣṇa devotees who are engaged in these missionary activities, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they are not ordinary persons. They are mahātmā, but very rarely to be found. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. So although everyone is searching after Kṛṣṇa, either in impersonal Brahman or localized Paramātmā, the person who has understood Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, he is the greatest, I mean to say, successful man within this world.

In another place Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Kṛṣṇa never says that "By mental speculation or yogic mystic practice, one can understand the Supreme Lord." Never says that. It is clearly said that bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Tattvataḥ means in truth. To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, that requires bhakti or bhakti-yoga, not the jñāna-yoga or karma-yoga, haṭha-yoga or any other yoga system. By other yoga system like jñāna-yoga, karma-yoga, haṭha-yoga, you can understand Kṛṣṇa partially. As I have explained, that somebody is seeing the mountain as hazy cloud, and somebody is seeing as greenish something, and somebody is seeing actually the mountain with all varieties, so without bhakti-yoga realization of the Absolute Truth is partial. In another place Kṛṣṇa says:

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ

mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ

sa me yuktatamo mataḥ

(BG 6.47)

He clearly says that, "Out of the many varieties of yogīs, one yogī, or the bhakti-yogī, who is always thinking of Me within his heart, he is first class."

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching everyone to become the first-class yogī. This movement is giving everyone the chance of chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which means always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. As soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and if you hear—the chanting process is you chant and hear—then immediately you become in the samādhi state, absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. This is not our manufactured way. It is all authorized by the Vedic scripture.

Therefore our request is that if you want to become first-class yogī according to the authorized statement of Vedas, then you take to this mahā-mantra, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The chanting, the purpose of chanting is that it is addressing, Hare. Hare means addressing the energy of Kṛṣṇa. The energy is called Harā. Kṛṣṇa is called Hari, and His energy is called Harā, or Rādhā. Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā, or Hari, Harā. So the form of addressing is Hare. Those who know Sanskrit, there is . . . the example is just like latā. Latā word, the note of address is late. Similarly, Harā is the word, and the note of address is Hare. So the request is, "O the energy of Kṛṣṇa, O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please accept me in Your service." Without going through the energy of Kṛṣṇa, nobody can approach Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). Those who are mahātmās, actually, after many, many lives' cultivation of knowledge, when one becomes fully cognizant of Kṛṣṇa's position, he surrenders. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. So that is also explained, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13): "Those who are mahātmā, they have taken shelter of the superior energy, daivīṁ prakṛtim."

Therefore we worship Kṛṣṇa not alone—Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī. You have seen the picture. Kṛṣṇa is standing with Rādhārāṇī. So that is full realization of the Absolute Truth. Without energy, simply energetic Kṛṣṇa, that is not full realization. So all the Vaiṣṇavas, they worship the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead with the energy. Just like there are many devotees, Sītā-Rāma. They worship Mother Sītā and Rāma. There are other Vaiṣṇavas who worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and Nārāyaṇa. In this way, we Gauḍīya-Vaiṣṇavas, we worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So in this way the process of approaching the Absolute Truth is one straight line, but it is a matter of progress. One who has progressed hundred steps, another has progressed thousand steps, another has progressed many other more steps, but the aim is the same: Kṛṣṇa. Anyone . . . anyone in transcendental line, they are aiming at Kṛṣṇa. This can be understood in another way: Just like every one of us, we love our body. Or I love your body. But what is the reason? The reason is because the spirit soul is there. Nobody loves a body, either his own body or other's body, when it is dead. Therefore the conclusion is that each, every one of us, we love our body because I, the spirit soul, is there. Therefore the conclusion is that I love myself, or yourself, the spirit soul. Then the next question will be, "Then why one should love the spirit soul?" The spirit soul is loved because it is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore ultimate goal is Kṛṣṇa. We do not know that. Therefore we sometimes love the body or sometimes love the mind or sometimes love the soul, or in this way, but the ultimate aim is to love Kṛṣṇa. That is our natural instinct. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said:

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti sādhya kabhu naya

śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

(CC Madhya 22.107)

The meaning is, that our love for Kṛṣṇa is eternal . . . (break) (end)