741103 - Lecture SB 03.25.03 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

741103SB-BOMBAY - November 03, 1974 - 34:50 Minutes

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

yad yad vidhatte bhagavān

svacchandātmātma-māyayā

tāni me śraddadhānasya

kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya

(SB 3.25.3)

(break)

"Therefore please precisely describe all the activities and pastimes of the Personality of Godhead, who is full of self-desire and who assumes all these activities by His internal potency."

Prabhupāda:

yad yad vidhatte bhagavān

svacchandātmātma-māyayā

tāni me śraddadhānasya

kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya

(SB 3.25.3)

So the speaker and the audience.

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ

sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

(SB 7.5.23)

These are the nine different processes of devotional service, devotional life. The beginning is śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. This is the beginning of. Śraddadhānasya. And one must be very eager or sincere to hear, śraddadhānasya. Śraddhā. Then it will be successful. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is stated:

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ

yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ

namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā

nitya-yuktā upāsate

(BG 9.14)

So we have to speak, or chant, about the holy activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is simply by if we hear . . . just like abhavad vaiyāsakiḥ kīrtane. Śrī-viṣṇoḥ śravaṇe parīkṣit (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.265). This Bhāgavatam was . . . (buzzing sound) . . . was recited by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and it was heard by Parīkṣit Mahārāja. So although there are nine processes . . . (buzzing sound) . . . śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). You hear about Kṛṣṇa—Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, the same. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of viṣṇu-tattva, and Viṣṇu is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. So when we speak of Viṣṇu, the origin of Viṣṇu is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, aham ādir hi devānām (BG 10.2): "I am the origin even of the devas." The most important devas are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. Creation, in the beginning of creation, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. From Viṣṇu, Brahmā is born; from Brahmā, Lord Śiva is born. And they take charge of the three modes of material nature. Brahmā . . . Viṣṇu takes the charge of sattva-guṇa, and the Lord Brahmā takes the charge of rajo-guṇa, and Lord Śiva takes the charge of tamo-guṇa. But in the creation, before the creation, when there was no Brahmā, no Śiva, there was Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām. The create . . . all the devas, demigods, or living entities, they are created after this cosmic manifestation is created. Therefore in the Vedas it is said: "In the beginning there was no Brahmā, no Śiva. Only Nārāyaṇa āsīt." Eko nārāyaṇa āsīt. That Nārāyaṇa is also another plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7).

So we have to learn from the śāstra that Kṛṣṇa is the origin, Bhagavān. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). All the viṣṇu-tattvas, all the incarnations, they are plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and . . . or expansion of the expansion. Thousands and thousands. Millions. Just like there are waves in the ocean and the river, similarly there are incarnation, many thousands. Śaktyāveśa-avatāra, guṇa-avatāra, svayam avatāra . . . many avatāras. They are described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So all these avatāras are svacchandātmā. There is no cares and anxiety. Just like if we organize a business or some management, we have got so many anxieties. Even he's a managing director or proprietor or the supreme person in some establishment, he has got so many anxieties. He's not very happy. Although he's sitting in his room without any disturbance, but because he has to manage, the brain is working, "How to do this? How to do that? How to manage that affair?" He's always full of anxiety. This is material nature. In the material world you cannot be without any anxiety. That is not possible. Asad-grahāt.

Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja, when he was asked by his father, "My dear boy, what best thing you have learned from your teachers? Will you explain to me?" so Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately replied, tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5): "Yes, I have learned the best thing is that these materialistic persons, who have accepted the asad-vastu . . ." Sat and asat. Sad gama asato mā: "Don't keep yourself in the asat; go to the sat." Oṁ tat sat. That is the Vedic injunction. So . . . material world means asad-vastu. Asad-vastu means not good or which will not stay. Asat. Sat means which exists, and asat means not existing. So in the material world nothing will exist. It exists for some time, temporary. The Māyāvādī philosopher says that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. We Vaiṣṇavas, we do not say mithyā, because God, or the Supreme Brahman, is truth, so there cannot be anything untruth from the truth. That is not possible. Just like if you prepare something from gold, an earring, that earring is also gold. You cannot say it is something else.

So yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1). That is the Vedic instruction. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So Supreme Absolute Truth is that from whom, or from which, everything has emanated. So if everything has emanated from the Absolute Truth, it cannot be untruth. How it can be untruth? It may be temporary. Therefore we Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we do not accept this jagat as the Māyāvādī philosopher says, jagan mithyā. No, we don't say mithyā. We say jagat is also satyam. Because the jagat has emanated from the Supreme, therefore it is not mithyā, but it is temporary. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The material nature is temporary. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It comes into existence and stays for some time. Then it is again annihilated. But it is not mithyā. We don't say mithyā. And it can be utilized for the Supreme Truth. This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. Our Vaiṣṇava philosophy is we don't take anything as mithyā. We take it as truth, but we don't use it for purpose of which is not truth.

The material purpose is not truth, but spiritual purpose is truth. Therefore anything, you use it for the ultimate truth, Absolute Truth, that is realization of truth. This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

anāsaktasya viṣayān

yathārham upayuñjataḥ

nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe

yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255)

This is the instruction given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. And on the other side:

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā

hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ

mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo

phalgu vairāgyaṁ kathyate

(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256)

Mumukṣubhiḥ. Mumukṣubhiḥ means those who are aspiring after mukti. Those who are aspiring after mukti. Because when one is disgusted with these material engagements—sadā samudvigna-dhiyām—they want to destroy this. Mithyā. But the Vaiṣṇava says that prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. Everything has got relation with the Supreme Person, or the Absolute Truth. Just like this microphone. It is made of metal. But what is metal? It is another form of earth.

So Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). It is His energy. So His energy . . . He is the source of energy. So energy, how it can be untruth? That is not untruth. We don't say that, "This metal has no connection with Kṛṣṇa." Yes, it has connection, because it is production of His own energy. So . . . just like this material world, this cosmic manifestation, is the production of the sunshine. The sun and the sunshine—you cannot say the sunshine is false and the sun is true. That is not nice philosophy. If the sun is true, then the sunshine is also true. So we don't say that this jagat mithyā. No. It may be temporary, but it is not mithyā. Therefore our Gosvāmīs, they instruct, or Kṛṣṇa also instructs, that everything belongs to Him; therefore everything should be utilized for His purpose. That is wanted.

So this creation is made, or emanation from Bhagavān, but He's svacchandātmā, He has no anxiety. If we want to create something, if we want to construct a building, creation, or anything, a factory, a machine, we have to go through so many anxieties: "How to make it successful?" But Kṛṣṇa's creation, or God's creation, is not like that. Just like see: Kṛṣṇa is standing before you. He has no anxiety. He is very pleasantly with His consort, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and enjoying playing on His flute. There is no anxiety. That is God. If God has got anxiety, then what class of God He is? No. So that anxiety-less God you'll find in Kṛṣṇa. The demigods . . . take any demigod, even Lord Brahmā, he's also anxiety. He's meditating. And Lord Śiva is dancing with his triśūla. He has got something to do, to annihilate. He has got anxiety. Goddess Kālī—(s)he's also standing with sword and so many things.

So they have got activities. Durgā, she is engaged in so many activities. But Kṛṣṇa, you'll find always svacchandātmā, always peaceful. Kṛṣṇa, when He's engaged in killing some demons, that Kṛṣṇa is different from the original Kṛṣṇa. That is Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. That is Vāsudeva. Kṛṣṇa personally does not go anywhere. Padam, padam ekaṁ na gacchati. Giving up Vṛndāvana, He does not go even step away. That is original Kṛṣṇa. And other things, other activities which are done by Kṛṣṇa, that is Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. From Kṛṣṇa: Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna. Then from, again, Saṅkarṣaṇa: Nārāyaṇa. Again, from Nārāyaṇa, the dvitīya catur-vyūha. Then Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī . . . in this way, there is system how Kṛṣṇa expands. Ekaṁ bahu syām.

Kṛṣṇa can expand Himself in many, many forms. Advaitam acyutam anādi ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). He's the ādi-puruṣa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. Brahmā says. Brahmā is not ādi-puruṣa. Brahmā says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. So Kṛṣṇa is the ādi-puruṣa. And He has got many expansions, advaitam acyutam anādi. Anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That is called anādir ādiḥ. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything. That advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. And He has expanded Himself in so many forms. We are also Kṛṣṇa's form, but we are vibhinnāṁśa. And svāṁśa and vibhinnāṁśa. The viṣṇu-tattva is bhagavat-tattva, svāṁśa, personal expansion, and we are energy expansion. We are also energy. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parā, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). So jīva, prakṛti expansion. Parā-prakṛti expansion.

So Kṛṣṇa is always svacchandātmā. He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā ātma-māyayā. Yad yad vidhatte bhagavān svacchandātmā. Whatever . . . even if He's killing a demon, there is no anxiety. That is Kṛṣṇa. Even if He's killing, He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā. That is also, I mean to say, confirmed in the Vedic language. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8; CC Madhya 13.65, purport). So He has nothing to do personally. His energies act. Then try to understand why Bhagavān is attributed with the word svacchandātmā. Because . . . just like a big man: he wants to do something, he simply says to his secretary, "This thing must be done," he does everything. And he is quite confident that, "I have told my secretary, and it will be done." So secretary is a person's śakti, energy. Similarly, if a ordinary man within this world has so much energies or secretaries to act, so just imagine, although Kṛṣṇa is Jagadīśvara, He's managing the whole universe. He's managing. There is brain. The foolish men, they say there is no brain. No, there is brain. But we do not know who is the brain. That is our foolishness. But if we take information from the śāstra, we can understand what is that brain. That brain is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā:

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

(BG 9.10)

So behind this material energy . . . material energy, just like we see there is cloud, there is thundering sound, there is rain. And from the rain, there is crops, there is food grain. Then we eat those food grains. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Then, yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ (BG 3.14). These things are already stated. Everything, the origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yajña. Yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ. Yajña means we have to satisfy the Supreme Person. That is called yajña. And this process can be executed when the human society is very regulated. Regulated means there must be division of these varṇas and āśramas. Varṇa means four varṇas: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. And four āśramas: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. They have got their respective duties. So unless the human society is divided into these eight scientific division and everyone acts according to his position, there cannot be any peace in the world. That is called varṇāśrama.

Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān, viṣṇur ārādhyate . . . (CC Madhya 8.58). The ultimate goal is to satisfy the Lord, Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). But the foolish people, they do not know their ultimate interest is how to satisfy Viṣṇu, viṣṇur ārādhyate. So when there is dharmasya glāniḥ, then Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, by His incarnation or personally, He comes. Therefore it is said, yad yad vidhatte bhagavān. But because He comes to paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8), He has no anxiety. Svacchandātmā. And He does by His own internal potency. He does not take anyone's help. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Bhagavān. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. He has got so varieties of energies that everything is done very correctly and perfectly.

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate

svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca

(CC Madhya 13.65, purport)

Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā. Everything is being done perfectly. So there are activities. Those who are impersonalists, they cannot understand. They cannot understand what is the Personality of Godhead. Nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (BG 7.13). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ, mohita. Because they are covered by the influence of three kinds of material modes of nature, one cannot understand what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). But He reveals Himself to the devotees. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55).

So our business is to understand Kṛṣṇa tattvataḥ, in truth, not superficially. Then our life is successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Not superficially. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth. Therefore here it is said that tāni me śraddadhānasya kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya. Anukīrtana means don't manufacture. Anu means following. Therefore the bhagavat-tattva, or Bhagavān, can be understood by the paramparā system. Anu. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Rājarṣayaḥ. Formerly, the kings, they were rāja, at the same time great saintly person, ṛṣi. They were not ordinary this king, Nawab Shah, engaged in drinking and dancing. No. They were all ṛṣis. All ṛṣis. Up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit they were trained up in such a way, although it was monarchy, one man's control, but that man is not ordinary man. They were called nara-deva. Nara-deva means Bhagavān in the form of a human being. A king was worshiped, therefore, because they were rājarṣi. Imaṁ rājarṣayo. Bhagavān says, Kṛṣṇa says.

Unless the kings, the government head, does not know what is the purpose of this life, what is the purpose of this material world, then how he can rule nicely? It is not possible. He has no purpose. He does not know what is the aim of life. Just like they think that eating, sitting . . . eating and sleeping and sex life and then die. They're like animal life. This is not human life. Human life must know what is the aim of life. That they do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). These foolish people, they are trying to be happy—durāśayā. Durāśayā means the hope will never be fulfilled. That is called durāśayā. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. These external . . . here is called ātma-māyayā. But there is another māyā. This māyā is external māyā, external energy. That is this material world. They are trying to be happy in this material world by adjusting material things. That is called durāśā. It will be . . . never be fulfilled.

Therefore in the history we see, there have been so many material leaders, but they died simply working hard. They could not make things very properly adjusted. There was Napoleon, there was Hitler, there was Gandhi, there was Nehru, there were so many leaders. But nobody could adjust. This is not possible. That is durāśā. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Because they do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is to understand Viṣṇu. And people are going on.

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ

durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ

andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās

te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ

(SB 7.5.31)

Andha. Andha means blind man. If one blind man is trying to lead other blind men, then what is the benefit? The leader is blind and the follower is blind. Then there will be no result. They do not know . . . īśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. They are tied. They are tied hands and legs by īśa-tantra, by the regulative principles of the nature.

So one has to learn from the śāstra.

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī

mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante

māyām etāṁ taranti te

(BG 7.14)

The prapadyante means bhakti-yoga. So the śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam is the beginning of bhakti-yoga. Therefore he says, tāni me śraddadhānasya kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya, "Just speak to us by following the paramparā system." Anu. Anu means following. Anu means always, and anu means following. Anu-gamana, anu-karaṇa. Anu-karaṇa means imitation. Anu-gamana means follower, and go. So here, anukīrtaya. First of all you must know from the authorities what is the truth. Then you speak. Don't speak nonsense. It will not help you or your followers. That is called anukīrtaya.

So one has to learn how to describe the Absolute Truth, Bhagavān—how He's acting, how He's merciful, how He is so kind to the living beings that He comes personally. He's more anxious to give us education, enlightenment what is the goal of life. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). And He leaves the literature, He leaves His devotee, He leaves His follower, the paramparā system. Take advantage of this. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for giving the whole human society this advantage of understanding what is the Absolute Truth. It is not a bogus thing. It is actually this anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya. We are not manufacturing our philosophy. There is no business. Why shall I try for . . . unnecessarily waste our energy for manufacturing? There are so many things to be learned which is already there in the Vedic literature. Just try to learn and distribute it.

That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission.

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

(CC Adi 9.41)

That is being attempted. Anyone who has taken birth in this land of Bhārata-varṣa, it is his duty to make his life successful by taking advantage of this Vedic literature. But we are not taking advantage of Vedic literature. We are going to learn technology. That is our misfortune. Technology is śilpa-karma. Just like an artistic man—that is not real education. Real education is how to solve the problem of life, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). That is education. So this education, this transcendental education, is to enlighten people how to become relieved from this entanglement of material life, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya. Haribol. (end)