721207 - Lecture BG 02.01 - Ahmedabad

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

721207BG-AHMEDABAD - December 07, 1972 - 39:40 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

. . . uvāca

taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam

aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam

viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam

uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

(BG 2.1)

Madhusūdana. Kṛṣṇa is described here as Madhusūdana, the killer of the demon Madhu. Madhu-kaiṭabha-ari. So Arjuna was attacked by a demon of forgetting his duty, being too much afflicted by bodily relationship. This is our position. In this material world, we are so much attached to this bodily relationship that it is to be considered just like we are ghostly haunted. In a poetry, Prema-vivarta, it is said that:

piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya

māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya

(Prema-vivarta)

Māyā-grasta jīva. Māyā-grasta. Māyā means illusion, hallucination.

So we are, in this material world, we are all illusioned. Illusioned means accepting something as fact which is not. Something . . . just like in dream we see sometimes I am attacked with a tiger; my head is being cut off. So many things. So actually there is no tiger, my head is not being cut off, but still, I am crying—"Oh, here is a tiger, here is a tiger!" So our attachment for this world is like that. It is illusion. I am thinking that "Without me, everything will be spoiled. My presence is required," and so on, so on.

Just like sometimes our political leaders. Each and every one of them thinks that without him, the whole situation will be spoiled. Even Mahatma Gandhi, he was so attached that he would not retire from political life—unless he was killed. The attachment was so strong. But after passing away of Mahatma Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru or so many big, big leaders, the world is going on. There is a Bengali proverb that "When the king dies, it does not mean the kingdom stops." The kingdom goes on. But when, so long the leader or the person in charge remains there, he thinks that "Without me, everything will be spoiled." This is called māyā. This is called illusion.

According to Vedic system, therefore, there is forced renunciation. Nobody wants to retire from family life, but the Vedic injunction is that after one has passed fifty years, he must leave his family life. Pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. In the beginning, as a student life, he's trained up, brahmacārī, undergoing severe austerities, penances, and taking instruction from the spiritual master about the temporary existence of this material world. In this way, he's trained up very nicely. And even after training, if he appears to be attached to this material world, he's allowed to go home and marry. And some of the brahmacārīs are allowed to remain naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī, without going home and accepting a wife.

But one who cannot, he's allowed to accept wife and become a householder and remain there for twenty-five years. Because generally, the brahmacārī was going home at the age of twenty-four years, twenty-five years. So after marriage, he may get a child. So living there for twenty-five years means the child is grown up.

Then the husband and wife takes leave—not leaving for good, but vānaprastha, traveling in pilgrimages like Vṛndāvana, Prayāga. That was the system. And after two months, again he comes back and remains home for another two months. Again goes out. In this way, the whole process is how to give up attachment from this family life, from this world. And when he's trained up fully, he takes sannyāsa. That is our Vedic system.

So the attachment of this material world is very strong. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Ṛṣabhadeva: Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat (SB 5.5.8). This whole material world is an attachment of male and female. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam, sex impulse, attachment. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. And when they are married, when they are united, then it becomes a hard knot in the heart.

Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mamet. Then gradually, after being united, one becomes attached to gṛha, home, apartment, kṣetra. Formerly there was no industry, so everyone must have some land to produce food. Gṛha-kṣetra, suta, then children; āpta, friends; vitta, then money, because without money, nothing can be maintained.

Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya mohaḥ. He becomes more and more illusioned. And ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8): "Oh, this is my country. This is my family. This is my house. This is my children," so on, so on. Mama, "Mine." And "I am this person. I am this body." This is illusion.

So Arjuna appeared to be illusioned, that "How I shall fight with my brothers and grandfather on the other side?" He became so much illusioned . . . taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam (BG 2.1). He became illusioned not unnecessarily. He was very much compassionate, compassionate with his family members. Kṛpayāviṣṭam, aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam (BG 2.1). And he was crying. There was tears in his eyes. Viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam. And he was lamenting in this way: "How shall I fight?"

So Kṛṣṇa then began to speak. Kṛṣṇa saw that, "My friend, Arjuna, has become too much illusioned." So He wanted to kill the demon of illusion. Therefore He's mentioned herein as Madhusūdana. Kṛṣṇa comes. He has got two business: paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). Side by side, giving protection to His devotees, sādhu . . .

Sādhu means devotee. Devotee of Kṛṣṇa is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as sādhu. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). One who is strictly a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he is mentioned as sādhu.

Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ. He is first-class sādhu. Even if he's a gṛhastha, it doesn't matter. Generally, we understand sādhu means with saffron cloth. No. Sādhu's qualification is that he must be a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇaḥ. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇaḥ.

So now Kṛṣṇa speaks: śrī bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān. This Bhagavān means one who is full with six kinds of opulences. He's called Bhagavān.

aiśvaryasya samagrasya

vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ

jñāna-vairāgyayaś caiva

ṣaṇṇāṁ itī bhaga ganā

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47)

Bhaga. Bhagavān and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). There are other great personalities. Lord Śiva is also sometimes described as Bhagavān. Similarly, Lord Brahmā, Nārada, others are also sometimes described as Bhagavān. But real Bhagavān means Kṛṣṇa. They are Bhagavān partially.

All these things have been very much carefully analyzed by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. He has analyzed in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which we have translated into English, Nectar of Devotion, he has analyzed that Kṛṣṇa is cent percent Bhagavān. And Nārāyaṇa is ninety-four percent Bhagavān. And Lord Śiva is eighty-four percent Bhagavān.

And all other living entities, all living entities, we are, we are minutely, seventy-eight percent Bhagavān. That means when you come to the perfection of life, when you are actually in the spiritual stage, then you are . . . you have got the qualities of Bhagavān in minute quantity, but not all the qualities—eighty, seventy-eight percent. These have been very nicely analyzed in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

And the śāstra says also: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a list of all the incarnations, that "Such-and-such incarnation appears for such-and-such particular activities." In that incarnation list there is name of Lord Rāmacandra also, Lord Buddha also. Buddha's name is also there. But in the conclusive portion it is declared there, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28).

In that list, the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Balarāma is there also. But the conclusion is given by Vyāsadeva that, "Except Kṛṣṇa, all others, they are plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa or part of plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa." Aṁśa-kalāḥ. Aṁśa means direct expansion. And kalāḥ means expansion of the . . . secondary expansion. So it is concluded there that ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ. All these incarnations, they are either aṁśa or kalāḥ. But Kṛṣṇa, the name Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam: He's the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

The same thing here Vyāsadeva describes: śrī bhagavān uvāca. He's not ordinary person. Bhagavān speaking. Bhagavān means . . . what is Bhagavān? Aiśvarya. Aiśvarya means riches. Nobody can be richer than Bhagavān. We have got our ideas of richness. I may be rich, but you are richer than me, somebody is richer than you, somebody is richer than another, another, another.

You go, make proceed. When you find out the final richest person, that is Bhagavān. Aiśvaryasya sama . . . samagrasya. All riches. Not that partial. One may have one thousand, another may have one lakh, one may have one crore, but nobody can say that "I have got all the monies." No. That is not possible. But Bhagavān has all the monies.

Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya, similarly, strength, bodily strength or power. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ, and similarly, reputation. We are also reputed. But nobody can be reputed than Kṛṣṇa. Just like five thousand years ago He spoke this Bhagavad-gītā, and He's so reputed that Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā and still it is running on—not only in India, but we are traveling all over the world, there are so many editions of Bhagavad-gītā. So He's so reputed. So aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ. And beautiful, the most beautiful, Kṛṣṇa. Most attractive.

Yaśasaḥ śri . . . jñāna, knowledge. Now, Kṛṣṇa's knowledge there is no limit, still the knowledge, the book of knowledge which He has given, this Bhagavad-gītā, there is no comparison. There is no second book in the whole world which contains so full of knowledge. So jñāna.

And vairāgya also. In spite of all the property of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa doesn't care for this material world. He is busy in the spiritual world. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī. He's busy in Vṛndāvana. He has many servants. Just big man has got many secretaries, servants, they look after, similarly, in this material world, His representatives—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara—they are managing the affairs of this whole universe.

But He's enjoying in Vṛndāvana. Jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī. He has no concern. He doesn't care what is happening here. But it, it does not mean that He doesn't care, but He has no anxiety how the things are being managed.

When it is mismanaged, then sometimes Kṛṣṇa comes in His Vāsudeva form. Not the original Kṛṣṇa. Original Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana. Padam ekaṁ na gacchati. He's always in His abode.

cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-

lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam

lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.29)

He is very much adhered to His cows. Surabhīr abhipālayantam. And He's surrounded by hundreds and thousands of goddess of fortune, these gopīs. He is surrounded. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam (Bs. 5.29). We are . . . we are praying goddess of fortune to have some favor, but in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa is served by hundreds and thousands of goddess of fortune. This is Kṛṣṇa's position.

So I do not know why foolish people, they do not understand what is God. Everything is there. And He comes also, personally. Not only the God's name, address, activities and everything is there, but He comes personally also. He proves Kṛṣṇa. He proved that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Kṛṣṇa was present, He proved all these things. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ. He proved.

He had sixteen thousand wives, and each wife, a big palatial building of marble, bedecked with jewels and gardens with pārijāta flowers. These are description. Nobody can maintain sixteen thousand wives in sixteen thousand palaces. Not only that, not that if He enters in one palace, He lives with one wife, the other wives are vacant. No. He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms. And with each wife He was living comfortably. Each wife had ten children, and those children also had each ten children, grandsons. In this way, Kṛṣṇa's family was more than one crore, Yadu-vaṁśa.

So if you study from material point of view, when Kṛṣṇa was present, He proved that He's Bhagavān. And Bhagavān means not a big beard and meditation. Kṛṣṇa never became Bhagavān by meditation. He was not a manufactured God. He's God always. He's not manufactured.

When He was on the lap of His Mother Yaśodā, He was God. The Pūtanā came to kill Him, but Kṛṣṇa killed him (her). In this way, if we read the life of Kṛṣṇa, He's proved Bhagavān. And not only He proved Himself, but all others, great authorities, accepted Him Bhagavān.

There are four Vaiṣṇava ācāryas in the recent years, and one Māyāvāda ācārya, Śaṅkarācārya. Śaṅkarācārya also, although he is inclined to the impersonal feature of the Lord, but he accepted Kṛṣṇa: sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ. He accepted, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa."

Nārāyaṇaḥ avyaktāt. So other Vaiṣṇava ācāryas—Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Nimbārka, lately Lord Caitanya—all of them accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And Arjuna, he also, when he heard from Him Bhagavad-gītā, he accepted Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ śāśvatam (BG 10.12).

So Kṛṣṇa is accepted universally the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Why people are making research, "Where is God?" I do not know. Why they are uselessly taking so much hard labor to search out God? Here is God, Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān uvāca. So there is no reason, there is no, I mean to say, chance of not accepting Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Kṛṣṇa personally says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7): "There is no more superior element above Me." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). "I am the origin of everything." Aham ādir hi devānām (BG 10.2). Then . . . there are so many statements, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So anyone who is actually serious about understanding about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no difficulty.

But because we are obstinate, because we are sinful, because we are lowest of the mankind, because our knowledge has been taken away by māyā, and because we are atheist, we do not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality. Otherwise, there is no reason. Kṛṣṇa therefore describes: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Unless one is duṣkṛtina, always miscreants, full of sinful life, he cannot deny Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is preaching all over the world that, "You are all advanced in civilization and advanced in scientific knowledge and advanced in everything, but you are missing one thing—God, Kṛṣṇa. So here is God. Here is Kṛṣṇa. You try to understand Kṛṣṇa and be Kṛṣṇa conscious and make your life successful." That is our propaganda.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Indian man: May I ask you one question?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: When there is bhajana singing . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: . . . which I can understand the words . . .

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa?

Indian man: Or any bhajana of God. Then, you see, I understand language and everything. You see, if it is just like Mīrābhai and crying, tear comes from my face, and laughing, very instant laughing, laugh . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: And there is no other progress.

Prabhupāda: No, that is aṣṭa-sāttvika-vikāra (CC Antya 14.99).

Indian man: Sāttvika-vikāra.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is called vikāra, transformation of spiritual platform. Yes.

Indian man: But still there is something more, something more.

Prabhupāda: No, that is the . . . when one cries, transformed, that means he's realizing Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man: Yes, yes . . .

Prabhupāda: He's realizing like that. That is realization. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also used to do that. That is highest stage, mahā-bhāva.

Indian man: Mahā-bhāva, yes . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: So then I go in bhajana, you see, wash out everything; I feel myself that there is only soul, no body. And then you see a man who sings or who are present, you see, they are also not their body. Simply soul.

Prabhupāda: Yes, forget all material . . . yes.

Indian man: All these things. Then there is only soul.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is perfectional, liberated stage.

Indian man: Liberated stage.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: And have you explained anything about this in your Gītā, in fifteen . . . you see? These three . . .?

Prabhupāda: Gītā is just to understand what is God. And then, when you are actually engaged in God's service, these things come. That is higher stage. Gītā is the A-B-C-D of understanding God.

Indian man: So it will give you some more reflection. You see . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes. But if we accept the A-B-C-D, then we come to literature. Then we pass M.A. examination. Yes. So Gītā is the preliminary step, first step of understanding God.

Indian man: I am reading Gītā from my childhood. I like it.

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Indian man: Yes. So I think your Gītā will give me some more reflection.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I am explaining as it is. I am not interpreting. That is the . . . so it is being accepted.

Indian man: So I should read it.

Prabhupāda: Thank you.

Indian man: That's the inclination, that I should read the books.

Prabhupāda: (laughing) Very good.

Indian man: Very good.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Prabhupāda: Jaya.

(pause) Yes, let us discuss. (break)

Indian man (2): . . . the Pāṇḍavas. So if we do our work so perfect, we can't do it. Otherwise, we . . . so then I am an imperfect devotee. But the question, you see, I was wondering . . . (indistinct) . . . all the worldly duties sincerely and honestly to our capacity, pride is necessary or inevitable. "Oh, I'm a brāhmin. I'm really worshiping God." But pride is necessary that we must do in our own hand . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Yes. If your life is so made that in every step you are feeling presence of Kṛṣṇa, then it is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the first-class yoga, as it is confirmed by Kṛṣṇa:

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ

mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ

sa me yuktatamo mataḥ

(BG 6.47)

Just like these boys, they are being trained up to think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). They are . . . just like we have constructed this pandal. Our business is to preach Kṛṣṇa. So the energy employed for constructing this temple, that is also Kṛṣṇa, that energy. Somebody is doing . . . anything . . .

Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. If our activities are always dovetailed for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction, that is called vairāgya. Vairāgya. A man is engaged in business. That's all right. But if the fruit of that business is made, is meant for Kṛṣṇa, then sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). That is sva-karmaṇā.

Generally, we work for our sense gratification: "I have got this money. I must use for my sense gratification or for my relative's sense gratification or for my country's sense gratification, for my society's sense gratification." So this is materialism. But when the same thing is turned for Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification, that is spiritual.

That is the difference between prema and kāma. Kāma. It has been very simplified by Kavirāja Kṛṣṇadāsa Gosvāmī in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta: ātmendriya-prīti-vāñchā karanam 'kāma' (CC Adi 4.165). Ātmendriya-prīti. If you want to satisfy your senses, that is called kāma, lust. Kṛṣṇendriya-prīti-vāñchā dhare 'prema' nāma. The same thing, when you try to satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa, that is called prema.

So we have to divert the activities for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he, in the beginning, he denied to fight. That, our subject matter. He was crying. "No, no, I cannot fight." So apparently Arjuna was very nice gentleman that he is forgetting his claim over the kingdom, he's nonviolent, he's not willing to fight with his brothers, and he was crying so compassionate. So from materialistic point of view, he was very nice. But immediately, as we'll begin tomorrow, Kṛṣṇa says that, "Why you are thinking like anārya?" Anārya. Anārya-juṣṭam. "This kind of thinking is not for āryas, Āryans. It is for the non-Āryans." He did not . . .

And the whole Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna to make him ārya. And at the end, Kṛṣṇa inquired from Arjuna that "What is your decision?" Yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63) But Arjuna replied, kariṣye tad-vacanam. Kariṣye vacanaṁ (BG 18.73): "Now I shall fight."

And Kṛṣṇa gave him certificate, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me (BG 4.3): "You are very dear friend, and My great devotee." Now, fighting is not very good business, killing. But sometimes, by killing, one can become a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He was a warrior, fighter. His business was to fight, but he fought for Kṛṣṇa. Then he became a devotee. That is sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). He . . . Arjuna, brāhmin and kṣatriya.

Similarly, our, means sva-karma, guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Our, according to Vedic system, there are four divisions: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Not by birth, but by quality and actual activities. So there are brāhmins, there are kṣatriyas, there are vaiśyas, there are śūdras; there are brahmacārī, there are gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. So everyone should be engaged to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is the whole philosophy. Sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). "You work as brāhmin, you work as a kṣatriya, you work as a vaiśya or śūdra. It doesn't matter."

Even Kṛṣṇa has advised that, "If you . . . even if you think that, 'I am working as a vaiśya,' it is not very good, because sometimes I have to speak lie for business' sake. And brāhmin's business is very nice. No." Kṛṣṇa has advised: sa-doṣam api na tyajet (BG 18.48): "Even in your profession there are so many faults, you should not give it up. You should go on."

But the result must be given to Kṛṣṇa. That is the secret. You may work as a brāhmin, as a kṣatriya, as a businessman, as an engineer, as a doctor, as a warrior, whatever you may be. It is . . . it is never condemned. No work is condemned. Every work is dignified, provided it is meant for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Chant. (break) (end)