740210 - Lecture BG 04.03 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740210BG-VRNDAVAN - February 10, 1974 - 16:52 Minutes

Prabhupada:

bhakto 'si me sakhā ceti

rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam

(BG 4.3)

So this verse we discussed last night, that this bhagavad-bhakti-yoga is not a new thing. It is purātanaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says, yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ (BG 4.3). So just like I was discussing now with Dr. Kapoor, our philosophy is not new: purātanaḥ—the old thing. At the present moment it is a fashion to propound a new kind of philosophy. Not only now; formerly also, as it is said in the Bhāgavatam, nāsāv munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam (CC Madhya 17.186). A muni is not a muni . . . muni means mental speculators; manansi, thoughtful muni, thoughtful also—always absorbed in thoughts. So a thoughtful man or a great saintly person is not a great saintly person if he hasn't got to propound a new theory—nāsāv munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam (CC Madhya 17.186). That is the modern philosophical way, researchment. This philosopher's contribution is up to this; and this philosopher . . . we have also such things. Just like our Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava and Rāmānujācārya Vaiṣṇava. Rāmānujācārya Vaiṣṇava, they appreciate the service of the Lord up to sakhya-rasa—viśrambha-sakhya—with awe and veneration. Śānta, dāsya, sakhya, up to this information, Rāmānujācārya. But Mādhavācārya sampradāya, they have got up to mādhurya-rasa. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu propounded this mādhurya-rasa. Therefore He is worshiped by Rūpa Gosvāmī:

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau

samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam

(CC Adi 1.4)

Unnatojjvala. Everyone has got some relationship with Kṛṣṇa, but the highest, topmost relationship is mādhurya-rasa—unnato-ujjvala. So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this mādhurya-rasa, gopīs, gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's contribution to the Vaiṣṇava philosophers or Vaiṣṇavas: mādhurya-rasa. Other ācāryas . . . we have got four ācāryas in Vaiṣṇava sampradāya. Vātsalya-rasa, I think, is Vallabhācārya; they are vātsalya-rasa, Bāla Kṛṣṇa. And Rāmānujācārya, they are up to sakhya-rasa, viśrambha-sakhya. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu gives information, ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā. The method of worship as it was done by the gopīs, vrajavadhū, that is the best. Ramyā kācid upāsanā. There is no better process of worship than the method adopted by the gopīs: always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is gone to the pasturing grounds, and the gopīs are thinking at home, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet is so soft that we feel ashamed to keep His lotus feet on our breasts. We think our breast is too hard for keeping His lotus feet. Such nice lotus feet is now wandering on ground with stone chips. How much pain He is feeling!" Thinking this, the gopīs were crying. How much their mind was absorbed in the thought of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the Gosvāmīs, they also followed: gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī (Śrī Sad-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka, verse 4). Here also in Vṛndāvana, the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas especially, they worship Kṛṣṇa in the mādhurya-rasa. Their aspiration is how to become an assistant associate of the gopīs, mādhurya-rasa.

So every devotee is associated with some rasa with Kṛṣṇa: raso vai saḥ (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7.1). The Vedic information is, "He is the reservoir of all pleasure,"raso vai saḥ. Hṛdayāni bhavanti: "If one gets that rasa, or mellows, then he becomes spiritually blissful." These are Vedic injunctions. So the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava contribution is this mādhurya-rasa. But it is not to be artificially imitated. When one becomes actually liberated, mukta-puruṣa, then he can relish, mālī hañā kare sei bīja āropaṇa (CC Madhya 19.152). It has been described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that at the present moment we have to become the gardener and water the bhakti-latā creeper. Then it grows. It grows, penetrating through the cover of the universe, reaches the spiritual world, and then it grows still more, and when the creeper catches some shelter, some other big tree . . . similarly, this bhakti-latā creeper goes up and up, and when it catches the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then it is satisfied, and the bhakta who nourished this bhakti-latā-bīja, when he goes back to home, back to Godhead, he relishes the fruit grown in that bhakti-latā-bīja. So this is the description in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in connection with Rūpa Gosvāmī.

So that bhakti-latā-bīja begins practically by understanding Bhagavad-gītā as it is. There are some so-called devotees, they jump over Bhāgavatam, especially daśama skaṇḍa, rāsa-pañcādhyāya. But that is not the process. The process is to begin bhakti-latā, bhakti-latā-bīja. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). So we have to take care of the seed. That seed is the last word of Bhagavad-gītā:

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja

(BG 18.66)

When one accepts Kṛṣṇa in the last resort, or shelter, with faith, Kṛṣṇa says:

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja

(BG 18.66)

When one accepts this philosophy that, "I have nothing to do except surrendering unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa," this is the beginning of that seed.

It has been explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta that:

śraddhā-śabde—viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya

kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya

(CC Madhya 22.62)

Śraddhā. Because if you want to advance in spiritual life, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the first stage is śraddhā. First stage is śraddhā. And what is the meaning of śraddhā? Śraddhā means "Full faith." Śraddhā-śabde—viśvāsa, full faith. What is that faith? Śraddhā-śabde—viśvāsa sudṛḍha niścaya: firm faith, not faulted. Firm faith that, "If I surrender unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then everything is done. Everything is done. I have nothing to do any more." Kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya. This is called śraddhā, beginning. Śraddhā. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15). This is the process given by the Gosvāmīs. First śraddhā—firm faith, unflinching faith that, "If I surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, if I take shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then my life is successful; everything is done."Śraddhā-śabde—viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya: without any hesitation. Why shall I take shelter of Kṛṣṇa? One big scholar says it is sophistry, that it is too much demanding. Kṛṣṇa is demanding too much. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66): "Give up everything and surrender unto Me." That is the only thing. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. He can demand like that.

So our paramparā system, as it is explained:

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam

imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ

(BG 4.2)

Our paramparā is: Kṛṣṇa says: "Surrender unto Me," and we catch up the word, we preach, "Surrender unto Kṛṣṇa." This is paramparā system. Not that I have to say that "Surrender unto me." That is rascaldom. Real kṛṣṇa-sevā is . . . because Kṛṣṇa wants everyone to surrender unto Him, so if we preach to everyone that, "Surrender to Kṛṣṇa," then it is paramparā. Then it is paramparā. Paramparā means what is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, you preach that gospel. You preach that philosophy.

So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very simple. We haven't got to manufacture anything, any philosophy, by research work. Kṛṣṇa says, yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ (BG 4.3). We have to speak the same thing. The most . . . very, very old: purātanaḥ. We haven't got to manufacture it. Nowadays we have advanced in education and civilization; therefore we have to concoct some idea. It is not our business. We have to speak the same old purātanaḥ thing. What is that purātanaḥ thing? Five thousand years ago, Kṛṣṇa says: "Surrender unto Me." So we have to preach this old gospel, "Surrender unto Kṛṣṇa. Finish your business." Kṛṣṇa says: "I am speaking that old thing which millions of years ago I spoke to sun-god." Similarly, we have to refer to Kṛṣṇa: "Five thousand years ago, Kṛṣṇa said this, let us repeat that." yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ. And who can speak this? Bhakto 'si—one who is actually devotee. Others, rascals, they interpret Bhagavad-gītā in different ways. They are not speaking the purātanaḥ; therefore they are null and void, they are rejected. Sa kāleneha yogo naṣṭaḥ (BG 4.2). One who does not speak the whole thing by the paramparā system is speaking nonsense. Take evidence from Bhagavad-gītā—sa kāleneha naṣṭaḥ (BG 4.2). Kṛṣṇa said that, "The old paramparā system, as I spoke to sun-god."

sa kāleneha mahatā

yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa

(BG 4.2)

As soon as we deviate from the paramparā system . . . paramparā system means to receive the knowledge through disciplic succession—very simple thing. But in due course of time it becomes deviated. Just like nowadays they are interpreting Bhagavad-gītā in different ways. That means kālena naṣṭā.

This is not Bhagavad-gītā. Anyone who is speaking against Kṛṣṇa, they are discovering some new meaning, ādhyātmika meaning. They say ādhyātmika meaning. Do they not say like that, ādhyātmika meaning? What is this nonsense, ādhyātmika meaning? That means kālena naṣṭaḥ. Anyone who discovers some ādhyātmika meaning of Bhagavad-gītā, according to his fertile brain, that sort of preaching of Bhagavad-gītā is naṣṭaḥ. It is not real Bhagavad-gītā. Real Bhagavad-gītā is if you speak the very old thing:

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja

(BG 18.66)

What Kṛṣṇa said five thousand years ago in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, if you speak that old thing that, "Kṛṣṇa desires that everyone surrender unto Him, so let me preach this cult", "My dear friend, please surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then you are a good preacher." Three words—"My dear friend, please surrender to Kṛṣṇa." That's all. To become a preacher in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not at all difficult. We have to speak the same thing. This is confirmed by Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

yāre dekha, tāre kaha "kṛṣṇa"-upadeśa

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

(CC Madhya 7.128)

Yāre dekha, tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa—this is guru. Guru does not mean anything extraordinary. Any damn rascal like me can become guru. You cannot question, "You are a damn rascal. How you have become guru?" Yes . . . (end)