670103 - Lecture BG 10.03 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1967

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Note: This page was previously incorrectly dated 670102BG.NY - January 02, 1967

Prabhupāda:

yo mām ajam anādiṁ ca

vetti loka-maheśvaram

asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu

sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate

(BG 10.3)

Now, here is nice formula presented by Kṛṣṇa Himself, that one should understand the position of Kṛṣṇa. What is the position of Kṛṣṇa? Ajam, unborn. And anādi, without any cause. Everyone, we have got experience that we are born and we have our cause. The father is the cause of our birth. This is the distinction between myself and Kṛṣṇa. Now, if somebody poses himself that he is God, he has to prove himself that he is unborn and he is not caused. We are . . . this is very simple thing. Our practical experience is that I am born and I am caused because the father and mother is the cause. So Kṛṣṇa is not caused, neither He is born. So one has to understand this. Understanding of God, or Kṛṣṇa, is that one should be firmly convinced that God is never born, nor He is caused by anything. He is the cause of all causes. But He is not caused by anything. This is the difference.

Yo mām ajam anādiṁ ca vetti, "knows, one should know," loka-maheśvaram. And because He is not cause, therefore He is the proprietor of all manifestations. He is the proprietor. Asammūḍhaḥ. Asammūḍhaḥ means one who understands this simple philosophy, he is not illusioned. Every one of us is illusioned. This is illusion. Just like we are claiming this land as our land. "We are Americans. It is our land." "I am Indian. Oh, India is my land." This is illusion. So practically we see that how I become the owner of this land? Before my birth the land was there, and after my death the land will be there, and I do not know where I am going to take my birth. So how many times after repeated birth and death I shall go on claiming, "This is my country; this is my home," and again leave it and go another place: "This is my country; this is my home." Is it not nonsense?

If I am eternal, I am simply changing my dress, and I do not know how many times I have changed my dress during this life, and if I claim a particular dress, "Oh, this is my dress," is it not nonsense? You are changing dress always. You are changing your country, you are changing your form, and still you are claiming, "This is mine." And you are too much engrossed in this conception of life.

So one has to be disillusioned, means out of illusion. So whatever we are doing in this material conception of life, that is illusion. Therefore we cannot understand God. One who is not under the spell of illusion he can understand, asammūḍha. He can understand God. So first of all we have to understand whether we are not illusioned. Asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu. Martyeṣu, in the, among, in the human society or in the society . . . not only . . . Martyeṣu means all living entities who are conditioned, or, rather, conditioned souls. Asammūḍhaḥ. Sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate. He becomes at once freed from all . . . so if we want to become freed from all encumbrances of this material world, then we have to understand God. There is no question of neglecting. It is the prime duty.

Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, manuṣyeṣu, sahasreṣu. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). This understanding, this perfect knowledge, is possible . . . out of many, many millions of human beings or living entities, one may be enlightened. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. Martyeṣu yatamāneṣu api sahasreṣu madhye yo yadṛk ca mat-tattva-vit.

Oh, generally we are born all fools, because as soon as I take my birth, I am nourished by my parents very nicely, and I am educated in such a way that I falsely claim some land as my land, I falsely claim something which is not at all . . . but we are educated in that. This is called national education. That means to make you more foolish. That, the so-called national education, means to make you more and more foolish. I am already born foolish, and my education is given to make me more foolish. Just I am not foolish? Because I am changing my, this country, I am changing my society, I am changing my body. Still, I am claiming, "This is mine."

You have got so many "mines." You have got so many dresses. Why do you claim a particular dress as "this is yours"? Why? Don't you think that after changing so many dresses, if you are particularly situated in certain kind of nice dress, may be very nice dress, but why do you attach so much importance on that nice dress? Why don't you understand that this dress is nice. That's all ri . . . next moment I may be in a very ugly dress. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). As you are associating with the different kinds of material modes of nature, we have to change your dress. That is in the grip of material nature. You cannot say. You cannot dictate, "Oh, nature, please don't change my dress. Keep me American." No. She is not your order-supplier. She will see what dress you require. So she will examine what is your mentality. "Oh, your mentality is dog, doggish? Take this dog's dress. No more American dress." And if you have god's mentality, "Oh, take this god's dress."

This is under, in the material nature. How can we control it? You are not controller of material nature. You cannot dictate. You can dictate some of your followers, that's all. But you cannot dictate the supreme authority. That is not possible. Just like I can dictate to my students, but I cannot dictate the government. I have to obey the orders of the government, however great swamiji I may be. That is not possible. Similarly, we cannot dictate. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27).

Therefore, out of many, many fools . . . we are all fools. So it is said, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3), martyeṣu yatamāneṣu, that somebody tries to understand, "Oh, actually what I am? Am I American or Indian or Chinese or Japanese or cat or dog?" This inquiry. This is inquiry. This is really inquiry, "What I am?" So this inquiry goes on. This is called brahma-jijñāsā, this inquiry.

Now, if you inquire something, then you have to ask somebody. You cannot go on inquiring and answering yourself. That is another foolishness. If you inquire, then you have to inquire from a person who is bigger than you. Is it not? Can you inquire yourself when . . . suppose you may cross a street. You have forgotten which way to go. Then you have to inquire some police standing there or some gentleman, "Where is this way?" So similarly, this inquiry, if this inquiry comes into you, that "What I am?" then you have to go to an authority. The Vedic injunction therefore asks you, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "If you are actually seriously an inquirer, then you must go to a spiritual master."

And what is that? What is that spiritual master? Simply a red dress like this or having a big beard? No. Samit-pāṇiḥ. Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. You have to go to a person who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. You have to go. So this is the formula. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). Martyeṣu yatamāneṣu sahasreṣu madhye yo yadṛk ca mat-tattva-vit. Nobody inquires even. But if a man is fortunate to inquire, he can make progress and come to this understanding, that Kṛṣṇa is the origin, cause of all causes.

Go on inquiring. The inquiry is called philosophy. Philosophy means to inquire, research. Or say . . . you have read in the Bhagavad-gītā, jñānī jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means inquiry. Four kinds of people who are in the righteous path, whose life is regulated, who is not upstart, who follows the rules and regulation of scriptures, and higher authority, or higher principles, such person, not all . . . that is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Those who are simply addicted to, I mean to say, sinful activities, they cannot inquire. They will be in the darkness, gone, gone under some intoxication, gone. But those who are actually righteous and pious, they will have this inquiry, and they will come to God.

So sattva-saṅgī. And this inquiry, this association is made to give facility to the people that they may come and inquire about Kṛṣṇa. You see? And learn the science and apply it in our life and be happy. This is a process to make people actually happy. It is not a thing to exploit people. The exploitation is going on, but this society, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is . . . the aim of this society is to enlighten people about the science of Kṛṣṇa, or science of God, so that they can understand it rightly and apply it in the life and become happy.

You want happiness, but you do not know the way of happiness. This is the way of happiness, to understand Kṛṣṇa. What is the cause of distress? Distress is caused by sinful activities. So here it is said that sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate. If there is no sinful reaction, where is your suffering? So here it is clearly said that "One who understands Kṛṣṇa without any doubt, that He is the origin of everything, he at once becomes relieved from all reaction." Here also He says, and in the last chapter, eighteenth chapter also, the Lord says that ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: (BG 18.66) "You just come to Me, and I shall give you protection from all reactions of sinful activities."

So if He is the origin, if He is God, and if He is all-powerful, He can give you shelter. Don't . . . don't disbelieve Him. He is not a man like me. If I promise you something, it may be broken because I am not all-powerful. But here is a promise by the all-powerful.

So best thing is . . . so, sattva-saṅga. So this mentality develops by this association. Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-samvidaḥ. If you associate with Kṛṣṇa consciousness society, then the benefit will be that your dormant, I mean to say, relationship with Kṛṣṇa will be invoked. We have got, every one of us, we have got our eternal relationship with God. And the foolish people, they say that "I don't believe God." Just like an upstart son says, "I have no connection with father." How can you disconnect your father? Similarly, there is no question of disbelieving in God. It is simply foolishness, simply foolishness.

So that dormant relationship is there. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. You want to serve Kṛṣṇa, but it is now covered. You want to revoke (invoke) your relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Just like a good son, if he is not mad, he is not crazy, natural affection is there for father. Natural affection is there, father. As soon as the father, the parents, call, they go. So similarly, we have got this dormant relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Simply by the spell of illusion we are thinking that "We have no connection with God or Kṛṣṇa. Let us act independently and do all foolish things and be happy." So we are unhappy; so we are frustrated; so we are full of anxieties. This is our position.

So here it is stated that when, by good association, when we associate with persons who are in the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, in knowledge of God, in the science, if we associate, then this dormant intuition will be revived and we shall be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Atrājam ity anena pradhāna-pradhānāt cid-vargāt saṁsāra-vivargāc ca veda, veda. Now, here this ajam, that God is unborn, this indicates that He is different from this material world because in the material world we have no experience that anyone is unborn. Everyone is born. Not only everyone, everything is born. This your New York City is born. You will find some date in the history that the New York City was started four hundred years or five hundred years. So we have got, we are very much fond of history. That means finding out the date of birth of everything. So this is the nature. So "He is unborn" means that spiritual nature is not like this material nature. At once we can understand. Spiritual nature is born and . . . material nature is born, and spiritual nature is not born. This is the distinction. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is not material, He is spiritual. Because He says unborn, therefore He is not material. Immediately you have to understand.

Those foolish commentators do not understand this, that if Kṛṣṇa is unborn, then how He can become like one of us if He is unborn? Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā you will find, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Because Kṛṣṇa is before you just like an ordinary person, or not ordinary, extraordinary . . . but here in this world, even extraordinary person, he is also born. He is born. The President Johnson is born. So you are also born. Everyone. Even Brahmā is born. But He is not born.

So how can I deride on Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man? Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā I will find it is said that avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ: (BG 9.11) "Those who are fools, rascals, they think of Me as ordinary man." Yes. But He is not ordinary man. Exactly this word is used, you will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, mūḍha. Mūḍha means the fools, rascals. They think of Kṛṣṇa just like ordinary man. But He is different. He is different from everything of this world because everything of this world is born. You will trace out the history, the birth date. But you cannot.

Therefore, ajam anādi. Anādi, you cannot find out any date. Adyasya sapariṇāmena asya deha-janmasu janma-stha anādim ity anena viśeṣataḥ mukta-cid-vargāc ca veda. Anādi. Now, anādi, this word, should be very nicely analyzed. Anādi means without any cause. Now, Kṛṣṇa may be spiritual, but there are other spiritual bodies also. There are many spiritual bodies, and we are also having spiritual body, but it is now covered. But our spiritual body is also due to Kṛṣṇa. Because everything is born, everything is born. So my spiritual body is also born. It is not born exactly, but because we have no idea about the spiritual existence, therefore the cause and effect we have to take it for granted.

Just like in the fire there is always the sparks of fire. The sparks of fire are not born. It appears . . . when it is manifested, it appears just like born from the fire. But actually it is not born, it is there. It is there. You have seen fireplace, "phut!" and you see thousands of sparks at once, and again comes down. Similarly, we are not born. We are also not born. But there is difference because the sparks come out of the original fire. So we are all sparks, spiritual sparks. We come out from Kṛṣṇa. So even though we are not born, but the cause is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is different from us. Is not that logic right?

So we cannot be Kṛṣṇa. Fools claim that "I am Kṛṣṇa." How you can be Kṛṣṇa? There is difference. This is the difference. Also not different. Therefore Lord Caitanya's philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different. The same example: take it that the sparks of the fire, they are fire. They are not anything. But they are not the original fire, the sparks. They are fire. So therefore, so far the fiery qualities concerned, we are all one with God, but because we are generated from God, therefore we are different. So God is different, simultaneously one and different, actually different.

Just like father and son. The same example: father and son, different and nondifferent at the same time. Because son is born, is the expansion of the body of the father. Therefore he is nondifferent. But still, the son is not father. If the son claims in all respects that "I am as good as father," oh, that is nonsense. So this is philosophy. Adyasya sa-pariṇāmena deha . . . anādim loka-maheśvaram iti muktyādi-vargāt prakṛti-kalaṁ ca veda. And because he is declaring Himself loka-maheśvaram, loka-maheśvaram—that means He is the supreme proprietor of everything—therefore He is different from everything. He is different from everything.

Suppose I am proprietor of New York State, but still, I am different from New York State. These things are to be carefully analyzed. Those who are monists, they say, "everything one." How you can say one? How you can say one? In every step different. In every step different. This is dvaita-vāda, duality. So this philosophy of Lord Caitanya, that simultaneously one and different, that is the perfect philosophy. Nobody can say that we are completely different from God, and nobody can say we are completely one with God. We are both, one and different. These things are to be understood analytically like this, as it is explained here. This is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. If you try to understand Kṛṣṇa and your position in such nice analytical way from authoritative sources, then at once you become free from all sinful activities. This process.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness process—Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare—will help you to understand. It will cleanse your dirty things from the mind, and therefore, then you shall be able to catch up anything. To understand anything to do, one requires to be little qualified. You see? Unless such qualification . . . so this

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

If you chant always, twenty-four hours, without any payment, so it will cleanse. It will cleanse your heart so that you will be able to analyze your position, God's position, the world's position, your relationship, your activities. Then everything will be nicely clear and illuminated.

So this association is made for that purpose, and we are trying to distribute this knowledge from authoritative books like Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and as far as possible, we are using our all talents in this, and we welcome you. And take advantage, participate with us. Thank you very much. Any questions? (end)