670331 - Lecture BG 10.08 - San Francisco

Lectures by Date, 1967

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

670331BG-SAN FRANCISCO - March 31, 1967 - 11:52 Minutes

Prabhupāda: (sings) Govindam Adi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.30).

(devotees repeat three times)

So we have caught up the original person, Adi-puruṣa. We have found out the root of everything. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

iti matvā bhajante māṁ

budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

(BG 10.8)

Kṛṣṇa says that, "I am the origin of everything." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ. Sarvasya. Sarvasya means including all big demigods like Brahmā, Lord Śiva, even Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇu. Everything. Everybody, everything is . . . the original person is Kṛṣṇa.

Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā budhāḥ. Budha means very learned man. One who is completely wise, no, I mean to say, illusion, such a person is budha. From budh. The word root is budh-dhātu. From budh-dhātu the name Lord Buddha has come, Buddha, from that root. So anyone who is well versed, complete in wisdom, he is called budha.

And bhāva-samanvitāḥ. Budha, one must be very well versed, at the same time completely in spiritual emotion, bhāva. This bhāva is the very high platform for coming to the perfection of life. Bhāva. That is also stated in Vedic literature, what is that bhāva. Each and every word, if you try to understand scrutinizingly, they are very sublime. So one has to come to the stage of bhāva, then he can attain . . . bhāva means transcendental emotion. Then he can understand what is love of God. Budhā bhāva.

Iti matvā bhajante mām. Bhajante means one engages himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord in complete emotion. That is wanted. How that emotion is attained, that is also described by Rūpa Gosvāmī, how one can attain that stage one after another. The first stage is śraddhā. Śraddhā means faith. Faith. Ādau śraddhā. If one has got this faith, then he can develop that faith to the highest perfectional stage of transcendental emotion, bhāva, and then love of God.

So there is nothing to be depressed. All boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen who are in this meeting, they have got this faith, śraddhā. It is understood. Otherwise, why you have come here? Unless you have got little faith, you would not have come. And you are sparing your valuable time. This is the sign of faith. This is the first background. If one increases this faith, it can be developed to the highest perfectional stage, love of God.

So ādau śraddhā, how to increase. That is given direction by Rūpa Gosvāmī. This faith, ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 23.14). If you have little faith, don't try to demolish it. Try to increase it. Just like if there is little spark of fire, if you fan it, it increases. Increases. And you have several times . . . in this temple, when there is yajña performance we ignite fire. So we take a little, small piece of wood and ignite it. Then gradually it becomes blazing fire.

Similarly, this faith is just like little fire, and you have to fan it very nicely. How? Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 23.14). If you have got this faith, then don't give up this connection. Please try to come here and try to understand us. Why you should try to understand us? Because we are speaking here about God, nothing else. No business, no politics, no nonsense. Therefore you should come here. Sādhu-saṅga. This is called association with sādhu.

Who is a sādhu? If somebody says, "A man with red dress or a great beard or something . . ." There are so many conception of sādhu. But sādhu is described in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself, who is sādhu. He said, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sādhu is one who is unflinchingly engaged in loving service of the Lord. He is a sādhu. That is the test, who is a sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ.

Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāraḥ. Even though you find in some devotees some bad behavior, not standard, but because he is a devotee, he is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore he is sādhu. Even though he has got some bad habits due to his past life, it doesn't matter, because this will stop. Because he has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all nonsense habit will stop. The switch is off. As soon as one comes to Kṛṣṇa, the switch which impelled one to bad habits, that becomes off immediately.

So just like there is heat, heating, heater, electric heater. If you make the switch off, it still remains hot, but gradually the temperature comes down and it becomes cool. Similarly, if you have got faith, and if you try to engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness with association of devotee, not alone . . . alone is not possible. Therefore we have established this International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Society is required—sādhu-saṅga—just to give opportunity to persons who have got little faith to develop that faith into Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 23.14). These very nice boys, they have established this temple and very nice mūrti, Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa, offering prasādam. They are offering prasādam at noon and in the evening after kīrtana, and every Sunday. So what is the difficulty there? And you come here, chant and dance. We don't say that you make such exercise or press your nose or this or that. We simply say that "Come here, dance with us, chant with us and take prasāda." Is it very difficult? (laughter)

It is not difficult. The most easiest process of transcendental realization. And by following this process, just see our students, how they have advanced—in very quickly, within short time. You bring any so-called followers of yoga society student and try to compare with any one of our student, you'll find he is far, far advanced. We challenge. (laughter) Why? Due to the sādhu-saṅga. Sādhu-saṅga. So ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 23.14). (break) (end)