720507 - Lecture Panca-tattva Installation - Honolulu

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720507DI-HONOLULU - May 07, 1972 - 40:04 Minutes

Prabhupāda: (chants word-for-word and devotees repeat)

. . . tat karunāya karunavah taru samāste itum'

punyāta ujvala rasam travarte priyam'

vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam'

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī

'kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye

(CC Madhya 6.254)

("Let me take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has descended in the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to teach us real knowledge, His devotional service and detachment from whatever does not foster Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He has descended because He is an ocean of transcendental mercy. Let me surrender unto His lotus feet.)

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya

prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara

śrī-vāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare

hare rāma hare rāma

rāma rāma hare hare

So:

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ.

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ

purāṇaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī

kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye

(CC Madhya 6.254)

Many devotees of Lord Caitanya have composed different verses, authorized verses. Some of them attempted on this occasion of installing the deities of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The most important verse is one . . . not one—he composed one hundred verses, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. He was a staunch logician, Māyāvādī philosopher. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu defeated him, and he become later on disciple of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and adoration, glorification of Lord Caitanya, he composed one hundred verses. He was a very learned scholar, Sanskrit scholar. So Cait . . . this was handed over to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and when He saw that all the verses were in glorification of His activities, He torn it and thrown it away. So out of that hundred verses, only two verses could be recomposed again by picking up the torn paper. (audience laughs) Don’t laugh.

So these two verses were vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga. These are very important. This bhakti-yoga is vairāgya-vidyā, educating people to become unattached to material enjoyment. Just like when we are coming here, hundreds and thousands of people, they are enjoying the beach. People are so much attached to this material enjoyment they have come here from thousands and thousands of miles away just to take the beach and enjoy the material happiness. But people are so attached—not only human beings; even others than human beings—bees, birds, everyone—the central attachment is sex. In any society that is the bondage of material conditioning. These living entities are compared by this sex attachment, priya-kunśa. Man is hankering after woman; woman is hankering after man. This is the secret of binding the living entities in this material world. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat. This whole material situation means attachment of two sexes. This is, of course, there in the spiritual world, just like Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī. But that is a different thing. That is spiritual completely. There is no material, what is it called, abominable, inebriety. Here sex enjoyment means behind that, after that sex enjoyment, there are so many botherations. So many botherations. Therefore they want to avoid the botherations by chemical method, by contraceptive method. They don't want the botheration, but they want the pleasure. But there is a place where there is no botheration, but there is pleasure.

So vairāgya-vidyā means to teach people how to become unattached to this material world. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s . . .

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī

kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye

(CC Madhya 6.254)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa when He was only twenty-four years old. He had very beautiful young wife at home, very affectionate mother, old mother, and there were nobody else to take care of them. They belonged to a very highly respected Brahmin family. The Brahmin family, they do not accumulate money and bank balance. And the lady, they can plea, "If something comes tomorrow, then we shall eat." That is brahminical culture, not that I keep something for tomorrow; even after eating, it is not finished, then I keep it in the refrigerator. No. Everything should be finished today, and tomorrow we shall see. Tomorrow we shall depend on Kṛṣṇa. That is Brāhmaṇa culture. So in this condition He left home, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Why? Anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau (CC Ādi 1.4).

There were many incarnations of Kṛṣṇa, hundreds and thousands, but this incarnation gave us something unique. Anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayā: taking compassion with the fallen souls of this age.

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau

samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam

(CC Ādi 1.4, Vidagdha-mādhava 1.2)

Here in this material world they are so much attached to sex life. So it is Caitanya Mahāprabhu who first of all opened this secret of attachment within Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa love affair, it was Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu opened. It was there in the Bhāgavatam, but other ācāryas, like Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, they propogated Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, very courteous service to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Nobody spoke about love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. This is the unnatojjvala, very highly elevated spiritual affairs. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu disclosed this. The idea is, if one is . . . becomes attracted with the loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, then he will forget the so-called sex enjoyment in this material world.

yadavadhi mama cettaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde

nava-nava-rāsa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt

tadavadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne

(Yamunācārya)

You will find that Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā the gopīs, they are simply helping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa to combine, jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī (Gītāvalī). The kuñjas in Vṛndāvana, there are nine bushes, so the gopīs are helping to attract meeting of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in those kuñjas. They are personally not interested to meet with Kṛṣṇa directly; they want to see Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa meet, and they enjoy.

So this is of course very difficult at the present moment to understand Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s contribution is that other ācāryas, the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Gaudiya Vaiṣṇavas. The Rāmānuja-sampradāya there is also got Lord Nārāyaṇa and Lakṣmī, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. They worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Madhva-sampradāya, they worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Nimbārka-sampradāya, they also worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. We Gaudiya-sampradāya, we also worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. That is the topmost spiritual realization.

So I instructed the Govinda dasi and Gaurasundara to make this Hawaii island as New Navadvīpa. Navadvīpa means nine islands, and here are five islands. Similarly, in Bengal, Bengal is very . . . there are many rivers. So mixing of the rivers, cutting of the rivers, makes islands. So there were nine. There were nine islands formerly, and all those islands were called Navadvīpa, nine islands, and there are very learned scholars, especially resided by Brahmins. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also appeared in one of the islands, which is called Antardvīpa, or Śrīdāmā Māyāpura. We are erecting our center there on a very big scale. We shall be able to go there and read and learn Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Arrangement is being made there. So that is Navadvīpa. Now here you make New Navadvīpa. Just like there is York in England, there is New York in America. New England. There are so many new—New London. So you make this New Navadvīpa, and the predominating deities of Navadvīpa is:

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya

prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara

śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Five tattvas: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; Śrī Nityānanda is immediate expansion; Śrī Gadādhara is incarnation; and Śrī Advaita is incarnation; and Gadādhara is internal energy; and Śrīvāsa is marginal energy. There is no external energy. External energy is in this material world. In the spiritual world there is no external energy; there is marginal energy and the internal energy, and the Lord. So the Lord is the predominating Deity there. Everyone is engaged in the service of the Lord. The energies, the expansions, eko bahu syāma: He has expanded Himself, the Lord, in many multiforms. Some of them are called viṣṇu-tattva. Viṣṇu-tattva is equal to the position of the Lord. Nityānanda prabhu is viṣṇu-tattva, and similarly Advaita prabhu is viṣṇu-tattva, and some, according to some opinions, he is between jīva and viṣṇu-tattva. Anyway . . . and Śrīvāsa is jīva-tattva, and śakti-tattva. So pañca-tattva, they are called pañca-tattva, the five eminent.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya

prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara

śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

So this pañca-tattva will become established here, so you take shelter of this pañca-tattva, you worship them—kīrtana. The method is very simple: saṅkīrtanaika-pitarau (Maṅgalācaraṇa). He is the father of the saṅkīrtana movement, pitī. Pitrī means father, and like in also the paternal, in Sanskrit pitrī now practically is the same word, so pitarau. These five tattvas: viṣṇu-tattva, prakāśa-tattva, avatāra-tattva, śakti-tattva. Panca-tattva. So by worshipping Panca-tattva, how the method? The method is very simple. It has become easiest for the fallen souls of this world: simply come and join in this saṅkīrtana.

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair

yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ

sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair

yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

(SB 11.5.32)

There are different incarnations in different ages. In this age this is the incarnation. What is that? Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ. The Lord appears, Kṛṣṇa Himself appears in a form where His bodily complexion is no more blackish. Akṛṣṇa, akṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is black, but this avatāra incarnation is akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means non-black. So non-black, it maybe other color also—red, white, blue, so many other colors, non-black. So that is also mentioned in the śāstra. The Lord appears in four colors: śukla-raktas tathā pītam idānīṁ kṛṣṇataṁ gataḥ.

When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared His horoscope was made, and Gargamuni said . . . formerly . . . still now in India there are many astrologers, they can speak of your past life. There is a system of astrology which is called Bhṛgu-saṁhitā. That Bhṛgu-saṁhitā will speak of your past life, your present life and your next life.

(someone laughs)

(aside) Why you are laughing? These are all serious talks, and you are laughing. There is nothing for laughing and joking. Don't laugh.

So this Gargamuni said to Nanda Mahārāja that "Your son, He formerly accepted whitish color, śukla; reddish color, rakta; śukla-raktas tathā pītam, and yellowish color and now He has accepted blackish color." So this was spoken because Kṛṣṇa is coming the rotation of four ages: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, Kali-yuga is going on. So in different ages He comes in different colors. So this pīta, yellowish color, is for Lord Caitanya. Therefore akṛṣṇa, in the Kali-yuga the incarnation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Although He is Kṛṣṇa, but tviṣā akṛṣṇa. Tviṣā means by bodily complexion, tviṣā. Tvaci, tvaci means skin, the skin complexion is non-black, kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ. And another meaning may be kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ ete. One way you can take, kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ means caste, or category. So if He comes to the category of viṣṇu-tattva, or Kṛṣṇa, but His color, complexion, is not Kṛṣṇa, not black. This is description. Or He’s Kṛṣṇa, but He Himself is always chanting Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ ete: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa Himself; He is teaching us actually that is the position. Kṛṣṇa Himself has come to teach how to love Kṛṣṇa. Because Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā says that you give up all nonsense, so-called dharma, religion.

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ

(BG 18.66)

"You just take shelter of Me." But foolish people misrepresent. The so-called Māyāvādī philosopher presented this version of Lord Kṛṣṇa, that, "You give up everything; simply surrender unto Me." They mis-present: "Why? There are other demigods. Why Kṛṣṇa should be accepted alone?" Still that propaganda is going on. Perhaps you know or may not know. I was in Japan, in . . . what is that city?

Devotees: Kobe

Prabhupāda: Kobe. There was a . . . one sannyāsi, after my speech he recommended the five kinds of demigods. This is going on. So that danger is always there, counterpropaganda. But actual philosophy is this: the religion means surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Anything else which does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, that is not religion. That is rejected in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo (SB 1.1.2): all cheating religion is rejected.

That is a fact. Religion means to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared to teach this religion, how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga. Nija-bhakti-yoga. He is teaching surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, just like we are teaching. We are . . . what we are teaching? Surrender to Kṛṣṇa. This is our mission; we have no other mission. Kṛṣṇa says: "You surrender unto to Me," and we say: "You surrender unto to Kṛṣṇa." That is religion.

Because we have to say we are servant of Kṛṣṇa; therefore we have to teach everyone to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Not that, "I am God, you surrender to me." But one who teaches this philosophy—surrender to Kṛṣṇa—he is also as good as Kṛṣṇa, because he is Kṛṣṇa’s representative. He is speaking the same thing, without any alteration, without any change. Therefore he is perfect representative of Kṛṣṇa, and perfect representative of Kṛṣṇa should be honored as good as Kṛṣṇa:

sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair

uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ

kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

(Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 7)

These are the description of the devotee. Guru is respected as good as Kṛṣṇa because he is most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa. Why? Because he is teaching everyone to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Others, they are not teaching; they are so-called gurus. They are not teaching; they are bluffing, cheating people: "I am God. You press your nose, you become God. You . . ." So many nonsense things are there. Just see. But the pure guru is he who is teaching simply, "You surrender to Kṛṣṇa." That is it. That is the pure religion.

So our system is very simple, and at the same time very hard also. It is very hard for the unfortunate, but for the fortunate it is very easy. There is no difficulty to accept this philosophy. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu came . . . (indistinct) . . . He is Kṛṣṇa Himself, but He is teaching how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam

śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me

(Śikṣāṣṭaka 7)

Caitanya Mahāprabhu is teaching, yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa, "I am thinking every moment as a yuga." A yuga calculated in twelve years. Or . . . (indistinct) . . . Kali-yuga these four yugas of hundred thousands of years. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is feeling separation,

(break) . . . yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa,

(break) "I am thinking just like a yuga, so long."Yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam: "From the eyes, torrents of rain is pouring." Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ: "I see the whole world is void." Why? Govinda-viraheṇa me: "I cannot see Govinda." This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teaching. Viraheṇa, always feeling separation of Kṛṣṇa, this is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teaching. Not that "I have got now Kṛṣṇa." No. Caitanya Mahāprabhu never said. His direct disciples, the Gosvāmīs, they simply begged separation: "Where is Kṛṣṇa?" You know that verse. Six Gosvāmīs.

he rādhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-sūno kutaḥ

śrī-govardhana-kalpa-pādapa-tale kālindī-vane kutaḥ

ghoṣantāv iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair mahā-vihvalau

vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī jīva-gopālakau

Not only Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but all His disciples. This is our process. Feeling seperation from Kṛṣṇa, and to become mad after Kṛṣṇa. This is perfection. Always feeling separation for Kṛṣṇa. Just like if you love somebody, it is very common thing when a child dies, mother becomes mad, cries like madman, madwoman, that person dies. But one who has once cried in separation for Kṛṣṇa, that crying is not stopped; that will continue.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught that way. That is that if you want to cry for Kṛṣṇa, then no more crying for this material world. Finished. If you can once learn how to cry for Kṛṣṇa, then you will no more cry for this material world. That is Vedānta. Try to feel separation for Kṛṣṇa, separation from this nonsense material world. Everyone is suffering or hankering, Either hankering . . . one who hasn’t got, he is hankering, and one who has but lost it, he is lamenting. This is the activity. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness means once you hanker after Kṛṣṇa, there will be no more lamentation. Here the lamentation is, "I could not find Kṛṣṇa," not that, "I have lost Him." First of all get Kṛṣṇa; then there is question of loss. But once you get, there is no more loss. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Once you get Kṛṣṇa, there is no more loss; you get it forever, and you enjoy with Kṛṣṇa . . . (indistinct) . . . this is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy.

So (break) Somehow or other you have come in contact with this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu we are establishing today, the auspicious day, Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya

prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara

śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

So you learn this philosophy. Every day discuss Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, specifically in this temple. Try to understand the philosophy and preach this philosophy to others who are suffering. Everyone is suffering. In this material world we suffer, but due to the illusion of māyā they are thinking that they are enjoying. That is nonsense. They are not enjoying. Nobody can enjoy in this material world. That is not possible. They are simply suffering. But illusion, due to lack of knowledge, they are accepting. Just like in the sea, it is a kind of suffering. We have to struggle with the waves, and do so much laboring, but they think they are enjoying. Actually it is laboring, but they are thinking their . . . (indistinct) . . . this is called māyā. This is called māyā. Just see, at least if somebody says, "Swamījī, you take so much money. Let us enjoy ourselves here struggling with the waves," I'm not prepared to take so much labor for taking part. And maybe I am old man, I am afraid, but I'm not prepared, even if I were young.

So this is going on. The karmīs, they are working day and night, śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇa e dina jāminī jāgi re. (Bhajahū Re Mana)

They do not care severe cold. They do not care scorching heat, eh? They do not care torrents of rain. Still they will go to office, to factory, fifty miles, sixty miles, hundred miles. I have seen in New York, they are coming from Pittsburgh, every other city. In Bombay, fifty miles, one hundred miles, three hours . . . and then . . . they are coming to the office. There is no question of "Today it is not very nice day." But still they have to come. So śīta ātapa bāta bariṣaṇa, at night, night duty, day duty. E dina jāminī jāgi re, biphale sevinu kṛpaṇa durajana, capala sukha-laba (Bhajahū Re Mana). There is the karmis are working for some affection, for family affection or dog’s affection—one who hasn’t got family, he has got a dog. So there is some affection. So śīta, and they are working so hard, but capala sukha-laba lāgi re. That happiness is very flickering.

So instead of working foolishly for sense gratification, if we work one hundred times, one-hundredth portion of that labor for Kṛṣṇa, our life will be successful. That is the teachings of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We are working so hard for sense gratification, we are never satisfied. But if one-hundredth part of this labor, if we devote for understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our life will be successful. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s teachings. Try to understand and spread it and hear it. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! (end)