730212 - Lecture Arrival - Sydney

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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730212AR-SYDNEY - February 12, 1973 - 24:04 Minutes

(kīrtana)

Prabhupāda: (prema-dvani prayers) . . . my coming to Sydney. First opportunity was to bring the Deities, and the Deities are installed . . . the Oxford Street?

Devotees: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So at that time I prayed to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa that, "I am leaving You, Sir, with these innocent boys and girls. They want to serve You, but they are not yet competent. Kindly take care of Yourself and give them intelligence so that they can serve You." So I see that Kṛṣṇa has given you good intelligence, and you have improved very much. And fortunately, therefore, the very good leader Śrīman Madhudviṣa Mahārāja will come, so each of you learn how to worship Deity, how to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in this way—ecstatic.

And go corner to corner of the Australia continent. There is good potency for this country, and everyone is suffering for want of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is a fact. So from all angles of vision—from national point of view, from religious point of view, from social welfare point of view, any point of view—Kṛṣṇa is all-perfect. You can take Kṛṣṇa from any angle of vision and there will be perfection.

So we have got books also, philosophy also, plus the sankīrtana, combined together. Sankīrtana is . . . sankīrtana as well as books, that, that is called bhagavat-mārga, and the Deity worship is called pañcarātrika-vidhi. Both of them should go parallel. One will help . . . the Deity worship will help you in the path of bhagavat-mārga, and the bhagavat-mārga will help you in the pañcarātrika-vidhi. So combine together; make progress. I am very happy that you have already made sufficient progress. But don't be satisfied that, "This is end." No. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. His service is also unlimited. Ānandāmbudhi-vardanam. This is the line; Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the line where the blissful ocean increases.

Here you have got experience, the salty ocean, it does not increase; it is decreasing. But the another ocean, ānandāmbudhi . . . ānanda means blissfulness, transcendental; ambudhi means ocean. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said:

ānandāmbudhi-vardanam

pratipadaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanam

param vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanaṁ

(CC Antya 20.12)

Sankīrtana movement is so nice that it will increase blissful life more and more, more and more. Although you are getting some impediments from the authorities, you don't mind for that. You go on with your business and nobody can check you. Kṛṣṇa is there. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is there.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally started civil disobedience. You know this story: The Kazi at that time, a Muhammadan magistrate, he issued order not to perform kīrtana. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu said: "No. This order cannot be executed." So He organized one lakh of people to join in the sankīrtana movement, and all of them went to the house of Kazi. And the Kazi was afraid that the public opinion is against him, so there was some compromise. Compromise means it was victory for Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kazi declared that, "I shall never obstruct sankīrtana movement."

So as Caitanya Mahāprabhu did, we can follow. We are not doing anything harm to the people; we are actually giving the, I mean to say, highest benediction to the human life. But there are always atheistic class of men. Even Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The only fault was that he was preaching God consciousness. So these class of men, you will find always they are existing. There was Kaṁsa. During Kṛṣṇa's time, there was Kaṁsa. There was Hiraṇyakaśipu, but then . . . Rāvaṇa.

All of them became vanquished. Nobody can check the progress of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply we have to remain very serious and sincere. There is no . . . ahaituky apratihatā (SB 1.2.6). It is apratihatā. Pratihatā means being checked. So this bhakti-mārga cannot be checked by any material impediments. It cannot be checked. Simply we have to become very serious and sincere.

So I am very glad to see that you are doing nice. The temple room is also improved in the last year. And go on, improve it. The more you improve the temple worship, the more you become improved in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The more you keep the temple cleansed, the more your heart becomes clean. The more you feed the Deity sumptuously, you also feel very satisfaction. This is the way. Kṛṣṇa, the more you serve Kṛṣṇa . . . the example is given that just like if on the real person is decorated, the reflection is also decorated. If a person is decorated nicely, and he is . . . what is called? Impression, in the mirror?

Devotee: Reflected.

Prabhupāda: Reflection. Where his reflection is also immediately decorated. Similarly, reality is Kṛṣṇa. If you serve Kṛṣṇa, then we are reflection. We are reflection. Kṛṣṇa being satisfied, immediately we become satisfied. So if you want peace, satisfaction, then you make Kṛṣṇa satisfied. That is the way. You cannot . . . just like decorate the reflection in the mirror—that is not possible. You decorate the reality, person, and the reflection in the mirror will be decorated. This is the process.

Kṛṣṇa is not hankering after your decoration, after your nice foodstuff, because He is full perfect, ātmārāma. He can create any kind of comforts, He is so powerful. But He is so kind that He comes to you in a form which you can handle to serve Him: this arcā-mūrti. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. Because you cannot see at the present moment Kṛṣṇa in spiritual identity, therefore Kṛṣṇa comes before you as stone, as wood. But He is not stone; He is not wood.

The same example I have given several times, that the post office gives you a letterbox in front of your house. But that little box is not a letter . . . an ordinary box; it is post office. It is post office actually. If you imitate a box like that, and if you put your letter, that will not go. But in that authorized box if you put your letters, it will go any part of the world. So that box, do not consider that it is ordinary box. It is the whole post office, whole postal department. But for your convenience the postal department has come before you like a small box.

Similarly Kṛṣṇa, arcā-mūrti . . . everyone knows that this mūrti is made of stone or wood or metal. But it is not that. Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful. He can take your service in any way. But the point is that because you cannot see beyond this metal and wood and stone, therefore He comes in that form, so that you can see. This is the point.

Don't be carried away by the nonsense philosophy that "These people are worshiping idol." It is not idol. It is same example: He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Always same. He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He has come to you for . . . just you can see Him. That's all. Otherwise Kṛṣṇa, ataḥśrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136)—with these blunt eyes, material eyes, you cannot see Kṛṣṇa at the present moment. So whatever you can see, Kṛṣṇa has conveniently has taken His form in that way. So you should always think that Kṛṣṇa is present here—not that wood or stone. Then you are . . .

(aside) Go on.

Directly, arcye śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matiḥ vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ (Padma Purāṇa), these are forbidden. Never think of the arcā-mūrti as wood or stone—never think of the spiritual master as ordinary human being—never think of a Vaiṣṇava as belonging to a certain caste or nation. These are things . . .

So all the Vaiṣṇavas here, it is not that, "Here is an American Vaiṣṇava, here is an African Vaiṣṇava, an Indian Vaiṣṇava." Vaiṣṇava is Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava is transcendental. Although he may be appearing in different dress, but he is servant of Kṛṣṇa. This vision should be enlightened. Then he will remain fixed up in devotional service, and certainly he shall remain successful of life in this very life. That should be our aim, that in this very life we shall make our devotional service so perfect, and we shall try to know Kṛṣṇa as far as possible, so that Kṛṣṇa says:

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma

naiti mām eti kaunteya

(BG 4.9)

After giving up this body, such devotee do not accept . . . such devotee does not accept any more material body. He comes back in a spiritual body, back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)