731213 - Lecture SB 01.15.35 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

731213SB.LA - December 13, 1973 - 37:38 Minutes

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

yathā matsyādi-rūpāṇi

dhatte jahyād yathā naṭaḥ

bhū-bhāraḥ kṣapito yena

jahau tac ca kalevaram

(SB 1.15.35)

(break)

. . . matsya-ādi—incarnation as a fish, etc.; rūpāṇi—forms; dhatte—eternally accepts; jahyāt—apparently relinquishes; yathā—exactly like; naṭaḥ—magician; bhū-bhāraḥ—burden of the world; kṣapitaḥ—relieved; yena—by which; jahau—let go; tat—that; ca—also; kalevaram—body.

Translation: "The Supreme Lord relinquished the body which He manifested to diminish the burden of the world. Just like a magician, He relinquishes one body to accept different ones, like the fish incarnation, etc."

Prabhupāda:

rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan

nānāvatāram akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu

kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.39)

Govindam. Govinda is ādi-puruṣa. So ādi-puruṣa means the original person. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said by Kṛṣṇa Himself, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7), "I am the Supreme Person." Now there are different forms of God, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). There are different incarnations. Just like īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). That Kṛṣṇa, He is staying in everyone's heart. This is also another incarnation, antaryāmī, Supersoul incarnation. So just imagine how many, anantyāya kalpate. These living entities are unlimited, so this incarnation, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām, the Lord in everyone's heart is staying. So how many you cannot count; there is no question. Not only that; it is said that aṇḍāntara-stham, He is staying as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu within this universe.

We should always remember that without spirit soul there cannot be any material development. That is practical. Just like the seed, the living soul, for changing his body he is put into the semina of a male. karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). This is the process of changing body. Daiva-netreṇa. This is being how you have to change your body. That is not under your control. After your death you are unconscious. Just like when you are on a surgical operational table you are completely under the surgeon. He puts you on the table, you unconscious, and he is operating as he likes. You don't protest.

Similarly, we have got three condition. This is awakened stage we are talking, but at night we dream. That is called svapna stage, dreaming stage. And there is another stage, when you don't dream; you are simply unconsciousness. If somebody has gone surgical operation he might have the experience that completely unconscious. So then dream comes. When you come to consciousness from unconsciousness, you come to dreaming condition. From dreaming condition you come to this awakened stage. Similarly, you go from this awakened stage to dreaming condition and from dreaming condition to unconscious stage.

So as in the unconscious stage surgical operation takes place, you have no hand in it, you simply do not know what is happening, similarly, you are creating a condition of next life by your karma. Just like a clerk in a big establishment, he is creating situation by his work whether he will be promoted to a higher official position or he'll be degraded or he'll be rusticated. He is creating. Similarly, we are creating our next life. This life is a chance for creating next life. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You have to change your body. But that depends on your work. It is not the . . . na kaśyacit siddhati karma. This karma is not created by Kṛṣṇa, or God. You create your karma. You like this. Somebody wants to come here and somebody does not want to come. That independence is there. That independence is . . . otherwise, there are millions of people here in Los Angeles. Who is coming here? Nobody, they are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So this is the position. You create a situation of your own. Just like when the surgical operation, you have got a boil, and then you are . . . you have created by contamination, and the surgeon is simply operating. He has not created that situation. Similarly, your transference to another body is not God's creation, it is your creation. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Those who have read Bhagavad-gītā, you have seen. Why one is born in low-grade family, one is born high-grade family, one is born animal, one is born human being, one is born as demigod? Why? What is the cause? Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. Kāraṇam. The cause is as he has infected the modes of material nature. The material nature is going on in three modes: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. It is up to you if you associate with tamo-guṇa, then you become next life animal or tree or fish. There are so many degraded condition. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are in the darkness modes of material nature, they go down, adhaḥ. Adho gacchanti, degraded.

So we create that situation, and after death we become unconscious. And the superior agents, prakṛti, he takes you, just like the air carries the flavor. You do not see how the air is passing and where the air is there, but it is there. You are smelling, "Oh, very good flavor," because the air is carrying. But you do not see. So these rascal scientists, they think that because you cannot see, there is no soul. The subtle laws . . . he doesn't know how the soul . . . soul is so minute particle: ten thousand . . . one ten-thousandth part of the top of the hair. Now how can your material science can see it or understand it? Therefore they say: "No soul." But the soul is there, and he is being carried. He is being carried by nature's subtle intelligence, mind and ego. These are subtle material things. He is covered. As long he is in the material world, his subtle body . . . the subtle body is being carried to another gross body. This is the, I mean to say, science of transmigration of the soul.

So you are also changing body. We, everyone, we have to change body. Similarly, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Kṛṣṇa has got also ananta-rūpam. Our rūpam, our this form, is imitation of one of the forms of Kṛṣṇa. This is imitation. So . . . but His forms are not like our form. His forms are spiritual. He is existing in different spiritual forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Ananta means unlimited. But every form is spiritual. So He is changing. He is changing, yathā nāṭyadharo yathā (SB 1.8.19). He is changing like naṭaḥ. Naṭaḥ means actor, dramatic actor. Just like in the stage the dramatic actor is sometimes coming as a king and next time by changing the dress he is coming as a villain. This is an example. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the same, but He has got different manifestations. That different manifestation He takes. Why? Now, bhū-bhāraḥ kṣapitaḥ. Bhū-bhāraḥ. He comes in different forms just to liquidate the burden of the earth, bhū-bhāraḥ. Bhū-bhāraḥ kṣapitaḥ, just to reduce the burden of this earth.

When demons are . . . demonic civilization is there, then the whole planet becomes overburdened with their sinful activities. It is very easy to understand. Where in the state everyone is rogue and rascal, then the state becomes overburdened. Overburdened means the duty of the state for arranging police, military and other things becomes very much confused. Similarly, if the people are all law-abiding citizens, then the government has no burden. Let things go on nicely, everything is going nicely. Similarly, this is also great state, the universal state. So when people become rascals, rogues and demons, it becomes very much overburdened.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). Dharmasya glānir bhavati. Dharma means not a sentiment. Dharma does not mean. Dharma generally is translated as "religion." So everyone can say: "I have got my own religion, you have got your own religion. Why you trouble to convert me or convert . . .?" They say like that. But actually dharma does not mean that, that you make your own sentiment, I make my own sentiment. No. That is not dharma. Your sentiment, your creation of dharma . . . just like the, our Gandhi in India. He was preaching nonviolence. Nonviolence. So some Hindus approached him, "Sir, you are preaching nonviolence. These Muhammadans, they are killing cows, so why don't you ask them to stop—nonviolence?" So he replied: "Oh, this is their religious. How can I stop?" What is this nonsense? If you believe in philosophy of nonviolence, one may say that, "This is my religion," that you cannot indulge in that? If somebody says, just like state is neutral to religion, if somebody says: "My religion is to cut throat," the state will allow that, "Go on with your religion. Yes, it is your religion"? Will the state allow? No.

Similarly, we cannot create religion. We cannot create religion, "This is my religion." Then everyone will escape in the name of religion. Because you have created so many rascaldom as religion, therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66): "Rascal, you give up all these religion. Real religion is surrender to Me." This is religion. Otherwise why Kṛṣṇa says: "Give up all religion"? Sarva-dharmān parityajya. He says in the beginning. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya: "I come, I descend, just to reestablish the principle of religion." Does it mean that He came to support Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion? No. He came to reestablish religion. But people do not know what is that religion. They have created their own religion. And some rascal svāmī is supporting, yata mata tata patha. How you can create? Religion is personal? "You can create your own religion and be satisfied." This is going on. In the name of religion, every rascal is creating his own religion, and he is satisfied. He is satisfied, "I have got my own religion."

But they do not know. These rascals, they do not know what is the meaning of religion. Religion means to abide by the laws of God. Simple definition, religion. That is religion, to abide by the laws. Now if you are religionist, you cannot deny God. Without God there is no question of religion. If somebody says: "I don't care for God, but my religion is simply to cut throat," is that religion? So therefore one must know what is religion. That religion, very simple definition: dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Religion is the law given by God. This is religion.

So what God is giving as law? The law is that, "You give up all nonsense religion; simply surrender unto Me." This is religion. So a religious person, it does not mean whether he is Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Buddhist. He must accept God and surrender unto Him. This is religion. This is religion. So yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7), that means when religion becomes polluted, at that time Kṛṣṇa comes as bhū-bhāraḥ. Because as soon as . . . religion means, I have already explained, to abide by the laws of . . . to abide by the laws of God. So dharmasya glānir bhavati means when people do not abide by the laws of God. That is dharmasya glāniḥ, discrepancy in the matter of discharging religion. Just like when you begin to break laws, everyone, then government becomes very furious—arrest, punish, hang. These things are going on. But if you are abiding by the laws of government, there is no such question to harass you. There is no such . . . you live peacefully. This is the process going on. So bhū-bhāraḥ, when people become irreligious, not abiding by the laws of God, then it becomes burdensome. How one can say that, "To cut throat is my religion"? Nobody can say like that. That is not religion. That means he has no sense of God consciousness. He's a rascal.

God consciousness person, God conscious person, what is the symptom of God conscious person? That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. What is that?

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śva-pāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

(BG 5.18)

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā

na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu

mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

(BG 18.54)

This is sign of a perfectly God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). One who has understood God, he is paṇḍita, learned. Without being learned, a fool, rascal, cannot understand what is God. One who understands God means he is paṇḍita, he is learned, because he has got the knowledge. Veda. Veda means knowledge. What is the purpose of knowledge? Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). That is Veda. That is knowledge. Any kind of knowledge, it doesn't matter whether it is political or scientific or philosophical or mathematical—there are different—but the ultimate aim should be to understand what is God. That is knowledge. Because you, human being, you are advancing in knowledge, but what is the goal of knowledge? The goal of knowledge is to understand God. That is the difference between dog and me. He has no goal of knowledge. He is simply eating, simply jumping and barking, that's all. That is dog's business. If you go on like that, eating, sleeping and begetting children and barking in political conference, then you are dog. You are not God . . . or godly. Nobody can become God; that is . . . but you can become godly. Similarly, people have become just like cats and dogs. This is dharmasya glāniḥ.

Therefore the incarnation is already there, Kṛṣṇa is there, Kṛṣṇa's instruction is there, but people are not taking advantage of it. Not taking advantage of it. Everything is there. Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to rescue these rascals from this ignorance and give Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Most philanthropic work. They will become dog next life. We are trying to save them, "Don't become dog. Just become god, or godly." This is our movement. But they are persistent to become dog. Even they are coming here, again falling, that persistent to become dog. So that is nature's law. What can be done?

So this is the bhū-bhāraḥ. Bhū-bhāraḥ, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the same. That is absolute. In relative world consciousness is different from the person, but in the absolute world consciousness and the subject matter of consciousness is the same. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name is the same; Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's form is the same. Therefore when you worship Kṛṣṇa's form it is not waste of time; it is worshiping Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is omnipotent. He can accept your service by presenting Himself in His form. But Kṛṣṇa can do that; that is His omnipotency. Otherwise why Kṛṣṇa will say, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad aham aśnāmi (BG 9.26): "If somebody gives Me something to eat, it doesn't matter very valuable, very palatable dishes. It doesn't matter. Even patraṁ puṣpam, little flower, little fruit, which any poor man can collect"? Just like if you are very, very poor man, you have nothing to offer to Kṛṣṇa, but you want to offer something. So Kṛṣṇa says: "All right. Offer Me a little fruit, little flower." So if you have no money to purchase, if you go to a friend, "Sir, I want to take little flower to offer to Kṛṣṇa," at least if he is human being he will never deny. "Yes, take it." If he's a dog, that is a different thing. If he's a human being you can collect this little flower and fruit anywhere, any part of the world.

So Kṛṣṇa worship is so easy, universal. Other worshiping method you have to collect so many things, then you can worship. Or you must have temple, you must have church, you must have worshiping place. But Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. And you can collect this patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam anywhere. You can worship Kṛṣṇa anywhere. But you have to learn how to worship. What is that learning? Bhaktyā. That is the method. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). This patraṁ puṣpam is not important thing. The important thing is bhakti, devotion. That is wanted. Without bhakti, if you offer Kṛṣṇa very big plate, Kṛṣṇa is not hungry to take your food. He'll not accept it. He'll not accept anything if you do not offer with your love, bhaktyā, love and serving spirit, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are so opulent. I have nothing to offer You because You have got everything. But I have tried to collect these things to my best power, so I am offering You. Kindly take it." This is mantra. This is mantra.

Don't require much mantra. That meekness, that humbleness: "Kṛṣṇa, I am most insignificant. I have nothing to give You, neither You are very much hungry or You have to take . . . you have got many, many . . ." Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam (Bs. 5.29). Kṛṣṇa is served by the goddess of fortune—not one; many millions. Here we are praying to goddess of fortune, "My dear goddess of fortune, kindly give me little fortune. I am very poor." That is our position. We are praying. But Kṛṣṇa's position is that lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam. The goddess of fortune is praying Kṛṣṇa—just like the gopīs, they are all goddess of fortune—"Kṛṣṇa, kindly take little service from me." This is the position.

So why Kṛṣṇa will come to you, take your foodstuff? Because Kṛṣṇa wants that you surrender. That is required. That is required. Therefore we should serve Kṛṣṇa, because without bhakti . . . many times Kṛṣṇa has said, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55): simply through bhakti. You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa by your so-called scholarship, scientific knowledge and speculation. These are all useless, nonsense things. You cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa clearly says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. Bhaktyā, "Simply by devotional service one can understand Me." Bhakti means serving, service. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). When you become in service attitude, just to serve Kṛṣṇa with humble attitude, with devotion, then Kṛṣṇa will reveal. Otherwise you cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. It is not possible. If you think that, "I am very rich man. I can offer Kṛṣṇa so many things, nice dress, nice foodstuff. Kṛṣṇa now is within my grip," no. Kṛṣṇa is not so cheap.

There also it is said that vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau (Bs. 5.33). You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa because you are very learned scholar in Vedic knowledge. No. Vedeṣu durlabham: it is very difficult. But adurlabha: He is very cheap unto His devotees. He is very cheap. Just like Vidura. Vidura invited Him, and Kṛṣṇa did not go to Arjuna's house . . . I mean to say, Duryodhana's house, very palatial building. Vidura, a cottage, so He went there. And Vidura, being in ecstasy, was offering Him some banana. So he was so, I mean, overpowered by ecstasy that instead of giving the fruit banana, he was giving the skin, and Kṛṣṇa was eating. So when he came to his senses, he saw that, "I have given Him only the skin, and Kṛṣṇa is eating." So this is bhakti. This is bhakti. Kṛṣṇa wants that. Kṛṣṇa can eat anything. Either you give the pulp or skin, He can eat anything, because He is all-powerful and everything is equal to Him.

So real thing is bhakti. So when people become rascals and nonsense and do not care for God consciousness, devotion to God, that is become bhū-bhāraḥ, burdened. That has now become. Now Kṛṣṇa has . . . because at the present moment in the Kali-yuga . . . Kṛṣṇa formerly came to kill big, big giant demons like Rāvaṇa and Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, very, very big giant. But at the present moment where is that big giant? They are all poor. There is no . . . although by mentality they are all rogues and rascals and demons, but in material condition they are very, very poor. That is stated. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). People are so unfortunate that even the bird and beast, they can get their two meals, eating, sleeping, mating; they have got their arrangement. At the present moment a human being has no arrangement what he is going to eat in the morning or in the evening, whether he has got any chance of sex life or . . . these things are preliminary requirement, but nobody is guarantee of these things, they are so unfortunate. They are not getting the preliminary necessities of life, what to speak of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are so unfortunate. So why should He come, Kṛṣṇa, to kill them? They are already killed by the laws of nature. They are already killed, half-killed. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has come in the form of His name, "Please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa."

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya . . . (cut) (end)