740112 - Lecture SB 01.16.17 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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740112SB-LOS ANGELES - January 12, 1974 - 43:05 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Yes. Go on.

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

tasyaivaṁ vartamānasya

pūrveṣāṁ vṛttim anvaham

nātidūre kilāścaryaṁ

yad āsīt tan nibodha me

(SB 1.16.17)

(break)

Translation: "Now you may have heard from me of what happened while Mahārāja Parīkṣit was passing his days hearing of the good occupations of his forefathers and being absorbed in thought of them."

Prabhupāda: So the question was, "How Mahārāja Parīkṣit punished this Kali-yuga?" The chapter name is "How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali." So why he punished the Kali? Because . . . here it is said, pūrveṣāṁ vṛttim anvaham, tasya vartamānasya. He was situated always on the platform where his forefathers remained. This is called aristocracy. Every family or every caste . . . family . . . first of all, there must be division, then family. Community, society, then family. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja belonged to the royal family. His forefathers, own, Bhārata-vaṁśa, the Bhārata dynasty. Therefore you will find the members of the Bhārata dynasty is called Bhārata, Bhārata. Arjuna was addressed by Kṛṣṇa as Bhārata. Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra was also addressed as Bhārata. Vidura was addressed as Bhārata. Many times you have seen it.

So these descendants of the Bhārata dynasty, especially . . . not especially. All of them. When Parīkṣit Mahārāja was born, so—I have told you already—learned scholars in astrology, they were calculating the horoscope of the newly born child. So he was being described that, "This child, this baby now born, he will be hero like this. He will be devotee like this. He'll be . . ." This horoscope made, in future what he will be. So Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was anxious, and he informed the learned Brāhmiṇs that, "This is all right. I thank you for your calculation. First of all, I want to know whether he will follow his forefathers. I want to know." That was the question. Because that Bhārata dynasty, they were rulers of the world, emperor and great devotees at the same time. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). They were not emperors and kings simply tax collector. No. They were rājarṣayaḥ, rājarṣi. Rājarṣi means royal majesty. But in their behavior, they are exactly like great saintly persons. Rāja and ṛṣi. That is called rājarṣi. Rāja means royal king and ṛṣi means saintly person.

There are many examples of rājarṣi. Just like Rājarṣi Janaka, Janaka Mahārāja, Rājarṣi Prahlāda Mahārāja, Rājarṣi Dhruva Mahārāja, Rājarṣi Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, Rājarṣi Parīkṣit Mahārāja. All the kings almost, when monarchy was accepted . . . and that is the only thing. Monarchy must be accepted. But at the present moment democracy means abolish monarchy and elect a rascal as monarch. This is called democracy. But after all, you have to accept a man . . . (aside) These legs should not be spread before the Deity. Monarchy, that is required, monarchy. Because a monarch is rājarṣi. He should be rājarṣi, a saintly person. Without being saintly person, how he can become representative of God? A king is supposed to be representative of God. So unless he has got godly character, saintly character, great devotee, how he can become the head of a state? Just like the demigods in the heavenly planets. The king of heaven is Indra. So Indra is materially very opulent, although they are after material enjoyment. You cannot compare their material enjoyment with this material enjoyment on this earthly planet. There are thousand, thousand times better standard, the duration of life, paraphernalia for enjoyment, facilities, so many things. They are higher and higher. As you go to the higher planet, they are higher and higher, thousand times. Just like in this planet also we see that some nation's standard of living is higher than other nation. Take for example you Americans. Your standard of living, from material point of view, you have got greater facilities, or you have created your own good facilities. Similarly, the more the intelligent persons are, they create their own facilities by the grace of God. Just like in this America, the Red Indians were there, but they could not develop the country. But when the Europeans came and settled in this country, now this country has become the first-class country in comparison to other countries. So it is the intelligence.

So the standard of living, intelligence, increases as you go higher, higher, higher, higher. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Ūrdhvam. Ūrdhvam means higher. And adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. There are three qualities. The whole material world is being operated under the influence of three qualities. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. So according to the quality, there are different grades of people, and that is called cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So everyone is not on the same platform. Everyone is under the influence of some quality of nature—goodness, passion, ignorance. So there is division. So the kṣatriyas, they are supposed to be in the mode of passion, a desire for controlling, ruling. That is kṣatriya's spirit, ruling. Therefore one kṣatriya king used to attack another kṣatriya king. The idea is not to take possession of other's property. The idea was that, "This king is not ruling nicely." Just like in your country, you want to change the president, but forcibly he is sitting in his position. So as you want good government or good man as president, similarly, formerly, although there was fight between the two kings, the objective was different—not to occupy one's property, not to become a big thief.

You know the story of Alexander the Great and the thief. Alexander the Great arrested one thief, and he was going to punish him. The thief pleaded, "Sir, you are going to punish me, but what is the difference between you and me? I am a small thief, you are a great thief. That's all. (laughter) You are by force occupying other's kingdom, and you have no right. But because you are strong, or some way or other you have got the opportunity, and you are conquering country after country, country after . . . so I am also doing the same thing. So what is the difference between you and me?" So Alexander considered that, "Yes, I am nothing but a big thief, that's all." So he released him, "Yes, I am no better than you." Just like dacoits. Nowadays there are many thieves who steal scientifically, legally. There are many lawyers, many scientists. They do harm, but legally. Legal murderer, legal cheaters, so many things. We have got experience, every one of us. If you can protect yourself under the cover of law and you cheat others, then it is nice. But you cannot cheat the supervision of the Supreme. That you cannot do. A thief may steal secretly, but there is no secret. There is no secrecy for God. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15): "I am sitting in everyone's heart." So suppose you are planning to do something, mischievous activity. You can cheat the man-made law or the man-made police, but how you can cheat Kṛṣṇa? He is sitting within your heart. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: "I am sitting in everyone's heart." So whatever you're thinking, feeling and willing, it is immediately being observed and noted, "This rascal wants to do this." Besides that . . . this is inside. Then outside there is sun, there is moon, there is day, there is night. Everyone, there are eight kinds of witnesses, whatever you are doing. And karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). Just like a man is punished according to his gravity of criminality, similarly, whatever you are doing . . . here everything is criminal in this material world. Everything is criminal. Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛ says:

dvaite bhadrābhadra-sakali samāna

ei bhāla ei manda—sarva mano-dharma

Dvaite. Dvaite means things which is not directly Kṛṣṇa. Dvaita. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt, dvitīya. This dvitīya, this is called māyā. Dvitīya means second. The one is Kṛṣṇa, and māyā is secondary. Just like light, light and darkness. Darkness is not first; light is first. And darkness means where there is no light. Where there is no light, that is darkness. Similarly, darkness has no separate existence. It is simply absence of light, that's all. Real existence is light. So whole creation is . . . just like real existence is the sun. Try to understand, very easy. Sun, but when it is covered by the cloud, it is called darkness. Or it is covered by another planet, then we find darkness. Actually, there is always light. If you go through the cloud, you come to the sunshine. Everyone has got the experience. Down, when you start your plane, it may be very dark, and then, when you go beyond the sky, seven miles above, then you see there is sunlight. And again, if you start your plane in sunlight, in the morning, in daylight, so in the morning, and go to the western side, you will find never night. You will find never night—always light, always light. Sometimes we have got experience, we start from a place, say, at ten o'clock, and going western side. Then, after few hours, we see it is still ten o'clock, and the light is there. This is our practical experience.

So actually, there is nothing material. Everything is spiritual. Spiritual means īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1), everything belonging to God. But when we think that, "There is no God," "I am God," or "It is mine," that is darkness. This consciousness is darkness. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to be situated above this material conception. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Janasya moho' yam ahaṁ mameti. This conception that, "I am the proprietor, and everything belongs to me," this conception is called illusion. And this illusion increases by mental speculation. Ultimately, that mental speculator remains in darkness, but he thinks that he has become liberated. This is another darkness. Another darkness. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. He aravindākṣa. Kṛṣṇa's name is . . . (baby starts crying) (aside) You take him outside. (pause) (japa)

ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ

patanty adho . . .

patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

(SB 10.2.32)

Prahlāda Mahārāja says: "My Lord, Aravinda-akṣa." Kṛṣṇa's another name . . . as I explained yesterday, God has no name, but He has got thousands and millions of name according to His relationship with the devotee or the world, like that. As I explained yesterday, Kṛṣṇa is called Devakī-nandana because He has got relationship with Devakī. Therefore He has become Devakī-nandana. Kṛṣṇa is called Yaśodā-nandana. So similarly, Kṛṣṇa's another name is Aravindākṣa, Aravinda, because His eyes are just like petals of the lotus flower. Aravinda-nābha. Aravinda-nābha means Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, from His navel, one lotus flower is grown. Therefore He is called Aravinda-nābha.

So here Kṛṣṇa is addressed, he aravindākṣa. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa. Ye anye. Anye means "Neglectfully," "Others." Prominent men are especially mentioned, "Here is Mr. such and such and such," and there are others. So these others, he aravindākṣa, ye 'nye. Who are that others? Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. The others means less intelligent class of men, who are thinking that, "I am now liberated. I have now become God by mystic yoga, by meditation." So therefore it is called māninaḥ. Māninaḥ means they are thinking wrongly like that. Actually, they are not liberated. Not liberated. They are in darkness, because he is foolishly thinking that he has become God. How you can become God? What is your power? What you have shown like God? We accept God, Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāmacandra and others, by seeing His activities. Kṛṣṇa, at the age of seven years old, He lifted Govardhana mountain. Govardhana-dhārī, Giridhārī. So what you are? You cannot raise even five kilos of load, and you are becoming God?

So these so-called gods are accepted by so-called devotees. These are all rascaldom. Therefore it is called māninaḥ. They are thinking, by mental speculation, that "I have become God." What you have got, power? What you have done that you have become God? But they are foolish. They do not calculate the value of his . . . strength of his becoming God. But they are thinking of . . . therefore it is called māninaḥ. Now, you can think at your home that, "I am the proprietor of the Bank of America." So you may become a crazy fellow like that. But to become proprietor of the Bank of America is different thing. But these foolish men will think like that: "I am God. I am moving the sun, I am moving . . ." This is their meditation. Perhaps you know. These rascals, these dogs, not gods, they think like that, "I am moving the sun, I am moving the earth . . ." Therefore it is called vimukta-māninaḥ. Mānina, thinking, foolishly thinking. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.

Why they are thinking foolishly? We see they are advanced in knowledge. They can put forward so many words about becoming God. That has been described by Śrīdhara Svāmī, vāk-cāturya. Their so-called explanation that they have become God, that has been described by vāk-cāturya, jugglery of words, to befool another fool. That's all. Therefore in Bhāgavatam, in another place, it is said that śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). Puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. If one person who is not devotee, if he is praised as very exalted, so wherefrom these praising words are coming? Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ. Such praising comes from the persons who are like dogs, śva; viḍ-varāha, the stool-eater pigs. Śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra, camel, and khara means ass. These classes of men, they praise such another big, big animal, śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra. Because anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord—he is not rājarṣi, devarṣi—he is not praiseworthy at all. He is a fool. He is a rascal. That is our conclusion. No, it is real conclusion, because Kṛṣṇa says mūḍha. Mūḍha means rascal. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15).

So our simple test is whether a man is devotee or not. If we find that he is a devotee, then we respect, "Yes, here is nice Vaiṣṇava." Even Yamarāja says: "Offer my respect to the Vaiṣṇava." But if we see that he is not a devotee, he is claiming himself as God, as the supreme, then immediately, according to the formula of Bhagavad-gītā, we accept, mūḍha. Because a mūḍha does not surrender. Mūḍha. That is the test. Anyone who has not surrendered to the principle of Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja . . . (BG 18.66). That is the test. If he has not surrendered to God, or Kṛṣṇa, then he is mūḍha. That is also explained in the Bhāgavatam, that ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. Why they are so mūḍhas? Just like cause and effect. If a man has no money, he is called poor, poor man. Similarly, if a man has no such sense to surrender unto God, he is mūḍha. He is mūḍha. So ye 'nye . . . but thinking that he has become liberated, he has become one with God, and he is God Himself, everyone is God; therefore they are mūḍha. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.

So it is in good words, vimukta-māninaḥ. Because it is said by Vyāsadeva or a devotee, little respectful, vimukta-māninaḥ, falsely thinking that he has become liberated. But when Kṛṣṇa says, because He is the Supreme Lord, He says that, "He is a mūḍha. He is a rascal." Just like father can immediately call his son rascal or spiritual master can say, because superior position, a rascal. Others, the rascal may be addressed in an ornamented language. He is to be proved a rascal, but some, for friendly sake . . . just like Kṛṣṇa, when He was talking with Arjuna, He directly did not say: "My dear Arjuna, you are rascal number one. You are rascal number one." Because friend. But He did not say that. But He said:

aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ

prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase

gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca

nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ

(BG 2.11)

"My dear Arjuna, you are simply lamenting on this body. So this is not the subject matter of lamentation."

Actually, that is the fact. He was thinking that, "My grandfather, my brothers, they will be killed," and he was putting forward great philosophy, this, that. Humbug. "And after all, this body will be finished. Either your grandfather's body or your brother's body, we do not kill them, in due course of time everything will be finished. That's a fact. Therefore aśocyān, why you are anxious, pertaining to their body?" Aśocyān anvaśocas tvam. "And at the same time, you are talking great philosophy." Prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase. Prajñā. Philosophy means prajñā-vādān. So aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase. But nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ: "One who is actually learned, he does not take very much care of these things." That means "You are a fool." That means "You are a fool." It is called parenthesis, or . . . that "A paṇḍita, a learned man, does not do like this." It is called . . . what is the English, I do not remember now, that if I speak that, "Sometimes, from my home, this thing was stolen, and the man who stole, he looked like you." But not directly, "You are the man who had stolen my property," but you can say in a gentlemanly way, "He looked like you." You see?

So similarly, Kṛṣṇa says: "Anyone who is not surrendering unto Me, who is not a surrendered soul, and thinking that he has become God, he is very learned scholar, vedānti . . . these things are vimukta-māninaḥ." "Now I have no business to go to temple." In our country, there is a class, they have developed a system not to go to the temple. That is their propaganda: not to go to the temple. "Why you should go to the temple for finding out God? God is everywhere." If God is everywhere, now why not in the temple? What the temple has done? If God is everywhere, then in the temple there is God. You may call Deity worship as idol worship, but this situation created by Deity worship, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, practical . . . this was a church. This was a church. How many years ago? Since when we have occupied?

Devotees: Four years.

Prabhupāda: Four years ago. And because nobody was coming, so this church was sold, and we purchased. Now why people are coming? The church or temple, if there is no God, so why people are coming, the same church? Because you could not convince them about the science of God. Therefore it was vacant. You cannot bluff all people for all the time. That is not possible. You must give them substantial. Then they will agree, "Yes, there is God."

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja special qualification . . . sva-pūrveṣāṁ mahātmanām. This mahātmā I have already described. Mahātmā means devotee. Mahātmā does not mean a politician. Mahātmā means simply, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manaso (BG 9.13). He is mahātmā. Ananya-manasaḥ: without any deviation, twenty-four hours, he is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. That is mahātmā. That is mahātmā. So Mahārāja Parīkṣit's situation is described. Here it is said, tasyaivaṁ vartamānasya. How he kept himself always, na pūrveṣām. Pūrveṣām, the very word again, as it was used previously in the thirteenth and fifteenth verse. Sva-pūrveṣāṁ mahātmanām. He was so responsible that always thinking, "Whether I am deviating from the path of my grandfathers, Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna?" That was his . . . in this way he was always situated. That was his first business.

Because his grandfathers were devotees, rājarṣi, Rājarṣi Yudhiṣṭhira, so he wanted to keep himself on the position of rājarṣi. And because he kept himself on the position of rājarṣi, therefore he was able to punish the Kali. Because at the present moment there is no rājarṣi—all rascals and fools and animals are on the top of government—they cannot see what is Kali. They cannot see. Because he is also one of the members of the Kali. How he can see? Therefore the whole world is now being led by the Kali's agent. So they cannot check. Here it is said that nātidūre kilāścaryaṁ yad āsīt tan nibodha me. Suppose if you are not yourself in healthy condition, you cannot understand what is unhealthy condition. If you are not a scientist, you cannot see how the other thing is not scientific. If you are not yourself a medical man, you cannot understand what is the disease. So Mahārāja Parīkṣit, because he was rājarṣi, pūrveṣāṁ vṛttim anvaham, he was following strictly the occupational duty of his forefathers, anu . . . ahani, day to date, not forgetting even for a single moment. Therefore he could see that what is that Kali. The Kali, we have, I mean, avoiding Kali: no illicit sex, no gambling, no intoxication and no meat-eating. These are Kali. You will understand from this chapter gradually, these four things are representative of Kali. Now at the present moment, all over the world, Kali's influence is going on, everyone, almost everyone, 99.9 percent. You cannot say cent percent, because there are some saintly persons. So take it, 99.9 percent, all under the influence of Kali: illicit sex life, gambling, intoxication and meat-eating. So how these people can see what is Kali? He is himself under the influence of Kali.

Therefore, Parīkṣit Mahārāja's situation, vartamānasya, tasyaivaṁ vartamānasya, how he was being situated, in what position he was. Just like not to go so far as to go to Parīkṣit Mahārāja; even those who are neophytes, trying to be beyond the range of Kali-yuga, our members of the Kṛṣṇa Society, because they have given up these four sinful activities, they can see how one is influenced by Kali. So this is the position. Therefore he could see. Now because the so-called leaders, so-called presidents, they are themself agent of Kali, how they can stop this illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication? They cannot do. So you have to take shelter of the śāstra, and then you will be able to avoid it. Otherwise, it is not possible.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)