760302 - Lecture SB 07.09.24 - Mayapur

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

760302SB-MAYAPUR - March 02, 1976 - 21.26 Minutes

Śāstrījī: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) (chants verse; Prabhupāda and devotees respond)

Dayānanda: (chants synonyms; devotees respond) (break)

Translation: (02:48) "My dear Lord, now I am completely experienced about worldly opulences enjoyed by all the living entities beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the ant, the so-called mystic power, and other material enjoyments like long duration of life, etc. Being completely experienced in them I do not wish to possess them. My dear Lord, therefore I request You to get me in touch with Your pure devotee and the service of him as sincere servant."

Prabhupāda:

tasmād amūs tanu-bhṛtām aham āśiṣo 'jña

āyuḥ śriyaṁ vibhavam aindriyam āviriñcyāt

necchāmi te vilulitān uruvikrameṇa

kālātmanopanaya māṁ nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam

(SB 7.9.24)

This is intelligence. The karmīs, they are trying to enjoy life by increasing the duration of life. The modern scientists, they are trying that there will be no more death. They think like that foolishly, that by scientific methods the duration of life will be increased. Everyone is trying that. Nobody wants to become old. If you ask any old man, "What is your age?" he'll decrease the age. He'll say . . . he is eighty years old, he'll say, "I am sixty years" or "sixty-five." That means he wants to live for long duration of life. That is the intention.

Nobody wants to die. But still . . . they cannot do anything; still they are trying. One Marwari gentleman, at the age of seventy or eighty years old, he went to somewhere in Germany for undergoing surgical operation of the gland so that he can continue his sex life. Many monkeys are exported from India to Western countries for taking away the sexual glands, they know, hormone or something like, and replace it to man so that in old age they can enjoy sex. Perhaps you know all these things. So this attempt is going on, how to keep young and how to enjoy life. But nature will not allow. You may try your best. Nature's law is there. They forget that. And nature will not allow us to live here or to remain as young for all the years of life. It is not possible. But they're trying for that.

In this way, when one is experienced that these things are not possible, that is knowledge. We cannot increase our duration of life. We cannot increase our vitality of life. We cannot increase even our opulence than what we are destined to enjoy. Everyone . . . karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). Just like here it is said, vibhavam aindriyam āviriñcyāt. Viriñci means Lord Brahmā. So beginning from Brahmā . . . "a." "A," this word, is used, this affix is used, with this meaning of "beginning." So here in this material world . . . Brahmā is also a materialist. Brahmā, what to speak of ourselves.

Brahmā, who is directly appointed the creator of this universe by the grace of God - why he is in this material world? Because he has got some desire that "I shall be the master of a brahmāṇḍa." Just like everyone is trying to become the master of his house or the society or the community or the country. Just like in your country so many people are trying to become the president. Everywhere, everyone is trying to become master. It doesn't matter it is a small circle or big circle. This is material disease. So Brahmā is also trying to become the master of this universe. The same mentality is there. Hiraṇyakaśipu underwent severe penances. Why? To become the master of the world. This is the material disease. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga-vāñchā kare (Prema-vivarta).

So this bhoga-vāñchā are different degrees. One man is satisfied having a family, three, four men. He thinks, "I have become master." But other is not satisfied. Other wants, "No, no. Why a family? I must be master of a society or a community or a nation." So Brahmā is also the same thing, same degree—not same degree; different degree—but the desire is how to become master. That disease is there. We are trying to be . . . disease is disease, that . . .

Some of you have seen that my friend, Dr. Bose. I have said many times that when he was student, so one professor, he—in those days medical professors were Englishmen—he said in the class that "In our country, seventy-five percent of the students, they are infected with syphilis." So this doctor, he was a student. He said in the class, "Oh, horrible." So that professor said, "Why you are saying 'horrible'? In your country eighty percent, ninety percent, they are infected with malaria, and they are in syphilis. So what is the difference? Why you make . . .? As a medical man, why should you make difference that 'this disease is better than that disease?' Disease is disease." Actually that is the fact. You say that "We are suffering from malaria. It is better than to suffer from syphilis." No. Disease is disease.

Similarly, either Brahmā or the ant, the disease is how to become master. This is the disease. Therefore, to cure this disease, Kṛṣṇa comes to cure this disease - to say plainly, "Rascal, you are not master; you are servant. Surrender unto Me." This is the cure of disease. If one agrees that "No more," āra nāre bapa, "No more trying for becoming master," that is the cure of disease.

Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, nija bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24): "Engage me as the servant of Your servant." The same thing Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsa-anudāsa (CC Madhya 13.80). So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have to give up this nonsense idea of becoming master. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to learn how to become servant. Not only servant—servant of the servant, servant of the . . . that is cure.

Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "So I have understood all this nonsense of becoming master. My father also tried to become master. So this knowledge, now I am perfect. There is no use of becoming master. Better, if You kindly want to give me some benediction, kindly make me the servant of Your servant." This is benediction. So one who has learned to become the servant of Kṛṣṇa's servant, he is perfect.

Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā (CC Adi 17.31). A servant has to tolerate. Tolerate. Servant, sometimes master orders so many things, he becomes disturbed. But still, he has to execute and tolerate. That is perfection. Here in India still, when a person goes to marry, so his . . . this is a custom. His mother ask the bridegroom, "My dear son, where you are going?" He replies, "Mother, I am going to bring one maidservant for you." This is the system. "Mother, I am going to bring one maidservant for you." That means "My wife, your daughter-in-law, will serve you as your maidservant." This is Vedic civilization.

When Kṛṣṇa with His sixteen thousand wives went to Hastināpura, so Draupadī . . . it is natural, between woman and woman, they talk about their husband. That is natural. So Draupadī was inquiring from each and every wife of Kṛṣṇa. Not all of them; it is not possible, sixteen thousand. At least the principal queens, beginning from . . . what is the . . . (indistinct) . . .? Rukmiṇī, yes. So every one of them were describing their marriage ceremony, that "My . . ." Rukmiṇī explained that "My father wanted to hand over me to Kṛṣṇa, but my elder brother, he did not agree. He wanted to get me married with Śiśupala. So I did not like this idea. I wrote Kṛṣṇa a private letter, that 'I have dedicated my life to You, but this is the situation. Please come and kidnap me.'

So in this way Kṛṣṇa kidnapped me and made me His maidservant." The queen's daughter, king's daughter—every one of them were king's daughter; they were not ordinary person daughter—but they wanted to become maidservant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the idea, to become servant and to become maidservant. This is ideal of human civilization. The every woman should try to become maidservant of her husband, and every man should try to become the hundred times servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is Indian civilization. Not that "Husband and wife, we are equal rights," that, in Europe, America, the movement is going on, "Equal rights." That is not Vedic civilization. Vedic civilization is the husband should be a sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa, and the wife should be a sincere maidservant of the husband.

Therefore here it is said, upanaya māṁ nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24). This is the best association. When Nārada Muni is describing how the man should behave, how the woman should behave—we are discussing now in our tape dictaphone; you'll hear that—that there is no such thing to become master. It is useless. You cannot become master. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate (BG 3.27). You cannot become master. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (CC Madhya 20.108). Either man or woman, everyone is servant of Kṛṣṇa. We have to be trained up in that platform, how to become the best servant, not only servant directly, but servants of the servant. This is called paramparā servant. My spiritual master is the servant of his spiritual master, and I am also servant of my spiritual master. Similarly, we think "servant of the servant." There is no question of becoming . . . this is material disease.

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kāre

pāsate māyā tāre jāpatīyā dhāre

(Prema-vivarta)

As soon as we become puffed up—"Now I shall become master. I shall be simply giving order. I shall not follow anyone"—that is māyā.

So that disease is going on beginning from Brahmā down to the ant. Prahlāda Mahārāja has understood this so-called false prestigious position of becoming a master. He says that "I am quite aware of this false thing. Kindly engage me . . ." Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam means just like apprentice. Apprentice. One apprentice is engaged to some expert man; by and by, the apprentice learns how to do the things. Therefore he says, nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. "Not that immediately I become very expert servant, but let me . . ."

Our this institution is for that purpose. If somebody comes here, the free hotel and free sleeping accommodation, then his coming to this association is useless. He must learn how to serve. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam. Those who are serving, the . . . one should learn from him how he's serving twenty-four hours, then our joining this institution will be successful. And if we take it that "Here is an institution where we can have free hotel, free living and free sense gratification," then the whole institution will be spoiled. Be careful. All the GBCs, they should be careful that this mentality may not increase. Everyone should be very eager to serve, to learn how to serve. Nija-bhṛtya-pārśvam (SB 7.9.24). Then life will be successful.

Thank you very much.

Devotee: Jaya Prabhupāda. (end)