660525 - Lecture BG 03.16-17 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1966

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

660525BG.NY - May 25, 1966

Prabhupāda: (leads kīrtana) (prema-dhvani) Gaura-Premanande. Hari Haribol.

(aside) that's alright . . . (break)

evaṁ pravartitaṁ cakraṁ

nānuvartayatīha yaḥ

aghāyur indriyārāmo

moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati

(BG 3.16)

Lord Kṛṣṇa, now He has described about a circle of activity ending in yajña, sacrifice. Yajña . . . yajña, the proper word yajña, means Viṣṇu or the Supreme Lord. And another meaning of yajña is sacrifice. So that sacrifice is how to do.

That we have been discussing for the last three or four days, that yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ (BG 3.13).

Our whole trouble of life, this material existence, it is, according to Vedic literature, this is our condemned life, material, because I am put into a different atmosphere, this body, which I am not. The body is matter, and I am spirit soul. So I have been put into uncomfortable position by this material contact.

So the human life is developed consciousness. So he has to learn it, and he can get rid of this material existence by the process which is prescribed in authoritative scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vedic literatures. So the first process Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is advises that . . . not only He advises; it is advised in the . . . all the Vedas that, "You should sacrifice, perform sacrifices."

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ

tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ

dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ

kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

(SB 12.3.52)

The whole process of human civilization should be to acquire love of God. Our love is now distributed in so many things. And that is misdistributed. The whole thing was to be targeted to the Supreme Lord. I was to love God, but instead of loving God, my love is distributed in so many things. And that is a misdirected civilization.

How it is misdirected? Suppose if I do not love God—if I love my wife, my children, my countrymen—what is the wrong there? Oh, there is great wrong. That you do not know. That is most unscientific. Without loving God, if I want to love my wife, that love is not perfect. Therefore so-called love is disrupted by divorce and so many things, because that is not perfect love.

We do not know what is perfect love and how to conduct it. That is the defect of our civilization. Which we are accepting as love, that is simply a desire for sense gratification. That is not love. Love is different thing. So because . . . why the love is defective in the material world? Because it is not properly discharged. We have to understand that thing.

How it is not properly discharged? Just like you love your body. Nobody can deny. Everyone loves his body. All right, what do you want to do? I want to maintain my body nicely. Then what is the means of maintaining your body very nicely? Nah, to take nice vitaminous foodstuff and supply to the stomach, and then there is assimilation, secretion of different blood or different, I mean to say, humor and so on. The physiological condition is going on. The main position is that you have to give proper foodstuff to this body.

Now, how to supply the foodstuff to the body? The main source of supplying is this mouth. Now, we have got several holes in this body, especially nine holes, big holes. Just like these two eyes, they are holes. The ears, they are holes. The mouth is one hole. And the evacuating process is another hole. This navel is another hole. There are nine holes in this body. Now, if somebody says that, "I have to put foodstuff within the body . . ." Just like in medical treatment, sometimes, when one cannot take foodstuff from the mouth, foodstuff is injected from the rectum or somewhere else, artificially. But that is not the system of supplying the foodstuff. The real process of supplying the foodstuff is through the mouth. If somebody says: "Oh, there are nine holes. You can put the foodstuff any hole," no, that will not do. You have to supply the foodstuff through the mouth.

Similarly, if you have to love, you have to love through God. Otherwise, love is not possible. That is all artificial love. Just like supplying foodstuff through the rectum is most artificial and troublesome thing, similarly, without loving God, if I want to love anybody, that is a false manifestation.

There are so many other examples. Just like watering the plant. Now, our Paul . . . or Paul . . . they supply water, pour water. Why? So that the tree or the plant may grow nicely. Where the water is poured? In the root, not on the leaves. You see? So the scriptures directs, Vedic scriptures, yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ (SB 4.31.14).

Just like pouring water unto the root of the tree, all the branches of the tree and leaves and flowers, they automatically nice. You haven't got to pour water . . . now it is a small plant. Suppose if you have got a big tree and there are thousands and millions of leaves, you are not supposed to supply water in millions of leaves; you are supposed to water, pour water, on the root. That will be distributed.

Just like you supply foodstuff to the stomach. That will be distributed. Suppose I have got very good cake. Now, the fingers holding the cake. Now, if the fingers think, "All right, this is a good cake. Why shall I supply to the stomach? Let us eat it," oh, the fingers cannot eat. That is improper.

There is a story in Sanskrit, udarendriyāṇām. Udarendriyāṇām. There was a meeting of all the parts of the senses, that "We are working, and the stomach is sitting idly, and he is simply eating. So let us get into strike. We shall not work." Just like there is strike system now. Now, all the hands and legs and all parts of the body they, "No, no more we are going to work for the stomach." Now, what happened? Gradually the hand become weak, the fingers become, the eye could not see, the ear . . . oh, they thought that, "What is happening this? We are becoming weaker, weaker, weaker." Then they decided, "It was a mistake not to supply foodstuff to the stomach. It was good for us."

Similarly, by establishing a godless civilization we are not happy. We are not happy, just like the same way, not supplying foodstuff to the stomach, we are thinking of becoming happy. No, that cannot be. If the senses of the body, parts of the body want to become happy, then he, the senses and the parts of the body, they have to supply foodstuff to the stomach. Similarly, if you want to be happy in this world, there is no alternative without, I mean to say, performing sacrifices. That is recommended here. Evaṁ pravartitaṁ cakram.

The circle is . . . the circle is described in the previous verses, that annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14).

You subsist by eating grains. Of course, now . . . nowadays we have invented so many artificial foodstuff. But however artificially foodstuff, however flesh and other things we may take, without grains we cannot live. The grains must be there. The wheat and the rice and the paddy and the cereals, there must be there. So real . . . real foodstuff is anna. Anna means this grain.

So by eating grains we subsist. Our life prolongs by eating grains. So annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. And grains are produced by proper rainfall. Rainfall is the main source of producing everything of our necessities of life. Without rainfall we cannot produce anything of the necessities of life.

We have got many necessities of life, not only grains. We require cotton for clothing. We require silk for luxury. We require valuable stones and jewels. All these are produced under certain circumstances of rain. Rain is falling on the sea and the ocean also. So there is purpose. Under certain constellation of the star, if the rain falls on the sea, it produces pearls and jewels. We have got this information from Vedic literature. So everything is produced, whatever you require.

Now, pasturing ground for the cows—the grass is produced by rains, and the animals, they eat the grass and they produce milk. You require milk. So everything, the main source of supply is the rainfall from the sky. That is not under your control. So Bhagavad-gītā says, parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Without rain, you cannot have any production. Nothing can be produced without rain.

And without production, you cannot live. But rain, regular rain and regulative rain and useful rain, will fall when you perform sacrifices, yajña. Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ (BG 3.14). And yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ: and you can perform yajña by working. Because yajña requires materials, so if you have no money, if you don't work, you cannot have money. So everything is a circle. It is nice circle.

Karma brahmodbhavam. And how to work, that is described in the Vedic injunction, that "You should work like this." We have all discussed. Niyataṁ kuru karma tvaṁ karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ (BG 3.8).

So everyone has some prescribed duties. There are different classes of men. The intelligent class of men, the administrative class of men, the productive class of men, the laborer class of men—everyone has to work. And by working, by the result of the work, one has to perform yajña. And by regular performance of yajña, there will be regular rains. And by regular rains, there will be production sufficient to supply your necessities of life. So that is the circle. That is the circle.

So anyway, one has to work sincerely his prescribed duties. And by the result of such work, one has to offer sacrifices to please the Supreme Lord. That is the circle. And Lord Kṛṣṇa says, evaṁ pravartitaṁ cakram. Now, this circle, this moving circle, is . . . just like the potter moves the circle to make production—you have seen—similarly, we have to move the circle. Circle means it is meant for moving. So anyone who does not move the circle of activity, then his life is aghāyur indriyārāmaḥ. His life is full of sin. His life is sinful, simply meant for sense gratification. Aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati (BG 3.16). His life is useless, without any purpose.

And actually it has become like that. Our life has become without any purpose. We do not understand why this human life we have got, why it is distinct from the dogs' life or the hogs' life or the animal life. We do not understand that. We have to understand that this human life is not meant for the animal propensities of life like cats and dog; it is meant for some other, divine purpose. We have to get rid of this material encagement and attain our spiritual life and be happy forever. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6).

One has to return back to the kingdom of God. That is the mission of human life. So one who does not know this mission of human life, so according to Bhagavad-gītā, he is living uselessly. His purpose of life, he has no . . . just like a ship without a rudder, a man without aim, you have no aim or purpose of life. This is the purpose of life. So we have to perform yajña. Yajña . . . (pause) . . . so those who are engaged in activities, by the result of his activities . . .

(aside) You are going? Going? Going? All right. All right.

So anyone who does not move on this circle, according to Bhagavad-gītā, he is passing on his life uselessly. Then the next:

yas tv ātma-ratir eva syād

ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ

ātmany eva ca santuṣṭas

tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate

(BG 3.17)

This is a . . . this yajña is prescribed for the general mass of people, that they must work sincerely according to their prescribed duties, and by the result of that duty or result of their action, they should offer sacrifices to the Lord.

Now, at the present moment the best sacrifice is recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—the sacrifice of chanting the holy name of Lord. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32).

So now you come here and sit down here for sometimes and chant the holy name of the Lord. That is also sacrifice. That is also sacrifice. This is recommended for this age especially. Because we cannot make any other sacrifice, so in this age . . . this age is called Kali. Kali means the age of quarrel. On minor things we are prepared to fight with one another. That is the system of this age. And if you open the newspaper in the morning, you will find so many news of fighting. So this is called the age of fighting and corruption.

So in this age, they . . . formerly, as the sages and great kings they were performing yajñas, Rājasūya yajña, aśvamedha-yajña and so many big, big yajñas, and they required large fund of money, so that is not possible in this age. Lord Caitanya therefore recommended . . . not only Lord Caitanya out of His own will He has recommended; it is prescribed in śāstra, and it is said, kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇum (SB 12.3.52).

Kṛte means in the Satya-yuga or what is generally known as Golden Age. So in the Satya-yuga people used to realize self or used to elevate themselves to highest perfection of life by meditation. Meditation.

You have heard the name of Vālmīki Muni. Vālmīki Muni, he meditated for sixty thousands of years. His whole body was covered by, what is called, worms. And . . . because at that time people used to live for one hundred thousands of years. So gradually our life is being reduced. In the Satya . . . yes. In the Satya-yuga it is stated that people used to live for one hundred thousands of years. And then, in the Tretā-yuga, they used to live for one thousands of years. No. In the Dvāpara-yuga for one thousand.

And in the Tretā-yuga, ten thousand years. In the Dvāpara-yuga one thousand years. And now it has come down to one hundred years in this Kali-yuga. That also, one hundred years is not completed. Now we are dying within sixty or seventy, and gradually it will be reduced to twenty to thirty years. That is also mentioned.

So what was possible in the Satya-yuga by meditation, that is not possible in this age. That is not possible. Therefore the methods have been made easier. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇum. What was being possible, to attain perfection of life by meditation in the Satya-yuga, that was possible in the Tretā-yuga by offering of big sacrifices. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ. Makhaiḥ means big sacrifices.

And dvāpare paricaryāyām. That very thing was realized in the Dvāpara-yuga by temple worship. There . . . from the Dvāpara-yuga in India so many temple worship flourished—not only in India, all over the world. Church worship is also temple worship. Mosque worship is also temple worship. It may be different for different countries and different class of people, but the whole thing is temple worship. Temple worship. There are, in the temple, there are nine kinds of different process of worship:

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ

sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

(SB 7.5.23)

So the . . . smaraṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ vandanam. Vandanam means offering prayer. And arcanam means . . . that is . . . of course, you have no experience, but India there is arcanā of the Deity, installing Deity in the temples and worship from morning, half past four, till night, eleven. There are different kinds of worship. So either this worship or this prayer, they are called temple worship. Temple worship. Vandanam, offering prayer, is another sort of temple worship. So that is recommended. That was recommended in the Dvāpara-yuga.

Dvāpara-yuga means just during the Mahābhārata time. Mahābhārata time, five thousand years before, that was the end of Dvāpara-yuga. Then, after the Battle of Kurukṣetra, this Kali-yuga has begun, Kali-yuga, this age, present age which we are passing on. In this age, this Kali-yuga will exist . . . from the Vedic scriptures we understand, it will exist for 400,000 years—400,000's of years, 427,000's of years . . . not 27, 32. Out of that, we have passed only 5,000 years. So there is balance still, 427,000's of years, to finish this Kali-yuga, this age of . . .

Now, for this age . . . kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ. Now, different ages, different methods are prescribed. So for this age, it is prescribed that kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt. Whatever possible to perform in the Satya-yuga by meditation and the Tretā-yuga by offering of great, I mean to say, costly sacrifices, and in the Dvāpara-yuga by offering prayers or arcanā in the temples, that can be made possible easily by hari-kīrtana, by chanting the holy name of God. That is the prescription.

So, as the Bhagavad-gītā prescribes that you have to perform yajña, now, don't be afraid that you have to perform the same kind of yajña as it was being performed in the Tretā-yuga or Dvāpara-yuga by offering thousands and thousands of maunds of clarified butter and grains. That is not possible. Nobody can secure all those ingredients at the present moment, neither it is recommended. In the Kali-yuga it is recommended that one can perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña. That will give him the same result which was derived by meditation in Satya-yuga.

So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced this method of saṅkīrtana-yajña in this age. Five hundred years before, Lord Caitanya advented Himself in India, in Bengal, in the district of Navadvīpa. It is about sixty miles from Calcutta. And He . . . of course, He was born in that particular place, but He, I mean to say, distributed these missionary activities all over India. And He desired that His followers may also distribute this missionary activity in other parts of the world. That is His desire and foretelling.

So this yajña . . . so far yajña is concerned, we can perform this yajña, saṅkīrtana-yajña. That is not very difficult. Everyone, at home or in this place . . . what is that?

Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare,

Hare, Rāma, Hare, Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare, Hare.

It is the most inexpensive performance of yajña. Anyone can adopt it, just to learn these sixteen words:

Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare, Hare,

Hare, Rāma, Hare, Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare, Hare

These sixteen words. Anyone, any illiterate man or any rich man, any poor man or any man of any country, these sixteen words anyone can learn. You see?

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

And chant. Go on chanting it. There is no expenditure.

Suppose if you are moving on the street and if you go on chanting:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

There is no expenditure and there is no loss. Suppose you are sitting on the bus, on the car, for two hours. For two hours, if you go on chanting, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa," then tremendous result. So why don't you try it? There is no expenditure, there is no loss, neither loss of time, neither loss of money, neither loss of energy. There is no loss. Simply and melodiously, in a singing way, if you go on:

"Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare,"

You are . . . you will be directly associating with the Supreme Lord. You will be directly associating.

Now, suppose, theoretically accepting that if I am directly associating with Supreme Lord, then what else I want more? In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ (BG 6.22).

If you actually get the association of the Lord, then what else you have got to gain? You have got everything with you. So that is a fact. It is a question of realization only. And as soon as we get advanced in this chanting of this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, then we shall gradually realize that actually God is with us. God is dancing on my tongue in the form of sound. You see?

So this is the simplest process of yajña, and that is introduced by Lord Caitanya. Not He has manufactured this process, but it is from authoritative scripture. And you can try it. You can try it. The result will be that gradually you will be on the way, on the path, of liberation. Liberation means to get out of this material entanglement. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that by chanting this kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, the first result will be that your heart will be cleared of all dust accumulated by years and years, life after life with this material association.

Just like we are sitting in this loft. So by association of this Bowery Street, always dust is coming in this room, and it is being stuck up, layer after layer; similarly, by association of this material contamination, we have in our heart accumulated so many material dust. The whole thing, our progress of spiritual life, our progress of spiritual realization, is checked only because we have got some misunderstanding of our identification. The identification is that, "I am this body." That's all. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13).

This is also described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that "One who is identified with this body of three elements . . ." This body is made of . . . according to Āyurvedic medicine system, this body is made of tri-dhātu: tejo-vāri-mṛd. That is also stated in the Bhāgavata, tejo-vāri-mṛd. That means heat, water and earth. Heat, water and earth. The whole material creation is a combination of these three things, tejo-vāri-mṛd. Tejaḥ means heat, or fire, and vāri means water, and mṛd means earth.

So this earth . . . this body is earth, matter. These grains, the grains which we eat, that is also earth, transformation. And now, by eating grains, this place is transformed. This is also earth. So we are seeing a very nice, beautiful, but it is earth. So it is made by interaction of this heat and water. That is the process going on, nature's creation.

So, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. So anyone who identifies with this body, this bag of these three elements . . . this is a bag. So yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. And from this bag there are many other bags emanated, just like my children; they are also my different bags, production of this bag. So yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. One who identifies this bag as "myself," "I am this body, and the result of my body, these kinsmen, children and family, or countrymen or society men, they are my own men," sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ . . .

Bhauma ijya-dhīḥ means this earth from which this earthly body has grown up. That means the country, this country. We are fond of our country because from this . . . this American earth my body has developed, or from Indian earth, or this earth of this planet, apart from American or Indian conception of life. So we are human beings of this planet. So we are identifying with this planetary situation. So all these things, they have been very carefully analyzed. And the conclusion has been that yasyātma . . . "One who thinks like that, he is no better than ass and cow." Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13).

Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥ. Go means cow, and khara means ass. So actually, if we analyze the present civilization, oh, it is a civilization of go-khara, go-khara, because we are identifying this body: "I am this body." And because this body has got connection with a particular woman, therefore "She is my wife." And because by that combination we have got another production, some children, "They are my children." And because expanded into society, into country and so many things . . . so all these entanglement is there. But actually I am pure soul; I am not this body. As soon as I understand this, then whole thing is vanished. You see? Because if I am not this body, then in relationship with this body, whatever I have expended, my extended selfishness, is at once vanished. Then I am mukta-puruṣa, I am liberated soul.

So Lord Caitanya says by chanting this śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, I become at once liberated from this misconception of life. What I need? I am suffering due to my this misconception of life. The whole Vedic literature advises me that "You are not this material body." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am Brahman." Brahman means I am spirit. I am the supreme . . . not supreme spirit, but I am spirit, Brahman. The Vedic literature does not say that I am Parambrahman. Parambrahman is Bhagavān. Qualitatively, I am one with Parambrahman, and Brahman, there is qualitatively oneness, because Brahman. Gold, big gold or small gold, that doesn't matter. Gold, both of them are gold.

So Lord Caitanya says that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12).

This misconception of life will be the first installment of our profit by chanting, by regularly chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, by performing this yajña. The first installment. That first installment will be: I become liberated from the material conception of life at once. The many great sages, they are going to Himalaya, they are going to the forest for meditation just to realize "What I am." Now Lord Caitanya says that this, what you are, your self-realization, your spiritual realization, will be the first installment. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. This is simply . . . ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam means this is misconception, that what I am not, I am thinking I am. It is simply to understand that I am not. Actually I am not this. We can understand it very shortly, within a moment. That Bhagavad-gītā . . . I have already told you that avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam (BG 2.17).

That portion which is spread all over your body, that you are. That is avināśi, that is immortal. Now, what is that? My consciousness. And what is that consciousness? That is the symptom of my presence. I am a soul present in this body, and the consciousness is the symptom. Then as soon as this consciousness is removed, the body has no value. That we are experiencing every day. As soon as from the body the consciousness is out, oh, it is dead body. We are crying, "Oh, my son is gone," "My husband is gone," "My brother . . ." Why your son is gone? It is lying there in the floor. Why you are crying? "No, no." That gone means that consciousness gone. Gone means that . . . therefore the consciousness is the real thing.

So we misunderstand. We misunderstand. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says the misunderstanding of this body identification is at once removed by performing this yajña:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare

Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Then next installment? Simply, simply understanding that, "I am not this body, I am consciousness" will do it? No. That is the first step. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. If you are actually conscious of being not this body, actually when, then your all material miseries are at once removed. As soon as you come to the real point of understanding that, "I am not this body," then the whole misunderstanding of material existence, bhava-mahā-dāvāgni . . . bhava-mahā-dāvāgni means . . . each and every word is very carefully selected in Sanskrit, and they have got immense meaning, full of meaning. Ah this, this, why this bhava-mahā-dāvāgni, this very word, I will try to explain.

Bhava, bhava means the situation in which we have to take repeated birth and we accept repeated death. That is called bhava. And that is a kind of mahā-dāvāgni. Mahā means great, and dāvāgni means forest fire. Forest fire. Forest fire, have you seen, any of you? Here you have got many forests, but I don't think you have seen any forest fire. I have seen. Forest fire takes automatically. Nobody goes to set fire in the forest, but by, I mean to say, cohesion of different dry bamboos or woods, fire takes, by electricity fire takes place, and the whole forest is ablaze. That is called dāvāgni.

So this material world, nobody wants. Everyone wants peaceful life. But the nature of the material world is that automatically there is fire. Automatically there is. Just like in New York your fire brigade is always traveling, always afraid of if there is any fire. Because we are expecting every moment fire. Every moment fire. Nobody is setting fire in his house, but automatically there is fire.

So however we may want, however we may try in the United Nations organization that there will be no war, oh, it will take. It will take place. And already taking place. It is . . . the war is going on. You cannot stop it. Therefore it is called bhava-mahā-dāvāgni. Just like in the forest nobody goes to set fire—it automatically takes place—similarly, in spite of our good wish that we want to live peacefully in this world, there cannot be any peace. There will be fire, set of fire, fire set off. Yes. So as soon as one becomes confidently I mean convinced that "I am not this body," then he is protected from this fire of this material world, fire, material world. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ, śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam (CC Antya 20.12)

Then his actual life begins. Then also . . . then he is actually blissful life. Śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇam. Just like the moon rises from the new moon. Gradually the moon rises into the full moon. Therefore the candrikā, candrikā, this very word, is used. It is compared with the moon. Just like on the pratipadā, after the new moon, you see the moon just like a line. Then, next day it becomes little more, next, little more. Just like pratipadā, on the eleventh day it is practically full. On the eleventh day we observe ekādaśī, and then, after four days, the full moon—the whole world is full of light. So śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā . . . as soon as this bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam, as soon as we get rid of this conception of . . . misconception of identifying this body, then our real, blissful life begins, gradually develops just like the moon develops. Śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam.

Vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam means full knowledge. Full knowledge. We are hankering after knowledge; then we come to the point of full knowledge. Vidyā-vadhū-jīvanam ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. Ānanda. We cannot increase ānanda here. In the material sense gratification, ānanda does not increase. If you want some ānanda from sense, for the time being it may give you some pleasure, but at once it decreases. You have no more capacity to enjoy. You see? At once decreases. So it is not ānanda. It is not real ānanda. Ānanda means that will increase, increase. You enjoy and increases. Increases.

Ānandāmbudhi-vardhanam. The example is very nice. Ambudhi. Ambudhi means sea. Sea . . . you don't find sea has increased. You go to the, what is called, seaside. Ten years before you had been to the seaside. You see the same level is there. It does not increase. If it increases, the whole New York City will be overflooded. It does not increase. But here Lord Caitanya says that ambudhi, the ocean of bliss, it increases. It increases. That is a new experience. When you actually in spiritual happiness, your bliss will be increased.

Material happiness means your bliss will be decreased. Suppose if you want a good cake or good foodstuff, you want to eat. Now, suppose you take two cakes or three cakes. Now, the fourth cake you will refuse, "No, no more I want. No more. I don't want," because that, I mean to say, pleasure now has decreased. Decreased. But here He says, Lord Caitanya says, that your ānanda, bliss, will be increased. Increased. That is spiritual. That is the test of spiritual life. When you engage yourself in spiritual function, the test will be that you will not feel tired. You will not feel tired. Suppose if you are engaged in some spiritual function, you will find more activity, more activity. More you do, more you find activity. That is spiritual. That is spiritual. So these things are there.

So we are not to be afraid of, that we cannot perform this yajña as prescribed in the Bhagavad-gītā. By the grace of Lord Caitanya and by the grace of Vedic literature we have got this information that yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32).

Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana. This yajña, saṅkīrtana-yajña, chanting yajña, one can perform, one can please the Supreme Lord. That is prescribed. So this is very easy, and anyone can adopt, only to remember the sixteen names, and at any time.

Lord Caitanya also says that nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā. The name, name Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa person, there is no difference. There is no difference. You don't think that "Arjuna was fortunate to receive instruction of Kṛṣṇa directly, but we are unfortunate. We are not in the presence of Kṛṣṇa." No, no, no, no. That is a . . . our mistake. Kṛṣṇa is present by the sound representation. Because God is Absolute, therefore there is no difference. Just like here we have got difference; nothing is Absolute.

Now, this watch, this watch, this name of this watch . . . this name of this article is "watch." Now, "watch" and the thing, watch, there is difference. If I want to see watch and if I sound, "watch, watch, watch," no, my purpose of watch-seeing will not serve. I want the actual substance, which is watch. If I am thirsty, if I simply speak of "water, water, water," my thirst will not be quenched. I want actual water. If we want something else for my enjoyment, the name will not do, because nothing in this . . . this is dual world. This is . . . this world is of duality. But in the absolute world there is no such duality. Everything is everything. One plus one equal to one; one minus one equal to one. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation).

These are Vedic injunction that, "If you take the whole thing from the whole, still, the balance is whole. The balance is whole."

So Lord Caitanya also said the same thing, that nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. This chanting, this performance of yajña, is so powerful that the Kṛṣṇa name is as powerful as Kṛṣṇa the person. Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktiḥ. And in the Kṛṣṇa name all the . . . God is almighty, so all the mightiness of God is there. Simply we have to realize. So nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā. And there is already invested all the potency, all the potency of the Supreme Person into His name.

And niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. And you have no hard and fast rule for chanting. It is not that . . . now, suppose if you have got to go to church or to temple, you have to dress yourself properly, you have to purify yourself and so many things before you enter into the church. Of course, any sacred place, the rules and regulation are the same. The Muhammadans also, they go the mosque after washing their hands and feet very nicely. So . . . and Hindu principle also, the same thing is there. They go to the temple after taking bath and purifying. So many things are there, either Hinduism or Muhammadanism or Christianism, according to country and climate and people. Practically, the principles are the same. They may be . . . formally, they may appear to be . . . but the thing is there.

But here, niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. Here you don't require that you have to take your bath before chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. No. Oh, because you are in the bathroom, therefore you cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? No. You can chant even there. So such a thing. Because if actually Kṛṣṇa, that very name, is Kṛṣṇa, then how I can remain impure? The potency is there. It makes me at once pure. Just like as soon as there is light, there is no question of darkness. Darkness and light cannot stand together. Either it must be darkness or must be light. So as soon as there is light . . . so Kṛṣṇa is light. Kṛṣṇa name is light. Therefore there cannot be any impurities. Impurity is due to my this material body. But I am, at that moment, I am in the spiritual platform, so this impurities cannot touch me.

These are, I mean the points of realization. As we make sincerely, sincere effort to perform this yajña, particular yajña for this age, then we make our progress. It is most inexpensive and very easy and very powerful. Why don't you adopt it? That is my request to you.

Thank you very much. Now, if there is any question you can put. (end)