720921 - Lecture SB 01.03.16 and Initiation - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720921SB-LOS ANGELES - September 21, 1972 - 33:22 Minutes

Prabhupāda: (sings Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava) (prema-dhvani) Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (obeisances)

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter 3, text 16. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

surāsurāṇām udadhiṁ

mathnatāṁ mandarācalam

dadhre kamaṭha-rūpeṇa

pṛṣṭha ekādaśe vibhuḥ

(SB 1.3.16)

Prabhupāda: Ladies. (ladies chant) That's all right. Word meaning?

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of synonyms)

sura—the theists; asurāṇām—of the atheists; udadhim—in the ocean; mathnatām—churning; mandarācalam—the Mandarācala Hill; dadhre—sustained; kamaṭha—tortoise; rūpeṇa—in the form of; pṛṣṭhe—shell; ekādaśe—the eleventh in the line; vibhuḥ—the great.

Translation: "The eleventh incarnation of the Lord was in the form of a tortoise, whose shell served as a pivot for the Mandarācala Hill, which was being used as a churning rod by the theists and the atheists of the universe."

Prabhupāda: So, yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇa devāya tasmai namaḥ (SB 12.13.1). The mantra, there is mantra, that yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ. One cannot understand the antam, the ultimate end, of the Supreme. Yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ. Viduḥ means "does not know." Surāsura-gaṇa. Sura. Sura means demigods, theists. Those who are believer in God, they are called sura, and just the opposite—asura. Asura does not believe in the existence of God. He thinks he is God. That is asura. Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said āsuri. Āsuri, this word has come from this āsura. Adjective. Asura is nominative. So from āsura, it becomes āsuri. Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Those who are atheists, they do not surrender. They do not like the idea of God or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But they do not know what is God or what is the ultimate end, who is the original cause. They do not know. Even the theists, they also do not know. They know Kṛṣṇa, but it is impossible to understand what is the limit of Kṛṣṇa's energies, just like we were discussing this morning.

So unlimited. Unlimited. Yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇa devāya tasmai namaḥ. Devāya, that Supreme Lord, we simply offer our respectful obeisance. It is not possible to know perfectly what is the potency and energy of God. The atheists, they do not know at all. But theists, devotees, they know, but that is not complete. Even Kṛṣṇa does not know how much powerful He is. That is called unlimited.

So surāsura-gaṇa udadhiṁ mathnatām. Churning. Once upon a time they churned the whole ocean. Now, churning the ocean . . . you have got experience, churning the milk in a pot or something else in a pot. But the pot is the ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the rod is Mandarācala Hill. And one side, the asuras, and the other side, the suras. So the churning rod must be placed on something, a pivot.

That is kamaṭha-rūpeṇa. Lord accepted the . . . because the kamaṭha, the tortoise, can live within the water and without the water also. They can live on the land and within the water. So the churning rod, Mandarācala Hill, was placed on the shell, on the back of the . . . keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra. Kṣitir iha vipulatare tiṣṭhati tava pṛṣṭhe. This pṛṣṭha, he is carrying.

kṣitir iha vipulatare tiṣṭhati tava pṛṣṭhe

dharaṇi-dhāraṇa-kiṇa-cakra-gariṣṭhe

keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare

(Śrī Daśāvatāra Stotra 2)

This Kūrma, kamaṭha-rūpeṇa.

Now, the surāsura-gaṇa, they are standing on the ocean. If you go up to your waist in the water, you become dangerously situated. But they were standing. This proves the law of relativity. Everywhere this law of relativity is working. You do not think, because you cannot stand in the midst of the water of the ocean, therefore nobody can stand. That is nonsense.

Ant, a small ant, it is also working. The same thing is going on in the ant society. They are also struggling for existence, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. And we are also doing that. And higher than us, surāsura-gaṇa, they are also doing that. But although the quality of the work is the same, the quantity is different. Quality of the work the same—eating, sleeping, mating and defending.

Everywhere, all living entities, they are struggling. Whole day they are working according to their capacity. And the qualities, what for they are working? Eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all. If you just resist one ant, it is coming, if you try to stop, the ant will also resist. It will go this way, that way, this way. It will not agree, "Why you are stopping me?" But it is trying in its own capacity. Similarly, you are also trying to resist in your own capacity by discovering atomic bomb. But as you can smash millions of ants simply by rubbing your leg on the ground, similarly, there are other beings who can finish you simply by rubbing their legs.

Don't think you are all in all. The rascals, the so-called human scientists, they are thinking they are all in all. "I am the monarch of all I survey." That is not. In God's creation there is smaller than the smallest and the bigger than the biggest. Nobody can claim that, "I am everything." No. That is not possible. So they were standing on the . . . without standing, how they are churning? But the sea water is up to the knees. How they can stand? So the seven-mile sea water is up to their knees. Your . . . an ant, even seven inches is sufficient water. And for you, seven feet is sufficient water. Similarly, others, even seven miles is not sufficient. This is the order of . . .

Don't think that these are all stories. Surāsurāṇāṁ mathnatām. "How they can stand on the ocean? How they can churn? Oh, these are all stories." They are not stories. It may be story for you. Just like if you speak to an ant or, what is called, a insect . . . there are many insects, they take their birth . . . we have seen it. In India we see. In this season there are insects. They are called divāli-pokā, insect divāli. Just in the evening they are born. And they flock together before a light, bawnh, bawnh, bawnh, bawnh, like this. And throughout the whole night they will do, and at the end of the night, in the morning, you will see, they are, in a heap, they are lying dead.

So their life, the duration of life is that night. Within that night they take their birth, they grow, they beget children, family, and defend, eat, mate. Everything is complete within the night. And at the end of the night, it is finished. So similarly, if to these flies, if you say: "Oh, we are dying like this, but there is human being, this is only one night. And such . . . there is another day also of the same period. Then together, day and night, such thirty day and night makes their month. And such twelve months make their year. And such hundred years they live," so how the fly will understand?

Similarly, we cannot understand. When the duration of life, Brahmā, is described, we think it is story. Similarly, they will think also story. Nothing is story. In the Vedic literatures all informations are there: their relative life, big and small, smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest. Don't think that these description in the Vedas, they are stories. They are not stories. They are facts. But we cannot accommodate in our poor teeny brain. That's all. So what we shall understand about God? It is not possible.

Therefore it is said, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). In our present senses we always think of seeing. But we forget that what seeing power we have got. It is nothing. It is simply under certain condition we can see a little portion. We cannot see perfectly, so we should not believe in our seeing power. So therefore śāstra says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136): "You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa and God by your present imperfect senses. That is not possible." Na bhaved grāhyam, "You cannot accept or you cannot receive by your blunt senses." That is not possible.

Then how it is possible? "I have . . . my only asset is these blunt senses. How can I understand God?" Yes: sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. If you engage in devotional service, then God will reveal to you, "Here I am. Here I am. I am like this." Just like Arjuna saw Kṛṣṇa. He understood God. So if we take the position of Arjuna, submissive . . . śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7), surrender, then God, by kindness, because you have surrendered, He will reveal to you. Otherwise, by your so-called calculation, you cannot understand what is the greatest and what is the smallest. But there are things smaller than the smallest and the greater than the greatest. That's all right. Thank you.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (obeisances) (break)

Prabhupāda: So, how many rounds you will chant?

Devotee: At least sixteen.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Devotee: At least sixteen.

Prabhupāda: So your name is Baladeva dāsa. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Steve?

Prabhupāda: (japa)

Śyāmasundara: Śatananda. Śatananda.

Prabhupāda: Śatā . . . Śatānanda. (japa) What are the rules?

Steve: No illicit sex, no meat, fish or eggs, no intoxicants . . .

Prabhupāda: Thank you. So, Śatānanda dāsa.

Śyāmasundara: Śatānanda. Śatānanda.

Prabhupāda: Śatānanda.

Śyāmasundara: Warren? Warren?

Prabhupāda: (japa) What are the rules and regulation?

Warren: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Take her to his mother. What are the rules and regulation?

Warren: No meat-eating, no gambling, no illicit sex and no intoxication.

Prabhupāda: How many rounds you will chant?

Warren: At least sixteen rounds a day.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Śyāmasundara: Vāmanānanda. Vāmanānanda.

Prabhupāda: Brāhmanānanda.

Śyāmasundara: Vāmana . . .

Prabhupāda: Vāmanānanda. All right. Vāmanānanda. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Jock . . . er, no. Carol?

Prabhupāda: (japa) What are the rules?

Carol: No illicit sexual connection, no intoxication, no eating of meat, fish or eggs and no mental speculation.

Prabhupāda: Thank you. Very good.

Carol: Also chanting sixteen . . .

Śyāmasundara: Karlapati dāsī. Karlapati.

(correcting pronunciation)

Prabhupāda: Karlāpati dāsī. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Jock?

Prabhupāda: So what are the rules and regulation?

Jock: No gambling, no meat-eating, fish or eggs, no intoxication . . .

Prabhupāda: Name?

Śyāmasundara: Jitavrata dāsa.

Prabhupāda: Jitavrata dāsa.

Śyāmasundara: Stuart?

Prabhupāda: (japa) Chanting should be done like this, not to touch this finger. Like this. What are the rules and regulations?

Stuart: No eating of meat, fish or eggs, no gambling, no taking of intoxicants . . .

Śyāmasundara: Sūtadeva dāsa.

Prabhupāda: Sūtadeva dāsa. (japa)

Śyāmasundara: Tom?

Prabhupāda: Take. (japa) Govindam ādi-puruṣam . . . what are the rules and regulation?

Tom: No eating of meat, fish or eggs, no gambling or speculation, no illicit sex life, no intoxication.

Prabhupāda: Name?

Śyāmasundara: Tāracandra. Tāracandra.

Prabhupāda: Tāracandra?

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Tāracandra. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Janet? Janet?

Prabhupāda: (japa) So what are the rules and regulation?

Janet: No illicit sex, no eating of meat, fish or eggs, no gambling and no illicit sex.

Śyāmasundara: Janapriya dāsī.

Prabhupāda: Jana . . .

Śyāmasundara: Janapriya.

Prabhupāda: Janapriya dāsī. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Vasumi? Vasumi?

Prabhupāda: She is Japanese?

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: You are Japanese?

Vasumi: Yes.

Prabhupāda: You know Japanese language?

Vasumi: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Huh? Not very much. All right.

Jayatīrtha: She knows Japanese, very little English. She comes from Tokyo.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Why she does not go to take charge of Tokyo branch? (laughter) Are you willing? You are not married? You are married or not?

Vasumi: Yes, I am married.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Where is your husband? Oh. (to Satyadeva) You know Japanese language?

Satyadeva: Just a little, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. So what are the rules and regulation? Rules and regulation? What are the rules and regulation?

Vasumi: No intoxication, no gambling, no eating of meat, fish or eggs . . .

Prabhupāda: That's nice. What is her name?

Śyāmasundara: Mahāguṇa dāsī.

Prabhupāda: Very nice. Mahāguṇa dāsī. All right. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (devotees offer obeisances) (end)