761101 - Lecture SB 05.05.10-13 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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761101SB-VRNDAVAN - November 01, 1976 - 27.11 Minutes

Pradyumna: Translation: "O My sons, you should accept a highly elevated paramahaṁsa, a spiritually advanced spiritual master. In this way, you should place your faith and love in Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You should detest sense gratification and tolerate the duality of pleasure and pain, which are like the seasonal changes of summer and winter. Try to realize the miserable condition of living entities, who are miserable even in the higher planetary systems. Philosophically inquire about the truth. Then undergo all kinds of austerities and penances for the sake of devotional service. Give up the endeavor for sense enjoyment and engage in the service of the Lord. Listen to discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and always associate with devotees. Chant about and glorify the Supreme Lord, and look upon everyone equally on the spiritual platform. Give up enmity and subdue anger and lamentation. Abandon identifying the self with the body and the home, and practice reading the revealed scriptures. Live in a secluded place and practice the process by which you can completely control your life air, mind and senses. Have full faith in the revealed scriptures, the Vedic literatures, and always observe celibacy. Perform your prescribed duties and avoid unnecessary talks. Always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acquire knowledge from the right source. Thus practicing bhakti-yoga, you will patiently and enthusiastically be elevated in knowledge and will be able to give up the false ego." (break)

Prabhupāda:

haṁse gurau mayi bhaktyānuvṛtyā

vitṛṣṇayā dvandva-titikṣayā ca

sarvatra jantor vyasanāvagatyā

jijñāsayā tapasehā-nivṛttyā

(SB 5.5.10)

So this is called regulative principle. In the previous verse, it was recommended that karmānubaddho dṛḍha āślatheta (SB 5.5.9). This attachment, karmānubaddha, for this material world, everyone is busy—we have discussed many times—from morning to, till late at night, and night also, they are busy. Big, big factories, they are working day and night, one shift, other shift. That has become the criterion of civilization. Formerly it was less, because this ugra-karma . . . these factories means ugra-karma, unnecessarily severe, hard work. Unnecessary. We have seen in Detroit, they are manufacturing one Ford, manufacturing Ford, simply wheels of the motorcar. Huge stock wheels. And somebody is manufacturing tire, huge stock tire, and they are giving estimate: "Up till now, so many millions of tire we have manufactured." Well, you know all this. It is in your country. And then there are so many motor parts, there are three thousands small parts. Big, big factories are working to manufacture the parts of the motorcar, different parts of the motorcar, day and night working. And ultimately, they are preparing one car, and people are using huge quantity of cars. This is called karmānubaddha, unnecessary, ugra-karma.

Transportation is required, but we see from Kṛṣṇa books that the inhabitants of Gokula . . . there was a meeting headed by Nanda Mahārāja's young brother, Upānanda, and all the villagers, they assembled together. They discussed that "Our Kṛṣṇa is being repeatedly attacked by the asuras, and it has become very troublesome. So let us leave this place." They are villagers. They thought it wise that "Because we are in this village, some of the demons, they are coming and disturbing." So they are villagers . . . immediately Nanda Mahārāja agreed, "All right, let us leave this place." So immediately, they transferred the whole village with their possessions, cloth or something, everything, within one hour. And they transported by the bullock cart to Nandagrāma. That means, the idea is the whole village was transferred from one village to another within very short time.

So the transport is required, the transport by bullock carts. The bulls are there. They can be used for transport. Or the asses, they can be used for transport. But . . . and the camels can be used for transport. There are so many animals. So advancement, and big, big kings, royal families, they have got their transport service by keeping elephants and horses. You can get on the back of the horses and get yourself there. So nature's arrangement, God's arrangement is there. Transport is required in the human society, but you can utilize so many animals for your purpose. But at the present moment, ugra-karma. The transport is there, but they have manufactured big, big buses for transport, big, big cars, and the animals, they are now killed, and eat. That's all. This is civilization. This is civilization. Not to reduce the labor, but increase labor. Therefore they are called ugra-karma, jagataḥ hita, and that will create disastrous condition of the human society. This is discussed in Bhagavad-gītā.

So our this simple living . . . we are introducing the simple living, that go to the village, have sufficient food grains and milk. And the experiment is successful in the Western countries - in New Vrindavan, in Philadelphia, in New Orleans. So now the leaders of European and American countries, they are threatened: "This kind of civilization, if it is advanced, then where we stand?" This simple living . . . in Australia, one psychiatrist, he remarked that "If this kind of simple living is introduced, then where we stand?" So they want ugra-karma. They want to work day and night in the factories, and to pacify themselves, they immediately require drinking, illicit sex. Thence, by working on motorcars, they have no enough food, they want to eat meat, kill animals; and to digest the meat, he must drink. One after another. One after another.

So this ugra-karma they have introduced, but they are not happy. Because they are fools, they do not know their happiness is different. It cannot be had from the ugra-karma. Therefore here it is said, sarvatra vyasana? What is that? Jantor vyasanāvagatyā, sarvatra jantor vyasanāvagatyā. Your material civilization, wherever you advance materially, there is trouble. Not only on this planet, but in other planets also, I mean higher planets, where they live for many millions of years and their standard of happiness . . . of course, these rascals, they are finding only stones and rocks in other planets. They have got everything only in this planet. And you have to believe them. Wherever they are going, in the moon planet or in the Mars planet, what do they see? Simply rocks and sands. But that is not the fact. Each and every planet is full of living entities, jānākīrṇa. That is the statement in the . . . everywhere, every planet, there are different kinds of living entities. Just like we see in this planet also, the Europeans are of different features, the Americans have different features, India different features, Africa different features. So there are varieties of living continent . . . varieties of living entities, but no planet is vacant. That is not the fact. This is rascaldom. They are declaring the planets are vacant; only their father's property here, that is full of living entities. This is nonsense. This is nonsense.

Therefore it is said, sarvatra jantor vyasanāvagatyā. Sarvatra, everywhere, there are living entities and there are sufferings. Not only living entities. As there are sufferings here, three kinds of miserable conditions, even that will continue. Ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). That is statement of Kṛṣṇa. Even you go to the Brahmaloka . . . not that Brahmaloka is better. Why there are so many, ananta-koṭi, planets? Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (BS 5.40): not only one universe, but many millions and trillions of universes. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-bhinnam. Koṭiṣu. In each and every brahmāṇḍa, ananta-vasudhā. Vasudhā means the living places. Vibhinna, ananta yad . . . yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-bhinnam. Bhinnam, the climatic, atmospheric position is different. Not that it is vacant. Bhinnam. Vasudhādi-bhinnam. Just as moon planet, that atmosphere is different. Otherwise how it is possible that the moon planet, it is so nice, soothing rays is coming? And why not from the sun? The sun is differently constructed, different rays. It is God's arrangement. In daytime you require sunshine, and you become tired, so at nighttime there very soothing moonshine. You becomes pacified, pleased, soothing. Why the sun and the moon, if they are vacant or something like that . . .? They do not know vasudhādi-bhinnam. Each and every planet is differently constituted. They do not know. These rascals, they are passing as scientists and simply giving this conclusion, that "Every planet is full of dust and rocks." If dust and rocks, then why from the sunshine so much heat is coming, and why from the moonshine so soothing and pleasing shine is coming? These rascals, they do not know. And they are passing as scientists. I call them directly rascals, simply, set of rascals. They have never gone to the moon planet. They do not know what are the different position of the different planets. Simply they are, I mean to say, cheating people to get good salary. That's all. And in the name of scientist.

But you should know from the Vedic literature the position. You should know that each and every planet is full of different types of living entities, and in the higher planetary system, the standard of living may be very—not maybe; it is mentioned—thousands and thousands of times better than this planet. They . . . this is called Bhūrloka, then Bhuvarloka, then Svargaloka, Janaloka, Maharloka, Tapoloka, Satyaloka, Brahmaloka—these are different higher planetary system—and each loka, the standard of happiness is thousand times better than the earth. This is the position. And Kṛṣṇa says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ (BG 8.16). And similarly down, there are different lokas—Tala, Atala, Talātala, Vitala, Patala, like that. This is the constitution. But here Ṛṣabhadeva says that anywhere you go, the threefold miseries of material existence, that will continue. You cannot get free. Even Brahmaloka, the Brahmā, he is subjected to die. He is also undergo the principles of death, and what to speak of others. Nobody will exist here. Ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16).

So we should know that, that we are trying to improve our material condition—it doesn't matter you are now a poor man, and by doing something you get, I mean to say, great amount of wealth. That does not mean that you are free from dangerous condition of life. That is not. Sarvatra. Either in this planet or in other planet or this condition, that condition, the threefold miseries, adhyātmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika, and these miseries, and janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi . . . Kṛṣṇa says, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). Kṛṣṇa never says that "Within this universe, if you go to the heavenly planet, then you can avoid janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi." Never says. Nobody says. Kṛṣṇa says, "Even you go to the heavenly planet," ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ, "the janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, there will be; you cannot avoid." Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). "But if you come to Me," paraṁ dhāma, "then you can avoid."

Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). Here, everywhere you'll find duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. Just like I was reading last night that Bṛhaspati's wife is kidnapped by Candra. The Bṛhaspati is the spiritual master of the demigods, and his wife was kidnapped by Candra. He is also one of the demigods. Just see: the sex and lusty desires are so strong, even in the higher planetary system. And that is the cause. That is the cause. Here it is said, liṅgaṁ vyapohet kuśalo aham-ākhyam. This false ego is the cause of our miserable condition in this material world. Material world is miserable, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15), this material world. One ant is living, say, for one day, and I am living for hundred years, and Brahmā is living for millions of years. That does not mean any one of us is free from the miserable condition of this material world. Nobody. Therefore this material world is called duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam.

mām upetya kaunteya

duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam

nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ

saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

(BG 8.15)

That is saṁsiddhi, that if you become able how to become free from this encagement of material body, liṅgaṁ vyapohet . . . therefore the endeavor should be how to give up this material body and be situated in our spiritual status, and that will give us . . .

So for that there are so many practices, regulative principles, mentioned here. The first thing is haṁse gurau mayi bhaktyānuvṛtyā (SB 5.5.10). This is religion. Ādau gurvāśrayam. If you do not get a qualified guru, then everything is bogus. If you, by good fortune, if you get the association of a guru, qualified haṁsa, paramahaṁsa . . . paramahaṁsa guru means sannyāsī's last stage is paramahaṁsa. Kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, parivrājakācārya and paramahaṁsa, these are the different stages. When one takes sannyāsa, he lives outside the village in a kuṭī, in a cottage, and the family members goes and delivers him the food, because he is not practiced. So in the beginning, he keeps up this association of neighborhood or family, but he is not practiced. He therefore lives outside the village, and if somebody gives some food, he eats. Then when he becomes experienced, then he does not accept food from one . . . either his own home or one home. He takes foodstuff from many homes: "Give me a little piece of cāpāṭi." So somebody gives half, because they are also not overburdened. If they have to deliver so many sannyāsīs come, and sumptuous food, then how the gṛhastha will provide?

Therefore though . . . they do not overburden. There may be other sannyāsīs, therefore little only. Madhukarī. The Gosvāmīs practiced this madhukarī in Vṛndāvana. They lived, but they would take little only from the house. This is called bahūdaka. Then when he has practiced more, he travels all over the world, parivrājakācārya. And when he is fully experienced, then, in spiritual life and everything, then he is paramahaṁsa.

So one must find out a guru who is paramahaṁsa. Neither kuṭīcaka, nor bahūdaka, nor parivrājakācārya. Paramahaṁsa. So in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta also, Lord Caitanya says, guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). This bhakti-latā-bīja can be obtained through the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. Here Ṛṣabhadeva, who is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, therefore He says mayi, haṁse gurau mayi. You cannot jump over Kṛṣṇa: "Well, I know Kṛṣṇa. I shall go to Kṛṣṇa directly, without guru." There are many rascals, they say like that. No, that is not possible. First of all guru, then Kṛṣṇa. Haṁse gurau mayi, bhaktyānuvṛtyā.

So these are description, this is the beginning. If we actually practice the description of the prescription given in the śāstra, then it will be possible that, as it is said, karmānubaddho dṛḍha āślatheta (SB 5.5.9). Then our strong desire to enjoy this material world in different way, that will be slackened. That is wanted.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! (end)