TRANSLATION: Humility;
pridelessness; nonviolence;
tolerance; simplicity; approaching
a bona fide spiritual master;
cleanliness; steadiness and self-
control; renunciation of the
objects of sense gratification;
absence of false ego; the
perception of the evil of birth,
death, old age and disease; non
attachment to children, wife,
home and the rest; and even-
mindedness amid pleasant and
unpleasant events; constant and
unalloyed devotion to Me;
resorting to solitary places;
detachment from the general
mass of people; accepting the
importance of self-realization;
and philosophical search for the
Absolute Truth—all these I thus
declare to be knowledge, and
what is contrarary to theses is
ignorance.
PRABHUPĀDA: So we have
discussed about the body, kṣetra.
The question of Arjuna was
kṣetra, kṣetrajna, jñānam, and
jñeyam. Now kṣetra, we have
discussed yesterday. Kṣetra, this
body, is combination of “the five
great elements, false ego,
intelligence, the unmanifested,
the ten senses, the mind, the five
sense objects, desire, hatred,
happiness, distress, the
aggregate, the life symptom, and
convictions—all these are
considered in summary to be the
field of activities.” Yesterday we
have discussed.
So we should not mistake this
that we accept the field of
activities identified with myself.
That is going on. Suppose you
have got a piece of land as
agriculturist, and you produce
your food grain in large quantity
or small quantity. It doesn’t
matter. Similarly, this body we
are utilizing.
We can practically see. Everyone
is working with this body in
Bombay city. A very poor man is
also in Bombay city, and a very
rich man is also there. Both of
them have the same facilities to
work, but we find that one man
is working very hard day and
night. Hardly he is getting his
morsel of food. Another man,
simply by going, sitting in the
office, earning thousands and
thousands. Why? Because the
difference of the field of
activities. The body is different.
Because one has got a certain
type of body, his destination is
already there. Karmaṇā daiva-
netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye
[SB 3.31.1]. We can study this
thing, that somebody is living in a
poor slum and another man is
living in a very palatial building.
So simply by endeavoring that “I
shall live in a palatial building,
and I shall not live in this poor
slumhole,” it is not possible
because the destiny is there.
Therefore the body is made
according to our past karma, and
that is called destiny. Your
happiness and distress according
to the body is already settled up.
It is not possible by natural way
to improve or disimprove it. It is
already settled up. Therefore
śāstra says,
tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatām
upary adhaḥ tal labhyate
duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
The human life should be utilized
for understanding the Absolute
Truth. The next paragraph, that
describes how one can
understand the Absolute Truth.
Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā
kṣāntir ārjavam. So our life
should be utilized for
understanding the Absolute
Truth, not for economic
development. Economic
development, what is already
destined, you cannot improve
less or more. It is already settled
up.
There are so many examples.
Just like a pig has got a body. He
likes to eat stool. If you give him
halavā, that “Don’t eat stool.
Take this nice halavā,” he’s not
interested because he has got a
particular type of body. That is
the aggregate. That is already
explained. Mahā-bhūtāny
ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam
(eva) ca, icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ
duḥkham. Icchā dveṣaḥ. The
icchā and dveṣa according to the
body. He has got the desire to
eat the stool. That is his icchā.
And he has got a dveṣa for the
halavā, while a gentlemen,
advanced gentlemen, he has got
the icchā for halavā, not for the
stool.
Therefore our duty should be
that without trying… That was
Indian civilization. Everyone was
happy in his position, everyone—
brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya,
śūdra. The culture was so nice
that nobody was unhappy, even
if he is a śūdra or even if he is a
vaiśya or a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya.
It is not that because the
kṣatriyas, the royal family, they
were happy, and the brāhmaṇas
were not happy or the śūdras
were not happy. No. Everyone
was happy because… Still in India
you go to the village. They are
happy with their destination. This
is the Indian culture. Now we are
injecting discontentment,
injecting. Otherwise everyone
was happy in his position: “God
has given this position. So this is
all right. Let me do my work.”
That is satisfaction. Everyone was
satisfied.
Still it is going on, although great
propaganda is going on to kill the
Vedic culture. Just as some in
1971 in we attended the
Māghamela. In 1971? Or which
year? That Allahabad
Māghamela.
DEVOTEE: 1971.
PRABHUPĀDA: Yes. So people
were coming there, thousands
and thousands, to take a bath in
the Ganges, and they were
happy. There in Calcutta there
was an Indo-American society. I
was invited to speak there. So
they gave me the subject matter,
“East and West.” So… (aside:)
Don’t do… So far we are
concerned, we have no such
distinction, “East and West.” We
know that everyone is human
being, and everyone, every living
entity, not only the human being,
even the birds, beasts, animals,
trees, everyone, a living entity is
part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa.
Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ [Bg.
15.7]. So everyone is in
ignorance. That is our concern.
Our propaganda is not for the
East and the West, but our fight
is with the ignorance of the
people because at the present
moment people are kept in
ignorance, in foolishness, that he
is this body, bodily identification.
But still, there is difference
between East and West. In the
West, I have talked with big, big
professors, learned scholars.
They have no idea of next life.
I talked with Professor Kotovsky
in Moscow. He said, “Swamiji,
after annihilation of this body,
everything is finished.” They have
no idea that there is soul. And in
India even the poorest man, he
knows that, “There is next life. I
existed in the past, and I will
exist in the future.” This Vedic
conclusion is known even to the
poorest man, illiterate man. That
is, of course, the difference
between East and West.
So anyway, our position is that
we should not identify this body
as self. Kṛṣṇa says here that
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ
tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam etaj
jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad
ataḥ anyathā
Adhyātmā-jñānam, to understand
oneself as the spirit soul, that
jñānam. Adhyātmā-jñānam,
tattva-jnanārtha-darśanam.
Philosophy should be utilized.
Logic and philosophy should be
utilized for self-realization, not for
simply mental speculation.
We find nowadays, big, big
philosophers write volumes of
book, simply theorizing without
any understanding of the spirit
soul. Big, big philosopher. And
Kṛṣṇa says that if one simply puts
philosophical theories for some
utopian ideas, “Now time is
coming which will be like this, like
that.” No. Time is there already.
You cannot manufacture time like
this or like that. It will go on. It is
eternal. It is eternal.
Just like Kṛṣṇa has said in the
second chapter of Bhagavad-gītā
that “Arjuna, you and me and all
the soldiers and kings who have
assembled here, it is not that we
did not exist in the past. We are
existing now, and we shall
continue to exist in the future.”
So this eternity of the soul we do
not know. We are simply
identifying ourself with this body,
and we are simply interested for
the bodily comforts of life. This is
the civilization, going on.
So although we have got this
Bhagavad-gītā, at least in India
the education should have been
on the line of Bhagavad-gītā for
the benefit of the people of
India. Unfortunately nobody is
taking care. Even though there
are some propaganda of
understanding Bhagavad-gītā,
they are interpreting in their own
way to fulfill their own ambition.
This is going on. So here Kṛṣṇa
says, amānitvam, amānitvam.
What is that amānitvam?
The central point of process of
knowledge is mentioned here,
Mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir
avyabhicariṇī. One has to be
fixed up on this point. There are
eighteen different description of
the process of knowledge, but
the central point is mayi ca. Mayi
ca. Ca means… That is the main
point. Without Kṛṣṇa, if you
simply try to become elevated in
knowledge, that will not stand.
That will not stand. Therefore
Kṛṣṇa says mayi ca. Mayi cā
ananya-yogena. Ananya-yogena
means without any deviation.
Ananya-yogena bhaktir
avyabhicāriṇī. Without any
deviation. Avyabhicāriṇī means
without any disturbance. Ananya-
bhakti. In another place Kṛṣṇa
says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate
mām ananya-bhāk.
api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām
ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa
mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi
saḥ [Bg. 9.30]
The central point is bhagavad-
bhakti. Harāv abhaktasya kuto
mahad-guṇāḥ. If one is not a
devotee of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa harāv
abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ—
he cannot possess any great
qualities. That is not possible.
Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-
guṇāḥ.
We have seen practically. Just
like Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa was a great
personality, a great devotee of
Lord Śiva also, and materially his
kingdom was very much
advanced. It is said that Lanka
was made of gold. Actually there
were many palaces. And he was
a very big Vedic scholar also. But
one thing, that he was against
Rāma… And for this
disqualification he is still
described as asura, rākṣasa. So
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-
guṇāḥ mano-rathenāsato
dhāvato bahiḥ. If one is not
devotee of the Lord, he will
simply concoct on the mental
platform. So that will not make.
Rāvaṇa also wanted to make a
staircase to go directly to the
heavenly planet. Just like we are.
At the present moment, we are
trying to go directly to the moon
planet by sputnik. But it has
failed. It is not possible. In that
way we cannot go. If we want to
go to another planet, the process
is described in the Bhagavad-
gītā: yānti deva-vratā devān piṝn
yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ [Bg. 9.25] If you
want to go to the higher
planetary system, then that
particular devata, Indraloka,
Candraloka. The moon planet is
Candraloka. That is also
considered as one of the
heavenly planets. So you have to
prepare yourself by karma-
kāṇḍīya activities. Then you can
go there by… After this body is
finished, you immediately
transfer to certain planet where
you want to go.
Similarly, if you want to go to the
planet where Kṛṣṇa lives, Goloka
Vṛndāvana…
goloka-nāmni nija-dhāmni tale ca
tasya devī-maheśa-hari-dhāmasu
teṣu teṣu te te prabhāva-nicayā
vihitāś ca yena govindam ādi-
puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs.
5.43]
There is… Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo
’nyo vyaktyāvyakta-sanātanaḥ
[Bg. 8.20] They are described in
the Bhagavad-gītā that “Beyond
this material nature there is
another nature. That is called
sanātana.” Paras tasmāt tu
bhāva. Bhāva means svabhāva or
nature. As you see this material
nature… Although you are
seeing, you cannot go. You are
so limited, conditioned. You see
so many planets twinkling at
night, but there is no possibility
of going there.
You cannot go to the nearest
planet, even the moon planet, by
your mechanical arrangement.
The modern scientists, the
sputniks experts, they say to go
to the topmost planet of this
universe it will take forty
thousands of years. Who is going
for forty thousand, flying forty
thousands of years and again
come back and see you: “Yes, I
went to such and such planet.” Is
it possible? So we are so poor. It
is not possible in that way.
So this is the position of our
going to the material planets,
and what to speak of the spiritual
planets? That is far, far away.
You cannot travel within the
space of material world.
panthās tu koti-śata-vatsara-
sampragamyo vāyor athāpi
manaso muni-puṅgavānām so ’py
asti yat prapada-sīmny avicintya-
tattve govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ
tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [Bs 5.34]
Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara. Not
only one year, two years, three
years or forty thousand years.
Koṭi-śata-vatsara. Koṭi, you know,
one hundred times lakhs makes
koṭi and again multiply it by
hundred. Koṭi-śata-vatsara. And
the speed. What is the speed of
that aeroplane? Panthās tu koṭi-
śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor
athāpi. Aeroplane. Vāyur
manasaḥ. And with the speed of
mind. Airplane running with the
speed of mind. You know what is
the speed of mind. You are
sitting here, and within a second
your mind can go some ten
thousand miles away, within a
second. So even with that speed
and running on, koti-sata-
vatsara, you cannot go to the
spiritual planet. This is the
position. So ’py asti yat prapada-
sīmny-avicintya-tattve. So in that
way you cannot go.
But you can go if you prepare
yourself. Mad-yājino ’pi yānti
mām. Mad-yājino. Those who are
devotees of the Lord, Mad-
yājinaḥ That is the principle of
Bhagavad-gītā: man-manā bhava
mad-bhakto mad-yājī. Mad-yājī.
“You worship Me.” So mad-yājino
’pi yānti mām. You can go to the
Kṛṣṇa planet. Goloka-nāmni nija-
dhāmni tale ca tasya [Bs. 5.43]
The Kṛṣṇa-dhāma is described in
the śāstra, Brahma-saṁhitā,
cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu
kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhir
abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-
śata-sambhrama-sevyamānāṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ
bhajāmi [Bs. 5.29]
There is the Goloka Vṛndāvana
planet. That Goloka Vṛndāvana
planet is the topmost planet. This
material world, then you’ll get
spiritual world. Then spiritual
world, as you have got in this
material world, this is only one
universe. There are millions of
universes, even within this
material world.
Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam
athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā
jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ [Bs. 5.48].
Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam
athāvalambya. People claim.
Some rascal claim, “I am God.”
So here is a description of God.
Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam
athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā
jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ [Bs. 5.48].
Jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ means
Brahmā. You have understood
Brahmā’s duration of life.
Sahasra-yuga-paryantam arhad
yad brahmaṇo viduḥ. The
Brahmā’s one day, twelve hours,
you cannot calculate. Sahasra-
yuga-par… Yuga means forty-
three lakhs of years and multiply
it by one thousand, and then it
comes to be twelve hours of
Brahma’s ayuḥ. Such Brahmā
lives only…yasyaika-niśvasita-
kālam athāvalambya [Bs. 5.48]
Mahā-Viṣṇu is exhaling and
inhaling. When he is inhaling, so
many Brahmas are going within,
and when He is exhaling, so
many Brahmās are coming,
means so many brahmāṇḍas are
coming. This is the position.
yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam
athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā
jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ viṣṇur mahān
sa iha yasya kāla-viśeṣo
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ
bhajāmi [Bs. 5.48]
That Mahā-Viṣṇu is partial
representation of Govinda.
Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam
ahaṁ bhajāmi **. So this is
called knowledge. One has to
know what is God, what is the
nature of God. So one has…
The first qualification is
amānitvam. Don’t be puffed up
with your false knowledge.
Having this little degree from the
university, you are thinking that
you have become so learned, you
don’t care for God even. This is
nonsense. Therefore first
qualification to get progress in
knowledge is amānitvam,
amānitvam. Don’t be proud
falsely. Our present education is
simply teaching people how to
become falsely proud. Just like
here is, Bhagavad-gītā is going
on. They are falsely proud: “Oh,
what you have to learn here? We
know everything. We know
everything. We are M.A., Ph.D.,
that’s all. We have finished
already this.” Therefore the first
thing is amānitvam,
pridelessness. Go on reading the
purport.
PRADYUMNA: “So if one does not
approach or is not able to
approach the transcendental
service of the Lord, then the
other nineteen items are of no
particular value. But if one takes
to devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, the other
nineteen items automatically
develop within him.”
PRABHUPĀDA: Yes. This is the
central point. Yasyāsti bhaktir
bhagavaty akiñcanāḥ sarvair
guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ. All
the qualities of the demigods,
sura… Sura and asura. Sura
means demigods or gods, and
asura means demons. So if one
becomes devotee of Kṛṣṇa…
Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty
akiñcanāḥ. Akiñcana.
Pridelessness. Akiñcana. Kṛṣṇa’s
another name is Akiñcana-
gocara. He can be understood by
akiñcana, one who thinks himself
as very humble, meek. That is
also said in the Bible, that one
has to become meek and
humble. Then he can
understand. And that is also
Kṛṣṇa demanding, that “First
surrender. Become humble and
meek.” This is the verdict of all
Vedic śāstras.
Jñāne prayāsam udapasya
namanta eva san-mukhāritaṁ
bhavadīya-vartam. This is the
statement of Brahmā, that one
should give up the nonsense
process of mental speculation,
“God may be like this; God may
be like that.” No. God is not
manufactured by your mental
speculation. God is God always,
Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is God from the
childhood. When He was three
months old He demonstrated His
godly powers. He immediately
killed Sakaṭāsura. He immediately
killed Putanā. So He did not
become God by meditation,
manufactured in some mystic
factory. God is God. God is
always God. Even when He is
child, when He is young man,
when He is a boy. Kṛṣṇa, when
He was a boy of seven years old,
He lifted the Govardhana Hill.
That is God. Not that “Here is a
man. By mystic power He has
become God.” No. That God is
different God. Real God is always
God.
So akiñcana-gocara. That real
God can be realized by a person
who is humble and meek.
Amānitvam adambhitvam. Go on.
“Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The other
nineteen items automatically
develop.” Yasyāsti bhaktir-
bhagavaty akiñcanāḥ sarvair
guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ.
Automatically. Yasmin vijñāte
sarvam etaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti.
This is the Vedic assertion. If you
simply understand one, that
Kṛṣṇa, then you understand
everything. Just like in Bhagavad-
gītā. If you try to understand
Kṛṣṇa, you get all the
knowledge—material, spiritual,
everything. Practically. Yasmin
vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ
bhavanti. Go on.
PRADYUMNA: “The principle of
accepting a spiritual master, as
mentioned in the seventh verse,
is essential.”
PRABHUPĀDA: Yes. That
knowledge has to be acquired.
Ācāryopāsanam. Here it is said.
You have to worship ācārya.
Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who
has accepted… Narottama dāsa
Ṭhākura has also said, āśraya
loiyā bhaje kṛṣṇa tāre nāhi tyaje
āra saba more akaraṇa. Āśraya.
You have to take shelter. Evaṁ
paramparā prāptam imaṁ
rājarṣayo viduḥ [Bg. 4.2]
And Arjuna also said, śiṣyas te
’haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam.
Śiṣyas te… Ācārya,
ācāryopāsanam. Kṛṣṇa and
Arjuna, two friends. There was
no need of accepting Kṛṣṇa as
Arjuna’s spiritual master. Still, he
is accepting officially. Śiṣyas te
’haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: “I
am accepting You as my spiritual
master. Please teach me.” So this
is essential. Ācāryopāsanam.
Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum
evābhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. This
is Vedic instruction. If you at all
interested in the understanding
of spiritual subject matter, then
you must approach a bona fide
spiritual master. Tad
vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum
evābhigacchet. Abhigacchet
means must. It is not that if you
like, you can go; if you do not
like, you do not. No, you must.
Abhigacchet. Samit-pāṇi
śrotrīyaṁ brahma-niṣṭam.
Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijṇāsuḥ śreya uttamam [SB
11.3.21]. It is not a fashion to
accept one guru. If you are
actually interested, śreya
uttamam, the highest perfection
of life—tasmād guruṁ
prapadyeta—then you have to
accept a guru. This is called
ācāryopāsanam.
Even Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, He
accepted Sāndīpani Muni as
teacher, master. Caitanya
Mahāprabhu, He is also
incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, but He
accepted Īśvara Purī as His guru.
They do not require guru, but
just to keep pace with the official
program, even God personally,
He accepted spiritual master. So
this is essential. Ācāryopāsanam.
To become humble, meek,
ahiṁsā, non-violence, śānti,
tolerance. In this way you have
to make progress. The other
ninety nine items will be
described by and by. We have
to… Yes. Tomorrow we shall
describe. Thank you very much.
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
ANNOUNCER: The following is a
class on the Bhagavad-gītā As It
Is, 13th chapter, text number 8
through 12, given by His Divine
Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda, recorded on
October 3rd, 1973 in Bombay,
India.
PRABHUPĀDA:
Kṛṣṇa, the supreme authority,
Supreme Personality of Godhead,
He’s speaking the process of
acquiring knowledge. Jñānam.
So, the first beginning of
knowledge is humility. Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught,
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api
sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Cc. adi
17.31]
Anyone this humbleness and
humility is taught everywhere.
Without being gentle, humble,
how one can be a man of
knowledge? But at the present
moment the humility is forgotten.
Everyone is proud unnecessarily.
Although he’s nothing, he’s
proud. So much so that
sometimes a rascal says that “I
am God.” This is the modern
civilization. He’s so puffed-up, so
proud, that one claims to become
God, what to speak of other
things. No. The first thing is that
one must be very humble.
This is the process of Vedic
civilization. Vidyā-vinaya-
sampanne brāhmaṇe. One has to
become brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa
means vidyā-vinaya-sampanna.
He must be learned and humble.
That is brāhmaṇa. Vidyā-vinaya-
sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini.
That is the first-class life. Vidya-
vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇa.
Why brāhmaṇa is honored in the
society? Because brāhmaṇa
means vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
and very humble. Vidyā-vinaya-
sampanne [Bg. 5.18]. Vidyā
means. vidyā dadāti namratā.
Vidyā means he must be very
gentle, namra. That is vidyā.
Education does not mean
unnecessarily to become proud.
Just like we hear that even a
great scientist, Sir Isaac Newton,
he used to say, “What knowledge
I have got? I have simply
collected a few grains sand from
the big beach.” Yes. That is
humbleness. So Kṛṣṇa says that
in the process of acquiring
knowledge, one must be very
humble and meek. This is the
first qualification.
This is sattva-guṇa. but those
who are situated in the rajo-guṇa
and tamo-guṇa, they cannot
become humble. That is not
possible. Passion and ignorance.
So one has to… Knowledge
means one has to come to the
platform of goodness, sattva-
guṇa, the brahminical
qualification. Śamo damas titikṣa
ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam
āstikyaṁ brahma-karma
svabhāva-jam. Everything is
there in the Bhagavad-gītā. The
qualification. These are the
qualification of brāhmaṇa. These
are the qualification of kṣatriya.
These are the qualification of
vaiśyas, these are the
qualification of śūdras. Śūdra has
one qualification. What is that?
Paricaryātmakaṁ śūdra-karma
svabhāva-jam. A śūdra means
he’ll be satisfied if he gets one
good master, that’s all. No other
qualification.
So at the present moment a
person may be a great
technologist, highly educated,
but he does not get, if he does
not get a good master, good
employer, he’s nothing. He has
no value. He has no
independence, he has to accept
some service. But a brāhmaṇa
will never accept anyone’s
service. No. It is stated that in
the śāstras, that if there is bad
time for a brāhmaṇa, he may
accept the profession of a
kṣatriya or even up to vaiśya, but
never the profession of a śūdra,
which is dog’s business. These
are the statements in the śāstras.
So this platform of knowledge
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne,
brāhmaṇa, one has to become
brāhmaṇa. Then one becomes
humble, meek, and other
qualification follows. The material
conception of life makes us very
eager to receive honor from
others. That is material
education, rajas tamas. Rajas
tamo-guṇa. What are the
symptoms of different modes of
material nature, sattva-guṇa,
rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Sattva-
guṇa, goodness. One is satisfied
and eager to advance in spiritual
knowledge. that is sattva-guṇa,
brāhmaṇa’s quality. Sattva śamo
damas titikṣa. Titikṣa. one has to
learn titikṣa. Just like here the,
even they are foreigners, how
much tribulation they have to
suffer on account of this temple.
These foreigners, they have
come here to become devotees
and the authorities are prepared
to demolish their temple. So one
has to tolerate. What can be
done?
Even Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was
the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu. The
relationship was father and son,
but because the son was a
devotee, the father was prepared
to kill him. This is the system all
over the world. Jesus Christ,
because he was preaching God
consciousness, he was crucified.
Although Jesus Christ preached,
“Thou shall not kill,”
unfortunately he was preaching
in such a society that he was
killed. So these things are there
always. The demons, they are
always after the devotees, how
to harass him, how to give him
trouble. Therefore one has to
learn humility, otherwise one
cannot make progress in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu
has advised,
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api
sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Cc. adi
17.31]
If you want to make progress in
the matter of chanting the holy
name of the Lord, then you have
to learn also toleration. So many
people will criticize. So many
people will be prepared to
unnecessarily put hindrances in
your path. So one has to learn if
one is serious to make progress
in knowledge. Actual knowledge
is to understand God, that is
actual knowledge. Therefore it is
called Vedānta. Vedānta. Veda
means knowledge and anta
means the ultimate. The ultimate
knowledge is to know Kṛṣṇa.
Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva
vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]
Everyone, there is a class of men,
they say that we only believe in
the Vedas. What you believe? Do
you know Kṛṣṇa? “No sir. We
accept Kṛṣṇa as a big man, that’s
all, not as God.” That means he
does not understand what is
Kṛṣṇa. So what is the use of
Vedānta? There are so-called
Vedantists, they avoid Kṛṣṇa.
They’ll write comments on
Bhagavad-gītā, avoid Kṛṣṇa. This
is going on. This is going on.
But actual knowledge means to
come to the point of knowledge
one has to acquire these
qualifications. But if one at once
takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness as it
is stated, mam ca vyabhicarini.
What is that? Mayi ca ananya-
yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī.
Bhakti-avyabhicāriṇī. vyabhicāriṇī
means mixed with other things.
There are karma, jñāna, yoga,
and bhakti. So there are,
everything must be with bhakti;
otherwise there is no success.
Even if you are a karmī, you must
add bhakti. Then you’ll be
successful. Yat karoṣi yat juhosi
yad aśnāsi kuruṣva mad
arpanam. This is karma-yoga.
You may be a businessman, you
may be engineer, you may be
whatever you may be, it doesn’t
matter. But bhakti must be
always there. Then you are
successful. If you are devoid of
bhakti, then it is useless, waste
of time. That is the verdict of the
śāstra.
Śāstra says atha pumbhir dvija-
śreṣṭha. This was spoken by Śrī
Sūta Gosvāmī in the assembly of
great brāhmaṇas and saintly
persons who were meeting big
congress for one thousand years.
Now we hold meeting for eight
days or at most fifteen days. Not
more than that. But formerly they
used to hold meetings, spiritual
meetings for one thousand years.
Naimiṣāraṇya. That Naimiṣāraṇya
is still existing near Lucknow.
Most of you may know. So there
was a meeting to be continued
for one thousand years. And in
that meeting Sūta Gosvāmī was
presiding and he said, he
addressed all the brāhmaṇas,
and because spiritual meetings
were generally attended by
highly educated brāhmaṇas and
saintly persons. Some of the
kṣatriyas also. The vaiśyas and
śūdras, they were not interested.
So therefore Sūta Gosvāmī
especially addressed the learned
brāhmaṇas, ataḥ pumbhir dvija-
śreṣṭhāḥ. “O, the best of the
brāhmaṇas who are present
here.” Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-
śreṣṭhāḥ varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ.
The society was in those days
varṇa and āśrama. Varṇa means
the four divisions of the society,
brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and
śūdra. Catur-varṇyaṁ mayā
sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
[Bg. 4.13]. Similarly, brahmacārī,
gṛhastha, vānaprastha and
sannyāsa. This is Vedic culture.
Varnāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ.
So Sūta Gosvāmī said that
everyone has got his particular
duty, varṇa and āśrama. Atha
pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ
varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya.
Everyone has got duty, but
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam [SB
1.2.13]. Nobody is concerned
whether I am doing something, I
am engaged in certain
occupation, whether I am getting
perfection. Because human life is
meant for attaining perfection.
And what is that perfection? That
also we do not know. The
perfection is to get out of this
repetition of birth, death, old age
and disease. That is perfection.
Nobody is serious. They are dying
like cats and dogs, never mind.
Nobody thinks that my perfection
of life the cats and dogs are
dying, I’ll also die. Why shall I die
like cats and dogs? I must know
why death is there. I do not want
death, why death is, that is
humanity. Who wants to die?
Nobody wants to die. And
actually in modern science they
are trying to combat all the
material obstacles, but here is
the main obstacle. That nobody
wants to die but there is death.
So where is the scientific solution
of death? Who can say, where is
the scientist who can say that no
more there will be death, no
more there will be disease, no
more there will be old age.
Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. That is
stated here. This is knowledge.
Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-
duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. One
should…
Everyone is trying his best to
mitigate distressed condition of
life. Duḥkha-nivṛtti. Everyone is
trying. I am in miserable
condition. If I get so much
money my miserable condition
will be mitigated. So everyone is
after money. But that mitigation
is temporary. Suppose if you get
some money, you get a nice
apartment, nice bank balance.
Does it mean you have ended
your main problems of life,
janma-mṛtyu, as it is stated in
the Bhagavad-gītā? Janma-
mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-
doṣānudarśanam. So they have
become so foolish, so degraded,
that they do not know what is
the meaning of life, what is the
problem of life, how to make
solution of the problem. Nobody
is interested. Simply cats and
dogs, that’s all. As the cat and
dog is working very hard simply
for eating, sleeping, and mating,
that’s all.
The human life is not meant for
that purpose. This is the defect of
modern civilization. Nāyaṁ deho
deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān
kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye
[Bhāg. 5.5.1]. Viḍ-bhujām, the
hog who eats stool, he’s also
struggling for the same thing.
What is that? Eating, sleeping,
mating, and defending, that’s all.
So is that human life is also
simply meant for this purpose?
No. Human life is meant for tāpo
divyaṁ yena śuddhyed sattvam.
You have to purify your
existence. My existence is now
impure. In the Bhagavad-gītā we
learn, na jāyate na mriyate. The
living entity, the soul, never takes
birth, never dies, but I am
subject to birth and death. So
this problem does not come.
They are simply making
adjustment, a temporary
problem. That is not human
civilization. Vedic civilization
means to solve the major
problems of life. That is Vedic
civilization. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-
vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam.
They don’t care for these
troubles.
Formerly people were very happy
so far material conditions were
concerned. They had no
complaint. Everyone was happy,
everyone was getting ample
food. And why they shall not get?
If the birds, beasts—they are
getting their ample food, even up
to death. There is no complaint
amongst the birds and beast
unless one is in the human
society. Otherwise in the jungle
there are major portion of the
animals and birds. They have no
complaint. They do not come in
the city, that we have this
complaint. They are happy, they
are getting ample food, life is
very happy. They have got their
eating, they have got their
sleeping, they have got their
mates for sex life and they know
how to defend. Everything is
there. There is no problem. Only
in the human society they have
created problem because they
have no knowledge. The so-
called knowledge is useless
unless you can not solve the
problems [?] what is the meaning
of this knowledge? Therefore
Kṛṣṇa says knowledge means one
must know this is my real acute
miserable condition of life,
janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-
doṣānudarśanam. This is
knowledge.
So to begin with knowledge,
Kṛṣṇa recommends amānitvam,
humility. Because the real disease
of material life is that he is not
humble. He is always proud.
Little possession. Svalpa-
mātrena. Just like the big fish in
the ocean. They are deep within
the water and if you find out a
small lake, little water, you’ll find
small fishes (makes sound)
they’re doing there. So there is
no depth of knowledge. Simply
they’re perplexed. Therefore this
education should be given, how
to become humble. Śiṣyas te
’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvaṁ
prapannam. Tad viddhi
praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
[Bg. 4.34]. Paripraśnena sevayā.
One has to learn by service, by
praṇipāta, praṇipāta means
surrender. There is no surrender.
Nobody is prepared to surrender.
“Oh, why shall I surrender? I
know everything.” Puffed-up
unnecessarily. Therefore Kṛṣṇa
says the material disease is that
rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ. Tadā rajas-
tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś
(ca ye) [SB 1.2.19]. Rajas-tamo-
bhāvāḥ means, rajo-guṇa, kāma
and lobha. Ignorance.
Everyone is thinking if I become
greedy, I shall get more. That is
not possible. You cannot get a
farthing more than what you are
destined. But it is ignorance. He’s
thinking by simply struggling
hard I’ll get more. The śāstra
says, “No, don’t do it. So far your
material condition is concerned, it
is already destined with your
body. You have got a certain
type of body and according to
that body you’ll get certain
amount of pleasure and pains,
that is already destined.” This is
called adṛṣṭa, daiva. Your main
business is if you want to make
success, your life, then save time
for advancing in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. That is proper
utilization of life. That does not
depend on destiny. That you can
do.
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement is the only challenge
to this devilish life of the human
society. So I request everyone to
study this philosophy very
carefully and take advantage of
it. Thank you very much.