770204 - Lecture Arrival - Calcutta

Lectures by Date, 1977

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this Lecture

770204AR-CALCUTTA - February 04, 1977 - 14:39 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-

śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau

yuktasya bhaktaṁś ca niyuñjato 'pi

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

So who has decorated?

Abhirāma: Pūrṇaprajña dāsa.

Purnaprajñā: My wife and I . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Very good. So this is the injunction of the śāstra, śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā. They . . . (aside) She should not stand before the Deity. Little back.

Hari-śauri: Ask her to stand to the left of the Deities.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Pechane darao. Oikhan tay darabe. Ei majha majhi darabe. Hya oi khane dariye porbe thakurer samne noy. (Stand behind. Stand there. Stand here in the middle. Yes, you have to stand there, not in front of the Deity.) So this is the duty of all disciples under the guidance of the spiritual master—to decorate. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra. Śṛṅgāra means decoration. Amongst the various paraphernalia of worshiping the Lord, the śṛṅgāra is very essential, śṛṅgāra and tan-mandira-mārjanādi, and cleansing the temple. The more you cleanse the temple, the more you decorate the Deity, more your heart becomes cleansed and you become spiritually decorated. So cleanliness is next to godliness. And after cleansing, taking bath regularly, keeping the temple very neat and clean and worshiping the Deity, dressing, decorating, ornamenting . . . these are the general process. So if we follow the process regularly, then we gradually become advanced in spiritual consciousness. Material world and spiritual world. Material world means dirty things, and spiritual world means clean.

So the living entities, they are called taṭasthā-śakta. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8). God has many potencies. They have been divided into three primarily: external, internal and marginal; bahiraṅgā-śakti, antaraṅga-śakti and taṭasthā-śakti. So we jīvas, living entities, we are also another energy of Kṛṣṇa, in between the material and spiritual. So if we like, we can remain in the spiritual world; if we like, we can remain in the material world. If we remain in the material world, then, temporary, we enjoy happiness or distress. There is no happiness. Sometimes we take distress as happiness. Actually there is no happiness, because however happy you may be, you have to change this body. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). So this happiness . . . suppose this life I am a king. Maybe for few years, but I have to change this body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So there is no happiness. Suppose you arrange very nicely to live here very happily in this world, but you'll not be allowed to live. You'll not be allowed. Duḥkhalayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). So long we live, there is happiness or distress. There is no happiness. To get happiness we have to go through distress. Anyway, mixed-up happiness or distress, even if you make nice arrangement, but all of a sudden you'll be asked to get out. Duḥkhalayam aśāśvatam. Therefore we should not be attracted with this happiness, so-called happiness of material world. Aśāśvatam. Even if you think you are happy, you'll not be allowed to stay here.

So we must know all these principles of our life, and Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the guide. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means we are guided by Kṛṣṇa personally. Everyone can be guided. Kṛṣṇa is giving instruction to the whole human society in the Bhagavad-gītā. So we can take advantage of it. Kṛṣṇa is guiding personally. So there are two ways of accepting Kṛṣṇa's guidance. You accept the instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā, then you'll be happy. If you don't accept, then you will go back again to the cycle of birth and death. Mām aprāpya nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani (BG 9.3). So mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani is not good life. Mṛtyu-saṁ . . . mṛtyu . . . janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). If you take birth, then you'll have to die—and if you have to die, you have to take birth again. This is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartma. So this is not very good business. That intelligence is lacking. We are simply trying to adjust things for a few years, but we are not taking account of our real life. Our real life is na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). That is real life, that we do not die. But our brain is so dull that we have accepted janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi as usual thing.

But death can be checked. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. If you so desire, you can stop it. There is no difficulty. Very easy. And that is also explained by Kṛṣṇa: janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. And He's explaining Himself. What is the difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, Para-brahman, the greatest, and we are anu, very small. Our knowledge is very small, limited. It is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa. But He is explaining Himself for our little understanding. Whatever we have got capacity to understand, that Kṛṣṇa is explaining. So if you simply take Kṛṣṇa's word, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Here is a chance. This Deity worship . . . when we see the form of Kṛṣṇa, naturally our mind is impressed that, "Here is Kṛṣṇa; here is Rādhārāṇī; here is Jagannātha." So if you come daily and see Kṛṣṇa at least once—man-manā bhava mad-bhaktoḥ—where is the difficulty? But people are so much engrossed. Their education is so low grade. Just now, when I was coming from Bhuvaneśvara, the next room, next apartment, was occupied by some young men. As they were talking, it appeared they were educated, medical practitioner. They were addressing amongst themselves, "Dr. this," "Dr. this . . ." (break)

So our mission is para-upakāra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission, para-upakāra. This para-upakāra mission was entrusted to the Indians. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, bhārata bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra (CC Adi 9.41)—"to the human beings," not to the cats and dogs. Unfortunately, we have become like cats and dogs. We do not take the responsibility of an Indian. It is the duty of the Indian, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu said:

bhārata bhumite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari kara para-upakāra

(CC Adi 9.41)

All over the world they are in darkness. They do not know what is the value of life. So in India, anyone born, he can make his life successful. We have got Bhagavad-gītā and all Vedic literatures. By learning, by practicing, we can make our life perfect and then distribute the knowledge. This is India's business. Unfortunately, they have been conquered by the illusion of māyā, and they are not interested. They are becoming drunkard and talking all nonsense. So you have come, kindly. Of course, Bhārata means the whole planet. Anyway, don't deviate. Just try to do some good to the human society by awakening them to spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The method is very simple: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). But it is para-upakāra. That is human life, para-upakāra—to do good to others, not to exploit others. That is not human life.

So you have very kindly joined this movement. You have not joined this movement for your poverty. You are not poverty-stricken. Sometimes people join this movement for poverty-stricken. But you are not belonging to that. You have voluntarily joined. So don't be disappointed. There is now opposition, but don't be disappointed. Kṛṣṇa will give you protection. Try to go on with this para-upakāra movement. Maybe, because it is a fight against atheism, so some of our soldiers may fall down. But that should not discourage us. We must go on fighting with this atheistic civilization and try to push Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! (end)