661225 - Lecture CC Madhya 20.334–341 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1966

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

661225CC.NY - December 25, 1966

Prabhupāda:

satya-yuge dharma-dhyāna karāya 'śukla'-mūrti dhari

kardamake vara dilā yeṅho kṛpā kari

(CC Madhya 20.334)

In the Satya-yuga the incarnation of God is of white color.

kṛṣṇa-'dhyāna' kare loka jñāna-adhikārī

tretāra dharma 'yajña' karāya 'rakta'-varṇa dhari

(CC Madhya 20.335)

So in the Satya-yuga, the age of goodness, in that age the meditation was possible. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ (SB 12.3.52).

According to injunction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, meditation is possible in the age of goodness, when cent percent people were all in the modes of goodness. There are three modes of nature: modes of goodness, modes of passion and modes of ignorance. Similarly, the ages are also conducted by the three modes of material nature. Just like there are seasonal changes—in our experience in one year sometimes it is summer, sometimes it is winter, sometimes it is spring—similarly, in course of nature's way there are different yugas, millennium.

So in the Satya-yuga people are all in the modes of goodness. Therefore, at that time they could concentrate the mind in the Supreme, and meditation was recommended at that time. Kṛṣṇa-'dhyāna' kare loka jñāna-adhikārī. Jñāna-adhikārī means they were quite fit to understand spiritual knowledge. Because without developing the modes of goodness, nobody can understand spiritual knowledge. In the ignorance, the lowest grade of men, they are in ignorance.

The ignorance, the symptom of ignorance we have already described in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. Ignorance means laziness. Laziness. That is ignorance. And passion means active. And goodness means sober. So we cannot find all men in this world of the same quality. Some of them are in goodness, some of them are in passion, some of them are in ignorance. But in this age, seventy-five percent or more than that, they are in ignorance. And maybe ten or fifteen percent in passion, and hardly five percent, they are in goodness.

Therefore majority population of this age, they cannot perform meditation or great sacrifices or temple worship. They cannot. Therefore Lord Caitanya has, by His causeless mercy . . . of course, it is according to the Vedic injunction. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇum (SB 12.3.52).

The same achievement which was obtained in the age of goodness by meditation was achieved in the next age by sacrifices and the next age by temple worship. At the present age it is recommended to achieve that success, that perfection, spiritual perfection, by hari-kīrtanāt, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

It doesn't require any previous qualification to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Anybody and everybody can join, and by chanting this, the result will be that progressive chanting will help him in cleansing the dust on the mirror of the mind.

The whole trouble in the world is misunderstanding. That's all. Under the spell of this material nature, we are simply misunderstanding. But when you come to the pure stage . . . just like mirror, when cleansed of all the dust we can see our face nicely, similarly, when the mind is cleared of all material dust, then we can see what we are.

In ignorance we identify with this body and bodily relationship. And in passion we are very much active for this bodily comfort. And in goodness we can see what we are. So in goodness we can see that "I am not this body." Of course, it is very common thing to understand that "I am not this body," the distinction between a dead man and living man. When a man is dead, the relative cry, lament, "Oh, my son is gone," "My father is gone," "My wife is gone." But if we think, "Your wife is there lying. Your son is lying there. Why do you say he is gone?" Actually he is gone, but so long he does not go, we think this body as my son, as my daughter.

This is ignorance. At the end we can understand, "Oh, this body is not my son," "This body is not my daughter," "This body is not my father"—when the end is done. But still, even after that experience, we think that, "This body is myself." This is called ignorance. Ahany ahani lokāni gacchanti yama-mandiram (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 297.116).

In every moment, every second, we are seeing that body is this matter; the soul, when gone from the body, it has no value. Still, I am thinking that "I shall live in this world eternally, and I shall . . . let me enjoy this bodily sense gratification." This is ignorance.

So this ignorance has to be removed if we actually want to be happy and peaceful. Nobody in ignorance can be happy. We have got experience here. Those who are advanced in knowledge, they are comparatively happy in this world, and those who are ignorance, they are not happy. Of course, by the spell of this illusory energy, although he is not happy, he thinks, "I am happy." Just like in the Bowery road, street, you will see so many drunkards, they are lying. They are thinking happy, but others, those are passing on the street, they are seeing they are not happy. So this is going on.

So this mode of ignorance and passion has to be removed. Unless we remove that, the modes of passion and ignorance, there is no chance of become peaceful and happy. Because in goodness everything is . . . just like we have got experience: when the sky is cloudy, we are not very much happy, and as soon as there is sunrise, clear sky, we say: "Oh, today is very nice day." Why? Because the light is there. So when we come to goodness, the light of knowledge is there, and therefore we see, "Oh, it is very nice." But if we stay on that point, "Oh, it is very nice. It is very nice day," oh, that is not all. But you must utilize the very nice day. Otherwise, what is very nice day to you?

Similarly, knowledge has to be also fully utilized. And what is the full utilization of knowledge? The full utilization of knowledge is to understand God. That is full utilization. So long one does not come to the point of Kṛṣṇa understanding, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, he is more or less in the ignorance.

So perfection of knowledge is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, when one knows . . . bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find:

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante

jñānavān māṁ prapadyate

vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti

sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

(BG 7.19)

"After many, many births' struggle for acquiring knowledge, when one is fully conscious that 'Vāsudeva, Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, is everything,' that is the perfection of knowledge." So that perfection of knowledge was achieved in the age of goodness by meditation and in the age of Tretā by sacrifice and by Dvāpara by worship, and in this age, this kṛṣṇa-kīrtana.

kṛṣṇa-padārcana' haya dvāparera dharma

kṛṣṇa'-varṇe karāya loke kṛṣṇārcana-karma

(CC Madhya 20.336)

So in the Dvāpara-yuga, in the next millennium, in the age of passion, Lord Kṛṣṇa was Himself present. And He presented this Bhagavad-gītā. And what did He teach in that Bhagavad-gītā? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).

He personally taught the people of the world that one should be a surrendering soul to the Supreme Lord. That will make him happy.

dvāpare bhagavān śyāmaḥ

pīta-vāsā nijāyudhaḥ

śrī-vatsādibhir aṅkaiś ca

lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ

(CC Madhya 20.337)

Now, the incarnation of God in the Dvāpara-yuga is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is pīta-vāsā nijāyudhaḥ. He has got His own wheel, His instrument, and He has many signs on His chest, śrī-vatsa-ādibhiḥ. Kṛṣṇa was accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by signs also. There are many signs on the sole, underneath the sole. There are many signs on His chest. So . . . and other characteristic of Kṛṣṇa, incarnation of Kṛṣṇa's presence, they are described in the śāstras, in the scriptures.

So learned men, sages, they understood that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Not all. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25).

Unless one is perfectly in knowledge, even God is present before us, we cannot understand. So this knowledge and this qualification to understand what is what is possible in the modes of goodness.

namas te vāsudevāya

namaḥ saṅkarṣaṇāya ca

pradyumnāyāniruddhāya

tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ

(CC Madhya 20.338)

Now, in the Dvāpara-yuga, just like in the Kali-yuga, this age, the mahā-mantra is Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare; similarly, in the Dvāpara-yuga the mantra, this mantra was chanted. What is that? Namas te vāsudevāya: "All obeisances unto You, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva."

namaḥ saṅkarṣaṇāya ca

pradyumnāyāniruddhāya

tubhyaṁ bhagavate namaḥ

With His plenary expansion, first expansion Vāsudeva, Saṇkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, He is offered respect.

pīta'-varṇa dhari' tabe kailā pravartana

prema-bhakti dilā loke lañā bhakta-gaṇa

(CC Madhya 20.340)

Now Lord Caitanya is describing about the incarnation in this age Kali-yuga. He says personally that, "In the Kali-yuga, in this age, the complexion of the incarnation is pīta-varṇa, yellow color." 'Pīta'-varṇa dhari' tabe kailā pravartana. And what are His activities? Just like Kṛṣṇa, when He was present, His activities were more or less political. He established the Pāṇḍavas on the throne, and He vanquished the other party. And there were many such instances, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya (BG 4.8).

Formerly the modes was if the king was pious, naturally the citizens were also pious. And that is a fact. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186).

If the leader is all right, the followers also all right. If the leader is a fool, the followers also fool. So in the days bygone, the kings were made as ideal king, and by his ruling capacity, all the citizens, they become nice. So this was Kṛṣṇa's mission, to establish ideal king of the world, and that was Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.

The description of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira you will find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how nice he was and how the condition of the world was there. There was, during the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, even there was no severe cold and severe heat. Sometimes at this present age we are disturbed in so many ways. There are diseases, anxieties, and nature's disturbance. But all these things were completely absent during the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. That is described. And so far production is concerned, ample production, everything. So Lord Kṛṣṇa's mission was to establish the pious king to rule over the world. So that was His mission in that incarnation.

Now, in this age the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, Lord Caitanya, His color is, the complexion of the body, is described as yellow. And what does He do? Prema-bhakti dilā loke lañā bhakta-gaṇa. His mission is to give directly the love of God. That's all. His method is so nice that one who follows His method, he very quickly, instantly, he develops love of God. And when one develops love of God, he becomes perfect. Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ (BG 6.22).

We are hankering after love. We want to love somebody. That is the nature of living entity. But that love is frustrated in every step.

The culmination of perfection of love can be realized when we understand, when we try to understand and really love Kṛṣṇa. That can be achieved by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness was preached by Lord Caitanya. When you become a lover of Kṛṣṇa, then all your loving propensities, all your desires, all your hankerings will be satisfied. And so long we do not understand what is love of Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we will love false things, and at the end we shall be frustrated. That is the going on. At every step we are being frustrated—still, we do not leave that path. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). We are repeating the same mistake, same mistake, in every step.

Now, even a love extended, so-called love extended—that nationalism, loving the countrymen, loving the humanity—that is also not perfect. We have got practical experience. In our country, in India, Mahatma Gandhi, he loved his country very nicely. He sacrificed everything, and for thirty-five years he simply struggled for the, I mean to say, independence of his country, of his countrymen. But the result was, at the ultimate end, he was killed by his countrymen. After loving so much his country, the result was that he was killed by his countrymen.

So in this material world the love is like that. It is never perfect. It cannot be perfect. So Lord Caitanya, taking compassion on these poor fellows, He taught love of Godhead. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then you will feel pleasure. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said that "Every living creature is searching after pleasure." Pleasure. Therefore we have presented this small booklet, that Kṛṣṇa is the Reservoir of Pleasure.

If you can love Kṛṣṇa, then you will get pleasure. Otherwise, there is no pleasure. You will be frustrated. This is a fact. If you take it, it is nice. If you don't take it, then that is your misfortune.

So Lord Caitanya taught this love of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore one of His first disciples, Rūpa Gosvāmī, when he first met Lord Caitanya at Prayag, Allahabad, he offered his respects by composing one verse in Sanskrit:

namo mahā-vadānyāya

kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te

kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-

nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

(CC Madhya 19.53)

He said: "My dear Lord Caitanya, You are the most magnanimous personality in this world, most munificent, charitable. You are giving the most nice thing. What is that? Kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Kṛṣṇa." There are many charitable institution and foundation, they are giving charities to many institution and many function. But here Lord Caitanya's charity, giving free the love of Kṛṣṇa, that was very much appreciated by Rūpa Gosvāmī, and therefore he said, namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te, kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne. And this love of Kṛṣṇa cannot be bestowed by anyone else except Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Kṛṣṇa once tried. When He was present Himself in His Bhagavad-gītā, He said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66): "You just give up everything. Just try to love Me. Surrender unto Me, and I shall give you all protection." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam. But foolish people could not understand. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritaḥ (BG 9.11). Because foolish people, they thought that Krsna as one of the human being, why should we surrender unto Him.

So we have got our independence. We may do whatever you like. But if we follow the sādhu, śāstra and guru, that is the way of understanding. That is the way of getting knowledge, to follow the instruction of saintly persons and scriptures and spiritual master. Then it is possible to reach the goal of life. And that was taught by Lord Caitanya. Prema-bhakti dilā loke lañā bhakta-gaṇa (CC Madhya 20.340).

Not only He alone, but always associated by His lieutenants and associates. We have seen the picture: Lord Caitanya is dancing and chanting with His principal associates.

dharma pravartana kare vrajendra-nandana

preme gāya nāce loka kare saṅkīrtana

(CC Madhya 20.341)

Now, when He was chanting in His association and He was passing on the road, thousands and thousands of people followed Him, and they also chanted. That time, when He was doing this propagation, there was Muhammadan kingdom, and because the Muhammadans were against Hindu religion, so some of the ministers of the Muhammadan king, they were also afraid that "The Nawab Shah may not be angry that He is doing . . ." The kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana, although it is transcendental, by people—not all people; those who are simple, they can take, but those who are covered with the material dust, they cannot take it.

So the Nawab Shah inquired, the Muhammadan king, his minister, Hindu minister that, "Who is this man? So many thousands of people are following Him, and He is making enchanted all the people by His kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. What is that?" So his minister thought that Nawab Shah was planning something against this movement, so he made it a trifle thing, "No, not many people follow Him. Some sentimental people follow Him, not many." Then Nawab Shah replied, "No, I know many people follow. Don't minimize His strength. So He is not ordinary man." Then minister inquired, "What is your opinion?" "I think He is incarnation of God." So this was . . . it is written in the Muhammadan history.

So Lord Caitanya demonstrated such mass movement simply by this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So that is His contribution to the people of the world. And in India was overflooded with this movement about five hundred years before. And still they have found that thousands and thousands of followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu . . . during Caitanya Mahāprabhu's birthday in February there is a procession in Calcutta. Practically the whole population of Calcutta joins that.

So here, of course, this movement is started, and people, if they take advantage of this movement, they will be very happy. And this is the only movement for respiritualization of the whole world. And those who are intelligent, they should come forward and cooperate with this movement. We have started this movement in a humble way, but we are inviting cooperation of people who are interested for the peace of the world.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Any question? (end)