710201 - Lecture Hindi - Allahabad

Lectures by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

710201L4-ALLAHABAD - February 1, 1971 - 23:49 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Samaveta bhakta-vrnda, matr-vrnda. Hari-saṅkīrtana. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's statement is:

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma

sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

(CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126)

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, that in all the villages and towns of the world the Hari-kīrtana pracāra should be done and it is the duty of the residents of this Bhārata-varṣa to do this Hari-kīrtana, responsiblity. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

(CC Adi 9.41)

This para-upakāra . . . this saṅkīrtana movement that we are trying to give the world is the greatest para-upakāra. No para-upakāra is greater than this. Everyone thinks that the poor should be given food to eat . . . hospitals should be opened for the diseased, schools and colleges for the ignorant.

Actually many such programs are there, but these programs are all . . . (indistinct) . . . The real sorrow of a living entity needs to be understood . . . In simple Bengali, a Vaiṣṇava poet says, Kṛṣṇa bhūliyā jīva bhoga vāñchā kare pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare (Prema-vivarta 6.2), when the living entity forgets bhagavān Kṛṣṇa . . . because God and his part amsar aṁśī and aṁśaḥ, mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke (BG 15.7). The living entity is aṁśaḥ svarūpa and when this aṁśaḥ forgets God and therefore by being separated from the aṁśī his sorrows begin.

Take for example as is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

mukha-bāhūru-pādebhyaḥ

puruṣasyāśramaiḥ saha

catvāro jajñire varṇā

guṇair viprādayaḥ pṛthak

(SB 11.5.2)

In God's huge body . . . understand it as, the brāhmaṇa is his lotus face, the kṣatriyas are his arms, the vaiśyas are his stomach and the śūdras are his feet. So it's not that the feet have more value . . . less value and the lotus mouth has more value. If the calculations are even done as per your estimation, wherein the hands, feet and the lotus face are there and then if the hands and feet are cut off the person somehow still is able to live. But if the face is cut off then the person will die.

In today's world the living entities are there, but most are śūdra, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. The kṣatriyas and the brāhmaṇa are less, according to the qualities . . .

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13), that is why in the world some brāhmaṇas are required, then there will be peace. Like if the head is cut off from the body and thrown away, then what use is the body? It has no value. It's dead. Also in the śāstras it's said:

bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya

jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ

aprāṇasyeva dehasya

maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam

(CC Madhya 19.75)

If the human society is there, then it should have four divisions. The way God has said, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas . . . then everything will function properly. But if brāhmaṇas are not there, the kṣatriyas are not there and only śūdra and vaiśyas are there, then how will it function.

In this world everyone wants peace and happiness but they don't know the method to get it. The method to get peace and happiness is the way how God tells us,

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

(BG 5.29)

So the people have to explain that if they want peace, then these three things should be accepted and what are they? That God is the proprietor of everything, God is the only enjoyer and God is the only one who gives happiness to all. If these three things are understood by anyone then he can be peaceful, else not. There is no need to even mention peace otherwise.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:

kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta'

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī — sakali 'aśānta'

(CC Madhya 19.149)

Bhukti means enjoyment, which is our disease in this world . . . only wanting to do sense gratification . . . everyone. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare, the karmīs, bhuktis only want to do sense gratification. They work throughout the day and they don't have any time. They don't even know why so much hard-work is being done. Which is why God says mūḍha, a donkey. na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 9.15). Human life is for attaining God, to establish a relationship with God.

Only doing hard work all day . . . money, money, money, money, get money, get money, get money, money . . . is called mūḍha. Mūḍha means like a donkey; a donkey carries a lot of clothes of the washer-man and none of which are his. He works hard all day-long carrying all these clothes and in the evening he is given some grass, that's all. Even Ṛṣabhadeva gave these instructions to his son that nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1) the hogs and dogs also work hard all throughout the day kaṣṭān kāmān arhate and after a lot of trouble some kāmān . . . after doing hard work, they do some sense gratification . . . human life shouldn't be like this.

After travelling across the whole world I've noticed that nowadays people across human society are troubled and they don't want to work so hard. They see that by doing hard work . . . what are the benefits that I will get? Lot of my disciples are there whose fathers are big men, but they see that though their father has earned a lot of money, for sleeping he needs a sleeping pill. Else he can't get any sleep.

So this material civilization which is there, is simply working hard just like dogs, hogs and asses . . . this is not the actual way of living. Actual life is tapo divyaṁ putrakā (SB 5.5.1), do tapasya to get God . . . that is human life. The qualification to do tapasya is not there in Kali-yuga, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). Who will do tapasya? That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu who is patita-pāvana came in the Kali-yuga as an avatāra and gave a very simple procedure and that is Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu says ihā haite sarva-siddhi haibe tomāra kali-kāle nāma vinu gati nāhi āra (Caitanya-bhāgavata Madhya 23.78) the proof of the māhātmya of the name is showing in the foreign countries very nicely. Just see these young people. The devotees sitting in front of you were . . . present here, just about four years back, because from birth they are taught to drink, have illicit relationships with women and meat eating being their daily business.

There it is understood that if a child is not given meat in the form of pieces or powder then he will die. Like mother Yaśodā used to think if Kṛṣṇa is not given butter he will die. They think that if powdered meat is not given from the beginning . . . meaning, from the beginning they are fed meat, then slowly after 10 or 12 years they start taking cigarettes and other intoxicants. Later on these days they are consuming marijuana and everything.

They are very confused and they say, we don't want all this, as you all know many people became hippies, this is the result. In Bangladesh as you all know, they have left God, teachings of Gita and narrating stories of God. This is a secular state, everything was stopped in the schools . . . so what will they do? They are listening to the stories of Mao and becoming Naxalites.

That is why the injunctions of the śastra is, harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato (SB 5.18.12). One who doesn't have Bhagavad-bhakti is of no value, he is useless and his life is useless . . . He is of no value. This is the principle, because as was previously told to you amsa amsi . . . like brāhmaṇa, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas are the lotus face, hands-legs and stomach. So all these parts of our bodies . . . as you can see, I am talking and my hands are also working. This is the healthy state of the hands, when it moves according to my desire, this is the duty of the aṁśī. The way I'm desiring, then spontaneously at that moment the hand is moving by going up and down. This is a healthy state sasthasu . . . and if I desire that my finger moves upwards, but it is not able to come upwards because of some pain . . . (indistinct) . . . that is not its healthy state. Similarly the living entity is the part and parcel of God and when it does not serve God, then it is to be understood as diseased, It is called māyā. Until it is fixed in serving God, till then it is to be understood that it is in māyā's plane.

The principle of Bhagavad is that, mukti means muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). This is called mukti and for mukti no special effort has to be made, because for the devotees the mukti stands with folded hands wanting to serve. muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta 107), thus for a devotee liberation is not a big thing. Like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi (CC Antya 20.29), if birth is there then it is understood that liberation did not occur. But what is the requirement of being mukta? One who is dedicated to serving God has been liberated 3000 years back itself. God himself says:

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa

bhakti-yogena sevate

sa guṇān samatītyaitān

brahma-bhūyāya kalpate

(BG 14.26)

He gets Brahmanubhuti at that moment itself. For him brāhmaṇatā . . . brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ, a devotee of the lord has got brāhmaṇatā a long time back. One who is a Vaiṣṇava, he has already gained brāhmaṇatā . . . brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. God says brahma-bhuyaya kalpate (BG 14.26) . . . (indistinct) . . . Brahma-jñāna, Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. He receives all the knowledge. Which is why, if there is any solution to actually give happiness to a human . . . if you want to obtain peace . . . then like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says kṛṣṇa-bhakta — niṣkāma, ataeva śānta, he has no desires. Why will there be any desire? Who has established a relationship with God, what is the need for them for any desire? Like a small boy who stays under the shelter of his father, then where is the need of asking anything? The father knows everything, when he should be given food, when the clothes should be given; everything . . . yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22), God takes his charge.

That is why the śāstras say asyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). In life one should try for that thing which is not available by going to Svargaloka or Brahmaloka or Narakaloka and what is that thing? bhagavad-bhakti. Put effort for that, if you want to be happy.

It is foolishness If someone says that I will leave everything for bhagavad-bhakti, there is no question of leaving everything. Arjun before understanding the Bhagavad-gītā wanted to fight and after listening the Bhagavad-gītā was also fighting, where is the question of leaving? Only his consciousness changed, his earlier thought process was that if I will kill all these brothers, grandfather and get the kingdom then what is its use? That is why Kṛṣṇa, I will not fight and he sat down. Then Kṛṣṇa explained to him the Bhagavad-gītā and after understanding the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjun was asked what is your thought process now? Do you want to fight or run away? Arjun says kariṣye vacanaṁ tava . . . naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā (BG 18.73). So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All that thinking we have done and have kept aside; all these thoughts should be thrown away. Because only those thoughts which are there to give Kṛṣṇa satisfaction can only give us any pleasure. Like the gopīs, who had no other consideration, their only thought was how to satisfy Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa. This thought process.This is also the thought process of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to only do bhagavad-bhakti, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye (CC Antya 20.29) all this is not wanted mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi, the ahaitukī bhakti, not with the purpose of gaining anything from God, not that to make God stand to get some money . . . to maintain oneself. No, that is not pure bhakti . . . that is also . . . as God says, su-kṛtino 'rjuna (BG 7.16), they are called pious, but who is a pure devotee, he is like,

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

(CC Madhya 19.167).

This is uttamā-bhakti. Only to do God's ānuśīlan. The meaning of ānuśīlan has been told by Rūpa Gosvāmī as to do hard-work for what God wants. One should think like this and what God wants, has been openly given in scriptures, God say sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So those who do this work, who explain it to others and say do Kṛṣṇa bhajana, are God's representative. They only speak what God wants and no other talk from here and there is done by them. Kṛṣṇa says do my bhajana and a devotee also says do Kṛṣṇa bhajana. That is why the devotees are very dear to God, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ (BG 18.69) no one is dearer than him to me who makes efforts to explain my words to others. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also says the same thing āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa . . . yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128) this is the duty of the residents of Bhārata-varṣa. Why have we left everything and are sitting? This is not good. That is why for this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have started, you all should prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā (SB 10.22.35) cooperate in it if you want the wellbeing of this world. But if Kṛṣṇa bhajana and things from here and there are mixed together then there is no benefit. Those people who say take Kṛṣṇa's name, Kālī's name, Durgā's name and they are the same . . . No. harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21) this is the injunction of the śāstra, Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ no one else's,

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam

arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ

sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

(SB 7.5.23)

These are the nine processes of devotional service. God himself says kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20) . . . antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). Only Kṛṣṇa, mām ekaṁ. This is the movement. All of you should cooperate in it, your maṅgala will be there and the world's maṅgala will be there.

Thank you very much.

Devotees in background: . . . (indistinct) . . . by Goswami. There was a lecture and . . . (indistinct) . . . and another lecture at the musical organisation, Prayag Sangeet Samiti. (end)