710708 - Lecture ISO - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

710708IP-LOS_ANGELES - July 08, 1971 - 22:27 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya

pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

(ISO Invocation)

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ

yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā

mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

(ISO 1)

kurvann eveha karmāṇi

jijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥ

evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto 'sti

na karma lipyate nare

(ISO 2)

asuryā nāma te lokā

andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ

tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti

ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ

(ISO 3)

anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyo

nainad devā āpnuvan pūrvam arṣat

tad dhāvato 'nyān atyeti tiṣṭhat

tasminn apo mātariśvā dadhāti

(ISO 4)

tad ejati tan naijati

tad dūre tad v antike

tad antar asya sarvasya

tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ

(ISO 5)

yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny

ātmany evānupaśyati

sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ

tato na vijugupsate

(ISO 6)

yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāny

ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ

tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka

ekatvam anupaśyataḥ

(ISO 7)

sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇam

asnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddham

kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūr

yāthātathyato 'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ

(ISO 8)

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti

ye 'vidyām upāsate

tato bhūya iva te tamo

ya u vidyāyām ratāḥ

(ISO 9)

anyad evāhur vidyayā-

nyad āhur avidyayā

iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ

ye nas tad vicacakṣire

(ISO 10)

vidyāṁ cāvidyāṁ c yas

tad vedobhayaṁ saha

avidyayā mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā

vidyayāmṛtam aśnute

(ISO 11)

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti

ye 'sambhūtim upāsate

tato bhūya iva te tamo

ya u sambhūtyām ratāḥ

(ISO 12)

Page?

Karandhara: Page 14 in the middle, almost the middle of the first paragraph. "The Vedas are not known like that. The Vedic knowledge was originally imparted into the heart of Brahmā, the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated the knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have continued the process down thorough history."

Prabhupāda: Formerly, the spiritual master, the disciplic succession, there are two ways. One is called śaukra and another is called sautra. Śaukra means succession from the seminal. Just like son. Son is born by the semina, and the disciple is born by Vedic knowledge. So the one familywise is called śaukra. Śukra means semina, coming from the śukra. And the other is sautra: by hearing.

The spiritual master . . . in India still there are gotras. Gotras means coming from that great sage. Just like our family belongs to the Gautama gotra. Gautama Ṛṣi, from him the familywise gotra, and similarly disciplic succession is also gotra. There is no difference between putra and chatra. Putra means son, and chatra means disciple. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, putrāṁś ca śiṣyāṁś ca: they are equally treated. Both of them equally eligible for hereditary rites from the person, either he is son or disciple.

So Brahmā distributed knowledge to some . . . practically everyone was his son, because he was the first living creature. So later on, disciples also, son's son. So in this way Brahmā distributed this Vedic knowledge, some to the sons, some to the . . . Vyāsadeva also, he distributed knowledge, some to his sons, some to his disciples. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that is the process of disseminating Vedic knowledge.

Then?

Karandhara: (reading) "The Lord being pūrṇam, or all-perfect, there is no chance of His being subjected to the laws of material nature, while the living entities and the inanimate objects are all controlled by the laws of nature and thus ultimately by the potency of the Lord. The Īśopaniṣad is a part of the Yajur Veda."

Prabhupāda: There are four Vedas—Sāma Veda, Yajur Veda, Ṛg Veda and Atharva Veda. Originally there was one Veda, but later on, Vyāsadeva divided them into four. So Yajur Veda is one of the Vedas, and the Īśopaniṣad is stated there. All the Upaniṣads are stated in the different kinds of Vedas. Therefore Upaniṣad is accepted as Vedic study.

Go on.

Karandhara: "The Īśopaniṣad is a part of the Yajur Veda, and as such, it contains information as to the proprietorship of all things that exist within the universe."

Prabhupāda: Just like evidence. Evidence . . .

(aside) Now you can sit down.

Evidence, whenever we want to give evidence . . . just like in law court, the evidence, you have to cite the section or the preamble of the laws. Similarly, in our human civilization this evidence is Veda. If you find something stated in the Vedas, that you have to accept. That's all. Axiomatic truth. And because the Vedas were particularly studied by the brāhmiṇs, high-class qualified brāhmiṇs, therefore they are also accepted as authority.

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was at Purī, the king of that place, Mahārāja Pratāparudra, he inquired from Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, "Oh, what is your opinion about this Caitanya who has come here?" He said that, "He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So the king immediately accepted it. King said: "Oh, He is Supreme Personality of Godhead?"

So he accepted immediately. There is no question of experimenting. Because an authority like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya is stating, a brāhmiṇ, and . . . he was very learned scholar. You know Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's name. So because he said that, "He is Supreme Personality . . ." He did not ask any storekeeper, but he asked a learned brāhmiṇ who knows things.

So similarly, we have to accept in that way. In each and every case, if we want to research, it is not possible, because our senses are blunt senses. What you can do? Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet (Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma parva 5.22). The śāstra says that, "Things which are beyond your conception, beyond your mental speculation"—avāṅ-manasā gocaraḥ—"neither you can express by words, neither you can think of." Avāṅ-manasā gocaraḥ.

So such things it is useless, try to understand by arguments. That is simply nonsense. You can, of course, inquire, but that inquiry is not challenge. If you inquire from your spiritual master by challenge, then it is your misfortune. You have to inquire from the spiritual master—that is indicated—sevayā, by service, by making him satisfied.

Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). First of all you have to surrender, and then you have to please him by service. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. If you can please him, then naturally Kṛṣṇa is pleased upon you. That is the injunction.

So this praśna . . . first of all you should find out somebody where you can surrender. If there is duplicity in surrender, that is useless. First of all see whether you can surrender there; then accept him spiritual master, and then please him by your service and inquiry. That is Vedic principle.

Thank you very much.

(kīrtana) (Prabhupāda plays gong) (prema-dhvani)

Thank you very much.

(devotees offering obeisances) (end)