720222 - Lecture to Railway Workers - Visakhapatnam

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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720222LE-VISAKHAPATNAM - February 22, 1972 - 18:24 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Ladies and gentlemen I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this great Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This is the religion of the religions, there are hundreds and thousands of religious principles all over the world but this is the basic principle of religion. Religion means to understand God that is the short description of religion. Because from the śāstra's we understand that religion is the codes and laws of the Lord or God, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).

You cannot manufacture religion, religion is the given codes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I have several times explained this that the law cannot be manufactured by any private person. Law is given by the state by the King, what the King says or the state orders that is law. Just like on the road when you drive your car you have to keep left, that is the given law of the state. Similarly in America the car is kept on the right, so you cannot say that somewhere it is said keep right and somewhere it is said keep left--which one is right? Which one was the right direction? The right direction is the word of the state, similarly religion means what is spoken by the Lord that is religion.

And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore the religion of the religions. Just like philosophy is called as the science of the sciences, similarly the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the religion of the religions. Now take for example, the Hindu religion or the Christian religion or the Muslim religion. What is the ultimate goal? Love of Godhead, Lord Jesus Christ he also preached how to love God. The Mohammedan religion also preaches to realise the Supreme Lord, Allah-u-akbar. In Buddha religion they primarily they are atheist but Lord Buddha is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa therefore it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that God, Kṛṣṇa, appeared as Lord Buddha to cheat the atheists.

The atheist class they did not believe in God but Lord Buddha came before them He said: "Yes there is no God, that's right but whatever I say you take it." So the atheist class took it, "yes whatever You say we shall take it." But the atheist did not know that He is the incarnation of God. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, sammohāya sura-dviṣām (SB 1.3.24), sammohāya sura-dviṣām, sura-dviṣām—means the atheist class. Sammohāya—just to bewilder them, you don’t believe in God, that's all right but you take My words, ahimsa parama-dharma, don’t kill animals. Lord Buddha appeared, sadaya-hṛdaya-darśita-paśu-ghātam, He was . . . the Lord became very much compassionate when people in the name of religion in the name of Vedas were much addicted to killing of animals.

nindasi yajña-vidhe rahaha śruti-jātaṁ

sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam

keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra

jaya jagad-īśa hare

(Daśāvatāra-stotra)

The Vaiṣṇava, the devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he knows what is Lord Buddha, he says, Vaiṣṇava kavi Jayadeva Gosvāmī that, "My dear Lord,"nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam. You appear for stopping killing of animals but people began to give you evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas. There are, certainly, sacrificial animal killing but not the slaughterhouse animal killing or any time or anything, no. That animal killing was also to test the power of the Vedic mantra, not for eating purpose. That's a different story.

Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal killing and when people wanted to give evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas, why you are stopping? Therefore He had to say: "I don’t care for your Vedas," nindasi yajña-vidhe rahaha śruti-jātaṁ. Therefore Lord Buddha is accepted amongst the Vedic followers as atheist. But Vaiṣṇava, one who knows Kṛṣṇa they see Lord Buddha as the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for the time serving purpose. At that time it was needed to stop animal killing therefore He presented a different type of philosophy.

So that is also inaction, acts enacted by the Lord and it was stopping animal killing. Therefore my point is that religion means whatever God says, enacts, that is religion. It may be for the time being or it may be eternal. So this Kṛṣṇa conscious religion, as it is stated by the Supreme Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is eternal religion of the living entities. It does not matter where he is born, he may be an Indian, he may be an American, he may be a Canadian or . . . but this is the eternal religion.

To surrender unto the Supreme Lord, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja. This surrender is the beginning of bhakti or devotional service, śaraṇāgati. Surrender means śaraṇāgati. Śaraṇāgati means my Lord I was wondering so many periods of lives in 8,400,000 of species of life in different forms of life, sometimes aquatic, sometimes birds, sometimes bees, sometimes trees, sometimes insects, in this way I was transmigrating from one life to another. Now in this human form of life I have got my senses that You are the supreme and I am eternally related with You:

vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti

sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante

jñānavān māṁ prapadyate

(BG 7.19)

After transmigrating many many forms of life when actually becomes, when one actually becomes wise, jñānavān, full knowledge. At that time he surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa says surrender unto Me, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. Jñānavān, not the foolish, one who has actually knowledge, one who is all actually wise he surrenders to Kṛṣṇa and he is mahātmā, sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ. There are many mahātmās simply by changing the dress but actually as Kṛṣṇa says—what is mahātmā? That mahātmā means—who is a surrenders soul onto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he is mahātmā. (break) Bhajanty ananya-manaso (BG 9.13), these are the symptoms of mahātmā.

Mahātmā means—bhajanti ananya-manaso without any other deviation of the mind, simply devoted to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mām ekaṁśaraṇaṁ vraja his only surrender is unto Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa means everything. Just like if you water on the root of the tree you are watering all the leaves, branches, twigs and flowers and fruits and everything in the tree. Similarly sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā (SB 4.31.14), if you worship Lord Kṛṣṇa then you worship all demigods, all humanity, all nationalities

(break). There is many difficulties to self realise and unless the human body a human being does not realise what he is, what is God, what is this manifestation material manifestation, how we are related with one another. These are called ātma-tattvam, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam (SB 5.5.5). This so-called civilisation, daily fighting for a piece of land and they are dying and they do not know where they are going, completely unknown. After death everything is finished, we do not know where is now Mahatma Gandhi, where is now Jawaharlal Nehru, where is Hitler, where is Shubhash Chandra Bose.

We do not know this is called darkness but if you refer to the śāstras you can understand where they have gone. Where one has gone you can understand from the śāstras by his activities, by his activities. Suppose you know that a friend of you he has passed IAS examination, so you can understand even if you do not see him that he must get a nice government service. Similarly by the activities of a man you can know where he has gone after death.

There is life after death that is a fact, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā (BG 14.18), those who are engaged or in contact with the modes of goodness of this material world they are promoted in the higher planetary systems. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ, those who are addicted with the modes of passion they remain in this material world or between the Bhū, Bhuvar and Svar. And those who are most degraded, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ, so they glide down to the animal life. In this way you can judge where your friend or your relative has gone after death. Kṛṣṇa also says that:

yānti deva-vratā devān

pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ

bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā

yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām

(BG 9.25)

If you are worshipper of demigods then you can go to the planet where the particular demigod is there. Similarly you can go to the pitṛ-loka, the karmis they are worshipping pitṛ-loka by offering piṇḍa. You can go there and yānti bhūtejyā bhūtāni. Those who are materialists they shall remain in this material world, mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām, and one who is devoted simply engaged in the service of the Lord he will go back to home, back to Godhead. These are the informations we get. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is training people directly how to go back home back to Godhead directly.

As Kṛṣṇa says that, janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9), anyone who knows perfectly well what is Kṛṣṇa, why He comes down, why He acts just like ordinary human being and what is the intention and purpose of His coming here. These things you’ll find them in Bhagavad-gītā, He says everything completely and after understanding Bhagavad-gītā or Kṛṣṇa to understand Bhagavad-gītā means to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaun . . .

(break) So why don’t you see that, as soon as you see the sunshine you remember Kṛṣṇa. As soon as you see the moonshine you remember Kṛṣṇa, as soon as you see something wonderful you understand this is a power expansion of Kṛṣṇa. In this way Bhagavad-gītā everything is stated you try to understand Kṛṣṇa then as Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. You can understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, there is no difficulty, no difficulty at all. This life, again, if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, if you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa service that is highest stage.

This understanding of Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is sunshine, that Kṛṣṇa is moonshine, Kṛṣṇa is the taste of the water, Kṛṣṇa is the sound in the sky, Kṛṣṇa is, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4), Kṛṣṇa is water. In this way if you simply understand, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa and if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, your life becomes sublime. What is the difficulty? What is the difficulty attempting? If there is any difficulty, people are searching after God and God is canvassing at your door, why don’t you take? How much foolishness it is? Eh?

Everyone says where is God can you show me God? God is dead, there is no God. I am God, you’re God. What is the not? Here is God Kṛṣṇa accepted by Arjuna who saw Kṛṣṇa face-to-face. Accepted by all the ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī all the big ācāryas, accepted by Rāghava, accepted by Vyāsa, accepted by Lord Caitanya, and we are following in their footsteps. So (break) however obstinate that we do not like to take the actual thing. We want to be bewildered by the rascals and fools that is our misfortune . . . (indistinct) . . . we want to be cheated therefore they come and cheat us. But really God is Kṛṣṇa try to understand and be successful in your life. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)