720320 - Lecture - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

720320LE-BOMBAY - March 19, 1972 - 35:40 Minutes

Prabhupāda: They think so 'ham means "I am the Supreme." But that is not possible. How you are supreme? If you are supreme, why you have become like cats and dogs? They say: "It is my līlā," but this is all nonsense. God's līlā, Kṛṣṇa's līlā, is in the Vṛndāvana. Why He should come to make a līlā like cats and dogs?

So this is the wrong philosophy. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, Nārāyaṇa, sometimes they say Nārāyaṇa has become daridra. How Nārāyaṇa can become daridra?

lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.29)

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is being constantly served by hundreds and thousands of goddess of fortune, how He can be daridra? These are manufactured words. You cannot find these words in the Vedic literature. They are concocted words.

So here is the right interpretation by Vyāsadeva. We have to take from Vyāsadeva. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is reciting the verses written by his father, Vyāsadeva. So he says that, "Here is the person who is being searched out by the impersonalist." Enamored by the Brahman effulgence, they do not know where from the Brahman effulgence is coming.

Just like we may very much appreciate the sunshine, but the sunshine is not the origin. The origin is the sun globe. And the sun globe is also not origin. Within the sun globe there is sun-god, and his name is also known to the right person: Vivasvān. So he is so glowing, that Vivasvān, sun-god, that his effulgence is being distributed as sunshine.

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ

proktavān aham avyayam

vivasvān manave prāha

manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt

(BG 4.1)

These, all these scientific knowledge there are in the Vedic literature. The kṣatriya family . . . there are two kinds of kṣatriya family: who are coming from the sun and the moon. So Vivasvān, his son was Manu, his son was Ikṣvāku, and his descendants is called the sūrya-vaṁśa, in which Lord Rāmacandra appeared.

So Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, is not impersonal. Impersonal feature is His bodily effulgence, glaring of the body. That is confirmed in the Brahmā-saṁhitā:

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-

koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam

tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.40)

This Brahman effulgence is the bodily glow of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prabhā prabhavato. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, brahmaṇo 'haṁ pratiṣṭhā (BG 14.27): "I am the original source of this Brahman effulgence." Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that those who are seeking after Brahman effulgence, the origin point is here—Kṛṣṇa. Itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā (SB 10.12.11). And dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena: and those who have dedicated their lives, those who have understood clearly, as it is instructed by Lord Caitanya, jīvera 'svarūpa' haya 'nitya-dāsa' (CC Madhya 20.108): that is our svarūpa, actual constitutional position.

We are eternal part-and-parcel servant, just like the part and parcel of your body, they’re all your servant. This finger is part and parcel of your body, but it is always serving the whole. That is the business. Finger is not the enjoyer, or the hand is not the enjoyer; the stomach is the enjoyer. You collect foodstuff with your fingers and hand and give it here. You cannot take. That is misuse. Similarly, dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ: this is really self-realization that, "I am part and parcel," mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūta (BG 15.7).

So one should understand that what is the duty of the part and parcel. Just like you go to your work. Everyone in a big establishment, they are part and parcel of that establishment, but everyone is working for the fulfillment of the desire of the first person, the president or the director of the business. Similarly, the whole thing is there. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Īśvara parama kṛṣṇa. Īśvara means "controller." Now, as you have got controller in your office, similarly there must be one controller for all these creations. How you can deny it? That is not possible. There must be.

So the Brahmā, especially, it is his version, īśvara parama kṛṣṇa. Because he is also controller—Brahmā—but he accepts that, "I am not the supreme controller." It was questioned by Nārada, that "My father, you practically . . . you are the master of this universe, you are the creator of this universe, but why I see that you are also meditating upon somebody?" So the answer was, "No, I am not the supreme controller. I have got controller." These things are explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

So Brahmā’s controller is Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu; then Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu's controller is Mahā-Viṣṇu; Kṣīrodak . . . I mean to say, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, His controller, Saṅkarṣaṇa; His controller, Nārāyaṇa; His controller, again Saṅkarṣaṇa, Baladeva. So there are different statuses of controller, just we have experience within this material world also, everything is controlled by somebody.

So Brahmā gives the conclusion that there are many controllers, undoubtedly, but there is a supreme controller, īśvara parama kṛṣṇa. Īśvara means "controller." You are also controller; I am also controller. Just like I am controlling some of my disciples; you may be controlling in your family affairs or in office, some clerks. So there are controllers—may be many—but each and every controller is controlled by another controller, another.

Just like I am controlling somebody, but I am controlled by my Guru Mahārāja. He is controlled by his Guru Mahārāja. In this way you find controller over controller. But in this way if you go on searching after, then when you come to Kṛṣṇa, you will find there is no more controller over Him. Therefore Brahmājī says, īśvara parama kṛṣṇa: "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa."

And Kṛṣṇa also says personally in Bhāgavata:

mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat

kiñcid asti dhanañjaya

(BG 7.7)

"My dear Arjuna, over Me there is no other controller." That is īśvara; that is God. God cannot be controlled by god. God like us maybe controlled by another god, but the supreme God, He is never controlled by anyone. That is real God. Other gods . . . you may call yourself that, "I am god"; I may call myself that "I am god." Yes, we are all gods, but not the supreme God. We are ātmas, but we’re not the supreme ātma. We are īśvaras, but we are not the Parameśvara. Parameśvara is Kṛṣṇa.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

(Bs. 5.1)

So here also Vyāsadeva says, dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi (SB 1.1.1): "I am offering with my all disciples my obeisances to the supreme controller, satyaṁ paraṁ, the Absolute Truth." Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi.

So, itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ (SB 10.12.11). So dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ, those who have accepted that, "I am eternal servant of God, Kṛṣṇa," they are perfect, because that is real position. How you can become the Supreme? It is a false notion only. Real position is this. It is recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If you want to realize self, self-realization, "What is my position? What I am?" the immediate answer should be, "You are eternal servant of God, Kṛṣṇa."

That is real position. And actually, if we scrutinizingly think whether I am master or servant, we will see that we are all servants; we are not master. We are all . . . in this position we are all servants of our senses, go-dāsa. Go means "senses." But one has to become gosvāmī. That is perfection, when one can control the senses. At the present moment we are acting under the dictation of the senses, but when we shall be able to dictate the senses to act, then we are gosvāmī.

So this will be possible when we come to the actual constitutional position to understand. Just like Vyāsadeva is offering, satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi. We surrender. Kṛṣṇa therefore canvasses, Kṛṣṇa comes to canvas, "My dear sirs, you are all thinking that you are all masters, but you are suffering. You are not master; over you, the master is the material nature, your senses.

How you can become master?" So jñāne prayāsam. Brahmājī recommends that "This kind of speculation, give up." Jñāne prayāsam. Namanta eva (SB 10.14.3): just become submissive. We are arrogant: "Who is God? I am God." This is arrogance. Therefore the whole Bhagavad-gītā is taught to Arjuna just to stop this nonsense arrogance. "Surrender unto Me."

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi . . .

(BG 18.66)

By this arrogance you are simply committing sinful activities, and you become entangled.

What is that entanglement? That repeated, repetition of birth and death. That is entanglement. There is no certainty what sort of birth I am going to get next life, but if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ . . . (SB 10.12.11) If we accept dāsyaṁ . . . dāsyaṁ. Śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, mādhurya. We are relating with Kṛṣṇa in five rasas according to our taste. Some of them are in śānta rasa, simply appreciating Kṛṣṇa. But above that śānta rasa there is dāsya rasa. That is the beginning of bhakti life.

Śānta rasa, that is marginal position, between material world and the spiritual world. But actual spiritual life begins when you come to the dāsya rasa. Dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ: when we accept that we are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is our liberation. Svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). If you don’t accept this, then by force the nature, the strong material nature, will enforce you to become her servant. Her servant.

Just like everyone, we are serving the three modes of material nature. Some of them are serving in goodness, some of them are serving in passion. Some of them are passion.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

(BG 3.27)

Actually the prakṛti, the material nature, is pulling everyone by the ear: "You do like this. You do like this." Forcing. But because we are fools and rascals we are thinking, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham: "I am karta." We are not karta.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

(BG 3.27)

Everything . . . because as soon as we associate with a certain quality of the material nature, modes of material nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa . . . they may be different variety—goodness, passion—but they are all under the prakṛti. Therefore in this material world, even if you become very good man, that is also under the reins of the prakṛti. So therefore Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna:

trai-guṇya-visayā vedā

nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna

(BG 2.45)

"You just try to transcend all the influences of this prakṛti, material modes of nature." And how we can transcend? Very easy, if we actually are serious. That is also recommended in Bhagavad-gītā:

māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṇa

bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate

sa guṇān samatītyaitān

brahma-bhūyāya kalpate

(BG 14.26)

Avyabhicāreṇa bhakti: without any adulteration. Pure bhakti, not mixed bhakti. Pure bhakti. Then immediately you are transcendental. Sa guṇān samatītya. Guṇān—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Samatītya, sama-atītya, brahma-bhūyāya.

So this bhakti-yoga process is so nice that it can give you immediately liberation. Immediate, within a second, provided you agree, "Yes." Just like Arjuna said. Arjuna was asked, "Now I have given you all instruction. Now what do you want to do?" That discrimination depends on us, because in the Vedic literature everything is given there. Take for example Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says:

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

(BG 18.66)

Now it is up to us whether we shall accept or not. Kṛṣṇa does not force you. He says, śaraṇaṁ vraja: "You do this." But He is all-powerful. If He likes He can force one. But that force He does not apply. He applies sometimes force to His very, very dear devotee; not to the ordinary. Just like a father forces his own child, not others'. This is an example. Similarly, one who is actually a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, He sometimes forces him, "You must do this." Others He does not force. He says, śaraṇaṁ vraja. Now it is our choice. But if we make our choice like that, then we are liberated immediately, because that is our position. Mukti means:

muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ

sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ

(SB 2.10.6)

Sva-rūpeṇa, that is mukti. One should be standing on his original position.

The original position is that we are all part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, God. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). Aṁśa. Aṁśa, not the full, not the whole. Part cannot be equal to the whole, but if the part is always attached to the whole, it has got value; otherwise it is valueless. The same example, this finger, so long it is attached with this body, it has got value; and if it is cut off from this body, it has no value. Similarly, so long we are cut off from the relationship with Kṛṣṇa, sarva-dharmān parityajya, to serve Him, we have no value. We may conjecture that "I am this," "I am that," "I am that." This is all troublesome.

So Kṛṣṇa personally says, therefore that, "You give up all these mental concoctions. You simply surrender unto Me, and I shall give you protection from all calamities." Sarva-pāpebhyaḥ. He has mentioned the pāpa, not the puṇyebhyaḥ. Because those that are puṇya, they are not suffering. They have got some solace, because Kṛṣṇa says:

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ

janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām

(BG 7.28)

So Kṛṣṇa does not say that, "I shall save you from the reaction of puṇya." He says pāpebhyo, because sufferings, actual suffering, is due to our sinful activities. That is suffering. Nature will not tolerate.

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī

mama māyā duratyayā

(BG 7.14)

We can say that, "We don’t care for God, don’t care for anyone. I can do anything, whatever I like." You can do that. That is at your risk. Otherwise, why there are so many species of life? Huh? Even there is life you are passing stool—another life is waiting just to take your stool.

So there are varieties of life due to pāpa and puṇya. Pāpa and puṇya. So we should not be interested even in puṇya. Puṇya, by puṇya we may have better life, but unless we come to the point of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, even better life, the demigod's life, that is also not very appreciable. Kṛṣṇa says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16), kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti (BG 9.21). So puṇya is just like bank balance. So bank balance, so long you have got bank balance you may draw and enjoy, but when the bank balance is finished, again you are poor man. So kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti. These things are there.

So we should not be interested either in the pāpa or puṇya also. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān. People are addicted. Some of them are addicted to the pāpa kariyā, and some of them are addicted to the puṇya kariyā. There are so many dualities. So Kṛṣṇa says that "Give up all these dualities. You simply surrender unto Me." The same thing.

Bhagavad-gītā ends with this instruction of Kṛṣṇa, and Vyāsadeva captures this instruction and begins Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with the first aphorism of Vedānta-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ, the origin, and satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi (SB 1.1.1). This is surrender. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Nama. Nama means "I surrender." That is nama. "I become humbled." Nama. Namaskār, just like we do namaskār: "I humbly submit," gentleman. Yes. So all these mantras, Vedic mantras, they are meant for becoming nama, surrendered. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.

So here Vyāsadeva says that the Supreme Personality, He is conscious, abhijña. Abhijña. How He is abhijña, conscious? Anvayāt vitarekhena artheṣu. In everything there are some indirect observation and some direct observation. Just like you see a flower, you directly see a flower is growing, but you do not know what is the process by which the flower is growing. Abruptly you say nature. What is that nature? That is not explanation. That is not scientific explanation. You must know the process. That is scientific knowledge.

Just like we see these coconut trees. The coconut tree, there are green coconuts about fifty feet above, but there is very nice water. Now, how this water has been injected in this hard shell? That is a great science, but we do not know. We are very much proud of our scientific knowledge, but when I ask somebody that "What is the process?" they submit so many so-called theories. You see?

Therefore Kṛṣṇa is sometimes addressed as Vijñāna-vijaya. Vijñāna-vijaya. He is powerful—not abruptly, but with scientific knowledge, perfect scientific knowledge. That is explained here: janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ (SB 1.1.1). He is very expert, that Supreme. He is expert in knowledge, how things are done—directly and indirectly.

We can see simply directly. Just like I have this body. I am claiming, "This is my body." But how the bodily functions are acting? How I am eating and it is being transformed into different secretion? Some of them I am passing out as urine, some of them are becoming blood, some of them becoming bile. There is a great factory, and it is going on, but we do not know. And still we are very much proud.

But Kṛṣṇa knows how, because He has created. He is the origin, creator. He knows. Therefore He must be a sentient person. Without being person, how one can know? That is explained. Anvayāt itarataḥ: He knows everything. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26), He knows everything. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8). His energy is acting so nicely and so subtle.

Just like the sun, yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro (Bs. 5.52): by the order of Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, it is rotating in the orbit, fixed up. The orbit is so subtle that if the sun comes this side, the whole universe immediately become frozen, and if the sun comes this side the whole universe will be ablaze immediately. It is just on the line. Yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro (Bs. 5.52).

(break) . . . acting. If you simply say, "by nature," this you’ll never see. What is this nature? That you cannot explain. Therefore your knowledge is imperfect. But we poor fellows, because we have accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme, our knowledge is perfect. We take Kṛṣṇa's word, and we accepted it. It is very simple thing; it is not very difficult thing. Kṛṣṇa says:

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto

mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru

(BG 18.65)

We are trying to think of Him always. We are trying to become His devotee, man-manā bhava. Mad-yājī: we are trying to worship Him from the early in the morning. Māṁ namaskuru: so we are offering our obeisances. It is very simple. We haven’t got to make any gymnastic. Simply Kṛṣṇa says that namaskuru. "All right, I offer my obeisances." "Think of Me." "Yes, I think of You always." These boys, they are being taught like that, and they are doing that. They are making progress. They are making progress, just see, practically.

So the bhakti-yoga is so nice, everyone, even the child can do it. There is no difficulty, but you make tremendous progress for your spiritual realization. Tremendous progress. And especially in this age, you cannot accept any other process for your self-realization, neither you will be able to execute it properly. This is not possible. Therefore this recommendation of Śukadeva Gosvāmī:

itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā

dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ nara-daiva . . .

dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena

(SB 10.12.11)

Dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ, those who have accepted Kṛṣṇa as the supreme master, for them, He is the Supreme Lord. And for the impersonalist, He is the origin of Brahman effulgence. And māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa: and those who are still under the influence of māyā, they are thinking Kṛṣṇa is ordinary boy. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā (BG 9.11). They are thinking, "Ah, Kṛṣṇa is ordinary man. Why they are after Kṛṣṇa?"

Kṛṣṇa, some very influential managing, issued by the government, they have described Kṛṣṇa as the son of a bee, black bee, and He was disturbing the society, and therefore people worshiped Him. Just see their creative energy. He plows all the śāstras, or He creates His own imagination, and that is published in government paper. Just see all misfortune. You see? So, itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukha. Therefore it is called māyāśritānāṁ. These kind of description of Kṛṣṇa is made by māyāśritānāṁ, those who are under the complete influence of māyā.

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya . . . sarvatra

yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ

(BG 7.25)

To the māyāśritānāṁ, those who are under the complete influence of māyā, they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. But if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then māyā lets you see Kṛṣṇa.

mām eva ye prapadyante

māyām etāṁ taranti te

(BG 7.14)

So somehow or other you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, you become free from the clutches, from the influence of māyā, and you will be able to see Kṛṣṇa eye to eye. This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is very simple, it is authorized, it is scientific. If you kindly take, your life will be successful.

Thank you very much. (end)