720324 - Lecture SB 01.03.43 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720324SB-BOMBAY - March 24, 1972 - 11:42 Minutes

(partially recorded)

Prabhupāda: . . . just like when we at night, we are naṣṭa-dṛśām. Even though we have got these eyes, we cannot see, we require light. For a moment there was no electric light—you immediately became blind. That is our position. We are very much proud of our eyes. We see . . . we say: "Can you show me God?" There are so many questions. But what is your eyes? Your eyes, if there is no light, electricity, you cannot see. And you want to see God with these eyes, these imperfect eyes? But they say: "Can you show me God?" So the answer is, "Can you see God?" You have to make the eyes naṣṭa-dṛśām. Our eyes, our senses, are so imperfect, it is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa. Ataḥ kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (Padma Purāna).

So you have to rectify your faulty senses—eyes, hands, everything. Then you can understand Kṛṣṇa. That is stated here: kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām. In this age, kalau . . . this is called Kali, age of Kali—fighting. Quarrel means disagreement and fight, kalau. Kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ (SB 1.3.43). This Purāna, this Bhagavata-Purāna, is just like sunshine, or sun: adhunoditaḥ. So we should take advantage of this sunshine, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's . . . what is called, śabdha incarnation. This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . . . Kṛṣṇa has many incarnations. Just like here, we are worshiping the Deity, this is called arcā-avatāra. Similarly, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is sound avatāra. Kṛṣṇa can appear as avatāra in anything, because this sound means from sky, and this arcā is from stone.

Kṛṣṇa claims, bhūmir āpo analo vāyuḥ khaṁ buddhir (BG 7.4). Khaṁ means ākāśāḥ. From the ākāśāḥ, from the sky, there is śabdha, sound vibration. That is the symptom that existence of ākāśāḥ. And this arcā-mūrti, that is also made of stone, but Kṛṣṇa . . . the stone is nothing but energy of Kṛṣṇa; the sound is energy of Kṛṣṇa. So as the sunshine is energy of the sun . . . when there is sunshine, the energy of sun, you can understand the sun is there. Similarly, from anything, if you have got realization, you can understand Kṛṣṇa—energy. So this is, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is sound vibration incarnation of Kṛṣṇa: apurna, purāṇārko adhunoditaḥ.

So if we study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly, just according to the direction of the ācārya, then we can become God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, very easily. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Not officially, but nityaṁ: daily, regularly, we should hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the authorized source. Then our life is successful.

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu

nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā

bhagavaty uttama-śloke

bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

(SB 1.2.18)

These things will be explained gradually.

Now, it is established that after departure of Kṛṣṇa, knowledge and dharma is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā, personally He speaks about Him, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the great sage, mahāmuni, Vyāsadeva is speaking about Kṛṣṇa. So when this question was raised in Naimiṣāraṇya by the great sages and saintly person, the Sūta Gosvāmī was speaking. He replied, munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ (SB 1.2.5). This was the answer when the question that, "After departure of Kṛṣṇa, where we can find dharma, jñāna?"

That is the inquiry of human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.1). This is jñāna and dharma. Without jñāna and dharma—knowledge and religion—that is not human society. Everyone should be inquisitive: athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is brahma jijñāsā. Jijñāsā means inquiry. Everyone should be interested to inquire about dharma and jñāna. That is human life. Tapo divyaṁ.

The Ṛṣabhadeva, the father of Mahārāja Bharata, under whose name this land is called Bhārata-varṣa, Bharata, his father Ṛṣabhadeva instructed His one hundred sons that, "My dear sons, this life," nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke (SB 5.5.1), "This body in the human society is not meant for working so hard like the dogs and hogs for sense gratification." This is not meant for. Don’t waste your time in that way. Simply for sense gratification to work so much hard, that is done by the dogs and hogs. Tapo divyaṁ. "This life is meant for understanding God," tapo divyaṁ, "For which one must undergo all kinds of austerity and penances." Austerity and penance means sacrificing our indulgence in sense gratification—little sacrifice required.

Formerly, great, great sages, they went to forest and Himalaya to meditate, just like Dhruva Mahārāja went. When five-years-old boy, in order to find out God, he went to the forest and meditated. Of course, he was successful, but at the present moment it is not possible to accept such kind of austerity. But therefore the śāstra gives us very short-cut austerity—chant Hare Kṛṣṇa:

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam

(CC Adi 17.21)

Little austerity. Little austerity. We are asking our students to chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa, sixteen rounds at least—this much austerity. But Kali-yuga is so strong that even this sixteen rounds is also very difficult. So we are so much fallen, but still, although we are fallen, if we chant this mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, as recommended by the śāstras: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam . . . just like a small child: he tries to walk, sometimes falls down, again he tries to stand up. But we must try to come to the perfectional point by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

So the Sūta Gosvāmī is replying after hearing the question: munayaḥ—this is plural number, "all the sages," sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ, "Oh, your question is very, very nice," sādhu, most, I mean to say, worshipable. Sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ. munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁbhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam (SB 1.2.5). "Your question about Kṛṣṇa, that after departure of Kṛṣṇa, where is now jñāna and dharma?" Dharma, jñāna. Now see, simply because it is related with Kṛṣṇa, Sūta Gosvāmī became so engladdened, that "Your question is very, very nice," sādhu pṛṣṭo. Why it is nice? Because loka-maṅgalam.

This Kṛṣṇa discussion is so nice that as soon as we begin it, and so long we discuss about Kṛṣṇa, it is loka-maṅgalam—the whole period is auspicious. At that time Yamarāja cannot touch you. The death, the time, the influence of time cannot touch you. If you go on in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the influence of time cannot touch you.

How influence of time has touched us? We are eternal, but we have been under the clutches of birth and death. This is the influence of time. Not that time is changing, but the influence of time is changing. I am getting this body, another body, another body . . . this is influence of time. So if you are constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, twenty-four hours, this influence of time cannot touch us. This is the secret.

So we recommend, therefore, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that in whichever position you may be, it doesn’t matter. Please try to chant this holy name: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)