720629 - Lecture BG 07.01 - San Diego

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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720629BG-SAN DIEGO - June 29, 1972 - 33:27 Minutes

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse, etc.) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha

yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ

asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ

yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu

(BG 7.1)

Prabhupāda: . . . (indistinct)

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse again)

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha

yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ

asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ

yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu

(BG 7.1)

Prabhupāda: . . . (indistinct)

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse again)

mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha

yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ

asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ

yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu

(BG 7.1)

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So anyone can recite. (devotees chant; Prabhupāda corrects pronunciation) Yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ . . . (devotees repeat) . . . asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. That's all. Carry on nicely. (more devotees chant) All right. (another devotee chants; Prabhupāda corrects pronunciation) Yathā jñāsyasi . . . yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. (devotees repeat)

All right. Now read the word meaning.

Pradyumna: (leads chanting of synonyms)

śrī bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Lord said; mayi—unto Me; āsakta-manāḥ—mind attached; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; yogam—self-realization; yuñjan—so practicing; mat-āśrayaḥ—in consciousness of Me (Kṛṣṇa consciousness); asaṁśayam—without doubt; samagram—completely; mām—unto Me; yathā—as much as; jñāsyasi—you can know; tat—that; śṛṇu—try to hear.

Translation: "Now hear, O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna), how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt."

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So it is said, śrī-bhagavān uvāca: Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He said. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind that He comes down in His original form to reclaim the conditioned souls. We are, at the present moment, we are conditioned. We are not free; we are under the bondage of the material energy. So we are suffering, every one of us.

There are three kinds of sufferings: adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika. Adhyātmika means pertaining to the body and the mind—some trouble, not feeling well this morning due to this body. So body means a temple of disease, that's all. Śarīraṁ vyādhi-mandiram. Body means temple of disease.

Just like here is temple of God, similarly this body is temple of disease. While walking on the street we saw a huge establishment, medical center. There are so many medical centers, so many drug shops. Why? Because this body is a temple of disease.

So, śrī-bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, He comes down, avatāra. The Sanskrit word avatāra, avatāra means who comes down from up; coming down, descends. Why does He come? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8)

There are two classes of men—one is sādhu and another is miscreant. Sādhu means devotees of the Lord, and miscreant means always committing sinful activities. That's all. So there are two classes of men anywhere you go within this material world. One is called demigod or devotees, and the other is called nondevotee or demon. So Kṛṣṇa comes . . . both of them are conditioned, one has become demon and one has become . . . of course, devotee's in higher state—he is not conditioned, he is mukta, liberated even in this life. So Kṛṣṇa comes down, He has got two businesses: to reclaim or rescue the devotees and to vanquish the nondevotees.

You have seen the picture of Lord Viṣṇu . . . uh, there is no picture of Lord Viṣṇu? So He has got four hands. In two hands there is weapon, club and cakra. This is meant for the demons. And in the other two hands He has got conchshell and lotus flower. Lotus flower means blessings, and conchshell means dissipating all ignorance, all ink spots, inauspiciousness. Śaṅkha cakra gadā-padma.

But Kṛṣṇa being absolute, even the demons who are killed by Kṛṣṇa, they get the same result as the devotees who are delivered from this material world. Kṛṣṇa being absolute, His activities are also absolute. Not that . . . God is good. He is good in all circumstances.

Why He kills, that is also His goodness, and while He protects, that is also His goodness. This is the conception of God: all-good. Here in this material world if we do some pious activities, then we are good, and if we act some impious activities, sinful activities, then we are bad. But in the case of God, Kṛṣṇa, there is no such distinction.

His activities are all good, not that Kṛṣṇa is not in . . . now in favorable. "I am going to church or temple. God is not very kind upon me. What I will want He does not give me; therefore He is bad. I don't go to temple."

Just like in the last war, one my German Godbrother, he told me in Germany, all men, male members, they went to fight, so the female members, either her husband or father or brother, gone to the battle, so they are anxious how they will come back. So the war was going; at the same time they were going to church to pray to get back their relatives.

So they did not take sanction when declaring the war, so—did not take sanction from God—but when they were in danger, they go to the temple and church, "Save me. God save." God may not ask, "Why you did declare war without My sanction?" "No, that I can do, anything. I am free. But I am in danger—please save me."

So God is just like order-supplier, my instrument. God has been accepted in the present civilization that, "If God can satisfy my senses—whatever I want to do, if I can do by the blessings of God, then God is very good; and if God punishes me, then He is not good. This is our philosophy, Navana's philosophy." But for a devotee, God is always good: "When He punishes me, that is also good, and when He blesses me, that is also good." This is devotees' conception of God.

And nondevotees' conception of God means if God supplies my order, or carries my order, whatever I say, then God is good. And if he does not do so, then God is bad. This is not conception of God. Conception of God means when we say: "God is good," God is good in every circumstance. That is conception. So this conception is difficult for ordinary man, but those who are devotees, they can understand.

tat te 'nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo

bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam

hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te

mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk . . . jīveta

(SB 10.14.8)

Now, a person who lives under the protection of God, ah, he's . . . because this is the material world . . . material or any world. Take . . . we are now in the material world. Here our position is, in every stage there is danger, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ (SB 10.14.8). This is a place where you can expect every moment some type of danger.

This is a place like that, those who have come here. Just like in prison house where the prisoners are there, a little discrepancy, again punishment: "Oh, you have not done this," then again punishment, again punishment. Because that place is for punishment. How you can become happy, like your hog, in prison house? That is not possible. Because that prison house is created for punishing the criminals so that they may be rectified. That is the purpose.

Similarly, this material world is a prison house for us. They do not know that, they are making plans that "In this prison house we shall be happy." Therefore there is tri-tāpa-yātana, three kinds of miserable condition: adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Adhyātmika means pertaining to the body and mind.

Everyone has got experience, "Oh I am not in good mood; my mind is not very satisfied. My body . . . today I have got headache," or some pain, or so many things—body and mind. This is called adhyātmika. And adhibhautika means distress offered by other living—just like mosquito, flies, rats, so many, and big tiger also, birds, so many things. Enemy—you are innocent, but you have got some enemy; he inflict some injury. So this is called adhibhautika. This kind of sufferings are always there.

And there are other sufferings, which is called adhidaivika. Just like in your country the other day there was all of a sudden inundation in New York . . .

Pradyumna: Pennsylvania

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Pradyumna: Pennsylvania.

Prabhupāda: Pennsylvania. You cannot check that. There may be immediately earthquake, and everything finished. There may be famine, there may be epidemic . . . they may be war . . . you have no control. Neither of these miserable condition you have no control.

You may be falsely proud that, "I am the monarch of all that I survey. I am great scientist. I am great, rich man. I don't care for God." That is all right, but how you can get rid of all these miserable condition of life? What is your program? Have you got any solution? "No, we are trying." Trying . . . everyone is trying. That is not solution.

But there is solution. The other day we were talking with some scientist. So that is our benefit: we know the solution, we know what is God, and we act accordingly. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are not blind. The so-called scientists, philosophers, they are making plans that they are studying only . . . only on the platform of nature's conditional life. That's all. They are trying to . . . just like we have got now aeroplane. Aeroplane we can go very quickly. One day's journey we can go in twenty minutes. But nature is offering hijacker: (laughter) "Come on."

So this is a trouble. You are trying to overcome the, I mean to say, miseries offered by the material nature. You think you have made a solution, but there is another problem. There is another problem. You advance in one way and you get another problem.

So those who have got eyes, they can see, "Then where is the solution? I create some . . ." Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says, bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha (SB 7.9.19): "My dear Lord, it is not a fact that the parents simply are the protections of the children."

Generally we think so. If the child has got his father and mother he is supposed to be in a safe condition of life. But Prahlāda Mahārāja says no. Even in spite of presence of his father and mother, there are so many children, they are suffering. Even rich father, rich mother.

Just like yesterday I was explaining that you Americans have a rich father, rich nation, but the hippies are suffering. Why? Similarly, everywhere they have voluntarily accepted suffering. Why? The father is there, rich father is there, rich mother is there, rich nation is there. Why they are suffering?

Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says, nicely, that bālasya neha: that simply because there are parents so the child will be happy, it is not a fact. And he says also, nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ. Nārtasya. Artasya: those who are suffering from disease. It is not that medicine and good medical practice, and everything failed.

There were many cases, hundreds and thousands of cases, very good arrangement for medical health, very good medicine, very good physician, and still he dies. Nārtasya cāgadam udanva. There is nice ship, but still everyone is drowned.

There is, in your country, there is long ago, perhaps you know . . . what is that ship?

Pradyumna: Titanic.

Prabhupāda: Titanic, very strongly built, assured. All respectable gentlemen, rich men, board on it and drowned. These are practical. Taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas (SB 7.9.19). We have manufactured many counteractives. There is danger, and we have manufactured, "We can save from this danger."

So Prahlāda Mahārāja says: "These counterparts, or the counteraction of danger, can be feasible only if there is Your sanction." Tāvad vibho tanu-upekṣitānām. But if You do not sanction, this counteract of the counterpart of dangerous position cannot save us. It is not possible." If you think that, "I have made so many nice measures, plans. Now I am safe," no.

If God does not sanction your safety, you're not safe. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are challenging the miscreants. We are challenging:

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta-jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

(BG 7.15)

The atheist, godless atheist, their qualification is duṣkṛtinaḥ. Duṣkṛtinaḥ means always miscreant, always acting sinfully. This is their qualification. Duṣkṛtinaḥ mūḍhāḥ. Mūḍhā means rascal, fool. They are committing sins because they are mūḍhā, they do not know that there is law of God.

There is God, and if I do sinfully, if I act sinfully, I will be punished, just like ordinary criminals, they also defy the government, "Oh I don't care for government." He knows that, "I shall be arrested." What is the reason? The reason is the heart is polluted. He cannot check. He has suffered.

A drunkard, he never gives advice to his son to become a drunkard. Because he knows that, "I am sinful," but he still he drinks. The reason is that because the heart is not cleansed, he cannot check it. A patient, a particular type of patient, he has infected some disease.

He knows, "Due to my association through such and such, I have infected this disease." "Doctor," he'll say. But again he associates, again he infects, and again he goes to the doctor. This is going on.

Therefore if we actually want to be happy, then one process is that you cleanse your heart by the prescribed method, tapasā brahmacaryeṇa tyāgena śamena (SB 6.1.13). There are . . . (indistinct) . . . prescriptions that we undergo austerities, tapasā. You observe brahmacarya, self-control, sense control; tyāgena, you just sacrifice your hard-earned money in charity or for some good purpose; you speak truth. In this way there are so many list of good activities by which you can rectify yourself. But in this age it is very difficult, very, very difficult.

Therefore the śastra says, kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. In the Kali-yuga you cannot perform austerities or charities or control the senses or this good activities. You cannot do. Because this age is very vicious. Therefore a simple method has been offered to us by the śastras: chant Hare Krishna. And you will be rectified.

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

(CC Adi 17.21)

And practically we see these boys, American and European boys and girls, I have not given them any medicine or injection. The only injection is that I am insisting, "Please chant sixteen rounds." That's all. Still, some of them say: "I could not. I am lazy." (laughs)

But this sixteen round chanting, simply will make him the perfect man. Don't be lazy. At any cost, chant sixteen rounds and be perfect. That is my request.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda! (cut) (end)