730909 - Lecture Gurvastakam at Uppsala University - Stockholm

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

730909LE-STOCKHOLM - September 09, 1973 - 36:46 Minutes

Prabhupāda: So in order to enter into spiritual life, two things are required, as enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

ei rūpe brahmāṇḍo bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva

guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

(CC Madhya 19.151)

The living entities, they are wandering throughout the universe, changing body, transmigrating from one body to another, one place to another, one planet to another, but they are rotating within this universe, material universe, brahmāṇḍo bhramite. This science is unknown to the modern education department, how the spirit soul is transmigrating from one body to another and how he's being transferred from one planet to another. We have got our book, Easy Journey to Other Planets. So guru can help you to transmigrate from this planet directly to the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable spiritual planets. They are known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka. And the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, that is called Goloka Vṛndāvana. That is Kṛṣṇa's planet. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we are trying to give information how one can be transferred directly to the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet, Kṛṣṇaloka. That is our mission.

So what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world? The difference is that in the material world you have to change your body, although you are eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). You are not destroyed after the annihilation of this body, material body, but you transmigrate to another body. And that body may be one of the 8,400,000's of forms. There are 8,400,000's of forms. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi (Padma Purāṇa).

There are 900,000 forms in the water, two millions forms of trees and plants, eleven hundred thousand forms of the insect, and then one million forms of the birds. And then three million forms of the beasts. And then we come to this human form of life. Now it is our choice, whether you are going to be transferred again through the cycle of this transmigration of the soul from the one body to another in the lower species of life, or you want to be transferred to the spiritual sky. And you can transfer yourself to the highest spiritual platform, which is known as Goloka Vṛndāvana. That is your choice. You have been given the chance of this human form of body to make your choice. You are completely under the control of material nature, but the material nature gives you a chance to get this human form of body. Whatever you like, you can do. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:

yānti deva-vratā devān

pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ

bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā

mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām

(BG 9.25)

The purport is that those who are going . . . trying to be elevated to the higher planetary system, which is called Devaloka, or the planets of the demigods . . . there the standard of living, duration of life, is very, very large. Or if you want to be transferred to the Pitṛlokas, or in the lokas of the ghosts, bhūtejyā, or if you want to be transferred to the loka where Kṛṣṇa lives—mad-yājino 'pi mām—now it depends on your practice. But the rotating, wandering within this material world from one body to another or from one planet to another, that is not advised. That is called saṁsāra. Saṁsāra means material existence. That is called saṁsāra. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You take your birth once in some form of body. You live for some time. Then you have to give up this body. Then you have to accept another body. Then again live for some time. Then give up that body. Again accept another body. In this way, it is going on. That is called saṁsāra, rotating within this material world.

That is compared with dāvāna. Dāvāna means forest fire. Forest fire, you have got experience. You have seen, might have. In the forest, nobody goes to set fire, but it takes place. Everyone knows it. Similarly, within this material world, nobody wants to be unhappy. Everyone is trying to be very happy, but he is forced to accept unhappiness. This is the position. Therefore it is called dāvāna. Dāvāna means nobody willingly sets fire, but there is fire in the forest.

Similarly, in this material world, everyone is trying from time immemorial—even at the present moment—there is some occasional war, world war, and they manufacture some means. In our days, when we were young men, there was a League of Nation. Perhaps some of you may know. When the 1900, 19 . . . when the First World War was finished, these nations, they formed a League of Nation. League of Nation means just to arrange for peaceful living between the nations. So there was forest fire again. Nobody wanted war, but there was Second World War. Again. And again they are trying to, the League . . . what is that? United Nations. But the war is going on. The Vietnam War is going on, the Pakistan War is going on, and many others are going on.

So you may try your best to live very peacefully, but nature will not allow you. There must be war. It is not possible. In the history, especially in European history, there were so many wars—Carthagian War, Greece War, Roman War, Seven Years' War between France and England, and Hundred Years' War . . . so . . . so far we have read in the history. And the war feeling is going on, not only between nation and nation, between man to man, neighbor to neighbor—even between husband and wife, father and son, this war is going on. This is called dāvāna, forest fire. Forest fire means in the forest nobody goes to set fire, but automatically, by the clash, friction of the dried bamboo, there is electricity and it catches fire. Similarly, although we do not want unhappiness, still, by our dealings we create enemies and friends, and there is fight, there is war. This will continue. This is called saṁsāra-dāvānala. Try to understand.

So guru, means, spiritual master means, who can deliver one from this forest fire. Just like when there is forest fire, the animals are very much disturbed, and they die mostly. The snakes, they die immediately. So this forest fire, saṁsāra-dāvānala, is going on perpetually, and the person, or the authorized person who can deliver you from this forest fire of material existence, he's called guru, or the spiritual master.

Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam. How he delivers? What is his means? The same example: Where there is fire in the forest, you cannot send fire brigade, or you cannot go there with bucketful of waters to extinguish the fire. That is not possible. Then how it will be extinguished? Fire means it requires water to be extinguished. But where the water is coming from? From your bucket or from your fire brigade? No. It must come from the sky. It must come from the sky. When there will be torrents of rain from the sky, this forest fire, blazing forest fire, will be extinguished.

So these rains from the sky, it does not depend on your scientific propaganda or manipulation. It depends on the mercy of the Supreme Lord. So the spiritual master is compared with the cloud. Just like from the cloud there is torrents of rain, similarly, a spiritual master is considered just like cloud. Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka. Just like cloud takes the water from the sea—cloud hasn't got its own water; cloud takes water from the sea—similarly, a spiritual master brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just see the comparison. He has no own mercy, but he carries the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the qualification of spiritual master.

A spiritual master will never say that, "I am God. I can give you mercy." No. That is not spiritual master. That is a bogus, pretender. A spiritual master will say: "I am servant of God. I have brought His mercy. Please take it and be satisfied." This is spiritual master's business. Just like a post peon. A post peon, when he delivers you some large amount of money, it is not his own money. The money is sent by somebody else. But he honestly delivers you, "Sir, here is your money. Take it." So you become very much satisfied with the peon. Although it is not his money, but when, in case of need, you get the money sent by your father or somebody else, brought by the peon, oh, you get very much satisfaction.

Similarly, we are all suffering in this blazing fire of material existence. The spiritual master brings the message from the Supreme Lord and delivers you. And if you kindly accept, then you'll be satisfied. This is the business of the spiritual master.

saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-

trāṇāya-kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam

prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇarṇavasya

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

So spiritual master is offered obeisances, "Sir, you have brought the mercy from the Supreme Lord. Therefore we are much obliged to you. To deliver us, you have come. We offer our respectful obeisances." This is the meaning of this verse. Vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam. That means the first qualification of the spiritual master, or guru, is to deliver you some message by which immediately your blazing fire in the heart will be stopped. This is the test.

Everyone has blazing fire within the heart. That is the proof of material existence. Nobody is without anxieties. That blazing fire means anxieties, always. Everyone has got anxieties. Even the small bird, he has got anxiety. You give the small bird some grains to eat, he'll eat it. But he's not very peacefully eating. He'll see this way, that way, "If somebody's coming to kill me?" Yes. This is material existence.

Everyone, even President Nixon, he's also full of anxieties, what to speak of others. Even Gandhi, in our country, he was full of anxieties. All politician, they're full of anxiety; although they hold very exalted post, still the material disease, anxiety, is there. So if you want to be anxiety-less, without any anxiety, then you must take shelter of the guru, or the spiritual master, and the test is that by the instruction of guru, by following the instruction of guru, you will be anxiety-less. This is the test.

saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-

trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam

prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

Don't make a cheap guru or a fashion guru, just like you keep sometimes a dog as a fashion. Similarly, if you want to keep a dog, or if you want to keep a guru as a fashion—"I have got a guru"—that will not help. You must accept a guru who can extinguish the blazing fire of anxiety within your heart. That is the first test of a guru.

And the second test is, mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta-vaditra-mādyan manaso rasena. The guru . . . second system is, symptom is, that guru is always engaged in chanting Mahāprabhu, glorifying Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That is his business. Mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta. He's dancing and chanting in the . . .

(break) . . . by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Because this is the remedy for all calamities within this material world at the present moment. At the present moment, nobody can meditate. The so-called meditation is humbug. It is very difficult to meditate in this disturbing age of Kali. Therefore śāstra says, kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇu (SB 12.3.52). Meditation means dhyāna, dhyāyato. So kṛte, in the Satya-yuga, when people used to live for 100,000's of years . . . the Vālmīki Muni, he got perfection by meditation after meditating for sixty thousands of years. So there is no guarantee whether we are going to live for sixty years or sixty hours. So meditation is not possible in this age. That was possible in the Satya-yuga.

Then the next path is performing rituals as they are enjoined in the Vedic śāstra. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ. Yajato makhaiḥ. Makhaiḥ means performing big, big sacrifices. It requires huge lots of money. They, in this age, people are very poor. They cannot perform. Dvāpare paricaryāyām. And in the Dvāpara-yuga it was possible to worship the Deity in the temple. But nowadays, in this Kali-yuga, that is also very impossible fact. Therefore, the general recommendation is, kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt: "In this age of Kali, simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord you can get all perfection." All perfection.

That is the . . . our this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is meant for that purpose. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu—the picture is there, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, here, ṣaḍ-bhūja—so He inaugurated this movement five hundred years ago, chanting. Chanting and dancing. So this is going on for the last five hundred years. In India it is very popular, but in the Western countries, we have just introduced five or six years ago, and people are taking to it, and they are feeling happy. So this is the only process. Therefore, the guru, is always engaged in chanting. Mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta, chanting and dancing. Unless he performs himself, how he can teach his disciple?

So his second symptom is . . . first symptom is that he will give you such instruction that immediately you will feel relief from all anxieties. And the second symptom is that he's personally engaged also always in chanting and dancing the holy name of the Lord, mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta-vaditra-mādyan manaso rasena, and enjoy the transcendental bliss within the mind by chanting and dancing.

Unless you become blissful, very happy, you cannot dance. It is not . . . artificially, you cannot dance. These dances, they are not artificial. They feel some transcendental bliss, therefore they dance. It is not they are dancing dog. No. They dance from the spiritual platform. Vaditra-mādyan manaso rasena. Romāñca-kampāśru-taraṅga-bhājo: and there are sometimes transformation of the body with spiritual symptoms—sometimes crying, sometimes there is, I mean to . . . swelling on the end of the hairs. There are so many symptoms. These are later. These are not to be imitated. But when one is spiritually advanced, these symptoms are visible. This is the second symptom of guru. And the third is:

śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-

śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau

yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato 'pi

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The spiritual master's duty is to engage the disciples in Deity worship, śrī-vigraha. Śrī-vigraha. In our centers, all centers—we have got about more than one hundred centers all over the world—we have got the method of Deity worship. Here we have not yet established, but we worship the picture of Lord Caitanya and guru. But in other centers . . . in London, we have got two centers, two temple. In America we have got about forty centers. In this way, in each and every center, there is Deity worship.

Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā: to worship the Deity, to dress the Deity very nicely; to cleanse the temple very nicely; to offer nice foodstuff to the Deity and accept the remnants of the foodstuff as our eating. In this way, there is method of Deity worship. The Deity worship is done by guru himself, and he engages the disciple also in that business. This is the third symptom.

Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau, yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato 'pi. Not that he is not engaged. He is also engaged. His disciples are engaged. He's always showing, "Do like that. Do like that. Do like that." Or sometimes, if he cannot, the guru shows how to do it. That is the business of guru. Then fourth symptom is:

catur-vidha-śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-

svādv-anna-tṛptān hari-bhakta-saṅghān

kṛtvaiva tṛptiṁ bhajataḥ sadaiva

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

The fourth symptom is that a guru, the spiritual master, encourages prasāda distribution, remnants of foodstuff distributed to the public. Ours is not dry philosophy, simply we talk and go home. No. We distribute prasādam, very sumptuous prasādam. In every temple, anyone who comes, we can offer prasādam. In each and every temple we have got already from fifty to two hundred devotees. And outsiders also, they come and they take prasādam. This is an . . . this introduction is also another symptom of guru, prasāda distribution. Catur-vidha. Not ordinary. Catur-vidha means four kinds of eatable: carvya, cūṣya, lehya, peya. Something is chewed, something is swallowed up, something is licked up. In this way, there are different kinds of palatable dishes.

Catur-vidha-śrī . . . catur-vidha means four kinds of different types of varieties of prasādam. Catur-vidha-śrī . . . śrī-bhagavat-prasādam. Śrī means opulent. If you eat bhagavat-prasādam, then gradually you become spiritualized. It has got the potency, if you eat the prasādam. Therefore it is said that realization of God can be done by the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). If you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then you realize God realization. So what is that tongue engagement? The tongue engagement is you chant the holy name of the Lord, and you take the prasādam, remnants of foodstuff given to the Lord. Then you become self-realized, God realized. By these two method.

You don't require to be very highly educated philosopher, scientist, and a rich man and . . . to realize God. If you sincerely engage your tongue only in the service of the Lord, you realize Him. It is so simple thing. It is not very difficult. Therefore, this prasādam program is there, introduced by the guru, spiritual master. Śrī-vigra . . . catur-vidha-śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-svādv-anna-tṛptān hari-bhakta-saṅghān. Hari-bhakta-saṅga means association of the devotees. These things are done . . .

Outside we cannot do it. But if there are some devotees, we can order, "Please do it. Distribute like this. Do like this." Therefore hari-bhakta-saṅghān. Kṛtvaiva tṛptiṁ bhajataḥ sadaiva. And when he's fully satisfied that the prasāda distribution is going on, he's very much pleased and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord by chanting and dancing. This is the fourth symptom. And fifth symptom is:

śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra-

mādhurya-līlā-guṇa-rūpa-nāmnām

prati-kṣaṇāsvādana-lolu citta . . .

What is that? Anyway. Vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam. And the spiritual master is always thinking of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra: with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, His consort, and the gopīs. That is always his thinking. Sometimes he's thinking about His pastimes with the cowherds boy. That means that he's engaged always thinking of Kṛṣṇa engaged in some kind of pastime.

Śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra-mādhurya-līlā-guṇa-rūpa-nāmnām pratikṣaṇa asvādana lolupasya. Pratikṣaṇa, twenty-four hours, he's thinking. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One must be engaged twenty-four hours in thinking of Kṛṣṇa. You have to make your such program. Just like we have, at least, made such program. All these boys and girls, those who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they are engaged twenty-four hours. Not officially, once in a week, they meditate or go to some temple. No. Not like that. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours. They have got engagement twenty-four hours. Ask anyone how they are engaged. You can ask.

The next symptom is . . . what is that?

Haṁsadūta: Nikuñja-yūno.

Prabhupāda: Nikuñja-yūno rati-keli-siddhyai yā yālibhir apekṣaṇīyā. So the ultimate goal of the spiritual master is that he wants to be transferred to the planet of Kṛṣṇa, where he wants to associate with the gopīs to help them to serve Kṛṣṇa. Some, some of them are, some of the devotees, spiritual master, they are thinking of becoming assistant to the gopīs, some of them are thinking to be assistant to the cowherds boy, some of them are thinking to be assistant to Mother Yaśodā or Nanda, and some of them are thinking to the servants of God. Or some of them are thinking how to become a flower, tree, a fruit tree or a calf or a cow in Vṛndāvana. There are five kinds of mellows: śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya and mādhurya. The . . . everything is there spiritual. That I shall describe next, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu.

So in the spiritual sky, the land is spiritual, the tree is spiritual, the fruit is spiritual, the flower is spiritual, the water is spiritual, the servant is spiritual, the friend is spiritual, the mother is spiritual, the father is spiritual, the Lord is spiritual and His associates are spiritual. Everything. Therefore oneness, Absolute Truth, everything absolute. Although there are varieties, these varieties, the spiritual varieties, are simply reflection in this material world. Just like there is a tree on the bank of the river. That is reflected in the water. But reflected how? The top has gone down. The topmost thing has gone down. So this material world is the reflection of the spiritual world—but perverted reflection. In the spiritual world, there is love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is always young. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). And Rādhārāṇī is also always young. Pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa. We worship: śrī-rādhikā-mādhavayor apāra. Mādhava. Jaya jaya Rādhā-Mādhava. We worship not Kṛṣṇa alone—with His eternal consort, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So there is eternal love between Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa.

Therefore in the Vedānta-sūtra it is said, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). This Absolute Truth means wherefrom everything comes, emanates. Just like here we find love between mother and son, love between wife and husband, love between master and servant, love between friends and friend, love between the master and the dog or the cat or the cow. Same thing. These are only reflection of the spiritual world. The same thing is there. Kṛṣṇa is also good lover of the animals, calves and cows. As we love here dogs and cats, Kṛṣṇa loves there cows and calves. You have seen the picture of Kṛṣṇa. So the propensity to love even an animal is there. Otherwise, how it can be reflected here? This is simply shadow reflection. If, in the reality, there is nothing like that, then how it can be reflected here?

So everything is there. Therefore that mellow, to understand, you have to practice. Here we have got frustration. Here we love. A man loves a woman or woman loves a man. But there is frustration. After some time, they are separated, they divorce, because it is perverted reflection. There is no real love in this material world. It is simply lust. Real love is in the spiritual world between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Real love is between Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs. Real love, the friendship is there between Kṛṣṇa and His cowherds boy. Real love between animal and man is there—Kṛṣṇa is loving the cows and calves. Real love between trees, flowers, water. Simply that is the platform of love. That is spiritual world. Everything love.

So we are simply satisfied within this material world by the shadow reflection of such thing as in the spiritual world. Therefore, we have got this opportunity of human life, let us understand Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Let us understand Kṛṣṇa. And if you simply understand Kṛṣṇa, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ . . . tattvataḥ: in truth, not superficially. You try. Learn this science of Kṛṣṇa.

janma karma me divyaṁ

yo jānāti tattvataḥ

tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma

naiti mām eti kaunteya

(BG 4.9)

This is the instruction: if you simply try to love. The process is that you worship the Deity, you take the prasādam, you chant the holy name, you follow the instruction of the spiritual master. In this way you'll be trained up how to understand Kṛṣṇa, and then your life is successful. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: All glories to Prabhupāda. (end)