741008 - Lecture SB 01.08.28 - Mayapur

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

741008SB-MAYAPUR - October 08, 1974 - 31:38 Minutes

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (devotees repeat) (leads chanting of verse, etc.)

manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam

anādi-nidhanaṁ vibhum

samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra

bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ

(SB 1.8.28)

(break)

Prabhupāda:

manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam

anādi-nidhanaṁ vibhum

samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra

bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ

(SB 1.8.28)

The Kuntīdevī is presenting his (her) conception of Kṛṣṇa, or God consciousness. Perfectly he's (she's) presenting that samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra: "Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is present everywhere. And He is equal, equally merciful or . . . in everything He is equal to everyone." Just like the sun. The sun is equally distributing the sunshine. Now, in some country we find there is cloud; sun is covered. There is no sunshine. The sun is shining, but due to our misfortune or something else, the sun is covered and we cannot see. It is not that the sunshine is stopped. Sunshine is there. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa's mercy is equally there. Samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu (BG 9.29). In another verse in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, samo 'haṁ sarva bhūteṣu: "I am equal to everyone." Otherwise, how He can be God?

God is not partial, that He is merciful upon me and not merciful upon you. God cannot be like that. Just like a state, government. Government is equal to everyone, all citizens. But why somebody is going to the university to take his M.A. degree, and why one is going to the prison house to be imprisoned and suffering for so many years and . . .? It is not the government's partiality, that somebody go to the prison house and somebody will go to the university and occupy responsible position. No. It is our fault that we do not take opportunity or the facilities offered by the government or Kṛṣṇa. It is our fault. Why there are so many discrepancies and nonequality? Somebody is very rich, somebody is very poor. Somebody is eating stool, and somebody is eating nice prasādam, halavā. It is all due to the living entity's karma. Otherwise, God is equal to everyone. Samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra. God is not partial. Just like nowadays, these rascals, they say: "Why God is unkind to the poor man?" No. God is not unkind to the poor man. The poor man, he has become poor by his karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1).

Daiva-netreṇa. Daiva means superior, or godly. Netreṇa. Netreṇa means by the eyes, or netreṇa, netritya, by the leadership, leadership, or superintendent. Whatever we are doing . . . because God is everywhere situated, samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra. Kṛṣṇa is there, everywhere. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in everyone's heart. So we cannot conceal anything from God. In another place it is said: "Just like the sun is the eye of God," yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām. Savitā. Savitā means sun, Sūrya, is the eye of Govinda. So if you are doing something, any part of the world, the sun is seeing. This is a crude example. Similarly, at night the moon is seeing, and Kṛṣṇa says that raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ (BG 7.8). So Kṛṣṇa . . . the sunshine is also Kṛṣṇa. So if you think that "I am doing something for my sense gratification, nobody is seeing. I am stealing some sugarcane from the field, and nobody's seeing," but how you can say nobody's seeing? The sun is seeing. How you can conceal? "No, I shall do it at night." Oh, the moon is seeing. So how can you conceal?

So parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8, CC Madhya 13.65, purport). He is so omnipotent that He can see from anywhere and everywhere what you are doing, what you are willing, what you want to do. You cannot conceal. That is not possible. Therefore it is said, daiva-netreṇa. You can bluff the material police, but you cannot bluff Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible. If you are doing anything wrong, then it is being seen by the Supreme Personality. Samaṁ carantam. He's everywhere. Therefore those who are God conscious, as theists . . . that is the Indian culture. They think, "I am doing this nonsense. Kṛṣṇa, God, will see it." Even a . . . even an ordinary person who has no education, still, he will admit, uparala dekhega: "God will see." That's a fact. That's a fact. So if everyone is God conscious, that "God is everywhere," then how he can act sinfully? It is not possible. If he is God conscious, if he knows that "God is everywhere, and He will see if I do something sinful by bluffing others . . ."

Therefore God consciousness is so important. If Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is spread, and if it is taken by all people, then so many things will be automatically reformed. There will be no need of police. There will be no need of C.I.D. Because if one is God conscious, he'll not do anything wrong. But because people are not God conscious, they are doing so many wrong things that is has been almost impossible to govern the people. Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very essential to understand this fact, that samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ (SB 1.8.28). We have created so many religious system. So many religious system. And the Hindu is fighting with the Muslim, Muslim is fighting with the Hindu, that "My religion is better than your religion." Or any other, other countries also, the Jews fighting with the Christian; Christian, Jews . . . and the black fighting with the white, white fighting with the black. This Kali, that is the result of this material existence. Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka. That is the work of this material nature. Even if you want to live very peacefully, you'll not be allowed to live. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā durat . . . (BG 7.14). It is not a place to live very peacefully. But if you think artificially that "We are very happy. We are advanced in material civilization and we have very comfortable life," where is comfort? There cannot be any comfort. Therefore it is the duty of māyā to remind you, always putting you in distressed condition. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). It is God . . . you cannot live peacefully, happily, within the prison house. Because you are condemned to this prison life, you cannot expect very comfortable life there.

So samaṁ carantam . . . this God is equally kind, equally merciful, but we fight. We, I mean to say, disagree in religious principle. That is due to Kali. Not this Kali. Kali means due to our fighting spirit. It is not God. God is equal to everyone. We fight because we have got misconception. So we think that this religion is better than that religion, or that religion is better than . . . every religion must be good, provided one is God conscious. We say that. So many people question in the Western countries, "Whether one can attain perfection by following Christian religion?" Why not? You can also attain. But who is following? First of all, let me see who is following Christian religion. The Christian religion says in the beginning, first commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," and you are simply killing. So where is Christian? Christian religion is not bad. No religion is bad. But where is Christian? Where is Hindu? They are all godless rascals. Therefore there is misunderstanding. Otherwise, if everyone is God conscious, if everyone knows that, "God is present everywhere. Whatever I do, He will see. He'll see as sunshine. He'll see as moonshine. He'll see as water . . ." Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. No . . . who can avoid water? Who can avoid sunshine? Who can avoid moonshine? Nobody can. So God says: "These things are I am." Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ (BG 7.8). So how you can avoid God's vigilance? Then how you can commit sinful . . . they do not believe in godlessness. They do not believe in existence of God. They have been taught like that. And they do not know what is God. This is the misfortune of the present civilization. Present godless civilization . . . therefore they have created simply chaotic situation all over the world.

Therefore the movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is very, very important and essential. Those who are sober, they are understanding it. Just like in Australia, the priestly class, they understood that this movement is trying to people to see towards God, back to Godhead. You have advanced in civilization by so-called material advancement, scientific . . . but what you have done? You have created simply chaos. Therefore we say . . . our magazine is named Back to Godhead. "Now you have finished your business—now see back to Godhead." Just like if you do not see the sun, if you keep the sun back side, then you'll simply see a long shadow of your body, black shadow. That's all. But if you turn towards the sun, you'll not see the black shadow—you'll see all light. Simply you have to turn. So we have named this Back to Godhead very scientifically. You see towards God; then everything is light. "Where there is God, there is no nescience." This is not manufactured. There is some verse in the Caitanya . . .

kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama, māyā andhakāra

yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

(CC Madhya 22.31)

Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama. Kṛṣṇa is just like sun. There is no darkness. Can we expect any darkness in the sun planet? No. There is no possibility. Sun planet is always bright. So similarly, this is the example of the spiritual world, the sun planet, kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama. So if you go to the spiritual world, then everything is bright. Na tatra bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). That is the description of the spiritual world. Na tatra bhāsayate sūryaḥ. In the spiritual world, there is no need of sun because everyone is brilliant, every planet is brilliant.

yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-

koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam . . . vibhūti-bhinnam

tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ

(Bs. 5.40)

Everything is there. So if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, there cannot be any darkness, there cannot be any ignorance, there cannot be any sinful life. Everything bright, everything peaceful. Therefore we must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness if we want to save from the clutches of māyā. And that is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā:

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī

mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante

māyām etāṁ taranti te

(BG 7.14)

This is the process.

So Kṛṣṇa, manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam. Eternal time. We are calculating past, present and future, but actually in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as past, present and future. We therefore sometimes question that, "Wherefrom God came?" So many odd questions they say. But God is eternally existing. That is the fact. We cannot understand that. Because we are in the material world, we have no experience of the eternity, what is eternity. We have no experience. We see everything as generated, and then it stays for some time, then it is finished. That is our experience. Janma, mṛtyu, vṛddhi. They have . . . they have made past, present and future, but it is divided into six development. One takes birth, then it develops, then it stays for some time, then it produces some by-product, then diminishes, and then, I mean to say, finished. Ṣaḍ-vikāra. Ṣaḍ-vikāra. This body, ṣaḍ-vikāra. So eternity, eternity means there is no ṣaḍ-vikāra, the six kind of changes. There is no birth. There is no death. There is no diminishing. There is no by-product. Everything eternal, eternally existing.

So that kālam, that eternal time, is Kṛṣṇa. Tvām. Manye: "I think that eternal time You are, Kṛṣṇa." That's the fact. And īśānam. Īśānam means the Supreme Controller. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Controller means īśvara; īśvara means controller. He's the Supreme Controller. He's controlling the whole creation. Īśānam. Kālam īśānam. But who is controlling Him? No, He is not controlled. Anādi—beginningless. Neither endless or beginningless, anādi or nidhanam. And vibhum, the Supreme. This is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa. We have to take lessons from authorities. Here is Kuntī, authority. Therefore his (her) statements are recorded in the śāstra. What is śāstra? Śāstra means . . . is the record of the statement of authorities. That is called śāstra. Just like in law court, you put law books. What is that law book? Law book means the statement of the authorities. Similarly, śāstra . . . śāstra means śās-dhātu. Śastra. Śastra means weapon, and śāstra means the law books. So what is the law book? Law book means some authority which has given the law. So the government gives law. So similarly, śāstra means the statement given by the authorities.

So Kuntī is authority. Kuntī is authority. How she has become authority? Because she has followed the authorities—Brahmā, Nārada, Svayambhū . . . svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kapilaḥ kumāro manuḥ (SB 6.3.20). Those who are strictly following the statements of the authorities, they are also authority. Just like who is a lawyer? Lawyer is he who has studied law very nicely and following the law. That is lawyer, good lawyer. And third-class lawyer means one who does not know how to follow it. Good lawyer in the court—who can give reference from the law books, "My Lord, you refer to such-and-such section of such-and-such law book, and you will find what I am stating." And the judge, when he sees, "Yes, it is all . . ." then his case is owned. So authority. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Mahājana. Authority means mahājana. Ordinary, common people is called jana, ordinary man. And those who are authority, they are mahājana. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ.

So the statements of Kuntī is recorded here, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, not that he's (she's) ordinary woman. Otherwise her statements should not have been mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So we have to accept what Kuntī says:

manye tvāṁ kālam īśānam

anādi-nidhanaṁ vibhum

samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra

bhūtānāṁ yan mithaḥ kaliḥ

(SB 1.8.28)

So misunderstanding of God . . . there is no misunderstanding of the authorities. The misunderstanding, the common man. Just like in Australia when I spoke, there was no misunderstanding. There was agreement by the priests and myself. There was complete agreement. (aside) You were with me? Or . . . no. You were not. They, after hearing my lecture for one hour, they agreed and clapped for ten minutes. So there cannot be any misun . . . those who are actually . . . they questioned, "What is your opinion of Lord Jesus Christ?" and I said: "He preached God consciousness. He's our guru. Anyone who preaches the message of God, he is guru." So they very much appreciated, and actually it is so. Vaiṣṇava who is preaching, it may be in a different way, according to time and place and the party—they have to change something, deśa-kāla-pātra—but we have to see the essence. Wherever there is God consciousness, wherever is there understanding . . . just like we sometime consult dictionary, a small dictionary, pocket dictionary, and a big international dictionary. Both of them are dictionaries. But according to time, deśa-kāla-pātra, for small child, that small dictionary is sufficient. Higher mathematics: higher mathematics and lower class ma . . . but the two plus two is always the same, in higher mathematics or lower mathematics. It is not that in the higher mathematics two plus two equal to five. No.

So the principle is the same. It is through distinction of deśa-kāla-pātra things are . . . just like the statement in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are meant for highly developed conscious person. They are not for ordinary person. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstavaṁ vastu vedyam atra śrīmad-bhāgavatam (SB 1.1.2). Paramo nirmatsarāṇām. People are envious, envious, "Oh, he's Christian," "He's Muhammadan," "He is this," "He is that." No. A paramo nirmatsara, paramahaṁsa, he does not see, "He is Muhammadan," "He is Christian," "He is Jew." Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). He will see everyone equal, the part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśa. He says this . . . Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7): "All living entities are My part and parcel." Why he shall take the skin? Because the skin is made by Muhammadan or the skin is made by Christian or skin is made by Hindu . . . he's not the skin-observer. He is observed the within. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). Within this body the spirit soul is there. This is the education of spiritual education in the beginning—just see inside, introspective, not outward seeing. Those who are seeing outwardly, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātu . . . they are asses.

So one should be advanced by hearing the authorities, that God is equal to him. I say why there should be Hindu religion and Muslim religion or Christian religion? There cannot be. Just like gold is gold. And nobody can say: "This is Indian gold," "This is American gold," "This is Christian gold," and "This is Muhammadan gold." Gold is gold. So actually one who is God conscious, for him there is no such distinction, because he knows, samaṁ carantaṁ sarvatra bhūtānām (SB 1.8.28): "God is present everywhere." Simply he has forgotten. That forgetfulness is applicable to anyone, either Hindu, Muslim or Christian. It doesn't matter. The our business is to rectify that forgetfulness. Rectify. To remove that forgetfulness. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya . . . (end)