741205 - Lecture SB 03.25.36 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

41205SB-BOMBAY - December 05, 1974 - 36:59 Minutes

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

tair darśanīyāvayavair udāra-

vilāsa-hāsekṣita-vāma-sūktaiḥ

hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca bhaktir

anicchato me gatim aṇvīṁ prayuṅkte

(SB 3.25.36)

(break)

"Upon seeing the charming forms of the Lord, smiling and attractive, and hearing His very pleasing words, the pure devotee almost loses all other consciousness. His senses are freed from all other engagements, and he becomes absorbed in devotional service. Thus in spite of his unwillingness, he gets liberation without separate endeavor."

Prabhupāda:

tair darśanīyāvayavair udāra-

vilāsa-hāsekṣita-vāma-sūktaiḥ

hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca bhaktir

anicchato me gatim aṇvīṁ prayuṅkte

(SB 3.25.36)

So, śrī-vigraha-darśanam. This temple is situated to give people the facility as it is described here. Tair darśanīya avayavaiḥ udāra. We have to see the Deity beginning from the lotus feet, not jumping over the smiling face. That is the way. First of all you try to see. And when you are practiced . . . try to see the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and when you are practiced to this habit, even after visiting the temple if you go home, if you are practice to see the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, that is meditation. So darśanīya avayavaiḥ: "Different limbs." First of all feet, then the thighs, then the belt, then the chest, then you reach the smiling face. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's form . . . if you meditate on Kṛṣṇa's form, that is Kṛṣṇa. So we associate with Kṛṣṇa, His smiling face, His flute, His hand, His dress, His consort, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or any other gopis, surrounded by. In this way, practice this habit of observing the Supreme Lord. Therefore He has appeared arcā-vigraha, so that we can see Him.

In our present eyes even Kṛṣṇa comes, but we have no eyes to see. Therefore for the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī . . . there are three kinds of devotees: kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī. Uttama-adhikārī means first class, most advanced and madhyama-adhikārī means in the middle stage, not very advanced, not very lower and kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, just the neophyte, beginning. So for the beginners it is recommended that you see the Deity daily or always. Beginning from the lotus feet, as you are practiced, then go up to the smiling face. And hear also Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Simply if you try to see and if you don't hear, then it will not stay very much. Therefore we see practically in many temples, because there is no discussion about Kṛṣṇa, simply a Deity is there, people go for some time, then gradually, especially those who are educated, so-called educated, they do not feel very much interested. And it has actually happened so. Many temples, they are not visited even by the devotees, because there must be also hearing about. Two things must go on, the Deity must be worshiped—this is called pāñcarātriki-vidhi—and to hear about the Supreme from Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vedic literature—that is called bhāgavata-vidhi.

So the pāñcarātriki-vidhi and bhāgavata-vidhi must go parallel. Then one, even one is a neophyte, gradually he will come to the intermediate stage between the neophyte stage and to the advanced stage. And of course, it is very difficult to find out one in very advanced stage. But there are. There are many advanced stage. At least, the spiritual master is supposed to be in the advanced stage, but for preaching purpose he come down in that intermediate stage, for preaching work. Because the advanced stage, there is no discrimination that "Here is a devotee, and here is a nondevotee." Because advanced devotee sees that everyone is devotee except himself. The advanced devotee sees that he is not a devotee, but all others are devotees. This is advanced. But in the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, in the neophyte stage, they simply concentrate on the Deity. Arcāyām eva haraye yaḥ pūjāṁ śraddhayā īhate. That is required in the beginning. According to the prescribed duties as they are mentioned in the scriptures, one must take care of the Deity. But that, unless a little farther advanced, he does not know who is a devotee and what is his function with others. In the madhyama-adhikāra, when one still farther advances, he has got four kind of visions:

īśvare tad-adhīneṣu

bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca

prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā

yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ

(SB 11.2.46)

Madhyama-adhikārī is not only interested in Deity worship, but he knows who is a devotee and who is innocent and who is Bhagavān. Īśvara tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu. Bāliśa means innocent. There are many innocent men, they . . . actually, they do not know what is to be done, who is God. They are innocent. They are not offender. But there are other others who are offenders, dviṣat. Dviṣat means envious. They are immediately envious as soon as they hear of a devotee of God. They are called envious, dviṣat. So madhyama-adhikārī, he knows God, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). So he wants to develop his love for Kṛṣṇa. Avyartha-kālaṁ vasati, nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ. The madhyama-adhikārī, he wants to see that not a moment is wasted without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is madhyama-adhikārī. Avyartha-kālatvam (CC Madhya 23.18-19). He's always careful that "Whether I am, this is . . . spoiling the valuable time of my life." That is the first qualification of madhyama-adhikārī. Avyartha-kālatvam. Because we have got very short period, living period. We do not know when we shall die. There is no certainty. Foolish people may think that, "I shall live forever," but that is foolishness. Life is very transient. At any moment we can die. Therefore those who are advanced devotee, they want to see that, "I have got very short period of life at my disposal . . ." Therefore, he is very anxious to utilize every moment for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is madhyama-adhikārī. Avyartha-kālatvam.

And nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ: "And he has got special taste for chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra." Nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ. Vasati tad . . . prītis tad-vasati sthale (CC Madhya 23.18-19): "And he is very much anxious to live in such places like Vṛndāvana, Dvārakā, Mathurā, where Kṛṣṇa lived." Tad-vasati sthale. Vasati means residential. When Kṛṣṇa appears on this planet, He lives in Mathurā, Vṛndāvana, Dvārakā dhāma. So a devotee also, advanced devotee, they want to live in the residential places of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, God, has got His residential places everywhere. That's a fact. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). He is residing even within the atom. But still, He has got special residential places like Vṛndāvana, Dvārakā, Mathurā. So a devotee is anxious to live in those places.

Prītis tad-vasati sthale, nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ, avyartha-kālatvam. Their business is to increase love of God. To increase love of God means there is also process, how to increase. The process is given by Rūpa Gosvāmī:

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā

tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tataḥ rucis

athāsaktis tato bhāvas . . .

sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

(CC Madhya 23.14-15)

These are the gradual steps. Śraddhā. Śraddhā means faith. Faith is the beginning. Without faith, you cannot make . . . there is no question of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Faith means that faith is created after reading Bhagavad-gītā. If you read Bhagavad-gītā carefully and if you actually understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then the faith will be created. Without reading Bhagavad-gītā, there is no question of faith in Kṛṣṇa. So what is that faith? That Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So, "You give up all other engagements. You just surrender to Me, and I shall give you protection." So if we have got faith, if we believe in the words of Kṛṣṇa, that is called faith. If we don't believe in the words of Kṛṣṇa, if we study as a literary thesis and then throw it away, that is not faith.

The faith is explained by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. He says, 'śraddhā'-śabde—viśvāsa sudṛḍha niścaya (CC Madhya 22.62). Faith means one who has got firm faith in the words of Kṛṣṇa. That is called faith. "I am reading Bhagavad-gītā, but I do not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead or He is a person, as He says in the Bhagavad-gītā . . ." He says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Mattaḥ, when He says He's a person . . . so Kṛṣṇa says that "There is no more better personality or better superior existence than Myself." Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). He says: "Me." Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Ahaṁ sarvasya . . . aham, "Me," "I." He says everywhere. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa is person. Kṛṣṇa is not imperson. Kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām (BG 12.5). It is said that, "One who is impersonalist, he takes more trouble to come to Me. He will come later on, but it will take some time."

The impersonal feature of understanding of the Supreme Absolute Truth, it is partial understanding. Just like we have explained several times that we have got experience of the sunshine, because sunshine is very easily approached. But that understanding of the sunshine is not real understanding of the sun globe or sun planet or the sun god. That is not perfect understanding. It is partial understanding that you can understand the sun globe is full of heat and light. That's all. But how much heat, what is the temperature of heat, how much light is there and where is the source of heat and light, that is not possible to understand. Everyone will admit this, that simply by seeing, because the sunshine is entering your room from the window, that does not mean you know everything of the sun. Similarly, this impersonal understanding of the Absolute Truth is like that. Just like sunshine is impersonal, but the sun god is person. If sun god is not person, how Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1)? "This Bhagavad-gītā . . ." He says to Arjuna that, "This Bhagavad-gītā, science of Bhagavad-gītā, or this yoga system, bhakti-yoga system, I spoke to sun god. Exactly like that, I am speaking to you." So Arjuna is person, and Kṛṣṇa is person. Therefore the . . . in the sun planet the predominating deity is a person. He is not imperson.

So you cannot understand that person simply by seeing the sunshine. That requires better qualification, how to enter the sun planet, how to see the predominating deity. The impersonalist, they simply conclude that, the same way as we foolish person conclude, that the sun planet is simply a fiery substance, and there is nothing, no . . . if there is nothing, if there is no sun god, predominating deity or the president of the sun globe, then how Kṛṣṇa could speak with him? In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, ahaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān. Just like we talk. We are talking with you. We are not talking in the sky, vacant. We are talking with persons. These are intelligent. These require intelligence. So now we can imagine that, "How the sun god can be person? It is a fiery, big fire substance, and how one can live?" This is also foolishness, "Because I cannot live in the fire, therefore nobody can live in the fire," that is my foolishness. My body is not so made. Just like you cannot live in the water. It does not mean that there is no living entity in the water. It requires intelligence. Similarly, if you cannot live in the fire, it does not mean that nobody lives there. Yes. There are living entities whose body is so made. Just like the fish and other aquatics, they live. Their body is so made. This is intelligent study. Otherwise, if you simply compare with my intelligence, my position, my circumstances, and we'll conclude all others like that, that is blindness. That is not . . . blindness.

So similarly, impersonal realization of God, that is imperfect, exactly like the understanding of the sunshine is not understanding of the sun globe and the sun god. Everyone can understand it. It is not very difficult. If you think that "Because I have seen sunshine, then I have seen everything; I have known everything of the sun . . ." No. You do not know even how big the sun globe is. And when you read books, when you read scientific books, you can understand it is fourteen hundred times bigger than this planet. So ultimately God is person. He is not imperson. Impersonal understanding is imperfect, partial understanding, that if God, Kṛṣṇa, is sac-cid-ānanda vigraha . . . sat, cit, ānanda (Bs. 5.1). So impersonal understanding of Kṛṣṇa means you understand only the sat portion. The two other portion, cit and ānanda, you do not know. You do not know.

So if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand the impersonal Brahman realization and localized Paramātmā realization. That is stated in the Vedas. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). If you simply understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand the other two features, because Kṛṣṇa is ānanda. You see Kṛṣṇa's feature. He is not thinking, taxing His brain, "How to do this? How to do that?" No. He is ānandamaya. Ānandamaya: He's playing on His flute, and Rādhārāṇī is there. He is in ecstatic ānanda, hlādinī-śakti. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktiḥ. It is the transaction of bliss, transcendental bliss, hlādinī-śakti. Kṛṣṇa has got many potencies. Out of that, one potency is hlādinī-śakti, pleasure-giving. He is ātmārāma. He is full in Himself. When He wants to enjoy, He expands Himself, His pleasure potency. So Rādhārāṇī is His pleasure potency, and the gopīs are expansion of Rādhārāṇī. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ. Nija-rūpa. The forms are Kṛṣṇa's, but ānanda-cinmaya-rasa, just to taste the mellow of transcendental bliss.

ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis

tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ

goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.37)

This is a verse from the Brahma-saṁhitā.

So Kṛṣṇa is . . . we are seeing the form of Kṛṣṇa. That is the ultimate understanding of the Absolute Truth. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas

tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam

brahmeti paramātmeti

bhagavān iti śabdyate

(SB 1.2.11)

So sac-cid-ānanda. The Brahman realization is sat realization, Paramātmā realization is cit realization and Bhagavān realization means ānanda realization. Sat, cit, ānanda. And in the Vedānta-sūtra it is said that the Absolute Truth is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Ānandamaya. He's always ānandamaya. You read Kṛṣṇa's līlā—He's always full of transcendental bliss, especially in Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana, that is His original residence. There, simply ānanda. Kṛṣṇa is playing with His cowherds boys friends. Kṛṣṇa is dancing with the gopīs. Kṛṣṇa is stealing Mother Yaśodā's butter. Kṛṣṇa is doing . . . all ānanda, transcendental bliss.

So here it is stated that if you begin your devotional service as it is prescribed here, simply see the Deity, then gradually realize how Kṛṣṇa is smiling, how Kṛṣṇa is playing on His flute, how Kṛṣṇa is enjoying the company of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī . . . we have to see simply. Simply by seeing. And if you hear about Kṛṣṇa, just you are hearing now, these two processes will increase in such a way that one time, anicchato me gatim aṇvīṁ prayuṅkte: you'll automatically become a great devotee, simply if you come to this temple, or any temple where Deity is very nicely worshiped. These are all scientific. It is not imagination. Just like people think that "They are worshiping idol and imagining something." No, they are stated in this all śāstra. It is the prescribed method for developing your God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is a science, vijñāna-samanvitam.

jñānaṁ parama-guhyaṁ me

yad vijñāna-samanvitam

sa-rahasyaṁ tad-aṅgaṁ ca

gṛhāṇa gaditaṁ mayā

(SB 2.9.31)

When Kṛṣṇa advised Brahmā after creation, then He said, jñānaṁ me . . . this is called catuḥ-śloki-bhāgavata (SB 2.9.33-36), the four ślokas which is the basic principle of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Jñānaṁ parama-guhyaṁ. The knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is very confidential, guhyam. Guhyād guhyatamam. In the Bhagavad-gītā is said: "My dear Arjuna, I have spoken to you so many things, but now, because you are My very dear friend and devotee, therefore I am disclosing the most confidential knowledge." What is that? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66): "Just surrender to Me." That's all. This is the confidential knowledge. Don't try to understand many things, or if you have heard, if you could not understand Me here, then I tell you. This is the most confidential part of knowledge, that sarva-dharmān parityajya. Before this verse, guhyād guhyatamam. Guhyād guhyatamam. Guhya means very confidential. So this guhya, this Brahman realization, is also very confidential. But Paramātmā realization is guhyatara, still more confidential. And to understand Kṛṣṇa is guhyatama, superlative degree. Guhyād guhyatamam.

So to understand Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa has explained in so many ways. Simply to understand Kṛṣṇa makes you liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). So therefore this is the process of understanding Kṛṣṇa. These Kṛṣṇa consciousness centers are being opened all over the world just to give the people the chance how to become liberated simply by seeing the Deity and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This is the opportunity. But fools and rascals, they think that, "It is nuisance." But actually it's not. This is a science. So by following this process, then what will be the . . .? Hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca: "Then gradually, your mind will be fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, mind and senses." Hṛtātmanaḥ and hṛta-prāṇa. Prāṇa, we . . . our prāṇa, life, is at the senses. So if your mind and senses are fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is called bhakti. That is called bhakti. It is not sentiment; it is a practical science when your mind and senses are fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. The senses are engaged in serving Kṛṣṇa and mind is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa.

Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (SB 9.4.18). Just like Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, he was a great devotee, and his business was, although he was a king, very responsible king and ruling over the world, but his mind was always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa. This is possible. This is possible. That example is given, that a woman or a lady is always busy in his (her) household affairs, but she also takes care of her bunch of hair, how to set it up and very nicely comb it. She does not forget. In spite of her being engaged in so many household affairs, she does not forget to take care of the bunch of hair. Similarly, one who is actually devotee, he may be engaged in so many things, but he does not forget Kṛṣṇa. That is the example, very good example.

So hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca bhaktiḥ. This is the perfection. This means that the gross body and the subtle body becomes digested, no more existence of this gross body. Gross body means sense gratification, and subtle body means speculation: "God is like that, God is like that," speculation, subtle body. Mana-buddhy-ahaṅkāra. And gross body means the senses. So when the senses and the mind, everything, is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that means you are already liberated. Already liberated. Therefore it is said, anicchato me gatim aṇvīṁ prayuṅkte. The liberated means that you have no more the activities of gross body and subtle body, but there are activities of the soul. This is wanted. The bhakti means the activities of the soul, not of the body, not of the mind.

The Brahman realization means stopping the activities of the body. But the activities of the mind is going on, or they do not know; it is not perfect knowledge. Therefore I have said several times that the Brahman realization, those who are Brahman realized souls, they are not in perfect knowledge. Aviśuddha-buddhi. They have been described as aviśuddha. Viśuddha means very purified, and "a" means "not." Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Their intelligence is not yet perfectly purified. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa. They are thinking that, "Now we have become liberated." No. That is not liberation. Here is liberation. Why? Hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca bhaktiḥ. When the mind and the senses are all absorbed in Kṛṣṇa, that is the bhakti state. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). The people think that bhakti is a sentiment thing. No. It is above liberation. Above liberation. Unless one is not liberated, he cannot stand on the platform of bhakti. That is bhakti. That is called parā-bhakti. Aparā-bhakti and parā-bhakti.

So any devotee who is serious about this Deity worship, hearing about Kṛṣṇa, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, following the Vedic principle, or rejecting the sinful activities of life . . . in this way we can come to the platform of spiritual life, and if we act accordingly, that is called bhakti-yoga, or the liberated stage.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)