761022 - Lecture SB 05.05.01 - Vrndavana

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

761022SB-VRNDAVAN - October 22, 1976 - 18.43 Minutes

Pradyumna: Translation: "Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever." (break) (SB 5.5.1)

Prabhupāda: The fifty percent of Western . . . in Western cities, there will be ground subways. In subways, train is going on at fifty miles speed, and working . . . but what is the aim? The aim is, "I shall get some money, then I shall drink, I shall eat meat, and then I shall have sex." This is going on . . . (indistinct) . . . nobody will say that, "I am making money for spiritual salvation, or for worshiping Deity in temple, or give it in charity to the Vaiṣṇava." Nobody will say. They will say, "I am working so hard for eating all nasty things." No discrimination—"Anything you bring, I will eat: meat, eggs, rum . . ." I cannot say—I have not been in their home—but I have seen in the aeroplane they are eating the intestines of the hog. Yes.

Nānā yoni brāhmaṇa kare kadārya bhakṣaṇa kari'. That is stated by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, that these two schools,

karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa

kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa

amṛta baliyā yebā khāy

nānā yoni sadā phire

kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare

tāra janma adhaḥ-pāte yāya

(Prema-bhakti-candrikā)

Very simple language. He says that there are three ways: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. Upāsanā-kāṇḍa means bhakti. The best of the upāsanā-kāṇḍa is bhakti. Ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param (Padma Purāṇa). There are upāsanā, worshiping various different types of demigods. That is commentated in śāstra, that if you want this profit, then you worship this demigod, this demigod, this demigod. Generally they are summarized into five, pañcopāsanā: the Surya, Gaṇeśa, Lord Śiva, Lord, er, Mother Durgā and Lord Viṣṇu. These are called pañcopāsanā. They are recommended, summarized. Otherwise, there are thirty-three crores of devas. So these devas are worshiped according to the version of Kṛṣṇa: kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajante anya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20). They are not accepted, those who are after pañcopāsanā.

Anyway, the business is . . . pūjā means I call you and offer you some respectable . . . (indistinct) . . . some foodstuff, and then very much seated very comfortably. Naturally I may ask, "What do you want?" Then I’ll explain, "Give me this. Give me that. Give me that." That is going on. That is called pūjā. But those who are worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is not called pūjā; that is called sevā, kṛṣṇa-sevā. We never say kṛṣṇa-pūjā. Nobody . . . never says like that. Sevā. Sevā means it is my duty. I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Sevā is my duty. So there is difference between pūjā and sevā. Pūjā means I flatter you to satisfy you, and after being satisfied, you may offer me something, or I’ll ask you something and you offer me. That is called pūjā. That is devatā-pūjā. But, so when you come to Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu, that is not pūjā; that is sevā. Sevā. So as Kṛṣṇa is offered sevā, service, similarly His representative, he is also offered sevā. So upāsanā, upāsanā-kāṇḍa.

So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says there are three different processes: karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. Therefore the Vedas are called trayī, three types of processes, or injunction. So this upāsanā-kāṇḍa, the best upāsanā-kāṇḍa is bhakti. Sevā, kṛṣṇa-sevā, this is upāsanā. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that if one does not accept this sevā-kāṇḍa among the upāsanā process, this sevā process, then you will have to accept the other, lower processes, which is called karma and jñāna. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura rejects these two lower processes. He says, therefore, karma-kāṇḍa jñāna-kāṇḍa sakale viṣera bandha. Viṣera bandha means the poison pot. Amṛta baliyā yebā khāya. Anyone can mistake the thinking that this pot of poison is form of nectarean. Then what is the result?

karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa

sakale viṣera bandha

amṛta baliyā yebā khāya

nānā yoni sadā phire

(Prema-bhakti-candrikā)

It is . . . (indistinct) . . . here it is called deva-gaṇa. One has to accept many varieties of body. One of the bodies is viḍ-bhujāṁ, the stool-eater, stool-eater. And there is another, as I told you I saw in the aeroplane, that the pig . . . they are eating stool and having the bodily construction, and there are human beings eating this stool . . . (indistinct) . . . I think some of you know what is this product. What is that?

Devotees: Sausages. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) . . . yes. So, nānā yoni brāhmaṇa kare. So by the wandering in many, many thousands of different forms of life, whether you are born in Europe and America, then we have to take it, "Thank you, you are so kind. Oh." So, nānā yoni brāhmaṇa kare sakale viṣera, this is . . . (indistinct) . . . this is the result of karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa. Why Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says jñāna-kāṇḍa? Jñāna-kāṇḍa means that is not harmful to you. Karma-kāṇḍa is not wrong . . . (indistinct) . . . you work hard, you get the result. But even you get disgusted, you come to the jñāna-kāṇḍa platform, knowledge, still it is not safe. Why it is not safe? That is stated in the śāstra: āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥpatanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).

These jñānīs, they are performing severe austerities. The jñānī-sampradāya, they observe very strictly—not nowadays; that they have lost—very strictly, all austerities. Śaṅkarācārya, he recommended this process where he has to accept very serious austerities, sitting down under the tree, taking bath three times, and so on. Very difficult. Therefore kṛcchreṇa, very severe austerities.

So the jñānīs, after working very hard and undertaking austerities, they come to the position of paraṁ padaṁ. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ. Paraṁ padaṁ means impersonal Brahman realization. But because it is not perfection, it is only this eternal portion of our lives. As there is no knowledge of ānanda, partial realization of our identity will not allow you to stay eternally. You cannot. Variety. You want variety. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). We are the part and parcel of the sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. We want ānanda. Ānanda means we want variety. Variety is the mother of enjoyment.

So in the Brahman feature, impersonal Brahman feature, there is no variety. Just like if you stay in the sky, there is no variety—simply sunshine in the sky. But if you come to the planet, then there is variety. So similarly, these jñānīs, without being allowed entrance into the varieties of the spiritual world—ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (BS 5.37)—they come down again into this material variety. Therefore many sannyasis, they take to this material activities, philanthropic activities, opening hospitals, shelter for the poor, because they could not get any ānanda in that impersonal Brahman state. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). By nature you want ānanda, but there was no ānanda.

The same example I have given many times, that if you fly very, very high in the sky, and after few hours you become restless in sky, you must be . . . come back. Because in the impersonal sky there is no ānanda. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa (SB 10.2.32). To go very high by aeroplane or sputnik it requires money, it requires talent, mechanical arrangement, so many things. So that is austerity. But still you cannot stay there. You have to come down, again. There are many . . . the Russian aeronautics, when they are going in sputnik, they are looking after, "Where is Moscow? Where is Moscow?" because Moscow is variety, and in the sky there is no variety. Therefore this example is very nice, that in the impersonal Brahman existence you cannot exist. That's all. Because they have no information of the spiritual variety. That spiritual variety is available in the Vaikuṇṭha planet . . . (indistinct) . . . you have no . . . (indistinct) . . . because . . . (indistinct) . . . so paraṁ padaṁ. Although you . . . (indistinct) . . . in the impersonal Brahman, patanty adhaḥ. Why? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Without any devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord.

So therefore here it is said that "My dear boys, don’t spoil your life for sense gratification. That is the business of cats and dogs. That is not the human form." Now . . . (indistinct) . . . they are thinking, "Simply work very hard." This they are advertising, work hard. Man is working by pulling the . . . (indistinct) . . . but still the government wants, "Work hard, you work hard." "Oh! I am now working and you cannot . . . (indistinct) . . . still what I have to do?" So we know how working hard in your country, the sky-scraper buildings . . . (indistinct) . . . go to join this army draft, with risk of life. So many things. This is not civilization. According to the . . . (indistinct) . . . this is not civilization. Simply by working . . .

(break) . . . tapa, tapasya. Tapasya means deny this sense gratification, that is tapasya. Tapasya means . . . you should understand what is tapasya. Tapasya means to deny, nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau (Śrī Ṣaḍ Gosvāmy Aṣṭaka). This is tapasya. Tapasya, you should understand tapasya. Why tapasya? Tapasya, just to purify your existence. Just like if you get fever, the doctor says, "Don’t eat anything. Don’t take anything. Don’t touch this." Why? That is also tapasya. If you have got fever, if you have got dysentery, and if you still go on eating as you like, then it will increase. It will increase. There is a common word in India that jwar, jwar means fever and var means somebody else who is not your family member, unwanted guest. So if you want to drive them away, don’t eat. Don’t give them anything. If you have any guest who is unwanted, if you don’t supply food, then they will go away.

Similarly, when you have got fever or any disease, you stop eating whatever it is, sense desire . . . (indistinct Hindi) . . . don’t even . . . (indistinct) . . . so similarly, for sense gratification, if we indulge in sense gratification, then you will never be able to stop this existence. Whatever . . . (indistinct) . . . it is, then bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). We are accepting different bodies and again die. This will be the condemnation of material existence.

So, I hope that you will . . . (indistinct) . . . of material life and we shall return back to Godhead . . . (break) (end)