I'm God, You're God, But Who Is The Supreme God?

Everyone wants to become God, imitator. Imitation. Therefore they say, "Why Kṛṣṇa shall be alone God? I am God." 

You are God. That's all right. But you are not the Supreme God. Why you forget that? You may be a God at home of your wife, but when you go to your office, you are not god; your master is god. He directs you to do something; you have to do it.

So we may claim that "Every one of us, we are God," but nobody can claim that "We are supreme; I am Supreme God." That is not possible. That can, Kṛṣṇa can claim only. Mattaḥparataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "My dear Dhanañjaya, there is no more superior personality than Me." And He proved it. So God cannot be manufactured. God is God.Kṛṣṇa, when He was three months old on the lap of His mother, still, He was God. He could kill the Pūtanā. So God cannot be manufactured by so-called meditation and mystic power. You can get some of the insignificant powers of God, but simply, but you do not know how much powerful is God. That you do not know. Therefore when a person gets little power, he thinks that he has become God. He does not know how much powerful God is.

So therefore śāstra says that "You may be god in your own atmosphere, in your own jurisdiction. You may think that you are God." And everyone thinks like that. "But the Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa." Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. In the Upaniṣads it is said that God is also a person like me, you. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). But His personality is different from your personality, from my personality. What is that difference? Ekoyo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: "He supplies all the necessities of all other personalities." That is the difference. God is supplying us food. This conception is there in the Bible, "God, give us our daily bread." This is nice. Accepting that you are getting all supplies from God...

(Excerpt From A Lecture Given on Bhagavad-gītā Chapter 1.15—London, July 15, 1973, given by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

Cleansing of The Consciousness

Everyone always desires to possess something. It is said here that desire and greed are the products of false identification of oneself with the body. When one becomes free from this contamination, his mind and consciousness also become freed and attain their original state. Mind, consciousness and the living entity exist. Whenever we speak of the living entity, this includes the mind and consciousness. The difference between conditional life and liberated life occurs when we purify the mind and the consciousness. When they are purified, one becomes transcendental to material happiness and distress.

In the beginning Lord Kapila has said that perfect yoga enables one to transcend the platform of material distress and happiness. How this can be done is explained here: one has to purify his mind and consciousness. This can be done by the bhakti-yoga system. As explained in the Nārada-pañcarātra, one’s mind and senses should be purified (tat-paratvena nirmalam). One’s senses must be engaged in devotional service of the Lord. That is the process. The mind must have some engagement. One cannot make the mind vacant. Of course there are some foolish attempts to try to make the mind vacant or void, but that is not possible. The only process that will purify the mind is to engage it in Kṛṣṇa. The mind must be engaged. If we engage our mind in Kṛṣṇa, naturally the consciousness becomes fully purified, and there is no chance that material desire and greed will enter.

Our mind is our friend, and our mind is our enemy. If it is cleansed, it is a friend, and if it is dirty, we contact material diseases. If we keep ourselves clean, pure, we will not be contaminated. According to Vedic civilization, one has to cleanse himself externally three times daily—once in the morning, again at noon, and again in the evening. Those who strictly follow the brahminical rules and regulations follow this process. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Conditional life means that the mind is covered with dirty things, and this is our disease. When we are in the lower modes of tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa, these dirty things are very prominent. One has to raise himself to the mode of sattva (goodness) by the process of saṅkīrtana andśravaṇa. One has to hear kṛṣṇa-kathā. Kṛṣṇa is within everyone’s heart. The individual soul is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa wants the individual soul to turn to Him. Unfortunately the conditioned soul is attached to material enjoyment, and this is the cause of his bondage to birth, death, old age and disease. He is so foolish that he does not take into consideration that these miseries are repeated. He is like an ass that belongs to a washerman who loads him down with heavy clothes. For a few morsels of grass, the ass has to carry heavy loads all day, although not a single piece of clothing belongs to him. This is the way of the karmīs. They may become big multimillionaires, but they are just like asses, working hard day and night. Regardless of how much money they may have, their stomachs can only hold so much. And they require only six feet of space to sleep. Nonetheless, these big karmīs are thinking themselves very important. They think, “Without me, all the members of my nation will die. Let me work day and night to the point of death.” People are thinking, “I belong to this family, this nation, this community. I have this duty or that duty,” and so on. people do not know that these are all false designations.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore enjoins, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] our actual position is that of eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa. We are mistakenly thinking that we are servants of a family or nation, but this is due to ignorance, tamo-guṇa.However, we can attain the platform of sattva-guṇa by following the instructions given inBhagavad-gītā. Hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā, topics about Kṛṣṇa, clears all the dirty things from the mind. Also, if we chant and dance, these dirty things will be wiped away. The mind is the cause of bondage, and the mind is the cause of liberation. When it is dirty, it brings about bondage. In conditional life, we take birth, remain for some time, and enjoy or suffer. But really there is no question of enjoyment. There is only suffering. When we die, we have to give up the body and then take on another body. We immediately enter the womb of another mother, stay for nine months or so, and then come out. Then a new chapter of life begins. This is conditioned life, and it goes on again and again and again. ln this way we undergo the tribulations of birth, old age, disease and death. The dogs and cats cannot understand this process, but we can understand it in human life through the Vedic literatures. If we don’t take advantage of these literatures, all our education is for nothing.

People actually waste their time talking politics, sociology, anthropology, and so on. They read many literatures that do not glorify the Supreme Lord Hari, and thus they waste their time. ThisKṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving everyone a chance to become pious. puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. It is not necessary to give money or bathe in the Ganges. There are many pious activities and many processes recommended in the śāstras for becoming pious. However, in Kali-yuga people have lost all their stamina. They are so sinful that there is no question of becoming pious through all these prescribed methods. The only means is hearing about Kṛṣṇaand chanting His names. Kṛṣṇa has given us ears to hear and a tongue to speak. We can hear from a realized soul and thus perfect our lives. In this way we are given a chance to purify ourselves. Unless we are purified, we cannot become devotees. Human life is meant for purification. Unfortunately in this age people are not interested in Kṛṣṇa, and they suffer through material existence one life after another after another. In one life they may be very opulent. Then they don’t care about the next life. They think, “Let me eat, drink and be merry.” This is going on all over the world, but the śāstras say that people are making mistakes in this way. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarmaḥ (Bhāg. 5.5.4): people have become mad with sense gratification, and therefore they engage in all sorts of forbidden things. Karma means regulated work, and vikarma means just the opposite—unlawful, forbidden activities. The word akarmameans that one is not affected by the results of work. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9):

yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra
loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
tad-arthaṁ karma kaunteya
mukta-saṅgaḥ samācara

“Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain unattached and free from bondage.”

When people are in the modes of passion and ignorance, they perform vikarma. They do not care for their future lives, and they are habituated to eating anything and everything, just like hogs. They do not care for the śastric injunctions, and they are totally irresponsible. They are just like street boys who have no education and do not care for anything. Such urchins do whatever they like, for their fathers and mothers do not care for them. Life in ignorance, tamo-guṇa, is such a careless life. People simply act unlawfully, not considering the results of their actions. They act for sense gratification, and actually they take pleasure in committing sins. In Calcutta I have seen people taking pleasure in cutting the throats of chickens and laughing when the chicken jumps and flaps about. Sometimes in Western countries students are taken to slaughterhouses just to see how the cows are butchered. In this age, people take pleasure in committing all kinds of sins. They have no brains to see that this body is temporary and full of suffering. They are completely in the mode of darkness, just like the animals they slaughter. There may be many animals in a pasture, and if one takes an animal aside and cuts its throat, the other animals will simply stand, look, and continue eating grass. They do not realize that the next time they may be slaughtered. The people in Kali-yuga are in the same situation, but theKṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to give these rascals a little sense. We are saying, “Don’t remain animals. Become human beings.” In the words of Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha
ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha

“Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy (māyā) gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence. (Cc. Madhya 20.117) When one forgets his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he acts in a very foolish way, and māyā gives him one misery after another. It is also stated:

māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa jñāna
jīvere kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa

“The conditioned soul cannot revive his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Kṛṣṇa compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purāṇas.” (Cc. Madhya 20.122)

The Vedic literatures—the Vedānta, Upaniṣads, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata and many others—should be utilized if we wish to become free from the contamination of tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa. The whole world is revolving due to kāma and lobha. Kāma means “lusty desire,” andlobha means “greed.” people cannot have enough sex or money, and because of this, their hearts are filled with contaminations, which have to be cleansed by hearing, repeating and chanting. Human life is meant to get rid of anarthas, unwanted things, but where is the university or college where this science of purification is taught? The only institution is this Kṛṣṇaconsciousness society. Kṛṣṇa is within the heart, and the contaminations are also there, butKṛṣṇa will help us cleanse them. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (Bhāg.1.2.18). We must regularly hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; these are the two processes recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was chanting three hundred thousand holy names a day, but we have fixed the number at sixteen rounds. Nonetheless, we are so unfortunate and fallen that we cannot even perform them. We should not waste our time reading and talking nonsense, but should engage in the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Our time is very valuable, and we should not waste it. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has said:āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko ’pi na labhyaḥ svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ. We may live for a hundred years, but not one moment of these hundred years can be returned, not even if we are prepared to pay millions of dollars. We cannot add a moment, nor can we get a moment back. If time is money, we should just consider how much money we have lost. However, time is even more precious because it cannot be regained. Therefore not a single moment should be lost. Human life should be utilized only for chanting and reading Vedic literatures. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is publishing many books so that people can utilize their time properly by reading them and make their lives successful. Not only should we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but we should also serve the person bhāgavata, one whose life is nothing but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā [SB 1.2.18]. By this process we can attain the stage of bhagavad-bhakti, but first we must get rid of all these anarthas, unwanted things. Presently we are wasting our time thinking, “This is my country. This is my nation. This is my body and my family,” and so on. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. We can vanquish all these false conceptions when we come to the platform of sattva-guṇa. Then we will not be disturbed by tamo-guṇa orrajo-guṇa, nor by kāma or lobha (lust and greed). This is the vasudeva platform. Oṁ namobhagavate vāsudevāya.

[Teachings of Lord Kaplia, Ch.9, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]

Why am I Suffering & What Is The Remedy?

We have suffered from the beginning of our birth. As a baby, the human being is tightly placed in the abdomen of the mother in an airtight bag for nine months. He cannot even move, there are insects biting him, and he cannot protest. After the child comes out, the suffering continues. The mother undoubtedly takes much care, but still the child cries because he is suffering. There are bugs biting or there are pains in his stomach; the child is crying, and the mother does not know how to pacify him. His suffering begins in the womb of his mother.

Then, after his birth, as he grows up, there is more suffering. He does not want to go to school, but he is forced to. He does not want to study, but the teacher gives him tasks. If we analyze our life, we will find that it is full of suffering. Why then are we coming here? The conditioned souls are not very bright. We should inquire, "Why am I suffering?" If there is a remedy, we must take advantage of it.

We are eternally connected with the Supreme Lord, but somehow or other we are now in material contamination. Therefore, we must take up a process by which to go back again to the spiritual world. That linking process is called yoga. The actual translation of the word yoga is "plus." At the present moment we are minus God, or minus the Supreme. But when we make ourselves plus-connected-then our human form of life is perfect. During our lifetime we have to practice approaching that point of perfection, and at the time of death, when we give up this material body, that perfection has to be realized. At the time of death, one must be prepared. Students, for instance, prepare for two to five years in college, and the final test of their education is the examination. If they pass the examination, they get a degree. Similarly, in the subject of life, if we prepare for the examination at the time of death and pass it, then we are transferred to the spiritual world. Everything is examined at the time of death.

There is a very common Bengali proverb that says that whatever one does for perfection will be tested at the time of his death. Bhagavad-gītā describes what we should do at the point of our death, when we are giving up this present body. For the dhyāna-yogī (meditator) Śrī Kṛṣṇa speaks the following verses:

yad akṣaraṁ veda-vido vadanti
viśanti yad yatayo vīta-rāgāḥ
yad icchanto brahmacaryaṁ caranti
tat te padaṁ saṅgraheṇa pravakṣye
sarva-dvārāṇi saṁyamya
mano hṛdi nirudhya ca
mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam
āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām

"Persons learned in the Vedas, who utter oṁkāra and who are great sages in the renounced order, enter into Brahman. Desiring such perfection, one practices celibacy. I shall now explain to you this process by which one may attain salvation. The yogic situation is that of detachment from all sensual engagements. Closing all the doors of the senses and fixing the mind on the heart and the life air at the top of the head, one establishes himself in yoga." (Bg. 8.11-12) In the yoga system this process is called pratyāhāra, which means, in technical language, "the opposite." Now the eyes are engaged in seeing worldly beauty, so one has to withdraw them from enjoying that beauty and concentrate on seeing beauty inside. That is called pratyāhāra. Similarly, one has to hear the oṁkāra sound from within.

oṁ ity ekākṣaraṁ brahma
vyāharan mām anusmaran
yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṁ
sa yāti paramāṁ gatim

"After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable oṁ, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets." (Bg. 8.13) In this way all the senses have to be stopped in their external activities, and the mind must be concentrated on viṣṇu-mūrti, the form of Lord Viṣṇu. That is the perfection of yoga. The mind is very turbulent, so it has to be fixed upon the heart. When the mind is fixed within the heart and the life air is transferred to the top of the head, one can attain the perfection of yoga.

The perfect yogī then determines where he is to go. There are innumerable material planets, and beyond these planets there is the spiritual world. Yogīs have this information from Vedic scriptures. For example, before I came to the United States I read descriptions of it from books. Similarly, a description of the higher planets and the spiritual world can be found in the Vedic scriptures. The yogī knows everything; he can transfer himself to any planet he likes. He does not need the help of spacecraft.

Material scientists have been trying for many years, and they will go on trying for one hundred or one thousand years more, but they will never reach any planet. Maybe by a scientific process one or two men can reach some planet, but that is not the general process. The generally accepted process for transferral to other planets is the practice of the yoga system or the jñāna system. The bhakti system, however, is not meant for transferral to any material planet. Those who engage in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, are not interested in any of the planets of this material world because they know that no matter to which planet one elevates himself, he will still find the four principles of material existence there nonetheless. On some planets the duration of life is much longer than on this earth, but death is there. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, however, transcend this material life of birth, death, disease and old age.

Spiritual life means release from this botheration and misery. Those who are intelligent, therefore, do not try to elevate themselves to any planet of this material world. Men are trying to reach the moon, and although it is very difficult to gain entrance to that planet, if we do gain entrance the period of our lives will be enhanced. Of course, that does not apply to life in this body. If we were to enter the moon with this body, instant death would be certain.

When one enters into a planetary system, he must have a suitable body for that planet. Every planet is inhabited by living entities with bodies suitable for that planet. For instance, we can enter the water in this body, but we cannot live there. We may stay there fifteen or sixteen hours, or maybe twenty-four hours, but that's all. Aquatic animals, however, have particular bodies suitable for living their whole lives in water. Similarly, if one takes a fish out of water and puts it on the land, it will die instantly. As we understand that even on this planet there are different kinds of bodies for living in particular places, so, similarly, if we want to enter another planet, we have to prepare ourselves to get a suitable body.

If one transfers himself and his soul transmigrates to the moon by this yogic process, he gets a long duration of life. On the higher planets, six of our months equal one day. Thus the beings there live for ten thousand years. That is the description in the Vedic literature. So undoubtedly one can get a very long duration of life, but still there is death. After ten thousand or twenty thousand years, or even after millions of years (it does not matter), death comes.

Actually, we are not subject to death. That is affirmed in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā (2.20): na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. We are spirit soul, and therefore we are eternal. Why then should we subject ourselves to death and birth? It is intelligent to think in this way. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious are very intelligent because they are not interested in getting promotion to any planet where there is death, despite a long duration of life there. Rather, they want to get a body like God's. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. (Bs. 5.1) God's body is sac-cid-ānanda. Sat means "eternal," and cit means "full of knowledge." Ānanda means "full of pleasure."

As stated in our pamphlet Kṛṣṇa, the Reservoir of Pleasure, if we transfer ourselves to the spiritual world, to Kṛṣṇa's planet or to any other spiritual planet, then we will get a body similar to God's: sac-cid-ānanda-eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. So those who try to be Kṛṣṇa conscious have a different aim of life than those who are trying to promote themselves to the better planets in this material world. Lord Kṛṣṇa says, mūrdhny ādhāyātmanaḥ prāṇam āsthito yoga-dhāraṇām: "The perfection of yoga is to transfer oneself to the spiritual world." (Bg. 8.12)

The spirit soul is a minute particle within the body. We cannot see it. One practices the yoga system to raise the soul to the topmost part of the head. This practice goes on while one is living, and the perfection is reached when one can place himself on the top of the head and then break through. Then he can transfer himself to whatever higher planets he likes. That is the perfection of the yogī.

If the yogī is inquisitive to see the moon, he can say, "Ah, let me see what the moon is like. Then I shall transfer myself to higher planets," just like travelers who go to Europe, California, Canada, or other countries on earth. One can transfer oneself to many planets by this yoga system, but anywhere he goes he will find visa systems and customs systems. To go to other planets, one must be qualified.

Kṛṣṇa conscious persons are not interested in any temporary planet, even if it offers a long duration of life. If the yogī, at the time of death, can pronounce oṁ, the concise form of transcendental vibration, and at the same time mām anusmaran, remember Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, he will attain perfection. The purpose of the entire yoga system is to concentrate the mind on Viṣṇu. Impersonalists imagine that they see the form of Viṣṇu, or the Lord, but those who are personalists do not imagine this-they actually see the form of the Supreme Lord. Either way, if one concentrates his mind through imagination or if one actually sees, one has to concentrate his mind on the Viṣṇu form. Mām means "unto the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu." Anyone who leaves this body and concentrates his mind on Viṣṇu enters into the spiritual kingdom after quitting his body. Those who are actually yogīs do not desire to enter any other planet because they know that life is temporary on the temporary planets, and thus they are not interested. That is intelligence.
[Excerpt from Easy Journey to Other Planets, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]

This human life form: what is it meant for?

Continued from: "One who has taken birth, he must die." 

"... Prabhupāda: Śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ. Now we have got to hear so many things. Now what we are doing in this world, in big Delhi city? In the morning we get a bunch of paper to hear about so many advertisements, so many political struggle, and so many things, all useless waste of time. But in our country it is how many pages newspaper nowadays? But in the Western countries, oh, such huge, a big bag. You see? So many, you see? So there are so many things to hear. They are nonsense. Therefore we say śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ. This is the... Now, if there had been some political meeting, oh, many hundreds of people would have come to hear. But because we are talking of Kṛṣṇa, nobody is here. 

Although it is the śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ, it is the supreme subject matter to hear. This is the position. This is the position of the material world. They have lost interest even to hear about the transcendental life, what is this life, what is next life, how we can improve, how, where we are going. Nothing. Simply like cats and dogs they are working hard. Therefore śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye [SB 5.5.1]. Viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. Viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujām means the hogs, the pigs who are eating stool. They are also working very hard for finding out the stool, "Where there is stool? Where there is stool? Where there is stool?"

So Ṛṣabhadeva warned, "My dear sons, this life, this human form of life, is not meant for working so hard simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending." Then what it is meant for? Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet [SB 5.5.1]. "My dear boys, just try to become austere. Just tapasya." Tapasya means voluntarily accepting some difficulties. Not difficulties. Just like in our Society we say, "No illicit sex life, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling." But in the Western countries, these things are daily affair. But they have given up. But they have not..., have died. All these boys and girls who have taken up Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they have given up. No illicit sex life, no meat-eating, no intoxication. They do not drink even tea, coffee. They do not smoke even cigarette. This is tapasya, little tapasya. [break]

Everything is there. But we have become so unfortunate, led by rascal and fools leaders, that we are missing the opportunity of this human form of life where we can solve all the problems of life, and the indications are there, here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission, that āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa, yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission, that "I give you order. You, every one of you become a spiritual master." "Oh, I have no qualification. How can I become spiritual master? It requires high knowledge, Sanskrit understanding." "No, you don't require anything. Simply you speak kṛṣṇa-upadeśa." 

What is kṛṣṇa-upadeśa? Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. You simply go door to door and say, "Please surrender to Kṛṣṇa." Then you are spiritual master. I have done this. What I have done? I have gone to your country to say this thing, that "Here is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You surrender; you become perfect." That is being done.
So it is not very difficult to become spiritual master. Simply you have to become very serious and sincere to the service of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ: [SB 2.1.1] "Oh, it is very nice." Loka-hitam: "It will be beneficial to the whole human society."

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)

Lectures By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda
—
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.1
—
Delhi, November 4, 1973

One who has taken birth, he must die.

Translation: "Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. To hear the answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists."

Prabhupāda: So Śukadeva Gosvāmī arrived at the point of death of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy that he would die within seven days, bitten by a snake. Just imagine how the brahminical culture was so powerful that even a boy born in a brāhmaṇa family... He was only ten or twelve years old... When he heard that his father was insulted by Mahārāja Parīkṣit by garlanding him with a dead snake... His playmates informed him that "Your father has been insulted in this way." So he retaliated that "Within seven days this snake will bite the king and he will die."

So when it was fixed up... Mahārāja Parīkṣit was also very powerful. He could retaliate the brāhmaṇa'scursing, but he did not do it. He accepted, "Yes."

Therefore Lord Śiva said, nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati: [SB 6.17.28] "When one is devotee of Nārāyaṇa, he is not afraid of anything." Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati. He was cursed that "Within the seven days you'll die." So he was not afraid. "That's all right." So he prepared himself, and many learned scholar, saintly person, kings, even demigods, all approached because he was the emperor of the world, and he was going to die. So many big, big stalwart people... Even Vyāsadeva, he was present there. And Parīkṣit Mahārāja said, "Now what is my duty? You are all big men, present here. I am going to die. Now what is my duty?"

This is very important question, that... We are working very hard in this material world, but we are not preparing ourself for death, which is a "must" fact. Everyone must die. The modern civilization, they are afraid of death, but they do not know how to counteract death. This is the modern civilization. But there is process. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa informs us that our real problem of life is death—birth, death, old age and disease. Birth is the beginning and then, one who has taken birth, he must die. Yāvat, yāvaj jananaṁ tāvan maraṇam.But if one does not take birth, then he does not die. This is the actual problem. Why we have to take birth? People do not know even that there is again life after death. And Bhagavad-gītā's first instruction is tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ.

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ...
[Bg. 2.13]

As we are changing our body in this life from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, then old man, then we give up this body, Kṛṣṇa says that similarly, as I was a child, now I have got a different body, similarly, when I give up this body, I'll get another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ.
The people do not even know that there is dehāntara-prāptiḥ, again we have to accept another body.

They do not care for it. And there are so many varieties of body. Just like if we are sitting here, so many ladies and gentlemen, each one of us has got a different type of body. Nobody's body is similar exactly to the other body. This is a fact. We can see. So why we have got different types of body? That we do not try to understand. Not only human body, but there are other bodies also. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. We have got bodies in the water, we have got bodies on the land, the tree life, the plant life, the insect life, the birds' life, the beast life, the human form of life... Amongst the human beings there are different varieties—some American, some Indians, some others. So why they are different bodies? What is that science? Why there are different types of bodies?

The different type of body is due to our different karma and different mentality. That we do not know. But Parīkṣit Mahārāja, although he is king... Nowadays the king and president, they are sure that "I am Prime Minister" and "I am President. My position is secure," because he is prime minister. This is the difficulty. The big, big men, they think that "My position is secure," "I am prime minister," "I am Rahis," "I am Birla," "I am big man, so my position is secure."

But Parīkṣit Mahārāja did not think like that. Although he was the emperor, most powerful king, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he did not think that "I am secure. Because I am emperor of the world, I am secure." No. He immediately become alert: "Oh, I will have to die within seven days. So I must prepare." This is the problem. We do not know whether we are going to die within seven seconds, because there is no guarantee, whereas Parīkṣit Mahārāja had at least seven days' guarantee that he will die after seven days. But so far we are concerned, we can go on the street. There may be any accident. I can die immediately. There are, so many deaths are taking place. The death is sure, and when it will take place, that nobody knows.

Therefore we should take lesson from Mahārāja Parīkṣit that what we are going to prepare for our next life. That is human life. Otherwise it is animal life. The cats and dog, they do not know "What is my next life." They think that... They do not know anything. So if a human being does not know, "What I am preparing for the next life?" he is no better than cats and dogs. That is the statement of the śāstra. It is not my statement.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
[SB 10.84.13]

Go-kharaḥ. Go means cows and khara means ass. So anyone who has got this concept that "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya," "I am black," "I am white," "I am fat," "I am thin," "I am this," "I am that," this is ātma-buddhi, dehātma-buddhi. Yasyātma-buddhi... One should know that "I am not this body." That is real knowledge. That is real knowledge. But nobody knows that. Everyone thinking. The fighting is going on all over the world. Just like Israel and the, what other the party?

Devotee: Arabs.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) They are thinking that they are this body, and they are fighting. And everywhere it is going on: "I am this body." Cats and dogs are fighting. So actually, we are not this body. That is knowledge. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā begins when Arjuna was thinking in terms of his body that he was declining to fight in terms of body. "Kṛṣṇa, they are my family members, my brothers, my grandfather, my nephews. How can I kill them?" So therefore Kṛṣṇa, when Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as his spiritual master... Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: [Bg. 2.7] "Kṛṣṇa, now we are talking like friends, but that will not make a solution, because friendly talking useless waste of time. Let us talk seriously. So I accept You as my spiritual master." Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam. "Now you teach me."

So this is the process of taking lessons. Just like Mahārāja Parīkṣit also trying to take lesson from the learned saintly persons there. At last it was settled that "Whatever Śukadeva Gosvāmī will say, that will be accepted. That will be accepted." So therefore Śukadeva, after being questioned by Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is answering, varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ [SB 2.1.1]. He inquired. Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired. He was a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the very beginning. Because Pāṇḍava family, they were all Kṛṣṇa's devotee, so Parīkṣit Mahārāja also was a devotee from his childhood. He was worshiping the Deity of Kṛṣṇa. That was his plaything. Just like Mirabai had kṛṣṇa-mūrti. 

So those who are born devotees, their inclination is to... That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā, śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate [Bg. 6.41]. Devotees, from the childhood, they get chance of worshiping Kṛṣṇa or to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So he inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, "Whether I shall now fully devote myself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" And therefore the answer was from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ [SB 2.1.1]."Yes, it is very nice, glorious. You are thinking of Kṛṣṇa." Varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ. Then? …" ((to be continued))


Lectures
—
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.1
—
Delhi, November 4, 1973

Man's Constitution & Divisions of Society

Prabhupāda: If this finger does not satisfy my body... Suppose I want to scratch here, a finger is doing it. If it cannot do it, that means it is diseased. So anyone who is not satisfying Kṛṣṇa, he is diseased condition. That is material life. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg. 13.9]. Material life means full of misery. And when misery comes? When one is diseased.
 
Dr. Singh: Is it possible, Swamiji, that Kṛṣṇa may like to be satisfied through the material life?
 
Prabhupāda: Well, provided it is done for Him. Just like Arjuna, fighting. Fighting, if you take..., just like nowadays fighting is going on, that is material. But the same fighting done for Kṛṣṇa is spiritual.
 
Dr. Singh: It is the attitude with which one does it.
 
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the definition of bhakti. Bhakti means hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ, that is bhakti. Now to serve Kṛṣṇa, Hṛṣīkeśa, that requires qualification. Just like you are king, if somebody wants to serve you as your secretary, he has to have specific qualifications. Not ordinary man. Similarly, bhakti means to serve Kṛṣṇa. So everyone can serve Kṛṣṇa provided he is qualified. And what is that qualification?
 
Dr. Singh: Love of Kṛṣṇa.
 
Prabhupāda: Yes. That qualification... Love of Kṛṣṇa is not so easy. We have to reach that point after many processes. Exactly in the same way, to become a secretary of the president, personal assistant, it is not very easy job. It requires some qualification. Similarly, to serve Kṛṣṇa, it requires some qualification. And what is that qualification? Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] when we give up our designation. 

At the present moment, we are all designated: "I am Indian," "I am Christian," "I am American," "I am Pakistani," "I am Hindustani." These designations are going on. When you give up your designation, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ [Cc. Madhya 19.170], that is mukti. "I am not Indian," "I am not Christian," "I am not Pakistani," "I am not Hindu." What you are?
 
Dr. Singh: (Sanskrit) śivo 'ham, śivo....
 
Prabhupāda: What you are? "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." Śivo 'ham is the beginning. Śivo 'ham, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, that is the beginning realization. Just like "I am this," "I am Indian," "I am this." Then you have to think over, then what is my duty? This perception that I am Śiva or Maṅgala, I am spirit soul, then what is my duty? I am working now with the bodily concept of life: "I am Indian," "I am Kashmiri," "I am this," "I am that." 

So when I realize that I am neither Kashmiri nor Indian nor this nor that, I am śivo 'ham, or brahmāsmi, or I am eternal servant of God, Kṛṣṇa, that is your pure. Tat-paratvena nirmalam. When you come to that understanding, śivo 'ham understanding, brahmāsmi understanding, or eternal servant of God understanding, then your duty begins. That is bhakti. So, therefore, bhakti is not on the material platform. Bhakti is on the spiritual platform. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg. 14.26].
 
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
[Bg. 18.54]
 
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is purifying everyone. This bodily concept of life, "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," they are forgetting. Just like in our society there are devotees from many religious sects, many countries, but they are nobody in that concept of life. They are purely thinking, "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is bhakti. This is spiritual platform. 

So far the material platform is concerned, there is already division. An intelligent class of men, the administrator class. Just like not all everyone is interested taking part in administration. Just like we, at least myself, if you invite me to come to the administration, I will not be interested. We are interested in different thing. So similarly, naturally there is a division. The intelligent class of men, they like to study philosophy, they like to understand what is the ultimate goal of life, so many things. 

So intelligent class of men should be engaged in that business. They should not be dragged in other platform. And those who are inclined to take part in politics, administration, that class also should be trained how to rule over the country, how to make satisfied the citizens. They should be trained up, as in business people are trained up. Now the fault is without being trained, simply by votes one becomes prime minister or (indistinct). He has no training how to administer, but simply by vote, he occupies a big post. And that is his qualification. But he does not know how to rule over, how to make the people satisfied. Therefore, chaos. Daily everywhere, government is changing. 

Daily, weekly, this government, that government, that government. Why? Because they are not trained up how to administer. Therefore, that is required. Tejaḥ. First these administrators must be tejasī, īśvara bhava(?). (Sanskrit) Now there will be fight, and the administers will sit down on the nice couch and the common man will fight. Formerly kṣatriya came first of all. Like Arjuna, he is in the front. The other side, Duryodhana is in the front. 

So the fighter in that, "Oh, my master is there." But there is no kṣatriya. The administration is under the śūdra side. How they can manage? So they must be trained. As in business, we give training. Similarly, those who are going to take up the responsibility of administration, they should be trained. And who will train them? The brāhmaṇas, the śāstra, sādhu-śāstra-guru. And those who are common men, they will simply work under their direction. This division is already there, simply the training is not there. Therefore, there is chaos.
f

(Room Conversation with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Dr. Karan Singh,--November 25, 1971, Delhi)