Text

London, March 10, 1975

Purport

Nitai: "I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and noumenal, by knowing which there shall remain nothing further to be known."

Prabhupada:

jñanaṠte 'haṠsa-vijñanam
idaṠvakṣyamy aseṣataḥ;
yaj jñatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj
jñatavyam avasiṣyate
[Bg. 7.2]

So Krṣṇa is personally speaking about Himself as we understood in the previous verse, that asaá¹sayaá¹ samagraá¹ maá¹ yatha jñasyasi tac chrṇu [Bg. 7.1]. Asaá¹sayam, without any doubt. If we speculate about God, that will never be sufficient. Not even we can touch the precincts of the knowledge. If we want knowledge without any doubt, asaá¹sayam, samagram, and complete, then we must hear from God Himself. This is very easy to understand. By hypothesis, by speculation, you cannot understand anything. It must be known scientifically, and this science can be understood if a person knows the science. So who can know God better than God Himself?

Therefore our process is—we have repeatedly explained this—that we do not speculate about God. Just like there are so many others, theosophists and theologists, they're speculating what is God. They don't accept... God personally explaining, they would not accept. They would simply speculate. This is their disease. When God is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gita... Rather, they will mislead the readings of the Bhagavad-gita in different interpretation, but they will not accept what is being taught by God Himself. This is their misfortune. "Why shall I accept Krṣṇa as God?" Although He has proved Himself when He was present by the qualification which God needs...

To become God is not easy thing. There are some qualification, yesterday we discussed, that He must be the richest, He must be the most powerful, He must be the most famous, He must be the most learned, He must be the most beautiful, and He must be the most renounced. This is the definition of God. A poor man, begging from door to door, he cannot become God, as it is misconceived, daridra-narayaṇa. Why Narayaṇa can be daridra? What is this nonsense? He is the richest. He is the richest. And why He can, He will be daridra? The argument is forwarded that "God is in everyone's heart; therefore everyone is God." What is this argument? Everyone's heart, God is there. God said, isvaraḥ; sarva-bhutanaṠhrd-dese 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. Where God says that because isvara, the Supreme Being, is situated in everyone's heart, therefore everyone is God? What is this argument? Where Krṣṇa says that because isvaraḥ; sarva-bhutanaṠhrd-dese 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61], therefore everyone is God? Is that very sound argument?

So this is going on. They do not know what is God, and still, there are so many incarnations of God. And foolish people accept that "Here is an incarnation of God." He does not know what is God, and he accepts, "Here is incarnation." We do not do so. If there is incarnation of God... That is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Their activities are mentioned, wonderful activities. We accept Lord Ramacandra as God, Lord Krṣṇa as God, Caitanya Mahaprabhu as God, because They are mentioned in the sastras, all the incarnations, even this age. One may say that "Lord Ramacandra is accepted God, Lord Krṣṇa is also accepted, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is the greatest devotee of God, but..." There are some persons in the Nimbarka-sampradaya, they put this argument. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name is there in the sastra, many Upaniṣads, especially in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that in the Kali-yuga this incarnation of God should be worshiped. What is that description?

krṣṇa-varṇaá¹ tviá¹£akrṣṇaá¹
saá¹…gopaá¹…gastra-pará¹£adam
yajñaiḥ; saṅkirtana-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ;
[SB 11.5.32]

Clearly Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krṣṇa-varṇaṠtviṣa akrṣṇam. He is Krṣṇa. Or krṣṇaṠvarṇayati, iti krṣṇa-varṇam.

Srila Jiva Gosvami, the most authoritative acarya of our sampradaya, he has explained like this. Krṣṇa-varṇam means always chanting Hare Krṣṇa. KrṣṇaṠvarṇayati, describing Krṣṇa, "Hare Krṣṇa, Hare Krṣṇa." This is description of Krṣṇa, addressing Krṣṇa. So therefore krṣṇa-varṇam, or varṇam means category. Just like brahmaṇa-varṇa, kṣatriya-varṇa. So in that way krṣṇa-varṇa means He is Krṣṇa, in the category of Krṣṇa. Either you take this meaning or that meaning, krṣṇa-varṇam. But Krṣṇa is black, and He is tviṣa, by the complexion, akrṣṇa. Akrṣṇa means not Krṣṇa. Now, there are so many colors. So everything is akrṣṇa. That color, all the colors are mixed together, it becomes black. Otherwise there are many different colors. So akrṣṇa means different color, "not krṣṇa," not black. So what is the actual? That we have to refer to sastra again, that Krṣṇa, in how many categories of color He appears? That is stated in the Bhagavatam. When Krṣṇa was born, then Gargamuni was calculating about His horoscope, and he said to Nanda Maharaja that "This, your child..." IdaniṠkrṣṇataṠgataḥ;. Suklo raktas tatha pita idaniṠkrṣṇataṠgataḥ;. "Your child had formerly white color." White color... Sometimes some critics criticize us that "Krṣṇa everywhere He is black. Why in your temple white?" But it is said that sukla, suklo raktas tatha pita idaniṠkrṣṇataṠgataḥ;: "Your son had other colors also, white and red and yellow, and now He has assumed blackish color."

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu, tviṣa akrṣṇam. He is not blackish. Then He must be other form, sukla, rakta, or pita. So He assumed the pita, yellowish color. Therefore tviṣa akrṣṇam. Tviṣa means by complexion. So krṣṇa-varṇam, krṣṇaṠvarṇayati, iti krṣṇa-varṇam, or krṣṇa iti krṣṇa-varṇam, and tviṣa, by complexion, akrṣṇa, pita, idaniṠpita-varṇam. Pita-varṇa gaura, golden avatara. And saṅgopaṅgastra-parṣadam. He is always surrounded by associates, specially by Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasadi. Sri Krṣṇa Caitanya, He is Krṣṇa, then Nityananda, then Advaita, then Gadadhara, then Srivasa, and many other devotees always followed. That is the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Wherever He went, many followers chanting Hare Krṣṇa, plus these principal associates were with Him. Therefore saṅgopaṅgastra-parṣa... And these saṅga upaṅga were His astra. Astra, astra means weapon.

God advents for two purposes. What are the two purposes? Paritraṇaya sadhunam [Bg. 4.8]. Just to give relief and deliver the devotees. The devotees are always anxious to see God, so God comes down to give relief to the devotee, being present before them. Paritraṇaya sadhunam. Another: vinasaya ca duṣkrtam, to annihilate the demons. So there..., for annihilating, for killing, you require weapon. Krṣṇa has His weapon, sudarsana-cakra. Lord Ramacandra has His weapon, bow and arrow. What is the weapon of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu? Saṅgopaṅgastra-parṣadam. His associates are His weapons. This is astra. Because in the Kali-yuga they are so fallen, even they are demons, they are third-class, fourth-class demons. (laughter) So they need not be killed. They are already killed. Their mode of life, their atmosphere, they are always dead. Just like we see so many demons. So what is there to kill them? They are already killed. They have no life. So this killing process in Kali-yuga is to kill their demonic propensities. And how to kill that demonic propensities? By spreading Hare Krṣṇa movement. This is astra. Otherwise to kill them is not... By life, it is not difficult. One slap is sufficient. You don't require other weapon. But real Krṣṇa comes to kill or to give protection—because He is Absolute, it is the same thing. If He is killing some demons, He is giving him protection. He stops his demonic activities further, to implicate himself in more trouble. Therefore when Krṣṇa kills one demon, that means He saves him. He saves him. The Absolute, this is Absolute. Either He protects His devotee or kills the demon, the result is the same. Therefore He is called Absolute.

So in this age, Kali-yuga, to kill the demons means to stop their demonic activities by the astra, kirtana, hari-saá¹…kirtana, which is spread by His associates. Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Srivasadi Gaura-bhakta-vrnda, they are going door to door, country to country, city to city, and saving the demons from being implicated more and more in material existence. Therefore this is the astra. Astra means the killing. Real purpose... The living entity is eternal. How he can be killed? Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. So to kill means to kill his demonic nature. Otherwise how he can be killed? Ya imam... There is a verse that anyone who knows that the living entity is never killed and... A living entity does not kill anyone; neither a living entity is ever killed. One who knows this, he knows. So that is the position. So killing does not mean that killing the living entity. That is not possible. Na jayate na mriyate va. Killing means to kill his demonic activities. Stop. Killing means stop acting.

So saṅgopaṅgastra-parṣadam. This is the description of the God, Krṣṇa, in this age. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krṣṇa-varṇaṠtviṣakrṣṇaṠsaṅgopaṅgastra-parṣadam [SB 11.5.32]. And how to worship Him? What is the process? Yajñaiḥ; saṅkirtanaiḥ;. That's all. You keep Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Deity and chant and dance—your life is successful. So easy. We are worshiping Radha-Krṣṇa. That is very difficult. But if we keep Caitanya Mahaprabhu with His associates, this Pañca-tattva, Gaura-Nitai, Gaura-Gadadhara, or Pañca-tattva, and worship Him according to the sastra description... The sastra description is yajñaiḥ; saṅkirtanaiḥ;. This is yajña. Life is means for performing yajña. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said yajñarthe karma. You are very busy. Yes, you should be busy always, twenty-four hours. For what purpose? Yajñarthe, not for your sense gratification. That is devotional life. Yajñarthe karma. Karma. We are not dull matter. We have got our flexible hands and legs to work. People think that "These Krṣṇa conscious men, Hare Krṣṇa people, they are escaping." What is that, escaping? We are not escaping. We are practically taking the real activities. ParaṠdrṣṭva nivartate [Bg. 9.59]. Although people see that we do not work, we do not go to the factory, we do not to the mine, we do not go to the so many, so many things, or professional. We do not become lawyer, engineer. They say that we are escaping. No. You see we are always busy, twenty-four hours busy. I am old man of eighty years; still, I am busy. I am traveling all over the world, writing book at night, talking with visitors, and so many things. You can see. So where we are escaping? We are the most responsible worker. So the... What is the difference? The difference is all people are engaged for sense gratification. We are engaged for satisfying Krṣṇa. But activities are there.

So when you engage yourself for satisfaction of Krṣṇa... Yajña means satisfaction of Krṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. Viṣṇur aradhyate pantha nanyat-tat-toá¹£a-karaṇam. This is called yajña. Yajña means worshiping Lord Viṣṇu. Tat-toá¹£a-karaṇam, acting for His satisfaction. Toá¹£a means satisfaction. And in another place it is also said, ataḥ; pumbhir dvija-sreṣṭha varṇasrama-vibhagasaḥ;, svanuṣṭhitasya puá¹sasya...svanuṣṭhitasya puá¹sasya. Huh?

Puṣṭa-krṣṇa: Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya.

Prabhupada: Ah. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saá¹siddhir hari-toá¹£aṇam [SB 1.2.13]. Everyone has got different type of activities. Formerly it was divided into four: the brahmaṇa activity, the ká¹£atriya activity, the vaisya activity, and the sudra activity. Now it has been developed at the present moment, so many. But if you again connect all of them, they will come to the same categories or divisions. Some intelligent class of men, they are working day and night about understanding the Absolute Truth or the truth. Just like the theosophists, the philosophers, the theologists, the scientists, so many brain workers, they are working to discover better way of life, how the human society should be more and more happy. So this is the work of the brahmaṇas. But nowadays the brain is not utilized for understanding Brahman, but for understanding the ways of higher standard of life, sense gratification. Anyway, that is intelligent work. Next the administrative work. Next the productive work. And next the worker, general worker. The same brahmaṇa, ká¹£atriya, vaisya, sudra.

So Bhagavad-gita recommends that you work for Krṣṇa. If you are engineer, so you use your talent, how to construct a very wonderful temple for Krṣṇa. That will be success of your learning engineering. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya. Anyone has got a particular talent. So how to make that talent successful? Now, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saá¹siddhir hari-toá¹£aṇam [SB 1.2.13]. If you are very first-class engineer, you construct such an wonderful temple for Krṣṇa that people from all the world will come to see it. Then you are successful. So any line of education, you cannot take it, but use it for Krṣṇa's satisfaction. Then your education is perfect. Otherwise, srama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8], simply working uselessly and waste of time. What is this? So yajña, that is yajña. When you work for Krṣṇa to satisfy Krṣṇa, that is yajña. Yajña does not mean that simply by performing fire sacrifices and offering little ghee upon it. No, that is yajña. That is ordinary yajña. Agnihotra-yajña. But the real purpose of yajña is... The same purpose: in the fire sacrifice we offer the food grains. That means the Supreme Lord is eating through fire. So eating is satisfaction. So Krṣṇa is not satisfied only by eating. He has got other senses also. Krṣṇa is not nirakara. And Krṣṇa, you satisfy any sense of Krṣṇa, you are successful. And you can satisfy anything through any sense. Aá¹…gani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti.

So this is the..., called yajña, yajña. So yajña has to be performed. Saha-yajñaḥ; prajaḥ; srṣṭva. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find. All the living entities were, especially the human being, the demigods... Demigods were first created. The seven rṣis, they created later on. ImaṠvivasvate yogaṠproktavan...vivasvan manave praha [Bg. 4.1]. The sun-god was created, then from him, Manu came; from Manu, Ikṣvaku came, in this way. So all these prajas, progeny, was created for performing yajña. That is stated in the Bhagavad... So everyone is meant for performing yajña. Yajñarthe karma. Everyone should work for performing yajña. That is human life. Work very hard. You have got tendency to work from morning, six, to night ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. We see. Early in the morning the road is congested. They are going to work. But they do not know why they are working. They know, "I am working for filling up this belly." That they know. No, that is not the purpose of working. For filling up the belly the animals, the ants, the cats, dogs, birds, they are also working. And you shall also work for filling up the belly only? Then what is the value of your life? You should work for yajña. That is human life. Yajñarthe karma.

"But I don't like yajña." Then karma-bandhanaḥ;, they are becoming entrapped, working under the influence of certain material modes of nature. Therefore you are infecting that material mode of nature, and according to the infection, you will develop the next body. Just like according to infection you develop the disease, so this material body is disease. That we do not understand. We are soaping this material body, keeping it fit, but we do not know that this is disease. Anyone, does anyone want to keep the disease and say, "My dear disease, please live with me forever"? (laughter) Is there any intelligent man say like that? Disease is to be cured, is to be driven away. In Hindi they say, jara ar para okhane kha na baviya ar.(?) Means "Unwanted guest and disease, you do not give him to eat, and he will go away." He will go away. So any disease, you starve for few days, two days, three days, it will go. And any unwanted guest, you don't supply him food. He will automatically go away. So disease should not be maintained. Disease should be cured.

So that curing medicine we have to take not to maintain this material body. Na sadhu manye yata atmano 'yam asann api klesada asa dehaḥ; [SB 5.5.4]. This is real intelligence. Everyone is trying to keep this body, this disease, maintaining. This time, next time, next time, next time, going on. Janma-mrtyu-maran malam.(?) This is not your... Disease should be cured. Therefore sastra says,

nunaṠpramattaḥ; kurute vikarma
yad indriya-pritaya aprṇoti
na sadhu manye yata atmano 'yam
asann api klesada asa dehaḥ;
[SB 5.5.4]

People are mad, and they are doing anything mischievous, sinful. And what is the purpose? Now, just to satisfy the senses. You see? There are so many nice foodstuff—Krṣṇa has given—fruits, flowers, grains, milk, butter, sugar. And you can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparation out of it and offer to Krṣṇa and eat it very nicely. "No. We must have meat." This is vikarma. Vikarma means sinful activities. Karma, vikarma, and... Tena tyaktena bhuñjitha [Iso mantra 1]. God has given you so many nice foodstuff. Why should you kill an animal? Therefore Jesus Christ says, "Thou shall not kill." "Then shall I die?" No. There are so many things. You eat. Tena tyaktena, whatever is ordained by you, by God, Krṣṇa... The same thing is said. Krṣṇa should have said, "Give me..." Mamsam din mam.(?) No. He says, patraṠpuṣpaṠphalaṠtoyaṠyo me bhaktya prayacchati [Bg. 9.26].

So this is yajña, to satisfy Krṣṇa. So if you offer Krṣṇa these things, what He wants, you will satisfy. Yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Bhaktya, with bhakti, Krṣṇa said. So why don't you do this? That is yajña. Everyone can perform yajña at home. Because they are eating. Who is there who is not eating? Everyone is eating. But if you prepare, within these items, patraá¹ puá¹£paá¹ phalaá¹ toyam, and prepare nice varieties of foodstuff and offer to Krṣṇa, that is yajña. That is yajña. And yajña-siṣṭasinaḥ; santo mucyante sarva-kilbiá¹£aiḥ;. If you take prasadam, Krṣṇa will not eat everything. He will eat, and He will leave for you also. So don't be afraid that "If I offer Krṣṇa, He will take away." (laughter) Krṣṇa is not so hungry. Even if He is hungry, He can eat the whole universe. So just satisfy Krṣṇa. "Sir, it is all given by You, the food grains, these fruits, flowers. It is Your gift. So You first of all taste or eat. Then I shall eat." Krṣṇa is very satisfied. So we want Krṣṇa's satisfaction. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saá¹siddhir hari-toá¹£aṇam [SB 1.2.13]. You have cooked very nicely, and if Krṣṇa says, "Yes, it is very nice," then your cooking is perfection. Saá¹siddhir hari-toá¹£aṇam [SB 1.2.13].

So do anything. If Krṣṇa is satisfied, that is yajña. That is yajña. And one should live for that purpose. Yajñarthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yam. Work very hard, but yajñarthe. And if you work so hard like ass and cats and dog simply for satisfying your tongue or belly or the genital, a straight line, then you are going to hell. Yajñarthe karmaṇaḥ; anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ;. Then you are becoming bound up by the laws of nature. If you eat and sleep and act like dog, then become dog next life. And if you act like god, then you'll get god, very easy thing. So whatever you like, you can do. But the sastra gives you direction, yajñarthe. "Act, work, work hard for pleasing the Supreme Lord." Yajñarthe. Otherwise you will be bound up in the cycle of birth and death. Don't do it.

So this Krṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching this education, that perform... You cannot escape it. You cannot say that "You are interested. You can do. We are not interested." If you are not interested, then you are living a very risky life because you have to change your body. Dehantaram. You can see. There are examples of so many types of body. Now, suppose if you live at the risk of your life and next life you become a tree, stand up for five thousand years in the snow, scorching heat, scorching, blasting and so many disturbances, and you cannot move an inch, and people may cut down you, your leaves, your trunk, or you, they are cutting so many... What is that life? And if you think, "No, I am living for five thousand years," what is the use of living such five thousand years? No. Don't risk life. Karma-bandhanaḥ;. If you don't perform yajña, if you don't try to satisfy the Supreme Lord... Just like if you don't try to satisfy the government, then it is your risky life. You cannot say that "I am living very happily." Because you are cheating government or do not following the laws of the government, that is very risky life. Similarly, if you do not perform yajña, you cannot avoid it. Saha-yajñaḥ; prajaḥ; srṣṭva. You are, you have got this human form of life for performing yajña.

So in this age, in Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform other yajña. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krṣṇa, has appeared to accept your yajña, to deliver you, and the yajña process is very easy: yajñaiḥ; saṅkirtanaiḥ;. That's all. Simply perform. Wherever you live, at home or outside home, just keep a picture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and chant Hare Krṣṇa mantra before Him. Then your life will be successful.

Thank you very much. (end)

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