Pradyumna:
tathayaá¹ cavataras te
bhuvo bhara-jihirá¹£aya
svanaá¹ cananya-bhavanam
anudhyanaya casakrt
[SB 1.7.25]
"Thus You descend as an avatara, incarnation, to remove the burden of the world and to benefit Your friends, especially those who are Your exclusive devotees and are rapt in meditation upon You."
Prabhupada:
tathayaá¹ cavataras te
bhuvo bhara-jihirá¹£aya
svanaá¹ cananya-bhavanam
anudhyanaya casakrt
[SB 1.7.25]
So, Krṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead-sakṣat, not imagination. Here it is said sa eva jiva-lokasya maya sakṣad... Here, yes. Tvam adyaḥ; puruṣaḥ; sakṣad isvaraḥ;. Sakṣat, directly. Not indirectly. Just like we are meeting face to face. It is not that I am imagining. Face to face, sakṣat. Sa-akṣa. Akṣa means eyes or senses. With senses. Krṣṇa cannot be seen with these material senses. Ataḥ; sri-krṣṇa-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaiḥ; [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. It is not possible to experience Krṣṇa by our, these material blunt senses. It is not possible. We have to make purified. How it is purified? Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ;. When you engage yourself in the service of the Lord, sevonmukha—"Krṣṇa, I want to serve You"—this much wanted, qualification. No educational qualification, no Ph.D. degree, or to take birth in very high family or to become rich. Nothing. Simply a true feeling, desire: "Krṣṇa, so long I remained forgetting You. Now, somehow or other, I've come to the sense that You are everything. By hearing from my guru or the spiritual master or from the sastra..." Sadhu-sastra. Sat-saṅga-sadhu-sastra. Lava-matra sadhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya [Cc. Madhya 22.54].
Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,
'sadhu-saṅga', 'sadhu-saṅga'—sarva-sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-saá¹…ge sarva-siddhi haya
[Cc. Madhya 22.54]
It is required, sadhu-saá¹…ga. Then if he meets sadhu... By one or two words from him, he can convince you about supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Otherwise, he'll take birth after birth, bahunaá¹ janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. Therefore we have to make sadhu-saá¹…ga [Cc. Madhya 22.83]. Sataá¹ prasaá¹…gan mama virya-saá¹vido bhavanti hrt-karṇa-rasayanaḥ; kathaḥ; [SB 3.25.25]. Sadhu-saá¹…ga is very essential. Sat-saá¹…ga. Otherwise... There is another verse in the Brahma-saá¹hita, that vedeá¹£u durlabhaḥ;. You cannot understand Krṣṇa by studying Vedas, although Vedas means knowledge. And the ultimate knowledge—to understand Krṣṇa. So-called Vedanti..., you'll find so many Vedantists loitering on the street, but they do not understand Krṣṇa. This is their qualification. They interpret "Krṣṇa means this. Krá¹£ means this, ṇa means this," like that. When Vallabha Acarya said to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that "I have described Krṣṇa's meaning," Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately refused: "I do not know any meaning of Krṣṇa. I know Krṣṇa, Gopijana-vallabha, that's all. Gopijana-vallabha." What is the meaning of Krṣṇa? No interpretation, no imagination. Krṣṇa is Vrndavana-candra or Gopijana-vallabha, Giri-vara-dhari, that's all. So we have to understand by sadhu-saá¹…ga [Cc. Madhya 22.83]. Then we can see saká¹£at Krṣṇa.
Krṣṇa comes to convince us. There is no question of imagination. "See Me. Here I am." That is Krṣṇa. Why you are imagining? Krṣṇa therefore comes. Here it is said, tathayaṠca avataras te bhuvo bhara-jihirṣaya. Avatara does not mean a big beard or big hair. We do not like to see such ugly avatara. We kick on their face, this avatara. This is not avatara. Avatara must be mentioned in the sastra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when He was talking with Sanatana Gosvami, so Caitanya Mahaprabhu described about avatara. So just to make a little joke, because they are personal devotees... So he knew that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the avatara. Still, he inquired from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "How we shall know one avatara?" So Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "Why? It is all mentioned in the sastra." So avatara should be understood from the sastra, not by jugglery or magic. This is rascal. As soon as one wants to establish his avatarship by jugglery and magic, kick him out, immediately on the face, directly. Kick him. Let the avatara take steps. I don't mind. If he's avatara, let him kill me, all right. But I shall kick him on his face. Not that avatara.
Here, bhuvo bhara-jihirá¹£aya. An avatara comes to do some particular work. Just like Lord Ramacandra came to punish Ravaṇa. That is avatara. And there are many avataras, they are mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: Matsya-avatara, Vamana-avatara, Kurma-avatara, and Varaha-avatara, Vamana-avatara, Nrsiá¹ha-avatara, and Parasurama-avatara, Balarama-avatara, Buddha-avatara. Buddha is also avatara. Kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare. We do not agree with Buddha philosophy. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, veda na maniya bauddha haya ta' nastika. Buddha philosophy is atheism: "There is no God." He says "There is no God." So that is atheism. And especially... That there is no God, there is God—that is not the point. His point was to stop the animal-killing. Sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. Krṣṇa became very, very, sympathetic with the poor animals. "Oh, in the name of yajña, these rascals, rogues, are killing so many animals." Therefore He came as Buddha-avatara. Sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam. Kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare. So Vaiṣṇava knows that "Here is Lord Buddha. He's Krṣṇa's avatara," although we don't take his philosophy, because Buddha refused to accept Vedic authority. Nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam. Sruti means Veda. Sruti-jatam. In the sruti, in the Vedas, there is mention of pasu sacrifice, animal sacrifice, there is. So they began to argue with Lord Buddha that "You are stopping yajña-vidhi, stopping animal-killing in the yajña. This is mentioned in the Vedas." But Lord Buddha knew, "These rascals simply talking of Vedas, he does not know what is Vedas. But what is the use of arguing?" Therefore he has to say, "I don't care for your Vedas. Stop animal killing." So nindasi yajña-vidheḥ;. Yajña-vidhi, he wanted to stop. No more animal sacrifice in the yajña. Therefore he is denying the authority of Vedas. Nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam. We cannot violate which is mentioned in the... Therefore he was taken... But he's avatara. It was needed at that time.
As it is said here, bhuvo bhara-jihirṣaya. When these rascals and fools increase, it becomes a burden to the earth. Just like a practical example: a child or a man, you weigh him. When he's alive you will find one weight, and when he's dead you will find another weight. That is practical. It will be heavier. Why heavier? Because there is no more spirit soul. So the more people will be materialistic, the world will be burdened. Therefore there must be war, pestilence, famine, to clear these rascals, clear out. You'll find these things. In Europe, every ten years, twenty years, there is a fight, war. It is the history. From the Greece history, Roman history and Seven Years War, Hundred Years War-wars. There must be war, because they are sinful. The same sinful, killing animals continually. So there is war, reaction. So what is that war? To lessen the burden. To lessen the burden. It becomes very heavy, unbearable by the earth. And to reduce the weight there is natural... And when there is still more power required, then Krṣṇa comes: "Arrange for a war in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra and bring all the rascals and finish within eighteen days." Within eighteen days sixty-four crores men died. This is... But why? It is Krṣṇa's arrangement.
When Arjuna wanted to become nonviolent, so He gave him instruction that "There is no question of nonviolence. You are talking like an anarya, uncivilized man." Kutas tva kasmalam idaṠviṣame samupasthitam. "In warfield, and you are talking of nonviolence, rascal. There is no question of nonviolence. You have to fight." So he was still arguing. Then he finally said, "My dear Arjuna, you fight or don't fight. It doesn't matter. They are not going to return. They'll be finished here. That is My arrangement." He says, nimitta-matraṠbhava savyasacin: "They're not going to return." It is Krṣṇa's arrangement. He says,
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanaá¹ srjamy aham
[Bg. 4.7]
When people become too much sinful, too much godless, the world becomes overburdened, and there must be some machine to kill. Prakrteḥ; kriyamaṇani guṇaiḥ; karmaṇi sarvasaḥ; ahaṅkara [Bg. 3.27]. They are thinking independently. No independence. As soon as you become sinful, there is reaction immediately. Immediately there will be war, pestilence, famine, flu, and so on, so on.
So here it is said, tatha ayaá¹ ca avataras te... Arjuna said that "You have descended to," I mean to say, "lessen the burden of this world." Bhuvo bhara-jihirá¹£aya. There are many instances like that. When Prthu Maharaja was the king, there was no production food production Because his father was a great sinful king, so on account of that there was no production. And Prthu Maharaja wanted... He was a very good king. He is incarnation also. He asked the earth, "Why you are not producing? If you do not produce, I shall kill you." This is mentioned in the Fourth Canto. And mother earth said, "My dear King, why you are angry upon me? It is my duty. When the people become raká¹£asas, I'll restrict my supply. Let them starve and die. I shall do that. This is my duty. Why you are angry with me?" The more people will be godless, there will be starvation, no supply. You cannot make by machine. Just like last time when I was in Europe, everything is now drying. It is yellow. What scientific method you have got? Bring water. Now they are thinking bringing, importing water. Is it possible to import water? That's not possible. So this will be punishment. In the Kali-yuga, the more people will be godless, and this punishment will be there: no water, no food supply. And over and above that, government taxation. You'll be harassed. Three things will go on.
That is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Anavrá¹£á¹ya durbhiká¹£a-kara-piá¸itaḥ; [SB 12.2.9]. Now kara-piá¸ita, taxation. This is sastra. Five thousand years ago this Bhagavata was written, and he has given, Vyasadeva has given the symptoms of Kali-yuga. One of the symptoms is this, that in the Kali-yuga people will be so much embarrassed by three things. One thing there will be no rain, scarcity of rain. And naturally there will be scarcity of... Durbhiká¹£a. Durbhiká¹£a means you will not be able to get anything by begging also. Bhiká¹£a, bhiká¹£a means if I have no subsistence, I have no means to eat, I go to... [break] Even if I beg, I become a beggar, there will be no supplies. Especially these things will be no supply: rice, wheat, sugar, and other things, there are mentioned. It is all particularly mentioned. And we are experiencing. You were telling that rice is not available. Where it is? Huh? Poland. I have seen in Moscow, you cannot get any fruit, you cannot get rice, you cannot get wheat. You can get only flesh, meat. And milk is available. These things. So now already it has begun, and ultimately as the Kali-yuga advances and people become very much advanced in denying the existence of God, nirakara, these things will come. Wait for that punishment. Durbhiká¹£a, anavrá¹£á¹ya durbhiká¹£a-kara-piá¸itaḥ; [SB 12.2.9]. And as soon as there will be scarcity of food, the government men will take advantage of it: "Now we have to supply food." "Where is food?" "No, you give me money, we shall purchase from importer." The taxation. One side, I am suffering—no food; another side—whatever money I have got, it will be taken by taxation. Now see what is your position. The position will be people will become mad, so much troubled. Acchinna-dara-draviṇa gacchanti giri-kananam. People will be so much harassed that voluntarily they'll give up their family, home, and go to the forest, hopeless. This will be done. Don't think that Krṣṇa consciousness is a joke, is a jugglery. It is the only remedy if you want to save yourself. Otherwise, you are doomed. Don't take it, I mean to say, as a joke. It is a fact.
So best thing is that kaler doá¹£a-nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan guṇaḥ;. There is one very nice opportunity. What is that opportunity? Kirtanad eva krṣṇasya mukta-saá¹…gaḥ; paraá¹ vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. If you chant Hare Krṣṇa mantra, kirtanad eva krṣṇasya... You cannot say any other-sivasya, kalisya(?). No. Krṣṇasya. Sravaṇaá¹ kirtanaá¹ viṣṇoḥ; [SB 7.5.23]. Not that any name, any, my whimsical name. No. Just like so many fools and rascals say that "You can chant any name." No. Sastra says sravaṇaá¹ kirtanaá¹ viṣṇoḥ;. Kirtanad eva krṣṇasya. That is wanted. Kirtanad eva krṣṇasya mukta-saá¹…gaḥ; paraá¹ vrajet. If you take this process of chanting Hare Krṣṇa mantra, then you'll be free from all these disturbances. You'll be free. It is not pride, but it is a fact. Just like in our Krṣṇa consciousness movement, we have got so much expenditure. In New York we are spending twelve lakhs of rupees alone per month. Now, we have got... This morning I was calculating. We have got 25 lakhs of rupees expenditure per month all over the world. But we have no anxiety. That is practical. We have no anxiety. One man who has got to spend 25 rupees, he has got anxiety. But we have to spend 25 lakhs of rupees, but we have no anxiety. Because we have taken shelter of Krṣṇa. Ma sucaḥ;, Krṣṇa says. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekaá¹ saraṇaá¹ vraja, ahaá¹ tvaá¹ moká¹£ayiá¹£yami sarva-papebhyaḥ; [Bg. 18.66]. "Oh, Krṣṇa will take care of me in such a way?" "Yes." "Oh, let me consider." Ma sucaḥ;. There is no consideration. You do it immediately. Ma sucaḥ;. Why ma sucaḥ;? If you... Krṣṇa is unable to feed you? Eko yo bahunaá¹ vidadhati kaman, nityo nityanaá¹ cetanas cetananam (Kaá¹ha Upaniá¹£ad 2.2.13). Why you talk of nonsense, population? There is no question of population. But if you are sinful, if you are godless, then however restrictive means you take... What is that? Sterilization? You have to starve. There is no question of diminishing the population. It is a question how to become Krṣṇa conscious. Otherwise, everything will be finished.
So don't take it very lightly. Take it seriously. Take to Krṣṇa consciousness. Krṣṇa has come, avatara, and His instruction should be followed. Then we'll be happy. Everything is there in Krṣṇa's instruction for our benefit. But because we are rascals, muá¸ha, duá¹£krtina, naradhama, we have no knowledge, we refuse to accept. This is our qualification.
na maá¹ duá¹£krtino muá¸haḥ;
prapadyante naradhamaḥ;
mayayapahrta-jñana
asuraṠbhavam asritaḥ;
[Bg. 7.15]
Because we have become rakṣasas, asuras, we deny to surrender Krṣṇa, to surrender to Krṣṇa, and we must suffer the (con)sequence. This is Krṣṇa consciousness movement.
Thank you very much. (end)
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