| Bhagavad-gétä
4.11 -- Bombay, March 31, 1974
Pradyumna (leads chanting): Translation: "All of them, as they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Påthä." Prabhupäda: ye yathä mäà prapadyante Everyone is seeking to find out Kåñëa. Directly or indirectly. Kåñëa means the all-attractive. All-attractive. Bhagavän means the all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. So indirectly or directly, everyone is seeking Kåñëa, the all-attractive. Änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät. The Supreme Bliss. We can give an example. Just like we take care of our body. We want to keep body very fit, healthy and beautiful, very nicely kept. Why? Why we take care of our body? Because I, the spirit soul, part and parcel of Kåñëa, I am living in this body. Therefore I take care of my body. Nobody takes care of the dead body. This is a fact. Either I take care of my body, or my family's body, or my wife's body, or my children's body. Why? Because the part and parcel of Kåñëa is there. The soul is there. And as soon as the soul is gone, the part and parcel is gone from the body, the body has no value. Throw it away. The same body. This is practical. Therefore I love my body because the part and parcel of Kåñëa is there. Or you love your body. I love your body. Only for the reason, jévanaà sarva-bhütänäm-the part and parcel of Kåñëa is there. Then why the part and parcel of Kåñëa is taken care of? Because it is part and parcel of Kåñëa. Therefore ultimately, my love goes to Kåñëa, all-attractive. So everyone is seeking for happiness, but they are misled. Although they are trying to approach Kåñëa, they are misled. One can directly come to Kåñëa, but they do not want. They indirectly. So indirectly and directly, everyone is seeking Kåñëa. Mama vartmänuvartante manuñyäù pärtha sarvaçaù. In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is stated that vadanti tat tattva-vidas The Absolute Truth, tattva, that is tattva. Vadanti tat tattva-vidaù. Who can speak of tattva unless one is completely conversant with the tattva? Tattva means truth. So vadanti tat tattva-vidaù. Those who are conversant with the Absolute Truth, they say. What do they say? Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaà yaj jïänam advayam [SB 1.2.11]. The Absolute Knowledge without any duality, advayam. What is that? Now, Brahman, Paramätmä and Bhagavän. The Absolute Truth is described in different ways by different people according to angle of vision. But the object is the same. There may be different types of religious systems, but the object is Kåñëa. Somewhere it is openly expressed, and somewhere it is covered. Just like Brahman, Brahman realization, impersonal realization, Brahman realization. For the jïänés, those who are seeking out the Absolute Truth by speculative knowledge, they want to make these varieties of material world as void. The Buddha philosophy, çünyavädi. Because they are disgusted with these material varieties, therefore they want something opposite. That opposite is voidism, çünyaväda. The çünyaväda or, little more further, that is brahmaväda, without any varieties, simply the light, brahmajyoti. This is also another realization. Çünyaväda, to make this material world null and void, they come to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. This is Brahman realization. And then, for the yogis, the localized aspect, Paramätmä. Éçvaraù sarva-bhütänäà håd-deçe 'rjuna tiñöhati [Bg. 18.61]. By meditation. This is Paramätmä realization. And then, ultimately, Bhagavän, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like we general, people in general, we can see the sunshine, but everyone knows.... At least, scientists know that the sunshine is coming from the sun globe. If you have got power to go to the sun globe, you can see what actually the sun globe is. And if you go still further, penetrate into the sun globe, then you will see there is a sun god, sun god. His name is also described in the Bhagavad-gétä: Vivasvän. In the beginning of this chapter, Fourth Chapter, Kåñëa said, imaà vivasvate yogaà proktavän aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. So within the sun globe there is the person, the predominating deity whose name is Vivasvän. So it requires a little qualification, how to go to the sun planet. Sun planet is a fact. It is not fictitious. We are every day seeing. But we have no such power to go to the sun planet. Neither we have got the power to enter into the sun planet. That is inability. Not that it is illusion. Kåñëa is illusion or Kåñëaloka is illusion. No, it is not illusion; it is fact. Goloka-nämni nija-dhämni tale ca tasya [Bs. 5.43]. In the Vedic literature we find description of the planet of Goloka Våndävana, the abode of Kåñëa. It is stated, goloka-nämni nija-dhämni. Nija-dhämni. Nija-dhämni means the personal abode. Kåñëa is person. God is person. Just like governor. The governor is a person, and he has got his personal place, the government house. Similarly, the Supreme Lord.... Brahmeti paramätmeti bhagavän iti. He is person, and He has got His abode. That is stated in the Brahma-saàhitä. goloka-nämni nija-dhämni tale ca tasya Goloka-nämni, the planet.... We have given our picture of Goloka Våndävana. As far as possible taking description from the çästra, we have given. The Goloka Våndävana is described in the Brahma-saàhitä: cintämaëi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-våkña- So Govinda has got place. Goloka-nämni. The place name is Goloka Våndävana, goloka-nämni. Nija-dhämni. That is His personal abode. Although every dhäma, every planet, everywhere, all over the universe, all over the creation, that is Kåñëa's dhäma, God's place.... Bhoktäraà yajïa-tapasäà sarva-loka-maheçvaram [Bg. 5.29]. He is the proprietor of everything. Éçäväsyam idaà sarvam. Everything, that is the property of Kåñëa, or the Supreme Lord. This is Kåñëa consciousness. This is Kåñëa consciousness. One has to learn this, that everything belongs to Kåñëa. Éçäväsyam idaà sarvam. This is Vedic instruction. We have created trouble because we have forgotten the real proprietor. We are trying to become proprietor individually and collectively. "This is India. This is our India." "This is America. It is our America." "It is Germany, our." Nothing our. Everything Kåñëa's. This is Kåñëa consciousness. Everything belongs to Kåñëa. And everyone has got the right.... Because everyone is the son of Kåñëa. Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad-gétä, sarva-yoniñu kaunteya As the sons have got right to enjoy the property of the father, similarly, we, all living entities, not only human beings, but trees, planets, animals, everyone, all living entities, sarva-yoniñu, they are all sons of God, or Kåñëa, and everyone has got right to live at the cost of Kåñëa. And He's also feeding everyone. Eko yo bahünäà vidadhäti kämän. All the necessities of life is being supplied by Kåñëa. In Africa there are millions of elephants. They are also supplied food, at a time, forty kilos. And the ant is also, within the hole of your room... [break] ...according to law. Don't encroach upon others' property. Mä gådhaù kasya svid dhanam. Tena tyaktena bhuïjéthä. Whatever is allotted for you, that is... Everything is prescribed. Everything is there. But the... Why this arrangement is made? They do not know. The arrangement is made that mama vartmänuvartante manuñyäù pärtha... Of course, particularly the name of manuñyäù has been... Because in the human life God consciousness can be developed, not in the animal life. Therefore here particularly it is mentioned, mama vartmänuvartante manuñyäù pärtha sarvaçaù. "Everyone is trying to approach Me, but according to different angle of vision, according to capacity." The capacity is somebody's trying to go up to the Brahman effulgence, somebody's trying to understand the Supreme Paramätmä within everyone's heart, and somebody's trying to understand and go directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vaiñëavism is directly. Directly... Kåñëa says, sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja [Bg. 18.66]. If you go directly... Just like if you reach the sun planet or the predominating deity of, namely, the sun god, Vivasvän, then naturally you know what is sunshine and what is sun globe. Similarly, if you directly go, if you directly can understand what is Kåñëa, then you understand what is impersonal Brahman and what is localized aspect, Paramätmä. It is... Brahmaëo 'haà pratiñöhä. Kåñëa says. What is this Brahman? Just like the sunshine is situated on the sun globe. Sunshine, although it is very big, it is covering the whole universe, but it is coming from the sun globe. So similarly, the Brahman effulgence may be very, very great, but it is coming as the bodily effulgence of Kåñëa. That we get information from Brahma-saàhitä: yasya prabhä prabhavato jagad-aëòa-koöi- So actually, either you try to realize impersonal Brahman, or by yogic process, the localized Paramätmä, or directly you want to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all the same. All the same. But this differentiation is due to my angle of vision. Therefore Kåñëa says, ye yathä mäà prapadyante täàs tathaiva bhajämy aham [Bg. 4.11]. If you want to realize only the Brahman effulgence, all right, you can do that. Or if you want to realize Paramätmä by yogic principle, by meditation, all right, Kåñëa says, it is also all right. And if you want to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead in directly contact with Him, directly playing with Him as cowherds boy, directly dancing with Him like the gopés, directly treating Him as your son like Yaçodä-mätä, you can do also. Kåñëa is open to everyone, and you can approach Kåñëa in any capacity-as Brahman, Paramätmä, or Bhagavän, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But it is up to you to relish which one is relishable for you. That is up to you. But Kåñëa is prepared to accept you in any way you like. So Brahman, Paramätmä and Bhagavän, they are the same one truth, but it is difference of realization. Just like you see one big mountain from a distant place. You'll see just like something, hazy cloud. If you go still further, you'll find something greenish. But if you go actually to the mountain, you'll find so many varieties. So many varieties. There are houses, there are trees, there are men, there are animals. Similarly, to the spiritual world. First of all, this material world becomes... Just like Lord Buddha, he did not say anything further than making this material world as void, çünyaväda. That is a fact. If you are... In the previous verse it has been stated, véta-räga-bhaya-krodhäù [Bg. 2.56]. If you are attached to these material varieties, then you cannot enter into the spiritual varieties, or in the spiritual world. Kåñëa is so kind. If you have got a pinch of desire to enjoy this material world, then you'll have to remain here as, either as Lord Brahmä or as a small ant, according to your karma. But when you completely become free from material attachment, then the spiritual world is... So when the Buddha philosophy says çünyaväda, nirväëa, nirväëa, it means the same thing, véta-räga, you have to become detached. You have to make this material enjoyment zero. The bhakti also says, bhakti formula, anyäbhiläñitä-çünyam: [Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu
anyäbhiläñitä-çünyaà yeñäà (tv) anta-gataà päpaà This is the process. So artificially, the Buddha philosophy or Çaìkara philosophy, they, artificially if you want to make it nirväëa, zero, that is not possible. Avyaktäsakta-cetasäm... Te..., kleço 'dhikataras teñäm avyaktäsakta-cetasäm [Bg. 12.5]. Avyakta means zero, impersonal. If you become attached to simply making zero, or impersonal, that is not possible. Because we are accustomed. We are... As living beings, we want varieties. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. We cannot remain in the zero position. You have got experience. Just like when you fly on the plane, after some hours, four, five hours, you become disgusted. You want to come down. Everyone has got this experience. Because the sky is zero, we cannot remain there more than four or five hours or six hours. We must come down. In the sea also. We have got all these experience. If you remain on the ocean for three, four days... Because it runs on. When I first went to America, I went by ship. So thirty-five days. So after four, five days, it was disgusting. As soon as we saw one island, then we became relieved. (Laughter) You see? So the çünyaväda philosophy will not give you happiness. After çünya, after making this çünya... Suppose you are passing through the sky, çünya, if you get another, if you go the moon planet or other planet, then you become happy. Then you become happy. But if you don't get any planet, then you have to come back again on this planet. Similarly, the çünyaväda philosophy will not make you happy unless you... Therefore in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam it is stated, ye 'nye 'ravindäkña vimukta-mäninas The meaning is that "My Lord, Aravindäkña..." Kåñëa is addressed... Because His eyes are just like the petals of lotus flower, He's called Aravinda, and Aravindäkña. Barhävataàsa, aravindäkña. So "My dear Aravindäkña, lotus-eyed Kåñëa, "Ye 'nye 'ravindäkña. "The persons who are thinking that they have become liberated, now they have become Näräyaëa..." Oh. Ye 'nye 'ravindäkña vimukta-mäninaù. They are thinking like that. Mäninaù means falsely thinking. Ye 'nye 'ravindäkña vimukta-mäninas tvayy asta-bhäväd... "They have no information of Your lotus feet or You. They do not accept Your personality." Tvayy asta-bhäväd aviçuddha-buddhayaù. "Their intelligence is not clear." Aviçuddha. It is still impure. Because they could not understand. The full knowledge is brahmeti bhagavän iti, brahmeti paramätmeti bhagavän iti. The three things one must know. That is full knowledge. But if you understand partially, either Brahman or Paramätmä... But if you understand Bhagavän... Kasmin tu bhagavo vijïäte sarvam idaà vijïätaà bhavati. This is Vedic injunction. If you understand Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you understand Brahman and Paramätmä. But if you simply understand Brahman or Paramätmä, you do not understand Kåñëa. Therefore it is said aviçuddha-buddhayaù, intelligence is not yet pure. Ye 'nye 'ravindäkña vimukta-mäninas tvayy asta-bhäväd aviçuddha-buddhayaù, äruhya kåcchreëa paraà padaà tataù [SB 10.2.32]. They, after undergoing severe penances and austerities, they approach the Brahman effulgence, param... Patanty adhaù. Again falls down. The same example. You may go very high. Just like nowadays, the attempt is being made. They are going to the moon planet or Venus planet. We do not know whether they are going or not, but we hear from the advertisement. So because they do not get any shelter, they come back. Äruhya kåcchreëa paraà padaà tataù patanty adhaù anädåta-yuñmad-aìghrayaù [SB 10.2.32]. Because they do not get any shelter, the shelter of lotus feet of Kåñëa, from this impersonal conception of philosophy, they again come to this material world. Therefore you'll find there are so many big, big swamis. First of all they give up this world. Brahma satyaà jagan mithyä. "This world is mithyä. Let us take to Brahman. Let us become Brahman." But after keeping in, some days in so-called Brahman, they again come back to open hospital, school. Because there they could not get anything. Therefore something must be done, profession. So open hospital and raise fund. That's all. So unless you get shelter on the lotus feet of Kåñëa, you'll be attracted by these material activities. But when you are attracted by the lotus feet of Kåñëa, then véta-räga-bhaya-çoka... Then, as we... Véta-räga-bhaya-krodhä man-mayä mäm upäçritäù [Bg. 4.10]. Mäm upäçritäù. When you take shelter at the lotus feet of Kåñëa, then you become véta-räga-bhaya-krodhäù [Bg. 2.56]. Otherwise, you'll be attacked by, attracted by this material world. So therefore, artificial çünyaväda philosophy, it may be, for the time being, necessity, çünyaväda... Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, çünyaväda philosophy, nirväëa philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy. Any philosophy except Kåñëa philosophy... Nothing is permanent. They are temporary. They have got temporary use. The real use is Kåñëa philosophy. Real use, Kåñëa philosophy. Sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekam... [Bg. 18.66]. So when there was... People may question that "Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Lord Kåñëa." Keçava dhåta-buddha-çaréra jaya jagadéça hare. "Then why he preached atheistic philosophy?" He preached, "There is no God." Çünyaväda. But there was necessity at that time. Why? That is explained by Jayadeva Gosvämé: nindasi yajïa-vidher ahaha çruti-jätaà At that time, people were killing animals like anything in the name of yajïa. In the Vedas there are prescriptions that in the yajïa a paçu can be, an animal can be slaughtered. In some yajïa, not all. Tämasika-yajïa. Anyway, Vedic injunction is there. So when Lord Buddha started this nonviolence, ahiàsä paramo dharmaù, the Vedic scholars approached him that "How you can prescribe this ahiàsä? There is already sanction in the Vedas, paçavo vadhäya såñöäù... How you can stop it?" So Lord Buddha said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Therefore he is considered as atheist. Anyone who doesn't care for Vedas, they are technically called as atheist. Veda nä mäniyä bauddha haila nästika. Nästika means atheist. Anyway... Then Çaìkaräcärya came. Çaìkaräcärya wanted... Because by the propagation of Lord Buddha, whole India became Buddhist. And Çaìkaräcärya wanted to establish Vedas again. So they were temporary necessities, for certain reason. Because people were addicted so much in violence, in killing the animals, therefore Buddha philosophy was needed. Again, this Buddha philosophy was driven out. The Çaìkara, impersonal philosophy was established. But again, the äcäryas, Rämänujäcärya, Madhväcärya and other Vaiñëava äcäryas.. . At last, Caitanya Mahäprabhu. They established that brahma satyam means brahmeti paramätmeti bhagavän iti çabdyate. Both, three, Absolute Truth. So these are the philosophical development. So Kåñëa is summarizing this philosophical development here in this one line, that mama vartmänuvartante manuñyäù pärtha sarvaçaù. Either you follow Buddha philosophy or Çaìkara philosophy or Vaiñëava philosophy, the ultimate goal is Kåñëa. Mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya [Bg. 7.7]. So you have to approach Kåñëa through these different types of philosophy. They are partial realization. Just like Brahman realization means eternity realization. Paramätmä realization means eternity and knowledge. And Bhagavän realization means eternity, knowledge and blissfulness. Sac-cid-änanda. Éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù [Bs. 5.1]. If you realize Kåñëa, then you realize simultaneously... Kasmin tu bhagavo vijïäte sarvam idaà vijïätaà bhavati. You realize Brahman, you realize Paramätmä, and you realize Bhagavän. That is our duty. Therefore Kåñëa says, bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. Because ultimately Kåñëa. Ahaà sarvasya prabhavo mattaù sarvaà pravartate, ahaà sarvasya.. [Bg. 10.8]. And Kåñëa says... Vedänta says also, janmädy asya yataù [SB 1.1.1]. Brahman, Paramätmä, they are expansion of Kåñëa. Kåñëa is the original. Mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya [Bg. 7.7]. This is the truth. Therefore Kåñëa says that either you follow the Brahman path or Paramätmä path, either as a jïäné or yogi or as a bhakta... Therefore Kåñëa says, mama vartmänuvartante manuñyäù pärtha... Anyone actually who is seeking after self-realization, there are three divisions. Either you have to realize as impersonal Brahman or as localized Paramätmä or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then automatically you realize impersonal Brahman and Paramätmä also. Just like if you have got one crore of rupees, then one hundred rupees, ten rupees or one thousand rupees or one lakh of rupees, they're all included, similarly, if you realize Kåñëa... Therefore Kåñëa says, bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. That everyone is trying to realize the Absolute Truth. Either in the shape of Brahman or Paramätmä or nullifying these material varieties, çünyaväda, they are trying to approach Kåñëa. So Kåñëa is so kind that He's giving direct opportunity, direct opportunity that "You can surrender unto Me, and I'll take charge of you." Sarva-dharmän parityajya mäm ekaà çaraëaà vraja, ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi [Bg. 18.66]. So why not take this opportunity. Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is to preach or to train people how to approach directly. It is possible. One may say that "If it is so difficult subject matter, how one can approach Kåñëa directly?" No. That is Kåñëa's grace. You can... Just like in a building, high building, there are two ways. The staircase is there and the lift is there. You can take either of them. If you go to the topmost flat step by step, you can go. But if... Why don't you take this opportunity of taking the lift and go immediately, within a minute? So Kåñëa consciousness is that. If you are actually serious to go to the spiritual world, take the bhakti-yoga process. Therefore Kåñëa is preaching personally bhakti-yoga. Mayy äsakta-manäù pärtha yogaà yuïjan mad-äçrayaù. So take opportunity of this Kåñëa consciousness movement. It is very, very easy. And anyone can take it. You have seen that our process, chanting, this process is accepted even by a small child. He also dancing, he's also chanting. Don't think that these things will go in vain. The small child who is dancing and chanting, it will be recorded in his history. Puïji-budha. Kåta-puëya-puïjäù. This is called ajïäta-sukåti. The center is open to give chance people to hear about Kåñëa, to chant about Kåñëa, to see Kåñëa, to take prasädam of Kåñëa. So we request, take advantage of these facilities and be fully Kåñëa conscious and make your life successful. Thank you very much. (end) |