19861212 Bhagavad-gītā 9.34

Lecture Code: 19861212

 

Scripture: Bhagavad Gita

Verse: 9.34

Date:  December 12, 1986

Place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Transcribed By: Bhagyavati Subhadra Devi Dasi

Transcribed On: 04 May, 2018

Edited By: Varuna Kumaran

Edited On: 23 May, 2018

 

 

 

STATUS: Complete

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

 

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya

naraṁ caiva narottamam

devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ

tato jayam udīrayet

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam

Paramānanda-mādhavam

śrī-caitanyam īśvaram

 

oṁ tat sat

 

Chapter 9 Verse 34, Bhagavad Gita As It Is

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: (leads chanting of the verse) (devotees repeat)

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto

mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru

mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam

ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

 

TRANSLATION:

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

Translation with repetition

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: (leads chanting of the translation) (devotees repeat)

Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.

PURPORT:

In this verse it is clearly indicated that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only means of being delivered from the clutches of this contaminated material world. Sometimes unscrupulous commentators distort the meaning of what is clearly stated here: that all devotional service should be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Unfortunately, unscrupulous commentators divert the mind of the reader to that which is not at all feasible. Such commentators do not know that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s mind and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not an ordinary human being; He is Absolute Truth. His body, His mind and He Himself are one and absolute. It is stated in the Kūrma Purāṇa, as it is quoted by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī in his Anubhāṣya comments on the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Fifth Chapter, Ādi-līlā, verse 41–48), deha-dehi-vibhedo ’yaṁ neśvare vidyate kvacit. This means that there is no difference in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, between Himself and His body. But because the commentators do not know this science of Kṛṣṇa, they hide Kṛṣṇa and divide His personality from His mind or from His body. Although this is sheer ignorance of the science of Kṛṣṇa, some men make profit out of misleading people.

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami:

 

So here Kṛṣṇa is speaking to His devotee Arjuna, but actually speaking to everyone. And He says if someone becomes His devotee, thinks of Him, offers obeisances to the Lord and worships the Lord in devotion, being completely absorbed in the Lord surely that person will go to the Lord, in the previous verses Kṛṣṇa reassures.

 

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya

ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ

striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās

te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

 

That what to speak of priests, kings, pious persons, or women, vaishyas, workers they can all achieve the Supreme destination by taking shelter in the Supreme Lord. This is the easiest method to achieve perfection, to achieve the goal of life is to take the shelter of the Lord. If we understand that this material world is like a very baked prison house and we are all prisoners in the material universe, we are not allowed to go freely. Of course this is not, what one would necessarily consider as a prison house, because the environment can sometimes be quite nice. This site in Malaysia: there are nice coconut trees and palm trees, nice weather. If someone would to say this is a prison, well! doesn’t seem all that bad. The thing is that if we want to leave this planet and go to another planet, it is very difficult. Actually we are tied down to this planet, but even if we take birth in another planet, then for that life time we are limited by whatever the conditions of that particular planet are. And if we want to leave the universe and go back to the kingdom of the Lord where there’s no birth or death or old age or disease, we are not allowed to do so, simply  by our effort, there is a way, that is to become the devotee of the Lord, to bow down to Him, to become absorbed in Him, to worship Him.

 

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto

mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru

 

Kṛṣṇa is saying this māṁ. Māṁ means I. When Kṛṣṇa is speaking I, He means Himself. If someone says when Kṛṣṇa is saying to surrender to the mind within Kṛṣṇa there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His self and His mind because He is absolute truth. He is the Supreme Lord who would come down from the spiritual world to this planet, to speak to all of us. I want to express my gratitude, not on my personal behalf but on the behalf of Srila Prabhupad and the spiritual masters of disciplic succession to all the greeting you all extended tonight. According to the Kṛṣṇa Conscious philosophy, the guru is like a mailman or postal (inaudible 8:17). He has to collect the mail and deliver to his proper destination and to deliver the mail without changing the contents of the letter. So in this way, I take that all the reception is actually meant for Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad and the other great spiritual masters and simply as a very humble representative, I have to accept even though I gave these once to actually worthy of such respect. Our purpose as human beings in this world is mainly expressed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu where as a human being especially one born in a planet of earth, where Kṛṣṇa and so many other great avatars and sages have appeared is to perfect our life, to know what is the real purpose of life.

 

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra

 

 

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared 500 years ago and we are celebrating His 500th anniversary this year. Not to give some new philosophy, He didn’t write any new books, He only wrote 8 verses. He told His followers to read the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, the Bhagavat Purana. He said that already the books have been given by Vyasa Deva, there’s no need to make a new movement with new books but rather to propagate the original movement in a very practical form that everyone can practice throughout the entire world. So this movement is not teaching anything different. The same Bhagavad Gita, the same Bhagavat Purana. Simply the message of chanting

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

 (devotees chant together)

 

that has been promoted because that is the specific process which is recommended in this age of Kali. The vedas describe that in each age there’s a Dharma, a Yuga Dharma.

 

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ

tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ

dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ

kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

Satya yuga was meditation, treta yuga was fire sacrifice, Dwapara yuga was temple worship ‘kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt’ and in this age of Kali it is Hari kirtan, the chanting of the holy names of Hari, of Kṛṣṇa, especially the mahā-mantra.

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

 (devotees chant together)

 

That mantra is given in the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad as a special remedy for the contamination of the age of the Kali.

 

iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanaṁ

nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate

 

It is not that the name is only powerful now in this age. The name is always powerful, in this age because it is an impious age, it is a time when people are more materialistic, we require stronger medicine to cure the materialistic forgetfulness we have of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For instance in the Satya yuga, there was one Brahman, one Priest son, Ajamila. He had a good training in his childhood, he had a good wife, he was a young man but somehow he was led astray, he left his wife and family and he lived with an other women of loose character and to support his new family, which was out of the social order, he had to become a thief and when he became a thief he became a dacoit, murdered people robbed people, he did so many sinful activities. Somehow, because of his previous up-bringing he named his son after God, after the Lord, so when he was dying he was calling his son whose name he gave Narayana, so he is calling out Narayan Narayan, come here, quick Narayan because he was dying. As he called Narayana, he died. Because he chanted the name of Narayana in a very enthusiastic, very intensive manner, immediately he was delivered from the cycle of birth and death. So that even one time if a person chants the Holy name properly, it can have unlimited effect.

 

Draupadi, when she was being attempt to disgrace her was being done by Dussasana, she called out on the name of Kṛṣṇa. Hey Kṛṣṇa, hey Kesava and by calling on Kṛṣṇa’s name, she was saved. Like this Narada Muni, as he travels through the universe He’s always chanting, so the name of Kṛṣṇa has got unlimited potency.

 

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis

 

This holy name has got unlimited potency so because in this age of Kali the present age we are in, we are more spiritually sick, we require a stronger medicine. It’s like for instance, if we go to the drug store, now all the medicines in a drug store may be good, all Dharmas are good but if we want to get cured of the material contamination of this age, then we need a very powerful medicine. That doesn’t mean when we say that chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, the most effective method that we are in anyway meaning to criticize in the other methods this is not at all our intention. We have all respect for all Dharma. But Dharma is like medicine, we have to see that a particular medicine has a particular strength. It’s like if a person has a very high fever and if he take a very light medicine it may not, it may not work. He may need some injection or some more powerful medicine. Just say one time there was a man he went to the drug store and he asked the pharmacist, the druggist, ‘kindly give me a good medicine.’ So he said, ‘what medicine you want?’, he said, ‘just give me a good one.’ He said, ‘they are all good, I don’t sell bad medicine.’ (devotees laughing) ‘Just give me one good medicine, I have come here, I have got the money, I got 25 Ringette, you give me a good medicine.’ ‘Listen! what medicine you want? Each medicine, one is for the skin, one is for the head, one is for the stomach, one is for the heart, what medicine do you want?’ ‘Don’t give me all this talk, just give me a good medicine,’ the customer again he is demanding. So finally they are going on like this talking, ‘give me medicine, I have.’ Finally the druggist became so angry and he said this is weird, crazy, ‘what do you want?’

 

So dharma is like that, they are all good but the point is that what is our particular situation. The disease of irreligion is that we forget who we are, we forget our loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa, with the Supreme Lord, we need to remember that. So different methods like meditation is very good, but it’s very hard to meditate in this age. If we meditate, there’s jets going overhead, there’s skies going by, there’s dogs barking, there’s children crying, there’s so many disturbances, how you all will finally meditate.

 

In india they try to do fire sacrifice in Tirupathi but they couldn’t get enough pure ghee, whole thing came up smoking, the brahmanas were not able to chant the mantras without making mistakes. So, they had to abandon the attempt even after spending crores of rupees there. In Dwapara yuga, the fabulous temple worship was performed, recently when I was in Nepal they are putting a new golden roof on the Pashupatinath temple of Lord Shiva, temple that the Pandavas and other great souls had visited. So, they had about 20 guards guarding the gold that they are putting on the roof of the temple. So, I met the Prime minister when I was there and he mentioned to me that 50 years ago they had put gold on the Pashupatinath temple that time also they had 20 guards, but that time they were guarding because, that time the Prime minister he wanted to finance the entire gold on the temple, he didn’t want anyone else’s gold to go in, so he had guards to see that no one else put their gold, he wanted all the punya himself. So but now the guards are not doing that, the guards are guarding that no one would take the gold (devotees laughing). Even though it’s meant for the service of the temple, that doesn’t mean that people were not trying to take it now. Things have degenerated, they have come down, so this is the difficulty. In some of the temples in South India, they have huge stock of beautiful jewellery for the deity, they don’t dare to take it out and put it on the deity because they fear that if the thieves don’t steal it, the pujaris might (devotees laughing). Because they worth so much money that even an honest pujari in this age he could go other way. So situation is very difficult, how could you do temple worship in the same way and people they are not having that clean consciousness, they are very busy they can not go to the temple everyday, as easily as in previous times. So Lord Chaitanya’s system was to make every home into a temple and let every family chant the names of Kṛṣṇa together, husband and wife, children, grandparents, grandchildren, everyone, they can all chant together this is the process of yoga, Dharma that all the generations, young and old, men and women, they can all participate. Simply singing the bhajan in kirtan

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

 (devotees chant together)

 

And so many other names of Kṛṣṇa, Ram and this way, any time, any place whether the person is in his home, whether they are riding in the bus, whether they're walking in the street, anyone can chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. Actually even if one accidently chants the name of Kṛṣṇa they get the benefit just like I saw many signs ‘Hari Christmas’ (devotees laughing) they are chanting also (devotees laughing) ‘Hari Christmas’ (devotees laughing) somehow or the other they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa (devotees laughing), whether we are knowingly or unknowingly chant,we get the benefit. The english word ‘charisma’ when a person who is got a very attractive personality, the charisma is coming from the word Kṛṣṇa, from Kṛṣṇa came charishma or charisma because Kṛṣṇa means the all attractive. Who is all attractive? But the Supreme Lord, He is attractive for everyone, He has everything. He has all power, He is Bhagavan, all beauty, all renunciation, all fame, all wealth, all knowledge. Someone may have one of these qualities or two or three, someone may be a PhD but he may not be very wealthy or someone may be wealthy but he may not be very beautiful. Or someone may be very beautiful like some movie star and also be attractive but he may not be very powerful. Like this they are different but it’s all relative. But Kṛṣṇa, He has all the power, all the beauty, all the fame, all the wealth, He is complete in all the opulences, and therefore He is all attractive for everyone. So if we simply allow ourselves, allow ourselves to think of Kṛṣṇa, to worship Kṛṣṇa, to be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa it’s not difficult, it’s very natural. It comes very naturally if we chant His name, if we read about of His qualities, hear about His qualities, associate with His devotees it’s very easy to become a devotee because by nature we are all devotees, originally. Everyone is devoted to something, some people are devoted to their country, some are devoted to some football or basketball or steel hockey or some sport, badminton, some people are devoted to their dog. In the morning, this morning, I saw one gentleman running his dog, so we are saying that instead of devotion to dog better to have devotion to God, same three letter are there D, O and G only reverse G, O and D. We have to give our love, our devotion, our service, our affection to something, why not give it to the greatest. By becoming a devotee of Kṛṣṇa the Kṛṣṇa He reciprocates. This is actually the greatest secret, this is the perfection of self-realization. There’s so many yogas, but different yogas require preparation, this is one yoga doesn’t require a lot of preparation, one can immediately practice without any preparation. One doesn’t even have to change their way of life. Simply as Kṛṣṇa said just think of me, become my devotee, worship me, respect me, you see instead of disrespecting the Lord we should respect Him, in spite of being devoted to other things, be devoted to Him.

 

What is the devotion? Devotion, if we hear about someone, if you think about someone, if you speak about someone or if you do some service for someone that is all devotion. Everyone is doing that all day, but they are talking about movie stars, sports players, political leaders, they’re talking about someone, hearing about someone, they’re thinking, they’re giving some service. So instead you give that to Kṛṣṇa or to His representative, His devotees. In this way there’s nothing unnatural, it’s very natural. So by doing that we become more and more absorbed in Kṛṣṇa then we go back to Kṛṣṇa. This is explained that one should therefore engage his mind in the eternal form the primeval form of Kṛṣṇa with conviction in his heart that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, he should engage himself in worship. There are hundreds of thousands of temples in India for the worship of Kṛṣṇa, and devotional service is practiced there. When such practice is made one has to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, one should lower his head before the deity and engage his mind, his body, his activities, everything. That will make one fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa without deviation, this will help one transfer to the Kṛṣṇa loka. One should not be deviated by unscrupulous commentators. One must engage in the nine different processes of devotional service beginning with hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service is the highest achievement of human society.

 

So just going on speaking, I like to hear your questions and we can talk about questions that you have. This Kṛṣṇa conscious movement was brought to Malaysia in 1971 by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, who probably said that people that drive motorcycles like that they might have a death race, they want to die. The movement was brought to the western countries and then to different parts of Asia because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had predicted that this message would be spread all over the world that the whole world would be united in Sanatana Dharma. So Srila Prabhupada took this up at the age of 70 years, with a great personal sacrifice and with great conviction, and practically single handedly he was able to bring the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement to every corner of the world, even including the communist countries, what to speak of other places. But his request was that people should try to understand his teachings that he had a great effort, he had written 90 books like this, not a sentimental practice, there’s a great philosophy behind it, it’s very scientific. Although the practice of chanting may seem to be mechanical but there’s a great science behind this chanting that certain mantras or vibrations are non-different from the Lord Himself that they contain unlimited power. It’s a mystery that is given in the Vedas and this is recognised by different religions all over the world that the name of God is all powerful. Lord Chaitanya, He thought that by constantly chanting the name of the Lord we can be in a constant state of association with the Lord and just as iron rod, if we put it in the fire gradually it becomes hotter and hotter and hotter until the iron itself becomes red hot just like fire. If we stay constantly in the association of Kṛṣṇa’s name, that will spiritualize us. Which means that we become free from all type of anxiety and suffering.

 

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā

na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu

mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

 

By the process of becoming brahma-bhūtaḥ or totally identified with the spirit, what does this mean?  In Bhagavad Gita explains that we are a body and a soul, and a mind, and the actual identity, we are actually the soul or the self, and the body and mind are superficial coverings. So there’s a difference between the Dehi and the Deha or the embodied and the body in the material world, but for Kṛṣṇa there is no difference, He is Sat-cit-ānanda vigrahaḥ

 

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

 

He is eternal blissful knowledge but ourself we were originally in that pure spiritual status but now we are fallen in this material world and we are covered by material body and mind which cause us unlimited sufferings and anxiety. But if once again we identify as a part of Kṛṣṇa, as a spiritual servitor of Kṛṣṇa we become blissful, we become happy, we become freed from anxiety. So anyone can put this to the test, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, follow the process and if you find you becoming happy, that you becoming freed from anxieties and sufferings then you’ll know that this process is working. There are any questions?

 

Kṛṣṇa is aware of everything that everyone is doing and he has to give his sanction but he automatically gives his sanction, He doesn’t normally get involved in the details of the material world, although He is conscious and He allows things to go on but He allows people to suffer and enjoy according to their karmas. In the 9th chapter 4th and 5th verse Kṛṣṇa explains

 

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ

jagad avyakta-mūrtinā

mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni

na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

 

‘mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni’ all the living entities are in me. ‘na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ’ but I am not amongst them. Then he further explains ‘na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni’ that the living entities although they are depending on me they’re also, not everything is not resting in me. Just like in the Isopanisad explains

 

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya

pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

 

That everything is perfect, coming from the supreme perfect ‘oṁ pūrṇam’ so many other units have come who are also pūrṇam, they’re also complete. So the material universe is a complete entity. And it’s going on according to the karmas and activities of different living entities. So Kṛṣṇa explains ‘bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho’ that although I am the origin of all the living entities ‘na ca bhūta-stho’ I am not part of this cosmic manifestation. So although Kṛṣṇa is the origin, it’s like someone has created a big factory but the factory is going on, once he starts it, it goes on. So similarly Kṛṣṇa, He starts the whole creation and it goes on according to His own laws. You see He explains in another part

 

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

 

That the whole creation is going on by His prakṛteḥ, His energy. He directly doesn’t involve himself. Of course He gives his, He is aware of what’s going on, He knows everything, but he doesn’t interfere. If somebody kills someone and then as a result in the next birth they get killed by the other person and these things are going on, so He lets people suffer and enjoy according to their desires and karma. But if somebody becomes devotee ‘man-manā bhava mad-bhakto’ if somebody surrenders to Him, then He takes the personal interest. Otherwise the activities are going on, He doesn’t take a personal interest, although He knows what’s going on He allows it to go on. He allows it to go on because people are acting in forgetfulness of Him, they’re acting in material karmic law, they have to take the reaction for whatever they are doing. Kṛṣṇa, He may decide how to give someone the reaction. Just as the Kurukshetra battle was organized so everyone could come at one time and all the people that needed to be destroyed could be destroyed in one time, that He may arrange. But He doesn’t have do that Himself, normally. He does that through His energies, His prakṛteḥ.

 

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

 

We think, we’re doing it

 

ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

 

We think, we’re doing it, being bewildered by ahaṅkāra, by false ego, this is actually a great mystery that how that, also He says ‘paśya me yogam aiśvaram’ see my mystic opulence, I create the whole universe, yet I am not in it. I create everything, yet I allow the living entities to have the independence, they can act as they want, but they have to take the reaction. Otherwise there’s no meaning to papa and punya, there’s no meaning to have sinful activity and pious activity if He is doing everything. Then why a person should be trained in all the shastras if he is a good person, don’t do evil things. If we have no choice, He’s doing everything then where’s the question of being taught to do good. Rather Kṛṣṇa has told to Arjuna that you have the choice

 

iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ

guhyād guhya-taraṁ mayā

vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa

yathecchasi tathā kuru

 

‘Yathecchasi’ yathā iccha tathā kuru, whatever is your desire, ‘yathā iccha’ whatever you wish, whatever you want to do ’tathā kuru’ you do that. In other word Kṛṣṇa explains the whole Gita, that He tells Arjuna, if you want to follow this it’s up to you, it’s your choice you can follow or not. So Arjuna being a devotee, actually being a pious person, being a very good soul, he followed. If we follow in the footsteps of Arjuna we’ll also be successful. We shouldn’t think that Kṛṣṇa is forcing us to do things that we should not do. Kṛṣṇa has given us a minute independence that we can use it or misuse it. But He’s also giving us knowledge how to use our independence to uplift our self. If we desire to go back to Him, He’ll bring us back to Him, if we desire to remain in the material world, under material conditioning then we’ll also remain here birth after birth after birth. Then we’ll be taken around by the different modes of material nature. Sometimes being born in the planets of demigods, sometimes in the earth, as a human being, sometimes in lower species of life. ‘yogam aiśvaram’ that how I am able to create, how I am resourced in everything yet I’m independent., and the things that are going on without my directly getting involved. Although I can stop everything at a moment, nothing can go on without my allowing it, yet I let it go on without getting involved, unless I want to. It goes on in its own way.

 

So this, many great sages they’re not able to understand the position of Kṛṣṇa, it’s very mysterious. But we can only understand from His own words. ‘Yantrārū’ yantra means His body, His body is a machine. We are situated in the machine. ‘hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati’, hṛd-deśe means that the heart, that this atma is situated in the heart of this machine made of material energy. So Kṛṣṇa had made these different machines and we are situated in the machine, and we’re going from one machine to the next machine to the next machine. ‘bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni’ all living entities are wandering from one body to the next.

 

dehino ’smin yathā dehe

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptir

dhīras tatra na muhyati

 

Just as we go from childhood to youth to old age then again we change the body so many times. In the time of death again we change the body. So in this way the living entities are wandering about these different machines. So we spend our whole life simply trying to make this machine comfortable. It’s a yantra. You take it to the hospital, the doctors are organic mechanics dealing with this organic machine, it has a pump, it has filters, it has pipelines, it has sensor system, nerves, so many other facets. Medical science doesn’t even know exactly how it’s working. They get some idea, they always find some new thing. So this is a wonderful machine, so this machine is actually meant as an opportunity for us to use it in the service of Kṛṣṇa and become liberated from this material world and go back to spiritual world, the kingdom of God which is lying beyond this material world. But if we take the machine and we try to enjoy simply with the senses that this machine is involved with, then we waste our valuable human energy. An animal can enjoy the senses, animal doesn’t have a developed intelligence, they also have a machine like body, but they don’t have a developed intelligence. Human being can understand that there’s a difference between the self and the body. Just as the Bhagavad Gita explains that this body is permeated by something. What is that? Anybody can understand that the body is permeated by consciousness. Just like there’s a sun in the solar system in the universe and from that sun the entire universe is given light, although it is situated in one place, so similarly the soul is situated in the heart but the consciousness, one is conscious of the whole body. So one show a simple experiment, if we just cut off the circulation to part of our body, cut the circulation for instance, here, it’s cut it off here. We cut it off what happens? after about 10 minutes there will be no feeling. So machine it has no, no sense in itself, the sense is coming from the soul, from the heart being spread to the blood stream, the consciousness is going to all the extremities. If you cut off the blood there’s no more feeling. The hand is not alive. The living symptom is there because the living soul, a living force is there in the body, if you take the living force from the body, the whole body is a dead machine. If you see an accident sometime we were driving from Penang to KL and we saw about 3- 4 motorcycle accidents and one frankly the person was dead on the road and it’s not the same, if you just see, there’s a dead body it’s not the same as the living body. It’s like any other piece of material, it’s not the same when the living force leaves the body then the body is, there is no more life, no more warmth, no more quality of consciousness. So we should know that the difference between the living force and the body which is a machine. That is being said ‘hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati’ that the soul is in the heart and soul is with supersoul.

 

bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni

yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

 

So this body is the machine made of the material energy and we are the soul or living force which is making this machine active so we can make the best use of this material existence by living a Kṛṣṇa conscious life, be happy in this life and then go back to the spiritual world in the next. Develop our spiritual attachment, transferring our consciousness from the temporary material life to the eternal spiritual life. He didn’t say that. He told Arjuna, if you fight and you are victorious you go to swarga, and you’ll be the king. If you fight and you die you go to swarga, to heaven because if a kshatriya dies in the battle he goes to surya loka. So if you don’t fight and you leave the battle, because your nature is a fighter, then your own nature will bring you back, it will make you feel very unhappy, you’ll be won’t be satisfied because your nature is to be a fighter, because Arjuna was a kshatriya, his whole life he has been trained to fight. He was a warrior, he was a general, he was a prince. So when his brothers would be, killed by the enemy, he could not stand there, but Kṛṣṇa knew his nature, different people have different natures, Kṛṣṇa doesn’t say to go against the nature. Rather He says ‘dharman hi dhirata samsidim labhyate param’ that if the person follows his own nature and uses his nature in the service of Kṛṣṇa, then he can achieve all perfection. Not that Arjuna was a warrior he had to a become a preacher (devotees laughing). He can remain a warrior for Kṛṣṇa. If someone is a businessman he can remain a businessman, if there’s a housewife she can remain a housewife, but simply add devotion. Add this ‘man-manā bhava mad-bhakti’ ‘mad-yājī’. So Kṛṣṇa, He told Arjuna all the alternatives and Kṛṣṇa was in, Arjuna was intelligent enough that he could pick out what was the right choice, like everybody else because ‘yathā iccha’ ‘ tathā kuru’ ‘yatheccha’ what is your desire you have to do. He told Arjuna, alright you don’t want to fight, then don’t fight, you do whatever you want, it’s your choice now, you heard everything. This is, I told you the whole absolute truth in a nutshell. So then Arjuna said, alright I'm gonna do whatever you said. Just like you may know your son, your son may say something oh no I am not going to get angry if you tell me something, but if you know that if I tell him he’ll get angry, ‘cause you know his nature. That doesn’t mean you are forcing him to get angry. Kṛṣṇa said, behold Arjuna, if you try to give up fighting since your whole life you were knowing nothing else but fighting you won’t be able to do it, this is all artificial, that doesn’t mean that Kṛṣṇa was saying that you don’t have to fight, but you like it or not I am telling you to fight, He didn’t say that, He said that you can do whatever you like. But if you don’t fight you’ll be miserable because it’s against your nature. And if you do fight then this is the result. But then Arjuna said I don’t want a kingdom, neither I want swarga, so why should I fight? I don’t want to kill all my brothers, my guru, grandfather Bhishma, how can I fight with them? So then Kṛṣṇa said, alright don’t fight for swarga, don’t fight for kingdom, you fight for me, without thinking of winning or losing as you fight as a devotional service for me, then I will take all the karma. And it becomes a nishkam karma, it becomes a work without any material reaction because you are doing it as a offering to but I’ll take all the results. Then Kṛṣṇa explains ‘mā phaleṣu kadācana’ you have the right to your work, you don’t have the right to fruit, you give me the fruit. You just do your work as a service and let me take the result, offer the result to me, that is karma yoga. So taking this topic of fighting Kṛṣṇa explain through Gyana yoga, Sankhya yoga, Karma yoga, different means He explains. He gave Arjuna that choice.

 

(aside:) Dandavats Hare Kṛṣṇa

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Any other question?

How to develop bhakti? bhakti is already within you

 

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema 'sādhya' kabhu naya

śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

 

You already have love for Kṛṣṇa within you, but now that love for Kṛṣṇa has been diverted at so many other things. So by hearing and chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa, by associating with devotees, by following Kṛṣṇa’s advice that we read today, being a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, bowing down to Kṛṣṇa, worshiping Kṛṣṇa, that natural love, devotion, bhakti for Kṛṣṇa which is already within you and everyone of you, that will automatically grow and come out. That you’re able to observe all these things, shows that your intelligence is expanding. Because generally we do spiritual practices is something like an elephant takes a bath. Elephant takes a bath by going in the water, scrubbing very well, then when the elephant goes out it picks up some dirt and throws on its back. Like that we go and do some puja, and we do some and, then we go out and we do some nonsense, so this is called ‘haathi snan’ or ‘hasti snan’. We’re going, taking the purification and going and throw dirt on our self, that’s our own misfortune. So therefore we need to mould our life in such a way that we don’t throw dirt on our self. Dirt is already there, dust is in the air. Just like, we walk in the street our clothes get dirty, no one has to throw dirt on our cloth, it gets dirty automatically because dirt is there. So what we do? We take the cloth and we wash it everyday, because everyday your cloth is getting dirty. For that reason you’d say what is the use? Everyday I am washing the cloth, again it’s getting dirty, so what I’m going back to square one everyday (devotees laughing), better I don’t wash my clothes (devotees laughing). So the point is like that, that our consciousness is originally pure, we gradually have to purify the consciousness, bring it back to the pure state, and we have to keep it pure by daily washing. What is that washing? That is not, this detergent, the washing is

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

(devotees chant together)

 

If you go on chanting ‘kīrtanīyah sadāharih’ this will protect your consciousness from all this pollution and then occasionally you come with many devotees and you have a big kirtan, dancing or some big festival like Rathayatra they recently had, this is the, gives a special wash. It’s like sometimes you just wash in water but sometime you want to take hot water and soap and give it a good wash (devotees laughing). So like that. In this way your spiritual creeper is compared to like a small seed, you get from the Guru and Kṛṣṇa the seed of bhakti in the heart, and that you water it, water is like the devotional service, the chanting and hearing, that makes the seed sprout and grow. So in the beginning we have to add more and more water as it grows, when it gets bigger and bigger, then we are able to appreciate the devotional service in a full way. So now you simply have to go on watering your creeper and let it grow. Need to be patient, it may take few days, weeks, months, years may be lives, that depends on you and Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. If you are very enthusiastic it can happen in one second, it can also take more time, but it will happen step by step you’re going to advance, you just have to stick to it. And if you see all the apparel time what you were and what you are, you’ll see that there’s a difference.

 

You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? Daily? That is the mahamantra for the Dwapara yuga, it is a very good mantra, but you’re about 5000 years too late (devotees laughing). It is a very good mantra. There was everyone was chanting that mantra in the previous yuga, and this yuga especially recommended is Hare Kṛṣṇa mahamantra. We also chant ‘Om namo bhagavate Vasudevaya’ we chanted today before the Bhagavatam, you probably noted. But for regular chanting any time, in any place the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahamantra is especially recommended. You could try that to see up there’s a difference. We’re told by veda through out this that this mantra is more effective than the previous ages’ mantras. Those mantras are also effective, no doubt, but there’s somehow this mantra is especially meant for this age. So therefore it’s more suitable for the present time. You might try that, see if you get more effect, more strength.

 

Other question? Any ladies have question? Mothers? How many of the persons present chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? How many are chanting, how many have taken the initiation or pre initiation, Kṛṣṇa seva, Prasada? How many are chanting on beads? You have beads for chanting?

 

So this chanting on beads is the, is the good system. Is that we use this kartal and with together drums and harmonium, this helps to engage the sense of touch. So when you’re alone then you can use the beads. The beads use the sense of touch, we chant we hear, the three senses together then you look at the picture of Kṛṣṇa, the Tulasi plant, this helps to focus the concentration and this way it is very easy to chant. So we recommend for individual chanting that you can get the beads or at least you can count the chanting. And try to keep a regular number of chanting everyday. This will give more and more spiritual strength.

 

How many of you are chanting? Counting the chanting? So this counting is a good system just like if you have two plants. One plant if you water everyday one cup of water, other plant some days you give water, someday you don’t, someday two cup, three days no water irregularly because there’s no measurement given, so which plant grows better? Normally the one with regular care will grow better. So like that our spiritual creeper grows very nicely if you give regularly some spiritual water. That is the regular chanting. So for this purpose counting, how many times you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa is an aim, is recommended. So we have programs for people who can chant half an hour a day, there’s a program for them for those who can chant an hour a day, for those who can chant even 10 minutes in a day. There’s all different types of programs. How many of you like this process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? How many of you don’t like it? (devotees laughing) How many like it? So Lord Chaitanya He gave us this very simple process for any of you like to, He requested everyone just

try, you can. Even if you chant other mantras, you’re doing other things but everyone should try to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa also. You don’t need anything else but at least you should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, because that's the special mantra mentioned for this age. So any of you are chanting or would like to chant in the future, following Lord Chaitanya's system then we give out this free card which has mantras in the back Hare Kṛṣṇa as well as Lord Chaitanya’s name. If you chant Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s name before Hare Kṛṣṇa this will give you more strength. And if you like also,while we are taking and serving prasad, I can sign if someone likes. So if there is anyone that once the card he’s going to be chanting at least hundred eight times, so 10 minutes a day, you can chant 10 or 7 minutes a day Hare Kṛṣṇa, you can, we present you with this card, part of the sacred order of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Is anyone who like the card? Stand up. Anyway chanting will help but the process once you chant, and hear. If one chants and hears then that has the effect. Mechanically chanting and not hearing will not have as much effect. But even mechanical chanting occasionally one will be hearing it. So that’s better than not chanting at all. So we recommend that once you’re not mechanically chant but you chant and hear. If you hear the vibration we don’t consider it to be mechanical. Even though one may be repeating it.

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

 

If you’re hearing it, it has the different effect. They’ll appear mechanical. It’s not mechanical, it is actually, had some effect on the consciousness. But we shouldn’t be like prepared that just we are going to repeat it, we’re not hearing it. We should hear the mantra. It’s called ‘śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ’ hearing and chanting. Thank You for you point, good point. We would also request that, fill out the what’s just name and the address on the card. If you can pull that out and turn it in. So that way we know who’s chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa so we can put you on, send you any invitations for any functions that come up, we can send you from the head office. So now you could distribute prasad. Those who took the card we appreciate if you just put your name and the address in a  proper place. On the back there’s a questionnaire which is optional. If it’s anything that's applicable you can, you can put the tick mark wherever place it said I want to have bhajans like this in my house you just put the tick there, or says I’m a vegetarian, I want be a vegetarian in the future, that’s interesting process to know, if somebody wants to be a vegetarian maybe we’ll send someone who can teach them how to cook different vegetarian preparations or something or if they want, so just, these are just optional information. One doesn’t have to be a vegetarian to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa but it helps. It’s recommended but it’s not a prerequisite, you should chant anyway that will help you to improve your life.