19881031 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.19.18

The following is a lecture given by his Holiness Jayapataka Swami on October 31, 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia. The class begins with the reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8th Canto, Chapter 19, Text 18.

Jayapataka Swami: (Leads chanting of the verse with devotees repeat )

śrī-balir uvāca

aho brāhmaṇa-dāyāda
vācas te vṛddha-sammatāḥ
tvaṁ bālo bāliśa-matiḥ
svārthaṁ praty abudho yathā

(ŚB 8.19.18)

Translation: (Bali Mahārāja  said:) O son of a brāhmaṇa, Your instructions are as good as those of learned and elderly persons. Nonetheless, You are a boy, and Your intelligence is insufficient. Thus You are not very prudent in regard to Your self-interest.

Purport: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being full in Himself, actually has nothing to want for His self-interest. Lord Vāmanadeva, therefore, had not gone to Bali Mahārāja  for His own self-interest. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.29), bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram. The Lord is the proprietor of all planets, in both the material and spiritual worlds. Why should He be in want of land? Bali Mahārāja rightly said that Lord Vāmanadeva was not at all prudent in regard to His own personal interests. Lord Vāmanadeva had approached Bali not for His personal welfare but for the welfare of His devotees. Devotees sacrifice all personal interests to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and similarly the Supreme Lord, although having no personal interests, can do anything for the interests of His devotees. One who is full in himself has no personal interests.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta Swami purport to Text 18 Chapter 19 Canto 8.

Jayapataka Swami: So Vāmanadeva in the form of a dwarf boy approached Bali Mahārāja for charity. Bali Mahārāja  said, "All right. Whatever You want, You can have."

Then He said, "All I want...What is the use of asking more? If He asked for too much, that is not appropriate. One should take whatever he needs. All I want is, the steps of three paces of land that I can place off with My own feet. "

Since He was a small dwarf boy, it appeared that He could only place off maximum 4 to 5 or 6 feet: three yards of land. What could someone do with that small quantity of land? So Bali Mahārāja thought that, "This boy is not very intelligent; coming to such a very wealthy person like me who is the ruler of the whole universe, I can give so much wealth to this boy; so much land if He wants land. Why is He asking only for a small quantity of land, 3 steps?"

"My dear boy, obviously You are not very bright.”

Actually, Prabhupada said "If you go to a wealthy man, you should ask something appropriate from him." What is the use of going to a big multimillionaire and saying, "Please my dear sir, I want to ask you something.” He says, "Yes, what would you like?  "I'd like the cigarette ashes from your desk.” “What is the use of that? I can give you so much.” Like that, if you go to the Kṛṣṇa, you should ask appropriate charity, some people go to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and they say, "Give us our daily bread.”

In India, they have different forms of the Lord, in different expansions of His energies in the form of demigods. So people go to them at different junctures in their life. For instance, before the final exams in every high school and college, all the young boys and girls they line up to worship Mother Sarasvatī, the Goddess of learning, to get good grades in their exams. So that time everyone is busy thinking about, "Oh, I have to take the exams; let me get the blessing from the Goddess of learning“. Or young girls they worship the Lord Śiva in order to get a good husband. And we find that old ladies, married women they worship Kṛṣṇa on the Kaliya demon, a special murti of Kṛṣṇa dancing on the head of Kāliyā. And they pray that, "Although my husband is not a devotee, even though he is a demon, just like you delivered Kaliya, please deliver my husband”. (laughs) These are all the materialistic pious worship.

People don't know what is the actual thing to pray for. So they go and ask for some temporary thing. Just like the yogi who got the benediction of the touchstone from Sanātana Gosvāmī, but later he wanted to know the real valuable thing and then Sanātana Gosvāmī gave him the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. So when we go to someone who is powerful, we should ask something appropriate. We go all the way to Kṛṣṇa, we go to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is the use for asking some temporary thing? The idea is that you shouldn't go to the Supreme Person and ask something that again and again you have to keep going back. You should take what you need one time and that should be enough forever.

So Bali Mahārāja is presenting like that, “You're gonna come, You ask for a little bit now, and You’re gonna come back and ask for a little bit again; rather, I got enough to give. So ask one time whatever You need and then You don't have to come back again.” That was his idea. So when we go to Kṛṣṇa, we should ask Him for that thing which if we get it, we don't have any more need. Of course in the material world, no matter how much one has, he is not satisfied if he doesn't have controlled senses, because the senses will always want more.

Indradeva had to leave the heavenly planet for some time, and he gave the whole upper planetary system under the charge of another demigod, and although this demigod had that power of managing the entire upper planetary system which gave him control over all the planets in one sense, he was not satisfied; his senses became uncontrolled, he wanted to enjoy the wife of Indra also. But that he did not have the right to do. So he tried to cheat the wife of Indra by mystic power, taking the form of Indra and then trying to have illicit relation with Indra's wife. But then he got cursed. So even if we have the entire universe, if the senses are uncontrolled, we still won't be happy. We want more and more.

Actually, the purport is that if we go to the Supreme Lord and if we ask anything material that won't satisfy us. Although someone may think, "No, no, if I had million dollars, I would be satisfied." But there are many people who have million dollars. They think it is not enough: "I’ll buy a house for half a million, I'll buy a yacht for a quarter million, I only got enough left for a car and practically I'm broke. (laugh) I really need 5 million". And it does not end. Somebody is in charge of one country, wants to take over a little bit of the next country. To actually be satisfied then we should approach Kṛṣṇa and ask from Him that which will completely satisfy.

It is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: ekeha kuru-nandana– if someone is single pointed in devotional service and loving devotion, he is totally satisfied. But for those who are, their mind is one-pointed on that. For someone who has material desires bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca, his desires are multi-faceted, there are all types of desire. It is not that once you decide to enjoy material things, it's not that it is just one thing – it is everything; so many types of things. It is not that you just want a car, you need a color TV, you need a house, you need a little land , you need a swimming pool, you need a– it just goes on and there is never end, if the senses are uncontrolled. If the senses are controlled, well, then one can be satisfied even with the very simple bit.

But how does one control the senses? The senses are only able to be controlled if one is in pure devotional service. Because then, one is basically peaceful; so they can be satisfied with a small amount of material possessions. Sometimes person wants to simplify matters due to being little lazy, they want short-cut everything. They think they make a solution to some problem, but that solution creates another problem.

A little funny story how once there was a sage, and he was meditating on the side of a river, then he would bathe in his kaupīna, his loincloth. Then he wanted another loin-cloth because he don’t want staying wet, so he had two loin cloths. Then thought this is a trouble that I have to personally go and hang up my loincloth, if I had someone to help, then it would be a lot easier. So then he got a wife, so that the wife could hang up the loin cloth. But then the wife needed a house; then he had to work and get a house for the wife. And then the wife was hungry so that he had to get some land to grow some crops and they got a little goat or cow for milk. Like this, things started to expand. Pretty soon, he had the whole house, a little farm– everything and the children. The wife said I want to have children to help me, to maintain all these things. So in this way he became completely entangled. And then he finally thought, “all this is because I wanted an extra pair of kaupīna. (devotees laughing) It wasn’t worth it.” Then he went off and took sannyāsa. So the material solution is itself another problem.

In Hawaii they had the problem of rats, I think. So they decided to import mongooses to take care of the rats. But the scientist made a mix-up and they didn’t realize that the mongooses are day animals and rats are night animals. So the mongooses all the day, they never saw rats (devotees laugh), and the Hawaiian rats they came out at night, they never saw mongooses. So the rats grew and the mongooses grew. Then the mongooses needed some food. So they started eating you know no snakes there, they started to eat the chickens and other things. So then they had the mongoose problem. There was a suggestion that, bring some kind of leopards to kill the mongooses, but they thought that it might become another problem. So one solution, it makes another problem.

In the material life, we keep on making solutions. We made electricity so that we can make nuclear plant; then they have a nuclear plant, but then they don't know where to put the nuclear waste. So they trying to ask different states, "Would you allow us to put our nuclear waste in a dumping ground in your state?” Nobody wants to have nuclear dumping ground, because eventually those things break and then it causes nuclear problem. So this is going on. In the modern world, they keep making new solutions, but the solutions create another problem. We wanted to get around fast, so we have the automobile; but then the automobile required roads. Now we have the super highways. Then the highways - it is more people die in the highways than patriots in the whole 2nd world war. So the solution for getting around was automobile, but that's causing a lot of deaths. And even the car manufacturers say, "Well, we cannot neglect safety. But there is no solution for the accidents.” So like that you will find that always in the world, purely material solution just creates another problem. It just postpones the problem. The real solution has to be an integrated solution which includes the material, spiritual, all the aspects. Then it is an actual solution.

There was one house holder, and he said that he was having a problem. His house was just too crowded. He just had one little house, something like some of the little houses we have here – a little cottage. And he thought that, "This is not enough room! I have a wife and two children, and it's too crowded." He went to one sage and said, "What to do? I need a blessing on something. My house is too crowded. I have got one little house, one room, and a wife and two children and it's very crowded."

He said, "Alright. The solution is, bring the cow inside your house.” (devotees laughing)

So then he went, took the cow, brought it inside his house. But he realized, "This is even more difficult”.

He went back to the sage and said, "It is really crowded now. What to do ?"

The sage said, "Well, you take the goat and bring it inside your house.” 

He went and brought the goat inside the house. He said, "Oh, it is really crowded now."

 So he went back and he said, "This is supposed to be a solution but it is even worse.”

 "Well, then bring a tulasī plant inside."

He went and brought in a tulasī plant. Like this the sage keep saying bring more and more things inside the house. Finally the man is, "There is no room. I can't even move."

"Alright, take it all out again."

So he took it all out, the cow and the goat and the tulasī plant, and all the other things that he had taken inside. Then he came back and the sage said, "How is your house now?"

"Oh, so much room! (devotees laugh) It's very roomy.”

Because of our relative viewpoint, sometimes we think that, "Oh, the solution is we have to do this, we have to do that.” But because relative, from that position we think that this would be enough, when we get that position we need more and more. But actually in the same way, the sage did the reverse psychology. You think that this is not enough. All right, you make it more crowded, then afterwards you take all the animals out. "Oh, now I have some room."

Actually, if we have the proper perspective, even what we have is sufficient. If we get more, automatically we work and deal with it more without sacrificing our spiritual life, that's all right. Everyone has a particular destiny. Someone may be very wealthy or someone may not be. But by giving an honest day's work whatever the return is, one should be satisfied with that. That is the brahminical system. Not to sacrifice one's spiritual principles in order to just accumulate more and more, when one is never gonna be satisfied anyway.

Actually you will find that, just like people say, "Let me go out and do some independent business and I will give some donation to Kṛṣṇa in the future”. Just like they sacrifice their devotional service, sometimes they also sacrifice their spiritual practices–neglecting their japa chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, or neglecting morning programs. And they think, "Well I'll do this now and later on I will go." But then they get out of habit, they become spiritually weakened and they become susceptible to māyā. Certainly no circumstances is there anything worth sacrificing our spiritual life. We’re born in the world, we’re born in ignorance, we don't know who we are, we don't know that we are not this body, we think that we are the body. We grow up. Normally people like, stay for some time, produce some offspring, get little old, then gradually they die. They're dead. Again they take rebirth. In this way they go through birth, they go through disease, old age, death, again rebirth. And it is very difficult for anyone to figure out what is the real purpose of life.

The vast majority of people, they normally are just totally in ignorance; there is not much difference between them and the animals, except that they are a little more sophisticated. Animal sleeps on the ground and they sleep on the bed. In fact, in India some of the birds, I showed the devotees by gurukula that came to Māyāpur (they can confirm this) that how the birds are making on a little palm tree their special nests. They make their special nest with a long entrance so only that particular bird can go inside– crows and other enemy birds can't go inside. Inside the nest, they have a little apartment there. But because the way the nest is constructed, it is very dark inside, so what the bird does is, it takes some mud and clay puts it inside its house and it catches a lightning bug and sticks the head of the lightning bug inside the clay and the little rear end of the lightning bug goes on blinking for three four days. So that provides illumination(devotees laugh). Then not only that. They also build a little bungalow, little another nest - it has a stick at the bottom. And it's just for swinging. And the mother and the father bird they sit on that little swing and they are swinging back and forth in the warm weather. So the bird has so much intelligence, I mean to do all these things. It is not that even a bird does not have practical intelligence. Sometimes of course we say that human being is more sophisticated, but even then the animals, some of them have a certain degree of sophistication also. But as a general rule we can say, the human beings are more sophisticated that they have more choice and more different inventions. But it is simply a degree of complication, even the animals are quite practical, quite ingenious in different ways.

What is the big difference between the human being and the animal? The difference is that the human being can understand what is the purpose of life. But if you go to a normal human being in the material world who's conditioned, and say, "What is the purpose of life?” they don't have the slightest idea. “Make money? Be happy? Wander around? Listen to music? Die?” They don't have any clear idea. What if there is a overall scheme? Is there a grand purpose to life? Have we come with any higher purpose? They don't know. But a human being has the intelligence to know that there is the purpose to life, that we can be freed from the laws of the material world, we can realize the Supreme Personality Godhead, we can go back to the spiritual world in this life time. It is the real purpose of human life.

But instead people just imitate other people. They are born in a particular culture or particular materialistic religion, and they just continue to practise without ever considering that there's a higher purpose, even though all the religious texts say that there is a spiritual world, there is a kingdom of God, there is a higher place to go to; that the real happiness is the spiritual happiness; real love is love for God. So many different advices. But people in the material world they are conditioned, and they don't pay so much attention to these aspects. So in this way, they actually gradually day by day , their valuable human life is wasted, is spoiled. And again they take birth, and another conditioned birth.

So here in New Tālavana, we have the school to educate the children, so from five years of age they can start to understand what is the purpose of life. Prabhupāda wanted to have a group of brāhmaṇas, a group of spiritual teachers who could educate the world. And that's how the people become educated in the spiritual priority, then automatically the society could be organized through varṇāśrama. But first we require brāhmaṇas, persons who are dedicated to spiritual realization. Brāhmaṇa means that they have controlled senses, they realize that the real priority of life is to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, is to be God conscious. They can see that... This is like Prahlāda Mahārāja  said that, "The society at large they don't know na te viduh svārtha gatim hi viṣṇuṁ - They don't know that Viṣṇu, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real objective of life; that's the real purpose.” Instead they go on acting like animals in a sophisticated way. The difference is that the animal is not responsible, so the animal does not have to take the reactions for what it does. For whatever a human being does, he is responsible under the laws of karma. But the brāhmaṇa knows what are the laws of nature, knows how to be in harmony with nature, knows how to avoid those activities which will further entangle, and knows how to guide others to remain, to become free from the stringent laws of the material world. Just like a small child is locked up in the little play pan given by the parent. It is not actually free to go everywhere. Similarly, the conditioned soul is bound by so many stringent laws. They think they are free because of ignorance. A little baby in the play pan thinks that, "This is my domain, I can move here, I am totally free to pick up these little plastic toys, these little balls and…” Sometimes the ball goes outside the play pan, and they cry and the parent throws it back in and they very happy. This is the limit of the baby's ability to see the world.

Even big, so-called philosophers are not able to see beyond a very limited sphere in the modern world. They are only able to see matter, and only aspects of matter; not at all able to see the spirit or spiritual world, the anti-material world. And this is their limitation. So they want to play and manipulate with matter. So they invent nuclear weapons, so they invent different things. What is the practical value if it doesn't meet people closer to their spiritual emancipation, to their spiritual realization? Therefore, in spite of having so many new inventions people still not happy. Because people are living without controlled senses and harmony with nature, more and more horrible diseases are always coming. Before there wasn't so much tuberculosis or cancer, there wasn't any AIDS, now all these things are coming, one by one. This all due to the reactions of the laws of karma due to uncontrolled senses.

In spite of so-called material progress, are people really happier? It is a very essential question. This is the point that Prabhupāda made that people are not happier, because it is imbalanced. It's not properly balanced. We can use all these things in Kṛṣṇa's service, if we have the higher objective.  He said these are like so many zeros. We have to put the ‘1’ in front of it. By putting a 1, then it all has meaning. Without the 1, without the Supreme Absolute Truth, everything is simply zero. In the end, it all get perished.

Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees have the very great responsibility to practice what they preach, to live the lifestyle that brāhmaṇas should live, to teach by example to others. Lord Caitanya, He taught,  - One should teach others by his own example.” That's why He was very strict that someone was taking up a particular role and he didn't maintain that example, he did not appreciate that. Thus He became very heavy with Choṭā Haridāsa for not following strictly. Because Haridāsa Ṭhākura took the vow to chant everyday so many Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and he would never fail. Therefore, he was very dear to Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya therefore made him the ācārya of the holy name – nāmācārya, because he practically taught by his example how to properly chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Haridāsa Ṭhākura, although he was born in a Mohammedan family, he was considered the greatest of all the Vaiṣṇavas.

Once Advaita Gosvāmī was performing the ceremony for the departed soul of his father, called the śrāddha ceremony. It is customary that one offers a very big feast to Viṣṇu. And that feast prasādam is first offered to the brāhmaṇas present. And then it is offered to the departed soul of the deceased relative. So that by getting that spiritualized food stuff, in case that spirit soul has taken a lowly birth, or is stuck up in the subtle body as a ghost or something, they can be delivered, and would be able to go on and take the next birth. So after offering the whole pūjā and everything it was time to offer the mahā-prasādam to someone. So many 50 or 100 brāhmaṇas were present. So Advaita said, "I want to offer this to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, because he is a great Vaiṣṇava and therefore he is the greatest brāhmaṇa, greatest spiritual teacher.” But they objected. Some of them said, "Well, how can that be? He is not born a brāhmaṇa; he is not born in that particular role as a teacher. He was born, rather as a meat-eater, a mleccha, or yavana, a Mohammedan.” So Advaita Gosvāmī said, "No he is the purest of all the brāhmaṇas here. So, if you don't believe, according to the sastra brāhmaṇa simply by his breath, by mantra, he can ignite fire. So which of you brāhmaṇas can ignite fire and prove your brahminical tejas or potency?" Previously by mantra, various things could be performed like lighting fire. Today the brāhmaṇas are reduced in their potency. And materially they are not able to perform this type of mystic feats so easily. So Advaita offered a pile of wood before each of the brāhmaṇas and they were, Ssh..Shooooo! (making blowing noise) blowing and saying mantras, but no one could get the wood to ignite. In fact because of their offense to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, in the whole city of Śāntipura, nobody could light any fire. In those days they didn't have matches; so they would take flint and they would hit flint and steel or something, they'd hit it and throw the spark in a piece of cotton and they'd fan the cotton. And there was a whole thing just to start a fire. But nobody could start fire, nobody could cook any food, because they had offended Haridāsa Ṭhākura. So then finally, after all the brāhmaṇas tried no one could ignite the fire, Advaita Gosāñī brought the wood before Haridāsa Ṭhākura. And Haridāsa Ṭhākura chanted the mantra

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

and phuff! , lit on fire. Then everyone was quiet and Haridāsa Ṭhākura took the first prasādam, mahā-prasādam offered. Because one is strict to their vows, then they get all potency, they get all respect. So brāhmaṇas live by the standard of simple living. Their purpose is to teach others that one can get the real satisfaction, with the basic minimum of material facilities but by spiritual practice.

Actually, without spiritual practice, without the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, life is very dry, very empty. By trying to please the senses and the mind, there is a very limited kind of happiness that one gets. It's not that one does not feel happy, certainly there is happiness in the material world. But that happiness is very infinitesimal, it’s very limited. It's not enough to satisfy us. We have desires as big as the ocean, but the mind and senses are like very small containers, like small bottles. So you cannot fill the ocean of desire into a small bottle. This is because the senses are limited. The mind is bigger than the senses, but the spirit is even greater than the mind. So if we are spiritually satisfied, the mind and senses are automatically satisfied. But how can the senses gratify ultimately the mind? The mind has a much bigger desire. Just like we say that someone's eyes are bigger than the stomach. They may see a huge feast of prasādam.

Sometimes for Prabhupāda's Vyasa-puja in Māyāpur we cook 1,200 preparations. We fill up 20 or 30 tables 8ft long by 2 feet wide filled with preparations, whole half of this quarter of this room would be filled with offerings to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Even if you see that, if you think, "I'd like to take one of every preparation, you couldn't even take one tea-spoon of every preparation. There would be mountain of prasādam like that. Even sometimes someone will try to take a little pinch of each one just to respect, practically it's impossible– so many preparations. Someone may have a desire to enjoy, but there is a limit of how much the body can take. So, with this limited instrument that we have, it is not possible to actually satisfy all the aspirations of the mind. Somewhere, we have to put a limit.

Years ago in the 1960s, a big rock 'n' roll star was Janis Joplin. She was a person who wanted to really enjoy life to the maximum, but she ended up overdosing in drugs, we always want a little more, more and more and finally she overdosed. So, people are always overdosing in sense gratification. And overdosing produces disease. Because of uncontrolled desire, they done more and more and more, and eventually they get into various kinds of even perverse activities, and ultimately, they create some kind of imbalance in nature that causes diseases in the society.

When one through higher intelligence understands, "Ultimately, I am never going to be satisfied simply by this body. Therefore, let me realize the real spiritual satisfaction." That is that we can be satisfied spiritually, because Kṛṣṇa is much greater than ourselves, the soul. Therefore we can be satisfied by Kṛṣṇa. But the mind can never be satisfied by the body; nor can the mind satisfy the soul. But the soul can be satisfied by Kṛṣṇa, because we are part of Kṛṣṇa. So spiritually, as an eternal living entity, eternal soul, through the process of Kṛṣṇa conscious bhakti-yoga through meditation, through devotional service, through chanting we can be satisfied. In the past, so many great sages, so many great devotees, they all became satisfied.

Lord Caitanya explained, “bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī--sakali 'aśānta, kṛṣṇa-bhakta--niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta' - Those who desire liberation, sense gratification, or mystic powers, they are all ultimately not satisfied. They are all unpeaceful. Someone who is engaged in pure devotional service, who is a pure devotee, they are always satisfied, therefore they are peaceful.” They don't have any other separate desire. Because we are part of Kṛṣṇa, it is natural for us to serve Kṛṣṇa. The desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, to be with Kṛṣṇa, is not a foreign or extraneous kind of desire. It is a natural desire. Therefore one is very peaceful even in desiring. But any other type of desire leaves always one unfulfilled. And even when one achieves the object of desire, it is still not complete. Our complete situation is to be in connection with Kṛṣṇa.

The way that Viśvāmitra, the great sage, he was a kṣatriya, but he saw that the brāhmaṇas are more powerful, so he wanted to be a brāhmaṇa.  And he did tapasyā to become a brāhmaṇa, and he became a brāhmaṇa. And he thought that, "Viśvāmitra (Vaśiṣṭha) is more powerful than me. Rather Vaśiṣṭha. So I want to be a brāhmaṇa." So he became a… Whatever may be other reasons also, he became a brāhmaṇa. But then he was still less powerful than Vaśiṣṭha. Because Vaśiṣṭha was a more powerful brāhmaṇa. And like this Viśvāmitra he would go from one level to the next. So being a brāhmaṇa, he would get into a fight with another brāhmaṇa, and that brāhmaṇa's mystic power would be more, then he would get frustrated and would do more tapasyā, more austerities and more practice of yoga to get more mystic powers.

There are different types of yoga. There is mystic yoga, there is yoga of knowledge, and there is devotional yoga. Even the mystic yogīs they are always trying to get more and more power. Viśvāmitra that time… One śūdra came to him and said, "I want to go to Indraloka." And he said, "Alright. You can go to Indraloka." He could send him up to Indraloka by his mystic power. Just like Vāmanadeva is now on Indraloka with Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja conquered Indraloka. He conquered the entire planetary systems of the universe. So this Viśvāmitra sent… Many people like to go to the other planets, they see these, so many other planets, what's there? There are many wonderful planets in the universe. And some of these planets are much better than here. Here, it's not very nice at all. We're seventh grade planet. There are 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade planets, where people don't have any suffering to speak of, very little suffering, very opulent.

It's a 2nd grade planet, the śūdra wanted to go to Indraloka. The 1st grade is Satyaloka, it’s difficult to get there, but he wanted to go to Indraloka, the 2nd grade. So Viśvāmitra sends him up by his mystic power. Here is this ordinary laborer, he comes walking in, like steel worker or something you know. The śūdra walks in and here your Indra is there with complete opulent, everyone is all you know heavenly people and all of a sudden this guy comes in and then you know you can imagine someone coming in blue jean or something. When he brought in he wore a dhoti you know.

"What are you doing here?” "Viśvāmitra sent me here." "What!!! You don't have the qualification to come here. You get back.” Indra just kicks him off from his planet and sends him back down to earth. And Viśvāmitra sees this Harīṣcandra coming back down and he says, "What's going on? No. Get back up!” Viśvāmitra's mystic power is shhh pushing him up, and Indra's mystic power is pushing him down. Like this, Harīṣcandra is just floating in the outer space, he can't go up or down, because the two mystic powers are opposing. But Indra's mystic power is actually very… it is not due to his austerity, but due to his position and everything. So he has a greater reserve. So gradually, Viśvāmitra thought that he was getting depleted, that his mystic powers were running out. So he felt, "This is not going to… I am not going to be able to sustain this forever." So instead he used his mystic powers to create another Indraloka planet, planetary system, and he put Harīṣcandra there. "Alright, you can be in charge of there. Now you are happy?" He was quite happy; whether it was the original or duplicate, it was just as good.

But then Indra thought, "What's going on here? Now I've got a whole competitor planetary system. This is going to create a lot of disturbance in the universe. It’s like unnecessary.” So He went down to Viśvāmitra and said, "All right, look here. I'll make a deal. I will take your śūdra in my planetary system if you wind up your additional planetary system." He said, "Alright." He made the deal that took Harīṣcandra, that wiped out the śūdra, and wiped out the other planetary system.

But then Viśvāmitra he was all that you know… He didn't have any more mystic power left. It was just like his battery was run down. So he had to again do more and more austerity to build up his mystic power. Then Indra said, "Oh No!!! He is building up his mystic power. This is…” He offered a reward - “Is there any girl who could go down there and just stop this guy. Because if he gets his power, who knows what he's going to do next time.” So he got Menakā to go down there. And she had mystic ankle bells, which could break yogi's meditation. He is meditating now, but she just walked, chiiching, chiiching, chiiching… (Devotees laugh) His eyes were closed in meditation but he can hear the sound. Then you know next thing you know, he cracks one eye open and it's all over. She was so beautiful. So Śakuntala was born.

Then after that Viśvāmitra figured out what happened. He said, "I got cheated. This was a trick by Indra”. So then again went back into his meditation. Like this, he gradually then go step by step until finally he reached the you know a very exalted plane. But he was told, "Look at!  This process of mystic yoga, ultimately you can get to one point, but then you can't get beyond it. If you want to go beyond that, ultimately you have to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Then you can actually be totally transcendental. With mystic powers you have the ability to manipulate the material world by your own psychic spiritual potency, but to actually go beyond the material world, you have to become a pure devotee.”

“I waited all this time and I’m still not there in the top position.”

In this age of Kali, who has the force to do all these kinds of austerities and get mystic power? Some people do a little austerity to levitate, but they have to have a rubber cushion, because they get up about three inches and they get… they get so whatever affected by their levitation that they just suddenly break their meditation, boom, they plop down on the ground. So they break their bones; so they have to have like a rubber foam to stop their fall. In other words, it is not very effective, even if you go up 6 feet. What is there, this Viśvāmitra can create planets; he could go on any planet he wanted by his mystic power. But still he was not satisfied in the end.

So therefore the real solution of course is not to try to have mystic powers or… Today, the new-age group is looking into crystals, they want to read other people's minds, they are trying to do any little thing. It is all very very minute little mystic powers. Nothing compared to the great yogīs of the past. Rather than waste time in all these things, our time is very short, if we use life... And also the material scientist, they want to do the same thing in different way. They fly to other planets, but they use jets. This was a thing that Prabhupāda explained that one German scientist, when he was in India and studying and he said, "What you most impressed by?” He said, "I am most impressed by the pure devotion to Kṛṣṇa." He said, “Why is that? You are not impressed by the mystic powers of the great yogīs in India and their ability to levitate and to go to other planets and do great things?" He said, "No, because I see that by mystic powers, they want to be able to see something at a distance. Scientists want the same thing; we have do that by telescope. They can become very small, we do the same thing by microscope. They want to go to other places by their mystic powers, we do that by jets. So it's the same thing. It's simply that we do that by mechanical means, and they are doing it by the psychic means. But it is the same basic purpose. But I see that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is actually develop the eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, to go to the spiritual world. This is something beyond the material ability.”

So, Vāmanadeva, He came to Bali, asked for three steps of land. Bali said, "You're a little bit foolish, you could ask me for so much.” We come to the human form of life. We come to the association of the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. We can get different things from Kṛṣṇa, but if we go to Kṛṣṇa, you can get the greatest thing, and that is actually Kṛṣṇa Himself. First we have a desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, once we have a desire to know about Kṛṣṇa, know about the spiritual world, that is actually the most important thing. But māyā will always try to distract us with these other lesser benefits. So we have to be fixed in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness and not be distracted. Otherwise it is like the child who has a valuable thing, but he gets cheated by someone offering a lozenge, a sweetmeat for giving away the valuable thing. We have the valuable jewel of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in our hand, we can achieve love for Kṛṣṇa, we can achieve the spiritual world, we can help the living entities to come out of their ignorance, come out of their bewilderment that they're this material body and to be able to realize that that they are eternal living entities. All these abilities are there, but māyā will try to distract by various tricks. We should avoid that. We should go to Kṛṣṇa and ask Kṛṣṇa from the.. for the greatest blessing.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Any question?

If you are uncontrolled, if your senses are uncontrolled, you can't be materially satisfied. If you are spiritually satisfied, if your senses are controlled, then you can be materially satisfied with a very little bit. Happiness means to gratify the senses, then you can’t be materially satisfied. Because the senses always want more. Just like if there is a big feast, you may want to eat so much. Your belly has got a limited capacity. The Romans, they used to eat, and then they will take a feather and stick it into their throats and then vomit; and then again, they eat and vomit. Like that they will just, they wanted to go on eating. That means the desire, whether it is eating or whether it is sex, whatever, ultimately, the desire we have our body cannot even meet up with that desire. So if the senses are uncontrolled, then there is no satisfaction.

But if you are spiritually satisfied, then you can be materially satisfied with a very little. A devotee is satisfied with some prasādam, with the… regulated with the family. You can be satisfied with little, you don't need so much. But by being spiritually satisfied, you can be materially satisfied, because you are not attached to trying to unlimitedly enjoy the senses. You know that materially you just regulate yourself according to what is actually necessary for healthy, peaceful life, and your satisfaction is from the spiritual, materially you are content. But as soon as you think that I have to, whatever my senses want, I have to give that to them, then you become ‘Godāsa’, they become the slave of the senses.

And the senses they are always wanting something, something we don't have. It's like a little child, when they are three four years old, they want something: "Give me the moon father, I want the moon! Heyyy.. I want the moon! “Then how the father can give the moon to the child? He wants something that's impossible. Later, as they grow up, they know the moon he can't give me; maybe you can give me this. They start to be a little more realistic in terms of the material sphere. Just like we want things the senses are always demanding, but then we know, that's not possible, it's not possible. So by spiritual development, then we can see what is really needed, what do we need, how much food do we need, how much sleep do we need? Each person is different. But for an individual person, how much sex do they actually need just to be...? This is all given by the yoga process. What was the minimum, what is the basic norm that is sufficient for us to be materially peaceful if we are spiritually satisfied. Materially, we are always going to have demands as long as we have the body - the body has to eat, the body has to sleep etc., but how much? Therefore, the yogī is regulated. He regulates his material activity. Materially, he becomes content, because spiritually he is satisfied. The principle is spiritual satisfaction.

Devotee: So you say ____ (not clear)  if you have a million, that’s all you need. Somebody offered you another million, will you refuse that other million?

Jayapatākā Swami: If someone gets a million dollars, he takes what he needs for himself for his basic requirements. He would give the surplus to Kṛṣṇa or he would give a certain percentage based upon the advice of the ācāryas to Kṛṣṇa. And if someone gets another million he would do the same thing. We have the grandson of Henry Ford, Alfred Ford, Ambarish das. He has got many millions of dollars. Prabhupāda never told him to throw his money away. He said to him, "Go on investing it, and use this money for promoting Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” He just contributed million dollars to the temple I live back in Māyāpur to the building of memorial, finishing the memorial to Śrīla Prabhupāda that the Samādhī. If we get another million, we will use it for the same purpose. We want to build 30 to 50 million dollar temple in Māyāpur. So we’ve plenty of room for millions of dollars. (Devotees laugh)

But the point is that we don't want to use the money to increase our living standard. We are going to continue to eat the same kṛṣṇa-prasādam that we are eating now. If somebody gives a million dollars we will use it to build the facilities so that millions of people can come and stay and learn about Kṛṣṇa. We would like to build the Caitanya World. Like the Disney World, the Caitanya World, but there instead of Mickey Mouse and things, we would have Kṛṣṇa conscious theme parks, Kṛṣṇa conscious rides. Things that will give you like the world of time, world of karma, there are nine different worlds, I forget what all are. One of them is say, showing of the spiritual world, showing Vrindavana, Dvāraka, showing Ayodhya. And there, you can get blessed by big Hanuman, who would go around, play with the kids. (Devotees laugh)

So, we have plenty here on this project, that if someone gives a million dollars, just pay off some of the mortgages, so we don't have to pay so much interest to the bank. Build the memorial for Prabhupāda. Build the nice Gurukul school. Build nice facility so that people can come and stay. Maybe build also a special auditorium for multimedia and cinema shows, so people can come and see Kṛṣṇa conscious presentation. Even in the future we could have a theme park here, if we have enough money. Disney World is apparently only on 125 acres. So we've got plenty out there. But the devotees after a certain point, they don't need to complicate their life any more, they don't need to increase it anymore.

But if you are Henry Ford's grandson and if you have that particular, he lives in a good apartment. He has a nice car. He has, you know he flies probably first, I don’t know how he flies. But anyway, they have their particular, they give, there is a particular for people who get millions like that. Those… They do their particular devotional service guided under the guru, the guru advises them how they can use the money and not be entangled in māyā. We don't believe in throwing things away. For ourselves, we would refuse them, because we have so much work for Kṛṣṇa, we will accept and give it to Kṛṣṇa. For ourselves we take what we need, but for Kṛṣṇa we can accept unlimitedly.

Any other question?

Yeah, may be that someone, Prabhupāda explained that -  say a child is born in the family of a devotee because of their good karma, they get such a birth, sukṛti, it maybe that even in a few years, they are able to finish up the whatever balanced karma they have; so they don't need to live long to go back to Godhead. If they grow older, maybe they'll fall in māyā and they'll get new karmas, so they at that time by seeing a few āratīs, by taking some caraṇāmṛta, they already finished their business, they go back. Just like Śrīvāsa's son died when he was about 12 years old, Gopāla. And the wife was crying and "Why this is happening?" Everyone was crying, they were so upset. Of course then Lord Caitanya brought his son back to life, and the son spoke to them and told them how he had already gone on to a better place, and how he was taken by Kṛṣṇa, why they bring him back again, stop up his progress, and they were all shocked. But they were also satisfied that it was not like their son is back, he just  go on, eventually, he will grow up, he will get a job , get a house and go on, so it is like that . He's already gone into his next development. He was in this family for this period of time, he benefited by that then he went on. But of course Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura had the benefit of Lord Caitanya bringing his son back from death. And the mother, the wife of Śrīvasa and other relatives, after seeing that, they had no more question. They were completely satisfied . They said, “Alright, you can go on, sorry for calling you back, interfering your progress. We love you, you know.”

So we may not have that anyone to bring back children from death, become and have them speak like Chitraketu's son or like Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita's son. We can know philosophically what is the meaning of that. Māyā is always there giving her ideas. Kṛṣṇa's ideas are already there in the śāstra, they are from the guru. We have to take our intelligence from a spiritual basis, then we won't be affected; that is the test. Māyā is always there and Kṛṣṇa is always there, but the test is that in any circumstance, we have to take Kṛṣṇa and reject māyā. Whether its  māyā is offering sense gratification, or there is some apparent material misfortune that happens, we remain fixed in our devotional service, we have to do our duties. We are not the ultimate controller of our situations. So in any circumstances, we have to remain fixed and fulfilling our duty to Kṛṣṇa and the guru.  I don't know how to categorize exactly what is māyā's test and Kṛṣṇa's test. Every time māyā tests, Kṛṣṇa is watching. Māyā is offering sense gratification, that is our test. May be sometimes, Kṛṣṇa puts a devotee, takes away something from the devotee. Kṛṣṇa says this is His test. Sometimes He takes something away from the devotee, some material opulence or something, if the devotee is overly attached. Because it is an obstacle in the devotee's path. By doing that, then the devotee realizes that this is not so important, he realizes to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and not take shelter of these material objects. Kṛṣṇa says that this is not the greatest level of devotion. The greatest devotee is one who even though they have all kinds of material facilities and opulences that they are not falsely proud for that. They never waver in their devotional service, even though they have material facility.

Normally, we have little material facility... I had a disciple in South America, he was doing devotional service. He got an inheritance of 18 thousand dollars, which is down there is like a fortune. He left Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he just broke every principle conceivable, and did so many sinful activities until all his money ran out. Then he came back to the temple completely burnt out, wanted to again get a position, you know. It's a real kind of like a śūdra type of mentality. You get a little bit then you forget everything. It's like the person that works all month and then they get a pay check, they go off, first thing they do is they get, they buy, they get drunk. It shouldn't be like that. Here we have, we get a little bit of opportunity for sense gratification, whoopee you know forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You know.  And after that material situation is finished, then they get you know, "O I am suffering again, let's go back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That's a very lack of character, lower than the śūdra kind of mentality, even the śūdras don't do that.

Just like the government now, if you win a lottery they don't give it to you. One time just people waste it in so many things. Now they give it to you in 20-year installments, one year at a time. So like that we need to regulate ourselves. If we take it in one time, we will be get illusioned. But the mature devotee won't do something like that. Even if they get some material facility they realize, I'm not going to allow myself to get intoxicated by this, I'm going to use it for Kṛṣṇa properly. There are many devotees who are very strong. I know one devotee, his father offered a million dollars if he would stop being a devotee. But he refused. "If you stop being a devotee, I will put a million of dollars in the bank account and it's yours. You just have to leave Kṛṣṇa consciousness!"

Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was offered everything. He could be the ruler of the whole universe, he just had to accept to give up Kṛṣṇa and accept his father. He said, "I'll accept everything you say dad, but I can't accept you, because you are not the Supreme. How can I accept that you are the Supreme? You're not. Your power comes from Lord also, Kṛṣṇa also”. If someone wants to give for Kṛṣṇa, all right, we'll use it. We have to be mature enough not to use it for sense gratification; we don't want to use one cent for sense gratification. We only we want to do what is authorized. Otherwise, we get entangled in the material world. Therefore we only want to eat prasādam, we only want to do devotional service. With one anartha we can’t be able to practice our Kṛṣṇa consciousness peacefully. More than that, we don't need.

Not only a Vaiṣṇava supposed to be greater than a brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇas also have the same ethics. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was offered Prime Ministership of the entire empire of Candragupta. He was given a, offered a huge palace, big salary. He said, “I'll become your Prime Minister on the condition that I don’t want to stay in any palace, I won't take any salary. I want to live in a grass hut outside the palace compound. Instead of being an independent thinker I am going to be obliged to you. Only be a Prime Minister as long as I can keep my independent status. I am not dependent upon you. I am only doing it because I'm concerned about the welfare of your empire with all the millions of people living here, that they can be organized nicely for their progressive, material and spiritual development; otherwise I have no interest. I am very happy living in my grass hut and doing my religious practice, my spiritual practice, that was only 2000 years ago. Under the guidance of Cāṇakya Kauṭilya, Candragupta's empire covered the entire northern, southern Asia, the northern half of the Himalayas, the whole part bordered by the Himalayas. One of the last great kings, actually. That was the ethics by which a brāhmaṇa lived. Now they want the respect of a brāhmaṇa, with the opulence of the kṣatriya, the independence of vaiśya and the habits of the śūdra. [Devotees laugh]

When once a pure devotee fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa directly controls everything personally with that devotee. If one is not cent percent pure, up to whatever extent he is not pure devotee, and still have different desires, different attachments, different material conditionings, he is subject to the laws of karma, and he has to suffer a certain degree of reaction. Kṛṣṇa reduces that,  makes it a token, He may organize what comes before or after, but really the suffering of one endures is due to one’s own previous karma, although however reduced might be. So it has the sanction of Kṛṣṇa. Nothing happens without the sanction of Kṛṣṇa. But some may be of a different category, those things that happen due to our previous karmas are not sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, depending on how we react to those things, we can also continue to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There are some things which are directly done by Kṛṣṇa, which is not according to the karma. It is just directly His own desire. And then of course there is the normal conditioned soul, Kṛṣṇa allows the karma to go on mechanically and He normally doesn't interfere. He only interferes in regard to the devotees. So when someone surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, He takes charge of the karma and He applies it, but it's still one's own karma that one suffering or enjoying.

There is an one type of level of devotional service where the devotee is so completely surrendered to Kṛṣṇa that he doesn't even know what his body is doing. His body is taken over by Kṛṣṇa, he is completely absorbed in his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. There are some ācāryas like that. Although they are physically visible in this world, spiritually their consciousness is totally in the spiritual world. And the material body is just being directed by Kṛṣṇa, it is just like you walk without thinking. Their walking and doing things is just being handled by Kṛṣṇa. But everything they are doing is completely on the spiritual platform. So, they are not at all preoccupied with their body. That state we cannot imitate, but there is such a state.

Any other question?  Hare Kṛṣṇa!