19891129 Bhagavad-gītā 6.36

The following is a Gurukula lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharājā on November 29^th, 1989 in Śrī Māyāpur, India. The class begins from a reading from the Bhagavad-gītā, 6.36.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurum dīna-tāranam
paramānanda mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram

asaṁyatātmanā yogo
duṣprāpa iti me matiḥ
vaśyātmanā tu yatatā
śakyo ’vāptum upāyataḥ

asaṁyata — unbridled; ātmanā — by the mind; yogaḥ — self-realization; duṣprāpaḥ — difficult to obtain; iti — thus; me — My; matiḥ — opinion; vaśya — controlled; ātmanā — by the mind; tu — but; yatatā — while endeavoring; śakyaḥ — practical; avāptum — to achieve; upāyataḥ — by appropriate means.

Translation (by His Divine Grace Śrīla AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda):   For anyone whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means is assured of success. That is My opinion.

*repetition*

Purport (by Śrīla Prabhupāda): The Supreme Personality of Godhead declares that one who does not accept the proper treatment to detach the mind from material engagement can hardly achieve success in self-realization. Trying to practice yoga while engaging the mind in material enjoyment is like trying to ignite a fire while pouring water on it. Yoga practice without mental control is a waste of time. Such a show of yoga may be materially lucrative, but it is useless as far as spiritual realization is concerned. Therefore, one must control the mind by engaging it constantly in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Unless one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he cannot steadily control the mind. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person easily achieves the result of yoga practice without separate endeavor, but a yoga practitioner cannot achieve success without becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious.  [Surrender-Unto-Me]

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda's translation and purport text 36, chapter 6 Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Dhyāna-yoga

*Gurudeva reads translation*

Jayapatākā Swami: So Arjuna was expressing how difficult it was to control the mind, and then Kṛṣṇa has replied that although it’s difficult, it’s possible by practice and engagement. Then He gives His opinion that there is really no alternative to controlling the mind. Because if someone’s mind is uncontrolled, unbridled. Bridle, you know what a bridle is? I don't know if you know what bridle is. On a horse, the piece of steel which is put in the mouth. That is called a ‘bit’, between the teeth. And in that bit, there is two ropes. Those ropes in the are what the rider controls the horse with, it’s called the bridle. So you drive the horse with the bridle. You can imagine if you don't have a bridle, then the horse can go anywhere he wants. It’s like a boat without a rudder or a horse without a bridle. So the word unbridled mind means that there's no control of the mind. There's no means to control the mind. Controlling the mind, just like controlling a horse, is done with a bridle. Controlling a boat is done with a rudder. So how does one control the mind? That is done by the practice of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. By using our mind for Kṛṣṇa Conscious works, in Kṛṣṇa's service, that controls the mind. If you don't use the mind in Kṛṣṇa's service, the mind will think of so many other things to do, and then the mind becomes uncontrolled. But actually the mind is being controlled by māyā, by the modes of nature. Let's go do this nonsense, let's go do that nonsense, and this the way the mind can think so many nonsense things to do. So we control the mind by engaging the mind in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. If we don't then Kṛṣṇa is saying that for the unbridled mind self-realization is difficult work. Being Kṛṣṇa Conscious, becoming a real yogī and realizing Kṛṣṇa, the self, is very difficult work if we don't control the mind. But Kṛṣṇa says, he whose mind is controlled and who strives by appropriate means, is assured of success.

So when we are born and we are little child, little baby, then the mind is totally unbridled. And there's not much hope for bridling it, for controlling it, because a little baby doesn't understand much. Few basic things are taught. Just like a dog. In the western countries, the westerners love to have pet dog. So but the dog is passing stool inside the house. So dogs are dirty. In Vedic tradition, the dog should not come inside the house, dog should stay outside. But in western tradition they say ‘Dog is man’s best friend’, and they bring the dog inside the house. So then what they do when the dog passes stool in the house? They take the dog and then stick the nose of the dog in the poop, in the stool, and they spank the dog, and then they make the dog go outside and pass. And eventually dog knows that, ‘I have to go outside and pass, otherwise they gonna have my nose put in the stool, and I am gonna get beat in the rear.” (laughter) So this much they can figure out after two three times. Then they start to bark and the master lets them go outside.

So like this, little babies, their mother teaches, “When you have to go to the bathroom, you tell me. Otherwise I'm going to give you.” And then gradually they say, “Mummy I have to go.” Then the mother takes them and they go to the bathroom. Very basic. You cannot call that mental control. That is just like basic. But the difference is that animal can only go up to the basic, it cannot go beyond. But as the human being grows, the capacity to control the mind grows. When that child becomes 5 years old, they can enter into gurukula. And in gurukula they learn how to control the mind by applying the mind in studies, in organized classes, in organized recreation and learning how to sing bhajanas, how to learn mantras and so many things. So gradually, more and more, they learn how to control the mind by engaging in different practical works and learning how to do devotional service. So then eventually, they can be fully in control of their mind and then they become perfect yogīs. They can be perfect Kṛṣṇa Conscious persons.

So in material life, people think that freedom means to let the mind think whatever it wants. If it feels good, do it. This is one of the sayings in the West, ‘If feels good do it’. But in Bhagavad-gītā we know what may look good in the beginning is in the mode of passion, and in the end it will produce suffering. So we don’t do what looks good, we do what we know Kṛṣṇa wants us to do, what the guru wants us to do. Even something Kṛṣṇa Conscious may appear difficult in the beginning, but in the end it’s nectar and sweet. This is the nature of mode of goodness. So by the process of devotional service, the gurukula children they learn how to control the mind, and that for them achieving self-realization is assured, as long as they strive by the appropriate means. Striving means trying continuously with determination and effort. To strive for something means to try very hard to achieve that. All of the great ācāryas, they had to face difficulties when trying to preach Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

How Śrīla Prabhupāda, when he wanted to go to America, he had to face so many problems. First just to get a passport was very difficult. Then when he got the passport, then to get the means of going to America… he couldn’t get anyone to pay airplane ticket, so he had to go by ship. You don’t hear anybody going by ship, by cargo ship. It’s a very difficult, long journey. Now many of the foreign devotees, they will come from Europe or Australia, America here in gurukula, they can fly from Europe in about seven eight hours to India. From Australia may be the same. America is about 17 hours. But Prabhupāda was in the ship about 45 or 60 days! One and half to two months. Many many weeks. And even in the ship he had to suffer a heart attack. So then he had to simply depend on Kṛṣṇa. He’s is the sea where there’s no expert hospital or anything. He just depended on Kṛṣṇa. So the great ācāryas, they had to overcome lot of difficulties. We find in the life of Rāmānujācārya how he had to practically hide himself from certain aggressive kings who were against him. How Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was being prosecuted by the Chand Kazi. Of course later he revolted against that and established the right for the saṅkīrtana movement to be spread. But in this way, whenever we try to do something to spread Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, it’s not unlikely that some type of demoniac force may try to obstruct. But by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, we can cross over all those difficulties. Just as Lord Caitanya said to His followers that, “Nothing can stop my saṅkīrtana movement. You go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Never mind the Chand Kazis threat.” I saw a beautiful drama here by the gurukula of this pastime where the Chand Kazi was frightened because of Nṛsiṁhadeva coming and giving him a heavy lesson. And I think the gurukula performed the drama, right? It was quite nice! So this way, it’s ordinarily very difficult to control the mind. But it can be done if we just follow this authorized path of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

Now when someone’s in the eternal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya Mahāprabhu, their minds are automatically controlled. For instance mother Śacī, when she would see her son Caitanya Mahāprabhu, she is feeling great love. Actually this love is not material affection, but she was feeling love of Kṛṣṇa because she was so fortunate to have Kṛṣṇa Caitanya as her son. So for those eternal devotees who are within the Lord’s pastimes, they’re automatically doing everything in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. They don’t have to follow what we are doing as sādhana-bhakti, because already they are on the perfectional platform. But in order to get that type of blessing, to be able to serve Kṛṣṇa, we need to develop our desire to be with Kṛṣṇa, to develop our desire to serve Kṛṣṇa. That desire is within us. We have to uncover it. And that happens by the regulated practice of devotional service. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was so merciful to come down and display His pastimes. But when He first came, that time He was not revealing to anyone that He was Kṛṣṇa. In fact, the older people of Navadvīpa, the older Vaiṣṇavas like Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and Murāri Gupta and others, they would admire Nimāi Paṇḍita. Lord Caitanya was first known as Nimāi Paṇḍita, that He’s such a great scholar, He has so many wonderful qualities, if only He would become a pure Vaiṣṇava. Of course every day Lord Caitanya would worship His śālagrāma-śilā in His house. He would offer all His food to Kṛṣṇa. But apart from that, He would go to the school and He would teach school. And He had many students, and He would be engaging in many arguments.

So Mukunda Datta, He was also student at that time. But the other students who weren’t with Nimāi Paṇḍita, weren’t with Caitanya's classes, they would try to escape from being seen by Nimāi Paṇḍita. Because He was so great a debater that He would defeat anyone. So even the big older, that time He was only about 14 years old, 15 years old, but he was already a professor. When some 30, 40, 50-year-old brāhmaṇa-paṇḍita would see Caitanya Mahāprabhu coming as Nimāi Paṇḍita, they’d run and hide. Because He’d come and ask, “Oh paṇḍita, I wanted to ask you a question.” And when He would say that, they knew they were in trouble. He would ask such a question, that whatever they said, He would defeat them. Asking them a question was just a setup. He would ask a question. Whatever answer they gave, then He would find a defect in their answer. So they became afraid. So they’d run and hide. Except the Vaiṣṇavas, because they weren’t into this false trying to put themself as a big paṇḍita. They didn't have anything to fear from the Nimāi Paṇḍita. So when He would meet Śrīvāsa prabhu, Śrīvāsa would give Him blessing that, “Why don't you give up all these argumentation and just take to the pure Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

And Nimāi Paṇḍita would touch His feet and say, “Bless me that I can find a bona fide guru. Because I haven't found a guru yet, so therefore how can I take all this up seriously? In the future I'll take initiation and that time I'll do it. Now I haven't found a guru so…” He gave them some hope. He took some blessing, but then He went on with His own business.

So one day He was walking with His student friends, and then out of one house came Mukunda Datta, just maybe that other side of the āśrama. He looked, “Oh no! Nimāi Paṇḍita!” He immediately turned the other way and started walking away fast. Nimai Paṇḍita spotted him, 'Arey! Mukunda Datta! Kōthāya jāccho?’ (laughing) Where are you going. Come here! We haven’t seen you for so long.” So then he got caught.

He said, “Oh Nimāi Paṇḍita, I didn’t see you. (laughing) Fancy meeting you here.”

So then Nimāi Paṇḍita is saying, “Well how come we’re not seeing you? You’re not coming anymore to class.”

“No now I am studying poetry. You are teaching grammar, vyākaraṇa. So now I’ve gone to the higher study of kavitā, Sanskrit poetry, so I don’t need anymore of this grammatical study.”

“Oh really?”, Nimāi Paṇḍita said. “Well We also know something about poetry. (laughing) But We’d like to learn something from you. You please compose some poetry for us so we can learn?”

Then Mukunda datta, “Oh no, now I’m really in a soup. Now I’m in big trouble.” But he was in fired up mood so he composed some poetry.

Then Lord Caitanya said, “Oh this is nice poetry so could you tell me the good points and the defects in it?”

So actually nobody thinks of his defects. Even Keśava Kaśmīrī got smashed by Lord Caitanya, what to speak of Mukunda Datta. So then Nimāi Paṇḍita proceeded to tear apart his poetry and show the good and bad points, and then he also showed some poetic composition. So He said, “We know something about poetry. Why do you want to study elsewhere?”

So then Mukunda Datta, He surrendered. He said, “Alright, so I’ll come back and study under you.”

Actually these certain devotees like Mukunda Datta, eternal devotee, when they would see Nimāi Paṇḍita, they’d feel something. Their mind was feeling fearful, their heart was feeling attracted. Because they were having a spontaneous attraction for Kṛṣṇa. But because Nimāi Paṇḍita was playing like a aggressive kind of professor, mentally they would have other emotions. So it’s very confusing for them. Of course, eventually when Nimāi Paṇḍita went to perform the śrāddha ceremony for His father at Gayā, then He worshipped the lotus feet of Viṣṇu, and He at that time met again Īśvara Purī, and that time He got initiated by Īśvara Purī. And from that time on, He started to just totally manifest pure love of Kṛṣṇa, tears of love of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa-prema, were coming from His eyes. He’s constantly chanting:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Then He came back, and everyone could see the change in Him. Now he was always talking about Kṛṣṇa, chanting Kṛṣṇa. So that time He had so many students. The students became worried that what happened to our Nimāi Paṇḍita? He used to be very scholastic, academic. Now it’s so much bhakti. So they went to his teacher, Gaṅgā Dāsa Paṇḍita, and they complained that something happened to Nimāi Paṇḍita. He’s giving up His brahminical tendency and becoming very devotional. He’s not anymore challenging people, He’s not arguing anymore, He’s not getting into these big fights over the different nyāya-śāstras. So we think something's gone wrong with Him. So Gaṅgā Dāsa came to see Nimāi Paṇḍita and said, “What’s happened? I heard that you’re not following the brahminical trait anymore? You’re not able to defeat someone in argument, in debate?”

“Who said? Let anyone come! I challenge anyone, let them come. Let the first person come, I’ll defeat that person. Whatever he says, I’ll defeat it. Then again I’ll prove that whatever I defeated, that is also correct. (laughing) Then again I’ll defeat that.”

So then they thought, “Aha! It’s the Nimāi Paṇḍita we know.” (laughing).

So then Lord Caitanya went out to the street side waiting, who’s going to come. All the students are there. Some brother of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, some devotee is going by chanting. He was singing the song, some bhajana about Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa-līlā, that how Pūtanā the witch came to kill Kṛṣṇa by putting poison on her breasts, but Kṛṣṇa was so merciful that He delivered Pūtanā and made her His mother in the spiritual world. Like this, as soon as Lord Caitanya heard the bhajana about Kṛṣṇa, everyone could see His mind became fixed. And he just, as the bhajana is going on, He became more and more ecstatic  until finally He started to just cry out, “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!” and He fell to the ground and was weeping in ecstasy. He’s turning around, rolling this side and that side. “Oh no!”, the students thought, “What has happened?” So then after Lord Caitanya came out of the ecstasy, and all the students were really confused what happened to our teacher. Instead of becoming very hard professor and how He has become so devotional. Someone sings a bhajana and He goes rolling in the ground in ecstacy. So He (Lord Caitanya) called and said, “You all come with Me.” They took Him by the side of the Ganges somewhere here and then He just told them that, “I have to tell you something. After going to Gayā I got initiated by Īśvara Purī, Śrīpāda Īśvara Purī, and I realized that there’s nothing but Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is everything, and He’s the Summum Bonum, He’s the object of all transcendental knowledge. So now whatever I teach, I cannot teach something which is unrelated to Kṛṣṇa. If you want just that same kind of dry, materialistic, academic knowledge, I won’t be able to give it anymore. Whatever knowledge I give will have to lead you to the Absolute Truth. So I’m very sorry. I really appreciate, you were very good students. But I now realize the purpose of life and I cannot just go on preaching without bringing it to the ultimate goal. Please don’t mind. If you want to leave, you’re free to go and take other teachers. This is the situation.”

“We are your students! You’ve been teaching us the best education. Now you’re saying you realize that there are Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa and you’re going to be engaging in the saṅkīrtana movement, you’re going to be teaching about the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa. Well, if you have the greatest thing, then we want to learn that from you. But you never taught us that before. So, you shouldn’t blame us, because you didn’t teach us. Now if you’re going to teach us, we’re quite ready to learn. We don’t want to go and find some other teacher. You are the best teacher, and if You realize this is the highest truth, then we want to learn that from you. But You have to teach us, because we don’t know how to do this kīrtana and everything.”

So then Lord Caitanya brought so many Vaiṣṇavas there and He taught them all how to do Harināma and they all start to chant,

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

*Gurudeva leads some ecstatic kīrtana*

So this is the way to control the mind. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy. So you’re all very fortunate to be in a gurukula, Bhaktivedanta Academy to learn to become yogīs at the most opportune time when one is still young. To avoid engaging in all type of materialistic activity which distract the mind. I get letters from disciples who say that they went to material school and engaged in so much sinful activity, and now that activity is haunting them like a ghost, disturbing their mind, and making it difficult for them to control the mind. So this is the good thing about gurukula. We should avoid doing any kind of sinful activity, any non-authorized activity. Keep the mind clean from that. We can know theoretically about those things. Practically better not to have to know. We can see others. There’s plenty of examples you can see without doing anything. And this way then, it’s very easy to control the mind, to remember Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, to engage in service, and to learn all the things so that you can serve Kṛṣṇa throughout your life in a very clear understanding and with good tools. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Any Questions?

Question: I have a question. Some devotees say that these children are wasting so much time in learning all these Vedic things because our movement is saṅkīrtana movement, so they shouldn’t be doing all these Vedic things. So can you please clarify whether they’re doing right or not? Just like the students of Caitanya.

Jayapātāka Swami: We can try to speed it up, speed up the process. Obviously Prabhupāda wanted that a person should be endowed or be blessed with all good qualities in the mode of goodness, and in Vṛndāvana he was very pleased with the gurukula there. In fact that time there was some Nepali brāhmaṇa boys, and he engaged them in chanting of Brahma-saṁhitā and different mantras. Even in 1970, 68 I think 68, 69, Prabhupāda wanted all the devotees to learn how to chant Īśopaniṣad and he would have us chanting Īśopaniṣad in a formal way.

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ
yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā
mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam
(Īśo. Invocation)

Everyone would be chanting and Prabhupāda wanted that the devotees should be able to chant these mantras, it was very good for preaching. Of course, later that was put to music and it became westernized a little bit. *Gurudeva reads the same śloka with melody, everybody laughs*

Everything in the west becomes little jazzed up (laughing). But that wasn’t the way that Prabhupāda taught actually (laughing). He actually wanted that they should chant. He taught us to chant Īśāvāsyam, and he would chant very formally, and even the very difficult mantras… what are those mantras? I think 6, 7, 8, one of those is a very long one, very difficult meter. And especially in those, days hardly they could say nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya (laughing). To say this mantra seemed very difficult. But Prabhupāda was, I think after a while, initially he wanted the devotees to do lot of things like this. Then he concentrated more on translation, in that side. But initially he showed that interest. I think he found it took lot of time to train the westerners to say Sanskrit, but he definitely wanted them to chant. This way he introduced the Brahma-saṁhitā, Īśopaniṣad. So actually all our devotees, I’d know this in the yajña that lot of time they chant Īśopaniṣad and Brahma-saṁhitā, which were the two mantras especially introduced by Śrīla Prabhupāda. So if someone says that these two mantras are too Vedic, is Prabhupāda too Vedic or what? I don’t understand. Śrīla Prabhupāda was the one who introduced.

Infact I remember that even in 1970 something, I think may be a Kumbha-melā, or in Calcutta there was some big life member and Prabhupāda ask one mātājī disciple, “You please speak some Sanskrit to the members.

And she looked at Śrīla Prabhupāda, “*(whisper)*Prabhupāda I don’t speak Sanskrit!” (laughing).

And then he said back, “Say the gurvāṣṭakam, saṁsāra…”

So then she says, “saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam” (*sings*)

“Arey! Arey! she’s speaking Sanskrit! (laughing).” The members are like, “Oh! Even the western Vaiṣṇavīs, they’re speaking Sanskrit! Arey, you’ve done the impossible!” Like this he said it.

So Śrīla Prabhupāda knew that for preaching this actually has a very big impact, especially in India. And I remember that one time, many times, Prabhupāda said “Actually if my devotees could quote the Sanskrit verses like I do in their preaching, then their preaching would be very good, perfect. How Śrīla Prabhupāda would quote: he’d lecture a quote, take apart the verse word-by-word, explain it, go on. This is very authoritative, very impressive. And unfortunately most of the western disciples couldn’t naturally grasp that amount of Sanskrit to preach in that way. Although because of Prabhupāda’s enthusing and pushing everyone, everyone does quote ślokas. But probably no one would say that so fluidly, and lucidly, and as frequently as Śrīla Prabhupāda. But he wanted that. So you can’t quote Sanskrit ślokas and explain the words if you don’t know Sanskrit a little bit, you see. It’s difficult to chant. If you’re going to chant Īśopaniṣad and Brahma-saṁhitā properly, you have to know how to chant general ślokas in Vedic way. The principle is the same if you chant Īśopaniṣad or if you chant Sāma-veda, whatever you chant. Maybe difference are there between Vedas, I’m not the expert in chanting because didn’t have the opportunity of going to the gurukula education in Māyāpur. But we know that basic principles are there. So if we are going to learn how to chant properly, you need to know the principles and you can chant any mantra properly. Whatever the different principle. Or they may vary between different Vedic literatures but in general there are certain basic principles. So in a broader vision, certainly Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted preachers who would have a very good access to his books and to the ślokas, and be able to explain very authoritatively from the Vedic pramāṇas, evidences. Because especially as Kṛṣṇa Consciousness expands, we’re going to have to face various types of challenges. Right now people are maybe not challenging so much, but at some point, on a philosophical basis. It’s predicted in the Padma Purāṇa that all the four Vaiṣṇava-sampradāyas will become one, and it is also predicted in other places how the Brahma-sampradāya would be the predominant. So that means that we must be able to explain the philosophy in such a way that people will be convinced even who are knowledgeable in philosophy. May be most people meet on the street, they just ask, “What is that white paint on your nose?” Few simple questions, we don’t know much. “Why you wear śikhā? What is the ponytail on you head?” In the west these are the two main questions. “Why you wear a bedsheet?” These are the top three philosophical questions. Very few people ask something you know. Otherwise, they ask something about what is kuṇḍalinī-śaktī? You’ll be surprised, many people ask these questions.

So to be well rounded, to be able to discuss philosophy, in the West they don’t have so much experience because few people know philosophy in the West. So but here in India, many people know the philosophy. Still maybe the general people also gradually becoming more Westernized, becoming out of touch. Basic preaching is sufficient. But in the long run we have to be able to win over also with the philosophers, and convince them of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophies completeness and perfectness. So to do that, you need to have a broad grasp of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and be able to explain also in authoritative way referring to all the Vedas, Upaniṣads,

śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-
pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā
aikāntikī harer bhaktir
utpātāyaiva kalpate

So Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted that there be some devotees who are trained in that way to be preachers, to be brahminically qualified preachers. And these are tools, these are tools that we can use in preaching. Also I remember how in the verse in the Bhāgavatam when Khatvāṅga Mahārāja was told he had one moment to live, then he gave a short 2-3 ślokas speech and then he immediately came to his temple and surrendered to the deity. But he told that, “Actually the dearest thing to me is the Vaiṣṇavas, the brāhmaṇas, the Vedic culture.”, you see. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we should preach even in Western countries by culture. So by culture you can conquer. So Śrīla Prabhupāda didn’t mean Western culture. You already have whatever you call that, if you want to call that culture. Śrīla Prabhupāda meant that by Vedic culture, through festivals, through ceremonies, through the Vedic culture, art, music, science, that was the thing which would capture the imagination and the mind of the western people. They have technology, they have machinery, what they lack is spiritual culture.

So even I found one time I was with one of the gurukula boys. We’re in Murshidabad, Berhampur. It just so happened that, that time the Abdu Sattar, who at that time was the head of the Congress, parliamentary party of West Bengal, state assembly opposition leader, it’s just 4-5 years ago. And he was at the house. We were doing a program, he stopped by. We were talking. He’s a Muslim by religion but he’s very open person. And that time we’re talking, “This is our gurukula student.” Then I just mentioned, you know what to talk about, he’s a Muslim so I can’t just talk directly about Kṛṣṇa. Of course though I said we teach them everything.

“What you teach in the gurukula?”

So I explained we teach Vedic science. I said we also teach mathematics. So then he gave a demonstration, the boy, how you can multiply these huge numbers using Vedic maths. So he took about 18 digit two numbers and multiplied it and then gave the answer. So then Abdu Sattar was very much impressed. But he gave it to his PA, said, “You check it.” So the PA, he sit for 20 minutes sitting there figuring it out, (laughing) adding it up, huge big piece of paper you know! Then finally came and he said, “Yeah, it’s the correct answer!” (laughing).

So then he said, “You look at what you’ve done. He did it one minute, you’re doing it in 20 minutes!” So he said, “Very interesting.” But at that time he gave some other number to add. But the student didn’t know how to add that number, he just avoided.

“I don’t know that number yet.”

I don’t know what was the difficulty. Step by step, yeah. So just even by mathematics or these things are very interesting. That skill opens the door, then after that you complete so many things. Once the faith is established that these people know something I don’t know, then they want to know more. So I found like in South America, the people, they love these fire-yajñas. They love the ceremonies, they love the Vedic weddings. Even in America, North America, everywhere I find that people like to see the Vedic weddings. They like to see the different ceremonies performed, the festivals. So these are all Vedic, these are all part of Vedic culture. So it’s good if someone knows how to do those. And as we read in the Gītā-śloka, we need to occupy our self with Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. We are learning things which we can use in Kṛṣṇa’s service, which are connected to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise if we don’t understand, our mind will want to be occupied in something. So then we’ll get into some frivolous sport or some other nonsense, which will just waste out time. Better to, as Khatvāṅga Mahārāja said, he love the Vedic culture. Prabhupāda said by Vedic culture we can spread the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness all over the world. By culture you would conquer. So why should someone complain about learning the culture that will conquer the world. We’re not teaching anybody I don’t think anyone taught how to do you know, demigod worship or other things like that. We’re just teaching the essential things which are directly useful for Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Oṁ tat sat!

Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda kī…!

Devotees: Jaya!!!! 

Verified by: Your Ever Servant Vinoda Gopīkeśa Dāsa