19901211 Bhagavad-gītā 9.22

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on December 11th 1990 in Bangkok, Thailand. The class begins with a reading from the Bhagavad-gītā chapter 9 verse 22.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁpaṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramananda-madhavam sri-caitanyam isvaram

Jayapatākā Swami: How many people understand English? Raise your hands. Who knows English? But anybody only knows Hindi then some general man can translate from English to Hindi simultaneously.

*repeats in hindi*

Devotee: I think everyone can understand English.

Jayapatākā Swami: Everyone?

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

Translation: But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

Purport: One who is unable to live for a moment without Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot but think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, being engaged in devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, rendering other services, cultivating friendship and surrendering fully to the Lord. Such activities are all auspicious and full of spiritual potencies, which make the devotee perfect in self-realization, so that his only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee undoubtedly approaches the Lord without difficulty. This is called yoga. By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. Kṣema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life.

Jayapatākā Swami: ‘yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy ahaṁ’ I carry what they lack, I preserve what they have.

*repeats in hindi*

(aside:) Ask him in the kitchen to close the door before.

Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation purport of 9th chapter 22nd verse Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, The Most Confidential Knowledge.

If someone puts the full concentration in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa by hearing and chanting. Now you’re hearing, I’m chanting the Bhagavad-gītā or you can hear and chant yourself by chanting

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

And you’re hearing the mantra. Like this there are nine processes of devotional service. Hearing, chanting, remembering, they were mentioned here. You do any one perfectly you get all perfection. Yoga means to link, yoga.. yog, yog, to link with the Supreme. So by doing devotional service, in this way you’ll be able to achieve the association of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme. That is called yoga.

So sometimes people are worried, if I worship Kṛṣṇa I will lose something. But here it says very clearly that Kṛṣṇa protects whatever a devotee have, preserves it and He provides what they lack. In order that they can quickly return to Him in the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha Loka.

There are different types of yoga. There’s one yoga impersonal meditation where one is trying to stop all kind of thought. This is very difficult yoga or they’re thinking only by philosophy of the impersonal nirākār. Nirākār, upāsanā ‘bahut taklif hai’. But by devotional service one can meditate on the personal form of Kṛṣṇa, is very easy. But Kṛṣṇa’s opinion is that the personal system of meditation is the process which unites a yogi most intimately with Him. And the impersonal process is very difficult, takes many many births. So here in this verse the process of bhakti-yoga is been mentioned. Those who worship with exclusive devotion.

*repeats in hindi*

This is called śuddha-bhakti, śuddha-bhakti process directly unites you with Kṛṣṇa.

(aside:) So where is our Ashok, he had some question? You want to read it out?

Devotee: Please tell us in detail about the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.

Jayapatākā Swami: Tell us in detail about Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. Prabhuji like to know about the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement? Hare Kṛṣṇa movement was founded by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda 1966. 25th anniversary is beginning, it’s the next year. But Hare Kṛṣṇa movement was brought from India to western country by Śrīla Prabhupāda. But actually, coming in the disciplic succession mentioned in the Vedas, which is coming from Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Brahmā to Nārada Muni, Vyāsadeva, Madhvācārya and Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So this disciplic succession of guru-paramparā is the system of connecting with Kṛṣṇa. All teachings have to be received through the bonafide disciplic succession. So the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is in one of the bonafide succession mentioned in the Purāṇas. But this movement took its present shape 500 years ago when Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya appeared in India. And He began the process of publicly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. And that one spread by Him all over India to all the part, He went to east, south, west, north, central India, He went to Gujarat, to UP, to Bihar, all the southern states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, etc.

Devotee: How can a person do devotional service while he is engaged in business subjects etc?

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside) Jagannath prabhu ko Hare Kṛṣṇa bolo (laughing).

Devotee: Answer is incomplete.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, when Prabhupāda in 1966, 65 he left India and he went to, first to America and there he founded International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. And then he went and established the society in England, in Europe, in Canada, in different countries around the world. He passed different countries in south east Asia. He also visited, he also passed through Bangkok and in this way within very short time, in 12 years he established over 108 Kṛṣṇa Conscious temples all over the world. He says sometimes people are asking the Swamiji, show me a miracle. So many bābās are there so many swamijis are there, show miracle, I want to see some miracle. So he said I went to America with 40 rupees and now it was six years later, now I have over 40 crores in temples all over the world, big big temples, books, is that a miracle?

Devotee: Yes.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in 1977 Prabhupāda he left the world, physically. Before he left he established one Governing Body Commission that should manage the affairs of ISKCON. So there the ultimate managing authority that sees to the spiritual standard in ISKCON was about 25 or 30 members of Governing Body Commission.

Here in Thailand, there’s two members assigned as zonal secretary. His Holiness Kavi Chandra Swami Maharaj and myself. But I’m, he is based headquarters in Tokyo, my headquarters is in India, in Māyāpur. I will come here as much as possible for, think for the movement.

So, we have books in almost all languages and our, one of our main purpose of, we want to see Bhagavad Gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa translated into all the languages. So now Bhagavad Gītā is been translated in Thai language and as you know many small books have already been translated. Each temple is financially autonomous, although we had a central governing body, it’s not a centralized, we’re simply spiritually centralized but materially each branch is self-sufficient.

Devotee: How can a person do devotional service while he is engaged in business, subjects etc?

Jayapatākā Swami: How could Arjuna do devotional service while he was engaged in battlefield? What is harder? To do business or to do battle? A reason not, doing business is not harder than doing battle, may be same, may be easier. Battle means that there’s violence there’s killing, there’s so much, but Arjuna was Kṛṣṇa Conscious in the battle. So we can also be Kṛṣṇa conscious as a businessman by daily having a practice. We chant

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

On beads, japa, we take Kṛṣṇa prasāda. In our house we can offer the food to Kṛṣṇa if it’s in the mode of goodness, we take prasāda.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami repeats the same in Hindi

Jayapatākā Swami: We should read Bhagavad Gītā and we should use our energy and our intelligence, our works to serve Kṛṣṇa. If we can do sevā to Kṛṣṇa like Arjuna did sevā to Kṛṣṇa in battlefield, if through our business we can do sevā to Kṛṣṇa then we also get the same blessing that Arjuna got.

So, it’s not difficult, this is the only process of yoga that a businessman can do, effectively. How can a businessman do the other type of yoga and achieve perfection? But if you realize that ultimately everything is Kṛṣṇa, so let me do my business and let me please Kṛṣṇa with my work then you’re a proper yogi even though you’re businessman.

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside) Could you follow?

Devotee: How to get rid of materialism?

Jayapatākā Swami: How to get rid of materialism? We have to know what is materialism. (aside) You know what is materialism? Who can say what is materialism?

Devotee: Māyā

Māyā. what is difference between material, materialism and spiritualism. First thing is that who am I? Am I the body? Or am I the ātmā? (aside) What do you think? Everyone has to ask themself who am I? Who are you?

Devotee: I don’t know

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside) You don’t know. This is the problem

Devotee: What is the material?

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, Kṛṣṇa says in Gītā we are the ātmā. We are the living soul in the body, we are the living force in the body. When this body dies, we don’t die, we go on life after life, without dying until we reach Kṛṣṇa, then there’s no more death.

So materialism means we forget Kṛṣṇa, we forget the self and instead we think that we are the body. And then we are simply working on behalf of the body forgetting ātmā forgetting Paramātmā. Spiritualism means that I realize I am the nitya-ātmā, I’m the eternal jīvātmā, I’m the servant of Kṛṣṇa. So, let me use the material energy in sevā of Kṛṣṇa, in service of Kṛṣṇa, that’s spiritualism. Same energy is lighting, is cooling by refrigerator or also heating by furnace, same electricity.

So, if we use that electricity for different purpose we can also use this material energy for different purpose. If we use the same energy for kṛṣṇa-sevā, now they’re cooking wheat, vegetables, fruits, if you offer to Kṛṣṇa it’s spiritual. If you don’t offer, you just eat it, it’s material. Why? Because when you offer to Kṛṣṇa that food becomes prasāda, it becomes spiritualized. Like this when you use your body in the service of Kṛṣṇa it becomes spiritualized. So, to get out of materialism we had to know that who we are.

Just like if you have a car, the driver is in the car. The driver says I’m hungry! Say if you go and offer him one kilo of, one glass of petrol, you drink this. Would that be very good? Driver mar jayega na, he’ll die. You give the car petrol but driver you have to give samosā, halwa, rice, you see so many other food. You can’t give him petrol or that if you put rice inside the car what will happen?

Devotee: The car will stop

Jayapatākā Swami: Car will stop. So, we are feeding the body but what about the soul? We are not feeding the soul. Therefore, we are not feeling happy, this materialism. We have to think, I have to do this to be happy, that to be, we make so many plan but still we’re frustrated. Why? This materialism, māyā. But when we’re actually giving the ātmā food, food for the soul, then we’re feeling spiritual happiness, that’s spiritualism. So, we want you all to be happy. (aside) How many of you want to be happy?

Devotee: I think everybody wants to be happy

Jayapatākā Swami: Who, who doesn’t want to be sad?

Devotee: Nobody wants to be sad

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) Why? Why sad? Nobody wants to be sad, everybody wants to be happy. Then why we’re sad even we don’t wanted?

Sometime why we’re forced to suffer? Everybody is experienced suffering in their life, but nobody wants, then why is it? That means we’re not the independent, we’re under some higher control. This called laws of karma, they’re forcing us to suffer even we don’t want to suffer. So, whatever we do in the material world we have to take the reaction or karma. So, this is causing us to be bound and entangled.

But if we do the spiritual activity there’s no karma. We are freed from karma, because just like the army, is now so many army men are there in the middle east. They had to follow the orders of the commander, then the commander is responsible, not the soldier. Like that if we are carrying out the order of Kṛṣṇa, He’s our commander, He’s responsible for the karma, not us. And we are freed, that is spiritualism.

So now how do we get out of materialism? By engaging our self in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Then this way because we’re freed from the karmas, we feel peace, we feel a relief. And when we develop our consciousness of Kṛṣṇa we feel ānanda, why?

Because the ātmā is part of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, He’s eternal blissful knowledge.

*repeats in hindi*

So, we are part of Bhagavān, He’s ānanda-mayi, we’re by nature ānanda-mayi. But why we’re suffering? Because we forgot Bhagavān, we forgot our self, we think we’re the body. Therefore, we are suffering all the reaction in suffering and happiness of the body. We have to lift up our consciousness to the original position.

Devotee: How can we give up that?

Jayapatākā Swami: By offering your work to Kṛṣṇa then you have no more karma. You’re doing, so everyone are doing their action for their own interest. Which is their false, their superficial interest, external bodily interest. So, the body is producing the karmas. When we work for Kṛṣṇa’s interest then there’s no karma. Kṛṣṇa told this, Arjuna said I don’t want to fight. Why should I fight in the Kurukṣetra battle?

I’ll have to fight against my grandfather Bhīṣma, my guru Droṇa. My brothers that Duryodhana, they want to fight, but I, why should I fight then? I don’t want, I don’t care to fight, I don’t care to be a, the mahārāja, the samrāṭa, I don’t need it. I could go and be a beggar, why do I need to fight?

But then Kṛṣṇa explained, if you die in the battle you go to svarga. If you’re victorious in the battle you achieve the kingdom. But Arjuna said, “I don’t want the karma of the svarga or the karma of the kingdom”. Then Kṛṣṇa says, then you don’t fight to think what you gain or what you lose. You fight as a, as a service to me, then you gain me, you come back to me. Then there’s no karma.

So, when we fight to win, we have to take the karmas. If we do good acts we get good karma, if we do bad acts we get bad karma, if we do neutral acts we get neutrals karma. But if we do Kṛṣṇa’s work then there’s no karma. It’s called akarma. So that way you can be free of the laws of karma. Do kṛṣṇa-sevā.

Devotee: Whether Kṛṣṇa and other demigods are one and the same thing?

Jayapatākā Swami: In Bhagavad Gītā Kṛṣṇa explains ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo that everything is coming from me. He’s the origin of everything.

In fact, in the beginning Vedas say that there was only Nārāyaṇa, only Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa same. There was no Śiva, there was no Brahmā. It’s explained in the Atharva veda, yo brahmāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁ yo vai vedāṁś ca gāpayati sma kṛṣṇaḥ: "It was Kṛṣṇa who in the beginning instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past."

In the Nārāyaṇa upanishad it says, atha puruṣo ha vai nārāyaṇo ’kāmayata prajāḥ sṛjeyeti: “Then the Supreme Personality Nārāyaṇa desired to create living entities.” From Nārāyaṇa Brahmā is born and from Nārāyaṇa the patriarchs, prajāpatis are also born, from Nārāyaṇa Indra is born, from Nārāyaṇa the eight Vasus are born, from Nārāyaṇa the eleven Rudras are born, from Nārāyaṇa the twelve Ādityas are born.

“nārāyaṇād brahmā jāyate, nārāyaṇād prajāpatiḥ prajāyate, nārāyaṇād indro jāyate, nārāyaṇād aṣṭau vasavo jāyante, nārāyaṇād ekādaśa rudrā jāyante, nārāyaṇād dvādaśādityāḥ.” “eko vai nārāyaṇa āsīn na brahmā neśāno nāpo nāgni-somau neme dyāv-āpṛthivī na nakṣatrāṇi na sūryaḥ:”

In the beginning of the creation, there was only the Supreme Personality Nārāyaṇa. There was no Brahmā, no Śiva, no Agni, no Candra, no naksatra gaṇa, no Vāyudeva and no Sūryadeva - Mahā Upaniṣad. Śiva is born from the forehead of Vishnu and Nārāyaṇa is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. brahmaṇyo devakī-putraḥ: The son of Devakī, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavān.

So therefore, Kṛṣṇa is origin of all the creation. Kṛṣṇa has different forms, Nārāyaṇa, Vishnu are forms of Kṛṣṇa. All the devas are dependent on Kṛṣṇa. They’re coming from Nārāyaṇa, coming from Kṛṣṇa. So, if we directly worshiping Kṛṣṇa there’s no need of worshiping devas.

The Vedas have taught us to worship devas in order to teach us the supremacy of the Lord. But when we are directly worshipping the Lord there’s no need of worshipping the devas. This was shown by Kṛṣṇa in Govardhan Līlā. He told Nanda Mahārāja to worship Him in the form of Govardhan, don’t do Indra pūjā. Then He lifted up Govardhan for seven days. And later Indra came and offered His obeisance’s begging forgiveness.

So, we should see if we worship the devas that they’re the part of Kṛṣṇa. According to the Vedas they’re the different limbs of the Lord who are managing the universe. We should never disrespect the devas because they’re great devotees of the Lord. If we worship, we worship them knowing that they’re the part of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is also in their heart, you can become a Brahmā, you can become Indra by doing puṇya-karmas. In your future birth, but Śiva and Durgā are special category, they’re expansion of Kṛṣṇa, nobody can become Śiva.

Devotee: They’re avatāra

Jayapatākā Swami: They’re like partial avatāra. It says Viṣṇu is like milk and Śiva is like dahī. From milk you can make dahī. But from dahī, yogurt did you make milk?

So, when Śambhu touches material energy then something transformation is there. He’s directly coming from Kṛṣṇa, from Viṣṇu, but he directly relates with the material nature. But Viṣṇu remains always on transcendental position.

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) Aura kyā praśna hai? What are the questions?

Devotee: Question: When the Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu is same then for worship which vigraha is good, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, although…

Devotee: Worship is same, but to be considerate

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa is not different, but Kṛṣṇa is the original form and Nārāyaṇa is expansion. So, in the Śiva Purāṇa, Mahādeva taught to Pārvatī that, if you, he taught Sahasranāma, tat tulyam, he told with the thousand names of Viṣṇu, after rāma nāma varānane, you chant on name of Rāma is equal to thousand name of Nārāyaṇa. Then he taught if you chant one name of Kṛṣṇa this equal to three thousand names of Viṣṇu, three names of Rāma.

So Kṛṣṇa is more easily approachable, thus in His childhood pastimes he’s a Gopāla, everyone can approach Kṛṣṇa, but to approach Nārāyaṇa is very tough. Some way the worship of Kṛṣṇa is easier but Kṛṣṇa also is Supreme. He said that Nārāyaṇa is formal aspect, like a judge in the court and Kṛṣṇa is a informal aspect, like when judge goes to the house son is sitting on lap, wife is coming and giving śarbata. So same Lord but in different rūpa (form).

So, Nārāyaṇa is the majestic rūpa like king in the court and Kṛṣṇa is like when He’s at home. So, if you approach Kṛṣṇa this is more easy and He’s more merciful also. So in this age it’s recommended we should worship. Samajh gaye? If you worship Kṛṣṇa in this age this is the most recommended. If you, someone has a very strong devotion for some other form of Viṣṇu, whether Rāma or Nārāyaṇa, then and they try to worship Kṛṣṇa but their devotion keeps coming back to that form, there may be some exception. But general rule is that it’s more beneficial if everyone worships Kṛṣṇa. That also Śankarācārya in Gītā Māhātmyam, he also said the same thing. In the Gītā Māhātmyam the last verse was

ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam
eko devo devakī-putra eva
eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni
karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā

How beautiful! Prabhupāda said in the present day people very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion and one occupation. Therefore ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam, let there be one scripture only the one common scripture for the whole world, Bhagavad Gītā. eko devo devakī-putra eva, let there be one God for the whole world, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. eko mantras tasya nāmāni, and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer, the chanting of His name

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

 karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā, Jagannath Śrī Kṛṣṇa ki! Nitāi-Gaura ki! Whatever we do we follow Veda. Vedas give us the, this mantra in the Upaniṣad meanings are there.

Devotee: (inaudible 22:44)

Jayapatākā Swami: We follow the Lord’s direction

iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanam
nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate

These sixteen names, iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnām, solah nam, ṣoḍaśa, kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanam, all the kalmaṣa of Kali-yuga, vināśa. sarva-vedeśu dṛśyate, this is confirmed by all the Vedas. So this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is sixteen,

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, eight.
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare, eight.

Eight and eight is equal to sixteen. iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnām, this sixteen names. So they’re very specific, not seventeen, not fifteen, sixteen names, not eight. So we follow what the Veda, we chant all the sixteen.

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) Yes! Several

Devotee: One, one question is more.

Question: That universal sky and we say one Supreme power was there, Nārāyaṇa. In the other canto we say that Kṛṣṇa is Supreme power. Can you say who is there in the beginning time. The Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu ? Who is Supreme? And who is Supreme?

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) Can you give me that Śrīmad Bhāgavatam canto 1. The one with the planets on it. Second row, with the cover, straight the second row, I can see someone, ya!

You see this is the picture of everything, total existence in a nutshell. This is the Vaikuṇṭha planet, this is the brahma-jyotī although it’s here showing as blue, in between the planet. Each of the Viṣṇu-lokas, Vaikuṇṭha-loka, here there’s written name Trivikrama, Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, each is a different form of Nārāyaṇa. This is Goloka Vṛndāvana, it’s the planet of Kṛṣṇa. All these are simultaneously always existing. There’s no birth, there’s no death, no creation, no destruction, always. Kṛṣṇa is always present, Nārāyaṇa is always present. Only Kṛṣṇa is original, from Him expand Nārāyaṇa. Here this little piece, this is the entire material creation. Each little ball you see there, is ananta-koṭi-brahmāṇḍa, unlimited universes, here in this, we’re in one universe. The one universe has been blown up.

Second Level Proofer: Karuṇāpati Keśava das

Second Level Proofed on: 05-Jan-2021