19930805 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madya līlā.10.49-54

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on August 5th 1993 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The class begins with a reading from Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya līlā chapter 10, verse 49 to 54.

 

vande 'haḿ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaḿ śrī-gurun vaiṣṇavāḿś ca

śrī-rūpaḿ sāgrajātaḿ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaḿ taḿ sa jīvam

sādvaitaḿ sāvadhūtaḿ parijana-sahitaḿ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaḿ

śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā- śrī-viśākhānvitāḿś ca

 

hena-kāle āilā tathā bhavānanda rāya

cāri-putra-saṅge paḍe mahāprabhura pāya

Śrī Chaitanya caritāmṛta Madhya Līlā chapter 10 from text 49 this is when Lord Chaitanya had just returned from his tour of South India back to Jagannath purī.

Translation:

At this time Bhavānanda Rāya appeared with four of his sons, and all of them fell down at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Purport:

Bhavānanda Rāya had five sons, one of whom was the exalted personality known as Rāmānanda Rāya. Bhavānanda Rāya first met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu after His return from South India. At that time Rāmānanda Rāya was still serving at his government post; therefore, when Bhavānanda Rāya went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he went with his other four sons. They were named Vāṇīnātha, Gopīnātha, Kalānidhi and Sudhānidhi. A description of Bhavānanda Rāya and his five sons is given in the Ādi-līlā (10.133-34).

sārvabhauma kahe, — ei rāya bhavānanda

iṅhāra prathama putra — rāya rāmānanda

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya continued, “This is Bhavānanda Rāya, the father of Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who is his first son.”

tabe mahāprabhu tāṅre kaila āliṅgana

stuti kari’ kahe rāmānanda-vivaraṇa

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced Bhavānanda Rāya and with great respect spoke of his son Rāmānanda Rāya.

rāmānanda-hena ratna yāṅhāra tanaya

tāṅhāra mahimā loke kahana nā yāya

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu honored Bhavānanda Rāya by saying, “The glories of a person who has a jewel of a son like Rāmānanda Rāya cannot be described within this mortal world.

sākṣāt pāṇḍu tumi, tomāra patnī kuntī

pañca-pāṇḍava tomāra pañca-putra mahā-mati

“You are Mahārāja Pāṇḍu himself, and your wife is Kuntīdevī herself. All your highly intellectual sons are representatives of the five Pāṇḍavas.”

rāya kahe, — āmi śūdra, viṣayī, adhama

tabu tumi sparśa, — ei īśvara-lakṣaṇa

After hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s praise, Bhavānanda Rāya submitted, “I am in the fourth class of the social order, and I engage in mundane affairs. Although I am very fallen, You have still touched us. This is proof that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Purport by Srila Prabhupada:

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (5.18):

 vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ 

Translation:

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].”

Those who are highly advanced in spiritual understanding do not care about a person’s material condition. A spiritually advanced person sees the spiritual identity of every living being, and consequently he makes no distinction between a learned brāhmaṇa, a dog, a caṇḍāla or anyone else. He is not influenced by the material body but sees a person’s spiritual identity. Consequently, Bhavānanda Rāya appreciated Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s statement, which showed that the Lord did not consider the social position of Bhavānanda Rāya, who belonged to the śūdra caste engaged in mundane activities. Rather, the Lord considered the spiritual position of Bhavānanda Rāya, along with that of Rāmānanda Rāya and his brothers. The servant of the Lord is also similarly inclined. He gives shelter to any person — any living entity — regardless of whether he belongs to a brāhmaṇa family or a caṇḍāla family. The spiritual master reclaims all people and encourages everyone in spiritual life. By taking shelter of such a devotee, one can make his life successful. As confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.18):

kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā

ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ 

ye ’nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ

śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ 

“Kirātas, Hūṇas, Āndhras, Pulindas, Pulkaśas, Ābhīras, Śumbhas, Yavanas and members of the Khaśa races, and even others who are addicted to sinful acts, can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisance’s unto Him.”

Purport:

Whoever takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pure devotee is elevated to the spiritual order and purified from material contamination. This is also confirmed by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.32):

 māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ

 striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

Translation:

“O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth — women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] — can attain the supreme destination.”

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So here Chaitanya Mahaprabhu although He was a sannyasi brahmana by birth without hesitation He embraced Bhavananda Raya and his sons because they were great devotees of the Lord.

Actually, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Sri Kṛṣṇa Himself who came in kali yuga as His own devotee He showing how a pure devotee should act someone and the transcendental platform should see the aren't the bodily distinction and see the spiritual stature.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He had that transcendent – He showed by His example that vision in response to that Bhavananda Raya he did the following

nija-gṛha-vitta-bhṛtya-pañca-putra-sane

ātmā samarpiluṅ āmi tomāra caraṇe

Appreciating Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s favor, Bhavānanda Rāya also said, “Along with my home, riches, servants and five sons, I surrender myself at Your lotus feet.

Purport:

This is the process of surrender. As Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:

mānasa, deha, geha, yo kichu mora

arpiluṅ tuyā pade nanda-kiśora!

(Śaraṇāgati)

When one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, he does so with everything in his possession — his house, his body, his mind and whatever else he possesses. If there is any obstruction to this surrendering process, one should immediately give it up without attachment. If one can surrender with all his family members, there is no need to take sannyāsa. However, if the surrendering process is hampered by the so-called family members, one should immediately give them up to complete the surrendering process.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was a grahasta he had wife house family he was a collector under the British ICS service but he was pure devotee of the Lord he surrendered everything to Kṛṣṇa

 

mānasa, deha, geha, yo kichu mora

arpiluṅ tuyā pade nanda-kiśora!

Mānasa my mind, geha my house, deha my body whatever I possessed I offer to you Ambarish das disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda is the great grandson of Henry Ford the inventor of the motor car company at the Ford Motor.

So, he surrenders to Śrīla Prabhuapada and ask what you should do being a hair of the Ford Dynasty one could say the Prabhupad said he managed your hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars so Kṛṣṇa he managed carefully and when he gave some service what he should do. So, surrendering to Kṛṣṇa when we give to Kṛṣṇa then Kṛṣṇa he gives back all right you take care of these things but now you take care of them as my property. So, they shouldn't be used for any sinful acts. Of the process of surrender to sake in their previous pseudo time two things with fight sometimes the one king was surrendered to the other king and accept the other king as his Emperor and then that King would make a choice at all right I accept I give back to Kingdom to you now you have my subordinate King you have to pay me so much tax every year like that that's not very good example because there's no love there but that is for their sake that he's surrendering but the Emperor gives him back all right do you manage the kingdom but you have to do like this and like that.

So sometime people get confused what does it mean to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. We gave everything to Kṛṣṇa but then Kṛṣṇa Guru they again give back to our prayer just like we give our body to Kṛṣṇa that doesn't mean we leave the body but now he agrees the body and the way the Kṛṣṇa wants.

Actually people surrender themselves partially for money to their employers to their educational institutions to the army sometimes people join army navy they sign up 18 year bond during that 18 year they have they can only they have to follow the military law all these are business arrangement by voluntarily one accepts to restrict himselves in these arrangements but because he’s expecting to get some pay the difference in bhakti is what is doing it out of devotion out of love for the Lord and therefore in our arrangement is some limitation but here it’s because it's out of love there is no such limitation one will always want to be serving the Lord 24 hours a day.

So whatever rules for grahasta what are the rules for brahmacārī for vanaprasta, for sanyasi these are different so everyone according to their particular asram they act in a particular way in the service of Kṛṣṇa. This is the procedure that we follow for surrender.

Yesterday there was an interview in a Thiruvananthapuram with one professor and he asked what does it mean full surrender and there was a discussion on Ambarish maharaj how he offered his thoughts his words his deeds how he cleaned the temple for he will looked at the deities with his eyes he heard lectures from the śāstra with his ears he smell the incense offered to the Lord with his nose and the flowers offered to the Lord in this way all the senses were absorbed he tasted the prasādam although he was an Emperor he was fully absorbed in serving the Lord so when Ambarish was attacked by Durvāsā muni and Durvāsā muni was put into great difficulty and eventually had to come back and surrender to the Amrish maharaj.

Kulasekar alwar he also followed the system of offering everything in the service of the Lord.

So, this process of bhakti yoga is also mandatory practice in the home but then one dedicates the house as a place of Kṛṣṇa. Husband wife children and everyone should be trained to offer their service to Kṛṣṇa Bhaktivinoda thakur he was so strict when his son eat a mango before it was offered to the Lord he chastised that that was meant tithe offer to Kṛṣṇa you eat it was bhoga it was un offered food you have taken the offering of the Lord this is a very great offense then his son who later became his divine grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur the great spiritual master they're very young heads say under ten he vowed that for my whole life I won't take mango because I committed this offense and even in his even when he was acharya he didn't take mango he was so strict he was trained by his parents that you should be offering worship to Kṛṣṇa

How can you be taking Kṛṣṇa's offering?

How can he eat before offering?

that type of training was carried for someone needed whole life.

Modern educational system sometimes becomes very arbitrary and people think that let the children do whatever they want don't do restrictive. But the Vedic system was from age of 5 to 16 they should be very strictly trained they said learn that discipline but why have you trained this is what they’ll show everyone should be trained the whole house should be Kṛṣṇa conscious? That’s the training they should be given.

So, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu He came to give this pure bhakti. So, when He found here was a family of all devotees, he didn’t care whether they were a śūdra whether they were obama He recognized these are all devotees of the Lord and He embraced them Lord Chaitanya taught

kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya

yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei 'guru' haya

 

whether someone is born in a family of brāhmaṇas whether they’re sannyāsī or whether they're born a family of śūdras if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness then he is qualified to be a guru. The Vedas also in the Smṛti Śāstra confirms that

 

mantra tantra vishayawada aVaiṣṇava varuṇasya Vaiṣṇavasya pacav guru

 

even if someone is a very learned scholar in all mantras tantras in all types of arguments but if he is not devotee of the Lord then he cannot truly be considered a guru and even if someone is born in a family of dog-eaters outcaste a non-Vedic family but it who knows that is a surrender to the Lord if his a Vaiṣṇava then he can be a guru.

 

We are reading yesterday this morning actually in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

 

How Devahūti she was praying to her husband that I have they had a good fortune of having you Kardama muni and one saying his name but having you my dear husband who are great self-realized soul I had a good fortune to have you as my husband because you are someone who knows the purpose of life. You know you can give someone liberation but foolishly I spent my whole life with you simply trying to enjoy the sense gratification and now you are about to leave and take sannyas because there was a promise that after he gave children to her, he could go he was about to go.

 

So, she was just as hear seeing he was leaving she was saying these words say somebody is doing religious activities surely someone not living their life for any religious purpose they're as good as dead and surely someone is simply doing religious rituals by however it does not leading into renunciation from the material sense gratification they also say is dead and if someone is renounced but their renunciation doesn't lead to pure devotion to the Lord to Lord Kṛṣṇa then that guru is dead.

So, in this way I wasted my valuable time with you and very temporary and materialistic pursuits and now you are about to leave so I'm very concerned

 

How will I achieve liberation?

 

How would I get the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa?

 

Please bless me how I can achieve this the real purpose of life.

 

So here was a wife husband was about to take sannyas normally you think the pace would happen most wives might say don't leave me who will feed me who take care of the children who play the head how will I be happy they'll be thinking you know how can I be alone? They think so many different things but here Devahūti she’s thinking that my husband is leaving he said oh we see how will I get liberation but I spent there as a wife I was serving him I was giving him material service but I didn't get the real thing he has two opening which is liberation which is my spiritual consciousness spiritual knowledge now he's going you see what elevated soul she was so of course she was blessed with a son who has the incarnation of God head Kapiladeva and Kapiladeva then gave her all instruction.

 

So we should understand what is the actual purpose of human life we may experience so many material happiness and material sufferings we may do so many religious rituals sometimes you may do many penances but the ultimate objective is to get god consciousness to give the consciousness of Kṛṣṇa when that is achieved everything is a success and until that's achieved our life is incomplete.

 

So Chaitanya Mahāprabhu He appreciated families He appreciated different people according to how they were developed in their consciousness about Kṛṣṇa so from that your childhood to the household life through all the phases of life that should be promoted that should be developed when one is fully convinced and they can simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa that I am giving everything to you then that doesn't mean a after that okay now it’s all Kṛṣṇa now I have nothing to worry about now I can just lie down and Kṛṣṇa will feed me. It's a dynamic type of surrender we are giving the Kṛṣṇa now we have to use everything as Kṛṣṇa's.

 

You find out there sometimes you tell people don't smoke it's going to give you lung cancer is going to give you various types of problem they say it’s my body if I want to die of cancer or TB or whatever I'll do whatever I want. See so people are thinking is my body if I want to destroy it I can destroy it but to see the devotee when he surrenders body to Kṛṣṇa that means that now Kṛṣṇa  receives your body I had to use this body for your service.

 

Once I stepped on a male when I was living in the temple in Montreal and Prabhupāda wrote me a letter and said you’re giving your body to Kṛṣṇa He had to take care of it properly don't allow to get to know holes punched in it and all these things you take care of it and see that it gets cured very quickly you have to take care because it's not your body it's Kṛṣṇa’s now it's Kṛṣṇa's property.

 

Someone if I loan you the air car, you'll be mourning piety if I had accident stabbed my friend what your thing so when we give to Kṛṣṇa then we’re getting back on loan I see this is the reality because everything is Kṛṣṇa's what we are giving to Kṛṣṇa? We only actually accepting the reality that yes everything is yours Kṛṣṇa and now I lose everything for you when we do that then we actually achieve liberation immediately this is the transcendental position. As long as we're thinking this is me and this is mine that is tying us down to the bondage of the material world. Fifth chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā is explained:

 

yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra

loko 'yam karma-bandhanah

tad-artham karma kaunteya

mukta-sangah samacara

 

that yajñārthāt should be served by akarmas all work should be done as a sacrifice for Vishnu yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra although anything else loko 'yam karma-bandhanaḥ is simply a course of our bondage in the material karmic law. Kṛṣṇa gives a very wide scope of things we can do for Him we do under the guidance of the guru activities for Kṛṣṇa then we are not bound by the laws of karma as soon as we want to do something outside of Kṛṣṇa consciousness loko 'yam karma-bandhanaḥ we were bound up by the laws of karma.

 

So, in this regard Maninath Bhavanandaraya now he's continuing to speak to Lord Chaitanya he's pushing for one of his sons

 

ei vāṇīnātha rahibe tomara caraṇe

yabe yei ājñā, tāhā karibe sevane

“This son Vāṇīnātha will remain at your lotus feet to always immediately attend to Your orders and serve You.

ātmīya-jñāne more saṅkoca nā karibe

yei yabe icchā, tabe sei ājñā dibe

“My dear Lord, please consider me Your relative. Do not hesitate to order whatever You desire at any time You desire it.”

Śrī Rāmānanda rāya is coming within five to seven days. As soon as he arrives my desires will be fulfilled. I take great pleasure in his company saying this Chaitanya Mahāprabhu embraced Bhavānanda rāya Lord then touched the heads of his sons with His lotus feet.

tabe mahāprabhu tāṅre ghare pāṭhāila

vāṇīnātha-paṭṭanāyake nikaṭe rākhila

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then sent Bhavānanda Rāya back to his home, and He kept only Vāṇīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka in His personal service.

So, your ended is reading here tonight this is pastime Lord Chaitanya returning to Jagannātha purī this was just one part where he met Bhavānanda rāya and his four sons the fifth son Rāmānanda rāya was the governor of Godāvarī district at that time it was under the king of Orissa now it's under Andhra Pradesh Godāvarī.

Any questions?

Devotee: [Not Clear – 00:31:53]

He would go every day and there'll be a big crowd in the temple so He'd be there in the back of the temple He's seven feet tall so He can look over everybody’s head[laughing] no problem apart from that of course He has always the spiritual vision He is to stand there by the side of the Garuḍa stambha sometimes and when He was touching the Garuḍa stambha He melted the stone stambha and His fingerprints are there inside the stambha of course sometime it also said He would go closer to the deities when there was a big crowd He would stay in the back who can say why the Lord does what He does He's independent we can only know what He does and appreciate that.

Any other question?

Begin attracted to that things are the material world that's quite natural living in a material life until you become very advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness there's the normal situation that people find themselves in they find them mind being attracted to material things what we have to do is keep our mind control by engaging in Kṛṣṇa's service until we develop the taste for Kṛṣṇa then spontaneously will be attracted to things of Kṛṣṇa consciousness there says there's a reversal of our mental direction from being attracted to material things to being attracted to Kṛṣṇa that happens at a advanced level in Kṛṣṇa consciousness but it happens gradually also. As we advance to become more detached from material sense gratification and more attached to Kṛṣṇa consciousness we shouldn't expect that just as soon as we begin our devotional service there will be no attraction for the material world that attraction will be there therefore we had to control our mind control our senses very positively engaging them in devotional service therefore we had to also be very careful we had to follow strictly the rules and regulations have a good association knowing that these senses are very strong and the attachments are there lying dormant or not so dormant as the case may be.

As we become more advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that taste changes and we become mad after Kṛṣṇa at that time we forget about this material attachments which is to say that a very advanced devotee does his material family affairs very responsibly but internally is more attached to Kṛṣṇa thus the advanced states nobody can tell from outside that he is not a ordinary attached house holder but internally he's actually always thinking about Kṛṣṇa he's maintaining his wife and family members also out of love for Kṛṣṇa and that love for Kṛṣṇa is much more prominent than the attachment that he feels for other things.

So, this is a the whole perfection of practicing bhakti-yoga and it's a gradual process by strictly following the approach of the process then these stages should be achieved sometimes attachments can be eradicated by knowledge we realize the solution so by knowledge we can have more detached sigh but that alone is not enough that produces renunciation but renunciation without devotion to Kṛṣṇa is not permanent.

So simultaneously we also need to have our love for Kṛṣṇa that's why only gyana is not enough along with the jñāna we also need veda the bhaktivedanta both are needed then we had the perfect combination you're dovetailing it whatever devotee does he does very enthusiastically the devotee is expert to say Bhakti Vinod thakur he was the collector said he was those days the collector was simultaneously judicial and executive magistrate later he was divided and he became a district judge and a collector but an official he was both for murder cases ducati everything you come up to him.

So he became so expert at doing his material affairs because most people are just magnified they think how I can this cut the time do my work or something or they're just absorbed in the work they don't have any other objective his objective was do my job very efficiently because I am a devotee I had to do my duty properly and then finish up and then skip more time I can give to Kṛṣṇa so he did his collector duties so nicely that said by half the day he'd finished a full day's work what would take other judges very long time to come to a decision he'd finish it in just a few hours or a few in a short time right his judgment and give the verdict on the spot.

Did you think of all he's doing it very hastily?

but actually, they said that hardly any of these cases were overturned because of the points of law was so accurate to the point he became very expert and he did his service very nicely and then man he gave maximum time to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So like that gṛhasta dovetailing some material activity for maintaining his family in that they become expert to do that depending what their specific objective is someone they want to make more money to give to Kṛṣṇa or someone wants to feel more time through the service and maintain their family and give more time for doing some particular kind of devotional service directly according to their particular program they do their material job their dovetailed service as you described it very efficiently and then they go on and do whatever else they're supposed to do now there were a devotee doesn't neglect everything he's doing out of devotion whatever he's doing is if it's worth doing it should be done well. This night we're doing then why do it why waste time.

I had one disciple said that I'm vaiśya  I like to do business I want to be like Arjuna was in kṣatriya for Kṛṣṇa let me be a vaiśya  for Kṛṣṇa make money and give it to Kṛṣṇa and actually he does that he gives remember our money to Kṛṣṇa so the entire bow is their entanglement that's why we have to always be careful different people have different nature someone will be working and in some ordinary job they may not be able to make too much money but still they should give something to Kṛṣṇa but maybe they can do also some service these things we have to see according to their propensity the house is individual matter there are certain guidelines that the śāstra gives us after that just like the doctor has to see his patient you can't say okay everyone here all the same patients they all give you the same medicine everyone has got a different problem at the front I in a hospital there's only doctor everyone comes in it is given the same medicine everyone can have their kidney operated on as everyone can have their you see that won't we see that won't work everyone has individual circumstance what degree are they ready to surrender what are their propensities even are they properly engaged at present.

See some people are doing what they like to do some people are doing something this to survive they are hardly able to survive so many circumstances so we had to deal with that at an individual basis principle is to do our activities for Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of the gurus according to the śāstra.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Here in this first paragraph of his purport Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the meaning of Buddhi yoga how Buddhi Yoga is action and Kṛṣṇa consciousness applied intelligence applying our act of intelligence to the process of devotional service is considered the highest intelligence people use intelligence for everything we do but a different quantity of intelligence maybe required for different kinds of activities intelligence is used when someone makes a basket or a cane chair but it may require more intelligence to design a computer chip or more intelligence to send a racket or a satellite to outer space or intelligence to compose a symphony

Jai Kṛṣṇa Balarāma ki

or make a painting but highest intelligence is acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because to understand the ultimate goal of life is a much higher intelligence just as much as if someone did some very elaborate preparation for a big festival but made the mistake of getting the day round although so much energy was put into making the festival arrangement but instead of observing and say August 26th was met the August 15th  he did it on 26th eleven days later people what their full or you do someone's birthday but the person already passed away.

We worked so hard in material life but if we miss what is the goal of life then we miss everything.

Just like that simple story about the ferryman and the scientist where the scientist was pointing out to the boatman in the river you know that cumulus clouds he said I know you know the fish

Do you know I was physiology or zoology?

You know botany?

he's our fairy band he doesn't say I know how to row the boat you know about meteorology that's cumulus cloud so it looks to me like a storm cloud like a typhoon my dear scientists do you know how to swim because looks like we're going to be knocked over blown over by the wind and the scientists said no I don't know how to swim then the boat was blown over by the huge typhoon and that fisherman the ferryman he jumped into the water started swimming he said well then 100 percent of your life is wasted so many ways that's been shown in skits short dramas just illustrate we can know everything they can know so many things but if we miss what is the goal of life and what is the value?

It's like putting so many zeroes one after another hundreds thousands millions billions trillions zillions of zeroes but unless you put a 1 in front of it then it doesn't have any value as remains zero.

Once you have the goal then everything else becomes valuable otherwise at the end of life whatever we do it's finished zero back to a start.

So Buddhi Yoga means the person knows what is the goal and he is progressing step by step towards the goal that's real intelligence all activities are aimed at achieving the ultimate goal of life.

So Prabhupāda said when we know that the goal is Kṛṣṇa and the goal is assigned and we have we slowly but progressively we traverse it even as someone is slowly but surely progressing but the point is that you know the goal and your step by step you're progressing towards it then eventually you reach the ultimate goal if you don't know the goal then here won't be was progressing towards it.

 

Prabhupāda continues when a person knows the goal of life but is addicted to the fruits of activities he is acting in karma yoga when he knows that the goal is Kṛṣṇa but he takes pleasure at mental speculation – to understand Kṛṣṇa then he is acting in jñāna yoga and when he knows the goal and seeks Kṛṣṇa completely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service he is acting in bhakti-yoga or Buddhi yoga which is the complete yoga this complete yoga is the highest perfectional stage of life.

This paragraph Prabhupāda gives that explanation of different yoga's in relationship with achieving the goal of life every yoga is result oriented is to achieve that is result of the goal of life someone knows what is the goal of life if he is a yogi if he doesn't know that goal of life he cannot be called a yogi someone who is just trying to enjoy our senses or get their fruits of his activities is a karmī or a bhogī he is a material worker who has to suffer and enjoy the results of his actions but when someone knows the goal of life is to achieve Kṛṣṇa but some attachment is still there to fruitive activities so he does the fruitive activities but he offers the results of those activities to Kṛṣṇa that is called Karma yoga many people get bewildered they think that if I work hard it's Karma yoga.

Everyone has so many people are working hard does it mean every person is a karma yogi simply by working hard?

This is not a proper understanding a person has to know what is the goal of yoga and be working to achieve that be working and giving some fruits of the work to Kṛṣṇa then it becomes karma yoga there's a connection with the goal.

Why did you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa?

I prefer Karma yoga work hard watch TV go to sleep Karma yoga bas

That’s not Karma Yoga just working hard working higher than offering the fruit to Kṛṣṇa somehow you have to connect it with Kṛṣṇa then it becomes karma yoga jñāna yoga they know parambrahma is absolute truth Kṛṣṇa is absolute truth they are trying to achieve their param Brahmā through mental speculation. All Yogi's know that there is a supreme truth they know there's a supreme goal.

Even Shankaraacarya recommended worshipping Viṣṇu others also 1 or 5 deities he recommended one was Viṣṇu. Shankar Acharya stated Nārāyaṇa paroavyktat. Narayan is transcendental to the impersonal realization he also said of course Bhaja Govinda Bhaja Govinda Bhaja Govinda mudā mate.

Even the impersonalist knows the Govinda is the supreme goal but their processes through mental speculation bhakti-yoga means that bhakti yogi or budhi yogi he uses his intelligence his mind his body to serve Kṛṣṇa he does what Kṛṣṇa wants. Therefore that Bhakti yoga is complete yoga.

Prabhupāda explains complete because it completely involves the yogi man kayi vākya mind body and word are all engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa it's a complete yoga because it completely connects one with Kṛṣṇa karma yogis jñāna yogi's they have some separate interest karma Yogi's attached to the results of activities but at least to furtive activities even he surrenders the result he likes to do what he likes to do has not surrendered to do what Kṛṣṇa wants him to do. The bhakti yogi only does what is authorized by the Guru and Kṛṣṇa doesn't want to do anything which is not blessed by the Guru wants to do everything in the attitude of service to Kṛṣṇa because in that way one is completely under the shelter of Kṛṣṇa all the time.

Grahe tako, bone tako, sadā Hari bole ḍāko whether grahasta or whether in the renounced order we should always be engaged in chanting and hearing the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. The bhakti yogi he's leading his life 24 hours cantered around Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it's a complete yoga this complete yoga is the highest perfectional stage of life if we achieved bhakti yoga that bhakti-yoga is not different than the status of a soul in Vaikuṇṭha. In Vaikuṇṭha everyone is a bhakti yogi if we practice bhakti yoga here we're as good as in Vaikuṇṭha. Gītā says that

 

mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena

bhakti-yogena sevate

sa gunan samatityaitan

brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

By practicing bhakti, we are immediately under the platform of Brahman also another Vedic sloka is there that says that when we are engage in our thought word and deed in Hari dāsya and the service of Hari jeevan mukta sūyate even while living were considered liberated. So, to achieve bhakti-yoga means it's already the highest perfectional stage of life explained in the previous paragraph Prabhupāda was saying even we progress slowly the more we can completely be absorbed or situated in bhakti-yoga the more we're achieved perfection.

In the last paragraph Prabhupāda explains a person may have a bonafide spiritual master and may be attached to a spiritual organization but still if he is not intelligent enough to make progress then Kṛṣṇa from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to him without difficulty the qualification is that a person always engage himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and with love and devotion render all kinds of services he should perform some sort of work for Kṛṣṇa and that work should be with love if a devotee is not intelligent enough to make progress in the path of self-realization many sincere and devoted to the activities of devotional service the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately to attain him in other words I mean even if they say well I am not so intelligent to do all these things.

But Prabhupāda states even if one not intelligent enough to make the progress on a path of self-realization but if they're sincere and they work for Kṛṣṇa they devote their activities in devotional service anyway the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately to attain Him He gives the intelligence how to come even one doesn't have the intelligence Kṛṣṇa He's going to give the intelligence so it's not a valid point to say well I don't have enough intelligence because if you don't have all the more reason then you should do devotional service because Kṛṣṇa will give you the intelligence if you do devotional service to Him.

There was Kolavaci Śrīdhar he was a hawker of bananas it was a banana cultivator and he used to go every day in the market in sell is bananas in Bengal everyone has bananas in Bengal is not a very high profit commodity but he was with fifty percent of his income he would serve mother Ganges just he got the order from guru to serve the mother Ganges with fifty percent of his income so he would go and every day he would do Gaṅgā pūjā with whatever profit he had with fifty percent used for his family fifty percent used worshipped the Ganges because he did this regularly although he was not very sophisticated.

Jai Kṛṣṇa Balarāma,

Jai Nitāi Gaura

he could achieve the perfection of life many examples like that.

END OF LECTURE

 

Transcribed By: Pundarik Mahajan Das

Transcribed On: 15-Jun-2020

 

Proof Reading By: Amrita Padma Devi Dasi

On 25/09/2020