19991223 Bhagavad-gītā 9.34

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Mahārāja on December 23^rd 1999 in Kuantan, Malaysia. The class begins with a reading from the Bhagavad-gīta, Ninth chapter, Verse 34.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

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

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

There are some who are demonic; they also think of Kṛṣṇa, but enviously, just like King Kaṁsa, Kṛṣṇa’s uncle. He was also thinking of Kṛṣṇa always, but he thought of Kṛṣṇa as his enemy. He was always in anxiety, wondering when Kṛṣṇa would come to kill him. That kind of thinking will not help us. One should be thinking of Kṛṣṇa in devotional love. That is bhakti. One should cultivate the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa continuously. What is that favorable cultivation? It is to learn from a bona fide teacher. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we have several times explained that His body is not material, but is eternal, blissful knowledge. This kind of talk about Kṛṣṇa will help one become a devotee. Understanding Kṛṣṇa otherwise, from the wrong source, will prove fruitless.

One should therefore engage his mind in the eternal form, the primal form of Kṛṣṇa; with conviction in his heart that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, he should engage himself in worship. There are hundreds of thousands of temples in India for the worship of Kṛṣṇa, and devotional service is practiced there. When such practice is made, one has to offer obeisances to Kṛṣṇa. One should lower his head before the Deity and engage his mind, his body, his activities – everything. That will make one fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa without deviation. This will help one transfer to Kṛṣṇaloka. One should not be deviated by unscrupulous commentators. One must engage in the nine different processes of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service is the highest achievement of human society.

This is Bhagavad-gīta As it is, Chapter Nine, Text 34, The Most Confidential Knowledge spoken today, the 23^rd of December, 1999, 513^th year of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: You have to tell them this ISKCON Centre at Kuantan, Malaysia, to the west of the salt ocean. I have been here to Kuantan several times before, but [13:54 Not clear] I have been here. Same place? How many years ago? Ten years ago. So who was here, ten years ago? So no one was here. How many people are seeing me for the first time?

Vanakkam!

I am very happy to meet all of you. This chapter of Bhagavad-gīta is very important. The Most Confidential Knowledge. In the very beginning of the chapter – verse two, Kṛṣṇa tells that this is the king of education. Rāja-vidyā.  How many here are students? Ok, so whatever you are studying this Bhagavad-gīta, especially chapter Nine, this is the king of  education.

pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

Why is this considered king of education? Because it gives the realisation of the self by perception. How many of you have heard about the soul? Ātma? How many have seen the ātma? Nobody has seen. By this process of devotional service you can see the ātma. How many like to see the ātma? Very good. This is a very good group. People here are very religious minded. Alright we should give them a very strong blessing. Haribol! This ability to see the self within our bodies, to see our own selves, is nothing short of education. If you know that, you really know the essence. And this process is very joyfully performed. It says su-sukhaṁ. Sukhaṁ means happiness. How many like to be happy? Very good. But this is not ordinary happiness. This is super happiness. Su-sukhaṁ means super happiness. How many would like super happiness? Haribol! 

We also want all of you to become super happy. In the material world, happiness is not a good bargain. Because happiness means that when our senses feel something good, we think we are happy. Just like today is a bit warm day and those sitting under the fan are feeling cool air. They are feeling very happy. We have no fan, they have no fan. We are feeling very hot. So that means - [laughter] so the same fan makes somebody happy and somebody may be unhappy. Or in winter time – here there is no winter in Malaysia, but there are countries where they have winter, like India. North India has winter. In Māyāpur 15 degrees. Turns into ice cube. That same happy - the same thing that gives us happiness can give us suffering. So material happiness is based on suffering. It is like if you are not hungry, you like to eat? So hunger is also suffering? So we feel hungry, then we have a desire to eat. But hunger means that is a suffering. So like this material happiness is always a mixture of suffering and some enjoyment.

And at the end of the – everything, usually the suffering is more and the enjoyment is less. All the big businessmen, they say only ten percent of people should see them being happy. We are going to be that ten percent. But even the so-called ten percent, are also not happy. When the stock market crashes, sometimes, somebody may lose hundred million dollars in one minute. I know somebody in Russia, he had hundreds of millions of dollars. Overnight. Nothing. Because the entire stock market crashed. Even the house they owned, he lost everything. And some people, they went mad because of that. Some people, they lost their intelligence. Some people jumped out of the window to commit suicide. So, this is the nature of material happiness. Not much happiness but lot of suffering. So, the spiritual happiness – you cannot avoid – Prabhupāda said that in the material world, you are going to have to enjoy and suffer the material life. You cannot avoid it. We are not telling people, you should not experience material life. You cannot avoid it. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means we try for the super happiness. If we regulate our material life, we will be peaceful. Sometimes this is called simple living, high thinking. Or it is, regulated living and high thinking. Whatever Kṛṣṇa gives us materially we accept it as His blessing. And we use that in His service.

You must know the story of Vipra Sudāma? Sudāma Vipra? He was a brāhmana. And he was in the gurukula school with Lord Kṛṣṇa. Sāndīpani Muni was their teacher, their guru. So together the two children were being taught how to serve guru. They were going out and getting firewood for the yajña of the guru. You go out and get fire - firewood for your guru? That was one of the services the young brahmacāris would do – they get the firewood for their guru, so the guru can perform the daily yajña.

Bhoooom! Bhoooom! Tsshhhhhh!!

There was a huge storm when Kṛṣṇa and Vipra Sudāma were out getting firewood. And they got lost in the storm where to go in the -They had to take shelter of a tree. They could not be back in time. The guru, like a father he was worrying about his disciples. And with the other boys they went out in the night looking for them in the night, where is Kṛṣṇa and Vipra Sudāma? They found Them under the tree and they brought Them back to the āśrama. Like this They had many intimate times together. But then Lord Kṛṣṇa, He went to Dvāraka and He played the part of a great king. His devotee Vipra Sudāma went home. He got married. But he was a very poor brāhmana. He had no money. And he had to go begging just to survive. His wife was always saying to him, “Your friend is Kṛṣṇa. Arrey, He is your schoolmate. We are living in such poverty. If you ask Kṛṣṇa He will give you easily. He has got unlimited money. He can give everyone. Look at that, I don’t have any proper sāri, no food.”

Every day she is pushing him – “Why don’t you go and ask Kṛṣṇa, go and ask Kṛṣṇa, go and ask Kṛṣṇa.” That day Mahārāja was pushing us, get all of us on time to catch the flight to Hongkong [Laughter]

‘You must go. You must go on time. Come on.’

So like that the wife of Sudāma was pushing him. Go, go, go. So finally he thought, ‘Anyway, let me go and see Kṛṣṇa. I haven’t seen Him for a long time. But I should bring something when I go to see Kṛṣṇa. But I have nothing to bring Him. I have nothing.’ So he went begging and got some flat rice. And he put the flat rice in his cloth, may be in a bag, I forget, maybe in a bag [31:20 Not clear] and he walked to Dvārakā. Dvārakā was an island kingdom. Recently in India some archaeologists found under the ocean that there was some city and they found it had some boats in the dock – docking area which is bigger than the biggest of the modern docking – shipping areas of Rotterdam, Singapore, many times over. Bigger than plane. So Vipra Sudāma, he went over the ocean and he went to the island where Kṛṣṇa was. He saw in the city, everyone was a devotee. Imagine a city where everyone is a devotee. Everyone likes Kṛṣṇa. There in Dvārakā, he went to the palace of Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇi. Neither did the gatekeeper stop Sudāma. He was amazed. Everything was so opulent - gold everywhere, jewels, marble, onyx, all very valuable stones and everywhere people were - gatemen were welcoming him, “Come, come, come in,” as if he has been -  they were informed to expect him. Finally he came into the inner part of the palace and there Kṛṣṇa was waiting for him. And Kṛṣṇa received him with all respect. He said,

 “I am a kṣatriya, you are a brāhmana. So I have to bathe your feet.”

Kṛṣṇa is playing his līla although He is the Supreme Lord, He plays just like a human being. He was playing the part of a kṣatriya. So He bathed the feet of Vipra Sudāma. And Rukmiṇi was fanning him. Then he, Vipra Sudāma was just crying to see his friend. Can you all move in here? Move closer? It is raining.

Then Kṛṣṇa said, “What is this in your bag? What are you carrying? You brought something for Me? How kind of you!”

“No, no, no.” Vipra Sudāma, he thought, ‘This is so ordinary thing. Kṛṣṇa has everything. How will I give - offer Him some flat rice – chivda.’

 “No, no it is not good enough for you. It is an ordinary thing.”

“Anything My devotee brings Me is good enough for Me.” By force He took it and He saw the chivda and said, “O My favourite chivda.” He took one bite. “Mmmmmm.” And He said, “Very good!” Nallarku. Nallarku. Again He took a second bite. “Nallārku” (speaks in Tamil) [Laughter] And then He was going to take a third bite. Rukmiṇi stopped him. “My Lord, please, don’t take three times.”

“Why not?”

“You see, he had nothing. He had to beg from others to give this to you. So, by You taking once, I should give him all the opulences of the world. By giving twice I should give him equal opulence of You. But when You take three times, I should give more opulence than You have. And that is not possible. Because You have all the opulence. That is why if You take three times, I won’t be able to reward him.”

So like this Vipra Sudāma – he could never even ask Kṛṣṇa, “Please give me something.”

Although his wife had said so many times – he could not bring himself - how can I ask Kṛṣṇa there is some need, He is my friend, I love Him. How can I ask my friend to [39:54 not clear] it will be like a business deal. A true friend wants to give his friend not he want to take. So he never asked Kṛṣṇa for anything. But he was so happy that he met with Kṛṣṇa. Tears were filled in his eyes. He went back to his home. As he was returning back, and he was nearing where his little house was – ragged hut. He saw that his hut was gone. There, there was like a palatial building there. He saw some beautiful lady dressed in fine sāris with so many maidservants coming to greet him. ‘So who is this?’ As she came very close to receive him, he saw that it was his wife. What’s happening here?

“Look this. Thank you for getting me a nice, wonderful house here.” But he had never asked Kṛṣṇa for anything. Without asking, Kṛṣṇa just gave him. Big house, so much money. Then Sudāma used this house simply for worshipping Kṛṣṇa. He was a pure devotee. He really had opulence he accepted finally, but he used it for propagating Kṛṣṇa message to others. He achieved the super happiness. He had Kṛṣṇa as a friend. How many of you like Kṛṣṇa as a friend? Actually Kṛṣṇa is already your friend. 

Bokhara yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

He is the Lord of all the worlds and He is the enjoyer of all the sacrifices. And He is a friend of all the living entities. He is in our heart as His expansion as the Supersoul. Unfortunately we don’t know Kṛṣṇa. But He knows us. And He wants us to know Him. So that is why this is the king of knowledge. If you know Kṛṣṇa, then you will know He is your best friend. Whatever will be good for you, you will obtain that, you will get. But He is your friend, He would not like to give you what is not good for you. So we want to re-establish our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, it is not difficult. He has told us here in this verse we read today – 24, by bowing down to Him, being His devotee, worshipping Him and remembering Him we will certainly become united with Him. So we become devoted to Him and go back to Kṛṣṇa.

You see this material world is described as chowdah bhuvana - fourteen levels of planets. We are on the seventh level. And the top level is called Satyaloka. Who lives in Satya loka? [45:49 not clear]Satyaloka. Who is the person living there? Nobody knows? Lord Brahmā. What is your name? Dinakaran? Dinakaran has given the right answer. Give him a big hand. [Crowd cheers Haribol!]. Satyaloka is also known as Brahmaloka. Caturmukha Brahma is sitting there. Here it is Kali yuga. But there Kali-yuga has no effect. People there live for billions of years until the end of the universe there is no destruction. Then, we have Brahmaloka at the border of the material world and the spiritual world. There is Kailāsa and Lord Śiva is very - to get to Lord Śiva’s abode one has to be even more qualified than going to Brahmaloka. But beyond Brahmaloka there is brahma-jyoti. I mean, beyond the Kailāsa, there is brahma-jyoti. And in that brahma-jyoti there are so many spiritual planets. And there Nārāyana is living in His various forms. Beyond these Vaikuṇṭha planets there is Ayodhya, where Lord Rāma is residing in His spiritual abode.

This morning in Redang, we were reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Ninth Canto where Lord Rāma went back to the spiritual world. And there it goes, anyone who chants His holy name can also go to the abode where the bhakti yogis go. That is the spiritual world.

Beyond Ayodhya there is Kṛṣṇa’s planet known as Goloka. And that is divided in four sections. Vrindāvana, Mathurā, Dvāraka and Śvetadvīpa. So, one who goes beyond this brahma-jyoti into the spiritual planet, they never come back again to this material world

nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ

This is mentioned in Bhagavad-gīta – never come back again. So in this material world, sometimes we get a good birth, sometimes we get a lousy birth – we are going all the time one birth after the next. Every birth we have to go through the diseases, the old age, again dying, again rebirth. How many would like to continue on with this cycle of birth and death in this life taking birth again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again? How many would like to go back to the spiritual world, end the cycle of birth and death?

Haribol!

Devotees: Haribol!

Jayapatākā Swami: Very good. What do you say for very good? Nallarku. Nallarku.(speaks Tamil) Nalla irukku [Laughter] Give me your blessing that I can learn it in this lifetime. Koncham koncham Tamil.

Audience: Jai!!

Jayapatākā Swami: No practice. Nobody speaks to me in Tamil. [Laughter] Great, special, he was trying. Nanda Dulāla was trying to teach me some Tamil. This time he gave up [Laughter]

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ

Transcribed by Sudhāmayī Citrā Devī Dāsī

Completed on 18/Dec/2020