20100508 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.13

mūkaṁkarotivācālaṁ
paṅguṁlaṅghayategirim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁvande
paramānanda-mādhavam
śrīcaitanyaīśvaram

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.13

harir hi sākṣādbhagavānśarīriṇām
ātmā jhaṣāṇāmivatoyamīpsitam
hitvāmahāṁstaṁyadisajjategṛhe
tadāmahattvaṁvayasādampatīnām

hariḥ—the Lord; hi—certainly; sākṣāt—directly; bhagavān—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śarīriṇām—of all living entities who have accepted material bodies; ātmā—the life and soul; jhaṣāṇām—of the aquatics; iva—like; toyam—the vast water; īpsitam—is desired; hitvā—giving up; mahān—a great personality; tam—Him; yadi—if; sajjate—becomes attached; gṛhe—to household life; tadā—at that time; mahattvam—greatness; vayasā—by age; dam-patīnām—of the husband and wife.

TRANSLATION

Just as aquatics always desire to remain in the vast mass of water, all conditioned living entities naturally desire to remain in the vast existence of the Supreme Lord. Therefore if someone very great by material caLord Chaitanayulations fails to take shelter of the Supreme Soul but instead becomes attached to material household life, his greatness is like that of a young, low-class couple. One who is too attached to material life loses all good spiritual qualities.

PURPORT

Although crocodiles are very fierce animals, they are powerless when they venture out of the water onto land. When they are out of the water, they cannot exhibit their original power. Similarly, the all-pervading Supersoul, Paramātmā, is the source of all living entities, and all living entities are part and parcel of Him. When the living entity remains in contact with the all-pervading Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, he manifests his spiritual power, exactly as the crocodile exhibits its strength in the water. In other words, the greatness of the living entity can be perceived when he is in the spiritual world, engaged in spiritual activities. Many householders, although well educated in the knowledge of the Vedas, become attached to family life. They are compared herein to crocodiles out of water, for they are devoid of all spiritual strength. Their greatness is like that of a young husband and wife who, though uneducated, praise one another and become attracted to their own temporary beauty. This kind of greatness is appreciated only by low-class men with no qualifications.

Everyone should therefore seek the shelter of the Supreme Soul, the source of all living entities. No one should waste his time in the so-called happiness of materialistic household life. In the Vedic civilization, this type of crippled life is allowed only until one's fiftieth year, when one must give up family life and enter either the order of vānaprastha (independent retired life for cultivation of spiritual knowledge) or sannyāsa (the renounced order, in which one completely takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead).

* * *

Guru Maharaja: Hari Om Tatsat. Hello. Is it working? Hare Krsna Hare Krsna.

So, this verse is quite heavy because most of the people, they don’t remain in contact with the supersoul, with the supreme personality of Godhead, and in stead they become very attached to their family life. So, as a result, they lost their… their original potency, just like a crocodile loses its potency if it comes out of the water.

When the crocodile is in the water, you don’t see it very clearly where it is, and it … if it grabs you, it is very hard to get lose. But on the land it is not so fast and one could escape relatively easily from the crocodile.

So, we are taking one safari to Bangladesh, and there they took us to the Sundabana forest, the forest which had the crocodile project, that the crocodiles had reduced in the Sundaraban, and so they wanted to reproduce the crocodiles, and they had various incubations, what you call like pigs, where they put one year old, two years old, three years old crocodile, and they will release them in a while.

So, the devotees said, the local people swim here?

He said, Oh yea.

So, they swim?

Sure, local people swim.

So, next thing you know, all the devotees, they were... not all, most of them, they dived into the water, and the guy from the (inaudible)19.07… what you are doing? “Are you crazy, there are crocodiles there. What you are doing?”

You said local...

Local… we don’t care local … if one of you die I will get my … you know...

So, please, please come out, come out.

So, there in the... in that there was one guy, I think he was from Check republic or something, he started walking on the wall. This … the devotees in the safari is like, what a think you know, he is walking on a wall of the tank that holds the big crocs.

Now the guy there was freaking out, what is he doing? If he falls there, he will be eaten alive. So, please you come down. And then they just showed, they just threw one fish or something into the tank, and out from nowhere came a huge crocodile, like fifteen feet. So, we had our little experience of crocodiles.

Sometimes we do the, what you call the, well... preaching program with a big stage, and on the way back, at this village called Harinagar... So, there it is on the last village before the Sundarban. So, sometimes across the road will lie the crocodiles. So, they didn’t recommend you to go alone. Sometimes the tigers would come, but if you can see the crocodile, it is less dangerous. But still you stay away, but if you don’t see him, you don’t see it, you don’t know, it sneaks sometimes in and grabs you. There is one pastime of Lord Chaitanay, He was invited by one Gopal, a cowherd boy, you please come to my house, your mother and my mother are sisters.

How is that? My mother is a brahmana and your mother is a cowherd girl...lady. So, how they are sisters?

Well, you mother, my mother used to serve you mother, and your mother used to call her, Sachi mata used to call her as a younger sister, and so like that through village relation they are sisters. So, we are brothers.

Ok, brother.

So, local… she wants you to come and visit the house, and she has some milk sweets for you.

So, on the way, they saw a cow mowing.

If you heard that devotee from Philippines, is he here? He knows how to moo.

So,...22.35

So, but loud, loud… (laughter)

So, Lord Chaitanya asked, why are the cows mowing, and so he told him that, you see, there is a big crocodile here, and because of that crocodile, so the cows are afraid to take the water, they don’t know where it is. If it is right by the side, he will grab him and pull him in the water. So, they are afraid. So, they are waiting to see where is the crocodile that don’t drink water. So, then he had his party do kirtan,

Hare Krsna Hare Ksna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

All of a sudden in the middle of the lake rose the crocodile. Gradually it swam, it was a big one, it was very old; they say that some of the Gangec or Gangetic crocodiles grow to twenty plus feet. So, this is a big one. So, he was swimming towards Lord Chaitanya. He crawled out of the water, and then he ran up to Lord Chaitanya, and he touched the feet of Lord Chaitanya, and he was transformed into an extra-terrestrial boy.

Haribol…

Gauranga…

Gauranga…

… Harinam.

It just happened on the third street...25.15... if it does tell me about…

So, there Lord Chaitanya He asked, who are you? You might ask the same question, how does the crocodile turn into a boy? So, he said, I am a resident of Indraloka, and I was playing in the forest and met... I saw this rishi sleeping with big matted hair. So, I cut off his hair… haa… I thought it was a joke. I didn’t know that this rishi was Durvasa Muni. So, when he woke up, his hair was a little lighter. He said, who cut my hair he is expert like a crocodile cutting. So, I curse him that he be a crocodile. Then … oh, I went, I fell at his feet, please, please, I am just a kid, I was just playing around, I didn’t know that, I don’t want to be crocodile.

So, well, ok, since you are, I cannot retract the curse. So, I can give some adjustment. I skip clause. So, you can be a crocodile and you can get out when Lord Chaitanya comes in the Kali Yuga, you touch his feet, and you will get free from the curse. So, I was waiting here for yugas for you to come here in Nabadwipa so I can touch your feet, and now I am freed from the curse. So, I want to serve you eternally. I want to be your devotee. So, he circumnutated four times around Lord Chaitanya, and then airplane from the Indra Loka came, and his parents came, you naughty boy, what you are doing? Always getting in trouble… they grabbed him by the ear and took him, come with us back home. So, then he was taken back to home. Unfortunately not back to godhead, but back to Indraloka.

Om namaha bhagavate Vasudevaya…

This is written by Jagadananda Pandita in his prema vivarta. He also said after that Lord Chaitanya went to the house of the cowherd lady who was the sister sp called of his mother, and she offered him a rasagulla, sandesha, a camcham, and various other milk sweets. I wish I could offer all of you here, and offer… but Bengal is famous for the milk sweets.

So, that’s the crocodile in the Caitanya Lila.

We take the devotees to this place called, this place is called Gaura Daha, and… but, so to be a crocodile is not a great thing. To be a crocodile in the water is more dangerous than a crocodile on the land. But the idea is we want all of our… especially this verse is for the grihamedhis, those who are too attached to the family life that they forget to engage in devotional service. Our devotees, as grihasthas they work as a team to worship the deities, to serve the community deity, to engage in sankirtan. They work as a team. So, in their service to Krsna, their material activities are kept to the minimum and essential, and they render some service to Krsna. So, they don’t lose their contact with krsna. This is the special quality of the grihastha in Krsna Consciousness. They don’t lose their contact.

Just as we see here, there are many grihasthas who are here at the morning program, they like… they are also… many of you come do the deity worship. So, this is recommended. Now most people, they don’t understand, they thing that… like we heard one verse read that days ago, this married life is a festival of momentary happiness. So, they are absorbed in this momentary happiness and hard work, this two things. But they don’t know how to engage in devotional service. So, Lord Chaitanay he taught, grihe thako, bane thako, sada hari bole dako.

Hare Krsna Hare Ksna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So, actually it is not recommended to take sanyasa in the kali yuga. Rather it is recommended to be a grhastha. So, its…but not the kind of grihastha that loses contact with Krsna. Not the grihamedhi. Once we were walking with Prabhupada in the backside of the lotus building in the fields, and there was one stick, and there was some bullocks for walking around and around the stick, and they were kicking the… I think that was munga dala or some form of dal. So, that was the way of breaking loose from the plants.

So, Prabhupada asked us, what is the name of that stick?

Do you know? We didn’t know… you know. Prabhupada kept saying, what is the name of that stick? So, we were all like bewildered what to say. That stick looks like a ordinary stick. It was not like anything special. He said, no, it has a name. That stick is called the me-danda. That means the lady stick. That just as the bullocks go round and around, the grihastha, grihamedhi, all he thinks about is woman in that house, and all his work is round and round the family life. He goes around and around and around but he is going in a big circle around, the family.

So, of course, so, Prabhupada, he was encouraging that we should not be like this grihamedhis, we should engage in Krsna’s service. Now at the same time, I heard him also recommend the grihasthas, like the husband should love the wife, the wife should love the husband, they should teach each other with affection and care. At the same time they should work together to serve guru and gauranga.

So, its… you know it is a different subtle body. Then we as sanyasis, brahmacharis have, but they bounce out. So, we should very much appreciate them, that what they are doing, this thing it may seem like a disciple who is a devotee here? So I think how her mother and father, they are stalwart members of this community, and I am very happy that you see that the grihasthas they do the austerity to have a child or children, and then the raise them as Krsna Consciousness, and if they become Krsna conscious, we know that fourteen generations, seven before and seven after, they all get liberated. So, it is a great thing.

Of course, not every child becomes a devotee, but some do so. That’s... they try to do their best. So, like this, they do their activities with the idea of pleasing Krsna. So, most of Lord Chaitanya … Lord Chaitanya was also a grihastha, Nityananda was also a grihastha, Advaita was a grihastha, all the Panchatattva, sometime they were grihasthas. So, this grihastha life as a devotee is not what is being talked about here particularly.

This is someone who is too attached to the family life, that they don’t engage in Krsna’s service. So, we want to neglect our service to Krsna, we want to chant. So, the grihasthas and the brahamacharis and the sanyasis, we all have the same duty to chant.

Hare Krsna Hare Ksna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So, this is a great … I was actually told by a … at that time I was a bhakta, I was of the same age as Om Kar Das here. I was nineteen years old, and I was told by the wife of the temple President, that was Hemavati, my President was Hamsaduta, that if you don’t get married, you are not going back to godhead. You have to get married, and you have to go with your wife and you open up a temple somewhere. And this is the way, this it the truth, this is life, this is the only way. So, I was a bit bewildered, being a bhakta, nineteen years old, I wasn’t exactly thinking at that moment to get married. So, I went to Prabhupada and asked him what should I do? Hemavati is asking me that I should get married, or how am I going back to godhead.

So, he said, well, this is something that is decided between guru and you. You see, when you are twenty-five to thirty. So, you wait till twenty-five and then I will decide with you. So, ok…[laughter] so, heard a rain check. Until twenty-five hands off. Of course when I was twenty-one Prabhupada called me and asked, you are going to take sanyasa. So, I didn’t really know what sanyasa was. If I would have known that… we are not going to make it, maybe got cold feet but being a young..., I said, Oh, why not, it is great opportunity. So, I took it.

So, one by one I saw the others were older sanyasis… one or another. So, now I am the oldest sanyasi in Iskcon, and I am hanging out, and I am praying to Gaura Nitai and Rukmini Dwarakadish, Radha Madhava and the Panchatattva and Jagannatha Baladeva and Subhadra that I can keep up this vows. Its difficult in Kali Yuga. At the same time, whether we are a sanyasi or whether we are brahmachari or whether we are a grihastha, we should not be too attached.

See, there was a situation where Ramanujacharya, he was criticized, why you are having a grihastha secretary? You should have a brahmachari, sanyasi. Grihasthas are attached.

So, he said, ok, we will see who is attached.

So, he sent two disciples, you go to the grihastha, you steal the gold from the wife, and you will see what their action is. So, they … they were living in Srirangam. So, they removed the roof tiles. They lowered down. The wife said, Oh, this are my godbrothers, I wonder why they are sneaking in, maybe the guru needs something but he doesn’t want to ask, so, … she just feigned that she was asleep, and she was laying on lsd, left side down you know. So, they took half of her ornaments, and she thought, they can’t reach the other half, so let me roll over and then they can have the other half. So, she rolled over. They got freaked out, Oh no, she is waking up. They ran out, and then her husband came, Khuresh, the grihastha devotee. So, she came to greet her husband. Now she had half ornaments, half no. She said, why... (inaudible) 41..50... what happened to you? So, she was saying what happened. He said, it is because you thought it was yours to give to guru. Everything belongs to guru. Why do you think anything belongs to us? Because we are grhasthas, we have ornaments, we have to do all this things, but everything actually belongs to the guru. So, because of your false ego you could only give half, and so the two disciples who were stealing, they were hiding and they heard all this. And they came back and they reported to Ramnuja. And then he sent them, you go and you go in the sanyasi, brahmachari ashram, and you move ones kaupina to the other, other kaupis to the... and see what happens. That day none of the brahmacharis or sanyasis came to the Mangalaarati, they were all busy fighting, who took you... who took my kaupina? And they had a big fight over that loin cloth. So, like that then they came back and told the fun to Ramanuja.

So, Ramanuja, then later, he gave the report to all the assembled disciples, this, I wanted to tell what happened. So, they told what happened, just see, you sanyasis and brahmacharis, you are so attached over your loin cloth, your kaupina, and this so called attached grihastas, they were not attached over their gold, they thought why we couldn’t give all the gold to the guru, we are very fallen, we are unqualified. So, like that, then the sanyasi then said, ok, ok, he is qualified to be your secretary, we are not, we accept.

So, like that the duty one has as a grhastha are different than the duties that one has a sanyasi or as a brhamachari. So, it is said that the grhastha arshram is the responsible ashram. They have a lot of responsibilities. At the same time, they are Krsna Consciousness, responsibilities are the same. But they have to also take care of so many other things.

Now they shouldn’t be so attached that they give up their service to guru and Krsna. They should work together as a team, and together they can serve. In this way, their life will be a success, they won’t be what is talked about in this verse. They will be in there, they will be crocodile in water.

Actually, later in the eight canto there is another verse about the dwell between Gajendra and the crocodile. Now Gajendra is a animal of the land, and the crocodile was the animal of the water. So, they were having a big fight. But it was in the water. So, as a result, the crocodile was getting stronger and the elephant was getting weaker. So, in the purport, Prabhupada said, every person has to see where they are stronger, as a grihastha or a brahmachari, or as a sanyasi, where they are stronger. Like that they fight against the maya. We should fight, we shouldn’t just surrender to Maya.

So, whether we should fight as a grhastha or fight as a sanyasi, that we can make a choice. But we should see where we are stronger.

And most people, being a grhastha they feel more strong, but they need to fight against the illusory energy. That’s the whole point. So, this verse is taking about someone who surrenders to the material energy, someone who forgets about Krsna. So, we don’t want to do that. We want to be strong, we want to work together, and we want to serve Krsna, we want to serve guru and Krsna, guru and Gauranga...

Gauranga....

So, I was... I was seeing here the book distributors, and they include the grihasthas and brahmacharis and ladies, Vaisnavas, Vaisnavas, all kinds of devotees, distribute books also doing the Harinam. It is very encouraging. This is very auspicious. So, this is what we want. Everyone, irregardless of which ashram they are in, they should engage in devotional service. Now the advantage of the sanyasi of the brahmachari is that you don’t have so many material responsibilities, they can get more time for Krsna. But if their mind is somewhere else in maya, then it is not good. So, its better to be a grhastha than a false renunciate. But wherever you are stronger, the advantage is like, I could travel and as a sanyasi, whereas as a grihastha you can’t really travel as much as I did. Five six times around the world every year.

Now I don’t know if I can travel so much. Maybe three times. (laughter) I would like to but lets see. I have to get healthy first. So, anyway the idea, this verse we should take some courage that we should stay in connection with Krsna. This is where Lord Chaitanya taught us to chant. That’s why... one time one lady came up to me, she was Mother Teresa nurse. She saw me sitting when I was chanting in the airport. She said, do you have chickens in your beads... in your bag there?

Chickens? I don’t have chickens.

She saw the hand moving. She thought there were chickens. That’s what she asked anyway. I said, no, we have a rosary, we have beads. We chant,

Hare Krsna Hare Ksna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So, people don’t know what we are doing. I was giving recently one seminar, I don’t know a sermon talk in the Unitarian universal church in Leguna beach, and there also in Sento Monica. Actually, regularly, the one is Santa Monica, the priest said he was fascinated with Brigu Pati. So, Brgu pati would go there at least once a year and give a class. If you want him, he is his friend. Anyway, the priest in Leguna Beach, I talked about, one of the subjects I touched was how it was important to chant the names of God, and how every religion of the world they glorify the name of God, and I have quotes which Gaura Chandra had got for me, from... like... and the Buddhist teaching and the Islamic teaching. So, we had some... verses. He said, now I understand why you people stress so much on chanting the holy names, and why it is fundamental to all the religions of the world to chant the names of God.

So, it was nice that he came with that realization. So, we have to go on pushing. I see that preaching in America is not so easy. Of course, I don’t get much opportunity to preach. I mainly try to encourage the devotees. But we need to reach out, let people know that what we stand for, what we are, what our teachings are, in this way by giving Krsna to others, we can, we can be always in touch with Krsna. So, Prabhupada said when he was asked, what will make you happy? he said, I will be happy if you are Krsna conscious, happy in Krsna Consciousness and you will make others happy. So, our job is to make people happy. What a nice service.

Haribol...

Srila Prabhupada ki...

So, I better end here.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: Thank you very much for your presentation Maharaja on family life, this verse. Material life, spiritual life is always wonderful. I had just a comment that yesterday in this relation to this, previously we were talking about happy family. So, that is very attractive for devotees when you hear your happy family, but how to do it. So, yesterday we have a nice experience of being a few bhaktas, some brahmacharis, some senior devotees who went to Santa Monica to... and everybody was so happy, and so much happier, and the outside people were so attracted, and the devotees were distributing books. When they were all enlivened, so actually that is the key word that all together, combined brahmacharis, sanyasis senior devotees. Specially I was so happy there seeing Brigupati and Vijaya distributing books.

Devotees were so, we were more... the devotees were encouraged to go to meet the people. Therefore, they are hankering, but for that we have to be happy, we have to show that we are happy, that we have something that we can give to them, and that’s senior devotees go there and encourage the younger devotees, and I know that you yourselves were also one time. You were there I think last week, twice.

(inaudible)

The prominent.

So, thank you very much for your presence here. You are enlivening us, and now your disciples look very enthusiastic, and I hope that by your mercy they will remain enthusiastic so that we can nourish ourselves to... because we are hankering for their association of purity. And I just wanted to say that. That was really nice, because family gathering together only we can be happy. If we engage in the service of Krsna, we have the experience. Harinam is the easiest and the nicest voice, because everybody is smiling, everybody is happy, and all we have to do is just go. Once a week or once a month, or whatever.

Haribol.

Guru Maharaja: The... Harinam here is very ecstatic and we saw so many different people who came up and they joined in the Harinam, and they chanted and danced in the streets. It was be very nice to see so many people chanting.

People Walking by...

Gurumaharaja, thanks for sharing such a nice class with us. I have a question. I can somehow see myself as the crocodile once in a while I think. I think all the devotees can see themselves as a crocodile every once in a while. Philosophically we might see ourselves that we are stronger in the water. That when we know that when we are in contact with krsna, when we are doing devotional service, when we are in association with devotees, that we are stronger. We might philosophically understand, but every now and then we might have a taste that’s urging us to come outside of that water, and it can come in so many forms, depending on which ashram we are in. What are some general ways that we can sort of convince ourselves of... or to combat that urge, to come out of that safe situation where we are in a stronger situation, and we would be tempted by... to come out of the water, to go a little further away from the water, and something like that.

Guru Maharaja: Interesting question. I am reminded of the pastimes where Krsna appeared in the prison house, and Devaki and Vasudeva, they were offering their prayers to him. At that time Devaki asked Krsna to please take a baby form. It said because she was overwhelmed with motherly affection, and she was afraid for Krsna. It is said that just like Devaki was afraid for Krsna, we should be afraid to lose our Krsna Consciousness, we should also have that respect for Maya, that she is very powerful, and if we venture out of the water, she can grab us, she can catch us.

So, just like the crocks they stay in the water. Generally they don’t come out. If they come out, sometimes they take the sun bath, they leave themselves quite vulnerable... so, we want to always remember that Maya is very strong, and that our place is under the shelter of Krsna.

Prabhupada used another analogy. He said, we should hang out tightly to the lotus feet of Gaura-Nitaia, guru and gauranga, we should hang out in the lotus feet and don’t let go. So, if out of false ego we think, I am a devotee for a long time, I don’t need to fear, I can go anywhere, this are the words before the end. You see, such people crawl back after like twenty years, wow, I made a mistake, now I got to pay... got this, got that...so many problems.

So, we want to respect Maya devi. She is... her service is a difficult service; just to keep you in this material world. So, Haribol Mayadevi, all glories to your service. You stay there, I stay here. I stay under Krsna’s shelter, and then as long as you are under Krsna’s shelter Maya can’t touch us, but if we go out we are... what you call, we are sitting ducks for maya. So, we don’t... we want to be always under Krsna’s shelter, and sometimes we do venture out, well maya is very kind. She gives us a few good kicks, so then... you remind me that maybe I should go back in the water. [laughter]

So, jaya...

Like that we want to take the inspiration. That is our service. She is very expert. So, we should fear by, theat healthy fear is good for us. We shouldn’t get puffed up and think, nothing can... maya... we are insignificant. Our only protection is that we are able to stay under the protection of Krsna. Otherwise, maya is stronger than us. But Krsna is stronger than maya.

So, we have to stay under Krsna’s shelter. If we don’t... like I heard the pastimes of the end of the Kurukshetra war. Krsna told Arjuna, please walk off from the chariot first.

Why?

Just walk off.

So, he walked off. Then as soon as Krsna stepped down, that chariot burned into ashes. There were so many curses, so many weapons set against it, they were just held in advance by Krsna. Once he left, ok, take you action, they were all infallible weapons. That chariot was burned to ashes.

So, like that, we know how many things we are being protected by the blessings of guru and Krsna, and we don’t want to know either. Not till we are back in the spiritual world. That’s all right. Like after the battle of Kurukshetra was over, Arjuna could know, ok, this is what Krsna has saved you from.

So, Krsna saves us from so many dangers.

Why should we not take the allurements of maya? Why we should not take the shelter of Krsna? It is self evident, because if we do, we are finished. At least you take a good kick, and if you are unfortunate you may get detoured for a long time.

Hare Krsna.

So, we have some prasadam here, it is mahaprasad, those who want, mens line and ladies line...