710217LE.GOR
Lecture

Gorakhpur, February 17, 1971
Prabhupada: ...giving quotations from many scriptures about the supreme position of chanting the holy name of Krsna.
Ity adi asmin eva purane tatra tatra pathyate. So we were discussing janma-karma. Janma-karma-gunanam ca. Krsna, Krsna's name, Krsna's quality, Krsna's form, Krsna's pastimes, Krsna's entourage, everything. Krsna's abode, everything, they are one Absolute Truth. So any of these items you chant, it is as good as chanting the holy name of Krsna. There is no difference. As in the material world there is difference between the object and the name or other paraphernalia, in the spiritual world they are all the same. That we require to understand. Because we have no spiritual understanding at the present moment, we sometimes are misguided, thinking... Just like Krsna's pastimes with the gopis, some rascal people take it as ordinary dealings between young boys and girls. But it is all transcendental. It requires, I mean to say, service attitude to understand this. The whole thing, the basic principle of understanding Krsna consciousness is surrender. Nobody can understand except one who has fully surrendered him... Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. Sevonmukhe. One whose attitude is to serve, not to challenge, to him only, Krsna is revealed, not to others. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. These blunt senses, material senses, they cannot understand sri-krsna-namadi, beginning from Krsna's name. Because devotional service begins from this chanting of Krsna's name. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23]. Not of others, only of Visnu. People are imitating. There are so many imitations, that "Why Krsna's name? Let there be Kali's name be chanted." And there are so many rascals, they say that "Either you chant Kali's name or Krsna's name, it is all the same." The sastra does not say. Sastra says, harer namanukirtanam. Here is also Sridhara Swami quotes from sastras. Harer nama [Cc. Adi 17.21]. Harer adbhuta-karmanah. Sravanam kirtanam dhyanam harer adbhuta-karmanah. Krsna's activities are all wonderful, adbhuta. No human being can do like that. Harer adbhuta-karmanah, karmanah, janma-karma-guna..., tad-arthe akhila-cestitam. At the same time, tad-arthe, for Him, for His sake, akhila-cestitam... Any endeavor for pushing on Krsna's glories, that is also as good as chanting the holy name. When you go out for canvassing, for pushing on this movement, people may not see that you are not chanting and dancing. Suppose you are canvassing for a life member. That topic is also as good as chanting Hare Krsna mantra because akhila-cestitam. One's life must be dedicated simply for Krsna's service.
So any way you do it, it is all the same. Absolute. Tad-arthe akhila-cestitam, ity ady asmin eva purane tatra tatra pathyate. Sridhara Swami says, "In this Purana, Maha Purana, Srimad-Bhagavatam, these things are explained everywhere, as well as these things are explained in all other Vedic scriptures. Puranantare ca papa-ksayas ca bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam iti. These are the authoritative statements; therefore, we have to follow the acaryas. They pick up nice authorized verses from various Vedic literature and present before you. So Sridhara Swami says, puranantare. In other Puranas also it is stated, papa-ksayas ca bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam. "Anyone who is always absorbed in Your thought, no material scene can effect him, cannot touch him." Papa-ksayam. "And if he has any sinful activities in his past life, that also becomes nullified." Papa-ksayam. Papa-ksayam bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam. "Anyone who is always..." Krsna also says in the Bhagavad-gita that yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana: "One who is always thinking of Me within himself, he is first-class yogi." Yoginam api sarvesam [Bg. 6.47]. There is no need of speculating. Simply this easy process, thinking of Krsna. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that yoginam api sarvesam. All big, big yogis, there may be, but a person who is always absorbed in thought of Krsna within himself, he is greater than all such big, big yogis. Greater than the greatest yogi. Yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana. Mad-gata means his life is so molded that he cannot stay without thinking of Krsna. Mad-gata. He has become absorbed. That is samadhi. Mad-gatenantaratmana sraddhavan. Not for artificial makeshow, but sraddhavan, with faith and love. Sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah.
But how this stage can be attained? This stage can be attained only by persons who have developed pure love of God. Just like... It is very easy to understand. If you love somebody, always you'll think of him. In this material world also, the so-called love... If a boy loves some girl or a girl loves some boy, naturally, he thinks always of him. So to think of Krsna always means you must develop your love. That is there within yourself, everyone. Krsna-bhakti nitya-siddha. It is eternally truth, eternally fact, that you have got your love for Krsna within yourself. Simply you have to revive. That process is easy, very easy. The chanting. Ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. The glittering thing, Krsna, or the Krsna light. Krsna light is within everyone. Nitya-siddha: eternally truth. But it is covered by material contamination. And by chanting Hare Krsna mantra these nasty, dirty things will be cleansed. Ceto-darpana-marjanam. This is polishing. Polishing. Just like mirror, you polish; you can see very nicely the reflection of your nice face. Similarly, if you polish your heart by chanting, ceto-darpana-marjanam, then immediately you develop your dormant love of Krsna. And as soon as the dormant love of Krsna is awakened, immediately you are liberated. Bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam.
Liberation means to get out of the blazing fire of this material existence. That is liberation. It is simply change of consciousness, that I am thinking in so many ways, my consciousness is polluted in so many ways. But when you think that you are eternal servant of Krsna, that is your real constitutional position, then that very understanding makes you liberated, immediately. Papa-ksaya bhavati smaratam tam ahar-nisam. Tatraiva ca tasmat sankirtanam visnu jagan-mangalam amhasa... Jagan-mangalam amhasa. Sridhar Swami gives his comment, tasmat, therefore; sankirtanam visnu jagan-mangalam amhasa. The world (is) full of sinful reactions. If this sankirtana movement is pushed on there will be peace, there will be auspicity all over the world. It is not that we have introduced a new thing. It is sanctioned by the sastras and accepted by the authorities. Tasmat. He said, tasmat sankirtanam visnu. Visnu, not others. Not for the, of the demigods. Visnu. Sankirtanam visnu jagat mangalam amhasa, mahatam api kauravya viddhy aikantika-niskrtam ity adi. It is not only good for the sinful persons. Those who are exalted mahatmas, they should not think... They cannot think. If they are actually mahatmas, they cannot think like that. But there are so-called mahatmas. They think that they are very much exalted, they do not require this sankirtanam. Sridhara Swami says that this sankirtana movement is not only for the persons who are sinful, but mahatam api. Mahatam api sarvesam. That is the verdict of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Everywhere.
So Sridhara Swami also says mahatam api kauravya viddhy aikantika-niskrtam ity adina. Mahatam. Sridhara Swami says those who are thinking that "I am liberated, I am very exalted," that imagination is also not perfect. Unless one takes to this process of loving platform, there is no possibility of being liberated. And Bhagavad-gita also confirms this. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan [Bg. 7.19]. Jnanavan, those who are speculating on knowledge, they are called jnanavan, jnani. But that jnana, that speculative knowledge is not sufficient to give you liberation unless he takes to devotional service. They may think that they have elevated themselves very high by speculating process, but unless they take to this surrendering process to Krsna...
This is the verdict of all Vedic scriptures. Mahatam api kauravya... Samyak sankirtanad eva mucyate. Samyak sankirtanad eva mucyate. Simply imagining that "I have become liberated," that will not help. Maya is so strong that simply your concoction that "I have become liberated" will not do. Not fanciful imagination. One has to take actual process for becoming liberated. That is done, here Sridhara Swami says, samyak kirtanad eva mucyate. Simply by perfection of sankirtana, one can become liberated. Not otherwise. Kim ca tathasati kim api manvadaya dvadasa, dvadasadini smareyah (?).
Now argument may be forwarded that if the simple process, simply by chanting the holy name, one becomes liberated, then why there are so many sastras, manyadini? Manu is supposed to be the leader of giving all sastras. There are twenty kinds of sastras, dharma-sastra. Vimsati dharma-sastra. So what is the necessity of these dharma-sastras? Actually, there is no need of dharma-sastra. Krsna also says the same thing. Sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. There are twenty kinds of dharma-sastras, religious principles, in the Vedic literature, beginning from Manu, Parasara, and other great, great sages. So here, Sridhara Swami is also putting forward the argument that if simply by chanting the holy name of God, one becomes liberatedeven mahatmas also, they have to take to this processthen why, what is the necessity of so many, twenty kinds of dharma-sastras? So from the conclusion of various Vedic literatures, there is no need of studying even the dharma-sastras. Otherwise, why Krsna says that sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]? Sarva-dharman means the dharma-sastra also. Simply surrender. But people are so rigid and so, I mean to say, doggish, that they do not like to surrender to Krsna. For them only, so many different ways of convincing. Otherwise, the whole purpose is to induce him to surrender to Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vidyam. Krsna says. All these Vedic literatures, they are meant for bending the stubborn atheist to come to this point. Therefore there are so many ways of... Otherwise, the ultimate goal is to surrender to Krsna and chant His holy name.
Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

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