So how to come to the point of surrendering to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is taught in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. So I shall... I have given you some introduction to the Bhagavad-gita, that this Bhagavad-gita contains subject matter relating to God, to the living entityisvara, jivaand prakrti, and the time factor, and karma. Now, in the beginning, the six chapters in the Bhagavad-gita are simply devoted to understand what is the constitutional position of the jiva. The living entities are eternal. That is stated in the Second Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita: dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram... [Bg. 2.13]. [break]... dvau bhuta-sargau loke 'smin daiva asura [Bg. 16.6]. Asmin loke, in this world, there are two kinds of living entities, not only in human society but also in animal society, in trees, in plants, in... There are 8,400,000 species of lifeaquatic, plants, trees, reptiles, insects, birds, beasts, then human beings, civilized human beings, noncivilized human beings. And altogether, there are 8,400,000 species of life, and they are divided into...[break]

...man's body. So... But I am the same. I can remember some of the incidences of my childhood, of my boyhood, of my youthhood. Therefore I am permanent. That is the real understanding of the living entity. These things have been explained very vividly. And in the Sixth Chapter Lord Krsna recommended how to practice yoga. Yoga is the beginning of linking up our lost relationship with the Lord, yoga. Yoga means adding, addition or linking. Because we are now forgotten... The yoga system, any yoga system, means... Bhakti-yoga, karma-yoga, jnana-yogathere are different names of yogasbut actual fact is how to link up our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is called yoga. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Indriya. Because we are being deviated from our eternal relationship with God, Krsna, on account of our too much being engaged in sense gratification. Bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam tayapahrta-cetasam [Bg. 2.44]. Lord says, Krsna says, "Those who are too much after bhoga and aisvarya, material enjoyment and material opulence," prasaktan am tayapahrta-cetasam, "whose heart has been taken away by the process of sense gratification, for them, it is very difficult to be situated in samadhi." Bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam tayapahrta-cetasam. So yoga, yoga means to control the senses. Those who are too much in the bodily concept of life, for them, this hatha-yoga is prescribed just to control the sense by some mechanical way. You sit down, asana, pranayama, dhyana, dharana, pratyahara. There are eight different stages of fulfilling the yoga practice and then coming to the position of samadhi. Samadhi means fully situated in Krsna consciousness. That is real samadhi. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gata-manasa. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gata-manasa pasyanti yam yoginah. This is the definition of yogi. They are in meditation, and the mind, being absorbed in the thought of Visnu, and yam pasyanti yoginah. The yoginah, by controlling the senses, concentrating the mind upon Visnu, they become yogi. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gata-manasa: mind is absorbed in the thought of Visnu. That is perfection of yoga. So that is one method. Those who are too much, I mean to say, thinking of this body, for them, this hatha-yoga system is prescribed. But the aim of that hatha-yoga system is to see or search out the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Paramatma. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, and by this yoga practice, by samadhi, one is situated constantly seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead Visnu. That is samadhi.

But there is another method, supreme method. That will be explained in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. At the end of the Sixth Chapter the conclusion is,

Therefore Krsna, in the Seventh Chapter, He is teaching how to understand Krsna, how to realize Him. That realization, He says,

Now here Krsna, in the Bhagavad-gita, taking compassion on the fallen souls of the Kali-yuga, He is personally instructing. How much fortunate we are. Although we are born in this age, fallen age of Kali-yuga, still, we are so much fortunate that Krsna personally is taking interest how to teach us. He comes personally as He is, Lord Krsna. And still, when He is misunderstood, avajananti mam mudhah [Bg. 9.11], again He comes as a devotee, Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya was detected by Srila Rupa Gosvami:

It is not that those who are preaching this Krsna cult, they are all perfect. There may be many deficiencies. Any conditional soul has got four deficiencies naturally. He is to commit mistakes. However great man he may be, surely, because he is conditional soul, he'll commit mistake. You know. In our country Mahatma Gandhi, he was a great man undoubtedly, but he also committed mistake, so what to speak of us? A conditioned soul must commit mistake. And he must be illusioned. To accept something as something else, that is called illusion. Just like illusion, best example of illusion, is given that maya-maricika, to accept water in the desert. An animal sees that there is water in the desert, and being thirsty, he goes after the water, but the water also makes progress, and he also makes progress. In this way he dies. That is called illusion. Actually, there is no water, but he is fleeing after water. So for conditioned soul these are the defects. He is to commit mistake, he is illusioned, and he has got a cheating propensity also. Everyone is thinking in transaction that "I have cheated that man very nicely. In business transaction I have gained; he has lost." And of all the deficiencies, most important deficiency is that our senses are imperfect. We say, "I want to see God," but we forget that our eyes are so imperfect that I cannot see in the nearest eyelid. As soon as I close my eyes, I do not see the eyelid. This is the power of my seeing. Therefore we should not be so much proud of our seeing power that we'll say that "I want to see God. Can you show me God?" This is not possible.

So these four deficiencies of conditioned soul are there; therefore we cannot have perfect knowledge by our mental speculation. That is not possible. We have to receive knowledge from authorities. That is the process. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. If we receive knowledge... Our process is that we are trying to receive knowledge from Krsna, the greatest mahajana, the greatest authority, and if we follow the instruction of Krsna, then we are perfect. The same example, as Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

Therefore the conclusion is that if you simply follow the perfect instruction of Krsna, then automatically you become perfect, however imperfect you may be. That is our duty. It is not very difficult. Just like a child, a boy, a child. He's asking father, "My dear father, what is this?" An intelligent child questions like that. The father explains, "This is this," and the child accepts. Then his knowledge is perfect. But if he accepts the instruction of the father or mother, immediately he becomes perfect. There are many other examples. Just like a child wants to know who is father. The mother says, "My dear child, this gentleman is your father"that is perfect knowledge. But if the child wants to research who is his father, it is impossible to find out. Similarly, if we want to know the supreme father, Krsna, or God, we have to take instruction from the supreme father, not speculating, just like by speculating we cannot understand our ordinary father without the instruction of mother. If you go on speculating, "He may be my father. He may be my father. He may be father," go on speculating, but you will never understand who is your father. But you accept the authoritative statement of your mother, that "He is your father"that is perfect knowledge. That process should be accepted. Otherwise, our position is very precarious.

So we have to follow the mahajanas, great personalities or a great devotee like Caitanya Maha..., that "I am also the servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna." That is our real identity. This is called mukti, liberation. As soon as we understand that "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Krsna," this identification is aham brahmasmi, "I am not this." Brahmasmi, this concept of life, that "I do not belong to this material world. I am Brahman. I am spirit soul..." So without being spirit soul, how we can become servant of the supreme spirit? Just like without being fire, you cannot remain in the fire, similarly, without becoming Brahman, how we can serve the Supreme Brahman? So this is Brahman realization. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Now, after being purified, what is your position? Not that you become imperson. There are philosophers, that when one becomes identified with Brahman, he becomes immediately imperson. No. We keep our personality. We are never imperson. All of us are individuals. Krsna is individual. We are sitting here. We are all individual. So we keep our individuality, but our senses become purified. That is called mukti. Bhagavata gives the definition of mukti: mukti hitva anyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6]. What is mukti? Mukti means when one gives up his engagement, activities, hitva anyatha rupam, identifying himself with something material, and he is engaged in his own original, constitutional position, and that is called mukti. The original constitutional position is every living entity is a part and parcel of the Supreme Person. I have given you several times example. This is stated in the sastras also. Just like this finger is my part and parcel of this body. It is the duty of the finger to serve the whole body. I want to do like that; the finger helps me. That is the duty of the finger. If the finger cannot do it, then it is to be understood that he is diseased. It is diseased. As soon as the finger cannot give me regular service, it is to be understood that it is diseased. Similarly, any person who is not giving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is diseased, materially diseased. He has to be cured. Therefore the sastra says, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Just suppose I am a great patriot. I am giving service to my country. That's very good. But I am creating many enemies at the same time because there are other persons who are also interested in their country or community. Therefore that kind of service is not perfect. That is service with designation because I am thinking... I am spirit soul, I am Brahman, I am eternal servant of Krsna, or God, but I am thinking that "I am servant of this country, this community, this society, this..." so many things. So one has to become free from the designation. Then his senses will be purified. At that time, with that purified senses, when he renders service to the Lord, that is called bhakti. That is called bhakti.

Bhakti is not a sentiment. It is practical. It is practical, to engage... Just like Arjuna. Arjuna is certified by Krsna as bhakto 'si, "My devotee." Does it mean that he was sitting idly? He has gone to Himalaya? No. He was serving Krsna personally as a fighter. That is required. That is bhakti. Some gentleman criticized, "Swamiji, your bhakti cult will make people dull because they will simply sit down and chant Hare Krsna." And "No, you have not seen a bhakta. You are misguided," I replied. In our India, two histories are there: the history of Ramayana and the history Mahabharata. And there were two great battles: fight with Ravana and Kuruksetra fighting. In these two fightings the heroes were Vaisnavas: Hanumanji and Arjuna. They are still worshiped as the great Vaisnavas, Vajrangaji and Arjuna. So it is a mistake. Here is the definition of bhakti: tat-paratvena nirmalam, "When your senses are purified by devotional service." Not that your senses are wiped out in mukti. No. The senses are there. It cannot be wiped out. Simply it is purified. Just like if you have got some diseasethe same examplein your finger, it is painful. You cannot render service. But when the finger is cured by treatment from the disease, it again gives service. Similarly, those who are not engaged in the service of the Lord, Krsna, they are supposed to be diseased. The degree may be different, that one is very highly diseased, another is very slightly diseased. It doesn't matter. But he is diseased. Therefore this is the curing method. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Krsna says to Arjuna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. When He said? When he was cured of the disease. Krsna asked him... (end)