Bhagavad-gītā 7.1 in Hindi – October 15, 1976, Chandigarh

761015BG-Chandigarh [30:08 Minutes]

Prabhupada:

From last two days we have been discussing about the nature of the atheistic people or demons.

There is no God. This is the verdict of the demoniac persons. The demons declare that there is no God. There is another introduction of the demons which the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself has said that those who are demoniac in nature, they are divided into four classes.

The asura, I have already explained to you about the asuras. There are two types of people, one is asura or demon, and another is devata or demigod. Visnu bhakta bhaved daiva asuras tad viparyaya. [Padma Purana]

Those who are devotees of the Supreme Lord and who accept His authority they are called demigods. You have heard the name devata. There are planets of the demigods where Indra, Candra, Varuna,Vayu, and big, big demigods like Brahmaji, Sivaji and many others reside. Where are they called devata? Because they are all devotees of the Supreme Lord and they work under the order of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master and all others are His servants. This is stated in the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta that the master is Krsna. Ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna is the controller. Ekale isvara krsna. Īsvaraḥ paramaḥ krsnaḥ. [Bs 5.1] This is the scriptural conclusion. Krsna Himself is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsnastu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]

And the Supreme Lord Himself is explaining in the Bhagavad-gita,

These are the injunctions of the sastra. You don't know who is God. So God personally comes and reveals what is God. In this land of Bharatabhūmi, Lord Ramacandra, Lord Krsna appear and tell us that the Supreme Lord is not formless. Formlessness is a manifestation of His energy. The Supreme Lord has spoken in the Bhagavad-gita,

These considerations are vividly described in the Bhagavad-gita. There is no God-this is foolishness. Only foolish people and demoniac people say like that. Therefore demoniac people are divided into four classes. One is duskrtina. Duskrtina means one who always commits sinful activities. The word 'krti' means one who works very nicely. He has good merit, good intelligence, but he uses it in sinful activities. That is called duskrti. And one who has intelligence and he uses it in pious activities that is called sukrti. So the two types of persons namely asuras and devatas. Devatas are sukrti and the asuras are duskrti. Those who are pious they go back to Godhead.

There are four kinds of pious people. Who are those four kinds? Arto, artharthi,jnani, and jijnasu. When pious persons are in distress they approach the Supreme Lord. "My Lord, I am in trouble. Kindly help me out." Although it is not pure devotional service still he is considered virtuous. A person who approaches the Supreme Lord being distressed though he is not pure devotee, a pure devotee does ask anything from the Supreme Lord.

An exalted devotee never asks anything from the Supreme Lord. He is always prepared to give to the Lord. May the Supreme Lord take everything from me. Pranair arthair dhiya vaca. [SB 10.22.35] May the Supreme Lord take my life, my wealth, my words, and my intelligence. This is a pure devotee's consideration. Just like the panḍavas, the Supreme Lord Krsna, their friend, is present before them. They lost their kingdom, their wife was insulted, still, you will find in the Mahabharata that they never prayed to the Lord for anything. That "O Supreme Lord, these things are happening to us. You are our friend." They never said. The Supreme Lord is personally with them but they never prayed to Him for any kind of help. This is the pure devotees' consideration. And those who have not yet attained that stage they are called pious. In future they too will become pure devotees. Therefore sastra recommends that even if you have got some material desires you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Although it is not proper to ask from the Supreme Lord, the ordinary people, just like the Christians ask from the Lord "O God, give us our daily bread," that's all right, but there is no need to ask God anything. The Supreme Personality of Godhead supplies whatever one needs. Eko bahūnam yo vidadhati kaman. [Katha Upanisad 2.2.13] The Supreme Personality of Godhead means He who fulfils all the desires of everyone. To approach the Supreme Lord for food and shelter is not bad but not proper also. One should approach the Supreme Lord that "O Supreme Lord, I am entangled in illusion. You kindly engage me in Your service." That's all.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us this. That what we should pray to the Supreme Lord for? The Supreme Lord is nanda-tanūja. When the Supreme Lord appeared in this world in Vrndavana as the son of Nanda Maharaja, So when He is addressed as Nandanandana, He becomes very happy, the Supreme Lord. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us, ayi nanda-tanūja. He did not say Krsna, Vasudeva. That way He becomes more pleased. krpaya tava pada-pahkaja-sthita-dhūli-sadrsam vicintaya, patitam kihkaram mam.

Somehow or other I have fallen into this bhava-samudra. This material world is called bhava-samudra. Bhava, bhava means to take birth. You die and again you take birth. Not one kind of birth but many different births. There are 8,400,000 species of life and one has go through them. Therefore it is called bhava-samudra. Who knows what kind of birth are you going to get? One should understand this. The human form of life is meant for… In this ocean of birth and death, there is dehantara praptir, [Bg 2.13] one has to give up one body and take up another body.

We have to be prepared for that. What kind of body we are going to receive is also explained by the Supreme Lord in the Bhagavad-gita. If you want to be prepared then decide for sure where you want to go. If you want heavenly planets, there are many nice superior planets like svargaloka, janaloka, maharloka, satyaloka, there are fourteen worlds. And below also there are tala, atala, patala, nitala, sutala, talatala, rasatala and so on. Bhūr bhuvaḥ om, the gayatri mantra that you chant, om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya. So the three worlds are there. If you want to go to the higher planets you can go. Yanti deva-vrata devan [Bg 9.25]

You just worship the demigods. You want to fly in the aeroplane and go to the moon planet that is not possible. You have got to prepare yourself. If you want to go to the moon planet then the procedure, the way is given in the sastra. Through ritualistic performances you can go to the moon planet. If you go there then deva-varsa, that means our six months is equal to their one day, with that kind of calculation you can get ten thousand years of life span. And enjoyment is hundred times more than here. You can have it. They are called svargaloka, janaloka, maharloka, tapoloka, brahmaloka. If you wish to go to the higher planets then you prepare yourself accordingly. You can go there.

If you want to to go the planet of the ancesters then you perform ritualistic ceremonies like sraddha etc. And if you want to remain here only that "This is my country India, or England," nowadays nationalism is very popular, then you can stay here also. Yanti bhūtejya bhūtani. [Bg 9.25] And if you want to come to Me, mad-yajino 'pi yanti mam, then you become a devotee of the Supreme Lord. You will go back to Godhead. This is your decision where to go. Tatha dehantara praptir, [Bg 2.13]

You will have to prepare yourself for that. Yanti deva-vrata devan [Bg 9.25] This is the duty of the human form of life. To live like animals, "There is no God, eat, drink and be happy," that is animal life. That is not proper. Therefore one who does not endeavor to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is addressed as asura or demon. Asura. And these demoniac persons have four divisions as I was discussing earlier. One of them is duskrtina. Sinful. They commit sins only, duskrtina. Another kind is mūḍha. Mūdha means ass. They don't understand anything. How can you say there is no God? Although you are not an ass, you cannot say that there is no God. You consider it. For example, you consider your body. Your body or my body, we try to very smart. So long we are alive if anyone touches even a single hair we become angry. This body will remain here and when the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, jivatma, will leave the body then if anyone beats him with shoes nobody will protest. This body has value and respect so long, I, the spirit soul, am present within. In the same way this universal form of body, cosmic manifestation, because the Paramatma is within it, it has value and respect. That is why the sun is rising on time, everything is working systematically. Moreover the Supreme Lord Himself is saying,

Everything is going on by the order of the Supreme Lord. Just as I am present in this body therefore this body is functioning properly, go further to the office, go to the government level, ministers, the president, they are there so that things are working properly. You go to any office there is the managing director therefore the office is functioning nicely. You go anywhere. A director, a supervisor, a proprietor must be there. Similarly such a big universe as this, and there is no one! Jagad ahur anisvaram. [Bg 16.8]

What an utter foolishness! So only a big fool can say that there is no God. Otherwise from the general point of view, you go anywhere there must be a doer, a supervisor and an instructor. Without any consideration these demoniac people declare that there is no God in control. Therefore they are called mūḍha. And why do they remain mūḍhas? Because, they are duskrtina and naradhama. They are always busy in sinful activities. They are lowest among mankind. They cannot make any progress. Although they are human beings but because they engage in sinful activities they remain naradhama. Therefore it doesn't befit us. This morning I met one man. He said "I want food and cloth only. What I have got to do with God?" All right, you need food and cloth, but the animals they don't want cloth also. They only want food. Does it mean they are equal to human being? We only want food. The sastra says that one who simpy works hard for food, he is a pig. Just like a pig works hard whole day, where is stool, where is stool? So if a human being also does the same thing, where is food, where is food, and works hard for that and nothing else, then he is acting like a pig or a dog. This is going on. One who doesn't care for God, who doesn't want to understand God, he is no better than a pig or a dog. sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13]

This is the conclusion of the sastra. Therefore you have received the human form of life. And in this life…You already have a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just like the government has relationship with both the prisoners and the free citizens, that relationship cannot be broken. In the same way, those who are demons they also have relationship with the Supreme Lord and the demigods also have relationship with the Supreme Lord. But what is the difference? The difference is the demigods know the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the demons do not know. That is the difference. They don't know the relationship. Just like the criminals are sent to the prison, there must be some reasons. They have committed sin, stole something, or did something and so on. Such people are sent to jail. Similarly one who forgets the Supreme Lord, the majority of people, especially the demons and sinful persons, they have to come to this material world. But the Supreme Lord has arranged for them the sastras. By studying those sastras and hearing from the guru, gradually people can come to the platform of mad-yajino 'pi yanti mam [Bg 9.25] Then their intelligence becomes purified and they become devotees of the Supreme Lord. Finally they return back to Godhead. That's why the sastras have been compiled. Why scriptures like the Vedas were compiled? That these foolish people have forgotten the Supreme Lord and do not want to keep any relationship with the Lord they may be taught about the goal of life. This is the purpose of the sastra. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in one place it is written in Bengali that anadi-bahirmukha jiva Krsna bhuli gela ataeva Krsna veda-purana kaila. [Cc Madhya 20.122] These Godless people,

Prahlada Maharaja prayed to the Supreme Lord Nrsimhadeva, "O Lord, I personally have no unhappiness. Because when I glorify You I become so happy."

But you appear to be unhappy? Yes. I am certainly unhappy. Because,

I am unhappy because these foolish people they don't care for You and so they are unhappy, and by seeing their unhappiness I feel unhappy that how these people can be taught so that they become happy. So vaisnava, vaisnava means para-dukha-dukhi or one who feels unhappy by seeing others' unhappy. He is not unhappy for his own sake, he does not even ask anything from the Supreme Lord. This is the symptom of a pure devotee. He is para-duhkha-dukhi. Throught the world foolish people are suffering due to forgetfulness of the Supreme Lord. Whole day they are working hard like a hog just to fill up their belly and in the course of doing that they are going through so many troubles, but they cannot understand. They think this is life. The sastras forbid them to act like that. "Look, you have got this human form of life only for working hard like hogs and dogs?" Asses. Nowadays they pull ricksaws, push hand carts. They work so hard just to get a few chapatis. And still they are encouraged to work harder. Work more. Work like a horse, like a donkey, still they are not satisfied. So they push "Work more, work hard." Is this human life? The human life is whatever the Supreme Personality of Godhead has allotted to us, the Lord has supplied us with ample foodstuffs, there is no scarcity from God's side. The sastra says,

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternal and the living entities are also eternal. na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg 2.20] The Supreme Lord never dies and the living entities also never die. So what is the distinction? The Supreme Lord's body does not change but our body changes. Therefore it appears that the living entity dies, but that's not a fact. That is why the Supreme Lord teaches us, na hanyate hanyamane sarire. [Bg 2.20] Do not think that when the body is finished he is finished. No. The living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. mamaivamso jiva-loke [Bg 15.7]

The living entities possess the same qualities as those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like gold, a chunk of gold and a particle of gold, they are both qualatively gold. It is not that because it has become a particle it has become iron. Similarly, mamaivamso jiva bhūta, [Bg 15.7] the living entities possess the same qualities as those of the Lord. But minute in quantity. This you can understand. But by the covering of maya, this material coverings, earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego, the spirit soul has been covered. He is covered by the gross and subtle bodies, that is called bhava-roga or material disease. We should get out of that.

That is why the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends. The purpose is that you have got a spiritual body, just as I have got sac-cid-ananda body you too have got sac-cid-ananda body, then why are you struggling so hard in the material world? You come back to Me. You are My son. Just like a rich man and his son becomes insane. The father is concerned and he wants how to cure his insanity. So that he comes back home and lives happily. I have got so much wealth, let him enjoy as he likes. This fool has become mad. He roams in the street without cloths and suffers so much trouble. The father is therefore always remains in anxiety. In the same way, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is also worried. That we become mad and want to be happy in this world, that is why, the Lord comes here. He comes and instructs,

For this reason the Supreme Lord appears. The demigods who worship the Supreme Lord, they desire to have darsana of the Supreme Lord once a while. Although the devotees do not demand that "Give me darsana," but still they do have a longing to see the Lord once. Therefore the Supreme Lord appears. For vinasaya ca duskrtam, the Supreme Lord has so got so much power that whenever He wants He can destroy anyone. But He comes for the sake of His devotees. paritranaya sadhūnam vinasaya ca duskrtam. [Bg 4.8] So the Supreme Lord explains to the demoniac persons that "Look, this is not proper. God exists. I am there. I am the original." Aham adir hi devanam. [Bg 10.2]

The Supreme Lord teaches all this. The demons deny the existence of God, so the Supreme Lord teaches them. "Yes, I am here. Look, I am present." Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs 5.38]

Have darsana. sarva-dharman parityajya. [Bg 18.66] And this demoniac nature that you have developed, and you are suffering birth after birth, in human birth at least there is some happiness but if after this life if you get a tree body or an animal body then how much trouble will you go through? Think about this and sarva-dharman parityajya, the plans you have made will all go in vain.

asamsayam, forget about the demons, but those who are inquisitive and who are in knowledge, because those who are distressed and who want wealth they are mostly householders. Because, householder life is more miserable. Today no money, no this, no that, and even if they have they want more. They are called artharthi. And arta one is always. We have less money, our work is not going on nicely, and so on. That is arta. These are all householders. And those who are sannyasis, they are jijnasu and jnani. So four types of people arto, jijnasu, artharthi and jnani. Catur-vidha bhajante mam. [Bg 7.16]

So the jnanis and jijnasus want to understand what is God. There are many big, big philosophers and thoughtful persons. They don't deny the existence of God altogether. The atheists deny the existence of God. They are most sinful. And those who are not sinful, who are sukrtina, they are jijnasu. Whether there is God or not? There must be God. Otherwise without God how things are going on? Proffessor Einstein also accepted this fact that the more we are going forward we are being convinced that definitely there is God. He was a big scientist. Einstein. [end]