Bhagavad-gītā 7.2 in [Hindi-final proofreading pending] – December 28, 1975, Sanand

The Lord Sri Krsna is talking about Himself, says, "Increase your attachment and love for Me." mayy asakta-manaḥ, you will be able to acquire knowledge of the Absolute Truth by doing so.

We must take the shelter of the Lord. The Lord, if someone says that the Lord is not in front of our eyes, so how can I take shelter of Him? So in the fourth chapter the Lord has said,

You can take shelter of the Lord or otherwise of the disciplic succession coming from the Lord, from one disciple to another. Just like the Lord first instructed Brahmaji, then Brahmaji instructed Naradaji, then Naradaji instructed Vyasadeva and then Vyasadeva instructed his disciple, Madhvacarya etc, so in this way through disciplic succession we acquire knowledge about the Absolute Truth. avaroha-pantha, descending process. Not ascending process, that is not possible. Those persons who indulge in mental speculation and try to reach God, it is difficult for him to realize God. Kleso 'dhikataras tesam. [Bg 12.5] It is very troublesome for them. And if one acquires knowledge about the Lord from the Lord Himself, through disciplic succession. So there are four sampradayas, Brahma-sampradaya, Rudra-sampradaya and Sri-sampradaya and Kumara-sampradaya. So if you acquire knowledge through this disciplic succession then it is complete. asamsayam samagram mam, then there will be no doubt and it is complete knowledge because,

Mad-asrayaḥ, the Lord or the acaryas who are in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord, if we take shelter of them then our knowledge of the Absolute Truth will be complete and beneficial. There will be no doubt, whether God has a form or is formless or void or Deity form of the Lord. There are a lot of issues on which we have doubts. If through disciplic succession, we follow the instructions of the acaryas for gaining knowledge of the Absolute Truth then that knowledge is complete. That is why the Lord himself says, jnanam te 'ham sa-vijnanam idam, in this chapter the Lord is explaining about Himself to us, this is complete knowledge and is also scientific, sa-vijnana.

Jnana and vijnana, in English it is called theoretical knowledge. Just like great scientists declare that a particular 'thing is made up of some elements. Then they experiment in the laboratory and show how that thing can be made by combining different elements. So one thing is theoretical knowledge and the other is scientific knowledge. That there is a Lord who exists-this is theoretical knowledge and that there is actually a Lord who exists whom we can meet, whom we can talk to, from whom we can take instructions-that is scientific knowledge. So we can get complete knowledge, from the Lord through the books and scriptures and through the medium of advanced devotees to whom the Lord directly speaks, this is also a possibility. This is called scientific knowledge. I do not make this up, the Lord Himself says,

[aside: Please come!]

So that platform when one can talk with the Lord, that is a special situation to be in.

We cannot attain knowledge of the Absolute Truth thorough our material senses, which we possess now. These material senses have to be transformed from the mundane senses [prakrta] to the transcendental senses [aprakrta], that is beyond any material senses. We have transcendental senses but they have been covered. The mundane senses, earth, water, fire, sky, air, the Lord will explain this further on, these mundane senses, just like the Lord has senses, we too have senses. Just like there is the father, he has his senses and his son also has senses. It is not that the son has senses but the father does not. It is not so. So our material senses are covered over, by material substance. Just like our body is covered by cloth. The real body is beneath the cloth. Similarly, I, the living entity, am inside this material body.

So this knowledge when understood in a scientific way is called realized knowledge. So realized knowledge of the Absolute Truth, realized knowledge of the soul, and realized knowledge of Brahman, is one and same thing. The Lord is Himself imparting knowledge about the Absolute Truth. athato brahma-jijnasa. This human form of life is for gaining knowledge about Brahman, transcendence. There is no need to gain any other knowledge. What knowledge can you gain? Only knowledge of Absolute Truth! Athato…this human body is for. So the Lord, Parabrahma, Krsna

He Himself says. That is why the Lord says, jnanam te 'ham sa-vijnanam, "I am explaining this to you scientifically."

The Lord is Himself saying, then what remains to be said? To gain knowledge one needs to go to a spiritual master, a teacher, an old man. But the Lord himself, the Lord full in six opulences [saḍ-aisvarya-pūrna], the master of all knowledge,

One who possesses all knowledge, He is telling us.

"I am instructing you." asesataḥ, He did not leave anything incomplete, "everything completely I will tell." So what is the difficulty in gaining this knowledge of Absolute Truth? The Lord is Himself coming personally to impart this knowledge and if you say He is not instructing me, He is instructing Arjuna. But even if He told Arjuna, whatever He told him is all written. So the way Arjuna understood Him, you also understand Him, then the Lord is in front of you, factually. The Lord is always in front of you.

The Supreme Lord is not far away, He is seated in your heart. Only that to talk to Him, you have to become qualified, those qualities, what is it called, acquire the qualification. To talk to the Lord, we need to first be qualified. What is that qualification? Devotional service. bhaktya mam abhijanati. [Bg 18.55] If something thinks that the Lord is a stone, a metal, idol worship, lots of people say what will we achieve by going to the temples as the Lord is omnipresent, then why go to the temple? Their viewpoint is that the Lord is everywhere but not only in the temple. But that is not a fact as if the Lord is there everywhere then He is also in the temple. So what is the objection for going to the temple? But there are a few people who speak like this. There is no need to accept their viewpoint. The Lord is there in the temple and by going to the temple, we worship the Lord.

We should worship the Lord, by offering Him patram puspam phalam [Bg 9.26] a leaf, flower or a fruit. So in this way slowly attachment will develop and one can understand what the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all about.

If you acquire real knowledge of the Lord, that Krsna is the Supreme Lord Himself, if you acquire this knowledge in totality,

It is also written in the Vedas,

If you can just understand the Supreme Lord alone, then all other kinds of knowledge is automatically understood by you. If you can understand the Supreme Lord then you will achieve Brahman realization, Paramatma realization and everything else.

Yaj jnatva, if you can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead then you understand the rest also, there is no need for separate endeavor. The Lord himself says, yaj jnatva, "if you understand Me, as I am", then, na iha, in this world there is nothing else remains further to be known, your knowledge will be complete.

So if knowledge of the Supreme Lord is so simple, one needs to understand Krsna only to acquire complete knowledge, if one states this conclusion, then all the devotees of Lord Krsna are in complete knowledge and do not need to acquire any other knowledge. But this knowledge of Krsna is not so simple. It is very difficult. That is why the Lord says,

To understand in the ordinary sense, that a person named Krsna had appeared, was born in Mathura and brought up by Nanda Maharaja and Yasomati. This is also a type of knowledge and there is lot of meaning in this knowledge too. Not only it has meaning but it is also very beneficial. If one understands only this much about Krsna that Lord Krsna out of His causeless mercy appeared here and was born as the son of Vasudeva and was brought up by Nanda Maharaja, this is also great knowledge. But this knowledge is also very difficult to achieve. Some people think that this Krsna, is some person and some even say that, we don't accept that a person called Krsna was present here. Big politicians speak like this, they read the Bhagavad-gita but they do not understand Krsna the person who spoke the Bhagavad-gita. They deny His existence. So the Lord Himself says, manusyanam sahasresu, out of thousands of men, there is only one. That is why there is a need for preaching as nobody understands the Supreme Lord. But in our Krsna consciousness movement we only canvass that, here is the Lord Krsna and His father's name is this and His address is this, the number is this, you go to Him. This we state very clearly. We don't speak nonsense, we speak clearly. This is mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that-don't misinterpret the Bhagavad-gita and give discourse. Speak just like the Supreme Lord has spoken. yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa. You become a spiritual master. You speak in the same manner as the Lord has spoken, you need not learn more, you do not to become very learned for this. Just speak what the Lord has spoken and you become a spiritual master, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says this.

That's all, we say this, we are fools, we are not very much learned but we do one thing for sure, this Bhagavad-gita of the Lord, Krsna consciousness which we are preaching all over the world, we only speak what the Lord has spoken, that's all, nothing else. The Lord says,

We also say the same, that all the time meditate on the Lord, and who is the Lord-Krsna and chant Hare Krsna, worship the Lord, offer obeisances to Him, become His devotee. There is no need to be very learned for doing this. All knowledge is there in this. That is why the Lord says,

There is no need to show your unnecessary expertise on this matter. It is enough if you understand,

If you understand this alone, you have acquired complete knowledge. This is what the Lord is saying. The Lord says in the end,

If you have just this knowledge that Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord Himself and our only duty is to surrender at His lotus feet. That's all. If you can acquire this knowledge alone then there is no need to acquire any more knowledge at all. This knowledge is also very difficult to attain. It is very simple. Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord Himself and we need to surrender unto Him- it is a very simple knowledge. But it is a great misfortune for those who think- "What kind of God is this? I am God. Why should I offer my obeisances to Him? " These people do not go to the temple. In Vrndavana there are thousands of temples. These people who think themselves to be God, they do not go to see the Lord in the temples. They think that they are God, why should I go to any temple? That is why the Lord says, manusyanam sahasresu, this knowledge that Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord himself, Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam,

So to have this knowledge is a matter of great fortune. Those who are not fortunate they do not have even this knowledge, this basic knowledge. That is why the Lord says,

What is siddhi? The perfection is to understand oneself. What I am? This is perfection, knowledge of the Absolute Truth. So after acquiring this knowledge, especially nowadays who is interested in acquiring knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They acquire that much knowledge by which they can earn a few hundred or a thousand rupees and live merrily-to acquire this kind of knowledge the go to school and college. But who goes to acquire knowledge of the Absolute Truth? And who teaches it also? That is why the Lord says, manusyanam sahasresu, everyone goes to acquire such knowledge that can help them to earn a livelihood and who wants the knowledge of the Absolute Truth? That is why He says, manusyanam sahasresu, everyone acquires knowledge to earn a livelihood like dogs and sheeps-such knowledge they want to acquire. That is why the scriptures forbid that to acquire this kind of knowledge, to work hard all day long-that is not human life.

Working so hard all day long for getting two pieces of bread and enjoy sense gratification, is this human life? They forbid! No! ayam dehaḥ, nrloke, this is done by dogs and sheeps. That is why He says, manusyanam sahasresu, nobody is interested especially in Kali-yuga,

Very very slow. So that is why the Supreme Lord has said that this knowledge of the Absolute Truth is not for everyone.

And if one achieves perfection, gains knowledge of the Absolute Truth, even then you cannot understand the Supreme Lord.

Even those who have achieved perfection even such persons cannot understand Krsna.

They do not know the Absolute Truth as it is. That is why the Lord is Himself saying as to how we can understand Him as He is, He is telling us Himself.

So next verse.

Ordinarily we understand things that are material, just like this earth, bhūmir apo 'nalo vayuḥ, great scientists, soil experts see what can be grown in a particular type of earth, what is there in this earth-gold or coal, study the whole science. In this world science is explained by studying the material elements. That is why the Lord has first explained about these material elements, that bhūmir apo 'nalo vayuḥ, these five elements, earth as land, water is there in the form of ocean, fire, air and sky. These are subtle, gross to subtle. Otherwise it from subtle to gross. More subtler than this, subtler than the sky is, mind and ego. All these views, the Supreme Lord is saying, all these material elements

Intelligence is material, mind is material, sky is also material, these are all material. ahahkara, false ego. Mistaken ego. Our being in this material body and having a material body, I think I am Indian, someone else thinks I am American, others think that I am brahmana, other thinks I am ksatriya, all these ego's are false ego. The real ego is 'Aham brahmasmi. This ego relating to the body is false ego; this is not the real ego. This is mundane ego. This is not transcendental ego. The transcendental ego is that, " I am servant of God." Not Hindu, Muslim, Indian, American, brahmana, ksatriya.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu identified Himself-"I am not a brahmana, I am not a sannyasi, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya, I am not a sūdra, I am not, I am not. He declined to accept the eight divisions of the varnasrama institution. He said, "I am none of these." Aham brahmasmi- Caitanya Mahaprabhu explains the meaning of this. So who am I, if I am not any of these? So in reply to this Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, gopi-bhartuḥ, the one who maintains the gopi damsels, with whom they have contact- Lord Krsna, the servant of the servant of the servant (of the Lord), hundred times their servant, that is our position.

This is the identity of a Vaisnava. The servant of the Lord, does not try to become the direct servant of the Lord immediately. He becomes the servant of the servant of the Lord. Prahlada Maharaja when he was offered by Nrsimhadeva any benediction "Son you have suffered a lot, please ask for any benediction!" So, Prahlada Maharaja asked for this, that "Maharaja, you are going to bestow your benediction anyways, and I have taken birth in a demoniac family. Our nature is to ask, give me more, give me more, give me more! You want to give me a benediction and we as a dynasty believe in only accumulation. So this is a coincidence but I do not want this because I have seen that when my father became angry even the demigods were afraid. This opulence and this influence you have destroyed in one second. So why should I ask for these things which can be destroyed in one second? If you want to bestow your mercy upon me then make me the servant of your servant." This was the prayer of Prahlada Maharaja. So this is our prayer too.

This is Caitanya Mahaprabhus teaching and this is the teaching of the Vaisnava tradition. So what I mean to say is

Siddha. Siddha means one who has complete knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

Those who have realized the Absolute Truth in reality, their soul is joyful because they have realized their real identification as to who am I! Now they are mistaken, I am this body, I am brahmana, I am ksatriya, I am Indian, I am American, these are all illusions. When they are in real knowledge, " I am spirit", then the soul is joyful. Then there is no lamentation. What is the meaning of being joyful? na socati na kahksati, There is no hankering or lamentation. What can one ask for? Everything is material and what do we have to do with material things? So it is said in the scriptures by Kuntiji, she addressed the Lord as akincana-gocaram. Akincana, those who are materially exhausted, those who are not hankering after anything in the material world, You are there for them. akincana-gocaram. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said at one place, that devotional service is Niskincanasya. So the Lord is Niskincana gocaram. So for one who is materially exhausted, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,

Those who have no material possession, and only want to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

They want to cross over the ocean of material existence, the don't want to stay in this material world, for them,

All this is there in the scriptures. So if you are in the platform of brahma-bhūta, then you do not have false ego that I am this or I am that. No! They understand that just having knowledge of the Absolute Truth, no,

For one who has knowledge of the Absolute Truth, panḍitaḥ sama-darsinaḥ, then they do not discriminate. [Bg 5.18] They know that all of us are parts and parcels of the Lord, mamaivamso, we are all spirit. [Bg 15.7] So spiritual knowledge, we are all spirit souls anyway. It is not that through austerities we became spirit. No! we are spirit anyways. We are covered over spirits. We need to reach the platform of brahma-bhūta, self-realization of Brahman, that I am not matter, I am spirit- I should have this knowledge--this is knowledge.

So, after self-realization of Brahman, then, samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu, and then devotional service to the Supreme Lord starts, mad-bhaktim labhate param. These are some statements. That is why the Lord says, manusyanam saharesu kascit yatati siddhaye. To be self-realized is itself difficult and after becoming self-realized one must remain in that transcendence, and to remain in that transcendence is devotional service to the Supreme Lord.

Just having knowledge of the Absolute Truth is not enough, one must remain on the platform of transcendence and what is that platform? Devotional service.

There is no contact with the modes of material nature anymore, then only is the self-realization proper. If we are in contact with the modes of material nature, suppose I have become a brahmana, in the modes of material nature- sattva, rajo and tamo guna. So the brahmana is situated in the sattva guna. And even if I become a brahmana, even then I am not liberated, that is also a material platform. We need to go above that, suddha sattva. suddha sattva means Vaisnava, knowledge of the Absolute Truth. That is why the Supreme Lord says,

After self-realization of Brahman is to remain situated in that platform and if that is there, then devotional service. mad-bhaktim labhate param. Being situated in that platform, we can attain knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The same 'tattvatah! The Lord says here,

When do you get to know Him in truth?

So if you want to understand the Lord as He is then this process of devotional service,

You have to execute this process. This has been said by Prahlada Maharaj. When his father asked him, "What is the nicest thing that you have learnt? Please tell me." Then he said, "Maharaj, I know only that the best thing is,

This is the best thing."

We should constantly hear about the topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead sravanam, by regularly hearing over a period of time, Srnvatam sva-kathaḥ krsnaḥ. If you constantly hear about the topics of the Lord, Srnvatam sva-kathaḥ krsnaḥ, then, punya-sravana-kirtanaḥ. [SB 1.2.17] Whether you understand or not if you simply hear about the glories of the Lord, you will become pious. punya-sravana-kirtanaḥ. Those who chant the glories of the Lord and those who listen to it, both of them will become pious. And when you become pious and are free from all sins then,

That is why hearing and chanting is very important. All the time in such gatherings, it is not possible to have such gatherings all the time, so all of you can sit at home with your children chant the glories of the Lord and read Bhagavad-gita and don't talk nonsense. Just like the Lord has said, hear it and speak about it. Then your life will be successful.

Thank you very much! Hare Krsna!

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna!

You have all heard the name of Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja was a Vaisnava from birth, from the time he was in the womb of his mother, Maha-Bhagavata Vaisnava, Mahajana. It is said in the scriptures,

To understand the religious principles in truth is a little difficult and simple also. It is simple in this way, Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam. [SB 6.3.19] What is religion? The simple explanation for this is-whatever the Supreme Lord says, follow His directives- that is religion. It is not difficult. But we are not connected with the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord has no mouth, hands, legs-so how can He speak? And how do I hear? Only I have hands and mouth and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is formless! So who will speak and who will listen? But the fact is, what is religion?

So if we listen to what the Supreme Lord has said, then it is religiosity. Otherwise it is all irreligion. Those who do not follow the Supreme Lord's instructions, just like there is a State, there is a government. Whatever the government says is the law In big cities the government orders 'keep to the right, ' keep to the left. In India it is 'keep to the left and in America it is 'keep to the right. So this order of the government is the law. You cannot manufacture, you cannot manufacture laws in your home. That is not law. Similarly whatever the Supreme Lord says-that is religion. Otherwise why would the Lord say,

All these nonsense religions that you have manufactured, this is not religion! Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion and other such religions, many different kinds of religions. These are not 'religion.

Such a religion is a true religion following which you develop devotion for God. That is religion. And those religions following which God is totally blown away, that is not religion. That is cheating religion, dharma kaitaba. It is said in the Bhagavatam,

This cheating religion has to be kicked out, projjhita mean prakrsta-rūpena ujjhitas. Just like when you clean with a broomstick you throw away the dust, get rid of it, in the same way, any religion which is not connected with God should be kicked out. This is a scriptural injunction. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam. Prahlada Maharaja was following those religious principles that he had learned from Naradaji. So Prahlada Maharaja used to go to school, his father was first class demon. He would say, "Who is this God? I am God! Which God are you praying to? Which God are you worshipping? I am God! Which God is greater than me?" This was the fight between the father and the son. And the son, poor boy, was a five-year-old child, what could he tell his father? He was first class demon. So he would say, "Father, why do you say such a thing? There is God above you!" This was the fight going on with him. So Prahlada Maharaja, those who are truly religious will preach the glories of the Lord. This is the sign of a religious person. It is not that one becomes religious, one cannot be religious if he has no connection with the Lord. And if you happen to become religious then sravanam kirtanam, whatever you have heard about the Lord, then the heart will want to share that with the rest of the world. sravanam kirtanam. One who has actually heard, he will chant. This is the symptom of a devotee of the Lord. Poor Prahlada Maharaja, he was a five-year-old child, where could he go and chant? So when the schoolteachers would go away to attend to some household duties, in that spare time he would along with his classmates, call them and teach this Bhagavat-dharma. So the classmates would say, "What have we got to do with religion now?" Let us play 'kit kit, be merry. He said, "No, No, No this is not correct." So he said, kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha. [SB 7.6.1]

That is religion, to surrender at the lotus feet of the Lord. That is called religion, the rest is all cheating. It is material, mundane. Bhagavata-dharma is transcendental. Do as per the instructions of the Supreme Lord that is Bhagavata-dharma. The goal of Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission is spreading of this Bhagavata-dharma. I have requested you many times, this is the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. What?

"With My permission you all become spiritual masters. Wherever you are staying you protect the people." Tara means make them liberated. You liberate them. If an ordinary person says that I am not so well read, don't know much, have not heard much, how can I become a spiritual master? How can I liberate others? So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, it is not a difficult thing to do. You don't have to manufacture anything, a religion. yare dekha, tare kaha'krsna-upadesa. Lord Krsna Himself, saḍ-aisvarya-pūrna: full of six opulences. That Supreme Lord, whatever He has said, just repeat it to others. Then you can become a spiritual master. Becoming a spiritual master is not so difficult.

The Lord says that this Bhagavad-gita was heard by great saintly kings through the process of disciplic succession.

He spoke to the ksatriyas. In India there is sun dynasty, moon dynasty. So the Supreme Personality of Godhead spoke to the sun dynasty, to sun god. vivasvan manave praha manur, and sun god spoke to Manu, who in turn spoke to Iksvaku. This Bhagavata-dharma has been coming through this disciplic succession. And sa kalena yogo nastaḥ parantapa, [Bg 4.2] when this disciplic succession was broken and foolish persons started interpreting the Bhagavad-gita in a whimsical way, it was destroyed. yogo nastaḥ parantapa, that yoga was destroyed. That is why the Supreme Lord told Arjuna, "I am explaining to you. You hear and then propagate that devotional service to the Supreme Lord," Why are you instructing me? I am not a Vedantist, nor a brahmana, nor a sannyasi! Why are you telling me? What will I understand? bhakto 'si, you are My devotee! [Bg 4.3] That is why I am instructing you. Only you will understand this. No one else will understand. bhakto 'si me sakha ceti, you are very closely related to Me, you are My friend, My devotee. That is why I am instructing you this. So we need to preach this Bhagavata-dharma and if anyone says that they have not heard from the Lord then Arjuna….. [break] [end]

1976VB25