So we are talking about Bhagavad-gita. Last night we talked from the Seventh Chapter, the first verse. Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah.

So these are samsayam, or doubts: whether there is actually God or not, whether God is dead or alive. But here Krsna says that if we develop our attachment for Krsna... Take Krsna as a historical personality. Still, if you develop your attachment for Krsna by the prescribed methods, then you will understand God without any doubt. Asamsayam. And samagram. Samagram, "in fullness." Not partially. The Absolute Truth, samagram Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

I have got a relationship with Krsna eternally. Now it is covered. So practice this yoga means reviving our original relationship with Krsna. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is said,

So there is another nature, spiritual nature, that is not created. Here in the material world, everything is created. Bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19]. Anything created in the material world, it has got a period, a date, historical date of creation. And again it is annihilated, again it is created. That is the nature of material world. But transcendental to this material sky, there is another sky, which is called paravyoma. That paravyoma is called, in English word, "the kingdom of God." Of course, it is not perfectly expressed, but there is word, "paravyoma," or Vaikunthaloka. That is Krsna's dhama. So that is existing eternally. So therefore the creative feature of this material world and the spiritual world are different. They are not created. They are existing eternally. So we have to cultivate such knowledge that we can be..., we may be transferred to the spiritual world, because Krsna belongs to the spiritual world, acintya-guna-svarupam.

So in order to think of that acintya-guna-svarupam, we have to undergo certain process. Certain process. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. This process is sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. I cannot ask Krsna that "Please come before me. I shall see You." And even if He comes, I cannot see Him, because my eyes are not so prepared to see Him. Just like when Krsna was present upon this planet, not that everyone understood Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mayasritanam nara-darakena. Those who are under the influence of material energy, they thought Krsna as ordinary person, nara-darakena. Krsna also says, avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. So we want to see Krsna, but we have to make our eyes prepared to see Krsna. Aprakrta, transcendental platform. And that transcendental platform is recommended by Krsna here in this first verse of Seventh Chapter: mayy asakta-manah partha.

Now, how to become asakta, attached to Krsna? The first beginning is sravanam, to hear about Krsna. Just like you are kindly present here and trying to hear about Krsna. This is the process. This is the process. Sravanam kirtanam. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also reco... [break] ...process was first stated by Prahlada Maharaja. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, we get information:

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu also says the same thing. And we have to make it confirmed in three ways. What we hear from the sadhus, we shall have to consult whether these things are spoken in the sastras. And whether the statements or sastras are confirmed by guru, by the direct spiritual master. Sadhu-guru-sastra-vakya tinete kariya aikya. A sadhu will speak nothing which is not stated in the sastras. So in this way Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that

So therefore Krsna says particularly here, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan... We have to execute the Krsna consciousness yoga system under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Mad-asrayah. Then asamsaya, without any doubt. Samagram, in fullness. In fullness means brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti [SB 1.2.11]. Krsna is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. Brahman is sad-amsa, the part which is eternal, and Paramatma is cid-amsa, and Bhagavan is ananda-amsa. And Bhagavan is full, sac-cid-ananda. And we are all seeking after ananda. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). The Vedanta says that a living entity, or Krsna... Any living entity... Krsna is also the supreme living entity, and we are small living entities. So every one of us are seeking after ananda, transcendental bliss. So when we join together, the living entities and the Supreme Lord, that becomes ananda, rasa-lila. That is wanted. That we are seeking. But we are seeking in a different way, in the material world. That is not possible. Krsna therefore says, mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. Sri Rupa Gosvami also, in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, he says, adau gurvasrayam. "If one is interested in Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, he must approach a spiritual master." Krsna also says, mad-asrayah. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34]. These are all Vedic injunctions. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12].

So if we take this process... And the beginning of the process is hearing, sravanam kirtanam. Or one who has heard very nicely, perfectly, he can chant also nicely, perfectly, or describe the glories of the Lord. Kirtana does not mean that with musical sound we chant and dance. Kirtana means describing about the glories of the Lord, kirtanam. And kirtanam visnoh. Harer nama. The sastra says, harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam [Cc. Adi 17.21]. Of course, Hari, or Krsna, or Visnu, has got many thousands of names. Any name will be profitable. That doesn't matter. But because we have to follow the footsteps of great personalities, great devotees, therefore, as we are following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya. He chanted the Hare Krsna mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So by this chanting, immediately, as soon as the chanting is offenseless, immediately we shall remember Krsna. Mayy asakta-manah. It is so easy. You chant. There is no expenditure; there is no loss. But the gain is very great. You can gradually become attached to Krsna.

So if we chant and hear, sravanam kirtanam, this is the first stage of sadhu-sangah. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah [Cc. Madhya 23.14-15]. Or this can be taken as bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivrttih syat, all unwanted things are rejected. Anartha-nivrttih syat. Just like these boys and girls, Europeans and Americans, they had many anarthas. We have forbidden them. They have forsaken altogether. Take, for example, drinking of intoxicants. They were trained up for drinking from the childhood. They were trained up for meat-eating from childhood. This is called anartha-nivrtti. Nobody is dying without drinking. Nobody is dying without meat-eating. But we have made a habit of eating such things. Similarly, we can give it up also. This is possible when there is right bhajana-kriya. In this way, when anartha-nivrtti is finished, perfect, then he becomes firmly stuck up in Krsna consciousness. Tato nistha tato rucih. Then taste. The taste is so nice that one cannot give up Krsna consciousness. One cannot give up chanting of Hare Krsna. It increases the transcendental taste. And after taste, there is asakti. Krsna is speaking from that stage here. Mayy asakta-manah, asakti, attachment. When there is attachment of Krsna, that is the almost final stage of your perfectional life.

So Krsna recommending

So these are the different features of Krsna knowledge. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. The Absolute Truth is one, but one who is trying to understand Him by the dint of his personal knowledge, he approaches up to impersonal Brahman; one who is trying to understand Him as the localized Paramatma feature, by the yogis, He is known to them as Paramatma, or Antaryami; but those who are in direct contact with Krsna, they are realizing as the most lovable object, the most beautiful personality, most opulent personality, Krsna. But the object is the same. The example is generally given: just like the sunshine, the sun globe, and sun-god. The sunshine is all-pervading, all over the universe, and the sun globe is localized. But within the sun globe, there is a person who is called Surya-narayana, or the sun-god. These are facts. Don't think that there is no living entity in the sun planet. There is. Their body is fiery body. That's all. Just like our body in this planet is earthly body, their body is fiery. Out of the five elements, the fire element is very prominent in the sun planet. But there are living entities. Otherwise how Krsna says, imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1], "First of all, I said this philosophy of Krsna consciousness to the sun-god"? If there is no living entity, how Krsna says there is a sun-god? And if we are to believe Krsna and the Bhagavad-gita, we have to accept it that the sun globe is not without living entities. It is also the same, just like we have got hundred of thousands, millions of living entities here. So in this way, we have to acquire the knowledge of Krsna. That is brahma-jnana, paramatma-jnana, and bhagavat-tattva-jnana. And when we realize... Not only hear theoretically, jnanam... That is... Theoretical knowledge is jnanam. But sa-vijnanam, when we actually perceive, when we actually understand what is the position of the Personality of Godhead, that is called vijnanam. Jnanam sa-vijnanam. Jnanam te 'ham sa-vijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah [Bg. 7.2]. Asesatah, descriptive, not summarized.

So yaj jnatva, "If you can understand this knowledge, then," yad jnatva na iha bhuyah anyaj jnatavyam avasisyate, "then you will finish your all knowledge." Kasmin vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. The Vedic injunction is that if you understand Krsna, then all knowledge becomes revealed to you. Kasmin vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. That is stated here. Yaj jnatva neha bhuyah anyaj jnatavyam avasisyate. Then it is very nice to understand Krsna. If by understanding Krsna... One may say, "Oh, I have understood Krsna. Krsna was born at Mathura as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, and then He went to Vrndavana. And He became a friend of the cowherd girls or the boys, and He was playing there. So I have understood Krsna." Anyone can say like that. But Krsna says that "I am not so easily understood." Krsna says that it is not so easy. Therefore those who try to understand Krsna very easily, they are sahajiyas. And if one understands Krsna very easily, then he derides at Him. Just like generally, people remark against Krsna, "Oh, He was so," I mean to say, "characterless that He, I mean to say, mixing with the cowherd girls. So many. He married 16,000 wives." In this way, there are so many remarks. As if they have understood Krsna. But Krsna says that "I am not so easily understood." Of course, if anyone understands Krsna, then his life becomes successful. Janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah. Anyone who understands Krsna, then he becomes immediately a liberated person. Janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah. But one must understand in truth what is Krsna. Tattvatah.

So anyone who understands Krsna in truth... What becomes? Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]. Then such person, after quitting this material body, he never comes back again in this material world. Punar janma. Here in this material world, the trouble is that we have to accept one type of body and again give it up and again another type of body, bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19]. Yavaj jananam tavan maranam. This business is very troublesome. We do not understand. We forget. Under the influence of maya, we forget what is the trouble of taking birth, what is the trouble of death, what is the trouble of old age, and what is the trouble of disease. Therefore Krsna says that "Anyone who can understand Me, about Me." Not "about Me," but "about Me." We can understand Krsna by His activities, something about Him. Otherwise, He has immense potencies. It is impossible for us to understand. Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate [Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport]. There is unlimited energies of Krsna; therefore He is called acintya-sakti. Acintya-guna. Acintya-sakti, "which is inconceivable." But anyone, if he somehow or other according to his capacity tries to understand in truth, then he becomes immediately liberated so that after quitting this body, he doesn't have to come again in this material world. Then where does he go? Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. "He comes to Me."

Therefore Krsna knowledge is so perfect. And if we take the real process, sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam [SB 7.5.23], the devotional service... Because Krsna says, bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. Here... In the Fourth Chapter, He says that yo janati mam tattvatah. Now here, in the Seventh Chapter also, Krsna says again: tattvatah. The tattvatah word is very much used about understanding Krsna. Not superficially, but in truth one has to understand. But that is very difficult. That Krsna says here: manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye [Bg. 7.3]. This is the business of this human form of life, to... This is a chance to make our life successful, siddhaye. Siddhaye means to become successful. And what is that success? That success... Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9], that is success. Not that I earn millions of dollars and amass in the bank, and I think I am successful, but I do not know what is my next life. Where will be my, this amassing of bank balance, my skyscraper building? I will have to accept another body, unwilling, although I have created that body. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27], as I have associated with the three gunas. Urdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthah. If I have associated with the sattva-guna, then I will be promoted to the higher planetary systems. Urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha madhye tisthanti rajasah [Bg. 14.18]. If I have associated with rajo-guna, then I shall remain in this planet, middle planetary system. And jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah. And if we have associated with the tamo-guna, the quality of darkness, ignorance, then I will be gliding down to the animal life.

These things are stated. We have to understand through sastras. We cannot see our past, present, and future, but if we see through the sastras... Sastra-caksusa. "You should try to see from the sastras." Actually, we understand everything through sastras, not directly. Just like we understand in modern science from the newspaper that somebody is trying to go to the moon planet. I do not go personally to the moon planet, but I accept the newspaper. Similarly, we have to accept sastra, how things are going on beyond our experience. Without that, we cannot have knowledge. That is called Vedic process. Sruti-jnanam. Sruti means hearing from authorities. That is real knowledge. Srotra-pantha. It is called srotra-pantha.

So how we can understand Krsna, how we can fulfill our mission of life, how we can become liberated, all these things are stated in this Bhagavad-gita. And if you try to understand as Krsna is speaking or try to understand Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any malinterpretation, then your life is successful.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (applause) (end)