Everyone is hankering after peace of mind. Atma suprasan. Atma, atma means this body, atma means the mind, and atma means the soul. We are in three status of life. Actually, we are the spirit soul covered by two kinds of dresses. Just like you gentlemen, you are also covered by two kinds of dresses-underwear and coat, shirt and coat. Similarly... Actually "I am" means I am not this shirt and coat. I am within the shirt and coat. Similarly, I, the soul, I am covered by two kinds of layersmind, intelligence, and false ego. False ego means I am considering, "I am this American dress," "I am this Indian dress." Because I am identifying with this body. If I ask somebody, "What you are, sir?" "I am American." "What you are, sir?" "I am Indian." "I am brahmana." "I am ksatriya." But these are the designations. This is not my real identification. The Vedic information is, when I understand I am aham brahmasmi, I am Brahman, or the spirit soul. That is my beginning of identification. Therefore in the Vedanta-sutra it is said, athato brahma jijnasa, to inquire about the spirit. This human form of life is meant for advancing knowledge of brahma, brahma-jnana. Brahma janatiti brahmanah. One who is advanced in knowledge of Brahman, he is called brahmana. So, if we actually want peace... Everyone is hankering, that is our prerogative. Every living entity must hanker after happiness. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). Because by nature we are happy. By nature we are happy. Anandamayo 'bhyasat. So as spirit soul we are naturally happy, blissful. But because we have been covered by the eight material elementsearth, water, fire, air, ether. These are gross elements. And within the gross elementsmind, intelligence and ego. So somebody is satisfied with the comfort of the outward gross elements, this body. They are called materialists. Simply sense gratification. Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah [Bg. 3.42]. First of all our conception is happiness means happiness of my body. The whole world is going on. Material world means everyone is working hard only for the happiness of the body. And some of them, they are trying to be happy by the happiness of the mind. Just like arts, poetry, philosophy, speculating on. But both of these kinds of happiness will not give us real happiness. Because real happiness belongs to the soul. Basic principle of happiness missing. Therefore simply by bodily comforts, sense gratification, we cannot be happy. And actually it is so happening. People are endeavoring throughout the whole world for bodily comforts, for sense gratification, but they're not happy. There cannot be happiness. Because... The same example. Suppose you have got a nice coat. If you simply show the coat and iron the coat and keep it very nice, that does not mean you'll be happy. Because you are trying to get happiness from the coat or shirt. That is not happiness, that is not possible. Happiness is possible when you try to make happy the soul. Then happiness is possible. Another example is givenjust like a bird within the cage. If you simply wash the cage and keep it very nice and don't give any food to the bird, then the bird will never be happy simply by polishing the cage. So this is the cage, this material body is the cage of the soul. Therefore material living being is called conditioned or encaged. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gita.

This is the beginning of spiritual knowledge. One must understand that the soul is encaged within this body and mind. So if you try to become, by bodily comforts or mental satisfaction, it will never be possible. Happiness will never be possible. Therefore Bhagavata says, yayatma suprasidati. Atma means soul. Suprasidati. Prasidati means becomes happy. And su means very, very much happy. How? Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the mature instruction of Vyasadeva on Vedic wisdom. Srimad-Bhagavatam. Migama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam idam. Nigama means Vedas. It is like kalpa-taru, desire tree. Whichever thing you desire you can get from Vedic knowledge. Nigama-kalpa-taru. Kalpa-taru means desire tree. We have got experience of this tree-mango tree, orange tree, or so many trees. So you can get a particular type of fruit from a particular type of tree. But in the spiritual world all the trees are desire trees. Whatever you want you can get. If you want mango from orange tree, then you'll get. We get this information from Vedas. Cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu [Bs. 5.29]. Kalpa-vrksa means the desire tree. Not only one, two, laksavrtesu, there are thousands and thousands of desire trees. That is the spiritual world. We have no information of the material world even. We are trying to go to the moon planet, we have not full information. And the moon planet is one of the nearest planets. But there are innumerable, millions and millions of planets within one universe. And there are millions and millions of universes. We get this information from Vedic literature. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Bs. 5.40]. Jagad-anda-koti means millions of universes. Kotisv vasudhadi vibhuti-bhinnam. And each universe is full of millions and millions of planets. And each planet is of different type, different climate, different living entities. These are the information. You cannot expect the same planet or same atmosphere everywhere. Just like even on this planet. I am coming from Europe, America, the climate is different. India's climate is different. Even on this planet. So each and every planet they of different nature. And all the living entities are there. In the Bhagavad-gita we get information, sarva-ga. Sthanur acalo 'yam, sarva-ga. It is not fact that only on this planet there are living entities, and other planets there are no living entities. No, that is not a fact. Anyway, here the proposal is how to achieve perfect happiness of atma. Atma, I have already explained, atma means the body, atma means the mind, and atma means the soul. So unless you get happiness of the soul, simply trying to get happiness of the body and the mind, you'll never get happiness. That is the information in this verse. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo [SB 1.2.6]. Dharma means religion, English translation. But according to the Vedic understanding dharma means the characteristic. Everything has got a characteristic. In the chemical laboratory when something is tested the characteristic is tested. "This is this chemical, it has got so many characteristics." So our characteristic, we living entities, we have got our characteristic. What is that characteristic, general characteristics? In this meeting we may be sitting, so many people, one may be Hindu, one may be... Because I am talking of Hindu, Muslim, Christian. Here the word is used, dharma. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo [SB 1.2.6]. So dharma, we generally understand that I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian, I am Arya-samaji, I am this, I am that. That is generally taken as dharma. But according to Vedic principle dharma means characteristic. Just like chilito become hotthe characteristic of chili. We test in the market when we go to purchase chili, we test how strong it is hot. If it is not very strong in its hottiness, then we reject. "No, no, it is not good chili." Chili must be very hot. That is characteristic, that is dharma. Sugar must be very sweet. That is characteristic, that is dharma. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo [SB 1.2.6]. So at the present moment, being entrapped by the material nature, we have accepted different types of dharmas. That is artificial. That is artificial. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am Buddhist," "I am this," "I am that." These are all in relationship with this body. Accidentally if I am born in a Hindu family, or Muslim family, or Christian family, I identify myself, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian." But real identification is, as I have already explained to you, aham brahmasmi, I am Brahman. I am the spirit soul. So when you come to that platform of spiritual understanding then our characteristic should be manifested. What is that? That is explained here, sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. Bhaktito become devotee of the Supreme Lord. That is our real characteristic. To become devotee is already manifest. I am devotee to my country, I am devotee to my society, I am devotee to my family, I am devotee to my husband, to my wife, to my children. So devotion is already there. But that is not paro dharmo. When we become devotee of the Supreme Lord, that is our real characteristic. Devotion is already there, service is already there. Nobody can say that, "I do not serve anyone." No, that is not possible. You must serve. Because that is your characteristic, that is your dharma. Everyone is serving. If a person has nobody to serve, he keeps a cat, he keeps a dog and serves him. So to give service, to love somebody else, that is my real characteristic. But I am missing the point. I am loving cats and dogs and so many things, but I am missing to love God. That is the missing point. Love is there, object of love is there, but it is misplaced. Therefore, we are not getting happiness. When it will be properly placed, love and the object of love, then we'll be happy. This is explanation of this verse. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo [SB 1.2.6]. Para. Para means superior. And apara means inferior. There are two kinds of naturepara and apara. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Bhumir apo 'nalo.... Bhumir apo 'nalo...

We cannot understand God by mental speculation, that is not possible. Realization God means when God reveals unto you. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. By our these blunt senses, speculating, we cannot understand what is God. Therefore His name is Adhoksaja, beyond material speculation. And still you have to apply your bhakti, devotion. Just try to understand. He is beyond our sense perception, but still we have to search Him out and employ our feelings of devotion, love. Therefore, yato bhaktir adhoksaje. One side is beyond the perception of senses and another side you have to love Him. If I say, "Love the air", as an example, so that love is not very factual. How can I love air, something in the air? Somebody must be person, then love is possible. Somebody must be tangible, then there is love possible. Here it is called bhakti. Bhakti means application of love. Bhaja sevaya. When you love you serve somebody. That is called bhakti. Therefore, what kind of love? That is also described here. Ahaitukiwithout any motive. Here in this material world, I love you, you love me, with a motive of sense gratification. Actually there is no love in the world, material world. The show of love is there with a motive. Here love of Godhead means ahaitukiwithout any motive. Ahaituky apratihata. Apratihata means without being deterred, without being impeded. If you develop your love of Godhead... You must know first of all what is that God, Adhoksaja, because beyond your mental perception. But fortunately, if you understand what is God, and when you begin to love Him without any motive... Generally we go to temple, to church, or to mosque, anywhere, the place of worship, "O God give us our daily bread." There is a motive. Similarly, others also, they go to the temple, "O God, I am in need of money, I am distressed, kindly mitigate my distress, give me some money." There is motive. But here it is said ahaituki, without any motive. If you can love God who is beyond your sense perception and without any motive, that activities of love will never be stopped. Ahaituky apratihatawithout being impeded. Without being impeded by any material condition. That means that if you actually love God, there is no condition. Because you are poor man you cannot love God, that is not the fact. Or because you are rich man you cannot love God, no, that is also not fact. Because you are not educated you cannot love God, that is also not acceptable. Because you are very much educated, highly philosophical... So many conditions you can bring but all these conditions are not applicable in the business, in the transaction, of loving God without motive. So this is the description of love of Godhead and if we practically try to cultivate this knowledge of Godhead, that is called, that process is called bhakti. That process is called bhakti. It is enunciated in the Vedic language that,

Upadhi, now we are covered by designation. The same example-vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya [Bg. 2.22]. We are dressed in two kinds of subtle and gross dresses, this material body and mind, intelligence, ego. So when we become free from these designations, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam. And you become purified, nirmala. Mal means dirt and nirmala means without any dirt, without any dirty things, simply spiritual.

Hrsika means senses, upadhi. Just like my hand is now covered by this shirt. So when there is no more shirt, that is naked. So when you come without any designation, without any understanding, false understanding, that "I am American," "I am Englishman," "I am Indian," "I am brahmana," "I am ksatriya." In that stage the senses, the senses remain. Suppose if I take my dress out of my body, my real senses are there. So similarly, when we become free from the designation of this material body and we come to the pure stage of original, spiritual senses, that senses when applied to the service of the supreme master of senses, God, that is called bhakti. Yato bhaktir adhoksaje. So, if we actually want peace or happiness, yayatma suprasidati, without any designation, then that peace and happiness can be achieved. Otherwise it is not possible. So long we remain designated, it is not possible to come to that stage of pure, unalloyed devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. Any question?

There is magnitude. Just like we say geometrically, point has no length, no breadth. But actually that is not fact. It has got length and breadth, but we cannot measure it. Similarly, atma, the soul has got length and breadth, but it is beyond our perception. Therefore we have to accept sruti. This is call so Vedas, Vedic injunction. Vedas said, "Here is the magnitude." That is Vedic understanding. Those who are followers of Vedas, they will not argue. Whatever is stated in the Vedas, they will accept. That is Vedic. There are many examples, I can give one example. Just like in the Vedas it is stated that the stool of animal is impure. And if one touches stool, he must take bathing. But in the Vedas it is also stated that the cow dung, which is also the stool of an animal, that is pure. And still, at least those who are Vedic followers, they take cow dung as pure. Anywhere impure, they smear with cow dung. And that is fact also. Cow dung is full of antiseptic properties. It has been analyzed. So the Vedas gives us injunction both ways that stool is impure but this stool is pure. And those who are followers of Vedas, they accept both. When they touch the stool of another animal they take bathing, but the stool of cow is taken to the Deity worship room. Similarly, sankha, conchshell. Conchshell is the bone of an animal. It is said that if you touch the bone of a dead animal you have to, you become impure. But conchshell is also the bone of an animal, it is taken to the Deity room for vibrating. Therefore, there are so many things which is beyond our perception, knowledge, we have to take shelter of the Vedic injunctions. That is called Vedic. Therefore our method, Vedic method, is as soon as we speak something, we immediately give evidence from the Vedas. Then it is perfect. There is no question of arguing. Just like in the law court the lawyer pleading something, but if he gives quotation from previous judgement and section of law, it is accepted. So the forms of the atma, there are three kinds of formsone you can see directly, this bodily form, another you can simply perceive, and another you can accept only on the Vedic injunctions. But there are forms. So is that right? Thank you. Hare Krsna.

This is the Vedic injunction. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasu sreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. Sabde pare ca nisnatam brahmany upasamasrayam. In the Bhagavad-gita,

So if you actually serious to know about spiritual subject matter, then you must have to, abhigacchet... Abhigacchet, this word is used when the sense is "must". Not that without I can go, I can have spiritual knowledge without having accepted a spiritual master, that is not possible. You must go to a spiritual master and he must be bona fide, he must be in full knowledge, then your life is successful. Any other question?