Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.22 – August 3, 1974, Vṛndāvana

Show Your Knowledge's Origin

Pradyumna: [leads chanting of verse, etc.] [devotees repeat]

[break] [02:22]

Translation: "Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry."

Devotee: Would you like the stand to be lower?

So this is our mission, that find out the original cause. That is scientific research. All the scientist, they are trying to find out the original cause. That is advancement of education. They are analyzing, one after another. But till now, they could not find it out. Big, big scientists have tried, but they could not... Only theory: "This is the original cause. This is the original cause."

But we do not depend on the theories. We depend on the Vedic conclusion. We do not require to make any research. Just like ordinarily we say there are 900,000 forms of body in the water. We get it from Vedic knowledge: jalaja nava-laksani [Padma Purana]. Now, the biologists, let them confirm it or deny it. Because... They cannot confirm it, because their knowledge is experimental. Unless they find it actually, by actual experience, that there are so many living forms within the water, they cannot say "Yes." Neither they are able to find it out. Is it not the position? First of all, if we say to the biologists that "There are 900,000 different forms of life or species within the water," they will say, "How it is you are affirming in, so positively, without experiment, without research?" They'll say. Then we'll ask, "Then you say." That they cannot say. This is their position. They'll say, "In future." Future, there is no question. You do not know now. Admit this. So this is their position. Therefore this experimental knowledge is always imperfect. Always imperfect. It cannot be perfect, because our experience, our power of perception, advancement of knowledge, they are imperfect. They are deficiency.

Therefore, for perfect knowledge you have to approach the perfect. We accept Lord Krsna as the perfect, and His bona fide representative is also perfect. How he is perfect? Krsna may be perfect, one may admit, but how His bona fide representative is also perfect? So the answer is the bona fide representative of Krsna, he does not say anything beyond Krsna. That is perfect. He may be imperfect; it doesn't matter. But he is receiving knowledge from the perfect, and he's simply repeating that knowledge. That is the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Yare dekha tare kaha..., kaha krsna-katha. Yare dekha tare kaha krsna-katha.

You don't speak your upadesa, your instruction. That is nonsense. What you are? That is the defect of the modern civilization. They simply want to instruct by his experience. But what is your experience? They're all imperfect. But they are persisting, "No, we cannot accept any knowledge without experiment." Is it not the position. Eh?

Svarupa Damodara: Experiments...

Prabhupada: Eh?

Svarupa Damodara: ...they're after.

Prabhupada: Now, that the scientists will say, "Why we shall accept Krsna's version as perfect?" Do they not say like that?

Svarupa Damodara: Yes, they ask.

Prabhupada: But they cannot give any perfect information, their theory. So our process is to take Krsna... Not only our; this is the parampara system. All the acaryas-Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya-they take Krsna's version as perfect. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, therefore, that "You do not instruct anything which is manufactured by you. Do not instruct all these..." Because you are imperfect. You have manufactured all your theories. They are imperfect. Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says, yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa [Cc Madhya 7.128]. This is perfection. If you say Krsna's upadesa, instruction, then it is perfect. And if you say your experimental instruction, that is imperfect.

Here it is said that idam hi pumsas tapasas... Every knowledge... Just like here is our Dr. Svarupa Damodara. He has got the doctorate title. We have seen your book. It is a learned scholarship, research work. So that is nice. But he has admitted the original cause is Krsna. So we are asking everyone that "Whatever knowledge you have got..." It doesn't matter whether you are a chemist or physist or an engineer or medical man-any; there are so many-lawyer, politician. So many departmental knowledge. So one becomes doctor and expert by high research work. For the last... How many years you were in USA? Eh?

Svarupa Damodara: I think five years.

Prabhupada: Five years. After five years hard work and placing the theses amongst the learned scholars, they admitted, "Yes, it is very nice research work." Now they have offered him a Ph.D. So it is tapasya. Tapasya. Without tapasya, you cannot get any credit. That is not possible. If one wants to get credit immediately, without tapasya, that is bogus. Therefore it is said tapasah, and srutasya. Srutasya means hearing from the authorities. By attending lectures of the professors, of the scientific scholars, hearing... Or Vedic knowledge.

So anyway, everyone is getting knowledge, perfection, by tapasya, by austerity, by learned scholarship. So here it is said that..., that these things are required for describing Krsna. These things are required for describing Krsna. Not only on the theory, but actually to prove that this knowledge is there, Krsna is full of all opulences, and... It is said... Jnana, jnana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga itiṅgana. Eh? What is the beginning? Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah [Visnu Purana 6.5.74].

Krsna means He's the full, opulent Personality of Godhead, with all riches, all reputation, all beauty, all knowledge. That you have to prove. Any department of knowledge, you have to prove that it..., this knowledge is coming from Krsna. Sarva-karana-karanam.

That is Krsna consciousness. [aside:] Let him sit down properly. That is scholarship. You make research work, but... In the sastra it is said that Krsna is the original person of this departmental knowledge. Suppose you are a lawyer. So Krsna gives the law. This is research work. Just actually Krsna gives. What is Krsna gives? Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66]. This is law. The first giver of law is Krsna, that "You give up all nonsense. Surrender unto Me." This is law. Then you'll understand everything. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg 18.65]. Religion means the law given by Krsna, or God. That is religion. Otherwise, it is not religion. That is cheating. Dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra [SB 1.1.2]. This is cheating religion. If you do not follow Krsna, that is cheating.

"Krsna" means... When I say "Krsna," "Krsna" means God. God is one. That is Krsna. Others, they admit that God is one. But they do not know who is that one God. That is their defect. That is the difference between us and others. They do not know... Just like if I say that "Have you got any father?" so he'll say, "Yes, I have got my father." "Now, who is your father?" "I do not know." That's not a very good credit. Because without father, mother, there is no existence. So everyone knows, "I have got a father." But who is my father, that I do not know. At least, in India, one who cannot say his father's name, immediately he becomes degraded.

Just like the Jabala Satyakama. Jabala Satyakama, he, he was... He went to Gautama Muni, "Please initiate me." And according to Vedic conclu..., initiation is meant for the brahmana-brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya. Not for the sudras. Sudras are not initiated. And in the Kali-yuga, because everyone is a sudra, therefore he's first of all given training to become a brahmana. Then the sacred thread is offered. This is the process. Because actually, initiation cannot be given to anyone except a brahmana. So kalau sudra-sambhavah [Skanda Purana]: "In the Kali-yuga, everyone is sudra." That is to be accepted without any disagreement. Kalau sudra-sambhavah. Because they have no samskara. Asamskrtah kriya-hina mlecchah. One who is not undergone the reformatory processes, garbhadhana-samskara, upanayana-samskara... There are ten kinds of samskaras, reformatory. One who has not gone, or one who is not permitted to undergo the samskara, he's sudra. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Everyone is born sudra. By reformatory method he becomes twice-born-by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is the mother, and spiritual master is the father.

In this way, the Jabala Upanisad... He was asked by his..., by Gautama Muni, "Who is your father?" So he said that "I do not know." "Then go to your mother. Ask him [her]." The mother could not say, that "I do not know who is your father. I have connection with so many men." So he came back to Gautama Muni, "Sir, my mother also does not know. She said that she had many connections, 'I do not who is particularly your father.' " But Gautama Muni immediately accepted him, "Yes, you are brahmana, because you are truthful. Nobody dares to say like that, that 'I do not know my father's name. My mother said that she had many connections.' " Because he was truthful, satyam samo damas titiksa, so by the quality he was accepted immediately, and he was initiated, that "You have the qualities of brahmana." A brahmana will speak truth, even to his enemy. If the enemy comes, if a rogue comes, "How much money you have got in your box?" a brahmana will say, "Sir, I have got one hundred dollars." [laughs] Just like the other day, the Customs examination in Bombay, so our Brahmananda Maharaja was asked, "What is the value?" "No, I have purchased it." "What is the value?" "Two hundred dollars." He did not say that "I am using it for long time." No. "It is new. I have purchased." That's all right. Yes. But Kali-yuga is so implicated that sometimes we have to speak the untruth. But it is the business of the brahmana to speak the truth. No untruth.

So, so in this way our proposition is that if we want perfection, then in whatever position we are-either I am a brahmana, or I am a ksatriya, or I am a vaisya, or I am a sudra-it doesn't matter if we simply take this vow, that Krsna is the original cause of everything. A sudra is also a..., the original cause is Krsna. Krsna says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that He is the cause of the sudras. We should not hate anyone, because everyone is born of Krsna. Aham bija-pradah pita [Bg 14.4]. Krsna says. Sarva-yonisu. It doesn't matter in what form the living entity is there, but Krsna claims that He is the father. He is the father. So either brahmana or ksatriya or vaisya or sudra or mleccha, yavana, or white, black, European, American-anyone-he should know that the original cause is Krsna. This is perfection of life.

So if everyone says that "Original cause of my existence is Krsna," this is Krsna consciousness. It doesn't matter. Not that a brahmana... Brahmana is the mouth of Krsna, and ksatriya is the arm of Krsna, and vaisya is the belly of Krsna, and sudra is the leg of Krsna. But do we distinguish that "Here is Krsna's mouth, or head; all the flowers should be offered here, not to the leg"? Do we make any such distinction? When we worship Krsna, rather, our first duty is to offer to the lotus feet of Krsna. And Krsna says that sudra... In Bhagavata says sudra is the leg. So there may be distinction of profession, occupation, caste, creed, color. It doesn't matter. But if everyone tries to become Krsna conscious, that "The original cause of my existence is Krsna," then there is life... Life is perfect. This is our Krsna consciousness movement. Not blindly, but by research work, that how the original cause is Krsna. Krsna says, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate [Bg 10.8]:

"I am the original cause of everything. Everything emanates from Me." How can I deny that Krsna is not cause? This is Krsna consciousness. Therefore, those who are advanced devotee, he does not see anything else but Krsna, because Krsna is the cause of everything. That is required. Therefore he's Krsna consciousness.

So we should not take anything neglectfully. Neither we should be careless to take care of Krsna's property, Krsna's living being, Krsna's house, Krsna's temple, Krsna's business, Krsna's... Everything Krsna's, Krsna. Isavasyam idam sarvam yat kinca jagatyam jagat . If we think like that, then that is perfect Krsna consciousness. Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah [Bg 9.34]. We may think..., see varieties of things. It doesn't matter. But if we know that the original cause of this thing is Krsna, that is perfection. We are seeing this table. It is wood. But if we know... It is a fact. You know or not know, that doesn't matter. The original cause is Krsna. The microphone, the original cause is Krsna. These karatalas, the original cause is Krsna. This pitcher, original cause is Krsna. Everything. That is Krsna consciousness. And it is fact. Not that we are imagining. Just like... Take, for example, these material things. Material things, this table, it is... How it is caused by Krsna? Krsna says, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca [Bg 7.4].

Bhumi, this earth... Bhinna prakrtir me astadha: "That is My energy." So, so bhumi, the earth, is the cause of the tree, wood, and the wood is the cause of this table. Therefore, originally Krsna is the cause of the table. There is no doubt about it. Anything you take, either you take this wood or you take this water or this ether or chemical, the original cause is Krsna.

Now, to be ascertained, education, that why it is called Krsna is the origin, that is research work. How it has been...? Just like I give you the hint of research work that..., Krsna says that "The earth is My energy, separated energy." And earth is the cause of the wood. And wood is the cause of the fire. Fire is the cause of melting... So many, so many, you can go. So idam hi pumsas tapasah..., kavibhir nirupitah. Describe the attributes of Krsna. You can write. Just like you can write volumes of books on this table. If you are intelligent enough, you can make research work on the table. But in that research work, conclude that Krsna is the origin. A carpenter can..., he can write about Krsna if he's thoughtful. Anyone. Therefore it is said, yad-uttamasloka-gunanuvarnanam. Whatever your profession is there, you know that the original cause is Krsna. Now make research work and find out how Krsna is the original cause. That is education. That is wanted. Am I right?

Svarupa Damodara: Yes, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Yes. So everyone can write books. Everyone wants to write books, wants to show some scholarship. Do it. But the conclusion should be that "Here is the original cause." And it is already said in the sastra... Krsna personally says that,

This is budhah. Those who are actually educated, they're called budhah, "in full knowledge." So there are departmental knowledge. So by research work, when one understands that Krsna is the original cause of everything, then that is siddhanta. Therefore Caitanya-caritamrta-kara says that,

Siddhanta, conclusion, try to study. Krsna says, "I am the origin of everything." So whatever subject matter you have got, you study. Then when you come to this conclusion, "Yes, actually Krsna is the original cause," then your devotion of Krsna immediately increases. If you accept blindly Krsna, that is one thing, another one thing. And if you study, make research work, and find out Krsna is the original cause, then your love for Krsna will increase. So this is required. This is required.

So this verse is very important thing. And everyone should make research work. But a devotee, one who has concluded, one who has perfectly known that Krsna is the original cause of everything, he hasn't got to do anything. His business is finished. He doesn't require any more to go..., undergo severe austerities to find out whether Krsna is cause or not cause. Because he has already known. He has already known. Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada Pancaratra]. No more tapasya. Chant Hare Krsna. But if you have got doubt, make research work. You'll have to come to the conclusion. But if you have concluded it, "Yes, Krsna is the original cause of everything," then your business is finished. Chant Hare Krsna. But if you have got doubt, then do it. That is your business. Don't be blind. Either you accept here the words of Krsna... Krsna says, "I am the original cause of everything." That's all right. If you believe that "Krsna says," it is all right. If you do not believe, then make the research and find out. That is perfection. In both ways you'll have to come to the...

Because the fact is fact. Either... Suppose somebody says, "Don't touch fire. It will burn your hand." If you accept it, your father's advice or your teacher's advice, "Don't touch fire," it is as good. And if you want to make research, "No, why shall I believe my father, my teacher? Let me experiment, touch," the result will be the same. Result will be the same. But if you want to make experiment, do it. But come to this conclusion, that Krsna is the original cause of everything. Then your life is perfect.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya, Srila Prabhupada. [break] [end]