Therefore samsara davanala-lidha-loka **. The whole material world is blazing fire. Samsara davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam **. Now, this davanala... Just like in the forest, you cannot send your fire brigade. That is not possible. Neither you can go there to help the animals for extinguishing the fire by bucketful of waters. That is also not possible. Helpless. Similarly, this samsara davanala, you cannot extinguish it. So how it will be extinguished? Samsara davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam **. You have to beg for the mercy of Krsna; then this blazing fire can be extinguished, not by your arrangement. That is not possible. Tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam. That cloud is mercy cloud, not this ordinary cloud. Because davanala, the example, personal experience that on the hill of Nainital, some thousand feet high, how this fire will be extinguished? The extinguished it will be when there is cloud on the sky and there is rainfall. Otherwise it is not possible. Similarly, the mercy cloud, karunya, karuna, ghanaghanatvam... So just like ordinary cloud is made possible by evaporating water from the sea, similarly, Krsna has the sea of mercy, karunayamaya, karuna-sagara. Krsna's another name is Karuna-sagara. So as the air evaporate or the heat evaporate from the sea, and the cloud is formed in the sky, similarly, one who has connection or the power to evaporate the mercy sea of Krsna, he can extinguish the samsara davanala. And that is guru. Guru is the cloud or he is the agent of drying water from the ocean of mercy of Krsna and turn it into a mercy cloud and pour water on the samsara davanala, and then it is extinguished. Samsara davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam, praptasya kalyana **.

Therefore guru must be authorized person, not that bhumi-phala-guru(?). No. "I am guru," no. You cannot become guru unless you are agent to draw out the mercy water from the ocean of mercy of Krsna. That is guru. And therefore a guru is not an ordinary person. He is the representative, bona fide representative of Krsna. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung, krsna se tomara, krsna dite para: "Vaisnava Thakura, Krsna is your property. If you like, you can give." Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau [Bs. 5.33]. You cannot get Krsna by studying Vedas. That is not possible. There is Krsna in the Vedas, but you cannot pick up. It is not possible. But if you go to the Krsna's favorite person... Kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya. Krsna's very dear servant, confidential servant, is guru. Nobody can become guru unless he is in confidence of Krsna. Na ca tasmad manusyesu kascid me priya-krttamah. These things are there. Not that by magic one can become guru. No. He must be...

Samsara davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam, praptasya kalyana **. Everything is there in the sastra. We have to see whether a person is actually bona fide agent of Krsna. Then we accept him as guru. Otherwise useless waste of time. Gurur apy avaliptasya karyakaryam ajanatah. Guru is very confidential serv... Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih **. Guru is saksad hari; there is no distinction between guru and Krsna. Just like if you have got some business with a very big man, when his representative comes, you treat him as the same person because he is authorized agent. That is natural. Just like in India during British days, the governor general, viceroyhis name was viceroyso people treated him exactly like the king, viceroy, in place of the king. Although he was a servant, but still, the honor was given to him just like the king. His dress was like king. He was given honor like king. Wherever he would go, he was received like the king. But he is not king. He does not say that "I am king," but his honor is like the king. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair, uktah **. It is said in our all..., that you sing always, vede gaya yahara carita. You read this verse daily. Guru-mukha..., vede gaya yahara car... What is that? Eh? Who can sing this?

And what is the confidential servant of Krsna? Everything is explained. Krsna says, ya imam paramam guhyam mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati. This paramam guhyam. What is that paramam guhyam? Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is paramam guhyam, Krsna said. Guhyad guhyatamam. What is that verse? Who can say? Just before saying, sarva-dharman parityajya, Krsna said that "You are My very dear friend. Therefore I am talking to you the most confidential part of knowledge." Is it not? What is that confidential part? Sarva-dharman parityajya: "Give up everything. Simply surrender unto Me." This is confidential knowledge. Jnana, karma, yoga, this will not help. It will take some time. You can waste your time in that way, you are at liberty, but real dharma is that "You fully surrender unto Me. Don't talk nonsense." Arjuna was talking so many nonsense things. So Krsna ultimately said, "My dear Arjuna, you are My confidential friend. Therefore I am asking you. You do this. Don't waste your time. It will not help." It will helpbahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. You can go on with your learning, with your study of Vedas, with your practice of yoga or ritualistic ceremonies, karma-kanda, jnana-kanda, but unless you come to this pointsarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]there is no happiness. That is not possible. This is the confidential...

So if this confidential knowledge, one who preaches without any compromise, he is the confidential servant of Krsna. There is no compromise. This is real religion. The Krsna says, na ca tasmad manusyesu kascid me priya-krttamah. So this is the person who has received the authority to draw mercy water from the ocean of mercy of Krsna. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih. And what Krsna said five thousand years ago, the same thing Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, same thing. There was no change, as there was no change between the statement of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Narottama dasa Thakura. Sadhu sastra. As sastra, there is no change. Not that "Modernize. The sastra should be changed." No. That is nonsense. That is not sastra. Sastra cannot be changed. "Circumstantially, it will be changed, seasonal changes." No. That is not sastra. Sastra means it is perpetual. What Krsna said five thousand years ago or Krsna said some forty millions of years ago to the sun god... Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. He says, "I am talking to you that puratanam yogam." Not that "Because it has passed millions of years and now it is a different time, so I will have to change." No. He said, "I am talking to you that very old system." Is it not? Just see. The sastra cannot be changed. God's word cannot be changed. Then what will be the difference between God and ourself? He is always perfect. He is always perfect. What He said forty millions of years ago, what He said five thousand years ago, that is also correct up to date. That is sastra. Not that "So many years have passed and it has become old. Now let us reform it and put it into new way." No. You can put the same thing in a new way, but you cannot change the principle. Sadhu sastra guru-vakya, tinete kariya aikya. Sastra is never changed. And the sadhu... Sadhu means who follows the sastras. He is sadhu. He also does not change. Sadhu, sastra. And guru? Guru means who follows the sastra and sadhu. So there are three, the same. A guru will not change, that "It was spoken five thousand years ago. That is not applicable now. Now I am giving you something new, jugglery." He is useless. Sadhu sastra guru-vakya tinete kariya aikya. Yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate kama karatah, na siddhim avapnoti [Bg. 16.23]. These things are there.

So the samsara davanala-lidha-loka **, these eight stanzas of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura is very important. We sing daily. That's very good. This world is davanala. Just like Rsabhadeva, He wanted fire, He did not require any matches. No. Fire can be... By His will there will be fire. Formerly yajna fire was also ignited. What is that wood? Arani, yes. Not with matches. So it is ordinary thing, the friction of the bamboo, electricity. It creates electricity by friction. The electricity is also friction. Similarly, fire is created and the dry leaves of bamboo tree, they set in fire. Then, gradually, the whole forest is in blazing fire. And especially the snakes, they are the first sufferers. Because they remain on the ground and there are dry leaves and it takes fire very quickly, so they cannot fly away. Other animals, they can... Nobody can escape, but they can try because they can go fast. But the snake... Similarly, when there is catastrophe in the world, the persons like snakes, cruel, envious, they suffer first like a snake. Canakya Pandita has said, sarpah krurah khalah krurah. There are two envious living entities, very dangerous. What are they? One is snake. And another? The man whose habit is like snake. Without any fault he will bite. Without any fault.

So just like we are preaching Krsna consciousness. So what is our fault? That we are trying to make menno illicit sex, no gambling, no meat-eating, no intoxication, and they take it otherwise. They take: "It is very dangerous." Without any fault they are finding fault. This is snake. Sarpah krurah khalah krurah. No fault, but still fault-finding and giving us trouble. So you'll find so many persons, without any fault they'll bite. A snake, without any fault... You are passing, and you are taking some fruit from the tree. If there is snake, it will bitethe krurah. So Canakya Pandita said, "There are two, two kinds of krurah, envious living entities. One is the snake; another is the man-snake, or a man habituated to the snake quality." So sarpah krurah khalah krurah. But Canakya Pandita said, "This man snake is more dangerous than the animal snake." Sarpat kruratarah khalah. Why? Now, mantrausadhi-vasah sarpah khalah kena nivaryate: "You can subdue the snake by chanting a snake mantra or some drug, jadi-bhuti(?), but this man-snake cannot be subdued." It is very, very dangerous.

So this is our position, and therefore a preacher devotee is so, I mean to say, favorite to Krsna. They have to meet actually dangerous persons, krurah persons. Just see. Jesus Christ, what fault he had? He was preaching about God, and he was crucified. Crucified. That is in your country, a very good example. Simply his fault was he was talking of God, that's all, and he was crucified. So we have to meet. Our Nityananda Prabhu, He also met that Jagai-Madhai. Of course, He delivered them. Nityananda Prabhu is so kind that in spite of being stroken and blood came out from His head, still, He continued to say, "My dear friends, never mind you have injured Me. You chant Hare Krsna." So the preaching is so difficult thing. Therefore Krsna said, na ca tasmad manusyesu kascid me priya krttamah. It is not very sitting idly, comfortably, and discuss Vedanta. No. It is not like that. Preaching practically. Practically meeting dangerous position because sympathetic. Samsara davanala. The whole world is in blazing fire. Para-duhkha-duhkhi. Vaisnava is para-duhkha-duhkhi. And that is his qualification. For him there is no difficulty. He's quite all right. He's under the protection of Krsna. Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati [Bg. 9.31]. So he has no danger personally. What danger there is? There is Krsna. He is confident, and Krsna protects him in all danger. But he is unhappy. He meets Jagai-Madhai class and faces all kinds of danger. Therefore he is the powerful, authorized agent of Krsna.

Thank you very much. (end)