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760219SB.MAY
Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.12

Mayapur, February 19, 1976
Dayananda: "Therefore, although I am born in a demonic family, even still, without any doubt, I may offer prayers to the Lord as far as possible by me. Any person who is engaged in offering prayer and hearing glories of the Lord becomes purified from the material condition of life."
Prabhupada:
This verse is given by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in another distinct form, ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. It doesn't matter where I am born. That is not important thing. Nico, even one is very lowborn by breaks of nature... Nobody can guarantee where he'll take his birth. Karmana daiva netrena [SB 3.31.1]. I'll have to take my birth according to my fruitive activities, controlled by nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. We are all completely under the control of the laws of material nature, guna-visarga. So according to the quality or modes of material nature we associate, we create another body. There are many places this thing has been described in the Bhagavad-gita. Mayaya, yantrarudhani mayaya. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati, bhramayan sarva-bhutani [Bg. 18.61]. Just like that Jumnagar(?) Agarwal, that... He is now in the police custody. Now he is crying, "Save me, save me, save me." But nature's law is very strict. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. Once you have committed mistake, immediately nature's law reacts, and it is very difficult to come out of it. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya.
But there is only one way. That is anuvarnitena, repeatedly chanting Hare Krsna, repeatedly. That is the only way. Harer namaiva kevalam. That is recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. This is the simple... Kali-yuga... This is the only way. Kaler dosa-nidhe rajann hy asti eko mahan gunah. This is the greatest qualification of Kali-yuga. Great personalities, they very much eulogize Kali-yuga that there is simple method and so sublime: Simply by chanting Hare Krsna mantra, one becomes completely purified. Puyeta yena hi puman anuvarnitena. Anu means repetition, and anu means following the footsteps of authority, spiritual master, anu. Our process is anu. We don't manufacture anything. We simply follow. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Mahajanas. Great personalities, great authorities, that is our process. Guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete kariya aikya, ara na koriya mane asa **. This is the process. The guru-mukha-padma-vakya **, whatever is coming out of the mouth of the spiritual master... Because he'll never speak nonsense. He'll also speak the same thing which he has heard from his guru. That is called anu, anu, following. So this is very easy. We don't manufacture things. What is the use of manufacturing things? We are imperfect; what we can manufacture? Whatever we shall manufacture, that is imperfect because we are imperfect. The modern scientists, they are manufacturing some ideas. I manufacture, and you manufacture some idea. You defeat me; I defeat you. So tarkah apratisthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. In this wayI defeat you; you defeat methat will not solve the problem. The problem will be solved when we follow the authority. Anuvarnitena. Then the problems will be...
So Prahlada Maharaja, he's already purified. His head was touched by Nrsimhadeva. He's completely pure. Therefore, although he was only a child, five years old, he is speaking the, I mean to say, gist conclusion of the sastra. Anuvarnitena. He understood that "I am not born in a brahmana family. I am born nica, low-grade family, asura family. My father was a asura. So I am born of him. So I have no prestigious position. Still, Krsna is satisfied simply by devotional service." That has been already explained. "So let me offer my prayers to the Lord sincerely." Yatha manisam: "As far as I have got my intelligence... I am not supposed to be very intelligent because I am lowborn. I am not born in a brahmana family, neither I am old enough, educated. Still, I have to offer my prayers. So let me try to offer my prayers by following the authorities, anuvarnitena, without any," what is called, "doubt." Tasmad aham vigata-viklava: "without any doubt." Why? That is the perfect way. If we follow the previous acaryas, then there is no question of lamentation. Anuvarnitena. Simply... This is very nice method. Caitanya Mahaprabhu's philosophy is there, yare dekha tare kaha krsna upa... You haven't got to manufacture for preaching. You haven't got to. This is nonsense. You simply follow what Krsna has said. Yare dekha tare kaha krsna upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Then you become guru.
So Prahlada Maharaja became guru. Out of the twelve mahajanas he is one of them.
svayambhur naradah sambhuh
kapilah kaumaro manuh
prahlado janako bhismah...
[SB 6.3.20]
They are mahajanas. So we have to follow Prahlada Maharaja. He is our guru, purva-acarya. Narada is purva-acarya. He is disciple of Narada. Therefore he is acarya, and his disciplic succession... There are sampradayas: Brahma-sampradaya, Kaumara-sampradaya... Anyone who is bona fide acarya, he can create his own disciplic succession, but one disciplic succession and the other disciplicthey are not different. They are of the same conclusion. The Vaisnava acaryas, just like our Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, and Nimbarka, and who that? Rudra-sampradaya? Visnu Svami. They are all of the same movement. Aradhyo-bhagavan vrajesa-tanayah, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. That is their conclusion. There is no different conclusion. Although they have got varieties of methodssuddhadvaita, dvaitadvaita, vasistadvaita, like thatthey present the same philosophy in clear way. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented the same philosophy, that acintya-bhedabheda. That is acarya. Acarya gives some way for simple understanding. The same conclusion, but according to the time, circumstances, they give a very easy method to understand. That is acarya. Acarya is following strictly the previous acarya, but according to the circumstances, he may make little changes. That is... That change is not change from the original idea. No.
So Prahlada Maharaja's conclusion is that "I shall offer my prayers, glorifying the Lord according to my capacity." Yatha manisam. Everyone is not of the same intellect. You may be more intelligent than me, another may be more intelligent than you, but that varieties of intelligence does not mean missing the real point. The real point is the same. Just like Krsna has got so many queens, or He, in Vrndavana, He was associated with so many gopi friends or cowherd boyfriends. So everyone was Krsna's devotee, everyone loved Krsna, but there were varieties, varieties, vaicitra. It is called vaicitra. Krsna is not without variety. Just see in the flower. Krsna says, punyo gandhah prthivyam ca. The flavor is Krsna. We were studying in the morning. But there are still varieties of flavor. The rose flower has got a particular type of aroma; another flower, aroma. So the Mayavadi philosophers, they cannot understand that the variety, vaicitra, is creation of Krsna. Although they are one, the same, Krsna, punyo gandhah prthivyam ca, but still, there are varieties. Everywhere you'll find varieties, visesata. And the Mayavadi philosopher-nirvisesa. In common English it is said, "Variety is the mother of enjoyment." So Krsna wants this variety. So you all are devotees. You, the central point is to love Krsna and offer Him service, but that service may be of variety. Variety. You cannot claim that because you are serving Krsna in a type, and therefore, if somebody is serving in a differentmust be approved by the authority... You cannot criticize him. Varieties. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. The same vegetable, the same ghee, the same salt, same spices, but there are varieties of preparations. That is required. We Vaisnava, we want varieties. Bahunmukhi-seva. How... The central point is how... The Vrndavana-Krsna is the central point. The cowherd boys, they are satisfying Krsna by going in the forest, playing with Him, mock-fighting with Him. That is also variety. And when He comes home, Krsna is taken care by mother Yasoda, different dress, different foodstuff, variety. Similarly, when in the company of the gopis, varieties, So variety is the mother of enjoyment. So it is not that I'll have to do exactly like you. I'll have to serve Krsna, but no mental concoction, following the footstep, anuvarnitena. Again, you can create variety, but it must not deviate from the original authority. That is wanted.
So Prahlada Maharaja decided, tasmad aham vigata-viklava isvarasya sarvatmana. Real thing is with heart and soul everything. No reservation. Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he surrenders to Krsna everything, whatever he has got. He says, manasa deha geha, yo kichu mora: "Whatever I have got, no reservation." So what I have got in this material... He said, "I have got this body, material body, lump of matter, and I have got my wife, simply changing from this platform to that platform." Because my business is sankalpa-vikalpa. We accept something"It is very good"and next time we reject it"No, it is not good." This is mind's business. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, "I have got this lump of body." I am... We are very much proud of possessing, but what we have got? We have got this body and the mind. And with the mind we have created so many things"This is my house. This is my wife. This is my children." Nobody is your. You have come according to your karma, and they have come according to their karma, and it is a play only that one is father, one is mother, one is son. It is by arrangement of the material nature. Karanam guna-sango 'sya [Bg. 13.22]. Everything will be finished in the twinkling of an eye. So actually it has no fact, but we think this is our possession. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that "My possession means some mental concoction and this lump of body." Manasa deha geha. "So therefore, whatever possession I have got, I surrender unto You." Manasa deha geha, yo kichu mora. This is surrender. Arpilun tuwa pade, nanda-kisora.
So the real process is to surrender to Krsna and act according to your... Yes, Krsna will give you intelligence. First of all we have to become sincere, heart and soul. Sarvatmana. Sarva means all, or atma means body, atma means mind, atma means soul. Three meanings of atma. So sarvatmana. Your body the other day I explained, karmana manasa vaca: "By your working capacity, by your mind, by your words..." This is called tri-danda. We Vaisnava sannyasi, we take three danda. This is three, karmana manasa vaca: by activities, by mind and by words. The preaching is word; therefore word is the last: thinking, feeling, willing, and then action. So mind should be settled up that "I shall sincerely serve Krsna, and because I am not expert, therefore to understand how to serve..." Adau gurvasrayam. One has to accept guru. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta [SB 11.3.21]. The sastra says, "In order to take direction, one must surrender to guru." Krsna says, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34]. That is the whole Vedic injunction.
So Prahlada Maharaja has already surrendered to Lord Brahma, Narada, and whatever intelligence he has got, he is trying to utilize it for satisfying the Supreme Lord. As yesterday, we have discussed that how we can satisfy Krsna. He is atmarama. Nija-labha-purnah. He's already satisfied with His own profit. What we can satisfy? So our, that endeavor to satisfy means our satisfaction. The example is given that tac ca atmane prati-mukhasya yatha mukha-srih. If we serve Krsna, then we'll be satisfied. We are not satisfied by serving maya. If we want satisfaction at all, then we serve Krsna. That is wanted. Everyone is dissatisfied. That is... Because we are serving maya, there must be dissatisfaction. There must be dissatisfaction. Nobody can be peaceful within this material world so long he is under the clutches of maya. That is not possible. But these rascals, they do not know this. It is said everywhere, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti.
Krsna said, but we do not take Krsna's words. Santi means we have to accept these three principles. What is that? Krsna is the enjoyer; He is the master; He is the proprietor. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sar... You are performing yajna. You are performing tapasya, penances. You are observing brahmacarya. So many there are, different rules and regulations. But what is the idea? To serve Krsna, or to satisfy... [break] Sense will remain. We do not become imperson, senseless or non-sense. No. The sense must be there. It should be purified. And as soon as we purify, then we have no other business than to satisfy Krsna. And so long we are not purified, we satisfy our senses. This is the difference between karma and bhakti.
Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

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