Lecture to Railway Workers – February 22, 1972, Visakhapatnam

720222LE-VISAKHAPATNAM [18:24 Minutes]

The atheist did not know that He is the incarnation of God

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Prabhupada: Ladies and gentlemen I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this great Krsna consciousness movement. This is the religion of the religions, there are hundreds and thousands of religious principles all over the world but this is the basic principle of religion. Religion means to understand God that is the short description of religion. Because from the sastra's we understand that religion is the codes and laws of the Lord or God, dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19].

You cannot manufacture religion, religion is the given codes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I have several times explained this that the law cannot be manufactured by any private person. Law is given by the state by the king, what the king says or the state orders that is law. Just like on the road when you drive your car you have to keep left, that is the given law of the state. Similarly in America the car is kept on the right, so you cannot say that somewhere it is said keep right and somewhere it is said keep left-which one is right? Which one was the right direction? The right direction is the word of the state, similarly religion means what is spoken by the Lord that is religion.

And this Krsna consciousness movement is therefore the religion of the religions. Just like philosophy is called as the science of the sciences, similarly the Krsna consciousness movement is the religion of the religions. Now take for example, the Hindu religion or the Christian religion or the Muslim religion. What is the ultimate goal? Love of Godhead, Lord Jesus Christ he also preached how to love God. The Mohammadan religion also preaches to realize the Supreme Lord, Allah-u-akbar. In Buddha religion they primarily they are atheist but Lord Buddha is incarnation of Krsna therefore it is said in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that God, Krsna, appeared as Lord Buddha to cheat the atheists.

The atheist class they did not believe in God but Lord Buddha came before them He said, "yes there is no God, that's right but whatever I say you take it." So the atheist class took it, "yes whatever You say we shall take it." But the atheist did not know that He is the incarnation of God. Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, sammohaya sura-dvisam [SB 1.3.24], sammohaya sura-dvisam, sura-dvisam-means the atheist class. Sammohaya-just to bewildered them, you don't believe in God, that's all right but you take My words, ahimsa parama-dharma, don't kill animals. Lord Buddha appeared, sadaya-hrdaya-darsita-pasu-ghatam, He was... The Lord became very much compassionate when people in the name of religion in the name of Vedas were much addicted to killing of animals.

The Vaisnava, the devotee of Lord Krsna, he knows what is Lord Buddha, he says, Vaisnava kavi Jayadeva Gosvami that, "my dear Lord," nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam. You appear for stopping killing of animals but people began to give you evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas. There are, certainly, sacrificial animal killing but not the slaughterhouse animal killing or any time or anything, no. That animal killing was also to test the power of the Vedic mantra, not for eating purpose. That's a different story.

Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal killing and when people wanted to give evidence from the Vedas that animal killing is sanctioned in the Vedas, why you are stopping? Therefore He had to say, "I don't care for your Vedas," nindasi yajna-vidhe rahaha sruti-jatam. Therefore Lord Buddha is accepted amongst the Vedic followers as atheist. But Vaisnava, one who knows Krsna they see Lord Buddha as the incarnation of Krsna for the time serving purpose. At that time it was needed to stop animal killing therefore He presented a different type of philosophy.

So that is also inaction, acts enacted by the Lord and it was stopping animal killing. Therefore my point is that religion means whatever God says, enacts, that is religion. It may be for the time being or it may be eternal. So this Krsna conscious religion, as it is stated by the Supreme Lord in the Bhagavad-gita, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66]. This is eternal religion of the living entities. It does not matter where he is born, he may be an Indian, he may be an American, he may be a Canadian or... But this is the eternal religion.

To surrender unto the Supreme Lord, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja. This surrender is the beginning of bhakti or devotional service, saranagati. Surrender means saranagati. Saranagati means my Lord I was wondering so many periods of lives in 8,400,000 of species of life in different forms of life, sometimes aquatic, sometimes birds, sometimes bees, sometimes trees, sometimes insects, in this way I was transmigrating from one life to another. Now in this human form of life I have got my senses that You are the supreme and I am eternally related with You:

After transmigrating many many forms of life when actually becomes, when one actually becomes wise, jnanavan, full knowledge. At that time he surrenders unto Krsna, Krsna says surrender unto Me, bahūnam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. Jnanavan, not the foolish, one who has actually knowledge, one who is all actually wise he surrenders to Krsna and he is mahatma, sa mahatma su-durlabhaḥ. There are many mahatmas simply by changing the dress but actually as Krsna says-what is mahatma? That mahatma means-who is a surrenders soul onto the lotus feet of Krsna, he is mahatma.

[break] Bhajanty ananya-manaso [Bg 9.13], these are the symptoms of mahatma. Mahatma means-bhajanti ananya-manaso without any other deviation of the mind, simply devoted to Lord Krsna. Mam ekam saranam vraja his only surrender is unto Krsna because Krsna means everything. Just like if you water on the root of the tree you are watering all the leaves, branches, twigs and flowers and fruits and everything in the tree. Similarly sarvarhanam acyutejya [SB 4.31.14], if you worship Lord Krsna then you worship all demigods, all humanity, all nationalities

[break]. There is many difficulties to self realize and unless the human body a human being does not realize what he is, what is God, what is this manifestation material manifestation, how we are related with one another. These are called atma-tattvam, parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam [SB 5.5.5] This so-called civilisation, daily fighting for a piece of land and they are dying and they do not know where they are going, completely unknown. After death everything is finished, we do not know where is now Mahatma Gandhi, where is now Jawaharlal Nehru, where is Hitler, where is Shubhash Chandra Bose.

We do not know this is called darkness but if you refer to the sastras you can understand where they have gone. Where one has gone you can understand from the sastras by his activities, by his activities. Suppose you know that a friend of you he has passed IAS examination, so you can understand even if you do not see him that he must get a nice government service. Similarly by the activities of a man you can know where he has gone after death.

There is life after death that is a fact, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati [Bg 2.13]. So ūrdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha [Bg 14.18], those who are engaged or in contact with the modes of goodness of this material world they are promoted in the higher planetary systems. Madhye tisthanti rajasaḥ, those who are addicted with the modes of passion they remain in this material world or between the Bhū, Bhuvar and Svar. And those who are most degraded, jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasaḥ, so they glide down to the animal life. In this way you can judge where your friend or your relative has gone after death. Krsna also says that,

If you are worshipper of demigods then you can go to the planet where the particular demigod is there. Similarly you can go to the pitr-loka, the karmis they are worshipping pitr-loka by offering pinḍa. You can go there and yanti bhūtejya bhūtani. Those who are materialists they shall remain in this material world, mad-yajino 'pi yanti mam, and one who is devoted simply engaged in the service of the Lord he will go back to home, back to Godhead. These are the informations we get. So this Krsna consciousness movement is training people directly how to go back home back to Godhead directly.

As Krsna says that, janma karma ca me divyam yo janati tattvataḥ [Bg 4.9], anyone who knows perfectly well what is Krsna, why He comes down, why He acts just like ordinary human being and what is the intention and purpose of His coming here. These things you'll find them in Bhagavad-gita He says everything completely and after all returning Bhagavad-gita or Krsna to understand Bhagavad-gita means to understand Krsna. Then, tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaun…

[break] So why don't you see that, as soon as you see the sunshine you remember Krsna. As soon as you see the moonshine you remember Krsna, as soon as you see something wonderful you understand this is a power expansion of Krsna. In this way Bhagavad-gita everything is stated you try to understand Krsna then as Krsna says, janma karma ca me divyam yo janati tattvataḥ. You can understand Krsna in truth, there is no difficulty, no difficulty at all. This life, again, if you surrender to Krsna, if you are engaged in Krsna service that is highest stage.

This understanding of Krsna, that Krsna is sunshine, that Krsna is moonshine, Krsna is the taste of the water, Krsna is the sound in the sky, Krsna is, bhūmir apo 'nalo vayuḥ kham mano buddhir eva ca [Bg 7.4], Krsna is water. In this way if you simply understand, Krsna Krsna Krsna and if you chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, your life becomes sublime. What is the difficulty? What is the difficulty attempting? If there is any difficulty people are searching after God and God is canvassing at your door, why don't you take? How much foolishness it is? Eh?

Everyone says where is God can you show me God? God is dead, there is no God. I am God, you're God. What is the not? Here is God Krsna accepted by Arjuna who saw Krsna face-to-face. Accepted by all the acaryas, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami all the big acaryas, accepted by Raghava, accepted by Vyasa, accepted by Lord Caitanya, and we are following in their footsteps. So [break] however obstinate that we do not like to take the actual thing. We want to be bewildered by the rascals and fools that is our misfortune. [indistinct] we want to be cheated therefore they come and cheat us. But really God is Krsna try to understand and be successful in your life. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna. [end]