Paṇḍāl Lecture – November 21, 1971, Delhi

711121LE-DELHI [29:57 Minutes]

Sresthas means 'leading personalities'

Prabhupada: Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your participating in this Krsna consciousness movement.

Lord Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita this verse, that the leading people must be ideal, yad yad acarati sresthas. Sresthas means "leading personalities." Tad tad evetaro janaḥ: and his actions are followed by the ordinary men. The present condition of India, I may say, is spiritually so much fallen because our leaders were disinterested in the spiritual matter. So I am glad that His Excellency the Governor, Mr. Jahar[?], he attended this meeting and expressed his views on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, or the system of bhagavata-dharma, which was being discussed by me in this platform for three, four days.

So I am glad, Mr. Jahar's speech on the Srimad-Bhagavatam is quite appropriate, and he has acknowledged the importance of this Krsna consciousness movement.

So far we proposed to open an institution for teaching the bhagavata-dharma in this city, great city. We may inform the public that bhagavata-dharma means to understand the science of God. As I have many times explained what is the science of God and sanatana-dharma: to understand the science of God means sanatana-dharma.

Every living entity is sanatana; the Personality of Godhead, He is also sanatana; and the system, or the modus operandi which we execute, is that to achieve that final goal how we can again unite together, both sanatanas-the jiva and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This unification does not mean that we become amalgamated, homogeneous. No. This unity means that in the conditioned state of our existence, or in our material life, we do not agree to the proposal of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead says, Krsna,

But so long we do not agree to this proposal-the open offer by the Supreme Personality of Godhead-that is our material existence. Material existence and spiritual existence does not mean that in our material existence we have got two hands and in our spiritual existence we shall have four hands, or something different. It is not like that. Spiritual existence means to agree with the offer or proposal by the Supreme Godhead. This is unity, unity of agreement. Not that we become one. One in agreement.

In the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita you will find that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, says to Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, you, Me, all these kings and the soldiers who are now assembled here, it is not that they were not existing in the past, neither it is that they will cease to exist in the future." That means Krsna, Arjuna and the other living entities, all of us, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam [Katha Upanisad 2.2.13], we are all individuals.

Krsna is individual, you are individual, I am individual-everyone individual. And we have got individual independence also. Pūrnasya pūrnam adaya . Krsna is so perfect that whatever He creates, that is also perfect. So if we are supposed to be created by God, or Krsna, then perfectly we have got all the qualities of Krsna-but in minute quantity. That is the difference. We have got all the qualities. You can study Krsna simply by studying your qualities. Whatever quality you have got, Krsna has got also the same quality. The difference is that you have got them in minute quantities, and Krsna has got them in full quantities. That is the difference.

Therefore unity, or to become one with Krsna, means that we agree to His proposals. It is very simple to understand. Just like in the family: the head of the family, and there are many members, sons and daughters or servants, wife, children, so many. If all the family members agree to the proposal of the prime person, the family life is very peaceful. Similarly God is the center, Krsna is the center. Aham sarvasya prabhavaḥ [Bg 10.8]: from Him everything is coming, everything is emanating.

The Vedanta-sūtra also says, janmady asya yataḥ . That is parabrahman, Absolute Truth. The same example: just like in a family, the father is the chief man, and from him every children is coming out. Similarly in the creation, either material or spiritual, Krsna is the center, sarva-karana-karanam [Bs 5.1], and the world should be one family, and Krsna the head. That is the ideal. That is ideal communism or socialism.

But in the spiritual world that ideal society is already there. In the spiritual world there are innumerable planets, which are known as Vaikuntha planets. As in this material sky we have got innumerable planets, but they are all material, but in the spiritual sky there are also innumerable planets, and the most important planet is called Goloka Vrndavana. And other planets, they are called Vaikunthas. Vaikuntha means vigata-kuntha yasmat.

In those planets there is no anxiety. In the material world, in any planet you go, a-brahma-bhuvanal lokaḥ [Bg 8.16], either if you go to the Brahmaloka… There are many lokas, planetary systems. This is called Bhūloka, and then Bhuvarloka, then Sarloka, or Svargaloka, then Janaloka, Maharloka, Siddhaloka, Satyaloka, like that. So many. Similarly down this there are many other planetary systems: Tal, Atal, Bital, Talatal, Rasatal, Patal. These descriptions are there in the Vedic literatures, in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. You will find them in the Fifth Canto. They are very vividly described.

Unfortunately, in our country it has become a policy, or system, to earn some money by reciting Bhagavata. Therefore in spite of Bhagavata being our property, we do not know what is real Bhagavata. The professional men, they earn some money simply reciting the rasa-lila. And people misunderstand, and therefore sometimes I meet with some question: "Why Krsna was behaving with the gopis?" "Why Krsna had sixteen thousand wives?"

They are thinking Krsna… Because they are not hearing from authorized persons, they take Krsna as ordinary man. They do not consider that if Krsna is the original bhokta, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam [Bg 5.29], then He is the proprietor of all women. Otherwise, how He can be bhokta? Rather one woman, which I claim as my wife, that is also Krsna's. But it requires understanding. If Krsna is the bhokta, then why He should be limited? But these questions and answers are very great. Unless one becomes expert in understanding Krsna,

One has to understand Krsna as He is. And that can be learned by the process,

We have to learn from the tattva-darsi, not from the professional reciters who make business with Bhagavata. Therefore there is misunderstanding of Srimad-Bhagavatam. So India, this should be stopped. Really one should learn Bhagavatam scientifically, as we learn in the schools and colleges from A-B-C-D up to M.A. Not that we jump over all of a sudden to the M.A class. The behavior of Krsna and the gopis, that is postgraduate study of Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is not to be understood by a student who is studying A-B-C-D.

Therefore bhagavata-dharma has been misused. Why Vyasadeva made ten cantos in Srimad-Bhagavatam? He could have immediately described Krsna from the very beginning. No. That he has not done. In the very beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam he describes what is Krsna:

Sridhara Svami says, krsnaya cin makalandaya[?]. This vasudevaya, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, immediately Sridhara Svami points out vasudevaya means krsnaya. And in the very beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is a description of the Vedanta-sūtra. He wrote first of all Vedanta-sūtra. And he was not satisfied, even after compiling.

He first of all collected all the Vedic aphorisms, then he selected the Upanisads, and then he wrote the concised…, summarized the whole Vedic knowledge in the Vedanta-sūtra. And this Vedanta-sūtra was not explained; simply the satras, the codes were there-it requires explanation. So Narada Muni, his spiritual master, asked him that "This is not sufficient. You should describe it nicely." So then he wrote Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore the actual commentary of Vedanta-sūtra is Srimad-Bhagavatam.

This Srimad-Bhagavatam, Vedanta-sūtra, is not monopolized by a class of men who are known as Vedantists. Every one of the Vaisnava acaryas-Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami, Nimbarka-all of them have their Vedanta commentaries. Vedanta sahgraha-Sri Ramanujacarya. But the Gauḍiya-sampradaya, through Rūpa Gosvami, he did not write any commentary on the Srimad…, on the Vedanta-sūtra because Lord Caitanya informed that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the right commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra given by the author himself.

Vyasadeva wrote Vedanta-sūtra, and he explained personally Vedanta-sūtra. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam is the authorized commentary on the Vedanta-sūtra, and therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam begins from the first aphorism, or codes, of Vedanta-sūtra: janmady asya yato. He explains this code, janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnaḥ svarat .

Therefore when we propose to open a Bhagavata institution to teach the Bhagavata principles, or bhagavata-dharma, to the people, it will be open to everyone, because Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is for everyone. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita,

Even those who are considered to be born in low families, they also will be taught Srimad-Bhagavatam. That is our duty. Krsna says that,

It is not that Krsna said that this Bhagavad-gita, bhagavata-dharma, is simply monopolized by the higher section of the human society. The lower section of human society, they are also eligible, and it is the business of the devotees of Krsna, Vaisnavas, to teach them, and to reclaim them, and to help them to go to the paragati, te 'pi yanti param gatim [Bg 9.32]. It is the duty. Therefore a Vaisnava is called para-dukha-dukhi, para-dukha-dukhi. Vaisnava is not simply interested for his benefit. Vaisnava is interested for the benefit of all living entities, never mind whether he is high or low; it doesn't matter.

That is also accepted by Sukadeva Gosvami. You will find, I think in the fourth chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam of Second Canto, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami says:

So Sukadeva Gosvami says that Visnu has got so glorious adventures that even the kiratas, kirata-hūnandhra-pulinda, these classes are known as canḍalas according to our Vedic..., because they are less than the sūdras. So all these classes of men, if they take shelter of a pure devotee, yad upasraya-a devotee is called upasraya-so if these people who are accepted as lowborn, if they take shelter of a pure Vaisnava, then sudhyanti: they become suddha.

There was some years ago in India a suddhi movement by our friends, but that was failure because it was not properly done. Here is the suddhi movement, Hare Krsna movement, by which you can turn all over the population into Vaisnava, pure Vaisnava, suddhanti. Why not that institution in this great city of New Delhi? Why it should be neglected? It must be done.

I am very glad that the Finance Minister and the Governor both agreed to this point, and I shall request you, all respectable citizens of New Delhi, try to establish this institution. We have got perfect direction from Krsna, so there will be no mistake. Even if you think that our state is secular, this will be perfect secular. When we give chance everyone to become Krsna conscious, that will be perfect secular.

It is the duty of the state to see that people are advancing Krsna consciousness; otherwise they will never be happy. People must be taught, educated, to become Krsna conscious, and the state should see. That is the instruction of the great sages and saintly persons given to King Vena. There was a king, Vena. Due to his mother's impurity, that King Vena became very vicious, unrighteous. But the great sages and saintly persons…

Formerly, although India was governed by monarchy, no democracy, as our student Sriman Syamasundara has quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam, the kingdom of Maharaja Yudhisthira… There were many other kings. Practically all the kings, they were so pious and advanced in spiritual science that they were called rajarsi. And as in the Bhagavad-gita it is said that imam rajarsayo viduḥ:

It is the duty of the governor and the king to understand this science of Krsna consciousness. It is the duty. Otherwise how you will be able to give benefit to the citizens?

So everything has been topsy-turvied. Of course, the time is already very much; otherwise I would have read some portion of the instruction given by the great sages and saintly persons to Vena Maharaja, how to govern. Don't think that Srimad-Bhagavatam is simply meant for hearing Krsna's rasa-lila. Actually people take like that: when there is Srimad-Bhagavatam it means to hear Krsna's rasa-lila.

And they take some wrong impression, and therefore Krsna is derided. In Srimad-Bhagavatam every knowledge is there. The..., how this universe is constituted, how every planetary system is being governed, how this planet should be governed-politics, sociology, religion, culture, economics, science, astronomy. Everything is there; simply we have to learn it. Therefore if we get the chance of starting the institution for teaching bhagavata-dharma, don't think that the students simply will learn Hare Krsna.

Of course in Hare Krsna is everything there, but Srimad-Bhagavatam gives all-round knowledge, perfect knowledge. Srimad-Bhagavatam explains the Vedic instruction: yasmin vijnate sarvam eva vijnatam bhavanti. If we simply try to understand bhagavata-dharma, then every knowledge will be perfect. We are discussing and meeting all Western philosophers from the angle of vision of Srimad-Bhagavatam. So we are never defeated. We come out victorious in every case, and it defeats all other philosophy.

So bhagavata-dharma is so sublime. I wish, therefore, that the proposal to start an institution to give lesson to the boys, to the children of the country, without any discrimination, without any distinction. Everyone, every student, is welcome to understand the great science of bhagavata-dharma. And as it is promised by the great personalities who came here, and if we endeavor, let us start it as soon as possible.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. [end]